This comment shows that the "optimality" conditions in Assenza and Berardi (2009, JEDC) "Learning in a Credit Economy" imply that agents' "optimal" choices are either suboptimal or infeasible. It presents the correct optimality conditions and discusses the effect on the E-stability condition of the REE. In addition, the different dynamics under the two sets of conditions is illustrated by considering an unexpected productivity impulse. Finally, under heterogeneous learning rules, numerical simulations illustrate that bankruptcy on the part of the borrowers arises sooner as they track the economy faster.


Introduction/Hypothesis: Left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) was firstly focused as prognostic marker in patients with septic cardiomyopathy. However, no significant relationship between LV EF and patient outcome has been found, which might be due to the decrease in systemic vascular resistance in septic shock. We hypothesized that the non-linear relationship may exist between LV EF and the prognosis of patients and we tried to reveal the relationship. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated adult patients who were admitted in the intensive care unit and performed echocardiography within 7 days (median, 1 days [1-3]) from the diagnosis of septic shock. Patients who were previously diagnosed with structural heart disease were excluded. LV EF was divided into five categories: hyperdynamic ≥ 65%; normal ≥ 50%; mild dysfunction ≥ 40%; moderate dysfunction ≥ 30%; and severe dysfunction < 30%. Results: A total of 288 patients (70 ± 14 years) were included and 137 patients died. There were 102 patients with normal LV EF and 38 of them died. With normal LV EF patients as a reference, in-hospital mortality was significantly higher in patients with severe LV systolic dysfunction with hazard ratio (HR) of 2.66 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.41 – 5.02, p = 0.002). Patients with hyper-dynamic LV also showed greater in-hospital mortality than that of reference (HR 1.74, 95% CI 1.04 – 2.90. p = 0.032). The restricted cubic spline curve visualized J-curve relationship with significantly higher mortality in patients with lower EF < 40% and higher EF >60%. Conclusions: In hospital mortality of patients with septic shock was significantly greater in patients with severe LV systolic dysfunction and hyper-dynamic LV systolic function than in patients with normal LV EF and they showed J-curve relationship. LV EF provides significant information for predicting the prognosis of patients with septic shock.


In a breeding herd of sheep of the Salsk breed of the same type according to the main characteristics of wool productivity, an increase in the intensity of selection by live weight, shearing of wool does not adversely aff ect the change in each of these characteristics, which makes it possible to increase the effectiveness of breeding for them due to the wider use of the tandem selection system. It is most effective for increasing the shearing of wool.


Millimeter wave (mmWave) communications have been regarded as a fundamental enabling technology for future 5G Internet of Things (IoT) networks. This paper studies a hybrid transceiver design problem considering both perfect and imperfect channel state information to maximize the energy-efficiency (EE) of a mmWave multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) interference channel involving multiple hardware impaired IoT devices. Since the original hybrid transceiver design problem is intractable, we propose a low-complexity two-stage algorithm, both of which are proven to converge. In the first stage, we transform the multivariate problems into their univariate equivalents and exploit the well-known relationship between rate and mean squared error to solve them in an alternating fashion. In the second stage, using the results from stage one, we separate the joint transceiver optimization problems into hybrid precoders and combiners sub-problems and apply orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm to obtain the optimal solution for each sub-problem. Finally, through numerical simulations it is shown that the proposed hybrid algorithms achieve near-optimal EE performance to support power constrained IoT devices with lower complexity than univariate designs.


A black photosensitive polymer composition including black insulating pigment is provided to form an insulating film with excellent black color and favorable patterns by using black pigment ingredient consisting of organic insulating pigment such as perylene black. The photosensitive polymer composition generally includes pigment ingredient containing black pigment and optionally organic red pigment and blue pigment. The pigment ingredient consists of insulating organic pigment. The black pigment is perylene black. The composition is used to form a film having dielectric coefficient of less than 7 and optical density of more than 1 per 1 micrometer of thickness. The composition further includes photo-polymeric compound, photo-polymerization initiator and solvent. Amount of the pigment ingredient ranges from 20 to 250wt.%, based on total weight of a mixture of the photo-polymeric compound, the initiator and the solvent. The composition is used to fabricate a black matrix.


The implementation of education policies which have been prescribed at all levels should be in line with the National Philosophy of Education (NPE). However, most of the issues debated and practiced in Malaysian Higher Learning Institutions (HEI) usually were not directly associated with National Philosophy of Education. University student, for instance, should be able to relate the effective learning outcome with NPE as it had guide towards that. Student's efforts and contributions were really needed to improve on learning outcome with the implementation of NPE. Therefore this study was carried out that involve students in selected public universities in Malaysia and being operated on sample by using self administered questionnaire which will be circulated in residential colleges. This study focused on the effect of NPE elements implementation in public universities in Malaysia. 80 students from various faculties have been identified as sample by using purposive sampling method. The findings of the study revealed that almost all respondents (86%) had good and very good knowledge level of the NPE respectively. The findings carried out also showed that all NPE's elements that had been identified suitable to be applied in public university's context were successfully achieved in students' perspective with an average rating of more than 3.5 in an increasing 1-5 scale measured (least to most). Qualitative data also been obtained to support the level of knowledge and student's perception of NPE's achievement. This qualitative data is in the form of stating the strength and weakness in achieving NPE.


Backgrounds: Theobroma cacao L. (cocoa) is one of the leading commodities found in Indonesia. Cocoa pod husk has many bioactive compounds with antinociceptive properties. One of the targets in treating pain, especially painful diabetic neuropathy, is the transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1).

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the activity of active compounds from cocoa pod husk extracts against TRPV1 and their toxicity.

Methods: Molecular docking was used to predict the activity of the test ligands, and the results were analysed with Molegro Virtual Docker 6.0. The TRPV 1 structure was taken from the Protein Data Bank (ID: 5IS0), with capsazepine as a native ligand. The toxicity prediction was evaluated using pkCSM.

Results: The results showed that the active chemical compounds from cocoa pod husks with the strongest affinity for TRPV1 were phlorofucofuroeckol-A (-95.7785 ± 1.868), catechins (-92.6868 ± 2.681), 7-phloroeckol (-91.9788 ± 0.356), and resveratrol (-91.1921 ± 0.579), and the safest compounds were catechins, resveratrol, and 7-phloroeckol.

Conclusion: Catechins, resveratrol, and 7-phloroeckol from cacao pod husks are safe and potential therapy for diabetic neuropathy.


The driving competence conception furnished in this paper facilitates the assessment of the applicants endeavoring for a road test in a proficient manner which is in contrast with the conventional analysis technique existing in the present world. The non — automotive assessment suffers various drawbacks of enormous time consumption and the scrutinizer's practicality in conducting the analysis. It deals with the process of checking the various parameters of license test which includes over speed and vehicle halt in case of two wheelers and an additional reverse checking and gear changing in case of four wheelers. This conceptualization is achieved by interfacing PIC with IOT which stores the car's newly generated identical RFID tag and updates the test results after the parameter checking is done. This mainly emphasizes on the decrease in the number of road accidents which occurs mainly due to improper driving ability and hence contributing a good deed to our society and making a corruption free country.


Chronical cardiovascular decreases such as hypertension requires real-time and continuous monitoring of blood pressures (BPs). Pulse wave that contains critical and ample information on cardiovascular dynamics is a direct vital sign to extract blood pressure and therefore an epidermal wearable device enabling real-time acquisition of pulse waves becomes necessary. In this work, we propose and study a flexible pulse wave sensory array aiming for real-time wearable pulse wave acquisition with robustness. A piezoelectric sensor together with a thin-film transistor-based sensor interface circuit is used to detect multiple pulse waveforms at the location of radial artery, which are input to a convolutional neural network (CNN) for a deep-learning BP estimation model training. The estimated BPs are assessed by a correlation study with the BPs measured by conventional sphygmomanometers. Our study shows a reasonable accuracy of mean deviation (MD) and standard deviation (STD) of 2.84±7.53 mmHg for systolic BP (SBP) and 0.88±7.06 mmHg for diastolic BP (DBP).


PFIC3 (Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis type 3) is an inherited cholestatic disorder caused by mutations in the ABCB4 gene encoding the Multidrug Resistance Protein 3 (MDR3) protein.1 PFIC3 typically presents during infancy or early childhood, often progressing to chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, requiring liver transplantation.2 Since the clinical features of PFIC3 overlap with many other forms of liver disease in childhood, definitive diagnosis may be problematic or delayed. Here we report two patients, ultimately diagnosed with PFIC3, who initially presented with liver histological features including marked hepatic copper accretion that were considered indicative of Wilson Disease (WD).


A present invention provides a pitch controller and a system of the wind power generator. A pitch control device according to the invention, a generator comparator for calculating an error signal based on the difference between the generator reference signal and the generator measurement signal due to the operation of the wind power generation system, the reference using the error signal pitch for calculating the reference pitch value calculation unit that calculates a pitch value, a compensation pitch value calculation unit that calculates a compensation pitch value using the error value of the wind power generation system, the reference pitch value, the pitch value using the compensation pitch value includes a value calculation unit, the error value, the error voltage value of the DC capacitor included in the power converter of the wind power generation system, the error voltage value of the system interconnection point of the wind power generation system, the error of the rotor of the wind power generation system rate value, characterized in that any one of the error frequency value of the system interconnection point of the wind power generation system.


Antibodies to erythrocyte antigens can be observed in some recipients following haematopoietic stem cell or solid organ transplantation. This is most commonly due to a primary immune response after transfusion of red blood cells (RBC), although in some cases it may depend on the passenger lymphocyte syndrome in which donor's viable B lymphocytes, transferred with the graft, become responsive to the recipient's or transfused RBC antigens and produce antibodies to these antigens. Moreover a secondary immune response can be observed in individuals sensitised by previous transfusions or pregnancies and later re-exposed to the same foreign antigens1–3.

