A theory is exactly like a box of tools. It has nothing to do with the signifier. It must be useful. It must function. And not for itself. If no one uses it, beginning with the theoretician himself (who then ceases to be a theoretician), then the theory is worthless or the moment is inappropriate. We don't revise a theory, but construct new ones; we have no choice but to make others. It is strange that it was Proust, an author thought to be a pure intellectual, who said it so clearly: treat my book as a pair of glasses directed to the outside; if they don't suit you find another pair; I leave it to you to find your own instrument, which is necessarily an instrument for combat. -Gilles Deleuze1 Visuality A Site/Sight for Converging Histories As a scholar working both within and between the fields of film studies, women's studies, and postcolonial studies-three "disciplines" that are all rigorously interdisciplinary in their concerns and methodologies -I am no stranger to the theoretical toolbox. With its emphasis on the local over the universal and the pragmatic over the programmatic, Deleuze's description of that box resonates with the experience of producing criticism at sites where multiple bodies of knowledge intersect and new methodological approaches are needed, for such experiences demand that the critic be, above all else, resourceful. Yet transgressing disciplinary boundaries begs the question of whether theory can travel. In other words, one of the greatest challenges posed by interdisciplinary work is that of translation. Which theoretical frameworks, explanatory concepts, and research practices are applicable and, moreover, useful in contexts other than those out of which they developed? What ideological assumptions inform a given theoretical practice and thus determine its political effects and analytical efficacy? How do various intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary discourses complement, supplement, revise and challenge one another? In short, what tools does the box contain and how do they work independently and in conjunction with one another? Feminist film theory has, for the most part, taken shape around the notion of the male gaze, and while early formulations of this concept facilitated a sustained engagement with questions regarding the impact of gender on one's relationship to the act of looking, they often failed to account for other key determinants of social power and position. The influence of postcolonial studies on film theory, however, has allowed for the creation of a series of theoretical concepts that foreground issues of racial and national difference and acknowledge the role that race and ethnicity play in looking relations. More specif ically, postcolonial critics have posited the existence of an ethnographic gaze and a colonial gaze-both of which have complicated the male gaze as monolith and allowed for the emergence of a more nuanced feminist practice within film studies. Critics who have simultaneously explored the sexual and racial politics of representation within a variety of national cinemas include Ella Shohat, Jane Gaines, Christine Holmlund, E. Ann Kaplan, Lola Young, Gina Marchetti, and Fatimah Tobing Rony. With their pioneering work these scholars have created a space for analyses of visual culture that are both feminist and postcolonial in nature and have restored to critical visibility women of color, who are routinely left out of discussions governed by the assumption that, to paraphrase the title of a popular anthology of womanist writings, all the women are white and all the blacks are men (Hull, Smith, and Scott). Rather than review or comment upon this body of work, however, I want to engage in a (meta-) analysis of how these gazes-which are some of the most important tools in the contemporary feminist film critic's box-have been theorized. At the same time, however, that the male, ethnographic, and colonial gazes demand consideration as related analytical concepts, they also do so as historical phenomena that are similar (all three consolidate a relationship between power and visuality), yet distinct (each has its own ideological and institutional origins). …


One of the social problems of our age is how to achieve durable benefits from our leisure in a culture that stresses the evanescent variety. Many scholars believe that leisure returning only evanescent benefits, which is most of mass or popular leisure, is a low-yield use of free time. But people in many walks of life do seem to find more durable benefits from their leisure activities. We need better concepts with which to organize research, theory, and policy pertaining to such leisure. The ideas of "amateur" and "hobbyist" are proposed and briefly discussed in an attempt to eliminate this conceptual void. In leisure, as in other difficult areas of life, we clearly suffer not from one problem but from many. In this brief paper, however, I concentrate only on the challenge of conceptualizing how to achieve durable benefits from leisure in an age stressing evanescent ones. Initially I shall just simplistically indicate that durable benefits are gained from an activity (be it leisure or work) the conduct of which results in one or more of the following: self-actualization, self-expression, selfenrichment, re-creation or renewal of self, feelings of accomplishment, enhancement of selfimage, and enduring tangible products of the activity (e.g., a painting or cabinet).' Though these benefits do not necessarily last forever, they do last significantly longer than the evanescent benefits the consumers of an activity experience when it is gratifying in ways involving hedonistic pleasure. Some leisure pursuits appear to offer their participants a mixture of durable and evanescent benefits. Durable benefits may include elements of hedonistic gratification, but the reverse-evanescent benefits having durable qualities-is probably empirically, and is certainly logically, impossible.


A substantial body of human-computer interaction literature investigates tools that are intended to support reflection, e.g. under the header of quantified self or in computer-mediated learning. These works describe the issues that are reflected on by users in terms of examples, such as reflecting on financial expenditures, lifestyle, professional growth, etc. A coherent concept is missing. In this paper, the reflection object is developed based on activity theory, reflection theory and related design-oriented research. The reflection object is both what is reflected on and what is changed through reflection. It constitutes the link between reflection and other activities in which the reflecting person participates. By combining these two aspects—what is reflected on and what is changed—into a coherent conceptual unit, the concept of the reflection object provides a frame to focus on how to support learning, change and transformation, which is a major challenge when designing technologies for reflection.


An approach to the problem of face recognition using a discrete cosine transform (DCT) and neural networks is presented. The DCT is used to extract features from the high dimensional facial data. Two different neural networks are used. The standard backpropagation neural network is used in a "network per person" implementation, while the counterpropagation network is used in database implementation. On a database of 83 distinct subjects, with 5 learning views and 5 testing views per subject, a classification rate of 84% was achieved with the counterpropagation network, while a true positive classification rate of 77%, and a true negative classification rate of 97% was achieved with the backpropagation network.


Pelgrim_Mensink, J.M. (2014).
 The Incidence, Characteristics and Processes of Intense Individual Interest and Expertise in the Conceptual Domain among Grammar School Students. December, 8, 2014, Heerlen, Nederland: Open Universiteit


Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Introduction Part 3 Historical Background: Chapter 4 The Myceneans Chapter 5 Before and After Chapter 6 Rebirth Chapter 7 Homer and Hesiod Chapter 8 Immediate Context of the Beginnings of Philosophy Chapter 9 Retrospective Postscript Part 10 The Beginnings of Philosophy: Chapter 11 Foreword Chapter 12 Heraclitus Chapter 13 Parmenides Chapter 14 Plato Chapter 15 Aristotle Part 16 Conclusion: A Retrospect on the Beginnings of Philosophy in Greece Chapter 17 Notes Chapter 18 Selected Bibliography Chapter 19 Index


The relationship of affective entry characteristics to final course grade and the effects on these of professional or preprofessional courses, student grade point average, and the students' major were studied. Analyses of 563 data sets of students enrolled in 35 music education and music therapy courses suggest that final course grade has little relationship to students' initial course-affective perceptions. Overall, professional courses and students simultaneously pursuing both music education and music therapy degrees produced higher affect scores and the greatest amount of perceived career relevance in the courses. The music education majors indicated less positive affect and career relevance toward their courses than other majors. In all majors, students desired lecture-presentation formats less in professional courses.


A theoretical model is presented for transport of vacuum arc generated metal vapor plasma through a magnetized quarter-tours duct used for filtering out macroparticles in order to deposit high quality thin films. The model utilizes a two fluid approximation which takes into account collisions among the plasma particles. It is found that centrifugal forces must lead to a charge separation generated field, that determines plasma drift in the centrifugal force direction to the duct wall and give rise to ion loss. Another cause for plasma is the plasma pressure gradient. The plasma output flux is an increasing function of the magnetic field strength. The plasma flux in the output plane is asymmetrically skewed to favor the outside half. A further asymmetry in the flux distribution in the direction of the torroidal axis of symmetry is introduced if ions of different charge states are present in the plasma.


The interaction of matter and light can be described based on optical constants, shortly called δ&β. These constants provide the fundamental basis for the design of any optical system. In the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) spectral range, however, the existing data for many materials or compounds is very sparse, non-existent or exhibit considerable discrepancies between different sources. This is further complicated since the scaling effects stipulate the optical response of a thin film to differ from bulk. Oxidation, impurities or interdiffusion significantly affect the optical response of a system to EUV radiation. For this reason, the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) is establishing a new database in cooperation with other European partners. This database, designated as the Optical Constants Database (OCDB) can be accessed online freely (OCDB.ptb.de). This data collection shall support further development of various fields from new metrological techniques, like EUV scatterometry to computational lithography in the EUV. This is demonstrated exemplarily here by the interplay between δ&β and the dimensional parameters with respect to a structured TaTeN EUV photomask. It is equally important either direction, to derive structure parameters from the measured EUV scattering as vice versa to predict the EUV response from the geometrical structure. In addition, the impact of varying δ and β on the expected imaging performance will be investigated by simulating typical lithographic image metrics like Critical Dimension (CD), best focus position, image contrast (NILS) and non-telecentricity for the imaging of through pitch L/S and 16 nm vertical Lines with 32 nm pitch in a NA=0.55 scanner for TaTeN mask absorber as typical representatives of high-k absorber materialsand as an example of the effect on imaging simulation.


In this paper,a new concept,risk ave rsion function,is first introduced as a measure of risk aversion and used to build a new n onlinear optimal model for M-V portfolio selection.Optimal portfolio is obtained by solving this model that simplifies the p ortfolio selection.The analytic solution of the model is giv en and tested by a numerical example.The results show that optimal portfolio determined by thi s model is M-V efficient portfolio.


Low Dimensional Materials Research Ce Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 5 email@example.com Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Saudi Arabia Physics and Engineering Mathematics Depa Menoua University, Menouf 32952, Egypt Department of Electronics, Jinnah Colleg Peshawar 25120, Pakistan Department of Electrical Engineering, Colle Box 2713, Doha, Qatar Cite this: RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 23048


The pressure-induced electronic and optical properties of EuTe are investigated up to 35.6 GPa. It is found that EuTe undergoes a pressure-induced NaCl-CsCl structural transition above 13 GPa by first-principles...


