BRAF/MEK inhibition remains an important treatment option for patients with BRAF V600 mutant melanoma who show disease progression on immunotherapy; however, the majority of patients treated with BRAF/MEK (MAPKi) therapy develop MAPKi-resistant disease within two years of initiating treatment. Genomic analysis of drug-resistant melanomas has identified somatic mutations associated with resistance, including BRAF amplification or truncation and RAS mutation. In addition, other forms of acquired resistance involving adaptation and reprogramming have been described, with different studies identifying different drivers in different melanoma cell lines and patient-derived xenografts. The heterogeneity of acquired resistance mechanisms presents a major clinical challenge for identifying novel drug combinations with potential activity in significant subsets of patients. To enable the rapid identification of context-dependent drivers of MAPKi resistance, we adapted our Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon mutagenesis for use in cell culture. SB mutagenesis in this setting identifies predominantly gain-of-function mechanisms and thus has the ability to identify both genetic mutations (such as expression of truncated proteins) and genes within alternative acquired resistance pathways whose upregulated expression drives MAPKi resistance. Validating our approach, our screen identified N-terminal truncation of BRAF—a known mechanism of vemurafenib resistance. In addition, we identified DBL family guanine exchange factors (GEFs), MCF2 and VAV1, as drivers of MAPKi resistance that we have functionally validated in multiple BRAF V600E mutant melanoma cell lines. Crucially, many DBL family GEFs are well known to be regulated by Src family kinases (SFKs), and our data indicate that GEF-driven MAPKi resistance can be blocked by combination treatment with vemurafenib and saracatinib, a selective SFK inhibitor. Expansion of resistant cells in the presence of vemurafenib or vemurafenib with cobimetinib can be reversed by switching to vemurafenib plus saracatinib. Consistently, we find that adding saracatinib converts MAPKi-mediated cytostasis into cell killing and blocks spontaneous MAPKi resistance in responsive melanoma cell lines. The GEFs signal downstream to a RAC1-PAK kinase module that is required for GEF-driven resistance. Importantly, the potential utility of both SFK inhibitors and PAK inhibitors for overcoming MAPKi resistance has been proposed, but the connection between SFK-dependent and PAK-dependent resistance mechanisms had not been obvious. We show that combined BRAF/SFK inhibition is effective in cell lines in which the GEF-driven mechanism operates, but not in cell lines in which the GEFs do not drive resistance. Our SB mutagenesis system has the ability to rapidly survey the context-dependent landscape of MAPKi resistance in any transfectable cell system, with the potential to reveal connections between seemingly disparate resistance mechanisms.
 This abstract is also being presented as Poster B04.
 Citation Format: Charlotte R. Feddersen, Jacob Schillo, Afshin Varzavand, Hayley Vaughn, Andrew Voight, Eliot Zhu, Jesse D Riordan, Christopher S. Stipp, Adam J. Dupuy. Sleeping Beauty mutagenesis reveals a Src-dependent DBL GEF family signaling mechanism driving MAPK inhibitor resistance in BRAF mutant melanoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Melanoma: From Biology to Target; 2019 Jan 15-18; Houston, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(19 Suppl):Abstract nr PR17.


Twenty-three stimulating papers, including essays by Peter Elbow, Donald Murray, and William Strong, selected from the more than sixty presented at the Second Miami University Conference on Sentence Combining and the Teaching of Writing.Sentence combining has not only survived the paradigm shift in the teaching of writing but continues to stimulate provocative, creative thinking about the writing process itself. No longer an end in itself, but a tool, sentence combining has become a method of teaching about ways of thinking, of perceiving, and of organizing reality."


Lactococcus lactis is regarded as one of safe strain of food grade. Lactococcus lactis gene expression and regulation have been applied to food and medical industry with completion of its genome sequencing. Development situation of Lactococcus lactis expression system was summarizes. It provides convenient and basis for making full use of Lactococcus lactis.


In r e D.M.S , 203 P.3d 776 (Mont. 2009), decided by the Montana Supreme Court on February 18, 2009, was an appeal from an order of the District Court of the Twenty-First Judicial District, Ravalli County, committing D.M.S. to the Montana State Hospital (MSH). The supreme court concluded that the


PPO/PA6 nano-blends were prepared via in situ polymerization and in situ compatibilization process concurrently. An anionic ring-opening polymerization of e-Caprolactam was proceeded in the presence of PPO, a fraction of PPO chain bore p-methoxyphenyl propionate (MPAA), which acted as macroactivator to initiate PA6 chain growth from the PPO chains and to form a graft copolymer of PPO and PA6 simultaneously. SEM observations show that the morphologies formed via in situ polymerization and in situ compatibilization are quite different from simple in situ polymerization of CL in the PPO matrix. The nano-structured PA6 dispersed phase in the PPO matrix can be achieved with increasing the amount of PPO in the blending system.


The traditional converter tapping slag detection method was based entirely on threshold segmentation,however,in the face of accidents occurred during converter tapping,the detection accuracy dropped.In order to solve such shortcoming,an improved converter tapping slag detection method was put forward.First,converter tapping image was divided into several areas by using watershed segmentation method.Then,rectangular fitting method was used to obtain steel image area.Finally,the impact of anomalies occurred during converter tapping was eliminated through weighting 4 images′ information.Industrial test results show that the method is effective to improve accuracy and stability of infrared slag detection system and control thickness of slag in ladle.


We report the design and manufacturing of an all-solid step-index VLMA fiber with an absorption about 10 dB/m, which exhibits a truly single-mode operate using a simple oriented bending principle.


Socially Assistive Robots are effective at supporting autistic children in a variety of different therapies. Therapists can control the robots' motions and verbalizations to engage children and deliver therapeutic interventions based on their needs. We present teleoperation capabilities to support therapists in customizing therapy to their clients' needs. Specifically, we introduce a documentation sidebar that aims to prime therapists using their clients' documented needs, and a session summary report that helps therapists reflect on the session with the child. We present preliminary designs for these capabilities and describe future work to build upon them.


This tutorial reviews the author's contributions to the active control of precision space structures over the past 35 years. It is based on the Santini lecture presented at the IAC-2022 Astronautical Congress in Paris in September 2022. The first part is devoted to the active damping of space trusses with an emphasis on robustness. Guaranteed stability is achieved by using decentralized collocated actuator–sensor pairs. The so-called integral force feedback (IFF) is simple, robust, and effective, and the performances can be predicted easily with simple formulae based on modal analyses. These predictions have been confirmed by numerous experiments. The damping strategy for trusses has been extended to cable structures, and also confirmed experimentally. The second part addresses the problem of vibration isolation: isolating a sensitive payload from the vibration induced by the spacecraft (i.e., the unbalanced mass of attitude control reaction wheels and gyros). A six-axis isolator based on a Gough–Stewart platform is discussed; once again, the approach emphasizes robustness. Two different solutions are presented: The first one (active isolation) uses a decentralized controller with collocated pairs of the actuator and force sensor, with IFF control. It is demonstrated that this special implementation of the skyhook, unlike the classical one, has guaranteed stability, even if the two substructures it connects are flexible (typical of large space structures). A second approach (passive) discusses an electromagnetic implementation of the relaxation isolator where the classical dash-pot of the linear damper is substituted by a Maxwell unit, leading to an asymptotic decay rate of −40 dB/decade, similar to the skyhook (although much simpler in terms of electronics). The third part of the lecture summarizes more recent work done on the control of flexible mirrors: (i) flat mirrors for adaptive optics (AO) controlled by an array of piezoelectric ceramic (PZT) actuators and (ii) spherical thin shell polymer reflectors controlled by an array of piezoelectric polymer actuators (PVDF-TrFE) aimed at being deployed in space.


Chris Biemann's robust Chinese Whispers graph clustering algorithm working in the Structure Discovery paradigm has been proven to perform good enough to be used in many applications for Germanic languages. The article presents its application to a Slavonic language (Polish), focusing on fine-tuning the parameters and finding an evaluation method for POS tagging application aiming at getting a very small (coarse-grained) tagset.


Tuberculosis (TB) is the second leading cause of mortality associated with infectious diseases globally and the leading cause of death among people living with HIV. In 2010, there were an estimated nine million people with TB – a third of whom do not have access to TB services – and approximately 1.5 million deaths were attributed to this disease. Moreover, TB is the main opportunistic infection in certain areas, such as Eastern Europe and Central Asia; here, infections are still increasing. Although antiretroviral therapy reduces mortality, there is a need to provide guidelines on the pharmacological interactions between antiviral drugs and drugs used for treating TB. This year, the STOP TB PARTNERSHIP is focusing on diagnosis, treatment and cure for all. (Published: 24 March 2014) Citation: Perez H. Journal of the International AIDS Society 2014, 17 :19079 http://www.jiasociety.org/index.php/jias/article/view/19079 | http://dx.doi.org/10.7448/IAS.17.1.19079


One of the distinctive features of geographic research is the spatial perspective which is manifested in the geographic literature through the use of a wide variety of spatial concepts. Until the recent work of phenomenological geographers, the variety of concepts used by geographers conformed to the ideals of a scientific geography in that they referred to measurable relations between phenomena. The relations may be directly measurable, such as the highway distance between Los Angeles and San Diego, or they may be indirectly measurable, such as an individual's perception of the distance between the same two cities. This interest in both objective as well as perceived spatial relationships illustrates the expanded scope of geography's spatial perspective, which has resulted in an increase in the number of spatial concepts of significance to geographers and a proliferation of the meanings given to the traditional spatial concepts of geography.


