The characteristics of the bottom boundary layer are reported from a Lake Michigan field study carried out in deep hypolimnetic waters (55 m depth) during the stratified period (June–September 2012). The sandy substrate at the measurement site was densely covered with invasive quagga mussels (mean size: 1.6 cm; mean density: 10,000 mussels m). The measurements reveal a sluggish, compact bottom boundary layer, with flow speeds at 1 mab less than 5 cm s for most of the period, and a dominance of subinertial energy. A downwelling event caused the largest currents observed during the deployment (10 cm s at 1 mab) and a logarithmic layer thickness of 15 m. In spite of the weak flow, logarithmic profile fitting carried out on high-resolution, near-bed velocity profiles show consistent logarithmic structure (90% of profiles). Flow was dominated by subinertial energy but strong modified by near-inertial waves. Fitted drag coefficients and roughness values are Cd1m 5 0.004 and z0 5 0.12 cm, respectively. These values increase with decreasing flow speed, but approach canonical values for 1 mab flow speeds exceeding 4 cm s. The estimated vertical extent of the logarithmic region was compact, with a mean value of 1.2 m and temporal variation that is reasonably described by Ekman scaling, 0.07 u /f , and the estimated overall Ekman layer thickness was generally less than 10 m. Near-bed dissipation rates inferred from the law of the wall were 10210 W kg and turbulent diffusivities were 10210 ms.


Flash-based SSD RAID arrays are increasingly being deployed in data centers. Compared with HDD arrays, SSD arrays drastically enhance storage density and I/O performance, and reduce power and rack space. Nevertheless, SSDs suffer aging issues. Though prior studies have been conducted to address this disadvantage, effective techniques of RAID/SSD controllers are urgently needed to extend the lifetime of SSD arrays. In this paper, we for the first time apply approximate storage via the interplay of RAID and SSD controllers to optimize the lifespan of SSD arrays. Our basic idea is to reuse faulty blocks (those contain pages with uncorrectable errors) to store approximate data (which can tolerate more errors). By relaxing the integrity of flash blocks, we observed that the endurance of NAND flash memory can be significantly boosted, thereby providing huge potentials to significantly extend the lifetime of SSDs. Based on this observation, we propose the use of an efficient space management scheme for data allocation and FTL strategies by coordinating the interplay of RAID and SSD controllers to optimize the lifetime of SSD arrays. We implemented a prototype, called FreeRAID, based on an SSD array simulator. Our experiments show that we can significantly increase the lifetime by up to 2.17× compared with conventional SSD-based RAID arrays.


Purpose: This study was to identify the relationship between stress, self-efficacy, resilience and college adjustment in
nursing students. Method: The data were collected from 117 nursing students, using self-report questionnaires. Result:
The mean score of stress was 1.93, self-efficacy 3.23, resilience 3.49 and college adjustment 3.22. There were significant
differences on four variables according to the health status, interpersonal relationship, major satisfaction, college life
satisfaction and clinical practice satisfaction. College adjustment had a significant negative correlation with stress(f=-.386,
p<.001). While, College adjustment had a significant positive correlation with self-efficacy(F=.610, p<.001) and resilience(
F=.663, p<.001). Conclusion: According the study findings nursing school can provide facilities and opportunities for
students to learn stress management strategies such as increasing self-efficacy and resilience ability during educational
program.


A cutting device for repairing concrete road is provided to prevent fine dust generated in cutting concrete in several lines from being flowed to outside by using a water jet device and a dust removal device. A cutting device for repairing concrete road comprises a rotary spindle(114), a plurality of circular cutting blades(120), an ascent and descent device(200), a cover(130), a water jet device(300), a dust removal device(400), and an adhesive pad(132). The circular cutting blade is mounted at a rotary spindle between spacers. The circular cutting blade cuts the repaired concrete surface. The water jet device is assembled in the fixed position of a chassis frame(100) and the inner surface of the cover. The water jet device sprays the water to the cutting blade and concrete surface. The dust removal device is mounted on the fixed position of the chassis frame and the inner surface of the cover. The dust removal device absorbs dust generated in cutting the concrete and removes dust.


Large cities are facing with traffic congestion and increased emissions. With the increase in the city population there is an increase in user mobility, which results in congestion on the street network. For short-distance movements of up to 8 km, micromobility creates new mobility services in cities, which contributes to reducing congestion on the street network. In addition to reducing congestion, micromobility will also create changes in parking and street space distribution. Because of their advantages, electric micro vehicles have the potential to replace the car for a significant percentage of short trips in cities. This will help cities reduce the number of cars on city streets. This paper presents the analysis of means of transport, the analysis of multimodality through the "Share mobility" concept and the "MaaS" concept, as well as through the infrastructural requirements of electric micro vehicles.


During the past twenty years substantial progress has been made in understanding work motivation. However, the knowledge has not been adequately transferred to the study of educational administration. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to summarize and assess critically a number of models of work motivation and related research which have implications for educational organizations.


Objective To analyze the cause, regularity and clinic significance of non-hepatic artery blood supply of liver cancer. Methods Digital subtraction angiography was performed to certificate 74 samples of liver cancer with non-hepatic artery supply, and their characteristics were summarized and analyzed. Results 8 paths were discovered from the 74 samples, among which there were 29 samples(39.2%)from inferior phrenic artery, 13 samples(17.6%) from left gastric artery, 9 samples(12.2%) from right intercostal artery. Some samples had one non-hepatic artery and others had several. The non-hepatic artery supply of liver cancer had relations not only with the cancer' s location and sizes, but also with the hepatic arterial occlusion. Conclusion Liver cancer possesses rich blood supply from non-hepatic artery. To recognize the characteristics and regulations of blood supply of non-hepatic artery contributes significant direction to clinic therapy.


Do changes in US alliance strategy toward Japan affect the US' ability to succeed in reassuring, deterring, and compelling a rising China? This study contends that when the US pursues a distancing strategy toward from Japan, Japan adopts hedging strategies that may undercut US reassurance, deterrence, and compelling China. When the US pursues increased coordination with Japan, however, Japan increases its support for US policy toward China. Stronger Japanese support for US policy, in turn, strengthens the US' ability to reassure, deter, and compel China. In making this argument, this study speaks to ongoing policy debates over the US-Japan alliance and supplements the existing scholarship on alliance dynamics by highlighting the independent causal significance of strategy. To evaluate this argument and its alternatives, this study conducts an analysis of changes in the US' alliance strategy following the end of the Cold War, examining its association with Japanese support for US policy and US success in deterring, reassuring, and compelling China in three key policy domains: The East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and the Korean Peninsula. The study concludes with suggestions for US strategy and policy in the Asia-Pacific. THE US-JAPAN ALLIANCE AND CHINA'S RISE Alliance Strategy and Reassurance, Deterrence, and Compellence by Erik David French B.A., Colgate University, 2012 M.A., Syracuse University, 2010 Dissertation Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science Syracuse University August 2018 Copyright © 2018 Erik David French


Abstract Objective: Research examining the impact of childhood cancer on parenting is limited. This qualitative study explored perceptions from adolescents and parents of the impact of childhood cancer on parenting 2–5 years post-end of treatment. Methods: Fifty-seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with: (a) 14 parents of preadolescent children (the 'parents of children' group); and (b) 21 adolescents and 22 parents of adolescents (the 'adolescents and their parents' group; N = 43). Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify and interpret themes. Results: Six main themes emerged: (1) Parenting strategies: relaxing discipline, bribing and spoiling children; (2) Regressive parenting; (3) Structured parenting: keeping up a 'normal' routine; (4) Intimacy, closeness and emotional support; (5) Differential parenting; and (6) Parental protectiveness. Some themes were group specific, whilst other themes emerged for both the 'parents of children' and 'adolescents and their parents' groups. Some reports of parenting were associated with initial stages of cancer whereas other aspects of parenting attitudes and behaviours appeared to exist after the demands of diagnosis and treatment. This suggests that there is some overlap in the parenting strategies used during 'active' stages of the disease and survivorship. Conclusion: Our results highlight the importance of understanding parenting processes that can operate throughout the disease trajectory for families experiencing paediatric cancer. Parenting is an ongoing process and as such, parenting intervention efforts should not be limited to the active treatment phase of a child's diagnosis.


The article contains the results of theoretical analysis and the state of implementation of pedagogical practice on the problem of gender education of children with intellectual disabilities of primary school age. This aspect of educational work is appropriate for children with intellectual disabilities, whose upbringing is complicated by underdevelopment of mental processes, a high level of suggestion and is closely related to correction. Gender education is a consistent and systematic process that is the basis for further stages of education and socialization of the child and involves the formation of the child's cognitive, emotional and behavioral components of education.
Pedagogical support of gender education must organically embody truthfulness, adequacy and accessibility; dosing the amount of information, to correspond to the age of the pupils, their ability to perceive the impact and psychological characteristics. This attitude is aimed at a differentiated approach taking into account gender, the degree of mental retardation, methodological training of educators, understanding the peculiarities of the manifestations of sex in the child.


Safety has become a serious problem in the front of governments around world. In order to study and solve safety problem, simulation technology is the key basis, since no safety experiment can be allowed in real factory. However, the exact quantitative mathematic model of chemical factory is too large and complicated to be created and calculated. On the contrary, qualitative simulation can be relative easily to model and quickly to calculate. A qualitative simulation method is proposed based on signed directed graph (SDG). It can effectively present cause and effect relationship between components in complex system. By iteration and expert rules, SDG model can efficiently find out potential hazard hidden in system. Inspired by the mechanism of most popular PHA method, e.g. Hazard Operability Study (HAZOP), a SDG-HAZOP method is recommended to substitute for manual hazard analysis. A 65t/h boiler's example is provided to demonstrate this novel hazard analysis method, and its advantages and disadvantages are also discussed.


