Abstract The purpose of this paper is to compare the rapid intensification and rapid decay of Hurricane Lili with historical records to determine whether similar events have occurred in the past. Data for this study were compiled from the historical hurricane database that consists of all Atlantic basin tropical storms and hurricanes recorded from 1851 to 2001. Maximum 1-min sustained winds at 10 m were used. This study concludes that the rapid intensification/rapid decay processes that occurred as Hurricane Lili moved north across the Gulf of Mexico have been recorded only 11 other times since 1851. The intensification rate of 35 kt (1 kt = 0.5144 m s−1) in 24 h for Hurricane Lili ranked in the 11th percentile when compared with the 769 hurricanes in the historical database. In fact, 35.8% of all hurricanes that achieved an intensity of at least 100 kt intensified at a rate similar to Lili. The decay rate of 40 kt within 24 h after completion of rapid intensification ranks in the 1st percentile. This stu...


In modern microprocessors, the multi-port register file is one of the key modules which provides fast and multiple data access for instructions. As the number of access ports in register files increases, stability becomes a key issue due to the voltage fluctuation on bit lines. We propose to apply an isolated inverter to address the voltage fluctuation. To assess the register stability, we derive a closed-form expression of static noise margin (SNM) for our register file. The proposed SNM model can be used as a guideline to predict the impact of several register parameters on the stability and optimize register file designs. To validate the proposed SNM model, we fabricated a test chip of two-write-four-read (2W4R) 1024 bits register file in a TSMC 65 nm low-power CMOS technology. The experimental result shows that the stability of our register file cells with an isolated inverter improve the conventional cells by approximately 2.4 times. Also, the supply voltage causes a fluctuation of SNM of about 65%, while temperature and transistor mismatch cause a fluctuation of SNM of about 20%.


This research brief is intended to assist nutrition educators in assessing whether specific characteristics of nutrition messages promote desired dietary behavior changes. Based on a computerized literature search targeting peer-reviewed journal articles, it highlights three topics pertinent to the design of nutrition education programs—message framing, use of interactive technology to tailor messages, and intervention intensity. While some promising results were found to be associated with these methods, there was no firm evidence that these features enhance the effectiveness of nutrition programs.


The invention relates to an annular drilling device and belongs to the technical field of machining equipment. The annular drilling device comprises a machine body which is provided with a positioning plate. A driving system and a linkage system are arranged on the positioning plate respectively. The linkage system comprises a driving clamp and a driven clamp. The driving clamp is connected to the driving system, and the lower portion of the driven clamp is provided with a cutting head. A linkage structure is arranged between the driving clamp and the driven clamp. According to the technical scheme, the rotation of the driving clamp is transmitted to the driven clamp through the linkage system, and thus the problem that the working area of the cutting head is subject to restraint of the driving system is solved. According to the size of an actual workpiece, as long as the corresponding position of the positioning plate is adjusted, the grinding operation in the workpiece can be achieved, and the annular drilling device has beneficial technical effects and remarkable practical values.


Results are presented of near-field calculations for a bisphere positioned in the electromagnetic field of a laser beam by using the Mie-theory in connection with the plane wave representation of an arbitrary field. The two particles can be arranged in any way in the beam. There are no limits with respect to particle size and position. Also the distance between the two particles may be differ. The optical interactions between the two particles are considered in detail by separating the dominating orders of scatrered light with the help of Debye-series. The numerical simulation of these interaction effects is an important task to improve the measurement precision of PDA-applications for particle sizings in spray systems.


In this paper several biotechnologies that were utilized in maize breeding were introduced.There were haploid technique including:1,anther culture: a series of maize hybrids such as Guisan 1,Guihua 1 and Yudan 358 et al had been bred with this method;2,Stock6 haploid technique: at present,parthenogenesis inducing line-Gaoyou 1 and Gaoyou 2 inbred lines were obtained with stock6 haploid technique,and a lot of research institutes are carrying out the work;and 3,chemical mutagenesis parthenogenesis technique.Molecular marker techniques includes SSR,RFLP,RAPD and AFLP.And the method,characteristics and application of these new techniques in maize breeding were introduced


ZnO thin films have been grown on a (400) Si substrate by plasma-molecular beam epitaxy (P-MBE). The sample was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence (PL). X-ray diffraction result exhibits a strong (002) diffraction peak of ZnO thin film. In PL spectra, a dominant ultraviolet light (UL) emission at 3.265eV is observed at room temperature (RT). According to the energy position of the UL emission, this luminescence at RT was considered to be related to exciton recombination. The samples were annealed in oxygen for two hours at different temperatures, XRD shows the improvement of crystal quality with increasing annealing temperature.


Despite the rejection of the peace treaty between Colombia and the FARC-Guerilla in a referendum, the Nobel Peace Prize 2016 has been awarded to the Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos. The committee's explicit hope was to get the now protracted peace process back on track. Given the positive repercussions of the award on the necessary horizontal inclusion of competing factions of the Colombian elite, this hope might be fulfilled.


We investigate Banach space automorphisms $T:\ell_\infty/c_0\rightarrow\ell_\infty/c_0 $ focusing on the possibility of representing their fragments of the form $$T_{B,A}:\ell_\infty(A)/c_0(A)\rightarrow \ell_\infty(B)/c_0(B)$$ for $A, B\subseteq N$ infinite by means of linear operators from $\ell_\infty(A)$ into $\ell_\infty(B)$, infinite $A\times B$-matrices, continuous maps from $B^*=\beta B\setminus B$ into $A^*$, or bijections from $B$ to $A$. This leads to the analysis of general linear operators on $\ell_\infty/c_0$. We present many examples, introduce and investigate several classes of operators, for some of them we obtain satisfactory representations and for other give examples showing that it is impossible. In particular, we show that there are automorphisms of $\ell_\infty/c_0$ which cannot be lifted to operators on $\ell_\infty$ and assuming OCA+MA we show that every automorphism of $\ell_\infty/c_0$ with no fountains or with no funnels is locally, i.e., for some infinite $A, B\subseteq N$ as above, induced by a bijection from $B$ to $A$. This additional set-theoretic assumption is necessary as we show that the continuum hypothesis implies the existence of counterexamples of diverse flavours. However, many basic problems, some of which are listed in the last section, remain open.


Detailed information on the chemical composition of the body remains for the most part tantalizingly out of reach. Direct chemical analysis of normal adult cadavers is restrained by formidable difficulties and has seldom been achieved. Indirect methods, including balance studies and dilution techniques (with radioactive or stable tracers), give information, but we still have no reliable way of estimating, for example, the total amount of sodium or calcium in the body. The method of activation analysis has many applications in biology and medicine.' 2 In a novel use recently reported by G. W. K. Donaldson and colleagues at page 585 of the B.M.7. this week a familiar radioisotope test is replaced by a stable-tracer technique avoiding radiation to the patient. Activation analysis offers unusual possibilities for the chemical analysis of the living person. As normally practised, this procedure requires exposure to bombardment by neutrons or other subatomic particles or radiations, followed by assay of the induced radioactivity, which is highly specific of the chemical elements contributing to it. In vitro it is a remarkably sensitive detector of many elements. Irradiated tissue will of course display many different radioactive substances, but simple chemical manipulation allows the desired isotope to be separated. Activation analysis in vivo is generally less sensitive, because the radiations of a single element are difficult to isolate from the confused spectrum of induced radioactivity. Other limitations are associated with the problem of securing uniform irradiation throughout the body and with the health hazard to the person irradiated. Thermal (that is, low-energy) neutrons are the most effective for the induction of radioactivity but are unfortunately so heavily absorbed in body tissue that uniform irradiation cannot be attained. Fast neutrons penetrate adequately but are less effective in inducing radioactivity. However, if a stream of fast neutrons is directed on to the body some of them will, in passing through the tissues, be reduced to thermal energies and will therefore generate significant amounts of radioactivity. The first application of this technique to living persons was reported in 1964 by J. Anderson and colleagues,3 who used neutrons of energy 14 MeV from a small generator. This work has now been extended by Dr. M. J. Chamberlain and his colleagues, who report on it in two papers this week (pages 581 and 583). They used neutrons from a cyclotron in the physics department of Birmingham University to irradiate cadavers and living persons with the object of measuring total body sodium and calcium. Though a readily detectable signal can be obtained from calcium-49 after neutron irradiation, the accurate estimation of total body calcium is not possible. Its uneven concentration within the body and the skeletal variations among individuals present substantial difficulties in the analysis. Activation analysts can often use an internal standard to circumvent the problems created by non-uniform distribution and irradiation of an element in a sample. This technique has been used in the estimation of thyroid iodine,4 but through lack of suitable isotopes is not applicable to calcium. Chamberlain and colleagues consider that comparative measurements on individual patients at suitable intervals would help the understanding and management of certain bone disorders. H. E. Palmer and colleagues,5 who have irradiated a number of cadavers with cyclotron-produced neutrons, suggest that a change of 2% in total body calcium could be detected by activation analysis. They consider also that an accuracy of 8% could be attained in a single determination of total body calcium, though they acknowledge that absolute calibration of the method would require the irradiation, ashing, and chemical analysis of several cadavers. Surprising though it may appear, the sodium content of the body is still not known. The commonly used figure of 105 g. for a 70-kg. man, based on analysis of tissue samples from cadavers, is almost certainly too high. In the three living persons to whom Chamberlain and colleagues applied activation analysis the average sodium level was 49.6 mEq per kg. body weight, corresponding to a total content of about 80 g. The average value of exchangeable sodium, measured by an isotopic dilution technique in the same subjects, was equivalent to about 66 g. in a person weighing 70 kg. The difference of 18% between total body sodium and exchangeable sodium accords with the hypothesis, supported by some experimental studies, that an appreciable fraction of the sodium in the body is not rapidly exchangeable. About onethird of the total body sodium occurs in bone, and about half of this fraction is apparently isolated from the exchange processes which form the basis of isotopic dilution techniques. The estimation of whole body sodium by activation analysis may be subject to error. Non-uniform distribution of sodium in the body brings (admittedly to a lesser degree) some of the uncertainties associated with the estimation of total body calcium. Further experiments are desirable also to assess the value of interesting suggestions made by Palmer and colleagues5 for the estimation of nitrogen and phosphorus by activation analysis in vivo. Whole body neutron irradiation of living subjects has so far been applied only to volunteers in the two British experimental teams and has involved modest (though not negligible) radiation doses. Ethical problems must be associated with neutron irradiation of patients, and they will need careful study if the full benefits of this technique are to be obtained.