Digital twins have raised the attention of practitioners in the fields of Architecture, Engineering and Construction, and Facilities Management (AEC/FM). The term broadly refers to the cyber part of cyber-physical systems used for representing and managing real-world assets. This qualitative study explores how Finnish AEC/FM practitioners describe digital twins of assets in the built environment. Our findings are primarily derived from the interpretive analysis of semi-structured interviews with project managers and C-level executives during 2018 and 2019. The results of this analysis are discussed within the existing literature about digital twins, complex software ecosystems, and Service-Dominant (S-D) logic. We observed that digital twins were often explained using simple metaphors that could be easily understood by practitioners. We identified seven of such metaphors, each associated with a key attribute of digital twins. We argue that digital twins are the basis of complex software ecosystems, resulting from the increased expectations of AEC/FM stakeholders about the role of Building Information Modeling and other software solutions in their daily operations. Under an S-D logic perspective, digital twins are a resource applied by multiple interdependent actors to integrate information, co-create value for their entire network, and jointly deliver new products or services.


The measurement and evaluation of feed horns, lenses, beam splitter, diplexers and uncooled mixer for a 230GHz receiver are reported. The scalar feed horns have low insertion loss, high beam efficiencies and good symmetrical Gaussian beam patterns with negligible sidelobes in E and H plane. The measured loss of the diplexer with a Teflon lens is 1.5dB at 230 GHz. The insertion and non-overlap loss could be reduced by using Martin-Puplett diplexer with tungsten wire grida.


To demonstrate the possibility of replacing the existing reactive power generator with the capacitor-reactor bank,the voltage and transient stability of various schemes are calculated and analyzed.It is concluded that the reactive power reserve in Tianjin Beijiao area is sufficient so that the reactive power generator in that area can be replaced by the capacitor-reactor set,and the distributed compensation method is the best one to adopt.


Introduction. The Inédites of Kalmyk Folklore from I. I. Popov's Archive project aims at introducing into scientific circulation some 19th-century folklore materials recorded by Ivan I. Popov, collector of oral folklore of the Don Kalmyks. Goals. The article attempts an archaeographic description of the handwritten book Folktales of the Don Kalmyks (Russian translations) by I. Popov. Materials and Methods. The study analyzes the collector's handwritten book containing forty two fairy tales and stored at the State Archive of Rostov Oblast. The main methods employed are those of archaeographic and textual description. Results. The archaeographic insight into the handwritten book reveals that its compilation meets some basic principles for such handwritten books — notes and drawings were made by hand. In his books, I. Popov tended to use and combine traditions of ancient Russian and Mongolian manuscript books. So, in accordance with the Mongolian book tradition, the folklorist uses frames and the birga sign in the design. Following the patterns of ancient Russian books, I. Popov duly designs titles of parts of the book, beginnings and endings of each fairytale distinguished with headpieces and closing elements, capital letters painted and enlarged. The afterword to the book was also written in accordance with the rules. Moreover, this handwritten book has postscripts containing valuable data on the collector's biography.


We propose and investigate several layouts of metal-insulator-metal waveguide with active core which can be utilized for dynamic switching in photonic integrated circuits. The active material, bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3), is sandwiched between metal plates and changes its refractive index through partial switching of ferroelectric domain orientation under applied voltage. Both phase and amplitude modulations are envisaged.


The invention provides a molding method using a molding device to form a resin outer casing of a stator unit and a motor. The molding method using the molding device to mold the resin outer casing of the stator unit can overcome the defect of the prior art that the flowing-in of resin is blocked due to a very little gap between the tooth tail end and the die. The molding device is provided with a cavity and a first die, wherein the first die is provided with a center die; a plurality of contact parts are arranged in different positions, in the circumferential direction, of the center die, protrude to the radial outer side relative to the peripheral surface of the center die, and are extended in the axial direction; each contact part is provided with an abutting surface. The molding method is characterized by comprising the following steps of arranging a stator unit in the cavity, and abutting the abutting surfaces of the contact parts to the tooth tail end of the stator unit; using the molding device to mold the resin outer casing of the stator unit. The molding method has the advantages that the structure is simple, the design is reasonable, and the defects of easiness in burring and nonuniform covering of resin are overcome.


82.14 Equivalence classes and a familiar combinatorial identity In this note, we present a simple proof of a familiar combinatorial identity involving sums of squares of binomial coefficients using, as a most unlikely tool, equivalence relations. This exploration is wonderfully suitable for students in a beginning discrete mathematics course. Let B" denote the set of all binary strings of length n. For n = 1, 2 and 3 these sets are:


Abstract : This thesis continues the Virtual Cockpit (VC) research which investigates distributed interactive virtual flying, environments. The VC vl.O used the SIMNET protocols to only communicate position and orientation over a common network. A simple cockpit instrumentation configuration and limited head- tip display, (HUD) showed aircraft state. With VC vl.O weapons or sensors could not interact in the simulation environment. The VC v2.0 transitions from the SIMNET protocol to a partial implementation of the Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) v2.0.3 protocol. Simulated radar and forward looking infra-red (FLIR) sensors were developed to aid operator detection and designation when employing various munition types. Simulated munition types include: radar or IR missiles, free-fall, laser guided, or electro-optic (EO) guided bombs, and a 20mm cannon. Virtual environments were created with CRT out-the-window presentations, color NTSC and monochrome high-resolution helmet mounted displays employing Polhemus head tracking sensors. and simultaneously five-channels on BARCO projectors. Target graphics systems included SGI workstations with Onyx processors using Reality Engines. Graphics rendering was accomplished with an AFIT developed object oriented simulation software package based on the SGI performer 1.2 application development environment.


An exact Dyson equation for averaged over electromagnetic crystal unit cell propagating total wave electric field is derived, with supposing the incident wave electric field to have the Floquet property. The mass operator related to periodic structure effective tensor dielectric permittivity is written as double Fourier transform from electric field Tscattering operator of the structure unit cell. The Lippmann-Swinger equation for the unit cell T-scattering operator, written in terms of the unit cell T-scattering operator in free space and the electric field lattice tensor Green function interaction part, is resolved by quasi-separable method. This recently presented quasi-separable approach to unit cell Tscattering operator enables one to consider unit cell containing several particles, with coupling between them directly inside the cell as well as through the structure via above lattice Green function interaction part. The obtained quasiseparable unit cell T-scattering operator is applied to study double diamagnetic-paramagnetic narrow peak in artificial periodical material with unit cell including the coupled plasmonic particles. Actually this magnetic phenomenon is appeared as combination result of space-group resonance between two small dielectric spheres and plasmonic resonance inside a single sphere. Studying the magnetic response of disordered media, we use Dyson self-consistent exact equation for ensemble averaged wave electric field inside dense discrete random media, with a random mass operator having been put under averaging sign. The random mass operator was written in terms of particles' correlations functions of all orders and particles' clusters' T-scattering operators. We discuss comparison between the unit cell T-scattering operator of periodic discrete structure and a cluster T-scattering operator of random discrete structure and consider the above double diamagnetic–paramagnetic peak also in random discrete structure of coupled small plasmonic dielectric spherical particles.


* Abbreviation:
 AAP — : American Academy of Pediatrics

### Dr Dalia Feltman (Neonatologist)

Institutional variability in rates of active treatment (delivery room resuscitation) affects survival rates of newborns born at 22 and 23 weeks' gestation.1 Neonatology program directors responding to a 2015 survey reported one-quarter of their centers' approaches to active treatment at 22 weeks' gestation varied by individual neonatologists.2 Although deliveries at these ages are relatively uncommon, this variability raises questions ethicists, institutions, and parents are asking in academic meetings, in conference rooms, and on social media.

The latest American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Committee on Fetus and Newborn guidance encourages institutions to develop counseling approaches for women facing delivery before 25 completed weeks' gestation.3 More than half of the aforementioned survey respondents reported management changes occurring in the last 5 years for these earliest newborns.2 Most AAP Section on Neonatal Perinatal Medicine members responding to a 2017 survey desired guidance on options to offer parents facing extremely early delivery but did not agree at which level (eg, institutional, regional, or national) this guidance should occur.4

I asked 2 couples (unrelated to my institution) whose children were born extremely early to share their delivery stories and, using questions grounded by the framework of the AAP clinical report,3 offer advice to clinicians developing care approaches for families like theirs.

### Two Families' Experiences Surrounding Extremely Early Delivery

#### Carrie and Troy Tysdahl

When we found out my water broke at only 22 weeks' gestation, we were given only …

Address correspondence to Dalia M. Feltman, MD, MA, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston Hospital, Walgreen Building, Suite 1505, 2650 Ridge Ave, Evanston, IL 60201. E-mail: dfeltman{at}northshore.org


I N THE present discussion, &dquo;public health insurance&dquo; means a compulsory system embracing at least that percentage of the population receiving an annual income of less than $2,000. This assumption is based on the fact that all existing systems, although they begin on the voluntary basis and include a smaller percentage of the population, inevitably evolve into the compulsory form and tend to include


We examined immediate-type allergic skin reactions in 113 children with chronic maxillary sinusitis. In 82 children, skin reactions were positive. The profiles of positive antigens (HD 86.6%, Candida 36.6% and Broncasma Berna 26.8%) in children with chronic sinusitis were similar to those in children with simple allergic rhinitis. The group of children with sinusitis and allergy (SA) contained older children than the control group (S: sinusitis without allergy), although the peak age was the same in both groups (5-6 years). oentogenographic examination of maxillary sinuses showed more mucosal hypertrophy in SA patients than in S patients. The frequency of daily sneezing attacks tended to be higher in SA patients than in S patients.


