The rise of GPUs as accelerators is reasoned by the claim for power efficient architectures. Despite their remarkable performance while being still power efficient, the main bottleneck of distributed GPU computing remains communication. A hybrid model is required, because the CPU is used to handle communication. Besides performance aspects, this also adds complexity and makes programming even more difficult. Furthermore this affects energy consumption negatively, as either communication models don't match the GPU architecture, or communication is off-loaded to the CPU which prevents it from entering power


This study investigates the relevance of net financial expenses with respect to equity valuation. According to the residual earnings valuation model, income related to balance sheet items that are recorded at fair value is not applicable for valuation purposes. In this study, according to empirical findings and use of fair value accounting, two hypotheses formulated to investigate if there is a significance relevance between the financial expenses, equity valuation, and market prices of stocks that. The statistical samples are accepted companies in stock exchange from 1384 to 1391. 180 companies are chosen with systematic and purposeful omits. To test the hypothesis sizes and analyzing the data Correlation and multivariate regressions tests, SPSS, Kadal and Rah Avard Novin are used. Conclusion suggests that financial expenses and equity valuation influence the shareholders reactions on company's stock returns. In accordance with the contention that under IFRS, aggregate net financial liabilities are recorded at a book value that is close to fair value. Keywords: Net financial expenses, Residual earnings, Operating income, Equity valuation, Fair value accounting.


A hydroethanolic extract of Bacopa monnieri (BM HE-ext) was examined in comparison with morphine and diclofenac for antinociceptive activity in the acetic acid induced abdominal constriction assay and the hot plate test in mice. Morphine and BM HE-ext produced dose-related activity which was naloxone-reversible in both tests. Diclofenac effects were dose dependent only in the abdominal constriction assay and they were not naloxone-reversible at a higher dose. The BM HE-ext antinociception was opioidergic in nature and most likely a manifestation of activity against both tonic and acute phasic pain modalities in each of these nociceptive paradigms.


Dating back to the 1980s,task-based English learning,is applied to forty percent of Harvard and Stanford courses which place emphasis on cultivating students' capability.Professor Xia Jimei from Faculty of English Education Sun Yat-sen University,has been applying task-based English learning to her practical teaching for years,achiving favorable teaching effects.The task-based English learning improves students' self-study ability,cooprative ability,exploits their potential,and finds a solution to teachers' self-develepment.If implemented in the applied courses of Higher Vocational College,it will be feasible and significant.


Introduction. Free trade zone with EU brings Ukraine benefits, and at the same time it requires changes in Ukrainian legislation concerning trade and other related issues. Changes are expected not only for Ukraine but also for European coun tries. The challenges of today for them are: socio economic development of their countries and preservation of ecological ba lance between humans and environment [1]. To conduct the study, we took two domestic coal mining companies located in the cities of Snizhne and Torez, Donetsk region. They are: the Udarnik coal mine, seam open vertical shaft 612 meters deep, and the Progress coal mine, seam open vertical shaft 1,294 m in depth [6]. Domestic accounting has to reflect the information from coal mining enterprises clearly and concretely; a new segment has to be introduced into social accounting aimed at a better transformation, keeping in mind European countries. The purpose of the research, the results of which are presented in the paper, is to reveal the problems of accounting and analytical tools and cost management auditing at coal mining enterprises in the context of Ukraine's European integration. Results. The first problem that concerns accounting and analytical tools and cost management auditing is the lack of compliance between the National Accounting Standards (NAS) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and in particular, in the absence of the equivalent of national standard N16 «Costs» in IFRS. Another problem of accounting and analytical tools and cost management auditing is the need for establishing an accounting policy taking into consideration mining and geological conditions of a coal mining enterprise. The third problem of accounting and analytical tools and cost management auditing of coal mining enter prises lies in the need for conducting socially responsible activities and in the absence of the cost accounting system for this activity. Conclusions. It is feasible to introduce a research work of costs, and in particular their acknowledgement and estima tion, as they are an integral part of the entrepreneurial activities. The problem of taking into account mining and geological con ditions in the accounting policy can be solved if each coal mining enterprise that makes an accounting policy would reflect its income and expenditure more accurately and in more details, while the national legislation should settle the issue of accoun ting with regard to coal mining in general. It is necessary to introduce and develop the accounting system and information pre sentation of costs spent on socially responsible activities of coal mining enterprises in their financial records, including envi ronmental restoration.


Rice pre-harvest sprouting affects yield and reduces quality of rice.Breeding rice varieties of pre-harvest sprouting tolerance is one of the most effective ways to solve pre-harvest sprouting.The paper reviews the main factors that affect the rice pre-harvest sprouting and seed dormancy,including seed maturity,alpha-amylase activity,endogenous hormones,soluble sugar,temperature,and humidity.In addition,the pre-harvest sprouting and dormancy related QTLs were summarized and analyzed in order to provide a reference for breeding rice varieties resistant to pre-harvest sprouting.


Children's online behavior is influenced by several different factors. Among these factors parental mediation is extremely important. Several researches have tried to give evidence over the influence of different parental mediation strategies on children's online behavior. Analyzing the EU Kids Online survey results for Spain, this article gives evidence over the implementation of different parental mediation strategies and tries to explore the influence of three factors –such as use of the internet, educational level and socio economic status– on the number and type of mediation parents apply on their child.


ABSTRACT Environmental factors which influence reading performance of disabled readers are explored. The author first surveyed related literature and selected the following significant environmental factors: self-esteem, parental attitudes and behavior, and overt classroom behavior of children, ages 7 to 12. The Parent Attitude Research Instrument, Parent Interview Form, Self-Esteem Inventory, Soares and Soares Self-Concept Instruments, and Children's Behavior Questionnaire were then selected to measure each of these factors. The instruments were assessed, and it was found that they could be used within a reading improvement program to add to a diagnostic battery of tests to give evidence on environmental factors


Nine new ent-kauranoids, sculponins D-L (1-9), and 14 known diterpenoids (10-23) were isolated from the aerial parts of Isodon sculponeatus. The structures of the new diterpenoids were determined by detailed interpretation of their 1D and 2D NMR spectra and HRESIMS. The isolated compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against a small panel of human cancer cell lines.


Natural cilia are hair-like microtubule-based structures that are able to move fluid at low Reynolds number through asymmetric motion. In this paper we follow a biomimetic approach to design artificial cilia lining the inner surface of microfluidic channels with the goal to propel fluid. The artificial cilia consist of polymer films filled with magnetic nanoparticles. The asymmetric, non-reciprocating motion is generated by tuning an external magnetic field. To obtain the magnetic field and associated magnetization local to the cilia we solve the Maxwell equations, from which the magnetic torques can be deduced. To obtain the ciliary motion we solve the dynamic equations of motion which are then fully coupled to the fluid dynamic equations that describe fluid flow around the cilia. By doing so we show that by properly tuning the applied magnetic field, asymmetric ciliary motion can be generated that is able to propel fluid in a microchannel. The results are presented in terms of three dimensionless parameters that fully delineate the asymmetry and cycle time as a function of the relative contribution of elastic, inertial, magnetic and viscous fluid forces.


Fe3O4 Nanoparticles produce stable self-assembly film with cationic diazoresin (DR) on silicon surface, after reduction of Fe3O4 the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were grown on the silicon substrate via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. The Fe3O4 nanoparticles capped with polyacrylic acid (PAA) can avoid the aggregation of the nanoparticles effectively as well as improving the efficiency of the self-assembly. As a result the thin films with evenly distributed Fe3O4 nanoparticles and the nanotubes uniformly distributed on Si substrate were obtained.


This study examines the low-frequency noise characteristics of the 2,7-dioctyl[1] benzothieno[3,2-b][1] benzothiophene organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) having a CYTOP dielectric layer. Specifically, the fabricated OTFT exhibits 1/f noise, and its behavior is explained via a carrier number fluctuation model. Additionally, the volume trap density (NT) of the gate dielectric is quantitatively evaluated and compared with its counterpart having SiO2 dielectric layer. The analysis of the results shows that the hydrophilic entities of the dielectric layer strongly influence the NT, while the CYTOP having hydrophobic properties provides less NT than that of SiO2.


This article deals with the importance of the epistolary exchange between Leibniz and Fontenelle. Our knowledge of their correspondence is still incomplete, but Fontenelle's critics emphasize the importance of his relationship with Leibniz. Despite no complete edition of the Leibniz-Fontenelle correspondence having yet been published, it is possible to consult the original manuscripts in Bodemann's collection. The Ritter-Katalog includes four of Leibniz's unpublished letters and different versions of an important letter written on 7 April 1703. The article deals with these unpublished manuscripts, in particular on two of them, which provide important information. The first, dated 6 January 1703 and never previously analyzed, reveals a fundamental engagement with metaphysical issues through focusing on the notion of substance, the laws of motion and related problems. The second, dated 7 April 1703 and in three different unpublished versions, continues his detailed and intense discussion of motion. The unpublished manuscripts show the difficulties faced by Leibniz in the draft texts and the importance he attached to Fontenelle's opinion given that he sent him the texts on his metaphysics and dynamics.


Stress wave theory is applied to open-ended pipe piles to clarify the effects of soil plug on the behaviour of piles during driving and static loading. Measured field data and various numerical models are reviewed ; methods are presented to calculate wave propagation in both the pile and the soil plug ; modelling is presented which takes into account the interaction between the soil plug and the pile ; also presented is simplified method to estimate the loadsettlement relation of the pipe pile in static loading. By correlating observed and calculated values in two analytical cases, the authors demonstrate that incorporation of the soil plug (modelled as a series of masses and springs) is required to correctly predict pile behaviour during driving and static loading.


