New Purposes – New Practices – New Pedagogy (NP3) is a collaboration between The Open University, Lancaster University and Manchester Metropolitan University, led by Professor Peter Twining. NP3 is finding out about how children's digital practices influence teaching and learning. NP3 aims to find out about how children use digital devices outside school and what influence (if any) these practices have on what pupils and teachers do inside primary schools. The focus is on pedagogy across the curriculum (rather than the teaching of computing). Our Research Questions (RQs) for these exploratory studies are: RQ1 What are the digital practices that pupils bring to their learning in school? RQ2 Across subject domains what do teachers' intended and enacted pedagogic practices indicate about their awareness of and the value accorded to pupils' digital competencies, and how do pupils' experience these pedagogic practices? RQ3 What institutional circumstances and practices enable or undermine how pupils' digital competencies and practices are recognised (RQ1) and integrated into teachers' practice (RQ2)? This brief report provides a snapshot of the digital practices evident in one of the 10 Exploratory Studies that we conducted between October 2015 and March 2016, with a summary of emerging findings from this Exploratory Study. For further details about NP3 go to http://www.np3.org.uk.


We propose to demonstrate HYRISE, a main memory hybrid database system, which automatically partitions tables into vertical partitions consisting of variable numbers of columns based on access patterns to each table. Using an accurate model of cache misses, HYRISE is able to predict the performance of different partitionings, and to automatically select the best partitions using an automated database partitioning algorithm. Our demonstration will show the results of the physical partitioning based on different query workloads, allowing demo attendees to visualize, fine-tune, and modify the partitioning using a GUI. It will then show how the various physical designs affect the query plans and the performance of the database as a whole. Attendees can thus experiment with various physical models, and can grasp the potential of hybrid partitionings, which achieve a 20% to 400% performance improvement over pure all-column or all-row designs on our realistic hybrid workload derived from customer applications.


This paper is about limit pricing under complete information and endogenous market demands. If pre-entry and post-entry market demands are correlated, then limit pricing can be an equilibrium strategy under complete information without government intervention. Furthermore, with government intervention, limiting entry via government dominates self-limiting strategy for the incumbent monopolist. The entry regulation by the benevolent government to prevent excess entry is exploited by the incumbent as a way to protect monopoly position. As a result, the social welfare with entry regulation is lower than under pure market equilibrium. The idea of this paper is general enough to be applied to other dynamic models of sequential entry like a location model of product differentiation.


Similarity measure is one of the most important measures of interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy (IVIF) sets. This article will put forward a new similarity measure, which considers the impacts of membership degree, nonmembership degree and median point of IVIF sets. For cases with partially known attribute weight information in multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) problems, a new weighting method is put forward by establishing the maximum similarity optimization model to solve the optimal weights. Further, a new decision-making method is developed on the basis of proposed similarity measure, and an applied example proves the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed methods.


74 individuals of "cambute" (Strombus gracilior), were collected in Playa Panamá (10 degrees 35' 45"N, 85 degrees 40' 09" W), Costa Rica. The sex ratio was 1:1 and the size range 70-80mm (total length). The yield was 80% of edible meat. The average values of the macroconstituents to both sizes were: water 72.6% males and 70.9% females; 19.09g% protein in males and 26.89g% in females; carbohydrates 1.85g% males and 1.35g% females; 0.44g% crude fiber both males and females; within ashes there wre variations (2.30-3.71g%) among size and sex. Fat reached a maximum value of 0.94 and 0.91g% (length 80mm) for males and females respectively. In minerals, maximum values for the Na and K of 1440.88 and 1898.33 micrograms/g respectively were obtained for 80mm males; females of the same size showed values of 1376.97 micrograms/g for the Na and of 2393.09 micrograms/g for K; the other minerals (Cu, Mg, Fe) had lower values in relation to the above but the normal according to the literature.


In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the workplace in Sub-Saharan Africa should build on the missions of occupational health in the formal sector and on the promotion of well-being and occupational health in the informal sector. Technical prevention measures adopted at the collective level (awareness-raising, training and hygiene) and at the individual level (personal protective equipment and vaccination) as well as disease prevention measures (screening and surveillance) are in line with the recommendations advocated by the authorities.


Unlike a large percentage of the population, I have always found it very comfortable and natural to be in front of an audience. Therefore, I am constantly surprised at the negative and often fearful reactions of many when they are required so to do. Effective oral communication and teamwork skills are essential and invaluable tools in both the education system and the workplace. This is evidenced by the fact that Department of Learning has mandated Speaking and Representation as part of Alberta's Language Arts Curriculum. Furthermore, the Conference Board of Canada's Employability Skills Profile lists teamwork as one of the three critical skills required for success in the Canadian workplace. (Appendix 1)1 firmly believe that the 4MAT System provides a vehicle by which these skills can be acquired, therefore it has been incorporated into my Language Arts/Social Studies Program both at the planning stage and at the student level. Implementation of Dr. Bernice McCarthy's 4MAT System at the student level, specifically as it relates to making oral presentations, is the focus of this project. Because students at the Junior High level are extremely self-conscious, therefore reluctant to be singled out, students are introduced to oral presentations using the 4MAT System in a less threatening situation, that of cooperative learning. The purpose of this project is three fold: 1) to improve student communication and presentation skills using the 4MAT


This chapter argues that the several traditions of communications research converge on the problem of explaining media efffects. The critical tradition emphasizes the role of media ownership in purveying false consciousness and reinforcing the status quo. Technological theorists are concerned with how media structure the ways in which we think and organize. Theorists of content are interested in the persuasive powers of the media, while the (neglected) tradition of contextual studies suggests that the key to effect is in the way in which the audience is "situated."


Pot experiments with different vegetables were carried out in soilless culture. Different amount of mineral fertilizer or manure were applied to study the change of biomass and quality of vegetables. The results showed that the quality of vegetables were much better when manure were applied. And high biomass of vegetables can be obtained in manure treatments. In both lettuce and celery Vc content were higher in manure treatments than in mineral fertilizer treatments. While nitrate content was much lower in manure treatments. Results also proved that manure can decrease organic acid concentration in vegetables. Compared with the mineral fertilizer,manure has the long-term effect to plants. In soilless culture sterilized organic manure can be used instead of nutrient water.


Agricultural production monitoring plays a key role in a variety of economic and environmental practices including crop yield forecasting, identifying risk of disease and application of chemicals. Remote sensing has the potential to provide accurate crop condition information across large areas and has the ability to deliver information products in a timely within-season manner. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) frequencies are unaffected by most atmospheric conditions, making use of this technology of interest to crop monitoring. In this study, RADARSAT-2 polarimetric SAR responses of 21 parameters are compared with dry biomass of canola, corn, soybean, and spring wheat crops over a 6-week period for a site in western Canada. Dry biomass was targeted as this variable is a strong predictor of crop productivity. During the period of biomass accumulation, significant correlations with dry biomass were observed for most SAR parameters, for corn, canola, and soybeans. These findings are of interest as they could be used to target fungicide applications (canola) and to determine silage yields and resistance to disease (corn). For spring wheat, linear cross polarization and circular cross polarization backscatter, volume scattering and pedestal height were able to detect when wheat entered the milking stage which could prove useful as an indicator for the timing of spring wheat harvest. This study demonstrates that polarimetric SAR responds to accumulation of dry biomass, but as well that several radar parameters can uniquely identify changes in crop structure and phenology.


A 51-d study was conducted to determine creep feed intake by suckling beef calves (N = 51) on range. Daily mean attendance at the creep feeder was 21 ± 10.3%, (range 2 to 43%) and mean intake was 1009 ± 634.4 g calf-1 d-1 (range from 67 to 3424g calf-1 d-1). Creep feed intake and attendance by calves on range may be too variable to be considered an effective method of delivering pharmaceuticals. Key words: Creep feed, intake, calf, feeding behavior


Early recollections are valuable resources for practitioners to enhance further understanding of the interactions related to couple relationships. To illuminate conceptualization for couple therapy, suggestions are made regarding the use of early recollections and the implications for practice. The authors provide a case study in which current research and techniques in the interpretive process are used and discussed.


AIM: To study the protective effect of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) on alveolar type II cells (AT-Ⅱ) damaged by lipopolysaccharide (LPS).METHODS: AT-Ⅱ were placed in a 6 well cell culture cluster (0.5×106 cells/cm2) and divided into 3 groups: (1) control group (n=6), the medium consisted of RPMI-1640 without FBS. (2) LPS group (n=6), the medium consisted of RPMI-1640 without FBS supplemented with LPS (1 mg/L). (3) ANP group (n=6), the medium consisted of RPMI-1640 without FBS supplemented with LPS (1 mg/L) and ANP (10-8, 10-7, 10-6 mol/L). After 4, 12 and 24 h, the cell culture mediums of control group, LPS group and ANP (10-7 mol/L) group were collected, and those of the ANP (10-6, 10-8 mol/L) group were collected after 12 h. Alkaline phosphatase(AKP), lactate dehydrogenase(LDH), malondialdehyde(MDA), total phospholipids (TPL) and surface tension (ST) in the medium of every group were examined. RESULTS: AT-Ⅱ were characterized by AKP staining. The contents of LDH, AKP and MDA in the medium of every ANP group were lower than those in the corresponding LPS group. The TPL content in the medium of every ANP group was higher than that in the corresponding LPS group, and the change of ST of the medium was opposite to that of TPL. The effect at 12 h was the most significant, for example, at 12 h, the activities of AKP in the mediums were: control (43.5±10.4) U/L, LPS (98.1±16.4) U/L, LPS+ANP (10-6) (46.4±10.5) U/L, LPS+ANP(10-7) (60.7±9.5) U/L, LPS+ANP(10-8) (91.3±13.9) U/L.CONCLUSION: ANP protects the AT-Ⅱ from being damaged by LPS and promotes the secretion of pulmonary surfactants.


nomic development during the period of British rule-nearly two centuries, from 1786 to 1957. This more solid work is divided into three parts, each well-documented. Part One is devoted to the origins and characteristics of the Indian migration from India to Malaya under the British system of indentured recruitment of Indian laborers for the Malayan tin mines and rubber plantations. Part Two discusses the


With this well‐worth‐reading monograph, the brief, adventurous life of Bernardo de Galvez (1746‐1786) returns to Anglophone historiography. After the 84‐year solo of John Walton Caughey's Bernardo ...


