Listening to music makes us to move in various ways. Several factors can affect the characteristics of these movements, including individual factors and musical features. Additionally, music-induced movement may be shaped by the emotional content of the music. Indeed, the reflection and embodiment of musical emotions through movement is a prevalent assumption within the embodied music cognition framework. This study investigates how music-induced, quasi-spontaneous movement is influenced by the emotional content of music. We recorded the movements of 60 participants (without professional dance background) to popular music using an optical motion capture system, and computationally extracted features from the movement data. Additionally, the emotional content (happiness, anger, sadness, and tenderness) of the stimuli was assessed in a perceptual experiment. A subsequent correlational analysis revealed that different movement features and combinations thereof were characteristic of each emotion, suggesting that body movements reflect perceived emotional qualities of music. Happy music was characterized by body rotation and complex movement, whereas angry music was found to be related to non-fluid movement without rotation. Sad music was embodied by simple movements and tender music by fluid movements of low acceleration and a forward bent torso. The results of this study show similarities to movements of professional musicians and dancers, to emotion-specific non-verbal behavior in general, and can be linked to notions of embodied music


This article discusses the socio-political meanings of rugby union football in the Pacific Island state of Fiji. It argues that Fijian rugby is best understood as a cultural construction and a vehicle of symbolic communication which has the capacity to simultaneously divide and unite the country's multi-ethnic society. Since its introduction to Fiji during the British colonial period, rugby has been almost exclusively played by indigenous Fijians and has become an integral part of the vaka i taukei ("the Fijian way of life"). Rugby enables Fijians to articulate and maintain regional and local social boundaries but, in the same time, it also promotes nation-building, by uniting members of different ethnic groups as fans and contributing to the establishment of a common "Fiji Islander" identity. Therefore, the socio-political aspects of Fijian rugby are manifold and mirror both the challenges and the potential of Fiji's multi-


Three methods are applied worldwide for the determination of natural gas price, that are cost-based pricing system, market-based pricing system and cost market-based pricing system. Each of them will be utilized in view of different conditions and has its own advantages and disadvantages, which are being explored in this article. Meanwhile this article also illustrates how these methods are being applied in West-East Gas Project.


When the permanent magnet synchronous motor runs at low speed, the fluctuation of cogging torque and the influence of friction force will cause the change of load torque. With the error and delay of speed detection, the dynamic performance of the system is reduced and the speed of the motor fluctuates. In this paper, a nonlinear disturbance torque observer is used to observe the load torque. In the q-axis current loop which is controlled by field-oriented vector control, the observed load torque is feedforward to the current loop as to suppress the speed fluctuation caused by the disturbance torque. The non-linear disturbance torque observer does not need the second derivative of the position, which reduces the measurement noise disturbance of the system. At the same time, the inertia of the motor parameters in the observer is identified. The simulation and experimental results show that the nonlinear disturbance torque observer has good suppression performance for the velocity fluctuation running at low speed.


Zircon is one of common refractory accessory minerals occurring in a wide range of crustal rocks, and is not only the most useful mineral for geochronology based on the radioactive decay of U to Pb, but also one of the most important geochemical tracers in terms of its Hf and O isotopes and trace element compositions. U-Pb dating using microbeam technique such as SIMS and LA-ICP-MS requires suitable reference materials. It is desirable to the reference materials have radiation damage same as that of the target, namely similar age and actinoid concetration. The reference zircons with Mesozoic age are not common, which gets in the way of precise and accurate dating of Mesozoic zircons. In this presentation, we report new precise U-Pb age obtained by ID-TIMS, trace element concentration, and isotope data of lithium and oxygen of the OT4 zircon which is the Mesozoic reference zircon for U-Pb dating [1]. The U-Pb weighted mean age of the OT4 zircon is 191.464 ± 0.034 Ma (n=5, MSWD=0.83), which is consistent with the previous report. The preliminary oxygen isotopic ratio in the OT4 zircon obtained by SHRIMP-IIe/AMC is 6.09 ± 0.07 ‰ (n=35), which indicates that source melt of the OT4 zircon was affected by sediments. Ti concentrations of the OT4 zircon are from 3.4 to 17.3 ppm and the average is 6.8 ± 3.1 ppm (SD). Assuming Ti activity of 0.7, Ti-in-zircon temperatures are 681-827°C and the average is 733 ± 34°C (SD), and are consistent with the Zr saturation temperature (728°C) calculated from bulk rock composition. The REE patterns are characterized by strongly positive Ce anomalies, and negative Eu anomalies. Li concentration of the OT4 zircon is higher that those of TEMORA2 and 91500. Further information such as Li isotopic ratio and other trace element concentrations will be demonstrated.


This paper reviews the research framework for real estate bubbles and conducts empirical study on whether there are real estate bubbles in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen guided by the principle that real estate price should be the rent capitalization based on West's model. The results show that speculative bubbles exist in Beijing residential market, Shanghai residential market and Shenzhen office market. However, there are no evidences for speculative bubbles in Beijing office market, Shanghai office market and Shenzhen residential market in the sampling period. Finally, we propose some policy recommendations.


To find an applicable method to evaluate quality of network management system is a precondition to improve quality of network management system and communication network operation. This article proposes a solution for evaluation index system, a key phase of quality evaluation process. After deep analysis of network management system characteristics, an evaluation index system is proposed, and each index is discussed. Application for indexes is also illustrated.


For multiplicative representations /spl Pi//sub i=1//sup k//spl alpha//sub i//sup n(i)/ and /spl Pi//sub j=1//sup l//spl beta//sub j//sup m(j)/ where /spl alpha//sub i/, /spl beta//sub j/ are non-zero elements of some algebraic number field K and n/sub i/, m/sub j/ are rational integers, we present a deterministic polynomial time algorithm that decides whether /spl Pi//sub i=1//sup k//spl alpha//sub i//sup n(i)/ equals /spl Pi//sub j=1//sup l//spl beta//sub j//sup m(j)/. The running time of the algorithm is polynomial in the number of bits required to represent the number field K, the elements /spl alpha//sub i/, /spl beta//sub j/ and the integers n/sub i/, m/sub j/.<<ETX>>


As governments grapple with ageing populations, there is a need to understand more about the aged care workforce and how it is managed.


The colonisation of Africa by the imperial powers of Europe has had serious adverse effect on the lives of the people. Over half a century of ceremonial disentangling from colonial clutches, the States of Africa finds it hard to solidly place their feet on global development ground. One of the critical fields Africa has been kowtowing to countries of Asia, Europe and Americas is medicines, which up to the moment, vaccines for treatment of the bulk of the populations are imported. The challenge is not about the incompetent of Africans; neither the ineffectiveness of home-made drugs. But, even if the drug works, the people lacked the psychological confidence in the therapeutic value of it due to colonial and imperial disarticulation and disorientation. It is against this background, the paper makes an interventionist study and argued for the decolonisation of the continent's medicines and health system in the post Covid19 era. This becomes compelling, because like the World War I and II, the novel pandemic adds yet knowledge to the world, that the whites are not better than the blacks in the knowledge industry. Though not yet uhuru for Africa, the worst ravaged countries by the pandemic are not yet African states, but countries of Asia, Americas and Europe. Against the backdrop of the irrelevance of the white's superiority myths in the face of the pandemic, the paper charges Africa to look inwardly, in the world system that is fundamentally skewed against her. It finally notes that the continent would be at a crossroads in the wake of global and western conspiracy to depopulate it through the weapons of drugs and vaccines, if it fails to develop and decolonised. It thus, concludes that African governments, policy makers, health experts and scholars should come together in the restless effort to rescue its medicines and health system from the elbow trap of the western society, thereby making Africa truly independent and great in the incoming post Covid19 years.
Keywords: Africa; Decolonisation; Medicines; Health System; Covid19; Pandemic


Solid waste disposal is a crucial problem in the urban and rural areas because most solid wastes are not dumped in the suitable areas. Karu LGA has the challenge of solid waste dumping site identification. The specific objectives of this study were to: map and identify the existing landfill site and dump sites in the study area and to identify potential suitable landfill site(s) in the study area. The main data used for this study were SRTM image with a spatial resolution of 30m spatial resolution, Landsat 8 OLI imagery, google earth imagery and ground control point (GCP) collected by ground point survey (GPS). The maps were prepared by overlay and suitability analysis of geographic information system (GIS), remote sensing techniques and multi criteria analysis methods. The potential suitability map was prepared by overlay analyses on Arc map and suitability levels as high, moderate, less suitable, and unsuitable sites of the study area were determined. The results indicate that 37.7% of the study area is unsuitable for solid waste dumping; 44.29% less suitable; 14.97% moderately suitable; and 3.0 % most suitable. The GIS and remote sensing techniques are important tools for solid waste site selection. Hence, the capacity to use GIS and remote sensing technology for the effective identification of suitable solid waste dumping site will reduce the risk contacting diseases and improve the aesthetic look of the environment and cut down cost of constructing a landfillin the study area.


There is an ever rising demand for the measurement of vitamin D due to increased awareness of its involvement in not only calcium homeostasis, bone metabolism and neuromuscular functions but other medical conditions (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, multiple sclerosis, cancer and psychiatric disorders). Increasing numbers of laboratories are utilising Vitamin D immunoassays (≈84% on DEQAS) which has led to several favourable published comparisons – however the question arises: Are Vitamin D immunoassays fit for all ?