Along with the rapid technological developments led to more effective and efficient processing machinery in producing goods and services but the bad news of the sector is the waste and pollution it produces. Pollutants from settlements and industries can cause water quality degradation, causing distress and disturbance to the ecosystem. Water quality evaluation has a critical role in environmental management and decision-making, gives a scientific principle to protect water resources. Therefore, this study explores ANFIS-CSO for classification of water river basin. This study demonstrated that ANFIS-CSO technique is effective for water river classification. On the basis of analysis, the results verify that the ANFIS-CSO achieved high accuracy for solving problems of water river quality classification.


The maximum-penalized-likelihood estimation for hidden Markov models with general observation densities is described. All statistical inference, including the model estimation, testing, and selection, is based on the restricted optimization of the penalized likelihood function with respect to the chosen model family. The method is used in an economic application, where stock market index returns are modeled with hidden Markov models. Special emphasis is placed on modeling isolated outliers in the data, which has usually been ignored in previous research. The chosen model fits the data well, and is capable of modeling the outliers as well as a structural change in the series.


"Be brave, believe in your idea!" That's the advice that Moritz Lechner has for colleagues who want to set up their own companies. In 1998 Lechner, then a particle physicist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ), and Felix Mayer, a semiconductor physicist at the ETHZ, set up a company called Alpha Sensors. Now called Sensirion, the company employs 27 staff and sells high-tech sensors to customers that range from the automotive industry to the medical sector. Lechner and Mayer plan to float the company on the stock market in the next four or five years.


Introduction The tannin bioassay is widely used to evaluate the effects of tannins on the rumen fermentation. To attenuate the tannin interference, polyethylene glycol (PEG) is used as binding compound. In presence of PEG, the complex formed by tannins and feed nutrients is broken and a new complex, more stable, is formed by PEG and tannins. Another compound used as binding compound is the polyvinyl polypyrrolidone (PVPP). The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of addition of binding compounds on the degradability results of the gas production bioassay for tannins.


in 1974 and again here in Siena 14 years ago at the 750th Anniversary of the founding of the University on which occasion he received an honourary degree. He had then just published his Ricardo's Economics, the third of a trio of brilliant studies (the first and second devoted to Walras and Marx) revealing in Ricardo's Principles a general-equilib rium system with a basis in marginalist concepts, and conversely how much of Ricardian growth theory was to be found in Walras's analysis of «the laws of the variation of prices in a progressive economy». Of high importance for me was the fact that by Michio's mathematical method and my more prosaic exegetical approach, we had arrived, broadly speaking, at the same interpretation of Ricardo and his place in the history of economics. I must admit that having so powerful an ally in the face of considerable opposition has proven to me a great comfort. It was then with a sense of deep appreciation towards Michio that I accepted with alacrity, indeed with joy, the invitation to give the


The word 'meme' was coined by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book 'The Selfish Gene,' as an attempt to explain the way cultural information spreads. A meme acts as a unit to carry cultural ideas, symbols or practices that can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena within a mimic theme.
Memes started on the Internet in 1996 with the first-ever viral sensation of a baby dancing on 'cha-cha-cha' ( 3D dancing baby). With its growing popularity, it has become a means of influencing the mindsets of people who view, follow and share these memes. Memes have a potential to focus on real-world issues which when consumed by a user influences them to share it further thus leading to its large consumption. Memes can be denoted as; 'Amplification by Simplification' which basically mean they have a potential to condense a complex political fact into a powerful, brief and an effective way which engages a large audience.  Hence, it is becoming a powerful tool for communication.


A new lightweight gas-particle mixture generator for fire-extinguishing purposes is designed such as to keep the generator and aerosol temperatures low by including a Phase Change Materials (PCM) component. The new generator performances have been studied experimentally and compared to the corresponding performances of a traditional design. The temperature evolution profiles of this gas-particle mixture generator, operating pressure, mass flow rate and the total discharge weight, were characterized experimentally. The re-design, resulted in 30% decrease in the total weight, a significant decrease of the wall operation temperature and also a decrease of the generated aerosol temperature. Therefore, this concept shows a promising alternative.


We congratulate Saunte DML et al for their informative article that threw light on the pattern of utilization of diagnostic modalities among 62 dermatologists while managing superficial fungal infections.1 In response, we would like to share the key findings from an online survey conducted amongst 1041 North Indian dermatologists regarding the disease burden and management of dermatophytosis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


nematicide, D-D(1,2-dichloropropane1,3dichloropropene), resulted in the greatest flowering with the controls giving the lowest (Table 2). The less effective nematicide, ethoprop (O-ethyl S,S-dipropyl phosphorodithioate), had an intermediate effect on flowering. In these tests, flowering was positively correlated with yield and negatively related to soil nematode populations and root-gall indices (Table 3). Infection by Meloidogyne species can have an important impact on the phenology of flue-cured tobacco. Flowering is delayed under moderate infection levels or completely suppressed by high nematode infection. The tobacco cyst nematode, Globodera solanacearum, also delays flowering of flue-cured tobacco in Virginia (John Riley and Dean Komm, pers. comm.). LITERATURE CITED


As mentioned above, the aim of the paper to paint a broad picture of the multimedia, and information technology based teaching and learning systems in the Rep. of Maldives. While the utilisation of such systems is still in its infancy stages, it is envisioned that will drastically change in the coming years as improvements in infrastructures, reduction in access costs and availability of skilled personnel become favourable.


Lower-extremity peripheral arterial disease is an important manifestation of systemic atherosclerosis that is associated with markedly increased rates of cardiovascular ischemic events and death.1 ...


Both the net linear momentum and the net angular momentum of a developing swirling flow can play important parts in determining its ultimate form. To illustrate this the turbulent wake with both axial and swirl components of mean velocity is discussed, in particular for the two limiting cases of domination by linear momentum and domination by angular momentum. The dual conservation of axial and angular momentum implies that in general the mean swirl component decreases more rapidly downstream than does the defect in the mean axial velocity. Hence wakes with non-zero momentum flux ultimately have the familiar length scale $\sim Z^{\frac{1}{3}$ and velocity defect scale $\sim Z^{-\frac{2}{3}$. But in the wake of a self-propelled body the net drag is negligible and a swirl-dominated development can persist with length scale $\sim Z^{\frac{1}{4}$ and swirl velocity scale $\sim Z^{-\frac{3}{4}$.


In this interactive session, three educators combine their experiences and scholarship to share approaches that will give life to the integration of ethics and humane values in teaching. The presenters will introduce practical methods for creating a course that fosters ethical inquiry, exposes students to business challenges through pedagogical activities, engages students in the greater community, and invites students to envision an organizational culture in which human dynamics such as forgiveness, wisdom, gratitude, and love play a central role.  Come prepared to share your experiences in developing student voice about ethics and values issues in the classroom and community.


There are two types of registered trademarks in Europe – those that are registered nationally and have only national effect and those that are registered at a European Union (EU) level and have EU-wide effect. The legal framework governing each of these has remained largely unchanged since the first was harmonised nationally throughout the EU in the early 1990s and the latter started officially to accept filings on 1 April 1996. Both aspects of this framework are now set to be revised following the recent publication by the European Commission of its proposals for so doing. These proposals provide an opportunity to review the progress of the EU trademark system to date.


Aim. Study of clinical and psychopathological characteristics in women with sexual dysfunctions and mental disorders of the psychotic level.
Material and methods. Clinical-psychopathological and sexological methods were used in the work. The results were processed using the licensed program Statistica 10.0 for Windows. At the first stage, 134 women (mean age 43.115.3 years) were examined who had inpatient treatment in the department for persons with non-psychotic mental disorders. At the second stage, the study involved 89 women (mean age 35.212.2 years), who were diagnosed with sexual dysfunctions.
Results. Clinical and psychopathological indicators were studied, clinical, psychopathological and sexological analysis of sexual dysfunctions in women with non-psychotic mental disorders was carried out, taking into account the diagnostic criteria of the International Classification of Diseases-10. Three groups of patients were identified: (1) a group of women with sexual dysfunctions caused by non-psychotic mental disorders; (2) a group of patients in whom non-psychotic mental disorders were formed against the background of primary sexual pathology; (3) a group of patients in whom non-psychotic mental disorders accompany sexual dysfunctions.
Conclusions. Sexual disorders in the studied groups are characterized by the predominance of libido disorder in the first group and the second group, as well as the predominance of dyspareunia in the third. There were no significant differences in the duration of sexual dysfunctions in the groups, which must be taken into account when choosing therapeutic and rehabilitation measures.


We quantified primary volatiles in comet C/2009 Pl (Garradd) through pre- and post-perihelion observations acquired during its apparition in 2011-12 [1,2,3]. Detected volatiles include H2O, CO, CH4, C2H2, C2H6, HCN, NH3, H2CO, and CH3OH. We present production rates and chemical abundance ratios (relative to water) for all species, and I-D spatial profiles for multiple primary volatiles. We discuss these findings in the context of an emerging taxonomy based on primary volatiles in comets [4]. We used three spectrometer/telescope combinations. On UT 20ll August 7 (Rh 2.4 AU) and September 17-21 (Rh 2.0 AU), we used CRIRES at ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) [1]. On September 8 and 9 (Rh 2.1 AU), we used NIRSPEC at Keck-2 and CSHELL at IRTF [2]. Using NIRSPEC on October 13 and 2012 January 08 (Rh 1.83 and 1.57 AU, respectively), we detected nine primary volatiles pre-perihelion, and six post-perihelion [3]. CO was enriched in Garradd while C2H2 was strongly depleted. C2H6 and CH3OH displayed abundances close to those measured for the majority of Oort cloud comets observed to date. The high fractional abundance of CO identifies comet C12009 P1 as a CO-rich comet. Spatial profiles revealed notable differences among individual primary species. Given the relatively large heliocentric distance of C/2009 Pl, we explored the effect of water not being fully sublimated within our field of view and we identi$, the "missing" water fraction needed to reconcile the retrieved abundance ratios with the mean values found for "organics-normal" comets.


