Diamond-like carbon (DLC) is a class of materials with outstanding mechanical, tribological and biological properties. From in-vitro experiments, it is known that by incorporating other elements into the DLC film, the ratios of the different proteins adsorbed on the surface can be changed. These proteins will then subsequently control cell attachment, cell proliferation and cell differentiation. In a total hip joint replacement, the metallic femoral head, which slides against a polyethylene pan, causes polymeric wear debris. These wear particles may then trigger inflammatory reactions, resulting in osteolysis (bone resorption) and subsequent implant loosening. DLC has proven its outstanding tribological properties in many technical applications, mainly due to the build up of a transfer layer on the counterpart. DLC coated load bearing implants sliding against ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) have been investigated. The different in-vitro experiments apparently showed contradicting results, mainly due to the different experimental setups and especially the different liquids used as lubricants. The synovial fluid present in a biological joint, contains large organic molecules which function as a boundary lubricants. Phospholipids, proteoglycans or proteins can be chemisorbed on the joint surfaces and trap water molecules, resulting in water acting as a viscose lubricant. When a DLC coated femoral head is tested against a polyethylene pan in a hip joint simulator, using synovial fluid as a lubricant, the build up of a transfer layer, protecting the softer counterpart (i.e. the polymer) does not seem to take place and the UHMWPE counterpart still shows wear. However, when DLC slides against DLC in medical applications, the build up of a transfer layer may not be a critical issue or is not drastically altered by the presence of proteins, and very low wear rates could be obtained in different in-vitro tests. Additionally, DLC coatings have an excellent haemocompatibility, which is expressed in a decreased thrombus formation. When exposed to blood, an increased ratio of albumin to fibrinogen adsorption, as well as decreased blood platelet activation is observed on coated surfaces. A few DLC coated cardiovascular implants such as artificial heart valves, blood pumps and stents are already commercially available. When coating a metal with DLC, good adhesion is obtained due to the about one nanometer thick metal-carbide reaction layer at the DLC/substrate interface. Upon implantation, it has to be guaranteed that this reaction layer is also chemically long-term stable under in-vivo conditions.Copyright © 2005 by ASME


The objective of this paper is to provide an introductory review on fractional Brownian motion (fbm), the area which is relatively new. The basic statistical property of self-similarity and its relation to fractional Brownian motion is well discussed. Specific emphasis is given to the relation between the properties of fbm and modelling financial markets.


Apparatus useful for the measurement of electrical conductivity and thermoelectric power is described. It makes it possible to perform accurate measurements on samples of low-conductivity as well as high-conductivity materials in a wide temperature range.


Objective To elucidate the clinical application value of treadmill testing in interventional therapy of intermediate coronary lesions.Methods 41 patients with intermediate coronary lesions diagnosed by coronary angiography were divided into two groups by treadmill testing.19 patients with positive result of treadmill testing were performed interventional therapy and drug therapy.22 patients with negative result of treadmill testing were treated with drug.The main adverse coronary events were compared and analyzed.Results The main adverse coronary events of two groups were 37.3% and 5.3%,P=0.024.Conclusion Treadmill testing has clinical application value in assessing functional significance and guiding the interventional therapy of intermediate coronary lesions.


In this study, the TRNSYS simulation engine was used to investigate the shading and cooling effect of roof-added photovoltaics (PV). The local weather conditions were introduced in the data reader component. The sol-air effective temperatures were modeled in the roof–air boundary layer, while a single-zone model was used for the heat transfer calculation, both in bared and PV-shaded roof. The simulation was validated by experimental data of a PV installation at the roof of the Department of Environmental & Natural Resources Management. The simulation results show that PV panels have a high impact on the roof surface temperature between shaded and exposed parts of the roof during the summer time. Heat transfer simulation with or without roof-integrated PV shadings revealed the factors influencing cooling loads of a building during the year. The roof-added PV can passively reduce the daily rooftop cooling energy and peak load during the hot summer days in addition to electricity production.


HIS THICK COUGH SHOOK ME OUT OF DREAMS AND I TOSSED over, still aroused from these sounds as common to me as creaking floors or running water. He was more of a lurking shadow or some sullen, angry ghost than he was a breathing life. His face was hollowed and gray. And with each waking cough, I wondered if this was indeed his last. We woke each morning the same. My long hair matted, I passed him, clenching my bathrobe to my chest. I brought my toothbrush from its hiding place, an assurance that he hadn't borrowed it while I slept (a precaution taken after I found my last toothbrush wet and yellowed just days after he'd moved in). Edging past a feces-stained toilet, I stepped into the shower. I kicked the lump of gray hair out of the drain and, using my toe, slid it up the bathtub wall. Later I slipped past him, hoping he wouldn't attempt his idea of small talk, a barrage of accusations toward women or his contempt for doctors. I grabbed my cereal and milk and retreated to the "office," a room consisting of a table and boxes stacked against the wall, my personal belongings stored and anxiously awaiting our departure. He had arranged himself in the center of our small house, stretched across the sofa, one eye on the TV and one on me, ready to slight me. I found myself scurrying from room to room, quickly closing doors to avoid his bite, and I was a teenager all over again: unable to confront him and rehearsing conversations in which I would feverishly rant, "You filthy, inconsiderate . . . " yet knowing that he would have laughed at this display of emotion. We aren't related. My husband and I had been renting a room in the house that belonged to his son, John. "I don't know what else to do with him," John pleaded to us late one night, perched nervously on the sofa arm, "He'll just be here a couple weeks." His father had just lost a foot to gangrene. He had been fired from yet another job and now he was homeless. "Sure, John, no problem," we said. "How bad can he be?" we whispered in bed, later that night. "We probably won't even see him." A few weeks later, my arms full of laundry, I found him passed out on the basement floor. We carried him up the stairs as he slurred his words, his legs billowing like a child. We sent him off in an ambulance and sat on the porch steps, the 3 of us, and we worried. His son shifted around anxiously, worrying what had happened, worrying who was going to pay for this. We later learned that he was unconscious because of hypoglycemia. He was taking a medicine to lower his blood sugar and had forgotten to eat dinner. A month later, I found him again. This time John refused to call an ambulance. I didn't ask why. Maybe John felt capable of managing it himself. I didn't know what was right, but I knew I couldn't let him die there with us just watching. At my insistence, John and my husband dragged him to the couch while I sifted through the fridge, anxiously reading labels to find the highest sugar content. The winner: jelly. I pushed a heap between his pursed lips and held his mouth shut until he submitted and swallowed. After a few spoonfuls, he sat up, squinted at us, and then turned to watch TV. "We found you on the floor again," I said. "Must of not ate dinner," he grunted. "Did you still take the medication to lower your sugar?" "Not sure," he said and motioned to the heap of medications on the coffee table. John and I exchanged glances and I left to make his dad a sandwich, which he devoured. No thanks for the jelly. No thanks for the sandwich. I lay in bed that night fuming and wondering how he could value life this little. At his last hospital stay, he ran up a bill nearing $100000. A bill he never intended to pay for a life he never intended to respect. I wondered if I had done the right thing. The next day, I stumbled out of bed and headed for medical school, trying to pretend that my idealism and desire to help others was as strong as it was the day he moved in. I sat in the back of class and eyed my classmates. How would they respond to living with the patient? They wouldn't just briefly visit a poor old man in pain but, instead, would see him as he really was: a bitter old man, fully responsible for wasting his life. Would they act like me—hiding, pretending he wasn't there? Every time they turned their back, would they wonder if they would find him again on the basement floor? No matter how much contempt they had for him, would they find themselves worrying, wondering if he was taking his medications correctly and feeling that he was their responsibility? Feeling that each time he neglected himself, it was their job to pick up the pieces? Or perhaps they would resolve it in a way I never could. Perhaps they would dismiss their naivete and not cling to it as I had done. It's a year later now; I live happily in another place, another home. It is clean and cozy here and I can see more clearly now. I visited John a few weeks ago, and I saw that nothing had changed. I saw the same sad old man, now one with the couch, his glazed eyes reflecting reruns of Columbo. His physician had given him a year and a half to live if he didn't improve his health habits, but he has done nothing. I felt all my old anger return. I was angry that I had wasted my time and that I had made him my burden. He was a vampire. He took part of my life to prolong his own, and I had let him. Still, had he collapsed on the floor before me, I would have sprung to the fridge for jelly.


Hyperglycemia in patients with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) can lead to complications such as diabetic foot ulcers. Therefore, efforts are needed to prevent this chronic complication through proper foot care. This study aimed to determine the behavior of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in performing blood glucose monitoring and correct foot care. This study is a descriptive cross-sectional study, with a sample size of 125 patients with T2DM from the Community Health Center in Surabaya Indonesia. Data was collected with the use of a self-made questionnaire from May to October 2018. The variables of the study were patient characteristics, random blood glucose levels, blood glucose monitoring and foot care skills. The data analysis used was Spearman rho to determine the factors associated with foot care behaviors.  Fifty-six percent (56%) of the participants have poor behavior on foot care, 36 % have moderate and only 7.2% have good.  Factors that were significantly associated with foot care behavior were signs and symptoms (p = 0.023), blood glucose monitoring (p = .000), and random blood glucose levels (p = 0.040). The behaviors of patients with T2DM in blood glucose monitoring and foot care need to be improved to prevent complications from diabetic foot ulcers. Nurses must provide health education about the importance of regular foot care to patients and their families. The results of this study can be used to further improve the programs and services to prevent DM and delay the progression of chronic complications like diabetic foot ulcers at the community level.


