Conventional mathematical models of coalbed methane were mostly based on Euclid Geometry and difficult to describe the complexity of pore structure and the irregularity of shape.In this paper,basing on fractal theory,new percolation models with the double porosity in fractal fracture network were established by introducing fractal parameters to describe the complexity of pore structure and the adsorption effect in coal bed.In the low permeability reservoir,the partial differential equation is nonlinear,so the numerical calculation is carried with the Douglas-Jones predictor-corrector method.The numerical solution of the pseudo-steady sorption formulation with constant rate production and the unsteady sorption formulation with constant rate production in a infinitely large system and finitely closed system were obtained.Analysis pressure transient with fractal parameters,draw typical pressure curves.Produced with constant rate in an infinitely large system,fractal dimension influences the pressure small in the early stage,but in the later stage,the smaller the fractal dimension,the higher the pressure.Produced with constant rate in a finitely closed system,fractal dimension has a great influence on the pressure in the early stage,pressure drops with the increase of fractal dimension,pressure first increases and then decreases with the reduction of fractal index,the pressure tends to the same value finally.


This paper presents CreolData, a multilingual lexical database concerning the Portuguese-based Creole Languages of Africa. In section 2, we describe the goals of the project. Section 3 is devoted to a short description of the languages of the database. We then give an overview of XML and the standards for electronic dictionaries, and focus on the macrostructure and the microstructure (sections 4, 5 and 6). Finally, we give an outlook for future developments of this project (section 7).


Mesoscale (i. e. larger than microscopic but smaller than the system size) turbulent fluctuations of high density, often referred to as "blobs", may be a part of the explanation of the intermittent transport observed in the scrape-off layer (S OL) of many fusion experiments. The understanding of those mesoscale events has improved a lot over the recent years [1]. However, the details about the generation and the precise relevance f or the SOL transport remain still unknown. Fast cameras are gaining more and more importance in studies of those events, since they can observe a large area of the plasma simultaneously, ideally without the need to disturb the plasma. However, the fact that they integrate the light s ignal along the line of sight makes the interpretation of the data more challenging. Yet it was possible to localize the turbulent fluctuations visible in the image data in the physical coordi nates of TJ-K. Experimental setup


Using a plane wave‐pseudopotential approach to density functional theory, we investigate the degree of electron localization in lithium niobate. We pay a particular attention to its variation during the phase transition and to the relationship with the electronic structure and the Born effective charges in this material. A band by band decomposition allows us to focus on the different bands composing the energy spectrum of this compound. At variance with previous calulations based on finite differences, the localization tensor has been obtained using linear response techniques.


As part of their great burst of activity in the late 1970s, Cheng and Yau proved many geometric results concerning differential structures invariant under affine transformations of R n. Affine differential geometry is the study of those differential properties of hypersurfaces in R n+1 which are invariant under volume-preserving affine transformations. One way to develop this theory is to start with the affine normal, which is an affine-invariant transverse vector field to a convex C 3 hypersurface. A hypersurface is an affine sphere if the lines formed by the affine normals all meet at a point, called the center. A convex affine sphere is called elliptic, parabolic, or hyperbolic according to whether the affine normals point toward the center, are parallel (the center being at infinity), or away from the center, respectively. The global theory of elliptic and parabolic affine spheres is quite tame: Every properly immersed elliptic affine sphere is an ellipsoid, while every properly immersed parabolic affine sphere is a paraboloid. In this generality, both these results follow from Cheng-Yau's paper [8], in which they show that any properly immersed affine sphere must have complete affine metric. Then one may appeal to earlier results of Calabi [3] to classify global elliptic and parabolic affine spheres. The global classification of parabolic affine spheres is an extension of the well-known result of Jörgens, Calabi, and Pogorelov that any entire convex solution to the Monge-Ampère equation det u ij = 1 on R n is a quadratic polynomial. Calabi realized that hyperbolic affine spheres are more varied, by noting that two quite different convex cones contain hyperbolic affine spheres asymptotic to their boundaries. In addition to the hyperboloid, asymptotic to a round cone over an ellipsoid, Calabi also wrote down an affine sphere asymptotic to the boundary of the first orthant in R n+1 , which is a cone over an n-dimensional simplex [3]. Based on these explicit examples in these two extremal cases of convex cones, Calabi conjectured that each proper convex cone admits a unique (up


Background: Diatomite is a clay material and a mineral that contains high content of silica and alumina and additional element traces. The characteristics and properties of the Saudi Arabian natural diatomite clay were studied using temperature programmed desorption of pyrrole. The relation between the particular mathematical parameters and the diatomite clay was also investigated, with a mathematical modelling of pyrrole adsorption by means of a regression analysis. Methods: The Polanyi-Wigner equation was computed for the analysis of Saudi Arabian diatomite clay, using temperature programmed desorption (TPD) of pyrrole together with a regression analysis. The correlation and regression analyses were conducted according to the following variables; 1. Temperature versus WLD-Signal- to ascertain the temperature dependence of WLD Signal. 2. Time versus WLD- to determine the time dependence of WLD. 3. 1/Temperature versus lnk to establish both the temperature dependence of the reaction rates and the time dependence of the desorption of pyrrole. Results: The results revealed that a cubic polynomial is the most suitable for the interpretation of the TCD signal of Pyrrole adsorption at a variety of temperature ranges. The findings in this study have determined that Polanyi-Wigner equation for the analysis of natural Saudi Arabian diatomite clay was computed successfully. Conclusion: The proposed equation shown in the current paper serves as the best model in the analysis of natural Saudi Arabian clay in the improvement of accuracy and efficacy of the Pyrrole- TPD. The proposed equation also greatly assists in achieving accurate results when calculating the desorbed amount of pyrrole and as compared to the traditional method, helps set a clear direction and a feedback mechanism for researchers during the investigation of clay samples. Importantly, using the equation can help to develop pyrrole-TPD software which in turn may assist scientists to clearly determine directly desorbed pyrrole amount of the clay samples during the experimental process. The findings conclude that the usefulness of the pyrrole equation can, in future, contribute greatly to the development of TPD-pyrol instrument software. It will also provide better control and quality feedback to investigators in the process of experimental design and during the run in terms of the behavior of clays and their capacity for gas desorption.


Let \hat G be the semidirect product of a connected reductive group G over F_q with a finite cyclic group generated by a quasisemisimple automorphism of G defined over F_q. In this paper we prove a conjecture of G. Malle concerning the extensions of unipotent representations of G(F_q) to \hat G(F_q).


In this paper, the security issues of cyber‐physical systems under undetectable attacks are studied. The geometric control theory is used to investigate the design, implementation, and impact evaluation of undetectable attacks. First, a feedforward‐feedback structure for undetectable attacks is proposed, which provides a designable form for an attack to be undetectable. The corresponding attack strategy is designed via pole placement in the weakly unobservable subspace of the attacked system. Then, the security analysis of several common undetectable attacks injected from actuators, sensors, and the coordinated of the two is discussed. Finally, the simulations on the quadruple‐tank process demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.


Up till now, chitosan has confirmed its versatile application in skin, cartilage and bone tissue engineering, as well as in drug delivery applications. This study is focused on enzymatic degradation of porous chitosan structures usually designed for mentioned purposes. In vitro degradation was monitored during four weeks of incubation at physiological temperature and in two different media, phosphate buffer saline solution and water. The scaffolds were characterised before and after enzymatic degradation using scanning electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy with Fourier transformations (FTIR). According to the gravimetric analysis, higher weight loss of chitosan scaffolds was observed in buffered medium with respect to the water. The results implied that the total weight loss obtained in buffer involves physical dissolution of chitosan and lysozyme cleavage of glycoside bond. Importantly, FTIR identification of chitosan scaffolds after enzymatic degradation indicated the absence of lysozyme activity in water, indicating that weight loss is a result of the chitosan dissolution. This finding greatly impacts design of degradation experiments and characterisation of degradation behaviour of chitosan-based materials utilised as implants or drug delivery systems. DOI : 10.14302/issn.2640-6403.jtrr-17-1840 Corresponding author: Anamarija Rogina, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of Zagreb, HR-10001 Zagreb, Marulićev trg 19, p.p.177, Croatia. Email: email@example.com


This study was aimed at reducing the deposition temperature of the hydrogen reduction phase of blanket CVD deposition of tungsten for plug applications in the VLSI industry. Working at a lower temperature provides better step coverage, thus a thinner layer of tungsten is needed to fill the plugs. Additionally, a lower temperature process is safer for the metal lines and might increase the life time of the chamber hardware. It is known that a lower temperature would result in a lower deposition rate, but it can be compensated by a higher partial pressure of hydrogen. The results of this approach will be presented in this paper. We found that a higher flow of hydrogen, at a lower temperature, will provide us with the current deposition rate. Also presented in this paper are the effects of reducing the process temperature on some of the other film and process properties, mainly deposition rate repeatability and film stress. INTRODUCTION will not be viable for the submicron generations. Blanket CVD tungsten deposition followed by etch back is being used as an effective contact technique in the submicron technology due to its good step coverage for high aspect ratio vias and adequate film thickness uniformity. Prior to the deposition of the tungsten layer, an adhesion layer is required due to tungsten's poor adhesion to oxides. There are several CVD reactions for tungsten deposition. The most common two are described in Equations (la, lb). The silane reduction process, Eq. (la), is driven by silane concentration while the hydrogen undergoes a reduction process, Eq. (lb) is temperature-driven and highly conformal with good step coverage. The deposition of the tungsten layer consists of two steps. The first step is a thin nucleation layer formed by silane reduction followed by a thick layer formed by the hydrogen reduction process, to achieve good step coverage. Figure 1 describes the steps required to form tungsten contacts and vias. 3H2 + WF6-> W + 6HF (la) 3SiH4 + 2WF6 -> 2W + 2SiF4 + 6H, (lb) Decreasing dimensions of the structures in integrated circuits impose stringent conditions on materials and fabrication techniques. Scaling rules dictate that contact dimensions decrease with shrinking device geometries. The techniques used for contact formation in the one-micron and larger technologies EXPERIMENTAL The tungsten deposition was performed in an Applied Materials Precision 5000 system. This system


A new automated blood sampler for seals is only the third such device developed for research with higher marine vertebrates.


