The numerical simulations that can be used to determine the radius of different r ε lenses with constant wavelength to cross section ratio are discussed.


The first main group dimetal complex with tetragonal-prismatic coordination is [Bi2 (O2 CCF3 )4 ] (structure depicted), which forms a component of a linear one-dimensional coordination copolymer with hexamethylbenzene molecules. The "paddle wheel" motif well-known from chromium(II) acetate and hundreds of other transition metal complexes is thus introduced into the coordination chemistry of main group elements.


The note takes up a position definitely critical of an indiscriminate application of Truman's Point IV and, in particular, to its extension to tropical and equatorial lands. This controversial attitude is based on an outright appreciation of the danger which might arise for the supremacy of the Western peoples and Western civilisation.


Measures of residual risk are developed as an extension of measures of risk. They view a random variable of interest in concert with an auxiliary random vector that helps to manage, predict, and mitigate the risk in the original variable. Residual risk can be exemplified as a quantification of the improved situation faced by a hedging investor compared to that of a single-asset investor, but the notion reaches further, with deep connections emerging with forecasting and generalized regression. We establish the fundamental properties in this framework and show that measures of residual risk along with generalized regression can play central roles in the development of risk-tuned approximations of random variables, in tracking of statistics, and in estimation of the risk of conditional random variables. The paper ends with dual expressions for measures of residual risk which lead to further insights and a new class of distributionally robust optimization models.


Environmental health issues that dominate the sanitation problems, the development challenges of sanitation in Indonesia is the social, cultural and behavioral population accustomed to open defecation free. Health development aims to increase awareness, willingness and ability to live healthy for everyone. The government attempted to address the issue of sanitation, especially Clean and Healthy Behavior and healthy latrine ownership with the efforts is the National Strategy community-led total sanitation (CLTS) which is expected to prevent or minimize the morbidity and mortality caused by diarrhea or other environmentally based disease.
The purpose of this study to assess the success of the triggers of Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) First Pillar in Somodaran Village, Banyuraden, Gamping, Sleman 2019. The research method with the type and design of a study conducted using a qualitative approach to the type of research and survey methods cross observasioanal sectional descriptive. The population in this study were residents in the Somodaran Village, Banyuraden, Gamping, Sleman, Yogyakarta, which has been following CLTS triggering the First Pillar of 50 respondents using Total Sampling that all citizens who have followed the detonation of 50 respondents.
According to the research level of success on the First Pillar of CLTS triggered open defecation free in getting in this study before and after triggering by the number of 50 respondents who follow the triggers, an increase of behavior change. Where prior to the detonation there are 92% who still behave open defecation but after the detonation to 80% of respondents have changed the behavior with no defecation Gratuitous, which means the attritioan rate is 72%. Availability latrines of 50 respondents prior to detonation only 30% availability of latrines increased 10%, subsequent to the triggering ie to 40% already have private latrines in every home and the condition of the respondents latrines in every home prior to the detonation of 86,7% and after the detonation of 90% , The conclusion of this study is a 72% increase after triggering the respondents.


Received May 24, 2021 Revised Sep 02, 2022 Accepted Sep 12, 2022 Day by day use of internal combustion engines (ICE) compared to electric vehicles (EV) is deteriorating because mainly of pollution and their less fuel availability. In the present scenario, an electric vehicle plays a major role in place of an ICE vehicle. So that performance of EV can be improved by proper selection of electric motor. Initially, EV prefers induction motors for traction purposes, but complexity in controlling induction motor, permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) presently used in EV by most of the electric vehicle manufacturers due to its advantages. This paper reviews on various control methods for PMSM used in EV. Various control methods are being used for EV applications. Initially, conventional direct torque control (DTC) technique being used in controlling electric motors but it has a drawback of high torque and flux ripples. Hence, intelligent controllers are predominantly using in controlling PMSM drives.


How can physics teachers help students develop consistent problem solving techniques for both simple and complicated physics problems, such as those that encompass objects undergoing multiple forces (mechanical or electrical) as individually portrayed in free-body diagrams and/or phenomenon involving multiple objects, such as Doppler effect reflection applications in echoes and ultrasonic cardiac monitoring for sound, or police radar for light? These problems can confuse novice physics students, and to sort out problem parts, the suggestion is made here to guide the student to personify self as the object in question, that is, to imagine oneself as the object undergoing outside influences such as forces and then qualify and quantify those for the problem at hand. This personification does NOT, as according to the three traditional definitions of the term (animism, anthropomorphism and teleology), empower the object to act, but instead just to detect its environment. By having students use their imagination to put themselves in the place of the object, they can 'sense' the influences the object is experiencing to analyze these individually, hopefully reducing the student's feeling of being overwhelmed with information, and also imbuing the student with a sense of having experienced the situation. This can be especially useful in problems that involve both multiple forces AND multiple objects (for example, Atwood's machine), since objects acted upon need to be considered separately and consecutively, with the idea that one cannot be two objects at once. This personification technique, documented to have been used by both Einstein and Feynman, is recommended here for secondary-school teen and university-level adult learners with discussions on specific physics and astronomy classroom strategies.


This paper deals with the predictions of estimation mean of set  points (Block) at sub domain determined within domain study by one arithmetic process as if as this set of points is one point, and we used in this paper a technique called Block kriging technique, that estimator could estimate the mean of set point as (Block) in one time, moreover calculation kriging estimator variance of  block for this technique is abstract of time, hard work and the cost, and we application this idea on real data in health domain specially Cancer ills in Iraq at 2008-2009 and Has been important getting accurate results and as it deems the researchers.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a serious complication resulting from total knee arthroplasty (TKA) or total hip arthroplasty (THA). In this study, patients with a PJI are compared with patients with an uncomplicated postoperative course to identify relevant risk factors for PJI.

METHODS
A matched case-control study was performed with patients undergoing fast-track, elective unilateral TKA or THA. The following data were collected: demographics, surgery-related characteristics (perioperative blood loss, use of cement, body temperature), and postoperative characteristics (hematoma formation, wound leakage, blood transfusion, length of stay [LOS]).

CONCLUSIONS
When the PJI group was compared with the control group, there was significantly more wound leakage during hospital stay (88% vs. 36%, p = .001) and early wound dressing changes in the first 3 days after surgery (88% vs. 40%, p = .002). Hematoma formation was observed more in the PJI patients group (44% vs. 10%, p = .005). A trend test revealed a significant association between the total number of wound dressing changes and development of PJI (p < .001); 72% of PJI patients had a length of stay of ≥4 days compared with 34% of controls (odds ratio 10.5; 95% CI [2.1-52.3]; p = .004).

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Early postoperative wound drainage and hematoma formation directly correlate with PJI. This resulted in a significantly higher number of dressing changes and longer LOS. The nurse practitioner has a central role in postoperative care and is the first to recognize signs of an adverse postoperative clinical course.


In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS church), beliefs about same-sex sexual attraction are carefully differentiated from beliefs about same-sex sexual behavior and identity, leading some to reject a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer (LGBQ) identity label and to describe themselves as experiencing same-sex attraction (SSA). Using data from 1128 sexual minority Mormons recruited from both politically conservative and liberal circles, we examined the relationship between rejecting a sexual identity label and aspects of religiosity, attitudes toward sexuality, and health outcomes. We found that SSA Mormons were significantly more religious and less content with their sexuality but had similar health outcomes relative to LGBQ Mormons. Guided by minority stress, intersectionality, and social identity theories, we posit that these differences are best understood by differences in group affiliation and support, intersectional experiences with minority stressors, and the lack of generalizability of LGBQ constructs to SSA-identity experiences.


The production status of domestic high performance fibers and the application of poly(p-phenyl-ene benzobisoxazole)(PBO) fiber, polyphenylene sulfide(PPS) fiber, ultra high molecular weight polyethylene(UHMWPE) fiber were briefly introduced. And the PBO fiber and PPS fiber were charscterized by thermalanalysistestmethod(thermogravimetricanalysis,thermomechanicalanalysis,dynamicmechanicalanalysis).


Overview 2 Background 6 Methods and Assumptions 10 Baseline Trends 14 Policy Scenarios 15 National CPP Policy Results 17 State-Level Imacts and Patchwork Policies 35 Conclusions 62 Appendix A 63 Appendix B 69 References 71 SUMMARY The electricity industry is evolving as changes in natural gas and coal prices, along with environmental regulations, shift the generation mix. Future trends in gas prices and renewables costs are likely to continue moving the industry away from coal-fired generation and into lower-emitting sources such as natural gas and renewables. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan (CPP) is likely to amplify these trends. The CPP rule regulates emissions from existing fossil generators and allows states to choose among an array of rate-based and mass-based goals.


Visualization experimental investigation of pulsating heat pipes(PHP)was conducted.A PHP was charged with distilled water,TiO_2/H_2O nanofluid and CuO/H_2O nanofluid as working fluids by a filling ratio of 55%,respectively.Both the nanofluids were made of distilled water and 1% volume fraction of nanoparticles.Experimental results showed that nanoparticles settled down in the motionless base liquid,but the oscillating motion in PHP would excite them to suspend.The suspending stability of nanofluid got weak as temperature increased.Compared with the distilled water PHP,nanofluid PHP could work in lower heat loads,and had shorter startup time,lower thermal resistance,and temperature oscillation of smaller amplitude and higher frequency.At the working temperature of 110℃,the thermal resistance of PHP was 0.23℃/W,when it was filled with distilled water,and the thermal resistance would decrease to 0.11℃/W or 0.13℃/W,when it was charged with TiO_2/H_2O or CuO/H_2O.The two nanofluid PHPs had similar heat transfer performance.