In recent years,food safety issues frequently occur,which has seriously affected the country's economy and people's livelihood.As a result,the government issued a timely notice about the construction of the trace system of meat and vegetable flow.The phone-based trace system of meat and vegetable flow not only has the function of retroacting commodity source which the traditional client has,but also has other additional features recipes such as general merchandise query,vegetable markets queries,menu inquiries;and what's more,it is of more ease of use at any time and at low cost.In this system,the android system is used as a framework on the side of the client and it get access to the server through 3G/Wifi network to query information of meat product.google's open source project ZXing is adopted to identify barcodes.With the rapid increase of the market share of android phones,the application of this client and its promotion are also very convenient.


DUSTIN LARRY MENGELKOCH: Papinian Mutability: Statius and Early Modernity (Under the direction of Jessica Wolfe) This dissertation examines the reception of the epic and lyric works of the Roman poet Statius in the early modern period. Although the study of Statius is now relegated to only the most dedicated of classics departments, early modern readers from Dante and Petrarch to Shakespeare and Milton enthusiastically read Statius alongside other classical Latin poets such as Virgil and Ovid. While Statius's reputation during the period is well established, what is not as well known is how Renaissance readers interpreted Statius – how they made sense of his relationship to other ancient poets, how they understood his political sympathies, and above all how they labored to understand poems notorious for their opacity and difficulty. Whereas other classical poets were perceived clearly to state their poetic (and even political) ends, and thus to guide the reader, Statius offered no such guidance. The compressed nature of his poetry, in form and content alike, forced readers to fill in, rebuild, and expand wherever necessary. This process yielded a uniquely participatory form of reading that came to be associated specifically with Statius.


An electrodynamic system in which a magnetized tubular electron beam blows around a cylindrical solid-state plasma waveguide located coaxially in a longitudinal magnetic field is theoretically studied. It has been established, when quasi-stationary conditions are satisfied, hybrid bulk-surface or surface electromagnetic waves of helicon origin are excited in the waveguide. The waveguide eigenwaves are excited by the space-charge field of beam with matching of the longitudinal spectral components of electric field. It is noted that helicons and waves of their nature are formed in a conducting plasma medium in the assistance of an external magnetic field. It is shown the instability of coupled waves of the electrodynamic system is due to the Vavilov–Cherenkov effect.


We report the discovery of a microlensing candidate projected 254 from the center of M32, on the side closest to M31. The blue color (R − I = 0.00 ± 0.14) of the source argues strongly that it lies in the disk of M31, while the proximity of the line of sight to M32 implies that this galaxy is the most likely host of the lens. If this interpretation is correct, it would confirm previous arguments that M32 lies in front of M31. We estimate that of order one such event or less should be present in the POINT-AGAPE data base. If more events are discovered in this direction in a dedicated experiment, they could be used to measure the mass function of M32 up to an unknown scale factor. By combining microlensing observations of a binary-lens event with a measurement of the M31-M32 relative proper motion using the astrometric satellites SIM or GAIA, it will be possible to measure the physical separation of M31 and M32, the last of the six phase-space coordinates needed to assign M32 an orbit.


Crack initiation and progression have been studied in nanoscale brittle/ductile multilayers of Cu and Si. Variations in the interface debond energy on the cracking behavior have been examined by using thin interlayers comprising either Cr (strong interface) or Au (weak interface). For strongly bonded Cr interfaces, it has been found that cracks forming in the Si invariably extend through the Cu layers, despite the ductile rupture characteristics of the Cu. This behavior occurs even when the Cu layers comprise more than 70% of the multilayer volume. It also contrasts with the crack arrest capabilities exhibited by relatively thick ductile layers (∼10-100 μm). The disparity in behavior is attributed to the relatively large cracking strain required for the thin brittle layers. Weak Au interfaces result in debonding which, in turn, can suppress the propagation of cracks into adjacent layers. However, when the interface includes strongly bonded sections, the debond arrests, and often kinks into the attached Si. In this case, cracking still progresses sequentially through the Si layers. Careful control of the interface debond energy is needed to fully suppress crack progression in nanoscale multilayers.


Technical result of the present utility model is to improve the strength, durability, design of gaming products. Said technical result is achieved in that the toy article made of wood-polymer material comprises a particulate filler is wood, and the gaming body is formed articles with the coating.


Received: May 22, 2017; Accepted: June 05, 2017; Published: June 08, 2017 The most common reason a patient seeks dental care is the sensation of pain in the teeth, jaw or face. While the assumption is that this pain is dental in origin, on occasion the pain may have a medical origin, either due to a medical disease, or a medical or neurological condition which manifest with pain in the teeth, jaw or face. Therefore, it is imperative that any dentist or oral surgeon be aware of these condition, to avoid misdiagnosis of the patient.


Electron trapping in the oxygen vacancies of various alumina samples is analyzed using x-ray and optical emissions induced by electrons. Observed x-ray intensity variations show the presence of charges in the sample. Information on the ionicity is deduced from the electron distribution around aluminum, observed by x-ray emission between 50 and 300 K. It is shown that the stable defects are oxygen vacancies with one trapped electron. Electron trapping in these defects is analyzed by cathodoluminescence as a function of the structural characters of the sample, of the temperature, and of the irradiation conditions. Conditions for weak trapping can be deduced from these experiments.


Assuming Generalized Riemann's Hypothesis, Bach proved that the class group Cl_K of a number field K may be generated using prime ideals whose norm is bounded by 12 log^2 Delta_K, and by (4+o(1))log^2 Delta_K asymptotically, where Delta_K is the absolute value of the discriminant of K. Under the same assumption, Belabas, Diaz y Diaz and Friedman showed a way to determine a set of prime ideals that generates Cl_K and which performs better than Bach's bound in computations, but which is asymptotically worse. In this paper we show that Cl_K is generated by prime ideals whose norm is bounded by the minimum of 4.01 log^2 Delta_K, 4(1+(2 pi e^gamma)^(-n_K))^2 log^2 Delta_K and 4(log Delta_K + log log Delta_K - (gamma+log 2\pi)n_K+1+(n_K+1)(log(7 log Delta_K)/log Delta_K)^2. Moreover, we prove explicit upper bounds for the size of the set determined by Belabas, Diaz y Diaz and Friedman's algorithms, confirming that it has size of the order of (\log Delta_K/log log Delta_K)^2. In addition, we propose a different algorithm which produces a set of generators which satisfies the above mentioned bounds and in explicit computations turns out to be smaller than log^2 Delta_K except for 7 out of the 31292 fields we tested.


&NA; The safety and efficacy of controlled‐delivery (CD) once‐a‐day formulation of diltiazem administered in the evening, at a dose of 240 mg, was assessed in 37 patients with stable angina pectoris. A double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, randomized, crossover protocol was used. Following a 4‐day washout period, patients entered a 5‐7‐day single‐blind placebo run‐in period during which qualification and reproducibility exercise treadmill tests (ETTs) were performed 24 h postdose. Eligible patients were randomized in a double‐blind fashion, to either CD diltiazem or to placebo for a 7‐10‐day treatment period. They then entered a 5‐7‐day single‐blind washout period, after which they received the alternate treatment for another 7 to 10 days. ETTs were performed at the end of each treatment period. Compared to placebo, evening administration of CD diltiazem produced a marked improvement of the time to ETT termination, time to onset of angina, and time to I mm ST depression. In addition, the number of angina attacks recorded in patient diaries was reduced compared to placebo. Incidence of adverse events was comparable with CD diltiazem and placebo. We conclude that evening administration of controlled‐delivery diltiazem is highly effective and safe in the treatment of stable angina pectoris.


The utility model relates to an automatic-balancing multi-plunger in-line high-pressure diaphragm pump which can automatically balance pressure oil in the inner portion of plunger, belonging to the high-pressure diaphragm pump field. The utility model comprises a tank body, a centrifugal shaft, plungers, plunger sleeves, a diaphragm seat board, a diaphragm, a drag bar, a valve plate of a one-way valve and a diversion cover plate. A plurality of plungers are arranged in line along an axial direction, a balanced valve of pressure oil is arranged on the bottom portion of the plunger, the plunger is connected with the diaphragm through the drag bar, a discharge valve is arranged on the diaphragm seat, and a liquid intake flow passage and a liquid outlet flow passage are parallel arranged axially in a diversion cover. The utility model is suitably used in the fields of high-pressure delivery of dielectric slurry with solid particle, high-pressure delivery of corrosive medium, high-temperature delivery of viscous medium, high-temperature delivery of sea water and high-temperature spraying coating material and the like.


The analysis of the most known algorithms of search of optimum trajectories of mobile robots by results of which the neural network basis for the solution of an objective is chosen is carried out. The technique of synthesis of intellectual system of planning of trajectories is described, features of its program and hardware realization are shown. Functions of two main components of intellectual system are in detail described: neural map and path´s designer. Structures of intellectual system of planning of trajectories for the centralized, decentralized and hybrid variants of realization of control system by collective of robots are given. For check of efficiency of the proposed solution program and imitating experiments are made. The assessment of prospects of use of offered system of planning is given at designing of the microand minirobots collectives which are had limited computing and communication opportunities.


The implementation of a shrimp quality management system requires clearly defined rules and standards, the establishment of an appropriate shrimp control system, and the provision of proper training services. In the shrimp supply chain, the processing/export firms are generally the most powerful stakeholders, playing a leading role in organizing chain quality management. It is vital for small-scale shrimp farmers to develop business relations with processing/export firms through flexible contract farming. To develop a well-organized shrimp supply chain, it is crucial to encourage small-scale farmers to develop horizontal coordination among farmers. Small-scale shrimp farmers are aware of the importance of proper shrimp disease prevention and shrimp disease treatment as well as changing the production practices to upgrade the commercial shrimp quality (by reducing anti-biotic residue violation). However, they need more training and extension services to assist them. The willingness to invest in advanced farming system such as such as certification application of Viet-GAP is high among the farmers who are aware of the potential improvements. This paper focused on the quality management pratices in the shrimp supply chain.


