Introduction: Whole-heart coronary MRA (CMRA) [1] has been gaining increasing acceptance with improved visible vessel length and ease-of-use. However, it necessitates free-breathing imaging and thereby accurate respiratory motion detection. Conventional diaphragmatic navigator (NAV) suffers from indirect measurement of heart position. A newly proposed respiratory self-gating (RSG) method [2,3] can improve the accuracy but is still limited to 1D translation detection. Inaccurate or incomplete motion detection prohibits wide respiratory gating windows (GW) and results in a long scan time, which increases both patient discomfort and the susceptibility to respiratory motion drifting. This study aimed to develop a new RSG technique capable of direct measurement of heart translation in 3D (3D RSG) and evaluate its effectiveness in free-breathing whole-heart CMRA. Theory & Methods: It has been demonstrated by dual-projection RSG (DP-RSG) that surrounding chest wall signals can be eliminated by averaging two superior-inferior (SI) projections with properly designed anterior-posterior (AP) dephasing [3]. An SI heart projection could be generated enabling accurate detection of SI heart motion. If an additional dephasing gradient is applied along a transverse axis for acquisition of this heart projection, heart translation along this direction induces a phase shift in the heart projection proportional to the amount of the corresponding translation. Therefore, it is feasible to detect transverse heart motion by adding motion-encoding (ME) gradients along AP and leftright (LR) directions. As illustrated in Fig. 1, 3D RSG acquisition is comprised of collection of 3 heart projections in 3 pairs of gradient echo RF cycles, corresponding to motion detection along SI, AP and LR. Acquisition of the first SI projection is identical to DP-RSG. The same acquisition was repeated with a nonzero ME gradient applied along AP for the 2nd projection and along LR for the 3rd projection. For motion detection, each pair of RSG signals is average to reconstruct a heart projection without chest wall contamination. Next, profile and phase shifts in the 1st projection with regard to a reference projection at end-expiration are detected, corresponding to SI heart translation and phase shift induced by background gradients (e.g. coil sensitivity). This background phase shift was then removed from the phase shifts calculated in the 2nd and 3rd projections to estimate phase shifts induced by AP and LR heart motion, respectively, which were divided by the strength of ME gradient to estimate transverse motion components. 3D RSG was implemented by inserting the acquisition described above after NAV echo in each heartbeat in a conventional 3D TrueFISP sequence with ECG-triggering and NAVgating. 9 healthy volunteers were imaged using this new sequence on a 1.5T Siemens Avanto system. Typical parameters for coronary imaging included: 320×240 mm FOV; 60 slices interpolated to 120 with 1.0 mm thickness; 1.0×1.1 mm in-plane spatial resolution; 38 lines/segment; 90o flip angle; TE/TR = 1.87/3.74 ms. 3D RSG data were acquired from a sagittal whole-heart slice with 10o flip angle. Based on our simulations, a 5o/mm gradient was used for ME to achieve an optimal compromise between sensitivity to transverse motion and SNR. A GW of ±4.5 mm was used for NAV gating. Respiratory motion during the scan was compensated offline using 3 methods: 1D SI correction based on 1) NAV motion detection; 2) only the SI component of 3D RSG; 3) 3D correction based on 3D RSG motion detection. Qualitative comparison with regard to coronary artery delineation (0-4; 0:worst, 4:best) was performed to assess the effectiveness of different motion correction methods.


Objectives: The objective of this study was to design a contact tracing algorithm and contact investigation form for healthcare workers deployed in rendering essential health-care services in limitedly resourced healthcare settings during the COVID era. Material and Methods: It was an observational study, longitudinal in design. Based on the existing evidence as of April 15, 2020, we have designed a contact tracing algorithm and contact investigation form to determine the risk of infection among healthcare workers. Later, we have tested the developed contact tracing algorithm and contact investigation from among 28 suspected contacts of a confirmed COVID-19 case admitted in all India Institute of Medical Sciences Patna, Bihar, India. Results: Using the designed contact investigation form, all the 28 suspected contacts of the confirmed COVID-19 case were interviewed, among which only 7(25%) were found to be having high-risk exposure. All persons with high-risk exposure were home quarantined for 5 days, along with their direct contacts. Eventually, all high-risk contacts were tested negative on the 5th day after exposure and immediately joined their duties after that. Those who were at low risk of infection continued to work and self-monitor for COVID compatible symptoms for 14 days. Eventually, none of the low-risk exposure persons developed COVID compatible symptoms, therefore deferred testing. Conclusion: The contact tracing approach designed in the current study is a balanced one where we tried to balance health workers safety without compromising their availability for duty. This approach can also be implemented in other healthcare settings in the era of COVID-19.


A convenient biosensor for real‐time measurement of biomarkers for in‐field psychophysiological stress research and military operations is desirable. We evaluated a hand‐held device for measuring salivary amylase as a stress marker in medical technicians undergoing combat casualty care training using two different modalities in operating room and field settings.


A portion of the mitochondrial large ribosomal RNA gene was amplified and sequenced (460 base pairs) for 10 individuals of each of nine samples of black flies representing three sibling species of the Simulium venustum complex (CC, CC3, and AC(gB)) and two sibling species of the Simulium verecundum complex (ACD = Simulium rostratum and AA). Mitochondrial DNA haplotype heterogeneity was observed in all but the sample of S. verecundum AA from New Hampshire. The sample of S. venustum CC3 had a significantly larger number of haplotypes than other samples. A predominant haplotype was found in most samples except S. venustum CC3 and S. venustum CC from New Hampshire (nine haplotypes in the sample of S. venustum CC3 and two haplotypes with equal frequency in the sample of S. venustum CC from New Hampshire). The predominant haplotype was the same among the three samples of S. verecundum AA. Samples of S. venustum CC also shared haplotypes, but the predominant haplotype was different in each sample. Despite intras...


Abstract The ability to identify the precise time of ovulation is important for women who want to plan conception or practice contraception. Here, we review the current literature on various methods for detecting ovulation including a review of point‐of‐care device technology. We incorporate an examination of methods to detect ovulation that have been developed and practiced for decades and analyze the indications and limitations of each—transvaginal ultrasonography, urinary luteinizing hormone detection, serum progesterone and urinary pregnanediol 3‐glucuronide detection, urinary follicular stimulating hormone detection, basal body temperature monitoring, and cervical mucus and salivary ferning analysis. Some point‐of‐care ovulation detection devices have been developed and commercialized based on these methods, however previous research was limited by small sample size and an inconsistent standard reference to true ovulation.


The wavelet transform and detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) were introduced briefly. Then DFA and discrete wavelet were used to analyze the fluctuation characteristics of precipitation in Hotan from 1954 to 2003. It was shown by analysis with the methods of de-trend fluctuation and wavelet transform that the precipitation in Hotan will decreased in near future for several years, and will last 21 months at least.


Evidence is presented of a relationship in young rats between thyroxine, intestinal digestion, and the ability of these animals to absorb immunoglobulin across the gut. Administration of thyroxine resulted in a marked reduction of IgG transport into the circulation. The period of decreasing absorption coincided with a period of increased efficiency of the digestive system in particular to the increased levels of cathepsin B in the intestinal wall.


The image Segmentation is resulted, by Wavelet Domain Hidden Markov Tree model, dim edge components prone and diffuse singularity. The Contourlet transformation can capture the singularity in the image of high dimension, therefore, the paper presents a new algorithm of multiscale image segmentation based on the Contourlet transform. This algorithm was initially segmented in scales by Contourlet domain Hidden Markov Tree Model, and integrated among multiscales after segmentting images through the adaptive context structures. Compared simulating segmentation experiment of synthetic texture image and aerial image to Wavelet Domain Hidden Markov Tree Model image segmentation method, we obtain more desirable segmentation effect with the regional consistency and edge accuracy, and the composed images with lower misclassification rate.


Abstract:Peer tutoring is an instructional strategy that allows students to help one another learn content material through the repetition of key concepts. In more than 40 years of published studies, literature reviews, and meta-analyses of peer tutoring, this quantitative synthesis of the literature is the first to examine the impact of peer tutoring on academic, social, and linguistic outcomes for English language learner (ELL) students. A total of 363 ELLs in kindergarten through 12th grade are represented in the analyses across 17 studies; seven studies used single-case research designs, nine used group designs, and one was a case study. Findings suggest that ELLs benefit from peer tutoring academically, socially, and linguistically. Implications for research and practice are discussed.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether high-flow oxygen therapy by nasal cannulae (HFNC) is more effective than a high-flow face mask (HFFM) in severe hypoxemia.

DESIGN
Randomized, single-center, open-labeled, controlled trial.

SETTING
University Hospital of Nantes, France.

PARTICIPANTS
Cardiac surgery patients presenting oxygen saturation <96% with Venturi mask 50%.

INTERVENTION
Oxygenation by HFNC (45 L/min, FIO2 100%) or Hudson RCI non-rebreather face mask with a reservoir bag (15 L/min).

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
The co-primary outcomes were the PaO2/FIO2 ratio at 1 and 24 hours. In the intent-to-treat analysis (90 patients), the mean (standard deviation) PaO2/FIO2 ratios were: after 1 hour, 113.4 (50.2) in HFFM versus 137.8 (57.0) in HFNC (mean difference 24.4, CI 97.5% [2.9-45.9], p = 0.03), and after 24 hours, 106.9 (62.6) in HFFM versus 129.9 (54.0) in HFNC (mean difference 23.0, CI 97.5% [1.5-44.6], p = 0.04). After adjustment on baseline PaO2/FIO2, this difference persisted at 24 hours (p = 0.04). For secondary outcomes, the PaO2/FIO2 ratio after 6 hours was 108.7 (47.9) in HFFM versus 136.0 (45.2) in HFNC (p = 0.01), without difference after 48 hours (p = 0.95). Refractory hypoxemia requiring noninvasive ventilation occurred in 13 (28%) patients in HFNC versus 24 (56%) patients in HFFM (p = 0.007). The HFNC improved satisfaction (p = 0.0002) and reduced mucus dryness (p = 0.003) compared with HFFM.

