Objective To understand the distribution and virus load of H5N1 avian influenza virus(AIV) in different organs from a H5N1 AIV dead case. Methods Isolate the H5N1 AIV in BSL-3 lab and assay the TCID50, then use the 10-fold series dilutions of isolate as standards to get the standard curve by fluorescent quantitative PCR. The autopsy samples, including heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney and brain, were ground and detected by Real-time PCR. According to the standard curve, virus load of H5N1 AIV was calculated. Results H5N1 AIV can be detected in lung and spleen with the virus load 106.3 TCID50/ml and 104.55 TCID50/ml respectively, while H5N1 AIV can't be detected in heart, liver, kidney and brain. Conclusion Besides the lung, H5N1 AIV can exist in spleen.


The 90° elbow can generate complex mode conversions when ultrasonic guided wave passing through, thus makes it difficult to inspect defects in elbow and beyond elbow. The detection of circumferential cracks of different areas in elbow pipes are investigated in experiments and simulations using the guided waves in mode of L(0, 2) which are excited by a piezoelectric transducer. The effect of elbow to guided wave inspection is researched by comparing the result of straight pipe inspection. The signal is denoised by using three-level discrete wavelet decomposition and reconstruction which mother wavelet is db1. The experimental results show that the circumferential cracks can be determined in axial position for both elbow and bend straight side by the reflected echo of defects in the pipes. The detection sensitivity depends on the location of the cracks in bend areas of the pipes. It is easier to detect cracks in the extradose of the bend while harder to detect those in the other locations of the bend. There is a certain relationship between the detection sensitivity and the frequency of guided waves. The signal-to-noise ratio of detecting the crack before and beyond elbows is highest in the frequency ranges from 120 k Hz to 130 k Hz; the crack in the intradose of elbow can be inspected accurately in the frequency nearby 80 k Hz. Therefore, the combination of high-frequency and low frequency is used to detect the bended pipes. The propagation behaviors in elbows are investigated by using numerical simulation. The results of simulation intuitively explain the experimental phenomenon.


In this work, we implement a relatively new analytical technique, the Improved Amplitude-Frequency Formulation (IAFF) method, approach for solving accurate approximate analytical solutions for strong nonlinear oscillators, which may contain high nonlinear terms. This method can be used to obtain analytic and approximate solutions of different types of fractional differential equations applied in engineering mathematics. The solutions obtained are compared with those obtained by the Harmonic balance method (HBM) and Exact method, showing excellent agreement. We find that these attained solutions are not only with high degree of accuracy, but also uniformly valid in the whole solution domain which are so simple-to-do and effective.


Abdurrab University library website is an effort to improve services in providing information in the form of physical book data and digital collections to its users. This study aims to analyze the influence of the quality of the Abdurrab University library website on user satisfaction based on end user perceptions. The WebQual 4.0 method was modified by the researcher with the addition of the variables user interface quality and the quality of reliability to compile this research instrument. The distribution of questionnaires was carried out online and offline to 96 respondents obtained from the results of sample calculations using the slovin formula from a total population of 2552 people. The quality of Abdurrab University library website based on multiple linear regression analysis partially variables Usability Quality and The Quality of Reliability affect user satisfaction while simultaneously all WebQual 4.0 variable modifications affect user satisfaction. The influence of independent variables on dependent variables received a value of 43.6% and 56.4% was influenced by independent variables that were not used in this study, so the quality of the website was classified as poor. The quality of Abdurrab University library website is based on Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) for conformity level analysis of 85.29% and gap analysis of -0.55, with a conformity level analysis value of 85.29% of websites is good. The conclusion of this study is that the quality of the Abdurrab University library website affects user satisfaction, so this research can be used as a reference for improvement by the Abdurrab University library.


In this article we analyze the important components of XML document, and present the simplification principle of XML document. Based on this principle we develop a three layers XML Document process model which use AXI as its interface.


A device consisting of a recharging station forming the fixed portion of the device and comprising a bracket (5) supporting a cooling plate (3) with an evaporator exchanger (4) refrigerated by a refrigerating compressor (9). The movable portion is a transport container (1) comprising a diffusion module (2) with a storage chamber (12) for a liquid heat transfer medium (11) enabling the accumulation and storage of negative calories diffused by the cooling plate (3) inserted in the diffusion module (2). The walls of the storage chamber (12) include V-shaped indents (15) delivering the negative calories deeper into the medium in the storage chamber (12). Once the container (1) and the related module (2) have been disengaged from the cooling plate (3) and removed, the negative calories stored in the diffusion module (2) are gradually released into the container.


The research was conducted to identify the exterior characteristics
and body size of male and female Kosta goats at Ciruas, Banten. Fourty
eight of male and female Kosta goats aged at less than one year (0-<12
months) and more than one year old (>12 months) were observed in this
study. Direct observation and measurement were applied to collect all
information required. Bandage tape, ruler and scales were used to
measure the body size of goats, which consisted of hearth girth, chest
width and chest depth, rump height and width, withers height, body length,
head index and body weight. Student T-test was used to analyze the
differences of body size between male and female goats. The result
indicated that male and female Kosta goats had different exterior
characteristics, such as the presence of whisker only for male goats and
longer horn for male gats compared to female. Male Kosta goats at 0-12
months old had longer chest width, longer rump width, and higher body
weight compared to female (P<0.05), it was 25.71±1.47 vs 13.69±0.89
cm


Natural biomacromolecules are widely used in biomimetic medicine engineering. Especially, polysaccharides have been extensively exploited in biomedical applications due to featuring desirable lower toxicity, biocompatibility, and degradability. Chitosan, as a typical natural polysaccharide, was widely utilized as a potential vector for gene/drug delivery according to its adhesion. However, it usually coexists with tribological behaviors in these application scenarios. Many studies have explored its adhesion properties, but the tribological behavior is not clear between the two chitosan-coated surfaces. Here, we investigated the tribological behavior of chitosan films by virtue of the surface forces apparatus (SFA) under shearing in 150 mM acetic acid. The thickness of chitosan films was observed, which would gradually increase and become stable once the two chitosan films under sliding, and the variation of the chitosan thickness is reversible. It could be attributed to the generation of a hemifusion layer at the bearingload area under the high load, and the new contact interfaces were generated when relative sliding occurred. Meanwhile, the configuration of chitosan films would be rearranged with elastic swelling deformation during a running-in stage. Interestingly, the kinetic friction exhibited a negative correlation with load, in which increasing the load would result in a decrease of friction force. Such phenomenon is primarily attributed to form a more compact configuration of the new contact interfaces with a higher charge density, which reduced the opportunities for the polymer interpenetration of entanglement of the chitosan chains and enhanced the electrostatic repulsion between the new contact interfaces, leading to smaller friction. Our findings provide useful information in understanding the tribology mechanism of soft materials, with implications onto designing chitosan-based lubricating materials for biomedical and bioengineering.


Aging effects in hot-pressed Li-Ti-O superconductors were studied by measuring electrical resistivity. When samples are stored in dry air, the resistivity is quite stable, but it is not stable in wet air. Lithium carbonate formation was detected in the sample by X-ray diffraction, showing a resistivity increase. It is thought that this lithium carbonate was formed by a reaction between Li-Ti-O and water on the sample surface. This consideration is supported by the fact that high density samples are more stable than those of low density.


ABSTRACT Globally, newsrooms are adopting various forms of artificial intelligence (AI) as part of the newsgathering, production and distribution process. Western countries and China, in particular, are leading the innovation of AI in newsrooms—testing technologies that include machine learning, automated content creation and moderation and speech-to-text programs. The adoption of AI in newsrooms, and research of its impact, has predominantly focused on Western countries. Although some African countries have begun incorporating AI into sectors such as government agencies, health, education and finance, little information exists about how newsrooms on the continent are using AI technologies. In this paper, we propose a research agenda to advance the scholarship and understanding of the use of AI in African newsrooms and its implications for journalism in Africa. Through a systematic search of databases, we examine the current use of AI in newsrooms in Africa, along with a review of the opportunities and challenges it presents for journalists. We also present a comprehensive examination and discussion about the theoretical frameworks being used to examine newsroom processes—and the opportunities to adapt those theories to analyse the use of AI in African-led scholarship. Also included in the study are recommendations for addressing methodological challenges related to the use of AI in newsrooms.


This article attempts to lift the veil on the connection between public diplomacy practices and some tenets of the English School.   The general argument is that in the context of an anarchical society of states that govern themselves through shared institutions, norms and values, public diplomacy is an important means to influence the manufacturing of the norms and values that functions as the milieu of world politics. It is also maintained that states with effective public diplomacy policies are those with the greatest social power.


Membrane transporters are essential during pregnancy, being a core component of the exchange of nutrients, gases, and metabolic products between the mother and the developing fetus. Important compounds to be transported include vitamins and minerals, amino acids, glucose, as well as cholesterol. Cholesterol transport across the plasma membrane is mediated
mainly by members of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter family. Cholesterol is present in every cell of the body, where it helps maintain the integrity of cell membranes and also plays an important role in cell signaling events. Cholesterol also acts as a precursor for the biosynthesis of steroids that include sex hormones, glucocorticoids, mineralcorticoids, as well as bile acids and oxysterols. Cholesterol transport is therefore crucial for a host of different
physiological processes. The following chapter addresses the involvement and importance of ABC transporters in these different processes. The critical role that ABC transporters Play for a successful pregnancy outcome is highlighted by pathological processes that result malfunction of cholesterol transport during pregnancy. Avenues of future research are also described, which may help to further delineate the function and mechanism of action of ABC transporters.


