In the paper the system designs holiday lights for hotel based on PLC control. The first design is to determine the overall program design according to demands of hotel. The hardware design function is selecting module CPU and giving the corresponding external wiring diagram. The most important part is software design of the system, including the software flow chart and the trapezoidal chart procedure design. Debugging system that has been designed and observing the results. After testing to verify the system is operating normally and meets the design requirements. Key word:PLC,Holiday lights,SIEMENS. Introduction With the development of science and technology and the improvement of living standards, people for the increasingly high requirements of lights.This design is the use of PLC as the controller, with input and output module, control lantern show gorgeous pattern. The lantern lit sequence of a total of two, you can manually choose. This system also has the very big development space, can control more lights display more gorgeous pattern, add festive atmosphere to the festival. The overall design of the system The system design includes two parts: hardware and software, based on the working principle and technical performance of the control system, separating the hardware and the software design. The part of hardware design including the system block diagram, component selection, external wiring diagram, and then the hardware debugging, testing, in order to meet the design requirements. The software design part, first complete system function design block diagram and various modules in the overall design, drawing up detailed work plan; and then the specific design, including flow charts of each module, ladder diagram design, selection of appropriate software; finally, debugging, testing on the software into line, to achieve the desired functional 2nd International Conference on Machinery, Electronics and Control Simulation (MECS 2017) Copyright © 2017, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Advances in Engineering Research, volume 138


This work deals with the continuous copolymerization of acrylonitrile and styrene in a dispersed medium. Experiments were carried out in the presence of a stabilizing agent produced in situ. The continuous phase was a polyol. Considering the complex chemical and physical phenomena involved in the process, a tendency model of the whole system was developed, using mass balances and thermodynamics. Its unknown parameters were identified by use of an evolutionary algorithm and experimental data. This allowed predicting with acceptable order of magnitude the main characteristics of the resulting stabilized particles versus the operating conditions.


Research and Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility Effects and Debt to Equity Ratios Against Corporate Values with Profitability as Intervening Variables.The population in this study aremining companies listed on the Indonesian stock exchange in 2011-2017. The sample in this study was taken by purposive sampling method that result 16 sample. Data were analyzed using normality test, classical assumption test, coefficient determination test, F test and hypothesistest. Variable learning outcomes of corporate social responsibility (CSR) are significant statistically influential on profitability. The debt to equity ratio (DER) variable is significant statistically against Profitability. Significant statistically corporate social responsibility (CSR) to firm value.Significant statistically variable debt to equity ratio (DER) on firm value. Profitability variables statistically do not reflect company value. Keywords: corporate social responsibility (CSR), debt to equity rati (DER), Profitability, Company Value


Background: Mortality in critically ill COVID-19 patients remains high. Although randomized controlled trials must continue to definitively evaluate treatments, further hypothesis-generating efforts to identify candidate treatments are required. This study's hypothesis was that certain treatments are associated with lower COVID-19 mortality. Methods: This was a 1-yr retrospective cohort study involving all COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units in six hospitals affiliated with Yale New Haven Health System from February 13, 2020, to March 4, 2021. The exposures were any COVID-19–related pharmacologic and organ support treatments. The outcome was in-hospital mortality. Results: This study analyzed 2,070 patients after excluding 23 patients who died within 24 h after intensive care unit admission and 3 patients who remained hospitalized on the last day of data censoring. The in-hospital mortality was 29% (593 of 2,070). Of 23 treatments analyzed, apixaban (hazard ratio, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.363 to 0.48; corrected CI, 0.336 to 0.52) and aspirin (hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.87; corrected CI, 0.54 to 0.96) were associated with lower mortality based on the multivariable analysis with multiple testing correction. Propensity score–matching analysis showed an association between apixaban treatment and lower mortality (with vs. without apixaban, 27% [96 of 360] vs. 37% [133 of 360]; hazard ratio, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.337 to 0.69) and an association between aspirin treatment and lower mortality (with vs. without aspirin, 26% [121 of 473] vs. 30% [140 of 473]; hazard ratio, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.41 to 0.78). Enoxaparin showed similar associations based on the multivariable analysis (hazard ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.69 to 0.97; corrected CI, 0.61 to 1.05) and propensity score–matching analysis (with vs. without enoxaparin, 25% [87 of 347] vs. 34% [117 of 347]; hazard ratio, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.367 to 0.77). Conclusions: Consistent with the known hypercoagulability in severe COVID-19, the use of apixaban, enoxaparin, or aspirin was independently associated with lower mortality in critically ill COVID-19 patients. In a retrospective cohort consisting of 2,070 critically ill COVID-19 patients treated in six hospitals, multivariable regression analysis showed lower in-hospital mortality associated with apixaban, aspirin, or enoxaparin treatment. Propensity score–matching analyses demonstrated lower mortality for patients receiving apixaban (27% [96 of 360] vs. 37% [133 of 360]), aspirin (26% [121 of 473] vs. 30% [140 of 473]), or enoxaparin (25% [87 of 347] vs. 34% [117 of 347]) compared to matched controls. Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.


Gymnastics teaching,an important part of physical education,plays a considerable role in middle school physical education.By means of documentation,questionnaires and statistics,an investigation was made on the current situation of gymnastics teaching in the middle schools in Jiangsu province.After the implementing of the Course Standard of the Physical Education and Health,the teaching of the gymnastics is shrinking.Analyzing the affecting factors of gymnastics teaching,some relevant countermeasures are put forward in order to promote the development of gymnastics teaching in the common middle schools.


We propose using Quantum Dots as novel targets to probe sub-GeV dark matter-electron interactions. Quantum dots are nanocrystals of semiconducting material, which are commercially available, with gram-scale quantities suspended in liter-scale volumes of solvent. Quantum dots can be efficient scintillators, with near unity single-photon quantum yields, and their band-edge electronic properties are determined by their characteristic size, which can be precisely tuned. Examples include lead sulfide (PbS) and lead selenide (PbSe) quantum dots, which can be tuned to have sub-eV optical gaps. A dark-matter interaction can generate one or more electron-hole pairs (excitons), with the multi-exciton state decaying via the emission of two photons with an efficiency of about 10% of the single-photon quantum yield. An experimental setup using commercially available quantum dots and two photo-multiplier-tubes (PMTs) for detecting the coincident two-photon signal can already improve on existing dark-matter bounds, while using photodetectors with lower dark-count rates can improve on current constraints by orders of magnitude.


In this paper, we present a longitudinal case study involving four dyads with babies with Down syndrome from birth until the age of 7 years – the moment at which the children were observed for the last time before they began compulsory schooling. At each data collection point, the mother was given a semi-directive interview and we filmed a free interaction situation. The objective of our study was to carry out an indepth analysis of the ways in which mothers adapt to the birth of a 'different baby', the evolution of their expectations in relation to the child's development, mother–child interaction and early support for both the child and the family, and the way in which these aspects of the overall situation relate to the children's development. The data of our longitudinal study show that there is an interaction between children's development and family characteristics and patterns, particularly mother–child interaction and the way in which the mother deals with the stress factors associated with the fact that she has a disabled child. We found that the four dyads experienced different models of early support, which to some extent reflect what really does happen in Portugal in cases involving children with disabilities, and that the programmes' impact was not identical in every situation. The most successful was the one which best suited the family's wishes, and involved both the mother and later on the kindergarten teacher.


Recent studies highlight how organizational power relations are materialized in space. However, relatively little is known about how these spatialized power relations are reproduced on a day-to-day basis. Drawing on a ten-month ethnographic study of a large government office in China, we find that hierarchical space is produced through three intertwined processes. It proliferates as employees actively seek out signs of hierarchy in the organization's space; it becomes familiarized as employees fabricate and circulate fanciful narratives about their spatial environs; and it is ritualized by employees acting out hierarchical relations across the organization's space. These processes resulted in a hardening of the hierarchical relations of power. The study extends the existing literature by showing how hierarchical organizational space is not just something that is imposed on employees; it is also imposed by the employees themselves.


Objective
To analyze the infiltration of inflammatory cells under the mucosa of female cystitis glandularis and the different inflammatory infiltration in different clinical pathological types of cystitis glandularis.

Methods
Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the bladder mucosal tissue samples of 10 female patients confirmed cystitis glandularis admitted from June 2016 to October 2016.The results of immunohistochemical staining were collected and statistically analyzed by the automatic microscopy and image analysis system.In addition, the clinical data and tissue sample of 49 cases of cystitis glandularis treated from December 2006 to August 2017 were collected. Age of 49 patients was (34.4±7.5) years old and BMI was (21.9±4.2) kg/m2. There were 19 cases of hypertension and 18 cases of diabetes. According to the cystoscopic manifestations, follicular edema type, papilloma type, and intestinal adenomatosis type were defined as high risk. Chronic inflammatory type and mucosa unchanged type were defined as low risk. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect tissue samples, to compare the general data of different types of cystitis glandularis and the degree of infiltration of bladder mucosal inflammatory cells.

Results
T lymphocytes were highly expressed in 10 patients, and B lymphocytes and plasma cells were not expressed or extremely low(P 0.05). The OABSS of high-risk group(10.4±2.6)was significantly higher than that of low-risk group(7.1±2.1, P<0.01). QOL of high-risk group(4.9±0.9)was significantly higher than that of low-risk group(4.1±0.8, P<0.01). Qmax of high-risk group was (11.4±3.6) ml/s, significantly lower than that of low-risk group[(15.8±3.8)ml/s, P<0.01]. The positive number of T lymphocytes of high-risk group was (173.5±26.8), which was significantly higher than that of low-risk group(119.5±21.2, P<0.01).