CONCLUSION
In patients with severe hypoxemia after cardiac surgery, PaO2/FIO2 at 1 and 24 hours were higher and the use of noninvasive ventilation was reduced in HFNC compared with HFFM.


This paper presents a novel application of speech processing research, classification of African elephant vocalizations. Speaker identification and call classification experiments are performed on data collected from captive African elephants in a naturalistic environment. The features used for classification are 12 mel-frequency cepstral coefficients plus log energy computed using a shifted filter bank to emphasize the infrasound range of the frequency spectrum used by African elephants. Initial classification accuracies of 83.8% for call classification and 88.1% for speaker identification were obtained. The long-term goal of this research is to develop a universal analysis framework and robust feature set for animal vocalizations that can be applied to many species.


In this paper, we propose a secure mutual trust scheme based on the concept of chameleon hash function, for wireless sensor networks (WSNs). In the proposed scheme, the base station (BS), holding two common secrets, issues an identity to every deployed sensor node. An identity contains a public data and a private key. The public data is used to present a node, and the private key is used to make mutual trust keys with other node's public data. A public data can be used in verifying the legitimacy of the node. The mutual trust key is the evidence that a node owns the related public data. At any time, or after finding malicious nodes or deploying new nodes, BS will broadcast new group key to all sensor nodes by multiple hopping. Following the group key broadcasting and rebroadcasting, the still-legal nodes can set new information in their public data, private key, hop counters, public parameters, and neighbor nodes set, which contains the public data and hop counter of its neighboring nodes. Based on the new information, a sensor node can make the mutual trust keys with its neighboring nodes to do message authentication and secure communicating, or to set up a secure path to forward the sensed information to BS by multiple relaying. The security analysis shows that the proposed scheme can revoke the right of malicious sensor nodes, deploy new sensor nodes, and work well under malicious attacking. As the result of performance comparison, the proposed secure scheme is superior to the related works.


Experiments in premixed C₂H₄/CO₂-O₂ flames (Le < 1) in a tube have been conducted, the mixture was ignited at the top, open end of and propagating downwardly toward the closed end. to investigate the exact motion of flame tip fluctuations at the initial moment of irradiating CO₂ laser, the completely flat flame front is selected as a default flame, which is corresponding to the primary acoustic instability as reported by Searby.[1] During the laser exposure to the unburned mixture, the flame fronts had extremely unstable behaviors, resulting in a strong turbulent flame eventually through the secondary acoustic instability. To elucidate the effect of flame curvatures, the flame velocity and curvature prior to the secondary acoustic instability were analyzed by using captured high speed camera images. the results showed that a sudden acceleration at advancing waves was observed. And then, there was the time lag between the flame velocity and curvature, indicating the increase in the flame velocity even with decreasing flame curvature. these behaviors are closely relevant not only to the diffusive-thermal effects but also to the acoustic waves. the plausible mechanism was proposed in this paper based on the acoustic influence.


Vitamin D first became available during the 1930s and it was soon reported that psoriasis could respond to this drug. It was recognized that vitamin D analogues (secosteroids) were potent hormones with a major role in the regulation of calcium homeostasis. Further study revealed that specific receptors for secosteroids were present not only in organs regulating calcium metabolism but in virtually all types of cells. The secosteroid receptor is part of the steroid/retinoid/thyroid hormone receptor superfamily. It is most active in dimeric forms either as a homodimer or combined with other receptors in this family as heterodimers. Dimeric hormone/receptor complexes combine with a range of response elements on segments of DNA upstream of regulated genes and are involved in the control of gene transcription. Functions of secosteroids include regulation of proliferation and differentiation. They also have immunosuppressant properties. It has not proved simple to produce an analogue suitable for systemic use wh...


A mesoporous molecular SBA-15 was synthesized using Pluronics P123 (PEO20PPO70PEO20) as a structure-directing agent and TEOS as the silica source under acidic condition, and the structure of SBA-15 was determined by X-ray powder diffractometer and N2 adsorption desorption. As it has been reported that siliceous SBA-15 adsorbents can have a very high affinity and capacity for proteins, the recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor (rhbFGF) which is a kind of unstable protein was adsorpted by SBA-15, then the properties of SBA-15/bFGF complex were studied. The results had shown that the adsorption rate of rhbFGF by SBA - 15 reached 69.31% in pH 7.4 phosphate buffer at 4 °C. After 14 days, the released rate of rhbFGF from SBA-15 was 41.40% and 43.51% respectively in pH 10 phosphate buffer at 4 °C and 25 °C. Furthermore, the proliferation activity on NIH3T3 cells of the released rhbFGF still can be detected by MTT assay. Therefore, SBA-15 is possible to be used as a kind of material for bFGF adsorption and releasion.


PURPOSE: Provided is a chemical amplification type positive resist composition having high sensitivity, high resolution and remarkably improved rectangularity profile. The composition is useful to the lithography using an ArK or KrF excimer laser. CONSTITUTION: The chemical amplification type positive resist composition comprises 0.01-1 wt% of a N-containing compound represented by the formula VIa or VIb; 80-99.89 wt% of a resin comprising an acid labile group-containing structural unit, and is insoluble or hardly insoluble itself in an alkali aqueous solution but becomes soluble by the action of an acid; and 0.1-19.99 wt% of an acid generator represented b the formula I. In the formulas VIa and VIb, A is an optionally substituted alicyclic hydrocarbon group; X is a C1-C4 alkylene group or a single bond; R13, R15 and R16 are independently H, a C1-C12 alkyl group, a C3-C12 cycloalkyl group, a C1-C12 haloalkyl group, a C2-C12 alkyl group whose at least one -CH2- other than one bonded to the adjacent group is substituted with -S- or -O-, a C1-C12 alkoxy group, or an optionally substituted aromatic group; R14 is H, a C1-C12 alkyl group, a C3-C12 cycloalkyl group, a C1-C12 haloalkyl group, a C2-C12 alkyl group whose at least one -CH2- other than one bonded to the adjacent group is substituted with -S- or -O-, a C1-C12 alkoxy group, an optionally substituted aromatic group, or an optionally substituted arylamino group; n is an integer of 1-5; and -X-NR13-CO-R14 of the formula VIa or -X-CO-NR15R16 of the formula VIb can be different each other if n is 2 or more. In the formula I, Q1 to Q5 are independently H, a hydroxyl group, a C1-C12 alkyl group, a C1-C12 alkoxy group, or an electron withdrawing group; and Z+ is a group represented by the formula Va, Vb or Vc.


With the development of power system automation, data exchange between inhomogeneous platforms faces new challenges. The Application of XML technology can strengthen the ability of data exchange between inhomogeneous platforms in power system. This paper discusses the basic characteristics of XML technology firstly, and then analyses the basic application methods of XML in power system data exchange. XML technology is applied in the data exchange between inhomogeneous platforms in power system SCADA database system and an inhomogeneous data exchange system of SCADA database based on XML data management interface technology is designed, and the work principles and characteristics of the inhomogeneous data exchange system model are described. At the end, the advantages of XML are summarized and the conclusion is that XML technology applied in data exchange of power system can improve the power system automation level greatly.


This article introduces new and self-developed software based on photoplethysmographic methods which relies on the functions of the versatile, EDAQ530 sensor-to-USB interface. It offers monitoring of not only raw data obtained with finger photoplethysmography but also the markers relevant in ECG analysis derived from this data including instantaneous heart rate, heart rate variability and more. It can monitor the effects of physical exercise, stress, drugs over time, enabling us to perform exploratory measurements before more extensive research, correct measurements in real time or do demonstrations. Since the program (http://www.gamfelektro.hu/plethysmo) and the hardware documentation (http://www.inf.u-szeged.hu/noise/edudev/EDAQ530) are open source and freely available, it has the potential of becoming a significant tool in education and research.


A Pig green supply chain in the Poyang Lake Ecological Economic Zone was proposed in the paper,from the perspective of a low carbon economy.Based on the analysis of the Material-flow and value-flow in the supply chain,a benefit-distributed models of each node was set up;The pig,feed and pork markets of the 38 counties in the poyang lake Ecological Economic Zone were closely investigated,which reevealed the status and the problem of the pig market in the zone.The allocation of the profit on each node was also discussed,using the benifit-distributed model together with the data from closely investigation.Finally,some suggestions and advise were put forward for the benifit-distributed mechanism to the pig supply chain in Poyang Lake Ecological Economic Zone.


Objective To investigate the effects of antioxidant selenium on the oxLDL - induced apoptosis of bovine aortic endothelial cells(BAECs) and relevant mechanism. Methods BAECs were isolated and cultured. The endothelial cells were cultured with selenium for 12 hours and then were treated with oxLDL for 24 hours. The apoptosis of the endothelial cells was checked by the flow cytometry and DNA electrophoresis, while caspase - 3 activity was measured simultaneously. Results The DNA electrophore-sis showed typical ladders. While the endothelial cells cultured with selenium, the mean of apoptotic rates and caspase - 3 enzyme activity significantly decreased ( P 0.05) . Conclusion Selenium can reduced the apoptosis of cultured endothelial cells induced by oxLDL. This effect may be mediated by significantly suppressing caspase - 3 activity.


Objective To observe the expression of osteopontin(OPN) in the largngeal squamous cell carcinoma(LSCC) tissues,and the effect on the proliferation and invasiveness of laryngeal cancer Hep-2 cells of lentivirus vector with interference OPN(LV-shOPN).Methods SP immunohistochemical method was used to detect the OPN of 44 LSCC and adjacent tissues.LV-shOPN was transfected into Hep-2 cells.OPN in the Hep-2 cells was detected by Western blot was detected by Transwell assay,the proliferation of Hep-2 cells was examined by MTT.The invasion ability of Hep-2 cells was detected by Transwell assay.Results The positive rate of OPN in LSCC and adjacent tissue was 75.0 %(33/44)and 13.6%(6/44)respectively,the two rates were compared,P0.01.The OPN expression levels were significantly correlated with the presence of lymph node,clinical stage and histopathology grade of LSCC,all P0.01.After LV-shOPN transfection,the expression of OPN was reduced and ability of the proliferation and invasiveness was decreased in Hep-2 cells(all P0.05).Conclusions OPN expression is higher in LSCC than that in adjacent tissue,and maybe participated in the development and metastasis of LSCC.LV-shOPN can inhibit efficiently the proliferation and invasiveness of Hep-2 cells.


