This Thesis contains work developed in three subjects. In the first of them, we show that a quantum particle under the action of a positive force in one path of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and a null force in the other path may receive a negative average momentum transfer when it leaves the interferometer by a particular exit. In this scenario, an ensemble of particles may receive an average momentum in the opposite direction of the applied force due to quantum interference, a behavior with no classical analogue. We name this effect as "quantum interference of force", and discuss some experimental schemes that could verify the effect with current technology, with electrons or neutrons in Mach-Zehnder interferometers in free space and with atoms from a Bose-Einstein condensate. We then discuss the case of two electrons propagating in the same Mach-Zehnder interferometer and show that, due to the same quantum interference of force effect, the two electrons can sometimes suffer an effective attraction. The second subject is the development of an experimental proposal to detect the Hanbury Brown and Twiss interference with electrons propagating in free space. In previously realized experiments, doubts were casted upon the results, which may be explained as caused by Coulomb repulsion of the electrons instead of a two-particle interference effect. In our proposal, the two effects can be clearly distinguished, opening the path for imaging with incoherent electron sources. Finally, the third subject concerns the derivation from first principles of the momentum exchange between a photon and a quantum mirror upon reflection, by considering the boundary conditions imposed by the mirror surface on the photon wave equation. We show that the system generally ends up in an entangled state, unless the mirror position uncertainty is much smaller than the photon wavelength, when the mirror behaves classically. Our treatment leads us directly to the conclusion that the photon momentum has the known value ~k, and this allows us to contribute to the longstanding Abraham–Minkowski debate about the momentum of light in a medium. We show that in our setting the Minkowski momentum is revealed, in which the light momentum is proportional to the medium refractive index.


The issue of environmental protection has been of interest to Africa just as it is to the rest of the world. Such rising interest in environmental protection has resulted in a number of environmentally friendly initiatives, such as landscaping, by firms in Nigeria. This article adopts the organizational buying behavior theory to study a comprehensive list of potential facilitators of landscaping adoption and to discriminate between organizational adopters and nonadopters in Nigeria. The data were factor-analyzed to determine the key dimensions of facilitators. On the basis of the resulting dimensions, discriminant analysis was conducted. The results show that environmental factors, organizational factors, and managerial factors are important discriminants. The findings are salient in environmental management in Africa, and in designing strategies for landscaping services marketing and landscaping diffusion. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


1.Introduction Recent RF heating and current drive investigations [1] revealed a growing interest in a scheme based on mode conversion (MC) of externally excited fast waves (FW) to ion Bernstein waves (IBW). Full-wave analysis of MC phenomena in bounded plasma shows [2] that high efficiency of mode conversion is attainable with FW excitation from the low field side (LFS) of the tokamak regardless of the parallel wave number k || of the launched wave. On the other hand, strong k || variation inherent to IBWs [3] can lead to their strong interaction both with bulk and accelerated plasma particles. Thus, a number of reactor-relevant MC applications can be considered, including localised plasma heating, current profile control [4], synergy with low hybrid current drive (LHCD) [5] and α-particles' energy channelling [6]. Suitability of MC scheme for on/off axis electron heating has already been reported on Tore Supra [7]. New results, which were obtained during MC experiments combined with LHCD are presented in this paper. Application of new experimental tools and numerical techniques provided better insight into the problem of MC power deposition (see also [8]). An outcome of active search for synergistic LHCD-IBW current drive effects is also reported. 2. Key aspects of the studies


New chiral sulfoxides bearing a chiral 1,3-oxazoline ring were prepared and used as chiral ligands in copper( II )-catalyzed Diels-Alder reactions. The copper( II )-catalyzed cycloaddition reactions using the new chiral ligands were carried out at -78°C to afford adducts with rather high (up to 75 %) enantiomeric excess. Introduction of a counterion (triflate or hexafluoroantimonate) into the catalysts represented higher degree of asymmetric induction; namely, the more cationic copper( II )-oxazoline sulfoxide catalysts improved the enantioselectivity in the cycloaddition reaction.


Objective To explore the preventive measures of Laparoscopic appendectomy incision infection,to reduce the incidence of incision infection. Methods A retrospective analysis of 307 cases of laparoscopic appendectomy in patients with clinical data. Results 3 cases were converted to laparotomy, 9 cases of incision infection, had no other complications occurred, including acute simple appendicitis complicated with type 2 diabetes in 1 cases, accounted for 1.43%(1/70), 4 cases of acute suppurative appendicitis, accounted for 2.16%(4/185), acute gangrenous perforative appendicitis in 4 cases, accounted for 7.69%(4/ 52), the incision infections were appendix out holes, of which 8 cases of pollution by appendix, the infection rate of the incisions by appendix polluted was significantly higher than that unpolluted incisions, the difference was statistically significant(x2=25.13, P 0.01). Conclusion Completely by Trocar or a reliable specimen bag outed the appendix, appendix didn't directly contact incision, protecting incisions could not be polluted, was important measures for prevention of incision infection.


Shallow marine origins and faunal replacement A number of genera, not characteristic of earlier Cainozoic intervals, became dominant in some latest Miocene to Holocene marginal and shallow marine facies o f SE Australia. This is a second manifestation o f the major Mio-Pliocene turnover o f continental shelf ostracod faunas in SE Australia. For instance, Parakeijia McKenzie first appears during the Neogene and is common in Pliocene and younger sediments of southern Victoria. Modern Parakeijia species occur in shallow neritic environments ranging from South East Asia to southern Australia, although the maximum diversity o f species is in northern Australian waters. Parakeijia species resemble juvenile Keijia spp., the former perhaps having evolved from the latter during the late Neogene. This par t icular evo lu t iona ry deve lopmen t correlates with a more general late Tertiary to early Quaternary shallow marine ostracod evolutionary event, which occurred across equatorial regions o f the Indo-West Pacific, and which resulted in the appearance o f a number o f new genera such as Pterobairdia McKenzie & Keij, 1977. Osticythere Hartmann, 1980 is another genus that becomes newly dominant during the latest Miocene in SE Australia. This marginal marine (euryhaline) taxon makes its first appearance in the latest Miocene of SE Australia and marks the initial development o f modern coastal lagoon physiographic features o f southern Victoria. Interestingly, it is only in strata younger than the age o f the phosphatic nodule bed at Beaumaris, Victoria, that fossil records of marginal marine and nonmarine Ostracoda are currently known from SE Australia. In general~ the late Neogene 0311/5518/2001/04445-1 $3.00 © AAP and Quaternary marginal marine and lacustrine ostracod record of SE Australia reflects rapid past rates o f environmental change. A relatively recent Australasian ostracod migra t ion event invo lves A l o c o p o c y t h e r e Siddiqui, 1971. This genus is well known from neritic Late Cretaceous and early Palaeogene facies of the Middle East. It has so far not been found in Cainozoic faunas o f SE. Australia. However, species of this genus are known from Recent continental shelf regions o f northern and southern Australia (Yassini & Jones 1995, Yassini etal. 1993).


The aim of this study was to investigate genotoxic effects of lamivudine (an analogue of cytidine) using in vitro sister chromatid exchange (SCE), chromosome aberration (CA), and micronucleus (MN) tests in human peripheral lymphocytes. The cells were treated with 75, 100, 125, and 150 μg/ml concentrations of lamivudine (roughly 30–60 times higher than plasma levels achieved in patients receiving this drug) for two (24‐ and 48‐hr) treatment periods. Lamivudine induced SCEs at the highest concentration (150 μg/ml) in the 24‐hr treatment, and at 125 and 150 μg/ml in the 48‐hr treatment, when compared to the solvent control. During both treatment periods, structural chromosome aberrations were significantly increased at 100, 125, and 150 μg/ml lamivudine concentrations. However, the increases of SCEs (22%) and CAs (50%) were weak. In addition, lamivudine reduced both the proliferation index (PI) and the mitotic index (MI) significantly at all concentrations for the two treatment periods. The MI was reduced by lamivudine in a dose‐dependent manner during both the 24‐ and 48‐hr treatment periods. In contrast, the PI was reduced by lamivudine only during the 48‐hr treatment period. A weak but significant increase in MN formation was observed following lamivudine treatment at 100, 125, and 150 μg/ml for 48 hr, but no significant increase in micronuclei were observed following 24‐hr treatment. In conclusion, lamivudine has a weak genotoxic effect at elevated doses on human peripheral lymphocytes. Environ. Mol. Mutagen., 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Computer games are a multi-billion dollar industry and have become an important part of our private and social lives. It is only natural, then, that the technology used to create games should becom...


Endopyelotomy and laparoscopic pyeloplasty are established procedures for ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) and historically a high failure rate has been observed in poorly functioning units with UPJ obstruction. The aim of this study is to compare the results of laparoscopic pyeloplasty with endopyelotomy in poorly functioning renal units, i.e., GFR under 25 ml/min. Materials and Methods: Retrospective analysis of all the patients who underwent either laparoscopic pyeloplasty or endopyelotomy for ureteropelvic junction obstruction in poorly functioning units between January 1998 and June 2005 was done. Follow-up renal scans, done at three, six, 12 months and yearly thereafter, were studied. Success was defined as symptomatic relief and/ or improvement in function (10% over baseline) in renal scan. Results: There were 23 patients in the endopyelotomy group and 15 patients in the laparoscopic pyeloplasty group with mean age of 25.3 years (9-53) and 26 years (10-44), respectively. Mean pelvic volume was 41.2 8cc ± 9.5 and 39.1cc ± 9.85 in the endopyelotomy group and laparoscopic pyeloplasty group, respectively. Mean preoperative GFR was 17.4 ± 5.7 ml/min and 21 ± 4.5 ml/min in the endopyelotomy group and laparoscopic pyeloplasty group, respectively and mean postoperative GFR was 21 ± 3.5 ml/min and 22 ± 3.9 ml/min, respectively. Eighteen and 11 patients were symptomatic in ethe ndopyelotomy group and laparoscopic pyeloplasty group, respectively while symptomatic improvement was seen in 14 and 11 patients, respectively. Mean follow-up was 12 months in the laparoscopy group and 28 months in the endopyelotomy group. Success rate was better for laparoscopic surgery group (15/15 = 100%) than for endopyelotomy (18/23 = 78.26%). Conclusions: Though the improvement in renal function is less in patients with UPJO with poorly functioning kidneys undergoing endopyelotomy or laparoscopic pyeloplasty, laparoscopic pyeloplasty gives better results in the form of symptomatic relief; however, renal function remains stable whichever the approach chosen.