The total cross section of positronium scattering from a variety of atoms and molecules has been found to be unexpectedly close to that of a bare electron moving at the same velocity, despite Ps being neutral and having twice the mass [Science 330, 789 (2010)]. This behaviour appears to extend to velocities where effects such as the Ramsauer-Townsend minima and shape resonances occur for electrons. The latter has now been observed in collisions with CO2. Results are presented along with recent production efficiency measurements of Ps at high energies.


Abstract The Shahr-e-Babak region located in the Kerman metallogenic belt is one of the high potential segments of Urumieh–Dokhtar magmatic arc for porphyry copper and epithermal gold mineralization in the south of Iran. This high potential zone encompasses several porphyry copper deposits under exploitation, development and exploration stages. The aim of this study is to evaluate Landsat-8 data and comparison with the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer data-sets for mapping hydrothermal alteration zones related to Cenozoic magmatic intrusions in Shahr-e-Babak region. Previous studies have proven the robust application of ASTER in lithological mapping and mineral exploration; nonetheless, the Landsat-8 data have high capability to map and detect hydrothermal alteration zones associated with porphyry copper and epithermal gold mineralization. In this investigation, several band combinations and multiplications, developed selective principal component analysis and image transformations were developed for discriminating hydrothermal alteration zones associated with porphyry copper mineralization using Landsat-8 data.


work. She includes, also, consideration of the social worker's responsibility for social planning and influencing social policy-the whole relationship to the lay community. Another view of the casework seminar is offered by Helen Harris Perlman, a seminar stemming in part from an idea set forth in Miss Towle's first paper in Volume I. The other concept behind the seminar is Whitehead's idea of "the rhythm of education"-in brief, the stages of romance, precision, and generalization. Review leads to conscious synthesis in its several aspects. John Kidneigh has a compact, annotated summary of principles, assumptions, and prescriptions for advanced preparation for social work administration, which applies social policy in social services but is also an "art in human relations." Grace Coyle, on the place of the social sciences in the doctoral program, reports first on a questionnaire sent out by a subcommittee and returned by ten schools. (Agreed: social sciences are important; beyond this, little consensus.) Most of the paper is devoted to Miss Coyle's ideas on social science's contribution to a scientific viewpoint, to an understanding of our society, and to perspective. The committee as a whole has been most effective if these papers reflect its work-as they must. This reviewer has a clear impression that each paper has a timbre or overtone not present in other writings of the authors, and yet there is no breach of individuality. These brief references, although unfair to the context of the papers, should indicate some of the essential quality of this optimistic, thoughtful facing of one of social work education's problems. These two documents lead one to have confidence that this still pioneering exploration will adv-ance the profession's conscious knowledge; nor need the mass of social workers have any concern that this wholly desired development will emancipate itself from, much less disown, the pioneers who brought the profession to this present happy pass. This work on the post master's program is deeply rooted and nourished in analytic insight, the inspired rule-ofthumb, and the devotion to human beings which sustain social work even today. LOUIS TowLEY George Warren Brown School of Social Work Washington University Saint Louis, Missouri


Anarchism and Art takes its cue from British theorist Colin Ward's observation that anarchist modes of social organizing can multiply and exist side-by-side with and 'in spite of' antithetical authoritarian societal 'trends' (p. 5). These practices are regarded as prefigurative: they model aspects of the future society anarchists seek to establish (p. 2). As such, anarchists regard them as powerful tools for revolutionizing the entire political, social, and economic order in times of upheaval (Gordon, 2007, p. 38). We have an unfolding example of what this entails in northern Syria, where anarchists have seized territory in three decentralized 'cantons' and are remodeling society based, in part, on anti-sexist organizing pioneered by fighters in the People's Defence Forces and Women's Defence Units (Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness, 2015, pp. 33–35). However, perusing Anarchism and Art for a discussion of prefiguration's role in anti-state social transformation is a futile exercise. 'Revolution' does not even make it to the index. Instead, Mattern subsumes anarchist modes of prefiguation within a 'participatory democracy' model of social change that 'does not advocate the complete abolition of the state' (p. 29). Over a page and a half, he sketches out his hypothetical program for reconstructing society along 'participatory democracy' lines, effectively purging anarchism's anti-statist history and principles from his framework (pp. 21–22). This echoes the argumentative style of philosopher Simon Critchley, who, with a cursory nod toward contemporary anarchist-inspired activism, has coined his own hypothetical formulation, 'neo-anarchism,' to encapsulate a 'politics at a distance from the state' perpetually incapable of superseding what it opposes, a formulation Critchley champions in his much-praised statement, Infinitively Demanding, as the only option for 'new social mobilizations' (Critchley, 2008, p. 148). What we have, then, is a study that must, perforce, decouple its field of inquiry from post-statist ends to make its case. Accordingly, Mattern gently nudges the movement's revolutionary ambitions regarding 'state and capital' to the sidelines, suggesting that 'in the last several decades' anarchists have 'broadened' their


Retardation coefficient is one of the important parameters used in transport models describing radionuclide migration in geological media and usually regarded as a constant in the models. The objectives of the work are to understand: (1) Whether the retardation coefficient, R d, is a constant? (2) How much effect is R d on calculated consequence if R d is not constant? (3) Is the retardation coefficient derived from distribution coefficient, k d, according to conventional equation suitable for safety assessment? The objectives are achieved through test and analysis of the test results on radionuclide migration in unsaturated loess. It can be seen from the results that retardation coefficient, R d, of 85Sr is not constant and increases with water content, θ, under unsaturated condition. R d, of 85Sr derived from k d according to conventional equation can not be used for safety assessment. R d, used for safety assessment should be directly measured, rather than derived from k d. It is shown from calculation that the effect of R d on calculated consequence is very considerable.


Strong evidence exists for the masculinizing effects of estrogen on the neural network that controls song learning and behavior in zebra finches. However, the mechanisms by which estrogen acts to influence the development of this circuitry are not well understood. In this study, we used in situ hybridization to detect the distribution of cells expressing mRNAs for AROM and ERα at postnatal days 5–25 (P5–25). Our findings revealed developmental regulation of both mRNAs in the neostriatum, archistriatum, hippocampus, diencephalon and midbrain. Within the vocal control circuitry, cells expressing ERα mRNA were found in the medial HVC (P10–25), archistriatum lateral to the RA (Ad; P25), in the ICo (P5–25), and along the fiber tract containing efferents from the RA. High levels of AROM mRNA were found in the neostriatum, including both the lateral and mMAN and along their projections to the RA and HVC, respectively, (P5–25), in the archistriatum (P18–25) and around RA (P18). Codistribution of the two mRNAs occurred along the border of the HVC suggesting that in this region, local synthesis of estrogen may be acting through its nuclear receptor to regulate gene transcription. Taken together, our findings show that the neural circuitry controlling song may be exposed to the effects of estrogen during early postnatal development. However, in most of the song control regions, these mRNAs were not expressed together either temporally or spatially, indicating that AROM may have a role in the development of the song system independent of ERα.


In spite of the title, this is not an article on soft drinks. A new definition of COLA has become popular in labour relations and negotiations, and it is something everybody seems to want: a Cost of Living Allowance. Most peo¬ ple who are unionized or who work in the government appear to be getting it, one way or another. While COLA has been mentioned on occasion in negotiations between medi¬ cal organizations and provincial medi¬ cal care insurance officials, evidence as yet indicates no more than lip service is being paid where medical fees are concerned. Directly or indirectly, government agencies pay for medical services; therefore their computers can now re¬ cord what service is provided to whom, for what and by whom. Statistics are readily available to the public which create the impression that the physi¬ cians of this country are literally swimming in money. Unfortunately for them, such is not the case. Those fig¬ ures are gross payments; they do not take into account the costs involved in a modern practice. They compare with the gross sales income of a merchant's store before he subtracts the cost of staff, mortgage payments, supplies, in¬ surance and other expenses incurred in his business. The merchant and his manufacturer each can add to the retail price of goods. The higher the costs of manufacturing and selling the products, the higher the prices paid by the consum¬ ers. When this process gets out of hand, we have inflation. Costs in providing medical services, too, have increased, but the physician can't adjust his price list accordingly. Office administration, equipment, sup¬ plies, staff salaries, automobile ex¬ penses and all the rest are rising at the same inflationary rate as they are in the industrial and business world. However, the prices charged for his services are fixed through medical care insurance commissions in each prov¬ ince. One series of negotiations on medical fees attempted to at least partially off¬ set the effect of inflation during the past year; the increase allowed for 1975 was 4%. It doesn't take an economist to conclude that such settlements render doctor's spendable income lower each year, for his operation costs have risen by more than 4%. And the value of his dollar is shrinking at the same rate as everyone else's; he has no COLA clause in his contract. Now you may better understand why he, as an individual, and his profession, as a whole, are becoming increasingly con¬ cerned. You may well argue that an MD's take-home pay compared with other professions, occupations and trades still puts him pretty well off. However, the length and cost of his educational pro¬ gram, his low pay during internship and residency, the hours that he works each week and his short career as a "high earner" all offset such compari¬


As a solution to the challenge of motivating and retaining undergraduate introductory computer science students, game development and image manipulation are popular motivational contexts in introductory computer science (CS1) classrooms. However, there has been little research on how to empirically make the required code libraries friendly for novice learners. This work explores how novice preconceptions of vocabulary and code structure should affect Designer (https://krishols.github.io/designer), our new pedagogical interactive graphics Python library. Preconceptions were measured through two successive surveys. Survey responses were analyzed for differences between survey version and students' prior programming experience. Although specific preconceptions varied based on students' degrees of prior programming experience, students do tend to prefer simple vocabulary. Motivated to fill a gap in the libraries available for early Python education, these results were used to guide the development of Designer. Alongside the library, this work provides three successive CS1 lesson plans developed using the Use-Modify-Create lesson progression. Future work is in progress to measure and improve the usability of Designer and its resources through further collaboration with students, to ultimately create a truly novice friendly game and graphics API.


