AC high-voltage measuring device according to the present invention, a high voltage generator for converting the low voltage to the AC high-voltage unit, the voltage of which each rectify the transformed AC high voltage to a positive voltage and a negative voltage rectifying part, a voltage and a negative of the rectified positive, respectively first and second voltage dividing part of the voltage distribution to the second voltage and the first voltage and reading the synthetic minutes of the second voltage, and includes the measurement section for detecting the high voltage AC to the DC level. Thus, by measuring the voltage and converts the AC high voltage from the high voltage generating unit of the image forming apparatus to a DC voltage, it is possible to prevent image defect caused by deviations of the various devices for measuring the high-voltage AC. AC high voltage, rectification, back pressure


The aim of the present study was to investigate role of cytokines in avian influence immune pathogenesis, technology of cell culture and cytokines activity detection was used to research the dynamic changes of inductive activity of interleukin-2 (IL-2), interferon (IFN) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in thymus and spleen of SPF chickens infected with H5N1 avian influenza virus(AIV)at 7 and 21 days old. The results showed that: IL-2 and IFN inductive activity of T-lymphocytes in thymus and spleen of SPF chickens infected with AIV were decreased compared with that of control, but TNF inductive activity from spleen of SPF chickens infected with AIV was increased compared with that of control. The results indicated that above-mentioned cytokines played a very important regulation role in immune pathogenesis of avian influenza.


In the modern world it seems that only the freshest designs get noticed, while dominating trends and carbon-copy successes can often trap designers into "been there, done that" mediocrity. The first half of this work sees 20 designers, including Wolfgang Weingart and Margo Chase, reveal the unique and diverse places in which they find inspiration and show how they incorporate these sources into their work. Whether it be a city, a person, a movie or a piece of garbage, inspiration comes in many forms and being able to recognize and harness its power is half the battle. The second half of the book opens the door to a new way of seeing by delivering a stream of imagery and ideas straight to designers' desktops. It looks at "found design" where inspiration comes not from finished designs but from textures, colours, patterns and primitive, offbeat imagery.


The invention relates to clothing drying and mold preventing bactericide. The bactericide is prepared from, by mass, 26-30 parts of bamboo vinegar, 28-32 parts of lignin, 24-28 parts of propylparaben, 22-26 parts of sodium stearate, 28-32 parts of sodium folate, 24-28 parts of chitin, 22-26 parts of tea polyphenols, 28-32 parts of sodium alga acid, 24-28 parts of salicylanilide, 22-26 parts of dimethicone, 28-32 parts of copper sulfate, 24-28 parts of JS399-19, 24-28 parts of imidacloprid, 22-26 parts of cortex meliae, 28-32 parts of calcium sulfate, 24-28 parts of sweet potato starch, 22-26 parts of calcium hydroxide, 28-32 parts of citric acid, 24-28 parts of calcium chloride, 22-26 parts of iron powder, 28-32 parts of calcined kaolin micro powder and 24-28 parts of sepiolite fabric. The clothing drying and mold preventing bactericide is simple in preparation technology and method, has excellent flame retarding, mold preventing and bacterium resisting performance, and is suitable for being used in the clothing field, and performance of the bactericide is improved.


The major challenge facing the world's aircraft/airspace system (AAS) today is the need to provide increased capacity, while reducing delays, increasing the efficiency of flight operations, and improving safety. Technologies are emerging that should improve the performance of the system, but which could also introduce uncertainty, disputes, and inefficiency if not properly implemented. The aim of our research is to apply techniques from intelligent control theory and decision-making theory to define an Intelligent Aircraft/Airspace System (IAAS) for the year 2025. The IAAS would make effective use of the technical capabilities of all parts of the system to meet the demand for increased capacity with improved performance.


Structural geology is a basic discipline in Geology courses, and has a wide application in different areas of a geologist´s work field, either in the academy or industry. The traditional approach of structural geology is geometric-kinematic, in which rock stresses are induced from the geometry of structures. As a mean of enhancing the knowledge of the process-product relationship, this paper aims to add concepts of mechanics of solids to the study of brittle structures – fractures, joints and faults. It is discussed as an inverse reasoning the way natural structures can be deduced or predicted from the principles of mechanics. The starting points are the concepts of force, stress and strain. In the following are presented the principal ideas on initiation and propagation of fractures. This knowledge was constructed by theoretical principles (Mohr-Coulomb Theory) as well as through observation and measuring by performing laboratory tests. In addition, the role of fracture linkage in the formation of joints and faults systems is discussed. Natural fault systems of extensional, compressional and transcurrent environments are briefly revised based on the concepts previously presented. The principles of the mechanics of solids herein discussed yield a relevant contribution to interpret the natural brittle structures. Citation: Zerfass H., Chemale jr. F. 2011. Geologia estrutural em ambiente ruptil: fundamentos fisicos, mecânica de fraturas e sistemas de falhas naturais. Terrae Didatica, 7(1):75-85


Abstract We estimated natural mortality rates (M) of age-1 Spot Leiostomus xanthurus by using a sonic telemetry approach. Sonic transmitters were surgically implanted into a total of 123 age-1 Spot in two North Carolina estuarine creeks during spring 2009 and 2010, and the fish were monitored by using a stationary acoustic receiver array and manual tracking. Fates of telemetered Spot were inferred based on telemetry information from estimated locations and swimming speeds. Potential competitors of age-1 Spot were assessed through simultaneous otter trawl sampling, while potential predators of Spot were collected using gill nets and trammel nets. The number of inferred natural mortalities was zero in 2009 (based on 29 telemetered Spot at risk) and four in 2010 (based on 52 fish at risk), with fish being at risk for up to about 70 d each year. Catches of potential competitors or predators did not differ between years, and age-1 Spot were not found in analyzed stomach contents of potential predators. Our est...


In December 2001, the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) opened a single bid for the substructure/superstructure contract to replace the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge, the crossing of the Potomac River for Interstate 95 and Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway) traffic. This contract was part of the larger Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project, a $2.5 billion program to build the new Potomac River crossing and to reconstruct the four adjacent interchanges. The contract's estimate was a record for SHA at $487 million. The single bid was for a budget wrecking $860 million and was rejected. Ultimately, the work was re-advertised as three separate contracts. With the Maryland portion of the Project nearly complete, this paper is a follow-up to TRR 1900 2004 pp. 114-121, which explained how the project management team brought bids back in line with the Project's budget. This paper discusses the final outcomes of the Project, some of the construction challenges that resulted due to the changes made to the original contract, and the techniques used to manage increased contractor interface risk.


In October 2001, a group of experts from the capital projects industry met in San Antonio, Texas to begin development of a comprehensive technology research and development (R&D) agenda for the industry. The goal: to identify critical technology needs that crosscut all sectors of the industry, and to identify requirements for focused R&D to meet those challenges. The result of that workshop was a first draft of the Capital Projects Technology Roadmap, published in January 2002. The roadmap is a tool in a larger process aimed at bringing the industry together to accelerate progress in delivering technologies to pressing industry needs. In November 2002, a second team of industry experts met in Lansdowne, Virginia to review the evolving document, address emerging Homeland Security issues, and define an initial slate of focused projects to implement the recommendations defined in the roadmap.


Design lifetime of a wind turbine is required to be at least 20 years. The most important step to ensure the deign is to evaluate the loads on the wind turbine as accurately as possible. In this study, extreme design load of a offshore wind turbine using Garrad Hassan (GH) Bladed and National Renewa...


Summary form only given.Our studies utilized a fluorine laser (Lambda Physik NovaLine F600) with more than 20 mJ/ pulse at 600 Hz. The samples were machined by mask imaging. Since radiation at 157 nm is strongly absorbed by oxygen and water vapor, we evacuated the beam path from the output coupler to the objective lens and purged (N/sub 2/) the path between the objective lens and the sample. As a fluorine laser is electrically and mechanically similar to an excimer, we employed an ArF mix into the fluorine laser in order to keep all aspects of the setup equal. We produced features at a fixed fluence of 6.5 J/cm/sup 2/, examined the smoothness of the ablated area, the edge quality and the surrounding material for damage resulting from thermal loading.


Coronavirus Disease 2019, known as Covid-19 has spread in the world for the past three years. Even though it has been three years, the pandemic has not over yet, some people are still infected despite the have already vaccinated. Coronavirus is the virus which responsible for the disease can spread rapidly. To stop human-to-human transmission of the virus, WHO and Government urged people to wear the protective equipment such as mask. However, some people are reluctant to wear them, it can cause coronavirus spread and make some people get infected. In this paper, we developed a system to detect people who wearing mask or who not wearing mask. The system is divided into three sub system, the first one is to detect people who wearing mask or who not wearing mask on picture, the second one is to detect people who wearing mask or who not wearing mask on video, and the last one is to detect people who wearing mask or who not wearing mask via web cam (video real-time). The program can detect person who wear several types of masks, including light and dark masks with accuracy 92,8523%. The system was developed based on YOLO and MATLAB.


