Objective. To evaluate the cross-sectional relationship between asthma and pre-gravid body mass index (BMI), and to assess the risk of adult weight change among women with history of asthma diagnosed in childhood or adulthood, respectively. Study design. Study participants were 3737 pregnant women enrolled in a cohort study. Information on history of asthma, pre-gravid BMI, adult weight change (difference between BMI at age 18 and pre-gravid BMI), and other sociodemographic characteristics was collected using interviewer-administered questionnaires. Pre-gravid BMI was categorized into lean (BMI < 18.5 kg/m2), overweight (BMI = 25–24.9 kg/m2), and obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results. Approximately 13.1% of study participants reported history of asthma. Compared with the reference group (BMI = 18.5–24.9 kg/m2), the odds of asthma was higher among overweight (OR = 1.51; 95% CI = 1.18–1.93) and obese (OR = 1.47; 95% CI = 1.06–2.03) women while it was lower among lean women (OR = 0.42; 95% CI = 0.21–0.84) (trend p-value <.001). Women who gained ≥20 kg compared with those who maintained their weight (±2.5 kg) had a 2.7-fold increased odds of asthma (95% CI = 1.02–7.00). Conclusions. Overweight and obese women were more likely to have a history of asthma. Adult weight gain was positively associated with asthma diagnosis. Longitudinal studies designed to prospectively assess patterns of adult weight change in relation to asthma are warranted.


Radar imaging is typically based on linear models of the electromagnetic scattering phenomenon. These models are robust and computationally efficient, but do not account for mutual interactions among targets in the scene and between the targets and the surrounding environment. As a result, the radar images are characterized by spurious targets, i.e., multipath ghosts, which appear at positions where no physical targets exist. In this letter, we compare two key approaches for clutter suppression. The first approach applies multiplicative fusion of the images corresponding to subapertures of the deployed array, whereas the second approach is based on coherence factor filtering, which enhances the image quality by suppressing low-coherence features. We assess the performance of these two methods in terms of imaging and detection capabilities. Numerical results based on synthetic data are reported to support the comparative analysis.


Objective:To establish a solid phase extraction(SPE)and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC)method for the determination of tetrazanbigen in liver.Methods:Tetrazanbigen in liver samples was determined after a C18 solid phase extraction on a Lichrospher C18 column at 260 nm with an isocratic mobile phase of 90%methanol in 100 ml methanol -deionized water(pH 6.5),containing 0.1%triethyl amine.The flow rate was set at 1.0 ml/min.Results:The linearity was good over the concentration range of 2~20μg/ml(r=0.9 993).The average recovery and RSD were 106.47%and 3.0%respectively.The lower limit of quantification was 1.0μg/ml.Conclusion:The method is simple,accurate and can be used to determine the TNBG concentration in liver and study its metabolism.


Fluorescence lifetimes of low pressure gaseous systems are necessary for the understanding of electronic relaxation in an isolated molecule. A detailed experimental and theoretical analysis of the technique of single photon decay spectroscopy is presented. This includes the construction of nanosecond light sources, the detection and timing of single photons, and a statistical analysis of the results. Standards for time calibration and detection sensitivity are suggested. This paper provides the basis for subsequent studies of the fluorescence decay of aromatic vapours.


This article focuses on examining art-based research and empathy research related to health care. The article is based on two narratives produced in the project More Remotely – Work in Social and Health Care is Changing (2020–22): Carefree room project (2020–21) and Look at the Clouds webinar (2020). In this article, the former will be referred to as Narrative I and the latter as Narrative II. The narratives aim at enhancing the well-being of social and health care staff and university students, as well as their participation in changing work and study environments. Our research develops new kinds of methods for remote interaction, here called "compassion without in-person contact". The research material and the related art-based processes define and develop a method for individual participation in remote interaction, and for understanding and articulating the subjectivity of the interaction. The research material was collected by using art-based research methods (ABR), and it is presented in this article using the abovementioned Narratives I and II as example cases with a special emphasis on visualizing emotions and empathy-based thinking. The method presented here enables ways to engage participants in building a shared understanding, aiming towards enhancing collective well-being and creating empathy-based methods in changing work environments. This article addresses the following questions: 1) How to encounter, process, and manage one's own emotions? and 2) How to identify, share and understand the emotions of the others remotely?


This study investigated the risk factors for in-hospital mortality of severe blunt trauma patients who underwent transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE). We analysed data from the Japan Trauma Data Bank from 2009 to 2018. Patients with severe blunt trauma and an Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥ 16 who underwent TAE were enrolled. The primary analysis evaluated patient characteristics and outcomes, and variables with significant differences were included in the secondary multivariate logistic regression analysis. In total, 5800 patients (6.4%) with ISS ≥ 16 underwent TAE. There were significant differences in the proportion of male patients, transportation method, injury mechanism, injury region, Revised Trauma Score, survival probability values, and those who underwent urgent blood transfusion and additional urgent surgery. In multivariable regression analyses, higher age, urgent blood transfusion, and initial urgent surgery were significantly associated with higher in-hospital mortality risk [p < 0.001, odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01 (1.00–1.01); p < 0.001, 3.50 (2.55–4.79); and p = 0.001, 1.36 (1.13–1.63), respectively]. Inter-hospital transfer was significantly associated with lower in-hospital mortality risk (p < 0.001, OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.44–0.71). Treatment protocols for urgent intervention before and after TAE and a safe, rapid inter-hospital transport system are needed to improve mortality risks for severe blunt trauma patients.


Transmembrane potentials in the cray~h giant axon have been investigated as a function of the concentration of normally occurring external cations. Results have been compared with data already available for the lobster and squid giant axons. The magnitude of the action potential was shown to be a linear function of the log of the external sodium concentration, as would be predicted for an ideal sodium electrode. The resting potential is an inverse function of the external potassium concentration, but behaves as an ideal potassium electrode only at the higher external concentrations of potassium. Decrease in external calcium results in a decrease in both resting potential and action potential; an increase in external calcium above normal has no effect on magnitude of transmembrane potentials. Magnesium can partially substitute for calcium in the maintenance of normal action potential magnitude, but appears to have very little effect on resting potential. All ionic effects studied are completely reversible. The results are in generally good agreement with data presently available for the lobster giant axon and for the squid giant axon. In a previous paper (Dalton, 1958) intracellularly recorded resting and action potentials from a lobster giant axon were investigated as a function of the external concentration of normally occurring cations (sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium). Investigations of the lobster giant axon were undertaken in part to compare the resting and action potentials with data already available for the squid giant axon. A logical next step in a comparative study of transmembrane potentials in giant axons was an investigation of the crayfish giant axon, which makes an interesting comparison with the lobster axon for several reasons. Although the crayfish and lobster are, of course, rather closely related organisms, their habitats are quite different. Thus the opportunity is afforded for comparing axons from related animals * This investigation was supported by Research Grant B-1748 from the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness, National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service.


The yield and its component characteristics of super early and later rice were studied in field conditions.The results showed that the yields of supper early and later rice were significantly higher than those of control varieties(the early and late season control varieties were Jinyou 402 and Shanyou 10 respectively).There was a close correlation between early rice yield and spikelets per panicle and filled grain percentage,while there was a close correlation between later rice yield and effective panicle and spikelets per panicle.There was a significant positive correlation between the early rice yield and productive tiller percentage(r=0.8788);while there was a very significant positive correlation between the later rice yield and productive tiller percentage(r=0.9598).There was a very significant negative correlation between early rice productive tiller percentage and average tiller increasing rate and average tiller decreasing rate(r=-0.9404 and r=-0.9525).There was a significant negative correlation between later rice productive tiller percentage and average tiller decreasing rate(r=-0.9449).The more developed spikelets per panicle of supper early and later rice than those of the control varieties were brought about by more differentiation spikelets,not lower abortion percentage.


Silicon carbide (SiC) ceramics and SiC fiber reinforcedSiC ceramic matrix composites (SiCSiC CMCs) offer high payoff as replacements for metals in turbine engine applications due to their lighter weight, higher temperature capability, and lower cooling requirements. Additive manufacturing approaches can offer game changing technologies for the quick and low cost fabrication of parts with much greater design freedom and geometric complexity. Four approaches for developing these materials are presented. The first two utilize low cost 3D printers. The first uses pre-ceramic pastes developed as feed materials which are converted to SiC after firing. The second uses wood containing filament to print a carbonaceous preform which is infiltrated with a pre-ceramic polymer and converted to SiC. The other two approaches pursue the AM of CMCs. The first is binder jet SiC powder processing in collaboration with rp+m (Rapid Prototyping+Manufacturing). Processing optimization was pursued through SiC powder blending, infiltration with and without SiC nano powder loading, and integration of nanofibers into the powder bed. The second approach was laminated object manufacturing (LOM) in which fiber prepregs and laminates are cut to shape by a laser and stacked to form the desired part. Scanning electron microscopy was conducted on materials from all approaches with select approaches also characterized with XRD, TGA, and bend testing.


Jedediah Purdy builds his central argument around Aziz Rana's thesis that the American ideal of freedom has two incompatible faces. America "began as both a world-historical land grab and a world-h...


A general approach for system identification with artificial neural networks is presented. A dynamic process can be represented as a function of the evolution of the inputs/outputs of the system. The standard approach to system identification is to describe the system by a set of equations that take into account the underlying mechanisms of the studied plant. If the equations of the system are of complex non-linear nature the system can be approximated by a set of linear equations with unknown parameters. Then, the unknown parameters are estimated. Due to the non-linearity of the system and data quality, in many cases this approach might fail. An alternative approach that does not require a priori information about the system is to use artificial neural networks (NN) [2]. The traditional feedforward neural network can be regarded as a universal approximator. In this work, a close-loop neural network architecture based on multilayer feed-forward network is presented as an alternative approach to standard system identification. The adaptations of the NN weights were done by an improved error backpropagation algorithm. The algorithm automatically selects the number of neurons in the hidden layer and provides an educated guess of the initial weight values. A comparison between the NN identification approach and the linear Autoregressive Moving Average with exogenous input (ARMAX) technique will be presented. The identified model was simulated with the SIMULINK package. The NN identification approach can be easily extended to multi-input multi-output (MIMO) dynamic system.


