Abstract The present research deals with the lustre of various cottons ranging from Sea Island to Indian, and with the lustre of folded yarns spun from them, and attempts to determine the factors which control the lustre of the folded yarn. It is shown that with increase of the staple length of cotton there is an increase in the proportion of the lustre of the raw cotton which can be reproduced in the final yarn, and that if cottons of the same lustre but of varying lengths be spun, then the longer cottons produce the more lustrous yarns. This is attributed to the superior spinning qualities of the long cottons, whereby the hairs are arranged in a manner more nearly parallel than is the case with the short cottons. This view is supported by the fact that if two yarns be spun from the same cotton, one being combed and the other carded, the combed yarn has the higher lustre, on account of the more regular arrangement of the hairs in the yarn brought about by the elimination of the short hairs. It is suggest...


A substantial change has taken place in recent years in the approach to the prevention of leprosy through antituberculosis vaccination. Since 1939 efforts have been made to start trials of BCG vaccine on humans as a prophylactic measure against malign leprosy. The third Pan-American Conference on Leprosy held in Buenos Aires in 1951, in connection with a subject of its agenda, "Actual Status of Antileprosy Campaigns," suggested the possibility of including BCG vaccination as a prophylactic measure. After that time numerous studies were conducted, and at the Sixth International Congress of Leprology held in Madrid ip 1953 no less than 18 of the papers offered dealt, in one way or another, with the effects of BCG vaccination, several of them with respect to prophylaxis. The report of the Committee on Epidemiology and Control stressed "the promising results which have recently been obtained with the lepromin reaction induced by B.C.G." 2 Those of us who were interested wanted to conduct a study on the use of BCG in the areas of the highest morbidity in this country. In May 1953, at a meeting of the Argentine Society of Leprology, we announced the beginning of our study although we had the serious obstacle of the short space of time that BCG can be used after manufacture. At about the same time we were offered S a new vaccine which had the advantage of being stable for a long period of time, thus facilitating large-scale trials.


Present status and developing trends of cast iron pipe at home and abroad were comprehensively surveyed.Basic situation and key achievements of cast iron pipe standardization were mainly introduced.Main problems and reasons facing standardization were analyzed.Some requirements for cast iron pipe standardization were put forward.Main tasks,fields,techniques and key projects of cast iron pipe standardization during the 11th Five Years were deeply discussed.


The aim of this paper is to prove the following noncommutative analogue of Poincare recurrence theorem: Let A be a unital C ? -algebra and let ' : A ! A be a C ? -homomorphism of unital C ? -algebras, which is invariant with respect to a state ' of A: Then liminf n!1 1 n ni1 P k=0 fl'(' k (a ? )a) fl > 0 for every a 2 A with '(a) 6 0: Comments on further extensions are also included.


This paper briefly surveyed the advantage,technology and industrialization progress of cellulosic fuel ethanol,analyzed some key issues,and presented its fature work and developmental strategies.


In this article, the main research goal is to present a model for rapid assessment of specific heating energy consumption of residential buildings. In the first part of this research paper the main inputs that could influence the building heating demand are identified.The next step in the development of the prediction model was to conduct dynamic simulations with different combinations of the inputs and to obtain a database of results. With this database, a multiple regression was applied and a simple (3 inputs) and accurate (R 2 =0.987) model was obtained.


SU‐101 was screened for the acid‐catalyzed ring‐opening alcoholysis of cyclohexene oxide. Results indicated access to open metal sites within SU‐101, a fundamental requirement (Lewis acid Bi+3 sites) for this reaction. In addition, SU‐101 exhibited high chemical stability, demonstrated by retaining its crystalline structure after the reaction. The cyclohexene conversion was estimated to be 99.8, 96.8, and 14.3 % at 40 °C for methanol, ethanol, and propanol, respectively. Also, SU‐101 demonstrated an outstanding catalytic cyclability performance for five cycles without losing catalytic activity.


This study aims to compare the average change in body temperature in a single wall incubator with a single wall incubator with hood in preterm infants with hypothermia. The design of this study uses a comparative descriptive method. The results of the study in the group of preterm infants with hypothermia in a single wall incubator with a lid significantly increased mean body temperature changes with a mean value of 36.09 variance 0.152 while for preterm infants with hypothermia in a single wall incubator a mean value of 35.35 variance values 0.859 and obtained t count from the two study groups namely 2.551 and 1.717 t table. In conclusion, a single wall incubator with a lid increases body temperature in premature infants with hypothermia compared to a single wall incubator.

Keywords: Hypothermia, Incubator, Premature


In this paper a novel computational technique for the solution of nonlinear third‐order boundary value problems is presented. We demonstrate the application of the method by solving the famous Falkner–Skan equation on a semi‐infinite domain. Comparison with the results from other methods such as the homotopy analysis method and numerical methods demonstrates the accuracy, computational efficiency and robustness of this technique. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The paper discusses flue-gas sulfur dioxide (SO/sub 2/) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) control technology in Japan, where success in reducing SO/sub 2/ and NOx emissions in recent years has been quite remarkable considering Japan's economic growth and the increased role of coal in Japanese energy production. Yearly SO/sub 2/ emissions in Japan were reduced from from 5 million tons in 1967 to 1.2 million tons in 1985, while NOx emissions were reduced from 2 million tons in 1973 to 1.3 million tons in 1985. Conversely, Japanese energy use increased from about 3.0 x 10/sup 15/ kcal in 1970 to 4.0 x 10/sup 15/ kcal in 1985, during which time coal has become increasingly important. Fuel coal imports, which began in 1977, reached 20 million tons in 1985 and are expected to increase to 50 million tons by 1990.


Uranium dioxide is widely used as a nuclear fuel and usually exists as hyperstoichiometric UO/sub 2+x/. In the described method UO/sub 2+x/ is dissolved in warm concentrated phosphoric acid saturated with sodium sulfate at room temperature to prevent the air oxidation of U(IV). The concentrations of U(VI) and U(IV) are directly determined by means of the absorbance of the two species at two specific wavelengths 420 and 665 nm, respectively. The results obtained are precise to +/- 0.002 O/U units and have been compared with those obtained from gravimetric titrimetry employing potentiometric end point detection. The O/U ratio determined by the two procedures agrees within 0.004 O/U units. The method has been employed to determine O/U ratio in near stoichiometric UO/sub 2/ (2.039) as well as in U/sub 3/O/sub 8/ (2.670). The developed spectrophotometric method is simple and fast and does not require inert atmosphere.


The growth and toxin production of Clostridium botulinum type E in various types of vacuum packed fish products was tested, with particular reference to the time/temperature relationship of storage. Toxin production was most rapid in herring although smoking retarded its development. With as small an inoculum as 102 spores/pack, fresh herring became toxic after storage for 15 days at 5°. Irradiation of three species of fish after inoculation with Cl. botulinum type E showed that spores surviving radiation germinated and produced toxin more rapidly than an equivalent concentration of spores in nonirradiated fish.


An 8-week experiment was conducted to determine the cobalt and zinc requirements of fry of seabass (Lates calcarifer) and catfish (Clarias batrachus). Fifteen diets for each fish were formulated with varying concentrations of cobalt and zinc, alone and in combination. The control diet was not supplemented with cobalt or zinc. The diets for L. calcarifer had 45% protein, while the diets for C. batrachus had 30%. The diet that produced the best growth for L. calcarifer (1100%) contained 2.5 mg Co + 45 mg Zn/kg diet and for C. batrachus (1149%) contained 5 mg Co + 30 mg Zn/kg. Growth in the control L. calcarifer was 738% and in the control C. batrachus was 428%. For both species, the food conversion ratios were best in the above diets, 1.17±0.52 for L. calcarifer and 1.40±0.62 for C. batrachus as opposed to 1.89±0.39 and 2.54±0.61 for the respective controls. The IJA appears exclusively as a peer-reviewed on-line open access journal at http://www.siamb.org.il Sale of IJA papers is strictly forbidden.


This article first analyzes the Lack of evaluation methods of Hebei provisional, basis on the domestic and foreign scholars' research results, then set up the new model based on the value of multi-objective decision theory and the theory of value engineering evaluation. The model to consider the subject of technology and business assessment standard, using the ratio of the value to compare and sort of the bidding program, and enhance the comparability between the tender program At the same time, the use of AHP the evaluation experts from a more fair and rational evaluation to determine the weight and ensure the authority and impartiality.


The invention relates to a terminal (20) comprising control: reading means (22) of an identification number on an identification title; a module (25) for processing adapted to implement a one-way function to generate a control number from the identification number; and comparison means (27) of the control number to a reference list.


Eggs and 5 nymphal instars of Atheas austroriparius Heidemann and Leptoypha costata Parshley are described and illustrated. The following life history information was obtained from correlations of field and lab data: A. austroriparius —2 generations a year; 8–15 days incubation; 1st-generation nymphal stadia averaged 5 days, 2nd generation nymphal stadia averaged 2 days. L. costata —3 generations a year; 9–10 days incubation ; nymphal stadia in all generations averaged 5 days. Both species overwinter as adults. A cecidomyiid parasite, Endopsylla sp., was reared from a 5th-instar L. costata .


Policy science in China is a new discipline, with a history of more than 20 years. It has been generally thought to go through two stages: (1) the initial preparation in the 1980s and (2) the rapid development in the later 1990s. Four great achievements made in policy science are: (1) In terms of theoretical research, a large number of academic essays and translations were published and books printed which are all concerned with the establishing of the systematic policy science with typical Chinese characteristics; (2) in terms of discipline construction, it has taken shape and the research team has expanded gradually; (3) In terms of academic exchange, there are more academic ties at home and abroad; and (4) in terms of the industrialization of the science, some policy organizations are open to market. In short, policy science is playing a more important role in promoting the decision-making science and democracy.