Conclusions
T lymphocytes infiltration is the major phenomenon in bladder submucosa of female patients with cystitis glandularis. The inflammatory infiltration by T lymphocytes could be associated with patient's symptom and bladder's pathological changes.

Key words:
Cystitis glandularis; T lymphocyte; Immunohistochemistry; nonresolving inflammation


The CPLRC is a specialist network of researchers with a vision to reform legal and regulatory frameworks in the commercial and property law sector through high-impact applied research. Through our collaborations with government, industry and institutions, we aim to lead cutting-edge research that will improve and contribute to knowledge, policy and practice. Members of the Debt, insolvency and restructuring unit of the Research Centre explore issues relating to credit provision, financial distress and business recovery. With strong connections to Australian and international insolvency bodies, our members are research leaders in areas of: • Consumer credit and consumer debt; • Regulatory responses to personal insolvency; • Corporate insolvency and business restructuring; • Cross-border insolvency and restructuring; and • Secured transactions.


The famous Hand rule weighs the burden of precaution against the reduction in expected harm. The burden may be type‐specific, implying different standards of care for different injurer types. We show that this fact may be exploited by principals in their search for minimized individual costs. Principals may hire agents with high cost of care‐taking although other agents are available. This is shown in a unilateral‐care setting either with perfect or with asymmetric information. We therefore highlight a neglected downside of the negligence rule.


This paper focuses on the identification of the variables determining the attractiveness of foreign direct investment in Latin America, represented by 17 countries over a period of time from 1996 to 2011. It considers variables traditionally not taken into account, such as the tax rate and institutional factors, which have revealed important explanatory variables also traditionally considered as GDP, inflation, population, the share of GDP by sector, the income level, etc. According to the analysis in this paper and the results obtained, it is very clear that institutional factors such as the size of the economy and the population have an influence in attracting FDI flows. The institutional quality is determinative for the attraction of foreign direct investment to these countries. Property rights, monetary freedom and investment freedom, are institutional indicators of great relevance as explanatory factors for attracting foreign direct investment, while government expenditures follows to a lesser degree.


This work aim to evaluate some sensitivity and tolerance degrees of various faba bean genotypes to O. Foetida, to characterize mechanisms involved in resistance and finally to estimate the impact of the host genotype on the parasite sink strength which controls parasite development following attachment to the host roots. Cultures were performed under field, pot and in vitro conditions. The genotype Bachaar was used as the control of high sensitivity. Among the five tested genotypes, XBJ90. 03-16-1-1-1 was the less sensitive and the most productive under infestation in both field and pot assays. The root exudates of this genotype displayed low stimulatory activity for orobanche seed germination. Consequently, few tubercles developed on roots. The infection process of all these genotypes was followed in vitro. In comparison to Bachaar, the genotypes known as moderately resistant genotypes under field conditions limited growth of orobanche tubercles under in vitro conditions, especially the genotype XBJ90. 03-16-1-1-1. Growth of the parasite should be mediated by soluble invertase activities and restricted following attachment to XBJ90. 03-16-1-1-1 roots by the low osmotic potential of the infected roots in addition to the organic nitrogen deficiency of the host phloem sap. On the other hand, the faba bean genotype did not influence the osmoregulation process of O. Foetida. Potassium was by far the major osmotically active compound in orobanche. Among the organic solutes, hexoses were accumulated highly in the growing stems. In contrast, tubercles displayed higher contents in starch and free amino acids, mainly in asparagine and aspartate. In parallel, asparagine/aspartate, glutamine/glutamate, alanine, serine and gamma amino butyric acid were identified as the main nitrogen compounds in the host phloem exudates. The key role of the enzymes asparagine synthetase and aspartate oxaloglutarate aminotransferase in the utilization of these host-derived amino acids is proposed in O. Foetida parasitizing faba bean.


Background: A 64‐year‐old Japanese man with stage D2 prostatic cancer, after having responded dramatically to androgen ablation, demonstrated a solitary adrenal metastasis without disease progression to any other site.


Residents across Sandwell are encouraged to get arty for the 2020 Sandwell Arts Trail competition. The theme is How Does Your Garden Grow?


This paper reports on efforts underway in New York State to develop the Individualized Needs for Services Assessment (INSA). The INSA is a set of standardized procedures and data definitions to guide assessment of service needs for children with serious emotional disturbances (SED). The INSA procedure for children with SED is designed to be consistent with principles from the federal Child and Adolescent Service System Program, individualized service planning, applied data standards, and a logic structure adapted from the Medical Research Council Needs for Care Assessment. Service needs are assessed using interdisciplinary teams with the participation of family members. Representatives from child welfare, juvenile justice, alcohol substance abuse, primary health care, recreation, and other relevant programs or community organizations also may be included. Functioning is assessed for the following domains: self-care; family life; social and interpersonal relationships; learning; school performance; vocational relationships; disruptive behavior; mood symptoms; anxiety symptoms; symptoms of psychosis; attention deficit and/or hyperactivity symptoms; and alcohol and/or other substance abuse. The child's functioning in each domain is rated according to a four-point scale from no problem to severe. (Contains 13 references.) (CR) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. The 9th Annual Research Conference Proceedings, A System of Care for Children's Mental Health: Expanding the Research Base (February 26 28, 1996). The Individualized Needs for Service Assessment (INSA) for Children with Serious Emotional Disturbances


In People v. Watson, I the California Supreme Court held that the conduct of a reckless drunk driver who caused a fatal auto accident was sufficient to support a second degree murder charge.2 The court found that there was a rational ground for concluding that the defendant had acted wantonly and with a conscious disregard for human life. This Note argues that the court's failure to specify precisely when an intoxicated driver's conduct reaches the level of implied malice is misguided in that it fails to provide needed guidance to the lower courts, provides an opportunity for discriminatory application of the law, and fails to ensure that the defendant's conduct posed a high risk of causing death. This Note also criticizes the court's use of the defendant's intoxicated conduct in evaluating his mental state. Part I of this Note summarizes the facts of Watson and the majority and dissenting opinions. Part II examines the preexisting law of second degree murder and vehicular manslaughter and presents some relevant statistics on alcohol-related fatalities. Part III discusses the flaws of the Watson decision. Part IV suggests two alternative approaches to Watson. The first is a specific standard by which courts can apply the Watson decision that focuses on the defendant's blood alcohol level, the degree of his recklessness, and the defendant's own knowledge of his drunk driving problem. The second proposed approach is a better, legislative alternative to second degree murder convictions for drunk driving homicides. This second alternative calls for amendment of the vehicular manslaughter statute to provide sentence enhancements for each prior reckless driving or reckless drunk driving conviction of any defendant who causes a death while excessively intoxicated and driving recklessly. Part IV also considers whether the second degree felony murder rule should be applied to cases of drunk driving homicide. This Note concludes that drunk drivers who cause


Hepatocellular carcinoma (hepatoma) accounts for over 80% of primary liver tumors. Although relatively uncommon in North America and Europe, hepatocellular carcinoma is the dominant malignant carcinoma in Southeast Asia and South and West Africa. About 80% of the patients have cirrhosis. The tumor has a grim prognosis with an average survival time of 4.5-13 months after the onset of complaints. Beginning with the observation of the striking coincidence of the geographic distribution of hepatocellular carcinoma with the endemic distribution of virus hepatitis, many studies have demonstrated the close correlation of the carcinoma with chronic hepatitis B. In the endemic areas vertical perinatal transmission of the virus from mother to the newborn is an important route of transmission. While only about 10% of infected adults develop HBs antigen carrier status, the carrier rate of perinatal infections is about 95%. In chronic infection the virus DNA can be integrated into the host genome and may become carcinogenic with time. Many studies have substantiated an increased incidence of liver adenoma and resulting complications among women taking oral contraceptives; evidence for a relationship between oral contraceptives and hepatoma has not been established. No increase in hepatoma has been observed among young women following the introduction of oral contraceptives in the USA and in Denmark.


In the present study, the PSW produced by the backpressure of the test section in straight and diverging ducts with rectangular cross section was numerically simulated to observe the structure of the PSW and the changes of flow field. Furthermore, velocity distributions around the first shock wave of the PSW were measured with Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), and the results were compared with the numerical results. In the constant square area duct case, from both the numerical and experimental results, the separation of boundary layer by the first shock wave of PSW can be observed only near the corners of the duct. In contrast, in the diverging duct case the large separation region appeared at one corner of the upper wall and did not reattach to the wall in the test section.


The effect of structure and dimension of compression strength of folding cartons was studied.The compression strength of folding cartons with different structure,height,perimeter,and length-width ratio was tested.The results showed that with different structures,there was different compression strength;with the increase of height and perimeter,the compression strength increased;and the compression strength was similar in quadratic function relations to length-width ratio.


Abstract : Crisis intervention and follow-on national stabilization are challenging military contingency operations that receive few planning, programming, and budgeting resources. The National Security Strategy, National Military Strategy, and the Quadrennial Defense Review all affirm that the military will be assigned to provide stability to Troubled States as part of our full spectrum of operations. These missions are frequently open ended, and the military tools and skills used for higher spectrum military operations do not apply well. However, there are techniques and cultural behavioral models frorn applied anthropology that may allow the performance of the stabilization mission with fewer combat resources.


.  This paper examines how Japanese-speaking children interpret implicit variables and the anaphor zibun'self' when both are concerned with referential and quantificational subjects and antecedents in conjoined stripping structures with a case marker. In previous studies on the availability of sloppy readings in child Japanese, it has been unclear whether the attested sloppy reading really stems from LF copying of linguistic antecedents. Those studies employed null object and soo-su'do so' constructions; however, there is debate about whether these constructions are instances of surface or deep anaphora.