A key element for the transition to sustainable energy lies in the transformation of the power plant fleet, which is dominated by fossil fuels, towards sustainable energy production from renewable energy sources. An increase in efficiency and reduction of exhaust gas emissions, especially the minimization of CO2 emissions, is possible through the use of new turbine materials which can withstand higher temperature levels. Oxide ceramics are well known for their high stability in aggressive environments, low density, high melting point, high stiffness and great creep resistance, but their brittleness has strongly limited their number of applications. Therefore, the implementation of fiber reinforcement using the 3D braiding process shows great potential to increase the damage tolerance of CMC and consequently the performance of thermal machines significantly.
 Currently, the impregnation of 3D braids for the reinforcement of ceramic composites poses a challenge due to the high packing density of the textiles. In order to enable a homogeneous impregnation of the fiber structures using highly viscous ceramic slurries, the CMC research group at RWTH Aachen University's Institute of Textile Technology (ITA) is investigating the combination of 3D braiding and pressure slip casting for an economical production of all-oxide CMCs. To increase the impregnation quality of dense textiles, this paper describes approaches to reduce the filter effect of braids. The results of an initial investigation into the functionalization of 2D braided reinforcement structures by using support structures and flow aids are described. The effectiveness of the impregnation ability is assessed by evaluating the residual porosity of generated green compacts via μCT analysis.


This study wanted to determine dimensions of customer satisfaction. For this purpose, researchers developed a model by taking an experiential view. In this article, a standard questionnaire was used for collecting the data and, the authors report a comparative study that was conducted on two samples of real customers at apartment industry (low income and high income) in Iran. The results from a low income sample revealed that the customer satisfaction is influenced more by customer cost and product quality than other constructs. M oreover, the role of customer satisfaction as a mediating factor in the intention of word of mouth is supported. In contrary, in high income sample customer satisfaction influenced more by product quality and service quality than other constructs. In addition, the role of customer satisfaction as a mediating factor in the intention of word of mouth is rejected. A notable advantage of the model developed in this study is that, it covers essentially all the quality issues an apartment customer may encounter (i.e. physical or product, service, and environment).


Background: The implementation of the waste bank to reduce the cost of hazardous and toxic medical waste management needs to be optimized so that it is effective to reduce costs and additional hospital income. Aim: The study aims to determine the factors causing the non-optimal management of medical waste at Surya Husadha Hospital through the implementation of the waste bank. Methods: This study applied a qualitative approach with purposive sampling at Surya Husadha Hospital. Data were collected through observation, in-depth interviews and documentation from six informants. Result: Some obstacles cause the implementation of the waste bank at Surya Husadha Hospital in reducing


Most cities in India have very high air and noise pollution caused by transport vehicles especially petrol/diesel-powered three-wheelers. An improved and electric cycle rickshaw can provide a non- polluting and very silent transport system for urban and rural areas of India. It can also provide large- scale employment to millions of urban and rural poor. NARI has therefore developed two types of rickshaws; a) Improved pedal cycle rickshaw (IMPRA) and b) Motor assisted pedal rickshaw (MAPRA). The details of these rickshaws are given in this paper. It is shown that these rickshaws can provide a safe, environmentally friendly, energy efficient and cost-effective transport system in cities and towns of India. Commercialization, technology, social and policy issues are discussed for large- scale introduction of these rickshaws. Introduction Most of the cities and towns in India are highly polluted. The main reason is the air and noise pollution caused by transport vehicles, especially petrol and diesel-powered two and three-wheelers. In India there are presently close to 18 million petrol-powered two wheelers and about 1.5 million petrol and diesel-powered three-wheelers and their population is growing at rate of about 15% per annum 1 . Besides being a major hazard to people's health, these machines are guzzling huge amounts of petrol and diesel for which the country has to pay dearly in foreign exchange outflow. It is a common sight in India and in other developing countries that during traffic jams in congested areas of cities these vehicles produce tremendous air pollution 1 . For example three wheeler diesel tempos in Lucknow city (capital of Uttar Pradesh) produce close to 70-80 decibel noise at a distance of 1-2 m, besides belching out huge amounts of particulates into the air. These diesel tempos have been recently banned in certain parts of Lucknow and have been replaced by equally polluting Tata Sumos. Similar data exist for almost all major towns where diesel/petrol three wheelers are being introduced. Recent incident of banning of six seater diesel tempos in Pune attests to this pollution problem 2 . Even in rural areas in taluka/tehsil towns the spread of diesel/petrol three wheelers has started affecting air quality 1 . There is therefore an urgent need to introduce in cities and towns of India an environmentally sound transport system which is cost effective and which provides large scale employment for urban and rural poor. An electric cycle rickshaw can provide a non-polluting, point-to-point and a very silent transport system for urban and rural areas of India. Besides it is a very energy efficient and cost effective vehicle. Work done at our Institute has shown that improved cycle rickshaw powered by an electric motor and batteries has a potential to provide an attractive alternative to petrol and diesel- powered three-wheelers. They can also provide large-scale employment and extra income to the rickshaw puller. Existing cycle rickshaw scene It is estimated that close to 2 million cycle rickshaws ply on the Indian roads carrying about 6-8 billion passenger-kms/year 1 . The exact number could be even greater since there are no reliable records available. In some cities and small towns they are the major means of transport. They provide employment to more than 2 million rickshaw pullers, are very maneuverable, completely non- polluting and hence environmentally friendly means of transport. In the narrow lanes of towns and cities probably they are the only transport system to provide point to point travel. It is however very unfortunate that deliberate policies in most of the urban towns of developing countries have been


THE ADHESIVITY OF AN ASPHALTIC BITUMEN IS DEFINED AS ITS ABILITY TO RESIST BEING DISPLACED BY WATER FROM AN AGGREGATE. TO EVALUATE THIS PROPERTY THE FOLLOWING TESTS HAVE BEEN USED: (1) THE PARTITION TEST, WHICH MEASURES THE AMOUNT OF NON-OIL-WETTED MATERIAL AFTER SHAKING A MIXTURE OF FINE AGGREGATE, WATER, AND ASPHALTIC OIL, IS CONSIDERED TO GIVE ONLY VERY ROUGH RESULTS. (2) VARIOUS WATER-DISPLACEMENT TESTS, IN WHICH THE AGGREGATE IS COATED WITH BITUMEN AND THEN SUBJECTED TO THE ACTION OF WATER AT A GIVEN TEMPERATURE, APPEAR TO GIVE THE MOST PROMISING RESULTS. THE AUTHOR USES 20 HRS SOAKING IN DISTILLED WATER AT ROOM TEMPERATURE FOR UNCURED CUTBACKS, AND AT 140 F FOR COMPLETELY CURED CUTBACKS AND PAVING BITUMENS. A FURTHER ACCELERATED TEST IS TO BOIL IN DISTILLED WATER FOR 1-5 MIN. THE ADHESIVITY VALUE IS THE PERCENTAGE REMAINING COATED AND IS ESTIMATED VISUALLY. (3) IN THE ABRASION-DISPLACEMENT TESTS COATED MINERAL AGGREGATE IS SHAKEN UNDER WATER IN A CAN IN A SHAKING MACHINE UNTIL THE TEST IS COMPLETED, AND IS GENERALLY THE TIME REQUIRED TO REMOVE A GIVEN PERCENTAGE - E.G., 50 PERCENT. IT IS CONSIDERED THAT TEST (2) GIVES THE MOST INDICATIVE RESULTS, PREFERENCE BEING GIVEN TO THAT AT 140 F SINCE (3) IS SUBJECTED TO THE ERRORS OF (2) AS WELL AS ABRASIVE EFFECTS. TO OBTAIN RESULTS OF A MORE PRACTICAL CHARACTER CIRCULAR TRACK TESTS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO A STANDARD PROCEDURE, AND DETAILS OF ITS OPERATION ARE GIVEN. THE BREAKDOWN OF THE TRACK IS TAKEN AS THE NUMBER OF REVOLUTIONS OF THE MACHINE REQUIRED TO LOOSEN 10 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL BITUMEN-AGGREGATE MIXTURE LAID. BETWEEN 78 AND 90 F. THERE IS A MEAN INCREASE OF 840 REVS./DEGREE DECREASE IN TEMPERATURE AND AT 90 F. AN INCREASE OF 450 REVS./DEGREE RISE IN SOFTENING POINT, THE TRACK BEING RUN UNDER WATER AND CONTINUOUSLY IN EACH CASE. A CORRELATION HAS BEEN INDICATED BETWEEN THE RESULTS OBTAINED ON THE CIRCULAR TRACK AND THE LABORATORY TESTS (2). BY THE USE OF SUITABLE WETTING AGENTS, PARTICULARLY HEAVY METAL SOAPS IN THE BITUMEN, THE TRACK LIFE HAS BEEN INCREASED UP TO 3.88 TIMES THAT OF THE UNTREATED BITUMEN. A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF WORK REMAINS TO BE DONE TO DEVELOP A SMALL-SCALE QUANTITATIVE LABORATORY TEST WHICH CAN BE CORRELATED WITH ROAD RESULTS.