In order to evaluate the effect of prolonged physical activity on the adrenal cortex we have measured the plasma blood level of dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), androstenedione (A) and cortisol (C) in ten moderately trained male subjects an hour before and 5-10 minutes after an hour of swimming. Mean plasma levels of DHEAS after physical activity were significantly higher respect to pre-exercise levels. The mean plasma levels of A pre- and post-exercise also demonstrated a significantly difference. Cortisol levels did not increase significantly after this kind of physical activity. These results suggest that prolonged exercise determines an independent activation of the cortical zona reticularis as to that of the zona fasciculata.


ABSTRACT This article provides the text of the English translation of Sigmund Freud's previously unpublished 1935 letter to Percy Allen, the only known letter in which Freud expresses his unqualified support for the theory that 'William Shakespeare' was the pen name of Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford (1550–1604). The article summarizes the literature on Freud's authorship views, showing that scholars who disagree with Freud on this matter have minimized his opinion by pathologizing it, or emphasizing Freud's reservations about the matter. The prevailing theory as to who wrote Shakespeare, on close examination, turns out to be based primarily on circular thinking, confirmation bias, tradition, authority, groupthink, and enforcement of a taboo against the presentation or objective consideration of conflicting evidence. In addition, it originated before we had a better understanding of the high frequency of anonymous, pseudonymous, and allonymous literature in Elizabethan England. The reputations enjoyed by leading Shakespeare scholars lead nonspecialists to assume that these experts can be trusted to tell us who wrote Shakespeare. Unfortunately, Shakespeare scholars falsely claim absolute certainty that they know that 'Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare.' Freud's dissenting opinion has been supported by increasing evidence since 1935.


To infer 3D descriptors of the scene one can use image(s) captured from camera(s). With respect to the illumination of the scene there are passive and active approaches. The later ones are particularly suitable for objects with no texture. The paper represents 3D reconstruction system with commercially available pair of cameras and video projector, as source of active illumination.. Furthermore, algorithms involved are simple and easily implemented. Practical reconstruction results along with systems strengths and weaknesses are presented as well.


It is known from previous laboratory studies that female choice in the river bullhead, Cotturgobio, is mainly influenced by the size of the male, and that the presence of eggs in the nest also plays a role. However, the process by which females visit and choose among prospective mates is still poorly understood. We examined eight possible tactics of female choice through computer simulation, and we compared their fit to the reproductive patterns observed in two natural populations. Neither of the tactics proposed for other species, nor combinations of them, were able to predict accurately the field data, although one of them (fixed threshold) provided a fairly good fitting. Conversely, a new model (cluster sampling), which takes into account the spatial distribution of males, produced for both populations a set of predictions on the male mating success not significantly different from the data recorded in the field. Under this model, females sample more males when males are clumped, thus reducing substantially, on the average, the ratio between the distance travelled before spawning and the number of sampled males. When models incorporated the preference for already mated males, good fitting was obtained if females preferred nests containing eggs not older than 36 h, a finding that agrees with field results.


Purpose of review Recent advances in the understanding of the difficult immunologic requirements for the induction of broadly neutralizing antibodies for HIV have spurred interest in optimizing vaccine approaches intended to stimulate a robust germinal center reaction. In preclinical models, techniques to optimize the germinal center response have included alterations in the timing, dose, and delivery method of immunogens and have resulted in substantially enhanced germinal center responses in lymph nodes and neutralizing antibodies in serum. One of the most promising approaches involves splitting the initial dose of vaccine into a series of gradual escalating doses administration ("fractional escalating doses"). In principle, these techniques may have broad implications for vaccines targeting a robust antibody response. Recent findings We review the upcoming vaccine trials that will test these concepts in clinical practice. The trials include both HIV and non-HIV immunogens, and will involve testing these concepts in both healthy adults and immunocompromised persons. Summary There are multiple trials that will test whether techniques to alter vaccine delivery such as fractional escalating doses enhances immunologic outcomes.


Mobile communication technology is one of the most rapidly developing technologies at present. Especially with the advent of 4G and 5G, mobile communication technology is playing an increasingly important role in people's life. Mobile communication curriculum is a professional course that students majoring in communication engineering must master. This curriculum involves a wide range of knowledge points, strong theoretical content, fast knowledge update and great difficulty in conducting experiments. In view of the characteristics of the curriculum and the problems encountered in teaching, discussion and exploration are made, and some teaching reform measures are put forward in this paper.


The investigations of standing waves of finite amplitude constitute a very promising direction in nonlinear acoustics. When waves are excited in a resonator, provided the resonator is of high quality, the oscillation amplitude in it appears many times higher than that of the exciting source; consequently, we can store energy in the form of nonlinear standing waves. If the harmonics are not frequency coincident with the modes of a resonator then we can observe the suppression of the nonlinear effects. The degree of dissonance is influenced by the dispersive effects. Therefore this contribution is dedicated to the study of the dispersive effects on the behaviour of the nonlinear standing waves which are caused by a boundary layer. A one-dimensional model equation taking into account boundary layer effects were developed to analyze the nonlinear standing waves.


With Europe facing winter gas shortages, North Africa's role as an energy supplier is in the spotlight, particularly as Algeria's 1 November closure of the Maghreb–Europe Gas Pipeline to Spain via Morocco further tightens volumes of gas that Europe can import.
 The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects a 40% drop in Europe's domestic gas production by 2025 outside of Norway, with the Netherlands and the UK accounting for more than 80% of that decrease.
 The Netherlands is closing its Groningen field, source of almost half the country's production in 2019 but also a cause of earthquakes. Its output will be cut by more than 50% to 3.9 Bcm in the year through October 2022, which will be the last year of regular production, according to the Dutch government. The UK cannot seem to offset declining North Sea production despite Total's 2018 Glendronach discovery in the West of the Shetland Island area and its 2019 Glengorm discovery in the central North Sea with China's CNOOC.
 Norwegian production remains flat, averaging 120 Bcm per year over the next 5 years, the IEA reports.
 And despite the energy policy voiced from Brussels that focuses mostly on renewables, few in the know dispute that gas is and will remain a critical component of the energy transition moving forward for transport, power generation, and as a feedstock to produce hydrogen.
 North Africa can provide gas—specifically from the Eastern Mediterranean where Egypt, Israel, Cyprus, and Greece are developing a world-class resource base while Cairo positions itself, buoyed by support from the EU and the US, as a regional hub for pipeline gas to Europe as well as LNG and electricity distribution between North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.

 Eni is Egypt's largest gas producer. The Italian major is active across the North African upstream, investing in new exploration in Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, but its crown jewel is Egypt's Zohr gas field in which it has a 50% operator interest and partners with Russia's Rosneft (30%), BP (10%), and Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Petroleum (10%).
 The Zohr gas field is located in the Shorouk concession which Eni holds under a production-sharing agreement with Egypt. Situated 190 km north of Port Said, Zohr is Egypt's largest-ever gas discovery and the largest-ever discovery in the Mediterranean Sea.
 Eni brought Zohr's gas on stream in record time, 2 years after the field's initial discovery in 2015, according to the company's website.
 Production reached a targeted 2.7 Bcf/D in August 2019, nearly 5 months ahead of plan, due to the swift completion of eight land-based treatment units including those for sulfur removal, as well as the commissioning of three wells and a second 30-in., 216-km-long gas pipeline to join underwater production facilities to the land-based treatment plant, Eni reported.
 Eni's 2020 plan included drilling of two more production wells to boost gross capacity to 3,200 MMscf/D and the upgrading of subsea facilities and onshore treatment.


My dissertation includes two related essays in supply chain and corporate finance. The first is sole authored and entitled "Do merger waves cause ripples in vertically related industries" and the second is co-authored with Shawn Thomas and entitled "Changes in concentration across vertically related industries". In the first, I use a sample of all industries experiencing merger activity between 1980 and 2008 to investigate the relation between customer and supplier horizontal merger waves. I find evidence that a merger wave in a customer (supplier) industry increases the likelihood of a subsequent merger wave in a related industry by 30% (28%), depending on the definition of merger wave used. Additional tests of the data show that industry merger waves are more likely to follow customer merger waves, but not necessarily supplier merger waves, when bargaining power motives are at work. I find that vertically related industry merger waves occur subsequent to supplier and customer industry merger waves, suggesting that merger waves move along the supply chain. Finally, I find that the association between related industry horizontal merger waves is strongest for non-consumer goods industries and industries with little product differentiation.
In the second essay, we investigate the magnitude, timing, and direction of the association between changes in concentration across vertically related industries over the period 1978-2008. We find robust evidence that changes in an industry's level of concentration are significantly positively related to prior and simultaneous changes in the concentration of their customer industries. We find weaker evidence that changes in an industry's level of concentration are related to changes in the concentration of their supplier industries. Thus, the association between changes in concentration across vertically related industries appears stronger in the upstream direction than in the downstream direction. We find that increased concentration across vertically related industries, perhaps reflecting countervailing power effects, explains in part the observed positive association between changes in concentration; however, we also find robust evidence that decreases in concentration, perhaps reflecting the effects of technological innovation in vertically related industries, are also important determinants of the observed association.


