From the viewpoint of signal format, the MUSE signal for HDTV-DBS transmission is a kind of pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) signal. Since PAM signals have never been used for TV signal transmission, the author investigated the relationship between distortion due to FM transmission and picture quality. The relationship is made clear by the following two steps. First, a rating function, by which the degree of picture quality impairment due to baseband distortion can be described, is developed by applying the variable frequency electric circuit theory due to J.R. Carson and T.C. Fry (1937). The degree of picture quality impairment due to FM transmission of the MUSE signal can be obtained by the rating function with calculated waveform distortion. This approach can be used for other PAM television signals such as the HD-MAC system. >


Contents:
Preface
I
The history of the cross
Bishop Edward Story
II
A place of meeting
III
Life and work and the cross
IV
The market crosses at Chichester, Malmesbury, and Salisbury: a comparison
Appendices:
Let the cross speak
Cabanes de Jardinier No.9 (1999)
The cross as a pavilion of fancy
Acknowledgements
Contributors
The Guildhall


ABSTRACT Parents with intellectual disability are considered to be at increased risk ofstateinterventioninthecareoftheirchildrenwithhighchildremovalratesreported. To explore this phenomenon, the authors conducted an interviewandobservationalstudyofcourtprocessanddecision-makingaccompaniedbyarecordreviewintheNewSouthWales(NSW)Children'sCourtinSydney,Australia.Thestudyfindingshighlightseveralreasonsthathelpexplainwhyparentswithintellectualdisabilityareover-representedincareandprotectionproceedings andtheirchildrenmorelikelyto beplacedinout-of-homecare.These reasons include enduring beliefs about parental (in)capacity, the dia-gnostic–prognosticrationalityofdecision-makers,theneedforparentcompli-ance in an adversarial system, lack of suitable support services; and, poorlyresourced legal representatives. Implications for policy and for practice arediscussed. 1. INTRODUCTION Theinclusionofpeoplewithintellectualdisabilityinthecommunityisbecoming more widely accepted and involuntary sterilization is nowbanned or more tightly controlled in many jurisdictions (Budd andGreenspan,1984;DowdneyandSkuse,1993;Llewellyn,1990;Tymchukand Feldman, 1991). Becoming a parent is therefore a more realisticaspirationfortoday'sgenerationofyoungadultswithintellectualdisab-ility.Yetmanyparentswithintellectualdisabilitywillnotgettoraisetheirchildren.Studiesofparentswithintellectualdisabilityworldwidereportratesofchildremovalintherangeof40–60percent(Accardoand Whitman, 1990; Booth and Booth, 1995; Gillberg and Geijer-Karlsson,1983;Mirfin-Veitchetal,1999;Pixa-Kettner,1998;ShawandWright,1960;Schilling,Schinke,BlytheandBarth,1982).


The disposition of excess plutonium will incorporate plutonium in ceramic pucks and seal the picks in cans. Remote equipment will place these cans in magazines in a Defense Waste Processing Facility canister.


Please cite this article as: Ndolo I. J, C. Oludhe, N. J. Muthama, J. K. Ng'ang'a and R. S. Odingo, 2018. Influence of Urbanisation on Minimum and Maximum Temperature characteristics over Nairobi City. J. clim. chang. sustain. Vol 1, issue 2, pp. 73-81. https://doi.org/10.20987/jccs.1.04.2018 Urban Heat Island being the most investigated aspect of urban climate is not prominently investigated in tropical African urban areas. This paper seeks to address the influence of urbanization on outdoor temperature characteristics in the city of Nairobi. Monthly minimum and maximum temperature data from four ground-based weather stations namely, Dagoretti Corner (DC), Wilson Airport (WA), Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Moi Air Base (MAB) stations over a 47-year period from 1961 to 2007 were used. The data were subjected to time series analysis. Station to station correlation analysis was performed as an indicator of the linear association of station records and also to understand spatial variability. Spatial analysis of temperature across the city pointed out that the most representative station in studying the urban canopy characteristics of the city of Nairobi is MAB. The minimum temperature across the city shows a significant positive trend. This may be attributed to urbanization effect. Among all the four stations, only DC exhibited a significant positive trend of maximum temperature. Trend analysis revealed that there was significant minimum temperature increase of 0.43C with a significant maximum temperature increase of 0.11C per decade during the 47-year period. This is a strong evidence of temperature modification due to urbanization. Comparative analysis of temperatures across the city of Nairobi depict heterogeneity among the four weather stations, with MAB being the hottest while DC is the coldest. Therefore, the microclimate of Nairobi is not homogeneous and implications of urbanization on planning of climate sensitive structures and services should be area specific. Further analysis to establish Urban Heat Island (UHI) characteristics of the city in future is recommended especially with availability of more weather stations around the city of Nairobi and adjacent rural areas. Introduction Urbanization is a population shift from rural to urban areas. This implies that urban population is increasing rapidly especially in developing countries where people migrate to urban areas for employment, education and better living conditions. In Africa, urbanization started before industrialization due to colonization (Obudho and Aduwo, 1992). In recent times however, industrialization in urban areas has led to increased population migration from rural to urban centres. Nairobi has experienced a high urbanization rate with the city's population growing from 267,000 in 1962 to over 4 million currently (Omwenga, 2011). Increased urbanization entails modification of urban surface due to removal of vegetation cover to create space for buildings, water bodies, open spaces and the establishment of impervious surfaces. These have been shown in various studies of urban centres to create distinctive climatic environments (Adebayo, 1985 and Ongoma et al., 2013). Urbanization modifies the local climate due to anthropogenic activities that go on in urban conurbations in various ways including Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions that lead to establishment of greenhouse effect. Urban areas depending on their size: surface area, population, industrial activities, building density, transport infrastructure such as rail and road network together with vehicular traffic density modify local climate. All these determine the effective urban microclimate. In particular, the city of Nairobi has notable waste heat deposition due to energy consumption attributable to these urban characteristics (KIPPRA, 2010). Nairobi is the capital city of Kenya. It is an equatorial city located at the latitude 1°17'S and longitude 37°'10'E. It is found on the East African plateau with a mean altitude of 1700m above sea level. The altitude of Nairobi ranges from 1600m to the east to over 1800m to the west and northwest covering an area of about 700 square kilometers (Ng'ang'a, 1992, Kinguyu et al., 2000, Ongoma, et al., 2014), see Figure 1. The city is the major commercial and industrial hub of not only the country but is also the regional and international headquarter for several commercial and public institutions that include multinational companies and United Nations agencies (Ottichilo, 2010). Figure 1. Map of Nairobi County showing Meteorological Stations, Road Network and Land use patterns This study was based on the premise that urbanization is a good example of human impact on local climate, namely the modification of climate in terms of energy balance, water balance, wind flow characteristics and change in atmospheric composition among other climate impacts. It is in terms of energy and water balances that immediate climate modifications are most likely to be exemplified and this study surveyed temperature as one of the major weather variables contributing to the energy balance of an urban area, which in this case is Nairobi (Figure 2). The temperature characteristics were considered in terms of magnitudes, averages and variation over time thus generating time series modules for informative depiction and descriptions of the maximum and minimum temperature trends. The conceptual framework of urbanization and its impacts on local climate which was also the guiding principle in this study is summarized in Figure 2 below. Ndolo et al. Journal of Climate change and Sustainability 74


Disaggregation has been proposed by both the industry and academia as an approach to reduce resource fragmentation in cloud data centers. With disaggregation the entire rack is viewed as a single machine in which all resources are remotely accessible from anywhere in the rack. Because a large number of resources may be used remotely, the average access time to resources tends to be elongated compared to a non-disaggregated rack organization. This elongation represents a technology penalty of disaggregation and impacts application performance. This paper presents a model to capture basic tradeoffs between virtual machine (VM) lifetime elongation and improved memory mutualization in a rack with disaggregation. Our results show that disaggregation has the potential to significantly improve the maximum VM launch throughput provided the technology penalty remains moderate. Additionally, our model provides guidance for the number of servers to combine through disaggregation.


Many small cultural and religious minorities are confronted with the problem of how to introduce their offspring into their own religious culture and values and at the same time to integrate into society. Often education is considered as the main tool to manage the problem. The historical case of the Dutch Jews and their perception of Jewish secondary education highlight the arguments in the shaky balance of integration and segregation. Coming from a situation in which Jews were set apart from society before 1850, they intended to integrate but at what price? This article uses source material from Jewish papers in which the discussion about Jewish secondary education dominated the contents from 1890 to 1928, the year in which the first Jewish secondary school was realised. The awareness of puberty as a dangerous age stimulated the discussion and underlined the old and new arguments in favour of their own secondary school as a matter of survival for Jewry. Why it took such a long time before the school was realised was mainly a consequence of the internal struggle between proponents and opponents, who both fostered the strong desire not to be set apart, but at the same time were worried about the increasing assimilation. This article explores to what extent the arguments were based on cultural and religious values and beliefs, and the way in which societal developments strengthened the points of view.


