The course of radiation sickness caused by external exposure to x rays and by internal implantation of strontium90 and polonium-210 was studied. Changes in platelet count and in clot retraction index were observed. The development of the hemorrhagic syndrome was followed. Certain distinctive features resulting from the difference in form and type of radiation were noted. These changes are described. (C.H.)


The experiment results of using UAV for road engineering structures modeling are considered in this article.
 The experiment was conducted by officers of the company «Indor Centre» with the geodesy and corresponding
 IT-technologies department of the road building faculty staff-members of the Moscow automobile and road
 construction state technical university (MADI).


The Engineered Materials Characterization Report (EMCR) serves as a source of information on the properties of materials proposed as elements in the engineered barrier system (EBS) for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. Volume 3 covered the corrosion data and modeling efforts. The present report is a revision to Volume 3 and updates information on the corrosion (and other degradation modes) behavior of candidate materials for the various components of the EBS. It also includes work on the performance modeling of these materials. Work is reported on metallic barriers, basket materials, packing/backfill/invert materials, and non-metallic materials.


This paper concerns the complete controllability of the impulsive stochastic integrodifferential systems in Hilbert space. Based on the semigroup theory and Burkholder-Davis-Gundy's inequality, sufficient conditions of the complete controllability for impulsive stochastic integro-differential systems are established by using the Banach fixed point theorem. An example for the stochastic wave equation with impulsive effects is presented to illustrate the utility of the proposed result.


My work with international health has been primarily focused on obstetrical fistulas. It all started in 2004 with a call to Bob Wheeless, a colleague whom I have known since my early days at Hopkins, to ask him to participate in the Houston Everett course that year. While accepting gracefully and enthusiastically, he promptly related to me his travel activities since recently retiring. He had been approached by a group involved in humanitarian work in Niger to help care for poor and unfortunate women with obstetrical fistulas at the Niamey National Hospital. His exact words to me were, "We could use you if you are interested in that kind of surgery. We also had a difficult time communicating in French." For me it was the right time to get involved with international humanitarian work and for the right reasons. I had no idea the impact it will have on my future activities. The process is indeed addictive: I had seen such effects first-hand on the late Tom Elkins, whose untimely death in 1998 had left our plans for international work and programs utterly frustrated. When relating his work in West Africa, Tom's enthusiasm was indeed always evident and readily contagious.


President Obama's signature health care reform, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or
Obamacare, recently reached its five year-anniversary, with little end yet in sight to the
controversy its implementation has caused, especially among conservatives. But how
can we explain such widespread opposition to the ACA? In new research which looks
at attitudes across the U.S., Benjamin Knoll and Jordan Shewmaker find that those
who support the protection of American culture and way of life – 'nativists' – are much
more likely to be against the ACA. For many Americans, they explain, reforms such as
Obamacare are increasingly becoming associated with "foreign" political values and
practices, especially for strong Republicans. They also comment that for those with
stronger nativist attitudes, President Obama's perceived foreignness likely played a
role in shaping their opposition toward the ACA.


GeX2·dioxane (X = Cl, Br) complexes insert completely into CBr4 to afford the sterically crowded cluster compounds (BrCl2Ge)4C (1) and (Br3Ge)4C (2) in 80% and 95% yields, respectively. These display physical, spectroscopic, and structural properties that are indicative of highly symmetric molecules with a remarkably strained carbon center. Compounds 1 and 2 react with LiAlH4 to produce the hydrides (H3Ge)3CH (3) and (H3Ge)4C (4) which are readily identified and characterized by spectroscopic methods and gas-phase electron diffraction. Compound 3 is also conveniently prepared from the LiAlH4 reduction of (GeBr3)3CH (5) which in turn is obtained by insertion of GeBr2·dioxane into the C−Br bonds of bromoform. Refinement of the diffraction data for 3 confirmed a model of C3 symmetry, with local C3v symmetry of the GeH3 groups, and gave a Ge−C bond length of 1.96 A. The structure refinement of 4 was based on a model of T symmetry and displayed a rather normal Ge−C bond distance of 1.97 A, which is substantial...


A detailed analysis of the structure and the thermal behavior of samples of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) prepared with a highly regiospecific metallocene catalysts is presented. The samples present variable amounts of stereodefects (isolated rr triads) and provide the first example of metallocene-made iPP not including regioirregularities. They crystallize from the melt in mixtures of the α and γ forms. The content of the γ form increases with increasing the crystallization temperature, reaches a maximum value, and then decreases for a further increase of the temperature. The crystallization of the γ form is favored by the presence of stereodefects. The thermal analysis has indicated that the crystals of γ form melt at lower temperature than the crystals of α form obtained at the same crystallization temperature. A comparison between the experimental X-ray diffraction profiles of the melt-crystallized samples and the calculated profiles for models of structure has shown that the γ form obtained in these ...


Infrared (IR) imaging systems are known to have a range of sensor and optical limitations that result in degraded imagery. Fixed pattern noise (FPN), resulting from pixel-to-pixel response nonuniformity, is a dominant source of error that manifests in collected imagery through the appearance of temporally and spatially correlated noise patterns that are mixed with each image. Furthermore, finite detector size coupled with imperfect system optics can introduce blurring effects and aliasing, ultimately reducing resolution in acquired images. Here, we propose a unified method to reduce FPN and recover high-frequency image content in IR microscopy images. The proposed method uses regularized nonlocal means to highlight spatial features in the scene while maintaining fine textural image details. We derive an iterative optimization method based upon a gradient descent minimization strategy that applies a Wiener deconvolution in each iteration to estimate the blur artifacts. The method is implemented within an embedded mid-wave IR imaging system for microscopy applications. We demonstrate a reduction in FPN and blurring artifacts, achieving improved image resolution in the reconstructed images that are apparent in recovered details on scene objects.


A B S T R A C T Transformation of the rod-shaped algal cells, which before the conversion could be considered as belonging to the genus Stichococcus, into spherical cells was achieved by the action of the tryptic soy broth and some other organic media. Transformation did not involve degradation of the cell wall, and the resulting spheres were not sensitive to osmotic shock. The transformed cells could be propagated as spheres for several months but eventually reverted to the original rod shape. The reversion could be hastened by transferring spherical cells back into inorganic medium and growing the cells autotrophically. For a long time after reversion, the cells maintained characteristics different from those of the original rod-shaped cells which did not go through the conversion and reversion processes. The reverted cells had a higher rate of heterotrophic growth, a lower rate of autotrophic growth, and a lower capacity for being again transformed into spheres under the influence of tryptic soy broth.


The invention discloses a coordinated multi-point (CoMP)-based method for accessing multiple cells by a terminal. The method comprises the following steps that: a base station sends a system message carrying a minimum threshold of a measurement cell reported by user equipment (UE) to the UE; after the UE receives the system message, a serving cell corresponding to the UE itself and a measurement cell set are determined according to the minimum threshold and the measurement cell set is reported to the base station; the base station carries out information interaction with the measurement cell reported by the UE to select a coordinated cell set and the UE is informed of the selected coordinated cell set; and after receiving the notification and carrying out feedback, the UE is added into the CoMP. Meanwhile, the invention also discloses a CoMP-based system for accessing multiple cells by a terminal. According to the method and the system provided by the invention, a problem that edge UE can not be added into a CoMP when the initial access of the edge UE is carried out can be solved, thereby ensuring the throughput of the cell edge when the edge UE is accessed initially.


• selecting the most-significant words in documents judged relevant by the user after retrieval by the original query. • term manipulations in controlled vocabulary systems, such as MeSH and ICD-9-CM, through explosion to include more specific terms, and truncation to include more general terms. • inclusion of terms related to the original query by a thesaurus, which may be either manually prepared or computer-generated based on cooccurrences in the corpus.


Aging can generate various physiological and functional changes, among them the
loss of flexibility, which is correlated with the age and physical activity. As a person
ages, the flexibility decreases, and as a strategy to promote health awareness and
health of elderly senior dance was created. The study was experimental type and
aimed to verify the effects of dance on flexibility of elderly. The sample consisted of
20 elderly divided into two control groups n = 10 and n = 10 active. The instrument
used was questionnaire about pathological history, then we applied the test of sit and
reach of Ricly and Jones. In Statistical analysis was performed using paired Student t
test to compare the two groups. The significance level was 95% for analysis. There
was no statistical difference between the groups for age, height, body mass, body
mass index (BMI), the co morbidities and income in the control group (CG) and active
(GA). Regarding flexibility significant difference was found between the two groups,
where it was found that the GA group has greater flexibility than the GC, the p value
was 0.080. Thus, the practice of dancing by women in the elderly should be
encouraged, as well as being a dynamic activity, it improves flexibility, thereby
contributing to the prevention of injuries and independence in this important stage of
life.


