Electroplating Industries are deploying various waste treatment methods, for reducing the waste discharge to the environment as well as for reuse of waste metals and oxides. Use of different methods of waste treatment and reducing the waste discharge, requires due consideration of various abilities – performance, reliability, environment ability, stability, maintainability, quality, etc. called X-abilities – in varying degree of importance depending on standards/ norms required by an organization/state/country. To facilitate the evaluation (or design evaluation) of an effluent treatment system which simultaneously accounts for all X-abilities, a concurrent design evaluation methodology using graph theoretic and multiple attributes decision making (MADM) approach is proposed. A case study of various chromium plating is presented to illustrate the applicability of proposed methodology.


Pole‐mounted transformers are especially vulnerable to lightning damage. The progress of the information society imposes increasingly stringent requirements for the reliability of electric power supply, and this in turn necessitates a reduction in lightning damage to pole‐mounted transformers. Lightning protective devices (surge arresters) are now being installed around the primary bushing of the transformers, which has decreased the number of disconnections around the primary bushing due to lightning. But surge arresters installed on the primary side of the transformer cannot protect it against backflow lightning entering the secondary side of the transformer. The characteristic of transformer damage by backflow lightning is that the electromagnetic force produced by the current flowing into the secondary side deforms the transformer windings. This paper elucidates the mechanism of transformer damage by lightning flowing into the secondary side by comparing actual lightning damage cases with the results of verification tests using a short‐circuit generator. Effective countermeasures against transformer damage by backflow lightning are examined by EMTP calculations, which indicate that neutral grounding on the low‐voltage distribution line is the most effective way of decreasing the current flowing into the transformer. The lower the grounding resistance, the less current flows into the transformer. In addition, decreasing the voltage on the secondary side is important in order to protect the secondary‐side bushing. The calculation results indicate that surge arresters installed around the secondary side of the transformer are effective in decreasing the voltage on the secondary side. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 171(2): 1–11, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience. wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20921


This essay focuses on the Caribbean cultural practices used by queer diasporic people to make space in the Toronto Queer Pride Parade. It locates the specific ways Trinidad Carnival traditions of resistance and vernacular are subverted and rearranged by Pelau MasQUEERade, a self‐identified Caribbean queer diasporic group comprised of Black queer and queer people of color. The author draws on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with Pelau MasQUEERade to illustrate how they create Caribbean queer diasporic space using a queer jouvay practice that consists of putting together different ingredients and components to queer and transform Trinidad Carnival for Pride. Pelau MasQUEERade enables new meanings and affiliations to be made by reaching out to Trinidad Carnival as part of its way of making Caribbean queer diasporic space in Canada.


Abstract— In this paper, the design of a lenticular‐based 2‐D/3‐D display for mobile applications is described. This display combines look‐around capability with good 3‐D resolution. In order to allow high‐resolution datagraphic applications, a concept based on actively switched lenses has been developed. A very noticeable problem for such displays is the occurrence of dark bands. Despite slanting the lenticular and defocusing the lens, banding becomes unacceptable when the display is viewed from an angle. As a solution, fractional viewing systems to reduce the banding intensity by almost two orders of magnitude is introduced. The resulting 3‐D display can be viewed from any horizontal direction without banding.


A novel single-phase five-level rectifier with coupled inductor has been proposed. Detailed analysis of this new circuit structure and working principle has been made. Modulation strategy and control strategy of this circuit topology have been given. This new topology has unity power factor operation, low input current total harmonic distortion, stable output DC bus voltage, and no voltage balancing problem. The simulation and experimental results show that this new topology has better performance, less IGBT devices, a set of secondary windings, simple control strategy, which is suitable for applications in high-power rectifier.


This article is devoted to description of two cognitive structures (the frame and the matrix) which organize the knowledge of precedent situations represented in English scholar economic texts.


This study investigated the influence of spatial density on 3-and 4-year-old children's social behavior during freeplay periods. Four target children and six peers were observed in both small freeplay areas with 19.3 square feet per child and large freeplay areas with 58 square feet per child. A partial interval observation system was used to assess the children's social responding. An alternating treatments design was employed to evaluate the effects of the two different freeplay conditions. Group data analyses showed that the restricted freeplay setting resulted in a greater percentage of intervals with child-child socially directed behavior. Individual analyses indicated that three of the four target children had small but consistent patterns of increased social responding in the small freeplay condition. Based on the results of this study, spatial density is conceptualized as a setting factor for the social behavior of three of the children. Language: en


The Kuntau Martial Arts Center in Barikin Village is a facility that accommodates the local community in learning, developing and preserving the local Banjar martial arts. The architectural problem raised in this report is how the design of the banjar's typical kuntau martial arts center can accommodate training activities and kuntau performances. The concept proposed for the design is the concept of a Cultural Education Recreation with a Vernakular-based Regional Architecture approach. This Concept raises the character of kuntau culture and banjar culture into the form of kuntau martial arts center building


Urban farming programs are considered capable of overcoming problems in the city such as food availability. Urban farming activities can be successful if people participate. This study aims to analyze the relationship of individual characteristics with participation level in urban agriculture program, analyzing climate communication relationship of KWT Dahlia Indah and KWT Nusa Indah Lestari with participation level, and to analyze the relationship of participation level in the success of urban farming program in KWT Dahlia Indah and KWT Nusa Indah Lestari. The method used in this study is a quantitative method with a questionnaire instrument and supported by qualitative data with in-depth interviews of informants and respondents using question guides. The results of this study indicate that individual characteristics are not related to the level of participation. The existing communication climate in KWT is supportive and related to the level of participation. While the level of participation has a significant relationship with the success rate of urban farming program.


ABSTRA CT The aim of this research is to see the effect of science prosess skill's implementation based on curiculum of 2013 in the experiment class and the conventional technique in the controll class toward the students biology study result. The type of the research is experiment, and the research desigh model is randomized control group post-test only desigh. The population in this research is all students in the sciens class in S MP Negeri 1 Bayang which cinsists of 5 classes registered in year 2013/2014. The sample was defined by using purposive sampling method ,Random sampling method is used to define the experiment class and control class. The result of the research show that the average score in the experiment class is 77,93 and the average score in the control class is 67,67 . In the statistical test, it was found that count >t table, so teh hypothesis is accepted. The study result of the affective aspect in the experiment class is higher ( 79,26 ) then the control class(7 5,85 ). The average score of the psycomotor aspect in the experiment class ( 78,52 ) is higher than control class( 75,62 ).from the result of the research, it was concluded that implementation of science prosess skill has a positive effect toward the biology study result of science student in the second grade of S MP Negeri 1 Bayang . It can sugested that this science process skill can be conducted of the other lessons in teachy biology for high school students. K ey word :Demontration,Achievement


The main result is a universal pointwise test that, when presented with a set of words S on a finite or countable alphabet X that purports to be a set of memory words for a stationary process, will eventually almost surely return the value YES precisely when all positive probability words in S are memory words. For example, if S consists of all of the single letters in X, then the test will eventually say yes if and only if the process is a Markov chain. Various further positive and negative results of this type are also given.


It is difficult to fabricate and test convex aspherical surfaces,especially for steep convex aspheical surfaces.Based on the analysis of the conventional null test,a simple test system with cemented doublet for two steep convex ellipsoids was discussed.The wavefront of the both test system was less than 1/30λ RMS(Root Meat Square,λ=632.8nm).The convex aspheric lens had their successful application in practical optical system.The result showed that the null test for convex aspheric lens discussed in this paper is valid.Compared with the traditional test method,the cemented doublet offsets the spherical aberration generated by the sphere surface of the lens.So the proposed test method decreases the amount of the spherical aberration generated by the aspherical lens,with fewer elements, and reduces the system′s alignment difficulty.It was demonstrated to be an effective,high-precision testing method.


Abstract Evidence shows that in the absence of intact natural habitats, some exotic patches of vegetation may play a compensatory role in supporting indigenous biodiversity in urban environments. This paper suggests that in urban settings where landscapes already contain non-natives, both indigenous and exotic flora may be necessary to maintain indigenous biodiversity. The research was constructed based upon a review of the current literature combined with a GIS-based spatial analysis of urban landscape patterns, using Wellington New Zealand as a case study. The research provides evidence concerning different aspects of utilising indigenous and exotic plant species to argue that a balanced proportion of indigenous to exotic plants may be advantageous in order to respond to some aspects of biodiversity loss. The results have three immediate implications for landscape architecture practices at the urban scale and reveal important issues that should be addressed by future research.


ABSTRACT Following a mystery oil spill near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in August 2000, natural resource trustee agencies (Trustees) conducted a natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA). During the NRDA, injury to several life stages of Loggerhead sea turtles (Carena caretta) and Green sea turtles (Chelonia my das) was quantified using a computer model, SIMAP (French-McCay, 2001), and the type and scale of restoration required was determined. Quantification of injury required Trustees to determine key model input parameters based on a variety of scientific data sources. The restoration scaling portion of this NRDA required Trustees to quantify the number of Loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings it would take to replace a post-pelagic juvenile (age 17 to 20 years) and an adult female (42 to 50 years old). To accomplish this, Trustees developed a simple model based on recent life stage and population dynamics assumptions for the south Florida Loggerhead sub-population. Deta...


Hypoglycemia is a life-threatening condition, especially if recurrent. Most common causes include patients with diabetes due to medications, nephropathy with oral hypoglycemic drugs, faulty dietary habits and other endocrine causes. In a patient presenting with recurrent hypoglycemia with central hypothyroidism, Sheehan syndrome must be suspected as diagnosis can prevent disastrous complications We presenting


Abstract Both the 6-year time-mean flow and the eddy kinetic energy in the Fine Resolution Antarctic Model are found to be approximately self-similar in the vertical, with the velocity showing a rapid decay with depth. A simple argument is given as to why this would be expected to occur in this and other numerical models, and an analysis is given as to the degree of steering of the mean flow by topography.