Enterobiliary fistulas are relatively uncommon complications of biliary tract disease. According to a report published in 1946, they occurred in only 4% of patients undergoing biliary tract surgery.1In a small percentage of patients with these fistulas, jaundice exists concurrently.2The following case report describes a previously unreported and presumably rare cause for jaundice in a patient with a chronic cholecystoduodenal fistula. Report of Case BIH No. 68486. —This was the second Beth Israel Hospital admission of a 64-year-old white male with jaundice of three days' duration. For the preceding ten years, the patient had experienced intermittent episodes of right upper-quadrant abdominal pain, occasionally associated with fever. In January, 1961, the patient was first admitted to this hospital and a diagnosis of pernicious anemia was established. At that time, an upper gastrointestinal radiologic study demonstrated an enterobiliary fistula (Fig 1), but the patient refused surgery. He was subsequently


This paper presents a Schmitt-trigger-based single-ended 11T SRAM cell, which significantly improves read and write static noise margin (SNM) and consumes low power. Simulation results show that the cell also achieves the lowest leakage power dissipation among the cells considered for comparison. We also investigate the impact of process, voltage, and temperature variations on various performance parameters, such as hold SNM, read SNM, write margin, immunity to half-select issue, ION/IOFF ratio of read path, and leakage power of the cell; Monte Carlo simulation results confirm the robustness of the proposed cell toward these issues. Layout drawn in a 45-nm technology rule shows that the proposed cell occupies 2.02× greater area as compared with 6T SRAM cells. However, 6.9× higher ION/IOFF ratio of the read path of the proposed cell as compared with 6T cell holds potential to significantly subside the area overhead. A new figure of merit that comprehensively captures stability, delay, power dissipation, and area of an SRAM cell is also proposed. Based on the proposed metric, we observe that the proposed cell outperforms all, but one of the SRAM cells considered in this paper.


The problem of updating patriotic education is revealed on the basis of studying cultural and historical memory on the Internet, student questionnaires, methods of comparative and systemic analysis of the continuity of military-patriotic exploits. The novelty of the study lies in the personal involvement of the design of patriotic education. Theoretical significance - in the pedagogical potential of innovative forms and means of patriotic education of student youth. Practical significance - in projects of technologies that allow to influence the cultural and historical memory of future teachers.


The utilization of social media for sharing information during disasters has become important. In Japan, many Twitter posts (tweets) that include rescue request hashtags, such as (#Rescue) and (#Rescue_request), are posted during and after large-scale natural disasters. The investigation of tweets with such hashtags is required to facilitate rescue and relief operations. In this study, we analyze word occurrence and co-occurrence in the tweets posted during the 2018 Japan Floods.


Abstract The electrochemical properties of 2,6-di-tert-butyl-p-cresol (T501) in transformer oil were investigated by using staircase voltammetry (SV) with analysis by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. A new method was established to determine the T501 content in transformer oil. The results showed that the oxidation current Ip (μA) exhibited a linear relationship with the concentration as the mass fraction of T501 within the concentration range from 0.05% to 0.50% under optimal conditions and that the corresponding regression relationship is C = 0.05506Ip − 0.19524 with R2 equal to 0.9995. The limit of detection based upon a signal-to-noise ratio of three was 0.039%. The accuracy was the same as determined by liquid chromatography. The standard addition recovery was 99.33% to 101.67%, indicating high reliability and practicability. Considering the results obtained, the proposed novel electrochemical method is able to enhance the analytical determination of T501 in transformer oil.


The invention discloses a meniscus injury surgical suture which comprises a lead thread and a suture, wherein the lead thread is a single-stranded hard non-absorbable lead thread, and the suture is a multi-strand woven sutures made of an absorbable material; and the lead thread and the suture can be fixedly connected into a piece. The surgical suture has the advantages of simple structure and easy and convenience in operation, the lead thread can conveniently penetrate through a meniscus suture needle in the meniscus injury suture surgery, can be used for guiding the suture quickly out to be knotted and fixed, and can overcome the defects that the knot of a convention PDS (polydioxanone suture) suture easily slides, the absorbable suture inconveniently penetrates through the meniscus, or the operation that the absorbable thread is required to be guided out from the suture passage after the PDS suture penetrates through the needle is complicated. According to the meniscus surgical suture, the lead thread and the suture are connected into one piece, the complicated process of penetrating with thread in the meniscus injury suture process can be simplified, and the surgical period is shortened.


Abstract Two temperature-dependent bands on the short wavelengths side of the phosphorescence spectrum of coronene in a perhydro-coronene matrix are identified as hot bands (from higher vibrational levels of the triplet state T1) by measurement of lifetimes and activation energies.


Bacterial populations were surveyed on phylloplane of field‐grown soybean every 20 days in south‐ern Buenos Aires, Argentina. The crop was disease‐free and no pesticides were applied. Out of 523 bacterial isolates (mainly Gram positive bacteria) from upper and lower leaves, 134 of them were Bacillus spp. Bacillus pumilus was the dominant species followed by Bacillus subtilis. The proportion of Bacillus spp. decreased from 80% of all bacterial isolates in early stages to 0% at harvest, whereas the diversity of Bacillus spp. decreased from nine species at day 45, to one species at day 133, shortly before harvest. Among the isolates, a significant increase in the percentage of nitrifiers with plant aging was observed on lower and upper trifoliates. In contrast, proteolytic bacteria were more abun‐dant on lower than on upper trifoliates at all sampling dates. The consistent recovery of B. pumilus from soybean phylloplane during most of the crop cycle indicated this species as an inter‐esting candidate for future plant microbial management and biocontrol studies.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of taping therapy and passive range of motion exercises for the elderly aged 65 above with shoulder pain and limited of range of motion. This study was a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Data were collected about shoulder pain, range of motion, hand dexterity from 40 of elderly(exp.:20, con.:20) in B city from August to September, 2009. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS Win 12.0. Shoulder pain was significantly decreased. Range of motion which was flexion, extension, abduction, horizontal abduction. and hand dexterity were significantly increased in the taping group and PROM group. Shoulder pain and hand dextrity was non significantly between taping group and PROM group. Range of motion which was extension more increased taping group than PROM group. It was proven that taping therapy and PROM was effective for shoulder pain, articular range of motion and hand dexterity.


The utility model discloses a solar energy and ground source heat pump combined energy supply system for a building, which comprises two subsystems, namely a solar energy and solar energy auxiliary ground source heat pump system and a pure ground source heat pump system. The solar energy and solar energy auxiliary ground source heat pump system comprises a solar heat collector, a heat storage water tank, a first ground source heat pump unit, a first ground pipe heat exchanger, a heat collection circulating water pump, a first unit ground source side circulating water pump, a first unit user side circulating water pump, an indoor terminal device, a heat collection control valve, a heat storage control valve, a first solar heat supply control valve, a second solar heat supply control valve, a first unit ground source side control valve, a first unit user side control valve, a first heat storage/heat supply running mode switch control valve, a second heat storage/heat supply running mode switch control valve, a third heat storage/heat supply running mode switch control valve, a fourth heat storage/heat supply running mode switch control valve and a connecting pipeline. The pure ground source heat pump system comprises a second ground source heat pump unit, a second ground pipe heat exchanger, a second unit ground source side circulating water pump, a second unit user side circulating water pump, an indoor terminal device, a second unit ground source side control valve, a second unit user side control valve and a connecting pipeline.


Abstract Rational expectations are not required to follow from beliefs that explain well history, but just to correctly foresee the future. As a consequence, at a rational expectations equilibrium, the agents' expectations may follow from beliefs that explain poorly the observed history, even among those rationalizing their choices. This paper shows, firstly, that if agents hold rationally formed expectations instead – in the sense of following from beliefs that explain history better than any other beliefs justifying their choices – then allocations unsupported by rational expectations can be shown to be equilibrium outcomes. By means of this result, it is established, secondly, that adding the common knowledge of the rationality of the formation of expectations to that of the rationality of choices and of market clearing, still does not suffice to guarantee rational expectations. Finally, the rationally formed expectations equilibria produced in this paper exhibit a sunspot-like volatility that, interestingly enough, do not rely on an explicit sunspot mechanism.


legend describes her two visions of the Madonna and Child. During the second vi sion, after Catherine's baptism, the Christ Child places a ring on her finger and takes her for his spouse. This is how most artists throughout Europe depicted the scene. As Meiss observed, however, a small group of artworks depart from this portrayal to show Christ as an adult. According to Meiss, this rare version appeared in Florence and Siena around 1350, and occurred almost exclu sively during the third quarter ot the four teenth century.31 am aware of eight Italian examples that belong to this type. In addi tion to depicting the adult Christ and Cather ine, most also include the Virgin Mary standing between them and assisting in the ceremony (Fig. 1). Meiss linked this alternative iconography to a text called the Nova Legenda, written by Frater Petrus, a Franciscan. He concluded that it was written in the late fourteenth cen


In the implementation of a smart home, activity recognition technology using simple sensors is very important. In this paper, we propose a new activity recognition method based on Bayesian network (BN). The structure of the BN is learned by K2 algorithm and is composed of sensor nodes, activity nodes and time node whose state is quantized with reasonable interval. In the proposed method, the BN has less complexity and provides better activity recognition rate than the previous method.