We propose a new iteration scheme, the Cauchy-Simplex, to optimize convex problems over the probability simplex $\{w\in\mathbb{R}^n\ |\ \sum_i w_i=1\ \textrm{and}\ w_i\geq0\}$. Other works have taken steps to enforce positivity or unit normalization automatically but never simultaneously within a unified setting. This paper presents a natural framework for manifestly requiring the probability condition. Specifically, we map the simplex to the positive quadrant of a unit sphere, envisage gradient descent in latent variables, and map the result back in a way that only depends on the simplex variable. Moreover, proving rigorous convergence results in this formulation leads inherently to tools from information theory (e.g. cross entropy and KL divergence). Each iteration of the Cauchy-Simplex consists of simple operations, making it well-suited for high-dimensional problems. We prove that it has a convergence rate of ${O}(1/T)$ for convex functions, and numerical experiments of projection onto convex hulls show faster convergence than similar algorithms. Finally, we apply our algorithm to online learning problems and prove the convergence of the average regret for (1) Prediction with expert advice and (2) Universal Portfolios.


Introduction. Indoor air quality is an essential component of a healthy human environment. Air conditioning units can affect indoor air quality, including mycogenic contamination of the air if the condition is not adequately monitored. Material and method. The paper presents the results of a mycological study of air samples and flushes from the surface of filters and gratings of air conditioning devices taken from 40 residential and office premises. Results. The presence of micromycetes fungi was noted in 100% of the samples taken from the surface of filters and air conditioning grids and 81.6% of air samples. A greater species diversity of fungi (26 species) was revealed in air samples compared to air conditioning devices (15 species). A higher frequency of occurrence of dark-coloured species of fungi, incl. Aspergillus spp. and Alternaria spp., and fungal species belonging to the third group of pathogenicity, were noticed on the surface of air conditioners, compared with air samples, in which Penicillium spp., Fusarium spp., Trichoderma spp. were more often detected. It was found that the surface of air conditioners functioned sporadically. For a short time (28 rooms), there is a large species diversity of mycobiota at a low or moderate level of seeding (no more than 103 CFU). In rooms with long-term continuous air conditioners (12 rooms), a high level of seeding (more than 104 CFU) by 1-2 species of fungi was more often noted. The existence of a close relationship, confirmed by the values of the Pearson contingency coefficient, between the species composition of the mycobiota of air conditioning devices and air, and a higher level of mycogenic contamination in rooms with long-term continuous operation of air conditioners, were shown. Conclusion. Thus, air conditioning devices can be a source of mycogenic air contamination, especially during long-term continuous operation, which must be taken into account to ensure indoor air quality.


understanding issue from a philosophical perspective. However, this text will need to be supplemented by readings in the area of literary criticism, deconstruction, and postmodernism to expose the question more completely. Moreover, it would prove useful to add two or three additional case studies from more contemporary theologians, perhaps Balthasar on Christ's descent into hell and Rahner on the Trinity.


Objective To observe effects of high gluose condition on expressions of hyaluronic acid(HA),laminin(LN)and Ⅳ type collagen in extracellular matrix(ECM) secreted by glomerular mesangial cells(GMC),therefore provide experimental evidence for diagnosis and clinical treatment on diabetic nephropathy.Methods (1)The levels of HA,LN and Ⅳ type collagen in the tissus culture supernatants were examined by a solid phase enzyme linked immunoadsorbent assay(ELISA);(2)Effects of different concentrations of glucose on glomerular mesangial cell proliferation were detected by MTT method. Results High concentration of glucose inhibited the proliferation of mesangial cells,which was positive correlative with glucose concentrations.The levels of HA,LN and Ⅳtype collagen increased largely between 48 to 72 hours after culture on high concentration of glucose.The high levels lasted for a week.Increasement of ECM was independent on cell proliferation.The control group was in a stable condition.These results showed high glucose may play an important role in promoting ECM′s excretion by GMC.Conclusion High concentration of glucose may restrain GMC proliferation in a concentration dependent manner.Glomerular mesangial cells may increase ECM synthesis on high concentration of glucose.The accumulation of extracellular matrix may contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy.


Introduction Leg ulcers have a large socio-economic impact. Treatment modalities are either conservative or surgical. Conservative treatment involves local treatment and compression therapy. Surgical treatment of venous ulcers is based on correcting venous hypertension, by treating incompetent superficial, deep, and perforating veins. A prospective randomized multicenter trial comparing surgical treatment (combined superficial and perforating vein surgery) with ambulatory compression therapy was conducted during 1998 and 2001. This paper presents the results of a 10-year follow-up period of this trial. Materials and methods All patients enrolled in the original prospective trial were approached and invited for additional examination and duplex ultrasound evaluation. Secondary, disease specific and generic quality-of-life (QoL) was assessed. Current ulcer state and recurrence during the follow-up period was assessed. Results After a mean of 97 months follow up, 80 (41%) out of 196 legs could be inspected. The incidence of "ulcer-free", the main outcome, was significantly (p = 0.007) higher in the surgical group (58.9%), compared to the conservative group (39.6%). Observed ulcer recurrence was 48.9% for the surgical group and 94.3% for the conservative group. The number of incompetent perforating veins appears to be a significant (p < 0.001) risk factor for not being ulcer-free. Disease specific QoL showed no significant difference between the surgical and conservative groups. Conclusions The addition of surgical treatment in patients with venous ulceration leads to a significantly higher chance of being ulcer-free, than just ambulatory compression therapy. This effect persists after 10 years of follow up. The number of incompetent perforating veins has a significant effect on the ulcer-state and recurrence.


In this paper we present a two point and three point one-step block method for solving second order delay differential equations (DDEs). The one-step block method will solve directly the second order DDEs without reducing to first order equations. The two point and three point
one-step block method will compute the solutions for the DDEs at two and three points simultaneously along the interval. These methods will solve the retarded type of DDE of single delay using constant step size. The P- stability and Q-stability are also discussed. The numerical results are presented to illustrate the performance of those block method for solving delay differential equations.


Honey bees in the USA face a plethora of challenges that are taking them down. Parasitic infections, insecticides, loss of habitat and heat waves are all placing these formidable labourers under stress. 'Honey bee colonies in the United States have suffered from a higher than usual rate of die-off in the last few years [rising] to over 40% in recent years', says Jonathan Snow from Barnard College, USA. Fortunately, many individuals seem to be quite robust, mobilising an impressive response – known as the heat shock response – which offers protection to cells in the body when the mercury rises. But Snow and his colleagues were curious to find out why honey bees cope so well with heat, but struggle when faced with additional stresses. Knowing that the insect's gut is likely to be particularly vulnerable to ingested insecticides and infections, Snow, Dunay Bach (Barnard College) and their colleagues wondered how the organ would react when honey bees experience a brutal heatwave, to find out how well they are defended from the prospect of climate change. Warming the insects to 45 deg for 4 h, Bach and Snow then painstakingly collected the bees' midgut, as well as the head, thorax and abdominal wall, to analyse which genes had been activated by the heatwave and which had been turned off. Remarkably, the hot bees had increased expression of 1393 genes, while partially or largely deactivating 535 genes. Focusing on the genes that were activated particularly strongly immediately after overheating, many of the usual heat shock culprits cropped up, including Hsp70AB. The team also identified 22 strongly activated genes from two cell signalling pathways (the Hippo and JNK pathways), which are well known for regulating tissue regeneration. In addition, one particular gene – which they identified as gene 102655202 – really stood out, increasing its expression level 164-fold after the heat wave. And, when the team compared the protein produced by the gene with the proteins from other organisms, they realised that it was one of the essential trigger proteins, called unpaired proteins, that activate the JAK/STAT pathway, which controls how gut stem cells develop into mature cells to replace damaged tissue.


The objective was to perform an integrative review of researches on strategies of health education among people with neurogenic bladder dysfunction on clean intermittent catheterization. The literature review was carried out in April 2011, in online data bases, applying these keywords to the period 2001 to 2011: health education, urinary bladder neurogenic and clean intermittent catheterization. Eight studies were found and the results revealed a larger number of qualitative studies, mostly performed by nurses, published predominantly in 2008, relating particularly to free and independent technologies, such as strategies using flipcharts and primers. Satisfaction, trust and acceptance were observed regarding the practice of clean intermittent catheterization. It was concluded that there are gaps in the production of scientific articles on the subject and a lack of publications demonstrating active participation by specialist nurses in applying health education strategies in catheterization of patients with neurogenic bladder dysfunction.


Using novel dynamic deduning control,.the question on power control of general contactless power supply platform with multiple loads is solved,avoiding a total system failure,and stable operation is ensured,especially the fluctuation or disappearance of loads.The feasibility of dynamic deduning control design is tested by the theoretical analysis and a successful PSpice simulation experiment.