We examined the influence of two common polymorphic forms of the β2-adrenergic receptor ( β2AR): the Gly16 and Glu27 alleles, on acute and long-term β2AR desensitization in human airway smooth muscle (HASM) cells. In cells from 15 individuals, considered without respect to genotype, pretreatment with Isoproterenol (ISO) at 10− 7 M for 1 h or 24 h caused approximately 25% and 64% decreases in the ability of subsequent ISO (10− 6 M) stimulation to reduce HASM cell stiffness as measured by magnetic twisting cytometry. Similar results were obtained with ISO-induced cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) as the outcome indicator. Data were then stratified post hoc by genotype. Cells containing at least one Glu27 allele (equivalent to presence of the Gly16Glu27 haplotype) showed significantly greater acute desensitization than did cells with no Glu27 allele, whether ISO-induced cell stiffness (34% versus 19%, p < 0.03) or cAMP formation (58% versus 11%, p < 0.02) was measured. Likewise, cells with any Glu27 alle...


Abstract : Operational features of the BRAZO missile and test facilities for its evaluation are described. System-integration activities and test-data collection, reduction, and analysis procedures are discussed. (Author)


In modern dentistry, the problem of the prevention and treatment of peri-implantitis is relevant. Proposed methods of treating patients with peri-implantitis do not stop the pathological process with the possibility of achieving long-term remission. Liposomal complexes with dihydroquercetin make it possible to influence the pathogenetic links of the inflammatory process in periodontal tissues with the prospect of normalizing blood circulation and regeneration processes in the affected area. It has been established that the complex simultaneous effect of low-intensity laser radiation and a pharmaceutical (laserophoresis) provides the possibility of more significant penetration of the drug components into periodontal tissues. The study of the laserophoresis of the liposomal complex with dihydroquercetin in the treatment of patients with peri-implantitis is relevant. However, in the modern literature, there is a lack of studies on the effect of low-intensity laser radiation on the pharmaceutical structure of drugs based on the above-mentioned basis.


To synchronize data and transactions in a supply chain network, blockchain technology was developed. This study illustrates how blockchain technology can increase the adaptability and agility of supply chain operations. With the use of blockchain and other recently developed technologies, supply chain uncertainty and other problems affecting the industry can be resolved. Issues in the supply chain are categorized, and a solution is offered by fusing blockchain technology with the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and other technologies. Integration shows how tasks are completed utilizing blockchain and several supply chain technologies. Digital supply chains(DSC) are setting standards in a wide range of sectors because they are effective and lean. The creation of sustainable and environmentally friendly supply chains benefits from the use of intelligent technology. The study paper covers the challenges of implementing a digital supply chain. This will serve as a foundation for studying supply chain technology.


In this paper the nonlinear domain integral equation based methods are applied to reconstruct two complicated targets in an anechoic chamber from electromagnetic microwave tomography data. The applied algorithms are the contrast source inversion (CSI) algorithm and the CSI algorithm with extended approaches, for instance, frequency approach and regularization approach. Inversion results from the transverse electric (TE) polarization datasets using the multi-frequency multi-bistatic measurements are presented and compared, which verify the CSI algorithm with extended approaches is a promising method for microwave tomography.


An audio watermarking algorithm with self-synchronization based on complex cepstrum transform is proposed,which divides the original audio signal into several segments. Synchronization code is embedded into audio with the watermarks. The watermarks can be extracted without the original digital audio signal. The embedded watermarks are imperceptible and robust to many common attacks,such as noise adding,re-sampling,low pass filtering,re-quantization,cropping and so on.


Students of politics know very well that Plato's perfect city in Republic is a political model of philosophico-pedagogical tyranny. For Ranciere, the political thought of the thinker of autocratic hierarchy, namely Plato, has much to do with what Ranciere calls the founding gesture of philosophy. In other words, since Plato, a silent majority has always been excluded from the privilege of thought and art and this has helped the construction of the implicit alliance between philosophy and the repressive order of social hierarchy. According to Ranciere, Marx, Sartre, Althusser and Bourdieu, despite their intellectual standing in the Left, are thinkers of inequality and pedagogical privilege. Each assumes, as Plato does, that the pedagogue must think for and educate those who are unable to think for themselves; only then will society change for the better. Yet, the fundamental gesture of philosophy (and even science) not only provides privileges to intellectuals but also continuously postpones the actual realization of achieving equality. If we take equality as an end rather than a presupposition or an axiomatic point of departure it would only prolong the hierarchy between "those who know" and "those who does not know". In this paper, I plan to examine Enver Hoxha's political thought from a Rancierean perspective. I mainly focus on a major concept which unifies Ranciereian thought, that being "equality".


The work presented here deals with the development of Bangla language text generator module for developing English to Bangla Machine Aided Translation (MAT) System named as AnglaBangla System. AnglaBangla is a rule based MAT system with source language being English and the target language being Bangla. Source language analyzer and target language generator are the two major building blocks of AnglaBangla System. The challenge was to adopt the AnglaBharati technology and develop the Bangla language text generator. For English language analyzer, the system uses AnglaBharati technology, which gives the Pseudo Lingua for Indian Language (PLIL) [1] as an output. This paper covers the important modules of the text generator part; viz. morphological synthesis of verbs, as verb is the most important decision making element in a sentence for generating proper translation; and the role of the English preposition in the Bangla translation. Selection of Bangla pronominal form for an English pronoun has also been discussed here.


The article is a summary of the projekt Childhood in multiple contexts.The project was focused on five separate but interconnected social rooms; these are the school, friends, sport, and the family. In addition the boundaries for activities within and for the transgressions between rooms were set in the overarching social room of politics.

The starting point for the project was the observation that childhood currently is characterised by an increase of contexts. There is an increase in the number of involved actors as well as the crossing over the borders between different social rooms. Also, schools function more than ever as the institution in which normality and defiance are defined which esepcially is discussed in this article.


Following previous studies on beach and dune sediments from the Espinho Mondego Cape coastal sector, geochemical studies had been made on the same sediments aiming to unravel the lithological from the anthropogenic geochemical signal. 129 samples have been collected at 45 profiles, on beach and dune sediments. Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, Mn, Cd, Co, Ni, Cr, Ca, Mg and Al were analysed in the fine fractions of the sediments. The results obtained so far point to some geochemical differences, namely concerning Pb, Zn, Co, Cr, Ni and Na. The absence of relationship between the analysed heavy elements and Al, as shown by factor analysis results, and the exhibition of contents higher than the rocks outcropping in the hinterland, point to an additional source related with human activities.


This exploratory paper provides an account on the big Polish cities that have recently undertaken major problems of so called revitalization. According to New Urbanism ideas, these projects should involve participation of inhabitants and address needs of different actors which dwell in the cities. We introduce two cases of Warsaw and Poznan where the concept of participation becomes misunderstood and the cities' authorities' attitude towards urban green removes it – literally and metaphorically – from the soil and makes it a city property easy to move and remove. These cases show how the cities' policy towards urban greenery focuses different political tensions.


Since its introduction in the 1970s, positron emission tomography (PET) has been used to investigate the basic biology and diagnosis of a diverse range of medical conditions in oncology, neurology, psychiatry, cardiology and inflamma-tion. Indeed, to date, there have been well over 1500 biologically active compounds containing positron emitting isotopes such as [


The authors analyse the wealth concept of occidental economics, Marxist traditional political economy and ecological economics. On the basis of the analysis, they propose the wealth conception of sustainable development economics. The authors consider that the wealth conception of sustainable development economics was the closing of wealth conception in ecological economics, and propose the opinion that wealth should maintain the features of globalisation and inter-generation.


Summary form only given. Modeling collisional plasma systems with particle-in-cell (PIC) is a well-accepted method to model the statistical nature of the plasma. More accurate simulations with more particles and grid locations can easily become computationally prohibitive. Methods to implement the Monte Carlo portion of PIC with the Null Collision Method [1] reduces the number of collisional probabilities required to calculate particle dynamics. Graphical Processing Units (GPUs) have demonstrated performance speedup of over 140x on FDTD [2]. A two-dimensional GPU model for PIC has shown a speedup of nearly 30× [3] over serial CPU. Since PIC codes have two fundamental data-structures: mesh (FDTD cell) and particles, each requires a different method to parallelize. Timing [3] for particle management routines indicates MCC gained the least speed-up at 18× compared to 120× for the particle push, 300× for particle boundary conditions, and 78× for deposition of particle charge to the grid. With MCC still taking up 17%-34% of the processing time, improvements can be significant. The MCC method of [4] has shown that random sparse access to particles is the worst-case scenario for memory-bandwidth on GPUs. An alternative MCC method has optimal memory-bandwidth and is applied to this simulation, comparing timings for all particle algorithms.


Based on approaches in a problem of synthesis of the linear chains, developed by various authors, the technique of synthesis of the linear amplifiers is resulted. As criterion of an optimality the criterion of a minimum of average arithmetic value of working factor of losses of power in the frequency range is chosen, allowing to receive analytical equations for calculation of elementary cascades of matching chains. Reliability of the received results is tested by modelling on the computer.


By research on the joint technology at the fully mechanized face,and practice in fully mechanized No.1 mining area,the practical extending joint technology at fully mechanized face is summed up.By the technology,the recovery rate of coal at the fully mechanized face is raised.The construction of the mine's high production and high efficiency is promoted.