Objective: To explore the effect of vitrectomy for secondary glaucoma induced by lens subluxation. Methods: 29 eyes with secondary glaucoma were treated by vitrectomy. Among them, 14 eyes were treated by anterior vitrectomy combined phacectomy ; 15 eyes were performed three hole closed vitrectomy throng ciliary flat combined phacectomy . Intra-ocular lens (IOL) were first implanted in 12 eyes. Result: 22 eyes were followed up for 1~12 months. The postoperative IOP of 18 eyes were controlled under 21 mmHg, of 2 eyes were controlled at 24 mmHg with topical anti-glaucoma drugs, of 2 eyes were controlled at 24.00± 3.25 mmHg with oral anti-glaucoma drugs. Vision improved in 16 eyes, unchanged in 6 eyes. Conclusions: Vitrectomy in treating secondary glaucoma induced by lens subluxation is safe and effective.


Low Impact Development (LID) is one of the current research interests toward green infrastructures and urban flood control that have the capability to return developed watersheds to pre-development hydrological conditions, bringing numerous water quantity and quality benefits, while being cheaper than their traditional counterparts. However, there is a current research gap about LIDs within tropical regions. This study aims to evaluate the cost efficiency of LID scenarios in varying surface areas through a cost-effectiveness (C/E) analysis and to assess flow reduction and infiltration improvement of the cost-effective LID scenarios using US EPA Stormwater Management Model (SWMM) in a tropical residential catchment receiving an annual rainfall of 1780.5 mm (70.1″), under a Type 1 Philippine Climate. Results have shown that the Weibull plotting position generated the largest rainfall amounts. A total of 2112 manually simulated LID scenarios were modeled to obtain the cost-effective or optimal LID scenarios, where they can generate a maximum of 38.67% flow reduction and 29.73% peak flow reduction, all observed in the multiple LID scenarios. At high rainfall amounts, the multiple LID scenarios can also peak at a 1113% increase in total infiltration in the given sub-catchments. Determining the target capture goal, applicable LID types, and cost estimations from a pilot project are vital components in the future application of LIDs in these regions.


Nearest Neighbor (NN) search has been widely used in spatial databases and multimedia databases. Incremental NN (INN) search is regarded as the optimal NN search because of the minimum number of node accesses and it can be used no matter whether the number of objects to be retrieved is fixed or not in advance. R*-tree is still regarded as being among the best high- dimensional indices. This paper presents an analytical model for estimating performance of the INN search algorithm on R*-tree. The theoretical analysis is verified by experiments.


This paper presents a comprehensive effort of theoretical investigations and industrial applications of computer-based rapid design and manufacturing technology for high-integrity aerospace components. Two rapid manufacturing processes have been proposed by integrating rapid prototyping, high-speed machining, reverse engineering and geometric computation theory. They have been validated through trial manufacturing of a matrix of a matrix of current aerospace components embracing critical design features to be found across many aerospace components. It has been found that the results of this research if applied to future development programmes will provide aerospace companies the benefits of significant decrease in product introduction lead-time, savings in non-recurring product introduction costs and considerable reduction in manufacturing costs for 'one off' and low volume service parts.


Non‐adherence to immunosuppressive treatment following solid organ transplantation is common and often associated with poorer outcomes. Non‐adherence is difficult to assess, and barriers to adherence in lung transplant (LTx) recipients remain to be elucidated.


The research concerning a tracked panel oriented in the east-west (EW) direction has seldom been found in literature. This paper simulates the electrical energy output from a photo- voltaic (PV) module mounted on the EW-tracked panel in Taipei according to both the solar ra- diation observed and the radiation under clear sky condition predicted by an empirical model; subsequently the gain of the tracked panel relative to a fixed horizon panel can be analyzed. The results show that the tracked panel captures more radiation near solar noon, irrespective of date, for the smallest incident angle of sunlight at noon, which is helpful to a design focusing power supply on the noon particularly. As compared to a fixed horizon panel the tracked panel makes a greater gain in winter but worse in summer. The annual output energy from the tracked panel is 228.2 and 82.1 kWh/m 2 , for the clear sky and observed radiation, respectively, having the con- version efficiency of 9.1% and 8.2% respectively. The output energy increases with the maxi- mum rotation angle of tracked panel, but the benefit of applying a tracking system in real envi- ronment as in Taipei is not as good as in clear sky condition. With the maximum rotation angle of 45 o , the yearly gains of output energy obtained by the tracked panel are 14.1% and 5.5% for


We conducted a two-stage Simon phase II, multi-center study in two groups: related and unrelated donor transplants. Based on the results of a previously conducted prospective study (MPD-RC 101, Rondelli et al, Blood, 2014) demonstrating relatively poor outcome in the unrelated donor arm due to high non-relapse mortality and graft failure (GF), we sought to improve this noted disparate outcome. The hypothesis driving this trial was that pre-transplant JAK1/2 inhibition would result in an increase in performance status, reduction in splenomegaly and inflammatory cytokine expression leading to improved HCT outcome. In the unrelated arm in the first 11 patients, the trial was to be terminated if 6 or more failures (GF or death due to any cause by 100 days post-transplant) were observed. In the related arm in the first 11 patients, the trial was to be terminated if 3 or more failures were observed.

Key eligibility criteria included diagnosis of primary MF or post-PV MF or post-ET MF, age 18-70 years, and DIPSS int-2/high risk disease or int-1 risk disease with at least one additional risk factor. Patients could have received up to 6 months of ruxolitinib prior to enrollment provided that there was no evidence of loss of response to ruxolitinib during this period.

Ruxolitinib was given for 56 days followed by a 4-day taper ending day -6. The conditioning regimen utilized was IV fludarabine 40 mg/m2 IV and IV busulfan 2.0 mg/KBW IV once daily for 4 days from days -5 to -2. GVHD prophylaxis consisted of cyclosporine or tacrolimus and methotrexate. Patients undergoing unrelated donor HCT also received low dose thymoglobulin (0.5 mg/KBW on day -3/2.0 mg/KBW on day -2 & day -1).

The study has enrolled 21 patients (related, 7; unrelated, 14) with a median age of 59 years (range 39-70). 17 (81%) patients had palpable splenomegaly with median spleen size of 11 cm, and 16 patients had int-2/high risk disease. Of the 21 patients, 19 patients received transplantation (related 5/7 [71%], unrelated 14/14 [100%] underwent transplant). Two patients in the related arm did not proceed with transplantation as one progressed to acute myeloid leukemia (baseline blast count 14%) and another experienced sudden death of unknown cause the day after starting ruxolitinib. In addition, there was one GF in the related arm. Due to these 3 failures in the related arm, further enrollment was stopped in this arm per protocol criteria. In the unrelated arm, there were 4 failures (Table 1), and the study met the protocol criteria for further enrollment.

Mean percent reduction from baseline to day -9 in palpable spleen length below the left costal margin was 30% (p=0.04) in 12 patients with palpable spleen. 5/12 (42%) had any reduction, and 4/12 (33%) had ≥50% reduction. From baseline to best score on day -9 or day -5, 11/19 (58%) patients with data had any improvement in MPN-SAF Total Symptom Score, and 7/19 (37%) had ≥50% reduction.

Of the 19 patients undergoing transplant, ruxolitinib was tapered off successfully in all patients with no significant withdrawal syndrome or delay in transplant noted. In the pre-transplant phase, most common Grade 3 or higher toxicity considered to be related to ruxolitinib was anemia (6/21, 29%), and one patient had legionella pneumonia deemed not related to ruxolitinib. Median time to neutrophil recovery (> 0.5 x 109/L) and platelet recovery (>20 x 109/L) was 19 and 19.5 days. By day 100, 7/19 (37%) experienced Grade 2-4 acute GVHD (G2 in 5, G3 in 2). In the first 30 days post HCT, most common Grade 3 or higher toxicity was febrile neutropenia seen in 5/19 (26%) patients.

In all 21 patients from time of registration with median follow-up of 5.8 months, 6-mo overall survival was 75% (95% CI 44-90%). For the 19 transplant recipients, 6-mo OS was 83% (95% CI 55-94%) from date of transplant.

Conclusions: Stage 1 trial results highlight important observations. First, ruxolitinib may not be suitable for all myelofibrosis patients pre-transplant, eg, alternative approaches might be more appropriate in the context of accelerating disease. Second, we demonstrated a safe approach for tapering ruxolitinib prior to transplant which allowed patients to commence conditioning with reduced spleen size and symptoms. Third, pre-transplant ruxolitinib does not appear to have any adverse impact on early post-HCT outcomes following unrelated donor transplant, although Stage 2 enrollment will be required to better assess the potential benefits of this approach.

![Figure][1]

Disclosures Gupta: Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Incyte: Consultancy, Research Funding. Yacoub: Incyte: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Alexion: Honoraria. Mesa: Promedior: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; CTI: Research Funding; Gilead: Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding; Galena: Consultancy; Ariad: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy. Mead: Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Mascarenhas: Novartis: Other: DSMB , Research Funding; Roche: Research Funding; Promedior: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; CTI Biopharma: Research Funding; Incyte: Other: Clinical Trial Steereing Committee, Research Funding.

 [1]: pending:yes


and dehydration are serious and common problems among older people in nursing and residential care homes. The situation is exacer- bated because staff may not be trained to recognize the signs and symp- toms of malnutrition and dehydration and hence opportunities for early intervention are missed. A nutrition assessment should form part of the admission process to identify whether an individual has, or is at risk of developing, malnutrition and dehydration. This article suggests key ques- tions that should be asked to assist this process. The individual and orga- nizational risk factors that affect nutrition and health status are discussed, and practical suggestions given to help address any problems recognized. The causes and consequences of dehydration are explained and practices that place an individual at risk of dehydration considered. Suggestions are given to help identify when a person is not drinking sufficient, so that early, rapid intervention can be initiated. Helping an older person to eat and drink independently is a practical activity that is often undervalued. Its impor- tance needs to be recognized in all nursing and residential care settings.


