The purpose of this study was to compare attitudes of older versus younger lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals regarding marriage equality. Data were collected via self-report questionnaires from 350 LGBT adults in a mid-size city in the southern United States. Older and younger LGBT cohorts did not differ significantly in voter registration, political party affiliation, awareness of LGBT political issues, or voting on social issues. Older LGBT adults were less likely to find same-sex marriage important. Yet, age cohorts did not differ significantly on legalizing same-sex marriage. Social work implications are discussed regarding this policy area.


Abs t r ac t . We present the concept of cooperative vision and its application to a multi-agent system with special attention to the integration of vision. Coopcrative vision can be described as a type of distributed vision, where severn agents working in a shared environment are involved. The object recognition task was distributed to several agents in order to demonstrate the concept of cooperative vision. This enables, on the one hand, a verification of objects by several agents and, on the other hand, a localization of spatial positions of other agents. A Bayesian approach is used for the combination of conclusions of several agents. Experiments done so far show significant results with regard to both tasks.


Abstract This study investigated the relationship between travel motives, travel information needs, and destination image. Data were collected by using a structured questionnaire from 625 Tanzania inbound tourists. Multiple linear regression results provide evidence of the effects of travel motives on travel information needs and on cognitive but not on affective destination image. Travel information needs have a significant effect on nature based cognitive destination image and on risk reduction travel information needs. The efficiency travel information needs significantly influence cultural cognitive destination image. Travel information needs were observed not to exert a significant influence on the affective destination image. Furthermore, travel information needs mediate the influence of travel motives only on nature based destination image. The study provides insight into destination management organizations on the designing and packaging of travel information to create different types of destination image and entice tourists with different travel motives.


Transitional relationship between input and output in the writing course was researched from multidimensional perspectives under the web-based writing course example of " write to learn" and guided by input and output hypothesis.The improving methods for teaching of college English writing course were discussed in order to provide references.

Key words:
Input;  Output;  Write to learn;  Web;  Case report


This research aims to investigate the role of Islamic banking on income inequality reduction. The data of this research spans from 2010 to 2015 and investigate 49 Islamic banks from 13 selected countries. This study employs Panel data EGLS. To compare with other macroeconomic variable, this research involves GDP Per capita, and inflation as control variable. The estimation result shows that financial depth measured by total customer deposit to GDP ratio has negative relationship with income inequality. It perhaps occurs when there is an increase in income, customers prefer to save their additional income in Islamic banks. As customers increase their deposits, Islamic banks enlarge its financing on the prospect entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs, afterwards, may expand their business and create new jobs. More new jobs offer means more people get stable income and as a result may reduce income inequality in the society.


A major sexual dimorphism in the mid-sagittal cross-section of the adult human corpus callosum was described by de Lacoste-Utamsing & Holloway (1986), the splenium in female brains being larger and more bulbous than in the brains of males. The implications of such a large difference for neurobiology are considerable. The initial series reported was small, comprising five female and nine male brains, although some of the differences recorded achieved statistical significance at the 0 1 % level. Subsequently the same authors extended their observations to 38 fetal and a further 16 adult brains and found sexual dimorphism during development and in adulthood (de Lacoste, Holloway & Woodward, 1986; Holloway & de Lacoste, 1986). Yoshi et al. (1986) also found that the splenium was more bulbous in females. Their study included 19 female and 14 male brains. Sexual dimorphism of the splenium has also been described in 15 pongid brains but not in other non-human primate species (de Lacoste & Woodward, 1988). However, Bell & Variend (1985), who examined 44 brains, (28 male, 16 female) from children ranging in age from term infants to 14 years found no evidence of sexual dimorphism in the corpus callosum. Witelson (1985), in a study of the corpus callosum with respect to handedness, noted in passing that she was unable to detect any sexual dimorphism in the corpus callosum in a sample of 42 adult subjects. Studies by Weber & Weis (1986), Byne, Bleier & Houston (1988) and Demeter, Ringo & Doty (1988) also failed to find a difference between the sexes. These three groups of workers examined a total of 108 brains. In view of the uncertainty concerning the existence of a major anatomical difference between the brains of men and women, we have studied 33 adult human brains, 17 male and 16 female, using a -variety of morphometric approaches to see whether we could detect such a difference.


This note explores the relations between two different methods. The first one is the Alternating Least Squares (ALS) method for calculating a rank-k approximation of a real m×n matrix, A. This method has important applications in nonnegative matrix factorizations, in matrix completion problems, and in tensor approximations. The second method is called Orthogonal Iterations. Other names of this method are Subspace Iterations, Simultaneous Iterations, and block-Power method. Given a real symmetric matrix, G, this method computes k dominant eigenvectors of G. To see the relation between these methods we assume that G = AT A. It is shown that in this case the two methods generate the same sequence of subspaces, and the same sequence of low-rank approximations. This equivalence provides new insight into the convergence properties of both methods.


The decomposition of spatial sound scenes using spherical microphone arrays is usually based on spherical harmonics. However, the decomposition in spherical harmonics requires a distribution of microphones covering all directions, even if all sources are not all around. For a restricted range of directions the spherical harmonics can be orthogonalized, yielding the spherical Slepian functions. These are well-suited to interpolate data on a partial spherical domain. However, they introduce large errors when extrapolating sound fields with sources outside the restricted range. A different set of orthogonal functions is obtained by solving the Helmholtz equation with an angular boundary condition, e.g. a directional range delimited by an infinite cone that acoustically excludes sources outside. This article discusses the characteristics of the corresponding spherical cap/segment harmonics compared to the spherical harmonics and Slepian functions applied to holographic sound field extrapolation.


The invention designs a preparation method for a solar heat absorption coating. The solar heat absorption coating is composed of polyether polyol, a catalyst, a foaming agent, a foam stabilizing agent and a composite halogen-free flame retardant according to certain ratios. According to the preparation method, an expanded flame retardant and inorganic hydroxide are used as a compound flame retardant for inflaming retarding of a polyurethane heat-insulation plate; the compound flame retardant is added into a polyurethane foaming system in an adding manners so that the environment-friendly requirements are met and the flame retardant efficiency is also enhanced.


The aim of this study is to provide training on the technique of making a business letter in English for teachers of SMK Muhammadiyah Slipi Jakarta. Business letter is a letter that is used by a person, organization or institution that deliver business messages in writing to the other party by using a specific media whether it is sending via postal mail, faksmilie, telephone or the internet. The activity of writing a business letter is seen as simple and easy work, but to do it optimally of course required expertise is needed. To write business letter does not require special skills as a writer of novels, poetry, short stories or other literary works, because essentially a business letter is not a literary work. Nonetheless, to wite a good business letter is often not as simple as people imagine, because there are certain rules and habits that are generally applicable and must be met by each author of the letter. Therefore, the words and sentences in the letter should be prepared effectively and efficiently. The accuracy and detail are needed to ensure the contents of the letter are intended by the sender.  Therefore, the outcomes is that the teachers in SMK Muhammadiyah 4 can teach his or her students SMK Muhammadiyah 4 how to create a business letter in English that is good and right so that later after they graduate it can be applied upon entering the workforce. Keywords: Business letter, Teacher Training, Vocational School


Measurement apparatus comprising: an input device, comprising: an input switch to input and set the pieces of information and records the data to change the switch to modify the selected information, the measurement starting switch to start the measurement object characteristic; measuring means for measuring characteristics of an object; a memory for storing the input information; arithmetic and control unit, which is determined by the desired characteristics and the flag value information; the display to show the flag information and the determined value. Calculation control unit changes the data switch is pressed from the measuring device to cause a reaction in the input state, so that selected information may be modified without the need to re-enter other data.


The hedge fund universe is not homogeneous and should not be considered a coherent asset class. Rather, hedge fund management is an extension of traditional active management, with some critical differences. Thus, if investors seek to place portfolio constraints on hedge fund allocation, they should do so not to limit general exposure to an asset class but rather to achieve a certain level of exposure to manager and liquidity risk.


The invention relates to a flame-retardant paste material for coal mine downhole air leakage blocking and a preparation method thereof, belonging to a coal mine downhole air leakage blocking material and a preparation method thereof. The flame-retardant paste material comprises the following components: 100 parts of water, 0.2-0.4 part of fatty alcohol polyethenoxy ether, 1-1.5 parts of hydroxyethyl methyl cellulose, 1.875-2.5 parts of gypsum, 7.5-10 parts of cement and 30-40 parts of fly ash. The manufacturing process comprises the following steps: 1, adding the fly ash into water, and stirring to obtain a fly ash slurry solution; 2, simultaneously adding the fatty alcohol polyethenoxy ether and the hydroxyethyl methyl cellulose into the fly ash slurry solution, and sufficiently stirring and mixing to form a thickened fly ash slurry solution; and 3, simultaneously adding a mixture of the gypsum and the cement into the thickened fly ash slurry solution, and sufficiently stirring for 5-10 minutes, thus preparing the flame-retardant paste material for coal mine downhole air leakage blocking. The flame-retardant paste material is high in water retaining capacity, favorable in gelling property, obvious in flame-retardant characteristic, remarkable in air leakage blocking effect and low in cost, and has wide applicability in the aspect of coal mine downhole air leakage blocking.


Based on tests,the paper identifies the bulk density, gradation,water absorption,and crushing index,adheres to the Design Regulation of Common Concrete,adopts the additional water method to have C30 recycled concrete,and the replacement rate of the recycled coarse aggregate can be 0%,25%,50%,75% and 100%,and concludes by the tests that the cube 28 d compressive strength reduces gradually along with the increasing replacement rate of the RAC,but they can meet the demand of C30 strength grade.