Gravity-driven granular flow of slightly frictional particles down an inclined, bumpy chute is studied. A modified kinetic model which includes the frictional energy loss effects is used, and the boundary conditions for a bumpy wall with small friction are derived by ensuring the balance of momentum and energy. At the free surface, the condition of vanishing of the solid volume fraction is used. The mean velocity, the fluctuation kinetic energy and the solid volume fraction profiles are evaluated. It is shown that steady granular gravity flow down a bumpy frictional chute could be achieved at arbitrary inclination angles. The computational results also show that the slip velocity may vary considerably depending on the granular layer height, the surface boundary roughness, the friction coefficient and the inclination angles. The model predictions are compared with the existing experimental and simulation data, and good agreement is observed. In particular, the model can well predicate the features of the variation of solid volume fraction and fluctuation energy profiles for different particle–wall friction coefficients and wall roughnesses.


The present-day state of piano manufacturing in Estonia is described based on the cooperation between the Tallinn Piano Factory and the Institute of Cybernetics at Tallinn Technical University. Scaling of the medium-sized piano Estoniais considered in detail.


This paper presents the findings from research aiming at investigating the attitudes and experience of pre- and compulsory school principals of a master's program in school management and leadership at the University of Akureyri, and at exploring the impact they felt the program had on them and their work. The research question was: What was the principals' attitudes and experience of the program and how they thought it influenced their professional development and capacity as principals? Research has demonstrated that the leadership and leadership behaviour of principals is crucial for sustained school improvement and students' achievement. Together with an emphasis on school-based management, these findings have increased the responsibilities of principals and amplified the pressure on them. The findings have also led to an increased emphasis on principal preparation programs, both in-service and for prospective principals, followed by increased research on their success. In Iceland, the first master´s program in educational management and leadership was established in 1997 at the Iceland University of Education. Since 2000 a similar program has been offered by The University of Akureyri. Even though a substantial num ber of participants have graduated from both these programs, little research exists on their impact and usefulness. Data for the study reported in this paper was gathered through semi-structured individual interviews and document analysis of their theses. The interviews were conducted with 14 principals in pre- and compulsory schools, who had completed the master's program in school management and leadership at The University of Akureyri. During their studies, the participants were either in-post principals, or became principals during or shortly after their completion of the program. The interviews were conducted in September October 2014 and lasted 60–70 minutes each. The aim of the interviews was to search for key concepts such as self-confidence, self-awareness, vision, leadership and educational change. The main themes that emerged were theoretical knowledge and self-confidence, principal behaviour, reflective and critical thinking, and practical value and the thesis. The findings demonstrate that completing the programme gave the principals an increased sense of competence and deepened their understanding of their roles as principals. They reported increased self-awareness and assurance, their theoretical knowledge had grown and they were more reflective and critical. Most of them said that the studies had helped hem change their way of practising leadership and increased their leadership capacity. Part of it was that they utilize the human capital of the school better. Furthermore, they had become better at forming a vision and working towards school improvement. The principals felt they had gained tools that they could use in practice, at the same time as they knew better where to look for such tools when they were needed. The principals found it easier to speak up and argue for their ideas and visions, both inside and outside their schools, because they had a stronger theoretical stance and increased confidence. According to the principals the most practical part of their studies was their work on their theses. It seemed that during this work they had freedom to research and deepen their understanding of topics of interest, and that they were more likely to make changes in their schools regarding the subject of their theses. However, some of the principals called for more practical assignments/programs, especially regarding financial and human resource management. The findings also showed that what was considered practical by one principal was regarded as less practical by another one. It seemed to depend on the principals' former experience, their interests and assignments, such as the topic of the thesis, and working situations. These findings are in many ways in line with findings from research from other countries. They give reason to believe that completing a master's program such as the one investigated in this study is important for the principals' understanding of their work and their behaviour in a way that is likely to make a difference for school improvement and to students.


(57) Abstract: The present invention, aqueous two-component polyurethane systems, its production method, and to their use in the manufacture of impact resistance and coating exhibiting both good solvent resistance was improved.


Abstract The current trend towards residential consolidation in Australian cities is likely to make urban environmental conflicts more common and the need for environmental conservation measures more pressing. Using a detailed case-study from Melbourne, this article outlines the need for and problems associated with urban environmental planning. The role and adequacy of existing planning practices designed to preserve natural environments in urban areas is discussed. The successful protection and preservation of natural environments in urban areas is more likely to come from forward rather than statutory planning.


Bone conduction headphones have recently been introduced in the commercial market; however, the study of bone conduction hearing perception can be traced back to the early 20th century. This paper discusses the mechanics of bone conduction hearing perception in detail, with special attention devoted to the various factors which affect hearing perception in bone conduction systems. The paper also discusses existing equalisation methods utilised for bone conduction headphones, as the equalisation function for such devices defers greatly from air conduction headphones. Additionally, potential future methods of equalisation are put forward for future studies to explore.


Voltage source converter (VSC) plays a major role in the AC/DC interconnection. Its control stands as a significant issue as it determines the stability and performance of the system. Therefore, utilization of a control algorithm that can robustly reject disturbances is highly appreciated. This paper proposes a new approach for PI-parameters selection, used in the decoupled dq-vector control scheme, based on first-order-plus-time-delay (FOPTD) models, for which analytical formulas for optimal controller design/tuning can be obtained. Furthermore, a non-linear optimization algorithm is developed in order to achieve the optimum disturbance rejection in terms of minimizing the integral time absolute of the error (ITAE) performance index. The cost function employs a weighted-sum criterion for two sources of disturbances, namely AC input voltage fluctuation and load disturbances, which may affect the regulated voltage. Simulation results demonstrate a very similar system performance using the FOPTD tuning parameters compared to the optimum ones where both yield a robust system against disturbances. The obtained results are also verified experimentally.


The aim of an adaptive detector is to vary the characteristics of the device so that nearly optimal sensitivity is obtained among classes of signals from targets or noises perturbing the measurements. The objective is to reduce the losses inherent in using Bayes average statistics to describe the signals and noise. In order to obtain this functional independence, two sensors are used, only one of which can contain the signal. The technique then is to choose a processing system that is inherently distribution free (nonparametric) and vary the available free parameters of the processor in accordance with the system inputs, to bring the sensitivity of the detector to nearly that which could be obtained if the statistics of both the signal and noise were known. It can be shown that if an optimal nonparametric detector exists it must be of the rank‐order type. For weak signals, the optimum detector uses linear processing of the rankings. In the adaptive detector described in this paper, the linear processor co...


Vibrations in mechanical systems are oscillations occurring without being intentionally provoked. They often have detrimental effects on the system performance and may cause premature wear of the system components, underperforming processes, and could even involve security problems, such is the case in aircraft wings; which in the worst case scenario, excessive vibration causes the aircraft to crash. In oilwell drillstring systems, vibrations constitute an important source of economic losses; drill bit wear, pipes disconnection, borehole disruption and prolonged drilling time, are only some examples of consequences associated with drilling vibrations. Extensive research effort on the modeling and control of drilling systems has been conducted in the last century. Before the sixties, investigations were focused on material strength of the drillstring components, but the trends have since changed to emphasize on its dynamic behavior [136]. In 1960, Bailey and Finnie of Shell Development Company conducted the first analytical and experimental study on torsional and axial drilling vibrations [20]. Since then, numerous approaches for modeling and control have been proposed. The most popular control techniques are listed below:


Identification of sex is one of the most important steps while evaluating decomposed bodies or skeletal remains for forensic purposes. Usually availability of long bones of limbs is common. Several standards have been developed using tibia in different population. The purpose of this study was the osteometric assessment of sexual dimorphism in recent population of Varanasi area of eastern UP and the development of discriminant function standards to determine sex from tibia. 58 tibiae (40 male and 18 females) in the age range of 25 years to 58 years were collected in the department of Forensic Medicine, IMS, BHU. Anthropometric measurements of the tibia included maximum length of tibia, proximal breadth, distal breadth, transverse diameter at nutrient foramen, antero-posterior diameter at nutrient foramen, circumference at nutrient foramen and minimum girth of shaft were recorded and analyzed using discriminant function analysis. The average predictive accuracy 82.8% (87.5% for males and 72.2% for females).


Objective:To put an stage conclusion about holistic nursing to determine the progression direction Method:To put forward evaluation standard,100 as full mark;fail if less than 85,then undergo evaluation over 16 wards Result:All 16 wards meet the standard nursing management 98% Nursing profession 77 7%,nursing result 94%,document data 89 4% nurses profession quality 90 2% Con~clusion:Evaluation of holistic nursing ward can improve its progress


A new generation of target recognition systems must be based on the principles of image understanding and active vision. The implementation of both principles is possible in the form of Network-Symbolic systems. Instead of precise computations of 3-dimensional models a Network-Symbolic system converts image information into an "understandable" Network-Symbolic format, which is similar to relational knowledge models. The traditional linear bottom-up "segmentation-grouping-learning-recognition" approach cannot provide a reliable separation of a target from its background/clutter, while human vision unambiguously solves this problem. The nature of informational processes in the visual system does not allow separating from the informational processes in the top-level knowledge system. An Image/Video Analysis that is based on Network-Symbolic approach is a combination of recursive hierarchical bottom-up and top-down processes. Logic of visual scenes can be captured in the Network-Symbolic models and used for the reliable disambiguation of visual information, including target detection and identification. View-based object recognition is a hard problem for traditional algorithms that directly match a primary view of an object to a model. In Network-Symbolic Models, the derived structure and not the primary view is a subject for recognition. Such recognition is not affected by local changes and appearances of the object from a set of similar views.


