Sequence, rate and duration of moult were studied in captive bred European Quail Coturnix coturnix coturnix. The founder population originated from southwest France. The study was conducted between 1986 and 1989 on birds aged from 1 day to 2 years, exposed to a seasonal photoperiod corresponding to latitude 16°N during autumn and winter and latitude 48°N during the remainder of the year. Under these conditions, adult quail showed two annual moults with only the post-breeding one being complete. The pre-breeding moult essentially involved the throat feathers. Large interindividual variation was observed in the duration, timing and development of the post-breeding moult: 60% of the studied birds suspended moult when they developed migratory restlessness and then finished renewing their feathers during the winter. The post-juvenile moult was also suspended when 7–9 weeks old (3–6 primaries and 1–10 secondaries renewed). After this suspension, the length of which was related to the hatching date, the moult continued up to p7. The three outer primaries were kept for the first year and were replaced only during the post-breeding moult. Based on the examination of wing patterns, our study provides reliable criteria for discriminating between age classes. The numbers of primaries and secondaries simultaneously in growth or renewed were different between the age classes. The secondaries of adults were renewed later in the moult stage than were the secondaries of juveniles. These criteria provide field researchers with a guide that enables them to age quail with reasonable accuracy.


Background Primary pituitary lymphoma (PPL) is an extremely rare disease with poor prognosis. Although PPL has been shown to be different from classical primary central nervous system lymphoma because of the embryological origin of structures, individual and precise treatment of PPL remains unknown. Methods A 61-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman both diagnosed with primary pituitary diffuse large B cell lymphoma underwent genetic analysis of cerebrospinal fluid and tumor tissue by next generation sequencing. Results In the first case, partial remission was achieved following R²-MTX chemotherapy. In the other case with TP53 mutation and BCL6-LPP fusion, disease progressed although different chemotherapy regimens were given. Conclusion The gene mutation of TP53 and BCL6 may be identified as a marker responsible for prognostic difference in patients with PPL. Genetic analysis may provide a novel approach for precise management and prognosis prediction.


Abstract Background  Numerous studies have examined the clinical effectiveness of transforaminal full endoscopic lumbar diskectomy (T-FELD) and interlaminar full endoscopic lumbar diskectomy (I-FELD) for L5–S1 lumbar disk herniation (LDH), with mixed findings. The goal of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the perioperative outcomes, clinical results, and complications of T-FELD and I-FELD to determine their efficacy and safety for treating L5–S1 LDH and to examine the features of complications in depth. Methods  Several databases were searched for articles that matched all of the inclusion criteria. The visual analog scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were used to assess the clinical results. Information on perioperative outcomes and complications was gathered and analyzed. Results  Eight studies with 756 participants were included. There were no significant differences in postoperative bed time ( p  = 0.44) and hospitalization time ( p  = 0.49) between T-FELD and I-FELD. When compared with I-FELD, T-FELD was associated with substantially longer fluoroscopy time ( p  < 0.0001) and operating time ( p  < 0.0001). There were no significant differences in the preoperative and postoperative VAS and ODI scores between T-FELD and I-FELD. The rates for overall complications, postoperative dysesthesia, postoperative lower extremity pain, incomplete decompression, recurrence, and conversion to open surgery were comparable for T-FLED and I-FELD. Conclusion  T-FELD and I-FELD had equal clinical results and safety for treatment of L5–S1 LDH. Fluoroscopy and operative times were shorter for I-FELD than for T-FELD.


This issue focuses on the notion of large-scale opportunistic sensing. This topic is particularly relevant today, with intense interest across the pervasive computing community as well as a wide range of other disciplines that are beginning to appreciate the power of pervasive sensing as a tool to inform their own research agendas. Also featured are three regular articles and five departments covering recent conferences, initiatives in pervasive education and wearable computing, developments on the Android platform, and innovations in the pervasive computing product space.


1. The S.A. 56/58 Ultimate data (see J.I.A. Vol. 87 , p. 371) was originally graduated by summation formula and arising out of the discussions it was decided to attempt to fit a mathematical formula of the Perks type. 2. To start with, data below age 30 were excluded. 3. The generalized Perks formula was chosen—the thought being that if some of the parameters were not needed the process of curve fitting would result in these parameters assuming small values.


Riculorampha ancyloides Rota & Brown, gen. n., sp. n. from Florida, is described and illustrated. Th e type series was reared from the fruit of redbay, Persea borbonia (Lauraceae). Th e new genus is assigned provisionally to the Dichrorampha-group of genera (Grapholitini) on the basis of the following characters: forewing termen with a row of black dots, forewing fringe with a shallow subapical notch, hindwing veins R s and M 1 separate and parallel or subparallel, female frenulum with two bristles, and corpus bursae with a single signum. Th e last character is shared with Dichrorampha Guenee, Ricula Heinrich, Riculoides Pastrana, and Goditha Heinrich.


The powder of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and the plate electrodes of ultrahigh capacitor made of CNTs were treated by strong acid. Experimental results indicated that the ratio of amorphous carbon in the powder of CNTs was lowered, the dispersity of the powder of CNTs was advanced, and several kinds of functional group were added on the surfaces of CNTs. Moreover, the specific area of plate electrodes was increased, the aperture distribution was improved. These variations resulted in the obvious advancement of the capacity properties of ultrahigh capacitor.


The private decisions of the five "Big Tech" ("BT") companies (Facebook, Apple, Alphabet Inc, Amazon and Microsoft) have very public results as they play a significant role in social, economic and political life. This article explores the purpose of these companies in the context of the current debate about corporate purpose in order to understand their role in society and to explore how they should be governed. The concept of "purpose" has a number of meanings depending on the different contexts and the different disciplines involved in the study. Part II of the article examines the notion of corporate purpose which forms part of a wide-ranging and topical debate as to the interests which should be taken into account by boards in making operational decisions. Often the choice in managing or overseeing the management of the company is framed as a binary choice between acting in the interests of shareholders or acting in the interests of broader stakeholder constituents. In reality, the issue is more nuanced and complex and the quest for an answer extends into a discussion of company law obligations and directors' duties. The positioning of BT companies in relation to this understanding of purpose is then reviewed. Part III of the article examines what may be viewed as a managerial corporate purpose concept. This constitutes a tool to guide management and to signal "the direction and the reason for the company's existence". The use by BT companies of this tool is explored and its usefulness evaluated. Finally, Part IV of the article considers three policy proposals which might be considered in the area of corporate governance: the application of board suitability requirements; the introduction of a public benefit purpose and the use of public interest directors.


Movable reserves is the foundation of performance analysis and dynamic index p rediction of gas well or gas reservoir.Material balance,production decline analysis and nonstabilized well test analysis are the proven methods calculating dynamic reserves of gas reservoirs.Taking Zizhou-and-Mizhi gas filed as an examp le,app lication condi2 tions and characteristics of different calculating methods are discussed.Movable reserves in Zizhouand -Mizhi gas field can be determined by analyzing the calculations.


The invention discloses a production method for a glazed brick with a matte effect. The production method comprises the following procedures of ball-milling and iron removal of raw materials; spray granulation; cloth forming; drying; ground coat application; printing decoration; cover coat application; baking; polishing; edging. The production method is characterized in that the polishing procedure comprises the following steps of 1) performing polishing by using an elastic grinding block as a polishing grinding tool, wherein a polishing medium of the elastic grinding block is a grinding compound adhered by resin, and the fineness of the grinding compound is 100 to 320 meshes; 2) performing polishing by using a grinding wiper as the polishing grinding tool, wherein bristles for polishing and grinding are arranged on the grinding wiper, and consist of hard plastics and a grinding compound, and the fineness of the grinding compound is 150 to 400 meshes; 3) performing polishing by using a polishing piece as the polishing grinding tool, wherein a polishing medium of the polishing piece is a grinding compound combined with fibers, and the fineness of the grinding compound is 200 to 600 meshes. The obtained glazed brick has the matte effect and good stain resisting effects, and is free of scratches.


Photograph of a windmill on top of a small fort in Big Bend. Various sparse bushes surround it and a rocky hillside is to the right of the fort. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "The presence of a United States Army fort in the Big Bend encouraged more settlers to ranch" (p. 5).


Significance Generation of new neurons occurs normally in the adult brain in two locations: the subventricular zone (SVZ) in the walls of the lateral ventricles and the subgranular zone (SGZ) in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus. Neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus has been implicated in cognitive functions such as learning, memory, and recovery of stress response. Imprinted genes are highly prevalent in the brain and have adult and developmental important functions. Genetic deletion of the imprinted gene Dlk1 from either parental allele shows that DLK1 is a key mediator of quiescence in adult hippocampal NSCs. Additionally, Dlk1 is exquisitely dosage sensitive in the brain with perturbations in levels resulting in impaired NSCs function and cognitive phenotypes. Neurogenesis in the adult brain gives rise to functional neurons, which integrate into neuronal circuits and modulate neural plasticity. Sustained neurogenesis throughout life occurs in the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus in the hippocampus and is hypothesized to be involved in behavioral/cognitive processes such as memory and in diseases. Genomic imprinting is of critical importance to brain development and normal behavior, and exemplifies how epigenetic states regulate genome function and gene dosage. While most genes are expressed from both alleles, imprinted genes are usually expressed from either the maternally or the paternally inherited chromosome. Here, we show that in contrast to its canonical imprinting in nonneurogenic regions, Delta-like homolog 1 (Dlk1) is expressed biallelically in the SGZ, and both parental alleles are required for stem cell behavior and normal adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus. To evaluate the effects of maternally, paternally, and biallelically inherited mutations within the Dlk1 gene in specific behavioral domains, we subjected Dlk1-mutant mice to a battery of tests that dissociate and evaluate the effects of Dlk1 dosage on spatial learning ability and on anxiety traits. Importantly, reduction in Dlk1 levels triggers specific cognitive abnormalities that affect aspects of discriminating differences in environmental stimuli, emphasizing the importance of selective absence of imprinting in this neurogenic niche.


