Objective:To investigate the relationship between red blood cell distribution width(RDW)and CHADS2,CHA2DS2-VASc score used for the evaluation of thromboembolism risk in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation(Af).Method:Our study included 99 patients with Af(68with paroxysmal Af and 31with persistent Af).We calculated CHADS2and CHA2DS2-VASc risk score for each patient and recorded sex,age,comorbidities,laboratory parameters,and echocardiography.According to CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores,we divided the Af patients into low-intermediate risk group and high risk group respectively,then compared the parameters between the two groups,and evaluated the relationship between RDW and CHADS2/CHA2DS2-VASc score in patients with Af.Result:The base characteristics between two groups had significant difference in sex, age,comorbidities,no matter using which kind of grouping method.High CHADS2,CHA2DS2-VASc score group had older age,higher RDW,creatinine,left atrial diameter and lower left ventricular ejection fraction,when compared to the low CHADS2,CHA2DS2-VASc score group.The multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to predict high CHADS2,CHA2DS2-VASc scores.The results revealed that RDW was an independent predictor(OR:2.184,3.825,P0.05).The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of RDW was 0.690(95%CI:0.583-0.797,P0.05)to predict high CHADS2score and 0.735(95%CI:0.634-0.836, P0.05)to predict high CHA2DS2-VASc score.Conclusion:RDW is significantly correlated with CHADS2and CHA2DS2-VASc score in patients with Af,as well as an independent predictor of high CHADS2and CHA2DS2-VASc score.


Over the past few years, online shopping gradually became the mainstream shopping method. More and more local retailers chose to start their businesses on e-commerce platforms. However, few can survive due to the competitive pressure from the big companies and the entry barriers. The motivation of this project is to identify product listing strategies, primarily visual and textual presentation, that can help retailers to raise their product sales. To achieve that, we build a neural network architecture to predict product sales from text, image and other product listing features that retailers can control. In particular, we use pre-trained VGG16 model for image data and TF-IDF model for text data in our architecture. The accuracy of the model is 73.91%, far above the accuracy of human raters, which is 55.33%.


This study primarily focuses on Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) systems and their applications in low temperature waste heat recovery. With the harmful effects of CO2 coming to light and the ever increasing prices of fossil fuels, the importance of low grade heat recovery has grown significantly in the past few years. Several ORC solutions have been proposed to generate electricity from low temperature sources. The ORC systems discussed in this study have applications in various fields such as small-scale cogeneration solar thermal system, exhaust gases from the engine, domestic boilers, etc. This piece of work presents a thermodynamic analysis for the use of ORC systems to utilize exergy energy or low grade energy to generate power. The working fluids used in this analysis are R12, R113, R134a, R141b, R245ca, and R245fa with pressures ranging from 5 kPa to 1.005 MPa. Here, both the 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics have been analyzed by varying system independent parameters at various reference pressures. This paper aims at picking out the most suitable working fluid for the Organic Rankine Cycle among the ones mentioned.


We analyse the recurrence , where is a weighted power mean of , which has been proposed to model a class of non-linear forward-looking economic models with bounded rationality. Under suitable hypotheses on weights, we prove the convergence of the sequence Then, to simulate a fading memory, we consider exponentially decreasing weights. Since, in this case, the resulting recurrence does not fulfil the hypotheses of the previous convergence theorem, it is studied by reducing it to an equivalent two-dimensional autonomous map, which shares the asymptotic behaviours with a particular one-dimensional map. This allows us to prove that a long memory with sufficiently large weights has a stabilizing effect. Finally, we numerically investigate what happens when the memory ratio is not sufficiently large to provide stability, showing that, depending on the power mean and the memory ratio, either a delayed or early cascade of flip bifurcations occurs.


The present invention relates to a method of forming a silicon oxide film, comprising the steps of: forming a seed layer on a substrate; a step of forming a silicon film on the seed layer; and a silicon oxide film and a seed layer, formed on the substrate step a silicon oxide film.


OBJECTIVE To calculate the pharmacokinetic parameters after the PEG-SOD enteric-coated capsules and SOD enteric-coated capsules were fed on different group of rabbits. METHODS 125I-PEG-SOD was prepared by chloine-T method after the 125I-PEG-SOD enteric-coated capsules and 125I-SOD enteric-coated capsules were fed respectively on different group of rabbits, we took the blood at different time to measure the radiocounting and calculate the pharmacokinetics parameters by using 3P97 pharmacokinetic program,combining remnant-number method with non-linearity weighted least-square-method. RESULTS The radioactivity-time curves conformed two-compartment open model.The pharmacokinetics parameters of PEG-SOD enteric-coated capsules was T max( 3.37± 0.20)h,C max( 70379.2± 6375.7)cpm,T 1/2α( 1.08± 0.14)h, T 1/2β( 6.7± 0.4)h;the SOD enteric-coated capsuls was T max( 1.10± 0.07)h, C max( 91131.7± 8201.8)cpm,T 1/2α( 1.06± 0.16)h,T 1/2β( 2.6± 0.4)h. CONCLUSION After modified SOD with polyethylene glycol (PEG, molecular weight 6,000) and executed 125I-PEG-SOD enteric-coated capsules,the eliminate half-life time was extended largely.


Associations between cellular telephone use and risk of brain tumors have been examined in a number of epidemiological studies including INTERPHONE. Although results revealed no positive associatio...


With the increased cryptanalysis, securing multimedia data against different types of attacks is a challenging task. This can be avoided by using multimedia encryption. The paper introduces a unique technique to encrypt images in two-stages using pixel transposition and Lehmer randomization concept. In the first stage, a standard sorting algorithm is applied on pixel of original image. Duplicate pixel values are eliminated to generate initial transposed image. Image pixel position values are used as unique security attribute and are fetched from the image with respect to initial transposed image and are written as text file. The second stage provides an extra level of security to position values (security attributes) and initial transposed image. Security attribute is further secured by encrypting using logarithmic operation and cipher image is produced by swapping pixels of initial transposed image with the sequence of pseudo random numbers generated with the aid of Lehmer Random Number Generator. The size of generated cipher image is several times smaller than that of original image. The analysis shows that the algorithm is resistant to statistical and differential attacks.


Objective:The effect of levosimendan, a novel inotropic vasodilator (inodilator), on the microvascular gastric mucosal hemoglobin oxygenation (&mgr;Hbo2) is unknown. A possible effect could thereby be selective for the splanchnic region or could primarily reflect changes in systemic oxygen transport (&U1E0A;o2) and/or oxygen consumption (&OV0312;o2). We compared systemic and regional effects of levosimendan with those of established inotropes, milrinone and dobutamine. Design:Laboratory experiment. Setting:University animal research laboratory of experimental anesthesiology. Subjects:Chronically instrumented dogs with flow probes for cardiac output measurement. Interventions:Anesthetized, mechanically ventilated dogs (each group n = 6) on different days randomly received levosimendan (10 &mgr;g·kg−1, followed by four infusion steps: 0.125–1.0 &mgr;g·kg−1·min−1), milrinone (5.0 &mgr;g·kg−1, followed by 1.25–10 &mgr;g·kg−1·min−1), or dobutamine (2.5–10.0 &mgr;g·kg−1·min−1). Since these drugs may modify regional or systemic responses to fluid load, an additional predefined volume challenge was subsequently performed with hydroxyethyl starch 6% (10 mL·kg−1). Measurements and Main Results:We measured &mgr;Hbo2 (reflectance spectrophotometry), &U1E0A;o2, &OV0312;o2, and systemic hemodynamics. Levosimendan significantly increased &mgr;Hbo2 from baseline (∼55% for all groups) to 64 ± 4% and further to 69 ± 2% with volume challenge (mean ± sem). At the systemic level, levosimendan alone only slightly increased &U1E0A;o2 at a stable &OV0312;o2. Milrinone elicited similar systemic effects (&U1E0A;o2, &OV0312;o2, hemodynamics) but failed to increase &mgr;Hbo2. Dobutamine, conversely, increased &mgr;Hbo2 to a similar extent as levosimendan; however, this was accompanied by marked increases in &U1E0A;o2 and &OV0312;o2. The gastric mucosa selectivity of these interventions, expressed as slope of the &mgr;Hbo2/&U1E0A;o2 relation, was highest for levosimendan (+1.89 and +1.14, without and with volume challenge), compared with milrinone (+0.45 and + 0.47) and dobutamine (+0.48 and + 0.33). Conclusions:Levosimendan is superior to milrinone (no significant regional effects) and dobutamine (marked systemic effects) in increasing gastric mucosal oxygenation selectively (i.e., at only moderately increased &U1E0A;o2 and stable &OV0312;o2). If our experimental data apply to the clinical setting, levosimendan may serve as an option to selectively increase gastrointestinal mucosa oxygenation in patients at risk to develop splanchnic ischemia.