This article describes some technical issues regarding the adaptation of a production car to a platform for the development and testing of autonomous driving technologies. A universal approach to performing the reverse engineering of electric power steering (EPS) for the purpose of external control is also presented. The primary objective of the related study was to solve the problem associated with the precise prediction of the dynamic trajectory of an autonomous vehicle. This was accomplished by deriving a new equation for determining the lateral tire forces and adjusting some of the vehicle parameters under road test conductions. A Mivar expert system was also integrated into the control system of the experimental autonomous vehicle. The expert system was made more flexible and effective for the present application by the introduction of hybrid artificial intelligence with logical reasoning. The innovation offers a solution to the major problem of liability in the event of an autonomous transport vehicle being involved in a collision.


An intelligent system for abnormity alert is presented, which combines the techniques such as video processing, image processing, artificial intelligence and network programming, can automatically recognize abnormity and send alert through networks. The IPL(image processing library) software programmed by Intel Corporation makes the capture, display and processing of digital video signal so easy to programmer. The diagram of the structure of software for server and client based on C/S mode is given in the paper. The system is realized on PC by VC++ programming, the performance of the system is satisfied according to the experiments.


Passive and active flow controls can enhance dynamic performance of oscillating wings and offer the potential to achieve improved efficiency and stability for a variety of practical applications by suppressing dynamic stall and eliminating undesirable high unsteady loads. Accurate numerical simulations are needed to supplement ongoing experimental investigations of dynamic stall flow control. The detailed unsteady flow information provided by the numerical solution can assist in identification of flow mechanisms that contribute to elimination of dynamic stall and flow separation. This investigation performs numerical simulations of both active and passive flow control concepts which have proven promising in controlling dynamic stall. The objectives are to further investigate the global beneficial effects obtained by the applications of local passive and dynamic geometry alterations or pneumatic flow controls and to identify the unsteady flow mechanisms that contribute to an effective suppression of dynamic stall occurring over oscillating wings.


A new study from Nottingham University in Scotland confirms that teens who have access to morning-after pills engage in higher rates of sexually promiscuous behavior, contract more STDs, and have higher rates of abortion than teens who do not have such access.


Judges are lawmakers. Judges do not simply apply settled principles of constitutional and statutory law to particular disputes. Rather, in important ways, judges themselves determine what the law is. For example, there are many cases in which even the most principled of judges, adhering as loyally as possible to traditional methods of finding the law-such as giving effect to plain statutory language and looking at legislative history only when the statute's own words do not answer the question-will still be left with a great deal of policy freedom to decide what practical meaning a statute has. In this essay, however, I will not focus on situations when judges arguably bring their own policy views to bear in interpreting constitutions or statutes. Instead, I will address that aspect of judging which explicitly and unavoidably involves lawmaking-the articulation and application of judge-made common law. That judges act as policymakers in making common law is obviously true. But that truth is discomfiting to many jurists. A candid acknowledgement of that truth opens the judiciary, the least politically influential branch, to criticism, as acting as lawmakers without the legitimacy to do so. Relatedly, to admit that the making of common law necessarily involves the judge's application of his own normative beliefs, rather than the divining of discoverable, pre-existing principles of natural law, demystifies the judicial process in a way that makes many judges nervous.


Gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported notifiable infection in the U.S. During the last 70 years, the causative organism — Neisseria


Background Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is an important complication after major orthopedic surgery. Pharmaceutical methods represent the main strategy of VTE prevention. The use of aspirin in VTE prevention is still controversial worldwide, especially in China. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of aspirin combined with mechanical measures in the prevention of VTE after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods Between January 2012 and May 2013 and in accordance with the inclusion criteria, 120 patients undergoing TKA were randomly allocated to two groups. To prevent VTE, patients in group A received aspirin combined with mechanical measures postoperatively, while patients in group B received low‐molecular‐weight heparin (LMWH) sodium and rivaroxaban sequentially in combination with mechanical measures postoperatively. All surgeries were performed by one surgeon using a posterior‐stabilized cemented prosthesis. The two groups were followed up and compared for the incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) by duplex ultrasound scan and clinical VTE events. The adverse events, the blood loss index, and the cost of VTE prevention were also compared. Results DVT was detected in 10 of 60 patients in group A (16.7%, 95% CI: 7.3%‐26.1%) compared with 11 of 60 in group B (18.3%, 95% CI: 8.5%‐27.8%) (P=0.500). There is no statistical evidence supporting the inferior effect of aspirin in preventing DVT as compared with the other medications. There were no cases of symptomatic VTE or death during the follow‐up period. Area of ecchymosis was lower in group A than in group B, and the differences were statistically significant. Patients in group A had the lower blood loss index as compared with patients in group B. No transfusion cases were found in both groups. The differences were statistically significant. The cost of VTE prevention analysis indicated a cost reduction using aspirin in group A compared with using LMWH and rivaroxaban in group B. Conclusion Aspirin combined with mechanical measures had a good effect on prevention of VTE after TKA and resulted in lower cost, less blood loss, and less subcutaneous ecchymosis.


Steve Fotios, in his paper "A Revised Kruithof Graph Based on Empirical Data" [Fotios 2016], has conducted an exhaustive review of research on this enigmatic graph and arrived at the finding that K...


disappointingly, there are no general site location maps. Copiously illustrated with site plans and diagrams, the most disappointing and irritating aspect of this volume is the poor quality of the illustrations. Equally, you should definitely not judge this book by the cover which is an aerial photograph of the Fintray cursus juxtaposed with a landscape view, it definitely does not do justice to the rich wealth of archaeological gems within.


Unitermos: Consumo alimentar. Adolescentes. Escolhas alimen- tares. ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of the present study is to conduct a literature review on the determinants of food consumption. Methods: A literature review was performed. Results: Four categories of determinants of food consumption were created: biological, economic, food availability and social. Among the biological factors, the sensory characteristics of foods, especially the flavor, was described as one of the main determinants. In the economic category were included family income, price of food and schooling. The availability of food includes the influences of the environment in the acquisition of food and the social determinants are related to the structure, dynamics and influence of the family. Little is known about the factors that determine the choices and food consumption of the Brazilians. It is necessary to conduct more studies to know them.


Epilepsy is a neurological disorder marked by recurrent seizures. At least 3 million Americans and 1% of the global population have epilepsy, requiring a low-latency seizure detection system necessary for effective epilepsy treatment. In this paper, a pulse exclusion mechanism (PEM) based novel seizure detection system has been presented in the internet of medical things (IoMT), which uses a PEM to eliminate unnecessary features or channels and allocate desired pulses in a time frame. An optimized deep neural network (DNN) algorithm is used for feature classification. The proposed approach has been evaluated using CHB-MIT Scalp database. The results of the experiments indicate that the proposed eSeiz 2.0 offers a high specificity of 100% and a low latency of 1.05 sec, which can be useful for wearable biomedical applications as well as real-world epilepsy treatment.


We describe, in full, the enantioselective synthesis of the tetrahydrobenzylisoquinoline alkaloid (-)-norarmepavine (1) in 77% e.e. This compound was prepared using solid-supported reagents and scavengers in multi-step sequences of reactions to give materials that required no conventional purification at the individual steps.


We read with interest the study published by CasasLlera et al.1 The authors have correlated best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) with the structural grading system for foveal hypoplasia developed by our unit.2 Recently, as recommended by Wilk et al.,3 we have updated the grading system to include two subsets of grade 1 foveal hypoplasia: grade 1a, in which nearly normal pit metrics are observed, and grade 1b, in which the pit is only a shallow indent. We recently published our updated and validated grading system, demonstrating that it can predict future vision in infants and young children with foveal hypoplasia.4 The subsets of grade 1 do not apply to the cohort reported by Casas-Llera et al., as they only detected grade 2–4 foveal hypoplasia, furthermore we note that their paper was submitted before our latest paper was published. Interestingly, a previous paper by Sannan et al.5 reported a full spectrum of grade 0–4 foveal hypoplasia in a large cohort of PAX6 mutations. Casas-Llera et al. state that the minimum age they considered appropriate to collaborate with optical coherence tomography (OCT) was 4 years. We would like to highlight that handheld OCT is possible in awake infants with nystagmus from birth in our experience, without sedation or dilation, such as in our latest study with infants as young as 28 days old.4 We accept that a great number of eye departments do not have access to or experience in handheld OCT imaging, therefore it was reasonable for the authors to exclude children too young to cooperate with conventional OCT. Their study demonstrated that higher foveal hypoplasia grades correlated with poorer BCVA, consistent with findings from our unit and others.2,4 It would be highly valuable to assess whether BCVA in the younger children improved further over time. Our recent prediction study included OCT data for preverbal infants and young children at first examination, then BCVA was recorded when the child was old enough to participate in gold standard LogMAR chart testing.4 Moreover, in the study by Casas-Llera et al., we wonder whether cataracts could have influenced BCVA? Or perhaps the subcapsular cataracts were not in the visual axis? Casas-Llera et al. comment that their population excludes children aged below 4 years, avoiding misclassifications due to physiological development. However, despite continued foveal development in early childhood, we have demonstrated that all grades of foveal hypoplasia remained stable in our cohort,4 owing to the qualitative nature of the grading system. We believe that misclassification is only possible between grades 2 and 3 in the first 6 months of life, when outer segment elongation takes place. Finally, we strongly agree with Casas-Llera et al. in their comment regarding the clinical value of foveal hypoplasia grading to inform investigation and management. If the grade of foveal hypoplasia is mild but the BCVA disproportionately poor, suspicion should be raised for other factors limiting BCVA which require appropriate investigation and management.


