RELIABILITY THEORY AS APPLIED TO ESTIMATION IN CONVERGING VERSUS NON-CONVERGING FLOW FIELDS S. SILLIMAN, D. SCHMUCKER, E. SACK & B. SPENCER Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 4 6556 USA ABSTRACT Reliability theory and Monte Carlo simulation are utilized to investigate the influence of hydraulic heterogeneity on the distribution of hydraulic head in converging and non-converging flow fields. Sensitivities determined for the non-converging flow field did not show consistent dependence on conductivity in any specific region of the medium. Sensitivity in the converging flow fields was' consistently concentrated near the center of the radial coordinate system. Analysis of the limit state surface for a non-converging flow field led to the identification of non-linearities near the design point. These non-linearities may limit the application of reliability theory in one-dimensional and/or converging flow fields. Projected extensions of this work include analysis of transmissivity estimates from pump tests and analysis of chemical tracer tests. INTRODUCTION Investigations of variability in groundwater flow and transport have typically focused on heterogeneity in the hydraulic conductivity (Silliman & Wright, 1988; Dagan, 1986; Wheatcraft ftt sX., 1988). These investigations have provided important insight into the effective hydraulic conductivity (Dagan, 1981), deviations from classical transport theories (Matheron & DeMarsily, 1979) and sensitivity to aquifer parameters (Sitar e_L a_l., 1987) . In most of these investigations, concern has been focused on flow through random conductivity fields in which the regionally averaged flow is nonconverging and parallel to a principal direction in the Cartesian coordinate system. While such analysis is critical to the evaluation of regional flow and transport, it may not be entirely appropriate for consideration of converging flow through heterogeneous fields. Such fields are important, for example, in analysis of classic field test procedures (e.g. single or cross hole pump tests and converging flow tracer tests) and in the prediction of fluid flow and chemical transport in the vicinity of a well field. In the present paper, Monte Carlo simulation and the first order reliability method (FORM) are utilized to


A recent development in technology is the Internet of Things (IoT). This is seen to bean integrated part of Future Internet and maybe defined as; a dynamic global network infrastructure with self-configuring capabilities based on standard and interoperable communication protocols. In this paper, we forecast research trends expressed by the amount of research papers published in the digital libraries. GM (1, 1) model is used to predict the number of future research papers based on the previous years' summary. From the results we analyse the research popularity as well as to find out how GM (1, 1) deals with uncertain data sequence. The result shows that in the future, the interest of researchers in this field increase.


Purpose To investigate the diagnostic value of MRI features combined with expression of Ki-67 and VEGF and to assess the molecule biology characteristics of endometrial tumor. Materials and Methods Preoperative MRI scan of 56 patients with pathology confirmed endometrial cancer were retrospective analyzed. The expression of Ki-67 and VEGF of 56 endometrial carcinomas was detrmined using immunohistochemistry sp method. Results 53 of 56 cases were diagnosed as endometrial carcinoma by MRI with sensitivity of 94.6%. The accuracy for stage Ⅰ cancer was 73.5%, stage Ⅱ 88.2%, stage Ⅲ 100%. VEGF expression index were: normal endometrium 2.75±1.04, Stage I: 12.99±3.48, stage Ⅱ: 20.12±5.08, stage Ⅲ: 37.13±7.23. Ki-67 expression index were: normal endometrium 6.74±2.67; stage Ⅰ: 18.32±5.28, stage Ⅱ: 36.41±8.06, stage Ⅲ: 48.75±9.04. There was positive correlation between the expression of VEGF, Ki-67 and the stage on MRI. Correlation coefficients were 0.772 and 0.823 respectively (P=0.001). Conclusion MRI is valuable to estimate preoperative staging of endometrial carcinoma. Combined with Ki-67 and VEGF expression, it helps determine clinical treatment plan.


Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of pramipexole in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Methods A total of 208 Parkinson's patients with wearing off participated in a multi-center, 12-week randomized, bromocriptine-controlled, double blind, doubledummy and parallel-group trial. The efficacy of pramipexole was assessed according to the patient's diary card and using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating


Summary The aim of this study is to exhibit the presence of Capnocytophaga species in Turkey and to determine the regional risks of these bacteria for the people in dogs. Totally 200 oral swab samples were taken from owned dogs which have had dental plaque problems. The diagnosis of Capnocytophaga infections were done by PCR using CaL2, AS1, CaR and CyR gene sequence primers. The first PCR was carried out to samples using by CaL2 and AS1 primers and results were estimated as Capnocytophaga species. The second PCR was applied to samples using CaR and CyR reverse primers and results were also interpreted as being Capnocytophaga canimorsus and Capnocytophaga cynodegmi. At the end of the first PCR, Capnocytophaga spp. was detected from 11 (5.5%) out of 200 samples. CaR and CyR gene were investigated in samples which were detected as Capnocytophaga spp. It was determined that 2 (18.2%) of the samples were positive for CaR gene which were identified as C. canimorsus and 9 (81.8%) of the samples were positive for both CaR and CyR gene which were identified as C. canimorsus and C. cynodegmi. C. canimorsus and C. cynodegmi species are concluded for generating risk for human health and due to the lacking of information about the disease it was also difficult to diagnosis these agents.


Requirements of a Software Product Line (SPL) are usu- ally captured in the form of a feature model, which rep- resents the product line variation model, but this model lets several requirements details aside, such as the specifi- cation of functional and non-funcional requirements. Due to the crosscutting nature of SPL variations, researchers are using aspect-oriented techniques, to deal with such crosscutting concerns. In this context, the sooner these aspects can be identified the better, influencing the SPL and products architecture upfront. In this work we pro- pose a Product Line extension to an aspect-oriented in- tentional model. The extended model provides both vari- ability information and requirements details, promoting a natural blending of SPL and aspect-oriented architec- tural abstractions. We present the mapping between the SPL and the modeling approach abstractions and discuss two development scenarios: starting with a plain feature model and generating the extended aspect-oriented inten- tional model and the opposite approach.


Thereisnodoubtthat current antirheumatic drugs arebetter thanplacebos inprospective placebo controlled clinical trials inrheumatoid arthritis (RA).Thishasbeenshownfornon-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs andslowacting antirheumatic drugs.1 Studies ofthenatural history oftreated RA inpatients seeninspecialist clinics andfollowed up for10-20 years24 show, however, that thedisease causes excessive mortality andsignificant morbidity. Whatisthebest treatment plan? Insomeclinical situations itiseasytoevaluate thebest approaches tomanagement; forexample, patients withaserious headinjury either liveordie,5 6andtreatment policies which influence outcome canbedeveloped using this. Theability todivide patients withRA intotherapeutic successes orfailures isanequally important prerequisite forevaluating rheumatological treatment. A classification ofresponse to treatment isuseful bothinassessment within clinical trials andinindividual patient management. A consensus meeting washeldatStBartholomew's Hospital toconsider whichmeasures should beusedandhowmuchweight should be attached tothem. Themeeting involved 15rheumatological workers fromninecentres withspecial interests intheareaofdisease assessment andtook theformofanextended roundtable discussion to achieve areconciled assessment ofopinion: atrue


There is a growing interest in elucidating the mechanisms that govern atherosclerotic plaque instability, which has so far highlighted the role of dysregulations in lipid, carbohydrate, and amino acid metabolism. However, where these impairments occur in a plaque has yet to be revealed. This is critically important because lipid deposition, cell composition, and matrix stiffness are heterogeneous throughout human atheromas, particularly in regions of the fibrous cap and near the necrotic core. Furthermore, lesional cells are constantly bombarded with various intrinsic and extrinsic metabolic insults that influence cell phenotype. Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a powerful technology for the visualization of the spatial localization and relative abundance of hundreds to thousands of analytes in thin tissue sections without the need for
 a priori
 knowledge of analytes present in the tissue. Imaging is performed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) to interrogate small areas from a tissue surface after the addition of a chemical matrix to the section which serves to extract, co-crystallize, and ionize molecules from the sample. In the present study, we performed MSI of late-stage, stable and vulnerable human atherosclerotic plaques using MALDI-MSI to visualize the distribution of metabolites in the fibrous cap and necrotic core. This platform was able to identify 856 metabolites assigned with chemical formulas. We were then able to confidently annotate 189 metabolites using a data filtering system whereby we queried detected and quantified metabolites from the Human Metabolome Database (HMDB). Coupled with RNAseq examining human stable and unstable atheromas, we identified differences in pathways related to nitric oxide metabolism, collagen catabolism, arginine metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, lipid metabolism, and reactive oxygen species. This work represents the first study to begin defining an atlas of metabolic pathways involved in plaque destabilization in human atherosclerosis. We anticipate this work will be a valuable resource for the scientific community and will ultimately open new avenues of research in cardiovascular disease.


We have grown In0.25Ga0.75N films on nearly lattice-matched ZnO (0001¯) substrates with atomically flat surfaces at low substrate temperatures using pulsed laser deposition. We have found that InGaN having a stepped and terraced structure on its surface grows at low substrate temperatures. We have also found that InGaN grows in the layer-by-layer mode, even at room temperature (RT), while maintaining straight steps and atomically flat terraces from the first monolayer. This phenomenon exhibits a singular contrast to the case of RT epitaxy of GaN on ZnO, where a considerable number of defects are observed on the stepped structure of the first several layers. This difference can be attributed to a smaller lattice mismatch between InGaN and ZnO.


It is shown that a recent analysis of pion photoproduction is inconsistent with the fundamental requirements of current conservation. For a monopole vertex function, the analysis should lead to a value \ensuremath{\Lambda}\ensuremath{\simeq}680 MeV rather than 1000 MeV as claimed.


Roadside habitats are the micro-level habitat which are formed by fragmentation of large habitat, some time it is developed by human effort. Most studies have focused on individual and population level effects of road edge. This study focused on species variation, composition, richness and their functional alteration in proximity to roads. Twelve roads are selected and survey is carried out upto ten meters (10) distance at the both side of the roads. Measurement of soil characteristics, infiltration rate, species composition and ecological significance are established depending on which micro-zones are delineated. The study has been based on entirely primary field survey.