Massive gravity models in (2+1) dimensions, such as those obtained by adding to Einstein's gravity the usual Fierz–Pauli, or the more complicated Ricci scalar squared (R2), terms, are tree level unitary. Interesting enough these seemingly harmless systems have their unitarity spoiled when they are augmented by a Chern–Simons term. Furthermore, if the massive topological term is added to $R+R_{\mu\nu}^2$ gravity, or to $R+R_{\mu\nu}^2+R^2$ gravity (higher-derivative gravity), which are nonunitary at the tree level, the resulting models remain nonunitary. Therefore, unlike the common belief, as well as the claims in the literature, the coexistence between three-dimensional massive gravity models and massive topological terms is conflicting.


Pulsed, polarized UV-laser irradiation of polymers at 266 and 355 nm with Nd:YAG laser source gave rise not only to periodic structures of 100 nm dimension but also functional group alignments in periodic structures which were studied with a polarized reflected FT-IR spectrophotometer. The results arising from interference of scattered light on the surface and incoming polarized pulsed laser beams were demonstrated with poly(ethylene terephthalate), polyimides, polysulfones, polystyene and doped polyimides films. Images of polymer periodic structures were transferred to silicon surfaces by series of reactive ion etchings. Si patterns with 100 nm line and spacing with vertical wall profile were fabricated in a large area. On such Si surfaces diamond crystals were deposited from polymer plumes generated by ArF excimer laser irradiated in 193 nm on poly(methyl methacrylate). The diamond crystals deposited in this way have a very sharp Raman peak at 1332.9 cm-1 with FWHM equals 1.2 cm-1 to 14 cm-1 depending on location on the substrate Si wafer.


Data and theory show that several large estuaries in New South Wales that were thought to be stable after having been modified by entrance breakwaters are, in fact, unstable and have been scouring for decades as a result of the breakwater construction. Research shows that this trend may well continue for centuries before the entrances achieve stable hydraulic regimes. Implications have included the requirements for on-going extensive bank erosion protection works along channels, reconstruction of bridge pier foundations and permanent changes to fringing ecologies, none of which previously had been anticipated. Analysis of available time series of amplitude and phase of tidal constituents has provided signatures that, along with established estuary stability theories, allow for an informed assessment of the future course of the scouring action and the timeframes to reach stable equilibrium. The research also provides a cautionary tale for future entrance training projects.


ABSTRACT
 Ground beetles or carabids are collective terms for the beetle family Carabidae. This family contains many species considered important predators associated with agricultural crops. The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of different diet types on consumption, fecundity, and egg viability of Abaris basistriata Chaudoir and Selenophorus seriatoporus Putzeys (Coleoptera: Carabidae) . The diets assessed were as follows: larvae of Tenebrio molitor L.; minced beef; dry cat food; the greenbug, Schizaphis graminum (Rondani); seeds of signal grass, Brachiaria decumbens Stapf; and a diet mixture. Five males and five females of each species were kept isolated in a plastic container divided by a silicon barrier, one side being filled with sifted soil that was moistened for oviposition and the other lined with filter paper to receive the diet. A. basistriata did not consume the B. decumbens seeds. The most consumed diet by A. basistriata and S. seriatoporus adults was T. molitor larvae. S. graminum and T. molitor larvae and diet mixture were considered the diets most favorable for the reproductive capacity of A. basistriata and S. seriatoporus, respectively. However, T. molitor larvae and diet mixture were the most favorable diets for rearing both carabid species in the laboratory.


We report on the fabrication of a pn-junction between II-IV-V2 type compounds with a chalcopyrite crystal structure such as CdSnP2 and ZnSnP2 for photovoltaic application. In the fabrication process, Cd–Sn precursor thin films were prepared on ZnSnP2 bulk crystals grown by the flux method and the precursor thin films reacted with phosphorus gas to form CdSnP2/ZnSnP2 junction. STEM-EDX analysis and SAED patterns revealed that CdSnP2 was epitaxially grown on ZnSnP2 bulk crystals, indicating that the favourable junction was obtained in the view point of carrier transport. In addition, Zn was also detected in the region of the CdSnP2 thin film due to the diffusion of Zn during phosphidation. This suggests the formation of solid solution (Cd,Zn)SnP2 between ZnSnP2 and CdSnP2, leading to realization of a homojunction. In the J−V measurements of the n-(Cd,Zn)SnP2/p-ZnSnP2 junction, a rectifying behavior was observed. The results in this work are cornerstones for photovoltaic application using II-IV-V2 type compound semiconductors including phosphides.


Periodontitis is a variety of conditions which affect the tissues surrounding the tooth. the pathological process results from a distortion of balance between dental plaque bacteria and immunological system of the host. Moreover, the onset and the course of periodontitis are modulated by the impact of genetic mechanisms mutually with risk factors. Genetic influence on the periodontitis might be divided into the following groups: single nucleotide polymorphisms: il-1β and Cd14 receptor; inherited immunodeficiencies: benign familial neutropenia, leukocyte adhesion deficiency, Chediak-Higashi syndrome, Kostmann disease; connective tissues disorders: keratoderma, ehlers-danlos syndrome, hypophosphatasia, Marfan syndrome and familial immunodeficiencies (Dent. Med. Probl. 2013, 50, 2, 145–151).


This note provides a connection between the (block) Levinson algorithm and the conjugate direction method (CDM). We first present an extension of the scalar CDM to the block matrix case. Then we show how the (block) Levinson recursions can be derived as a special case of the (extended) CDM. This gives a new derivation and interpretation for Levinson's algorithm.


Indian languages are verb final and morphologically rich. For the present work Marathi language is explored which belongs to Indo Aryan family. The data is collected from the Marathi Balbharati book from standard 1st to 4th. This paper presents challenges of discourse analysis means two or more sentences are linked together which is required for many natural language based applications. Rule based structure is framed to find out the discourse from the dataset. These rules are framed on the basis of the Marathi grammar and world knowledge of the linguistic. With the help of POS tagger identify the tag of each word in the discourse is identified. The discourse anaphora is resolved in various foreign as well as Indian languages but Marathi is one of the languages where the discourse is not resolved uptil now. Discourse means that the some relative sentences or the sub sentences are connected with each-other. An important step in understanding the connected discourse is skill to link the meaning of the successive sentence together. Total 515 discourse sentences are considered here to resolving the anaphora from which 177 are the simple sentence and 338 are the discourse one.


Abstract : A brief review of the origin and of the remarkable complexing properties of the crown ethers is presented. Some areas of chemistry in which these compounds are currently important are described with emphasis on their application to the catalysis of nucleophilic and oxidative organic reactions and their behaviour as highly selective complexing agents in host-guest interactions. Methods of synthesis and characterization for these compounds are summarized. (Author)


IMPORTANT CHANGES HAVE occurred during the last decade in the conditions of world politics. The post-second World War alliance systems have been gravely weakened. The Sino-Soviet split has discredited the twin propositions that Communist states will always support each other against the non-Communist world and that the political tenor of their governments is a reliable guide to the character of their foreign policies. The intellectual and emotional heritage of Marxism has therefore been freed from the burden of its former association with a particular type of state interest and has become domestically more attractive in western societies in proportion to its declining relevance in international affairs. This has accentuated a restlessness within these societies which is both cause and consequence of a growing concentration upon domestic concerns at the expense of foreign problems. The inability of the great powers to contemplate the use of military force against one another appears to have brought much stability to the relationships between them, though it has also weakened the guarantees which each is able to proffer to third parties. The erosion of U.S. economic supremacy and of the former American domestic consensus on foreign affairs have come during a period which has also seen the economic rise of Japan and reviving nationalism in Europe. What appears to be emerging is a system of ad hoc balances in relation to different types of problems, compelling the great powers to pay especial attention to the maintenance and coordination of these arrangements. There have been large consequential changes in Australian assumptions about the world. The government believes that the balance among the great powers not only is relatively stable but will remain so, at least for the time being. Force will be no more than a muted obbligato to the operation of international politics and the diplomacy of economic exchanges. Instead of stressing alliances and military arrangements, therefore, Australian foreign policy declarations insist upon flexibility, even-handedness, and diplomatic


Learning by children and animals occurs effortlessly and largely without obvious supervision. Successes in automating supervised learning have not translated to the more ambiguous realm of unsupervised learning where goals and labels are not provided. Barlow (1961) suggested that the signal that brains leverage for unsupervised learning is dependence, or redundancy, in the sensory environment. Dependence can be characterized using the information-theoretic multivariate mutual information measure called total correlation. The principle of Total Cor-relation Ex-planation (CorEx) is to learn representations of data that "explain" as much dependence in the data as possible. We review some manifestations of this principle along with successes in unsupervised learning problems across diverse domains including human behavior, biology, and language.


Objective To compare nine different algorithms for determining the necessity for drug treatment of hyperlipidaemia in patients without cardiovascular disease. Design Risk-factor data on 400 patients were obtained. Algorithms assessed included the Framingham model, National Cholesterol Education Program, European, British, New Zealand, British Regional Heart Study, Sheffield, Munster Heart Study and Dundee guidelines and a local general rule for treatment of atheroma (General Rule to Enable Atheroma Treatment). Setting Three hospital lipid clinics. Results Patients were 56% male, aged 53.8 α 12.3 years, 38% smoked, 55% had a family history of disease (37% familial hypercholesterolaemia, 33% hypertension and 5.2% left ventricular hypertrophy); 31% were moderately obese and 15% were diabetic. The average cholesterol level was 7.9 α 2.6 mmol/l. Median Framingham risk was 1.66%/year and this risk was > 2%/year for 37% and > 3%/year for 17.5%. Treatment was required for 86% by National Cholesterol Education Program, 70% by General Rule to Enable Atheroma Treatment and European, 61% by New Zealand, 58% by British, 42% by Dundee, 40% by Munster Heart Study, 25% by British Regional Heart Study and 16% by Sheffield guidelines. Algorithms varied regarding recommendations for treatment of men, women, patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia and diabetes. Confounders included risk levels, definitions and weightings for additional risk factors. Conclusions Different algorithms vary widely in their predictions of need for drug treatment of this high-risk population with hyperlipidaemia. Authors of guidelines for cardiovascular disease need to unify risk thresholds and definitions and audit the effects of additional weighting factors so that patients can be treated consistently.


