The study carried out simulation of the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) of the New Port Harcourt Refinery (NPHR) and performed exergy analysis of the Refinery. The Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) of the New Port Harcourt refinery was simulated using HYSYS (2006.5). The Atmospheric Distillation Unit (ADU) which is the most inefficient unit and where major separation of the crude occurs was focused on. The simulation result was exported to Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet for exergy analysis. The ADU was optimized using statistical method and Artificial Neural Network. Box-Behnken model was applied to the sensitive operating variables that were identified. The statistical analysis of the RSM was carried out using Design Expert (6.0). Matlab software was used for the Artificial Neural Network. All the operating variables were combined to give the best optimum operating conditions. Exergy efficiency of the ADU was 51.9% and 52.4% when chemical exergy was included and excluded respectively. The optimum operating conditions from statistical optimization (RSM) are 586.1 K for liquid inlet temperature, 595.5 kPa for liquid inlet pressure and condenser pressure of 124 kPa with exergy efficiency of 69.6% which is 33.0% increment as compared to the base case. Original Research Article Braimah; JERR, 14(3): 1-14, 2020; Article no.JERR.58522 2 For the ANN optimization, the exergy efficiency of the ADU was estimated to be 70.6%. This gave an increase of 34.9% as compared to the base case. This study concluded that enormous improvement can be achieved both in design feasibility and improved efficiency if the feed operating parameters and other sensitive parameters are carefully chosen. Furthermore, ANN optimization gave better exergy efficiency of 70.6% than RSM optimization of 69.6%.


The article presents the analysis of the population of the Tatarstan Republic and guest's awareness upon the University games-2013 in questions of the organization of the World university games and relation of the respondents to the organization and holding of the XXVII World summer University games-2013. The results of questionnaire show that the majority of the interrogated different social groups are proud for fact that the University games are held in the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan. Satisfaction among the participants of the questionnaire has been caused by the building of the excellent sports objects, modernization of the transport infrastructure and exterior of the city. According to the majority of the respondents of different social groups, the preparation and holding the University games will promote the growth in quantity of the systematically engaged in physical culture and sport.


PURPOSE: To maintain a specification characteristic for a long period by supporting an outer race and a support ring through an intermediate ring made of elastic rubber, forming the intermediate ring with a web body circumferentially distributed and inclining the web body in the same rotation direction to an involute shape. CONSTITUTION: This support bearing device 1 mainly comprises a rolling bearing having an inner race 3 and an outer race 4 and the outer race 4 and a support ring 5 are supported each other through an intermediate ring 6 made of elastic rubber material. The intermediate ring 6 is formed by web bodies 7.1, 7.2,..., circumferentially uniformly distributed and the web bodies 7.1, 7.2,..., are inclined in the same rotation direction with an involute shape. A circumferential gap formed by the adjacent web bodies 7.1, 7.2,..., has a width corresponding to a thickness of the individual web body. Therefore, even if the web bodies 7.1, 7.2,..., are relatively displaced radially and circumferentially, a load applied to retaining surfaces 8, 9 of the web bodies 7.1, 7.2,..., is restricted to the minimum. Thereby, a shearing and a tensile stress shortening a service life are surely avoided.


With the advances in medicine and the development of newer therapeutic agents, the laboratorian needs to be constantly aware of the potential analytical interferences from these medications. Here we demonstrate a potential analytical interference with a case report of a patient who received the recombinant uric acid oxidase Rasburicase (Sanofi-Synthelabo) and the sample handling requirements for uric acid analysis. Rasburicase is a potent uricolytic agent that catalyzes the enzymatic oxidation of uric acid to allantoin, a water soluble metabolite that is readily excreted by the kidney (1). It is used in the treatment and prevention of hyperuricemia, predominantly in patients with hematologic malignancies (1)(2)(3)(4)(5). The half-life of Rasburicase is estimated to be between 16 and 22 h (2).

A 28-year-old man presented with ascites to the emergency department at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, a tertiary teaching hospital in Western Australia. The patient was subsequently diagnosed with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma 7 days postadmission. The day before commencement of the patient's scheduled chemotherapy (day 8 of admission), he developed tumor lysis syndrome. The patient had severe metabolic acidosis (9 mmol/L plasma bicarbonate; reference interval, 22–32 mmol/L), a plasma uric …


The invention discloses a venous duct fixing device. The technical problem that a venous duct is inconvenient to fix or demount is solved. According to the technical scheme for solving the problem, the venous duct fixing device comprises a positioning piece, fixing blocks and connecting assemblies; a bonding layer is arranged on the lower bottom face of the positioning piece, a clamping groove used for being connected with a venous duct in a clamping mode is formed in the upper bottom face of the positioning piece, and through holes I penetrating through the lower bottom face of the bonding layer are formed in the bottom face of the clamping groove; the connecting assemblies comprise connecting rods, locking mechanisms arranged at the upper ends of the connecting rods and connecting parts fixedly connected to the upper bottom face of the positioning piece; grooves are formed in the upper ends of the fixing blocks, through holes II penetrating through the lower end faces of the fixing blocks are formed in the bottom faces of the grooves, the lower ends of the connecting rods penetrate through the through holes II and are detachably connected with the connecting parts, and threads are arranged on the upper end axial faces of the connecting rods; the locking mechanisms comprise locking blocks in threaded connection with the upper ends of the connecting rods, and springs I arranged between the bottom faces of the grooves and the lower end faces of the locking blocks, and the locking blocks carry out rotating lifting movement along the connecting rods to control the elastic locking force generated by the springs I to the fixing blocks.


formation is lacking, however, on the specific influence of these factors, especially when using catheters and pressure injectors for delivery of the contrast medium during arteriographic studies. This study was undertaken in an attempt to evaluate specifically the practical importance of these physical factors in terms of their direct application to arteriographic procedures. The influence of the following factors on flow rates of contrast media was studied under as nearly identical conditions as possible: type, diameter, length, taper and side hole effects of catheters; injection pressure; intravascular resistance ; and viscosity of contrast media. The iodine delivery rates of two recently introduced contrast media (Angio-CONRAY, Conray) and a third now under investigational study (CONR ~Y-400) t were compared under identical conditions with seven other opaque substances currently used for arteriographic evaluations.


We extend the galaxy 2‐point correlation function w(θ) down to V∼26 mag on scales θ≲0.5°. For 14≲g≲26 mag, w(θ) roughly maintains a constant slope (1−γ≂−0.6 to −0.8), which has apparently undergone little change over the entire redshift range sampled. For 20≲g≲24.5 mag, w(θ)'s amplitude continues to decrease with fainter magnitudes. Beyond g≳25 mag, our catalogs become gradually incomplete, and w(θ)'s amplitude starts to rise again while maintaining roughly the same slope. We give several possible explanations for this effect.


In this paper, we aim to realize the bidirectional communication that a human and a robot perform the face to face interaction based on the behavior with emotion. A model of "Interactive Emotion Communication" (IEC) is proposed in this paper. This model is a kind of interactive process that a robot infers human emotions from human behavior and generates robot emotions. In addition, we evaluated the impression for emotional behavior of pet-type robot in the experiment of human-robot interaction.


Michael Moore's law of transactional distance predicts an inverse relationship between dialogue and structure in any educational transaction. The greater the dialogue, the lesser the structure and vice versa. This paper describes the theoretical underpinnings of types of virtual learning environment that in some senses break this law by generating structure through dialogue. Such systems might thus cater simultaneously for diametrically different types of learner as well as possess the ability to adapt closely to the needs of groups of learners. Three examples of such environments are described and opportunities for further developments in this field are explored.


IFPUG作为目前使用最为广泛的功能规模度量方法,不同度量员在对同一个实时系统进行度量时,结果存在较大的偏差。本文通过IFPUG和COSMIC方法对多个实际项目度量结果的比对,分析存在偏差的原因,提出IFPUG→COSMIC→待度量软件的映射关系,并对方法进行验证。结果表明,建立IFPUG→COSMIC→待度量软件的映射关系,可以提高数据功能的识别准确度,缩小不同度量员度量结果间的偏差。 As the most widely used functional size measurement method, IFPUG still has the limitation that there is a large deviation in experimental results when different measurement members measure the same real-time system. Based on the comparison of several measurement results of multiple projects by IFPUG and COSMIC method, this paper analyzes the reasons of these deviations. And a mapping relationship of IFPUG→COSMIC→measurement software is proposed. The experiment results show that establishing the mapping relationship of IFPUG→COSMIC→measurement software can improve the recognition accuracy of the data function and narrow the deviations between different measurement results of different practitioners.


This paper addresses the task of span-level emotion cause analysis (SECA). It is a finer-grained emotion cause analysis (ECA) task, which aims to identify the specific emotion cause span(s) behind certain emotions in text. In this paper, we formalize SECA as a sequence tagging task for which several variants of neural network-based sequence tagging models to extract specific emotion cause span(s) in the given context. These models combine different types of encoding and decoding approaches. Furthermore, to make our models more "emotionally sensitive'', we utilize the multi-head attention mechanism to enhance the representation of context. Experimental evaluations conducted on two benchmark datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed models.


This paper focus on stochastic control design in the Kullback-Leibler sense. The technique is called the Fully Probabilistic Design (FPD) and consist in essence of finding a stochastic control law, given in terms of a probability density function (pdf), minimizing the Kullback-Liebler distance between pdfs describing a given closed loop system and a desired closed loop system. This paper demonstrate that the FPD method can 1) be used in a Model Predictive Control strategy, and 2) be used for control of the pneumatic valve which represents a nonlinear system.