Abstract Atisane-type compounds and related natural products are attractive for their molecular skeletons and pharmaceutical bioactivities. This review summarizes total syntheses of atisane-type diterpenoids and related diterpenoid alkaloids. 1 Introduction 2 Total Synthesis and Synthetic Studies of Atisane-Type Diterpenoids and Related Diterpenoid Alkaloids 2.1 Ionic Methods 2.1.1 SN2 Substitution Reaction 2.1.2 Aldol Reaction 2.1.3 Intramolecular Double Michael Addition 2.2 Free-Radical Methods 2.2.1 Free-Radical Rearrangement 2.2.2 Free-Radical Addition 2.3 Diels–Alder Cycloaddition 3 Conclusion


We develop deformation theory of algebras over quadratic operads where the parameter space is a commutative local algebra. We also give a construction of a distinguised deformation of an algebra over a quadratic operad with a complete local algebra as its base–the so called 'versal deformation'–which induces all other deformations of the given algebra. In memory of our good friend Jean-Louis Loday


Studies on isolated perfused tubules of the tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) have shown that the distal nephron is heterogeneous with respect to function (Stoner, 1977). In this study, the initial portion of the distal tubule (diluting segment) exhibited a voltage, positive in the lumen, and a net absorption of chloride. Since the chloride was transported against an electrochemical gradient, its transport was active. More distad, the junctional segment exhibited a lumen‐negative voltage and sodium, rather than chloride, was transported actively. More recently Delaney and Stoner (1981) have demonstrated in vitro that the collecting duct of this species also has a lumen‐negative voltage which is probably associated with active sodium reabsorption.


A telephone survey of rural elders age 75 and over was conducted to determine their travel behavior and, in particular, their use of transit services. This paper presents the results of the survey in four sections. First, we present data on how many automobiles are available to elders, how prevalent drivers' licenses are among elders, and how many other people live in elders' households. Second, we present elders' overall travel patterns by mode and trip purpose. Third, we describe travel by rural elders who use transit. Finally, two models are developed to predict whether an elder took any trip on the previous day or a trip using transit in the previous year, using a series of variables that relate to demographic characteristics and mobility factors. Policymakers involved in developing and modifying programs that help elders maintain mobility can use this information to target resources and services to elders in most need of assistance.


Information Systems Success is one of the most studied field in management information systems. However, little study on this is done in Belize. Since the Ecommerce business has just recently shown signs of growth there is little information on the study. Therefore, this paper studies the effectiveness/ ineffectiveness of the ecommerce business at Courts in Belize City. A quantitative research was used to obtain information about the success of the ShopCourts system within the Belize City branch through the aim of questionnaires. The Delone and Mclean IS Success Model dimensions: information quality, system quality, service quality, use, user satisfaction and perceived net benefit was used in this study. The researchers also added two other constructs which included complementary technology and computer self- efficacy measure to address the issue of adequate hardware and proper training on how to use the system, along with slow internet access encountered in developing countries. The findings suggested that the information system is successful with only a slight decline in computer self-efficacy measure and use rate. This paper concludes by discussing the limitations of the study, which should be addressed in future research.


With the popularization of the Internet, it is challenging to develop spam filters that can effectively eliminate the increasing volumes of unwanted mails automatically before they enter a user's mailbox. To efficiently solve the spam filtering problems, a spam mail filtering method based on neighborhood preserving embedding (NPE) and support vector machines (SVM) classifier is proposed in this paper. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms other related spam filtering methods.


This paper is one of a series prepared for use in Current Operational Problems Working Group (COPS) forums with the goal of focusing attention of the industry on problems faced by those who are involved in actual power system operation. The results of a survey on operational problems are presented in this paper. Statistical information compiled for various categories of operational concerns is given with some general observations about the results.


Self-aligned double patterning (SADP) is a leading lithography technology for sub-20 nm process nodes. For two-dimensional features, decomposability is hard to be guaranteed for an arbitrary layout. Therefore, SADP-aware layout legalization must be first performed prior to realizing a design with SADP. This paper presents an efficient wire perturbation flow considering overlay-sensitive pattern edge minimization. We first perform layout decomposition by considering pattern complexity such that assist mandrel addition and overlay-sensitive pattern edges can be minimized. Then, a linear programming (LP)-based wire perturbation algorithm is proposed. Experimental results show that our approach can effectively legalize layouts with less total wire displacement, area overhead, and fewer overlay-sensitive pattern edges and assist mandrel patterns.


Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp plant was efficiently regenerated using cotyledonary nodes as explant. The explants were excised from 3 days old seedling grown in vitro on MS medium containing 3 mg/l BAP. They were cultured on MS medium containing BAP (2,5 mg/l) combinated with different dose of NAA (0, 0,1 and 0,5 mg/l) for shoot induction. Regeneration frequency varied with growth regulator combinations in the medium. A maximum number of 9,6 shoots per explant was recorded on MS medium containing 2.5 mg/l BAP. Increase in the ANA concentration of the culture medium decreased the number of shoots. Regenerated shoots were elongated on MS medium containing 1,25 mg/l BAP. The elongated shoots were rooted on MS rooting medium without hormone. The rooted plants were transferred to soil with a survival rate of 80%.


Summary Despite early diagnosis of uterine cancers and more efficient combined therapy modality, the optimal management of such gynecological malignancies remains a challenging debate. In the last few years, increasing data highlighted the potential of positron emission tomography (PET) using 18 F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) in various cancer types including cervical and endometrial cancers. Accordingly, metabolic imaging was found useful for localization of primary tumor, staging of nodal and distant metastases, and detection of symptomatic and asymptomatic recurrences. Besides, pilot studies pointed out on the prognostic value of FDG PET in treated and untreated cervical cancers. In the present review, we evaluated the clinical added-value that may offer a high-end imaging modality such as FDG PET, eventually combined with CT/MRI, in pre-treatment staging and post-treatment surveillance of uterine cancers.


Abstract The antecedents of Sweeney's Stabilized Accounting are early examples of responses to economic and political pressures. Sweeney's 1927 and 1928 works promulgating Goldmark Balance Sheets (Goldmarkbilanz) appeared, however, when the unique events (viz. hyperinflation and potential collapse of the Reich), which were the catalysts for backwards rescaling procedures of Goldmarkbilanz, had disappeared. Sweeney's writings pre and post 1928 differ markedly. Vacillations between indexation (backwards then forwards), historical cost, then replacement cost based stabilisation methods, which pepper his work, mirror the changing fortunes of Schmalenbach's, Mahlberg's and Schmidt's proposals. Sweeney's legacy is twofold: (i) the popularisation of indexed accounting, particularly in Anglo-American countries, and (ii) recognition of the need to couple a homogeneous (stable) unit of measure with a function of accounting which was to provide a measure of an entity's command over goods and services and any changes...


This paper describes the overall methodology and quantitative techniques applied during the development of an intelligent well control and communication system to ensure high system reliability and availability. In particular, the anticipated reliability impact of introducing high-temperature (HT) electronics technology together with redundancy for critical components is quantified. One of the main challenges when analyzing the reliability performance of novel technology is to establish appropriate input data. Hence, a methodology applied to establish and validate reliability data is presented. Harsh installation and operating conditions make a zero failure expectation for a 10-year life span appear unrealistic. The solution to this paradox is to assume that there will be some failures and to combat this by developing a highly fault-tolerant system. The methodology described in this paper also has broader potential applications to other oil and gas system development projects. It brings to our industry practices that are frequently employed in the aerospace and nuclear industries.


The theme of this special issue of Current Writing 29 (2) is "Facing the Future: Writing Transformation and Social Justice". The call for papers invited submissions investigating the mood and significance of the Zeitgeist for contemporary and future readers. Questions were posed about the kinds of fiction and other creative work arising from the current social matrix, which theories and critical analyses are appropriate to these texts, or from the perspective of these times when re-examining older texts, and what is new and progressive in writing in Southern Africa now, offering visions of the future. The articles responding to this call and comprising this issue examine a range of fictional texts and genres, providing original comments on theory, gender, silence and strategies for breaking this, as well as social performance in terms of university activism and transformation of the cityscape through graffiti art. The first article, "Re-tailoring Can Themba's 'The Suit'", by Cheryl Stobie, analyses the representation of sexuality in two recent stories by Makhosazana Xaba which re-imagine Sophiatown through a queer lens, portraying a fresh view of marriage and family life in the past and the present, and giving hope for a progressive future. The second contribution is Alexandra Negri's "Gendered Inclusions and Exclusions in Zoë Wicomb's David's Story", which focuses on the novel's depiction of the speech possible for female cadres within Umkhonto weSizwe, despite the backdrop of silence about rape and torture which prevailed. In "Whose Story is Written on Her Dead Body? Writing Gender Justice and Transformation by Re-writing Female Victims in South African Crime Thrillers" Sabine Binder investigates the fictional re-working of the trauma of silenced, female victims in selected women authors' novels as a political act. "The Complexities of Silence in Buhle Ngaba's The Girl without a Sound in the Context of Contemporary South African Tertiary Education Protest" by Chelsea Haith also concentrates on the significance of silence, as depicted in a children's book and as deployed in protests against rape culture at the university currently known as Rhodes (UCKAR). In "Cameline Agency: A New Agenda for Social Transformation in South African Women's Writing 2012–2014" Naomi Nkealah offers a new critical tool for interpreting women's writing, illustrating its usefulness by highlighting its differences from Akachi Ezeigbo's "snail-sense feminism", and applying it to a range of contemporary texts. Ken Barris's "Re/membering the Future? Speculative fiction by Eben Venter and Lauren Beukes" examines Trencherman and Moxyland, and concludes that the former is a dystopic future history, while the latter is a critical dystopia, but should not be described as a future history. The final article is "Writing the City from Below: Graffiti in Johannesburg" by Tom Penfold, which pays attention to the Westdene Graffiti Project as a prime example of 'mapping' the city of Johannesburg. Current Writing 30 (1), 2018, is a "general" issue. Submissions are to be sent to Michael Chapman (firstname.lastname@example.com). The "theme" issue, 30 (2), 2018, "The Ethics of Memory ...", will be edited by Judith Lütge Coullie. (See the description at the end of this issue.)