The main advantages of adsorption process are low operating cost, easily available sorbent sources, minimization of the volume of sludge to be disposed of, recovery of the metal from the adsorbents and regeneration of the adsorbents for reuse[1] and is recognized as the most efficient, promising and widely used fundamental approach in wastewater treatment processes[2]. Adsorption is wellestablished technique for the removal of low concentrations of organic pollutants from large volumes of potable water, process effluents, wastewater, and aqueous solutions. A number of natural and synthetic adsorbents have been studied by various researchers for the removal of heavy metal ions [1]. The performance of an adsorbent can be studied by adsorption isotherm data, which can be obtained by a series of experimental tests in labs. Modeling the adsorption isotherm data is an essential way for predicting and comparing the adsorption performance, which is critical for optimization of the adsorption mechanism pathways, expression of the adsorbents capacities, and effective design of the adsorption systems [3].


Security and fast transmission of data is very important part of military devices. Propose technique present the secure, efficient and fast way to send images by using the Identity Based Cryptography and Visual Cryptography. In this application Identity Based Cryptography is used with Visual cryptography. In Identity based cryptography the RSA Cryptosystem is used to generate public and private key by using Ancient Indian Mathematics for fast mathematical calculation. RSA is the safest and standard algorithm. Implementation of it by using the Vedic multiplication is very efficient in term of area, speed as compared to its modern mathematics implementations. The regenerations of public and private key are adopted to make the system more secure from various attacks. Keywords— RSA Cryptosystem, MANET, Vedic Mathematics, Modular Multiplication, Identity Based Cryptography, Visual Cryptography.


Seawater injection systems are widely used in oil recovery. Biocorrosion of metallic structures and oil souring due to the action of sulfate-reducing bacteria are two of the most relevant problems affecting these systems. A proper understanding of the complex biological and inorganic processes occurring at the surface of metallic structures is needed to carry out effective treatments for biocorrosion prevention and protection. Moreover, monitoring of biocide treatments in real time is mandatory to achieve an effective control. Recently, a wide variety of innovative techniques to study biocorrosion and monitoring methods has been developed and are presently used with new biocide formula taking especially into account environmental preservation. An updated review of these advances in the field is briefly offered at the end of this presentation.


IN MANY instances experimenters "are plagued with the problem of analyzing designs which contain unequal subclass frequencies. Un fortunately, in the analysis of such designs having two or more factors, non-orthogonality of the effects makes it impossible to estimate them directly as is possible in the orthogonal case of equal subclass frequencies. One corrective practice consists of a random withdrawal of cases so that orthogonality of ef fects is obtained. However, there are situa tions in which this procedure results in a ser ious decrease in the error degrees of freedom of the design such that analysis is inadvisable. (This is particularly true if the power of the tests of significance are considered. ) Further more, for many investigators this method of subclass equalization is equivalent to discard ing information. The two-factor design involving unequal subclass frequencies has been explicitly treated by Anderson and Bancroft (1) and Kempthorne (3). Therefore, the purpose of this paper will be, first, to give some general explanations of the least-squares solutions of a three-factor de sign and, thereafter, to present an actual ap plied problem showing the analysis of s u c h a design.


The viscosity-temperature-composition dependence of the glass forming melts studied was well described by the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann equation with A, B, T 0 coefficients expressed in the form of mixed quadratic polynomials of individual mole fractions of oxides. Only the statistically significant terms were retained in the functions. Analysis of the proposed regression function shows the predominant influence of ZrO 2 that enhances both the viscosity and the viscous flow activation energy. From the temperature dependence of activation energy the Angell's fragility of individual melts was deduced indicating that the melt with 10 mol CaO as the strongest. In other parts of the compositional range studied the degree of fragility was higher. A strong significant correlation was found between the viscosity and viscous flow activation energy on one side and the NBO/T value on the other. These correlations indicate that in the composition range studied about half of TiO 2 content acts as network former


In this paper we consider fullerene patches with nice boundaries containing between one and five pentagonal faces.  We find necessary conditions for the side lengths of such patches, and then prove these conditions are sufficient by constructing such patches.


As far as integrity and proper operation of a flying vehicle are concerned, modal analysis of the wing is a crucial design procedure. This procedure aims to define the natural frequencies of the wing structure to avoid resonance under fluctuating aerodynamic loads. This procedure becomes more significant if the wing to forced to perform pitching oscillation. The present study aims to define the dynamic behavior of a rectangular wing with NACA 0009 airfoil using the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory by treating the wing as a cantilever beam. To assess the validity of this treatment and the theoretical method as a design tool, both numerical simulations and experimental measurements are applied on the wing. Results of this multi-fidelity modal analysis define the natural frequencies of the wing. The good agreement of the three methods confirms the validity of treating the wing in concern as a simple cantilever beam.


Abstract : On October 21,1994, the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) signed an "Agreed Framework" which is designed to provide the procedure to resolve the dispute over North Korea's nuclear weapons program. If and when successfully executed, it will satisfy U.S. negotiating objectives, but, in the process, propel the United States into the center of North-South conflict. For South Korea, in addition to the explicit benefits of the provisions, it will facilitate more frequent and meaningful communication between the two halves of the now divided peninsula and a gradual, rather than chaotic, path to unification. Generally, the Agreed Framework obligates North Korea to: eliminate its existing capability to produce weapons grade plutonium; resume, after several years delay, full membership in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, including the requirement to comply completely with its safeguard agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (lAEA), which mandates allowing lAEA inspectors to investigate suspected nuclear waste sites and to place any nuclear material not previously identified under lAEA safeguards. consistently take steps to execute the North-South Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula; and engage in North-South dialogue.


During Covid-19 pandemic teachers and students in Indonesia adapt to continue learning by implementing online learning. Online learning creates a new way of communication between teacher and students in online classroom context. This way of communication makes both teacher and students employ new strategy in communication, one of which is by using slang words in online class. This study aimed at investigating the use of slang words by 34 EFL students in Translation online class during 1 semester. This study employed descriptive qualitative in which the source of data is the transcript of students' chat in WhatsApp Group (WAG) during 6 months. Additionally, questionnaire was used to collect the data about students' attitudes toward the use of slang words. It is found that students used 32 slang words from both English and Indonesian, most slang words used were influenced by popular slang words used in social media. Students mostly used slang words when (1) chatting with friends in discussing informal topic such as holiday, make up class, and connection problem; (2) expressing feeling; (3) addressing their friends' names; (4) discussing lesson; (5) responding teacher's question, and (6) greeting the teacher. Students' attitude toward the use of slang was positive, they explained that they used slang words in online class to make learning atmosphere more alive and relaxed and those make them easier to understand the lesson. However, students limit the use of slang words when chatting with teacher, most students consider impolite to use slang words as freely as when they chatted with their classmates.


The author of the original article (ibid., vol.42, p.2672, no.9, 1994) is concerned with the use of the averaged conditional phase-error variance, as a performance measure for a PLL operating in the presence of CW interferers. He correctly points out that the variance of the random variable /spl phi/ can be obtained using the equation given; however, the physics of the problem suggests that the average of the conditional variance used by Lindsey and Yoon (1982) is perhaps the more meaningful performance measure for use in loop design and performance evaluation. The author discusses this issue further in his reply. >


A low cost integration technology has been developed to assemble 2.5 and 10 Gb/s photodiodes. It relies on flip-chipped devices with lensed fibres positioned in V-grooves. For 2.5 Gb/s the photodiode, the fibre and the transimpedance amplifier are integrated on a single Si motherboard compatible with mounting in a mini-dil module. The sensitivity is -23.5 dBm at 10/sup -10/ BER with no error floor.


Abstract At present, the production of energy has to be capable of responding to fast and unexpected changes, which may originate from changes in the fuel quality or in the energy demands, for example. New fuels and their co-combustion, added to the growing demands for process efficiency and the efforts to reduce harmful emissions have generated an increasing need for monitoring the processes, and new kinds of measurements and tools are needed to meet those challenges. Monitoring the condition of the bed is increasingly important in fluidized bed combustion of biomass, and it is usually performed manually by sieving the bottom ash. This is expensive and laborious, however, and should be either automated or alternative methods for estimating the bed quality should be developed if possible. In this paper we present an online inspection system for estimating the coarseness of the bed material using digital images taken from the bottom ash.


M. Rohith, 2, ∗ S. Kannan, and C. Sudheesh Department of Physics, Government College, Munduparamba P. O., Malappuram 676 509, India. P. G. & Research Department of Physics, Government Arts and Science College, Kozhikode 673 018, India. ISRO Inertial Systems Unit, Thiruvananthapuram, 695 013, India. Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, 695 547, India.


Piloting of an aircraft, a system for piloting an aircraft in autonomous approach for the purposes of at least the landing. The steering system (1) directly by the information attaching said virtual ingress axis position display, and means for calculating a straight line deviation (11), means for calculating a maneuver instruction of the aircraft by a straight line deviation above (13 ) consisting of a. .FIELD 1


A 53-year-old woman who had a history of mitral valve prolapse was referred to our institution after an incidental finding of small masses on the mitral, tricuspid, and pulmonary valves on transthoracic echocardiography. She had no symptoms suggestive of endocarditis with negative blood cultures. Complete blood cell count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were within normal limits.

