The utility model provides a digital multifunction transfusion monitoring instrument, comprising a micro-processing unit, a liquid drop detection sensor, an alarm [2], a flow control valve [7], a step-by-step motor [8], a liquid crystal display screen [3], a keyboard [4], a temperature detection sensor [6], a network communication interface [10], etc. The digital multifunction transfusion monitoring instrument can carry out real-time monitoring for the multi-parameter of dropping speed, body temperature, etc. and can send out alarm signals in the multiple transfusion processes in patient transfusion process. The digital multifunction transfusion monitoring instrument can exactly control the dropping speed; meanwhile, the extended communications unit can conveniently form the sickroom transfusion monitoring system of the hospital by wires or wireless. The digital multifunction transfusion monitoring instrument reduces the work amount of the medical personnel, and brings safety and convenience for patients; meanwhile, the digital multifunction transfusion monitoring instrument is also convenient for the management of the hospital.


Media rich geographical environments and mobile Geomedia are suspected to change the way we encounter cartographic material. Thereby, commercial geomedia such as Google Earth promise to work as devices that not only facilitate the access to geographical material, but provide interactive platforms that makes it easier to handle and comprehend spatial relationships, and, at the same time, reconfigure our understanding of space and location. The paper argues that these developments demand an overall shift from the fixed functional approach of map use studies to a more dynamic view on geomedia usage that becomes inevitable through new practices such as geobrowsing. This claim is reviewed, drawing on Science and Technology Studies, and, in particular their research branch Actor-Network-Theory, to give further insights in the handling of geomedia, against the backdrop of the sociotechnical context in which the objects influence our everyday encounters with the outside world.


In a systematic search we looked for coincidences in the positions of eclipsing binaries and IRAS point sources as evidence of a physical association. In a detailed discussion of the available optical and infrared data combined with model calculations, we show that 50-75% of the coincidences between eclipsing binaries and IRAS sources are real. We discuss a subsample of 44 stars in some detail and surveyed the vicinity of them on POSS and SRC/ESO atlases for possible optical counterparts and present identification maps. In the cases of BS Sco and V 718 Sco the infrared radiation may come from an accretion disk.


With the rapid development of modern science technology,multimedia technology has been widely used in education.After reviewing the current use of of multimedia technology in theoretical field,the article tries to high light the function it can place on physical culture course and puts forward some solutions to some problem related.


A consistent derivation of the model linearized collision operator for a multicomponent plasmas in the approximation of local (not full) equilibrium is presented. In these results an ambiguity in the choice of coefficients is eliminated, in contrast to the BGK type models. Furthermore, the linearized collision operator constructed by us describes correctly the Spitzer values of viscosity and thermal conductivity. A technique to reconstruct the model linearized operator is proposed. It is shown that the model collision integral in the local equilibrium approximation does not contain a complicated exponential which is common for the BGK type integral.


Recent advances in digital microfluidic biochips or DMFBs have enabled its application in biochemistry, clinical diagnosis, high-throughput DNA sequencing, immunoassays, protein crystallisation, etc. DMFBs ushered in a new era in this domain by establishing a μ-lab-on-chip as a replacement for typical laboratory systems. Handling nanolitre or microlitre volumes of several discrete biochemical fluids is a challenging problem in DMFB synthesis. To address this issue, in this paper, we have proposed to replace the commonly used square electrode cell used in traditional DMFBs with a regular hexagonal one and analysed the critical factors required to perform modular operations safely in the proposed chip array. On-chip droplet routability is also crucial to find out the droplet pathways, which satisfy the constraints imposed by fluidic properties. In this work, we have demonstrated a systematic droplet routing on a hexagonal electrode based DMFB or an HDMFB layout. The proposed algorithm optimises the droplet flow paths by considering all obstacles during the assay runtime; it finds several droplet routes and finally searches for the shortest path that utilises the minimum number of electrodes to reach the target. Some bioassays have been expanded as test cases for evaluating the correctness of the proposed droplet routing algorithm compared to those using traditional square electrode cell, and the obtained results are satisfactory.


Characterizing material dynamics in non-equilibrium states is a current challenge in material and physical sciences. Combining laser and X-ray pulse sources enables the material dynamics in non-equilibrium conditions to be directly monitored. In this article, we review our nanosecond time-resolved X-ray diffraction studies with 100-ps X-ray pulses from synchrotron radiation concerning the dynamics of structural phase transitions in non-equilibrium high-pressure conditions induced by laser shock compression. The time evolution of structural deformation of single crystals, polycrystals, and glass materials was investigated. In a single crystal of cadmium sulfide, the expected phase transition was not induced within 10 ns at a peak pressure of 3.92 GPa, and an over-compressed structure was formed. In a polycrystalline sample of Y2O3 stabilized tetragonal zirconia, reversible phase transitions between tetragonal and monoclinic phases occur within 20 ns under laser-induced compression and release processes at a peak pressure of 9.8 GPa. In polycrystalline bismuth, a sudden transition from Bi-I to Bi-V phase occurs within approximately 5 ns at 11 GPa, and sequential V–III–II–I phase transitions occur within 30 ns during the pressure release process. In fused silica shocked at 3.5 GPa, an intermediate-range structural change in the nonlinear elastic region was observed.


Background: Our understanding of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) has been evolved very significantly over the period of last few decades. The hematological abnormalities though more commonly seen are not properly evaluated or estimated and are not given enough representation . In some of these cases presenting with Anaemia, Thrombocytopenia, Pancytopenia or Thrombotic episodes, especially so in young females, the diagnosis may be delayed or initially missed if the index of suspicion is low or if there is improper and inadequate follow up. Thus keeping this in mind this study as be carried out. Aim and Objectives :(1) To study Haematological manifestations of SLE and (2) To study its correlation with the disease severity. Materials and Methods: This study is an Observational Cross Sectional Study done in Assam Medical College for a period of one year. All cases who fulfilled the ACR criteria 1997 who came to Rheumatology opd and those who admitted in Medicine ward taken up for the study. Results: Totally 106 patients were taken up for the study. The most common constitutional symptom was Fatigue which present among 57 (53.7%). Raynaud 's phenomenon was present among 15(14.15%) patients. Anaemia was present in 99 patients (93%) of the study group with most common type being Anaemia of chronic disease. Neutropenia was present among 8 (7.5%), Thrombocytopenia among 8(7.55%) in the study group. Severity of anaemia and Serum Ferritin Level were in correlation with the Disease severity (SLEDAI). Conclusion: Haematological Manifestations is one of the most common manifestation presents very early in the disease process and in many cases as the only presentation. This Study demonstrated similarities with most of other studies, revelling at the same time much Higher incidence of Haemotological manifestations compared to other studies.


The dictionary construction project at tile Japan Flectronic Dictionary Research Institute, Ltd. (El)R) in Tokyo began in 1986 and is ahnost certainly the largest lexicon construction project for computational purposes it] tile world. This paper describes some aspects of the construction of the English language dictionary, in particular a project to verify and enh,'mce information on noun phrases in the English Word Dictioniuy undertaken by the Computing Research Laboratory at New Mexico State University and the University of Sheffield. We believe the work so far raises issues of wider linguistic interest which require practical solutions so that the large scale lexicon project can proceed. We hope that this palter will show the complexity, diversity, attd richness of the content of the EI)R English Word Dictionary.


The clinical and anatomopathologic features as well as DNA content of 83 renal cell carcinomas were analyzed. The possible interrelationship and prognostic value of these factors were also considered. The DNA study has been performed by flow cytometry using paraffin-embedded tissues. In each case an internal control with nonneoplastic renal tissue obtained in the same nefrectomy was also done in order to calculate the DNA index. Differences in patient age, nuclear grade, and mitotic activity were related with outcome; however, this relationship was not confirmed by the Cox test. Stage (P = .005), cell type (P = .002), and metastatic disease (P = .001) had independent prognostic values. Renal cell carcinomas with low stage and with low S-phase had better prognosis. Int J Surg Pathol 3(1):1-8, 1995


To investigate relationships between the concentrations of lipophilic organochlorine compounds in salmonine fish and their eggs and the role of lipids in maternal transfer of these compounds, muscle tissue and fertilized eggs from chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) were analyzed using gas chromatography. The concentrations of organochlorine compounds in the muscle tissue of the gravid fish were significantly correlated with the concentration of these compounds in the eggs (P < 0.01). Egg lipid concentrations were species specific, poorly correlated with muscle tissue lipid concentration, and did not appear to influence organochlorine compound transfer to the eggs. Total concentrations of PCBs and p,p′-DDE concentrations in chinook salmon eggs and total concentrations of PCBs, p,p′-DDE, and dieldrin in lake trout eggs were significantly correlated with the concentrations of these compounds in the muscle tissue of the gravid fish. Consequently, spatial difference...


We have investigated chiral edges of a quantum Hall liquid at filling factor $\ensuremath{\nu}=2.$ We find that spin and charge separate in the presence of the long-range Coulomb interaction, and the tunneling density of states is given by $D(\ensuremath{\omega})\ensuremath{\sim}[\ensuremath{-}1/\mathrm{ln}\ensuremath{\omega}{]}^{1/2}.$ The measurement of the temperature and voltage dependences of the tunneling current should reveal the presence of spin-charge separation.


