Background: Fibro-osseous jaw lesions are a group of tumours and proliferative disorders which present similar clinicopathological features. They comprise a range of developmental, reactive and neoplastic lesions characterized by replacement of normal bone by fibrous tissue, with subsequent formation of new mineralized tissue. Making diagnosis of fibro-osseus lesions may be challenging for clinicians and pathologists alike, owing to their overlapping clinicopathology. Objectives: This study aims to determine the pattern and clinicopathological distribution of fibroosseous lesions of the jaws over a 7-year period. Methodology: This study retrospectively reviewed 90 fibro-osseous lesions diagnosed at the Oral Pathology laboratory of the department of Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine, Lagos State University College of Medicine, over a period of seven years (January 2013 to January 2019). Information regarding the type, frequency, age, sex and site distribution of FOLs were retrieved from the archival records of the Oral Pathology laboratory. Result: Fibro-osseous lesions (FOLs) of the jaws constituted 8.94% of all biopsies seen within the 7-year study period. Ossifying fibromas were the commonest FOL types accounting for 63.3% of all FOLs, followed by fibrous dysplasias at 20%. Lesions were observed within the age range of 9-72 years with an overall mean age of 31.9±15.5 years for all FOLs, 38.5±1.5 for Ossifying fibroma and 13.3±2.5 years for fibrous dysplasia. Female predilection for FOLs was recorded at a Male: Female ratio of 1:2.2. Mandible was the observed site of predilection for Ossifying fibroma, while the reverse was observed for Fibrous dysplasia. Conclusion: FOLs are relatively common jaw lesions, with ossifying fibromas occurring more frequently than others. Making an accurate diagnosis of FOLs in resource limited settings is greatly dependent on the availability of detailed clinical information, owing to their similar histopathologic appearances.


Objective To establish a way to measure intake of radionuclides and estimation of committed effective dose based on gamma spectrometry analysis. Methods Using gamma spectrometry to measure radionuclides excretion feces and urine of internally contaminated persons. The measured values are to be used to estimate the in take of radionuclides and committed effective dose. The calculation process was performed by a computer code. Result This method can be used to estimate internal contamination and the coputer code may provide quick and exact results. Conclusion This research provides a rapid method to measur and estimate radionuclides causing internal contamination, and it may meet the needs in emergency cases. ;


Purpose: We performed this study to evaluate reliability on interpretation of three phase bone scintigraphy (TPBS) in patients with post-traumatic complex regional pain syndrome (PT-CRPS). Methods: Based on International Association for the Study of Pain guideline in 1994, 34 patients with PT-CRPS were selected for this study. Two nuclear medicine physicians evaluated identical TPBS according to the uptake pattern, extent and intensity of the lesion, and their agreements (kappa values) were analysed. The final diagnosis based on arbitrary criteria of each physician were compared with those obtained by the criteria for PT-CRPS established in this study, which are hyperactivity on all phases (criteria 1), hyperactivity of whole joints on delayed phase (criteria 2), and hyperactivity of either whole or FDGal joints on delayed phase (criteria 3). Results: Intra-observer agreements were good for uptake pattern, intensity, and extent on TPBS. Inter-observer agreements were also good, except extent on blood pool phase (0.55). The inter-observer agreements on final diagnosis improved when criteria 1-3 were applied (0.77-0.88), compared to when physician's own criteria were used (0.63). Those also improved from 0.29 to 0.47-0.82 for acute stage, and from 0.37 to 1.0 for chronic stage. The sensitivities of chronic stage were relatively lower to those of acute stage. Conclusions: Inter-observer's variations in diagnosis of the patients with PT-CRPS using TPBS were observed. These results were attributed to different criteria set by observers. In order to improve agreement on interpretation of TPBS, common positive criteria should be established, especially considering uptake pattern and clinical stages.


Objective To explore the curative effect of microsurgery via the small bone window-interhemispheric approach on anterior cerebral artery-pericallosal artery (ACA-PCA) aneurysms.Methods The clinical data of 10 patients with ACA-PCA aneurysms treated by microsurgery via the small bone window-interhemispheric approach were analyzed retrospectively.Results All the aneurysms were successfully clipped in 10 patients,of whom,8 were recovered well,1 had mild paralysis of one lower limb,and 1 was severely disabled.No patients died from the microsurgery.Conclusion The curative effect of microsurgery via small bone window-interhemispheric approach on ACA-PCA aneurysms is satisfactory.


A study considering both the last thirteen year surface temperature, greenhouses gases (water vapor, carbondioxide, ozone and methane) data measured by Aqua Earth-observing satellite mission and the 15 years lightning events data recorded by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, suggest a positive correlation between some greenhouse gases and lightning activity in Colombia. This result is relevant to understand the factors affecting weather patterns and probably increasing annual lightning activity rate in Colombia.


It was mainly about development of NBR/PVC boot for motor cycle.The formula design and producing technology were stated according to use conditions and technology requirements of the product.The product properties met user requirement.


for an Invited Paper for the APR09 Meeting of The American Physical Society From Deuterium to Free Neutrons Recent Experimental Results SEBASTIAN KUHN, Old Dominion University Lepton scattering has long been used to gather data on the internal structure of both protons and neutrons. Assuming isospin symmetry, these data can be used to pin down the contributions of both u and d quarks to the spatial and momentum-spin structure of the nucleon and its excitations. In this context, information on the neutron is crucial and is typically obtained from experiments on few-body nuclear targets (predominantly 3He and deuterium). However, the need to account for binding effects complicates the interpretation of these experiments. On the other hand, detailed studies of the reaction mechanism can yield important new information on the structure of few-body nuclei and the interplay of nuclear and quark degrees of freedom. Recent theoretical and experimental advances have allowed us to make significant progress on both fronts – a cleaner extraction of neutron properties from nuclear data and a better understanding of nuclear modifications of the bound neutron structure. I will concentrate on recent results on the deuteron. I will present a new extraction of neutron spin structure functions in the resonance and large-x region (from the EG1 experiment with CLAS at Jefferson Lab). The same data can also be used for a detailed comparison with modern calculations of quasi-elastic spin-dependent scattering on the deuteron. A second experimental program with CLAS uses the technique of "spectator tagging" to extract the unpolarized structure functions of the neutron with minimal uncertainties from nuclear effects. By mapping out the dependence of the cross section on the "spectator" momentum, we can learn about final state interactions between the struck nucleon and the spectator, as well as modifications of the neutron structure due to nuclear binding. I will present preliminary results from the "BoNuS" experiment which pushed the detection limit of the spectator proton down to momenta of 70 MeV/c, where nuclear corrections should become small.


1. Carson JL, Adamson JW. Iron deficiency and heart disease: ironclad evidence? Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program 2010;2010:348-50. 2. Anker SD, Comin Colet J, Filippatos G, et al. Ferric carboxymaltose in patients with heart failure and iron deficiency. N Engl J Med 2009;361:2436-48. 3. Ponikowski P, van Veldhuisen DJ, Comin-Colet J, et al. Beneficial effects of long-term intravenous iron therapy with ferric carboxymaltose in patients with symptomatic heart failure and iron deficiency. Eur Heart J 2015;36:657-68. 4. Krayenbuehl PA, Battegay E, Breymann C, Furrer J, Schulthess G. Intravenous iron for the treatment of fatigue in nonanemic, premenopausal women with low serum ferritin concentration. Blood 2011;118:3222-7. 5. Pasricha SR, Low M, Thompson J, Farrell A, De-Regil LM. Iron supplementation benefits physical performance in women of reproductive age: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Nutr 2014;144:906-14.


Meiotic studies in 15 female puppies (Canis familiaris) revealed that in this species first meiotic prophase begins postnatally. Leptotene is observed until day 5, zygotene from day 5 to day 15, pa...


A certified natural family planning practitioner (CNFPP) of the Creighton Model of the Ovulation Method at Seton Medical Center in Daly City California argues here that the authors of the article Breastfeeding: Off to a Good Start in an earlier edition of the Journal of Human Lactation made a false claim. The authors said that before breast-feeding women had access to the Ovulation Method the breast-feeding period was difficult for natural family planning methods. Yet trainers using the Creighton Model of the Ovulation Method put considerable emphasis on teaching women to recognize their mucus signs and their periods of fertility or infertility. The CNFPP asserts that many lactating women have successfully used the ovulation method even before resumption of menses. The CNFPP used it herself for more than 12 months. In conclusion adequate training in natural family planning prepares breast-feeding women to use natural family planning.


14523 Background: Second-line monotherapy activity in patients with metastatic CRC is low with an objective response rate of 9% in phase II-III studies (Vieitez et al, Am J Clin Oncol 2003; Rougier y cols., 1998). Gefitinib has shown activity in vitro and in animal models against colon cancer cell lines, and has shown to increase the activity of raltitrexed (Cardiello et al, Clin Cancer Res 2000). Methods: A multi-center randomized, double blind, phase II study was initiated in patients with metastatic CRC who failed prior therapy based on 5-FU LV plus OXL or/and CPT and measurable disease. Patients were randomized to received Raltitrexed, 3 mg/m2 IV q3w, (arm A) or Raltitrexed plus Gefitinib, 250 mg PO OD (arm B). Primary end-point was time to progression (TTP); Secondary end-point was objective tumour response rate (ORR) based on the RECIST criteria at six month, overall survival (OS) and safety. Results: Between Dec 2003 and Oct. 2005, 76 patients were recruited in 7 centers. Median age was 65.0 (range...