Advancements in technology associated with 3D imaging for both print and digital applications are transforming many aspects of geology. Museums, researchers, and educators are now using 3D models to depict and reproduce fossils, minerals, and crystals for study, thereby reducing the risk of damage to valuable original specimens. This project examined which of the two processes available to Cedarville University geology program produces the best quality digital image and, subsequently, the best 3D printed object of a macroscopic-sized specimen. The first method utilizes the camera on a smartphone to take overlapping photos of the entire specimen (fossil or mineral) – top, bottom, and sides. Then, using free software called AutoDesk Remake the images are processed into a digital 3D model. The digital model is then sent to a LulzBot Mini 3D printer for printing. The second method makes use of a NextEngine 3D scanner rather than a camera. The specimen is placed on a rotating pedestal and laser scanners sweep across the specimen as cameras look at how much distortion is created. The scanner data is imported into ScanStudio HD software and a point cloud is created. From the point cloud a 3D model is created for viewing on the computer or for 3D printing. For this study the quality of the digital images and printed reproductions that were derived from the two methods was compared. In the final analysis of the various 3D models (printed and digital) it was determined that the 3D scanning process produced the better quality facsimiles. Erica A. Loughner, Jordan C. Oldham 1. Cedarville University, Department of Science and Mathematics, Cedarville, OH a email@example.com, b email@example.com Acknowledgements: We would like to thank professor Tom Rice for his help and guidance on this project. We would also like to thank Dr. Kohl and Dr. Norman of the Engineering Department for the use of their equipment. Method 1: Smart Phone Method 2: 3D Scanner


Increasingly more older people are now being cared for in their own homes. Furthermore, it has become more common that people stay at home to receive end-of-life care. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), we analyzed the religious experiences of older people (aged 65+). We answered these questions: What kind of religious experiences do older people have when death is approaching? What does this tell us about their religious coping? As IPA is based on the in-depth analysis of small amounts of homogenous data, we analyzed five interviews with older people who were dying. We identified three main themes. First, religious experiences are relational, that is, deeply rooted in personal relationships. Second, religious experiences are real and can provide both struggles and comfort in the last stage of life. Third, the experience of encountering one's mortality and planning for one's death was calming; while many had unclear views on the afterlife, the idea of continuing bonds after death was comforting. More open discussion on religious matters, death, and dying would be welcomed as part of home-based end-of-life care.


In the global world space of polycultures and polylinguistics the role of multilingual education, which provides an opportunity to develop identities, increases. This identity is capable to work well in a multicultural and multiethnic environment and has a great sense of understanding and of respect for another nations and cultures. It is possible to specificate the definition of multilingual training identifying his educational potential. Multilingual education is integral part of humanitarian training of personality and of a willingness to engage in culture's dialog taking into account specificities of native and foreign languages. This is reflection of cultural values, of culture determining behavior on the basis of mutual respect, tolerance and understanding. Compiling the results of the study of russian and international specialists, we have been able to identify approaches defining specific character of multicultural education, such as axiological, culturological and communicative approaches. According to this grounds, we highlighted the components of multilingual training, such as cognitive experience of personality consisting in improving knowledge about achieving, norms of native and international cultures, languages and understanding of cultural diversity; such as the experiences of different kind of activities, including creative activities; such as experiences relating to world, Alien, itself, activity in situations of multicultural and poly-lingual contacts. We produced analysis and allocated the values of multilingual education on basis that it has axiological focus along pedagogical tracks. Self-determination regarding the values of poly-lingual training is process of value identity. This is process of individual development of student reflecting his ascension to the values of multilingual education. This is result expressed in willingness to engage in culture's dialogue, to make responsible choices of objectives and purports with involves personal changes of identity in the treatment of poly-lingual and poly-cultural world, of other people and of real self. Such an interpretation had projected the principles and conditions of value identity of multilingual education.


We construct a numerical model for a liquid microlens formed by filling a microwell with two immiscible liquids, namely oil and water. The water–oil interface can be actuated as a tunable liquid lens because its curvature is well controlled by applying an external electric field. The contact angle of the oil droplet has the opposite tendency to that of a traditional water-filled microwell because of the repulsion force from the water phase. We study the dynamic interface deformation as functions of time and applied voltage, which typically within 10 ms is good enough as an imaging system for human eyes. In addition, using two different filling liquids provides more possibilities for tuning the focal length.We construct a numerical model for a liquid microlens formed by filling a microwell with two immiscible liquids, namely oil and water. The water–oil interface can be actuated as a tunable liquid lens because its curvature is well controlled by applying an external electric field. The contact angle of the oil droplet has the opposite tendency to that of a traditional water-filled microwell because of the repulsion force from the water phase. We study the dynamic interface deformation as functions of time and applied voltage, which typically within 10 ms is good enough as an imaging system for human eyes. In addition, using two different filling liquids provides more possibilities for tuning the focal length.


The article studies an ICT collaborative project developed in the framework of the regional innovation policy of the PACA region, France. It seeks to gain a better understanding of the evolution of a community-based open innovation network shaped during the project implementation. Conditions for its emergence, construction and stabilisation are discussed from theoretical and practical viewpoints, including governance design and leadership characteristics as well as factors determining collaboration (IPR, timespan and individual characteristics of participants). Community animation style is highlighted as an important ingredient for emergence of innovative ideas from the cognitive resources of the territory, to favour smart specialisation. A longitudinal and qualitative method of observation is used, covering the period from the emergence of the project until its administrative end, with follow-up of emerged innovative enterprises. A participative research approach is adopted to collect diverse data (minutes of meeting, working documents, etc.) and to conduct interviews during the project.


The aim of this paper was to investigate the influence of  oil price fluctuations on the nominal exchange rate of US dollar in Libya, we have used v ector e rror c orrection e stimates (VECM) test through monthly time series data covering the period between January 2000 to December 2015. This is an important topic for study due to price oil volatility can affect a country's terms of trade which can affect its competitiveness. The experimental results revealed for a bidirectional causality relationship between prices of oil  and exchange rate. Additionally, the findings reveal that a 10% rise in the oil price coincides with a 27% exchange rate depreciation in the long run and that the causality runs from oil to the dollar. This implies that prices of oil are an important variable in determining the strength of the currency and its volatility. Therefore, the Libya government should consider the influences of oil prices when formulating and implementing economies policies especiall the nominal exchange rate policies as this will help to enhance the exchange rate in Libya. Additionally, diversify more their economics.


It is generally agreed that the current automatic incident detection algorithms do not achieve the desirable levels. The widespread adoption of mobile phone use among the motoring public suggests considerable potential for incident reporting through mobile phones. The primary advantages of mobile phones are their low cost compared with the cost of a network-wide sensing system. And they are abundant. In this paper, we first explore an approach to simulate incident detection via mobile phone based on a stochastic modeling of section-wide lane traffic systems, which is the real-time estimation of the incident-induced traffic congestion and then discuss the numerical results.


In fire hazard calculations, knowledge of the heat-release rate (HRR) of a burning item is imperative. Typically, room-scale calorimetry is conducted to determine the HRRs of common combustible items. However, this process can be prohibitively expensive. In this work, a method is proposed to invert for the HRR of a single item burning in a room using transient heat flux measurements at the walls and ceiling near the item. The primary device used to measure heat flux is the directional flame thermometer (DFT). The utility of the inverse method is explored on both synthetically generated and experimental data using two so-called forward models in the inversion algorithm: fire dynamics simulator (FDS) and the consolidated model of fire and smoke transport (CFAST). The fires in this work have peak HRRs ranging from 200 kW to 400 kW. It was found that FDS outperformed CFAST as a forward model at the expense of increased computational cost and that the error in the inverse reconstruction of a 400 kW steady fire was on par with room-scale oxygen consumption calorimetry.


We present magneto-optical evidence for the formation of a magnetic-field-induced spin superlattice in modulated ZnSe/${\mathrm{Zn}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Mn}}_{\mathit{x}}$Se structures. In the samples studied, the offsets in both the conduction band and the valence band are very small at zero magnetic field. When a magnetic field is applied, the large Zeeman splitting of the ${\mathrm{Zn}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Mn}}_{\mathit{x}}$Se band edges overcomes the zero-field offsets and results in the formation of a spin superlattice in which spin states of both electrons and holes are spatially and periodically separated.


Abstract This secondary analysis used a 10% random sample from the national Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) of Medicare beneficiaries ≥ 65 years old who received home health (HH) care in 2017 (N=646,109). We examined the risk of hospital admission during a 60-day HH episode among Medicare home health patients in different living arrangements, including living alone at home (23.8%), living with other at home (64.8%), and residing in assisted facility (AL) facilities (11.4%). At the start of the HH episode, AL residents were older, more likely to have cognitive impairment, depressive symptoms, and limitations in activities of daily living (ADL) than those living at home at home (alone/with others). In the multivariable logistic regression model of hospital admission adjusting for demographic status (age, sex, race/ethnicity, Medicaid status), cognitive impairment, depressive symptoms, and ADL limitations, when compared to HH patients living with others at home (reference), AL residents were 15% less likely to have hospital admission (Odds Ratio [OR]=0.85, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.84, 0.88, p<0.001). HH patients living at home alone were not statistically significantly different from the reference (OR=0.99, 95% CI: 0.98, 1.01, p=0.47). HH patients in AL, despite having worse cognitive, mental, and physical function at baseline, had better outcomes than those living at home. This suggests 1) older adults living at home may have unmet health or personal care needs, and 2) synergies may exist between post-acute care through HH care and long-term care and support at AL that are critical to patient welfare.


Women with metastatic breast carcinoma have a highly variable clinical course and outcome. Intrinsic genetic heterogeneity of the primary breast tumor may play a role in this variability and may explain it in part. Therefore, the authors tested the hypothesis that the characteristics of primary breast tumors are important determinants of prognosis and survival in patients with metastatic breast carcinoma.


In the reinforced concrete beam structure of the cable-beam,demanding for the direct effect of the plate on cable is concentrated force.Due to the interactions of cable-beam structure and the plates around,there are some distributive issues.Regarding the peripheral plates as spring bearing,then calculates the stiffness coefficient of spring,obtaining the axial force that cable handed down to the cable-beam.


Abstract : Earth-covered corrugated steel structures, both fullsize and quarter-scale models, were tested. The tests were designed to obtain a measure of the blast resistance and the radiation resistance of this type of structure (a 25- foot span arch) if it were used for a personnel shelter. A full-scale structure successfully withstood peak pressures of 11-psi side on and 30-psi dynamic on the open plain. Another full-scale structure failed under the load produced by peak pressures of 30-psi side-on and 170-psi dynamic on the open plain. Prompt radiation was attenuated by a factor of 100; the radiation resistance would be greatly improved by additional thickness of earth cover at the crown. The performance of the models was roughly consistent with expectations. Although further experimentation will be required before the reliability of the model results can be assured, the TEAPOT results suggest that static model tests prior to any further full-scale blast tests will enhance the value of the results, and will reduce the cost, of such full-scale operations.