This study offers insights into the impact of a developmental research project on mathematics teachers' teaching practice. The research is situated within a project, the TBM project (Teaching Better Mathematics), which focuses on researching teaching development and adopting an inquiry approach to teaching. During the project we collaborate with teachers from kindergarten to upper secondary schools. Our collaboration with teachers follows a co-learning agreement where inquiry plays a central role, and our methodological approach is based on developmental research (see Berg forthcoming). Several research studies have addressed different aspects of teachers' professional development (Farmer, Gerretson, and Lassak 2003; Penuel et al. 2007). Based on these, I focus on the following factors in teachers' professional development in projects such as TBM: the importance for teachers of having opportunities to meet and to discuss concepts, skills and problems, and the importance of getting help and support from colleagues at the same school. In this report, my aim is to investigate which systemic aspects are related to the realisation of teachers' collaboration within the same school. In order to investigate this issue, I use data from focus group interviews which were conducted during 2009 in all participating schools. The aims of the focus group interviews were to offer the teachers the opportunity to reflect on their engagement within the TBM project and to make visible the challenges and the demands they met, both at their own school and in relation to the collaboration with researchers as they participated in the project. Each interview was conducted at the teacher's school and lasted for one and a half hours. Two to five teachers participated in each interview, in addition to the project leader. An important aspect of the focus group interviews concerns the fact that three of the schools, ('old-timers' schools), participated in a previous developmental research project, the LCM project (Learning Communities in Mathematics), which lasted from 2004 to 2007, while the three other schools, ('newcomers' schools), have only engaged with the TBM project. All focus group interviews were transcribed, and during the process of reading and re-reading the transcripts several codes gradually emerged from the analytical process. These codes were grouped and categories were defined, 'systemic aspects' emerging as one of these. In this report I present results from the analysis of the focus group interviews in relation to systemic aspects for newcomers schools.


This paper introduces systen-on-chip technique、Intellectual Property Core、chip area network and hardware- software consultative design,incarnates martial potential adhibition importance of systen-on-chip technique through study SoC on martial weapon.


22 The timing of flowering is vital for plant reproductive success and is therefore tightly 23 regulated by endogenous and exogenous cues. In summer annual Arabidopsis 24 (Arabidopsis thaliana) accessions, like Columbia-0, rapid flowering is promoted by 25 repression of the floral repressor FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC). This is through the 26 activity of the autonomous pathway, a group of proteins with diverse functions 27 including RNA 3'-end processing factors, spliceosome components, a transcription 28 elongation factor and chromatin modifiers. These factors function at the FLC locus 29 linking alternative processing of an antisense long non-coding RNA, called COOLAIR, 30 with delivery of a repressive chromatin environment that affects the transcriptional 31 output. The transcriptional output feeds back to influence the chromatin environment, 32 reinforcing and stabilizing that state. This review summarizes our current knowledge 33 of the autonomous pathway and compares it to similar co-transcriptional mechanisms 34 in other organisms. 35


The importance of genetic factors in the etiology of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) has been suggested by family and population studies. However, the spectrum of malignancies associated with common genetic etiology and the effects of gender and age on familial risk have not been established.


In this thesis, we have make a survey and study on the current situation of the common university students' extracurricular PE behaviors, and found some problems such as the habitual passive participation of the female university students, the serious lack of ground for sports and so on. Meanwhile, we have put forward some proposals on enforcing the guidance and organization of extracurricular PE, forming the good atmosphere of PE behaviors, and enlarging the investment for the construction of PE facilities.


As the students return and our own children begin their new adventures, whether it be starting high school, heading off to college or beginning a new career, it is a good time to stop and take one last deep breath of the warm summer air before it is replaced by the crisp smell of the fall breeze. I hope everyone was able to take a well deserved and restful vacation and feels recharged for the new academic year. At some point during the summer I bet someone asked you how you were enjoying your summer off. When you work at a college the assumption is it is so quiet in the summer. Much to their surprise, the response is, this could not be further from the truth. For a majority of the offices across campus, summers are busy, maybe a different busy than during the academic year, but busy nonethe-less. Human Resources is no different, in fact, summer tends to be one of the busiest seasons of all, so I thought I would update you on how we spent our summer, as well as what some of our initiatives are for the upcoming year. One of the most enjoyable moments of being in human resources is getting to meet with all the new hires. In the summer months we hit record numbers of new faces. This summer was no exception, we welcomed nearly 150 non-student hires, as well as the over 250 students that remained in the area to do research or work in administrative departments. To comply with strict federal and state regulations, we are required to meet with every new employee hired, to provide them with required information and verify work authorization documentation. Nearly each one is greeted by Di Lundrigan. One of the difficult aspects of working in human resources is saying goodbye to those employees that are moving on. This year nearly 70 regular employees departed Colgate and our duty is to provide each one with exit information, in a timely manner, related to benefits and other related matters. Heading out to a new place or into the world of retirement can create anxiety, so our team is available to respond to the many questions to help ease the transition as best we can. When employees leave that means finding replacements! The Personnel Review Group has continued to carefully review position requests. HR is responsible for managing and tracking the process before any searches are initiated. Once approved, the recruitment process is facilitated in collaboration with the department. This summer we supported over 50 searches for regular and temporary hires. The search process includes candidate screening and preliminary interviews, references in some cases and coordinating the interview process. One of our team members, usually Jill Dinski or Meghann Losee, meets with every candidate to review the generous benefits package that Colgate has to offer. In addition, we serve as members of search committees. This is a rewarding process – if you have not been on a search committee and are interested in serving, let us know and we can suggest you for a future search. In addition to assisting with other searches, we have been conducting two of our own; The Director of Equal Employment Opportunity/ Affirmative Action and Human Resources Consultant. Once a search is successful, that means we have new hires! Holy paperwork! Each new hire is on-boarded by meeting with a HR staff member for a personalized new hire orientation session. This entails a review and election of benefits, completing required paperwork and a briefing on some key Colgate policies. Talk about overwhelming moments...their heads are spinning with so many decisions on their first day! If nothing else, we hope they hear us when we tell them to just call us when they have questions. They don"t even need to remember our names!


Traditionally Fuzzy Logic is defined in the unit interval of [0,1]. These notes explore what will happen if this interval was larger than the unit interval (where normalization of truth values will violate the definition of a particular fuzzy set). These notes also derive suitable logical operators applicable to this extended interval utilizing first principles.


Plants are used as a good source of medicines by the pharmaceutical industry. In the present study the action of Centella asiatica (L.) extract on chromosomal aberrations (CAs), mitotic index (MI), sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) and replication index (RI) induced by methylmethane sulphonate (MMS) and cyclophosphamide (CP) was assessed in human lymphocytes in vitro. The study was performed both in the absence as well as presence of metabolic activation (S9 mix). The extract at the dosages of 1.075 × 10-4, 2.127 × 10-4 and 3.15 × 10-4 g/ml of culture medium was given separately, along with 60 μM of MMS and 0.16 μg/ml of CP, respectively. The used dosages of plant infusion did not induced CAs and SCEs significantly nor affect RI and MI both in the absence as well as presence of metabolic activation (S9 mix). A dose dependent significant decrease in the genotoxic damage was observed at all the tested dosages of plant extract when given along with 60 μM of MMS (without S9 mix) and 0.16 μg/ml of CP (with S9 mix). The results indicate that the plant extract per se do not have genotoxic activity but can modulate the genotoxic activity of MMS and CP in human lymphocytes in vitro. 1. Section of Genetics, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Life sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202 002, India. 2. Forest Entomology Division, Forest Research Institute, Dehradun 248 006, India. * Corresponding author: E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com 370 RPMP Vol. 19 – Phytopharmacology & Therapeutic Values I


Nanoporous carbon framework was synthesized using phenol and formaldehyde as carbon precursors and triblock copolymer (pluronic F127) as soft template via evaporation induced self-assembly. Hexagonal mesoporous carbon with specific surface area of 350 m2/g through optimizing the situation was obtained. The effects of different surfactant/phenol molar ratio and presence of salts on specific surface area, pore size and pore volume for all the prepared samples were studied by means of the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) formalism, powder X-ray diffraction technique and FT-IR spectroscopy.


Received 09-07-2018 Accepted 09-30-2018 Published on line 10-06-2018 Abstract Chemical transformations of the simple condensation products derived from 3-formylchromone and some active methylene compounds, was achieved by reaction with nucleophilic reagents namely benzylamine and p-toluidine to produce either 2-iminopyrane or pyrano[3,2-c]chromene derivatives. These transformations initially proceed through nucleophilic attack at C-2 of the γ–pyrone ring with concomitant addition of the carbonyl oxygen onto the nitrile function followed by further transformations depending on the substrate and the nucleophile used. The structures of the new synthesized products were deduced on the basis of their analytical and spectroscopic data.


The following case is reported for the purpose of showing — not only the tortures to which some unfortunate suffering fe  males are subjected by a class of professional itinerants who make pretensions to special work — but for the purpose of showing the claims of such itinerants to the confidence of the people. Aside from this, the case presents some points of interest to the profession, to which I shall allude in the further progress of this article.


Abstract The present study to ascertain the role perception and role performance behaviour of forest villagers towards social development was conducted in Golaghat Forest Division of Assam, India. A sample size of 203 respondents was selected from all the 14 forest villages under the division by using proportionate cum random sampling technique. The study reveals that majority of the respondents had low level of role perception and role performance with respect to social development with forest resources. The study further shows that respondents' characteristics like education, caste, forest implements, economic motivation, decision making ability, scientific orientation, interest in forestry, information seeking behaviour, forestry knowledge and attitude towards forest resource conversation had positively significant relationship with their role perception and role performance in social development with forest resources.