My research outcomes are considered in three parts. Part One shows how personal histories contribute to my creative practice, especially through recalling the origins of my sensibility. It maps my body of work and situates my practice. Part Two uses case


A 72-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with chest discomfort and syncope. The echocardiography showed the left ventricular aneurysm. The coronary arteriography revealed a complete occlusion at distal portion of the right coronary artery and anterior aneurysm of the left ventricle was demonstrated. We diagnosed that it was false aneurysm because of communicating with the left ventricle through a small orifice. Surgical repair was carried out after resection of the aneurysm of the left ventricle. The postoperative course was uneventful and discharged on the 33rd day after surgery. Pseudo-false ventricular aneurysm of the left ventricle was diagnosed by histological examination.


Being able to show a benefit for information services to balance against their cost, and knowing what criteria to use for choice among the options for their provision—these are needs which loom large for information people. This paper reviews what techniques have been found useful, and tries to show how valuations from the clients of information services can be brought into the equation.


Background: Both mini-laparoscopic surgery and single-incision laparoscopic surgery are feasible and safe alternatives to conventional multi-incision laparoscopic surgery. Materials and Methods: Fifty-one conventional single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomies (CSILCs) and 34 mini-single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomies (MSILCs) were performed by a single surgeon for uncomplicated diseases. Compared with a 2-cm paraumbilical incision in CSILC, the incision in MSILC was 1.2 cm in length. Results: In the CSILC period, all the procedures were performed successfully except one (2.2%). In the MSILC period, 6 (15%) CSILCs and 34 (85%) MSILCs were scheduled. All the former procedures were successful, whereas three MSILCs were converted to CSILCs. Fewer patients needed more than two pethidine doses, and the accumulated dosage was lower in the MSILC period compared with the CSILC period (2 [5.0%] vs. 11 [24.4%] and 0.595 ± 0.505 mg/kg vs. 0.936 ± 0.912 mg/kg, P < 0.05). The complication rates were 2.2% and 2.5% in the CSILC and MSILC periods, respectively (Clavien–Dindo Grade I). Conclusion: MSILC can be performed safely for uncomplicated diseases. Compared with CSILC, MSILC has advantages of reduced postoperative pain and faster recovery but potentially increases operative time. Careful patient selection with a low threshold of conversion is obligatory.


The article describes a 4-year observation of calcium magnesium acetate deicers that shows that the product is a viable alternative to salt in some situations, if used correctly. When mixed with snow, CMA becomes hydrated, gaining water as it dissolves. This action inhibits snow particles adhering to each other or to the road. This snow remains light and dry compared to the heavier, slushy snow created by the salt's briming action. CMA stops working at about 10 deg F, while salt stops at 20 deg F. The lower free-water content of CMA-treated snow explains how CMA helps prevent refreezing and pack formation at lower temperatures. The reasons why CMA performs well in the field but is judged marginal in laboratory tests are discussed. The storage and handling requirements of CMA are discussed.


Key features are presented of two high-resolution EUV imaging tools: the MS-13 Microstepper wafer exposure and the RIM-13 reticle imaging microscope. The MS-13 has been developed for EUV resist testing and technology evaluation at the 32nm node and beyond, while the RIM-13 is designed for actinic aerial image monitoring of blank and patterned EUV reticles. Details of the design architecture, module layout, major subsystems and performance are presented for both tools.


Glass fiber-reinforced epoxy composites are one of the potential lightweight structural materials used in various engineering applications due to its excellent properties. Drilling is most widely applied for fastening the composite structures; nevertheless, the damage induced by this operation may reduce the component performance drastically. To establish the damage level, delamination is measured quantitatively using digital imaging techniques. In this study, to quantify the delamination severity effectively, a new refined delamination factor (FDR) is proposed and validated using experimental results observed from three-point bend tests (3PT) and modified short beam shear tests. The value of determined refined delamination factor (FDR) is more accurate compared to the calculated conventional (FD) and adjusted (FDA) delamination factors.


Objective To consider whether laparoscopic bilateral salpingotomy can be effective in the management of bilateral simultaneous tubal pregnancy.

Design A case report.

Subject A 24-year-old Indian woman, gravida 2 para 1, with pelvic pain at 5 weeks' gestation.

Interventions The patient had conceived with an ovulation induction regimen. Pelvic examination and ultrasonography suggested an ectopic pregnancy. Laparoscopy revealed bilateral simultaneous tubal pregnancy. Conservative treatment through bilateral linear salpingotomy was carried out and pathological investigation confirmed the presence of chorionic villi in both tubes.

Results The postoperative clinical course was uneventful and β-human chorionic gonadotrophin levels dropped satisfactorily. The patient required no further treatment.

Comment  Correctly performed laparoscopic bilateral salpingotomy can be effective in the management of bilateral simultaneous tubal pregnancy.


The paper presents a set of new demodulation algorithms for use in satellite systems to receive Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals, with the potential presence of other interfering signals. The combined differential demodulation scheme, referred to as CDD-n, combines n single differential demodulation schemes with appropriately selected weights. Simulation results indicate that the gain under the proposed demodulation scheme is up to 10 dB over several existing non-coherent, single differential demodulation schemes. The impact of the combination coefficients/weights, the number of single differential detectors used, the low pass filter used, the interference and phase shift on the performance are evaluated through simulation, respectively. The proposed demodulation schemes are simple and easy to implement in satellite receivers in current and future satellite networks.


Farmer bankruptcies, bankruptcy rates, and related issues are explored from the beginning of modern bankruptcy legislation over a century ago. Farmer bankruptcies historically have been controversial because they are thought to indicate changes in the economic well-being and structure of the rural economy. Concerns about farmer bankruptcies were heightened twice during the past century. The first was from 1920 through the Great Depression and the second was during the 1980s. Bankruptcy data for Chapters 7, 11, and 13 exist for farmers for the 1899-1980 period, but there are no Chapter 7, 11, or 13 farmer bankruptcy data available beginning in 1980. However, data are available for the 1986-2002 period for Chapter 12, the Family Farmer Bankruptcy Act of 1986, that became effective on November 26, 1986, in response to the farm financial crisis of the 1980s. Some 22,519 Chapter 12 cases were filed through 2002, with the highest rate being in 1987. Farmer bankruptcy filing rates trended down after the late 1980s because of improved economic conditions and institutional changes.


Whilst the importance of community-based rehabilitation treatment programmes for people with acquired brain injury is increasingly recognised, there are as yet few well-validated outcome measures which take account both of the specific (participation-related) foci of treatment in this setting and of methodological constraints that make inpatient techniques difficult to use. There is rarely the opportunity for extended observation of clients' day-to-day functioning, nor is it usually possible to seek consensual judgements from a multidisciplinary team as with some of the well-established disability measures that are generally the instruments of choice in hospital settings. Attempts to import such instruments into community assessment rely on administration techniques (e.g. interview) which have not been adequately validated in most cases, and whose reliability and accuracy is unknown. An additional limitation is that many patients living in the community score at ceiling on these measures despite having si...


The subspecies concept is one of the most controversial in Linnean taxonomy. In the past, subspecies were described without a clear conceptual framework, triggering confusion and motivating criticism of the very concept of a subspecies. At present, subspecies are conceived as aggregates of populations that are geographically isolated, are composed of interfertile individuals, and are morphologically diagnosable. The tayra, Eira barbara, was described in 1758 and has had a stable taxonomic history at the species level. However, below the species level, 16 subspecies have been named, with from two to seven subspecies recognized as valid by different authors. None of the subspecies were, however, described within a clear conceptual framework. Using the modern concept of a subspecies, I analyzed subspecies of E. barbara recognized by recent authors. I gathered morphometric data from 155 specimens in mammal collections, georeferenced each specimen, and recorded membership to subspecies assigned by different references and by its location. I gathered climate and geographic data for each location. I analyzed data using Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Specimens exhibited sexual dimorphism in size but not in skull shape. I used regression analysis to test for associations between skull shape and size and climate data. Geographic analyses documented that subspecies are not allopatric, violating one of the main properties of the subspecies concept. ANOVA showed significant differences in skull morphology between some pairs of recognized subspecies but not others. However, none of the subspecies segregated in the PCA. Thus, the recognized subspecies could not be diagnosed from morphological data, violating another property of the subspecies concept. Size varied greatly between the sexes using different schemes for recognized subspecies. Climate variables explained between 4% and 6% of size variation for males and females. Skull shape proved not to be geographically variable.


Abstract. This paper describes a dynamic mathematical model of a new type
two-stage nutation drive system with double circular-arc bevel gears. The
dynamic displacement–vibration coupling model takes into account the gyro torque and side clearance of the nutating gear. A numerical analysis
geometric model of the nutation drive system is developed. The geometric
model considers the time-varying and contact deformation of nutation gear
meshing. Subsequently, the model is analyzed using the ANSYS/LS-DYNA
software, and the dynamic contact characteristics of the nutation gear are
calculated. The simulation results revealed that the nutation transmission
of the double circular-arc spiral bevel gear is reliable. Moreover, the
mathematical verification showed that the simulation is feasible and accurate. The research has important significance for improving the tooth
load capacity and transmission stability of nutation drives.


The formation of the pseudogap in CeNiSn has been investigated by means of resistivity and specific-heat measurements in high magnetic fields. When the field is raised from 0 to 12 T along the orthorhombic a axis, the semiconductorlike behavior in the resistivity below 6 K disappears and the linear electronic term in the specific heat increases from 57 to 100 mJ/${\mathrm{K}}^{2}$ mol. However, no significant effect was observed for fields along the b and c axes up to 15 T. These results suggest an anisotropic suppression of the pseudogap, which can be interpreted as a result of strong spin polarization of the renormalized narrow band.