To show whether Japanese-speaking children have unambiguous accessibility to bound-variable or sloppy interpretations in the grammar of Japanese, I did three experiments using a stripping construction with a case marker, which is considered to involve LF copying of linguistic antecedents (Fukaya & Hoji 1999). It has been shown that Japanese-speaking children are able to associate implicit variables and zibun as a bound variable with referential and quantificational antecedents and that sloppy readings are available in child Japanese. This study provides evidence that, in both child and adult grammars, the Japanese stripping construction with a case marker involves LF copying of an antecedent IP and is therefore an instance of surface anaphora.


Diabetes foot infections are one of the most dangerous and common drawbacks of diabetes. Amputations are resulting from other atherosclerosis of the arteries. Furthermore, intrinsic traumas are also understood without any complication as they result from foot deformities and also associated with modified foot biomachenisms. To study bacterial profile of diabetic foot infection. To find the possible aerobic bacterial pathogens in diabetic foot infection. To observe the antibiogram of isolated microorganisms. In our observational study the isolates were identified by standard biochemical tests and antibiotic performed by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method and interpreted as per the clinical and laboratory Standards Institutes (CLSI) guidelines. A total of 82 cases with 50 males and 32 females were included. 64 specimens yielded positive growth with total 87 isolates. 73.43% showed single isolate and rest 2 or 3 isolates. Gram negative organisms were more predominant than gram positive organisms. Proper use of drugs based on antibiotic pattern helps the medical practitioner to reduce the risk of diabetic foot and ulcer. It will ultimately decrease the rate of amputations. Vancomycin, Linezolid and colistin are more susceptible drugs.


Of the reasons to study nationalism, nationalist violence undoubtedly ranks among the most salient. Few would argue that it matters little whether nationalisms manifest themselves violently or nonviolently. Understood as political activity aimed at defining authority over the physical, human, or cultural boundaries of the state, nationalism in and of itself is neither good nor evil. Rather, the forms that nationalism assumes and the ways in which it manifests itself in politics draw our approbation or censure.


. In the Mediterranean basin, the climate is predicted to be warmer and effectively drier, leading to changes in fuel conditions and fire regime. Land abandonment in the Mediterranean basin is also changing the fire regime through the increase in fuel loads. In the present study, two simulation models of vegetation dynamics were tested in order to predict changes in plant functional types due to changes in fire recurrence in eastern Spain. The two modelling approaches are the FATE-model (based on vital attributes) and the gap model BROLLA (based on the gap-phase theory). The models were arranged to simulate four functional types, based mainly on their regenerative strategies after disturbance: Quercus (resprouter), Pinus (non-resprouter with serotinous cones), Erica (resprouter), and Cistus (non-resprouter with germination stimulated by fire). The simulation results suggested a decrease in Quercus abundance, an increase in Cistus and Erica, and a maximum of Pinus at intermediate recurrence scenarios. Despite their different approaches, both models predicted a similar response to increased fire recurrence, and the results were consistent with field observations.


Abstract: For almost last seventy years' Indian agriculture has mainly concentrated on increasing yield and to achieve this goal all sorts of fertilizers and pesticides has been used Their negative impact on nutritional quality of plants as well as the environment is becoming evident with time.The science of farming and harvesting is not the legacy of contemporary science in India. Ancient India recognized the importance of conservation, developed cultivation, collection methods of plant, bio-resources and their rational use for health promotion and therapeutic purpose. Furthermore, the primordial classics of India laid emphasis on comprehension of plant taxonomy, classification of soil, relevant practices of cultivation viz. selection of soil, plant propagation techniques (through seeds, roots, cuttings apical portions etc.), plant nourishment, plant diseases and their management. Ayurveda is based on principles of nature and Vrikshayurveda is based on principles of Ayurveda and nature. As the aim of Ayurveda is to achieve happy, healthy and peaceful life and that of Vrikshayurveda is to provide the same to plants. The historians aver that documentation of plant in ancient India must have started around 2570 BCE to 2000 BCE. The experiences of various people from different parts of India facilitated the author in deriving to the conclusion that the practice of recommendations of Vrikshayurveda at present time would be profoundly beneficial for present economy.


Icebreakers are structured activities designed as a tool to build relationships, facilitate sharing information and institute a relaxed environment. These benefits involve the formation of a creative team climate. Among the variety of icebreakers, the game type enhances the sense of teamwork giving the base to forming more effective and productive group works. The multidisciplinary composition of a team increases its creative potential. Considering the design process, creativity takes place during the idea generation stage. This study presents the explorative investigation of the possible impacts of a game-type icebreaker applied as a starter activity of the idea generation process of newly formed design teamwork. The focus was addressed to the team-working atmosphere, the teams' dynamics and the design outcomes. Six workshops involving teams of four students, two with design-oriented background and two engineering-oriented one, performed a brainstorming session to solve a given design task. Not previous acquaintance among the students was required. By pair of teams, three different workshop conditions were tested: 1) participants were asked to simply brainstorm to generate solutions to the task, 2) they were exposed to the icebreaker game, and 3) they were asked to start brainstorming right after a short personal introduction. The six teams processes and design outcomes were compared among the three brainstorming settings. Protocol and content analysis were carried out of data collected by the videotapes and the sketches of the ideas produced. The aspects leading the discussion of the results were group interactions, cognitive activities of the teams' design processes and typology of teams' outcomes with focus on the levels of creativity. The study reveals three main positive effects of the game-type icebreaker: 1) create a collaborative group atmosphere by enhancing the group communication and reducing the tensions; 2) produce effective and collaborative teamwork strategies by structuring the cognitive activities of the teamwork process; and 3) empower the team's creative thinking potential in the design solution generation. The work ends with a reflection of the benefits of the findings on a broader view, the limitations of the study and suggestion of further research.


This research examines construct, criterion and external validity of competitive dynamic research. Employing confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling, with independent samples of firms from two industries, the analyses provide support for the validity of competitive dynamic research and that firm action and timing are independent dimensions of conduct.


The purpose of this study is to analyze the change of the coefficient of Hedonic price model of Duckjin-Gu in Jeonju city. The model was built by using data of about 10 thousand land lots for the year of 1994. 1999 and 2005 including unit price and physical and socia-economic characteristics of each lots. As a result of the analysis. we could know about factors that have an effect on land price of Duckjin-Gu in Jeonju city. According to the state of the utilization of land. the importance of the commercial land has increased and the importance of farmland and forests that can be converted to commercial land has also increased. The land that violates the town planning and zoning act has become more important factors in land price.


Support for a portable computer (2) has an element (3) of the keyboard and a screen (4) mounted to pivot relative to said element (3) keyboard, comprising: a support structure (5; 55 ; 105; 155) that includes at least one groove (5; 183) for supporting and accommodating at least a part of the element (3) keyboard, a support structure (6; 56; 127-129 ; 156), in operational condition, projects downwards from said support structure (5; 55; 105; 155) such that at least part of said element (3) keyboard supported by said support structure positioned adjacent the screen (4), is kept at a distance above the face (8; 108) on which remains the support (1; 51; 101; 151), and a document holder (15; 65; 115; 165) defining a support face for a document for keeping positioned a document in operational condition extending above said support structure (5; 55; 105; 155) and over an element (3) supported keyboard Thus, characterized in that said document support (15; 65; 115; 165) has a stop (17; 117; 167) bounding a lower side of said document support face, said support face projecting document towards said stop (17; 117; 167) behind at least, said slot (5; 183).


The problem of choosing the 'right chelating ligand' for a homogeneously catalysed reaction is outlined. A model is introduced that combines mechanistic information and ligand descriptors. This model is used together with automated synthesis tools to study the structure-activity relationship in a diverse set of forty-two ligands, and extract information on active regions in the catalyst space. The concept is demonstrated on nickel-catalysed hydrocyanation, using bidentate phosphine and phosphite ligands. The charge at the ligating atoms, the rigidity of the molecules, the steric crowding around the Ni atom, and the bite angle are found to be the most important descriptors. A comparison is made with literature hydrocyanation data and approaches for designing new homogeneous catalysts are discussed.


Single crystals of Cu-8.% at. Al were subjected to cold drawing up to 1.1 true strain. Development of the crystallographic texture was analysed at various stages of the drawing process. Investigations revealed significant crystal rotation and reorientation due to a twinning process, while general 4-fold symmetry around the drawing direction was preserved. Local texture analysis performed on cross-sections perpendicular to the drawing direction showed that due to crystal rotation, the original crystal was initially fragmented into four quadrants. However, within the volume near the central axis the initial cubic orientation was preserved. Subsequent deformation within dominating twinning systems led to further fragmentation which divided the crystal into sectors one eighth the size of the full circular cross-section. The obtained results also indicate that approximation of the drawing process stress state by the tensor having only normal components cannot be used during analysis of the activation of deformation systems.


In this thesis, we investigate cognitive load detection and classification based on minimally invasive methods. Cognitive load detection is crucial for many emerging applications such as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and industrial automation. Numerous studies in the past have reported several psychological measures, such as eye-tracking, electrocardiogram (ECG), electroencephalogram (EEG), as indicators of cognitive load. However, existing physiological features are invasive in nature. Consequently, the objective of this study is to determine the feasibility of non-invasive features such as pupil dilation measurements low-cost eye-tracker with minimal constraints on the subject for cognitive load detection. In this study, data from 33 participants were collected while they underwent tasks that are designed to permeate three different cognitive difficulty levels with and without cognitive maskers and the following measurements were recorded: eye-tracking measures (pupil dilation, eye-gaze, and eye-blinks), and the response time from the detection response task (DRT). We also demonstrate the classification of cognitive load experienced by humans under different task conditions with the help of pupil dilation and reaction time. Developing a model that can accurately classify cognitive load can be used in various sectors such as semi-autonomous vehicles and aviation. we have used a data fusion approach by combining pupil dilation and DRT reaction time to determine if the classification accuracy increases. Further, we have compared the classifier with the highest classification accuracy using data fusion against the accuracy of the same classifier with only one feature (pupil dilation; reaction time) at a time.