In three experiments carried out with broiler type chickens, rations containing 15 % fish meal were fed for up to 28 days in two of the tests, and then test rations containing 5, 10,20% or no fish meal for the whole or part of the time until the chickens were killed at 65 days.


The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the genetic polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR)and the response to citalopram treatment and side effects in Turkish patients with major depressive disorder. The study involved 51 patients who received 10-40 mg/day of citalopram for 4 to 6 weeks. Clinical symptoms were evaluated by the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating (HAMD-17) scale, Clinical Global Impression (CGI) and UKU side effect rating scale (UKU) at weeks 4 and/or 6. The 5-HTTLPRL/S polymorphism was determined by slowdown-polymerase chain reaction method. Of the fifty-one patients, 13 (26%) were the LL genotype, 21 (41%) were the LS genotype, 17 (33%) were the SS genotype. L allele seems to be associated withbetter response due to odds ratio for L allele versus S allele despite statistically insignificant. In terms of CGI-Severity scale, The LL genotype versus the LS genotype had a higher risk at the week 6 (P<0.05).On the other hand, apart from this comparison, there is no significant difference in CGI-Severity and Improvement and UKU scales according to the distribution of genotypes at week 4 and/or 6. However, these findings surely need further investigation and confirmation.


408 Background: PN decreases the risk of developing chronic kidney disease as opposed to RN. While prior studies have demonstrated the survival advantage of PN in older patients, they have been criticized by selection bias in procedure selection due to comorbidities. We hypothesized that the long-standing effects of renal preservation would manifest in a survival advantage of a younger patient population, where this selection bias is minimized.

METHODS
The SEER 18-registries database was queried for patients between the ages of 20 to 44 that were surgically treated with either PN or RN for RCC between 1993 and 2003. We have excluded patients with metastatic or locally advanced disease and included patients with localized tumors ≤4 cm with known grade. The histologies selected were clear cell, papillary, chromophobe, sarcomatoid, collecting duct, and renal cell. The final cohort consisted of 222 and 494 subjects treated with PN and RN respectively. Chi-square analysis compared tumor variables and patient characteristics. Cancer-specific and overall survival rates were compared at 5 and 10 years using Kaplan-Meier analyses.

RESULTS
There were no differences between patients treated by PN or RN in demographics or tumor characteristics. Additionally, there was no difference in cancer-specific survival between the two groups at 5 or 10 years (p= 0.34 and p = 0.1 respectively). While there was no difference in 5-year overall survival (98.2% vs. 95.5%, p = 0.07), the patients treated with PN had an advantage in 10-year overall survival compared to patients treated with RN (94% vs. 89.7%, p = 0.025).

CONCLUSIONS
Present SEER analyses demonstrate that when compared to RN, PN results in improved overall survival in patients treated for small, localized RCC. As expected, the survival advantage is observed late and supports the importance of long-term renal functional preservation. The present study of a younger patient population allows for minimizing selection bias in choosing surgical procedure due to comorbidities and provides further support for maximal renal preservation in patients with a life expectancy of 10 years or more.


The emerging field of ritual studies gives Second Testament scholars innovative ways of approaching the rites of the Jesus movement and thus enables them better to re-create the community life reflected in the language of the Second Testament. In the case of Corinth, placing the rites of the Jesus movement there in the context of Mediterranean ritual activity alerts interpreters to an expulsion rite conducted as a funeral at 1 Corinthians 5:2 2 and directs them to rites with features analogous to baptism on behalf of the dead (1 Cor 15 :29). This study sets the Corinthian extension of baptism to the dead alongside funerals conducted for the living and imaginary or honorary funerals, with the aim of characterizing the creative modification rites could undergo in the Greco-Roman world. As a result, a ritual critical approach provides a way of integrating baptism on behalf of the dead into the baptismal practices of the Corinthians, and it suggests how rites marking entry into and exit from their community were related.


【Background: Sevoflurane, a rotatively new inhalational anesthetic. has non-pungent odor and is less reluctant to pediatric patients. The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility of sevoflurane in inhalational sedation instead of the nitrous oxide for short and simple dental treatments in pediatric patients. Patients and Methods: Fifteen healthy children, whose dental treatment was abandoned due to their little or no cooperation, were selected with their caregivers' written permission. Deep sedation was induced and maintained with oxygen and 1-5% sevoflufane via specially designed nasal mask. Blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, and electrocardiogram were monitored at 3-nin interval. A dental anesthesiologist, who was independent of dental treatments, was wholly responsible for the sedation procedure. Post-sedation complications and operator's and caregiver's acceptability of this type of inhalational sedation were also investigated. Results: The systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation was significantly depressed during the deep sedation using sevoflurane (P】


This work deals with processes and impacts of remediation of comic in digital media. It answers questions what is happening with comic in new media, how its form and three chosen fields: reader, story and visuality have changed. Answers are searched by analysis of traditional and new media comic and by comparison of mentioned fields. Many new components are added into the comic, which are significantly changing its appearance, the way of reading and other. The function of readier is changing, stories are becoming inferior and visuality is changing towards multimedia. The climax of remediation process leads to significant change in the form of comic, which affects readers attitudes to comic medium, envitoments satioation with less worthy works, usage of comic visuality in many art and cultural fields and to birth of certain hybrid works, which show attributes of many various art forms.


Recently, several states have enacted legislation that restricts sex offenders from living in close proximity to certain areas in an effort to counter recidivism and alleviate community safety concerns. The South Carolina Legislature is currently debating two pieces of legislation that would prohibit registered sex offenders from living in close proximity to schools, daycare centers, child recreational facilities, parks, playgrounds, bus stops, and other areas where children are known to congregate. Given the recent emergence of residence restriction statutes, insufficient research has examined their impact on offenders, communities, and the criminal justice system. Using spatial analysis, four of the six South Carolina counties with the highest number of registered sex offenders are examined in relation to the effects of the two proposed statewide residence restriction laws. Implications concerning offender access to housing and treatment opportunities are discussed along with potential effects to local communities and the criminal justice system.


Smart village development has an important role in national development. The development of tourist villages is also influenced by the role of smart village implementation. The purpose of this study was to determine the achievement of smart village initiation in Kasongan Tourism Village and identify indicators that strengthen Kasongan Tourism Village towards a smart village. This research uses a qualitative approach with a case study method. Primary and secondary data from the results of in-depth interviews and data provided by village officials were analyzed using descriptive analytical methods. Based on the analysis carried out, the research results obtained that (1) Kasongan Tourism Village has reached the initiation stage of developing village innovations related to the smart village initiation program. (2) Government support and success, use of technology, and active participation from the community are strengthening indicators of Kasongan Tourism Village towards a smart village.


One of the unique intentions in Cao Yu's theatrical works is the "accumulation".Some of such intention could be found from his literary activities or from his literatural works in which readers summarize and comprehend them.In Cao Yu's theatrical works,all the people,who have different social status,different characters and different fates,are accumulated together on one certain theatrical circumstance;meanwhile,their conflicts,desires and emotions even the life trend of generations are accumulated to be presented in one certain period.Through the external types in his theatrical works and the internal core of th epoetry,Cao Yu focuses on the society,and considers the humanity and understands the human fate in order to win the powerful art appeal and touching.


A Renaissance Aristotelian-Galenic look at Guyon's faint and at the frailties exhibited earlier by Guyon and the Palmer calls attention to the physiological as well as the psychic in the episode at Alma's Castle. Approached physiologically, Maleger represents the curse of mortality understood either within or without the Christian faith, the curse as found in the Garden of Adonis: that because of which "All things decay in time, and to their end doe draw." Through his agents Maleger effects occasions of decay by exploiting psychic weaknesses; Maleger himself destroys through the "course of kinde." Guyon, even if aided by the Palmer, could not contend with Maleger because Maleger preys on frailties apparent in both Guyon and the Palmer. That Arthur successfully defends the Castle further differentiates the relationship of Guyon and the Palmer to Maleger's agents from the relationship of the two to Maleger himself.


This study uses inter-organizational networks to focus on firm opportunities to establish the level of social capital required to efficiently utilize network resources among certain collaborative research projects. This study reached the following conclusions: (1) establishment of social capital does little to improve the technological knowledge transfer; (2) organizational learning is the necessary condition for improving technological knowledge transfer performance. Only certain social capital factors combined with certain organizational learning capabilities can enhance performance.


Recently a variety of supra-molecular architectures have been successfully reported based on the strong non-covalent interactions of conjugated molecules, and their feasibility for practical electric materials has been investigated vigorously. The most important parameter determining the performance of electronic devices based on the conjugated supra-molecular architectures is the mobility of charge carriers, however the non-covalent architectures exhibit extremely wide variety of the stacking structures of the component molecules, leading to the several orders of magnitude difference in the value of mobility. The non-covalent interactions to promote supra-molecular architectures are intrinsically anisotropic, thus the value along each axis of a structure gives important insights into not only highly conducting pathways in the materials but also design strategies of the architectures for the optimized electric properties. Conventional techniques of mobility measurements, however, have not been suitable to reveal the anisotropic conductivity because of the difficulty of the electrode fabrication onto the architectures along a variety of axes. The non-contact measurement technique of electric conductivity using a microwave resonant cavity (TRMC) system has been developed, and successfully applied to estimate the value of mobility along each axis of solid supra-molecular architectures. In the present paper, we report the anisotropic nature of electric conduction in several supra-molecular architectures, as well as the direct observation of space-resolved nm-scaled mobility in the bulk solids and interfaces of conjugated molecular materials.