The utility model relates to the technical field of safety protection for water constructions, in particular to an inside energy dissipation pad of an anti-collision fender. The inside energy dissipation pad comprises an energy dissipation pad body with a cavity formed inside and a cover plate. The energy dissipation pad body is fixedly connected with the cover plate in a sealing mode. A plurality of parallel partition plates are arranged in the energy dissipation pad body, and a plurality of compression springs are arranged between every two adjacent partition plates and/or between the adjacent partition plates and the inner side wall of the energy dissipation pad body. The inside energy dissipation pad of the anti-collision fender is directly arranged between a pier and the anti-collision fender, and the axes of the springs are parallel with the horizontal plane; when impacted, the anti-collision fender can extrude the energy dissipation pad to damage a shell of the energy dissipation pad and compress the springs to dissipate a part of impact force, and therefore the anti-collision fender can dissipate the impact force borne by the anti-collision fender before being damaged, and the pier can be effectively protected. In addition, the maintenance cost is low. Meanwhile, the shell of the energy dissipation pad provides a relatively-airtight environment for the springs, and therefore the service life of the springs is greatly prolonged.


Nowadays one of the most important issues in our economy, both from economic and political view is the link between monetary policy and business cycle fluctuations. Amongst the shocks related to the supply side, the shock of oil price is the important factor that has affected the world economy since the 1970s. This paper examines the effects of monetary policy and oil price shocks on the business cycle fluctuations by applying the factor augmented vector autoregressive approach, Bernanke (2005) … to compare the results with VAR models by using Iran quarterly data for the period 1988:Q2 to 2011:Q3, the FAVAR models explain the effects of monetary policy which are consistent with theory better than VAR models. The results demonstrate a small but significant impact of monetary policy on the business cycle fluctuations.


Torsades de pointes (Tdp) is a form of ventricular tachycardia, and its occurrence in childhood is very rare. In adult patients treated with sotahl. Tdp has been reported to the occur with an incidence of 2%–4%. In children who are treated with sotalol. occurrence of Tdp has been reported in only a single case. A 15‐month‐old girl with Wolff‐Parkinson‐White syndrome developed recurrent syncopal attacks. She had been treated with sotalol 1.5 mg/kg daily since shortly after birth because of recurrent episodes of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. ECG monitoring exhibited frequent Tdp tachycardia. Serum electrolyte levels were normal. Echocardiographic analysis excluded a structural heart defect and did not show any signs of myocardial infection. Sotalol treatment was stopped and an infusion with lidocaine was started. Despite this therapy the Tdp continued. Magnesium aspartate was then administered, which immediately stopped the Tdp. As no other reason was evident, Tdp in this child has to be judged as a proarrhythmia related to sotalol therapy.


Mobile learning is a kind of new-emerging learning mode with the characteristics of mobility, convenience, unrestrained using, etc. It can be applied in college English teaching based on its profound theoretical foundation and mature realistic conditions. The paper mainly focuses on the research of specific mode of students' college English learning and teachers' corresponding instructional strategies in this mode for the sake of improving students' English learning efficiency.


Service-oriented government in China was a new round of administrative reform one of the important contents,an inevitable requirement of the building of a harmonious society.The people's democratic dictatorship and the purpose of the Communist Party of China,the need of improving the socialist market economic system,the necessary requirement of building a socialist harmonious society,and the current situation of the government itself were four reasons of building a service-oriented government in china.To build a service-oriented government should be good to solve the main contradiction.Building a high-quality civil service's team in China is the key measures of building a service-oriented government.


Switchable surfaces were fabricated by grafting of two different polymers: polystyrene (PS) and poly-2-vinylpyridine (PVP) onto the surface of Si-wafers. The binary brushes of various composition, molecular weight and grafting density were synthesized via free radical polymerization initiated by the azo-initiator covalently attached to the surface of Si-wafers. Investigations showed that the binary brushes are very sensitive to the surrounding media. After exposition to a solvent selective for PVP (ethanol, water + HCl) the surface becomes hydrophilic and the top of the layer is covered by PVP. After exposition to a solvent selective for PS (toluene) the surface becomes hydrophobic and the top of the layer is enriched with PS segments. Switching kinetics depends on grafting density and layer composition and varies from several seconds to several minutes at room temperature. Surface morphology of the layers switches as well as the wetting behavior. Results show that the layer reconstruction is reversible and can be repeated many times.


We elaborate on the recent work of Moritz et al. where it is argued that anti‐brane uplifting in KKLT models never leads to dS vacua. This is due to flattening effects in the effective potential found when treating the gaugino condensate energy momentum in ten‐dimensional supergravity. We point out that the Silverstein‐Saltman uplift, which effectively dissolves the anti‐brane in 3‐form fluxes, is a conceptually simpler setting in which flattening effects can be present, without requiring assumptions about UV/IR mixings. Along the way we revise and improve on the arguments of Moritz et al. and discuss various subleties when studying gaugino condensates from a ten‐dimensional point‐of‐view. In particular, the "no dS" argument is slightly weaker and we emphasize a technical loophole that might allow dS vacua. Finally we suggest that AdS vacua which are parametrically controlled from these flattening effects belong to the Swampland. We comment on the relation with the recent refined dS Swampland inequalities.


The problems of perfecting the methods of motorial training technique in sports on the basis of «modular» hypothesis of thinking, which would allow to develop steady and variable technical skills of sportsmen's actions in intense competitive conditions, are considered.


I. INTRODUCTION Several years ago, I discussed in this journal (1) the Fifth Circuit's repeated error in dismissing as frivolous several strong legal arguments, among them the contention that an alien's state felony conviction for simple possession of illegal drugs was not a "drug trafficking" (2) crime that qualified as an "aggravated felony" (3) under the relevant provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. (4) Several other circuits, while not classifying it as outright frivolous, had by then also adamantly rejected this argument. (5) Despite both the courts' treatment of the claim as entirely lacking merit during the 1990s, and the Fifth Circuit's mentioning the threat of sanctions to attorneys who continued to press the argument, (6) lawyers representing aliens continued to litigate the issue in virtually every circuit and, when they were unsuccessful, to seek review in the Supreme Court. Ultimately, nearly fifteen years after the issue was first decided by a federal appeals court, (7) and only after a multi-dimensional split among the circuits had developed, the Supreme Court addressed the issue. In a 2006 opinion that resoundingly rejected the position adopted by the majority of circuits, the Court held in Lopez that a state felony conviction for simple possession of drugs is not a drug trafficking crime constituting an aggravated felony under the immigration laws. (8) The fifteen-year history of the litigation over this issue--a history that ended only with the Supreme Court's decision in Lopez--presents a compelling case study of significant shortcomings in the federal appellate process. First, it demonstrates that many federal appeals courts for well over a decade gave short shrift to a compelling legal argument, which resulted in the denial of relief to an extremely large class of litigants. Second, it demonstrates that the Supreme Court failed to intervene in a timely manner despite the importance of the legal issue and the thousands of litigants affected nationwide. Third, it demonstrates the Justice Department's failure to seek Supreme Court review of an important issue even after it became clear that review at the highest level was warranted. Finally, and of particular interest to practitioners reading this article, the history of the courts' treatment of the issue presented in Lopez also demonstrates the need for counsel to preserve for appeal a legal claim that, although foreclosed by adverse precedent in a particular jurisdiction, eventually may be found by the Supreme Court to be meritorious. II. "DRUG TRAFFICKING" AS AN "AGGRAVATED FELONY" UNDER SECTION 101(a)(43)(B) OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT Under federal immigration law, a non-citizen (including a permanent resident alien) convicted of an aggravated felony offense (9) is virtually certain to be deported from the United States (10) and, if he thereafter were to return illegally and be discovered by immigration authorities, very likely would be prosecuted in federal court under 8 U.S.C. [section] 1326 and face prison time followed by another deportation. (11) Moreover, such an alien also would face dramatically more prison time than a previously deported alien who illegally reentered without having a prior conviction for an aggravated felony. (12) As the Supreme Court explained in Lopez An aggravated felony on [an alien's] criminal record has worse collateral effects than a felony conviction simple. Under the immigration statutes, for example, the Attorney General's discretion to cancel the removal of a person otherwise deportable does not reach a convict of an aggravated felony. [8 U.S.C.] [section] 1229b(a)(3). Nor is an aggravated felon eligible for asylum. [8 U.S.C.] [section] [section] 1158(b)(2)(A)(ii), 1158(b)(2)(B)(i). And under the sentencing law, the Federal [Sentencing] Guidelines attach special significance to the "aggravated felony" designation: a conviction of unlawfully entering or remaining in the United States receives an eight-level increase for a prior aggravated felony conviction, but only four levels for "any other felony. …


SUMMARY Forty-six cows in store condition (mean ± S.E. body weight of 366 ± 8 kg) were fed individually either 3 or 4 kg of coarsely rolled sorghum grain/head/day for the last 100 days of pregnancy and the subsequent 70 days after parturition. Eleven of the cows on each level of feeding had their calves weaned at 3 days of age. For the last 100 days of pregnancy, 3 kg of grain/head/day was an adequate ration for survival, but cows fed this ration lost a mean of 34 kg of body weight over this period compared to 8 kg by cows fed 4 kg of grain/head/day. Only 78% of the cows fed 3 kg grain/day survived to 70 days after parturition, whereas all cows fed 4 kg/day survived. There was a 44% incidence of retained placentae and metritis in cows fed 3 kg grain/day whereas those fed 4 kg/day had only an 18% incidence. Weaning of the calves at 3 days of age reduced the body weight loss of the cows by a mean of 40 kg over the first 70 days of lactation, but the effect was less for cows fed 3 kg grain (27 kg) than for those fed 4 kg grain (53 kg). Birth weight of the calves was not affected by the level of grain fed to the cows, but calves weaned and given 3 kg of milk/day plus a 50/50 creep of lucerne chaff and sorghum grain grew faster than calves not weaned and given only a sorghum grain creep. The omission of a source of calcium in the grain ration resulted in no apparent adverse clinical effects in the cows. The Na:K ratio of the saliva indicated that nine of the cows had been depleted of Na.