Pacitan with the title "Capital of Prehistory" has a lot of sites that are a reflection of prehistoric life. Song Terus wich is one of sites, the located in the village of Wereng, Punung, Pacitan. Song Terus a series of Thousand Mountains stretching from Yogyakarta, Wonosari, Wonogiri and Pacitan. This research aims (1), to determine the general picture Song Terus, (2) To determine the findings associated with prehistoric sites in Song Terus and (3) to determine prehistoric human cultural heritage trail in Song Terus. This study used a qualitative descriptive study using the approach of the writing of history (historical). The results showed that Song Terus is a prehistoric site that reflects the picture of prehistoric human life. Song Terus as cave prehistoric human settlements, with the discovery of relics result of the findings of human fossils, animal fossil and the results of human culture. The first human fossils were found including Australomelanesid race. One of the human fossils is called the "Mbah Sayem" which is regarded as the oldest man in the village of Wereng. Animal fossil found are many types of monkeys, buffalo, cows, birds, reptiles, deer and antelope. Results of human culture in the form of artifacts constitute the equipment of prehistoric human fulfillment that comes from rocks and animal bones. Artifacts such as kapak genggam, kapak perimbas, serpih, flakes, and alat tulang. Activity of a society that is still moving, grouping and division of tasks between them is reflected in the cultural relics and remains of fauna show that the Song Terus a residential sites Palaeolithic (Old Stone period). Keywords: Prehistoric Culture, Song Terus, Paleolithic


This paper analysis North East India context on the cause of the oppressed ones regarding Christian's duties. This paper attempts to highlight how the empire structures make indigenous people become powerless, especially referring to the struggle of people in North East India. A section highlights how Christianity and modern development activities contributes to colonization to show that Christian needs to liberate from empire's mindset. The paper also argues that concrete location for transformative action is the margins. Without locating in the margin's context, we would run the risk of serving the interests of the empire. Finally, the paper concludes with the power of oppressed people for transformation.


To compare the outcomes of operative cephalic births by Kielland forceps (KF), rotational ventouse (RV), or primary emergency caesarean section (pEMCS) for malposition in the second stage of labour in modern practise.


In practice,the phenomenon that the company guarantees for others is quite popular, while the existing the Company Law of China fails to firmly regulate the limitation for the guarantee ability of company. The author in the thesis, through a comment on the comprehension about Article 60,Section 3 and other regulations in academic circle and judicial practice, comparing and analyzing the relevant legislative rules draws a conclusion that the limited guarantee ability should be legalized in the Company Law of the PRC.


Abstract : The Nutrition Survey of the Armed Forces conducted by the joint U.S.-Iran Nutrition Survey Team from 23 January to 12 April 1956, included plans to survey troops in the Khash area. However, inclement weather made it necessary to defer the Khash survey until late April 1956. As a result, the Iranian Nutrition Survey Team made the survey in Khash after the American team members had departed for home, and forwarded the data and findings to the Interdepartmental Committee on Nutrition for National Defense for tabulation and comparison with data from other survey areas in Iran. The Iranian team members reported that more nutritional problems were observed among troops in the Khash area than in any of the other areas surveyed. These problems involved insufficient calories (underweight troops), scarcity of fruits and vegetables, and lack of processed foods. Based on physical examination data and biochemical findings, the nutritional status of the troops was borderline in riboflavin, vitamin A or carotene, and vitamin C. In Khash the troops weighed considerably less in relation to height and age than in other areas surveyed. The majority of the troops listed as being in the service for less than 6 months were new recruits inducted only a few days prior to the survey. These inductees showed more physical signs of borderline nutrition than those who had served for over 2 years. This report discusses the location, population, and agriculture of Khash, and then presents the team's findings regarding dietary intake and food service, observed physical health of troops, and the biochemical survey. A list of recommendations regarding the nutrition and feeding of the Iranian Armed Forces in Khash is included.


The focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a non‐receptor tyrosine kinase linked to tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. FAK is overexpressed and associated with prognosis in many cancers, but its prognostic value in small‐cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) is unknown and was the focus of this study.


Fundamental changes in the societal use of biophysical resources are required for a sustainable transformation. Current (urban) metabolism research traces flows of energy and materials and products to capture resource use along value chains from resource extraction to production and consumption and the discharge of wastes and emissions. However, spatial relation, local carrying capacity and qualitative characteristics of the urban landscape are only featured in very few studies, even if they are becoming crucial elements towards future sustainable development. Simultaneously, spatial studies tend to neglect the dimension of processes of flows and the generated stocks that influence the construction and performance of space. Big data and GIS technologies have the potential to leverage the integration between the two fields of knowledge. Therefore, the article explores the development of an innovative method - Activity-based Spatial Material Flow Analysis -that integrates qualitative and quantitative flow specifications in material content and geographical space, starting from the analysis of waste flows relative to the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (NL). Lastly, the article reflects on the results of the application of the AS-MFA method, namely a series of flow maps. Each flow map is a significant data-based network representation of a part of the urban metabolism within the AMA in a specific period of time.


It is conjectured that the planar hexagonal honeycomb provides the least-perimeter way to enclose and separate infinitely many regions of unit area. Various natural formulations of the question are not known to be equivalent. We prove existence for two formulations. Many questions remain open.


Privacy is one of the critical aspects in the design of computing systems. Various techniques are being used to enforce privacy, such as information flow control, symmetric/asymmetric cryptography, secure computing enclaves, partial homomorphic encryption and differential privacy. These mechanisms should ideally be combined in complex software systems as they offer different properties and performance trade offs. Unfortunately, reasoning about the privacy properties of such combination is still an open research problem. In this paper, we present our vision on a programming language in which we incorporate different privacy preservation techniques in a common programming model.


of to the of of the is in of a actin and which actin are the dynamics close during The occupancy grid map used in SLAM is a conventional method which makes a map by an occupancy probability in each grid. This method renews a map based on whether an object is observed or not. In order to remove moving objects from a map an additional method is required. However conventional methods deal only actually moving objects, and potential moving objects (ex. standing humans) are mapped as static objects. Furthermore, only binary states, used or not used, are given to each object in map updating. This paper proposes the immobility area grid map to represent a map by an immobility probability in each grid. The proposed method renews a map based on the identification of observed objects by robot's sensors, in addition to whether an object is observed or not. We introduce the map update parameter which is set adaptively from the certainty of identification result of the object. Observed objects can take continuous states, truly static - unknown truly moving, according to the parameter value. Potential moving objects are not mapped if the parameter takes value corresponding to moving objects. The experimental results show the robust mapping in dynamic environments including potential moving objects. The occupancy grid map can be represented by Eq.(1). P t ( M ) is an occupancy probability on a grid at time t . P t ( O ) is an object probability on the same grid at time t . k is a factor of proportionality. the total The Analog The experiment for minutes (TEST) and the quiet eyelid closure state for 1 minute (R1,R2) performed after the The TV contents taken as the horror (Horror), the contents of high preference (Positive), and the contents of preference (Negative) after five, classified if it was or two, classified The fourteen In this study, we investigated expressive facial reactions in response to changes in the visual environment and their automatic extraction from sensors, in order to construct a comfortable level of illumination in personal living spaces. This paper proposes a novel view independent vehicle make and model recognition method (VMMR). Our system identifies the make and model from the variety of viewpoints while the conventional methods work only with the fixed view (e.g., frontal or rear images). The most important process in our method is to create the less-distorted virtual frontal images by view morphing or license plate transformation and to reduce the mismatching by reprojection error. Our experimental result shows our method enables to recognize up to 60-degree angle. The main contribution of this paper is to show the importance of creating the less-distorted virtual frontal images for VMMR. There are three main di ffi culties in VMMR. on of and the Japanese Gov-ernment conducted investigation how people behaved at the disas-ters. The evacuation behaviors of people are similar to both cases. The behaviors are categorized into three groups; instant evacuation, evacuation after tasks and emergent evacuation. We present a system that evacuation guidance is implemented as a way of agent communication and show the contents of the guidance change the escape time. Due to the amplitude-frequency characteristic of the steady-state visual-evoked potential, the flickering frequency of a steady-state visual-evoked potential-based brain-computer interface is typically lower than 20 Hz. However, a visual flicker with a flashing frequency below the critical flicker-fusion frequency often makes subjects feel edgy and causes visual discomfort. This study aims to quantitatively evaluate the relationship between user's visual discomfort and the nasal skin temperature (NST). NST is calculated using the thermal image of the human face. The correlations between the physiological index (NST) and the psychophysical index (based on responses on the visual analogue scale (VAS)) were both considered. The results of VAS are a psychometric response index, which can be used in questionnaires. This study presents a novel technique based on the nasal skin temperature to measure user's visual discomfort. A change in temperature was studied in accordance with the usual method. For mitigating the negative impacts of high penetration photovoltaic power generation systems on the existing electric power system, the increase in the daytime electricity demand by the shift from the night-time or the other energy use is essential. Focusing on a heat-pump water heater (HPWH), this study proposes an autonomous scheduling method of the daytime operation of HPWH to follow the daily change in the extraterrestrial irradiance.


This work describes an investigation into the feasibility of producing intelligible audio speech from only visual speech fea- tures. The proposed method aims to estimate a spectral enve- lope from visual features which is then combined with an arti- ficial excitation signal and used within a model of speech pro- duction to reconstruct an audio signal. Different combinations of audio and visual features are considered, along with both a statistical method of estimation and a deep neural network. The intelligibility of the reconstructed audio speech is measured by human listeners, and then compared to the intelligibility of the video signal only and when combined with the reconstructed audio.


This is one of a series of statements discussing the use of GI endoscopy in common clinical situations. The Standards of Practice Committee of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) prepared this text. In preparing this document, a search of the medical literature pertaining to this topic published between January 1990–March 2013 was performed by using PubMed. Additional references were obtained from the bibliographies of the identified articles and from recommendations of expert consultants. When few or no data exist from well-designed prospective trials, emphasis is given to results from large series and reports from recognized experts. Recommendations for appropriate use of endoscopy are based on a critical review of the available data and expert consensus at the time that the documents are drafted. Further controlled clinical studies may be needed to clarify aspects of this document. This document represents an updated review of previous ASGE guidance on this topic. This document may be revised as necessary to account for changes in technology, new data, or other aspects of clinical practice. The recommendations are based on reviewed studies and are graded on the strength of the supporting evidence (Table 1). The strength of individual recommendations is based on both the aggregate evidence quality and an assessment of the anticipated benefits and harms. Weaker recommendations are indicated by phrases such as "We suggest." whereas stronger recommendations are typically stated as "We recommend. ." This document is intended to be an educational device to provide information that may assist endoscopists in providing care to patients. It is not a rule and should not be construed as establishing a legal standard of care or as encouraging, advocating, requiring, or discouraging any particular treatment. Clinical decisions in any particular case involve a complex analysis of the patient's condition and available courses of action. Therefore, clinical considerations may lead an endoscopist to take a course of action that varies from these recommendations.