This study is reflected from a micro-sociological and hermeneutic social science perspective. The subject of the study is the religious-magical beliefs and traditional treatment methods, which are specific to traditional culture, which married women who cannot have children despite their desire apply to have a child. The aim of the study is the religious-magical practices of women who are suffering from infertility problems caused by themselves or their spouses, as an alternative to modern medicine; on the other hand, it is to explain the meanings ascribed to traditional treatment approaches, which are examples of folk medicine, and the ways of experiencing them. While doing this, the phenomenological research design, which is one of the qualitative research methods, was used. In phenomenological researches, it is important how people who share a common phenomenon/experience make sense of and define the experience; focuses on the reflections of the same phenomenon in different lives. In this context, 28 married women over the age of 18 living in the Centre of City, Cizre, Silopi and İdil districts of Şırnak province were included in this study. The data collection technique of the research is face-to-face in-depth interviews. The data analysis method of the study is descriptive and systematic analysis based on the categorization and theming of the data revealed from the deciphered texts. Although there are similar studies in the literature -made in different regions- to this study, no study on this subject has been found in Şırnak. In this context, it is thought that this study will contribute to the field of medical sociology/health sociology and women's studies.


Sediments are an essential part of the aquatic environment that define its transformation and development. The construction of dams results in severe changes in sediment fluxes. This study aims to assess how the sediment load of the upper Moskva River is affected by the Mozhaysk Dam flow regulation and to estimate its dynamics over the years of the reservoir's existence. Our analysis of the 1968, 2012 and 2016 detailed field data shows a 20-40% decrease in the proportion of the spring flood in the annual sediment load into the reservoir, which is caused by changes in the streamflow regime of the inflowing rivers. The peak suspended sediment concentrations have decreased 5- to 10-fold, likely due to a significant decline in the watershed's cultivated land area, which caused a decrease in the erosion rate. In the Moskva River below the dam, the seasonal dynamics of the suspended sediment concentration no longer corresponds to the natural regime. The annual suspended load of the Moskva River below the Mozhaysk Reservoir decreased up to 9-fold. The sediment retention in the reservoir has dropped from 90% to 70-85% and is to some extent restored by an outflow of the particulate organic matter produced in the reservoir. We also described the relationships between water turbidity and suspended sediment concentration of the reservoir's tributaries, which allow for the first time to estimate the sediment load with higher accuracy than was previously possible.


One of the most conspicuous ecological patterns in ants, especially in tropical regions, is their vertical stratification into distinct arboreal, ground-surface, and subterranean assemblages. The latter are perhaps the least well studied, regarded by some as a frontier in the study of ant diversity [18]. Subterranean ant assemblages harbor a diversity of species with distinct ecologies, including several groups (e.g., Amblyoponinae, Leptaniliane, Martialinae, Proceratiinae) that are evolutionarily distinct from the 90% of species in the formicoid complex [21] and which are important for understanding the early evolution and diversification of ants after the Cretaceous period [10]. Nonetheless, such formicoid taxa as Acropyga (Formicinae), Carebara (Myrmicinae), and Solenopsis (Myrmicinae) are also well represented among subterranean ants with many hypogaeic species (Fig. 1). Studies on subterranean ants have been restricted to relatively few geographic regions and habitats, a result of longstanding challenges associated with collecting and observing these organisms in the field [23]. Only Some Ants in the Subterranean Environment Are Hypogaeic


Soft and continuum robots have the useful capability of adopting intricate postures and conforming to complex shapes. Furthermore, structures built from soft materials propagate mechanical energy from one part of the body to another, depending on its body shape, boundary condition, stiffness distribution, and so on. This makes the robots capable of producing a large number of force profiles to achieve useful behaviors and functionalities, even using a small number of actuators. Exploiting the soft mechanical property also enables to generate functional frictional forces, which is a key issue in controlling robot locomotion. In this paper, a highly deformable 3-D printed soft robot (PS robot) is presented, which is capable of generating complex, robust gaits on different inclines using a novel variable friction leg design. This design changes the frictional force depending on the robot posture and shape to facilitate robot locomotion. Shape memory alloy (SMA) coils are embedded into the robot in such a way that they act both as structural elements and actuators. This is the first soft robot platform produced by 3-D printing making fabrication simple and fast.


Achievable networking performance of applications in a supercomputer depends on the exact combination of the communication patterns of the applications and the routing algorithms used by the supercomputer. In order to achieve the highest networking performance for the applications the routing algorithms need to be designed optimally for those communication patterns. However, while communication patterns usually have a wide variation from application to application and even from phase to phase in an application, routing algorithms have a limited variation and usually are optimized for typical communication patterns. This results in high networking performance for favored communication patterns but low networking performance for others. In this paper we present approaches for improving networking performance by rebalancing load on physical links on the Blue Gene Q supercomputer. We realize our approaches in a framework called OPTIQ and demonstrate the efficacy of our framework via a set of benchmarks. Our results show that we can achieve 30% higher throughput on experiment with data and patterns from a real application. The improvement can be up to several times higher throughput than default MPI_Alltoallv used in the Blue Gene Q supercomputer for certain communication patterns.


Ion channeling and transmission electron microscopy were used to examine the microstructure of GaN implanted with deuterium (D) at high (>1 at. %) and low (< 0.1 at. %) D concentrations. At high concentrations, bubbles and basal-plane stacking faults were observed. Ion channeling showed the D was disordered relative to the GaN lattice, consistent with precipitation of D2 into bubbles. At low D concentrations, bubbles and stacking faults are absent and ion channeling shows that a large fraction of the D occupies sites near the center of the c-axis channel.


Climate change has evident, large-scale, negative impacts on global food production. Northern hemisphere will not remain unaffected by global warming: generally temperatures are expected to elevate at high latitudes and thus especially in the Nordic countries, even more than elsewhere in Europe or globally. In the northernmost Europe, especially Finland, Norway and Sweden, crop production is practiced at latitudes higher than anywhere else. Consequently, our production
systems will need to be adapted to challenges and opportunities brought by changing climate.


Holographic Conformal Field Theories (CFTs) are usually studied in a limit where the gravity description is weakly coupled. By contrast, lattice quantum field theory can be used as a tool for doing computations in a wider class of holographic CFTs where gravity remains weak but nongravitational interactions {\it in AdS} become strong. We take preliminary steps for studying such theories on the lattice by constructing the discretized theory of a scalar field in AdS$_2$ and investigating its approach to the continuum limit in the free and perturbative regimes. Our main focus is on finite sub-lattices of maximally symmetric tilings of hyperbolic space. Up to boundary effects, these tilings preserve the triangle group as a large discrete subgroup of AdS$_2$, but have a minimum lattice spacing that is comparable to the radius of curvature of the underlying spacetime. We quantify the effects of the lattice spacing as well as the boundary effects, and find that they can be accurately modeled by modifications within the framework of the continuum limit description. We also show how to do refinements of the lattice that shrink the lattice spacing at the cost of breaking the triangle group symmetry of the maximally symmetric tilings.


This essay ex amines th e d ynamic tension between the m emory of lived experience a nd the f ormal discipline of history as it applies to the value of farm life and the importance of the agrarian ideal in American society. It analyzes the author's memories about growing up in rural New Jersey, their critical place in her development as a scholar, and their embeddedness in her moral valuation of rural experience. Simultaneously it conveys the limits of those memories when held against critical analysis, especially in relation to the lenses of gender and race. It suggests that the longstanding appeal of the agrarian ideal—"the garden state"—remains so strong in our American collective memory that it can discourage appreciation for contingency and difference. Most people regard New Jersey as one big suburban nightmare replete with hyper-inflated real estate prices and bloodcurdling traffic. Yet I have always loved this place long called "the Garden State." I grew up in the countryside, among dairy and horse farms, where fields and forests rolled down to the Delaware River. This corner of the world remained wedded to its past, including the Dutch, English, German, and Swede settlers who arrived in the seventeenth century, and the freedom-seeking Quakers, Pres byterians, Moravians, and Methodists who subsequently followed them. In our neck of the woods we presumed all our agrarian forebears were patriots who crossed the Delaware with George Washington or fought at the Battle of Monmouth. We believed we were the true heirs of America's hard-won independence, and our commitment to the land was a living symbol of our pride in our American heritage. The experiences I gained from growing up in New Jersey farm country, and the meanings I have attached to that experience, have profoundly shaped what I believe and how I think and act today. As a professor of U.S. history, with expertise in southern h istory, I always beg in my courses by asking i f a nyone ha s ha d f arm experience. Rarely do my suburbanites answer positively these days. I subsequently offer my own experiences as the garden state girl to infuse a healthy dose of veracity into the world of ideas I am offering my students. However, herein lies the rub. I bel ieve I can make a compelling argument about the v alue o f m y f arm experience for understanding the American past. Simultaneously, my identity as a scholar gives me critical tools with which to challenge the very memories that make


The present invention relates to a transparent plastic, in particular polycarbonate, and a plastic composition from a transparent polymer particles have different optical density with a matrix material. The invention also relates to the use for a diffusing film in a film, in particular a flat screen of the plastic composition. Light-scattering plastic composition, a transparent plastic, a transparent polymer particle, a diffusion film, a light unit


It is explained the strong dependence of electrical conductivity and very weak dependence of thermopower on crystal purity observed experimentally in ordinary quasi-one-dimensional organic crystals of tetrathiotetracene-iodide, TTT 2 I 3 . It is shown theoretically that in really existing crystals TTT 2 I 3 it is possibly to increase the dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit ZT up to 1.4 at room temperature, if the carriers concentration is diminished by approximately 2.5 times with respect to the concentration in stoichiometric crystals. For purer crystals with a slightly less impurity concentration values of ZT~2 are expected. Whole predicted increase of ZT is expected as a result of the thermoelectric power factor growth.