This paper provides the first attempt to bring together all published and unpublished data on the aquatic avifauna of Lakes Mzingazi, Nsezi, Cubhu and Mangeza, situated near Richards Bay in the lower reaches of the Mhlathuze River system. Whilst the amount of data located was limited, it does show that the systems support a varied and important avifauna, including a number of Red Data species. The lack of survey data for these systems is highlighted, indicating the need for a survey of available water bird habitats to be undertaken at each of the lakes. In addition, the changes that might occur in the avifauna if the lakes were exposed to water level draw-downs or rises is assessed.


We calculate the gravitational deflection of light to second order in the Newtonian constant G. For a light ray passing the Sun with impact parameter b, the deflection in general relativity is (4GM/sub sun/ /bc/sup 2/) x (1+(15..pi../16)(GM/sub sun/ /bc/sup 2/)) radians.


An analysis is carried out to investigate the peristaltic pumping of a non-Newtonian Ellis fluid in a planar channel. The coupled nonlinear partial differential equations governing the problem are simplified under the widely used assumption of long wavelength and low Reynolds number. A semi- analytical approach is adopted to obtain the expressions for stream function, longitudinal velocity, pressure gradient and pressure rise per wavelength. The important characteristics of the peristaltic motion are explained graphically for several values of the material parameter of the Ellis fluid.


Constance Jocelyn Ffoulkes (1858–1950), a disciple of Giovanni Morelli (1816–91), participated in the critical exchanges that modernized European art history at the turn of the twentieth century. In producing the first comprehensive study of Italian painter Vincenzo Foppa (ca. 1427–1515), Ffoulkes also underwrote important methodological innovations in the practice of connoisseurship, notably the development of a philological method that blended documentary evidence with direct visual examination. This article investigates Ffoulkes' interest in the use and function of photographic reproductions of archival documents and her allegiance to the "historical standpoint" championed by professional journals such as Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft and Rassegna d'arte, to which she contributed. Emphasizing the boundaries that Ffoulkes was obliged to negotiate to secure a foothold within the male profession of art history, this article tracks the evolution of her research methods relative to the international network that enabled and recognized her expertise in the connoisseurship of Italian art.


The problem of sampling rate conversion in wideband Zero Intermediate Frequency (Zero-IF) receiver is considered. The purpose of digital resampling technology is to realize digital signal sampling rate conversion, which is widely used in bandwidth filter design in spectrum analysis, noise suppression in modulation and demodulation technology, etc. However, in most usage scenarios, the required sampling rate conversion is not integer multiple conversion. Combined with the system architecture requirements of wideband Zero-IF receivers, this paper designs an arbitrary magnification resampling algorithm with relatively little hardware resource consumption and relatively high accuracy. After the test of the system platform, the feasibility of the arbitrary magnification resampling algorithm designed in this paper is verified, which provides a guarantee for the correct detection and analysis of subsequent signals.


Acetic acid bacteria(Gluconacetobacter hansenii)were evaluated for potential genotoxic effects using the bacterial reverse mutation test(Ames test)and the in vitro mammalian chromosomal aberration test using Chinese hamster lung cells. The Ames test was carried out using Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98, TA100, TA1535, and TA1537 and the Escherichia coli strain WP2uvrA(pKM101). It showed that the test cells did not induce gene mutations or chromosomal aberrations in any strains under varying metabolic conditions. Thus, acetic acid bacteria do not exert genotoxic potential under the experimental conditions tested here.


The 2021 World Health Organization (WHO) global safety goals1 include eliminating preventable hospitalacquired complications occasioned by modifiable causes of harm.2 Despite efforts to achieve this aim, hospital patients still experience complications with alarming frequency.1,3 In Australia, one in four patients hospitalised for at least one night experience complications, about half of which are potentially preventable.3


In this thesis methods of parameter estimation of a Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC) from engine rig experiments were investigated. The investigation did not only include methods of parameter fitting to experimental data but a large effort was also put into catalyst modeling and experimental design. Several different catalyst configurations were used with varying Pt loading, washcoat thickness and volume. To further expand the experimental space, engine operating points were chosen with a wide variation in variables (inlet conditions) and both transient and stationary operation was used. A catalyst model was developed where the catalyst washcoat was discretized as tanks in series both radially and axially and for parameter estimation a traditional gradient search method was used. Four different modeling approaches were used for parameter tuning where the most successful one tuned kinetic parameters as well as internal mass transfer parameters. It was also shown that it is of high importance that the kinetic model used has an intrinsic structure when the catalyst model separates mass transport and kinetics and when several catalyst configurations are used. A new method was evaluated where sensitivity analysis and data selection was used as a part of the parameter estimation. The data selection was made by D-optimal design of an approximation of the sensitivity matrix using Principal Component Analysis. This methodology renders better statistical properties and should improve the parameter tuning when using gradient search methods. Furthermore, a reduced computational cost could be achieved


Unmanned systems are playing an increasingly important role in the handling of modern biochemical events. Here, the particularity and coping characteristics of modern biochemical events are expounded, a single coping system can no longer address the potential threats in a complex environment, and various forms of coping strategies should be used for coordinated operations; the current research situation and the operational characteristics of unmanned systems in different fields are listed in three aspects; at the same time, the multi-unmanned systems and their critical technologies in biochemical events are discussed; finally, the problems existing in the application process of the current unmanned system are rationally analyzed, and the future development of the unmanned system is forecasted.


Aquatic product is one kind of agricultural products and fish supply is affected by the price.The supply price of different periods affects different fish supplyment.This paper took the fishery production and the price index of China's annual data from1978 to 2009,used Nerlove model to analyze the reaction of the total China's aquatic products.The results showed that the short-term elasticity of aquatic products' supply was 0.6547(less flexible),.and showed fish supply didn't affect by short-term price obviously;long-run supply elasticity of aquatic was 11.4458,and showed that the long-term aquatic supply was flexible,The supply of aquatic products influenced by the long-term price.This paper analyed the elastic properties of the aquatic supplying,proposed that fisheries protected policy must be continuity and stability;accelerate the promotion of technological input;and improve the conversion rate of technology;and then increase the rate of fishermen's education and training.


Objective: To assess the effectiveness of rectally used misoprostol in the prevention of postpartum hemorrhage compared with oxytocin. Materials and Methods: 402 women underwent analysis and were randomized to receive either two 200 micrograms rectal misoprostol tablets (study group) or 20 units oxytocin in 50 cc normal saline intravenously (control group). Primary outcome measures were the incidence of postpartum hemorrhage or a change in hematoctrit or hemoglobin from admission to day one post delivery. Results: The incidence of postpartum hemorrhage was 7% in the study subjects and 6% in the control subjects (P>0.05) There were no significant difference among the groups in the drop of hematocrit (P>0.05). Secondary outcome measures including severe postpartum hemorrhage and the duration of the third stage of labour were similar in both groups. Conclusion: Rectal misoprostol is as effective as intravenous oxytocin in preventing postpartum hemorrhage with the same incidence of side effects and is recommended to be used as a uterotonic agent for the routine management of third stage of labour.


Coastal ports operate through the interactions of shippers, carriers, dock owners, operators, pilots and the various governmental agencies responsible for maintaining and operating channels for safe and efficient movements. Monte Carlo simulation models of vessel movements in ports can be useful in determining the value of improvements such as channel widening or dredging. Such models require, among other things, input that describes the random arrival of vessels at the port. A method of generating synthetic fleet forecasts for Monte Carlo simulation models, consistent with historical and expected future fleets and commodity forecasts has been developed as part of a suite of navigation planning tools developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). The suite includes: the HarborSym Monte Carlo simulation model; the HSAM visualization/animation tool; a database structure for storing historical and synthetic vessel calls at a port; a set of statistical analysis tools that operate on data describing historic vessel port calls; and a commodity-driven forecast tool and synthetic fleet generator. The elements of the tool suite are described, with emphasis on the VCDB and the commodity-driven forecast tool. The tool suite development is a component of a major Corps research and development initiative on Navigation Economics Technologies (NETS) that is developing state-ofthe-art research and tools for analysis of inland waterways and deep draft navigation.


Aim To investigate the effects of tranilast on proliferation and c-myc protooncogene expression in vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMC)Methods In vitro cultured rat VSMCs model was established.3H-thymidine (3H-TdR)incorporation test and, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique were used.Results Both platelet derived growth factor-AB(PDGF-AB)and AngiotensinⅡ(AtⅡ) Were able to induce expression of c-myc protooncogene and in-creased DNA synthesis in VSMCs.Tranilast markedly inhibited the DNA synthesis in VSMCs in-duced by both PDGF-AB and AtⅡ. In the mean while,the drug was able to inhibit the c-myc protoonco-gene expression in VSMCs induced by both PDGF-AB and AtⅡas well.Conclusion Tranilast can inhibit VSMCs prolifera-tion and expression of c-myc protooncogene. The in-hibitoty effect of tranilast on the proliferation of VSM-Cs may be related to the inhibition of c-myc expres-sion.