Extracted from text ... Ericson, M - Reconciliation and the search for a shared moral landscape: An exploration
based upon a study of Northern Ireland and South Africa
Publisher: Frankfurt: Peter Lang. Soft Cover, 499 Pages. Price Unknown
Reviewer: Dr G M J van Wyk (Vanderbijlpark)
Maria Ericson holds an Mdiv from Lund Univesity, Sweden, and an MPhil from Trinity College,
Dublin. Her doctoral dissertation on "Reconciliation and the Search for a Shared Moral
Landscape" was presented at Lund University in April 2001.
This dissertation focuses on reconciliation in Northern Ireland and South Africa. The aim
of Ericson's study is to identify, describe and ..


The Mobile Agent based data gathering is the advanced technique in the Wireless Sensor Network(WSN). In this paper Distributed Optimal movement Strategies process takes place. In this method the mobile agents move around the sensor network in a scheduling manner. The Mobile agent act as both the Querycollector/data collector. and returns the information to the mobile server. Each sensor node is equipped with limited buffer space. In order to reduce the data loss in the sensor network Network Coding Algorithm is preferred. In this method all the Buffers in each sensor nodes are grouped together and encoded at the transmitter side. The Mobile Agent carries the data and inform it to the receiver side, so that the original data can be retrieved after decoding. By doing this method the delay is reduced with maximum cost saving.


iv DEDICATION v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vi LIST OF TABLES xi CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 4 Reading as a Process 4 Phonemic awareness 5 Alphabetic principle 6 Reading fluency 7 Vocabulary 7 Reading comprehension 8 Measurements of Reading Achievement 9 Poverty and School Performance 11 Implications for High-Stakes Testing 13 Fast ForWord 15 How Fast ForWord works 16 Fast ForWord Research 17 Program Evaluation as a Tool for Evaluating Interventions 24


This paper presents the size optimization of trusses structures using the recently developed Improved Modified Simulated Annealing Algorithm (I-MSAA). IMSAA was recently introduced for solving global optimization problems and is a newly improved version of the Modified Simulated Annealing Algorithm (MSAA) with two modifications: i) reduction of probability of accepting worse solutions; ii) the starting point is chosen randomly. I-MSAA was evaluated in five benchmark problems of truss size optimization. The results were compared by those reported by other metaheuristic algorithms and indicated that I-MSAA is stable and efficient to optimize this type of problems.


In this work, the photolithographic method with the improvement of the stretch-and-write technique is applied for the design and the fabrication of fiber-Bragg gratings distributed on different lengths of fiber and with different operating wavelengths. A proper apparatus was set-up, which allows to easily change the fiber position behind the mask; moreover, by suitable setting the stage displacements, it is possible to stretch the fiber to a given strain value. In this condition all written gratings compress and the peaks move towards shorter wavelengths. To the purpose to obtain grating arrays, working at pre-established wavelengths, strain calibration curves was obtained. Two different types of applications were investigated. Arrays of up to five gratings with different peak position and distributed over a 1 m length of fiber were fabricated and characterized for sensing purpose. Adjacent gratings spectrally concatenated were also produced in order to obtain pass-band filters to be applied in photonic systems. An interesting field of application of FBG arrays was considered for strain sensing in the automotive industry, to monitor various critical components of vehicles. Another example of application was the construction of a pass-band filter applied to suppress the first side lobes of a laser diode spectrum.


It was back in 1982, when the United States was mired in the Cold War and a recession, that the National Institutes of Health awarded a five-year, $3.2 million grant to a group of scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory to develop GenBank. It now houses nearly 200 billion bases from 178 million sequences representing more than 300,000 species and is the largest and most frequently accessed collection of experimental data in the world (Strasser 2011). Although it is now difficult to imagine a world without GenBank and the opportunities it provides, its creation did not come without questions—about data collection and distribution, attribution of credit and authorship, and design of infrastructure and access (Strasser 2011). Still, the need for a unifying database of genetic sequences commanded wide agreement. Now is the time to invest in a parallel special-purpose database for a burgeoning field of research with enormous promise: the use of stable isotopes. Isotopic ratios are often idiosyncratic, encoding information about the origin and history of particular matter, whether it be an ancient ice core, a Martian rock, or a fossil. In biological systems, elements such as hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen are light enough for isotopes to be differentially affected by biochemical processes such as photosynthesis and respiration, creating isotopic variation. This is extraordinarily useful for studying biological processes. For example, stable isotopes are routinely used for studies of animal and plant physiology, community and ecosystem ecology, biomedicine, paleobiology, evolution, and climatology. The diversity of questions that can be answered with stable isotopes, coupled with advancements in instrumentation that now enable the analysis of hundreds of samples per week on a single mass spectrometer, is what makes the growth of this field parallel that of DNA sequencing. Thus, in this era of "big data" there is a need for IsoBank, a database to house, organize, vet, and make isotopic data readily available.


This paper presents some data that integrate a research about the process of teacher's training to the management of the school from basic education of Mato Grosso, here called teacher-manager. This search intended to, among other goals, to investigate, from the perspective of teacher-managers, the contributions of initial and continuing educations to perform the activities of his office. The research was qualitative approach combined with the method of historic dialectical materialism. As research procedures, it was used the interview and the questionnaire were applied to ten managers who were in the first year of their works. The results indicated the need for a broader educational process that fosters greater knowledge about school processes and, consequently, greater autonomy of the actions of managers.


A 6.5kV 25A dual IGBT module is customized and packaged specially for high voltage low current application like solid state transformer and its characteristics and losses have been tested under the low current operation and compared with 10kV SiC MOSFET. Based on the test results, the switching losses under different frequencies in a 20kVA Solid-State Transformer (SST) has been calculated for both devices. The result shows 10kV SiC MOSFET has 7–10 times higher switching frequency capability than 6.5kV Si IGBT in the SST application.


[fre] Comment on « detour de valeur » . . The topic of the paper is twofold. The aim of its first part is to present and comment the main thesis of Andre Lapidus' book, Le detour de valeur. The second part of the paper is dedicated to a critical analysis of the contents of Lapidus's book, in order to use it in a different way and, so, to try to estimate its analytical scope. [eng] Comment on « detour de valeur » . . The topic of the paper is twofold. The aim of its first part is to present and comment the main thesis of Andre Lapidus' book, Le detour de valeur. The second part of the paper is dedicated to a critical analysis of the contents of Lapidus's book, in order to use it in a different way and, so, to try to estimate its analytical scope.


Presented on April 13, 2010 at 12:00 noon in the Manufacturing Research Center (MARC) Room 114 on the Georgia Tech campus


Sulfapyridine is one of the most important antibiotics drug with some side effects and determination of this drug is very important in biological and pharmaceutical samples. In this research, an electrochemical amplified sensor was fabricated as analytical tool for determination of sulfapyridine in drug samples. For fabrication of sulfapyridine sensor, a carbon paste electrode (CPE) was amplified with copper oxide decorated single wall carbon nanotubes (CuO/SWCNTs) as conductive mediator. The CuO/SWCNTs/CPE was used for voltammetric determination of sulfapyridine and results showed an increasing in oxidation current sulfapyridine about 2.35 times and decreasing 80 mV in oxidation potential in the same condition. The cyclic voltammetric (CV) investigation confirm pH dependent redox reaction for sulfapyridine in the presence of one electron and one proton with maximum sensitivity at pH=7.0. Analytical investigation showed a linear dynamic range 50 nM- 400 µM with detection limit 10 nM. In the final step, CuO/SWCNTs/CPE was used for determination of sulfapyridine in tablet, drinking water and dextrose saline sample with acceptable recovery data between 99.13% - 103.35%.


Information and Communication Technology has been growing very rapidly. It allows varieties of multimedia-based elements of media learning to support more meaningful learning. The ability to use Information and Communication Technology must be mastered by students including student-teachers. Students at Pelita Harapan as Teachers College University came from various regions and culture throughout Indonesia. However, not all the students got adequate computer learning in their high school, and this difference affect their ICT skills. This study aims to develop multimedia-based ICT learning module. The data of students' ICT skills, socio-cultural background, and learning styles were collected through questionnaires and interviews. The results then analysed and developed into a user interface of the learning module. The user interface designed to accommodate different skill, cultural background and learning styles of the students. Lastly, the module made successfully and it can be used to help students in mastering the learning of Information and Communication Technology appropriately.


1.1 DEVELOPMENT OF INTRACAVITARY RADIOTHERAPY FOR CANCER OF THE CERVIX immediately after the discovery of radium in 1898/ Margaret Cleaves of New York/ used radium for the first time for the treatment of cancer of the cervix# in 1903 C1J. Later on Stockholm method was defined# which was followed by Paris method. In 1930 Manchester method was defined. This involves physical calculations on the basis of which predetermined doses are delivered to certain points of reference in the pelvis.


Throughout history nations have tried to establish their own ideas of nationalism. In doing so, each country aimed to create their own version of 'history. In order for them to succeed, long-forgotten traditions, customs and legends were put to use in the process of nationbuilding. Another aspect, opposite 'emphasizing forgotten aspects of history', was to neglect some historical events in order to enable people to forget these traumatic events. One fine example is Turkey, which tried to neglect all the painful events that happened during and after the Balkan Wars in order to start the newly founded Republic of Turkey with a clean sheet. This was probably due to the fact that the newly established Turkish nation should not be based upon the atrocities committed against the Turks by others, nor the hatred against those who were responsible for these deeds. The most famous example of these atrocities are the events of 1915, mistakenly labeled 'genocide' by some. Just as during the Balkan Wars, the events of 1915 exposed a large number of Turks to persecution and torture; as well as large-scale ethnic cleansing and forced migration. Therefore the remaining region, Anatolia, was proclaimed the 'Turkish Motherland'; which is interesting since the history of Turks in the Balkan region is far more stretched. Turkish tribes entered the Balkan some thousands of years prior to Anatolia, but eventually either assimilated or were victims to the previously mentioned methods of ethnic cleansing; in both cases they subsequently disappeared from history. To forget the pain of the Balkan Wars as well as the events of 1915, Turkey has long been neglecting these aspects of its own history This paper should be seen as a preliminary research in an attempt to put more of an emphasize on this field of study.