. PSEUDOEPHEDRINE is a sympathomimetic drug (SD), a widely used as a nasal decongestant that seldom causes an allergic reaction. We report a patient who complained of a generalized eczematous dermatitis after oral intake of a drug containing pseudoephedrine. A 77-year-old woman presented a generalized, itchy erythematous eruption after starting oral treatment with Clamoxyl (amoxycillin) and Rinoebastel (ebastine 10 mg plus pseudoephedrine 120 mg). The lesions cleared without further desquamation within one week of stopping this medication. The same symptoms had occurred in this patient twice previously with other drugs taken for a common cold. Skin tests with penicilloyl polylysine (PPL), minor determinant mixture (MDM), penicillin G and amoxycillin, and oral challenge with amoxycillin, were negative. Patch tests were carried out with Rinoebastel (0.1 and 1% in petrolatum (pet.)) and elicited a negative reaction at 48 and 96 h. A single-blind, placebo-controlled oral challenge with Rinoebastel was also performed. Within five hours, the patient developed an itchy erythematous generalized micropapular rash, which disappeared after treatment. Oral administration of ebastine produced no reaction. A posterior oral challenge with pseudoephedrine hydrochloride (60 mg) was also followed by similar lesions. Two months later the patient agreed to be patch tested again with pseudoephedrine (10% pet. and aqueous solution (aq.)), phenylephrine (10% pet. and aq.), epinephrine (1 : 1000), terbutaline (1% aq.) and albuterol (0.5% aq.). These tests revealed a positive reaction (++), in both petrolatum and aqueous solution, to pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, and phenylephrine at day 2, persisting to day 4. The remaining tests were negative. Ten healthy controls did not react to the same patch tests. Subsequent separated challenges were carried out with epinephrine 1 : 1000 (0.3 ml), terbutaline (2.5 mg), albuterol (2 mg), ephedrine (40 mg) and phenylephrine (20 mg). All were negative, except for ephedrine, which provoked the same symptoms. Despite extensive oral use of pseudoephedrine, allergic reactions seem to be unusual3/4a nonpigmenting fixed drug eruption being the most common cutaneous reaction (1,2). Also reported have been eczematous dermatitis (3,4), an unspecified rash with joint swelling (5), scarlatiniform eruptions (6), a recurrent toxic shock syndrome (7) and a vacuolar interface dermatitis (4). In order to verify the cause of a suspected drug eruption, a challenge test is usually required. Patch tests are not usually a reliable diagnostic method; a literature search revealed only four cases of positive patch tests to pseudoephedrine (1,3,4). Positive results have been obtained at 1% concentration and with the use of petrolatum as a vehicle. However, in our patient, the patch tests were positive for both types of vehicles, but only when a higher concentration (10%) was used. Cross-sensitivity among SDs has been rarely reported. We have found crossreactivity between pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, which have a closely related chemical structure derived from the phenylpropanolamine skeleton. On the contrary, no cross-reaction has been observed in provocation tests with other SDs (phenylephrine, epinephrine/ adrenaline) which are phenylethanolamine-derived. Although our patient's patch test with phenylephrine was positive, she tolerated it well. Thus (with the exception of ephedrine) all SDs should not be routinely prohibited in cases of sensitization to pseudoephedrine. In summary, the challenge and patch-testing results suggest a delayed hypersensitivity mechanism to pseudoephedrine in our patient's dermatitis. In our study, pseudoephedrine 10% was a suitable concentration with which to perform the patch test.


Image segmentation is one of basic problems in image processing and computer vision, and is a key step in image processing and image analysis. In this article, a rather complete survey to the image segmentation methods based on PDEs is given, and their characteristics are discussed.


The time from first symptom to diagnosis (= diagnostic delay) is considered as key factor for better outcome in many chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases, especially for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and vasculitides like giant cell arteritis (GCA). A longer diagnostic delay may cause pain, reduced functionality, reduced life-quality and increased morbidity, as well as structural damages of the organs linked with higher mortality. This retrospective study assessed the diagnostic delay in consecutive Middle-European outpatients and compared results with those of a systematic literature review (SLR).To compare disease-specific diagnostic delays of consecutive rheumatic patients with international data from a systematic literature review.Charts of a single-centre cohort with consecutively recruited patients were retrospectively reviewed for patients' and diseases' characteristics at a Middle-European university outpatient clinic for rheumatology. A SLR was performed according to PRISMA guidelines.The average mean ± SD time from first symptom to established diagnosis was 7.9 ± 11.7 (0.02-56.7) years. Spondyloarthritis patients showed the longest diagnostic delay with 13.1 ± 14.2 (0.1-56.7) years, whereas polymyalgia rheumatica-patients had the shortest diagnostic delay with 1.5 ± 0.4 (0.3-18.0) months. In the SLR, most data for diagnostic delays are comparable to the Innsbruck cohort, but the diagnostic delay for psoriatic arthritis in Innsbruck is longer than in the Danish DANBIO registry (p<0.001). Independent risk factors for prolonged diagnostic delays could not be identified.For this Middle-European area, initiatives are justified especially to shorten diagnostic delays of SpA and PsA.[1]O'Dell JR. Treating rheumatoid arthritis early: A window of opportunity? Arthritis Rheum. 2002;46:283–5.[2]Seo MR, Baek HL, Yoon HH, Ryu HJ, Choi HJ, Baek HJ, et al. Delayed diagnosis is linked to worse outcomes and unfavourable treatment responses in patients with axial spondyloarthritis. Clin Rheumatol. 2015;34:1397–405.[3]Diagnostic delay of more than 6 months contributes to poor radiographic and functional outcome in psoriatic arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2015;74:1045–50.[4]Dejaco C, Brouwer E, Mason JC, Buttgereit F, Matteson EL, Dasgupta B. Giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica: current challenges and opportunities. Nat Rev Rheumatol. Nature Publishing Group; 2017;13:578–92.We acknowledge and thank all patients who could be recruited to the SolutionX project. Ethical vote was obtained by the local ethics committee of the Medical University of Innsbruck (AN2017-0041 370/4.18).Rick Mc-Cutchan: None declared, Sarah Maier: None declared, Valentin Winkler: None declared, Bernhard Gruber: None declared, Michael Schirmer Grant/research support from: total <3000.- €, Speakers bureau: total <3000.- €


High parental involvement has been linked to increases in student achievement and engagement in school (Moore, 1992; Swap, 1993; Henderson and Berla, 1994; Fuller and Olsen, 1998). Schools with large populations of low-income students or students of color often have difficulties in engaging a majority of parents due to a variety of social and cultural differences among parents and teachers. While the literature on parent involvement cites many examples of challenges to parent involvement and suggestions to overcome those challenges, few models of extensive parent involvement in urban, public high schools have been described. The Boston Arts Academy is one such example. Parent involvement was studied at this urban public high school through staff and parent interviews, documentation, and observation of family events at the school. Boston Arts Academy engages a vast majority of its parents in school-based activities through multiple events and entry points, a welcoming school environment, and frequent communication among staff and parents. By focusing on building a diverse, inclusive culture and encouraging parents to take part in the school, the academy engages parents with varied prior experiences and dispositions toward parent involvement. Parents express that the school creates an open, welcoming, and informative environment. Findings from this case study suggest several key approaches that other schools may adopt: o Developing a coherent school vision that focuses on including families of varying dispositions as part of the team; o Supporting staff commitment to knowing students well and regularly communicating with parents; o Creating multiple, diverse opportunities for parent involvement, and support for parents to avail themselves of these opportunities; and o Allocating staffing resources toward facilitating parent communication and involvement.


Background/Objective: Method: The study involved the administration of questionnaires to all children aged 5-15 years engaged in child labour in Zaria city in order to obtain data on socio-demographic characteristics, socio-economic factors influencing child labour, impact on health status and school attendance and performance. Results: Two hundred children were interviewed, their ages ranged from 5 to 15 years. The majority of the children were in the age group 11-13 years (57.5%), mean age 11.4 years +/- 2.4. Sex distribution shows a male preponderance (82%); Hausas constituted 92%, and all belonged to Islamic faith (100%). Most of the children encountered the following health hazards, physical assault (beaten by their seniors) (61%), cuts from instruments (52.3%), falls (23.4%) and poor school performance (33.8%). Conclusion: Keywords: Child labour; socio-economic factors; health consequences Annals of African Medicine Vol. 5(2) 2006: 97-100


An improved Elman neural network (IENN) controller with particle swarm optimization (PSO) is presented for nonlinear systems. The proposed controller is composed of a quasi‐ARX neural network (QARXNN) prediction model and a switching mechanism. The switching mechanism is used to guarantee that the prediction model works well. The primary controller is designed based on IENN using the backpropagation (BP) learning algorithm with PSO. PSO is used to adjust the learning rates in the BP process for improving the learning capability. The adaptive learning rates of the controller are investigated via the Lyapunov stability theorem. The proposed controller performance is verified through numerical simulation. The method is compared with the fuzzy switching and 0/1 switching methods to show its effectiveness in terms of stability, accuracy, and robustness. © 2014 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


The chromatographic characteristics are investigated for six derivatives of 1,4naphthoquinone under conditions of normal-phase thin-layer chromatography for benzene-based binary eluent and such enhancing polar solvents as chloroform, acetoneand propan-2-ol. The slope in the Soczewinski equation for the investigated compounds satisfactorily correlates with the area occupied by the adsorbed solute molecule in the stationary phase. Кеуwords – thin-layer chromatography, derivatives of 1,4-naphthoquinone, eluent composition, Soczewinski equation, area of solute molecule. Introduction Amino derivatives of 1,4-naphthoquinone exhibit certain types of biological activity, in particular antibacterial, antifungal, as well as chelating activity for the transport of trace elements due to the presence in the structure of the quinone fragment and the corresponding substituents. The modification of chloro derivatives of 1,4-naphthoquinone by amine-containing compounds uses the nucleophilic substitution of chlorine atoms on the R-amine fragment. Synthesis and study of biological activity of derivatives of 1,4-naphthoquinone continue. In particular, antitumor activity of various derivatives of 1,4-naphthoquinone is investigated [1]. Although many works that deal with the synthesis of 1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives, have been reported to use thin-layer chromatography (TLC) to control the completion of the reaction, but the conditions for TLC and separation results are not given. In papers [2, 3] the effect of the composition of the eluent on containment on a number of amino acid and cyclic derivatives of 1,4-naphthoquinone under conditions of TLC was investigated. The purpose of this work іs to investigate the chromatographic behavior of six derivatives of 1,4-naphthoquinone by means of normal-phase TLC, as well as to establish the relationship between the retention and structure of these compounds.