The range of dangers and associated risks, when introducing unmanned means of water transport are discussed in the paper. The phased introduction of vessels with various degree of autonomy (from "smart vessels" with a traditional crew on board to completely unmanned vessels), their simultaneous operation creates a situation of transformation of already explored in the scientific literature hazards for the navigation safety, as well as the emergence of new dangers associated with operational features of autonomous systems of unmanned ships, the use of new innovative technologies. An approach to the systematization of dangers and an assessment of their risk, which is advisable to use when analyzing new solutions, which include unmanned means of water transport is proposed. It includes two qualitative assessments: the risks of operating unmanned means of water transport and the risks of using new technologies when creating autonomous systems of unmanned means of water transport. For the first case, a model approach is used that considers autonomous vessels as models of systems. The following enlarged models are distinguished: on-board autonomous systems, control center system and water area system. Such implementing the model approach, the several groups of functions that cover all aspects of operations on the vessel are identified: the voyage route, navigation during the voyage, detection of navigational and environmental conditions of shipping, safety of navigation and emergencies, vessel safety, hull strength, passenger management, cargo management, technical infrastructure. To assess the risk of applying new technologies, it is proposed to use the following factors: the degree of reliability of used technology and the level of technology autonomy. The range of methods of risk analysis includes 31 methods. The choice of analysis methods depends on a sufficiently large number of factors. At the present stage of development of unmanned ship systems, it is possible to obtain a qualitative risk assessment. The following methods are noteworthy: HAZOP hazard and operability studies, FMEA failure modes and consequences analysis, «bow-tie» analysis. The ALARP principle is applied to present the results of the analysis of the risk matrix.


Lipase (E.C. 18.104.22.168) from Rhizomucor miehei was adsorbed on silica, zirconia and five alumina support materials. The immobilised preparations were used to catalyse esterincation reactions of decanoic acid and dodecanol in hexane. The immobilised lipase and the organic phase were separately preequilibrated to the desired water activities. The various support materials adsorbed widely different amounts of water at a given water activity. The reaction rates with all the support materials show similar dependence on water activity when the rates were normalised with the optimal rate for that support material. Hence water activity predicts the optimal conditions much better than water content.


A series of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) was synthesized by bulk ring-opening copolymerization with different ratios of L-lactic acid (L-LA) to glycolic acid (GA); stannous octoate [Sn(Oct)2] was used as catalyst. The structures were characterized by FT-IR. The crystallinity and the glass-transition temperature (Tg) were studied by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Tg decreased with the increase of GA and the rate of degradation and degree of hydrophilicity increased with the increased content of GA.


Commercial Banks in India constitute the most dominant segment of the financial sector by commanding about two third of its total assets. Indian Banks are well regulated and have emerged stronger under the watchful eyes of the regulator. Their unassailability could be well gauged by the health of the Indian economy. The public sector banks in India continue to lead the banking system. The objective of this study is to focus on the importance of new techniques in the fast changing banking scenario of India.The basic philosophy of participative management is that once the people are committed to the goals of the organization, they will exercise self-direction and self-control in the service of the objectives to which they are committed. Their commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement and therefore, external control and the threat of punishment are the means to direct efforts towards achieving organizational objectives. In order to create proper conditions for people to seek and accept responsibility, conscious efforts are required to be made to involve them at all levels i.e. Intellectual, emotional and physical in the decision making process of the organisation. Employee's participation in the management process at all levels is expected to bring about improved employee morale and increased productivity.With this objective in mind, various techniques of participative management have been tried viz. employee suggestion scheme, work and floor committees, house journals, representation on the board etc. with varied results. Quality Circle is one such technique which has played a significant role in creating awareness for sustained quality improvement in the banking system of developed countries.This paper aims at providing a brief overview of the major developments in the field of Quality Circle Approach. An effort has been made to present the different phases of Quality Circle Concept. This study makes a modest attempt to analyse the relevance of Quality Circles Approach in India. The paper focuses to find out whether this Approach acts as an important driver to improve the quality of the banking system in India.


Provided is a power distribution line foreign matter removing apparatus that comprises a top blade, a bottom blade, a supporting frame, a hook, and an insulating rod. The supporting frame is composed of a top frame plate, a bottom frame plate, a first connection shaft, a second connection shaft. The hook is fixed to the top frame plate. A through hole is arranged on the center of the bottom frame plate. The insulating rod passes through the bottom frame plate and can be rotated in the through hole. The top blade and the bottom blade are in transmission connection with the insulating rod through a transmission part. The power distribution line foreign matter removing apparatus is simple in structure, easy to operate, and wide in application range.


The invention relates to a method for realizing desulfuration, denitration and demercuration of boiler smoke synchronously, wherein it comprises feeding smoke into cycle fluidize bed reactor, and injecting oxygen-enriched active absorber; said absorber is formed by coal ash at 20-70, lime hydrate at 27-80, additive at 0.5- 3 as kalii permangana KMnO4, sodium chlorite NaClO2, natrii chloridum NaCl, calcium hypochlorite Ca(ClO)2 or acetic hyctro peroxide CH3COOH. The invention's desulfuration efficiency can reach 90%, the denitration efficiency can reach 60%, and the demercuration can reach 50%, with low cost and non pollution.


The regularities of ion synthesis of dislocation-related luminescence centers in silicon have been investigated. By varying the conditions of additional irradiation with boron ions, as well as the conditions of subsequent annealing, we obtain an increase in the luminescence intensity, as well as a shift of maximum of the temperature dependence towards higher temperatures. It was found for the first time that, for the highest used dose of boron ions (3·1017 cm-2) and additional heat treatment at 830 °C, it is possible to get the measurable luminescence at room temperature.


Thank you very much for reading beyond silent spring integrated pest management and chemical safety. As you may know, people have search hundreds times for their favorite readings like this beyond silent spring integrated pest management and chemical safety, but end up in malicious downloads. Rather than reading a good book with a cup of coffee in the afternoon, instead they cope with some infectious virus inside their computer.


ABSTRACT The experiment was conducted using a survey method at 4 locations/district in the Southeast Minahasa Regency is Belang,Tombatu, North Tombatu, and East Tombatu. Each location/districts determined three paddy fields (repeats) as a place of observation and sampling. The study lasted for 10 months ie from January to October 2015. Sampling is done diagonally to the respective fields. So one rice field consists of 5 sub-plot as a point of sampling Samples are larvae present in the leaf roll. Implementation of the sampling carried out on rice plants vegetative phase once a week for 6 weeks. The results showed that the average population of C. medinalis (per-10 clumps) on paddy rice cultivation in Southeast Minahasa Regency highest found in the location of the North Tombatu 10.99, then Eastern Tombatu 10.44, Belang 10.43 and lows in the Tombatu 0.94. Observations of percentage of pests C. medinalis highest in Southeast Minahasa Regency found in the sample locations in the North Tombatu which reached 33.95%, Belang 32.51%, Eastern Tombatu 31.86%, and the lowest in the Tombatu 4.08%. Keywords : rice, Cnaphalocrosis medinalis


Abstract In May 2012, a former research assistant contacted the Montréal police about an interview he had conducted with Luka Magnotta for the SSHRC-funded research project Sex Work and Intimacy: Escorts and their Clients four years previously. That call ultimately resulted in the Parent and Bruckert v R and Magnotta case. Now, a decade later, we are positioned to reflect on the collective lessons learned (and lost) from the case. In this paper, we provide a lay of the Canadian confidentiality landscape before teasing out ten lessons from Parent c R. To do so, we draw on personal archives, survey results from sixty researchers, twelve key informant interviews with qualitative sociolegal and criminology researchers, and documentary analysis of university research policies. The lessons, which range from the clichéd, to the practical, to the frustrating, have implications for the individual work of Canadian researchers and for the collective work of academic institutions.


A short experiment was designed to study the effects on wound healing of small hair particles left in subcutaneous cavities at surgery


National Examination is the assessment of learning outcomes by the government which aims to assess the achievement of national competency on specific subjects in the group of subjects in science and technology. The results are used as one of the considerations for mapping the program quality or the educational unit, as the basic selection to the next education level, determining students' graduation, and giving scholarship for improving the quality of education. Panopticon was originally a concept of the prison building designed by English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in 1785. The design concept was allowing a guard to watch  prisoners everywhere. Later, Panopticon not merely architectural designs, but he became a model of community supervision and discipline, which also applied today. National Exam as State Panoptikon is a philosophical concept where the values in National Examination is examined or analyzed using the concepts and values of Panoptikon


PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) is a useful tool for navigation which has many advantages such as its smallness and portability. In the meantime, digital charts have been found a wide application in past ten years, and many users are hoping for giving up the paper chart entirely and using ENC by the law. However, traditional paper chart is a nonreplaced tool for people in hydrographical survey and other application fields, and would coexist with ENC for a long time. How to manage and display integrated chart for traditional paper chart and ENC together in PDA for navigating is still an unsolved problem. Aiming at this, a new integrated spatial data model and display techniques for ENC and paper chart are presented. The core idea of the new algorithm is to build an integrated spatial data model, structure and display environment for both paper chart and ENC. Based on the above algorithms and strategies, an Integrated Electronic Chart Pocket Navigator System named PNS based on PDA was developed. It has been applied in Tianjin Marine Safety Administration Bureau and obtained a good evaluation.