RHD (rabbit haemorrhagic disease) virus (RHDV) is the aetiological factor of the haemorrhagic disease of rabbits and is currently present on all continents. RHDV is a small, envelope-free virus containing genetic material in the form of a 7437-nucleotide long RNA strand. Studies indicate that genetic variability of RDHV strains originating from various parts of the world is approximately 14%, regardless the time and place of isolation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the genetic variability of 6 RHD virus strains from the Czech Republic (CAMPV-561, CAMPV-562, CAMPV-558) and Germany (Frankfurt, Wika, Rossi) based on analysis of fragment of a gene coding a nonstructural p30 protein. The largest variability of nucleotide sequences within the studied fragment was found for the Rossi strain and CAMPV-562 (13.5%) and CAMPV-558 (13.5%), Wika and Frankfurt (12.1%), and CAMPV-561 and Wika (11.2%). Among the Czech strains the largest genetic distance was noted for strains CAMPV-558 and Iowa (0.130/0.140), and in the case of the German strains, for Frankfurt and Iowa (0.123/0.132). A homology tree constructed based on a fragment of a p30 protein-coding gene divided the 14 analysed strains into IV groups of 88% homology. Phylogenetic relationships also divided the tested strains into 4 genetic groups (G1-G4). The larger genetic distance exists between the Czech and German strains and the American ones, and the smallest between them and the European strains. K e y w o r d s: RHD virus, genetic variability, phylogenetic analysis, polyprotein p30 * Corresponding author: B. Hukowska-Szematowicz, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Natural Science, University of Szczecin, ul. Felczaka 3c, 71-412 Szczecin, Poland; phone (+48) 91 4441592; e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com 238 Hukowska-Szematowicz B. et al. 3 RHD virus strains' tests performed using molecular biology methods (Asgari et al., 1999; Bildt et al., 2006; Capucci et al., 1998; Chrobociñska, 2007; Chrobociñska and Mizak, 2007; Farnos et al., 2007; Fitzner et al., 2001, Fitzner, 2005; Fitzner and Kêsy, 2003; Forrester at al., 2006a; Forrester at al., 2006b; Gould et al., 1997; Hukowska-Szematowicz, 2006; Gall Le et al., 1998; Gall-Recule Le et al., 2003; Matiz et al., 2006; Milton et al., 1992; Moss et al., 2002; McIntosh et al., 2007, Nowotny et al., 1997; NiedŸwiedzka-Rystwej et al., 2009; Pawlikowska et al., 2009; Rasschaert et al., 1994; Schirrmeier et al., 1999; Tian et al., 2007) show low level of genetic variability of RHDV of approximately 14%. According to Fitzner and Kêsy (2003), significant evolutionary conservation of the RHD virus genome is associated, among others, with rapid course of the disease and very frequent exchange of generations of susceptible rabbits. Both factors do not facilitate fixation of phenomena leading to the virus variability. The aim of this study was to evaluate the genetic variability of 6 strains of RHD virus from the Czech Republic (CAMPV-561, CAMPV-562, CAMPV-558) and Germany (Frankfurt, Wika, Rossi) based on analysis of fragment of a gene coding the non-structural p30 protein.


We analyze the response function of an Unruh-DeWitt detector moving with time-dependent acceleration along a one-dimensional trajectory in Minkowski spacetime. To extract the physics of the process, we propose an adiabatic expansion of this response function. This expansion is also a useful tool for computing the click rate of detectors in general trajectories. The expansion is done in powers of the time derivatives of the acceleration (jerk, snap, and higher derivatives). At the lowest order, we recover a Planckian spectrum with temperature proportional to the acceleration of the detector at each instant of the trajectory. Higher orders in the expansion involve powers of the derivatives of the acceleration, with well-behaved spectral coefficients with different shapes. Finally, we illustrate this analysis in the case of an initially inertial trajectory that acquires a given constant acceleration in a finite time.


The Role of Safety Climate and Work Hazards in Experiencing Occupational Illness August 31, 2010 By Matt MacPhee Abstract: This study investigated the relationship between workplace hazards and safety climate and their effect on occupational illness using data from the 2007 Trends in Risk Level questionnaire. Study 1 outlines the history of research into the offshore oil industry in the North Sea, the PSA questionnaire, and presents a process for refining the safety climate measure in the PSA questionnaire. Study 2 took the safety climate scale, along with the exposure to environmental hazard scale, to predict occupational illness. I conducted exploratory factor analyses on the safety climate scale and occupational illness scale. I reported a five factor solution that accounted for 53.9% of the variance. The five factors were: Accident prevention, Threats to safety, Competence, Chemical Knowledge, and Training. Hierarchical regression analysis showed support for the hypothesis that both safety climate explains unique variance in occupational illness beyond what is explained by exposure to hazards. This study investigated the relationship between workplace hazards and safety climate and their effect on occupational illness using data from the 2007 Trends in Risk Level questionnaire. Study 1 outlines the history of research into the offshore oil industry in the North Sea, the PSA questionnaire, and presents a process for refining the safety climate measure in the PSA questionnaire. Study 2 took the safety climate scale, along with the exposure to environmental hazard scale, to predict occupational illness. I conducted exploratory factor analyses on the safety climate scale and occupational illness scale. I reported a five factor solution that accounted for 53.9% of the variance. The five factors were: Accident prevention, Threats to safety, Competence, Chemical Knowledge, and Training. Hierarchical regression analysis showed support for the hypothesis that both safety climate explains unique variance in occupational illness beyond what is explained by exposure to hazards.


Objective: To investigate the effect of angiotensin Ⅱ (Ang Ⅱ) on the acrosome reaction in human spermatozoa and to explore its mechanism. Metheds: Acrosome reaction induced by AngⅡ at different concentration was determined by triple stain. Intracellular calcium was determined according to the procedures of M.Rossato et al. (Human Reproduction, 2000,15:1 739). The inhibiting effect of Losartan, a AngⅡ blocker, was also observed.Results: AngⅡ (10 nmol/L or 100 nmol/L) significantly increased the percentage of spermatozoa undergoing the acrosome reaction. Same concentration of AngⅡ stimulated a rapid but transient increase in intracellular calcium in spermatozoa. These effects of AngⅡ were inhibited by Losartan. Conclusion: AngⅡ can stimulate the acrosome reaction in capacitated human spermatozoa. This effect may be mediated by AT1 receptor and accompanied by an increase in intracellular calcium. [WT5HZ]


Purification process of a compound containing at least one internal dehydration product of a hydrogenated sugar, characterized by comprising: a) an optional step during which said composition is treated, after solutionizing or at least a decolorizing means, b) a subsequent step during which the compound, optionally treated with a decolorizing means, is treated with at least one ion exchange medium, c) a subsequent step in the course of which the resulting compound is treated with at least one decolorizing means.


Objective To test the distribution of clumping factor A(ClfA)in different strains of Staphylococcus aureus(SAU).Methods The gene of interest was amplified by PCR and subcloned into the pET21a(+)vector.The recombinant plasmid was transformed into E.coli BL21(DE3)cells to express the target proteins,which were purified by passing the Histrap and the Q Sepharose F.F.column.The distribution of ClfA in different SAU strains was tested by PCR and dot blot.Results Highly purified protein was obtained.There was ClfA in S.aureus USA300,but not in S.aureus 546 or 1884.Conclusion The ClfA is not distributed widely,and may not be a broadly protective vaccine.


The timing of diagnosis of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) 1 remains a challenge due to the large heterogeneity of clinical presentations. We describe the distribution and differences in outcomes and clinical manifestations between time points and patient groups with and without CRPS 1 following an initiating event.


In this essay I offer a theoretical argument for why Die Brücke's commercial interests should not be seen as an addendum to its scholarly or scientific pursuits. More specifically, the story of Die Brücke is a story about the intertwining of the scientific and the commercial, of theoretical and applied forms of knowledge in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century culture. Die Brücke's role as an "organizer of organizers" will be offered as a case study in this analysis, which also sheds new light on the history of standardization. Like a number of my colleagues, I suggest that Die Brücke deserves comparison with Paul Otlet's Palais Mondial, which similarly set out to regulate the organization of human knowledge (see, e.g., Hapke, 1999, p. 143; Krajewski, 2006, p. 111). At the same time—and here is my more critical concern—I also suggest that its efforts anticipate those of standards-issuing organizations such as Waldemar Hellmich's Deutsches Institut für Normung (DIN). Both Die Brücke and DIN ultimately used paper standards to enforce the use of standards at large. They also shared common strategies for gaining a foothold in Germany's nascent "office systems" industry.


This study aims to investigate the accessionresponse of local rice, the influence of the ameliorant palm ash and the significant or not significant interaction of two factors at planting on peat soil. This study is arranged in Split Plot Plan with 2 treatments and 9 groups which consistof nine accessions of local paddy that is: Sanbei, Bo Santeut, Pineunglango, Ramos mirah, Pandrah, Cut Krusek, BohSireutoh, Inpago 5, IR-36. The ameliorantfactors of palm oil ash consist of:0 ton ha -1 and 15 ton ha -1 (3, 38 kg plot -1 ). The study results show that the accession highly affects significantly on plant height, number of young plant age of 45, 60, 75 and 90 HST, flower age, number of productive young plants, panicle length, panicle weight, percentage of filled grain, the percentage of empty grains, 1000 grain weight, per plot grain weight, yield potential, affected significantly on the number of young plant age of 30 HST and lower part of biomass but has no affect significantly on the upper part of biomass. Ameliorant affects significantly on plant height and the number of young plant age 30 HST, affect significantly on the plant height at age 60, 75 and 90 HST, the young plant age of 90 HST, the flower age and the number of productive young plant, 1000 grains weight, the upper part of biomass and the lower part of biomass. Ameliorant has no effect significantly on the plant height at the age of 45, 90 HST, panicle length, panicle weight, the percentage of filled grains, percentage of emptygrains, per plot grain weight, production per hectare.