An orally available small molecule mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MAP2K, MAPK/ERK kinase, or MEK) inhibitor, with potential antineoplastic activity. MEK inhibitor WX-554 selectively binds to and inhibits the activity of MEK, thereby preventing the activation of MEK-dependent effector proteins including some transcription factors, which may result in the inhibition of growth factor-mediated cell signaling and tumor cell proliferation. MEK, a dual-specificity threonine/tyrosine kinase that plays a key role in the activation of the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK signaling pathway, is frequently upregulated in a variety of tumor cell types. Qeios · Definition, February 2, 2020


Micro- and macrobrachiopods from eight stratigraphic sections of the carbonate upper member of the Middle Cambrian Lancara Formation (comprising lower Beleno facies and upper Barrios facies) in the Cantabrian Mountains are analysed. They comprise ten species, two of which are new, assigned to nine genera, two of which are new. They are: Acrothele primaeva (de Verneuil and Barrande in de Prado, 1860), Acrothele sp., Eoobolidae gen. et sp. indet., Genetreta trilix gen. et sp. nov., Iberotreta sampelayoi gen. et sp. nov., Luhotreta? proclinis (Mergl and Elicki, 2004), Micromitra cf. sculptilis (Meek, 1873), Nisusia vaticina (de Verneuil and Barrande in de Prado, 1860), Trematobolus simplex (Vogel, 1962) and Yorkia zafrensis (Gil-Cid and Melou, 1986). Stratigraphic distribution patterns of the brachiopod fauna mirror the drowning of the environment. Trematobolus simplex is exclusively found in the carbonates of the Beleno facies, whereas Nisusia vaticina and Yorkia zafrensis are typical representatives of the nodular limestones of the Barrios facies. The species of the genera Trematobolus, Nisusia and Yorkia demonstrate the affinity of the upper Lancara brachiopod association with faunas of the Siberian platform, New South Wales and some Avalonian terranes (Newfoundland, New Brunswick).


................................................................................................................ VII TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................. XI LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................... XVI LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................. XVII LIST OF PUBLICATIONS ...................................................................................... XIX LIST OF CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS ....................................................... XX 1 CHAPTER ONE ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Overview ................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Background ............................................................................................................ 1 1.3 Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................... 4 1.4 Significance of the Research ................................................................................. 5 1.5 Purpose of the Research ........................................................................................ 6 1.6 Research Questions & Hypotheses ....................................................................... 8 1.6.1 Study One (Chapter Three) .................................................................................. 8 1.6.2 Study Two (Chapter Four) ................................................................................... 9


A large proportion of the dynamic devices used to interact with the charged‐particle beams in accelerators or storage rings can be classified as pickups or kickers. These devices act through time‐varying electromagnetic fields either to extract information about the particle's motion or to effect a change in that motion. A given configuration of electrodes may be used either as a pickup or as a kicker; that duality will be addressed in this paper.


TEACHING HOW TO READ ENGLISH USING PHONIC SYSTEM : A CASE OF 3 YOUNG LEARNERS AT \"X\" LANGUAGE COURSE -


We report on transistors and light-emitting diodes using a conjugated polymer consisting of alternated segments of fluorene units and low-band gap donor-acceptor-donor (D-A-D) units. The D-A-D segment includes two electron-donating thiophene rings combined with a thiadiazolo-quinoxaline unit, which is electron withdrawing to its nature. The resulting polymer is conjugated and has a band gap of around 1.27 eV. Here we present the corresponding electro- and photoluminescence spectra, which both peak at approximately 1 micrometer. Single layer light-emitting diodes demonstrated external quantum efficiencies from 0.03% to 0.05%. The polymer was employed as active material in thin film transistors, a field-effect mobility of 0.003 cm2/Vs and current on/off ratio of 104 were achieved at ambient atmosphere.


Objective To probe cooperation on the artificial femoral replacement surgery.Methods Preoperative visual interviews,psychological counseling and care,surgical instruments and supplies,intraoperative skilled effort were well done in 46 cases of artificial femoral replacement.Results Patients cooperated well and recovered well.Conclusion Nurses'meticulous preoperative preparation,preoperative and intraoperativ visit coincide with the smooth surgery and successful operation.


Neps are a major concern as American Pima cotton competes with other extra-long staple
(ELS) cotton at the textile mills. A nep is defined as a tight knot-like mass of unorganized fibers.
Research has showed that 27% of the total increase in nep counts from the boll to the bale press
occurs during spindle-harvesting of ELS cotton. The objective of this research was to determine the
contribution of the spindle action and doffing action to nep counts in mechanically harvested Pima
cotton. This paper details the background, and methods and procedures used for the research.
Fiber analyses have not been completed. Therefore, no results are available at this time.


The invention belongs to the technical field of the treatment method of bayer and bayer sintering red mud generated in the alumina production adopting the bayer process and bayer sintering process and particularly relates to a treatment method of red mud generated through the bayer process and bayer sintering process. The method comprises the following steps: adding acid in red mud to fully react, filtering after the reaction to separate red mud from salt phase; evaporating water from the obtained salt solution, drying to obtain solid crude salt; and adding reductant carbon in the separated red mud, then heating to 650-1300 DEG C, keeping temperature for 8-60 minutes, and adopting the magnetic separation process and equipment to extract alkali-free ferroferric oxide from red mud, wherein the residual tailing is alkali-free, micro-salt and micro-iron. The treatment method of the invention is simple and convenient, has low cost and good treatment effect, and can completely recycle the useful substances in red mud; and the residual tailing can be used for other use, and the zero residue of the red mud pollution source can be finally realized.


The current status of the domestic production of 1 kV class 5 core power cables is outlined and the foreign manufacturing equipment and process are presented. Finally, an economic analysis is made on the application of copper, aluminium and steel as the protective sheath of 1 kV class 5 core power cable.


French literary lanscapes, Joy Newton Maurice Denis - four stages in the history of the French landscape, between 1889 and 1914, Jean-Paul Bouillon Cezanne's blur, approximating Cezanne, Richard Schiff Henri Martin at Toulouse - Terre Natale and Juste Milieu, Richard Thompson reconsiderations of Matisse and Derain in the classical landscape, James D. Herbert authority versus independence - the position of French landscape in the 1870s, John House on not seeing Provence - Van Gogh and the landscape of consolation, 1888-9, Griselda Pollock.


The incidence and distribution of Al and A2 mating types of Phytophthora infestans in Canada and of metalaxyl-sensitive (MS) and -insensitive (MI) strains were monitored during 1993, 1994, and 1995. Diseased leaves from about 1,600 plants were collected from 36 cultivars in 168 potato fields from five provinces at various times (June to September) during the growing season. The most extensive sampling (88% of total) was conducted in British Columbia (B.C.). About 500 isolates of P infestans were characterized from over 1,000 collected. In 1993, the Al mating type was found in all provinces sampled, while western Canada (B.C.) was the only region in which the A2 mating type was detected. In 1994, the A2 mating type was also found in eastern Canada (New Brunswick [N.B.]). In B.C., 23 fields sampled in 1993 had both Al and A2 mating types, while in N.B. in 1994, both mating types originated from the same plant in seven different fields. When lesions from two of these fields were examined by microscope, sporangia of P. infestans and a single oospore were seen in leaf tissues, demonstrating the potential for oospore production in naturally infected leaves in western and eastern Canada if both mating types are present. Metalaxyl sensitivity tests measuring relative growth of isolates with metalaxyl at 0 and 50 μg/ml revealed that all isolates collected in 1993 from Alberta, Manitoba, N.B., Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec were MS. In B.C., isolates showed a range of variation in growth with and without metalaxyl, and 76% of the isolates were MI. There was no correlation between recovery of these MI strains and use or nonuse of metalaxyl during the same growing season. Both MS and MI strains were present together in six fields. A low frequency of MS strains of both mating types was always recovered in B.C. When the frequency of occurrence of MS and MI strains throughout the growing season was examined, a high proportion of isolates collected early (June to July) from B.C. and N.B. in 1993 and 1994 was found to be MI. At the end of the season (September), MI isolates also occurred at a higher frequency in both locations and years. When the frequency of mating types was examined, the A2 type occurred at a higher proportion throughout the season in B.C. during 1993 and 1994. However, in 1995, the A2 mating type was rarely recovered and the Al type predominated. In N.B. in 1994, the Al mating type was recovered at a higher frequency than the A2 type in July, but most collections later were of mixed mating type. When the isolates were grouped into Al, A2, MS, and MI categories and growth rates were compared, isolates from populations in B.C. and N.B. in 1994 of A2 mating type grew significantly faster than Al; isolates that were MI from populations in B.C. in 1993 grew significantly faster than MS isolates. However, no differences could be detected in the extent of leaf colonization or sporulation between isolates representing Al, A2, MS, or MI. A preliminary survival study showed that P. infestans could overwinter under B.C. conditions on artificially inoculated tubers. These results illustrate the dynamic nature of populations of P infestans within and between growing seasons in western and eastern Canada, and demonstrate higher variation in the population in B.C.


