Contents: M.J. Braun/Danika M. Brown/Catherine Chaput: Preface: An Invitation to Entertain Fear - Catherine Chaput: Introduction: Fear, Affective Energy, and the Political Economy of Global Capitalism - M.J. Braun: Electing Empire: Systemic Chaos and the Fear of Falling - Kevin Douglas Kuswa: Blow Back the Enemy T/here: Errors, Terrors, and the Rhetorical Agenda of WMDs - Mark A. Gring: We Have Nothing to Fear but...: A Rhetorical Analysis of Fear in Post-9/11 Sermons - Paul Burkhardt: Fear of Fire and Hope for Jobs: The Rhetoric of Sustainable Development in the Political Ecology of Wildfire - Danika M. Brown: Upwardly Mobile by Degrees: Higher Education and the Rhetorics of Fear - Amy J. Wan: Boundaries of Citizenship: Undocumented Workers and Temporary Work Policies in the United States - Zoe Hammer: The Architecture of Fear: Common Sense and The U.S.-Mexico Border Wall - Cynthia Duquette Smith: Art, Apprehension, and the Gated Community: Thomas Kinkade's "Village" - Cristina Hanganu-Bresch: The Mall of America: Consumption in the Social Wilderness - Kat McLellan: "Is THAT what they are so afraid of?": The Popular Media and Pro-Anorexia Websites - Angela Crow: Transnational Remembering: Navigating Fear and Racism, Shame and Nostalgia - Michael William Pfau: Conclusion: Contextualizing Fear in History, Scholarship, and the Economy of Affect.


We propose and experimentally demonstrate a silicon integrated high-order mode fiber-chip coupler. By utilizing a structure of apodized double-part gratings with mode selective trident, TE1 mode can be coupled with low mode crosstalk. Design details and the corresponding simulation results are presented. The coupler is fabricated on silicon integrated platform. Measured results show the loss is 4.68 dB for TE1-LP11 mode coupling with the mode crosstalk <−23 dB. The proposed coupler could be utilized in the advanced mode division multiplexing (MDM) system.


Electronic auction is the electronic process of implementation of a part of a public procurement procedure, which enables bid ranking by using automated evaluation methods, and it is recommended when technical specifications of the items of procurement can be accurately determined. We believe that this procurement process, which is envisaged by the EU legislation, as well as Croatian legislation, however, underutilised in the Republic of Croatia. As a consequence, an electronic auction has a very strong market match between the bidders, and thus the lower prices of procurement items. Likewise, this form of public procurement reduces the possibility of misuse. That is why we believe it is necessary to analyze in detail the possibilities of the E-governance, and the practice of its use in order to understand its advantages, which are significant in pursuit of a more transparent and more favorable public procurement.


This article explores the nature of epideictic rhetoric in science through a close textual analysis of three Nobel lectures. It examines the effects of the genre shift from original research reports to ceremonial speeches, revealing significant differences from Fahnestock's analysis of the genre shift from forensic research reports to epideictic articles in the popular press, especially a move toward greater candidness about the research process. Epideictic scientific rhetoric, therefore, can be said to celebrate the scientific method in general as much as it does the particular line of research at hand.


Waste collection and management is a subject undergoing extensive study, and solutions are being proposed meticulously. Thanks to an exponential rise in population, there is an increased production of waste, and also a significant amount of litter consisting of plastic, paper, and other such products carelessly thrown about and scattered in public. Thus, the need for a more robust waste management strategy is essential. Presently, waste management techniques either lack efficiency, or incur high costs. Several Governmental as well as Non-Governmental Organizations have made efforts to clean public spaces. Collection of the unorganized and scattered garbage is the preliminary and most vital step of waste management, following proper segregation and disposal. This paper proposes, explains, and implements an original concept of making a modular, scalable and cost effective system for garbage collection. Making an efficient use of Internet of Things to maintain a constant connection between a central server and a network of garbage processing and collecting, independent, autonomous robots, we rely upon such a system to produce accurate results, as well as considerably reduce the cost, hence providing a feasible solution to minimize human effort and costs during waste collection. It provides a gateway towards implementing garbage collecting robots in smart cities. Rather than describing the design of a single robot, we propose an entire system of robots interconnected in a network, to optimize time, energy and overall speed. There is always a trade-off between accuracy, efficiency and cost of garbage collection, especially when robots get into the picture. Our purpose is to find the perfect balance between these factors.


An analysis was made of uneven wear from the perspective of mechanism and vehicletire-ground system.The uneven wear definition was given and it was concluded that trapezoidal changes of sliding force and slip velocity in transverse and circle direction were the major causes of uneven wear.Three kinds of wear numerical calculation method of tire uneven wear were introduced and evaluated: finite element method(FEM) method,wear per mileage method and wear energy method.Then the research direction about uneven wear was indicated.


The invention discloses a dovetail flip bucket which consists of a soleplate and side walls erected along two sides of the soleplate. The dovetail flip bucket is characterized in that the two parts of the soleplate close to the two side walls of the flip bucket are upswept curved soleplates, the middle part of the soleplate along the longitudinal part inclines downwards and stretches out, and erect side walls are arranged between the two inner edges of the curved soleplates and the two outer edges of the inclined and outstretched soleplate. The lengths of the two side walls and the soleplate connected with the two side walls of the flip bucket can be arranged to satisfy the relationship of L1=L2, or L1 L2, and the curved soleplates are arranged to be curved surfaces or warped surfaces with equal curvature. The dovetail flip bucket not only stretches the water flow longitudinally but also can lighten the impact of the incoming water flow to the soleplate and the banks of the riverbed. The depth of the flipped nappe can be greatly reduced, so the stress strains of the side walls are reduced, the height is small, the engineering work amount is small, and correspondingly the difficulty in engineering construction is reduced. Therefore, the dovetail flip bucket can have important protection to the riverbed and the side slope along the bank under the circumstance of complex geological condition of the opposite bank of the river.


This paper is a review of the issues faced when TCP is used over wireless cellular networks further to that proposed solutions to these issues. The problem is first characterized by the TCP operation followed by characteristics of wireless channels that affect performance. Different Wireless generations are compared as they determine nature and severity of problems when TCP is used. Further to this paper provides proposals made to resolve the problem. Performance degradation is considered based on examples from previous studies.


Abstract This paper presents an analysis of the recent developments of average market power in Europe by using a broad firm-level database for EU member states. To indicate competitive pressure at the firm-level, markups are estimated following De Loecker, J. (2011). Recovering markups from production data. Int. J. Ind. Organ. 29: 350–355, and De Loecker, J. and Warzynski, F. (2012). Markups and firm-level export status. Am. Econ. Rev. 102: 2437–2471. The analysis reveals a sharp drop in markups during the crisis, followed by a post-crisis increase. The European average has not yet reached its pre-crisis level, which is in contrast to results for the US, where average markups have climbed to pre-crisis levels already in 2011. There is significant heterogeneity among European economies and the pre-crisis levels do have been exceeded in some countries.


Predictive maintenance of distribution transformers is generally considered a considerably challenging task, requiring the frequent inspection of specific transformer characteristics and sensor data. Nowadays, machine learning supervised methods constitute the state-of-the-art approach for leveraging these data for the development of intelligent computational detection systems. However, the lack of maintenance data exponentially increases the complexity of this problem. In this work, we propose a data-driven decision support system for online monitoring of the health state of a distribution transformer. An attractive advantage of the proposed approach is the fact that it does not require any prior knowledge about the transformer's condition, addressing this problem of lack of labeled data. The reported analysis highlights the efficacy and the efficiency of the proposed approach, which reveals that can reasonably detect abnormal transformer behavior without the need of maintenance data.


With the widespread acceptance of distributed memory multiprocessing as a cost-e ective means of solving very highly resolved problems in computational uid and structural mechanics, many engineers and scientists are encouraged with their initial ports of CFD or CSM codes for parallel execution, and are interested in learning whether applied mathematicians and computer scientists have anything to o er with the next step. This note is both a cautious a rmative and an attempt to de ne important roles that remain to be played by those familiar with the applications, themselves. We provide a high-level summary of the state of the art in domain decomposition methods, and a selective bibliography.


With many hospitals facing periods of retrenchment or considerable uncertainty in workload and reimbursement policy, an adaptive management response seems to be required. A model is presented for the development and implementation of a system of flexible resource management that is useful for health service managers.


"The Worlds of Journalism Study (WJS) is an academically driven project that was
founded to regularly assess the state of journalism throughout the world. The Study's
primary objective is to help journalism researchers, practitioners, media managers and
policy makers better understand worldviews and changes that are taking place in the
professional orientations of journalists, the conditions and limitations under which they
operate, as well as the social functions of journalism in a changing world. A joint effort of
researchers from more than 80 countries, the project aspires to highest standards of
scientific collaboration, democratic participation and collective publishing." - http://www.worldsofjournalism.org!


Advanced practice pharmacy experiences (APPEs) are the foundations upon which pharmacy students develop the skills to apply the knowledge gained from their didactic courses. This article describes the APPEs in psychiatric pharmacy that are offered at the Purdue University College of Pharmacy.