We study the interference channel with one-sided generalized feedback and secrecy requirements. In our model, Message 1 that is known just to Encoder 1 should be decoded by both receivers. Message 2 - known only to Encoder 2 - should be decoded by Decoder 2 and kept as secret as possible from Decoder 1. The uncertainty of Decoder 1 about Message 2 is measured by means of the equivocation rate. In addition, a noisy feedback is provided to Encoder 2. We derive an achievable rate-equivocation region for this model and an outer bound for the "noisy cribbing" regime without secrecy, the gap being the Markov conditions satisfied by one of the auxiliary random variables. Furthermore, we consider a simplified causal cognitive interference model: the interference channel with a cribbing encoder. We derive an inner bound on the rate region for this model and prove that when the interference channel is degraded conditionally on the input of Encoder 1, our inner bound is tight.


Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) has been used to investigate quantitatively the photodegradation kinetics of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP), in aerated and oxygenated aqueous solutions, at back-illuminated TiO2 films deposited from a suspension of Degussa P25 TiO2 powder at the end of an optical fibre. A potentiometric Ag/AgCl ultramicroelectrode (UME), positioned at a known distance above the TiO2 film, was used to monitor directly the Cl− production from the photodegradation of 4-CP. The effects of both light intensity and 4-CP concentration were investigated and the associated kinetics were determined. Amperometric measurements with a Pt UME demonstrated that O2 was depleted significantly adjacent to the TiO2 surface under these conditions. A theoretical model, which employs a Langmuir–Hinshelwood type kinetic equation, has been developed to interpret the kinetics of the photodegradation process and determine the associated quantum efficiency.


Major intrinsic proteins (MIPs), commonly known as aquaporins, transport water and other non-polar solutes across membranes. MIPs are believed to be involved in host-pathogen interactions. Herein, we identified 17, 24, 27, 19, 19, and 22 full-length MIPs, respectively, in the genomes of six Phytophthora species, P. infestans, P. parasitica, P. sojae, P. ramorum, P. capsici, and P. cinnamomi, which are devastating plant pathogens and members of oomycetes, a distinct lineage of fungus-like eukaryotic microbes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the Phytophthora MIPs (PMIPs) formed a completely distinct clade from their counterparts in other taxa and were clustered into nine subgroups. Sequence and structural analysis of homology models indicated that the primary selectivity-related constrictions, including aromatic arginine (ar/R) selectivity filter and Froger's positions in PMIPs were distinct from those in other taxa. The substitutions in the conserved Asn-Pro-Ala motifs in loops B and E of many PMIPs were also divergent from those in plants. We further deciphered group-specific consensus sequences/motifs in different loops and transmembrane helices of PMIPs, which were distinct from those in plants, animals, and microbes. The data collectively supported the notion that PMIPs might have novel functions and could be considered attractive anti-Phytophthora targets. Highlights Major intrinsic proteins (MIPs) family in Phytophthora species are divergent. Phytophthora MIPs (PMIPs) were phylogenetically and structurally distinct from their counterparts in other taxonomic domains. PMIPs might have novel functions. The MIPs are suggested to be involved in host-pathogen interactions and could be considered attractive anti-Phytophthora targets.


1. A computer-readable medium having computer-readable components for determining dynamic threshold values for variable formatting a range of cells, comprising: component (307, 702) the command variable format supporting a variable format for application to a range of cells (301); ! component (305, 805) the threshold type that detects the threshold type that utilizes a dynamic threshold value; and! component (703) a dynamic threshold to determine a value for use as a dynamic threshold value; wherein the value is determined from values contained in a plurality of cells (301). ! 2. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the dynamic threshold value is determined by calculating the values contained in a plurality of data cells based on the selected threshold type and based on the comparison values. ! 3. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the threshold type that uses a dynamic threshold value is a threshold type (305A) "smallest value" and! wherein the dynamic threshold value is determined as the smallest value contained in a plurality of cells (301). ! 4. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the threshold type that uses a dynamic threshold value is a threshold type (305C) "greatest value" and! wherein the dynamic threshold value is determined as the greatest value contained in a plurality of cells (301). ! 5. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the threshold type that uses a dynamic threshold value is a threshold type "Average" and! wherein the dynamic threshold value is determined as the average value contained in the plural


A composite oil fume purification device has a tank provided with an purification device inlet and an purification outlet and in which the lower part is a water tank. The position on the side wall of the tank corresponded to the water tank is provided with an overflow tube and a drain pipe. The position inside the tank corresponded to the purification device inlet is provided with a spray pre-treatment channel, and the position inside the spray pre-treatment channel corresponded to the purification device inlet is provided with a shower. The part on the shower corresponded to the purification inlet is provided in uniform with a plurality of nozzles. The side wall inside the tank corresponded to the end of the spray pre-treatment channel is provided with a filling filtering unit. The part on the tank corresponded to the filling filtering unit is provided with a cover plate, and the position inside the tank corresponded to the back of the filling filtering device is provided with an eliminator. The position on the tank corresponded to the upper part of the water tank is provided with a liquid filling tank, and the side wall of the water tank is provided with a pump inlet pipe nipple. The utility model has the advantages of small size, high purification efficiency, cleaning free, maintenance free, ingenious structure and low operation costs.


To the Editor: A Q fever epidemic among humans started in the Netherlands in 2007 and peaked in 2009 (1). Epidemiologic evidence linked the epidemic to abortions and deliveries among Coxiella burnetii–infected dairy goats and dairy sheep (1,2). However, questions arose about whether C. burnetii infection in free-living wildlife might be another source of Q fever in humans. C. burnetii has a wide host range (3), but to our knowledge no studies had addressed its occurrence in nondomestic animals in the Netherlands (4).

The main objective of this study was to look for evidence of C. burnetii infection in carcasses of free-living roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in the Netherlands, where C. capreolus is the most common species of wild ruminant. Additional objectives were to 1) analyze characteristics, location, and time of death of case-animals for more information on the infection in roe deer and 2) determine the genotype of C. burnetii strains from roe deer and compare them with the genotype of strains from domestic animals and humans for evidence of spillover.

The sample consisted of 79 roe deer that were euthanized or found dead in 9 of the 12 provinces in the Netherlands during January 2008–May 2010. All animals had undergone postmortem examination, and tissue samples were frozen until testing. Tissues tested were lung (n = 46), spleen (n = 50), bone marrow (n = 50), liver (n = 74), and kidney (n = 75), as available. We extracted DNA by using the DNeasy Blood and Tissue Kit (QIAGEN, Hilden, Germany). A duplex quantitative PCR targeting the IS1111a element was used with an internal control gene, as described (2). Tissues with cycle threshold (Ct) values <34 (1/case) were typed by using multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analyses (MLVA) for 11 loci, as described (2,5); results were compared with known MLVA typing data from the Netherlands.

Of the 79 roe deer examined, 18 (23%) had positive PCR results for C. burnetii DNA in multiple (5/18, 28%) or single (13/18, 72%) tissues. The average Ct value was 36.30 (range 32.07–39.47). Among 29 roe deer for which all 5 tissues were tested, no single tissue was more frequently positive than others for C. burnetii (χ2 = 1.07, df = 4, p = 0.9) or had lower Ct values (single factor analysis of variance, p = 0.58). These findings indicate that testing multiple tissues per individual enhances case detection.

No specific sex, age, or health effects were observed. Of 48 male deer, 10 (21%) had positive results, compared with 8 (27%) of 30 female deer (1 missing value; χ2 = 0.35, df = 1, p = 0.55). Of 50 deer >1 year of age, 15 (30%) had positive results, compared with 2 (15%) of 13 deer <1 year of age (16 missing values; 2-tailed Fisher exact test, p = 0.49). Postmortem findings varied for C. burnetii–positive deer.

C. burnetii cases occurred in most provinces studied (6/9, 66%) and in all 3 study years. Significantly more C. burnetii–positive deer were observed in 2010 (13/30, 43%) than in 2008 (2/18, 11%) and 2009 (3/31, 10%) (χ2 = 11.62, df = 2, p < 0.01). This finding might represent sample bias or indicate spatial or temporal clustering in 2010.

The C. burnetii genetic material found in roe deer may indicate past or ongoing infection (6). Although positive cases occurred in all seasons, those more likely to represent ongoing infection (multiple infected tissues and Ct values <36; n = 4) occurred in March, April, and June. Clinical Q fever in roe deer might occur more frequently in late gestation and around parturition, as in domestic ruminants (7,8). Furthermore, Q fever in wildlife might have its own sylvatic cycle (4,9). However, analogous to human cases in 2007–2010 (1), the pattern could also include spillover events from domestic livestock.

Tissues of 2 springtime case-animals had Ct values <34. MVLA typing of these strains yielded partial genotypes (Figure). Comparison with those of strains from domestic dairy animals or humans during 2007–2010 showed that these 2 strains from roe deer differed from the main goat- and sheep-derived strain involved in the Q fever epidemic (genotype CbNL01 [2]) and from other strains found (inconclusive for CbNL08; Figure).

Figure

Phylogenetic tree with genotypes of Coxiella burnetii from goat, human, and roe deer samples from the Netherlands. Genotypes were determined on the basis of 11 multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analyses (MLVA). The number of repeats per locus is ...

Our study confirmed that C. burnetii infection occurs in free-living roe deer in the Netherlands. C. burnetii DNA was detected in roe deer of both sexes and age groups with no particular health effect, and it was detected in animals in different provinces and in all years studied; the highest C. burnetii DNA loads occurred in spring and early summer. Detection of genetic material by PCR does not always imply viable infective bacteria (6). However, because the infectious dose of C. burnetii is low (10), our findings support the use of preventive hygiene measures (4) to minimize zoonotic risk when handling roe deer. The 2 MLVA-typed strains provided no evidence for spillover of the predominant strain involved in the Q fever epidemic in the Netherlands. More studies are required to adequately understand Q fever cycles in wildlife and their relationship with Q fever in domestic animals and humans.