Large dams provide benefits to many people around the world by providing water for hydropower generation, irrigation, and water supply. However, without proper provisions being made, these dams can also cause considerable damage to upstream and downstream ecosystems. In a few cases, the operating rules for these dams allow for releases to maintain instream ecosystems. This paper includes the following headings: foreword, acknowledgments, introduction, establishing the appropriateness of managed floods, designing flood releases, implementation, a practical example -- the Waza-Logone Floodplain, and conclusion.


This paper presents a model for the determination and forecast of the number of defaults and credit changes by estimating a reduced-form ordered regression model with a large data set from a credit insurance portfolio. Similarly to banks with their classical credit risk management techniques, credit insurers measure the credit quality of buyers with rating transition matrices depending on the economical environment. Our approach consists in modeling stochastic transition matrices for homogeneous groups of firms depending on macroeconomic risk factors. One of the main features of this business is the close monitoring of covered firms and the insurer's ability to cancel or reduce guarantees when the risk changes. As our primary goal is a risk management analysis, we try to account for this leeway and study how this helps mitigate risks in case of shocks. This specification is particularly useful as an input for the Own Risk Solvency Assessment (ORSA) since it illustrates the kind of management actions that can be implemented by an insurer when the credit environment is stressed.


A multi-agent system is considered that is tasked with the objective of approaching a predetermined target from a desired region to minimize detection, and then simultaneously converging at the target. Only a subset of agents is informed of the bearing to the target and the desired common arrival time; other agents only rely on local communication with neighboring agents for coordination. A balanced containment control is achieved that restricts the motion of the group within a desired region (i.e., a circular sector) while evenly spacing the agents' orientations. To enable simultaneous arrival, a consensus algorithm is designed for agents to coordinate their arrival time by achieving consensus with the informed agents. Only local feedback (i.e., orientation information and estimated arrival time) from neighboring agents is used to navigate the group, and no position information (either absolute or relative position between agents) is required, allowing the multi-agent system to operate in a GPS denied area. Simulation results demonstrate the performance of the developed approach.


Finishing an engineering program with the highest academic standards, and giving a diploma certifies the graduate skills to apply pertinent knowledge to the practice of engineering. Traditionally, the way of certifying the knowledge is through isolated academic evaluations whose results are supposed to estimate the overall student performance. The necessity for predicting and diagnosing the students performance and for improving the teaching-learning processes through the use of academic evaluations, in a continuous way, is imperative in educational institutions with the commitment of continuous quality improvement. Moreover, with these results, the administration could take actions on time, especially if the institutions have defined (a requirement for graduation) to pass an academic evaluation. This document shows the academic results of the Monterrey Tech Queretaro Campus versus Monterrey Tech System (ITESM System) and CENEVAL national evaluations (National Center for Evaluation) in different curricula of electronics engineering programs. A methodology is proposed for implementing an academic adaptive evaluation system using the technological platform Lotus Notes/Learning Space. The objective is to certify the academic performance of the students when they finish their engineering studies.


This study uses an AR model with Markov Switching approach to forecast the real growth of copper price using 2 regimes: expansion and contraction. We expect an increase in the demand for metals in the medium term due to the transition to green energies. In the estimated model, we see that the contractive state presents a negative growth, while the expansionary state shows a growth equal to 3.57 percent annually. The filtered and smoothed probabilities show that the real growth of copper is in the expansionary state most of the time (approximately the 82.56 percent of the time of the sample period). Thus, we provide evidence that in the medium-run term (next 20 years), it is expected that the real price of copper grows at the same rate as the expansionary state of its previous medium-run term cycle, which is equal to 3.57 percent annually.


The present invention, in the processing system, and improved removal of the scale. The method also while eliminating, removing existing scale deposits. The present invention relates to scales phosphate and sulfate. The present invention does not require any pH adjustment, further allowing anti scaled with improved. This method is quite without impairing the quality of the available membrane system provides all the factors listed. .BACKGROUND


Germanium was enriched by reduction volatilization from germanium-bearing coal ash from lignite volatilization roasting with carbon as heating and reducing agents.The effects of particle size of coal ash and pellet,roasting temperature and duration,and reducing atmosphere on germanium volatilization rate were investigated.The results show that reducing atmosphere has greater impact on germanium volatilization than particle size of coal ash and pellet.Germanium volatilization rate is higher at strong reducing atmosphere within limits.Germanium volatilization rate is 99.33% above when roasted at 1000℃for 2 hours without supplemental oxygen and activated carbon.


In this article we have discussed the most significant steps performed in experimental research for developing technical solutions associated with the principle schemes using mathematical analysis of heat transfer between the active elements and ambient heat by convection and radiation.


From the perspective of education, the history of Western society is intimately linked with the major transformations in the world of labor. In rural society, knowledge was passed on from one generation to the next in lived experience itself. Thus, people's way of acting and thinking was a family and community legacy to a much greater extent than it is today, when there is a greater diversity of influences. Since industrial society needed workers with the necessary competence to operate the machines – i.e., with specific knowledge and shop floor discipline –, it opened up the school to the poor. The latter included it in their life project. In post-industrial society, where the hegemony of immaterial labor requires a creative intellectual worker, the demands in terms of the level of education or training have changed. During all these periods, people had to create spaces of resistance and insurrection against the perversities of capitalism. This paper discusses these issues in two steps. In the first one it examines the transformations in the world of labor in relation to industrial and post-industrial society. In the second it tries to understand the general educational needs for the new context. Key words: education, labor, post-industrial capitalism.


Background: The family is an essential source of support to pregnant women. The expectation of every pregnant woman is to be healthy and deliver a healthy baby. Sometimes this does not occur as apparently healthy pregnant women who received optimal antenatal care ended up delivering babies with low birth weight and low Apgar score. Objective: The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of perceived maternal family social support on birth weight and Apgar score. Methodology: A case-control study involving 200 newly delivered women who attended ante-natal care at Federal Medical Centre Asaba was carried out. Participants were systematically selected and were administered a validated Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) questionnaire while the birth weight and Apgar score of their babies were recorded from the delivery notes. Results: Women aged between 25-29 years were the predominant age group accounting for 33.5%. There was a higher mean MSPSS score among the control group (40.866±8.33) when compared to the study group (28.48±6.24). Birth weight and Apgar score had direct relationship with poor perceived family social support. Conclusions: The effect of perceived maternal family social support on birth weight and Apgar score in this environment is similar to that in other countries. A good psychosocial assessment of every pregnant woman alongside the routine ante-natal care will identify those with low perceived family social support. Keywords: Perceived Maternal Family Social Support, Birth Weight, Foetal Apgar Score


The invention discloses a method for measuring slope rill soil erosion amount, which comprises the following steps of: (1) shearing a whole piece of a commercially available plastic wrap which is slightly larger than a rill, completely covering the rill, and gently pressing the outline of the rill by hands; (2) arranging a container (1) at a part of 10 to 20cm above the rill to be measured, switching on a circular shifting switch (4), and discharging solid small balls in the container (1) which is made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and has the diameter of 1 to 3mm through a reducing round tube (5); (3) continuously moving the container (1) until the surface of the small ball in the rill is flush with the earth's surface at the periphery of the rill; and (4) observing the scales of the container (1), namely the volume of the small ball used in the container is the volume of the rill, namely the volume of the eroded soil; and repeating the processes if the rill soil erosion amount exceeds 2,000 cubic centimeters, and adding the results. The method has the advantages of simplicity, rapid and accurate measurement and low section disturbance.


This paper studies consumption dynamics, asset returns and optimal portfolio choice, and welfare losses under information processing constraints (it is also called "rational inattention" (RI) in Sims (2003).) in two canonical macroeconomic models: the permanent income hypothesis model (PIH) and the consumption-based capital asset pricing model (CCAPM). It is shown that incorporating RI into these otherwise standard macroeconomic models can provide an additional propagation mechanism and largely affect the intertemporal allocation of consumption, which makes the models better explain the data in some important aspects. The main contributions of this paper are: Þrst, we propose a tractable analytical approach to solve the multivariate LQ or approximate LQ models with information constraints; second, given the closed-form solutions, we address a variety of consumption and asset pricing puzzles, and show how incorporating RI may resolve these puzzles in the correct direction; third, we Þnd that the utility costs due to deviating from the Þrst best instantly adjusted path are very trivial, which can rationalize a key assumption in Sims (2003) that consumers only devote small fractions of their capacity in observing and processing information; Þnally, we compare the RI model with the habit formation model. In addition, we consider the extension to the risk-sensitive PIH model, in which the risk-sensitive preference combined with labor income uncertainty generates precautionary savings motive and then allows us to examine the effects of RI on both precautionary savings and the marginal propensity to consume out of income.


Nanoscale and Nanotechnology are not new to the world because chemists have been making polymers for decades. A polymer is a large macromolecule made up of nanoscale subunits. This paper analyses the brief impact of Nanotechnology in Medicine field which is given a unique name called "Nanomedicine". Nanomedicine can play a vital role in diagnosis, cancer therapy etc. which may help in fighting cancer. Hence, this paper analyses the vast effect of Nano Science in the field of medicine.