In this paper, we consider different types of wireless networks that benefit from—and, in certain cases, require—self-organization. Taking mobile ad hoc, wireless sensor, wireless mesh, and delay-tolerant networks as examples of Wireless Self-Organizing Networks (WSONs), we identify that common challenges these networks face are mainly due to lack of centralized management, device heterogeneity, unreliable wireless communication, mobility, resource constraints, or the need to support different traffic types. In this context, we survey several adaptive services proposed to handle these challenges. In particular, we group the adaptive services as core services and network-level services. By categorizing different types of services that handle adaptation and the types of adaptations, we intend to provide useful design guidelines for achieving self-organizing behavior in network protocols. Finally, we discuss open research problems to encourage the design of novel protocols for WSONs.


Guide to resources in support of the music classes at LSC-University Park. Suggested resources for locating scores and sheet music, as well some selected ebooks from our digital collection.


This issue of the Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease contains two excellent reviews. Denver and MiddlemisMayer discuss developmental plasticity while Gilman reviews the critical aspects of early infancy. Our original articles focus on human cohorts, examining prenatal environmental exposures, interleukins, size at birth, prematurity and postnatal growth, on outcomes including pancreatic function, adult phenotype, offspring intelligence and blood pressure.


South Australia was the least Irish part of nineteenth-century Australia. Proportionately fewer Irish arrived at Port Adelaide than at the other great immigrant ports of the southern continent. They also came later: relatively few Irish participated in the first dozen years of colonisation in South Australia after its inception in 1836. In contrast with other parts of Australia the Irish were slow to reach a tenth and never reached a third of the colonial population. They were not in South Australia 'a founding people'. They were indeed conspicuously a minority which faced the established and unquestioned primacy of Anglo-Scottish colonisation. South Australia was overwhelmingly English in its origins. From the beginning it was virtually a fragment of southern England, a Home Counties colony expressly designed for superior expatriates. It was also heavily advertised as a haven for Protestant dissenters. The first Catholic priest in South Australia, William Benson, was hardly exaggerating when he described it in 1843 as 'a little dissenting colony, exclusively Protestant evangelical'. He went further, saying that 'when this colony was established no Catholic gentlemen of property were allowed to join the founders' — implying thereby that the planners deliberately discouraged Irish participation. Only when the colonial population reached 14,000, asserted Benson, did 'our late evangelical governors' feel confident enough to permit a minority of Catholics reasonable and equal entry. Another Catholic Irishman, Major Thomas O'Halloran, also claimed that the early colonial planners had been anti-Irish, wishing to restrict their numbers to less than 5 per cent of the colonial population. It is little wonder that South Australia seemed, in Irish eyes, the most alien quarter of the new continent.


The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) was created in 1998, nine months before the start of the actual Parliament. The centre came as an answer to the operational needs and working methods of the Parliament. The SPICe staff regard themselves as information brookers and consist of two teams: research specialists and information specialists. They can rely on a network of 52 scientists who provide expert information free of charge; and they have developed a Partner Library Network with public libraries in each constituency This approach garantuees that SPICe considerably adds value to its Parliament.


Intensive development of small businesses in rural areas is one of the priority directions of state policy in the field of sustainable development of the agrarian economy and rural areas. At the same time, the level of professional legal awareness and entrepreneurial thinking among farmers largely determines the effectiveness of small agricultural formations. This level depends on many factors, including the availability of knowledge of taxation issues, the ability to competently maintain accounting records, observing the requirement of rationality, the ability to navigate the regulations governing this organizational form of doing business. The article discusses the procedure for the formation and features of the presentation of reporting forms of activity of peasant (farmer) farms taking into account various factors of activity, since it is this area that underlies the construction of the entire system of accounting and analytical work.


Abstract A neutron multigroup transport equation in x-y-z geometry is solved by the spherical harmonics method using finite Fourier transformation. Using the first term of the Fourier series for the space variables of spherical harmonics moments, three-point finite difference like equations are derived for X-, y- and z-axis directions, which are more consistent and accurate than those derived using the usual finite difference approximation, and these equations are solved by the iteration method in each axis direction alternatively. A method to find an optimum acceleration factor for this inner iteration is described. It is shown in the numerical examples that the present method gives higher accuracy with less mesh points that the usual finite difference method.


INTRODUCTION: SOME POINTS OF METHODOLOGY Sometimes a text or inscription contains without comment a usage that there is reason to assign to a region. Its regional character may be deducible from various types of evidence. First, it may be discussed as a regionalism by another writer. Second, its distribution in extant Latin may suggest that it was localised. Third, in the Romance languages its reflexes may have a restricted distribution corresponding to its distribution in Latin texts. Sometimes the origin of the writer of the text may be known: if a usage associated with Gaul is found in a text written by someone known to have been Gallic it may be obvious that the writer had picked it up in his patria . If on the other hand there is no external evidence for the writer's origin, the usage, or, better, a cluster of such usages, may suggest either that he was a native of a certain area, or that he wrote the text in that area and drew on the local variety of the language. But this is an idealised picture. It has in practice proved difficult to pin down the geographical origin of late texts. E. Lofstedt made the point thus (1959: 42): 'To assign any text to a particular province on linguistic grounds has in most cases been found impossible, and at the best is extremely difficult.'


The purpose of this paper is to survey recent developments and trends in the area of generalized information theory (GIT) and to discuss some of the issues of current interest in GIT regarding the measurement of uncertainty-based information for imprecise probabilities on finite crisp sets.


In this paper we introduce 3 examples of solutions for mountain refuges that are based on source separation and treatment of separated waste streams. Separation of wastewater streams (e.g. dry toilets) lowers the pressure on water supply and reduces the environmental impact of a refuge (Weissenbacher et al., 2008). The aim of the paper is not to give a full description of the examples but to provide the interested reader with basic information. As it can be seen from the examples reuse is not the reason to implement source separating systems. However, the reduction of transport costs was the main driver for all refuges.


In recent years, significant effort has been devoted to two different ways of modeling and representing ductile failure criterion: the first approach simply specifies a strain-to-failure as in the Johnson-Cook model, with some dependence on the stress triaxiality; the second approach combines the micromechanical void nucleation and growth models of the Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman type with a critical porosity for failure. We focus on these aspects of failure through multi-scale experiments that provide full-field measurements of strain and damage evolution. There is an impetus to define strain-to-failure as a material property, driven primarily by the need to use such a parameter in numerical simulations of structural reliability. The dilemma one must face immediately is that it is essential to include a length scale in constructing such a definition; perhaps one could hope that the strain-to-failure averaged over a certain gauge length, l, converges to some finite value in the limit of decreasing l to grain or sub-grain scales. Published handbook values carefully identify this gage length, but in the experimental mechanics literature, strain to failure is typically reported without identifying the gage length; such gage length might be implied by the diagnostic tool, but is seldom fine enough to track localized features that precede ductile failure. We explore this problem through multiscale measurements of strain in uniaxial tension tests on two different materials: oxygen-free, high-conductivity copper and Al 6061-T6 alloy. Specifically, the macro and microscale deformations are tracked using digital image correlation at the larger length scale and quantitative microscopy at the smaller length scales in order to obtain measures of the strain-to-failure at different scales – the scale of the specimen (l = 10 mm), the scale of the necking (l = 1 mm), the scale of localization (l = 0.1 mm), and the scale of the microstructure (l = 0.01 mm). Strains at the scale of the microstructure are shown to be significantly larger than averages over larger lengths, pointing to the need for special care in measuring and using strain-to-failure criteria in simulations. The second approach to ductile failure is based on homogenized micromodeling of the nucleation, growth and coalescence of voids; such voids are typically nucleated at second phase particles and other similar inclusions. We explore two types of materials: OFHC copper that has no void nucleating second phase particles and Al 6061-T6 that has a significant volume fraction of second phase particles. Specimens obtained through tests interrupted at various stages of deformation and failure evolution are examined through quantitative microscopy to measure the local strain fields, and to discern the mechanisms of deformation localization and failure. The formation of diffuse necking and shear localization, and the emergence of a single rectangular prismatic channel-like cavity, with its subsequent growth, remarkably, as a rectangular cavity are demonstrated in copper; furthermore, there appears to be no visible signs of damage even in regions where the triaxiality is quite high.


In developing the laser radar TV tracking system,pulsed laser ranging and circular gating goniometric have been comprised to measure the time series magnitude of inclined range,horizontal angle and pitch angle of falling target,which are relative to test point.The target image of corresponding time is also obtained by using synchronal TV tracking technology.According to its position with the center of the field,the central coordinates of the horizontal angle and pitch angle of gating code disc can be obtained,the missing distance date using interpolation method can be made up.At last though least squares techniques,the equation of target's moving locus can be obtained.Accordingly,the terminal velocity of any time of the target in the moving progress is early given.The laser radar TV tracking system has already been applied in terminal velocity measurement of non-localized object in field space,the velocity measurement accuracy is better than 0.5 m/s,and effective distance with typical target on standard weather condition is bigger than 8 km.


In this paper we apply certain results in the theory of univalent functions to investigate the time evolution of the free boundary of a viscous fluid for a planar flow problem in the Hele-Shaw cell model under injection. More precisely, we prove that the property of strongly Φ-likeness of order α ∈ (0, 1] (a geometric property which includes strongly starlikeness of order α and strongly spirallikeness of order α) remains invariant in time for two basic cases: the inner problem and the outer problem, under the assumption of zero surface tension. Special cases that are obtained by using numerical computations are also presented. MSC 2010. 30C45, 76D27.


In this paper, we discuss the impact of various child-centric Non-Governmental Organizations present in our city. This will help volunteers to choose better organizations for their efforts and at the same time provide a platform for the organizations to improve their mistakes. Over the past decade, many NGOs and social change organizations have mushroomed in India, but very few have expanded on the basis of scale and community impact. After all, scraping through red tapestry in government is a herculean task to be able to set up an NGO in the first place.