The Choquet integral has been applied in data mining, such as nonlinear multiregressions and nonlinear classifications. Adopting signed efficiency measures in the Choquet integral makes the models more powerful. Another idea for generalizing the above-mensioned models is to use a linear core in the Choquet integral. This has been successfully used in nonlinear mulregression. However, there is a uniqueness problem for presenting the Choquet integral in classification models such that it is difficult to explain the exact contribution rate from each individual attributes, as well as their combinations, towards the target. In this work, an additional restriction on the parameters is given to guarantee the uniqueness of the expression.


Metal components subjected to cyclic stress develop surface-evident defects (microcracks, slip bands, etc). Monitoring the formation and evolution of these fatigue damage precursors (FDPs) with increasing numbers of cycles can be an effective tool for determining the fatigue state of the component, which can be used in remaining fatigue life prognostics. In this paper a laser scanning technique for FDP detection is described and experimental results from examination of specimens of several metal types are presented. This technique is based on scanning a focused laser beam over the specimen surface and detecting variations in the characteristics of the scattered light signal. These variations can indicate the presence of surface abnormalities and therefore can be associated with fatigue damage formation. Particular patterns of spatial, angular, and optical characteristics can be used to identify and discriminate many types of FDP, which can provide a means to enhance the accuracy of surface defect frequency estimates and to eliminate the false counts that typically occur on surfaces in uncontrolled environments. Experiments during fatigue testing in the laboratory have shown that the technique can produce a defect frequency estimate that relates well to remaining fatigue life, but previous experiments showed large "plateau" regions, in which the slow defect frequency change made life estimation difficult. New data collection and analysis techniques have therefore been developed, and new experiments have been performed to test the ability of this modified approach to improve the utility of defect frequency measurements over the whole of fatigue life.


Background: Delirium is a common postoperative complication after cardiac surgery. The relationship between delirium and cardiac function has not been fully elucidated. Aims: The aim of this study was to identify the association between preoperative cardiac function and delirium among patients after cardiac surgery. Methods: We prospectively recruited 635 cardiac surgery patients with a planned cardiac intensive care unit admission. Postoperative delirium was diagnosed using the confusion assessment method for the intensive care unit. Preoperative cardiac function was assessed using N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), New York Heart Association functional classification and left ventricular ejection fraction. Results: Delirium developed in 73 patients (11.5%) during intensive care unit stay. NT-proBNP level (odds ratio (OR) 1.24, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01–1.52) and New York Heart Association functional classification (OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.27–4.31) were both independently associated with the occurrence of delirium after adjusting for various confounders. The OR of delirium increased with increasing NT-proBNP levels after the turning point of 7.8 (log-transformed pg/ml). The adjusted regression coefficients were 1.19 (95% CI 0.95–1.49, P=0.134) for NT-proBNP less than 7.8 (log-transformed pg/ml) and 2.78 (95% CI 1.09–7.12, P=0.033) for NT-proBNP greater than 7.8 (log-transformed pg/ml). No association was found between left ventricular ejection fraction and postoperative delirium. Conclusion: Preoperative cardiac function parameters including NT-proBNP and New York Heart Association functional classification can predict the incidence of delirium following cardiac surgery. We suggest incorporating an early determination of preoperative cardiac function as a readily available risk assessment for delirium prior to cardiac surgery.


....................................................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ ix ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................ x CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 1 1.1 Background of the Study ......................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 Macroeconomic Variables ....................................................................................... 2 1.1.2 Financial Performance ............................................................................................. 7 1.1.3 Effects of Macroeconomic Variables on Financial Performance ............................ 9 1.1.4 Aviation Industry in Kenya .................................................................................... 11 1.2 Research Problem .................................................................................................. 15 1.3 Research Objective ................................................................................................ 17 1.4 Value of the Study ................................................................................................. 17 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................... 18 2.


AbstractThe Conative Domain, a domain of behaviors associated with striving, provides a framework for examining goal-oriented behaviors of academic achieving (GPA of 3.25 and above) and non-achieving (GPA of 1.99 and below) students at the middle school level. All sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students at the Washington Park Middle School, Washington, PA, set school-related goals during the 1986-87 school year within the context of a structured study skills/guidance program. At the close of the year, students were administered the Goal Orientation Index. Significant goal-oriented behaviors were identified across the three grades that distinguish academic achieving students from non-achieving students. Case study data provide additional support for the premise that students who set academic goals for themselves achieve them.


Abstract : We have utilized germline mutagenesis to dissect innate immune sensing and effector pathways, and have made a number of important findings related to the mechanism of TLR signal transduction. In particular, we were able to solve the molecular basis of MyD88-independent signaling. and to determine the cause of adjuvanticity (signaling via Trif and the production of type I interferons). Finally, our work has led to the first realization of the importance of the TLR9 -> MyD88 signaling axis and the TLR3 -> Trif signaling axis in responses to MCMV. These discoveries have important implications for the further study of innate resistance to both viral and bacterial infections, for the development of vaccines, and for the design of molecular sensors of infection.


Three new algorithms for signal reconstruction from spectral magnitude are presented. The first describes the reconstruction of a signal from its discrete Fourier transform (DFT) magnitude and half of its samples using the decimation-in-time FFT algorithm which results in a closed-form solution for the unknown data. The second is based on localized Fourier transform magnitudes and a single spatial sample to fully reconstruct an image. The process reconstructs equal-sized image blocks, until the entire image is restored, using the spatial sample as initial data. The third scheme is a modification of the Gerchberg-Saxton iterative approach to image reconstruction. From the separability property of the 2-D DFT, an intermediate Fourier domain arises, and the reconstruction algorithm may impose twice as many Fourier magnitude constraints, compared to the conventional approach. The three algorithms are analyzed, and simulation results in the presence of measurement errors are presented.


Carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase) was purified from the mid-gut gland of a marine mollusc, Patinopecten yessoensis. The enzyme hydrolyzed CMC in a semi-acidic condition with maximal hydrolytic activity at pH 6.0 and 35°C. The monomeric protein was observed to have an Mr value of 43 K (SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis). Inactivation of the enzyme by EDTA was reversed by Ca2+ and Mg2+. The enzyme did not act on p-nitrophenyl β-glucoside, laminarin, or xylan. Crystalline cellulose and cellooligosaccharides such as cellotriose, cellotetraose, and cellopentaose were negligibly hydrolyzed. These results suggest that the Patinopecten 43 K-CMCase could be a 1,4-β-endoglucanase rather than a cellulase.


This document relates to a rhythm action game using the, more particularly, the keypad is implemented in the terminal of the rhythm action game. Rhythm action game disclosed in this publication is characterized in that a user and determines the game mode and the number of associated keys that are used to align the note images, thereby to determine the difficulty level of the game. In addition, users of the game performed by the game notes of the performance results in the characteristic that you can tell through vibration as well as images. In addition, further characterized in that the number of the synchronization of musical reproduction and the right image output terminal to provide the model-specific sync information. Rhythm action games


Generation of noise caused by the flow around a cylinder and its control are important in various engineering applications. Based on computational fluid dynamics with acoustic analogy and the vortex dynamics theory analysis, this study aims at investigating the ability of the wavy cylinder in improving aerodynamic performance and reducing aerodynamic noise. Noise control mechanisms with different Reynolds numbers are analyzed. The results show that the wavy cylinder is helpful for the reduction of the average drag coefficient and is efficient in suppressing fluctuation of the lift coefficient; consequently, the overall noise of the wavy cylinder is reduced. Specifically, the tonal noise is significantly suppressed or even eliminated under proper configurations. To explore the underlying noise suppression mechanisms, the process of vorticity generation around the wavy cylinder surface is examined in detail. The vorticity distribution on the surface of the wavy cylinder is profoundly improved, and the distribution of the boundary vorticity flux and boundary enstrophy flux is also remarkably weakened. As a result, the generation of vorticity near the wavy cylinder wall is diminished. These directly lead to a significant contraction of the vortex structure distribution in the wavy cylinder wake, especially for some large-scale vortex structures. Moreover, periodic vortex shedding is significantly suppressed in the case with high Reynolds numbers, which might be the main reasons for noise reduction. The interaction area of the positive and negative Lamb vector divergence, which is closely related to the noise generation, is decreased. This contributes to drag reduction and noise attenuation. This indicates that drag reduction and noise suppression are closely bounded in the wavy cylinder.


Abstract Information is given on the distribution and ecology of amphibians in the Pollino National Park, based on a summary of the data contained in the Herpetology Laboratory database at the Ecology Department (University of Calabria) and updated with information obtained during recent sampling. A total of 412 stations was monitored revealing the presence of 11 amphibian species. Two of these (Bombina pachypus, Salamandrina terdigitata) are included in annex II and six (Rana italica, R. dalmatina, Hyla intermedia, Bufo viridis, Triturus italicus, T. carnifex) in annex IV of the 'Habitat' directive. Some species represent interesting Italian (T. carnifex, H. intermedia), Apennine (B. pachypus, R. italica, S. terdigitata) and southern Italian (T. italicus) endemisms, which further valorize the heritage of the Park's fauna. For each species the state of conservation was checked and evaluated in order to propose suitable strategies for protection.


