T here is nothing new about low-income "fast," "quick," or "rapid" refunds. In consumers turning from banks to fact, they are short-term loans through a alternative financial services. Pawn traditional financial institution and shops have been fixtures in American cities secured by the taxpayer's refund check since colonial times. However, because of from the Internal Revenue Service.2 growth in both the scope and scale of alterna■ Post-Dated Checks are unsecured loans five financial services, the situation today is (sometimes called "pay-day" loans) from qualitatively and quantitatively different from check cashing outlets. The customer can a generation ago.1 One can now identify an cash a check dated up to two weeks later. alternative financial sector (AFS) which pro■ Money Orders are widely available alter vides low-income consumers with a range of natives to personal checks, services in much the same way that the tradi■ Check Cashing Outlets will cash personal tional financial sector provides services to and government checks, as well as pay more affluent individuals. Elements within checks. Fees vary by state and type of the alternative financial sector include: check cashed. Other financial services may ■ Rental-purchase agreements are a credit be available in configurations that make alternative offering possible ownership classification difficult.3 through weekly or monthly rental contracts Some of these services have been studied for a 12to 18-month period. "Rent-toindividually, including a considerable amount own" programs are not covered by any fedof literature on rent-to-own (Rent, 1993) and eral consumer protection legislation. recent investigations of pawn shops and ■ Pawn Shops offer another credit alternacheck cashing services (Roper, 1989; Caskey, tive, which in some states includes car-title 1994). Although some of these studies are loans. With the former, the customer turns extensive, they all treat the various services as over the merchandise; with the latter, the largely isolated phenomena rather than as customer surrenders only the car title (and part of a larger system. The focus on individual a key to the car) as collateral for the loan. services makes it more difficult to see the sector ■ Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs) are as a whole. Yet given the range of offerings, the offered by many income-tax preparers. various services should be grouped into an RALs are not marketed as loans, but as Alternative Financial Sector. That is, rent-to


Plastic products have gained contemporary extensive utility, became indispensable and the commonest material used in product packaging in healthcare, food and other articles essential to humanity. These packaging materials, produced from plastic bases like the bio-degradable, epoxy resins, polystyrenes, expanded polystyrenes, polyolefin, polyvinyl chloride and polycarbonates also contain several unsafe substances incorporated into them to aid their production and product aesthetics. The innovative exploitation of plastic-based packaging materials in healthcare, food and related products has evolved to the extent of harnessing single-use and discard after-use packages which have merely given rise to the prevalence of menacing plastic wastes generally, creating heaps of plastic wastes in several spots, defacing the cities, contaminating the environments and upsetting the ecosystem deleteriously with its public health outcomes. The atmosphere, animals and humanity are confronted with threats of extinction due to the discharges originating from the harmful constituents of these plastic wastes which saturate and contaminate the ecosystem. These jeopardies could be abridged if the bulk of plastic junks due to the healthcare, food and allied packages are properly managed or recycled at the end of their useful life. The emerging economies that is mostly affected by these challenges should adopt plastic waste management approaches, especially recycling, reuse and establishment of enabling policies on the manufacture, use and disposal of plastic-based packaging products. Effective majors will ensue if the government and policymakers would enhance enlightenment efforts at various levels of each society coupled with strict regulations over the management of plastic-based packaging materials.


A novel flat optical DC network approach using only low radix electrical switches and high data rate optical links is investigated. Compared to Clos, it provides resilience and ∼40% hardware savings with ∼60% higher throughput.


We study an implicit spacetime Godunov method for a class of hyperbolic conservation laws known as Temple class systems. We establish the well-posedness of this method, a discrete entropy inequality, a property analogous to the total variation diminishing property of certain numerical schemes for scalar conservation laws, and, as a consequence, the convergence of the numerical method.


With the realization of China's mass higher education,the satisfaction of college's student study receives the concerns of various fields more and more.By analyzing the index system for the investigation of satisfaction of the college's student study,and studying the design of questionnaire,we can draw the conclusion.And then apply the result of the satisfaction investigation to the management and teaching of higher education;accordingly improve students' satisfaction earnestly.


By analyzing the status of English teachers education, the author deduced that the teachers trainer should pay attention to the change of our education thought and conception, pay attention to the development of the students' characters, innovative consciousness and innovative abilities and set up some subjects advantageous to the teaching practice abilities of the students.


We extend the model in Kamien and Tauman (1986) by considering vertically-related markets where the outside innovator transfers new technology by means of either a royalty or a fixed fee. Our conclusion is different with Kamien and Tauman (1986) and announces that the optimal licensing strategy for an outside innovator is a royalty contract with a non-exclusion licensing case. When the innovation size is small, the outside innovator's licensing behavior causes low social welfare.


Blood transfusions are common in older adults and also may modulate the immune system. However, the impact of transfusion on cancer risk in the elderly has not been studied.


Publication Date Spring 4-24-2013 School College of Arts and Sciences; School of Religion Major Religion: Women's Ministries Primary Subject Area Religion, General; Women's Studies


Background The study of retroviruses dates back to the early 1900s during investigations on neoplastic diseases in chickens. Subsequently, Robert Gallo reported the first human retrovirus HLTV in 1980. What we report here is not an archetypal retrovirus, but the discovery of an oncogenic giant microbial agent with a mega-genome, where the transforming retroviral nature co-exists with multiple archaeal oncogenes. Methods After their isolation from human T cells Leukaemia, these organisms were examined at electron microscopy, tested for reverse transcriptase activity, fully sequenced, used for transformation tests on NIH-3T3 cells in vitro and tumours formation in mice. Same type of particles were also isolated from Canine Transmissible Venereal Tumour (CTVT), the oldest contagious cancer in nature. Results EM showed the presence of giant viral particles displaying retroviral antigens. These microbial entities harbour in their mega-genome a transforming retroviral kinase, cell-based oncogenes and have reverse transcriptase activity. The purified viral particles transformed NIH-3T3 cells and induced metastatic tumours in nude mice, three weeks post infection. Ruling out the possible presence of filterable retroviruses, a filtered supernatant did not display RT activity and did not transforms. Conclusions We discovered an ancestral microbial agent, acutely transforming. For its giant dimensions, the ability to retain the Gram stain, the presence of a mega-genome and its retroviral nature, we tentatively named the agent Retro-Giant-Virus (RGV). However, distinct from amoeba giant Mimiviruses, this transforming human agent has a different nature and does not require for its isolation amoeba co-culture, since amoeba is not its natural host. The morphology, biology and genetic features allocate this mammalian giant microbe halfway in between a classic oncogenic virus and an infectious cancer cell. Its transforming nature goes with its constant ability to induce tumours formation in mice.


Background and Aims: Postoperative psychomotor dysfunction is one of the deciding factors for discharge after daycare surgeries. Sedation for daycare procedures is commonly done using propofol and dexmedetomidine. Hence, we decided to study the recovery characteristics of dexmedetomidine and propofol in patients undergoing short gynaecological day care procedures. Methods: After getting informed consent, 40 patients aged between 18 to 65 years and ASA physical status 1 and 2 undergoing short gynaecological procedures were included for this double-blind prospective randomized controlled trial. All patients were educated about psychomotor tests preoperatively. Patients were randomized into two groups, Group P (propofol) and Group D (dexmedetomidine). Sedation was given using propofol or dexmedetomidine according to the group and titrated to achieve observer's assessment of alertness/sedation (OAA/S) scale 2-3. Recovery characteristics were assessed by modified Aldrete score, time to sit without support, finger tapping test and visual-spatial capacity memory test. Results: Demographic variables, baseline finger tapping test and visual-spatial capacity memory test, duration and type of surgery were comparable. All forty patients tolerated the procedure with no signs of respiratory depression.Time to achieve modified Aldrete score 9- 10 was significantly more in Group P compared to Group D ( 5.6±1.4min vs 4.0±1.4min; P=0.002), while time to sit without support was significantly less in Group P ( 5.6±1.4min vs 4.0±1.4min; P=0.002). Psychomotor tests during recovery and patient satisfaction score were comparable between the groups. Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine and propofol have been found to have comparable recovery characteristics in daycare short gynaecological surgeries.


From the ‡Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Department of Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6160, the ¶Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6008, the iDepartment of Microbiology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Showa University, Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-8555, Japan, and the **Laboratory of Cellular Carcinogenesis and Tumor Promotion, NCI, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892


The LOKASIL Metal Matrix Composite technology has its first production application in the cylinder bore surfaces of the Porsche Boxster aluminium engine block. Maintaining the monolithic character of the cast part of the advantages of hypereutectic aluminium silicon alloys are combined with highly productive high-pressure die casting processes. To those also belongs the squeeze casting process applied here. Thus, the Porsche AG once more dis-tinguisches itself introducing a very innovative technology for this important engine component.


It is an important measure to test a bridge under designed load before it opens to traffic.Also,it can value the design and construction quality,loading capacity of the bridge structure.The prestressing(concrete)(P.C.) cable-stayed bridge is a complex structure.This paper gives an introduction of field loading test and the results for Jiangyin Wuxing P.C.cable-stayed bridge after just completion,which includes static and dynamic structural test.


Multi-dimensional temporal data set is the common format in sensor network applications to store sampled temporal data. As time goes on, the size of the core tables in the data set may increase to enormous size and the tables become not managable. In order to reduce storage space and allow on-line query, how to trade off data compression effectiveness for on-line query performance is a challenge issue. In this paper, we are concerned with an effective framework for temporal data set that does not scarify on-line query performance and is specifically designed for very large sensor network database. The sampled data are compressed using several candidate approaches including dictionary-base compress and lossless vector quantization. In the mean time, on-line queries are conducted without decompressing the compressed data set so as to enhance the query performance. Experiments are conducted on a power meter database and sonoma database to evaluate the proposed methodologies in terms of data compression rate and data query speed. The results show that the compression rate ranges from 70% for numerical data to 20% for character data. In the mean time, the increased overhead for online query is limited up to 2%.