The patient underwent transesophageal echocardiography, which showed a pedunculated, papillary mass on the tricuspid valve (Figure 1 and Movie I in the online-only Data Supplement) with mild tricuspid regurgitation. In addition, 2 sessile masses were noted on the pulmonary valve (Figure 2 and Movie I in the online-only Data Supplement) and the posterior mitral …


Structural and functional stability of college, university and industry integration in regional system of professional education is achieved through the creation of common educational-industrial space. The leading approach to the study of this problem is an integrative approach which allows predicting the transition of the integrated system "college—university—enterprise" on the qualitatively new level due to the agreed goals, tasks, functions, and actions of this system subjects, contributing to the implementation of forward-looking professional training of competitive specialists. The main functions of the development of the integrated educational-industrial complex "college—university—enterprise" in the article are indicated as follows: coordinating, prognostic, anticipatory, consolidating, corporate, sublimating. The article submissions represent a theoretical value to researchers concerned with integration issues, and also have practical significance for subjects of the integrated system of "education—production" in order to prepare specialists meeting the requirements of modern production.


Based on close analyses of the importance of College Students' Belief Education and the current situation,this paper gives an emphasis on the necessity to strengthen college students' belief,and makes a few practical measures for the problem of how to strengthen the belief in education students.


This paper presents an overview of the considerations which are important in Shuttle-attached pointing systems for electro-optical experiments. These considerations are described in terms of the mission characteristics which include the mission orbit, host vehicle, sensor, and target. The pointing system characteristics of interest include the pointing system configuration, tradeoffs, and interfaces. Key problem areas are discussed, and expected evolutionary pointing system improvements are outlined. The fundamental limitations which constrain the evolution of the pointing systems are also identified.


Have carried on research to the hydraulic pressure control system of the silt coal loader of model YMZ,has adopted one pair of motor disposition ways,adopt different control return circuits to control,makes the organization loaded more rational,it is more stable to run.


A new technology is presented to manufacture functionable backside illuminated image sensors. The sensors are made by a process using wafers with thick n and p double epitaxial layers with gradated concentration profiles. Technical problems associated with the process are listed up. Their countermeasures were proposed and tested. The technology was applied to develop an ultra-high-speed and ultra-high-sensitive image sensor. A chip for fundamental test of the image sensor has been manufactured and evaluated. The maximum frame rate of the test chip is 250 kfps for the pixel count of 489x400 pixels and the dynamic range of 10 bits. An image with the signal level of 4.9ecan be detected on the noise floor of 7.7e-.


A modified approach for estimating the bit-error-rate (BER) of a q-branch coherent reception for an antipodal binary-modulated transmitted speech signals through an independent Rician fading channel is described. Analysis-by-synthesis (AbS) speech coders are the candidate coders for producing good quality speech in the range from 4.8 to 16 kb/s. The issues of transmitting 8 kb/s analysis-by-synthesis speech coders over a Rician-fading mobile radio channel are discussed. The statistics of the received signal envelope on each branch follow a Rician distribution and independent. The performance results will demonstrate the severe penalty in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) that must be paid as a consequence of the fading characteristics of the received signal. We shall then show that the penalty in SNR can be reduced by means of diversity. The BER results are obtained without using channel coding or error-correcting codes. The amount of the minimum value of channel SNR that required for obtaining a good speech quality or a specific target BER is proposed.


Full waveform inversion (FWI) has the potential to provide high resolution velocity parameters. FWI is an iterative algorithm that modifies the velocity model each step. Each step of iteration consists of a reverse time migration process, which calculates the gradient of misfit function by correlating the forward wavefield of the actual sources and the backward wavefield of the receiver data residuals. If some structures such as those in subsalt shadow zones cannot be imaged well by reverse time migration, these areas can hardly be well reconstructed by full waveform inversion either. Staining algorithm is introduced to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of poorly illuminated subsurface structures. Staining algorithm has a significant advantage that it is amplitude-preserved for the locally recovered wavefield, which makes it feasible to be adopted to waveform inversion process. Combination of waveform inversion and staining algorithm is promising to get better resolution of velocity parameter in poorly illuminated areas.


In recent years, researches on travel recommendation have attracted extensive attentions due to the wide applications. Among them, one of the active topics is constraint-based trip recommendation for meeting user's personal requirements. Although a number of studies on this topic have been proposed in literatures, most of them only regard the user-specific constraints as some filtering conditions for planning the trip. In fact, immersing the constraints into travel recommendation systems to provide a personalized trip is desired for users. Furthermore, time complexity of trip planning from a set of attractions is sensitive to the scalability of travel regions. Hence, how to reduce the computational cost by parallel cloud computing techniques is also a critical issue. In this paper, we propose a novel framework named Personalized Trip Recommendation (PTR) to efficiently recommend the personalized trips meeting multiple constraints of users by mining user's check-in behaviors. In PTR, a mining-based module is first proposed to estimate the scores of attractions by considering both of user-based preferences and temporal-based properties. Then, a trip planning algorithm named Parallel Trip-Mine+ is proposed to efficiently plan the trip that satisfies multiple user-specific constraints. To our best knowledge, this is the first work on travel recommendation that considers the issues of multiple constraints, social relationship, temporal property and parallel computing simultaneously. Through comprehensive experimental evaluations on a real check-in dataset obtained from Gowalla, PTR is shown to deliver excellent performance.


Objective To investigate the changes of lactic dehydrogenase lactic delydrogenase(LDH) and D-dimer(D-D) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with acute pulmonary thromboembolism and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.The relationships between these changes and PTE were evaluated. Methods All objects enrolled were from the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology. Results The values of LDH,D-D,Fbg and AST in COPD with PTE [(363.0±105.0) U/L,(618.0±198.0) μg/L,(5.1±1.5) g/L,(69.0±49.0) U/L] were significantly higher than those in AECOPD[(294.0±12.0) U/L,(500.0±271.0) μg/L,(4.2±1.4) g/L,(55.0±37.0) U/L ]and control group[(135.0±49.0) U/L,(241.0±113.0) μg/L,(3.0±0.9) g/L,(35.0±20.0) U/L](P0.05).When cutoff point of LDH was 295.0 U/L,the sensitivity and specificity of COPD with PTE were 73.1% and 80.0%.When cutoff point of D-D was 295.0 U/L,the sensitivity and specificity of COPD with PTE were 80.8% and 76.7%. Conclusion The values of senlm D-D,Fbg,LDH and AST are significantly increased in COPD with PTE.These changes may be useful in the risk stratification of COPD with PTE patients.


Abstract Silica is one of the mineral needs of industry, especially in base materials for the primary or auxiliary raw materials. Silica sand on Rupat Island was identified on the northern coastline. Selected samples were measured to get the percentage of minerals/elements using X-ray fluorescence. Two adjacent scenes of ALOS PALSAR full-polarimetry data were used. The dielectric constant of samples was measured using a dielectric probe kit in the frequency range from 0.3 to 3.0 GHz and also used for calculating the backscattering coefficient. Freeman-Durdeen and Yamaguchi techniques were used to obtain the scattering decomposition of physical scattering from the incoherent object model base. Surface scattering is a very clear decomposition used to show the silica sand identification compared with other decompositions. From surface scattering, the backscattering coefficient value of silica sand resulted from −59 dB to −52 dB. Thickness estimation from satellite and field measurements show the minimum is 59 cm and the maximum is 74 cm, with the average differentiation between these measurements being 4.88 cm. The condition supported by the grain size of silica sand particles that have almost the same size and shape were conducted by using microscopic photograph testing. These values were caused by a slightly rough surface.


The exhaust gas recirculation system which includes a diverter valve system for selectively directing recirculated gas through an aftercooler includes a self regenerating catalyzed particulate filter which is positioned upstream of the aftercooler of the system to prevent soot from accumulating on the heat exchange surfaces of the aftercooler. Removal of the soot from the exhaust gas increases efficiency and longevity of the aftercooler.


The main aim of this paper is to create awareness among the researchers about online resources and to promote effective access to electronic products. Twenty five factors were included in this study to know how the level of utilizations of online resources and the facilities made available for researchers. A well structured questionnaire was employed to test the variables using statistical tools. This initiative will stress the authorities to give due importance to enhance the electronic collections and to provide services to the research scholars. This research work will bring out tremendous changes in the working style of the libraries.


This study is aimed at making photo Fenton mode of treatment more approachable to Textile Industries enabling them to reap benefits out of this improvement technology. The research was carried on the untreated waste effluent of textile industry for the removal of COD. About 70-80% COD reduction was obtained without any pre-treatment of the waste effluent at pH 3. The Experimental results shows that maximum COD removal was obtained at 6:1 of COD:H2O2 concentration ratio with both the light sources. The different molar concentrations of H2O2:Fe were considered among which, the efficiency was obtained at 15:1 and 20:1. However, the resultant reaction time for the procedure states that the photo-Fenton treatment can be a useful method for the photo degradation of the organic compounds.


The body's largest organ is the skin, which when breached leads to many biological activities aimed at restoring function. With the number of wounds in the community setting rising, it is important to prevent where possible, and treat where needed in the most effective way. Whilst nutrition in general terms is well recognised to improve healing outcomes, the impact to prevent wound care is not well understood. Furthermore, whilst adequate nutrition is recognised to improve the chances of wounds healing, the evidence has been largely anecdotal. In 2015 an extensive study on the NHS burden for wounds was published, including data on the nutritional status of patients. This article extracts data from this earlier publication to highlight the nutritional impact on wound healing. Annals of Clinical Nutrition


Fouling in the tower is effectively removed by on - line reverse purging method ensuring long run length and high load operation of the ethylene plant.