This paper aims to find out Mohammad Natsir's triple helix concept and its relevance and implementation in da'i education in Indonesia. The method used is descriptive qualitative, data is taken from literature sources. The results revealed that Mohammad Natsir's trilpe helix concept was to integrate three institutions in the da'i education process, namely masjid (mosque), pesantren, and kampus (university). This concept is considered relevant to the conditions and culture in Indonesia because it has the characteristics of Indonesian culture. This concept is implemented by integrating the curriculum between kampus and pesantren, kampus and masjid. Opportunities for integration between the three institutions are increasingly open with the support of the concept of an merdeka belajar dan kampus merdeka which was proclaimed by the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia. The realization of this concept can be in the form of creating joint projects between kampus and masjid by involving students in managing mosques and managing community empowerment programs together. The implementation of the integration of the kampus and pesantrens curriculum can be carried out in the context of the transmission of Islamic knowledge and the education of the da'i character which is very conducive to being carried out in a pesantren atmosphere.


The state uses different tools to try to promote the employment of people with disabilities but the key to the practical success of the legislative regulations and the programs promoting (re)integration in my opinion lies in the approach of the owner leader and the human resource expert. The rules which are often perceived as coercions, due to the rehabilitation contribution considered as quotas, the organisations take on the employment of disabled people however, they do not put any emphasis on the actual fitting in of them into their organisations. This is not necessarily due to the fact that they do not consider this task important but because they do not know how to begin. Based on the results of the questionnaire answered by 458 people from 117 organisations we can state that the judgement on factors influencing the fitting in of disabled people trainings show a relatively low average value. Though my interviewing experiences prove that several leaders do not know the phrase "sensitizing training" and its content, aim and significance in fitting in the disabled. Besides describing the factors influencing the fitting in of the disabled employees the article also sheds light on the peculiarities and significance of the sensitizing trainings.


• Objective: To assess the extent to which the experiences of older patients vary according to type of primary care provider (ie, physician assistant [PA], nurse practitioner [NP], or physician). • Design: National, cross-sectional survey. • Participants: Medicare beneficiaries completing the 2000 and 2001 Medicare fee-for-service Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Survey who identified a primary care provider. • Measurements: Satisfaction data, patient sociodemographic characteristics, health care experience, types of care, types of insurance. • Results: 146,880 completed surveys from 321,407 randomly sampled Medicare beneficiaries nationwide (45.7% of total surveyed) were analyzed. 3770 respondents (2.8%) identified a PA or an NP as their personal provider. For questions on satisfaction with their personal care clinician, results were similar across the 3 providers. Patients who reported an NP as their primary care provider were significantly more likely to be Medicaid recipients as compared with patients who reported receiving care from a PA or physician. Patients who reported a physician as their primary care provider were more likely to have supplemental insurance as compared with patients who reported receiving care from a PA or NP. • Conclusion: Medicare beneficiaries are generally satisfied with their medical care and do not distinguish preferences based on type of provider. Nonphysician clinicians and physicians in primary care seemed to be viewed similarly regardless of patient characteristics. PAs and NPs may be a workforce that could be expanded to care for the rising needs of the elderly.


The article considers economic and social conditions, as well as the process of establishing a legal regime of self-employment. The positive intermediate results of its functioning are indicated, the content is disclosed, including legislative novels. Based on the analysis of law enforcement practice, problem places were identified (ambiguous qualifications of the activities of self-employed citizens; uncertainty with the choice of a court competent to resolve disputes involving new economic entities; low income bar; "loss" of individual sources from the subject of taxation; "false identity," etc.), proposals were made to eliminate them.


The present invention relates to a power on reset (POR) circuit. The POR circuit according to the present invention comprises: a current mirror circuit to adjust a ratio of a current flowing a circuit according to a voltage supplied from power; an inverter which is driven according to an output of the current mirror circuit to output a POR signal; a brown out detection (BOD) comparator which is electrically connected to the current mirror circuit, compares the voltage supplied from the power and a reference voltage, and outputs a corresponding voltage signal according to the comparison result; a BOD control switch which is driven when an output of the BOD comparator is 0 (zero voltage), and reoperates the POR; and a current control switch which is installed in the current mirror circuit, is driven when the output of the BOD comparator is (zero voltage), and controls and supplies the current of the POR. According to the present invention, the POR circuit having small power consumption is realized by adding the BOD circuit to a general POR, thereby minimizing power consumed in the POR and designing a low power IC.


This paper presents a new method to realize high precision range and velocity measurement for linear frequency modulated continuous Wave (LFMCW) radar. By doing interpolation of intermediate frequency signal after FFT processing, the accuracy of range and velocity measurement can be improved. According to the principle of LFMCW radar range and velocity measurement, in order to improve range and velocity measurement accuracy, high precision frequency estimation of intermediate frequency signal of LFMCW radar is needed. Due to noise, clutter, sample rating and other factor, the peak of IF signal spectrum cannot accurately correspond to real frequency, this will cause a relatively large range and velocity measurement error and cannot meet the needs of LFMCW radar in unmanned driving, traffic monitoring and other field. Based on the analysis of two FFT spectral line interpolation, and combined with the characteristics of LFMCW radar range and velocity measurement, by moving the frequency of IF signal, the range and velocity measurement accuracy can be effectively improved. Simulation results verify the feasibility of the proposed method.


Ecto‐enzymes are catalytic membrane proteins with their active sites outside the cell. They include cholinesterase, which inactivates acetylcholine, and angiotensin‐converting enzyme, which converts angiotensin I to biologically active angiotensin II, and numerous other peptidases, transpeptidases, nucleotidases, phosphodiesterases, and phosphatases. Many CD antigens of leukocytes are ecto‐enzymes; some CD antigens for which no function is currently known are probably ectoenzymes. Expression is highly regulated and correlated with differentiation and activation. Some are highly restricted in distribution; others are ubiquitous. Many are shared between leukocytes and non‐hematogenous cells. Biological functions appear to depend on the type and location of the cell in which expression occurs, and include recycling of nutrients, local control of response to cytokines and hormones, bone formation, cell mobility, invasion, and metastasis. Many novel regulatory functions of ecto‐enzymes remain to be discovered, and may reveal new mechanisms of local extracellular control of cellular function. J. Leukoc. Biol. 67: 285–311; 2000.


ABSTRACT The Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) held its first annual meeting in February 1920 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In the 100 years since its inception, ATE has led advocacy in issues related to teacher education. The leaders of today continue to be on the cutting edge of other major issues in research and practice in teaching and teacher education and have continued to advocate for the betterment of high quality teaching and teacher preparation not only in pre-K-12 teachers in schools but also teachers educators in institutions of higher education. In this entry, ATE presidents are interviewed about their experience leading the organization.


A direct comparison of the recent advancements in the hydrogenolysis and hydrocracking of polyolefins is lacking. This perspective aims to address this gap while providing insights from model alkane studies to guide future research.


Droplet-based microfluidics provide a powerful platform for high-throughput operations applied in micro analytics, micro reaction technology and live sciences. Todays research interests focus on the development of highly integrated fluidic networks for sample processing according to a microchemical or microanalytical protocol. Normally, fluidic networks with integrated fluidic loops and bypasses are very complicated systems that require a huge effort for external control and integration of actor components. In contrast, in droplet-based microfluidics interface generated forces can be used to temporarily seal bypasses or to generate well defined pressure gradients at strictures. This potential can be used to implement self-control and self-synchronization at functional nodes in order to minimize the effort for external control and actors integration. Here we report on progress in development of functional nodes for self-synchronized 1:1 coalescence of two independently generated droplet sequences at a Y-shaped junction and on approaches for droplet aliquotation at a Y-shaped bifurcation. The droplet connector automatically balances the time delay between two droplets arriving at the junction. On this account, strictures are integrated into the Y-junction and an additional bypass connects the arriving channels. The first arriving droplet stops at the stricture until its fusion partner arrives. The droplet splitter performs an 1:1 aliqoutation of all elements of a droplet sequence. The main challenges are the balancing of pressure differences at the outlets and the correct aliquotation of droplets independent of their volume at a wide range of flow rates. The splitter design is based on the rule that forces required for splitting are always lower than the forces required for complete droplet inflow into only one of the outlet channels without splitting.Copyright © 2008 by ASME


The separation and purification of complex, expensive molecular entities is both the greatest challenge and most interesting task f k i n g engineers dealing with the commercial synthesis of pharmaceutically important compounds. In contrast to the traditional chemical industry, the high unit value and relatively small volumes of pharmaceuticals allow many seemingly exotic techniques to be employed. The high molecdar weights and thermal or chemical instability of many of these compounds often prevent the use of some of the more convgntional separation techniques, such a s distillation or evaporation. An extremely wide range of separation techniques is available to, and routinely used by, the pharmaceutical industry. Ultrafiltration, electrophoresis, electrodialysis, reverse osmosis, liquid chromatography, crystallization separations of optical isomers, adsorption, even roduction-scale versions of gas chromatography and Eigh-performance liquid chromatography are all widely employed, as well as the more traditional unit operations. The chemical engineer, to be effective in this field, must maintain an awareness of a very wide spectrum of separation techniques, and possess the knowledge and judgment to apply them as appropriate. We will deal with one aspect of separation by liquid extraction. The techniques to be developed are not new: the first attempts at a mathematical description were made in 1943. Chemical engineering literature, especially in the United States, is almost devoid of an discussion of them.