In the recent decade, an increasing number of electric cars have come on the global market as a means of addressing mobility issues in congested cities. The primary goal of this article is to construct a four-wheeled electric vehicle that can travel for long periods. This model is controlled by a fuzzy logic controller and an H-bridge controller and driven by a Permanent magnet brushless DC motor mounted on the back wheels. The car has an electronic differential system that offers stable vehicle control and allows each driving wheel to revolve at different rates. The suggested electric vehicle system controller is tested using the MATLAB Simulink environment.


The initial stage of photoexcited chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of Ge layers on SiO2 substrate was studied through a combined analysis of real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry and photoreflectance (PR). Just after GeH4 gas was admitted into the growth chamber, there was a certain period during which both the ellipsometric (Ψ, Δ) angles and PR intensity remained unchanged from their initial values. This phenomenon prior to steady-state growth is known as incubation, and it is due to the very slow reactive sticking of GeHx species on the dangling-bond free SiO2 surfaces. The incubation time was accurately determined from the time derivatives of (Ψ, Δ) and the PR intensity. In most cases, the incubation times independently derived from (Ψ, Δ) and the PR intensity coincided, but for other cases, those derived from the PR intensity were slightly longer than those derived from (Ψ, Δ). The incubation time decreased as thermally activated decomposition of GeHx species became prevalent above 300 °C. An activation energy of 18 kJ/mol was obtained by assuming that the rate of creating nucleation seeds on SiO2 is proportional to the inverse of the incubation time. Such a low activation energy, much lower than that of thermal CVD, is due to partial decomposition of GeH4 by photoexcitation to create reactive GeHx fragments. At the end of incubation, the Ge layer wetting the SiO2 surface changed into self-assembled Ge dots when more Ge atoms were deposited. The dot density was maximum at the beginning of dot formation and gradually decreased as the dot size became larger. The activation energy of continuous Ge growth on Ge-covered SiO2 surface was derived from the time evolution of Δ to be 13 kJ/mol. The minimum PR intensity for three-dimensional (3D) dot formation was lower than that of two-dimensional (2D) layer growth, reflecting greater surface roughness. Contrasting behaviors between 2D and 3D growth were also observed in terms of the recovery level of the PR intensity after prolonged growth; continued 2D growth recovered up to 90% of the initial level, while 3D dot formation recovered only 50 −60%.The initial stage of photoexcited chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of Ge layers on SiO2 substrate was studied through a combined analysis of real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry and photoreflectance (PR). Just after GeH4 gas was admitted into the growth chamber, there was a certain period during which both the ellipsometric (Ψ, Δ) angles and PR intensity remained unchanged from their initial values. This phenomenon prior to steady-state growth is known as incubation, and it is due to the very slow reactive sticking of GeHx species on the dangling-bond free SiO2 surfaces. The incubation time was accurately determined from the time derivatives of (Ψ, Δ) and the PR intensity. In most cases, the incubation times independently derived from (Ψ, Δ) and the PR intensity coincided, but for other cases, those derived from the PR intensity were slightly longer than those derived from (Ψ, Δ). The incubation time decreased as thermally activated decomposition of GeHx species became prevalent above 300 °C. An activation...


: The paper presents an in-depth analysis regarding the market potential of unconventional wind turbines from a technological perspective. The envisaged solutions were identified in literature and are currently in different development stages. The aim of the analysis is to estimate which types of wind turbines are suitable for further development and have the potential to replace someday the traditional vertical axis wind turbines with three blades that currently represent the best solution for onshore and offshore wind farms. The development of wind power conversion solutions is a current topic due to low carbon energy policies and presents several challenges. Essentially, it needs to be cost competitive compared with fossil fuels technologies and other renewable energy sources, especially photovoltaic (PV) power plants that recently gained ground due to a continuous reduction of manufacturing costs. Both the PV and wind turbines must have a complementary approach for a good energy mix. The technology of the wind turbines of today is continuously improved in order to increase their competitiveness on the market. Further developments are expected both for large capacity wind turbines and for low power concepts while the reliability over time will determine the best solution that will be adopted and maintained for years to come. Not all the solutions can have future development potential, but some results and approaches can be applied in the industry having a positive impact in terms of production cost and energy conversion efficiency.


The invention disclose a new positioning method of a distribution network single-phase earth fault, which is applicable to a 3-60 kV neutral point ineffective earth grid. The principle of the positioning method is that: firstly, a high-voltage DC signal is poured into a circuit starting end and the DC signal is detected along the circuit so as to determine a fault area; then a high-voltage AC signal is poured into the circuit starting end, and the AC signal is detected along the circuit so as to determine the position of a fault point. A positioning device developed on the basis of the invention consists of two parts: a high-voltage signal source and a signal detector, wherein, the high-voltage signal source consists of a voltage inverter, a constant flow source, a transformer and a rectifier bridge and is used for pouring a high-voltage DC signal and a high-voltage AC signal; the signal detector comprises a DC detector and an AC detector, wherein, the DC detector consists of a Hall DC detector, a Bluetooth wireless sender and a Bluetooth wireless receiver and is used for measuring the DC signal; while the AC detector consists of an AC electromagnetic field inductor and a signal processing and display segment and is used for measuring the AC signal. The method and the device have mature technique and high reliability.


This paper describes the common inference channel. By adding inference control module in the database design and operation stages to detect and control inference, our research aimed at improving the security of the database.


In this paper we present the efficient implementation of an algorithm for solving general tridiagonal linear systems using an Intel Xeon Phi co-processor.
 The interesting thing about this subject is that many scientific software applications, as well as many complex computational tasks such as the computation of eigenvalues, require the use of tridiagonal solvers which must provide trustworthy results as well as make efficient use of the underlying systems parallel architecture.
 The use of co-processors in High Performance Computing (HPC) has been established and almost every new super-computing system is supported by their high computing power as well as their power consumption efficiency compared to standard CPUs. It is expected that co-processors will play an even bigger role in super-computing systems for the years to come, therefore developing software that efficiently uses them constitutes perhaps one of the most important challenges in HPC.
 Intel Xeon Phi as well as Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) belong in the "many-core" architectures, which provide a large number of hardware computational threads. To achieve high performance on these architectures careful choosing of an appropriate algorithm as well as software development that takes into account each architectures capabilities and restrictions are required.
 We will present the g-spike algorithm in detail, which is an algorithm for solving general tridiagonal systems. As well as a description of its implementation for the Intel Xeon Phi system, in order to study how to efficiently use the capabilities of this new computational system for this important linear algebra computation, which could be used in many other software applications.
 Since this paper regards the porting of an existing implementation of g-spike using CUDA for GPUs to an implementation for the Intel Xeon Phi system using OpenMP, NVIDIAs CUDA programming model as well as similarities and differences between the two implementations will be presented.
 Finally we will present evaluations of the experimental data for different approaches of the implementation for the Intel Xeon Phi system, as well as a comparison of these implementations with existing solvers.


Context: Focal fibrous hyperplasia, also known as irritation or traumatic fibroma, is a reactive, inflammatory hyperplastic lesion of the connective tissue. Aim: The aim of this study is to perform a retrospective study of a focal fibrous hyperplasia of 18 years. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 193 cases of focal fibrous hyperplasia of the oral cavity from the medical and histological reports of the Department of Oral Pathology, Pernambuco University, Brazil, during the period between January 1992 and December 2009. Settings and Design: Data with regard to age, gender, location, size of the lesion (equal to or less than 1 cm, between 1 and 2 cm and greater than 2 cm), pain, history of trauma, treatment, length of follow-up (from diagnosis to release or last review) and recurrence, were collected. Results: The most commonly affected site was the buccal mucosa (n = 119, 61.7%). Almost two-thirds of the cases were concentrated from the second to the fifth decade of life. Females were more affected than men and a history of trauma was related by 90.7% of the patients. Two recurrences were notified (1.0%). Conclusion: Further studies are needed on the distribution of the lesion in different ethnic and geographical populations. The influence of sex hormones on the development of focal fibrous hyperplasia must be clarified.


"In any given moment, we have two options: to step forward into growth, or to step back into safety."
Abraham Maslow

Psychologist Abraham Maslow may have fared well as an anaesthesiologist, recognising the hierarchy of human needs as commencing with maintenance of essential physiological homeostasis, followed by promoting safety of the individual, and later providing for psychological needs. Although addressing the concept of selfactualisation, his dichotomous choice between growth and safety applies equally to our pursuit of excellence in anaesthesia: Do we safely stick with what we know, or grow the discipline by developing new knowledge, techniques and devices?


Proctoring during online exams often requires students to be under surveillance from a side pose and there is a strong need to estimate the side camera's relative position with respect to student's computer screen. This work uses edge and line detectors to extract the computer screen's boundaries and estimates homography with respect to rectangular shape with corresponding aspect ratio as in a normal view. A novel Upper-Lower Decomposition of Homography (ULDH) algorithm is proposed that calculates the polar and azimuthal angles with less than 5° mean errors and can help distinguish bad camera placements from good ones with good precision. A purpose-built dataset is created and validated for this purpose and the software for key parts of image processing pipeline is made available for remote proctoring purposes.


This research aims to develop a school improvement scale determining the current levels and obtaining data for improvement. The need for a valid and reliable scale in process-oriented school improvement studies makes this research important. Based on a sample of 1,043 teachers in Bursa in 2021, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value was .97; the Bartlett test's chi-square value was significant. The exploratory factor analysis led the scale to consist of 33 items and 5 factors, explaining 69% of the total variance. The load values of effective leadership, school climate, teacher professional improvement, learning environment, and vision-mission varied between .51 and .98 and in the confirmatory factor analysis, with a different sample group, χ2 = 2.33 and RMSEA = .079. Other fit indices showed that the scale has good structural compatibility. Cronbach's Alpha coefficient showed a high level of internal consistency. Hence, this scale is a valid and reliable tool that can be applied to measure school improvement.


Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) allows unbiased sequencing of all or nearly all nucleic acid in a sample. As evidenced by the many excellent reviews on the topic, there is much interest in using mNGS for clinical infectious disease diagnostics and research [1,2]. The continually decreasing cost of next-generation sequencing opens up many exciting uses for mNGS in the clinical laboratory. In a diagnostic setting, mNGS affords several advantages over traditional techniques such as culture or qPCR. Because mNGS does not use a specific primer set, it can detect any organism, pathogenic or otherwise, that contains nucleic acid. This also allows mNGS to detect multiple organisms in one sample, providing deep multiplexing for each sample tested. mNGS can also provide sensitive pathogen quantitation and recover whole genomes simultaneously. And when a sample-toanswer metagenomic box arrives, these functions can potentially be performed in minutes to hours after sample receipt, allowing for true disruption of the existing clinical infectious disease paradigm [3]. Here, we discuss a handful of potential future advances and uses in mNGS that we expect and hope to see progress made over the coming years. We focus on increasing analytical sensitivity to rival that of qPCR, the ability to discern antimicrobial resistance to obviate the need for culture, and making full use of the single nucleotide resolution associated with metagenomic data to perform real-time infectious disease transmission tracking as an adjunct to clinical diagnostics. We expect that these uses will be increasingly adopted and improved upon as the cost of sequencing decreases and the specific use cases in which mNGS has clinical utility are increasingly realized.


A field experiment on three local rice cultivars, namely BG 300, BG 304 and AT 303, showed no statistically significant difference (p<0.05) among them with-respect to the methane flux emitted. The methane flux profiles of all three varieties indicated a more or less constant emission during the vegetative and reproductive periods, a peak emission during late flowering/early ripening stage and a dramatic increase in the flux during the late ripening period. The seasonal methane flux of BG 300, BG 304 and AT 303 were 200 {+-} 48, 156 {+-} 52 and 129 {+-} 40 g m{sup {minus}2}, respectively for a 92 day cropping period.


This paper examines the use of mobile technologies such as iPods and tablets in promoting the development of oral competencies and literacy skills in early French immersion classrooms in Canada. The paper is based on a two-year collaborative action research project involving 16 teachers in two schools. Data collection involved digital ethnographic observation in the classroom, students' artifacts (examples of the use of iPods and tablets by students), teacher interviews, and student interviews. The ?QGLQJVGHPRQVWU DWHWKDWWKH�\RX


Introduction 1. States of matter 2. Phase diagrams 3. Distribution between phases 4. Raoult's law and distillation Answers to self-assessment questions Glossary Index


Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are commonly used in the clinical practice of child and adolescent psychiatry because of reasonable safety and tolerability. In the literature, extrapyramidal system symptoms (EPS) induced by SSRI use are more frequently reported in adults, but are rarely reported in children. In this report, we report acute cervical dystonia that occurs due to sertraline dose increase and does not recur after dose reduction in a 12-year-old adolescent girl. Although sertraline-induced cervical dystonia in children and adolescents has been reported as several case reports, our case is the first case occurring on the first day after a dose increase.


The aim of this paper is to better understand the purposes of surveillance systems and their relation to discrimination. Scholars are in agreement that surveillance systems play a central role in contemporary society; however, they have diverging views on the purpose of surveillance. In the first section, arguments on the purpose of surveillance by both realists and critical theorists are presented. Thereafter, three welfare policies in Ontario are introduced with the aim of conceptualizing and concretizing some of the theoretical issues raised by realists and critical theorists. In the third part it is concluded that surveillance is a complex phenomenon, and that this complexity requires us to distinguish between different aspects of surveillance. Discrimination in surveillance systems not only happens on the level of 'information processing' but also on the level of 'information collection.'


The present invention provides compositions and methods for treating and ameliorating rheumatoid arthritis symptoms using antibodies that specifically bind to human interleukin-6 receptor (hIL-6R).


ABSTRACT In this research informed perspective, I discuss some of the barriers students face during progression to higher education. A crucial role can be played by higher education institutions (HEIs) and other public bodies. I discuss some of the measures taken and critically evaluate these to show how these can be improved. In the absence of a centralised admission system and autonomy exercised by HEIs, it is not clear yet how these targets will be achieved. HEFCE and OFFA play a vital role, but there is further scope towards addressing equality and diversity. This paper discusses some of the ways forward.


We have searched for the tau lepton flavor violating decays tau- ->l-K0s (l = e or mu), using a data sample of 281 fb^-1 collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB e+e- asymmetric-energy collider. No evidence for a signal was found in either of the decay modes, and we set the following upper limits for the branching fractions: B(tau- ->e-K0s)<5.6 * 10^-8 and B(tau- ->m^-K0s)<4.9 * 10^-8 at the 90% confidence level. These results are improvements by factors of 16 and 19, respectively, compared with previously published limits from CLEO.


To better identify and diagnose individuals experiencing debilitating grief after the death of a loved one, proposed diagnostic criteria need significant modifications, according to research in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Researchers studied the performance of diagnostic criteria for persistent complex bereavement disorder (PCBD), which was recently added as a condition for further study in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). To assess these criteria, researchers examined responses of participants from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences' National Military Family Bereavement Study, which is examining the impact of military service member death on family members. Participants included surviving family members of military


Summary Meiotic and synaptonemal complex studies using electron microscopy were carried out on an infertile man with a 46,XY t(2q;15p). Synaptonemal complex analysis showed terminal asynapsis in the totality of quadrivalents and a high and significant frequency of association with the XY vesicle (80%), possibly related to the high amount of satellite DNA of the acrocentric chromosome 15. In this translocation carrier, the XY quadrivalent association at pachytene stage is positively correlated with the degree of spermatogenic breakdown after pachytene stage. Whether association with the non‐paired segment represents the causative factor or only a secondary effect has still to be clarified.


In this chapter, I seek to account for the moment when, in Portuguese folk art, the figure of the author emerges, contradicting the previous dominant idea that folk art was defined by a collective creation. This change in perspective, which occurred in the mid-1950s, has Ernesto de Sousa, an artist and art theorist, as one of the main protagonists. Based on the analysis of this author's work on Portuguese folk art, I advocate the singularity of his thinking on folk art, when compared with his contemporaries, and the importance of his contribution in the inauguration of a new way of looking at this artistic production in Portugal.


We present an analysis of atmospheric propagation effects on current and proposed imaging systems. Effects such as extinction, resolution, beam spreading, anisotropy, and heterodyne efficiency are discussed. We also discuss a new DARPA program that will use atmospheric turbulence to an advantage to achieve super-resolution imaging. This super-resolution imaging phenomenon exploits a micro-lensing effect caused by atmospheric turbulence through use of a fast camera and signal processing to achieve better-than-diffraction limited resolution.


Objective:To approach the causes of premature delivery complicated by early rupture of embryolemma and its influence on nother and mewborn .Methods: The Clinical data of 165 cases of premature delivery complicated by early rupture of embryolemma were retrospectively analysed.Results:The main causes of this complication were as follows:hip position,copitis bad history of pregnant and childbirth ,twinborn,hydramnios,outside force and complicated by gestational hepyetension.There was little difference in rate of caesarean birth and influence to pregnant women between group of pregnancy for 28~33 (+6)weeks and group of pregnancy for 34~36 (+6)weeks,but the incidence and fatality rates were highly variable in two groups.Conclusion:The inducing factors of premature delivery complicated by early rupture of embryolemma should bewiped out;the gestational period of women being 34 weekes should be properly prolonged in order to help the foetal lungs to mature;the measures should be taken to prevent the unborn child infecting,and the right delivery way should be chosen.so that the incidence and fatality rates of perinatal infants will cut down.