Originally published by Australasian Medical Journal. Sahafi, L., Smith, D., Georgiou, K., Krishnan, J., & Battersby, M. (2016). Efficacy of the Flinders chronic condition management program in obese patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis: A study rationale and protocol. Australasian Medical Journal (Online), 9(9), 297-307.


Objectives: In recent years, characterization of any distribution has become important in the field of probability distribution.The objective of the study is to characterize the power function distribution to see its usefulness under different real life situations such as Engineering and medical sciences. Methods: The study proposed the characterization of Power function distribution based on mean inactivity times (MIT), mean residual function (MRF), conditional moments, conditional variance (CV), doubly truncatedmean (DTM), incomplete moments and reverse hazard function. Findings:We have characterized the power function distribution using different method, and conclude that thesufficient and necessary conditions of different methods mentioned above meet the results of Power function distribution. Application: Power function distribution has wide applicability in the field of Engineering. The findings of the paper may help the Engineers to know more about the Power function distribution.


Mutations in the p53 gene are common in many cancers. Nevertheless, the relationship between mutations of this tumor suppressor gene and patient survival in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear. Interpretation of prior studies of patient outcomes are complicated by the inclusion of both surgical and nonsurgical patients. To better isolate the potential effects ofp53 gene mutations per seon tumor progression, we chose to examine patients with advanced disease in whom surgery was not performed (stages IIIA, IIIB, and IV). We have used PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, a sensitive and specific method for the detection of a variety of p53mutations in cytology or biopsy specimens, to evaluate the prognostic significance of p53 gene mutations in nonsurgical patients with advanced NSCLC. In 70 consecutive medical patients, p53 mutations were found in 29 cases (41%) at the time of initial diagnosis. Followed prospectively, patients withp53 mutations had a significantly reduced survival time after diagnosis than those without mutations (median survival, 17 versus 39 weeks; P 5 0.0003) independent of other clinical factors. This abbreviated survival occurred in both patients who received chemotherapy ( n 5 39,P 5 0.002) or best supportive care (n 5 31, P 5 0.018). These results indicate that mutations of the p53 gene in patients with NSCLC who do not undergo surgical resection portends a significantly worse prognosis. INTRODUCTION Thep53 tumor suppresser gene is critically involved in the regulation of cell proliferation and cell death. It is commonly mutated in a variety of human tumors including breast, stomach, colorectal, bladder, and NSCLC 3 (1–3). Although many alterations ofp53 including deletions, splicing, and overexpressing mutants have been identified in a variety of tumors, their value in predicting prognosis has been variable (4–8). Previous detailed studies of gene mutations or protein expression in tumor tissues have been performed primarily on surgical specimens because technical limitations precluded analyses of smaller biopsy and cytology specimens. As a result, nearly all studies of p53mutations were limited to groups of patients who underwent surgical resection. This significant bias may have partially or completely obscured important biological effects of p53 mutations on the rate of tumor progression. To prospectively examine the biological effects ofp53 alterations in lung cancer in a nonbiased fashion, we chose to study patients in whom surgery was not performed (stage $IIIA). We have reported previously that p53 gene mutations could be detected in diagnostic cytology or biopsy specimens by PCR-DGGE (9). Using this method, we analyzedp53gene mutations in tumors from 70 patients with NSCLC at the time of diagnosis and then prospectively followed their survival. MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients. All patients with advanced-stage NSCLC (stage.IIIA) who did not undergo surgical resection but had diagnostic tissue from either the National Hiroshima Hospital or Hiroshima University Hospital from February 1992 to December 1997 were enrolled in the study. All specimens were obtained during diagnostic bronchoscopy, thoracentesis, or percutaneous needle aspiration. Patients gave informed consent before entering the study, and the research protocol was approved by each Institutional Review Board. Tumor stage and progression were classified according to the International Staging System (10). Tumor Samples and DNA Preparation. All DNA preparation was performed from cytology-positive samples. For specimens obtained by brushing or curetting, a sample of cells was applied directly onto glass slides for diagnosis, and the brush or curette was then placed in a microcentrifuge tube containing 1.5 ml of saline and agitated manually to dislodge the residual cells into the solution. The tube was then centrifuged at Received 8/25/99; revised 11/17/99; accepted 11/18/99. The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisementin accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact. 1 Supported in part by the Grant-in-Aid for Cancer Research (10-3) from the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare and by a grant from Tsuchiya Memorial Foundation for Medical Research. 2 To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Department of Internal Medicine, National Hiroshima Hospital, 513 Jike, Saijoh, Higashi-Hiroshima, 739-0041, Japan. Phone: 81-824-23-2176; Fax: 81824-22-4675; E-mail: email@example.com. 3 The abbreviations used are: NSCLC, non-small cell lung cancer; DGGE, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis; MST, median survival time; HR, hazards ratio; CI, confidence interval; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase. 526 Vol. 6, 526–530, February 2000 Clinical Cancer Research Research. on May 11, 2017. © 2000 American Association for Cancer clincancerres.aacrjournals.org Downloaded from 70003 g for 5 min. The supernatant was discarded, and the cell pellet was stored at 280°C until DNA extraction. Biopsy samples were pressed onto glass slides for cytological examination (touch preparation), and the remaining tissue sample was transferred into a 1.5-ml tube and stored at 280°C until DNA extraction. Pleural effusions were divided, with half sent for clinical cytopathological examination and half for centrifugation and cell pellet analysis. Peripheral blood samples (2 ml) were taken from each patient to obtain genomic DNA from peripheral blood leukocytes. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes using proteinase K, followed by phenol/chloroform extraction and ethanol precipitation. PCR-DGGE Analysis for p53 Mutations in Exons 3–9. We examined exons 3–9 in the p53 gene by the PCR-DGGE method, because previous studies have shown that most of the mutations occurring in NSCLC are found in this region (11, 12). The oligonucleotide primers used to amplify the p53genes were synthesized as described previously (9, 13). The genomic DNA (10–100 ng) was amplified in a 50-ml reaction tube containing 200 mM each deoxynucleotide triphosphate, 1.5 m M MgCl2, 0.25 mM each primer, and 1 unit of Taq DNA polymerase (Wako, Osaka, Japan). A programmable temperature control system (TaKaRa, Ohtsu, Japan) was used to subject the DNA to 40 cycles of amplification. DGGE analysis of the PCR-amplified genomic DNA fragments was carried out, as described previously (9). Corresponding peripheral blood obtained from each patient with abnormal mobility shifts of the p53gene in the tumor sample was also examined by PCR-DGGE analysis to exclude the possibility of any genomic polymorphism. PCRDGGE analysis was repeated at least twice to exclude amplification errors (false-positives). Statistical Analysis. The Fisher's exact test was used to compare the association between the incidence of any p53 mutation and several clinical and pathological parameters. The Kaplan-Meier method (14) was used to estimate the probability of survival as a function of time (starting from the date of diagnosis to that of death from cancer), and the log-rank test (15) was used to analyze survival differences. The Cox proportional hazards modeling technique (16) was used to identify factors that significantly influenced overall survival, either independently or together. P , 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.


Reactions of [PtCl2(cod)] with the appropriate Grignard reagents produce [PtR2(cod)] (R = C6H5, C6H4CH3-4, C6H4CH3-2, CH2C6H5), which, on treatment with 1 mol equiv of HCl, yield the corresponding chloroplatinum complexes [PtClR(cod)]. The 2-tolyl compounds exhibit hindered rotation about the Pt−C bonds at ambient temperature, the barrier to rotation being greater in [PtCl(C6H4CH3-2)(cod)] than in the ditolyl derivative. The chloroplatinum compounds react with 1 mol equiv of dppm to give [PtClR(dppm)], which are in equilibrium with the A-frame complexes [Pt2R2(μ-Cl)(μ-dppm)2]Cl. The extent of dimerization depends on the nature of R, but in each case the A-frame complex could be obtained quantitatively by treatment of the solution with NH4PF6 or TlPF6. The structures of [Pt2R2(μ-Cl)(μ-dppm)2]PF6 (R = CH2C6H5, C6H4CH3-4) were determined by X-ray crystallography. In the benzyl derivative, one of the ortho hydrogens on each phenyl (benzyl) ring points towards the centroid of a dppm phenyl ring, and this may a...


In their excellent article on intestinal lymphangiectasia (IL), Vardy et al.1 are inclined to accept the thesis that "there are two types of intestinal lymphangiectasia-one genetic in origin and the other acquired and transitory." In the second type they include several different conditions, among them nephrosis,2 and they say that "It seems highly unlikely that such disparate conditions should have anything more than a coincidental relationship with intestinal lymphangiectasia. . . . This strengthens our supposition that intestinal lymphangiectasia may be relatively common and asymptomatic."


A kind of semiparametric regression model under fixed design is studied.The estimators of unknown parameter β and the unknown functions f(·),g(·) are derived by the weighted least square method and the wavelet method.Under some weak conditions,the weak convergence rate of βn,the strong consistency and the weak convergence rate of (f^)n(·),as well as the weak convergence rate of (g-) n(·) are obtained.