It is the position of the Internal Revenue Service that samesex couples, whether married where permitted or not, will not be allowed to file joint tax returns. Rather, they will be treated as persons who are "live-ins," whether in a heterosexual or samesex relationship. The IRS position as to same-sex couples is based upon The Defense of Marriage Act1 which defines "marriage" for the purpose of administering federal law, including federal tax laws, as the "legal" union between one man and one woman as husband and wife. "It further defines "spouse" as a "person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife." The IRS position further states that:


Founded in 1922, the Partido Comunista de Chile (PCCh) had a somewhat chequered career before the mid-1930s.1 Although the prestige of its founder, Luis Emilio Recabarren, and its close ties with organized labour gave the party an early significance, its progress towards becoming an important force in Chilean politics halted abruptly when General Carlos Ibáñez came to power in 1927. Forced into clandestinity by Ibáñez, the party emerged on his downfall in 1931 with its membership vastly reduced, its trade union arm, the Federación Obrera de Chile (FOCH), moribund, and its remaining activists deeply divided by ideological, tactical and personal differences.


Abstract This study intends to assess the effect of compost types and rates on lettuce growth. A pot experiment was conducted at the greenhouse of the College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine experimental station, Saudi Arabia. Three types (chicken residues, animal residues, and mixed organic residues) and four rates (1%, 2%, 4%, and 6%) were added to sandy soil. Lettuce seeds were sown in a nursery. After two weeks, each seedling was transplanted to a pot that contained 15 kg of soil. The lettuce plants were irrigated regularly for 60 days, then harvested following dry weight (DW) and chemical analyses. The results showed great variation in the DW, nutrient content, and heavy metals concentrations between the different compost treatments. It noted that DW of lettuce decreased with increasing rates of compost in certain treatments. Moreover, no plant growth occurred in some treatments derived from the mixed organic residue with higher application rates. The nutrient status of lettuce tissues varies greatly among different types of compost. The concentration of heavy metals and microelements present within the lettuce tissues was significantly affected by the types of compost. Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), and Nickel (Ni) concentrations in lettuce tissues ranged between 7.4 and 9.6, 81.5 and 104, 23.3 and 28.2, 3.7 and 5.8, and 27 and 30 mg kg−1, respectively. It revealed that heavy metals concentration increased in lettuce tissues with an increasing application rate of composts. The content of Zn, Pb, Cd, and Ni in lettuce plants were higher and did not meet the requirement set by national standards.


Educational administration is the embodiment of teaching management behaviors and plays an important role in the management of independent institutes.There still exist some problems in management team structure,management information and management mechanism now.In order to realize efficient teaching management,it is necessary to change management idea,improve the understanding,strengthen the quality of educational administration management team,speed up the informatization construction and further perfect teaching management mechanism.


The utility model provides a compensated neutron log while drilling for real-time measurement of the formation pore degree around the borehole. The drill collar is opened a U groove at the side and is provided from up to down two compression members of a reception module and a generation module. Two installing frameworks are respectively fixed on the two compression members. In the reception installing framework from up to down, a signal processing circuit module, a far neutronic detector, a far detector barrier, a proximity neutronic detector, and a proximity detector barrier are orderly equipped. In the generation installing framework from up to down, a generation controlling circuit, a heat abstractor, and a neutronic generator are equipped. With the D-D accelerator, the utility model has the advantage of reducing the radiation to people and the environment, the longer durability and higher sensibility. And the utility model is suitable for the geological guiding drilling.


The reduction of gold(III) by ammonia in aqueous alkali at 150°C was studied by coulometric titration, X-ray powder diffraction, and chemical analysis. The reduction process is described by the equation Au 3 + + NH3 + 30H - → Au 0 + 0.5N 2 + 3H 2 O. The hydroxide ion does not reduce gold(III) in strongly alkaline media at 150°C.


After 20 years of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), it is increasingly clear that states bear the responsibility to promote, guarantee, respect, and fulfill the realization of children's rights by all members of the national and international communities. An initial emphasis on legal reforms to adapt national law to the CRC—absolutely necessary but not sufficient—needs to give space to changes in other important areas of public action: economic policy and financing; social policy and administration; and public participation, including that of children. Enforcement and justiciability of rights need to be addressed today to face questions about public policy, systems, and institutions in the long term. The evolution of social policies in Latin America and the Caribbean, from neoliberal policies to systems of social protection, illustrates that only a comprehensive and equity-based view of social and economic policy, underpinned by the four principles of children's rights (nondiscrimination, best interests of the child, survival and development, and the right to be heard), will satisfy the requirements for implementation of the CRC.


THERE has been considerable discussion in the industry concerning the various barriers facing aircraft designers. We hear about such things as the sound barrier, the heat barrier and the space barrier.


The paper presents and summarizes the basic features of the radio landscape in Greece. Research shows that like most media in the country, radio developed upon a hierarchy of political, economic and cultural considerations, affected by complexes of political and economic interests. In this case, radio is not a simple "pipeline", but rather an instrument that performs a dual function: it promotes the complexes of political and economic interests while it contributes to the construction of ideology and culture. Previous studies indicate that this double function is performed in multifarious, sophisticated and indirect ways. A complicated approach therefore is needed, and in this sense, the paper examines radio within the wider context of the media landscape in this country, setting out an example for the operation of the medium in small European markets. Based on this review, the paper goes on to analyze the challenge that the webcasting radio represents in the local media landscape. To study the probability of net-only radio making a difference in a media environment like the Greek one, the paper discusses the aspects that should be included in a future research, suggesting that this approach might be used in other similar cases as well.


This article is based on evidence collected by a group of researchers headed by the author during the period 2006 to 2008. The evidence includes responses received via the Internet from 151 individuals who are citizens of44 different African countries; transcripts of I 07 extensively structured interviews in Nigeria, Tanzania, Benin, 1 and with Africans now living in Russia, as well as of six round-table discussions and informal talks held in educational and research centres in these countries; 210 questionnaires completed by Tanzanian university students and 29 more wide-ranging questionnaires filled out by Egyptians. In all cases, interaction were with individuals representative of the African elitepolitical, business, intellectual, cultural, religious, and so onthat is, with people able to form and transform an image of Russia in the minds of their compatriots. Moreover, the evidence includes eight expert interviews with Russians permanently living in Africa; analytical reviews by representatives at Russian cultural centres in the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia; analysis of the mass media in Egypt, Mali, and Morocco; field notes of the research participants; as well as other sources of information. The research team believes that the nature and scope of the garnered evidence allow us to come to firm conclusions on how Africans perceive the Russia of today, and what influence the positive and negative aspects of the image projected by the fonner Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) has in the minds and collective memory of Africans.


'Courageous', 'resourceful', 'ambitious', 'determined', 'optimistic', 'stoic', 'resilient', 'creative', 'adaptable'. Language fit for heroes? These are the qualities needed for someone to escape persecution and conflict and to find the wherewithal to travel halfway across the world to find a safe haven for themselves and their families. These are the adjectives I have found myself using again and again to describe asylum seekers I have met in order to help them record their testimonies of torture, imprisonment and persecution. Ten years ago, when New Labour was first elected, I was hopeful that they would make good use of these words in their public pronouncements. But the world has turned upside down. The eagerly awaited first Labour government in 18 years, supposedly the champion of the poor and the deprived, rather than challenging the traditional conservative rhetoric has in fact endorsed it. It has underscored this by introducing more asylum legislation than any other previous government, all of it increasingly punitive to those seeking asylum. Once noble concepts like asylum and refuge have been debased and dishonoured. Who would want to tell their new British neighbours that they are an asylum seeker today, when the word is now synonymous with 'sponger', 'beggar', 'cheat' and 'scrounger'? The moral vacuum in the political discourse on asylum seekers and refugees has given the green light to the tabloid press to hound one of the most vulnerable minority groups living in the UK today. J'accuse cowardly leadership from a government whose initial mandate and popularity in'97 gave it carte blanche to pioneer a new, enlightened rhetoric of tolerance and understanding, instead of pandering to popular prejudice. J'accuse a viciously opportunistic tabloid press of fostering hostility towards asylum seekers through wilful distortions and false representation. J'accuse the Press Complaints Commission of toothlessness in the face of such blatant abuse of press freedom. J'accuse all three of being on a slippery slope that culminates in the hate speech that incited genocide in Nazi Germany and, more recently, in Rwanda, where journalists and broadcasters have been tried for War Crimes for the first time since the Nuremberg Trials. I call upon present and future UK governments to rehabilitate the concept of asylum, to publicly endorse the 1951 Refugee Convention, and to act on it in spirit as well as to the letter. I call upon the print and broadcast media to abide by the guidelines set by the Press Complaints Commission and to desist from stigmatisation of and misinformation about asylum seekers and refugees. q


Family support covered informational support, instrumental support, emotional support, and appraisal support needed tuberculosis patients, including support of nutrition fulfillment.  The study aimed to know the correlation of information obtained and the family support to the fulfillment of nutrition of tuberculosis patients. The study used correlation design. The sample was the family of tuberculosis patient of first category who was registered to Public Health Center of Blitar city. The sample was 44 respondents selected by simple random sampling. The data collection used the close-ended questionnaire that was developed based on the theory of social support. The result showed that families who had ever received information about nutrition fulfillment was 11.4% (5 families) and had not ever received information was 88.6% (39 families); and the family support to the fulfillment of nutrition of tuberculosis patients of first category was in the category of supportive (59.1%) and non-supportive family was 40.9% (18 families). The correlation value of the Kendall Tau-b was 0.298 (p = 0.014). The family support for the fulfillment of nutrition of tuberculosis patients of first category who support was caused by the information obtained, while who did not support was caused by lack of information about the importance of nutrition fulfillment of tuberculosis patient. A weak correlation was caused by families who had received information about nutrition fulfillment for tuberculosis patients was very little, consequently the support given by the patient as a reward as a family member who was sick was also little. It is recommended that health workers at the Public Health Center give of health education regularly to the family in every drug taking.