Note: every chapter concludes with a group activity, chapter summary, review exercises, and chapter test. Every chapter (beginning with chapter 2) also has cumulative review exercises. Chapter 1: The Real Number System 1.1 Fractions 1.2 Exponents, Order of Operations, and Inequality 1.3 Variables, Expressions, and Equations 1.4 Real Numbers and the Number Line 1.5 Adding and Subtracting Real Numbers 1.6 Multiplying and Dividing Real Numbers Summary Exercises on Operation with Real Numbers 1.7 Properties of Real Numbers 1.8 Simplifying Expressions Chapter 2: Linear Equations and Inequalities in One Variable 2.1 The Addition Property of Equality 2.2 The Multiplication Property of Equality 2.3 More on Solving Linear Equations Summary Exercises on Solving Linear Equations 2.4 An Introduction to Applications of Linear Equations 2.5 Formulas and Applications from Geometry 2.6 Ratios and Proportions 2.7 Further Applications of Linear Equations 2.8 Solving Linear Inequalities Chapter 3: Linear Equations in Two Variables Functions 3.1 Reading Graphs Linear Equations in Two Variables 3.2 Graphing Linear Equations in Two Variables 3.3 The Slope of a Line 3.4 Equations of a Line Chapter 4: Exponents and Polynomials 4.1 The Product Rule and Power Rules for Exponents 4.2 Integer Exponents and the Quotient Rule Summary Exercises on the Rules for Exponents 4.3 An Application of Exponents: Scientific Notation 4.4 Adding and Subtracting Polynomials Graphing Simple Polynomials 4.5 Multiplying Polynomials 4.6 Special Products 4.7 Dividing Polynomials Chapter 5: Factoring and Applications 5.1 The Greatest Common Factor Factoring by Grouping 5.2 Factoring Trinomials 5.3 More on Factoring Trinomials 5.4 Special Factoring Techniques Summary Exercises on Factoring 5.5 Solving Quadratic Equations by Factoring 5.6 Applications of Quadratic Equations Chapter 6: Rational Expressions and Applications 6.1 The Fundamental Property of Rational Expressions 6.2 Multiplying and Dividing Rational Expressions 6.3 Least Common Denominators 6.4 Adding and Subtracting Rational Expressions 6.5 Complex Fractions 6.6 Solving Equations With Rational Expressions Summary Exercises on Rational Expressions and Equations 6.7 Applications of Rational Expressions Chapter 7: Equations of Lines Functions 7.1 Review of Graphs and Slopes of Lines 7.2 Review of Equations of Lines Linear Models Summary Exercises on Slope and Equations of Lines 7.3 Functions 7.4 Operations on Functions and Composition 7.5 Variation Chapter 8: Systems of Linear Equations 8.1 Solving Systems of Linear Equations by Graphing 8.2 Solving Systems of Linear Equations by Substitution 8.3 Solving Systems of Linear Equations by Elimination Summary Exercises on Solving Systems of Linear Equations 8.4 Systems of Linear Equations in Three Variables 8.5 Applications of Systems of Linear Equations 8.6 Solving Systems of Linear Equations by Matrix Methods Chapter 9: Inequalities and Absolute Value 9.1 Set Operations and Compound Inequalities 9.2 Absolute Value Equations and Inequalities Summary Exercises on Solving Linear and Absolute Value Equations and Inequalities 9.3 Linear Inequalities in Two Variables Chapter 10: Roots, Radicals, and Root Functions 10.1 Radical Expressions and Graphs 10.2 Rational Exponents 10.3 Simplifying Radical Expressions 10.4 Adding and Subtracting Radical Expressions 10.5 Multiplying and Dividing Radical Expressions Summary Exercises on Operations with Radicals and Rational Exponents 10.6 Solving Equations with Radicals 10.7 Complex Numbers Chapter 11: Quadratic Equations, Inequalities, and Functions 11.1 Solving Quadratic Equations by the Square Root Property 11.2 Solving Quadratic Equations by Completing the Square 11.3 Solving Quadratic Equations by the Quadratic Formula 11.4 Equations Quadratic in Form Summary Exercises on Solving Quadratic Equations 11.5 Formulas and Further Applications 11.6 Graphs of Quadratic Functions 11.7 More about Parabolas and Their Applications 11.8 Quadratic and Rational Inequalities Chapter 12: Inverse, Exponential, and Logarithmic Functions 12.1 Inverse Functions 12.2 Exponential Functions 12.3 Logarithmic Functions 12.4 Properties of Logarithms 12.5 Common and Natural Logarithms 12.6 Exponential and Logarithmic Equations Further Applications Chapter 13: Nonlinear Functions, Conic Sections, and Nonlinear Systems 13.1 Additional Graphs of Functions 13.2 The Circle and the Ellipse 13.3 The Hyperbola and Functions Defined by Radicals 13.4 Nonlinear Systems of Equations 13.5 Second-Degree Inequalities and Systems of Inequalities Chapter 14: Sequences and Series 14.1 Sequences and Series 14.2 Arithmetic Sequences 14.3 Geometric Sequences 14.4 The Binomial Theorem Appendixes A. An Introduction to Calculators B. Review of Decimals and Percents C. Sets D. Mean, Median, and Mode E. The Metric System and Conversions F. Review of Exponents, Polynomials, and Factoring G. Synthetic Division H. Determinants and Cramer's Rule


The recent Fukushima Daiichi power plant failure has pushed nuclear system safety to the foreground of public awareness. Nuclear power plants are examples of the complexity of the engineered products that undergird contemporary civilization. The avoidance of technological failure depends heavily on accurately predicting, as part of the engineering design process, how complex technological systems and the individuals and societies with which they interact will behave. This article will recommend a connectionist rather than a reductionist approach to engineering design, in order to better compensate for the complexities and uncertainties inherent in technological activity. This approach is based on a Christian perspective of technology as a cultural, and therefore value-laden, activity.


Sulfides of chromium, nickel and cadmium are produced by the method of self-propagating hightemperature synthesis (SHS). Substances have been identified by chemical and X-ray analysis. The conditions for obtaining products with a high content of the base material are determined.


The catchment of the Jadro and Žrnovnica Springs is situated in the Dinaric karst mainly formed of carbonate rocks and partly of impermeable flysch. The Jadro Spring has been used for water supply for almost 2000 years. Nowadays, it is the main water supply resource for the wider area of Split, the second largest city in Croatia, and it represents a valuable natural resource and as such should be protected from deterioration and chemical pollution. Reliable and comparable methods for groundwater monitoring are an important tool for assessment of groundwater quality and also for choosing the most appropriate measures. The present meteorological, hydrological and water quality monitoring networks have several drawbacks, and consequently, do not provide a coherent and comprehensive overview of meteorological, hydrological or water quality situation within the river basin. Namely, there is no meteorological station located inside the river basin, so continuous measurements of meteorological parameters have not been performed. However, daily precipitations have been measured since 1961 at eight locations: Dugopolje, Lecevica, Dicmo, Muc, Klis, Bisko, Gornje Sitno and Prancevic Brana. Hydrological observations have been performed in profiles which are interesting in terms of water use (e.g. determination of spring capacities, or discharge control for proscribed minimum flow rates). The collection of hydrological data including water levels and flow rates started in 1983. In the interim period, some hydrological stations ceased operating, some have unreliable data, mostly due to the changes in riverbeds and the influence of backwater, whereas some stations experience longer periods of very poor coverage of rate of flow measurements, particularly at high water levels. Currently, five hydrological stations are active: Jadro-Majdan, Jadro-Dioklecijanov kanal, Jadro-Novi kanal, Žrnovnica-Izvor and Žrnovnica-Laboratorij. Water temperatures and quantities of sediment have not been recorded at any of these stations. Since 1970s, Croatian waters carry out water quality monitoring on surface waters and springs in accordance with the National water quality monitoring program. In the Jadro and Žrnovnica Rivers catchment area, the National water quality monitoring program is performed at the following stations: Jadro-Izvoriste, Jadro-Ribogojiliste, Jadro-Usce, Žrnovnica-Izvoriste and Žrnovnica-Usce. In line with the Croatian legislation that has been in force, the monitoring of water status at these stations has been performed 12 times a year by testing: mandatory indices (physico – chemical, oxygen regime, nutrients, microbiological, biological) and specific indices (metals, organic compounds). The group of mandatory indices serves for determining of the general ecological function of water, whereas the group of specific indices serves for a wider assessment of the general ecological function of water and for determination of the terms of water use for particular purposes. The proposed meteorological, surface water and groundwater monitoring programs for the basin of the Jadro and Žrnovnica Rivers have three main objectives: (1) harmonization of monitoring with requirements of the EU Water Directives, (2) collection of data essential for further investigation of hydrologic and hydrogeologic characteristics of the karst aquifer, (3) continuous collection of data required for water management at operational level. Following these objectives, the proposed monitoring programs detail the design of surveillance, operational and investigative monitoring for surface waters and the monitoring of quantitative and chemical status for groundwaters. The proposed monitoring programs cover all essential meteorological, hydrological and water quality parameters to the extent relevant for the water management at operational level and the further investigation of hydrologic and hydrogeologic characteristics of the karst aquifer. Groundwater monitoring points are four boreholes located in: Dugopolje, Konjsko, Gizdavac and Bisko. Surface water quality monitoring is performed at four locations: Jadro-Izvoriste, Žrnovnica-Izvoriste, Jadro-Usce and Žrnovnica-Usce. The meteorological monitoring program anticipates installation of eight automatic meteorological stations located in: Dugopolje, Muc, Lecevica, Bisko, Dicmo, Gizdavac, Konjsko, Vucevica and Putisic.


The aim of this study was to evaluate expression rates of phosphorylated STAT3 (рSTAT3) transcription factor in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and some features of its modulation by leptin in various clinical forma of bronchial asthma (BA).  Materials and methods . We evaluated 25 healthy persons and 62 BA patients. pSTAT3 expression in PBMC was measured by means of flow cytometry. Results. A phenomenon of increased pSTAT3 expression was registered in PBMC from BA patients. A most sufficient elevation of pSTAT3 levels was revealed in allergic clinical variant of the disorder. Leptin was shown to increase pSTAT3 expression in PBMCs from healthy persons only. In allergic BA, such effect of leptin was not observed, whereas a trend for pSTAT increase was shown in non-allergic BA. In allergic BA, we have revealed a direct correlation between the STAT3-mediated leptin signaling index and bronchial patency parameters. Appropriate inverse correlation was registered in non-allergic BA. Conclusion. We have revealed some characteristics of рSTAT3 expression in PBMCs and its modulation by leptin in various clinical forms of BA, thus providing a potential basis for development of targeted therapy aimed for transduction of different cytokine signals mediated by STAT3 transcription factor.


In the second part of the series of articles devoted to criticism of humanitarinism   will be presented the position of M. Scheler and H. Arendt. Scheler focuses on   showing the fundamental difference between Christian ethics and the Enlightenment   egalitarianism, thus between the spiritual Christian love and the secular   love of humanity. Hannah Arendt carries out the criticism of economization and   the "socialization" of contemporary politics. She fits the ethos of humanity in the   broader context of social and political change, blaming its "guilt" for the collapse   of the public sphere and errors of modern revolution, which missed its "true"   emancipatory potential.


We herein report two very rare cases of esophageal foreign bodies that were removed using an endoscopic esophageal balloon dilation catheter with an attached percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) inflation device. Esophageal food impaction is a common medical emergency that often requires endoscopic therapy. However, the cases we report involve an ume seed and a shell, respectively, which are very rare in food impaction. We attempted to remove the foreign bodies using the usual endoscopic removal technique, but were unable to do so. As an alternative approach, we used an endoscopic esophageal balloon dilation catheter, and this proved to be successful and safe. Therefore, we conclude that this removal technique is useful for difficult cases of food impaction that cannot be treated using the normal procedure.


In low birth weight infants and premature infants of anemia, serum vitamin E levels were measured by means of Katsui and his group's Fluorometric Determination of tocopherol in serum, and fetal hemoglobin (HbF) by Betke's Cyanmethemoglobin Alkali Denaturation Test; the following results were obtained. In low birth weight infants, infants with heavier birth weight showed higher serum vitamin E levels. A positive correlation was recognized in infants within 28 days after birth. Full term infants also showed similar results. 2. Serum vitamin E levels were low at birth. After birth, older infants showed higher vitamin E levels. Many of low birth weight infants showed low vitamin E levels until the 7th week of birth. However, after the 9th week of birth, most of them showed 0.5mg/dl or higher levels. Similarly, in full term infants, vitamin E levels rose to 0.5 mg/dt or higher, in 9 weeks after birth, and vitamin E was not considered to be deficient in them. Both in low birth weight and full term infants, the infants with longer gestational age showed an inclination of higher level in vitamin 1.