Content - Business applications and software platforms crossing in the cloud environment. This paper analyses new generation of management tools in industrial production with cloud technologies. The decades ahead will be marked by a new way of communication in business environments from telecommunication field to medicine as well as industrial production and energy efficiency. Standard business applications and software with its installation and maintenance require considerable financial resources and significant spending on hardware. To address that requirement there is the need for special teams of experts to install, test and maintain the system. The new approach to cloud applications brings to this field that what is needed, a software update is automatic with an easy access to applications efficiently from anywhere on the planet and spatially are independent where you are located.


This paper presents a parallel processing network for detecting line segments from moving objects. It is founded on two recent developments from our UCLA research group. The first is a radical approach to dynamic edge detection which is event-driven and based solely on the order of passage over triads of equidistant detectors. Simple operations on traversal order, when a translating edges crosses the triad, yield approximate edge direction and velocity. The second foundation is a novel architecture concept for parallel logical inferences using networks of dynamicaly programmable Boolean logic modules (DPLMs). In this approach, Boolean inference data propagate asynchronously and concurrently through a functionally reconfigurable combinatorial network [Vidal83]. Propagation is wavelike and self-timed, proceeding at the maximum speed allowed by component delays. DPLM networks are made of identical modules with a regular topology, well suited to VLSI.


SYNOPSIS This paper presents an investigation on an open cycle absorption solar cooling system with solution storage for continuous operation. A simple heat and mass transfer analysis for predicting the water mass evaporation rate under steady state and transient conditions have been presented. Basic mass, material, and heat balance equations along with fluid properties state equation have been used and parametric results for the mass of the anhydrous salt and/or water mass content in the solution required for system operation have been predicted as a function of climatic parameters and initial solution condition. It is found that an open cycle absorption cooling system with solution storage option is feasible for continuous air-conditioning.


Based on the analysis of scientific works, decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, foreign and national law enforcement practice, the theoretical aspects and the practice of use of standards of proof «weighty conviction», «beyond reasonable doubt» in criminal proceedings for infringement of intellectual property rights have been studied. Based on the opinions of scholars and the positions of the courts, the problematic issues, in particular, the place of the balance of probabilities in the judicial standards of proof and criminal proceedings have been identified. Critical remarks on the existing approaches have been made and the consequences of the lack of unity of the approach to implementation of standards of proof in Ukraine have been outlined. Recognition by the Supreme Court of the permanent criteria of the standard «beyond reasonable doubt» does not secure against contradictory judgements/decisions in similar cases. Such decisions do not contribute to the principles of legal certainty and fairness; they lead to avoiding of liability by infringers, repeated infringement of intellectual property rights and introduction of counterfeit products/counterfeit content into turnover. For discussion in the scientific community and for taking into consideration by the practical workers, a number of the decisions of the Supreme Court, which could guide further implementation of judicial standards of proof on the basis of the established criteria, inner conviction and «common sense», has been proposed.


The datas collected from hybrid rice restorer lines mainly developed in Sichuan and India of South Asia crossed with 3 major male sterile lines developed in Sichuan and South Asia were comparatively analyzed by clustering analysis of principal components of F1 agronomic traits,relative analysis and yield heterosis analysis for F1,respectively,the result indicated that:(i) 71.4 % parents were from Sichuan region in group I,and 63.4% parents were from the South Asian region in group II.(ii) 24 varieties developed in Sichuan were clustered in the same groups as group I by 4 classification methods and 17 varieties from South Asia except DH1 in group II,and their characteristics could reflect the basic features of 2 groups.(iii) 10 traits mean value in group I were more than that of group II,and other 5 traits mean value were less than that of group II.(ⅳ) The common character in 2 groups was that the panicle and grain number and grain length/ width ratio played leading role in the first and second principal components,their difference was that in group I grain weight and grain number played leading role together in the first principal component,but that only grain number in group II.As well,panicle length and grain length/ width ratio played leading role together in the second principal component in group I and that only grain type in group II.(ⅴ) F1 yield heterosis of group I crossed with G46A and II-32A was more than that crossed with IR58025A.Meanwhile,F1 yield heterosis of group II crossed with IR58025A was more than that crossed with G46A and II-32A.


The integrity of a pipeline and the competence of those who manage it are undeniably linked — you can't have one without the other. While few would argue this point, the process of how best to define, measre, develop and assure the competency of pipeline professionals, especially those working outside of field operations, is far less certain. The Pipeline Integrity (PI) department of the Liquids Pipelines (LP) division of Enbridge took on this challenge. Following a review of best practices and technical competency models in diverse industries, Enbridge custom-built an innovative technical competency model for Pipeline Integrity Professionals, from junior engineers to senior specialists and managers. The model includes competencies both general (e.g., communication, project management) and highly specific to the work of pipeline integrity (e.g., tank integrity management, internal corrosion engineering, pressure cycling management). This paper will describe the Enbridge Pipeline Integrity Technical Competency Model and "toolkit" in detail, including the architecture, competency library, measurement scale and assessment process. The business case, best practices research, project governance, development process and lessons learned are also described in order to provide a robust case study and practical guideline for others in the pipeline sector seeking to define and manage competencies for technical professionals.Copyright © 2016 by ASME


Objective: To investigate the mechanism of serum of patients with sepsis on injury of human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells(PMVECs). Methods: PMVECs were cultured in vitro and randomly divided into 3 groups: normal culture group(group N) with 10% fetal bovine serum,healthy serum group( group H) with 10% healthy human serum,patients' serum group(group S) with 10% serum of patient with severe sepsis. The activity of PMVECs through MTT,the expression of NF-κB through immunohistochemistry,the ultrastructure through transmission electron microscope were observed and compared after addition of different stimulators at the phase 0,1,2,4,6 hours among different groups. Results:Different optic density(OD) values of PMVECs was demonstrated at different time point among 3 groups( P 0. 01),and the changes of OD values at each time point showed different trend(P 0. 01). Compared with that of group N and group H,the OD values of group S at one hour significantly decreased( P 0. 01),and with the prolongation of patients' serum stimulation time,OD values remained at relatively low levels. NF-κB determination by immunohistochemistry showed the average AOD values of group S reached peak at one hour,then decreased gradually(0. 523 ± 0. 012,0. 498 ± 0. 009,0. 444 ±0. 030). Group N and group H showed no significant ultra-structure changes. But for group S decreased microvilli,dilated endoplasmic reticulum,reduced WPBs bodies were seen at the phase of one hour after stimulation,ruptured membrane,disappeared microvilli,vacuolized mitochondria,widened perinuclear space,vesicle-like structures between cells were seen at the phase of 6 hours after stimulation. Conclusions: Serum of severe sepsis patients may injure PMVECs in vitro,NF-κB may play an important role in respect of induction of acute lung injury.


The present AST‐IDCOP guidelines update information on BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) infection, replication, and disease, which impact kidney transplantation (KT), but rarely non‐kidney solid organ transplantation (SOT). As pretransplant risk factors in KT donors and recipients presently do not translate into clinically validated measures regarding organ allocation, antiviral prophylaxis, or screening, all KT recipients should be screened for BKPyV‐DNAemia monthly until month 9, and then every 3 months until 2 years posttransplant. Extended screening after 2 years may be considered in pediatric KT. Stepwise immunosuppression reduction is recommended for KT patients with plasma BKPyV‐DNAemia of >1000 copies/mL sustained for 3 weeks or increasing to >10 000 copies/mL reflecting probable and presumptive BKPyV‐associated nephropathy, respectively. Reducing immunosuppression is also the primary intervention for biopsy‐proven BKPyV‐associated nephropathy. Hence, allograft biopsy is not required for treating BKPyV‐DNAemic patients with baseline renal function. Despite virological rationales, proper randomized clinical trials are lacking to generally recommend treatment by switching from tacrolimus to cyclosporine‐A, from mycophenolate to mTOR inhibitors or leflunomide or by the adjunct use of intravenous immunoglobulins, leflunomide, or cidofovir. Fluoroquinolones are not recommended for prophylaxis or therapy. Retransplantation after allograft loss due to BKPyV nephropathy can be successful if BKPyV‐DNAemia is definitively cleared, independent of failed allograft nephrectomy.


We show an attack on most multisignature schemes extended from signature schemes based on DLP such as Meta-El Gamal mutisignature scheme and Schnorr multisignature scheme. The attackers can deny that they had taken part in process of signing some messages with others. A modification is made for these schemes' key generations, which can efficiently a void this attack. We also design a method of distributed computation of this new multisignature scheme in this paper.


Reading is a process which requires that the learner deal explicitly with the structural
features of language. This relationship appears to be present in bilinguallbicultural
children and has been an issue of concern. The purpose of the present study was to
determine if training in reading comprehension and oral syntax would improve oral
syntax acquisition in a sample of Navajo American Indian children in the United States.
Three matched groups with 12 subjects in each group (reading, syntax and a control
group) participated in this study. The results revealed statistically significant gains on
the Grammatical Comprehensio_n and Reading Comprehension measures. This study
seems to suggest that there is no particular advantage of a reading strategy over a syntax
strategy, but that both interventions may result in improved oral syntax.
Die /eesproses vereis dat /eerders die strukturele kenmerke van die taal eksp/isiet moet
aanspreek. Hierdie verhouding tussen die teks en tweetaligelbi-kulturele leerders was die
fokus van 'n studie wat gedoen is onder Navajo Amerikaanse Indiane in die VSA. Die
doe/ van die studie was om te bepaal of spesifieke op/eiding in leesbegrip sowel as in
mondelinge sintaksis sou lei tot 'n verbetering van mondelinge sintaksis. Drie gelyke
groepe van twaalf kinders elk (dw.s. 'n kontrolegroep, 'n groep wat onde"ig in
leesbegrip ontvang het en 'n groep wat onderrig in mondelinge sintaksis ontvang het) is
gebruik. Statisties beduidende verbeteringe is gemeet t.o. v. grammatikale begrip en
/eesbegrip. Die studie dui aan dat die gebruik van 'n leesstrategie nie 'n beduidende
voordeel oor 'n sintaksis-strategie inhou nie, maar dat die gebruik van die twee saam
eerder die ver/angde verbetering in mondelinge sintaksis teweegbring.