In the current study, a simple and environmentally friendly hydrothermal treatment of fungal biomass for the preparation of carbon nanodots (CND) has been reported. The optical and structural characteristics of the CND have been thoroughly investigated using X‐ray Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), UV‐Visible, and fluorescence spectroscopy methods. Elemental analyses and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) have been used to highlight the surface functionality and composition of the CND.CND have been employed as a fluorescence probe for sensitive and selective detection of rhodamine B (Rh−B) and malachite green (MG) because the presence of food adulterants quenches the fluorescence of the CND. Finally, human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK 293) cell lines have been used to assess the biocompatibility and bio‐imaging features of CND. Fluorescence microscopy has been used for qualitative examination of the cellular uptake of CND, while the MTT test has been used for quantitative analysis of the cell‐type‐dependent uptake of CND. The article further investigates the sensing of food adulterants. Therefore, we have validated the practicality of CND obtained from the new carbon source for versatile applications.


A highly increasing demand for using Hardware in the Loop is significant in automotive field and using HIL is increasing. This study shows the development of a brake pedal robot integration with Hardware in the Loop (HIL). The aim is to get the connection between brake pedal robot and HIL via Profibus successfully. Success will be defined by evaluation of the pedal robot control via control desk (dSPACE). To get the connection between dSPACE and brake pedal robot, a full SIMULINK model has been created. As a result, the brake pedal robot control by using dSPACE will represent. Force and position control can be achieved by installing the load cell and LVDT on the pedal. In this study, with help of control desk (dSPACE), the analysis on each parameters of PID controller will discuss and the best values for the parameters will demonstrate.


critique of political economy amounts to a critical theory and that is a theory against the false totality that the commodity presents and upon whose 'existence' [Dasein] economic categories rest, rendering economics a science without scientific foundations. Its science is that of perverted forms. The world of the commodity, although real, is constituted in and through human social practice which subsists through the enchanted world of capital in the mode of being denied. Backhaus, then, argues that Marx's critique of political economy is situated between philosophy and science. For him, the dialectic of the value form holds the key to the Marxian revolution. The book concludes with an appendix based on notes Backhaus took in 1962 of a seminar-lecture by Adorno.4 These notes read like a research proposal on the dialectics of the value form, a proposal that Backhaus took seriously. The present volume is the outcome. Backhaus' book is highly recommended.


Abstract—We hypothesized that nitric oxide (NO) mediates the benefits of cardiac angiotensin II type 2 (AT2-R) overexpression during postmyocardial infarction (post-MI) remodeling. Eleven wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 mice and 28 transgenic (TG) mice with AT2-R overexpression were studied by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) at baseline and days 1 and 28 post-MI induced by left anterior descending artery occlusion and reperfusion. Sixteen TG mice were treated from day 1 through 28 post-MI with the NO synthase inhibitor NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester in drinking water at 1 mg/mL (TG-Rx). Left ventricular mass index (LVMI), end-diastolic volume index (EDVI) and end-systolic volume index (ESVI), wall thickness, percent thickening, and ejection fraction (EF) were measured. Infarct size on day 1 was assessed by post-contrast CMR. Interstitial collagen was quantified in noninfarcted regions. At baseline, heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), LVMI, EDVI, and ESVI were similar between groups, as were infarct size and weekly post-MI HR and systolic BP. By day 28 post-MI, EDVI and ESVI were similar in WT and TG-Rx, but significantly lower in TG (ESVI: 1.41±0.18 &mgr;L/g versus 2.53±0.14 &mgr;L/g in WT; 2.17±0.14 &mgr;L/g in TG-Rx; P <0.008 for both). At day 28, EF was higher in TG (46.3%±2.9%) compared with WT and TG-Rx (32.7±2.3% and 33.7±2.3, respectively; P <0.003 for both). Wall thickening at day 28 post-MI was greater in the base and mid-LV in TG than WT and TG-Rx. Noninfarcted region interstitial collagen was similar between groups. Thus, the NO pathway may mediate much of the benefits of cardiac AT2-R overexpression during post-MI remodeling.


Unlike most other philosophical systems of India, Buddhism, though it gives a central place to "consciousness" in its philosophical enquiry, does not raise its status to a transcendental metaphysical level. Buddhism, in this way, has a special affinity with the phenomenological approach. The present paper focuses on the points of a contact between phenomenology and Mindfulness meditation, the Buddhist spiritual practice. The paper is divided into three parts. The first part gives an account of the four kinds of Mindfulness meditation based on the Buddha's sermons on mindfulness. Then it focuses on their core features, namely, "objectivity", "impermanence and other essential features" and "dynamic, yet passive awareness". These features bring the two approaches close to each other. The second part brings out similarities and differences between the two approaches. The phenomenological approach, like the approach of Mindfulness meditation regards consciousness as being of the intentional and propositional nature. It also emphasizes immanent to consciousness and brackets transcendent to it. Both approaches exhibit a scientific temperament and both tend to be presupposition-less. In spite of these close similarities, there are glaring differences between these two approaches. The phenomenological inquiry is aimed at intellectuality, whereas that of the Buddhist approach is spiritual. Phenomenology attributes reality to essences, whereas there is a tendency to deny ontological status to essences in Buddhism. Husserl's acceptance of transcendental or pure ego contrasts with the no-self theory of Buddhism. Intentionality attributed to consciousness is also alien to all forms of Buddhism. The third part of the paper asserts the similarities and differences between the two approaches open to various possible forms of phenomenological practice. Furthermore, the paper suggests that different models of phenomenology are possible within Buddhism.


5. The Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12. Subcommit-tee: X12N: insurance purpose and scope. Accessed at www.x12.org/x12org/subcommittees/sc_home.cfm?strSC=N, Janu-ary 16, 2007.6. Isetts BJ, Brown LM, Schondelmeyer SW, Lenarz LA. Quality assessment of a collaborative approach for decreasing drug-related morbidity and achieving therapeutic goals. Arch Intern Med. 2003;163:1813–20.7. Bluml BJ. Definition of medication therapy management: de-velopment of professionwide consensus. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2005;45:566–72.8. American Medical Association. CPT changes 2006: an insider's view. Chicago: American Medical Association; 2005:309–12.9. American Medical Association. CPT process: how a code be-comes a code. Accessed at www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/ category/3882.html, January 16, 2007.10. Hasio EC, Braun P, Yntema D, Beckler ER. Estimating physi-cians' work for a resource-based relative-value scale. N Engl J Med. 1988;319:835–41.


BACKGROUND: Neonatal sepsis is a life-threatening condition which needs urgent diagnosis and proper management. Blood culture and sepsis screening are currently used methods, but their utility is limited due to delayed reporting and increased cost. However, in newborn infants, a close relationship between sepsis and thrombocytopenia and other changes in platelet indices such as increased mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet distribution width (PDW) has been suggested by few studies. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the diagnostic value of platelet indices in the early detection of neonatal sepsis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study with diagnostic testing was carried out by collecting data from medical records of neonates with neonatal sepsis who were admitted to the Neonatology Department in DR. B. C Roy PGIPS, Kolkata, over the period from January 2019 to December 2019. One hundred neonates were included in the study, 50 were proven to have sepsis by culture, and others are used as controls (apparently healthy babies). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of platelet count, MPV, and PDW in neonatal sepsis were determined using a 2 × 2 table. RESULTS: The platelet count was significantly decreased, whereas PDW and MPV were increased in septic babies (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Platelet indices can be used to diagnose neonatal sepsis as easily available and cheaper markers.


Heat-transfer measurements have been made at Mach 10 in air on an instrumented 0.006-scale model of an advanced winged entry vehicle. Data were obtained at 83 thermocouple stations which include locations on the lower and upper surface centerlines, spanwise positions along the lower and upper surfaces of the wing, the lower surface of the body flap, and radial locations on the fuselage. Data were obtained for angles of attack ranging from 0 to 45 deg, sideslip angles of + or - 2 deg, Reynolds numbers of 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 million per foot, and body-flap deflections of 0, 10, and 20 deg. The data generally indicate increased windward heating and decreased leeside heating with increased angle of attack, significantly increased body-flap heating with deflection angle, and minor variations in heating with sideslip, increasing in magnitude with angle of attack. Windward centerline data are shown to be in fair agreement with results of predictions based on an approximate engineering method.


A new definition of fringe localization in holographic interferometry has been proposed, and a new geometrical theory has been developed. The basic condition is that the total differential of path difference with respect to the coordinates of the object surface and the aperture for observation becomes zero. The developed theory can be applied to arbitrary deformation and shape of objects, and removes the perplexity of the theories based on the Michelson localization condition. It was verified by numerical calculations and experiments for some special cases.


