A windepvediesel hybrid power system has been designed for a village in Saudi Arabia which is presently powered by a diesel power plant consisting of eight diesel generating sets of 1,120 kW each. The study found a windepvediesel hybrid power system with 35% renewable energy penetration (26% wind and 9% solar PV) to be the feasible system with cost of energy of 0.212 US$/kWh. The proposed system was comprised of 3 wind turbines each of 600 kW, 1000 kW of PV panels, and four diesel generating sets each of 1120 kW rated power. The system was able to meet the energy requirements (AC primary load of 17,043.4 MWh/y) of the village with 4.1% energy in excess. The annual contributions of wind, solar pv and the diesel generating sets were 4713.7, 1653.5, and 11,542.6 MWh, respectively. The proposed hybrid power system resulted in avoiding addition of 4976.8 tons of GHG equivalent of CO2 gas in to the local atmosphere of the village and conservation of 10,824 barrels of fossil fuel annually. 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


The result of a doctoral comparative study of the national contexts of Mexico and Peru in late 19th century and early 20th century, the article proposes an analysis of the reception and impacts of the Mexican Revolution in Peru, to explain the influence of this event at several levels –regional, national and continental. From this perspective, the study analyzes the journalistic discourse in Arequipa regarding the Mexican events of the 1910s and 1920s. It seeks to demonstrate how in Arequipa, a city renowned for its historical struggle for autonomy and intellectually dynamic elites, the Mexican Revolution was used as an argument to reconsider the Peruvian nation, and the place of the provinces in the national project.


This thesis analyses the poetry contained in anthologies published between the 1940s and 1980s in New Zealand and that of some later anthologies that retrospectively covered the same period. I wanted to find out what subject matter preoccupied poets during these times, to monitor changes in the content of that poetry and to observe what techniques were used and the evolution of styles. Complimentary to the study of the poetry is an evaluation of the intentions of the editors of the anthologies and how much their selections were directed by their tastes and knowledge to form a kind of 'construct', or representation of the publishing of poetry. From my reading, I conjectured that the literary canon with regard to poetry was formed in New Zealand by the mid-1970s, on the strength of publications from Penguin and Oxford University Press. The 1945 and 1960 anthologies by Allen Curnow were extremely influential particularly the second of these two and the editors of future anthologies from the larger publishers diverged comparatively little from his choices. Curnow's anthologies are the subject of Chapter One, and in Chapter Two, I look at Vincent O'Sullivan's series of three anthologies for Oxford (1970, 1976 and 1987), which confirmed and expanded that canon. However, from the mid-1960s, and especially in the early 1970s, new trends emerged in New Zealand writing, linked to a consciousness of post-modernist literary theory. Some of the new trends, together with material that supplemented existing perspectives on poetry, are discussed in Chapter Three. The greater degree of acknowledgement of writing by women poets which began in the late 1960s in smaller literary journals reached a point where the first anthology of women's poetry, Private Gardens, could be published in 1977. The first major anthology to be edited by a woman appeared five years later. The gradualness of these changes is ii stressed, however, with regard to women's poetry included in the larger anthologies themselves. A new bias emerged in the late 1970s and 1980s in favour of work from the University presses. Nevertheless, anthologies that presented some alternative point of view on our literary history proliferated at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Taken together, the anthologies Big Smoke and Real Fire form a more holistic picture of what went on in the 1960s and 1970s and are discussed in Chapter Four of this thesis. Concluding remarks focus on the prejudices that appear to have guided the publishing of poetry in New Zealand anthologies, the influence of major poets, and the possibilities for further study of this body of literature.


In order to deal with the problem about comprehensive evaluation in the competitive results of the labor union,an approach based on fuzzy analytic hierarchy process(FAHP) is presented,which includes decision of weights of competitive items,quantization of competitive results and comprehensive evaluation.The actual application shows the FAHP can reduce the effects which subjective factors bring on the result of evaluation as effectively as possible,and decide the weights of competitive item reasonably.With quantization matrix on competitive results,FAHP can make the result of comprehensive evaluation scientific and credible.


Abstract : The report describes the basic principles of operation and performance of the Cybernetically Coupled Research Vehicle. This vehicle (consisting of two coupled M113 APC's) offers significant improvements in cross- country mobility, particularly in obstacle negotiation, and has demonstrated its potential as a research tool for exploration of the principles of controlling articulated vehicles with and without force feedback.


The objective of this study was to optimize of ratio oil type, ratio oil to methanol and catalyst concentration. The optimization was used Central Composite Design (CCD). Biodiesel was produced with multi stock oil as feed and conducted in direct ultrasonic radiation. Biosonic equiped with ultrasonic generator with a frequency of 28 kHz. Biodiesel produced at a pressure of 1 atm, reaction time of 60 min and temperature 60 ° C. The optimum conditions of volume ratio for Palm and Coconut oil 4:1, KOH catalyst concentration 0.3% and methanol to oil mole ratio 7:1. Biodiesel yield was determined under this condition and obtained 81.105%.


The assessment of processing efficiency becomes increasingly important in the light of current stagnation in the commodity market. Specifically the drop of gold prices pushes many operations to its limits. This study focuses on capabilities of automated mineralogical analysis when searching for gold losses during the ore beneficiation process. The TIMA Bright Phase Search allowed for finding scarcely occurring gold grains in tailings in a fast and efficient way. The device was able to characterize gold grain size, locking and liberation degree in addition providing all necessary data to identify the exact cause gold loss.


This paper deals with the discrimination between healthy and pathological speech signals using recurrence plots and wavelet transform with texture features. Approximation and detail coefficients are obtained from the recurrence plots using Haar wavelet transform, considering one decomposition level. The considered laryngeal pathologies are: paralysis, Reinke's edema and nodules. Accuracy rates above 86% were obtained by means of the employed method.


The nationally accredited MFA program offers varied and extensive opportunities for graduate study in a unique setting. Our location is just 90 minutes north of New York City in the historic Hudson River Valley, allowing access to cutting edge artists, historians, critics and curators. The campus features expansive facilities, private and semi-private secure studios, and extensive computer labs and digital fabrication technologies. Additional exhibition spaces complement the prestigious Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art.


In order to understand the hydrocarbon generation potential of deep source rocks in Shuangliao fault depression, the distribution characteristics of hydrocarbon source rocks were predicted based on the core data, logging curve and seismic data. Combined with chemical analysis, thin section identification and other data, the abundance, type and maturity of hydrocarbon source rocks in Shuangliao fault depression were analyzed systematically. Research shows that the deep Shuangliao fault depression mainly developed three sets of hydrocarbon source rocks, Huoshiling formation, Shahezi formation and Yingcheng formation, their distribution is controlled by the N-S treading controlling-depression faults in the plane, is thicker in the west and thinner in the east. Deep source rocks in Shuangliao fault depression has an middle organic matter abundance, type is mainly II 2and III , and is on the thermal evolution stage from mature to high mature, and is conductive to generation of natural gas.


The design and operation, of a 500-kV shunt capacitor bank selected by TVA as the most favorable alternative for providing satisfactory voltage levels in the Memphis area are described. It is the economic solution to providing local system voltage support during first contingency conditions. (LCL)


Construction of pavement layers on subgrade soil with excellent properties reduces the thickness of pavements and consequently reduces the initial cost of construction. However, construction of pavement on poor soil subgrade like black cotton soil is unavoidable due to several constraints. In such a situation, the enhancement of subgrade properties can be attained by the addition of foreign materials. The worldwide growing usage of cement has led to a larger collection of crystalline silica from the cement manufacturing plants. The disposal of the crystalline silica is extremely challenging and also causes an environmental impact. Hence this waste material can be used for enhancement of the strength of the weak soils. Chemical analysis has revealed that crystalline silica is rich in oxides such as silicon oxide, aluminium oxide and calcium oxide. In this study, the black cotton soil is blended with 8%, 12%, 16%, 18% and 20% crystalline silica by the weight of the dry soil. Laboratory tests, namely, standard proctor compaction test, California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test and Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCC) test were carried out to examine the performance of crystalline silica mixture in black cotton soil. The outcome suggests that a potential increase in crystalline silica content enhances the maximum dry density (MDD). The results also indicate there is a huge potential to use crystalline silica as an admixture to strengthen the black cotton soil. Moreover, the employment of crystalline silica might also benefit the environment and construction cost. INTRODUCTION Environmental pollution emanating from the industries is a serious cause of concern. Rapid industrialization and urbanization have increased the level of pollution significantly. Every year an enormous quantity of waste materials is being dumped on the valuable land resulting in degradation of the existing soil. Moreover, the developed nations tend to perceive the developing nations as a source of dump yards for the disposal of solid waste matter. Thus, solid waste management has become a serious issue for third world countries. Solid waste disposal is posing a threat for many countries in today's scenario and many investigations are being carried out to convert the industrial and domestic wastes into usable materials. One among them is to utilize the solid waste materials for the stabilization of the weak and expansive soils such as black cotton soil. The internal structure of the black cotton soil is provided in Fig. 1. Expansive soil is a term that denotes any soil or rock that has a potential for shrinking and swelling under changing moisture conditions (Nelson & Miller 1992). Structures that are built on such soils are subjected to severe damages. Soil stabilization is a process of enhancing the soil material resulting in improved bearing capacity, soil strength, and durability under adverse moisture and stress conditions (Joel & Agbede 2011). These solid wastes can be of various types, namely, industrial (fly ash, bottom ash, foundry ash, copper slag, blast furnace slag, etc.), agricultural (bagasse, groundnut shell, rice husk, coconut shells, etc.), mineral (quarry dust, marble dust, etc.) and domestic (waste tyres, incinerator ash, etc.) (Sabat & Pati 2014). The volume of industrial waste production surpasses the waste production from other sources such as domestic, agricultural and mineral wastes due to the rapid growth of industrialization in meeting the ever-demanding needs of the people. Hence, the focus of our study is the stabilization of the black cotton soil using crystalline silica, an industrial waste. Fly ash has been added for the stabilization of various expansive soils. Among fly ash, there are many varieties like class-C, class-F, etc. Various researchers have explored the effect of class-F on expansive soils (Pandian et al. 2001, Ji-ru & Xing 2002, Phanikumar & Sharma 2004, Amu et al. 2005, Hakari & Puranik 2012, Maneli et al. 2013, Radhakrishnan et al. 2014). The effect of class-C on expansive 2020 pp. 1105-1112 Vol. 19 p-ISSN: 0972-6268 (Print copies up to 2016) No. 3 Nature Environment and Pollution Technology An International Quarterly Scientific Journal Original Research Paper e-ISSN: 2395-3454 Open Access Journal Nat. Env. & Poll. Tech. Website: www.neptjournal.com Received: 14-09-2019 Revised: 11-10-2019 Accepted: 26-11-2019