The article draws on interviews with participants in a psychotherapeutic education programme, called Depression in Swedish Adolescents, which has seen wide distribution within Swedish schools. We d ...


This paper presents the design and simulation of a miniature ribbon microphone. The miniaturization of traditional aluminum ribbon microphone was realized by MEMS technology. An asymmetrical coil structure was designed in order to overcome electromotive force direction problem. Under the optimized design and fabrication, the responsivity of ribbon diaphragm is −54.8 dBV/Pa (@1 kHz) It is corresponding to 1.82 mV/Pa sensitivity. Correspondingly, the responsivity of the commercially traditional ribbon microphone is −50 to −60 dBV/ Pa (@1k Hz). Obviously, the performance of a miniature ribbon microphone can provide a good performance.


Learning control has been an active topic of research for several decades, and is of theoretical, as well as practical, significance. Current theories and developments in learning control are discussed. Following a brief introduction of the state as well as new progress on learning control, we give a detail review on the models and algorithms of the control policies developed recently which proved to be advantageous over previous approaches through experimental results. The related results and properties are presented. Then, several potentially developmental topics that are valuable to be further investigated are suggested. Finally, the conclusion remark is proposed.


Since the meteorological industry is developing well, the development of meteorological collection technology is more and more rapid. Nowadays, the manual collection technology has gradually fall and gradually replaced by automatic collection. Data collection and transmission are the main steps of meteorological collection. The system consists of software system and hardware system. The hardware circuit includes STM32 single chip, 4G chip, DHT11 temperature and humidity sensor, PM2.5 sensor, photosensitive sensor and sulfide sensor. The software design includes server design and database design. The system first collects data from the hardware circuit, and then uploads it to the server after corresponding processing. After receiving the information, the receiving end can display it through the server terminal.


In our realistic life,education often faces up to the dilemmas between Equal Care and Different Care. Equal Care is taken as the basic human right canonized by people in democratic society,but it often stifles the space of the rich affection. Otherwise,Different Care can admits the private space of affection,but it's dangerous for it can destroy the equality of society and the fairness of the law. Also,it can stifle the growth of the public spirit. We should pay more attention to the Different Care in education. Therefore,we should accept not only the strategies of Aristotle's,J. Rawls' and R. Dworkin's ,but also the suggestion of Noddings's.


Abstract Flavonoids are a large group of naturally occurring polyphenolic compounds that are almost universally present in various plant parts such as fruits, berries, leaves, and tubers. These compounds are synthesized in plants in reaction to environmental stressors such as microbial infections. The antioxidant properties in these flavonoids provide us with numerous health benefits. They can be extracted from said natural sources via methods such as maceration and boiling all the way to advanced methods such as microwaves and ultrasounds. Numerous studies have been conducted to research the protective role that flavonoids can play in preventing infectious diseases in humans. The present modalities of treating such infectious diseases rely solely on chemotherapeutic agents and adjunctive therapies such as palliative and supportive care. These chemotherapeutic agents, primarily antibiotics, cause a degeneration of our immunity and an increased susceptibly to several other diseases. Thus, it is crucial that our methods in dealing with infections focus on prevention. This can be achieved by strengthening our immune system, which is the primary line of defense against such diseases. Flavonoids can help boost our immunity, fight infections, and decrease the incidence of antibiotic resistance. Hence, these natural compounds are being largely studied and used as nutraceuticals to supplement our daily diet and successfully reduce the occurrence of major infectious diseases in our body.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the rates of lower segment Caesarean Section and their indications using modified Robson criteria.

METHODS
The retrospective study was conducted at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan, and comprised review of records from October 1, 2016, to September 30, 2017,related to all Caesarean Sections. The data was classified according to Robson's Ten Group Classification System. SPSS 21 was used for data analysis.

RESULTS
Of the 6155 deliveries, 2052(33.3%) were caesarean sections. According to the criterion used, the major contributor to overall Caesarean Section rate was Group 5 which entails previous Caesarian delivery, single, cephalic, >37 weeks.

CONCLUSIONS
Women with previous scar should be assessed and offered trial of labour after caesarean section, where appropriate.


The loadability enhancement problem with loadability objective is solved in the presence of TCSC and SVC while satisfying system equality and in-equality constraints. It is necessary to solve the optimal power flow in the presence of series and shunt flexible AC transmission system controllers such as thyristor controlled series capacitor and static VAr compensators. The optimal location of these controllers is identified so as to maximize the system security. The optimal parameters of this controller and system are identified using the developed gravitational search algorithm. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology with TCSC and SVC is tested on standard IEEE-30 bus test system with supporting numerical and as well as graphical results.


PDF ORIGINAL ARTICLE Characterization and Identification of Poliovirus from the Environment in Indonesia 2015 Bambang Heriyanto, Nike Susanti, Vivi Setiawaty Online First: October 03, 2018 |


The essential of this method is the coupling governing equations of elasticity were uncoupled into several partial differential equations with the sum function of stress. The method presented in this paper can decrease the difficulty of finding the analytical solutions and can be applied to the more practical engineering applications.


Four uniformed Samoan employees of Her Britannic Majesty's (HBM) High Commissioner's Court For the Western Pacific. The men wear turbans, lava lava, and white short sleaved shirts emblazened with "V R" and a crown. Above then on the wall of a building, a notice board proclaims the commissioners court, and also informs that the building is the office of HM Deputy Commissioner for Samoa and Tokelau. Photographed by an unknown photographer in November 1894.
Inscriptions: Album page - beneath image - Puatolu. Faatarssi. Samau. Faalata. November 1894
Quantity: 1 b&w original photographic print(s).
Physical Description: Albumen print, 19.5 x 13.5 cm


We present an electromagnetic analogue of crystal (or ligand) field theory that describes geometric eigenmodes and the resonant plasmon wavelength in plasmonic nanocrystals in terms of a simple sha...


August 2004. It draws heavily on the contributions to that conference by Brigadier General Charles Mankatah, Lansana Gberie, Douglas Fraser, Colonel Robert Sackey, Major General Joseph Owonibi, Abiodun Onadipe, Thokozani Thusi, James Fennel, Geraldine O'Callaghan and Una McCauley, the work of the rapporteurs: Prosper Addo, April O'Neill, Nana Odoi and Thokozani Thusi, as well as the rest of the delegates. However, the responsibility for any errors and interpretations in this report remains with the authors.


Time optimal control problems of ordinary differential equations have been of great interest for decades due to their practical applications. There are mainly two ways to compute optimal times. The first one is the Switching Time Optimization method, where the switching time is taken as extra unknowns and the optimization problems is solved by nonlinear programming technique. The second one is based on the first order necessary condition for optimal control. In this paper, we extend the numerical method given in [1] for the computation of the optimal time for the time optimal control problems. In the end some examples are provided to show the efficiency of the numerical method.


E 2POT Nonvolatile Digital Potentiometer is a typical one among the Digital Potentiometers of Xicor company. It concentrates many advanced characteristics. Its users focus attention upon it; this paper introduces its characteristics, working principle, interface technology to programmable controller, and the technology of using E 2POT Nonvolatile Digital Potentiometer to control the AC motor.


The dream of an automated society, with autonomous machines capable of performing the work of humans came with us for several centuries. Humans have always try to compensate for their weaknesses with the construction of physical artifacts. Over time these devices have evolved and the humans were creating machines capable of performing the most arduous tasks. An example is the arduous task of transporting large objects, as illustrated in Figure 1.


The domain of unknown function (DUF) YP_001302112.1, a protein secreted by the human intestinal microbita, has been determined by NMR and represents the first structure for the Pfam PF14466. Its NMR structure is classified as a new fold, which, nonetheless, shows limited similarities with representatives of the PLAT/LH2 domains from PF01477 and the C2 domains from PF00168, both of which bind Ca2+ for their physiological functions. Further experiments revealed affinity of YP_001302112.1 for Ca2+, and the NMR structure in the presence of CaCl2 was better defined than that of the apo‐protein. Overall, these NMR structures establish a new connection between structural representatives from two widely different Pfams that include the calcium‐binding domain of a sialidase from Vibrio cholerae and the α‐toxin from Clostridium perfrigens, whereby these two proteins have only 7% sequence identity. Furthermore, it provides information toward the functional annotation of YP_001302112.1, based on its capacity to bind Ca2+, and thus adds to the structural and functional coverage of the protein sequence universe. © 2013 The Protein Society


Kleptoparasitism, or piracy, is widespread among the Laridae and Stercorariidae (see Brockmann and Barnard 1979, for review). While several studies have quantified the parasitism of Great Skuas (Catharacta skua) on a number of North Atlantic seabirds (Meinertzhagen 1959, Andersson 1976, Furness 1978, Arnason and Grant 1978), only anecdotal accounts have treated the subject for Chilean Skuas (C. Chiles (2) to determine whether chases were more frequent near to (<l km) or away from (3.5-7 km) the shag colony; (3) to determine whether environmental factors contributed to the number and success of chases; (4) to estimate whether kleptoparasitism is energetically profitable for skuas; and (5) to compare chase success of South Polar Skuas with that of other skuas, jaegers (Stercorurius spp.) and gulls (La-us spp.) which pirate food by means of aerial pursuits.