Clients' spirituality and religion has not been accorded the attention it deserves in the marriage and family therapy (MFT) literature. In particular, the more conservative religions have often been stereotyped and viewed as a monolithic phenomenon. This paper seeks to open and expand this discussion in three ways. First, the relevance of viewing a client's religion from on ethno-sensitive perspective is presented. Second, defining features of Protestant evangelicalism are outlined and three key scriptural/metaphoric affirmations are presented. Finally, suggestions are offered for working with evangelical couples and a case vignette provided.


The Sea and Air Operations team has an exhaustive schedule ahead, during the International Polar Year. Fast forward to October 2007, and the Aurora Australis is on its way back to Hobart at the end of a sea ice research voyage, undertaken as part of the International Polar Year (IPY).


A highly ordered ZnO hierarchical structured wire array is fabricated by a template-free electrodeposition combined with subsequent annealing, which realizes a novel spatial combination of horizontally equidistant wires and surface approximately perpendicular lamellar structure. The wires show a surprising uniformity in interspacing, width and surface morphology. The deposited morphology from the initial dendritic pattern to parallel wires array is realized by adjusting the applied voltage. The sensors based on the ZnO wires array shows good selectivity, repeatability and low concentration detection limits to HCHO. This study provides a new direction in fabricating highly ordered hierarchical structured wire arrays for gas sensing applications.


Many second language learners are over-explicit in the language they use when they first learn English. These trends are apparent in second language learners across a whole range of languages. Intermediate to advanced language learners tend to be over‐explicit, apparently irrespective of their L1 and L2. Yet all languages push speakers to be economical: it seems to be a pragma‐linguistic universal.


sion to Ernest's life and art. Testing Borges' conclusion that Hemingway regretted the physical dimension of his life, Lawrence Martin illustrates the integral relationship between the author's adventuresome and intellectual strains. And Eugene Kanjo links The Sun Also Rises to a dozen writers and sources in his semiotic inquiry. Focusing upon Hemingway's texts, Michael Reynolds recaptures the historical context of "My Old Man" and reveals Hemingway's use of "memory transformed by imagination." Paul Smith discovers "Mons (Three)," companion of the two "chapters" of In Our Time, and deems it "one of the 'things left out' that never should have been." More good writing was excised from Death in the Afternoon, but in this case Donald Junkins argues that the omission was warranted. Gazing intently at Hemingway's treatment of Robert Cohn, Barry Gross confesses that the author's association of immortality with Jew baiting blurs the "open and shut case of anti-Semitism."


This paper proposed the multi artificial fish swarm cooperation algorithm(MAFWA) based on the work principle of basic artificial fish swarm to extract the classification rules of continuous variable space.It defined a function to evaluate the rules based on the support and confidence,designed the code of artificial fish,defined the formula to calculate some key parameters for its application in extracting classification rules and provided with the detailed step of algorithm.And then it made use of programming in the VC+ + 6.0.Finally,it made an experiment on Iris and Wine data sets to test the algorithm,further more it compared the algorithm of MAFWA with the single artificial fish swarm and multi particle swarm algorithm by using the same data sets of Iris and Wine.The experimental result shows that this algorithm can extract the classification rules with high precision quickly.So the algorithm of MAFWA is available and efficient to resolve the problems related to extracting classification rules of continuous variable.


Background: Both creatine kinase (CK) and/or lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) mutually are elevatedsignificantly in many tumors. This study hypothesizes that LDH was evaluated as a prognostic factor forsurvival time in patients with terminal cancer (PTC). Additionally, CK considered as a valuable in assessingprognosis of advanced cancer patients. This study aimed to estimate the change in the CK/LDH levelsin patients with different types of cancer comparing with the controls, and to investigate their prognosticsignificance for survival time termination in PTC.Methodology: The study was performed at Cancer Central Research Clinic in Baghdad. We quantitated CK/LDH using the colorimetric method in sixty PTC, and twenty age/sex-matched healthy adults.Results: Serum values of CK/LDH were significantly increased in PTC compared to the controls (p<0.001).There was a weak non-significant correlation between CKLDH in PTC and control. There was a nonsignificantcorrelation of CK to LDH levels in different cancer types, except in patients with lymphaticcancer.Conclusion: In agreement with our hypothesis, serum levels of CK/LDH were significantly increased as thepatients approached death.


1. An apparatus for decoding (100) an encoded audio signal (102), the encoded audio signal (102) comprising a first portion (104a) encoded in accordance with a first encoding algorithm, a second portion (104b), encoded in accordance with a second coding algorithm, the parameters BWE (106) for the first portion (104a) and a second portion (104b) and a coding mode information (108) indicating a first decoding algorithm or a second decoding algorithm, comprising! a first decoder (110a) for decoding the first portion (104a) in accordance with a first decoding algorithm for a first time portion of the encoded signal (102) to produce a first decoded signal (114a), wherein the first decoder (110a) includes a LPC decoder; ! a second decoder (110b), for decoding the second portion (104b) in accordance with a second decoding algorithm for a second time portion of the encoded signal (102) to produce a second decoded signal (114b), wherein the second decoder (110b) includes an encoder based on transformations ; ! BWE module (130) at a controlled switching frequency (FX), wherein the BWE module (130) configured to execute an algorithm spreading width using the first decoded signal (114a) and the BWE parameters (106) for the first portion (104a) and to perform the spreading width of the algorithm using the second decoded signal (114b) and the spreading width parameter (106) for the second portion (104b),! BWE (130) module applies a first switching frequency (FX1) for expanding the spectrum width of the first decoded signal (114a) and a second switching frequency (FX2) for the spreading width of the second


As many researchers in public administration has recently showed considerable interest in the theory of governance for provision of public services...


Scholars generally agree on the doctrinal significance of the Rehnquist Court's post-1990 federalism decisions, but there is less agreement about the consequences of these decisions. A previous study examined the direct consequences of these decisions, by inquiring into the extent to which Congress was able to revise and reenact statutes that were struck down by the Court, but it left unexamined the effects on Congress's ability to legislate in other areas. This article assesses the indirect consequences of these decisions by tracing their effects on the drafting of and debate over bills other than the ones directly invalidated by the Court. It turns out that these decisions have had only a limited effect on Congress's ability to draft constitutionally acceptable legislation, but they have had an important effect on the debate over the passage of several pieces of legislation, whether by handing opponents arguments to oppose the bills or by providing members of Congress with means to explain voles that would otherwise be difficult to defend. Copyright 2004, Oxford University Press.


When the circuit of interferometric fiber optic gyroscope(IFOG) is affected by the changing circumstance temperature,the IFOG's bias drifts.To get the relationship between the IFOG output and the temperature change of the circuit,temperature experiment on the circuit portion is designed.Based on the relationship,the IFOG's output is compensated.The results show that the compensated bias drift is twenty-three percent of the uncompensated one,and the bias stability is 7.32 times higher than the original one.


The bachelor work deals with the problems of accounting documents processing incompany Foxconn CZ, Ltd, it is focused especially on material invoices. The aim of this work is to propose possible solutions in the area of automatization and improvement of the accounting documents liquidation to get better the actual situation and to decrease the salary costs on the basis of the analysis of the methodology of accounting documents processing. The first part describes general terms as accountancy law, document flow, the way of archiving and terms of accounting documents. The next part contains detailed analysis of accounting documents processing in company Foxconn CZ, Ltd. The closing part evaluates actual situation and suggests possibilities of the improvement.


ABSTRACT The extraction properties of the dibutyl ester of dibutoxymethane phosphonic acid (DBDBMP) an analog of TBP with a P-C bond, were shown to be similar to those of TBP except for hydrolysis of DBDBMP in acidic solutions. The formation of acidic organophosphorus compounds during hydrolysis of DBDBMP was confirmed by 31P-N.M.R. measurements.


The present invention relates to an electromagnetic retarder, comprising a housing, an input shaft, an output shaft, is provided between the input shaft and the output shaft power generation structure for generating electricity, there is provided between the output shaft and the output shaft rotation drive housing electric structure, the structure of the electric power generating structure is electrically connected. When rotation of the input shaft, an output shaft driven by the power generation structure below the output shaft rotational speed, a current is generated in the first winding, and the structure was transferred to the electric wire, the electric structure at the second winding of the stator and the permanent magnetic interaction, increases the torque output shaft. Retarder of the present invention to complete the electromagnetic structure completely transmit the torque, power can be from a high speed to a low speed high torque, it can be a constant speed reduction ratio, while no friction, and thus has the advantages of low noise, high lifetime.


The inorganic components, especially magnesium, iron, copper and zinc contained in vegetable roots are of major importance, but seldom taken into account, either by general practitioners or by dietitians. The goal of this work is to report on magnesium, iron, copper and zinc in potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava, yam and taro produced, and consumed in Campo Grande, the capital of Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil. After previous determination of humidity, the vegetables were digested with a mixture of HNO 3 and H 2 O 2 in the microwave digestion system Speedwave ® , Berghof, Germany. The levels of trace elements were measured using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES, iCap 6000 ® - Thermo Scientific, USA). Most of the elements analyzed occur at levels within the range reported from international and Brazilian sources. However, iron in common potato, sweet potato and cassava was at the lowest level, while magnesium was very low in taro samples. The bioelements studied cannot pose any serious health risks and the edible tuberous roots widely consumed in Mato Grosso do Sul may represent an important source of essential micronutrients. The data show exclusively the population exposure to these minerals, no assumptions made as to their real absorption or bioavailability. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17807/orbital.v9i3.929


This study investigated heat transfer characteristics between absorber and heat pipe used to extract heat from concentric evacuated tubular collectors. In order to experiment, T-type thermocouples are attached to a evaporator of heat pipe and absorber of inner tube. A wall temperature distribution of absorber and heat pipe were carried out by experimental method under actual various ir-radiance and outdoor conditions. As a result, As to increase an irradiance, a wall temperature of absorber and heat pipe is gradually increased. The heat pipe was required about 20min to obtain steady state operation after start up and operates stable during various irradiance conditions. And the collector efficiency was about 50~70% when a mass flow rate is about 1.3 l/min.