Abstract Synthesis of several 3,3′-sulfonyl-bis-enamines (7–11) is reported. These bis-enamines undergo facile amine exchange reactions with primary amines to form new, more stable bis-enamines (12–16). Bis-enamines represent a new class of bifunctional reagents with potential utility in biomacromolecular cross-linking.


In this study, we developed a method to distinguish Zostera marina and other vegetation using aerial photographs of seaweed beds extracted from Ishikawa prefecture Sowajiura coast.Various methods for estimating the distribution of seaweed communities from aerial photographs have been proposed. However,in the distribution survey using the satellite image, it takes time to acquire the image, and it is difficult to grasp the detailed distribution from the satellite image.In this research, we will examine the usefulness of CNN used for general identification in automatic driving technology etc. as a classifica-tion method of Zostera marina on wide area.Even if the object in the image is small compared with the general object, we verified whether it can be used in parallel with the field survey by adjusting the HyperParameter .


Varying the oil pump of the present invention by further forming the inner surface of receiving the outer ring 3 is wrapped in the vane (2) which rotates to form an oil inlet and an oil discharge port housing 5 the pressure chamber 10, oil It characterized that the lower the incoming housing 5 and the outer ring 3 is an elevated pressure in the narrow range between reducing the difference in pressure and discharged to the discharge ports. Pulsating pressure, varying the oil pump, the damping chamber


icroscopes are ubiquitous in biology and clinical analysis laboratories. They are the workhorses of bioscience research and our surrogate eyes into the wondrous world of microbes and cells. Yet, since the development of the microscope beginning about 1590 by two Dutch spectacle makers, Hans and Zaccharias Janssen, then by Galileo and Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, the basic microscope design has undergone very few fundamental changes over the intervening centuries. In almost all microscopes, you can expect to fi nd precise and expensive optical lenses and plenty of space for the light to travel and reshape itself—the long distance between the objective lens and the eyepiece lens isn't there for aesthetic reasons!


The capacity of purified Fab′ and F(ab′)2 pepsin antibody fragments to inhibit the immune response to polymerized flagellin in vitro was investigated. Marked differences between the activities of these fragments were found. Only high doses of univalent Fab′ were suppressive, whereas much smaller amounts of divalent F(ab)′2 were active. Preincubation experiments were performed to determine whether these fragments were capable of potentiating the induction of tolerance in vitro. Only F(ab)′2 fragments facilitated the induction of antibody-mediated tolerance; Fab′ fragments, regardless of dose, were inactive. These findings highlighted several important aspects of the mechanism of antibody-induced suppression. First, the difference in activity of Fab′ and F(ab′)2, despite the same antigen-binding capacity and affinity, demonstrated the existence of at least two different mechanisms of antibody-induced immune suppression in vitro. Second, the importance of divalency for the induction of tolerance strongly supports the antigen cross-linking hypothesis of antibody-mediated tolerance as recently proposed by Diener and Feldmann. Third, the Fc part of the IgG molecule was not involved in the mechanism of antibody-mediated tolerance in vitro.


In recent years, enlarging the enrollment in higher learning institutions is becoming a popular topic. Enlargement means the popularization of higher education and more and more students' receiving high-level education, which is the embodiment of economic development in China, and it will be the motive power of further economic development and a very important measure of improving the national performance.


Comparative evaluation of the FemtoLASIK visual outcomes in low to moderate myopia using different excimer lasers A.V. Doga1, I.A. Mushkova1, A.N. Karimova1, E.V. Kechin1, A.E. Kopylov2 1 The S . Fyodorov Eye Microsurger y Federal State Inst i tut ion , Moscow; 2 The Tambov Branch of the S . Fyodorov Eye Microsurger y Federal State Inst i tut ion , Tambov Purpose. To evaluate visual and refractive results of FemtoLASIK using the WaveLight EX 500 and Microscan Visum excimer laser systems in patients with low to moderate myopia. Material and methods. This study was performed in 62 eyes of 62 patients with low to moderate myopia operated according to the FemtoLASIK technique using the different excimer lasers WaveLight EX 500 (USA) and Microscan Visum (Russia). All patients underwent a complete ophthalmological examination before the laser refractive surgery, on the 1st day and 1 month after the FemtoLASIK. The results are presented as Me (Q25; Q75). Results. Postoperatively the uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) increased from 0.05 (0.04; 0.10) to 1.00 (1.00; 1.00) (p<0.000) in the О Ф Т А Л Ь М О Х И Р У Р Г И Я / 2 • 2 0 1 9 38 ЛАЗЕРНАЯ ХИРУРГИЯ


The last years have seen a growing interest from mathematicians in Mahler functions. This class of functions includes the generating series of the automatic sequences. The present paper is concerned with the following problem, which is omnipresent in combinatorics: a set of Mahler functions $u_{1},...,u_{n}$ being given, are $u_{1},...,u_{n}$ and their successive derivatives algebraically independent? In this paper, we give general criteria ensuring an affirmative answer to this question. We apply our main results to the generating series attached to the so-called Baum-Sweet and Rudin-Shapiro automatic sequences. In particular, we show that these series are hyperalgebraically independent, i.e., that these series and their successive derivatives are algebraically independent. Our approach relies of the parametrized difference Galois theory (in this context, the algebro-differential relations between the solutions of a given Mahler equation are reflected by a linear differential algebraic group).


Over the past several decades, reinforcement learning has emerged as one of the major paradigms in machine learning because it allows an agent to learn through interaction with its environment, so long as there is some mechanism by which the agent can gain evaluative feedback on the effects of its actions. However, there are still many open questions as to the most appropriate reinforcement learning approach, particularly for difficult problems such as those dealing with delayed reward, unknown reward structures, continuous state and/or action spaces, perceptual aliasing, and/or environmental change. Here we present a new learning algorithm for these types of difficult problems. It combines the eligibility traces approach to reinforcement learning with artificial neural networks for generalization and pushes the idea of stochastic computations down to the level of the synapse. A proof-of-concept experiment in the domain of robotics demonstrates that the approach has promise.


This study describes a design of genetic constructs encoding either non-specific, or HLA-A *0201-specific polyepitopic immunogens containing antigenic determinants for HER2 protein. We have shown that transfection of mature dendritic cells by polyepitopic constructs with magnetic nanoparticles lead to effective in vitro stimulation of cytotoxic immune response of mononuclear cell populations obtained from HLA-A0201-positive healthy donors/ This cytotoxic action was assessed in vitro, as lethal effects upon HLA-A0201/HER2 double positive MCF-7 tumor cells, and expression of perforin granules.


In the radio frequency identification (RFID) system based on surface acoustic wave (SAW) technique, some tags often locate in the field of a transceiver at the same time. These tags produce simultaneous echo signals which "collide" when they arrive back at the transceiver, which leads to difficult identification. In this paper, smart antenna technique is presented to implement anti-collision in SAW RFID system. The direction of arrivals (DOAs) are used to denote the locations of tags, and genetic algorithm (GA) is suggested to find the optimal estimates of the DOAs in complex multimodal search spaces. Once the DOAs are obtained, the array weights are formed and the signals of tags are recovered to implement decoding. The experimental results show that the GA-based smart antenna technique works well in some occasions.