With the rise of manycore processors, parallelism is becoming a mainstream necessity. Unfortunately, parallel programming is inherently more difficult than sequential programming; therefore, techniques for automatic parallelisation will become indispensable. We aim at extending the well-known polyhedron model, which promises this automation, beyond some of its current restrictions. Up to now, loop bounds and array subscripts in the modelled codes must be expressions linear in both the variables and the parameters. We lift this restriction and allow certain polynomial expressions instead of linear ones. With our extensions, we are able to handle more programs in all phases of the parallelisation process (dependence analysis, transformation of the program model, code generation). We extend Banerjee's classical dependence analysis to handle one non-linear parameter p, i.e., we are able to determine precisely the solutions of the system of conflict equalities for input programs with non-linear array accesses like A[p · i] in dependence of the residue class of p. We make contributions to three transformations desirable in automatic parallelisation. First, we show that using a generalised Simplex algorithm, which we have developed, schedules with non-linear parameters like θ(i) = ⌊ i n ⌋ can be computed. In addition, such schedules can be expressed easily as a quantifier elimination problem but this approach turns out to be computationally less efficient with the available implementation. As a second transformation, we study parametric tiling which is used to adapt a parallelised program to the number of available processors at run time. Third, we present a localisation technique to exploit scratchpad memories on architectures on which data caching has to be handled by software. We transform a given code such that it keeps values which are reused in successive iterations of a sequential loop in the scratchpad. An access to a value written in an earlier iteration is served from the scratchpad to accelerate the access. In general, this transformation introduces non-linear loop bounds in the transformed model. Finally, we present an algorithm for generating code for arbitrary semi-algebraic iteration sets, i.e., for iteration sets described by polynomial inequalities in the variables and parameters. This is a vast generalisation of existing polyhedral code generation techniques. Although our algorithm is less efficient than polyhedral code generators, this paves the way for a code generator that can handle arbitrary parametric tilings and other transformations which introduce non-linear parameters (like non-linear schedules and the localisation we present) or even non-linear variables. Technically, our extensions rely on results from algebra (multivariate polynomials and univariate quasi-polynomials) and logic (quantifier elimination in the reals). We prove that solutions of systems of linear Diophantine equalities with one non-linear parameter can be computed by a generalisation of a well-known algorithm for the non-parametric case to coefficients which are univariate quasi-polynomials in the parameter. Computing schedules and other transformations are directly related to quantifier elimination or can be performed by a generalisation of an algorithm for the linear case by the help of quantifier elimination. Cylindrical algebraic decomposition (originally developed as a method for quantifier elimination) is the key to generating code for iteration sets with polynomial bounds. To generate code, a suitable partitioning of the index sets is required. We observe that such partitionings are cylindrical and, based on this observation, present a code generation algorithm based on cylindrical algebraic decomposition for iteration sets with arbitrary polynomial bounds.


Background: The study aims to define the profile of women who decide to exercise their right to terminate a pregnancy and their future reproductive plans. Methods: Patients found eligible for termination for medical reasons between 2014 and 2016 were asked to complete an anonymous survey consisting of sixty questions examining the determinants of the decision to terminate a pregnancy. In total, 150 completed surveys were returned (62.5%). Results: Environmental factors, such as age, education, place of residence, marital status and financial status did not affect the decision-making process. The majority of the respondents were females under 35 years of age (71.3%). In most cases, the pregnancies had been planned and long-awaited (62.7%). The study also indicated that 22.6% of the patients who had been against abortion changed their mind when they encountered problems themselves. In addition, 20% of them changed their views on the acceptability of abortion. Termination had an impact on the participants future reproductive plans. Eighteen percent of the patients said they were definitely not planning more pregnancies. The majority (84.09%) of these women said that the reason was the traumatic experiences related to their pregnancy. Conclusions: The personal experience of a pregnancy termination procedure changed women's opinions about pregnancy termination and modified further reproductive plans.


In the Eastern Goldfields Superterrane of Western Australia (A and B, right), pyrite nodules are present in sulfidic and carbonaceous black shales at the Golden Mile Au deposit, Kalgoorlie; the Nimbus Ag-ZnPbVHMS deposit, 17 km E of the Golden Mile; the Lucky Bay
polymetallic prospect (70 km SE of Kalgoorlie); and the Erayinia (King) Cu-Zn VHMS deposit (150 km SE of Kalgoorlie). In general, all pyrite nodules analyzed via LA-ICP-MS in this study are enriched in many trace elements, with up to 5 ppm Au in Oroya Shale nodules from the Golden Mile. Nodules from the Golden Mile are highest in Au, while the nodules from Nimbus and Erayinia are higher in Zn and lower in Au than the Golden Mile examples. Nodules from Lucky Bay compositionally fall in between the Golden Mile and Nimbus/Erayinia nodules. In addition, many nodules from all four localities have pronounced pressure shadows that are predominantly filled with quartz but also contain chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and cubic pyrite in many instances. Trace element imaging of these features shows that the chemical signature of the cubic pressure shadow pyrite is not the same as that of the nodules, but that the signature of the cubic pressure shadow pyrite is uniform across the region. From this study, it is evident that diagenetic pyrite nodules faithfully record the chemistry of the fluid(s) that formed them, which, in the case of the Golden Mile (Au) and Nimbus (Zn), is dominated by the economic metal in those districts. They may therefore be used as a first-pass indicator of metallogenic fertility in a given basin.


T wave alternans signal was obtained from a patient who recently recovered from ventricular fibrillation. The power spectrum of the T wave alternans is computed using an autoregressive model based technique. The signal is found to be a sinusoid at a frequency equal to the half of the heart rate and amplitude modulated with another sinusoid at a lower frequency, Relation between the spectrums of the T wave alternance signal and the RR variation signal is also discussed.


We investigate the computing power of a restricted class of DNA strand displacement structures: those that are made of double strands with nicks (interruptions) in the top strand. To preserve this structural invariant, we impose restrictions on the single strands they interact with: we consider only two-domain single strands consisting of one toehold domain and one recognition domain. We study fork and join signal processing gates based on these structures, and show that these systems are amenable to formalisation and mechanical verification.


The objective of this observation is to describe:   (1)  Teaching materials construction process is based on inquiries aided by multimedia;   (2) The construction through Geometry materials in particulars to qualify critical thinking ability of students.  This obersevation apply the tool of  Qualitatif Descriptive Method Analysis with developed Model 4-D.  The targeted subjects were over High School students of 10thwho scattered demographically across North Sumatra.  The object is is constructing mathematical teaching materials based on inquiries aided by Multimedia.  The experimental oberservation inferred that:   (1)  the 4-D Thiagarajan encompasses 4 phases, they are definition, design, construction, dissemination;   (2) the results are feasible applied becasue meet the valid criteria, simple and effective.  The valid criteria is visible from format aspect, language, illustration and content through expertise assessment.  Simplicity criteria emerged from teachers' activity to prepare the good learning in other hand that teaching materials regarded simple.  Meanwhile effectivity criteria perceptible from students' activity in learning and positive response.


Synthesis of a novel metal free porphyrin dyad with excellent electronic coupling and anti-aggregating stability via strong anchoring to semiconductor through six carboxyl groups exhibiting 6.9% PCE in a truly energy generating DSSC.


To improve the precision of mixed genetic analysis of quantitative tra its, three kinds of methods were proposed. By jointing the above methods, joint segregating analysis (JSA) of quantitative trait for the replicated family exper iment (RFE) of P 1, F 1, P 2, B 1∶2 , B 2∶2 and F 2∶3 was se t up in the paper. The r esults of an example of the inheritance of date to flower of Brassica napus L. showed that the Akaike′s information criterion (AIC) values of genetic model s using the averaged data of multiple replications would be lower than those usi ng th e data of one replication; the precision of the first order genetic parameters c an be improved by means of adding the information of P 1, F 1 and P 2 genera tions; t he unbiased error variance obtained by analysis of variance of RFE could improve the precision of the estimates of second order genetic parameters.


A floating zone (FZ) furnace was modified into a high vacuum type furnace in order to grow high-purity single crystals of MoSi2 and WSi2. The impurity levels of the grown MoSi2 single crystals were very low and the residual resistivity ratio was large, indicating that the grown crystals were of good quality. Compression tests of MoSi2 and WSi2 single crystals were conducted at 900 - 1500 C, and the orientation and temperature dependence of the strength were investigated. Transmission electron microscopic observation of the deformed specimens was also conducted. 10 refs.


Based on the topology of the six-port junction,the scattering matrix was derived from its admittance matrix,on he other hand,the scattering matrix was derived by eigenmode method.By equating these two scattering matrixes derived from these two scattering matrixes derived from these two different methods,the parameters of its microstrip circuit were determined.A six-port junction with the center frequency of 2.4 GHz is designed and simulated in Serenade,the results indicate its relative bandwidth is 26%,fulfilling the aim of wideband design.This method is simple but very efficient in designing multi-ports networks,and is easy to fulfill wideband design by controlling the calculation precision,so it can be introduced to other multi-ports designs.


Although microtubule (MT) dynamic instability is thought to depend on the guanine nucleotide (GTP vs GDP) bound to the β-tubulin of the terminal subunit(s), the MT minus end exhibits dynamic instability even though the terminal β-tubulin is always crowned by GTP−α-tubulin. As an approach toward understanding how dynamic instability occurs at the minus end, we investigated the effects of N-ethylmaleimide-modified tubulin (NTb) on elongation and rapid shortening of individual MTs. NTb preferentially inhibits minus end assembly when combined with unmodified tubulin (PCTb), but the mechanism of inhibition is unknown. Here, video-enhanced differential interference contrast microscopy was used to observe the effects of NTb on MTs assembled from PCTb onto axoneme fragments. MTs were exposed to mixtures of PCTb (25 μM) and NTb (labeled on ≈1 Cys per monomer) in which the NTb/PCTb ratio varied from 0.025 to 1. The NTb/PCTb mixture had a slight inhibitory effect on the plus end elongation rate, but significantly in...