Objectives: Recent studies have indicated that the rapid increase in the prevalence of some congenital anomalies may be associated with environmental factors. This study aimed to elucidate the etio...


Although China and the United States have different national conditions,but in recent years the two countries have met repeatedlyn atural disasters and other public emergencies attacks caused significant loss of life and property.Being a developed capitalist country,the UnitedS tates with its strong economic strength and advanced science and technology equipment have established a more comprehensive emergencym anagement mechanism and social security mechanism.And in the field of responding to public emergencies,the United States has a lot ofs uccessful cases which are worth of learning and drawing upon.


It is necessary to use a crosslinking agent to bond a flameretarding hydroxy-functional organophosphorus oligomer (FR) to cotton so that the flame resistance of the treated cotton fabric can be durable to multiple homelaundering. Both dimethyloldihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU) and melamine– formaldehyde (M-F) have been used as the binding agents between FR and cotton. The vertical flammability, limiting oxygen index (LOI) and phosphorus content after different numbers of laundering cycles as well as the wrinkle resistance and tensile strength of the cotton fabric treated with FR/DMDHEU and FR/M-F was investigated and compared in this research. We found that DMDHEU is more effective for crosslinking cotton cellulose and for crosslinking between FR and cotton than M-F. We also found that the bonding formed by DMDHEU between cotton and FR is more durable to multiple laundering cycles than that formed by M-F. M-F is a more effective nitrogen provider than DMDHEU to enhance the flame retarding performance of the treated cotton fabric through phosphorus–nitrogen synergism, therefore the presence of M-F in the flame retardant finishing system significantly increases the flame resistance of the treated fabric. DMDHEU, as an effective crosslinking agent for cotton, causes more fabric strength loss than M-F.


This paper experimentally studied the performance of exhaust steam reclaim device with a swirling flow vane at different inlet water pressures, temperatures, different inlet steam pressures and different distances between the throat and spout. The results indicated that the injection coefficient decreased as the inlet water pressure and temperature increased, respectively. There is a best distance between the throat and spout which makes the injection coefficient reached to its maximal value at the same experimental pressure and temperature, and the value equals to 130 mm in our experimental system. The resistance coefficient has a minimum value which makes the device have the highest outlet water pressure. Compared with the device without a swirling flow vane, it improves the heating performance for higher injection coefficient and exergy efficiency.


AIM: The efficacy of sciatic nerve blockade with subchondral access under ultrasound guidance (USG) versus ultrasound guidance in combination with EPN (USEPN) is unknown. Data on studies of these techniques for blockade of other peripheral nerves are inconsistent. This study evaluated the feasibility of a randomized trial to compare the efficacy of sciatic nerve blockade with USG-guided sciatic access with the current practice of USEPN.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty patients were randomized into two groups in which USG or USEPN guidance was used to perform sciatic nerve blockade with sciatic access. The primary endpoint was the quality of the sensory block. The secondary endpoint was the quality of the motor block.
RESULTS: Two groups of 20 patients each were analyzed. All patients developed successful motor and sensory blocks of the sciatic nerve when using USG and USEPN. All cases were followed. Three patients were excluded before randomization because of the unsatisfactory ultrasound imaging of the sciatic nerve.
CONCLUSION: The results show that a prospective study of alternative techniques of sciatic nerve block by subchondral access is possible. In our pilot study, sciatic nerve block performed under USG guidance without EPN was effective in all cases.


Reports emerging from recent studies on public distribution system (PDS) in India show significant improvements in consumption of food grains distributed through the PDS. Odisha is categorized as one of the states which has seen some sort of a revival of PDS (Khera, 2011). This article takes a long-term view of PDS in the State of Odisha, and argues that geographical targeting in Odisha had created a complex system of targeting, leading to large-scale errors of exclusion and information distortions at the ground level. The state subsidy provided by the Government of Odisha had in the past contributed to increased consumption of PDS rice immediately after introduction of targeting. However, in August 2008, the Government of Odisha wound up geographical targeting and started following a uniform price policy which seems to have contributed to a better performing PDS in the state. However, evidences show that in districts where universal PDS is in place, there are still large numbers of families outside the fold of PDS.


Solid state transformer (SST) has been regarded as one of the most emerging technologies for traction system and smart grid application. This paper presents the system design and performance demonstration of a high voltage SST lab prototype, which works as the active grid interface in the smart grid architecture. Specifically, the designs of the key components of the system, including both power stage and controller platform, are presented. In addition, the integration issues of SST with DC microgrid are highlighted. Lastly, tests under different scenarios are conducted to verify the following advanced features of the presented SST technology: (1) VAR compensation; (2) Voltage regulation; (3) Source voltage sag operation; (4) Microgrid integration.


Starting from the question of the BBC's supposed social and political neutrality, the article examines a specific moment in the history of the Corporation, the 1960s, by focusing on an innovation in television production: a series of single plays (television dramas) called The Wednesday Play. The article examines the institutional origins of the series in relation to a critical assessment of the BBC in the Pilkington Report of 1962 and the subsequent broadening of the social origins of recruits in anticipation of the second public-service channel, BBC2. The article goes on to consider three emblematic plays, in order to illustrate both the potentialities and the problematic issues arising from mixing fictionality and veracity. Finally, the lasting social and political significance of these plays is assessed as a unique moment in the history of the BBC.


The purpose of the program is to investigate the response of representative scale models of nuclear containment to pressure loading beyond the design basis accident and to compare analytical predictions to measured behavior. This objective is accomplished by conducting static, pneumatic overpressurization tests of scale models at ambient temperature. This research program consists of testing two scale models: a steel containment vessel (SCV) model (tested in 1996) and a prestressed concrete containment vessel (PCCV) model, which is the subject of this paper.


Low molecular weight gelators (LMWGs) are small molecules that are capable of entrapping solvents to form a gel in organic solvents or aqueous solution. These compounds rely solely on noncovalent forces to form the fibrous networks necessary to entrap a variety of solvents. The organogels and hydrogels thus formed could have applications in a variety of fields from environmental to biological to medicinal. Carbohydrates are ideal starting materials to synthesize LMWGs, because of their natural abundance, dense chirality, and biocompatibility. D-Glucose is the most common monosaccharide and D-glucosamine is isolated from natural sources, such as crab shells. Several series of compounds were synthesized using compounds 1-3 as the starting materials. These include esters, carbamates, amides, and ureas. The structure and gelation relationship was analyzed to obtain guidelines for designing new LMWGs. Compound 1 is a simple derivative of D-glucose and its terminal alkynyl esters and saturated carbamates are effective gelators. Compound 2 is a simple derivative of D-glucosamine and its amide and urea derivatives are also effective gelators. Compound 3 is formed from the deoxygenation of D-glucose. 1 O O HO OCH3 OH O Ph 2 O O HO OCH3 NH2 O Ph


The main objective of the present study is to investigate the dynamic fracture toughness behaviors of CFRP-Foam-CFRP sandwich composite of V-notched through -thickness, surface, and un-notched specimens under Izod, and Charpy impact tests.  The sandwich composite structures are made of cross-plied carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composite faces with polyurethane foam core. CFRP composites are used to combine the upper face and the lower face through the core in stitched sandwich structures. Compressive strength of weight drop impact perforated and un-perforated sandwich composite specimens are measured from a universal testing machine. Also, particles (Al2O3, CNTs, and cement) filled glass fiber cloth and graphene nanoplates coated glass fiber strands reinforced polymer hybrid composite are fabricated for V-notched, un-notched Izod impact and Charpy impact tests. The results show that weight drop impact energy is lower than the Izod impact energy but higher than the Charpy impact energy, whereas the dynamic fracture toughness of Izod impact energy is more than the Charpy and weight drop impact energy due to geometry of impactor and sandwich specimen. However energy and dynamic fracture toughness of Al2O3, CNTs, and Cement filled un-notched hybrid composites higher than the notched hybrid composites under Izod Impact. The dynamic fracture toughness and energy of CNTs filled hybrid composites is higher than the sandwich composites, Al2O3, and Cement filled hybrid composites under Charpy Impact.


Battery replacement system includes a gripper assembly and actuating assembly. Gripping assembly is configured so as to be positioned mounted on a vehicle, and one or more batteries to engage the arranged battery box inside. Actuating assembly is configured to grip assembly to move to the battery box side away from the vehicle. Actuating assembly is also configured to move the gripping assembly to engage the fixed assembly of the battery box. Actuating assembly, while the gripping assembly engages the fixed assembly of the battery box to lift the battery box to the vehicle, and the clamp assembly to retract to the vehicle side. .FIELD 1


A play level value of each player which is changed depending on game results is stored in a player management DB. When accepting a matching request from a player terminal, all candidate teams including the player who has issued the matching request are calculated. Candidate teams of which the average level values are almost equal and which completely differ as to the players belonging thereto are determined as opposing teams.


Feathers are dead integumentary structures that are prone to damage and thus show gradual degradation over the course of a year. This loss of quality might have negative fi tness consequences. Feather-degrading bacteria are some of the most prevalent feather-degrading organisms, yet the relationship between feather-degrading bacteria load and fl ight feather quality has rarely been assessed. We studied this relationship in free-living House Sparrows during breeding and non-breeding annual lifecycle stages. We also considered the size of the uropygial gland, given the antimicrobial function of its secretions, and the effect of body condition. The number of feather holes was positively associated with feather-degrading bacteria load and was negatively related to uropygial gland size and body condition during the breeding season in both sexes. In the non-breeding season we found the same relationships, but only in females. The degree of feather wear was unrelated to any of the variables measured during the breeding season, whereas it was negatively associated with uropygial gland size and positively with feather-degrading bacteria load in the non-breeding season, but only in females. Our results suggest that feather-degrading bacteria may induce the formation of feather holes, but play only a minor role in the abrasion of fl ight feathers.