Dadap serep (Erythrina Subumbrans Haks Merr) contains bioactive compounds of flavonoids, saponins, isoflavones, alkaloids, and lectins. Flavonoid compounds have a sunscreen effect. This studyaimed to determinethe value of Sun Protective Factor (SPF) using spectrophotometry method with variations in the extract concentrations, such as500 ppm,750 ppm, and 1000 ppm.The results showed that the SPF values of each concentration were11.47 ±0.583335, 17.05 ± 0.898838,21.93 ± 0.791557, respectively. In conclusion, the ethanol extract of dadap serep hastheability to become sunscreen in the maximal and ultra category.


Readers of LiS may remember Mannheim's 1984 contribution, "Una nation acorralada," in which he argued that the subordination of Quechua to Spanish in the Andes was the consistent language policy throughout the colonial period (as today), no matter whether it bore the "liberal" or the "Hispanist" assimilationist guise. That article, reworked here as Chap. 3, presents one of the core arguments of the volume, providing the sociohistorical context for the linguistic explorations which follow. The care with which Mannheim has revised the original article toward greater clarity is representative of the whole volume (a reworking of Mannheim 1983), in which he has succeeded in presenting a complex, innovative, and richly interpretive account of sound change in postconquest Southern Peruvian Quechua in highly readable terms accessible and challenging to anthropologists, historians, linguists, sociolinguists, Andean specialists and nonspecialists alike. Mannheim himself identifies his three purposes in writing the book, and sticks to them admirably (1-2):


In the first part of this article, we develop to some extent the theory of fuzzy grills, while in the latter part our intention is to obtain some applications of the obtained results to the study of fuzzy compactness, and fuzzy almost compactness, in particular.


Oil spill trajectory and fate modeling and analyses were performed to support evaluation of the downstream movement, behavior, timing, and potential ecological and human health risks resulting from hypothetical releases of crude oil from the proposed Enbridge Line 3 Replacement Program. The investigation involved assessing multiple hypothetical pipeline releases into terrestrial and aquatic environments. The quantitative assessment of the three-dimensional movement (i.e. trajectory) and behavior (i.e. fate) of released oil used site-specific environmental and geographic conditions, including seasonal and hydrographic information. The main questions being addressed included: What is the expected spatial extent, timing, and magnitude of hydrocarbon contamination from an unmitigated release?How do changes in the release location and release volume affect the ultimate trajectory, fate, and number of potentially susceptible resources.How does the inclusion of modeled response options change predictions (i.e. unmitigated vs. response mitigated scenarios)?
 The 2-dimensional OILMAPLand and 3-dimensional SIMAP computational oil spill models were used to assess hypothetical crude oil release scenarios into the Mississippi River near Palisade, MN. Results were presented in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and an Assessment of Accidental Releases (AAR) presented to the Minnesota Department of Commerce Energy Environmental Review and Analysis (MN DOC EERA) and the Pollution Control Administration (MN PCA) as both oral and written testimony. The findings demonstrated realistic predictions of containment and collection efficiencies following an accidental release and aided regulators in the decision-making process for the project.


Abstract The aims of this study were to explore: (a) stressors (including intensity of the feelings that the appraisal of each stressor generated and control of the stressor) and coping strategies on training and competition days; (b) the relationship between stressor intensity and stressor control; (c) the relationship between stressor intensity and stressor control with coping effectiveness; and (d) the relationship between coping effectiveness and coping automaticity. Participants were 10 elite Caucasian cross-country athletes who maintained a stressor and coping diary for 6 weeks. Results revealed that the runners experienced diverse stressors and used different coping strategies on training and competition days. Stressors were significantly more intense on competition days. Additionally, there was a significant negative correlation between stressor intensity and stressor control, and a negative correlation between stressor intensity and coping effectiveness. These results support the notion that stressors and coping are situation-specific variables. Applied practitioners could thus devise situation-specific coping interventions to maximize coping effectiveness.


Critics are purposeful readers, readers who attempt to shape the reading processes of others. In the preface to bound copies of its twenty-fifth volume, that of January through June, 1805, The British Critic makes this clear with a telling narrative trope. The volume begins by offering its readership the following musings: "Nothing could be more interesting than a register of births, if it were possible, in recording them, to say for what uses in society the persons then entering the world would afterwards be fit; and what intellectual rank they would be qualified to hold" (iii). While such a "register," however "interesting," is impossible in the case of human beings, it is, thankfully, quite feasible in the case of books. "Books, in fact, are born in a state to be thus estimated," the editors explain,


GUTOWSKY, S.E. 2017. A conceptual framework for the drivers of albatross movement. Marine Ornithology 45: 23–38. The objective of movement ecology is to understand the connections among factors that drive why, when, where, and how organisms move. The basic movement ecology framework (MEF) envisions how four major components (internal state, navigation capacity, motion capacity, and external elements) interact to generate an individual's movement path. Empirical studies of movement have become increasingly sophisticated as a result of advancements in animal-attached biologging technologies that estimate movement paths. These tools have been applied extensively in the study of marine animal movement, particularly the highly mobile and threatened albatrosses (Diomedeidae). Despite the volume of albatross-biologging movement research, the complex factors and processes that govern the movements of these birds have not before been unified into a comprehensive framework. This paper aims to accomplish two main objectives: (1) integration of ideas from across disciplines to build a custom MEF for albatross, resulting in the identification of 45 discrete factors and their interactions; and (2) use of this MEF to survey the albatross-biologging movement literature for trends, shortcomings, and future directions. As the sophistication of analytical and biologging tools continues to grow, so too will the breadth and complexity of processes invoked and investigated to explain albatross movements at all spatiotemporal scales.


The present paper attempts to reason that social-constructivist spatial theory represents an essential approach for contemporary geography teaching. This approach is essential to show learners how space contributes to the organization of society. By contrast, German geography didactics and teaching practice, which are examined closely here by means of a content analysis based on curricula, textbooks, and classroom material, show that social-constructivist approaches are underrepresented and limited to a light-weight version of space as construct. This contribution concludes with a plea to grant the concept of space as a social construct with greater central significance and potential in teaching practice.


t Assistant Professor of Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law. B.A. 1986, University of California, Berkeley. MA. 1988, J.D. 1991, Ph.D. (Political Science) 1992, University of California, Los Angeles. I thank Anita Bernstein, Geoffrey Brennan, Paul Finkelman, Mike Fitts, David Gerber, Don Green, Wolfgang Hirczy, Stephen Kirchner, Hal Krent, David Leonard,Jim Lindgren, Dan LowensteinJohn Matsusaka, Richard McAdams, Rick Pildes, Dan Tarlock, and Ray Wolfinger for useful comments and suggestions. Thanks also to Michael Reilly for research assistance and toJohn Strzynski for library assistance. Richard Katz graciously identified and translated Italy's elusive compulsory voting law. All errors are mine alone. I ARISTOPHANES, The Acharnians, in THE COMPLETE PLAYS OF ARISTOPHANES 13, 15 (Moses Hadas ed. & B.B. Rogers trans., 1962). 2 See E.S. STAvELEY, GREEK AND ROMAN VOTING AND ELECTIONS 80 (1972) ("Authoritarian as the procedure may appear, the purpose of the red-dyed rope used by the police is expressly said to have been to drive loiterers from the open market on to the Pnyx. By surrounding the area and contracting the rope, thereby threatening to stain with the dye all those who allowed themselves to come in contact with it, they presumably succeeded in inducing people there assembled to make off in the direction of the Pnyx."); see also MOGENS H. HANSEN, THE ATHENIAN ECCLESIA 124 (1983) (suggesting that the Peloponnesian War created an attendance problem and noting that Athenian authorities later fined citizens for remaining in the marketplace); DAVID STOCKTON, THE CLASSICAL ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY 71-72 (1990) (suggesting that the purpose of the practice was probably to diminish the noise and distraction of the marketplace rather than to enforce attendance at the assembly). ' See STAVELEY, supra note 2, at 78-79 (noting that after payment for attendance was introduced at the beginning of the fourth century, the lower echelons of society could afford to forego the daily wage and attend). Plato ridiculed the practice, saying it made the people "idle and cowardly, and encouraged them in the love of talk and money." Plato, Gorgias, in 7 GREAT BOOKS OF THE WESTERN WORLD 252,288 (Robert M. Hutchins ed. & Benjamin Jowett trans., 1952).


Airfoil bearings offer many advantages over oil-lubricated bearings, but they have reliability issues during start/stops (wear) and limited heat dissipation capability. To address these issues, a hybrid airfoil bearing (HAFB) combining hydrodynamic airfoil bearing with hydrostatic lift was introduced previously by one of the authors of this paper. Their studies show that HAFB has superior performance compared to its hydrodynamic counterpart in load capacity and cooling performance. In this article, the bearing stiffness and damping coefficients of HAFB are calculated using a linear perturbation method developed for HAFB. Simulations showed that feed parameter and supply pressure affect the dynamic characteristics of HAFB. With an increase in either the supply pressure or the feed parameter, the rotor centers itself and hence one sees a decrease in direct stiffness. Simulations showed that the cross-coupled stiffness could be reduced by increasing either the supply pressure or the feed parameter. Direct damping showed increasing trend with the supply pressure and the feed parameter. Frequency-domain analysis of the bearing coefficients was also performed. The direct damping showed marginal changes with supply pressure but showed rapid increase with increasing excitation frequencies. The damping converged to null values for all the pressures for supersynchronous excitations. The loss in damping with high stiffness values for high frequency excitation is a typical hardening effect of gas bearings. In almost all the cases, there are rapid decreases in cross-coupled stiffness and damping and the values show converging trends in supersynchronous regime.