Agent-Based Models (ABMs) are being increasingly used to evaluate urban systems, urban policies and environmental impacts. One prerequisite for using the ABM framework consists of generating a synthetic population representative of the actual population, featuring the appropriate attributes with respect to model objectives. A precise spatial positioning of the synthetic population agents is often key to ensuring ABM modeling quality. This paper considers the problem of allocating synthetic population agents to a finer spatial scale. Such an allocation process is performed from a higher-level statistical area where a synthetic population can be generated, that is, a container statistical area (CSA), to several nested non-overlapping elementary statistical areas (ESAs), where only marginals are available. This allocation step relies not only on common attributes between CSA and ESA, but also on additional discriminatory attributes, that is, attributes of interest, estimated from external data sources. The case study examined herein is based on French census and fiscal data. Common attributes include eight socio-demographic variables, totaling 17 modalities. An additional attribute of interest, that is, income, has also been added. The allocation problem at hand is modeled as an integer quadratic programming problem. An exact algorithm is first applied to solve the problem; the applicability of this algorithm proves to be limited to small-size synthetic populations. A heuristic is proposed to handle the allocation of larger-size synthetic populations. Tests carried out on the case study show that this heuristic yields near-optimal solutions; it is also computationally efficient and may fulfill the needs of a majority of users.


The invention discloses a short-wave two-path modulator-demodulator, which comprises two paths of modulators and two paths of demodulators, wherein in the two paths of modulators, one path of modulator comprises a convolution code unit, a first waveform generating unit, a first phase shift keying (PSK) modulation unit and a first waveform shaping unit, which are connected in sequence; the other path of modulator comprises a data modulation unit, a second waveform generating unit, a second PSK modulation unit and a second waveform shaping unit, which are connected in sequence; in the two paths of demodulators, one path of demodulator comprises a low-pass filter unit, a first interference suppression unit, a first time domain equalization unit, a first PSK demodulation unit and a first convolution decoding unit, which are connected in sequence; and the other path of demodulator comprises a band-pass filter unit, a second interference suppression unit, a second time domain equalization unit, a second PSK demodulation unit and a second convolution decoding unit, which are connected in sequence. According to the short-wave two-path modulator-demodulator, the rate is improved, namely under the condition of certain channel quality, the communication data transmission rate is doubled. The short wave two-path modulator-demodulator has the advantages of improved performance, good compatibility, multiple functions and wide application scope.


We apply a contour deformation technique in momentum space to the newly developed Gamow shell model, using the drip-line nuclei $^{5}\mathrm{He}$, $^{6}\mathrm{He}$, and $^{7}\mathrm{He}$ as test cases. A major problem in Gamow shell-model studies of nuclear many-body systems is the increasing number of many-body configurations due to the large number of resonant and complex-continuum single-particle orbits necessary to reproduce multiparticle bound and resonant states. We address this problem using two different effective operator approaches generalized to the complex momentum plane. These are the Lee-Suzuki similarity transformation method for complex interactions and the multireference perturbation theory method. We show that a combination of these two approaches results in a drastic truncation of the number of relevant configurations compared with direct diagonalization. This offers interesting perspectives for studies of weakly bound systems.


. Tourists often travel to experience the natural beauty of a destination and as an example, the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in Australia, attracts millions of tourists every year due to its outstanding underwater beauty. Recently, parts of the GBR have been become degraded from warming sea temperatures and other local anthropogenic influences. These environmental changes in the reef ecosystem may possibly result in negative impacts on tourist perceptions of GBR beauty, which in turn may reduce tourism visitation. In order to address this topical issue, our study applied conjoint analysis method to quantify the impacts of environmental changes on tourist aesthetic assessment. It is found that fish-related changes have more important influences on tourist aesthetic assessment than coral-related changes. Also, four tourist segments with different beauty lenses were identified. Hence, this study provides evidence to support a subjective approach to aesthetic research and suggests implications to improve GBR marketing and conservation programs.


The rheology of cohesive granular materials under a constant pressure condition is studied by performing molecular dynamics simulations. Depending on the shear rate, pressure, and interparticle coh...


More than eight decades have passed since Edmonds's introduction to the rock-cut Tomb of Qizqapan, yet there are still ambiguities and questions regarding a number of aspects, specifically its dating. Different dates from the Median, Achaemenid, Seleucid, and Parthian periods have been proposed for this monument. However, out of all the proposed eras, none has been fully accepted by the majority of archaeologists, and disagreements regarding the date still continue. This article reviews and analyses previous proposals and discusses and evaluates other elements which affect the dating of this monument. The results show that by taking into account several factors, the most probable date for this tomb is the fourth century B.C., contemporaneous with the late Achaemenid and the early Seleucid period. The conclusion is that Qizqapan does have a Median identity but not a Median period date.


In this study, nitrogen- and sulfur-codoped graphene (N/S-G) was prepared and used as an efficient metal-free electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in microbial fuel cells (MFCs), exhibiting a maximum power density of 1368 mW m−2, relatively higher than that of commercial Pt/C.


2 Public Company "Soil Remediation Technologies", Antakalnio 42, Vilnius, Lithuania Decrease of oil adhesion is important for accelerating the degradation of oil contaminants in soil. Microorganisms are able to act as desorbents of insoluble substrata from surfaces. The effectiveness of microorganism filtrates and CO2 – a product of polysaccharide fermentation – to decrease oil adhesion to soil was estimated. It was noticed that the process of oil removing from oil containing sandstone and polluted soil was more intensive when yeast Candida lipolytica and fungus Trichoderma harzianum strains were grown together. The oil film was more remarkable at 50 °C than at 20 °C. Various substrata were used for fermentation by yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus, but the highest content of CO2 and the best extraction of oil from the soil were found in the case of glucose and whey fermentation. Sodium alkylbenzenesulfonate may be used as a washing agent together with microorganisms for decreasing oil adhesion in polluted soil cleaning.


Three groups of monkeys and groups of dogs were each exposed by the respiratory route to graded inhaled doses of approximately 9,500, 2,500 and 325 dry arthrospores of Coccidioides immitis strain Silveira. In sera from infected dogs, the highest median agar gel precipitin titers occurred at five and nine weeks postexposure. Titers fell after these time periods in all dose groups. Agar gel precipitin titers in the medium and low dose groups of monkeys reached their highest median values at 14 weeks postexposure and then declined slightly. Agar gel precipitin titers in infected monkeys were consistently higher than thoee in infected dogs. Highest median titers for CF antibodies occurred at the five week test period in dogs of all dose groups. After this time period, the median titers in the sera of these dogs declined. In infected monkeys, maximum median titers of CF antibodies were observed at nine and 17 weeks postexposure. The median titers forming this plateau were higher than the highest median titers ...


This file contains two supplements (interview guideline and transcripts) for the ECIS 2015 paper "Visibility of Business Processes - An Information Processing Perspective in the Financial Services Industry".


Temperature and composition dependence of the electrical conductivity of alkali-earth vanadate glasses formed with ${\mathrm{V}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{5}$ as a unique glass network former have been investigated in the temperature range 80\char21{}500 K. The results for these glasses have been compared with those for the traditional vanadate glasses. The conductivity and the activation energy for the alkali-earth vanadate glasses having ${\mathrm{V}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{5}$ content g70 mol % depend slightly on the nature of the alkali-earth oxide. However, for the glasses with ${\mathrm{V}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{5}$ content \ensuremath{\leqslant}70 mol % the conductivity changes significantly with the nature and the content of alkali-earth oxides. The composition dependence of the electrical properties of the alkali-earth vanadate glasses has been observed stronger than those for the traditional vanadate glasses. The results for the alkali-earth vanadate glasses have been interpreted in terms of polaronic hopping models. The multiphonon assisted hopping model of small polarons in the nonadiabatic regime, which considers the strong interaction of electrons with both the optical and acoustical phonons, is the best to interpret the temperature dependence of the conductivity data of these glasses over the entire temperature range of measurement. The parameters obtained from the fits of the experimental data to this model appear reasonable and are consistent with the glass composition. On the other hand, Mott's optical phonon assisted hopping model at high temperature yields small values for the localization length, while Mott's variable range hopping model is consistent with the low-temperature data only. Schnakenberg's model provided higher values of the hopping and disorder energies than the activation energies obtained at the highest and the lowest temperature ranges, respectively. The addition of the alkali-earth oxide modifiers to the vanadate network alters the hopping mechanism from adiabatic to nonadiabatic.


or scalp issues. Even among physically active women, 18% exercised less than they would like because of their hair, but almost half of the women did nothing specifically to preserve their hair during exercise. This may be due to the high percentage of women wearing their hair in natural styles in this study. In our previous study,5 older women tended to wear their hair in natural styles compared with younger women. Natural styles may allow for greater flexibility with exercise as long as maintenance routines are minimal. Future studies can further explore which hairstyles are best for preservation during exercise and a detailed postexercise management regimen, such as dry shampoos or other products.