We construct "stochastic mappings" between power law probability distributions (PD's) and Gaussian ones. To a given vector $N$, Gaussian distributed (respectively $Z$, exponentially distributed), one can associate a vector $X$, "power law distributed", by multiplying $X$ by a random scalar variable $a$, $N= a X$. This mapping is "invertible": one can go via multiplication by another random variable $b$ from $X$ to $N$ (resp. from $X$ to $Z$), i.e., $X=b N$ (resp. $X=b Z$). Note that all the above equalities mean "is distributed as". As an application of this stochastic mapping we revisit the so-called "zero-th law of thermodynamics problem" that bedevils the practitioners of nonextensive thermostatistics.


Background: Exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months is the most cost-effective intervention for the survival of a child. Material & Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in Community Development Block, Beri, district Jhajjar, Haryana over the period of one year.In the present study 400 mothers of children aged 6-23 months were selected with multistage random sampling method and interviewed using structured questionnaire for Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices. Data were analyzed with using SPSS20.0, Chi-square, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression tests. Results: Exclusive breastfeeding for six months was observed to be 59.2%, Colostrum given almost universally to all infants (95%). 33% infants were given pre-lacteal feeds in the form of sweetened water, ghutti, honey, water etc. around 86% infants were breastfed adequately and on demand. Bottle feeding was observed in 26% of which more than half among 6-23months age group. Only 6% were given artificial pacifiers in form of teats. Conclusion: compliance to IYCF practices has shown slight improvement since the last NFHS survey in 20152016 but still well below the WHO recommended guidelines for Infant and Young Child Feeding.


The invention provides a high precision laser range finder which comprises a laser transmitter, a laser receiver, a timer and a calculator, wherein the triggering end of the laser transmitter is coupled with a triggering switch and a trigger; the control end of the trigger is coupled with the laser receiver; the laser transmitter is further coupled with the timer; the timer begins to perform timing while the laser transmitter transmits the first laser pulse; the laser receiver is coupled with a counter; for each time that the laser receiver receives one reflection laser pulse, the counter counts for one time; the laser receiver transmits a timing stopping request to the timer through a gate switch; the gate switch is coupled with the counter; the counter releases the timing stopping request to the timer while counting to a set value; and at the same time the counter transmits a stopping receiving request to the laser receiver; and finally the tested range is calculated by the calculator. The laser range finder belongs to pulse type range finders; and not only can a range of a ground object in a long distance be measured, but also the precision is high.


The recent discovery by the Swift and HETE-2 satellites of X-ray afterglows from five short-hard bursts (SHBs) has lead to a simple picture in which SHBs have a typical isotropic burst energy of around 1050 ergs and in which the bursters are in normal L* host galaxies at nearby distances with redshifts of around 0.2. In this Letter, I compare this simple picture with evidence from five SHBs detected in 1978-1979, for which their observed median peak fluxes were ~100 times brighter than the 2005 events and for which their positional error regions are empty of galaxies to deeper limits than the associated galaxies for the 2005 events. For example, GRB 790406 had a peak flux of 5 × 10-5 ergs s-1, and its error box is empty to 23.29 mag; GRB 050509B had a peak flux of 2 × 10-7 ergs s-1, and its associated galaxy is 18.60 mag. Independent of redshift for either set of SHBs, the set from 1978 to 1979 has a ratio of burst luminosity to host galaxy luminosity that differs by almost 2 orders of magnitude when compared with the set from 2005. A Student's t-test produces a probability of less than 2.7% that the two sets are drawn from the same parent population. The explanation for the very different properties of the two sets of SHBs might be due to (1) chance coincidence in the 2005 associations, (2) two different populations, (3) the ejection of the progenitors from their original galaxy, and (4) a very broad burst luminosity function. Each of these four explanations has problems, and the true explanation is likely some combination of these.


The computerization of many businesses has led to massive amounts of data being stored in computers. The existing database system does not provide the user the necessary tools to extract useful knowledge from that data. Data Mining is the process of automatic extraction of novel, useful, and understandable patterns/models from large databases. Association rule mining is an important class of data mining that extracts interesting and frequent patterns from the data. The previous research in association rule mining used only transactional databases and previous association rule mining algorithms depended on the size of the itemset, the size of the dataset, and the size of the candidates set. Most of the developed association rule mining algorithms focused on extracting large itemsets efficiently by reducing I/O operations and the number of scans over the database, minimizing the set of candidate itemsets by pruning and paralleling and distributed the itemset generation process. The integration between transactional databases and relational databases is compulsory to extract profile association rule mining. This thesis presents a novel approach for discovering associations from a mixed database. The definition of a mixed database is introduced and integration methodology between transactional databases and relational databases in manual based is developed. This thesis deals with algorithmic and systemic aspects of profile association rule mining from integrated databases. The algorithmic aspect focuses on developing a new algorithm to extract profile association rules from a mixed database. We proposed two algorithms, CARMA and CARMAH, to extract a profile association rule from a mixed database in IF-Then format with illustrative examples. The systems aspect focuses on developing a scalable implementation for the designed algorithms. Extensive experiments have been conducted for testing the developed algorithms showing applicability and linear scalability with differently sized databases.


Accurate estimates of the CT numbers of cerebral spinal fluid, white matter, gray matter, and bone are difficult to obtain from transaxial CT brain slices using a manually controlled joy stick/ cursor and standard region of interest! statistics software. Careful manual surveys of anatomically homogeneous regions of interest [1] are tedious and may be subject to unconscious observer bias. The use of an interactive minimum variance computer program to select small, homogeneous areas within larger, user-defined regions of interest greatly facilitates the estimation of characteristic tissue CT numbers by reducing observer bias, excluding volume-averaged voxels, and graphically delimiting the homogeneous areas on a video screen image.


Mass behavior in the village committee elections in the content stands up for rights,in the behavior exercises the lawful right,in the value has the justice.Mass behavior in the elections of the village committee should be held with affirmative attitude.The government by law society,should adopt the legal means to the political issue to solve as far as possible.Therefore,must first consummate the related law which the village committee elects,safeguards the villagers village committee voting right exertion;The perfect benefit expression mechanism,enables the petition the smooth expression,overcomes in the thought and legislates to the villagers group behavior deionization tendency to come up the demonstration value orientation;Should deal facing the villagers group behavior by an ordinary point of view,should not adopt the behavior which goes too far to suppress,or adopts the dragging,the avoidance and so on negative procedure,creates new dissatisfaction,causes the contradictory intensification.


Francisco Sonora is a coordinator in a national environmental education project called Climantica. Thanks to this website, we mix the digital competency and climatic change. This way, teachers, students and parents are not only recipients but also protagonists of a very relevant topic that is environmental education.


Manual video surveillance is highly expensive and inconvenient in continuous monitoring by security personnel. So automatic video surveillance is needed. A large amount of security measure is required in public and private sectors due to terrorist activities. In this paper, an automatic activity recognition approach is proposed. The difference image is used to extract the motion information based on Region of Interest (ROI). The experiments are carried out on the Weizmann dataset considering four activities viz (walking, running, waving one hand and waving both hands) with multiclass-SVM scheme for classification. Experimental results shows an overall performance of 92% to recognize performed actions. The proposed method demonstrates good results on Weizmann dataset and results are comparable with well-known existing methods.


A new approach to constraining seawater δ34S and sulphate concentration using francolite‐bound sulphate reveals an abrupt increase in δ34S to +50‰ around the Early–Middle Cambrian boundary. Such high δ34S values are best explained by increased rates of pyrite burial due to ocean anoxia coupled with an increased sensitivity of the ocean sulphate reservoir to perturbations due to low sulphate concentrations of 500–700 μgL−1. We argue that the spread of anoxic waters at this time was partly the result of greenhouse warming related to the eruption of the Kalkarindji Large Igneous Province of northern Australia and that it triggered the collapse of early metazoan reef ecosystems during the latest Early Cambrian. Mass extinctions of the last 260 Myr have all coincided with enhanced volcanic activity, while several are also associated with positive shifts in seawater δ34S. Extending this correlation back in time further implicates volcanically induced climate change as a major determining factor in biosphere evolution.


An integrated computational framework for textile polymer composites is introduced. A novel polymer curing model is used in connection with modeling the manufacturing process of textile composites. The model is based on the notion of polymer networks that are continuously formed in a body of changing shape due to changes in temperature, chemistry and external loads. Nonlinear material behavior is incorporated through nonlocal continuum damage mechanics that preserves mesh objectivity in calculations that go beyond maximum loads. The integrated model is applied to the curing of plain weave textile composites made from carbon ber tows and Epon862 resin. The mechanical and chemical properties are measured during curing using concurrent Brillouin and Raman light scattering. It is shown that signi cant stresses can develop during cure. The e ect of these stresses on the manufactured part performance, when subsequent service loads are applied, is evaluated and a reduction in ultimate load, in agreement with experimental observations, is observed.