This paper aims to show how surface preparations can be dependably and economically determined beforehand, and the total performance value of coatings either increased or decreased, depending on service requirements. An outline of all suitable surface preparation methods will be given although the main emphasis will be on preparation by sandblasting. Metal can be sandblasted by the dry or wet process in either an open or closed system. Present limited use of proper terminology and good selective interpretation of blasting work develops costs that can range from 5c to 40c per sq. ft. There is a need for some fluctuation, but in many cases greater initial economy is possible if real needs are understood. To properly interpret such needs, distinct practical dividing lines for blast finish classifications must be found. Presently, it is said "blast the surface and prepare for paint application." One operator interprets this as a job that can be covered at the rate of 350 ft. per hour; and another operator, at...


September 11 th 2007 Astronomy 190a ABSTRACT NGC 4565 is one of the largest and most viewed of the edgewise spiral galaxies. It is located in the Coma Berenices constellation less than 3 degrees away from the North Galactic Pole. NGC 4565 is among the brighter of the edge-on galaxies and is a great example of an Sb galaxy. We took pictures with a 12 inch reflector telescope on the night of August 13 th 2007. After the images were obtained, we enhanced them using the Linux system with the program IRAF. We did this in order to augment the images and delete any noise or dust that were on the chip and then transferred to the pictures. In the following, the NGC 4565 galaxy will be compared with our own Milky Way and NGC 891, observations and data reduction techniques will also be discussed. A Cobe image of the Milky Way will show the undeniable resemblance of the Milky Way and NGC 4565.


– In the last fifteen to twenty years there has been tremendous progress in the diagnosis and treatment of renal cell carcinoma. This progress is due to a significant increase in the incidental case rate and to the development of new surgical and pharmacological therapy for the treatment of advanced tumours. The need for further prognostic parameters in order to achieve correct therapeutic indications is therefore great. In this meeting, clinical, histopathological, morphometric and biological parameters are discussed with regard to incidental and advanced tumours.


The successful transfer of electrical power to a Z‐pinch load is one of the concerns of pulsed power engineering. Some of the power at the load can be reflected back to the generator due to poor impedance matching. We report results obtained in experiments performed with a 32 kJ fast pulser and a wire array load. It is found that the number and spacing of wires determines the amount of current passing through to the load. The wire array's load behavior is compared with short‐circuit and air discharges. It is also demonstrated that the X‐ray emission depends on the impedance of individual shots. It is found that as the number of wires grows, the chances of pinching the array diminish. For the circuit parameters employed and available energy it is found that a 2‐wire configuration gives the optimum coupling.


Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for septic shock has been reported occasionally and it has been shown to have reasonable outcomes in pediatrics cases. However, the adult ECMO for septic shock is no t as clearly elucidated. Here we present a case of adult ECMO for septic shock secondary to MRSA, complicated by multi -organ abscesses. This case illustrates that MRSA sepsis is a major contraindication for the use of ECMO.


on the emigration of doctors. The Committee is holding an extra meeting in September to discuss the report of the Association's working party on N.H.S. administration. Criticism of the handling of the Conference of Representatives of Local Medical Committees was voiced by a member on behalf of the East Sussex Local Medical Committee. The Ministry of Health has been told that it was " disgraceful " that certain questions should be put to patients as part of a research project sponsored by the Ministry without previous consultation with the G.M.S. Committee.


This study was an examination of factors influencing influencing attrition/ persistence among teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in online teacher training. Tinto's Community of Inquiry framework and Short, Williams, and Christie's Social Presence Model formed the conceptual framework. Six participants from 4 online courses in Latin America participated in the study.


Address for Correspondence: P. Devi Raja Rajeswari, Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy, Raja Dental College, Kavalkinaru, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Access this Article online Quick Response code Web site: *1,2 Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy, Raja Dental College, Kavalkinaru, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India. 3 Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy, Vellamal Medical College, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. Context: The comparative morphological and anatomical study on thymus was carried out in human and primate. The prenatal stage of Macaca radiata was selected for the present study. Study Design: Cross sectional analytical type of study. Place and Period of study: Department of Anatomy, Dr. A.L.M. PG Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chennai from July 1999 to June 2000. Materials: The comparative morphology and anatomy of thymus of human embryonic, 10 weeks, 15 weeks and prenatal foetuses, and monkey foetus was carried out. Methods: Comparative micro-anatomical study was done by paraffin processing method. The sections were stained as per the method published by Culling (1974). Results: In monkey foetus, the thymus gland is slightly elongated, whereas in human foetuses it is not elongated and oval in shape. The size of the thymus is larger in human foetuses than monkey foetus. In both cases cells are parenchymal in nature. Due to spatial organization in human foetuses, the lymphocytes aggregation is more in cortex than in medulla. In monkey foetus the lymphocyte aggregation is simpler in arrangement through spatial organization is much less.


The majority of eukaryotic genes are comprised of exons and introns. Their transcribed pre-mRNAs undergo RNA splicing, where introns are excised and exons are joined together to form mature messenger RNA sequences. Many RNA molecules undergo alternative splicing (AS) that generates two or more mRNAs from the same pre-mRNA, through the use of alternative acceptor and donor splicing sites that demark intron/exon boundaries (Figure 1A). This regulated removal of selected parts of mRNAs results in increased transcriptome and proteome diversity. AS has been implicated in many biological processes, including several diseases in mammals (Faial 2015) and regulation of abiotic stress responses in plants (Filichkin et al 2015). AS can also produce protein variants that exhibit differences in their stability, enzymatic activity, localisation, post translational modifications and protein-protein interactions


In the future, vehicular networks are implemented on Vehicular-to-Vehicular (V2V) and Vehicular-to- Infrastructure (V2I) communication system. The broadcast technique is a public data dissemination used for safety and emergency information. However, the amount of the vehicles, the distance between the vehicles, and the movement behavior of the vehicle on the highway affect throughputs and delivery delays. The data dissemination of V2V is the short time communication. Road Side Units are used to spread the data efficiency to the distant vehicles. The delay and throughput are the main issues of the architecture. This paper proposes the technique of RSU Cloud which has the ability of cloud computing to solve the limitation of the traditional RSU for the efficiency of distributed Infotainment message.


This study focuses on the morphological dynamics of mid-channel bars (MCBs) downstream the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) in China. The authors extracted the size and shape of MCBs from three decades of Landsat images and identified them to follow their temporal dynamics. MCBs are classified depending on their size, from small (< 2 km2) to extra-large (> 33 km2). While small MCBs are equally distributed all along the Yangze river downstream the TGD, large and extra-large MCBs are mainly located in the lower reach (downstream the Jiujiang gauge station). The authors then evaluated the impact of the TGD closure in 2003 on the temporal dynamics of MCBs. Main results are: 1) a decreasing number of small MCBs after the TGD closure, mostly in the lower reach, 2) an increasing trend of all MCB classes, slightly impacted by the TGD closure, 3) an opposite change in shape for small and large MCBs, the latter being more stable


Provides an in-depth understanding of the challenging nature of events, where knowledge needs to be created and shared both pre-event and during the event, as well as stored effectively post-event. Generic KM frameworks and models are introduced, applied and adapted in order for event organisers to avoid 'reinventing the wheel' each year.


Nowadays, we have access to countless and diverse user data in various fields. Thus, it requires analysis to find a set of users. Several steps are taken to understand and identify users interactively to achieve such a goal. This article introduces a reinforcement learning model of interactive recommendations based on user groups. An agent learns the appropriate policy to discover users among groups based on feedback during a sequential decision-making process and recommends the best action for the next step. There are three datasets available for courses, jobs, and LinkedIn, but these three datasets are not related to each other, which causes errors in learning politics. Furthermore, taking different actions will significantly affect learning from these datasets. To improve learning, semantic similarity and text processing are used to extract relationships between datasets. As a result, a set of groups is constructed based on what the users have in common. Users are chosen from a set of groups represented by an agent. The results and experiments show that the agent can learn the policy without collecting previous sessions and finally provide an acceptable recommendation.


OBJECTIVE
In order to realize the medical equipment information management, Need based data mining and its application.

METHODS
With the help of search engines and online translation tools, such as collect basic information, And the data mining in information extraction and other methods.

RESULTS
To collect information on computer and artificial processing, established a professional database meets the demand of informatization.

CONCLUSIONS
Basic data in the application of medical equipment information, make the management more convenience, operability and normative.


A hydraulic pump for a vehicle includes: a block; a pulley receiving an engine torque and rotating; a pump housing attached to the block; an outer rotor mounted in the pump housing; an inner rotor mounted inside the outer rotor, with gear teeth at an interior surface thereof; a pinion gear engaged to the interior surface of the inner rotor; a planet carrier connected to and rotating the pinion gear and having a carrier drive shaft with an end fixedly connected to the pulley; and a sun gear engaged to the pinion gear and having a sun gear drive shaft, housed in the carrier drive shaft, and axially slidable. A first end of the sun gear drive shaft is attached to the carrier drive shaft under a first operating condition, and a second end of the sun gear drive shaft is attached to the block under a second operating condition.


In order to do Party construction well among university students,the author analyses existing problems and contributing factors.We should find the point of contact,use flexible methods,develop and blaze new trails to give impetus to Party constructions among university students.