A 19-month-old Corredale ewe suffering from cryptogenic dysstasia from September to November in 1989 was dissected and examined by the histological method. The sheep was smaller than healthy sheep of the same age. At necropsy, no significant gross lesions were found in any of the organs and tissues including the central nervous system. Histopathologically, there were many vacuolated nerve cells and status spongiosus mainly in the brain stem, and this case was diagnosed as being scrapie. Scrapie associated fibril (SAF) proteins were also detected from the brain extract of this sheep using the Western blot analysis. So far, in Japan, there has been no case of scrapie that lacked scratching. Therefore, veterinarians who examine sheep clinically and pathologically should consider such a condition as has been reported here.


does not vanish. Hence the condition that right hand [left baiid] division shall always be uniquely possible is that A,. [Al] shall vanish only when every a. vanishes. Now either of these conditions is satisfied when the other is, since either is equivalent to the condition that a product shall vanish only when one factor vanishes. We consider algebras in which these conditions are satisfied and in which there is a modulus, i. e., an element 1 such that 1A = Al = A for every element A. We shall henceforth set el = 1. For m = 2, the algebra is the field F(e2). Indeed, e2 _ e2y222 0 is irreducible in F since Ar al + al a2 y222 a a2 y221. In ? 2 I consider the general transformation of algebras with three units, exhibiting families of algebras invariant under every linear transformation and determining the algebras which admit more than one transforination into itself (and hence exactly three transformations). Froin each standpoint I am led to the same remarkable set of families of algebras, each set characterized by a parameter ,u. For , = 1, the family consists of all fields of rank three with respect to F. For u = 0, the commutative algebras have the property that division is always possible.


Abstract Key results of time-of-flight drift mobility measurements on silicon and germanium backbone polymers are reviewed. Transport in these polymers displays a convoluted and yet familiar pattern of electric field and temperature dependences similar in remarkable detail to behaviour already reported for a very diverse collection of disordered molecular solids. The latter, while varied in composition and morphology, all share at least two common features, namely firstly transport controlled by interaction with localized states which are either hopping sites or shallow traps in communication with a band and secondly disorder. We explore in this paper the application of what is arguably the simplest model (derived from Monte Carlo simulation) of transport incorporating these characteristics. Consideration will be restricted to hopping among a spatially regular array of sites made energetically inequivalent by disorder. Thus, neither positional disorder nor site relaxation is explicitly considered. Some re...


A one-year-ahead price change forecasting model is proposed based on the fundamental analysis to examine the relationship between equity market value and financial performance measures. By including book value and six financial statement items in the valuation model, current firm value can be determined and the estimation error can predict the direction and magnitude of future returns of a given portfolio. The six financial performance measures represent both cash flows – cash flows from operations (CFO), cash flows from investing (CFI), and cash flows from financing (CFF) – as well as net income – RD however, the return of hedge portfolios generally decreases as the market matures.


Background The novel coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) caused over 1.7 million confirmed cases and cumulative mortality up to over 110,000 deaths worldwide as of 14 April 2020. A total of 57 Macao citizens were obligated to stay in Hubei province, China, where the highest COVID-19 prevalence was noted in the country and a "lockdown" policy was implemented for outbreak control for more than one month. They were escorted from Wuhan City to Macao via a chartered airplane organized by Macao SAR government and received quarantine for 14 days with none of the individual being diagnosed with COVID-19 by serial RNA tests from the nasopharyngeal specimens and sera antibodies. It was crucial to identify common characteristics among these 57 uninfected individuals. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted to extract information such as behavior, change of habits and preventive measures. Results A total of 42 effective questionnaires were analyzed after exclusion of 14 infants and children with age under fifteen as ineligible for the survey and missing of one questionnaire, with a response rate of 97.7% (42 out of 43). The proportion of female composed more than 70% of this group of returners. The main reason for visiting Hubei in 88.1% of respondents was to visit relatives. Over 88% of respondents did not participate in high-risk activities due to mobility restriction. All (100%) denied contact with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases. Comparison of personal hygiene habits before and during disease outbreak showed a significant increase in practice including wearing a mask when outdoor (16.7% and 95.2%, P < 0.001) and often wash hands with soap or liquid soap (85.7% and 100%, P = 0.031).


The study discusses the impact of an investment protection chapter with Investor-State-Dispute-Settlement in the proposed transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on social and labour regulation and the autonomy of the social partners in regulating these matters through collective agreements.


Correspondence Khine Kyaw, NTNU Business School, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Klaebuvein 72, Trondheim 7030, Norway. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com Abstract How does investors' aversion to environmental risk affect their reaction towards firms' earnings announcements? We explore this by analyzing earnings announcements made by U.S. firms between 2002 and 2016. The results show that environmental performance at the firm level is important for investors as this influences the investment behaviors of investors who have some degree of aversion to environmental risk. These investors appreciate the earnings by firms that exhibit a high level of environmental performance, i.e., firms that have successfully addressed environmental risks. However, earnings are of secondary importance for investors who are highly averse to environmental risk since environmental concerns take precedence.


Many types of industrial electric appliances require a regulated microwave generator in their construction. That generator could be represented by a packaged magnetron on condition of solving the problem with maintaining an operation mode through anode current operation control. In the article options for constructing an anode current stabilization system based on anode voltage regulation are considered. The article suggests a 3 kW packaged magnetron power-supply system transient phenomena research through the MATLAB+Simulink environment simulation. The power supply system includes two power supplies connected in series, one of which is uncontrolled, the other can change the output voltage according to the signal of the integral controller. Based on the simulation results, the effect of the regulator transfer factor on the quality of the transient processes in the anode current stabilization system is shown.


The asymptotic low-energy and long-time properties of random one-dimensional systems with harmonic chain-type eigenvalue equations are discussed. For a general class of random distributions of the coupling constants W, rho (W), an inherent length scale can be defined, and the corresponding systems exhibit conventional (universal) asymptotic properties. If rho (W) is such that no intrinsic length is defined, a unique energy-dependent localisation length can be determined which leads to anomalous (non-universal) diffusion and density-of-states indices, or at least to non-universal corrections to the conventional asymptotic behaviour. Some implications for the thermodynamic properties of random magnetic chains are also discussed.


Wire explosion is a technically straightforward green method for nanoparticle production; however, the determination of polydisperse and multimodal particle size distribution and thereby the assessment of the efficiency of the process pose serious challenges. Fitting extinction spectra derived from the Mie theory to the measured extinction spectra of colloidal solutions produced by the explosion of copper wires of 70 μm diameter and 20 mm length by discharging a capacitor of 435 nF charged to voltages ranging from 4 to 12 kV in an aqueous environment allows for determining the size distribution of the particles in the 10–300 nm diameter range and provides information on their oxidation state as well. In underwater wire explosion of copper, the vast majority of the nanoparticles transforms into copper oxides already during the process. The size distribution remains bimodal throughout the whole charging voltage range investigated. The nanoparticles follow a lognormal size distribution with a mode at 30 nm, while the fine particle population extending from 100 to 300 nm in diameter is dominated by rather normally distributed copper droplets with modes at 160–170 nm. The energy injected into the wire controls the individual concentration of both the fine and nanoparticles with the modes and ranges remaining hardly affected. The number concentration of the nanoparticles increases monotonically with the energy, spanning more than one order of magnitude. The throughput assessed by the total mass of the nanoparticles divided by the total mass of all species identified in the sol within the 0–300 nm diameter range increases monotonically from 1% at 4 kV up to 41% at 12 kV, revealing that wire explosion can be optimized for efficient nanoparticle production.


This article will provide an overview of the national child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) workforce planning programme 2006‐7, which used early implementer sites in each of the eight English regions to produce a specialist CAMHS workforce plan and explores the potential transferable learning from the CAMHS experience to workforce planning across a range of other settings.


This text has as objective to present the investigation I have been developing on the last two decades at PUC-SP relating the fields of the body, clothing, fashion in the configuration of the social. A study of the ways that the body and clothing are part of the social practices, and its actions on the construction of the subjects in its daily performances in the world. In order to do that it is undertaken an analysis of the procedures of providing visibility to the subject, among the body articulations, clothing and fashion on its ways of arranging the body plastic and fashion plastic in an action of identity formation and an intervention in the social interactions eitherin the individual action, or in the group actions . A cut in the masters and doctors researches accomplished and being done at the Postgraduate of Communication and Semiotic fundaments the coverage of the angles of treatment of this study field that are inter-related to us baring in mind that its production mechanisms of sense and meaning of the subject, social and culture.


Overall this paper makes an excellent point: that although Rossby wave crests may enhance primary production, Rossby wave troughs (according to their model) reduce primary production, such that the net effect of Rossby waves on primary production appears to be small. Although this paper has several weaknesses (listed below), I expect this conclusion will stand. So this paper is a significant and thought-provoking contribution to the current discussion in the literature on the effect of Rossby waves on ocean biogeochemistry. I support its publication after some revision.


. This paper studies the concentration rules of different components of exudate based on original soil column test by using coal mine pit drainage and tap water as filter fluid to simulate water-rock interaction in sewage water irrigation, clear water irrigation or precipitation filtration, and the results show that the water-rock interaction is mainly dissolved by soluble salt, followed by cation exchange and adsorption. The carbonic balance movement occurred in both sewage and clear water irrigation, accompanied by the complex cooperation of some ions. These physical chemistry processes contribute to the sulphate and total hardness of groundwater in the irrigated areas.