This study aimed to synthesize geopolymer materials using the ash of burned rice husk. The material was prepared from bauxite slurry, rice hull ash was calcined at 600 °C, metakaolin and sodium hydroxide 12 M solution. The material was cured at 60 °C for 6 h and then at ambient temperature for up to 28 days. We used the same mixture of experimental design to synthesize geopolymer. Through techniques spectroscopy energy dispersive X rivers and X-ray diffraction, it appears that the silica and alumina contents of the identified raw material meets the conditions laid down as minimum for precursors with geopolymer activation potential, as evidenced by the molar ratio Si/Al sample. Geopolymer obtained from the XRD patterns showed characteristic peaks of hydrated calcium silicate. It was found that the particles had irregular shapes and sizes, and the presence of voids affecting the strength of the material. The geopolymeric material obtained showed improvements in the bending strength in a curing time of 28 days.


In this paper I present a new argument against internalist theories of practical reason. My argument is inpired by Frank Jackson's celebrated Knowledge Argument. I ask what will happen when an agent experiences pain for the first time. Such an agent, I argue, will gain new normative knowledge that internalism cannot explain. This argument presents a similar difficulty for other subjectivist and constructivist theories of practical reason and value. I end by suggesting that some debates in meta-ethics and in the philosophy of mind might be more closely intertwined than philosophers in either area would like to believe.


This study tested the hypothesis derived from Gray's Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory that psychopathology resu lts from high levels of activity in the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) related to punishment sensitivity and the Behavioral Activation System (BAS) related to reward sensitivity, based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) psychological disorders in a sample of Turkish adolescents. This study also draws attention to how the biological orientation of BIS and BAS can help predict psychological disorders. The original contribution of this study is to examine the relationship of BIS and BAS activity to almost all DSM-5 psychopathological disorders. A random sample of 417 students between the ages of 15 and 18 (m=16, 40; sd=1,23) in Istanbul province was surveyed using the Behavioral Inhibition and Behavioral Activation Scales (BIS/BAS; Carver & White, 1994) and the Inventory of Psychologıcal Disorders For Adolescences (PDIA; Bilge & Kulaksızoğlu, 2017). Pearson correlations of BIS and BAS scores with PDIA Subscales indicated that Attention-Deficit, Depression, Somatic Symptom Disorder, Separation Anxiety, Social Phobia, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Avoidant Personality Disorder (PD) and Dependent PD were significantly correlated with increased BIS activity whereas Intermittent Explosive Disorder, Hyperactivity, Conduct Disorder, ADHD, Schizophrenia, Paranoid PD, Histrionic PD and Narcissistic PD were significantly correlated with increased BAS activity. Some PDIA subscales were related to both BIS and BAS: Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Hypersomnolence Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Panic Attack, Borderline PD, Schizotypal PD and Obsessive-Compulsive PD. Regression analysis was applied to determine the extent to which these disorders were predicted by BIS and BAS. The results confirmed that psycholopathology symptoms are related to increases in BAS and BIS activity. The results also confirm Gray's (1982) finding that high BIS activity levels are associated with anxiety.


....................................................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...............................................................................................................iv TABLE of CONTENTS.....................................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................................vi I.    INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................1 The problem.............................................................................................................2 Need for Local Study................................................................................................4 Definitions..................................................................................................................5 Overview of the Thesis.............................................................................................7 II.     LITERATURE REVIEW..................................................................................................9 Early Research and Theories..................................................................................15 Recent SIDS Theories/Research.............................................................................21 Trumbull County‐2001 SIDS Case Investigation..................................................23 Summary...................................................................................................................24 III.    METHODS AND DESIGN............................................................................................25 Instrumentation.........................................................................................................25 Sample and Data Collection......................................................................................26 Analysis ......................................................................................................................27 Summary ....................................................................................................................28


This paper focuses on design and implementation of a receiver supporting high-bandwidth digital content protection (HDCP). Besides architectural analysis and design approach discussions, a detailed micro architecture is proposed and implemented. Cipher datapath, controller, registers and I2C interface are implemented, and both place-and-route and custom design method is used. The HDCP receiver is suitable for uses as an IP embedded in digital video interface or high definition multimedia interface chips.


A new type rotor-drum reactor is designed and used for the continuous sulfonation of fatty acid methyl ester. The results show that the new type rotor-drum reactor has the characteristics of the small liquid holdup,the high gas holdup and the uniform distribution of gas and liquid residence time. The products with an α-MES concentration of84. 9% and a disalt concentration of 1. 2% are obtained under the following conditions: 1 200 rpm of the rotor-drum rotation speed,5% of the SO3 concentration,1. 2 molar ratio of SO3 to FAME,85℃ of the sulfonation temperature,65℃of the aging temperature and 1 hour of the aging time. Meanwhile,the disalt concentration is significantly less than the reported value and the product meets the requirements of the national standards for a superior grade product.


Nursing students as future nurses in the future are expected to really understand what istherapeutic communication and also the processes that must be done when carrying outtherapeutic communication so that when the direct plunge in the field able to applytherapeutic communication properly. To know the Influence of Student Knowledge Level ofNursing Practice on Therapeutic Communication at RSU UKI. The process of collectingdata conducted in this study by means of questionnaires and observations, research designused non-experimental coleration descriptive, with Cross Sectional approach. From theresults of chi square test, which has been done by the researchers obtained the value ofprobability (p-value) of 0.016 <(0.05). This means that there is a significant influencebetween the students' knowledge of nursing practice on therapeutic communication skills.From the statistical test results obtained an odds ratio (OR) of 14,000 means that highknowledge respondents have 14,000 chance of having high therapeutic communicationskills compared to less knowledgeable respondents. Educational institutions need to includea therapeutic communication practice program in practical learning activities so that aftercompleting education, students are able to apply therapeutic communication in nursingpractice.


The first and second patients had acute painless vision loss 1 and 2 days after the procedure , respectively. On examination, they showed heavy haze and Tyndall effect in both the anterior chamber and vitreous that precluded visualization of the fundus. Hypopyon and redness were typically absent. In both cases, sterile endophthalmitis was suspected and only cycloplegic agents and topical antibiotics were used. Inflammation spontaneously subsided in 1 week and both patients experienced visual improvement. However, 2 weeks after the initial visit, the second patient developed a rhegmatogenous retinal detachment that required further surgery. Comment. This interventional case series shows that sterile intraocular inflammation can also occur when BA is mostly removed. It asks whether BA is a cause or the only cause of sterile endophthalmitis. Other hypotheses should be taken into account. Hypothetical causes for sterile en-dophthalmitis other than BA include the formulation of TA itself and bacterial contaminants such as endotoxins potentially present in the vials. 2,5 To support the latter hypothesis, Roth et al 2 reported 7 cases of sterile endoph-thalmitis after 104 intravitreal injections that were performed during a 14-month period. All of the observed cases of sterile endophthalmitis were clustered in a 5-week period, raising the suspicion that some toxin existed in the vials and caused an inflammatory reaction. The membrane filter method was shown to provide a very high bacterial recovery efficiency. 6 Isolating TA through back-flushing sterilizing filters (with small pores) actually does recover and concentrate hypothetical contaminants such as bacterial pyrogens. The true cause of sterile endoph-thalmitis after TA injection remains unknown. Reducing the BA concentration by approximately 90% does not eliminate sterile endophthalmitis after TA injection. Other methods for isolating TA that are better than filtering commercially available TA would be advisable. Comparison of different techniques for purification of triamcinolone acetonide suspension for intravit-real use.icity of triamcinolone acetonide on retinal neurosensory and pigment epi-thelial cells. Evaluation of recovery filters for use in bacterial retention testing of sterilizing-grade filters. I n an editorial in the June issue of the Archives, Beauchamp 1 addressed the complicated issue of the burden that amblyopia and strabismus impose on affected individuals as well as the consequences this has on the justification of treatment and screening for these conditions. Unfortunately, Beauchamp appears to have confused treatment and screening for amblyopia, to have used available evidence in a questionable way, and to have chosen to bring forward only …


Alrs. Annie T. Slosson's captures of Odonata in Franconia, made now over a decade ago, have already attracted odonatologists to a recognition of this interesting region. Franconia is thus the type locality of Gom$hus borealis Needham, and Somatochlora minor (Calv.), and five of Dr. Scudder's species were first described from the White Mountain region. I t has been difficult, however! to limit the scope of this paper to just the township, and impractical to take a definite radius, for lying so near the Connecticut Valley, a very 1-aried topographic region would be included, when i t seems more interesting and proper to make the paper one on the mountain and foothill stations. I am, therefore, including the records made for the immediate region of the higher White Mourltains, a region I think often referred to by Hagell and others on odonate labels as "White Mts." The list thus includes the nocahle records and type stations of Dr. S. H. Scudder on Mt . Washington, and at The Glen, and records O F Dr. P. P. Calvert a t Fabyan's, Dr. G . M. Allen a t Intervale in 1899, etc.


s screened for relevance, duplicates removed critical appraisal & text screened for relevance Articles obtained from search n = 209


To permit easy user access to an uncataloged serials collection, a method was devised to produce (via computer facilities) a book catalog. This book catalog includes both an alphabetical listing by serial title and a subject section that lists titles by appropriate category. The programs necessary for this system were designed in the computer center according to specifications outlined by library personnel. The catalog can be easily reproduced from the computer printout and distributed campus-wide as well as used within the Learning Resources Center.