Immunomodulation following transfusion of cellular blood products presents as a generalized immunosuppression and/or production of alloantibody. The immunological effects of transfusion in immunocompetent subjects were evaluated in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardio-pulmonary by-pass. Subjects were consented for this IRB-approved study and were randomized to receive unmodified (STD) red blood cells (rbc), leukoreduced (LR) rbc or LR rbc that were g-irradiated (g-I). All platelet transfusions were collected LR and they were also g-I for the third arm. Patients were transfused only when clinically indicated. Subjects receiving no transfusions during the study served as a fourth control arm. Peripheral blood samples collected prior to surgery were controls for samples collected after surgery (day 10 +/- 4 and day 30 +/-5). HLA antibody production was evaluated in 245 subjects using single-antigen multiarray assays for antibody to both HLA class I and class II, a summary of results in shown in Table 1. For subjects with HLA antibody in their pre-surgery sample, these assays allowed evaluation of change in antibody specificity or levels. For these pre-sensitized subjects, there was no significant difference in HLA antibody production between the transfused study arms: even those not transfused showed an increase, most likely due to activation of memory responses. For subjects without HLA antibody in their pre-surgery sample, recipients of LR products showed little increase supporting prior studies showing the efficacy of LR in reducing antibody. However the protection afforded by LR was abrogated by g-I. This was an unexpected finding. We evaluated cellular and cytokine mediators of immunosuppression in the first 139 consecutive subjects of the 245 subjects enrolled in this study. This part of the study was powered for hypothesis generation, not statistical significance. Mononuclear cells (MNC) were isolated from each sample, frozen, and all samples from a subject assayed together. We assayed these cells for production of TGFB1 using ELISPOT. We used flow cytometry phenotyping for markers of CD4+25+ T regulatory cells (CTLA4, FoxP3) and for intracellular cytokines for CD4+ and CD4- NKT cells (IFNG, IL-4, IL-10). As shown in Table 2, recipients of standard rbc showed an increase (following transfusion and surgery) in TGFB1 producing mononuclear cells with a lower increase in recipients of LR rbc and those who were not transfused, but further reduced in the group receiving g-I LR products. Recipients of standard rbc or of LR rbc showed an increase of T lymphocytes expressing FoxP3 or CTLA4, and of CD4+ NKT cells producing IL-4. In contrast, subjects whose LR products were g-I showed a markedly lower increase in all three measures. These data identify an increase in mediators of immunosuppression in recipients of standard rbc and LR rbc that was reduced in recipients of g-I and LR rbc and platelets. Surgery and bypass alone increased the numbers of TGFB1+ MNC and IL4+ NKT cells suggesting a role for the innate immune system in immunosuppression following transfusion. This study is the first to exam the immunomodulatory effects of transfusion by combining measurement of immunosuppression in ex vivo surrogate assays and measurement of HLA antibody production inclusive of pre-sensitized subjects. Our observations of differences in responses to blood products prepared with g-I plus LR compared to LR alone were unexpected and require confirmation. It suggests that the reduction in immunosuppressive cells and cytokines in the recipients of g-I and LR products contributed to the increased allosensitization we observed in that arm compared to recipients of LR products. It may be possible to manipulate immunomodulation after transfusion to reach a desired goal for specific patient populations. Disclosures Slichter:Department of Defense: Research Funding; Terumo BCT: Research Funding; Cerus Corporation: Research Funding; Cellphire, Inc.: Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding.


While potential benefits of choosing the transmissions times in a networked control system based on state or event information have been advocated in the literature, few general methods are available that guarantee closed-loop improvements over traditional periodic transmission strategies. In this paper, we propose event-triggered controllers that guarantee better quadratic discounted cost performance than periodic control strategies using the same average transmission rate. Moreover, we show that the performance of a method in the line of previous Lyapunov based approaches is within a multiplicative factor of periodic control performance, while using less transmissions. Our approach is based on a dynamic programming formulation for the co-design problem of choosing both transmission decisions and control inputs in the context of periodic event-triggered control for linear systems. A numerical example illustrates the advantages of the proposed method over traditional periodic control.


This document reviews degradation phenomenology and life modelling of paper, illustrates different approaches, showing their advantages and applicability limits and raises problems relevant to practical applications of degradation indicators and degradation rate models and evaluation of paper permanence and durability. It deals with the fundamentals of paper degradation rate theory and life modelling, seeks to develop the degradation rate equations of paper that will closely track real degradation experimental results over extended period under practical service conditions, shows a collection of degradation rate and life data of different paper and paper insulation materials under a varied of in-service environmental conditions, develops continuous distribution kinetics theory of cellulose and paper degradation to form a united basis in deriving the traditional Ekenstam degradation rate equation and the alternative percentage DP (and TS) loss rate equations recently proposed by the present author and his coworker, and presents effective methodology for combining timetemperature superposition method and paper degradation investigation towards a more reliable prediction of rate and life of paper degradation over a long time period under real in-service conditions. 14th Fundamental Research Symposium, Oxford, September 2009 947 Preferred citation: H. Ding. Review: Degradation phenomenology and life modelling of paper. In Advances in Pulp and Paper Research, Oxford 2009, Trans. of the XIVth Fund. Res. Symp. Oxford, 2009, (S.J. I'Anson, ed.), pp 947–1000, FRC, Manchester, 2018. DOI: 10.15376/frc.2009.2.947.


The dynamic simulation system is a very important method to analyze the electricity power system situation and test the protective relaying together with the second device. It is widely used in power system in our country. In view of the electronics transducer application, it's no needs to request the signal have the strong intensity and drive ability. So the paper put forward a micro electronics circuit to imitate the actual power system. The imagined model has the low voltage and small parameter, but has the similar dynamic characteristic with the actual power system: the electric generator is imitated by a signal generator which has the similar transfer function or dynamic response with it. The transmission line is modeling by the ∏-shape circuit consist of low power impedances and capacitances. The transducer is imitated by the intelligent conversion circuit. Compared with the present dynamic simulation system, the micro system has the advantage of less land occupation, less investment, low power consumption, low cost of operation and convenient operation. It's hopeful to condense the huge dynamic simulation laboratory into a flexible experiment table. signal have the strong intensity and drive ability. So the paper put forward a micro electronics circuit to imitate the actual power system: The generator is imitated by a signal generator which has the similar transfer function or dynamic response to it. The transmission line is imitated by the ∏-shape circuit consist of low power impedances and capacitances. The breaker is imitated by the relaying. The transducer is imitated by the intelligent conversion circuit. As long as the building system has the similar dynamic characteristic with the actual power system, it can be used in the test of the protective device. The micro dynamic system can even be fixed on the experimental table. The huge dynamic simulation system is no more needed. In addition, generator and transmission lines can be made to standard "hanging parts" model. Different combinations of "hanging parts" could simulate different connecting forms of power system and the scale of simulation can be enlarged conveniently. The paper proposed the micro electronics circuit to imitate the actual power system, which has less land occupation, few investment and low power consumption. Then the paper carried out the study of interface between micro simulation system and second device. The advanced function platform based on acquired data has developed. The research has important effect on the promotion of the digital transducer and the digital protective devices.


ABSTRACT THE ADVENT of hematopoietic colony-stimulating factors is making it possible to accelerate the growth of transplanted marrow cells, as well as helping marrow cells repopulate in patients who receive chemotherapy without a marrow transplant.At the American Cancer Society's seminar in Phoenix, Ariz, James A. Niedhart, MD, director of the University of New Mexico Cancer Center, Albuquerque, described the results of phase 1 trials of granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in patients who were treated with high-dose chemotherapy without a bone marrow transplant.The use of GM-CSF substantially reduced the duration of cytopenia, incidence of infection, and need for hospitalization, Niedhart reports. Trials are now under way using interleukin 3 alone and in combination with GM-CSF, he says.Score of Patients To date Neidhart's group has treated 19 patients with refractory lymphomas."We have been able to obtain about a 50% complete remission rate in this very tough-to-treat group of


ObjectiveTo understand the anemia status of rural middle school students,and to evaluate the impact of anemia prevention through dietary supplementing of iron-fortified soy sauce.MethodsTotally 1 684 students who ate in the middle schools of Wenshang participated in this survey.A 6-month randomized placebo-controlled intervention trial was conducted,using NaFe-EDTA fortified soy sauce.The intervention group(828) ate the dietary supplementing of iron-fortified soy sauce and the control group(856) ate the dietary supplementing of ordinary soy sauce.Changes of indices were respectively determined at the beginning,3-month and 6-month of the intervention.ResultsThe levels of hemoglobin was significant increased after 3-month and 6-month intervention(F=101.12,P0.01),prevalence of anemia was significant lower(Z =-4.62,P0.01);There was no significant difference in the control group of the levels of hemoglobin before and after intervention.ConclusionThe iron-fortified soy sauce has superior therapeutic efficacy on iron deficiency anemia.


Erratum to: Effect of dew point during heating on selective oxidation of TRIP steels Metall. Res. Technol. 114, 609 (2017) DOI: 10.1051/metal/2017070 Libin Liu, Guangrui Jiang, Haiquan Wang, and Huaxiang Teng 1 State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, PR China 2 Shougang Research Institute of Technology, Beijing, PR China 3 Beijing key Laboratory of Green Recyclable Process for Iron & steel Production Technology, Beijing, PR China


HE politician has cherished aspirations as personnel manager almost since the foundation of the American Republic; and it is pertinent to observe that during this long period his methods have undergone no perceptible improvement. 1 The crude and unscientific methods which were criticized even in the eighteenth century by intelligent commentators, and which were roundly scored in the early years of the nineteenth, seem to be still accepted as adequate by the politicians of the twentieth. Unfortunately, the damage which such methods may cause has constantly become greater, until, in the highly organized world of today, their clumsy and awkward manipulation of what should be a finely tempered social tool is nothing short of intolerable. The cost in terms of dollars and cents, in terms of lowered morale and downright incompetence, in terms of thwarted public purposes and retardation of the struggle for human betterment is very heavy. The politician functions as &dquo;personnel manager&dquo; in two kinds of cases. In thirty-eight American states, in most counties, and in some cities, there is no pretence of an official personnel manager and here the principles of personnel administration are replaced for the most part by the higgle and piggle of the patronage market, in which politicians allot appointments and promotion to public office for personal, factional and party reasons. On the other hand, in the Federal Government, in ten states, a few coun-