THE INVITATION to handle Concorde was accepted by Singapore Airlines in May 1972, following which advance arrangements were made in order that it would be handled not only smoothly and to the satisfaction of BAC, but also that it should be given priority to fulfil its programme of intense activity during its short stay in Singapore.


Dispersion managed spans made of standard single mode fiber (SMF) and dispersion compensating fiber (DCF) or new inverse dispersion fiber (IDF x n, where n is the SMF to IDF length ratio) are compared numerically for 10 Gbit/s transmission. We show that for a single-channel system with 50 km spans, IDF x 1 performs the best with NRZ transmission, but suffers from cross phase modulation (XPM) in WDM systems. IDF x 2 or x 3 result in increased transmission distance for single-channel RZ transmission over 50 km spans as well as irrespectively of the type of modulation for 80 km spans. Non-linear degradation is significantly reduced when using short 5 ps RZ pulses together with IDF x 2 due to the high dispersion induced broadening in the SMF and lower non-linear coefficient of the IDF compared to conventional DCF.


We explore connections among the regional proximal relation, the asymptotic relation, and the distal relation for a topological dynamical system with the shadowing property and show that if a Devaney chaotic system has the shadowing property then it is distributionally chaotic.


The complications of the things and the cognition determined the difficulty and relapse of mathematical thinking. The mathematical thinking course should contain the meta-cognition. During mathematics teaching, Attaching importance to the students?meta-cognition did good to carry out 搕wo-main guiding principle?and arouse the students?studying interest and develop their quality. The basic form of meta-cognition was reflection as it took effect during mathematics thinking. The most difference between the old and new mathematics educational concept was that the later paid more attention to enhancing the students?meta-cognition.


The rheological behaviors of impact polypropylene copolymer (IPC) were studied by means of dynamic rheological tests.The dynamic rheological measurements were conducted on an Advanced Rheometric Expansion System with parallel plate geometry of 25 mm diameter under air and N_2,respectively.Two sorts of tests were performed under conditions as follows:(1) isothermal frequency sweeps from 100 rad·s~ -1 to 0.01 rad·s~ -1 at different temperatures from 190℃ to 230℃ in steps of 20℃;(2) isothermal time sweeps at a frequency of 0.05 rad·s~ -1 and a strain of 5% under different temperatures from 190℃ to 230℃.The development of melt structure for IPC was probed through examining the influence of temperature,atmosphere and additive antioxidant on dynamic rheological functions.Results reveal that the rheological functions vary with the increase of temperature.The second plateau appears in the logarithmic plots of the dynamic storage modulus versus frequency,lgG′-lgω,in the low ω range.Moreover,for the IPC samples exposed to N_2 or blending with antioxidant,this second plateau disappears in a certain time period,being a representation of the rheological properties for homogeneous polymers.Furthermore,rheological functions in the low ω range can sensitively reflect the oxidation-induced degradation and crosslinking of IPC.


A new multi-pinhole Faraday cup (MPFC) device was designed, fabricated and tested to measure ion beam uniformity over a range of centimeters. There are 32 collectors within the device, and each of those is used as an individual Faraday cup to measure a fraction of the beam current. Experimental data show that the device is capable of measuring a charged particles distribution - either in the form of a raster scanned focused beam or a defocused beam.


The article examines the history of the administrative–territorial division of the Russian Northeast in the first half of the twentieth century. The importance of this research stems from the need to analyze the historical experience information of administrative divisions against the background of developing modern federated relations. Chronology wise, the article deals with the period from the year 1917 until the establishment of the present-day boundaries of Magadan Oblast. The article analyses specific aspects of administration in the constituent territories of Magadan Oblast, based on their remoteness from the central authorities, and their economic value. Development of territorial public authorities in the Northeast during the said period was politically motivated. The Civil War saw territories being transferred to the jurisdiction of opposing forces, which affected the administrative division and the system of government authorities. The Institute of the administrative–territorial structure was aimed at the implementation of state functions in connection with certain goals and objectives of a specific historical period of development. The implementation of national policies mediated the creation of national districts. The need of the state for mineral raw materials during the period of industrialization and during the Great Patriotic War led to the creation of special extraterritorial education — Dalstroi. A special period in the history of the region was the Dalstroy era — so-called "Special Combine", during which a two-level authority system was developed. The administrative–territorial structure was defined by functions of the state, and goals and objectives of the specific historical period. The territorial model of public authority in the Northeastern region fit within the historical context of the country's contemporary situation.


The results of calculations for a theta pinch system in which an explosive substance is used to accelerate the liner compressing the plasma are reported.


This article summarizes and reviews some Chinese and international factors that hinder the e-commerce development of Chinese small and medium enterprises (SMEs) based on an empirical research from a new perspective. This study shows that the hindrance factors are multi-fold, and that the hindrance force exhibits differences between different hindrance factors and also between different stages. Leader factor is obviously significant in the early stage of e-commerce development. But in its development stage, informatization level and e-commerce application level play a critical role. Technical factors and the conditions of the industry are closely connected as different kinds of enterprises have different demands in technology in their process to develop e-commerce. What's more, background factors such as human resources have been always playing important roles in developing e-commerce in SMEs.


About the Author: Born in 1935, Rymkiewicz is a poet, playwright, essayist, researcher of Polish literature (and former professor at the Institute of Literary Research in Warsaw) and translator of Anglo-American and Spanish poetry. Rymkiewicz's poetic work is inscribed in the twentieth-century revisions of Classicism, which plays with the poetry of culture, while his scientific interests focus on the Polish Baroque and Romanticism.


Dialogue or conversational systems including chatbots, and personal assistants are becoming ubiquitous in modern society. Here we present a question answering system that's help a customer to search a product in an ecommerce website and inquiring about it. This article describes a question answering bot, which is based on deep learning. We develop a set of deep learning models for natural language retrieval and generation --- including recurrent neural networks, sequence-to-sequence models and attention mechanism --- and evaluate them in the context of natural language processing. Thus; we have used those technologies in a grammatical correction system, and a question answering system by passing the first model result as input to the second one, in order to improve result.


Review(s) of: Permaculture pioneers - stories from the new frontier, Edited by Kerry Dawborn and Caroline Smith, Melliodora Publishing, Australia 2011, RRP: $30.


Moralizing Marriage Affinity Biography the author Xizhousheng lived has also received the pursue emancipation of man's individual character progress ideological trend infection which the latter Ming dynasty emerged.he that kind does not defend "the traditional woman ethics" to the family in the female sharp whips in the book initially looked that as if actually turned the performance which is more exposed.The work wants to go vigorously with the exaggerating technique to publicize the feudalistic thinking all sorts of merits,the result actually works just the opposite.Wants to go to these which whips to have "the heresy" the thought female to penetrate reader's heart.We bare that matter exaggeration to conceal may see author's unexpected some things.


The use of therapeutic herbs for healing is as old as humanity itself. There is substantial proof that man and his hunt for natural remedies have a long history, including written records, surviving monuments, and even the first plant medicines. The knowledge of using medicinal plants came about as a result of man's long-standing battles with disease, which taught him to look for pharmaceuticals in the barks, seeds, fruit bodies, and other parts of plants. Modern pharmacology includes various plant-based medications that have been used for centuries and were known to ancient cultures. Modern science has recognized their active effect. Kantakari, also known as Yellow Berried Nightshade, is a medicinal plant that is mostly found in India's arid areas. This plant, which is a member of the Solanaceae family, has a range of pharmacological and phytochemical traits. Studies and research conducted over the years have revealed that the plant's medicinal benefit includes anti-inflammatory, bronchodilator, anti-microbial, wound-healing, anti-cancer, and insecticidal properties. The review that follows provides a critical analysis of the existing literature while integrating details on Kantakari, including a mention of its botanical description, chemical composition, and Ayurvedic medicine applications.


The paper tackles the concept of gratification and the need gratification theory with view to the creative process in a teaching environment, to then focus on the knowledge enriching need, to be found both in the teacher and in the student, the first one learning for the others, while the latter – learning for himself, to later also learn for the others.


A male identified to be Balaenoptera musculus
with a total length of 14.3 m and weighing
approximately 13 t was stranded near Mannalamkunnu
landing centre on 30-10-'98


[Objective]To observe the efficacy of Q-switch 1064nmNd:YAG laser in treatment of nevus of Ota on the face.[Methods]52 cases of nevus of Ota on the face were treated by 1064nm laser,the interval of treatments was 3-6 months.[Results]With increase of the treatment times,the effective rate of pigmentation lightening increased.After 4-12 times of treatment,among 52 cases of nevus of Ota on the face,38 cases were cured,10 cases showed marked effect,4 cases showed effect,the total effective rate was 92.3%,and the adverse reactions were slight.[Conclusion]The Q-switch 1064nmNd:YAG laser in treatment of nevus of Ota on the face has the advantages of safety and obvious effect,is an ideal treatment method.