In this dissertation a computer graphics modeling and animation environment is proposed, which is well suited for modeling complex natural phenomena. The system is based on a data structure called the BlobTree, and employs implicit surfaces as the modeling paradigm. Implicit surfaces offer an inherent advantage over traditional surface modeling methods for many natural phenomena due to the wide array of intuitive blending techniques available. To alleviate the slow visualization times imposed by implicit surfaces, new methods for accelerated visualization of BlobTree models are presented. Model specification employs a procedural interface allowing specification of animation parameters and the inclusion of physically based simulations. An interactive viewing program is then used to preview the models using approximations with varying degrees of accuracy and speed, and to ray trace models for photo-realistic results.
The proposed system supports the construction of implicit surface models containing several orders of magnitude more primitives than has previously been possible. The use of this system is demonstrated by building models of several complex natural phenomena including a Murex cabritii shell, an animation of 27 years of growth for a Populus deltoides tree, and a physically based simulation of ice and speleothem formation. Each of these examples represent improved visual realism in the resulting models compared to previous techniques.


Proper diet is one of the elementary factors affecting human development and good health preservation. Well‑balanced nutrition is one of the most important elements conditioning appropriate psychophysical development, emotional condition as well as physical and mental state. Acquiring proper habits and behaviours in childhood and adolescence becomes a standard for the years of independent life to come. Increasing the level of knowledge on a well‑ balanced diet is the first step to improve the dietary behaviours in children, youth and adults. The aim of the representative research was to diagnose the eating habits of lower secondary school youth from urban and rural areas and determining the behaviours with reference to a number of descriptive variables. The paper contains the results of examining 252 pupils aged 13, including 139 girls and 113 boys. The examinations were conducted in lower secondary schools in the Świetokrzyskie Province. The eating habits were determined with the validated tool – the HBSC questionnaire (Health Behaviour in School‑ aged Children – WHO). Selected social and economic factors were evaluated, i.e. the number of siblings, parents' education, their professions and housing standards. Mean values, standard deviation, percentage calculations applying the computer programme Statistica were used for statistical computations. The significance of differences between the compared features was evaluated with a test for two independent samples. The value below 0,05 was assumed as the significance level for all calculations. As it results from the research material, before leaving for school breakfast is consumed by 61.8% of the examined pupils, and 9.2% did not eat breakfast at all. 15.3% of the examined (i.e. 17.3% of girls and 13.3% of boys) ate fruit at least one time a day, whereas vegetables were eaten by 10.7% of the lower secondary school pupils (i.e. 10,8% of girls and 10.6% of boys). Milk and dairy products were consumed at least once a day by 18.9% of the pupils (16.5% of girls and 21.2% of boys). Brown bread was never eaten by 2.9% of girls and 5.3% of boys. 16,1% of the examined pupils consumed sweets at least once a day, girls (18%) more often than boys (14.2%). It was indicated that the consumption of confectionery- sweets and chocolate by girls and boys depended on mother's profession. 7,6% of teenagers drank Coca‑Cola and other sweet soft drinks were drunk every day and more often than one time a day by 7.6% of teenagers, more often by girls (15.1%) than boys (12.4%), while never only by 6.5% of girls. A significant statistical difference was shown between boys and girls. In consumption of fruit and vegetables significant statistical differences were shown between the examined and mother's education and profession. A significant statistical difference between the examined and mother's education was shown with reference to the consumption of milk, dairy products and brown bread. There is a predominance of anti‑health over pro‑health behaviours. The frequency of consuming food products among the examined group of pupils from the Świetokrzyskie Province indicates the need for providing them with education on nutrition. It was observed that there exist vital dependencies between eating habits of the examined pupils and their parents' education.


We study the subgroup $\mathcal{E}xt^i_{\mathcal{C}}(\mathcal{F}; C, D)$ of $\mathcal{E}xt^i_{\mathcal{C}}(C,D)$ formed by those $i$-extensions of $C$ by $D$ in an Abelian category $\mathcal{C}$ which are ${\rm Hom}_{\mathcal{C}}(\mathcal{F},-)$-exact, and present a Baer-like description of this subgroup in terms of certain right derived functors of ${\rm Hom}_{\mathcal{C}}(-,-)$. We also study adjointness properties of these subgroups and the disk and sphere chain complex functors $\mathcal{C} \longrightarrow \textbf{Ch}(\mathcal{C})$, given by a collection of natural isomorphisms which generalize the corresponding adjointness properties proven by J. Gillespie for $\mathcal{E}xt^i(-,-)$.


The purpose of this research was to describe the difficulty experience in the implementation of the 2013 curriculum in class II SD Negeri 1 Jombor in the learning process. This research is motivate by the learning process that takes place in Class II of SD N 1 Jombor by using the 2013 Curriculum is not running well, most students still cannot understand the learning material available in the given textbook. This research used a qualitative research method with a descriptive approach and by using questionaire and interview methods. After conducting the research, the results obtained were the readiness of the teacher in teaching using Curriculum 2013 which included the allocation of time in the implementation of learning, the delivery of learning and assessment materials. Besides the research experienced by students when implementing learning using Curriculum 2013 was the level of understanding of students towards learning materials that are different between one another


Various concentrations of pliyamines like spermine, spermidine and putrescine were applied alone or in combination with sucrose in vase solution to study their effect on the vase life and other associated parameters in gladiolus. All the three poiyamines at 100ppm concentration in combination with sucrose were effective in extending vase life of gladiolus. Of these three, 100 ppm spermine along with sucrose in vase solution was also.able to keep fresh weight of gladiolus spikes higher for longer duration in comparison to other treatments due to higher uptake of holding solution. Aesthetic look of cut spikes in terms of floret diameter, turgidity and freshness was also better in this treatment.


Portland, Ore. - The topical immunomodulator pimecrolimus cream 1 percent
(ASM 981, Elidel) significantly reduces flares without systemic adverse events
in children with atopic dermatitis, according to researchers.


Using the PROII optimization simulation software and empirical calculation formula,and based on industrial experiment results,technicians examined the energy-saving potential of Sinopec Luoyang Company ′ s catalytic cracker no.2 and conducted an upgrade of the unit for the purpose of performance optimization based on the analytic results.A process for heat exchange between high-temperature diesel fuel and feed oil was added to the diesel fuel heat exchange process of the fractionating column.This measure has resulted in an increase of 3t/h of 3.5MPa medium pressure saturated steam from high-temperature oil slurry.Two methods were used to calculate the changes in the energy consumption of the catalytic cracker before and after isolation of economizer no.2 of the waste heat boiler.The energy use of the catalytic cracker increased 1.256kg of oil equivalent per ton and 1.341kg of oil equivalent per ton respectively after economizer no.2 was isolated.The benefits of upgrading economizer no.2 of the waste heat boiler were analyzed and the analysis showed that annual benefits could be worth 2.65 million yuan.The 1.0MPa steam system was also revamped:1.0MPa steam was replaced by sleeve wind as sleeve lifting medium and the volumes of steam used for pre-lifting of riser and gas oil stripping were adjusted.The above three measures could reduce use of 1.0MPa steam by 0.88t/h,0.8t/h and 0.7t/h respectively.Annual benefits of these measures were worth 1.87 million yuan.In addition to lowering energy consumption,these measures can reduce the high-temperature hydrothermal deactivation of catalysts,discharges of acidic water,the pressure on downstream sewage stripping units,and environmental pollution.


Adjacency matrices of trees are researched,and some characteristics of trees are summed up.Adjacency matrices can be used to store trees,to get the degree of each node and to judge whether it is leaf node or not easily,and also used to compute the sum of posterity nodes of each node.Specially,adjacency matrices of binary trees are discussed,they can be used to compute the sum of posterity nodes on left or right son-tree of each node in parallel,and get the A-sequences and B-sequences of binary trees in parallel.