The template system, the mould of fresh concrete, plays an important role in the concrete structure construction. At present, in the process of steel template concreting in axis rotating structures, the template system adopts the traditional construction technology of formwork with scaffolding; thus, the template can not withstand the loop force, hence difficult construction and safety hazards. Aimed at the deficiencies in template system design, a new kind of steel template that can bear loop force has been designed with the software ANSYS. Taking a rotating structure as an example, this paper, based on the stress test of the structure, has analyzed the distribution and change of the stress under the steel template construction. The results show that the design of the template is reasonable and that it is also applicable to similar structures.


The speech is mainly about the "two cultures†(modern society—the cultures of the science and that of the humanities) syndrome—the apparent gap between those espousing the case for faster economic growth and those calling for greater attention to protection of the environment. On the face of it, there should be no gap at all—who can argue against faster economic growth since that alone will generate more jobs and at the same time who can argue against the preservation of our rivers, lakes, mountains and wonderful biodiversity in its myriad forms, since that alone will make for sustainable development. [Text of 11th ISRO-JNCASR Satish Dhawan Memorial Lecture delivered at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientifi c Research, Bangalore].


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationship of cardiopulmonary bypass-associated plasma dilution with blood product transfusion and postoperative morbidity.

DESIGN
Retrospective chart review.

SETTING
Single academic medical center.

PARTICIPANTS
Five hundred forty adults undergoing cardiac surgery between January 4, 2005 and September 19, 2007.

INTERVENTIONS
Records were analyzed for demographics, blood volumes (BVs), and fluid balance. Plasma protein concentrations (% of baseline) at the end of bypass were calculated. The lowest and highest quartiles of plasma protein concentration were correlated with blood product administration and postoperative complications.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
At the end of bypass, calculated plasma protein concentrations ranged from a low of 10% to a high of 111% of baseline. Concentrations below 45% of baseline were associated with increased blood product administration, longer ventilator support, and longer intensive care unit stay.

CONCLUSIONS
Patient morbidity and likelihood of transfusion were associated with calculated plasma protein concentrations below 45% of baseline. Bleeding and administered fluids decrease both hematocrit and plasma proteins. Infusion of washed, salvaged blood or red blood cells raises hematocrit, but further dilutes clotting factors. If this dilution is excessive, coagulopathy may ensue. Patients with the smallest BVs are at greatest risk, but dilution can negatively impact patients with large BVs as well if the fluid used for cardiopulmonary bypass prime and anesthesia management represents a significant fraction of total BV.


This paper reports the distribution of pal-1 mRNA in Caenorhabditis elegans early embryo of wild type, par-1,par-2, par-3,par-4 mutant, spn-4 mutant and mex-5/mex-6 mutant via in situ hybridization. In wild type embryos, pal-1 mRNA showed asymmetric localization in one cell, two cell and 4-cell embryos. At 4-cell embryo, posterior 2 cells showed higher levels than anterior cells. In par-1,par-3,par-4 mutant embryos, pal-1mRNA lost asymmetric localization and were present everywhere. Loss function of par-2 did not affect the distribution of pal-1mRNA. spn-4, mex-5 and mex-6 also affected pal-1mRNA asymmetric distribution. In par-1,par-4 mutant, pal-1mRNA was present everywhere but no PAL-1 was detected in any cells of 4-cell embryos. This implies that the translational regulation of pal-1mRNA may be the reason for spatially and temporally asymmetric location of PAL-1 protein.


The used of tea waste as a low-cost natural biosorbent for the removal of heavy metals and dyes had been investigated. The high concentration of Iron (II) and methylene blue caused environment problem. The purpose of this study is to investigate the capability of tea waste as the biosorbent in removal of Iron (II) and methylene blue from aqueous solution in laboratory scale. Batch experiments were conducted to determine the effects of varying biosorbent dosage, pH and contact time of adsorption.. Tea waste was prepared by dried with 60⁰C for 24 hours, blended and sieved into 400µm. This experiment was carried out in conical flasks within initial concentration for methylene blue is 10mg/L and Iron (II) solution is 500mg/L. Then agitated in orbital shaker CERTOMAT S-II with oscillation 200rpm. For methylene blue, UV-Vis Spectrophotometer had been used to measure the absorbance while HACH Spectrophotometer DR/2400 was used to measure the final concentration of the Iron solution. The biosorption was found to be maximum dosage is 1.0g for both solution. For parameter contact time, the biosorption started to be constant at 330 minutes for iron solution and 180 minutes for methylene blue. By varying pH range of 1 – 12, the optimum removal of Iron (II) achieved at pH 6 and methylene blue at pH 8. As the conclusion, tea waste can remove 95% - 99% Iron(II) and 85% - 99% Methylene Blue. Tea waste can be very suitable for development as an efficient biosorbent in removing Iron(II) and methylene blue for wastewater treatment.


The entrepreneurs growing water lilies in the temperate climate of Margaret River who don their wetsuits each day to harvest the lovely flowers.


INTRODUCTION: Tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease tracks clinical status more closely than beta-amyloid. Thus, tau-PET may be a promising prognostic marker for cognitive decline. Here, we systematically compared tau-PET and Braak-staging vs. amyloid-PET as predictors of cognitive decline. METHODS: We included 396 cognitively normal to dementia subjects with 18F-Flutemetamol/18F-Florbetapir-amyloid-PET, 18F-Flortaucipir-tau-PET and ~2-year cognitive assessments. Annual cognitive change rates were calculated via linear-mixed models. We determined global amyloid-PET, global tau-PET, and tau-PET-based Braak-stage (Braak 0/Braak I+/Braak I-IV+/Braak I-VI+/Braak atypical+). In bootstrapped linear regression, we assessed whether tau-PET outperformed amyloid-PET in predicting cognitive decline. Using ANCOVAs, we tested whether later Braak-stage predicted accelerated cognitive decline and determined Braak-stage-specific conversion risk to MCI or dementia. RESULTS: Global tau-PET was a better predictor of cognitive decline than global amyloid-PET (p<0.001). Advanced Braak-stage was associated with faster cognitive decline (p<0.001) and elevated clinical conversion risk. DISCUSSION: Tau-PET and Braak-staging show promise for predicting patient-specific risk of clinical AD progression.


The Energy Production and Conservation Act (EPCA) of 1976 mandated the setting of building energy performance standards (BEPS) for all newly constructed buildings. One of the classes of buildings included in EPCA is single-family residences. These standards cover the energy used for space heating, air conditioning, and water heating. This report describes the evaluation of direct energy and economic impacts of three proposed levels of single-family BEPS: lenient, mid, and strict. The lenient level is the least stringent in requiring improvements in eneryperformance of residence while the strict is the most stringent. Each of the levels and the method of developing them are also described. The ORNL residential energy model is used to calculate energy savings and economic impacts of BEPS to the nation. The model is also used to estimate the sensitivity of the results to several exogenous variables: projected fuel prices, baseline energy codes, capital csts, short-run price elasticities, and discount rates. The Net Present Value (NPV) and cumulative energy savings from 1980 to 2020 are the two measures used to compare the standards. Both the lenient and mid level standards provide a positive economic benefit to the country of 1.24 and 2.58 billion dollars, respectively. Even thoughmore » the strict standard has the largest energy savings, it has a negative economic cost of 1.5 billion dollars to the nation. The cumulative energy savings of the lenient, mid, and strict level standards are 4.2, 10.2, and 20.1 EJ, respectively.« less


Abstract RESEARCH workers generally agree that egg weight depends largely upon inherited factors and there is general agreement that it depends upon several Mendelian factors. There is, however, a considerable disagreement regarding the mode of inheritance. Benjamin (1920), Hurst (1921), Kopec (1924), and Hays (1929 and 1937) all consider small egg size as dominant to large. Waters and Weldin (1929) are inclined to believe that large egg size is dominant. Evidence is meager regarding possible sex-linked genes affecting egg size probably because there is no accurate way of determining the male's phenotype. Recently Waters (1939) has presented extensive data to indicate that the selection of dams on the basis of egg weight phenotype is far more effective than the selection of sires on the basis of their sisters' egg weight. Unfortunately, a parallel study was not reported on the breeding ability of dams selected on the basis of their sisters' egg . . .


In the process of promoting the government's administrative decision-making more scientific and democratic,democratic decision-making and scientific decision-making often come into conflict.Therefore,whether both can be balanced well or not is an important criterion of measuring the effect of administrative system reform.It is essential to grasp the profound meaning of democratic decision-making and scientific decision-making and combine the masses interests with the scientific spirit,to take democratic decision-making as a basis for ensuring the legality of the decision-making and take scientific decision-making as a guide for ensuring the scientific of the decision-making.


This paper analyzes the effects of distance as a common determinant of exports and FDI in a three factors New Trade Theory model assuming that distance affects both pure trade costs and plant set-up costs. Exports and FDI are not necessarily substitutes with respect to distance since the predicted sign depends on its importance for fixed plant set-up costs relative to transportation costs. For the empirical specification, we suggest that the impact of of time-invariant variables such as distance is most appropriately analyzed in a Hausman-Taylor SURmodel. In our application, outward FDI is negatively affected by distance while its effect on exports is insignificant. Exports and outward FDI are complementary with respect to the time-invariant unobserved factors and also with respect to the majority of the exogenous observed determinants.


In order to investigate the mechanisms and the factors to govern the brittle fracture initiation during the fatigue crack propagation at low temperatures, (1) Fracture toughness tests under wide range of loading rate(2) Fatigue tests at low temperature(3) Fracture toughness tests suffered from pre-loading were performed. And detailed observations and analyses were carried out on the load, the load-line-displacement and the strain near crack tip at around the fracture initiation, and on the fractography by means of the scanning electron microscope.The main results obtained were as follows, (1) The fracture load was always lower than the maximum load of cyclic loading, therefore, the loading rate was non-zero value at the brittle fracture initiation.(2) Since the residual stress due to the cyclic loading was less effective on the brittle fracture initiation if it were compared with the loading rate effect, the fatigue fracture toughness Kfc was estimated as equivalent value as the fracture toughness Kc under the monotonic tensile loading. If the Kfc and the Kc were analyzed as a function of the K (=dK/dt), there is no significant difference between them.(3) The residual stress due to the cyclic loading, though, showed large effect on the fatigue crack extension as usual manner.The calculated fatigue life based on the Paris' formula with taking into consideration of the residual stress showed good one-by-one correspondence with the observed fatigue life up to the brittle fracture initiation.Therefore, a design curve to determine the fatigue life at low temperature was preliminarily proposed.(4) Comparing with the results obtained from the fracture toughness tests after having been given monotonic tensile pre-load, the pre-loading effect of cyclic loading at low temperature was shown to be explained by the ρ+ theory.