What has happened when a city goes bankrupt? Is the "municipal corporation" dissolved? What stands in its place? Do the creditors take over City Hall and the city's streets and alleys? Can the creditors obtain a lien on the city's primary source of income: taxes? Can the bankruptcy court override the decisions of elected officials regarding taxation and spending? How high must taxes go, how low must services get, and who decides? Who are the residual stakeholders? Can we pierce the municipal "corporate veil?" If we do, who is behind it? What is the role of the state? As these questions suggest, the bankruptcy of a municipal corporation raises fundamental issues regarding the nature of the city, and a study of municipal bankruptcy promises to shed considerable light on the scholarly debate over its legal status. Yet the subject of municipal bankruptcy has received little attention in the legal literature.1 The subject is apparently of too little practical financial importance to attract the attention of bankruptcy scholars (there are, after all, few municipal bankruptcies), but of such daunting technical complexity that it has discouraged serious investigation by local government specialists.2 It is our intention to


Objectives:Both anemia and dyslipidemia are widely prevalent public health problems, especiallyin the Indian population. Associationof anemia and dyslipidemias were reported in some individual experimental animals. The study was planned to find thechanges in serum lipid profile in adult Indian patients with anemia. Material and methods:100 cases of anemia (hemoglobin <13 g% in men and <12 g% in women), and 100 age and sex matched healthy controls, in the age group 18-40 years were investigated for any possible changes in serum lipid profile i.e.,triglycerides, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, very low density lipoprotein cholesterol. Results:The mean cholesterol in patients with anemia was 122.47 ± 29.32 mg/dl, whereas in controls group was 160.43 ± 38.91 mg/dl. The mean serum triglyceride level in patients with anemia was 89.41 ± 33.1532 mg/dl and in control group was 111.45 ± 40.6632 mg/dl. Mean high-density lipoprotein levels were 36.13 ± 12.8132 mg/dl in anemic group and 45 ± 13.032 mg/dl in control group, whereas low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level was 70.12 ± 21.64 mg/dl in the anemic group and 100.45 ± 30.8032 mg/dl in control group. VLDL levels were higher in control group (21.96 ± 8.132 mg/dl) compared to the anemic group (18.34 ± 7.6432 mg/dl). Conclusion: Lipoproteins levels were significantly abnormal in anemic as compared to non-anemic subjects.


I CANNOT wait any longer to communicate to you my' further fiiccefles in the Vaceine-pock Inoculation,A dreadful SmalUpox epidemic has given, this autumn, a new-luftre to that practice which, according to the fenfation that it is making in this town, is not likely to be ever laid afide. This extenfion of practice,, which hitherto is entirely, or nearly fo, in my hands, has enabled me to eftimate the accu-


Loss of stability of thin-walled structural elements of aircraft is the most common type of destruction. In this work, the definition of the critical velocity of a pressure wave moving over the surface of an acclivous, ribbed cylindrical shell, which is the most common design element of all aviation and rocket systems, is considered. The article takes into account the discreteness of the location of stiffeners (stringers), in contrast to other works, where ribbing is taken into account only within the framework of a constructive orthotropic model. In the quasi-static formulation, the problem of the stability of a shallow shell with a discrete arrangement of stringers under the action of a moving radial load has been solved. The range of critical speeds of movement of the load is defined. An example is considered.


Specified mixtures of peat with bark and peat with straw were burned in a lab-scale entrained flow reactor that simulates conditions in the superheater region of a biomass-fired boiler. Deposits were collected on an air-cooled probe that was inserted into the reactor at the outlet. For both mixtures, the deposition behaviour followed a non-linear pattern, which suggests that physico-chemical interaction between the ashes of the different fuels has taken place. The results indicate that it is possible to burn up to 30 wt-% bark (renewable biofuel and pulp mill waste) and up to 70 wt-% straw (renewable biofuel and agricultural waste) in mixtures with peat without encountering increased deposition rates in the reactor. The deposit composition was compared to the fuel ash composition using chemical fractionation analysis and SEM/EDX. While the composition of deposits obtained from pure fuels resembles the feed composition, a considerable change is observed in deposits obtained from mixtures. K and S compounds are attached to Si spheres and the substrate surface. The deposition rate is significantly lowered when removing K, S, Cl and Na in bark prior to burning by washing and mechanical/thermal dewatering.Copyright © 2005 by ASME


The following notes, made upon types or historic specimens of certain rodents, marsupials and bats, were secured during the summer months of 1937, when I was privileged to study portions of the collections contained in the natural history museums at Genoa, Berlin, Leiden, London, Tring and Paris. I visited those cities in the order named after spending a short time at the principal museums of Australia. I wish here to express my deep appreciation of the cordial reception I received from the authorities of the several institutions: Dr. Oscar de Beaux at Genoa; Dr. H. Pohle and Dr. E. Stresemann of the Museum der Universitiit, Berlin; Drs. G. C. A. Junge, H. Boschma and L. D. Brongersma at Leiden; Messrs. M. A. C. Hinton and T. C. S. Morrison-Scott at the British Museum (Natural History), London; Dr. Karl Jordan of Tring; and M. Boudarelle (representing Drs. E. Bourdelle and Paul Rode) at 55 Rue de Buffon, Paris; and in the museums of Australia, Dr. H. Longman and Messrs. E. Le G. Troughton, C. W. Brazenor, H. H. Finlayson and L. Glauert. In every case these gentlemen gave me the fullest co-operation. Upwards of forty skulls of types or type series were extracted and cleaned for me, in consequence of which I was fortunate to be the first student ever to study the teeth of many holotypes. I wish also to acknowledge the kindness of Mr. H. S. V. Sody of Amsterdam, not only for permitting me to study his private collection but for sending some specimens to the British Museum for further examination. To Drs. N. Gyldenstolpe of Stockholm and W. Meise of Dresden I am indebted for similar loans. In the following memoranda I have set down certain particulars regarding some of those specimens, which I feel ought to be published without further delay. Some homonyms are noted. Special notice has been taken in cases where species depend upon co-types instead of holotypes. Certain restrictions have been suggested. Photographs of almost all of the type skulls examined are now on file at The American Museum of Natural History. For references in the text to Jentink's Catalogue see "Catalogue Systematique des Mammiferes," Mus6um d' Histoire Naturelle des Pays-bas, volumes XI, XII, 1888, 1892.


Edward Morgan, gardener at the Westminster Physic Garden probably from about 1650 until 1678, compiled a hortus siccus in three large volumes, which are now in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Morgan evidently continued to add specimens to the hortus siccus when he retired from Westminster and returned to his native Wales. Remarkably, on the back of a letter to his father, also in the Bodleian Library, Edward Lhwyd listed "plants found in north wales" with page numbers relating to specimens in the three "tomes" of the hortus siccus, presumably as an aide-memoire for his own use. These lists are clearly abbreviated versions of lists made by Morgan himself, of which only that relating to the first volume has survived, but from it and other evidence it has proved possible to detect the specimens in the hortus siccus that were certainly or very probably collected in North Wales. Unfortunately the specimens are not localized or dated, but, although they constitute early records for Wales, almost all of the species represented had already been recorded in Britain and/or Ireland.


Pelvic organ dysfunction is a common disease,which influenced the life quality of the middle-aged and elderly women seriously.Injury or weakness of the pelvic floor is one of the main mechanisms.Surgical intervention is a optimal choice.In recent years new methods of pelvic reconstruction using artificial implants have been accepted gradually.These new procedures have better treatment effects and less injuries,as they have been introduced clinically for only about 10 years,there are such remained to be confirmed as long-term effects,complications,comparison with traditional operations.Follow-up through epidemiological investigation is a good choice;it helps not only to summarize but also to train doctors.


Massive number of generation and real-time recognition of 2-D label using optical codes and wavelengths are implemented for the first time. A test 640 Gchip/s, 128 × 128 optical encoder/decoder (E/D) in combination with the wavelengths in C-band (~4.4 THz) with 5 GHz interval of in C-band enables potentially up to about 1,000 labels.


To address the question of tilt versus translation as the mechanism responsible for discordance between paleomagnetic directions of Cretaceous plutons in the British Columbia Coast Plutonic Complex and the North American reference direction, metamorphic pressures around the margin of the Spuzzum pluton have been determined. Pressures are derived from microprobe analyses and evaluation of exchange equilibria in the assemblage garnet-biotite-plagioclase-aluminum silicate-quartz. Samples studied come from eight localities in the contact aureole around the pluton and encompass the area of a previous paleomagnetic study. The analyzed samples are coarse grained and exhibit textural features indicative of equilibrium crystallization following emplacement of the Spuzzum pluton. Results of this study indicate a complicated tilt history for the Spuzzum pluton, with tilt first to the northeast then to the southwest. The southwest tilt can fully explain the discordance of the paleomagnetic direction in the Spuzzum but does not preclude translation. However, in view of the tilt history of this pluton, the paleomagnetic data derived from it should not be used in an analysis of north-south translation.


In this article, the courses of advanced mathematics in the electronics speciality in UK is introduced, including teaching contents, syllabus design, text materials, etc., and their features. It will be helpful to chinese colleagues.


This article presents the results of clinical and laboratory studies of 155 newborns with congenital cytomegalovirus infection. The following clinical manifestation have the greatest diagnostic value: jaundice, pallor, expressed hepatosplenomegaly. It's difficult to diagnose cytomegalovirus infection in premature babies for various reasons: frequent nonspecific clinical symptoms, subclinic or clinically asymptomatic picture. The presence and the level of immunoglobulins (antibodies) G and M and an increase in their titres is the crucial point in the diagnosis of CMV as well as positive polymerase chain reaction. Treatment of cytomegalovirus infection is effective on the background of comprehensive therapy (80%) and administration of NeoCytotect. [Tussupkaliyev B., Zhumalina A.K., Tusupkaliev A.B., Zhekeyeva B.A. Cytomegalovirus infections in neonates. Life Sci J 2014;11(12s):396-398] (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 85


This paper proposes a structured model for the identification of green tea, as well as tracing its geographical origins. Considering that the features of different types of green tea are similar under THz time-domain spectroscopy, we designed a program to perform principal component analysis (PCA) of the spectroscopic data of various green tea samples and to determine the data sequences of principal components. We then established a training set for the principal components to train a support vector machine (SVM) model via a genetic algorithm (GA). We used this model to optimize the parameters and develop a GA-based SVM model with an identification rate of 96.25% for the tested samples. Taken together, our results confirm that THz time-domain spectroscopy combined with GA-SVM can be effectively applied to rapidly identify types of green tea with different geographical origins.