Historically, low representation of women participants in exercise science and physiology studies has led to a lack of understanding in the response of women to exercise and therapeutic interventions. We hypothesized (1) the number of women authors, participants and editorial board members increased over 30 years (1991-2021) and (2) larger representation of women as editors and authors is associated with more women participants. Gender (man/woman) of editorial board members (n=394), and authors (n=5,735) and participants (n=2,984,883) of 972 original research articles with human participants published in 1991 and 2021, were analyzed from three journals: Journal of Applied Physiology, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, and British Journal of Sports Medicine. Between 1991 to 2021, the average percent women per article as participants (21.9±31.7% vs 36.3±30.3% respectively, P<0.001), authors (16.4±22.4% vs 30.9±24.0%, P<0.001), and as editorial board members (13.3±5.4% vs 41.5±7.3%, P=0.006) increased. In 2021, the gender proportion of participants in large data sets were similar (50.2±20.2% women). However, studies with smaller data sets (i.e., <~3,000 participants) included less women (35.6±30.6%). Women participants (%) were less when the last author was a man rather than a woman in 1991 (19.9±29.5% vs 34.3±42.2%) and 2021 (31.6±27.7% vs 51.7±33.4%). In 2021, there was a positive correlation between author and participant gender (% women) (r=0.42, P<0.001). Our data suggest the low representation of women in exercise science and physiology research could be resolved with equitable numbers of women authors and editors and by encouraging men authors to study both women and men participants.


The heritagial fact phenomenon is constantly on the move. This evolution renews its stakes and its perspectives. Four chapters feed this problem. 1. "To Think the heritagial fact" is an essential pre requisite for any thinking. To suggest a definition of a concept of heritage devoid of ethnocentric drifts offers the interest of a better understanding and a better respect of the formal, cultural and historical display of the heritagial fact whether they are acknowledged or in search of recognition. But, the heritagial fact rests on the irrepressible aspect of the philosophies of the « devenir ». This limit refocuses the objectives of the intellectualization of the phenomenon on an approach of understanding a constantly moving human fact , and it to protect its natural evolution in societies. 2. The maintenance of cultural diversity illustrates the dynamics of complex heritage process : keeping a culture alive. The issue rallies networks of actors and institutions (unesco, state, region, association) which cannot cut themselves from a cyclic movement ranging from the intimate to the universal. 3. Subjected to the laws of the " devenir " and depending on the heritagial fact, the museum fact finds its balance between alteration, adaptation and resistance when confronted with the social evolutions of the 20th century. 4. The study of scientific heritage demonstrates that heritagial facts are not equal in their development. Some are more or less mature, constrained or hindered in their fulfilment. Thinking the " heritagial fact of knowledges " would be salutary. However, an open question still remains: can we, must we institutionalize the philosophies of the " devenir " ?


The strontium titanates SrTiO3, Sr2TiO4, Sr3Ti2O7 and Sr4Ti3O10 can be synthesized by a sol–gel method at low temperatures. The reaction between strontium acetate solution and titanium(IV) isopropoxide leads to the formation of strontium titanate gels. The gels can be converted to the strontium titanates by drying and calcination. The resulting ultrafine, phase-pure strontium titanate powders have a low impurity content. They are very sinter active above 1000 °C. The rate of densification (which considers the green densities at a given time and the theoretical densities of the titanates for the calculations) during the sintering of compacts increases as Sr2TiO4 < Sr3Ti2O7 < Sr4Ti3O10 < SrTiO3. The strontium titanate gels and the titanate powders were characterized by differential thermal analysis (DTA), thermal gravimetry (TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and chemical analysis.


Background: Photoacoustic imaging (PAI), a new imaging technique which can be integrating with ultrasound (US) imaging, has shown potential in visualizing small joints. We have developed a multimodal photoacoustic/ultrasound (PA/US) imaging system, equipped with a handheld probe, which can provide dual-wavelength PA/US imaging to identify the micro-vessels of the inflamed articular regions and measure the oxygenation level of human inflamed synovium. Objectives: To validate the potential value for RA of the imaging system. Methods: A total of 32 RA patients received PA/US examination on seven small joints (MCP2, MCP3, PIP2, PIP3, MTP2, MTP5, and wrist of the clinically dominant side). The 0-3 score was used to semi-quantify the PA and PD signals of the inflammatory articular lesions, and the sums of PA and PD scores (PA-sum and PD-sum) were utilized. The relative oxygen saturation (SO2) values of the inflamed regions were measured by calculating the ratio of PA signals at the wavelength of 750nm and 830nm. All the patients were classified to 3 PA+SO2 patterns (Pattern 1: no or minimal PA signals; Pattern 2: evident PA signals and hyperoxia; Pattern 3: evident PA signals and hypoxia). The correlations between imaging scores and laboratory data, as well as clinical scoring systems were assessed. Results: A total of 32 patients of RA were recruited aged from 25-71 years-old were examined. PD-sum had moderate correlation with the clinical scores (r=0.529, 0.546, 0.490, 0.493 for DAS28ESR, DAS28CRP, SDAI, CDAI), moderate correlations with TJC (r=0.575) and SJC (r=0.491), fair correlation with VAS (r=0.239), poor correlation with PGA (r=0.153), and moderate correlation with EGA (r=0.457). The PA-sum had substantial correlations with the clinical scores (r= 0.699, 0.746, 0.723, 0.736 for DAS28ESR, DAS28CRP, SDAI, CDAI), substantial correlations with TJC (r=0.787) and SJC (r=0.694), moderate correlations with VAS (r=0.544) and PGA (r=0.529), and substantial correlation with EGA (r=0.708). Ten patients were classified as Pattern 1, 12 as Pattern 2, 9 as Pattern 3. The PA+ SO2 patterns presented substantial correlations with the clinical scores (DAS28ESR r=0.690, DAS28CRP r=0.782, SDAI r=0.805, CDAI r=0.799, SJC r=647, TJC r=0.676, respectively), substantial correlation with VAS (r=0.714), and moderate correlation with PGA (r=0.476) and EGA (r=0.502). Significant differences between those who were classified as hypoxia and hyperoxia with evident PA signals, were detected in VAS (p=0.020) and PGA (p=0.026). Conclusion: The PA-sum scores and the PA+SO2 patterns can be utilized as objective imaging parameters reflecting the disease activity of RA. PAI may serve as a supplement to conventional US examinations for RA patients. References: [1]Backhaus, M., et al., Evaluation of a novel 7-joint ultrasound score in daily rheumatologic practice: a pilot project. Arthritis Rheum, 2009. 61(9): p. 1194-201. [2]Colebatch, A.N., et al., EULAR recommendations for the use of imaging of the joints in the clinical management of rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis, 2013. 72(6): p. 804-14. Disclosure of Interests: Chenyang Zhao: None declared, Qian Wang: None declared, Xixi Tao: None declared, Chen Yu: None declared, Sirui Liu: None declared, Mengtao Li: None declared, Xinping Tian: None declared, Zhenhong Qi: None declared, Jianchu Li: None declared, Fang Yang: None declared, Lei Zhu: None declared, Xiaofeng Zeng Consultant of: MSD Pharmaceuticals, Meng Yang: None declared, Yuxin Jiang: None declared


A relatively simple natural product experiment can be carried out on the petals of the white prickly poppy. This note describes the procedure.


This paper deals with the issue of robust beamforming design of multicast downlink system with bounded imperfect channel state information (CSI) on both transceiver sides. Two optimization objectives are considered: the minimization of transmit power that subject to the quality of service (QoS) constraints of all receivers; the maximization of worst case effective signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (eSINR) bounded by the transmit power. Both of the optimization problems encounter non-convex constraints. By utilizing mathematical approaches like S-lemma and semidefinite relaxations (SDR), these stubborn obstacles can be eliminated and the problems can therefore be solved efficiently. Numerical results are provided to demonstrate the performance of proposed designs.


—The integration of 5G with a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) promises to achieve ubiquitous connectivity. Although the coverage of satellites is significantly larger, unfortunately, protocol development under the regimes of terrestrial and satellite communication has been done under exclusivity, hence, preventing experiencing the best of both worlds. In the recently frozen 3GPP Release 17, a significant leap has been taken by including satellites in the 5G-NR ecosystem. In this regard, Proof-of-Concept (POC) demonstrators, especially which are based on open-source implementation can play a key role in expediting the ongoing 5G-NTN research. In this paper, we discuss the goals, key achievements, and ongoing activities related to two 5G-NTN projects (a) 5G-GOA: 5G-Enabled Ground Segment Technologies Over-The-Air Demonstrator and (b) 5G-LEO: OpenAirInterface Extension for 5G Satellite Links. In both projects, the aim is to provide direct access of 5G to a ground UE via a transparent payload satellite (GEO for 5G-GOA and LEO for 5G-LEO). An open-source implementation of terrestrial 5G-NR RAN protocol stack from OpenAirInterface has been taken as the baseline and adaptations have been done in all the layers to address the challenges such as large Round-Trip-Time (RTT), high and variable Doppler, frequent handover, re-transmissions, etc. The adaptations closely comply with the 3GPP Release-17 5G-NTN specifications. An end-to-end software simulator and hardware demonstrator have been developed and in-lab validation and over-the-satellite testing have shown promising results confirming the feasibility of direct access to 5G services via satellites.


We have analyzed field line resonances of Alfven waves in a rectangular box model with a straight uniform magnetic field but three dimensionally varying density. Field line resonances are shown to exist even with this three-dimensional nonuniformity. For a given wave frequency, we can construct the surface on which the resonance occurs and derive the local form of the singular solution. Magnetic perturbations are found to lie predominantly in the resonant surface. In the presence of azimuthal inhomogeneities, the present theory could explain why some satellite measurements show geomagnetic pulsations of comparable magnitude in radial and azimuthal components. 5 refs.