Following partial hepatectomy, the liver initiates a regenerative program involving hepatocyte priming and replication driven by coordinated cytokine and growth factor actions. We investigated the mechanisms underlying Adiponectin's (Adn) regulation of liver regeneration through modulation of these mediators. Adn-/- mice showed delayed onset of hepatocyte replication, but accelerated cell cycle progression relative to wild-type mice, suggesting Adn has multiple effects fine-tuning the kinetics of liver regeneration. We developed a computational model describing the molecular and physiological kinetics of liver regeneration in Adn-/- mice. We employed this computational model to evaluate the underlying regulatory mechanisms. Our analysis predicted that Adn is required for an efficient early cytokine response to partial hepatectomy, but is inhibitory to later growth factor actions. Consistent with this prediction, Adn knockout reduced hepatocyte responses to IL-6 during the priming phase, but enhanced growth factor levels through peak hepatocyte replication. By contrast, supraphysiological concentrations of Adn resulting from rosiglitazone treatment suppressed regeneration by reducing growth factor levels during S phase, consistent with computational predictions. Together, these results revealed that Adn fine-tunes the progression of liver regeneration through dynamically modulating molecular mediator networks and cellular interactions within the liver. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Urbanization usually occurs with structural transformation driven by a "push" from agricultural productivity growth and a "pull" from industrial productivity growth, and usually the former exceeds the latter. This paper presents a simple model to illustrate how the open policy in the People's Republic of China (PRC) since 1979 reversed the pattern such that the "pull" effect dominated the "push" effect during the PRC's structural transformation and urbanization. This model helps explain why the PRC, whose industrial productivity growth exceeds its agricultural productivity growth, has experienced a standard pattern of structural transformation. The paper also demonstrates how a developing country's business services intensity increases with its urbanization.


The winter issue of The Forum is organized around the theme of "Catholicism in American Politics," with attention to Catholics as a social group, the Catholic Church as a political actor, and the church as a political system all its own. Byron Shafer and Richard Spady begin by locating the five main religious families of American society in their political context, with special attention to Catholics. David Leal and Jerod Patterson examine ethnic and doctrinal divisions among these Catholics. Ted Jelen then ties this story to the larger institutional church. Sean Therriault goes on to analyze the Catholic Church as a political system. Lyman Kellstedt and James Guth look at alternative theories of Catholic partisanship. David Buckley looks at the war inside Catholicism between economics and culture as policy focuses. William Blake and Amanda Friesen consider a pointed policy outcome, the battle over denying Communion to Catholic politicians. Jason Duncan recalls the Irish Catholic political tradition, and the role of John Kennedy as a transitional figure within it. Paul Manuel asks about interactions between Catholic social theory and the larger society. And Booth Fowler brings the story full circle by thinking about the future of American Catholicism. In book reviews, Eldon Eisenach looks at A. Scott Berg, Wilson, and considers the missing political analysis within that story. Barbara Sinclair reviews Jeffrey Jenkins and Charles Stewart, Fighting for the Speakership, and thinks further about historical circumstances and political generalization. And Wendy Schiller considers John Lipinski, The Substance of Representation, and urges scholars to use its admirable dataset to address further questions of historical development. The Forum also wishes to announce some additional themes for the coming year, and to invite submissions for them. The spring issue will be organized around the autonomy of executive power in the US. The summer issue is always unthemed, addressing multiple topics new and old. The fall issue will be organized around the idea of political generations in the US, including concerns for concrete embodiments of age, period, and cohort in the full span of American politics. Submissions touching on this ensemble of themes within the rubric of political generations are especially welcome. And the winter issue is inevitably our analysis of the midterm elections of 2014.


Sensor and instrumentation networks operating inside aircraft wings, unmanned air vehicle (UAV) fuselage, small submarine craft and /or automobile engine compartments could be significantly enhanced or enabled by implementing radio communications within these spaces. A wired infrastructure can be cumbersome and expensive to install and maintain inside challenging environments such as aircraft and submarines. Furthermore, wire bundles and assemblies can be heavy, and flight vehicle environments are particularly sensitive to mass distribution. Wireless sensor and instrumentation networks would o ffer an alternative to their wired counterparts, and could alleviate many of the aforementioned concerns associated with wired assemblies. Furthermore, wireless sensor networks could be quickly deployed in these environments, enabling rapidprototype instrumentation and sensor systems. The nodes of this network are envisioned to be quite small such that the environments they are measuring are not appreciably a ffected by the presence of the nodes themselves. Perhaps the size of a dime, these sensor nodes would nominally contain all of the sensors, processors, antennas, communications subsystems and energy storage elements necessary to perform the required instrumentation operations in these proposed environments. However, the interior enclosures of aircraft wings, UAV fuselage and small submarines are highly reverberant to propagating electromagnetic waves due to the metallic walls surrounding the space, and energy that is transmitted within the enclosure by a radio device can be expected to remain in the space for long durations in time. This lingering of energy can cause the communications channel dispersion in the enclosure to be considerable, potentially limiting and /or degrading communications. The work described in this dissertation studies the wireless RF communications channel native to these enclosures to better understand the unique characteristics of this channel, referred to as the enclosed space radio channel . For the purposes of this research, the enclosures considered are generally described as being 1) several meters or less per dimension, 2) enclosed by metallic boundaries on many or all sides, and 3) filled with non-uniform objects and /or obstructions. Measurements of the channel dispersion in


SUMMARY CMV carrier status ofhealthy individuals causesapersistent increase inthenumbers oflymphocytes expressing theHNKI (Leu7)antigen. We investigated this phenomenon bycorrelating HNKl fluorescence intensity oftheCD3+,CD4+,CD8+andCD16+lymphocytes withtheir morphology. Thestudy wasperformed on 112healthy individuals asafunction oftheir CMV carrier status. Tothis end,theCD3+,CD4+,CD8+ andCD16+lymphocytes werestratified into subsets withundetectable (-),weak(+)andstrong(++)levels ofHNK Ifluorescence intensity, aswell asinto subsets with low,intermediate orhighperpendicular light scatter (PLS)signals. AmongtheCD3+,CD4+and CD8+ lymphocytes. CMV carrier status was associated withsignificantly increased numbers of HNK I(+)andparticularly HNK I(+ +)cells. AmongtheCD16+lymphocytes, CMV carrier status increased onlytheHNK 1(++)onessignificantly. There wereclear positive correlations between the PLScharacteristics oftheCD3+,CD4+,CD8+ andCD16+lymphocytes andtheir HNK1 fluorescence intensity. Microscopic analysis ofCD3+ lymphocytes sorted intoHNKl(-), HNK1(+)andHNKI(++) fractions revealed thatthepercentage ofthosecells containing azurophilic granules andthenumbers ofsuchgranules percell increased inproportion totheir HNK 1 fluorescence intensity. Thus, CMV also interacts withtheHNKl +lymphocytes ofits healthy carriers byincreasing thelevel ofexpression ofthatantigen whichisaccompanied byincreased granularity. Thosegranular lymphocytes may include cytotoxic cells whichareinvolved inthecontrol ofviral replication.


The rate of reaction of alkyl halides with aqueous sodium acetate or cyanide catalyzed by phosphonium salts supported on insoluble polystyrene resins, and rates of ion-exchange of the chloride ion in the catalysts against the acetate ion, were studied as a function of catalyst particle size, the percentage of ring substitution, the morphology of polymer support, and distance between active site and polymer backbone. Rates of 1-bromooctane or benzyl chloride with macroporous, 7–25% ring-substituted catalysts increased with increasing ring substitution. Rates with macroporous catalysts increased as a heptamethylene spacer was introduced between the active site and the polymer backbone. Rates of ion-exchange with macroporous catalysts were facilitated with increasing ring substitution or by the introduction of the spacer chain. A relation between the catalytic activity of macroporous or microporous catalysts and ion-exchange rates under triphase conditions was discussed.


High gradient acceleration of electrons has recently been achieved in meter scale plasmas at SLAC. Results from these experiments show that the wakefield is sensitive to parameters in the electron beam which drives it. In the experiment the bunch lengths were varied systematically at constant charge. Here we investigate the correlation of peak beam current to the wake amplitude. The effect of beam head erosion will be discussed and an experimental limit on the transformer ratio set. The results are compared to simulation. CONTRIBUTION NOT RECEIVED Proceedings of PAC09, Vancouver, BC, Canada FR5RFP016 Advanced Concepts A13 New Acceleration Techniques 4565


Abstract During June 1999, in Grand Isle, Vermont, four Northern Rough-winged Swallows (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) fed five nestlings at one nest. A second nest 3 m away had been depredated. The four swallows continued their unusual cooperative behavior until the young had fledged.


In this paper, we present some class of three dimensional C ∞ diffeomorphisms with nondegenerate one-sided homoclinic tangencies q associated with hyperbolic fixed points p each of which exhibits a horseshoe set. A key point in the proof is the existence of a transverse homoclinic point arbitrarily close to q. This result together with Birkhoff-Smale Theorem implies the existence of a horseshoe set arbitrarily close to q.


Frank Norris's McTeague (1899) is typically seen as a straight Naturalistic novel embodying such standard assumptions as sexual determinism, atavistic degeneracy, the influence of sordid milieu, and the operation of chance.1 There is no question that quasi-scientific theorizing is one side of McTeague. Like Dreiser and London, Norris often chose to ground his fiction in the presumably authoritative scientific opinion of the day. (The difference between this faith and a present-day novelist's reliance upon post-existential assumptions is slight.) Still, there is no reason to believe that Norris and the other Naturalists were preoccupied with Content and Truth to the point of not caring about the art of fiction. Norris in fact produced a fair amount of practical criticism himself and was capable of ideologically neutral statements: "After all in fiction, the main thing is fiction."2 Praised for its exposition of Naturalistic ideas, McTeague seldom receives favorable mention of its art. Warren French, for example, would seem to speak for a whole generation of critics when he observes, "as art McTeague leaves much to be desired. The novel is not likely to excite much enthusiasm among critics who cherish formal perfection. . . ."3 Warner BerthofFs summary indictment of Norris's formal crudities is worth quoting too: "All in all, composition in Norris's novels seems to be reckoned exclusively in calculations of decibels and gross tonnage."4 Gross tonnage may be a successful impressionistic rendering of the feeling aroused by a book like McTeague, whose hero is ostensibly a brute, but it is not an accurate description of Norris's art in this novel. The word that Ellen Moers has applied to Dreiser's artistry in Sister Carrie is needed to describe Norris's efforts in McTeague: "finesse."5


No one disagrees: Diet significantly affects health. And emerging research is clearly revealing that food is far more than calories delivered in the form of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Food is information with epigenetic effects that impact—for better or worse—the phenotype of not only the individual currently consuming it, but that of future generations of offspring.