A process is disclosed for injection-molding of a thermoplastic resin highly filled with a hydrated mineral filler wherein a lubricant is introduced to permit the composition to be molded at a temperature with minimum or no degradation of the filler due to a release of water.


In the article based on the data received from of the Caucasian, Russian and West-European authors of the XVIII-XIX centuries the trade economic ties of kumyk feudal possessions of Dagestan and Russia and the Northern Caucasus are considered. The favorable geographical position of the kumyk state formations promoted the development of trade. According to the author's opinion kumyks' trade centers played an important role in the trade-economic integration of the peoples of Northern Caucasus with Russia in the XVIII century. They turned out to be the transit points in this trade relations.


We describe experimentally simple, accurate, and reliable methods for measuring from very simple to potentially very complex ultrashort laser pulses. With only a few easily aligned components, these methods allow the measurement of a wide range of pulses, including those with time‐bandwidth products greater than 1000 and those with energies of only a few hundred photons. In addition, two new, very simple methods allow the measurement of the complete spatio‐temporal intensity and phase of even complex pulses on a single shot or at a tight focus.


Progressive miniaturization and mass market orientation denote a challenge to the design of dynamic optical systems such as zoom-lenses. Two working principles can be identified: mechanical actuation and application of active optical components. Mechanical actuation changes the focal length of a zoom-lens system by varying the axial positions of optical elements. These systems are limited in speed and often require complex coupled movements. However, well established optical design approaches can be applied. In contrast, active optical components change their optical properties by varying their physical structure by means of applying external electric signals. An example are liquidlenses which vary their curvatures to change the refractive power. Zoom-lenses benefit from active optical components in two ways: first, no moveable structures are required and second, fast response characteristics can be realized. The precommercial development of zoom-lenses demands simplified and cost-effective system designs. However the number of efficient optical designs for electro-optically actuated zoom-lenses is limited. In this paper, the systematic development of an electro-optically actuated zoom-lens will be discussed. The application of aberration polynomials enables a better comprehension of the primary monochromatic aberrations at the lens elements during a change in magnification. This enables an enhanced synthesis of the system behavior and leads to a simplified zoom-lens design with no moving elements. The change of focal length is achieved only by varying curvatures of targeted integrated electro-optically actuated lenses.


Archaeorhizomycetes, a widespread fungal class with a dominant presence in many soil environments, contains cryptic filamentous species forming plant-root associations whose role in terrestrial ecosystems remains unclear. Here, we apply a correlative approach to identify the abiotic and biotic environmental variables shaping the distribution of this fungal group. We used a DNA sequencing dataset containing Archaeorhizomycetes sequences and environmental variables from 103 sites, obtained through a random-stratified sampling in the Western Swiss Alps along a wide elevation gradient (>2,500 m). We observed that the relative abundance of Archaeorhizomycetes follows a "humped-shaped" curve. Fitted linear and quadratic generalized linear models revealed that both climatic (minimum temperature, precipitation sum, growing degree-days) and edaphic (carbon, hydrogen, organic carbon, aluminum oxide, and phyllosilicates) factors contribute to explaining the variation in Archaeorhizomycetes abundance. Furthermore, a network inference topology described significant co-abundance patterns between Archaeorhizomycetes and other saprotrophic and ectomycorrhizal fungal taxa. Overall, our results provide strong support to the hypothesis that Archaeorhizomycetes in this area have clear ecological requirements along wide, elevation-driven abiotic and biotic gradients. Additionally, correlations to soil redox parameters, particularly with phyllosilicates minerals, suggest Archaeorhizomycetes might be implied in biological rock weathering. Such soil taxa-environment studies along wide gradients are thus a useful complement to latitudinal field observations and culture-based approaches to uncover the ecological roles of cryptic soil organisms.


Promote the popularization of Marxism of contemporary China is a major strategic task of our current,Marxism,only through the effective mass of the way,can be understood by the people,accept,understand and practice.Marxism of contemporary China through the text path,organization path,publicity path,mass path,mechanisms and practical path to achieve the path.The six path of mutual penetration,interaction,and join forces to jointly promote the popularization of Marxism advance.


Most fishermen in Gresik, East Java, Indonesia used open air bamboo wicker as a conventional solar fish dryer. However, the dryer has weakness such as need long time to dry and cleanliness issue. The condition raises the idea of designing and manufacturing solar cabinet dryer to improve efficiency and overcome the weaknesses in a conventional fish dryer. The solar cabinet dryer contains 3 kg fish and designed in 3 shelf collectors which are equipped with mirror to maximize solar radiation. The fish dried to below 40% of moisture content based on Indonesian National Standard. Dryer performance is measured from drying rate and efficiency. It found that the drying rate per hour was 18.93%, 20.81%, 20.92% mass/hour for 30°, 45° and 60° mirror angle respectively. Highest efficiency performance of solar cabinet dryer was 34.94%. In cleanliness issue showed a decrease of 25.1 × 106 bacteria colonies/gr on conventional drying to 19.5×106 bacteria colonies/gr on designed solar fish dryer.


The Criminal Justice System (CJS) is taking autism seriously. Early this year, there was a debate in the House of Lords in which Baroness Uddin expressed dismay regarding the "extraordinary difficulties" people with autism face in obtaining justice. Justice Minister Lord Faulks QC explained that specific training for police officers at different levels was under development, and was expected to be ready in 2016.


SUMMARY (1) Stomatal conductance (g) was measured on leaves of Jacquinia pungens A. Gray and Coccoloba liebmannii Lindau during the dry season in a tropical deciduous forest of western Mexico. (2) The daily courses of g observed in January and April indicate that stomatal behaviour of both species was very similar. On days in January stomata showed an opening and closing cycle but in April a pronounced midday closure was observed. (3) For C. liebmannii and J. pungens, leaf water potential (v) fell from -1 2 and -2.8 MPa in January to -3-5 to -4.0 MPa in April, respectively. (4) In January g was dominantly controlled by irradiance (Q) and temperature and there was no evidence that stomata were sensitive to leaf-air vapour pressure difference (vpd). In April the sensitivity of g to Q decreased and stomata closed mainly in response to by and leaf-air vpd in a manner consistent with the classical feedback control. (5) A model relating g to environmental variables and v accounted for 81% of the


This paper examines the capabilities of the class of linear FM spread-spectrum signals within the context of potential communications systems usage in order to establish some performance criteria and bounds that permit comparison with other spread-spectrum formats. A systematic basis is provided for parameter selection for this class of signals by examining the interaction a mong the frequency-modulation indices, time-bandwidth product, and cross-talk criteria that determine the number of effective linear FM signals (or channels) that can be used within the constraints of a bounded time-frequency region. A general expression is derived relating N, the number of useful signals, R2, a cross-talk parameter, ToWo, the mean time-bandwidth product, and μμmax and μmin, the maximum and minimum FM rates of the signal set. Canonic signal processor structures are described for ensembles of linear FM signals that have either constant duration or constant bandwidth. It is then shown that the signal modulation format can be modified in accordance with classical paired-echo theory to expand the utility of this class of signals in both synchronous and nonsynchronous operations to yield the equivalent of time-division and code multiplexing. Possible applications for this signal format are discussed.


The motor symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease include tremors, dyskinesis, rigidity, and posture and gait abnormalities. The incidence, prevalence and mortality rates of the disease are lower in women compared to men, possibly due to the neuroprotective role of estrogen. Aerobic, resistance and flexibility exercise protocols may be effective at improving the functional limitations, including balance, that are a result of the inherent pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease. Resistance exercise that targets lower torso, pelvic and leg muscles elicits strength changes that allows for better control of posture and balance, thereby potentially lessening chronic fatigue and preventing falls.


Amino groups on polymer surfaces are exemplary used as anchor groups in combinatorial chemistry for bioassays or microarrays. The surfaces can be polymers like PP or PE where the amines are introduced by an atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) microplasma by using silicone-based plasma stamps. The stamps produce functionalized spots with a diameter of 500 μm. Another important application of amino groups is on functional ceramic microtubes for virus filtration. We present methods for the fluorescence analysis of amino groups on these surfaces thereby we show results of measurements from both application fields.


The use of standard aerosol models for atmospheric correction over inland and nearshore coastal waters generates large uncertainties due to their inability to appropriately characterize aerosols in those regions. To address this problem, we developed new aerosol models using data acquired from 1,475 Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sites distributed in inland and coastal regions throughout the globe. We established spatially gridded (5° × 5°) aerosol models on a climatological monthly scale, with a total of 3,207 new aerosol models developed for 310 grid cells worldwide. The monthly aerosol model for each grid was derived using mean monthly values of microphysical aerosol properties from AERONET data. The optical properties (i.e., single scattering albedo and Ångström coefficient) of our global gridded aerosol models demonstrated considerable spatial and seasonal dynamics and deviated substantially from the aerosol models currently utilized by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). We built associated lookup tables for all aerosol models and incorporated them into two atmospheric correction algorithms: the combined near‐infrared and shortwave infrared algorithm (NIR‐SWIR) and the Atmospheric Correction algorithm for inLand and Nearshore Coastal waters (ACLANC). For both algorithms, the accuracies of atmospherically corrected satellite remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) improved markedly when the new aerosol models were used, and improvements were noted across all spectral bands and across all six inland and nearshore water bodies used in this study. Our new aerosol models can be easily applied to all ocean color satellite missions to obtain accurate Rrs products for inland and coastal waters worldwide.