Despite over 25 y of accumulating evidence, the transition of the major human tumor suppressor – TP53 – into a potent oncogene is still controversial. Recent studies involving combinations of "omics" methods and a parallel use of multiple experimental models revealed that missense mutant p53 proteins profoundly modify cell's global molecular homeostasis. These results will hopefully contribute to lifting the remaining doubts and establishing mutant TP53 as a critical oncogene in human cancer. In recent years, genome-wide, multi-cancer studies have confirmed a long standing assumption that TP53 is the most frequently mutated gene in human neoplasias (with a frequency of 30–40% overall). Its primary role is tumor suppression and the mutations inactivate the anti-cancer abilities of p53 proteins. However, the mode of its inactivation is exceptional among tumor suppressors, as in 70–80% of cases TP53 undergoes missense point mutations, and the resulting p53 proteins are stabilized in tumor or metastasis microenvironments. Since the 1990s scientists have observed that these "p53 mutants" may transform human cells, findings that have gradually lead to the discovery of multiple cancer-relevant pathways controlled by mutant p53. The oncogenic gain-of-function (GOF) of mutant p53 includes inactivation of p63/p73 proteins, cyclin upregulation, integrin recycling, steroid synthesis, nucleotide metabolism or Warburg effect. We have recently reviewed these results elsewhere. This portrait is now being extended by the use of genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic methods in parallel cancer models. Our group usedmulti-omics to answer several fundamental questions onmutant p53 GOF: Is mutant p53 primarily an oncogenic transcription co-factor, as suggested earlier in numerous studies? Is the mutant p53 oncogenic programmostly shared between different missense mutants or is it specific to mutant variants and/or cellular backgrounds? How can different p53 mutants be efficiently targeted by a simple therapeutic protocol? First, by integrated DNA-interactomic (ChIP-sequencing), transcriptomic and proteomic data from a single mutant p53 triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line, our study revealed that, albeit binding of mutant p53 in proximity of gene promoters leads in the majority of cases to modulation of the corresponding transcripts, on the protein level the relation is more complex. The majority of proteins significantly upregulated by mutant p53 was accompanied by transcript upregulation, while downregulation of proteins turned out to be mostly independent of transcripts. Strikingly, the subsequent overlap of 5 distinct mutant p53 transcriptomic programs in TNBC cell lines revealed that in the common, "core" transcriptional program the most enriched group of mutant p53 targets are Nrf2-controlled 20S/26S protesome and immunoproteasome subunits. Hence, mutant p53 strongly upregulates proteasome activity in several cancer models and in TNBC patients. It became apparent that the mutant p53-dependent upregulation of cell's protein levels is indeed directly linked to the mutant p53's role as a potent transcriptional activator, while the mutant p53-dependent downregulation of proteins is mostly controlled post-transcriptionally, through the proteasome machinery. Of note, the downstream effects of the mutant p53Nrf2-proteasome axis include destabilization of the antioncogenic KSRP protein – a component of Dicer and Drosha miRNA processing complexes, responsible for maturation of a subset of oncosuppressive miRNAs. To our knowledge, this is the first indication of a direct link between elevated proteasome activity and alteration of miRNA homeostasis relevant for carcinogenesis. Together with a recent study by Garibaldi and coworkers showing that mutant p53 inhibits Drosha/Microprocessor complex, and earlier studies on mutant p53 influence on Dicer and Drosha, our results demonstrate that mutant p53 has a profound global effect on cellular miRNA processing via several overlapping routes. Apart from the core mutant p53 program we also looked at the cell line-specific mutant p53 transcriptional signatures in the 5 TNBC cell lines. Much to our surprise these signatures contained relatively few significantly modulated pro-oncogenic transcripts and performed weakly in the association with breast cancer patient poor prognosis. In contrast, the common and the proteasome subunit gene signatures, containing transcripts shared by the mutant p53 program in 5 cell lines, prognosed the bad outcome more efficiently. This indicates that missense p53 mutants largely share the most significant downstream oncogenic program. A concordant conclusion was obtained by Shelley Berger's group, who compared the DNA-binding patterns, obtained by


Research progress in effect of water stress to fruit tree's physiology was reviewed and physiological index changes of morphological structure of leaf and root system,stomatal reaction,photosynthesis,respiration,water potential and osmotic regulation under water stree,and fruit tree's intrinsic drought resistance mechanism were introduced comprehensively.


Background: Exposure to war and conflict increases the risk of mental health problems. Poor living conditions are known to negatively impact mental health. Hypothesis: It is hypothesized that exposure to negative events after armed conflict interacts with past negative experiences, socioeconomic factors and current mental health problems. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in three contexts of previous internal armed conflict: Nepal, Guatemala and Northern Ireland. Three nationally representative samples were drawn, comprising a net sample of 3,229 respondents. Results: Both recent negative events and past negative events linked to the previous conflicts were found to be associated with elevated risk of post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). Economic marginalization and urban residency also contributed to current risk of PTSD. Conclusions: The results support the study hypothesis that both past and recent negative events in combination with economic marginalization contribute to explain current risk of PTSD. It is necessary both to improve living conditions more broadly and to establish and develop health services that have the capacity to screen, prevent and treat mental health problems also in poor contexts, in particular against a background of previous armed conflict.


The incidence of severe sepsis is increasing year by year.Despite the huge investment given for its treatment,the mortality of severe sepsis is still about 50%.Microcirculation is the initial factor of sepsis.Early improving microcirculation can reduce the incidence of multiple organ dysfunction in sepsis patients.So monitoring of the microcirculation in early diagnosis of sepsis is of great significance.New methods are handheld orthogonal polarization spectral(OPS) imaging Technology and more advanced side-stream dark field(SDF) imaging technology.SDF,lightweight,non-invasive,non-toxic and visual,may provide an important basis for the early detection of sepsis.This paper reviews the definitions and principles of OPS,SDF and their applications in sepsis in recent years.


Abstract Recording noise gratings with single-beam exposures in bleached silver halide emulsions is used as a holographic spectroscopy technique in order to analyse and optimize photochemical processing. In particular, rehalogenating type bleachings are analysed by measuring the transmittance through the recorded and processed holographic plate as a function of the reconstruction angle, the exposure and the concentration of the rehalogenating agent in the bleach bath. The experimental results obtained show us that the analysis of these spurious gratings provides information about the bleaching action during the processing and allows us to identify the optimal concentration of the bleach bath.


The bronchial asthma is one of the respiratory disease that to be dangerous for human beings.The RSV was common pathogen of children and adult of respiratory tract that might cause the severe symptoms.This paper had discussed the important development,RSV infection might cause the immuno-deficiency,AHR and mucosa secretion.


IRON DEFICIENCY CHLOROSIS IN SOYBEAN: QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCUS VALIDATION AND YIELD EFFECT EVALUATION AHMED CHARIF 2018 Soybean production in most of the Northern Great Plain area has been challenged by iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC), which is a physiological problem with a plant grown in high pH, calcareous soil. Developing IDC-resistant cultivars is the best approach to meet this challenge. Currently, this approach is limited by lack of knowledge about genetic resources and mechanisms for resistance to IDC. The objectives of this research were to validate quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with IDC and to evaluate the effect of IDC on yield in soybean cultivars. To validate the QTL, a population of 201 recombinant inbred lines, which was developed from a cross between a cultivated (Glycine max) and a wild (G. soja) soybean line, was grown in a field with calcareous soil (pH 8.5) using a randomized complete block design with four replicates. Phenotypes of IDC were visually scored for individual lines at three-time points during the vegetative growth period starting from the V3 stage. Heritability estimates for IDC scores ranged from 0.26 to 0.71. A linkage map was constructed using 164 SSR markers and covers 2156 cM of the soybean genome a total of 11 QTL for Fe efficiency were detected, with six detected in more than one time points. One of the 11 QTL has the allele from the wild parent enhancing the resistance to IDC. Seven of the QTL were involved in digenic epistasis. Two of the QTL were involved in G-by-E interactions. The epistatic and G-by-E interactions demonstrate the importance of


The claim of the use of orally consumed concentrated Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx preparation for the purpose of abortion in view of its widely uses as a beverage in the present period of economic hardship where it is a preferred beverage due to its affordability, naturalness and for its numerous medicinal properties has posed another element of concern to the female folks. This study was aimed to screen extracts of H. sabdariffa calyx of its acclaimed uterotonic activity. Contractile responses of estrogenized isolated rat uterus using various volumes (0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0,1.6 ml) were established with oxytocin (1x10-4 g/ml), ergometrine (1x10-4 g/ml), misoprostol (1x10-4 g/ml), Acetylcholine (1x10-3 g/ml) and five different extracts of H. sabdariffa - ethanol (2.0x10-3 g/ml), methanol (2.0x10-3 g/ml), acetone (2.0x10-3 g/ml), cold water (2.0x10-3 g/ml) and hot water (2.0x10-3 g/ml). After these, nifedipine, acetylcholine and salbutamol were used to challenge the maximal responses of the isolated uterine tissue to oxytocin, acetylcholine and the cold aqueous extract of H. sabdariffa (CWEHs). The CWEHs was equally potent at inducing contraction activity compared to the standard drugs. This study further shows reduction in the amplitude of contraction produced by CWEHs in the presence of Promethazine (1×10−6 g/ml) and Nifedipine (1×10−6 g/ml). The blockade is more pronounced in promethazine compared to Nifedipine. Aqueous extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx possess uterotonic activity on estrogenized isolated rat uterine muscle with mechanism of action related to histamine receptors and contraction of the myometrial cells as the was antagonized by promethazine and Nifedipine. This could be a justification for its alarming use as an abortifacient.


The present invention relates to the synthesis of mixtures of carbon nanotubes, and graphene, and more particularly to a co-process for producing carbon nanotubes, and graphene by a chemical deposition process in the vapor phase in the presence of a catalyst comprising a mixture of an active catalyst for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes and active catalyst B for the synthesis of graphene. The invention also relates to the carbon nanotube assemblies and graphene thus obtained and their use for the manufacture of composite materials having electrical conduction properties and / or improved thermal and / or mechanical properties, especially resistance to elongation, improved.