A major concern by scholars in demo-economics is the endogenous explanation of the demographic transition. In this paper, after having reviewed some main results of the recent literature on the subject, we discuss the insight that is provided by Solow-type neo-classical models once they are endowed with "transitional" assumptions. Although Solow's model is usually considered unable to explain the main facts of the transition (Chu 1998), we believe that it may still offer insight on fundamental aspects of modern growth, once we adequately endow it with hypotheses which are coherent with the demographic transition. As a first step we critically discuss the main avenues through which the typical patterns of the demographic transition may be embedded within the model of Solow, by distinguishing the rational perspective, in which the "transition" follows from a maximising framework, from empirical and diffusionist approaches. The ensuing formulations of the transitional mechanism are embedded in simple neo-classical models, that can be used in order to study the main dynamical consequences of the transition on economic growth. The effects of the transition are subsequently analysed under both constant returns to scale (CRS), and decreasing returns to scale (DRS). DRS, which are typical of developing countries, lead to important differences, compared to CRS, which have not (with the exception of Strulik 1999), so far, been stressed in the literature on growth. Our overview and analyses give insight on important aspects such as: i) the onset of poverty traps, and the historically observed mechanisms of escape; ii) a more flexible notion of convergence which appears a powerful explanatory tool for empirically observed dynamics, iii) the need of DRS as unified models of long term historical growth.


In Zemskova et al. (2020) the author affiliations were incorrectly stated for all authors. The correct author affiliations are Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA for all three authors, and in addition Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5R 2M8 Canada for Varvara E. Zemskova and University of Orléans, INSA-CVL, PRISME, EA 4229, 45072, Orléans, France for Pierre-Yves Passaggia. The affiliations have been corrected in both the online PDF and HTML versions of this article. The Press apologises for these errors.


Nowadays, many people using catering service for the event purpose. But it is difficult for some people to find the best catering that provide special type kind of food. The problem to find the best catering services is time consuming and making the right choices is difficult. Hence, FoodZone Catering System helpthe users to make a better choice to select appropriate caterers based on user requirement.Thisis a web-based system that allows users to find the best catering service pricing which is applied Selection Sorting Algorithm to perform this task.This algorithm not depends on the initial order of the data. Therefore, customers can choose catering menu and their price based on a list of catering services that appear according with inputs of various prices by the customers.Therefore, it is easier for customers to booking online and this can save the time, cost and appropriate information of caterers. In addition it also helps in solving the problems of the selection catering services based on their budget estimates.


Evidence shows that artificial intelligence (AI) has become an important subject in academia, representing about 2.2% of all scientific publications. One concern for doctoral programs is the future role of AI in doctoral writing due to the increase in AI-generated content, such as text and images. Apprehensions have been expressed that the use of AI may have a negative impact on a doctoral student's ability to think critically and creatively. In contrast, others argue that using AI tools can provide various benefits resulting in rigorous research. This conceptual article first discusses the developing relationship between AI and dissertation writing skills. Second, the article explores the origins of the traditional dissertation and outlines 21st-century dissertation options which reflect contextual needs and utilization of AI. Third, identified writing challenges are highlighted before turning to an in-depth examination of AI-generated tools and writing craft skills required to complete the five chapters of a traditional dissertation.


One of the most researched and leading edge topics of current nanotechnology is silicon carbide quantum dots(QDs), The paper focus on aspects for SiC QDs: fabrication and the the current research status, and further exploration the most common ways synthesize SiC nanopowders, and brief introduction about the advantages and disadvantages of these different techniques to create SiC nanoparticles. Research efforts were particularly oriented toward applications of the semiconductor QDs as fluorescent probes in the biomedical field is beginning at home and abroad but the prospect very widely. In this letter, we systematically reports the application of SiC quantum dots for biological cell imaging. Furthermore, the SiC QDs is a potential marking materials to the traditional fluorescent organic dye. The methods of multi-targets marking and long-term-distance tracing can give the materials and technical support for the biological. However, further exploration we found some fundamental problem about the multi-targets marking and long-term-distance tracing need to be overcome.


The taxonomic position of Anopheles Franciscanus as either a species or a subspecies of Anopheles pseudopunctipennis has been disputed by earlier authors for many years. Induced copulation resulted in failure of hybridization through sperm inactivation in the spermatheca of the female. These data and a cytogenetic comparison of the 2 species confirm their separate specific status. A reconsideration of the literature relative to the vector potential, distribution, male genitalia and egg morphology of the 2 species further supports the specific status of franciscanus.


Supplementing different levels of Saccharomyces cerevisiae diets on survival and some growth parameters in laboratory reared Heteroclarias juveniles Ayanwale, A. V., Ogbonnaya, E. C., Arimoro, F. O., Unique, N. K. and Chukwuemeka, V. I. Department of Animal Biology, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria. Corresponding author: email@example.com ; +2348036532471 An eight weeks feeding trial was carried out to evaluate the influence of supplementing different levels of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in diets on survival rates and some growth parameters of Heteroclarias juveniles under laboratory conditions. S. cerevisiae was included in the diets at 4 levels of 0.00 (control: Aquamax), 5.00, 10.00 and 15.00% with 3 replicates each. Each of the experimental tanks was filled with 25 litres of borehole water and stocked with 30 randomly selected juveniles of Heteroclarias. The growth and physicochemical parameters were determined weekly, while survival rates were monitored daily using standard experimental procedures. Exchange of water was done twice a week during the study period. The juveniles were fed to satiation daily in the morning and evening. The proximate analysis of S.cerevisiae supplemented diets fed to Heteroclarias juveniles were higher in moisture composition. The results of the mean total length and standard length showed that there were no significant (p>0.05) differences between the juveniles fed the control diet and the S. cerevisiae diets. However, mean body weight were influenced (p< 0.05) with juveniles fed 10 % S. cerevisiae diet having better body weight (31.36±4.13g) compared to the other treatments. The survival rate (97%) of Heteroclarias juveniles fed with 5% S. cerevisiae level was significantly (p< 0.05) highest. Most of the physicochemical parameters of cultured water of Heteroclarias juveniles fed with all the diets were not affected (p>0.05); except the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) that was significantly (p<0.05) different. Moisture ash, crude protein and oil extract were all significantly (p<0.05) affected having lower ash and crude protein contents (2.15±0.01 and 45.00±0.58) respectively. The inclusion of 10% S. cerevisiae in the diet of Heteroclarias juveniles improved growth performance.


Abstract Through the voice of faculty members, this article analyses the barriers and aids that students with disabilities encounter at university. As part of the study, we conducted interviews with 119 faculty members from 10 Spanish universities. We then analysed the data using an inductive system of categories and codes. The results are presented in relation to two topics: barriers and aids to learning and participation. Some of the barriers identified included physical obstacles, faculty, peers, and a lack of resources and information; and some of the sources of aid and support were disability offices, peers, human and external resources, faculty and the university itself. The study shows how each faculty member's unique experience determines their view regarding potential barriers and aids for university students with disabilities. Indeed, throughout the article, it becomes clear that what are perceived by some as barriers are regarded by others as supports. Points of Interest Higher education represents an opportunity for students with disabilities. Few studies have sought to analyse the barriers and aids from the perspective of faculty members. This study explores, through the narratives of 119 faculty members, the barriers and aids that students encounter at Spanish universities. What is needed is the application of Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education. The UDL proposes that the curriculum should be designed so that everyone is able to access and participate in it.


In this paper, an ongoing research project on the mechanisms of concrete deterioration due to Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR) is presented, together with some preliminary results. The research program includes both experimental and numerical modelling work.
The first part includes the development of two new experimental setups, one devoted to study the ASR expansion mechanisms at the level of a single matrix-aggregate interface and the other to the study of ASR expansions of cubic concrete specimens under triaxial confinement.
The second part includes the formulation and numerical implementation of a chemo-mechanical model for ASR expansions in concrete at the meso-level. The model considers three main diffusion/reaction field equations for the concentrations of silicates, calcium and alkalis in concrete pore solution, complemented by a number of chemical kinetics and chemical equilibrium equations. The volume fraction distribution of the solid constituents of the hardened cement paste and the reaction products evolve with the progress of the reaction, determining the diffusivity properties of the material and, eventually, inducing expansions.


nutrient supply are therefore essential to ensure high yielding and high quality forage (Corsi and Nussio, 1993; Primavesi et al., 1999; Camargo et al., 2002). However, fertilization may represent as much as 27 percent of the total cost of production of alfalfa in typical Brazilian intensive dairy cattle production (Vinholis et al., 2008) so that an adequate assessment of the fertilizer investment is critical. Economic studies on alfalfa fertilization in dairy production systems are therefore required to establish conditions under which returns may be maximized, especially with pastures on acid and low fertility soils. Hence the effects of various management practices and related issues become important factors for profitable dairy production.


Catalytic oxidation of NO with O2 over Pt/γ-Al2O3 was carried out in a tubular reactor with varying space time(0.090—0.720 s),inlet NO concentration(0.03%—0.2%,vol),O2 concentration(2%—10%,vol) and at 473—573 K.At 5000 h-1 space velocity,0.05% inlet NO concentration and 5% O2 concentration,the steady-state conversion of NO oxidation increased from 22.4% to 45.5% and 74.3% with temperature increasing from 473 K to 523 K and 573 K.Based on the experimental observations,a mechanism consisting of 12 elementary reactions was proposed,and the kinetic model with the reaction between gaseous NO and dissociately adsorbed O as the rate-limiting step was established and well fitted the experimental data.From the kinetic model,the activation energy of reaction was determined to be 80.01 kJ·mol-1.


Objective
To explore the effects of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) on nursing safety management in general geriatric wards.

Methods
The safety problems existing before CGA, including falls, pressure sores, falling down from bed, catheter slippage and aspiration, were analyzed retrospectively. CGA was performed for each patient. Individualized intervention and integrated safety management was given to the patients on the basis of assessment results, after which, safety data were collected and analyzed again.