The electronic states and surface structure of H-terminated Si(100) produced by low-temperature (≤150 o C H-plasma exposure was studied by angle-resolved ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (ARUPS). After H-plasma exposure at 100 o C and 150 o C, the surface exhibited a 1×1 low-energy-electron-diffraction (LEED) pattern. The ARUPS spectrum of the 1×1 H-terminated phase showed a broad feature at ∼6 eV below EF, and its angle dependence exhibited a nondispersive character


Some reptile species can consume their own shed skin or that of conspecifics; despite its prevalence, the benefits of eating shed skin remain poorly understood. Here, we report a field observation in which a Vallarta Mud Turtle (Kinosternon vogti) consumed a snake shed skin of Masticophis lineatus (Bocourt, 1890) in Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit, Mexico. This type of record could allow us to understand the keratophagous behaviour between and within reptile species.


The purpose of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is to ensure that environmental considerations inform and are integrated into strategic decision-making in support of environmentally sound and sustainable development. In particular, the SEA process assists authorities responsible for plans and programs, as well as decision-makers. The main benefits of SEA consist in: providing high level of environmental protection, improvement of the quality of plan, program or policy making, increases the efficiency of decision making, facilitation of identification of new opportunities for development, prevention of costly mistakes, increases the overall transparency of strategic decision-making and allows the early consideration of the opinions of key stakeholders in the plan or program making process and facilitation of trans-boundary cooperation. The purpose of this paper is to describe the state of the art of strategic environmental assessment procedure in Europe, the way of its implementation in Romania. This paper also presents a multicriteria method that could be applied for strategic environmental assessment of plans or programs.


These regulations revise current Medicaid rules to bring them into conformity with statutory changes that (1) expanded the waiver authority of the Secretary to permit certain health maintenance organizations (HMOs) meeting specified requirements to exceed the composition of enrollment limit, (2) permitted certain organizations to contract on a risk basis, (3) permitted continuation of benefits to recipients enrolled in certain organizations after they have lost entitlement to Medicaid, and (4) granted States the option of restricting a Medicaid enrollee's right to disenroll from certain types of risk HMOs and other organizations. The statutory changes that are reflected in these regulations were enacted in section 2364 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, as amended by section 9517 of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 and section 4113 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987. We are also making a technical correction concerning HMO and PHP contracts.


Glucose augments islet somatostatin binding by increasing receptor concentration with no change in receptor affinity. The increased binding of somatostatin could be due to 1) de novo receptor synthesis, 2) decrease in the rate of receptor internalization, or 3) translocation of receptors from the Golgi apparatus to the plasma membrane during emiocytosis. Studies were undertaken to test these three possibilities. A dose of cycloheximide (1 mM) sufficient to produce an 81 ± 2% decrease in protein synthesis did not inhibit the increased somatostatin binding induced by 16.7 mM glucose. Internalization of ligand-receptor complex was indirectly assessed by incubating islets with [125I]iodosomatostatin (pH 7.4) in order to measure total cell binding and then treating them with 0.2 N acetic acid (pH 2.5) to remove cell surface bound somatostatin and determine residual intracellular radioactivity. The acetic acid treatment results in dissociation of the ligandsurface receptor complex. Residual radioactivity reflec...


This chapter reflects on New Presentism and its implications for legal historians. The proponents of New Presentism believe that legal historians have an obligation to use their training to help society. This belief has its roots in Plato's allegory of the cave, in book VII of The Republic. There, those who were removed from their chains and brought out of the cave into the world of light were expected to return to the darkness of the cave to teach those left behind. Education, represented in the allegory by the chance to go out of the cave into the light, brought with it responsibility to share the knowledge gained from exposure to the reality behind the shadows. However, the allegory of the cave also raises some cautions that we would do well to consider. The responsibility to return to the cave is a responsibility that carries with it serious costs.


In the light of the teaching difficult points of the nature of sulfur dioxide,the paper designs two innovative experiments to prove the existence of the reversible reaction,explores the the essence of the sulfur dioxide's bleachability,shows the reversible dynamic process of the dissolving of sulfur dioxide in water,strengthening students' understanding of basic chemical theory and knowledge,reflects the concept of new curriculum reform,and takes the cultivation of students' research ability as the core of science subject.


Summary This paper starts with a short review of recent developments in psychotherapy process research and analyzes that a medical, or better, technical approach in process research – using words such as 'intervention', 'effect' and 'outcome' – is gradually acknowledged as only one side of psychotherapy; the other, more human or 'humanistic' side, is 'conversation', described by prominent authors as 'low technology'. Conversation analysis cannot study psychotherapy as a whole. Sessions are subdivided into 'situations'. What are situations? I make a proposal to answer this question by three components: open up, select and control options. Then, 11 transcribed extracts from psychoanalytical therapy sessions are used to describe three types of situations and the special kind of requirements they demand from a therapist. Obviously, such situations appear during a session, they can be handled if therapists are sensitized for certain difficulties to arise. Shift-of-situation and double meaning are new observations in this approach to define the situational gestalt and train 'seeing' it.


Nova Scotia Power has adopted a new Fleet Asset Management approach. In 2010, the company began the design and implementation of an enhanced approach to asset management. Two years later, the company has gone from formally defining asset management to its implementation and standardization across their fleet.


This article describes the pattern of fertility and mortality decline in Khalapur village, Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh state, India, in 1997. Data were obtained from birth histories among women married since 1984 who were re-interviewed from prior surveys. Population growth was over 2% in 1983 and about 1.9% in 1996 among villagers. Village population in 1997 was an estimated 10,600. The sample in 1997 included 136 wives, 12 widows, 20 deceased women, 1 divorced woman, and 1 whose husband deserted her. 47% belonged to the dominant landed caste of Rajputs. 15% were Brahmans and Banias. 18% were middle castes. 11% were Jarijans, and 9% were Muslims. 51% of women born in the 1960s had no schooling, while only 32% who were born in the 1970s had no schooling. 70% of the total sample had no schooling. Almost all of the births took place in the home attended by a midwife. Only 13 births of 305 deliveries occurred in a hospital. Among a subsample of 73 wives, 8 women had hospital births. Women reported that hospital delivery costs were high. Since 1984, midwives had begun receiving training. Among 170 women giving birth, only 1 died, and that was in part related to dysentery that she had during the pregnancy. Of 799 births, 211 children died. 50% of all wives lost no children, and over 31% had lost 2 or more children. Child mortality has declined. Women are now less likely to report spiritual causes. Women are aware of improved survival chances. Sanitation improvements are likely factors in increased survival. Prenatal, natal, and postnatal care is still unavailable in Khalapur.


On basis of the Miedema model on formation heat of alloys and the thermodynamics of chemical reactions and solutions, the activity of molten titanium alloys was calculated. As a comparison, the interface reactivity of some refractory oxides with Ti6Al4V and Ti15V3Cr3Sn3Al alloys has been also studied experimentally. The results show that chemical reactivity of molten titanium has not been changed due to the addition of alloying elements. The selected molding materials have contaminated the candidate alloys seriously, and the experiment is fitting well with the calculated results. Furthermore, considering the high chemical reactivity of molten titanium alloy, the above evaluations can provide some instructions for choosing mold materials for titanium castings.


Paraproteins typically appear as narrow bands after electrophoresis. Thanks to the concepts of Waldenstrom and Burnet and the fundamental work on immunoglobulin structure of Porter and others (reviewed by Hobbs 1966) there is now good support for the hypothesis that paraproteins are monoclonal immunoglobulins, and recently Marchalonis & Nossal (1968) showed that the antibody produced by a single cell indeed ran as a narrow band on electrophoresis.


The problem of multiple group object tracking is a challenging one and has been extensively researched during the last two decades. The problem solution, proposed in this article, is an extension of the well known multi-Bernoulli filter. The model is first formulated generally, then the linear Gaussian-Wishart implementation is proposed. Contrary to many known methods, which track either individual targets or groups, the proposed filter tracks individual objects and combines them into group tracks. The experiments on simulated data have shown a sustainable ability of the method to track group objects.


This paper examines three areas where the application of functional dependency theory to relational databases has had an impact. These areas are relational views, database translation and logical database design. The paper refines our earlier work on relational views in which the concepts of consistent and updatable views were proposed. In the area of database translation, it identifies six levels of information preserving relational transformations. Finally, a relational database design algorithm is proposed which combines the best features of the classical synthesis and decomposition approaches while avoiding their identified shortcomings. INTRODUCTION This paper shows, that functional dependency theory provides a unified framework for the analysis of several database problems. The paper represents both a synthesis and extension of our earlier work on each of these problems. The first section contains background infor- mation to familiarize the reader with the terminology and concepts of functional dependency theory. In the second section, functional dependencies are used to define the concepts of consistent and updatable views. Basically, a 'consistent view' is one whose interpretation is consistent with that of the underlying database. An 'updatable view' is one whose updates can be translated into appropriate updates of the underlying database. Together, these definitions describe a class of useable views. In section three, six levels of information preserving relational transformations are identified. These levels reflect the different degrees with which transformations preserve the update and retrieval properties of databases. These levels are important since previously many applications have mistakenly assumed that all the information embodied in their database is preserved by the restructuring operations they have employed. Finally, some shortcomings of the classical synthesis and decomposition approaches to relationship database design are identified in the fourth section. A new algorithm is then proposed which combines the best features of these approaches while avoiding their iden- tified shortcomings.


Water is one of important strategic resources for the development of economy and society. It is an important guarantee of supporting sustainable and harmonious development of national economy and society with durable use of water resources to reinforce configuration and management, protection and use of water resources. Management and application of hydrology information resources have direct impact on scientific management of water resources.This paper introduces the experiences in both management and application of hydrology information resources in the developed countries, so as to be helpful for capacity building of sharing and services of hydrology information resources of the Yellow River Basin and even the whole country.