Liver transplantation has been notoriously considered as a potential challenge for the transfusion service as the need for blood components may be substantial, although improvements in surgical techniques, anaesthesia and organ preservation have sharply reduced overall transfusion requirements and systems of intraoperative blood salvage and autologous blood transfusion have significantly reduced the need for allogeneic blood components.

Here we report an unusual case of red cell alloimmunisation, with production of two different RBC antibodies, following liver transplantation in a patient transfused exclusively with one apheresis platelet concentrate during transplantation.


A definition concerning the spanning subgraphs is given.Theorems of constructing and enumerating the spanning trees are proved.The methods of enumerating and comstructing the spanning trees are proposed.The enumeration and construction of cyclic spanning subgraphs and acyclic spanning trees in the complete graphs of odd order K_5,K_7 are presented.


ChemSpec Europe fine chemicals exhibition headed back to Amsterdam. This article reports on some of the new products and services that were highlighted at this year's show.


Isozyme tests were used to examine the genetic structure of six populations (
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\end{document} individuals) of the two willow species in Israel, Salix alba and Salix acmophylla. The 14 enzymes revealed 23 putative loci, of which 15 were polymorphic. Sexually dimorphic populations (females and males) and monomorphic ones (all female) were tested in these two species, with the following results: (1) The two sexually dimorphic S. alba populations were the most variable in isozymes. (2) The all‐female population of this species had lower genetic diversity. The three tested S. alba populations are part of S. alba's continuous geographical distribution in the Upper Jordan Valley in Israel. Apparently, genetic variability is maintained in this area and, to some degree, also in the all‐female stand. (3) However, the sexually dimorphic S. acmophylla population showed lower isozyme diversity than the S. alba populations, probably because S. acmophylla populations in Israel tend to be smaller and more isolated than those of S. alba. (4) The two all‐female populations of S. acmophylla showed no variability at all; i.e., all 23 loci were monomorphic, indicating that each of these two populations are a single clone. The biased sex ratios, together with the relatively low values of genetic diversity and heterozygosity indicate a possible genetic drift, strong sib‐mating, and vegetative propagation in these willow populations.


A survey of 350 communication scholars internationally shows that, while scholars are increasingly aware of fair use and when aware of it benefit from the existence of the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Communication Scholarship which they created, they continue to suffer from confusion and ignorance about how to apply this feature of copyright law that is crucial to their work. Most are not aware of the Code, although those who use it report success. The survey results point to the need for discipline-wide education and application of the code's affordances for institutional reform.


A mechanistic approach to fatigue characterization of asphalt-aggregate mixtures is presented in this paper. This approach is founded on a uniaxial viscoelastic constitutive model that accounts for damage evolution under cyclic loading conditions. The elastic-viscoelastic correspondence principle is applied in order to evaluate damage growth and healing in cyclic loading separately from time-dependent characteristics of the material. The damage growth during loading cycles and healing during rest periods are modeled using the work potential theory, a continuum damage theory based on thermodynamics of an irreversible process. Internal state variable formulation was used in developing the analytical representation of the model. Tensile uniaxial fatigue tests were performed under the controlled-strain mode with different strain amplitudes to determine model parameters. The resulting constitutive model successfully predicts the damage growth of asphalt concrete under monotonic loading of varying strain rates and damage growth and recovery due to complex loading histories, in both controlled-strain and controlled-stress modes, composed of randomly applied multi-level loading with different loading rates and varying durations of rest. Fatigue lives of two different mixtures are predicted with a reasonable accuracy using the constitutive model for the constant stress/strain amplitude cyclic loading histories with and without rest periods. Recommendations are made on how the resulting constitutive model can be used for practical fatigue performance prediction of asphalt concrete. Some discussions are given on the relationships between chemical properties of asphalt binder and beneficial effects of rest periods on fatigue performance.


This report presents findings from a 1993 survey of 200 Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) from two Davao provinces and two Lanao Provinces in the Philippines. Premised on the belief that the BHWs are important in improving the delivery of health and family planning (FP) services in the countryside, the study examined the factors that affect the performance of these health workers. The study is basically descriptive in nature, with the view to diagnosing problems in the implementation and functioning of the program and suggesting appropriate solutions. The survey method was utilized as a main data collection tool. Beside the survey of volunteer workers, 300 clients were also interviewed to solicit their responses to questions regarding the performance of their BHWs. Focus group discussions were conducted to delve into issues identified in the quantitative analysis that needed further probing. Data in this report show that BHWs provide indispensable services to their communities.


Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of board diversity (e.g. nationality, gender and educational level) on financial performance for a sample of banks listed in 11 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses the system generalized method of moments estimation approach on the data of banks listed in the MENA countries over the period 2011–2018 to investigate the relationship between board diversity and financial performance. Also, the findings are supported by additional robustness tests, including ordinary least squares, fixed and random effect techniques.

Findings
The empirical results show that there is a significant relationship between board diversity and financial performance in banks. Specifically, the findings demonstrate that board diversity related to nationality has a significant positive impact on bank performance. The findings also show an insignificant association between gender and educational level diversity and bank performance. The robustness analysis supports the findings of the baseline model.

Practical implications
The study provides multi-country evidence on the importance of board diversity in the MENA region and it sheds light on possible tracks for future reforms aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of the board's functions.

Originality/value
This paper extends the existing literature by providing empirical evidence on the association between board diversity and financial performance of banks in the MENA countries. This paper also provides preliminary evidence on the importance of board diversity to influence financial performance.


The European Community Directive for good clinical practice (GCP) was introduced as a requirement of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in Poland in January 1993. The Central Register of Clinical Trials (CRCT) was established 16 months later. Since then, the CRCT had to be notified of all studies involving patients according to established rules. New requirements and procedures made the system transparent and it was generally accepted by sponsors. The approval time was shortened from unpredictable to 42 calendar days. Therefore, the number of studies, including multinational ones, increased. The CRCT was notified about more than 300 clinical trials covering numerous areas of medical research during the covered period of time (23 months). They were organized and supervised by local and foreign companies and contract research organizations. The quality of local clinical research improved substantially due to additional GCP training and consulting activities. Recently, the attempt to unify ethics committees' requirements and transparency of their work was undertaken. Moreover, in the near future regulatory GCP inspection should be implemented


The 2018 edition of the Sámi festival Márkomeannu elaborated a narrative about the future of both the environment and society by articulating fears of an oncoming apocalypse and hopes for Indigenous Sámi futures through a concept presented to festivalgoers via site-specific scenography, visual narratives, and performances. This essay, addressing the festival as a site of artistic activism, reveals the conceptual bases and cultural significance of the festival-plot in relation to Indigenous Sámi cosmologies, the past and the possible future(s) in our time marked by escalating climate change. I argue that Márkomeannu-2018, providing a narrative about the future in which, amidst the Western societies' dystopic colonial implosion, Indigenous people thrive, can be regarded as an expression of Indigenous Futurism. Counterpointing 19th-century theories predicting the imminent vanishing of Indigenous peoples while positioning the Sámi as modern Indigenous peoples with both a past and a future, this narrative constitutes an act of empowerment. Sámi history and intangible cultural heritage constituted repositories of meaning whereas a folktale constituted a framework for the festival-plot while providing an allegorical tool to read the present.


The demand for cotton fibres is increasing due to growing global population while its production is facing challenges from an unpredictable rise in temperature owing to rapidly changing climatic conditions. High temperature stress is a major stumbling block relative to agricultural production around the world. Therefore, the development of thermo-stable cotton cultivars is gaining popularity. Understanding the effects of heat stress on various stages of plant growth and development and its tolerance mechanism is a prerequisite for initiating cotton breeding programs to sustain lint yield without compromising its quality under high temperature stress conditions. Thus, cotton breeders should consider all possible options, such as developing superior cultivars through traditional breeding, utilizing molecular markers and transgenic technologies, or using genome editing techniques to obtain desired features. Therefore, this review article discusses the likely effects of heat stress on cotton plants, tolerance mechanisms, and possible breeding strategies.


Studies were made on deflection yoke cores of television sets concerning sweep power, magnetic properties, and shape effects. It was found that the sweep power varied inversely with the permeability of the cores, and that cores with a permeability over 200 were considered to be practical for deflection yoke cores of television sets. The maximum magnetic flux density in a core was about 500 gauss. The sweep current was proportional to the taper angle of tapered cores. A new equation was derived considering the permeability and the dimensions of cores. The calculated values almost agree with the experimental values if the proportional coefficients are determined experimentally. Experimental curves may be found in the 1972 INTERMAG Digest Book.


The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Severe Sepsis/Septic Shock Early Management Bundle (SEP-1) quality measure was introduced in 2015.


In this paper we address the problem of visual navigation of a mobile robot which simultaneously obtains metric localization and scene reconstruction using homographies. Initially, the robot is guided by a human and some scenes during the trip are stored from known reference locations. The interest of this paper consist in the possibility of getting real and precise data of the robot motion and the scene, which presents some advantages over other existing approaches. For example, it allows the robot to carry out other trajectories than the executed during the teaching phase. We show an extensive analysis of the output in presence of errors in some of the inputs.


Viewed of the fiber labeling problem in the production of bamboo pulp fiber and viscose fiber,the urgency of their identification has been raised.In this paper,some methods for the identification have been comprehensively discussed.For the microstructure morphology,there are some differences between bamboo pulp fiber and viscose fiber both on longitudinal and cross section.About lignin content,there is a little bit lignin contained in bamboo pulp fiber more or less whilst it is almost zero in viscose fiber.Their combustion property and thermodynamic properties as well as crystallinity and infrared spectroscopy are also different more or less.This performance index can provide evidences for the identification of them.