Initial Public Offering (IPO), is a way for companies to go public and meet its financing needs. IPOs are known to provide the initial abnormal returns to its investors. Therefore, this present paper is analyzing the short-run market adjusted performance of 100 IPOs listed on National Stock Exchange (NSE) from the period April 2008 to March 2011(3 years). This study found that Indian IPO market provides positive abnormal return to investors on short-run basis (1st and 7th day) like as observed in past literature. The returns diminished at the end of 30th day showing the negative return. The average market adjusted return for the 1st, 7th and 30th day is 7.23%, 2.09%, and -8.58% respectively. T-Statistic has been used to know the significance of these market adjusted returns. The wealth relative model has also been applied for analyzing the short run performance of IPOs, which provided the same results. The wealth relative index is 1.07, 1.02 and .91 for 1st, 7th and 30th day respectively. The performance of IPOs on yearly basis has also been presented. The results confirm that year 2009-10 showed exceptional performance; that investors can earn 7.03%, 6.44% and 4.21% average return if they sell these stocks at the end of 1st, 7th and 30th day respectively.


Moringa oleifera L. (Moringaceae) is known to possess high nutritional value and is used in a folklore medicine to treat various ailments related to pain and inflammation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of the aqueous extract of the leaves of M. oleifera in laboratory animals, using the writhing, hot-plate and formalin tests as the antinociceptive assays, and carrageenan-induced paw edema test as the anti-inflammatory assay. The extract (10, 30 and 100 mg/kg) exhibited significant (P < 0.05) antinociceptive activity, which occurred in a dose-dependent manner, in all tests used. The extract also exhibited significant (P < 0.05) anti-inflammatory activity in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the extract antinociceptive activity was suggested to be modulated via opioid receptors at the central, but not peripheral, antinociceptive level, based on the ability of 5 mg/kg naloxone to reverse the extract activity in the hot-plate, but not the writhing test. In conclusion, M. oleifera leaves possess peripherally non-opioid mediated and centrally opioid mediated antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities. This study also confirms the traditional uses of M. oleifera in the treatment of ailments, particularly those related to pain and inflammation.


Background and purpose:  The hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) are a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders, characterized by a progressive spasticity of the lower limbs. So far, 33 different loci (SPGs) have been mapped and the 15 genes responsible have been identified. We mapped a locus responsible for a form of spastic paraplegia, complicated by bilateral cataracts, gastroesophageal reflux with persisting vomiting and amyotrophy to chromosome 10q23.3–q24.2, in an Italian family. The critical region was in a 12 cm chromosomal interval between markers D10S564 and D10S603 (SPG9, MIM601162). In the same region, two other forms of HSP have been recently mapped: SPG27 and SPG33. In the latter case, the gene responsible has been identified.


Volcanic rock facies is key to analyze volcanic edifices,identify volcanic lithology and predict potential reservoir.Based on geological,seismic and drilling data from the Changling fault depression in Songliao basin,this paper probes into the formation mechanism and recognition features of explosive facies,overflow facies,volcanic sediment facies,volcanic vent facies,and extrusive facies,reveals that explosive facies and overflow facies are favorable facies belts for oil and gas concentration.A volcanic edifice lithological facies change rules is summarized according to the identification mode of igneous rocks.This paper,combined with geological setting such as deep faults and lithofacies changes,identifies many volcanic units in Cha'ganhua structure zone in eastern Changling fault depression,expands the distribution of explosive facies and overflow facies,which gives an achievement in natural gas exploration.


We used the cranking shell model to investigate the high-spin motions and structures of atomic nuclei. We focus the collective rotations of the A similar to 50, 80 and 110 nuclei. The A similar to 50 calculations show complicated g spectroscopy, which can have significant vibration effects. The A approximate to 80 N approximate to Z nuclei show rich shape coexistences with prolate and oblate rotational bands. The A approximate to 110 nuclei near the r-process path can have well-deformed oblate shapes that become yrast and more stable with increasing rotational frequency. As another important investigation, we used the configuration-constrained adiabatic method to calculate the multi-quasiparticle high-K states in the A similar to 130, 180 and superheavy regions. The calculations show significant shape polarizations due to quasi-particle excitations for soft nuclei, which should be considered in the investigations of high-K states. We predicted some important high-K isomers, e.g., the 8(-) isomers in the unstable nuclei of Dy-140 and Pb-188, which have been confirmed in experiments. In superheavy nuclei, our calculations show systematic existence of high-K states. The high-K excitations can increase the productions of synthesis and the survival probabilities of superheavy nuclei.


A through-wall imaging problem is tackled by means a linear inverse scattering approach described and numerically analyzed in previous works by the same authors. Here, such an approach is checked for against experimental data. To this end, a CW-SF ultrawideband radar system is used to take measurements in a controlled environment as well as for in situ experiments. Different types of scatterers and of obscuring walls are considered.


mE' reasons for my talking about the mixed flora problem here are threefold; first, as you are well aware, early in the middle of thirties, late Professor Birbal Sahni (1935, 1936) had furnished elaborate explanations about the formation of the sub-continent of South Asia and the Qinghai-Xizang (Tsinghai-Tibet) Plateau as well as the subdivision of palaeophytogeographical provinces of East Asia. Second, it is a very interesting problem relating to many branches in geology, geography and biology and deserves special attention and funher study. And third, some important new ideas were put forward during the last decade on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau through investigations made by Chinese and foreign scientists. Therefore, I consider it appropriate to summarize the relevant data available with the hope that it might throw some light on this obscure problem and stimulate new researches. However, because the mixed flora problem concerns with many complicated subjects and has long been in dispute, some scholars even deny the OCcurrence of any mixed flora during geological times. Thus, what I am submitting here is preliminary and far from complete.


Aims: Two important variables are thought to play important roles in people's eating habits: self-control and hedonism. The purpose of the study is to understand how and how much individuals' eating behaviors are affected by their hedonistic lifestyle and their degree of self-control.
Study Design: Quantitative Online Survey.
Place and Duration of Study: 2021-2022, Turkey.
Methodology: There were 138 participants who took the survey, which contained three different scales and a demographic form. The Hedonistic Eating Scale [6], The Mindful Eating Questionnaire [7], and the Brief Self-Control Scale [8] were the scales used.
Results: BMI and self-control were found to be significantly correlated (r =.410, p =.05). The relationship between BMI and hedonistic eating was significant (r =.493, p =.05). There was a significant correlation between hedonistic eating and self-control (r =.531, p =.05). When a multiple regression analysis was conducted, hedonistic eating and self-control scores predicted the BMI score significantly, F (2,133) = 30.98, p =.000. The R2 =.318 and the adjusted R2 =.309, a medium-size effect reported by the model. Self-control and hedonistic eating were found to predict BMI significantly (F (2,133) = 30.983, p =.000) and to account for 31.8 percent of the variation. Including gender in the model explained an additional 15.2 percent of the variation in BMI, which was found to be significant (F (1,132) = 37.847, p =.000).
Conclusion: All three variables (low self-control, high hedonistic eating, and high body mass index) are significantly and positively correlated. Additionally, it was seen that the strength of these variables differed with gender, even though not drastically.


The 'Spacemate' diagram developed by Berghauser Pont and Haupt (2006, 2010) relates together four geometrical properties of urban fabrics: density expressed as floor space index (FSI), ground coverage or ground space index (GSI), spaciousness expressed as open space ratio (OSR) and number of storeys (L). The authors measured these variables in a sample of Dutch, Spanish and German residential estates and showed how Spacemate segregates the buildings into distinct morphological types. Steadman (2013) brings this piece of work together with the work of Martin and March (1972) and shows how Martin and March's analysis can provide further theoretical explanation for Berghauser Pont and Haupt's empirical findings. The morphological descriptions as developed by Berghauser Pont and Haupt combine the tradition of urban morphology to capture what Conzen and Muratori called the city's 'genius loci' (Moudon 1997) with the more quantitative approach that started at the Centre for Land Use and Built Form Studies in Cambridge during the 1960s and 70s. Although Spacemate is an ingenious and useful graphical tool for urban morphological studies (Steadman 2013), we argue in this paper that it lacks a description of the relative or systemic dimension of cities, that is the description of relations between elements, to effectively understand the relation between urban form and the functioning of cities. To arrive here, Space Syntax (Hillier and Hanson, 1984), will be integrated with the morphological descriptions used in Spacemate.


Aircraft conflict resolution is one of the major tasks of computer-aided air traffic management and represents a challenging optimization problem. Many models and methods have been proposed to assist trajectory regulation to avoid conflicts. However, the question of testing the different mathematical optimization approaches against each other is still open. Standard benchmarks include unrealistic scenarios in which all the flights move toward a common point or completely random generated instances. There is a lack of a common set of test instances that allows comparison of the available methods under a variety of heterogeneous and representative scenarios. We present a flight deconfliction benchmark generator that allows the user to choose between (i) different predefined scenario inspired by existing benchmarks in the literature; (ii) pseudo-random traffic meeting certain congestion measurements; (iii) and randomly generated traffic. The proposed setting can account for different levels of difficulty in the deconfliction of the aircraft and allows to explore and compare the real limitations of optimization approaches for aircraft conflict resolution. History: Accepted by Ted Ralphs, area editor for Software Tools. Funding: This work was supported by the H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions [Grant 764759 ITN "MINOA"]. Supplemental Material: The software that supports the findings of this study is available within the paper and its Supplemental Information ( https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/suppl/10.1287/ijoc.2022.1265 ) as well as from the IJOC GitHub software repository ( https://github.com/INFORMSJoC/2021.0283 ) at ( http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7377734 ).


PURPOSE: A portable electronic apparatus with an azimuth measuring function, a magnetic sensor suitable for the same, and an azimuth measuring method therefor are provided to measure a direction at high precision even if the temperature of permanent magnets changes. CONSTITUTION: A portable phone(10) has a CPU(21) and a magnetic sensor unit(30) including an X-axis magnetic sensor(31), a Y-axis magnetic sensor(32), and a temperature sensor(33). The CPU(21) measures the influence of a magnetic field of permanent magnets with respect to an output of the X-axis magnetic sensor(31) and an output of the Y-axis magnetic sensor(32), at the first and second temperatures. The CPU(21) stores the measured influence data together with the first and second temperature data. The CPU(21) estimates the influence with respect to the output of the X-axis magnetic sensor(31) and the output of the Y-axis magnetic sensor(32), from the present temperature detected by the temperature sensor(33) and the stored influence data. The CPU(21) corrects the outputs of the X-axis magnetic sensor(31) and the Y-axis magnetic sensor(32) in accordance with the estimated influence, and determines the direction of the portable phone(10) from the corrected outputs.