Abstract We show that the set of values of an additive polynomial in several variables with arguments in a formal Laurent series field over a finite field has the optimal approximation property: every element in the field has a (not necessarily unique) closest approximation in this set of values. The approximation is with respect to the canonical valuation on the field. This property is elementary in the language of valued rings.


Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide that is used to control perennial weeds in agriculture. However, its vast application may result in glyphosate residues in the food chain. Due to its toxicity to non-target organisms, glyphosate-contaminated soils needed to be remediated, and bioremediation is a conventional remedial method. The success of this depends on the isolation of bacteria with the ability to degrade glyphosate. The goal of this study was to isolate glyphosate-degrading bacteria from the rhizosphere of maize and wheat with a repeated application history of glyphosate for 5–10 years and test their roles in promoting the growth of maize (Zea mays) and glyphosate degradation in vitro. Eleven isolated bacteria were inoculated, and their role in plant growth was compared at different levels (100 and 200 mg/kg) of glyphosate. The results revealed that E. ludwigii improved the highest shoot length by 26% and the root length by 34% compared to the control at 100 mg/kg. The relative water contents in leaves significantly improved by 58% using P. aeruginosa at 100 mg/kg. The maximum electrolyte leakage from leaves significantly reduced by 73% using E. ludwigii at 100 mg/kg compared to the control (uninoculated). A high-pressure liquid chromatography instrument was used to assess the glyphosate concentrations. The highest degradation of glyphosate was observed in treatments inoculated with E. ludwigii (99 and 40%), P. aeruginosa (95 and 39%), K. variicola, (91 and 38%) E. cloacae (92 and 38%), and S. liquefaciens (87 and 36%), respectively, at 100 and 200 mg/kg within 28 days. These five strains demonstrated a great potential for degrading glyphosate and promoting the growth of maize in vitro, and they will be further exploited for the biodegradation of glyphosate and the growth promotion of broader crop species in situ in the near future.


The mean lifetimes of levels in $^{59}\mathrm{Cu}$ below 3.6 MeV have been investigated with the Doppler-shift attenuation method and the $^{58}\mathrm{Ni}(^{3}\mathrm{He},d)^{59}\mathrm{Cu}$ reaction at 11.6 MeV. Scattered particles were detected in two $E\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\Delta}E$ telescopes at \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 55\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} with respect to the beam axis, in coincidence with $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ rays observed at 90\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} in a 50-${\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$ Ge(Li) detector. New levels were observed at 3114 and 3615 keV. Mean lifetimes are reported for the following levels (energy in keV, lifetime in fs): 491 (830 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 300), 914 (g 1600), 1399 (570 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}240), 2266 (310 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 140), 2324 (36 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}5), 3043 (1150 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 500), 3114 (20 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 11), 3130 (10 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 4), 3551 ( 15), 3580 (2400 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 1400), and 3615 ( 35). The experimental results are compared with the predictions of a core-particle coupling calculation.


The communication between wireless ad-hoc networks and infrastructure-based networks is essential to extend Internet beyond its traditional scope, to remote inaccessible areas, making Web services in ad-hoc networks available anytime, anywhere. The mobile nodes in a wireless ad-hoc network must be able to detect available gateways and select one of them if they want to have Internet access. In this paper, the analyzed protocol proposes the transfer of the mobile gateway functionality to another node present in the covered area of the access point acting as a router. There were evaluated the following performances of the proposed protocol (using OPNET): packet delivery ratio, overhead and the packet delay.


Although the title of this study has a philosophical ring to it, what La Vinia Jennings actually does is to trace religious figures or motifs of African origin in Toni Morrison's fiction. This is not an easy task, as she implicitly admits in her first section and introduction: "Finding the elusive but identifiable blackness within the culture out of which Toni Morrison writes." Out of the six sections of the book, four are dedicated to the search of figures and/or motifs: section 2 "Kongo's Y...


Vacuum-vaporized organic low-molecular-weight materials are well known to polycrystallize easily. Suppression of organic layer polycrystallization is effective for the improvement of practical devices. For this reason, we observed the polycrystallization of two hole-transporting diamine derivatives for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). In addition, we discovered that the organic alloy method is very effective for the suppression of polycrystallization despite its simplicity. We describe the polycrystallization of an organic vacuum-deposited layer.


............................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1: GLOBAL INTRODUCTION, LITERATURE REVIEW, AND METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Global Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 Thermochemical Conversion ..................................................................................... 2 1.1.2 Hydrothermal Liquefaction ........................................................................................ 3 1.2 Research Objectives .................................................................................................................. 4 1.3 Literature Review ...................................................................................................................... 4 1.3.1 Thermochemcial Conversion Technologies ............................................................... 4 1.3.2 Hydrothermal (Direct) Liquefaction of Biomass ....................................................... 7 220.127.116.11 Catalyst Usage ................................................................................................ 10 18.104.22.168 Mechanisms of Catalyzed Biomass Liquefaction ........................................... 11 126.96.36.199 Swine Study .................................................................................................... 13 1.3.3 Methods of Biomass Treatment ............................................................................... 15 18.104.22.168 Typical Use and Problems Associated with Dairy Manure ............................ 15 126.96.36.199 Manure Treatment ........................................................................................... 17 18.104.22.168 Additional Waste Treatments .......................................................................... 18 22.214.171.124 Liquefaction Treatment Potential .................................................................... 19 1.4 Impact Potential of HTL Process in Louisiana ....................................................................... 21 1.5 Methodology and Materials .................................................................................................... 26 1.5.1 Feedstock Collection and Processing ....................................................................... 26 126.96.36.199 Dairy Manure .................................................................................................. 27 220.127.116.11 Tallow Seed ..................................................................................................... 27 18.104.22.168 Switchgrass ..................................................................................................... 28 126.96.36.199 Pine Dust (Sawdust) ........................................................................................ 28 188.8.131.52 Poultry Litter ................................................................................................... 28 188.8.131.52 Additional Trials ............................................................................................. 28 1.5.2 HTL Processor ......................................................................................................... 29 1.5.3 Extraction and Oil Analysis ..................................................................................... 31 1.5.4 Carbon Hydrogen and Nitrogen (CHN) Elemental Analysis ................................... 32 1.5.5 Bomb Calorimeter .................................................................................................... 33 1.5.6 Chemical Oxygen Demand ...................................................................................... 33 1.5.7 Gas Chromatography by Mass Spectroscopy (GC/MS) .......................................... 34 1.6 Statistical Methods .................................................................................................................. 34 1.7 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................................... 34


Nylon 6 films, 25 ..mu..m thick, were grafted with polar monomers in aqueous solution following preirradiation with a 550-kV electron beam accelerator. The graft yield rose linearly with grafting period up to 100% graft and leveled off at a graft yield above 150%. At 100 to 200% graft of several acrylic acid derivatives onto the nylon 6 films, water permeation rates comparable to those of PVA and cellophane films were observed. These high water permeation rates of the grafted nylon films were considered as an indication that some of the acrylate copolymers penetrated throughout the matrix of the host polymer. The highest rates of water permeability were observed in nylon acrylamide grafts.


Abstract The relationship between economic inequality and entrepreneurship has received the attention of scholars who have advised researchers to 'use new data and seek new methods to study economic inequality.' We examine a neglected source of such data and methods, Polly Hill's The Migrant Cocoa-Farmers of Southern Ghana (1963) and Studies in Rural Capitalism in West Africa (1970), which stressed the agency of rural entrepreneurs. According to Hill, economic inequality is synonymous with rural tropical economies. Hill highlights inequality between richer and poorer farmers ignored by development economists. Her approach was cross-disciplinary, with an economics BA and anthropology PhD (supervised by economist Joan Robinson). She was a fellow in African Studies in Ghana and reader in Commonwealth Studies at Cambridge. In keeping with Hill's cross-disciplinarity, this paper is jointly written by an economist and by an entrepreneurship professor.


The aim of this work was to test the influence of different concentrations of sodium hypochlorite, photoperiod and temperature on the disinfestations and in vitro germination of "jabuticaba" seeds. The used culture medium was MS. The "jabuticaba" seeds kept under two conditions for 8 days at 5 o C and room temperature were disinfested in 2,5% and 5,0% sodium hypochlorite solution and then inoculated in test tubs containing 10 mL of medium. After inoculation 50% of the seeds were placed in the darkness under 25 ± 2 o C and 50% were transferred to the growth room at the same temperature, with 16-hours photoperiod and radiation of 27 µmol m -2 s -1 . The assessments of bacteria and fungi cont amination percentage and oxidation percentage were done during the 7th, 14 th, 21 th, 28 th and 35 th day of the cultivation. Also on the 42 th cultivation day it was evaluated the germination percent age. The seeds submitted to 5 °C had the highest germination percentage. The 5,0% sodium hypochlorite solution showed efficient in the disinfestations decreasing fungi contamination. The lowest bacteria contamination occurred in the seeds kept at room temperature in the light presence. It was concluded that the "jabuticaba" seeds germination was influenced by the temperature, and the photoperiod did not appear to have an effect. The fungi contamination is inversely proportional to the used disinfector concentration showing no influence in the bacterial contamination.