In this work we shall study a class of f(R,φ) gravity models which during the inflationary era, which is the large curvature regime, result to an effective inflationary Lagrangian that contains a rescaled Einstein-Hilbert term αR in the presence of a canonical minimally coupled scalar field. The dimensionless parameter α is chosen to take values in the range 0 < α < 1 and the main motivation for studying these rescaled Einstein-Hilbert f(R,φ) gravities, is the fact that the rescaled action may render an otherwise incompatible canonical scalar field theory with the Swampland criteria, to be compatible with the Swampland criteria. As we will show, by studying a large number of inflationary potentials appearing in the 2018 Planck collaboration article for the constraints on inflation, the simultaneous compatibility with both the Planck constraints and the Swampland criteria, is achieved for some models, and the main characteristic of the models for which this is possible, is the small values that the parameter α must take.


For more than ten years now, adaptation of software systems has become a major challenge for the software engineering community which has proposed different reference architectures and systematic approaches to address this challenging research topic. In the literature, the concept of adaptability is very broad and has many unclear and inconsistent definitions, with many closed-related types of non functional requirements such as flexibility, evolvability, transformability, reusability, robustness, configurability, etc. (see (Subramanian & Chung, 2001a) for a sample of representative definitions). This broad nature of adaptability makes it critical in practice since one of the problems in dealing with it is to give a clear and non ambiguous definition of adaptation and adaptability.


With the rapid development of higher education,and the scale of school is expanding,problems of security in higher colleges are increasingly producing,which has seriously affected the teaching work,scientific research and daily life. Therefore,it is vital to make a study of problems of security and put forward the countermeasures.


Abstract As automation in artificial intelligence is increasing, we will need to automate a growing amount of ethical decision making. However, ethical decision- making raises novel challenges for engineers, ethicists and policymakers, who will have to explore new ways to realize this task. The presented work focuses on the development and formalization of models that aim at ensuring a correct ethical behaviour of artificial intelligent agents, in a provable way, extending and implementing a logic-based proving calculus that is based on argumentation reasoning with support and attack arguments. This leads to a formal theoretical framework of ethical competence that could be implemented in artificial intelligent systems in order to best formalize certain parameters of ethical decision-making to ensure safety and justified trust.


The purpose of this study is to clarify the resistance factors of mobile banking users in China. So, in order to inquire into the resistance factors to the mobile banking, this study was constructed as follows. First, this study is devised to verify the relationship between Negative social cognition, Convenience, Information security cognition, Perceived complexity, Trust, Attitudes toward existing banking and innovation resistance. Second, the Moderating effect is designed additionally to verify the effect of the Moderator variables between ages. Empirical results indicate that the Negative social cognition, Perceived complexity and Attitudes toward existing banking have positive effect on Innovation resistance and on the contrary, Convenience, Information security cognition and Trust have negative effect on Innovation resistance. In addition, as a moderator variable, age has a moderator effect between these factors.


Research activities are currently underway worldwide to develop Generation IV nuclear reactor concepts with the objective of improving thermal efficiency and increasing economic competitiveness of Generation IV Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) compared to modern thermal power plants. The SuperCritical Water-cooled Reactor (SCWR) concept is one of six Generation IV options chosen for further investigation and development in many countries, including Canada. Water-cooled reactors operating at subcritical pressures (7 – 16 MPa) have provided significant electricity production for the past 50 years. However, the thermal efficiency of current NPPs is not very high (30 – 35%). As such, more competitive designs with higher thermal efficiencies, which will be close to that of modern supercritical thermal power plants (45 – 50%), need to be developed and implemented. Previous studies have shown that direct cycles, with no-reheat and single-reheat configurations are the best choices for a SCWR concept. There are a few technical challenges associated with the no-reheat and singlereheat SCW NPP configurations. The single-reheat cycle requires nuclear steam-reheat, thus increasing the complexity of the reactor core design. Conversely, the major technical challenge associated with a SC no-reheat turbine is high moisture content in the low-pressure turbine exhaust. The SCWR-core concept investigated in this paper is based on a generic pressure-tube (pressure-channel) reactor with a 43-element bundle string cooled with supercritical water. The considered 1200-MWel reactor has the following operating parameters: pressure of 25 MPa and reactor inlet/outlet temperatures of 350°C/625°C. Previous studies have shown that if uranium dioxide (UO2) is used the fuel centerline temperature might exceed the conservatively established industry accepted limit of 1850°C. Therefore, this paper investigates a possibility of using uranium carbide (UC), uranium nitride (UN) and uranium dicarbide (UC2) as SCWR fuels since they have significantly higher thermal conductivities when compared to conventional nuclear fuels such as UO2, MOX and ThO2. Also, important thermalhydraulic parameters such as a bulk-fluid temperature, heat transfer coefficient, outersheath and fuel centerline temperatures have been calculated along the heated bundle-string length at nonuniform cosine-based Axial Heat Flux Profiles (AHFPs). In addition, a new heat-transfer correlation for supercritical water flowing in vertical circular bare tubes was proposed. This correlation can be used for a preliminary conservative estimation of heat transfer coefficients in SCWRs as bundle correlations have not been yet developed.


Visual saliency detection technology simulates the human visual system and efficiently identifies objects in the image. In order to improve the accuracy of pavement crack detection from images, the salient detection algorithm of pavement crack based on tone-mapping and WLS is proposed. Firstly, we utilize the local adaptive tone-mapping model based on Retinex to enhance the contrast and detail of pavement cracks and WLS filter to preserve the edge of cracks. Then, global contrast based salient region detection in the Lab color space are applied. Finally, the OTSU method is used to obtain crack segmentation images. Compared with three existing classical methods, experimental results show that the algorithm can better eliminate the "halo artifact" and improve the integrity and continuity of the crack detection. our method has good accuracy and robustness in the complex background.


PURPOSE: To realize the stop of memory erasing operation and programming operation by providing a latch, timer and computer memory circuit on a single substrate. CONSTITUTION: A command resistor 38, state control circuit 40, state latch 42 and stop timer 44 are included in a flash memory 10. When the initiation of operation sequence for programming the memory 10 is requested with a command, the command is stored in the commands resistor 38 together with an address and data information required for executing the command. When a set-up erasing command is received with the resistor 38, the byte of the memory 12 is erased. At the same time, a counting operation is executed with a counter within the stop timer 44. When reaching a count value, an erasing pulse is finished to stop erasing. COPYRIGHT: (C)1992,JPO


This paper investigates a person-based method of data collection in which a series of demographic questions is asked for each person in the household. Interviewers are instructed to read the questions as worded, using standardized interviewing techniques. However, in field observations it became apparent that the more people that were in the household, the less likely the interviewer was to continue reading the questions as scripted. We are interested in whether or not this practice leads to more respondent behavior problems. To address this, we behavior-coded a sample of interviews using a demographic questionnaire. We analyzed the interviewer/ respondent interactions for the first person in the household and compared that to the interactions for the same questions about additional people in the household. The hypotheses were that when the questions were asked the first time, they would be asked in a more standardized way than when they were asked subsequent times and that deviating from the standardized wording would lead to more respondent behavior problems. We report differences in both interviewer and respondent behavior that stemmed from using a more conversational method of interviewing for later persons in the household.


Glyoxal monohydrate reacts with N-alkylanilines to give substituted 3-anilinoindoles and anilinoacetanilides in a ratio which, in the absence of catalysts, depends on the amount of water present. Acid catalysts favour formation of indoles. The reaction mechanism is discussed. A single crystal X-ray diffraction study of 5-chloro-3-(4-chloro-N-methylanilino)-1-methylindole (XVIII) is reported: the crystals are monoclinic, with unit-cell dimensions of a= 13.96, b= 13.34, c= 8.96 A, and β= 114° 33′; space-group P21/c.


This article aims to reflect on new religious experiences practiced in the interface between the Catholic Religion and modern ecological sensitivity.


In order to construct the pET32a-AgB8/1-AgB8/2 chimeric antigen prokaryotic expression recombinant plasmid and the expression of its recombinant protein,the total RNA was extracted from protoscoleces of Echinococcus granulosus,and reverse transcribed into cDNA,the cDNA encoding mature form of EgAgB8/1and EgAgB8/2 antigen were amplified by PCR using gene specific primers.Based on the both gene fragments,a nucleotide sequence encoding EgAgB8/1-EgAgB8/2 chimeric antigen were artificially synthesized after sequence confirmation.The synthesized nucleotide sequence encoding EgAgB8/1-EgAgB8/2 chimeric antigen were conformed by sequencing after cloning into pUCm-T vector,then the target sequence was directionally ligated into pET32a plasmid after double digestion with restriction enzymes for prokaryotic expression.The constructed recombinant plasmid pET32a-AgB8/1-AgB8/2 was transformed into E.coli BL21(DE3) LysS,and the recombinant chimeric protein expression was induced by IPTG.The recombinant protein expression was analyzed by SDS-PAGE.Sequence analysis revealed that the nucleotide sequence encoding for AgB8/1-AgB8/2 chimeric protein was directionally cloned into pET32a plasmid.SDS-PAGE analysis confirmed that the recombinant chimeric protein AgB8/1-AgB8/2 fused with Trx was successfully expressed in E.coli BL21,with its relative molecule mass of about 38 kD.In this study,the recombinant plasmid pET32a-AgB8/1-AgB8/2 is successfully constructed and the recombinant chimeric protein EgAgB8/1-EgAgB8/2 was expressed. The results obtained in this study will provide a foundation for further study on its immune characteristics in the future.