Although all agree that a high-quality diet is essential for health, disagreement abounds regarding what type of diet is best. Proponents of each of the leading dietary approaches—the Mediterranean diet, Paleo diet, and vegetarian/vegan diet—can all cite abundant (and carefully selected) research support of their chosen diet's health benefits. But as epigenetics firmly ushers us into the era of personalized medicine, it is becoming increasingly obvious that no single dietary approach is optimal for all.

The issue of how to personalize dietary recommendations arises where the proverbial tire meets the road: The patient who has come to your office for medical care. How can you determine the optimal nutritional recommendations for the person sitting in front of you, who is likely to be an overweight (or normal weight but overfat/VAT [visceral adipose tissue]) individual with metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and/or type 2 diabetes? What lab tests and what biomarkers can be used to pinpoint your recommendations and then evaluate their efficacy? How can you support your patients' real-world compliance with your dietary recommendations? How can you efficiently integrate personalized dietary and nutritional therapies into your practice? All these questions were addressed during 3 days packed with science-cum-practical information the Institute for Functional Medicine's (IFM's) Annual International Conference: "Functional Perspectives on Food and Nutrition: The Ultimate Upstream Medicine," held in San Francisco from May 29 through May 31, 2014.

Following are a few highlights regarding how to choose the "right" diet for the individual patient, assess the efficacy of your dietary recommendations with lab tests/biomarkers, and support patient compliance. Another resource for creating personalized dietary and nutritional therapy is IFM's Clinical Practice Toolkit, which includes a variety of customizable food plans along with recipes and a 1-day, 3-day, and 7-day Diet, Nutrition and Lifestyle Journal and patient information handouts on key food-related issues and topics, such as glycemic index and load; anti-inflammatory and elimination-diet food plans; acid/alkaline body balance; and food sources of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients.

If you were fortunate enough to have been present, let me apologize upfront if a favorite clinical takeaway is not mentioned below. Only 2 of the many deserving presentations are summarized here because of space limitations. If you were not there—or want to hear one or all of the presentations again—the full audio and video conference proceedings are available on the IFM Web site.i


An optoelectronic switch with high sensitivity based on avalanche multiplication is demonstrated in a GaAs/InGaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction bipolar phototransistor (HPT) with an integrated resonant cavity. The device, similar to a resonant‐cavity enhanced HPT, consists of a four layer n+‐p+‐i‐n structure. Excellent electrical switching characteristics with a high control voltage efficiency (Vs/Vh) of 1.8 have been obtained when the device is operated in the dark. The device can be switched optically at a selected wavelength owing to the integrated resonant cavity. By exploiting the inherent high optical gain, an extremely high optical control sensitivity (∂Vs/∂P0), exceeding 6 V/μW, has been achieved.


Objective:To discuss the adsorptive effect of montmorillonite (MMT) on staphylococcus aurells. Methods:Nano-MMT was prepaired with the technique which is applied to produce poly-ethylene glycol(PEG)/MMT complex. The adsorptive effect of Nano-MMT was compare with that of MMT. Results:Both Nano-MMT and MMT had no sterilization and antibacterial activity. The adsorption rate of MMT was 61.4%, while that of PEG 400/MMT complex was 90.3%, and that of PEG 6000/MMT complex was 73.8%.Conclusion:PEG/MMT complex shows a better effect on adsorption of bacteria than MMT, and PEG 400/MMT complex is better than PEG 6000/MMT complex. This provides evidence on application of Nano-MMT in medical field.


Dust and sand storms are common dangerous weather phenomenon in arid and semiarid regions of Kazakhstan, especially in its southern parts with a great variety of desert types and are a powerful source of mineral and salt aerosols. The dust and sand storms aredistributed in Kazakhstan un evenly, depending on the geological structure, wind speed and soil texture. In this study was used longterm meteorological data on dust storms recurrence and their regional division in Kazakhstan. On the basis of gen eralization and analyses of the numerous cartographic materials, meteo rological observations, we identified the powerful sources of dust storms. The regions in Kazakhstan with the highest frequency of dust and sand stormsis Aral Sea region (Aralkum and Kyzylkum deserts). The most ac tive source of dust and sand storms is located in sandy deserts or in areas, which have suffered from human economic activity. They are particularly dangerous for the environment and have a great negative impact on soil conditions.


An attempt has been made in the present paper to see is there long run equilibrium relationship between India's exports and imports during the 1949-50 to 2004-05. The empirical results based on unit root tests, co integration and error correction modeling exemplifies that the exports and imports are co integrated showing existence of long run equilibrium between India's exports and imports .The elasticity of India's exports with respect to imports is slightly more than unity revealing that the ratio of exports to imports goes on increasing slightly with the increase in imports. The elasiticity of India's imports with respect to exports is somewhat less than unity implying that the ratio of imports to exports goes on declining with the increase in imports. The economic reforms that have been initiated since 1992 could not facilitate in correcting more percentage of disequilibrium during post economic reform period as the regression coefficient of interaction variable is negatively insignificant. The results based on error correction model of first differenced Y on first differenced X and errors in lagged year show that the system corrects its preceding period's disequilibrium between long run and short run periods by twenty seven percent a year.


Objective: To study the relationship between the gene polymorphism of platelet glycoprotein Ⅲa(GPⅢa) with hypercoagulability of ulcerative colitis(UC).Methods: The genotype of P1A was determined by the method of PCR-RFLP in 183 UC patients and 126 normal subjects.Results: The genotype of P1A1/A1 was in all UC subjects and control subjects,and there was no the genotype of P1A2.Conclusion: The gene polymorphism of GPⅢa is not associated with hypercoagulability of UC.


Posterior polymorphous corneal dystrophy (PPCD) is a dominantly inherited corneal endothelial disorder, typically considered bilateral and asymptomatic. We report a case of bilateral PPCD that presented as an incidental finding on routine ophthalmic examination. Related visual prognosis is discussed. A 27-year-old male presented for a routine ophthalmic examination. Visual acuity was recorded for both eyes. A detailed slit-lamp examination and anterior-segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) was done. Best-corrected visual acuity was recorded as 6/6 for both eyes. Slit-lamp examination revealed band-shaped lesions in the inferior quadrant of bilateral corneas, at the junction of Descemet's membrane and corneal endothelium. AS-OCT revealed central corneal thickness as 556 and 544 µm for the right and left cornea, respectively, along with a hyper-reflective lesion at the level of corneal endothelium in the right eye.


A kind of compound inslation band (20) includes laminate or the co-extrusion thing being made up of at least two-layer, described at least two-layer includes the second layer (26) of ground floor (24) and polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) or the mixture comprising at least 50% polyether-ether-ketone or the alloy being wherein dispersed with the insulation of the polymeric matrix of mica particles, and the surface contrary with layer another described of layer described at least one of which is coated with fluoro-containing copolymer film (25).Band may be used to conductor (10) the upper formation multilamellar cover layer at such as electric wire.The external protection (28) of the fluoropolymer of such as PTFE etc by being wound around or can apply around described winding band by the way of extrusion.In a preferred embodiment, fluoro-containing copolymer film puts on the both sides of band.


Seed sowing is an essential and time-bound process agriculture. The basic objective of the sowing operation is to put the seed in rows at the desired depth and maintain seed to seed spacing, covering the seeds with soil and providing proper compaction over the seed. Early or postponed sowing adversely disturbs the crop yield. Therefore, the sowing of seeds in the optimum level is important to ensure more outcomes and high quality of crops. At present, the maize planting is done manually by broadcasting, dibbling, putting seed behind the plough, and other methods or with the help of animal or tractor-drawn seed drills/planters. Though, these techniques have many problems, such as worse efficiency and reduced quality seed placement. Currently among different sowing methods, dibbler planter delivers more uniform and adaptable seed spacing than other approaches for sowing hybrid seeds. But available dibbler planter has some shortcomings of lower field capacity. By considering the apparent advantage of the dibbler planter mechanism, the power-operated dibbler planter for pulse crop was modified and improved to minimize the problems of the existing dibbler planter. Henceforth, the two-row power-operated dibbler was designed and developed to promote mechanization of maize planting operation among small and marginal farmers.


Falling in love is the most phenomenal event in the history of human being.Discussion of falling in love is never finished talking about it. When lovers arefalling in love, they long for a perfect happiness in their heart. The onlypossibility to achieve this happiness is that the lovers live together as amanifestation of the unity of love. This union that is lived by them is expectedto take place in eternity. In the experience of falling in love, a couple of humanbeing, as if, live "across this world" in which they are tasting the divine life intotal happiness, perfect unity, and eternal life. Actually, the total happiness isexperienced as a partial happiness. This has the effect that the perfect unity isonly a dream because the unity is experienced in its imperfection. Furthermore,the eternity of love is only a romantic love in changing continuously. It is theexperience bringing falling in love with its serious problems. However, thosewho fall in love are really human beings who are still in their limitations.


The article elaborates on the principles and modern methodology of evaluating vaccine safety, efficacy and effectiveness. The main parameters and criteria of successful immunization are described in plain and concise language. Special attention is paid to the analysis of clinical and epidemiological aspects of vaccination against Covid-19. The article provides the most recent epidemiological statistics on this disease. A report of the efficacy and safety of the BNT162b2 vaccine is given as an example.