Abstract The distribution of the months of birth of children with congenital dislocation of the hip (CDH) in six countries in the Northern Hemisphere and in Victoria (Australia) were compared. The quarterly and monthly patterns of the six Northern Hemisphere countries were found to be in agreement: i.e. less children with CDH were born during the months of March through August than during September through February with peak incidence from the end of October till mid‐January. A reversed pattern of CDH births was noted in Victoria with maximum frequency in the second quarter of the year and a trough in the first quarter. Temperature per se could not be considered responsible for the variations in CDH births in both Hemispheres. Huntington 's hypothesis of a "basic animal rhythm" operating in man seems a reasonable explanation.


A 47-year-old man presented with a 1 year history of left epiphora. Six years previously it had been treated surgically in Turkey, although surgical details were not available and no external scars were evident. His vision was Snellen 6/6 right and 6/60 left, the decreased left acuity being a result of past stromal herpetic keratitis. All four puncta were patent and the right lacrimal drainage system was open to irrigation. Syringing of the left lower canaliculus resulted in fluid reflux through the upper.


As an indispensable subject to the philosophic theory research, ethics not only studies man's different kinds of moral awareness, but adjusts man's moral behavior, and meantime it has extended into all the fields of social development. The great contribution of contemporary feminism, which holds the view that male's ideas fill both the content and method of ethics, is its criticism on ethics. Therefore, feminism, whether it is regarded as an idea, a concept or a method, will provide some inspiration for the moral education by its criticism on the sex bias and traditional ethics dualism existing in ethics.


A near-infrared cavity ringdown setup for trace gas applications in petrochemical industry is presented. Acetylene concentrations in the ppbV range have been measured in real-time in a gas flow configuration.


It has been shown that the chances of having complications during biopsy is greatly reduced when the procedure is guided by ultrasound. However, because of the specular nature of echoes reflected by the needle, the needle tip is sometimes difficult to visualize on the ultrasound image. A number of methods have been studied to aid in the localization of the needle tip. Among them is a method by I. Cikes and B. Breyer (1984) which used a PZT crystal mounted on a catheter tip as either a passive ultrasound receiver or an active ultrasound transmitter to mark the position of the catheter tip in echocardiographically guided cardiac catheterization. This method was investigated experimentally using a piezoelectric polymer, PVDF, to mark the position of the tip of the biopsy needle. The advantage of PVDF over PZT is that it is thin, flexible, and wideband. PVDF-mounted needles have been fabricated and ultrasonically evaluated in water bath and in tissue-mimicking phantoms. Results are reported to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach and to elucidate design considerations that need to be addressed to make the device a useful clinical tool.<<ETX>>


BRlTISH MIIEDICAL ASSOCIATION: A NNUAL MEETING. THE Twenty-sixth Annual Meeting of the BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION will be holden in Edinburgh, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, the 29th, 30th, and 31st of July. The Address in Therapeutics will be delivered on Friday -norning, by Professor Christison. The Address in Surgery will be delivered on Friday afternoon, by Professor Miller. The Address in Midwifery will be delivered on Saturday morning, by Professor Simpson. Further particulars will be published shortly. illembers who propose to read papers at the meeting are requested to communicate their intention, as early as convenient, to the General Secretary,


Trihalomethanes (THMs) are byproducts produced during the disinfection of drinking water. We combined survey and experimental approaches to identify factors that influence THM formation potential (THMFP) in the Ohio River drainage basin. Two surveys of the Ohio River and its five principal tributaries were conducted to characterize spatial variation in THMFP in relation to algal abundance and suspended organic matter. We performed three experiments by placing Ohio River water in 2000-L outdoor mesocosms and manipulating algal senescence and bloom development by shading. Increases in THMFP among high- and low-light and dark tanks suggest that algal production, algal senescence, and possibly photolysis increased THMFP by as much as 50% over 3–6 days. Comparable yields of THMs (per unit of chlorophyll) were observed in both survey and experimental settings. Comparison of input waters with outputs indicates that the Ohio River at times acts to attenuate downstream transport of THM precursors. Our findings sug...


Background: The living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) surgery exposes the healthy donors to the risks associated with a major surgical procedure. The impact that this surgery has on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of a donor is an important aspect of outcome. Emerging LDLT centers need to be cognizant of the impact of this major procedure on the donor's quality of life (QOL). The aim of this review is to summarize the current literature on this aspect of LDLT outcomes. Methods: Pubmed search was performed and relevant articles were retrieved Results: The physical domains of the QOL were significantly worse within first 3 months after surgery but return to baseline at 6 months in the majority of patients. The factors that have consistently been reported to impact the donor QOL include donor age, occurrence of prolonged post-operative complications in the donors, unfavorable recipient outcomes and donation decision made prior to informed consent. The type of allograft does not significantly affect the donor QOL. Despite some degree of financial strain a majority of donors perceived donation as a positive experience with no regrets. Conclusion: Overall the benefits to the LDLT recipients outweigh the risks to the donors. The post donation care for certain.ps of donors at increased risk of poor QOL should continue for years.


The analytical capabilities of a Geographic Information System (GIS) are
increasingly being used to map the spread of disease and subsequent
disease control. This project uses the spatial analysis techniques of a GIS
to model habitat suitability of the Tasmanian devil and compare with
available data on a disease affecting the devil.
The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is the world's largest surviving
carnivorous marsupial, and is only found in Tasmania. Approximately 10
years ago the devils began showing signs of a fatal disease that has now
claimed between 33 - 50 percent of the native population. Devil Facial
Tumour Disease (referred to as DFTD) has been recorded in over 65
percent of the state but is feared to be present over a larger area.
Research conducted so far has failed to identify the cause of the disease
or provide a cure. There is evidence to suggest that the spread of DFTD is
dependent on devil population density (Jones M, pers comm).


The Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope (KAIT) at Lick Observatory observed gamma-ray burst GRB 021211 starting 105 s after the burst, among the earliest observations of an optical afterglow to date. Our well-sampled light curve, consisting of 18 points in the first 10 minutes and a total of 28 useful observations in the first 2.5 hr after the GRB, directly shows for the first time a break at t ≈ 10 minutes. The light curve can be represented as a sum of two components with power-law decay indices of -1.82 ± 0.02 and -0.82 ± 0.11. We hypothesize that the data before the break were dominated by emission from the reverse shock, as was previously suggested for GRB 990123. Our data suggest that either GRB 021211 underwent a dramatic color change at early times or there are small-scale variations superposed on the power-law decay of the reverse-shock emission. The faintness of GRB 021211, coupled with the fast decline typical of optical afterglows, suggests that some of the "dark bursts" were not detected because optical observations commenced too late after the GRB.


A majority of the High Court (6:1, Nettle J dissenting in part) dismissed a challenge, based on the implied freedom of political communication, to the validity of certain provisions of the 'Election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosures Act 1981' (NSW) (the EFED Act) that: - impose a cap on political donations - prohibit property developers from making such donations - prohibit certain indirect campaign contributions.


permissible variety of political arrangements to protect society from the wicked vicissitudes of human lawlessness, why not believe the same about Locke's project? (I am purposely not addressing Hobbes, since it seems obvious to me that his political thought is an explicit repudiation of the classical tradition.) Where then is the right place to locate the cause of desacralization? I am no historian, but it seems to me that one should first look for those events and ideas that would strike at the very heart of people's confidence in the natural law's participation in the eternal law. Two obvious places would be (1) the rise and growing influence of late medieval nominalism, subsequently buttressed by mechanistic views of nature, and (2) the increasing fragmentation and cultural relegation of Western Christendom following the Reformation. The first undercuts the nature part of natural law. The second undermines the authority of the Catholic Church, which was believed for well over a millennium to be the only trustworthy interpreter of the natural law, the eternal law, and the divine law. Kennedy does mention nominalism in an endnote in the book's introduction and briefly in the Locke chapter, but he does not explore the role it may have played in the desacralization of politics. (It is a well-known thesis defended by many.) Although he discusses in a few places postReformation disputes within and about confessional states, he does not address what those fights may have contributed to the rise of secular government. Despite these quibbles, Reforming the Law of Nature is an important contribution to the growing body of literature on theology, politics, and the natural law.—Francis J. Beckwith, Baylor University


The role of the different genome combinations in a polyploid on phenotypic stability was analysed in wheat and triticale. Twelve genotypes with four genome combinations (AABB, AABBDD, AABBRR and AABBDDRR) were raised in eight artificially created environments. The data on grains per spike, 100-grain weight and grain yield per plant were recorded and analysed following the models of Perkins and Jinks (1968) and Eberhart and Russell (1966). The results revealed that in polyploid species the genes for stability were not uniformly distributed in different genomes. It was therefore inferred that stability may largely depend on the gene combination rather than on the genome combination.


The aim of paper is to develop analytical mathematical models that describe the thermo dynamical equilibrium of resistive chemical sensor arrays /mixture of vapors multi-system. By using the Gibbs Duhem formalism, state equations in differential form, that the variations of intensive quantities (e.g. sensors partial sensitivity) as function of the gas mixture components concentrations and sensor array parameters describe, have been developed. Moreover, the responses of the sensor arrays as function of gas mixture components concentrations were modeled.


The MS/OR movement in South Korea started in the mid '60s when the military made early efforts to utilize MS/OR. These efforts acted as a catalyst to encourage its application in public enterprises. In the mid '70s, large private business followed the public sector's lead by using MS/OR to streamline management practices. By the mid '80s, medium- and small-sized industries began to apply MS/OR techniques, aided by the spread of microcomputers. Recognizing the importance of MS/OR as an efficient management tool for economic development, the government developed educational and training programs in MS/OR in the early '70s. For example, it established KAIST as the leading educational center in science and technology, including MS/OR. As the public interest in MS/OR increased and its role became more important, the Korean Operations Research Society further promoted MS/OR in Korea, playing a leading role in establishing the Association of Asian-Pacific Operational Research Societies. MS/OR has contributed gre...