1. lNrRODUCTION. This paper will address two questions: (I) What are the cognitive and syntactic principles that underlie the creation of grammatical systems like those we find among the world's creoles? (2) What are the principles that constrain the linguistic source of the lexical and grammatical forms that appear in the creole? In order to answer the first question, this paper takes the position that language contact phenomena such as creole formation involve the creation of an abstract composite grammar; that is, the grammatical frame that structures the surface constituents of the emerging language is largely made up of projections oflexical structure from the substrate and to a lesser extent from the superstrate. This notion of a composite grammar derives from the idea that lexical structure is composed of three levels (Abstract Level Model): (1) lexical-conceptual structure; (2) predicate-argument structure; (3) morphological realization patterns (Tai my 1985, Jackendoff 1990, Myers-Scotton & Jake 1995). Importantly, abstract lexical structure can be split and recombined so that parts of the lexical structure projecting the grammatical frame may come from different sources. This paper provides evidence for a composite grammar underlying creole formation. To answer the second question, this paper recognizes an asymmetry between lexical heads and functional heads in terms of both their properties and behavior in the syntax and in the level at which they are accessed in the production process. Furthermore, two types of functional heads are distinguished: conceptually-activated functional heads, those that are accessed early in the production process and selected by their lexical heads, and structurally-assigned functional elements, those that are accessed late in the production process and required by the syntax. Implicit in this distinction is that speakers engage in a morpheme sorting strategy during the production process. The asymmetry between lexical heads and early and late functional elements determines how the lexicon contributes to building the creole grammatical system.


Salacia lehmbachii Loes, is used traditionally in Nigeria for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-ulcer and anti-diarrhoeal activities of the ethanolic leaf extract of S. lehmbachii. The ethanolic leaf extract was evaluated for castor oil-induced diarrhoeal, intestinal transit as well as intestinal fluid accumulation in rats, while indomethacin, water immersion stress-induced and histamine were used for anti-ulcer tests. The extract at the doses used significantly (P<0.05) decreased castor oil-induced diarrhoea in rats as judged by a decrease in the number of wet faeces in the extract treated rats. Moreso, the leaf extract inhibited the propulsive movement of intestinal contents. S. lehmbachii also showed a dose-related inhibitory activity on castor oil-induced intestinal fluid accumulation in rats. The leaf extract of S. lehmbachii significantly (P<0.05) reduced the ulcer index in all assays used. The results of the current study support the folkloric usage of S. lehmbachii leaf extract in the management of gastrointestinal disorders in Nigerian herbal traditional medicine.

 Key words: Salacia lehmbachii, leaves, herbal medicine, antidiarrhoea, antiulcer, rats.


The Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS) is a web-based system that provides information for the federal enforcement and compliance (FE&C) and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) programs.


456 varieties of plants, 293 species of fauna, 26 crystalline lagoons, majestic landscapes and a penetrating cold is the rich supply of the Paramo de Santurban, settled in 99.000 hectares in heights between 3.000 and 4.400 msnm, in the Departments of Santander and Norte de Santander of Colombia, it is a natural patrimony settled in the Andean mountain range that is worth infinitely more than the gold of its subsoil.


The authors discuss the knowledge acquisition required for the development of a system to diagnose communication problems for users of a large mainframe time-sharing system. A field study approach was used to exploit the experiences and existing knowledge structures of the technicians. It was found that multiple forms of knowledge acquisition and representation were required for the development of the system, since no one form of knowledge acquisition was found to provide insight into each of the different types of knowledge that ultimately were used in the development of the system. Thus, it is suggested that individual task comparisons of different forms of knowledge acquisition may understate or misstate the problems of interest to developers of expert systems. Individual approaches each have their own strengths and weaknesses, so that, in a portfolio of approaches, weaknesses of one approach can be mitigated by strengths of other approaches.<<ETX>>


The purpose ofdoing this research is to know the effectiveness ofteamwork that have done by staffat
Human Resource an Quality Unit, Chief Minister Department according to the related factor. The
related factor in this research is communication, leadership, commitment and working together.
These factors are dependent variable for the effectiveness of teamwork. Sample of research is
consisted of40 employees. It is found out that the majority ofrespondent is from the human resource
alld entrepreneur development department. The determination ofdescriptive analysis also shows that
majority respondent services more than one year. According to analysis it is found the result ofevery
factor are average. The hypothesis was exam with the correlation Pearson. The result found that
every factor have significant with the effectiveness of teamwork. It is also found that working
together is the dominant factor for effective teamwork. The finding also found some suggestion to
orgallization andfuture researcher.


disease specific but reflect mechanisms of injury and duration of disease (10), a pathological examination of the biopsy specimens is also useful for making a diagnosis. In fact, both cases of taxan-associated IC (6, 8) were diagnosed by colonoscopy confirmed by a pathological examination of the biopsy specimens. Our case, which was confirmed by a pathological examination of the biopsy specimens, is the first report of typical colonoscopic findings of IC such as hemorrhage with superficial and longitudinal ulcerations after paclitaxel-containing chemotherapy. IC was developed on the right side of the transverse colon as an unusual location in the present case. In conclusion, we report a case of IC on the right side of the transverse colon in a female patient after chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin for squamous cell lung cancer. IC should also be considered in patients with bloody diarrhea after chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin as adverse drug effects. In this case, together with previous reports (6, 8–10), early colonoscopy with tissue biopsy was useful for the diagnosis of IC after chemotherapy.


The circadian clock and light signaling regulate CONSTANS function through intricate mechanisms that reside in phloem companion cells of leaves for controlling photoperiodic flowering in Arabidopsis.


The present study examined information-processing differences among four types of readers, specifically high comprehension–high speed, high comprehension–low speed, low comprehension–high speed, and low comprehension–low speed college-age readers. Performance was compared on a variety of information-processing tasks, including letter reordering, word reordering, reading span, verification of real words and nonwords, and verification of real sentences and nonsense sentences. Tasks were categorized as lower order tasks involving reaction time and/or elementary-word tasks, or higher order tasks requiring access of word meanings or semantic decision-making. Results indicated that good comprehenders tended to outperform poor comprehenders on all types of tasks. Although high-and low-speed readers performed differentially on some tasks, the pattern of results is less clear. Performance on tasks was discussed in light of speed and comprehension variables and type of information-processing task. Differences in working memory were proposed as a source of individual differences in reading performance.


This note is to point out an error in the article by Foster and Guinzy. The error occurs in equation (11) (p. 604) which should read g(z|γ,n)=2(1-γ2)nΓ(n)Γ(n-1)z(1-z2)n-2⋅∑k=0∞γ2kz2kΓ2(k+n)/Γ2(k+1).


Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic several studies on students' access to remote education and their perceptions of remote education have been conducted, but mixed-method studies on student engagement in an online setting are lacking. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the levels of school engagement in synchronous online classes and in face-to-face classes. Secondary school students (N = 132, 81.8% female, Mage = 16.3) filled out an online questionnaire comprising the School Engagement Measure Questionnaire (addressing online and face-to-face settings) and one open-ended question on the perception of differences between online and face-to-face classes. Statistical analyses showed that students were more engaged in face-to-face classes than in online classes (F (1, 131) = 106.316, p = .000, e2 = .448), with the best achievers having the highest decrease of engagement in online classes. A thematic analysis of answers yielded four themes, named: active learning (f = 42), learning strategies and resources (15), time organization (15) and assessment (6). Evaluative analysis showed that different students described the same themes in different ways - while in some cases active learning in online classes was higher, for the majority - it decreased; while some students organized their time for studying more effectively in an online setting, others were more efficient in a face-to-face setting. It can be concluded that negative effects of online classes on students' learning strategies and engagement prevail and that teachers need additional support in organizing individualized and differentiated teaching to encourage higher levels of engagement and self-regulation in emergency remote education.


The internal combustion engine(ICE) is playing a very important role in the development of national economics,and the study of the ICE has attracted much more attention. The application of computer simulation techniques brings people a convenient and efficient way to study the ICE. In this paper,the basic concept of computer simulation and its development are introduced briefly. And the computer simulation techniques used in the study of the ICE are discussed in detail. It is also pointed out that the application future of computer simulation in the study of the ICE is very promising.


The invention relates to an automatic assembling device of a fog lamp dimming ball component. A lower die component comprises a bottom plate, a lower limiting column, and a screw base and a ball frame positioning and rotating mechanism which are installed on the bottom plate through a bracket, wherein the ball frame positioning and rotating mechanism comprises a motor, a supporting base and a rotating platform; an upper component comprises an upper limiting column, a lateral moving mechanism and a hold-down mechanism, wherein the lateral moving mechanism comprises a lateral cylinder and a guide rail which are installed on a top plate; the lateral cylinder and a sliding plate are arranged on the guide rail; the hold-down mechanism comprises a ball pressing rod and a screw picking and clamping mechanism; a guide column of the screw picking and clamping mechanism and the ball pressing rod are installed on the sliding plate; a guide sleeve is installed on a corresponding guide column and connected with a moving plate; a spring is sleeved on the guide column and positioned at the upper part of the guide sleeve; a grabbing cylinder is installed on one side of a grabbing base connected with the moving plate; and a displacement sensing mechanism is installed on the screw picking and clamping mechanism of the upper die component or/and the lower die component. The automatic assembling device simplifies the structure, and can further improve the assembly efficiency.