1. Object orientation and High Performance Computing Historically HPC applications have often been relatively simple software systems (a few 10s of thousands of lines), however over recent years more complex software is becoming more common as more and more complex physical systems are being simulated. This increase in code complexity has been exacerbated by the introduction of compute clusters. Currently the only way of economically achieving the necessary performance for HPC applications is to distribute the applications across multiple processing nodes with independent memory systems. This adds significantly to the complexity of these codes.


OQAM/OFDM is a sort of multicarrier signal based on the orthogonal filter bank,and its special generation procedure determines the complexity of cyclic spectral structure.According to the continuous-time baseband model of OQAM/OFDM system,the second-order cyclostationarity of OQAM signals is proved,and the explicit expression of spectral correlation function is derived,meanwhile,the features of Spectral Correlation Function(SCF) for OQAM and the influence of multipath fading channel are investigated.Simulation results sustain the theoretical analysis.


Motivated by recent work on strict deformation quantization of the unit disk and the Riemann sphere, we study the Fr\'echet space structure of the set of holomorphic functions on the complement $\Omega:=\{(z,w)\in \hat{\mathbb{C}}^2\, :\, z\cdot w\not=1\}$ of the complexified unit circle ${\{(z,w) \in \hat{\mathbb{C}}^2 \, : \, z\cdot w=1\}}$. We also characterize the subgroup of all biholomorphic automorphisms of $\Omega$ which leave the canonical Laplacian on $\Omega$ invariant.


The higher education popularization,the complete credit system and the university logistic service reform pose stern challenges to the traditional work in ideological and political education for college students.The student apartment has already become the important place of college students' study and life,and the ideological and political education for college students in their apartments is the inevitably request of the development and reform of higher education reformed.This article analyzed the importance and existing problems in the ideological and political education work for college students in students' apartments,and proposes specific measures for it.


39 EuroAmerican land use and its legacies have transformed forest structure and composition 40 across the United States (US). More accurate reconstructions of historical states are critical to 41 understanding the processes governing past, current, and future forest dynamics. Gridded 42 (8x8km) estimates of pre-settlement (1800s) forests from the upper Midwestern US 43 (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and most of Michigan) using 19th Century Public Land Survey (PLS) 44 records provide relative composition, biomass, stem density, and basal area for 26 tree 45 genera. This mapping is more robust than past efforts, using spatially varying correction 46 factors to accommodate sampling design, azimuthal censoring, and biases in tree selection. 47 We compare pre-settlement to modern forests using Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data, 48 with respect to structural changes and the prevalence of lost forests, pre-settlement forests 49 with no current analogue, and novel forests, modern forests with no past analogs. Differences 50 between PLSS and FIA forests are spatially structured as a result of differences in the 51 underlying ecology and land use impacts in the Upper Midwestern United States. Modern 52 biomass is higher than pre-settlement biomass in the northwest (Minnesota and north53 eastern Wisconsin, including regions that were historically open savanna), and lower in the 54 east (eastern Wisconsin and Michigan), due to shifts in species composition and, presumably, 55 average stand age. Modern forests are more homogeneous, and ecotonal gradients are more 56 diffuse today than in the past. Novel forest assemblages represent 29% of all FIA cells, while 57 25% of pre-settlement forests no longer exist in a modern context. 58 Lost forests are centered around the forests of the Tension Zone, particularly in hemlock 59 dominated forests of north-central Wisconsin, and in oak-elm-basswood forests along the 60 forest-prairie boundary in south central Minnesota and eastern Wisconsin. Novel FIA forest 61 assemblages are distributed evenly across the region, but novelty shows a strong relationship 62 to spatial distance from remnant forests in the upper Midwest, with novelty predicted at 63 between 20 to 60km from remnants, depending on historical forest type. 64 The spatial relationships between remnant and novel forests, shifts in ecotone structure and 65 the loss of historic forest types point to significant challenges to land managers if landscape 66 restoration is a priority in the region. The spatial signals of novelty and ecological change also 67 point to potential challenges in using modern spatial distributions of species and communities 68 and their relationship to underlying geophysical and climatic attributes in understanding 69 potential responses to changing climate. The signal of human settlement on modern forests is 70 broad, spatially varying and acts to homogenize modern forests relative to their historic 71 counterparts, with significant implications for future management. 72


We deal with the problem of automating the interpretation of satellite images of the Amazon region for deforestation monitoring. Our approach is based on a combination of image segmentation and classification techniques, the latter employing a neural-network architecture that works on a fuzzy model of classification. The architecture implements a relaxation mechanism on top of a network trained by the backpropagation algorithm, in order to take advantage of the interrelations among neighboring image segments. Results obtained on varied portions of the Amazon region indicate a great potential for the automation of the monitoring task.


Abstract A formulation for minimum weight optimization of composite laminated struts is given. The minimum weight strut satisfies failure criteria of local buckling, overall buckling and maximum strain or maximum stress. Seven types of strut shapes, six composite materials and aluminium alloy are considered. The formulation requires the evaluation of the buckling coefficient, K, for both ends and one side simply supported and one side free for composite laminated plates of high aspect ratio, and the method of evaluation is also given. A computer program OPTSTRUT for carrying out the optimization procedure is described. Examples of strut design are carried out using this program and compared with existing designs. It was found that these results compared well with those from past investigators.


Reactions of MCl3(M = As, Sb or Bi) and 1,4,7-trimethyl-1,4,7-triazacyclononane (Me3[9]aneN3= L) gave the respective 1 : 1 adducts as white-yellow microcrystalline solids which were characterised by microanalytical and spectroscopic (IR and 1H NMR) data. Addition of water to AsCl3L under controlled stoichiometry in acetonitrile solution led to the formation of the white crystalline salt [AsCl2L][As2OCl5]1. A crystal structure determination revealed the cation as five-co-ordinate with ψ-octahedral metal geometry featuring a cis-AsCl2+ unit co-ordinated to the three donor nitrogen atoms of the ligand (fac) and a stereochemically active lone pair occupying the sixth site [As–Cl 2.462(7), 2.520(7) and As–N 2.18(2), 2.12(2), 2.10(2)A with the latter directly opposite to the lone pair]. The anion is made up of a dinuclear (µ-oxo) Cl2As–O–AsCl2 unit with a single Cl– anion linked symmetrically to the two separate arsenic atoms [mean As–Clterminal 2.216(8), As–Clbridge 2.795(8)A]. Controlled hydrolysis of SbCl3L in acetonitrile solution provided colourless needle crystals of [H2L]2[Sb2OCl6]Cl22 as identified by X-ray diffraction studies. The structure of the dication shows protonation of two of the three nitrogen atoms with strong intramolecular hydrogen bonding N–H ⋯ N 2.70–2.85 A involving the third amine centre. This is the first structural characterisation of the diprotonated form of L. The structure of the accompanying chlorooxoantimony(III) anion can be described as a single (µ-oxo) Cl2Sb–O–SbCl2 unit linked to two chloride ions via secondary Sb ⋯ Cl bonding involving the two metal centres [mean Sb–Clterminal 2.435(3), Sb–Clbridge 2.863(3)A]. Each of the antimony(III) centres is further associated with a unique chloride anion, Sb ⋯ Cl– 3.550(7)A, which, in turn, forms close contacts with the two protonated nitrogen atoms of the triazamacrocycle Cl ⋯ H–N 3.07, 3.02 A. Treatment of L and SiMe3I in acetonitrile solution provided yellow needle crystals of [HL]I 3. X-Ray (diffraction) crystallographic characterisation revealed a monoprotonated ring (L) in which the single proton is bonded directly to one nitrogen atom and to the remaining two via intramolecular hydrogen N–H ⋯ N 2.71 A. The product isolated from the reaction of L and SiCl4 in the presence of antimony(V) chloride as halide abstractor in acetonitrile was identified by a crystal structure determination as [H2L]2[Sb2Cl9]Cl·MeCN·H2O 4. The structure reveals two [H2L]⋯Cl moieties which have dimensions similar to those found for 2. Conformational analyses have been carried out on free L and its mono-, di- and tri-protonated forms and the results are consistent with the experimental conformations observed in this work and elsewhere.


INTRODUCTION: Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in women, and the incidence rate is increasing year by year. Women in every country in the world may develop breast cancer at any age after puberty. The cause of breast cancer is not fully understood. At present, the main methods of breast cancer detection are inefficient. Researchers are trying to use computer technology to detect breast cancer. But there are some still limitations.
METHODS: We propose a network (ODET) to detect breast cancer based on ultrasound images. In this paper, we use ResNet50 as the backbone model. We make some modifications to the backbone model by deep ELM-based transfer learning. After these modifications, the network is named DET. However, DET still has some shortcomings because the parameters in DET are randomly assigned and will not change in the experiment. In this case, we select BA to optimize DET. The optimized DET is named ODET.
RESULTS: The proposed ODET gets the F1-score (F1), precision (PRE), specificity (SPE), sensitivity (SEN), and accuracy (ACC) are 93.16%±1.12%, 93.28%±1.36%, 98.63%±0.31%, 93.96%±1.85%, and 97.84%±0.37%, respectively.
CONCLUSION: It proves that the proposed ODET is an effective method for breast cancer detection.


This article presents an interpretive analysis of the key problems and challenges to technology implementation in developing countries, based on a three-year case analysis of an IT project in a city government in Ukraine. We employ the concept of technological frames of reference as an analytical tool for articulating the group-level structures related to the implementation context from the perspectives of key stakeholders and examine the degree of conflict between these frames using a Fishbone diagram. We report that conflict between technological frames held by key stakeholders in large-scale system implementation projects often create an unexpected, dysfunctional, and politically charged implementation environment, ultimately leading to project failures, even if the project enjoys a high level of financial and management support. This, in turn, creates unique challenges for technology implementation projects in developing countries that are often overlooked in the traditional academic and practitioner literatures based on experiences from developed countries.