Introduction: Urinary tract infection (UTI) has a high prevalence in children. It is an important
cause of renal scar, chronic renal disease, failure to thrive and hypertension. The unnecessary
consumption of antibiotics results in the bacterial resistance to most common drugs. In addition,
possible drug allergic reaction and side effects should be considered. Therefore, finding new
antimicrobial compounds is necessary.
Objectives: In this study, the antimicrobial effect of some plants of Lamiaceae family on Escherichia
coli in comparison with common antibiotics used in UTI was investigated.

Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, the hydroalcoholic extract of 13 plant species
from Lamiaceae family were prepared and their antimicrobial effects were assessed by the agar well
diffusion method. In addition, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal
concentration (MBC) were investigated using the serial dilution method. The zone of inhibition
(ZOI) of the growth of E. coli was compared between the studied extracts and five most common
antibiotics in the treatment of UTI.

Results: The mean diameter of ZOI was significantly higher for amikacin than the studied extracts
and other antibiotics. Among the herbal extracts, the highest ZOI was observed for Nepeta crispa. In
addition, the MIC and MBC of N. crispa were significantly lower than other extracts.

Conclusion: According to the side effects and relatively high cost of chemical and synthetic drugs,
use of herbal extracts, such as N. crispa may be recommended as an alternative treatment of UTI
with E. coli. The results of present study are promising to introduce new candidates in the treatment
of UTI.


White undergraduate students matriculating at an HBCU express less overt evidence of social adjustment barriers than Black students at predominantly White institutions. Although White students reported a sense of under-representation, they reported no direct experiences of overt racism and reported good relationships and strong support from HBCU faculty. Differences between the social adjustment experience of White undergraduate students and a similar study of White graduate students are discussed. Student affairs practitioners are challenged to consider racial-consciousness raising cocurricular and curricular educational programs that can assist White students in enriching their "temporary minority" experience. The eight student participants averaged 19 years of age and (with one exception) had attended the HBCU for at least one year. Data were gathered through focus groups, a Racial Identity Scale and a Faculty Support Scale.


A molecular beam maser spectrometer with separated oscillating fields was used to make very high resolution measurements of hyperfine structure on the J=1→ 0 rotational transition in CH3NC. Electric and magnetic interaction strengths obtained from analysis of the spectrum are: the nitrogen quadrupole coupling eqQ=489.4± 0.4 kHz, the nitrogen spin‐rotation CN=1.73± 0.08 kHz, the hydrogen spin‐rotation CH=−0.24± 0.08 kHz, and the hydrogen‐hydrogen spin‐spin DHH=19.5± 0.4 kHz.


The ability to distribute copyrighted content in digital form through high capacity prerecorded discs and Internet-enabled transmissions has brought new challenges to the protection of such content from unauthorized use and copying. Legal and technical mechanisms to address these challenges are still very new, but important developments have occurred in the past few years. Because all of this is new, there are two reasons why researchers and developers of digital technologies need to understand the developments: first, to ensure that research and development is not conducted in a manner that is contrary to the new legal requirements; and second, to stimulate comments concerning legal developments that may have unintended consequences beyond the areas that are intended to be regulated. The purpose of this article is to provide an outline of certain important legal developments so that participants in the research and development field can be alerted to their existence and make appropriate inquiries and comments.


We investigate CMC-surfaces with periodic metric in a dressing orbit of the cylinder. It is shown, that such surfaces are always of nite type. Using the periodicity conditions for the extended frame of a CMC-surface, we develop an alternative approach to the classication of CMC-tori given by Pinkall and Sterling.


It is proposed that conscious qualia arise when and only when the 'runn ing' of physical processes takes a special, complex form. Running in general is the unified unfolding of proce sses through time, and is claimed to be an additional quality of physical processes beyond their state trajecto ries. The type of running needed for conscious qualia is reflexive in physically affecting and responding to itself. Intuitively, running is essentially the flow of causation, and the self-affecting/responding is a matte r of causation bearing a causal relationship to itself: that is, causation can itself be reflexive. The propos al potentially makes temporal qualia the most fundamental qualia, with others derivatively arising. The pr oposal is neutral about whether a conscious process occurs in a natural organism, in a physically implemente d computational system, or in some other physical substrate, as long as the substrate involves the specia l reflexive runningness.


To lead a project effectively, one has to establish and maintain the flexibility to take appropriate actions when needed. Overconstrained situations should be avoided. To get on top of matters and stay there, a manager needs to anticipate what it will take to successfully complete the job. Physical and financial resources, personnel, and management structure are all important considerations. Carving out the necessary turf up front can make a world of difference to the project's outcome. After the "what," "where," and "when" of a project are nailed down, the next question is "how" to do the job. When I first interviewed for the job of Science Payload Manager on the Advanced Composition (ACE) Explorer mission, Dr. Edward Stone (ACE Principal Investigator) asked, "Al, give me an idea of your management style." It was a question I had not considered before. I thought about it for a few seconds and then answered, "Well, the first descriptive term that comes to mind is the word "tranquility". That seemed to startle him. So I added, "I guess what I mean is, that if the situation is tranquil and the project is running smoothly, then I've anticipated all the problems and taken necessary actions to head them off." He then asked: "Have you ever reached this state?" "No," I admitted, "but I strive for it." That seemed to satisfy him because I got the job.


The purpose of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of the Korean Version of Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (KSE-12), which is used to examine Communication Self-Efficacys for 155 nursing students. To verify the construction factor of the tool, exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation was performed, resulting in one factors with 12 items. KSE-12 was significantly correlation with GICC (p<.001), and criterion validity was verified. Cronbach's α was .98, showing internal consistency. Therefore, we suggest that it will be useful for the accumulating the evidence data for development of the communication self-efficacy program by using the KSE-12.


In Chinese higher education, transnational education (TNE) is pivotal, especially in graduate studies. TNE allows students to earn foreign degrees without leaving China. This paper examines TNE policies in Chinese graduate studies, with a focus on evolving towards an Orientation Program. Historically, TNE in China grew due to economic, cultural, and political factors, including globalization's impact, government support, and international student experiences. Recent discourse centers on policy challenges and opportunities for graduate students, including educational quality and internationalization. However, research gaps exist in policy implementation and effectiveness. This paper argues for further research to assess TNE policy efficacy and areas needing improvement. Recent findings reveal complexities in TNE policy implementation, impacting quality assurance and student prospects. Drawing from prior research, this paper addresses issues in current TNE policies, proposing enhancements, such as systematic policy-making, international alignment, clear objectives, and robust monitoring mechanisms. In conclusion, a holistic approach to TNE policy is crucial. Implementing proposed measures can bolster China's higher education internationalization and enhance postgraduate competitiveness. This research contributes to the TNE dialogue and informs a Chinese Policy Orientation Program (CPOP).


In this paper, a modified Forced-Beta method for the collector resistance extraction is proposed. Instead of monitoring the base current and collector voltage for different collector current values in the standard Forced-Beta method, the proposed method employs output characteristic measurement data. The only auxiliary quantity that is required in that approach is the emitter resistance that is available from standard extraction procedures. The proposed method provides important advantage that the required output characteristics represent a standard measurement setup for bipolar transistors' model parameters extraction. In that way accurate extraction of collector resistance does not require any auxiliary measurements.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider one of the recent and practical extensions of the resource-constrained project scheduling problem (RCPSP) termed as the multi-skill resource-constrained project scheduling problem (MSRCPSP) for investigation. The objective is the minimization of the makespan or total project duration.

Design/methodology/approach
To solve this complex problem, the authors propose a teaching–learning-based optimization (TLBO) algorithm in which self-study and examination have been used as additional features to enhance its exploration and exploitation capabilities. An activity list-based encoding scheme has been modified to include the resource assignment information because of the multi-skill nature of the algorithm. In addition, a genetic algorithm (GA) is also developed in this work for the purpose of comparisons. The computational experiments are performed on 216 test instances with varying complexity and characteristics generated for the purpose.

Findings
The results obtained after computations show that the TLBO has performed significantly better than GA in terms of average percentage deviation from the critical path-based lower bound for different combinations of three parameters, namely, skill factor, network complexity and modified resource strength.

Research limitations/implications
The modified TLBO proposed in this paper can be conveniently applied to any product or service organization wherein human resources are involved in executing project activities.

Practical implications
The developed model can suitably handle resource allocation problems faced in real-life large-sized projects usually administered in software development companies, consultancy firms, R&D-based organizations, maintenance firms, big construction houses, etc. wherein human resources are involved.

Originality/value
The current work aims to propose an effective metaheuristic for a more realistic version of MSRCPSP, in which resource requirements of activities may be more than one. Moreover, to enhance the exploration and exploitation capabilities of the original TLBO, the authors use two additional concepts, namely, self-study and examination in the search process.


Objective Hyperkalaemia is a common problem in maintained hemodialysis(MHD) patients.The aim was to assess the factors associating with hyperkalemia in these patients.Methods Respectively,57 MHD patients were enrolled in this study.Patients were divided into three groups,including angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition(ACEI) group,angiotensin Ⅱ receptor blocker(ARB) group or non-ACEI non-ARB group.The clinical factors such as urine volume,serum potassium,creatinine(SCr) and urea,carbon dioxide combining power(CO2CP) were studied.Results The incidence of hyperkalemia before hemodialysis in MHD patients was 36.8%(21/57),of which 76.2%(16/21) being asymptomatic.There was significant difference in the serum potassium changes before and after HD between ACEI groups and the other two groups(P0.01).However,there was no significant difference between ARB group and non-ACEI non-ARB group(P0.05).According to Spearman analysis,an elevated serum potassium level had the strongest positive correlation with serum creatinine and urea level(P0.01),but not with urine volume or CO2CP(P0.05).Conclusion MHD patients are prone to hyperkalemia and its symptoms often are delitescent.Urine volume is not a reliable indicator about hyperkalemia.Caution should be exercised when using ACEI in these patients.Increasing HD frequency and constraining the diet potassium intake are considerable approach to avoid hyperkalemia.