Objected: This essay has shown esthetics to be a salient factor for successful complete dentures. Complete denture esthetics can no longer be regarded as a method of tooth selection and arrangement alone or the colors and contours of the denture bases and forms of the denture bases. Denture feel must likewise incorporate those whole face for which those expressions from claiming inward feelings, personality, comfort, image, well-being, and recognitions about previous dental encounters need aid constantly on precise obvious. Both those patients and the dental specialist must comprehend this interrelationship for ideal victory. Purpose: evaluate hard and soft components that contribute to Creating an effective finish successful esthetical denture stylish rebuilding Material and Methods : The sample was selected from Baghdad University, College of Dentistry. A total of 100 Iraqi adult Dental patients were clinically examined ( females and males). Each person was seated in the Dental chair and was asked to look straight ahead and the measures have been taken according to the case sheet prepared previously. Result : the results obtained from case sheet analysis using SPSS computer program (version 23) and shown significant statistic results in some criteria of determining aesthetic by facial measurement and other shown some unaesthetic result which may be due to clinical or laboratory error during the construction of complete denture. Conclusion : A large portion of significant attention throughout finish denture development is those rebuilding from claiming keep going feel. esthetic dives substantially further over the negligible placement of the teeth on the occlusal rims, size, shape, color about simulated teeth and denture bases need aid essential On the development of a stylish denture. Distinctive individuals have communicated different assumptions for settling on tastefully pleasing dentures.


The paper discusses the results of research into a vibration-powered milli- or micro generator (MG). The generator harvests mechanical energy at an optimum level, utilizing the vibration of its mechanical system. The central purpose of our report is to outline the parameters that are significant for implementing the actual design to harvest the maximum (optimum) energy possible within periodic symmetrical systems, while respecting the typical behavior of the output voltage. The relevant theoretical outcomes influence the measurability and evaluation of the physical quantities that characterize the designed structures. The given parameters, which are currently defined in millimeters, are also applicable within the micrometer range, or MEMS. The article compares some of the published microgenerator concepts and design versions by using effective power density, among other parameters, and it also brings complementary comments on the applied harvesting techniques. The authors demonstrate minor variations in the magnetic rotationally symmetric circuit geometry that affect the pattern of the device's instantaneous output voltage; in this context, the suitability of the individual design approaches that are to be used with MEMS as a vibration harvesting system is analyzed in terms of properties that are applicable in Industry 4.0.


Addressing the productivity issue in wheat production due to the significant acreage in the country and its indispensable role in feeding people is a matter of particular importance. Because of great importance of wheat production in three Northern provinces in this study an attempt is made to gauge total factor productivity of wheat production and its components which are technical efficiency and technological change. The results showed that during the study period TFP changes in Golestan Province is more effected by Technological changes while in Gilan and Mazandran the TFP is more affected by technical efficiency. Changes in TFP for the whole country showed large fluctuations. These changes are due to changes in technical efficiency and technological change. Promotional programs with the aim of better application of inputs, to increase technical efficiency and the use of improvised technology can bring about steady and sustained growth. JEL classification: O47, C14


Policy makers are increasingly recognizing the importance of helping ex-offenders into employment. This article outlines the disadvantages faced by those with a criminal record in the labour market and evaluates several approaches to meeting the needs of ex-offenders seeking work. It finds that, despite recent policy developments, the changing nature of British public administration is undermining the ability of practitioners to respond appropriately to the needs of ex-offenders. The article concludes that the real concern of policy makers is to show that they are doing something about the social context of criminal behaviour while at the same time drawing attention away from the increasingly centralized and authoritarian nature of our public agencies.


In order to understand Fujian Colleges and Universities' implementation of "Guideline for National Colleges and Universities Physical Education Teaching",this paper researches the status quo of PE teaching objective reform among 17 Fujian colleges and universities,by means of literature,questionnaire and mathematical statistics.The result shows: PE teaching has made some achievements in the objective reform of sports participation,sports skill,and body health,but the objective reform of psychological health and social adjustment does not achieve its desired goal.Based on the existing problems,this paper presents corresponding measures.


Low carbon steel is steel with a carbon element content of less than 0.25%. This type of steel is widely used in spare parts motorbikeproducts after market. This type of product has a lower hardness level when compared toproducts Genuine Parts. Due to the low hardness value of the steel material when compared to Genuine Parts products, this product wears out faster. Due to this, engineering was carried out to increase the hardness of steel. One way is by using themethod pack carburizing. Theprocess pack carburizing in this study uses teak wood charcoal as a carburizer. This process is done by pre-heating the material in thebox carburizing pack at a temperature of 650 C. After pre-heating, the temperature was increased to 900ᵒC and different holding times were carried out, namely 5.6 and 7 hours. After that, the cooling process is carried out with water. The results obtained were that thematerial pack carburized had a higher carbon value as the holding time increased. The carbon value before treatment was 0.12%, then there was an increase to 1.03% at the holding time of 5 hours, 1.18% at the holding time of 6 hours and 1.37% at the holding time of 7 hours. The results of the hardness testing before treatment were 46.4 HRA on average increased to 83.66 HRA, 84.69 HRA and 84, 82 HRA at 5 hours, 6 hours and 7 hours detention. However, when doing statistical tests, it is not recommended to hold the heating time up to 7 hours when using this medium. This is because the comparison of changes in violence between 6 hours and 7 hours of detention did not show a significant increase in violence


The study compares among traditional heuristic methodologies such as the Mora – Vahrson method with a statistical method named Logical Fuzzy in order to determine an improvement in the determination of the susceptibility and spatial distribution of landslides. The validation of the Fuzzy Logic methodology, diminishes the subjectivity of the heuristic methods obtaining results that are close to the reality, independently of the origin of the concurrent geodynamic phenomena. The Metropolitan District of Quito has been characterized to have prone sectors landslides in the rainy season and being seismically active. The result of these methodologies yielded different models that have been defined by means of an adjustment, which agrees with the reality of the area. Therefore, the validation of the susceptibility to landslides in this sector of Quito, with the new proposed methodologies, will be certainly a vital instrument for the elaboration of hazard mapping in other sectors of the city as well as in other cities within the Inter-Andean area.


A novel fiber-end-termination scheme for suppressin g lasing and scaling output power from fiber superfluorescent sources has been applied to a clad ding-pumped Yb-doped fiber yielding 110W of amplified- spontaneous-emission output at ~1060nm with a bandwidth of 40nm. Summary: High power and high brightness broadband superfluorescent sources have many applications, including rotation sensing, spectroscopy, medical imaging and pumping of optical fiber Raman amplifiers. One at tractive way to generate broadband output is via the process of amp lified spontaneous emission (ASE) in a rare-earth d oped fiber. Over the last few years there has been very rapid progre ss in scaling the output power from cladding-pumped fiber lasers and amplifiers, but the maximum output power reported for a fiber ASE source remains relatively low (~2W ( 1)), largely because of the difficulty in preventing parasitic l aser oscillation. The main problem is unwanted fee dback from the fiber end facets. The standard method for reducing this feedback (without incurring a significant los s for the output signal) is to polish or cleave the facet at an angl e, so that light reflected by Fresnel reflection do es not couple to the modes of the core. To reduce the effective feedbac k to the very low levels required to suppress lasin g in high-power fiber configurations requires a large facet angle a nd very low scattering from the surface. This is d ifficult to achieve by angle-polishing or angle-cleaving, particularly for the large diameter fibers used in cladding-pumped configurations. Here, we report a simple approach for scaling the o utput power from fiber superfluorescent sources by using a novel fiber-end termination geometry to reduce unwanted feedback from the fiber end facets. The double -clad fiber and fiber-end termination scheme used in our experiment s is shown schematically in Figure 1. Figure 1. Schematic drawing of ytterbium-doped offset-core fiber and fiber-end termination A relatively standard double-clad fiber with an Yb -doped offset-core was employed in this scheme. Th e fiber core diameter, core numerical aperture, core-offset, inn er-cladding diameter and cladding numerical apertur e were 24µm, 0.07, 200µm, 550µm and 0.49 (calculated) respectively. The ultra-low feedback fiber end terminations were formed by heating both end sections of the fiber and twisting the fiber so that the core has a helical path in t hese regions. The fiber was then perpendicularly-cleaved in the twisted reg ions at both ends to produce high quality end-facet s (i.e. with low scattering loss) perpendicular to the fiber's longi tudinal axis. As a result of the helical trajector y, the core path is at an angle with respect to the facet normal, and hence l ight fed back by Fresnel reflection suffers an addi tional loss, which depends on the angle. The core angle is determined by the core offset and number of turns per unit le ngth, and hence can be selected to provide strong suppression of op tical feedback from the end-facet without the penal ty of a high 'bend loss' due to the helical trajectory. This approach appears, at first sight, to be similar to angle-po lishing, but offers much lower feedback reflectivity due to the high optical quality of the perpendicularly-cleaved end-facets. In preliminary experiments, the core angle with res pect to the fiber's axis at both end-facets was sel ected to be ~7o to provide effective suppression of feedback from t he facets. The fiber was end-pumped through one en d-facet by a high power diode source at 976nm. The pump absorption efficiency for the 18m length of fiber was 93%. Two dichroic mirrors were used to extract the co-propagating ASE output and counter-propagating ASE output from the two ends of the fiber. The maximum output powers for the counter- and co-propagating beams were 63 W and 47 W respectively, yielding a maximum combined ASE output power of 110 W from the fiber for 191 W of launched pump power. At high pump powers, the slope efficiency for the combined ASE output with respect to launched pump power was >67%. The central wavelength of the emission band was 1060nm and the spectral wavelength range was ~1031nm -1120nm with a 3dB bandwidth of 40nm (i.e. from 1040-1080nm). The beam quality factor (M


There is a continued interest in the charge transport mechanism for the photorefractive effect, particularly in the sillenites (BSO, BGO, BTO)1,2. There are two prevalent models for the photoexcited charge migration, namely, the band transport theory and the hopping model3. In this paper we present a detailed comparison of the hopping and band transport models. We place the hopping model in the same framework as the band transport model. The hopping model is then modified to include an external electric field dependent time constant. This allows the development of an expression for the total electric space charge field for the condidtion of an externally applied alternating electric field. This expression is used in the electromagnetic coupled wave theory to predict the two wave mixing gain. Experimental and theoretical results are then compared. AC photoconductivity experimental results and theoretical predictions are also presented and compared.