Comparative to the vitrinite reflectance (Ro) of the Cenozoic,the value of Ro from the Upper Paleozoic displays distinct anomaly. Based on the analysis and comparison of a number of Ro data,this study established maturity equations (Ro -H) of the Jiyang depression of both the Cenozoic and the Upper Paleozoic,through which the eroded thickness of the discontinuity surface between the Mesozoic and the Paleozoic in the Jiyang depression was restored. The result revealed that the eroded thickness of the discontinuity surface in the Dongying Sag,Zhanhua Sag and Chezhen Sag are 3.1~4.1 km,2.0~4.1 km and 3.1~4.1 km,respectively,averaging 3.5 km. This fully suggests that the North China Plate was a unified large-scale sedimentary basin before the Indo-Chinese movement,and part of late-Paleozoic coal-bearing strata started to produce hydrocarbon by means of thermolysis.


Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and aggressive type of brain tumor in humans. Distinguishing "driver" mutations from passively selected "passengers" is a central challenge in computational cancer biology. Because of mutational heterogeneity, analyses that extend beyond single genes are often restricted to examine known pathways and functional modules for enrichment of somatic mutations. In this paper we present a network-based method to identify mutated core modules for tumors without any prior information other than the data of somatic mutations and gene expressions from tumor patients. Firstly, two networks with weighted vertices and weighted edges are constructed by using the mutations and expressions, respectively. Then these two networks are combined to get an integrative network, for which an optimization model is used to identify the most coherent subnetworks. With the significance and exclusivity tests we get the core modules for tumors. By applying our method to The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) GBM data, we obtained three core modules, which contain not only oncogenes and tumor suppressors that have been previously implicated in GBM pathogenesis (e.g., EGFR, TP53, PTEN, NF1 and RB1), but also some genes which have not or rarely been reported earlier in the context of glioblastoma multiforme (e.g., DST, PRAME and SYNE1). Thus, in addition to present generally applicable methodology, our findings provide several GBM candidate genes for further studies.


The duration influence of the liman flooding of the river Tanalyk flood plain waters on the water and physical properties, salt regime of meadow-chernozem alkaline soils, composition and productivity of natural grasslands in steppe Zauralye is studied. It is shown, that 30-day flooding on limans in comparison with nonor short-flooded areas leads to partial desalination of root-inhabited layer, deterioration of the main indicators of water-physical constants, increase of productivity and herbage quality of its composition.


Microwave absorption studies in Er single crystals were made at 24 and 100 GHz. Temperatures from 4.2 to 300 K, and magnetic fields up to 20 kOe at 24 GHz, and up to 50 kOe at 100 GHz were used. No spin‐wave resonance absorption was observed with a magnetic field along the 〈0001〉, 〈1010〉, or 〈1120〉 directions in Er at either of our two experimental frequencies, in accord with theory. Several previously reported magnetic transitions were observed: (i) the cone‐ferromagnetism‐fan‐ferromagnetism magnetic transition for Hdc in the hexagonal plane (T 18 K); (iii) the antiferromagnetic‐paramagnetic transition for Hdc in the 〈0001〉 direction (T≅80 K). Magnetic phase transitions not previously reported for Er were observed for Hdc in the (1010) plane for T=7–42 K. Microwave absorption associated with magnetostriction is also observed in Er for an applied field in the hexagonal plane for T=18–51 K.


It is shown that the infrared absorption band at 1230 cm−1, observed under certain conditions of oxygen precipitation in silicon, is the LO mode of SiO2. The LO mode, which is normally infrared inactive, becomes infrared active under the condition of polarization of small (<0.36 μm) platelets in an appropriate dielectric matrix (silicon). Infrared absorption spectra of SiO2 particles of various shapes, imbedded in silicon, have been calculated. For platelet SiO2 precipitates, the spectrum shows an absorption band at 1215 cm−1, which is reasonably close to the observed band at 1230 cm−1. For SiO2 precipitates of other shapes the spectra do not exhibit this absorption band. Instead, they exhibit a slightly weaker primary absorption band at 1095 cm−1, the TO mode, and a very weak band at 1170 cm−1, which is a mixed mode of longitudinal and transverse optical phonons.


It is shown that the nonparametric two-saniDle test recently proposed by Baumgartner, WeiB, Schindler (1998, Biometrics, 54, 1129-1135) does not control the type I error rate in case of small sample sizes. We investigate the exact permutation test based on their statistic and demonstrate that this test is almost not conservative. Comparing exact tests, the procedure based on the new statistic has a less conservative size and is, according to simulation results, more powerful than the often employed Wilcoxon test. Furthermore, the new test is also powerful with regard to less restrictive settings than the location-shift model. For example, the test can detect location-scale alternatives. Therefore, we use the test to create a powerful modification of the nonparametric location-scale test according to Lepage (1971, Biometrika, 58, 213-217). Selected critical values for the proposed tests are given.


Following Thailand's policy framework on bioenergy as stipulated in the Alternative Energy Development Plan (AEDP), ethanol use is encouraged and thereby results in increasing cultivation of sugarcane and other ethanol plants. Inadvertently, the use of scarce water resources has increased in tandem. This research aims to assess water footprint (WF) of sugarcane-based bioethanol production in Thailand. The study consists of into two parts, i.e., cultivation and ethanol production processes. The study result shows WF of sugarcane of 226 m 3 /ton, which consists of green WF of 146 m 3 /ton, blue WF of 31 m 3 /ton, and grey WF of 49 m 3 /ton. Based on the AEDP ethanol production targets of 3, 6.2 and 9 million m 3 /day by 2011, 2016, and 2022, demand of water is thus anticipated at 18,041; 37,787 and 54,853 million m 3 /year, respectively. The promotion of ethanol use in such an agricultural country as Thailand is definitely poised to cause the competition for water resources in plant growing for human consumption and energy production. The results of this study can be applied to drawing up the future policy on water and to producing bioethanol in the manner that is the most efficient use of water resources. Keywords: Water footprint, sugarcane, Bioethanol, water resource, Thailand


. This study examines the generalist/specialist controversy in the context of the Canadian Department of External Affairs. Based on survey data with respect to the rotational foreign service officers in the department, the article demonstrates that while in the 1970s External Affairs is still recruiting with the generalist diplomat in mind, a substantial degree of at least partial specialization has developed within its ranks. After establishing that the basic existing types of specialization are area, economic and legal, the article proceeds to ascertain the main requirements for specialists based on the amount of officer time devoted to various activities and the proportion of diplomats responsible for Canadian affairs with respect to various regions. It is determined that administration, personnel, economic, aid and area specialists are the types most required. The educational background of diplomats is also analysed and the article recommends the recruitment of more graduates with university training related to the above types of specialization. Greater use of interdepartmental transfers and appointments from outside the public service is also suggested as a means of meeting departmental requirements. It is also noted that many officers themselves recognize the need for increased specialization in the department in the fields identified. Finally, the study refers to certain subsidiary benefits which External Affairs should derive from increased officer specialization.


We report the molecular beam epitaxy growth of device quality InN films on GaN epilayer and nano-wall network (NWN) templates deposited on c-sapphire by varying the film thickness up to 1 μm. The careful experiments are directed towards obtaining high mobility InN layers having a low band gap with improved crystal quality. The dislocation density is quantified by using high resolution X-ray diffraction rocking curve broadening values of symmetric and asymmetric reflections, respectively. We observe that the dislocation density of the InN films grown on GaN NWN is less than that of the films grown on the GaN epilayer. This is attributed to the nanoepitaxial lateral overlayer growth (ELOG) process, where the presence of voids at the interface of InN/GaN NWN prevents the propagation of dislocation lines into the InN epilayers, thereby causing less defects in the overgrown InN films. Thus, this new adaptation of the nano-ELOG growth process enables us to prepare InN layers with high electron mobility. The obt...


This paper reviews the marketing strategy adopted by Salzburg Airport and the impact of low-cost airlines on both tourism in the region and the airport itself. The author describes the airport's current performance before going on to identify a number of strengths and threats to its core strategy of moderate growth, enhanced productivity, and expansion of existing revenue potentials. Threats include the impact of high kerosene prices on low-cost carriers; the environment and introduction of new taxes in originating countries; and the possible effects of climate change on the region. The paper concludes that a balanced marketing approach including both low-cost and network carriers to provide connectivity via Europe's hubs will be the key to continued success for both the airport and the regions it serves.


Abstract We ran a pilot experiment to explore, using a new psychophysical method, the hypothesis proposed by Zietz and Werner in the '30s, that a sound presented simultaneously with an afterimage can change its phenomenal appearance in non-synaesthetes. The method we adopted is able to directly collect and visualise the apparent changes in intensity of the afterimages, by recording observers' interactions with a physical feedback mechanism (the paths that the observers generated by moving a cursor), without referring to verbal descriptions. These first findings support some of the most meaningful observations reported by Werner (1934) and Zietz (1931), according to which the colours of the afterimages 'disintegrate' at the hearing of a low sound and 'concentrate' for a high sound. This relationship is particularly evident with the Yellow stimulus, where the perceived colour intensity of its afterimage seems to have a faster negative change with a low-pitched tone sound, and an increase in intensity and duration when perceived simultaneously with a soprano sound. These data are also coherent with the crossmodal correspondences between both pitch and loudness in audition and lightness and brightness in vision reported in the literature.