"Weeds" is Lu Xun's philosophy of life,nine of which were created in the form of dreams.Lu Xun demonstrated his confusion of paradox-life and death in the nine dreams,and facing such confusion,he chose to avoid reluctantly.The "dream in dreams",the unique construction of art,reflects the life art of Lu Xun's innocence.


In this memo I present the results of my evaluation of the various model considered by the IERS working group on HF-EOP as a possible future conventional model for the high frequency EOP variations. The evaluation has been done with VLBI using all R1, R4 and CONT sessions from the period 2007-2016. Firstly, all data was used to study how well the models explain the EOP variations in the diurnal and semi-diurnal frequency bands. Secondly, the data from the CONT campaigns (including also the most recent on, CONT17) was used to estimate polar motion and UT1-UTC with hourly resolution, and these time series were then compared to the model predictions.


An apparatus is described with which magnetostrictive changes of length in strip samples can be measured with accuracy under direct and alternating conditions at various flux densities. The factors controlling the magnetostrictive pattern in grain-oriented silicon-iron have been studied. It has been found that considerable reduction in magnetostriction can be obtained by heat treatment at a suitable temperature, the time at temperature and the rate of cooling both having an effect on the ultimate value of the magnetostriction. With material heat-treated under optimum conditions, cooling under an applied load and magnetic annealing give no subsequent reduction. Tensile stress applied along the direction of flux produces a marked decrease in magnetostriction, as does, to a smaller extent, compressive stress applied at right angles to the sheet. It is found that a compressive stress of only 3001bf/in2 along the direction of flux is very deleterious, so that in transformer construction the use of wavy or undulating sheets, which on clamping would have such induced stress components, should be avoided. Bending and handling have little effect on the material, provided that it is restored to its original form and that the applied stresses have caused no permanent deformation. The importance of these measurements to the transformer engineer is discussed.


In the network world,"Tuhao"as an old word is endowed with new meaning. The new group is rich but not like the nobility,willing to have consumption and conspicuous consumption. People standing outside use it as a word to ridicule others,as a reaction to the wealth gap and culture shock. It's a way to release the emotional and self-preservation mechanism. Furthermore,"Tuhao"has become a way to product publicity. It is pointed out that the formation of the local metwork hot words has its specific background and we should understand the social culture and the social psyohlogy behind.


During continuous casting of steel, argon gas is often injected to avoid nozzle clogging and to help control flow in the mold. However, if the bubbles cannot escape through the slag layers on the surface in the mold, and are entrapped into the solidifying steel shell, then they can lead to slivers during rolling and ultimately defects in the final product, owing to their associated inclusions. Understanding gas behavior is challenging because, in addition to the multiphase turbulent flow, the volume fraction and size distribution of the bubbles is difficult to predict. The argon flow rate into the molten steel is often less than measured, due to leakage, or is greater, due to passive aspiration, as gas may be fed into negative pressure regions, such as joints between the slide-gate plates. After their initial formation where gas is injected at the refractory surface, the bubbles evolve as they move within the highly-turbulent flowing steel in the nozzle, sometimes coalescing into large gas pockets, and elsewhere shearing apart to form smaller bubbles. Once in the mold cavity, they move with and change the flow pattern, and may be captured into the dendritic interface. Previous computational models of these complex phenomena are reviewed elsewhere [1].


Purpose: The aim of this work is the study and the discussion of the relationship between leadership styles and organizational commitment dimensions. Both styles of leadership known as transformational and transactional styles differ in the process by which the leader motivates his subordinates. Organizational commitment defined by its three types (Affective, Normative and Continuance) measures the strength of an individual identification with and involvement in the organization.


A non-volatile all-optical bistable optomechanical switch comprising two parallel buckling waveguides is proposed. The bistability from mechanical buckling requires no maintenance power while optical coupling allows all-optical switching and reading.


This paper summarises the mechanical construction and installation of the Tile Calorimeter for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider in CERN, Switzerland. The Tile Calorimeter is a samp ...


The present research work identifies, analyzes and demonstrates how Internal Control
has a significant effect on the profitability of the Corporation PJ S.A., dedicated to the
operation of casinos and slot machines at national level, with the objective of analyzing
the effect of internal control In the profitability of the company CORPORATION PJ S.A.,
thus obtaining a vision of the situation of the company and making the best decisions to
obtain and give better results to the management of the company.
According to the results obtained through the development of our objectives I decided to
choose the company Corporation PJ S.A. As the appropriate entity for the realization of
this project. First, a diagnosis was made to the organization, its organizational structure,
compliance with the Manual of Procedures and Control of inventories; With the purpose
of identifying the deficiencies presented by the logistics area of the company, being
irregularities in its control and poor organization because they do not fully comply with
the Manual of Procedures which has given rise to weaknesses in the internal control of
their Merchandise and therefore this project has to improve the inventories that is made
in the company and thus have no losses.
We can conclude that the company Corporation PJ S.A. Does not have an adequate
system of control, since it lacks physical inventories, that only check the merchandise
that enters but not the one that leaves and that the workers only dedicate to distribute to
the different rooms without knowing in fact if they have stock of merchandise In the
warehouse, for that reason has been decided in conjunction with Management and
senior executives to demonstrate with a new internal control, based on EE.FF.
Analyzing its profitability, in order to be able to safeguard the merchandise and avoid
fraud or robbery by means of the workers.
The cost of a company's internal control structure should not exceed the expected
benefits of establishing it.


In 2009, the City of Calgary adopted a Municipal Development Plan (MDP) and Calgary Transportation Plan (CTP) to guide future growth within the City of Calgary. These plans provide the land use and transportation policy framework to support a long-term vision for sustainable growth in the city. One of the stated objectives of the CTP was the development of new "Complete Streets" guidelines to ensure that Calgary's roadways support the proposed shift from today's auto-oriented network to a system which balances the needs of private vehicles with those of other, more sustainable, users of the road network. This would work in combination with other policies around land-use planning and growth management to effect a change in the way people travel within the city. In order to achieve this objective, the City's then current standards for roads would need significant review and adjustment, with changes expected to road cross sections and rights-of-way, as well as standards for access management, bicycle accommodation, pedestrian facilities, transit accommodation, urban forestry, and green infrastructure, and a revisiting of the appropriate land use context for various road types. For the covering abstract of this conference see ITRD record 201309RT334E.


Purpose To determine the intertester agreement of refractive error measurements between lay and nurse screeners using the Retinomax Autorefractor and the SureSight Vision Screener. Methods Trained lay and nurse screeners measured refractive error in 1452 preschoolers (3 to 5 years old) using the Retinomax and the SureSight in a random order for screeners and instruments. Intertester agreement between lay and nurse screeners was assessed for sphere, cylinder, and spherical equivalent (SE) using the mean difference and the 95% limits of agreement. The mean intertester difference (lay minus nurse) was compared between groups defined based on the child's age, cycloplegic refractive error, and the reading's confidence number using analysis of variance. The limits of agreement were compared between groups using the Brown-Forsythe test. Intereye correlation was accounted for in all analyses. Results The mean intertester differences (95% limits of agreement) were −0.04 (−1.63, 1.54) diopter (D) sphere, 0.00 (−0.52, 0.51) D cylinder, and −0.04 (1.65, 1.56) D SE for the Retinomax and 0.05 (−1.48, 1.58) D sphere, 0.01 (−0.58, 0.60) D cylinder, and 0.06 (−1.45, 1.57) D SE for the SureSight. For either instrument, the mean intertester differences in sphere and SE did not differ by the child's age, cycloplegic refractive error, or the reading's confidence number. However, for both instruments, the limits of agreement were wider when eyes had significant refractive error or the reading's confidence number was below the manufacturer's recommended value. Conclusions Among Head Start preschool children, trained lay and nurse screeners agree well in measuring refractive error using the Retinomax or the SureSight. Both instruments had similar intertester agreement in refractive error measurements independent of the child's age. Significant refractive error and a reading with low confidence number were associated with worse intertester agreement.


Abstract The paper is devoted to the study of fine properties of the first eigenvalue on negatively curved spaces. First, depending on the parity of the space dimension, we provide asymptotically sharp harmonic-type expansions of the first eigenvalue for large geodesic balls in the model n-dimensional hyperbolic space, complementing the results of Borisov and Freitas (2017), Hurtado, Markvorsen and Palmer (2016) and Savo (2008); in odd dimensions, such eigenvalues appear as roots of an inductively constructed transcendental equation. We then give a synthetic proof of Cheng's sharp eigenvalue comparison theorem in metric measure spaces satisfying a Bishop–Gromov-type volume monotonicity hypothesis. As a byproduct, we provide an example of simply connected, non-compact Finsler manifold with constant negative flag curvature whose first eigenvalue is zero; this result is in a sharp contrast with its celebrated Riemannian counterpart due to McKean (1970). Our proofs are based on specific properties of the Gaussian hypergeometric function combined with intrinsic aspects of the negatively curved smooth/non-smooth spaces.