A fully integrated 2.4 GHz transceiver based on the IEEE802.15.4 specification has been designed using a 130 nm CMOS technology. Concurrent system and design optimizations were required to reach an energy efficiency of 21.5 nJ/bit in RX mode and 32.5 nJ/bit in TX modes, respectively, at a data rate of 250 kbit/s. The circuit includes a -5 dBm transmitter, a -81 dBm sensitivity receiver, an integer N PLL with 5 MHz reference, a dual I/Q 3-bit ADC at 4 MS/s, an analog RSSI with 8-bit ADC at 8 kS/s and an integrated SPDT TX/RX switch to a 100 Omega differential antenna port. The chip consumes 5.4 mW in RX mode and 8.1 mW in TX mode under 1.2 V.


We suggest that Bernard, Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck routinely applied Alfred Adler's general psychological concepts to specific instances of criminological theory without proper attribution. We offer several levels of support: (1) we contrast the Freudian terminology within Bernard Glueck's early writings and Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck's influential book Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency (1950) with the Adlerian constructs of their respective criminological works; (2) we describe the enduring similarity between life-course theory of crime and Adler's original theory; and (3) we speculate as to how this apparent but non-attributed Adlerian influence occurred. Overall, the article exposes a circumstantial evidence of neglect in the criminology literature: Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck's silence on Adler's contribution and their own ostracization by mainstream criminology. We conclude that acknowledgment of the Gluecks' contribution and their debt to Adler could continue to reinvigorate criminology today.


Patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) show an impact on the physical and psychological aspect of the disease and it can be measured with the PsA Impact of Disease (PsAID) questionnaire, and it is expected that the impact of the disease improves when the patient is in remission or low disease activity.To determine the rate of low impact of the disease in patients with PsA in daily clinical practice, and to evaluate its relationship with its axial activity.A cross-sectional study was conducted in consecutive patients who met the CASPAR criteria, with positive clinical (DLI) and positive axial radiology, with or without peripheral involvement, and who were treated according to standard clinical practice (EULAR recommendations). Demographic, clinical, analytical data, HAQ index (0-3) and PsAID12 (0-10) were also collected. Patients were divided into 2 groups: those with a PsAID above 4 (high impact) or below 4 (low impact). Continuous variables are shown as median (Q1-Q3) and categorical variables as percentages and frequencies. The analyzes were performed using SPSS23 software. Differences were considered statistically significant if p < 0.05.Of the 269 patients evaluated with PsA, 72 patients with axial involvement were included, 40 men (55.6%), with a median age of 54.1 years (45.0-62.0) and disease duration of 7 years (2-11). Obesity (BMI>29.99) affected 28.3% and serum CRP level was 0.45 mgr/dl (0.08-1.10). The treatments of the patients were: NSAIDs 43.1%, corticosteroids 21.6%, csDMARD 52.9% and biological therapy 51.9%. The BASDAI was 4.2 (2.0-6.2) and the ASDAS-PCR was 2.4 (1.5-3.2), with 39.6% being in low activity or remission. The median PsAID total score was 3.9 (1.6-5.4), evaluated in 61 patients. The patients who achieved a PsAID12 ≤4 was 63% (see Table 1), more men and with a lower CRP. In addition, the low impact measured by the PsAID12 was associated with a lower BASDAI and ASDAS-PCR.PsAID≤4n=39PsAID>4n=22pAge, years54 (42-62)54 (49-66)0.284Male gender, n %28 (70)10 (43.5)0.038Disease duration, years7 (3-10)5 (1.2-9.5)0.432CRP, mgr/dl0.30 (0.04-0.79)1.04 (0.07-2.44)0.03BSA, %0.2 (0-1)0.5 (0-1.5)0.594BASDAI2.1 (0.8-4.0)6.1 (4.4-6.9)<0.001ASDAS-PCR1.5 (1.1-2-4)3.1 (2.3-3.4)<0.001Almost two thirds of patients with PsA with axial involvement in daily clinical practice had a low impact of the disease measured by PsAID12 and correlated with low activity in the BASDAI and ASDAS-PCR.[1]Gossec L, et al. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2014;73:1012-1019.to Galician Rheumatology Society (SOGARE)Carlota Laura Iñíguez: None declared, Guillermo Gonzalez Arribas: None declared, Francisco Maceiras-Pan Speakers bureau: Abbvie, Novartis, Janssen, Lilly, Jose L. Guerra-Vazquez: None declared, Víctor Quevedo Vila: None declared, Luis Fernández-Dominguez Paid instructor for: Janssen, Novartis, BMS, Carlos García-Porrúa Speakers bureau: Abbvie, Novartis, Janssen, Lilly, José Antonio Mosquera Martínez: None declared, Jose Antonio Pinto Tasende Speakers bureau: Abbvie, Novartis, Janssen, Lilly, Celgene, Consultant of: Janssen, Novartis


This abstract introduces the by-products of cosmic "spallation" (high energy gamma rays and neutrinos) as the prime instigators of living cells in the cosmos. And, posits that asteroids do not necessarily transport the raw ingredients of life but instead serve specific purpose (provide high energy impacts that produce spallation) onto planets in favorable orbits.


Myanmar has the third highest number of people living with Background: HIV in Southeast Asia behind Indonesia and Thailand. The independent predictors of comprehensive HIV knowledge among general population are not known. In this nationally representative study, we adopted a Methods: cross-sectional design using secondary data from the Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey (2015-16). We included all women and men aged 15-49 years who participated in the survey. We have provided weighted estimates as the analyses were weighted for the multi-stage sampling design. We used modified Poisson regression with robust variance estimates model to identify independent predictors of comprehensive knowledge. Of 17,622 analyzed, 3,599 (20.4%, 95% CI: 19.7, 21.1) had Results: comprehensive knowledge of HIV. Late adolescents, those with less than a high school education, those involved in agriculture and the poorest two quintiles were less likely to have comprehensive knowledge of HIV. In Myanmar, comprehensive knowledge of HIV among the Conclusion: general population needs to be improved and we identified certain independent predictors that could be specifically targeted by the national programme.


When neurons are deprived of oxygen, NMDA receptors become activated, allowing an influx of calcium ions into the neuron. As the mitochondria can't efficiently produce ATP in the absence of oxygen (anoxia), ATP-fuelled pumps can't pump out the ions and calcium accumulation eventually leads to cell


Alkali substances are present in cements used as a binder in concrete only in a minimum content. The most known process that alkali causes is the alkali-silica reaction. In this reaction, the alkali contained in the cement or supplied from the outside with an inappropriately selected aggregate containing amorphous SiO2. This reaction results in the development of hydration products, resulting in an increase in the volume of the original components, which can cause a breakage of the concrete structure and subsequent disintegration. The range of alkali-silica reaction can be reduced by the use of a suitable aggregate or the use of Type II admixtures which are characterized by pozzolanic or latently hydraulic activity. These admixtures react with alkali and then no longer react with the amorphous SiO2 contained in the aggregate. Alkalis also affect other properties of concrete such as basic physical-mechanical properties, frost resistance and pH.In the experimental part the pH values were compared between mixtures of Portland cement and alkaline activated blast furnace slag using slag aggregate from the heap Koněv.


Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were ultrasonically deposited onto glass fibers by using either distilled water or a hydrolyzed silane. The role of the fiber coating (sizing) was investigated by depositing MWCNTs onto glass fibers with and without sizing. The interfacial shear strength (IFSS) between the MWCNT‐modified fibers and a vinyl ester matrix was analyzed by the microbond test. Increased electrical conductivity and surface roughness was achieved upon MWCNT deposition on the fibers. The use of a silane as suspending fluid renders moderate benefits with respect to distilled water, and its role is more critical in improving the IFSS between the MWCNT‐modified fibers and the matrix.


Laser Doppler vibrometers (LDVs) are widely used for remote vibration measurements. In many applications, such as measurements with an LDV on a moving platform or measurements with a continuously scanning beam, an LDV beam moves across a target. The motion of a laser beam across the target generates noise at the LDV output due to dynamic speckles—speckle noise. Speckle noise is caused by phase fluctuations of laser speckles and by Doppler signal dropouts and increases with the speed of the beam. It has been observed that the noise floor increase due to speckles follows a logarithmic curve as the speed increases. Of course as the speed increases, the dwell time over the target area decreases, which limits the signal of interest. This smaller sampling of the vibration signal, combined with the increase in noise due to speckles, places a severe limit on the scanning speed. A way is being investigated to take advantage of this nonlinear increase in noise with respect to speed by using time multiplexing of mul...


Weight gain is inevitable during pregnancy. However, high prepregnancy body mass index and excessive gestational weight gain are associated with poor pregnancy outcomes. Understanding the experiences, social influences and decisions women make to maintain a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy are essential to consider how to improve services and interventions to help women engage in a healthy diet and physical activity (PA) behaviours.


Professional practice is an important component of practice teaching system of agronomy majors.But there is a little implement experience about it to normal college.So it may face many difficulties when professional practice is carrying through.In order to overcome those difficulties,some suggestions were proposed on aspects of teachers and bases construction,practice outline,etc.