The seeds of split fruit of Dendrobium nobile Lindl were used in bacteria-free treatment and culture on the improved KC cultue medium. The research showed seed sprouted into protocorm, which differentiated intos eedling. Besides, the protocorm, seedling and stem bud were preserved in a freezing condition and microthermal condition. The final study showed the differential rate of protocorm under freezing preservation was 51 %, the survival rate of seedling and stem bud were 35 % and 43 % respectively; the differential rate of protocorm under microthermal preservation was 75 %, the survival rate of seedling and stem bud were 95 % and 97 % respectively.


Background: Bladder catheterization is one of the most frequent procedures in Urology, but it is not exempt from complications.
Relevance: Unintentional Foley catheter placement in the ureter is a rare occurrence that can produce serious complications. Few cases are described in the literature.
Case report: We present herein two cases of inadvertent Foley catheter balloon inflation in the ureter. Case 1: an 85-year-old-patient with an indwelling Foley catheter was admitted to our emergency department due to abdominal pain in the hypogastrium, dysuria, and diagnosis of septic shock from extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli. Case 2: a 75-year-old patient underwent transurethral resection of the bladder and presented with persistent hematuria and abdominal pain in the postoperative period.
Conclusion: Unintentional urinary catheter placement in the ureter is an unusual complication and a diagnostic challenge that should be suspected in the presence of abdominal pain after bladder catheterization.


We read with great interest the article by Winner et al1in theArchives. This is the first study on sumatriptan and dihydroergotamine, both administered subcutaneously. One previous study,2published in abstract form, reported on subcutaneous sumatriptan and low-dose intranasal dihydroergotamine and did not allow any reliable conclusion regarding comparison of the 2 drugs. Moreover, since sumatriptan costs more than dihydroergotamine, others3have recently raised the question of whether the advantages of sumatriptan could offset this price difference. The results of the study by Winner et al confirm the clinical impression that subcutaneous sumatriptan and dihydroergotamine are equally effective in aborting migraine attacks, although sumatriptan showed a speedier effect than dihydroergotamine, which in turn got a longer-lasting effect (probably because of its longer half-life). Previous studies reported that subcutaneous sumatriptan produces significant relief of headache at 10 minutes after treatment compared with placebo, with 50% of patients


353 1 Individual and Group Supervisor, Derner Institute for Advanced Psychological Studies, and private practice, New York. Correspondence should be addressed to Sherry D. Breslau, PhD, CGP, 295 Central Park West, Office 3, New York, NY 10024. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com. It was refreshing to read Walter Stone's thoughts on positive sibling relationships in group. I agree that our associations to these relationships tend to lean in the other direction. In fact, when I read Lee's request for responses to Walter's essay on siblings in groups, my first associations were to envy, rivalry, and resentment. Walter's comments are well stated. I did not need to think long and hard to come up with my own group examples of nurturing, protectiveness, and warmth between group members who have longed to capture, or sometimes recapture, earlier relationships with their brothers or sisters. In fact, don't we often count on these very positive attitudes to carry our groups through difficult feelings and interactions? His article also brings to mind the less obvious, more complex dynamics between group "siblings," so I'd like to share a current example from my ongoing group. For the purposes of this brief article, many complexities will be left out. Debra was referred to my group when she relocated to Manhattan. She could no longer attend her old group elsewhere, and she was not happy with two earlier group therapy referrals in the city. Her initial reaction to me, although quite anxious, was more positive and trusting. She also told me that she would like to terminate with her individual therapist, whom she was still commuting to see in her old location. Other attempts to leave this therapist had been unsuccessful for a variety of reasons. Her extremely ambivalent attachment to this woman was apparent. She hoped to use group as a transition, thinking that perhaps she could actually "take a break" from individual therapy for a while. She gave me permission to consult with the other therapist, and I did. The most salient feature of Debra's life narrative centers on the relationship


Programmable Logic Cell (PLC) timing test is one of the most critical items for post-silicon validation of a new Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) product because it determines the fundamental performance of the FPGA chip. However, it has been very difficult to accurately measure all aspects of PLC segment timing for several practical reasons. First, some segments exhibit merely 100ps delay which places severe requirements on the resolution of the measurement system. Second, some segments are intrinsic elements in a FPGA and cannot be accessed directly from an external measurement port.


This article presents analytical and simulation evaluation of multiple quantum well solar cells (MQWSC) with CdZnO/ZnO as the intrinsic layer, Sb-doped ZnO (SZO) as a p-type layer, and Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) as an n-type layer of the p-i-n solar cell (SC). The material parameters used in this article are obtained from the experimental reports on the properties of ZnO and CdZnO thin films grown by dual-ion-beam sputtering (DIBS). The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards data sheets have been utilized for attaining photon flux density instead of the blackbody radiation formula. The analytically obtained results show good agreement with the simulated results obtained by the ATLAS simulation tool. The variation of device performance parameters is examined for thermal stability. The results show that, for the proposed ZnO-based MQWSC, the open-circuit voltage (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}_{{\text {oc}}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) has a negative temperature coefficient (−2.63 mV/°C), and short-circuit current density (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${J}_{{\text {sc}}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) and conversion efficiency (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\eta }$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) have positive temperature coefficients of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2.43\times 10^{{-{3}}} \,\,{\text {mA}/\text {cm}^{{{2}}}\cdot ^{\circ }}\text{C}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2.91\times 10^{{-{3}}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> %/°C, respectively. Further, the device performance has been explored for variation in the number of quantum wells. The results present that an increase in the number of quantum wells has a negative impact on the performance parameters of ZnO-based MQWSC.


The new Central Corridor light rail line has generated mixed feelings among residents of the Twin Cities who stand to benefit from increased transit access, new development, and greater opportunity to regional resources. On the one hand, many of these residents, representing racially diverse and low-income communities, are looking forward to the promise of this new light rail line and accompanying transit-oriented development: economic opportunity, affordable housing, increased transit access, and public investment in pedestrian safety and streetscaping. On the other hand, many are concerned that the increased desirability of the corridor will increase housing and small business costs, and price current residents out of their homes and businesses. They worry that the social support systems and the ethnic markets they depend on will not be able to withstand the community changes. Still, having largely been the victims of disinvestment, they are hungry to take advantage of this new investment as long as they can be sure that their communities will benefit. Responding to community concerns, three organizations came together to form a unique partnership bringing together community organizing, advocacy, and technical analysis. These organizations set out to engage a diverse set of community groups along the Central Corridor as well as technical experts to assess the potential implications of the proposed transit-oriented development rezoning policy that would set the foundation for development and growth in the corridor. The organizations used a tool called health impact assessment (HIA) to guide their analysis, along with principles of community participatory research and community organizing. HIA is a tool that can infuse the consideration of health and equity outcomes into critical decision-making processes. Using this tool, decision makers can be fully informed of the implications of their decisions on the health of a community prior to implementing changes. Health impact assessments, first pioneered in Europe, are catching on in America as health practitioners, community groups, researchers, and advocates work to prevent ill health before it starts. Research shows deep connections between health outcomes and the built environment—for example, people who live in areas with access to transportation, affordable housing, fresh foods, good schools, and safe parks for physical activity tend to enjoy overall better health and an improved quality of life than those who lack access to those amenities. Stark disparities exist in the built environments of low-income communities versus affluent communities. This disparity is reflected in the health outcomes of low-income people and communities of color. The Healthy Corridor for All Health Impact Assessment made important contributions to the rezoning debate, and helped to increase community participation, build capacity, and leave an indelible mark on the region as a whole. Through the organizing and advocacy of community leadership, the concepts of health and affordable housing were placed at the center of the rezoning debate and helped educate the media, policymakers, and the general public. The level of community participation—particularly from low-income people and communities of color—in the rezoning process was unique for the city. In addition, through the HIA process and analysis, the Twin Cities region now has a model in place for community engagement and analysis to help address community needs as it plans for other transit corridors. This document presents a summary of the key components of the organizations full analysis.


Progressive multiple sclerosis Despite the range of disease-modifying treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS), only a few of these are currently available for the progressive form (PMS). Insidiously, patients with PMS lose physical, communicative and cognitive capacity, and may live with palliative care needs and facing a possible further deterioration and death, for a long time. Life expectancy among patients with MS is reduced by 7–14 years, and the risk of suicide is 2–7.5 times higher than that of the general population.1 In this trajectory, it can be difficult to form an accurate prognosis of 'when' the next step towards loss of functional capacity or death will happen. As deterioration in functioning continues and acute events repeat, the indication for invasive procedures such as percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG), mechanical ventilation or tracheostomy arises. These procedures may extend survival, but change dramatically the way of life of the patients and their caregivers, with a need for readjustment to a more or less sophisticated technologically supported life including the management of new and different symptoms. Along with safety and effectiveness, complex ethical issues (including autonomy and dignity-conserving care) underlie offering, withholding or withdrawing such treatments.