This paper describes an empirical investigation of Australian midcareer managers which was suggested by Kirton's (1976) theory of adaptive-innovative cognitive style. Two hypotheses were tested: (a) that broadly defined managerial functions can be subdivided on the basis of their internal or external task orientations, and (b) that the cognitive styles of members of the resultant subfunctions will be either predominantly adaptive or predominantly innovative. Data were obtained from a sample of Australian midcareer managers on Master of Business Administration programs (N = 123) who completed the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI) and provided detailed career histories. Expected patterns of task orientation and cognitive style were found. Managerial leadership should be sensitive to the preferences, abilities, and aspirations of those managers whose characteristic style is marked by stability and continuity as well as those whose contribution naturally takes the form of pathbreaking change.


The Semantic Web is a vision for the future of the Web in which information is given explicit meaning, making it easier for machines to automatically process and integrate information available on the Web. Semantic Web will build on the well known Semantic Web language stack, part of which is the Web Ontology Language (OWL). Python is an interpreted, object-oriented, extensible programming language, which provides an excellent combination of clarity and versatility. The deep integration of both languages is one of the novel approaches for enabling free and interoperable data [1]. In this article we present a metaclass-based implementation of the deep integration ideas. The implementation is an early Python prototype supporting in-line class and properties declaration, instance creation and simple triple-based queries. The implementation is backed up by a well known OWL-DL reasoner Pellet [3]. The integration of the Python and OWL-DL through meta-class programming provides a unique approach, which can be implemented with any metaclass enabled scripting language.


DC excited doubly salient variable reluctance machine has received more and more attention due to its robust rotor structure, low cost and easy heat dissipation. In this paper, a short-pitch distributed winding connection with improved fifth order harmonic is newly applied in this kind of machine to enhance the torque production. Its electromagnetic performance is analyzed by finite element analysis. The simulation results verify that compared with the traditional centralized winding distribution, the proposed winding arrangement can effectively improve the back electromotive force as well as the motor output torque density.


The peptides RP3I and PSPP1-4 were purified from the rape and the Papaver Somniferunpollens, respectively. Their sequences and physiological activities were determined and synthesized ex-cept PSPP1. The polysaccharides TAA-C and CPA-E were obtained from Typha Angustifilia andCodonopsis Pilosula pollens, respectively. Their partial characterization and structures were studied.


Combining an in-depth case study of the Italian Northern League with a comparative focus on other parties, Andrej Zaslove employs a socio-economic, institutional, and ideological analysis to argue that the new wave of right-wing parties in Western Europe converged into a radical right populist party family in the 1990s. He examines the transformation of the Northern League from its regionalist roots while focusing on the party's nationalism, authoritarianism, support for a market economy, opposition to globalization, and scepticism regarding Italian integration into the European Union. He also scrutinizes the Northern League's participation in political power between 2001 and 2006 and its influence on federalism, immigration, economic policy, and European integration. A thorough and thought-provoking work, The Re-invention of the European Radical Right offers remarkable insight into the ongoing effects of radical right populism on politics and public policy in Europe.


In lunar exploration program, there is a large temperature change on lunar surface. Cables in lunar orbiter is subject to 125 ℃ high temperature, and-180 ℃ low temperature. There is a question that, the materials used in cable assembly, such as connectors, heat-shrinkable sleevings, staking glues, can withstand the extreme temperature. Materials used in space cable assembly has been investigated, Results show that:(1) The insulation resistance of AIRBORN MM connector decreased obviously when the temperature increased to 125 ℃, but the insulating property of the J30 J connector was stable;(2) The RSG heat-shrinkable sleeving melted and stuck together in 125 ℃ high temperature;(3) Using ATUM tubing plus heat-shrinkable ribbon, or only using heat-shrinkable ribbon to deal with the forming wires in the connector back shells, could meet the requirements.


Optimal welding condition in resistance spot welding of 7075-T6 aluminum alloy sheets with the thickness of 0.4mm was investigated by the tensile-shear strength tests and Taguchi method in experimental design with changing various welding conditions respectively. The tensile-shear tests were carried out at cross-head speeds of 0.1mm/min in accordance with the KS B0851. Design methods were systematically performed using an L27(39) orthogonal array table. In the experimental design, three control factors of resistance spot welding conditions were electrode force, welding current and welding time. Electrode force conditions were 882N, 1323N and 1764N, and welding current were 13.5kA, 14kA and 14.5kA, and welding time were 3cycle, 4cycle and 5cycle.


This book will be well placed on the shelves of the many libraries faced with the complexities that information technology developments bring to the library. Giving a useful overview of library systems-from their history to current trends in the technology and marketplace that serve libraries-this book includes coverage of telecommunications, standards, planning, managing technology in libraries, system selection, and more. Specifically designed for core units in library automation and information systems, this text gives students a comprehensive overview of one of the most critical areas of library operations, and enables them to take the lead in managing the complexities that information technology brings to the library. Giving important insight into library information systems-from their history to the latest technological trends and information about the marketplace that serves libraries-this book includes coverage of standards, planning, managing technology in libraries, system selection, an


In the Inuit language, the verbalizing affixes involved in the phenomenon known as «noun incorporation» have been studied not as much for their meaning as for their morpho-syntactic status and diachronic origin. These affixes, however, present a problem for semantic description: a given form often corresponds to several lexical meanings which apparently bear no relation to one another in our Indo-European languages. Using examples taken from Tunumiisut (East Greenland dialect), the prime aim of this paper is to show that the superficial variety of the meanings is a misleading consequence of translation, which splits up the semantic unity of each form. After outlining the contents of the traditional debates about these affixes, we try to single out the true signification of some of them. We then suggest that the formal confusion of distinct verbalizing affixes can give rise to cases of remotivation on the part of the speakers. A parallel is finally drawn between the meaning of certain verbal modality affixes and the aspectual dimension conveyed by the verbalizing affixes.


There is an important kind of legal scholarship that should be done to a much greater extent than it is now. I call this type of scholarship the interdisciplinary study of legal evolution (ISLE). Its object is to understand, to predict, and to influence changes in legal rules and in the institutions that they shape. At its best, this kind of study should have four important characteristics. First, it should be more scientific in aspiration than are most historians' accounts of legal change: it should seek to identify and to test lawlike generalizations about changes in specific fields of law. Second, it should be more systematic and methodical than are many historians' accounts of legal change: a major effort should be made, in one area after another, to examine interesting legal changes by use of an identifiable set of procedures. Third, it should be more interdisciplinary than are many traditional accounts by lawyers of legal rules: it should use the concepts, data, and empirical studies supplied by the social sciences-principally by economics in many areas, but by other fields as well. Fourth, it should be more institutional and doctrinal than is some of the interesting recent theoretical work by economic analysts on the evolution of the common law: its analysis of systems of legal rules and nonlegal practices should be detailed in its attention to particular institutions and doctrines. I do not argue that this kind of study of legal change should displace other kinds of legal scholarship, that it should be regarded as the most important kind of scholarly activity for law professors, or that it would best serve some mythical "primary function" of legal scholarship. Nor do I believe that anyone is already doing it as it should be done at its best. My claim is simply that it is desirable that more and better effort be devoted to the interdisciplinary study of legal evolution. The second part of this paper argues that the scientific aspiration of ISLE is a realistic one. My suggestion is that one can identify


Based on the principles of organization learning,and combined with the practice of supplier involvement in new product development,it puts forward a conceptual model and research hypothesis on the impacts of supplier involvement in new product development on manufacturer's technology innovation capability.The result shows that supplier's capability,the quality of the relationship between manufacturer and supplier,the condition of supplier involvement in new product development,and manufacturer's organization learning all have impacts on manufacturer's technology innovation capability.At last,it provides some suggestions for manufacturers to improve their technology innovation capability through supplier involvement in new product development.


Digital Signal Processing (DSP) applications are suitable for automated library based high-level design. Strategies to generate technology independent DSP macrocell library using VHDL and its interfaced tools, are discussed with some practical examples. The main focus is in the modeling strategies and framework of the DSP macrocell library.<<ETX>>


In this study, halophilic microorganisms were isolated from different solar salterns in Sivas and characterization of these isolates based on 16S rRNA gene analysis have been performed. Isolation was done by using 5 different media prepared with different salt concentrations. 16S rRNA genes of morphologically distinct colonies were analyzed by ARDRA and restriction profiles were compared. 47 strains were selected for identification purposes. It has been determined that the isolates in the Bacteria domain are phylogenetically related to genera Idiomarina, Salinivibrio, Halomonas, Salinibacter, Gracilibacillus, Thalassobacillus, Aliifodinibius, Chromohalobacter, Planococcus, Marinobacter, Bacillus, Aquisalimonas, Marinococcus, Alkalibacillus, Kangiella and Microbulbifer. Halophilic archaeal isolates were distributed among genera Haloferax, Natrinema, Haloterrigena, Halopelagius, Halorhabdus and Haloarcula.


Objective To test the effect of EPO on anemia of preterm infant. Methods Thirty preterm infants less than 35 weeks of gestational age from three different hospitals were devided ramdomly into EPO group of 16 cases and control group of 14 cases. The infants in EPO group were received rh EPO 400 IU/(kg·d) subcutaneously twice a week for 4 weeks from 7 days old, together with oral supplementation of ferrous sulfate at a dossage of 3~5 mg/(kg·d) in both groups. Hemoglobin(Hb) and reticulocytes(Ret) were measured at 42 days of age. Results The hemoglobin was higherin the EPO group[(999±29)g/L vs (905±25)]g/L, P 0.05) on 42 days old and the Ret counts showed no significant difference(1.73±0.26 vs 1.41±0.14, P 0.05). Conclusion The is lower EPO level in prematures and efficiency of rh EPO in the treatment of anemia of preterm infants. There is no observed substantial adverse effects.