What is the point of departure of theology? Is it spiritual experience or the acceptance of a religious language? Postliberal theology in the United States has revisited this debate which began in Europe in the 20th century. By following up the contributions made by phenomenologists and language philosophers, this article aims at explaining the relationship between faith, various linguistic formulations (dogmatic, liturgical, etc.), reason, and practice. Is there an extrinsic convergence of faith, (theological) reason and (evangelical) practice? Or perhaps a crucial relation amongst the three? The contributions of Jean Ladriere and Xavier Zubiri are analyzed along with those of Heidegger, Rahner, Lonergan, Barth and Lindbeck.


Jumping-droplet condensation has been shown to enhance the heat transfer performance (≈100%) when compared to dropwise condensation by reducing the time-averaged droplet size (≈ 10 μm) on the condensing surface. Here, we develop a rigorous, three dimensional numerical simulation of jumping-droplet condensation in order to compute the steady-state time-averaged droplet size distribution. In order to characterize the criteria for achieving steady-state, we use maximum radii (R_max) tracking on the surface, showing that R_max settles to an average in time once steady-state is reached. The effects of the minimum jumping radius (0.1µm - 10 µm), maximum jumping radius, apparent advancing contact angle (150° - 175°), and droplet growth rate were investigated. We provide a numerical fit for the jumping droplet condensation size distribution with an overall correlation coefficient greater than 0.995. The heat transfer performance was evaluated as a function of contact angle and hydrophobic coating thickness, showing excellent agreement with prior experimentally measured values. Our simulations uncovered that droplet size mismatch during coalescence has the potential to impede the achievement of steady state, and describe a new flooding mechanism for jumping droplet condensation. Our work not only develops a unified numerical model for jumping droplet condensation that is extendable to a plethora of other conditions, it demonstrates design criteria for non-wetting surface manufacture for enhanced jumping-droplet condensation heat transfer.


As the popularity of the web increases, particularly the use of social networking sites and style sharing platforms, users are becoming increasingly connected, sharing more and more information, resources, and opinions. This vast array of information presents unique opportunities to harvest knowledge about user activities and interests through the exploitation of large-scale, complex systems. Communal tagging sites, and their respective folksonomies, are one example of such a complex system, providing huge amounts of information about users, spanning multiple domains of interest. However, the current Web infrastructure provides no mechanism for users to consolidate and exploit this information since it is spread over many desperate and unconnected resources. In this paper we compare user tag-clouds from multiple folksonomies to: (a) show how they tend to overlap, regardless of the focus of the folksonomy (b) demonstrate how this comparison helps finding and aligning the user's separate identities, and (c) show that cross-linking distributed user tag-clouds enriches users profiles. During this process, we find that significant user interests are often reflected in multiple Web2.0 profiles, even though they may operate over different domains. However, due to the free-form nature of tagging, some correlations are lost, a problem we address through the implementation and evaluation of a user tag filtering architecture.


ABSTRACT Background: It is well established that a paediatric burn injury can lead to parental post-traumatic stress symptoms. The content of parents' memories and appraisals may reveal the traumatic experiences that need attention. Objective: To inform clinical practice, the aim of this study was to qualitatively examine parents' (intrusive) memories and appraisals, and associated emotions, concerning the injury, the hospitalisation, and its consequences. Method: Approximately three to six months after the burn event, semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of 18 children (0–16 years old) that had been hospitalised for a burn injury. Thematic analysis was carried out to obtain themes. Results: A central element in parents' memories and appraisals was a sense of external or internal threat. Intrusive memories were predominantly related to the accident and first aid (i.e. threat of the injury), whereas parents' memories about the child's suffering were emotional but not experienced as intrusive. Later appraisals of the burn injury and its consequences included negative appraisals of the child's increased vulnerability, responsibility of self or other, the child's prolonged suffering and (risk of) permanent change, as well as appraisals of positive outcome and recovery. Emotions commonly reported in the context of memories and appraisals were fear, sadness, guilt, and relief. Conclusions: This study offers insight into the traumatic nature of paediatric burn injury from the parent's perspective and provides directions for the delivery of trauma-informed (after)care. HIGHLIGHTS • Parents' intrusive memories after their child's burn injury were predominantly related to the burn event and not to medical procedures.• Appraisals of the child's vulnerability, prolonged suffering and permanent change, and about responsibility for the injury were reported by parents, as well as appraisals of positive outcomes and recovery.• In the aftermath of the injury, parents experienced emotions such as fear, sadness and guilt, but also relief.


The work described in this thesis was carried out at the Sir Peter Mansfield Magnetic Resonance Centre at the University of Nottingham between March 2006 and December 2009. All work described in this thesis was performed by the author, except where indicated. This thesis aims to develop and implement ASL techniques to measure haemodynamic responses to neural activity.
The development of a new technique Double Acquisition Background Suppression (DABS) is presented as a remedy for a newly discovered artefact affecting Philips Achieva 7 T scanners and other sources of variation in baseline signals such as physiological noise. The new technique (DABS) was developed for simultaneous acquisition of ASL (with suppressed static tissue signal) and BOLD data using the FAIR scheme. This method not only provided a solution to obtaining ASL data at 7 T, despite the Roman Artefact, but also proved to reduce the contribution of physiological noise to ASL images, which is problematic, especially at ultra-high magnetic field strengths. The statistical verification was carried out based on the neural activation induced by a finger-tapping stimulus.
A simplified model for quantifying CBVa.with the Look-Locker sampling method is proposed in this thesis to overcome the need for the Step-wise Compartmental Model (SCM). The Look-Locker sampling scheme acquires multiple readout pulses following the labelling and provides an estimation of transit time as well as CBVa.. Here the simplified model is used to assess changes due to visual stimulation and validated against the SCM model.
The application of LL-FAIR to form CBF and CBVa weighted data with improved SNR compared to traditional single TI FAIR technique is then shown. This method uses a summation over LL-EPI readout pulses and is used to asses the temporal characteristics and absolute changes in CBF and CBVa haemodynamic responses to a short (4.8 s) and long (9.6 s) visual stimulus.
LL-FAIR methods are then used to appraise the neural coupling of haemodynamic parameters and assess Grubb's relationship. CBF and CBVa. Data were collected together with CBVtot data from a bolus injection of contrast agent. Assessing Grubb's power-law (CBVtot = CBFCI:)for neuronal activation, which was originally derived in primates during a steady state response of hypercapnia, a was found in this human study to be between 0.22 ± 0.08 and 0.29, dependent on the analysis method. In addition, the power-law relationship between CBVtot and CBVa.was assessed, and resulted in a similar relation, yielding aTA = 0.42 ± 0.14 and 0.40. Since CBF is thought to be driven by CBVa.the power-law between these parameters was also tested with a value of aFA = 1.35 ± 0.64 and 1.21, found in close agreement with earlier animal work.


We report the discovery of narrow Fe XXV and Fe XXVI K alpha X-ray absorption lines at 6.65 and 6.95 keV in the persistent emission of the dipping low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) XB 1916-053 during an XMM-Newton observation performed in September 2002. In addition, there is marginal evidence for absorption features at 1.48 keV, 2.67 kev, 7.82 keV and 8.29 keV consistent with Mg XII, S XVI, Ni XXVII K alpha and Fe XXVI K beta transitions, respectively. Such absorption lines from highly ionized ions are now observed in a number of high inclination (ie. close to edge-on) LMXBs, such as XB 1916-053, where the inclination is estimated to be between 60-80 degrees. This, together with the lack of any orbital phase dependence of the features (except during dips), suggests that the highly ionized plasma responsible for the absorption lines is located in a cylindrical geometry around the compact object. Using the ratio of Fe XXV and Fe XXVI column densities, we estimate the photo-ionization parameter of the absorbing material to be 10^{3.92} erg cm s^{-1}. Only the Fe XXV line is observed during dipping intervals and the upper-limits to the Fe XXVI column density are consistent with a decrease in the amount of ionization during dipping intervals. This implies the presence of cooler material in the line of sight during dipping. We also report the discovery of a 0.98 keV absorption edge in the persistent emission spectrum. The edge energy decreases to 0.87 keV during deep dipping intervals. The detected feature may result from edges of moderately ionized Ne and/or Fe with the average ionization level decreasing from persistent emission to deep dipping. This is again consistent with the presence of cooler material in the line of sight during dipping.


Since single visible and single infrared target detection is often susceptible to factors such as light and weather, it has the problem of poor imaging effect and low image resolution in situations such as low light and bad weather. However, by using both IR and visible light to image and fuse together, it is possible to obtain fused images with prominent targets and rich background information at night and in poor weather conditions, thus improving the accuracy of target recognition and detection. Therefore, this paper proposes a multi-modal video fusion algorithm based on multi-scale decomposition and fusion based on the edge heterogeneous SoC board ZCU102 as the processing platform to achieve real-time co-awareness of visible-IR cameras. To address the problem of slow detection speed of traditional video monitoring platforms, a light-weight target detection algorithm based on improved YOLOv4 is proposed, and FPGA acceleration and deployment in a heterogeneous SoC is performed to achieve intelligent detection of target objects. Experimental results show that the image detection accuracy of the proposed method is significantly improved compared to RGB and IR single-mode images, with a 2.9 percentage point improvement in mAP compared to IR image-based and 7.2 percentage points improvement compared to visible images, outperforming the traditional method.


Type of funding sources: Other. Main funding source(s): This study was financed by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology NRDI Office within the framework of the Artificial Intelligence National Laboratory Program. LS is supported by the EACVI Research Grant 2021.

 Cardiac adaptation due to regular and intense exercise is a well-known phenomenon. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is a well suited, highly reproducible technique that has a vital role in differentiating physiological adaptation and pathological alterations. Native T1 and T2 mapping enable the quantitative assessment of tissue characteristics without the administration of contrast material. These techniques are increasingly used in studies aiming to consider subtle differences. However, the sex-and training-dependence of native T1 and T2 mapping values remains incompletely understood.