SUBTITLE: IN LESS THAN TWO YEARS, AN OBSCURE, DECADES-OLD COMPUTER BUG WILL WRECK HAVOC ON COMPUTER SYSTEMS WORLDWIDE: WILL AVIATION BE ABLE TO EXTERMINATE THIS DEADLY BUG BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE?


On the mobile phone as a `platform', location is everywhere. It may not be king, but pretty much any app that aims to provide a service now includes a location-based element, whether it is to help you find a nearby restaurant or minicab, or simply to push local promotions your way. The space-satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS) is the key enabler. Even low-end smartphones now include not just a GPS chip, but can also locate themselves by scanning for local mobile basestations and Wi-Fi access points. Location-based services on mobile devices used to be the preserve of app-happy shoppers and geo-social networking. Now, their usefulness is being explored for more serious - even mission critical situations.


An analytic formula for the density of states of Wako-Saito-Munoz-Eaton model, for a simple class of beta-hairpins, is obtained. Under certain simplifying assumptions on the structure of the native contacts and the values of local entropy, the partition function zeros are also obtained in analytic forms. The zeros are uniformly distributed on a circle, exhibiting a first-order-like nature of the folding transition. After introducing hydrophobic core at the central region of the hairpin, the zeros are shown to distribute uniformly on two concentric circles corresponding to the hydrophobic collapse and the transition to the fully folded conformations. The dependence of the distribution of the zeros on the position of the hydrophobic core, is shown to have a clear physical interpretation. The exact partition function zeros for a hairpin with a more complex structure of native contacts, the 16 C-terminal residues of streptococcal protein G B1, are also numerically computed, and their loci are also shown to be closely approximated by concentric circles.


The environmental impact of land uses has obvious characteristics of externalities.The authors systematically analyzed the characteristics and economic evaluation of the externalities of land use,and gave the details on the analysis of impact of these externalities on the distribution of resources.The externalities of"Converting Slope farmland to Trees and Grasses"are analyzed, and approaches to some problems in the practice are suggested.


FIELD: radio engineering, communication. SUBSTANCE: retransmission resource allocation method and apparatus for a wireless communication system for allocating a retransmission resource using a semi-persistent resource allocation message indicating a retransmission resource allocation are provided. The method includes receiving, at a mobile terminal, a semi-persistent resource allocation message; determining whether the semi-persistent resource allocation message indicates a retransmission resource allocation or a semi-persistent resource allocation, based on usage information included in the semi-persistent resource allocation message; and executing, when the semi-persistent resource allocation message indicates the retransmission resource allocation, a retransmission operation based on resource assignment information included in the semi-persistent resource allocation message. EFFECT: indicating retransmission resource allocation and semi-persistent resource allocation. 14 cl, 9 dwg


Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) technology has recently moved from niche applications into the mainstream of the IC industry. Circuits built on SOI substrates provide higher switching speed and/or reduced power consumption. As device dimensions are reduced into sub-50nm regime, proper device scaling will increasingly rely on SOI structures.


The aim of the current study was to estimate the effects of acute hypoxia and reoxygenation on energy metabolism and activities of antioxidant enzymes as markers of oxidative stress in Baikal deep water amphipods Ommatogammarus carneolus melanophthalmus. The amphipods were exposed under hypoxic conditions at 4 mg of О2/L during 3 hours with following normoxic recovery at 9-11 mg of О2/L for 3 hours. There were no significant changes in most of studied parameters except glucose content. High lactate content and antioxidant enzymes activity in control group and absence of their reaction to hypoxia and reoxygenation can be explained by difficulties with adaptation to atmospheric pressure in O. carneolus melanophthalmus or by low level of hypoxia for studied species.


Maximum principles play an important role in the theory of elliptic equations. In the last decades there have been many contributions related to the development of fully nonlinear equations and viscosity solutions. Here we consider degenerate elliptic equations, where the main term  is a partial trace of the Hessian matrix of the solution. We establish maximum principles in domains that are unbounded in some directions, contained in slabs, and extended  maximum principles, which lead to removable singularity results.


Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source most abundantly associated with volcanism. In this paper, we report the progress in the application of remote sensing technology for prospecting the geothermal energy potential in Xilingol, a Cenozoic volcanic area in the eastern Inner Mongolia, NE China. Landsat TM images are processed in combination of existing geological and geographical data in the interpretation of faults and volcanic craters. Land surface temperature (LST) has been retrieved with a single-channel algorithm. Through the analysis of geological data and the distribution of the LST, seven prospective geothermal areas have been identified for further study.


Standard regression adjustment gives inconsistent estimates of causal effects when there are time-varying treatment effects and time-varying covariates. Loosely speaking, the issue is that some covariates are post-treatment variables because they may be affected by prior treatment status, and regressing out post-treatment variables causes bias. More precisely, the bias is due to certain non-confounding latent variables that create colliders in the causal graph. These latent variables, which we call phantoms, do not harm the identifiability of the causal effect, but they render naive regression estimates inconsistent. Motivated by this, we ask: how can we modify regression methods so that they hold up even in the presence of phantoms? We develop an estimator for this setting based on regression modeling (linear, log-linear, probit and Cox regression), proving that it is consistent for the causal effect of interest. In particular, the estimator is a regression model fit with a simple adjustment for collinearity, making it easy to understand and implement with standard regression software. From a causal point of view, the proposed estimator is an instance of the parametric g-formula. Importantly, we show that our estimator is immune to the null paradox that plagues most other parametric g-formula methods.


A powerful sorbent of Li+, flower-like MoS2 nanocrystals, was doped into the Spiro-OMeTAD layer for highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells.


In topical use cosmetic products, it is a provesicular for the enhanced delivery of skin benefit agents through the formation of small 胞相 in the presence of water (pro-vesicle), (I) benefit agent to be delivered (benefit agents), (Ii) a phospholipid, (Iii) glycerol mono -, di - or tri - ester, (Iv) propyl ester or butyl ester of a straight-chain or branched-chain fatty acids from Including the, provesicular.


The need for defibrillation threshold (DFT) testing has again been questioned and is the subject of two articles in this month's issue.1,2 Let us begin with a historical perspective. In 1980, the test of the very first internal defibrillator was performed in a cardiac catheterization laboratory of the Johns Hopkins Hospital (no dedicated electrophysiology laboratory at that time) after implantation by a cardiac surgeon in the operating room days earlier. It was uncertain whether the original automatic internal defibrillator would recognize a life-threatening arrhythmia in humans and deliver lifesaving therapy. Literally dozens of physicians were in the room and directly outside for support and assistance if necessary. Little information was available from the device, only a charge time measurement of full capacitor formation. Shock delivery in the original unit was nonprogrammable with only one energy level. After the device successfully detected ventricular fibrillation and defibrillated, a roar of excitement and relief arose from the crowd of physicians, I among them. Thus, the defibrillation test was born. DFT testing became standard practice and was considered necessary but potentially hazardous.3 In 1999, a subsequent study of a second test the day following implant reported the risk of failure to defibrillate at 0.15% with many problems corrected by reprogramming.4 In 2005, a study from another center again demonstrated a similar risk of failure to defibrillate of 0.15% on a test on the postimplant day. They concluded that many prehospital discharge DFTs should be considered optional but may remain useful in patients with abnormal findings at implant.5 As the reliability of the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) improved and physicians felt more comfortable with the implant DFT results, the second test on the first postimplant day was no longer performed. Continued advances including the addition of a proximal coil to the ICD lead, change in location to a pectoral implant, programmability of


The work is devoted to the development of carbon nanofillers modified acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer (ABS) composites with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The method of manufacturing of ABS/CNT nanocomposites has been developed. Structure as well as elastic, dielectric and thermo-physical properties of ABS/CNT nanocomposites have been determined. It has been determined that addition of CNTs caused considerable increment of the modulus of elasticity, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity of the material.


Summary

Equilibrium phase diagrams of polymer networks and a nematic liquid crystal blend were investigated. The polymer network used was PolyABu (poly(n-butyl-acrylate)), obtained by exposure to UV radiation of initial solutions composed of a reactive monomer, a small amount of a crosslinking agent, and a photoinitiator. Experimental phase diagrams were established using polarizing optical microscopy, and the results were analyzed within the predictions of the combined Flory-Rehner theory of rubber elasticity and the Maier-Saupe theory of nematic ordering.


The production system of SMT involves many factors,such as machines,materials,working conditions and so on,and is more complex than the traditional manufacture flow.Therefore,in order to enhance the quality of product,how to control the production system of SMT becomes the important issue in the field.Through to the consideration to the counting quality characteristic and definite purpose of quality characteristic which has the adjustment factor in the Taguchi Method,the introduction of examination factor,the revision to the orthogonal array,the complete examination system and so on,build the modified Taguchi Method.Apply it to stencil printing in one SMT corporation and build the experiment platform to optimize parameters and finally obtain satisfying effect.