According to the U.S. Census Bureau (Fields and Casper, 2001), in 1999 around 16 million children (ages 0-18) were living in a single parent household with their mothers, and almost 6 million children were living with only their fathers or with no parents at all. These statistics mirror the proportion of single parent households in the member states of the European Union. The European Commission (2001) has reported that the percentage of children living with only one parent has grown from 8% to 13% in the last fifteen years. Population projections in the U.S. estimate that half of the children born in the 1990s will spend some time in single-parent households (Amato, 1999). In the U.S. as in Europe, the trend toward single parent households is fueled by the increase in the divorce rate and to a lesser extent the number of children born outside of marriage. Despite the presence in Europe and in the U.S. of this sizeable and growing cohort, qualitative research on this type of family formation is at present fairly limited, especially in relation to mass media. Existing sociological studies on the family have only recently begun to consider single parenthood; and few of them have stressed the necessity of conceptualizing single parenthood as a distinct family structure and not merely as an example of a deviation from the presumed norm of the married heterosexual couple (Chambers, 2001; Dowd, 1997; Haddon and Silverstone, 1995; Smart and Neale, 1999; Stacey 1999). In recognition of the growing number of persons within the single parent family structure, this paper focuses on the experience of media in the everyday lives of single parents and their families. Relying upon in-depth interviews, we analyze the ways in which single parents describe their household media practices in relation to the constraints of time, money, stereotypical representations, and negotiations with the ex-spouse regarding media use. We explore how new media in particular participate in the articulation of concerns regarding the familial processes of self-actualization, personal success, knowledge, accountability, and the raising of children. The data for this paper is drawn from a large multi-year ethnographic project in the U.S. titled "Symbolism, Meaning and the New Media @ Home." This effort is interested in investigating the uses and discursive locations of old and new technologies in everyday family life, and includes interviews with persons across a variety of family structures, socio-economic backgrounds, and racial/ethnic identifications. The paper presents some preliminary findings on the narratives and practices of single parents as they negotiate their family's new media uses in relation to the expectation-filled discourses of contemporary public policies.


College information management system for teaching evaluation based on C/S is realized by application of Java and JDBC; And one-off password recognition and multilevel management supervisor are adopted to guarantee system safety.


Photograph of the E.W. Brown III home after the fire in the early 1950s. It was on the corner of Elm and Ninth Street. It had been the Levingston residence earlier.


Effects of Bi nonstoichiometry on (Bi0.5+xNa)TiO3 (BNT) ceramics were investigated at x=−1–+2 mol % of Bi0.5 covering Bi deficiency and excess. At all compositions, rhombohedrally symmetric BNT perovskite formed without secondary phases. Increasing x caused smaller grains. Higher piezoelectric coefficient (d33) but lower depolarization temperature (Td) occurred at Bi excess than at Bi deficiency and vice versa. Leakage current at room temperature decreased with decreasing x. Electrical conductivity of the stoichiometric BNT (x=0) from 700 to 900 °C increased with decreasing partial oxygen pressure from 1 to 10−5 atm suggesting n-type conductivity at elevated temperatures.


Objective Bicycle spoke wheel injuries can be as simple as minor abrasions and lacerations even to amputation of toes and heel injuries. The purpose of this study was to assess the severity of soft tissue damage and skeletal injuries in such injuries. Methods This prospective observational study included all the cases with spoke wheel injuries presenting between October 2012 to September 2013 in the College of Medical Sciences and Teaching Hospital, Bharatpur. Demographic information was collected from each patient including age, sex, injured side, position at the time of injury, and characteristic of injury. The soft tissue injury was classified according to Oestern and Tscherne classification and managed accordingly. Results A total of 50 cases were included in the study with 29 males ( 58%) and 21 females (42% ). Their age ranged from 6 yrs to 12 yrs (mean 9 yrs.). The mean interval from injury to presentation in hospital was 5 hrs (range 1-22 hrs). Majority had injury to right ankle and foot. Fore foot and mid foot injuries were more common when the feet got entrapped in front wheel. 36 cases had sustained injury while riding as pillion on the back seat and their injury was on posterior ankle (n=20) and posterolateral aspect of ankle and foot (n=16). Majority of cases were of grade 0 and 1 injury. Two patients had grade 3 injury, one with great toe amputation another with partial heel avulsion and exposed tendoachilles. All cases were managed with wound care, tetanus prophylaxis and splintage of the foot. Conclusion In our study we found that these spoke wheel related injuries were more common in children and are important cause of temporary loss of daily activities. Although all injuries healed properly, risk of severe injuries like amputations and heel pad loss and tendoachilles transaction and fractures of foot and ankle still prevails where bicycle is a common mode of transportation. Journal of College of Medical Sciences-Nepal, 2013, Vol-9, No-4, 36-39 DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jcmsn.v9i4.10236


Objective To evaluate the clinical signification of endovascular embolization in acute stage of ruptured posterior circulation cerebral aneurysms. Methods In 11 patients, endovascular treatment was performed to embolize the ruptured posterior circulation cerebral aneurysms during the acute stage. Nine patients were followed-up for 6 months. Mortality, rebleeding rate and recovery state were observed. Results Eleven cases (12 aneurysms) were embolized with GDC successfully. 83.3% of patients (10/12) were achieved more than 95% occlusion. One patient came into deep coma after embolization and died finally. Conclusion Emergent endovascular embolization in ruptured posterior circulation cerebral aneurysms can reduce the mortality and the rebleeding rate of aneurysms.


This paper assesses the impact of the banking correspondent model, a policy enacted to enable financial intermediaries to provide basic banking and payment services through third-party nonfinancial commercial establishments, on financial inclusion in Mexico. In particular, the study focuses on determining the effect of this policy on formal savings, measured as the number of active bank accounts and the total volume of bank deposits. To achieve this, we assemble a dataset that merges bank-correspondent level information with locational and operational data on banks in Mexico. We use this data with a difference in differences model using multiple time periods to determine whether the introduction of banking correspondents has boosted formal savings in Mexico by increasing the availability of financial services. Our results show a significant positive effect of the entrance of banking correspondents on both the volume of savings (in Mexican pesos) and the number of savings bank accounts. We do not find a differentiated effect for rural municipalities. We also find evidence of a spillover effect at a municipal level that suggested that banks' deposits would be reduced if a correspondence relation in which they are not involved begins.


BACKGROUND: The biocathode is proving to be a promising feature for development of the microbial fuel cell (MFC), although much work remains to be done to increase its power generation. This study aimed to enhance the performance of a biocathode by applying selected cathode potential.

RESULTS: When five two-chambered MFCs were operated at selected cathode potentials of 142, 242, 342, 442, or 542 mV (vs standard hydrogen electrode), those MFCs with selected potentials lower than 342 mV could start up, and the highest power density of 0.11 W m−3 was obtained at a selected potential of 242 mV. An inner-biocathode MFC was then constructed and operated at a start-up cathode potential of 242 mV for 30 days. The open circuit cathode potential increased from 477 ± 9 mV to 572 ± 8 mV compared with the potential of the initially abiotic cathode, resulting in an increase in the maximum power density (4.25 ± 0.16 W m−3) of 106%. In addition, tests of continuous operation showed that a loading rate of 135 mg COD L−1 d−1 was optimal for obtaining maximum power generation in the system developed for this study.

CONCLUSION: The results indicated that an optimal cathode potential of 242 mV enhanced the performance of a biocathode using oxygen as the electron acceptor. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry


This doctoral thesis, which deals with the issue of cross-cultural communication, brings to light a basic continuity between the linguistic aspects of phenomena and their socio-cultural properties. The analysis is divided into three parts, starting with the critical study of the concept of culture, as it is (generally) defined in the human and social sciences. The second part focuses on the concept of communication and shows how very different these viewpoints, whether inter- or intra-disciplinary, can be, even when the analysis is restricted to the verbal data of the communication process. It was then concluded that it was necessary to have recourse to a pragmatic theory, which would enable the notion of action to be taken into consideration. However, it was found that non Peircean linguistic pragmatics did not attribute their full significance to the notions of subject and dialogical exchange of meanings, with the result that the sense usually attached to the notion of utterance-subject was not satisfactory. Consequently, in the third part, the author used the basic concepts of representamen, sign and semiosis to demonstrate - after analysing, both semiotically and semiosically, a play by Abdellatif Laâbi, the famous Moroccan novelist, poet and playwright, entitled Rimbaud and Sheherazade – that the play itself can rightfully be considered to be an allegorical representation of intercultural communication.


On the social Web, the amount of video content either originated from wireless devices or previously received from media servers has increased enormously in the recent years. The astounding growth of Web videos has stimulated researchers to propose new strategies to organize them into their respective categories. Because of complex ontology and large variation in content and quality of Web videos, it is difficult to get sufficient, precisely labeled training data, which causes hindrance in automatic video classification. In this paper, we propose a novel content‐ and context‐based Web video classification framework by rendering external support through category discriminative terms (CDTs) and semantic relatedness measure (SRM). Mainly, a three‐step framework is proposed. Firstly, content‐based video classification is proposed, where twofold use of high‐level concept detectors is leveraged to classify Web videos. Initially, category classifiers induced from VIREO‐374 detectors are trained to classify Web videos, and then concept detectors with high confidence for each video are mapped to CDT through SRM‐assisted semantic content fusion function to further boost the category classifiers, which intuitively provide a more robust measure for Web video classification. Secondly, a context‐based video classification is proposed, where twofold use of contextual information is also harnessed. Initially, cosine similarity and then semantic similarity are measured between text features of each video and CDT through vector space model (VSM)‐ and SRM‐assisted semantic context fusion function, respectively. Finally, classification results from content and context are fused to compensate for the shortcomings of each other, which enhance the video classification performance. Experiments on large‐scale video dataset validate the effectiveness of the proposed solution.