To the Editors: Winkler et al. (2008) give an excellent description of the ''head nodding syndrome,'' a disorder that has been found linked with epileptic seizures in four distinct geographic locations of sub-Saharan Africa (Jilek-Aall et al., 1979; Van der Waals et al., 1983; Kaiser et al., 2000; Lacey, 2003), all of which known as endemic for Onchocerca volvulus, the causative agent of river blindness. Over the last decade, O. volvulus has increasingly been implicated in the observation of clustering excess prevalence of epilepsy (Pion et al., 2009). With this background, the study of Winkler et al. is of great interest because, for the first time, it provides results of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis of patients with epilepsy living in an onchocerciasis endemic area. A search for a pathologic substrate inducing epilepsy by O. volvulus should aim at the demonstration of the parasite in the central nervous system (CNS). Certainly, the macrofilarial stages of the parasite, because of their size (length 5–50 cm; width 0.1–0.45 mm), would be expected to produce clearly visible lesions and the absence of such findings argues against the involvement of the adult stage of O. volvulus in the CNS. However, the pattern of the pathologic MRI findings still leaves room for speculation about microfilariae (length 220–300 lm) producing more subtle changes in the brain. Even if no microfilariae are found in the CSF, one may consider changes due to degrading microfilariae, or to persisting immune reactions to these. Winkler et al. do not provide information on antifilarial medication prior to their patients' enrollment in the study, although this may have significantly influenced the results of their parasitologic examinations. Throughout most of the African endemic areas, patients with onchocerciasis are treated with the microfilaricidal drug ivermectin (Mectizan), which has been made available at no cost by its manufacturer (Merck & Co., Whitehouse Station, NJ, U.S.A.) since 1987. In Mahenge, the study area of Winkler et al., annual mass treatment has been carried out since 1998, with therapeutic coverage reaching up to 70% (WHO/APOC, 2007), and it appears likely that many of their patients already had received ivermectin. The very low microfilarial counts found in dermal biopsies also strongly indicate previous treatment with ivermectin. In view of the potent effect of ivermectin on O. volvulus microfilariae (Bas Çez et al., 2008) it cannot be excluded that in the patients with head nodding examined by Winkler et al. microfilariae could have been present in the CSF before treatment, as they were previously demonstrated in the CSF of untreated patients (Duke et al., 1976). Ultimately, the article of Winkler et al. leaves unsolved the question as to whether the phenomenon of head nodding constitutes a feature of an epileptic syndrome caused by O. volvulus. Future investigations should aim at studying patients without history of antiparasitic treatment and involve appropriate comparison groups of persons without epilepsy. We hope that this most interesting article will stimulate more researchers with neurologic and parasitologic background to get involved in this neglected subject.


The present research aims to evaluate the hydrosedimentological processes of two small basins in the Vacacai Mirim River watershed - Rancho do Amaral (4.45km²) and Rincao do Soturno (11.98Km²) and in a volumetric lysimeter (1m³) - in the Atlantic Forest biome area in Santa Maria (RS, Brazil), by monitoring sediment production at different space and time scales. The variables selected for this study were monitored during the year of 2009. The precipitation was monitored with two electronic rain gauges, and the water levels established employing two electronic linigraphs. The measurements carried out comprised solid and liquid discharges at each measuring station installed. Samples of suspended sediments were collected using a conventional sampler and automatic point samplers. The sediment yield values found for the three sites monitored were: 1.7 .10⁻⁴mm(soil)/mm(effective rainfall) in the lysimeter; 2.6 .10⁻⁴mm/mm in Rancho do Amaral basin; and 3.0 .10⁻⁴mm/mm in Rincao do Soturno basin. According to these results, in each basin, human use and occupation of the area were the prevailing factor for sediment yield, besides effective rainfall


[Purpose]This study empirically examines the relationship between investment propensity and investment efficiency in the case of excellent ESG performance for companies listed on the Korea Exchange.
[Methodology]Assuming that the stocks (companies) included in the 'ESG Leaders 150 Index' operated by the Korea Exchange are companies with excellent ESG performance, an empirical analysis was conducted on domestic listed companies from 2018 to 2022.
[Findings]As a result of empirical analysis, under-investment propensity generally appeared when it was judged to show excellent performance and it was also found to be low in terms of investment efficiency. These results were maintained in the analysis conducted on relatively KOSPI listed companies, and it was found that there was no effect on KOSDAQ listed companies. The analysis result of this study is judged to be a phenomenon that occurs because the benefits of ESG performance do not exceed related costs or are not shown in financial statements. Therefore, as continuously suggested in previous studies, it suggests the need for a standard that can adequately represent ESG performance.
[Implications]This study differs from previous studies in that it expands related literature by identifying companies with excellent ESG performance by utilizing the Korea Exchange's ESG-related theme index. In addition, given that ESG investment enhances expectations for new investment directions, comparative analysis of investment efficiency provides an implication that investors should pay attention.


This paper aims to evaluate how critical thinking be integrated in intellectual property (IP) law teaching.,It used doctrinal methods based on existing pedagogical scholarship in the field of effective teaching and learning at the university level.,It demonstrated how the use of critical thinking in IP law education could facilitate deeper understanding of IP law issues from different socio-economic, environmental, historical and political dimensions.,It is yet to be tested for practical application in other jurisdictions and students having background from diverse socio-economic and cultural settings.,The application of critical thinking in IP law could help students to apply IP law from practical perspectives to meet societal objectives and business interests as well.,This will facilitate in broader societal understanding in using IP law to achieve sustainable development goals.,Till date, little work has been undertaken on the use of critical thinking in IP law teaching. Therefore, this study tried to make a unique contribution to incorporate critical thinking in IP law education.


To assess the effectiveness of autonomous learning, today language teaching has witnessed a promotion of autonomous approaches in language learning and teaching. In order to find out similarities and differences between students' preferences, this paper drew on an empirical study among 152 third-years students of Hacettepe and Selcuk universities. To study students' preferences in self-autonomy for language learning, this study investigated students' preferences in autonomous learning with Likert scale. Results of this paper are expected to provoke a depth research on how to heighten students' self-autonomy in foreign language learning.


Controlled gentamicin sulfate(GS) releasing microspheres manufactured from biodegradable poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide)(PLGA, 75:25 by mole ratio) were prepared with an oil/oil solvent evaporation method for the treatment of osteomyelitis. The microspheres of different size (30∼350㎛) were obtained with varying the experimental conditions, and the shape of microspheres was smooth and spherical. The efficiency of encapsulation was over 81%. The effects of the preparation conditions on the size of microspheres have been investigated. In vitro release studies showed that different release patterns and release rates could be achieved by simply modifying factors in the preparation conditions such as polymer concentration, surfactant concentration, molecular weight of PLGA and initial amount of loaded drug. PLGA microspheres with 20% of initial drug loading, 0.2%(w/w) of surfactant concentration and 50% (w/v) of PLGA concentration, were free from initial burst effect and a near-zero order sustained release was observed for over 60 days. Mechanisms of the prolonged sustained release from the larger GS/PLGA microspheres with over 100㎛ medium size have been proposed.


Cultivation techniques of early-maturing tomato in winter and spring in Huize County were introduced,including variety choice and seed treatment sowing and seeding,seedling management,land preparation and fertilization,colonization,logistics of water and fertilization,disease and pest controlling,harvesting and so on,in order to improve the economic efficiency of farmers.


Takeover bids are operations that change the ownership of a business, usually resulting in a change in the management and strategy of the latter. The acquisition of giant companies destabilizes the functioning of targets and frequently affects its employees. It undermines the authorities and poses the problem of the role and rights of shareholders. Statutory and regulatory measures are put into place by financial market authorities to enable the smooth running of these transactions and to ensure the protection of rights of shareholders involved in this process.


This paper examines the effects of IT technology capital and R&D stocks variation on the growth of Koreas industries with time series approaches. In detail, we analyze the Granger causality and impulse response analysis among the Koreas industrial growth, IT technology capital, and R&D stocks. When it comes to this research conclusion, we know that IT technology capital and R&D stocks shocks affect the growth of Koreas industrial sector. However, the revere effect is ambiguous in each industrial sector. Also, the impulse response function analysis shows that the effect of IT technology capital and R&D stocks fluctuation in each industrial sector is presented with different time periods.


The job fronts are being implemented by the public administration as social public policies but they are in total disagreement with the Aristotelian ethics, going against the three accomplishments: to have material goods, pleasure, and moral and intellectual excellence, necessary to reach utmost happiness which is the citizens' common benefit. In fact, these public policies are illegal and immoral forms of hiring workers by the public administration for personal rendering of services, by means of the payment of daily wages, in disagreement with article 37, II and § 2 of the Magna Carta and mainly with Aristotle's ethical rules. The implementation of these employment public policies does not lead to the utmost benefit nor to the citizens' happiness, for the man transforms himself into a disposable object in the capitalist system


Literacy is a process which dispels and promotes rational thinking and moulds human beings into becoming responsible citizens. The absence of literacy directly and indirectly retards the development of individuals, society, community and the country. For the success of any program, people should be motivated by providing necessary congenial environments, socio-economic conditions and committed efforts on the part of implementing bodies. In spite of the number of efforts made by central and state governments in India, still illiterates remain. This paper identifies factors responsible for people remaining illiterate and suggests strategies to adopt for achieving better results in the district which has the lowest literacy rate in the state and country. Literacy is one of the key aspects of human resource development. In order to quantify the human resources of the country, the State and central governments have launched a number of educational (both formal and non-formal) programs for the promotion of literacy. As a result, large pools of illiterates were made literates. However, a vast majority of the illiterates are here, particularly among females.


ABSTRACT Phase compensation for high-order repetitive control (HORC) can improve system transient and steady-state performances. The phase compensator is often designed as the inverse transfer function of a closed-loop system. No other phase compensation methods for HORC have been reported up to now. Hence, in this paper, a simple approximate phase cancellation second-order repetitive control (RC) is proposed. The compensator is a linear combination of two different linear phase lead compensators, which can better fit the inverse of a plant model phase curve compared with the conventional linear phase compensator. Optimisation is introduced to design the parameters of the approximate phase cancellation second-order RC. Analysis and design of the second-order repetitive controlled pulse width modulation inverter system are presented. Simulations and experiments are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the optimisation method and verify the advantage of the approximate phase cancellation compensator.