What determines health? For decades, researchers have attempted to quantify the exact contribution of social factors, such as income, education, race/ethnicity, and the community environment, to health. The motivation is simple: understanding which social factors most affect health would help prioritize societal investments in those areas. However, most efforts to precisely quantify the influence of individual social determinants of health have failed, largely because the causal pathways are numerous, interconnected, and complex. Most empirical evidence has found that social factors matter in aggregate, but quantifying their individual contributions is difficult. After decades of efforts in this area, it may be time for a new approach. The challenges posed in studying social determinants of health today are similar to the challenges in studying human genetics not long ago. In 2001, many expected that sequencing the human genome would facilitate finding the causal links between individual genes and diseases. Some proponents assumed that once these links were identified, genetically customized therapies would surely follow. However, for most diseases, that has not occurred. Most efforts to identify


A device and method for accurately measuring impedance is disclosed. An AC current generated according to the digital code of sine wave flows into a target, so an AC voltage is converted to a digitalsignal. The binary value of said digital signal is continuously multilied by the binary value of the digital codes presenting saif sine wave and a cosine wave in multilier. The products are accumulated by accumulator. The impedance of the target is then calculated on the basis of said product sum by microcomputer. Its advantage is high precision.


This paper presents a low-power CMOS thyristor based delay element for inclusion in standard cell ASIC libraries, and a reconfigurable delay element designed for reconfigurable devices. Our design is based on a basic delay element, which serves as a buffer which has been specially designed to have a fixed propagation delay. We present leakage power optimizations, which when applied to the circuit reduces the on-state leakage power consumption by more than 99%, while reducing the off-state leakage power by roughly 96%. We have created delay elements with delay lengths of 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 17 ns for inclusion in a standard cell library targeting the IBM 0.13 μm technology. The delay element is then further extended to introduce a programmability feature which allows the delay to be varied. Two reconfigurable delay elements are then added to the delay element standard cell library. The first can be configured for delays of 4, 5, or 7 ns, while the second can be programmed for delays of 9, 11, or 17 ns. Finally, potential uses of the circuits in application specific, as well as reconfigurable systems are explored.


Change of the wear resistance of a copper couple under friction during nitrogen ion implantation was investigated using tribological tests in argon atmosphere. The structural-phase state of the treated sample surface was investigated by TEM, the microhardness was determined using nanoindenter, the penetration depth of nitrogen ions was investigated by the secondary ion mass spectrometry. It was established that the high nitrogen fluencies under ion implantation increase wear resistance of a copper friction pair 1.5-4.5 times as well as the microhardness of the sample surface.


Revolution and social dislocation under the communist regimes of China and the Soviet Union, followed by the upheavals of reform and modernisation, have been experienced by Tibetan, Mongolian and Siberian people, forcibly integrated into these nation states, as conflict, violence and social disruption. This volume, bringing together case studies from throughout the region, assesses the experiences and legacies of such events. Highlighting the agency of those who shape and manipulate conflict and social order and their historical, cultural and religious resources, the contributors discuss evidence of social continuity, as well as the recreation of social order. Engaging with anthropological debates on conflict and social order, this volume provides an original comparative perspective on both Tibet and Inner Asia.


Quantum degeneracy in error correction is a feature unique to quantum error correcting codes unlike their classically counterpart. It allows a quantum error correcting code to correct errors even in cases when they can not uniquely pin point the error. Diagonal distance of a quantum code is an important parameter that characterizes if the quantum code is degenerate or not. If code has distance more than the diagonal distance then it is degenerate whereas if it is below the diagonal distance then it is nondegenerate. We show that most of the CWS codes without a cycle of length 4 attain the upper bound of diagonal distance δ+1 where δ is the minimum vertex degree of the associated graph. Addressing the question of degeneracy, we give necessary conditions on CWS codes to be degenerate. We show that any degenerate CWS code with graph G and classical code C will either have a short cycle in the graph G or will be such that the classical code C has one of the coordinates trivially zero for all codewords.


Recent demands for educational accountability and restructuring of schools in the United States have been directed at holding principals accountable for school outcomes. Unfortunately, although the number of states that mandate formal evaluation of principals has increased dramatically over the past several years, the quality of the assessments has not substantially improved. The study of principal assessment, therefore, has been slow to develop, has not experienced a high degree of systematization and has not been guided by firmly established theoretical considerations. Examines the generalizability of a leadership model using data from a recently completed study, and considers the use of this model in the development of a performance‐based evaluation approach to principal assessment.


I have always thought it somewhat of a miracle that so many acute tympanic membrane (TM) perforations heal spontaneously. Wound healing typically commences with formation of a bed of granulation with epithelial repair proceeding over the newly formed base of rich vascular tissue (1). Tympanic membrane healing, by contrast, takes place literally across thin air. It is driven by vigorous epithelial proliferation from the TM remnant, which heaps up at the margin and gradually spans across the defect. As every otologist knows, the acutely injured TM is hypervascular and swollen. Injury creates inflammation, which releases cytokines that stimulate epithelial proliferation and migration. In chronic perforation, the TM remnant is neither inflamed nor hypervascular and typically appears cold and gray (absent infection). The holy grail of TM regeneration is to recreate biologically the vigorous epithelial proliferation typical of the early postinjury condition to stimulate self-repair. In their article, ''Regenerative Treatment of Tympanic Membrane Perforation,'' the authors report complete closure of 52 or 53 chronic TM perforation using a gelfoam pledget with fibroblast growth factor and fibrin glue after simple rimming (2). Many of the closures came after a single application. The 98.1% rate of closure for even large perforations with a single application is such a remarkable result that the success rate is actually superior to that reported with microsurgical tympanoplasty. Obviously, such an astounding therapeutic result needs to be replicated in other centers. As a word of caution, use of proliferative bioactive substances in the diseased ear may have adverse consequences. As cholesteatoma is an epithelial proliferative disorder, artificial intensification of epithelial activity might aggravate the disease. The middle ear mucosa also could be stimulated by exogenous growth factor application and become hypertrophic or polypoid. Theoretically, acceleration of the cell cycle could be oncogenic. Many tumor types possess a high density of growth factor receptors, but this certainly does not necessarily imply a causative role. None of these concerns may ultimately prove problematic, but they need to be studied before widespread adaptation of this technique. Experience with other wound healing applications for growth factors (e.g., burn wound, cornea) may provide valuable insights. If these results are eventually confirmed by others, this discovery is potentially the greatest advance in otology since the invention of the cochlear implant. Not only would it obviate the need for many thousands of microsurgical procedures each year, it could bring a simple and inexpensive remedy to the many millions of patients around the world for whom capital intensive microsurgery is not available.


A system and method for the prevention of display burn-in in Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) and non-MPEG environments. In one environment, a system may include an image sampler to sample images from a decoded video stream; a static area detector to successively compare the sampled images using a pixel-wise XOR operation, where the static area detector marks an area in the compared images that appear as zero brightness; and a burn-in prevention module to apply a burn-in preventative technique for a period of time to the marked area.


Hydrocephalus arising from intraventricular septations is known as complex or loculated hydrocephalus. Many synonyms for complex hydrocephalus have been used in the literature such as compartmentalized or loculated hydrocephalus. Complex hydrocephalus remains a challenging neurosurgical problem. Definitive treatment is surgical, yet the approach remains controversial. Traditional treatment consisted of shunting, often requiring the placement of multiple shunt systems and multiple revisions (Ross et al., 1994; Schultz & Leeds 1973).


Two different methods to improve the thermal efficiency and reduce the emissions from lean-burn natural-gas fueled engines have been developed and are described in this paper. One method used a "squish-jet" combustion chamber designed specifically to enhance turbulence generation, while the second method provided a partially stratified-charge mixture near the spark plug in order to enhance the ignition of lean mixtures of natural gas and air. The squish-jet combustion chamber was found to reduce brake specific fuel consumption by up to 4.8% in a Ricardo Hydra engine, while the NO x efficiency trade-off was greatly improved in a Cummins L-10 engine. The partially stratified-charge combustion system extended the lean limit of operation in the Ricardo Hydra by some 10%, resulting in a 64% reduction in NO x emissions at the lean limit of operation. Both techniques were also shown to be effective in increasing the stability of combustion, thereby reducing cyclic variations in cylinder pressure.


An ultrasound diagnostic device of an embodiment comprises a receiving unit (22), and a change unit (23). The receiving unit (22) outputs an ultrasound receiving signal. The change unit (23) acquires, according to a change of a spatial frequency of ultrasound image data which is converted to video, a parameter group which relates to a frequency characteristic of a video conversion receiving signal which the receiving unit outputs as the ultrasound receiving signal which is used in the video conversion, and changes a central frequency and a frequency band which are used in the video conversion process for the video conversion receiving signal on the basis of the acquired parameter group.