The objective of this article is to establish baseline concentrations of Ba, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sr, V, and Zn (aqua regia-extractable) in natural surface soils of the Torrelles Municipal District and to investigate the relationships between these elements and soil properties and between the element concentrations themselves. Upper baseline concentrations of these elements were (mg kg −1): Ba 272.6, Cr 40.8, Cu 31.0, Ni 29.9, Pb 68.1, Sr 83.0, V 49.7, and Zn 132.7; most corresponded with the values reported in the literature. Correlation analysis showed that total Fe and Al have the strongest relationships with trace elements.


Over the past 10 years, Pakistan has passed through some of the most turbulent and difficult times in its history. The war in Afghanistan post 9/11 has put Pakistan on the front line of the war on terrorism and provoked violent Islamic militancy within Pakistan and some grave policy choices for Pakistan itself. Rivenin addition by the natural disasters of earthquakes and floods and hobbled by political instability, economic woes, and deep social, religious and ethnic divisions, Pakistan has reached a point of great flux with important national and regional changes imminent. This collection of six essays focus on critical elements of this flux – political Islam, militancy and religious minorities, political patronage and democracy, the economic impacts of the floods and Pakistan's relations with the US and its regional foreign policy – to identify key trends which will shape Pakistan's future.


The sensational increase in violent criminality in recent years has placed the question of public security on the social agenda. Formerly a matter restricted to a few actors, now the topic of public security has become the center of discussion in an affl icted society in the midst of a notorious increase in violence and criminality. The result of the referendum on the prohibition of the sale of fi rearms and ammunition amplifi ed an obvious popular clamor demanding consistent, lasting and clear measures in the combating and prevention of crime. The media, perceiving the importance of this historic moment (and mainly the power to vocalize this demand of the middle class – their major consumer – has deepened the discussion on this issue, organizing in an increasingly more constant way coverage of public security.


The configurations of the coupling network which can effectively decrease the effect of the noise sources within the amplifier upon the equivalent input noise of the whole system are studied. The effect of feedbacks on the noise properties of the basic amplifier is analyzed and the quantitative results are derived.


Based on the solidification heat transfer model and the CAFE model, the solidification behavior and structure of 2311 die steel, with a cross-section dimension of 415 × 2270 mm at different casting speeds, specific water flow and superheat, is numerically simulated. Nail-shooting and acid-etching experiments are carried out on the slab to verify the model's macroscopic size. With the increase in casting speed, the slab's central equiaxed grain ratio (ECR) decreases and the average grain size increases. The increase in superheat promotes the growth of columnar grains and inhibits the growth of central equiaxed grains. When the superheat increases from 23 to 38 K, the ECR decreases from 43.2 to 29.64%, and the average radius of grains increases from 0.89 to 1.01 mm. With the increase in specific water flow, the ECR decreases, and the average grain radius is the smallest when the specific water content is 0.32 L kg−1. Finally, the slab quality is improved by process optimization, and the central segregation index of carbon decreases from mean value of 1.15 to 1.05.


Replacement gilt feet and leg conformation traits were evaluated using subjective and objective evaluation techniques at 100-d of age to determine the association between the two methods. Crossbred Large White × Landrace gilts (n = 641) were used for this study. Gilts (n = 72) were moved on a weekly basis for 9 weeks to a development unit at 77-d of age. Within each group, 24 gilts were randomly allotted to 3 pens such that littermates and gilts originating from the same parity sows were distributed evenly among pens. At approximately 100-d of age, gilts were weighed and front and rear legs and pasterns were subjectively scored using a five-point scale. Due to low frequency of subjective scores one and five, values were re-classified as ≤2, 3 and ≥4. Additionally, joint angles were measured for the knee, front and rear pasterns and hock using objective methodology. Association was evaluated between corresponding subjective and objective evaluation scores using a Mann-Whitney U-test. The majority of gilts received score 3 during the subjective scoring for the front and rear leg angulations (86% and 76% of gilts, respectively) and for the front pasterns (85%). For the rear pasterns, 56% of gilts received score 3 and 40% received score 4. Mean angles for the knee, front and rear pasterns and hock were 157.6 ± 6.1, 51.5 ± 6.7, 55.5 ± 6.15 and 137.9 ± 6.9, respectively. An association between both evaluation methods was observed for the front and rear pasterns (P < 0.05) and a tendency of association was observed between evaluation methods for front leg angulation and knee joint angle (P = 0.06) and for rear leg angulation and hock joint angle (P = 0.06). From the generalized linear model, knee joint angles tended (P = 0.06) to be 2 degrees less in gilts receiving scores ≤2 for front leg angulation when compared with gilts receiving higher scores. Front pastern and hock joint angles were 4 and 2 degrees greater (P < 0.05) in gilts receiving a score ≥4 for front pastern and rear leg angulation when compared with gilts receiving lower scores. Rear pastern joint angles were 3 degrees less (P < 0.05) in gilts receiving scores 3 for rear pasterns when compared with gilts receiving other scores. Association between the scoring methods shows that the scoring systems are comparable. However, greater variation amongst objective measures is potentially more beneficial in identifying structural deficiencies earlier in life as opposed to subjective measures, as the variation could be exploited in an effective selection program.


Activated carbon was prepared from pyrolyzed pinewood char using KOH, H3PO4, H2O2, and heat-only treatments. Activated carbon prepared by the heat-only treatment had a total surface area of 233.2 m2/g, a total pore volume of 0.138 cm3/g, a microporous surface area of 129.9 m2/g, and a microporous volume of 0.07 cm3/g. The most significant improvement of pore properties for the chemically treated pinewood char was obtained by the KOH treatment, which produced a total surface area of 1124.4 m2/g, a total pore volume of 0.723 cm3/g, a microporous surface area of 923.6 m2/g, and a microporous volume of 0.485 cm3/g. After the H3PO4 treatment, pinewood char had a total surface area of 455.5 m2/g, a total pore volume of 0.251 cm3/g, a microporous surface area of 393.3 m2/g, and a microporous volume of 0.211 cm3/g. The least significant improvement was obtained from the H2O2 treatment, which produced a total surface area of 363.0 m2/g, a total pore volume of 0.202 cm3/g, a microporous surface area of 271.5 m2/g, and a microporous volume of 0.141 cm3/g. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were performed to compare separate treatment stabilities and functional group properties.


III-Nitride based light-emitting diodes based on InGaN active layers formed on GaN, are fine for the blue and green emitting LEDs. However, the large lattice mis-match between red-emitting active layers and the GaN substrate still limits the efficiencies to very low values, typically <5%. We propose to use seeding techniques originally developed for nanowire growth, to seed the formation of ternary InGaN pyramids which later are converted to thin c-facet platelets of InGaN. I will in this presentation show that such relaxed, and dislocation-free, InGaN platelets with In-composition about 20%, have the potential as ideal templates for red-emitting microLEDs.


The I23 Long wavelength MX beamline at the Diamond Light source is a unique instrument dedicated to experimental phasing and optimised to operate at wavelengths between 1.5 to 4 Å [1]. The beamline enables users to exploit the increased anomalous signal specific to scatterers naturally present in proteins such as S, P, Cl, Ca and K. This renders obsolete the need for selenomethionine incorporation or heavy-atom derivatisation of protein crystals, which represents a significant barrier in the process of experimental phasing. In addition to the long wavelength phasing experiments, I23 is the sole beamline where identification and localisation of biologically important ions, such as K, Ca, Cl is feasible by generation of anomalous difference Fourier maps below and above the element absorption edge [2]. Recent results of native phasing and ion identification/localisation demonstrating the capability and potential of the beamline will be presented.


The problem of finding the location of a target based on range measurements from an array of receivers is addressed. In the linear least squares (LLS) approach for range-based positioning, an extra range variable is usually introduced. In this paper, we derive a LLS algorithm with exploiting the known relation between the source position and range variable, which results in a simple constrained optimization problem. The optimality of the proposed algorithm at sufficiently small noise conditions is demonstrated by the theoretical analysis as well as computer simulations.


SUMMARY

In tests using pre-soaked teliospores of Urocystis agropyri, germination was stimulated by tissues from all parts of the host plant (wheat) irrespective of cultivar or resistance to flag smut. Seedling tissues of some non-hosts (maize, rice, sorghum, cotton, mungbean and groundnut) also stimulated germination. Similar stimulatory effects were achieved by brief exposure to volatiles from wheat seedling tissues, and from the known sources of ethylene, ripening bananas, lemon fruit and ethephon (2-chloroethyl phosphonic acid) solution. The possibility that ethylene may have a direct triggering effect on teliospore germination is discussed.


PURPOSE
Previous studies have indicated poorer survival among women receiving adjuvant chemotherapy > 90 days after surgery compared with women receiving adjuvant chemotherapy within 90 days of surgery.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Women diagnosed between 2004 and 2006 with invasive breast cancer (stages I to III) and treated with surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy were selected from the National Cancer Database (n = 107,587). We evaluated factors associated with prolonged time to start adjuvant chemotherapy (≥ 60 and ≥ 90 days after surgical resection) using multivariable log binomial models to estimate risk ratios (RRs) and 95% CIs.

RESULTS
The average time to adjuvant chemotherapy was 41.46 days (± 24.46 days). Overall, 85.2% and 95.8% of women received adjuvant chemotherapy within 60 and 90 days of surgery, respectively. African American and Hispanic patients had higher risk of 60-day delay (RR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.30 to 1.41 and RR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.23 to 1.39, respectively) and 90-day delay (RR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.44 to 1.69 and RR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.26 to 1.59, respectively) compared with white patients. Insurance type, stage, comorbidity, and facility type were also associated with adjuvant chemotherapy delay.