Between 1870 and 1900 in New South Wales the principles and practices of a 'moral economy' were challenged and replaced by those of 'political economy'. This displacement involved the dissemination...


D. A. Burquest stresses in his introduction the fact that 'this is only a preliminary study', based upon field-work conducted during the period January 1968-January 1970. Angas is a major language of the Benue-Plateau State, Nigeria, spoken south-east of Jos by about 130,000 people (according to the Census of 1965). It is the mother tongue of the Military Governor of the State, Gomwalk, as well as that of General Yakubu Gowon. Although nowhere expressly stated, the dialect on which this phonological description is based is probably that of Kabwir (Plains Angas). In chapters 3-6 the author describes the four levels which the phonological hierarchy of the Angas language consists of: sentence, word, syllable, and phoneme. In Chapter 7 practical orthography is suggested, in chapter 8 a sample text is provided. Judging from what I have understood of this interesting Chadic language, Burquest's presentation and characterization of its phonology is highly adequate. There are only a few queries and remarks which I would like to make. First, should not the base of the 'completive aspect' have a mid tone instead of high? Thus, tjd.d,yi.i. mti.it on pp. 10 and 20 should rather be represented by tjd.d, etc. In my table of verbal forms in Angas (see Afrika und Obersee, Hamburg, 1964) I distinguished three tonally distinct forms, i.e. a high tone Future {t)d), a mid tone Narrative (jja), and a low tone Subjunctive (yd). As to the 'Completive Aspect' I considered it to be derived from the Narrative rather than from the Future, thus yielding pd.d. Burquest translates some mid tone forms (t)a) as Past (see for instance pp. 17 f.), other Past forms on the same page, however, are rendered as high tone! Similar inconsistencies may be found elsewhere; e.g. p. 27 wtijl is translated by 'you (pi.) came', on p. 13, however, wii is displayed as the 2nd pi. Future person marker! On p. 40 /o/ [D] are/is described as a low 'vocoid', /e/, however as mid in the Statement (p. 40) and as low on the Chart (p. 36). Apart from such minor errors (or misprints ?) this is a solid and careful introduction to the complex phonology of an important Nigerian language.


document cases in which the more remote P-heteroatomsubstituted stereocenter can become the dominant control element in the carbonyl addition process under conditions where chelate organization is precluded. We have also identified the diastereomeric relationships between a-alkyl and P-alkoxy substituents that are either mutually reinforcing or nonreinforcing with regard to carbonyl n-facial selectivity in these reactions. The cumulative impact of a and /3 substituents on x-facial selectivity is introduced in the context of the Mukaiyama aldol reaction.' It has been well documented that the additions of enolsilanes to both aand P-substituted aldehydes proceed with excellent diastereoselection (eqs 2, 3).2,3 The selectivity of the Nu *


An overvoltage protective device for wind energy installations is designed for connection to a connecting line having at least one inductance between a wind energy installation and a grid system. The overvoltage protective device has a controller which operates a limiting unit as a function of an overvoltage at the wind energy installation. The limiting unit comprises a spur line having an induction module and a power tapping module which is provided with a switching unit. This yields a second power strand which can accept a considerable reactive current if necessary, thus increasing the voltage drop across the inductance, as a result of which the voltage acting on the wind energy installation is reduced.


The invention discloses a porphyry copper molybdenum ore copper molybdenum flotation process. The porphyry copper molybdenum ore copper molybdenum flotation process is characterized by comprising the following steps: under the fineness of -0.074 mm content of 60-70%, the mass percentage concentration of pulp is within 25-40%; lime is added to adjust the pulp system pH in a low-alkalinity range of 7-8.5; a molybdenum mineral capturing agent being 0.005-0.012% of the solid mass in the pulp is added; the flotation is performed for molybdenum ore and one part of copper ore to obtain a copper molybdenum mixed concentrate for separation; flotation tailing is added with a copper mineral capturing agent being 0.004-0.010% of the solid mass in the pulp; and the flotation is performed for the remained copper ore to obtain a copper concentrate. The natural flotability of the molybdenum mineral is fully exerted through low-alkalinity condition; the recovery of the molybdenum mineral is facilitated; the molybdenum ore capturing agent with good selectivity is added to reduce the flotation rate of the copper mineral; the separation of the mixed concentrate is facilitated; the inhibitor use level in the copper mineral in the separation process is reduced; the mutual contents of the copper and molybdenum minerals in copper and molybdenum concentrate products are effectively reduced; and the copper mineral capturing agent with good capturing performance is added in copper flotation to guarantee the recovery rate of the copper mineral.


The ability to simultaneously manipulate multiple magnetic particle (or beads) opens up new opportunities in conducting large-scale studies involving multiple biological objects. In this paper we present the development of two control schemes, namely PI control with an arbitrary control sequence and optimal control with a selected control sequence, for simultaneous position-regulation of magnetic beads under disturbances. A set of simulation studies were conducted in COMSOL to examine the effectiveness of the PI control, while a numerical simulation was carried out in MATLAB to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed optimal control in dealing with a more complex situation that was modeled as a switched LQR problem. Particle Tracing Module for COMSOL was implemented to model the bead-fluid interaction during simulations. The results show the feasibility of both schemes in coordinated regulation of bead positions.


During the last two decades there has been a virtual explosion in the discovery of new reactions, reagents and methodologies in organic chemistry, which has been a major source for developments and success in the present day organic synthesis. BaylisHillman reaction is one such new reaction, which has seen enormous growth in recent years. This is basically a three component reaction involving activated alkene, carbon electrophile and a tertiary amine catalyst leading to the formation of carbon-carbon bond between the a-position of activated alkenes and carbon electrophiles thus providing densely functionalized molecules. Our research group has been actively involved for the last 15 years in the development of the Baylis-Hillman reaction as one of the potential sources for stereoselective processes, and in fact has contributed significantly to this effect. This thesis deals with Baylis-Hillman chemistry with a view to develop novel synthetic methods and utilize these methods for synthesis of natural products and biologically active molecules. This thesis consists of three chapters 1) Introduction, 2) Objectives, Results and Discussion and 3) Experimental. The first chapter i.e. introduction provides a summary of recent developments in the Baylis-Hillman chemistry. The second chapter deals with the objectives, results and discussion. The BaylisHillman reaction provides an important class of multifunctional molecules, which have been successfully utilized in several stereoselective transformations. With a view to vi


Corporate governance in the context of the UK's National Health Service is not well defined or understood. I he theoretical basis for how the service operates is unclear and there is little guidance on what practitioners should really focus. This thesis takes the corporate governance failure of the Wessex Regional Health Authority and explores the causes to generate key concepts. Literature is reviewed for evidence that the generated concepts have been recognised by other writers and commentators. The identification of a theoretical basis of corporate governance in the NHS examines agency theory, then investigates what stakeholder theory can offer on stakeholders, and results in discussing the main NHS stakeholders within an agency environment. A developed conceptual framework is used to analyse three further cases of recognised corporate governance failure from the NHS, local government and the private sector. The four significant corporate governance initiatives of the 1990s, Cadbury, Greenbury, Hampel and Nolan, and the NHS response to corporate governance, are examined to see whether the generated concepts have been identified and thereby test their consistency. The outcome has four distinct products. Firstly, a definition of corporate governa; ice in the NHS. Secondly, the acknowledgement of theory around the relationship of agent and principal. Thirdly, the identification of the key elements of corporate governance in the NHS; accountability, directors and management control, audit committees,, and conflict of interests. Finally, practical advice for practitioners in the NHS on how to put the key elements into operation


This paper explores the relation between the institutional context of health delivery and chronic ill health in rural Africa through an examination of the kinds of healing strategies pursued during illness. Anthropological fieldwork was conducted among Pogoro people in Ulanga District of southern Tanzania between 1989 and 1991. The main focus of the research was on religious practices and the relation between the Catholic Church and non-Christian religion. It is noted that such emphasis had implications for research on health issues: the Church was involved in the health sector as a service provider and much of the work of non-Christian ritual specialists centered on divination and healing. Some of the factors affecting the decisions that people make regarding treatment are examined in this paper. These include health and healing in Ulanga the biomedical health sector formal sector dispensaries the district hospital private practitioners and curative medicine popular or "local" medicine costs and charges and public health and institutionalization of poverty.


During the 1994 heavy ion run at Brookhaven a strongly intensity dependent loss for the Au(15+) beam in the AGS Booster was encountered. Coherent instabilities or space charge induced stopband losses were neither expected nor consistent with the data. It was found that the beam lifetime was an order of magnitude shorter for normal operating conditions than in the low intensity limit with the inverse lifetime increasing monotonically with the injected number of particles. Studies data are presented and the Au(15+) situation is compared with that for Au(33+). Various hypothetical mechanisms are considered.


Over a long period of time, educational circles have regarded Prime Minister ZHANG Ju-zheng's management of government affairs as "reform" actions, and the beginning administration of the Wanli reign as "reform" politics, but overlooked the matter of corruption and serious long-standing abuse. So it would be partial if we persisted in extolling ZHANG's measures to get rid of maladministration while disregarding these issuses concerning the system.