In this paper, the influence of sputtering time of silver (Ag) particles and thermal treatment on the surface morphology of Ag particles on Zinc Oxide (ZnO) film has been studied. The size and density of Ag particles are measured using an atomic force microscopy (AFM) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The experimental results show that the size of Ag particles and the roughness (Ra) increases when sputtering time of Ag particles and thermal treatment temperature increases.


This study examines the importance of firm planning and control activities organized around the fiscal year in the revenue generation and reporting process. Consistent with planning and control influencing performance, quarterly revenue innovations display significantly higher autocorrelation when quarters are from the same fiscal year than when quarters are from different fiscal years ("differential persistence"). Differential persistence is higher for firms where planning and control is likely to be greater (measured by number of employees) and for firms making changes to the revenue process (measured by change in the ratio of accounts receivable to revenue). In addition, changes to the revenue process more closely correspond to fiscal years as the level of planning and control increases. Although differential persistence is predictable, both post-earnings announcement drift and analyst forecast errors vary with fiscal quarter and revenue information, suggesting that investors and analysts do not fully incorporate differential persistence into their decision-making.


"Domains of Wonder" presents a cross-section of the San Diego Museum of Art's Edwin Binney 3rd Collection of Indian painting, featuring significant pieces never before published. Paintings and manuscripts dating from approximately 1300 to 1900 are reproduced with full-page, full-colour illustrations, each with a catalogue entry that brings to life the content and context of the picture. The lucid three-part introduction discusses aspects of the unique culture in which patrons and painters worked together to create some of the finest paintings ever to emerge from India. Major artistic movements are discussed, as are rare and little-known passages in the history of Indian painting, amply supplemented with translations of inscriptions and excerpts from primary sources. This book serves as an accessible introduction for non-specialists as well as a useful reference for scholars and students.


The paper attempts to examine the impact of globalization on economic development of developing countries, using Nigeria as a case study. The paper noted that globalization involves openness to international trade, removal of obstacles to international capital flows, international market integration and worldwide diffusion of knowledge and technology. Those countries that have applied appropriate economic policy measures and developed good capital will benefit from globalization, while those that have not will be marginalised. The challenges of globalization to Nigeria's economic development cannot be underestimated. Nigeria will only benefit from globalization if she is able to take advantage of the opportunities that increased integration offers. This means being able to compete in the face of international competition. The paper therefore, suggests that priority should be given to industrialization; training programmes that would enhance skills and technological capability; innovation, and, research and development (R&D); development of reliable national communications network and infrastructure.


Frequency has attracted attention in phonology with regard to whether it exerts influence on phonology and if so, how significantly it affects phonological processes. The reduplication in Korean in which a consonant is epenthesized in the reduplicant poses an interesting question of what consonant is inserted in what way. One of the probable factors is lexical frequency: whether the choice of consonants comes from the existing patterns in lexicon. The overall finding suggests that in general the speakers' behavior in the experiment does not simply reflect the lexical statistics. Meanwhile, some correlations were found between the experiment responses and the corpus data, e.g. between the frequency of inserted consonants and that of word-initial consonants.


One-unit coal mines operating in certain flat, dry, and non-gassey seams often have continuous haulage from the face to the surface. Though some seams are so thin that miners must crawl on hands and knees, production is excellent. In thin coal seams that many an experienced miner might feel are unminable, operators in Harlan County, Kentucky, United States, are cutting coal with marked success. One-unit operations in seams no thicker than 625 millimeters (25 inches) are producing up to 7,000 tons of coal per month while operating only one shift per day, five days per week. Good mining conditions and continuous haulage of coal from the face to the surface are two reasons why.


In this paper we present the architecture of a new Micro Assessment (MA) system for "micro knowledge and skills control" that allows the manager to get information and status on knowledge gained on behalf of the employees, on very short status cuts during the working hours, rather than scheduling special meetings with them in order to assess their gained knowledge. This kind of micro testing saves a lot of time, does not cause stress among employees and allows more time to be dedicated for learning. Two studies were undertaken as a part of this paper: study on the "knowledge platform" market and study on the "need for individual and professional upgrades". Based on the findings it appears that both challenges can be answered by initiating Software as a Service solution for small and medium enterprises built upon "lifelong learning" concept enabled on a Cloud computing architecture. Tools for "lifelong learning" not only enhance individual's involvement in social issues, but they are also enabling them with competitive skills required at their workplace.


Changes in the cell wall composition of stems of asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L. cv. Connovor Collossus) during maturation and during storage in modified atmospheres were investigated. Alcohol-insoluble residues from portions of stems were analysed for changes in alkali-soluble phenolics and in the constituent sugars and their glycosidic linkages. Maturation-related changes down the stem involved increased levels of (l–4)-linked xylosyl residues from xylans, cellulose and phenolics, which arise from the lignified vascular and sclerenchyma tissues, and a decrease in the levels of (l–5)-linked arabinosyl residues from pectic arabinans from the parenchy-matous tissues. Storage under aerobic conditions permitted stem elongation in the apical sections and secondary thickening in the basal sections. This was due to continued tissue maturation. Storage under anaerobic conditions inhibited such changes. In accordance with these effects of storage on stem physiology, maturation-related changes in cell wall components were enhanced by storage only under aerobic conditions. However, levels of (1–4)-linked galactosyl residues which remained relatively constant during maturation, decreased substantially (ca 50%) in all stem sections during both aerobic and anaerobic storage.


Schimke immuno-osseous dysplasia is a condition characterized by short stature, kidney disease, and a weakened immune system. In people with this condition, short stature is caused by flattened spinal bones (vertebrae), resulting in a shortened neck and trunk. Adult height is typically between 3 and 5 feet. Kidney (renal) disease often leads to life-threatening renal failure and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Affected individuals also have a shortage of certain immune system cells called T cells. T cells identify foreign substances and defend the body against infection. A shortage of T cells causes a person to be more susceptible to illness.


Photogenerated minority-carrier lifetime and its planar distribution in HgCdTe alloy samples (0.23x0.30) are measured by the optical modulation absorption. The interference effect is observed in the measurement. In order to eliminate this effect, the cuneiform samples are used and an aperture is added. The results are satisfactory. The mechanism of the interference phenomenon is explained.


Smoluchowski's equation is widely applied to describe the time evolution of the cluster-size distribution during aggregation processes. Analytical solutions for this equation, however, are known only for a very limited number of kernels. Therefore, numerical methods have to be used for describing the time evolution of the cluster-size distribution. In this work, we present a novel self-consistent method for solving Smoluchowski's equation for any homogeneous kernel. The method considers dynamic scaling to be valid but does not need to assume a given form for the scaling distribution Φ(x). Moreover, the scaling distribution Φ(x) is obtained as a natural result of the algorithm. Due to the implementation of dynamic scaling concepts, the algorithm converges almost immediately with a minimal calculation effort. Comparing calculated size distributions with the corresponding analytical solutions shows the validity of the method. The method is then used to fit experimental data for diffusion limited aggregation....


A systematic survey on the life-style of college undergraduate dormitory of a local public university finds that, most of the time, undergraduates "amuse themselves" in the dorms and mutual learning and communication time is relatively insufficient. Students in the dorms have a higher expectation on interpersonal relationship. However, in reality, there exists the problem that the affection between them is indifferent. Besides, when they come into conflicts, they are incapable of resolving the conflicts through a normal channel. Furthermore, students are relatively satisfied with the life service in dormitory management, while they are not satisfied with the hardware facilities and the rules and regulations. To improve the management level of college student dormitory and promote development of students, it is necessary for the department of college dormitory management to strengthen construction of the physical environment, develop an organic dormitory interpersonal network and establish the dormitory organizational structure and institutional norms in which students can participate. Above all, the department of dormitory management needs to establish the system of dormitory education to help students carry out effective education in life.


The trend toward miniaturization in optics holds the promise of growth analogous to that of microelectronics. Thanks to manufacturing and materials advances, micro-optic components now compete with conventional optics in many applications, including consumer electronics.


Symmetry in mathematical programming may lead to a multiplicity of solutions. In nonconvex optimisation, it can negatively affect the performance of the Branch and Bound algorithm. Symmetry may induce large search trees with multiple equivalent solutions, i.e. with the same optimal value. Dealing with symmetry requires detecting and classifying it first. This paper develops several methods for detecting symmetry in quadratically constrained quadratic optimisation problems via adjacency matrices. Using graph theory, we transform these matrices into binary layered graphs and enter them into the software package nauty. Nauty generates important symmetric properties of the original problem.


In this work we present a detailed study of the Fermion Monte Carlo algorithm (FMC), a recently proposed stochastic method for calculating fermionic ground-state energies. A proof that the FMC method is an exact method is given. In this work the stability of the method is related to the difference between the lowest (bosonic-type) eigenvalue of the FMC diffusion operator and the exact fermi energy. It is shown that within a FMC framework the lowest eigenvalue of the new diffusion operator is no longer the bosonic ground-state eigenvalue as in standard exact Diffusion Monte Carlo (DMC) schemes but a modified value which is strictly greater. Accordingly, FMC can be viewed as an exact DMC method built from a correlated diffusion process having a reduced Bose-Fermi gap. As a consequence, the FMC method is more stable than any transient method (or nodal release-type approaches). It is shown that the most recent ingredient of the FMC approach [M.H. Kalos and F. Pederiva, Phys. Rev. Lett. 85 , 3547 (2000)], namely the introduction of non-symmetric guiding functions, does not necessarily improve the stability of the algorithm. We argue that the stability observed with such guiding functions is in general a finite-size population effect disappearing for a very large population of walkers. The counterpart of this stability is a control population error which is different in nature from the standard Diffusion Monte Carlo algorithm and which is at the origin of an uncontrolled approximation in FMC. We illustrate the various ideas presented in this work with calculations performed on a very simple model having only nine states but a full "sign problem". Already for this toy model it is clearly seen that FMC calculations are inherently uncontrolled.