This paper is drawn from my doctoral thesis, which analyses similarities and differences in the social and religious attitudes of modern Catholic and Protestant (Church of Ireland) women in the Republic of Ireland. My work is new in that it studies the attitudes of a female sample that is stratified according to religious tradition (Catholic/Protestant). The sample is also stratified by age (21–46/47–70 years) and location (rural/urban). Irish sociological and feminist scholarship has produced diverse work concerning many facets of Irish women's lives, but little research has specifically focused on the attitudes of Irish Protestant and Catholic women as distinct groups. Qualitative and quantitative questionnaires were used to study the social and religious attitudes of respondents living in 12 counties throughout the Republic of Ireland. Twelve distinct attitudinal factors emerged from factor analysis. Themes contained in these factors included: 1. •Perception's of social attitudes to women in Irish society 2. •Attitudes to Article 41.2.1/2 of the 1937 Constitution1 3. •Attitudes to maternal employment 4. •Perception of the role of the Catholic/Protestant churches in women's lives 5. •Religiosity 6. •Attitudes to majority Catholic/minority Protestant status 7. •Attitudes toward women clergy 8. •Attitudes to moral issues (divorce and abortion) 9. •Attitudes to Church influence in moral issues The emergence of these factors are a significant contribution to sociological and feminist research because they have not previously been specifically researched from the perspective of Catholic and Protestant women. The effects of religion, age and location on the 12 factors were then examined by means of analysis of variance, which identified those variables having significant main effects and interaction effects on respondent attitudes. Results emerging from percentage distributions and analysis of variance are presented for respondent attitudes to gender roles, maternal employment and perceptions of social attitudes towards women in Irish society.


Abstract : This study assessed the availability and applicability of error budget data for avionics certification requirements. The investigation includes a review of data for both station oriented (VOR/DME-RNAV) navigation systems and wide area (Loran-C, Omega and GPS) navigation systems. The primary thrust of the analysis was to determine the operational capabilities of the various navigation systems currently being certified. A secondary objective was to examine the viability of current certification procedures, techniques and accuracy criteria to any advanced navigation system. To accomplish these objectives, a detailed assessment of error budget data, error combination techniques and functional performance standards was performed.


Over a period of six months, 200 consecutive attenders of NAF Hospital, Kaduna completed socio-demographic questionnaire, EPQ and a questionnaire on alcohol use patterns. The mean age of the cohorts was 27.26 ± 9.9. There were 33 Officers and 167 other ranks. Majority had at least secondary school education. The lifetime prevalence of alcohol use was 52%. Test of personality trait showed alcohol users scoring significantly higher on psychoticism and extraversion scales compared with non-alcohol users.


Introduction The Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) process plays a key role in the manufacture of data storage, video display panels, and semiconductor chips. The process combines the chemical (acidic or basic) effect of the slurry, which contains micro-abrasives with the mechanical effect provided by polishing to reduce the topography on the wafer or rigid disk substrate. The process for manufacturing integrated circuits (IC) uses a "tool" with a rotating wafer carrier (single or multi-head) and a polishing pad placed on a rotating platen. Wafers are held in the carrier and pressed against the polishing pad onto which chemical abrasive polishing slurry is dispensed (Figure 1).


A brine waste zero emission recovering system is characterized by including a stirrer (1), a membrane pretreatment device (2), a pre-heat-exchange device (3), a degasser (4), a second membrane pretreatment device (5), a second heat exchanger (6), a second degasser (7) and evaporators (8), wherein the evaporators (8) are formed through connecting one or more evaporators in series; each evaporator (8) is formed by a mixer (801) at the bottom, an evaporating pipe (802) in the middle and a distributor (803) at the upper part; the mixers (801) are connected with a separator (9) outside the evaporators (8); and the separator (9) is connected with a crystallized salt drier (10) and a circulating pump respectively. Brine waste separated by the separator (9) is sent to a channel box at the top of the evaporator through the circulating pump, flows to the distributors (803), and then sent to the evaporating pipes (802) through the distributors (803). The brine waste zero emission recovering system can realize the efficient environmental protection and zero emission through lower project investment and operating cost.


ejd.2011.1298 Auteur(s) : Cristina ROTA1, Francesca LUPI1, Ornella DE PITA2, Sabatino PALLOTTA1, Pietro PUDDU1, Giuseppe CIANCHINI1 email@example.com 1 Department of Immunodermatology, 2 Allergology and Immunology laboratory, I.R.C.C.S. Via dei Monti di Creta 104, 00167 Rome Italy A 73-year-old man had a recurrent and diffuse dermatitis for 4 months. He had a 15-year history of type II diabetes mellitus managed with oral hypoglycemic agents and a 14-year history of arterial hypertension treated [...]


A recent assignment of the amino acid tryptophan to infrared emission lines in the gas of the IC 348 star cluster is re-examined. A comparison of spectra from the Spitzer Telescope to laboratory data shows that there is no firm support for the tryptophan assignment. Suggestions are made for future observational searches for tryptophan and for supporting laboratory work.


Those with an incarcerated loved one have been shown to experience isolation and difficulty navigating the criminal justice system as well as form connections with others who are experiencing a similar situation. The use of social media allows for individuals to connect with others in similar experiences. For those with an incarcerated loved one, the use of Facebook allows for connection with others who are also navigating incarceration. Posts were collected from a Facebook group "Incarcerated Loved Ones," with multiple themes emerging. The themes that emerged from the posts are sharing experiences and seeking connection. The codes for sharing experiences include updates on loved ones, negative emotional experiences, and venting. The codes for seeking connection include prayers and good news. Implications and future directions are discussed.


It is argued in this paper that sustainability has specific, definable requirements, including the need to avoid ecological overshoot – that is, a level of resource demand that exceeds ecological carrying capacity. This paper demonstrates how ecological overshoot can be measured. Our evidence suggests that humanity is already in overshoot. Indeed, most industrialised countries run significant ecological deficits. To move out of ecological deficit, governments can develop ecological accounts to track overshoot. Social marketing campaigns can also be run to gather popular support for reducing human pressure on the biosphere.


The goal of this thesis is to design and build a system which automatically classifies an image of a flower for hundreds of flower species. The classification should be done within a reasonable time so that it is usable for a real-time computer vision application. The classification performance of the system is improved if only the flower region (foreground) of the image is considered, and the background region is ignored. To this end we present a superpixel-based flower foreground segmentation method, which has a processing speed 10 times faster than state-of-art flower segmentation algorithms, while maintaining the segmentation quality as evaluated on the 849 images of the Oxford Flower 17 Data Set. For the actual classification task, we use a standard linear support-vector-machine in combination with the Bag-of-Words representation for the features. We investigate several different descriptors, kernels and heuristics. By combining our new segmentation and improved recognition methods, we achieve a class-average recognition accuracy of 81.4% over the state-of-art 76.3% on the Oxford Flower 102 Data Set. In the final part of the thesis, we propose a simple, scalable and unsupervised co-segmentation method (to simultaneously segment a set of related images into foreground/background) called BiCoS. This is able to automatically produce training segmentations for our superpixel-based foreground segmentation. The algorithm outperforms several recent co-segmentation methods on both Oxford Flower data sets. It also gives competitive results on other benchmark data sets, such as the Weizmann horses and Caltech-101 categories.


Microstructural constituents as well as distribution of precipitates in pipeline steel X100 produced by thermo mechanical control process(TMCP) technology were investigated by means of optical microscopy,scanning electron microscopy,transmission electron microscopy,etc.Results show that X100 is polyphase-structured steel which is mainly constituted of GB(granular bainite)、BF(bainite ferrite)、M/A(martensite-austensite),conformation and proportion of each phase have significant influence on the performances of X100.It is proved that GB based structure with a few BF and dispersed fine M/A inside has excellent effects on strength and toughness.High density of dislocations,bainite lathes with different orientations and M/A hardening phase were found by means of TEM observation.It also found two types of precipitate,one with big size mainly constitute of Ti,the other with small size mainly constitute of Nb;each type of precipitate have big effects on hindering the recrystallization of austenite and on the precipitation strengthening.


During the process of transition to the market economy,the government functions have changed basically.The tools that government controls the economy have been changed from the instructive planning,administrative control and the ownership control to the government budget.A series of social contradictions and conflicts,such as social fair,pollution of the environment,health and education,social security,etc.,appeared during the process of transition,all need to solve by the government budget.Thus in recent years,Russia has focused its reforms of political economy on reforming the budget system and building up a new budget mechanism.


The technological characteristics of the bridge oil seal of the Heavy Automobile are anaˉlyzed.The structure,working process and main parameters of the transfer mould for forming the oil seal are introduced.Actual production verified that98.7%of the products made with the mould are qualified,which means the mould can meet the production requirement.


Research into bullying owes a substantial debt to the work of several Scandinavian pioneers, most notably Heinemann (1973), Olweus (1974), Pikas (1976, 1989), Roland (1983, 1988) and Roland and Munthe (1989). They have given us theoretical perspectives and models of working which have been only slowly influencing UK practitioners. Tattum (1988) has made the point that, in contrast, in the UK bullying has received scant attention from national and local authorities or from the teachers' unions. Schools have given it a low priority compared with disruptive behaviour and truancy. In the UK research into the problem has lagged far behind the lead offered by Pikas and others. There have been some attempts to place it on the national agenda (Orton, 1982) but UK efforts have been patchy. In spite of the debt, the Scandinavian research has left us with certain difficulties. These include both the theoretical models and the contrast in emphasis on work with victims and bullies rather than on the school as a whole. This paper considers both of these issues but concentrates on the broader perspective to intervention which has characterized the UK position and which is increasingly influencing work in Scandinavia.


The COVID-19 pandemic has helped to foreground mental health and wellbeing in education, underlining the need for a more caring education which addresses the social and emotional needs of students. It is becoming more evident than ever before, however, that educators cannot effectively support the social and wellbeing of students, unless their own social and emotional needs are addressed as well. As a result of the increasing evidence on the relationship between students' and staff's wellbeing, more attention is being given to the wellbeing of school staff as a prerequisite for quality education. In the first paper in this edition, Savage and Woloshyn (Canada) investigated the well-being, perceived stress, and use of coping strategies amongst 686 K-12 educators' and school staff in Canada. They found that all educators regardless of their grade or position reported overall lower scores of wellbeing and higher levels of perceived stress when compared to the general population. Maladaptive coping strategies were related to poorer wellbeing and higher levels of stress.