Author(s): Garascia, Ann | Advisor(s): Childers, Joseph; Zieger, Susan | Abstract: My doctoral dissertation, "'Freaking' the Archive: Archiving Possibilities with the Victorian Freak Show," proposes an archival research practice grounded in the nineteenth-century freak show's peculiar conventions. Freak bodies are perplexing and material: hairy, leggy, squishy, rubbery, even electric. Freak bodies are also perplexing materials: forged autobiographies, grangerized travelogues, reported gossip. Through their taxonomizing imperatives, archives subdue these difficult bodies, but also risk stifling their lively histories. My "freak" archival research practice confronts this problem by generating new methods for accessing subjects underrepresented in the historical record through traditional research models. Anchored in case studies of Victorian freak performers and their contemporary performance art progeny, "'Freaking' the Archive" splits into three sections titled "The Archive," "Archives," and "Archiving," which progress from broadly theoretical to increasingly practice based. I contend that freaks overhaul the normative orders of archival systems by breeding forms of documentation that simultaneously activate the freak show's interlocking textual, visual, aural, and performed narratives, requiring us to push beyond our inherited visual-empirical research methods. Broadening the archive's communicative capacities changes the goals of archival research. No longer concentrated on assembling stable bodies of knowledge, archival work becomes an experiment in provisionality committed to imagining more inclusive research practices.


Extradition — Conditions of — Extraditable Offences — Criminal Nature of the Act according to the Law of the Requested State — The Law of Venezuela.


Objective To investigate the changes of DARPP-32 phosphorylation in the striatum in experimental Parkinson disease(PD) rats with levodopa-induced dyskinesia(LID).Methods The PD rats were intraperitoneally treated with levodopa for 21 days.Immunoflourescent stain and Western blot were used to observe the changes of DARPP-32(Thr75) phosphorylation in the striatum.Results After levodopa treatment,PD rats displayed ethological changes,which resembled LID in human.The study of immunoflourescent study revealed that the phosphorylation of DARPP-32 at Thr75 site were mostly located in dynorphin positive neurons in the lesion side in PD and LID rats.Western blot revealed that phosphorylated DARPP-32(Thr75) in LID rats [(52.60±4.45)%] was less than in PD rats [(159.90±7.22)%] and in sham-operated rats(P0.05).Conclusions These results suggested that the changes of DARPP-32(Thr75) phosphorylation status in the striatalnigral neurons could play an important role in the pathogenesis of LID.


Presenilin‐1 is involved in intramembrane proteolysis of various proteins, but its intracellular site of action has remained elusive. Here, we determined by quantitative immunogold‐electron microscopy that presenilin‐1 in Chinese hamster ovary cells is present in pre‐Golgi compartments as well as at the plasma membrane and endosomes. Notably, a high percentage of presenilin‐1 resides in COPI‐coated membranes between the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi complex, indicating significant recycling to the endoplasmic reticulum. By contrast, the inactive aspartate mutant presenilin‐1D257A is relatively excluded from COPI‐coated membranes, concomitant with increased post‐Golgi levels. These data provide critical evidence for the scenario that the complex containing presenilin‐1 can serve as γ‐secretase at the plasma membrane or endosomes and suggest a role for COPI‐mediated retrograde transport in regulating post‐Golgi levels of presenilin‐1.


Sintered iron-based alloys are being used increasingly in industry,but greater hardness and wear-and corrosion-resistances are demanded because of existing open porosity.A great number of processes aimed at improving their properties are introduced,which include carburizing,carbonitriding,ion-nitriding,steam oxidation,electrodepositon,zinc coating,electroless deposition,wide-band laser transformation hardening,controlled shot peening,etc,and the application and development directions about the above processing tecnologies are discussed;and finally it is summerized that surface treatment is beneficial to improve the entire property,widen the application field and decrease the cost of the sintered iron-based alloys,and its main research direction is yet solving the existed problems caused by porosity reasonably..


Objective
To evaluate diagnostic performance of Todd-Hewitt (T-H) broth culture method, direct culture method, liquid chromogenic culture method, and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method for screening group B streptococcus (GBS) during late pregnancy.

Methods
In the retrospective study, the rectal vaginal secretions samples were collected from pregnant women at 35 to 37 weeks at the obstetrics clinic of Guangzhou Women and Children′s Medical Center affiliated to Guangzhou Medical University during October 2016 to April 2018. For the purposes of clinical evaluation, T-H broth culture was used as the standard reference method, and double-blind trials were used to evaluate diagnostic performance of direct culture method, liquid chromogenic culture method, and LAMP method for screening group B streptococcus during late pregnancy in three research stages. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), coincidence rate and Yoden index for each method were calculated. Also, the level of agreement between each method and T-H broth was assessed using the kappa (k) coefficient.

Results
A total of 969 specimens were detected by the T-H enrichment culture method, and 90 were positive (9.3%). The sensitivities from high to low were LAMP method [100% (25/25)], direct culture method [81.5% (22/27), 95%CI:65.8%-97.1%], and liquid color culture method [71.1% (27/38), 95%CI:55.9%-86.2%]. Specificities were direct culture method [100% (282/282)], liquid color culture method [98.1% (455/464), 95%CI:96.8%-99.3%], and LAMP method [94.0% (125/133), 95%CI: 89.9%-98.1%]. The coincidence rates were direct culture method [98.4% (22+282)/309], liquid color culture method [96.0% (27+455)/502], and LAMP method [94.9% (25+125)/158]. The Kappa values of the direct culture method (0.889), LAMP method (0.832) and the enrichment culture method were all ≥0.75, and that of the liquid color culture method was 0.708. The false negative rate of direct culture method was 18.5% (5/27), and no false negative case by LAMP method, but its false positive rate was 6.0% (8/133). The false negative rate and false positive rate of liquid color culture method were 28.9% (11/38) and 1.9% (9/464), respectively.

Conclusions
Of the three screening methods compared in this study, only the LAMP method has the advantages in sensitivity, specificity, and coincidence rate compared with T-H enriched culture method, while the others have a certain degree of false negatives rate. The clinical laboratory can introduce these methods based on laboratory facilities and staffing, or refer to the European and American guidelines and combine the recommended antenatal GBS screening method with intrapartum nucleic acid amplification tests to best meet the clinical demands.

Key words:
Pregnancy trimester, third; Streptococcus agalactiae; Bacteriological techniques; Culture media; Nucleic acid amplification techniques; Sensitivity and specificity


This contribution introduces a new approach for synthesizing discrete process control. In this context, the main focus of this contribution is on a methodology to enhance the synthesis process by application of new structural analysis methods for the used formal modeling language safe Net Condition/Event Systems. These analysis methods are derived from Petri net analysis methods and adapted to the used modeling language. Furthermore, a new kind of model structure based graphical meta description of the model behavior will be introduced. This graphical representation allows system behavior analysis without exploring the whole state space and improves the application of the supposed synthesis method.


The invention discloses a method and a terminal used for controlling the files printing. The method comprises: firstly a document format is set to be the preset document format, and when a user terminal carries out a printing operation, the user terminal acquires the content data related to the documents to be printed and judges that whether the unapproved document has a preset document format or not, if not, the document format to be printed is converted to the preset document format, and then an approval flow is started; then the approved document can be printed and outputted according to the approval information. The invention solves the problem that the amount of the document format to be approved is too much, which makes the approval of the document format difficult. By converting the formats of all documents to be printed into a unified format, the user terminal with the approval right can approve all documents content by installing only one application program system.


We assessed the impact of cashew ( Anacardium occidentale L.) and moringa ( Moringa oleifera Lam.) leaves extracts on the insect pests and yield of white-seed melon ( Cucumeropsis mannii Naudin) under field conditions in the late season of 2022. Concentrations (50%, 75%, and 100% v/v) of aqueous leaves extracts of A. occidentale and M. oleifera were utilised, with chlorpyriphos 20EC (Perfect killer ® ) and water serving as the positive and negative controls, respectively. Spraying began three weeks after germination and continued weekly for four weeks. Insect sampling was done weekly, six days after each spraying, to assess the effectiveness of each treatment. Pod and seed yields were recorded at harvest. We noted three major insect pests and two predators associated with the crop. The synthetic pesticide highly suppressed the major insect populations (pests and beneficial) by 90.6% to 100%. Plots treated with 100% v/v of A. occidentale (A 100 ) produced the highest pods (5.4 kg/m 2 ) and seed (116.2 g/m 2 ) yields. Plots treated with the synthetic pesticide yielded the lowest seed yield (53.6 g/m 2 ). There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in pod and seed yields among the treatments. The difference in the yields is thus due to random variations.


The paper closely analyses obstacle factors of sustainable use of farmland resources in Hebei province from the continuity of exiting form, material production capacity and ecological environment. The area decrease of farmland resources is the key obstacle factor of sustainable use. A decline and degeneration of farmland resources quality are problems of sustainable use of farmland resources, as well as function deteriorating and ecological environment polluted of farmland resources. In the end the authors put forward countermeasures for sustainable use of farmland resources in Hebei province.


In this study, the esterification of lactic acid with ethanol catalysed by cation-exchange resin catalysts to produce ethyl lactate was carried out in a batch wise mode at 100 o C. The different catalysts used were amberlyst 36, amberlyst 16, dowex 50w8x and amberlyst 15. The surface of the resin catalysts was characterised using different analytical methods including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), automated gas sorption analyser (Quantachrome 2013) respectively. The carrier gases used for the analysis of the esterification product were tested with a silica membrane before being employed for gas chromatography analysis. The different carrier gases tested were helium (He), nitrogen (N2), argon (Ar) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The experiments were carried out at the gauge pressure range of 0.10 – 1.00 bar at the temperature of 25 – 100 o C. The BET of the resin catalysts showed an increase in surface area after the esterification process. The BJH pore size of the catalysts exhibited a type IV isotherm in accordance with the mesoporous classification of the material. The FTIR results of the resin catalysts, exhibited different functional groups including C=O and C-H indicating carbonyl and alkyl functional groups. Index Terms –Cation-exchange, esterification, gas transport, lactic acid, membrane, resin, selectivity.