The invention relates to a novel ice bag for bone fracture emergency treatment. The novel ice bag for bone fracture emergency treatment comprises an inner bag body and an outer bag body. A main containing cavity is formed in the inner bag body. An annular interlayer cavity is formed between the inner bag body and the outer bag body. The main containing cavity is filled with a mixed solution. The interlayer cavity is filled with compound traditional Chinese medicine. The mixed solution is prepared from, by weight, 20 parts of deionized water, 15 parts of glycerinum and 2 parts of a methylrosanilinium chloride solution. The compound traditional Chinese medicine is prepared from, by weight, 15 parts of sambucus chinensis, 8 parts of the dried body of ground beetle, 8 parts of dragon's blood, 5 parts of fructus aurantii, 5 parts of drynaria rhizome, 3 parts of neottopteris nidus, 3 parts of teasel roots and 1 part of a honey-fried licorice root. By means of ingenious design of the structure and the optimized matching preparation of content, the novel ice bag has the advantages that fitting is completely tight, and the treatment effect is obvious.


The phase equilibrium data on organic analog of the nonmetal-nonmetal system, involving 2-cyanoacetamide (CA)―4-chloronitrobenzene (CNB), show the formation of a monotectic (0.10 mole fraction of CNB) and a eutectic (0.98 mole fraction of CNB) with a large miscibility gap starting from 0.10 mole fraction of CNB of monotectic (M) and ending at 0.92 mole fraction of CNB of monotectic horizontal (Mh); the upper consolute temperature Tc being 63?C above the monotectic horizontal at 118?C and eutectic temperature is at 85?C. The values of enthalpy of fusion of the pure components, the eutectic and the monotectic were determined by the differential scanning calorimetry (Mettler DSC-4000 system). Using these data, the size of the critical radius, interfacial energy, excess thermodynamic functions, entropy of fusion, and enthalpy of mixing were calcu-lated. The solid-liquid interfacial energy data confirm the applicability of the Cahn wetting condition. While growth data obey the Hillig-Turnbull equation, the microstructural investigations give typical characteristic features of the eutectic and the monotectic of the system.


It is shown that the general class of three-dimensional first-order ordinary differential equations with quadratic nonlinearities can be physically interpreted as the dynamics of a charged particle in an electromagnetic field, with a constant gradient B-field. The general class of equations is derived within the Lagrangian formalism of classical mechanics. As an application of this interpretation a new way of experimentally realizing the Lorenz chaotic attractors is proposed. The actual construction of such systems could be facilitated by existing magnetic resonance imaging technology, which already makes use of constant gradient fields, and may find applications in areas such as nuclear medicine and magnetic confinement fusion devices.


Save the Environment (STE) Save the Environment (STE), founded and registered on 19th November 1990, is a Kolkata based NGO which aims to create awareness, inspire rural communities and works towards a better, sustainable environment-friendly technology. It is lead and run by researchers, social workers, students with a mutual aim to 'Save the Environment'. STE has collaborated with various organisations in the past 29 years such as All India Institute of Hygiene & Public Health, AIIH&PH and India Canada Environment Facility, DRDO Ministry of Defence, Department of Science & Technology (DST), Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad to mitigate the effects of arsenic and provide arsenic-free drinking water. The first step towards this objective was taken in 1977 when an arsenic removal plant was set up in West Bengal, later 60 community type filters and 5, 000 domestic filters were installed and till date over 1,00,000 people have benefitted from these plants. With the help of DST Arsenic/Iron removal plants were set up in various parts of India, 24 Parganas (N) & Nadia districts in West Bengal, Balia district in Uttar Pradesh, Bhagalpur District in Bihar and Agartala in Tripura. Furthermore, a special clinic (2001) and a vocational training centre (2003) set up for people who already were suffering from the ill-effects of arsenic and a hospital for the same will be coming up soon. Not only this, a step towards conservation of rainwater in rural areas was taken up by STE in 2003. To conclude, STE not only uses the common methods to save what's left of the environment but also STE members use their scientific expertise to convert unusable environment resources to usable ones.


The activities of mitochondrial and microsomal acyl-CoA :sn-glycerol 3-phosphate O-acyltransferase and the concentrations of malonyl-CoA, non-esterified and esterified carnitine, glycerol 3-phosphate, ketone bodies and long-chain acyl-CoA esters livers of fed or starved pregnant, lactating and weaned rats The concentrations of malonyl-CoA, glycerol 3-phosphate, non-esterified carnitine, acid-soluble and acid-insoluble acylcarnitines, acetoacetate, 3-hydroxybutyrate and acid-insoluble acyl-CoA were measured in rapidly-frozen samples from starved (24h) virgin, and weaned (for 24h, on 10th day of rats. The activities of total and N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive and -insensitive glycerophosphate acyltransferase (acyl-CoA :sn-glycerol 3-phosphate O-acyltransferase; EC also measured. The concentration of malonyl-CoA was significantly higher in liver of fed pregnant, mid-and late-lactating rats than in liver of fed virgin rats. After starvation for 24 h hepatic malonyl-CoA concentrations were higher in mid-lactating rats and lower in pregnant and weaned rats than in virgin animals. 3. After starvation for 24 h the hepatic concentrations of glycerol 3-phosphate, ketone bodies, acid-soluble acylcarnitines and the value for the [3-hydroxybutyratel/[acetoacetateI ratio were all highest in pregnant


A checklist of 11 genera and 41 species of Bromeliaceae occurring in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul (MS) is presented. Of the total number of species, five are endemic and belong to the genera Dyckia and Tillandsia . The subfamily Pitcairnioideae is the richest in number of genera and species, including taxa that are rare in Brazil ( Deuterocohnia and Fosterella ). Tillandsioideae is the richest subfamily in species number plus one infraspecific taxon; however, it is only represented by Tillandsia , and most species are widely distributed all over Brazil and/or nearby countries. Bromelioideae , a subfamily characteristic of the Atlantic rainforest is less represented. This checklist updates the number of species in Mato Grosso do Sul, when compared to the Official Brazilian Plant Checklist.


ABSTRACT Two sowing dates (26 Sept. and 16 Oct.) were evaluated for yield and some morphological and quality factors of two hybrid tomato cultivars ('E 338' and 'GC 774') under plastic tunnel conditions in Guilan province, Iran. The early sowing had a significant positive effect (p = 0.01) on the yield and the number of fruits of both cultivars. The early sowing had also a significant effect (p = 0.05 and p = 0.01) on the plant height until development of the first inflorescence in 'GC 774' and on the distance between two inflorescences in 'E 338' (p = 0.01). Sowing date and genotype had no effect on the number of flowers in the first inflorescence and on the amount of soluble solids in tomatoes. The amount of organic acids in the fruits differed significantly (p = 0.05) in the early sowing only by 'E 338' cultivar. Vitamin C concentration was significantly different for different sowing date (p = 0.01), but were similar between the two cultivars.


A woman with dermoid of the neck was admitted to the Bristol Royal Infirmary in February last, under the care of Mr. A. W. Prichard. She had a large bilateral tumour with a median isthmus in the submaxillary region, non-adherent to the skin and stationary on deglutition. The right lobe could be moulded, like putty, into any shape, and the fingers imparted their impressions to it. The left, harder and somewhat inflamed, had been incised four days before admission, when it is said fluid, like " fat," came away. Through the opening, the little finger could be inserted along the interior of the isthmus beyond the middle line. In addition there was a tubercle between the angle of the jaw and lobule of the ear, and there was a small nodule also upon the antitragus. (Fig. i.) The patient, who was 32 years of age, gave the following history : When she was 15 years old a small lump was noticed in the neck. A photograph taken two years afterwards shows a condition almost as bad as that on admission recently. Her mother has a median hairy mole in the submaxillary region, and a small cervical tubercle about halfway down the anterior border of the left sterno-mastoid. The patient's children present no such abnormality. 146 MR. THOMAS CARWARDINE Mr. Prichard incised the left side and dissected away a portion of the sac-wall as far as the tongue and body of lower jaw where it became adherent. The right side was similarly treated. The contents were removed by the finger, and consisted of about 5 ounces of a mass exactly resembling the stale, dry, hard roe of a fish. The elements of this were distinctly soft, were uniformly about the size of a millet seed, and to the naked eye a slight difference could be seen between the centre and periphery of each. Chemical examination showed the presence of albumen and globulin, urea to the extent of 0-2 per cent., phosphates and chlorides, and a trace of iron?probably from the presence of blood. Microscopical examination of the small round bodies showed their epithelial structure and laminated arrangement, with an outer crust and central core. The cyst-wall exhibited the ordinary epithelial lining resembling skin with the superficial horny scales exfoliating. A supposed nodule in the cyst-wall led to the preparation of a section through the part. The nodule at first sight resembled …


High quality field measurements of the surface exchange of nitric oxide (NO) between soils and the atmosphere usually demand complex instrumentation and considerable power supplies. The latter often impedes such flux measurements at remote sites. However, soil samples could be taken everywhere, and consecutive parameterization of NO emission rates (derived from laboratory incubation of these soil samples) and up-scaling through independent data of soil properties (e.g. soil moisture, soil temperature, soil texture) is an effective alternative to quantify NO emission from soils, particularly from (very) remote sites. These laboratory derived NO emission rates have quite frequently verified through field measurements by the dynamic chamber technique. Here, we will present the first intercomparison between the laboratory and a micrometeorological (gradient) technique.


The powdered fuel is supplied, for example the crushing and fuel preparation device for preparing and drying and method are described. The present invention apparatus, the fuel preparation unit for accepting the mixture of fuel and gas, and preparing the fuel for burning in a powder form; Discharge conduit defining a flow passage through which a mixture of the powdered fuel and the gas discharged from the fuel preparation unit; Phase separator for separating a fuel phase comprising an accept mixture from the exhaust conduit, the gas that is at least mostly from the mixture is in a gas phase and a powdered fuel; A gas conduit for defining a passage for the gas phase flow from the separator; It is connected to the gas conduit and the fluid flow to the heat exchanger to accept and dry the gas phase; and a. The present invention method is applied to the basic principle for the implementation of the device.


Abstract Between 2011 and 2015 archaeological fieldwork was conducted in the Archaic through Late Antique harbours associated with Burgaz on the Datça Peninsula in south‐west Turkey. This work focused on survey and documentation of built features associated with the four harbours, limited stratigraphic excavation, and identification of shipwrecks and seafaring activity outside the harbours. The results offer new insights into the growth, expansion, and eventual abandonment of the port complex, its development alongside the urban settlement, and its changing maritime dynamics in light of economic shifts across the peninsula and the eastern Mediterranean.