Though risk perception theory has advanced a lot over the last decades, its preferred methodologies much of them closed-led questionnaires or intrusive instruments obscures the derived conclusions. This text aims not only to explore the problems and limitation of risk perception theory to understand the difference between fear, anxiety, panic and risk, but also the tourist-safety. The adoption of risk research, post 9/11 was based on quantitative methods alone. This creates a serious conceptual myopia to understand the connection of risk and late-capitalism. Our attempt to fulfill this gap is shown in this essay-review


In this paper,the properties of the virus dynamics model with CTL immune response are studied.The virus is cleared if the basic reproduction number,R_0≤1 and the virus persists if R_01.The immune-free equilibrium E_1 and the endemic equilibrium E~* exist and are asymptotically stable under some conditions.If the conditions do not hold,numeric stimulations show that they may be unstable and Hopf birfurcation may occur.


The low earth orbit satellite constellation is used for the discussed object in this paper. Regarding coverage performance as an important consideration, it states the general idea and method of the optimal design with the requirement of partial coverage for small satellite constellation in details. Based on the analysis of the key factors effect on the constellation performance, the optimal model is given by choosing the appropriate parameters with some constraints. For the design of different satellite planes, the potential and characteristic of constellation optimization are stated through the comparison between two orbit surface and three orbit surface constellation with some a specific task. Whereafter simulation and analysis is done. The result shows that the optimal model provided herein is of theoretical meaning and practical application.


This article analyses the impact of the 'depth' of new-age preferential trade agreements (PTAs) signed by nations on value-added trade as well as trade in final and intermediate goods carried out b...


Studies were performed on three age groups of paired normotensive (NR) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) in order to determine the hemodynamic characteristics during the natural development of progressive hypertensive vascular disease. Under ether anesthesia and thoracotomy, aortic blood flow (electromagnetic flowmeter) and carotid arterial and central venous pressures were recorded simultaneously. All groups of SHR rats demonstrated progressively increased arterial pressures and left ventricular weights (P < 0.001). In the youngest (9 to 12 weeks) group of SHR rats, associated with the elevated arterial pressure was a hyperkinetic circulation manifested by significantly increased heart rate, cardiac output, maximum aortic flow acceleration, and peak flow velocity (P < 0.001 for all); total peripheral resistance was normal. In the matched older groups of SHR rats (18 to 33 weeks and 62 to 97 weeks), the elevated arterial pressure was associated with an increased vascular resistance and normal cardiac output. These hemodynamic characteristics during the development of spontaneous hypertension provide the first direct evidence for a sequential transition from a hyperkinetic circulatory state with inappropriately normal resistance to that of a normal cardiac output and a sustained increase in vascular resistance in an experimental model closely akin to human essential hypertension.


In order to explain the succession character of wetland species diversity in the past thirty years in the Sanjiang Plain, Carex lasiocarpa community,which is most widely distributed,was chosen as study subject. Then sampling surveys was widely carried out in the field. We found that the species richness decreased notably. The average height of Carex lasiocarpa was reduced by 18cm. The Drude grade was also reduced by one grade. Species component was altered greatly. The important degree of dominance species,which important value more than 0.3,was lessened. The species number was reduced. The community succession was on the comedown phase rapidly,and the evidence of degeneration was naked. The shortage of water quantity can be explained to be main reasons causing Carex lasiocarpa community degeneration quickly.


Abstract. Host rejection of parasitic eggs is the most important defence against avian brood parasitism. Here, we examined the influence of egg size differences between host and parasite eggs on egg rejection behaviour in a population of Reed Warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus parasitized by Common Cuckoos Cuculus canorus. To this end, we experimentally parasitized host clutches using real Chinese Quail Coturnix chinensis and conspecific eggs. Both egg types were painted immaculate blue. The Chinese Quail eggs differed from host eggs in both size and colour, while the conspecific eggs differed only in colour. There were no differences in the rate of rejection rate of the two types of experimental eggs. However, Chinese Quail eggs were rejected primarily by nest desertion, whereas conspecific eggs were mostly ejected. Moreover, clutches with Chinese Quail eggs were deserted significantly sooner in comparison with the ejection of conspecific eggs. Therefore, egg size differences apparently affect the mode and speed but not the rate of egg rejection in this host population.


On-line Experimental investigations have been carried out to examine parameters which show marked changes in the performance of coke fired cupolas during melting such that a decrease in optimum conditions can be predicted. This decrease in performance usually results in increase in pollution levels, especially that of particulate emissions from the stack. Previous models by other workers have been examined and classified into three groups, those involving the use of heat transfer coefficients, thermodynamic and chemical methods, and models based on the statistical analysis of data. From the measurements of the top gases it is shown that the carbon monoxide levels identify problems within the melting zone and that a drop in the carbon monoxide level indicates that the iron temperature is about to fall and that foaming slag is developing.


The viability of using a ZnxZryOz mixed oxide catalyst for the direct production of C4 olefins from the aqueous phase derived from three different bio-oils was explored. The aqueous phases derived from (i) hydrothermal liquefaction of corn stover, (ii) fluidized bed fast pyrolysis of horse litter, and (iii) screw pyrolysis of wood pellets were evaluated as feedstocks. While exact compositions vary, the primary constituents for each feedstock are acetic acid and propionic acid. Continuous processing, based on liquid–liquid extraction, for the cleanup of the inorganic contaminants contained in the aqueous phase was also demonstrated. Complete conversion of the carboxylic acids was achieved over ZnxZryOz catalyst for all the feedstocks investigated. The main reaction products from each of the feedstocks include isobutene (>30% selectivity) and CO2 (>23% selectivity). Activity loss from coking was also observed, thereby rendering deactivation of the ZnxZryOz catalyst, however, complete recovery of catalyst activity was observed following regeneration. Finally, the presence of H2 in the feed was found to facilitate hydrogenation of intermediate acetone, thereby increasing propene production and, consequently, decreasing isobutene production.


In 1891, the federal government excluded polygamous migrants from entering the United States. This clause, originally designed to stop Mormon migration to the West, had a strange career that filtered diverse religious migrants at American borders in the early twentieth century. Imperial expansion across the Pacific elided racial and religious undesirability in those who traveled to the American West. Inspectors brought these cultural assemblages with them when they asked migrants about their relationships with polygamy, and migrants navigated these encounters with various strategies of passing through the border. Drawing on numerous Boards of Special Inquiry, this article compares Mormon, Muslim, and Sikh migrant experiences with the polygamy question at the border and argues that, even though imperialists and immigration restrictionists policed the movement of insular and foreign people, religion facilitated imperial pathways for migrants to travel along to the American West. This article is part of a special issue of Pacific Historical Review, "Religion in the Nineteenth-Century American West."


This review is focusing on the parameters affecting the quality of pistachio during hot-air drying process. Accordingly,
the various common existing processing methods are reviewed extensively using the current literature to investigate the
latest developments in this regard. The findings revealed that both of the type of method used as well as the parameters controlling the drying rate, have different impacts on final product's quality. The study concluded that the sun drying method has the best final quality as well as to lowest energy cost. This study provides a guide for the food technologist to the select the optimum method by which the best quality can be produced and
minimum energy can be spent.


With the maturation of wireless charging technology, Wireless Rechargeable Sensor Networks (WRSNs) has become a promising solution for prolong network lifetimes. Recently studies propose to employ a mobile charger (MC) to simultaneously charge multiple sensors within the same charging range, such that the charging performance can be improved. In this paper, we aim to jointly optimize the number of dead sensors and the energy usage effectiveness in such multi-node charging scenarios. We achieve this by introducing the partial charging mechanism, meaning that instead of following the conventional way that each sensor gets fully charged in one time step, our work allows MC to fully charge a sensor by multiple times. We show that the partial charging mechanism causes minimizing the number of dead sensors and maximizing the energy usage effectiveness to conflict with each other. We formulate this problem and develop a multi-node temporal spatial partial-charging algorithm (MTSPC) to solve it. The optimality of MTSPC is proved, and extensive simulations are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of MTSPC.


See " Efficacy of the protease inhibitor BI 201335, polymerase inhibitor BI 207127, and ribavirin in patients with chronic HCV infection , " by Zuezem S, Asselah T, Angus P, et al, on page 2047. C ombination therapy with pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) and ribavirin (RBV) was the standard of care for chronic hepatitis C (CHC) for over a decade. Sustained virologic response (SVR) rates vary from 40% to 45% among patients with genotype 1 to 75% to 80% in patients with genotype 2 or 3 infection. 1 However, PEG-IFN and RBV treatment are associated with many side effects. In registration trials that enrolled highly selected patients, 13%–15% of patients discontinued treatment early and 25%– 42% had dose reductions because of adverse events or laboratory abnormalities. 1–3 Because of the poor toler-ability, many patients with CHC have elected not to pursue treatment or were not offered treatment. IFN and RBV are also contraindicated in many conditions, such as autoimmune diseases and severe/uncontrolled psychiatric illnesses. 1 Therefore, there is an urgent need for more efficacious and better tolerated therapy for CHC. Advances in the understanding of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) life cycle have led to the development of many promising direct-acting antiviral agents (DAA) in the last decade (Figure 1). 4,5 Two DAAs—telaprevir and bocepre-vir—linear inhibitors of NS3/4A serine protease were approved for HCV treatment in the United States in May 2011. Although the approval of boceprevir and telaprevir represents a major breakthrough for the treatment of CHC with SVR rates of 67% and 73%, respectively, in treatment-naïve genotype 1 patients, both drugs require concomitant use of PEG-IFN and RBV to achieve SVR by preventing viral breakthroughs owing to drug resistance. 6,7 Furthermore, both drugs need to be administered every 8 hours and are associated with additional adverse events. With the development of DAAs directed at multiple targets in the HCV life cycle (Figure 1), the obvious question is, " Are we ready for IFN-free treatment regimens? " Clinical trials involving telaprevir and boceprevir as monotherapy showed a rapid decline in plasma HCV RNA levels within the first day followed by virologic breakthrough as early as day 3. 8,9 HCV circulates as quasispe-cies, a mixture of viruses with heterogeneous virus sequences. It has been estimated that preexisting drug resistance variants with 1, 2, 3, and even 4 mutations may be present in most HCV-infected patients, and account for the rapid development …