Although the Neurospora crassa circadian clock has been studied for forty years, population studies of natural accessions have been limited by technical difficulties associated with the conventional race tube assay (CRTA) that is used to measure asexual development (conidiation). Due to the buildup of CO2 in the CRTA that represses banding, a mutant strain band (bd) has been utilized for increased visualization of the banding phenotype. In order to study the circadian clock in natural accessions of Neurospora multiple techniques have been explored. One such technique, the rubidium chloride-supplemented race tube assay (RRTA) has been used successfully. Here we present a new technique, the Inverted Race Tube Assay (IRTA) that is a simple modification of the CRTA. We analyzed 5 natural accessions of Neurospora using CRTA, IRTA and RRTA and discuss the advantages of the IRTA in natural variation studies in Neurospora. This regular paper is available in Fungal Genetics Reports: https://newprairiepress.org/fgr/vol51/iss1/5 12 Fungal Genetics Newsletter Inverted Race Tube Assay for Circadian Clock Studies of the Neurospora Accessions. Sohyun Park, Kwangwon Lee. Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14850 Fungal Genet. Newsl. 51:12-14 Although the Neurospora crassa circadian clock has been studied for forty years, population studies of natural accessions have been limited by technical difficulties associated with the conventional race tube assay (CRTA) that is used to measure asexual development (conidiation). Due to the buildup of CO2 in the CRTA that represses banding, a mutant strain band (bd) has been utilized for increased visualization of the banding phenotype. In order to study the circadian clock in natural accessions of Neurospora multiple techniques have been explored. One such technique, the rubidium chloride-supplemented race tube assay (RRTA) has been used successfully. Here we present a new technique, the Inverted Race Tube Assay (IRTA) that is a simple modification of the CRTA. We analyzed 5 natural accessions of Neurospora using CRTA, IRTA and RRTA and discuss the advantages of the IRTA in natural variation studies in Neurospora. N. crassa has proved to be a successful model for studying the molecular bases of circadian clocks. Significant insights into the mechanism of the clock have been obtained in N. crassa including a) transcriptional/translational feedback loops in the clock that opened up the conceptual foundation for our understanding of the biological clock (Aronson et al.1994); b) the resetting mechanisms by light and temperature (Liu et al. 1998; Crosthwaite et al. 1995); c) circadian gating of cellular activities (Heintzen et al. 2001); and d) the involvement of anti-sense RNA in the circadian regulatory circuit (Kramer et al. 2003). A critical step in studying the circadian clock is the ability to easily observe and measure circadian regulated behavior. The rhythmic behavior that has been most extensively studied in N. crassa is asexual spore development using the CRTA. A race tube is a long glass tube (28 inch long) that is bent up at both ends to hold an agar medium. Mycelia or conidia are inoculated at one end of the race tube and the fungus grows toward the other end. To synchronize the cells to the same time of day, the cultures are germinated in constant light for a day and then transferred to constant darkness. Under these conditions, Neurospora initiates asexual development about every 22 hrs (Loros and Dunlap 2001). As a result of asexual development, Neurospora produces orange colored spores creating the "banding" phenotype. This easily tractable clock phenotype has been integral in dissecting the genetic structure of the Neurospora circadian oscillator. All laboratory Neurospora strains used in clock studies contain the mutation band (bd) (Sargent and Woodward 1969). In the absence of the bd mutation, the rhythmic asexual development of Neurospora in a race tube is suppressed by the accumulated CO2, a byproduct of respiration (Sargent and Kaltenborn 1972). Before the discovery of the bd mutant, researchers relied on a device to blow fresh air into the race tube to prevent the accumulation of CO2. However, blown air easily disperses the highly hydrophobic Neurospora spores inside the race tube, ruining the experiment. In the bd mutant background, the rhythmic pattern of asexual development can be visualized without the air circulation device. It was proposed that the bd mutation desensitizes the repressive role of CO2 in rhythmic asexual development in Neurospora, although its specific role is unknown (Sargent and Kaltenborn 1972). This repressive role of CO2 has been a major obstacle in studying natural variation of the circadian clock in wild-collected Neurospora accessions (Morgan and Feldman 1998). In addition to the adoption of blowing fresh air into the race tube, crossing natural accessions with the bd mutant, or the rubidium chloride-supplemented race tube assay (RRTA) (M organ and Feldman 1998) have been suggested as methods to monitor banding in Neurospora accessions. However, each of these solutions created additional issues. First, crossing the accessions with the bd strain is not desirable because it does not maintain the heterogeneity of the genomic structures between accessions. Second, the RRTA introduces another variable; the mode of rubidium chloride action is not characterized, adding an unknown environmental factor that further complicates quantitative studies (Morgan and Feldman 1998). With all these technical problems in mind, we developed a modified race tube assay, the Inverted Race Tube Assay (IRTA) (Fig. 1). We reasoned that if it is truly only the CO2 trapped in the bottom of the race tube that prevents the rhythmic asexual development [8], one could remove the heavy CO2 by simply inverting the race tube. 25 ml of media (1X Vogel, L-arginine 0.17%, D-glucose 0.1%, 1.5% agar) is poured into the race tube and autoclaved (20 min. 121 /C). As the media cools down, the media solidifies; due to the water condensation on the inside surface of the race tube, the solid media can settle on the bottom (what used to be the top) of the race tube as the race tube is turned upside down. The race tube is then placed on a flat surface overnight until the excess water inside the race tube is dried. 1 Park and Lee: Inverted Race Tube Assay for Circadian Clock Studies of the Neuro Published by New Prairie Press, 2017


Objective: To describe the situation and some related factors of HIV/AIDS risk behaviors among men who have sex with men (MSM) at Thai Nguyen city in 2020. Subjects and methods: The descriptive crosssectional study was conducted among 72 MSMs from 15 years old, who were living at Thai Nguyen city. Results: The percentage of objects who didn't use condom during anal sex was 37,5%. There were 65,3% of MSM who haven't used PrEP. Regression analyse showed that condomless anal sex in single group was higher than in married group (p=0,041). The percentage of HIV infection in a single group was 16,2%. Conclusion: The percentage of safe sexual behaviors (condom, PrEP) was low among MSM at Thai Nguyen city. There was a relationship between marriage status and condom use in the MSM group.


We investigated prospective educators' knowledge of the law as it affects children using a specially designed instrument, a Survey of Children's Legal Rights. Subjects were 248 sophomores enrolled in a midwestern college of education. Questions focused on children's legal rights with respect to: abuse, freedom of press and speech, suspension and expulsion from school, corporal punishment, juvenile court hearings, special education decisions, freedom of religion, search and seizure within school, divorce and child custody, school vandalism, and school attendance. Analyses indicate that prospective educators have limited legal knowledge, and in specific cases have misconceptions about the law. Because our society is becoming increasingly more litigious, the need for colleges of education to adapt their curriculums to include legal issues is also addressed.


Winding lamp manufacturing method includes a bending process is bent to the inside is heated to a straight glass tube sealed in a vacuum state. Bending process, the maintenance of a predetermined portion of a straight glass tube by 1 using a chuck (chuck) and the second chuck using a second chuck to slide in the longitudinal direction of the straight glass tube for holding one end of a straight glass tube, first step; And while heating to a predetermined portion and the one end of the straight glass tube will bend located between the parts of the heater unit, bend the second chuck portion will bend by moving with respect to said straight glass tube is a second step. In a second step, the end portion is moved so that the one end of the weight is applied to the winding for example, government is softened by the heat of the heater. Winding lamp, a backlight unit, a straight glass tube, the radius of curvature, for example flexure government


Maintaining key functions of coral reefs is vital for the persistence of these eco-systems as well as for securing the goods and services that they provide in the Anthropocene. Underwater photogrammetry by Structure from Motion (SfM) allows the quantification of novel habitat descriptors that may be particularly relevant in assessing key reefscape traits, that is, physical and ecological characteristics of coral reef habitats. Here, we combined this new technology with fish surveys to explore how reefscape traits shape the functional structure of reef fish assemblages around three environmentally contrasted islands of the Indo-Pacific (Europa Island, Reunion Island, and New Caledonia). At 24 sites, habitat descriptors were computed from digital elevation models (DEM) and orthomosaics, while reef fish assemblages were assessed by visual census and video footage. Four habitat descriptors were marginally correlated and presented low variance inflation factor (VIF) values, thus being the most complementary descriptors: surface complexity, total shelter capacity, Shannon Shelter Index, and total coral cover. Linear mixed models (LMM) were used to explore the relationships between these habitat descriptors and four key fish functional entities: prey, planktivores, grazers, and predators. For each model, the variance explained (i.e., marginal R 2 ) was significantly higher when considering multiple predictors, including the novel three-dimensional descriptors (i.e., total shelter capacity and Shannon Shelter Index). The habitat descriptors quantified from underwater photogrammetry outputs (i.e., DEM and orthomosaics) provide easily available data to assess key reefscape traits and predict fish assemblage structure in coral reef ecosystems. This trait-based functional approach allows consistent assessment of the links between these descriptors from local to regional scales. Considering the global coral reef crisis


Background. Mrigal, Cirrhinus cirrhosus (Bloch, 1795)(junior synonym C. mrigala), is one of the most widely cultured Indian major carps. The main aim of this study was to quantify the dietary isoleucine, leucine, and valine requirements of mrigal juveniles. Material and methods. Growth studies were conducted with juvenile mrigal to determine the minimal requirements for the branched-chain amino acids: isoleucine, leucine, and valine. The experimental diets were formulated from purified ingredients to contain 40% crude protein. Casein and gelatin served as protein sources and were supplemented with crystalline L -amino acids to provide an amino acid pattern found in mrigal muscle protein. The amino acids for which the requirements were being determined was were supplemented at varying levels. Dietary inclusion levels for isoleucine ranged from 0.88 to 1.45%, for leucine from 1.36 to 2.05%, and for valine from 1.23 to 1.75%. Results. The optimum dietary requirements for isoleucine, leucine, and valine for mrigal, estimated using break point analysis were 1.25%, 1.73%, and 1.55% of dry diet, respectively. These values correspond to 3.12% isoleucine, 4.33% leucine, and 3.87% valine when expressed as a percentage of dietary protein. Food conversion rate, specific growth rate, and survival were better in treatments with diets containing 1.25% for isoleucine, 1.73% for leucine, and 1.55% for valine. Conclusion. : Results of this study clearly demonstrated that Cirrhinus cirrhosus could utilize free amino acids for growth. Further, the findings would be useful in formulating isoleucine, leucine, and valine balanced diets in controlled production of mrigal.


Changes such as evolving shortage of workers and other external environment have made private enterprises to achieve high performance through coordination employment relations. The paper summarizes the high-performance labor relations management model based on foreign theory review about labor relations and high-performance work practices theory, and suggest that we should design enterprise internal and external mechanism to realize the model.


1. Institute of Genetics & Developmental Biology,Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. 2. Biochemistry and Nutrition Research Center and Department of Nutrition, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. 3. Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran 4. Pharmacological Research Center of Medicinal Plants, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran


A three-layer one-dimensional steady-state Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere Transfer model was developed, tested and designed for simulations of the transpiration with a time step of one hour. Seasonal changes in the soil water potential were simulated with the daily step during the whole growing period balancing changes in the soil water content in the root zone with the interception, precipitations and evapotranspiration. Model input data were obtained in a spruce virgin forest growing in the Biosphere Reserve Poľana (19o 28', 48o 37', 1347 m a. s. l.). Results of model simulations were compared with the stand transpiration scaled up from sap flow measurements and with the soil water content measurements. Compared data sets were closely related and the standard deviation of differences between measured and simulated values was comparable with experimental data error. Consequently, the designed mathematical model can be used as a suitable tool for simulations of stand transpiration and seasonal changes in the soil water content. Results of model simulations indicated the great importance of the root system development for the plant and soil water regime when the rise of the root-shoot ratio had as a result an increase in the transpiration rate and faster drying of the soil.