Natural zeolite (clinoptilolite) is a porous silico-aluminate mineral. In this research clancied zeolite was used as an aggregate and bubblegenerating factor in production of light weight concrete (LWC). The experimental program consists of four concrete mixes were prepared by using cement 42.5, water, fine and/or coarse zeolite and superplasticizer. Zeolite samples were classified into (coarse zeolite-Zc) with particles greater than or equal to 5 mm and (fine Zeolite-Zf) with particles less than 5 mm .the used percentage of fine and coarse zeolite are (25%, 75%), (50%, 50%), (75%, 25%), (100%, 0%) respectively. This paper aims to study the pozzolanic effect of locally available zeolite in Egypt. And using clainced Zeolite (fine and course) as an aggregate and bubble generating agent, whereas previous research studied fine zeolite only as bubble generating agent and aggregate. And it was found in this research that the Zeolite has a Bozolanic effect that appears in case of long curing times. Usage of coarse zeolite improves the physical and mechanical properties. The optimum replacement amount of natural zeolite were determined to be 50% for ZF and 50% for ZC and at this rate, structural light weight concrete can be produced with compressive strength, unit weight and flexural strength 28 MPa, 1830 kg/m3, 4.7 MPa respectively. Zeolite has a Bozolanic effect that appears in case of long curing times.


Evidence-based decision making is becoming increasingly important in many diverse domains, including healthcare, environmental management, and government. This has raised the need for tools to aggregate evidence from multiple sources. For instance, in healthcare, much valuable evidence is in the form of the results from clinical trials that compare the relative merits of treatments. For this, in a previous paper [5], we have proposed a general language for encoding, capturing and synthesizing knowledge from clinical trials and a framework that allows the construction and evaluation of arguments from such knowledge. Now, in this paper, we consider a specific version of the general framework for aggregating qualitative information about trials, and undertake an evaluation of this qualitative framework by comparing the results we obtain with those that are published in the biomedical literature. Whilst the results from our qualitative system are inferior, we show that they do offer a quick and useful aggregation of the evidence, and furthermore, we suggest that it could be coupled with information extraction technology to provide a valuable automated solution.


It has been previously demonstrated that individuals with certain DR alleles have an increased relative risk of developing insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). The disease association is even stronger with certain DQ alleles but there is little association with DP providing a boundary of disease association to the 430 kb between DQ and DP. The recently described TAP (transporter associated with antigen processing) genes have been mapped approximately miiidway 6ietween DP and DQ. Therefore, it was of interest to determine if any TAP alleles were associated with IDDM. In addition to the alleles of TAP] that have been described, others were identified during this study. Diabetics and normal controls were screened for TAPI using single-stranded conformational polymorphism and relative risk was determined. In the same population group we have studied extensively in the past, we found a higher association of a TAPI allele with IDDM than with any single HLA-DP allele but the risk was lower than with HLA-DQBI*0302. These data provide new limits for IDDM susceptibility to the 190-kb interval between TAP) and HLA-DQBI. The recently identified TAP1 and TAP2 (transporter associated processing) proteins MADR


Developed by Stout (1987), DIMTEST is a nonparametric procedure that provides a hypothesis test of unidimensionality for a test data set. A new bias correction method for the DIMTEST procedure based on the nonparametric IRT parametric bootstrap method (Kim, 1994; Habing, 2001) is presented. Using a speci ed examinee ability distribution and nonparametric item response function estimates for each test item, a second test data set is generated under the assumption of unidimensionality. The DIMTEST statistic calculated from this generated data set serves to correct for the bias present in the DIMTEST statistic calculated using the original data set. Using results from both Stout (1987) and Douglas (1997), the new DIMTEST procedure is shown to have an asymptotically standard normal distribution under fairly general regularity conditions and assumptions as both the number of items and the number of examinees tends to in nity. A Monte-Carlo simulation study shows this new version of the DIMTEST procedure has an average Type I error rate slightly below the nominal rate of = 0:05 and very high power to detect multidimensionality in a variety of realistic multidimensional models. 1 Background on Dimensionality Assessment One of the many areas of research in the eld of Item Response Theory concerns the assessment of the dimensionality of a test. Three main methods are used to assess the number of dimensions on a test: linear factor analysis (Hambleton & Traub, 1973; Hattie, 1985; Reckase, 1979), non-linear factor analysis (Etazadi-Amoli & McDonald, 1983; Gessaroli & De Champlain, 1996) and conditional covariance based procedures, such as DIMTEST (Stout, 1987; Nandakumar & Stout, 1993), HCA/CCPROX (Roussos, Stout & Marden, 1998) and DETECT (Zhang & Stout, 1999b). Dimensionality assessment using these procedures can be divided into two main areas: 1) determining if a test is unidimensional or multidimensional and 2) if necessary, determining the multidimensional structure of the test items. Unidimensionality is an important concept in Item Response Theory for many reasons. Many common IRT models assume unidimensionality. Consequently, many IRT based procedures for item parameter and examinee ability estimation; for example, BILOG (Mislevy & Bock, 1990), assume tests measure only one dimension. Serious bias of item parameter and examinee ability estimates can be obtained from these procedures if the assumption of unidimensionality is violated (Ackerman, 1989; Kirisci & Hsu, 1995). For these reasons, and many others, it is essential to have a reliable procedure to test for unidimensionality of test data. Stout (1987) developed the DIMTEST procedure to provide a nonparametric hypothesis test of unidimensionality for a test data set. To test for unidimensionality, the DIMTEST procedure selects an Assessment Subtest (called AT1) of potentially dimensionally distinct items from the test. These


High molecular weight novolaks were prepared by polycondensation of phenol with paraformaldehyde in acetic acid. The novolak contains soluble, high molecular weight fractions (M w ≥ 10 6 ). The Θ-temperature of the acetylated novolak was determined in 2-ethoxyethanol according to the Shultz-Flory method. The solution viscosity of acetylated and deacetylated novolaks in THF at 25 C and in a Θ-solvent (2-ethoxyethanol at 105°C) was measured, and the molecular dimension in solution was estimated from the parameters of the Mark-Houwink-Sakurada equation. The exponent of 0.24 in THF (good solvent) for acetylated novolak is equal to that in the Θ-solvent. This suggests that the conformation of the novolak is compact like a sphere both in the good and the Θ-solvent. The theoretical value of the exponent in the MHS equation for highly branched polymers is between 0.2 and 0.25 in a Θ-solvent. The exponent for acetylated novolak in the Θ-solvent is close to this value. It is suggested that the acetylated novolak behaves like a highly branched polymer in a Θ-solvent. The 13 C NMR spectrum of novolak confirms that the novolak molecule is a highly branched polymer.


Providing effective methods of identification of high-obfuscation plagiarism seeds presents a significant research problem in the field of plagiarism detection. The conventional methods of plagiarism detection are based on single type of features to capture plagiarism seeds. But for high-obfuscation plagiarism detection, these single type features are not sufficient for identifying the plagiarism seeds effectively because of the varied plagiarism methods used in high-obfuscation plagiarism. This paper presents a multi-features fusion method for the highobfuscation plagiarism seeds identification. This method exploits Logical Regression model to integrate lexicon features, syntax features, semantics features and structure features which extracted from suspicious document and source document. A multi-feature fusion classifier based on Logical Regression model is proposed to decide whether a text fragment pair can be regarded as plagiarism seeds or not. Experimental results on the PAN@CLEF2013 summary-obfuscation corpus show that the fusion of different types of features produces more accurate results.


Plants are important components of ecosystems as they transfer elements from abiotic into biotic environments. The concentration of macro and micro-elements in tobacco leaves (Nicotiana tabacum) and bean (Faba siliquis) was analyzed using ICP-MS technique. The results obtained indicated that the mean concentration of Mg, P, K and Ca in tobacco leaves was 0.965, 0.812, 4.412 and 2.694 g·kg−1, respectively, while in bean samples were 0.899, 2.024, 6.725 and 1.387 g·kg−1, respectively. Mn concentration ranged from 156.835 mg·kg−1 to 234.593 mg·kg−1 in tobacco leaves and from 116.174 mg·kg−1 to 440.423 mg·kg−1 in bean samples. The results for Cu and Zn were between 7.262 mg·kg−1 and 105.738 mg·kg−1, 68.549 mg·kg−1 and 113.720 mg·kg−1 (tobacco leaves); and 6.830 mg·kg−1 and 46.034 mg·kg−1, 50.166 mg·kg−1 and 77.242 mg·kg−1 (bean samples), respectively. In analyzed samples, Pb, Cd and As concentrations ranged between <0.001-0.717 mg·kg−1, 0.046 mg·kg−1 −6.218 mg·kg−1, <0.001-0.381 mg·kg−1. The paper discusses t...


This paper presents a dynamic priority based on LTE wireless parameter algorithm, this algorithm considers the coexistence of multiple network network optimization priority and correlation of different system wireless parameter adjustment scheme, time predicted by the command, according to radio instructions to adjust demand dynamic priority and grouping deal with complex. The method can improve the effi ciency of network optimization, reduce optimal rely on the operator professional degree and optimization experience.


Abstract : Water oxidation catalysis by polypyridyl complexes of Ru(II) has been investigated mechanistically including studies in nonaqueous solvents with exploitation in electrocatalysis. Electrocatalysis studies have been extended to CO2 reduction to CO and, with added weak acids, to syngas (H2:CO) production and to CO2 splitting into CO and O2 based on a single catalyst. The reduction chemistry has been similarly extended to H2 production in a dye sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cell (DSPEC). Studies on DSPECs have been extended to the demonstration of accumulated multiple oxidative equivalents at surface catalysts on mesoporous TiO2 and to the exploration of the influence of Li+ doping. A new approach to surface-based assemblies based on phosphonate-derivatized porphyrins has been developed for creating antenna and chromophore-catalyst assembly structures by a layer-by-layer technique.