ABSTRACT This article examines antecedents of reconciliation following service failure and recovery including likability of service personnel, customer satisfaction with service recovery, interactional justice, and distributive justice. This study utilizes a 2 (low vs. high distributive justice) × 2 (low vs. high interactional justice) × 2 (low vs. high likability of customer service agent) scenario design in a retail environment in which a customer returns a pair of prematurely worn out shoes. Findings suggest that dispositional forgiveness, likability of service personnel, customer satisfaction with service recovery, interactional justice, and distributive justice are positively related to reconciliation following service failure and recovery. Results reveal the critical role of service personnel characteristic of service workers who handle the recovery process.


ABSTRACT
The advancement in the technology of cachaça ─ sugarcane spirit produced in the Brazilian territory ─ has led to the search for parameters that allow the improvement of its chemical characterization and sensory specificities. Esters are important aroma agents, but their routine monitoring, as endorsed in Brazilian legislation, is restricted to the quantification of ethyl acetate, which is formed through the metabolism of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). However, being produced in a rural environment using fresh cane juice, fermentation of "cachaça de alembic" involves the presence and activity of lactic acid-producing bacteria, making the presence of ethyl lactate among the cachaça esters predictable. In this work, the levels of ethyl lactate and ethyl acetate were compared in 247 samples, corresponding to 56 brands produced in eleven Brazilian states. Ethyl lactate was found in levels that significantly alter the result of the quantitative participation of esters in the composition of cachaça. This fact is especially relevant considering that lactic acid bacteria are GRAS and widely recognized as a resource for improving the sensory quality of wines and other alcoholic beverages. Thus, studies on the contribution of lactic acid bacteria to the sensory quality of cachaça should be encouraged. Ethyl lactate, in addition to signaling a chemical specificity naturally occurring in cachaça, is a marker of other possible chemical and sensory peculiarities whose research should be stimulated.


Industrial era 4.0 shows that all human activities will be connected and dominated by digital media. Creativity and new ideas to innovate technology are the keys of this era. For example in the music industry 4.0, which develops music streaming technology products, trying to attract a lot of millennials generation. In the context of Indonesia, Langit Musik as a local product competes with Spotify as an international product. Therefore, through this literature review-based research and interview with some of the participants in Whatsapp phone call, researchers want to see what kind of music streaming platform in the industrial era 4.0 make many peoples interested, especially the millennials generation in Indonesia. The results show that the use of Spotify in Indonesia is still more popular than Langit Musik, because for most of the Indonesian millennial generation Spotify is already suitable for the music streaming criteria they want. These include a diverse and global selection of songs, from old songs to the latest songs that are always up-to-date, have a simple and eye-catching display, easy to use, clear sound quality, have lyrics for karaoke, integrated with social media for status updates, have playlist personalisation feature, and no need to use large mobile data internet quota. However, Spotify and Langit Musik are still not able to attract their customers to switch from free to premium services, due to different needs and there are people who are still comfortable downloading songs illegally even though they already had music streaming. Spotify has become more popular than Langit Musik because of consumer trust in its quality, besides that personal promotion by word-of-mouth from the closest people and status updates on social media, which also support the expansion of Spotify's popularity.


Simple Summary Pigs have been used in various animal model studies on the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) across both animal science and biomedical science fields. Recently, intestinal organoids have been used as a research tool for the GIT, and they have also been applied to farm animals, including pigs. However, to our knowledge, no functional studies of the porcine intestine using intestinal organoids have been conducted to date. In the present study, we developed two porcine intestinal organoid models (basal-out and apical-out organoids) and compared their characteristics. We also confirmed the possibility of conducting research related to intestinal functions, such as nutrient uptake and gut barrier function. The present study suggests that porcine intestinal organoids can be used as potential models for future GIT mechanism studies, such as host–microbe interactions, harmful ingredient tests, and nutritional research. Abstract Pig models provide valuable research information on farm animals, veterinary, and biomedical sciences. Experimental pig gut models are used in studies on physiology, nutrition, and diseases. Intestinal organoids are powerful tools for investigating intestinal functions such as nutrient uptake and gut barrier function. However, organoids have a basal-out structure and need to grow in the extracellular matrix, which causes difficulties in research on the intestinal apical membrane. We established porcine intestinal organoids from jejunum tissues and developed basal-out and apical-out organoids using different sub-culture methods. Staining and quantitative real-time PCR showed the difference in axis change of the membrane and gene expression of epithelial cell marker genes. To consider the possibility of using apical-out organoids for intestinal function, studies involving fatty acid uptake and disruption of the epithelial barrier were undertaken. Fluorescence fatty acid was more readily absorbed in apical-out organoids than in basal-out organoids within the same time. To determine whether apical-out organoids form a functional barrier, a fluorescent dextran diffusion assay was performed. Hence, we successfully developed porcine intestinal organoid culture systems and showed that the porcine apical-out organoid model is ideal for the investigation of the intestinal environment. It can be used in future studies related to the intestine across various research fields.


Painful peripheral neuropathy is a common side effect of cancer chemotherapy. In some cases, the pain diminishes within days or weeks after treatment, while in other cases is long-lasting. Since several different mechanisms are supposed to be involved in neuropathic pain, we evaluated the effect of dextromethorphan, gabapentin, amitriptyline and tramadol on vincristine-induced peripheral neuropathy. In the experiment we used adult male NMRI mice (25 ‐ 35 g; N = 72) divided in six groups: control group (C), vincristine group (VCR), dextromethorphan and vincristine group (DMV), gabapentine and vincristine group (GBV), amitriptyline and vincristine group (AMV), tramadol and vincristine group (TRV). Vincristine (100 µg/kg-bw) was administered intraperitoneally daily for 11 days. Dextromethorpan (20 mg/kg-bw), gabapentin (150 mg/kg-bw), amitriptyline (25 mg/kgbw) and tramadol (5 mg/kg-bw) were orally administered 11 days concomitantly with vincristine. The thermal sensitivity was evaluated in the 7 th and 11 th post-treatment days. We recorded the nociceptive reaction latencies in response to a given thermal stimulus 38 0 C (thermal allodynia) and 52 0 C (thermal hyperalgesia) using the hot plate test (Ugo Basile Hot Plate). No thermal allodynia was observed. On day 7 a statistically significant reduction of the nociceptive reaction latencies was observed on VCR group 5.74 ± 1.72 s. (p< 0.001), GBV group 6.32 ± 1.79 s. (p< 0.001), and AMV group 6.13 ± 2.25 s. (p< 0.005). Tramadol produced a statistically significant increase of nociceptive reaction latencies with 22.52 % (p< 0.05) compared to VCR group. These results show that tramadol, that has a double mechanism of action: it binds with a low affinity to µ-opioid receptors, and it activates central monoaminergic pathways inhibiting the neuronal uptake of serotonin and noradrenalin, is highly effective to reverse neuropathic hyperalgesia produced by vincristine to mice in the hot plate test. Rezumat Durerea determinată de neuropatia periferică este o reacţie adversă, frecvent intâlnită in chimioterapie. In unele cazuri, durerea dispare in câteva zile sau săptămâni după tratament, dar in alte cazuri durerea este de lungă durată. Există numeroase mecanisme presupuse a fi implicate in patologia durerii neuropate. Prin urmare, ne-am propus să cercetăm efectul analgezic profilactic a patru medicamente cu potenţial analgezic (dextrometorfan, gabapentin, amitriptilină si tramadol) in durerea neuropată indusă experimental de vincristină la soarece. S-au utilizat soareci adulţi, susa NMRI, sex


Objective: To study the clinical characteristics and outcome in patients with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) with respiratory failure. Methods: Fourty-six MODS patients with respiratory failure were divided into survival group (22 patients ) and nonsurvival group (24 patients). Clinical characteristics were compared and predictors for prognosis were investigated. Results: The overall mortality of patients with MODS with respiratory failure was 52.2%; the number of organ failure, APACHE Ⅲ score and APS score, time of mechanical ventilation showed significant relations with the mortality of patients with MODS with respiratory failure(P 0.05). Conclusion: Prevention of the risk factors may play a key role in decreasing mortality of MODS with respiratory failure.


Objective: Assessing annualized relapse rates (ARR) and rate of progression in elderly MS patients.
Background:
Natural history data regarding ARR and progression rates in MS patients beyond 50 years of age are not available.
Methods:
We screened our MS database for patients currently older than 60 years of age. Relapses were counted and averaged by 5-year periods. EDSS scores at the end of 5-year periods, and demographic data and disease modifying treatments (DMT) were included in the analyses. Patients were split into primary progressive (PPMS) and relapsing onset (ROMS) groups.
Results:
Of 153 patients older than 60 years sufficient data were available for 42 ROMS and 13 PPMS. Average age (years) at disease onset was 34.9 in ROMS and 43.6 in PPMS, and 67 in ROMS and 69 in POMS at last follow-up. Progression rates (change of EDSS score per year) decreased from 0.4 in the first 5-year period to 0.1 in the 2nd period in ROMS and from 0.8 to 0.15 in PPMS patients and remained stable thereafter.
In ROMS patients the ARR significantly decreased from 0.39 in the first period to 0.1 in the last period. The proportion of relapse free patients increased from 0[percnt] in the first five years to 78[percnt] in the last 5-year period.
ARR and EDSS scores were higher in treated compared to untreated patients.
Conclusions:
EDSS progression slows early during disease but then continues at a constant rate. Relapse rates decrease constantly and the majority of patients become relapse-free in later stages. The natural course of MS needs to be considered in uncontrolled extension phases of clinical trials particularly with respect to relapses. Higher EDSS scores in patients on DMT are likely due to a selection bias towards higher baseline disease activity. Of note, most patients were diagnosed in the seventies and eighties. Disclosure: Dr. Deisenhammer has received research support from Biogen Idec. Dr. Bayer has nothing to disclose. Dr. Bsteh has nothing to disclose. Dr. Auer has nothing to disclose. Dr. Di Pauli has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hegen has received personal compensation for activities with Bayer Schering, Biogen Idec, Merck Serono as lecturer. Dr. Berger has received research support from Alexion, Bayer, Biogen, Merck-Serono, Novartis, Octapharma, Ratiopharm, Roche and Sanofi Aventis.