Results
Based on the CGA for the incidence of adverse nursing safety events within 2 years before and after the intervention, the incidence of falls dropped from 2.46% to 0.56%, the incidence of pressure sores from 1.23% to 0, the incidence of falling down from bed from 0.92% to 0, the incidence of catheter slippage from 3.08% to 0.56%, and the incidence of aspiration from 1.54% to 0.56%. The incidence of adverse events after the CGA, including falls, falling down from bed and catheter slippage, was lower than that before the CGA (P<0.05) .

Conclusions
Early general assessment and intervention as well as ward safety management and assessment on the basis of CGA can reduce or eliminate adverse events in hospital, and enhance the effects of ward safety management.

Key words:
Comprehensive geriatric assessment; Nursing safety management; Adverse events; General geriatric ward


The paper presents the preliminary results of the numerical solution (the Monte-Carlo method) of the nonstationary radiation transfer equation in the optically dense disperse medium. As a model of the medium, the presence of a homogeneous water cloud is assumed. It is expected that an ultra short (about 50 fs) and ultra intense laser pulse stimulates the nonstationary transition process in the scattering particle volume resulting in time transformation of their optical characteristics and, primarily, the scattering phase function. To calculate the time dynamics of the scattering phase function of a laser pulse by a transparent spherical particle the nonstationary Mie theory was used, based on the Fourier representation of the original light pulse and the linear theory of radiation diffraction at a sphere. In our case, the scattering particle properties are characterized by the spectral response function representing the traditional Mie series written for all the frequencies from the spectrum of the original pulse. The scattered and internal fields are written in the form of an integral of contraction from the pulse spectrum and the function of the spectral particle response.


Presentation of Case A 35-year-old man was admitted to the hospital because of chest pain and fever. He was first seen at this hospital six years previously because of an enlarged axillary lymph node, irregular fever and loss of 4 kg in weight. A biopsy of the lymph node revealed Hodgkin's disease, mixed-cellularity type. A staging laparotomy confirmed that the liver, the excised spleen and the lymph nodes from the retroperitoneal area and the porta hepatis were involved. During the next 18 months 12 courses of MOPP (nitrogen mustard, vincristine [Oncovin], procarbazine and prednisone) were administered. The patient improved and . . .


Regional revenue agencies in organizing local tax revenues and regional levies have not been maximized because there are several problems faced in increasing their capacity, namely the problem of limited human resources. Therefore, this study aims to determine the strategy of increasing the capacity of the Regional Revenue Agency for the framework of local tax and levy receipts in increasing Regional Original Income and what factors determine the efforts to increase the capacity of the Regional Revenue Agency to increase taxes and levies in receiving Regional Original Income. This study uses a descriptive research method with a qualitative approach. The results of the study indicate that the increase in the capacity of the Regional Revenue Agency Building in receiving Regional Original Revenue is associated with the quality of the Human Resources apparatus, so it has not been balanced with the competence of the relevant apparatus' ability to carry out their duties and functions properly and several factors were detected as determining factors in the improvement process. the capacity of apparatus resources to increase the capacity of local taxes and levies in Supiori Regency. These determining factors include the ability of the implementers in the areas of revenue planning, data processing and finance as well as collection. Another determining factor is the problem of facilities and facilities as well as problems related to the division of tasks and functions of the existing sections. This is one with other factors that have their respective roles that are interrelated so that they have an impact on increasing local tax revenues and levies during 2012-2017 in Supiori Regency.


The IEEE Std. 1596-1992 for the Scalable Coherent Interface (SCI) specifies a topology-independent communication protocol with the possibility of connecting up to 64 K nodes. SCILab is a collection of tools to simulate the behavior of SCI based networks. It is aimed at studying the influence of linkspeed, interface design and SCI protocols under various loading conditions for different topologies. Effects due to the SCI bandwidth allocation, queue acceptance and cache coherency protocols are taken into account. Large SCI systems consisting of rings interconnected by switches can be investigated. Examples of SCI nodes whose behavior can be specified by user definable parameters are also included in the model. The simulations produce statistics on the SCI link traffic, bandwidth available to SCI nodes such as processors and memories, and the latency of SCI packets traveling through a network from source to target.<<ETX>>


Introduction: The incidence of pheochromocytomas is about 1–2/100000 in the adult population. Nearly 10% have an extra-adrenal location or multiple locations and are defined as paragangliomas. They might be catecholaminesecreting as ordinary pheochromocytomas or clinically asymptomatic with compression symptoms. Patients and Methods: Three cases of abdominal paraganglioma with different clinical onset are reported. Discussion: Incidentally diagnosed asymptomatic retroperitoneal tumors with secondary hypertension suggest paraganglioma. Increased levels of catecholamine and extra-adrenal lesions identified at CT or MR imaging with positive MIBG scintigraphy support the diagnosis. Optimal care requires a multidisciplinary approach, accurate preoperative exact localization and adequate preoperative medical treatment to reduce perioperative cardiovascular complications.


A Thesis submitted to the Department of Chemical Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science in Chemical engineering. Faculty of Chemical and Material Engineering, College of Engineering. February 2012.


Objective: To detect the influence of rhPTH(1-34) on mandibular fracture healing in rabbit.Methods: Twenty-four healthy New Zealand white rabbits weighing 1.9-2.1 kg were used.Which were caused the mandibular body 1.5x10mm part fracture,and randomly divided into two groups with 12 in each group(male or female).Group A from the second postoperative day were injected the local rhPTH(1-34) 30μg /(kg·d).Group B did not deal with.Lines at different time points were measured the bone mineral density,observed X-ray film,immuneohistochemical staining,and serum calcium levels.Results: Bone mineral density after 20 d in each group reached the peak.Group A bone mineral density was higher than that of group B(P0.05).The colⅡ protein secretion at fracture healing after surgery of group A was higher than group B(P0.05).After 7,20 and 30 days the serum osteocalcin levels were significantly higher than those in the control group(P0.05).Conclusion: 30μg /(kg·d) dose injection of rhPTH(1-34) can effectively promote the safety mandibular fracture healing of fracture rabbit model.


The influence of temperature and shear rate on the flow behavior of high density polyethylene (HDPE) melts during extrusion has been investigated by using a Ceast Rheovis 2100 capillary rheometer which was manufactured by the Ceast Co. in Italy. It was found that the entry pressure drop for the samples was very low during extrusion, the relationship between shear stress and shear rate did not obey the power law strictly, and the phenomenon of shear-induced crystallization was easily produced when temperature was near the melting point of the samples, even though the shear rate was not high. The dependence of the shear viscosity for the samples on temperature can be described by using the Arrhenius equation. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


Smoke control in tunnels is often considered from a performance based approach with each tunnel assessed against a number of parameters. Current guidance [1] indicates that the main factors in determining an appropriate emergency smoke ventilation system are the expected traffic volume, the length of the tunnel and whether there is uni-directional or bi-directional traffic flow. Typically for high traffic volume, significant tunnel length and bi-directional traffic, smoke extraction near the fire location will be incorporated. However for low traffic volume and short tunnels it is generally considered that a longitudinal ventilation system without local extract would be sufficient. The use of local smoke extraction instead of a purely longitudinal system tends to increase the crosssectional area of the tunnel. In most tunnel projects the cross-sectional area is proportional to the construction cost and therefore minimising the cross-sectional area is paramount. This paper presents a quantitative risk analysis suggesting that, in addition to the factors listed above, another important parameter for consideration when designing the ventilation system is the exit spacing. Through varying the distance between emergency exits this paper demonstrates that the differences in the risk to life safety between different ventilation systems can be outweighed by the appropriate choice of exit spacing. In a real world application the correct choice of exit spacing could minimise the reliance on a ducted ventilation system thus saving cross-sectional area and ultimately cost without increasing the risk to life safety.


Bone sialoprotein (BSP) is one of only a few matrix proteins preferentially expressed in mineralized tissues such as bone, dentin, and calcifying cartilage (Oldberg et al, 1988a; Fisher et al, 1990; Bianco era/., 1991; Chen et al, 1991). BSP provides two key functional properties in these tissues. First, it is considered an important adhesion molecule in mineralizing tissue matrices because it promotes the attachment and spreading of various cells to substrata in vitro via RGD-dependent and -independent mechanisms (Oldberg et al, 1988b; Somerman et al, 1988; Sommarin et al., 1989; Mintz et al., 1993, 1994). Second, BSP has been implicated as a nucleator of biologic apatite crystals in mineralizing tissues based on three observations: (1) it appears to accumulate in areas of bone, dentin, and calcifying cartilage (Bianco et al., 1991; Chen et al., 1992; Hultenby et al., 1994) that colocalize with the discrete distributions of newly forming mineralized matrix (Bianco et al., 1993); (2) osteoblastic cells that form apatitic mineral in vitro express BSP prior to and during the mineralization phase of their culture period (McQuillan et al., 1995; Stanford et al., 1995); and (3) purified BSP bonded to an agarose gel matrix and exposed to a calcium phosphate solution below the supersaturation levels for these ions will nucleate hydroxyapatite crystals, while a related bone glycoprotein, osteopontin, will not (Hunter and Goldberg, 1993). Given BSP's potential importance in cell adhesion and biologic mineralization, recent research efforts have focused on detailed structural analyses of the molecule, particularly its numerous posttranslational modifications.