Heavy metals may affect human health in diverse ways ranging from cancer, reduced growth and development of nervous system damage, organ damage and in extreme cases, death. This study assessed the hazards of heavy metal based on target hazard quotient (THQ), derived from concentrations of heavy metals in water. Eighty-eight (88) water samples were collected from five sources and analyzed for lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) using inductively couple plasma and mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). Their health risks were assessed for oral ingestion and dermal absorption. The non-carcinogenic effects of these metals due to ingestion were found to be in a decreasing order: stream water>effluent water>Indian Ocean>Mzingazi river>Esikhawini tap water. Whereas via dermal absorption, the effects decrease in the order: effluent water>stream water>Mzingazi river>Esikhawini tap water>Indian Ocean. Additionally, carcinogenic risks were found to range from 1.03 × 10-10-6.56 × 10-7 in effluent water, 1.14 × 10-8-2.22 × 10-7 in stream, 5.15 × 10-11-2.61 × 10-7 in Indian ocean, 4.07 × 10-9-1.41 × 10-7 in Esikhawini tap water and 5.15 × 10-11-2.71 × 10-7 in Mzingazi river. The Hazard indexes of these selected metals in effluent water, river, Indian ocean and Esikhawini tap water were found to be less than a unity, indicating an unlikely health risk to the population using water from these sources. *Corresponding author: Risimati D Mavunda, Applied Physics and Engineering Mathematics Department, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 17011, Doornfontein 2028, South Africa, Tel: +27762864786; E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Received June 11, 2017; Accepted June 25, 2017; Published June 30, 2017 Citation: Masok FB, Masiteng PL, Mavunda RD, Maleka PP (2017) An Integrated Health Risk Evaluation of Toxic Heavy Metals in Water from Richards Bay, South Africa. J Environ Anal Toxicol 7: 487. doi: 10.4172/2161-0525.1000487 Copyright: © 2017 Masok FB, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Citation: Masok FB, Masiteng PL, Mavunda RD, Maleka PP (2017) An Integrated Health Risk Evaluation of Toxic Heavy Metals in Water from Richards Bay, South Africa. J Environ Anal Toxicol 7: 487. doi: 10.4172/2161-0525.1000487


Objective:This study is to evaluate the effect of platelet-rich plasma(PRP) with different centrifugal methods to find out the best method and concentration.Method:Thirty-six white rabbits were randomly divided into three groups. Three methods with different centrifugal times,force and time were selected to make PRP. The three groups were injected PRP at lengthening period, respectively. Four animals from each group were sacrificed at 2,4,8 weeks at the end of distraction.Dual energy X-ray absorption metry(DEXA) was used to measure regeneration bone mineral density (BMD),HE coloration was utilized to observe bone regeneration.Result:Bone formation rate of the group were injected PRP with Landesberg method was better than injected PRP with the others methods, there were significant differences in BMD(P0.05). There were no significant difference in BMD between the groups were injected PRP with Anitua method and Aghaloo method(P0.05).Conclusion:Landesberg method of making PRP has an significant accelerative effect during bone distraction.Twice centrifugation with 200×g force ,10 minutes and about 500%concentration was the best.


Pile foundations are often subjected to lateral dynamic loading due to forces on the supported structure. In this study, a simple two-dimensional analysis was developed to accurately model the pile response to dynamic loads. The proposed model incorporates the static p-y curve approach (where p is the static soil reaction and y is the pile deflection) and the plane strain assumptions to represent the soil reactions within the frame of a Winkler model. The p-y curves are used to relate pile deflections to the nonlinear soil reactions. Wave propagation and energy dissipation are also accounted for along with discontinuity conditions at the pile-soil interface. The inclusion of damping with the static unit transfer curves results in increased soil resistance, thus producing "dynamic p-y curves." The dynamic p-y curves are a function of the static p-y curve and velocity of the soil particles at a given depth and frequency of loading. The proposed model was used to analyze the pile response to the lateral Stat...


Dihydroimidazole N-oxides 1 undergo 1,3-dipolar
cycloaddition with alkyne dipolarophiles and the cycloadducts suffer
isoxazoline N–O bond cleavage to afford ene-1,1-diamines, with
subsequent cyclisation to pyrrolo[1,2-a]imidazole-5,6-diones if
possible.


The problem of interests measurement has been studied in law,for example,on all kinds of values ordering,but such an effort is doomed to facing with many difficulties.Although both value relativism and absolutism are trying to determine standard of interests measurement,there still exist some defaults.Both internal and external standard,legal and social standard,are trying to realize the balance between formal legality and substantial reasonableness.And expert as lawyer's stance,or ordinary people's stance,is also a kind of standard for interests measurement.The analysis from different perspectives shows that the problem of standard for interests measurement is very hard and should be further summarized from practices of law.


The article proposes the solution of the problem of cognitive modeling in the form of a linguistic personality type - a typed language personality whose behavior and whose value orientations significantly influence the linguistic culture as a whole and which are indicators of the ethnic and social identity of the society. A technique for modeling linguistic personality types with illustrative material is proposed. The study of linguistic personality types promotes a better understanding of the features of linguistic consciousness and communicative behavior of representatives of different societies, and, as a result, it allows optimizing the process of intercultural communication.


Introduction: Examiner training is essential to ensure the trustworthiness of the examination process and results. The Anaesthesiology examiners' training programme to standardise examination techniques and standards across seniority, subspecialty, and institutions was developed using McLean's adaptation of Kern's framework.
Methods: The programme was delivered through an online platform due to pandemic constraints. Key focus areas were Performance Dimension Training (PDT), Form-of-Reference Training (FORT) and factors affecting validity. Training methods included interactive lectures, facilitated discussions and experiential learning sessions using the rubrics created for the viva examination. The programme effectiveness was measured using the Kirkpatrick model for programme evaluation.
Results: Seven out of eleven participants rated the programme content as useful and relevant. Four participants showed improvement in the post-test, when compared to the pre-test. Five participants reported behavioural changes during the examination, either during the preparation or conduct of the examination. Factors that contributed to this intervention's effectiveness were identified through the MOAC (motivation, opportunities, abilities, and communality) model.
Conclusion: Though not all examiners attended the training session, all were committed to a fairer and transparent examination and motivated to ensure ease of the process. The success of any faculty development programme must be defined and the factors affecting it must be identified to ensure engagement and sustainability of the programme.


We present a hierarchical methodology using a combination of ab-initio phonon scattering, electron transmission, and multi-scale finite element simulations to accurately model process specific material physics and component level self-heating in FinFET technologies. The framework is applied to explain key heat transfer pathways and thermal resistance of FinFETs, interconnects and integrated precision resistors. Excellent agreement with thermal resistance measurements and its dependence on process technology is demonstrated across many device types without any fitting. The proposed methodology enables rapid systematic evaluation and process mitigation of self-heating in advanced CMOS technologies.


To develop a new form of spice material by concentration of garlic juice, its rheological properties were investigated. In the temperature range of , the garlic juice with the solid content of was considered as a pseudoplastic fluid. Flow and consistency indices of the juice interpreted by power-law equation varied from , respectively. Apparent viscosity was lineally decreased as shear rate was increased. Activation energy for the flow of the garlic juice changed in the range of 11,216 to 23,195 kJ/kg mol.


BACkgROuNd The prevalence of arterial hypertension lacking a defined underlying cause increases with age. Age-related arterial hypertension is insufficiently understood, yet known characteristics suggest an aldosterone-independent activation of the mineralocorticoid receptor. Therefore, we hypothesized that 11β-HSD2 activity is age-dependently impaired, resulting in a compromised intracellular inactivation of cortisol (F) with F-mediated mineralocorticoid hypertension.


Through comprehensive researches of Da tianchi stucture belt reservoir characteristics,we find that the C2hl pore spaces were dominated by corrosion pores and crystal-to-crystal pores,and the reservoir type was defined as fracture-ore type.The reservoirs were mainly belong to type Ⅱ、Ⅲ,The reservoir physical property were primarily dominated by corrosion and dolomization.C2hl available reservoir usually develops in the area where the C2hl layer is thick,and there is positive correlation between them.Through reservoir prediction,it indicate that the C2hl layer in Guan yinqiao area of Da tianchi stucture belt is thick.It is the favourable area of reservoir development,and also be the primary area for the further exploration.


The aim of this paper is to substantiate efficiency of creation automation control system in a greenhouse with using solar radiation intensity and temperature predictions by neural networks.


In this paper,rose petals and rose essence were used as additive to develop a new type rose petal jam.The optimum levels of process conditions were determined by using single factor method and orthogonal array desing,and the best dilution proportion of alcohol adding to rose essence was researched.Results showed that the optimum formula included rose petals(dry) 3%,sugar 54%,xanthan gum 0.2%,rose essence 0.17%,finally heating time 30 min.The rose jam followed this formula tastes very good.


Endangered language issue recently becomes serious problem when government reports that there are 11 extinct local language in 15 days. Beside, The Language Development and Cultivation Agency has tried optimally to conserve local languages but it is not totally success. This study would take a critic againts goverment for language preservation and recommend to government for implementing new method for language preservation by using dangdut with local language usage in the lyrics. The method used in this study employs qualitatif and it thus applies language planning approach to find out the effectiveness of dangdut as for language preservation in industrial revolustion. The result shows recommendation to government to implies popular way for local language preservation through using dangdut songs with local language usage for the lyrics in order to enhance local language usage awarness among Indonesian.


Introduction:
 Prior studies showed that pulse pressure (PP) correlates with cerebral collateral status, but the prognostic impact of widened PP on thrombectomy outcomes following acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is unclear. We hypothesized that patients with AIS undergoing thrombectomy with a presenting PP of > 60 on admission would be less likely to have successful revascularization and have worse functional outcomes.

 Methods:
 Patients treated with a thrombectomy from our institutional retrospective stroke database between 2018 to 2022 were included. Patient demographics and post-thrombectomy outcomes were analyzed using nonparametric t-tests and Chi-Square analysis, with variables <0.20 p-value being included in regression analysis.