Summary The constraints of the long interval before fruiting and variability of annual yields of the most dominant parkland species (Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn) in West Africa are addressed through a participatory selection and multiplication programme. Trials on five provenances from Burkina Faso (3), Mali (1) and Senegal (1) were established in Burkina Faso. The objectives were to (1) characterize the wetting profile under which the trees are growing by monitoring soil water; (2) quantify variation in seasonal transpiration by the provenances under investigation; (3) model the response of these provenances to interannual rainfall fluctuations using the WaNuLCAS model. The design was a complete randomised blocks with single tree as the experimental unit repeated once within each of the 35 blocks (70 replicates). Five years after pla nting, the results showed that the survival rate did not differ significantly even though Botou provenance was superior and Senega l provenance showed the lowest survival rate. Passore, Mali and Botou-Fada showed the highest height and collar diameter whereas the provenances of Senegal and Gonse performed poorly. As a consequence, Passore and Mali provenances showed the highest transpiration rates per tree and depleted more soil water. However, these provenances transpired less water per unit area of leaves suggesting a better water use efficiency making them more suitable for semi-arid regions of West Africa. Further data is required to model the long-term effects of these provenances on soil water balance and their fruit production before reliable recommendations can be made to farmers.


This study examines the predictive value of coping behaviors in discriminating drinkers from nondrinkers among 109 primary in-home dementia caregivers. The participants were enrolled in a caregivers education project and completed comprehensive health and psychosocial assessments prior to receiving education. Coping was measured using the Ways of Coping Questionnaire. Questions on alcohol use were embedded in a self-administered portion of the assessment. A model testing the predictive value of coping behaviors in discriminating drinkers from nondrinkers was found to be significant (p < .0393). Caregivers who used self-controlling or distancing coping were more likely to be classified as drinkers, and those who used positive reappraisal or confrontive coping were more likely to be classified as nondrinkers. As the number of caregivers increases, gaininga greater understanding of relationships between caregiver copingand behaviors with potential for negative health and psychosocial consequences, such as alcohol use, can have useful applications in practice.


This prospective study aimed to determine whether patients with endometriosis are having different level of interlukin‐17 (IL‐17) in peritoneal fluid when compared with patients without endometriosis. The patients with minimal/mild endometriosis had a significantly higher level of IL‐17 in peritoneal fluid compared with those with moderate/severe endometriosis or without endometriosis. The concentration of IL‐17 in peritoneal fluid was significantly higher when endometriosis and infertility coexist. However, the concentration of IL‐17 in peritoneal fluid did not correlate with the phase of the menstrual cycle in the patients with or without endometriosis. Our study suggested that IL‐17 might play an important role in the pathogenesis of early endometriosis and endometriosis‐associated infertility.


PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the interplay between electronic service quality, user experience (UX) and overall customer satisfaction. Additionally, it aims to assess the suitability of E-S-QUAL and UX metrics within the cultural context of Greece.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 310 Internet users based on their last online purchase from an e-retail website. To evaluate the conceptual model, the authors used partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe findings of this study validate the scales' reliability and validity in the realm of electronic commerce (e-commerce) in Greece. The findings also emphasize the favorable association between e-service quality and UX with overall satisfaction, while indicating that e-service quality plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between UX and customer satisfaction.Originality/valueThe authors' study enhances the existing theory by introducing a new multi-dimensional conceptual framework that illuminates the relative importance of the dimensions within the scales. Additionally, it offers valuable insights into the impacts of e-service quality and UX on overall satisfaction, providing managers and practitioners with a tool to evaluate the quality of their electronic services and make necessary adjustments to meet the needs of their customers.


[1] Five years of SeaWiFS ocean color data are used to characterize the variability of surface chlorophyll (SCHL) over seasonal and intraseasonal timescales along the northwest African coast (between 10°N and 33°N). This variability is interpreted in regards of remotely sensed wind stress and sea surface temperature and of climatological surface nitrate concentration. Three regions with fairly different behaviors are identified: the region of the subtropical gyre (24°N–33°N) is characterized by a weak seasonality and chlorophyll confined at the coast. The inter-gyre region off Cape Blanc (19°N–24°N) is characterized by a weak seasonality and a persistent large offshore extension of chlorophyll. The region of the recirculation gyre (10°N–19°N) is characterized by a strong seasonality and a large offshore extension of chlorophyll from February to May followed by an abrupt chlorophyll drop that propagates northward from May to June. The seasonal variability is well explained by the seasonal variability in wind-forcing. Nutrient limitation is the key factor that explains the weak offshore extension of chlorophyll in the North. The chlorophyll drop in the South is attributed to the weakening of the wind-forcing and the simultaneous advection of warm water from the South by a coastal and seasonal branch of the North Equatorial Counter Current (NECC). Intraseasonal variability is present in all regions. The cases of good correlation between the intraseasonal variability of the chlorophyll and of the wind-forcing are found to be associated with weak chlorophyll offshore extension and large nutrient limitation.


Distribution of autoimmune thyroidites in the patients with diseases of blood system is investigated. Antimicrosomal antibodies served as an indicator of autoimmune thyroidites. Autoimmune thyroidites was found more often in patients with various hematological diseases than in the control group. A hypothesis is advanced that the increase in the frequency of some hematological diseases in the residents affected by the Chernobyl accident can be attributed not only to the influence of the radiation on blood system, but also to the damage of thyroid glands.


The outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in a serious pandemic situation which the world is going through since the beginning of the year 2020. Given this, the infected countries are constantly increasing their lockdown period and therefore, experiencing an adverse impact on their socio-economic structure. With these motivations, this paper is an attempt to estimate the time that a country would take more to recover from COVID-19 situation. In this work, for curve fitting, the polynomial model has been used deliberately for easier interpretation of the technique. The methodology captures the characteristic trends of the already flattened curves from recovered countries and utilizes them to estimate the curve flattening time for the infected countries. The approach requires only the minimum set of data, i.e., the number of infected persons per day for a given country.


This study aims to contribute to this growing area of research by exploring the gene expression and enzyme activity of iNOS, and provide new insights into the ultrastructural changes in the kidneys, spleen, skin and gills infected with Ichthyophthirius on grass carp. Furthermore, electron microscopy (EM) findings illustrated the uneven distribution of the macrophages and lymphocytes, and the concentrated and fragmented and/or disappeared cell nuclei in the kidneys, spleen, gills and skin. The extreme ultrastructural changes resulted in the reduction in the number of immune cells and subsequent downregulation of iNOS enzyme activity, especially in the gills and skin of Ichthyophthirius-infected grass carp. Our results showed that enzyme activity and gene expression of iNOS were significantly down-regulated in the kidneys and spleen (P>0.05), gills and skin (P<0.05) compared with the negative control group. The data showed the different levels of damages against I. multifiliis infection in the kidneys, spleen, gills and skin. Taken together, expression and activity of inducible nitric oxide synthase could serve as an important indicator to determine the pathological status of the I. multifiliis-grass carp.