The utility model discloses a pinion-and-rack type intelligent rear protection device test bed for a heavy-duty vehicle. The pinion-and-rack type intelligent rear protection device test bed for the heavy-duty vehicle is used for solving the problems that in the prior art, cost is high, the weight is large, and popularization is difficult. The pinion-and-rack type intelligent rear protection device test bed for the heavy-duty vehicle comprises a first shaft assembly, a second shaft assembly, a third shaft assembly, a fourth shaft assembly, a left slideway assembly, a right slideway assembly, a frame rear lattice simulation assembly, a bionic rear bumper assembly, a sensor and controller assembly and an accessory equipment assembly. The third shaft assembly is installed in the middle of the frame rear lattice simulation assembly, the first shaft assembly is installed on the right side of the frame rear lattice simulation assembly, the fourth shaft assembly is installed on the left side of the third shaft assembly, the second shaft assembly is installed between the first shaft assembly and the third shaft assembly, and the left slideway assembly and the right slideway assembly are fixed on the left side face and the right side face of a left longitudinal beam of the frame rear lattice simulation assembly respectively.


Fermilab is proposing to build an 800 MeV superconducting linac which will be used to inject H ions into the existing Booster synchrotron as part of the proposed PIP-II project. The injection energy of the Booster will be raised from the current 400 MeV to 800 MeV. Transverse phase space painting will be required due to the small linac transverse emittance (εring/εlinac ~ 10) and low average linac current of 2 mA. The painting is also helpful with reduction of beam distribution resulting in a reduction of space charge effects. The injection will require approximately 300 turns corresponding to ~ 0.5 ms injection time. A factor of seven increase of the injected beam power (relative to present operation) requires an injection waste beam absorber. The paper describes the requirements for the injection insert, its design, and plans for transverse painting.


The invention relates to a circuit device used for providing distant indication for conditions of a distribution network and carrying out distant control on a switching device in the distribution network, in particular to an integrated monitoring system information platform for a transformer substation. The integrated monitoring system information platform comprises an integrated information platform body and a station level advanced application module. The integrated information platform body comprises an application-independent graphic base system, a real-time database based on the unified modeling technology, a data normalization module, a data verification module, a data service module, a file service module and a historical library storage service module. The station level advanced application module comprises a graphic, model and library integrated module, a source side maintenance module, a primary equipment status visualization module and a one-button sequential control module. According to the integrated monitoring system information platform, by arranging and integrating functions of various subsystems and carrying out data structure reconstitution on the unified platform, the use ratio and interactivity of data are improved, the reliability, integration and maintainability of the system are improved, and new functional subsystems can have access to the transformer substation conveniently.


Generalized linear mixed models are useful in studying hierarchical data with possibly non-Gaussian responses. However, the intractability of likelihood functions poses challenges for estimation. We develop a new method suitable for this problem, called imputation maximization stochastic approximation (IMSA). For each iteration, IMSA first imputes latent variables/random effects, then maximizes over the complete data likelihood, and finally moves the estimate towards the new maximizer while preserving a proportion of the previous value. The limiting point of IMSA satisfies a self-consistency property and can be less biased in finite samples than the maximum likelihood estimator solved by score-equation based stochastic approximation (ScoreSA). Numerically, IMSA can also be advantageous over ScoreSA in achieving more stable convergence and respecting the parameter ranges under various transformations such as nonnegative variance components. This is corroborated through our simulation studies where IMSA consistently outperforms ScoreSA.


Abstract : Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Fourier transform nuclear magnetic resonance (FTNMR) methods were used to examine the adsorption and reaction of diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) on various solid adsorbents. Static and flow system experiments were monitored using FTIR to determine DFP adsorption rates and isotherms on silica, coated silicas, gamma-alumina, coated aluminas, and activated charcoal. The adsorption of DFP(g) onto the solid adsorbents was generally very rapid, with a half-life of 20 seconds for 1 mg DFP onto 25 mg of 350 sq. m/g silica. The DFP adsorption isotherm on silica indicated chemi-sorption to a monolayer at P/Po <0.6, followed by increased coverage that appears to be physical adsorption. Diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectroscopy, photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS), and solid state 31P NMR of adsorbed DFP showed chemisorption on silica and on alumina. Bonding at the P=O of DFP was indicated by a -41/cm shift in the NU(P=O) and a 1 ppm upfield shift in the 31 P resonance.


The framework of Bayesian networks has been used to introduce new ways for decoding parallel concatenated convolutional (turbo) codes. Simulation results show that a noisy received block which does not converge using traditional turbo decoding can converge to the correct value with one or more of the methods introduced here.


SUMMARY: An arginine esterase activity similar to that observed in plasma has been demonstrated in second trimester and term human amniotic fluid. Like plasma, the protease(s) hydrolyzed esters of arginine, were reactive towards 4-methylumbel-liferylguanidinobenzoate (MUGB), a sensitive active site titrant of trypsinlike enzymes, and had a pI of 5.1-5.4. The pH optimum for proteolytic activity was 8.0. This protease activity was inhibited by soybean trypsin inhibitor (STI), benzamidine and (p-nitrophenyl)-p'-guanidinobenzoate (NPGB), and was insensitive to 1-chloro-3-tosylamido-7-amino-2-heptanone (TLCK) and p-hydroxymer-curibenzoic acid (HMB). Upon gel filtration, two MUGB-reactive fractions were observed, one with an apparent molecular weight of 200,000 and the other, 100, 000. Both fractions had arginine esterase activity and appeared to be sensitive to inhibition by STI and benzamidine.The mean MUGB titre value (nmoles of 4-methylumbelliferone released per m1 amniotic fluid) for 300 mid-trimester amniotic fluids was 11.40 ± 2.40 nmoles MU/m1. The mean specific activity was 2.36 ± 0.41 nmoles MU/mg protein. Two amniotic fluids from pregnancies which delivered children with cystic fibrosis (CF) were analyzed in blind samples sent from other laboratories. The MU titre values obtained were 4.73 and 4.32 with specific activities of 1.24 and 1.30 respectively. A third was identified in our screening program of amniotic fluids obtained from amniocenteses done for the intrauterine detection of genetic abnormalities. The MU titre value was 5.52 nmoles/m1 with a specific activity of 1.34. The specific activities of these fluids when compared to the controls were significantly different (p<0.001).The mean titre value for 23 term amniotic fluids samples was 8.14 ± 1.69 nmoles MU/m1. The mean specific activity was 3.37 ± 0.76 nmoles MU/mg protein. A term amniotic fluid obtained from a woman who delivered a baby with CF showed a markedly reduced level of MUGB reactivity (3.01 nmole/m1). The specific activity was 1.06 which was significantly different from the control term fluids.The MU titre values and specific activities of amniotic fluids obtained from abnormal pregnancies (such as those with neural tube defects, chromosomal abnormalities and polymorphisms, abortions and stillbirths) and fluids with elevated alphafetoprotein and maternal blood contaminants did not significantly vary from the mean control values (Table 3).Speculation: The reduced MUGB reactivity of proteases in mid-trimester amniotic fluid from women who subsequently delivered children with cystic fibrosis suggests that these MUGB-reactive proteases may prove useful as a marker for the prenatal diagnosis of cystic fibrosis.


The importance of knowledge and information is ever increasing. The ingredients of the customer value of the information offered for free by the public information organizations are different from those of the ordinary products or services. This study aims to identify the factors which affect the information customer value and the job performance of the R&D managers who use national R&D information service(NTIS). The results show the quality of information service and the perception of services organizations have significant positive effect on customer value. In addition, the customer value have significant influence on the job performance. Meanwhile, the perception of information organizations have not effect on the job performance. Regarding the moderating effect of the information using environment, the results are as follows: the information using environment moderates the relationship between the information service quality and between the customer value and the perception of information organizations, and the relationship between the customer value and the job performance, but does not moderate the relationship between the perception of information services organizations and the job performance. According to the research results, we proposed several implications to foster the customer value management in the field of public information as well as future research directions.


Aspects of the rite can be observed on a scale ranging from the most imperious practice to the most tenuous habit, without, however, being dissolved in the latter. Therefore, no group or individual can claim to be in no way involved in rites. When ritualization increases, but is still available for psychoanalytic work, it may lead to symbolization. However, this paper identifies other group conditions, less elaborate, and the "useful" or "alienating" effects they produce.


Gazing at the Green Light: The Legal and Business Aspects of Real Property Investment in Cuba is part of the 2010 Annual Proceedings of The Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy.


The increasing adoption of FPGA-based systems, calls for efficient and effective partitioning of application components between the hardware and software of the FPGA platform. In this work, we propose a technique for application-specific data dependency-aware clustering that facilitates variable-grained hardware-software partitioning. The variable granularity makes the approach suitable for both large and small applications as well as stringent resource constraints and mitigates the impact of relaxed communication models in partitioning heuristics. Validated on applications from the CHStone benchmark suite the technique achieves 15% and 7% performance improvement compared to function and basic block level approaches respectively.


In the recent film Saving Mr Banks, we see the fraught working relationship between prickly English writer P. L. Travers (played with customary depth and nuance by Emma Thompson) and Walt Disney (Tom Hanks). Disney has been wooing Travers for years to get his hands on the film rights to her 'Mary Poppins' books, with which his children have fallen in love. Travers, after fourteen years of wrangling, is persuaded by her desperate lawyer to fly to Los Angeles to sign over her creation into Disney's hands, in an attempt to rectify her financial situation. Travers reluctantly agrees, all the while afraid that Disney will reduce her beloved character to a movie with all the sophistication of dancing penguins.