 We aimed to describe the differences in native T1 and T2 mapping among healthy athletes and less active individuals.

 We enrolled healthy elite athletes (n=88, 56 male, 25±5 years) and healthy volunteers (n=82, 46 male, 25±3 years) to undergo CMR examinations at our Centre. Healthy elite athletes performed high sports activity levels (>10 hours/week) and competed nationally or internationally. Sex- and age-matched healthy volunteers engaged in ≤6 hours/week of sports activity. Standardized CMR protocol included short- and long-axis cine images covering the entire left (LV) and right (RV) ventricle and native T1 and T2 mapping in basal, midventricular and apical slices.

 Athletes had consistently higher LV and RV volumes and mass indexes compared to healthy volunteers (p<.001 for all). Native T1 mapping was lower in athletes than in the control group (T1: 954±24 ms vs 970±23 ms; p <.001). T1 mapping showed a moderately strong negative correlation to markers of cardiac adaptation, including LV mass, end-diastolic volume and stroke volume indexes (p<.001 for all). Moreover, we found a negative correlation between native T1 and training hours (Rho: -0.302; p<.001). On the other hand, native T2 mapping showed no difference between athletes and less active controls. Furthermore, T2 correlated with LV shape features but not with training hours. We found that mapping values differed between sexes, both in the athletic and control groups. Females showed slightly higher values compared to their male counterparts (T2: 46±2 vs 43±2; p<.001). Finally, native T1 mapping was associated with training hours and sex in our multiple linear regression model, adjusted for age, resting heart rate, body mass index, body surface area and LVM (p<.001). While T2 mapping was associated only with sex considering the same covariates.

 Our study demonstrates the importance of sex-matched controls in CMR studies evaluating mapping parameters. Moreover, the consideration of exercise load seems paramount in the case of T1 mapping.


The article deals with an analysis and generalization of marketing concepts in the field of relations with clients. It dwells upon the obligatory elements of the system of work with clients. The article puts forward the question of necessary development of the efficiency indicators adapted to the specific character of business. The results of an express analysis are given that show the quality of interaction with clients in various companies in Ryazan.


[Objective] To evaluate the efficiency and safety of treatment of senior vertebral compressive fractures with vertebroplasty by trans-single-pedicular approach. [Methods] Thirty-six cases were retrospectively reviewed. The patients suffered from severely back pain and activity of daily living was badly affected. Trans-single-pedicular or trans-both-pediculars approaches were used. [Results] All the procedures were successful without any complication, between the two groups, 6-point Bahavioral Rating Scale and Activity of Daily Living (ADL) declined significantly after the treatment (P 0.01), the complete relief and obvious relief was not significant between this two group (P 0.05), but the operation time of trans-single-pedicular approach group was significantly shorter than the operation time of the other group. [Conclusions] Image analysis before operation is very important for the choice of trans-single-pedicular approach, treatment of senior vertebral compressive fractures with vertebroplasty by trans-single-pedicular approach is safe and effective


There can be few more impressive sights in contemporary neuroscience and biological psychiatry than the imaging of neurotransmitter receptors in the brains of living human subjects by positron emission tomography (PET; Sedvall et al, 1986). How has such technology advanced our understanding of the pathophysiology and/or treatment of major psychiatric disorders?


Acute Intermittent Porhyria (AIP) is an inherited autosomal dominant disorder resulting from deficient porphobilinogen deaminase (PBGD) catalytic activity due to heterozygous mutations of HMBS gene, the third enzyme of the heme biosynthetic pathway. Heme is the prosthetic group of many critical hemoproteins. ALAS1, the first and rate-limiting enzyme of heme biosynthesis, is negatively regulated by heme stores.(1) In AIP patients PBGD haploinsufficiency reduces heme availability under conditions of increased heme demands leading to ALAS1 upregulation and increased production and accumulation of porphobilinogen (PBG) and of aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a neurotoxic metabolite.(1) Symptomatic AIP is characterized by the occurrence of acute neurovisceral attacks which can be sporadic or recurrent. During these episodes the levels of ALA and PBG increase further and this is accompanied by diffuse abdominal pain, vomiting, tachycardia and hypertension. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Cerebellum-like structures — such as the insect mushroom body — are found in many brains and share a basic fan-out–fan-in network architecture. How the specific structural features of these networks give rise to their learning function remains largely unknown. To investigate this structure–function relationship, we developed a minimal computational model of the extensively studied Drosophila melanogaster mushroom body. We show how well-defined connectivity patterns between the Kenyon cells — the constituent neurons of the mushroom body — and their input projection neurons endow different functions, enabling the mushroom body to process olfactory information more efficiently. First, biases in the likelihoods at which individual projection neurons connect to Kenyon cells allow the mushroom body to prioritize the learning of particular, ethologically meaningful odors. Second, groups of projection neurons connecting preferentially to the same Kenyon cells facilitate the mushroom body to generalize across similar odors. Altogether, our results demonstrate how different connectivity patterns shape the representation space of a well-studied cerebellum-like network and impact its learning outcomes.


Introduction 1. Poets and the Interpretation of Sound 2. Early Radio 3. Stylised Reality: the Radio Feature 4. Radio Ballads 5. The Spoken Word: Documentary and More 6. Soundscapes 7. The Music of Nature: Location Recording 8. Pure Sound, Pure Poetry? The Composition of Radio Sound Conclusion


Abstract Is there something bad about being friends with seriously bad people? Intuitively, it seems so, but it is hard to see why this should be. This is especially the case since some other kinds of loving relationship with bad people look morally acceptable or even good. In this paper, I argue that friendship inherently involves taking one's friends seriously, which involves openness to their beliefs, concerns, and subjective interests. Deeply immoral views and attitudes ought not to be taken seriously or considered as options, and I argue that this explains why being friends with bad people is itself morally problematic. I go on to contrast this with Jessica Isserow's (2018) explanation of what's bad about friendship with bad people, and I suggest that my account is better placed to explain why friendships with bad people are morally problematic but some other loving relationships with bad people are not.


The purpose of this research was to analyze the influence of store atmosphere and price on thepurchasing decision. This research was a quantitative research involving variables of store atmosphere and price. The data collecting method was questionnaires distributed to 100 respondents with the incidental technique. The methods of data analysis in this study were multiple linear regression, t-test and F-test. The results of the multiple linear regression resulted in the equation of Y = 15.940 + 0.187X1 + 0.407X2 with the Adjusted R Square value of 0.252. Theresult of t-test at X1 was 3.421> 1.660 and X2 was 2.784> 1.660 and the value of F-test showed that F-calculation >F-tabelbeing 17.673> 3.09. This means that both simultaneously and partially there was a positive and significant influence of store atmosphere and price on thepurchasing decision as to 25.2% and the remaining 74.8% was influenced by other variables.


SUMMARY Estimate of intake rates of Mnemiopsis leidyi (Ctenophora: Lobata) under laboratory conditions. The first results in the development of a standardized methodology to estimate Mnemiopsis leidyi intake rates and their impact on fish recruitment are presented. M. leidyi capability to consume lyophilized fish eggs and level of consumption of such type of preys, Artemia nauplii and rotifera were assessed. Although M. leidyi can consume lyophilized fish eggs, intake rates were extremely low, often null and in all cases lower than those estimated for the other types of preys offered. The increase of feeding rate on each prey was proportional to ctenophores size growth. The results observed suggest that consumption of fish eggs would not affect recruitment. However, there is not a uniform methodology in the literature that allows for standardized comparisons. The results obtained underline the need to define a standard methodology to address M. leidyi feeding pattern and its potential effect on fish recruitment. The development of a standard prey type to allow for comparative studies will represent a step forward in that sense. To that end, it will be necessary to repeat the experiments presented here using live as well as lyophilized eggs.


The invention discloses an adjustable support device for a laser theodolite, which comprises a bottom plate provided with screw holes. At least three support bolts used for supporting the bottom plate and not on a same line are mounted through the screw holes. A hollow sleeve with an internal thread is vertically mounted on the bottom plate. A support post with a matched external thread is connected into the sleeve. A fixed rack is mounted at the upper end of the support post. An upper seat plate is fixed on the fixed rack. The adjustable support device can be used for precisely adjusting the height of the laser theodolite in precision staying of ships, influence of ultra-poor ground levelness to precision staying can be reduced effectively, and labor of platform arrangement in precision staying can be reduced effectively. In addition, the adjustable support device is lightweight, convenient to carry, attractive in appearance and widely applicable to precision ship staying.


The laser ablation method is suitable for the formation of metal oxide thin films, such as dielectric materials and high T/sub c/ superconductors. This is because the laser beam comes from outside the film formation chamber and therefore oxygen pressure can be chosen as a desired value for the growth of thin films. The author prepares PbTiO/sub 3/ thin films, SrTiO/sub 3/-BaTiO/sub 3/ dielectric strained superlattices, BaCaCuO superconducting thin films and AuBaCuO superconducting superlattices.


(1881). Acineta dibdalteria, a new species of marine infusorian from the gulf of Genoa. Annals and Magazine of Natural History: Vol. 7, No. 39, pp. 279-280.


The growing demand for mobile electrical devices such as electric vehicles has led to more extensive and in‐depth research on alkali metal ion batteries and supercapacitors. Various metal phosphides have the advantages of large natural reserves of raw materials and low pollution. More importantly, metal phosphides have high theoretical capacity as alkali metal ion batteries and exhibit extremely high capacitance as pseudocapacitive electrode materials, making them potential electrode materials for next‐generation alkali metal ion batteries and supercapacitors. In this paper, the recent research on metal phosphide‐based electrode materials for alkali metal ion batteries and supercapacitors is reviewed. First, the basic principles of alkali metal ion batteries and supercapacitors are introduced. Then, various modification strategies and effects for metal phosphides are summarized. Finally, the problems and prospects of metal phosphide electrode materials are put forward.