Modern smartphones are powerfull devices with computing performance comparable to personal computers and laptops. Various sensors are embedded into these devices. These sensors are capable of monitoring a lot of different physical quantities which makes smartphones, together with smartphone computation performance, useful devices capable of monitoring and processing information about health status of person. It is possible to monitor position of person, not only wide area position using GPS but position of the body towards the earth surface as well. That enables to monitor the occurrence of critical situations such as a fall of the person to the ground. By using an accelerometer and a gyroscope it is also possible to monitor the person's breathing more information can be found at (Suba, 2013). Other sensors can be connected to the smart phone by Bluetooth connection which enables monitoring further quantities such as the temperature on particular places on the body as well as of the environment. There are several health applications collecting, processing, and transforming healthcare data into information, knowledge, and action. One of them is described in (Demirkan, H. 2013). Such health care applications need not only be small systems based on smart phone capabilities, but they also can be rather complex, see e.g. (Ou, Y.Y., 2013). Further devices can be located in the surrounding area and transmit information from sensors about the condition of the environment. Then the actuators controlled by the application adjust the environment in the location according the health status of the monitored person. Based on data from particular sensors, the application is expected to make a proposal of the action – to call an emergency, to be alert or to continue monitoring the situation. To meet these expectations, not only data from sensors, but expert knowledge is necessary, too, and multicriteria AHP model can merge these two contributions. In AHP approach to decision making, priority scales are generally derived objectively after pair-wise subjective judgments are made. The construction and evaluation procedure of the AHP model can be summarized as follows (Saaty, 2008): • Model the problem as a hierarchy containing the decision goal, the alternatives for reaching it, and the criteria for the alternatives' evaluation. • Establish priorities among the elements of the hierarchy by making a series of judgments based on pairwise comparisons of the elements. • Synthesize these judgments to yield a set of overall priorities for the hierarchy. • Check the consistency of the judgments. International Journal of the Analytic Hierarchy Process 1 Washington, D.C. June 29 – July 2, 2014 IJAHP Article: Cimler, Gavalec, Mls/ Optimal consistent approximation of a preference matrix To Be Submitted to the International Symposium of the Analytic Hierarchy Process 2014, Washington D.C., U.S.A. • Reach the final decision based on the results of this process. In AHP approach a n×n pair-wise comparison matrix A with positive elements aij is considered. Normalized principal eigenvector of the matrix A is computed to get priorities of respective alternatives. We say that A is consistent, if aij • ajk = aik for each i, j, k. If aij • ajk ≠ aik for some i, j, k, than A is said to be inconsistent. The inconsistency of A is measured by the consistency index CIn. To provide a measure independent of the order of the matrix n, (Saaty, 2009) proposed the consistency ratio (CR). Watch Dog application is designed for Android mobile phones in order to gather information about the monitored person. System was primary focused on monitoring the persons with serious health issues. Due to the information from the accelerometer and the gyroscope it is possible to monitor the respiratory arrest, too. All the information from the sensors has to be processed and the system evaluates the actual state of the monitored person according to the measured values. There are a lot of different important states of the person which can be recognized by the system. Some of the measured values can be normal, some of them can be suspicious and some can be strictly alerting. Some suspicious values can only signify danger when observed together with suspicious values from some other sensors. The importance of each sensor value can be different and various types of dangerous situations can be expressed by combination of measured values. The experts helping to adjust the system are doctors – specialists on different medical sectors. There can be different opinions on the importance of the measured value combination. Each disease can have different set of symptoms, moreover every specialist has his specific view on the importance of the measured data. Thus the evaluation matrices from the experts could be inconsistent and contradicting. This situation has to be solved by suitable decision making approach. The search for consensus in group decision making is typical in many real world situations. Several methods and tools, based on AHP were suggested to build consensus (Moreno-Jimenez, 2008). In medical applications, the need for more cautious approach to uniting of individual expert opinions is vital (Pecchia, 2013). To get the best evaluation of the model and to find the best alternative in the health monitoring application, not only consensus between experts, compromise or aggregation of individual judgments or priorities is sufficient. In our paper we propose to analyze inconsistency in individual expert evaluations and then to apply extremal algebra approach to construct the common evaluation of the decisional model.


A new electrolytic decontamination method used metal balls as conducting anode was
investigated. The influences of current density, solution property and diameter of pipes on effi-
ciency of electrolytic decontamination were examined and the effiency of this method was com-
pared with that of common electrolytic method under the same experimental conditions. Decon-
tamination of samples of stainless steel pipes contaminated by plutonium was performed. Ex-
perimental results indicate that decontamination of stainless steel pipes contaminated by
plutonium can be achieved at the optimum conditions of greater than 0.2 A·cm~(-2) current den-
sity, 5% sulfuric acid electrolyte and 5 min electrolysis. This method can be used in the decon-
tamination of a wide variety of decommissioned metal matierals.


Electrospinning is a well-known method for producing continuous polymeric fibres with diameters in the submicron to nanometer range. In spite of the plethora of literature on the topic, the prediction of the morphology and/or topology of electrospun fibres remains a largely unresolved research topic due to the complex array of interacting parameters. The influence of various polymer solution properties including surface tension, conductivity and viscosity needs to be considered simultaneously although these measurements are rarely performed in a single study. In this study, the physical properties of aqueous poly(vinyl alcohol) solutions were obtained and compared with literature data for the purpose of defining target values. These newly defined target values were then verified using denatured whole chain marine collagen electrospun from two acids. This "electrospinning window" provides an informative resource for tissue engineering research studies


Over the last decade, bisphenol A (BPA) has become a chemical of concern in the marine environment. There is little data on BPA levels in the eastern Adriatic Sea, Croatian waters. This study provides concentrations of BPA in marine sediments and suspended matter sampled from the Kaštela Bay (the central part of the Adriatic Sea) for two years. The results obtained show that BPA in sediment samples ranged from 1.05 to 46.31 µg kg−1, while they were higher in the suspended matter, ranging from 1.84 to 81.39 µg kg−1. To demonstrate a possible correlation between BPA concentrations and other parameters in sediment and suspended matter, the granulometric composition and organic matter content were determined. There was no correlation between BPA and investigated sediment characteristics. To assess the possible effects of BPA on marine biota, its possible estrogenic effect was also investigated by calculating estradiol equivalent concentration (EEQ, µg kg−1), the maximum value of which, in this study, was 0.0181 µg kg−1 in the sediment samples and 0.0317 µg kg−1 in suspended matter samples. Based on the presented results, it is unlikely that BPA could cause significant endocrine disruption to marine life in the study area.


Applying electrical heat tracing to pipelines can dramatically increase the reliability and efficiency of such pipelines. As a matter of fact over the years, electrical heat tracing has played an important role in the enhancement of flow assurance of oil pipelines. In most cases, the application of heat is on the outer surface of the pipeline, taking advantage of the efficient conductivity characteristics of metallic pipe. While the method of adding thermal energy to the product inside through ldquoconductionrdquo is an efficient method, it introduces a few complexities as well. Examples of these complexities include; the necessity for good contact of the heating cable with the pipe surface and the possibility for higher heat losses requiring the use of oversized insulation. More uniform heating can be achieved by installing the heating cable inside the pipe where it is in direct contact with the heated fluid or what is normally known in the industry as ldquogutrdquo tracing. This paper will evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using a gut tracing approach to heating pipelines as compared to more conventional outer surface heat tracing methods. We will look at the finite element thermal analysis (FEA) of these conventional systems as well as the gut tracing systems. This paper will address the limitations and reliability of both approaches as well cost-benefit analysis and other relevant comparisons. Finally, this paper will identify the ideal applications for a gut tracing approach.


Objective To evaluate the dynamic changes of cochlear in explosive deafness.Methods The structure and function of cochlear were assessed by DPOAEs and scanning electron microscope.Results There was a significant increase in auditory threshold levels directly after blast in guinea pigs.DPOAEs levels were significantly decreased at frequencies 1 kHz(P0.05) and 8 kHz(P0.05),the higher the frequencies were,the lower the DPOAEs levels were.20 days after blast,DPOAEs levels at frequencies 0.5,0.7,1 kHz were increased to base line,while DPOAEs levels at frequencies 1.8~8.0 kHz were significantly increased compared with animals directly after blast(P0.05) but lowere than that of animals before blast.There was no significant difference in DPOAEs levels between animals 20 days and 40 days after blast.Directly after blast,cilia of IHC were ill-arranged,partial cilia of the second row OHC were collapsed,cilia of the third row OHC were collapsed and broken while cilia of the first row OHC were well-arranged under scanning electron microscope.20 days after blast,cilia of IHC was still ill-arranged,cilia of the second and the third row OHC,especially cilia of the third row OHC,were very ill-arranged,with a few OHC disappeared and filled with supporting cells.The changes of the cilia of IHC and OHC 40 days after blast were similar with that of 20 days after blast under scanning electron microscope.Conclusions The changes of cochlear may be associated with the mechanism of explosive deafness.


This research aims at analyzing the time shared with the partner and the children using the question "with whom the activity is done" included in the Time Use Survey 20092010 enumeration form. The main purpose of the paper is to analyze changes in the time shared with the family according to the characteristics of the couple, especially those related with the activity status and employment. Results of the research state that


Surface structures of nonsinterable BeO powders have been studied on the compositions and amounts of gas desorbed from the BeO powders and the adsorption isotherms of water at 25°C. The BeO powders were derived from hydroxide. As a result of our study, following conclusions were obtained.1) The beryllium hydroxide, precipitated homogeneously from sulfate solution, contained many sulfate ions. SO and SO2 gases were desorbed from the BeO powders which had been calcined at temperature less than 1000°C, but little desorption of those occurred above 1000°C.2) Surface structures of the BeO powders, calcined lower temperature, were sensitive to outgassing temperature3) Surface structures of the BeO powders were not sensitive to calcination temperature.4) The largest amount of the chemical adsorption of water was found in the BeO powder which was calcined at 1000°C.5) Outgassing temperature affected strongly the monolayer capacities of physical adsorption of water vapor on the BeO powders which were calcined at lower temperature, but calcination temperature affected weakly them.


The article analyses international legal basis of protection of human rights of older persons as a vulnerable group, determines the main problems in the area of ensuring their rights at the national level through the activities of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The article concludes that there is a necessity of the adoption of comprehensive antidiscrimination laws by States aimed at fighting discrimination in all spheres of life on all grounds including age.


Introduction:
 Telehealth and remote monitoring have become critical to patient access to care during the COVID-19 pandemic. We measured the effect of a telehealth care intervention on frequency, sharing methods, and clinical usage of home blood pressure (BP) measurements.