The problem of achieving a prescribed bound on the induced /spl Lscr//sub 2/-norm of the operator relating the exogenous disturbances with the objective signal is considered for linear time-varying systems with delayed measurements and a norm-bounded parameter uncertainty. A robust controller is derived which satisfies the required /spl Hscr//sub /spl infin// level over the whole uncertainty range.


Technology is being developed for a hydrocarbon-fueled engine operating as a scramjet over the flight Mach number range from 5.6 to 7. A series of connected-pipe tests were performed to define scramjet combustor design criteria applicable to the United Technologies Research Center (UTRC) engine concept which comprises a pair of modular axisymmetric combustor underslung on a supersonic/hypersonic missile. The development of key pilot and fuel injector components of the combustor is pursued in a variable-geometry two-dimensional test section over a range of combustor entrance conditions simulating the intended flight regime. The applicability of the two-dimensional test results to the axisymmetric engine is ensured by maintaining a proper simulation of combustor entrance conditions and preserving the actual length scale in the two-dimensional test configuration. An air-breathing pilot was developed and tested to evaluate flame stabilization and flame propagation characteristics. A pilot configuration was developed that operated stably, with minimal flow spillage, at exhaust stagnation temperatures as high as 4500 R with ethylene fuel. It was demonstrated that the pilot promotes efficient combustion of either gaseous ethylene or preheated liquid Jet-A (JP-5) when they are injected into the supersonic mainstream flow as primary fuels. For the tests with Jet-A fuel, the fuel was heated in an array of internal cooling passages within the pilot walls to a thermodynamic condition such that it would flash-vaporize upon injection into the mainstream flow. The idea of using the air-breathing pilot and distributed primary and secondary fuel injectors to achieve efficient supersonic combustion over a wide range of equivalence ratios was also experimentally demonstrated during the program. During staged fuel injection tests with gaseous ethylene fuel, high secondary fuel combustion efficiencies were achieved and smooth transitions from fully supersonic to dual mode (supersonic/subsonic) operation were demonstrated at high overall equivalence ratios.


Aim. In our present work, we have analyzed the influence of adhesion proteins — catenins on the proliferation of neonatal cardiomyocytes, under there cardiac-specific knockout. Methods. The studies were conducted using mice with a conditional knockout of the β-catenin gene (β-catflox/flox); αE-catenin (αE-catflox/flox) and transgenic animals which express the Crerecombinase under the control of the heavy chain promoter of α-myosin ((αMHC) -Cre). Results. The cardiac ablation of the β-catenin gene results in lower cell proliferation and decreased myocardial size, whereas the knockout of αE-catenin, increased proliferation as well as the size of the newborn heart. Conclusions. Intercellular adhesion genes — β-catenin and αE-catenins have not only an important structural function in maintaining of the myocardium tissue structure, but also involved in controlling of the proliferation, size of neonatal cardiomyocytes and newborn heart. Keywords: β-catenin, αE-catenin, cardiomyocytes, proliferation.


Many interesting and important problems have presented themselves to clinicians and pathologists, who have appreciated the frequency of ectopic endometrium-like tissue in the pelvis and have had an opportunity to observe the various lesions in the ovaries and other pelvic structures resulting from this tissue. One of the most interesting problems is the source of these implantation-like lesions occurring on the surface of the various pelvic structures. Are they true implantations derived primarily from uterine or tubal epithelium escaping through the tubes into the peritoneal cavity, as the study of many of these lesions in human beings indicates 1 and as Jacobson, 2 in the autotransplantation of endometrial tissue in rabbits, has experimentally proved possible, or are they derived from scattered localized metaplasias of the serosal mesothelium or from developmental inclusions of portions of the Wolffian body or Mullerian duct? This problem has not yet been definitely solved to the


Present meta‐analysis investigates the effects of phytosterols and phytostanol (PS) supplementation on anthropometric indices, using data from randomized controlled trials. We performed a systematic search in the databases: PubMed, Scopus, Cochran, and Web of Science. Weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were presented. Overall, 79 randomized controlled trials investigated the effects of PS on anthropometric indices. Meta‐analysis results did not reveal any significant effect of PS supplementation on weight (66 trials‐WMD: −0.083 kg; CI [−0.233, 0.066]; I2 = 42.5%), percentage fat mass (6 trials‐WMD: −0.090%; CI [−0.789, 0.610]; I2 = 0.0%), and waist circumference (WC; 5 trials‐WMD: −0.039 cm; CI [−0.452, 0.374]; I2 = 0.0%). However, body mass index (BMI) significantly decreased after PS supplementation (39 trials‐WMD: −0.063 kg/m2, p = 0.024, I2 = 25.1%). Subgroup analyses showed that PS supplementation in subjects with baseline BMI ≥25 and hyperlipidemic significantly decreased body weight and BMI. The overall results showed that although PS supplementation did not affect anthropometric indices (except BMI), baseline status regarding BMI and hyperlipidemia and also dose and duration could be contributing factors for favorable effects.


A tournament is an oriented complete graph. The feedback arc set problem for tournaments is the optimization problem of determining the minimum possible number of edges of a given input tournament T whose reversal makes T acyclic. Ailon, Charikar, and Newman showed that this problem is NP-hard under randomized reductions. Here we show that it is in fact NP-hard. This settles a conjecture of Bang-Jensen and Thomassen.


It is frequent to face estimation problems when dealing with mineral deposits involving multiple correlated variables. The resulting model is expected to reproduce data correlation. However, is not guaranteed that the correlation observed among data will be reproduced by the model, if the variables are estimated independently, and this correlation is not explicitly taken into account. The adequate geostatistical approach to address this estimation problem is co-kriging which requires cross and direct covariance modeling of all variables, satisfying the LMC. An alternative is to decorrelate the variables and estimate each independently, using for instance, the minimum/maximum autocorrelation factors (MAF) approach, which uses a linear transformation on the correlated variables, transforming them to a new uncorrelated set. The transformed data can be estimated through kriging. Afterwards, the estimates are back-transformed to the original data space. The methodology is illustrated in a case study where three correlated variables are estimated using the MAF method combined with kriging and through co-kriging, used as a benchmark. The results show less than a 2% deviation between both methodologies.


ABSTRACT This study investigates how the age of industrial parks may affect their tenants' performance, to find ways to enhance the positive effects of industrial parks and the efficiency of their regeneration. We identify a relationship between the parks' age and tenants' performance. Further, we estimate changes in tenant performance against the age of the park. The analysis is based on firm-level data of 1812 small- and medium-sized manufacturing firms with only one factory in any given industrial park in 2016. The important findings that can be drawn from our study are as follows. First, the relationship between the park's age and patent applications filed by tenants (the proxy of firm performance) follows a U-shape. Firms located in very new or longer established parks have more patents. Second, the relationship between the age of the park and tenants' sales follows an inverted U-shape. Firms in middle-aged parks show higher sales per worker. Finally, firms that have just moved into the park or young firms moving into the park perform better. We suggest that a government body should create different approaches for improving innovation and management performance to regenerate industrial parks.


Introduction Lumbar interbody fusion procedures have the surgical goal to correct segmental deformations, and to provide mechanical stability in order to obtain a solid spinal fusion. However, the success of lumbar interbody fusion (LIF) is limited by the mechanical and biological deficiencies of the material being used. Interbody cage devices provide immediate stability to the spinal segment, but also -especially metal interbody cagesconsiderably exceed the stiffness of the spinal segment. Consequently, non-union, stress shielding, and migration of the cage still present a problem in LIF. In order to avoid these complications, an interbody poly-L-lactide (PLLA) cage was designed with limited stiffness compared to current interbody cages. Due to this reduced stiffness, it can be argued, the mechanical stimulation of the bone in the fusion area will increase, thereby decreasing fusion time. Also, the cage perforates the endplates in order to enhance access of cells and relevant biochemical elements from the bone marrow. Biomechanical testing in an in-vitro model disclosed that the PLLA cage stacked with compacted bone graft and perforating the endplates, was mechanically stronger than the vertebrae themselves, which means that the construction of an interbody cage placed through the endplates is mechanically sufficient, at least directly postoperatively. The purpose of this experimental animal study was to assess the effect of the stiffness of an interbody cage on the fusion rate and the subsidence of spinal segments.


Proinflammatory mechanisms may contribute to hyperglycemia-associated adverse outcomes in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (1–3). Insulin exerts anti-inflammatory effects in ST elevation myocardial infarction and coronary artery bypass graft patients (4–6). Inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and thrombosis (7,8). Thus, insulin infusion in AMI should be beneficial. However, glucose, insulin, and potassium (GIK) infusion was neutral in its benefit in the Clinical Trial of Metabolic Modulation in Acute Myocardial Infarction Treatment Evaluation–Estudios Cardiologicos Latinoamerica (CREATE-ECLA) study (9).

The GIK regimen (fixed combination of 1 l of 25% dextrose with 50 units regular insulin and 80 meq/l potassium) used in CREATE-ECLA is known to lower serum free fatty acid concentrations (10) and to reduce mortality by 18% in AMI, as previously reviewed (11). However, the infusion of 30 g/h glucose without titration of glucose or insulin in CREATE-ECLA led to a significant increase in blood glucose concentrations. Mehta et al. suggested that the adverse effect of GIK-induced hyperglycemia may have neutralized any potential benefit of insulin in the GIK regimen. However, Mehta et al. did not comment on the magnitude of the potential contribution of hyperglycemia to neutralize benefits of GIK. Since admission hyperglycemia was predictive of mortality in AMI in CREATE-ECLA, we have estimated the potential effects of GIK-induced hyperglycemia on mortality in this study.