Objective To explore the characteristics of inorganic elements in commercial ginseng cultivated in forest and garden.Methods The contents of inorganic elements in commercial ginseng cultivated in forest and garden were determined by ICP-MS.The reference diagram for inorganic elements in commercial ginseng cultivated in forest and garden was established.The statistic analysis was completed by SPSS 15.0 software.Results Cluster analysis showed that 17 samples could be clustered reasonably into two groups.Three principal components were extracted.The results showed that Ca,Na,Fe,Zn,Cu,Mo,V,Sn,Sr,Al,Ba,and Ge were the characteristic elements in commercial ginseng cultivated in forest and garden.The element distribution characteristics were related to the ecological environment,cultivation methods,and growth years.Conclusion The cluster analysis and principal component analysis are effective methods for inorganic elements analysis.


The operation of a solar air heating system in a Canadian prairie farm home is described. It is shown that the system provides significant heat in the coldest months, shortens the supplementary heating season, and provides an extra measure of reliability and comfort compared to conventional heating methods. The system employs 26.5 m/sup 2/ of heater on a 250 m/sup 2/ house, uses air for the transfer fluid, rock for heat storage, and a gravity distribution system. Results show that this type of solar air heater can provide a significant amount of the space heating in an environmentally effective manner.<<ETX>>


Cells are basic structural and functional units of living organisms. Understanding the composition, structure and function of cells, and exploring cellular activities, are quite important for the cognition of phenomena and rules of life. Microfluidics, combined with advanced molecular, imaging and bioinformatics techniques, constitute a robust 'toolbox' and revolutionize the way for cell biology researches. In microfluidic systems, small amounts of fluids are manipulated using precisely designed channels with dimensions at micrometer level. Various chemical and biological processes can be transferred and integrated in a small single device, achieving multiple chemical and biological functions. Microfluidic technology displays a number of unique merits over conventional approaches, and has been extensively applied to various fields of cell research. In this chapter, we will review the recent developments and outstanding achievements of microfluidic technology in cell researches. Based on the cell study procedure, the main content is divided into four parts: cell culture, cell manipulation, cell stimulation and cell analysis. This review will also discuss the challenges and directions of microfluidic-based cell analysis, providing important references and ideas for the development of biological and medical researches and applications.


The gradual thaw of early 1 960s, in all constituent Yugoslav republics, reflected the intelligentsia's interest in cultural and national issues. Most importantly, the rising interest in respective national cultures aimed to modify the remnants of the ideological discourse of the old Stalinist order. The leadership of the Communist Party allowed for a selective airing of diverse opinions expanding the framework of sanctioned cultural policies. The debate between the two ranking men of letters and long time Party members presented the case in point. During the early 1960s, the Serbian writer Dobrica Cosic; and the Slovenian writer Dusan Pirjevec elucidated issues of considerable interest for the Yugoslav society at large. In an interview for the Croatian newspaper Telegram, on January 2O, 1961, Dobrica Cosic' was asked about the nature of cultural collaboration among the Yugoslav republics. Opinions were proffered about the insufficient contacts and cultural exchange between various cultural institutions in the country. Cosic thought that the topic of collaboration between Yugoslav republics would persist as long as republics exist and until the parties involved address these issues. He acknowledged the existing reality projecting a sense of permanence of the social and political order. All that he could envisage was improved collaboration aiming for a more suitable cultural exchange between the republics. This brief interview prompted an unexpected rebuttal by Dusan Pirjevec published in the Slovenian journal Nasa sodobnost. Pirjevec was a research associate of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts in addition to his position as a member of the editorial board of Nasa sodobnost. It should be mentioned that Cosic was also a member of another prestigious institution: he was the corresponding member of the Literary Section of the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts. Both Cosic and Pirjevec were well known members of the intellectual elite. Pirjevec felt that he owed an explanation for his interaction on a brief interview in a newspaper such as the Telegram . Telegram addressed various topics and events in a swift journalistic manner and without extended editorial commentaries. In fact, Pirjevec used this quickly sketched interview as a pretext for his comments on a number of topics central to the current cultural and political scene: It may be perhaps hard to understand my sudden cutting in this dialogue conducted in Zagreb. But look: at first, the question was posed about the passive collaboration in the inter-republic relations. Then we have to question Cosic's statement that this issue will exist as long as the republics themselves exist. This could mean that we will have passive inter-republic relations so long as our republics continue to exist. There follows a logical conclusion that the culprit for passivity in these relations are the very republics themselves. And from here it is not far to conceive the wicked thought that everything will be solved, including the passivity in the inter-republic dealings, when these very republics cease to exist.(1) Establishing his own platform by chastising the implied notion of dissolution of the republics constituting the Yugoslav federation, Pirjevec ascertained the sanctity of these republics reiterating the official verbiage of the ruling ideology. He compared the current situation with the former Yugoslav kingdom and advanced the metaphor about the awakened nationalist "vampires." He suggested an even stronger threat from the past by recalling "the shadow of the wings of the two-headed vampire not mentioned by Cosic." Pirjevec was alluding to the royal coat of arms of the Serbian Karadjordjevic's dynasty who ruled prior to the communist takeover. In conclusion, Pirjevec commended Cosic's effort to criticize the reappearance of national chauvinism, although not attacking vigorously enough this dangerous "vampire. …


This piece of research investigates, whether Ireland is reliant of FDI and is Ireland an attractive location for future investment. O'Hara (2008) states that due to the US economic downturn foreign direct investment levels will decrease in 2009. The Irish Examiner states that the US and Britain FIN share in Ireland fell by nine per cent in 2007. In order to carry out this research, six semi-structured interviews were carried out. The research was carried out in Co. Louth region with two government representatives. an IDA representative and three foreign owned companies. This dissertation researches the background to FDI, the reasons for Ireland's success and the challenges Ireland face for the continued attraction of FDI in the future. This piece of research aims to highlight these problems and the future outlook for FDI. The research is complimented by six interviews which were carried out; the views of the interviewee are in line with the literature on this subject area. The results of the research carried out suggest that Ireland can continue to attract FDI but not at the same levels as before. Ireland is unable to attract manufacturing projects. due to high cost of doing business in the country. From the research carried out. it is obvious that this type of FDI is now locating in low cost economies such as China and India. Ireland is repositioning itself as a 'knowledge- innovation led economy' to attract higher valued added activities such as marketing and professional services.


In the article,it introduces and studies a class of multi-objective fractional programming problems with perturbation under generalized convexity conditions.It claims that the multi-objective fractional programming problem is equivalent to the multi-objective programming problem and establish a sufficient optimality condition for the multi-objective fractional programming problem.It also obtains the weak and strong duality theorems for the multi-objective fractional programming problem.


Three pairs of brood channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus were induced to spawn in aquaria supplied with flowing water from a reservoir filled with ground water (calcium hardness = 110 mg/L as CaCO3= 44 mg/L as calcium). Fertilized egg masses were allowed to incubate in aquaria for 6 h and each mass was then split into five portions. The five portions were then allowed to hatch and the resulting sac fry developed in waters with calcium hardnesses of 0, 1, 5, 10, or 100 mg/L as CaCO3 (0, 0.4, 2, 4, or 40 mg/L as calcium). Test waters were prepared from distilleddeionized water and reagent-grade chemicals; tests were conducted using static-renewal conditions. Survival from hatch to onset of exogenous feeding ("swim-up") averaged 62% in calcium-free water and 98% at all other calcium hardness levels. Wet weight gain, dry weight loss, and resistance to environmental hypoxia were significantly affected (P < 0.05) by environmental calcium levels: best growth, yolk utilization rate (indicated by changes in dry weight and visual observation), and tolerance to low dissolved oxygen concentrations were found at calcium hardnesses of 10 and 100 mg/L as CaCO3. Based upon these results, a minimum calcium hardness of 10 mg/L as CaCO3 (4 mg/L as calcium) is recommended for channel catfish hatchery water supplies.


Objective To evaluate spiral CT 3D imaging in the diagnosis of tracheobronchial non metal foreign bodies.Materials and Methods 3D image visualization techniques, including virtual bronchoscopy (CTVB), shaded surface display (SSD) and multiplanar reconstruction (MPR), were used in 25 cases with tracheobronchial non metal foreign bodies, and the images thus obtained were compared with the clinical data and fiberoptic bronchoscopic findings.Results Both MPR and SSD well displayed all tracheobronchial foreign bodies as well as their location, shape and size. CTVB clearly showed endobronchial structure, site and stenosis caused by foreign bodies.Conclusion Three dimensional image visualization techniques are very valuable for making a correct diagnosis of tracheobronchial non metal foreign bodies.


The harnessing areas of soil and water conservation is not sequence and the harnessing areas is small in Huangfuchuan watershed before 70 decades, the harnessing areas of soil and water conservation is steadily expanded after 80 decades, up to 1997 year, the harnessing areas of soil and water conservation reaches about 9×10 4 hm 2 . The environmental problems such as flood characteristic,erosion and deposition et al have been affected because of soil and water conservation in Huangfuchuan watershed. The main results are as below: the number of days of useless runoff after harnessing is more than before harnessing,the average silt charge of flood become lower than before harnessing,the average velocity of flood augment after harnessing,the average runoff of flood is higher than before harnessing,the average momentum flood become greater than before harnessing, the erosion thickness per flood momentum is bigger than harnessing,and the deposition thickness per momentum of flood is smaller than before harnessing, etc.. The cause of formation to above problems will be researched recently.