Exercise capacity is impaired in patients with heart failure (HF) with a major impact on their poorer quality of life and frequent hospitalizations.3–5 Nijholt et al. 6 reviewed the most recent findings in the field, focusing on newly discovered pathways associated with muscular growth, mechanisms of exercise intolerance and potential therapeutic options. The role of nutritional status in HF patients is well-established.7,8 Malnutrition refers also to specific micronutrient deficiencies (i.e. selenium). The levels of selenium were measured in a cohort of 5973 Dutch subjects. Higher levels of selenium were independently associated with a lower risk of death and new-onset HF. A significant interaction was found between smoking status and the impact of selenium levels on clinical events.9


Even if it can not determine the exact correspondence of the trajectory of the moving object and the identification information of the movable body may occur, estimate the correspondence between identification information of the trajectory and the moving body of the moving body, the relationship to quantify the degree of ambiguity of. Identification information associating unit 93, for each trajectory connecting candidates, associates plausible mobile identification information to each trajectory connecting included in the trajectory connecting candidate. Associating tendency digitizing means 94, the results of correspondence between the mobile unit identification information and track connection, with respect to each trajectory information for each individual mobile identification information, correlated with mobile identification information and trajectory information to quantify the trend of the number of times that is. Associating the score calculation unit 95, shown on the basis of the results, for each track information, the degree of ambiguity of correspondence relationship locus represented by the locus information corresponds to the trajectory of the moving object identified by mobile identification information the association score is calculated for each mobile identification information.


This study presents first results of glaciological investigations in two regions of the Caucasus. The authors put a focus on supra-glacial debris cover and its reducing effect on glacier melt. A number of field data including ice ablation surveys in several seasons as well as meteorological data have been collected. Ablation rates over debris-covered ice are compared to other mountain ranges and are interpreted using a simple modelling approach.


Objective To study therapeutic effect of variety of γ-aminobutric acid (GABA) on acute tetramine poisoning in mice,la- boratory research was provided for the clinical purpose.Methods Through the acute experiments,the antidotal effect of variety dose of GA- BA on mice immediately and 10 minutes after poisoning were observed individually.And all brain tissues of poisoned mice were studied to research the changes of cellular pathology.The survival analysis was used to analyze the observed-data.Results GABA could obviously prolong poisoned mice survival time,delay poisoned mice onset of convulsion and muscular twitching and improve poisoned mice symptoms after acute tetramine poisoning.Better effect could be achieved with earlier use of high dose GABA better than the postpond use of GABA to mice,high dose GABA to cure poisoned mice immediately had better efficacy than low dose GABA.Conclusion GABA could effectively antagonize acute toxicity to tetramine in mice.It is suggested that high dose GABA might be clinically used to rescue patients poisoned by TET.But its indications and correct dose in clinical use should be studied further.


A 42-year-old male presented with increasing abdominal pain and a palpable lump since 2 weeks. He had history of significant alcohol intake. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen revealed calcification in the head of pancreas and a large pseudocyst adjacent to the body and tail of pancreas (Fig. 1A). The wall of the pseudocyst adjacent to the stomach had multiple calcific specks (Fig. 1A). There was no bulge on gastroscopy and therefore the patient was taken up for endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided transluminal drainage of the pseudocyst. EUS revealed a large pseudocyst with multiple calcific specks in its wall (Fig. 1B). The cyst was punctured avoiding these calcific specks and after dilatation of the tract to 12 mm a 7 Fr double pigtail biliary stent was placed (Fig. 1C, D). The patient had marked improvement in his symptoms and the lump disappeared. The patient was discharged on the fourth day of drainage and a repeat CT 2 weeks later revealed complete resolution of the cyst. EUS-guided drainage has been shown to manage efficiently pancreatic fluid collections even in the absence of fluoroscopic control [1]. EUS provides an opportunity to drain collections distant from the gastrointestinal lumen, without a visible bulge in the stomach or the duodenum, and with vascular collaterals in the wall. Calcification of the wall of the pseudocyst is uncommon and represents a long drawn chronic process. The calcified pseudocysts are usually treated surgically but the advent of EUS has also made endoscopic drainage possible [2,3]. The present case


The state of health (SOH) prediction of lithium-ion battery is essential for the health management of batteries. At present, the prediction method combined with the extraction of health indicators in charge-discharge process has received extensive attention, however, many studies ignored that the extraction of battery discharge data will be affected by the actual operating conditions, which will affect the effectiveness of health indicators extraction. In this work, a type of recurrent neural network (RNN), which is long short-term memory-RNN(LSTM-RNN), is proposed to prediction the SOH of Li-ion batteries through the data of charging process and capacity. Because the different choice of network parameters will also affect the performance of the model, particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is used to optimize LSTM model. The test results show that this method can effectively predict SOH of battery, and the maximum RMSE is less than 0.01. Compared with the traditional LSTM algorithm, it has higher accuracy.


The kinematic and dynamic properties of the ankle joint (talocrural region) in normal subjects provide important information for the design of rehabilitation robots, below-knee prostheses, ankle-foot orthoses, and exoskeletons. This paper presents a quantitative analysis of published experimental data, simulation studies of human gait, and a dynamic model of ankle joint intrinsic and reflex stiffness to determine design requirements for such ankle devices to operate in the sagittal plane (i.e. ankle plantarflexion/dorsiflexion). The design requirements are derived in terms of average torque, rotatum, range of motion, velocity, acceleration, system bandwidth, torque-velocity curve, and the torque probability density function.


We hypothesize that the longitudinal mode structure of diode lasers is greatly influenced by the axial diffusion of injected carriers. Thus several longitudinal modes can coexist in lasers which utilize both injected electrons and slowly diffusing injected holes, whereas lasers which only use injected electrons should operate in a single longitudinal mode.


An optical fiber amplifier for controlling gain flatness including an optical fiber amplifying unit for amplifying input signal light according to a predetermined amplification control value, a measuring unit for measuring the power level of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) at a predetermined wavelength band output from the optical fiber amplifying unit, and a gain controller for controlling the amplification control value of the optical fiber amplifying unit according to the measured power level of the ASE to flatten the gain of the optical fiber amplifying unit. The gain flatness of amplified signal light is monitored and controlled, thereby obtaining gain-flattened signal light even when power level of signal light varies from wavelength to wavelength.


Superior to state-of-the-art approaches which compete performances of table recognition on 67 annotated government documents released by ICDAR 2013 Table Competition, this paper contributes a novel paradigm on large-scale unlabeled PDF files. We integrate the paradigm into our latest developed system (PdfExtra) to detect the region of tables by means of 9,466 academic articles from the entire repository of ACL Anthology, where almost all papers are archived by PDF format without annotation. The paradigm first adopts heuristics to automatically construct weakly labeled data, then feeds diverse evidences, such as font-styles, layouts and even linguistic features extracted by Apache PDFBox and processed by Stanford NLP toolkit, into different canonical classifiers, and finally uses these models to collaboratively vote on the boundary of tables. Experimental results show that PdfExtra performs a great leap forward, compared with the state-ofthe-arts. Moreover, we discuss the factors of different features, learning models and even domains that may impact the performance. Extensive evaluations demonstrate that our paradigm is compatible enough to leverage various features and learning models for cross-domain table region detection.


Abstract Purpose - This paper investigates the extent of compliance with international best practice corporate governance principles by Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS), a State Owned Enterprise (SOE). The researchers wonder why in this modern day and age, architects (parliamentarians) of the Act of parliament which brought about governance structures of BURS, chose to depart from what is considered international best practice governance as recommended under codes of best practice corporate governance such as the King Code 2002. Second, the researchers also wonder whether the departure was by design or an oversight on the part of the architects of BURS governance structure. Design/methodology/approach - Using content analysis, the BURS Act 2004 and the King Code 2002 are content analysed to draw parallels between governance structures recommended by the two governance instruments. Findings – The findings of this study indicate a low level of compliance with international best practice corporate governance by BURS. Practical implications - The researchers conclude that divergence of governance structures of BURS from international best practice has the potential to breed inter alia; incompetence, corruption, maladministration, dominance, cronyism and ultimately a weak institution. Originality/value – Prior literature tends to investigate governance practices of public listed companies. This study contributes to governance literature by examining governance practices of a state owned enterprise which came into existence through an act of parliament. Keywords Corporate Governance, Parastatal Organisation, State Owned Enterprise/Parastatal, Governance Structure, Board of Directors Paper type Case study


In order to improve the recognition accuracy of person re-identification. We proposed a neural network model based on heterogeneity of person attributes. Compared with the existing methods, this model has the following two advantages. First, based on the heterogeneity between attributes. We design the different identification methods to identification different kinds of attributes. Second, aim at the different of loss measurement for the attribute recognition method. We proposed an algorithm consistent with the heterogeneous loss function. The experimental results show that compared with the existing methods, the proposed model is effectively enhance the person recognition rank-1 accuracy. Ours method reached the rank-1 accuracy 88.13% on Market1501, 74.96% on DukeMTMC and 77.64% on PETA dataset.