MNRAS 457, 3702–3723 (2016) doi:10.1093/mnras/stw239 Advance Access publication 2016 January 29 Comparative analysis of SN 2012dn optical spectra: days −14 to +114 J. T. Parrent, 1,2,3‹ D. A. Howell, 2,4‹ R. A. Fesen, 3 S. Parker, 5 F. B. Bianco, 6 B. Dilday, 7 D. Sand, 8 S. Valenti, 2,3 J. Vink´o, 9,10 P. Berlind, 11 P. Challis, 1 D. Milisavljevic, 1 N. Sanders, 1 G. H. Marion, 10 J. C. Wheeler, 10 P. Brown, 12 M. L. Calkins, 6 B. Friesen, 13 R. Kirshner, 1 T. Pritchard, 14 R. Quimby 15,16 and P. Roming 14,17 1 Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, Goleta, CA 93117, USA 3 6127 Wilder Lab, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA 4 Department of Physics, U.C. Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93117, USA 5 Backyard Observatory Supernova Search, Parkdale Observatory, Canterbury 7495, New Zealand 6 Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, USA 7 Gravity Jack, 23505 E Appleway Ave #200, Liberty Lake, WA 99019, USA 8 Physics Department, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA 9 Department of Optics and Quantum Electronics, University of Szeged, D´ om t´er 9, 6720 Szeged, Hungary 10 Department of Astronomy, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA 11 F. L. Whipple Observatory, 670 Mt Hopkins Road, PO Box 97, Amado, AZ 85645, USA 12 Department of Physics and Astronomy, George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A. & M. University, 4242 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843, USA 13 Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, 440 W Brooks, Norman, OK 73019, USA 14 Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Penn State University, 525 Davey Lab, University Park, PA 16802, USA 15 Department of Astronomy, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-1221, USA 16 Kavli IPMU (WPI), UTIAS, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583, Japan 17 Southwest Research Institute, Department of Space Science, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA 2 Las Accepted 2016 January 27. Received 2016 January 27; in original form 2015 May 31 ABSTRACT SN 2012dn is a super-Chandrasekhar mass candidate in a purportedly normal spiral (SAcd) galaxy, and poses a challenge for theories of type Ia supernova diversity. Here we utilize the fast and highly parametrized spectrum synthesis tool, SYNAPPS, to estimate relative expansion velocities of species inferred from optical spectra obtained with six facilities. As with previous studies of normal SN Ia, we find that both unburned carbon and intermediate-mass elements are spatially coincident within the ejecta near and below 14 000 km s −1 . Although the upper limit on SN 2012dn's peak luminosity is comparable to some of the most luminous normal SN Ia, we find a progenitor mass exceeding ∼1.6 M is not strongly favoured by leading merger models since these models do not accurately predict spectroscopic observations of SN 2012dn and more normal events. In addition, a comparison of light curves and host-galaxy masses for a sample of literature and Palomar Transient Factory SN Ia reveals a diverse distribution of SN Ia subtypes where carbon-rich material remains unburned in some instances. Such events include SN 1991T, 1997br, and 1999aa where trace signatures of C III at optical wavelengths are presumably detected. Key words: supernovae: general – supernovae: individual: SN 2012dn. 1 I N T RO D U C T I O N E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com (JTP); email@example.com (DAH) The progenitor systems of type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) have not been observed, although it is widely believed that some SN Ia are the product of a thermonuclear runaway in a white dwarf (WD) star with a mass near the Chandrasekhar limit, M Ch ≈ 1.38 M (Nugent et al. C 2016 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society


Complex thin-wall component machining has been a challenging task in advanced manufacturing because distributed deformation and vibration of workpiece render poor precision in final products, which requires displacement field measurements for vibration compensation techniques to enhance product quality. It is desired to capture the distributed and dynamic characteristics of workpiece during the machining of thin-wall plates. In the context of an engineering application where an annular compressor disk is lathe-turned on a duplex machine, this paper has developed an analytical method to capture the effects of stepped thickness on the thin-wall plate dynamics, where the stepped shape emulates the geometry of a workpiece under machining. Modal natural frequencies characterizing varying inertia and stiffness are obtained via a formulated boundary value problem, upon which the effects of cutting tool positions on the frequencies and mode shapes are analyzed. It also provides numerical verification with finite element analysis and validation with experiment.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


I f one is interested in a review of the literature pertaining to the ankle joint, or indeed any other aspect of the ankle joint, one might begin with a review of Bonnin's book.' He suggests that the 200 plus years of study of the ankle be divided into six periods. (1) The period of antiquity; (2) the period of Pott,2 1768 to 1815; (3) the period of Dupuytren,3 1815 to 1840; the period of Maisonneuve,4 1840 to 1872, (5) the period of monographs, 1872 to 1922; and (6) the modern period, from 1922 onward.


Many people were found with pulmonary nodules during physical examinations. It is of great practical significance to discriminate benign and malignant nodules by using data mining technology.


Diabetes is a worldwide epidemic with cardiovascular disease being a major complication. Caveolins act as scaffolding molecules for regulating signaling. Overexpression of caveolin protects the heart from cardiovascular stress. We hypothesize that cardiac‐specific caveolin‐3 (Cav‐3) overexpression (OE) will protect the diabetic heart. Transgene negative (TGneg) or Cav‐3 OE mice were given a single dose of streptozotocin (75mg/kg) and then placed on a high fat diet to induce type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). After 3 months, TGneg T2DM mice and Cav‐3 OE T2DM mice showed an increase in body weight, altered glucose tolerance response, and increased insulin levels compared to controls on normal diet. Cav‐3 OE T2DM mitochondria showed protection from calcium swelling and reactive oxygen species generation similar to controls, when compared to TGneg T2DM mitochondria. Cav‐3 OE controls and Cav‐3OE T2DM showed increased protein expression of OPA‐1 and Mitofusin 2, compared to TGneg controls and TGneg T2DM. Mitochondrial ultrastructure (i.e., mitochondrial swelling and clustering) was preserved in Cav‐3 OE T2DM hearts compared to TGneg T2DM. Our data suggest that Cav‐3 OE in the heart has the ability to limit injury in the setting of diabetes through regulation of mitochondrial structure and function.


Jonas Stiegler , Christian von Hoermann , Jörg Müller , M. Eric Benbow , and Marco Heurich PHOTO GALLERY © 2020 The Authors. The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., on behalf of the Ecological Society of America. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


Arianna Fogelman Malnutrition in the developing world is changing, and these demographic and epidemiological shifts are in need of urgent attention. Specifically, "malnutrition" — improper or inadequate diet — is increasingly a function in the developing world not of undernutrition, but of overnutrition. Consuming significantly more calories than are expended, and a diet high in refined carbohydrates, fats, and sugars can alter enzyme levels, cause tissue abnormalities, and lead to organ malfunction. Being "obese " — clinically recognized as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥ 30 — can increase an individual's risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke and certain cancers (CDC 2009). This paper discusses the causes and consequences of overnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting rural/urban connections, notions of personhood, and dietary conservatism as important factors in understanding and addressing the growing epidemic.


abstract Small lakes can act as environmental sensors for understanding regional hydrogeological conditions and elemental cycles. Because of their small size, they react quickly to changes in nutrient runoff, groundwater exchange and climate. In the post-glacial landscape of Alberta, the Carvel Pitted Delta harbours a variety of small lakes, which, despite being close together, can have markedly different chemistries and nutrient characteristics. Here, we focused on nine lakes with surface areas <10 ha and maximal depths ranging from 5 to 18 m. We hypothesised that differences in their trophic states are caused by variations in Ca concentrations, controlled by groundwater inputs. All lakes tended toward permanent stratification due to small mixing depths (1.6–2.4 m). The deeper lakes were oligotrophic with high concentrations of Ca and a high fraction of phosphorus (Ca-bound P) in the sediments (HCl extractable fraction). A correlation was found between Ca-bound P and aqueous Ca concentrations at 0.5 m depth, suggesting that P stability could be estimated based on surface water chemistry. Calcium was shown to be concentrated in groundwater located above the bedrock, suggesting that groundwater inputs controlled Ca concentrations in the lakes. We conclude that the hydrogeological conditions and Ca inputs act as natural regulators for P availability and, by extension, water quality in these lakes.