CONCLUSION
The majority of women in our study received adjuvant chemotherapy within the time frame (90 days) for which there is no evidence of poorer outcome. However, the rate of delay varied by patient and by clinical and facility factors. Future studies on the role of structural, physician, clinical, and patient factors in adjuvant chemotherapy delay in populations of women with higher rates of delay and potential interventions are needed.


In order to guarantee the Western Development strategy to obtain a more scientific advancement, strengthening the local legislative work is one of the keys. The local legislative work needs to persist in implementing comprehensively scientific development view, putting focus on giving impetus to good and quick economic development, making human beings as the core of development, laying stress on strategic essence of scientific development view, positively impelling the socialism democratic politics construction, lawful government construction, based on the comprehensive enhancement to opening up level, attaching importance to study and solve the new question, insisting on using local legislative power scientifically and playing the role of lawful construction in the West Development.


DESPITE several reports that postoperative morbidity after high dose preoperative irradiation differs little from that following surgery alone (Ditchek and Lampe, 1963; Buschke and Galante, 1959: Tucker et al., 1974; Rafla and Bochetto, 1974), the optimum radiation dose remains controversial. The large number of radiation variables and differences in their practical applications have made interinstitutional comparisons difficult. This has so far prevented wide agreement of the risks and benefits attending preoperative irradiation, especially with a high dose. This review was undertaken for two reasons; first, it was considered important to determine the role of surgery in the management of recurrent carcinoma of the oral cavity and oropharynx after failure of a full course of irradiation. Second, we hoped to establish another point on the tissue tolerance curve for combined preoperative irradiation followed by surgery.


Absorption is the underlying reason for the change of luminescence traits. And the lifetime influences on the absorption in turn. That is a common law, it is not only suitable for photoluminescence, but also other types of luminescence. In field of electroluminescence, there are two kinds of luminescence center blue have dramatically dissimilar lifetime, in the co-doped ZnS∶Cu, Mn material. The experiment clearly demonstrates that the ratio of luminance of Cu and Mn change with the driving frequency. This law is also fit for the change of luminance in Cu, which has blue and green luminescent centers. The experiment proves that this law has something to do with lifetime and nothing to do with the way of exciting and the reasons is abruptly quenching. No matter what quenching is, the lifetime of centers must be shortened, for shorter lifetimes centers the inten- sity increases with the increase of driving frequency more quickly. The luminescence of singlet and triplet states in organic electroluminescence is crucial in determining the overall efficiencies. The density of states in singlet and triplet levels is 1∶3. The transition from triplet state to singlet state is generally forbidden. People considered that the luminescence efficiency is limited to 1/4. But they ignored that their lifetimes are quite different, and this situation influences on the efficiency of luminescence. So the efficiency of luminescence in organic electroluminescence may be greater than 25%. The experiment also demonstrates the correctness of relationship between the differential cross-section and lifetime which was brought forward in thin film electroluminescence. In the case of thin film electroluminescence the differential cross-section of excitation is inversely proportional to the lifetime center. This result provides the basis of fabricating color tunable display panel using a single phosphor material. The rate of absorption of luminescent materials is controllable by luminescence lifetime, and the effect influences on the brightness and apparent efficiency of luminescence.


ABSTRACT Polytrimethylene terephthalate hollowed fiber was fabricated by neck drawing process with carbon dioxide irradiation. Fiber diameter increased with increasing draw ratio, and the hollowed fiber of hollowness ratio 46.4% was formed with draw ratio 5.5. Scanning electron microscopy showed internal multiple hollows was formed in fiber cross-section. Drawing stress obtained from drawing tension in situ monitored during the drawing increased with draw ratio, and it corresponded to the increasing trend of hollowness ratio. Necking images showed that the fiber diameter decreased steeply with increasing draw ratio, and the drastic decrease with high draw ratio generated the multiple hollows. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


Background: Cruciferin represents the most abundant protein in Brassica napus seeds where its efficient storage is essential under minimized space conditions. Results: The cruciferin complex has an octameric barrel-like structure of ∼420 kDa. Conclusion: The barrel-like structure represents a compact building block optimized for maximal storage of amino acids. Significance: Novel insights into structure and packing of seed storage proteins. Globulins are an important group of seed storage proteins in dicotyledonous plants. They are synthesized during seed development, assembled into very compact protein complexes, and finally stored in protein storage vacuoles (PSVs). Here, we report a proteomic investigation on the native composition and structure of cruciferin, the 12 S globulin of Brassica napus. PSVs were directly purified from mature seeds by differential centrifugations. Upon analyses by blue native (BN) PAGE, two major types of cruciferin complexes of ∼ 300–390 kDa and of ∼470 kDa are resolved. Analyses by two-dimensional BN/SDS-PAGE revealed that both types of complexes are composed of several copies of the cruciferin α and β polypeptide chains, which are present in various isoforms. Protein analyses by two-dimensional isoelectric focusing (IEF)/SDS-PAGE not only revealed different α and β isoforms but also several further versions of the two polypeptide chains that most likely differ with respect to posttranslational modifications. Overall, more than 30 distinct forms of cruciferin were identified by mass spectrometry. To obtain insights into the structure of the cruciferin holocomplex, a native PSV fraction was analyzed by single particle electron microscopy. More than 20,000 images were collected, classified, and used for the calculation of detailed projection maps of the complex. In contrast to previous reports on globulin structure in other plant species, the cruciferin complex of Brassica napus has an octameric barrel-like structure, which represents a very compact building block optimized for maximal storage of amino acids within minimal space.


The characterization problem of the existence of an unknown obstacle behind a known obstacle is considered by using a singe observed wave at a place where the wave is generated. The unknown obstacle is invisible from the place by using a visible ray. A mathematical formulation of the problem using the classical wave equation is given. The main result consists of two parts: (a) one can make a decision whether the unknown obstacle exists or not behind a known impenetrable obstacle by using a single wave over a finite time interval under some a‐priori information on the position of the unknown obstacle; (b) one can obtain a lower bound on the Euclidean distance of the unknown obstacle to the center point of the support of the initial data of the wave. The proof is based on the idea of the time domain enclosure method and employs some previous results on the Gaussian lower/upper estimates for the heat kernels and domination of semigroups.


Deterioration in the quality of seaweed cultivation in coastal Situbondo District of Banyuputih caused by several factors. One of these factors, such as suitability and environmental quality of coastal waters, become a major factor in cultivation. The study of aim to determine the relationship between environmental carrying capacity and the development of Eucheuma cottonii seaweed. The research method was carried out with the main supporting data collection, parameter growth analysis, spatial analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), analysis of environmental carrying capacity, and strategies for developing seaweed cultivation. Evaluation of the parameters of the waters in the Banyuputih Subdistrict region can categorize as fulfilling the requirements for the development of seaweed cultivation using the floating raft method. The results of the analysis of land suitability for the development of seaweed cultivation divided into several categories, including very appropriate: 340.80 ha, as appropriate: 440.35 ha and incompatible: 720.97 ha. Effective land area for the development of seaweed cultivation 230.48 (60% of the area is very suitable) with the number of rafts that can operate is 50,223 units. The strategy for developing seaweed cultivation in Banyuputih sub-district that needs to be applied is to refer to the management of the ecological-based aquatic environment, technological aspects in seaweed cultivation and regional arrangement by the carrying capacity of the environment.


Abstract The purpose of this study is to investigate the inter-dynamics of young consumers' information use, information adoption, motivation, and restaurant food purchase intention in an online environment. The study applied a mixed-method research design comprising of 20 in-depth interviews and 250 surveys among the young consumers. After the scale validation process through confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling was applied to test the proposed model. This research carries empirical and theoretical implications by showing the dynamics of interrelationships between information adoption and online shopping motivation that mediate the relationships between information use and online food purchase intention.


PURPOSE: To reduce an exposure of a patient by devising the tomography device such that the movement of image pickup position and the setting of a magnification of a zoom lens are implemented quickly and accurately when an X-ray picture is magnified. CONSTITUTION: An optional point of an X-ray picture displayed on a 1st display device 15 is pointed out by a mouse 19. A picture processing unit 11 sends position information designated by the mouse 19 to bed movement controller 9 and a zoom magnification controller 10. The bed movement controller 9 obtains the movement of a bed based on the position information and moves the bed based on the moving quantity. Simultaneously the zoom magnification controller 10 obtains the magnification based on the position information to set the magnification of a zoom lens device 4. The magnified image obtained in this case is displayed on a 2nd display device 16. COPYRIGHT: (C)1993,JPO&Japio


The adsorption of functional molecules on solid substrates isincreasingly becoming an important aspect of nanoscienceand sensing technology. Molecular and supramolecular elec-tronics, understood as the integration of molecular structuresto supplement specific functionalities on an integrated circuitchip,isapromisingalternativeapproachforreducingboththefeature size and the cost per functional unit. Driven by itscharacteristic control of the self-assembly process with nano-meter accuracy, supramolecular chemistry has a deep impactontherealizationofnewconceptsinmolecularelectronics.Inparticular,itplaysaleadingroleinthefuturedevelopmentofelectronic devices at the solid-state/air interface; the intrinsicphysical properties of supramolecular nanostructures can bescreened in view of potential applications in nanotechnol-ogy.


Computationally scalable and accurate estimation, prediction, and simulation of wireless communication channels is critical to the development of more adaptive transceiver algorithms. Previously, the application of autoregressive moving average (ARMA) modeling to fading processes has been complicated by ill-conditioning and nonlinear parameter estimation. This correspondence presents a numerically stable and accurate method to synthesize ARMA rational approximations of correlated Rayleigh fading processes from more complex higher order representations. Here, the problem is decomposed into autoregressive (AR) model matching followed by linear system identification. Performance is compared to that of AR, inverse discrete Fourier transform, and sum of sinusoids techniques. Also, for the first time, the finite-precision performance of different methods is compared.