The architecture that connects with reality aims to integrate nature as an extension of the user, thus seeking a complete development and application of the ontological architecture. That is saying, that both dimensions, body and spirituality, materialize in a functional structure that gives the user the opportunity to connect in an existential state of cognitive ecstasy. The importance of the ontological architecture consist in the development of consciousness through the spaces that are generated, integrating and understanding, that the answers about existence itself are inscribed in the patters of that nature that allows humanity it´s life.
My final project for the career of architecture consists of the creation of an aquarium for the city of Salinas, providing it with a centre for awareness, research and preservation of marine life. The incursion is developed starting from the movement of the military bases of the peninsula de Santa Elena, which includes the sector of La Puntilla, La Chocolatera and part of Mar Bravo. Based on a master plan for the city, the project aims to demonstrate that the cities of the future can find an economic, social and cultural balance, based on the development of projects that promote the preservation of life and the stimulation of cognitive functions of the mind.


The main purpose of this paper is to study the sum a+b=n V m ak V m bk a!b!involving arbitrary order power of the Lucas numbers and gives some identical transformations and interesting congruence expressions of the Lucas numbers.


In this study we address the phylogenetic relationships within the genus Hymenophyllum. Our sampling includes the segregate monotypic genera Cardiomanes, Serpyllopsis, Rosenstockia, and Hymenoglossum, representatives of the five subgenera proposed for Hymenophyllum by Morton, and of the section Microtrichomanes. Using morphology, cytology, and nucleotide sequences (rbcL, rps4-trnS, rbcL-accD), we obtained a fully resolved topology with several clades well supported. We confirm the monophyly of two clades within the Hymenophyllaceae. Serpyllopsis and Rosenstockia are nested in Hymenophyllum within a derived clade, while Cardiomanes and Hymenoglossum are positioned within a basal grade. Although some of the phylogenetic associations that were previously proposed within Hymenophyllum are supported, many traditionally defined infrageneric taxa are not resolved as monophyletic: subg. Hymenophyllum and Sphaerocionium are paraphyletic, and the broad subg. Mecodium, whose homogeneity had never been questioned, appears polyphyletic.


Concrete pavement proportions are increasing in Korean expressways, resulting in increased maintenance cost. The length of degenerate concrete pavements that have exceeded the design life (20 years) was 1150 km in 2015 and 2605 km in 2020 and is expected to rapidly increase. To extend the service life of concrete pavements, life-cycle cost (LCC) analysis was conducted on asphalt and concrete overlays, based on the different maintenance methods. LCC analysis was performed when the shoulder was used and when it was not used between 6000 and 35,000 AADT traffic according to the two-lane and four-lane traffic. During overlay, one lane was completely blocked, and the value per vehicle was converted into the user cost using the Construction Analysis for Pavement Rehabilitation Strategies software, according to whether the shoulder was used to maintain the number of lanes. In addition, LCC analysis was conducted by examining the construction cost and life-cycle according to each overlay method. When the shoulder was used, the total construction cost decreased, owing to the reduction in user cost, indicating that the implementation of the traffic measure of using the road shoulder improves user satisfaction and cost. The asphalt overlay was observed to be more favorable than concrete overlay in terms of the initial total construction cost. However, under a 20-year cycle, the economic efficiency of concrete overlay was higher than that of asphalt overlay. After repairing the deteriorated target sections of concrete pavements, the overlay method (asphalt or concrete) ought to be selected according to the target service life for beneficial economic effect. Concrete overlay was to obtain about 20% or greater LCC effect compared to asphalt overlay, and at least 5% or more additional LCC effect obtained when the shoulder was used.


With the advancement of modern marine detection technology, single parameter monitoring sensors have been incapable to adapt to complex and varied environments. In order to accomplish multi-parameter measurement in the water quality testing process, a low-power multi-parameter sensor based on BP network and least squares algorithm is proposed. Aiming at solving problems of poor accuracy, long sampling time and high-power consumption of sensors, a software and hardware optimization design combining algorithm is proposed. The results show that the sensor that the design can effectively realize temperature compensation and improve the parameter accuracy after the algorithm is processed by the algorithm. The hardware structure adopts low-power design and adjustable parameter design, which can reduce the system power consumption while minimizing the sampling time of some parameters. The software adopts FSM design to realize sensor mode selection. After testing, the multi-parameter detection system designed in this paper can meet the requirements of stability, accurate and low levels of power consumption in water quality testing.


The Russian academic theological tradition, scarcely known to the West, was the only milieu wherein the development of philosophy of religion in the pre-revolutionary Russia was under way. Philosophical investigation of the phenomenon of religion was being elaborated in the apologetic context, i.e. in critical analysis of non-theistic conceptions of the origin and essence of religion, and the figure of Friedrich Schleiermacher, with his reduction of religion firstly to cosmic feelings and later to the feeling of the ontological dependence, occupied an  invariable place in this analysis. The paper deals with critical comments on Schleiermacher's Speeches on Religion and Christian Faith made by Victor Kudryavtsev-Platonov and his followers, which are being parsed in turn, as well as with historical links of the later Schleiermacher with phenomenology of religion and typological affinities of the earlier Schleiermacher with the theology of religious pluralism. The philosophical constituent of the Russian spiritual academic tradition of the 19th  – 20th centuries, which falls in the concluding stage of the synodal period of Russian Church history, has not as yet received any deserved attention either abroad or even in the native historiography. The reasons in both cases are very similar. Foreign historians of Russian philosophy and even its not too numerous enthusiasts have not attached importance to it because nothing 'specifically Russian' is discerned in it. They haven't found there those manifestations of the so called 'mysterious Russian soul' which vent on a Westerner dealing with the feminine-romantic sophiology of Vladimir Solovyov and his numerous followers, with Pavel Florensky and Sergius Bulgakov at the head; the spiritual anarchism of Leo Tolstoy and his opponent Nikolai Feodorov; 154 VLADIMIR SHOKHIN political anarchism of Alexander Herzen and Michael Bakunin; postslavophilemessianism (both nationalist and ecumenical at the same time) of Fyodor Dostoevsky and Nikolai Leontyev; the 'philosophy of freedom' and 'Russian idea' of Nikolai Berdyayev, etc.1 Even the most meticulous German historian of Russian philosophy has spared very few pages to Russian synodal academic philosophy, while mentioning sometimes that it proved to be not so much 'genuine' as rather 'engaged', 'employed' philosophy (eine Dienst-Philosophie).2 In Russia after the October revolution one of the best and painstaking historians of Russian philosophy, who strived just to be 'employed' by the new regime, also disavowed this philosophy as 'engaged', 'two-faced' and working on German copy-books.3 Surprisingly, the similar attitude to our academic philosophers predominated also in the Russian anticommunist emigrant milieu, where the best historian of Russian theology disavowed the very theological system wherein they were developing themselves as infected by a  'Western сapture',4 and it was he who promoted the idea of 'the new patristic synthesis' (what its conception really did consist in was not, it seems, too clear even to its author) as an alternative to Western scholasticism. Even nowadays the most erudite Russian historians 1 A representative example of what in Russian philosophy should be of interest for the Western audience is provided by the multi-volume Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, which includes articles on 'Russian Materialism: "the 1860s"', 'Slavophilism', 'Russian Nihilism,', 'Nietzsche: Impact on Russian Thought', 'Russian Liberalism', 'Russian Religious-Philosophical Renaissance', etc. There is only one article on Russian academic, i.e. professional, philosophy ('Russian Neo-Kantianism') and no article on the academic philosophy under discussion. The crucial article on Russian philosophy is prefaced with such a  generalization as 'the principal contribution of Russian thinkers to the world culture has so far consisted not in systems, but in experiments in the theory and practice of human emancipation. Some of these led to the Russian Revolution, while others furnished remarkably accurate predictions of the nature of utopian power.' Aileen Kelly, 'Russian Philosophy', The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, vol. 8 (London & New York: Routledge, 1998), pp. 418-422 (p. 418). It is evident from this evaluation, very typical as it is, that 'Russian philosophy' and 'philosophy' are not regarded, in opposition to rationality, as species and genus, inasmuch as philosophy doesn't deal with the practice of human (political, etc.) emancipation, being (against Marx's illusions) only a theoretical undertaking of mankind. 2 See, e.g., Wilhelm Goerdt, Russische Philosophie: Grundlagen (München: Alber, 1995). 3 See, G. G. Spet, An Outline of the Development of Russian Philosophy, Part 1 (Moscow: ROSSPEN, 2008) (in Russian). 4 See: Georges Florovsky, 'Ways of Russian Theology', Collected Works, vol. 5-6 (Belmont, MA: Nordland, 1979; Vaduz, Büchervertriebsanstalt, 1987). 155 MYSTICAL CONCEPTION OF RELIGION IN RUSSIAN THEOLOGY of the synodal theology virtually disregard the development of those disciplines where philosophy occupied crucial positions.5 Admittedly, we can observe some incipient interest in the synodal philosophers in Russia these days, but here we have only initial and not too resolute steps in this direction.6 It stands to reason that the aforementioned arguments and motives behind the disregard of the philosophy under discussion are quite inconsistent. As to the aforementioned features of 'genuine Russian philosophy', they are, certainly, of great interest for a student of culture, but hardly justify removal of interest in 'generally valid philosophy' in Russia. As to complaints against Russian academic philosophy because of its 'foreignness', they are, taking into account universal features of genuine philosophical, i.e. theoretical, activity, not much more persuasive as, e.g., virtual desires that also 'purely Russian' mathematics, biology or astrophysics should have emerged. Indeed, philosophy being intercultural by nature, and Russian academic philosophy being its species, incorporation of 'the foreign heritage' is not to be less natural here than, e.g., in logic or the theory of argumentation. Regarding complaints concerning the 'scholasticism' of our synodal philosophy, 7 I'd object that such a format was universal in every 'professional philosophy', and, therefore, that these complaints can make sense only by admitting (such a viewpoint is rather popular) that a philosopher in Russia should be 'something more than a  philosopher'. Without 'scholasticism' our academic philosophy could neither master, nor work out philosophical 5 See, e.g., Nikolai Lisovoi, 'The Fundamental Overview: An Overview of the Main trends of Russian Theological Academic Science in the 19th  – beginning of the 20th centuries', Theological Works (Bogoslovskiitrudi), col. 37 (Moscow: Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, 2002), pp. 5-128 (in Russian), where the primary focus is on dogmatics, but achievements in liturgical theology and church archaeology are also taken into account, and even comparative theology, i.e. almost everything with the exception of rational theology. None of Russian 'rational theologians' were honoured by any attention in a biased but interesting survey: N. K. Gavryushin, Russian Theology: Outlines and Portraits (Nizni Novgorod: Glagol, 2005) (in Russian; there are also later editions). 6 One of more or less well-known publications is: Irina Tsvik, Russian Academic Theology in the 19th Century (Moscow: People's Friendship University of Russia, 2002) (in Russian). Here the philosophical constituents of all the four Russian spiritual academies are overviewed including academic attempts at the rational justification of theism and 'the academic epistemology' applied to knowledge of God. But the presentation of the subject-matter is more popular than rigorously academic. 7 And just from there it was transplanted into secular university education. 156 VLADIMIR SHOKHIN disciplines, philosophy of religion included, in systematic order, but would linger somewhere at the level of sophiology or 'public thought'. The only complaint deserving any attention could be a grudge against confessional biases, and we'll see that this complaint does have some validity: commitments sometimes did really interfere with objectivity. But we'll also see that they interfered without eliminating it, and, let's mention it right now, the adversaries of our academic philosophy were engaged much more.8 (1) Analysis of the mystical conception of religion which is of interest for us emerged in two formats of synodal theological activity. One of them corresponds to lectures in seminaries and academies on subjects very close to rational theology, the other to writings which had nothing to do with lecturing. In both cases estimations of the conception under discussion were being formed in a  very important context. I  mean elaborations of philosophy of religion, which sometimes was directly designated by this very name and sometimes by other terms, and here the academic philosophers have become pioneers in Russia.9 Academic professors themselves did not separate philosophy of religion as the philosophical investigation of the phenomenon of religion and its historical movement from the tasks of Christian apologetics, i.e. theology. But this fact by no means lowers the importance of what they were doing. It is well known that there are many problems with demarcation of philosophical disciplines even today. For example, 'philosophy of religion' in contemporary Anglo-American philosophy consists first and foremost in theistic metaphysics and only includes 'homeopathic doses' of reflection on religious experience and religiosity. We'll confine ourselves to evaluations of the mystical conception of religion of Friedrich Ernst Daniel Schleiermacher (1768-1834). The named author made first-rate contributions to numerous philosophical 8 To me