Abstract 772 Chromosomal inversion inv(16)(p13.1q22) is found in approximately 12% of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients, and leads to the fusion of the transcription factor gene CBFb and the MYH11 gene, and encodes a fusion protein CBFβ-SMMHC. Previous studies revealed that CBFβ-SMMHC is a dominant inhibitor of core-binding factor (CBF) function, and impairs hematopoietic differentiation. Expression of CBFβ-SMMHC predisposes for leukemia transformation, however, the molecular mechanism underlying the leukemogenic function of CBFβ-SMMHC remains elusive. The tumor suppressor p53 is considered the master genomic guardian that is frequently mutated in a wide variety of tumors but is rarely mutated in inv(16) AML. Thus, we examined whether CBFβ-SMMHC fusion protein might impair p53 function. We found that p53 acetylation (Ac-p53) level was reduced in the presence of CBFβ-SMMHC fusion protein in the myeloid progenitor 32D cell line as well as in primary pre-leukemic bone marrow progenitor cells isolated from our conditional Cbfb-MYH11 knock-in ( Cbfb 56M/ + / Mx1-Cre) mice (Kuo et al, Cancer Cell 2006, 9:1,57-68). We assessed the effect of CBFβ-SMMHC on p53 transcriptional activity by quantitative RT-PCR analysis of p53 target genes including TP53 and p21 Cdkn1a, Mdm2, Bid, Bax, Stag1, LincRNA-p21, Gadd45b in 32D cells. The result showed that expression of these p53 target genes are reduced in the presence of CBFβ-SMMHC fusion protein, consistent with the impaired Ac-p53 by CBFβ-SMMHC. To understand how CBFβ-SMMHC impairs p53 function, we tested whether CBFβ-SMMHC fusion protein might interact with the p53 protein by co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) assays. We found that CBFβ-SMMHC fusion protein interacts with p53 both in 32D cells and primary bone marrow cells. Although CBFβ-SMMHC fusion protein is detected both in the nucleus and the cytoplasm, the complex with p53 is present exclusively in the nucleus. It has been reported that CBFβ-SMMHC interacts with histone deacetylase 8 (HDAC8) through the C-terminal SMMHC region. Therefore, we assessed the interaction between CBFβ-SMMHC, p53 and HDAC8 in 32D cell line by co-IP and sequential co-IP. We were able to detect a multimeric protein complex containing CBFβ-SMMHC, p53, and Hdac8. To access whether HDAC8 contributes to the deacetylation of p53, we used two independent small-hairpin (sh)-RNA to knock-down Hdac8 in 32D-CBFβ-SMMHC cells. Hdac8 knock-down led to robust increase in Ac-p53 levels while total p53 levels were modestly stabilized. To test whether this effect is dependent on the deacetylase function of HDAC8, we used HDAC8 selective pharmacological inhibitors (HDAC8i including PCI-34051 and PCI-48012) directed against its catalytic sites (Balasubramanian et al Leukemia 2008, 22:5,1026-34). Treatment with HDAC8i remarkably increased Ac-p53 in both control and CBFβ-SMMHC cells. Since p53 protein levels were also increased upon HDAC8i treatment, we included Mdm2 inhibitor Nutlin-3 to stabilize p53. HDAC8i treatment alone or in combination with Nutlin-3 was able to enhance Ac-p53 compared to Nutlin-3 treatment, confirming its effect in restoring p53 acetylation. Collectively, our study shows that the CBFβ-SMMHC fusion protein forms an aberrant complex with p53 and HDAC8, leading to the aberrant deacetylation and impaired activity of p53. In addition, this deacetylation of p53 conferred by CBFβ-SMMHC is mediated by HDAC8. Our study reveals a novel leukemogenic mechanism in which CBFβ-SMMHC disrupts p53 activation through aberrant protein-protein interaction and recruitment of HDAC8. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Road anomalies, such as potholes and speed bumps, are a nuisance and a source of annoyance to drivers and road users. This nuisance can affect the mobility and fluidity of road transport and can even lead to road accidents. In order to avoid such issues, drivers should be able to notice and be warned of any upcoming anomaly on their path. This paper proposes a safe navigation system called "NaviSaf" that warns drivers of road anomalies on their paths. To stay informed of every new anomaly, NaviSaf utilizes smartphones built-in sensors, machine learning techniques, crowdsourcing and data fusion techniques. Obtained results demonstrate the capacities of NaviSaf to accurately detect and report road anomalies with a precision of around 97%.


In this study effect of the environmentally friendly production systems on the brunch cross sectional area of apple trees trained to free spindle canopy are presented based on the data of 39 cultivars. According to our results branch thickness of the apple cultivars located in the lower, middle and upper region of the tree are more homogenous in the integrated production system compared to the organic one. Therefore the severity of the annual maintain pruning must be necessarily more moderate in the integrated growing system, than in the organic production system.


The present invention provides compositions and methods relating to the antigen binding protein to CCR7, antibodies, nucleic acids, vectors, methods for manufacturing a said antigen-binding protein, and including the use of the antigen-binding protein.


AJMwas supported by theNSFEarth System Modeling Program (OCE1419306)
and the NOAA Climate Variability and Prediction Program (NA14OAR4310276). HS thanks the
Office of Naval Research for support under N00014-15-1-2588. LPP was supported by "Advanced
Studies in Medium and High Latitudes Oceanography" (CAPES 23038.004304/2014-28) and
"National Institute of Science andTechnology of the Cryosphere" (CNPq/PROANTAR704222/2009).
VM was supported by NOAA grant NA12OAR4310078. TGJ was supported by the U. S. Naval
Research Laboratory 6.2 project "Fresh Water Balance in the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere System"
(BE-435-040-62435N-6777) YHT was supported by the MOST grant 106-2111-M-002-001,
Taiwan.


Attendance Management System (AMS) is the easiest way to keep track of attendance for community organisations for day-to-day monitoring o f attendance and manpower analysis. AMS comes in four types. These are Manual, Biometric, Card-based or E-Commerce systems. This paper presents the implementation of an AMS that is based on Bluetooth and NFC technologies in a multi-user environment. I uses fingerprint and the Bluetooth address of the N FC-enabled phone of the user to authenticate the id ntity of the user. A Java based desktop application recei ves the NFC tag IDs, other information associated w ith the mobile phone and the user and submits them to an a alyser for the interpretation of the user's behavi our. Key Terms: Attendance Management System, Authenti cation, Biometric, Bluetooth, Mobile Phone, NFC.


Synopsis The finite deformation elasticity of gels of stiffrodlike polymer chains is discussed theoretically. Unlike a rubber composed of flexible polymer chains, the elasticity of this system is energetic, and arises from the elastic deformation of the stiff chains which are forced to bend under macroscopic strain. The stress-strain curve of this system is shown to be nonlinear even if the bending of the rods is small, and has a characteristic S-shaped form which is unlike that of a rubber. The effect of orientational order is also discussed.


In India, gateways have been an integral part of architecture and have served as entrances to many historical buildings. These gateways are known for their unique design, intricate carvings, and beautiful ornamentation. The gateways of heritage buildings in India are not only significant architectural features but also have historical, cultural, and religious significance. At present time detecting gateways in heritage buildings is a difficult task for tourism agencies. To address the gateway recognition through real-time captured images, a novel-based heritage gateway recognition system is proposed through an enhanced ET-YOLOV5 object detector. The ET-YOLOV5 model uses the Resnet-50 as a feature extraction and spatial pyramid pooling model. The ETYOLOV5 model has been trained, tested, and validated on preprocessed 3000 heritage buildings image datasets. During the comparison, the ET-YOLOV5 increases the 9% mAP rate as compared to YOLOV5 and YOLOV4 for gateways recognition in heritage buildings of India.


Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) quantitatively visualizes in vivo superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), which has shown great promises in biomedicine. In this paper, we propose a single harmonic-based narrowband MPI approach via measuring a single harmonic—3f 0 harmonic—of the SPIONs induced in an excitation magnetic field with frequency f 0 = 5 kHz. The narrowband MPI scanner is built to scan the field-free-point, generated by a pair of permanent magnets, through an imaging field-of-view, and to measure the magnetic response of the SPIONs by a narrowband receive system. The narrowband MPI approach dramatically reduces the design efforts in the transmit system and noise matching in the receive system. Phantom experiments are performed with the custom-built narrowband MPI scanner to evaluate the spatial resolution and limit of detection (LOD). Experimental results indicate that the proposed single harmonic-based narrowband MPI approach allows a spatial resolution of 0.5 mm and an LOD of 27 μg (Fe) ml−1 (254 ng Fe weight) using Perimag® SPIONs, which can significantly be improved by using optimized SPIONs and by improving the detection circuitry. We believe that the proposed narrowband MPI approach minimizes the MPI hardware efforts but still allows for good performance in terms of spatial resolution and LOD.


The present study investigates the effect of e-mail on Iranian learners of English and focuses on teaching thewriting skillvia e-mail. More specifically, the study investigates (a) whether using e-mail has any statistically significant effect on improving high school students' writing skill, and (b) whether the proficiency level has any relation with students' writing improvement through using e-mail.To this end, 150 high school Iranian students were selected randomly and divided into 3 proficiency levels, namely high, mid, and low, based on their performances on an Oxford Placement Test (OPT). The participants at every proficiency level were divided into 3 subgroups to receive 3 methods of instruction, namely traditional face-to-face, through using e-mail, and through both the traditional method and using e-mail. After 3 months of instruction, a posttest was administered and the results were submitted to ANOVA. The results obtained revealed that using e-mail had a statistically significant effect on improving students' writing skills. The Scheffe post hoc results showed that the group with the e-mail treatment performed almost the same as the other 2 groups at the high proficiency level; in other words, the group at the high level did not benefit much from using e-mail; however, thelow and intermediate proficiency level participants did benefit from it. The findings are finally discussed with regard to how email can be exploited as an educational aid by teachers and learners.


A fluorescence-based optical fibre fire alarm system, which offers the advantages of light weight and relatively low cost, has been discussed to address the specifications required for aeroengine fire detection. A temperature excursion as low as 50-100/spl deg/C has been detected and current spatial resolution achieved is /spl sim/20 cm. Lengths of 1.2 m of Er & Tm doped fibres have been tested and with a higher power laser diode in the future work an extension of the sensing length to the required maximum of 3 m seems possible. The referential method discussed has proved to be applicable under various testing conditions.


Scheme is the core technology in the back-end of the New Media Knowledge web site developed by LShift. This case study examines how we integrated Scheme into a commercial web development environment, and how we used unique features of Scheme to simplify and speed up development.


A survey under taken to find out phytoparasitic nematodes associated with chickpea in Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh revealed fourteen nematode genera associated with chickpea. Nematode genera associated were Pratylenchus, Tylenchorhynchus, Hoplolaimus, Tylenchus, Helicotylenchus, Filenchus, Basiria, Aphelenchus, Rotylenchulus, Scutellonema, Boleodorus, Basirolaimus, Hemicycliophora and Paratylenchus. Pratylenchus was most prominent nematode genera observed with prominence value 424.4, Absolute frequency 48.7% and absolute density 574.7 nematode/100 cc soil. This was followed by Tylenchorhynchus and Hoplolaimus. Pratylenchus was also observed in roots of chickpea. The root infection in field was evident with sparse and patchy growth with drying of basal leaves. Pratylenchus was most prominent in Hamirpur district prominence value 808.5 followed by in Banda and Jhansi districts with prominence value 440 and 297.1, respectively. Tylenchorhynchus was most prominent in Jhansi followed by in Fatehpur and Jalaun districts with prominence values 227.4, 206.3 and 153.7, respectively. Similarly, Hoplolaimus was most prominent in Jalaun district with prominence value 609.0 followed by in Banda and Jhansi districts with prominence values 254.6 and 134.8, respectively.