Objective:To compare effects of Yiqi Tiaoshen Acupunctrue therapy and Qushi Huatan therapy in the treatment of simple obesity.Methods:Eighty eight cases were randomly divided into the treatment group Ⅰ(n=56) and the treatment group Ⅱ(n=32).The treatment group Ⅰwas treated with Yiqi Tiaoshen Acupunctrue therapy,acupoints including Baihui,Shenmen,Qihai et al were selected;The treatment group Ⅱwas treated with Qushi huatan Acupunctrue therapy,acupoints including Quchi,Fenglong,Yinlingquan et al were selected.One time a day in the first week,two or three time a day in the second week,fifteen times was a course of treatment.Two courses were used in all cases.Results:The total effective rate were 94.6% and 93.8% in the treatment group Ⅰand the treatment group Ⅱ,respectively.There was no significant difference between the two groups(P0.05).After three months,weight increases appeared 4 cases and 18 cases in the treatment group Ⅰand the treatment group Ⅱ,respectively.There was significant difference between the two groups(P0.05).Conclusion: Yiqi Tiaoshen Acupunctrue therapy and Qushi Huatan therapy could effectively treat simple obesity,further the former is prior to the latter in long-term follow-up result.


Scanning photoelectron microscopy (SPEM) is one of the most powerful tools for microfabricated electronic device analysis. In order to understand operation characteristics of real devices, "operando analysis", i.e., measurement during device operation, is needed. In this report, we present our operando SPEM system, called "3D nano-ESCA" using synchrotron radiation soft X-ray. The 3D nano-ESCA enable us to perform nano-scale pin-point analysis and nondestructive depth profiling, thus we can investigate the effect of surfaces, interfaces and defects on transport characteristics. We have carried out the operando SPEM analysis of graphene field effect transistors (FETs) and organic FETs. Charge transfer region at a metal electrode/graphene channel was successfully detected for the first time. Moreover, pin-point photoemission spectroscopy on the channel under biasing at the gate and drain electrodes clarify energy alignment inside the devices.


Because product quality is not always perfect in practice, process reliability improvement is an important managerial concern. This study considers this reliability/quality issue in the context of linking production (lot sizing and inventory) and marketing (pricing) decisions. We address some modeling issues of a related previous study. We develop a profit-maximization model, which we investigate under two different decision-making approaches to linking production and marketing (sequential and joint decisions). Calculus and geometric programming are used to solve the model, to compare the decisions from the two approaches analytically, and to develop a practical heuristic approach. The comparative results show that decision patterns can be the opposite of the optimal decisions for the perfect-quality case reported in the literature.


Beneficial interactions between plants and some bacterial species have been long recognized, as they proved to exert various growth-promoting and health-protective activities on economically relevant crops. In this study, the growth promoting and antifungal activity of six bacterial strains, Paenarthrobacter ureafaciens, Beijerinckia fluminensis, Pseudomonas protegens, Arthrobacter sp., Arthrobacter defluii, and Arthrobacter nicotinovorans, were investigated. The tested strains resulted positive for some plant growth promoting (PGP) traits, such as indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate-deaminase (ACC-deaminase), siderophore production, and solubilization of phosphates. The effect of the selected bacteria on Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings growth was assessed using different morphological parameters. Bacterial activity against the phytopathogenic fungal species Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium proliferatum, and Fusarium verticillioides was also assessed, since these cause major yield losses in cereal crops and are well-known mycotoxin producers. Strains Pvr_9 (B. fluminensis) and PHA_1 (P. protegens) showed an important growth-promoting effect on A. thaliana coupled with a high antifungal activity on all the three fungal species. The analysis of bacterial broths through ultra performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS) and liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry (LC–ESI–MS/MS) confirmed the presence of potential PGP-compounds, among these are desferrioxamine B, aminochelin, asperchrome B, quinolobactin siderophores, and salicylic acid.


Objective: The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of low negative pressure suction rectal drainage on intestinal function recovery after rectal cancer surgery. Methods: A total of 150 patients that underwent rectal cancer surgery were enrolled. Patients were randomly divided into experimental group and control group with 75 patients in each group. The experimental group was given low negative pressure suction rectal drainage and the control group was given regular negative pressure suction rectal drainage. The time of bowel sounds recovery and the time of gastric tube removal were compared between the two groups. The volume of abdominal drainage on the 1st, 3rd, and 7th postoperative day were also compared between the groups. The incidence of rectal drainage tube blockage and postoperative complications (incision infection, pneumonia, gastric retention, anastomotic leakage, intestinal obstruction) was also evaluated. Results: There was no significant difference in the general condition between the two groups (P > 0.05). The time of bowel sounds recovery and the time of the gastric tube removal were significantly shorter in the experimental group than the control group (both P < 0.05). There was no difference between the two groups regarding the volume of abdominal drainage on the 1st, 3rd, and 7th postoperative day (P > 0.05). The incidence of rectal drainage tube blockage in the experimental group was significantly lower than the control (P < 0.05). The incidence of anastomotic leakage was lower in the experimental group (P < 0.05), while the other complications were not significantly different between the two groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The use of low negative pressure suction rectal drainage after rectal cancer surgery can shorten the time of bowel sounds recovery, and reduce the incidence of drainage tube blockage and the occurrence of anastomotic leakage, which is highly recommended in clinical practice.


The Basque Public Health System is now going through a process of change, just like other such systems in our surroundings which are adapting their public health organizations to the new problems and chalienges that stem from a new social, technological, economic and public health context. The paper we are herewith presenting was ordered by the Basque Parliament and has been laid out by experts and people in charge of the Basque Public Health System. The aims of this document, also known as OSASUNA ZAINDUZ, are: 1) to equip the population with a universal, solidary, equitable and quality health protection system, 2) to offer the professionals who work in the network a more communicative, flexible and responsibility-promoting organization, and 3) to guarantee the users a better human and medical care together with high quality assistance.


Molodtsov 's soft settheory has been considered an effecient Mathematical tool is conduct along uncertainties. In our regular life, we frequently facing some real problems which need right decision making to get the best solution for these problems. Therefore, it is necessary to consider various parameters related to the best solution. In this paper, we applied Γ(Gamma)-Soft set theory in decision making problems.


The relevance of the research topic is determined by the need to assess structural changes in the territorial and sectoral structure, as well as factors affecting the competitiveness of the regional economy. The article presents the results of calculations of structural changes in the economy of the Novosibirsk region for the period from 2000 to 2016 using the method of "shift-share analysis". The method allows to assess the degree of influence of three groups of factors (national, regional and internal competitiveness of the regional industries) on changes in the regional economy. The article presents the results of calculations of the growth rates employed in certain sectors of the Novosibirsk region by types of economic activity for the period from 2000 to 2016, as well as indicators of the MIX-effect (composition) and DIF-effect (competition). Based on the assessment of structural changes, the types of economic activities that demonstrate the highest indicators of industry competitiveness are determined.


The article analyzes the practice of cluster development of the Kaluga region. The authors study the main social and economic results of the investment and the ways of organization of cluster development management. The main mechanisms contributing to the positive results are identified. They are in creation of the infrastructure fields and the special way of building the system of management and of organization of the cluster development. One of the approaches to the organization of the system of management of the cluster development is the division of administrative and communicative functions and the functions of the financial management and of the infrastructure development. The article studies the organizational decisions for the realization of the principle of functional division and also shows one of the ways of the decision of the problem of coordination between the organizations included in the cluster.


The rise of China as a major power in the world is an indisputable reality of world politics today. Less clear is whether China will abide by the prevailing international rules as it becomes more powerful. This article attempts to gauge China's evolving attitude toward international norms pertinent to domestic governance by studying a popular Chinese slogan – "link up with the international track" (yu guoji jiegui). It examines the rise of the slogan at different levels of the Chinese public discourse, analyses its meanings and applications in the Chinese discourse, and assesses the major controversies over the slogan. This study shows that Chinese thinking about international norms varies across time, secots and issue areas. It suggests the need for greater nuance in our understanding of current and future Chinese attitudes towards international rules.


Horizontal layered composite rock samples composed of white and black sandstones with large differences in physical and mechanical properties were tested to explore the dynamic characteristics of layered composite rocks under impact load. Using the split Hopkinson pressure bar test system, the dynamic compression tests of two incident states of stress waves, that is, stress waves from white sandstone to black sandstone (W⟶B) and from black sandstone to white sandstone (B⟶W), were designed and carried out under different impact velocities. Combining the ultrahigh-speed photography system and digital photogrammetry for deformation measurement (DPDM), we obtained the stress wave propagation characteristics, failure characteristics, and particle size distribution characteristics of broken rocks of the composite rocks under the two conditions. The experimental results were compared and analyzed, while stresses and strength conditions at the interface of the composite rock samples were theoretically assessed, yielding the following main findings. The energy dissipation pattern of composite rock had an obvious strain rate effect. The reflected energy and fragmentation energy density of composite rock increased approximately as quadratic functions of the incident energy. Affected by the wave impedance matching relationship, the W⟶B and B⟶W samples were significantly different in terms of the stress wave shape, energy dissipation, average particle size, and fractal dimension of the broken rocks at low impact velocities. However, with an increase in the impact velocities, the two gradually shared the same behavior. When composite rock samples deformed and failed, the macrocracks mostly initiated from the white sandstone. When the crack tip stress of the white sandstone at the interface exceeded the strength of the weakened black sandstone, the crack continued to develop through the two-phase rock interface due to the difference in Poisson's ratios. The damage degrees and failure modes of the two parts of composite rocks were different: black sandstone was prone to tensile splitting with local shear failure, while white sandstone exhibited shear failure with local tensile splitting. The damage degree of white sandstone exceeded that of black sandstone.