Prediction of cardiovascular disease is considered as one of the most significant subjects in the section of clinical data analysis. In the previous studies, the prediction of heart disease is done by applying the data mining methods. However, a limited number of research works are existed towards predicting cardiovascular disease. It is complex for choosing the perfect combination of significant features, which can enhance the prediction model performance. From data and ECG signals, the robust and automated detection of heart disease plays a major task for accurate and early medical diagnosis. This paper presents the viability analysis and the development of heart disease prediction using data mining as well as signal processing techniques. The proposed methodology adopts the optimized clustering approach by means of unique improvement in distance and density-based clustering. Here, K-Means clustering is used as the distance-based clustering and Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN) is used as the density-based clustering. Initially, the prediction is focused on the data gathered from the standard clinical repository, in which the new weighted feature extraction is adopted. Once the informative features are extracted, it is subjected to hybrid clustering approach, in which the output of both clustering is considered for finding the final output. Here, the hybrid clustering is formed by merging the optimized K-means clustering and optimized DBCAN. In K-means clustering (KMC), the centroid is optimized, and in DBSCAN, value of $\varepsilon$ is optimized by the new variant of meta-heuristic algorithm called Modified Updating based Chicken Swarm optimization (MU-CSO). Similarly, the ECG signals is gathered, which is decomposed using Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT). Further, the dimension reduced features of the decomposed signals are extracted by Principal Component Analysis (PCA), to which the new weighted feature extraction is adopted. The main objective of optimized clustering is to maximize the prediction accuracy. Finally, the efficiency of the proposed heart disease prediction model is proved by comparing the proposed clustering over the conventional models.


Business process models describe how a business works, or more specifically, how they accomplish missions, activities, or tasks. The automated control and coordination of business processes is made possible by task control constructs that model behaviors like concurrency, asynchronism, and choice. However, there is a real danger of introducing control flow anomalies and behavioral inconsistencies like deadlock, livelock, imperfect termination, and multiple task repetitions [5]. Petri Nets provide a powerful formal modeling method based on solid mathematical fundament while having graphical representation of system models as net diagrams and provide various analysis techniques such as reachability tree, incidence matrix and invariant analysis method, through which properties of the Petri Net model such as liveness, reachability and deadlock can be analyzed. This paper proposes an approach to illustrate the use of the Petri Net INA (Integrated Net Analyzer) [6] environment for formalizing business process specifications and using analytical techniques to support verification studies. The first step is automated.


Objectives  As an extension of human perception in space and time, remote sensing is a new medium that conforms to the concept of omnimedia. Methods  Based on the analysis of the current situation at home and abroad, this paper proposes the interdisciplinary direction of remote sensing journalism. The combination of remote sensing and journalism has advantages in breaking through the limitations of human vision in time, space, and spectrum, realizing multi-scale revealing laws and ensuring authenticity. Results  This paper explains that the scientific problems of remote sensing journalism are to build a news mission-driven remote sensing chain service model and to create a narrative mechanism and lens language system. And it also explains that the essential technical problems of remote sensing journalism are the quality assurance, the realization and the expressiveness of remote sensing data. Conclusions  Combined with the technical applications of Xinhua News Agency in the production of remote sensing news, this paper reveals the outstanding performances including efficient image acquisition, convenient and intuitive forensics, time-series image extraction, and lens language innovation in current remote sensing news dissemination.


As the next step in the development of intelligent computing systems is the addition of human expertise and knowledge, it is a priority to build strong computable and well-documented knowledge bases. Ontologies partially respond to this challenge by providing formalisms for knowledge representation. However, one major remaining task is the population of these ontologies with concrete application. Based on Model-Driven Engineering principles, a generic metamodel for the extraction of heterogeneous data is presented in this article. The metamodel has been designed with two objectives, namely (1) the need of genericity regarding the source of collected pieces of knowledge and (2) the intent to stick to a structure close to an ontological structure. As well, an example of instantiation of the metamodel for textual data in chemistry domain and an insight of how this metamodel could be integrated in a larger automated domain independent ontology population framework are given.


RDF2vec is an embedding technique for representing knowledge graph entities in a continuous vector space. In this paper, we investigate the effect of materializing implicit A-box axioms induced by subproperties, as well as symmetric and transitive properties. While it might be a reasonable assumption that such a materialization before computing embeddings might lead to better embeddings, we conduct a set of experiments on DBpedia which demonstrate that the materialization actually has a negative effect on the performance of RDF2vec. In our analysis, we argue that despite the huge body of work devoted on completing missing information in knowledge graphs, such missing implicit information is actually a signal, not a defect, and we show examples illustrating that assumption.


This paper identifies several meaningful business opportunity cases in the area of aircraft cabin conversion and refurbishing and predicts the market volume and the world distribution for each of them: 1.) international cabins, 2.) domestic cabins, 3.) aircraft on operating lease, 4.) freighter conversions and 5.) VIP completions. This implies the determination of cabin modification/conversion scenarios, along with their duration and frequency. Factors driving the cabin conversion and refurbishing are identified. Several aircraft databases, containing the current world feet as well as the forecasted fleet for the next years, are analyzed. The results are obtained by creating a program able to read and analyze the gathered data. It is shown that about 38000 cabin redesigns will be undertaken within the next 20 years. About 2500 conversions from jetliners into freighters and 25000 cabin modifications at VIP standards will emerge on the market. The North American and European markets will keep providing good business opportunities in this area. The Asian market, however, is growing fast, and its very strong influence on demand puts it in the front rank for the next 20 years.


This article describes an integrated design of Computer Supported Learning Environments (CSLE) and Workflow Management Systems (WfMS). Fundamental approaches for the integration are pointed out by extending the traditional Build-time modeling perspectives of WfMS. The use of an integrated environment and its synergy effects result in a substantial improvement of the educational level, the day-to-day business, and the associated product and service quality.


Abstract Background: on the context of current medical health supply side reform, medical industry will focus on three aspects accurately, i.e.: "adjusting structure, reducing costs and replenishing short-slab", whereas the operation efficiency of medical industry is the important issue attracted the attention of academic circles. Methods: the medical industry is easier to be affected by external uncontrollable factors, for instance public health emergency or change in health policy will affect the service cost of hospital, and thence the operation efficiency of medical industry is researched and evaluated by adopting the stochastic frontier cost model. Results: according to the empirical research, Chinese medical industry achieved higher operation efficiency in the process of medical health supply side reform, it reflects not only the higher medical service and management level of medical institution and, but the matching attribute with their current sale. However several hospitals had lower cost efficiency for their medical services, adopted extensive management and involved in insufficient medical resource utilization. Conclusions: the stochastic frontier cost model measures the efficiency of hospital input and output from multiple angles; it has higher scientific nature and adaptability, and complies with the current medical health supply side reform requirements; moreover it is beneficial to expedite to develop Chinese medical industry, reduce operation cost, improve the operation efficiency of medical industry, and boost the medical health supply side reform to achieve success.


The design and technical features as well as resistance situation of the waterwall in practical operation of three sets of 1 000 MW ultra-supercritical pressure boilers which represent different technical sects were introduced.The resistance characteristics and hydrodynamic characteristics of the waterwall with vertical tube coils under various operation conditions were analyzed emphatically.Results indicate that the resistance of waterwall with vertical tube coils is far bigger than that of waterwall with spiral coils under high load.And the influence of heat departure on safety of waterwall under low load is far bigger than under high load.Meanwhile the key work of waterwall research in the future is put forward.


Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction 1 From Providence to chance: the emergence of monstrosity in Diderot's universe 2 Diderot's revisionism: blindness and Enlightenment in the Lettre sur les aveugles 3 Monsters and the self in Le Reve de d'Alembert 4 Ethical monstrosity and the Enlightenment's rejeton Jean-Francois Rameau Conclusion Bibliography Index


References HENRY, D.P., STARMAN, B.J., JOHNSON, D.C. & WILLIAMS, B.H. (1973). A sensitive radioenzymatic assay for norepinephrine in tissues and plasma. Life Sci., 16, 375-384. PALKOVITS, M. (1973). Isolated removal of hypothalamic or other brain nuclei of the rat. Brain Res., 59, 449-450. SAAVEDRA, J.M., GROBECKER, H. & AXELROD, J. (1976). Adrenaline-forming enzyme in brain stem: Elevation in genetic and experimental hypertension. Science, 191, 483-484. VERSTEEG, D.H.G., PALKOVITS, M., van der GUGTEN, J., WIJEN, H.LJ.M., SMEETS, G.W.M. & de JONG, W. (1976). Catecholamine content of individual brain regions of spontaneously hypertensive rats. Brain Res., 112, 429-434.