The Advanced Circulation (ADCIRC) hydrodynamic model has been utilized to report on the tidal characteristics and asymmetry for the head Bay of Bengal region and validated against limited available observations. The study investigates spatial and temporal variability of tides using the techniques of wavelet and time‐series analysis at various locations, with special emphasis on major rivers Hooghly and Meghna. Tidal asymmetry with flood dominance was found to increase steadily upstream due to nonlinear energy transfer from principal components to higher harmonics. The low water‐levels were increased upstream implying that attenuation by frictional dissipation dominates, over amplification due to channel convergence. Shallow water and mild depth gradient were discerned to be requisite factors in generating long‐period nonlinear tides, and they have been found to amplify in concave deltaic regions where tides are funnelled. Additionally, spring‐neap variations in bottom friction caused low water‐level to occur during neap rather than spring tide along upper reaches of the tide‐dominated rivers, leading to the formation of a forced fortnightly tide. It is notable that a fortnightly tidal component manifests itself even in the absence of river discharge input, contrary to common conception, indicating that shallow water interaction and coastal geomorphology alone can cause fortnightly dominance in tidal rivers. A weak monthly tidal component was also observed in the tidal rivers and the study proposes that it originates due to frictional modulation of monthly lunar tides. Dominance and amplification of long‐period nonlinear tides in wide, convergent rivers may be attributed to resonance effects, in addition to effects of shoaling topography and convergent channel geometry.


Sponsorship is of great importance since it is the part of the promotional mix that supports the interest of the company by associating it with a specific event. Moreover, sponsorship may be th ...


In the education reform course of the late Qing Dynasty,the officers of the Qing Dynasty who went to Japan to inspect the status of the Japanese education contributed to the Education Reform greatly.They keep in mind the fond dream of educating saving the nation,keep away from China to Japan,carry out all-round observation on Japanese education,have provided large amount of data to the education reform of late Qing Dynasty.All of these have boosted the development melting of Chinese educating at the modern times to a great extent.


Different investment vehicles have different implications for individual, corporate, and tax-exempt investors. Hedge funds in particular pose significant tax considerations. In order to achieve the benefits of tax planning for U.S.-based investors, a thorough understanding of the major differences in tax treatment of three common hedge fund structures (U.S. master-feeder, offshore master-feeder, and side-by-side) and private foreign investment companies is necessary.


Chevron Nigeria Limited has most of its oil and gas exploration and production operations offshore and a smaller proportion on the swamp and on land. The Escravos tank farm is the operational headquarters for the Escravos operations which has 5 offshore living platforms and 2 living platforms on the swamp. The total average resident population on all these platforms is 260. Prior to June 1992, all ill or injured persons on any of these locations had to be flown by helicopter to the Escravos tank farm on which is located a well equipped industrial clinic. This involved a lot of flight time and lost work time and the attendant cost was high. A new system of health care delivery has now been introduced whereby a well trained and experienced nurse visits these offshore locations to attend to employees health needs right on their platforms. A staff physician also visits these locations at regular intervals. This system has been found to be cheaper, more effective and more acceptable to the employees living on these platforms. This paper describes the system of health care delivery, the commonly encountered health problems and relevant statistics. Plans to introduce a similar system to the Eastern operations of Chevron Nigeria is also discussed.


There are some weaknesses in the methods and results that could be improved to make a stronger paper. For instance, due to these simplifying assumptions, the optimized design geometries are quite surprising and raise as many questions as answers. The authors acknowledge that these are more qualitative and instructive design geometries than immediately applicable, but in that case more sensitivity studies and trade-off studies should be executed. Also, the presentation of the methods and results is fairly long winded and somewhat repetitive. Efforts could be made to tighten up the language and organization. However, instead of discussing these weaknesses in more detail, I am more concerned with the uniqueness and level of contribution of this paper.


In this article the authors consider the contradictory effects of the digitalization process of urban media environment and implementing a wide range of «smart city» technologies, namely: the rapid increase in the speed and quality of communications, on the one hand, and the possibility of establishing total digital control over all transactions and movements carried out by urban dwellers, on the other hand. Thus, the new media environment and the service infrastructure of the city form a significant potential for improving the quality of life, but at the same time significantly reduce the scope of personal freedom and the possibility of creative development. This dilemma is revealed by the authors using an example of Singapore one of the leaders in modern digital technological development. Another case considered by the authors in the article concerns the comparison of the specifics of urban digitalization policy models on the example of Moscow and St. Petersburg. The authors analyze them in the context of the new social, economic and political risks posed by the COVID 19 pandemic. The general conclusion is the need to ensure an institutional environment that reflects the new conditions of technological development and is based both on the principle of self-restriction of the technology introduction into a person's personal space and on a new «digital» ethics.


In recent years, a variety of preconditioners have been proposed for use in solving large sparse linear least-squares problems. These include simple diagonal preconditioning, preconditioners based on incomplete factorizations, and stationary inner iterations used with Krylov subspace methods. In this study, we briefly review preconditioners for which software has been made available, then present a numerical evaluation of them using performance profiles and a large set of problems arising from practical applications. Comparisons are made with state-of-the-art sparse direct methods.


How to actively respond to an aging population brought about by the old education has been a common concerned topic of the whole world.Based on the questionnaire,this paper will analyze the main problems of the modern seniors education.Reference on the marketing theory of 4Cs,it will take precautions to deal with aging in China.


This article is devoted to the consideration of the fundamentals of medical training, hygienic education of military personnel and some problematic medical issues in the Armed Forces of Russia. The objectives of the activities of the medical service for hygienic training and education of military personnel, promotion of a healthy lifestyle are: promotion of health legislation; hygienic training and education of military personnel; promotion of a healthy lifestyle, motivation of military personnel to consciously fulfill the requirements of charters, orders, guidelines aimed at maintaining and strengthening their health and physical development; improving knowledge and reinforcing practical skills in providing selfhelp and mutual assistance in injuries and diseases. The problematic issue is the insufficient number of objects of the educational material and technical base for the practical development of questions by military personnel - medical training specialists. Therefore, the heads of the medical service of the command of the branches of the Armed Forces, directorates of operational (operational-tactical) commands, formations, military units need to systematically study the state of this work and provide assistance in the creation of a training and material base. The problematic issue is the insufficient number of objects of the educational material and technical base for the practical development of issues by military personnel - medical training specialists. Therefore, the heads of the medical service of the command of the branches of the Armed Forces, the directorates of the operational (operational-tactical) commands, formations, and military units need to systematically study the state of this work and provide assistance in creating a training and material base.


The influence of the B type cation from the ABO3 perovskite formulation La0.75Sr0.25XO3 (LSX, where X is Fe, Mn or Cr) on the C and H2S tolerance and its catalytic activity for the methane/water reaction has been studied.


This paper analyses the governments' optimal tax setting if firms producing in imperfect competition are heterogeneous and mobile between countries. A model of endogenous integration strategies of these firms depending on transport costs, tax rates levied, relative sizes of fixed costs, factor price differences, relative market shares and a firm's productivity is employed to derive the governments' optimal profit tax rates, whereas a government acts as a benevolent planner. Governments tax profits to be able to finance public infrastructure, which lets transport costs decline endogenously, whereas each government does not let its national welfare decline, because of taxation. Moreover the impact of profit taxation on economic outcome and firms' integration strategies depends on the state of trade and on investments. JEL classification: F12, F23, H21, H49, I38, L22


Objective:To investigate the implementation of community health service policies in the key contact cities.Methods:The questionnaire survey was conducted in 29 cities which started the experiment in 2007 and other 7 additional cities in 2008,which including a total of 193 districts.Results:Compared with 2007,the implementation rate of major community health service policies grew in varying degrees in 2008,the pilot areas had spread and the extent had been markedly intensified.The implementation rate of eastern city was higher than in the middle and west.Some policies which reflects commonweal had lower implementation rates.Conclusions:Improving community health services quality has become the main task of the key contact cities.The implementations of policies are varied in different regions.Some city governments should strengthen their supports for community health services.


: The reflections here exposed have as their objective to examine deeply the movement which is mostly highlighted in the Brazilian legal procedure scenario: the so-called procedural instrumentality. It's not about refuting or criticizing only for criticizing the thesis that inhabit the domains of procedural instrumentality theories. We seek to remove the semantic pollution in which such theory is situated to, in so doing, foresee contributions to solve some mistakes and misunderstandings about legal procedure, having as a goal to allow the opening of a horizon in which debates could flow beyond mere effectiveness based on quantity, but also into a qualitative effectiveness marked by a seal of true democratic features.


South Norfolk Council produces the definitive guide to the best activities the district has to offer visitors, residents and community groups between May and October 2013.


A remarkable diversity of voltage‐dependent Ca2+ channels exists in the mammalian nervous system to subserve the broad and complicated roles that impulse‐generated changes in intracellular Ca2+ play in neuronal functions such as synaptic transmission, cell firing, gene expression, and related functional sequelae. A detailed understanding of how such temporally and subcellularly restricted changes in intracellular Ca2+ affect cellular and synaptic function requires selective pharmacological tools that can specifically dissect one channel apart from the operating neuron or neuronal system. A set of selective reagents currently available to the Ca2+ channel pharmacologist or physiologist has been provided by a variety of predatory animals from disparate phylogenetic origins. It is fortunate that these creatures invested in countless years of toxin engineering providing essential implements which otherwise might have been obtained only through an enormous effort on the part of current‐day scientists. This review will offer a discussion of the current understanding of the pharmacology and chemistry of important Ca2+ channel toxins in the context of the growing field of neuronal Ca2+ channel structure and function. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Community-acquired pneumonia is a major cause of the prevalence and mortality among acute infectious diseases in Buryat Republic. Assessment of medical care quality revealed ineffectiveness of pneumonia treatment resulted in late medical aid appealability of asocial alcohol abuse patients; inadequacy antibiotic therapy, inobservance standard of patient examination with pneumonia (required microbiological identification of causative agent).