In the UK, guidelines on the management of childhood epilepsy have just been published by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). These, it is claimed, are evidence based. One definition of evidence-based medicine (EBM) is the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients.1 Surely, no one could question that this is a good thing and that it should be the cornerstone of our clinical management of patients with epilepsy. The NICE guidelines contain almost 200 recommendations.2 In addition, NICE has previously published guidelines on the use of the newer antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in children3 and the Cochrane database of systematic reviews includes many on the topic of epilepsy. If there is so much evidence around on which to base our clinical practice, why does it seem that most practitioners involved in the clinical care of children with epilepsy base most of their practice on case reports, anecdotes, and personal experience? Of over 200 recommendations in the NICE guidelines, fewer than 10% are based on grade A evidence (implying that they are based directly on systematic review or meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials or on at least one randomized controlled trial). As the guideline points out, depending on the question being asked, grades B and C are not necessarily inferior to A as they may represent the highest level of relevant evidence. However, just under half of the recommendations are of, so called, GPP grade (Good Practice Points) based on the experience of the Guideline Development Group. When it comes to pharmacological treatment of epilepsy the situation is no better. Around 30 recommendations are made, of which eight are grade A (four based upon previous NICE appraisals) and 16 are GPP grade. Although one of the grade A recommendations is quite specific (recommending vigabatrin as first-line treatment for infantile spasms), some of the others are the proverbial 'apple-pie and motherhood', recommending that the AED treatment strategy be individualized, that monotherapy should be used whenever possible, and that newer AEDs be used when older ones do not work. The NICE recommendations about the use of the newer AEDs in children were informed by a detailed assessment report, which considered all published AED studies.4 Depressingly, it concluded that 'the quality of RCT (randomized controlled trial) data was generally poor, with many giving cause for concern over the integrity of randomization, quality of blinding, and/or analytical methods employed' (p 97). It identified 20 trials reporting outcome data for children with epilepsy, 15 of which used a placebo as comparator. It was concluded that although the studies provided reasonably convincing evidence that the newer agents have some beneficial impact on the disease, they offered little information as to how, and when, they are best used. Five trials were identified in which drugs were compared with each other. One of these compared vigabatrin with hydrocortisone for infantile spasms due to tuberous sclerosis, and found the former to be considerably more effective. None of the other four found any clear evidence of a difference in the effectiveness between the drugs being compared. The newer drugs were generally better tolerated than the older ones, but the assessment report drew attention to problems in the choice of comparators, drug doses, and titration schedules. The Cochrane Epilepsy Group has published 21 reviews


This chapter argues that jurists can employ various tools like public welfare and the principle of no harm to either modify earlier legal enactments or formulate new ones. It contends that these devices can provide only partial and temporary amendments to existing legal injunctions. The chapter also examines the role of custom ('urf) in the reformation process and shows that the Qur'an presumes that its legal rulings will be understood based on prevalent customary practices and values. Contemporary jurists who insist on enforcing earlier edicts are, in effect, validating pre-Islamic Arabian cultural values and imposing them on contemporary Muslims. The chapter also argues that some of the laws that were instituted in a distinct cultural context will have to be revised especially when they encounter a different cultural framework. It also explores how local custom that is endorsed by people of sound mind can legislate laws in today's diasporic context.


This article challenges the premises of the academic model that has traditionally been used to prepare psychologist-manager practitioners. It also explores some of the underlying assumptions of our profession and looks at what's currently working and what's not. In addition, it reviews some of the problems and opportunities of being a hyphenated profession. An alternative model for educating professionals in the field is proposed along with a discussion of what may be next.


Several series of N6- or 8-substituted derivatives of adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) were synthesized. N6-(omega-Aminoalkyl) derivatives of adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP) were converted into their omega-N-carbobenzyloxy derivatives, and these were converted, via the 2',3'-O-carbonyl derivatives of their 5'-phosphorimidazolidates, into the corresponding ATP derivatives. Hydrogenolytic removal of the carbobenzyloxy groups, followed by iodoacetylation of the omega-amino groups with N-(iodoacetoxy)succinimide, gave N6-R-ATP, where R = (CH2)nNHCOCH2I (n = 2--8) or (CH2)nCON)CH3)(CH2)mN(CH3)CO(CH2)nNHCOCH2I (n = m = 3; n = 3, m = 4; n = 4, m = 3; n = m = 4). Condensation of N6-(omega-aminoalkyl) derivatives of AMP with N-hydroxysuccinimide esters of omega-[N-(carbobenzyloxy)amino] carboxylic acids gave N6-(CH2)nNHCO(CH2)mNH-Cbz derivatives of AMP which, upon conversion to the corresponding derivatives of ATP, followed by removal of the carbobenzyloxy group and iodoacetylation, as described above, gave N6-(CH2)nNHCO(CH2)mNHCOCH2I-ATP derivatives (n = 3, m = 5 or 6; n = 4, m = 5; n = 6, m = 1--6). The same sequence of reactions starting with N6-[omega-(methylamino)alkyl] derivatives of N6-CH3-AMP gave N6-CH3, N6-(CH2)nH(CH3)CO(CH2)mNHCOCH2I derivatives of ATP (n = 4, m = 3, 5 or 6; n = 6, m = 5 or 6). Reaction of alpha, omega-diaminoalkanes with 8-Br-ATP gave 8-NH(CH2)nNH2 derivatives of ATP, which upon iodoacetylation gave 8-NH(CH2)nNHCOCH2I derivatives of ATP (n = 2, 4, 6, or 8). Substrate and inhibitor properties indicated that the ATP derivatives are potential exco-ATP-site-directed inactivators of hexokinases, adenylate kinases, and pyruvate kinases.


The presents text tries to come up to the method of Ethnoliterature from two focus of interest that I consider basics. On the one hand, between others, as a results of the constant preoccupation of Anthropology for objectivity , both in its methodology and techniques, as well as in the exposition of results. On the other hand, from what I consider a basic question in the units of analysis, that is, the spatial and temporal contextualization of the text, the interaction between author and reader, and the expressive rhetoric used.


Safety and Health in European Mining : A report on safety and health, statistics, tools and laws, produced for the I2Mine (Innovative Technologies and Concepts for the Intelligent Deep Mine of the Future) project.


^J ? 1 6 September 1997, civil rights activist Bertha Luster called me from Marks, Mississippi. I had first met Ms. Luster and her six children in 1968 on the Mule Train, part of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's (sclc) Poor People's Campaign. She had located my business card in an old box of civil rights memorabilia, and I was overjoyed to hear from her that people in Marks were planning a thirtieth anniversary of the Mule Train. Of the many caravans of poor people that came to Washington, DC, from the four corners of the United States, this was probably the most dramatic—and the only one not made up of buses, cars, and vans. When I hung up the telephone my mind drifted back to the 1960s and Dr. Martin Luther KingJr.'s "I have a dream" speech. Inspired by his words, I had become a photographer, committed myself to the documentation of black culture, and, with no formal training, begun a full-time freelance career. When Dr. King was murdered in Memphis, Tennessee, on 4 April 1968, a shock wave went through America and a cloud of smoke hung over the nation's capítol as the city burned. By month's end, I had joined hundreds of odier volunteers and found myself in Marks, assigned to the Mule Train. Feeling very much the novice, I was initially intimidated by my assigned task of photographing this undertaking; but when I saw the courage, strength, and wisdom of the people who had been on die front lines in the struggle for social justice, my fear was replaced with strength, and I knew there was nowhere else on earth that I wanted to be. Now, thirty years later, I went to my files and rediscovered notes and images from the Mule Train. I was saddened by the evidence diat I was really not a very good photographer then— I often didn't know exacdy what I was doing, hanging in on raw guts and using a couple of old cameras with defective lenses. At die same time, I was pleased to see that as inexperienced as I had been, I had an al-


In infrared remote target detection system,the aeral targets containing little piexls looks just like a spot.Objects on the ground have much influence on the detection of the targets.A infrared aeral target detection algorithm based on background suppression and feature points detection is presented.This method analyses the difference of gradient between ground and air and then partition them.Subsequently finding out the feature points which represent the location of the targets.This method is applicable for the spatial domain and low altitude target detection.Experiment results shows that the proposed algorithm is effective and convergent.


Methyl groups in alternating octanucleotides containing 7-methyl-7-deazaguanine and cytosine have steric freedom and maintain the B-DNA structure, whereas the isomeric-8-methyl-7-deazaguanine causes a B–Z transition.


Most research on bilevel linear programming problem  is focused on its deterministic form, in which the coefficients and decision variables in the objective functions and constraints are assumed to be crisp. In fact, due to inaccurate information, it is difficult to know exactly values of coefficients that used to construct a bilevel model. The interval set theory is suitable for describing and solving uncertainty and inaccuracy in these decision-making issues. For this reason, interval bilevel linear programming problem, in which the coefficients in both objective functions and constraints are interval, is an attractive subject. In this paper, we consider a type of interval bilevel linear programming problem full , in which all the coefficients in both objective functions and constraints are interval. The purpose of this paper is to present a new method for solving fully interval bilevel linear programming problem with equality constraints. By providing numerical examples, the implementation of this method is expressed. economics and in the problems that we have certain, converting to interval programming a, is studied problems simply


Osteitis pubis (OP) in athletes is an old problem and its etiology is still the subject of debate. The purpose of the study was to compare the isokinetic torques for the hip flexors/extensors, and hip abductors/adductors muscle groups in OP soccer players with that of normal athlete soccer players. Isokinetic data were collected from 20 osteitis pubis (OP) soccer players and 20 healthy male soccer players (control group). Peak torque/body weight (PT/BW) was recorded from hip muscles at isokinetic concentric contraction mode with a speed of 180 o /sec. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used for each hip muscle group's PT/BW to compare between control and OP group with the initial alpha level set at 0.05 with subsequent Bonferroni adjustments. Findings revealed a significant increase in hip flexors PT/BW value (dominant limb, control group versus affected limb, OP group). Control group hip extensor PT/BW mean value was higher than that of hip flexors. Both control and OP groups hip adductor PT/BW mean value was significantly greater than that of hip abductors. Hip flexion/extension and adduction/abduction muscle imbalance might therefore be the inciting cause of OP in soccer players.