 Results:
 Of the 134 AIS patients, 60% had a PP > 60. Patients with PP > 60 were older [age 77 (interquartile range (IQR) 68-87) vs 67 (IQR (57-78), p< 0.0001]. There was no difference in the distribution of sex [male 53% vs 52%, p=0.94], M1 occlusion [56% vs 58%, p=0.78], time from last known well to arterial access [306 min (IQR 155-764) vs 242 min (IQR 155-583), p=0.61], NIHSS [17 (IQR 10-23) vs 18 (IQR 11-22), p=0.90], thrombolysis [40% vs 40%, p=0.97], in patients with PP > 60 vs those with a PP ≤ 60 respectively. Discharge mRS was 4 (IQR 4-5) in patients with PP > 60 vs 4 (IQR 4-4) in patients with PP ≤ 60, p=0.02. In this study, 40% lacked a discharge mRS, and no significance was found on 90-day mRS [PP > 60 4 (IQR 2-5) vs 3 (IQR 3-4) PP ≤ 60]. A trend of more patients with PP ≤ 60 having TICI2B/TICI3 was found [75% vs 87%, p=0.06]. In regression analysis, patients with PP > 60 were less likely to have TICI2b/TICI3 after controlling for age [OR 0.23 (95% CI 0.06 - 0.70), p=0.02], but no significant association was found with discharge mRS.

 Conclusions:
 The impact of PP on collateral flow in AIS and functional outcome should be studied further in larger AIS cohorts.


AbstractThe effects of topography on the evolution of Typhoon Saomai (2006) are investigated by conducting a series of numerical simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model using 100%, 75%, 50%, and 25% of terrain heights of the Central Mountain Range (CMR) in Taiwan. Differences in the track and intensity of Typhoon Saomai between the experiments are strongly related to those of Tropical Storm Bopha, which passed Taiwan earlier than the typhoon. In the sensitivity experiments, the higher CMR drifts Bopha more southward, which results in the weakening of Bopha by prohibiting the interaction between the CMR and Bopha, and the flows induced by Bopha force Saomai to propagate along a more southerly track. The higher CMR weakens the easterly flow in the lower troposphere and suppresses the northerly flow in the upper troposphere to the west of Saomai. The resultant weak vertical wind shear keeps warm air near the typhoon center in the upper troposphere, which promotes the intensification...


Increasingly, surgeons are using a middle fossa approach through a craniotomy to reach the labyrinthine segment of the facial nerve and geniculate ganglion in patients with intact hearing.


QDaedalus is an automated, computer-controlled astrogeodetic measurement system which has been developed especially for the determination of the local vertical deflections. It is possible with the system in 20-30 minutes of measurement time at night to get direction of the local Zenith accurate to 0.1 seconds of arc based on the joint inversion of measurements of the total station and position of stars on the CCD. Two iterative robust inversion procedures has been tested: (1) the so-called least-squares Danish method and (2) most frequent value procedure with Cauchy-Steiner weights. Our evaluation has shown that method (2) achieves better performance based on more than 70 series of measurements at the same station.


Based on the current situation of Jilin province,the paper discusses the contents,the construction and the applications of the common platform of basic geographic information system at provincial level.


The present invention relates to a heat transfer tube and the use of such heat transfer tubes of a cracking furnace. The heat transfer tube comprising a twisted sheet disposed on the wall of the tube, axial distortion of the sheet in the heat transfer tube extends helically. On the twisted sheet provided with a heat transfer tube along the axial direction toward the non-penetrating end of the cutout portion extending from the other end portion of a twisted sheet. Has good heat transfer and heat transfer tube cracking furnace in accordance with the present invention, and pressure loss is also small.


A device and a method for performing a system interconnection test of a renewable energy inverter are provided to perform a simulation based on a power type and a capacitance variation by changing a program coding process. A device for performing a system interconnection test of a renewable energy inverter includes an electric power simulator and an electric power amplifier(300). The electric power simulator simulates various power supply devices by using a program based on modeling and simulation processes. The electric power amplifier includes a signal implementing unit which amplifies a simulated power signal to real voltage and current waveforms, and a source voltage unit which supplies a source voltage. The electric power amplifier is connected to the electric power simulator to receive the simulated power signal and connected to a renewable energy model(100) and a system interconnection model(200). The electric power amplifier transmits the real voltage and current waveforms to an inverter.


Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is indispensable and powerful in modern clinical diagnosis and has some advantages such as non-invasiveness and high penetration depth. Furthermore, dual T1–T2 MR imaging has attracted crucial interest as it can decrease the risk of pseudo-positive signals in diagnosing lesions. And it's worth nothing that the dual-mode MR imaging displays a vital platform to provide relatively comprehensive diagnosis information and receive accurate results. Herein, we report a dual T1–T2 MR imaging contrast agent (CA) grounded on the iron/iron oxide core/shell nanomaterials conjugated with gadolinium chelate. The Gd-labeled Fe@Fe3O4 NPs reveal the feasibility to utilize them to serve as a dual T1–T2 MR imaging CA, and the relaxivity results in a 0.5 T MR system showed a longitudinal relaxivity value (r1) and transverse relaxivity value (r2) of 7.2 mM−1 s−1 and 109.4 mM−1 s−1, respectively. The MTT results demonstrate the Gd-labeled Fe@Fe3O4 NPs have no obvious cytotoxicity and a good compatibility. The in vitro and in vivo MRI generated a brighter effect and darkening in T1-weighted MR imaging and T2-weighted images, respectively. The results clearly indicate that Gd-labeled Fe@Fe3O4 NPs have potential as a magnetic resonance imaging contrast reagent.


Population and economic growth have posed serious challenges to meet global energy and water needs. With the formation of global value chains and regional economic models changing the location and scale of environmental pressures, East Asia deserves special attention because of its importance in world trade. This paper constructed a global multi-regional input-output table based on the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) 10 database and innovatively matched the energy and water databases to analyze the issues in 2014. The results show that in East Asia, (1) China is a net exporter and presents unique embodied energy characteristics with a trade deficit of 392Mtoe. Moreover, trade is the main reason for embodied energy and water in countries other than China. (2) The electricity sector, petroleum and coal products sector, and the services sector are the main sectors of embodied energy use, in which the latter accounts for 25.9% - 43.9% of the total embodied energy use in major countries. (3) Paddy rice sector and processed foods sector produce lots of embodied water for production and consumption, respectively. And the embodied water of processed foods accounts for more than 40% of major countries consumption.


The chloroperoxidase (EC 1.11.1.-) from the fungus Curvularia inaequalis belongs to a class of vanadium enzymes that oxidize halides in the presence of hydrogen peroxide to the corresponding hypohalous acids. The 2.1 A crystal structure (R = 20%) of an azide chloroperoxidase complex reveals the geometry of the catalytic vanadium center. Azide coordinates directly to the metal center, resulting in a structure with azide, three nonprotein oxygens, and a histidine as ligands. In the native state vanadium will be bound as hydrogen vanadate(V) in a trigonal bipyramidal coordination with the metal coordinated to three oxygens in the equatorial plane, to the OH group at one apical position, and to the e2 nitrogen of a histidine at the other apical position. The protein fold is mainly a-helical with two fourhelix bundles as main structural motifs and an overall structure different from other structures. The helices pack together to a compact molecule, which explains the high stability of the protein. An amino acid sequence comparison with vanadiumcontaining bromoperoxidase from the seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum shows high similarities in the regions of the metal binding site, with all hydrogen vanadate(V) interacting residues conserved except for lysine-353, which is an asparagine. Haloperoxidases form a class of enzymes that are able to oxidize halides (Cl-, Br-, I-) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide to the corresponding hypohalous acids according to H202 + X + H+ ->H20 + HOX. If a convenient nucleophilic acceptor is present, a reaction will occur with HOX to form a diversity of halogenated reaction products. Many of these organohalogens have biocidal effects and thus may provide defense functions. As has only been recently discovered (1, 2), some of the haloperoxidases contain vanadium in the active site. These enzymes are widespread in the marine environment and have been found in a variety of seaweeds (3). Recently, it was shown (4) that the chloroperoxidase (CPO) secreted by the fungus Curvularia inaequalis is also a vanadium enzyme with properties similar to the bromoperoxidase. This CPO forms HOCl as a product (5), which is a strongly bactericidal and oxidizing agent. The fungus belongs to the group of dematiaceous hyphomycetes, which are pathogenic toward plants and/or are saprophytes, and it has been suggested (6) that the enzyme and its product are used in a mechanism to oxidize plant cell walls to facilitate penetration of the fungus into the host. The vanadium bromoperoxidases have been studied in great detail using a variety of biophysical techniques (7) including extended x-ray absorption fine structure (8, 9) and electron spin echo envelope modulation (10, 11). Vanadium(IV) or The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact. Table 1. Data collection and phasing statistics Parameter Native APWO APHG


Poly(pyrrole) inverse opals (PPY-IO) with three-dimentional (3D) network of macropores were prepared by electropolymerization of pyrrole in the voids of polystyrene (PS) colloidal crystals and subs...