Objective To preliminarily study the risk factors for gastrointestinal malignant tumors in Rong County,Sichuan Province. Methods One hundred and thirty patients diagnosed with gastrointestinal malignant tumors through gastroenterological endoscope and pathological examination between January 2008 and December 2012 were chosen as the research subjects,including 45 cases of esophageal carcinoma,60 cases of gastric carcinoma and 25 cases of intestinal carcinoma. And 400 healthy people were selected as the controls( case- control ration: 1: 3). The major risk factors were selected by univariate and multivariate conditional Logistic regression analyses. And the odds ratio( OR) and 95% confidence intereval( 95% CI) of each risk factor were estimated. Results The risk factors for gastrointestinal tumors included intake of pickled food and alcohol,family tumor history,unhealthy emotion and irregular diet habit,of which pickled food intake was the main risk factor( OR = 1.785,95% CI: 1. 287- 2. 576). Conclusions Unhealthy diet and living habit are pathogenic factors for gastrointestinal malignant tumors. It is necessary to strengthen the targeted health education and actively adopt preventive measures based on the above- mentioned risk factors.


This article discusses the theoretical approaches to understanding various schools of personality disorders caused by alcoholism and their relationship to an individual's social and psychological adaptation in the context of situational, pathopsychological and social-cultural approaches. It is proposed to investigate the personal changes caused by alcoholism as an integrative problem of social psychology, and integrative approach to the study of such similar phenomena as the at-hok theory that focuses on understanding the initiates of alcohol addiction formation in the social and cultural context, based on the researches and social-psychological study of the field (B.S.Bratus, A.V.Gogoleva, I.A.Rosovskiy, V.N.Capkin, Z.C.Muramatsu, Y.R.Wang, K.B.Fang, S.Yamada, S.Higuchi).


The medieval period is widely reported to be the darkest period for the development of knowledge in European history. The dominant influence of the religion prevailed at this time, and the Greek Scientific theories were banned and religious ideas were filled. Medieval period Islamic philosophers such as Al Hindi, Al Barabhi, Ibn Seena and Al Gashali contributed in the development of Islamic philosophy. These philosophers have acquired new discovery attempts in astronomy, cosmology, physiology and science. This made a platform for science and physiology at the later stages. In particular, their views were similar to those of the Aquinas and Anselm. The ideas of Islamic philosophers have greatly influenced in the renaissance. The role of Islamic philosophers is significant. This research focuses on this concept. Comparative and descriptive analysis methods are used in this research. This research emphases the thinking of medieval Islamic philosophers has a significant contribution to the discoveries of European renaissance.


FIBROMYOMATA are the commonest type of new growth found in the uterus. It has been computed that one out of every 5 females of the human species, of reproductive age, has uterine fibroids. The complications and secondary changes to which these tumours are liable, irrespective of whether they are of common or rare occurrence, are all well described in the standard textbooks. Mention is made of the possibility that the blood vessels connected with these tumours may be abnormal in structure and distribution, rendering them liable to rupture, usually as a result of traumatism and, rarely, spontaneously. Hasskarl (1949) reports the only case in the surgical files at the Mayo Clinic, and states that, all told, there are less than 60 cases that have been reported, since Rokitansky (1861) first recorded the postmortem findings in the case of a girl who had died as a result of this condition. Lockyer (I~IS), describing internal haemorrhage from inyoma, states that it has been recorded by Kokitansky, Spencer, Bruce Clarke, Stein, Gusscrvio, Zweifel, and Cullen, and that this occurs from the large veins which spread themselves over the surface of "parasitic" myomas, and which are liable to becomc: varicose, and possess, at best, only very thin walls. After excluding cases where the intraperitoneal haemorrhage resulted from rupture of the vessels in the pedicle of twisted uterine fibroids, Hasskarl was able to include in his review only 50 cases. Although the greatest number of patients belonged, as might be expected, to the later reproductive years of life, most of the patients were multiparous women. Brunner (1910) collected 10 cases, and appears to be one of the few who has made the correct pre-operative diagnosis, which was made only 4 times in the 50 cases. Other diagnoses arrived at, apart from intraperitoneal haemorrhage, were ruptured ectopic pregnancy, torsion of pedunculated fibroid or ovarian cyst, haemorrhage into a cyst, acute appendicitis, ruptured peptic ulcer, and ruptured spleen. Considering the high incidence of these turnours and their well-known potentialities for grossly disturbing the normal anatomy and vascular arrangements of the pelvis it is rather surprising that such vascular catastrophes have not more frequently been reported. I would therefore like to report z cases in which severe intraperitoneal haemorrhage resulted from the spontaneous rupture of coronary veins on the surface of uterine fibroids and gave rise in each case to a " surgical emergency."


There is much excitement among biologists and statisticians regarding new high-dimension data sets that have arisen from the application of microarray technology. In statistics, there has been a flurry of activity surrounding the development of new methods for the analysis of such data, and


Ontological security studies (OSS) in International Relations (IR) emphasize the role of identity, anxiety, and a sense of self in world politics. Yet suggesting that states act in certain ways because of 'who they are' also assumes that they are in fact states. In this article, I problematize the presupposition of state subjects in the context of separatist conflicts in which claims to statehood compete and overlap. Where unrecognized de facto states are pitted against their unyielding parent states, the two threaten each other's very state personhood, thereby presenting a more radical challenge to their existence than traditional 'physical' and 'ontological' security threats. Separatist conflicts thus reveal a widely overlooked dimension of fundamental ontological security, provided by the constitution and recognition of states as such. Moreover, because of the exclusiveness of state subjects in the modern international order, any third parties attempting to resolve such conflicts inevitably face a meta-security dilemma whereby reassuring one side by confirming its claim to statehood simultaneously renders the other side radically insecure. Thus, rather than regarding particular state subjects as merely the starting point of quests for ontological security in international relations, they should also be understood as already their result.


Daily management of student is of great significance in improving the higher education level,and its quality will have a direct impact on the college students' quality and higher education.Thus,the student management workers should be fully aware of the importance of this work,and strive to improve the quality of work.Based on the analysis of the value of daily management of students in higher education,this paper put forward countermeasures to strengthen the daily management of college students.


An institution in carrying out its activities, whether a company or government engaged in administration and management as well as services will strive for the success of various activities within the company / government in achieving goals not only depending on technological excellence, available funds, facilities and infrastructure and experience, personality, attitudes and expectations, but also depends on aspects of human resources. The General Bureau has a reliable commitment and purpose in the field of service in seeking and creating success and success for Motivation in an effort to improve employee performance in the Household Section of the General Bureau. The facts found in employee behavior If expectations can come true, employees will tend to increase their work enthusiasm, on the other hand, if expectations are not achieved, employees will become lazy.
The objectives of this study are (1) to identify and analyze motivation in an effort to improve employee performance at the Household Section of the Aceh Regional Secretariat General Bureau, and (2) to identify and analyze supporting and inhibiting factors of motivation in an effort to improve employee performance in the Household Section Aceh Regional Secretariat General Bureau.
In this study, the researcher used a qualitative approach with the selection of informants deliberately on the types and sources of data needed. The data collection technique uses (a) direct observation (b) interviews (c) documentation, then the analysis is carried out interactively, while the technical process of data analysis in this study is analysis using an interactive model through 3 (three) components of the analysis, namely data reduction, presentation of data, drawing conclusions.
The results showed that work experience as knowledge and skills of a person in his job which can be measured from the work period. Personality can be assumed about the quality of human behavior in adapting to and interacting with their environment. The attitude that a person has is a link or a unity in determining his attitude and behavior
Based on the results of the research above, it can be concluded that with the motivation given by the head of the General Bureau of Household to employees so that employee performance can be increased and if less motivation given by the leadership is greatly affected by performance.


Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) is a progressive disorder characterized by endothelial dysfunction and proliferation. Hypoxia induces PH by increasing vascular remodeling. A potential mediator in hypoxia‐induced PH development is 5‐Lipoxygenase (ALOX5). While ALOX5 metabolites have been shown to promote pulmonary vasoconstriction and endothelial cell proliferation, the contribution of ALOX5 to hypoxia‐induced proliferation remains unknown. We hypothesize that hypoxia exposure stimulates HPAEC proliferation by increasing ALOX5 expression and activity. Human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (HPAEC) were cultured under normoxic (21% O2) or hypoxic (1% O2) conditions for 24‐, 48‐, or 72 hours. In a subset of cells, the ALOX5 inhibitor, zileuton, was administered during hypoxia exposure. Cells were then harvested to assess ALOX5 expression via qRT‐PCR and western blot. HPAEC proliferation was assessed using an MTT assay and PCNA Western analysis. Our studies demonstrate that 24‐ and 48 hours of hypoxia exposure have no effect on HPAEC proliferation or ALOX5 expression. Seventy two hours of hypoxia significantly increases HPAEC ALOX5 expression and HPAEC proliferation. Zileuton administration attenuates hypoxia‐induced HPAEC proliferation. These studies indicate that hypoxia exposure induces HPAEC proliferation by activating the ALOX5 pathway.


As-grown ZnO:In crystalline plates demonstrate strong near-band-edge emission related to exciton recombination (380 nm — free excitons; 395 and 406 nm — excitons localized in the impurity centers). Fabry-Perot mode structure is observed for last two bands. Dramatically increasing narrow line (396 nm, Δλ ∼ 3.3 nm) is connected with EHP recombination.