Based on the admission blood …


A portable sag viewer mainly comprises a telescope and a high-intensity laser transmitter, wherein telescope is connected with the high-intensity laser transmitter via a support bracket; a sight direction of the telescope is the same as a transmission direction of the high-intensity laser transmitter; the support bracket or the telescope or the high-intensity laser transmitter is connected with a base frame connected with a tower material; and high-strength magnetic steel or a fixing block capable of being fixed on the tower material is arranged on the base frame. The viewer has the characteristics that the viewer is simple in structure, convenient and reliable to use, small in size, light in weight, convenient to carry, mount and dismount, free from influence of severe weather such as haze, high in precision, and a sag is observed clearly.


Compensation objectives in three-phase asymmetrical systems with non-sinusoidal voltages and currents, from the perspective of the loading and/or supply quality improvement, are discussed and classified. Fundamentals of generation of the reference signal for shunt switching compensator (SSC) control with the Currents' Physical Components (CPC) power theory are also presented. The CPC enables to fit the control algorithms to various objectives of Compensation and to the load properties. This is because the CPC power theory, being founded on power phenomena in electrical systems, provides clear insight into power properties of electrical loads. In spite of the fact that the CPC power theory represents a frequency-domain approach to the identification of the power properties, the CPC-based algorithms are not very computationally demanding and make a quasi-instantaneous control of switching compensators possible.


The human meniscus is important for normal knee function and
distributes loads, aids in joint lubrication, congruence, stability,
and proprioception. Repair of appropriate meniscal tears is possible
and several methods exist to accomplish this. Clinical evidence
suggests that meniscal repairs can result in acceptable healing rates.
Herewith we presen the techniques of "outside-in" whic we use for
menisceal sutturing.


Energy metabolism and physical performance are dependent on sufficient iron metabolism. Therefore, studies evaluating the iron profile are necessary to elucidate this trace mineral requirements and its role in the equine exercise physiology. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of barrel racing exercise on serum iron profile of Quarter Horses. Twenty-two regularly trained Quarter Horses (8 females and 14 males, 4.8 ± 2.4 years old, mean body weight 431.7 ± 33.9 kg) were enrolled in this study with the owner's informed consent. All horses were evaluated at T0 (at rest), T1 (immediately after barrel racing trial), T2 (30 min after trial) and T3 (2 h after trial). At these time points, blood samples were taken to determine the packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell count (RBC), haemoglobin concentration (Hb), total protein (TP), serum iron (SI), total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) and transferrin saturation (TSAT). Variables were analyzed for normality through Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and comparisons were made using Tukey test, considering P < 0.05. The imposed exercise challenge significantly altered PCV, RBC, haemoglobin concentration, TP, SI and TSAT, with higher values were recorded at T1. These findings can be linked to an increased demand as a result of physical activity. Significant changes occurred in the iron status in physically well-conditioned Quarter Horses during the barrel racing exercise. Better understanding of iron metabolism in horses will help determine the actual necessity of supplementation. Equines, haematology, physical activity During exercise, electrolytes are involved in several physiological processes (Assenza et al. 2014). In particularly, iron is an essential structural component of haemoglobin (Jackson 1997; Assenza et al. 2014), myoglobin, cytochrome, catalase and peroxidase, and other enzymes involved in energy-generating oxidative processes (Walker et al. 2001; Inoue et al. 2005). Athletic horses have a higher requirement for iron compared to sedentary horses due to a greater synthesis of haemoglobin and myoglobin, and sweat loss (Jackson 1997). Recent study has shown that energy metabolism and physical performance are dependent on sufficient iron metabolism (Buratti et al. 2015). Generally, iron is the first trace mineral considered by a large majority of trainers and veterinarians in terms of supplementation for racing horses, based on human studies (Carlson 1994). Although rare in horses (Assenza et al. 2016a), iron depletion could lead to a decreased maximum oxygen uptake and reduced capacity of muscles to use oxygen for oxidative production of energy (Portal et al. 2003). However, the optimum level of iron availability in the athletic performance and an athlete's ability to train is still uncertain (Buratti et al. 2015), which shows the importance of evaluating the iron status in athletes. Usually, the assessment of iron status includes the determination of the packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin concentration (Hb) and other indices of the red blood ACTA VET. BRNO 2018, 87: 109-114; https://doi.org/10.2754/avb201887020109 Address for correspondence: Clarisse S. Coelho DEAPAC, EMEVZ, UFBA Avenida Adhemar de Barros, 500 – Ondina Salvador-BA, CEP: 40170-110, Brazil Phone: +55 71 999 452 864 Email: email@example.com http://actavet.vfu.cz/ cell count (RBC), but more recently, it also can be evaluated through serum iron (SI), iron storage ferritin, transferrin saturation (TSAT) and serum haptoglobin (Wordwood 1997; Assenza et al. 2016a,b). Some studies have already been performed on athletic horses (Mills et al. 1996; Hyyppä et al. 2002; Inoue et al. 2005; Minini et al. 2013; Abramovitc et al. 2014; Assenza et al. 2016a,b; Piccione et al. 2017), but information regarding the iron metabolism for 3-barrel racing horses managed in hard weather is limited. This special equine discipline is considered a short-term exercise in which the horse expends the maximum anaerobic effort for less than two minutes. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the acute responses to the 3-barrel racing exercise in PCV, RBC, Hb, total protein, SI, total ironbinding capacity (TIBC) and TSAT in Quarter Horses under tropical conditions. These findings will contribute to a better understanding of the adjustments made by this particular type of exercise regarding iron metabolism, which is crucial to ensure proper management, and contribute to improving the performance and wellbeing of barrel horses working in hard weather. Materials and Methods This research project was approved by the Ethics, Bioethics and Animal Welfare Committee at the University Vila Velha (CEUA UVV-ES), and recorded under the number 318/2014, approved on July 2nd 2014. Twenty-two Quarter Horses were used, 8 females and 14 males, with a mean weight of 431.7 ± 33.9 kg and between 3 and 10 years of age (mean age 4.8 ± 2.4 years), all considered healthy in previous physical examinations and blood work. These animals belong to three farms located in Espirito Santo, Brazil (LAT-20.654198, LONG40.498702). All horses underwent same food and health management. Their diet consisted of Tifton sp. hay and inorganic mineral salt (Essencefós, Nutrimentos Presence, Paulínia, SP, Brazil; containing 2,500 mg of iron/kg of product) ad libitum and commercial feed (1.2 kg/100 kg body weight DoEqui TopQuality, Nutriave Alimentos, Viana, ES, Brazil; with 12% crude protein, 3,500 kcal energy, containing 75 mg of iron/kg of product), divided into three rations daily. Water was always available. All horses had been performing physical exercises and training for at least six months. This training consisted of 45–60 min of daily exercise, six days/week, divided between warm-ups and performance of the courses at a trot and canter. The horses performed a 3-barrel racing test, which consists in navigating three barrels distributed along the course in the shortest time possible. The barrels were distributed in a triangular shape, with a distance of 27.5 m between the first and second barrel, and a distance of 32 m from the third to the other barrels. Physical activities were performed between 6:00 h and 11:00 h from November to March. Animals were evaluated for three days, seven animals per day and eight on the last day, with local mean temperature records of 29.5 °C and mean relative humidity of 67.8%, typical of tropical regions. The sand arena was dry during all evaluation days. Three riders with a mean weight of 80 kg and a mean height of 1.85 m were used. During the exercise, horses used a heart monitor with GPS (RS800CX-G3, Polar Electro, Lake Success, NY, USA) in order to record medium HR (HRmed), maximum HR (HRmax), mean velocity (Vmed), maximum velocity (Vmax) and duration of exercise achieved by each animal. Data were analyzed using the ProTrainer 5 program (Polar Electro, Lake Success, NY, USA). For the present study, animals were evaluated at T0 (before exercise, at rest, inside the box), T1 (immediately after trial), T2 (30 min after trial), and T3 (2 h after trial). Blood samples were aseptically obtained via jugular vein puncture using disposable needles (25 mm × 0.8 mm), with a negative pressure system (4-ml capacity tubes containing K3-EDTA, ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid, for determining PCV, RBC, and haemoglobin concentration; 9 ml capacity tubes without anticoagulant for determination of serum protein, serum iron and total iron-binding capacity). All samples were transported in a cooler with ice to the Clinical Laboratory of the Veterinary Diagnostic Center (CDV, Vitória, ES, Brazil), for immediate processing, with a mean interval of 2 h between blood collection and laboratory analysis. Samples from the tubes with no anticoagulant were immediately centrifuged for 10 min (Centrifuge Model TDL80-2B, Centribio, Curitiba, PR, Brazil) at 2,000 g for separation of serum. The PCV, RBC, and haemoglobin concentration were measured by means of haematology analyzer (Coulter HmX Hematology Analyzer, Beckman Coulter, Brea, CA, USA). Total serum protein (TP), SI and TIBC were measured using commercial kits (Labtest, São Paulo, SP, Brazil), by means of an automatic biochemical analyzer (Labmax Plenno, Labtest, Lagoa Santa, MG, Brazil). Transferrin saturation (TSAT) was measured using the formula (SI/TIBC)*100 (Abramovitc et al. 2014). 110


The West Lake Poetry Club,active around the West Lake of Hangzhou City in the years between 1263 and 1265,of Song Dynasty,was composed of nine ci poets including YANG Zuan,SHI Yue,ZHANG Shu and ZHOU Mi,who placed high premium on the decorum and musicality of poems.They advocated avoiding vulgarity of diction,sentimentality of ethos and bluntness of meaning.ZHOU Mi,with such younger poets as WANG Yi sun and ZHANG Yan,continued the vein after the fall of Song and exerted considerable influence on the poetic theory of the much later Changzhou School of Qing Dynasty.