This study aims to explore the politeness strategies used in making requests and responses in computer-mediated communication (CMC) among Chinese college students and the applicability of discursive approach to such analysis. Following the steps of previous studies using discursive approach, some extracts of chat history on WeChat concerning requests and responses are selected and showed to the interlocutors. Then the interlocutors were asked to judge the conversations from the perspective of politeness. By analyzing the data, this study found that various strategies were used in order to achieve politeness in CMC, which can be associated with Brown and Levinson's theory of politeness. This study also found that discursive approach can be applied in analyzing politeness in CMC well though it differs from face-to-face communication in some ways.


Correspondence (İletişim): Melike Betül Öğütmen, M.D. Haydarpasa Numune Egitim ve Arastirma Hastanesi, Nefroloji Bolumu, Istanbul, Turkey Phone (Telefon): +90 532 316 96 64 E-mail (E-posta): email@example.com Submitted Date (Başvuru Tarihi): 02.07.2018 Accepted Date (Kabul Tarihi): 16.08.2018 Copyright 2019 Haydarpaşa Numune Medical Journal OPEN ACCESS This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). 391 Öğütmen, Tolvaptan for Heart Failure with Volume Overload not Responding to Conventional Treatment / doi: 10.14744/hnhj.2018.16056 ing the symptoms of volume overload [2] and may lead to decreased rate of readmissions for heart failure, and shortened hospital stay [7]. However, the procedure is expensive, needs trained nursing staff, and may be associated with excessive volume removal leading to hypotension, worsening of prerenal azotemia, or acute renal failure [7]. Thus, there is a need for alternative treatments for better management of heart failure patients with volume overload. Tolvaptan, an oral, selective vasopressin 2 receptor antagonist, is a novel drug indicated for the treatment of clinically significant hypervolemic and euvolemic hyponatremia (serum sodium <125 mEq/L or less marked hyponatremia that is symptomatic and has resisted correction with fluid restriction), including patients with heart failure and Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone (SIADH) secretion [2,8]. Tolvaptan is also indicated for the treatment of heart failure patients with volume overload who do not show adequate response with other diuretics, such as loop diuretics [2,4,9]. Tolvaptan produces a free water diuresis to decrease body weight and edema and increases serum sodium levels without any adverse effects on serum electrolyte concentrations, renal function, vital signs, or hemodynamic and neurohormonal stimulation observed with high-dose diuretic therapy [10–13]. Furthermore, as a oncedaily oral tablet, tolvaptan is convenient to administer, unlike ultrafiltration, which is an invasive procedure. Heart failure is very common in Turkey, and the prevalence is estimated to be higher than in western countries [14]. However, there are scant observational data on the effectiveness of treatments in Turkish heart failure patients. Furthermore, to date, the effectiveness and safety of tolvaptan in heart failure patients have not been compared with ultrafiltration in controlled trials or in real-life settings. Therefore, we performed a retrospective analysis to study the outcomes of heart failure patients with volume overload resistant to conventional treatment who received add-on therapy with tolvaptan or ultrafiltration. Materials and Methods


In this paper, we present a model of logistic system with agents coupled with dynamic graph. We adopted a complex system approach to describe the local properties and functional rules of these organizations to understand how the macro properties emerge. As a result, we present how a local parameter, which represents the attractiveness of ports, affects the flow of goods over the territory.


The paper proposes new estimators of spiked eigenvalues of the population covariance matrix from the sample covariance matrix and investigates its consistency and asymptotic normality.


Background: Children with thalassemia major need regular blood transfusions to survive. These multiple transfusions put them at risk for iron overload, which result in organ damage such as parathyroid gland. The aim of this study is to determine levels of calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D and parathyroid hormone in children with thalassemia major and compare them with controls, and analyze their correlation with serum ferritin level. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study in 37 patients with thalassemia major in Department of Pediatrics, Dr. M. Jamil Hospital Padang and 37 ageand sex-matched healthy controls. Serum calcium ion, inorganic phosphorus, vitamin D (25-hydroxycholecalciferol), parathyroid hormone (PTH) and ferritin levels were measured. Results: There were 18 boys and 19 girls in each group. Their age ranged between 2 and 16 years, Original Research Article Izzah et al.; JAMPS, 15(1): 1-5, 2017; Article no.JAMPS.35473 2 with 20 (54%) children aged more than 10 years. Median of ferritin level in patients and controls were 2981 (IQR 3662) ng/mL and 36.6 (IQR 27.5) ng/mL respectively. Mean level of calcium ion and phosphorus levels in patients were 1.17 (SD 0.07) mmol/L and 5.42 (SD 0.76) mg/dL respectively. Median values of vitamin D and PTH in patients were 54.3 (IQR 21.1) ng/mL and 127.5 (IQR 183.1) pg/mL respectively. Compared to healthy controls, calcium ion level in patients was significantly lower (P = .001). On the contrary, phosphorous, vitamin D and PTH levels were not significantly different. Vitamin D and PTH levels had no significant correlation with serum ferritin levels (P = 0.147 and P = 0.2 respectively, while calcium ion level showed significant negative correlation with serum ferritin levels (r=-0.44, P=0.007). Conclusion: Vitamin D and PTH levels have no significant correlation with serum ferritin level. The calcium ion level has a moderate negative correlation with serum ferritin level.


Abstract INTRODUCTION ALTHOUGH production of hatching eggs was a sizable industry thirty years ago, it has reached greater importance since the development of the broiler industry to its present size. In spite of the importance of hatching egg production, there is little in the literature (including popular trade magazines) concerning the way in which an egg producer decides whether to produce hatching or table eggs. Yet this may be a problem of paramount importance to an egg producer. An egg producer has at his disposal a given amount of resources such as housing, equipment, labor, and managerial know-how which can be used in egg production. He is interested in maximizing returns to these resources and has at least two alternative uses for them: 1. Production of table eggs 2. Production of hatching eggs Within the category of hatching egg production, he can produce hatching eggs for laying flock replacement chicks or …


NOTICE: THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN RETRACTED Cauda equina syndrome (CES) is a serious neurological condition in which neurological dysfunction affects the lumbar and sacral nerve roots within the vertebral canal. The most common cause is central disc protrusion at L5 - S1 level. Diagnosis usually requires imaging studies including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) myelogram. We present a very rare case of CES due to extensive Burkitt lymphoma involving spinal cord. J Med Cases. 2019;10(6):168-170 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jmc3308


TO THE EDITOR:

The key event in the pathogenesis of systemic light chain amyloidosis (AL) is an unstable misfolded secondary or tertiary structure of a monoclonal immunoglobulin (IG) light chain that precipitates in the extracellular compartments.[1][1] The plasma cell disorder underlying AL is


1 Queueing Theory Consider the scenario of a bus stop or a movie ticket counter. Each person arrives to the queue at a random time and has to wait another random amount of time before he is serviced. A natural question to ask is regarding the expected total waiting time of all the people in the queue. To answer this question, we first formalize the idea of a queue. 1.1 A Preliminary example Consider a queue where the customers are arriving according to a Poisson Process N (t) of rate λ. Recall that N (t) is a random variable that denotes the number of arrivals till time t with S n the time instant of n th arrival. If N (t) = n, then the total expected waiting time is given by E   N (t) i=1 (t − S i)   = E E n i=1 (t − S i) N (t) = n (1) Recall that given the number of arrivals in a particular time duration, the arrivals are order statistics of uniformly distributed random variables in that time interval.


This essay presents a brief discussion of the foundations and scope of the new Keynesian model for monetary policy. The model is built according to methodology accepted by the scientific community, based on the so-called "microfoundations"; however, as it aims to address monetary policy issues –through forecasting or simulation exercises– it tends to sacrifice its original rigour in exchange for empirical goodness of fit or economic relevance. The latter is largely associated to: the degree to which nominal rigidities are significant to explain the dynamics of variables of interest, as they generate non-neutrality results and determine the space of welfare-improving interventions; and the use of a simple rule –the interest rate as a function of macroeconomic variables– as a valid depiction of monetary policy. Policy prescriptions are highly specific to any of these two conditions, especially in open economies. Finally, either from a realist methodological point of view, which stresses empirical hypotheses' contrast, or from a constructivist one, which assesses its rhetoric, the model presents limitations in its approach to central banks' practice and discourse.


Background: Diet-related Non-Communicable diseases are increasing. The prevalence and risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) are higher among immigrants than Sweden-born population partly due to dietary cha ...


Significance
 The proposed Cyber Security Act (CSA) is one of four laws intended to strengthen national defences against rising cybercrime, particularly involving cryptocurrency and online financial transactions.

 Impacts
 As drafted, the CSA could be used against online political critics.
 Corporate cybersecurity burden will continue to increase, even if rules such as those proposed by Bangkok appear unworkable.
 Besides discouraging foreign investment, the CSA could jeopardise Thailand's existing or potential trade agreements.


The correct simulation of combustion process allows to better face several SI engines design problems, not only for innovative mixture formation concepts (stratified or ultra-lean charge), but for traditional homogeneous mixture as well. Even though many commercial codes are able to describe the complex 3-D non reacting fluid dynamics in ICE, the simulation of high turbulent flame propagation does not seem to be a completely solved problem yet. In this work a comparison between two different turbulent combustion models (a characteristic time based one by Abraham and Reitz [2, 15, 16] and a flamelet based one by Cant and AbuOrf [4, 20]) has been performed using KIVA-3V code to assess simulation reliability. Models predictive capabilities have been tested with reference to specific data acquired at the engine test bench of Tor Vergata Mechanical Engineering Department on a Fiat Punto 1242 cc 8 valves SI engine over a wide range of operating conditions. A generally good agreement has been observed between experimental and numerical results obtained by using both the combustion models. In addition it can be noticed that, thanks to a more physical description of the local turbulent flame characteristics, Cant model seems to exhibit more predicting reliability in the whole engine operating field.