The process of designing a building involves producing design concepts while fulfilling various requirements and regulations. Furthermore, during the project's life-cycle, multiple experts from multiple domains collaborate in developing the different partial models, including architectural, structural, and HVAC among others. Accordingly, clearly communicating the rationale behind design decisions is crucial for developing regulatory compliant designs that also fit the owner's needs. The developed designs are the main deliverables exchanged and handed over. However, these deliverables do not include any explanation of design intentions or documentation of design decisions. Communication among parties and reuse of knowledge are hindered by the absent explanation of existing design. To overcome this deficiency, this paper proposes a methodology for digitally documenting design decisions, incorporating their intention and rationale. Architectural concepts and evaluation criteria are represented in the form of explanation tags as well as spatial and semantic constraints, which are assigned to the individual model elements and properties. Additionally, to document how design decisions fulfill owner requirements and regulatory documents, natural language processing (NLP) is employed to facilitate querying those documents and then the individual requirements are linked to specific elements, properties, and constraints. To evaluate the proposed methodology, a prototype was implemented as a plugin inside a BIM- Authoring tool and multiple real-world use cases are discussed.


This volume is the third edition of a textbook originally produced in 1970 and aimed mainly at senior medical students and junior doctors. Since the previous edition, a lot of new material has gone in as regards the investigation of chest disease and also in certain areas of treatment, such as the treatment of tuberculosis and the opportunistic infections encountered in AIDS. The book is divided into three sections, one on clinical methods, one on the structure and function of the respiratory tract, and the third on respiratory disease. The description of how to test pulmonary function is particularly lucid. A little more could have been said


The Toulouse market was the first commercial jurisdiction in the kingdom established, in july 1549 by Henri II, to give the town a market so that the merchants would have a place where they could meet in order to actively trade. It was only then, that they are abble to establish a consular jurisdiction whose principal prerogative was to settle all the commercial disputes between merchants. However, the merchants of Toulouse ignored the benefits of an exchange place and preoccupied themselves essentially with the putting in place of the consular jurisdiction, so much so, that in the XVIII century, the activity of the market was principally jurisdiction.


Recommendations to get you thinking about how you can improve your work/life balance and guard against burnout. How to gain control.


The warming of the Arctic, especially intensified at the beginning of the XXI century, is accompanied by a significant decrease in the area of ice cover in the Arctic seas. The article shows the quantitative changes in the ice parameters of the Barents Sea, as well as factors affecting the formation of ice cover in recent years. In the twenty-first century the frequency of occurrence of mild winters has increased by 17%, the frequency of severe winters has decreased by 19%. Significantly increased the temperature at the meteorological station Malye Karmakuly, water temperature at transect "Kola Meridian", atmospheric and oceanic heat fluxes, and speed of sea currents on the Western border of the Barents sea. The duration of the ice period decreased by an average of 2–3 weeks, and the rate of reduction of ice cover was 7.2% for 10 years. This is the highest speed compared to other Arctic seas. The article shows that the variability of the ice cover of the Barents Sea and other parameters of the natural environment in the region has the cyclic character. Presumably, the cycle period is close to 84 years, which corresponds to the orbital period of Uranium. The minimum sea ice extent after 1935–1945 is expected in the period 2019–2029.


Abstract This article is concerned with the regularity of the entropy solution of where Ω is a smooth bounded domain Ω of ℝN such that 0 ∈ Ω, 1 < p < N. and γ < (N-p)/p. Assuming f ∈ Lq(Ω, |x|α(q-1)dx) for some q ≥ 1 and Nγp/(N-p) ≤ α ≤ (γ+1)p, we obtain estimates for the entropy solution u and its weak gradient in Lebesgue spaces with weights. Moreover, we introduce some explicit examples showing the optimality of our results and a relation between our problem and a Hardy-Sobolev type inequality.


In this paper, we investigate signatures of variation in the behavior of correlated time series by analyzing changes in the topological properties of the corresponding visibility graph. Variations in six different network measures: assortativity, average path length, clustering, transitivity, density, and the average of the mean link length, are explored. We construct visibility graphs from the original and the magnitude and sign of its increment series. Both the horizontal and the natural visibility graphs are studied. Through extensive numerical studies on the time series of fractional Brownian motion (fBm), we first identify network measures that can reflect the changes in correlations in the time series. The efficacy of these markers is examined to identify the transitions in two systems, a two-dimensional (2D) Ising spin system and EEG data with seizures. While all the identified network measures capture the change in the thermal equilibrium correlations for the Ising spin system, they have limited success in the case of the time-dependent fluctuations in the EEG data. We identify some markers relevant to detecting seizures in the EEG data set.


What makes CEOs prioritize strategic choices that lead to social responsible policies and actions of their firms? In this paper, we take an interactive approach to CEO decision-making to theorize h...


Analysis of the spatial distribution of organic farming in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur (PACA) region of France: building a methodology for observation and prospective Analysis of the distribution of organic farming and its determinants is a major challenge for the construction of scenarios related to the evolution of organic farming that take the set of factors that limit or facilitate conversions and their sustainability into account. In order to support different development scenarios for organic farming in view of environmental and marketing challenges, an econometric and geostatistic study was initiated in the PACA region. The approach consists of three stages. The first stage involves the construction, over a 20-year period, of a longitudinal spatial database concerning certified organic producers and distributors. This database is georeferenced at the plot level. It will then be necessary to statistically analyse the trends and the determinants of the organic farming distribution process over time and space. Finally, this knowledge will be used to build scenarios for the development of organic farming production on the medium term. Intermediary results presented within this framework well be based on the georeferencing of producers and distributors at the community level in 2007,


Adam B. Seligman offers the strong claim that the problem of trust, that is the widespread lament for its decline, is an effect of the increased dependence upon trust just at the moment when the conditions for trust are being undermined by structural change. He grounds his account of trust in role segmentation, role conflicts, system limits, and institutionalization, and he draws heavily on history, philosophy, religious theory, and political theory to examine and support his position. For Seligman, both trust and its opposite, mistrust, emerge only with individualism and only when agents can and must negotiate over role expectations. Trust is a modern phenomenon that mediates relationships among individuals; it involves risk of a kind that can only occur when individual agents find themselves having to interact with strangers or with those whose responses they cannot confidently predict. Seligman has a multitude of purposes in his book. He constructs a sociological, rather than a psychological, concept by giving trust a structural basis. He differentiates trust from other terms in a general family of concepts that include reliance, confidence, faith, fides, familiarity. He considers and evaluates a set of related literatures. He aims to explain why declining trust has become a subject of concern. Seligman makes considerable progress toward clarifying the sociological dimensions of trust. Contrasting his position with Émile Durkheim's and drawing on a host of authorities, most notably Robert K. Merton, Niklas Luhmann, Charles Taylor, S. N. Eisenstadt, and Ralph Turner, he identifies interpersonal trust as a means to mediate certain kinds of role conflict that evolve with the large-scale political, social, and particularly economic changes that produce modernity. Seligman nicely links trust to the "social conditions of risk" (p. 170) and to the development of individuals who are capable of forming and sharing strong evaluations. In the process of providing his sociological and historical analysis, Seligman distinguishes trust from related concepts. His distinctions are as good as any. He is convincing that there are numerous phenomena, with quite different sources, that often bear the same name. In clearing the brush, he clarifies what is central to trust, namely, a social interaction among individuals who find themselves in social situations "that can no


As the spatial structure of a region is evolving into a decentralized multi-nucli model, networked connection among cities in a region is emerging as an important issue to strengthen regional competitiveness. This paper focused on the limitation of current new town planning criteria which just suggest a uniform standard for economic self-sufficiency by new-town size, without representing the network characteristics of new town. If a new town is planned as a economic strongpoint within a region, it needs to secure appropriate industrial functions. This study classified the characteristics of new towns by network analysis and reviewed the economic self-sufficiency criteria by new town types. Using various network connectedness indices, the 1st and 2nd round new towns in the capital region were analyzed, and land-use distribution of new-towns in other countries were also examined comparatively. The network characteristics of new towns are classified as three types: mono-nucleus, distributed center, and dependent. Based on this classification, planning criteria for self-sufficiency were compared among 6 new towns. This study provides implications for the amendment of "the sustainable new town planning criteria" or the revision of development plans.


Introduction: Insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment ratio; HOMA-R) is associated with latent myocardial damage in apparently healthy subjects in health check. Meanwhile, diabetes mellitu...


In planetary habitability, a crucial question is whether a planet can maintain liquid water on its surface and a stable atmosphere over timescales of the order of the lifetime of a solar system. This applies both to the planets in our solar systems and to exoplanets discovered in other solar systems. Interaction between a stellar wind and a planetary atmosphere can lead to atmospheric escape. The processes behind atmospheric escape depend on stellar wind and atmospheric conditions as well as planetary magnetization. However, an intrinsic magnetic field is not necessary to protect a planet from atmospheric escape, since protective boundaries are formed also at unmagnetized planets and the magnetic field itself enables escape through the polar caps and cusps [1] . Only the planets in our solar system are accessible to in situ measurements and only under present-day contitions. To assess the evolution of planets and exoplanets we must understand the physics of planetary–stellar wind interaction, and here laboratory experiments have a role to play. Two aspects will be examined here: plasma boundaries in the planetary environment, which shield the atmospheres from the stellar wind, and the aurora, which with its optical and radio emissions enable remote sensing of the planetary environment.


To analyze the strength training of Jiangsu Tongxi men's basketball team in the winter season training,the paper inspect,analyzes and discusses the competition tasks,strength training content,training method,arrangement,load and effect.It summarizes the strength training features of the high-level professional basketball team to provide references for the strength trainings of China's professional basketball team.


An interconnection structure configured to be located at an entrance of the airway of a patient, comprising: an interface under the nose (80) adapted to contact the skin surfaces, the interface (80) that includes sufficient softness and conformity in a normal direction to the patient's face to conform to the facial anatomy with which it is interconnecting, where the interface (80) is constructed of foam and includes an unlined surface (CS) on the surfaces to interconnect or contact the skin of the patient in use, the interface structure characterized by the fact that the interface (80) is provided with a hole configured to cover both of the openings of the patient's nostrils.