In this paper of the EBP Speaker's Corner, the former producer of the FRONTLINE report "Prisoners of Silence, "reacts to the perspectives paper by Janyce Boynton, entitled "Facilitated Communication – what harm it can do: Confessions of a former facilitator" (Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention, 6(1), 3–13). Source of funding: No source of funding reported. Jon Palfreman, a 2006 Nieman Fellow, is KEZI Distinguished Professor of Broadcast Journalism at the University of Oregon. A veteran of both UK and US television, he has made more than 40 BBC and PBS one-hour documentaries, including the Peabody Award-winning series The Machine That Changed the World, the Emmy Award-winning NOVA program Siamese Twins, and the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton winner Harvest of Fear. In 1993, he produced the FRONTLINE report Prisoners of Silence, which helped to expose Facilitated Communication.


Dryland salinity in Australia is usually subdivided into two categories, scald and saline seepage, however, the use of these terms has not been consistent. The existence of a groundwater discharge condition should form the basis for distinguishing different areas of dryland salinity, but areas both with and without this condition have been labelled as 'scalds'. It is suggested that 'seepage scald' and 'dry scald' be used to distinguish scalds with a groundwater discharge condition from those scalds without while retaining the descriptive qualities of the term 'scald'. Further, it is suggested that soils labelled as saline seepages fall into the seepage scald category.
This study addresses the problem of seepage scald in southeastern New South Wales. There is very little information concerning the soil and hydrological properties of these areas and a case study of the Yarralaw seepage scald was undertaken to answer questions concerning the scald's location, the threat of scald expansion, possible offsite effects and the scald's origin. The results of this study have application to a number of similar sites in southeastern New South Wales.


An organic semiconductor light-emitting device having the form of a field-effect transistor and a display using this device are disclosed. In the device, electrons and holes can be transported. The device comprises an organic semiconductor light-emitting layer capable of emitting light by recombination of holes and electrons, a hole injection electrode for injecting holes into the organic semiconductor light-emitting layer, an electron injection electrode for injecting electrons into the organic semiconductor light-emitting layer, and a gate electrode so disposed as to be opposed to the organic semiconductor light-emitting layer between the electrodes. When a control voltage is applied to the gate electrode, the carrier distribution in the organic semiconductor light-emitting layer is controlled. Thus, the light emission can be turned on/off and the emission intensity can be modulated.


Coal mine safety is a complex system, which is controlled by a number of interrelated factors and is difficult to estimate. Due to the various influences, coal mine safety assessment reveals highly nonlinear characteristics. Recently, support vector machine (SVM), with nonlinear mapping capabilities of forecasting, has been successfully employed to solve nonlinear classification problems. However, it is still lack of systematic approaches to determine appropriate parameter combination for a SVM model. This study applies particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to choose the suitable parameter combination for a SVM model. A PSO-SVM model for coal mine safety assessment is developed. Calculating tests show that the PSO-SVM based model makes assessments much more accurate than the neural network (NN) based model does when the samples are limited.


BACKGROUND
Research examining emotion dysregulation and alcohol use has increased exponentially over the past decade. However, these studies have been limited by their use of cross-sectional designs and narrow definitions of emotion dysregulation. Addressing these significant gaps in the extant literature, this study utilized state-of-the-art methodology (i.e., experience sampling methods) and statistics (i.e., dynamic structural equation modeling) to examine reciprocal associations between negative and positive emotion dysregulation and alcohol use at the momentary level.

METHODS
Participants were 145 community women (M age = 40.56, 40.3% white) experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) and using substances. Surveys assessing negative and positive emotion dysregulation and alcohol use (i.e., number of standard drinks) were administered three times a day for 30 days using phone-based interactive voice recording.

RESULTS
Significant contemporaneous effects indicated that negative and positive emotion dysregulation both co-occurred with alcohol use. However, levels of negative and positive emotion dysregulation did not predict later alcohol use, nor did alcohol use predict later levels of negative and positive emotion dysregulation. There was significant variability among participants with regards to cross-lagged effects.

CONCLUSIONS
Findings suggested that both negative and positive emotion dysregulation co-occurred with alcohol use and that interindividual variability in the cross-lagged associations between negative and positive emotion dysregulation and alcohol use was significant. Research using idiographic approaches may identify women experiencing IPV for whom negative and positive emotion dysregulation drive alcohol use and alcohol use drives negative and positive emotion dysregulation.


We compared two procedural variations of response cost (RC) of preferred materials to increase mouth clean in a five-year-old boy diagnosed with autism. Noncontingent presentation of preferred materials (NCR) was compared to differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) when returning preferred materials once they have been removed for refusal or expulsion of food. Results indicated that both procedures increased swallowing and reduced problem behavior; however, NCR + RC was superior to DRA + RC with respect to overall mean and initial treatment measures. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Automated electron backscatter diffraction pattern (EBSP) measurements were conducted in an attempt to relate low cycle fatigue (LCF) behavior to underlying microtexture in alpha-beta forged and heat treated Ti-6242 materials. Conventional load control, R=0 LCF tests were conducted with two wave forms, 30 cycles per minute (30 cpm), and 2 minute hold at peak stress, (dwell). The fracture surfaces and adjacent microstructures of the LCF specimens were examined using light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and orientation imaging using automated EBSP. Fracture surfaces of dwell LCF specimens frequently contained large macroscopically flat, shiny facets, while 30 cpm specimens showed no such evidence of facets. Additionally, the dwell LCF specimens that contained facets had very low lives, typically around 1000 cycles at 126 ksi maximum stress. EBSP measurements directly on the facets, and on cross-sections through the facets revealed that the facet fracture plane was on, or close to (0001) of the primary alpha grains, Fig. 1, and was approximately perpendicular to the stress axis.


This book argues that disenchantment is not only a response to wartime experience, but a condition of modernity with a language that finds extreme expression in First World War literature. The objects of disenchantment are often the very same as the enchantments of scientific progress: bureaucracy, homogenisation and capitalism. Older beliefs such as religion, courage and honour are kept in view, and endure longer than often is realised. Social critics, theorists and commentators of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries provide a rich and previously unexplored context for wartime and post-war literature. The rise of the disenchanted narrative to its predominance in the War Books Boom of 1928 – 1930 is charted from the turn of the century in texts, archival material, sales and review data. Rarely-studied popular and middlebrow novels are analysed alongside well-known highbrow texts: D. H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf, H. G. Wells and Rebecca West rub shoulders with forgotten figures such as Gilbert Frankau and Ernest Raymond. These sometimes jarring juxtapositions show the strained relationship between enchantment and disenchantment in the war and the post-war decade.


This paper argues that the relative stability of ancient Egyptian society during the Middle Kingdom (c.2055 – 1650 BC) can in part be explained by referring to the phenomenon of hermeneutical injustice, i.e., the manner in which imbalances in socio‐economic power are causally correlated with imbalances in the conceptual scheme through which people attempt to interpret their social reality and assert their interests in light of their interpretations. The court literature of the Middle Kingdom is analyzed using the concepts of hermeneutical injustice and ideology. It is argued that while it is true that there was room for maneuver and for internal critique, the efficacy of internal critique was hindered by the structure of the intellectual discourse of Middle Kingdom Egypt. This intellectual discourse was suitable for the interpretation of social reality in a way that allowed the elites to assert their interests, but it was not suitable for the interpretation of social reality in a way that accorded with the interests of the exploited peasantry.


Landscape patterns are a result of the combined action of natural and social factors. Quantifying the relationships between landscape pattern changes, soil erosion, and sediment yield in river basins can provide regulators with a foundation for decision-making. Many studies have investigated how land-use changes and the resulting landscape patterns affect soil erosion in river basins. However, studies examining the effects of terrain, rainfall, soil erodibility, and vegetation cover factors on soil erosion and sediment yield from a landscape pattern perspective remain limited. In this paper, the upper Ganjiang Basin was used as the study area, and the amount of soil erosion and the amount of sediment yield in this basin were first simulated using a hydrological model. The simulated values were then validated. On this basis, new landscape metrics were established through the addition of factors from the revised universal soil loss equation to the land-use pattern. Five combinations of landscape metrics were chosen, and the interactions between the landscape metrics in each combination and their effects on soil erosion and sediment yield in the river basin were examined. The results showed that there were highly similar correlations between the area metrics, between the fragmentation metrics, between the spatial structure metrics, and between the evenness metrics across all the combinations, while the correlations between the shape metrics in Combination 1 (only land use in each year) differed notably from those in the other combinations. The new landscape indicator established based on Combination 4, which integrated the land-use pattern and the terrain, soil erodibility, and rainfall erosivity factors, were the most significantly correlated with the soil erosion and sediment yield of the river basin. Finally, partial least-squares regression models for the soil erosion and sediment yield of the river basin were established based on the five landscape metrics with the highest variable importance in projection scores selected from Combination 4. The results of this study provide a simple approach for quantitatively assessing soil erosion in other river basins for which detailed observation data are lacking.