PURPOSE
Bone grafting before implant placing can improve the treatment in traumatized or regular implant patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the density and maximum amount of harvestable bone graft in the mandibular symphysis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Data from 15 CT-scans were obtained from 15 adult patients (10 male/five female) for the purposes of this study. The CT data, in DICOM format, were read into Mimics software from Materialize (Leuven, Belgium), with a slice thickness of 0.5 mm. The volume, density, and dimensions based on Hounsfield units (HU) were measured on the 3D symphyseal bone graft using Mimics software.

RESULTS
The average bone volume calculated from the mandibular symphysis was 3491.08 +/- 772.12 mm(3). The average sized corticocancellous block that was measured was 38.75 x 11.05 x 7.80 mm. The mean bone density was 958.95 +/- 98.11 HU.

CONCLUSION
The use of three-dimensional computed tomography (3D CT) in combination with a software program is a reliable means of determining the density of graft, evaluating maximal volume and dimensions of the graft that can be harvested from the mandibular symphysis region.


We discuss a model with a SU$(2)_L$ doublet vector leptoquark (LQ), motivated by the recent experimental results relating to the lepton universality of $\overline{B} \to D^{(*)} \tau\overline{\nu}_\tau$. We find that scalar operators predicted by the LQ are favored to explain the deviations, taking into account the recent LHCb result. We investigate the extensive phenomenology of the model and conclude that $B_s\to\tau\overline\tau$, $B_u\to \tau\overline\nu_\tau$ and high-$p_T$ di-$\tau$ lepton signatures at the LHC will probe the interesting parameter region in the near future.


Development is the eternal subject in human society.And how to develop,especially how to achieve the composite development of urban and rural,is the problem which had been or are being tried to solve by many coun-tries.For various reasons,the world shows us a colorful historical picture.In any case,various measures of the indus-try feeding agriculture in some countries and regions will provide the experience or lessons for our rural reconstruction and achieving the faster and better scientific development.


This paper deals with the design of a robust and decentralized passivity-based control scheme for regulating the voltage of a DC microgrid through boost converters. A Krasovskii-type storage function is proposed and a (local) passivity property for DC microgrids comprising unknown ZIP (constant impedance 'Z', constant current 'I' and constant power 'P') loads is established. More precisely, the input portvariable of the corresponding passive map is equal to the first-time derivative of the control input. Then, the integrated input port-variable is used to shape the closed loop storage function such that it has a minimum at the desired equilibrium point. Convergence to the desired equilibrium is theoretically analyzed and the proposed control scheme is validated through experiments on a real DC microgrid.


An innovative approach for damage assessment of a bridge deck is proposed with the measured dynamic response of a vehicle moving on top of a structure. The simply supported bridge deck is modeled as a Euler–Bernoulli beam. The moving vehicle serves as a smart sensor and force transducer in the structural system. The damage is defined as the flexural stiffness reduction in the beam finite element. The identification algorithm is based on dynamic response sensitivity analysis, and it is realized with a regularization technique from the measured vehicle acceleration measurement. Measurement noise, road surface roughness, and model errors are included in the simulations, and the results indicate that the proposed algorithm is computationally stable and efficient, and the identified results are acceptable and not sensitive to the different parameters studied.


It is more important to study for reducing the evacuation time of occupant in fire, because the building has been taller and deeper. It has known that elevator was not safe in fire situation. So, the using elevator for evacuation has been prohibited. But the study of elevator evacuation is progressed with designing the elevator safe from flame and smoke. This study analyze the consideration factors for the calculation of elevator evacuation time. The factors for elevator evacuation calculation is starting time, round trip time. And round trip time is divided into standing time and travel time. The elevator evacuation time can be calculated by compounding these factors and adding the efficiency. For using elevator to evacuate, we need additional study for smoke control, compartment, water proof and safe electric power supply.


In their recent article, Gosavi et al. (2013) presented the results of a crystallographic analysis of the binding of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and 3-hydroxy-2,2´,4,4´-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (3-OH-BDE-47) to estrogen sulfotransferase (SULT1E1). The authors demonstrated that the tested molecules fit into the same binding pocket as estradiol. However, although the study's methodology and interpretation of the crystallographic analysis provide insight into how binding might occur in isolated and in vitro systems, they did not provide evidence that the tested molecules would initiate any biological activity with the relevant estrogen receptors (ERs) or proteins in a human body. For example, the ability of TBBPA to interact with the ER and estrogen-related receptors has been evaluated in recombinant yeast strains, mammalian cell–based assays, and tests developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (Lee et al. 2012; Nakagawa et al. 2007; Ogunbayo et al. 2007, 2008; Reistad et al. 2005, 2007; Strack et al. 2007). Those studies found that TBBPA either did not interact with ERs or that it acted as a weak ER agonist/antagonist with a potency orders of magnitude below that of natural ER ligands. In addition, the data presented by Gosavi et al. (2013) did not include the use of controls to validate the methods. The use of both positive controls (such as diethylstilbestrol and ethinyl estradiol) and a negative control (such as testosterone) would provide validation of the analysis and allow for the quantification and comparison of the two test substances in relation to the binding potentials of the controls.

The authors also speculated about the possible additivity of the various brominated flame retardants and their metabolites and suggested that low-dose exposure to multiple low-affinity binding compounds may result in endocrine disruption. However, none of the data presented directly addressed this point.

It is highly complex, not well understood, and speculative to extrapolate data on inhibition of enzymes such as SULT1E1 in in vitro assay systems to endocrine-system modulation of selective gene expression, receptor binding, and activation and the production of adverse effects that would characterize endocrine disruption in vivo by additivity of different chemicals competing on the same receptors. Only through a more complete understanding of target tissue dosimetry, potency of interaction of the chemical of interest with the macromolecule of interest (e.g., SULT1E1), and subsequent events can one address the likelihood of in vivo additivity.


. Taking the big data-related literature included in SSCI as the data source, this paper applies the WoS analysis function and knowledge graph tool CitespaceIIItoconductbibliometricandvisualanalysisinsocialsciences.Quanti-tativeandqualitativeanalysesareperformedtouncovertheinternationalsituation andexistenceofbigdataresearchinChina,throughevaluatingkeyvariablessuch asannualdistribution,country/regionaldistribution,researchinstitutiondistribu-tion,hotspots,subjectscope,paperinfluence,etc.Thestudyaimstoinvestigate China'sinternationalizationinthesubjectofsocialsicence,andhelpbuildbig dataofacademicdiscoursesysteminChina.


Abstract We sought to determine whether design of carbohydrate-based microspheres to have different digestion rates, while retaining the same material properties, could modulate gastric emptying through the ileal brake. Microspheres made to have three slow digestion rates and a rapidly digested starch analogue (maltodextrin) were administrated to rats by gavage and starch contents in the stomach, proximal and distal small intestine, and caecum were measured 2 h post-gavage. A stepwise increase in the amount of starch retained in the stomach was found for microspheres with incrementally slower rates of digestion. Postprandial glycaemic and insulinaemic responses were incrementally lower for the different microspheres than for the rapidly digestible control. A second-meal effect was observed for slowly digestible starch (SDS) microspheres compared to glucose. Thus, dietary slowly digestible carbohydrates were designed to elicit incremental significant changes in gastric emptying, glycaemic and insulinaemic responses, and they may be a means to trigger the ileal brake.


We introduce an effective method to degenerately dope MoTe2 by oxidizing its surface into the p-dopant MoOx in oxygen plasma. As a self-terminated process, the oxidation is restricted only in the very top layer, therefore offering us an easy and efficient control. The degenerate p-doping with the hole concentration of 2.5 × 1013 cm-2 can be obtained by applying a ~300 seconds O2 plasma treatment. Using the degenerately doped MoTe2, we demonstrate a record low contact resistance of 0.6 kΩ·μm for MoTe2. Our measurement highlights an excellent stability for the plasma doped MoTe2. The doped characteristics is robust with no significant degradation even after a one-year exposure to the air. The oxygen plasma doping technique is compatible to the conventional semiconductor processes, which can be utilized to realize high performance MoTe2 FETs or tunnel FETs in the future.


How can sociology talk about ethics without just reproducing or affirming the moral-pedagogical discourse about Olympic fairness? We shall approach this question by referring to the popular games, which contrast the sport of competition and fairness. There is not only one ethics, as there is not just one sport. Sociology stands against any epistemological monotheism. Different intellectual strategies seem likely. One is to think ethics in dialectical terms – or trialectical. State, market and civil society are not only sectors, but dimensions of social practice. They develop different ethical codes, which are related to the inner tensions inside the democratic triad of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. Another strategy is to understand ethics not primarily as a set of abstract ideas or values, which are ideally directed against the body. But ethical behavior is based on bodily practice. That is why ethics has to be thought from its bodily-material basis, i.e. in materialistic terms. Finally, if ethics is to be understood in relation to body, game and movement, this cannot be only a serious matter. Sports and games have their roots in carnival, in a popular culture of laughter. Without reflection on laughter, the sociology of ethics would be ridiculous...


Although X-ray mammography is the gold standard technique for breast cancer detection, it suffers from limitations due to tissue superposition which could either obscure or mimic a breast lesion. Dedicated breast computed-tomography(BrCT) represents an alternative technology with the potential to overcome these limitations. However, this technology is still under investigation in order to study and improve certain parameters (e.g. dose, scattered radiation, etc.). In this work, an image simulation framework is proposed to generate realistic BrCT images and spectral imaging analysis is explored to enhance the contrast of breast lesions. Results illustrated an improvement in contrast between 5 and 10% when the final image is reconstructed using X-ray photons with energies between 21 and 30 keV, in comparison with the reconstructed image from the polychromatic energy spectrum recorded within the image receptor.