A series of chromate and non-chromate treatment programs, specifically designed for alkaline pH cooling waters, have been developed. The treatments provide excellent corrosion and scale control over a broad range of water chemistries and are applicable to high conductivity and iron contaminated waters. Low levels of zinc are used to reduce the dependency on alkalinity, chromate and calcium carbonate supersaturation for corrosion control. The precipitation and fouling problems previously encountered with zinc containing treatments have been eliminated by the use of polymeric dispersants.


Unmanned aerial vehicles are a part of a fast-growing aviation sector that has the potential to create new jobs as well as economic growth in the individual countries of the European Union. Unmanned aerial vehicle is a relatively new concept compared to the aircraft and it is possible to still find shortcomings in pilot training. The aim of the scientific paper is to map the current state of pilot training regarding unmanned aerial vehicles and to determine the level of demand for the implementation of an unmanned aerial vehicle flight simulator in the flight training of pilots of unmanned aerial vehicles at the Department of Air Transport at the University of Žilina.


1 ABSTRACTSouth Africa has experienced double-digit inflation since 1973 which should have an influence on business investment decisions.The monograph 'Business Investment Decisions Under Inflation' by Bryan Carsberg and Tony Hope which contains the results of a field study carried out in the UK in 1973 is outlined.The results of a similar field study among major South African industrial companies in 1978 is then described. These results show a remarkable similarity to those obtained in the UK.It is considered that these results give strong support to the hypothesis that the investment appraisal methods (and particularly the way in which inflation is allowed for in these methods) used by major South African industrial companies tend to lead to under-investment.


Concentrating solar power technologies are potential energy-harvesting systems. This paper simulates and analyzes the design of a parabolic-trough concentrating solar system. Optimum measurements are sought for the receiver, and collector performance is investigated using three heat transfer fluids, namely, ammonia, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. Receiver parameters are optimized to achieve the maximum thermal efficiency of the collector. The concentration ratio, collector aperture area, and mass flow rate of the fluids significantly influenced the collector's efficiency and the heat removal factor.


Seafoods are not normally considered for their contribution to the human requirement for minerals. However, all seafoods are a good source of selenium, iodine, and fluorine. In addition, mollusks and crustacea contain high levels of copper and zinc, and mollusks are the richest food source of iron. This review discusses the bioavailability and interactions of minerals in seafoods.


Isobutylamido thiazolyl resorcinol (ITR) is a novel anti‐tyrosinase recently shown to be effective in the treatment of hyperpigmentation. Low‐fluence Q‐switched Nd:YAG 1064‐nm laser (LFQS) has proven to be effective for various hyperpigmentary conditions. However, there is no study on the efficacy and safety of combined ITR and LFQS treatment.


An Fe-O underlayer formed by reactant sputtering with oxygen is applied as an under layer for c-axis orientation control of FePt ordered alloy thin film. The layered film is then annealed in vacuum by infrared lamp heater for 30 seconds. The magnetic properties and crystallographic structures of the film are studied by means of resonating sample magnetometer and X-ray diffractometer, respectively. It is found that the Fe-O underlayer induces high perpendicular anisotropy. From this result, it is considered that application of Fe-O underlayer and infrared annealing is a useful technique in producing FePt ordered alloy perpendicular magnetic recording media.


In this paper,attribute significance weight is defined which measures the contributions of attributes to distinguishing the different element categories.a heuristic algorithm which aims to search reduction is obtained by using the weight as heuristic knowledge.The complexity of the algorithm is polynomial,the convergence is fast and the result is Pawlak reduction.


Let Z(2) denote the ring of rational 2-adic integers. In this paper, we consider the group ifk of Z(2)-cobordism classes of Z(2)-knot (qk+2, Kk), where 2: is a 1-connected Z(2)-sphere Z(2)-cobordant to Sk+2, and K is a 1-connected Z(2)-sphere embedded in 2: with trivial normal bundle. For n > 3, we will prove that It2n = 0 and It2n -1 = Ce(Z(2)), E = (-1)'. Also, we will show that the group (4)4m+1 of L-equivalence classes of differentiable involutions on (4m + I)-homotopy spheres with codimension two fixed point sets defined by Bredon contains infinitely many copies of Z. Let T be an orientation preserving differentiable involution on a homotopy sphere 1k+2 with codimension two fixed point set F(T) = K. Then it follows from Smith theory that K is a k-dimensional Z(2)-sphere (a manifold having the same Z(2) homology as Sk), where Z(2) denotes the ring of rational 2-adic integers. We call the pair (Ek+2, Kk) a knot. Two such involutions To and T1 are called L-equivalent if there exists an involution T' on 2k+2 X [0, 1] with F(T') = Mk+ 1, a Z(2)-cobordism between F(TO) and F(T1). The set of L-equivalence classes of involutions on homotopy spheres forms an abelian group Ek+2 [4, pp. 339-340]. Ignoring the involutions, we call the two knots (2, F(To)) and (2, F(T1)) L-equivalent. The set of L-equivalence classes also forms an abelian group 0(I2k) Since the integral homology of K can be very complicated, we were unable to apply the methods in [6], [12] or [16] to compute k(2)2k (compare Lemma 4.2 below). Let Ik+2 denote a Z(2)-sphere which is Z(2)-cobordant to the standard sphere Sk+2, and Kk a Z(2)-sphere [1]. Throughout this paper, we will assume that both E and K are 1-connected for technical reasons (see (2.7) below). An embedding of K with trivial normal bundle in E is called a Z(2)-knot, denoted by (Ek+2, Kk). Two Z(2)-knots (21, K1) and (12, K2) are called Z(2)-knot corbordant (or just Z(2)-cobordant) if there exists (Mk+3, Nk+ 1) with a(M, N) = (21, K1) U(22, K2) such that both M and N are 1-connected, the normal bundle of N in M is trivial, M is a Z(2)-cobordism between 2 I and Received by the editors December 14, 1977. AMS (MOS) subject classifications (1970). Primary 57C45, 57D90, 57E25, 57E30.


In view of students' incorrect attitudes to physics in science and engineering colleges,some methods such as to integrate knowledge systems combing with the development of physics,to carry out demonstrating experiments in class and to make up the shortage of traditional education using multimedia was put forward to improve learning interests of students and their learning enthusiasm.


Obesity is a chronic state of inflammation.In recent years,researches have showed that macrophage infiltration of adipose tissue in obese individuals was increased and macrophages were the primary source of many inflammatory factors.Currently,itis not clear what causes increased macrophage infiltration of adipose tissue in obese individuals.The present researches showed that macrophages can inhibit the differentiation of adipocyte,and increase the expression of the inflammatory cytokines.The macrophage infiltration of adipose tissue played an important role in the development of insulin resistance.

Key words:
Macrophage; Adipose tissue; Inflammation; Obesity; Insulin resistance


In recent years,there lie controversy about the problem of the applicable law about the disputes between doctor and patient in judicial practice and theory which is not conductive to defuse the increasingly acute contradictions between doctor and patient and is a hindrance to safeguard the interests of both sides.Based on making sure the prerequisite,theoretical principle and its key of the applicable law about disputes between doctor and patient,this article bring forward that the disputes should apply the "General Principles of Civil Law," the "Contract Law," and other civil legal norms adjustment;the disputes should be adjusted according to "Consumer Protection Law" but should be treated differently because of the high risks associated with the characteristics of medical services.


This clinical case refers to a male patient, 45 years old, with a past medical history of Hepatitis C, admitted at the Emergency Department on July 2014, after a fall from 7 meters high at his workplace – dump – which resulted in an open fracture of the distal end of the right forearm bones – Gustillo & Anderson IIIA. With this work, the authors aim to describe the evolution of the patient9s clinical status, from the initial fracture to the septic arthritis of the right wrist, as also the surgical interventions and other treatments he has undergone. There were used all patient9s records from Hospital9s archives, including Emergency Department registry, Clinical Diaries, Operative Reports, and results of diagnostic exams. It was also revised all patient9s clinical process, with support of photographs obtained during the successive revaluations. The clinical case we present on this work began on July 2014, when the patient suffered an open fracture – Gustillo & Anderson IIIA – on the distal end of the right forearm bones. The lesion was subjected to washing, closed reduction and internal fixation with Kirschner wires, and also a cycle of antibiotic. At the fourth day after surgery, because of an unfavorable evolution of the wound, the patient was submitted to a bulky abscess drainage and a joint osteotaxis. About 1 month and a half after the traumatic event, it was performed a revision of the osteotaxis, following a failed attempt of osteosynthesis. By unfavorable evolution of the clinical status, with the development of septic arthritis in the right wrist, it was decided to undertake a Masquelet technique. Analyzing the evolution of the patient9s clinical status, the authors conclude that, besides the appropriate therapeutic options taken at each stage, the development of septic arthritis at the right wrist was inevitable. This framework, in association to the fact that this is a 45 years old patient, with the dominant hand affected, raises issues of questionable therapeutic order.


Valukaiaru is a wet weather drainage scheme in the Jaffna peninsula. It is situated in the middle part of the Valikamam division. Valukaiaru basin has a total area of 57 sq. km covering the District Secretariat (DS) divisions of Tellipalai, Sandilipay, Chankanai and Uduvil. Valukaiaru scheme consists of a main drainage channel, eight tributary drainage channels and 65 minor tanks. The last control gate of this scheme, the Arali barrage is situated at the end of the channel at Arali. Valukaiaru starts from the village of Kurumpaciddy in Tellipalai DS Division and mixes with sea at the Arali barrage. Sea water intrusion through the damaged Arali barrage caused salinity problem in the soil and water resources of the Valukaiaru basin. Irrigation Department commenced the project on Rehabilitation of Arali barrage in 2008. By the renovation of Arali barrage sea water intrusion into the cultivable area through Valukaiaru has been stopped. Prevention of sea water intrusion significantly reduced the salinization of cultivatable lands and practicing effective water management will improve the productivity of the Agricultural Lands. The main causes that contribute to the low productivity of water and soil is improper management of water and agricultural practices, inadequate utilization of rainfall & sea water intrusion. More water is spilling without usage as there is not adequate capacity of tank although there is enough high and low lands for cultivation. This article analyses the problem and spell out a possible research solution to improve the water productivity of Valikamam.