Prolonged hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia and oxidative stress in diabetes result in the increased production and accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in the kidney. Covalent AGE modifications significantly influence the structure and function of key protein targets. In addition, activation of AGE receptors, alone or in combination with other ligands, is able to promote renal damage, fibrosis and inflammation associated with diabetic nephropathy. The actions of AGEs synergize and potentiate the activity of other pathogenic mediators in the diabetic kidney, including oxidative stress, protein kinase C and reninangiotensin system activation, which subsequently promote the development and progression of kidney disease in a vicious and progressive cycle. Their importance as downstream mediators of hyperglycemia in diabetes has been amply demonstrated in studies using mechanistically different inhibitors of advanced glycation to retard the development of kidney disease without directly influencing plasma glucose levels. Furthermore, direct exposure to AGEs is able to generate lesions similar to those seen in diabetic nephropathy. The human body has a number of natural defenses against AGE accumulation, which are reduced in diabetic individuals, and in particular those with nephropathy, while the receptor for AGEs and its ligands are significantly increased. Given such data, a number of different pharmacological agents have been developed to reduce AGEs and with it prevent diabetic kidney disease. Although many have proved effective in experimental models of diabetes, their clinical utility remains unproven. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel Optimal glycemic control remains the cornerstone of the prevention of the renal complications of diabetes. Indeed, diabetic nephropathy is not seen in the absence of hyperglycemia, implying that glucose is fundamental for its development and progression. Yet, a complete understanding of the mechanisms by which chronic excess of glucose causes renal dysfunction and deterioration in some (but not all) individuals remains a major challenge to biomedical research and clinical care. Although a number of hemodynamic and metabolic factors D ow nl oa de d by : U C S F L ib ra ry & C K M 16 9. 23 0. 24 3. 25 2 9/ 5/ 20 14 6 :3 7: 19 A M


The internal ecological relationship of vegetation community and the ecological relationship between vegetation and environment are always the key problems to ecologists. The methods of numerical classification and ordination are important ways to study the ecological relationship. The Shunwangping meadow of Lishan Reserve was the main study area, and 41 quandrats along with the increase of elevation were got using the system sampling methods. The natural characteristic of every quandrat was studied and the soil samples were analyzed. Using the quantitative ecological measure of combining TWINSPAN with DCA, we divided the 41 quadrats of Lishan Mountain Meadow into 9 communities. The first axis of DCA ordination denoted an obvious community sequence varying with grazing intensity. Community of III, IV were the overgrazing phase, while community of V, VI and community of VIII were the intermediate grazing and the under grazing phase respectively. The second axis of DCA ordination denoted the elevation change. The DCA ordination diagram of dominant species was similar to that of the vegetation community, which said that the distribution pattern of dominant species was accordant with the vegetation community and the distribution pattern of dominant species determined the vegetation distribution pattern. It was concluded that we could divide and ordinate the different grazing intensity communities using TWINSPAN and DCA. From the study of ecological relationship between the Meadow and its environment we got that the main degenerating cause of the meadow was human disturbing. Using DCCA ordination, we studied the ecological relation between vegetation and soil environment. The first axis of DCCA denoted the change of grazing intensity, which was the same to the DCA ordination. The content of organic matter and N were higher in the overgrazing communities than in others because the quantity of livestock in the overgrazing communities was higher than in other communities and its excreta was higher too. The overgrazing communities had a higher organic matter and N content, so the degeneration of soil lagged behind that of the vegetation resource. The content of nutrient elements was high in the under grazing communities, so the nutrient elements were important to the growth of plants.


The authors implemented an attack scenario that involved simulating attacks to compromise node and sensor data. This research proposes a framework with algorithms that generates automated malicious commands which conform to device protocol standards and bypass compromise detection. The authors performed attack-detection testing with three different home setup simulations and referred to Accuracy of Detection, Ease of Precision, and Attack Recall, with the F1-Score as the parameter. The results obtained for anomaly detection of IoT logs and messages used K-Nearest Neighbor, Multilayer Perceptron, Logistic Regression, Random Forest, and linear Support Vector Classifier models. The attack results presented false-positive responses with and without the proposed framework and false-negative responses for different models. This research calculated Precision, Accuracy, F1-Score, and Recall as attack-detection performance models. Finally, the authors evaluated the performance of the proposed IoT communication protocol attack framework by evaluating a range of anomalies and compared them with the maliciously generated log messages. IoT Home #1 results in which the model involving an IP Camera and NAS device traffic displayed 97.7% Accuracy, 96.54% Precision, 97.29% Recall, and 96.88% F1-Score. This demonstrated that the model classified the Home #1 dataset consistently.


Abstract This historical analysis argues that the creation and evolution of modern managerial enterprises and the organizational capabilities developed within these enterprises have been a major force in the shaping of economic growth and competitive strength of modern industrial nations. It begins by reviewing the development of such capabilities in three of the first nations to industrialize, Britain, Germany, and the United States, and then in the two major late industrializers, Japan and the USSR, Japan through the mechanism of a market economy and the USSR through that of a planned economy. It thus provides a historical perspective for the examination of current industrial restructuring of the formerly planned economies of the USSR and Eastern Europe. J. Comp. Econom., June 1993, 17 (2) , pp. 309-337. Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02163.


Objective/Hypothesis The objective of this study was to trace the postnatal development of the human endolymphatic sac. The endolymphatic sac starts as a pouch‐like structure during the fetal period in the human but later develops into a complex network of tubules in its mature form.


Single Carrier Frequency Domain Equalization(SC-FDE) scheme of IEEE802.16a wideband wireless access system is investigated.An integrated simulation platform of 802.16a SC-FDE is established for investigating the frequency domain equalization,coding and diversity gain.The simulation results show that SC-FDE system combined with decision feedback equalization(DFE),channel coding or transmission diversity has better ability to resist the multipath interference.


Caffeine is commonly used by athletes as an energy supplement, but studies on its effects on salivary antimicrobial proteins (sAMPs) in humans during exercise are rare with ambiguous findings. It is also still controversial whether hot environments affect sAMPs. Using a double-blind, randomized crossover design, we examined 12 endurance-trained male collegiate athletes who completed the following two experiments: a caffeine experiment (CAF) and a placebo experiment (PLA). The participants acutely consumed caffeine-containing (6 mg/kg body weight) sports drink (3 ml/kg body weight) or an equivalent amount of placebo sports drink and subsequently performed cycling exercise for 40 min in the heat (33 ± 0.24°C, 64 ± 2.50% relative humidity) at 50% of maximum output power, maintaining a pedal frequency of 60 rpm. Saliva was collected at 60 min pre-exercise (T–60), the start of exercise (T0), 20 min of exercise (T20), and the end of the exercise (T40), and salivary α-amylase (sAA) and lactoferrin (sLac) were tested. The rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was measured at T0–T40, while core body temperature (Tre) and heart rate (HR) were monitored continuously. Tre, HR, and RPE increased with time during the exercise (p < 0.01), with no difference in Tre and HR between the CAF and PLA (p > 0.05), but RPE was higher in the PLA than in the CAF (p < 0.05). sLac concentrations were significantly higher at T20 and T40 than at T–60 (p < 0.01) and higher at T40 than at T0 and T20 (p < 0.01), with no difference between the CAF and PLA (p > 0.05). Compared with T–60, sAA activity was significantly increased at T0, T20, and T40 (p < 0.01). sAA activity was significantly higher at T40 than at T0 and T20 (p < 0.01), at T20 than at T0 (p < 0.05), and in the CAF than in the PLA (p < 0.01). Heat stress caused by acute exercise in hot environments did not impair the sAMPs parameters of the participants. Instead, the participants showed transient increase in sAA activity and unchanged sLac concentrations. Caffeine may increase salivary markers related to immune response during exercise.


The syntheses and flow-vacuum pyrolyses of 10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5-acetate (7), 10,11dihydro-12H-dibenzo[a,f]cycloocten-5-acetate (8) and 5H-6,7-dihydrodibenzo[a,c]-cyclohepten-6-acetate (9) were presented. The products' distributions were determined by GC/MS and a reaction mechanism involving radical species was suggested, in order to explain the formation of the main reaction products.


Background:HbA1c is an established diagnostic index which is used to assess diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between HbA1c level with the types of stroke as well as the extent and functional status of ischemic stroke (IS) and hemorrhagic stroke (HS) in patients.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated 120 patients with IS and HS. The functional outcome was evaluated based on the MRS criteria. The extent of the lesion was determined according to CT scan and MRI. We measured the blood hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels in all patients after stroke.
Results:HbA1c level in the IS group was significantly higher compared to the HS group  (p < 0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between the extent of the lesion and the functional status of patients with the type of stroke (P < 0.001). History of smoking, in the IS group, was significantly associated with exposure to worse functional outcome (p<0.05). In the HS group, there was a significant relationship between hyperlipidemia histories with worse functional outcome. However, the relationship between HbA1c level and MRS score was inversely significant (p<0.05). Data analysis showed that, only in the IS group, the relationship between some independent variables, history of HLP and smoking, and the extent of stroke was significant (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Findings of this study showed that there was a significant association between HbA1clevels as well as the extent and functional status with the type of stroke. There was a significant inverse relationship between HbA1c levels with the MRS score.


The Freeman–Sheldon syndrome is a congenital disease primarily affecting the facial, limb and respiratory muscles that give rise to classical clinical features including typical whistling face and short webbed neck associated with difficult intubation. We present successful awake nasotracheal intubation in a 6‐year‐old patient with typical clinical features of Freeman–Sheldon syndrome by using fiberoptic bronchoscope on two separate occasions.