1. IntroductionIn Central Bank v. First Interstate Bank,(1) the Supreme Court shocked the securities industry.(2) On its own motion, the Court questioned and then abolished the aiding and abetting cause of action for securities fraud under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (1934 Act).(3) The Court's holding overruled thirty years of lower court precedent.Congress enacted the 1934 Act and the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act)(4) after the stock market crash of 1929. The 1933 Act is narrower in coverage than the 1934 Act, which reflected Congress's effort to regulate all aspects of securities trading.(5) Section 10(b) of the 1934 Act is a general antifraud provision that imposes civil liability on those who commit manipulative or deceptive acts in connection with the purchase or sale of securities.(6) For over thirty years, lower federal courts routinely allowed victims of manipulative or deceptive acts to recover not only against those who themselves violated Section 10), but also against those who aided and abetted the Section 10(b) violation.(7) Despite the history of the aiding and abetting cause of action, the Supreme Court in Central Bank concluded that aiding and abetting fell outside the text of Section 10(b). After Central Bank, therefore, courts can no longer allow Section 10(b) recovery for aiding and abetting a Section 10(b) violation.Central Bank sends a clear message: While courts may sometimes imply a private cause of action to penalize conduct that Congress has expressly proscribed, courts may not imply a cause of action creating liability for conduct that Congress has not expressly proscribed. Thus, Central Bank not only abolished the private cause of action for aiding and abetting under Section 10(b); Central Bank also instituted a new methodology for evaluating all implied causes of action. For example, lower federal courts have routinely recognized claims of conspiracy(8) and vicarious liability(9) under Section 10(b) as well as aiding and abetting under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act(RICO).(10) Each cause of action creates liability for conduct that Congress has not expressly proscribed. Thus, Central Bank raises serious questions about the continued vitality of these implied causes of action.Central Bank also affects the interaction among various participants in the American system of government. The Supreme Court, in effect, insists that Congress directly decide and expressly state where and when it wishes to penalize aiding and abetting conduct. Moreover, those with strong opinions about the appropriateness of aiding and abetting claims may no longer speak as litigants and amicus curiae; they now must shift their debate to Congress. Finally, civil plaintiffs must refocus their legal claim and present different facts in order to sustain a claim under Section 10(b).Part II of this Note reviews the background of aiding and abetting under Section 10(b) and discusses the Central Bank decision.(11) Part III examines Central Bank's effects on other implied causes of action. (12) Part IV describes the impact Central Bank has had and will continue to have on congressional debates and securities litigants and proposes a tactic that Congress should follow if it chooses to override Central Bank.(13) Finally, Part V suggests that, while certain aspects of the Central Bank decision deserve criticism, events since Central Bank demonstrate that with this particular securities issue, Congress, not the Court, is the better branch to resolve the dispute.II. The Central Bank DecisionA. The Implied Cause of Action Under Section 10(6)The aiding and abetting cause of action under Section 10(b) makes sense only against the background of Section 10(b)'s text and its interpretations by federal courts. The text of Section 10) does not expressly create a private cause of action.(14) However, federal courts traditionally have filled the interstices of federal statutes in the name of effectuating congressional intent. …


Judicial Justice refers to that the principles of fairness and justice should be upheld and embodied in the judicial process and in the results.Its essence is that people evaluate whether the judiciary is able to meet the needs of members of society.At present,we study further judicial justice to promote social stability and administration by law,to ensure healthy development of mar-ket economy and to help build a harmonious society.


ABSTRACT In this work, we develop a performance-based design of model-based observes and statistical-based decision mechanisms for achieving fault estimation and fault isolation in systems affected by unknown inputs and stochastic noises. First, through semidefinite programming, we design the observers considering different estimation performance indices as the covariance of the estimation errors, the fault tracking delays and the degree of decoupling from unknown inputs and from faults in other channels. Second, we perform a co-design of the observers and decision mechanisms for satisfying certain trade-off between different isolation performance indices: the false isolation rates, the isolation times and the minimum size of the isolable faults. Finally, we extend these results to a scheme based on a bank of observers for the case where multiple faults affect the system and isolability conditions are not verified. To show the effectiveness of the results, we apply these design strategies to a well-known benchmark of wind turbines which considers multiple faults and has explicit requirements over isolation times and false isolation rates.


Given the harsh reality faced by the global effort to contain coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the virtual impossibility of its worldwide eradication in the foreseeable future, global human coexistence with fast mutating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may have to occur, for the time being, irrespective of the wishes and aspirations of our people. Therefore, for China, the risk associated with small to medium scale outbreaks induced by imported cases and the corresponding need to continuously and promptly suppress domestic infections would persist for a certain period of time. However, such reality would not imply that we can deviate from our existing effective COVID-Zero strategy on entry-exit quarantine measures and community non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) containment measures and embrace certain "open-up" strategies without reservation, resting solely on the hypothesis of the success of herd immunity induced by vaccination advocated by certain western countries. In this article, we found that even in a highly underestimated outbreak scenario under the most optimistic assumptions, once China adopts the control and prevention strategies of some typical western countries, the number of the daily new confirmed cases in China would likely rise up to hundreds of thousands of cases, and among which >10,000 cases would present with severe symptoms. Particularly, the number of standing severe cases would exceed the peak number nationwide in early 2020 within 1–2 days, which would have a devastating impact on the medical system of China and cause a great disaster within the nation.


In this article the concrete activities of the representatives of two authorities are described and analyzed which were directed to maintaining the existing political regime and implemented by means of economical, ideological and educating relief to the workers. The emphasis is placed on moral development of the working class in pre-revolutionary Russia.


One of the main tasks of workflow management systems is the coordination of activities in business processes. This paper introduces a solution framework to support adaptive workflows with complex and unstructured task dependencies. In the first section, the research direction is outlined and a short overview of the PoliFlow project is given. Then, requirements for enterprise process management systems are identified with a special focus on coordination and control of unstructured processes. Taking these requirements as a basis, an integrated approach for adaptive workflow support is presented. A flexible workflow model including advanced control structures allows actors to modify workflow instances during runtime. Finally, a reference architecture is proposed. On the basis of the SWATS system, it is illustrated how an adaptive support layer can be integrated to extend existing workflow management systems. The paper concludes with an overview of the current state of the work and future issues.


Life satisfaction is a person's global assessment of subjective quality of life, and an indicator of successful psychological adaptation to the changes and losses a person usually experiences in later life. The study aims to explore the contribution of psychosocial factors to the interpretation of life satisfaction in older persons residing in retirement homes in comparison to the community dwelling older adults. There were 202 participants, of whom 101 were retirement homes' residents in Zagreb, Croatia, 81 years old on average, and 101 were community dwelling persons, on average 79 years old. Participants were mobile and not diagnosed with dementia. The measured variables were the following: sociodemographic, self-perceived health, functional ability, social participation, sleep quality, and life satisfaction. Participants in both groups reported high levels of life satisfaction. No statistically significant differences were observed in life satisfaction nor in self-perceived health between participants' groups. Significant differences were found in sociodemographic variables, functi-


The article focuses on the problem of development of students' research work by means of Internet technologies. The possibility of additional ways to organize the students' research activities with the help of blogs and mini-social networks of students and teachers is shown. The necessity of modernization of information environment based on students' research activities with the help of Internet technologies is substantiated.


Rates of pyrolysis of some 4-, 5-, and 6-substituted 1-(2-pyridyl)ethyl acetates have been measured between 637.5 and 695.4 K. The data show that the electrophilic substituent constants which apply to substituted benzenes, do not describe the effects of these substituents in pyridine. For example, the 5-methyl and 5-chloro substituents, respectively, activate and deactivate the 2-position less than they affect a para-position in benzene, yet the 4- and 6-methyl substituents activate more than they affect a meta-position in benzene. Moreover the methyl substituent activates the 2-position more from the 6- than from the 4-position, as it does in the related SN1 solvolysis of 2-aryl-2-chloropropanes. The differential effect is however proportionally much smaller in the gas phase indicating that steric hindrance of hydrogen bonding may be mainly responsible for the abnormally high reactivity of 6-substituted 2-chloro-2-(2-pyridyl)propanes in the solvolysis. Elimination of acetic acid from 1-(6-ethoxy-2-pyridyl)-ethyl acetate is accompanied by elimination of ethylene from the ethoxy group to give 6-vinyl-2-pyridone. This new gas-phase elimination is a nitrogen analogue of acetate pyrolysis.


Abstract The scattering of time-harmonic waves by a finite, blunt nano-crack in a graded, viscoelastic bulk material with a free surface is considered in this work. Non-classical boundary conditions and a localized constitutive equation at the interface between crack and matrix, following the Gurtin-Murdoch surface elasticity theory are introduced. An efficient numerical technique is developed using integro-differential equations along the nano-crack line that is based on an analytically derived Green's function for the quadratically inhomogeneous half-plane. The dependence of the diffracted and scattered waves and of the local stress concentration fields on key problem parameters such as viscosity, inhomogeneity, surface elasticity, and interaction between the nano-crack and the free surface are all examined through an extensive parametric study.


The invention relates a method and a device for producing a foam particle part. The method has the following steps: - supplying foam particles from a material container to a molding tool by means of a line, and - thermoplastically welding the foam particles in the molding tool into the foam particle part while supplying heat, wherein steam is added to the foam particles to be supplied.


In higher plants the amount of nuclear DNA has been found to vary between genera and among species of the same genus (Rothfels et aI., 1966; Rees et aI., 1966; Miksche, 1967; El-Lakany and Sziklai, 1970; EI-Lakany, 1972a; and others). Miksche (1968, 1971) and ElLakany and Sziklai (1971) have demonstrated the existence of intraspecific clinal variation in DNA content, supporting the suggestion (Stebbins, 1964, 1966) that the variation in nuclear volume and DNA content is not random but has an adaptive significance. The present study was originally undertaken to correlate the DNA contents of some boreal forest species with their radiosensitivity (Dugle and El-Lakany, 1971; El-Lakany, 1971). The systematic variation found in the estimated DNA contents of selected species of conifers, monocotyledons and dicotyledons suggested that an attempt be made to relate this variation to previously-reported evolutionary relationships among and within these taxa. We suggest that, within a single geographical area, DNA content is reduced with phylogenetic advancement.