Captured real images are often affected by environmental and technical interferences such as linear homogeneous distortion, nonuniform illumination, sensors' noise, geometrical scene distortion, etc. Among these issues, the former is particularly interesting because various physical problems can be modeled by such degradations. In this work we propose a blind algorithm for identification of the linear distortion operator based on the analysis of zero-crossings and phase distribution of the distorted image spectrum. The algorithm is tested with common real linear distortion operators and its identification rate is discussed.


The EAN University, pioneer in Colombia for leading entrepreneurial
projects presents the book venture: different approaches
that based on the experience of different academics,
examines some leadership theories, linked to issues related to
starting new businesses. The tools that are provided in this document
are a contribution to knowledge for application in organizations.


This study aims to investigate the implementation of a communication strategy for the use of per - library and to determine the effect of library use communication strategies to increase student motivation to learn STMIK Handy Makassar This research method is descriptive quantitative data collection through interviews, questionnaires, and studies dokumenter.Hasil kepustakwanan research studies show that the utilization of the communication strategy STMIK Handy Library Makassar at the high category ( 66.67 % ) , it is asserted that communications librarian, through approaches opinion communication, empathy, and openness to students who will contribute to improve motivation and learning outcomes of students STMIK Handy Makassar . That increase student motivation and learning outcomes STMIK Handy Makassar at the high category. ( 53.34 % ) this gives an appreciation and a desire by the Librarian, that the implementation of an effective communication strategy antapribadi then increase student motivation and learning outcomes through the approach of encouragement, curiosity and the ability/confidence to the Librarian will be the higher the motivation to learn obtained later. Communication Strategy Librarians have a strong relationship with increased student motivation and learning outcomes STMIK Handy Makassar. It is characterized by the correlation coefficient R = 0.861 (close to the numerical value 1 ).


Trans - this as evidenced by the race fine mapping, a method related to the discovery of a white, Puerto Rican, and in association with 15 TNFSF15 DcR3 gene locus over the Korean Crohn's disease and compositions are described herein. The present invention relates to a method of diagnosing a susceptibility to one or by determining if the presence of more risk variants in TNFSF15 (or TL1A) and / or DcR3 gene locus, and quantify the risk for Crohn's disease in the individual, and Crohn's disease It provides.


This study deals with the fault tolerance problem of an active air suspension system considering parametric uncertainties and sprung mass displacement in the event of sensor fault and unmeasured signals. A pneumatic spring is used to set up a quarter of the car model to investigate the flexible stiffness and provide an active force that can suppress chassis vibrations. To approximate unknown nonlinear parameters of air spring actuator dynamics, fuzzy logic systems (FLSs) are used as function approximators. Sensor failure is considered while all system states are assumed to be unmeasured variables. A fuzzy state observer is then designed to approximate the unknown system states and overcome the effective loss of sensor fault. Adaptive fault-tolerant control based on command filter backstepping technique to solve the problem of exploding complexity. To enhance tracking accuracy, this study involves a prescribed performance technique such that the sprung mass displacement is guaranteed between the predefined boundaries. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed control is verified by comparative simulation examples under the presence of sensor fault and unknown system states.


In a preceding paper (Cytologia, 1937) we examined the relation of the entrance point of the spermatozoon to the cleavage planes of Chatopterus, Cumingia, and Nereis. In Chetopterus there was a coincidence of 41 per cent between the entrance point and the first plane of cleavage. In Cumingia the coincidence was 79 per cent. In Nereis it was 51 per cent. The failure to obtain 100 per cent coincidence may be due to errors of observation or to other factors being involved in determining the first cleavage plane. We have made some additional observations during the past summer on Chastopterus since its eggs gave the lowest percentage of coincidence, and since a larger number of observations seemed desirable. Out of 53 new observations there were 24 cases of fairly close agreement; in 7 cases the divergence was less than 45 degrees, and in 22 cases it was more than 45 degrees. Approximate concidence was 45 per cent, as compared with 41 per cent of the old data. This absence of exact agreement led to an examination of other possible relations. When the entrance point is plotted on the egg in the two-cell stage it is found in the great majority of cases that it lies on the side of the egg where the smaller blastomere (AB) is found. In the new data there were 29 cases on the AB side, and only 9 cases on the CD side. In the older data there were 47 cases on the AB side, and 21 on the CD. But since the CD side has twice the surface area of the AB side the difference is more significant. In these data cases of exact coincidence between the entrance point and the first cleavage plane are, of course, omitted. When the entrance point is plotted on the four-cell stage of these same eggs it is found that, in the majority of cases, it lies on the B cell, namely in 20 cases on the B; in 3 cases on the A; in 3 on the C; and in two on the D cell. In the new data it lies on the B cell in 15 cases, in 9 cases on the A, in 7 cases on the C, and 2 on the D cell. Cases of coincidence with the first cleavage plane give 11 with D opposite the sperm and 2 adjacent.


As the transition to renewable energy sources progresses, the integration of such sources makes electricity production increasingly fluctuate. To contribute to power grid stability, electric utilities must balance volatile supply by shifting demand. This measure of demand response depends on flexibility, which arises as the integration of information systems in the power grid grows. The option to shift electric loads to times of lower demand or higher supply bears an economic value. Following a design science research approach, we illustrate how to quantify this value to support decisions on short-term consumer compensation. We adapt real options theory to the design—a strategy that IS researchers have used widely to determine value under uncertainty. As a prerequisite, we develop a stochastic process, which realistically replicates intraday electricity spot price development. With this process, we design an artifact suitable for valuation, which we illustrate in a plug-in electric vehicle scenario. Following the artifact's evaluation based on historical spot price data from the electricity exchange EPEX SPOT, we found that real options analysis works well for quantifying the value of information systems enabled flexibility in electricity consumption.


ABSTRACT While limited research exists on the topic of physical activity as an adjunct to substance abuse treatment, a review of relevant multidisciplinary literature indicates a logical rationale for its potential benefits to recovery from addiction. This article provides an overview of common variables that contribute to addictive disease and summarizes the relationship of regular physical activity to improvements on many of these variables. The stages of change from the Transtheoretical Model (TTM, Prochaska & DiClemente, 1982; Prochaska & Velicer, 1997) are described in the context of effectively matching clients in substance abuse therapy to interventions that may include physical activity. Finally, important practical suggestions for implementing physical activity as a useful adjunct to substance abuse treatment are provided.


2 6 erpes zoster (HZ), commonly known as shingles, negatively impacts older adults' activities of daily living mainly due to the high level of pain and discomfort it causes. The associated acute pain and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) diminish physical functioning, interfere with sleep, lower energy, and impair mental health. Moreover, HZ impacts quality of life for many older adults who already live with the following chronic conditions: arthritis, depression, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, chronic kidney disease, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and neurologic disorders. NPs must be aware of special considerations for medication safety when managing the care of older adults with HZ. Age-related changes of the body, such as decreased kidney function and creatinine clearance (CrCl), can impact the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of antiviral and pain medications, which can lead to potential adverse events. Older adults generally live with one or more chronic conditions and are prescribed multiple medications, both prescription and over the counter (OTC). Thirty-nine percent of adults age 65 and older take fi ve or more prescription medications, and up to 90% take OTC drugs. Polypharmacy, defi ned as taking more than fi ve medications concurrently, increases the risk of drug interactions and is therefore a concern for medication safety. Additional medications, such as those for HZ management, may be the "tipping point" that results in hospitalization.


In 1960 s and 1970 s,London undergone a large scale of outward movement of population. The movement can be divided into two stages:suburbanization and deurbanization. In the process of suburbanization,in order to deal with the shortage of educational resources in suburb and the conflict on education administering authority,British government formulate appropriate land planning for schools,and issued London Government Act1963 to relocate the educational authority. In the process of deurbanization,facing severe educational difficulties in inner city,British government promoted educational equality by supporting Education Priority Areas Scheme,and then issued Policy for Inner Cities to emphasize the role of local government and strengthen the relationship between schools and the society. The solutions adopted by British government are valuable references for Chinese metropolis which are undergoing the process of outward movement of population.


The extracts from Pogostemon cablin(Blanco) Benth. with ethanol, ether and aqueous were used as antimicrobial agents in this paper. The antimicrobial characters of the three extracts were studied. The results revealed that the order of antimicrobial activity was as follows: ether extracts ethanol extracts aqueous extracts. The three extracts could effectively inhibit the growth of Rhizopus nigricans, but not obviously to Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Aspergillus niger and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. All the extracts could be effective from pH 4 to pH 9. Both the extracts with ethanol and ether had very good heating stability when temperature was from 60 ℃ to 100 ℃ , while aqueous ones were unstable. Food preservation experiments showed that antimicrobial effects of extracts were obvious. The extracts could sustain the content of water, Vc and soluble solid substance of the tested food, and the antimicrobial rates were almost over 80%.