433 Clive E. West, 1939–2004 Clive Eric West, PhD, DSc, FRACI, was born on July 27, 1939, in Griffith, Australia, near Sydney. He died on August 27, 2004, at the age of 65, of cancer. Four months earlier, Dr.West had been honored with the prestigious Kellogg Prize in International Nutrition by the Society for International Nutrition Research at the Experimental Biology 2004 meeting in Washington, D.C. His inexhaustible curiosity to discover and interpret, broad expertise in nutritional sciences, unqualified commitment to educate, and dedication to improving health in malnourished societies both inspired and guided all with whom he came in contact. Dr. West received degrees from the University of Sydney and University of New England in Armidale, Australia. His early work was conducted in his native country on livestock nutrition, with his first Index Medicus citation in 1964, for an article addressing palmitate metabolism in sheep. Other early animal studies involved intermediary metabolism in domestic fowl, sows, goats, rabbits, and guinea pigs. After working at the University of New England, the Unilever Research Laboratory, Colworth House, in Bedford, UK, the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University in Canberra, and the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria, in 1979 he received an appointment to the Division of Human Nutrition of Wageningen (Agricultural) University, a position he retained until the time of his death. In 1992, he became Visiting Professor of International Nutrition at the Division of International Health at the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Ga., USA, to participate in the Program Against Micronutrient Malnutrition. Since 2000, Dr. West has also been Professor of Nutrition in Health and Disease, Department of Gastroenterology, University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Dr. West's research transition from experimental animals to human lipid metabolism began in 1979 with the first of his many papers published in the Lancet, "Is serum total cholesterol outmoded?" a challenging and controversial title. Long before the "early origins of adult disease hypothesis" of David Barker et al., Dr. West and colleagues at Wageningen had been focusing on the potential consequences of serum lipid concentrations in infancy and childhood on health in later life. Dr. West also emphasized the need to improve dietary assessment methods, including the food composition database on which dietary assessment is based. His organization of "EUROFOODS" to improve and harmonize food composition data in the European community led him to become an early and lifelong supporter of the United Nations University's "International Food Data Systems" project (INFOODS), begun in 1983. This global program, now a joint FAO/ WHO program based in Rome, is still dependent on the Wageningen International Food Composition Data Base course. This course, developed jointly with David Southgate and Joanne Holden, has now been held 6 times in Wageningen and Dr. West has guided satellite courses in a number of other regions. The course in Pretoria, organized by Hetti Schönfeldt, will be held in February 2005 for the fourth time. Promoting these courses was one of his major initiatives at the time of his death and the international community is much indebted for these efforts. The early eighties saw Dr. West's career take clear aim at a better understanding of the role of diet-disease interactions as determinants of micronutrient deficiencies and health consequences. Logically, he focused on the tragic effects of low intake and deficiency of lipid-soluble vitamin A, initiated by a paper in 1983 on post-measles corneal ulceration in children in Northern Nigeria. This publication, and others that followed in the eighties brought Dr. West (and, to the good fortune of all, his graduate students!) into the scientific world of vitamin A, inaugurated by his 1st IVACG meeting in Nairobi in 1981 In memoriam


Many shallow lakes and bays throughout the world experience dangerous toxic algae blooms. Extensive biological research has been devoted to understanding the problem, but little research addresses the social and political drivers impeding solutions. This case study focuses on Vermont's efforts to reduce phosphorus inputs to Lake Champlain, a large * Osherenko served on the Vermont Water Resources Board from 1995–1999. She is a Project Scientist at the Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara and prepared this paper for the International Conference on the Performance of Environmental Governance, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China, 5–6 May 2013. 324 VERMONT JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW [Vol. 15 lake dividing New York and Vermont in the U.S. that stretches north into Québec, Canada. Why, after four decades and hundreds of millions of dollars spent, has success been so difficult to achieve? What needs to be done to improve water quality management and reduce or eliminate dangerous algae blooms? In 1993 Vermont and Quebec set a target for phosphorus levels in the shallow Missisquoi Bay at twenty-five micrograms per liter (ug/L) of phosphorus; however, the levels have not declined but increased slightly to fifty ug/L phosphorous, double the target levels. Further, the historic spring and summer floods of 2011 caused a spike in phosphorus concentrations in many parts of Lake Champlain to the highest levels observed since 1990. A warming climate and intense storms are projected to increase erosion making the problem of phosphorous loading more difficult to address. Five lessons emerge from a study of the literature and structured interviews with a dozen individuals involved in efforts to reduce pollution: (1) funding follows leadership, but success requires substantially more leadership and funding, (2) fragmentation of agency responsibility impedes problem solving, (3) sparring interest groups both spur and block solutions, (4) shocks and crises galvanize action but may temporarily set back progress, and (5) social and cultural attitudes matter both inside and outside bureaucracies.


SIT(Sound Integrity Test) is one advanced nondestructive detection method of bridge structure. This paper introduces the working principle, operation technology as well as practical application of this technology. Practice shows this method is simple and convenient with low cost, which has wide application prospect.


Polymer membrane needs to maintain appropriate moisture. Insufficient moisture causes low conduction of hydrogen ion because of increased contact resistance between electrode and membrane by shrinking membrane, and abundant moisture decreases fuel cell performance as difficulty of diffusion reacting gas. Therefore, water controlling system is very consequential for the polymer membrane fuel cell. If hollow fiber membrane humidification is used between fuel and air lines, it is possible to supply heat to fuel and air by using thermal exchanger. It can supply appropriate humidity depending on operating temperature, and can recover heat from exhaust gas which contains water vapor and air. Because of simple structure of humidification system, this system can be easily applied in the PEMFC and cut down cost.


Abstract : CONCLUSION: TDG allows for the deposition of a highly corrosion and abrasion resistant, non-toxic non-polluting zinc/iron alloy on practically any part to thicknesses ranging from 10 to 300 microns cleanly, efficiently and uniformly. TDG vastly increases the service life of steel parts, in a safe, environmentally friendly process without regards to geometry or complexity.


The purpose of this essay is to discuss the adequacy of the historical approach to Israel's religion in the hope that some of the issues raised may be relevant to the study of religion in general. The historical treatment was first applied rigorously to the religion of Israel in the late eighteenth century when the newly developing discipline of biblical theology saw as its ta k the setting out of the history of the religion of both the Old and New Testame.nts. However it shou ld be borne in mind that the word "history" has almost as many different connotations as the word "myth" for the idea of history behind biblical theology in its earlier stages was not hi tory for its own sake but history as the means of discovering religious truths which could then be put into systematic fonn by the dogmaticians.' . As the nineteenth century progressed, the emphasis shifted from the theology to be discovered by studying the history of Israel's religion to the study of this history for itself. The basic motive for t11e enterprise now was that by explaining how a religion developed you understood what that religion was. Old Testament theology proper appeared to have been dissolved, but in the I 920s it re-emerged. Broadly speaking it was distinguished from the history of Israelite religion in that whereas Old Testament theology concentrates on those features of Israel's faith that are still of existential importance, the history oflsraelite religion tries to give a picture of what that religion was like whether or not all its aspects are of concern to us now. Obviously the two disciplines overlap even in the minds of those who practice them,2 but by and large the distinction is maintained between two very different sorts of academic undertaking.l The emergence of this distinction explains why the student of the Hebrew Bible has a sense of deja vu when he sees the debate going on within the International Association for the History of Religion between proponents of scholarly study for its own sake and those who wish Religionswissenschafl to have a wider application.4 Might not the way the distinction between Israelite religion and biblical theology was worked out fifty years ago provide some sort of model for a simi lar accommodation in the world of Religionswissenschafl? However the main purpose of this paper is not to settle a wide ranging debate but to discuss the adequacy of the history of Israel's religion as a means of understanding that religion. The aim of this study as defined by Georg Fohrer is "to depict the course of th is religions development as the history of one nonnal religion among othe1 '• without undertaking U1eological value j udgements ot· giving weight to ape• getic considerations' .s Fohrer goes on to point out U1at Israelite religion ,. as neither homogeneous nor static and different tendencies and moveml'l o :s often existed side by side in the same period. The emphasis is on the cont ·11mity between the dominant forces and the aim is to describe the shape ot the history in the light of subsequent developments . This historical approach can be described as vertical since its


T HAT there is no unanimity of opinion regarding the preferred surgical management of encapsulated subdural hematoma is quite evident, even in the most recent literature on the subject. Rosenbluth and associates, TM in a recent article on the current management of subdural hematoma, advocated removal of the inner and as much of the outer membrane as can be reached through a g-inch trephine opening. Sherman and Fromm '9 emphasized that care must be taken to remove the inner membrane as completely as possible. Arutyunov, 1 Gorbatsevich and Shustin, s and Umbach 21 were particularly insistent that all capsular parts of the hematoma be removed. Parkinson and Chochinov 16 reported on 40 cases of subdural hematoma and had performed craniotomy and membranectomy in all of the 33 chronic cases. Gomez, 7 in a review of 100 cases of subdural hematoma, of which 55 were chronic, noted that osteoplastic craniotomy may be necessary to allow for reexpansion of the brain if thick membranes are present. Many others 2,5,6,9,~2 have indicated that simple evacuation through burr holes or trephine openings is adequate, with resort to removal of membrane only if the brain fails to re-expand. TaarnhCj 2~ advocated simple drainage via trephine, noting that, even when craniotomy was accomplished, the amount of membrane removed did not seem to be a factor in recovery. Robinson ~7 stated that there was "no value in raising an osteoplastic flap, and it may be detrimental ." In an effort to determine whether or not


Sericinus montelus Gray was investigated in Wuhan area and effects of temperatures on its development were measured. The results showed that this butterfly could complete 6 generations from April to August, and overwinter as pupa from the end of September to the end of March of next year in Wuhan. Within the range of 15~35℃ combined with a photoperiod of 14L∶10D, egg hatching, survival of larva and pupa was the highest at 25, 25 and 20℃ respectively. The developmental periods of eggs, larvae and pupae decreased significantly with temperature increasing. Optimal temperature for development ranged from 20 to 35℃. Moreover, the developmental threshold temperatures of the eggs, larvae and pupae was estimated as (8.7±2.5), (11.9±6.0) and(6.9±1.8)℃, respectively. The effective accumulative temperature the eggs, larvae and pupae are(82.5±5.1), (222.2±39.5) and (178.7±7.3) degree-days, respectively.