Unhappiness after childbirth is usually hidden. Think of all thebooks with photographs of shining, starry-eyed women cradling their beautiful babies. Women who are distressed feel that they have a shameful secret they must keep to themselves. They often believe that they are different from all other new mothers, and feel isolated. When they try to describe how they are feeling they may be told: 'Be grateful that you've got a perfect baby'. Their unhappiness is explained away as 'the blues' or 'upset hormones'. If they go to their GPs they may be diagnosed as depressed and prescribed anti-depressants, which for a woman who is anxious and on red alert all the time, makes her feel much worse.


UK food policy assemblages link a broad range of actors in place-based contexts, working to address increasingly distanciated food supply chains, issues of food justice and more. Academic interest in social movements, such as Sustainable Food Cities, has in recent years taken a participatory turn, with academics seeking to foreground the voices of community-based actors and to work alongside them as part of the movement. Bringing together literatures on multiscalar food governance and participatory methods, this paper investigates the intersection of food policy networks via a place-based case study focused on the co-convening of a community acting to co-produce knowledge of household food insecurity in a UK city. By taking a scholar activist approach, this paper sets out how a place-based cross-sectoral food community mobilised collective knowledge and brought together a community of practice to tackle urgent issues of food justice. Drawing from Borras 2016, it will explore how scholar activism requires the blurring of boundaries between thinking and doing in order to both act with, and reflect on, the food movement. The issues of actively driving forward a food network, along with the tensions and challenges that arise, are investigated, whilst also foregrounding the role academics have in linking food policy and praxis via place-based food communities.


In this paper we try to address the theory of the Hassan loan and the extent to which this type of loan, as an Islamic solution, can achieve successfully its social and economic goals in Algeria. We try also to address the experience of Algeria in the adoption of the Hassan loan and in investing Zakat , organizing the collection of Zakat Funds, establishing a fund for charitable operations, and exploiting zakat in the process of good lending. We will discuss the extent to which this type of loan, as an Islamic solution, can achieve successfully its social and economic goals in Algeria. On the other hand, we will tackle how this experience can be a catalyst for the foundation of investment associations, the establishment of Islamic banks and the preparation for the existence of Islamic banking in Algeria. Finally, we concluded that the experience of the Zakat Fund encouraged Muzakin and investors to deal with Islamic banks and expanded the applications of good loans at Islamic banks. On the other hand, we concluded that the successful operation of Hassan loan projects requires good management and strict monitoring and control.


Forecasting the turning points in business cycles is important to economic and political decisions. Time series of business indicators often exhibit cycles that cannot easily be modelled with a parametric function. This article presents a method for monitoring time-series with cycles in order to detect the turning points. A non-parametric estimation procedure that uses only monotonicity restrictions is used. The methodology of statistical surveillance is used for developing a system for early warnings of cycle turning points in monthly data. In monitoring, the inference situation is one of repeated decisions. Measurements of the performance of a method of surveillance are, for example, average run length and expected delay to a correct alarm. The properties of the proposed monitoring system are evaluated by means of a simulation study. The false alarms are controlled by a fixed median run length to the first false alarm. Results are given on the median delay time to a correct alarm for two situations: a peak after two and three years respectively .


The paper evaluates the Skylab missions from the viewpoint of to what extent the presence of men may have been a detriment to scientific observations, either through their movements or through contamination of the spacecraft and instruments. The stability of the instrument canister within the Apollo Telescope Mount was secured by the Experiment Pointing Control System. Angular stability was specified to be within plus or minus 2.5 arc seconds, and was found to be less than 2 arc seconds during normal crew activity. No astronomical observations were reported as being degraded by crew movements. Instrumentation was installed to measure rates of contaminant particle deposition on optical surfaces. Clouds were formed from particles originating in outgassing from vehicle surface materials and from vent apertures. The Coronograph Contamination Measurement Instrument was used to measure the brightness of the induced cloud surrounding Skylab. Preliminary analysis shows no significant degradation of photographic data attributable to contamination.


ABSTRACT The establishment of the State of Israel symbolised the beginning of a new era in the relationship between Muslims and Jews and sparked a religious conflict that has continued to date. This article examines the main precepts underlying the rejection of the idea of Jewish statehood/nationhood by the Muslim Brotherhood, perhaps the largest and most influential Islamist movement in the post-World War I era.


Objective To explore factors that influence the occurrence of non-alcohol fatty liver disease(NAFLD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM) and the relationship between NAFLD and insulin resistance/cardiovascular diseases(CVD).Methods The general data and laboratory test results of 838 T2DM in-patients were analyzed retrospectively,while NAFLD was diagnosed according to ultrasound findings.The general data,functions of pancreatic islet,lipid levels,and complications/comorbilities were compared between T2DM patients with or without NAFLD.Results Of these T2DM inpatients,442(52.7%) had NAFLD(group A) and 396(47.3%) had no NAFLD(group B).Compared with group A,alanine transarninase(ALT) and γ-Gt levels significantly increased in of group B,while the AST/ALT significantly declined;TG increased but HDL-C reduced;and insulin and c-peptide area under the curve,HOMA-β,and HOMA-IR index significantly increased.In group B,the incidences of cerebrovascular diseases,diabetic foot,coronary heart disease,hypertension,metabolic syndrome,and carotid arteries or double lower limbs of atherosclerosis were significantly higher than in group A(allP0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that that the body mass index,waist/hip ratio,TG,metabolic syndrome,ALT,HOMA-IR,and area under the curve of insulin were independant risk factors of NAFLD(allP0.05).Conclusion T2DM patients with NAFLD often have overweight/obesity,hypertension,lipid disorders,and other metabolic syndrom-related manifestations,indicating that NAFLD is closely correlated with insulin resistance.Furthermore,T2DM patients with NAFLD are more susceptible to CVDs.


This paper aims to observe effects of dynamic mathematics software (GeoGebra) on eight grade students' achievements for the subjects of triangles. Two eighth grade classes from a primary school were selected as experiment and control groups. A two weeks course was planned in accordance with the official course curriculum for the experiment group. The planned and GeoGebra constructed activities which demand effective use of GeoGebra for this grade shared with the students during the learning and teaching process. Simultaneously, the control group continued their formal teaching and learning procedure. A pre test, a post test and a recall test were used to assess the possible effect of the dynamic mathematics software for the groups both before and after the classroom activities. Possible comparisons between the tests and the groups were performed. The results show that dynamic software (GeoGebra) has positive effects on students' learning and achievements. It has also been observed that it improves students' motivation with positive impact.


The problem of how to choose the constellation size based on the estimated channel qualities in AOFDM systems is addressed in this paper. The close forms of the number of bits that per-sub-carrier-symbol can transmit and the Bit-Error-Probability (BER) are given as the functions of the switching thresholds. The approach to obtain the optimized switching thresholds subjected to different constraints is also given. The proposed method is validated by the simulation results with a specific channel.


Amphiphilic block copolymers, poly(1,1-dimethylsilacyclobutane-block-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (poly(DMSB-b-HEMA)), poly(1,1-diethylsilacyclobutane-b-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (poly(DESB-b-HEMA)), and poly(1,1-dibutylsilacyclobutane-block-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (poly(DBSB-b-HEMA), were synthesized by a living anionic polymerization, and their self-assembled structures were investigated. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) analysis suggested that the block copolymers formed micelles in methanol and that the aggregation number of the micelles increased with the increase of polysilacyclobutane (polySB) content and number of carbon atoms in the alkyl groups on silicon. A remarkable temperature dependence of the micelle structure of poly(DMSB-b-HEMA) was observed. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) revealed that the block copolymer formed spherical micelle with a core−shell structure above room temperature and a disklike micelle below room temperature. The surface pressure−area per molecule (π−A...


OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficiency of different implant decontamination methods regarding to biofilm modification and potential cytotoxic effects. Therefore, the amount of biofilm reduction, cytocompatibility and elementary surface alterations were evaluated after decontamination of titanium and zirconium surfaces.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Titanium and zirconium disks were contaminated with a newly developed high-adherence biofilm consisting of six microbial species. Decontaminations were performed using titanium curette, stainless steel ultrasonic scaler (US), glycine (GPAP) and erythritol (EPAP) powder air-polishing, Er:YAG laser, 1% chlorhexidine (CHX), 10% povidone-iodine (PVI), 14% doxycycline (doxy), and 0.95% NaOCl solution. Microbiologic analysis was done using real-time qPCR. For assessment of cytocompatibility, a multiplex-assay for the detection of cytotoxicity, viability, and apoptosis on human gingival fibroblasts was performed. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to evaluate chemical alterations on implant surfaces.

RESULTS
Compared to untreated control disks, only GPAP, EPAP, US and Er:YAG laser significantly reduced rRNA counts (activity) on titanium and zirconium (p<0.01), whereas NaOCl decreased rRNA count on titanium (p<0.01). Genome count (bacterial presence) was significantly reduced by GPAP, EPAP and US on zirconium only (p<0.05). XPS-analyses revealed relevant re-exposure of implant surface elements after GPAP, EPAP and US treatment on both materials, however, not after Er:YAG laser application. Cytocompatibility was impaired by CHX, PVI, doxy, and NaOCl. CHX and PVI resulted in lowest viability, doxy in highest apoptosis.

CONCLUSIONS
Within the limits of this in-vitro study, air-polishing methods and ultrasonic device resulted in effective biofilm inactivation with surface re-exposure and favorable cytocompatibility on titanium and zirconium. Chemical agents, when applied on implant surfaces, may cause potential cytotoxic effects.