 Methods:
 Hyperlink 3 is an ongoing pragmatic cluster-randomized trial in 3072 patients with uncontrolled hypertension in 21 primary care clinics in an integrated health system. Clinics were randomized to Clinic-based Care (CC, 9 clinics, 1648 patients) or Telehealth Care (TC, 12 clinics, 1424 patients). TC patients were offered home BP telemonitoring with pharmacist care management. Patients were surveyed at baseline (Nov 2017 - Apr 2019) and after 6 mo of study enrollment.

 Results:
 In the TC group, about 37% of patients attended an intake pharmacist visit and 434 (30%) participated in home BP telemonitoring. Baseline surveys were completed by 1719 (56%) of patients at baseline (goal 50%) and 1301 (76%) of those completing the baseline survey completed the 6 mo survey (goal 75%). Baseline survey respondents' mean age was 62, 46% were men, 19% were black, and mean BP was 164/93 mm Hg. Nearly all patients (>90%) took antihypertensive medications (median 2). The odds ratio (OR) for change in measuring BP
 >
 2 times/week vs. less often was 0.97 (95% CI 0.87 - 1.42) in CC, and 2.01 (95% CI 1.56 - 2.59) in TC. The OR for change in frequent measurement in TC vs CC was 2.08 (95% CI 1.45 - 2.97).

 Conclusions:
 A telehealth care intervention markedly increased the frequency of home BP self- monitoring, electronic data sharing, and data-driven BP medication changes, even though only a minority of TC patients received the intervention.


The way of building relationships and choosing a partner in life can not be something random between two people who decide to spend part of their lives together. Of course, many of our experiences in life lead us to certain choices. Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, goes further when he says that partner selection is determined by the early relationship between child and parent. Even Freud in his essay "On some neurotic mechanisms in jealousy, paranoia and homosexuality" (1922) says that "these jealousies take root in the depths of the unconscious, take back the earliest movements of infantile affectivity and originate from the Oedipus complex" (p. 217). The roots for this are found in the triangle of the child-mother-father relationship and the phallic stage where the child shows the most pronounced closeness to the parent of the opposite sex (all this a necessary and indispensable process). The way of expressing love between parents and consequently the expression as triumphant in front of the child with the word "I took mom/dad" can affect that in adulthood, the individual develops pathological behavior. Every behavior, from what we explained to the choice of the object of love, has its roots in early relationships.


We discuss early cosmology in theories where the fundamental Planck mass is close to the TeV scale. In such theories the standard model fields are localized to a (3+1)-dimensional wall with n new transverse sub-millimeter sized spatial dimensions. The topic touched upon include: early inflation that occurs while the size of the new dimensions are still small, the spectrum and magnitude of density perturbations, the post-inflation era of contraction of our world while the internal dimensions evolve to their final "large" radius, and the production of gravitons in the bulk during these two eras. The radion moduli problem is also discussed.


Abstract This study provides one of the first insights into how UK brokers' institutional characteristics may impact on the forecasting performance of their financial analysts. The study focuses on brokerage house size and finds it to be a significant factor explaining cross sectional variation in forecasting performance. This is consistent with evidence from several recent US studies (Jacob et al. 1997; Clement, 1999). It is likely that this broker-size effect reflects the resources (human, IT) available to brokers' analysts to support them in their activities. It may also reflect larger brokers' superior access to company managers and information. However, this broker-size effect appears to be significant only for forecasts made at horizons of one year or less. The sign of the earnings change being predicted also has a significant impact: for observations where earnings changes are negative, the broker-size effect is larger than for positive changes, though the effect is significant for both cases. In addition, the form of the model employed here suggests diminishing marginal returns to broker size. More generally, this study reiterates the importance of controlling for the most commonly cited explanatory variables for forecast accuracy, and there is evidence that the heavy industry sectors may be more difficult to forecast, echoing the conclusions of UK studies from the 1980s.


The utility model discloses a colorful tile conveying guide device, and relates to a locating device. The colorful tile conveying guide device comprises a base, wherein the base is provided with a connection rod through a support frame; the connection rod is provided with a group of conveying belts; one side of the conveying belt is horizontally provided with a roller; the roller is arranged on the connection rod through the support frame. The colorful tile conveying guide device has the beneficial effects that the colorful tile conveying guide device is simple in structure, novel in design, flexible in debugging, strong in practicability and convenient to popularize and apply, and is capable of preventing the colorful tiles from dropping from the conveying belt in production, and preventing the colorful tiles from being baffled out of a drying oven due to the position offset when the tiles enter the drying oven.


The Shore Crab (Carcinus maenas) is an excellent subject for school study, both in the field and the laboratory. It is easily collected and maintained and can be used for a wide range of investigations. Some background details are given and possible areas of investigation suggested.


This paper applies the variational approach to the relativistic oscillator. In order to effectively deal with the irrational term, an ancient Chinese mathematics is introduced. Comparison of the obtained result with the numerical one elucidates the efficiency of the present treatment.


In order to achieve the high-quality roller mold used in roll-to-roll fabrication of optical prism films, this article investigates the effects of cutting parameters on surface quality during diamond turning of micro-prism array, and some cutting experiments are carried out on home-made ultra-precision drum roll lathe. The surface defects such as micro pits and burrs are presented and discussed at different cutting parameters. The experimental results show that, when the cutting depth is more than 4 µm, the plowing force becomes the dominant factor to remove material, which may cause the generation of micro pits on the side surface of micro prism. During multiple-step diamond turning of micro-prism array, the final cutting depth is recommended not to exceed 2 µm; in this case, there is no generation of micro pits and the height of burr is less than 13.6 nm. Moreover, the well-controlled cooling and chip evacuation can effectively improve the influence of cutting speed on surface quality. Finally, micro-prism array with pitch of 40 µm is successfully machined without apparent surface defects.


Leaf springs are one of the oldest forms of springing that is commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles. It is simply adjusted by selecting proper type or number of flat bars. In this study, we are going to show how a mono steel leaf spring can be used as a flexible pipe support in a real situation. It is a cheap and reliable method of support; specifically for the huge pipes in remote areas that maintenance could consider as a big headache. To prove this idea, we will model and test the real situation by using FEA software.


This report summarises the progress of a programme for screening sweetpotato cultivars for their wound-healing efficiency. This work is funded through the Department for International Development's (UK) Crop Post-Harvest Programme. It is led by the Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich (UK), in collaboration with the International Potato Center, The Tanzanian National Root and Tuber Crops Programme, USDA-ARS and Cranfield University, UK.


Consumer products like TV, VCR and CD have long been tested with raditional test methods like bed-of-nails and functional testing.The last couple of years this has been extended with JTAG Boundary Scan (IEEE Std 1149.1) because of the growing digital design content. However, Boundary Scan does not cover all pins and therefore will be insufficient in the very near future. An overview will be given of new test solutions that are being developed to deal with this trend.The main strategy is to build test solutions into silicon (DfT). This way, costs scale down with every silicon generation, making it cost-effective in the competitive market of consumer products. At the same time, test access can be kept standard and simple. The test solutions that will be discussed are: testing power & ground connections; testing analogue connections; testing connections to complex memories like DDR SDRAM; testing connections to Flash memories. This set of DfT solutions will significantly increase the test coverage of consumer products without relying on (long) functional tests or expensive test equipment.


Championed by Angela Rippon as part of the Prime Minister's Challenge on dementia 22 Pioneer Schools have participated in an intergenerational awareness raising project. Teachers have embraced this challenge as part of their curriculum, devising ways to help pupils from both primary and secondary schools understand dementia. Schools have partnered with community organisations, Alzheimer's Society and local care homes to enable pupils to meet people living with dementia and to spend time with them and their carers. A range of innovative curriculum activities have been devised which are brought to life in this presentation where footage of pupils will be shared with the audience. The Association for Dementia Studies, working with the Department of Health, evaluated the Intergenerational Schools Project, conducting both pre and post intervention questionnaires for pupils and undertaking interviews with teachers to find out the most effective approaches to introducing this subject into the curriculum. If we aspire to create dementia friendly communities we must ensure future generations are prepared with the knowledge, understanding and experience of those living with dementia.
The evaluation brings together the challenges of introducing this material to the curriculum, the changes evidenced in pupil knowledge and understanding and a wealth of resources for teachers. It also acts as springboard to consider how such sensitive topics can be introduced to the PHSE curriculum.
The presentation will share the results of the evaluation of this pioneering project and open up discussion to consider the best way to ensure all schools have access to these curriculum resources to shape the understanding attitudes of future generations.


In this opinion paper, I analyzed Erich Fromm and Karen Horney, two of the famous Neo-Freudians from the perspective of cultural psychology. First, I described the common characteristics of Neo-Freudians. Second, I stated Fromm's and Honey's criticisms of Freud. Third, I summarized the philosophies of Fromm and Horney. Fourth, I elucidated why they chose specific values as the important ones for humans from their life experiences, cultural backgrounds, and the zeitgeist of their time. In conclusion, both scholars underscored the importance of achieving two opposing motivations (i.e., individuation from others and connectedness to others) for humans, yet their answers were ambiguous because the self-construct they used allowed only one of these two opposing motivations.