Advances in materials science have established different methodologies to precisely control the size of various types of particles, such as metals, metal oxides, and organic polymers. In catalysis, the synthesis of small particles is of particular importance for providing a sufficiently large active surface area, which increases with decreasing particle diameter. Recent achievements in the formation of non-oxide nanomaterials including nitrides and carbides has opened up new possibilities for catalysis on nitride/carbide surfaces. Metal nanonitrides can now be synthesized using mesoporous graphitic (mpg) C3N4 as a rigid template; the mpg-C3N4 decomposes at high temperature, yielding a source of nitrogen, which gets incorporated into the structure being fabricated. Direct synthesis of titanium nitride nanoparticles (nanoTiN) on a carbon black support was successfully demonstrated using a composite of mpg-C3N4 (as a hard template) and carbon black. This method ensures excellent mechanical and electronic contact between nano-TiN and carbon black. The resulting dispersed nano-TiN on carbon black provides an active surface for the electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Applying this electrocatalyst to a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell yielded a high performance in power generation. This is a good example of a non-noble metal cathode for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC), being distinct from commercial fuel cells, which employ expensive platinum-based catalysts. High electron conductivity from active particles to an electrode substrate through a conductive support is an essential point for the development of highly efficient electrocatalysts. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are efficient conductors of electrons and mechanically robust materials; hence, they outperform platinum-based materials in electrocatalytic applications. These properties are expected to apply to non-precious metal catalysts as well. Thanks to recent advances in engineering, it is now possible to synthesize CNTs rapidly, and their mass production is close at hand. This study demonstrates the synthesis of a composite between nano-TiN and CNTs, which shows excellent activity for ORR. The high surface area of nano-TiN was well interconnected with a three-dimensional network of few-walled CNTs (FWCNTs). The morphology of the synthesized nano-TiN/FWCNT composites was examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The micrographs are shown in Figure 1. It can be seen that the nano-TiN/FWCNT composite with a TiN/ CNT ratio of 50:1 (Figure 1 a, b) contains nano-TiN particles 6 nm in diameter and FWCNTs composed of about five walls, 6–10 nm in diameter. The nano-TiN formed aggre-


Importance sampling is one of the more useful techniques for reducing the number of samples required in Monte Carlo simulation. In the communication context, it has been applied and discussed in conjunction with single-hop digital systems. The purpose of this paper is to extend the method of application of importance sampling to multihop digital communication systems, with particular reference to the two-hop, or satellite, case. The situation is examined both for the case when the receiver is nonlinear and for when it is linear.


A radiochemical technique has been combined with a modification of the surface combustion method of Schoberl to give a rapid method for the determination of sulphur in the range 1 to 10 p.p.m. in organic substances such as purified light petroleum. The sulphate formed is precipitated with barium chloride labelled with barium-133, and the amount of barium sulphate obtained determined by measuring its activity. A radiometric finish has the advantage of potential sensitivity, and barium-133 can be obtained with a specific activity of 1 Ci per g. Thus, a scintillation counter with an efficiency of 30 per cent. and a background of 20 counts per second (shielded) can detect 0·4 × 10–3µg of sulphur, as barium sulphate, assuming no solubility losses.The lowest detectable concentration of sulphur is dependent on the magnitude of the blank value, but because sulphate appears to be an almost universal contaminant it was found, under normal laboratory conditions, that it was impossible to reduce the blank value to much below the equivalent of 1 p.p.m. in the sample.


Shigella infection typically manifests as a self-limited gastrointestinal illness (shigellosis) and affects some populations disproportionately, including children, travelers, people experiencing homelessness, and men who have sex with men (MSM). Healthcare professionals (HCPs) are positioned to play an active role in the prevention and control of shigellosis but may not be aware of the multiple routes of Shigella transmission, risk factors, and prevention strategies.

 Porter Novelli Public Services' Fall DocStyles 2020 web-based survey was administered to HCPs in the United States to assess their clinical practice and knowledge about many health-related issues. Questions about acute diarrhea and shigellosis were completed by pediatricians, primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. We analyzed responses to four questions related to Shigella transmission, risk factors, prevention, and barriers to patient education.

 Of the 2196 panelists contacted, 1503 were included (68% response rate). Most identified contaminated food and water as potential routes of Shigella transmission (84.9% and 78.8%, respectively), but substantially fewer recognized person-to-person contact (39.5%), fomite transmission (32.5%), or sexual activity (17.6%) as ways adults can become infected. Similarly, MSM were infrequently identified as being at risk for shigellosis (34.5%). Many HCPs reported counseling patients to wash hands and avoid food preparation when ill with Shigella (85.9% and 77.2%), but only 29.4% reported recommending avoiding sex. Only 7.1% of respondents correctly identified all routes of transmission, 21% identified all risk factors, and 22% identified all prevention strategies. Delay in diagnosis was the most frequently reported barrier to educating patients about shigellosis.

 HCP knowledge of shigellosis is incomplete. Identified gaps in knowledge were related to MSM as an at-risk population and transmission of Shigella through fomites and person-to-person contact (including sexual contact). Informing HCPs about transmission, risk factors, and opportunities for prevention could improve recognition and stop the spread of shigellosis in vulnerable communities.

 All Authors: No reported disclosures


Using the combined technics of the ionographic separation of serum proteins in a paper-stabilized medium, as described by McDonald et al. (16, 17, 18), and the spectrophotometric procedure for the determination of transaminase activity developed by Karmen (3, 14), the electrophoretic migration pattern of the enzyme glutamic oxalacetic transaminase in rat serum has been examined. The major portion of the transaminase activity has been found to be associated with the α-2 globulin fraction of the serum proteins. Further evidence has been presented for the assumption of a nonionic linkage between the enzyme and its coenzyme, pyridoxal phosphate.


An investor is always a risk-avert. The tendency of an investor would always be to reduce unsystematic risk to the possible margin or to maximize returns at a given level of risk. In order to achieve their desired objectives investor designs investment policies based on the way they perceive the risk factors and rate of return they expect. Perception of risk and expectation of returns are psychological factors and that may vary significantly in a given set of investors. These factors are also the key determinants that shape the investment policy. Thus it is interesting to know the various factors that the investors hold relatively more significant to set their investment criteria. The criterion framed by the investors might diverge from the traditional theoretical connotations as the investors will not always behave rationally. The behavior of investors to a large extent is risk perception and expectation driven. Thus the study will help to reveal the factors that the investors give due weightage to take investment decision.


Pediatric problems face both the experienced aviculturist and the novice. As we advance in our knowledge of avian science and husbandry, new diseases have been found as well as solutions to old problems. Raising baby parrots will always be as much art as science. This discussion, however, will primarily deal with the science and medicine of baby parrots. Reasons for Handfeeding 1. Tame babies - Imprinting to people is probably the best reason. 2. Abandonment - Lovebirds, cockatiels, prolific parents often abandon babies, making it necessary to raise by hand. 3. Poor maternal instincts - Broken eggs, injured babies. 4. Increase number of clutches - Many pairs will go back to nest after babies have been removed if environmental and nutritional factors are right. 5. Weather conditions 6. Disturbances - Visitors, animals. Handfeeding Recommendations 1. Remove babies from the nest at two to three weeks of age to allow normal bacterial flora establishment and vigor. Expert aviculturis t can remove babies earlier without problems. 2. Keep each clutch in separate brooders to reduce spread of viral and bacterial disease. Do not allow any utensil or syringe to be shared between each brooder. 3. Keep babies warm. day 1 - 99.5 ° Fahrenheit day 2 through 10 - 95 to 97 ° day 10 to 4 weeks - 85 ° feathered chicks - 7 5 to 80 ° Make sure that in keeping the babies warm the heat is from an indirect source. Heat lamps and heating pads often cause overheating and burns. Be extremely careful if using a direct heat source. When checking the temperature of the brooder, if using direct heat, make sure that you are measuring the temperature where the babies are sitting as temperature can vary greatly. The best brooders are pediatric incubators which can often be purchased used from a hospital. If these are not available, numerous manufacturers make bird brooders and advertise in bird publications. These brooders are usually very expensive compared with used medical incubators, however. 4. Keep clean - Shredded paper is one of the best substrates for the floor as it is easy to change and non toxic. Disposable diapers are also an excellent substrate. Crushed walnut shells sold as Critter Litter make a good substrate. Avoid material with fiber. Baby birds have an uncanny ability to wrap any fiber around their extremities usually resulting in leg injuries. Avoid corn cob and wood shavings as the babies often consume these products and sometimes require surgical removal. Also, corn cob often causes a thick, oily dust that causes sinusitis. 5. Incubator/brooders should have square walls. Curved walls predispose leg deformities. 6. Feeding utensils should be used for only one incubator and sterilized after each feeding. Wash hands with disinfectant to reduce spread of virus and bacterial disease. 7. Mix food fresh or use Micro Block by Phoenix to prevent bacterial growth in food. 8. If using Monkey Chow, make sure to boil it as it can sometimes contain gram negative bacteria. 9. Make sure feeding formula is warm but not hot as it can burn the crop. Be especially careful with microwaved food as it can have hot spots. Heat to between 98 ° and 100 °. Keep food cooler than 105 °. Handfeeding Formulas There are probably as many handfeeding formulas as there are aviculturists. Some are excellent and some leave much to be desired. If a handfeeding formula is time proven and results in healthy babies, it is probably fine. Most of the handfeeding formulas that I computer analyze are incomplete but, with the addition of a few nutrients, do well. There are numerous commercially prepared handfeeding formulas that may or may not result in as good a diet for your baby as a homemade diet. In general, I recommend sticking with a formula if it works for your babies. Diets that work well for another aviculturist may not always work well for your birds. Have your veterinarian computer analyze the diet to make sure the protein, vitamin, and calcium levels are adequate. If the babies have poor weight gain, poor feathering, stress lines on the feathers, spraddle leg, frequent fractures, beak deformities, or die of vitamin overdose, switch to one of the commercial prepared handfeeding formulas. One of the advantages of the commercially prepared formulas such as Lake's Parrot Buffet, Roudybush, or Lafeber is that all you have to add is water. This can be a real time saver compared to some of the handmade diets we analyze. The handfeeding formula should be made fresh at each feeding to prevent bacterial overgrowth. Bacterial overgrowth can occur as soon as 30 minutes after mixing the formula at room temperature. Digestive Disorders Crop Impactions: Crop stasis is a sign of a serious, life threatening condition in baby birds. Normally, the bird's crop should empty in four to five hours. Any longer than this we consider stasis of the crop. Contact your veterinarian immediately as medical treatment is usually needed to save the baby's life. Some causes of crop stasis include: Disease causing slowed digestion - bacterial and viral diseases. Dehydration - incubator/brooder humidity below 50%. Dietary - food too cold, too thick, too high in protein or fat, food too watery. Candida - fungal infection. Atony - overstretching the crop from feeding too much at a time. Burns - caused by feeding too hot food. Hypothermia - incubator temperature too low. Change in amount of food fed.  Feeding food that separates into solid and liquid portions in the baby's crop (poorly mixed food). Over feeding at time of weaning. Crop stasis usually results in sour crop, a condition of fermentation in the crop resulting in acidosis. In acidosis, the baby's body becomes dehydrated and bacteria often invade the body through the destroyed mucus membranes of the crop and intestines. Death can occur quickly.