Green synthesis methods are environmentally friendly, cost effective and nonhazardous for biomedical applications in comparison with other methods. The aim of the study was green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using medicinal animal dung extract as a reducing, capping and stabilizing agent for the first time among other synthesis methods of silver nanoparticles. Female donkey's dung was capable to reduce silver ions to nanoparticles and stabilize them. Silver nanoparticles with average sizes of 36 nm were synthesized and characterized by UV-Vis, FT-IR, XRD and TEM. Moreover, synthesized nanoparticles were analyzed in terms of anticancer activity by MTT assay on MCF-7 cell line. UV–Visible spectrophotometer showed an absorbance peak in the range of 414-433 nm. To identify the phytochemical coating of particles, FTIR analysis was used. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images and X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the formation of small spherical silver nanoparticles. The MTT assay revealed potent anticancer effects of the aqueous extract synthesized nanoparticles on MCF-7 cells, incubated for 24 hours. Based on the current findings, it is strongly believing that the use of donkey's dung offers large scale production of biocompatible silver nanoparticles that can be suggested to possess valuable anticancer agents against breast cancer cell lines.


It is well known that a Bernstein-Greene-Kruskal (BGK) solution can be easily constructed as an exact nonlinear solution of the one dimensional Vlasov equation for an unmagnetized plasma. There have been questions about the existence of such solutions for a three dimensional (3D) unmagnetized plasma, although a solution for an infinitely strong magnetic field case can be constructed using the guiding center approximation. It is shown that a 3D solution depending only on energy does not exist. However, it is shown that a spherically symmetric solution can be constructed if it depends on energy as well as angular momentum. Typical solutions will be constructed numerically and, the form of such solutions will be analyzed. Possible extension to cases with cylindrical symmetry or finite magnetic guide field will be discussed. Applications of these results to laboratory and space plasmas will be presented.


Eighteen male buffalo calves aged 7–8 months and weighing 60–75 kg were used to evaluate the efficacy and safety of lumbosacral spinal analgesia produced by bupivacaine 0.25 mg/kg, xylazine 0.05 mg/kg and buprenorphine 20 μg/kg in groups A, B and C, respectively. The onset of analgesia was significantly (P<0.01) faster in group A as compared to groups B and C. Moderate analgesia spread from thorax to tail in groups A and B. Buprenorphine produced mild analgesia of tail and perineum only. Ataxia was severe in groups A and B. Xylazine produced maximal sedation. Plasma glucose increased significantly (P<0.05) after administration of bupivacaine or xylazine. Plasma urea nitrogen decreased significantly (P<0.05) in all groups. Plasma creatinine increased significantly (P<0.05) in group A. Plasma cortisol increased in all groups, group C had significantly higher cortisol levels than group B. It was concluded that bupivacaine and xylazine have similar analgesic potency on spinal administration in buffaloes. Both drugs produced only transient alterations in haematobiochemical parameters and therefore, may be considered for spinal use in buffalo calves. Buprenorphine is a poor analgesic agent when used spinally in buffalo calves.


Standardized parameter estimates are routinely used to summarize the results of multiple regression models of manifest variables and structural equation models of latent variables, because they facilitate interpretation. Although the typical standardization of interaction terms is not appropriate for multiple regression models, straightforward alternatives are well known (Aiken & West, 1991; Friedrich, 1982). Whereas the analogous problem exists for the estimation of latent interactions in structural equation modeling (SEM), the problem is more complex and apparently has not been resolved. Here we demonstrate that the appropriate "standardized" parameter estimates are easily formulated from parameter estimates routinely available from existing SEM software packages. Some properties of the appropriate "standardized" solution are mathematically derived, including the demonstration that the main and interaction effects are scale-free, as are the factor loadings. These desirable properties of the standardized solution are illustrated with a simulation data set using the unconstrained approach (Marsh, Wen, & Hau, 2004) to estimating latent interactions. These results support the use of the appropriate "standardized" solutions in interpreting and comparing SEM estimates of latent interactions.


Trusts are commonly used as business and investment vehicles for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The funding arrangements for such trusts are increasingly the subject of ATO scrutiny, particularly with regard to interest deductibility.


Although few students may achieve an elite status in sports while pursuing academic qualifications, dual careers have many positive impacts including recognition to the country and the creation of better professionals. Understanding the strengths, challenges, weaknesses and opportunities in the existing system is essential in planning and implementing successful career transition programs. In the present study, undergraduate athletes categorized as elites on the basis of performance and competition participation, were interviewed on their motivation, and perception of factors associated with dual careers. 12 who expressed consent were selected from the University of Colombo and University of Peradeniya. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used as the approach to analyze the results obtained through semistructured guided interviews on an online platform. Extrinsic and Intrinsic motivation were studied using Deductive Thematic Analysis based on Self-Determination Theory. The participants indicated a high level of motivation for a dual career during the undergraduate period, and several wished to continue their elite athletic career with an occupation based on their graduate qualifications. Many perceived that a dual career improved personal and professional development, but indicated difficulty in balancing their activities in the absence of sufficient support systems. Inflexible academic programs, lack of academic staff cooperation, financial constraints, social norms, disparity between sports, insufficient opportunities and lack of research based implementation were seen as major challenges. An absence of programs supporting dual careers has been a major obstacle for the student athletes of state universities of Sri Lanka, and future strategies require enhancing the strengths identified, while mitigating perceived challenges.


Chemical and manufacturing industries spend upwards of 10% of their budgets on energy and replacement of electric motors, and these are seen as fixed costs. The energy usage of various electrical motors will vary as the motors age and oxidize. The application of Volatile Corrosion Inhibitors to protect electric motors from oxidation was examined. When the copper windings and other internal components oxidize, their energy usage will generally increase and their useful life will decrease. Utilization of Volatile Corrosion Inhibitors to protect electric motors before and during operation could potentially provide a substantial cost savings to almost any company in chemical and other manufacturing sectors. ASTM B 117 salt spray proved to have a significant effect on the resistance of an untreated electric motor, whereas various volatile corrosion inhibitor products prevented the motors from oxidizing.


The manufacturing technology of historical mortars from the Roman to Medieval period apparently has not undergone evolutions. As reported in the literature, a quality decrease in the raw material occurred after the fall of the Roman Empire. During the Roman Age, the mortars presented the requirements of long durability due to hydraulic characteristics, and in later times, the production has only partially maintained the ancient requirements. To focus on the different production technologies between Roman and Medieval mortar, this research presents the case study of San Saturnino Basilica (Italy), where an archaeological mortar stratigraphy from Roman to Middle Ages is well preserved. An archaeometric characterization was performed to compare the mortars of the Roman period with the mortars of the Medieval period collected from the case-study monument. This comparison was carried out by measuring some physical-mechanical, mineralogical, petrographic and thermal features that give more information about the durability and resistance to mechanical solicitations and weathering. After the characterizations, contrary to what is reported in the bibliography, a better quality of Medieval materials than Roman ones is pointed out. This has been highlighted by higher hydraulicity, mechanical performance, and a more appropriated particle-size distribution of aggregates.