Electro-optical sensors can be used to compute range to objects in the flight path of a helicopter. The range depends on the computation of optical flow/motion at different points in the image. The motion algorithms provide a sparse set of ranges as a function of azimuth and elevation. For guidance and display purposes, these discrete set of ranges need to be grouped into sets which correspond to objects in the real world. The requirements of the guidance problem are different from the range segmentation problem encountered in robotics where the primary concern is to determine the shape of a surface to identify an object. The emphasis in this paper is on using clustering techniques on the range information provided by motion algorithms together with the spatial relation provided by the static image to perform object segmentation. The range values are initially grouped into clusters based on depth. Subsequently, the clusters are modified by using the k-means algorithm in the inertial horizontal plane and the minimum spanning tree algorithms in the image plane.


Despite its unique and the extremely original character, Yezidism reveals a number of striking parallels with other syncretic religions, in particular, with the heterodox Shi'a sects. A part of these parallels are certainly the common elements, derived from the Islamic Mysticism and, probably, Gnostic teachings (for some Extreme Shi'a doctrines, like the Isma'ili, the latter is quite certain: they have been formed under a direct influence of the Christian Gnosticism). As to the proper Extreme Shi'a elements in the Yezidi religion, they can be the result of a later influence. The Extreme Shi'a sects, generally known as Ghuldt (yulat-i si'a), are distinguished, at least formally, by their specific attitude towards 'Ali (i. e., 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Fourth Caliph, cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet), glorifying him as an object of worship, as of supreme worth. However, in some of them, 'Ali is rather a fairly marginal figure, with the obvious traits of an epical hero. Among these sects, the largest number of parallels with Yezidism is found with the Ahl-i Haqq (People of the Truth) and in the religion of the Zazas. One of the main analogies is, first and foremost, the religious institution of "Brother and Sister of the Next World"' as well as a number of common characters ('Ali, Fatima, etc.) deified by the heterodox Sh'ites and marked in Yezidism. With regard to the Ahl-i Haqq in Iran, one of the sect's autonymics is Yaresan (the Iraqi Ahl-i Haqq are named Kakdi)2, while the Yezidi self-denomination is Ezdixdna, i. e., "the abode of the Yezidis". The term Yaresan is perhaps going back toyarestan, "the abode of those in


Metropolitan growth and increased concerns for water quality and environmental impacts have created challenges for the provision of water supplies within metropolitan areas. The paper identifies and compares different strategies for organizing and planning water supplies for metropolitan areas. The problem is discussed in terms of larger metropolitan developments and concerns.


Background: Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in children is particular by its severity and challenging treatment. Purpose: To describe the clinical and therapeutic characteristics of pediatric rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. Method: We retrospectively included files of pediatric patients (aged 0 to 15 years), clinically diagnosed with rhematogenous retinal detachment (RRD) be-tween January 2015 and June 2019. The ophthalmological examination was as complete as the age of the patients allowed and a pediatric examination was systematically performed in all children. The data has been processed with Excel 2016 software. Results: 16 eyes of 11 patients were included. The hospital frequency of RRD was 3.37%, with a sex ratio of 1.75 and a mean age of 11.9 years. The average consultation time was 2 months. Contusive eye trauma was reported in 31.25% and myopia in 18.75%. The visual acuity ranged from no light perception to 20/400. The RRD was total in 81.25% and retinal lesions were found in 43.75%, including 25% atrophic holes and tears with lattice degeneration, 12.5% temporal retinal dialysis and one giant tear. Stage B of Proli-ferative vitreoretinopathy was found in 18.75% and stage C in 56.25%. Scleral buckling was performed in 37


MnSO4 was added into Hoagland cultivation solution with different Mn2+ concentration(0.1、5 、10、20 mmol · L-1) to imitate Manganese contaminated environment,and the effect of Manganese stress on antioxidant enzyme system of Phytolacca americana L.seedlings was discussed.The results showed that with the increasing concentration of Mn2+,the activities of CAT and POD in P.americana leafs rise first and descend afterwards.The activities of both enzymes increased when the concentration of Mn2+ was between 0.1 and 10 mmol · L-1,while decreased when the concentration of Mn2+ was up to 20 mmol · L-1.It indicated the seedlings of P.americana can endure a higher concentration of Mn2+ by increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes to adapt the heavy metal polluted environment.The present study showed that P.americana is a potential candidate for phyto-remediation of Manganese contaminated soils.


Bio-oil is obtained from corn cobs  (Zea mays  L.)    biomass by using pyrolisis process with a natural zeolite catalyst ratio between the sample and catalyst. This research was conducted by using a pyrolysis reactor, 500 ml of thermo-oil (silinap) are fed into the reactor pyrolisis . Then the pyrolisis process is started by flowing the nitrogen gas 1.35 mL / sec into the reactor and  pyrolisis process is aloowing run 3 hours. In order to get the maximum yield of bio-oil, there were determined the affect of ratio variation between biomass and catalyst (50:1, 50:2 and 50:3 g), and variation of pyrolysis temperaturec(270, 300 and 330o C). as a comperison the pyrolysis process without a catalysthas done. The result of this research, the higher yield of bio-oil is 84,9% which obtained under condition ratio a sample and a catalyst 50:2 g, and a pyrolysis temperature 330o C. Based on the result of characterized of bio-oil, density is 0.899 g / ml , 7.133 cSt viscosity , acid number 0.097 g NaOH / g sample , and the flash point 54 o C. Based on the results of GC-MS analysis showed that the dominant component in the bio-oil by using 2 grams of natural zeolite and 330o C are Cyclohexane,1-ethyl-1-methyl 15.96 %; pentan ,2,2,4, 4 tetramethyl 5.78%; 1-pentene, 2,4,4  –  trimethyl 5.78%; 2,3,4,4-trimethyl-pentene 4.99% and 2- pentene,2,4,4-trimethyl 2.44 %. Key Word : Bio-oil, Corn Cobs, Natural Zeolite, Pyrolisis.


No theology, Black or White, Protestant or Catholic can become Christian theology in North America or the world that does not engage White supremacy in society and the Church. To remain silent about the deadly consequences of White racism in the modern world automatically invalidates any theology's claim to Christian identity.


Deer mice {Pemmy.'icus maniculatus (Wagner. 1845)) in the Kanana.skis Valley were monitored from 1985 to 2003 by livetrapping. and first parturition dates were compared among years and examined in relation to spring weather. On average, first litters were conceived on 2 May. well after the winter snowpack melted (19 March} and just hefore average temperatures reached 0 "C (8 May). Firsl parturitions took place on 26 May. when average temperatures were above freezing. The average temperature at the time of conceptions Clate April - early May) declined by approximately 2 °C, and the date that the average temperatures reached 0 "C was 11 days later, between 1985 and 2003, with poten- tial eftects for summer phenology. Spring temperatures, but not snowfall, were related to the Ei Niiio Southern Oscilla- tion index. The initiation of breeding by deer mice was variable among years, bul was not related to snowfall or temperature and did not change, on average, between 1985 and 2003. The decrease in spring temperatures had no no- ticeable effects on breeding success. We conclude thai photoperiod may be a primary cue for the initiation of spring breeding and that food resources over winter may explain the among-year variation in the initiation of breeding.


The present paper, taking as a point of departure Aristotle's dispute with the ancient physicalists in Physics II.8–9 about the role of the final cause in nature, examines the context of the problem, his theory of the causes. Aristotle assumes an analogy between nature and craft and takes the production of artifacts to be paradigmatic. With these assumptions as guiding principles, the paper attempts to motivate his causal theory and propose what may be called a "logic" of the causes. It examines artefactual coming-to-be more closely, focusing on the aspects of Aristotle's account that are highlighted in his explanation of natural coming-to-be: the basic character of the causes, the peculiar distinction between the causes and the accompanying the deeper coincidence among three of them, the complementarity between the final and moving causes, the nature and role of desire in coming-to-be, and the primacy of form. It introduces the notion of a trans-temporal objective whole and shows the need to consider the full whole—which includes the entire process of coming-to-be together with its source—as the proper context for a full understanding of coming-to-be. It also points out the importance of the distinction between the objective and subjective perspectives, especially useful in understanding final causality.


As growing numbers of social media users incorporate product and brand information into their personal online communications, some companies are finding their brand's message is unwittingly slipping from under company control. This phenomenon is called open-source branding. Open-source branding is effected via all manner of user-generated content (UGC)—content that is created, organized, edited and reshaped by consumers. This paper offers a research typology of the many different forms of user-generated content and discusses its implications for companies desiring to participate more fully in the open-source branding process.


It indicated that a lot of factors affect the sandstorm which are not only gale,precipitation,evaporation,and other meteorological elements,but also soil types,vegetations and soil moistures,and humanactivity can also influence the sandstorm by disturbing the land.In the paper some viewpoints can be used to reference for studying the cause of regional sandstorm and for making the science preventive-control method.


Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) is a mitogen of 240 residues involved in hepatocarcinogenesis. HDGF consists of a highly conserved PWWP domain in the N-terminal 100 residues and the C140 domain with a nuclear localization signal (NLS) that located in C140 domain and PWWP domain respectively. Moreover, the Ser-103 phosphorylation site is necessary for mitogenic activity of HDGF. Studies have shown that HDGF expression and ROS levels increase as HCC progression from Grade I to Grade III in HCC patients. Additionally, the interaction of HDGF and nucleolin also promotes liver carcinogenesis. Therefore, we want to investigate the correlation between HDGF and ROS generation in hepatocellular carcinoma. In this study, we found that wild type HDGF protein, C140 domain and S103E protein enhanced ROS production, proliferation and invasion of SK-Hep-1 hepatoma cells. However, the effect of PWWP domain and S103A mutant of HDGF on inducing cell proliferation, invasion and ROS generation was weaker than C140 domain and S103E mutant of HDGF. Blocking ROS generation by NAC attenuated HDGF-induced cell growth and invasion. We further clarified that the function of HDGF protein and C140 domain could be blocked by neutralizing the cell surface dominant receptor nucleolin (NCL), but the capacity for blockage of S103E activity was diminished. Up-regulation of SOD1, SOD2, MFN2 and PGC1I± as well as down-regulation of FIS-1 and DRP-1 suggested that HDGF-induced ROS might increase antioxidant proteins to detoxify from the elevated ROS and stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis in HCC. In conclusion, we demonstrated that HDGF-induced mitochondrial ROS generation provoked liver cancer progression.


PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain EEPROM's capable of collectively erasing a memory block to be erased. SOLUTION: A block selection circuit 60 is provided for memory blocks obtained by dividing a memory cell array having a NAND cell in a row direction and comprises storing means 29. The storing means 29 corresponding to the memory block to be erased stores a block selection flag of logic 1, and the storing means 29 corresponding to the memory block not to be erased stores a reset flag of logic 0. Erasing is performed by utilizing each of stored flags. By the block selection circuit 60 storing a block selection flag, a word line of the memory block to be erased is set to be at an erasing voltage, and by the block selection circuit 60 storing a reset flag, a word line of the memory block not to be erased is floating.


The micromechanisms and characteristics of fatigue crack-growth in Sialon ceramics withdifferent microstructures were studied. Under cyclic loading, stress corrosion, wear degradation ofasperities through friction and indentation damage were used to explain the fatigue crack-growthbehavior. The samples of higher content of rod-like β-Sialon grains with larger aspect ratio,showed higher resistance to fatigue crack growth, thus higher reliability under cyclic loads at roomtemperature.


The oxidative addition of Cl2 (using SO2Cl2) to the six-membered ring (R2PN)(SN)2 (R = Me, Ph) produces the mixed phosphazene–thiazyl heterocycles, (R2PN)(NSCl)2, which react with Me3SiNSNSiMe3 to give the bicyclic compounds R2PS3N5. The latter undergo thermal decomposition, at ca. 100 °C in toluene, via reductive elimination of an NSN unit to regenerate (R2PN)(SN)2 in high yield. Kinetic measurements of this process, using 31P nmr spectroscopy, yield an activation energy of 102.4 ± 6.0 kJ mol−1 for the release of the NSN fragment from Me2PS3N5. The thermolysis route has been used to prepare the thermally unstable (F2PN)(SN)2, characterized as a 1:1 adduct with norbornadiene.


Introduction: Constipation is a common problem experienced by many pediatric cancer patients, as a side-effect of opioid therapy, chemotherapy drugs and lifestyle changes secondary to the disease process. Aim: The aim of this study is analyze the available knowledge on the constipation assessment methods in pediatric oncology to understand which ones are the advantages from each scale reported in the literature, and to find out if there is a shared method. Methods: An integrative review was performed. The electronic databases MEDLINE, CINHAL, and COCHRANE (The Cochrane Database) were searched for articles that explored assessment methods for constipation in pediatric cancer patients. Then both the bibliographies and related citations of the whole articles selected have been analyzed. There was no limitation by language or publication dates, but there was age limitation (Child: birth – 18 years) in PUBMED database. The literature search was performed in September 2020. Results: Seventeen articles have been selected, all in English. Seven of those were concerned with the pediatric population, while the other ten did not specify an age, relating to both adults and pediatrics alike. All the assessment methods proposed were compared, and those developed for pediatrics have been analyzed. Conclusion: What emerges from the review of the literature is the current lack of a shared method that allows for the assessment of constipation in pediatric oncology patients, there being, as yet no univocal and concurring opinions on the method for the evaluation of constipation. The review showed the need for further studies in this field to raise awareness and increase knowledge.


Potential differences in Internet access and usage among high school students underscores the fact that while Internet access and computer ownership are rising rapidly for many groups, at present a digital divide remains. The authors designed a study to examine the Internet usage and access patterns of college-bound high school students in southeast Georgia. An analysis of the data collected from the survey suggests that differences exist based on gender, ethnicity, and grade level. The results also suggest that there is a distinct lack of monitoring of students' Internet access outside of school.


The medical informatics field gets wide attention among the research community while developing a disease diagnosis expert system for useful and accurate predictions. However, accuracy is one of the major medical informatics concerns, especially for disease diagnosis. Many researchers focused on the disease diagnosis system through computational intelligence methods. Hence, this paper describes a new diagnostic model for analyzing healthcare data. The proposed diagnostic model consists of preprocessing, diagnosis, and performance evaluation phases. This model implements the water wave optimization (WWO) algorithm to analyze the healthcare data. Before integrating the WWO algorithm in the proposed model, two modifications are inculcated in WWO to make it more robust and efficient. These modifications are described as global information component and mutation operator. Several performance indicators are applied to assess the diagnostic model. The proposed model achieves better results than existing models and algorithms.


The death of flowers in European pear (Pyrus communis L.) orchards was observed in Vacaria, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Two bacterial isolates, obtained from symptomatic flowers, reproduced these symptoms on flowers of detached branches and were identified as Pseudomonas sp. Considering the lack of reports of this disease in Brazil, the record of P. syringae pv. syrigae and Erwinia amylovora associated with similar symptoms in other countries and the possible presence of these bacteria in buds, a method to detect the three bacteria was developed. The method comprised: bud maceration with liquid nitrogen, addition of PBS and 2% PVP, transfer of juice to FTA cards (Whatman), treatment of card circles with 70% ethanol, TE buffer and FTA reagent, elution of DNA followed by PCR with specific primers for each bacterium. The method was further used to monitor these bacteria in buds collected bimonthly during 2008. E. amylovora was not detected. The average frequency of P. syringae pv. syringae and Pseudomonas sp. was 0.7 and 16.3%, respectively, the latter showing a frequency peak of 30% in October. The species of the causal agent was not made clear, but the association with the genus Pseudomonas was demonstrated, which already provides a basis for the development of methods for disease control.


A highest speed 12.1 Gb/s real-time OFDM transmitter is reported with optimized Q-factor (Q=3D22.3 dB). Statistical performance measurements using BER testing prove similar error distributions for 231-1 PRBS data at fibers linear and nonlinear transmission regime.


Doubly differential cross sections (DDCS) for the molecular single (H 2 + ) and dissociative single (H+H + ) ionization of the hydrogen molecule have been measured employing the ejected-electron and produced-ion coincidence technique for an incident electron energy of 100 eV and ejected-electron energies between 20 and 80 eV. Angular variations of partial and total DDCS's have also been measured in experiments in which electrons are detected at angles between 2 o and 110 o relative to the direction of the incident electrons. A comparison of the present measurements has been made with the data from the published literature


Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have recently been discovered to function as catalysts for globalization. However, despite the increasing interest in the internationalization of SMEs, doing business in another country offers its own unique set of challenges that must be overcome if an SME's international venture is to be successful. For sectors where operational efficiency is necessary and there are added pressures due to cultural differences in consumer behaviour (e.g., fast-food chains), managing the operations process is essential for ensuring success and growth. Furthermore, the export of the conventional business model becomes complicated because of the significant variations in brand localization requirements across nations, which force businesses to make significant changes to cater to local client preferences. Given this scenario, how can an SME identify and adjust the critical barriers towards deciding and acting on foreign market entry and exit? To answer this question, we looked for a theoretical sample (case) of a business that successfully entered and operated in some markets and exited from others within the same period. In this investigation, we examine the Russian pizza company Dodo Pizza's exodus from China and the UK as compared to their successful operations in Kazakhstan using Eisenhardt's comparative case methodology. We use each country's operations as a case in this research and apply Eisenhardt's comparative case methodology to identify and theorize the factors of national context essential to the organization's actions and outcomes in a given country.


A rational distribution of observatories has important,practical significances for forest fire prevention.Taking the observatory layout at Conghua,Guangzhou City,as an example,this paper analyzed,by means of GIS,the optional places for observatory buildings,sequenced them according to their advantages and disadvantages using the method of fuzzy mathematics and finally came up with an optimization scheme and construction order,providing a scientific basis to the plan and construction of observatories.


THIS STUDY consists of four lectures on sacrifice in the Old Testament, which the author delivered at the University College, Cardiff, Wales, in October 1961. Some of this material was included in his Ancient Israel, Its Life and Institutions, published in 1961. Here, however, the studies are more detailed and expanded. The first chapter is concerned with "Passover Sacrifice," the second, with "Holocaust and Communion Sacrifices," the third, with "Human Sacrifices in Israel," and the fourth, with "Expiatory Sacrifices." According to de Vaux, the Passover was originally a pastoral festival practiced not only by the nomadic ancestors of the Israelites but also by other pastoral Semites. It was celebrated on the first full moon of spring. Corresponding to it was the Feast of Unleavened Bread of the peasants who likewise celebrated it in the spring. This latter feast was adopted by the Israelites after their entry into Canaan. Both of these two festivals became associated with the Exodus from Egypt. During the monarchy, the Passover, being a shepherd's feast, was eclipsed as a public festival. It continued to be observed as a family feast, especially in those districts of Judah where the pastoral traditions were preserved. The two festivals became united sometime after Josiah's reformation, but before the Exile. The author concludes his study of the Passover by showing its further development into the Holy Week of the Christian Church, in which the Passion of Christ and its "memorial," the Eucharist, came to constitute a new Passover. The third chapter, dealing with "Human Sacrifices in Israel" is without a doubt the most fascinating and the best study of the subject to date. Again the author examines the various practices of human sacrifice outside of Israel: pre-Islamic Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Phoenicia, as well as within Israel. Contrary to the usual opinion that it is a practice of primitive religions, careful examination of literary and archaeological sources shows that human sacrifice "only develops among peoples who have attained a certain level of culture." Thus, it is attested most clearly in some societies which have become materially affluent but morally decadent, as were Phoenicia and Carthage where human (child) sacrifice was practiced. Outside of the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, however, the practice was exceptional among the early Semites. It was, as the records show, resorted to occasionally in Israel in a time of extreme crisis, but it was never accepted as a lawful sacrifice in the worship of Yahweh. Father de Vaux has significantly enriched Old Testament scholarship with this brief but important study. It is informative, stimulating, and lucid. It deserves to be in the library of every college teacher of religion as well as in the study of every minister and priest and even church-school teacher. It is indeed a worthy addition to his previous study of Israel's life and institutions.