Measurements have been made in the liquid helium temperature region of the magnetic threshold curve of rhenium by observations of the magnetic moment of a powdered sample. The transition temperature ${T}_{c}$ in zero magnetic field was found to be 2.42\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K, and the observed slope of the threshold curve at $T={T}_{c}$ was 235 gauss per degree. Assuming a reversible transition, the value of the normal electronic specific heat coefficient $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ obtained from the magnetic data is 4.6\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${101}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$ calories per mole per ${\mathrm{degree}}^{2}$, a value which would be expected from the correlation between $\frac{\ensuremath{\gamma}}{V}$ and ${T}_{c}$ previously proposed.


A comprehensive picture of the trap-spectroscopy of CaAl2O4:Eu , Re system, a well known persistent luminescent material is presented to remove some misconceptions that has crept into the literature of thermoluminescence (TL) and its applications. In order to achieve this, we have deconvoluted some TL curves recorded in the temperature range 20-325 K presented by Aitasalo et al., J Alloy Comp, 4-8 (2004) 380, using the general order kinetics equation for TL. This enables us to evaluate the three key intrinsic trapping parameters (activation energy, E, frequency factor, s and order of kinetics, b) of TL peaks relevant to persistent luminescence and thus evaluate the lifetime ( ) of charge (electron/hole) in these traps. As many as ten trapping levels could be identified in CaAl2O4:Eu , Re system. The technique of TL is a unique powerful technique to characterize persistent luminescent materials of all kinds. Finally, some simple guidelines are provided for use of TL in determining the trap-spectroscopy of insulating/semiconducting materials so as to use it in designing materials for specific use.


The propagation of intense, picosecond laser pulses in tenuous plasmas is studied for conditions close to those required for relativistic self‐focusing. Solutions of the steady‐state wave‐envelope equations are used to obtain experimentally measurable quantities such as the Thomson‐scattered light at 90°, and the far‐field radiation pattern. It is demonstrated that in the presence of electron cavitation, the Thomson signal has a longitudinal structure which is generally the converse of the intensity pattern. Furthermore, beam collimation in the far‐field depends on where the laser is focused in the plasma, and may actually be degraded if self‐channeling occurs.


A System-Wide Adaptive Ramp Metering (SWARM) system is being implemented in the Portland metropolitan area, replacing the previous pre-timed ramp-metering system. SWARM has been deployed on six major corridors and operates during the morning and afternoon peak hours. This study entails a ―before‖ and ―after‖ evaluation of the benefit of the new SWARM system as compared to the pre-timed system using the existing data, surveillance and communications infrastructure. In particular, the objective of this study is to quantify the system-wide benefits in terms of savings in delay, emissions and fuel consumption, and safety improvements on and off the freeway due to the implementation of the SWARM system. A pilot study was conducted for two weeks on a 7-mile freeway corridor in an attempt to develop a strategic design for the future regional-level study. This paper discusses the selection process of the study corridor, experimental design, and the results that were obtained from the pilot study.


The design method and correlated principles of a X-band frequency synthesizer are described.This frequency synthesizer with wide frequency coverage,low phase noise,and low spurious is achieved by combining Phase locked loop(PLL) and mixer.Main technical specifications of the frequency synthesizer are as follows:frequency range of 9.8GHz~10.8GHz,frequency step of 5MHz,the phase noise is better than-85dBc/Hz@1kHz,-88dBc/Hz@10kHz,and spurious suppression is better than 60dBc.The final test result proves that this frequency synthesizer not only can ensure low spurious but also improve the phase noise level.It can be widely used in communication and test systems.


The phonon spectra of the C-15 phase (Hf/sub 0.5/Zr/sub 0.5/V/sub 2/)H/sub x/ with five different compositions were measured with a Beryllium-Filter-Detector-Spectrometer. It was observed that their phonon spectra vary with hydrogen content. Results show that the change of T/sub c/ with x in the (Hf/sub 0.5/Zr/sub 0.5/V/sub 2/)H/sub x/ system is related to softening of the acoustic branches. This softening of the acoustic branches seems in favor of the increase of T/sub c/, while softening of the optical branches may suppress its superconductivity.


The ISWEC is a floating, slack-moored, gyroscopic Wave Energy Converter. The system consists of a floating hull carrying a gyroscope inside. The full-scale prototype installed in Pantelleria in 2015 has an electric-mechanical PTO composed by a gearbox and a brushless torque motor. The system is torque controlled to keep the gyroscope in the desired position range and to obtain maximum productivity. At present, the proportional-derivative (PD) law regulating the torque on the PTO includes a stiffness term to recall the gyroscope in the vertical position and a damping term to extract power. The PTO performs the recall effect, resulting in an increase of the root-mean-squared torque load and inducing a flux of reactive power not directly involved in the power extraction. To overcome such problems, this paper analyses the use of an eccentric mass to provide the stiffness term. In order to optimize the power extraction, the recall stiffness and therefore the mass quantity and distance with respect to the precession axis have to be designed. A mass with a variable distance from the precession axis and another one with a fixed position are tested to evaluate if a stiffness term tunable with respect to different sea states carries a relevant gain in system productivity. Numerical simulations with the time domain, non-linear ISWEC model demonstrate a high reduction of the PTO torque levels. Annual productivity and PTO torque in relation to different flywheel speeds are compared for the two different control solutions.


Hypophosphatemic osteomalacia, a familial or rarely acquired disorder, is characterized biochemically by hypophosphatemia, decreased renal tubular reabsorption of phosphate, decreased intestinal absorption of calcium, and normal serum calcium. This report concerns a rare case of hypophosphatemic osteomalacia of unknown cause that was shown on Tc-99m MDP bone scanning.


Presented is the concept of paint shop operation for the automotive industry – Paint Shop 4.0, based on the ideas of Industry 4.0 and Digital Factory. A new approach to the issue of car body sequencing, taking into account the actual structure of the paint shop department with buffers, has been presented. In the created application, proprietary car body sequencing algorithms were implemented.


Original English Film is vivid, impressive and fascinating. So they can make students learn English through playing and enable the audience to be personally on the scene. Original English Film teaching has the irreplaceable influential role in the teaching of college English. This paper illustrates the promising prospects for the use of original English film as a visual aid for teaching of college English. The author uses the original English film as a supplementary tool to do some research and finds some helpful ways hereto improve English teaching techniques On the basis of teaching experience for many years


. We study positive solutions of the equation − ∆ g u + λu = λu q , with λ > 0, q > 1 on the round sphere S n . We reduce the equation to an ordinary differential equation by considering isoparametric functions and apply bifurcation theory. We study when the corresponding bifurcation points are transcritical. We apply this result to show the existence of degenerate solutions to the equation and to study multiplicity results for conformal constant scalar curvature metrics.


In the late 1980s most Central Asians were still deeply secular in outlook, a legacy of 70 years of communist rule. Yet from the bottom up, as well as from the top down, there was an impetus for enhancing the role of Islam in society. In the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, these pressures increased, stimulated by internal as well as external developments. The mobilisation of factions with different political agendas, and different visions of Islam, set in motion a complex dynamic of action and reaction. Increasingly, as the Central Asian states became integrated into the international community, so their responses to Islam began to resemble those that are found in other parts of the world, particularly in the Middle East. Common features include the cooptation and control of Islam by ruling elites, and opposition to such regimes by radical Islamist groups. A similar model is being created in Central Asia today, where competition between these forces – government and Muslim opposition – has resulted in proliferating outbreaks of confrontation. This has led to fears that Central Asia will become a new centre of terrorism and that militant Islamists from abroad will find a ready welcome here. Consequently, Islam – or more precisely, the contestation of Islam – has come to be regarded as a security issue. This paper traces the emergence of these tensions.


The paper analyses and compares findings calculated by instantaneous sampling,equi time sampling and equi proportion sampling It proves that water is sampled by applying equiproportion sampling method and calculated total quantity of discharge, which soluted the problem of representative water sample


This study reports on second and sixth grade students' art historical interpretation abilities through one year of intensive art history instruction. Four assessments through the year measured students' abilities to refer to the historical artist, the historical viewer, and the historical culture as students attempted to interpret artworks historically. The first hypothesis, that second and sixth grade students' ability to refer to historical evidence would increase with instruction, was partially confirmed. The second hypothesis, that sixth grade students would refer to art historical evidence more consistently than second graders, was confirmed. The third hypothesis, that both second and sixth graders would show increasingly consistent references to historical artist, historical viewer, and historical culture respectively, gained some support from the study. The scoring procedures for measuring art historical interpretation abilities may be useful in designing future studies in teaching and learning art history.