Automatic cruise control of a platoon of multiple connected vehicles in an automated highway system has drawn significant attention of the control practitioners over the past two decades due to its ability to reduce traffic congestion problems, improve traffic throughput and enhance safety of highway traffic. This paper proposes a two-layer distributed control scheme to maintain the string stability of a heterogeneous and connected vehicle platoon moving in one dimension with constant spacing policy assuming constant velocity of the lead vehicle. A feedback linearization tool is applied first to transform the nonlinear vehicle dynamics into a linear heterogeneous state-space model and then a distributed adaptive control protocol has been designed to keep equal inter-vehicular spacing between any consecutive vehicles while maintaining a desired longitudinal velocity of the entire platoon. The proposed scheme utilizes only the neighbouring state information (i.e. relative distance, velocity and acceleration) and the leader is not required to communicate with each and every one of the following vehicles directly since the interaction topology of the vehicle platoon is designed to have a spanning tree rooted at the leader. Simulation results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed platoon control scheme. Moreover, the practical feasibility of the scheme was validated by hardware experiments with real robots.


To investigate the predictors and clinical impact of left ventricular reverse remodeling (LVRR) after MitraClip (MC) therapy for degenerative (DMR) and functional mitral regurgitation (FMR).


Objective To observe the amelioration of pulmonary function and interleukin- 8 by combined therapy of external point application and herbal concentrate- granules on treating asthma( asthenia symptom- complex). Methods 120 patients suffering from onset period of bronchial asthma were randomized to the control group and the treatment group. The control group was given Budesonide Inhaler and Theophylline Sustained Release Tablets. The treatment group was given combined therapy of external point application and herbal concentrate- granules,courses of treatment were both 10 days. To observe the amelioration of FEV1%,PEF and interleukin- 8. Results After 10 days treatment,FEV1% of the two groups increased dramatically with statistical significance( P 0. 05); The PEF and interleukin- 8 of the two groups decreased dramatically with statistical significance( P 0. 05). There were no statistical difference between the two groups( P 0. 05). Conclusion The exterior and interior combined therapy can improve the lung function and the immunization of patients suffered from asthenia symptom- complex of asthma.


The question addressed in this research is whether or not there exist economies of scale in the US savings and loan (SL(b) that from 1979 to 1983 the minimum efficient scale for associations declined;(c) that a substantial change has occurred in operating costs and the estimated augmented elasticity.


Objective. To examine the association of perceived discrimination and health-related quality of life using cross- sectional survey. Methods. We measured perceived discrimination using a nine-item discrimination scale and measured health-related quality of life with the mental component summary (MCS) and physical component summary (PCS) scores of the Short Form-12 questionnaire. The sample was drawn from adult members of an East Coast American Indian Tribe. Results. After adjusting for age, sex, marital status, education, and smoking status, perceived discrimination scores greater than the sample median were associated with higher odds of poor mental functioning (odds ratio = 2.25, 95% CI = 1.03–4.91) but not with poor physical functioning (odds ratio = 1.18, 95% CI = 0.53–2.63). Conclusions. Our findings support results from previous studies linking perceived discrimination to worse mental health outcomes.


Students who enter higher education opportunity programs (HEOPs), like other disadvantaged groups, frequently feel as if they are viewed as different, of limited ability or motivation, untrustworthy, and perhaps unwanted. In the authors' experience as academic advisors and educational social workers, the perceived devaluation of their race or socioeconomic status has caused many students in HEOPs to identify themselves with academic and career failure. Such students generally feel blamed and disempowered and subjected to the "us versus them" attitudes of schools and communities. "Us versus them" orientations concretize the students into separate, unequal, and perhaps even adversarial categories and create dichotomies such as black versus white or rich versus poor. Traditional problem-focused social work frequently reinforces this negative grounding in spite of the good intentions of social workers. This article demonstrates the usefulness of a solution-focused methodology, especially with those who feel demeaned, disempowered, and oppressed. Special attention is given to students in higher education opportunity programs, but this methodology can be successfully used with others who feel separated by "us versus them" orientations. Higher Education Opportunity Programs In this article, the phrase "higher education opportunity program" has a broader meaning than it does in New York State, where the phrase refers only to publicly funded educational opportunity programs in private colleges and universities. HEOP here refers to all educational opportunity programs in higher education whether in public or private educational institutions or whether publicly or privately funded. HEOPs emphasize the educational development of students and the expansion of educational opportunities for those from economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. They go beyond the narrow criteria of remedial programs, subsidized tuition, or specific colleges or universities. HEOPs build on the ideal of equal access to higher education for all citizens by extending opportunities "to persons who have been academically and economically disadvantaged" (New York State Education Department, 1990, p. vi). Students in HEOPs HEOPs serve people traditionally underrepresented in higher education. For example, in New York State for the 1989-90 academic year, 93 percent of the students in HEOPs had gross family incomes under $18,000 a year, and 61 percent had annual incomes below $8,300. Forty-two percent of the HEOP students were black, 29 percent were Hispanic, 19 percent were white non-Hispanic, and 9 percent were Asian (New York State Education Department, 1990). The majority of students in HEOPs are students of color because of the economic and educational disadvantages confronting nonwhite populations. These disadvantages appear to be particularly devastating for males: "People talk about the fact that the black male has been disappearing from college campuses; so has the Hispanic male, in a precipitous drop in the last 10 or so years - about 20 percent in terms of participation rates" (Barry, 1991, p. 5). Philosophical Assumptions of HEOPs The philosophical assumptions that support higher education opportunity programs as opposed to remedial programs are similar in many ways to the assumptions that accompany solution-focused social work versus problem-focused social work. Individuals are perceived to have the inner resources they need to develop and succeed (Saleebey, 1992). They activate success by creating a vision of their future, by working in a supportive environment, and by connecting with specific individuals who help students identify strategies and deal with barriers as they move toward the future. Relatively little emphasis is placed on understanding the causes and sustaining forces of problems or on looking back and studying the past. Much emphasis is placed on here-and-now development in relation to where one is going. …


Coal mining exerts a long lasting impact on landscape, ecosystem and sociocultural-economic considerations. Mining and its subsequent activities in Northeastern Coal fields, Margherita Assam has been resulted significant forest and top soil loss, acid mine drainage and soil and water pollution in the area. Keeping in view the above facts, ecorestoration of mine degraded land Margherita, Assam is urgent need of the hour. Coal mining exerts a long lasting impact on landscape, ecosystem and socio-culturaleconomic considerations. Mining and its subsequent activities have been found to degrade the land to a significant extent. Overburden removal from the coal field results in significant forest and top soil loss. Most of the mining wastes are inert solid materials and toxic in nature. These toxic substances are inherently present in the ore, e.g. heavy metals such as iron, mercury, arsenic, lead, zinc, cadmium, etc (Guha Roy, 1991). These heavy metals leach out of the stored waste piles and contaminate immediate environment. However, some toxic chemicals are also found in waste, as they are added intentionally during extraction and processing. The major environmental impacts due to coal mining are changes in soil stratification, reduced biotic diversity, and alteration of structure and functioning of ecosystems; these changes ultimately influence water and nutrient dynamics as well as trophic interactions. Land degradation due to coal mining is the cumulative effect of air and water pollution, soil quality degradation and biodiversity loss (Sankar et al. 1993). This process works through a cycle known as land degradation cycle. The magnitude and impact of mining on environment varies from mineral to mineral and also depends on the potential of the surrounding environment to attenuate the negative effects of mining, geographical disposition of mineral deposits and size of mining operations. A list of minerals has been prepared by Department of Environment, which is supposed to have serious impact on environment. These minerals include coal, iron ore, zinc, lead, copper, gold, pyrite, International Journal of Science, Environment ISSN 2278-3687 (O) and Technology, Vol. 3, No 3, 2014, 881 – 884 Received Apr 10, 2014 * Published June 2, 2014 * www.ijset.net 882 Krishna Giri, Gaurav Mishra, Shailesh Pandey, P.K. Verma, Rajesh Kumar and N.S. Bisht manganese, bauxite, chromite, dolomite, limestone, apatite and rock phosphate, fireclay, silica sand, kaolin, barytes. Mineral production generates enormous quantities of waste/ overburden and tailings / slimes (Rai, 1996). Margherita is a census town in Tinsukia district of Assam state. The small sub-divisional town has scenic beauty though nothing like a tourism business. Margherita is located at 27.28°N, 95.68°E with an average elevation of 162 meters. North Eastern Coalfields is a unit of Coal India Limited, which has its headquarters in Margherita, Assam. The unit came into existence in 1975 after nationalization of coal mines in India. It took over the private mines spread in North Eastern states i.e. Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. At present there are five working mines three underground and two opencast mines. This coal mining activity in Margherita has resulted significant ecological degradation in the area (Figure 1). Figure 1. Coal mining in Margherita Assam and Ecological Degradation Acid mine drainage is a serious environmental issue of coal mining activities. This occurs when sulfide ores are exposed to the atmosphere, which can be enhanced through mining and milling processes where oxidation reactions are initiated. Mining increases the exposed surface area of sulfur-bearing rocks allowing for excess acid generation beyond natural buffering capabilities found in host rock and water resources (Caruccio, 1975). Once acid drainage is created, metals are released into the surrounding environment, and become readily available to biological organisms. When fishes are exposed directly to metals and H + ions through their gills, impaired respiration may result from chronic and acute toxicity. Fishes are also exposed indirectly to metals through ingestion of contaminated sediments and food Ecological Degradation in Northeastern Coal Fields: Margherita Assam 883 materials. A common weathering product of sulfide oxidation is the formation of iron hydroxide (Fe (OH)3), a red/orange colored precipitate found in thousands of miles of streams affected by acid mine drainage (Figure 2). Iron hydroxides and oxyhydroxides may physically coat the surface of stream sediments and streambeds destroying habitat, diminishing availability of clean gravels used for spawning, and reducing fish food items such as benthic macro invertebrates. Acid mine drainage, characterized by acidic metalliferous conditions in water, is responsible for physical, chemical, and biological degradation of aquatic ecosystems (Ashraf et al. 2010). Acidic water adversely affects the soil environment by way of making the soil acidic and rich in inorganic component and poor in organic content. Deterioration of soil quality has severely affects the crop growth and yield in the area mainly due to high concentrations of hydrogen ions, which inactivate most enzyme systems, restrict respiration, and root uptake of salts and water by plants. It also leads to deficiency of nitrogen, phosphorous, calcium, magnesium, molybdenum and boron as well as iron and manganese toxicity. Solubilization and transport of phosphorus from soil to the water environment due to acidity is an important issue associated with decreased agricultural productivity. Figure 2. Acid mine drainage from coal mining in Margherita Assam It is noteworthy to mention that the actual land mass available to mankind is just 30% of total global surface area. India's land area is about 2-3% of the global land area, whereas it supports more than 18% of the global population. This important statistics reveals that the 884 Krishna Giri, Gaurav Mishra, Shailesh Pandey, P.K. Verma, Rajesh Kumar and N.S. Bisht poor per capita land holding stands at 0.32 hectares, which calls for due attention to restoration of land after mining in order to utilize the land for useful purpose. Eco-restoration of mine degraded land in Northeastern coal field Margherita is a challenging environmental problem. Natural recovery in mine spoils is a very slow process which may take about 200 years of natural succession on a mine degraded land for the total nutrient pool recovery to the level of native forest soil. The first step in any restoration program is to protect the disturbed habitat and communities from being further wasted followed by to accelerate re-vegetation process for increasing biodiversity and stabilizing nutrient cycling. As a result of natural succession by planting desirable plant species on mine degraded land a self-sustaining ecosystem may be developed in a short period of time (Bhattacharya, 20005).