This paper investigates whether students will be more engaged in solving real-world and open-ended engineering problems when student-centred learning pedagogies are introduced. In-class demonstrations, case studies, multimedia presentations, and a two-day end-of-semester student conference were implemented in a Mechatronics module on Instrumentation and Sensing to complement the lectures. Data from the university-administered student feedback report were analysed for the four years that the pedagogies were implemented. The major finding from this work suggests that a multi-background, multidisciplinary, and multinational student audience have responded favourably to the combination of pedagogies that were introduced. Effectiveness of student engagement pedagogies in a mechatronics module: A 4-year multi-cohort study


IN a previous communication one of us reported a study of the exfoliative cytology of the normal oral mucosa by the Papanicolaou method.* After thus having established the criteria for the exfoliative cytology of the normal mouth, various pathologic conditions were examined by the same technic. In this article we wish to report on the exfoliative cytology of oral leucoplakia. Ten patients showing various degrees of this condition were selected for our study. The important clinical data and a gross description of the lesions of the oral cavity are listed in the following paragraphs.


On page 629 Alexander Cumberworth, Jennifer M. Bui, and J€ org Gsponer address a key question regarding the application of solvation models to large biomolecular systems, namely whether they consistently reproduce changes in free energies of solvation associated with large-scale conformational variations in biomolecules. Between the different models, substantial deviations were found that could not be corrected in a generic way. Pictured on the cover are representative structures of the folded and unfolded states of Trp-Cage and a plot of the root-mean-square deviation relative to an experimental structure of Trp-Cage.


In general, the use of code switching often occurs among the community. But in this case, the context of the use of code switching used by students and lecturers in the Islamic education management study program has characteristics and uniqueness that can attract someone's attention. This study aims to describe the form and context of the use of code switching between students and lecturers in the Islamic education management study program. The method used in this study is a descriptive qualitative research. The data in this study are sentences containing code-switching utterances, while the data source is the utterances of students and lecturers in the Islamic education management study program. The data were obtained from interviews with students and lecturers by voice recording and field note-taking. In addition, the researchers also used the reflective-introspective method. The collected data were then transcribed into a written form of orthographic transcription. The method applied for analyzing the data is equivalent and distributional method. Meanwhile, the methods used for displaying the results of data analysis are informal and formal steps. The results showed that there were 3 forms of code switching in speech between students and lecturers, namely 1) code switching from EL to IL ; 2) code switching from ML to IL; and 3) Code switching from AL to IL. The context of its use is motivated by multilingual factors, speakers, speech partners, topics of conversation, atmosphere of conversation, weak language, lack of vocabulary, just prestigious, and wanting to make it easier for the speech partner to understand the message conveyed.


Tampereen ammattikorkeakoulu Tampere University of Applied Sciences Degree programme in Mechanical and Production Engineering Option of Machine Automation WALLENIUS, HENRI: Programming basics for Siemens TIA Portal V11 Siemens TIA Portal V11 Bachelor's thesis 57 pages September 2012 The purpose of this bachelor's thesis is to create educational material for the new Siemens TIA Portal software. This material is meant to be used at the Tampere University of Applied Sciences' machine laboratory. This thesis is a follow-up to Hannu Hinttu's Instruction manual for Siemens Tia Portal V11 and is concentrating more on the field of programming. The goal of this bachelor's thesis is to create simple instructions for the basics of programming for students. The thesis also includes a recap of those necessary functions of the software that need to be conducted before the programming can begin. Those actions include creating a program, configuring devices and creating a connection to the programmable logic controller. This thesis also contains information about previous Siemens programming software so the user gets the idea of what has changed during the past 15 years. These programming instructions were tested in practice but the use as educational material will not begin until August 2012. For that reason the ultimate results will be revealed later. Thesis includes the very basics of the programming and as the subject is very broad, there will be need for more educational material also in the future concerning this software.


Summary The complete chloroplast genome sequences of a normal male-fertile (N) and two male-sterile (CMS) cytoplasms of onion (Allium cepa L.) were produced by next-generation sequencing (Illumina HiSeq2000). The sizes of the normal (N), CMS-S, and CMS-T chloroplast genomes were 153,529 bp, 153,440 bp, and 153,568 bp, respectively. All chloroplast genome structures consisted of a pair of large inverted repeats (26,450 - 26,468 bp) plus large and small single-copy regions. The content and order of genes in the three chloroplast genomes were identical. Each contained 74 proteincoding, four rRNA, and 30 tRNA genes. Many polymorphisms [352 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 141 insertions or deletions of bases (indels)] were observed between the N and CMS-S cytotypes, but only four SNPs and two indels were found between the N and CMS-T cytotypes, supporting the alloplasmic and autoplasmic origins of CMS-S and CMS-T male-sterility, respectively. A 7.6-fold reduction in mutation rate was observed in the large inverted repeats, while an elevated mutation rate was found in the intergenic region between the ndhF and rpl32 genes. Increased mutation rates were also observed in the ycf1, accD, and ndhF coding regions. A simple PCR marker was developed to distinguish the three cytotypes on the basis of the different lengths of the indels positioned between the petN and psbM genes. A total of 247 domestic breeding lines and 130 exotic accessions of onion, originating from diverse countries, were analysed using this and other previously developed markers to identify variant cytotypes.Two variants of each N and CMS-T cytotype were identified. In addition, two novel cytotypes showing different stoichiometries of the mitochondrial orf725 and cox1 genes were identified in the diverse germplasm.


In this paper, we develop computational procedures for optimizing the location of turbines in a wind farm. We consider two different scenarios: First, we assume that the number of turbines to be installed is given, and the goal is to find their locations such that the total power generation is maximized. Every point within a defined region is a potential turbine location. Second, we assume a finite set of possible locations, typically defined in terms of a grid, and the goal is to determine at what locations a turbine should be installed. The goal in this scenario is to maximize the net profit constituted by future sales income minus turbine installation and running costs. To reflect the interdependence between turbines, we need a model of the decline of the wind velocity behind a turbine. In the first part of the paper, we consequently develop a new wake model, which is shown to be an improvement of one of the most popular wake models in the literature. In the second part of the paper, we suggest heuristic methods for approaching the optimization problems, and evaluate them experimentally on a number of test cases. Based on results from the experiments, we conclude that our new wake model, combined with the method displaying the best performance in the experiments, is a useful tool in designing wind farms.


In volume 5, issue 1–2 of the Journal of Toxicology & Environmental Health, Part B, pages 251 and 252 of "A Comprehensive Evaluation of the Potential Risks Associated with Occupational and Environmental Exposure to Styrene" by Cohen et al. contain references to other text within the article, which may be unclear. "Section 5.2" refers to the section entitled "Mechanisms for Tumor Susceptibility in Mice" on page 153 of the issue. "Section 18.104.22.168" refers to "Differences Between Rats and Mice" on page 157. The publisher sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience caused by the ambiguity.


Objective To evaluate the curative effect of massage on neonates with sclerema. Methods One hundred and sixty-five neonates with sclerema were divided randomly into observation group (85 cases) and control group (80 cases). On the basis of routine general treatment, the observation group were massaged with burn ointment on the site of sclerema, curative effect of two groups was compared. Results The total effective rate in the observation group and control group was 96.47% and 63.75% respectively, there was significant difference between two groups (P 0.01). Conclusion Massage therapy can improve the curative effect on neonatal sclerema.


In this paper, we introduce iterative schemes for finding a common element of the set of common fixed points for a left amenable semigroup of nonexpansive mappings, the set of solutions of the variational inequalities for a family of $\alpha$-inverse-strongly monotone mappings and the set of solutions of a system of equilibrium problems in a Hilbert space. We establish weak and strong convergence theorems for the sequences generated by our proposed schemes. Moreover, we present various applications to the additive semigroup of nonnegative real numbers and families of strictly pseudocontractive mappings.


Objectives: The purpose of this study is to explore in depth and deeply the nature and meaning of the academic experience that married nursing graduate students have experienced in their Convergence roles. Methods: Giorgi(2004) method was used the four-step data analysis procedure following the technological phenomena. Participants were four nursing doctoral students who were involved in work, child-care. and education. Data collection was conducted through two in-depth interviews with participants from October to November 2017. Results: Data analysis was structured into 12 concepts and 5 categories, centered on thinking, feelings, and changes in life for study before and after entering graduate school. The five categories are 'I enjoy flying more than anyone', 'I am different from them', 'A solitary journey toward a dream', 'Family is my strength' and 'I have a dream.' Conclusions: In order to help married nurses improve their professionalism, it is necessary to build a support system for the family, improvement of the organizational culture, and a socially practical support system.


With recent advances in technology, it is feasible to conveniently monitor urban roads using various cameras, such as surveillance cameras, in-vehicle cameras, or smartphones, and recognize their conditions by detecting specific types of road damages in order to plan maintenance resources efficiently based on the identified spots. This paper describes a road damage type detection and classification solution submitted to the IEEE BigData Cup Challenge 2018. Our solution is based on the state-of-the-art deep learning methods for an object detection task. In particular, our approach utilizes an object detection algorithm to detect various types of road damages by training the detector on different image examples categorized into a set of damages defined by Japan Road Association. We evaluated our approach thoroughly using different versions of trained models. Our experiments show that our approach was able to achieve an F1 score up to 0.62.


North Bengkulu district is one of the districts in the province of Bengkulu, which is located adjacent to the Indian Ocean. This location is also nigh to the active tectonic plate subduction between the Indian-Australian and Eursia,. Earthquakes which occurred in the Bengkulu province from 1994 to now has led to extreme shoreline changes. These changes are predicted because the coastal in North Bengkulu district has a relatively low seismic vulnerability index and are in areas prone to earthquake. This research aimed (1) knowing the speed of abrasion in some locations that cause changes in the shoreline, (2) know the Seismic Vulnerability Index at several locations in the coastal region of North Bengkulu. Microtremor data at several coastal locations are acquired using a digital seismograph short periode 3 component. HVSR method give dominant frequency(fo) and the amplification factor (A) at each site and they were reviewed. Using the value of fo and A, can be calculated the value of the seismic vulnerability index (Kg). Abrasion speed can be calculated by means of overly between North Bengkulu map printed in 1994 to 2012. Seismic vulnerability Index in several locations are measured has a value that varies between 1.2 to 16.1 and speed abrasion between 1.4 to 5.7 meter per year. In coastal locations which have high seismic vulnerability index value tended to have high values of speed abrasion and vice versa.