Abstract:  Few attempts have been made to analyze the status of conservation efforts at a continental scale, mainly because of the lack of high‐quality data sets at this scale. Given that land management agencies want to prioritize conservation efforts and spend limited resources wisely, we recognized the need to undertake a national gap analysis. We developed the most detailed national vegetation cover map feasible to analyze the degree of representation of ecosystem analysis units (an initial representation of ecosystem types) in the network of conservation lands for the continental United States. We combined The Nature Conservancy's ecoregions with the natural land‐cover types of the National Land Cover Data Set and examined the conservation status of each combination. The majority of ecosystem analysis units have a small percentage of their total area residing in lands that are managed to support biodiversity. The median percentage of area conserved on status 1 and 2 lands (highest of four levels of protection) as designated by the Gap Analysis Program for the 554 ecosystem analysis units is 4.0% (SD 18.1%). This finding, which highlights our national conservation deficits, points to the need to address the size and diversity of the conservation estate.


The relationship between "Tian" and "Man" was a correlation that Ssu-ma Ch'ien attempted to explore between astrology and human society, which also inspired him to compile Shih-chi. Ssu-ma Ch'ien had asserted that "Tian" was all-powerful and insurmountable, and one that represented the totalitarian imperial rule, something that no ordinary man had control over. When faced with divine fate, what man could do was "Putting forth one's best efforts in finding one's ultimate fate", in which one would face one's ultimate destiny after having put forth one's very best efforts. When "Man" were confronted with illusive fate, Ssu-ma Ch'ien would deploy a circumventing insinuation approach to voice his trepidation and helplessness to convey his unique perspectives with relationship of "Tian" and "Man". Ssu-ma Ch'ien's "Tian"-"Man" perspectives contained the straightforward narrative as expressing in the Shih-chi. Or he would deploy a circumventing insinuation approach to narrate the cause-and-effect correlation between fortune and misfortune, which served to explain his perspectives of a humanitarian rule. Ssu-ma Ch'ien believed that the imperial order, although insurmountable, had belied on the bountiful blessing of Yin and Yang and blissful behavioral rewards, which he wrote with a candor yet insinuating subtle penmanship, embedding a historian's take on keen assessment and subtle persuasion. In Ssu-ma Ch'ien's attempt to discern the relationship between "Tian" and "Man", his quest was more than aiming to decipher where "Tian" and "Man" lied, but to invoke praises and persuasions that stood to the test of time.


Features and sample applications of the transonic rational optimization (TRO-2D) code are outlined. TRO-2D includes the airfoil analysis code FLO-36, the CONMIN optimization code and a rational approach to defining aero-function shapes for geometry modification. The program is part of an effort to develop an aerodynamically smart optimizer that will simplify and shorten the design process. The user has a selection of drag minimization and associated minimum lift, moment, and the pressure distribution, a choice among 14 resident aero-function shapes, and options on aerodynamic and geometric constraints. Design variables such as the angle of attack, leading edge radius and camber, shock strength and movement, supersonic pressure plateau control, etc., are discussed. The results of calculations of a reduced leading edge camber transonic airfoil and an airfoil with a natural laminar flow are provided, showing that only four design variables need be specified to obtain satisfactory results.


Based on natural gas hazard properties analysis, this paper systematically summarized the types of the natural gas pipeline leakage accidents and analyzed the toxicity and flammable characteristics of natural gas pipeline leakage with the help of quantitative risk analysis Software DNV SAFETI(Software for Assessment of Flammable, Explosive and Toxic Impacts). According to the flammability analysis of natural gas, leakage can be caused by jet fire, fireball and explosion. Through the corresponding calculation model of SAFETI, risk degree of explosion and its consequences after formaldehyde leakage accident were calculated, which is truly useful to predict and to prevent natural gas pipeline leakage accident and to reduce individual risk and social risk respectively.


This study has an objective to determine the factors on the internet adoption among SME managers in Tripoli of Libya. This research also determined testing of research hypotheses, based upon the conceptual framework of this study. Questionnaire is designed and distributed to the sample of the research. Quantitative research approach
was employ and surveys the user on internet adoption among SME sector in Tripoli of Libya. Questionnaire is designed and distributed to the sample of the research. The statistical software SPSS version 17.00 used to ensure the relevant issues is examined in a comprehensive manner. Statistical tools and methods were used where appropriate for analyzing the relationship among the variables and the model. Multivariate statistical analysis performed for the data analysis for this study. The analysis discussed all the
findings which through statistical analysis to show the analysis and discussions as the results of the data analysis. This research was conducted in term of descriptive study and also deals with construct assessment of the variables in the main study. Firstly, the main
study construct assessment discusses respondent's demographic profiles and purification of the measurement variables. Secondly, the hypothesis testing presented through correlation, linear regression and multiple regressions. The present study found in term of descriptive manner to determine the evidences and factor behind measures behavior of SME owner in Tripoli of Libya. The observation made on the event that recorded in the form of questionnaire, and choosing an appropriate study design with adequate sample sizes. The results of correlation, the linear regression regressions in assessing the variables or the empirical relationship between technology complexity, facilitating condition, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use were confirmed positively related to the internet Adoption as hypothesized. The positive association between independent variables on dependent variable was supported. In practical understanding, manager often cannot pick and choose individuals to become users of IT. Indeed, as noted earlier, the pervasiveness of IT in organizational work renders such a strategy untenable, and often the true benefits of a new IT may be realize only when all intended
users accept it. The use of appropriate interventions focused on influencing beliefs can be instrumental then in facilitating such acceptance, notwithstanding the profile of the work group. For stakeholder to implement new information technologies in work groups where individuals' profile are not quite consistent with the type of profile indicative may be nothing inherent in individual differences that strongly determines acceptance and, because of the mediating role played by beliefs, it is possible to find alternative means of facilitating technology acceptance and increasing individual productivity.


-The transport of high-fntenslty, high-brightness beams is reviewed. Recent results of theoretical studies and experiments are presented. WI21 be The main results of both computer simulations as as measurements from that period can perhaps best summarized by the following empirLca1 relation malized output and input emittance for an Introduction -The generation, transport, and acceleration of high-Lntensity, high-brightness beams is of great current interest for heavy ion inertial fusion (HIF), spallation neutron sources, injector linacs for future high-energy physics machines, free-electron lasers (FEL) > and other applications. The behavior of such beams is dominated by space charge, rather than emittance, i.e. OOCZ operates near the space-charge limit where the forces due to the internal fLelds are comparable to the external focusing forces. Spacec;large effects are most pronounced at low energy, and the only machines capable of accelerating low-energy beams of high intensity are rf linacs or inductLon linacs. Beam transport entails the transverse Pd lonoitudinal focusing 0 of the particl-s from the source through the accelerator to the target. In a typical low-energy transport section for an rf llnac, the beam has to be pre-accelerated, bunched, focused, and matched into the linac. Today, for ion beams, the Radio-Frequency-Quadrupole Linac (RFO) with its superior performance characteristics is being used for this task. In the 1 tnac, accelerat Len, transverse, and longitudinal focusing actLons occur at periodic time intervals. Thus, in the frame moving with the particles, the linac is a periodic beam transport system. At the high-energy end, the beam has to be transported to the target with magnetLc quadrupole lenses, since solenoids and electric lenses are not effective at high particle velocities. In an HIF system, this transport has to be provided over a very large distance, and a periodic FODO channel is required to accomplish this task. The major bottleneck Ln an HIF accelerator.though is at the lowenergy end. Since the currents produced by ion sources are several orders of magnitude below the levels required for pellet ignition, various schemes of current multiplication have to be employed such as longitudinal pulse compression, multiple-beam arrays in the inductLon linac, or funneling in the rf llnac system for HIF. HFstorically, we can distinguish two periods in the study of high-brightness beams. The ftrst period occurred in the late sixties and early seventies in connection wLth the design and operation of the highenergy injector linacs at CERN, Brookhaven, and Fermilab and the LAMPF accelerator at Los Alamos. Part Lcularly noteworthy for this period is the development and use of computer simulation codes,' to study the beam transport through an rf linac. In addition, considerable progress was made in developing analytical methods to describe the effects of space charge on the beam dynamics, such as the concept of rms emitt nce and equivalent beams by Lapostolle and Sacherer. 2' *Work supported by DOE between nc rf linac: Here, I is range 0.6 attributed fundamenta cN,out = (E 2 N,in + kI")L" , (1) the current in the bunch, n a number Ln the < n < 1.0 and k a constant. This formula, to Prom.&,' implies that there is a limit to the emittance and brightness of a linac beam which depends on the beam current. As the input emittance Ls decreased, the output emittance approaches a lower 1LmLt P hich depends on the current and is given by (kI")l *. This is illustiatoefdL;; FLg. 1 which is from a paper by R. Stephens Alamos showing theoretLca1 emittance curves according to Eq. (1) and measurements at LAMPF for different currents In schematic form. I 0 I 2 3 4 5 6 7 Normalized Input Emlnoncs E,, FIG. 1. Characterization of rf linac output emittance as a function of input emittance for different currents. Dashed curves represent relation (l), circles indLcated experimental data points (from R. Stephens, Ref. 4). It should be emphasized that there are to date no theoretical models that explain the ltnac beam physics responsible for the above relation and that predict the exact values for the parameters k and n. The proposals by Maschke and Martin to use heavy ion accelerators for inertial fusion triggered new interest in the transport of intense beams and launched the present period of research activity in thLs field that began in the late seventies. In the meantime, of course, other applications of highbrightness beams have broadened the scope of this work considerably. A major part of the work so far has been devoted to the beam transport in a long periodic channel where theoretical studies predicted instabilities due to resonant interaction between beam 0018-9499/85/1~-2?01$01.00


This article discusses a study that looks at the effects of social network structures of leaders and members on team effectiveness by studying how important leader advice is in facilitating team social integration and task completion. The article discusses the network density and node centrality aspects of social network structure as well as time as a moderator in teams and networks, and makes seven hypotheses about the study subject. The study used 31 previous studies of over 1600 teams, and conclude that the role of social networking in team task performance is very positive and strong.