This paper tests for downward nominal wage rigidity in markets for casual daily agricultural labor in a developing country context. I examine transitory shifts in labor demand, generated by rainfall shocks, in 600 Indian districts from 1956-2009. First, there is asymmetric adjustment: nominal wages rise in response to positive shocks but do not fall during droughts. Second, transitory positive shocks generate ratcheting: after they have dissipated, nominal wages do not adjust back down. Third, inflation moderates these effects, enabling downward real wage adjustments both during droughts and after positive shocks. Fourth, wage distortions generate employment distortions, creating boom and bust cycles: employment is 9% lower in the year after a transitory positive shock than if the positive shock had not occurred. Fifth, consistent with the misallocation of labor across farms, households with small landholdings increase labor supply to their own farms when they are rationed out of the external labor market. The results are not consistent with other transmission mechanisms, such as migration or capital accumulation. These findings indicate the presence of rigidities in a setting with few institutional constraints. Survey evidence suggests that workers and employers believe that nominal wage cuts are unfair and lead to effort reductions. Supreet Kaur Department of Economics Columbia University 1401B IAB, MC 3328 420 West 118th Street New York, NY 10027 and NBER firstname.lastname@example.com


Background. The COVID 19 pandemic affected healthcare delivery systems worldwide. There was a redistribution of health care resources in order to deal with the effects of the pandemic, with a corresponding consequence on other clinical services rendered. The extent of this effect on other non COVID 19 related services has been reported in other centres worldwide. In our own setting, health care resources are limited with suboptimal access even in normal situations. Objective. We sought to evaluate the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic on elective surgical services in our hospital. Methods. This was a cross sectional comparative study carried out at the Jos University Teaching hospital, (North central, Nigeria) of the elective surgical services rendered during the first wave of the COVID 19 pandemic lockdown covering the period April to June 2020 with a corresponding period of the preceding year 2019. Data was obtained from the hospital records department, theatres and service areas for clinic attendance, elective surgeries and ward occupancy. The paired sample t-test was used to compare the assessed variables across the three months of both years with a level of significance of P < 0.05. Results. There was mean clinic attendance of 2859.33 ± 223.36 covering the three months in 2019 as against a mean attendance of 648.67 ± 578.24 covering a similar period in 2020, P = 0.037. The elective surgical procedures carried out across the surgical specialties over the period in 2019 gave a mean of 352.33 ± 44.60 as opposed to 64.001 ± 7.32 over the corresponding period in 2020, P = 0.018. Ward occupancy over April to June 2019 was a mean 297.33 ± 18.58 across the various surgical wards and 158.33 ± 25.70 in the same period in 2020, P = 0.007. Conclusion. There was a significant reduction in the elective surgical services rendered in the hospital during the first wave of the COVID 19 pandemic compared to a corresponding period in the preceding How to cite this paper: Ode, M.B., Shitta, A., Peter, S.D., Amupitan, I. and Yilleng, S.B. (2021) The Effect of the COVID 19 Pandemic on Elective Surgical Services in Jos, North Central, Nigeria. Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 9, 29-37. https://doi.org/10.4236/jbm.2021.97005 Received: June 2, 2021 Accepted: July 9, 2021 Published: July 12, 2021 Copyright © 2021 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access


Background Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a heterogeneous inflammatory joint disease, which generally occurs in combination with psoriasis. Key defining features include joint inflammation, psoriasis, nail changes, axial disease, dactylitis, and enthesitis. A composite endpoint that captures all aspects of the disease is critical to understanding disease activity. Recognising the need for a measure of acceptable disease status that equates to a clinically meaningful outcome for patients, the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and PsA followed methodology from Outcome Measures in Rheumatology to develop the Minimal Disease Activity (MDA) criteria.1 Since initial publication of the MDA criteria, which consist of physician and patient–reported measures, they have been used in a number of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and long-term observational studies (LOS). These studies provide an opportunity to systematically evaluate the measurement properties of the MDA. Objectives To examine evidence of the validity and the ability of the MDA to detect change in published PsA studies. Methods A targeted literature review was conducted in MEDLINE and EMBASE to identify publications that provided evidence of the validity or ability of the MDA criteria to detect change. LOS that reported data without a comparator and studies that examined the relationship between achievement of MDA and baseline variables were excluded. Abstracts of conference proceedings were included if they reported on phase 3 results not yet formally published. Relevant data were extracted and summarised in tabular format, and reviewed by an independent investigator. Results 20 publications were identified that met inclusion criteria. In both LOS and RCTs, patients in MDA consistently had decreased inflammatory markers (ie CRP), decreased radiographic joint erosions and progression of structural damage over time, and reported less disease impact on patient-reported outcomes. The consistency of these findings in both LOS and RCTs provide support for the validity of the MDA. Nine RCTs demonstrated superior efficacy to the respective comparator arm. All nine of these RCTs also reported a significantly greater percentage of patients in the active treatment arms met MDA criteria vs. Placebo. These results provide support for the ability of the MDA to detect between-subjects change. Two LOS were also identified that reported on the association with achievement in MDA following initiation of treatment with bDMARDs. demonstrated a significant likelihood of patients beginning treatment with bDMARDs to meet MDA after 4, 6, and 12 months of treatment, providing support for the MDA to detect change in a real-world setting. Conclusions Published evidence indicates that the MDA is a validated measure with the ability to detect change in PsA patients. The MDA criteria offer a practical, holistic, and clinically meaningful endpoint for patients and clinicians to assess the impact of specific treatment interventions on PsA disease activity. Reference [1] Coates LC, Helliwell PS. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken)2010;62(7):965–969. Disclosure of Interest L. Coates Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Pfizer, Novartis, Celgene, Consultant for: AbbVie, Amgen, BMS, Celgene, Galapagos, Janssen, Eli Lilly and Co., MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Prothena, Sun Pharma, UCB, V. Strand Consultant for: AbbVie, Amgen, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celltrion, Crescendo, Genentech/Roche, GSK, Janssen, Lilly, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Samsung, Sandoz, UCB, H. Wilson Consultant for: Amgen Inc., B. Stolshek Shareholder of: Amgen Inc., Employee of: Amgen Inc., A. Samad Shareholder of: Amgen Inc., Employee of: Amgen Inc., J. Chung Shareholder of: Amgen Inc., Employee of: Amgen Inc., D. Gladman Grant/research support from: Amgen, AbbVie, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, UCB, Consultant for: AbbVie, Amgen, BMS, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, UCB, P. Mease Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celgene, Janssen, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, Sun, UCB, Consultant for: AbbVie, Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celgene, Janssen, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, Sun, UCB, Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celgene, Genentech, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, UCB


This article presents a functional diagram of the development of road accidents, an analysis of the main causes of accidents among road users. The model of application of electronic infor-mation and educational environment in the system of training candidates for drivers of vehicles is considered. The purpose of this work is to prepare candidates for drivers for practical training in safe driving, to facilitate and accelerate the development of the skills required for safe driving. The results obtained can be used in the development and implementation of electronic training pro-grams in the system of professional training of candidates for drivers of various categories and subcategories in the field of road transport.


The rural communities have very different perceptions about ICT among them across various categories. There are
various Information and Communication Technology (ICT) initiatives taken by the Government of India as well the
Government of Andhra Pradesh. This perception of for 'digital banking and payments' user affects the digital transactions. Many rural people do
not use digital banking and payments due to poor perception this may be because of lack of awareness and exposure to this banking applications.
Due to this majority of rural population may not able reap the maximum benets of E-banking and E-commerce initiatives in rural communities
in various other knowledge and information related to digital transfers of various social benets, pensions and other based direct benet
transactions. This study analyzes the positive and negative perceptions of the rural community in the study area with total sample size of 160, in
four villages and 40 respondents were selected randomly from each village, two villages are from Itkalapalle and Rachanapalle of Anantapur
Mandal, Peddapappur, Juttur of Pedapappur Mandal in Ananthapuramu District of Andhra Pradesh. This study focuses on effectiveness of ICT
usage and giving suggestions for improving awareness of ICT programmes to enable the rural communities to benet maximum from the
Government ICT initiatives and schemes in Ananthapuramu District


We propose a closure model for the transport of entropy and momentum in astrophysical turbulence, intended for application to rotating stellar convective regions. Our closure model is first presented in the Boussinesq formalism, and compared with laboratory experiments and numerical simulations on the Rayleigh-Benard convection and homogeneous Rayleigh-Benard convection. The predicted angular momentum transport properties of the turbulence in the slowly rotating case recover the well-known A-effect, with an amplitude related to the convective heat flux. The model is then extended to the anelastic case. In the special case of spherical symmetry, the predicted radial heat flux is equivalent to that of mixing-length theory. For rotating stars, our model describes the coupled transport of heat and angular momentum, and provides a unified formalism in which to study both differential rotation and thermal inhomogeneities in stellar convection zones.


Abstract In this study the viability of a potentially probiotic Lactobacillus paraplantarum DSM 14485 in the intestinal tract of 22 healthy test subjects was qualitatively assessed in a randomised double blinded cross-over study design lasting 2 x 4 weeks (interventions I and II) with a 4-week washout period. The subjects were given in their diet either spontaneously fermented vegetables (SF) or vegetables fermented by starter bacteria which contained Lb. paraplantarum DSM 14485 (P). The numbers of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in fecal samples were at the level of 10 5 cfu g -1 in both groups. The presence of Lb. paraplantarum DSM 14485 was confirmed by biochemical and molecular methods. We were able to show that Lb. paraplantarum DSM 14485, isolated from spontaneously fermented cucumbers, was viable in the intestine of ten test subjects after taking P-diet when the numbers of LAB were sufficiently high in the product.