In rotating Rayleigh-Benard convection, columnar vortices advect horizontally in a stochastic manner. When the centrifugal buoyancy is present the vortices exhibit radial motions that can be explained through a Langevin-type stochastic model. In a centrifugation-dominant flow regime anomalous outward motion of cyclones is observed which is contrary to the well-known centrifugal effect. We interpret this phenomenon as a symmetry-breaking of the vorticity distribution brought about by the centrifugal buoyancy. Consequently, the cyclones submit to a collective mode of vortex motion dominated by the strong anticyclones. Our studies provide new understanding of vortices motions that are widely present in many natural systems.


Despite recent arguments that political and social movement unionism is the key to labour revitalization, this article shows that such strategies have been detrimental to labour in Eastern Europe, and that only a recent turn towards economic unionism has helped turn the tide. Through an analysis of East European labour strategies since 1989, particularly in Poland, the article argues that much recent theory is based on capitalist experiences that are inappropriate for understanding post-communism. Whether social movement unionism will be beneficial to labour depends on the kind of social movement of which unions see themselves a part.


Meioand macrofauna diverge in their sensitivity to wave energy on sandy shores. This is shown by a comparison of shores from the neighbouring bassier islands Sylt and R@m0 in the North Sea, differing in wave energy, grain size and shore morphology. The Sylt shore is eroding, coarse grained, steep profiled and receives high wave energy, while the Rom@ shore is accreting, fine grained, flat profiled and receives low wave energy. The former resembles highly dynamic intermediate beach types and the latter a stable dissipative beach. Meiofaunal abundance was similar on both shores, while species density and diversity of interstitial plathelminths and polychaetes were higher at Sylt than at Rom@. In contrast, macrofaunal abundance, species density, and diversity were all lower at Sylt than at R@m@. At Sylt the meiofauna was composed of roughly equal proportions of several major taxa, while at Rom@ nematodes dominated strongly. Polychaetes were the most abundant macrofaunal taxon On both shores, followed by amphipods and isopods at Sylt, and by bivalves and amphipods at R@m@. Community analyses for both, meioand macrofauna, revealed separate faunal assemblages for the two shores. In both faunal components highly mobile species were more prominent at Sylt than at Rom@. Temporal variability of meiofauna was higher at Sylt, while a higher temporal variability of macrofauna was observed at R@m@. In conclusion, high wave energy On the intermediate shore primarily affected the macrofauna, while the meiofauna diversified. Low wave energy On the stable, dissipative shore favoured macrofauna and nematodes adapted to low oxygen conditions.


The capability of monitoring students' academic performance is a very big challenge to the academic community, especially institutions of higher education. A research work implore with K-means clustering algorithm method to monitor students' academic performance. The developed system was used to observe the progression of students' academic performance in the Department of Computer Science, University of Port Harcourt. The system was implemented using JAVA programming language and the methodology applied is Structured Systems Analysis and Design Methodology (SSADM) approach and MySQL as database. The result of this work will be useful in academic environment as performance monitoring and evaluation system tools. It will also enhance the decision making process of academic planners as the students' academic  performance can be monitored session by session.


Amide-terminated polyamide and isocyanate-terminated polyol synthesized by the solution polycondensation,mixed at different ratios to prepare thermoplastic sulfone-polyetheramide(PEA) elastomers.Structure characterization and phase miscibility was examined by FT-IR,DSC,()~1H-NMR spectroscopic measurements.The heat-resistance is highly improved because of the introduction of amide group and urea group and the polyester group endowed the polymer with good flexibility.Meanwhile,the dissolution of the hard polyamide segment into soft polyester domains decreased with increasing molecular weights of soft segments or increasing contents of hard segments.As a result,the solubility of PEA elastomers in solvent decreased.


The TODIM is a decision-making method that can examine the psychological behavior of decision-makers (DMs). However, the traditional TODIM method has still not been having the ability to overcome fuzzy information such as interval values and linguistic variables. This paper proposes an extended TODIM decision-making model for multiple-attribute decision-making (MADM) problems in a linguistic environment using dual-connection numbers (DCNs). The extended model uses linguistic variables in which the values of alternatives and criteria for both of them are formatted in the triangular fuzzy numbers (TFNs) to express the uncertain information. First, some definitions and basic operators of the TFNs and DCNs are introduced. Then, the way how to convert fuzzy information in forms of the TFNs into DCNs and the step how to transform each criterion weight value into a crisp value using the defuzzification of Minkowski are demonstrated. Furthermore, the traditional TODIM is improved to address MADM problems with DCNs, and detailed calculation steps in determining decisions are explained. Finally, an illustrative example which is a cadre selection problem is applied to demonstrate the conformity and validity of the extended TODIM method and to compare it with some other methods.


Thermal diffusivity ( ) measurements of Fe Zn O single crystals in the vicinity of the Verwey transition have been performed through a photopyroelectric setup. The main features of are the following: a decrease with increasing Zn content , a different temperature dependence above and below for every sample, and a drastic reduction just at . These changes in the thermal diffusivity behavior have been explained in terms of different phonon scattering mechanisms. Index Terms—Magnetite, thermal variable measurements, Verwey transition, zinc ferrites.


Objective This study aimed to assess the role of right liver lobe diameter by ultrasound/albumin ratio in the prediction of esophageal varices (OV) in cirrhotic patients. Background OV often develop in cirrhotic patients. Varices rupture leading to variceal bleeding represents the most lethal complication of cirrhosis. Right liver lobe diameter/albumin (RLLD/Alb) ratio is a noninvasive method to predict the presence of OV. Patients and methods A case–control study was carried out on 200 cirrhotic patients (145 with OV and 55 without OV). Patients were subjected to complete blood picture, liver and kidney functions, viral markers, abdominal ultrasonography, upper gastrointestinal tract endoscopy, and calculation of the RLLD/Alb ratio and the platelet count/spleen diameter (PC/SD) ratio. Results The RLLD/Alb ratio was diagnostic for the prediction of OV with high significance (P ≤ 0.0001). At a cut-off point of 3.7, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy to predict OV were 95, 76.4, and 90%, respectively, with area under the curve = 0.88. A highly statistically significant difference was also noted in the PC/SD ratio with a sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 83.4, 70.3, and 80.9%, respectively, at a cut-off point of 605. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between both the RLLD/Alb ratio and the PC/SD ratio and grades of OV and the risk of bleeding from varices (P = 0.0001). Conclusion The RLLD/Alb ratio and the PC/SD ratio are useful as noninvasive predictors of OV in cirrhotic patients.


Women's empowerment has become an agenda that has recently been put forward and has become one of the essential agendas in sustainable development. One of the common problems women micro-enterprises face is the difficulty of accessing sources of capital. Islamic microfinance institutions are an alternative that can be utilized by women micro-enterprises in Indonesia to overcome the challenges in accessing business capital. This research uses a qualitative approach to study literature and in-depth interviews. The literature study was conducted by selecting relevant papers by accessing the Google Scholar database using the keywords "women empowerment" AND "Islamic microfinance" OR "Islamic microfinance". The search time range is limited to the last 5 years, namely 2017 to 2022. The literature search results found 19 relevant papers. 4 sharia microfinance institutions are reported to run women's empowerment programs, namely sharia cooperatives, Baitul Mal Wat Tamwil, Zakat Management Organizations, and Micro Waqf Banks. The results of interviews with 20 lecturers of Islamic Economics strengthen the role of Islamic microfinance institutions in women's empowerment programs in Indonesia.


Rehabilitation of degraded peat swamp forest, especially the failed Mega Rice Project (MRP) in Central Kalimantan, is urgently needed in order to restore its economic and ecological functions. Several policies and management strategies of the rehabilitation have to be decided with considering political, ecosystem, socioeconomic, cultural and institutional aspects which are in line with Minister of Forestry Decree No.20/Kpts-II/2001 and Forest Rehabilitation's ITTO Guidelines. Several policies are addressed covering long run forestry investment, community-based and adaptive forest management approach, alleviation of the poor, forest rehabilitation based on watershed management and forestry decentralization. Three principal management strategies, namely forest restoration of degraded primary forest, management of secondary forest and rehabilitation of degraded forest land and several management strategies of peat swamp forest rehabilitation within the failed MRP are described.


Transportation is a critical factor in the economic growth and development of any nation. Inadequate transportation limits a nation's ability to utilize its natural resources, distribute foods and other finished goods, integrate the manufacturing and agriculture sectors and supply education, medical, and other infrastructural facilities. There is a need, therefore, to manage, maintain, and improve the existing transportation system and build new infrastructures for national wealth. It is on this bedrock that the present study assessed the management and adequacy of road infrastructure expenditure and economic growth in Nigeria considering the time period from 1980 to 2009. Descriptive analysis was used such as index growth rate based on simple averages on percentage growth on nominal and real values by deflating the nominal value to investigate the secondary data collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria. Findings revealed that expenditure on road construction and maintenance in Nigeria was not adequate when compared with other countries like USA, UK, France, Demark, Germany, India, etc. Nigeria's government should, as a matter of prime importance, increase expenditure on road infrastructure and ensure that such expenditure is properly managed and supervised, and to generate additional revenue, the Government should encourage private initiatives in road funding.


Heterocyclic thiazyl radicals possess unique chemical and physical properties as building blocks for molecule-based conductors and magnetic materials. They do not need protecting groups on their mo...