Since its first application toward displacement measurements in the early-1960s, laser feedback interferometry has become a fast-developing precision measurement modality with many kinds of lasers. By employing the frequency-shifted optical feedback, microchip laser feedback interferometry has been widely researched due to its advantages of high sensitivity, simple structure, and easy alignment. More recently, the laser confocal feedback tomography has been proposed, which combines the high sensitivity of laser frequency-shifted feedback effect and the axial positioning ability of confocal microscopy. In this paper, the principles of a laser frequency-shifted optical feedback interferometer and laser confocal feedback tomography are briefly introduced. Then we describe their applications in various kinds of metrology regarding displacement measurement, vibration measurement, physical quantities measurement, imaging, profilometry, microstructure measurement, and so on. Finally, the existing challenges and promising future directions are discussed.


Advanced private enterprise culture constitutes important content of advanced culture with Chinese characteristics.It is imperative to correctly apply materialist dialectics to enterprise culture building under the guidance of Marxism so as to handle well the relations between phenomenon and essence,between internal and external causes,general and specific charaters,principal and secondary contradictions.Only in this way can we avoid going astray in building advanced private enterprise culture with Chinese characteristics.


Background and Aims: Insulin‐like growth factors (IGFs) are closely related to hepatocellular carcinoma growth. The study aim was to investigate the effects of IGF‐IR and IGF‐IIR antisense gene transfection on the biological behaviors of SMMC‐7721 human hepatoma cells.


We investigate an editorial review program for which a review platform supplements user reviews with editorial ones written by professional writers. Specifically, we examine whether and how editorial reviews influence subsequent user reviews (reviews written by noneditor reviewers). A quasiexperiment conducted on a leading review platform in Asia, based on several econometric and natural language processing techniques, yields empirical evidence of an overall positive effect of editorial reviews on subsequent user reviews from the platform's perspective. First, more reviews are provided for restaurants that receive editorial reviews. In addition, these reviews discuss substantive topics while also including a discussion on other topics, leading to a net increase in content length and variety. They also are more neutral in sentiment and are associated with lower rating valences. Further analysis of the mechanism reveals that the subsequent user reviews of the restaurants that receive editorial reviews become more similar to the editorial reviews in regard to topics, sentiment/rating, length, and readability, indicating a herding effect in how to write a review as the main driver of the change in the subsequent reviews. We further empirically isolate this herding effect among long-time reviewers. The findings suggest that review platforms could use an editorial review program not only to boost the quantitative aspect of user reviews but also, to manage the qualitative aspect as well. This paper was accepted by Kartik Hosanagar, information systems.


Methane activation in the absence of molecular oxygen over metallo-catalysts has been recognized as a potential catalytic process. In the present study, the density-functional theory (DFT) is employed to theoretically explore the mechanism of the nonoxidative dehydrogenation of methane on acid-promoted metal (Mo or W) oxides and carbide/zeolite catalysts. Various possible models of the catalyst are proposed. The structures of intermediate fragments together with CHx species that adsorbed on the catalysts were optimized and analyzed. The results suggest that the transition metal species located on the bridged hydroxyl groups, Si(OH)Al of zeolites, is the activation center competent to cleave C−H bonds. Methane activation proceeds through the initial overlap of electron density of methane with vacant d-orbitals of the metallo-center of the catalyst, followed by the formation of a transition state in which a H−H bond distance is noticeably shortened. At last, a hydrogen molecule is eliminated and a bound car...


Abstract A novel transient-grating technique with a well-defined and moveable optical probe is used to investigate the spatial extent of any optical changes arising from optically-driven electron-hole plasma expansion in molecular-beam-epitaxially grown ZnSe. We present experimental data demonstrating that optically-driven plasma expansion does not extend significantly beyond the originally excited area when pumped to carrier densities appropriate to lasing action in these materials (1018cm−3).


We investigate the symmetry breaking role of noise in adiabatic quantum computing using the example of the controlled-not gate. In particular, we analyze situations where the choice of initial Hamiltonian produces symmetries in the Hamiltonian and degeneracies in the spectrum. We show that, in these situations, the conventional stipulation that the initial and problem Hamiltonians do not commute is unnecessary, as noise will inherently play the role of a universal symmetry-breaking perturbation and split any level crossings that may impede or obstruct the computation. The effects of an artificial noise source with a tailored time-dependent amplitude are also explored and it is found that such a scheme could offer a considerable performance enhancement. These results are found using a generalized version of the Pechukas-Yukawa model of eigenvalue dynamics.


A rheological equation for viscoelastic fluids is derived as an expansion of Noll's functional for simple fluids. The present expansion is developed in terms of the deformation rate referred to a co‐rotational material frame. The resulting series of approximations for the stress differs significantly from those proposed previously by Green and Rivlin and by Coleman and Noll. Applications to both simple‐extensional and viscometric flows are considered. For viscometric flows the present model exhibits non‐Newtonian effects similar to those observed in real fluids, with relatively few terms in the functional expansion. The first term in the expansion yields a "first‐order" fluid similar to the model proposed by Pao. Expressions are also given for the viscometric material functions of the present "third‐order" fluid. As with higher‐order fluids, these functions are Fourier integrals of certain hereditary or memory functions for the fluid.


Behavioral health (BH) disorders often co-occur with chronic medical conditions. Hospital readmission rates are higher among patients with co-occurring BH and medical conditions than among patients who do not have a BH disorder. This pattern of overutilization has been linked to fragmented care delivery systems and a lack of information sharing. Health information exchanges (HIEs) enable the sharing of clinical information. This study applied information systems theories to understand the factors that influence the exchange and use of BH data via HIE. A modified Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) survey was emailed to a convenience sample of participants in Alabama and Oklahoma to determine the influence of the following factors on intention to use and subsequent use of BH information via HIE: 1) performance expectancy, 2) effort expectancy, 3) social influence, 4) trust, and 5) perceived risk. The conceptual model also integrated a construct from the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory: trialability. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the conceptual model. The results are presented in Table 1. Sixty-two participants completed the survey. Because the survey was distributed by the CIO and network administrators of the organizations, the total number of surveys distributed is unknown, thus making the response rate unknown. 83.87% of the respondents were between 30 and 59 years of age. 62.91% were clinicians. Participants' intention to use BH information in HIE increased if they perceived that having access to this information would improve patient care (performance expectancy) (β= 0.382, p= 0.01). Likewise, intention to exchange BH information increased if the information was thought to be trustworthy (β= 0.539, p= 0.000).


The Pekan coastal plain in which the Pahang river delta is located is made up of a thick sequence of unconsolidated sedimentary sequence of an unnamed formation. Drilling programmes carried out in the area show that the unconsolidated sequence was deposited during two major periods of sedimentation that took place in two different setting. The lower sequence which has been interpreted to have been deposited during the Pleistocene period consists of entirely continental sediment. The continental sequence can be devided into several packages according to their depositional trends and the boundary of each package is marked by an apparent depositional break. The sea-level rise during the early Holocene period have resulted in deposition of a series of marinel marine-influenc~d sediments at the top of the sequence. Abstrak: Dataran pantai Pekan yang di dalamnya terletak delta Sungai Pahang dibentuk oleh satu jujukan sedimen takterkonsolidasi yang tebal yang setakat ini tidak begitu jelas nama formasinya. Program penggerudian yang dilakukan di kawasan tersebut menunjukkan bahawa sedimen takterkonsolidasi tersebut telah dimendapkan pada period yang berlainan dan berlaku di dalam setting yang berbeza. Jujukan bawah yang telah ditafsirkan· telah dimendapkan semasa Pleistosen terdiri daripada sedimen daratan. Jujukan sedimen daratan tersebut boleh dibahagikan kepada dua pakej pemendapan yang setiap satunya di pisahkan dari pada yang lain oleh rumpang pemendapan. Peningkatan paras laut semasa awal Holosen telah mengakibatkan pemendapan satu siri sedimen lautanldipengaruhi lautan di abahagian atas jujukan. INTRODUCTION AND PREVIOUS WORK The Pekan coastal plain (Fig. 1) represents one of the largest coastal deposits in Malaysia. Many workers (Nossin, 1965a, b; Koopmans, 1972; Bosch, 1988; Tjia, 1992; Mazlan & Karnaluddin, 1991) have undertaken studies of this coastal plain. Many of these works were concentrated on the morphology and genesis of the beach ridges/shorelines that are prominent along the coastal region (Nossin, 1965a, 1965b). The latest work on the Quaternary geology of the Peninsular Malaysia was by Bosch (1988) who suggetsed the lithostarigraphic classification and naming of the sediments Holocene and Pre-Holocene age based on the surfiCial deposits and shallow tube wells drilling. A summary of facies description from the study is shown in Table 1. Bosch (1998) concluded that sea-level fluctuations during the late Pleistocene and Holocene age exerted significant effect on the shaping of the coastal plain along the coast of Malay Peninsula. The main mechanism wa~ through the control on the sedimentation processes. Based on studies by Tjia (1992), the relative sea level had fluctuated many times; a big drop was observed during the late Pleistocene (-150 m) followed by late Holocene rapid sea level rise and highstand at +5 meter above the present day mean sea level around 5,000 yrs BP and the subsequent drop to the present level. These fluctuations have resulted in the erosion and deposition of various coastal plain deposits. Remnants of paleoebeaches/shorelines can be seen outcropping on the present coastal plain, some kilometers landward of the present day shoreline and at different elevations attesting to the time that they were deposited (Bosh, 1988; Tjia, 1992). The present Pahang River delta proper is probably the result of progradation of different lobes in response to the stabilisation of the relative sea level around 2,000 years ago. This paper will try to reclassify the Quaternary sedimentary sequence of the Pekan coastal plain based on subsurface data obtained from wells drilled in the area.