A consideration in the evaluation of aircraft noise impact on structures near airports and under low‐level military training routes is the significance of the low‐frequency content below 50 Hz. Based on analysis of measurements obtained under military training operations, a preliminary prediction model has been developed for application to environmental assessment of possible effects on structure. The model is based on the hypothesis that the major source to this low‐frequency noise is radiation from the aircraft wake and vortices shed by the airflow over the wings or fuselage. The resulting empirical model predicts that the average maximum one‐third octave band noise level, L, in decibels, in the frequency range of 5 to 40 Hz is given by: L = 48 log [V/100] + 10 log[A/R2] + 91, where V is the aircraft speed in kn, A is the wing area, and R is the slant range. Fortuitously, the same expression also provides reasonable estimates of this low‐frequency noise level in the same frequency range for helicopters ...


This research offers a smart home automation concept that can understand the residents based on their condition. The condition of the residents is derived from the biosignal which represent their body condition. By getting the condition of the body of the residents, we can determine the best and most ideal condition for their house. User's biosignal is captured using wearable devices that are mounted directly to the user. Then the captured biosignal is processed by adaptive fuzzy based algorithm to obtain the condition of the occupant. Based on the conditions of its residents, smart home system will set home appliance such as AC temperature, home entertainment system, perfume, intensity and color of the light to fit with the condition of the residents. This study offers concepts and methods for future homes that can understand the user.


Technological development has reduced the variability between items produced on s large scale. Today, a small change in the process can be critical, requiring rapid action to eliminate it. Traditionally, the CUSUM and the moving mean are the charts used to control these processes that we call robust processes. The aim of this paper is to show that the Shewhart chart can also be used to control robust processes, if the constraint of fixed design parameters is relaxed.


In recent years,the reforms of prosecution is in full swing,which plays a powerful role in its development.Yet some of the reforms or pilots deviate from the exercise of people's prosecutorial power and credibility and affect the scientific development of prosecution.So it is necessary to examine the value of the reforms and adjust its direction.


The results of treatment of acute rhinosinusitis in children are presented. The study was based on retrospective analysis of data of 34 children treated with clarithromycin (Fromilid). The clinical efficacy of this drug was confirmed by the study.


The authors present sparse matrix representations for multidimensional Agarwal-Burrus nesting. It is shown that the resulting sparse matrices can be expressed in terms of tensor product decompositions. The formulations derived provide a highly compact representation of this approach to nesting. The tensor product approach also provides the needed structure to easily derive several variant schemes that are well suited for use on many types of computer architectures. >


This paper presents new methods to control highspeed running in a simulated humanoid robot at speeds of up to 6.5 m/s. We present methods to generate compliant target CoM dynamics through the use of a 3D spring-loaded inverted pendulum (SLIP) template model. A nonlinear least-squares optimizer is used to find periodic trajectories of the 3D-SLIP offline, while a local deadbeat SLIP controller provides reference CoM dynamics online at real-time rates to correct for tracking errors and disturbances. The local deadbeat controller employs common foot placement strategies that are automatically generated by a local analysis of the 3D-SLIP apex return map. A task-space controller is then applied online to select whole-body joint torques which embed these target dynamics into the humanoid. Despite the body of work on the 2D and 3D-SLIP models, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time that a SLIP model has been embedded into a whole-body humanoid model. When running at 3.5 m/s, the controller is shown to reject lateral disturbances of 40 N·s applied at the waist. A final demonstration shows the capability of the controller to stabilize running at 6.5 m/s, which is comparable with the speed of an Olympian in the 5000 meter run.


A 1968 study in the Northern Ukukwe area of Tanzania revealed that the desired and actual number of children per woman were very high. None of the women sampled had any knowledge of modern fertility control methods; most used only coitus interruptus. Lack of motivation which correlates with the level of economic and social development in the area rather than lack of contraceptive knowledge is the main factor. There are categories of women who are temporarily highly motivated to use family planning. These groups--who have recently given birth have more than usual surviving children and who seem to relatively more fertile--should be concentrated upon. Women in the 15-34 year age group seem more receptive to the idea of family planning. A demographic solution to the problem of underdevelopment without accompanying economic social and psychological changes can never succeed.


We have recorded, assigned, and analyzed the photoelectron spectrum of ZnO−. The adiabatic electron affinity (E.A.a) of ZnO and the vibrational frequencies of both ZnO and ZnO− were determined directly from the spectrum, with a Franck–Condon analysis of its vibrational profile providing additional refinements to these parameters along with structural information. As a result, we found that E.A.a(ZnO)=2.088±0.010 eV, ωe(ZnO)=805±40 cm−1, ωe(ZnO−)=625±40 cm−1, and that re(ZnO−)>re(ZnO) by 0.07 A. Since our measured value of E.A.a(ZnO) is 0.63 eV larger than the literature value of E.A.(O), it was also evident, through a thermochemical cycle, that D0(ZnO−)>D0(ZnO) by 0.63 eV. This, together with the literature value of D0(ZnO), gives a value for D0(ZnO−) of 2.24 eV. Since the extra electron in ZnO− is expected to occupy an antibonding orbital, the combination of D0(ZnO−)>D0(ZnO), ωe(ZnO−) re(ZnO) was initially puzzling. An explanation was provided by the calculations of Bauschlicher and...


Effects of different phosphate,potassium fertilizers and their rates on grain yields and cadmium (Cd) uptake by paddy rice were examined in a pot trial using a Cd contaminated soil.Results revealed that under water-logged condition combined use of N,P and K fertilizers significantly increased rice yield compared to addition of P or K fertilizer only.There were no significant differences in rice yields between the treatments of the three phosphate fertilizers but between the treatments of the three potassium fertilizers.The KCl treatment produced the highest rice yield,followed by the K2SO4 treatment,and then the KNO3 treatment producing the lowest yield.Among the three phosphate fertilizer treatments,amounts of Cd uptake by paddy rice were closely correlated with the amounts of NH+4 contained in the phosphate fertilizers,that was,the two ammonium bearing phosphate fertilizers ((NH4)2HPO4 and NH4H2PO4) significantly promoted Cd uptake by rice than Ca(H2PO4)2 did,and accordingly (NH4)2HPO4 increased Cd uptake by rice more than NH4H2PO4.Among the three potassium fertilizers,amounts of Cd uptake by rice were much higher in the treatments of KNO3 and KCl than that in the treatment of K2SO4,showing an apparent depressive effect of K2SO4 on Cd uptake by rice.No significant difference on Cd uptake by rice was observed between different rates of phosphate or potassium fertilizers.Results further revealed that on the Cd contaminated paddy soil,employing a Cd resistant rice cultivar in combination with optimized fertilizer and water management practices could lower the Cd content in rice grains far below the maximum permissible level of 0.2 mg·Cd kg-1 set by the state for the pollution-free rice production.


A small miniature end-plate potential, attributed to small quantum size, is found in myasthenia gravis (MG).13 In the myasthenic syndrome (MS) (LambertEaton syndrome), the miniature end-plate potential amplitude is normal but the quantum content of the end-plate potential is The object of this study was to see what, if any, fine structure correlates there might be in external intercostal muscle motor end plates to the clearly established physiologic defects. Sixty-eight motor end plates from 18 cases of MG and 42 end plates from 9 cases of MS were examined by electron microscopy. Thirty-two end plates obtained from 12 nonweak subjects undergoing thoracotomy served as controls. The results of in vitro microelectrode studies on aliquots of biopsy specimens from these patients are included in the paper by Lambert and Elmqvist for this ~onference .~ CLINICAL DATA


Palmer's paper addresses visual interactive ray tracing (VIRT), specifically referring to Whiteley (2004) and Whiteley and Leung (undated). In these papers, field examples of seismic refraction data from Welcome Reef and Mt Bulga were re-interpreted using VIRTandwavepatheikonaltraveltime(WET)Tomography.These different approaches to near surface refraction interpretation assume very different earth models, from the discrete or 'blocky' modelsforVIRTtothecontinuousvelocitymodelsforWET.This enhanced flexibility permits more realistic seismic modelling in near-surface materials, spanning soils, weathered rock and fresh rocks. My comments and discussions address many of the technical deficiencies, inconsistencies, unsubstantiated statements and claims in Palmer's paper. They are directed at improving the rigour with which near-surface refraction interpretations are undertaken and the quality of these interpretations. In the title, Palmer poses an incompletely defined question. It is not clear actually what 'visual interactive ray trace' is,


An in vivo flow-through fluorometer system revealed narrow bands of very high chlorophyll concentrations in the meta- or hypolimnia of all clear, stratified ELA lakes. In two experimentally fertilized lakes chlorophyll concentrations in the hypolimnion exceeded 300 µg liter−1 while epilimnetic chlorophyll was only 3 µg liter−1. The hypolimnetic bloom represented the major response to enhanced nutrient loading. The peak was in or below the thermocline at depths where 1–3% of photosynthetically available surface irradiance penetrated; the algae at the peak were actively growing flagellated colonial chrysophyceans. The autumn surface "bloom" was due to entrainment of this previously produced chlorophyll, not to growth caused by mixing in of hypolimnetic nutrients.


In the present study, in vitro antioxidant and free radical scavenging capacity of methanol extract from Dioscorea spicata tuber were evaluated using established in vitro models such as DPPH, hydroxyl radical, superoxide radical, ABTS radical cation and reducing power. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were estimated. Methanol extract showed considerable in vitro antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities in a dose dependent manner when compared to the standard antioxidant (ascorbic acid/trolox). Thus, this study suggests that D.spicata tuber can be as a potent source of natural antioxidant.