The material and optical properties of ZnO thin film samples grown on different buffer layers on sapphire substrates through a two-step temperature variation growth by molecular beam epitaxy were investigated. The thin buffer layer between the ZnO layer and the sapphire substrate decreased the lattice mismatch to achieve higher quality ZnO thin film growth. A GaN buffer layer slightly increased the quality of the ZnO thin film, but the threading dislocations still stretched along the c-axis of the GaN layer. The use of MgO as the buffer layer decreased the surface roughness of the ZnO thin film by 58.8% due to the suppression of surface cracks through strain transfer of the sample. From deep level emission and rocking curve measurements it was found that the threading dislocations play a more important role than oxygen vacancies for high-quality ZnO thin film growth.


Background: A thorough knowledge of the skin changes, physiological as well as acquired, in neonates is of prime importance for the dermatologist as well as paediatrician. Methods: A total of 430 randomly selected live-born neonates delivered and admitted to the postpartum ward or to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and neonates attending the Dermatology Outpatient Department of a tertiary care institute were included in this study after taking written informed consent. A detailed assessment of history was performed and a detailed dermatological examination of each neonate was carried out. Laboratory procedures were performed to confirm diagnosis if required. Data was analyzed using SPSS ver. 20 . Results: Most common physiological skin change observed was Mongolian spot (65.35%) followed by Erythema Toxicum Neonatorum (51.63%), Epstein's pearls (46.97%) and Sebaceous gland hyperplasia (45.81%). Lanugo hair was seen in 16.74% neonates. Among congenital skin lesions, Salmon patch was seen in 15.58% of the neonates whereas congenital melanocytic nevi are seen in 4.19% of the neonates. Diaper dermatitis was the most common acquired skin manifestation seen in 5.81% of cases. Conclusions: Neonates are prone to suffer from a wide range of dermatological problems, physiological as well as pathological. These manifestations are unique to the neonates. A detailed history and awareness of the clinical presentation facilitates the confirmation of the diagnosis.


The preliminary results of data analysis of CBMC not only reveal the effects of polar particle precipitation and inner radiation belt on radiation environment inside a satellite,but also show some important features of the geo-space energetic particle radiation. A brief but overall description of the instrument was given and a few preliminary conclusions of data analysis were presented.


Contemporary research on the history of the Slovene language have proved the existence of Central and Eastern Slovene (Eastern Styrian and Prekmurje) standard norms. The Eastern Styrian standard language is the result of a somewhat belated enlightenment in that part of Slovenia and already before Dajnko there were tries to standardise it. The wave of Svetourban was not successful, Primic's Graz wave (Slovene society) also failed due to the unhappy fate of the initiator, that is why the third attempt, this time carried out by Dajnko, was successful. In Styria, the lexicographical work was intensive, despite the fact that before the renowned Pletersnik only two dictionaries had been published-by Cebul (1789) and by Murko (1833). The oldest preserved manuscript dictionary is Apostel's (1760), which was followed by an etymological attempt by Popovic (1789) and a dictionary by Zagajsek (1773− 1790/91), in the 19th century followed Harmann's lexicographical attempt (ca. 1803), Alic's notes in the Adelung (ca. 1...


a Issued as Progress reports no. [1-4], Draft final report, and Final report, Project no. A-3378 (subproject is G-43-605/Rossini/Social Sciences).


The observations of the Islands Region Psychiatry Research Project Team made between 1965 and 1967 and the principles of community psychiatry as presented by Caplan are used as the basis for a design of a psychiatric service in a setting such as New Guinea.


Quick-response (QR) code technique is combined with ghost imaging (GI) to recover original information with high quality. An image is first transformed into a QR code. Then the QR code is treated as an input image in the input plane of a ghost imaging setup. After measurements, traditional correlation algorithm of ghost imaging is utilized to reconstruct an image (QR code form) with low quality. With this low-quality image as an initial guess, a Gerchberg-Saxton-like algorithm is used to improve its contrast, which is actually a post processing. Taking advantage of high error correction capability of QR code, original information can be recovered with high quality. Compared to the previous method, our method can obtain a high-quality image with comparatively fewer measurements, which means that the time-consuming postprocessing procedure can be avoided to some extent. In addition, for conventional ghost imaging, the larger the image size is, the more measurements are needed. However, for our method, images with different sizes can be converted into QR code with the same small size by using a QR generator. Hence, for the larger-size images, the time required to recover original information with high quality will be dramatically reduced. Our method makes it easy to recover a color image in a ghost imaging setup, because it is not necessary to divide the color image into three channels and respectively recover them.


A Design Framework is presented that aims at capturing the design rationales in the process of designing embedded or cyber-physical systems. Its principal concepts cover storing the design rationales, which encompasses design decisions and analysis results, by linking design goals to concrete questions and analysis results for a particular scope of the system. The Design Framework does also provide a mechanism for using heterogeneous models for different system parts and linking them by means of essential design parameters and their dependencies. An elaborated conflict detection mechanism at different levels is provided in order to enable the designer to keep the design consistent throughout the process. The paper also presents first experiences in applying the prototype in industrial


An exact fit customized medical implant design and manufacturing method is proposed.Object tissue triangular mesh model is reconstructed through tissue property based image segmentation and isosurface extraction algorithm.After mesh defragmentation and cutting,implant mesh model is formed and directly output to standard CAM software.The medical implant is finally manufactured numerically with the codes generated by the CAM software.


Laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) have gained lots of attention for the rich physics and potentials in subdiffraction nanostructuring. Herein, we report new aspects of LIPSS to uniformly extend the periodicity to macro, or conversely suppress the periodicity to obtain freeform nanostructures. We have focused on the electron excitation, effective surface permittivity modifications, and plasmonic standing wave ablation for the structure origination and evolution. A plasmonic nanoimprinting model in long range and a nanohole-based light field enhancement in the nearfield are proposed, which are in good accord with the experiments. The nanotextured surface is obtained in a large area by light tailoring method with a cylindrical lens focusing and scanning. Besides, a critical power control method to confine the light field in nanoregion are conducted to obtain the freeform nanostructures, which have potential applications in birefringent optics and nanoscience.


The Astute project is an ongoing European Artemis project that researches methods to improve the effectiveness of embedded and mobile systems. It does so by providing human-machine interfaces (HMIs) that automatically and proactively adapt, based on the sensed environment and user state. One of the implemented demonstrators supports emergency workers during field operations using on-sleeve and tablet-sized mobile devices. Extensive field and usability studies have proved that a geospatial, map-centric user interface (UI)is essential to provide a low-barrier interface that is easy to learn. The integration of context and user-state reasoning enables proactive decision support that makes HMIs smarter and more effective in stressful and critical situations. We argue that the promising results obtained for the emergency domain have great potential to improve the current practice in border control use cases as well.


The Hexachordal Theorem is an intriguing combinatorial property of the sets in Z/12Z discovered and popularized by the musicologist Milton Babbitt (19162011). It has been given several explanations and partial generalizations. Here we enhance how this phenomenon can be understood by giving both a geometrical and a probabilistic perspective. Mathematics Subject Classification (2020). Primary: 00A65; Secondary: 28A75, 05C12, 60Dxx.


In this paper, we propose a novel predictive model for object boundary, which can integrate information from any sources. The model is a dynamic "object" model whose manifestation includes a deformable surface representing shape, a volumetric interior carrying appearance statistics, and an embedded classifier that separates object from background based on current feature information. Unlike Snakes, Level Set, Graph Cut, MRF and CRF approaches, the model is "self-contained" in that it does not model the background, but rather focuses on an accurate representation of the foreground object's attributes. As we will show, however, the model is capable of reasoning about the background statistics thus can detect when is change sufficient to invoke a boundary decision. The shape of the 3D model is considered as an elastic solid, with a simplex-mesh (i.e. finite element triangulation) surface made of thousands of vertices. Deformations of the model are derived from a linear system that encodes external forces from the boundary of a Region of Interest (ROI), which is a binary mask representing the object region predicted by the current model. Efficient optimization and fast convergence of the model are achieved using the Finite Element Method (FEM). Other advantages of the model include the ease of dealing with topology changes and its ability to incorporate human interactions. Segmentation and validation results are presented for experiments on noisy 3D medical images.


Over the last decade or so, artificial neural networks (ANNs) have become one of the most promising tools for modelling hydrological processes such as rainfall runoff processes. However, the employment of a single model does not seem to be an appropriate approach for modelling such a complex, nonlinear, and discontinuous process that varies in space and time. For this reason, this study aims at decomposing the process into different clusters based on self-organizing map (SOM) ANN approach, and thereafter modelling different clusters into outputs using separate feed-forward multilayer perceptron (MLP) and supervised self-organizing map (SSOM) ANN models. Specifically, three different SOM models have been employed in order to cluster the input patterns into two, three, and four clusters respectively so that each cluster in each model corresponds to certain physics of the process under investigation and thereafter modelling of the input patterns in each cluster into corresponding outputs using feedforward MLP and SSOM ANN models. The employed models were developed on two different watersheds, Iranian and Canadian. It was found that although the idea of decomposition based on SOM is highly persuasive, our results indicate that there is a need for more principled procedure in order to decompose the process. Moreover, according to the modelling results the SSOM can be considered as an alternative approach to the feed-forward MLP.


. The U q (ˆ sl (2)) Bethe equation is studied at q = 0. A linear congruence equation is proposed related to the string solutions. The number of its off-diagonal solutions is expressed in terms of an explicit combinatorial formula and coincides with the weight multiplicities of the quantum space.