Over half a million people in the US suffer from end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and rely on hemodialysis (HD) treatment for survival. The main challenge in HD is the inherent conflict between the need to remove a fixed amount of fluid using ultrafiltration (UF) within a (usually) short amount of time and the fact that high ultrafiltration rates (UFRs) can lead to intradialytic hypotension (IDH). The latter has been associated with an increase in morbidity and mortality. We present a novel approach to design robust UFR profiles to remove a target fluid volume from a HD patient within a prescribed time with minimum UFR levels, while hematocrit satisfies a specific critical hematocrit (HCT) constraint. Our approach is based on fluid dynamics during HD described by a nonlinear fluid volume model comprising intravascular and interstitial pools, whose parameters are given in terms of nominal values with uncertainty ranges. We show that under the designed UFR profile, the HCT of the nonlinear model will meet the critical constraint and the states will remain within a pre-defined region. We demonstrate our results through a simulation using a nonlinear model whose parameters were estimated based on clinical data.


Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) with the ability to provide accurate positioning and timing information have become very important for many essential applications of both military and civil purposes. Toward the objective of a high sensitivity GNSS receiver architecture capable of operating anywhere at anytime, this paper introduce two new acquisition strategies to deal with the problem of low received signal power in indoor environments. The strategies combine the proved advantages coming from the joint data/pilot acquisition strategies and the differential integration technique to further improve the robustness of the acquisition process. Analytical expressions as well as Monte Carlo simulations in indoor scenarios are presented to describe and prove the strategy improvement with respect to other strategies in literatures


The article studies the relevance of Bakhtin's theory of language and discourse for modern science. Special attention is given to his dialogue with Saussure, his insistence on the study of utterances and texts that should be broader than a strictly linguistic approach restricted by the scope of one sentence. That makes possible a completely new approach to the relation of linguistics and poetics; also of particular importance are Bakhtin's views on the opposition of monoglossia and polyglossia. The article also looks at the new science of urban linguistics as manifest in Bakhtin's remarks on the language of a city. Such parts of Bakhtin's ideas as heteroglossia and theory of quotations, the dialogical principle in its relation to the difference of the direct speech and the indirect one (both in synchrony and from a diachronic point of view) as well as the role of a dialogical approach for the speech genres are also explored. It is shown how Bakhtin's remarks on the importance of language for a world view and the foundation of onomastics have made him a predecessor of modern semantic studies. It is also shown how Bakhtin's broadly conceptualized notions of "laughter culture" and of carnival lead to a new view on the parody of language. Finally, it is demonstrated how recent studies on the early stages of the linguistic theories have confirmed Bakhtinian view on the sacred word in its relation to a free word.


ON the Author's recommendation, the Egyptian State Railways obtained a small consignment of steel sleepers about 9 years ago, for carrying out tests, and, solne 5 years later, a larger consignment was received for a similar purpose. In the first consignment the sleepers, which weighed 50 kilos. each and cost 5s. 6d., delivered in  Egypt, were designed and supplied by a Belgian firm. The second consignment was supplied by an English firm to the Author's design, which followed closely on the lines of the Belgian design. In thls c,ase each sleeper weighed 60 kilos., and cost,  dclivcred in Egypt, Ss. 6d. Fiy . 2 shows details of tllc heavy sleepers and of thc fastening8 used with a Vignoles rail, 95 lbs. per yard, British Standard Section. The  rails  are 12 metres long and eighteen  sleepers are  required for  each  rail ength. It will be noticed that the gauge can be widened on curvcs by turning the rail clips over, on one or both rails. Onc kilometre of th(. nlaill linc to Rlcxandria was laid in Lower Egypt with the first-mentioned ty1w of sleeper, one half 111 shingle ballast with a high proportion of sand, and the other half in ballast of clean broken basalt. After 9 years' service, the sleepers in the shingle ballast show considerable deterioration by rust, and their life is estimated at 25 years. In the basalt ballast, a better result is obtained, as wntilation is inrlwovtd, : t n d it does not hold the d a ~ n p to the s a ~ e c.strnt as tlw sllinglc~ ancl saild. Thc: lift: of the sleepers in this ballast is estimated at 30 t o 33 years. Under similar  conditions the life of well-seasoned pine slwpers in their natural  state is estimated at 13 years. In LT1)pcr Egypt, llcavy


A new converter is proposed with a power factor control and a resonant auxiliary capacitive branch to provide reduction of current in a switch and also to provide soft commutation in another switch.


A number of congestion control schemes which adopt the max-min fairness criterion and do not require maintenance of per flow states within the network have been proposed in literature. The stability of some of these schemes in networks of arbitrary topology, has been established analytically only for small deviations about the equilibrium point. The establishment of global asymptotic stability remained an open challenging research topic. In this paper we show global asymptotic stability for a decentralized max-min congestion controller which does not maintain per flow states within the network. In particular, we show that a max-min congestion control scheme applied to a network of arbitrary topology, guarantees that the user sending rates converge asymptotically to the max-min allocation values for any arbitrary feasible initial condition. The paper resolves a long standing research problem in this field. I. I NTRODUCTION Recently there has been a surge of interest in the analysis and design of decentralized congestion control algorithms for best-effort services in packet switched store and forward networks. A key element in most of the recent studies is that the congestion control problem in such networks can be viewed as a resource allocation problem. The available resources are the link bandwidths which must be allocated to competing network users in a fair way. This problem is well suited to study in an optimization based framework. In such a framework we associate with each user i utilizing the network, a utility function Ui(.) of the sending rateri. We use these utility functions to transform the resource allocation problem into a welfare maximization problem. Congestion control schemes can then be viewed as distributed solutions to this optimization problem. The most common optimization problem considered in this framework is the following ([1]):


Abstract : Improving DoD's Transition Process: - Review private sector experience to find lessons relevant to DoD during the transition to the new administration. - Review past Dod transition experience to determine actions that should be considered in 2008/09. - Develop proposals for successfully on-boarding and educating new appointees. Transitions over the past 20 years have been slow and ragged with many months required to get the new team in place. Bush's national security team was still not fully in place by 9/11/01. On-boarding has been haphazard and inconsistent.


Intra-voxel fiber crossing induced by partial volume effect has long been a key problem of white matter fiber reconstruction in brain using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging ( DT-MRI) data. While the classification of crossing areas and non-crossing areas is crucial and remains a challenge. In this paper, a new method to define "crossing voxels" and "non-crossing voxels"is proposed, and a modified regularization method to restore the underlying multiple fiber orientations in crossing voxels is presented. Hence fiber trac-king in crossing and non-crossing areas can adopt optimum direction measurements respectively. Both synthetic and real DT-MRI data experiments show that this method is effective to judge crossing areas and then fibers follow the restored direction in the classified crossing areas to resolve the intra-voxel fiber crossing problem during white matter fiber recomstruotion, which improves tracking accuray and simultaneously reduces computation accurary.


The chemical composition of palm fiber, a lignocellulosic waste ejected from the palm oil industry, was analyzed. The fiber consisted of holocellulose (59.6%), lignin (28.5%), lipid (1.9%), protein (3.6%), ash (5.6%), and others (0.8%). Delignified fiber was digested very well by the cellulase from Trichoderma viride and the degree of digestion reached over 90% of the total carbohydrate in the original sample. Also xylose was produced from hemicellulose units by hydrolysis with 5.0% sulfuric acid at 100°C for 60 min.


A proposed telescope would afford high resolution over a narrow field of view (<0.10 ) while scanning over a total field of view nominally 16 wide without need to slew the entire massive telescope structure. The telescope design enables resolution of a 1-m-wide object in a 50- km-wide area of the surface of the Earth as part of a 200-km-wide area field of view monitored from an orbit at an altitude of 700 km. The conceptual design of this telescope could also be adapted to other applications both terrestrial and extraterrestrial in which there are requirements for telescopes that afford both wide- and narrow-field capabilities. In the proposed telescope, the scanning would be effected according to a principle similar to that of the Arecibo radio telescope, in which the primary mirror is stationary with respect to the ground and a receiver is moved across the focal surface of the primary mirror. The proposed telescope would comprise (1) a large spherical primary mirror that would afford high resolution over a narrow field of view and (2) a small displaceable optical relay segment that would be pivoted about the center of an aperture stop to effect the required scanning (see figure). Taken together, both comprise a scanning narrow-angle telescope that does not require slewing the telescope structure. In normal operation, the massive telescope structure would stare at a fixed location on the ground. The inner moveable relay optic would be pivoted to scan the narrower field of view over the wider one, making it possible to retain a fixed telescope orientation, while obtaining high-resolution images over multiple target areas during an interval of 3 to 4 minutes in the intended orbit. The pivoting relay segment of the narrow-angle telescope would include refractive and reflective optical elements, including two aspherical mirrors, to counteract the spherical aberration of the primary mirror. Overall, the combination of the primary mirror and the smaller relay optic would provide narrow-angle, diffraction-limited high resolution at a wavelength of 500 nm.


In this paper the design problem of perfect-reconstruction cosine-modulated QMF banks has been formulated as a quadratic-constrained least-squares (QCLS) minimization problem in which all constrained matrices of the QCLS optimization problem are symmetric and positive definite. A cost function which is a convex function of desired prototype filter coefficients is constructed so that this kind of QCLS optimization problems can be efficiently solved. So a global minimizer of this problem can be easily obtained. Results of two design examples are presented to support the derivations and analyses.