Autoimmune and inflammatory diseases (AID) are associated with myeloid malignancies[1], and include both organ-specific diseases and systemic inflammatory disorders. While the occurrence of associated AID reaches up to 15-20% in myelodysplastic neoplasms (MDS) patients[2,3], its prevalence in the context of myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) remains unknown. In patients with a history of AID, the risk of developing MPN was increased[4], suggesting a correlative link between the two disorders, but data regarding the characterization of AID in MPN patients remain scarce and the lack of studies prevents from identifying potential risk traits that may underline a common physiopathology.We conducted a single center retrospective study to describe the prevalence, clinical and biological features of AID in MPN patients. We also reported the mutational landscape of MPN with associated AID, along with its prognostic impact.All patients with a diagnosis of Philadelphia-negative MPN according to the World Health Organization's criteria, followed between January 2011 and January 2021 in our center were included. Clinical and biological characteristics at the time of diagnosis and follow-up were collected. Next-generation targeted sequencing was performed targeting a panel of 36 genes involved in myeloid malignancies. AID diagnosis was based on recommended international criteria specific to each AID. Patients with interferon-alpha-induced AID were excluded from this study.A total of 1541 MPN patients were included, including 95 (6%) patients with AID who were compared to the remaining 1446 (94%) patients without AID. Median age was 51.6 [6.6; 98.3] years at MPN diagnosis in the whole cohort. Female patients were predominant within the AID group (62 (65%) versus 773 (54%), p=0.03). Within the AID cohort, a total of 103 diagnoses of AID were reported in 95 patients, including 48 organ-specific AID (47%) (autoimmune hypothyroidism (n=33), inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD, n=7), neuroinflammatory disorders (n=4), autoimmune cytopenia (n=2), glomerulonephritis (n=1) and pernicious anemia (n=1)), 13 inflammatory arthritis (13%), 9 connective tissue diseases (9%), 9 dermatosis (9%), 6 systemic vasculitis (6%) and 18 unclassified AID (17%). Molecular sequencing was performed in 998/1541 (65%) patients and the prevalence of driver and additional mutations did not differ between the MPN with or without AID. The prevalence ofTET2mutations was higher in the AID cohort (21/65, 32% versus 208/993, 22%), although not reaching statistical significance (p=0.08). After a median follow-up of 8.3IQR[3.7-14.3] years, the association with AID did not impact overall survival (p= 0.67), MDS/AML transformation free survival (p=0.37) or secondary myelofibrosis-free survival (p=0.91).Our data suggest that the prevalence of AID is similar in MPN patients to that of the general population, and that the distribution and presentation of AID in MPN patients is also similar.TET2mutations are highly prevalent in MPN patients with AID suggesting a shared physiopathology. Additional mechanistic studies are needed to further decipher a potential TET2-mediated common physiopathology. The association with AID did not impact MPN patients' outcome.[1]Barcellini, W.et al.Increased prevalence of autoimmune phenomena in myelofibrosis: Relationship with clinical and morphological characteristics, and with immunoregulatory cytokine patterns.Leukemia Research37, 1509–1515 (2013).[2]Mekinian, A.et al.Systemic inflammatory and autoimmune manifestations associated with myelodysplastic syndromes and chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia: a French multicentre retrospective study.Rheumatology (Oxford)55, 291–300 (2016).[3]Zhao, L.-P.et al.Genomic landscape of MDS/CMML associated with systemic inflammatory and autoimmune disease.Leukemia(2021).[4]Kristinsson, S. Y.et al. Autoimmunity and the risk of myeloproliferative neoplasms.Haematologica95, 1216–1220 (2010).The authors thank the clinical care team of the Comprehensive Myeloproliferative neoplasms Center for samples and data collection, and the staff of the cellular biology laboratory for excellent technical assistance. The authors also thank the French Intergroup for Myeloproliferative neoplasms (FIM) for insightful discussions.None Declared.


The Huai'an Bridge,a prestressed concrete cable-stayed bridge with twin pylons and twin cable planes,has 6 lanes.The main girder is 38.6 m in width.At present,this width is in the front rank of same kind completed bridges in China.In this paper,the maintenance techniques for this bridge are described in detail.


Dr. Alfredo Rebora Department of Dermatology, University of Genoa Viale Benedetto XV I–16132 Genova (Italy) Tel. +39 10 353 8414, Fax +39 10 353 8401 Ferrando et al. [1] in this tissue of Dermatology report a further case of lichen planus (LP) occurring after vaccination against hepatitis B virus (HBV). We are aware of 18 cases [2–11], including 2 observed by us and still unpublished (table 1). What could have been a coincidence in 1990 [2], should be now recognized as a genuine side effect of the HBV vaccine [12]. These observations deserve some comment. (1) Because of the diffusion of HBV vaccination, 18 cases in 7 years indicate that postvaccine LP is a rare event. Many cases may certainly go undetected or be dumped as 'skin rashes', but their theoretical importance may be underrated as well. (2) All cases have been described in Italy and in France. It is surprising that, given the number of HBV vaccinations worldwide, similar cases have not been reported elsewhere, particularly in the USA, where a good proportion of people are of Mediterranean stock. (3) Although a case-control study is needed to definitely exclude coincidence, we may assume that it is unlikely. The observation of 3 cases in children [9], in whom LP is extremely rare, the exacerbation after the 2nd dose [7] or after the booster dose in one of our unpublished cases, and the severity of the lesions in a patient previously infected by HBV [11], all support the causal role of vaccination. (4) A chronic graft-versus-host(GVHR)-like autoimmune reaction has been suggested as a pathogenetic mechanism. Except for Lefort et al. [8] and Ferrando et al. [1] cases, in which LP developed as early as 7 and 15 days respectively after the 1st dose, latency is in keeping with this interpretation. In chronic GVHR, the lichenoid eruption may develop up to months or even years after bone marrow transplantation. (5) Whenever studied, seroconversion followed vaccination in all cases except in Ferrando et al. [1]. In the original case [2], the HBsAb titer was low (16 IU/l) and even disappeared 1 year later. In the other cases, the titers ranged between 82 [8] and 582 IU/l [7]. In 2 cases [2 and one of our cases], also HBcAb was present, an antibody that cannot be induced by the vaccines. Because of the negative prevaccination serology, this was probably a false-positive finding. The absence of HBeAb makes very unlikely that the patient got infected in the interval between doses. An old infection was suggested when the eruption started after the 1st dose [7]. This would be the case only if the patient, infected before vaccination, did not seroconvert. (6) The vaccines are disparate. In 2 cases, the vaccines were obtained by inactivation of a plasma-derived HBsAg, while in the other cases they were recombinant proteins. All these vaccines share only protein S as a common component. HBsAg is a mosaic of epitopes (S, pre-S1 and pre-S2) each of which is immunogenic. While the plasma-derived vaccines contain all the epitopes, recombinant ones do not. In Pusel's [4] and Aubin's [5] cases, the vaccine did not contain the pre-S1 epitope. Recombivax [3] did not contain the pre-S2 epitope and Engerix B [7, 9, 10 and one of our upublished cases] neither pre-S1 nor pre-S2, but only S. LP, therefore, may well develop as an immune reaction to keratinocytes expressing S epitope. Likewise, in patients with chronic postviral hepatitis, LP would be a cytotoxic reaction to keratinocytes expressing HBs and not epitopes shared by the hepatocytes damaged by the virus as suggested [13]. More simply, the vaccine may stimulate the immune system nonspecifically triggering LP eruption as it does with other immune-related disorders, including lupus erythematosus [14]. However, we are unaware of lichenoid eruption


ABSTRACT Adolescents and young adults (AYA) with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are at risk for nonadherence. This study described AYA adherence barriers and correlates of barriers. 77 AYA–parent dyads completed measures of adherence barriers. Disease frustration barriers were the most commonly endorsed barriers among AYA and parents. Females, those with Crohn's disease, and those with active disease displayed higher levels of selected variables. AYA with IBD experience unique adherence barriers. Routine screening for barriers, especially disease frustration barriers, is warranted. Adherence-promotion interventions should be tailored to AYA's unique experience and should emphasize disease and regimen frustration.


This paper presents a new technology used for communicating with people with major neuro-locomotor disability by using ocular electromyogram (electro oculogram). The electromyogram is obtained with 5 electrodes placed on the ocular muscles which catch the signals produced by the muscles when the eyes move up and down or left and right. The proposed communication technology ensures communication with the patient as follows: the patient sees on a screen key words or ideograms displayed in different areas; the focusing of the patient's gaze involves eye movement which is seized by the electromyogram; the selection of the ideogram is done by voluntary blinking and captured by the electromyogram as an impulse. The wish or need of the patient is then sent to the caretaker using a wire or a wireless transmission system. The absence of a selection within a certain time period causes the displaying of a new set of ideograms.


Adult stem cells are primary cells exist in tissues of organism which can selfrenew and differentiate specifically, and can keep metabolism and repair damage. However, a series of experiments has shown recently that stem cells from certain adult tissues can generate additional cell types, that is adult stem cell has multipotential. This new character of adult stem cell has brought new idea to the treatment of many diseases and thus become the highlight in the field of biomedicine. In this review, we introduced the new concept about adult stem cell, discussed how adult stem cell multipotential may be regulated and related research methods, briefly summarized the important significance of adult stem cell in theory and clinical application.


Augmented marked graphs possess some special characteristics desirable for the analysis and modelling of shared-resource systems. This paper investigates the composition of augmented marked graphs via common resource places, with a focus on preservation of liveness, boundedness, reversibility and conservativeness. It is then applied to system integration, where system components are specified as augmented marked graphs and composed via common resource places. Based on the preservation of properties of this composition, the liveness, boundedness, reversibility and conservativeness of the integrated system can be readily derived. This is illustrated using an example of manufacturing systems.