This is a practical guidebook that describes a comprehensive, developmentally oriented social programme for the development of relationship skills among young children (ages 2 to 9 years) who have Asperger syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), high-functioning autism, or nonverbal learning disabilities (NLDs). One major advantage of the RDI comprises its effort to develop a curriculum aimed to enhance social relationships and friendships for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), rather than working on enhancing only social skills for peer interaction. The acknowledgement that friendship is a possible experience for children with ASD (at least for children with 'high-functioning autism', i.e. children of average or above average intelligence, and Asperger syndrome) has gained gradual empirical support in recent years. However, in as much as friendship constitutes a very complex social-emotional experience and a major difficulty for these children, they require active support from the environment (parents and teachers). A major strength of this book is that it advocates such environmental support, which should be directed toward facilitating the specific skills necessary for the development of interpersonal relationships (friendship). Likewise, in their short theoretical introduction to the intervention programme, the authors provide a detailed description of the skills necessary for friendship, such as reciprocity; repair; the 'wego' group mind operating as one shared mind; maintenance on the basis of free desire; alliance, i.e. the ability to rely on one another; and so on. On the other hand, considering the problematic nature of social experience for children with autism and the current literature's ambiguity regarding the precise skills necessary for friendship versus those necessary for peer interaction, the authors would have done well to employ a more cautious approach in describing the RDI programme's final outcomes. The authors assert that a child who follows all the levels and stages of the programme will obtain extremely promising end results: 'He will make true friends; will receive more invitations from peers; will make a meaningful autism © 2004 SAGE Publications and The National Autistic Society Vol 8(1) 114–120; 040645 1362-3613(200403)8:1


Blackberry, Fengmanhong, red raspberry 32,Rubus nuvies were used to study fruit storage and processing characteristics. The optimal temperature was proved by the different storage temperature experiment. The results of the experiment on extracting raspberry juice under different heating temperature showed that heating temperature was the important factor in influencing the content of soluble solids, however , varieties and heating time were the secondary factor, and at the same time, effect on the juice nutrient ingredients by temperature was studied in course of processing. The content of reducing sugar dependeds mainly on different varieties. Heating was the important factor,which affected absorbance. To a certain extent, absorbance was increased as temperature was increased. High temperature could increase the content of soluble solids, and the low temperature was helpful to increasing the content of Vitamin c.


. In field tests, the most effective film mulch in deterring insects and reducing insect damage to fruits was aluminum. The insects affected were aphids, brown stink bugs, aphid parasites, and Diabrotica spp. Mosaic virus diseases were reduced among aluminum-mulched squash ( Cucurbita pepo L.) and cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L.) plants. Plant growth, flowering, and fruiting were delayed in tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) and southernpeas (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.). The need of vegetable growers and home gardeners in the U.S. to control plant pests might be met by using reflective mulches. In fact, such mulches are known to reduce the incidence of aphid-borne viruses and to deter the approach to some species of pest (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9). As a result, their application in some areas of large-scale agriculture has been gradually expanding. However, some insects are repelled, and others may be attracted to these reflective surfaces. For example, aluminum mulches do produce practical reduction of aphid-transmitted mosaic viruses of squash (2,4,9); and thrips (. Frank - liniella tritici: (Fitch)) and a


Abstract : Recent military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have renewed the debate about the assignment policies of women to combat positions in the United States Armed Forces. A strategic manpower issue for DOD concerns how the services, especially the Army employs women in its operational formations. As a result, the assignment policies for women in the Army are under increased scrutiny. The current policy is unclear and confusing. This vagueness and ambiguity has placed unnecessary stress and burdens of the combat commanders in the field. Additionally, Army transformation efforts and operations in Iraq and Afghanistan enabled the Army to reevaluate its war fighting doctrine as well as its organizational structures. These changes in war fighting doctrine have further highlighted the need to reconsider the policies that govern how women are employed in combat. It is time for the Department of Defense and the United States Congress to change the current combat-exclusion policy and law.


: Parenting stress affects maternal function and psychological health and development of their child. To prevent or minimize stress among adolescent mothers, understanding how various factors work to influence stress is necessary. Thus, this study aimed to develop and test a causal model of parenting stress in first-time adolescent mothers. A total of 253 first-time postpartum adolescent mothers accessing health services for checking up were recruited from nine hospitals in a northern province in Thailand. Nine instruments were used to collect data: the Parental Distress Subscale of the Parenting Stress Index/Short Form, the Modified Knowledge of Child Development Inventory, the Self-Perception of the Parenting Role Scale, the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale, the Revised Thai Multi-dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Family Economic Strain Scale, the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale, the Child-rearing Conflict Measure, and the What My Baby is Like Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's product moment correlation, and path analysis with LISREL. data. This model could explain 75% of the total variance in parenting stress. Social support, parenting attitude and self-efficacy, and child temperament influenced parenting stress directly. Social support, marital satisfaction, economic strain, child-rearing conflict, and parenting knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy also indirectly influenced parenting stress. Nurses should design the program for preventing parenting stress in first-time adolescent mothers by emphasis on promoting positive parenting attitude and perceiving adapted child temperament, enhancing parenting self-efficacy and social support. Int Nurs Res 414-427


English listening comprehension is not only to know the meanings of words and sentences,but also to get an accurate and thorough understanding of discourse in the context of situation.This article,from the view of the situational context,attempts to show its important role in the discourse comprehension,such as the choice of a discourse content,the relationship of characters and the ways of communication etc,in order to promote English listening class and help students deepen their listening comprehension and raise their English listening level.


In this note, structures of null solutions of the polynomial Dirac operators D , D, D þ Pn 1 j1⁄40 bjD j are studied, where D is the Dirac operator in Rm1 , , bj 2 C, j 1⁄4 0, . . . , n 1, D 1⁄4 I is the identity operator. Explicit decompositions of null solutions of the polynomial Dirac operators in the respectively relevant subspaces are obtained which are used to derive their Taylor series expansions. The solutions of inhomogeneous equation pðDÞf 1⁄4 g are discussed for a special class of RðmÞ-valued continuous functions g.


Submitted to AAMAS 2003 This article presents an implemented multi-robot system for playing the popular game of laser tag. The object of the game is to search for and tag opponents that can move freely about the environment. The main contribution of this paper is a new variabledimension particle filter algorithm for tracking the location of opponents under prolonged periods of occlusion. This algorithm can cope efficiently with variable numbers of opponents, through mechanisms that dynamically increase and decrease the number of particle tracks. When searching for opponents, the individual agents greedily maximize their information gain, using a negotiation technique for coordinating their search efforts. Experimental results are provided, obtained with a physical robot system in large-scale indoor environments.


A taxonomy of users' temporal tasks, based on a model of interaction, is presented. The users' tasks are divided into four categories: review, revert, evaluate, and plan. This taxonomy allows a better understanding of temporal interaction, so that common temporal features of interfaces can be recognised and improved. Three scenarios, that make use of the taxonomy to classify the user's actions, are given as examples.


In most clastic rocks a relatively simple relation exists among producibility, porosity, and permeability, depending on the degree to which size and shape of framework particles influence these factors. Carbonate rocks do not exhibit such a simple relation. In addition to porosity between framework particles, the particles themselves may be porous. Carbonate rocks are subject to leaching, replacement, and recrystallization to a vastly greater degree than are clastic rocks. During the course of diagenesis of carbonate rocks, type and degree of porosity and permeability may be so altered that they no longer offer a satisfactory measure of the producibility of the rock. Two carbonate rocks may have identical porosities and permeabilities, with one forming a good reservoir rock whereas the other is incapable of storing or producing oil or gas. A study of the pore geometry of a carbonate rock commonly is necessary to determine whether it is capable of producing hydrocarbons. By relating previously devised systems of classification of carbonate-rock particles, grain-size, porosity, and texture to mercury capillary-pressure measurements, a petrophysical classification has been devised which classifies carbonate rocks by producibility. Families of capillary-pressure curves are related to families of carbonate-rock types. Once such a classification has been made for a carbonate rock in a given area, it is possible to predict the shape and amplitude of its capillary-pressure curve from a visual examination of the rock. By relating rock characteristics to depositional environments, maps may be made that predict what the producibility of rocks in an area may be. Such maps can help reduce the number of dry holes drilled in areas where anticipated closure is less than that dictated by the pore geometry required for the rocks to produce hydrocarbons. The pore geometry of dolomitized rocks differs greatly from that of limestone. Work done in the past has led to the conclusion that dolomitization creates and then destroys porosity and permeability. In the field, rocks commonly are found which appear to invalidate this conclusion. Pore-geometry studies indicate that the time during diagenesis at which dolomitization occurs and the original petrographic characteristics are the critical factors that determine whether dolomites will develop into reservoir rocks capable of hydrocarbon production. End_of_Article - Last_Page 619------------


In 2014 South Africans will celebrate four anniversaries. All are founding moments in this new democracy. The first two were in February. There was the 25th anniversary of State President F.W. de Klerk's 2 February 1990 State of the Nation address to the Joint Sitting of Parliament, announcing the unbanning of outlawed liberation movements and persons and the release of `political` prisoners. Then 11 February marked the 25th anniversary of Nelson Mandela leaving prison and delivering his landmark address from the balcony of the Cape Town City Hall. On 27 April 20 years ago, the 10th Parliament of the Republic was duly elected in South Africa's first universal general election. Finally, 10 May will mark the 20th anniversary of Mandela taking the oath of office as President of the Republic.