MICROSCOPIC FINDINGS AND CLINICAL COURSE Histopathology showed superficial and midperivascular neutrophilic infiltrate with leukocytosis and erythrocyte extravasation with fibrinoid degeneration of blood vessel walls, consistent with leukocytoclastic vasculitis (Fig. 2). Immunofluorescence showed granular IgA deposition in blood vessel walls, supporting the diagnosis of Henoch–Schonlein purpura (HSP). Urine dipstick testing was initially negative for renal involvement. Laboratory results were significant for hypoalbuminemia and hypoproteinemia likely because of protein malnutrition. Serum IgA was within normal limits. Because of multisystem involvement, the patient was started on intravenous methylprednisolone. He continued to have intermittent acute crises of abdominal pain requiring repeat ultrasounds to rule out intussusception. Bloody stools continued for 12 days with a 4-point drop in hemoglobin. He also developed significant scrotal pain and swelling, a sequela of his HSP. On hospital day 13, urinalysis showed hematuria (1 + blood) and proteinuria (1 + protein) for the first time. Serum creatinine and blood pressures remained stable. After discharge on oral prednisone, he continued to have abdominal pain at home. He was readmitted and continued on IV steroids and pain management, at which point his rash was noted to have settled predominantly in his buttocks and lower extremities.


Topicality. In addition to mineral and organic fertilizers, microfertilizers and plant growth regulators should be used more widely to eliminate negative factors (excessive man-made load, deterioration of water, nutrient regimes and soil humus condition) and to improve the sunflower nutrition system. Issues. Growth regulators intensify the development of the leaf surface, activate the basic life functions of sunflower plants: membrane processes, cell division, respiration and nutrition, enzyme systems activity, photosynthesis, and create a branched root system with enhanced absorption capacity. Purpose. To study the influence of growth regulators with different action on the morphogenesis, sunflower growth and development and productivity of different maturity groups in the Northern Steppe of Ukraine. Materials and methods. The field trials were established and carried out in accordance with generally accepted methods of research.. The experimental part of the work was performed during 2018–2020 in the research field of the National Research Center at the Dnipro State Agrarian and Economic University in the stationary experiment of the Crop Production Department in five-field crop rotation: clean fallow – winter wheat – maize – barley – sunflower. Spraying sunflower plants with growth regulators Vympel K-2 (0.7 l/ha), Architect (0.5 l/ha) and Ce-ron (0.5 l/ha) was carried out in the 6–8th pair of leaves stage. Results. When the growth regulators were applied, plant height of sunflower reduced, but such indicators as leaf surface area, chlorophyll content in the leaves, head diameter and number of seeds per head, thousand seed weight, seed yield and quality increased. y. Conclusions. The maximum leaf surface area of sunflower (up to 70.9–78.1 thousand mІ/ha, or 5.5 –10.2 % more than the control) was observed when growth regulator Ceron was applied at the dose of 0.5 l/ha. In this case, sunflower plants formed the largest heads with diameter of 23–26 cm (11.5–30.4 % more than the control), and the maximum number of seeds per head was 863–925.3 pieces that exceeded the control by 3, 4–5.6 %. The highest thousand seed weight (54.0–60.0 g) was for the mid-early hybrid Sumico HTS, and the lowest (51–55 g) – for the mid-late Subaro HTS that is explained by the biological characteristics of the hybrids. The crop yield increased by 1.05–1.17 times due to the application on sunflower of plant growth regulators. The largest increase in grain yield for all hybrids (0.22–0.27 t/ha, or 13.5–14.8 %) was provided with Ceron (0.5 l/ha). The application of Ceron (0.5 l/ha) and Architect (0.5 l / ha) growth regulators increased oil content by 3–8 and 4–6 percentage points, respectively. Keywords: sunflower, hybrids, growth regulators, leaf surface area, chlorophyll, yield, seed quality.


P-rich of InP crystals are rather difficult to achieve, due to the high phosphorus pressure at the melting point. By using the P-injection in-situ synthesis method, there is excessive phosphorus in the melt. In the conditions of M/sub In/ < M/sub In-s/, [P]/sub mol/>[In]/sub mol/, the melt might be P-rich. Since a high thermal stress exists in the LEC growth process with large temperature gradient, it is difficult to release stress, a large number of dislocations come into being around the pores. The pores are distributed in the ingots irregularly. The diameter of the pores is from <0.5 mm to 15 mm on the same wafer. The polished sample wafers with pores were characterized by PL mapping. Dislocations and pores in InP ingots are investigated by means of chemical etching, scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The experimental results show that the cell structures induced by movement and reaction of higher density dislocations exist at the edge of the pores. The EPD around the pores are higher than the other regions and the PL intensities are also inhomogeneous.


The purpose of this paper is to study the commercial activities on the river of Bartın from Ottoman period to the Turkish Republic. Another objective of the study is to reveal the relationship between trading transactions on the river of Bartın and development of the Bartın city. Bartın is one of the youngest provinces of Turkey. But it is a settlement that has not been adequately researched in terms of historic and cultural view. From the commercial activities point of view one of the most mobile areas of the North-West Anatolia region. Nonetheless, there has not been a serious study on the trading transactions on the river of Bartın (Parthenios) in the scientific sense. Bartın has  Yrd. Doç. Dr., Bartın Üniversitesi T.C. Tarihi Anabilim Dalı Başkanlığı.


This paper discusses The Political Economy of Customary Organizations in Rural Afghanistan by Jennifer Brick (2008) (hereafter, "the work"), which tries to ascertain whether public goods can be provided in a failed state and proposes a mechanism that provides social order as a public good. Brick achieves this by studying customary and non-customary organisations in rural Afghanistan and develops a theory to explain when a rural local authority might fulfil the purpose of public provision and governance. This paper demonstrates and analyses Brick's findings, and proposes one main criticism to Brick's quantitative research method.


In order to measure the thermophysical properties of ammoniated salt (CaCl2.mNH3: m = 4, 8) as an energy storage system utilizing natural resources, the measurement unit was developed, and the thermophysical properties (effective thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity) of CaCl2.mNH3 and CaCl2.mNH3 with heat transfer media (Ti: titanium) were measured by the any heating method. The effective thermal conductivities of CaCl2.4NH3 + Ti and CaCl2.8NH3 + Ti were 0.14 - 0.17 and 0.18 - 0.20 W/(m.K) in the measuring temperature range of 290 - 350 K, respectively, and these values were approximately 1.5 - 2.2 times larger than those of CaCl2.4NH3 and CaCl2.8NH3. The effective thermal diffusivities were 0.22 - 0.24 × 10-6 and 0.18 - 0.19 × 10-6 m2/sin the measuring temperature range of 290 - 350 K, respectively, and these values were approximately 1.3 - 1.5 times larger than those of CaCl2.4NH3 and CaCl2.8NH3. The obtained results show that the thermophysical properties have a dependence on the bulk densities and specific heats of CaCl2.mNH3 and CaCl2.mNH3 + Ti. It reveals that the thermophysical properties in this measurement would be the valuable design factors to develop energy and H2 storage systems utilizing natural resources such as solar energy.


Traditions , cus toms a nd va lue syste ms accumulat ed over a num be r of ge ne ra t ion s, s t rong ly influence behavioral patterns of a given soc ie ty. Su ch cult ura l influ ences may affect a patient 's pr esentation of symptoms, illn ess percep tion, and th e expla na tory mod el of illn ess wh en an individual see ks psychi at r ic trea tment ( I) . The case report pr esented here underscores th e influen ce cultu re exe r ts over a pa tient 's presentation of psychiatric illn ess. Spirit ism amon g La t in America ns is a wid espread belief transcending ge ne ra tion s as a healing sys te m since th e end of th e 19th ce n tury (2). An im porta n t asp ect of this beli ef is it s application to a me liora tion or cure of ph ysical and ment al a ilme n ts . In Puerto Rico, spir it ism, whose origins can be t raced to France, was incorporat ed as part of a charitable movement of th e elite and evo lved as a cultu ral pattern for a subs ta n t ia l portion of th e population. Reports in th e lit erature indica te that 36-60% of Pu erto Ricans have visit ed spiritis ts a t so me po int during th eir lives (2) . Spiritis ts are believed to se rve as intermediaries (me diums) between th is world a nd that of th e spirits by contact ing spir its a nd com m unica ting with th em in an effor t to underst and th e nature of th e probl ems of th eir clients. Spirit ists em phasize the mediating action of fluids on personal well-being (3) . Fluids a re cons ide red to be spiritual emanations surrounding th e body and are derived from th e inna te sp irit , spi rits of the dead, and incarnat e spirits close to th e livin g. The fluid s may be "sick or troubled" and are infl uenced by six phenomena that may lead to mental or ph ysica l illn ess . T hese include: (a) ka r ma (situations from pr evious lifetimes th at influe nce th e pr esent), (b) inexperienced mediums, (c) religious neg ligen ce (failure to perform pr escribed rituals), (d) witchcr aft , (e) obs ession by spirits, and (I) th e evil eye. During treatment sessions , spir it ists a t te m pt to further ex pla in th e ex ist en ce a nd nature of th e mental or physical problem pr esent ed to th em in a manner pa rall el to th e m edi cal expla na tory model. The client is typically advised th at th e symptoms a re a conse q ue nce of on e or more of th e six ph en omen a list ed above . Fo r example, an individual suffer ing an obsession by a spir it is under th e influen ce of a nd subj ect ed to


Severe weather events are occurring more frequently with significant repercussions as our climate changes. Between 2004 and 2012 the city of Hamilton, Ontario experienced 17 storm events that caused flooding. Of these 17 events, five were classified as either 50or 100-year storm events, with one classified as a storm with a return period greater than 100 years. Events of this magnitude can lead to rapid morphological adjustments in rivers, including instability of river banks, bank collapse, and alterations in stream channel alignment. It is important to understand the hydraulic and geomorphic response of rivers and streams to future storm events to predict long term morphological change, protect hydraulic structures, and manage aquatic ecosystems. The goal of this research is to examine the influence of extreme precipitation events on the morphodynamic response of Lower Spencer Creek under current channel morphological conditions and simulated modifications. Two events are simulated using the onedimensional computational model, HEC-RAS: an averaged base flow event and a 100-year return period event. Additionally, channel modification simulations were made to four cross sections at the downstream end of Lower Spencer Creek. The first modification widened the channel at these sections, while the second modification lengthened the channel at these sections to be representative of increased meandering of the stream. Based on the flow events, the first modification to the channel showed the largest reduction in velocity, sediment concentration, and shear stress at all cross sections. The results from this study will contribute to building a framework for analyzing the morphodynamic response of urban streams to storm events of varying return periods and durations, and will assist river engineers and hydrologists in managing and restoring urban creeks to mitigate flooding while balancing erosion and ecological processes.