The COLOMBOMA EYE which means a lash less eye becomes one of the striking features of a rare disorder called TREACHER COLLINS SYNDROME. It may be a condition that affects the development of facial bonesand other tissues of the face. This condition features a wide range of signs and symptoms,from hardly perceptible to severe. Treacher Collins syndrome also called as Franceschettisyndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder of craniofacial development with variableexpressivity. Its named after E Treacher Collins who described the essential components ofthe condition in 1900. It is caused by the mutation of particular gene of which 81-90% of cause will be due to the mutation of TCOF1 gene. Incidence of this syndrome is approximately one in fifty thousandlive births and it affects both genders equally. It affects structures which are derivatives of theprimary and second brachial arches. The foremost common manifestations of TCS are theantimongloid slanting of the palpebral fissures, colobomas of the lower eyelid, hypoplasia ofzygoma and mandible and a spread of ear abnormalities. People with Treacher Collinssyndrome usually have normal intelligence.This article describes clinical and radiographicfeatures of TCS in a 29 yr old male who had reported to the department of Oral Medicineand Radiology with the complaint of forwardly placed upper and lower front teeth since birth.Alsopathogenesis, diagnostic procedure, diagnosis based onscore, management andpreventive aspects are discussed.


Algorithmic decision-making tools are no longer a mere field of scientific exploration and academic debates. Today data, code and algorithms, blended altogether in the concept of Machine Learning (ML), are used to identify potential aggressors and victims of violence, to assess a defendant's risk of committing new crimes, to decide whether you deserve a job opportunity, to –literallymonitor the financial markets or to evaluate school teachers. In light of these ML applications, an exponentially growing part of the scientific community has focused its attention on the issues of fairness, transparency and accountability that algorithms should mirror. Building next to these interdisciplinary endeavours for the development of safeguarding techniques, this paper is an attempt to explore the boundaries of liability that surround the agents involved in the development of these tools. The capacity of these systems to interact and trigger changes to the physical world as well as their potential for causing harm to a person challenges the notions of duty of care, causality and foreseeability that historically dominated liability ascription. In the meantime, the absence of a solid regulation renders developers legally exposed to the rules of strict liability. My paper is a jurisprudential journey throughout the boundaries of contract and tort law of USA jurisdictions aiming at extracting common principles that could shape the proposed doctrine of the "Reasonable Coder". This journey starts from the fundamental question of whether smart-software should be regarded as "good" or "service", and progresses to approach the normative connotations of the concepts of causality and foreseeability in the digital sphere. The notion of "Reasonable Coder" is ultimately premised on the idea that either regarded as "services" or as "products", smart-systems will eventually be examined through the regime of negligence.


The purpose of this research is to investigate whether reputation of KAP, audit tenure, and the size of the client company associated to audit quality by using a proxy of discretionary accruals of the company in LQ 45 companies listed on the stock exchanges in Indonesia during 2011–2014. Purposive sampling is chosen as the sampling method of this study. Data obtained from secondary data in the annual reports of 19 companies listed on the Stock Exchange in 2011–2014. KAP reputation variables are measured through dummy Big four and non Big four, Audit tenure is measured through dummy rotation or not, while firm size is measured through the total natural logarithm of the asset. The results of this study indicate that the reputation of KAP has negative effect on audit quality, audit tenure and the size of the company's client have positive effect on audit quality


T his study was aimed at revealing students' essay writing skill, describing the improvement of writing aspects, and finding out whether or not the use of peer editing was effective to improve the students' writing skill. This reseach was experimental study using nonequivalent control group design. The population of this research was all the fifth semester students of English Education Program of Muhammadiyah University of Purworejo. The researcher used two classes as the research samples. As the experimental group, the researcher took students of VA class who were taught by peer editing. Then, the researcher involved students of VB class as the control group. The reseacher conducted a series of treatment from August to November 2014. The researcher used a  writing test to collect the data. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were employed to analyze the data. After analyzing the data, the researcher obtained some find- ings. First, the students' writing score was 71.2 belonged to good category. Second, all writing aspects could improve where the significant improvement was in the aspects of content (2.6 points) and vocabulary (1.9 points). The aspects of organization, grammar, and mechanics did not increase significantly (0.3-0.7 points). Third, the result of calculation illustrated that t-obtained was higher than the critical value on the t-table (3.602>2.000). It meant that the use of peer editing was effective to improve the students' essay writing skill.


The urban hip-hop culture of the young people of Iquique is represented as a present and relevant phenomenon, as a liberation of juvenile consciences, placing itself in the contemporary Chile as an emergent anti cultural movement. It carries the importance that inscribes itself among the academic directions as a moving phenomenon, in constant re-interpretation and definition. It is presented as a part of new urban juvenile associations among a rational emphatic opposed to the globalization of social activities and dynamics. This reflection relates three central social and academic subjects. On one side it represent the emergency of new ways of urban juvenile association. It takes us in a necessary discussion over the techniques and methods of approaching to present juvenile dynamics and lastly, it positions Latin America as part of an specific historical and social context. This context delimits the present social science.


We have found that routine transformations can be scaled down so that 36 independent transformations can be selected on a single bacterial plate. The method blends two established techniques; plating transformed bacteria in top agar, and spot titrations beloved of phage geneticists. When combined with the use of 96 well uicrotitre trays this nethod offers considerable savings in tine and naterials over conventional tranuformations. lOul allquots of competent cells are placed in a sterile 96 well nicrotitre tray, conplete with lid, on ice. Following the addition of plaamid DNA and incubation, on ice for 10-30 minutes, heatshock is performed by floating the microtitre tray (wrapped in plastic film) in a 42'C water bath for 2 minutes. After returning to ice, 5M1 aliquots of each transformation are spotted onto selective plates over which a 3ml layer of antibiotic free LB soft-agar has just (5 ainutes earlier) been poured and allowed to set. The plates are lnmedlately incubated, uninverted at 37'C. Leaving the lid ajar for 5 alnutes aids in the rapid absorption of the 5nl spots into the top agar layer. The bacteria begin to grow on the drug free surface and have a short time to express resistance genes before the antibiotic diffuses from the plate below. By adjusting either the amount of DNA or by making dilutions of bacteria before plating, it is possible to generate single colonies within the area of a 5ul spot. Alternatively, purifying single clones on fresh selective plates by streaking fron a confluent 5M1 patch is equivalent to the initial selection of an isolated colony. Figure 1 demonstrates the technique. Various amounts of the colEl based vector pRSVPgal were transformed into competent XAC cells selecting for ampicillln resistance. The mean efficiency of transforaatlon was 1.95 x


A High Resolution Near-Infrared (NIR) Camera has been developed and tested. This NIR camera uses a HgCdTe detector array which allows for imaging at high operating temperatures. The camera's format is 640x512 pixels with an 18 μm pitch. We have obtained high broadband spectral response from 0.9 to 2.0 micron with near 100% optical fill factor. The camera is designed as a turnkey system that uses the industry standard Camera Link digital interface. The electronics are located remotely from the sensor head allowing it to be adapted to existing optical systems. This compact camera has been targeted for military, scientific and telecommunication applications. This paper will detail the measured camera performance.


This report makes an overview of 2D, 2,5D and 3D approaches for indoor space subdivision for the purpose of indoor navigation. The report starts with a conceptual framework for indoor space utilisation. We introduce and elaborate on the concepts of indoor space (navigable and non-navigable), agent, activity, resource and modifier. Using these concepts, we investigate navigation cases and discuss information requirements for space subdivision. Two sections make review of 2D and 3D research for sub-spacing. We classify 2D and 3D approached in three groups with respect to the subdivision (partial or complete) and the type of navigation (grid or graph), and provide analysis of the approaches against the user requirements for indoor navigation. Section 6 concludes on challenges and future developments. This research was supported by a grant (11 High-tech G11) from Architecture & Urban Development Research Program funded by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korean government.


The decrease in the critical current density (J/sub c/) of YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-x/ (YBCO) films with increasing film thickness was investigated for 0.2 - 2.4-/spl mu/m-thick films grown on single crystal substrates. Microstructural and electrical properties were characterized by focused ion beam (FIB) microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy in a field emission scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscopy, and current-voltage measurements at 77 K in self-field. FIB cross sections directly showed that the top 30% -40% thickness of YBCO films contained pores, misoriented YBCO grains, and Ba-rich second phase particles that collectively produced a "dead top layer" which is believed to limit the J/sub c/ of YBCO films thicker than 1 /spl mu/m. A gas cluster ion beam etching and smoothing process partially removed the dead top layer and smoothed the film surface. In a 0.9-/spl mu/m-thick YBCO film, removal of a 0.22-/spl mu/m-thick dead layer yielded a 35% increase in J/sub c/ (up to 2.8 MA/cm/sup 2/) and a 25% decrease in film roughness. In a 1.3-/spl mu/m-thick YBCO film, removal of a 0.45-/spl mu/m-thick dead layer yielded an 85% increase in J/sub c/ (up to 1.1 MA/cm/sup 2/) and a 49% decrease in surface roughness. This study suggests that eliminating the dead top layer and smoothing the film surface might be key processing steps in the production of thick YBCO films with high J/sub c/.


Interim results are presented from a longitudinal study in which optical imaging and spectroscopy are used to monitor progression of oral premalignant lesions. A total of 447 sites in 120 patients were tracked over time.


In recent years, online education service platform has swept the world due to its high quality, openness and variety of education resource, and user registered in online platform has increased dramatically. However, the traditional centralized information storage method based on the third-party may cause problems such as the loss and disclosure of the transaction subject identity data, seriously threatening the legitimate rights and interests of users. Therefore, based on education service theory, this paper applies blockchain technology to identity authentication to design and implement a blockchain-based digital education transaction subject identity authentication system. The system proposed in this study can store identity information in ciphertext form and is jointly verified and maintained by the entire network node, thus it can guarantee the security and reliability of identity data in the digital identity authentication.