Objectives To observe effects of simvastatin on plasma levels solubility intercellular adhesion molecule-1(sICAM-1),matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9) and C-reactive profein(CRP) in patients of acute coronary syndrome(ACS) after percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI) and clinical significance.Methods Patients with ACS after PCI were randomly assigned into three groups: one group treated with simvastatin 40 mg/d,another group treated with simvastatin 20 mg/d,while the control group without treated with simvastatin.Before and after the four week treatment,the plasma levels of sICAM-1、MMP-9 and CRP were detected.Results After treatments of simvastatin 20 mg or 40 mg,all patients reduced the levels of sICAM-1,MMP-9 and CRP to the levels of the control group;The levels of sICAM-1,MMP-9 and CRP markedly reduced in simvastatin 40 mg group.Conclusions Treatments with high-dose simvastatin(40 mg)for four weeks could reduce the levels of sICAM-1,MMP-9 and CRP,and improve the function of vascular endothelium,which may promote the stabilization of atherosclerotic plaque.


In Part One last month, author Dwight Golann described the results of a survey he conducted of 32 mediators involving about 60 matters where there was a relationship between the parties. He found, among other things, that integrative settlement terms — though not necessarily those that repair or continue a relationship — appeared in nearly two-thirds of the survey group's 44 settling cases. But comparatively few parties walked away from the negotiating table into a settlement in which the relationship could be considered repaired. This month, Golann explores the factors that affect the likelihood that a relationship will be revived.


A 20-40GHz frequency doubler was implemented in 28–nm CMOS technology for automotive radar applications. The frequency doubler consists of a push-push core, an injection-locked core and two balun transformer. The push-push topology with 3-bit digital power control achieves output power control especially when the output power is deteriorated in high temperature condition. Moreover, an insert-locked technique is adopted in the frequency doubler to improve output power by 13dB. The proposed injection-locked technique was implemented by adding adjustable LC resonator which can make up for frequency deviation. By combine these two topologies, this design achieves high conversion gain (CG) of 6.7dB, high fundamental suppression (FS) of 39.9dB and high power added efficiency (PAE) of 8.56%. The chip size is only 0.10 mm2 excluding PADs.


OBJECTIVE To evaluate weight loss and cardiometabolic risk reduction achieved through an adapted Diabetes Prevention Program intervention among adults at high risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Eight health care facilities implemented a group-based lifestyle intervention beginning in 2008. Participants attended 16 weekly core sessions followed by 6 monthly after core sessions. RESULTS A total of 1,003 participants were enrolled, 816 (81%) completed the core and 578 (58%) completed the after core. Of participants completing the core and after core, 45 and 49% achieved the 7% weight loss goal, respectively. There were significant improvements in blood pressure, fasting glucose, and LDL cholesterol among participants completing the intervention. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate it is feasible for state-coordinated CVD and diabetes prevention programs to achieve significant weight loss and improve cardiometabolic risk.


Ultraviolet image has so small target,low contrast image,district characteristic and real-time demand that it is processed by multi-scale morphology filter technology in this paper.Results show that the method can enhance target and weaken noise.The district corona discharged is processed in the paper.The algorithm is easy to deal in parallel and it can be realized easily by hardware.


We are developing an automated image reduction and analysis pipeline for WFI (Wide Field Imager, mounted on the 2.2-mMPG/ESO telescope at La Silla) and HST/WFPC2 images to complement Querator, the custom search-engine which accesses the astronomical image archives based at the ST-ECF/ESO centre in Garching, Germany. The image reduction and analysis is performed using an 40-processor Origin SGI based at NUI, Galway. To increase our dataset we complement the reduction and analysis of WFI archival images with the analysis of pre-reduced cospatial HST/WFPC2 images, and hope to include other archives as data sources. Our pipeline includes image reduction, registration, astrometry and photometry stages. We describe how we overcome such problems as missing or incorrect image meta-data, interference fringing, poor image calibration files, etc, and we discuss how such a pipeline can benefit astrophysical research, specifically the long-term optical variability of Brown Dwarfs. The pipeline was written using tasks contained in the IRAF environment, and linked together with Unix Shell Scripts and Perl. 1. Virtual Observatories Recent technological advances in observational astronomy have revolutionised the manner and depth at which astronomers image the night sky, and improvements in electronic image acquisition and reduction have increased the information potential which can be gleaned from such exposures. Systematic skysurveys have seen the rise of image archives stored at multiple sites which can


We compared health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients randomized to escalated therapy and those randomized to ablation for ventricular tachycardia in the VANISH trial.


The Russian-Ukrainian war drove up the World prices of food products to their highest levels ever. The present study investigates the impact of this global crisis on Egypt using the data descriptive analysis approach. In view of achieving that goal, the study shed the light on the fluctuations of World prices and their reflection on the Egyptian economy. Particular attention was given to the trade movement and stock changes of wheat as the most strategic commodity for Egypt since Egypt stands as the biggest importer of wheat at the global level. The partial equilibrium model was adopted to assess the impact of the current global crisis on food security and poverty in Egypt through a number of indexes including the indexes of economic efficiency, community economic welfare and the realized government's proceeds from wheat import taxes at the national level.


A by improving thermal uniformity, to provide a wafer heating apparatus which can reduce variation of heat applied to the semiconductor wafer or the like. A wafer heating apparatus (1) includes a base member upper surface is a flat surface (3), an insulating layer heater electrode is buried and (5), the bonded upper surface on the upper surface of the insulating layer (5) and but soaking plate serving as a wafer side (13), are bonded to the lower surface of the top insulating layer of the base member (3) (5), the adhesive layer comprising a resin containing a filler (7) and a cage, the adhesive layer (7) has at least two layers of the second adhesive layer in contact with the first adhesive layer of the base member (3) side (9) and the insulating layer (5) (11), second the adhesive layer (11) a filler comprising of a flat shape, filler flat shape are arranged flat along the surface direction of the second adhesive layer (11).


As funding for Housing Related Support (formerly Supporting People) services continues to shrink, it is timely to revisit the question as to whether 'homeless people' are eligible for publically funded care and support, including personal budgets, organised through the local authority. The Care Act 2014 due to be implemented from April 2015 in England, heralds some positive changes which may serve to open the door to this funding stream which has rarely been used in support of 'homeless people'. As the law currently stands 'homeless people' as a service user group are not eligible for community care assessment (though people who are homeless and who fall into one of the 'eligible groups' by virtue of having a mental health or drug and alcohol problem may be). The Care Act 2014 removes reference to 'eligible' and 'ineligible' groups so that any adult with any level of need will have a right to an assessment. Exploring some of the ways in which homeless people have been excluded from care and support in the past, this paper outlines how homeless organisations can work with local authorities to ensure fairer and more consistent access and in so doing, potentially secure their own futures in the face of fewer 'block contracts' and more individualised forms of commissioning.


Globalization refers to a multidimensional set of social processes that create, multiply, stretch, and intensify worldwide social interdependencies and exchanges while at the same time fostering in people a growing awareness of deepening connections between the local and the distant. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) focuses on the concept that business has a duty to serve society in general as well as the financial/economic interest of stockholders. There is no argument that there are many financial/economic advantages to the corporation when engaging in global activities (globalization). The purpose of this paper is to introduce and describe an approach for incorporating CSR into the global strategic planning and decisionmaking process using a conceptual philosophical/ethical framework. The scope of this paper is limited to a number of anecdotal scenarios (case studies) that are used to illustrate the downside of globalization from a philosophical/ethical perspective. The structure or model that will be used for philosophical/ethical reasoning and analysis in this paper will present several key questions to be asked of alternative actions being developed during the strategic planning process.


Rib movement during respiration is one of the diagnostic criteria in pulmonary impairments. In general, the rib movement is assessed in fluoroscopy. However, the shadows of lung vessels and bronchi overlapping ribs prevent accurate quantitative analysis of rib movement. Recently, an image-processing technique for separating bones from soft tissue in static chest radiographs, called "bone suppression technique", has been developed. Our purpose in this study was to evaluate the usefulness of dynamic bone images created by the bone suppression technique in quantitative analysis of rib movement. Dynamic chest radiographs of 10 patients were obtained using a dynamic flat-panel detector (FPD). Bone suppression technique based on a massive-training artificial neural network (MTANN) was applied to the dynamic chest images to create bone images. Velocity vectors were measured in local areas on the dynamic bone images, which formed a map. The velocity maps obtained with bone and original images for scoliosis and normal cases were compared to assess the advantages of bone images. With dynamic bone images, we were able to quantify and distinguish movements of ribs from those of other lung structures accurately. Limited rib movements of scoliosis patients appeared as reduced rib velocity vectors. Vector maps in all normal cases exhibited left-right symmetric distributions, whereas those in abnormal cases showed nonuniform distributions. In conclusion, dynamic bone images were useful for accurate quantitative analysis of rib movements: Limited rib movements were indicated as a reduction of rib movement and left-right asymmetric distribution on vector maps. Thus, dynamic bone images can be a new diagnostic tool for quantitative analysis of rib movements without additional radiation dose.


We have improved the correlator developed by J. -C. Diels. In the new type it is consisted of only four prsims; and henoe three pairs of glued optical surfaces become unnecessary. The angle tolerance of prisms is less than 5 second. Auto-ajustment method with prisms is presented in this papers We have designed a reasonable system fyr transmission in which the intensity and phase correlation curves are obtained by onlp changing the voltage applied on the motor.
It is worth pointing out that the phase correlation curve carries information of pulsewidth, which can be measured more accurately from the phase correlation curve.