As the rapidly changing e-business environment and development of IT, it is difficult to predict appropriate demand and supply of human resources in e-business industry. Such problem causes the imbalance of needs in demand and supply and the difficulty of proving useful information about fostering necessary e-business human resource and so forth. This study present a manpower training plan in e-business industry by investigating e-business human resource in the market and by analyzing curriculums in selected universities. To achieve this objective, we conducted a survey study of e-business companies, educational organizations and workers. From the results of this study, we present the current status of e-business human resource market and the problems of past manpower training system, and provide recommendations. This study would help policy makers, the private companies and academic institutions in developing effective strategies for the e-Biz human resource sector.


In the paper testing and investigation of temperature luminescent fiber optic sensors were presented. The main characteristic domain of fiber optic sensors are the non sensitivity to strong electromagnetic disturbance radiation, the complete galvanic insulation as well as the full safety their using in places endangered of explosions and a risk of fire. For this reason fiber optic sensors may chance to be the interesting and valuable completion of electric and electronic sensors for industrial and scientific application. There are group of luminescent materials, which after their excitation, emit the own light and the properties of emittedlight depend on temperature. On temperature depends spectrum of light, its intensity and dynamic parameters of light decaying after excitation. These effects have found application in sensor techniques. We have elaborated fiber optictemperature sensors based just on dependence of decaying time on temperature. These sensors are planed to applied in high power transformers and power machines for their work state control.


We have proposed that the transmembrane receptor encoded by the c‐Kit protooncogene and its ligand play an important role in regulating the proliferation of blasts cells in acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML). To test this hypothesis, immunobeads were used to separate blasts from three Kit‐expression positive cell lines into strongly Kit‐protein positive and weakly Kit‐protein positive fractions. The strongly positive fraction had greater proliferative potential than the weakly positive fraction as assessed both by colony‐formation in methylcellulose and growth of clonogenic cells in suspension. The reproducibility of the percentage of each blast population found in the strongly and weakly positive fractions provided evidence that Kit‐protein expression is regulated. Kinetic experiments provided evidence for reversible transitions between strong and weak Kit protein expression. Thus regulated expression of the Kit receptor may be a mechanism for controlling blast cell growth in culture. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


We consider the scaling of entanglement entropy in random Projected Entangled Pairs States (PEPS) with an internal symmetry given by a finite group G. We systematically demonstrate a correspondence between this entanglement entropy and the difference of free energies of a classical Ising model with an addition non-local term. This non-local term counts the number of domain walls in a particular configuration of the classical spin model. We argue that for that overwhelming majority of such states, this gives rise to an area law scaling with well-defined topological entanglement entropy. The topological entanglement entropy is shown to be log|G| for a simply connected region A and which manifests as a difference in the number of domain walls of ground state energies for the two spin models.


others in common use, such as digitalis, diuretics and hypotensive agents. Two conditions are necessary before there is likely to be a change of habit. First must be the realization that elderly people react to ~rugs differently from those in younger age groups; changes m renal excretion with age, diminished tolerance to drug interaction and side effectsmay not only necessitate a I~wer dose, but often a decision to withhold the drug altogether. It .IS doubtful ~~ether there is ever an occasion (except in epilepsy) for grvmg elderly people barbiturates; but Mr Chapman has found that nearly 60"10 of prescriptions for these drugs were for pensioners. Secondly, there must be an alternative to the treatment of psychological symptoms with drugs-an alternative to the habit of terminating a consultation by reaching for the prescription pad. Reaction to drugs isone ofthe special features of medicine in old age, but a more striking feature isthe wayin whichphysical, mental and social functions combine to cause impairment and morbidity. Rarely can one factor be nominated as the sole cause. Frequently a "mental" illness (such as acute delirium) will vanish when infection is treated. Even when pathological changes are irreversible, as in established Alzheimer's disease one.can of~en improve a patient's behaviour more by altering hi~ SOCial environment than by altering his drug regime-unless perhaps one abandons it altogether. It seems strange that there is still resistance to the idea that there is a need for geriatric medicine-for special attention to the disabilities of the elderly-and in particular, for the setting up of departments in teaching hospitals for this express purpose. Amongst other dividends would be a proper understanding of the use of drugs, and inevitably fewer prescriptions. Director, R. B. LEFROY, F.R.A.C.P. Medical Department Extended Care Service, Government of Western Australia.


Theoretical considerations and experimental data support the suggestion that high accuracy of conversion and long-term stability could be obtained with a logarithmic RC converter-digitizer. The operation of the proposed converter is based on time measurements of the exponential voltage decay across a linear RC network. Linearity error of this converter, built with commonly available and noncritical components, was found to be less than 0.05 percent of full scale for a two-decade operation.


The problems of intubation, in terms of both the successful passage of the tracheal tube and control of the subsequent physiological responses, have received much attention over the years. To a large extent, these problems have been solved and contemporary research deals mainly with fine tuning of the standard procedures. By contrast, problems associated with tracheal extubation and the removal of other artificial airways have received little attention. Only relatively recently have efforts been made to correlate what has been published [1, 2]. Many of the problems occurring after tracheal extubation can be life threatening, e.g. laryngeal spasm, masseter spasm, followed by rapid desaturation and deterioration of the patient's condition. Taylor [3] has recently discussed the problems occurring during recovery and gives graphic accounts of four children who had had their tracheas intubated during surgery and who were all badly brain damaged following complications that occurred during the recovery phase. He states that 'The anaesthetist is responsible for the care of the patient from induction of anaesthesia to full recovery'. The implications of this statement are far reaching. The tracheal tube is not, of course, the only artificial airway used by anaesthetists. The Guedel airway or some variation thereof was used for many years during anaesthesia with spontaneous ventilation and, while successful in maintaining airway patency in the majority of patients, often needed additional jaw support. Patients were usually transferred to the recovery room still unconscious but with the airway in place. The latter was usually rejected spontaneously by the patient. Airway support, normally by a trained nurse, was often needed before rejection. Laryngospasm occasionally occurred necessitating rapid intervention by an anaesthetist. The laryngeal mask airway (LMA) has now largely replaced the Guedel device in the United Kingdom (UK). Discussion continues as to the best time to remove the LMA and, particularly, whether this should be done with the patient almost awake with intact pharyngeal reflexes or when relatively deeply anaesthetised; in either case removal usually occurs in the recovery room. It is strongly recommended that a 'bite block' be used in conjunction with an LMA so that in the event of masseter spasm the airway at least remains patent even if the LMA cannot be removed. So efficient is the LMA in airway maintenance that, in some instances, it is advocated that it should be inserted following removal of the tracheal tube [4]. During the journey to the recovery room oxygen should be administered via a properly designed T piece, which is the only acceptable method. Incorrect modes of oxygen therapy are potentially lethal [5]. Traditionally, tracheal tubes were almost exclusively removed in the operating theatre by the anaesthetist who used clinical judgement and past experience to decide the optimum time. Additional information now comes from monitoring equipment such as pulse oximetry, capnography and nerve stimulation. However, nowadays not all tracheal tubes are removed in the operating theatre. Patients who have undergone cardiac or major vascular surgery and an increasing number who have undergone extensive surgery for malignancy or liver transplantation are transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) for continued artificial ventilation. During transit, invasive monitoring continues using the excellent transport modules that are available. Once in ICU, they are looked after by highly trained staff and protocols exist for the appropriate timing for the removal of the tracheal tube. Furthermore, anaesthetists are invariably present should any complication arise. It is now evident that cardiovascular problems also occur during removal of tracheal tubes (usually accompanied by tracheal and pharyngeal suction) and these are similar in extent to those accompanying intubation [1]. Most of the methods used to attenuate these responses involve lignocaine by some route, even down the tracheal tube [6, 7]. Other methods involve using adrenergic blocking drugs [8, 9]. What happens when patients are transferred to the recovery room with an artificial airway in place? The first problem is the journey itself, which is rarely straightforward and frequently resembles an obstacle course. Oxygen should be administered, but usually there is no monitoring at all other than a finger on a pulse. Surely the lack of monitoring during this critical phase needs urgent attention. Thus, the anaesthetist must accompany the patient during transfer. Once in the recovery room, the anaesthetist's duty of care to the patient continues; they remain responsible until the patient has fully recovered and therefore for removal of any artificial airway. Preliminary results of an ongoing study indicate that there is a total complication rate of around 15% associated with removal of artificial airways in the recovery room, mainly related to the cardiovascular and respiratory systems [Koga et al., in preparation]. Serious complications would appear to be more common in children and in one series 20% developed cyanosis related to laryngospasm after tracheal extubation [10]. This figure is totally unacceptable in a branch of the medical profession dedicated primarily to airway management. Removal of airways by nursing staff has been the tradition in UK anaesthesia for many years. Under British law this is perfectly acceptable, as an anaesthetist can delegate responsibility for this task to anyone who is deemed competent to do so. It is, however, essential that all anaesthetists understand that if they do delegate responsibility in such a way, they must be satisfied as to the ability of the person to whom they have devolved this task to be competent to carry it out safely, with all the Anaesthesia, 1997, 52, pages 617–618 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................