Background The Task Force classification (TFC) identifies weaning from
mechanical ventilation (MV) in adults as: simple (SW), difficult (DW)
and prolonged (PW). The usefulness of this classification is unknown in
pediatric patients. Methods Prospective, descriptive, multicenter study
in 29 pediatric intensive care units from Argentina during a three-month
period including all admitted patients who required MV and met weaning
criteria. The evolution of these patients was analyzed according to TFC.
Results 474 patients were included, 454 (95.8 %) of whom were
successfully extubated. Eighty percent (n=370) were extubated after the
first attempt and classified as SW, 84 (18,2%) were DW and only 7
(1,5%) faced a PW. Successful extubation on the first trial was 77.9%
(n=356) and for subsequent trials, 56.7%, 64.5% and 66.7%. The
duration of MV (in days) by group was [median (interquartile
range)]: 5.4 (2.8-9.7) (SW), 10.6 (7.7-18.8) (DW) and 27.4 (15.1-28.4)
(PW). Fourteen patients underwent tracheostomy without any weaning
attempt, 3 patients were on MV at the end of the study and 3 patients
died without any attempt. The only variable associated with PW and DW
(as a single group, with SW as reference) in multivariable analysis was
ventilator-associated pneumonia (OR 2.58, 95%CI 1.01-6.11). Conclusions
We observed a low prevalence of PW. Patients with PW and DW showed no
significant differences from patients with SW, albeit a higher incidence
of VAP.


Fluid flow characteristics include liquid, as well as gas, plays a vital role in the modern-day engineering field having extensive application in the industries. The investigation of fluid flow and its characteristics is essential to perform experimentation with engineering studies. Computation of flow rate through a pipe is done with the difference of pressure head available at the cross-section area of the pipe. The meter which performs the said computation of fluid flow termed as a venturimeter. Venturimeter finds useful in plumbing, fluid oil pipeline, automotive carburetor, petroleum chemical industries, etc. In this experimental study, an investigation is carried out in fluid engineering lab equipped with facility for flow calibration. Venturimeter and orifice meter are employed to measure discharge coefficients for the fluid considered in the experiment. The impact of angles on fluid characteristics is studied by modelling through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach. Fluid flow within venturimeter is simulated with a steady flow in k-epsilon model. The experimental model obtained with the beta ratio 0.6 together with inputs of three different angles for convergent as well as a divergent section of venturi. The respective angles are 21, 20, 21 and 9,11,7 for convergent and divergent side, respectively. Pre-processing of experimental model geometry was performed using CREO. In the processing phase, ANSYS tool was utilized for the meshing and definition of boundary conditions. Within post-processing, contours of pressure and velocity were determined with CFX solver. The experimental data was validated and compared with CFX result. Keywords—ANSYS 14.0, Bernoulli's equation, CFD, coefficient of discharge


The present research is concerned with computational techniques for the solution of linear and nonlinear integral equations in a multiprocessor environment. Contemporary multi-dimensional and/or nonlinear problems in computational mechanics involve integral equations that can tax the capacity and speed of even the fastest serial computers. Parallel computers offer the possibility of gains in speed almost proportional to the number of processors employed. The degree to which such gains are actually achievable is highly dependent upon both the numerical algorithms and the manner in which they are implemented. Conventional numerical techniques have inherent accuracy limitations, are serial in structure, and require substantial synchronization and other special features which seriously degrade their performance in a parallel environment. The present work focuses on the exploitation and implementation of a new class of recently developed computational techniques, known as accelerated projection methods, which are distinctly different from conventional methods, capable of high accuracy and which are particularly appropriate for concurrent computing. It is shown that the accelerated projection methods possess a high degree of parallelism that leads to extremely efficient parallel algorithms. The methods are implemented in detail on multiprocessors for particular linear and nonlinear integral equations of interest in computational mechanics.


The paper deals with a semiotic analysis of work motivation theories developed in the second half of the twentieth century. These theories stem from different theoretical backgrounds, varying in ideas as well as in their impact to work motivation reality. For a student approaching this field it might seem to provide an overwhelming situation in an area of study filled with contradictory theories. The method used in this study is similar to one historians use when analysing development in a human society - semiotic analysis. Based on the historical analysis, an analysis of ideas and clusters of meanings follows. Authors assume that personal experience might determine individual motivation factors. It is quite clear, that on the biological level the processes of motivation should be the same in all humans. However, stimuli or conditions under which the processes of motivation are commenced might be caused by the personal experience of the individuals concerned. Authors believe that the above mentioned analysis of clusters of meaning could help us to better systemize the wide range of work motivation theories and make it more evident for all students of the field.


This article examines how civil society organizations navigate local government to secure more inclusive environmental governance. Based on an in-depth case study of water governance in Zhejiang Province between 2012 and 2018, we find that Green Zhejiang, a civil society organization, exercised informal power to hold the local government accountable based on two strategies: mobilizing citizens to collect information on water pollution and strategically leveraging the authority of provincial government to find citizen-focused solutions. Most existing studies foreground one stage of the policy process – advocacy in the agenda-setting phase, policy entrepreneurship during the design phase, or monitoring during the implementation phase; however, we examine strategies of civil society organizations throughout this policy lifecycle. With this approach, we are able to analyse the strategic interactions between different levels of the government and civil society organizations and locate the positive outcomes and limits under the current governance system. Despite policy successes, Green Zhejiang still acts informally, which limits long-term effectiveness. However, incorporating citizens into public administration in a meaningful way requires sharing policymaking power formally, and thus far, local governments are only willing to share power in an ad hoc and informal way. More institutionalized citizen participation is necessary to develop innovative solutions to the severe environmental degradation in China.


this paper examines the changing landscape of corporate social responsibility (csr) in Korea, paying attention to the rapid shifts in the national institutional arrangements and corporate governance since the 1997 Asian financial crisis and its implications for csr. Prior to the crisis, csr in Korea was largely characterized by developmental csr, typical of state-led developing market economies. but since the crisis, the Korean economy has been under great pressure to move toward corporate governance of stockholder capitalism, which would be accompanied by a competitive motivation for csr. However, corporate governance reforms have been far from complete and have also created a number of problems. In the context of income polarization and divergent performance between large and smaller companies, both the public and the state have started to demand greater social responsibility on the part of large Korean firms. consequently, this study suggests that the current csr landscape in Korea is characterized by a mixture of developmental csr of the past and competitive csr of emerging stockholder capitalism.


Everyone seems to agree that education matters: to tackle poverty, provide opportunity, reduce excessive inequality, provide skills for growth, improve public management, foster citizenship, and for its own sake. It is surprising then how big a problem education is world-wide. For developing countries, the focus of the first round of Millennium Development Goals was on basic education and getting children into school: the target for the second MDG is "to ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling." There has been considerable progress toward this goal, though it may not be fully achieved. However, the goal also has a problem: it is framed in terms of schooling, as opposed to learning. With progress in getting children into school, the focus has increasingly shifted to the issue of what they actually learn (and this is reflected in proposed post-2015 sustainable development goals). And here there is disquieting news: the quality of learning is often dismal, and many children go from school year to school year with little improvement in skills.


THUS the Wife of Bath's embarrassing question as it appears in Manly and Rickert.' Immediately below I list the last of the three lines (D117) in six different forms derived from the 52 MSS that testify to the line's existence. I hope, by analysis of the problems created by the variant forms of a single line, to suggest what some of the responsibilities and pleasures of an editor of Middle English poetry are or should be. It may well seem to some readers that I am confusing pleasure with pedantry; nevertheless, I also hope that those readers who like bridge problems will enjoy playing out the hand dealt by the 52 MSS.


The fluid flow in gas turbine rim seals and the sealing effectiveness are influenced by the interaction of the rotor and the stator disk and by the external flow in the hot gas annulus. The resulting flow structure is fully 3-dimensional and time-dependant. The requirements to a sufficiently accurate numerical prediction for front and back cavity flows are discussed in this paper. The results of different numerical approaches are presented for an axial seal configuration. This covers a full simulation of the time-dependant flow field in a 1.5 stage experimental turbine including the main annulus and both rim cavities. This configuration is simplified in subsequent steps in order to identify a method providing the best compromise between a sufficient level of accuracy and the least computational effort. A comparison of the computed cavity pressures and the sealing effectiveness with rig test data shows the suitability of each numerical method. The numerical resolution of a large scale rotating structure that is found in the front cavity is a special focus of this study. The existence of this flow pattern was detected first by unsteady pressure measurements in test rig. It persists within a certain range of cooling air massflows and significantly affects the sealing behaviour and the cavity pressure distribution. This phenomenon is captured with an unsteady calculation using a 360 deg. computational domain. The description of the flow pattern is given together with a comparison to the measurements.Copyright © 2004 by ASME


In order to reasonably use solar energy to solve problems such as land desertification and soil salinization in Southern Xinjiang, this paper proposes a system combining photothermal and flash evaporation technologies, which use local saline water for desalination treatment to achieve secondary utilization of water resources. Firstly, we introduce the whole system of the photovoltaic desalination plant. As an important heat-collecting element of the system, the solar tube is the key to whether this plant can work efficiently. Then, we carry out the detection and theoretical derivation of data along the tube. We establish a two-phase flow model of saline water in the tube, considering convective heat transfer, and define the formula of the heat collecting efficiency factor. Finally, based on iterative calculation, the temperature trend of the tube and the change law of the two-phase flow are obtained, and the ecological and economic benefits and energy efficiency of the system are analyzed.


Retail mortgage rate data for the last 13 years in New Zealand indicates that implied forward mortgage rates have only limited power to predict later spot mortgage rates. The low correlation of the forward rates and the future spot rates may in part arise from thin futures and forward markets in interest rates in New Zealand for anything longer than short term contracts. While the pattern of mortgage yield curves has varied substantially over those 13 years, the accumulated or future value of a putative deposit of one dollar with a bank offering the same term rates as the mortgage rates shows relatively little variation over this period. In the wake of the uncertainties following the global financial crisis, the relatively stable pattern of these accumulated values probably provides the best means of prediction of New Zealand mortgage yield curves, at least in the short term. The framework used for dealing with data in this paper could be applied to yield curves based on further families of interest rates; to exchange rates; to analyses of run-off data, as in cohort and longevity analysis; and for claims payments run-off in insurance, as well as in many other contexts.