On urbanized and industrial territories in Crimean region of Ukraine with exceedances of critical loads for heavy metals (HM) different cohorts of population were examined. Content of toxic HM (Hg, Pb, Cd, Ni) in hair of healthy children and adult mainly did not exceeded, but level of essential HM (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn) frequently was decreased. The differences of HM content in some special cohorts (mental retardation, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, sportsman) was revealed. Content of HM in 375 samples of venous and umbilical cord blood, placenta, breast milk of puerperants and their new-born children strongly varied. Correlation analysis by Spearman and multiple regression analysis shown not so close but statistically significant relationships between levels of HM and functional state of central and autonomic nervous, immune and cardio-vascular systems, their different sensitivity to different HM in distinct cohorts of population.


Most existing medium access control (MAC) protocols in underwater acoustic networks (UANs) ignore the delay variance that affects the estimation accuracy of round trip time (RTT). We predict the RTTs using Bayesian dynamic linear model. Using the predicted RTTs, we dynamically adjust the length of time slots in MAC. Experimental results show that the predicted values can adapt quickly to the delay variance in the acoustic channel.


The error-prone PCR technique has been widely used in order to obtain thermostable enzymes more suitable for industrial conditions. The Orpinomyces xynA mutant library allowed the selection of four thermostable mutants (M1-M4). Molecular dynamics (MD) predicted an N-terminal tail as being a destabilizing structural region and allowed further enhancing of the mutant xylanases thermostability. Thus, removal of the 27 amino acid residues enabled an increase in the enzyme half-life values (t1/2). However, besides the improved thermostability, the large enzyme production and high catalytic performance are also relevant for the biotechnological application of enzymes. During the mutant enzymes production in E. coli, the IPTG induction protocol allowed high expression levels of soluble and active xylanases. The mutant xylanases without the 27 amino acid residues showed improved thermostability and the shorter versions of M2 and M4 (named as SM2 and SM4) also presented a good performance in more extreme pH conditions.


We consider modelling and testing for `interaction' between a continuous covariate X and a categorical covariate C in a regression model. Here C represents two treatment arms in a parallel-group clinical trial and X is a prognostic factor which may influence response to treatment. Usually X is categorised into groups according to cut-point(s) and the interaction is analysed in a model with main effects and multiplicative terms. A trend test of the effect of C over the ordered categories from X may be performed and is likely to have better power. The cut-point approach raises several well-known and difficult issues for the analyst, including dependency of the results on the choice of cut-point, loss of power due to categorisation, and the danger of `over-fitting' if several cut-points are considered in a search for `optimality' (Altman et al., 1994). We will describe an approach to avoid such problems based on fractional polynomial (FP) modelling of X, without categorisation, overall and at each level of C (Royston and Sauerbrei, 2002). The first step is to construct a multivariable adjustment model which may contain binary covariates and FP transformations of continuous covariates other than X. The second step involves FP modelling of X within the adjustment model. Stata software to fit the models will be demonstrated using example datasets, mainly from cancer studies. The examples show the power of the approach in detecting and displaying interactions in real data from randomised controlled trials with a survival-time outcome.


The paper is dealt with on the determinism of the place as a
planning of the space for children's play in the inside space
and the outside space of the dwelling.
The planning for the space is need in the correspondence of
rapidly changing sociocultural phenomena, not experienced concept.
Therefore, in the meaning that the built environment, must be
corresponded with the behavior for human education, the dwelling
site, the school site and the place between the dwelling and the
 school must be the educational space through the play.
Thus, this paper is an attempt to study the concept and essence
of the place for play by means of Linguistic Analysis.


Pulses serve as an important food component in many developing countries including India. Due to high protein content, these crops are constantly faced with different abiotic and biotic stresses such as drought, insects and diseases which ultimately lead to decreased productivity. Among the biotic stresses, seed beetles in the genus Callosobruchus constitute a major constraint in pulse production causing high grain losses both in quantity and quality during storage, and are distributed all over the country. In this context, an experiment was conducted to assess the seed damaging potential of two most common Callosobruchus species, Callosobruchus chinensis and C. maculatus, on an important Indian pulse crop, mung bean (variety CO-8) through artificial infestation under laboratory conditions. Results showed that ovipositional response by the two species differed significantly on 50 mung bean (Vigna radiata) seeds. Damage potential of the two bruchid species was evaluated by assessing and comparing seed damage percentage. Seed infestation was significantly higher for C. maculatus (91.33 %) than C. chinensis (70.67 %). Although mung bean seeds were highly susceptible to both the bruchid species, however, mean developmental period (MDP in days) was found to be significantly different which recorded 29.96 and 24.99 days for C. chinensis and C. maculatus respectively. Therefore, it can be concluded that C. maculatus is more dominant and damaging than C. chinensis and hence, can be recommended for use in bruchid host plant resistance study.


Objective To investigate the effects of regional infusion of hypothermic normal saline contained captopril on free radicals level and myeloperoxidase(MPO) activity in rabbits during spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion(I/R).Methods The 80 rabbits were randomly divided into four equal groups,group A(sham operated,no I-R injury,n=8),group B(control,only I/R,n=24),group C(I/R + intraaortic hypothermic normal saline,n=24),and group D(I/R + N.S plus 4mg/kg captopril,n=24).The model of spinal cord ischemia in the rabbit was induced with the aorta clamped.Hypothermic solution was infused into the isolated aortic segments.The content of spinal cord MDA and the activities of superoxide dismutase(SOD),MPO were measured at 8h,24h and 72 h after the reperfusion respectively.Results The level of spinal cord MDA increased,the activity of SOD decreased and the activity of MPO increased markedly after the reperfusion.Compared with group B,the MDA content decreased significantly at the three observation time points and the MPO activity decreased significantly in groups C and D(all P0.01).There was a negative correlation between the neurologic function scores and the content of MDA.Conclusion Regional infusion of hypothermic normal saline solution can reduce the production of free radicals and inhibit the infiltration of neutrophil.Infusion of hypothermic solution combined with captopril may have a synergistic effect on spinal cord protection against ischemia.


In recent years, simultaneously the conductor and capacitor allocation have been considered as a favorable solution for reduction of real power loss, improvement of voltage profile & stability, increase reserve capacity for demand growth and maximize financial benefits in radial distribution systems (RDS). A novel approach based on meta-heuristic algorithm, known as Improved Cuckoo Search Algorithm (ICSA) is to find the optimal allocation of the system in 32-bus RDS. The suggested optimization technique is used to minimize the objective function which includes (1) cost of power losses, (2) cost of the installed conductors,(3) cost of the installed capacitors. To validation of efficiency of presented method, results are compared with previous similar works.


In this paper formulae for front and rear wheel torque are introduced for showing the tractional characteristics of four wheel drive vehicles. A simple traction model is used for each of the various types of four wheel drives including the rigidly connected type, the centre differential type, the centre differential plus viscous clutch type, the viscous transfer type, the split torque type, and the over–running clutch type. This paper describes the characteristics of each type by comparison of the torque ratio between the front and rear wheels obtained from calculations using the formulae. Calculations are made for two different vehicle speeds (20 km/h and 100 km/h), under two different road conditions (dry pavement and snow–covered road), and also under tight–cornering condition.


We address the problem of well-posedness for physical and minimal solutions to a probabilistic reformulation of the supercooled Stefan problem by investigating the sensitivity of these solutions to changes in the initial data. We show that the solution map for physical solutions is continuous under perturbations to the initial condition $X_{0-}$ (in the weak sense of probability measures), provided that $X_{0-}$ admits a unique physical solution. Furthermore, we show continuous dependency of the solution map for minimal solutions when the data is shifted to the right; however, continuity of this solution map is shown to fail at $X_{0-}$ for shifts to the left unless uniqueness of physical solutions holds. As a result, we show that the question of whether the solution map for minimal solutions is continuous at $X_{0-}$ is equivalent to the question of whether the given data $X_{0-}$ admits a unique physical solution.


Cultivating and developing the market of roadway transportation is a long period and complex systemic project. Only making using of scientific technology,mastering kinds of economic relations of roadway transportation market,collocating resource reasonably,can cultivate perfect market of roadway transportation that adapt to socialist economy.


The objective of the present study is to examine the fully developed free convective MHD flow of an electrically conducting viscous incompressible fluid in a vertical porous channel under influence of asymmetric wall temperature and concentration in the presence of chemical reaction. The heat and mass transfer coupled with diffusion-thermo effect renders the present analysis interesting and curious. The analytical solution by Laplace transform technique of partial differential equations is used to obtain the expressions for the velocity, temperature, and concentration. It is observed that under the influence of dominating mass diffusivity over thermal diffusivity with stronger Lorentz force the velocity is reduced at all points Further, low rate of thermal diffusion delays the attainment of free stream state. Flow of aqueous solution in the presence of heavier species is prone to back flow.


Studies on the moisture sorption characteristics of poly(vinyl alcohol)/starch blends for water activity (aw) values of 0.1–0.9 were performed at 27°C. The equilibrium moisture content at different aw values was used to fit different sorption isotherm models proposed in the literature. The ranges of aw applicable for the different sorption isotherms were reported. The model constants of the sorption equations were determined by linear fitting. The value of the coefficient of determination (0.98 ± 0.01) confirmed the goodness of fit of the equations studied. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 3874–3881, 2003


Excerpt To the editor: Although homosexual men accounted for most cases of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome early in the epidemic, the syndrome has now been seen in other high-risk groups (1)...