In the present study mitochondrial DNA sequences i.e. Cytochrome oxidase I (CO I) and Control region (CR) are characterized in order to study the genetic variability and phylogenetic relationships among flies belonging to the family Calliphoridae. Since, these flies are of medical and veterinary importance, therefore, it is imperative to use molecular markers to resolve the evolutionary mechanism responsible for specific genetic variability. The data reveals that there is very little genetic difference among these species. The phylogenetic tree derived by distance and character-state approach shows similar topologies.


The exponential increase in the demand of data rate and scarcity of the available spectrum have evolved to the more advanced network topology which efficiently utilizes the radio spectrum such as Heterogeneous Networks (HetNets). HetNets consist of many tiers of base stations, having different transmit powers. The macro base stations transmit at high power level whereas pico and femto base stations have much less power as compared to macro. An efficient user association becomes necessary to exploit the actual benefits of the HetNets. However, the user association is challenging task and recently a number of techniques have been proposed. In this study, we summarize the recent developments in user association methods under different constraints.


Abstract:  The total burden of infection at various sites may affect the progression of atherosclerosis, the risk being modulated by host genotype. The role of lipopolysaccaride receptor TLR4 is paradigmatic. It initiates the innate immune response against gram‐negative bacteria; and TLR4 polymorphisms, as ASP299GLY, suggested to attenuate receptor signaling, have been described. We demonstrated that TLR4 ASP299GLY polymorphism shows a significantly lower frequency in patients affected by myocardial infarction compared to controls, whereas centenarians show a higher frequency. Thus, people genetically predisposed to developing weak inflammatory activity, seem to have fewer chances of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and, subsequently, live longer if they do not become affected by serious infectious diseases. These results are in agreement with our other data demonstrating how genetic background may exert the opposite effect with respect to inflammatory components in CVD and longevity. In the present report, to validate this hypothesis, the levels of interleukin (IL)‐6, a pro‐inflammatory cytokine involved in atherosclerosis and longevity, were determined by an enzyme‐linked immuno‐sorbent assay (ELISA) in supernatants from a whole blood assay after stimulation with subliminal doses of lipopolysaccaride (LPS) from Escherichia coli (E. coli). The samples, genotyped for the ASP299GLY polymorphism, were challenged with LPS for 4, 24, and 48 h. What we found was that Il‐6 values were significantly lower in carriers bearing TLR4 mutation. Therefore, the pathogen burden, by interacting with host genotype, determines the type and intensity of the immune‐inflammatory responses accountable for pro‐inflammatory status, CVD, and unsuccessful aging. On the other hand, our present data seem to explain the inconclusive results obtained in case–control studies taking into account the role of functional IL‐6 polymorphisms in successful and unsuccessful aging. In fact, IL6 levels seem to depend, in addition, on IL‐6 polymorphisms and on innate immunity gene polymorphisms as well.


Based on the finite element method for solving two_dimensional steady temperature field,the finite element formulations of two_dimensional steady temperature field considering the seepage effect are derived and the corresponding programs are developed to compute the node temperature in temperature filed.Finally,the finite element analysis of a case study is illustrated.It has been shown that when permeability coefficient ≤10~(-9),seepage effect may not be considered for temperature under normal conditions,but when permeability coefficient10~(-9),seepage effect should be considered.


Abstract The paper aims at complementing Searle's social ontology with an epistemology capable of illustrating institution formation. To this purpose, I discuss Searle's conception of constitutive rules and show that it requires the specifications of normative powers and purposes identifying status functions to be taken as given. However, such specifications arise from underlying normative commitments that may be various and possibly conflicting. Hence, in order to account for the formation of institutions, it is necessary to understand how status function declarations may emerge from alternative normative commitments. I make the hypothesis of "interactive intentionality," as an interactive and deliberative mode of practical reasoning, to describe the processes of convergence on definite constitutive rules. These processes show how interactive intentionality may frame both commitment and enforcement, thus providing some insights to make rule-based and equilibrium-based accounts of institutions epistemologically commensurable.


Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a well-established complication of liver cirrhosis with an annual incidence of 2–7% [1]. Since patients with HCC are prone to develop recurrent and second liver tumors after potentially curative therapy, it is mandatory to screen these patients using several diagnostic methods, including ultrasonographyand appropriate serological tumor markers. In the past years, a variety of new tumor markersother than α-fetoprotein have been proposed for diagnosis and follow-up of HCC.


Sodium acetate was applied as an efficient catalyst for the one-pot, three-component condensation reactions consisting of 4-nitrobenzaldehyde 2, malononitrile 3, and thiobarbituric acid 1. Use of nontoxic reaction components, short reaction times, environmental, easy work-up, and high yields are some remarkable advantages of this method. Kinetics and mechanism of the reaction were spectrally studied and the second order rate constant (kovr = k1) was automatically calculated by the standard equations contained within the program. The second order rate constant [Ln(kovr = k1), Ln(kovr = k1)/T] that depended on reciprocal temperature was in good agreement with the Arrhenius and Eyring equations, respectively. This data provided the suitable plots for calculating the activation energy and parameters (Ea, ΔG‡, ΔS‡, and ΔH‡) of the reaction. Furthermore, from studying the effects of solvent, concentration, and catalyst on the reaction rate, useful information was obtained regarding the mechanism. The results showed that the first step of the reaction mechanism is a rate determining step (RDS). The proposed mechanism was confirmed in accordance with the experimental data and also the steady state approximation.


This paper presents an improved reversible data hiding algorithm using digital images based on the histogram shifting technique. Proposed method can accurately recover the original image and extract the hidden data accurately. The highest two peak values of the host image's histogram are selected for data hiding. This embedding process is repeated again and again, to attain larger embedding capacity. In addition, a Controlled Contrast Enhancement (CCE) is performed to get good visual perception. To verify the robustness of the proposed method various attacks on the host image such as impulse noise, shearing, rotation, and scaling are considered. The proposed algorithm efficiently removes the various attacks on the watermarked image and efficiently recovers the original and embedded data. The proposed method's better performance over existing methods in terms of PSNR, SSIM and embedding rate is demonstrated.


In this paper, we introduce the Bernoulli polynomials with the variable [x]q and we get polynomials related to the Bernoulli polynomials with the variable [x]q and the Bernoulli numbers as coecients. This Bernoulli polynomials is dened by the p-adic integral and we get the some interesting properties. Also we study the analogue zeta function using the Bernoulli polynomials with the variable [x]q. Mathematics Subject Classication: 11B68, 11S40, 11S80


We incubated eggs of Takydromus wolteri\% at four costant temperatures to assess influence of incubation temperature on size,morphology,and locomotor performance of hatchlings.All viable eggs incubated in mass over the course of incubation due to absorption of water from surroundings,and mass gain was dependent on initial egg mass and incubation temperature.The duration of incubation at 24,27,30,and 33 ℃ averaged 41.9,30.6,25.8,and 22.6 d,respectively.Incubation temperature significantly affected hatching success and body wet mass,carcass dry mass,and residual yolk dry mass of hatchlings,but it did not affect sex ratio,total dry mass,snout-vent length,and tail length of hatchlings.Compared to those from 33℃,hatchlings from 24℃ and 27℃ were greater in wet body mass and carcass dry mass,with a smaller quantity of yolk remaining unutilized at hatching.Incubation temperature affected some norphological traits of hatchlings,with hatchlings from 24℃ and 27℃ having larger size-free head length and width than did those from 33℃,and hatchlings from 24℃ generally had smaller size-free tympanum diameter than did those from higher temperatures.Sprint speed was positively correlated with hatchling size(SVL),but it was independent of tail length and hatchling condition.Locomotor performance of hatchlings from lower temperatures(24 and 27℃) was apparently better than that of those from higher temperatures (30 and 33℃).Between-sex differences in the row number of ventral scales,tail length,and hind-limb length were found in hatchlings,but these sexual dimorphisms were not related to incubation temperature.