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It can be complicated enough co-ordinating four limbs, but imagine how bewildering life would become trying to control eight. This is the predicament octopuses contend with on a daily basis. They avoid this potential confusion to some extent by not having proprioception – they


Since 2006, we are developing a project – "How about mathematics transforms my land in the 'capital of universe'?" (6 th Live Science Portuguese Project) – based on traditional activities of the Alto Douro's Portuguese Region. One of the activities studied was the wine cooper's traditional job of this region and we had the opportunity to see how they make the barrels. We identified and interpreted some mathematical procedures used in this traditional job. We show that the well-known mathematical golden ratio (ϕ) can be found in their barrels. We present, as far as we know, an unknown approximation for the value of ϕ designed by us the wine coopers' phi.


_OSTRACT This articles:reports the level:of androgynous development found . inuniversity students attradted tothe sport -,.experience. .The Bees Sex Role Inventorylmal-wat. adeinistered to /45 fel/ale -physical .education majors 20 ,fetale:vattitT.athletes,' 35 male physical education majors, and 45 male : varsity, athletes at the : , University of pittsburgh. Percentages ifere'lcalctilated to:determine what percentage -of each sample :sdoted maiculinei;.-andrOgynous and feminine c:sri the BSRI4 As hypothesized, -the :najority_of males. in both. sdoted masculine :while :the.,71argestpercentage.:Of , bioth,samples scored:in the AndrogynOuS'category..,Theauthor:.concltided that 'given-the ma le 0 Terception ofsplOrt as an agent of masculine-


The objective of the research is to get a clear description of the teaching learning process of English at SMK Negeri 6 Surakarta in which covers about to know the objective of English teaching learning process, to know the syllabus used by teachers, to know the method of teaching in the classroom in which also covers about the role of materials, the classroom procedure, classroom activities, teacher"s and learner"s role, the media, and the evaluation.
The research was conducted in Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan Negeri 6 Surakarta, from August to November 2011. It is qualitative research in the form of ethnography study. The subject of the research was the teaching learning of English at SMK N 6 Surakarta.
The data of this thesis were collected from several techniques including observation, interview, and document analysis. In analyzing the qualitative data, the researcher conducted method triangulation to examine the data from interview with the result of the observation, source triangulation to examine the information with the document, and the last is theory triangulation, it is to know the relation among the theories used in this research toward the data research.
The teaching learning of English at SMK Negeri 6 Surakarta shows the strength and weaknesses. Some of the strengths are from the student"s part, they are diligent, attentive, active, risk taker, and cooperative, from the teacher"s part, they are creative, communicative, supportive and respective, the material and the facilitation used in teaching learning process of English are sufficient enough for carrying out the teaching learning process. However, the teaching learning of English also shows the weaknesses. They are from the student"s part, it is about the student"s competency and character, from the teacher"s part, it covers about teacher"s ability and intensity of participation in some seminars, trainings and also the short courses, and the last is about the school policy which reduce the time allotment for studying.
The research findings of this study imply that teaching learning of English at SMK Negeri 6 Surakarta has been suitable with the theories of English teaching learning, although there were still some weaknesses. Therefore, it is recommended that (1) Institution of Local Education (DISDIKPORA Daerah) should give an addition of the frequency to conduct the seminars, trainings and also the short courses for all teachers, (2) School as the institution to conduct the teaching learning process should give the supervision directly to the educational practitioners, especially to the teachers, (3) The teachers should give much attention to method of teaching learning especially how to design the classroom activity, so the students will not be bored and uninterested, the last (4) the other researchers develop some parts which have not been developed in this research.


This paper presents an optimization of the current-voltage characteristic of Ballistic Deflection Transistors. The implementation of an adequate surface charge model in a Monte Carlo tool shows a very good agreement with the available experimental data and allows us to predict the influence of different parameters, like temperature, channel and trench dimensions on the device output. These results are of importance for further use of this device in logical circuit applications.


Introduction:
 The BEST-MSU study is an ongoing comparison of management of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) on a mobile stroke unit (MSU) versus standard management (SM) by emergency medical services. Recent trials have demonstrated that intra-arterial therapy (IAT) is safe and effective in select AIS patients. MSU management may allow prescreening and reduce door to groin puncture time (DTG).

 Objective:
 The purpose of this analysis is to look at IAT metrics in order to determine the sample size needed to compare MSU versus SM.

 Methods:
 Using preliminary data including data from the unblinded "run-in" phase, we identified 12 AIS patients (5/15/14-6/30/15) evaluated by MSU within 4.5 hours from last-seen-normal who went on to IAT. We report DTG and calculated the sample size needed to show a reduction of at least 30 minutes. We also did a preliminary analysis of DTG trends over time.

 Results:
 Baseline characteristics and clinical variables for our pilot patients are found in the table. In cases when the MSU pre-notified the inpatient stroke team and the patient was taken straight to CTA scan from the ambulance, DTG were 80 and 66 minutes. In general, over time the frequency of patients on MSU who underwent IAT increased and DTG decreased (Figure) but small sample size precludes statistical conclusions. Given the mean DTGs and variability, to be 80% confident with a 5% significance level that the MSU will shorten these times by at least 30 minutes, 46 patients will be needed in each group.

 Conclusion:
 MSU management may reduce DTG, but further study is needed to detect any difference between MSU and SM, as well as to address longterm outcomes.


A vibration seed-metering device for rice seed embryo ordering was developed,which can meet the plant requirement of super-rice(1—2 seedlings per hill).The guided plate makes the rice seed embryo array during the seeding and the V-shaped groove makes the rice seed slide at the same speed as the seeding tray.According to the property of the seed awn directional growth,the principle of the rice seed rotating to the same direction during moving along the guided plate was analyzed,which were verified by a high-speed video tape recorder.Dynamic characteristics of the rice seed in the guide plate and V-shaped groove on the vibration plate were analyzed,and the movement characteristic value model and the velocity model were established separately.Experimental results showed that above 85% rice seed embryos were ordered,so the seed-metering device can be used as an in-suit pipelining seeder.


Context: The use of digital games in several areas is a reality, getting the attention and engagement of users or players, making possible the combination of games and education, contributing to the teaching and learning process, especially in subjects that require practical activities. Problem: However, to build interactive games it is essential to know the social context that will be inserted through the proper use of educational approaches and Software Engineering. Solution: This paper presents the application of concepts, techniques, tools, and artifacts proposed by Socially Aware Design to discover the socio-technical requirements used in the construction of a digital educational game for the teaching of Software Engineering subjects. IS Theory: This work considers design theory regarding the artifacts that contribute to the construction of IS. Method: Semi-participatory design workshops were held for the characterization of the problem, solution proposals, and requirements elicitation, generating the stakeholder diagram, the value prospecting framework, the evaluation framework, the semiotic ladder, and a prototype of the game used during the design process. Summary of results: The artifacts generated contributed to the number of stakeholders who participated in the workshops and, consequently, to the discovery of socio-technical requirements, enabling a greater understanding of the problem and improvements in the design of the solution. Contributions and Impact in the IS area: The relevance of this work lies in the use, improvement, and dissemination of Socially Aware Design to build more humanized, sustainable, and inclusive interactive systems.


OBJECTIVES: To determine and compare vitamin B12 status in different food patterns by using serum homocysteine levels in two adult groups consisting of (1) one hundred participants in non-vegan group and (2) two hundred participants in vegan group. The vegan group is further divided into two subgroups (2.1) ordinary vegan who consumes vegan diets for more than three years and less than twenty years (2.2) high risk vegan who consumes vegan diets for more than twenty years or those who are over 65 years old or those who have signs or symptoms suggesting vitamin B12 deficiency. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study is a descriptive cross-sectional study designed to compare the status of vitamin B12 using homocysteine level in the total 300 participants in vegan and non-vegan Thais, performed in October 2018. The study used a chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CMIA) using an Architec machine to determine blood homocysteine levels. Their levels of homocysteine were then compared. The data was analyzed using the unpaired t -test. RESULT: Three hundred non-vegan and vegan Thais were included in this study. One hundred and five of these were male and 195 were female. Of these, 41% had high homocysteine levels (more than 15.4 Umol/L.), 59% of them had normal homocysteine levels (less than 15.4 Umol/L). Among one hundred non-vegans Thais (gr.1), there was only one (1%) who had a high homocysteine level. Among one hundred ordinary vegans (gr.2.1), fifty-two (52%) of them had abnormally high homocysteine. Among one hundred of high-risk vegans (gr.2.2), seventy of them (70%) had high homocysteine level. The vegan group had higher blood levels of homocysteine ( p < 0.001) than the non-vegan group. CONCLUSION: Vegan Thais have higher risk of vitamin B12 deficiency as determined by their abnormally higher homocysteine blood levels than that of non-vegans ( p < 0.001). We recommend that all Thai vegans should take vitamin B12 supplements regularly to prevent vitamin B12 deficiency. The dosage recommended by the American Vegetarian Medical Association is 50-100 micrograms per day or 500-1,000 micrograms per week. Thai vegans who do not take B12 supplementation should be screened for B12 deficiency.


The paper introduces an international research project, CARE-S, that deals with rehabilitation strategies for sewer networks. The aim of the project is to develop an integrated tool for functional and structural rehabilitation of municipal sewerage systems. CARE-S is a research project supported by the European Commission under the Fifth Framework Programme. The project's objective is to establish a rational framework for sewer network rehabilitation decision-making. CARE-S aims to analyse the structural and functional reliability of wastewater networks at minimum cost and disturbance. The ultimate product will be a Decision Support System that will enable municipal engineers to establish and maintain effective management of their sewer networks.


This paper analyzes the design, development and implementation of a common flexible interoperable and easily extendable Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) platform for several applications such as Electronic Fee Collection System (EFC), Congestion Charge, Urban Parking management and Pay Per Use type of vehicle insurances based on satellite positioning. All these applications run on a generic platform based on positioning and communication technologies. This new Pay Per Use (PPU) system will allow, for example, users to travel across Europe and pay for tolls using a single contractual system, avoiding queues at toll stations. Additionally, due to the nature of the overall scheme, other valuable outcomes, such as pay per use insurance services or real time traffic management systems, will be obtained.