We suggest to use the common appearance of voids with a scale of $5000 \kms$ in the galaxy distribution to estimate the power spectrum on this scale. We use a simple model for a gravitational formation of voids and we compare the results with the matter fluctuations as constrained by the CMBR observations of COBE. We find that a power spectrum $P(k)\propto k^n$ with $n \approx 1.25$ is compatible both with COBE and with gravitational growth of large voids in an $\Omega=1$ universe. A Harrison-Zel'dovich spectrum, $n=1$, normalized to produce the observed CMBR fluctuations, does not have enough power for gravitational growth of voids with a diameter of $5000 \kms$ in an $\Omega=1$ Universe. Such a spectrum would be compatible if (i) void diameters are smaller ($3500 \kms$), the voids are shallower or if the voids are rare (we assume that the universe is void filled); (ii) $\Omega < 1$ i.e. the Universe is open; (iii) galaxies do not trace matter on very large scale or if (iv) the voids do not grow gravitationally.


The invention discloses a locking plate type intramedullary nail for femoral intertrochanteric fracture treatment. The locking plate type intramedullary nail for femoral intertrochanteric fracture treatment is made of a titanium-nickel alloy and comprises a longitudinal nail, a transverse nail and a locking plate. The transverse nail comprises a head portion, a body portion and a tail portion. The head portion is conical, the body portion is cylindrical, the tail portion is provided with a hexagonal recess, an external thread is arranged from the middle portion of the body portion to the head portion, and the head portion, the body portion and tail portion are connected as a whole. The outer side surface of the transverse nail is designed with a groove, the center line of the groove and the center line of the transverse nail are on different surfaces, and the locking plate is inserted into the groove. The transverse nail and the longitudinal nail are in intersection. When the locking plate type intramedullary nail for femoral intertrochanteric fracture treatment is used in an operation, a fracture is reduced and drilled, the longitudinal nail penetrates the fracture, the transverse nail is screwed in the longitudinal nail, and the locking plate is inserted into the groove. The locking plate type intramedullary nail for femoral intertrochanteric fracture treatment avoids the Z effect of a traditional nail, can slide with load within a controllable range, greatly reduces the size, reduces the bone loss and avoids the swinging of the intramedullary nail.


In this paper, the author challenges the law (system) in two curve unsteady periodic orbit,poiuts out the phenomena of chaos in infinite dimension linear system and the chaotic dynanic produed by complicated structure of chaotic boundary.


Gim & Kim (1998) proposed a generalization of Jeong (1982, 1984) reinterpretation of the Hawkins-Simon condition for macroeconomic stability to off-diagonal matrix elements. This generalization is conceptually relevant for it offers a complementary view of interindustry linkages beyond final or net output influence. The extension is completely similar to the 'total flow' idea introduced by Szyrmer (1992) or the 'output-to-output' multiplier of Miller & Blair (2009). However the practical implementation of Gim & Kim is actually faulty since it confuses the appropriate order of output normalization. We provide a new and elementary solution for the correct formalization using standard interindustry concepts. The advantage of our approach is that it unravels and clarifies the step by step actual mechanisms behind the accounting rules.


The aim of this paper is to measure the relative efficiency of the commercial banks in Macedonia by using the non-parametric methodology Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The key role when applying DEA for measur-ing the efficiency of entities is given to the selection of inputs and outputs. In our study 3 inputs and 3 outputs are selected according to the intermediation approach. The sample consists of 14 banks and the observed peri-od is eight years (2008-2015). According to the obtained results, the average efficiency of the Macedonian banking sector in the observed period is 88.77%. There is no bank that is relatively efficient in every year in every window. The results indicate that 28.57% of the banks have an overall efficiency by years that is higher than 95%. The group of large banks has the highest efficiency in the Macedonian banking sector. Furthermore, Macedonian banks have noted lower efficiency in the post-crisis period. Findings from our paper are valuable for further use by regulators, policy makers and bank management in order for the efficiency of the relatively inefficient Macedonian banks and the banking sector as a whole to improve.


The cement concrete pavement surface are high, and its rigid structural integrity depends on the integrity of institutions and the plate itself, the overall rigidity of the lower body performance. However, the current board of cement concrete pavement breaking, cracking of roads has become an important common quality problems. For cement concrete road surface plate, the type of cracking, resulting in destruction of the reasons, etc., proposed prevention measures and precautions for disposal for the relevant officers.


This is a brief introduction to the area of plasma turbulence from a theoretical perspective. Hopefully, it stimulates some cross-disciplinary exchanges and collaborations.


Compressibility effects during high-speed collisions between two liquid masses are analyzed and discussed. Particular emphasis is given to the geometry of the colliding liquid surfaces and to the importance of systems of oblique shock waves. After impact an expanding contact zone is formed between the liquids. Initially, shocks that propagate into both liquids adhere to the edge of this zone fully enclosing the compressed liquids. At a later time the conditions for the shocks to adhere to the contact edge break down. Then the shocks move ahead of the contact edge and lateral jetting of the high pressure fluid begins. These processes will be explained in terms of a reversed wedge flow. The maximum impact pressures obtained in this manner are compared with results based on a one-dimensional approximation. Furthermore, the dependence of the impact pressure on impact velocity and impact angle will be discussed. It is found that the geometry of the colliding surfaces is of greatest importance at small impact velocities. When the absolute impact velocity is constant maximum pressures are obtained for oblique impacts. Finally, the occurrence of strong oblique shock waves caused by the upstream flow conditions is discussed.


The purposes of this study were to analyze the antioxidative effects and antimicrobial activity of Omija. Total phenol contents of Omija extracted with ethanol and water were 53.4±2.2 tannic acid equivalent/mg, and 47.9±2.1 tannic acid equivalent/mg, respectively. Total flavonoid contents of Omija extracted with ethanol and water were 16.3±1.1 naringin equivalent/mg, and 13.1±1.4 naringin equivalent/mg, respectively. Electron donating ability of ethanol extract (1,000 μg/mL) of Omija was 5.1± 0.4%. This result was lower than the antioxidant vitamin (ascorbic acid: 96.4±0.6%) and artificial antioxidant BHT (70.0± 0.5%). Nitrite-scavenging abilities of Omija were lower than ascorbic acid and BHT. SOD-like activities of Omija extracts, natural antioxidant, and artificial antioxidant at 5 mg/mL were in the other of ascorbic acid (99.0±0.5%) > BHT (72.6±0.5%) > ethanol extract (16.3±0.4%) > water extract (14.4±0.3%). The order of OH radical scavenging activities of Omija extracts and natural antioxidant at 5 mg/mL was ascorbic acid (98.9±0.6%) > tocopherol (85.4±0.6%) > water extract (59.1±0.5%) > ethanol extract (33.1±0.3%). The results show that the antimicrobial effects of Omija could not be detected at both concentrations and extraction methods.


I view with mixed feelings the fact that in the years 1992-1994, the expression 'a Jewish and democratic state' was incorporated into the Basic Laws of Israel. On one hand, there is no question that this encouraged public discourse on the coherence of the combination and its desirability. On the other hand, it thrust the legal and judicial dimension of the debate into the forefront of all discussion. In my opinion this is unfortunate, for both discourse and jurisprudence. The prominence of this judicial sphere in this matter is part of a larger process at work in Israel, wherein the law is being perceived as a vehicle of solving problems that are not in their essence legal matters. In general, when an institution, no matter how prestigious, is called upon to solve problems that it cannot solve, either in principles of the reasons of absence of institutional competence, two problems may arise. First, the problem will not be resolved adequately. Second, the institution charged with this "mission impossible" is also impaired. I fear that both these pitfalls apply to the problem in hand.


We propose a novel fabrication of total internal reflection spherical concave with polymer material by gray-tone optical lithography on printed circuit boards for vertical optical coupling between waveguides and optoelectronic devices.


THE FINDINGS FROM A PREVIOUS FIELD INVESTIGATION OF THE CAUSES OF FAULTING OF PORTLAND CEMENT CONCRETE PAVEMENTS ARE SUMMARIZED, AND POSSIBLE CORRECTIONS ARE DISCUSSED. DETAILS ARE GIVEN OF A NUMBER OF EXPERIMENTAL SHOULDER FEATURES THAT HAVE BEEN INCORPORATED INTO CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS. ALSO REPORTED IS A LABORATORY STUDY OF LEAN CONCRETE BASE (WET-LEAN CEMENT-TREATED BASE). THIS MATERIAL COULD BE PLACED WITH A SLIP-FORM PAVER USING INTERNAL VIBRATION. ADVANTAGES WOULD BE THE ELIMINATION OF TRIMMING OF CEMENT-TREATED BASES AND A SUPERIOR ABRASION RESISTANCE. OTHER EXPERIMENTAL CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN FEATURES THAT COULD HAVE AN EFFECT ON FAULTING ARE BRIEFLY COVERED.


OVII/2 602 THE INTERACTION BETWEEN PSYCHOLOGICAL AND IMMUNOLOGICAL VARIABLES IN OPEN VERSUS LAPAROSCOPIC SURGERY, T. Houghton*, D.M. Houghtont, P. Redmondt, R.W.G. Watson*, R.G.K. Watsont, D. BouchierHayes*, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin*, University of Ulstert, Waterford Regional Hospitalt, Ireland. Immune impairment following surgical injury may be associated with deleterious septic sequelae. Psychoneuroimmunological researches have indicated the importance of psychological well-being to physical health in general and to immunological functioning in particular. Preand post-operative immunological and psychological status were compared in two groups of patients, randomised to open (N= 14) or laparoscopic (N= 16) cholecystectomy and matched for age, height, weight, ASA scores and operation time. Immune parameters including tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and neutrophil chemotaxis (PMN) were assessed pre-operatively and on post-operative day one. Psychological variables were also assessed preand post-operatively and included anxiety (state, trait, somatic and free-floating), social isolation, depression, health locus of control, attitudes towards self and others, life style, adjustment to hospital and patient reports of anticipated and experienced pain. Results


A mastitis vaccine has been tested in South African dairy herds over the past two years and is now registered. In this article, we recapture some basic factors regarding mastitis vaccinations, discuss the principles on which this vaccine functions and provide findings of the South African study.