Parametric frequency conversion via four-wave mixing (FWM) in silicon nanocrystal (Si NC) waveguides is observed at 1550 nm. To investigate the role of Si NC, different types of waveguides containing Si NC in a SiO2 matrix were fabricated. Owing to the increase of the dipole oscillator strength mediated by the quantum confinement effect, the non-linear refractive index ( n 2 ) of Si NCs is found to be more than one order of magnitude larger than the one of bulk Si. Coupled differential equations for the degenerate FWM process taking into account the role of Si NC were numerically solved to model the experimental data. The modeling yields an effective n 2 for Si NCs in SiO2 waveguides which is similar to the one of Si waveguides. We also measured a large signal to idler conversion bandwidth of ∼22 nm. The large non-linear refractive index is joined with a large two photon absorption coefficient which makes the use of Si NC in non-linear optical devices mostly suitable for mid-infrared applications.


E-moderation has been a common practice in asynchronous discussions of postsecondary courses. We consider here e-moderation of synchronous discussions in the school context. We adopt a design research approach to elaborate an environment, the Argunaut system, that fits the reality of classrooms in which moderation of several small-group synchronous discussions in parallel is desirable. We describe the Argunaut system and then describe an experiment in which a moderator could elaborate several strategies in 2 synchronous discussions (1 with 2 groups in parallel and 1 with 4 groups in parallel). Through the technique of cued retrospective reporting, we could identify those strategies and could show how technology and moderation are interwoven. We then assessed whether the actions of the moderator had some positive impact on the flow of the discussions. The positive findings that emerge from this study indicate that teachers can enact this novel practice in classrooms, enabling by such proper guidance for productive engagement in the synchronous discussions of many students in the same class.


In this article we will discuss the problem of routing in delay tolerant networks (DTNs). The major problem in DTN networks is to find an end-to-end communication path between a source node and a destination node. This situation occurs because of several factors, namely: Disruptive and intermittent connectivity, high mobility of nodes, sparse network in several areas, highly dynamic network, etc. Among the classic routing protocols designed to overcome routing problems in the DTN network is the spray and wait routing protocol, and despite all the efforts made by researchers in recent years to improve the performance of this protocol but it still suffers from several shortcomings. Most of the researchers' proposals to improve the performance of the spray-and-wait routing protocol are based primarily on either mobile similarity and/or social similarity. Indeed, these proposals of the researchers prove ineffective in certain scenarios in which the movement of the nodes is completely random and when the nodes show non-social behaviors. To solve routing problems and effectively improve the performance of the wait phase of the Spray-And-Wait protocol, we propose a routing approach called SSW (Social Spray-and-Wait) based on mobile attributes and social attributes between nodes by exploiting the similarities (mobile and social) of the nodes as well as the probability of delivery and the probability of visit to improve the delivery rate and reduce the delivery delay as well as minimize the resources consumed in the DTNs networks. Our SSW approach proposes a strategy of selecting appropriate relay nodes to ensure successful delivery of messages in the wait phase of the spray-and-wait protocol. This strategy is based on the selection of special nodes called social nodes having higher activities and can play the role of relay nodes in the network. In other words, the social nodes are selected preferably as relay nodes to increase the delivery rate. The simulation results show that, our SSW approach significantly improves the delivery rate, and reduces the delivery time, compared to the spray and wait protocol and also shows good performance in terms of resources consumed in the network.


This paper investigates the adaptive bitrate (ABR) video semantic communication over wireless networks. In the considered model, video sensing devices must transmit video semantic information to an edge server, to facilitate ubiquitous video sensing services such as road environment monitoring at the edge server in autonomous driving scenario. However, due to the varying wireless network conditions, it is challenging to guarantee both low transmission delay and high semantic accuracy at the same time if devices continuously transmit a fixed bitrate video semantic information. To address this challenge, we develop an adaptive bitrate video semantic communication (ABRVSC) system, in which devices adaptively adjust the bitrate of video semantic information according to network conditions. Specifically, we first define the quality of experience (QoE) for video semantic communication. Subsequently, a swin transformer-based semantic codec is proposed to extract semantic information with considering the influence of QoE. Then, we propose an Actor-Critic based ABR algorithm for the semantic codec to enhance the robustness of the proposed ABRVSC scheme against network variations. Simulation results demonstrate that at low bitrates, the mean intersection over union (MIoU) of the proposed ABRVSC scheme is nearly twice that of the traditional scheme. Moreover, the proposed ABRVSC scheme, which increases the QoE in video semantic communication by 36.57%, exhibits more robustness against network variations compared to both the fixed bitrate schemes and traditional ABR schemes.


The visible spectrophotometer to measure the content of total flavonoids brought Prinsepia uniflora Batal. leaves,the adsorption rate and desorption rate of AB-8,DM-130,HPD-100,HPD-600 four kinds of macroporous resins were analysed to determine the suitable resin and its optimum process conditions. The results indicated:AB-8 resin was best absorbent for the total flavonoids in Prinsepia uniflora Batal.leaves, the adsorption rate was 76.93 %,the desorption rate was 81.93 %.The optimum technical conditions were that the pH of extracts was 4.0, the concentration of sample solution was 1 mg/mL-2 mg/mL, the ratio of absorbing solution to resin was 8 ∶ 1,the eluting solution was 60 % ethanol, the volume of the eluting solution was 4 BV.The content of total flavonoids brought Prinsepia uniflora leaves in not before purification for 15.3 %, in the best condition after purification can reach 48.6 %.


A computer program working with air-hydrocarbon mixtures is used to compute the theoretical cycles of spark ignition engines. On this study the mixture composition and the thermodynamic properties variation with temperature is taking in account considering the species chemical equilibrium and dissociation effects. The results allow to show the cycle processes on a pressure-Volume diagram and to perform parametric studies.


The values of the interaction parameters in the hydrogen-bonded polymer blends were calculated from the sorption isotherms and the glass transition temperatures and found to be mostly negative. The values of the interaction parameters calculated by the sorption isotherms are reasonable in magnitude but those calculated by the glass transition temperatures are much larger in magnitude. However, the values by either method had the same composition order in the studied blends.


†† Summary Spreadsheets are widely used in various areas by end users because they are easy to use. However, due to the lack of the methodology for analysis and design for spreadsheet applications, users suffer with problems such as high error rates, low reusability, and maintenance difficulties. To mitigate these problems, we introduce a multi-paradigm spreadsheet that allows end users to analyze their problems and design for the solutions. Our multi-paradigm spreadsheet supports object-oriented programming, flowchart, XML, and spreadsheet. While writing the XML document, they analyze the problems by grouping similar things into one concept, and the concept develops into a class in object-oriented programming. The flowchart and spreadsheet are used for describing operations or methods of the class. Our multi-paradigm spreadsheet is so simple that even end users can analyze and design for their applications.


The authors discuss the problems caused by thermodynamic imbalances in conditioning towers and potential solutions for water injection control systems.


An accurate prediction of the hydrodynamic behavior of a fluidized bed would be beneficial for many economic, environmental, and scientific reasons. One approach to modeling the hydrodynamic behavior of fluidized beds is to consider the gas and the granular material as separate but interacting continuous media. The gas is a continuous medium; for fluidized beds, it behaves as an incompressible fluid. However, the granular material is not easily considered as a continuum, in spite of its obvious fluid-like motion. An outline of the kinetic theory of gases appears in the first section. The following sections describe three extensions of the kinetic theory of gases to granular material. The concluding section briefly describes further applications of the kinetic theory of gases. We were not aware of these applications at the time the body of this review was written. This section also includes a critique of the application of the kinetic theory of gases to granular materials. Finally, the concluding section discusses an expression for the solid stress tensor that will be utilized in fluidized beds. 45 refs., 10 figs.


The effect of removing the above ground parts of the most abundant species (1uncus bufonius L.) in an inundated mountain meadow known as "malltn" in Patagonia was analyzed. It was hypothesized that the removal of this species should cause changes in the pattern of plant species co-occurrence in a spatial microscale (i.e., within cells of a few cm 2 ). Two predictions were tested: (I) the removal of the most abundant species would modify the frequency distribution of the pre-existing types of co-occurrences; (2) the open space created by the removal of 1. bufonius could be occupied by other species, resulting in cooccurrences different from the pre-existing ones. A grid composed of 625 cells of 2 x 2 em was overlaid on I 0 random plots of 50 x 50 em. 1. bufonius was removed from five plots and the other five were used as controls. Presence/absence of each species in each one of the 6250 cells were recorded before and after removal of the dominant species. One hundred and twenty eight types of species co-occurrences were coded, with those composed of two species being the most frequent ones. We did not find a change in the frequency distribution pattern of co-occurrences, or replacement of 1. bufonius by the subdominant species due to removal effect at the 2 x 2 em microscale. The restoration of the original species assemblage was observed at the beginning of the following growing season, and 1. bufonius regained its dominance within the community, probably because its early vegetative growth. The number of rare types of co-occurrences was also maintained, although the number of cells occupied by them decreased. The latter indicated a change in the frequency of encounter between rare and abundant species. Both predictions were not supported by the data and, thus, the removal of the most abundant species represents a small disturbance to the mallin community, in terms of the patterns of species co-occurrence at a small scale. This could be a common feature of plant communities dominated by species with active vegetative reproduction.