Summary Various studies have already shown that the fatty acid composition of dietary fat has different effects on hemostasis and platelet function. However, knowledge on this topic is incomplete. In the present study, fifty-eight healthy students received either a 4-week rapeseed oil [high content of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and high n-3/n-6 PUFA ratio], an olive oil (high content of MUFA, low n-3/n-6 PUFA ratio) or a sunflower oil (low content of MUFA, low n-3/n-6 PUFA ratio) diet. In each group, effects on hemostatic parameters were compared with a wash-in diet rich in saturated fatty acids with respect to intermediate-time effects on the hemostatic system and platelet function. With the olive oil diet, a reduction of coagulation factors VIIc, XIIc, XIIa, and Xc was found, whereas sunflower oil led to lower values of coagulation factors XIIc, XIIa, and IXc. In all study groups levels of plasmin-α2-antiplasmin were lower in week 4 than at baseline. Lower fibrinogen binding on platelets was found after the sunflower oil diet, whereas expression of CD62 and spontaneous platelet aggregation were slightly higher after the olive oil diet. However, given the major differences in the fatty acid compositions of the diets, the differences between the groups with respect to hemostasis tended to be small. Therefore, the clinical significance of the present findings remains to be evaluated.


The purpose of this study was to discover the form, the meaning, and the marker in the lexical cohesion of synonyms and antonyms in the "Uju Hotel" children's storybook. This research was conducted due to the inadequate literature, focusing on synonyms and antonyms lexical cohesion markers in the Korean language. A descriptive qualitative approach was used in this research by using a textual analysis method. The data source used children's storybook of "Uju Hotel". In this research, data came from written literature, memos, and records. The results showed that the synonyms occurred ten times, which consisted of euphemisms (wangogo-beop), language style (munche), and connotation (naepho). On the other hand, the antonyms occurred 28 times, which consisted of relation (gwangye), complementary (sangbo), and level (jeongdo). synonyms markers for the (bangon) dialect and the noun naming (jeonmuneo) were not in the "Uju Hotel" children's book. This research concludes that the use of antonyms in a Korean children's book is more dominant than synonyms. Apart from those forms, synonyms, and antonym are used to develop cohesiveness and harmony in discourse to be understood by the students.


This is to account for the restitution error of a trimming machine with which is associated a contour reading device. According to the invention, a first reading is ensured on the contour reading apparatus from a known form of template is machined one piece on the trimming machine according to this first statement, it is ensured a second reading on the contour reading apparatus from the previously machined part, and deducing by calculation of these two readings the desired restitution error. Application to autocalibration of the group consisting a trimming machine and a contour associated reading device to each other by a numerical control unit, in particular for machining a spectacle lens.


This paper proposes an ultrasonic sensor based intelligent automatic door system which improves the performance of conventional door systems by adding more intelligent functions such that it offers more convenience to passersby and reduces power loss. The conventional automatic door systems employed passive and active infrared sensors for detecting objects and human bodies. But, they have problems such as power loss in door closing, not sensing fast approaching objects, and safety. The proposed automatic door system with ultrasonic sensors prevents unnecessary door closings to save the power and senses fast approaching objects to open the door at proper time, and improves safety. Thus, the proposed system improves the performance of the conventional systems in terms of operation, economy, and safety.


This paper describes the strategies and the techniques employed, as well as the results obtained from the Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) that was performed to extract the modal properties of a football stadium suspension roof located in the city of Braga, Portugal. The purpose of the test was to create a baseline reference subsequently used by the autonomous monitoring system that was installed in one of the slabs of the roof in the beginning of 2009, by the Laboratory of Vibrations and Structural Monitoring (ViBest, www.fe.up.pt/vibest) of the Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto (FEUP), aiming at assessing the health condition of the roof structure along the time. The structure consists of two slabs that are suspended by 32 pairs of full locked coil cables with diameters ranging from 80 to 86mm. The test was carried out in one of the slabs of the roof structure by measuring the vertical responses induced by ambient sources (e. g. wind and the traffic in the surroundings of the stadium) using of set of six moving tri-axial seismographs and six fixed uni-axial accelerometers. Two different data acquisition systems were used, one for the moving sensors and another for the fixed reference sensors, and the responses were collected using 15 different datasets, which permitted to measure the vertical accelerations of a total of 90 points. The employment of robust pre-processing techniques to synchronize the data collected by both acquisition systems, as well as of the combination of some of the state-of-art parametric OMA techniques, provided an accurate estimation of a large number of modes of the roof structure in the frequency range of 0-2 Hz with high spatial resolution for the corresponding modes shapes of vibration.


The flexural and shear capacity of prestressed beams made of high-strength lightweight concrete was examined by means of experimental and theoretical studies at the Institute of Structural Concrete at RWTH Aachen University. The experiments concerning flexural capacity indicated adequately ductile behaviour if helical reinforcement was used. The experiments concerning shear capacity indicated no difference in behaviour compared with standard concrete. After the formation of shear cracks, a redistribution into structural framework behaviour occurred, with the truss component becoming more significant with decreasing stirrup reinforcement ratio as a result of pretension. The studies carried out as part of AiF project no. 12524 N/DBV no. 224 were funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour (BMWA) via the German Federation of Industrial Cooperative Research Associations Otto von Guericke and the German concrete and construction engineering association (DBV).


With the increase of the order of Butterworth optimal closed-loop transfer function,its robustness is reduced.So an improved Butterworth optimal closed-loop transfer function is presented in this paper,and the function is used to design the state feedback controller.The simulation shows that the performance of the state feedback control system,which is designed based on the improved Buterworht optimal closed-loop transfer function,is greatly improved.


Motivated by calls from interactional psychology for theories and studies involving both personality and situation variables, two achievement motivation theories of personality-by-situation interaction illustrated by data are presented. It is shown how a pure personological or situational approach can lead us astray, how differences in behavior from situation to situation or over time can be predicted from personality and situation variables incorporated in achievement motivation theory, and how achievement motivation research bears on issues of interactional psychology like situation analysis, the consistency issue, situations as activators of motivational forces, and stored/situational information in the mediating process. The mechanistic/dynamic interaction distinction is discussed, and it is asserted that there is not necessarily a contradiction between these conceptualizations.


Plasmas,especially low-temperature plasmas have been widely applied to depositing thin films,dry etching,and modifying material surface.This paper introduces several new types of plasma,including electron cyclotron resonance plasma,inductively coupled plasma and helicon wave plasma.These types of plasmas have great potential application in industry.


Objective:To investigate the effect of TiN film deposited by plasma magnetron reactive sputter deposition technique on ion release of Ni from dental NiCr Alloy. Method:TiN film was deposited on the surface of dental NiCr alloy by . lasma magnetron reactive sputter deposition technique. The control group was that NiCr alloy without TiN film. Both groups were exposed into artificial saliva respectively. The metal ions of Ni were measured by inductive coupled plasma emission spectrometer-mass Spectromer. Result:The average ions of Ni of NiCr with TiN film were 3894.3 ng/ml while that without TiN film were 634.3 ng/ml.The data between groups has significant statistic difference (P0.05). Conclusion: Compared with NiCr alloy without TiN film,the ions of Ni released from NiCr with TiN film were much more reduced.


Background: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is now widely accepted as an effective non-pharmacologic treatment for treatment-resistant depression. However, whether repeated acute TMS courses can recapture the antidepressant effects of the initial acute course is still an open question, especially in the Veteran population. We present here a retrospective analysis of a specialty clinic within the Veteran Affairs Hospital System to help address this question. Aims: Following an acute treatment course of TMS, we sought to determine the treatment response of a subsequent TMS course. We hypothesized that those who responded to an initial acute TMS course would respond in a similar manner to a subsequent treatment course. Methods: 116 cases referred for evaluation for TMS between September 2017 to April 2021 were reviewed. 63 Veterans completed at least one acute course of TMS and 12 completed at least two courses and met inclusion criteria for this review. Symptoms were evaluated via self-reported scales at baseline and weekly throughout treatment. Clinical response to subsequent treatment (>50% symptom reduction as measured by the PHQ-9) was compared to initial treatment response. Results: Of the initial treatment responders (n = 6), all six responded to a second acute course, with an 85.3% symptom reduction. Of the initial treatment non-responders (n = 6), three responded to a second acute course. Exploratory regression analysis predicted change in depression symptoms (PHQ-9) during a second TMS course using initial treatment response, time into treatment, and baseline symptom severity. Together, these factors explained 72% of the variance. No adverse events were reported in those who completed a second course, and the Veterans tolerated the treatment well. Conclusions: Our findings support the growing understanding that a second acute TMS treatment course for treatment-resistant depression is safe, well-tolerated, and effective in initial responders and some non-responders. Despite multiple confounders in a naturalistic setting, robust initial treatment response was sustained in a second acute course. Low power limits generalizability, and larger powered, prospective studies are needed.


The plugging performance of the foam is strongly affected by the environment pressure.The back pressure is set to 10 MPa to simulate the environment pressure of the foam,in order to study the influencing factors of the plugging performance of the foam under the reservoir pressure.The nitrogen is chosen as the gas phase medium.The influencing factors studied in this paper include the reservoir pressure,the gas liquid ratio,the permeability,the oil saturation and the dip angle.It is shown that the plugging performance of the nitrogen foam is affected by the reservoir pressure.The greater the reservoir pressure is,the smaller the resistance effect will be.Within a certain range,the higher the gas liquid ratio of foam is,the better the plugging performance will be.The pore structure of the reservoir affects the generation of the foam,so that the higher the permeability is,the higher the plugging ability of the foam will be.Under the condition of a low oil saturation,the foam still has a certain plugging effect.But because the plugging period of a valid foam is very short,the nitrogen foam can only have a temporary plugging effect in the low oil saturation reservoir.The nitrogen foam is better distributed in the angle reservoir,where the plugging resistance of the nitrogen foam is higher.In the meantime,it is indicated that the plugging performance of the foam is better in the vertical direction.