Riparian forests of Malaysian Borneo exhibit high tree species diversity. However, many of the tree species found in these riparian forests are conservation dependant, with their current conservation status (sensu IUCN Red List) varying from vulnerable to critically endangered. The present study had two objectives. Firstly, to identify the environmental factors associated with the distribution of two critically endangered tree species, Shorea johorensis and Shorea inappendiculata using a small number of occurrence records. Secondly, the research seeks to predict suitable habitat and distribution of these two species. The occurrence data and environmental variables are incorporated within a maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model to predict the distribution of the species and identify the environmental variables that influence the distribution. The research shows that for a small study area, the bioclimatic variables are relatively insignificant while factors such as, land use, tree cover play a prominent role in determining distribution of tree species.


The forming techniques, evaluation systems and FEM application of bulk amorphous alloys in supercooled liquid region are summarized in this paper. It is stressed that microforming technologies based on viscous flow behavior of bulk amorphous alloys in supercooled liquid region and FEM technology for analysis and optimum develop quickly. Motivation of further study on microforming of bulk amorphous alloys in supercooled liquid region on the application for the fine precision parts in MEMS is introduced.


Natural selection is potentially a hierarchical process that can produce adaptive groups in addition to adaptive individuals. The possibility of group selection was largely rejected in the 1960s and replaced with a number of theoretical frameworks that appear to rely exclusively on self‐interest. More recently, it has emerged that these frameworks merely view the process of multilevel selection from different perspectives and do not constitute arguments against group selection. The confusion between process and perspective is illustrated with a detailed case study from the anthropological literature. Food is often shared in hunter‐gatherer societies, which appears to benefit the group at the expense of the individual provider. The tolerated‐theft model attempts to explain food acquisition and sharing as a form of self‐interest. I show that the tolerated‐theft model is virtually identical to one of the first group‐selection models and that the appearance of self‐interest is based on the redefinition of terms. I then show how additional insight can be gained by modeling the evolution of hunting and sharing as a multilevel selection process. This detailed case study is intended to contribute to a legitimate scientific pluralism and to a general reassessment of human social groups as adaptive units.


The discontinuous Galerkin (DG) and spectral volume (SV) methods are two recently developed high‐order methods for hyperbolic conservation laws capable of handling unstructured grids. In this paper, their overall performance in terms of efficiency, accuracy and memory requirement is evaluated using a 2D scalar conservation laws and the 2D Euler equations. To measure their accuracy, problems with analytical solutions are used. Both methods are also used to solve problems with strong discontinuities to test their ability in discontinuity capturing. Both the DG and SV methods are capable of achieving their formal order of accuracy while the DG method has a lower error magnitude and takes more memory. They are also similar in efficiency. The SV method appears to have a higher resolution for discontinuities because the data limiting can be done at the sub‐element level. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The diurrnal variations of the physi ological and ecological characteristics of Panicum miliaceum L., a primary c rop in Mo Us Sandy land, in response to their natural environments and water stress were studied b y using Li 6200 photosynthesis measurement system. The results showed: (1)The p hotosynthesis rate (P n)of the P.miliaceum L. at elongation stage in the i nterdu nes was increased by the special local environmental factors. (2) Plants experie nced more insufficient water availability at heading and filling stages rather t han elongation stage due to soil water stress. (3) Water stress led to decreased photosynthesis rate of P.miliaceum L., slight water stress made the photosy nth esis rate decreased by 9%~23%, while severe stress made it decreased by 30%~50 %. (4) Slight stress favourable for stomatal stretch increased transpiration rat e but weakened "noon break". (5) Water stress decreased the leaf area index a t different stages, slightly stressed decreasing by 7%~12% while severely stre ssed decreasing by 21%~29%.


The silicon Photomutiplier (SiPM) is a successful solid-state light detector. Thanks to its characteristics, especially the high quantum efficiency, comparable to that of PMTs, and the much higher gain compared to APDs, it can play an important role in many physics fields. For example a calorimeter read out by SiPMs is the proposed solution for the detection light dark matter in a future beam dump experiment. Although scintillating crystals coupled to SiPMs are widely used, they have been scarcely characterized as low energy (∼ MeV) ion detectors. In the present work we report a study of the light response of a large volume CsI(Tl) crystal, read out by a small area SiPM to low energy protons of different kinetic energies, from 2.5 MeV to 24 MeV . The results of the measurements allowed us to qualify the CsI(Tl)-SiPM solution in an unmeasured energetic regime.


The non-linear response behaviour of non-ductile Reinforced Concrete (RC) shear walls utilizing Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) sheets in retrofit and strengthening scenarios is presented. The analytical simulations are performed utilizing the finite element (FEM) program Vector 2. Analytical simulations presented include innovations on modelling techniques to account for the separation between the FRP and the concrete substrate due to the opening up of flexural cracks in the wall specimens (also known as intermediate crack de-bonding mechanism or IC de-bonding). In addition to modelling of the IC de-bonding mechanism along with FRP repair and strengthening applications, another novel modelling aspect included in this study is the ability to model the behaviour of lap spliced reinforcing bars through the use of bond stress-slip mechanisms in unconfined reinforced concrete shear walls. The analytical models detailed in this paper are validated using experimental results obtained from a recent experimental study of nine shear wall specimens with aspect ratio ranging from 0.65 to 1.20. The test specimens include a range of deficiencies of poor confinement, poor detailing, and the presence of lap spliced bars located in the plastic hinge region. Analytical results are shown to accurately portray the hysteresis behaviour of the wall specimens, along with relatively close predictions of the peak load, ultimate displacement, energy dissipation, and the associated failure mechanisms. The FRP sheets are shown to improve the ductility of the shear walls by delaying the initiation of failure in all test specimens and transitioning the failure behaviour of the walls to a more flexural ductile mechanism.


The processes,such as electrolysis,electrolysis-hydrolytic acidification,hydrolytic acidification-aerobic,decoloration flocculation-hydrolytic acidification-aerobic,have been used for treating the cotton pulp stock solution wastewater from Jigao Chemical Fibre Co.,Ltd.,whose COD is as high as 4 484 mg/L,and chroma 1 250 times.The effluent,whose COD is 611.2 mg/L and chroma 500 times,of the Wastewater Treatment Plant of the Company has been treated by MD-02 decoloring agent and sodium hypochlorite respectively.The experimental results show that electrolysis process can reduce the chroma of wastewater substantially and its removal rate reaches 60%-72%.Electrolysis-hydrolysis process has remarkable chroma removal effect.The chroma removal rate of the conventional hydrolysis-aerobic combined process is only 23.2%,indicating the limitation of chroma removal effect of conventional bio-chemical treatment on cotton pulp wastewater.The removal rates of COD and chroma of cotton pulp stock solution wastewater by decoloration flocculation-hydrolysis-aerobic combined process are very remarkable,being a comparatively ideal pretreatment process.


The effects of CO₂ enrichment on growth of maize (Zea mays L.) were examined. Parameters analyzed include growth characteristics, yields, photosynthetic rates, evaporation rates and photosynthesis-related characteristics under elevated CO₂. The plants were grown in growth chambers with a 12-h photoperiod and a day/night temperature of 28/21 °C at the seedling stage and 30/23℃ from the silking stage. The plants were exposed to two elevated CO₂ of 500, 700 ppm and ambient levels (350 ppm). Chalok l and GCB 70 germinated three days after seeding, and germination rates were faster in the elevated CO₂ than the control. Germination rates displayed significant differences among the C0₂ treatments. At the seedling stage, leaf area, top dry weight, and photosynthetic rates, and plant height indicated positive relationship with elevated CO₂ concentrations. At the 5~6 leaf stage, CO₂ concentration also indicated positive relationship with plant height, leaf area, top dry weight, and photosynthetic rates. At the silking stage, increased plant height of Chalok l was noted in the CO₂ treatments compared to the control. No significant differences were noted for GCB 70, in which leaf area decreased but photosynthetic rates increased progressively with CO₂ concentration. Stomatal aperture was a little bigger in the elevated CO₂ than the control. CO₂ concentration was negatively related to stomatal conductance and transpiration rates, resulting in high water use efficiency.


The structure of the title compound, [MoAg 3 S 4 (C 4 -H 10 O 2 PS 2 )(C 18 H 15 P) 13 ], contains an incomplete cubane-like cluster core, [MoAg 3 (C 4 H 10 O 2 PS 2 )S 3 ] 2+ , in which a diethyl dithiophosphate group acts as a triply bridging ligand to coordinate three Ag atoms with bond lengths of 2.626 (4) [Ag(1)-S(6)], 2.690 (4) [Ag(2)S(5)] and 2.698 (4) A [Ag(3)-(5)]


The world of software development and systems integration continues to evolve into an object-oriented (OO) based environment. The advent of new development platforms such as Microsoft's .Net and Sun's J2EE has accelerated the adoption rate of OO based tools and the object-oriented development paradigm. Tomorrow's workers need to be equipped to describe a world made up of objects - whether the objects are self created or inherited from an existing object framework. In addition to offering OO software development classes, educational institutions must also begin educating analysts to create informative models based on OO principles. The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has emerged as the standard for defining modeling principles and techniques. This paper describes our series of classes that teach students how to elicit requirements and turn them into analysis and design level artifacts based on the UML standard. The classes also teach and use a development methodology which is less methodical and more contingency (agile) based. We also introduce the students into the world of object patterns. Course models and examples of learning assessments are included. The paper also maps the learning outcomes from our classes to those purposed in the IS'97 model curriculum document adopted by ACM, AITP, and AIS.