Two different kinds of ice flow models, one two-dimensional (2-D) and the other three-dimensional (3-D), have been used to test the importance of the thermodynamic response of the Greenland ice sheet. The basic difference between the two models is that the thermodynamics are neglected in the two-dimensional model, whereas these are incorporated in the three-dimensional model. The 2-D and 3-D models are compared in terms of volume response time and total volume of the ice sheet. Results indicate that the sawtooth character of the ice volume on glacial-interglacial timescales is, among other possible reasons, a result of the thermodynamic coupling. The changes in elevation over the last 130,000 years calculated with the three-dimensional version are 230 m for the Summit drill site and 190 m for the N-GRIP site. The standard deviation of the changes in elevation is 55 m for the Summit site and 43 m for the N-GRIP site. The present-day imbalance is merely a result of the rather constant climate over the last 10 kyr and is not determined by the thermodynamics. Consequently, Pleistocene temperatures do still exist in the ice sheet but are not important for volume calculations of the present-day ice sheet. For short-term perturbation experiments in the future, the pronounced sensitivity of the mass balance will determine the response of the Greenland ice sheet, whereas thermodynamics will play only a minor role.


Interpreting molecular cytogenomic findings that cover the human genome (e.g., microarray results) is challenging, as it requires accessing and working with multiple, diverse sources of data that are often large and heterogeneous. These data need to be accessed, queried, and simultaneously integrated to achieve open-ended goals, such as interpreting findings to make diagnoses and engage in genetic counselling. Currently, typical workflows of users are laborious, as data sources are often not integrated and must be accessed separately. Furthermore, large document sets often have to be combed through to assist in interpretation. Analytics tools are needed to help users process and distill large bodies of information into manageable sizes so the most relevant portions can be focused on. Current tools typically do not offer support for interactively exploring and engaging with visual representations of important entities and relationships (e.g., chromosomes, gene-phenotype relationships, and scientific articles). We present VErdICT, a visual analytics tool that can support users in their interpretation of molecular cytogenomic findings. A participatory design approach was taken to make VErdICT human-centered. We describe its development, usability and usefulness, and outline some future research challenges.


Objective — to use cryosurgery in combination with simultaneous peritumoral and intratumoral tracer injections of blue dye for further lymphatic mapping in the treatment of primary breast tumors. The effectiveness of intraoperative cryoprobe‑assisted injection of blue dye and cytotoxic‑tracer mixture for locoregional drug targeting in the VX2 tumor model as well as its translational significance for cryo‑assisted breast tumor surgery with blue dye alone were evaluated. Sentinel lymph node mapping, pathological determination of the tumor, and resection margins were achievable.
Materials and methods. Thirty‑nine patients with primary breast cancer in stages I to IV, aged 52,4 (±19) years (mean, standard deviation (SD) years), were randomly selected, treated at the Rudolfinerhaus Private Clinic in Vienna, Austria, and included in this preliminary clinical study. Under computed tomography guidance, we injected 2 ml of cytotoxic‑tracer mixture in five aliquots into the margins of 16 frozen or normothermic VX2 tumors.  We evaluated the intraoperative and post‑operative drug targeting and therapeutic efficacy at the tumor‑host interface by means of computer tomography, gross examination, and histopathology. In thirty‑four T1 to T4 primary breast cancers, we performed an ultrasound‑guided cryoprobe‑assisted tumor freezing‑thawing cycle, blue dye‑guided lymphatic mapping, and surgery. We examined an intraoperative and freshly resected specimen and the blue dye distribution pattern in the tumor‑host interface, lymph node(s), breast parenchyma, and resection cavity.
Results. 29 of the 38 patients had localized primary breast cancer, which was estimated to be resectable without neoadjuvant chemotherapy. 87% of patients had one to twelve stained axillary lymph nodes, while 72% of patients had another quadrant and resection cavity stained.  Fluid‑impervious frozen VX2 or breast tumors transported drug(s) in an arc‑like pattern at the tumor‑host interface regardless of freeze dose, number of freeze‑thaw cycles, drug dose fractionation, tumor characteristics, or tumor dimensions. During melting, the cytotoxic‑tracer mixture spread within 50% of the VX2 tumor and mirrored that of the tumor‑host interface; it was massive in normothermia. In VX2, the CT gap corresponded to 20% of the focal margin necrosis in pathology. In both studies, blue dye dose‑staining spread linearly in the tumor‑host interface and tumor.
Conclusions. The study paves the way for intraoperative cryo‑assisted cure options for primary breast cancer. We have shown that our cryosurgical technique of repeatedly freezing deep tumors for en bloc resection or for in situ ablation of primary breast cancer, facilitated by IOUS monitoring, can be coupled with the simultaneous injection of dye tracers during conventional surgery, which then allows for lymphatic mapping. Intraoperative freezing‑assisted drug delivery and targeting techniques during cryoablation of the VX2 tumor translate successfully to locoregional blue dye targeting and lymphatic mapping during cryo‑assisted surgery of breast cancer. We explored the ability of our strategy to prevent tumor cell migration, but not that of injected tracers, to the lymphovascular drainage during conventional resection of frozen breast malignancies.


The attitude determination problem of Earth Orientation gyro-less spacecraft is studied in this paper. Considering the sensitivity of the initial attitude error for EKF, a new non linear attitude determination filter is developed by using the Special Orthogonal Group SO (3) which avoids any algebraic reconstruction of the attitude from reference vectors. Lyapunov analysis results for the proposed the filter is derived that ensure global stability of the error. The simulation results show that the estimation of attitude and angular velocity converge to the real in the Earth Orientation mode.


Effects of ammonium perchlorate (AP) particle size on the aluminum (Al) agglomeration in primary combustion of AP/Al binary mixture with a high Al content were investigated experimentally using a CO₂ laser ignition apparatus. The combustion of AP/Al binary mixture and Al agglomeration were observed by a high-speed camera. In addition, the particle size distributions and chemical compositions of the condensed combustion products were analyzed by a laser particle size analyzer, X-ray diffraction, and other experimental techniques. Results show that the increase in AP particle size can decrease the size of Al agglomeration, the combustion efficiency of Al powder, the brightness of oxide cap, and the distance from the flame front to the Al droplet but can increase the flame radius. The Al particle burns in evaporation mode, and the rotation phenomenon occurs in the Al droplet. The rotational velocity of the Al droplet decreases with increasing AP particle size. The Al agglomeration can be formed by two ways in the flame zone. For larger Al agglomerations, the spherical molten Al particles first aggregate, then some small aggregates detach from the surface of the big aggregates, and last, the remaining irregular aggregates become regular bigger spherical agglomerations. For small Al agglomerations, the agglomerates directly separate small agglomerations.


Measurements of the Kerr constant of several binary liquid mixtures are reported. Most of the cases do not show any additivity of the Kerr effect. The results are in qualitative agreement with a mean-field theory that takes into account the local-field corrections, with the only exception the water–lutidine mixture, which presents a consolution point near room temperature. The long-range concentration fluctuations due to the proximity of the critical point strongly influence the electric birefringence of the mixture.


Using former maps, geographers intend to study the evolution of the land cover in order to have a prospective approach on the future landscape; predictions of the future land cover, by the use of older maps and environmental variables, are usually done through the GIS (Geographic Information System). We propose here to confront this classical geographical approach with statistical approaches: a linear parametric model (polychotomous regression modeling) and a nonparametric one (multilayer perceptron). These methodologies have been tested on two real areas on which the land cover is known at various dates; this allows us to emphasize the benefit of these two statistical approaches compared to GIS and to discuss the way GIS could be improved by the use of statistical models.


Biological and polymer-type materials usually show a complicated deformation behavior. This behavior can be modeled by using a nonlinear material equation; however, the determination of coefficients in such a material equation is challenging. We exploit representation theorems in continuum mechanics and construct nonlinear material equations for cellulose in an oscillatory rheometer experiment. The material parameters are obtained by using the energy-based method that generates a linear regression fit even in the case of a highly nonlinear material equation. This method allows us to test different nonlinear material equations and choose the simplest material model capable of representing the nonlinear response over a broad range of frequencies and amplitudes. We present the strategy, determine the parameters for cellulose, discuss the complicated stress-strain response and make the algorithm publicly available to encourage its further use.


ABSTRACT The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the quality and accuracy of online physical activity (PA) information for individuals living with osteoporosis. Using a systematic review protocol and guided by previous synthesis research, 57 websites were included in this study. Two independent coders evaluated each website by extracting data pertinent to descriptive characteristics, technical quality, and accuracy of PA information. While most websites presented information regarding aerobic (94.47%) and resistance (89.47%) PA, rarely was information presented consistent with public health recommendations for PA in older adults or recommendations advanced by Giangregorio et al. (2014). Considerably less information was devoted to balance or flexibility forms of activity. Most websites included information on the benefits (94.40%) and safety considerations (72.20%) for PA for individuals living with osteoporosis. Other cognitive or behavioral aspects linked to PA were less common features of coded websites. Greater attention to public health guidelines or evidence-informed recommendations when developing websites to encourage individuals living with osteoporosis to adopt PA is recommended.