Most parts of India have a high level of circular migration, with people migrating to urban areas for work whilst maintaining contacts with their family members in their villages. In India, an estimated 40% of the 2.1 million people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) do not know that they are infected. The aim of the paper is to describe and present the factors associated with HIV testing and counseling among the single male migrants in Maharashtra, India. This study covers 4,595 single in-migrants. Information was collected using a Structured Interview Schedule covering demographic, socioeconomic profile, sexual history, knowledge, behaviour, and HIV testing. Of the total migrants, 1,814 (52%) reported having had sex with female sex worker (FSW) in the last year. Of these migrants, 80% have not had HIV testing ever. However, there has been no HIV testing in 89% of the migrants who had sex with people other than sex workers. As compared to younger migrants (≤24 years), older migrants were less likely not to test for HIV. Awareness of HIV testing and counseling services and exposure to an HIV prevention intervention program were significant. HIV prevention campaigns and counseling and testing strategies must take into consideration that migrants come from various parts of the country and have different linguistic, social and cultural backgrounds.


Insulation paper is a very important part of internal insulation in oil-immersed transformers. The performance of oil-paper insulation and quality are directly related to the reliability and service life of the transformers. The defect of insulating paper, such as high dielectric constant, poor high temperature resistance, easily decomposition limited the oil-immersed transformers development in the direction of the large capacity, small volume. Therefore looking for a new material with superior insulation performance, excellent heat resistance, and low cost to replace the insulation paper will provide new possibilities for the development of the transformers. In this paper, the major research is the solid material properties of Polycarbonate (PC) and Polyester (PET), two kinds of polymer. Making a contrast with insulation paper, we had 300 days of aging test under 90°C, 110°C, 130°C. By the means of tensile strength tests, we can get the change rules of the material's tensile strength. Comparing with the degree of polymerization, we can get the corresponding relationship between tensile strength and the degree of polymerization. By comparing the change of tensile strength of the above insulation materials under three kinds of aging temperatures, analyzing the reasons of evolvement, we can find the development prospect and further application value of the polymer materials.


The article presents the results of a PhD research project conducted at the Graduate Studies Program in Education of the Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos. It focuses mainly on understanding what pedagogical knowledge professors acquired and constructed in the use of the Virtual Learning Environment. Thus, it discusses pedagogical knowledge and communication and information technologies. It explores continued education as a possible locus of learning, sharing and cooperation among the learners. The main authors referred to Cunha (1990, 1998, 2003, 2004), Santos (1999), Tardif (2000, 2002), Pimenta, Anastasiou e Cavallet (2002), Fagundes (1999), Lucarelli (2000) Albero (2004). The space of discussion and learning that the research was based on was the Pilot-Projects


Human induced seismicity has become an uprising problem in the Groningen region of The Netherlands, in which the vast majority of buildings are non-seismically engineered unreinforced masonry houses. In order to accurately assess the seismic vulnerability of these buildings, a characterization of the constitutive masonry is required. In 2015, as a part of a larger project, a campaign on the material characterization of existing buildings was performed, including laboratory and in-situ testing of the masonry walls. The campaign constitutes the germ for the creation of a regional material properties database. 16 buildings were tested in total, comprising residential structures and schools, dating from the early '20s to 2005. The constitutive walls included both clay and calcium silicate brick masonry of various qualities and conditions. The in-situ testing included non-destructive tests such as rebound hammer and sonic tests, and semidestructive test, i.e. flat jack and shove test. Samples were carefully taken to the laboratory, where the destructive campaign took place, including compressive, flexural, shear and bond wrench tests. Despite of the limited number of sampled buildings, the campaign provided a better insight of the researched material. The available data suggests that the use of sub-typologies (e.g. depending of the masonry quality or condition) could reduce the dispersion on the results. A first attempt of correlation between in-situ and laboratory tests is proposed, which could benefit from further calibration. In this paper, the material characterization campaign is described, and the main outcomes are discussed.


There is significant variation in the use of corticosteroids for the treatment of periorbital and orbital cellulitis. Corticosteroids may act to reduce inflammation and edema but there are concerns that corticosteroids may lead to immune suppression and worsening infection. Evidence-based recommendations regarding the use of corticosteroids for periorbital and orbital cellulitis are lacking.

 To assess the effectiveness and safety of corticosteroids in the treatment of periorbital and orbital cellulitis.

 We conducted a detailed search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), CINAHL Plus, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of children and adults with periorbital and orbital cellulitis treated with systemic or intranasal corticosteroids. There were no exclusions based on language or publication status. Studies were excluded if they focused exclusively on participants undergoing elective surgery, on post-operative infections, or infections secondary to trauma. Two reviewers independently assessed studies for inclusion, and extracted data in duplicate. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's domain-based evaluation tool. Data were analyzed according to standard Cochrane methodology.

 Of the 7,476 unique results identified, 7,465 records were excluded based on title and abstract screening, and a further 10 records were excluded based on full text review. We identified one small RCT conducted in India with an unclear risk of bias. No other eligible ongoing or completed trials were identified. The small trial of 21 participants 10 years and older compared the use of corticosteroids and antibiotics (n=14), to the use of antibiotics alone for the treatment of orbital cellulitis (n=7). Participants receiving corticosteroids had a shorter length of hospital stay (14.1 ±3.7 vs. 18.4 ±5.9 days, p=0.02) and required antibiotics for a shorter duration (8.6 ±1.3 vs. 11.6 ±4.6 days, p=0.013) compared with the control group. Earlier improvements in fever, pain, periorbital edema, extra ocular motility, conjunctival chemosis, and visual acuity were seen in the corticosteroid group. No major complications of orbital cellulitis or adverse effects of corticosteroids were reported.

 There is insufficient evidence to draw conclusions about the use of corticosteroids in the treatment of periorbital and orbital cellulitis. Currently, there is significant variation in how corticosteroids are used in clinical practice and additional high-quality evidence is needed to inform decision making.


To the Editor:

I am writing regarding the report by Spaulding et al that appeared in Circulation .1 These authors investigated the acute systemic and pulmonary hemodynamic response to 10 mg of enalapril in 20 patients with congestive heart failure; the patients were randomly assigned to receive either aspirin or ticlopidine. Enalapril, given after 1 week of such treatment, caused a significant reduction in systemic vascular resistance and mean systemic arterial pressure only in patients receiving ticlopidine; total pulmonary resistance and wedge pulmonary pressure (PWP) decreased significantly in both groups. The authors concluded that "a negative aspirin-enalapril interaction on prostaglandin synthesis presumably alters vasodilatation in systemic vessels, whereas prostaglandin-independent actions of ACE inhibition such as pulmonary arterial vasodilatation are maintained."

One concern is the small number of patients in the study and the imbalance that existed between the groups: there were 33% fewer patients in the aspirin group than in the ticlopidine group. Another concern is the obvious importance of blood …


The topic of this paper is about the research in association rules in data mining and its application in the analysis of students' marks.In this paper we design and realize a students' score association rules analysis system,with which we analyze the students' marks and obtain the link between different courses and the effects of different courses on total score so as to provide guidance to the teaching.


The transformation of the State has become a major issue in contemporary political science. The academic discussion is dominated by two type of concepts: those that underline the weakening of the State on the one hand, and those that highlight the changing role of the State on the other. The hollowing out dynamic is usually linked to privatisation, marketisation and managerialism, which correspond not only to a reduction of the State's sphere of activity but also to the predominance of private norms over public ones (Suleiman, 2003). This trend is obvious in the health care sector since the beginning of the 1990's. Public health financing declined slightly in most of OECD countries and at the same time out-of-pocket payments expenditures have increased. The share of private insurance has also grown in most of European countries, as has the development of the private sector in health care. During the same period, several reforms introducing health care markets were put in place (Giamo, 2002; Harrison, 2004; Ranade, 1998). In a number of national health service systems (United Kingdom, Sweden, Spain ...) internal markets were introduced in the hospital sector. In some health insurance systems (Netherlands and Germany), competition between sickness funds was introduced. In addition, managerial tools were largely diffused in all European health systems, especially in the hospital sector in relationship with the introduction of Diagnosis Related Group's (Hassenteufel and al. 2000). Despite these important changes in the last twenty years, it is misleading to analyse the transformations of health care only in terms of the retreat of the state, because the public share


The article presents solar modules of various types and designs, in the development and study of which the author took part. Along with planar photovoltaic solar modules with an extended term of nominal power, high-voltage matrix solar modules with an extended term of nominal power and electrical efficiency up to 28% are considered. Such modules are made with the help of encapsulation technology with a polysiloxane compound, which improves the performance of solar modules and increases their service life. For autonomous power supply of mobile and compact electrical devices in the field, folding and sectional solar modules are proposed, which, when parallel-sequential switching, allow to gain the necessary power. For architectural solutions, solar roofing panels are presented, which along with electrogeneration make it possible to generate heat energy, and the base can be made of recycled plastic, which has a positive effect on the environment. To reduce the number of solar cells used, a concentrating solar roofing panel has been proposed, which allows the use of thermal energy. For the cogeneration of electric energy and thermal energy, a concentrator solar photovoltaic thermal module with a paraboloid type concentrator is also proposed. Each type of solar modules is used in a stationary heat and electric power supply and mobile power generation.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of supplier development programs on the short‐term performance of suppliers and the more long‐term development of their capabilities given the relational learning context of the dyad.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through a survey of strategic suppliers from original equipment manufacturers of the automotive industry located in Mexico.Findings – Results suggest that basic and widely used forms of supplier development hardly lead to improved operational and financial performance of suppliers. More demanding and less frequently used forms of supplier development may lead to improved supplier performance given the suppliers have sufficient absorptive capacity and the presence of an adequate collaborative and relational learning context.Research limitations/implications – Only suppliers of firms in the automotive industry were surveyed; participant suppliers were referred by buying firms operating in Mexico.Practical implication...