Abstract: A set of procedures was developed to study the binding of γ‐[3]‐aminobutyric acid ([3H]GABA) to GABAA and GABAB receptors, and to the Na+‐dependent transport carrier, at 25 and 37°C in the presence of physiological concentrations of Na+. The membrane preparation used in these procedures was not subjected to freeze–thawing or treatment with Triton X‐100. Isoguvacine, (–)‐baclofen, and (–)‐nipecotate were used to block selectively the binding to GABAA receptors, GABAB receptors, and the transport site, respectively. Analysis of the binding characteristics of [3H]GABA to the GABAA receptor suggested the existence of high‐ (KD < 30 nM), middle‐ (KD 100–500 nM), and low‐affinity (KD > 5 μM) binding sites. However, the binding data in the middle‐affinity region (100–1,000 nM) were often indicative of cooperativity. The affinity between GABA and the GABAA receptor was reduced modestly by increases in temperature and by the presence of Cl− at physiological concentrations. Binding to the GABAB receptor required Ca2+ and Cl−. Apparent binding to the transport carrier required both Na+ and Cl−. A comparison of Bmax values in three brain regions revealed an inverse relationship between the high‐affinity site of the GABAA receptor and the transport binding site.


This study examines the Arctic surface air temperature response to regional aerosol emissions reductions using three fully coupled chemistry–climate models: National Center for Atmospheric Research-Community Earth System Model version 1, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory-Coupled Climate Model version 3 (GFDL-CM3) and Goddard Institute for Space Studies-ModelE version 2. Each of these models was used to perform a series of aerosol perturbation experiments, in which emissions of different aerosol types (sulfate, black carbon (BC), and organic carbon) in different northern mid-latitude source regions, and of biomass burning aerosol over South America and Africa, were substantially reduced or eliminated. We find that the Arctic warms in nearly every experiment, the only exceptions being the U.S. and Europe BC experiments in GFDL-CM3 in which there is a weak and insignificant cooling. The Arctic warming is generally larger than the global mean warming (i.e. Arctic amplification occurs), particularly during non-summer months. The models agree that changes in the poleward atmospheric moisture transport are the most important factor explaining the spread in Arctic warming across experiments: the largest warming tends to coincide with the largest increases in moisture transport into the Arctic. In contrast, there is an inconsistent relationship (correlation) across experiments between the local radiative forcing over the Arctic and the simulated Arctic warming, with this relationship being positive in one model (GFDL-CM3) and negative in the other two. Our results thus highlight the prominent role of poleward energy transport in driving Arctic warming and amplification, and suggest that the relative importance of poleward energy transport and local forcing/feedbacks is likely to be model dependent.


This thesis explored healthcare quality improvement, considering the general question of why the last decade's worth of quality improvement (QI) had not significantly improved quality and safety. The broad objective of the thesis was to explore how hospitals perform when completing QI projects and whether any organizational characteristics were associated with that performance. First the project evaluated a specific QI collaborative undertaken in the Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system. The goal of the collaborative was to improve patient flow throughout the entire care process leading to shorter hospital length of stay (LOS) and an increased percentage of patients discharged before noon. These two goals became the primary outcomes of the analysis, which were balanced by three secondary quality check outcomes: 30-day readmission, in-hospital mortality, and 30-day mortality. The analytic model consisted of a five-year interrupted time-series examining baseline performance (two-years prior to the intervention), the year during the QI collaborative, and then two-years after the intervention to determine how well improvements were maintained post intervention. The results of these models were then used to create a novel 4-level classification model. Overall, the analysis indicated a significant amount of variation in performance; however, subgroup analyses could not identify any patterns among hospitals falling into specific performance categories. Given this potentially meaningful variation, the second half of the thesis worked to understand whether specific organizational characteristics provided


This study is aimed at revealing the effects of managerialism ideology on the structure and functioning of public institutions providing services for women. This research is a qualitative study conducted with 21 people including managers, bureaucrats, and personnel working in nine public institutions that provide services to women in a province in the Aegean region of Turkey. The research was designed as a case study from qualitative research patterns and the study group was determined using the maximum diversity sampling method. The data in the study were collected by applying semi-structured interviewing and in-depth interviewing techniques created by the researchers. The collected data were analyzed using MAXQDA 2018.1 software program within the scope of the content analysis. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that the municipalities and the Provincial Directorate of Family, Labor, and Social Services had experienced a shortage in qualified personnel as well as insufficient budgets. In addition, in the process of applying private sector management techniques such as total quality management, strategic planning, and electronic applications to public institutions, some problems arose related to finances, legislation, the way the institutions operated, and changing goals. However, in general, it provides an effective and efficient service delivery. It was determined that the institutions had problems integrating the perspective of gender equality in their budgeting processes and, recently, the resources for women increased according to the budgetary changes of the institutions.


In the most general case, the calculation of the static local field factor G(q) for the unpolarised electron gas requires the knowledge of exchange-correlation energy functionals for both the parallel and antiparallel relative spin orientations of the electron gas system. Accurate density interpolation formulae using the quantum Monte Carlo data of Ceperley–Alder for the correlation energy of electron gas in both the "para" and "ferro" states, respectively, in the given density range are used for the calculation of G(q). Fulfilment of relevant consistency criteria is ensured and the local field factor so obtained renders significant improvement of ab initio pseudopotential calculation of effective interaction of Al. The Levin like interpolant of the correlation energy Ceperley–Alder data has been further used to study the ground state properties of the electron gas. It is also noted that a better understanding of the interacting electron gas properties requires a more accurate spin interpolation formula for the correlation energy than the existing ones.


In this paper a numerical method to compute the wave resistance of a body submerged in a free stream of finite and infinite depth is presented. Non-linear effects on the free surface are taken into account by an iterative procedure; the solution is in the form of a single-layer potential. For the 2D problem, results are shown for both the cases of finite and infinite depth of the fluid domain, with special emphasis on the supercritical flow in which the consistency of the scheme is pointed out. the method is also extended to the 3D case of a spheroid submerged in deep water. All the results presented are compared with experimental data and analytical solutions available in the literature.


The effects of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) on the migration of two human breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and MDA-231, were examined using a modified Boyden chamber. 10 ng/ml was the optimal IGF-I concentration for stimulation of migration. The majority of IGF-I-stimulated migration in both cell types was due to chemotaxis. MCF-7 cells failed to migrate on membranes coated with gelatin or fibronectin and migrated only in small numbers on laminin. In contrast, when vitronectin- or type IV collagen-coated membranes were used, the MCF-7 cells migrated in large numbers specifically in response to IGF-I but not to 10% fetal calf serum, epidermal growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, or platelet derived growth factor-BB. An IGF-I receptor-blocking antibody inhibited IGF-I-stimulated migration in both cell types. In addition, a blocking antibody to the αvβ5 integrin (a vitronectin receptor) inhibited migration of MCF-7 cells in response to IGF-I through vitronectin but not through type IV collagen. Similarly, blocking antibodies specific for α2 and β1 integrins significantly inhibited migration of both cell types through type IV collagen-coated membranes but not through vitronectin-coated membranes. We conclude that: 1) IGF-I stimulates migration of these two cell types through the IGF-I receptor; 2) interaction of vitronectin with the αvβ5 integrin or collagen with the α2β1 integrin is necessary for the complete IGF-I response in MCF-7 cells, and 3) because migration represents an in vitro model for metastatic spread, integrins, extracellular matrix proteins, and IGF-I may play coordinated roles in the metastasis of breast cancer in vivo.


This report presents results for year seventeen in the basin-wide Experimental Northern Pikeminnow Management Program to harvest northern pikeminnow1 (Ptychocheilus oregonensis) in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. This program was started in an effort to reduce predation by northern pikeminnow on juvenile salmonids during their emigration from natal streams to the ocean. Earlier work in the Columbia River Basin suggested predation by northern pikeminnow on juvenile salmonids might account for most of the 10-20% mortality juvenile salmonids experience in each of eight Columbia River and Snake River reservoirs. Modeling simulations based on work in John Day Reservoir from 1982 through 1988 indicated that, if predator-size northern pikeminnow were exploited at a 10-20% rate, the resulting restructuring of their population could reduce their predation on juvenile salmonids by 50%. To test this hypothesis, we implemented a sport-reward angling fishery and a commercial longline fishery in the John Day Pool in 1990. We also conducted an angling fishery in areas inaccessible to the public at four dams on the mainstem Columbia River and at Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River. Based on the success of these limited efforts, we implemented three test fisheries on a system-wide scale in 1991 - amore » tribal longline fishery above Bonneville Dam, a sport-reward fishery, and a dam-angling fishery. Low catch of target fish and high cost of implementation resulted in discontinuation of the tribal longline fishery. However, the sport-reward and dam-angling fisheries were continued in 1992 and 1993. In 1992, we investigated the feasibility of implementing a commercial longline fishery in the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam and found that implementation of this fishery was also infeasible. Estimates of combined annual exploitation rates resulting from the sport-reward and dam-angling fisheries remained at the low end of our target range of 10-20%. This suggested the need for additional effective harvest techniques. During 1991 and 1992, we developed and tested a modified (small-sized) Merwin trapnet. We found this floating trapnet to be very effective in catching northern pikeminnow at specific sites. Consequently, in 1993 we examined a system-wide fishery using floating trapnets, but found this fishery to be ineffective at harvesting large numbers of northern pikeminnow on a system-wide scale. In 1994, we investigated the use of trap nets and gillnets at specific locations where concentrations of northern pikeminnow were known or suspected to occur during the spring season (i.e., March through early June). In addition, we initiated a concerted effort to increase public participation in the sport-reward fishery through a series of promotional and incentive activities. In 1995, 1996, and 1997, promotional activities and incentives were further improved based on the favorable response in 1994. Results of these efforts are subjects of this annual report. Evaluation of the success of test fisheries in achieving our target goal of a 10-20% annual exploitation rate on northern pikeminnow is presented in Report C of this report. Overall program success in terms of altering the size and age composition of the northern pikeminnow population and in terms of potential reductions in loss of juvenile salmonids to northern pikeminnow predation is also discussed in Report C. Program cooperators include the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal Damage Unit as a contractor to test Dam Angling. The PSMFC was responsible for coordination and administration of the program; PSMFC subcontracted various tasks and activities to ODFW and WDFW based on the expertise each brought to the tasks involved in implementing the program and dam angling to the USDA.« less