The decision-making for additive manufacturing (AM) process selection is typically applied in the end of the product design stages based upon an already finished design. However, due to unique characteristics of AM processes, the part needs to be designed for the specific AM process. This requires potentially feasible AM techniques to be identified in early design stages. This paper aims to develop such a decision-making methodology that can seamlessly be integrated in the product design stages to facilitate AM process selection and assist product/part design.,The decision-making methodology consists of four elements, namely, initial screening, technical evaluation and selection of feasible AM processes, re-evaluation of the feasible process and production machine selection. Prior to the design phase, the methodology determines whether AM production is suitable based on the given design requirements. As the design progresses, a more accurate process selection in terms of technical and economic viability is performed using the analytic hierarchy process technique. Features that would cause potential manufacturability issues and increased production costs will be identified and modified. Finally, a production machine that is best suited for the finished product design is identified.,The methodology was found to be able to facilitate the design process by enabling designers to identify appropriate AM technique and production machine, which was demonstrated in the case study.,This study addresses the gap between the isolated product design and process selection stages by developing the decision-making methodology that can be integrated in product design stages.


The pole/zero assignment problem is addressed using a method based on measured receptances. The approach, which is well known in passive structural modification, has not been used before in active vibration control. A number of significant advantages are claimed over the conventional state-space approach that uses the mass, damping, and stiffness matrices formed, for example, by finite elements. In fact, because the method is based solely upon measured vibration data, there is no need to evaluate or to know the M, C, and K matrices. It is demonstrated that all the poles may be assigned actively by the equivalent of a rank-1 modification to the dynamic stiffness matrix of the system. The assignment of zeros has a special significance in vibration suppression, because the vibration response at coordinatep vanishes completely when sinusoidal excitation is applied at coordinate q at the frequency of a zero of receptance H nn . A pole ofH pq may be eliminated by assigning a zero at the same frequency.


Using conventional methods to map pioneer phenomena in Brazilian Amazonia poses numerous problems. In particular, the administrative mesh referred to in statistics is too large to provide an accurate picture. Geographical information systems, which can process and compare spatial information, offer new perspectives here. This paper presents two examples: one involving the calculation and mapping of population densities based on a comparison between the municipal mesh and cleared areas, and one attempting to assess the correlation between the presence of roads and deforestation. In both cases, although they raise new questions, the maps produced seem to provide a more accurate picture of the scale and location of pioneer phenomena in Brazilian Amazonia.


Systemic delivery of therapeutic nucleic acids to target cells and tissues outside of the liver remains a major challenge. A biomimetic high‐density lipoprotein nanoparticle (HDL NP) is synthesized for delivery of a cholesteryl‐modified therapeutic nucleic acid to vascular endothelial cells (ECs), a cell type naturally targeted by HDL. HDL NPs adsorb cholesteryl‐modified oligonucleotides and protect them from nuclease degradation. As proof of principle, we deliver RNAi targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) to ECs to effectively silence target mRNA and protein expression in vitro. In addition, data show that treatment strongly attenuates in vivo neovascularization measured using a standard angiogenesis assay and in hypervascular tumor allografts where a striking reduction in tumor growth is observed. For effective delivery, HDL NPs require the expression of the cell surface protein scavenger receptor type‐B1 (SR‐B1). No toxicity of HDL NPs is measured in vitro or after in vivo administration. Thus, by using a biomimetic approach to nucleic acid delivery, data demonstrate that systemically administered RNAi–HDL NPs target SR‐B1 expressing ECs to deliver functional anti‐angiogenic RNAi as a potential treatment of cancer and other neovascular diseases.


Games are often used to foster human partners' engagement and natural behavior, even when they are played with or against robots. Therefore, beyond their entertainment value, games represent ideal interaction paradigms where to investigate natural human-robot interaction and to foster robots' diffusion in the society. However, most of the state-of-the-art games involving robots, are driven with a Wizard of Oz approach. To address this limitation, we present an end-to-end (E2E) architecture to enable the iCub robotic platform to autonomously lead an entertaining magic card trick with human partners. We demonstrate that with this architecture a robot is capable of autonomously directing the game from beginning to end. In particular, the robot could detect in real-time when the players lied in the description of one card in their hands (the secret card). In a validation experiment the robot achieved an accuracy of 88.2% (against a chance level of 16.6%) in detecting the secret card while the social interaction naturally unfolded. The results demonstrate the feasibility of our approach and its effectiveness in entertaining the players and maintaining their engagement. Additionally, we provide evidence on the possibility to detect important measures of the human partner's inner state such as cognitive load related to lie creation with pupillometry in a short and ecological game-like interaction with a robot. CCS CONCEPTS • Human-centered Computing~Interaction design process and methods


The aim of this national study was to examine the incidence of preterm pre‐eclampsia (PE) and the proportion of women with risk factors for PE, according to the criteria suggested by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), during a 10‐year period in Denmark.


In composite Higgs models the Higgs boson arises as a pseudo Nambu-Goldstone boson of an enlarged global symmetry. The Higgs potential is generated by loops of Standard Model fermions and gauge bosons. To reconstruct the Higgs potential trilinear and quartic couplings must be measured. In the composite Higgs model these couplings are modified compared to the SM and they depend on a new parameter ‐ the compositeness parameter ξ . In this talk the Higgs pair production cross sections in two composite Higgs models will be represented. The prospects of extracting the triple Higgs coupling will be discussed.


As an atypical reductant, ethanol has recently been considered for reducing the oxygen concentration and restoring the graphitic structure in multilayered graphene oxide (GO) during annealing [Su et al., ACS Nano2010, 4, 5285]. The reaction mechanism is, however, still not well understood, hindering progress in the use of GO. By combining density functional theory (DFT), ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) calculations, and in situ infrared absorption spectroscopy, the thermal evolution of both carbonyl and ether groups in multilayered GO is shown to vary dramatically upon individual intercalation of methanol, ethanol, and water molecules. In hydrated GO, bare etch holes are generated by thermal annealing, as evidenced by the evolution of carbon dioxide (CO2) molecules. In contrast, the replacement of water by methanol or ethanol prevents defect enlargement during annealing. Furthermore, ethanol is found to repair the etch holes by facilitating the formation of new hexagonal carbon rings. Ab initio MD simul...


The effects of cellulose with different curing humidity,curing conditions and curing period on the flexural strength of mortar and anti-permeability of concrete are studied.And the microstructure model of cellulose mortar is discussed.The results show that the later flexural strength of the mortar with cellulose is enhanced with the increasing curing period,and the flexural strength of the cellulose mortar decreases with the increasing curing humidity.The cellulose and mortar can syncretize with each other to make the flexural strength increase,while taking the humid-dry curing condition for cellulose mortar.The later anti-permeability of concrete can obviously increase while adding the cellulose.


REVIEW QUESTION
The objective of this qualitative review is to synthesize the best available evidence on the meaning of early hospital discharge for women following a normal vaginal birth.


The effects of ticlopidine (TC) and aspirin (ASA) on the platelet aggregation were studied in ten healthy male volunteers. All subjects received oral TC (300 mg/day in three divided doses) for the first three weeks. Following drug free interval of two weeks period, ASA (300 mg/day once a day) was administered orally for the next three weeks. Blood samples for platelet aggregation study were withdrawn in the morning on days before drug administration, 2, 4, 7, 14, and 21 days on drug, and 3 days after discontinuance of the drugs. The results from this study suggested as follows; (1) Both TC and ASA revealed almost equal inhibitory effects on platelet aggregation induced by collagen and epinephrine, (2) TC, however, had the more potent inhibitory effect on platelet aggregation indued by ADP than that of ASA in healthy volunteers, (3) The inhibitory effects of TC on platelet aggregtion was decreased at the 4th day during administration of the drug, (4) In TC groups, the inhibitory effect was markedly reduced at 3 days after discontinuance of the drug.


In 1985, Peter J. Fensham stated in his seminal paper, Science for All, that learning opportunities should be provided to students who have different interests and abilities. Although thirty years have passed since the first usage of the phrase, "science for all," unfortunately, many students still do not have access to high-quality science education. Engaging in science investigations is one way to learn how to assess, produce and use knowledge. Experiencing science is important for children in rural locations, helping them to contemplate the knowledge they encounter, produce knowledge to share with others, and use knowledge in ways that benefit society. Additionally, individuals need to learn scientific thinking, which includes understanding the limits of the information encountered.In this age, there is a need for individuals who search, question, produce knowledge, use knowledge and think scientifically. It is clear that science education has an important role in order to train individuals who have the mentioned qualifications. In this sense, some reforms were made in Turkey and a curriculum based on constructivist paradigm was developed in 2004. In this curriculum, the vision of science courses' program is to train individuals who have scientific literacy (Ministry of National Education [MONE], 2005). Scientific literacy has an important role in science programs of the countries. While it is a new term in Turkey, scientific literacy was first introduced by Paul deHart Hurd (1958) and since then it is a phenomenon that draws attention (as cited in De Boer, 2000). According to Bybee (1999), scientific literacy supports and develops individuals' understanding of science and technology.An important goal of science instruction is to create scientifically literate citizens. Paul deHart Hurd, who introduced science literacy, regarded it as crucial for understanding social experience. He argued that science is so important that political, social, economic and personal matters should not be considered without reference to it (Hurd, 1958). Scientific literacy is defined in the National Science Education Standards (NSES) as "the knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision making, participation in civic and cultural affairs, and economic productivity. It allows a citizen to understand general scientific principles and issues that are addressed in various forms of media, healthcare, politics etc." (NSES, 1996). More recently, Bybee (1997) stated that "a unique perspective that gives direction to those responsible for curriculum, assessment, research, professional development, and teaching science to a broad range of students' and proposed a hierarchical framework for scientific literacy consisting of nominal, functional, conceptual and multidimensional literacies" (Bybee, 1997). According to Bybee (1999), scientific literacy supports and develops individuals' understanding of science and technology. DeBoer (2000) asserts that "scientific literacy is, and always has been, the intrinsic goal of science education."From a global perspective, not all students have access to science education or the opportunity to be scientifically literate. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) focuses on the need to promote a "world community of scientifically and technologically literate citizens" (Layton, Jenkins, & Donnelly, 1994). The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) tries to measure student learning in regard to three dimensions of scientific literacy - scientific concepts, scientific processes and scientific situations - through the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) instrument. The scientific situations are selected mainly from people's everyday lives, rather than from the practice of science in a school classroom or laboratory, or from professional practice (OECD, 2006). The results show that Turkish students have low science scores in PISA examinations (Sirin & Vatanartiran, 2014). …