Abstract : The objective of this effort was to design, construct, test, and evaluate a capsulized device capable of selective, unsupervised extinguishment of Class A, B, or C combustibles in electronic/computer cabinets with automatic activation of a fire department notification system. Total flooding halon and water sprinkler fire suppression systems are in general use for the protection of buildings and critical electronic equipment. Although these systems provide ample fire protection against total loss and large-scale damage, they are expensive to install and maintain. It is desirable to detect and suppress fires at the incipient stage without the release of a large quantity of expensive or potentially damaging agents and without damage from heat and smoke. For this reason, a small economical extinguisher system that can be easily installed for local detection and fire suppression has a large potential application.


A low-power invasive blood pressure transducer has been designed. It is based on a structure of four high resistive strain gauges in a full Wheatstone bridge configuration. For obtaining the required sensitivity, the gauge was allocated performing a careful mechanical simulation of the membrane behaviour. The electronic conditioning circuit and the ADC were optimized to compensate the noise introduced by the high resistive gauges. A batteryless RFID tag designed to incorporate and to supply the sensor was fabricated and measured. It power supplies the sensor at a distance longer than 50 cm from a standard reader, while the reported ranges —to the best of our knowledge— are shorter than 10 cm. This wireless and batteryless sensor is especially suitable for surgery rooms and intensive care units.


A simple radio frequency (RF) testing system that can be conveniently built and used for measuring radio propagation in tunnels is introduced. With the proposed testing system, RF power attenuation with distance in a train tunnel was measured at four frequencies (455, 915, 2450, and 5800 MHz) for both horizontal and vertical polarizations. Two analytical modeling methods—the ray tracing and modal methods—are applied to model RF propagation in the tunnel. The theoretical predictions based on both methods are compared to field measurements and find good agreement.


We study and propose schemes that map messages onto constant-weight codewords using variable-length prefixes. We provide polynomial-time computable formulas that estimate the average number of redundant bits incurred by our schemes. In addition to the exact formulas, we also perform an asymptotic analysis and demonstrate that our scheme uses $\frac12 \log n+O(1)$ redundant bits to encode messages into length-$n$ words with weight $(n/2)+{\sf q}$ for constant ${\sf q}$. We also propose schemes that map messages into balanced codebooks with error-correcting capabilities. For such schemes, we provide methods to enumerate the average number of redundant bits.


Co-packaged optics for next-generation data center switches require novel photonic packaging and optical interconnect solutions to increase bandwidth and decrease manufacturing costs. An optoelectronic glass substrate with integrated ion-exchanged (IOX) single-mode waveguides for photonic integrated circuit (PIC) packaging and fiber cable connectivity is demonstrated in an effort to reduce the overall packaging complexity. The single-mode glass waveguides were fabricated and evaluated to be thermally stable at 110ºC for more than 5 years. Laser singulated optical end-facets and laser-formed passive alignment features yield an average connector loss of 0.68 dB when end-coupled to standard MTP- 16™ connectors.


FIELD: transport. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to aircraft engineering. Connector (41, 71) for fastening of aircraft vertical tail unit is made of composite material and includes first part (43, 73) including lugs (45, 45'; 75, 75') fastening of said unit and vertical walls (47, 47'; 77, 77') for attachment of connector (41, 71) to frames (7). Two extra parts (49, 49'; 79, 79') including horizontal walls (51, 51'; 81, 81') serve for attachment of connector (41, 71) to skin (5). Connector (71) for attachment with inclined load comprises also the second pair of angular parts (90, 90') with vertical walls (93, 93') for attachment with lugs (75, 75'). Versions of proposed method describe the assembly of connectors (42, 71). EFFECT: better distribution of loads. 6 cl, 7 dwg


A two-stage no-wait hybrid flow shop scheduling problem is considered against the background of the scheduling problem of roller annealing operation in the cast steel plant of a roller corporation. An integer programming model is formulated, whose objective is to minimize the makespan. Both the discrete particle swarm optimization algorithm is proposed and the no-wait algorithm of grading is designed for solving the model. The last simulation experiment with the practical data demonstrates the feasibility and the effectiveness of the DPSO algorithm by comparisons and analyses. Furthermore, the equipment reformation strategies of the actual reference value are given which are beneficial for the policy-maker to arrange production reasonably.


THE EUROPEAN Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) 2021 Virtual Congress successfully brought together influential clinicians and academics from across the globe, working to achieve the EADV's aims of "improving the quality of patient care, furthering knowledge and education of dermatologists and venereologists globally through innovation, and advocating on behalf of the speciality and patients." Rather than viewing the online conference as an obligation, born out of necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic, the EADV instead transformed it into an opportunity. This was underscored by Alexander Stratigos, President of the EADV, during the welcome address: "As we move toward a postpandemic era, our Academy is emerging ever stronger, with a vibrant day-to-day education programme that exploits the unique opportunities presented by digital learning." Stratigos added: "Through our evolving digital learning ecosystem, we are able to deliver a multitude of online experiences, including webinars, enhanced digital communications, e-learning, and web-based tools to support continuous medical education and allow a broader diffusion of knowledge."


The article examines certain problems of the formation history of Canadian constitutionalism through the prism of the analysis of the prerequisites for the adoption and content of the Canadian Constitutional Act of 1982 and determines its place and influence in the world system of knowledge of a political and legal nature. As it is known, the constitution (from the Latin constitutio — establishment, system, order) is the main state document (law) that defines the state system, the order and principles of functioning of the representative, executive and judicial authorities, the electoral system, rights and obligations of a state, society and citizens. Usually, other laws of a particular state are based on the constitution. In addition, every modern written constitution grants specific powers to the organizations and public institutions established on the primary basis of compliance with the limitations of such a constitution. In most, but not all, modern states, the constitution takes precedence over the common law. Constitutions apply to a variety of levels, from sovereign states to the corporations and societies. An international treaty establishing international organizations is also their constitution in the scope that it defines how that organization is formed. For a state, whether sovereign or the subject of a federation, the constitution defines the principles on which the state is based and the order by which and who has the right to make laws. Some constitutions, especially codified ones, also act as restraints on the state power by establishing boundaries that state leaders cannot cross, i.e. fundamental rights. It is noted that today Canada is a constitutional monarchy, the head of state of which is the King or Queen of Great Britain. Canada officially belongs to the so-called «strong federations», in which parts of the federation have significant rights and responsibilities, some of the decisions of the central government shall be carried out by the provinces, but their activities are regulated by a series of agreements and laws, and disputes are often resolved by judicial authorities. All of Canada's provinces have unicameral parliaments and generally follow the same rules as the lower house of Canada's federal parliament. Considerable attention is paid to the fact that the Canadian constitution is the legal basis of the state and consists of both written text and unwritten traditions and agreements. The Constitution also includes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees basic rights and freedoms to citizens. In Canada, the constitution refers to a compilation of acts, British laws, court decisions, etc. The two main documents are the British North America Act of 1867, which declared Canada a dominion of Great Britain, and the 1982 act, which established that all laws passed in Canada did not require formal confirmation by the British Parliament.


A device to measure soil penetration resistance in a root box (24cm×2cm×40cm) was developed, and its validity was examined for the revised root box method. The device was constructed with the metal probe (2.3 mm diameter and 50 cm length piano wire), strain gauge, linear displacement transducer, reversible motor and X-Y recorder. The main characteristic of this device is to push the needle type probe into the soil continuously about 40 cm downward at a constant rate to measure the penetration resistance easily and quickly as a function of soil depth.Edge effect was examined using probes with different diameters ranging from 0.95 to 2.3 mm. Edge effect was found to be negligible for any measured soil resistance value. Comparing spot resistance and continuous resistance, the skin friction was almost statistically constant (meaning it did not accumulate) under around 10 cm soil layer. The trend of the variation of both resistances as a function of soil depth was similar especially in the pattern of their peaks. Thus, the measured values were considered to be valid and therefore practical to use in determining penetration resistance as a function of soil depth, as a relative value.Age hardening process of the soil in the root box as a function of soil depth was examined under submerged condition. Penetration resistance tended to get bigger as soil depth increased.


A series of block copolymers were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of l(d)-lactide in the presence of mono- or dihydroxyl poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) using zinc metal as a catalyst. The resulting diblock and triblock copolymers with relatively short polylactide (PLA) blocks were characterized by various analytical techniques such as 1H NMR, SEC, DSC, and X-ray diffraction. The data showed that the copolymers were semicrystalline materials with predominant PEG crystallization although PLA blocks crystallized slightly in some cases. Solubilization tests showed that both the composition and molar mass are determining factors in the water solubility of the copolymers. Bioresorbable hydrogels were prepared from aqueous solutions containing both poly(l-lactide)/PEG and poly(d-lactide)/PEG block copolymers. Hydrogel formation resulted from stereocomplexation occurring between poly(l-lactide) and poly(d-lactide) blocks.


Generation mean analysis was carried out to asses the presence of inter-allelic interaction and estimate the importance of various gene effects for inheritance of seven horticultural traits viz., days to first flowering, number of flowers per inflorescence, number of primary branches per plant, plant height, total number of fruits per plant, yield per plant and early yield per plant in brinjal. Six generations P1, P2, F1, F2, B1 and B2 of the crosses BARI x Pant Rituraj, BARI x PB-67 and BARI x Pant Samrat were used for the study. Scaling test revealed that all four types of scales (A, B, C, and D) were highly significant for most of the characters which indicated non-allelic interaction of gene effects for all characters. High values of chi-square (χ) also supported the non-allelic interaction for all characters. The joint scaling tests also indicated the presence of interaction of gene effects and epistatic effects. Duplicate dominant epistasis was observed in the inheritance of all characters in all families, except early yield per plant in family BARI x Pant Rituraj, where complementary recessive epistasis was of importance.