The utility model discloses a multifunctional mobile phone charger which mainly comprises an electrode assembly connected on a vehicle-mounted charger body and a built-in battery holder. The multifunctional mobile phone charger abandons the defect that a vehicle-mounted charger in the prior art only has the single function of charging a mobile phone by the vehicle-mounted charger body. The vehicle-mounted charger body of the multifunctional mobile phone charger can charge the mobile phone and a built-in battery simultaneously; the electrode assembly movably arranged at the front end of the vehicle-mounted charger body is designed to be in the shape of a cone, thus not only having the functions of electrodes, but also being capable of be used as a smooth writing pen; and the connection mode of the electrode assembly and the vehicle-mounted charger body is designed to be movable connection. A power plug pivoted on the vehicle-mounted charger body is directly inserted into an external power supply of a vehicle, so as to realize the charging for the mobile phone and the built-in battery; and when not in use, the multifunctional mobile phone charger can be hidden in the side wall of the vehicle-mounted charger body, thus being convenient for carrying when people go out. A mobile phone support pivoted on the built-in battery holder not only provides the mobile phone with stable charging protection, but also can be used for browsing pages.


In this note, we determine the ground state energy of the translation invariant Pauli-Fierz model to subleading order $O(\alpha^3)$ with respect to powers of the finestructure constant $\alpha$, and prove rigorous error bounds of order $O(\alpha^{4})$. A main objective of our argument is its brevity.


ABSTRACT We study an optimal control problem with quadratic objective functional for the three dimensional Navier-Stokes-Voigt equations in bounded domains. We show the existence of optimal solutions, the necessary optimality conditions and the sufficient optimality conditions. The second-order optimality conditions obtained in the article seem to be optimal.


Entity alignment (EA) plays an important role in automatically integrating knowledge graphs (KGs) from multiple sources. Recent approaches based on Graph Neural Network (GNN) obtain entity representation from relation information and have achieved promising results. Besides, more and more methods introduce semi-supervision to ask for more labeled training data. However, two challenges still exist in GNN-based EA methods: (1) Deeper GNN Encoder: The GNN encoder of current methods has limited depth (usually 2-layers). (2) Low-quality Bootstrapping: The generated semi-supervised data is of low quality. In this paper, we propose a novel framework, Echo Entity Alignment (EchoEA), which leverages 4-levels self-attention mechanism to spread entity information to relations and echo back to entities. Furthermore, we propose attribute-combined bi-directional global-filtered strategy (ABGS) to improve bootstrapping, reduce false samples and generate high-quality training data. The experimental results on three real-world cross-lingual datasets are stable at around 96\% at hits@1 on average, showing that our approach not only significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art GNN-based methods, but also is universal and transferable for existing EA methods.


Pulmonary agenesis is a rare congenital anomaly in which there is absence of pulmonary parenchyma as well as its bold vessels. It is an unusual cause of respiratory distress in newborn. Unilateral agenesis of lung is often associated with other congenital anomalies. The condition may lead to diagnostic difficulties. Right pulmonary agenesis has poor prognosis. Here we present a case of female child of one year with a history of recurrent chest infection, fever and respiratory distress and on investigations was diagnosed with right pulmonary agenesis.


J. &on. Ehtomol. 92(1): 235-238 (1999) ABSTRACT Low temperature storage combined with sulfur dioxide slow release pads caused 100% mortality of omnivorous leafroller, Platynotu stultunu Walshingham, 2nd instar (the least susceptible stage to low temperature storage) after 3 wk of exposure in table grapes, Vitis uinij&ru L. Temperatures in packed grape clusters decreased from ambient to 2°C within -2 dafter placement in storage. Sulfur dioxide concentrations in the grape clusters ranged between 0.2 and 1.0 ppm during the 1to 6-wk storage period. The combination treatment incorporates existing packinghouse facilities and has potential to be used as an altemative to chemical fumigants such as methyl bromide to control pests of regulatory concern in exported table grapes.


For the past thirty years, we have all suffered from poor security on our PCs, the Internet, and the World Wide Web. This has happened despite there being a relatively small number of reasonably expensive machines to protect—no more than a few per household. Our bank accounts and reputations may be at risk today, but seldom our lives.


Urban growth patterns in Bihar India over the period 1961-1971 are examined according to the functional characteristics of towns and cities. The study is based on the functional classification used in the 1961 census. (ANNOTATION)


Objectives were used to describe guardian proxy‐report and child self‐report quality of life (QoL) during chemotherapy for pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients.


Regenerative Medicine and the Promise of Stem Cells
The ability to control the regeneration of tissues or organs that do not normally regenerate in humans would have an enormous impact on medical practice as well as on the general quality of human life. The goal of regenerative medicine is to repair or replace damaged or diseased adult tissues or organs. Three general strategies are being investigated for regenerative therapies: 1) cell based; 2) engineered bio-scaffolds seeded with selected cells prior to engraftment; and 3) boosting endogenous repair mechanisms. Small molecule agents can potentially play critical roles as part of all three approaches.

The cell-based approach has grown largely from the successful use of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplants (bone marrow transplants) for more than 50 years now, primarily to treat blood disorders (for review1). Recently, the potential to significantly expand the scope of this approach has gained momentum from the ability to isolate adult multipotent stem cells from virtually all organs as well as from newly discovered capabilities to direct the differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ES) to multiple lineages. The recent advent to derive patient specific induced pluripotent cells (iPS) has further enhanced the potential of this approach by removing both ethical barriers and barriers to immuno-histocompatibility. The third approach has to this point relied heavily on the hope of recapitulating in mammals/humans some of the extremely impressive regenerative capacity of lower species (e.g. reptiles, amphibians, fish, and birds). However, the potential success of this approach is evidenced by the use of agents such as erythropoietin (EPO) and filgastrim (G-CSF) to boost hematopoietic recovery. These represent important clinically validated applications of this type of approach. The potential to expand this strategy and develop pharmacologic therapies to boost endogenous repair mechanisms for a wide array of tissues by overcoming the intrinsic barriers to regeneration in mammals remains an enormously exciting possibility.

In this review, we will discuss the significant potential role that small molecules have to play in gaining a better understanding of stem cell biology, enabling regenerative therapies and treating stem cell based diseases.


Older people are a high-risk population for overprescribing and the attendant side effects. Sarah Jane Palmer describes the research efforts to reduce polypharmacy using technological interventions


The paper describes an incremental advance in search engine from Internet information searching to information summarizing service. This incremental innovation requires only existing text summarization technologies and can be achieved within a shorter time frame than other radical innovations that may require years of effort on to-be-developed or to-be-validated technologies. The potential business models based on this Internet summarization service are briefly discussed with some imperfections that may occur at the initial stage.


ABSTRACTIn this paper, the Augmented Genetic Algorithm with Artificial Neural Network (AGANN) is expanded foroptimization works, and its implementations to model problems are demonstrated. With the purpose of getting afaster algorithm, a neural network and a real coded genetic algorithm are hybridized in a new way. In this way,instead of predicting objective function calculation of a candidate, a properly trained neural network is used forpredicting the candidate itself. At each step of the genetic process, using a simulated annealing basedoptimization procedure, the trained neural network produces an individual, which is a candidate solution of theoptimization problem. Adding this candidate to the population at each step improves the exploration power ofthe genetic process. The proposed algorithm is tested for some test function problems. The results indicate thatthe computational efficiency of the implemented algorithm is tremendously high. Due to still being a geneticalgorithm based technique, this method is also as robust as the pure genetic algorithms.


The article is devoted to the problem of training specialists in physical culture and sports (PhC&S) for the use of digital technologies in professional activities. Digital technologies characteristics by the professional activity of PhC&S specialists are given. Attention is focused on modern digital health tools. The authors characterize digital technologies in the professional activity of PhC&S specialists and describe the features of training PhC&S specialists for the use of digital technologies in professional activities. The authors argue that the training of future PhC&S specialists for the use of digital technologies in professional activities should be carried out purposefully according to a methodology that integrates specific forms, methods, and means of training. The content of the methodology is the disciplines "Information and communication technologies in the field of PhC&S" (the goal is to form ideas about digital technologies in the field of PhC&S in general) and "Digital health technologies in the field of PhC&S" (the goal is to form: knowledge about health and a healthy lifestyle, digital technologies for maintaining and controlling their health and the health of others; ability to use digital health tools in professional activities; reflection skills about the use of digital health tools). The results of the statistical analysis of the pedagogical experiment are presented, confirming the developed methodology's effectiveness.


The invention discloses an outdoor bletilla striata seed sowing and breeding method. The method includes the steps of preparing a seedling bed, sowing and managing. Seedling breeding of bletilla striata is carried out through the method, the seedling rate can reach 30%, investment cost is low, requirements are low, growers can easily learn and understand, the cycle is short, and economic benefits can be improved.


A modified gas chromatographic system was used to measure the effects of pread sorbed water on the adsorption and desorption of various organic volatiles by cellulosic substrates. To minimize diffusion effects, short columns and fast carrier gas flow rates were used. The data yielded sticking coefficients, residence times, equilibrium constants (adsorption isotherms), and surface concentrations for a group of adsorbates including a homologous series of alcohols. In general, sticking coefficients increased, and residence time, equilibrium constants, and surface concentrations decreased as the concentration of water vapor increased. Sticking coefficients correlated with the total solubility pa rameters of the adsorbates.