Pollen development is irregular in native populations but regular in the cultivated plants investigated. Development of the anther wall is of the Basic type and the tetrasporangiate anthers shed their pollen at the two-celled stage through longitudinal slits. The single vascular bundle of each stamen gives off two traces in the connective. The ovules are anatropous, crassinucellar, and bitegmic. The swollen distal ends of both integuments form the micropyle. The single archesporial cell cuts off a parietal cell, and during megasporogenesis a one- to three-layered parietal tissue is formed which collapses during the development of the embryo sac. Occasionally the megaspore mother cell degenerates but in these instances the growth of the ovule is unimpaired. The female gametophyte follows the Polygonum type of development, and when mature is eight-nucleate and includes three ephemeral antipodal cells. Some abnormalities pertaining to the number and arrangement of nuclei in the embryo sac have been observed and hardly 4% of the ovules form fertile seeds. The seed coat is formed from both the integuments. A hypostase is differentiated in the seed.


We investigate in this paper a cooperative schema for the ordering problem in a two-level Supply Chain involving two suppliers and multiple retailers. Each supplier aims to maximize its product sales by offering attractive quantity discounts; and conversely, the retailers aim to minimize their supply costs through coalition's formation in order to benefit from these discounts. To tackle this ordering problem, we propose a game theory-based model and a solution approach that leads to an equilibrium state in the cooperation process by forming coalitions. The exact method proposed to solve the problem provides stable coalitions of retailers helping them minimizing their supply costs. An illustrative example and preliminary experiments are provided to show the applicability and usefulness of the approach.


The invention relates to a reflector (20) for illuminating or indicating light comprising, for each side and away from a central vertical plane (xOz): a first zone (201g, 201d) in which the reflected rays pass from zero horizontal deflection to a first maximum horizontal deflection (THETAG F, THETAD F) a second zone (202g, 202d) in which the reflected rays pass from said first maximum horizontal deflection up a second maximum horizontal deflection (THETAG, THETAD), through zero deflection, and a third zone (203g, 203d) in which the reflected rays pass from said second maximum horizontal deflection to zero deviation . Applying a wide, uniform beam without intervention ice. The invention also relates to a lamp in which the reflector spreads the beam in one direction and the ice is spreading in the perpendicular direction.


Although several studies reported genetic polymorphisms in protein kinase AMP‐activated alpha 1 catalytic subunit (PRKAA1) and their associations with gastric cancer risk, few have evaluated associations between Helicobacter pylori infection and PRKAA1 gene‐environment interactions. Here, we evaluated the effects of interactions between H. pylori infection and PRKAA1 polymorphisms on gastric cancer risk in Koreans. In this hospital‐based case–control study, PRKAA1 genotypes were analyzed and H. pylori infection and CagA status were examined using a serologic method in 846 pairs of gastric cancer patients and controls matched for age and sex. H. pylori seropositivity was associated with a 1.43‐fold [95% confidence interval: 1.12–1.81] increase in the risk of gastric cancer, and CagA low‐positive titers during H. pylori infection increased the risk by 1.85‐fold (95% confidence interval, 1.38–2.48). Significant positive interaction between the PRKAA1 rs13361707 genotype and H. pylori infection was verified on an additive scale [relative excess risk due to interaction, 0.55; 95% confidence interval, 0.05–1.04; P = 0.030], and the gene‐environment interaction between PRKAA1 rs13361707 and CagA status was also statistically significant (relative excess risk due to interaction, 0.50; 95% confidence interval, 0.30–0.70; P < 0.001). Our results indicated that H. pylori infection, CagA status, and PRKAA1 polymorphisms were risk factors for gastric cancer in Koreans, and that the combination of two of these factors rather than their independent effects synergistically increased the risk.


This study examined the effect of the position of answer category "neither" of a rating scale (applicable/not applicable) of a self-administered questionnaire on the subjects' response rate, ease of answering, and misunderstanding of answer options in the case of a web survey. An eye tracking experiment was conducted on 56 university students. Fifty responses were analyzed and 6 were excluded due to insufficient data. The results showed that: (1) when "neither" is placed at the far right of the rating scale, the response rate is lower than when at the center; (2) when "neither" is placed at the far right, some participants mistakenly thought it displayed the most negative answer of "not applicable" because they did not observe the right side carefully; and (3) participants who correctly recognized the position of "neither" on the right had a higher fixation counts on the answer options and larger eye movements than those who did not recognize it.


This is 8 years back when district administration stitched up funds from various heads of the district development fund ? and started focusing on development of village (lowest administrative unit) named Punsari, Gujarat State (province) India. generally when we listen to the word village the first impression which strikes our images is, mud houses, narrow potholed roads , no drainage and drinking water facilities with socially backward and unconnected people, but Punsari is different story altogether . Punsari has been constructed as a ?model village" by the intervention of state government and its young headman, Himanshu Patel. He proudly states that his village offers "the amenities of a city but the spirit of a village?. Narendra Modi, Present Prime Minister of India and former chief minister of Gujarat has sent officials to study Punsari and its development model and prepare a project for creating model villages all over the country. The village has also been visited by "more than 300 officials" from all over India who want "to learn how they can replicate our model in their states", Mr Patel proudly claims that the village has public announcement systems, CCTV cameras to provide 24/7 security for villagers, free WiFi connectivity at public gathering places, portable drinking water at affordable price, mobile library, two primary schools with WI Fi connection and projector facilities, gaming zones and internet cafe for students and children and other basic facilities like health , education drainage, are on par with urban standardsPunsari makes a perfect case study as the local self-governance model and this can be a role model for rural India with respective changes accordingly to the local demands. I would discuss the transformative challenges in convincing the villagers and bringing the best practice out of it and its impact on rural development.


Background In 2011, the people of Fukushima, Japan, experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), a complex disaster of earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident. Its residents are experiencing a second global disaster, a COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Objective In this article, we aimed at discussing the effects of subthreshold PTSD in a previous disaster on an exacerbation of PTSD symptoms in another disaster. Method We present a case of subthreshold PTSD in the context of a nuclear accident and exacerbation of symptoms due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Results Exacerbation of subthreshold PTSD symptoms was likely due to the reemergence of an urgent atmosphere similar to the previously experienced traumatic event. Conclusions PTSD may occur not only in those who experience the actual life-threatening like ICU admission but in those who experience the atmospheric change of society. This case demonstrated the characteristics of subthreshold PTSD caused by two disasters that shared a similar sense of insecurity, the scale of impact on the society, invisibility of the threat, restricted movement, and authoritative conflicts. These commonalities led to a recurrence and exacerbation of initial symptoms. This finding should be shared with those involved in the care system for victims' mental health suffering from a large-scale disaster, and we need further research about the issue.


The digital simulation method for NC incremental sectional forming is studied and the forming effect of NC incremental integral forming and sectional forming is analyzed through the digital simulation method in this paper. Digital simulation results show that the proposed simulation method for NC incremental sectional forming is reasonable and achievable. The difference of the forming quality between NC incremental sectional forming and integral forming is small. The sectional forming method has feasibility.


BACKGROUND: HBV and HCV infections pose a great threat to patients on hemodialysis and studies have been conducted regarding the prevalence and seroconversion rates. The present study was conducted to demonstrate the prevalence and seroconversion rate in patients with chronic hemodialysis and also the incidence of liver function derangement in patients with Hepatitis B and C. METHODS: HBV and HCV status of patients who were on hemodialysis irrespective of serological status and etiology of renal failure were observed. 205 patients were followed up for a period of one year and the incidence, prevalence and seroconversion of HBV and HCV was estimated through HbsAg and Anti-HCV ELISA tests. T-test was used to compare different biochemical and other parameters among two groups (Reactive and Non-reactive). Linear regression was used to calculate the relationship between the parameters and seroconversion rates. RESULTS: 205 patients were observed in the study. The prevalence and seroconversion rates were 11.22% and 4.8% in HBV patients and 18.54% and 6.8% in HCV patients respectively, at the end of the study. There was a significant correlation of the prevalence with average number of blood transfusion and elevated ALT levels in HbsAg reactive patients. Additionally, anti-HCV reactive patients correlated significantly with average number of blood transfusion and elevated ALT levels. There was significant correlation with mean duration of haemodialysis and i.v drug abuse in anti-HCV reactive patients. Regarding the seroconversion status only the average number of blood transfusions was having a significant correlation in both HbsAg and anti-HCV reactive patients. CONCLUSION: The prevalence and seroconversion rates were 11.22% and 4.8% in HBV patients and 18.54% and 6.8% in HCV patients respectively. Safety can be improved with the availability of more sensitive tests, increasing use of erythropoietin, timely vaccination for hepatitis B and adopting universal precautions.


Objective:To evaluate the feasibility and significance of retrograde dissection of the cystic duct in laparoscopic cholecystectomy(LC) for treatment of atrophic cholecystitis.Methods: The clinical data were reviewed in 48 patients with atrophic cholecystitis undergone LC with retrograde dissection of the gallbladder.Results:Forty-seven patients were successfully undergone the dissection of the gallbladder through LC,but one case was referred to laparotomy due to dark anatomy of Calot′s triangle,as a result of bleeding and failure of hemostasis.Conclusion: Retrograde separation of cystic duct in LC appears safe and effective in treatment of atrophic cholecystitis,and yet,some principles of surgery should be emphasized and timely reference is necessary.


This paper investigate a joining method of VANET protocol using velocity information. The proposed algorithm reduces the network load on V2V protocol using vehicle velocity and adjacent node information. For the performance analysis, a throughput, network load were investigated in the case of highway traffic. The simulation results show the performance enhancements in terms of a throughput, network loads with node vehicle number.