Introduction: Myasthenia gravis is a disease of the neuromuscular junctions in which antibodies target the acetylcholine receptors of the postsynaptic membranes, causing skeletal muscle weakness and fatigability. Myasthenic crisis is an acute exacerbation of these symptoms that requires non-invasive ventilatory support or intubation. Only a few case reports exist of such episodes following administration of radiographic contrast for computed tomography. Case Report: A patient with poorly-controlled symptoms of myasthenia gravis was administered intravenous contrast during computed tomography (CT) pulmonary angiogram. Following contrast injection, the patient became nauseated and acutely hypoxic, followed by respiratory arrest and intubation. Clinical examination and nerve conduction studies were subsequently consistent with myasthenic crisis, which resolved completely with treatment. Conclusion: Our review of existing literature of contrast-precipitated myasthenic crisis finds no conclusive link between contrast type and severity of reaction, but is limited by inconsistencies in reporting. Further examination is required to determine David Kar Yue Ngan1, Helen Hyemin Moon2 Affiliations: 1Medical Officer, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Central Adelaide Local Health Network, Adelaide, SA, Australia; 2Registrar, Department of Radiology, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Central Adelaide Local Health Network, Adelaide, SA, Australia. Corresponding Author: Dr. David Kar Yue Ngan, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Port Road, Adelaide, SA, Australia 5000; Email: firstname.lastname@example.com Received: 28 April 2018 Accepted: 01 June 2018 Published: 14 July 2018 the risk to patients with myasthenia gravis from contrast exposure.


The Modified 9Cr-1Mo steel identified as T91, P91 and F91 in the ASME specification has been widely
used for the construction of modern power plants. The available data on the influence of process parameters
during manufacturing and fabrication on its properties are not sufficient. In this study, the influence of
various thermal cycles on the hardness and the creep rupture strength was analyzed in the base metal and the
weldments made in tube and pipe of a Mod.9Cr-1Mo steel. The low hardness, 155Hv, showed low creep
rupture strength below the allowable stresses of T91 base metal in the ASME specification. This low value
was attributed to the fully recovered dislocation structure and the weakening of precipitation hardening
associated with the abnormal thermal cycles.


On the basis of the axial dispersion model, the concentration profiles for a simulated moving bed adsorber were theoretically predicted. Experimentally, an apparatus consisting of four sections was employed. Glucose and sorbitol were separated from the liquid dissolved with these components both co-currently and counter-currently. The experimental results seemed to support the predicted curves.

On a predit de maniere theorique a partir d'un modele de dispersion axiale les profils de concentration pour une colonne d'adsorption a lit mobile simulee. On a utilise pour les experiences un appareillage compose de quatre sections. Le glucose et le sorbitol ont ete separes du liquide dissous dans ce systeme pour des ecoulements a co-courant et a contre-courant. Les resultats experimentaux semblent confirmer les courbes predites.


Crystal structures of proton-transfer Lewis base compounds with toluene-4-sulfonic acid (or p-toluenesulfonic acid, PTSA) are uncommon, possibly because of the absence of interactive secondary substituent functional groups to promote hydrogenbond extension (Smith et al., 2004, 2005). In the course of a study aimed at the characterization of the hydrogen-bonding patterns of these compounds, the title compound, (I), was obtained from the reaction of 1,4-phenylenediamine with PTSA in a 1:1 ethanol–water solution, and its crystal structure is reported here.


This paper describes the development of zirconia coatings, applied by the electron beam evaporation-physical vapor deposition process, that are tailored to provide superior durability in a marine engine environment


With this article we begin an online series of election-year commentaries by a team of both American and foreign writers. Some articles will evaluate or compare the presidential candidates, others will examine issues that seem most important for voters to consider. We welcome your response to any of the articles, and, with your permission, we will post some of them as commentaries in their own right. The series will run between now and Election Day, November 4.


The science of education history possesses the general developing pattern of social science: it is produced to meet the need of the practice of social education;it is deeply influenced by politics and is rich in ideological color;and it rises and falls with that of social culture.In the research of the science of education history,historical material,research method and theory are interrelated and coordinated.The unique evolutionary patterns of the science of education history lie in the mutual and balanced development of educational system,educational concepts and educational activities.The science of education history and other branches of educational science are interdependent.


Yunnan Province in China is home to Lijiang and Weishan, two similar historic towns at dissimilar stages of preserving their settings. While both emphasized preserving structures, Lijiang's World Heritage site status created increased tourism which dramatically altered residents' lifestyles. Weishan has not yet seen expansion of tourism and loss of traditional lifestyle, but seems increasingly likely to do so.


The invention provides a preparation method of semi-coke adsorbents. The preparation method comprises the steps of: heating brown coal under the condition that air is isolated, preserving heat and cooling to room temperature with a furnace; crushing into particles; and then immersing in H3PO4 solution for H3PO4 modification at constant temperature, washing the modified particles with deionized water and drying to constant weight to obtain the semi-coke adsorbents. The specific surface area of the prepared semi-coke adsorbents reaches 915m /g and the iodine value reaches 800mg/g. According to tests, the removal rate of chemical oxygen demands (COD) in organic tin wastewater reaches 85 percent, the cost is low, the raw materials are sufficient, the preparation process is simple and the yield is high; and the semi-coke adsorbents can replace activated charcoal adsorbents and pollution is not caused.


Presence of heavy metal concentration in the ground water may cause health problems during intake of through different ways. Present study focused on heavy metal concentration of ground water in the sub-urban areas of Visakhapatnam City, AP, India. Most of heavy metals i.e., Aluminum (Al), Chromium (Cr), Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe), Nickel (Ni), Zinc (Zn), Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), Mercury (Hg) and Lead (Pb) were analyzed using Inductive Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Mean values of Zn (1.845) > Mn (1.203) > Fe (0.664) > Al (0.334) > Pb (0.245) > Ni (0.082) > Cr (0.066) > As (0.028) > Cd (0.012) > Hg (0.010) results respectively. Results shows that all heavy metal concentrations were exceeded the water quality permissible limit and this area were not suitable for domestic purpose and use before proper treatment.


Eleanor and Park is a love story between Asian American boy and White American girl. Besides love story, it also deals with issues such as child abuse and bullying, which become interesting parts of the novel. Aside from reviewing the issues of child abuse and bullying, the writer also wants to discuss words that need extra references to understand them. Furthermore, the writer also wants to figure out the ending of this novel.


In the context of a new round of global scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, new enterprises with technological advantages and market prospects are the main force leading cutting-edge technology and disruptive technology. However, there are target differences and governance conflicts between venture investors and new enterprises, which are mainly reflected in whether to give priority to R&D and innovation strategies with high risk, long cycle and large investment. Then, is the enterprise development innovation-driven or still based on the past economic-orientated? Based on Python and STATa software, this paper conducts big data analysis on 2,756,910 samples of Chinese enterprises, and finds that the innovation-driven strategy of enterprises is still at the strategic level, and the tactical level is still dominated by economic scale.


The number-average degree of polymerization and polydispersity index of living polymerization in the presence of chain-transfer agents are calculated numerically and analytically to determine how the molecular weight of the polymer can be regulated. The solutions reveal that un-steady-state polymerization exists in certain cases. The Mayo plot is nearly linear, but (as opposed to a nonliving system) its slope is not equal to k tr /k p in general (where k i , k p , and k tr are the specific rate constants of initiation, propagation, and chain transfer, respectively), the former differing from the latter by about 0.5-1 order of magnitude when k tr k p = 0.01-1.0. Plots of the slopes of Mayo plot versus k tr k p for different values of k p /k i reveal that only when k tr is equal to or greater than k p by an order of magnitude can the molecular weight be effectively controlled by addition of chain-transfer agent. A sufficient amount of chain-transfer agent is a necessary but not a sufficient condition to ensure monomodal molecular weight distribution. An analytical expression for the number-average degree of polymerization of the dead chains when k tr < k p has been derived and shows excellent agreement with numerical results. An analytical expression relating the slope of the Mayo plot to k tr /k p has also been obtained. These equations hold exactly when the concentration of the catalyst is much less than that of the chain-transfer agent. An experimental investigation of the kinetics of ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of norbornene by Mo(=CHCMe 2 Ph)(NAr)(OCMe 3 ) 2 (Ar = 2,6-diisopropylphenyl) (1) in the presence of neohexene suggests that this ROMP system is adequately described by a relatively simple polymerization scheme. As measured from NMR spectroscopy, the specific rate constants of initiation, propagation, and chain transfer at 22° C are 0.57, 17, and 0.00003 M -1 s -1 , respectively.


: In this paper, we develop an efficient homogeneous and self-dual interior-point method for the linear programs arising in economic model predictive control. To exploit structure in the optimization problems, the algorithm employs a highly specialized Riccati iteration procedure. Simulations show that in comparison to conventional interior-point methods, our solver is a) significantly faster per. iteration and b) converges in a smaller and less fluctuating number of iterations.


An explorative and preliminary study has been done by a small crew of students of the Ecole des Applications Militaires de l'Energie Atomique (Cherbourg FRANCE) under the directives and councils of TECHNICATOME and the CEA (Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique). Main results: • The HTR reactor types are interesting for equipping military great ship like an air craft carrier, the general design as result of a preliminary study shows that mass and size of the propulsion system can be more favourable than with PWR reactors.© 2002 ASME


From 1981 to 1986,Chinese women's volleyball team won the only five consecutive championships in the history of the World Volleyball,whose"women's volleyball team spirits"of hard training,tenaciousness and glory for the country had inspired and guided Chinese people.At present,when economy develops rapidly,material civilization and spiritual civilization development are still uneven,recommitting the women's volleyball team spirit plays an important role in reshaping the values of contemporary college students.Women's volleyball perfect interpretation of the patriotic values of college students remodeling excellent textbooks;women's volleyball team,the collective spirit of sublimation is a vivid examples to train college students and the sense of coordination.Hard training and tenaciousness of women's volleyball team is a good example for college students to learn from.