Ethics is an essential dimension of obstetrics and gynaecology and helps balance beneficence and autonomy-based obligations with professional conscience ensuring respect for the pregnant woman's autonomy. The Law defines what can be offered in our country and guides the obstetrician as well as the parents. In South Africa termination of pregnancy is legal. A woman can request termination of her pregnancy up until 12weeks if she chooses so. The South African law allows termination of a pregnancy up to 20weeks and beyond 20weeks if there are significant reasons for this to be requested or offered. The question of what foetal abnormalities are considered significant and therefore should be considered for termination has led to ongoing discussions and debates in various levels of medical and legal societies. The obstetrician has the right to exercise his or her own autonomy in dealing with these situations. Exercise of autonomy by a patient cannot justifiably oblige a physician to act in a way that is unacceptable as a matter of his/her individual conscience. Citing case laws, the Courts in the country are asked to decide on "wrongful birth"- which would require a Court to determine whether a child should have been born. The South African Constitutional Court in a recent ruling determined that "this goes to the heart of what it is to be human, something that should not be asked of the law". Medical and legal societies need to work together and help guide our doctors, our patients and society as to what is ethical and acceptable practice in complex situations where children's genetic and structural abnormalities alone perhaps should not decide their entire destiny.


This paper presents the effects that occur on the reflection coefficient, VSWR, dimensions and bandwidth of a half-wave dipole antenna when the resonant frequencies vary. To achieve the objectives for reflection coefficient (less than - 10dB) and VSWR (between 1 and 1.5), it was necessary adjust the antenna dimensions, highlighting the most important gaps in length of poles and length of substrate, obtaining gaps varying from 2000% to 8000% respectfully to the mathematical models. Finally, with a test in substrate, we found that using a different material than air, we achieved an increase of bandwidth for each model in each frequency, this increase was three times superior in comparison with the antennas that used air as substrate.


In this study we present an unprecedented comprehensive overview of cases of infanticide in the region of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, from the end of the 16th century to the middle of the 19th century. Using the Faculty of Law's verdict files stored in the University of Rostock's archives, we analysed and evaluated 362 cases. Changes in the prosecution of this crime, in the way the trials were conducted and in the passing of sentences illustrate the judicial conceptions of the academics, as well as being of great social interest. For the almost exclusively female defendants, behavioural patterns occurred repeatedly: shame, confusion and hopelessness triggered concealment of the pregnancy and ultimately the deliberate or negligent killing of the newborn child.


This article is the discrete conterpart of certain results obtained by Roynette-Vallois-Yor for the Brownian motion. Let us consider a probability measure P under which the chain (Xn,n>=0) is the symmetric random walk. We penalize this random walk by a function of its maximum (resp. its local time, length of its excursions). We obtain a new probability measure Q and we study the law of (Xn,n>=0) under this new probability.


For the first time, vertical fluxes of mineral dust measured by Eddy Covariance in two desert sites of Northern Asia have been used to test the performances of a wind erosion model in the field. Soil parameters required by the model were obtained through field and laboratory determinations. Model predictions and direct measurements have been compared. The main finding was that the direction of the horizontal wind relative to the orientation of nebkhas played a crucial role in determining the emission of particles in one of the investigated sites. Being unable to simulate such interaction, the model generally overestimated the actual emission. It provided, instead, reliable predictions (r2 = 0·87) when the wind direction was suitable in detaching loose erodible elements placed on nebkhas thanks to their normal orientation. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


A compact square patch antenna is studied with different feeding techniques. The proposed antenna operates at band of 2.4 GHz for the application of WLAN. Simulation results evaluated in term of return loss, bandwidth, radiation pattern, directivity, gain and axial ratio. Gain of the proposed antennas is 3.28 dB for trimmed square patch and 2.4 dB for inset feed antenna and 2.8 dB for centre feed antenna.


The Niger Delta Basin situated in the Gulf or Guinea, has been penetrated by Soso and Kay 1 well in the western axis. A combined element and organic geochemistry was done to define source rock potential, organic Matter Type, conditions at deposition and their relationship with sediment provenance, Paleoenvironment and tectonic settings.Core samples were collected from 'Soso and Kay 1 Wells' in western Niger Delta (Nigeria) and were subjected to lithological description so as to establish their lithologic characteristics and profile. The core samples, comprising shales, silty-sands, silty-shales, sandy-shale, coal samples and silt sample, were analysed for major, trace and rare earth element using ICP-MS and selected shale samples were also subjected to Rock Eval Pyrolysis and TOC. The results for the major oxides composition revealed that the SiO 2 ranges from 57.4-89.04 wt. %, with an average of 72.5wt. %. The average concentration of TiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , Fe 2 O 3 and MgO are 0.94 wt. %, 10.55wt.%, 5.38wt.% and 0.51wt.% respectively. The Discriminant Function Diagram showed that the sediments were deposited in an Active Continental Margin (ACM). The plots of Log (K 2 O/Na 2 O) against SiO 2 further confirmed deposition in ACM setting. Further Discriminant Function plots showed a mixed provenance of Intermediate Igneous Provenance and Mafic Field, while the lignite bearing sediments plots within the Quartzo-sedimentary province. The A-K-F ternary diagram indicates deposition in a transitional environment. The Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA) values ranges from 25.51 – 91.9 % while the Chemical Index of Weathering (CIW) ranges from 38.36 – 98.4 %. The Plagioclase Index of Alteration (PIA) ranges from 1.38 - 98.2% while the Ruxton Ratio (RR) ranges from 2.9 – 39 %. These values indicate that the samples had suffered low to moderate chemical alterations. The Chondrite normalised REE pattern showed a high LREE, a flat HREE and a negative Eu anomaly averages 0.89. This confirmed an ACM setting as it is diagnostic of a mixed provenance. Trace element proxies; V/Ni (2.17 and 2.68), V/Cr (0.57 and 1.01), Ni/Co (2.1 and 2.66) and V/ (V+Ni) (0.68 and 0.72) for Soso and Kay 1 wells respectively indicates an oxic to dysoxic conditions at deposition.The results revealed that the sediments were derived from a mixed provenance and were deposited within the ACM in a transitional environment amidst oxic to dysoxic depositional conditions yielding a Type II/III and Type III organic matter. Keywords : Provenance, Tectonic Settings, Discriminant Function diagram.


Background Ventral hernia such as paraumbilical and epigastric hernias are among the most common surgical problems as well as the most common surgical operations performed worldwide. The two operative techniques most frequently used in the case of ventral hernia are the onlay and sublay repairs. However, it remains unclear which technique of repair is superior. Objective The aim was to compare between two techniques of mesh placement in uncomplicated ventral hernias, onlay (mesh on external oblique) vs sublay (mesh in the retromuscular space). The patients included were evaluated for operating time, postoperative seroma formation, wound infection, drain duration, and postoperative hospital stay. Patients and methods Fifty adult patients with uncomplicated ventral hernia were included in this study and were managed at the Al-Azhar University Hospitals. The patients were divided randomly into two groups according to the surgical technique used for the repair, without any specific criteria used in selection for any technique as follows: Group A underwent onlay mesh repair and group B had sublay mesh repair. Results The mean operative time in patients treated with onlay mesh repair was 84.537±12.472 min (75–90) and in patients treated with sublay mesh repair was 93.438±15.536 min (80–100). As regards the drainage time, the mean total time in days was 7.532±2.472 days in onlay repair while in sublay group it was 4.153±1.251 days. Seroma formation after suction drain removal was observed in 12% patients in group A and in 4% in group B. Purulent wound infection was observed in 16 and 4% patients in group A and group B, respectively, and treated with dressing and proper antibiotic according to culture tests. Conclusion Sublay (retromuscular) mesh repair is a good alternative to onlay mesh repairs, and the authors suggest carrying out more trials on the retromuscular mesh repair technique to include a bigger number of cases and a longer period of follow-up.


Using data from a project in which Auxiliary Nurse Midwives collected birth and death data from a Primary Health Care Centre (in the Sultanpur District of Uttar Pradesh) for 1 year -- August 1974 through July 1975 -- the relationship between infant mortality and fertility was examined. The population surveyed was 14751. During the period the crude birth rate was about 43 and the death rate about 16 per 1000 population. Infant mortality was 159 per 1000 live births. To study the effect of infant mortality on subsequent fertility the interval between 2 successive births was analyzed. The duration of survival of a newborn infant was shown to influence the interval of the next birth. When a child dies after reaching its 1st birthday the next birth takes place on an average after 25 months. If a child dies during its 1st year the next birth occurs after 18 months. The difference in birth intervals for those who had experienced an infant death and those who had not was highly significant. The authors conclude that the analysis revealed that infant mortality reduces the interval of the next birth considerably and more so when a male infant dies. Infant death results in higher fertility irrespective of the parity or age of mother proportion of children surviving type of family and caste of the couple.


Phosphocholine 2, 6‐xylyl ether bromide [PPP‐trimethyl‐2‐(2, 6‐xylyloxy)ethylphosphonium bromide], has been synthesized by reacting 2‐(2, 6‐xylyloxy)ethyl bromide with a solution of trimethyl‐phosphine in phenol, but ethylenebis(trimethylphosphonium bromide), 1, 2‐di(2, 6‐xylyloxy)ethane and 2, 6‐xylenol were the only reaction products identified when ether was used as solvent. The 2JPH and 3JPH coupling constants for these phosphonium salts have been determined. Although the phosphocholine xylyl ether blocks the Finkleman preparation in concentrations of 2–3 × 10−5 g/ml, this blockade does not have all the characteristics of the adrenergic neuron blockade produced by xylocholine.


We classify all possible extensions of a valuation from a ground field K to a rational function field in one or several variables over K. We determine which value groups and residue fields can appear, and we show how to construct extensions having these value groups and residue fields. In particular, we give several constructions of extensions whose corresponding value group and residue field extensions are not finitely generated. In the case of a rational function field K(x) in one variable, we consider the relative algebraic closure of K in the henselization of K(x) with respect to the given extension, and we show that this can be any countably generated separable-algebraic extension of K. In the tame case, we show how to determine this relative algebraic closure. Finally, we apply our methods to power series fields and the p-adics.