Electromagnetic cascades initiated by 10/sup 9/, 10/sup 10/, 10/sup 11/, 5 x 10/sup 11/, 10/sup 12/, and 3 x 10/sup 12/ ev primary electrons are computed for depths up to 2.8 radiation units. The Monte Carlo method was employed. Real (nonasymptotic) cross sections for elementary electromagnetic processes in the nuclear emulsion were taken into account. Two types of calculations were carried out: those based on the Bethe-Heitler formulas and those based on formulas which take into account the effect of multiple scattering and polarization of the medium on bremsstrahlung. (auth)


This paper presents a technique for classifying human hand gestures based on stationary wavelet transform (SWT). This approach uses a cumulative image-difference technique where the time between the sequences of images is implicitly captured in the representation of action. This results in the construction of temporal history templates (THT). These THTs are decomposed into 4 subimages using SWT, an average image (f/sub ll/), and three detail images (f/sub lh/, f/sub hb/, f/sub hh/) respectively. The average image (f/sub ll/) is fed as the global image descriptors to the ANN for classification. The preliminary experiments show that such a system can classify human hand gestures with a classification accuracy of 97%.


This paper embodies the results of bacteriological investigations carried out in the Wadge Bank region of the Indian Ocean
during August, 1985. The aerobic heterotrophic bacterial population of the surface waters (0-100 m) ranged from lx 105 /
ml to 9.8 x 105 during the peak monsoon season. Bacteria belonged to genera of Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, Vibrio, Alcaligens
and Micrococcus. Thc isolates were found to be active decomposers of macromolecules. No significant correlation was
observed between the bacterial population and the light intensity at various depths.


To the Editor: Quetiapine is an atypical antipsychotic agent with less propensity than other atypical antipsychotics to induce antipsychotic-associated hyperprolactinemia in standard recommended therapeutic dosages,1,2 and when it does induce the condition at all, the rise in serum prolactin level is only transient.3 Accordingly, quetiapine has been recommended as an alternative in patients who develop galactorrhea associated with other antipsychotics.4–6 However, hyperprolactinemia with related side effects may rarely be encountered in a few susceptible individuals.7 We describe a case of quetiapine-induced galactorrhea without an increase in blood prolactin level in an adult female patient. We then discuss the implications of quetiapine with respect to such an adverse effect.

Case report. Ms A, a 45-year-old white woman, was diagnosed with DSM-IV-TR bipolar disorder at the age of 23 years and experienced repeated episodes of both depression and mania over the years. Treatment with lithium carbonate and sodium valproate was tried without much success. She recently presented to the psychiatric emergency department with an acute manic episode (DSM-IV-TR). The patient was agitated and refused to sit during the interview. She paced back and forth, talked or mumbled incessantly, and occasionally busted into laughter and cursed during the interview. Around the time of admission, her symptoms comprised irritability, psychomotor agitation, pressured speech, flight of ideas, insomnia, grandiose and aggressive behavior, sexual disinhibition, and lack of insight. She denied any auditory and visual hallucinations.

Upon her admission to the hospital, a drug screen was negative. Findings of a head computed tomography scan were within normal limits. Results of other routine investigations including complete blood count, complete metabolic profile, thyroid function tests, liver function tests, and prolactin level were within normal limits. Treatment with quetiapine was initiated for both therapeutic as well as prophylactic purposes; she responded well, and her manic symptoms subsided. She was discharged from the hospital after 1 week.

After 2 months of continued treatment, she reported breast enlargement, "milk" discharge from her breast, and bilateral breast pain and amenorrhea. Galactorrhea was confirmed by physical examination. Surprisingly, her serum prolactin level at this stage was again found to be within normal range (13 ng/mL; normal range, 2.80–20 ng/mL) instead of being high. Pregnancy test was negative. Thyroid function tests revealed no abnormalities and excluded hypothyroidism from being the cause of galactorrhea. Physical examination revealed no other abnormality. She neither complained of visual disturbance nor described symptoms suggestive of raised intracranial pressure. A brain scan was not performed as the serum prolactin elevation was within normal limits. Since we assumed quetiapine was one of the possible causes of galactorrhea, quetiapine was stopped, which led to dramatic resolution of symptoms within 72 hours. Ms A, however, took another 2 months to resume her normal menstrual cycle.

A PubMed search for the years 1996 to 2011 with the keywords antipsychotics, quetiapine, and galactorrhea was performed; other articles were obtained via a Google Scholar search that included the same time span and keywords. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case reporting galactorrhea without hyperprolactinemia in the medical literature. However, several studies have shown that quetiapine does not increase prolactin level to the same extent as do other antipsychotic medications. The newly accepted explanation for the prolactin-sparing property of quetiapine and other atypical antipsychotic agents is the poor occupancy of dopamine D2 receptors on lactotrope cells in the anterior pituitary gland compared to striatal dopamine D2 occupancy.8 This contrasts with the property of all conventional antipsychotics and some atypical agents like risperidone in blocking dopamine D2 receptors on prolactin-secreting cells in the pituitary gland, removing the main inhibitory effect on prolactin secretion.9 A study on the incidence of hyperprolactinemia and prolactin-related side effects in children and adolescents treated with antipsychotics showed that there is no significant increase in prolactin level after the long-term use (2 years) of quetiapine.10 In 2006, a 12-week randomized, double-blind study of quetiapine, risperidone, or fluphenazine on sexual functioning in people with schizophrenia showed that, overall, quetiapine was associated with normal prolactin levels.11 Treatment with quetiapine and olanzapine caused prolactin levels to be elevated just temporarily. However, no correlation between prolactin levels and dosage could be found in these subjects under treatment.12 Detailed endocrine-metabolic studies performed on 5 women showed isolated galactorrhea with normal serum prolactin levels.13 To our knowledge, 2 case reports7,14 have been published on subjects who developed hyperprolactinemic galactorrhea with quetiapine. However, no case reports have been published about quetiapine-induced galactorrhea with normal level of prolactin as was seen in our subject.

Although quetiapine is considered to be a prolactin-sparing atypical antipsychotic, quetiapine-induced galactorrhea may rarely be encountered as a side effect in susceptible individuals, and therefore physicians should routinely inquire about quetiapine as one of the possible causes of galactorrhea even when the prolactin level is within normal limits.


BACKGROUND: Data on the peculiarities of the clinical presentation and characteristics of pulmonary embolism (PE) and problems of its diagnosis in routine clinical practice (CP) are limited. Data obtained long ago are mostly described in terms of venous thromboembolism in general and practically do not include Russian patients with PE. The study was performed within the RusSIan REgistery of pulmoNAry embolism (SIRENA) register.
AIM: To study the peculiarities of the clinical and demographic profile and diagnosis of PE in modern CP in comparison with the results of other PE registers.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this registry-based study, medical records were analyzed to obtain information on the demographic profile, clinical presentation, and examination results of patients with PE (n = 107; age, 63 (5274) years; men, 39.3%) who received inpatient treatment in one of the Ryazan Regional Vascular centers. The study period was 13 months (20182019).
RESULTS: The most common concomitant pathologies were arterial hypertension (70.1%), obesity (46.7%), and diabetes mellitus (17.8%). High- and moderate-risk factors were identified in 26.2% and 72.9% of the patients, respectively. Low-risk factors identified in 5.6% of the patients in different combinations did not have a single risk factor for PE development. Clinical manifestations included shortness of breath (93.5%), chest pain (43.0%), severe weakness (59.8%), tachycardia (29.0%), hypoxemia (27.1%), and unstable hemodynamics (18.7%). The most frequent electrocardiographic sign was a T-wave inversion in the right chest leads (52.3%). Right ventricle dysfunction was detected in 38.1% of the cases and elevation of troponin levels in 33.6%. According to the Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index scale, high- and very-high-risk cases accounted for 46.7% of the cases. According to the results of the integrated assessment of PE severity, 34.6% and 14.0% of the patients moved to the lower- and higher-risk classes, respectively. The proportion of moderate-risk cases increased from 23.4% to 62.6%, and the high- and very-high-risk cases reduced from 46.7% to 32.0%.
CONCLUSION: The modern clinical picture of PE is characterized by a higher prevalence of concomitant pathology and reduction of the rates of traditional risk factors. There remain difficulties in PE diagnosis, which are associated with the concomitant pathology, absence of traditional risk factors, and non-specificity of the clinical manifestations and results of additional examinations.


returning again and again as an aide to teaching and research. The book places scholars of early twentieth-century print culture in further debt to Scholes, who has been blazing trails for us since The Nature of Narrative (back when one still had to argue for modernism as a valid aesthetic project) and to Wulfman, whose work on the Modernist Journals Project has made so many current projects possible. Their book is a miracle of breadth and accessibility, and will remain current for many years to come.


Inaprevious work,arelationship between aircraft motion equations andmodelequations forapermanent magnet brushless DC motorwasestablished tostudytheinfluence of machine dynamicperformance onaircraft motionpathfrom takeoff tosteadylevelflight. The speedcontrol scheme primarily made up of standardproportional integral controllers presented lossofaltitude andexacerbative thrust whensystem wasoperated inspeed control mode.Inthis paper aMRAC schemeisproposed forthespeedcontrol. Itisshown thattheapplication oftheMRAC provides superior motor performance aswellasanimprovement inflight performance oftheUAV system. Therobustness ofthecontrol schemeto parameter changes inmomentofinertia, viscous damping and loadtorque isshown.


Background: Encouraging results of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (E-CPR) for patients with refractory cardiac arrest have been shown. However, an optimal timing to switch from conven...


According to strengthened building energy policy for a zero energy building, the buildings that use renewable energy will continue to increase. But, who lack the professional knowledge has difficulty in applying renewable energy systems, even choosing that. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to develope a program for support to decide renewable energy system's type, capacity, and so on, in the preliminary design stage. Particularly, this program can be used to deduct the appropriate renewable system, according to user's order of priority, which are energy saving, renewable energy rate, initial cost, payback period, etc.