Information on how to submit content for use in ExploreCU Information about copyright, including definition, history, compliance, fair use, legislation, and news.


Abstract We present theoretical results on phase transition anomalies of the diffusive X-ray scattering due to point defects. The comparison with results for thermal fluctuations in the order parameter is made. There are also discussed possible experiments which may provide not only a verification of the theory but the characteristics of defects figurating in a number of theoretical expressions.


A display device includes a substrate with a major surface and a cover opposing the substrate. An array of light emitting pixels is disposed over a generally central portion of the major surface, and interposed between the substrate and the cover. A seal is disposed over a peripheral portion of the substrate, and interposed between and interconnecting the substrate and the cover. Between the seal and the substrate, a lower insulation layer, an upper insulation layer, and a structure located between the lower and upper insulation layers and including at least one metal layer. The upper insulation layer includes an uneven top surface. A contour of the uneven top surface of the upper insulation layer may conform with or follow that of the top uneven surface of the structure. The seal contacts and is bonded to the uneven top surface of the upper insulation.


Objective: To determine the variability of chemotherapy schemes used in the treatment of ovarian cancer. Method: In 10 Spanish hospitals, the chemotherapy schemes usually prescribed for the treatment of ovarian cancer were recorded. It was considered the variability, any difference in the cytostatics' dosage or their order of administration. Results: 56 records were obtained. For each scheme, it was calculated the variability index according to the equation: no. variations-1/total no. of scheme records × 100. The following results were obtained: paclitaxel + carboplatin (36.4%), paclitaxel + cisplatin (66.7%), liposomal doxorubicin (37.5%), topotecan (14.3%), cyclophosphamide + cisplatin (50%), monotherapy paclitaxel, monotherapy paclitaxel (66.7%) and gemcitabine (0%). Conclusions: The observed high variability implies that the selection criteria for each scheme differ among hospitals. It is necessary a systematic revision of the scientific literature and a consensus among oncologists in order to establish a reference treatment for every studied scheme, based on efficacy and safety data


BACKGROUND. Currently, the study of the cognitive sphere in COVID-19 is an urgent problem.
AIM. To determine the presence of cognitive dysfunction using valid scales MoCA, FAB, clock drawing test and their subscales in patients in the acute period of coronavirus infection, to compare the data of cognitive impairment in different epidemiological waves.
MATERIAL AND METHODS. Two groups of subjects were included in the present study. Groups No. 1 and No. 2 are patients infected with COVID-19 in the acute period, complicated by pneumonia. Group No. 1 was hospitalized in the period December 2020 March 2021. Group No. 2 was hospitalized in the period November 2021 January 2022. To study the neuropsychological status, the neuropsychological scales MoCA, FAB, the clock drawing test and their subscales were used. Screening for anxiety and depression and depression was performed using the valid HADS scale. Quantitative data on the normality of the distribution of the sample was tested using the ShapiroWilk test. The MannWhitney test was used to compare unrelated groups. Quantitative data are presented as median and interquartile range Me [P25; P75]. Differences were considered statistically significant at p 0.05.
RESULTS. Statistically significant differences were found in the acute period of coronavirus infection complicated by pneumonia and cognitive impairment in both group No. 1 and group No. 2, respectively. In group No. 1 (observation period from December 2020 to March 2021), cognitive impairments were more severe than in group No. 2 (observation period from November 2021 to January 2022). When comparing the subscales of the MoCA test of groups No. 1 and No. 2 upon admission to the hospital, and at discharge in group No. 1, the results of MoCA testing were worse than in group No. 2 according to subscales: attention, speech, memory, indicators were statistically significant (p 0.05). According to the FAB data, in group No. 1, the indicators on admission to the hospital and at discharge were also worse than in group No. 2, highly significant differences were according to the data: fluency of speech, dynamic praxis, simple and complicated choice reaction, grasping reflex study (p 0.001). Anxiety and depression were not found in the study groups.
CONCLUSION. With the help of such valid scales as: the clock drawing test, MoCA, FAB and their subscales, the presence of cognitive dysfunction in young and middle-aged patients at different time intervals of observation was proved; in the first group, the violations were more severe than in the group No. 2.


We study the impact of demappers using various channel statistics, including circularly symmetric and multi-dimensional Gaussian, in fiber-optic communication systems. In nonlinear dispersion-managed fiber systems, an improvement in achievable information rate (AIR) and bit error ratio (BER) after decoding is obtained from using multi-dimensional non-circularly symmetric Gaussian statistics at the demapper. For fiber systems without in-line dispersion compensation, only minor gains are obtained.


LIFE OF THE LATE SIR ANDREW CLARK. Sir,?Will you kindly allow me to send the following brief explanation in reply to "Alpha's" letter in your issue of March 24th ? I undertook the task of writing the life of Sir Andrew Clark, in conjunction with Dr. Allchin, who took charge of the medical side of the great physician's career. After I had written a good part of my share, further research among Sir Andrew's papers and books disclosed so much


The approach proposed by Najjar and coworkers for the prediction of maximum pit depth is applied and validated through direct comparison with real pipeline steel pitting corrosion data. This methodology combines the Generalized Lambda Distribution (GLD) and the Bootstrap Method (BM) in order to estimate both the maximum pit depth and confidence intervals associated with the estimation. Samples are drawn from real-life pitting corrosion data and the GLD is used to obtain modeled pit depth distributions emulating the experimental ones. In order to estimate the maximum pit depth over an N-times larger area, simulated distributions, N-times larger than the experimental ones, are generated 104 times. The deepest pit depth is extracted from each simulated bootstrap sample to obtain a dataset of 104 extreme pit-depth values. An estimate of the maximum pit depth for the N-times larger surface can be obtained from this dataset by calculating the average of the 104 extreme values. The uncertainty in the estimation is derived from the 95% confidence interval of the bootstrap estimate. In this report, the results of the application of the GLD-BM framework are compared with extreme pit depth values observed in real pitting corrosion data. The agreement between the estimated and actual maximum pit depths points to the applicability of the GLD-BM as an alternative in estimating the maximum pit depth when only a small number of samples are available. The main advantage of the combined methodology over the Gumbel method is its great simplicity, since fast and reliable estimations can be made with at least only two experimental samples.© 2010 ASME


In this paper a disequilibrium model of the Australian rural labor market is constructed and the demand, supply, and adjustment functions estimated. The results indicate that the market for farm labor can be described by traditional neoclassical analysis and that wages are very slow to adjust to disequilibrium. The results imply that increases in farm prices will not necessarily maintain or raise farm employment. The most important determinants of farm employment are wages relative to other input prices and off-farm wages. Copyright 1986 by Blackwell Publishers Ltd/University of Adelaide and Flinders University of South Australia


The compiler of a subject bibliography may, like Dr. Johnson's lexicographer, be no more than a harmless drudge, but his problems —if he is conscientious—are real enough, and they also bring into play wider issues of librarianship and scholarship.


Objective: To find out the prevalence of hyperprolactinemia in subfertile females attending outpatient department (OPD) in a tertiary care hospital of South Punjab, Pakistan Design: Cross sectional Setting: Gynaecological outpatient department (OPD) Nishtar Hospital Multan, Pakistan Duration of study: Six months Subjects and methods: After approval from the hospital ethical committee, 379 patients, who meet the set standards, having primary and secondary subfertility, were included from Gynae outpatient department (OPD) of Nishtar Hospital Multan. After informed consent, serum prolactin level was measured of all selected women. Data was entered into a computer using SPSS version 10 for Windows. Results: Most women (39.05%) were 26-30 years old and were nullipara. BMI > 30 was observed in 21.89% of cases. Majority of patients (66.75%) were having primary subfertility. Secondary subfertility was reported in 33.24% of cases. Duration of subfertility was < 5 years in 63.06% of patients and in 36.93% of cases duration of subfertility was ≥5 years. Frequency of hyperprolactinemia in subfertile women was 29.28%. Conclusion: Hyperprolactinemia causes anovulatory cycles because of suppression of endogenous gonadotrophins and it is commonly encountered in patients who primarily find unable to conceive as compared to those who have previously conceived. Keywords: High prolactin levels, primary infertility, secondary subfertility, prolactinoma.


Abstract Dulamsuren, C. & Mühlenberg, M.: Additions to the flora of the Khentei, Mongolia. — Willdenowia 33: 149–158. 2003. — ISSN 0511-9618; © 2003 BGBM Berlin-Dahlem Forty-four species of vascular plants are reported as new for the phytogeographical region Khentei in northern Mongolia. Five of them, i.e., Carex chordorrhiza, C. praecox, Cinna latifolia, Matteuccia struthiopteris and Milium effusum are new for Mongolia.


We report on multi-wavelength observations of the X-ray transient Narrow Line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxy WPVS 007. The galaxy was monitored with Swift between 2005 October and 2013 July, after it had previously undergone a dramatic drop in its X-ray flux. For the first time, we are able to repeatedly detect this NLS1 in X-rays again. This increased number of detections in the last couple of years may suggest that the strong absorber that has been found in this active galactic nucleus (AGN) is starting to become leaky and may eventually disappear. The X-ray spectra obtained for WPVS 007 are all consistent with a partial covering absorber model. A spectrum based on the data during the extreme low X-ray flux states shows that the absorption column density is of the order of 4 × 1023 cm−2 with a covering fraction of 95%. WPVS 007 also displays one of the strongest UV variabilities seen in NLS1s. The UV continuum variability anti-correlates with the optical/UV slope αUV, which suggests that the variability may be primarily due to reddening. The UV variability timescales are consistent with moving dust "clouds" located beyond the dust sublimation radius of Rsub ≈ 20 lt-days. We present for the first time near-infrared JHK data of WPVS 007, which reveal a rich emission-line spectrum. Recent optical spectroscopy does not indicate significant variability in the broad permitted and Fe ii emission lines, implying that the ionizing continuum seen by those gas clouds has not significantly changed over the last decades. All X-ray and UV observations are consistent with a scenario in which an evolving broad absorption line (BAL) flow obscures the continuum emission. As such, WPVS 007 is an important target for our understanding of BAL flows in low-mass AGNs.