MUSIC algorithm is widely used to estimate the direction of arrival (DOA) of spatial signals because of its high estimation accuracy and low SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio). However, for non-coherent signals, the traditional MUSIC algorithm cannot make accurate estimation. This paper starts with the principles of MUSIC algorithm, carries out mathematical derivation and simulation experiments, and uses the MUSIC algorithm based on spatial smoothing to estimate the coherent DOA of signals. The relationship between the optimal smoothing times and coherent signals is proposed, and the relational expression of the optimal smoothing times is found under the condition of one-dimensional uniform linear array, more antenna arrays and less coherent signals. The simulation results show that the relational expression has good performance.


Power ultrasound that uses the local high-temperature and high-pressure environment generated by ultrasonic cavitation to accelerate or change the chemical reaction process has been widely used in the petrochemical industry. Unfortunately, huge heat is inevitably conducted by tool head and ultrasonic horn to the piezoelectric ceramics while the transducer is dealing with high-temperature liquid medium such as the pitch of 180°C. In order to prevent the heat influencing the piezoelectric ceramics, a novel high-temperature high power sandwich piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer is proposed. The frequency equations of the ultrasonic vibrator are deduced and the corresponding correctness is verified by the modal through the finite element method (FEM)and COMSOL software. In addition, the heat conduction in the transducer while dealing with high-temperature liquid is analyzed by FEM analysis to ensure the temperature of piezoelectric ceramics is below the Curie temperature. Finally, an experimental prototype is manufactured and a high-temperature liquid medium experiment has been implemented. It indicates that the ultrasonic transducer designed in this study is proved to be able to work stably in the 180°C oil bath.


Accessibility of travel may be better understood if psychological factors underlying change in travel behavior are known. This paper examines older (65+) travelers' motives for changing their travel behavior. These changes are grounded in critical incidents earlier encountered in public-transport travel. A scientific framework is developed based on cognitive and behavioral theory. In 29 individual interviews, travelers' critical reactions (i.e., cognitive, emotional, and/or behavioral) to 77 critical incidents were examined. By applying critical incident technique (CIT), five reaction themes were identified that had generated travel-behavior change: firm restrictions, unpredictability, unfair treatment, complicated trips, and earlier adverse experiences. To improve older travelers' access to public transport, key findings were: (a) service must be designed so as to strengthen the feeling of being in control throughout the journey; (b) extended personal service would increase predictability in the travel chain and decrease travel complexity; consequently, (c) when designing new services and making effective accessibility interventions, policy makers should consider and utilize underlying psychological factors that could direct traveler behavior.


Energetic ions in the solar wind have distribution functions with power-law, suprathermal tails. In terms of the particle speed, these power laws have a shape that is close to f ∝ v−5 . Recent papers have examined such distributions both in terms of traditional stochastic, second-order Fermi, acceleration as described by quasilinear theory, and a model based on compressional acceleration of core thermal particles into the suprathermal tail. We re-examine this latter model and how it works at the interface between the thermal core and high energy tail. This is done with a numerical model and comparisons are made with quasilinear theory. Consequences for the transport and acceleration of heliospheric ions are discussed.


A novel adaptive tracking controller of fully actuated marine vessels is proposed with completely unknown dynamics and external disturbances. The model of dominant dynamic behaviors and unknown disturbances of the vessel are learned by a neural network in real time. The controller is designed and it unifies backstepping and adaptive neural network techniques with predefined tracking performance constraints on the tracking convergence rate and the transient and steady-state tracking error. The stability of the proposed adaptive tracking controller of the vessel is proven with a uniformly bounded tracking error. The proposed adaptive tracking controller is shown to be effective in the tracking control of marine vessels by simulations.


Water stress is an increasingly important challenge for the twenty-first century. Demand for water resources in agricultural, municipal, industrial, and environmental uses is rising due to population and income growth. Climate change is expected to exacerbate water stress by increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather conditions. Although drought may not become more frequent or severe in all locations, growing demand for water will cause scarcity to become more pressing over larger geographic areas. In many locations, infrastructure to store and release water currently lacks the capacity to meet demand during drought periods and prevent floods during wet periods. Competition for scarce water resources, both within and among sectors, will place even greater pressure on existing infrastructure, as well as current water allocation institutions and management policies. Reassessment of infrastructure capacity and management, including the timing of storage releases, will be necessary to minimize conflicts between competing uses. More flexible water-allocation institutions and management policies, as well as better tools for decision-making under uncertainty, will be required to maximize society's net benefit from scarce water. Effectiveness of incentives for individuals to conserve water, and policies for helping vulnerable populations and sectors prepare for and recover from extreme events, will also need to be improved. This special issue contains seven research articles, which are purposely ordered to follow water's path through the sweep of the hydrologic cycle affecting human decisions and livelihoods: from its origin as snowpack in distant headwaters to its capture in multipurpose reservoirs, and its release for a diverse set of consumptive and non-consumptive uses by millions of downstream producers and consumers. Most of the contributed articles focus on the western United States, which is similar to a number of semi-arid regions in the world where water largely originates as mountain snowpack. Spring and summer snowmelt slowly seeps into ephemeral streams, which converge into roaring rivers that ultimately recharge aquifers and fill an intricate system of natural and constructed reservoirs. Society faces a complex set of decisions to manage the water in these storage basins, requiring difficult tradeoffs in allocating a scarce supply across the demands of numerous stakeholders. Depending on its timing and intensity, water can be a productive asset or a destructive natural force. Constructed reservoirs help dampen the effects of too much water or too


It is hypothesized that human faces judged to be attractive by people possess two features--averageness and symmetry-that promoted adaptive mate selection in human evolutionary history by way of production of offspring with parasite resistance. Facial composites made by combining individual faces are judged to be attractive, and more attractive than the majority of individual faces. The composites possess both symmetry and averageness of features. Facial averageness may reflect high individual protein heterozygosity and thus an array of proteins to which parasites must adapt. Heterozygosity may be an important defense of longlived hosts against parasites when it occurs in portions of the genome that do not code for the essential features of complex adaptations. In this case heterozygosity can create a hostile microenvironment for parasites without disrupting adaptation. Facial bilateral symmetry is hypothesized to affect positive beauty judgments because symmetry is a certification of overall phenotypic quality and developmental health, which may be importantly influenced by parasites. Certain secondary sexual traits are influenced by testosterone, a hormone that reduces immunocompetence. Symmetry and size of the secondary sexual traits of the face (e.g., cheek bones) are expected to correlate positively and advertise immunocompetence honestly and therefore to affect positive beauty iudgments. Facial attractiveness is predicted to correlate with attractive, nonfacial secondary sexual traits; other predictions from the view that parasite-driven selection led to the evolution of psychological adaptations of human


The rise of data traffic is a main trend in today's mobile networks but increases the power consumption as a price. In this paper, we aim to optimize the power consumption of downlink multi-user small-cell networks (SCNs) taking the quality of service (QoS) requirements of all the users into account. First we use semi-definite relaxation technique to transform the power consumption optimization problem into a convex problem, then obtain the optimal solution and insights on the interplay of the design parameters like the number of users, the number of antennas and the QoS value by using toolbox CVX. Simulation results show that our optimization is effective. Moreover, we show that the power consumption can be further reduced by applying antenna selection algorithm when the number of antennas is larger than the number of users per small-cell access point.


Objective To observe the role of nonadrenergic noncholinergic nerve in airway microvascular leakage induced by cold sodium chloride intra-oesophageal instillation in guinea pigs. Methods Guinea pigs were anaesthetised with pentobarbital sodium, a catheter was placed in the midoesophagus and distal esophagus, infusion of 4℃ NS into the esophagus. Introvenous injection of atropine and propanolol to block the cholinergic and adrenergic nerves according to the groups. The microvascular leakage of trachea,main bronchus,bronchiole was examined in the presence and absence of bilateral vagus nerve or NK-1-receptor antagonist FK888. The airway plasma leakage was evaluated by measuring extravasated Evans blue dye. Results Infusion of 4℃ NS into the esophagus significantly increased the tracheal,mainstem bronchial and bronchiolar Evans blue dye concentration ( P<0.01). The tracheal and mainstem bronchial plasma extravasation induced by intra-oesophageal 4℃ NS instillation were significantly inhibited by bilateral vagotomy and FK888 ( P<0.05). Conclusions Cold stimulation in oesophagus can induce airway microvascular leakage, which may be mediated by nonadrenergic noncholinergic nerve.

Key words:
Airway microvascular leakage; Cold stimulation; Substance P antagonist;  Vagus nerve


The invention relates to the technical field of mooring of offshore oil discharging pipelines, in particular to a tensioning type anchor leg buoy of a single-point oil discharging system. The tensioning type anchor leg buoy of the single-point oil discharging system comprises a tensioning type anchor leg buoy body, and the tensioning type anchor leg buoy body comprises a buoyant mooring part. The tensioning type anchor leg buoy of the single-point oil discharging system is structurally characterized in that the buoyant mooring part is cylindrical, and a damping ballast part is arranged at the bottom of the buoyant mooring part and comprises an annular cylinder mounted at the center of the bottom of the buoyant mooring part and a ballast tank. According to the tensioning type anchor leg buoy of the single-point oil discharging system, the scantling draft and the wet surface area are increased, and accordingly the additional mass and additional damp of a structure are improved.