Results are presented from Brownian dynamics simulations and from experimental measurements of self-diffusion coefficients of monovalent ions in systems of oppositely charged polymers. The simulations were carried out in ordered and in random polyion systems. The ordered systems consisted of parallel straight chains on a square lattice, while in the other systems the straight polymer chains were randomly oriented. At low polymer concentrations there was good agreement between the results obtained in both types of systems. However, when the polyion concentration was increased, the ion diffusion was slower in the random than in the ordered systems


The typical volume fractions of CO2 and H2S in the gas from a gasfield of Changqing are 1.4% and 2.6×10-6, respectively, which belongs to a micro-sulfur dry gas reservoir. The field coupon tests, together with weight loss method, XRD, SEM and EDS were used to study CO2/H2S corrosion behavior of tubular steel N80 under the testing conditions. The results showed that the corrosion was in a medium level with an average corrosion rate of 0.0302 mm·a-1 and was a local corrosion type. The corrosion type was mainly of CO2 acid corrosion, and the main corrosion products were FeCO3 and Fe2O3. The presence of trace H2S had no significant influence on CO2 corrosion. The MgSO4 was also detected by XRD, which indicated that the gas well has scaling tendency.


Introduction Cornelius Torp and Sven Oliver Muller PART I: THE PLACE OF IMPERIAL GERMANY IN GERMAN HISTORY Chapter 1. When the Sonderweg Debate Left Us Helmut Walser Smith Chapter 2. The Impossible Vanishing Point. Societal Differentiation in Imperial Germany Benjamin Ziemann Chapter 3. Was the German Empire an Sovereign State? Dieter Grimm Chapter 4. Theories of Nationalism and the Critical Approach to German History John Breuilly PART II: POLITICS, CULTURE AND SOCIETY Chapter 5. The Authoritarian State and the Political Mass Market James Retallack Chapter 6. Using Violence to Govern: The German Empire and the French Third Republic Heinz-Gerhard Haupt Chapter 7. Woman Suffrage and Antifeminism as Litmus Test of Modernising Societies. A Western European Comparison Ute Planert Chapter 8. Germany in the Age of Culture Wars Olaf Blaschke Chapter 9. Their Favourite Enemy. German Social Historians and the Prussian Nobility Stephan Malinowski Chapter 10. A Difficult Relationship. Social History and the Bourgeoisie Manfred Hettling Chapter 11. Cultural Nationalism and Beyond. Musical Performances in Imperial Germany Sven Oliver Muller PART III: WAR AND VIOLENCE Chapter 12. 1914-1945: A Second Thirty Years War? Advantages and Disadvantages of an Interpretive Category Jorg Echternkamp Chapter 13. The Enduring Charm of the Great War. Some Reflections on Methodological Issues Roger Chickering Chapter 14. The First World War and Military Culture: Continuity and Change in Germany and Italy MacGregor Knox Chapter 15. A German Way of War? Narratives of German Militarism and Maratime Warfare in World War I Dirk Bonker Chapter 16. German War Crimes 1914/1941: The Question of Continuity Alan Kramer PART IV: THE GERMAN EMPIRE IN THE WORLD Chapter 17. From the Periphery to the Centre. On the Significance of Colonialism for the German Empire Birthe Kundrus Chapter 18. The Kaiserreich as a Society of Migration Thomas Mergel Chapter 19. Wilhelmine Nationalism in Global Contexts. Mobility, Race, and Global Consciousness Sebastian Conrad Chapter 20. Imperial Germany under Globalization Cornelius Torp Chapter 21. German Industry and American Big Business, 1900-1914 Volker Berghahn Selected Bibliography


The traditional way of teaching medicine and anaesthesia, consisting of daily clinical practice under the guidance of a tutor, has been effective over the years. However, the world of medicine has been changing, and the concept of learning with real patients with the potential of making mistakes is losing ground.1 There has been a recent paradigm shift in the way medicine and its different specialties are taught. Several factors explain this, including the changing role of patients who are no longer passive subjects unable to challenge decisions but have become independent individuals actively involved in their medical management with basic, although sometimes distorted, medical knowledge gained through the media and their access to different forms of information, mainly through the Internet. Moreover, patients are increasingly aware of the fact that medical students or "apprentices" as they are called colloquially, use them to practice on them what they learn in the classroom.1 Additionally, the medico-legal system, increasingly a part of medical practice, prompts patients to exercise their right to demand results and to file complaints when they are not satisfied or suffer a complication. This has created greater awareness among faculty members and particularly among undergraduate and graduate medical students of the lack of training in certain technical and clinical skills, and has also increased the fear of practicing on real patients with the possibility of making mistakes that may lead to serious harm and even death because of their lack of expertise, not to mention the ensuing malpractice lawsuits.2 Real patients are required at some point in medical education in order to help students refine their skills. However, there is always the moral obligation of providing optimal care and


Objective: Aims to compare effects of ultrasound combined transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (UltraTENS) and phonophoresis (PhP) in mildto moderate degree of symptomatic knee OA. Study design: A randomized double-blind, controlled comparative study. Setting: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University Subjects: Sixty-one patients (55 women and 6 men), ages 51 to 80 years (mean = 63.4±8.1), visual analog scale (VAS) of knee pain intensity ranged from 50-90 mm (mean=66.1) and Kellgren-Lawrence score of grade I-III, were randomly allocated into the Ultra TENs group and the PhP groups (n=31 and 30,


Plasmonic assisted photocatalysis has emerged in the past decade as an efficient, high‐performance methodology. Such a system is often composed of the dispersal of noble metal nanoparticles on a semiconductor. In this architecture, the application of light at the plasmon frequency allows the separation of charge at the Schottky interface between the metal and the semiconductor, which can be further used for efficient catalysis. Here, a one‐pot green bio‐synthesis of Ag antibacterial nanoparticles attached to AgCl crystals while embedded in a jellyfish‐based eco‐friendly scaffold, is reported. The synthesis utilizes the chemical reduction properties of mucin protein found in the Jellyfish biomass, and thus the resulting Ag@AgCl system is firmly bound to the scaffold, making this membrane very stable. The system's photocatalytic activity is investigated by decomposing methyl orange and full electromagnetic simulations.


Address for Correspondence: Dr. Priyadharshini. S, Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy, AlAzhar Medical College and Super speciality hospital, Ezhalloor, Thodupuzha, Idukki District, Kerala – 685605, India. E-Mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Background: The pattern of coronary arterial dominance varies in different populations. The knowledge of dominant pattern of coronary arteries has clinical significance. It is important in the interpretation of findings of cardiovascular diseases and in planning the treatment. Though right dominance is more prevalent, coronary artery disease is more common with those having left dominance circulation. Since adequate literature regarding coronary arterial dominance pattern and its variations in people living in and around Puducherry is not available, a study of coronary arteries in adult cadaveric hearts was undertaken. Aim and Objectives: To study the dominance pattern, variations, the external diameter and the level of termination of coronary arteries and their main branches. Materials and Methods: 50 human cadaveric hearts were studied by dissection. The origin of posterior interventricular artery was taken as the basis of dominance. The level of termination of the right coronary artery and the anterior interventricular artery was studied. The external diameter of the coronary arteries was measured using digital caliper. Variations in the coronary arteries and their branches were noted. Results: In this study the right, left and co dominance were found to be 84%, 8%, and 8% respectively. These results were compared with previous studies and discussed. Myocardial bridge was noted over the anterior interventricular artery in one heart. In one specimen a branch from both right coronary artery and circumflex artery unite to form the posterior interventricular artery. Conclusion: The majority of hearts are right dominant. The left dominance and co dominance are less common.


Copyright: © Author, This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial No Derives License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is noncommercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. Lamellidens corranius is a freshwater mussel. During spermatogenesis compact follicles, spermatogonia, spermatids, spermatocytes with mature follicles occurred during different stages were recognized. The experiment was conducted throughout the year, the animals were grouped into three, group a) Control animal, group b) Unilaterally cerebralectomized animal and group c) Bilaterally cereralectomized animals. A comparative study showed an abnormal growth in cerebralectomized animals as compared with control. Thus, cerebral ganglia accelerated the growth of gamete which was more pronounced in bilaterally cerebralectomized animals.


Objectives:The objectives of the study were to describe oral health behaviour of 6~7 years old schoolchildren and to assess the relative effect of socio-behavioural risk factors on oral health behaviour.Methods:Collected data from 1365 mothers with first grade student in Yichang city by highly structured questionnaires were analyzed.Results:About 40 per cent of the children brushed their teeth twice a day or more. Fluoridated toothpaste was used by 78% of the children. Nearly half of the children had seen a dentist during the last year. The results of logistic regression analyses indicated that children' brushing behaviour was mainly affected by mothers' brushing behaviour, children' dental visiting behaviour was mainly affected by mothers' dental visiting behaviour.Conclusions:We should emphasize oral heath education among mothers in order to promote oral health education and promotion programmes.


A thread trimming device for a sewing machine in which a movable knife coupled to a thread trimmer lever by way of a link mechanism is turned to cut sewing threads in cooperation with a fixed knife, the first projection of the thread trimmer lever engaging in the cam groove of a thread trimmer cam, comprises a thread trimmer positive motion bracket having a second projection capable of engaging in the positive motion cam groove of a thread trimmer positive motion cam so as to keep the engagement of the first projection with the cam groove after the second projection thereof engages the positive motion cam groove until it is disengaged therefrom. Since the time of completing the thread trimming can be set by the positive motion cam groove of the thread trimmer positive motion cam, the timing of the thread trimming can be adjusted with certainty. Furthermore, the operating time of the driving means can be remarkably reduced.