This study was carried out to evaluate the development of the microstructure and mechanical properties of a surface-modified post-heattreated Inconel 718 alloy. The friction stir process (FSP), as the surface-modification method, was applied to an overlap-welded Inconel 718 alloy. The FSP was conducted at a tool rotation speed of 200 rpm and a tool downforce of 39.2 kN; post-heat treatment was carried out in two steps: (i) at 720°C for 8 h and (ii) 620°C for 6 h in vacuum. FSP was effective for developing grain refinement, accompanied by dynamic recrystallization, thus improving the mechanical properties compared to the original overlap-welded material. Furthermore, the post-heat treatment after FSP accelerated the formation of precipitates such as gamma prime (£A) and metalcarbon (MC) carbides, which led to a significant improvement in mechanical properties. In this study, the development of the microstructure and the improvement of the mechanical properties through the application of FSP and post-heat treatment are systematically discussed. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.M2013096]


Intellectual property management plays a very important role in the process of technology transformation among different companies. This article discusses the main methods and mode which companies usually used to manage their IPM in market. Some suggestions are also provided for the company managers.


In Guangya Shuzheng,there is a big multitude of synonym differentiation and analysis,an overwhelming majority of which is synonym justification.Observation of the book discloses the methods employed by the compiler in justifying and discriminating synonyms.To achieve the former goal,the compiler resorts to example sentences,ancient annotation and colloquial language;to achieve the latter one,the compiler employs semantic definition and also discriminates synonyms in broad or narrow meanings.


In this paper, we study the constrained circular cutting problem whose objective is to cut a set of circular pieces into a rectangular plate R of dimensions L × W. Each piece's type i, i = 1, ..., m is caracterized by its radius r(i) and its demand b(i). This problem is solved using an adaptive algorithm that combines beam search and various Hill-Climbing strategies. Decisions at each node of the truncated tree are based on the so-called best local position. The computational results show, on a set of problem instances of the literature, the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.


COURSE OUTLINE : The Computational Science in Engineering is a rapidly evolving field that exploits the power of computation as an approach to major challenges on the frontiers of natural and social science and all engineering fields. The primary focus lies on developing problem-solving methodologies and robust tools for numerical simulation. The goal is to present the fundamentals of scientific computing, with short codes to implement the key concepts. This includes a framework for applied mathematics such as Linear Algebra, ODEs and PDEs. To understand phenomena and processes from science and engineering, these simulations require advanced skills in mathematical modelling, numerical analysis, efficient algorithms, computer architecture, software design and implementation, validation, and visualization of results.


Short Summary Cynthia McDougall--PhD Dissertation Knowledge, Technology, I and, to increase the livelihood benefits from community forestry overall. The research project on which this study is based sought to address these challenges at the community forest user group scale. The research objective was to contribute empirically-based insights regarding if and how adaptive collaborative governance of community forests in Nepal can constructively influence engagement, livelihoods, social capital and conflict—especially in regard to women and the poor. Further, the research aimed to elucidate the underlying issue of power in community-based natural resource governance. In particular, it sought to contribute deeper, theoretically-based understanding of the persistence of power imbalances in community forestry, and of the potential of adaptive collaborative governance to shift such imbalances.


The article analyzes the research program of Lucas Schulz, a professor at the University of Manchester (Great Britain). This program is based on the principle of transnationalism. Lukas Schulz believes that it is unacceptable to conduct cultural research on the principle of analyzing the scope of cultural phenomena of a particular nation-state. He believes that transnationalism is at the core of cultural studies. The main approaches of transnationalism: radical contextualism, reliance on comparative studies and dewesternization of academic cultural studies. A critical study of the position of Lukas Schulz shows that some of his principles can be mastered in Russian cultural studies, but at the same time it is necessary to avoid those practices that Professor Schulz calls for and which are based on the method of positive discrimination. It is hardly possible to achieve an adequate scientific model if, at the same time, one or another of its creators is discriminated against.


Erbium hexaboride was synthesized; it is a high-temperature phase, stable over a limited temperature range and unstable with respect to dissociation to ErB4 and ErB12 at T<1975°C, although the lower temperature limit has not been determined precisely. Relatively slow cooling through its stable temperature range is required for the formation of ErB6.


Musculoskeletal disorders are a group of symptoms related to muscle tissue, tendons, ligaments, cartilages, nervous system, bone structure and blood vessels that are influenced by biomechanical factors such as duration, frequency and infrastructure for performing the action. Data on dental practitioners who take preventive measures against musculoskeletal disorders is 64.3%, in the form of correct work position or posture, 14.1%, the use of adequate ergonomic equipment 3.1%, taking 1.8% leave from work and doing a combination of two or more of these precautions 41%. Objective: to see an overview of the number of patients, the completeness of equipment and the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in dental practitioners and to find the relationship between the three. Method: cross sectional with a sampling of 20 people consisting of 13 dentists and 7 dental therapists. The assessment of the number of patients used primary and secondary data from the puskesmas annual report, assessment of equipment completeness using a check list and assessment of musculoskeletal disorders using a Nordic Body Map questionnaire. Results: the mean value of the number of patients served by dental practitioners at the health center was 13.3 with low criteria, 74.42% of the criteria were incomplete and 32.7 with low criteria The results of the Pearson Correlation statistical test Sig. (2-tailed) above the critical value ? = 0.005. Conclusion: There is no relationship between the number of patients and the completeness of equipment with the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in Dental Practitioners at Community Health Centers Sukabumi City.


We fabricated superconducting MgB 2 films with Mg/B multilayer precursors followed by ex-situ annealing. Different ways of samples' placement have been tried, and we found that turning over the samples can effectively removed the particles of Mg condensed on the film surface. The T c of the films was about 35K with a transition width of 0.8K. The surface is quite smooth, having a roughness of 10 nm in an area of 5 μm×5 μm. When the thickness of the film is less than 1000?, the T c is significantly reduced. With the different configurations of the multilayer precursor, the T c of a 600?-thick film can be optimized to 32K and the J c is 2.4×10 6 A/cm 2 at 20K.


We shall consider an interesting topic relating nonlinear optics and organic materials: how nonlinear optics can be used to study organic materials. One of the main differences between linear and nonlinear responses of a medium to incoming radiation is in their symmetries. It leads to the possibility that some properties of the medium could be more sensitively probed by nonlinear, rather than linear, optical means, or vise versa. A well-known example is that some vibrational modes of a medium could be Raman-active but infrared-inactive, and would be more readily observed by Raman scattering, which is a two-photon transition process. In this paper, we shall discuss, with the help of three examples, how we can use second harmonic generation (SHG) and sum frequency generation (SFG) to obtain unique information about a material. We shall focus on thin films, surfaces, and interfaces.


In this paper, the author introduces a class of completely generalized strongly nonlinear quasi- complementarity problems, and constructs a new iterative algorithm. Using the algorithm, the author proves the existence of solutions and the convergence of the iterative sequence generated by the algorithm. The results in this paper extend and improve the corresponding results in the literatures.


In some eyes, severe damage to the cornea and ocular surface occurs due to drug allergy, or chemical or thermal burns – resulting in a very dry, skin-like appearance of the corneal surface. In these eyes, corneal transplantation does not work, as the dry surface is unable to support the health of the transplanted biological tissue, unlike in a normal eye. To provide the patient with useful vision, an artificial cornea or keratoprosthesis is used. A keratoprosthesis is a cylinder made of a type of plastic polymer called polymethyl methacrylate (the same material used to make intraocular lenses). The cylinder is made such that the power of the cornea is built into it, so that not only does it provide a clear corneal window, but it also supplies the refractive power needed for the eye to see well. Since plastic and living tissue cannot form a firm and safe bonding, researchers have tried over the past many years to find a way to allow integration of the two tissues, so that the long-term success rate of the procedure is enhanced.


PTEN hamartoma tumour syndrome is associated with germline mutations in the tumour suppressor gene, PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog gene), leading to formation of hamartomas due to unregulated cellular proliferation. Two patients presented with complications of hamartomas, which subsequently revealed multiple polyposis of mixed histologies throughout their gastrointestinal tracts. There was no family history for PTEN hamartoma tumour syndrome and both were eventually detected to have de novo PTEN mutations. Despite fulfilling diagnostic criteria and having high probabilities of a PTEN mutation (computed using PTEN Cleveland Clinic score), there was delayed diagnosis of PTEN hamartoma tumour syndrome due to limited awareness amongst treating clinicians. Thus PTEN hamartoma tumour syndrome should still be considered as a differential in patients with similar gastrointestinal manifestations for early diagnosis and intervention.


Recently, the need for using a substitute fuel for petroleum fuel in diesel engines becomes an utmost necessity, However, the petroleum fuel is considered a non-renewable source and has some environmental side effects. The price of petroleum fuels changes according to the world economic and political problems. Engine emissions should be reduced and fit the governmental guidelines, the harmful emissions produced from engines have extreme environmental side effects, one of these effects is called the global warming which causes a global increase in the world temperature. In this study, the biodiesel extracted from the Waste Cooking Oil (WCO) is generated as a substutute for the diesel fuel. In the process of the biodiesel production, catalytic transesterification reaction is used to change WCO to methyl esters by adding low alcohol concentration. The produced biodiesel will be prepared for using as a fuel blend along with the commercial diesel fuel and using it to petrol the four-stroke direct injection diesel engine without any modification to original fuel system. The engine will be tested experimentally with varying loads at fixed speed of 1400 rpm with a natural aspiration process, using blends of (B20 [is composed of 20% biodiesel and 80% diesel], B40 [is composed of 40% biodiesel and 60% diesel], B60 [is composed of 60% biodiesel and 40% diesel], B80 [is composed of 80% biodiesel and 20% diesel] and pure diesel). The effect of the use of different biodiesel blends has been investigated and tested on the performance of the engine and emissions. The experimental findings clarify that the diesel engine can be run with different blends of diesel and biodiesel at the same operating condition with decreasing brake thermal efficiency by 9.6 %, decreasing exhaust temperature by 7.6% and increasing brake specific fuel consumption by 16%.


A method for using adaptive windowing and 2D contour taken directly radiated tracking target during image-guided radiation treatment systems, methods and devices.