Objective To compare contrast sensitivity and glare contrast sensitivity following implantation of 3 kinds of folds type monofocal and spherical intraocular lenses.Methods One hundred and twenty cases(120 eyes)were randomly divided into 3 groups according to the type of IOLs:Group A was implanted HQ-201HEP,group B was implanted Sensar AR40e and group C was implanted AcrySof Natural SN60AT,otherwise,a normal control group was selected.Forty cases(40 eyes)were included in each group.The contrasts sensitivity and glare contrast sensitivity were measured with CSV-1000E after surgery.Results There was no statistical difference in the three groups after surgery in contrasts sensitivity and glare contrasts sensitivity at the 3 cpd,6 cpd,12 cpd and 18 cpd spatial frequencies(P0.05),but each was lower than comtrol group at the same age.Conclusions The monofocal and spherical intraocular lenses are transplanted into eyes after surgery,which only partially recover the contrasts sensitivity,but still lower than the normal people's level.The influence of the design principle upon the contrast sensitivity of the intraocular lenses still needs further studies.


Self-alignment protection for a permanent magnet coupling, to the technical field of the design and manufacture of magnetic coupling, a first that is fixedly coupled to the respective load shaft (8) and the drive shaft (9) of the rotor and a second includes a rotor, said first rotor and said second rotor is a permanent magnet capable of transmitting the torque are coupled to each other are mounted respectively. Wherein the first rotor / second rotor, coaxial with a gradient from each other fit in the conical surface / outer conical surface is disposed respectively, and further, between the first rotor and the second rotor It includes an axial adjustment mechanism for adjusting the relative position in the axial direction of the. By the technical solutions, conventionally, it can solve the technical problem of installation and debugging of the inconvenient and a magnetic force coupling. .FIELD 1


The estimation of a random scalar parameter using sensors' noisy data has been studied in the context of wireless sensor networks. In energy-constrained networks, the sensors are restricted to low transmission rates to preserve battery power. Hence, in our distributed estimation method, only one bit of a B-bit quantization is sent from each sensor to the fusion center, where the unknown parameter is estimated. To optimize the estimation performance in an inhomogeneous sensor network, we find the best bit-sensor assignment based on the sensors' noise variance. In our method, we use the Hungarian algorithm for the assignment optimization problem.


The transverse function approach, a control design method initially developed by the authors for nonlinear driftless systems, is based on a theorem that establishes the equivalence between the satisfaction of the Lie algebra rank condition (LARC) by a family of vector fields and the existence of functions "transverse" to these vector fields, defined on a torus of adequate dimension. In this paper we prove the existence of transverse functions defined on special orthogonal groups for vector fields which satisfy the LARC at the order one, and we provide an explicit expression of such functions. An example illustrates some of the advantages resulting from the use of these new functions.


TiB_2 coatings were prepared by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering technique on the substrates of steel and silicon.The cross-section morphology, microstructure as well as the compositions and chemical states of the coatings obtained were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy,glancing angle X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,respectively. It was found that the TiB_2 coatings show a smooth surface and dense nanostructure with a preferential crystalline orientation of().The micro-hardness and residual stresses of the films were also examined.It was found that the microhardness of the coatings obtained is considerably higher than the substrates,while the compressive residual stress of the film is significantly low.


Guillain-Barre syndrome is a rare inflammatory autoimmune disorder of the peripheral nerves, characterized by tingling, weakness, or paralysis in the legs, arms, breathing muscles, and face. The exact cause of Guillain-Barre syndrome is unknown. However, in about 70% of patients, a recent infection or vaccine or surgery serves as a trigger to an autoimmune response. The first symptoms of Guillain-Barre syndrome include: • Progressive muscle weakness on both sides of the legs, arms, and face. • Prickly, tingling sensations, usually in the feet or hands. • Pain is a significant complaint. • Loss of normal reflexes. Symptoms may develop over a period of hours, days, or weeks. They will vary in severity from minimal to total paralysis including respiratory weakness. The symptoms grow progressively worse. Most patients recover fully, but as many as 25% will have some residual symptoms. Five to ten percent have permanent, disabling deficits, and for 5% the condition is fatal. Diagnosis is dependant on the physical exam and history, cerebrospinal fluid findings, and nerve conduction studies. Intravenous infusion with immunoglobulin (IVIg) and plasmapheresis may help reduce the severity of a Guillain-Barre attack.


In this review of recent developments in Canadian health care policy, Detsky and Naylor describe the strains on the system in the 1990s that led to declining satisfaction on the part of the public and providers and to national debate about health care reform. A 2003 agreement between the federal and provincial governments called for a substantial increase in federal funds for health care but no major changes in organization, delivery, or financing.


Consuming liquor has a very bad impact on the lives of teenagers, both physically, psychologically, and socially, efforts need to be made to overcome this, not only the role of parents, but the government of course also participates in overcoming this problem, one of the government agencies which plays a role in overcoming juvenile delinquency, namely the social service. The purpose of the study was to describe the efforts of social services to overcome juvenile delinquency consuming liquor in the city of Sungai Penuh. The theory used in this study is the structural functional theory proposed by Talcot Parson. The research was conducted at the social office of Sungai Penuh City. This study used a qualitative research method with a descriptive type of research. The withdrawal of informants was carried out by purposive sampling technique. The data collection method in this study began with observation, interviews, and document studies. Data analysis techniques in research can be carried out in several stages, namely, data collection, data reduction, data presentation and drawing conclusions. The results showed that there were several efforts made by the Sungai Penuh City Social Service in Overcoming Adolescents who consume liquor. including: 1) Providing socialization to adolescents regarding the dangers of consuming liquor. 2) Give sanctions/punishments. and 3) Conducting Rehabilitation.


Thank you very much for downloading ten thousand things module and mass production in chinese art. Maybe you have knowledge that, people have look hundreds times for their chosen novels like this ten thousand things module and mass production in chinese art, but end up in malicious downloads. Rather than reading a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon, instead they are facing with some infectious bugs inside their laptop.


[Objective] To investigate the influence of the filtrate of the medicinal Actinidia arguta(Sieb.et Zucc.)Planch.on the isolated intestinal segment motion of rabbit.[Method] After make intestinal segment specimen of rabbit,the contraction intensity and quiet interest tension of intestinal segment′s smooth muscle were recorded and converted into tension and frequency.[Result] Actinidia arguta(Sieb.et Zucc.) Planch.filtrate with lower concentration(5-15 mg/ml) could excite unmediated contraction motion of the small intestine smooth muscle obviously,and could strengthen the effect of ACh to the motion of the small intestine smooth muscle remarkably.Whereas that of higher concentration(30-50 mg/ml) could increase the tensility of smooth muscle.[Conclusion] The filtrate of Actinidia arguta(Sieb.et Zucc.) Planch.has complicated adjustment function to the motion of the stomach and bowel.


Peter Bacho is a striking voice in the chorus of Asian-American storytellers. His first novel, Cebu, published in 1991 , was a dark comedy about a young Filipino-American priest from Seattle who must travel to the Philippines for the first time to bury his mother. In Cebu, Bacho explored how his character's national identity is challenged by the discovery of his foreign ancestral heritage. With personal insight and humor he addressed the issues that complicate the social life of second-generation Americans. Bacho, who received an American Book Award of the Before Columbus Foundation for Cebu, now has a new collection called Dark Blue Suit and Other Stories due out from the University of Washington Press this October. A dedicated Seattle native, Bacho centers his new collection of short fiction and memoir around the lives of Filipino-Americans and the Filipino community in the city he loves. His themes focus on the interpersonal struggles and changing perspectives of his characters. He draws compelling emotional connections between the different generations throughout the stories. In one short story from the collection, "A Family Gathering," Bacho revisits the Seattle cemetery where his father is buried, where most of the Filipino men and women from his neighborhood are buried, and where he sees the legacy of sacrifice, family honor, and immigrant hope passing on; as Bacho writes, "It's like our old neighborhood, reassembled plot by plot." Bacho recounts his own childhood in a mixed culture. His recollections center on gritty urban streets and his immigrant father's willingness to take back-breaking, dangerous jobs-"blood money," Bacho calls itin order to give Bacho and his siblings a better life in their new country. It is a common immigrant family story line. But Bacho 's perspective as he moves from those who have passed on to those who remain make it unique. It is a story that walks in the past and present. "A Family Gathering" is about familial relationShips, but familial in the sense of a close-knit ethnic community within the larger context of Seattle. He introduces an assortment of uncles ,


This study aims to determine the level of patient satisfaction on the quality of pharmacy service at Labiang Baji hospitals pharmacy Makassar. Has conducted researche about relations implementation of pharmaceutical at the Labuang Baji Baji Hospital Pharmacy Makassar with the level of patient satisfaction. Data from Labuang Baji Hospital Pharmacy from of data about the facility, and drug information service. While filling in the form of the questionnaire. There are 100 respondents who filled in the questionnaire. Respondents were taken using a method accidental. The result showed that existing facilities in inadequate wedge Labuang pharmacies, drug information service has not been fully implemented but the distribution of drug has done well. Meanwhile, from questionnaires completed by patient/families of patients obtained results that the quality of pharmaceutical services in hospital LB was satisfactory, with a value of SME (Society Satisfaction Index ) is 74.70975 to obtain the quality of service B, and categorize the performance of service units in good/satisfactory. Key Word : pharmacy services , respondents , questionnaires


An evaluation of modern man which contests his favorable self-evaluation. (1) Modern man views himself mistakenly as a man of peace, abhorrent of war, & a devotee of the 'ethical affirmation of life.' This view is refuted by the record of recent wars. (2) Modern man is convinced of his mental, moral, soc & creative superiority over the preceding generations. Actually, the superior creativity of modern man is shown in the field of sci & technological invention. In other cultural fields, eg religion, philosophy, ethics, law, psychosoc & humanistic disciplines, arts & literature, his creativity has been massive, but mediocre & largely vulgar; nor has he created a new & great theology, & his creativity in moral & ethical values, ideologies & behavior has been sterile. (3) Modern man believes that he is a free person, a fighter for freedom, liberator of all groups & persons from all forms of unjust limitation & suppression of their liberty & inalienable rights. This claim is belied by total war & totalitarian pol. (4) Modern man suffers from similar self-deceptions in other dimensions of life; he is actually a disharmonious & often schizophrenic bundle of contradictions (coincidentia oppositorum). I. Langnas.