Input Vector Monitoring Concurrent Built-In Self Test (BIST) schemes provide the capability to perform testing while the Circuit Under Test (CUT) operates normally, by exploiting vectors that appear at the inputs of the CUT during its normal operation. In this paper a novel input vector monitoring concurrent BIST scheme is presented, that reduces considerably the imposed hardware overhead compared to previously proposed schemes.


theorized that many cases of ACD diagnosed as poison oak dermatitis in the western USA were not caused by Rhus plants, but rather by various Phacelia species. Following Munz's work, Berry et al. reported a case series of 19 patients with ACD to P. crenulata, confirmed via epicutaneous patch testing using dried leaves of the plant. Eventually, the allergen was identified by Reynolds and Rodriguez as geranylhydroquinone, a derivative of hydroquinone found within the oil of P. crenulata. Using modern patch test methods, Reynolds et al. further investigated the severity of the Phacelia-associated allergic reactions, concluding that Phacelia plants have an allergenic capacity comparable to Rhus species. Currently, Phacelia species grow predominantly in the deserts of Utah, New Mexico, Nevada and southeastern California, which are regions of the USA that are typically devoid of Rhus species. In these areas, P. crenulata flowers in March and April, depending on seasonal rainfall. The ACD associated with P. crenulata presents as a papulovesicular eruption on the legs and ankles secondary to the contact that occurs while walking through the foothills and arroyos (dry riverbeds) where the flowers commonly reside. In spring 2016, there was an extraordinary floral bloom in Death Valley National Park, triggered by heavy rains that occurred during the previous autumn. Multiple species of desert flora, including Phacelia species, simultaneously came into bloom, covering the typically arid region with an impressive sea of vibrant colours. Extremely popular and touted within the media as a once-in-a-lifetime 'super bloom', the unusual appearance meant that the park was flooded with a record number of visitors. Given the popularity of the super bloom, it would not be surprising that many visitors to the park during this time period returned home with an underrecognized form of plant ACD caused by P. crenulata, including our patient.


The palladium(II) decorated tungstobismuthate(III) [Pd3 (H2O)9Bi2W22O76]8− (1) has been prepared by a simple one-pot reaction of PdCl2 with Na12[Bi2W22O74(OH)2] in aqueous acidic medium at pH 4.8. Polyanion 1 represents a rare example of a structurally characterized palladium-containing polyoxometalate.


The steady decrease in membership in liberal churches is not news, of course. But, as the most recent U.S. Religious Landscape Survey shows, "the United States is on the verge of becoming a minority Protestant country"; according to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, only 51% of Americans still report that they are members of Protestant denominations.2 Evangelical Protestant churches, together with historically black Protestant churches, make up 33.2% of the overall adult population, whereas mainline Protestant churches now represent only 18.1% of that population.3 Moreover, the "graying" of the mainline continues; roughly half the members of mainline churches are age 50 and older.4


THE STANDING OF THE SOUL: THE SEARCH FOR A MIDDLE BEING BETWEEN GOD AND MATTER IN THE DE STATU ANIMAE OF CLAUDIANUS MAMERTUS


A system of scholarly monograph publishing, primarily under the auspices of university presses, coalesced only 50 years ago as part of the final stage of the professionalization of US institutions of higher education. The resulting analogue publishing system supplied the authorized print monographs that academic institutions newly required for faculty tenure and promotion. That publishing system – as each of its components – was bounded, stable, identifiable, well ordered, and well policed. As successive financial shocks battered both the country in general and scholarly publishing in particular, just a decade after its final formation, the analogue system went into extended decline. Finally, it is now giving way to a digital scholarly publishing system whose configuration and components are still obscure and in flux, but whose epistemological bases differ from the analogue system in almost all important respects: it will be relatively unbounded and stochastic, composed of units that are inherently amorphous and shape shifting, and marked by contested authorization of diverse content. This digitally driven, epistemic system shift in scholarly publishing may well be an extended work in progress, since the doomed analogue system is still fiscally dominant with respect to monographs, and the nascent digital system has not yet coalesced around a multitude of emerging digital affordances.


We tested the contrast sensitivities of 13 subjects, 22 eyes, with forced choice method. The age disribution was from 24 to 31 years. The refractive states were from emmetropic to -8 diopters with a mean of -2.47 diopters. The visual angle was 8 degrees at a distance of 60 inches. The mean luminance was 220 candelas per sq. m. We approached the threshold with 2 dB major steps followed by 0.2 dB minor steps. The criterion of visibility was 75%. The contrast sensitivities were 152 ± 42, 285 ± 63, 272 ± 53, 181 ± 74 and 49 ± 45 for 0.78, 1.56, 3.12, 6.24 and 12.4 cycles per degree. We think the forced choice is, as a criterion free method, good for measuring contrast sensitivity, though it is time consuming. The standard deviation for each measurement was about 0.4 dB for each spatial frequency. We took 20 to 30 minutes to perform the test on each eye. With interpolation, the peak of the curve was between 1.56 and 3.12 cycles per degree. We suggest that the difference of two contrast sensitivities be expressed in dB, and dB equals to 10 log (sensitivity1/sensitivity2). The conventional factor 20 is not suitable. It is in the audiometry that the loudness is proportional to the amplitude of the pressure wave, and the total energy is proportional to square of pressure. Originally decibel is defined as 10 log (energy1/energy2). So in terms of pressure, it's equivalent to 20 log (pressure 1/pressure2). Since "contrast sensitivity" itself is a scalar, not a wave function also, we should use the primitive definition of dB as 10 log (sensitivity1/sensitivity2). Though only spatial frequency is concerned in our test, the forced choice method implies some temporal factor.


OBJECTIVE To study the relative bioavailability of mecobalamin Tablets in healthy volunteers.METHODS An oral dose of 1 500 μg mecobalamin Tablets and 1 500 μg methycobal were given to twenty healthy volunteers in a randomized crossover design,respectively.The drug concentrations were determined by the microbioassay method.RESULTS The main pharmacokinetic parameters were as follows:t max were ( 2.5± 0.9),( 2.4± 1.2) h;C max were ( 322.1± 198.9),( 326.4± 212.6) ng·L -1;t 1/2 were ( 21.0± 5.2),( 21.5± 5.6) h,respectively.The statistic results showed no significant difference between the above two preparations.CONCLUSION The two preparations are bioequivalent.


Field microenvironments of three annual alpine species, Koenigia islandica, Polygonum confertiflorum, and P. douglasii, were characterized over two growing seasons. Germination, photo- synthesis, and growth of all three species were investigated in field and laboratory experiments. The Polygonum species occurred in warm, dry alpine sites which melted out early in the growing season but also dried out early; plants died by mid-August. Koenigia grew in sites which melted out later, but plants remained alive later in the season since their sites did not dry out. Polygonum plants experienced higher soil surface, air, and leaf temperatures than did Koenigia plants. Seeds of the Polygonum species required stratification before they germinated, and light increased germination. Koenigia seeds germinated equally well in light and dark, and stratification was not necessary, although it increased germination percentages. Photosynthetic responses to light were similar in all three species. Koenigia's photosynthetic tem- perature optimum was lower than those of the Polygonum species (27° vs. 32°C). Maximum net photosynthetic rates (CO2 uptake of whole plants) of each species ranged from 12 to 17 Mmol m-2. s- Koenigia plants grew significantly larger and produced more seeds at daytime temperatures of 15° rather than 25° in growth experiments. The reverse was true for the Polygonum species. A single extra week of growth often doubled seed production in these rapidly developing species. Differences in habitat and physiological response probably reflect the evolutionary origins of these species. Koenigia colonized the Rocky Mountains from the Arctic, and it inhabits the coolest, wettest, alpine bogs. The Polygonum species appear to have originated at lower elevations in the temperate zone and to have colonized the warmest and driest alpine habitats. The species' photosynthetic, reproductive, and growth responses reflect the conditions in their respective habitats.


Internationalization is the incorporation of international contents, materials, activities and understandings into the teaching, research, and public service functions of universities to enhance their relevance in an interdependent world. (Definition adopted at the conference on Internationalizing U.S. Universities: A Time for Leadership, Spokane, WA, June 5–7, 1990)


English and Chinese are different languages from different language families. The former belongs to phonetic writing, while the latter to ideographic writing, and they have their respective writing symbols. Therefore, a comparison between the systems of integrated character building in English and Chinese shows their surprising similarities in the aspect of ideaexpressing while their differences in form are obvious.


This paper reports the results of some experiments conducted to measure the Internet congestion, viewed from a local perspective. A user-friendly graphical tool was developed to reflect the "local internet weather". For a typical user this information is more relevant than the global characteristics, however, the existing tools to measure Internet traffic are not designed with the individual non-technical user in mind.


Excavations of Xiongnu elite burials, conducted in 2006–2012 by the Russian-Mongolian expedition in the Noyon Uul Mountains, Northern Mongolia, revealed numerous jade artifacts. Their classifi cation is provided and their possible cultural meaning is discussed. The Chanyu apparently received them from the Han imperial court by way of gift or tribute. Like Chinese, Xiongnu believed in magic and vital force of jade, and this may account for its abundance in burials. The amount and quality of jade indicated the owner's high social status. Jade artifacts were parts of neck adornments worn by members of the Xiongnu elite, and they might have functioned as amulets. Finds from "Ballod's mound" suggest that they may have been parts of jade garments, known as "armors".