Luwak" coffee is well known as an extraordinary coffee due to its taste and high sell price. Special taste and odor of "luwak" coffee are caused by the change of protein, fat and caffeine content. This research aimed to know the comparison of caffein content, proximate analysis (protein and fat), taste and odor between "luwak" coffee and original coffee from arabika (Caffea arabica L) and robusta (Caffea canephora L) varieties. The treatments were robusta "luwak", arabica "luwak", robusta original and arabica original. The research parameters were sensory evaluation of taste with preference hedonic method and odor with ranking method, caffein analysis, and proximate test of protein and fat. Data was processed by using T-Test method with three replications. Sensory evaluation was conducted in a coffee shop with coffee-lovers as panelist in order to minimize the bias. The research result showed that caffein content of luwak coffee was lower than original coffee, that was 1.77%, 1.74%, 1.91%, and 1.85%, for robusta "luwak" coffee, arabica "luwak" coffee, robusta original coffee and arabica original coffee, respectively. Protein content of "luwak" coffee was lower than original coffee, that was 16.23%, 14.84%, 18.34%, 16.72% for robusta "luwak"coffee, arabica "luwak" coffee, robusta original coffee, and arabica original coffee, respectively. Fat content of "luwak" coffee was higher than the original coffee, that was 18.45%, 19.76%, 16.41%, and 17.37%, for robusta "luwak" coffee, arabica "luwak" coffee, robusta original coffee, and arabica original coffee, respectively. The sensory evaluation result showed that the panelist preferred the taste of "luwak" coffee rather than the original coffee, with score 3.69 for robusta "luwak" coffee and 3.76 for arabica "luwak" coffee (A2), in comparison to 2.87 for robusta original coffee and 3.55 for arabica original coffee.The similar thing also happened to the odor. The panelist preferred the odor of "luwak" coffee rather than the original coffee, with score 3.13 for robusta "luwak" coffee and 3.51 for arabica "luwak" coffee, in comparison to 1.36 for robusta original coffee and 2.00 for arabica original coffee. Comparison between arabica and robusta showed that fat content and sensory value of arabica coffee higher than robusta, except caffeine and protein content.


The passage of an extreme storm over an urban area can lead to the flooding of the streets if the rainfall intensity exceeds the design value and/or the drainage system is not functional. The study of flow distribution in street networks thus is important for the design of flood protection measures. The flow distribution is affected by the junction flow characteristics, inflow discharges and downstream water depths. To reduce the degree of empiricism, a 3D Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes equations model has been implemented in this study to investigate the flow phenomena in a cross junction. The Spalart–Allmaras model is used for turbulence closure. The numerical model utilizes the split‐operator approach, in which the advection, diffusion and pressure propagations are solved separately. The numerical model predicts accurately the flow distribution in a channel crossing under different subcritical flow conditions, for which experimental data are available. Recirculation zones exist at both the downstream channels and the associated contraction coefficient varies linearly with the ratio of the discharges at the two inlets. Secondary currents are apparent for the flow with strong asymmetric outlet conditions. Under supercritical inflow conditions, the model reproduces the hydraulic jump and hydraulic drop phenomena and predicts accurately the relationship between the input power ratio and the outflow discharge ratio of the street crossing. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


In the modern era of globalization, there has been a major shift in diet pattern, life styles and behavioral pattern that is not suitable for the normal physiology of digestion. There is a strong bond between the diet & disease as unwholesome diet is causative factor for disease and wholesome diet is promoting factor for health. WHO also observes that unhealthy diet is one of the key causes of the growing global burden of diseases. Change in diet to junk food which are low on nutrients and high on salt, sugar and fat are directly indicted to diseases and are considered responsible for rising cases of obesity and non communicable diseases (NCDs). The disease Grahani is the effect of improper diets and habits. Now- a-days altered life style has much impact on the patho-physiology of Grahani Dosha. Junk food habit is one of the most important etiological factors in the pathogenesis of Grahani disease as evident from this survey study. Keywords: Grahani Dosha, Junk food habit


The present article is an attempt to analyse Polish and English translations of Zarathustra by F. Nietzsche with regard to the alliteration. Its aim is to examine to what extent this rhetorical figure has been conveyed in the appropriate renditions. The alliteration is inasmuch difficult to restore in the translations, as it comprises both the sound and the semantics of a certain word sequence. On the other hand, it constitutes the stylistic value of any literary work that should be also saved in the translation, if possible. An other issue is the status of the alliteration in the stylistic tradition of a given language. With regard to the German and English language, this tradition reaches of the Germanic Age. In Polish, however, the alliteration is rather of marginal


ABSTRACT Recent psychobiological and developmental research shows that the path to a good and joyful life depends on the integration of three distinct systems of learning and memory that regulate (1) associative conditioning, (2) intentional self-control, and (3) self-awareness. The integration of these learning networks depends on complex molecular pathways involving 972 genes that regulate human temperament and character, which we recently identified and replicated in independent samples despite variable environments and cultures. Awareness of these processes of human thought facilitates self-regulation of how these genes are expressed and how learning processes are integrated to adapt to ever-changing conditions. Such awareness leads to a self-transcendent outlook that activates psychobiological mechanisms that promote healthy longevity, positive emotionality, and prosocial behavior. Our empirical findings show that the path to a good life requires the integration of physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of the person, rather than only one or two of these aspects.


OBJECTIVES: To explore the relationship between systolic and diastolic blood pressure and risk of 6‐year, all‐cause mortality in men and women age 65 to 84 versus those 85 and older.


MUCOPOLYSACCHARIDES (MP)f have been known to exist in tissue for several decades, but it is only within the past ten years that interest in MP has extended to the nervous system (ABCOD and ABUL-HAJ, 1956; BRANTE, 1957). The presence of MP in the central nervous system has been demonstrated chemically by BRANTE (1957, 1958), but an extensive characterization has not been accomplished. The preponderance of evidence for MP in the central nervous system, however, is histologic. One of the earliest studies of MP in the CNS is that of FRUBERC and RINCERTS (1956), who demonstrated that upon the injection of 35s into rat embryos, the uptake of sulphur was very low in both peripheral nerve and CNS up to 10 days, but at 17 to 18 days there was a fairly high uptake in the corpus striaturn and certain cortical layers, as judged by PAS-staining properties. Neuroglia, particularly astrocytes, were found to contain PAS-positive granules which were not cerebroside or lecithin (LUMSDEN, 1958). WOLMAN (1956, 1957) reported that during degeneration of the myelin sheath, MP is released, presumably from the myelin. H ~ s s (1955) suggested that MP may be related to the blood-brain barrier, since the disappearance and reappearance of the barrier correlated well with the reappearance of the PAS-staining reaction. Insofar as H-ase did not alter PAS staining, the material was probably not HA. OZELLO et al. (1958), on the other hand, did not detect PAS staining comparable to the ground substance of other tissues, except in the walls of blood vessels. The use of H-ase in demonstrating the presence of MP in the central nervous system has been surprisingly limited. H-ase produced a greater diffusion of trypan blue through either normal or traumatized brain tissue (ARTETA, 1956), and facilitated the penetration of Indian ink around the nerve cells (BAIRATI, 1953). FREEDMAN (1953) also was able to demonstrate a difference in the metachromatic staining of brain sections with thionine after treatment with H-ase, particularly in the 'intercellular matrix of the grey matter.' Since a previous study had demonstrated the presence of HA in the axoplasm and neurilemma sheath of amphibian and mammalian nerve, there was reason to believe that the neurons of the central nervous system should likewise contain the material. The present study is devoted to an extensive histological exploration of MP in the mammalian brain and definitely establishes the existence of an MP within the neurons, which is readily attacked by testicular H-ase. Furthermore, it will be


Key message The risk of sudden acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection and severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes is not elevated in patients with the type 2 phenotype and well-controlled asthma. Inhaled corticosteroids, intranasal corticosteroids, and topical steroids can be safely used in COVID-19 patients. Biologics can be safely used by patients with allergic diseases without concern about antibody responses.


The world experience of carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) projects in the world was presented and analyzed – the entire CCUS technological chain was shown, including a description of its elements, and the areas of CO2 use in different areas of global industry are given. The prerequisites and prospects for the formation of CUS in Russia are presented. A qualitative and quantitative assessment of the underground space of the regions of Russia for the disposal of carbon dioxide is given. It is worth noting that the concentration of large enterprises of the metallurgical industry, oil refining, chemical industry and oil and gas fields allows you to create a special CCUS cluster and reduce emissions of pollutants, as well as effectively use the captured CO2 in various industries of Russia.


What is pain? Everyone knows what the sensation of pain is, but its definition is not at all simple. Many of us simply treat pain without bothering with its definition, yet we are convinced that we have excellent results. How can this be explained? The fortunate part of treating pain is that the great majority of patients we treat recover relatively quickly. In fact, over 90% recover within eight weeks, and it does not seem to matter what type of treatment is given, the body has a great capacity to heal itself (figure 1). The problem begins, when, after several weeks have gone by, after we have tried all forms of treatment, there are still some patients whose pain seems to persist on and on.


Home-interview travel surveys in two upstate New York areas-Buffalo and Rochester-were conducted in the early 1960s and repeated in the early 1970s. An analysis of the changes in travel and household characteristics for both areas shows some surprising patterns as well as many that support the current theories of urban growth. Travel increased 8 percent and 37 percent in Buffalo and Rochester, respectively, over an 11-year period. However, average trip rates and trip lengths remained relatively constant over time, whereas automobile-ownership levels, number of households, and average travel time increased. In general, the increase in person kilometers of travel over time resulted primarily from an increase in the number of households rather than from increasing trip rates or lengths. The theory that travel-time budgets are stable holds for travelers and, to a lesser extent, for households. New highway construction does not appear to have generated large numbers of new trips but has had a greater impact on trip origins and destinations. Analyses of various stratifications of the data showed generally similar results.