The development of information technology is indicated by the presence of Internet Of Thing (IoT) which influence many fields such as health care and health services. In this study is designed a low cost of portable device to heart rate monitoring for risk patients with IoT based and SMS notification as a warning system. Module ESP8266 Wi-Fi has function to communicate the web server gateway and pulse sensor. This sensor is used to detect the heart rate and convert it to Bit per Minute (BPM). Heart rate data is saved to the database server using TCP IP communications. Patients and doctors can see heart rate information trough the website in real-time. Warning system will send notification information via short message service (SMS) to doctors, person in charge and family if patient's heart rate below 60 BPM and above 100 BPM or the patient pushes the panic button. Test results show the whole system is running well. This tool is expected can accompany the risk patients do their activities safely and both doctors and families easier to supervise the patients.


The idea of tax information management is an important strategic decision of the tax department,which not only promotes the idea of a major change of tax collection,and tax department also creates a new realm of information technology.From the perspective of administrative law duty,the form of information management duties,application,organizational structure,rights protection and other major issues of concern are based on tax information management from a scientific concept of a reasonable standard of work processes and perfect system,thus adapting to the development of organizational structure,properly complete security,and effective legal remedies so as to build tax information management system.


Abstract. Elderly patients are at higher risk of developing infectious diseases that might have more severe progression than those of younger age groups, accompanied by an increased risk of death. These medical conditions in elderly may also present difficulties for diagnosis due to a «blurred» clinical picture. By WHO recommendations the vaccination against influenza is one of the most effective ways to prevent this type of infection in elderly patients. However the use of vaccines may be associated with a risk of adverse drug reactions. In most cases, they have subclinical manifestations and/or non-severe clinical manifestations (adverse reactions), but in a relatively small percentage of cases, the use of vaccines may be associated with a risk of developing serious post-vaccination complications (anaphylaxis, Guillain-Barre syndrome etc.). This article represents data on the safety of influenza vaccines in patients over 60 years old, with due regard to immunosenescence. According to the authors opinion, this will improve the safety of vaccination against influenza patients 60 years and older. At the end of the article, the authors conclude that despite the potential risks, the by the benefits of the use of influenza vaccines continue to overweight potential risks and vaccination of elderly people is effective and safe way to prevent influenza. To improve the effectiveness of vaccination of patients 60 years and older the use of high dose vaccines and adjuvants can be recommended.


Mobility manager provides a mobility management of mobile nodes that are subscribed to the application server for communication services. The application server is arranged to control the communications session level provided from the access point mobility-managed mobile node is attached by the mobility manager in the communication service according to bandwidth allocated to the application server for the mobility-managed mobile nodes. Mobility manager receives traffic shaping report messages from a traffic shaper within an access network. Traffic shaping reports, the current use of bandwidth by the non mobility-managed mobile nodes that are not controlled by the mobility manager, and reporting for each type of a plurality of different traffic.


T HE revolutions per minute of marine propellers is determined by hydrodynamic considerations. The type of engine furnishing the propeller with the necessary power does not affect the speed for best propeller efficiency. It is the engine designer's task to provide the propeller with the power and speed required by the naval architect. Besides, the power plant is to weigh as little as possible and to take up a minimum of space in the vessel. I n order to obtain an idea of the order of magnitude of the speed for maximum propeller efficiency as affected by forward speed and shaft horsepower, average values for a series of commercial vessels have been collected and plotted. A plot of such data is shown in Fig. No. 1. It is seen that the required propeller speed becomes quite low, especially at low speeds and large power. If the engine is directly coupled to the propeller shaft, the engine size will be excessive, unless the power is subdivided into two engines and propellers. A definition of propeller efficiency and its relation to ship propulsion is given in the appendix. Since the initial cost of an installation is proportional to its weight, direct drive with low engine speed will be both heavy and expensive.


An object of the present invention is to provide a streptavidin mutant having reduced affinity for the native biotin, providing biotin variants with high affinity for the low affinity of streptavidin mutant further for this natural biotin it is. According to the present invention, including (a) a streptavidin mutant affinity was reduced with natural biotin or biocytin, and (b) biotin variants with high affinity for the streptavidin mutant, treatment or reagent kit for the diagnosis is provided.


Frequency fluctuations in power system result from high penetration of distributed generation as well as sudden load changes, system uncertainties, and parameters variations. If adequate control actions are not put into place, the fluctuations in power system frequency may deteriorate the normal operation of the system. This paper proposes a robust, intelligent control technique using Ant Colony Optimization algorithms for optimal tuning of proportional, integral and derivative controllers. The goal is to enhance load frequency control capabilities in smart power systems. The designed algorithm is applied to a power system consisting of a coal thermal plant, photovoltaic power generation as a renewable energy source, as well as heat pump water heaters and electric vehicles as controllable loads. Simulation results obtained using Matlab under various practical operating conditions confirm the correctness of system analysis and superior performance of the proposed scheme. The results of the simulation illustrate that the system with the proposed control scheme is more stable, and can achieve a fast response in the face of system uncertainties, parameter variations and fluctuations from distributed energy sources, as compared to the conventional PID controller and the model predictive control scheme.


It has been proved experimentally that a finer crack pattern in brittle matrix composites with heterogeneous fibrous reinforcement increases the reinforcement efficiency in terms of fiber strength by up to 100 %. In the present paper, we simulate this phenomenon by a semi-analytical model of a composite crack bridge based on probabilistic fiber bundle models. The model is able to quantify the reinforcement efficiency increase with finer crack spacing given the information on the reinforcement heterogeneity. Possible sources of heterogeneity are variabilities in fiber diameter, modulus of elasticity or bond quality. With finer crack spacing, the heterogeneous stress state of the reinforcement is homogenized which leads to a more efficient load bearing behavior. Since the crack spacing is (within the practical range of values) a monotonic function of the fiber volume fraction and fiber diameter, these quantities should be taken into account in structural analysis and design of composites with heterogeneous reinforcement.


Silicon Schottky junctions were produced by different treatments of the silicon surface which was then covered with a metal layer. Electroluminescence spectra and electrical properties of these junctions were investigated.


In this book, Martin Wattenberg aims to offer an in-depth interpretation of the presidential elections of the 1980s, illuminating current theories of political behaviour and how they operate in today's candidate-centred politics. He investigates the impact that the declining relevance of political parties has had on presidential politics and finds that although candidates have become more prominent, their popularity has spiralled downwards.


Backgrounds : The purpose of this study is to compare the complications after ileostomy take down between preventive and therapeutic ileostomy formation . Methods : From January 2006 through December 2010, 373 patients underwent closure of ileostomy. Inclusion criteria are as follows: 1) Patients undergoing an elective takedown of a temporary ileostomy in colorectal cancer; 2) age > 19. Excluded were patients with nonelective stoma take down and patients undertaken to treat anastomosis site stricture or anal stricture. 373 patients are included in the analysis: 280 Protective and 93 therapeutic. Results : The morbidity rate of protective ileostomy take down is 22.1% and therapeutic ileostomy take down is 30.3%. Ileus is the most common complication in both groups. Those who underwent therapeutic ileostomy have longer postoperative hospital stay (6.9 days vs 9.7 days)(p diet compared to preventive ileostomy group (3.9 days vs 6.8 days)(p complications after ileostomy take down in MultipleLogistic Regression Analysis analysis were therapeutic ileostomy take down(p Conclusion : In the colorectal cancer surgery, preventive ileostomy take down showed better outcomes than therapeutic ileostomy after take down. Thus, in the case whenanastomosis is unstable or low, it is important to consider inconvenience of patients, risk of re-surgery due to anastomosis site leakage and increase in complications after therapeutic ileostomy take down when we performing of preventive ileostomy formation.


Rich spectral information of hyperspectral images provides a non-invasive way to characterize the skin tissues and thereby improves hyperspectral face recognition accuracy. However, the increased computational complexity is reduced by efficient feature selection method. In this paper, we amalgamate pixel selection with spectral discrimination. The pixel selection process choses the informative pixels, which improves the computational performance, whereas, covariance similarity encompasses the complete spectral information. We compare the covariance matrices formed from the selected pixels obtained by fiducial points and edge. A detailed study of the covariance similarity measures has been conducted. This leads us to use Jeffrey's KL divergence measure because of its tighter bounds and better noise robustness. We have evaluated our proposed framework on two popular hyperspectral face recognition datasets.


In recent years,Community Tourism,characterized by "The combination of tourism and community",has attracted much more attention from both theorizers and practical experts in tourism field and is regarded as one of the most effective ways to achieve sustainable development of tourism.As the extension of community studies,foreign Community Tourism experienced initiation and inquiry,state and consideration,experimentation and exploration,interaction and integration,path and choices and other levels of evolution.They point out that it is impossible for Community Tourism to develop sustainably without empowerment and their studies shed light on the development of Chinese Community Tourism.