At the beginning of the Eckenlied, one of the most popular of a series of high and late medieval epics about the hero Dietrich von bern, the giant Ebenrot accuses the absent Dietrich of killing the giant Grin and his wife Hilde in order to plunder their corpses, a crime known as rêroup. Ebenrot's accusation is made plausible by a lack of witnesses to the event: Dietrich has slain Hilde and Grin and afterwards taken Grin's armor. the open question that the Eckenlied attempts to address is: how and why did Dietrich take the armor? Ebenrot himself does not know, he can only surmise based on Dietrich's possession of the object. Dietrich's defender, the giant Fasolt, is similarly forced to rely on secondhand information: Fasolt appeals to Dietrich's reputation, known in contemporary law as fama or liumunt (modern German Leumund), which can also be translated as fame or rumor.1 In cases such as the deaths of Hilde and Grin, for which there are no witnesses, contemporary German law frequently judged based on the personal integrity of the accused—a category determined through liumunt.2 While Fasolt can use Dietrich's reputation to make the case that Dietrich killed Hilde and Grin in self-defense, the Eckenlied shows itself to be dissatisfied with this strategy. Following the debate, the giant Ecke sets


It is not a prophecy that there will be much more mass casualties affecting human being in this century. Additionally, hitech mass transportation using imported technologies are known to cause much more frequent incidents in developing countries, along with other man-made disasters. Therefore, it is not surprising to see that trauma resuscitation is a hot debate again nowadays. Primary care and emergency physicians should be well prepared to encounter a higher toll of victims with blood loss and Hemorrhagic Shock (HS) resulting from mass casualties as well as from individual accidents and suicides.


Background: Ischemic reperfusion injury (IRI) is a common hazard involved in many human diseases, such as cerebral stroke, heart infarction, solid organ transplant dysfunction or failure, and vascular diseases. Understanding the molecular bases of this injury is essential for the prevention and control of these life-threatening conditions. Ischemic and remote ischemic preconditioning techniques (IPC and RIPC, respectively) have increasing importance in the clinical practice to protect against the IRI, however, the exact mechanisms of these techniques are not fully understood, which renders their clinical application query. Possible effectors: Nitric oxide (NO) has been reported by multiple studies to be an important mediator of the protective effects of those techniques. While the physiological concentrations of NO and fibrinogen is known to antagonize each other, the circulating levels of both effectors increase in response to RIPC. Hypothesis: While NO has potential anti-inflammatory effects, non-soluble fibrinogen plays a pro-inflammatory effects. However, the soluble fibrinogen (sFB) may have the potential to act synergistically rather than antagonistically with NO towards the attenuation of the IRI. Conclusion: While FB is a risk factor for cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases that is also able to decrease the efflux of NO, and increase the NO oxidative metabolites and S-nitroglutathione, the increased sFB during the acute phase reaction might have other protective aspects that should be carefully investigated.


The path between nodes in network is the basic problem in graph theory. There are some methods to get the shortest path between arbitrary two nodes. Also we can use extension algorithm to get all paths between two nodes, then calculate its weight to get the shortest path. Shortest path has extensive application in reality. The problem of the most excellent can be changed to the shortest path in network to get the most excellent and the first scheme. This paper puts forward the concept of different path between arbitrary two nodes dividing into different level short path according to its weight. Based on the Dijkstra algorithm and extension algorithm, according to λ level, the paper evaluates z algorithm of λ level short path, simultaneously gets the most excellent and the first scheme, the second scheme, …, the λ scheme.


Synthesis and manufacture.-Dimethyl sulfoxide ( DMSO) was first prepared by the oxidation of dimethyl sulfide by Alexander Saytzeff (1) in 1867. The title of his paper, "On the Influence of Nitric Acid on Methyl Sulfide and Ethyl Sulfide," deserves a moment's reflection. DMSO remained a chemical curiosity until the 1940s when the plastic industry noted its unique solvent properties (2, 3). Further research and development intro duced DMSO as a solvent for insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides, and in a number of industrial processes. Commercial DMSO was produced by the Stepan Chemical Company, Chicago, from the late 1940s until 1959 when an explosion in their plant terminated this endeavor (2). In 1956 Crown Zellerbach Corporation, Ca mas, Washington, became interested in the commercial possibilities of using the lignin in the kraft pulping liquor wastes and built a plant to produce dimethyl sulfide for research and developmental purposes. By 1960 the in dustrial use of DMSO encouraged Crown Zellerbach to build "a fully inte grated dimethyl sulfide-dimethyl sulfoxide operation" at Bogalusa, Louisi ana (3). More than five million pounds of DMSO were produced in 1964 (2) and the eost of the commercial product, when shipped in drums and carload lots was about 35 cents per pound (4). Lignin (5), the source of DMSO, is a polymer of unknown chemical structure but similar to coniferyl alcohol since, like the latter, it can be oxi dized to vanillin and hydrogenated to cyclohexylpropyl type compounds. Wood contains about 25-30% lignin and sulfite waste liquors up to 6%. In 1962 Crown Zellerbach obtained a patent for the processing of this "black liquor" waste, which utilized the methyl groups of kraft lignin by adding molten sulfur to form dimethyl sulfide (6, 7). Nitrogen tetroxide was then used to oxidize the dimethyl sulfide to dimethyl sulfoxide.


Recognizing the importance of the current debate about strategic defense, Physicians for Social Responsibility sponsors lecture tours by various experts, including Lt Col Robert M. Bowman, USAF (Retired). From 1976 to 1978, Bowman directed the Talon Gold project, which was concerned with the development of a pointer tracker system for a laser battle station. Bowman's position is summarized in the prologue: "Star Wars... would really be a Death Star system, capable of bringing about the destruction of the Planet Earth" (p v). The mechanism suggested by his image is the shattering of the globe by a directed energy burst, as in the movie Star Wars . The mechanism actually discussed is an arms race in space, which would, he argues, "guarantee" the outbreak of nuclear war. "Vulnerable defenses" (apparently in contrast to nonexistent ones) invite attack, in his opinion. Furthermore, Bowman declares that the "radical right" administration really wants an offensive


We show that under certain conditions nonlinear programming problems can be decomposed into a series of smaller problems. A Decomposition Theorem and example are presented.


Recent advances in information communication technology and software have enabled mobile terminals to employ various capabilities as a smartphone. They adopt multiple interfaces for wireless communication and run as a portable computer. Mobile services are also transferred from voice to data. Mobile terminals can access Internet for data services anytime anywhere. By using location-based information, improved mobile services are enabled in heterogeneous networks. In the mobile service environment, it is required that mobile terminals should efficiently use wireless network resources. In addition, because video stream becomes a major service among the data services of mobile terminals in heterogeneous networks, the necessity of the efficient network access control for heterogeneous wireless networks is raised as an important topic. That is, quality of services of the location-based video stream is determined by the network access control. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel network access control in the heterogeneous wireless networks. The proposed method estimates the network status with Naive Bayesian Classifier and performs network access control according to the estimated network status. Thus, it improves data transmission efficiency to satisfy the quality of services. The efficiency of the proposed method is validated through the extensive computer simulation.


Formal solutions to the \ensuremath{\Delta}-hole and particle-hole coefficients describing nuclear coherent states are presented using the degenerate schematic model. These solutions are used to analytically solve for the momentum-dependent nuclear form factors in which the target is excited to a transition-spin-isospin, \ensuremath{\Delta}-giant resonance through the creation of coherent \ensuremath{\Delta}-hole states, whereas the projectile is excited to an ordinary spin-isospin giant resonance. The target then decays to its ground state emitting a pion. A more general model operator is proposed that leads to complete coherence for all momenta. The magnitudes of the nuclear form factors are calculated theoretically and the results coming from the completely coherent model are compared to the low-momentum coherent model. The calculation is then completed by introducing these models into the pion triple-differential cross section and energy distributions are calculated and compared. The importance of how the nuclear structure and coherence affect the magnitudes and shapes of the form factors and the pion-energy distributions is assessed.


In this letter, we propose a superpixel-level target detection approach for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. With superpixel segmentation, SAR image is divided into meaningful patches and more statistical information can be provided in superpixels compared with single pixels. The statistical difference between target and clutter superpixels can be measured with the intensity distributions of pixels in them. With the assumption of SAR data obeying Gamma distribution, the superpixel dissimilarity is defined. With this basis, the global and local contrast can be obtained and integrated to enhance target and suppress clutter simultaneously. Thus, better target detection performance can be achieved. Different from traditional target detection schemes based on backscattering difference between target and clutter pixels, the proposed method relies on the statistical difference of superpixels. The effectiveness of the proposed method can be demonstrated with experimental results on real SAR images.


Background: Recently, potential association between atherosclerotic calcification and coronary plaque rupture has been suggested in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, the relation between coronary calcification and plaque component for ACS and stable angina (AP) using IVUS radiofrequency data (Virtual Histology: VH-IVUS) has not been clarified. Methods: In 189 consecutive patients, the culprit vessel was investigated through spectral analysis of VH-IVUS as well as gray scale analysis. Diagnoses of cases were 51 ACS (includes acute myocardial infarction and unstable angina) and 138 AP. In gray scale, average lumen, plaque and vessel area were calculated for entire lesion segment. In VH analysis, moreover, absolute plaque value, relative component at pre-intervention and correlation among relative plaque component were measured within same segment. Results: In gray scale, ACS lesions trended toward smaller average lumen area, larger vessel and plaque area compared with those of AP lesions (5.1±1.4 vs. 5.4±1.8, p=0.09, 14.9±4.3 vs. 14.3±4.2, p=0.20 and 9.7±3.6 vs. 9.1±3.7, p=0.32 for lumen, vessel and plaque area (mm 2 ), ACS vs. AP for all). In VH, there was no difference in any absolute plaque value between two groups. However, in relative component analysis, dense calcium and necrotic core were significantly larger in the ACS group (Table). Dense calcium and necrotic core were modestly correlated for both groups(r=0.55 vs. 0.49, p Conclusion: These IVUS-VH analyses suggest that the mixture of dense calcium and necrotic core were frequent findings within ACS and AP lesions. The magnitude of dense calcium was inversely correlated with fibrous plaque, specifically in ACS lesions. These findings suggest the potential paradigm of atheromatous plaque rupture and/or erosion with healing and calcification.