Abstract Background Since the onset of the 2019 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the rapid increase in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) cases has led to an excessive rate of intensive care units (ICU) admissions, a rate varying between 5-18%, depending on the country. Consequently, the study of serum biomarkers, such as D-dimer, have been utilized to identify patient with severe disease. However, further data is needed to confirm the association between this serum concentration of D-dimer and the risk of ICU admission. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine if serum concentration of D-dimer predict the risk of ICU admission in patients with COVID-19 and CAP. Methods A prospective observational study was carried out at the Clinica Universidad de La Sabana, Colombia. Patients older than 18 years old, hospitalized for COVID-19 or CAP were included. Then, patients were stratified into ICU and non-ICU patients. Plasma samples were collected within the first 24 hours of hospital admission to quantify D-dimer using the PATHFAST system. Concentrations were compared among groups and to assess the biomarker capacity to predict ICU admission risk, ROC curves were used. Finally, a DeLong test was applied to compare their differences. Results A total of 240 patients diagnosed with lower respiratory tract infection were included in the study. 88 patients were COVID-19 negative (CAP) and 152 were positive. Plasma concentrations of D-dimer (µg/ml) were significantly higher in COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU when compared with non-ICU COVID-19 admitted patients (Median [IQR]; 1.54 [0.9-3.25] Vs. 1.13 [0.69-1.69], p=0.005). The area under curve (AUC) ROC to predict ICU admission was 0.62 among COVID-19 patients. DeLong's test p value was 0.24. Serum D-dimer an ICU admission Conclusion D-dimer seems to be a promising tool to identify COVID-19 patients with disease. However, this predicting capacity was not observed in CAP patients. Further studies are needed to identify the mechanisms underling the elevation of D-dimer in COVID-19 patients. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures


We take advantage of a unique data set, NASDAQ ModelView, to empirically analyze the determinants and the impact of hidden liquidity on public exchanges. Our findings are as follows. First, the cross-sectional presence of hidden liquidity is well explained by observable and readily available stock characteristics. The spread captures most of the limit order book's predictive power over hidden liquidity. Second, hidden orders arrive in large volumes, at few points in time and cluster around few price quotes. Third, these hidden order submissions have an economically significant impact on price returns. While we do not observe an impact for displayed orders, the impact of hidden orders exceeds the impact of important earnings announcements news. We find evidence that these effects do not arise from information arrival but from trading frictions. Accordingly, hidden orders impair an efficient coordination between the supply and demand side of liquidity. Ultimately, large hidden orders are forced to execute against a "thin" market leading to higher price fluctuations.


The planning and inventory control have been a competitive differentiator between organizations and, therefore, tools and software to assist in the managerial decision-making have often been used by companies. This article highlights the importance of the demand forecasting for the sizing of stocks and products replenishment, as well as the impact of erroneous forecasts on products with outliers in their historical data due to long periods of scarcity. The proposed methodology covers the treatment of historical data series in order to obtain better predictions and optimal sizing of the safety stock for the analyzed products. After data treatment, comparisons between the models of demand forecasting suggested by a company's software and the software NCSS were performed. As a result, it was obtained an improvement of forecasting for future demands, measured by an indicator developed in this study, and an increase in safety stock of the company, improving the replenishment of products being considered. Key-words: Demand forecasting models, safety stock and treatment of outliers.


Objective To establish the reference range of total carnitine(TC) and free carnitine(FC) in Chinese healthy adults,and to explore its clinical significance in patients with liver diseases. Methods The levels of plasma TC and FC in 35 patients with chronic viral hepatitis,30 patients with acute viral hepatitis,30 patients with hepatocirrhosis,and 200 healthy controls were measured by enzymatic cycling method. Results The levels of plasma TC and FC in healthy adults were(56.5±9.6)μmol/L and(46.6±8.2)μmol/L respectively.The levels of plasma TC in male and female were(57.5±8.5)μmol/L and(55.6±10.5)μmol/L respectively,there was no significant difference(P(0.05).) The levels of plasma FC in male and female were(48.4±7.2)μmol/L and(44.7±8.9)μmol/L.The levels of TC and FC decreased in chronic viral hepatitis(TC[46.9±14.8]μmol/L,FC[36.3±9.8]μmol/L) and acute viral hepatitis(TC[44.4±14.2]μmol/L,FC [35.4±13.0]μmol/L).The levels of plasma TC and FC in patients with hepatocirrhosis showed no difference compared with control group(P0.05). Conclusions The levels of TC have no significant difference between male and female.Carnitine concentration in male is slightly higher than in female and carnitine level seems to increase with age in female.Abnormalities in carnitine metabolism are observed in various liver diseases and their cause is complex.


Abstract Tight-binding molecular dynamics simulations are carried out to analyse the thermal stability of the carbon [n,5] prismanes with n = 2–4 over a wide temperature range. The results obtained demonstrate that the isomerisation activation energy as well as the frequency factor in the Arrhenius equation of these metastable nanostructures rapidly decreases with an increase of n. Therefore, the increase in the effective length of [n,5] prismane leads to the decrease in its lifetime up to the moment of its isomerisation. Nevertheless, the stability of [n,5] prismanes is confirmed to be sufficient for their existence at the liquid-nitrogen temperature. The main identified mechanism of [n,5] prismanes isomerisation is the interlayer C–C bond breaking leading to their transformation to the hypostrophene-based molecular systems.


The information deduplication errand has pulled in a lot of consideration from the examination group keeping in mind the end goal to give compelling and proficient arrangements. The data gave by the client to tune the deduplication procedure is normally spoken to by an arrangement of physically marked sets. In substantial datasets, delivering this sort of marked set is an overwhelming errand since it requires a specialist to choose and name an expansive number of enlightening sets. In this exploration paper, the initial three phases of the systems are talked about that chooses a lessened arrangement of sets to tune the deduplication procedure in huge datasets. In the first arrange, we input the given dataset. In the second stage, a dynamic choice of the part system is finished with various document sizes and with the diverse existing approachs. The third stage includes packing the given spitted information. At last the deduplication techniques are executed and contrasted and the distinctive document sizes and diverse part procedures. By investigating the Mega Byte of information prepared/second, Compression proportion, Memory impression, Implementation exertion. To defeat the piece query plate bottleneck, By presenting a novel approach The approach utilizes the similitude between reinforcement information and square formulas to anticipate future lump demands.


Alterations in the gut microbiome have been implicated in the pathogenesis of several immune‐mediated inflammatory diseases such as psoriatic arthritis. This work aimed to characterize the gut microbial signature of patients with active psoriasis as compared with age‐, body mass index‐ and comorbidity‐matched non‐psoriatic controls and to correlate them with differential expression of metabolic pathways. Fecal samples were processed and 16S rRNA was sequenced. PICRUSt was used to perform an analysis of metabolic pathways. Of the 46 participants, 52% (n = 24) suffered from psoriasis. There was a significant difference in β‐diversity between the two groups. Psoriatic patients had a significant increase in the Firmicutes and Actinobacteria phyla as compared with matched controls. At the genus level, psoriatic patients had a unique bacterial composition. At the species level, the psoriatic patients showed significant increases in the relative proportions of (false discovery rate, <0.05) in Ruminoccocus gnavus, Dorea formicigenerans and Collinsella aerofaciens, while Prevotella copri and Parabacteroides distasonis were significantly decreased as compared with controls. PICRUSt analysis revealed increases in metabolic pathways related to lipopolysaccharide function in the psoriatic cohort. These data demonstrate unique fecal microbial and metabolic signatures in psoriatic patients.


As a socio-spatial phenomenon, vernacular architecture in the Sierra Norte of
Oaxaca involves historical, cultural, economic, ideological and landscaping types of
elements as well as geographic factors�climate, among others�all of them directly
related to the requirements and necessities of the habitat. Nonetheless, the acceptance
of �modern� buildings has not only provoked the destruction of spaces destined
for the everyday housing and protection of the populace that has existed there
for millennia as a conserved area, defense and cult�but it has also altered the scenic
quality. Within the cultural aspect, vernacular building practices in the Sierra Norte
of Oaxaca have not only made an important contribution to the development of their
communities, but also to the scenic quality of their territory, where the sites themselves
share and maintain a cultural dialogue with their buildings, even though nowadays
there is very little recognition for this kind of values architecture.


The rules regulating mutual recognition of qualifications in the EU (Directive 2005/36/EC) are based on the length of training and the title of qualification required by individual countries. For example, any citizen of a member state holding a specialist qualification that is listed in the 2005 directive can apply for direct entry onto the General Medical Council (GMC) specialist register; conversely, all EU countries accept a holder of a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) from the UK as being adequate for specialist registration. However, there is significant disparity in the degree of competence that these national qualifications represent and they are not entirely comparable. As a consequence, the European Commission has reinforced the primacy of the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS), whose goal is to complement rather than supersede the authority of any one nation. European standards for postgraduate medical specialist training in general surgery have been agreed and the European Parliament has passed a new law facilitating the movement of health professionals within Europe. The various European Board of Surgery Qualification (EBSQ) examinations offered by the UEMS are part of an evolving effort to unify standards and promote movement of surgeons within the EU. The aim of this paper is to introduce readers to the EBSQ in general surgery (EBSQ/GenSurg).


The resource of college and university ideological and political education is the base of its education. While some colleges and universities emphasize the ideological and political education, its resource is draining, which impair the college and university ideological and political education. So we have to do something to avoid its resource drain.