Barriers to the utility of general aviation were identified through a web-based survey of active general aviation pilots based in North America. An analytical travel mode choice model was also developed to examine further some of these barriers and their impact on general aviation utility. Several key issues emerged as being important to increasing the utility of general aviation transportation. Improved weather information as well as near all-weather capability for general aviation aircraft and better access to ground transportation at the travel destination would significantly increase utility. Furthermore, modifying the business model for owning and operating general aviation aircraft may be the best near-term strategy for lowering the expense of general aviation transportation. Analysis with the mode choice model also indicates that increasing the cruise speed of general aviation aircraft does not necessarily translate into an increase in the utility of general aviation transportation


Recent literature on the relationships between the health of women and living and working conditions is critically reviewed. Several studies have discussed the associations between morbidity and mortality of women in developed countries and such variables as work, education, marital status, and socioeconomic class. The limitations and advantages of various types of analysis are considered. (summary in ENG, FRE)


Purpose: Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are rare neoplasms, usually arising from somatic soft tissues or peripheral nerves. Primary MPNST of the scalp is extremely rare. The case is being reported for its rarity. Methods: A 53-year-old female was presented with a scalp mass on ver...


This paper proposes a dynamic QoS assessment approach for Intemetware with uncertainty reasoning. The salient feature of this approach is that it's based on Bayesian network,and can correctly predict the component's service capability in various combinations of users'QoS requirements,especially to the entities with different service levels.Through online learning,it supports to update the Bayesian network dynamically and improves the accuracy of prediction result.The proposed QoS assessment model has been implemented in the developed Service Coordination Bus (Once-ESB).The experimental results show that it is effective.


b. Radiography. In radiography the desirable target angle is governed by other considerations. For this application the angle is usually small and the "heel" effect pronounced. There is a marked fall of exposure rate towards the anode end of the field (fig. IIIF5) which becomes more pronounced as the target roughens during the life of the tube (Beetlestone and Thurmer, 1958). Because of the latitude of films and the tolerance ot the human eye, the heel effect is generally of little account in radiography. It is sometimes turned to good purpose if gross variations in the thickness of the subject can be matched by variations of exposure dose rate across the field. A tul_>e desi~ned for radiography, with a steep target, IS unsmtable for therapy or other applications where a uniform field is required (fig. IIIF2 and IIIF3).


The current monograph aims a descriptive and explanatory analysis on the taxable triggering event of the importation modality of ICMS (Brazilian State Goods and Services Circulation Tax) regarding the importation supported by lease-purchase agreements. Before the lack of transfer of property ownership towards the importer concerning importation under the aforementioned lease-purchase agreements, precisely this controversial issue, with existence since the Brazilian Constitution of 1967, will be analyzed, especially after the advent of the Constitutional Amendment no 33/2001. The discussion stands on the foundation of questioning the real need for the existence of legal circulation in order to acknowledge the levy of ICMS in terms of importation, while facing the express and vital ingress of the merchandise or good in the Country.


A  simple and selective quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe (QuEChERS) extraction technique coupled with gas chromatography mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS) was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-di(4-chlorophenyl)ethane (p,p'-DDT) and its main metabolite 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl) ethylene(p,p'-DDE) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl) ethane (p,p'-DDD) in cabbage and Khat samples. The linearity of the analytical response was acceptable with correlation coefficients of 0.992 or better. The precision associated with the analytical method, expressed as %RSD were lower than 8.6 and 9.1% for the intraday and interday precision, respectively.The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) of the proposed method for cabbage sample were in the range of 0.023–0.04 mg/kg and 0.09–0.14 mg/kg respectively. The LOD and LOQ of the proposed method for Khat sample were in the range of 0.02–0.06 mg/kg and 0.07–0.19 mg/kg respectively. The LOD and LOQ of the method were below the maximum residue level set by European Commission for the pesticides in both samples. The recoveries of the method were ranging from 97.16 to 107.99 for cabbage and 72.1 to 90.55 for Khat sample. The analytical applications of this method indicates the presence of p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDD and p,p'-DDT in both cabbage and Khat samples.


There are three permanent and durable solutions, described as voluntary return, local integration and resettlement, which are widely accepted for refugees today. Voluntary (return) is the most desired solution for refugees, which is seen as a permanent and long term among the states. The foundations of a healthy return process are volunteering, security and sustainability. Nevertheless, the problems faced by refugees and the attitudes of the states often prevent returns from being voluntarily. In the last decade, with the Assisted Return Programs in Europe financial and reintegration support is provided to refugees on return process. Assisted Return Programs implemented by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and their partners are ineffective in accelerating return due to security problems in the countries that are planned to return. In addition to this, the refugees who have returned have no guarantee of being treated well by the government in their home country and returning to the country where they have been taken as refugees before causes the refugees to be reluctant to return. Although the role of the returnees in the economy of the host country and in the reconstruction of the state is great, returning should be based on voluntariness in terms of the conditions in the returned country, and the return of refugees should not be expected without their security.


Exploiting Spatial Relational Knowledge for Visual Cognitive Tasks Medhat M. Riad (email@example.com) Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 6 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands Florian R¨ohrbein (firstname.lastname@example.com) University of Bremen, Enrique-Schmidt-Str. 5 28359 Bremen, Germany Nils Einecke (email@example.com) Julian Eggert (email@example.com) HONDA Research Institute Europe GmbH, Carl-Legien-Str. 30 63071 Offenbach am Main, Germany Abstract Reasoning about objects in a visual scene can be substantially improved if we have a representation that includes both in- formation about the object properties and information about the relations that hold between them. For this, we have built a semantic-relational network that makes use of textual com- monsense knowledge of both sorts and allows for inference within a Bayesian framework (R¨ohrbein, Eggert, & K¨orner, 2007). In order to enrich this graphical representation, we tar- get at adding complementary information gained, for example, from sets of labeled images. We are especially interested in re- lational knowledge, a demand that rules out most existing im- age databases since they usually contain only one labeled ob- ject per image. LabelMe proved as a promising alternative and we started our efforts by analyzing the statistical dependencies between all objects in fully-labeled images of that database. In the contribution here, we report these results and discuss how the gained information can be used to build contexts as a first important step in reaching the final goal of learning a relational knowledge representation in an autonomous way. Keywords: inter-object relations; spatial context; labeled im- ages Introduction Visual scenes contain a wealth of information which would be very useful for technical systems. The complexity of visual information and the processing and storage costs involved in acquiring any form of this information that is directly usable, makes the use of visual information very challenging. This is further complicated by the problem of deciding what kind of information is useful and what is simply superfluous. How- ever, a lot of research has been carried out over the years to obtain useful information from visual scenes whether it be high-level, global context information (Fei-Fei & Perona, 2005), object recognition (Wersing & K¨orner, 2003), or low- level image processing for feature detection (Lowe, 2004). In this paper, we report on preliminary results of statistical anal- ysis on images at an intermediate-level where object informa- tion is assumed to be readily available showing that there are some statistical regularities in visual scenes at a level below that of global cues (like texture or gist models) and above that of local analysis (such as edge detection or single objects). Working at object-level means that annotated images must be available. Some of the common analysis techniques in- clude object positions, percentage area covered by object, and object complexity (boundary points). However, these tech- niques do not scale very well with number of images and if any regularities are seen then they are more representative of artistic preferences of photographers than actual object prop- erties in real-world scenes (e.g. photographs of airplanes will usually be centered on the plane when obviously an airplane is seldom in the center of the visual field in everyday scenes). For this reason, it is our belief that analyzing object-object relations in images rather than object-scene relations would reduce the effect of photography bias and, as shown in the results, could detect some regularities in spatial relations be- tween these objects. The following section will give a brief introduction to the LabelMe database that we use in our analysis followed by an overview of region connection calculus, of which we used a modified version to describe relations between objects in im- ages. In the results section, we report on some of the interest- ing results we found on different levels of detail. Following this, we dedicate the final section to discussing the results and how to interpret them as well as present the problems faced and how these problems affected the results. There is also a subsection discussing related work and the reported results and the discussion section ends by briefly talking about future plans and incorporating this information into our semantic- relational network. Method Annotated images One of the main requirements for this research is to have a large database of images with multiple annotated objects per image. Even though there are several publicly available an- notated image data-sets, most of them either have too few images for our purpose or contain only one object per image. Such single-object images are very useful as training data for object recognition but are useless for trying to uncover regu- larities in larger, complex, multi-object scenes. For this pur- pose, we use LabelMe (Russel, Torralba, Murphy, & Free- man, 2008) which is an on-line, publicly accessible database which depends on Internet users to upload and annotate im- ages.


SUMMARY A group of 205 children, who in the newborn period had suffered from certain disorders which placed them in a high-risk group, was tested at the age of five. The methods used were ITPA, Frostig, a neurological screening test by Bax and parents' interview. The purpose of the study was to find out whether these children had more specific learning difficulties than normal children and how they could be habilitated. The results of 18 children having participated in habilitation in a special group at a Children's day care centre are also reported. The results indicate that these children have significantly more learning difficulties than normal children. After one year of habilitation the children's psycholinquistic and social skills were improved more than in a control group. In the psychomotoric skills there was very little improvement in the habilitation group.