The aim is to study associations between blood pressure/arterial hypertension (AH) and all-cause and cardiovascular (CVD) mortality among middle-aged and elderly Russian men and women. Methods: This study is a part of the cohort study, conducted in Moscow. Altogether, 898 males and 978 females aged 55 years and older comprised the sample. AH was determined with systolic blood pressure level (SBP) > 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) > 90 mmHg, or on condition of antihypertensive treatment (AHT). Obesity, smoking, hypercholesterolemia, hyperglycemia and a prior stroke were assessed as risk-factors. During the follow-up period (8,05 years) 547 deaths were identified, including 330 CVD. Results: No significant gender differences in the prevalence of arterial hypertension were detected. About 80 % of females and 65 % of males took AHT. Among them, effective treatment was registered in 42 % of females and 32 % of males. Elevated blood pressure was associated with increased all-cause and CVD mortality risk only among women (HR = 1.63; 95 % CI: 1.21-2.19, HR = 1.81; 95 % CI: 1.23-2.67, respectively). No associations were found between mortality and AH and AHT. The ineffective treatment of arterial hypertension increased all-cause and CVD mortality by 1.9 and 2.5 times, respectively, but only among females. SBP > 160 mmHg and/or DBP > 100 mmHg was associated with 2.6 times (p = 0.020) greater risk of all-cause mortality. No associations were observed among the males. Conclusions: Elevated blood pressure, especially among those taking AHT, significantly increased the risk of all-cause and CVD mortality, but only among women. The results of the study warrant better blood pressure control in females aged 55 years and older with mandatory prescription of AHT.


Purpose : β-Catenin is involved in homotypic cell-cell adhesion and the wnt signaling pathway. Deregulation of β-catenin levels, caused in part by mutations of the adenomatous polyposis coli gene, is thought to play a role in the development of colorectal and other cancers. To further elucidate their roles, the expression pattern of β-catenin and phosphospecific β-catenin was correlated with clinical outcome in a series of patients with colorectal cancer. Experimental Design: Immunohistochemical analysis of a tissue microarray with 650 colorectal cancer specimens was performed to study the expression and subcellular localization of β-catenin and phosphospecific β-catenin. These results were correlated with other clinicopathological factors and with overall survival. Results: The majority of cancers retained some degree of β-catenin membranous staining, whereas cytoplasmic or nuclear expression was seen in 42.5% and 20.4% of specimens, respectively. Phospho-β-catenin showed nuclear staining in 9.5% of specimens, and there was no apparent membranous or cytoplasmic staining. There was no significant association between β-catenin or phospho-β-catenin and grade or stage. However, there was a positive correlation between β-catenin and phospho-β-catenin ( P = 0.039), with phospho-β-catenin representing a subset of nuclear β-catenin. Patients with nuclear expression of β-catenin did not have an altered survival compared with those that did not ( P = 0.5611). Nuclear expression of phospho-β-catenin, however, was associated with an improved survival ( P = 0.0006). In multivariate analysis, only stage and phospho-β-catenin were independently predictive of overall survival ( P P = 0.0034, respectively). Conclusions: These findings support a role for β-catenin overexpression in colorectal tumorigenesis and provide initial evidence that phospho-β-catenin may be a marker for improved overall survival independent of stage and grade.


Gold exhibits very high catalytic activities, comparable with that of a
conventional Cu/ZnO/Al
 2
O
 3
 catalyst, for forward and
reverse water–gas shift reactions when supported on titanium oxide
by the deposition–precipitation method.


The article reveals the problems of the influence of ethno-territorial factors on electoral behavior in the Baltic states. Particular attention is paid to the issues of settlement, the formation of local ethnicities and the related effects of ethnic voting, changes, and sustainability of electoral preferences. The article analyzes a vast array of statistical data on the ethnic structure of individual administrative units of the Baltic states, on the results of elections and the development of ethno-political processes in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Based on formalized criteria, an initial working typology of ethnicities is proposed with their division into perfect, imperfect and areas of relative ethnic parity. Considerable attention is paid to revealing the assumption about the uneven manifestation of ethnic voting, even in ethnic groups close in their ethno-demographic characteristics. As the analysis deepens and checks the initial provisions on the longevity of ethnicities, the stability and volatility of electoral preferences, the correlation between ethnic settlement and ethnic voting, the authors come to clarify the working typology by ranking the Baltic ethnicities according to the influence of ethno-territorial factors on electoral processes. Based on the study of individual practices of political subjects in the development of ethnic localities, an attempt was made to schematize the foundations of the ethno-territorial differentiation of the Baltic states. In conclusion, the essence of the uneven influence of ethno-territorial factors is revealed, a refined typology of ethnicities in the Baltic states is proposed, considering several indicators.


Ultrasonic sensors have a key role in the park assistance system and upcoming driver-assistance system concepts. Due to high sensitivity of receivers in ultrasonic sensors and strong bulk current injection (BCI) requirements of automotive Original Equipment manufacturers (OEMs), even low quality resonances in the receiver chain of the sensor could amplify the noise induced and may affect the sensor performance during component-level BCI tests according to ISO 11452-4 [1]. In this paper, resonances in the receiver chain and noise-coupling paths are analyzed by means of circuit spice simulation, 3D ElectroMagnetic (3D-EM) & circuit co-simulation and solutions are proposed. Effective use of simulation tools and the approach to start with the analysis is demonstrated in this paper. The simulation results correlates well with BCI pre-compliance test results performed in the semi-anechoic chamber. With this proposed approach described in this paper, influence of PCB & component optimizations in the next revisions of sensor can be anticipated and the BCI performance can be safeguarded.


The continuous increase in anthropogenic CO2 emissions is widely acknowledged as one of the main reasons for global climate change. To address this issue, significant advancements have been made in developing CO2 capture and utilization technologies that offer new solutions for mitigating carbon emissions and promoting a carbon economy. In this review, we summarize the recent research progress in CO2 capture and separation technologies, including pre-combustion, post-combustion, oxy-fuel combustion, chemical looping combustion and calcium looping combustion. Among these technologies, post-combustion is seen as one of the most promising options for reducing CO2 emissions from existing power plants, as it can be easily integrated into existing facilities without requiring major modifications. Therefore, the second section of this article focuses on the various post-combustion processes and technologies, such as physical absorption, amine scrubbing, dual-alkali absorption, chilled ammonia, membrane separation, and solid adsorption, with a particular emphasis on most recent research reports. As amine-based chemical absorption is the most leading post-combustion CO2 capture technique, the third section summarizes the recent development in amine-based absorption technology by covering conventional and emerging types of absorbents such as single amine, blended amine, biphasic amine, and non-aqueous amine processes. The different liquid absorption-based process is compared in terms of regeneration energy consumption, CO2 intake capacity, and optimal operating conditions, and the comparison data is summarized in tables. A critical literature review and comparison of various techniques show that non-aqueous amine absorbents can be promising alternatives to the conventional monoethanolamine (MEA) process. The goal of this review is to provide strategies and perspectives for accelerating the further study and development of CCS technologies.


The integrated use of ion channels and electronics is a promising approach to develop rapid, sensitive and reliable biosensors able to detect low concentration of target molecules, with applications that range from pharmacology to diagnostic tools. Several reports on stochastic sensors have been published [2-4], however all are based on bulky and expensive instruments. This paper presents a compact (two credit cards size) and low-cost integrated system able to record and process signals in the typical single-channel recording bandwidths. To test the approach, we used signals derived from non-covalent bonds between single alpha-hemolysin pores, embedded into an artificial lipid bilayer, and beta-cyclodextrin molecules. The system is based on a DeltaSigma converter implemented on a PCB using discrete components technology to readout ion currents in the order of pA. The digitized output is sent to a DSP for decimation and filtering and then to a PC for storage, visualization and stochastic data processing.


In recent decades,the suddern harm and abnormality of forest pest were increasing,owing to the global climate warming.In order to further make monitoring and warning work,effectively cope with forest pest disaster,this paper summarized the effects of meteorological factors on forest pest at home and abroad.Through comprehensive correlation analysis and prediction,it provided theoretical basis for forest pest forecast.