F OR THE GREATER PART of the Soviet regime's diplomatic career, the idea of entering into formal engagements vis-a-vis "bourgeois" states which called for the mutual procurement of extradition services seemed outlandish. Even as late as 1987, a Soviet university textbook on international law cautioned that: "The practice of rendition of criminals encountered and encounters difficulties in those cases where states of different social types face each other, for the very concept of crime changes depending on which historically social type the given state fits. That is why cooperation between states in the sphere of struggle against criminality is possible only on those questions and in that scope which the states themselves consider suitable as far as they are concerned." By then, however, the Soviet Union had already broken out of the old shell of quarantining such bilateral operations strictly to the premises of the so-called socialist community and had broadened the market to include states that did not belong to the inner sanctum. Thus, the treaty on legal assistance with Iraq, signed on June 22, 1973, contained a comprehensive package of reciprocal commitments governing inter-state rendition procedures. The precedent set the tone for a string of


Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of using video as an educational tool in the
informed consent process for retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) on patient understanding, satisfaction,
and preferences compared to traditional written consent forms.
Material and Methods: A total of 114 patients scheduled for RIRS participated in this study. After reading
informed consent, participants completed a questionnaire assessing their baseline knowledge about the
RIRS procedure. They then watched an educational video about the procedure and completed a post-video
questionnaire to assess changes in knowledge and preferences between written and video-based informed
consent.
Results: The results demonstrated that incorporating a video into the informed consent process led to
significant improvements in patients' knowledge about the RIRS procedure (p<0.001). A majority of
participants (94.5%) found the video presentation to be more helpful than the written consent form and
preferred it over the traditional method. Additionally, the use of video was associated with increased
confidence in making informed decisions about the procedure. The majority of participants found the
video to be easily accessible and comprehensible, which contributed to their overall satisfaction.
Conclusion: Video-enhanced informed consent process can be a valuable addition to the standard
informed consent process in clinical practice. By providing easily accessible and comprehensible information,
healthcare providers can better meet patients' needs and improve the overall quality of care. This approach
may lead to better patient outcomes, increased trust in healthcare providers, and a more patient-centered
approach to medical care.


Engineering degree acquisition is a complex system that lacks tools for efficient management and goal optimization. A reliable model of engineering degree acquisition will help administrators to increase throughput and resource utilization. It will also aid engineering students in better managing their educational investment. A method is needed to quantitatively assess the factors that predict time to graduation for engineering students; explore the potential positive effects of intervention to affect critical factors; and examine the costs vs. benefits of increasing engineering student throughput rates. Changes in student course-taking patterns and degree requirements have lengthened the time to graduation for typical engineering students. This reduces the number of students educated in a four year time period and consumes additional resources in course enrollments, faculty time, and support staff labor. With tuition costs rising faster than inflation, the trends have undesirable results for both universities and students. This paper reviews the relevant literature in order to begin developing a study design to model student progression through engineering degree acquisition as a complex system. Elements are expected to include transition probabilities, identifying critical factors, predicting time to graduation, estimating costs and benefits of potential interventions, and projected throughput of engineers earning bachelors' degrees. The main goal of the research is to achieve an actionable, applicable, and accurate decision modeling method for a student's progress to an engineering degree and a university's resulting throughput rate to provide decision-making tools for both students and administrators. The longer term goal is increasing STEM persistence and throughput.


The goal of this bachelor thesis is create web content management system for the Programmable Logic Controllers course. It describes the principle of content management systems, including basic properties of several best-known systems. The work describes also used technologies and programs.


At Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC) all fissionable material handling must meet DOE requirements for safety. This necessitates a program of regular audits by the Safety group to verify compliance with criticality safety limits and controls and to alert facility management to observed discrepancies and potential problems. Audits of fissionable material facilities by Safety are required at least once every 6 months, but in practice are conducted more frequently. This paper summarizes findings from over 400 criticality safety audits conducted by Safety between July 1970 and July 1981 in seven fissionable material facilities to show their types and frequencies of occurrence. All limit violations occurring during this period are summarized, including those found by the operating group. 1 ref., 1 tab.


The electronic, structural, mechanical and superconducting properties of PtH and IrH are investigated using first principles calculation based on density functional theory with generalized gradient approximation. The calculated lattice constants at normal pressure are in good agreement with experimental and other theoretical results. Among the five crystallographic proposed structures investigated, the cubic phase is found to be more stable than the hexagonal ones. A new high pressure CsCl phase is predicted for Iridium hydride. The maximum superconducting transition temperature achieved in Platinum hydride and Iridium hydride are 23.8K and 10K respectively. The calculated elastic constants indicate that both the hydrides are mechanically stable at ambient pressure. PACS: 61.50.Ks, 31.15.A-, 62.20.-x, 74.20.pq


The A magnetic nanoparticles showing a heating capability with enhanced when applied to thermotherapy, describing such nanoparticles as several strategies to complex. Usage of conjugated nanoparticles are also provided. .BACKGROUND


Some of the fundamental theoretical concepts for molecules in homogeneous strong magnetic fields are discussed. First, we perform the pseudoseparation of the center of mass motion for neutral as well as charged systems. The resulting Hamiltonian allows us to investigate the problem of the Born–Oppenheimer adiabatic separation of electronic and nuclear motion in the presence of a magnetic field. In particular, we study the most important differences to the field-free case. Finally we discuss the symmetry groups for molecules in a magnetic field and investigate the possibilities and effects of the interaction of molecular electronic states through nuclear motion. Even for diatomic molecules severely enhanced nonadiabatic effects may occur in a magnetic field.


Sixty-eight (68) crossbred steers were evaluated using two real-time, B-mode ultrasound units to estimate final carcass attributes. The cattle were ultrasounded at the West Texas A&M research feedlot (Canyon, Texas) and carcass data was collected at the West Texas A&M Meats Laboratory (Canyon, Texas) or Tyson Fresh Meats (Amarillo, Texas). Objectives of the study were 1) to compare ultrasound live animal data to carcass attributes at harvest 2) to evaluate the performance differences between the ALOKA 500 (ALK) and the EVO ultrasound units All ultrasound images were captured by the same Ultrasound Guidelines Council (UGC) certified technician with images being processed at the UltraInsights Laboratory (Pierce, Colorado). The correlations between 12th rib fat thickness of the carcass (FTC) and ultrasound (FTU) were 0.84 for the ALK and 0.85 for the EVO, with no differences being found between the two units (P = 0.15). Correlations between the 12-13th rib carcass ribeye area (REAC) and ultrasound ribeye area (REAU) were 0.69 for the ALK and 0.66 for the EVO. There was no difference in REAU size between the two units. Carcass marbling score (MS) and ultrasound intramuscular fat (IMFU) correlations were 0.78 for the ALK and 0.84 for the EVO. The IMF data were found to be different between the two units, with the EVO measuring a mean IMFU value of 6.03 and the ALK a value of 5.26 with the change of 0.77 being different (P < 0.01). It is concluded that both ultrasound units performed favorably when predicting FTC and marbling score but were not highly correlated for REAU. It was found that the predictions between the two units on FT and REA were the same, though the EVO was higher on both. The IMFU values between the ALK and EVO were different, with the EVO again predicting higher values.


Studies on the effect of wall textures and crystallographic grain orientations on graphene coatings and water droplets wettability are conducted. To date, there is almost no data on the effect of surface textures and high‐temperature annealing on the wettability of the graphene‐coated copper. It is generally accepted that the water contact angle on the graphene‐coated copper with one graphene layer is ≈85°–86°. However, changing the annealing duration, and using different surface textures, it is possible to change the graphene wettability over a wide range of static droplet contact angles from 81° to 96°, which allows providing both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties. With the growth of annealing duration, the average grain size increases from 0.1–1 to 10 mm and more. By changing the annealing duration and the surface roughness, it is possible to realize the grains orientation (001) and (111), as well as the simultaneous presence of different grains orientations. Molecular dynamic modeling of the influence of orientation and grain size on the wettability of the graphene coating is performed. The calculation results correspond to the experimental data on contact angles. The key factors affecting the wettability of graphene are presented and analyzed.


The three-fold mission of Technology Transfer is: (1) integration of advanced commercial-sector technologies into Department of Defense (DoD) systems, particularly from non-traditional defense contractors; (2) spin-off of DoD-developed technologies to industry to make these technologies available for military acquisition; and (3) establishment of collaborative Research and Development (R&D) projects with the private sector for cost-sharing of new dual-use technology development.


The article outlines the relevance of using the principle of telescopy in the process of creation screw conveyors, which nowadays are folded to obtain significant lengths, which makes their designs expensive and structurally unreasonably complicated. It has been shown an experimental equipment, which provides measurement results of the research process in a wide range with high accuracy in an automated control mode with the necessary data capture. Based on the constructed mathematical model, the dependences of the angular perturbation velocity on the physicomechanical and geometric parameters of the «telescopic screw — bulk medium» system have been obtained. Because of analytical relations describing the laws of variation of characteristic parameters for its oscillation resonance case have been received. It has been proved that for resonant oscillations, when there are significant angular velocities of rotation, the natural frequency of the bending oscillations is smaller and at the same time the amplitude of the transition through the resonance is smaller. The results of the amplitude of the transverse oscillations of the system for different values of the angular velocity of rotation in time during the transition through the internal resonance, which largely depends on the physicomechanical and geometric characteristics of the motion of the medium, have been presented.