A dual domain decomposition method dedicated to nonlinear problems is presented. The decomposition is introduced in the nonlinear formulation and the nonlinear problem is first condensed on the interface then solved by a Newton-type method. Considering the specificities of the introduced operators, the algorithm can be interpreted as a local/global strategy with global Newton-type iterations and nonlinear relocalizations per subdomain. Such a strategy is particularly interesting in cases where the nonlinearity is localized. First results are presented on structural problems with damage.


Mobilization failure is seen in 10-15% of patients undergoing G-CSF or Chemo mobilization and the use of plerixafor is limited by its cost in developing countries. This phase II study is being undertaken to study whether the addition of Meloxicam to standard G-CSF will improve rates of mobilization (CTRI/2014/06/004671). After informed consent, patients received Meloxicam 15 mg once daily for 5 days from Day -7 to -3 and G-CSF 5 ug/kg BD from Day -4 to -1. Peripheral blood stem cell harvest was performed on Day 0 and on the following day is the initial harvest CD34 dose was Between November 2013 till July 2014, 25 patients (20 males and 5 females) with a median age of 51 years (range: 25-63) received meloxicam with G-CSF. There was no toxicity in any of the patients during the 5 days of administration of meloxicam. A cell dose of > 2 x 106 CD34/kg was achieved in 21 (84%) with a cell dose of > 3 x 106 CD34/kg being achieved in a single harvest in 15 (60%). Four patients needed additional cyclophosphamide mobilization to achieve the target cell doses. Analysis of peripheral blood CD34 counts revealed that 20 (80%) had counts > 20/ul on Day 0 [median count of 65.5/ul (range: 21.1 – 313.02) and of these 15 (60%) had achieved counts of > 20/ul on Day -1 itself [median count of 45.3/ul (range: 21.4 – 130.2)]. None of the patients had toxicity related to meloxicam. Subsequently 21 patients underwent auto SCT and their data was compared with 50 age and disease matched controls who had mobilization and auto SCT at our centre between January 2013 and March 2014. Though mobilization rates and cell doses were not significantly different, the use of meloxicam and G-CSF was associated with faster neutrophil engraftment. Following auto SCT, there was lower Grade III – IV toxicity, lower transfusion requirement of red cells and reduction in the duration of hospital stay post SCT [Table 1]. Conclusion: The addition of meloxicam to G-CSF improves stem cell mobilization and is associated with faster engraftment, no additional toxicity, lower supportive care and lower duration of hospitalization. It is also potentially possible that we may be able to harvest the patients a day earlier depending upon the peripheral blood CD 34 counts achieved. This data warrants a prospective randomized trial comparing Meloxicam + G-CSF with G-CSF alone as a mobilization strategy prior to autologous stem cell transplantation. Table 1 – Comparison of demographic data, mobilization characteristics and post transplant outcome in patients using meloxicam + G-CSF compared with historical controls Disclosures Srivastava:Octapharma: Consultancy, Other.


In the review article by Agzew,1 mention was made of acute pulmonary embolism (PE) and coronary embolism as 2 independent causes among many others of elevated serum cardiac troponin in nonacute coronary syndrome. In his discussion, he attributed the elevation of serum cardiac troponin in acute PE to right-heart strain or hypoxia. Unfortunately, he failed to mention another very important mechanism, namely, paradoxical embolism into the coronary circulation.2,3 Paradoxical embolism refers to the passage of a thrombus from systemic veins, usually in the lower extremities, to the systemic circulation, usually via a patent foramen ovale, to cause arterial embolism. This unconventional mode of embolization, thus termed paradoxical embolism, was a diagnostic challenge and seldom detected during life until 1976 when I reported 2 cases diagnosed by cardiac catheterization.4 Paradoxical embolism may take place in the coronary artery. In fact, one of the 2 patients I reported in 1976 had a coronary embolism. Thus, acute PE and paradoxical coronary embolism are 2 interrelated mechanisms of elevated serum cardiac troponin in nonacute coronary syndrome. Paradoxical coronary embolism frequently occurs as a complication of acute PE and is neither rare nor benign.3 It can cause elevation of not only serum cardiac troponin, but also the ST-segment in the right precordial ECG leads.5,6 It is important to bear this in mind, not only from a diagnostic standpoint, but also for therapeutic purposes. Closure of a patent foramen ovale can be done nonsurgically nowadays and is simple, safe, and effective.3,7–9


Spray drying is currently used to obtain powder products from suspensions. It is considered the most effective type of drying for such media. The complexity of the drying process is associated with thermal destruction of components, which degrades the properties of the product and imposes significant restrictions on temperature condition. The present research features the simulation of transient modes of operation of the solenoids to generate a controlled cavitation effect when applied to a stream of acoustic vibrations using a magnetostrictive generator of ultrasound. The authors propose a new design of spray nozzle for drying suspensions with counter-connected solenoids. Such solenoids can cause deformation of the main suspension supply line. The intensity of the cavitation processes depends on the dynamics of the solenoid actuation. The paper introduces a mathematical modeling of transient modes of operation for ultrasonic frequency generator solenoids that create a controlled cavitation effect when applied to the jet of acoustic oscillations of this frequency. When modeling the process of operation of solenoids, the main criterion for changing the intensity of cavitation is the average rate of change in the volume of the cavity at the stage of its collapse, related to one cycle of oscillations for a spherical cavity. An increase in the static pressure of the liquid led to a shift in the phase of the collapse of the cavity. As a result of the chosen mathematical model, a numerical experiment with modeling in the MathCAD program was carried out. It revealed some graphical dependences of the change in U(t), L(t), and R(t). The obtained data allow one to predict the ballast induction and active load (R, L) for the control of transients in the solenoid of the ultrasonic generator. These dependences make it possible to choose more effective parameters for drying suspensions, which is especially important for heat- sensitive components.


In this paper we examine the problem of optimizing the average time latency of a network using agents that are able to learn. The network design is constrained by a traffic matrix which dedicates specific flows between specific pairs of nodes. Although this is an analysis of an application, we only present two methodologies here, i.e. an algorithm for optimization and a corresponding conservative rate of convergence based on no learning. The application part will be presented in the near future once data is available. We expect the tools developed in this paper can be used to optimize a wide range of objective functions. They will not be limited to optimizing time latency.


Videometric measurements in wind tunnels can be very challenging due to the limited optical access, model dynamics, optical path variability during testing, large range of temperature and pressure, hostile environment, and the requirements for high productivity and large amounts of data on a daily basis. Other complications for wind tunnel testing include the model support mechanism and stringent surface finish requirements for the models in order to maintain aerodynamic fidelity. For these reasons nontraditional photogrammetric techniques and procedures sometimes must be employed. In this paper several such applications are discussed for wind tunnels which include test conditions with Mach numbers from low speed to hypersonic, pressures from less than an atmosphere to nearly seven atmospheres, and temperatures from cryogenic to above room temperature. Several of the wind tunnel facilities are continuous flow while one is a short duration blow-down facility. Videometric techniques and calibration procedures developed to measure angle of attack, the change in wing twist and bending induced by aerodynamic load, and the effects of varying model injection rates are described. Some advantages and disadvantages of these techniques are given and comparisons are made with non-optical and more traditional video photogrammetric techniques.


Objective To study the clinical significance of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry ( LC-MS/MS ) in the diagnosis of inherited metabolic liver disease in children with the main clinical manifestation of jaundice. Methods A total of 75 cases of children ( including outpatients and inpatients ) with the clinical manifestations of jaundice , hepatomegaly and serum enymes increase were collected in Beijing Children ' s Hospital from Apirl 2010 to April 2011. The dry blood filter paper of all 75 cases were analyzed by LC-MS/MS and the data were analyzed by special software. Results The results of LC-MS/MS in 49 cases were normal. The levels of amino acids or acylcarnitines in 26 cases were abnormal , among whom 5 cases were troubled by inherited metabolic liver diseases , 15 cases with other diseases , and 6 were with unknown diseases. Conclusion If the children have the clinical manifestations of jaundice , hepatomegaly and high serum enymes , especially with high blood ammonia orlactic acid , the possibility of inherited metabolic liver disease should be considered. The levels of amino acids or acylcarnitines can be abnormal in some children without inherited metabolic liver disease because of liver secondary injury.


The Women ́s Truth is the only Commission focused on the experiences of what happened to women in the armed conflict in Colombia and on the processes that they advanced to face their impacts. It is the result of a feminist methodological, political and epistemological commitment made by the Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres, which reconstructs the truth of 1,000 women victims of the armed conflict. Its feminist and innovative methodology led me to systematize the experience through two questions: What lessons and contributions are derived from the Truth of Women made by the Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres of the Cauca could enrich the work done by the Colombia ́s Truth Commission? And What is the use of women telling the truth of what happened in the armed conflict and documenting their case? The results reveal that The Women ́s Truth meant not only that women were heard but that their voices, experiences and demands could be legitimized as historical, political and cultural knowledge to rethink peace, to conceive the feminine as contributions for strengthening of the social and organisational fabric and recognized as a source of knowledge for the implementation of the Peace Agreement in Colombia.