There is a growing number of evidence that elderly cancer patients can benefit oncology treatment. Despite this fact they are under treated, which leads to a worse outcome of the disease. Additionally, it is also concerning that a great deal of elderly people when diagnosed are in a relatively healthy and good condition and have presumably several years of life ahead of them. The chronological age, which is often the basis for deciding the type and intensity of treatments, has proven as an insufficient and misleading piece of information. Elderly people in good condition tolerate radiation just as well as younger patients and the disease has a comparable treatment response. Other contributing factors in treatment decision are false assessments of a patient's life expectancy, doubts in therapeutic efficiency and fear because of treatment toxicity. An integral geriatric evaluation of older patients is recommended, which would help oncologists in deciding whether to refer patients for radical or palliative oncology treatment.


A versatile drug delivery system with dual specific capacity of controllable release and monitoring of the intracellular release process, which extremely maximize therapeutic efficacy on diseased cells while minimizing drug toxicity to healthy cells, was reported for the first time.


The present invention discloses a molten glass to flow out of the respective feed channel transmission method and, more particularly, to an effluent passage glass melting furnace and a connector molding apparatus for molten glass reaches the desired temperature of the molding apparatus with the requirements and the respective outflow forehearth conveying the molten glass method. The outflow chutes transmission method mainly increase the cooling layer in the feed track portion, so as to improve the cooling rate of feed channel middle of the molten glass, reducing its temperature by the cooling action of the cooling unit, so that the resulting forehearth side portion the rear end of the central the temperature difference is less than 5 ℃, the average cooling rate in the path of the molten glass frit is not greater than 1 ℃ / min.


The article deals with the issues of ontological engineering of complex systems. Ontological engineering includes the processes of designing and building ontologies, technologically combining object-oriented and structural analysis. Ontological engineering aims to ensure the adoption of high-quality management decisions by increasing the level of integration of the necessary information, improving search capabilities in databases and knowledge bases, providing the possibility of joint processing of knowledge based on a single semantic description of the knowledge space. This process is carried out within the framework of the proposed approach to managing complex systems. The ontology obtained as a result of engineering is subject to the requirements of convenience and flexibility, which is necessary for modeling system processes and ensuring the functioning of information and analytical processes in a complex system. The application of ordinary graphs, hypergraphs and metagraphs in ontological engineering is described. The use of metagraphs in the construction of hierarchical ontologies is substantiated. Metagraphs are considered as the basis for building an applied ontology of a complex system. A modification of the metagraph is proposed, which makes it possible to include events and data processing methods in the ontology. Such a modification integrates the process component into the ontological model of the system as an integral part of it, which makes it possible to flexibly and with less time to form process models based on the metagraph subgraphs of the general ontological model. An approach and an example of the implementation of the software-instrumental environment of ontological engineering and further construction of models of processes of a complex system are described. The technology used to implement the ontology in the PostgreSQL database management system and the database structure for storing the ontology are described


Particle tracing is a widely used method to analyze and interpret results of a flow simulation. In addition, it is a preliminary step for more advanced techniques of flow visualization, e.g. line integral convolution. For interactive exploration of large data sets, a very efficient and reliable particle tracing method is needed. For data on unstructured grids and data sizes, as they appear in the simulation of wind channel experiments (e.g. automative industry) and flight simulation (e.g. aircraft industry), the traditional approach, based on numerical integration methods of ordinary differential equations does not allow sufficiently accurate path calculation at the speed required for interactive use. Traditional integration techniques require small stepsizes in order to achieve sufficient accuracy. T his results in many cell search operations, which means especially for unstructured grids a bottleneck of the whole procedure. In [5] Nielson and Jung have proposed a new method, called further on locally exact method, which gives sufficient accuracy and traverses each cell in a single step. In this note we extend the approach of Nielson and Jung in such a way that it can be performed in real time. This will be achieved by a sophisticated preprocessing, which allows a fast execution of the locally exact integration method, interactive particle tracing in large data sets can be done. We describe the procedure, compare it with Nielson´s original approach, as well as with the traditional method based on numerical integration and report on the performance of the different methods.


The celebrated Black-Scholes option pricing model is unable to produce closed-form solutions for arithmetic basket options. This problem stems from the lack of an analitical form for the distribution of a sum of lognormal random variables. lVlarket participants commonly price basket options by assuming the basket follows lognormal dynamics, although it is known that this approximation performs poorly in some cicumstances. The problem of finding an analytical approximation to the sum of lognormally distributed random variables has been widely studied. In this dissertation we seek to draw these studies and apply them in an option pricing We propose some new option pricing formulae based on these approximations. In order to examine the utility of these new formulae and compare them to commonly used market approximations we present rigorous analytical bounds for the of arithmetic basket options the theory of comonotonicity. In this we follow the ideas in Deelstra et al. [7]. Additionally we provide an interval of hedge parameters (the We carry out a numerical sensitivity and identify circumstances under which the market approximation misprices basket options. Un ive rsi ty of Ca pe To wn


The task of the present publication is to show how the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA) has sought to initiate new narratives and histories of art through a wide selection of acquisitions during 2002-07 of the MACBA Collection. The book includes essays by Manuel J. Borja-Villel, Kaira M. Cabanas and Jorge Ribalta.


There are four bones around the area of the knee joint: the thigh bone (femur), the main shin bone (tibia), the outer shin bone (fibula) and the kneecap (patella). The main movements of the knee joint are between the femur, the tibia and the patella. Tough connective tissue (articular cartilage) covers the ends of the tibia and femur and the back of the patella around the knee joint. The articular cartilage reduces friction between the bones of the knee joint and helps smooth movement between them.


Supplementary offense report by J. C. Day, concerning items removed from the body of Lee Harvey Oswald at Parkland Hospital on November 24, 1963, and sent to the National Archives. The items included a sweater, shirt, undershirt, trousers, socks, shoes, and a piece of paper found in the pocket of the trousers.


Abstract Pop up book is a media that has three dimensional elements. Pop-up books reinforce the impression that will be conveyed in learning materials so that it makes them easier to remember and learn. Problems experienced by MI Tarbiyatul Islamiah, including 1). Most teachers come from graduates whose field of study is not linear, 2). Lack of teacher awareness of the importance of learning media, 3). Teacher creativity is limited in making learning media. This community service uses the training method. This training provides teachers with knowledge about the importance of learning media during the learning process. In addition, the training drills participants to be skilled in making media for learning pop up books. After having the training, participants acquire basic skills in making learning media pop up books by 23,34%.


Mining repeating patterns from music data is one of the most interesting issues of multimedia data mining. However, less work are proposed for mining polyphonic repeating patterns. Hence, two efficient algorithms, A-PRPD (Apriori-based Polyphonic Repeating Pattern Discovery) and T-PRPD (Tree-based Polyphonic Repeating Pattern Discovery), are proposed to discover polyphonic repeating patterns from music data. Furthermore, a bit-string method is developed for improving the efficiency of the proposed algorithms. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithms, A-PRPD and T-PRPD, are both effective and efficient methods for mining polyphonic repeating patterns from synthetic music data and real data.


This paper mainly researches the regularity for change of the consistency of the negative air ion as well as its effect to the air quality in the four functional regions including seven observing sites in Beijing.We can find out through the research that,in the traffic,commerce and living areas,the consistency of the negative air ion is high in 10:00 am and 2:00 pm,while low in 8:00 am and 6:00 pm.The consistency of the negative air ion in the leisure areas is high in 8:00am,6:00 pm and low in 10:00 am,4:00 pm.In contrast to the results mentioned above,the air quality in the leisure areas is better than that in the living areas,while the air quality in living areas is better than that in commerce areas and traffic areas.In addition,researches on the influence of the external environment condition change to air negative ion have been done.The result shows that,negative ion concentrations increases obviously after the rain;according to the research of the Fragrant Hill Park,the consistency of the negative ion concentration will increase with the altitude rising,so the air quality in the high-altitude districts is better than that in the low-altitude districts;negative ion concentration is higher outdoor than that indoor while the outdoor air is better than that indoor.


Objective To analyze the epidemic characteristics of rabies in Changsha from 2004 to 2012,and to provide evidence for developing prevention and control measures.Methods The epidemic data and the information of rabies cases occurred in Changsha from 2004 to 2012 were collected to conduct statistical analysis.Results A total of 124 rabies cases were reported in Changsha from 2004 to 2012,and all patients died.Most of the cases were from rural areas,there were 114 cases from 4 counties,accounted for 91.94% of the total cases.There were cases reported in each month of the years,most of the cases occurred in August,while the least happened in March.Male cases were more than female ones,and the ratio was 2.35:1.The youngest was 2 years old,while the oldest was 82.Most of the cases were from age group of 50-59 years,accounted for 29.03% of the total cases.The main occupation was farmer,accounted for 79.03% of the total cases.The patients were mostly hurt by dogs,with the ratio of 97.24%,among those animals,48.62% were raised by themselves.The exposure area was mainly in upper limbs(44.04%).The standard disposal after exposure and the vaccine usage were both very low.Only 12.84% of the wounds were disposed in medical institutions,9.17% of the cases were given the vaccine.The shortest incubation period was 9 days,while the longest was 5,319 days(14.78 years).And the disease courses of all cases were from 1 day to 9 days.Conclusions The epidemic situations of rabies in Changsha during the period of 2004 to 2012 are relatively steady,but there is still a lot of work to do to eliminate rabies.