Given a polytope $\mathcal{P}$ in $\mathbb{R}^d$ and a subset $U$ of its vertices, is there a triangulation of $\mathcal{P}$ using $d$-simplices that all contain $U$? We answer this question by proving an equivalent and easy-to-check combinatorial criterion for the facets of $\mathcal{P}$. Our proof relates triangulations of $\mathcal{P}$ to triangulations of its "shadow", a projection to a lower-dimensional space determined by $U$. In particular, we obtain a formula relating the volume of $\mathcal{P}$ with the volume of its shadow. This leads to an exact formula for the volume of a polytope arising in the theory of unit equations.


Environmental monitoring of transportation infrastructure is a critical activity for transportation agencies. Despite advances in wireless instruments and computing capabilities, environmental monitoring technology for highways (e.g., for wildlife occurrence) lags behind that used for traffic. The authors describe the creation of automated methods for web-system processing of photographic monitoring data from cell/wireless-communicating camera systems at purpose-built and opportunistic wildlife crossing structures. The work flow culminated is a common strategy for taking image files from the camera supply chain and automatically creating records in a web-database. In order to integrate the physical camera system into transportation decision-making, environmental monitoring, and stewardship activities, the project was conducted with state DOT technical staff. The combined cell/wireless camera and web-systems represent an advance over traditional remote cameras with desktop databases in that their output is viewable almost instantly on the web via a wireless data transportation service. Although streaming wildlife camera data are not new, "wildlife traffic cameras" have not been previously used before in this way. The authors developed a model system that any DOT could adopt for areas with wired, wireless, or cell system connectivity, including using existing infrastructure to add wildlife monitoring to the data input stream. Systematic collection of wildlife movement information at the "right-of-way" not only benefits long-term and project related stewardship needs, but it also provides an opportunity to share wildlife data and imagery directly with the public. This combination of science and public relations is increasingly important as public knowledge and awareness contributes towards safer wildlife interactions with highways and traffic.


Activated carbon spheres (ACSs) have found many applications in fields such as oral adsorbent
and hemoperfusion.Their most important advantage is that they exert little resistance to the diffusion of liquid and gas when used in fixed-bed reactor due to their uniformly spherical shape and homogeneously packed density.ACSs receive less attention as compared with activated carbon fiber and activated carbon granule.The preparation,properties and applications of the currently available ACSs,as well as their future development trend are reviewed in this paper.


Objective To investigate the relationship of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) with different body mass mdex(BMI) and the severity of OSAHS. Methods Nine children with high BMI, 10 children with low BMI and 25 children with normal BMI which were monitored and diagnosed OSAHS by nocturnal polysonmography(PSG ) ,and the parameters of PSG were analyzed. Results The high BMI group findings were significantly higher AHI(21.61 ± 7.42 vs 11.32±4.16 P 0.01).Higher SLT90%(7.41±4.84 vs 1.99±1.70 P0.01 ),and longer TL( 140.20 ±52.86 w 83.47±42.99 P0.01) and lower SaO2(70.67±8.31 vs 79.9 3±8.30 P0.05) than those in normal BMI group.The low BMI group findings in higher AHI(17. 18±7.43 vs 11 32±4.16 P0.05). Longer TL(113. 50 ± 14. 77 vs 83. 47 ±42. 99 P0.05)than those in normal BMI group. Conclusion The severity of OSAHS with obesity or thin is heavier than normal BMI in children, especially the obese OSAHS children.


While fusing language models (LMs) and knowledge graphs (KGs) has become common in commonsense question answering research, enabling faithful chain-of-thought explanations in these models remains an open problem. One major weakness of current KG-based explanation techniques is that they overlook the faithfulness of generated explanations during evaluation. To address this gap, we make two main contributions: (1) We propose and validate two quantitative metrics - graph consistency and graph fidelity - to measure the faithfulness of KG-based explanations. (2) We introduce Consistent GNN (CGNN), a novel training method that adds a consistency regularization term to improve explanation faithfulness. Our analysis shows that predictions from KG often diverge from original model predictions. The proposed CGNN approach boosts consistency and fidelity, demonstrating its potential for producing more faithful explanations. Our work emphasises the importance of explicitly evaluating suggest a path forward for developing architectures for faithful graph-based explanations.


With the continuous development of photovoltaic power generation technology, its power generation process is characterized by fluctuation and intermittence. In order to make photovoltaic power more stable and grid operation more safe and reliable, it is necessary to predict the output power of photovoltaic power generation. On the basis of analyzing the influencing factors of photovoltaic output, the traditional Back Propagation neural network (BP) power prediction model is optimized and upgraded, and a back propagation neural network power prediction model based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is proposed. The effectiveness of the algorithm is proved by case studies.


This paper outlines the research using autonomous robots conducted by a group of undergraduate engineering students from the University of St. Thomas. The students were able to develop a mutli-floor mapping and navigation system that allowed a robot, named Turtlebot, to give nearly autonomous tours of their multi-floor engineering building. The Turtlebot can effectively traverse the hallways, use the elevator, and play audio files during tours.


Gravity is known to affect heterogeneous combustion in porous media; it is especially appreciable at very low air (oxidizer) flow rates. Effect of gravity on the combustion of porous objects includes not only the force of gravity (gravity field inside the porous object), but also the pressure difference at boundaries of the porous object, which is caused by the action of gravity on the ambient air if the open borders of the object are located at different heights. In this work, it has been studied numerically how the gravity field inside the porous object and the above-mentioned pressure difference at the object boundaries affect the combustion process in the object. It is revealed that the gravity field inside the porous object and the pressure difference at object boundaries lead to opposite effects: the pressure difference on object borders leads to the propagation of the combustion wave in the same direction and the same mode as in the vertical porous object, but the gravity field leads to the spread of the wave in the opposite direction or in a different mode. In the vertical porous object the pressure difference at object boundaries defeats the effect of gravity field inside the porous object, but the gravity force leads to reducing the velocity of combustion wave.


Featured with fast response abilities and high ramp rates, energy storage systems (ESS), such as pumped-storage hydropower (PSH) plants and battery storage systems (BSS), are considered as key first-responders to provide spinning reserve in response to system contingencies. However, ESSs are energy-limited resources, and their sustained spinning reserve deployment is restricted by the stored energy and available capacity. Indeed, the spinning reserve deployment against contingencies may deviate actual state-of-charge (SOC) from the scheduled value, inducing potential SOC boundary violations and non-dispatchability in later hours. This paper proposes the post-contingency operation model and the spinning reserve secure constraints to address these issues. The post-contingency operation model describes that spinning reserve from ESSs is promptly deployed when contingency occurs, and then gradually substituted by quick-start units when they are switched online. By leveraging this operation strategy, spinning reserve secure constraints in terms of SOC headrooms are adopted to guarantee its deployability. A modified IEEE 118-bus system with multiple PSHs and BSSs is used to verify the proposed approach.


Many social workers feel unprepared to work with drug users. The authors suggest that normal social work skills are as applicable to work with drug users as they are to any other client group. This book aims to provide the necessary background based on the authors' many years of experience in a variety of drug agencies, to allow social workers to intervene successfully.


A method of providing television program information for a user that comprises the steps of: receiving the television guide information from a first source of the transmitted programs; receive the information from the television guide from a second source of the programs broadcast; merge a television programming guide from the first and second mentioned information of the television guide; display the television programming guide including a list of a plurality of television programs; and receive a user selection from the list of a list of television programs associated with a particular television program available at the time of the selection of the first source of the programs broadcast in a contemporary manner, to locate other cases of the show in in particular, store the user's selection and even if other cases of the program are not present in particular in the guide, provide alerts for the user when the cases of the program are added to the guide, and also comprising one of the steps of tuning the source of the program that is transporting the television programs in particular, and the recording stage of the program.


A low-cost, high-yield technology for producing single-crystal silicon solar cells at high volumes, and suitable for export to developing countries, is described. The process begins with 100 mm diameter as-sawn single-crystal p-type wafers with one primary flat. Processing steps include etching and surface texturization, gaseous-source diffusion, plasma etching, and contacting via screen printing. The necessary adaptations of such standard processes as diffusion and plasma etching to solar-cell production are detailed. New process developments include a high-throughput surface-texturization technique, and automatic printing and firing of cell contacts.The technology, coupled with automated equipment developed specifically for the purpose, results in solar cells with an average efficiency greater than 12%, a yield exceeding 95%, a tight statistical spread on parameters, and a wide tolerance to starting substrates (including the first 100 mm diameter wafers made in Canada). It is shown that with minor modif...


In order to give play to the growth pole of the Pear River Delta in the development of China's economy and to realize the full coordination development in the Pear River basin,the feasibility of economic cooperation and the economic effects in the Pearl River basin were analyzed. A specific economic cooperation mode for the Pear River basin was proposed:the construction of infrastructures as the basis,the Pearl River Delta as the leader,the capital cities such as Guiyang,Kunming and Nanning as the growth poles,and the economic zone of the Pearl River basin as the main axis.


Current specifications require the removal of reinforcing bar contaminants that reduce bond prior to placing concrete. This study focused on the interactions of contaminant type, bar size, epoxy coating, concrete strength, and test method (beam and direct pullout). The majority of the beam tests showed the bond strength was not significantly affected, with certain exceptions. However, the direct pullout tests revealed a significant reduction of bond strength in most situations. Although the bond strength was still greater than that required by code, it is recommended that specifications for removal of contaminants should not be relaxed until further study is performed.