There is a growing interest in accidental fires involving solid-propellant rocket motors. Many solid rocket motors are aluminized, and whether it is a large-scale launch booster or a smaller satellite orbital-transfer motor, fire spread in such situations would be significantly augmented by radiation from burning aluminium in the propellant. Thus, there is a need for simple, accurate models of thermal emissions properties of burning aluminium that can be incorporated in computational simulations of combustion of aluminized solid propellant


A class of two-invariant stored energy functions describing the hyperelastic characteristics of soils is coupled with a critical-state plasticity model. The functions include constant as well as pressure-dependent elastic shear modulus models, and automatically satisfy the requirement that the elastic response for any loading path be energy conserving. The elastic responses predicted by the hyperelastic model are compared with measured undrained elastic responses of an overconsolidated clay in order to assess, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the predictive capability of the hyperelastic model. The importance of the pressure-dependent nature of the elastic shear modulus is assessed within the context of elastic and plastic responses. An energy-conserving model provides a fundamentally correct description of elastic material behavior even in the regime of plastic responses.


Along the last five years we have treated 112 cases of toxoplasmosis. The majority of them had abortion or corioretinitis; a few had meningo-encephalities, miocarditis or other forms: 8% o f the patients had two anatomoclinical pictures at the same time. The patients received pyrimethamine, sulphametopyrazine, or spiromycine on alternating periods for several months. A Sabin and Feldman test was repeated every three months. The target was obtaining negative serology, th is was accomplished on the majority of the cases. From the clinical stand point cure was supported by disapearance of inflamatory findings on the fundus, disappearing of adenopathy or other signs, as for the achievement of normal pregnancies with normal children in women with repeated abortion. Taking into account the serious secuelae that we have seen on children from mothers with toxoplasmosis, we prefer to treat the women before new pregnancies.


A comprehensive computer aided design package has been developed to predict the sound field and sound power of an arbitrary vibrating machine structure subject only to the limitations of computer storage. The technique is a combination of a standard finite element package and a specially developed noise prediction package based on the Helmholtz integral equation. The accuracy of the package has been verified experimentally for two impact forming machines. Experimental results and theoretical predictions were found to agree within 2 dB in general.


Forest fires used to be a tool for human survival. In primitive society, humans could use forest fires to complete hunting and land reclamation work. In modern society, forest fires pose a massive threat to the environment. This paper analyzes a forest fire case in British Columbia. Firstly, this paper summarizes the most controversial factors that cause forest fires, such as global warming, changes in local precipitation, and bark beetles. Secondly, this paper explores the impact of forest fires, the losses to the logging industry, such as the recovery costs of forests, the reduction of carbon sinks against climate change and the influence on human health. The conclusion of this paper through case study is: firstly, global warming and changes in local precipitation and other factors will provide conditions for the spread of forest fires, increasing the number of wildfires in the forest. Secondly, bark beetles will produce more fuel. They also reduce the availability of forest logs and limit the development of logging. Thirdly, uncontrollable forest fires will destroy forests and nearby infrastructure and increase recovery costs. Fourthly, reducing forest areas will destroy carbon sinks. Fifthly, the particles produced by forest fires will cause severe heart and lung diseases in the human body. Finally, this paper summarizes four solutions to forest fires. Forest Fire Suppression Through Artificial intelligence, Bark Beetle Removal Solution and Climate Change Technological Solution. In the Artificial Intelligence solution part, Support vector machine (SVM) and random forest were used to analyze four groups of different characteristics, distribution space, time, climate index and FWI system index. By inputting four basic Meteorologies, such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and precipitation, the model can accurately predict the affected area of small-scale and frequent fires.


It is shown that high-frequency negative resistance can be obtained in a space-charge-drift diode using 'punch-through' injection. Efficiencies for power generation of about 20% are estimated for the ideal structure. The device should be suitable for low-power low-noise applications.


This paper provides a review of the methods for measuring portfolio performance and the evidence on the performance of professionally managed investment portfolios. Traditional performance measures, strongly influenced by the Capital Asset Pricing Model of Sharpe (1964), were developed prior to 1990. We discuss some of the properties and important problems associated with these measures. We then review the more recent Conditional Performance Evaluation techniques, designed to allow for expected returns and risks that may vary over time, and thus addressing one major shortcoming of the traditional measures. We also discuss weight-based performance measures and the stochastic discount factor approach. We review the evidence that these newer measures have produced on selectivity and market timing ability for professional managed investment funds. The evidence includes equity style mutual funds, pension funds, asset allocation style funds, fixed income funds and hedge funds.


During last years there are many new modern attitudes and trends in the field of human resources management. The article is focused to one of these trends – diversity management. The aim of the authors is to evaluate single components of diversity management namely in the context of corporate social responsibility (CSR). In addition different possibilities of application of diversity management in practice as instruments of CSR are submitted to analysis. The end of this article shows the results of research oriented to experience with diversity management put into practice in the selected companies in the Czech Republic.


The invention relates to a multi-plane wind power electromagnetic dust removal system based on real-time control. The multi-plane wind power electromagnetic dust removal system comprises a plurality of bases used for installing solar cell panels. The bases are symmetrically provided with supporting rods. One side of each supporting rod is provided with a limiting support and a fan. The solar cell panels are respectively provided with one glass protecting layer. The lower surfaces of the glass protecting layers are respectively provided with a plurality of parallel electrodes. The ends of the electrodes are connected with high-voltage dust removal modules. The adjacent high-voltage dust removal modules are in cascade connection. The output ends of the solar cell panels are connected with power detection modules connected with DSP real-time data processing modules. The DSP real-time data processing modules are connected with the high-voltage dust removal modules through intelligent control modules. The system has the advantages of being good in controllability, flexible to adjust and low in energy consumption, and the dust removal operation is easy to carry out.


As part of WHO-SEAR resolution, India has resolved to eliminate Measles and control Rubella / CRS by the end of 2020.   Measles is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. An estimated 49,200 children die from measles annually in India, which contributes 36% of death. Measles can be prevented by immunizing children with 2 doses of measles vaccine which is safe and effective. Rubella is an infectious disease which is mild viral illness affecting both children and adults that can cause death and disabilities in the new born, if an unprotected pregnant women gets infected with Rubella virus in early pregnancy. Rubella virus has the potential to cause abortions, still births and severe birth defects known as CRS (Congenital Rubella Syndrome). This CRS is a huge burden to the society (Nearly 30,000 estimated CRS cases in the country per year).


San Diego is experiencing a mini development boom, but opponents are criticizing the development, saying there is no central focus just one big project after another. Two projects in the forefront are the $80 million main library and an expansion of the harborfront convention center. In the transportation area, San Diego's airport--Lindbergh Field--is expected to get an $180 million facelift and expansion. The Metropolitan Transit District's light rail line--the San Diego Trolley--links downtown San Diego with the Mexican border, and new extensions to the line are planned in almost every direction. While the big, glossy projects take center stage, infrastructure maintenance is often neglected, especially roads and water mains. This article examines San Diego-style "planning" and the vision of the current city manager and mayor. The projects highlighted--everything from construction of Jack Murphy Stadium to the Livable Neighborhoods Initiative--are very ambitious.


Foreword / Michael D'Andrea -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- About the authors -- Introduction and foundation of ethical reasoning and decision making -- Introduction -- Professional identity and ethics (ethical development-moral character) -- Awareness and sensitivity to ethical issues (ethical development : ethical sensitivity) and motivation to act ethically -- Cognitions and reasoning/hermeneutics (moral judgment) -- Ethical issues in counseling -- Client autonomy and client rights -- Dual relationships : boundary issues -- Counselor competence -- Multicultural competence -- The use of technology and ethics -- Supervision and ethics -- Ethical use of research in counseling practice -- Professional codes of ethics and the law -- Ethical theories and cases -- Western theories of ethics -- Eastern theories of ethics -- Middle Eastern ethical theories -- Native American/Hispanic/Latino, and African ethics.


Abstract Objective. To investigate the gender-related expressions of androgen (AR), estrogen alpha (ERα) and beta (ERβ) receptors and aromatase enzyme in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC). Materials and methods. A total of 60 cases of OSCC (30 from males and 30 from females) were retrieved and submitted to immunohistochemistry. Also, steroid expression was studied in two OSCC cell lines using Western blotting and immunofluorescence. Results. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that ERβ was expressed in almost 40% of the cases and AR in 26%. Aromatase enzyme and ERα were less commonly expressed. Only AR presented statistically significant differences between genders. Western blotting and immunofluorescence analysis demonstrated that ERβ was abundantly expressed in the nuclei of both cell lines and aromatase enzyme presented a cytoplasmic expression. Conclusion. The detection of steroid hormones, especially ERβ, can indicate a role of these proteins in the process of carcinogenesis of some OSCC. Further studies of the mechanisms involved may provide important biological information regarding therapeutic approaches.


Introduction This case study outlines insights gained in Lao PDR by a programme initiated in 2010 by SNV that works in close collaboration with Oxfam and the local NGO ARMI. Switch Asia of the European Union and the Blue Moon Fund finance the programme. The example of Lao PDR is to support discussions around success factors of implementation strategies to increase the uptake of improved stoves in developing countries and bring solutions to scale. The case of Laos shows that the stove market can flourish and that by a wellbalanced intervention strategy a winwin situation can be established.