The article deals with the use of paradigm categories for substantive and methodological analysis of scientific texts. The author points out that scientific texts from several decades are used in pedagogy. To use them correctly, ones should have knowledge and awareness of the paradigm in which they arose. Using texts for theoretical analysis without paradigmatic awareness can lead to overinterpretation and unauthorized conclusions. The article also draws attention to the existence of publications in which their authors do not specify the paradigm in which they create their research or do it incorrectly. The ability to assess such a situation is crucial for the correct use of these studies as source materials.


In this paper,102 strong ground motion acceleration records are used to calculate the average acceleration response spectra.According to the basic forms and characteristics of the average spectrum of strong motion records,the seismic design response spectra in long-period for flexible structures are established.In order to select representative strong ground motion records,the following factors are considered:1) seismic geological environment of Hankou and site soil condition;2) the reliability of strong ground motion records in long-period phase;3) influence to long-period response spectra of potential earthquakes with different magnitudes.


To improve the performance of RTS/CTS scheme in error-prone WLAN channel, this paper proposes an enhanced scheme utilizing Back-to-back DATA Retransmission and packet loss differentiation. With this new scheme, the packet which encounters transmission error can be retransmitted continuously without additional backoff time and RTS/CTS handshake. The system performance of this enhanced scheme is evaluated by a three dimensional Markov chain model. The numerical results show that this new scheme can improve the saturation throughout and reduce packet delay in error-prone channel.


ABSTRACT In this paper the effect of collisions and photo-ionizations on monochromatic radiative equilibrium is considered. A formalism is developed which includes the theory of stellar absorption lines (Strömgren) and the theory of nebular luminosity (Zanstra) as two limiting cases. A second approximation for the nebular problem is also sketched. The mathematical analysis is devoted to the treatment of the three-state problem including collisions. When collisions can be neglected, the approximate equations of transfer used admit of two flux integrals and two K-integrals.


In view of the character of the return oil pressure in hydraulic system, this paper introduces the mathematical model of the pressure-flow and temperature derived from equivalence and linearization methods. The examples indicate that the character curve can present the interrelations of correlative parameters, such as the effect of different working temperature on pressure fluctuation gradient, and the saturation conditions of overflow valve pressure adjustment. The results justify the rationality and validity of the hydraulic system and structural design.


Produced in two versions, with identical contents but opposite layouts, this publication intersperses a text by Purdy with images representing the exhibited works: sculptures by L. Berezowsky, photographs by D. Thorneycroft, and objects chosen from the Musee's archeological collections. Purdy's story deals with ancient mythological cultures, occult and psychological phenomena, and the separation of the sexes.


American strategists struck out in Vietnam. Our forces won every battle, but this country lost the war. That scandal, contrary to conventional wisdom, had little to do with our ally's lack of spirit or President Thieu's poor leadership. It had little to do with disciplinary problems that deviled American troops during the later stages. It had little to do with constraints on US air power or privileged sanctuaries. It had little to do with outside logistic support for our opposition until the fracas was almost finished. The cause was a senseless strategy that foiled us for 14 straight years. It turned this so-called superpower into a sorry giant like George Foreman, who lost his heavyweight championship in Zaire because he couldn't cope with Ali's strange style. The pity of it is that, unlike Foreman, we fashioned winning concepts in the final stages of that fiasco, but failed to stay the course. That subject has been summarily dismissed in US decision-making circles, where conventional concepts still hold sway. Military men especially are convinced that unfettered firepower could cure an established insurgency. This critique says it can't. The Legacy of Earlier Wars Top-level US leadership has never been very subtle when it comes to war. Strategy takes a back seat to physical strength and tactics in the White House, the Pentagon, and the State Department. When the "chips are down," we've always poured on the power until opponents were crushed. Our ruling councils, whose members were schooled in conventional combat before the showdown in Vietnam, subscribed to that approach. Threats in earlier US wars were classically military. Direct strategies on both sides featured force, not fraud or finesse. Political, economic, social, and psychological pressures were strictly secondary once the shooting started. US force predominated. We were prime movers in World War II, and although UN units fought in Korea, ours was the prime contingent, and we were in command. Technology, not strategic theory, was this country's trump card. Masses of materiel from the military-industrial complex turned most every trick. Atom bombs stopped the Japanese during World War II, and they restarted stalled talks in Korea. Our whole approach to conflict coupled the theories of Clausewitz with the bombing concepts of Douhet. One stressed killing combatants, the other blasting civilians. Military victory was our major conscious aim. We achieved it in World War II (at the cost of later agony), but inconclusive Korea left a sour taste, convincing men like MacArthur that there is no suitable substitute. He featured that theme--"There is no substitute for victory"--in a fervid farewell address to Congress in 1951, and he echoed it at West Point 12 years later. "Your mission," he told the cadets, "is to win" in armed combat. Revolutionary Challenges US leaders learned those lessons too well. They forgot that winning combinations cannot be switched from one time period to another without very precise appreciation for changes that transpire in the interim. Concepts are just as tough to transplant from place to place, unless the problems peculiar to one locale are pertinent in the others. Certainly, there was clear evidence as early as Eisenhower's era that insurgency of the sort in southeast Asia bore little resemblance to conflicts this country experienced in Korea or Europe. The threat faced was ambiguous, as opposed to the clear-cut threat of a conventional conflict. Further, the decisive strategy was indirect rather than direct; the decisive force was political rather than military; the decisive participant was not an outside force, but the local people; the impact of technological advantage was trivial rather than telling; and, the desired culmination was political, rather than military, victory. There was no overt military threat at the onset. Frontal assaults were out. …


We report a theoretical study on the inelastic Coulomb scattering rate of an injected electron in two coupled quantum wires in quasi-one-dimensional doped semiconductors. Two peaks appear in the scattering spectrum due to the optical and the acoustic plasmon scattering in the system. We find that the scattering rate due to the optical plasmon mode is similar to that in a single wire but the acoustic plasmon scattering depends crucially on its dispersion relation at small $q$. Furthermore, the effects of tunneling between the two wires are studied on the inelastic Coulomb scattering rate. We show that a weak tunneling can strongly affect the acoustic plasmon scattering.


The "Conformance Mark" project, promoted by the China Association for Standardization to show a product that conforms to the relevant compulsory national standards, has been put into use recently with a well-known domestic anti-counterfeiting enterprise-Beijing Zhaoxin Information Technology Co.Ltd. The cooperation ceremony was held on July 2,2004, and the cooperative agreement was signed by the representatives of both parties, Ma Lincong, Secretary-general of the China Association for Standardization and He Jun, board chairman of Beijing Zhaoxin Information Technology Co. Ltd.……


A simple formulation was developed that permits a quick and accurate estimate of the maximum increase in reactivity that an unmoderated fissile system can experience if subjected to high compaction forces. The k/sub eff/ estimates from the proposed model are compared with Monte Carlo and transport theory values and indicate that for low-density fissile systems and realistic compressions, there is excellent agreement. Good agreement is achieved for denser systems up to approx. 20% compression. Some practical areas of application and extension of the model are indicated in which large uniform external pressures may exist.


e15205Background: Existing drug development programs are represented by only a few hundred protein targets. A large subset of the ~20,000 proteins encoded by the human genome remain undiscovered. P...


With a view to reverse design of product layer, a tri-level precision model of product-part-functional face based on functional face was organized. The products precision information model was recovered from the 3D model, and the precision design was achieved. The implementation process of precision reconstruction was introduced in detail and a piston fixture was presented as an example for validation.


Extended flower longevity has been widely defended to occur as a consequence of low pollination activity. To test this hypothesis in Neotropical rainforests, we selected three species of Epidendrum that flower during rainy conditions and commonly exhibit low levels of insect visits. Experimental studies carried out in 15 populations distributed along a wide spatial gradient detected the presence of pollinator limitation in all populations. Pollinia removal without pollen deposition increased longevity, and thus extended longevity could apparently be considered as an ecological advantage for these orchids. Nevertheless, flower longevity was severely shortened by abiotic factors like precipitation and humidity. Comparison with other tropical orchids showed that flower longevity was higher even in species that flower during periods of more pollinator activity than the ones studied here, which is contrary to the hypothesis that pollinators are the only driving force for long-lived flowers in Epidendrum. Thus, although long floral longevities are apparently favorable for the reproductive success of these species, the high maintenance costs experienced during rainy conditions are also an important factor constraining the selection of long-lived flowers in Epidendrum.


Forest understory species such as shrub and herbaceous layer, have
received little attention in long-term studies. Knowledge of the diameter and the
height of trees are fundamental for developing growth and yield models in forest
stands. Overstory composition of the Sikfőkut Project site was dominated by sessile
oak–Turkey-oak forest (Quercetum petraeae-cerris Soo 1963). Similarly to other
European countries an oak decline occurred in Hungary oak woodlands at the end
of 1970's and about 63% of the oak trees perished in our site. The potential for oak
species regeneration was a very low over the period of 1982-2012. Four nonlinear
height-diameter functions were fitted and evaluated for Sikfőkut site based on a
data set consisting of 2025 individuals for three dominant woody species (Acer
campestre L., Acer tataricum L. and Cornus mas L.) and detected any short-term
changes in these equations following dieback of oak canopies. These height–
diameter equations increase our knowledge of the growth of these species;
therefore will enable us to improve management planning in oak forests.