In this brief, radix-2r arithmetic is explored to minimize the number of additions in the multiplication by a constant. We provide the formal proof that, for an N-bit constant, the maximum number of additions using radix- 2ris lower than Dimitrov's estimated upper bound 2. N/log(N) using the double-base number system (DBNS). In comparison with the canonical signed digit (CSD) and the DBNS, the new radix- 2rrecoding requires an average of 23.12% and 3.07% less additions for a 64-bit constant, respectively.


Abstract 1245 Background: P2Y12 receptor antagonists have become a mainstay for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Yet, they have rarely been evaluated under pathophysiological conditions apart from arterial diseases. Objectives: We hypothesized interactions between prasugrel and enhanced von Willebrand Factor (VWF) release in a model of systemic inflammation, and compared the pharmacodynamic effects of prasugrel versus placebo on agonist-induced platelet aggregation and shear-induced platelet plug formation. Subjects/Methods: Twenty healthy male volunteers were enrolled in a double-blind, placebo-controlled two-way cross-over trial. Each volunteer received either placebo or a 60 mg-loading dose of prasugrel two hours before endotoxin infusion. Platelet inhibition was measured with Multiple Electrode Aggregometry (MEA), the Platelet Function Analyzer-100 (PFA-100) and the Vasodilator Stimulated Phosphoprotein (VASP) phosphorylation assay, respectively. Results: Prasugrel reduced the platelet reactivity index in the VASP assay from 79% to 5–7%, and unequivocally prolonged the closure times of the Innovance cartridge to >300s, but also the CADP-CT to >300s in the majority of subjects. Prasugrel not only blunted platelet aggregation induced by ADP (−81%), but also other pathways including arachidonic acid (−60%), ristocetin (−75%; p Conclusions: These data for the first time demonstrate that strong in vivo blockade of P2Y12 by prasugrel inhibits a broad spectrum of platelet aggregation pathways. However, VWF release may reduce prasugrel9s effects under high shear conditions. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Object Oriented Programming (OOP) facilitates to create libraries of reusable software components. The reusability approach in developing a new system can be applied to an existing system with prior modifications. The reusability definitely decreases the time and effort required for developing the new system. To support reusability of program code, a proper code retrieval process is necessary. It makes possible to search the similar code component of java programming environment. OOP paradigm has specific style of writing the program code. The program code is a collection of objects, classes and methods. It is very easy to store the cases and reuse or revise wherever necessary. To get the similarity between the program code components, it is necessary to have an efficient retrieval method. The retrieval phase can retrieve the program code components as classes, methods, and interfaces depending on components selection by the user. A purely case-based approach is adopted for revising or reusing the existing cases to solve the new problems. Case Based Reasoning (CBR) is the process of solving new problems based on the experience coming from similar past problems.


In the full-mouth rehabilitation of a patient with severely collapsed occlusion, a multidisciplinary approach including prosthodontics, orthodontics, endodontics, and surgery could provide better esthetic and functional results. Orthodontic treatment aiming for stable occlusion that meets the standard requirement of functional occlusion, enables the maintenance of occlusal function, and guarantees long-term stability on the basis of periodontal health was attempted. The essential element of this protocol is careful treatment planning based on the optimal sequence pursuing functional occlusion.


Many traditional Western ethical perspectives are anthropocentric or human-centred in that they assign intrinsic value to human beings alone. It is often said that anthropocentrism is responsible for the destruction of the environment. I intend to explain how Western anthropocentrism can be seen as a form of obsession deriving from the working function of vāsanā (habit-energy) in ālayavijñāna, based on the teachings in the Lan˙kāvatāra Sūtra. All of one's karmic bījas (seeds), stored in the ālayavijñāna, are preserved in a form of energy called vāsanā with the power of perfuming or causing habitual tendency in the lives of sentient beings. This perfuming of energy is known as sowing seeds of karma and seeds of language. Since beginningless time, sentient beings have created habitual energy through inappropriate dualistic discrimination. The habitual power of vāsanā is of great importance to understanding how anthropocentrism works. What we should be worried about is our habitual thinking patterns, which might be harmful to our relationship with the natural environment.


This paper describes the design and implementation of a low cost, contacless, reliable and sensitive direct torque measurement system applied to small single cylinder engine transient test cell. The experimental set-up consists of a three-phase induction machine, used as a transient a.c. dynamometer, and non-regenerative frequency inverter connected to an internal combustion engine. Coupling the engine to the dynamometer is by a low stiffness PA-6 nylon shaft with magnetic pickups at its ends. The sensors phase are zero when torque in PA-6 nylon shaft is null, adjusted in static conditions and engine/dynamometer turned off. Contactless torque measurement occurs by magnetic pickup phase difference during PA-6 nylon shaft torsion promoted by engine in operation. Engine speed is measurement by frequency of magnetic pickup signal. PA-6 nylon shaft torsion promotes a misalignment between sensors phase, proportional to torque application in both direction.The electronic capture unit using pulse train rising edge detection measures this phase change (time shift) in pulses. An embedded microcontroller development kit acquires the time-shifted pulses. This board has circuits for A/D signal conditioning, pulse width modulate channels, and a specific circuit for magnetic pickups signals conditioning, which can measure less then 0.09 Nm resolution, taking 96 time-shifts values. The design and implementation of all embedded electronics and data acquisition system follows electromagnetic compatibility premises, which have resulted in an adequate signal-to-noise ratio so that common and differential mode noises have not edges with amplitude approximately equal to the output magnetic sensors signals. The maximum measurement uncertainty associated with the contacless direct torque measurement system were calculated at ±0.54% to 99% confidence interval.The performance is presented under different load conditions, defined by engine throttle position and the results are compared with the engine datasheet performance curves.


Excessive secretion of fluid and electrolytes elicited by enterotoxins is a major cause of mortality in Africa. This study investigates the traditional use of the stem bark of Anacardium occidentale (cashew) in the treatment of diarrhea by studying its effect on sodium and chloride transport in the rabbit colon. A segment of the rabbit colon was cannulated and perfused in situ with iso‐osmotic medium at 0.3ml/min. The plant extract was administered intraperitoneally at a dose of 20, 40 and 80mg/kg respectively. Perfusates were collected at 10 minutes interval for 1 hour. The amount of sodium and chloride ions in the perfusates was analyzed with Corning 400 flame photometer. The results indicate that the plant extract dose dependently increased sodium absorption (P<0.05) and has no effect on chloride transport in the rabbit colon. In conclusion, this study indicates that Anacardium occidentale stimulate sodium and water absorption and therefore may be effective in the treatment of diarrhea in the developing country.


According to Philippe Lejeune's "autobiographical pact," a text can only be considered an autobiography when the author, narrator, and character all share the same proper name. Any exceptions are thusly designated as works of fiction, regardless of whatever biographical resemblance may be detected between the author and character. This thesis aims not to challenge this useful generic distinction, but to develop an authoritative system for approaching the oftneglected side of the equation: works of autobiographical fiction, and autobiographical dramas in particular. I propose to develop a reception-based methodology (the Biographical Grid) for assessing author-character resemblance with as much empiricism as possible. This is done by extracting the author's biographical material in relation to the chosen fictional character (often the play's protagonist) via their characterization within the text, and organizing this material within a specially-designed table. Each of these units is then assigned a numerical score based upon its correspondence with the author's publicly-known biographical data. The result is not only a qualitative value assigned to the degree of resemblance between the character and its author, but moreover indicates precisely which character traits enforce the autobiographical kinship, and which represent conscious deviations from the biographical record as part of the process of fictionalization. This information can then be applied to well-informed analyses of the text's use of its autobiographically-inspired content. Using Tolstoy's play, The Light Shines in Darkness, as a case study, I demonstrate the process of building, testing, and applying the grid to assess a work of autobiographical drama. My systematic approach to autobiographical dramas of this kind supports the development of further research into methods of biographical criticism while strengthening analytical readings of individual plays.


The reaction of a series of electron-deficient isoindolium-based allenes with sulfhydryl compounds has been studied, leading to the formation of isoindolium-based vinyl sulfides. The vinyl sulfides generated could be readily converted into the corresponding indanones and amines upon heating at 30 - 70 °C with good yields up to 61%. The thermal cleavage reaction of vinyl sulfides was further studied for developing temperature-sensitive systems. Notably, a novel FRET-based fluorescent temperature sensor was designed and synthesized for temperature sensing at 50 °C, giving a 6.5-fold blue fluorescence enhancement. Moreover, chemoselective bioconjugation of cysteine-containing peptides with the isoindolium-based allenes for the construction of multifunctional peptide bioconjugates was investigated. Thermal cleavage of isoindoliums on the modified peptides at 35 - 70 °C gave indanone bioconjugates with up to >99% conversion. These results indicated the biocompatibility of this novel temperature-sensitive reaction.


This paper proposes a secure distributed cache invalidation mechanism (DCIM), simply known as a client-based cache consistency scheme. The goal of secure DCIM is to improve the efficiency of the cache updating process in a network of mobile devices (MANETs). In which cached data retrieved from a data server, without requiring the latter to maintain the status information about the caches. In this paper the COACS plays a vital role in the form of caching the queries and addresses of the nodes that stores the responses to these queries. It introduces the Secure DCIM that is totally client-based when compared to the others like SSUM and SACCS. Based on the pull-based algorithm, the secure DCIM achieves the strong consistency with the help of the implementation of the adaptive time-to-live (TTL), piggybacking, and prefetching In a secure DCIM, The Centralized server will maintain the database records and files. Cache node will pull the data items from the server and also the data items can be upload by the user. After the request was sent by the cache node (CN), the server receive the request and the response is sent by the server with the TTL value and its hit rate. The server autonomously sends the data updates to the CNs, meaning that it has to keep the track of which CNs caches the corresponding data items. The consistency ratio, delay, and overhead traffic are reported versus several variables, where the secure DCIM showed to be superior when compared to the other systems.