La2O2CN2:Er3+and La2O2CN2:Er3+/Yb3+ upconversion (UC) luminescence nanofibers were successfully fabricated via cyanamidation of the respective relevant La2O3:Er3+ and La2O3:Er3+/Yb3+ nanofibers which were obtained by calcining the electrospun composite nanofibers. The morphologies, structures, and properties of the nanofibers are investigated. The mean diameters of La2O2CN2:Er3+ and La2O2CN2:Er3+/Yb3+ nanofibers are 179.46 ± 12.58 nm and 198.85 ± 17.07 nm, respectively. It is found that intense green and weak red emissions around 524, 542, and 658 nm corresponding to the 2H11/2→4I15/2, 4S3/2→4I15/2, and 4F9/2→4Il5/2 energy levels transitions of Er3+ ions are observed for La2O2CN2:Er3+ and La2O2CN2:Er3+/Yb3+ nanofibers under the excitation of a 980-nm diode laser. Moreover, the emitting colors of La2O2CN2:Er3+ and La2O2CN2:Er3+/Yb3+ nanofibers are all located in the green region. The upconversion luminescent mechanism and formation mechanism of the nanofibers are also proposed.


Ontologies play an important role in the Semantic Web as well as in knowledge management. This project seeks to develop an automatic method to build ontologies, especially in a medical domain. The initial study investigates an approach of identifying pairs of related concepts using association rule induction and identifying semantic relations between concepts using an existing medical knowledge base, the UMLS (Unified Medical Language System) semantic net. This is evaluated by comparing the result with manually assigned semantic relations based on an analysis of medical abstracts containing each pair of concepts. Our initial finding shows that the automatic process is promising, achieving a 68% coverage compared to manual tagging. We also discuss about probable approaches for the improvement of the identification of semantic relations by employing natural language processing techniques.


The automatic injection device of the invention comprises an injection syringe having a syringe body provided with a lateral injection-liquid supply tubulure, retention means for retaining the animal to be treated, enabling the latter to be placed in a given transverse position and at a given angle with respect to the syringe, syringe displacement means for advancing and withdrawing the syringe at each injection, and piston displacement means for displacing the piston with respect to the syringe body. Such a device enables for example about at least 2000 chicks to be vaccinated per hour, while at the same time ensuring a dosing accuracy on the order of 1/100 and an exact location of the point of injection.


Topological acoustics has recently witnessed a spurt in research activity, owing to their unprecedented properties that extend beyond the standard wave dispersion for vibration control. In recent years, the use of coupled arrays of acoustic chambers has gained popularity in designing acoustic topological systems. In their common form, acoustic chambers with relatively large volume are coupled with others via narrow channels. Such configuration generally necessitates modeling in full three-dimensional model and may require extended computational time for simulation their harmonic response. To this end, this paper establishes a comprehensive mathematical treatment of the use of electroacoustic analogies for designing acoustic topological systems. We demonstrate the potential of such analytical approach via two types of topological systems: (1) edge states with quantized winding numbers in an acoustic diatomic lattice and (2) valley Hall transition in an acoustic honeycomb lattice that leads to robust waveguiding. In both cases, the established analytical approach shows an excellent agreement with the full three-dimensional model, whether in dispersion analyses or the response of an acoustic system with finite number of cells. The established framework opens avenues for designing a verity of acoustic topological insulators with simplified analytical formulation and minimal computational costs.


The differences between corresponding data of power spectral densities and quadrated periodograms were computed delimiting periodical and statistical parts of curves of mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and respiration rhythms. The statistical parts of the curves show similar density distributions in the investigated frequency range as the periodical parts (power spectra). In patients with autonomic disorders these statistical parts of the curves are higher than in healthy volunteers.


As a biomaterial, cellulose can be converted into a wide range of derivatives with desired properties for a variety of medical, biomedical, and pharmaceutical applications. The oxidation of cellulose yields oxidized cellulose (OC, oxycellulose, 6-carboxycellulose). OC represents an important class of biocompatible and bioresorbable polymers. In vivo bioabsorption of OC occurs via chemical depolymerization and enzymatic hydrolysis. Despite the fact OC is well established as a hemostatic agent and is widely used in a clinical practice, it still attracts a great interest and its new applications, especially pharmaceutical, are investigated. The present review is focused on characterization of OC's physical and chemical properties. Its synthesis and mechanisms involved in its in vivo and in vitro biodegradation are discussed. Medical and biomedical applications of OC are summarized, and especially its hemostatic, enterosorbent, and wound-healing properties are described. In addition to these applications, OC could be used as a pharmaceutical excipient in solid (e.g., tablets, microparticles), semisolid (e.g., gels), as well as liquid (e.g., suspensions) dosage forms. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Adv Polym Techn 28:199–208, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/adv.20161


Recent physiological studies on muscles have shown that the excitation and contraction phenomena can be easily dissociated by the treatments with hypertonicityl1,2)chemical substances3,4)and others5,6,7),and suggested the existence of some processes linking excitation of the muscle membrane and contraction of muscle fibre(E-C coupling processes)8). It has been demonstrated that the failure of end-plate transmission occurs in both fatigued9)and denervated10,11)nerve-muscle preparations.Recently MERTON(1954)5),SERAYDARIAN(1961)6)and MASHIMA et al.(1962)have shown that the E-C coupling processes diminished by muscular fatigue which was independent of the failure of end-plate transmission.Based on these reports,there may arise some questions ta investigate whether the E-C coupling processes are influenced by the prolonged immersion in Ringer solution and whether the immersion causes the same kind of effects as the denervation on the excitability and contractility of muscle. The present paper deals with the relationship between excitation and contraction in the isolated sciatic-sartorius preparation of frog immersed in Ringer solution for various periods up to 24 hours.


Humanity faces serious problems related to water supply, which will be aggravated by population growth. The water used in human activities must be treated to make it available again without posing risks to human health and the environment. In this context, Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) have gained importance. The treatment process in WWTPs is complex, consisting of several stages, which consume considerable amounts of resources, mainly electrical energy. Minimizing such energy consumption while satisfying quality and environmental requirements is essential, but it is a challenging task due to the complexity of the processes carried out in WWTPs. One form of evaluating the performance of WWTPs is through the well-known Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The KPIs are numerical indicators of process performance, being a simple and common way to assess the efficiency and eco-efficiency of a process. By applying KPIs to WWTPs, techniques for monitoring, predicting, controlling, and optimizing the efficiency and eco-efficiency of WWTPs can be created or improved. However, the use of computational methodologies that use KPIs (KPIs-based methodologies) is still limited. This paper provides a literature review of the current state-of-the-art of KPI-based methodologies to monitor, control and optimize energy efficiency and eco-efficiency in WWTPs. In this paper, studies presented on 21 papers are identified, assessed and synthesized, 12 being related to monitoring and predicting problems, and 9 related to control and optimization problems. Future research directions relating to unresolved problems are also identified and discussed.


In interior Alaska (mean ann. precip. ca 350 mm) lakes should be sensitive to changes in the P/E ratio. At Birch Lake, near Fairbanks, lake levels rose dramatically 11,000-9200 years ago, fell 9200-8500 years ago and then rose rapidly, probably in a few hundred years. Some major changes in vegetation appear coincident with the lake-level changes, but others do not, or are hard to interprete. Populus woodland expanded during the first transgression, but subsequently declined while lake levels were still high. 9000-8000 years ago Picea glauca expanded then decreased, its abundance apparently negatively correlated with moisture availability. The lake rise at ca 8000 yr B.P. is slightly preceded by regional expansion of Alnus. Data suggest that a complex interaction of climatic and non-climatic factors determined vegetation dynamics during the late-Quaternary in interior Alaska.


The turn of the 19th-20th centuries in Russian history is characterized by outstanding achievements, discoveries, economic modernization, strong personalities and talents, on the one hand, and on the other, by social disasters, revolutions and wars. This time was called the Silver Age. Russian music at that time was at the forefront of musical culture. Sergey Rachmaninoff is a typical representative of the classical traditions of the Russian culture. He is a major and original composer, whose work is connected with the historical memory of the people, with centuries-old traditions of the spiritual life of Russia, with all its cultural and artistic heritage. This article considers three symphonies and the symphonic poem "The Bells". The relevance of Sergey Rachmaninoff's creative work consists in the revival of the musical culture of ancient Russia, use of the znamenny chant not only in religious pieces, but also in instrumental ones. Almost all his music contains chime melodies. Rachmaninoff filled his art with life, responded to everything that surrounded him. The value of his music is in its national, Russian character, the ability to express the time, thoughts and feelings. The love for Russia is felt in every piece, every note of the great artist. The music of the composer was modern in spirit then and it is now.


Based on present operation situation of Cangzhou Refinery, recovery of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide both from refining wastewater was described in detail with single atmospheric spring tower. Containing-ammonia sour gas from above process was treated by ammonia combustion technology. Combustion was completed in a furnace. The process solved the problem in which ammonia byproduct has not the market.


In order to study the concrete compound crack and fracture extension problem such as brittle material, based on the analysis of the fracture criterion theory ,on the analysis of some measured data, and the near crack tip portion of the shape change energy, the strain energy criterion of Iso- line for Ⅰ-Ⅱ mixed mode crack was proposed, a crack initiation angle formula and the fracture criterion were established, and the variation law among , with Poisson ratio was discussed . Using the criterion, the concrete compound crack was analyzed. Results show that the theoretical values are consistent with the measured values. So the criterion can be applied to analyze the mixed mode crack fracture of brittle material such as concrete.