The Ground Wide Angle Camera Network (GWAC-N) is a network of robotic multi-aperture, multiple field-of-view (FoV) optical telescopes. The main contingent of GWAC-N instruments are provided by the Ground Wide Angle Cameras Array (GWAC-A), and additional, narrower FoV telescopes are utilized to provide fast multi-band follow-up capabilities. The primary scientific goal of the GWAC-N is to search for optical counterparts of gamma-ray bursts that will be detected by the Space Variable Object Monitor (SVOM) satellite. The GWAC-N performs many additional observing tasks including follow-up of Target of Opportunities (ToO) targets and the detection (and monitoring) of variable objects and optical transients. To handle these use cases (and to allow for extensibility), we have designed ten observation modes and 175 observation strategies, including a joint strategy with multiple GWAC-N telescopes for the follow-up of gravitational wave (GW) events. To perform these observations, we develop an Automatic Observation Management (AOM) system capable of performing object management, dynamic scheduling, automatic broadcasting across the network, and image handling. The AOM system combines the individual telescopes which comprise the GWAC-N into a network and smoothly organizes all associated operations, completely meeting the requirements dictated by GWAC-N. With its modular design, the AOM is scientifically and technically viable for other general-purpose telescope networks. As the GWAC-N extends and evolves, the AOM will greatly enhance its discovery potential. In this first paper of a series, we present the scientific goals of the GWAC-N and detail the hardware, software, and workflow developed to achieve these goals. The structure, technical design, implementation, and performance of the AOM system are also described in detail. We conclude with a summary of the current status of the GWAC-N and our near-future development plan.


The peculiarities of atom-field entanglement in the model of two nonidentical atoms interacting with one-mode coherent electromagnetic field in lossless cavity via degenerate two-photon Raman transitions have been investigated. The times of atoms and field states disentanglement have been calculated on the basis of time-dependent wave function behavior and the linear atomic entropy concept.


e19080 Background: The treatment of stage IV non-small cell lung cancer patients is a problem for thoracic surgeons and the optimal treatment is discussed controversially. ERCC1, class III β-tubuli...


Unfamiliar regional accents disrupt spoken word recognition by L2 and L1 learners and L1 adults, and confuse ASR and smart systems. Little is known, however, about which aspects of non-native accents hinder word recognition, or what processes are involved. In a series of four eye-tracking experiments, we used a modified version of the Visual World paradigm to assess how accent differences influence the time course of word recognition. We selected our accent differences to fall into two broad categories. Category Shifting (CS) accent differences describe those that are likely to be perceived as different phonological categories across accents, such as the initial sound in Cockney-accented thieves, which is often heard by Australian listeners as [f]. Category Goodness (CG) accent differences describe differences that are likely to be perceived as deviant pronunciations of the same phonological categories. For example, initial /t/, as in tiny, has a fricative-like release in Cockney. It is unlikely to be perceived as anything but /t/ to Australian listeners but may be recognized as a deviant or marked pronunciation. Two groups of listeners, those with Australian English as their L1 and those with Mandarin Chinese as L1 (L2 learners of Australian English), heard words spoken in Australian English (AusE), a familiar accent, and two unfamiliar accents, Cockney-accented English (CknE) and Jamaican Mesolect-accented English (JaME). These unfamiliar accents were chosen because they include both CS and CG differences. The accent differences between JaME and AusE are primarily in the vowel system. The differences between CknE and AusE are primarily in the consonant system. While listening to words over a loudspeaker, listeners selected from among four printed choice words on the computer monitor: the target word, competitors that differ at the start of the word (onset competitors), competitors that differ at the end of word (offset competitors), an unrelated distracter, and a "not there" option located in the centre of the screen. We analysed fixation proportions to onset and offset competitors.


Online product ratings usually provide descriptive reviews and also reviews in the form of ratings. Likewise, what was done at the Lazada online store. Descriptive review can provide a clear view compared to a rating review to other potential buyers. However, in reality there is a mismatch between the description review and the rating given. This creates a lack of information for sellers as well as potential buyers. Automatic classification of buyer descriptive reviews is proposed in this study so that there is a match between descriptive reviews and rating reviews. This automatic classification descriptive review uses the Naive Bayes algorithm with n-gram feature extraction and TF-IDF word weighting. The results of this study obtained the best accuracy of 94.06%, a recall of 91.73% and precision of 90.71% in Bigram feature extraction. With this accuracy value it can be used as a reference or model for classifying product description reviews, so that the feedback process between sellers and buyers can run well.


Abstract Background Preoperative carbohydrate (CHO) loading improves patient outcomes but is not extensively studied in individuals with diabetes mellitus (DM), resulting in limited professional recommendations. This study examined postprandial glycemic responses and gastric emptying rates following consumption of a CHO drink in adults with and without DM. Methods A single‐arm, nonrandomized pilot trial was conducted in adults without DM (non‐DM) (47.5 ± 2.5 years), with pre‐DM (55.8 ± 3.0 years), and with type 2 DM (56.2 ± 2.5 years). Following an overnight fast, participants consumed a 50 g CHO drink followed by 1.5 g liquid paracetamol. Venous blood samples were collected at baseline (ie, t = 0 min) and 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, and 240 min for plasma glucose and serum insulin and paracetamol concentrations to assess gastric emptying. Results Participants with DM were older and had a higher body mass index than non‐DM participants (31.2 ± 0.9 vs 28.2 ± 0.9). Fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c levels differed significantly across groups (non‐DM: 95.4 ± 3.6 mg/dl and 5.2% ± 0.1%; pre‐DM: 111.6 ± 3.6 mg/dl and 5.8% ± 0.1%; DM: 167.4 ± 3.6 mg/dl and 7.2% ± 0.1%). Compared with the non‐DM group, DM had increased glucose responses at 30–180 min. Glucose returned to baseline at 150 min in the non‐DM and pre‐DM groups compared with 210 min in the DM group. Paracetamol concentrations were not significantly different between the non‐DM and DM groups. Conclusion Blood glucose returned to baseline within ~2.5 h in non‐DM and pre‐DM groups and ~3.5 h in participants with DM following ingestion of a CHO drink. No consistent differences in gastric emptying rates were observed between participants with and without DM.


Democracy in ancient Greek Athens has the modernity significance,which still having the profound influence to the world political system until now.Currently,with the fast development of Economy in china,the political reform is imminent.In order to advance our country's democratic political construction,it is very necessary to review and model the advanced results of democracy in ancient Greek Athens.


Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of therapeutic taping (no tape, placebo, Kinesiotape, Leukotape) on lower extremity electromyographic (EMG) activity during three functional tasks (sit to stand, squat, vertical jump). Design: One group, repeated measures design. Subjects: Ten normal and healthy university students (4 females, 6 males; mean age 24 years ± 7.1; height 170 cm ± 10.8; and body mass 69 kg ± 14.4). Methods: Subjects completed four testing sessions with different tape (no tape, placebo, a mechanical correction type of technique with Kinesiotape and Leukotape). Three trials of a sit to stand, squat, and vertical jumping task were completed. Four Delsys dipole EMG instruments with two input channels each were used to measure mean surface EMG activity for the erectorspinae, gluteus medius, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis obliques, semitendinosus, lateral gastrocnemius, tibialis anterior, and peroneus longus muscles. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and repeated measures ANOVAs. The rejection criteria were set at an alpha level p < .05. Results: Subjects' EMG muscle activity demonstrated a significant interaction effect between the type of tape and muscle type (F(21, 2848)=2.728, p=.0005, η 2 =.02) with significant differences in muscle type EMG activity for placebo and Leukotape. A statistically significant interaction effect was also evident between the functional task and muscle type (F(14, 2856)=2.956, p=.0005, η 2 =.014). The highest activation levels were evident for the vastus medialis obliques and tibialis anterior muscles for all functional tasks. A statistically significant interaction effect was also found between the type of tape and functional task (F(6,2868)=2.108, p=.049, η 2 =.004) with a higher effect on muscle type EMG activity levels when using placebo tape during the vertical jumping task. Conclusions: Different patellar taping techniques do not produce consistent clinical effects via an alteration in muscle EMG activity. Placebo taping had the greatest effect on EMG activity for most muscles; the vastus medialis obliques and tibialis anterior had the greatest increase in EMG activity with the application of all types of tape. Other taping techniques have been described to inhibit or facilitate lower quadrant muscle activity and, as a result, future research in a symptomatic population comparing facilitatory to inhibitory taping techniques may produce further information on the exact clinical effects on EMG activity as compared to a mechanical correction technique.