Abstract Candida rugosa lipase was immobilized on the activated nylon-6 membrane using 0.5% glutaraldehyde as cross-linking agent. The immobilized lipase had an improved temperature and pH stability and exhibited good reusability. The adsorption process followed pseudo-second order rate equation and the biosorption isotherms correlated well with the Langmuir isotherm model. Negative ΔG indicated the adsorption process was spontaneous and the positive ΔH indicated that the adsorption was endothermic. The standard entropy ΔS value was also positive, which suggested an increase in the freedom of the system.


If a company has free cash flow(abbr.FCF),the management may h ave such behaviors as excessive job consumption,over-investment,or idled cash.These kinds of opportunistic behaviors of the management may result in loss of shareholders' wealth,and that is called the agency costs of FCF.According to American financial scientist Jensen's idea,this paper develops a new method to measure FCF and conducts an empirical test by making use of the panel data of China's 775 listed companies.The results indicate that the idled funds,over-investment and discretionary expenditure have an obvious positive relation with FCF.More FCF means more agency costs,therefore,FCF must be kept under control.


Based on the idea of decreasing cylinder wall wetting and improving mixture distribution, a multi-pulse injection system was developed on a PC. Through reliability and anti-jamming designing of the hardware and the combination PC interruption, DMA with EMS memory extending technique in the software, the pulse width, dwell time and the number of multi-pulse injection could be adjusted individually and flexibly in real time. Through varying electronic control signals such as pulse width and dwell time for each individual pulse, the so-called staggered mode (SM) and hump mode (HM) with four pulses were designed. The experimental results showed that HCCI combustion was sensitive to injection mode. At injection starting timing of 90°CA BTDC, the equivalent indicated mean effective pressure of HM was 6.43 kPa/mg, (28.6)% higher than that of SM, where NO_x emissions were 0.16 g/(kW·h) (7×10~(-6)) and smoke emission was 0.5 BSU.


Urticarial vasculitis and connective tissue diseases p 743 Urticarial vasculitis is often associated with arthralgia and is most commonly seen in relation to connective tissue disease complicating systemic lupus erythematosus. Histopathologically it is a leucocytoclastic vasculitis and it may occur by itself without any apparent evidence of any connective tissue disorder connection. It is notoriously difficult to treat, though the useofmonoclonalantibody looks promising.


Rich in natural oil and gas resources, the South China Sea region is one of the busiest shipping zones in the world. This area has been claimed by China as its sovereign territory, prompting protests from Vietnam and the Philippines, among others. This makes this region extremely conflict-prone. The existence of this possible war has prompted the United States to compete with China for influence in this region, rather than remaining mute. The United States, Britain, and Australia created the AUKUS Security Treaty to increase their power. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assess the AUKUS security treaty for the South China Sea region. This study employs a qualitative methodology with descriptive techniques. Geopolitical dynamics have resulted in competition for supremacy in the South China Sea Region, according to the findings of this study. This has an effect on the region's security vulnerabilities. The formation of the AUKUS Pact was motivated by the need to reduce Chinese dominance in the South China Sea region. The inability of countries in the South China Sea region to sustain security stability in the region is a result of their contradictory traits. The author says that countries in the South China Sea region, particularly ASEAN members, have two options for sustaining security stability in the region: power balancing or diminishing China's dominance by backing the AUKUS Pact.


Antimicrobial prophylaxis for children who have frequently recurring, severe episodes of acute otitis media appears to constitute a reasonable management option, even though it is not yet clear whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and risks. It remains for well-designed and well-executed studies that extend over relatively long periods to indicate whether this approach to management is the best of the available options, and if so, which of the available drugs is preferable.


Objective: this paper describes how university students argue functionally and causally about an ecosystem, using the Structure, Behavior and Function models. Method: a descriptive transversal design has been used with a mixed model of concurrent triangulation. Simultaneously, qualitative and quantitative data have been gathered and analyzed in order to compare and integrate them. From intentional sampling with college students (n=60), four groups have been formed: biology students, and natural sciences and environmental education students. They have been divided into four equal groups according to their studies and to the condition of having completed or not during year 2018 the two mandatory subjects related to ecology. They answered interview questions about ecosystems and resolved a situation problem raised in a bioterium affected by anthropogenic activities and contaminating residues. Results: we found differences attributable to the level of expertise between biology students that studied ecology, who understood the ecosystem from the dynamic interdependence of structure and functions, and other groups, who emphasized structural components with greater perceptual salience. Conclusions and discussion: although most students understand the causal and functional relationships of the ecosystem, there are some biases in the conceptual construction, which can be explained from the incorrect recognition of the cause and the establishment of causal relationships.


The concerns for the achievement of a unique European codification in civil law are numerous and raise several questions on the future identity of the European private law. Many theories have been written about ius commune but one thing is sure: there is something like a legal common heritage in Europe. European states have, however, choosen to follow their own path during the era of codifactions (19th century) thus leading to the well known diversity of legal cultures in Europe. But today, thanks to an increased importance of the discipline of comparative law and thanks to the European Union, efforts are made again in order to converge european legal systems. The author gives an overview of the following questions: (1) Does the European Union have the legal powers to harmonize private law (2) If, and to what extent, such a harmonization is useful and(3) by which methods of harmonization it can be achieved. The conclusion insists on the necessity of a better understanding of comparative law and of the diversity of european legal cultures, before heading towards a massive harmonization of European private law.


The semi-arid regions of the world are marked by socio-economic disparities and environmental vulnerabilities. Water managers in river basins are faced with several challenges, such as competition among different water user groups, local over-exploitation of aquifers, climate and land use changes, non-source pollution, erosion, and sedimentation. Water policy makers have to work out strategies for integrated water management, which rely on a proper knowledge based on the physical conditions encountered in the river basins. The intensification of the land use change implies a necessity of a better knowledge of the water use and food production to improve crop water productivity for rational water resources planning. This paper presents an overview of the key concepts involved in water productivity analyses from field to regional scales in areas with quick land use change, with some examples in the semi-arid region in the Northeast Brazil. It is emphasized the use of tools for estimating spatially distributed water related variables to describe the water cycle in irrigated agriculture under semi-arid conditions. Moreover, they can be operationally implemented to monitor the intensification of agriculture avoiding the adverse impact on downstream water users. Conclusions and recommendations are given to improve the evaluation of irrigation in large areas in terms of crop water productivity and their impacts on water resources, by the intensification of irrigated agriculture in semi-arid regions.


Operational alpha counting characteristics have been obtained for a point-plane counter in air working in the corona-streamer mode. Hemispherically capped wires and rods were used as anodes having diameters 1.0 mm - 3.5 mm and spaced 0.6 cm - 2.0 cm from a flat polished tungsten cathode.


Both rabbinic and kabbalistic Judaism and gnostic and orthodox Christianities propose some version of resurrection. While these are not always resurrections of the body, bodily resurrection is the focus of this chapter. All versions of bodily resurrection find some evidence for its necessity in the process of creation. Following an overview of this evidence, the chapter lays out three versions of corporeal resurrection: imminent resurrection (as found in gnostic texts), multiple incarnations leading to a final, perfect restoration of the cosmos (particularly in Origen's apokatastasis and in some Kabbalists), and a single resurrection of body-and-soul (in orthodox Christianity and many rabbinic sources). In different ways, each turns out to make the distinction between the material of an ensouled human body and the material of the world in general an impossible one. A final section turns to the role of beauty, which characterizes risen bodies in all of these versions, and draws on interpretations of Nietzsche's eternal recurrence to suggest that the knowledge of time as well as space has to become very different in order to read the world as the kind of material interchange that creates such beauty.


A one chip bipolar amplitude modulator/ demodulator used as the backbone for a biphone carrier system is presented. Among its most specific features we mention its low power dissipation and few external components due to switched DC coupling, wide range and bias insensitive automatic gain control, very low carrier intermodulation.


Although the diagnosis of thyroid associated ophthalmopathy(TAO) is primarily based on laboratory tests indicative of thyroid dysfunction and autoimmunity, imaging studies, such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound and color Doppler imaging, play an important role both in the diagnosis and follow-up after medical or surgical treatment of the disease. Imaging studies can be used to evaluate morphological abnormalities of the orbital structures during the diagnostic workup when a differential diagnosis versus other orbital diseases is needed. Imaging may also be useful to distinguish the inflammatory early stage from the inactive stage of the disease. Finally, imaging studies can be of great help in identifying patients prone to developing dysthyroid optic neuropathy and therefore enabling the timely diagnosis and treatment of the condition, avoiding permanent visual loss.


Note: Proc. 1986 Sherwood Theory Conference, Princeton, U.S.A., April 1986, p. 1D-17 Reference CRPP-CONF-1986-029 Record created on 2008-05-13, modified on 2017-05-12


The invention discloses a method of using mesh bags for leech aquaculture in lakes. The method is characterized by including steps: setting a plurality of bamboo poles in a row at wide places of lakes, using polyethylene steel ropes for connection of the bamboo poles, and hanging leech aquaculture mesh bags under the polyethylene steel ropes; putting 150-200 leech larva of 5g into the mesh bags while putting fresh snail larva of 5-8jin, then tying upper openings of the mesh bag, hanging the mesh bags on the polyethylene steel ropes between the bamboo poles, and conducting snail replacement every 6-8 days. By means of the aquaculture method, quality of leech growing in the lakes with high-quality water environments is improved, and when leeches are harvested at the end of October after five-month aquaculture, fresh leech yield of each mesh bag is 8-12jin and equivalent to dried leeches of 1.2-1.8jin. Aquaculture benefit is remarkable while pollution of the water environments of the lakes is avoided.