A case report of shoulder-hand syndrome after laparoscopy in a 27-year old woman is reported. This particular case was characterized by painful restriction of movements and by severe swelling of the arm and hand. Treatment with analgesics and physiotherapy resulted in early, partial response only; symptoms not only persisted, but were exacerbated after 18 months. The shoulder-hand syndrome is becoming less common and is generally of no consequence, but it is certain that laparoscopic sterilization is one of its precipitating factors. The physician must be alert to this possibility.


A flow observation technique based on spin-echo nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has been used to obtain statistical volumetric data of eddy motion in turbulent flow. The NMR procedure, using 90"-180" Carr-Purcell pulses, was particularly . -. adapted to flow observation over very short times. This provided Lagrangian turbulende data for the initial phase of the correlation dec.ay. The technique used to nhtain the data is described.


The extent and existence of the understanding of the material written as professional competence, is the theme that was taken to carry out during the year 2009, a cross-sectional and descriptive research with a total sample of 100 students in the Bachelor's degree in preschool education from a Regional Centre of Normal Education. Information was collected through three phases of the process of literacy, based on the international filter of various agreements in the topic, including the PISA project (International Programme of evaluation of students). The study showed that future professionals, in an initial stage of diagnosis, presented a low level of efficiency on the literacy. While in an initial stage of the recognition of the process, they were able to improve their levels of comprehension, and with it, develop a better personal, professional and collective consciousness that allowed them to visualize the importance for humans the develop optimally, an understanding from the writing reference to act in pursuit of a comprehensive education and generate knowledge that contributes to the social and productive transformation of society.


As same as other cancer therapeutics,the strategy for treating small cell lung cancer(SCLC) patients is closely related to the stage of the disease.Current reports demonstrate that surgery is only suitable for patients with early-stage SCLC,which accounts 5% of all SCLC patients.Thus the chemotherapy and radiotherapy are still radical treatments for SCLC patients.Recent findings show that thoracic radiotherapy can increase 3-year survival rate of limited-stage SCLC by 5% and reduce the risk of intrathoracic recurrence by 25%.Moreover,the prophylactic cranial irradiation(PCI)further improves survival of the SCLC patients who response to initial chemotherapy.The emerging of new drugs,biomarkers and approaches will contribute to the treatment of SCLC patients and bring hope for the future therapy.


Contrast between tagged and nontagged myocardium was investigated using rapid gradient echo segmented k‐space CINE MRI. The transient behavior of magnetization was measured in stationary and moving phantoms using gradient recalled acquisition in steady‐state GRASS and spoiled GRASS (SPGR) sequences with TR ≈ 7 ms and TE ≈ 2.5 ms. Bloch equation simulations were used to compute theoretical results. Understanding the transient behavior of magnetization is important because tags only persist in the myocardium during the nonequilibrium transition to steady state. The transition to steady state for both SPGR and GRASS is reproducible after one heartbeat, and including unprocessed data from the first heartbeat leads to image artifacts. In a moving phantom, simulations and experimental results showed that GRASS and SPGR are essentially equivalent. Tag‐tissue contrast in SPGR was very sensitive to imaging tip angle. The optimum tip angle for the scanning parameters used in this study was 11°.


The metallogenic prediction based on comprehensive information involves many factors which have the features of hierarchy,and some qualitative factors have fuzzy features.So the high precision and quantification are always difficult problems restricting its development.In order to realize the metallogenic prediction in new mine fields which have been studied to a low degree,and resolve the above mentioned difficulties,this work tries to build the AHP model and multiple-grade fuzzy evaluation model for metallogenic prediction.These models are the synthetic model which combines the expert's subjective ideas with exact math calculation,making complicated problems and qualitative factors quantified,and the evaluation process and results more exact.Taking the Puqing Antimony-gold mine area of Dachang ore field in GuiZhou province for example,and geology,this work uses data of geology,geochemical exploration and remote sensing to make prediction on the platform of GIS,the AHP moldel and multiple-grade fuzzy evaluation model.Finally,18 prospecting areas of antimony-gold are determined,including four I grade,five Ⅱgrade antimony and and nine Ⅲ grade areas.The exploration examination shows that this prediction method is fairly effective and can achieve rather accurate forecasting results.


Useful as a nucleating agent, and to improve the optical properties of polymeric materials disclose particularly useful plastics additives. Furthermore, the present invention provides specific alkyl (or alkoxy) substituted fluoro - relates to benzylidene sorbitol acetals, and food or polymeric compositions which can be used, such as in cosmetic containers and packaging materials. Fluorinated and alkylated benzylidene sorbitol acetals of the present invention, as a gelling agent for water and organic solvents are also useful as those used in particular adjustment of the antiperspirant gel stick.


We discuss the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization's current system for archiving measurement data from phenomenology missions. We propose a new paradigm for a distributed, interoperable 'virtual' data center that delivers access to measured data, descriptive catalogs, modeling and analysis resources to the user's desktop computer. We discuss requirements and architecture for the first version as well as future enhancements to such a system.


The utility model discloses a flexible shaft connecting joint which comprises a joint body (2) fixedly connected with a flexible pipe (1), wherein a center hole is formed in the joint body (2), one end of the flexible pipe (1) is fixed at one end of the center hole of the joint body (2), the flexible pipe (1) comprises a wound steel wire layer (1.1), the joint body (2) is of an integrated structure, the wound steel wire layer (1.1) is embedded on the hole wall of the center hole of the joint body (2), a ball seat embedded member (3) is arranged at the other end of the center hole of the joint body (2), and is provided with a through hole (3.1), the through hole (3.1) is communicated with the flexible pipe (1), and an axial line of the through hole (3.1) and an axial line of one end of the flexible pipe (1), which is located in the center hole of the joint body (2), are arranged on the same straight line. Compared with the prior art, the flexible shaft connecting joint has the characteristics of integrated structure, difficult corrosion, small environment influence in a preparation process, good use stability, good use stability, low storage cost and high production efficiency.


Troubleshooting electronic resource linking issues can seem to be an insurmountable task—so many resources, so little time. Using interlibrary loan (ILL) data on requests for materials available online, the electronic resources staff at the Samford University Library detected problems with the implementation of their new link resolver. This data also provided a window into some systemic issues within the metadata of certain sources and the link resolver knowledgebase. In addition to helping us improve linking for our users, the establishment of a workflow for communicating cancelled ILL transaction data on an ongoing basis has also improved the communication between electronic resources staff and the ILL department regarding the overall linking process.


In process control system, nonlinearity-induced unit-wide oscillations are a common fault, which degrades the control performance and threaten the stability. It is important to detect and diagnose the nonlinearity-induced unit-wide oscillations to improve the process control performance. In this paper, a novel method, termed as SSA-MVMD, is proposed by combining the sparrow search algorithm (SSA) and multivariate variational mode decomposition (MVMD) to detect and diagnose the nonlinearity-induced unit-wide oscillations. MVMD is an advanced signal decomposition and time-frequency method. However, its performance is affected by the mode number <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and penalty coefficient <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\alpha $ </tex-math></inline-formula>. SSA is adopted to optimize the parameters of MVMD. Then, a novel SSA-MVMD-based detector is presented to detect and diagnose the nonlinearity-induced unit-wide oscillations. The proposed method is model-free and data-driven thus requiring no prior knowledge about the process dynamics. Compared with the latest related works, the proposed method can better decompose the multivariate nonstationary signals and adaptively analyze the unit-wide oscillations. In the end, the effectiveness and advantages are demonstrated by simulations as well as industrial cases.


express awareness of transcendent reality ? How understand the relation of ultimate being to the world we know? How account for and relate the affirmations and divergent symbolisms of the religions ? A way forward is indicated through discussion of the Vedas and the Upanishads, and of Buddhism. Here, Lewis investigates with subtlety whether Buddhism is to be interpreted atheistically, and is prepared to see 'in the alleged agnosticism of Buddha the sort of atheism which is sometimes described as an essential element of faith' (p. 169). Finally, this essay faces squarely the problem of how any affirmation can be made about a transcendent reality, with a stern warning against current tendencies to by-pass the epistemological problem. To think of the barrier as no more than 'the barrier of human sin' involves 'a most improper conflation of logical and ethical considerations' (p. 171 f.), sheer confusion based upon doctrines of original sin upheld within the Christian tradition. Other religions have something to say to us as we try to conceive of 'the world beyond making itself felt within the present world' (p. 176), and special attention is drawn to the writings of Sri Aurobindo. Having illustrated the rapprochement between some recent Hindu thought and enlightened Christianity, however, Lewis does not neglect to emphasise essential differences, elements which cannot be surrendered without distortion. Returning to a favourite theme, the Christian understanding of human sinfulness and divine redemption, he enters a final plea for retention of the distinctive element of particularity which is an indispensible part of the Christian claim. This well-produced little book has an importance greater than its size suggests, not least because of the juxtaposition of work in the two disciplines it seeks to relate. Each part will doubtless provoke sharp disagreement from some specialists in each area, as well as from theologians. Part of the value of the book will be to make some practitioners in different fields of the study of religion jump over hedges and break down walls to enter upon timely discussion of problems of method. But this is also (and intentionally) a book for the non-specialist who is trying to think intelligently about religion as he encounters men of seemingly rival faiths and many others who confidently proclaim that they need none.