With the emergence of the current financial crisis, societies see the increasing importance of credit risks management in financial institutions. Four mainstream credit risk rating models have been developed, however, their applicability in the Taiwan market is yet to be evaluated. In this paper, six major credit risk models, including Merton Option Pricing Model,Discriminant Analysis Model, Logistic Regression (Logit) Model, Probit Model, Survival Analysis Model, and Artificial Neural Network Model were examined, in order to identify the common variables applicable to each model.  The common variables were then applied to each respective model directly. Using Transition Matrix and mapping methods to estimate long term default probability, for developing appropriate credit risk model with the estimated default probability.


Recently,many teachers often focus on instilling knowledge and contempt humanistic quality training in mathematics teaching process,furthermore,the teaching way and method are very old.To change this situation,we survey a comprehensive analysis of humanistic quality training in mathematics teaching status and causes.At the same time,we analyze the humanistic quality training's significance in mathematics teaching process.Finally,we discuss the improvement ideas and methods for humanistic quality training put into the mathematics classroom.


A seven-dimensional model of personality permits the efficient differential diagnosis of all personality disorders and accounts for comorbidity with other psychopathology including psychosomatic illness. The presence or absence of any personality disorder is indicated by underdevelopment of the character traits of self-directedness, cooperativeness, and self-transcendence. Specific subtypes of personality disorder are indicated by the proiile of temperament traits including novelty seeking, harm avoidance, reward dependence, and persistence. All seven traits can be rated by either interview or self-report using a test called the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Using the TCI, temperament types can be specified so that they are mutually exclusive so as to avoid multiple overlapping diagnoses. The temperament traits have been shown to be genetically homogeneous and independent with heritabilities of about 50% each. The configuration of character traits determines susceptibility to psychopathology including schizophrenia, mood and psychosomatic disorders, For example, the "typeA" corenary-prone person is hostile (low cooperativeness), conventional (low self-transcendence), and assertive <high self-direetedness). The melancholic character is low in all three character dimensions, whereas creative characters are high in all three. Cyclothymics are high in self-transcendence and cooperativeness but low in self-directedness. Schizotypals are high in self-transcendence but Iow in the other two character dimensions. The TCI is based on a conceptual paradigm that integrates neurobiological, psychodynamic, sociocultural, and cogniti"e -behavioral approaches to normal and abnormal personality. It provides a clinical method


OBJECTIVE: To characterize medication use in a "well" very old population and relate the quantity and type of medication use to 10‐year mortality.


Flexible printed electronics (PE) has attracted strong interest during the last two decades and is one of the successful trends in material science, representing the future of PEs. This research work evaluates the use of screen-printing technology and materials for producing functional circuits for automotive interior parts, which can be subsequently processed through in-mold electronics (IME). Since the selection of the materials to build the printed system is of utmost importance, this study evaluates combinations of commercial polycarbonate substrates (LEXAN 8A13E, DE 1-4 060007 and LM 905 2-4 160009) and silver-based inks (ME603, ME604 and CP 6680), all suitable for IME. Different electrically conductive tracks varying in width and spacing (0.5, 0.3 and 0.2 mm) and two capacitive sensors were printed. Tensile tests and surface energy characterizations of the different polycarbonate substrates were carried out, then morphological, electrical, and thermoforming studies were performed on the printed substrates. Morphological characterization showed successful printing for wider lines (0.5 and 0.3 mm), but problems with screen clogging occurred for smaller line widths (0.2 mm). The electrical conductivity of printed tracks was in accordance to the printed layer thickness and ink solids percentage. The proof-of-concept of the electrical functionality was successful, when integrating the sensors into the PCB with SMD LEDs. Thermoforming showed limited functionality, with the best overall performance observed for specific combinations of substrate and ink. In essence, the results indicate that although all the selected substrates and silver-based inks have great compatibility among themselves and can be considered as materials for the production of functional automotive interior parts, there is no ideal pairing of inks and substrates. Therefore, this study emphasizes the importance of defining product specifications for a more suitable material selection.


Therapists or individuals interested in analyzing the arts or discussing philosophy will enjoy Mary Hamer's book Incest: A new perspective. The author, a Fellow of the W.E.B. DuBois Institute at Ha...


Value of brand equity is proportional to the perceived risk from buying a product. When a consumer is attached with the purchase of a product emotionally or when the product is expensive, brand equity gains more significance. In the case of purchase of gold jewellery in the Indian conditions, the consumer adds more importance to the brand name and the brand equity attached to it. This study is unique in analysing the brand equity elements behind the purchase decision of Gold Plus gold jewellery with the help of predictive neural networks model. A study of the relative importance of the brand equity dimensions is not attempted in this study as there is rich literature on this subject. This paper identifies the significant brand equity elements which lead to the purchase decision of gold jewellery sold in India under the brand name of Gold Plus, a leading brand name in India.


The authors describe optical short pulse generation at frequencies /spl ges/30 GHz by a dual-drive scheme of a high-saturation power travelling-wave electroabsorption modulator. Sub-4ps almost transform-limited pulses are achieved with >20 dB dynamic extinction ratio and low polarisation sensitivity.


This work is on money laundering discovery in monetary organizations with a cascaded artificial neural network and k-medoids approach. The overbearing of averting cash laundering wrongdoings is not because the launderers takes unjustified benefit of the economy for illegal financial achievement but also since cash laundering is a misconduct that is typically associated to criminalities like fraud, Illegal trafficking in drugs, abduction, corruption, arms trafficking, terrorism, among others. This research used a cascade model of K-medoids and Artificial neural network (ANN) to design a robust detection model for money laundering. K-medoids method is used to cluster the dataset into two clusters, its output is filtered, and then passed into ANN for training and testing purposes and classified into doubtful and un-doubtful transactions. Other algorithms like Support Vector Machine (SVM) and ANN were used separately on the dataset for detection purposes. Their performances were matched with the Cascade K-medoid-ANN. Results shows that ANN has an accuracy of 80.3%. SVM has an accuracy of 70.6% and Cascade K-medoid-ANN has an accuracy of 74.5%. Other metrics used includes; Sensitivity, Specificity, and Precision. Cascade K-medoid-ANN outperformed other algorithms used by correctly identifying doubtful transactions as doubtful and un-doubtful transactions to be un-doubtful. It is recommended that all monetary organizations work together to offer a warehouse of cash laundering dataset for tackling menace and


Abstract The distribution of stresses within individual granular particles subjected to one-dimensional (1D) confined compression is affected by various particle-scale properties, such as morpholog...


Natural selection is thought to act upon protein structures to optimize biochemical properties related to their specific cellular function. Selection pressures related to efficient synthesis, rather than proper function, of proteins may act globally on the amino acid composition of the proteome, bu ta re less firmly established. A substantial fraction of bacterial energy budgets are devoted to biosynthesis of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. The fueling reactions of central metabolism provide precursor metabolites for synthesis of amino acids. Thus, synthesis of an amino acid entails a dual cost; energy is lost by diverting chemical intermediates from fueling reactions and additional energy is required to convert precursor metabolites to amino acids. Selection to reduce the energetic costs predicts increases in the abundance of less energetically costly amino acids in highly expressed proteins. Using synonymous codon usage bias as a measure of translation rates, we show that amino acid composition in the proteomes of Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis reflects the action of natural selection to enhance metabolic efficiency. The primary structures of proteins may also reflect natural selection to enhance the rate and accuracy of their synthesis. Differences in cellular concentrations of tRNAs could lead to translation selection both within and among synonymous families. In yeast, usage of several amino acids show striking associations with gene expression. These changes in amino acid composition result in stronger correlations between amino acid usage and tRNA abundances in highly expressed genes than in less expressed loci. Proteome-wide patterns of amino acid composition in microbes appears to reflect natural selection to enhance the overall physiology of cells as well as the specific functions of proteins.


TO ACHIEVE GOOD oral production of a second language the student must hear it accurately. Independent use of the language laboratory has allowed each student to work toward this goal by giving him control of the loudness, repetition, and intervals of exposure to the new language. However, there is no dial that selectively enhances the quality of sounds, especially those which have no counterpart in the native language. Many students fail to develop a genuine "accent" in the second language. Therefore, we feel it is necessary to do some preliminary tuning of the ears by requiring students to discriminate speech sounds. Further, to assure that the task remains purely auditory, the speech sounds are divorced from a meaningful context. Hearing has two facets: sensitivity to quantity (wave amplitude) and sensitivity to quality (frequency and phase). Individuals can have varying sensitivity in each dimension. Youngsters who have speech defects in their native language are often found to have difficulty in discriminating speech signals although their responses to pure tones of the same loudness are normal. Consequently, exercises in speech sound discrimination play an important part in speech therapy.1 However, the fact that a person speaks his native language clearly is not sufficient reason to expect him to speak a second language clearly. The obstacles are not just timing and motor habits, but also listening habits. Patterns of auditory recognition are set down early in life and tend to filter out new sounds or push them into established niches.2 Moulton speaks of ordinary speech as a "slurred continuum" from which the listener perceives sounds according to the permitted phonological code of his language.3 In life, furthermore, we listen for messages. When the phoneme sequence is incomplete or ambiguous, the listener consults the semantic code and interprets according to the larger context of cues. Rather than asking for a repetition of the vowels when someone asks for a /pin/or/pen/, the listener acts according to the situation.


The article investigates paratextual functions (Genette Paratexts 1987; 1997) in Justin Cronin's postapocalyptic novel The Passage (2010), with a specific focus on what consequences genre-specifici ...