The present paper proposes a new approach of estimation to the inventory system which undergoes the process of stratification by using the technique of stratified random sampling. This seeks to develop the estimation of ratio of two population means using auxiliary variable under stratified random sampling through generalized ratio type estimator. The statistical analyses of existing estimators and proposed estimator have been discussed and condition of efficient estimator has been attained. With the help of computing algorithm, a numerical illustration of the problem has been also presented to meet the scientific footings of theory of estimation.


The major article on plasticizers in this issue (page 118) tells a great deal about its specific subject. Examined from a more general point of view, that subject offers an example of some of the problems characteristic of today's chemical industry. Some are listed in the article's introduction: excess capacity, declining profit margins, product obsolescence, overlapping uses. The article also relates to a characteristic of the chemical industry not often thought of by those not concerned with the development of products: Between the simple product of chemical synthesis and the compounded material which appears in a marketable commodity, there is a highly complex blending of science, technology, and economics. Superiority in managing the blend can be the key to success. Far too much of it now has the level of order of a can of worms. The future progress of the chemical industry can be critically influenced by the success of efforts to ...


This paper presents a new-style network management scheme of optical access network. The system is a four-lever structure of browser、overall manager、secondary manager and optical access network equipments, which are independent in function and have the adoantages of eguilibrium in the load of the and flexibility in the expansion. CORBA and Java are used to implement all the system functions. The system has shows such feafures: web-basied; distributivity of functions; robustness against various network conditions. It meets the requirements of optical access network.


Manufacturing execution system(MES)is one of the crucial technologies that realizing the information integration for the enterprise,and its model construction was the base of MES design and implementation.Basis on the analysis of the business process of a typical mechanical manufacturing enterprises,an overall model of MES system in its blanking workshop was built,and a detailed description of the system's architecture was given from the different aspects of function view,process view,resource view and physical view.The MES system was developed based on the above model,and applied in a mechanical manufacturing enterprises,realizing the underlying information management of production process in its blanking workshop.


The ROV is an important device for studying the underwater world. Thus, the ASIPP ROV is designed to meet this demand by ASIPP RH team. Through adding the wireless vision module, the performance of the robot is promoted in motion control, image collecting and so on. The rationality of the design and the effectiveness of the controller are validated by simulation and experimental study.


We developed a novel method to probe mechanisms of cellular interactions by microdissecting the archenteron and blastocoel roof out of 48–54 hr Lytechinus pictus sea urchin ermbryos. These are the two components of a classic cellular interaction in the NIH designated model sea urchin embryo. Here we test the ability of isolated fixed archenterons to bind to agarose beads derivatized with concanavalin A (Con A) in artificial sea water (ASW) at pH 4,6,8 (control), 9 or 10 or in the presence of 4M NaCl or 2M or 4M alpha methyl glucose. The binding of a total of 204 isolated archenterons was only inhibited in 4M alpha methyl glucose (p less than 0.05 compared with controls). All other conditions gave p values of greater than 0.05. As Con A beads bound to the isolated archenterons and alpha methyl glucose inhibited the interaction, the results suggest that Con A binding ligands are present on the isolated archenterons. While 4M sugar is high, the archenterons were fixed, reducing osmolarity concerns. High monosaccharide concentrations are often required to inhibit lectin‐involved binding interactions. Part I of this series provides evidence for glycan involvement in the actual cellular interaction. This microdissection method allows probing of isolated components of cellular interactions outside of the embryo proper, to avoid complex problems that may occur in whole embryos (supported by NIH NIGMS SCORE S0648680, MARC, RISE, the Joseph Drown Foundation, the Sidney Stern Memorial Trust, and CSU Northridge Biology Full Immersion Research Experience (FIRE) course funding).


Successful treatment of HCV in persons who inject drugs (PWIDS), has been reported for patients who were older or who had used drugs more than 6 months prior. The young, < 35 year of age (yoa), active user has not been well studied or reported. We performed a pilot treatment study in a young cohort of PWIDS to evaluate cure rates of HCV in this population.

 Young, active PWIDS using < 6months earlier, < 35 yoa were identified. Treatment for HCV with glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (G/P) and concurrent treatment for opiate use disorder with XR Naletrexone (XR-NTX) was provided. Two patients chose methadone. Patients were followed up to 12 months after enrollment. Patients were evaluated for adherence, side effects, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, urine drug screens (UDS) and opioid craving scores using a visual analog scale (VAS) while on XR-NTX to assess management of their addiction. Rates of treatment completion, SVR 4 & 12 were determined.

 30 patients were recruited: 18 were women. Average age was 28 with a range of 23-35. Recent injection drug use was common with 22 (73%) having injected within the 30 days and all having injected within 3 months of recruitment. The average ALT on enrollment was 106. Genotypes were 1 (15), 3a (11), and unknown (4). Of the 30 patients, 15 failed to come for the required 2 visits prior to starting G/P. Lost to follow up occurred due to relapse of addiction (9), overdose death (1), lost communication and suspected relapse (4). 15 began and completed G/P. 15 were cured of their HCV infection. 17 patients receive one or more doses of XR-NTX. On average patients were on XR-NTX for 4.8 months. Sobriety was measured for patients on XR-NTX using Opiate Craving Scores using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and UDS (Figure 1) demonstrating excellent control of craving and significant declines positive UDS. Toxicities were uncommon with no treatment limiting adverse events. Adverse effects of XR-NTX included mild injection site irritation. No ALT abnormalities were noted.

 Young active PWIDS can successfully be cured of HCV. Their addiction can be concurrently managed with XR-NXT. Our findings suggest it is safe to treatment active users with active HCV with XR-NXT improving elimination goals.

 Ronald G. Nahass, MD, Abbvie (Grant/Research Support, Speaker's Bureau)Alkermes (Grant/Research Support)Gilead (Grant/Research Support, Speaker's Bureau)Merck (Grant/Research Support, Speaker's Bureau) Kathleen H. Seneca, MSN, Abbvie (Research Grant or Support)Alkermes (Research Grant or Support)Gilead (Speaker's Bureau) Ruth A. Homer, MSW, Abbvie (Grant/Research Support)Alkermes (Grant/Research Support)


Mary Jacobus. Romantic Things: a Tree, a Rock, a Cloud. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 2012. Pp. x-+-221. $45. There are some books that have a reach beyond that of the simply critical or scholarly, recording as they do the movement of a way of feeling and thinking about a subject unbound from a particular methodological or historical path. Such books emerge from a career of reflection, the author engaging with, but no longer limited by, the competing discourses that shape his or her field and now free to ask big questions in the context of a mass of reading from various disciplines and philosophies. Mary Jacobus's new book, Romantic Things, fulfils this promise. As one of the architects of what we now call "Romantic studies," Jacobus here develops the phenomenological implications of the period's investment in subjective reading practices into a way of thinking about or through "things" (clouds, orchards, trees, rocks, stones, epitaphs). The epigram to the book, three lines from Wordsworth's The Prelude, heralds how such thinking ensues, pointing the reader's attention to "the endless store of things, / Rare, or at least so seeming, every day / Found all about me" (1:119-21). These at once everyday but magical things provide the basis for Jacobus's exploration of how Wordsworth's encounters with things invite the reader to understand how the world comes to be in and through language, the senses, and consciousness, all of which come together in a realm of feeling that grants us access to the poet's One Life. Developing Derrida's essay, "Che cos'e la poesia," in which the poem is figured as a balled-up hedgehog, Jacobus thinks of the lyric as a way of "affectively, playfully" (74) observing both the living and the inanimate world. The lyric, she maintains, teaches us how to address and feel through an inner perceptual mode that changes as we sleep and breathe and shifts, rather than diminishes, when our senses adapt with the onset of blindness or deafness. Indeed the subtitle of the book, taken from Carson McCullers' short story of the same name, creates a picture of the world in which meaning is sensed as much as rationalized, a way of thinking theorized by Jacobus through the work of Derrida, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Thomas Nagel and Jean-Luc Nancy, as well as John Clare, John Constable, John Ruskin, Rainer Maria Rilke, W. G. Sebald, Gerhard Richter, and Mice Oswald. Wordsworth remains central, however, his poetry and prose shaping Jacobus's exploration of how we listen, touch, feel, and elegize our beings both in poetry and in relationships with "things." This phenomenological approach to Wordsworth and the lyric's affective idiom is modified by Jacobus through a number of different methodologies, from psychoanalysis (Freud and Klein); to formalism (Susan Stewart); metapsychology (Geoffrey Hartman); thing theory (Bill Brown, Lorraine Daston); ecopoiesis (Jonathan Bate); and consciousness studies (Thomas Nagel); as well as philosophies of touch and listening informed by Derrida and Nancy. At the same time, Jacobus remains attentive to the cultural embeddedness of the things she considers. Her reading of "clouds" in chapter one, for example, brings together Luke Howard's Essay on the Modification of Clouds 0804), Thomas Forster's cloud science writings, John Clare's weather poems, Ruskin's cloud perspective drawings, and Constable's cloud studies with Merleau-Ponty's The Visible and Invisible (1964), Hubert Damisch's A Theory of/Cloud/(1972) and Derrida's Memoirs of the Blind (1991). In collaging such sources, Jacobus engenders a comparative thinking about clouds through both historical detail and affect theory. Romantic meteorological cosmology is thus brought together with an understanding of weather as mood in order to think clouds as forms that resemble "the early nineteenth-century Romantic lyric" through their capacity to "record the moment as a rapid or imperceptible succession of feelings and thoughts" (13). …