In this paper, highly accurate closed-form approximations for the outage probability of equal-gain combining and maximal-ratio combining receivers operating on independent identically distributed α-μ fading channels are proposed. The proposed approximations turns out to be simple, effective,and highly accurate tool for evaluating the outage probability of diversity systems. As will be observed, for practical purposes, approximate and exact solutions are indistinguishable from each other.


Objective: To investigate occupational accidents that occurred during the first 10 years of Fortaleza University (UNIFOR) Dental School. Methods: A documental study based on
secondary data from the Notification Center of Occupational Accidents of UNIFOR Dental School, reported in the last 10 years. The variables included characteristics of the accidents
and of the injured, besides the type of instrument and the resulting injury. Results: Were recorded 160 occupational accidents divided by location, function of the injured and type
of accident. It was observed that 63.1% of cases occurred in the Multidisciplinary Clinic, 23.1% in the Integrated Clinic, 8.8% in the laboratories, 1.9% at home, 1.25% in the
Surgical Center, 1.25% in the Material Sterilization Central and 0.6% during the training outside university. Concerning the injured, 90.6% of the victims were undergraduates, 5.0%
staff, 3.8% teachers and 0.6% patients. Regarding the injury, 40.6% were penetrating bloody injuries, 11.9% cutting bloody injuries, 2.5% cutting non-bloody injuries, 5% burns, 5%
penetrating bloody injuries/cutting bloody injuries, 2.5% were injuries with maceration, 1.9% injuries causing ocular trauma and 0.6% of an incident of dog bite. Conclusion: It
was concluded that penetrating injuries were prevalent and these occurred mostly in the multidisciplinary clinic, where students of earlier periods of dental course work, indicating
that the experience in dental practice generates more care with safety.


This is an introduction to the 20th anniversary special issue of Space and Culture and overview of the experience of working on the journal.


Animal welfare is being addressed not only by governmental agencies and academic institutions, but by a growing number of professionals at different locations in the agricultural supply chain. A number of regional and global initiatives have therefore emerged to provide guidance on acceptable practices to actors ranging from individuals caring for animals on farms to large-scale commercial enterprises providing animal-based products from different livestock systems. Many corporate groups-from producers to retailers-are also acknowledging social and environmental responsibilities and pursuing programs designed to enhance animal welfare. Animal welfare is gaining increased recognition as an important element of commercial livestock operations around the world. This has wide-ranging implications for an industry with complex historical and cultural roots.


power and privileges of its White members, especially White theologians. What may be more difficult to wrestle with, because of how Parker prophetically anticipates all that which Nichol's death signifies, is how such protective strategies may indeed coincide with a culture of domination that is so tightly woven into our institutions of "law and order." It is this very culture, whether within or without the church, that continues to deny so many persons, especially Black persons and other persons of color, frommaking it home. Reading Parker's fierce and courageous book is one critical way of beginning to dismantle this sinful culture.


The vertical orientation of microdomains of a block copolymer (BCP) on a substrate is essential to applying nanolithography. Thin films of star-shaped block copolymers have shown vertical orientati...


A theoretical description of two-dimensional (2D) IR pump–probe spectroscopy of a three-level system is presented by taking into account the system–bath interaction. By using the correlation function of the fluctuating amide I mode frequency of N-methylacetamide in D2O, which was obtained by carrying out both ab initio calculations and MD simulations, the time-resolved 2D pump–probe spectra as a function of pump–probe pulse delay time are calculated and compared with experiment. We found that the vibrational dephasing becomes homogeneous on the 2 ps time scale, which is a bit faster than the experimental result. It is theoretically shown that the degree of slant of 2D contours is linearly proportional to the correlation function of the fluctuating amide I mode frequency. Consequently, it is suggested that the 2D IR pump–probe spectroscopy can provide a direct information on the vibrational frequency fluctuation dynamics and on the magnitude of static inhomogeneity.


The invention discloses a separation method of associated rich fluorite and low-grade cassiterite in tungsten flotation tailings. The separation method comprises the steps of directly feeding tungsten flotation tailings containing 16-25% of fluorite CaF2 and 0.1-0.3% of tin SnO2 into a flotation column for rough fluorite flotation, and separating fluorite from calcite and iron-containing pyroxene, so as to obtain rough fluorite concentrate and tin-containing tailings subjected to derichment; carrying out precise flotation on the rough fluorite concentrate for five times, so as to obtain a fluorite concentrate product and fluorite flotation tailings; and carrying out two-stage sorting on the tin-containing tailings subjected to derichment, and carrying out a concentrated back washing shaking table gravity separation technology on secondary concentrate, so as to obtain a rough tin concentrate product and tin flotation tailings. According to the separation method, the technological process is simple, the loss of fluorite and cassiterite in overflow water can be reduced, and the comprehensive recycling rate of fluorite and cassiterite is increased.


Myelin allows for the rapid saltatory conduction of nervous impulses,' and its presence allows for a complex nervous system to be effective in a relatively small space. Myelin is elaborated around axons by myelinating cells that extend their processes and ensheath axons in multiple concentric layers of lamellae.* In the mammalian central nervous system (CNS) the myelin sheath is generated by oligodendrocytes, whereas in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) the myelinating cell is the Schwann cell. During the formation of myelin, much of the cytoplasm is excluded and the concentric layers of the cell membrane compact. The cytoplasmic surfaces become closely apposed to form the major dense line, whereas the outer surfaces form the interperiod line. The distance between the major dense lines in the CNS is 10.5-11.5 nm, but in the PNS it is 11.5-12 n m 2 Myelin proteins play a role in the compaction and formation of the myelin sheath, and the difference in the distances could be attributed to the unique composition of myelin proteins in the peripheral and central nervous systems. In the CNS the most abundant proteins are proteolipid protein (PLP) and myelin basic protein (MBP) which make up 80% of the proteins by m eight.^ Other proteins include the Wolfgram protein^,^ a group of high molecular weight proteins that include enzymes such as 2'3' nucleotide 3' phosphodiesterase I and I1 (EC 126.96.36.199) (CNPs).'s6 In contrast, the major protein in the PNS is PO.^-^ MBP and CNPs are present in small quantities (18% of total protein) as is a unique PNS protein, P2.lo PLP is absent in Schwann cells, although PLP message has been detected." Myelinassociated glycoprotein (MAG), which acts as a recognition and adhesion mole-


Background and Aims: There have been various methods tested for reducing preoperative anxiety in children, but very limited literature is available in the Indian scenario. Our aim was to analyse the effect of an informative video about the anaesthetic technique on preoperative anxiety in children. Methods: In all, 94 children were randomly allotted into two groups. Children in the study group were shown a peer modelling video depicting induction of general anaesthesia and recovery during the preanaesthetic check (PAC). Patients in the control group were given only verbal information during PAC. Anxiety was assessed on visual analog scale (VAS) for anxiety at two times. Baseline VAS score was recorded during PAC and preoperative VAS score was assessed prior to induction of anaesthesia. The VAS score was represented as median value. Data were analysed using the Mann–Whitney U-test for ordinal data and skewed quantitative data. Categorical data was analysed by using Chi-square test and t-test was applied for quantitative data. The significance threshold of P value was set at <0.05. Results: The median (interquartile range) preoperative VAS score was significantly lower in the study group [1 (0–1.3)] when compared with the control group [5 (3–5)] (P < 0.001). The mean preoperative pulse rate, mean preoperative systolic blood pressure and mean preoperative diastolic blood pressure were significantly lower in the study group when compared with the control group (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Multimedia information in the form of a peer modelling video helped reduce preoperative anxiety in children between 7 and 12 years of age.


We analyse perception and memory, using mathematical models for knowledge graphs and tensors, to gain insights into the corresponding functionalities of the human mind. Our discussion is based on the concept of propositional sentences consisting of \textit{subject-predicate-object} (SPO) triples for expressing elementary facts. SPO sentences are the basis for most natural languages but might also be important for explicit perception and declarative memories, as well as intra-brain communication and the ability to argue and reason. A set of SPO sentences can be described as a knowledge graph, which can be transformed into an adjacency tensor. We introduce tensor models, where concepts have dual representations as indices and associated embeddings, two constructs we believe are essential for the understanding of implicit and explicit perception and memory in the brain. We argue that a biological realization of perception and memory imposes constraints on information processing. In particular, we propose that explicit perception and declarative memories require a semantic decoder, which, in a simple realization, is based on four layers: First, a sensory memory layer, as a buffer for sensory input, second, an index layer representing concepts, third, a memoryless representation layer for the broadcasting of information ---the "blackboard", or the "canvas" of the brain--- and fourth, a working memory layer as a processing center and data buffer. We discuss the operations of the four layers and relate them to the global workspace theory. In a Bayesian brain interpretation, semantic memory defines the prior for observable triple statements. We propose that ---in evolution and during development--- semantic memory, episodic memory, and natural language evolved as emergent properties in agents' process to gain a deeper understanding of sensory information.


In mammalian eggs, sperm-induced Ca2+ oscillations at fertilization are the primary trigger for egg activation and initiation of embryonic development. Identifying the downstream effectors that decode this unique Ca2+ signal is essential to understand how the transition from egg to embryo is coordinated. Here, we investigated whether conventional PKCs (cPKCs) can decode Ca2+ oscillations at fertilization. By monitoring the dynamics of GFP-labeled PKCα and PKCγ in living mouse eggs, we demonstrate that cPKCs translocate to the egg membrane at fertilization following a pattern that is shaped by the amplitude, duration, and frequency of the Ca2+ transients. In addition, we show that cPKC translocation is driven by the C2 domain when Ca2+ concentration reaches 1–3 μM. Finally, we present evidence that one physiological function of activated cPKCs in fertilized eggs is to sustain long-lasting Ca2+ oscillations, presumably via the regulation of store-operated Ca2+ entry.