We here present our first attempt to use Globular Clusters as tracers of their parent galaxy's formation history. Globular Cluster Systems of most early-type galaxies feature two peaks in their optical colour distributions. Blue-peak Globular Clusters are generally believed to be old and metal-poor. The ages, metallicities, and the origin of the red-peak Globular Clusters are being debated. We here present our analysis of the ages and metallicities of the red peak Globular Clusters in the Virgo S0 NGC 4570 using deep Ks-band photometry from NTT/SOFI (ESO program ID 079.B-0511) for the red-peak Globular Clusters in combination with HST-ACS archival data to break the age-metallicity degeneracy. We analyze the combined g, z, and Ks spectral energy distribution by comparison with a large grid of GALEV evolutionary synthesis models for star clusters with different ages and metallicities. This analysis reveals a substantial population of intermediate-age (1–3 Gyr) and metal-rich (� solar metallicity) Globular Clusters. We discuss their age and metallicity distributions together with information on the parent galaxy from the literature to gain insight into the formation history of this galaxy.


This study focuses on edge computing in dense millimeter wave vehicle-to-everything (V2X) networks. A control problem is formulated to minimize the energy consumption under delay constraint resulting from vehicle mobility. A tractable algorithm is proposed to solve this problem by optimizing the offloaded computing tasks and transmit power of vehicles and road side units. The proposed dynamic solution can well coordinate the interference without requiring global channel state information, and makes a tradeoff between energy consumption and task computing latency.


This study examines the evidence for woodworking technology and the utilisation of wood resources using the waterlogged wood assemblage from the site of Star Carr. 4516 pieces of wood were recovered from Star Carr during excavations between 2013 and 2015; 1602 of these items had been split, trimmed or hewn. The recent campaign used a fine-grained approach to the wood analysis, individually recording each item. The efficacy of this approach has allowed a re-interpretation of the 'brushwood habitation platform' first identified by Clark, has furthered our understanding of the lake-edge platform first encountered in 1985, and has identified two further similar platforms. A previously unknown extensive scatter of detrital wood is interpreted as a possible trackway giving access to the lake.

An interdisciplinary approach has allowed a possible Mesolithic woodworking toolkit to be identified with flint, antler, bone and wood all playing important roles in Mesolithic carpentry. Analysis of the wood has identified a single, distinct, woodworking tradition spanning the 800 years of human activity at Star Carr, describing a mature tradition of carpentry with evidence for widespread use amongst the general population as well as possible specialisation in the production of specific artefacts. A slight but distinct signal for woodland management in the form of coppicing of roundwood stems is discussed, and a practice of harvesting tangential outer splits from living trees has potentially been identified.

Although the relationship between Mesolithic people and the wooded environment they lived in remains opaque, the cultural richness and layers of meaning imbued in the woodland are clear, as is the detailed knowledge the inhabitants had of available woodland resources. Furthermore, the nature of the wooden structures – illuminated through this latest phase of analysis – supports the assertion that group sizes may have been larger, and perhaps more settled in the landscape, than has previously been thought.


In Shattered Justice, Kimberly J Cook gives voice to victims of wrongful conviction, focusing on the original crime victims and their family members. Most wrongful conviction research focuses on faulty legal procedures and what is often considered the direct victims of these injustices: the wrongfully convicted individual. While these examinations are crucial and provide invaluable information necessary to prevent and treat these injustices, a piece has been historically missing. The examination of wrongful convictions and exonerations through the lens of original crime victims and their family members offers a meaningful perspective that is often overlooked. This book fills a key gap in the literature, and it does so in a transformational and sympathetic manner.


Map of Johnston's Subdivision in the city of Abilene, Texas bordered by South Seventh, Elm, and South Eighth streets. The subdivision is divided by Butternutt street. The block is marked to show the subdivision of property. The map was filed on the 16th of February 1886. Scale: 1:1,200.


Interferon-gamma (IFN- γ ) mediates responses but it is also an important tumor suppressor. IFN- γ is upregulated in the gastric mucosa by chronic Helicobacter infection; however, whether it plays a positive or negative role in inflammation-associated gastric carcinogenesis is unexplored. To study this question we generated an H+/K+-ATPase-IFN- γ transgenic mouse that overexpresses murine IFN- γ in the stomach mucosa. In contrast to the expected pro-inflammatory role during infection, we found that IFN- γ overexpression failed to induce gastritis and instead inhibited gastric carcinogenesis induced by IL-1beta (IL-1 β ) and/or Helicobacter infection. Th1 and Th17 immune responses were inhibited by IFN- γ through Fas induction and apoptosis in CD4 T cells. IFN- γ also induced autophagy in gastric epithelial cells through increased expression of Beclin-1. Lastly, in the gastric epithelium, IFN- γ also inhibited IL-1 β - and Helicobacter-induced epithelial apoptosis, proliferation, and Dckl1+ cell expansion. Taken together, our results suggest that IFN- γ coordinately inhibits bacterial infection and carcinogenesis in the gastric mucosa by suppressing putative gastric progenitor cell expansion and reducing epithelial cell apoptosis via induction of an autophagic program. gastritis


The article presents a forecast for agriculture development in the Chuvash Republic up to 2022 according to three scenarios: optimistic, probabilistic and pessimistic. Agriculture occupies a special position in the region's economy and is a system-forming industry. The share of agriculture in the gross regional product makes 9%, which is significantly higher than in other regions of the country, and the share of residents living in rural areas is 36.6%. Structurally, the agriculture of the Chuvash Republic is quite balanced. During the study period from 2010–2019, significant positive changes in the industry can be noted. Thus, the production of basic agricultural products increased by 1.93, and the gross output of basic crops increased by 2.16. However, despite the positive trends, there are still problems in certain areas. The production of the animal husbandry main products during the study period decreased by 135.6 thousand tons; the agricultural machinery fleet in agricultural organizations decreased by 1.97; the number of livestock decreased by 147.3 thousand heads. In order to predict future changes in the industry, the authors, based on the dynamics of indicators for 2010–2019 that characterize agricultural production in the Chuvash Republic, and using the Excel program, proposed three options for the development of the situation for 2020–2022 – optimistic, probabilistic and pessimistic. Studies have shown that a pessimistic development scenario is more likely to be implemented, which requires immediate corrective actions in the agricultural sector of the Chuvash Republic.


This paper proposes a Look-Up-Table Digital Pre- Distorter (LUT DPD) for PA linearization with baseband predistorting procedure. Memory effect can be compensated with Memory Polynomial (MP) modelisation for the wideband applications. Measurements are realized on a PA ZFL-2500 driven by a modulated 16QAM signal with 3.84MHz bandwidth at the carrier frequency of 1.8GHz. The proposed solution achieves maximum ACPR reduction of 12.5dB and EVM correction of 3%.


Three new species of Callianthe (Malvaceae) from southern Brazil and northeastern Argentina are described, and illustrated: C. flava, C. maritima, and C. sulcatarinensis. Morphological descriptions, distribution maps, photographs, ecological notes, and a table comparing these species to two morphologically similar species, C. amoena and C. muelleri-friderici, are presented. Two of the three newly-described species, C. maritima and C. sulcatarinensis, so far are considered endemic and according to IUCN criteria, fit into the categories Endangered (EN) and Vulnerable (VU), respectively. A new combination C. costicalyx, based on Abutilon costicalyx, also is proposed.


This article discusses the problem of identifying and classifying road signs based on the You Only Look Once algorithm using modern artificial intelligence technologies. The software package will help to reduce traffic accidents on the territory of Uzbekistan, to provide drivers with visual information about the road infrastructure, to create a database of road signs. This software package was implemented in real time on Nvidia Jetson Nano graphics processors and mobile devices through images taken from a video surveillance camera. A set of methods, algorithms and software for the detection, separation and recognition of road signs in images using artificial intelligence technology has been developed. This software package is highly effective in warning drivers and preventing traffic accidents by real-time recognition of road signs with the help of surveillance cameras installed in the car. Certain technologies and software have been developed in various countries around the world to prevent traffic accidents, but these systems specialize in the rules of the road. Also, technologies for the prevention and prevention of road accidents in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan have not been developed.


Based on the distributed multi-sensor track fusion system,it applies sequence disposal means,multi-sensor track fusion problem with feedback information,on the condition of correlated estimation,is studied,under the rule of minimizing the trace of estimation error covariance matrix,the corresponding fusion algorithm is proposed,also,the analysis of the simulation is presented.The simulation results show the feasibility and the validity of the multi-sensor track fusion algorithm with feedback information,at the same time,the simulation results indicate that the algorithm with feedback information has higher track precision than the algorithm without feedback.


This study identified a new male-sterile germplasm of Chinese jujube, named male-sterile No. 2 (JMS2), and achieved controlled hybridization using that germplasm as the female parent. The anthers of JMS2 before flower bud opening became shrunken, dingy yellow and much smaller than normal ones, and they changed to brown after anthesis. No pollen was observed in anthers of JMS2 and its male-sterile trait remained stable over different years. A total of 1,642 fruits were obtained from ten intra- and interspecific cross combinations via controlled hybridization from 2008 to 2012 using JMS2 as the female parent. Of those, 27.3% produced seeds, on average (0-72.6%). The rate of fruit with seed (RFS) was significantly different between cross combinations or years. Compared to other cross combinations, the RFS in the combination of JMS2 × 'Xingguang' (a Chinese jujube cultivar with high resistance to jujube witches' broom disease) and JMS2 × 'Xing16' (a sour jujube genotype) remained high in different years and reached means of 48.7 and 58.1%, respectively. Finally, 150 plantlets were regenerated from immature embryos, and 51 of them were randomly selected and identified to be authentic hybrids using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. This is the first report of hybrids obtained from a cross between Chinese jujube and sour jujube.