The finite element code AUTODYN was used to numerically simulate the detonation processes of double layer shaped charges.The shock initiation of the inner layer charge was described by the Lee-Tarver ignition and growth model.Detonation wave propagation processes of the double layer shaped charges were discussed by the numerical results and the corresponding characteristic parameters were obtained.Jet formation processes of the typical single and double layer shaped charges were numerically presented,and jet parameters for the double layer charges with different detonation velocities in the inner and outer layers were numerically analyzed.Calculated results show that the jet head velocities of the double layer shaped charges are higher 20% than those of the single layer shaped charges.Double layer charges can effectively enhance the head velocity of a shaped charge metal jet,augment its penetration depth and increase explosive charge power.


Congenital deafness is a common birth defect.The present diagnosis for congenital deafness mainly relys on audiological testing and imaging.Using imaging can directly observe scope of pathological changes for medical treatment.In this review,the correlated technology of imaging and its application were presented.


Background: Most studies showed fair evidence on the benefits of Coenzyme Q10 supplements in improving cardiac functions and preventing cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to assess knowledge of Coenzyme Q10 supplements among cardiac patients.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study and 134 patients were conveniently enrolled based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. This study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire, derived from extensive literature reviews.
Results: Study subjects were found to have not appropriate knowledge about Coenzyme Q10 supplements (mean knowledge score=1.8, SD=3.131). This study found strong positive correlation between the knowledge score and attitude score (r=0.776, p<0.05). Elderly and those earning higher incomes had statistically higher knowledge scores compared to others.
Conclusion: The obtained knowledge towards Coenzyme Q10 supplements reflected the low pattern of use among cardiac patients. It also emphasized the role of healthcare providers to increase awareness about the benefits of Coenzyme Q10 supplements among cardiac patients as well as to educate them about its interaction with some drugs.


Plants have a distinctive mode of continuous development, involving the repeated initiation and growth of new organs throughout the lifespan of the organism. Their sessile nature means that this growth must be responsive not only to developmental cues but also to changes in the prevailing conditions. Since almost all growth ultimately derives from the process of cell division, the control of the cell cycle is at the heart of understanding patterning, growth, and development in plants. The unique features of plant development are reflected in distinct modes and molecular mechanisms of cell cycle control, using underpinning conserved control modules in distinct ways. The development of our understanding of these distinct aspects of plant cell cycle control is reviewed here.


II The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. PREFACE On the occasion of the International Year of Mountains, and in response to the clear consensus reached by the international community regarding the need to ensure harmonious and sustainable development of mountainous areas and watersheds, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and its partners in the subject, undertook a large-scale assessment and global review of the current status and future trends of regarding knowledge about and techniques for integrated watershed management. The objectives were to promote the exchange and dissemination of experiences of integrated watershed management techniques, identify constraints to the implementation and development of those techniques during the decade from 1990 to 2000 and capture relevant new paradigms and approaches. The lessons learned from diverse experiences are being used to define a new generation of integrated watershed management projects. Experts from four continents contributed to the assessment, which yielded four main outputs: 1) a review of experiences in watershed management, based on questionnaires that were sent to active partners in the field; 2) substantive reports from four regional workshops held in Nairobi Watershed management concepts and approaches were reviewed, and different experiences assessed. The results of this exercise are presented in several documents, including the proceedings of workshops and reports on the four case studies. The conservation, use and sustainable management of watershed resources in order to meet the demands of growing populations have been a high priority for many countries over the past several decades. In this respect, integrated watershed management through people's participation has become widely accepted as the approach that ensures sound sustainable natural resources management and a better economy for upland inhabitants, as well as people living in downstream areas. Within Asia …


ABSTRACT The goal of this research paper is to provide a case study of two ACA initiatives focused specifically on Medicare cost reduction: Readmissions Reduction Program (RRP) and Value-Based Purchasing (VBP). The paper discusses generally how the ACA reforms are aimed to reduce Medicare costs through these two cost reduction programs and how hospitals are impacted by the financial penalties associated with these reforms. Through a case study of a Midwestern regional acute care hospital, detailed solutions will be provided on ways to limit financial losses. Additionally, consideration will be given to how much a hospital should weigh its investment in improving program metrics versus the net overall benefit.


Objective To observe the effects of aciclovir in the treatment of viral encephalitis. Methods Ninety-two patients were randomly divided into virazole group (49 cases): virazole 10 mg/kg body weight, i.v. drip, twice per day; aciclovir group(43 cases): aciclover 10 mg/kg body weight, i.v. drip, 8 hourly. Continuous treatment carried out for 14 days for both groups. The effects were compared between the two groups. Results Aciclovir was better than virazole in terms of the duration of remission of symptoms, such as headache, vomiting, tenany and recovery of consciousness, the difference was significant (t′=3.835-4.829, P0.01), though fever-regression time was shorter for aciclovir, the difference was not significant between the two groups (t=1.378, P0.05). Conclusion The effect of aciclovir is obvious for viral encephalitis.


The lithium silicates have attracted scientific interest due to their potential use as high-temperature sorbents for CO{sub 2} capture. The electronic properties and thermodynamic stabilities of lithium silicates with different Li{sub 2}O/SiO{sub 2} ratios (Li{sub 2}O, Li{sub 8}SiO{sub 6}, Li{sub 4}SiO{sub 4}, Li{sub 6}Si{sub 2}O{sub 7}, Li{sub 2}SiO{sub 3}, Li{sub 2}Si{sub 2}O{sub 5}, Li{sub 2}Si{sub 3}O{sub 7}, and a-SiO{sub 2}) have been investigated by combining first-principles density functional theory with lattice phonon dynamics. All these lithium silicates examined are insulators with band-gaps larger than 4.5 eV. By decreasing the Li{sub 2}O/SiO{sub 2} ratio, the first valence bandwidth of the corresponding lithium silicate increases. Additionally, by decreasing the Li{sub 2}O/SiO{sub 2} ratio, the vibrational frequencies of the corresponding lithium silicates shift to higher frequencies. Based on the calculated energetic information, their CO{sub 2} absorption capabilities were extensively analyzed through thermodynamic investigations on these absorption reactions. We found that by increasing the Li{sub 2}O/SiO{sub 2} ratio when going from Li{sub 2}Si{sub 3}O{sub 7} to Li{sub 8}SiO{sub 6}, the corresponding lithium silicates have higher CO{sub 2} capture capacity, higher turnover temperatures and heats of reaction, and require higher energy inputs for regeneration. Based on our experimentally measured isotherms of the CO{sub 2} chemisorption by lithium silicates, we found that the CO{sub 2} capture reactions are two-stage processes: (1) a superficial reaction to form the external shell composed of Li{sub 2}CO{sub 3} and a metal oxide or lithium silicate secondary phase and (2) lithium diffusion from bulk to the surface with a simultaneous diffusion of CO{sub 2} into the shell to continue the CO{sub 2} chemisorption process. The second stage is the rate determining step for the capture process. By changing the mixing ratio of Li{sub 2}O and SiO{sub 2}, we can obtain different lithium silicate solids which exhibit different thermodynamic behaviors. Based on our results, three mixing scenarios are discussed to provide general guidelines for designing new CO{sub 2} sorbents to fit practical needs.


The present work is a contribution to the phenomenological modelling of fatigue damage in short glass fibre reinforced thermoplastic matrix composites. It is a first part of a continuing work which intends to develop a new damage model into the framework of continuum damage mechanics. The developed model is implemented into the finite element implicit code ABAQUS through user defined material subroutine UMAT. The latter is aimed at predicting the fatigue damage accumulation and the subsequent stiffness reduction in short fibre reinforced thermoplastic composites. The developed model is intended to improve the fatigue life predictions and hence the numerical simulations of structures durability. The developed damage modelling will be used to optimize composite parts in automotive industry. Several simulations have been conducted upon a glass (E) /thermoplastics matrix to emphasize and to understand the effect of material parameters on the damage kinetic and accumulation under cyclic loading.


The article presents the results of the mutual impacts of factors, which, according to participants, affect the evaluation of performed training courses. The correlation analysis of six variables used in the presented evaluation model shows the connection between the evaluation of instructor's performance and the evaluation of the content of the training course. There is also the connection between the evaluation of handouts and the content of the course, as well as the connection between the evaluation of handouts and the performance evaluation of the instructor. Another important finding is that there is no connection between the evaluation of the training organization and the evaluation of the training impact on participants' jobs. In the second part of our analysis, we used the factor and later the regression analysis to establish the effect of the new acquired knowledge on participants' work performance, and came to a very interesting conclusion, which could explain 23.7% of impact variance of acquired knowledge to participants' performance.


Esters and alcohols are widely used as solvents in the packaging industry. They contribute to the increase of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and, as such, represent a serious air pollution problem that must be faced. To this end, two main strategies can be pursued: solvent recovery and/or incineration, the former being of course preferred. Solvent recovery consists of an activated carbon plant, which adsorbs the post-printing exhaust solvents, and a distillation system, which separates the recovered solvent mixture. The waste streams coming from the solvent recovery stage need to be disposed, implying additional costs as well as safety issues. In this work, a low-cost perovskite-based catalyst, doped with a low amount of noble metal (Pt) and supported over a monolithic reactor, was used to run lab-scale combustion tests for waste streams coming from the solvent recovery stage of the packaging industry Icimendue (www.icimen.com). Results of experimental tests support the validity of catalytic combustion of the waste streams as an alternative approach to their disposal.


OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: 1. To identify novel genetic modifiers that result in a mild bleeding phenotype in patients with FVIII <1%. 2. To examine the feasibility of a practice model that incorporates the principles and methods for both obtaining consent for NGS and returning individual research results from the sources described above. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: 1. We plan a 3-step approach for identifying novel genetic modifiers of hemophilia: a. Obtain samples from individuals with an extremely mild bleeding phenotype: The study will be narrowed to patients with confirmed FVIII <1%, a null mutation in the gene for FVIII, and a mild bleeding phenotype according to a detailed bleeding history. b. Identify variants that modify phenotype: Whole exome sequencing will be performed, followed by a focused analysis of genes known or suspected to be involved in thrombosis and hemostasis and prediction of variant impact using algorithms that account for conservation and deleteriousness of all variants. c. Verify the impact of novel variants in independent samples: In silico (analyze genetic databases for suspected variants), in vivo (assess bleeding in animal models of hemophilia after introducing presumed modifier variants). 2. We will employ a model for obtaining informed consent and communicating individual genetic research results and results with potential clinical impact to research participants: a. The informed consent process will be performed after potential participants read a pamphlet entitled "Genetic Research at The Rockefeller University Hospital and Center for Clinical and Translational Science." The pamphlet includes 16 questions that the potential participants are urged to ask the investigator, including, "What will you look for in my genetic information?", "Will I receive results from this study?". Potential participants will also be informed of the meaning of clinically actionable variants, either pathogenic variants related to phenotype or secondary ("incidental") findings (i.e. variants unrelated to phenotype, the knowledge of which could lead to actions that may improve health). Participants who do not want to receive information about potentially actionable variants will be excluded from the study to avoid a situation where the investigator has clinically important information that cannot be shared with the participant. b. Genetic testing will be performed in a CLIA-certified lab to allow investigators to share the results with the study participants. c. Results will be reported to study participants according to a standard operating procedure (SOP) that classifies the report of variants according to the relation to phenotype and the pathogenic potential. d. Participant satisfaction with the informed consent process and the return of results will be assessed by a questionnaire for obtaining participants' perceptions of their research experience, based on a standard set of validated research participation experiences measures (Kost RG et al, J Clin Transl Sci. 2018;2:31). RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Samples from individuals with severe null mutation hemophilia and a mild bleeding phenotype will be enriched in genetic modifier variants. After completing participation, participants will express satisfaction with the informed consent process and the results of the return of genetic information. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Genetic risk assessment to predict bleeding risk has the potential to provide hemophilia patients with tailored therapy, allowing for very early initiation of treatment (prophylactic thrice weekly IV administration of FVIII) in patients with a high bleeding risk and deferring this costly and burdensome treatment in patients who are expected to be mild bleeders. Genetic modifier variants of hemophilia may be found to predict thrombosis in non-hemophiliac patients and profoundly impact the treatment of venous thrombosis. A structured process for obtaining consent for NGS and return of genetic results to study participants can protect them from uncertain genetic information. Moreover, this process will prevent a situation in which investigators have knowledge about clinically actionable variants but they are not allowed to report them to the participants or do not have a process for doing so. Sharing individual research results and results with clinical significance with participants of studies that involve whole exome sequencing can promote transparency and engagement of participants throughout the research enterprise.


In this paper, the problem of stabilization criteria for a class of linear time-delay uncertain chaotic systems is derived. Based on the Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional combining with linear matrix inequality (LMI) techniques and Leibniz-Newton formula, delay-dependent stabilization criteria are derived for the existence of a state feedback controller, which ensures asymptotic stability of the closed systems for all admissible uncertainties. Furthermore, we try to transform the LMI feasible problem into the equivalent generalized eigenvalues problem (GEVP). Such that the global solution, namely the maximum upper bound on the admissible delay, can be determine by using the LMI toolbox in Matlab.


'Cyberporn' is one of the great moral panics of our age. Indeed, the development of Web 2.0 and the rapid increase of user generated content have opened the floodgates to the number of pornographic websites available. Everybody is familiar, and most are in agreement with the argument against indecent images of children.1 Few would argue –none successfully – for the law to go easier on those who produce and circulate such images, but an increasingly complicated legal landscape is in danger of stretching the limits of legislation to include what are essentially drawings of children found online or in virtual communities and criminalise those who produce, possess or view them. This paper will consider the necessary response of the United Kingdom's legislature to these problems.


women should consume 300 mg caffeine/day (equivalent to 4.6 mg/kg bw/day for a 65-kg person). Epidural analgesia is widely considered to be the most effective method of providing pain relief during labor. Pregnant women are at particular risk of dural puncture, and the subsequent PDPH, because of sex, young age, and the widespread application of regional anesthesia. The differential diagnosis of PDPH is often clear from the history of dural puncture and the presence of a severe postural headache. However, it is important to consider alternative causes of headache including withdrawal of caffeine.


Pomological attributes and geometric properties of four pistachio cultivars (Mateur, Elguetar, Kerman, Ohadi) grown in the orchard of the Regional Center of Agriculture Research Sidi Bouzid Tunisia, were studied. This work aims to select suitable cultivars for these environmental conditions and determine important physical properties useful for the design of various separating, handling, storing and drying equipment. Agronomical traits such as production, trunk cross sectional area, yield efficiency, number of grapes/tree, number of fruits/grapes, number of fruits /100g, kernels weight, kernel dry weight /nut and dry weight ratio were evaluated. Physical properties of pistachio kernel such as length, width, thickness, arithmetic diameter, geometric diameter, sphericity and surface area, were determined. Our results showed higher yield for Mateur cultivar than the others cultivars. Ohadi showed higher fruit dimensions, arithmetic diameter, geometric diameter and sphericity, on the other hand this variety showed lower level of splits fruits (52%) and a higher level of blanks rate (26%). The choice of the most adapted and effective pistachio varieties in terms of vigour, production and geometric properties in the studied area are as follows: the first is the Mateur variety followed by Ohadi and Kerman and the last cultivar is Elguetar.


The author presents an overview of the use of electroconvulsive therapy in treating mental illness, of current research into ECT's safety and effectiveness, and of the legal treatment of ECT in malpractice and patients' rights litigation. She concludes that ECT may be overregulated because the law has not kept pace with changes in knowledge and procedures concerning ECT, with the result that some patients who might benefit from ECT may be deprived of a relatively safe and effective form of treatment.


The repair of steel members with carbon fibre has applications in a broad variety of disciplines. Experimental work in the literature has typically identified high strength epoxy resins to bond the carbon fibre to the steel surface, with requirements of up to two weeks curing at ambient temperature, as recommended by the epoxy manufacturer. However, there may be applications in which repair in the field would require more rapid curing, so as to minimize disruptions to the service of the member or structure. This study presents an experimental program assessing four different epoxy resins for their strength and cure time. Double strap tension tests were undertaken, and the results indicated that certain epoxy resins reached full strength much more rapidly than others, while their strengths varied notably. Recommendations are made with respect to rapid strength repair of steel members with carbon fibre.


Abstract Mortise–tenon joints (MTJs) have been playing a crucial role in traditional timber structures to resist service and earthquake loading. In the present work, an experimental study was carried out to investigate the seismic performance of joints of ancient timber structure. Five types of joints from Fu-Jiu Zhou house, a historical building in Yangzhou city, were selected as the test prototype. All of the members of the test specimens were directly extracted from the aged building and were manufactured according to traditional methods. Based on the cyclic loading tests, efforts have been made to investigate the hysteresis curves, backbone curves and energy dissipation of the MTJs. The test results indicate that the bearing bracket in the tenon can improve pulling-out resistance capacity, rotational stiffness and energy dissipation of MTJs, and reduce the bending capacity. It is suggested that the dovetail MTJ may be one of the best connection configurations for pulling-out resistance and bending capacity.


1. A composition for prevention and treatment of bacterial infections soderzhaschayaa. anthocyanosides, and / or b. procyanidins, and c. isoquinoline alkaloids extracted from, ili.2. A composition according to claim 1, wherein anthocyanosides extracted iz3. The composition of claim 1 wherein the procyanidins extracted iz.4. A composition according to claim 1, wherein isoquinoline alkaloids are selected from sanguinarine and heleritrinov.5. A composition according to claim 1, further soderzhaschayad. lipophilic extract / ili.6. The composition of any of the above compositions according to claims 1-5 for oral hygiene in the form of tablets or chewing rezinok.7. Application: a. anthocyanosides, and / or b. procyanidins, c. isoquinoline alkaloids extracted from, or to prepare compositions for the prevention and treatment of bacterial infections rta.8 cavity. Use according to claim 7, further comprising primenenied. lipophilic ekstraktai / ili.9. Use according to claims 1-6 of the composition for oral hygiene.


In the last decade, the digital age has sharply redefined the way we study human behavior. With the advancement of data storage and sensing technologies, electronic records now encompass a diverse spectrum of human activity, ranging from location data [1,2], phone [3,4], and email communication [5] to Twitter activity [6] and opensource contributions on Wikipedia and OpenStreetMap [7,8]. In particular, the study of the shopping and mobility patterns of individual consumers has the potential to give deeper insight into the lifestyles and infrastructure of the region. Credit card records (CCRs) provide detailed insight into purchase behavior and have been found to have inherent regularity in consumer shopping patterns [9]; call detail records (CDRs) present new opportunities to understand human mobility [10], analyze wealth [11], and model social network dynamics [12].