A method for laser welding with pre- and / or post-heating in the region of the weld, said welding and heat treatment using a single laser beam having substantially equal power will be performed, characterized, - that welding and heat treatment are spaced in time such that the temperature decrease of the respective irradiation area is from the time of first exposure to the time of subsequent irradiation less than 50 percent, and - that is set during the heat treatment of the related to the irradiation area and unit time laser energy by increasing the feed rate such that the laser beam facing away from the side of the existing or future weld seam is heated to at least 10 ° C.


Declining survey response rates concern researchers aiming to ensure study validity. This article tested the effectiveness of multiple pre-incentives on increasing survey response to the Millennium Cohort Study. Participants consisted of U.S. military service members and veterans, and were randomly assigned to receive a $2 bill, $5 gift card, magnet, Apple iPad® lottery entry, or no pre-incentive. Participants who received the gift card or cash pre-incentive had the highest response rates and were significantly more likely to respond to the survey than those who did not receive a pre-incentive. There was no significant difference in survey response among the magnet or lottery entry groups compared to the no pre-incentive group. This study found that giving participants a monetary pre-incentive was an effective way to increase response rates, and thereby participant retention, in a hard-to-reach, highly mobile population, and re-engage participants who did not respond to a previous follow-up survey.


Objective: In order to provide the reference for the rational administration to treat respiratory infection,we have inves-tigated the distribution of the common pathogenic bacteria in patients in our hospital,and detected the effect of the common antibiotics on these pathogenic bacteria.Methods: 300 samples from the respiratory infection patients in our hospital were isolated and cultured.And then the strains were identified by automatic microbion analysator VITEK 32 and their drug susceptibility to common antibiotics were tested.Results: Were retrospectively analyzed.Results We have obtained 825 strains pathogenic bacteria.There are G+ pathogenic bacteri——a 389 strains,G-pathogenic bacteria 380 strains,fungus 46 strains,accounting for 47.2 %,46.1 % and 6.7% respectively.The G+ pathogenic bacteria showed a universally low drug susceptibility to the tested 10 kinds of antibiotic.While the drug susceptibility of G-pathogenic bacteria trend to be polynary.Conclusion: G-pathogenic bacteria was the main pathogenic bacteria in respiratory infection disease in our hospital.It possessed high drug resistance.So in order to use antibiotics rationally,it is better to pay more attention to the monitor to etiology and understand the category distribution and drug resistance trend of the pathogenic bacteria.


Crocker and Forster have presented evidence that the marginal damage function does not meet the assumption of a monotonically increasing function required by conventional benefit-cost analysis of air pollution control measures. If this condition exists over the relevant range of acid deposition, then only all-or-nothing solutions may be optimal. The optimal solution would either require extremely tight restrictions on emissions or that nothing be done, thereby allowing selected waterways to become chronically acidified. All intermediate or compromise solutions will be less efficient. This poses difficult problems for policy makers. However, further examination of this issue has indicated that, although this is a concern requiring careful evaluation, it may not be as likely to occur as Crocker and Forster imply. In particular, the fact that the marginal damage function appropriate for benefit-cost analysis is one that is aggregated across different waterways and different categories of damage (i.e., materials damage and terrestrial damage) will serve to reduce the likelihood of this problem occurring. Still, it is an empirical and scientific issue with important policy implications. The observations by Crocker and Forster will be relevant to policies that are applicable on a waterway by waterway basis (e.g., liming), but will likely not bemore » important for policy options dealing with reductions in precursor emissions.« less


During the three decades of the Troubles of Northern Ireland (1969-1998), a remarkable amount of plays about the Troubles was written and almost of them, it seems, had been 'monopolised' by (Northern) Irish playwrights. Recently, however, certain changes about this monopoly have been witnessed and those who do not claim themselves as Irish descendants have begun to choose the Northern Troubles as their themes. Also, there have been growing concerns about violence worldwide since 9.11. This article deals with two plays, Richard Bean's The Big Fellah and Jez Butterworth's The Ferryman, neither of which was written by an Irish playwright and examines whether and to what extent it is possible to say that they can transcend regional boundaries and become part of global memories in the context of the post-Good Friday Agreement and the post 9.11.


The health of skeletal tissue is dependent on a balanced coexistence between two main cell types: osteoblasts, which form the mineralized structure of bone, and osteoclasts, which digest and break down bone. Communication between these two cell types is facilitated by osteoblast production of receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B (RANK) ligand and osteoprotegerin (OPG). The increased bone loss anticipated after long-term spaceflight beyond lowearth orbit may be associated with the degenerative effects of ionizing radiation on this system. The effects of low dose gamma radiation on the production of bone cell communication factors


An ultrasonic motor using two sandwich-type vibrators is a high-speed and large-thrust motor. The maximum speed is 3.5 m/s and the maximum thrust is 51 N. But the maximum efficiency is low, 28%. We thought a slip between the driving part and the rotor was a cause of the low efficiency. The slip is caused by a speed difference between the driving part whose speed changes like a sine curve and the rotor whose speed is almost constant. Then we made a transducer for an ultrasonic linear motor with a flexible driving part. The flexible driving part has 4 cuts and can bend slightly so that the speed difference should decrease. The decrease was verified by a distortion of the sine curve of the flexible driving part and meant a decrease of the slip.


Baby Boomers are working and living longer than their pre‐war counterparts, and are more likely to live in high density urban housing. This paper examines the relationship between housing type, working status and location of residence on health status in Baby Boomers.


Expectations of risk and return are determined by a portfolio's asset allocation. Over time, market returns can cause one or more assets to drift away from their initial asset allocation targets, leading to portfolios that may not reflect an investor's risk tolerance or investment goals. An investor must decide which rebalancing strategy, if any, is appropriate to maintain the target allocation. This paper presents a comparative analysis of different rebalancing strategies. Meketa Investment Group recommends adopting an explicit rebalancing policy, the precise form of which is dependent on a Board's preferences and governance structure. OVERVIEW Investors adopt long-term asset allocation targets in an effort to achieve specific investment goals. If, after careful consideration, an investor concludes that approximately 60% of his portfolio must be invested in equity-like assets, then it becomes important to maintain an allocation to equities of about 60% most of the time. Allowing the equity allocation to stabilize below 60% could diminish the investor's return prospects, while allowing the equity allocation to exceed 60% could result in unacceptable level of volatility. Markets, however, are not static. First, assets have different expected growth rates—equities are usually expected to return more than investment grade bonds. As such, there will be a natural portfolio drift as riskier assets represent a greater portfolio share over time (see Figure 1). Second, market prices are volatile on both a short-term and a long-term basis. As an extreme example, the Russell 3000 index gained or lost at least 3% a week in seventeen of the fifty-the Russell 3000 gained or lost an average of 7% per month, with individual monthly returns ranging from –10% to +11%. While historical volatility is considerably less, the general point remains that market volatility will affect a fund's asset allocation over all time periods.


Corresponding author: Salwa S. Shihab Email: firstname.lastname@example.com Basrah Youth and Sport Directorate Basrah Iraq ABSTRACT Background: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a common herpes virus that can be linked to a variety of infections and cancers. Some kind of these diseases are good defined and known, others are poorly defined and weakly understood. Objectives: The present study was aimed to study the expression of Epstein Barr virus (EBV) encoded oncoprotein LMP1 in the lymphoma patients. Methods: A 67 blood samples of both sexes with the age range 3 to 93 years' old were collected from patients with malignant lymphoid solids. The nested PCR protocol it was used to amplify two DNA fragment of EBV. The immunohistochemical staining was used for detection of LMP1 proteins. Results: EBV-DNA was detected in 24/67(35.82%) patients. The positive results of EBV-DNA were distribution among the studied groups of patients as follow: NHL group [20, 83.33%; 11(55%) females and 9(45 %) males], HL group [3, 12.5%; 2(66.66%) females and 1(33.34%) males] and [1, 4.17% (male only)] for BL. A 5/16 (31.25%) samples revealed positive staining of LMP1 protein. Conclusion: we concluded that the positive EBV paraffin embedded samples was showing strong immunostaining for LMP1 protein.


o cu la r d is e a se s Background: The incidence of allergic symptoms to cedar pollen has reached epidemic proportions in Japan. Intravenous injection of b-1,3-glucan in human subjects is known to induce a TH1 response, whereas oral uptake does not. Objective: It was examined whether orally ingested, superfine dispersed b-1,3-glucan (SDG), easily absorbed by intestinal mucosa, would alleviate allergic symptoms. Methods: Allergic patients were orally administrated either SDG (n 5 30) or nondispersed b-1,3-glucan (n 5 30), and allergic symptoms were assessed clinically in a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized study. Results: SDG alleviated ongoing symptoms of Japanese cedar pollen–induced rhinorrhea, sneezing, nasal congestion, and itchy watery eyes, and its oral uptake before symptom onset exhibited preventive effects. Alleviation of allergic symptoms was evident not only for seasonal allergy to cedar pollen but also for perennial allergy. Oral ingestion of b-1,3-glucan in individuals with allergic tropism could reduce the spontaneous increase in both allergen-specific and total IgE titers. The clinical responses to treatment were well correlated with the capacity of monocytes to bind to b-1,3-glucan. Although SDG reduced allergic symptoms, the oral uptake of nondispersed b-1,3-glucan produced no clinical effects, despite the identical amount of b-1,3-glucan in both preparations. Conclusion: We postulate that orally taken b-1,3-glucan prepared in a form easily absorbed by intestinal mucosa is able to alleviate cedar pollen–induced allergic symptoms. Clinical implications: Orally effective SDG might greatly contribute to the resolution of epidemic medical problems of seasonal cedar pollen–induced allergy. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2007;119:1119-26.)