In recent years, the study of quantum effects near the event horizon of black hole (BH) has attracted extensive attention. It has become one of the important methods to explore BH quantum properties by using the related properties of the quantum deformed black hole. In this work, we study the effect of quantum deformed black hole on BH shadow in two-dimensional Dilaton gravity. In this model, quantum effects are reflected on the quantum correction parameter $m$. By calculation, we find that: (1) the shape of the shadow boundary of a rotating black hole is determined by the BH spin $a$, the quantum correction parameter $m$ and the BH type parameter $n$; (2) when the spin $a=0$, the shape of the BH shadow is a perfect circle; when $a\neq 0$, the shape is distorted; if the quantum correction parameter $m=0$, their shapes reduce to the cases of Schwarzschild BH and Kerr BH respectively; (3) the degree of distortion of the BH shadow is different for various quantum correction parameters $m$; with the increase of parameter $m$, the boundary of BH shadow expands; (4) the size of BH shadow varies greatly with different quantum deformed BHs ($n$), the change of BH shadow shape caused by parameter $n$ is similar to that caused by parameter $m$, which indicates that there is a ``degenerate phenomenon" between the two parameters. Since the value of $m$ in actual physics should be very small, the current observations of EHT cannot distinguish quantum effect from BH shadow. In future BH shadow measurements, it will be possible to distinguish quantum deformed BHs, which will help to better understand the quantum effects of BHs. Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. Article funded by SCOAP3 and published under licence by Chinese Physical Society and the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Science and the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and IOP Publishing Ltd


We thank Bess and Paradise, (1994)1 for bringing attention to some relevant issues related to universal newborn hearing screening. We note that their assertion that the effects of mild or moderate temporary hearing loss are "entirely speculative and perhaps nonexistent" may be somewhat overstated (see, for example, Teele, Klein, Chase, Menyuk, Rosner and associates, 1990).2
 The assertion that click-evoked auditory brainstem response (ABR) may be used "... primarily to detect high-frequency hearing loss" is not warranted and misleading.


This document describes the work undertaken for characterizing the flux non-linearity of the MIPS 70μm array. The effect, due to the change of rate of incident radiation on the detector, has been described in Gordon et al. (2007) and is typical of Ge:Ga photoconductors. The analysis has made use of MIPS calibration data aquired in Wide Field (WF), Narrow Field (NF) and Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) mode, and has attempted the characterization of this effect in terms of flux density as well as of surface brightness. Indications of a departure from a linear behaviour are present in both cases. The analysis shows that the NF measurements are less severely affected by a non-linear behaviour with respect to WF observations. In particular, the MIPS 70μm NF data of targets brighter than ∼ 2 Jy underestimate the true flux up to 20%, while WF measurements underestimate the true flux up to 50%. A functional form characterizing the non-linear behaviour of the NF and WF measurements is provided. We have also rederived the calibration factor for NF, before and after applying the non-linearity correction described above. For this purpose we make use of a data set of calibration stars which nearly doubles the sample in Gordon et al. (2007). The calibration factor obtained before correcting for non-linearity effects is consistent with Gordon et al. (2007). However, when non-linearity effects are taken into account, we show that the calibration factor is lower by ∼ 20%.


Summary The biogenic monoamines—serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline—were determined by fluorometric techniques in ganglia, gills and gonads of Argopecten purpuratus at different times after spawning. The temporal course of these amines was analyzed separately for the first 24 h and for the period when gonad was recovering from spawning and gametogenesis was proceeding. The levels of the three amines were always higher in ganglia than in gills or gonads. Noradrenaline was the least abundant in all the tissues analyzed. Serotonin and dopamine levels were always higher in the male gonadal portion than in the female portion. Neither of the amines changed their values in ganglia during the first day after spawning, but levels of noradrenaline in gills decreased significantly during this period. Except for noradrenaline in the male portion, the content of the three amines decreased significantly in the gonads during the first hours after spawning. During gonadal recovery, ganglionic levels of the three amines...


The light emitting diodes (LEDs) are ever more used, and their price is getting lower year on year. Although, exchanging traditional light sources for the LED lamps does not seem to be complicated, we need to remember to maintaining high–quality of light. One of the aspects we should be worry about is a light's flickering. Due to the shape of the current–voltage characteristics of the LED diode and their dependence on temperature, the value of the luminous flux – but also the lifetime – depends to a large extent on the stability of the supply voltage. Therefore, correct power system should be a thermally stable current source. Unfortunately, the simple power systems, equipped with passive filters are often used as cheap commercial solutions. In those types of systems stability of the output voltage is heavily dependent on the load conditions. Passive filters – usually consisting of coils and capacitors – are placed in the output circuit. This paper presents research carried out to show of filter capacitance influence on flickering phenomenon, and practical light's flickering measuring technique for the LED lamps.


According to the newly found historical materials, this paper "postpones" the terminal activity of "Nanshe" to five or seven years and at the same time expounds the thought and political dividing line then between Liu Yazi and Chen Qubing.


Taking a complicated part as an example,the cause and discipline of injection process parameters,including mould temperature,injection time,melt temperature,cooling time and packing pressure,on the warpage of the part were analyzed by means of software MOLDFLOW.The results showed the warpage increased with the rise of the temperature and decreased with the decrease of the injection time; the warpage would be the smaller when the packing pressure was 90% of the injection pressure; the melt temperature should be picked out by the characteristics of the plastics material; the effect of the cooling time on the warpage was not obvious.


FDA has approved once-daily indacaterol inhalation powder (Arcapta Neohaler, Novartis) 75 µg for the long-term maintenance bronchodilator treatment of airflow obstruction in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema. Arcapta is not indicated for acute deteriorations of COPD or to treat asthma.


Emerging concerns about competitiveness induce a growing number of firms to outsource their outbound transportation operations to 3PL service providers. The resulting increase in the number of actors often leads to sub-optimal supply chain actions due to the antagonistic nature of the economic objectives of the partners. With the aim of determining possible deviations from the optimal system performance in such supply chains, this study analyzes the contractual relation between a retailer and a 3PL service provider using game theoretical approaches. The partners of the studied supply chain play a Stackelberg game in which the retailer is the leader and the carrier is the follower. The retailer faces an uncertain demand and needs to supply his store from his warehouse. He has the option of not meeting all the demand but must satisfy at least a minimum percentage of the final demand. On the other hand, the carrier has to determine the number of trucks needed to satisfy this demand before uncertainty is resolved. Once demand is realized, if the reserved transportation capacity is insufficient, the carrier also has the possibility to requisition trucks at a higher price. The contract that is proposed with the aim of increaseing the efficiency of the supply chain has two parameters : the quantity of transported items and the number of trucks used. In our settings, the retailer is the one that submits the contract and the carrier decides if he accepts it or not. We compare this situation with a centralized model where a single decision maker takes all the decisions.


We report here on the results of our continuing effort to study the flame-retardant mechanism of silica gel and potassium carbonate. These additives reduce the flammability of a wide variety of common polymers such as polypropylene, nylon, polymethylmethacrylate, poly(vinyl alcohol), and cellulose. In an effort to determine how these additives reduce polymer flammability, we have used electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and solid-state 13C and 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to characterize the combustion chars or residues. These data indicate that, in the case of poly(vinyl alcohol), the additives do not change the type of char formed, but they do change the rate of char formation relative to the rate of fuel generation. We also found that, using only CP/MAS 13C NMR, there can be significant intensity distortions which complicate interpretation, if the char is hydrogen depleted and contains paramagnetic centres. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Summary.
1There is little or no justification for the modern theory that the feeding of Calanoid Copepodes is ether automatic or non-selective, nor is it in accordance with the work of Lebour and Marashall on the investigation of gut-contents.
2Nine species have been examined critically.
3The feeding of Calanus finmarchicus is neither automatic nor non-selective. It also diffes consideraly from that of D. castor.
4The movement of the antennae of Eurytemora velox has been investigated, chiefly 1 y ultra -rapid photograpy.
5Gurney's conclusion that the Centropagina are the more primitve group, and not the Calanina, is supported.
6The maxillae and maxillipeds of the Centropagina are in general raptorial, and not fitratory.
7The femals of Euchata norvegica feed almost entirely on Calannus finmarchicus.


The ray‐acoustic formulation developed previously for a thin elastic cylindrical shell [Felsen et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 87, 554–569 (1990)] is subject to extensive numerical tests for both on‐ and off‐surface sources, i.e., plane waves, which incidence may be normal or oblique to the axis of cylinder, and phased line sources located on or near the shell surface. The Fresnel transition function is employed to account for the saddle point‐near‐pole effect which arises when the incidence angle is close to the mode angle. As functions of frequency, the amplitude and phase of the pressure field are computed in the range of κa=2 to 50, where κ is the transverse component of the acoustic wavenumber and a is the shell radius, at particular observation angles; whereas the field pattern, parametrized by κa, is established along the azimuthal direction. The ray field agrees well with the reference solution (normal modes) in both cases. Furthermore, the constituent ray‐acoustic components, especially shell‐guided ...


ABSTRACT Transnationalism is central to our understanding of the impact and experiences of global migration. The paper by Levitt and de la Dehesa (2003) explores the policies and strategies of the sending state in relation to their emigrants and investigates the reasons for policy convergences and divergences. While the issues examined in the paper continue to be relevant there are other areas and methodological approaches that need to be developed and/or included in contemporary studies of sending state led transnationalism explored in this piece. These include the need for research to take a multi-level approach to include the different actors involved and their interactions; longitudinal analysis that examines the heterogeneous and complex nature of contemporary migration flows, the changing situations in sending and destination countries and among migrants and the need to incorporate the second and subsequent generations into research.