Celery (Apium graveolens) was used as natural corrosion inhibitor of carbon steel in 1.0 M HCl. The results of weight loss method and polarization showed that the inhibition efficiency was increased by increasing the Celery (Apium graveolens) inhibitor doses and reached the maximum at 500 ppm. The inhibition action of the extract was discussed in view of Temkin adsorption isotherm. It was found that the adsorption of the extract on Carbon steel surface is a spontaneous process. The effect of temperature on the IE% was studied; the IE% was decreased with increased temperature. Also, it was found that the presence of extract increases the activation energy of the corrosion reaction. Furthermore, the thermodynamic parameters of the adsorption process were calculated.


On the base of discussing basic problems with dangers involved in tourism, this article lays emphasis on anti-danger strategy in tourism and that in planning and management of recreation spots with real examples for the purpose of acquiring a preliminary understanding of issues concerning the dangers in tourism.


A simulation is defined and tested for oceanic constituent estimation in case II waters, for the future medium resolution imaging spectrometer (MERIS) oceanic remote sensing instrument, using singular valued decomposition (SVD) and artificial neural networks (ANN) inversion techniques. The SVD technique, which bears a close resemblance to multivariate statistic techniques has previously been successfully applied to the problem of chlorophyll estimation from case I waters. In this study, a model is developed for the calculation of oceanic surface reflectance, as a function of the three major constituents which contribute to the optical properties of the water, (chlorophyll like pigments, yellow substance and sediments). The oceanic models have been validated using optical data acquired in the North Sea (1994) using the MARAS instrument. This surface reflectance is used to predict top of atmosphere radiance, which is then inputted to the MERIS instrument model. The algorithms are implemented on the simulated data to provide robust algorithms for the estimation of chlorophyll, sediment and yellow substance concentrations. The results of this investigation are presented with emphasis on recommendations for algorithm development, pre-processing and sampling strategies.


The article deals with modeling of thermomechanical processing of high-strength steels at the Gleeble 3800 research complex, simulating thermomechanical processing with various temperature and deformation parameters of rolling and with accelerated cooling to a predetermined temperature. The identity of steel hardening processes at the Gleeble 3800 complex and specialized rolling mills, as well as the possibility of obtaining steels of unified chemical composition, are shown.


Let d, m, and q be positive integers and A(q) = {0, . . . , q − 1} be an alphabet. We investigate a generalization of the well-known subword complexity of d-dimensional matrices containing the elements of A(q). Let L = (L1, . . . ,Lm) be a list of distinct d-dimensional vectors, where Li = (ai1, . . . , aid). The prism complexity of a d-dimensional q-ary matrix M is denoted by C(d, q,L,M) and is defined as the number of distinct d-dimensional q-ary submatrices, whose permitted sizes are listed in L. We review and extend the earlier results, first of all results concerning maximum complexity of matrices and performance parameters of the construction algorithms.


We propose a method for recognition of ballroom dance genres from video. The method is based on processing of videos by a human pose estimation framework OpenPose and a subsequent classification of the sequences of the estimated poses using a Graph Convolutional Neural Network called MS-G3D. For the purposes of the method development we collected three suitable video datasets which we make publicly available. On a set of videos containing a clearly visible dance couple, undisturbed by presence of other people, the method achieves Top-1 accuracy 72.2 %. The classification accuracy improves to 83.3 % when the method is combined with an existing audio-based dance classifier (which on its own reaches an accuracy of 66.7 % on the dataset).


This paper reviews five primary proposals for motion characterization made within the paradigm of cognitive linguistics and examines their applicability for analyzing motion representation in Mandarin Chinese. The five proposals are Fillmorean Source-Path-Goal formulation, Talmy's Figure-Move-Path-Ground characterization, Langacker's temporal perspective on the mover's sequential change of location, Jackendoff's view of motion as a mapping of a general function-argument conceptual organization, and Wierzbicka et al.'s semantic-prime style explication. With special reference to Chinese, it is observed that these five proposals differ with regard to level of descriptive adequacy, consistency and straightforwardness in analysis, and cross-linguistic applicability. In contrast, Talmy's framework provides a more fully-specified treatment of motion.


PurposeThis paper aims to study the resulting Brag peak and secondary particles (neutrons, photons, deuterons, alpha, helium_3, and tritons) along protons' path in tissue.Design/methodology/approachMATLAB program and MCNP code were used to read abdomen Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) images and build a 3D phantom to liver in purpose to study resulting Bragg peak and secondary particles (neutrons, photons, deuterons, alpha, helium_3 and tritons) along protons' path.FindingsFrom the study, it was found that Bragg peak varies from a 2 cm depth within the tissue for 50 MeV protons to a 14.2 cm depth for 150 MeV protons; in the other hand, the total deposited energy decreases from 0.656 [MeV/g]/proton, at the depth 2 cm and 50 MeV protons, to the value 0.220 [MeV/g]/proton, at the depth 14 cm and 150 MeV protons.Originality/valueAs for the flow rate of secondary neutrons and photons, the flow rate of secondary neutrons takes a maximum value (peak) in the middle of the proton path, i.e. when the energy of the protons drops to the value of 30 MeV, and this maximum value of the neutrons flow rate is accompanied by a maximum value of the photon flow rate, as for the rest of the secondary particles produced (alpha particles, deuterons, electrons, tritons and triple helium), they deposit most of their energy locally.


Study Design. Retrospective review of case notes and imaging. Objective. To show the advantage of axial loaded magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for identification of dynamic degenerative spondylolisthesis as a suspected cause of spinal claudication. Summary of Background Data. Degenerative spondylolisthesis typically occurs at L4/L5 and is usually evident on plain radiography. However, dynamic degenerative spondylolisthesis may become evident on erect radiographs when not shown on supine radiographs or MRI. Methods. The case notes and imaging (radiography, conventional MRI, and axial loaded MRI) in 2 patients with symptoms of spinal claudication were reviewed. Results. A 44-year-old female presented with a 3-year history of intermittent low back pain and right leg numbness after a fall. A 52-year-old female presented with a 4-year history of low back pain, bilateral leg weakness, and right leg numbness. In both cases, conventional MRI studies showed mild-to-moderate degenerative disc disease only with no evidence of abnormal spinal alignment or nerve root compression. Axial loaded MRI clearly showed the development of a degenerative spondylolisthesis with central canal stenosis and facet ganglion formation in 1 case. Conclusions. Axial loaded MRI identified occult dynamic degenerative spondylolisthesis, which correlated with the clinical picture but was not shown on initial conventional MRI or plain radiography.


Leaf succulence has important physiological and ecological implications. Currently it is quantified by Delf's index (fresh weight/leaf area) and fresh weight/ dry weight ratio. Both indeces are reconsidered and a new index is proposed. Shade and sun leaves from terrestrial, hemiepiphytic and epiphytic aroids were studied. Delf's formula, which does not consider dry weight, overestimated leaf succulence. As fresh weight / dry weight ratio (fw / dw) does not consider leaf area, plants with the same fw / dw ratio were more than five times different in area. The last case was only possible with a decrease in surface / volume ratio and a increase of mesophyll thickness, components not measured by fw / dw ratio. The new index proposed here, which takes into consideration dry weight and leaf area, showed a high correlation to mesophyll thickness.


Electrochemical polymerization of carbazole (Cz), N-Vinylcarbazole (NVCz), and Ethylcarbazole (ECz) in the presence of methyl ethyl ketone formaldehyde resin (MEKF-R) was accomplished by using acetonitrile-NaClO4 solution. The effects of monomer and resin concentration were investigated on the conductivity of the resulting products. Characterization of insoluble free standing films was carried out via FTIR spectrum, cyclic voltammogram, UV visible spectrum, four point probe conductivity measurements, and elemental analyses. The conductivities of the copolymers were in the range of 10−6 − 10−4 S/cm. All copolymers obtained electrochemically were insoluble in solvents.


Preface Variants of the frontobasal -- frontodorsal -- areas Variants of the fronto -- temporo -- basal (pterional) areas Variants of the temporolateral and temporomedial areas Variants of the parietal and occipital areas Variants of the infratentorial areas References Subject Index


The demarcation between research and medical practice appears partly blurred as they often coexist together while still having significant differences between them. The prospective complete merger still seems to have a bright future that could benefit humankind. The goal of medical practice is to provide the diagnosis, palliative or curative therapy, preventative therapy and the term "research" is recognized as a pursuit to investigate a hypothesis and pull conclusions to develop the theory or contribute to generalizable knowledge. A clinical trial is usually described as a clinical research study protocol with certain objectives and steps to accomplish those objectives. Integrating evidence-based medicine in medical practice requires combining patient-targeted treatment and research and overcoming all possible methodological, organizational, and cultural challenges while integrating the teaching healthcare system.


State territory — International leases and grants in perpetuity United States — Philippines Agreement on Military Bases, 1947 — Claim against United States for tort occurring on base — Whether claim arises in a "foreign country" — The law of the United States of America.


There are a large number of folk forms of Chinese characters in the popular fictions of Ming and Qing Dynasties.When reading and studying them,we should pay attention to their folk forms.Based on the block-printed edition of these novels,this paper makes a philological study on the folk forms of the Chinese colloquial language.


In this work, spectrum sensing for cognitive radios is considered in the presence of Primary Users (PU) using frequency-hopping communication over multiple frequency bands. The detection performance of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) Average Ratio (FAR) algorithm is obtained in closed-form, for a given FFT size and number of PUs. The effective throughput of the Secondary Users (SU) is formulated as an optimization problem with a constraint on the maximum allowable interference on the primary network. Given the hopping period of the PUs, the sensing duration that maximizes the SU throughput is derived. The results are validated using Monte Carlo simulations. Further, an implementation of the FAR algorithm on the Lyrtech (now, Nutaq) small form factor software defined radio development platform is presented, and the performance recorded through the hardware is observed to corroborate well with that obtained through simulations, allowing for implementation losses.