REMSEN, C. C. (Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.), AND D. G. LUNDGREN. MUltiple septation in variants of Bacillus cereus. J. Bacteriol. 90:1426-1431. 1965.-Abnormal nonsporulating cells observed in cultures containing predominantly endospores were examined in an electron microscope. One or more septa were seen which consisted of cell-wall material between two unit membranes. Numerous membrane swirls were often seen associated with the septa. Some of the reported structural features of the variant cells were similar to those published for Bacillus cereus var. alesti and B. subtilis; however, the majority of the cells observed in this work were multiseptated. While studying the fine structure of Bacillus cereus, Pfister and Lundgren (1964) observed both membrane and cell-wall invaginations distinct from normal transverse septum and forespore formation. Such structures were generally absent from cells forming normal spores, and, in the culture system used, represented a few per cent of the cell population. Abnormal cells contained as many as eight invaginations at either pole. A preliminary report of such septa formation has but most abnormal cells showed multiple septation. MATERIALS AND METHODS B. cereus ATCC 4342 was examined after growth at 37 C in either a glucose-glutamate-glycinesalts medium or in the same medium containing less glucose (1 g per liter); the culture apparatus and conditions were as described by Cooney and Lundgren (1962). Cell samples were removed at various time intervals, rapidly frozen in a Dry


The fifth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 5) communicates that by 2030 all countries, Kenya included, need to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Despite the efforts and the progress in the promotion of women education in Kenya, the gap between boys and girls is still too large in education. In Kenya out of every 100 girls, 76 complete their primary education as compared to 87 boys. This study sought to assess education opportunities effect on subjective well-being among women employees in the County Government of Kakamega, Kenya. The study adopted descriptive survey design, which guaranteed ease in understanding the insight about the problem under study. Primary data from a sample of women employees and members of the County Assembly of Kakamega making a total of 1,078 formed the target population. A sample size of 291 respondents was used to represent the target population. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. The questionnaire was pilot tested on 5% of the sample size to ensure that it was manageable, relevant and effective. The collected data was analyzed using inferential as well as descriptive statistics. The study applied chi-square technique to assess education opportunities effect on subjective wellbeing among women employees in the County Government of Kakamega. The study findings showed a significant relationship between education opportunities effect on subjective wellbeing.It was thus recommended that the County Government of Kakamega needs to enhance education opportunities for women employees so as to enhance subjective well-being among its


.................................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... xi LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Motivation ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Solution Chemistry of Americium and Curium .................................................................... 5 1.2.1 Americium ...................................................................................................................... 5 1.2.2 Curium ............................................................................................................................ 6 1.3 Separation of Americium from Curium ................................................................................ 6 1.3.1 Separation of Trivalent Americium from Curium .......................................................... 6 1.3.2 Separation of Americium in High Oxidation States from Curium ................................. 7 1.4 Project Goals ....................................................................................................................... 10 1.5 Dissertation Overview ......................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 2: MATERIALS, METHODS, AND INSTRUMENTATION ................................. 12 2.1 Materials .............................................................................................................................. 12 2.1.1 Sodium Bismuthate ....................................................................................................... 12 2.1.2 DGA Resin .................................................................................................................... 12 2.1.3 UTEVA Resin ............................................................................................................... 13 2.2 Methods ............................................................................................................................... 14 2.2.1 Solvent Extraction ........................................................................................................ 14 2.2.2 Ion Exchange Chromatography .................................................................................... 14


From their origins in the twelfth century to their support for and involvement in the Reformation in the sixteenth, the Waldensian heretics professed nonviolence as one of their beliefs. Later Protestant and Catholic polemicists equated the profession of nonviolence with a policy and bestowed upon the sect a reputation as one of the precursors of religious pacifism. More recent scholars have noted that the heretics at least occasionally employed violence. I will argue that lay Waldensian believers, called credentes, reacted violently to persecution and learned to employ aggression in pursuit of political goals. In the later Middle Ages, at least, Waldensians resorted to violence on enough occasions and in enough different locations to justify dropping the idea that they were a nonviolent group. Their use of violence did become more sophisticated—that is, more closely connected to political goals—during the fifteenth century as access to representatives of the state increased.


In this paper I discuss the shortcomings of the relativist views in epistemology and in moral philosophy, as well as their inability to yield rational solutions to conflicts like the one Colombian society has suffered during the last fifty years. Some reasons to favor the non-violent solution of conflicts are given by means of permanent negotiation and rational and based in arguments discussion, as it should be in a pluralist and civilized society.


The corrosion resistance of AF1410 steel in the neutral salt spray environment was studied using the methods of weight loss and XRD.After different precorrosion time in the neutral salt spray,the fatigue properties of the specimens were tested,and the influences of the different precorrosion time on the fatigue life of the material were investigated.The results showed that serious all-around corrosion happened on the AF1410 steel,and the corrosion products are mainly FeO(OH) and Fe3O.The corrosion weight loss curve was plotted,and the fatigue fracture morphology was observed.It was shown that with the increasing of the corrosion time,the degree of the corrosion damage increased and more fatigue crack initiations were apt to take shape,which led to the final fatigue rupture.Finally,the fatigue life properties of AF1410 steel after neutral salt spray corrosion were obtained and the influence coefficient C(t) of the pre-corrosion on the fatigue life was plotted.


The older literature contains many reports on the deleterious effects of chronic nicotine poisoning, describing retardation of g r o ~ t h , l ~ tolerance development,6-12 interference with reproduction,2,"J4 enlargement or injury of the adrenals,2J5-20 atrophy of the gonads,2J7,21 changes in other endocrine organ^,^^^^^ and production of arterial d i s e a ~ e . ~ ~ ~ ~ Because most of the reports were based upon poorly controlled experiments or on too small a number of animals, my associates and I initiated a systematic reinvestigation of the chronic effects of nicotine, employing littermate or other closely related controls. Test animals received subconvulsive doses of nicotine dissolved in 0.9 per cent saline, and controls were injected with the same volumes of saline. Experiments extended over intervals of three months to a year. Thus was demonstrated a species difference with respect to g r o ~ t h , ~ ~ , ~ ~ a decrease in fertility of female rats but not of male rats,35 but without gross or histological evidence of organ injury, and the development of drug tolerance of the chronically poisoned animals.36


By the end of Twenty century, analytical methodologies were enabled to explore thousands of biomolecules obtained from any given organisms. Moreover, numerous rising techniques qualified our laboratories to produce enormous amounts of data at different levels by several omics' approaches with exceptional precision, resulting in development of databases and resources (Kumar et al.). However, the dilemma of obtained data remains persistently elaborating information due to the high number and volume. Besides, identification of biomolecules without a comprehensive understanding of the complexity underlying the cellular mechanisms would not deliver much information. Therefore, systems biology employs multi-omics platforms and computational approaches for data integration in different contexts (Krassowski et al.). Nevertheless, analysis of different types of biomolecules requires extraction protocols compatible with the analytical instrumentation. Therefore, to conduct multi-omics efficiency, aliquots of the same sample are required for different extraction procedures optimized for different biomolecules, thereby decreasing sample handling time and increasing throughput. Kang et al. adapted a biphasic fractionation to extract proteins, metabolites, and lipids from one single sample (3-in-1) for liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The results showed that their method has great value to multi-omics and systems biology toward understanding the cellular networks, traits and phenotypes. On the other hand, the combination of multi-omics data provide useful insight into the flow of biological information at multiple levels, thus can help to elucidate the complex mechanisms controlling the biological condition. For example, Guo et al. combined transcriptome and metabolome data obtained from clonally propagated plants at four developmental stages and three different environments to identify the spatial-temporal variation of flavonoids biosynthesis in leaves of Ginkgo. They indicated that flavonoids content varied considerably at different developmental stages and environments. Therefore, they expect that the accurate selection of planting region(s) and optimization harvesting time would substantially improve the production and management of Gingko in an industrial manner. In the frame of cell factories and selected targets, multi-omics and systems biology reflect a challenging area for the engineering of cellular metabolism and maximizing the production of valuable compounds through bioconversion. In silico experiments were shown to replace time and laborious processes to win information about the cell networks. Tafur Rangel et al. proposed that computational tools and metabolic modeling in combination with transcriptomics can accelerate the optimization of cell factories by identifying key metabolic engineering targets (genes/reactions) and not only by predicting mutants. However, It depends on the level of completeness and accuracy of the metabolic model, which could be improved by omics data. Edited and reviewed by: Kelvin Yuen Kwong Chan, Tsan Yuk Hospital, Hong Kong, SAR China


This paper presents the fabrication and simulation of multimode symmetrical and asymmetrical optical power splitters based on embedded Y-junction optical polymer waveguide. Due to its highly multimode in nature, the designs were simulated using non-sequential ray tracing technique. The waveguiding which consists of 1×1 mm cross-section region was fabricated using transparent adhesive polymer (NOA63) on an acrylic plastic substrate. Experimental work on symmetrical waveguide results in 50∶50 power splitting ratios with ±2% error. A new design of asymmetrical waveguide, which utilized the main bus-line of the input port connected direct to the tap line was simulated and demonstrates a good power splitting ratios ranging from 1% to 99%.


The prevalence of lung cancers with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in South Africa is not known. In the absence of the routine availability of laboratory assays to test for the presence of EGFR mutations, certain demographic and clinical features might be used to predict a response to treatment with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor in patients with lung cancer. These features include East-Asian ethnicity, female gender, non-smokers, and those with adenocarcinoma.


During the twentieth century Uruguay showed marked cyclical fluctuations. In particular, in the last decades Uruguay exhibited periods of significant growth which turned out not to be sustainable and ended in deep crises. In this paper we intend to help explain Uruguay's cyclical volatility by comparing its evolution with New Zealand. We find that a long cycle (Kuznets' like) accounts for Uruguay's greater volatility relative to New Zealand. We argue that the characteristics of the financial architecture interacting with structural characteristics associated with the trade sector are related with the higher cyclical volatility that Uruguay exhibits relative to New Zealand. Following Fanelli (2006), we claim that the relation between institutional factors and volatility is bi-directional. The analysis suggests that there is a vicious circle between volatility and the weaknesses of the financial sector in Uruguay which does not appear to be present in New Zealand.


We report on the design and fabrication of [Formula: see text]-Ga2O3 self-aligned lateral MOSFETs by utilizing a heavily doped [Formula: see text]-Ga2O3 cap layer. The fabrication of the self-aligned device used a combination of in situ Ga etching for damage free gate recess, in situ growth of Al2O3 for gate dielectric, and atomic layer deposited Al2O3 based sidewall spacers to form highly scaled (<100 nm) source–gate and gate–drain access regions. The fabricated device showed a record high DC drain current density of 560 mA/mm at a drain bias of 5 V. The DC current density was found to be limited by excessive self-heating resulting in premature current saturation in the device. Pulsed I–V measurements of the device showed a record high current density of 895 mA/mm and a high transconductance of 43 mS/mm, thanks to reduced self-heating in the device. The high current densities obtained in this work are promising for the development of high power density devices based on [Formula: see text]-Ga2O3.