The dysgraphia disability is a difficulty of learning that makes it impossible to write correctly, disturbing writing in form and in meaning hindering the normal development of the teaching-learning process, becoming in an difficulty that increases every time in the school population, hence the need to investigate the GRAPHOMOTOR REEDUCATION TO CORRECT THE DYSGRAPHIA IN CHILDREN OF THIRD YEAR OF BASIC GENERAL EDUCATION PARALLEL A, B AND C AT "JULIO SERVIO ORDONEZ ESPINOSA" SCHOOL OF LOJA CITY PERIOD March-July 2015. The research work was framed in action research, through the intervention, the descriptive character, the explanatory type of quantitative and qualitative approach. Methods as: scientific, analytical, deductive, inductive, descriptive and statistical model was used. It was applied as diagnostic tools guide of the motor dysgraphia, the observation sheet and the daily activities log sheet. The population was 80 students of the third year of general basic education at "Julio Servio Ordonez Espinosa" School, from which a non-probabilistic sample of 20 students who were diagnosed with motor dysgraphia was taken, the same who a workshop was developed; It concluded that the graphomotor re-education applied properly and in a sistematicway correct the motor dysgraphia in a high percentage, therefore it is recommended for the institution to train teachers in diagnosis and approach of the learning problems with the perspective that students improve their academic performance


1 Overview In this lecture, we will be discussing integer data structures that can be used to solve the predecessor problem. We will start by describing the various models we can use, and then introduce two integer data structures, Van Emde Boas and Y-fast trees. Before presenting any integer data structures, we present some models for computations with integers (both to precisely state what we are looking for, and as a framework to prove lower bounds). In each model, memory is arranged as a collection of words of some size (and potentially a small amount of working memory), and a fixed cost is charged for each operation. We also always make the fixed universe assumption. We assume that each data structure needs to answer queries with respect to a fixed set of w-• Memory is divided into an array of size S made up of cells of size w. It is practical to require w to be greater than log(S), as otherwise, you won't be able to access the whole array. If we let n be the problem size, then this also implies that w ≥ log(n). • There is some fixed set of operations, each of which modifies O(1) memory cells. • Words serve as pointer, so cells can be addressed arbitrarily. you would expect as primitives in a high-level language such as C. • Memory is divided into cells of size w, where w is a parameter of the model.


This article is devoted to the study of the short stories evaluation in the Tatar literature. The roots of the short stories throw back into the ancient Tatar literature, but as a separate literature genre it arose only at the beginning of the XX century. The article examines the evolutation way of this genre, as well as defines the place and the role of this genre in the modern Tatar literature.


Table 8Examples of meaning-making features of two " semiotic domains " .. This paper explores the nature of the five key competencies proposed in the draft of New Zealand's revised national curriculum. While the selection and definition of these competencies is briefly outlined below, it has been more fully documented elsewhere (Brewerton, 2004a; Rutherford, 2005). The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the development of a shared understanding of the nature of the five key competencies, as they have now been described, by those who work in or with the school sector. Oates (2001) suggests that success in introducing competencies into the curriculum will depend on the development of such shared understandings and so this paper aims to:  link each competency to appropriate broad areas of theory and research relevant to that  competency;  provide practice-linked insights into the nature of each competency;  demonstrate ways the competencies could integrate with each other, both theoretically and in  practical classroom applications, to emphasise their holistic nature; and  provide a catalyst for wider professional conversations about the key competencies by  identifying areas in need of further discussion and debate. Following the brief introductory outline of the shared characteristics of the competencies, each one is more fully described in its own separate section. A final section outlines issues for further discussion that emerge from these descriptions. Key competencies are intended to replace the " essential skills " of the current curriculum framework. There have been eight groupings of these skills (Ministry of Education, 1993, pp.17-20):  Communication skills: which include an ICT component as well as more traditional reading, speaking, and writing skills;  Numeracy skills: which include use of graphs, charts and tables, and calculators alongside other mathematical skills;  Information skills: that focus on finding and making appropriate use of information;  Self-management and competitive skills: with one focus on goal setting and self-discipline and another on managing practical aspects of daily living;  Social and cooperative skills: with a focus on appropriate participation in group contexts, including as a responsible citizen in wider social settings;  Work and study skills: for developing increasing responsibility for one's own learning. The generic skill clusters summarised here were interpreted differently for each curriculum area and were supposed to be integrated into learning, along with " content ". The National School Sampling Studies (see for example McGee …


The letter sent by Kyros of Alexandria to Sergios of Constantinople in 638 appears to contain a chronological contradiction: it implies that Sergios was aware before his death of the election of Severinus as the new bishop of Rome two months earlier. Given the travelling times in the seventh century, this is impossible. The problem originates in a mistake made by Louis Duchesne when calculating the chronology of the popes for his edition of the Liber pontificalis: for the period 619–49, all his dates are one year too late. This change of the chronological framework affects the interpretation of a number of documents.


This paper examines the impact of the dramatic reduction in interest rates by the Federal Reserve on Hong Kong. Using a panel of several hundred firms in Hong Kong we find that firms increase all types of debt, but shift from short-term to long-term debt as rates fall. This can be attributed in part to a supplyside effect as the benign monetary policy environment has improved creditworthiness. The most noticable result from our analysis is the high level of bank dependence among Hong Kong firms and the continued dependence on bank finance even when interest rates fall. Potentially this may reveal that Hong Kong lacks the benefits of a deep domestic bond market.


Simple Summary Effective and scalable diet, exercise, and weight management interventions are needed for primary cancer prevention in the general public, as well as for cancer control and tertiary prevention among the growing population of cancer survivors. A 6-month online intervention, entitled "Daughters, dUdes, mothErs, and others Together" (DUET), was designed to promote weight loss, a healthful diet, and increased physical activity among cancer survivors and their chosen partners. Fifty-six cancer survivor-partner dyads (n = 112 participants in total) were recruited into a randomized controlled trial that compared DUET to a waitlist control. The trial surpassed all feasibility endpoints with regard to uptake, retention, and safety; the DUET intervention also resulted in significant weight loss and reductions in caloric intake, as well as having a promising impact on physical activity and performance, blood glucose, and indicators of inflammation. Abstract (1) Background: A healthful diet, regular physical activity, and weight management are cornerstones for cancer prevention and control. Yet, adherence is low in cancer survivors and others, calling for innovative solutions. Daughters, dUdes, mothers, and othErs fighting cancer Together (DUET) is a 6-month, online, diet-and-exercise, weight-loss intervention to improve health behaviors and outcomes among cancer survivor-partner dyads. (2) Methods: DUET was tested in 56 dyads (survivors of obesity-related cancers and chosen partners) (n = 112), both with overweight/obesity, sedentary behavior, and suboptimal diets. After baseline assessment, dyads were randomized to DUET intervention or waitlist control arms; data were collected at 3- and 6-months and analyzed using chi-square, t-tests, and mixed linear models (α < 0.05). (3) Results: Retention was 89% and 100% in waitlisted and intervention arms, respectively. Dyad weight loss (primary outcome) averaged −1.1 (waitlist) vs. −2.8 kg (intervention) (p = 0.044/time-by-arm interaction p = 0.033). Caloric intake decreased significantly in DUET survivors versus controls (p = 0.027). Evidence of benefit was observed for physical activity and function, blood glucose, and c-reactive protein. Dyadic terms were significant across outcomes, suggesting that the partner-based approach contributed to intervention-associated improvements. (4) Conclusions: DUET represents a pioneering effort in scalable, multi-behavior weight management interventions to promote cancer prevention and control, calling for studies that are larger in size, scope, and duration.


Philosophical Daoism, it may seem, has no time for literary criticism, for the same reason that Plato was opposed to poetry in The Republic: poetry or literature is a second order representation, a description or imitation of life not the immediate thing. The Daoism of the Daode jing and, particularly, the Zhuangzi tends to be interested in people's acceptance of Dao—in what happens and what is—excluding any ideological or emotional glosses on that immediate experience. When Daoist writers in these works discuss language, it is often to denigrate false ideas wrapped in eloquent words and to return to reality: as the Zhuangzi has it, "Words are for catching ideas; once you've caught the idea, you can forget about the words" (ch 26; Mair 1994, 277).


Purpose: To investigate the dose perturbation in Gamma Knife® Perfexion™ Stereotactic Radiosurgery due to inhomogeneity. Method and Materials: We applied Monte Carlo(MC) simulation for Gamma Knife® Perfexion™. Approximation parameters for geometries and materials were used to reconstruct 4mm, 8mm and 16mm collimators in Gamma Knife® Perfexion™ unit. A total of 192 Cobalt‐60 sources with the same activity were simulated. Phase space files stored all particles passing through collimator and reaching a sphere surface of surrounding the isocenter. Patient's geometries were rebuilt from CT data. The doses were calculated using MC simulation with and without inhomogeneity correction. Dose perturbation effect was derived from the comparison of DVH between homogeneous and inhomogeneous geometries. Results: Three patients were investigated. For each patient, at least 2 sites were selected: one in brain and another one close to air cavity. A total of 14 Monte Carlo simulations were performed for 16mm collimator with and without inhomogeneity correction. The statistical error for isocenter dose is around 0.2%. Monte Carlo results show that inhomogeneity effects lowered the dose, on average, by 4.6% in brain site. For sites close to the air cavity, the inhomogeneity effects are mixed. The inhomogeneity effect ranged from 2.7% to −1.3%. Less attenuation from air cavity increases the dose to the site. However, the high density area such as spine results more attenuation and it eventually reduces the dose. Conclusion:Monte Carlo shows that the inhomogeneity effect could cause lower delivered doses from Gamma Knife® Perfexion™ in brain sites and higher or lower doses in those sites close to air cavity. More investigations are necessary to determine accurate dose for treatment sites close to air cavity for Gamma Knife® Perfexion™.


A tropical complete intersection curve C ⊆ R n+1 is a transversal intersection of n smooth tropical hypersurfaces. We give a formula for the number of vertices of C given by the degrees of the tropical hypersurfaces. We also compute the genus of C (defined as the number of independent cycles of C) when C is smooth and connected.


The reasons of the accidents and the fatal defects occurred during operation for a generator with the capacity of 100 MW and above from 1990 to 2005 were analyzed in Heilongjiang power grid,and some suggestions and technical measures to promote a large-capacity generator's operating reliability were presented.