To explore the influence of δ-aminolevulinate acid dehydratase(ALAD) gene polymorphism on reproductive toxicity induced by lead exposure. 163 lead workers from smelter and acid battery factories were selected. Blood lead levels were measured by flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Serum luteinizing hormone(LH),follicle stimulating hormone(FSH) and testosterone(T) levels were measured by ELISA. ALAD genotyping was conducted by PCR-RFLP. No statistical difference in blood lead levels was found between ALAD11 and ALAD12 genotypes,and they were 1.45 μmol/L(30.16 μg/dL) and 1.56 μmol/L(32.49 μg/dL), respectively. After controlling age, exposure duration,blood lead and cumulative lead exposure levels,workers with ALAD12 genotype had higher LH level(8.9 IU/L) and FSH level(3.6 IU/L) than these of workers with ALAD11 genotype(LH=5.5 IU/L and FSH=2.3 IU/L). Among workers with ≥1.92 μmol/L(40 μg/dL) blood lead level, workers with ALAD12 genotype had higher serum LH levels(7.8 IU/L vs.6.0 IU/L,P=0.04) and FSH levels(3.5 IU/L vs.2.4 IU/L,P=0.07). [Conclusion] ALAD2 allele may be related to elevation of serum FH and FSH levels, and this suggests that ALAD2 allele may protect lead reproductive toxicity.


Aim The aim was to describe the incidence of access-site complications (ASCs) and determine the risk factors leading to them in patients undergoing endovascular interventions for treatment of peripheral arterial disease. Materials and methods A prospective study was conducted on all patients who underwent endovascular procedures for the treatment of peripheral arterial disease at the Department Vascular Surgery, Assiut University Hospital, between May 2017 and May 2018. Access choice depended on the vessel condition, Duplex ultrasound examination, and surgeon's preference. ASCs were detected using clinical and duplex ultrasound examination. Follow-up of patients was done at 3 and 6 months postoperatively. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine risk factors predicting occurrence of ASCs. Results Of the 210 patients, ASCs were encountered in 23 (11%) cases. Nine (4.3%) patients presented with thrombosis of the access artery, eight (3.8%) had access-site hematoma, four (1.9%) complained of external bleeding, and two patients (0.95%) presented with femoral artery pseudoaneurysm. Significant risk factors for ASCs were advanced age (P=0.027), hypertension (P=0.011), increased BMI (P=0.015), small vessel diameter (P=0.031), and prolonged procedure time (P<0.0001). BMI and procedure time were found to be predictors of occurrence of ASCs. Conclusion Long procedure time and increased BMI were found to be predictive of the occurrence of ASCs. Early detection and management of ASCs provide good outcome after 6-month follow-up.


This article, part of a special issue on grain transportation, offers a detailed look at the history of grain transportation by rail. It discusses various important trends, highlights, and other details that offer insight into the current situation. The article traces the way grain was transported prior to the steam era. Grain was bagged since shipments were routinely small. Grain elevators stepped in, improving efficiency and offering shipping in bulk. As agricultural production increased in the U.S., new handling and processing centers emerged, and the demand for boxcars grew. Eventually, boxcars billed in single lots were replaced by covered hopper cars in multiple carload lots.


A case of the damsel bug Nabis punctipennis Blanchard, 1852 (Nabidae) biting human in Valparaiso Region, Chile, is described and discussed. The nabid might have been attempting to obtain water and/or solutes.


Geological prediction plays an important instruction role in tunnel construction witch is divided into geological analysis,geophysical survey and drilling ahead the cutting face.A new geophysical survey method-TRT-was introduced in the paper.By TRT,hammar was adopted to excite,which could decrease the damage to surrounding rock mass in the tunnel;spatially multi-point excitation and receipt,3D spatial observation and wireless signal transmission mode were used to accurately determine the position of reflection interface and wave velocity of rock mass,to classify the engineering type.By comparison with prediction result of TSP 203,the paper reveals the result that TRT is a simple,direct,reliable and effective method for tunnel geological prediction with extensive application prospects.


Abstract Ten patients were studied clinically and radiologically before and after peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis to determine the nature and frequency of subsequent radiological changes in the chest. There was a marked reduction in congestive changes as judged by a decreased cardiothoracic ratio and reduced pulmonary vascular congestion, as well as by the disappearance of clinical signs and symptoms of congestive heart failure present before dialysis. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of dialysis in the treatment of intractable congestive heart failure.


Two kinds of intelligent control algorithms were chosen according to the characteristics of piezoelectric friction damper isolation system;linear quadratic regulator(LQR) and general predictive control(GPC) were chosen as the control algorithms of a complete set of isolation system,and semi-passive control algorithm was chosen as control output strategy.The isolation effect of the control algorithm was validated through contrasting dynamic reaction with time history analysis.The results show that earthquake reaction is significantly reduced in either frequently occurred earthquake or seldom occurred earthquake,accelerated speed of all drifts are reduced more than 75%,layer displacement is reduced 70% to 80%,displacement reaction of structure mainly concentrates on isolation drift,the control algorithm significantly reduces the displacement of isolation drift and improves the control effect.


Chlorine-36 analyses were performed on 21 groundwater samples collected from six boreholes penetrating the Saddle Mountains, Wanapum, and Grande Ronde Formations of the Columbia River basalts. These samples were collected from depths of 136 to 1353 m below land surface and represent waters from both sedimentary interbeds and basalt flow top aquifers. Measured levels of /sup 36/Cl (atoms/L x 10/sup -7/) ranged from 3 to 26 and /sup 36/Cl/Cl ratios ranged from 7 to 1130 (x 10/sup 15/). The highest /sup 36/Cl ratios were interpreted as modern input of /sup 36/Cl and are two to three times that predicted for this latitude. Analyses of stable chlorine isotopes were performed on 14 samples form 7 boreholes penetrating the Wanapum and Grande Ronde Formations. Ratios of /sup 37/Cl//sup 35/Cl range from +0.46% (accuracy to two decimal points) relative to Standard Mean Ocean Chloride (SMOC). Negative delta/sup 37/Cl values were associated with the lowest groundwater chloride concentrations. Chlorine isotopic information was used to arrive at a groundwater flow model suggesting that recharge is occurring in the western portion of the Hanford Site with shallow circulation through the Saddle Mountains and Wanapum Basalts, and upward flow from the Grande Ronde Basalts to the Wanapummore » Basalts to the east of the Reference Repository location. In addition to meteoric chloride, a second chloride source was hypothesized. Two explanations are proposed which account for this source of chloride: (1) chloride previously dissolved and transported into the basalt groundwaters from an external source and/or (2) chloride leached from the host rock. The low /sup 36/Cl concentration associated with this second source of chloride implies a very long residence time. One sample from the deep Grande Ronde indicates a groundwater age in excess of 300,000 yr. 11 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs.« less


Since the beginning of the 1990s, Lillehammer, Norway has increased its focus on carefully managing activities and resource disposition during winter operations. The following two strategies were formulated for winter operations: (1) Improving road maintenance capability by closely monitoring weather and road conditions. Effectively managing contracted snow-clearing and spreading vehicles, by having staff and equipment on strategic parts of the highway. (2) Improving the road authority's own competitive ability in snow-clearing and spreading. One of the key issues is to be able to vary the use of resources in step with changing weather conditions.


Franchise cafe industry nowadays has become more competitive, therefore, more enterprises devoted themselves to the industry, The franchise cafe industry in Taiwan show a urgent problem since the franchise system is getting more complicated and difficult to manage, the role of manager consider to be important thus result in a great influence. A well-fit and capable manager can contribute positive competitive advantages and helping the franchisees to strength their performances. The research discuss the company of the case in 2009, inputting the core competencies project, the purpose of the project is increasing the development and performance of the managers. As a result, the research purposes are as follow: (1) Understand the perception of core competencies from managers. (2) Analyze the effect of inputting core competencies to the managers' working performances. (3) Find out the core competencies which are not yet been concerned and providing the enterprise as reference. The research uses qualitative method for deep interview, the interview samples contains the managers who have worked in the apartment of training at least over a year. However, in order to understand the difference of performance influenced by core competencies, join the interview from area managers can be helpful. The result shows the managers conquer to the fact that core competencies are positively affect the efficiency and performance by inputting the project, secondary, the managers think that the most benefit of inputting the core competencies is internal communication and common believe of operation model; eventually the manager recognize that human resource development and self-management shall be implemented into the core competencies.


The present invention belongs to the technical field of mechanical machining bamboo original state apparatus, particularly relates to a kind of original sheet expand whole bamboo state uniform pavement rolling machine sewing. Expand the original state of the whole bamboo paving material of the present invention a uniform curtain sewing machine, including an input direction by bamboo bamboo sequentially mounted on the frame to expand uniformly arranged pavement input means, deployment means bamboo blind sewing, sewing a curtain bamboo output device. The present invention implements the whole bamboo expanded original state wide bamboo blind sewing machine precisely uniformly arranged, improve production efficiency, reduce labor intensity, and also improved the quality of the finished product, to achieve a fully automated production bamboo processing opened new ways.