Frequency-domain electromagnetic instruments allow, also because of their handy sizes, the collection of data in different configuration, i.e. varying the inter-coil spacing, the frequency, and the height above the ground. This makes these tools very practical for the characterization of the near surface in many fields of applications (e.g., precision agriculture, pollution assessments, shallow geological investigations). To this end, the inversion of either the in-phase or the quadrature component of the signal has been already studied. Furthermore, in some occasion not enough attention is paid to the a priori information available on the solution, and a smoothness condition is blindly imposed to regularization techniques, regardless of the solution properties. The present work discusses an algorithm for the inversion of the complex signal in its entirety, as well as a regularization method promoting the sparsity of the reconstructed electrical conductivity distribution. This regularization strategy incorporates a minimum gradient support stabilizer into a truncated generalized singular value decomposition scheme. The results of the implementation of this sparse regularization at each step of a damped Gauss-Newton inversion algorithm (based on a nonlinear forward model) are compared against the associated solutions obtained via a, more standard, smooth stabilizer. Moreover, we also study the depth of investigation (DOI) in order to provide an estimation of the maximun depth that can be investigated. The effectiveness and limitations of the whole inversion algorithm are demonstrated on synthetic datasets.


A reconfigurable WDM network, introduced as a new optical layer in present network hierarchy, has been demonstrated in the Stockholm Gigabit Network by the European RACE-MWTN consortium. New optical network elements, OXC and OADM, have been developed together with associated photonic technologies. The development also includes a management system that conforms to the standardized Telecommunication Management Network architecture.


Background:  Intrathecal analgesia (ITA) is effective in late, rapidly progressing labour. In 1998, our hospital implemented the use of single‐shot spinal block for pain relief in multiparous parturients. As part of a quality assurance programme, we assessed the analgesic efficacy, obstetric and neonatal outcomes and maternal satisfaction after this form of analgesia now in routine use in our labour ward.


Objective To observe the influence of circumferential pulmonary vein isolation(CPVI) on P-wave polarity and amplitude and to investigate whether the changes of P-wave are associated with patient outcomes after initial CPVI.Methods Fifty patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation(AF) underwent CPVI.For each patient,electrocardiograph(ECG) recordings were taken before and 7 days after ablation.The P-wave polarities and amplitudes were analyzed.Successful CPVI was defined as freedom of symptomatic and asymptomatic AF at the end of two consecutive follow-ups.Results The amplitude of positive P-wave was significantly decreased in the leads of Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,aVF,V5,and V6 after ablation(P0.05).The amplitude of negative P-wave was significantly decreased in the leads of aVR and aVF after ablation(P0.05).The total amplitude of P-wave was significantly decreased in the leads of Ⅰ,Ⅱ,aVR,V5 and V6 after ablation(P0.05).The negative P-wave in the lead of Ⅲ and the positive P-wave in the lead of aVL were increased after ablation.The amplitudes of negative,positive and total P-waves before and after ablation were not significantly different between successful CPVI(n=39) and failure CPVI(n=11) groups.Conclusion CPVI can result in noticeable reduction of P-wave amplitude in several leads of ECG,indicating the reduction of left atrial electric capacity.The changes of P-wave polarity indicate a P-wave vector shift.The reduction degree of P-wave amplitude has no predictive value for the success or failure of CPVI.


The capacity of genotype to produced different phenotypes is denominated Phenotypic Plasticity (PP). The present study evaluates the PP during the vegetative ontogeny in two species of the family Verbenaceae, Lippia albawhich occurs in favorable habitats and


This study seeks to understand the boundary conditions and successful application of search processes in the entrepreneurial problem space. To this end, we employ an agent-based simulation approach to formally investigate the influence of environmental isotropy, unpredictability, and goal ambiguity on two distinct search processes, one prediction-based and one control-based. Specifically, we investigate the performance of effectuation as an example of non-predictive, control-based search and causation as an example of prediction-based search. Results enhance theory by revealing a more nuanced relationship between the environment and entrepreneurial search than previous conceptual and empirical work has suggested.


The emergence of resistant bacteria has become a worldwide threat. Multidrug resistant bacteria are globally spread. Several studies were p formed to detect new resistant organisms and als o the genes which are responsible for their resistance. C arbapenem resistance is considered the most dangero us resistance. In this study, we detect the presence o f arbapenem resistant bacteria (CRB) in Egypt. Thi s may cause un-treatable epidemic if its organization is eglected. This study distinguished the pathogens t hat are carbapenemase producing due to the presence of blaNDM gene. The results detected the presence of CRB stains such as Klebsiella sp., Pseudomonas sp., Citrobacter sp., Enterobacter sp., Acinetobacter sp. and E. coli. As a result from this study, it is now proved tha t there are CRB in Egypt, thus it must be given a g reat consideration and must be managed.


In this study, three different concentration of organic loading rate (OLR) were investigated to examine the effect of the change in the organic loading rate on the efficiency of the biogas production. Daily amount of biogas of different type of organic loading rate (OLR), rates of production of biogas, removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total solid (TS) matter, volatile solids (VS) matter from the slurry were investigated in 30 days retention tyme using 50 L digester. The digester was operated at different organic feeding rates of 25000 mg/L COD, 50000 mg/L COD, and 75000 mg/L COD. The material used in this system is the fruits waste, vegetables waste and cow dung. The system operated in continuous system. The reactor showed stable performance with the highest quality of methane (concentration about70.3% of CH4) and rate of biogas production is 38.1 L/day with COD reduction of 52.1% during organic loading rate 50000 mg/L COD. As the organic loading rate was increased, the COD degradation and biogas yield decreased. Based on this result, the OLR of 50000 mg/L COD is suggested as design criteria for pilot biogas production.


The conventional fusion welding process is not suitable for welding aluminium alloys because welding defects such as secondary brittle phase, porosity, and cracks can easily form during the solidification process of the aluminium alloy. Friction stir welding (FSW) is a new solid-state welding process suitable for joining similar and dissimilar materials, especially aluminium alloys. The study of the FSW parameters and their effects on weld quality and joint performance is very important to develop a comprehensive understanding of the fundamentals of microstructural evolution during FSW treatment. The effects of FSW parameters, such as rotation speeds and welding speed, on the microstructure and mechanical behaviour of FSW-welded 5A06 aluminium alloy joints were investigated. The results show that the rotation speed is the key factor that can play an important role in determining the defects and homogeneity of the weld microstructure. The study of the mechanical properties and electrochemical corrosion performances on the FSW joint shows that the fine and uniform weld microstructure formed at a rotation speed of 900 rpm has positive potential, lower corrosion current density and higher tensile strength than the FSW joint with 300 and 600 rpm rotation speed. The FSW parameters play an important role in determining the corrosion and mechanical behaviours and microstructure homogeneity.


This paper considers the pricing of the CatEPut option (catastrophe equity put option) in a mixed fractional model in which the stock price is governed by a mixed fractional Brownian motion (mfBM model), which manifests long-range correlation and fluctuations from the financial market. Using the conditional expectation and the change of measure technique, we obtain an analytical pricing formula for the CatEPut option when the short interest rate is a deterministic and time-dependent function. Furthermore, we also derive analytical pricing formulas for the catastrophe put option and the influence of the Hurst index when the short interest rate follows an extended Vasicek model governed by another mixed fractional Brownian motion so that the environment captures the long-range dependence of the short interest rate. Based on the numerical experiments, we analyze quantitatively the impacts of different parameters from the mfBM model on the option price and hedging parameters. Numerical results show that the mfBM model is more close to the realistic market environment, and the CatEPut option price is evaluated accurately.


An attempt was made in this experimental investigation to recycle wood waste. Concrete-containing wood aggregate in percentages of 0, 15, 20 and 25 in place of crushed stone was developed with a characteristic compressive strength of 25 MPa, with a mix proportion of 1:1.26:2.76 and with water/cement ratio of .45. One hundred and twenty specimens were cast and tested to evaluate the strength and durability properties of concrete. The performance of wood aggregate concrete was compared with control concrete that contained only crushed stone aggregate. The compressive strength of control concrete was 31.40 MPa and that of wood aggregate concrete with 15% replacement level was 32.36 MPa which is 3.06% above the control concrete. Split tensile strength of 15% replaced wood aggregate concrete was 2.25 MPa as against a value of 2.05 MPa for control concrete registering an increase of 9.75%. The flexural strength of control concrete was 2.49 MPa and that of concrete containing 15% wood aggregate was 2.51 MPa which was .80% higher than the control concrete. The weight loss of wood aggregate concrete with 15% replacement level under acid attack was 30.38% greater than the control concrete. Under alkaline attack, the weight loss of wood aggregate concrete with 15% replacement level registered an increase of 9.72% over control concrete. Therefore, wood aggregate can be used in the production of concrete, and the optimum replacement was found to be 15% from all considerations.


For improving map-matching accuracy in cities having dense overpasses,the paper proposed a map-matching algorithm based on cloud model.This approach established a map-matching model by establishing cloud rules and reasoning with uncertainty based on cloud model.The cloud model integrated fuzziness with randomness of qualitative concept so as to overcome the subjective randomness in fuzzy membership grade when being determined.The simulation results,taking road network in the city as example,illustrated that higher accuracy was obtained.


A Hyperbolic Shear Deformation Theory (HPSDT) taking into account transverse shear deformation effects, is used for the static flexure analysis of thick isotropic beams. The displacement field of the theory contains two variables. The hyperbolic sine function is used in the displacement field in terms of thickness coordinate to represent shear deformation. The transverse shear stress can be obtained directly from the use of constitutive relations, satisfying the shear stress-free boundary conditions at top and bottom of the beam. Hence, the theory obviates the need of shear correction factor. Governing differential equations and boundary conditions of the theory are obtained using the principle of virtual work. General solutions of thick isotropic simply supported, cantilever and fixed beams subjected to uniformly distributed and concentrated loads are obtained. Expressions for transverse displacement of beams are obtained and contribution due to shear deformation to the maximum transverse displacement is investigated. The results of the present theory are compared with those of other refined shear deformation theories of beam to verify the accuracy of the theory.