For the evaluation of insulation condition, it has been found that the higher sensitivity of partial discharge measurement must be achieved during the factory test. Generally, partial discharge measurement of less than few Pico Coulombs can be performed in a shield room. However, it is not an economical solution for manufacturers to provide the shield room at their own factories due to the high installation cost and the space allocation. In the paper, the economical system for partial discharge measurement of sub Pico Coulomb level will be explained in detail.


The purpose of this study is to test a model of trust in the organizational setting, incorporating hypotheses about the effect of culture on the trust process. It is predicted that subordinates' trust in their supervisors is a function of their perceptions of their supervisors' behavior and their own propensity to trust. In addition, subordinates' cultural orientation toward relationships moderates the relationship between their perceptions of their managers' trustworthiness and trust, and their orientation to human nature directly affects propensity to trust. These predictions are tested by using data collected with questionnaires completed by businesspeople in China (n=180), Norway (n=128) and the United States (n=203).


PURPOSE: A method for manufacturing high quality carbon nanotube by thermal chemical vapor deposition is provided to grow carbon nanotube with no deposition of amorphous carbon at low temperature, control growth of carbon nanotube and improve electron ejection efficiency. CONSTITUTION: The high quality carbon nanotube is manufactured by the following steps of: forming a metal(Mo or Cr) film, being able to blacken, on a substrate; forming a catalyst layer made a form of invar on the metal film by forming patterns on the metal film; blackening the metal film by oxidizing and etching the metal film with an acidic etchant; growing carbon nanotube on the catalyst layer through thermal chemical vapor deposition.


The optimal conditions for the preparation of maltotriose-conjugated chicken myofibrillar proteins (Mfs), exhibiting high solubility in low ionic strength medium, through the Maillard reaction were investigated using random-centroid optimization. Parameters of temperature, relative humidity (RH), reaction time, and maltotriose to chicken Mfs mixing ratio were examined, resulting in 13 vertices. Evaluations were carried out related to each individual vertex, and the optimal preparatory conditions resulting in the highest solubility were determined as follows: temperature of 53 °C, RH of 45 %, reaction time of 38.5 h, and maltotriose to chicken Mfs mixing ratio of 4.24 (w/w), presenting 54.9 ± 1.9 % solubility in low ionic strength medium. Its hydroxyl radical averting capacity showed 8.1 ± 0.4 μmol of gallic acid equivalent per gram of protein. The thermal gel-forming ability of chicken Mfs was retained by the maltotriose-conjugation.


A system which will provide real-time failure management support to the Space Station Freedom program is described. The system's use of a simplified form of model based reasoning qualifies it as an advanced automation system. However, it differs from most such systems in that it was designed from the outset to meet two sets of requirements. First, it must provide a useful increment to the fault management capabilities of the Johnson Space Center (JSC) Control Center Complex (CCC) Fault Detection Management system. Second, it must satisfy CCC operational environment constraints such as cost, computer resource requirements, verification, and validation, etc. The need to meet both requirement sets presents a much greater design challenge than would have been the case had functionality been the sole design consideration. The choice of technology, discussing aspects of that choice and the process for migrating it into the control center is overviewed.


The new generation of extremely large telescopes (ELTs) will have key advantages over today's 8-10m telescopes. They will collect more light due to their larger area: light-gathering power scales as the telescope diameter D2, so gains of a factor of ~10 or more are expected. Further, with adaptive optics performing at close to the diffraction limit, ELTs will have much higher point-source sensitivity. This is because for observations limited by background light from the sky, there will be less background included within a diffraction-limited area. Point-source sensitivity will improve at least as fast as D4, permitting gains of a factor of 70 - 100. We describe a few of the areas of astronomical science which stand to benefit from these huge performance improvements: 1) Direct imaging and spectroscopy of giant extrasolar planets, and of protoplanetary disks. 2) Resolved stellar populations and in particular the kinematics of stars close to the black hole at the Galactic Center, and 3) Properties of galaxies at redshifts from 1.5 to 7, to shed new light on the processes of galaxy assembly and evolution. These and other new science capabilities will enable ELTs to produce dramatic advances in astrophysical understanding.


This book explains the basic nature of globalization, how the programs of IMF and World Bank work, the use of slave labour and the injury, disease and abuse that come from unregulated work environments worldwide.


"Up out of the ancient garden of Sinbad's Baghdad and the nightmare of Saddam's Ba'athist dystopia grew the fiber-optic slums of tomorrowland, where shepherds on cell phones herded flocks down expressways and insurgents uploaded video beheadings, everything rising and falling as one, Hammurabi's Code and Xboxes, the wheel and the Web, Ur to Persepolis to Sykes-Picot to CNN, a ruin outside of time, a twenty-first-century cyberpunk war-machine interzone." Roy Scranton details in lucid and provoking prose the quotidien experiences for American soldiers in Baghdad, and the modern landscape of a city scarred by years of foreign intervention and war.


The preparation method of light zinc oxide from smithsonite was introduced.The effects of acid concentration,calcinations temperature,pH value of resolution were discussed.The process is to extract circularly the crushed smithsonite with acid,then purify the solution and react directly with carbonization mother solution.After calcinations,the sediments decompose into light zinc oxide.The product with high apparent specific volume and good activity accords to national standard.The production cost is low so this method has good economic benefits.


Over 1953/54 Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta independently discovered new types of catalyst. Thus it was able to produce synthetic cis-polyisoprene rubber which has same properties like natural rubber, since then the amount of consumption was increased rapidly. The problem of disposing of used rubbers has become acute in recent years. cis-Polyisoprene was degraded in supercritical tetrahydrofuran and degree of degradation and product were observed by GPC, FT-IR, GC-MS analyses. As a result, degradation of cis-polyisoprene had small dependency upon the operating pressure, and was inhibited in concentration increase. And cis-polyisoprene was degraded into narrow molecular weight distribution oligomer in 3 hours, and more than 10 organic compounds were produced.


The establishment of a computer database,in order to improve the quality and efficiency of computer processing has laid a solid foundation.However,due to the openness and diversity of computer networks,computer database security,network information security,not guaranteed.Therefore,the technical staff need to strengthen research and innovation in the computer database management technology,make full use of computer technology,network technology,information processing technolo gy,the advantages of building a computer database management system,in order to promote the efficiency of the computer infor mation management and processing,to ensure computer database safe,efficient development.This paper discussed the problems in the computer database management technology,and a brief analysis of the application of computer database management tech nology for technicians.


This study examined the effects of different drying methods on the chemical content, antioxidant, antibacterial, enzymatic and anticancer activity values of stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bert.) extract. Stevia leaves were dried using four different methods (in the sun, shade, air conditioner, and oven), and extracts were collected and analyzed. Based on extract content, 2-tetradecyl acrylate was the major ingredient in air-conditioned and oven-dried applications (25.00% and 21.47%, respectively). The same compound was detected in both sun-drying and shade-drying methods, but the content was low. The antioxidant activity values of the samples were evaluated with 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging tests.  While the best result for DPPH (IC50 value 57.94 ± 0.63 µg/mL) was found in the shade-dried stevia samples, the best result in terms of ABTS test (IC50 value 44.03 ± 1.22 µg/mL) ml) was detected in oven-dried. When the samples were examined in terms of antimicrobial activity, it was seen that extracts of all drying methods were effective against Staphylococcus aureus. However, it was determined that the extracts obtained from plants dried in air conditioning and oven had a stronger effect. The cell viability assay was utilized to assess the antiproliferative effects of extract on L929 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. The extracts did not significantly affect the L929 cell viability, while MDA-MB-231 remarkably reduced cell viability (sun drying, IC50 = 0.9 mg/mL; oven drying, IC50 = 0.65 mg/mL; shade drying, IC50 = 0.74 mg/mL; air conditioner drying, IC50 = 0.47 mg/mL). In particular, the extract obtained by the air conditioner drying method showed the most prominent cytotoxic effect. The results showed that drying using different methods had an impact on the quality standards of the stevia leaves.


UNLABELLED
The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the sensitivity and prognostic significance of whole-body (18)F-FDG PET for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients for whom there was a suspicion of recurrence or metastasis by conventional radiologic or clinical findings during their follow-up examinations.

METHODS
Whole-body (18)F-FDG PET examinations were performed on 64 Taiwanese NPC patients (14 female, 50 male; mean age +/- SD, 45.8 +/- 13.0 y; age range, 16-75 y) 4-70 mo (mean +/- SD, 14.1 +/- 13.5 mo) after radiotherapy or induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy from February 1997 to May 2001. The accuracy of (18)F-FDG PET detection for each patient was determined by the histopathologic results or other clinical evidence.

RESULTS
The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of (18)F-FDG PET images in the diagnosis of NPC recurrence or metastases and secondary primary cancers were 92%, 90%, 92%, 90%, and 91%, respectively. Furthermore, the presence of (18)F-FDG hypermetabolism was highly correlated with the survival time of NPC patients.

CONCLUSION
Whole-body (18)F-FDG PET is a sensitive follow-up diagnostic tool for the evaluation of NPC recurrences and metastases. It is also an effective prognostic indicator for NPC patients. To determine the optimized utilization of (18)F-FDG PET in the follow-up for NPC patients, further cost-effectiveness analysis of (18)F-FDG PET in combination with conventional management is necessary.