Marine stratus has attracted many researchers' attention in the past two decades. Both experimental and theoretical methods have been used to study the cloud microstructure. A fixed-beam airborne cloud radar enables 2D measurement of cloud microstructure. Drizzle is prevalent in marine stratus, and may dominate the radar reflectivity. Drizzle can increase the radar return by 10 to 20 dB above the echo due to cloud droplets in extensive marine stratocumulus deeper than about 200 m (Neil and Anthony 1996). This is because Raleigh scattering is proportional to the 6 moment of particle size. Typical concentrations of cloud droplets in marine stratus produce a reflectivity of about –18dBZ, and typical drizzle amounts increase this value to about –5dBZ, assuming Raleigh scattering (Frisch et al. 1995). Due to its low number concentration, drizzle has a negligible effect on LWC or effective radius. How to identify the presence of drizzle with W-band radar reflectivity is the main objective of this study. The Wyoming King Air and Wyoming Cloud Radar (WCR) examined stratus off the Oregon coast during August 1999. Measurements of in-situ cloud probes are compared with nearby radar reflectivities. The first question is whether a clear threshold value of radar reflectivity exists, above which drizzle is present. Certainly, drizzle was more likely and more numerous when the radar reflectivity, 90 m to the side of the aircraft, was higher. In Fig 1 the probability of drizzle (P Z) at an equivalent reflectivity value of Z is plotted,


Objectives To investigate the effects of pingyangmycin combined with electroporation therapy on head and neck cancer in the elderly. Methods 30 patients with head and neck cancer (test group) were treated with electroporation therapy combined with pingyangmycin intratumorally injection , and then received postoperative radiotherapy. Another 30 patients with head and neck cancer (control group) were treated with other treatments. All participating patients received a long-term follow-up. The short-term effects were assessed by the international general four assessment standards , and the long-term follow-up data were analyzed by survival analysis and Logrank inspection. Results No local recurrence was recorded in 28 patients during the follow-up of 12 months. The average survival period, the median survival period, 3-and 5-year survival rates of the test group were significantly higher than those of control group. But the survival rates between the two groups were not significantly different by Logrank test. Conclusion Electrochemical therapy was one of the safe and effective methods for head and neck cancer.


This paper has studied the meaning,essential and actualization of Integrating Information Technology with Research Learning on Geography.And it is pointed out that Integration of Information Technology and Research Learning on Geography are not added simply but changed quite in teaching mode,geographic material,learning manner,geographic ability training,subject-colligation etc.And it needs to put people first,to be guide by constructivist, to set up geographic problem-solving type teaching model,to design teaching of student-center,to strengthen geography informatization,to achieve many subjects colligated,and to realize ultimately geographic problem solving type studying,creative and practical much,internet-based,intelligent,multimedia,student self-determination,student cooperation and exploration.


An Image is often corrupted by noise in its acquisition and transmission. Noise is any undesired information that contaminates an image. Speckle or Multiplicative noise, is a signal-dependent form of noise, whose magnitude is related to the value of the original pixel. This tends to reduce the image resolution and contrast. Denoising speckle is one of the most important process to increase the quality of the image. Many filters are widely used to improve the quality of images by despeckling it. This work comprises a number of filters such as Lee Filter, Frost Filter, Kuan Filter, Weiner Filter, Median Filter and SRAD(Speckle Reducing Anistrophic Diffusion) Filter that are applied to the following images such as Photographic, Ultrasound, SAR, PET, CT and MRI. The Statistical measures such as Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), Peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR), Structural Similarity Index (SSIM), Mean Square Error (MSE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) are used to calculate the filtered images and the results are tabulated. These parameters are used to analyze image quality of the filtered images. The results obtained from the statistical measures are used for comparative study and also used to determine the filter name that is well suited for a particular type of image. The results obtained are presented in the form of statistical tables and graphs. Finally the best filter has been proposed based on the statistical and experimental results.


During its 60-year history, state highway funding has been guided by a set of principles. These are set forth for use by the general public, business, and industry in the evaluation of proposals to change highway funding plans. Also, because many state highway tax proposals include indexing schemes to keep tax revenues in pace with inflation, the eight indexed tax plans signed into law between 1977 and 1980 are examined for adherence to the principles of highway finance. (Author)


Regulatory approval of drugs can be an obstacle course and is a process that frequently comes under fire for being too rapid or too lax. Critics often complain that pharmaceuticals are approved too slowly by a process that is too costly and byzantine, which has fatal effects for patients when life‐saving anti‐cancer and anti‐HIV drugs are involved. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the agency responsible for approving new drugs, has reacted to long standing criticism by streamlining some of its guidelines and procedures, but the bioterrorism crisis in the USA has prompted further scrutiny of the whole drug approval system. The FDA's European counterpart, however, the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) in London, so far has largely resisted expediting its approval process. But it is unclear whether a faster and slimmed‐down approval process is indeed better for public health. Critics of more rapid approval point to 12 drugs in the past 4 years that were withdrawn from the US market due to serious side‐effects and that were, they believe, approved too hastily.

The recent bioterrorism attacks with anthrax spores have again pushed this topic onto the front pages. With frightened Americans hoarding Cipro, the only antibiotic approved by the FDA to treat pulmonary anthrax, and Bayer, its German manufacturer, struggling to meet the increasing demand, many started calling on the FDA to quickly approve other antibiotics to treat anthrax. Similarly, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as the average citizen, are wondering whether the industry will be able to manufacture, and the FDA approve, enough smallpox vaccine for the entire country. An editorial in The Wall Street Journal (November 15, 2001), entitled 'A Wartime FDA', emphasised that the current exigencies of conducting a war on terrorism require the FDA to streamline the regulatory maze …


For the lack of infrared images,such as low contrast,low resolution and large noise,a new infrared image enhancement method based on homomorphic filter is presented.This method first use adaptive median filter for image denoising,to prevent the noise is enhanced in the next step.Then extract the image details by using homomorphic filter,so that the detail of the image can be enhanced.Finally,in order to overcome the defects of the homomorphic filtering result,the method that contrast limit adaptive histogram equalization(CLAHE) is used to further adjust the dynamic range.The results show that this approach has a good effect of infrared image resolution and contrast enhancement.


Abstract Doris Layton MacKenzie came into the field of criminal justice and criminology in her thirties, balancing the dual tasks of motherhood and scholarship successfully. After completing her Doctoral work in Psychology at Pennsylvania State University, MacKenzie accepted her first academic position at Louisiana State University. There she began what has become the most comprehensive body of work to date on the study of boot camps. Now a full professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland, MacKenzie continues her work in discovering what works and what doesn't work in corrections, and is a strong advocate for field research that generates real, practical applications for public safety and crime control. Building on her PhD research in psychology, Doris Layton MacKenzie has focused her career on offender behavior and what can be done to change that behavior. This article profiles the life of Doris Layton MacKenzie: her childhood years; her education; and her professional work to today, when she continues to serve as an inspiration to her students and colleagues as a scientist and human being.


Elastomeric bearings are one of the most commonly used seismic isolators, whose considerably grown number of applications in recent years witnesses the confidence in seismic isolation. On the other hand, full-scale experimentation of isolators, so far conducted in a limited number of international facilities, focused the attention to unexpected collapses, highlighting how the assessment of the seismic behavior of base-isolated structures strongly depends on the accuracy of the isolators modeling. With some exception, models present in literature are generally intended to represent the overall isolator behavior, without information on the state of internal layers, where some rubber layer may show high deformations that can unevenly damage the layer itself and influence the global stress distribution. The main objective of the present work is to develop a phenomenological model able to represent the force-deformation state of each layer of the device. The proposed model includes geometric nonlinearities in the formulation and material nonlinearities in the constitutive laws, defined by a number of parameters which are calibrated coupling a system identification approach and a sensitivity analysis in the interpretation of the experimental test results on full-scale bearings carried out at the EUCENTRE TREES Lab of Pavia (Italy). The model is found suitable to represent the experimental response.


Background: Hypertensive crisis is characterized by high blood pressure that is highly likely to cause pressure against the arterial walls causing chronic cardiovascular diseases. It has caused higher mortality and morbidity rates in both adults and children in equal measures. Hypertensive emergency is scientifically believed to cause several vital organ failures. The current study aims to critically evaluate hypertensive emergencies and the spectrum of end-organ damage due to risk factors of hypertensive emergencies.Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 150 patients with a severe arterial blood pressure of >180/120 mmHg) admitted at Area hospital, Zaheerabad. The doctors performed a detailed medical and clinical examination on the patients to assess organ damage. 120 patients met the hypertensive emergency (HTN-E), while 30 patients met the hypertensive urgency (HTN-U).Results: Patients who reported signs of HTN-E were older adults who are more sedentary, highly intensive smokers, and non-adherent to all forms of hypertensive medications that those with HTN-U. Most of the HTC-U patients had a known history of hypertension than HTC-E. There is about 2% prevalence of hypertensive crisis while admitted at the ICU.Conclusions: Early assessment of the level of organ damage is key in regulating severe complications of hypertension.