The aims of this study was to investigate the satisfactions with school food service and its influencing factors for elementary and middle school parents. We surveyed parents regarding their concerns about food ingredients and dietary life, perceptions of free school food service, the necessity of food supply systems such as school food service centers, and the satisfaction about the quality and management of school food services. Compared to the last year, concerns about food ingredients and dietary life as well as perceptions about free school food services decreased. The reported necessity of supply system such as school food service centers and co-purchasing was lower than in 2015. The satisfaction about the school food service decreased, compared to 2015. More individuals had higher concerns about local food and stated the necessity for school food supply systems, as well as a higher satisfaction about the quality and management of school food services. In conclusion, it is important to emphasize characteristics of school food services such as co-purchasing local foods.


The interface phenomena for low periods, i.e. the initial oscillations, and the cut-off periods are two characteristic features in Magnetotelluric Sounding curves. A method is proposed to distinguish between transitional and homogeneous layered earth by means of these two features.


The study of mitochondrial DNA is a valuable tool to delve into the demographic history of human populations. Particularly in the Americas, five widespread Native American specific mitochondrial lineages have been identified. Here we included the complete mitogenome sequencing of 572 Indigenous individuals belonging to 60 populations spanning the Mexican territory. Our results show a great diversity of matrilineages widespread across the country, revealing shared mtDNA haplogroups in populations from distant regions. We identified all the five main Native American haplogroups clades, including 83 different subhaplogroups, from which nine are novel. The most frequent of the novel haplogroups was A2+64. A phylogenetic inference suggests that A2+64 comes from an ancestral maternal lineage that spread into the Caribbean islands. Additionally, a demographic reconstruction from whole mitogenomes showed an exponential increase in female Ne around 10 Ka ago in all the tested regions. All these findings suggest a genetic persistence through Mexico and possibly the Americas, in agreement with the model of the Mesoamerican-related expansion into the Caribbean and South America.


For help in preparation of this article, thanks to Frank Shray, Lagos, Nigeria; and Badarinadh Vissapragada, Stavanger. AIT (Array Induction Imager Tool), ECS (Elemental Capture Spectroscopy Sonde), ELANPlus, FMI (Fullbore Formation MicroImager), MR Scanner, OBMI (Oil-Base MicroImager), OBMI2 (Integrated Dual Oil-Base MicroImagers) and Rt Scanner are marks of Schlumberger. Excel is a mark of Microsoft Corporation. Westcott is a mark of Acme United Corporation. A new induction resistivity tool provides 3D information about formations far from the


In a recent survey Vincent Barnett has criticised my application of the theory of rational choice to Stalin's actions and decisions. He suggests that I represent a misguided tendency of the "traditional left" to seek to rescue "something 'rational'" from the Soviet experience of Stalin's rule. Rather, he argues, Stalin's actions were characterised by "'pseudo-rational choice irrationality,' or apparently rational actions that only appear rational from the point of view of a dictator paranoid about his own position, paranoid about the position of the USSR internationally, and having a very tenuous grasp of economic theory, the intellectual genesis of Marxism and the consequences of tyrannical rule for the Soviet state and governmental institutions. But this is not real 'rationality' ...". I leave to one side the issue of my political orientation, past or present, which should be irrelevant to the present discussion. What matters here is the question of how best to understand Stalin's beliefs and actions. As a concept, rationality can of course be defined and applied in more than one way. I acknowledge that my own sense of the word comes from a particular tradition in social science. At the same time, I believe that this tradition is of more value in the given context than would appear from Barnett's discussion of it.


Abstract : The Career Force research project is the second phase of a two-phase Army program to develop a selection and classification system for enlisted personnel, based on expected future performance. In the first phase, Project A, a large and versatile database was collected from a representative sample of Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) and used to (a) validate the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) and (b)develop and validate new predictor and criterion measures representing the entire domain of potential measures. Building on this foundation, Career Force research has finished developing the selection/classification system and evaluating its effectiveness, with emphasis on assessing second-tour performance. The final year of the project was devoted to developing optimal test batteries for predicting first- and second-tour performance, attrition, and reenlistment prospects, and estimating gains that might be expected from their use. The present report summarizes the entire Project A/Career Force research program.


This article seeks to review the research that was carried out in the framework of the SuPorts project regarding the application of stakeholder theory on environmental management for three Greek ports. Specifically, the article seeks to explore the need for stakeholder engagement at ports and presents interview data from the ports of Volos, Kavala and Lagos. The interviews aimed at presenting: 1) the ports' level of engagement with their stakeholders regarding environmental issues; 2) what the main barriers for better environmental performance were; 3) how ports perceived stakeholder influence. The latter was assessed through graphs that present stakeholder influence on a series of environmental issues that the ports face. Finally, the article proposes a stakeholder engagement plan for the ports and presents an overview of a roundtable meeting with stakeholders that was held at the Port of Lagos.


A route is devised for synthesis of both enantiomers of the spiro lactam 4. The enzyme uroporphyrinogen III synthase (cosynthetase), which converts hydroxymethylbilane 1 into uroporphyrinogen III 3, is competitively inhibited more than twenty times more strongly by one enantiomer of 4 than by the other. This finding adds further strong support to the view that cosynthetase acts by generating the spiro pyrrolenine 2 as an intermediate.


When a circuit that calculates a frequency offset using a shape of a frequency spectrum is implemented by hardware, the circuit size can be reduced. A frequency offset estimating method for estimating the difference between a carrier frequency of a reception signal and the frequency of an output signal of a local oscillator includes performing a discrete Fourier transform on a reception signal previously sampled at a predetermined sampling frequency and outputting a frequency spectrum with a plurality of frequency components, calculating an average power of the frequency spectrum, calculating a threshold by adding a predetermined value to the average power or power obtained by multiplying the average power by a constant, performing 1-bit quantization on powers of the frequency components of the frequency spectrum based on the threshold, and calculating a centroid frequency by multiplying frequencies of the frequency components by powers of 1-bit quantized frequency components, calculating the sum of multiplied products, and dividing the sum of the products by the sum of the powers of the 1-bit quantized frequency components of the frequency spectrum.


This paper will review the use of nucleobases for optoelectronic applications. Nucleobases possess unique electromagnetic, optical, mechanical and thermal properties, including low optical loss and simultaneous low electrical resistivity, high temperature stability and a strong resistance to organic solvents. They are also hydrophobic, providing excellent hermetic sealing. They can be vapor deposited for a number of applications. Nucleobases have highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels suitable for charge blocking layers in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and nonlinear polymer electro-optic modulators. With their low optical loss, they may prove suitable for optical waveguiding applications.


In this paper, based on the theory of wavelet transform, presents several new estimation method of time varying long memory parameters, and gives the consistency and asymptotic properties of estimators of these new methods. Finally, this paper studies the behavior of small samples of non-stationary long memory process, gives the reference solution of some factors selected which can affect the accuracy of estimate such as wavelet scale et al. At the same time, this paper compares the advantages and disadvantages of various estimation methods, and proves the effectiveness and robustness of the new methods.


A recent study has shown a robust relationship between the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and inter‐decadal variations in autumn precipitation over North Central China (NCC). However, the physical processes underlying these inter‐decadal precipitation variations are not fully understood. Here we analyse multi‐member ensembles of atmospheric reanalysis and model simulations to examine the atmospheric and precipitation responses to sea surface temperature (SST) forcing. Despite the large inter‐member spread resulting from atmospheric internal variability, the model simulations forced by the observed SSTs show an important role of mid‐latitude atmospheric circulation in influencing the inter‐decadal precipitation variations over NCC. We also analyse the sensitivity experiments using three atmospheric models forced by the Inter‐decadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO)/PDO‐like SST fields. The results suggest that the SST anomalies associated with a negative IPO phase can induce anomalous positive pressure anomalies over the East Asia‐Japan‐North Pacific region, which weakens the East Asian trough (EAT) and produces southerly advection of warm and moist air into NCC, leading to increased precipitation there. This study provides a depiction of how the IPO/PDO‐associated SSTs induce inter‐decadal oscillations in mid‐latitude atmospheric circulations, which in turn cause inter‐decadal precipitation variations over NCC.


The article is devoted to the study of the economic and legal aspects of combating corruption in the public procurement of member states of the European Union. Statistical data analysis over the past decade has revealed critical economic trends in the field of European public procurement. A review of European public procurement legislation has demonstrated high unification. Publicity is identified as a key feature of the European anti-corruption in public procurement: the lists posted on open platforms hit the business reputation of corrupt officials.


Abstract Objective: Inflammaging, a state of chronic inflammation in the elderly, is now thought to be a key element of the ageing process and contributor to age-related disease. In a previously published study, we identified a significant association between inflammation levels and severity of presbycusis among individuals aged 63 to 73 (ʽyounger old") within an available audiometric range 0.5 to 4 kHz. Our aim was to see if this association would be identified among participants in the MRC national study of hearing, and whether the strength of the association would increase with greater age, or for very low or very high audiometric frequencies. Design: Cross-sectional analysis of cohort data. Study sample: Three hundred and sixty community-dwelling adults age 60 years and over, representing all those with white blood cell count and audiometric data available. Results: A significant independent association between (higher) WBC and (worse) hearing level was identified. This effect increased with age. The strongest association was among those over 75, for whom average hearing threshold levels among those with lower WBC was 17 dB better than those with higher WBC. Conclusions: The current findings support an association between inflammaging (a condition potentially amenable to pharmacological treatment or lifestyle management) and presbycusis.


For horocyclic products of percolation subtrees of regular trees, we show almost sure amenability. Under a symmetry condition concerning the growth of the two percolation trees, we show the existence of an increasing Foelner sequence (which we call strong amenability).