Development of economic sectors related to mining and processing industries is largely determined by national approaches to subsoil use regulation. For the Republic of Kazakhstan, having enormous geological potential, it is relevant and significant to develop and use globally competitive approaches to public administration of subsoil. Achieving these goals allows building in foreseeable future the potential for consistent and secure participation of the national economy in market interaction with leading global partners on mutually beneficial terms. In the paper, emphasis is placed on the fact that, despite forecasted promising geological data, significant excess of the scope of mining work over that of exploration is observed in the Republic of Kazakhstan. This is accompanied by low investment potential of the exploration sector. To solve the accumulated problems in the field of subsoil use, an analysis of the current situation was carried out, the causes of the current circumstances were identified, and the suggestions were made for improving the system of and approaches to public administration of subsoil, with justification of their effectiveness. The analysis convincingly showed that the reforms carried out in the field of subsoil use in the Republic of Kazakhstan and the changing trends in the global economy strongly require revising the previously used approaches to public administration of subsoil for developing the most effective system of public administration of subsoil. The study examined the international experience of public administration of subsoil in the countries that have achieved the greatest progress in this field, identified the basic principles in building a system of public administration of subsoil use, conducted historical analysis to determine the effect of the methods and approaches selected by state for subsoil administration at different stages of economic development. Based on the study findings, the risk zones of inefficient public administration of subsoil were identified, and approaches to improving the system and methods of public administration of subsoil in the Republic of Kazakhstan were proposed.


The method of computational fluid dynamics(CFD) was used to calculate a lift-enhancing mothed on multielement airfoil,which contain a tab placed in the main-element trailing edge cover.A series of models with different parameters were calculated.The best configuration calculated,a 0.5%-chord tab placed 1% chord of the main-element trailing edge cover,increased the maximum lift coefficient of the airfoil by 4.88%.The mechanism of tab and the effect of the tab parameters were disscussed.The results show that this method can not only delay flow separation,but also increase the maximum lift coefficient.


ABSTRACT This review provides an overview of recent developments in the area of aqueous biphasic hydroformylation of higher olefins using metal catalysts and surfactants, cosolvents, thermoregulated ligands, cyclodextrins, and most importantly emerging water-soluble nonphosphine ligands. Water-soluble phosphine ligands have been widely explored for aqueous biphasic hydroformylation; however, phosphines are generally expensive and are prone to oxidation hence the recent interest in exploring other ligands. Various approaches have been used to introduce hydrophilicity to the ligands. The catalytic activity of monometallic and heterobimetallic systems containing nonphosphine ligands in aqueous biphasic media is emphasized in this review.


Departing from the premise that sex-roles are learned through socialization, this paper has a twofold purpose. Firstly, to focus on the school as one of the major sources of socialization and to discuss the sex-role stereotypes that young school children encounter in their learning process. Secondly, to contend that the influence received during the first years of school which emphasizes traditional sex roles, contradicts the latter social call faced by young women to join the labour force and may give rise to role conflict particularly among female workers who are wives and mothers. Accordingly, the discussion is divided into three sections. The con certs relevant to the discussion are defined and discussed in the first section. The second section deals with sex-role socialization in the first grades of elementary school in Singapore. And the third section presents the issue of conflicting role demands for females participa ting in the labour force in Singapore.


The history of American banking provides five distinct regulatory/supervisory regimes that cast light on the difficulties of constructing a regime that will guarantee the efficiency as well as the safety and soundness of the system. A basic taxonomy of regulation and supervision is provided to identify the key elements and rationale of each regime. Mark-to-market and prompt closure of insolvent institutions produced the lowest cost to depositors, shareholders and taxpayers, whereas discretion and forbearance created the banking cataclysms of the 1980s and 2000s.


Although tranconjunctival lower lid blepharoplasty was described many years long ago, it has only been in recent years, with the advent of laser, that its indication has become almost imperative. Thanks to this revival, tranconjunctival blepharoplasty has been indicated in many situations. Authors have been using it more recently in most cases where resectioning or repositioning of the eyelid pads is necessary. Also, whenindicated, scalped or laser skin resection follows immediately. In this manner, since there are no lesions to nerve and muscle structures, mainly pre-tarsal structures, most of the complications of lower lid blepharoplasty can be avoided.


A member of the New South Wales Bar and a Navy Legal Reserve Panelist recounts his experiences of deployment to the northern Persian Gulf in 2003 during the Iraq conflict. He describes his experiences of the activities in the Middle East operations area, when sent there to investigate complaints by naval personnel about allegedly forced anthrax vaccinations.


Purpose: To investigate the effects of subjective tinnitus on cognitive functions. Methods: There were 15 patients (10 bilateral, 5 unilateral) with tinnitus who were non-psychiatric in the study group. There were 14 controls (28 ears of them) that were healthy, non-psychiatric and did not have tinnitus. We used questionnaire form; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD); The SF-36 Health Survey; and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test to evaluate cognitive functions of the subjects. Results: In tinnitus patients, all HAD results (HAD-depression, HAD-anxiety and HAD-total) were insignificantly higher; and all SF-36 items were lower than the control group. In tinnitus group, MoCA scores (mean: 22.28 ± 3.90) were significantly lower then the control group (mean = 26.07 ± 1.74). In tinnitus group, higher MoCA scores were related to increased role limitations due to emotional problems (RE) and physical functioning (PF) values. As subjective tinnitus loudness level (STLL) values increased, HAD-Anxiety values increased and social functioning (SF) values were decreased. In well educated tinnitus patients, MoCA scores found significantly increased. Better Quality of life (QoL) results were found with better MoCA scores. The most important SF-36 items were PF, RE and social functioning (SF). Conclusion: Subjective tinnitus had negative impact not only in quality of life, but also in cognitive function of the patients.


Karst depression,sink hole and interstratal karst system are developed in the studied area,especially,nearby F1 and f2 fracture zones as well as third terrace.The development of karstification is controlled by stratigraphy,lithology,structure,landform and hydrogeological conditions.


In this experiment several plausible reactions for the hydration of pyruvic acid are suggested and the student makes use of the data collected to select the most probable ones.


A fuel sub-assembly has an adjustable coolant flow gag. The gag comprises two relatively rotatable co-axial tubes having baffles defining longitudinal flow paths. The flow paths house flow restrictions of different size and there is a valve member movable by one of the tubes for selecting one of the passages for coolant flow. 3 claims, 6 figures.


The municipality of Isa is located in the southern part of Kyushu Island, and it is considered one of the wealthiest places in Japan because one of the most important gold mines is found in this area, Hishikari mine. Additionally, there are many hydrothermal manifestations, e.g., Hishikari, Yunoo, Kawanami, and Kintaro hot springs, which can be exploited by the community as an electric power source. Until now, the geothermal resource has not been used for power generation purpose although Geological Survey of Japan had carried out some preliminary geothermal assessments, which show that the power potential density is between 10 and 20 kW/km 2 . To calibrate the previous value, first, this study attempts to analyze and interpret the gravity data for delineating the geothermal reservoir boundary and the assessment of geothermal resource. Accordingly, the corresponding researchers conducted 2-D and 3-D gravity modeling in the current research. This modeling is an essential stage of the complete gravity analysis in the region, because the filtering gravity methods, i.e., Horizontal-Derivative and Tilt-Derivative, can quickly detect steep gradients and indicate the location of faults or geological boundaries, however, they cannot estimate geological structure depth and shape. For this purpose, an area of 10 x 10 km was selected and analyzed considering a Bouguer Density of 2.45 g/cm 3 . The Bouguer Anomaly result shows a high value at the center, which extends 5.61 km 2 wide and could represent the probable geothermal resource. According to the Kagoshima geological map, volcanic and sedimentary rocks are the dominant type of rocks in this area. Shimanto group controls the fundamental structure of the deepest element. This arrangement is typically composed of sandstone, shale, acidic tuff subordinate conglomerates, their alterations, rocks and alluvial deposits. Similarly, Okuchi Basin, which are at east and west respectively, control the region. 2-D gravity modeling was carried out density contrast between the two assumed layers, i.e., the basement and the low-density deposit, and thus a value of 0.4 g/cm 3 was assigned. Likewise, the horizontal size of the cells was set at 100 m. The profile trending NW- SE shows a significant depression 400 m to 700 m deep located next to Hishikari hot spring. In this way, the hydrothermal fluids might be flowing up to the surface forming altered rocks and hot springs by using a possible geological fault. For a better understanding of the region, the authors also carried out 3-D gravity modeling. The result shows an area which has density values below 2.4 g/cm 3 and the zone NE-SW direction that starts at the Uonogoe area and ends at the Yamada area. Besides, a large anomaly located in the central area that has density values above 2.5 g/cm 3 is evident. This anomaly represents the hydrothermal alteration zone that hosts the propylitic altered rocks having precious minerals such as gold and silver. Between these evidenced zones, we could infer the location of the geothermal reserve which has an area of 4.06 km 2 . Integrating past research reports carried out by NEDO, using the Volumetric method with the calculated geothermal reserve area, and a Monte Carlo simulation, we estimated a geothermal power potential of 90 kW (22.5 kW/km 2 ) for 20 years. Nevertheless, this result needs to be corrected by further geoscientific investigations including inversion modelings.


We consider the parallel assembly and solution on shared-memory computers of linear algebraic systems arising from the finite element discretization of two-dimensional linear self-adjoint elliptic problems. Stiffness matrix assembly and conjugate gradient solution of the linear system using element-by-element and symmetric successive over-relaxation preconditioners are processed in parallel with computations scheduled on noncontiguous regions in order to minimize process synchronization. An underlying quadtree structure, used for automatic mesh generation and solution-based mesh refinement, is separated into disjoint regions called quadrants using six-color procedure having linear time complexity.