Twenty four exhausted (unmixed) high-bypass civil turbofan powerplants' performance was investigated with NLR's GSP and GasTurb . Simulations were made from a dual spool turbofan configuration in the GSP software. The selected engines were taken from three engine manufactures over a range of net thrust rating 80 to 490 kN (T-O). The mathematical models were constructed in order to perform an On-Design and Off-design analysis. These models were tuned with known/published On-Design and Off-Design data. Of particular interest were the polytropic efficiencies of the primary core components and their influence on the overall performance of the powerplant at cruise setting in the flight envelope. Trending could therefore be derived with FAA certification issued dates over a period of 50 years (1960-2010). Graphs of component and system efficiencies of various families of engines were graphed.
The primary points of interest are:
1. Gas path parameters such as the TIT (CET), OPR, BPR, Max spool rotational speeds.
2. Component parameters of the High Pressure Compressor (HPC), High Pressure Turbine (HPT), Low Pressure Turbine (LPT), Low Pressure Compressor (LPC) such as Polytropic efficiencies (ETA_poly).
3. System performance parameters such as Thermal, Propulsive, Overall Efficiency (ETA_th, ETA_prop, ETA_overall).


Twenty-five years ago, a class A (rhodopsin-like) G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) was reported to participate in the rapid physiological responses to the mammalian steroid hormone 17b-estradiol (E2). Initially found in human B cells (1), it was further identified in breast carcinoma cells (2). As no endogenous ligand was identified, this membrane receptor was called GPR30, following the numbering system of orphan receptors. In 2005, two independent groups demonstrated an E2 interaction with GPR30 characterized by a Kd value in the nanomolar range (3, 4). Thus, it was renamed GPER for G protein-coupled estrogen receptor. The GPER structure differing strongly from the canonical estrogen receptors ERa and b and the 46 kDa ERa truncated isoform (ERa46), impassioned debates focusing on its intracellular localization, its exact role regarding nuclear and membrane signaling pathways and its physical interaction with ERa were carried out (5, 6). Shortly afterwards, a direct interaction of GPER with activated ERa and the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which both support transactivation, was evidenced through biochemical methods (7–9). GPER participating in breast cancer development including triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and in tamoxifen resistance (10–12), it would be interesting to define the ERa region involved in ERa/GPER interaction. Such a finding could lead to innovative therapeutic strategies targeting aggressive breast tumors. Based on recently published data, we report here a putative GPER-binding domain located in the hinge region of ERa and also found in the 36 kDa ERa truncated isoform (ERa36).


The purpose of this study was to determine if intonation pattern differences exist between Black and Standard English as spoken in a formal (school) situation. Taped speech samples of Black English and Standard English were gathered from seventh and eighth grade males. The interview was divided into script reading and free discourse sections. A total of 60 subjects were interviewed, 30 Black English speakers and 30 Standard English speakers. Samples of declarative and interrogative sentences in both the reading and free discourse situations were rerecorded for analysis. A computer pitch extraction routine and a spectrograph were utilized to develop graphic and tabular data displays. All data are presently undergoing analysis.


This paper analyzes the factors which affect the hedging behavior using data of the listed firms from 2005 to 2010 and tests the costs of financial distress theory and other existing theories.The authors find that the motives of using currency derivatives include indicators of financial status investment opportunities and so on,which is consistent with the authors' assumptions.The paper also analyzes the relationships of the proportions of managerial ownership,property rights,the market indexes and political connection of firms with derivatives.The robustness test using continuous dependent variables supports these conclusions.The paper expands the research of motivations of foreign exchange derivatives and makes corresponding recommendations on regulating derivatives information disclosure of listed companies and strengthening regulation of corporate derivatives behaviors.


The problem of clustering data arrays described in both vector and matrix forms and based on the optimization of data distribution density functions in these arrays is considered. For the optimization of these functions, the algorithm that is a hybrid of Fish School Search, random search, and evolutionary optimization is proposed. This algorithm does not require calculating the optimized function's derivatives and, in the general case, is designed to find optimums of multiextremal functions of the matrix argument (images). The proposed approach reduces the number of runs of the optimization procedure, finds extrema of complex functions with many extrema, and is simple in numerical implementation.


Huagang Formation is one of the main oil-gas reservoirs in Xihu depression. These reservoir rocks are mainly feldspar-lithic sandstone and lithic-feldspar sandstone,a few feldspar-quartz sandstone and lithic-quartz sandstone,with medium-low porosity,low-extra low permeability. The diagenetic environment results in different water-rock reaction and development of secondary porosity by according to thin-section identification,scanning electron microscopy,grain size analysiscast,formation water salinity and X ray diffraction. Upper Huagang group( 2 500 ~3 300 m) in acidic diagenetic environment,the feldspar corrosion formed authigenic kaolinite,kiesel and dissolved pore. Lower Huagang group( 3 300 ~ 4 000 m) in alkaline environment,these emergences of a large number of carbonate cementation,kaolinite into illite and chlorite,are caused by porosity,especially permeability reduction.


Experiment teaching of Information and Coding Theory course is studied in this paper.Firstly,based on the importance,characteristic,teaching status of this course and the undergraduate training objectives,two principles of experiment contents setting are proposed.Secondly,according to these principles,two experiments corresponding to the source encoding and channel encoding sections are designed respectively.Experiment block diagrams and procedures are also analyzed.Finally,experiment tools and organization mode are discussed.


Transient behavior of athree-phase squirrel cage induction motor (IM) starting directly from the power system may be causing a large drop on power system resulting in failing other connected loads. This behavior not found or not clearly in the most available models of an IM. To remedy these inconsistencies an improved equivalent circuit model is proposed that accounts not only the saturation effects in the stator and rotor, but also independently, for saturation in both the rotor and stator cores. The theory of reference frame has been effectively used as an efficient approach to analyze the performance of an IM. To increased accuracy of the dynamic model takes the saturation effect into account for both magnetizing and leakage inductances. The obtained a new Matlab-Simulink model is tested and compared with conventional model. The transient behavior results shows the difference between magnetizing and leakage inductances when varies as compare with the constant one (conventional mode). The proposed model demonstrates an improvement over other known models showing that detailed representations of saturation effects could be important in induction machine analysis.


I. INTRODUCTION 353II. A BRIEF HISTORY OF STUDENT LENDING AND THE DISCHARGEABILITY OF STUDENT LOANS IN BANKRUPTCY 358A. Student Loan Discharge in Bankruptcy: A Brief Legislative History 358B. The Undue Hardship Standard and Disagreement Among U.S. Circuit Courts 360C. Partial Discharge: Circuit Splits 363III. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS OF DISCHARGE THEORY IN THE SIXTH CIRCUIT 367A. The Pre-Hornsby Era: In re Cheesman 367B. The Hornsby Era: The Sixth Circuit Charts Its Own Course 370C. The Era of Miller and Oyler: The Sixth Circuit Falls in Line 373IV. THE IMPLICATIONS OF MILLER ON THE FUTURE OF PARTIAL DISCHARGE 378A. Miller'5 Holding for Partial-Discharge Determinations Is Unworkable 378B. The Solomonic Choice Between Competing Considerations 380V. THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE INCOME CONTINGENT REPAYMENT PLAN ON THE PARTIAL DISCHARGE OF STUDENT LOANS IN BANKRUPTCY 382VI. THE NEED FOR AN AUTHORITATIVE STANCE 391A. Implications of Circuit Splits Concerning Partial Discharge 391B. When Will an Authoritative Stance Be Taken?.........392VII. CONCLUSION 393Now two women who were harlots came to the king, and stood before him. And one woman said, "O my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. Then it happened . . . that this woman also gave birth . . . . And this woman's son died in the night, because she lay on him. So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side . . . and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne. " Then the other woman said, "No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son. " And the first woman said, "No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son. ". . . Then the king said, "Bring me a sword. " So they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other." Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, "O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!" But the other said, "Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him. " So the king answered and said, "Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother. " And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.1I. INTRODUCTIONStudent loans have always enjoyed a privileged status under federal law.2 With the increased application of the bankruptcy court's equitable powers under 11 U.S.C. § 105(a),3 the dischargeability of student loans has become increasingly subject to the personal, varying decisions of bankruptcy judges, resulting in a divergence of views across the United States. Furthermore, there is an alternative to the full discharge of student loans under bankruptcy-a partial discharge of a debtor's loans may be granted if the bankruptcy judge can determine that failing to discharge the partial amount would pose an undue hardship on the debtor. …


The purpose of this study was to develop a CO₂ emission factor for refuse plastic fuel (RPF) combustion facilities, and calculate the CO₂ emissions from these facilities. The CO₂ reduction from using these facilities was analyzed by comparing CO₂ emission to facilities using fossil fuels. The average CO₂ emission factor from RPF combustion facilities was 59.7 Mg CO₂/TJ. In addition, fossil fuel and RPF use were compared using net calorific value (NCV). Domestic RPF consumption in 2011 was 240,000 Mg/yr, which was compared to fossil fuels using NCV. B-C oil use, which has the same NCV, was equal to RPF use. In contrast, bituminous and anthracite were estimated at 369,231 Mg/yr and 355,556 Mg/yr, respectively. In addition, the reduction in CO₂ emissions due to the alternative fuel was analyzed. CO₂ emissions were reduced by more than 350 Mg CO₂/yr compared to bituminous and anthracite. We confirmed that using RPF, an alternative fuel, can reduce CO₂ emissions.


The article analyzes the development of distance learning in secondary schools of Russia and abroad, considers the problems of implementation of distance learning in secondary schools, shows the prospects for distance learning for senior pupils at their profile level, and presents examples of successful projects of foreign distance learning in secondary education.


This work approaches the issue of decentralization of the income distribution policies to municipalities
from an empirical point of view. The main target of this research is to determine the effective
capacity of local councils to alter the income distribution of individuals through the municipal
budget with a view to which a method of tax incidence has been developed and applied to a city
council in the Castilla y Leon Autonomous Region in a set of tax years. This analysis shows that
local councils have limited capacity for the redistribution of income through taxes because of their
financial limitations and the regressivity of the local taxation system, in spite of the evidence of
progressivity in some of their expenses