Experiment in field condition was carried out to assess the relative efficacy of three selected plant extracts i.e neem, tobacco, akando and two selected chemical insecticides i.e Dursban 20 EC and Fipronil against the incidence of yellow rice stem borer (YSB), Scirpophaga incertulas (Walk.) at Murshidabad, West Bengal, India, during three consecutive kharif crop seasons of 2013-2015. Grossly the experiment had six treatments that were replicated four times in each year in randomized complete Block Design (RCBD). Plant extracts significantly control S. incertulas population that is comparable with chemical insecticides. Fipronil showed the reduction of 56.28% dead hearts (DH) and 65.27% white head (WH) over control after 35 days of spraying. While the result for dursban was 30.01% DH and 40.27% WH. Neem extract reduced DH and WH by 38.33% and 48.14% respectively. The result from tobacco (22.18% DH and 24.30% WH), akando (15.33% DH and 16.89% WH) are appreciable. Fipronil and Dursban treated plot showed yield of 3.18 and 3.04 t/ha respectively. While in neem, tobacco and akando extracts treated plot the yield was 3.07, 2.86 and 2.68 t/ha respectively. The result indicates that out of the insecticides of plant origin, application of neem formulation effectively reduces S. incertulas infestation in consideration to chemical insecticides.


The near‐Earth plasma sheet becomes cold and dense under northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) condition, which suggests efficient solar wind plasma entry into the magnetosphere across the magnetopause for northward IMF and a possible contribution of ionospheric oxygen ion outflow. The cold and dense characteristics of the plasma sheet are more evident in the magnetotail flank regions that are the interface between cold solar wind plasma and hot magnetospheric plasma. Several physical mechanisms have been proposed to explain the solar wind plasma entry across the magnetopause and resultant formation of the cold‐dense plasma sheet (CDPS) in the tail flank regions. However, the transport path of the cold‐dense plasma inside the magnetotail has not been understood yet. Here, we present a case study of the CDPS in the dusk magnetotail by magnetospheric multiscale (MMS) spacecraft under strongly northward IMF and high‐density solar wind conditions. The ion distribution function consists of high‐ and low‐energy components, and the low‐energy one intermittently shows energy dispersion in the directions parallel and antiparallel to the local magnetic field. The time‐of‐flight analysis of the energy‐dispersed low‐energy ions suggests that these ions originate in the region farther down the tail, move along the magnetic field toward the ionosphere and then come back to the magnetotail by the mirror reflection. The pitch‐angle dispersion analysis gives consistent results on the traveling time and path length of the energy‐dispersed ions. Based on these observations, we discuss possible generation mechanisms of the energy‐dispersed structure of the low‐energy ions during the northward IMF.


This paper deals with the simulation results obtained with regard to the restricted load demand in the state of Tamil Nadu for the year 2015. There are certain approaches in long term benefits of wind power plant modelling in WASP-IV. They all have some kind of approximations such as, load modification approach and supply-side approach. In Supply-Side Approach, Wind Power Plant (WPP) is meant to have both unreliable thermal plant capacity and the hydro capacity of Run-of-River (RoR), to make this approach more effective. As Capacity Factor (CF) is estimated as 18.6% for WPP, the FOR is estimated to be 81.4%. For solar energy generation system too, such a process is applied whereby the average CF is considered to be 40% while the FOR is assumed to be 60%. In the representation of WPP as RoR hydro plant, the constraint in the form of inflow energy.


This work presents the multi-objective optimization results of three experimental cases involving the laser sintering/melting operation and obtained by a virus evolutionary genetic algorithm. From these three experimental cases, the first one is formulated as a single-objective optimization problem aimed at maximizing the density of Ti6Al4V specimens, with layer thickness, linear energy density, hatching space and scanning strategy as the independent process parameters. The second one refers to the formulation of a two-objective optimization problem aimed at maximizing both the hardness and tensile strength of Ti6Al4V samples, with laser power, scanning speed, hatch spacing, scan pattern angle and heat treatment temperature as the independent process parameters. Finally, the third case deals with the formulation of a three-objective optimization problem aimed at minimizing mean surface roughness, while maximizing the density and hardness of laser-melted L316 stainless steel powder. The results obtained by the proposed algorithm are statistically compared to those obtained by the Greywolf (GWO), Multi-verse (MVO), Antlion (ALO), and dragonfly (DA) algorithms. Algorithm-specific parameters for all the algorithms including those of the virus-evolutionary genetic algorithm were examined by performing systematic response surface experiments to find the beneficial settings and perform comparisons under equal terms. The results have shown that the virus-evolutionary genetic algorithm is superior to the heuristics that were tested, at least on the basis of evaluating regression models as fitness functions.


Report presenting a study to investigate some aspects of the nature of the flow around delta wings. Vapor-screen, pressure-distribution, and ink-flow studies on a series of semispan delta-wing models with slender wedge airfoil sections and very sharp leading edges were conducted.


TIFF files created by WSU MASC. Files are named by box folder and image number, e.g. 2-1-1 is box 2 folder 1 image 1. In 2002, Grace Gu, Jodi Robin, and Kate Wehr, graduate students at the University of Washington's School of Information, described and uploaded images to the CONTENTdm database at the Washington State University Libraries as part of a course on Digital Libraries taught by Trevor Bond and Al Cornish. Al Cornish provided technical support for CONTENTdm. In 2006, Pinyin equivalents of names were provided by Edward Rhoades. The collection summary above was revised by Ben DeCrease in 2007, and collection graphics were modified by Jeff Kuure.


Allometry is a form of differential growth. It deals with the grosth of the parts of an organism relative to one another and to the whole organism. This raises a host of complex problems that are studied more or less intensively in all the main branches of biology, and one is likely to find that each specialty has its own definition of growth. As used throughout this paper, growth is defined simply as change in size. I t is most frequently measured in terms of some linear dimension such as length, width, or diameter, or as change in weight. In the skull, growth is most often measured as the distance between various anatomical points that are distinguished in physical anthropology. The growth involved is usually an increase in size, but also included under the term are the rarer cases of a decrease in size. This is sometimes designated by the term "degrowth," a term which seems repellent to many persons. At any rate, it is not a popular term, and it has not been accepted by any dictionary. An outstanding example of normal decrease in size is that of the thymus gland, which continues to increase in size until it is about two years of age, then remains practically stationary in size until about the 14th year, when it usually undergoes a gradual decrease. The atrophy, in some instances, may also be pathological, as in muscular dystrophy, in which the decrease is principally in the skeletal muscles. The phenomen of growth has been studied in all ages, from anLient Greece to the present time. Quantitative data were originally merely 0x1 the height, but the anthropologists now have indices of height-weight, brain weight to body weight, and various indices of the skull. These dimensions were first studied in relation to one another merely as percentages and then, many of them, by the method of statistical correlation. This study of changing size relations by the method of indices and statistical correlation has been superseded for many data by the alloinetric method, although the other methods are still valuable for some purposes. Allometry is the form of differential growth in which the data conform to the power function


The Arctic, the Antarctic as well as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) are cold regions on Earth where snow and ice dominate the local environment and impact the global climate via several strong feedback mechanisms. The observations and information service for those cold regions are vital for the societal benefits, and support from the science to policy making (Qiu et al. 2016). Earth cold regions exhibit strong sensitivity to global climate change and are thus some of the most fragile regions in terms of global ecology (Pulliainen et al. 2017). Due to these inherent similarities, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau area has been termed as the 'Third Pole', which is experiencing profound environmental changes. Recent research has provided evidence that the emergence of rapid Arctic warming in recent decades has coincided with unusually cold winters over Northern Hemisphere continents. The high latitude cold regions, especially the Arctic ocean, have a profound influence on northern hemisphere weather and climate, which further extends to provide a global impact. The high-altitude mountain Cold Regions, in particular, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, contribute to climate change through the water and energy cycle and other modulating mechanisms. Improving the understanding of the interconnection and teleconnection between high latitude cold regions, especially the Arctic, and high-altitude cold regions is becoming a key challenge (Qiu et al. 2017). From the perspective of the Earth climate system, there is a need for the sustainable observations and development of new methodologies to better characterize the evolution of the cryosphere, ecosystem, and atmosphere. Current research mainly focuses on a single pole, and comparative study across three poles is lacking. To fully understand the impacts and responses of Three Poles to global change, scientists need to consider Earth's three poles as a whole, study their spatial–temporal varieties, interconnections and relationships of their environmental parameters. The advantages of using space-based Earth observation for systematic study on the three poles. While due to the vastness and remoteness of these regions, remote sensing has become increasingly important for understanding the environmental changes and the driven factors by providing regional measurements of key land surface parameters. The integrated observations of environmental change in these cold regions are crucial for understanding the systematic process of global change. Given the amount of available historical Earth Observations (EO) data, as well as the fast evolution of interpretation methods of satellite observations and various numerical modeling approaches, a 'three poles comparative study' became feasible for ensuring a better understanding of the changing synchronism and asynchronism the mechanism among Earth poles. This special theme is devoted to the latest study on earth observations and understanding of the impact to the change of high latitude cold regions and high mountain cold regions, which will provide up-to-date observations of products and models for the sustainable research of cold regions. The issue includes the methodology on retrieval of remote sensing and assimilation with in-situ measurement for cryosphere over Earth poles, and its climatology environmental data products and their changing analysis over Earth poles in the last decades.