Full-face tunnelling machines were used for the tunnel construction in Slovakia for boring of the exploratory galleries of highway tunnels Branisko and Višňové-Dubná skala. A monitoring system of boring process parameters was installed on the tunnelling machines and the acquired outcomes were processed by several theoretical approaches. Method IKONA was developed for the determination of changes in the rock mass strength characteristics in the line of exploratory gallery. Individual geological sections were evaluated by the descriptive statistics and the TBM performance was evaluated by the fuzzy method. The paper informs on the procedure of the design of fuzzy models and their verification.


Interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ), vitamin D3 (VD), and retinoic acid (RA) induce differentiation of human monoblastic leukemia U937 cells to macrophage‐like cells with potential superoxide anion‐generating activity upon further stimulation. Here we report that U93 7 cells thus differentiated show various responses to apoptotic induction with a cytotoxic anti‐Fas antibody and tumor necrosis factor (TNF). VD‐or RA‐treated U937 cells acquired resistance against Fas‐ or TNF receptor (TNFR)‐mediated apoptosis, whereas apoptotic cell death was accelerated in IFN‐γ‐treated cells. By flow cytometric analyses, no decrease in expression of surface Fas antigen or p55 TNFR was observed in differentiated U937 cells. Cell surface expression of CD11b was seen only when differentiation was induced with VD or RA but not with IFN‐γ. The growth of VD‐ or RA‐treated cells was retarded but IFN‐γ‐treated cells were prolific. These findings suggest that the differentiation state differs with the inducer and that the cellular response to apoptotic induction is closely related to the state including the cell cycle. J. Leukoc. Biol. 60: 778–783; 1996.


P OLYCYTHEMIA VERA is not ordinarily associated with abnormalities in the serum proteins, more particularly in the immunoglobulins. Reports of immunologic aberrations in the myeloproliferative disorders, however, although relatively few, have been increasing. The occurrence of a myelomalike picture or myeloma itself has been noted in a number of patients with polycythemia.1'2 Multiple myeloma is almost always associated with a monoclonal type of gammopathy, although a few studies describe the presence of more than one type of abnormal immunoglobulin.1132#{176} The present report concerns a patient with a nine-year history of polycythemia vera, who, in the last year of life, developed severe anemia, azotemia, a very rapid sedimentation rate, proteinuria with Bence Jones protein, and two abnormal y globulin peaks in the serum. The bone marrow showed about 15 per cent plasma cells. Further studies disclosed two types of Bence Jones protein in the urine. Since the cellular origin of two abnormal y globulins with different immunological characteristics arising in the same individual has not been studied so far, the present case offered an oppcirtunity to determine whether one or both abnormal proteins were synthesized by the same or different plasma cells. The results of these and related studies are the subject of the present report.


A qualitative explanation of a novel melting phenomenon, a layer‐by‐layer thinning transition, recently discovered in free‐standing partially fluorinated liquid‐crystal films, is looked for using a phenomenological Landau free energy density formalism. In the thinning process, the number of layers in a particular film‐thickness jump depends on the initial number of layers; the temperature at which a jump occurs also depends on the initial thickness and increases with decreasing number of initial layers. The results of the calculation are in qualitative agreement with the experimental studies of the layer‐thinning transitions above the bulk Sm‐A‐isotropic transition.


We present a study of the torsional modes of a nanofiber excited with AM circularly polarized driving laser propagating through the fiber. We resolve the frequencies of the modes using polarimetry in a heterodyne configuration.


In this paper, we present results on the energy loss of H 3 molecules in SiO2 films with thickness ranging from 2.5 to 50 nm. For this purpose, we have used the resonant O(p,a)N nuclear reaction at 151.2 keV with atomic and molecular H 3 beams. This reaction is particularly suitable in the present study, since the width of the resonance peak is only 50 eV. The experimental results show the maximum values of interference effects so far observed: R'1.822.1 for the lowest thickness range of 2.5–7.0 nm. Calculations based on the dielectric formalismare in good agreement with the experimental data.


ABSTRACT This study aims to investigate the correlation between mothers' COVID−19 fears and their attitudes toward feeding their children and using food supplements. The mothers of 312 children aged 3–6 years participated in this study. Data were collected online using the Descriptive Characteristics Form for Children and Their Families, the Questionnaire Form on Food Supplement Use, the Mother's Attitudes Toward the Feeding Process Scale (MAFPS), and the Fear of COVID−19 Scale. During the pandemic, 58.9% of children used food supplements. Of these, 38.7% used vitamins/multivitamins, 39.4% used food supplements to strengthen their immunity against the disease, and 23.8% of mothers stated that the food supplement was effective in preventing COVID−19. As the fear of coronavirus increased, the mothers' attitudes toward feeding their children were negatively affected. The mothers' fears of COVID−19 negatively affected their attitudes toward feeding their children by 24.0%. Therefore, nurses should ask whether mothers use food supplements for their children during the pandemic period and inform those who use them about the effects and possible side effects of using this method.


Our aim is to define the importance of rural tourism in Serbia for the development of Serbian rural areas. This paper presents Serbia as a country of varied, well-preserved nature, with many attractive and representative elements, and a developmental priority oriented towards ecological and village tourism, which has strong chances on the picky international tourist market. As Serbian rural tourism is only beginning to develop, we identified its potentials for further development, but also pointed out the weaknesses which are now obstructing the growth of this, in many ways the most perspective form of tourism in Serbia


This issue of the Journal contains a paper on the results of a randomized trial with a new anticoagulant – idrabiotaparinux – that was prematurely stopped. Trials can be stopped prematurely for several reasons, including harm, superiority and futility. The trial, the results of which are published in this issue, was stopped for 'commercial reasons'. Accompanying the paper is a commentary by Dr Greaves, pointing out why stopping trials for commercial reasons is undesirable. The premature termination of a trial is rarely satisfactory and one can argue that trials are too often stopped early. Harm is the strongest reason to stop a trial: when the new treatment appears worse than the comparator standard treatment or placebo, a trial must be stopped, because the participants would be harmed by continuation. As with side-effects of drugs, harm does not need to be proven: reasonable suspicion suffices to invoke the adagium of primum non nocere. An example is the Women's Health Initiative, a trial of postmenopausal hormones versus placebo, which was stopped because of an excess risk of breast cancer associated with hormone use. Superiority can be a compelling reason to stop a trial, for instance when a new drug appears life-saving. This was the reason to stop the trial of azidothymidine (AZT) very early after it had begun, because this was the first drug that was effective against AIDS, and it was unethical to withhold this treatment from those receiving the placebo, and all others suffering from the disease. Often, the advantage is less dramatic, and one might argue whether premature termination is necessary, particularly when it is not likely that all will immediately be prescribed the new treatment. In this case the benefit of making the result public should be balanced against the biased result that a prematurely stopped trial invariably provides. A well-known example is the Physicians' Health Study, in which aspirin was tested against a placebo. This study was stopped both for futility and superiority: there was a clear effect on non-fatal myocardial infarction and it was clear that the trial was not sufficiently large to ever show an effect on fatal events. In fact, there was not even the suggestion of an effect on the risk of death. In this case, the trial failed to answer the question for which it was designed (do healthy people benefit from taking an aspirin?), a question that could have been answered if the trial had continued. As the treatment effect is overestimated in a prematurely stopped trial, it is not implausible that commercial considerations may play a role in the decision, or in the inclusion of stopping rules in the protocol: the drug appears better than it is. A trial is stopped for futility when at interim analysis it becomes evident that the original hypothesis will not be answered due to the distribution of outcomes so far. This is not a scientific reason to stop unless one believes a study is intended only to yield a statistically significant outcome. However, when a trial is seen as giving information about the magnitude of an effect, it would be useful to finish the trial and report the effect, which may direct future larger trials, rather than letting all efforts, funds and patients' participation go to waste. It is unlikely that at interim analysis it becomes clear that a new treatment has no effect at all, and therefore researchers should be discouraged from including termination for futility in their protocols. Finally, termination for commercial reasons is neither scientific nor ethical. Patients participate in a study because they believe they will help the progress of science and, in turn, future patients. Researchers have planned a trial because they believe the answer would be useful. One also wonders what 'commercial reasons' are: have better drugs become available, has a company decided to abandon a certain field, or is there new information about side-effects? The public has a right to know. Researchers and ethical committees are called upon not to allow the possibility of early termination due to commercial reasons. Often, the results of such trials are not published, but like all scientific endeavours they should be, and the researchers of the Borealis trial are to be commended for doing so.


In 1983, for the first time, half of all mothers with children under age 6 were in the labor force.' Out of a cohort of 19 .0 million children under age 6, 47 percent had working mothers. In the near future, the majority of preschoolers will very likely have working mothers, as most school-age children already do . How preschool children are cared for while their mothers work is something that relatively little is known about, although what is known suggests a quite complicated picture . What is the picture today of child-care services for preschool aged children'? To help the reader visualize the picture, four questions are addressed:


The first rearings of the Cape anchovy and South African pilchard from the egg through metamorphosis are described. Larvae were fed a variety of laboratory-cultured organisms. The highest growth rates were achieved in experiments in which the calanoid copepod Paracartia africana and cyclopoid Oithonina nana were fed. Data on laboratory growth, mortality, and feeding in the two species are presented.


Abstract We show that every weak*-closed derivation from C[0,1] ⊂ L ∞[0, 1] into L ∞[0, 1] is the inverse of integration against a function in L 1[0,1].


Straight up in the Introduction, Ladkin, McKay and Bojesen let the reader know that they plan on being controversial and disruptive of the existing neo-liberal political economy, and that it may ta...


The cutaneous ultra-violet (UV)-induced erythema seems related to prostaglandin production by the skin. Non steriodal antiinflammatory drugs delay the onset of this erythema and reduce its intensity. According to the studied organ and the experimental procedure, various authors have observed contractions or relaxation of isolated smooth muscle when irradiated by UV in vitro. In a preliminary study that does not allow a statistical analysis, on guineapig isolated ileum the authors observed in a very limited number of cases a small potentialization by UV (366 nm) of the contraction induced by some agonists.