Objective Discusses Naloxone to treat the young child viral encephalitis clinical curative effects.Methods Chooses 70 example viral encephalitis troubles,divides into the treatment group and control group each 35 examples stochastically,two groups give the conventional treatment,including the spasmolysis,the dehydration,reduces the cerebrospinal fluid pressure,the protection brain cell and so on,the treatment group adds in this foundation with Naloxone hydrochloride treats,compared with two groups of curative effects.Results The treatment group's cure rate is 100%,control group's total effectiveness is 77.14%,the treatment group group curative effect is higher than the control group obviously,the difference has statistics significance(P0.05).Conclusion Treats the young child 2 functions to be rapid,safe effective,is worth in the clinical promoted application.


This paper presents information concerning the safety of transporting radioactive materials (RAM). This evaluation is supported by an examination of data for actual accidents and incidents that have occurred with RAM transport, a study of the regulatory test procedures used to certify RAM packagings and the comparison of RAM transport with that of other hazardous materials. A number of studies are summarized that show that RAM transportation has been a low risk operation for approximately four decades. Where appropriate, RAM transport statistics are compared with the statistics of other hazardous materials. This engineering information can be used by federal, state, and local official and public interest groups to assess the relative risk of RAM transportation on a national scale and in their local jurisdicitons. The organization of engineering data in an orderly and logical fashion and the presentation of this data to government agencies and members of the public can be used in an attempt to allay fears about the safety of RAM transportation.


A Z-scheme heterogeneous photocatalyst CdS–Au–BiVO4 was synthesized for the first time by photo-reduction and deposition–precipitation methods. The microstructures and optical properties of the as-prepared samples were investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). Due to the oriented accumulation of electrons on the {010} facets of BiVO4 crystals, Au nanoparticles were successfully anchored on the {010} facets of BiVO4 crystals via the photo-reduction process. CdS was further selectively deposited on the surface of Au nanoparticles, benefitting from the strong S–Au interaction. Photocatalytic degradations of tetracycline and Rhodamine B indicated that CdS–Au–BiVO4 exhibits much higher photocatalytic activity than BiVO4, Au–BiVO4, and CdS–BiVO4. Radical trapping experiments confirmed that in the case of CdS–Au–BiVO4, the main reactive species responsible for organic contaminant degradation are h+, ˙OH, and ˙O2−, while only h+ can be produced in the case of CdS–BiVO4. Based on the photoelectrochemical analysis and radical trapping experiments, it can be deduced that the Z-scheme structure of CdS–Au–BiVO4 not only decreases the recombination rate of photo-generated carriers but also makes the holes and electrons keep a higher redox ability.


We propose proximity graph depth as a class of depth functions, based on the minimum path length along proximity graph edges to the convex hull of a point set. We analyze the characteristics of several proximity graph depth functions both theoretically and experimentally, define depth contours enclosing regions of increasing depth, and present algorithms for calculating depth values in a point set and depth contours. The contribution of this paper is in the novel approach for analyzing depth in multimodal data sets. Most existing depth function do not cope with multimodality or distributions with more then one center. We define seeds, the multimodal version of the depth median, as an estimator for the centers of the multimodal data sets and present experimental results that demonstrate that, unlike most depth functions, the proximity graph depth can indeed distinguish multimodal data sets.


The diagonal GARCH(1,1) model is shown to support identification of the triangular system and is argued as a higher moment analog to traditional exclusion restrictions. Estimators for this result include QML and GMM. For the GMM estimator, only partial parameterization of the conditional covariance matrix is required. An alternative weighting matrix for the GMM estimator is also proposed.


Most of the currently available PC based data acquisition systems are based on discrete components and therefore these are burdensome and costly. System-on-chip technology, like FPGA, has not only reduced the size of such systems, but also, it has improved the efficiency in processing speed and energy consumption. In this paper FPGA based DAQ card supported with PCI express (the fastest communication protocol for desktop PC) is being presented. Although there are many companies like National Instruments, Ballard etc. which provide DAQ systems with these features but they are too costly to be afforded by local industry. The DAQ card being presented in this paper is a cheaper solution to industrial problems of process monitoring, controlling, and fastest data logging.


For the first time the assessment of the medium-term hayfield yield in the conditions of Krasnoyarsk region forest-steppe is conducted and factors defining it are revealed. In hay harvest during the ear-bud formation and insemination phase the best mixture is a mixture of rump (Bromus) 65% + timothy grass (Timothy)30% + lucerne (Lucerne) 65; during the flowering phase rump (Bromus) 75% + timothy grass (Timothy)40% + holy clover (Onobrychis) 75%.


We compare the thermal effect exerted by femtosecond and millisecond pulses during microsurgical procedures on embryos. The linear and nonlinear absorption of laser pulses in an aqueous medium, as well as heat transfer from the focusing region of the laser beam to adjacent regions, are considered.


Standardized catch rates per unit of effort (CPUE) were obtained for the stock of the South Atlantic blue shark (Prionace glauca) using General Lineal Models (GLM) for a total of 4,027 trips of the Spanish surface longline fleet targeting swordfish, during the 1997-2013 period. The main factors considered were year, area, quarter, gear and ratio between swordfish and blue shark catches. The significant model explained the 87% of CPUE variability in blue shark. A major part of this variability was explained by the targeting criteria and the gear style. Other factors were also significant, but less important. The standardized CPUE obtained suggests a stable trend of the South Atlantic blue shark stock and differs substantially from the nominal CPUE trends observed during the period considered.


Summary The results obtained on evaluating the toxicogenetic potential of a fluid extract with an ethanol menstruum 70 % of Ocimun basilicum L. in 3 systems of short-term tests are presented. 2 in vitro models were used: the Salmonella/microsome system (Ames) and that of mitotic segregation with the Aspergillus nidulans D-30 fungus. Another in vivo model that uses the micronucleus induction test in mouse bone marrow was also included. A positive response was observed in the Amesi test with the strains of Salmonella typhimurium TA-98 with metabolic activation in the range of concentrations of 1 500 and 5 000 μg/plate and TA-1535 without metabolic activation in the range of concentrations of 50, 150, 500 and 1 500 μg/plate. Concentrations from 0,005 to 1,00 mg of total solids/mL were evaluated in the mitotic segregation test. No significant concentration-depending increases were found in the Frequency of Segregating Sectors by Colonies (FSC). In the micronucleus induction test, doses of 500, 1 000 and 2 000 mg/kg of body weight were assayed. The results showed that the extract of Ocimun basilicum L. proved to be mutagenic in the Salmonella/microsome system and moderately cytotoxic in the mitototic segregation test. No genetic damage was detected in this assay. Subject headings: PLANTS, MEDICINAL/genetic; PLANTS, MEDICINAL/toxicity; PLANT EXTRACTS; ASPERGILLUS NIDULANS/genetic; SALMONELLA TYPHIMURIUM; MICE; MEDICINE, HERBAL; ALBAHACA/genetic; ALBAHACA/ toxicity; MUTAGENICITY TESTS; MICRONUCLEUS TESTS.


Implementation of a real-time bus tracking system in Chittagong University (CU) is proposed and developed to keep monitoring the teachers' buses and to provide the information of buses to the teachers via android application (app) in a more efficient manner. The idea behind is, there is no such tracking system in CU. Moreover, some limitations arise with the present existing tracking systems in the universe-need hardware maintenance in the GSM/GPRS module that is expensive also, use conventional MySQL database that updates data within few seconds etc. Concerning these limitations, the developed system uses two smartphone applications for transmitting and receiving information using Firebase, an online server with real-time database updating data within few milliseconds that makes the system faster than others. The In-vehicle app receives latitude and longitude values from the satellite and transmits them to the firebase. Firebase updates the data continuously and transmits to the user app. A user can get the information of current location address, distance from any bus stop and time to reach a specific destination of the bus through the User app. Hence, the developed tracking system provides more economical, velocious and user-friendly environment to the users.


This paper shows an, accurate-straightforward electrical small signal modeling technique for radifrequency and microwave packaged devices, developed by our group. This method called DICOMPAK can be used for ceramic packaged devices and for low cost plastic encapsulated devices. The technique employs analytically derived expressions and it is based on analysis of the measured scattering parameters over an adequate frequency range. Very good agreement between measured and simulated scattering parameters for different ceramic and plastic packaged devices from several foundries is shown.


The Fitzgerald Inquiry, although initially focused upon matters such as maladministration and corruption, placed significant emphasis on the reform of Queensland's political and public administration system as a whole. It is therefore in relation to its practical impact within the context of that system that the Fitzgerald Report ought to be assesses. However, despite widespread support for the report's recommendations, recent events in Queensland concerning such matters as corruption, maladministration, lobbying, cronyism and secrecy suggest that the report has failed to deliver on its most basic objectives. This article argues that although the Fitzgerald Report drew attention to and sought to address systemic problems of various kinds, it has largely failed in its intentions because the changes that it proposed could not be sustained in the context of Queensland's existing constitutional framework and particular system of Westminster democracy, especially its high level of executive domination operating in the context of a unicameral parliament. The fact that so many of the Fitzgerald reforms were left to be sorted out by post-commission agencies working in such an environment means real reform has failed to flourish. Consequently, the Fitzgerald Report has met the same fate as so many other public inquiries into corruption in Australia, resulting in only minimal change to the way government is actually conducted. While as a result of the Fitzgerald Inquiry there has been widespread institutional restructuring in Queensland, the way of doing business in that state has hardly changed at all.


Visiting Physician to the Royal Infirmary he has won a reputation as a clinician of the first rank, and as occupant of the Chair of Medicine at St. Mungo's College his lectures attracted large classes of students. Professor Monro goes to a Chair of old and honourable traditions, and we have every assurance in entrusting their maintenance to his hands. We offer him our hearty congratulations on his well-merited honour.