The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of aqua exercise program on the static balance of children with mental retardation. The subjects were three male child and two female child with mental retardation(age ranges from 5 to 6). The subjects were practiced with focusing on the aqua exercise program for 8 weeks, from 3, May 2005 to 30, June 2005. The results of this study were as follows : 1. After the exercise program, the balance of double-stance by BPM was significantly reduced of lateral sway number by 12.2%(p<.05) with eyes obstruct. 2. After the exercise program, the balance of double-stance by BPM was significantly reduced of anterior and posterior sway number of left leg by 21.0%(p<.0.1) with eyes obstruct. 3. After the exercise program, the balance of double-stance by BPM was significantly reduced of anterior and posterior sway number of right leg by 26.5%(p<.001) with eyes obstruct. 4. After the exercise program, the balance of double-stance by BPM was significantly reduced of lateral sway number by 18.5%(p<.05) with eyes open. 5. After the exercise program, the balance of double-stance by BPM was significantly reduced of anterior and posterior sway number of left leg by 18.2%(p<.0.1) with eyes open. 6. After the exercise program, the balance of double-stance by BPM was significantly reduced of anterior and posterior sway number of right leg by 23.2%(p 7. After the exercise program, the balance of double-stance by BPM was significantly reduced of sway area by 7.6%(p<.01) with eyes obstruct. 8. After the exercise program, the balance of double-stance by BPM was significantly reduced of sway area by 10.6%(p As we can see the results of this study, the aqua exercise program improved the static balance of child with mental retardation. Futhermore, it is reasonable program that can improvability of static balance for the children with mental retardation using aqua exercise program. And then it is necessary to develop much better program than now for the children with mental retardation's health and to provide the adequate pool for their aqua exercise.


The new milestones should be expected with the formation of a digital civilization, in the development of all institutions of social relations. Within the mainstream of present study, the authors aim to trace the evolution of ideological institutions, to describe the potential threats and risks for a government institution associated with the introduction of digital technologies resulted in the modern transformation of the value and regulatory foundations of society through the new challenges of digital transformation of international, state-law and social relations. Presently, the two definitions are constituting the concept of ideology. The first one is claiming the "false consciousness" (K. Marx); the second one -"enlightened false consciousness" (P. Sloterdayk). This constructional evolution of the relationship between phenomenology and ideology that is in the center of the study of numerous scholars exists over a century. Along with this story, the philosophy itself as a science had been considerably changed. Such a sharp deviation of the various theories of knowledge of the last two centuries was caused exclusively by the practical orientation of ideological consciousness. The present study is focused on the clarification of this urgent for modern political philosophy issues being strongly influenced by intensive development of information and communication technologies


This paper presents a design of the control system of a robotic fire-fighting.Using M3 core-processor,the phototransistor and the ultrasonic distance measuring module are used as sensors,and the CC2430 is used as wireless sensing module.The signal collected by the sensor is processed by digital filtering techniques and the PID control algorithm,thereby improving the positioning accuracy of the robot.Through the hardware platform testing,the results show that the system is stable,and is able to correctly determine the source of fire and extinguishing action.


20 Duluoke(paternal) Hybird-pigs were used to investigate the polymorphism of plasma cerumLoplasmin(Cp)by means of a polyacrylamide gel eletrophoresis in vertical plate.The results were as follows: ①There were both CpAB and CpBB phenotypes on the locus of plasma cerumLoplasmin in Duluoke binary and ternary Hybird-pigs examined and CpBB type was a preponderance phenotypes; ②The frequencies of CpA and CpB alleles were 0.1429,0.2308 and 0.8571,0.7692 in Duluoke binary and ternary Hybird-pigs examined; ③The gene heterozygosities were separate 0.2441,0.3350,the gene homozygosities were separate 0.7559,0.6650,the numbers of effective allele were separate 1.3229,1.5038 and the gene homozygosity indexes were separate 0.7152,0.6371.


This paper discusses theoretically several rela- tions, questions and their roots from the view of points be- low: the relationship between state and local govemment, between quality, energy and information, between scenic resource protection and development, and finally hetween naturalization and urbanization with landscape and famous scenery.


The conceptions of energy of the pre‐service high school biology teachers were identified by means of a two‐part written questionnaire which was presented to them in the first day of class. These students: are considerably anthropocentric in their associations, their choice of pictures and their alternative conceptual frameworks; hold a number of different alternative conceptual frameworks when describing physical situations, instead of the accepted scientific concept; think that energy is a concrete entity; do not accept the idea of energy conservation and energy degradation; confuse the concepts of energy and force.


The deep inelastic scattering cross section in the endpoint region, $x \sim 1$, has been subjected to extensive analysis. We revisit this process, and show that in the endpoint individual factors in the factorized hadronic tensor have rapidity divergences. We regulate these divergences using a recently introduced rapidity regulator, and find that each factor requires a different scale to minimize large rapidity logarithms. Interestingly, in this case running in rapidity is non-perturbative. In addition, we give an operator definition of the parton distribution function in the endpoint region, and remark on the issues that should be considered in constructing this function.


Ground surface roughness is difficult to predict through a physical model due to its complex influencing factors. BP neural networks (BPNNs), a promising method, have been widely applied in the prediction of surface roughness. This paper uses the concept of BPNN to predict ground surface roughness considering the state of the grinding wheel. However, as the number of input parameters increases, the local optimum solution of the model that arises is more serious. Therefore, "identify factors" are designed to judge the iterative state of the model, whilst "memory factors" are designed to store the best weights during network training. The iterative termination conditions of the model are improved, and the learning rate and update rules of the weights are adjusted to avoid the local optimal solution. The results show that the prediction accuracy of the presented model is higher and more stable than the traditional model. Under three types of iteration steps, the average prediction accuracy is improved from 0.071, 0.065, 0.066 to 0.049, 0.042, 0.039 and the standard deviation of prediction decreased from 0.0017, 0.0166, 0.0175 to 0.0017, 0.0070, 0.0076, respectively. Therefore, the proposed method provides guidance for improving the global optimization ability of BPNNs and developing more accurate models for predicting surface roughness.


The author takes the view that a full description of toponymic derivatives in West-Polesian dialects requires that all toponymic derivational series and the variance phenomenon be taken into consideration. Toponymic derivational series are groups of derivative lexemes that form specific formal-semantic relations. The basic unit of such a derivational series is the toponym which determines the semantics of individual elements in the series. The analysis of the material shows that in the formation of toponymic derivatives the crucial role is played by the grammatical gender of a toponym and the character of its root word. The article distinguishes toponymic derivational series which consist of five elements: toponym, tononymic adjective, the name of inhabitant in the plural, the name of inhabitant in the masculine gender, and the name of inhabitant in the feminine gender.


The start of a new year is a good time to think about new ways of growing practice revenue. Treat this as an opportunity to pause and think strategically.


We present a model of multithreaded computation, combining fork-join and single-instruction-multiple-data parallelisms, with an emphasis on estimating parallelism overheads of programs written for modern many-core architectures. We establish a Graham-Brent theorem for this model so as to estimate execution time of programs running on a given number of streaming multiprocessors. We evaluate the benefits of our model with four fundamental algorithms from scientific computing. In each case, our model is used to minimize parallelism overheads by determining an appropriate value range for a given program parameter; moreover experimentation confirms the model's prediction.


Background: In women suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome, correction of hyperinsulinemia results in enhanced responsiveness to ovulation induction agents. The effect of rosiglitazone was investigated on ovulation induction in obese women with PCOS. Materials and methods: A randomized controlled trial was set up. One hundred women were randomly assigned. Group A (n = 46) received rosiglitazone 4 mg b.i.d. plus clomiphene citrate (CC) 100 mg on cycle days 3–7. Group B (n = 45) received CC only. Primary outcome was ovulation. Secondary outcomes included pregnancy as well as changes in fasting glucose and insulin. Results: Both groups were similar with respect to background and hormonal characteristics (age, duration of infertility, BMI, WHR, FSH, LH, E2, testosterone, fasting glucose and insulin). The cumulative ovulation rate over 12 weeks was significantly higher in group A (81.8%) than in group B (55.2%) (p < 0.001), whereas the difference in cumulative pregnancy rate was not statistically significant (30.4% versus 28.8%, respectively) in groups A and B (p = 0.946). Fasting insulin levels significantly declined after rosiglitazone therapy (p < 0.001) without change in glucose levels this resulted in normalization of the mean glucose to insulin ratio. Conclusions: Short term administration of rosiglitazone to overweight and obese PCOS women results in enhancement of CC induced ovulation as well as improvement of insulin sensitivity.


In this work the quantitative theoretical treatment for two beam mode mismatched thermal lens spectrometry is applied to investigate the thermal diffusivity anisotropy of two lyotropic mixtures: (1) potassium laurate, decanol and water and (2) potassium laurate, potassium chloride and water in the nematic calamitic phase. The ratio between the thermal diffusivities parallel and perpendicular to the director has been shown to be smaller than those reported for thermotropic liquid crystal. This observation is explained by using a simple model where this ratio is correlated to the micellar shape anisotropy.