The role of the public transport system as promoter of social inclusion is gaining increasing attention in the fields of transport policy and planning. This is especially relevant in areas traditionally characterized by high levels of poverty and structural inequalities where it can be a decisive element in the reduction of social exclusion. This paper evaluates the topic through an innovative methodology based on index comparison. Firstly, a traditional accessibility index is used which considers the access time to public transport stops, and secondly an Index of Transport Social Disadvantage is proposed. It includes the transport disadvantage factors of the populations, such as disability, old age, low income, unemployment and pre-school children. These transport disadvantage characteristics have been divided into two groups: the first includes the disadvantage characteristics distributed equally. In the second group, the disadvantaged groups in transport with an unequal territorial distribution are taken into account. The Gini index is used to ascertain the differences in these groups. This method facilitates the identification of the unequal distribution of transport disadvantage and therefore, social exclusion. The consideration of the two indexes, access time and transport social disadvantages, will find the areas not only with low accessibility levels, but also with high levels of population with transport disadvantages, thereby assessing social exclusion linked with public transport. This methodology is applied to the public operated transport system of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, Mexico. Its development reveals which areas are affected by the under provision of public transport as well as the population characterized by transport social disadvantage, which together give a clear indicator of the situation of social exclusion linked to the public transport system.


This study examines how visual resource management functions in three community forests in British Columbia. We interpret the findings through the lens of visible stewardship theory that encourages care for forest landscape values and making visible the evidence of management activities. We conducted visual quality effectiveness evaluations on each of the forests to assess achievement of Visual Quality Objectives determined by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development. In addition, we interviewed forest staff and community members to collect data on their aesthetic values and insights. Findings reveal that the community forests are managing scenic quality well and that the dominant aesthetic values identified by community members are reflected in the practices of forest managers. These values and practices appear reasonably consistent with the principles of visible stewardship, demonstrating care of the forest resource, safeguarding ecological values, and helping ensure the compatibility of management objectives with local aesthetic and cultural perceptions.


Large-scale electrolytic production of hydrogen, as the most important energy carrier, requires low-cost and easily available electrocatalysts. Herein, different tungsten-inert gas (TIG) welding electrodes, namely, pure tungsten (W), zirconiated tungsten (W-Zr), ceriated tungsten (W-Ce) and lanthanated tungsten (W-La) electrodes, are introduced as low-cost, green and pH-universal electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The morphology, microstructure and composition of these electrodes have been investigated using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and elemental mapping techniques. The electrocatalytic activity of the electrodes has been studied under acidic, basic and neutral conditions using linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), open circuit potential (OCP) measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and the values of the onset potential (Eonset), overpotential at 10 mA cm−2 (η10), Tafel slope, OCP and charge transfer resistance (Rct) have been obtained for each electrode. It can be claimed that among all the studied electrodes, the W-La electrode shows the best electrocatalytic performance according to the values of Eonset, η10, OCP, and Rct.


Welding joint was formed on a U-style groove in the middle of gray cast iron bar using the welding rods of alloying gray cast iron and the joint microstructure was investigated.The microstructure is sensitive to the composition of welding rod.The micro-alloying treatment can realize high strength metallurgical welding between welded and matrix metal,the alloying element promotes the graphitization of welded,avoiding the formation of chill microstructure and welding crack.The tensile strength of joint is higher than base materials and the hardness of the joint approaches to that of base metal.The joint has good machinability.The controllable chemical composition of micro-alloying cast iron rods can satisfy the welding demands of variety iron casting.


Every advance in understanding the effects of exposure to political violence on children relies on the active engagement of girls and boys, whose decision to participate in research can present countless risks. Nevertheless, children's participation in research is critical for scientific advancement. It can also confer benefits to participants, their families, and the services, programs, and policies designed to safeguard their well-being. This chapter reviews the risks, methodological challenges, and potential benefits of engaging child participants in research on political violence in order to inform ongoing discussion and reflection about best practices in this field. The chapter discusses key principles guiding ethical research with children before exploring several exemplary research processes advanced by colleagues in the field, which highlight the different ways that these principles can be applied and built on. The chapter concludes by reflecting on ongoing challenges and potential new directions for research practice in this field.


In this study we investigated the effect of strength training in patients with limb‐girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD).


This analysis is divided into three parts. Part I describes and compares a traditional system of proscriptive regulation, a pollution-permit scheme, and a mixed permit-regulation system. The part concludes that a pollution-permit approach alone cannot be offered as an alternative to proscriptive regulation. Limited applications of the marketable permit concept, however, may be employed effectively in conjunction with proscriptive regulation. Such a mixed system is superior to either a permit or proscriptive regulation regime alone. Part II considers the current regulatory framework under the Clean Air Act and EPA's mixed system, known as controlled trading. The analysis concludes that the controlled trading initiative has, to date, failed to reduce appreciably the cost of pollution abatement and has been largely inoperative. Part III proposes several alternative regimes. It suggests that the present limitations on transactions involving sources subject to New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and nonattainment regulations should be relaxed. Rather than focusing on formal program distinctions, EPA should examine each transaction individually. The trade should be approved if the polluter meets its burden of showing the verifiability of the trade and EPA determines that it has the capability to enforce the transaction.


To optimize the design of a water mist fire suppression system or to provide input data and validation data for field models, the characteristics of the water mist field are needed. This data typically consists of the distribution of droplet sizes and velocities. In this research a LS2000 Laser Sizer has been proposed to simultaneously determine spray characteristics of 408 kinds of self‐developed nozzles for fire suppression. The results of LS2000 Laser Sizer measurements to characterize the water mist produced by nozzles for suppressing pool fire are presented. These data can provide a foundation to the design and optimization of additive‐containing WMFSS. To explore the effect of the water pressure on the droplet size distribution and spray velocity, data from three typical pressures of 0.9MPa, 1.2MPa and 1.5MPa have been obtained. With the measured average size and distribution of droplets, a comparison between three nozzles was made in the pressure of 1.5MPa to investigate the influence of the nozzle...


The denial of the institutionalization of political power by various civilian as well as martial law regimes has been a constant problem in Pakistan. Muhammad Ali Jinnah was the first person who could do so in an effective manner, but his eternal departure in the early phase of the history of Pakistan changed the entire course of the country, and the successor leadership had to pursue self-serving politics just to prolong their rule. The same is the case with the rule of General Pervaiz Musharraf (1999-2008), which converted the parliamentary system envisaged by the 1973 constitution of Pakistan into a quasi-presidential system just to prolong the military dictatorship. The subsequent rule of the Pakistan Peoples' Party (2008-2013) was a tough period for the political leadership since the preceding dictatorship had completely altered the socio-political landscape of the country; however, the political wisdom of Mr. Asif Ali Zardari helped the country to sail smoothly during the aftershocks of the martial law regime. In that perspective, the current study intends to analyze the political developments in Pakistan during the third rule of the Pakistan Peoples' Party over the country during the period 2008-2013.


Aim: evaluation of the incidence of COVID-19 infection after three-component H. pylori eradication therapy while taking N-acetyl-glucosaminyl-N-acetyl-muramyl dipeptide (GMDP).Materials and methods. A prospective randomized comparative clinical study was carried out. The study included 208 patients (147 men, 61 women; mean age — 48.1 ± 14.5 years) with duodenal ulcer associated with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) who underwent eradication therapy. H. pylori in the gastric mucosa was detected by a morphological method and a rapid urease test before treatment and 6-8 weeks after the end of treatment and the withdrawal of all drugs. Patients were divided into three groups according to treatment protocols: omeprazole 0.04 g/day, clarithromycin 1 g/day, amoxicillin 2 g/day (OСA; n = 103); omeprazole 0.04 g/day, clarithromycin 1 g/day, amoxicillin 2 g/day + GMDP 0.001 g/day (OCAL1; n = 61) or 0.01 g/day (OCAL10; n = 44) for 10 days. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA by PCR was carried out from April 2020 to April 2022. Tracking completeness was 96.6 %.Results. The frequency of H. pylori eradication depending on "intention to treat" (ITT) and "per protocol" (PP): OCA — 79 % (95 % CI: 71-87) and 83 % (95 % CI: 75-91); OCAL1 — 95 % (95 % CI: 88-100) and 97 % (95 % CI: 92-100); OCAL10 — 96 % (95 % CI: 89-100) and 98 % (95 % CI: 93-100) respectively. The frequency of adverse reactions depending on ITT and PP: OCA — 24 % (95 % CI: 16-33) and 26 % (95 % CI: 17-35); OCAL1 — 2 % (95 % CI: 0.01-8) and 2 % (95 % CI: 0.01-8); OCAL10 — 2 % (95 % CI: 0.01-7) and 2 % (95 % CI: 0.01-7). The incidence of COVID-19 infection depending on ITT and PP: OCA — 9 % (95 % CI: 3-14) and 9 % (95 % CI: 3-15); OCAL1 + OCAL10 — 1 % (95 % CI: 0.003-1.9) and 1 % (95 % CI: 0.001-2.9), respectively.Conclusions. In H. pylori-infected patients, GMDP (an immunomodulator based on L. bulgaricus) at a dose of 1-10 mg/day, during a 10-day triple eradication therapy, allows a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the frequency of H. pylori eradication and reduce the incidence of adverse reactions compared with a 10-day protocol without adjuvant therapy with GMDP. There was a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in the incidence of COVID-19 infection after H. pylori eradication therapy with GMDP.