Melanoma is the deadliest type of skin cancer, yet it is the most treatable kind depending on its early diagnosis. The early prognosis of melanoma is a challenging task for both clinicians and dermatologists. Due to the importance of early diagnosis and in order to assist the dermatologists, we propose an automated framework based on ensemble learning methods and dermoscopy images to differentiate melanoma from dysplastic and benign lesions. The evaluation of our framework on the recent and public dermoscopy benchmark (PH2 dataset) indicates the potential of proposed method. Our evaluation, using only global features, revealed that ensembles such as random forest perform better than single learner. Using random forest ensemble and combination of color and texture features, our framework achieved the highest sensitivity of 94% and specificity of 92%.


For positive block-matrix $M$ we write $M=\begin{pmatrix} A & X\\ {X^*} & B\end{pmatrix} \in {\mathbb{M}}_{n+m}^+$, with $A\in {\mathbb{M}}_n^+$, $B \in {\mathbb{M}}_m^+.$ The main result is first to study the consequences of a decomposition lemma due to C.~Bourrin and second to extend the class of these P.S.D. matrices $M$ written by blocks of same size that satisfies the inequality: $\|M\|\le \|A+B\|$ for all symmetric norms and to give examples whenever it is necessary.


Standard high performance clusters (HPC) are being extensively used for solving computationally intensive problems in various scientific fields, one of which is the field of reservoir simulation. In our work, we expand the conventional HPC systems to run larger reservoir simulations on a heterogeneous grid of HPCs. This expansion is accomplished by developing a unique domain decomposition technique to achieve higher load balancing and computational efficiency on the grid. The decomposer works as an adaptive detector of the available hardware resources on the grid, learns about the different processor speeds and adjusts its load distribution among the CPUs. As a result, our grid implementation for reservoir simulation outperforms the conventional methods of domain decomposition, which are designed to run on homogenous set of processors in a cluster.


The following papers presented at the conference discussed a range of topics likely to be of interest to many sectors of the road transport industry: Technical Developments in the Heavy Goods Vehicle Range (Montgomerie, G, Battstone, W and Capon, P); Developing Role of Management and Support Services (Speeks, J); The Owner Driver Role in the '80s (Silbermann, J); The role of the Trades Unions in the '80s (Buckle, D); EEC Transport Legislation (Munro, K); Increasing Productivity and Efficiency (Thompson, P). (TRRL)


State explosion is the curse of concurrency. Thread-modular verification of multithreaded programs is a promising method that circumvents the state explosion. The method trades its polynomial complexity for a loss of precision that limits the verification power of the method. In this paper we show why this limit can be removed and how. Our work is based on the fact that thread-modular verification is abstract interpretation with Cartesian abstraction. We show that one can parameterize the abstraction and thus adapt the degree of precision to the specific verification problem. The parameterized thread-modular verification is still polynomial in the number of threads. We formalize our approach in the abstract interpretation framework, giving a sufficient condition under which a polynomial-time abstraction can be parameterized without loss of polynomial-time complexity.


The prevailing model of teaching business administration at Catholic universities is an extension of standard curricula complemented by business ethics or Catholic social thought. This model does not sufficiently differentiate Catholic institutions; it does not live up to the expectations of the Church; and it underplays the potential of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition to elucidate the sphere of business. Attempting to integrate business administration into the "liberal arts" is a misguided approach, for barring an implementation of the historical liberal arts curriculum, there is no non-arbitrary way of defining what the term denotes. From an Aristotelian perspective as carried on in the Thomistic tradition, reality is continuous, and all social and behavioral sciences are unified in their material object while studying persons under different formal aspects. Business is a region of human behavior, and its study naturally coheres with other disciplines. The practice of business is ontologically integrated into a reality that unifies man, his actions, and their results, and the study of business is integrated into the academic edifice through the use of the Catholic style of thought.


This paper gives an overview of the organizational positioning of forensic laboratories in the countries of Europe with a particular emphasis on the countries of the Western Balkans. This is because the region of the Western Balkans is relatively small in size and has a large number of countries, almost in all of which forensic laboratories are organized. As you can see from the paper, most forensic laboratories are organized in the interior ministries, that is in the police. Since this way of organizing the fulfilment of tasks on proving evidence in solving crimes causes procedural harassment, the very conclusion of the work is to give a proposal for their permission, which refers to the accreditation of forensic laboratories.


This paper presents the realization of a smart home automation using Siemens PLCs. The smart home interface is realized using the HMI Weintek eMT3070a touchscreen, which shows the window for controlling and monitoring the lighting, room temperature, irrigation systems, swimming pool, etc. By using PLCs, the smart home can be controlled via Ethernet and it can be programmed to the needs of tenants.


The transient behavior of a permanent magnet synchronous motor is analyzed, and a method is proposed to improve its starting performance. Three banks of capacitors are connected in series between the three-phase source and the motor. A stability analysis is performed to demonstrate that a range of capacitance exists that is useful for improving the motor dynamics. Motor line starting is analyzed using the calculated value of capacitance, and several simulation and experimental runs are discussed.<<ETX>>


Introduction: The aim of this study was to retrospectively analyze predictive factors for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates in patients with stage I, II, or III colorectal cancer who underwent surgical treatment.
Material and methods: Files and electronic data of 120 patients with stage I, II, or III colorectal cancer who underwent surgery between 2008 and 2012 in the Department of General Surgery of Izmir Bozyaka Research and Training Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. The effects of several prognostic factors for DFS and OS were investigated.
Results:  There were 45 (37.5%) female and 75 (62.5%) male patients; mean age was 65.51 ±11.29 years. In univariate analysis, length of DFS was found to be associated with presence of perforation, lymphovascular invasion, preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) value and positive surgical margin. Presence of comorbidities, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, histological grade of tumor, presence of lymphovascular invasion, preoperative CEA value, preoperative albumin value, number of metastatic lymph nodes and positive surgical margin were found to be independent prognostic factors for DFS. Cox regression analysis indicated radial surgical margin and presence of perforation had statistical significance for DFS (p value of 0.008 and 0.025, respectively).
Conclusions: There are numerous prognostic parameters affecting postoperative survival in colorectal cancers. Prospective studies and studies on a larger scale are necessary in order to more accurately designate clinical prognostic factors that have an effect on survival time and to identify new biological and molecular markers.


The value of a concept lies in large part in its ability to travel and explain dynamics across settings. Authoritarian regimes other than China have contained informal religious organizations. This chapter explains why, and to some extent how, the Mukhabarat has contained jihadi Salafists in post-Zarqawi Jordan, starting in 2006. Similarly, it accounts for why and how President Sadat contained the Muslim Brotherhood in 1970s Egypt, following the earlier regime's attempt to eradicate the organization. As in China, state actors in these two cases contained informal religious groups, as their interests did not conflict with authoritarian regime resilience and the networks they were part of were incohesive.


We read with great interest the letter from Dr. José M. Palacios-Jaraquemada and colleagues concerning ischemic complications following uterine artery embolization (UAE) for postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) using absorbable material (1). First of all, we would like to thank them for their very pertinent comments on cervico-vaginal anastomoses and the need for complete angiographic mapping of the vascular bed before UAE. It must be pointed out, however, that it is sometimes difficult to perform angiography and interpret the images especially because of vasospasm induced by the hemodynamic status of the patient and the possible concomitant use of sulprostone or related prostaglandin medications. We totally agree that the absence of any uteroovarian anastomoses on the initial angiography does not necessarily constitute a risk factor for necrosis of the uterine adnexa. We would, however, like to underline the risk of uterine necrosis in such cases. Moreover, when utero-ovarian anastomoses are revealed by initial angiography, it is possible to partially reduce blood flow through these anastomoses proximally by using microcoils. This strategy would preclude the risk of overly distal embolization and ovarian necrosis, i.e. protective proximal occlusion. The essence of the problem is the relation between the size of the particles and the degree of selectivity in the site of embolization. The smaller the particles (pumping technique), the more distal the embolization, and the more effective the control of bleeding; the risk of ischemia, however, is greater. Conversely, with larger particles (cutting technique) and more proximal embolization, the lower the risk of ischemia will be; however, in this case the risk of recurrent bleeding will also be higher. Without questioning the obvious interest in UAE, we feel it is necessary to insist on the fact that it should only be used once medical treatment, transfusion of packed red cells and platelets has failed (2), because it is extremely difficult to identify with any certainty the anatomical predictors for the risk of uterine necrosis given the small number of complications reported in the literature. We propose, moreover, that national registries should be set up to record the incidence and nature of complications following UAE in the management of PPH.


CONFLICTING impressions confront one as the church-related colleges are surveyed. On the one hand is the almost unlimited opportunity for a thorough job of religious education; on the other is the job which is being done, which in many cases is inadequate. Opportunities which no state universities have and only a few private institutions present are being prostituted by many church-related colleges, either because they do not recognize the diverse ways open for the presentation of religion or else the trained leadership which can take the necessary responsibility is not available. There are three general areas with which this article will be concerned: (I) administrative procedures for the establishment of religion on the campus; (2) environmental factors which are conducive to religion on the campus; (3) post-war plans of denominational colleges. Before going into greater detail in these matters a word will be said