Quantum chemical simulations have been performed on LnIII(pyridine-dicarboxy-amide)1 complexes in order to describe the interaction between the lanthanide cations (LaIII, EuIII, and LuIII) and the ligand (R2R′2PDA). In particular, the influence of substituents R (R2R′2 = H4, Me4, Ph2Me2, Ph4) on the interaction between the cation and the R4PDA ligand has been discussed. The substitution of H4 by Me4 on the ligand stabilizes the LnIII–ligand interaction of 33 kcal mol−1
(LaIII) to 38 kcal mol−1
(LuIII), and the Ph4 substitution of 69 kcal mol−1
(LaIII) and 75 kcal mol−1
(LuIII). Although the LnIII(H4PDA)1 and LnIII(Ph4PDA)1 complexes have a C2v symmetry, the four methyl substituents reduce the symmetry of the complex to Cs, placing the cation out of the central pyridinyl plane. These results also emphasize that, for a given ligand, the lutetium complexes are more stable than the lanthanum complexes, which can be linked to the increasing experimental separation factors inside the lanthanide family.


Issues associated with changes in the familiar human physical environment, related to the 2020 pandemic are analyzed. It is proved that under the current conditions, a modern person is not ready for rather radical changes in the working, educational and communication environments. Studies to confirm the authorial analytical models are presented.


David Lodge's novel Small World (1984) builds on a wide range of literary allusions, most notably on allusions to medieval and modern versions of the Grail quest and Arthurian literature. Using the methodology of historically informed literary criticism, the present paper showcases Lodge's employment of key medieval topoi, especially of the Grail quest, in portraying the academic community of Small World.


Purpose: Online Adaptive Radiation Therapy(oART) follows a different treatment paradigm than conventional radiotherapy and, because of this, the resources, implementation, and workflows needed are unique. The purpose of this report is to outline our institution's experience establishing, organizing, and implementing an oART program using the Ethos therapy system. Methods: We include resources used; operational models utilized, program creation timelines, and our institutional experiences with implementation and operation of an oART program. Additionally, we provide a detailed summary of our first year's clinical experience where we delivered over 1000 daily adaptive fractions. For all treatments, the different stages of online adaption, primary patient set-up, initial kV-CBCT acquisition, contouring review and edit of influencer structures, target review and edits, plan evaluation and selection, Mobius3D 2nd check and adaptive QA, 2nd kV-CBCT for positional verification, treatment delivery, and patient leaving the room, were analyzed. Results: We retrospectively analyzed data from ninety-seven patients treated from August 2021-August 2022. 1677 individual fractions were treated and analyzed, 632(38%) were non-adaptive and 1045(62%) were adaptive. 74 of the 97 patients (76%) were treated with standard fractionation and 23 (24%) received stereotactic treatments. For the adaptive treatments, the generated adaptive plan was selected in 92% of treatments. On average({+/-}std), adaptive sessions took 34.52{+/-}11.42 minutes from start to finish. The entire adaptive process (from start of contour generation to verification CBCT), performed by the physicist (and physician on select days), was 19.84{+/-}8.21 minutes. Conclusion: We present our institution's experience establishing, organizing, and implementing an oART program using the Ethos therapy system. It took us 12 months from project inception to treatment of our first patient and 12 months to treat 1000 adaptive fractions. Retrospective analysis of delivered fractions showed that average overall treatment time was approximately 35 minutes and average time for the adaptive component of treatment was approximately 20 minutes.


A two-year study of the diversity and ecology of the macro-invertebrate fauna (Nemata and Arthropoda) of Kartchner Caverns, near Benson, Arizona, USA, was conducted between September 2009 and September 2011. The study expands on the baseline study conducted twenty years earlier, from 1989-1991, which was one of several resource analyses conducted prior to development of Kartchner Caverns as an Arizona State Park. The recent study makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the invertebrate fauna and ecology of Kartchner Caverns and cave macro-invertebrates in the desert region of the southwestern United States and Northern Mexico. The initial study identified 39 macro-invertebrate species associated with the ecology of the cave. The recent study increased this number to 98 species, including 16 species new to science, seven of which are troglobites. Kartchner Caverns is now known to support the most species-rich macro-invertebrate ecology of any cave in Arizona.


Prof. Wu Zhengyi (Wu Cheng-yih, C. Y. Wu), a plant taxonomist and floristic geographer, is the founder of the Chinese school of floristic geography. Now in his eighties, he is still full of energy and working hard at his research.……


Objective To assess the implementation of the universal iodization.Methods Iodized salt from 31 provinces (1 200 from each province) were selected by using PPS method,and the iodine content of the samples was determined. The results of determinations were analysed by using Epinfo 6.0 software.Results Twenty one provinces' rates of iodized salt were greater than 90%,and only five provinces' rates of qualified iodized salt was greater than 90%.Conclusions To control the quality of the iodized salt still need to be strengthened and the iodine content of the iodized salt should be lowered.


1. The thermal phase separation simulator for testing of chemicals, comprising: a carousel with an annular heating body made of thermally conductive material and mounted rotatably on the base, wherein the carousel soderzhitispytatelnye cell orderly arranged in a circle, for receiving a plurality of test vials plurality heating elements located between said cells, for heating a thermally conductive material and a plurality of thermocouples disposed between said cells, for controlling the temperature of thermally conductive material; prichemkazhdaya cell has lighting channel and the vertical slot located externally to enable visual observation or vertical display of the sample vial; iistochnik lighting, bathroom lighting each cell with the channel in response to rotation of the rotary magazina.2. Simulator thermal phase separation according to claim 1, wherein each cell has a size to allow receiving the test vial, which is adapted to radiographic lighting and the possibility of keeping an internal pressure of at least 105 pounds per square inch (723.9 kPa) at 170 ° C.3. Simulator thermal phase separation according to claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of clamps attached to the carousel, each retainer disposed with providing the ability to selectively secure the test vial in place in one of yacheek.4. Simulator thermal separation of phases according to claim 3, wherein the carousel is firmly connected with a holder mounted on the vibration platfo


The new Highland Park, Texas Depot of the Missouri - Kansas - Texas Railroad (KATY) which opened on July 1, 1922 and closed on July 1, 1965.


This study aims to examines the dynamic effects of economic performance on credit ratings in Egypt during the period (1996-2018) consisting of quarterly observations for each variable. The study adopted the ARDL bounds testing approach to establish these relationships which showed that there exists a positive short run and long-run relationship between the credit rating, (GDP) growth domestic product and (FDI) foreign direct investment, while there are significant negative relationships in both short and long run between budget deficit, external debt, exchange rate and the credit rating. This result implies that GDP, FDI, foreign reserve and budget deficit are essential macroeconomic variables that influence the economic performance and the credit rating in Egypt.


Network sampling is used around the world for surveys of vulnerable, hard-to-reach populations including people at risk for HIV, opioid misuse, and emerging epidemics. The sampling methods include tracing social links to add new people to the sample. Current estimates from these surveys are inaccurate, with large biases and mean squared errors and unreliable confidence intervals. New estimators are introduced here which eliminate almost all of the bias, have much lower mean squared error, and enable confidence intervals with good properties. The improvement is attained by avoiding unrealistic assumptions about the population network and the design, instead using the topology of the sample network data together with the sampling design actually used. In simulations using the real network of an at-risk population, the new estimates eliminate almost all the bias and have mean squared-errors that are 2 to 92 times lower than those of current estimators. The new estimators are effective with a wide variety of network designs including those with strongly restricted branching such as Respondent-Driven Sampling and freely branching designs such as Snowball Sampling.


Awoman in her 30s with a history of gestational diabetes and hypertension presented to the ED with respiratory distress. She had no known cardiac or pulmonary disease. Progressively worsen ing dyspnea, including exertional and nocturnal dysp nea, began 1 month prior to presentation. At that point, she had been diagnosed as having an upper respiratory infection with fevers. Two weeks prior to presentation, the patient was treated with antibiotics for possible sinusitis without improvement. The patient did not report chest pain at any time. In the ED her BP was 220/130 mm Hg, her heart rate was 140 beats/min, and her respiratory rate was


Provided is a technique that enables more reliable acquisition of necessary information from code information even when an electronic device that captures code information such as a barcode does not have high imaging performance. To do. In an electronic device capable of displaying a plurality of pieces of information that can be acquired by an imaging operation, in a first display form, a system controller 202 includes a single code including a plurality of pieces of information in a generation unit that generates code information. Information is generated and an image of the generated code information is displayed on the rear display unit 222. In the second display mode, the generation unit that generates the code information generates a plurality of pieces of code information that individually includes a plurality of pieces of information, and sequentially displays the generated code information images on the back display unit 222 one by one. . [Selection] Figure 5B


A process recently developed at Arthur D. Little, Inc. has enabled the direct and rapid production of LiMO x intercalation cathode materials having specific and controlled geometric and topographic attributes. Results of a comparative study of the electrochemical and spectroscopic characteristics of LiMn 2 0 4 from several commercial sources and LiMn 2 0 4 prepared using our process are reported. Improved electrochemical performance observed for the LiMn 2 0 4 cathode material produced using ADL's process are tentatively related to the small and uniform grain size and to the possible additional influence of electronic defects associated with surface states.