The land use pattern in Sri Lanka indicates that out of the 6.56 million hectares of available land, approximately 2.1 million hectares are under cultivation. The largest portion of area is under paddy. The three major export crops viz. tea, rubber, and coconut are the next major components of land use (Fig. 1). A recent study reveals a remarkable decline in the rubber extent. The present extent of rubber is 161,500 ha, representing nearly 7.7 percent of the total cultivated area. In 1994, about 44 percent of the total rubber extent was under the category of large estates (above 40 ha), and the balance 56 percent consisted of both medium estates (between 4-40 ha) and smallholdings (less than 4 ha). The extent under both public and private sectors has shown a downward trend. Nearly 70% of the rubber extent belongs to the private sector (Fig. 2).


Described by World Bank as "miracle", economic performance throughout the Asian region was among the strongest in the world before the new millennium. Prior studies (e.g., Bloom and. Williamson, 1998; Bloom et al., 2009) reveal that demographic factors such as the rise in working-age share ("demographic dividend") continue to explain economic growth performance in Asia. However, in more recent years, the economic growth of many Asian countries has been decelerated due to slow technological improvement and financial crises. The stabilization of the fertility rate at belowreplacement levels and increased life expectancy in Asian countries mean a decrease in future labor force and a rapid increase in old-age share. The shape increase in aging population in developing countries could result in serious problems since they are likely to be "old" before they become "rich". It is more challenging than what the developed country faced.


A retrospective analysis was performed on 72 patients with disseminated skeletal matestasis to evaluate the effect of strontium?89 or samarium?153 EDTMP therapy. There existed 87.88% of clinical response,12.12% of no response in the group treated with strontium?89 as compared with 90.24% of clinical response, 9.76% no response in that treated with samarium?153 EDTMP; and there were no correlations between the treatment results and the amounts of isotopes administrated. The results suggest that strontium?89 or samarium?153 EDTMP therapy be the first choice in the palliative treatment for disseminated skeletal matestasis.


PURPOSE: To provide a method for producing the embroidered card-like article capable of efficiently producing the card-like article such as an embroidered mount for telegram without generating scars. CONSTITUTION: A paper sheet 2 is laminated to a nonwoven or woven fabric sheet 1 with an adhesive 2, and the produced composite sheet is embroidered to form an embroidered product. A sheet 7 is laminated to the embroidered product so as to hide the sheet side surface 3 of the embroidered product to provide the objective embroidered card-like article. COPYRIGHT: (C)1993,JPO&Japio


In this paper, two different diameter pneumatic muscle, combined with reconfigurable toggle mechanism, three kinds of press has been innovated, the working principle of the press are introduced, its calculating formulae of output power are also given,and the force amplifier coefficient were compared. The large-diameter pneumatic muscle will be used for the working stroke of the pressure travel, while the small-diameter pneumatic muscle will be used for the return travel.The press can satisfy the requirement of different output force and different structure size, no pollution, adapted to the greening trend, there is broad application prospects.


Fish farming as an economic activity in Nigeria is predominantly an extensive land based system practiced at subsistence level in water. The socio-economic analysis offish farming in Ogun State, South-Western Nigeria was carried out using data collectedfrom sixty randomly selected fish farms. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, costs and returns, as well as regression analysis. The relationship betweenfish output andfive inputs:feed, fertilizer, lime, labour andfingerlings were measured using Cobb-Douglass production model. Results suggest that a unit increase infeed application contributed 68 percent increase to theprofitability of thefish farms and this was significant at p<O.l. Also,fertilizer was significant at p<0.05, the results suggest that a unit increase infertilizer application contributed 51percent increase to theprofitability ofthefishfarms. The model explained 79% of the variation in total out put. On the whole,fish farming wasfound to beprofitable with a benefit-cost ratio of 1.23 and the rate of return on investment is 0./9. It is recommended thatfish farmers in the study area should increase their use offeed, lime andfingerlings and decrease their use of fertilizer and labour. Socio-economic characteristics offishfarmers showed that most of them were males, married and middle aged withformal education.


Intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIg) are increasingly being used to treat a wide spectrum of dermatological and neurological autoimmune diseases. Although the administration of IVIg does not usually result in severe adverse reactions, side effects of IVIg reportedly occur in 6‐13% of patients. Most reported cases were not severe, and IVIg is considered a relatively safe drug. Some reports described a vesicular eczematous eruption caused by IVIg that was cured by applying topical steroid ointments or systemic steroids. Herein, we present, to the best of our knowledge, the first case of severe vesicular eczematous eruption all over the body induced by IVIg that was unresponsive to topical steroid ointment and was subsequently treated with narrow band‐ultraviolet B (NB‐UVB) therapy successfully. NB‐UVB was started at a dose of 400 mJ/cm2 once a week, and swift improvement was observed. The skin rash disappeared in the first 2 months, and the pathogenesis of IVIg‐induced eczematous eruption remains unelucidated. No change in eosinophils and complement levels were observed in our case. Given the increase in the widespread use of IVIg, we have shown that NB‐UVB therapy is a candidate choice for the treatment of IVIg‐induced severe vesicular eczematous eruption.


The content of cytokines, the levels of antibodies (Ab) to proinflammatory cytokines and fetoproteins (FP) in serum, as well as the effects of fitohemagglutinin and FP on the level of cell production of cytokines into the conditioned medium were studied in relation to the pattern of a response of mononuclear cells (MNC) to FP. With the positive reaction of MNC to FP, estimated by an increment of CD9* cells and detectable in grades 2-3 dysplasias, the anti-inflammatory effect with lower anti-inflammatory cytokines was shown to be achieved due to elevated Ab levels, which may compensate for the low content of IL-4 and IL-10. With FP, there was an increase in the cell production of IL-10 that is known to stimulate antibody formation in the early phase of tumor growth, as evidenced by the association of the levels of Ab to FP with the grade of dysplasia.


The transformer gene of Drosophila is regulated by Sex-lethal-dependent 3' splice site blockage. 40 nucleotides immediately upstream of the regulated splice site are sufficient to direct sex-specific regulated splicing in transgenic animals. This entire region appears to be necessary for regulation and for efficient Sex-lethal binding. Natural splice sites containing partial homology to transformer do not show regulation. Mutations which replace the 16 nucleotides surrounding the branch point or alter single nucleotides near the splice site eliminate or reduce regulation without eliminating splicing. Mutations which reduce or eliminate regulation in vivo reduce binding to Sex-lethal in vitro, consistent with the hypothesis that these mutations bring about their effects by altering Sex-lethal binding rather than by altering binding sites for additional non-Sex-lethal factors.


Our cities are «on fire». Does the responsibility lie with the topography and the symbolism of a place, or with the position of the individual in the social scene ? The aspect of certain places can have an influence on the quality of life. Yet architecture cannot be responsible for the problems of our society and cannot solve them when they are caused by social division and ghettos. The architect is not a demiurge, he neither makes nor unmakes the city, which is governed by politics.


While addressing a group of German diplomats in May 2020, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell remarked, "we need a more robust strategy for China, which also requires bet...


Genetic variations that cause miscues in brain development may play an important role in reading disabilities such as dyslexia, according to research presented last week at a meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics in Salt Lake City, Utah.


Water supply reliability in the Truckee River basin stands to substantially benefit from forecast-informed reservoir operations(FIRO), especially given expected increases in rain: snow ratios and a...


Plasmapheresis as a methodology to collect source plasma, the starting material for a large number of life-saving medicinal products, was first established in 1964 in the USA and in Austria. From that time onward sufficient volumes of plasma were collected to allow the production of plasma-derived products on an industrial scale, and to support the research and development of innovative products. Human plasma contains over 120 vital protein substances. Most of them can be isolated from the plasma by fractionation and characterised according to their physical, chemical and biological properties. This involves a number of different processing methods, sometimes combined with each other, depending on the particular proteins to be obtained. These processing methods, including special steps for inactivation of viruses, guarantee protein substances with a high level of purity and safety. The protein substances provide the basis for numerous plasma-based preparations currently available to physicians and patients, such as albumin, coagulation concentrates, immunoglobulins and fibrin sealant. Processing valuable human source materials, such as plasma, demands a particularly ethical and careful approach. Today, the collection of source plasma via apheresis allows the setting up of a comprehensive and complex framework of safety measures, ranging from donor selection, screening and testing of donations, inventory hold of single donor plasma, lookback procedures, testing of plasma pools and products for the relevant viruses, to validated virus inactivation procedures, post-marketing safety studies and pharmacovigilance. Furthermore, plasmapheresis centres and processing establishments have to comply with internationally-agreed guidelines to ensure the implementation of the highest possible safety standards. Plasmapheresis is considered by Industry the best route to procure large quantities of plasma for fractionation, which meets high quality and safety requirements. Moreover, it respects the highest safety standards both from the standpoint of the donor and of the recipient of plasma-derived products. Such a methodology is used in most EU Member States but has not been developed in the same way throughout Europe, and the private sector is not always allowed to operate its own centres (with the exception of Austria, Germany and Sweden). However, the strive towards European self-sufficiency in blood and blood derivatives has pushed several national authorities to consider the development of plasmapheresis as a significant means to procure more plasma. The present supply of European plasma is in no way sufficient, particularly with regard to an appropriate therapeutic standard. There are moves towards the creation of partnerships between the public and the private sectors aimed at helping the establishment of modern