We present two general relativistic radiation magnetohydrodynamics (GRRMHD) simulations of magnetically arrested disks (MADs) around non-spinning (a* = 0) and spinning (a* = 0.9) supermassive black holes (BHs). In each simulation, the mass accretion rate is decreased with time such that we sample Eddington-scaled rates over the range $3 \gtrsim \dot{M}/\dot{M}_{\rm {Edd}}\gtrsim 0.3$. For the non-spinning BH model, the total and radiative efficiencies increase as the accretion rate decreases, varying over the range $\eta _{\rm {tot}}\sim 9-16\%$ and $\eta _{\rm {rad}}\sim 6-12\%$, respectively. This model shows very little jet activity. In contrast, the spinning BH model has a strong relativistic jet powered by spin energy extracted from the BH. The jet power declines with accretion rate such that $\eta _{\rm {jet}}\sim 18-39\%$ while the total and radiative efficiencies are $\eta _{\rm {tot}}\sim 64-100\%$ and $\eta _{\rm {rad}}\sim 45-79\%$, respectively. We confirm that mildly sub-Eddington disks can extract substantial power from a spinning BH, provided they are in the MAD state. The jet profile out to 100 GM/c2 is roughly parabolic with a power-law index of k ≈ 0.43 − 0.53 during the sub-Eddington evolution. Both models show significant variability in the outgoing radiation which is likely associated with episodes of magnetic flux eruptions. The a* = 0.9 model shows semi-regular variations with a period of ∼2000 GM/c3 over the final ∼10, 000 GM/c3 of the simulation, which suggests that magnetic flux eruptions may be an important source of quasi-periodic variability. For the simulated accretion rates, the a* = 0 model is spinning up while the a* = 0.9 model is spinning down. Spinup-spindown equilibrium of the BH will likely be achieved at 0.5 < a*, eq < 0.6, assuming continuous accretion in the MAD state.


The interest rate spread is of importance to policy makers and finance professionals in asset allocation and is a common measure of financial market stress. In this paper we model and forecast the interest rate spreads for a number of countries using two well known continuous time models and discrete time ARMA and ARFIMA models. We use monthly and weekly data which covers the recent global financial market crisis of 2007-2009 for Germany, Japan, UK and the US. We find that the continuous time Merton model outperforms all other model specifications in terms of the mean of the forecast errors, MAPE and RMSE.


Novel three-dimensionally ordered macroporous polymeric materials loaded with rare earth Eu(III) complex(3DOM/Eu(Phen)_2) was prepared by means of physical absorption.The 3DOM/Eu(Phen)_2 self-assembly was characterized by SEM,FT-IR and luminescence spectroscopy.SEM images confirmed typical 3DOM structure in the assembly.The emission spectrum showed distinctive Eu~(3+) absorption and the excitation spectrum showed blue shift compared to that of neat rare earth complex Eu(Phen)_2.The(decay) curve indicated that the 3DOM/Eu(Phen)_2 materials have longer luminescence lifetime than(Eu(Phen)_2.)


Many real-life tasks such as military reconnaissance and traffic monitoring require high-quality images. However, images acquired in foggy or hazy weather pose obstacles to the implementation of these real-life tasks; consequently, image dehazing is an important research problem. To meet the requirements of practical applications, a single image dehazing algorithm has to be able to effectively process real-world hazy images with high computational efficiency. In this article, we present a fast and robust semi-supervised dehazing algorithm named SADnet for practical applications. SADnet utilizes both synthetic datasets and natural hazy images for training, so it has good generalizability for real-world hazy images. Furthermore, considering the uneven distribution of haze in the atmospheric environment, a Channel-Spatial Self-Attention (CSSA) mechanism is presented to enhance the representational power of the proposed SADnet. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that the presented approach achieves good dehazing performances and competitive running times compared with other state-of-the-art image dehazing algorithms.


This paper presents dual-band 2.4/5-GHz dual-band pHEMT LNAs based on a balanced noise design approach using 0.15 μm pHEMT technology. A dual-band LNA has two input match frequencies without simultaneous noise match at these two frequencies especially when the extrinsic loss caused by the inductor is absent. Noise parameters as a function of frequencies for a dual-band FET LNA based on the balanced noise performance are developed. The fully integrated pHEMT LNA achieves power gain of 18 dB at 2.4 GHz and 12 dB at 5 GHz and noise figure about 3dB at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, respectively, at 12.6 mA and 3 V. The pHEMT LNA with a bondwire inductor at input match demonstrates a distinct balanced noise performance.


In this paper, the dielectric properties of the mineral oil-based nanofluids was studied. The aim of this research is to improve electrical property of the mineral oil by applying nanotechnology knowledge. Three types of nanoparticle i.e. Titanium dioxide (TiO2), Barium titanate (BaTiO3) and Zinc oxide (ZnO) with the mean diameter less than 100 nm were used in the experiment. The nanofluid samples, the mineral oil mixed with nanoparticle, were prepared in three processes. Firstly, the mineral oil was mixed with 0.01% of nanoparticle volume fraction of nanoparticle. Besides, the mineral oil was also mixed with 0.03% of nanoparticle volume fraction. Then it was dispersed by using a magnetic stirrer. Finally, the ultrasonic dispersant technique was applied for the prepared nanofluids to ensure the homogeneity of such liquid. To measure the AC breakdown voltages, an oil breakdown tester (FOSTER OTS 60AF) was used. The gap distance between electrodes was set to be 2.5 mm. The testing was carried out 6 times for each liquid test sample according to IEC 60156. The test results showed that the AC breakdown property of the modified liquid was strongly influenced by the type of the nanoparticles added. With the addition of nanoparticles, the AC breakdown voltage increased slightly above that of the mineral oil (37 kV). In case of 0.01% nanoparticle volume fraction, the AC breakdown voltage of the mineral oil with TiO2, the mineral oil with BaTiO3 and the mineral oil with ZnO was 42 kV, 45 kV and 46 kV respectively. For 0.03% nanoparticle volume fraction, the AC breakdown voltage of the mineral oil with TiO2, the mineral oil with BaTiO3 and the mineral oil with ZnO was 45 kV, 48 kV and 60 kV respectively. From these results, it is indicated that nanoparticles is a good candidate to develop mineral oil-based nanofluids for dielectric applications.


With the increasing application of distributed fiber acoustic sensing (DAS) technology in oil and gas resource detection, more attention has been attracted to the practicability and applicability of the DAS system. As an essential part of improving the system performance, the pulse signal generator unit has some problems such as high cost, single pulse parameters, and small range. In order to solve the issues mentioned above, an adjustable pulse unit applied in the DAS system is designed in this paper. The adjustable pulse unit takes the field programmable gate array (FPGA) chip as the hardware platform and keeps the variable frequency division technology and the pulse edge adjustment circuit as the critical module to generate the pulse signal with continuously adjustable pulse repetition rate, pulse width, and pulse edge. The host computer real-time controls the adjustable pulse unit to adjust the optical pulse parameters. The experimental results show that the adjustable pulse unit can achieve the functions of pulse width 5 ns ~ (1/pulse repetition frequency - 5ns), pulse repetition frequency 1 Hz ~ 50 MHz, and pulse edge 2.53 ns ~ 8.8 ns, which meet the requirements of the design. At last, the adjustable pulse unit applies to the DAS system. The results show that the adjustable pulse unit is well performed in the system, enabling the system to achieve high-quality vibration signal detection in positioning and restoring the external vibration signal. It proves the feasibility of the design scheme and achieves the expected effect. The design improves the flexibility and applicability of the DAS system in engineering applications.


The quality of a fruit like banana results from numerous modifications which take place during ripening. Among these are the biosynthesis of the hormone ethylene (Liu and al., on 1999), the degradation of starch, and the biosynthesis of free sugars (Beaudry et al., 1989; Hubbard et al., 1990; Cordenunsi and Lajolo, 1995; Do Nascimento et al., 2000; Purgatto et al., 2001). These metabolic pathways were studied at the biochemical and molecular level. However, neither their putative regulation at the gene level by ethylene, nor the relations between the synthesis of starch, its degradation and the appearance of free sugars, have been well established yet. The objectives of this study are: - to understand events of ripening like the biosynthesis of ethylene and soluble sugars, - to characterise the quality of four potential parents, at the physico-chemical, biochemical and molecular levels. (Resume d'auteur)


Concerning transport logistics as relation between transportand integrated approaches to logistics, some transport and logisticsspecialists consider the tenn tautological. However,transport is one of the components of logistics, along with inventories,resources, warehousing, infonnation and goods handling.Transport logistics considers wider commercial and operationalframeworks within which the flow of goods is plannedand managed. The demand for transport logistics services canbe valorised as highly qualitative, differentiated and derived.While researching transport phenomenon the implementationof models is inevitable and demand models highly desirable. Asa contribution to transport modelling this paper improves decisionmaking and planning in the transport logistics field.


Briefly looks at ways on how to receive feedback from an employer or boss. Includes the following as key pointers: prepare to receive feedback; understand the feedback; contribute new information; analyse the feedback; agree on the next step; summarize the discussion; and finally, give positive reinforcement to your boss.


Work is under way for NHS workers in Scotland to receive a new pay deal in light of their response to the COVID-19 pandemic


Abstract An improved one-pot method to synthesize vinyl sulfones from unsaturated systems by using molecular iodine/sodium arenesulfinate/sodium acetate as reagents was described. Vinyl sulfones derived from styrene derivatives were generally obtained in good to excellent yields except for those bearing strong electron releasing substituent. Aliphatic alkenes and activated alkenes gave the corresponding vinyl sulfone products in moderate to good yields. Arylacetylenes yielded the respective β-iodovinyl sulfones in good yields while low yield was observed with aliphatic terminal alkyne. The potentials of the method entail simplicity, short reaction time, non-anhydrous reaction conditions, employing inexpensive, non-metallic reagent and integrating two reactions that are commonly accomplished separately into a single operation. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Synthetic Communications® to view the free supplemental file. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


We investigate information theoretic properties of low rank (less than or equal to 3) quantum channels with $SU(2)$-symmetry, where we have a complete description. We prove that PPT property coincides with entanglement-breaking property and that degradability seldomly holds in this class. In connection with these results we will demonstrate how we can compute Holevo and coherent information of those channels. In particular, we exhibit a strong form of additivity violation of coherent information, which resembles the superactivation of coherent information of depolarizing channels.


Purpose Ghrelin is a peptide hormone that exerts metabolic and smooth muscle‐relaxant effects in ocular tissues. The aim of this study was to compare aqueous humor and plasma levels of ghrelin in patients with open angle glaucoma (OAG) and controls.