Leaf discs from 'Yeobong' and 'Maehyang' strawberry plants were used as explants for transformation. The Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA105 harboring the monellin gene under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter was used in co-cultivation experiments. The frequencies of callus formation and plant regeneration from leaf explants after co-cultivation in 'Yeobong' were higher than those of 'Maehyang'. These transgenic plants showed normal growth patterns and flowering. PCR and Southern hybridization confirmed that 1 to 2 copies of the monellin gene were integrated into genome of the transgenic strawberry plants. Northern blot analysis confirm that the transcripts were expressed in transgenic strawberry plants. Although long-term subcultured transgenic strawberry plants showed a phenomenon to escape the transgene, the transformation system established in this study provides new opportunities for genetic improvement of strawberry plants.


Abstract Vertebral body may get displaced anterior or posteror with elements of rotation. However, burst cervical spine vertebral fracture may migrate anteriorly and posteriorly simultaneously. However anterior displaced fragment forming armor like mass is very rare. Similarly, the posteriorly propelled fragments migrating caudally and posterolaterally producing a large osseous mass inside spinal canal mimicking bony tumour causing severe cervical canal stenosis and presenting with marked myelopathy is extremely rare. To the best knowledge of authors, association of such traumatic dual pathology represents first of its kind in western literature, who was neglected early medical advice and presenting with marked compressive cervical myelopathy. She underwent successful surgical decompression with gradual recovery of spastic limb weakness and recovery of sensation. Authors also highlights the importance of early resuscitation and adequate maintainace of mean arterial pressure following acute spinal cord injury. Pertinent literature is briefly reviewed.


We present the results of a Galactic model able to reproduce star counts and synthetic color-magnitude diagrams of field stars, including the white dwarf (WD) population in an evolutionary consistent way. The results on the expected distribution of the Galactic WD population appear in rather good agreement with recent estimates of the local WD luminosity function. Uncertainties still present in Galactic model calculations will be critically discussed and the effects on the theoretical predictions of different WD evolutionary models, ages, initial mass functions and relations between progenitor mass and WD mass will be analyzed.


Malacca Strait, as one of the strategic straits in world trade, often face various non-traditional security threats. In accordance with United Nations Convention on the Law of The Sea (UNCLOS), littoral states such as Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia are obligated to maintain the security in Malacca Straits, to ensure that world trades and world economic are not disrupted. This study analyzes how the Malacca straits patrol (MSP) framework is formed by littoral states in order to maintain the security stability in Malacca Strait. The authors employ qualitative method through literature study. The obtained data were analyzed using the theory of defense cooperation and concept of defense diplomacy. The results of the study conclude that MSP, which is consisted of the Malacca Straits Sea Patrol (MSSP), "Eyes-in-the-Sky" Combined Maritime Air Patrols (EiS), and the MSP Intelligence Exchange Group (IEG), is classified as a defense diplomacy activity in the form of multilateral contacts between military officials and multilateral military exercises aimed at increasing mutual trust and defense capabilities of each country.Keywords:  Malacca Strait, Malacca Straits Patrol Framework, Threat, Defense Cooperation, Defense Diplomacy


Heating in hydrogen peroxide, dilute oxalic acid, and dilute aluminum oxalate did not change the effective cation exchange capacity (CEC) or the pH-7 CEC of Wyoming bentonite and Alberni clay soil containing excess Al(OH)x. This indicated that treatment of soils with H2O2 to oxidize organic matter and the possible production of oxalates during oxidation did not change the CEC values of the inorganic fraction of soils even if some clay exchange sites were blocked by hydrous oxides of Al.With soils of pH less than approximately 5.4, oxidation of organic matter did not change the effective CECs although the pH-7 CEC values were decreased. Thus, organic matter in acid soils appeared to have little or no effective CEC. Because of this and the negligible effect of H2O2 oxidation on the CEC values of clays, the difference of the pH-7 CEC of soils before and after H2O2 oxidation provided a simple means of estimating the amount of organic pH-dependent CEC in acid soils.The amount of organically derived pH-dependen...


During a banquet to celebrate Justice John Marshall Harlan ' s twenty-fifth year on the Su  preme Court of the United States in 1902, Justice David J. Brewer gave a speech in which he teased his colleague. Brewer explained to the distinguished audience that Harlan " goes to bed every night with one hand on the Constitution and the other on the Bible, and so sleeps the sweet sleep of justice and righteousness. " 1 The image may be comical, and Harlan bristled a little when a reporter for the Washington Post asked about the remark during an interview in 1906. Yet Harlan embraced the parallel: " The Bible is supreme in respect of all matters with which it deals, and the Constitution is supreme in this country in respect to all civil matters of national con  cern. " 2 The truth in Brewer ' s remark about Harlan calls attention to an idea common to the minds of nineteenth-century Americans: the link between religious faith and legal thought. Until fairly recently, this link has gone largely neglected by legal historians. Perhaps this is because of fears about the oppression of religious minorities: paying attention to such beliefs among historical figures might be mistaken for an endorsement of their views. The impact of the legal realists is probably also responsible for this neglect. The realists sneered at the previ  ous generation of legal formalists as legal theologians spouting transcendental nonsense, thus making antireligious metaphors the metaphors of choice for criticizing legal theory. Whatever the cause of this neglect, the result is that we have been left with the impression that the separa  tion of church and state should cover the topic of religion and the law in the nineteenth century. However


The Intelligent Vehicle-Highway System in this paper is built for a Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control system. In this system, vehicles communicate with each other through wireless means, where they coordinate each other's speed for better traffic flow. In this paper, we describe the design and evaluation of the interface between vehicle and driver, where the system takes an advisory role. The interface was developed into two prototypes where one has guidance mode and the other has explanation mode. We conducted a test on a driving simulator using both prototypes, in order to find which prototype is preferred and why.


COMPOUNDS CONTAINING MOLYBDENUM ANSWERING THE FORMULA: WHERE R IS A RADICAL HYDROCARBYL IN ACC WHICH ARE ADDITIVES WEAR AND COMPOUND EXTREME PRESSURE FOR OILS AND FATS LUBRICATING TO PREPARE. THEREOF ON A TREATY molybdate AMMONIUM OR METAL SALTS BY A QUANTITY OF CONCENTRATED ACID halohydrous THAN THE QUANTITY NECESSARY STOICHIOMETRIC to acidify SALTS molybdate, AT A TEMPERATURE OF UP TO ROOM TEMPERATURE 80C ADDITION OF NO MORE TWO mOLES ACID dialkylphosphorodithioic BY mOLE AT Molybdate MOLYBDENUM rEAGENT BY HEAT, THE rEACTION MIXTURE OF rEFLUX AND WATER DISPOSAL OF rEACTION azeotropically. THEREOF USED AS AGENTS EXTREME PRESSURE, ANTI-WEAR IN LUBRICANTS.


The spin-diffusion constant of the 2D t − J model is calculated for the first time using an analytical approach at high temperatures and a recently-developed numerical method based on the Lanczos technique combined with random sampling in the intermediate temperature regime. A simple relation, σ = D s χ, between spin conductivity and spin diffusion is established and used to calculate the latter. In the high-temperature and low-doping limit the calculated diffusion constant agrees with known results for the Heisen-berg model. At small hole doping, D s increases approximately linearly with doping, which leads us to an important conclusion that hopping processes enhance spin diffusion at high temperatures. At modest hole doping, δ ∼ 0.25, diffusion exhibits a nonmonotonic temperature dependence, which indicates anomalous spin dynamics at small frequencies.


We enumerate possible topologies of pseudoknots in single-stranded RNA molecules. We use a steepest-descent approximation in the large N matrix field theory, and a Feynman diagram formalism to describe the resulting pseudoknot structure.


Opium, with regard to the fact that it contains a number of biologically active alkaloids has been used for centuries both for recreational and therapeutical purposes. Not long ago certain type of poppy, containing great amounts of opium alkaloids, was grown on European fields. Today, opium is considered one of the most dangerous stimulants. The goal of this paper is to broaden the knowledge concerning opium and methods of obtaining it as well as its main alkaloids and their functions. Krzysztof PIETRZAK 1 Analiza wybranych czynników oddziaływują cych na stres okołoporodowy loch Słowa kluczowe: świnie, lochy, poród, stres, produkcyjno ść


In maritime transportation, routing decisions are sometimes affected by draft limits in ports. The draft of a ship is the distance between the waterline and the bottom of the ship and is a function of the load onboard. Draft limits in ports can thus prevent ships to enter these ports fully loaded and may impose a constraint on the sequence of visits made by a ship. This paper introduces the Traveling Salesman Problem with Draft Limits (TSPDL), which is to determine an optimal sequence of port visits under draft limit constraints. We present two mathematical formulations for the TSPDL, and suggest valid inequalities and strengthened bounds. We also introduce a set of instances based on TSPLIB. A branch-and-cut algorithm is applied on both formulations for all these instances. Computational results show that introducing draft limits make the problem much harder to solve. They also indicate that the proposed valid inequalities and strengthened bounds significantly reduce both the number of branch-and-bound nodes and the solution times. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


The digital transformation of supply chains should revolutionize entire management processes and improve various aspects of sustainability. In particular, the plans of Industry 4.0 aim towards a digitization of several procedures by exploiting emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things, RFID and blockchain. The purpose of this study is to highlight how order and disruption events processes can be improved with the adoption of emerging technologies and how this reflects on the improvement of sustainability aspects. The study is based on the comparison of two simulation scenarios between three actors in the cheese supply chain. In particular, a first traditional scenario "as is" is simulated without the use of new technologies and is compared to a second scenario "to be" that adopts IoT, RFID and blockchain. The results show an improvement in time performance for managing both perfect and non-compliant orders. The developed framework highlights the impact of new technologies on sustainability aspects, showing further managerial implications.