Melissa Ryan sent us this contribution as she was running out the door for a stint overseas. She had made an offer to her CAFMHS team to review the literature to see whether there was any evidence that providing mother-infant therapy designed to help the mother with attachment was efficacious. We were very keen to address this topic in the current issue, so we have edited her notes to look like prose. For the remaining note-like flavour, and for any errors, we take full responsibility– Sue and Kumari


Objective: To evaluate the phytochemical, antioxidant activities, and α-amylase inhibition assay for methanolic extract of three ethnomedicinal plants, namely Persea americana Mill., Rubus ellipticus Sm., and Rhododendron arboretum Sm. collected from Arghakhanchi District of Nepal using in vitro studies.Methods: Methanolic plant extracts were prepared by cold percolation method. Analysis of phytochemical constituents was carried out using standard methods. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay was used to evaluate in vitro antioxidants activities. Furthermore, inhibition effect of extracts on α- amylase enzyme was carried out by using starch as a substrate, pancreatic α-amylase as the enzyme, and acarbose as standard.Results: Phytochemical screening of methanolic extract of all three selected plants displayed the presence of different chemical constituents such as alkaloids, polyphenols, flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins, glycosides, and tannins. The results of DPPH assay revealed that R. ellipticus and R. arboreum were most active with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values 33.41 μg/ml and 47.28 μg/ml, respectively. R. ellipticus was found to be effective toward α-amylase inhibition with IC50 values 269.94 μg/ml.Conclusion: The preliminary results of this study have put forward R. ellipticus into promising herbs with good antioxidant activities and α-amylase inhibition potential although further studies are needed to assess its mechanism of action.


We outline a general theory for the low frequency spin dynamics in rare earth ferromagnets and antiferromagnets with singlet ground states. The analysis applies to the paramagnetic phase of systems with degenerate excited states. It is assumed that the characteristic frequencies associated with the intramultiplet transitions are much less than the intermultiplet frequencies. Quantitative studies are carried out treating the static correlations in the molecular field approximation. We calculate the low frequency component of the zone center dynamic susceptibility for singlet‐triplet model and the effective g‐factor and relative intensity of the Γ5(2) EPR in TbP. Critical anomalies in the EPR of singlet ground state ferromagnets are pointed out. Contact is made with the theories of Buyers and Copper et al.


The evolution of the grain morphologies of binary alloy under different cooling rate was investigated based on the phase field model. The results show that the nucleation number increases with the increase of the cooling rate, while the grain size decreases. The migration rate of the grain boundary is quite slow when the cooling rate reaches a certain limit, and the coarsening phenomenon of solidified structure is restrained.


The cationic ring-opening polymerization of tetrahydrofiiran using maghnite-H~+ is reported.Maghnite-H~+,is a non-toxic solid catalyst issued from proton exchanged montmorillonite clay.Polytetrahydrofuran,also called "poly(butandiol) ether",with acetate and hydroxyl end groups was successfully synthesized.Effects of reaction temperature, weight ratio of initiator/monomer and reaction time on the conversion of monomer and on the molecular weight are investigated.A cationic mechanism of the reaction was proposed.This chemistry can be considered as a suitable route for preparing poly(THF) as a soft segment for thermoplastic elastomers.


This paper aims to explore how the navigational support in an e-newspaper should be  designed to support the users task oriented reading behavior. An e-newspaper is a newspaper produced on e-paper, ...


Background Arterial Remodeling Technologies bioresorbable scaffold (ART‐BRS), composed of l‐ and d‐lactyl units without drug, has shown its safety in a porcine coronary model at 6 months. However, long‐term performance remains unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ART‐BRS compared to a bare metal stent (BMS) in a healthy porcine coronary model for up to 3 years. Methods and Results Eighty‐two ART‐BRS and 66 BMS were implanted in 64 Yucatan swine, and animals were euthanatized at intervals of 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months to determine the vascular response using quantitative coronary angiography, optical coherence tomography, light and scanning electron microscopy, and molecular weight analysis. Lumen enlargement was observed in ART‐BRS as early as 3 months, which progressively increased up to 18 months, whereas BMS showed no significant difference over time. Percentage area stenosis by optical coherence tomography was greater in ART‐BRS than in BMS at 1 and 3 months, but this relationship reversed beyond 3 months. Inflammation peaked at 6 months and thereafter continued to decrease up to 36 months. Complete re‐endothelialization was observed at 1 month following implantation in both ART‐BRS and BMS. Scaffold dismantling started at 3 months, which allowed early vessel enlargement, and bioresorption was complete by 24 months. Conclusions ART‐BRS has the unique quality of early programmed dismantling accompanied by vessel lumen enlargement with mild to moderate inflammation. The main distinguishing feature of the ART‐BRS from other scaffolds made from poly‐l‐lactic acid may result in early and long‐term vascular restoration.


Forgiveness is often distinguished from other ways of eliminating (or reducing) blame, such as letting go. In this paper, I focus on a conception of forgiveness as normative landscape change (alteration of the rights and obligations of relevant parties), and explore the distinction between forgiveness—understood in this way—and letting go. I highlight the explanatory power of this approach for distinguishing forgiveness and letting go, and contrast it with an alternative way, in which the focus is instead primarily on a kind of attitude change. I conclude by comparing the implications of both forgiveness and letting go for other phenomena we care about, such as reconciliation.


We study the patterns spontaneously formed by bilayer polymer films upon annealing. Specifically, polystyrene (PS) films were spin-cast on topographically patterned poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) substrates and subsequently annealed at temperatures above the glass transition temperature of both polymers. The influence of the molecular weight and the volume of PS on the morphological evolution of the corrugated liquid–liquid interface was examined. When the PS formed isolated stripes both on the mesas and within the trenches of the PMMA pattern, capillary instability was observed for these nonaxisymmetric PS threads. The kinetics of the capillary breakup depended on the thread-to-matrix viscosity ratio, and was dictated by the more viscous component. In contrast, the characteristic wavelength of the breakup only slightly depended on some viscosity ratio, and reached a minimum at the viscosity ratio around 1. When the PS was thick enough to form a continuous layer, the instability of the film further depe...


According to the present various division schemes and related issues for Jiufotang Formation in western Liaoning, the authors remeasured the type section of Jiufotang Formation in Xiaogushan-Jiushaoguo. In consideration of the lithofacies and sedimentary characteristics of other sections in Jiufotang Formation of Kazuo basin, the authors chose the tuffaceous rock association as the marker bed or the bed set and, on such a basis, divided the type section of Jiufotang Formation into four members called 1, 2, 3, 4 respectively. The authors found that the Jiufotang Formation is mainly composed of siltstone and pelite, intercalated with numerous extremely tiny layered limestone or marl, characterized by the upward sedimentary evolution from shore shallow lake facies through deep lake facies intercalated with shallow lake facies to shallow lake facies. The differences between Xiaogushan-Jiushaoguo section and other sections in Jiufotang Formation indicate that the clastic rock granularity of Xiaogushan-Jiushaogou section was finer in general, without the development of delta facies and fan delta facies. In addition, three beds of moderate and thin silicified tuff are developed at the bottom of member 2, and the type section of Jiufotang Formation fails to appear at the top of member 4 and member 5. To comprehensively understand Jiufotang Formation, the authors propose that the auxiliary sections should be introduced on the basis of the type section, and Huimingou-Pingfangdonggou section, Fuzhangzi-Shaoguojie section and Zhangmazigou-Taohuachi section can serve as the auxiliary sections of member 1, member 4 and member 5 of Jiufotang Formation respectively.


Intervehicle communication (IVC) is an emerging topic in research and application that is getting increasing attention from all major car manufacturers. In this paper, a novel method for scalable information dissemination in highly mobile ad hoc networks is proposed: segment-oriented data abstraction and dissemination (SODAD). With SODAD, information can be distributed in an information range multiple orders of magnitude larger than the transmission range of the air interface, even if only 1%-3% of all vehicles are equipped with an IVC system, e.g., during market introduction. By restricting the method to the dissemination of map/position-based data, scalability is achieved. In the second half of this paper, an example application for the SODAD method is presented: a self-organizing traffic-information system (SOTIS). In SOTIS, a car is equipped with a satellite navigation receiver, an IVC system, and a digital map. Each individual vehicle collects traffic information for its local area. Using the digital map, the traffic information is analyzed based on road segments. By distributing the information in the ad hoc intervehicle network using the SODAD method, a decentralized traffic information system is created. The performance of the proposed methods is evaluated using network simulation with vehicular mobility models. Simulation results for typical scenarios are presented. Furthermore, a prototype implementation based on commercially available standard hardware demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed approach.


Daily movement of the giant African snail Achatina fulica was studied. This snail is nocturnal and in the daytime prefers to rest in shrubs, often along the forest edge. The density was low in primary or secondary forests. The cumulative distance of movements of young adults was longer than that of old adults. They forage and mate in open fields. This behavior is likely to be a cause of serious damages to field crops cultivated next to the forest. high 1.5 to 2.5 m from the road edge, corresponding to the shrub zone. After 10 hours at night their density increased in the grassland away from the shrubs, especially near the road side. These results show that in the daytime the snails are associated with scrub close to the forest edge. Every animal observed in the daytime was resting under the litter. However, they moved to the grassland from the scrub 2 to 3 hours after the sunset. Their foraging and copulation were usually observed in this open area at night. Many snails were found off the grass area dispersing on the road. Some of them were crushed by cars or dried up due to the sunlight.


Distribution and accumulation of 10 heavy metals was observed in plant parts of species S. tragus , a native representative of Serbian flora. According to high bioaccumulation values (BAF), more than a half of the analyzed elements were bioaccumulated in roots, as well as in the aerial part of the plant. Translocation factor (TF) value was calculated, showing the ratio between the concentration of metals in roots and aerial parts of the plant. The results indicate that S. tragus may accumulate significant amounts of Cd, Co, Cr and Pb. Concentrations of some of the individual elements are shown to be statistically different depending on the sampled plant parts. Potential capacity of S. tragus for hyperaccumulation of heavy metals and possible utilization of this plant for phytoremediation is discussed.