The evaluation of the water quality of the Kune-Vain lagoon complex with regard to general
physico-chemical and chemical parameters was the main focus of the present study. This evaluation
was based on the requirement of Council Directive of 18 July 1978 on the "quality of fresh waters
needing protection or improvement in order to support fish life", [78/659/EEC] and the requirement
of Council Directive of 3 November 1998 relating to the "quality of water intended for human
consumption", [98/83/EC]. Five sampling stations were selected to successfully perform the water
monitoring on the Kune-Vaini lagoon complex with a frequency of every two months, from July,
2018- July, 2019. The parameters measured were temperature, pH, conductivity, salinity, DO, BOD,
TDS, total hardness, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl– and some heavy metals. The monitored lagoons have shown
notable differences based on physico-chemical parameters.


Based on cooperation between the institute and the enterprise, taking the realizing course of CAE software and CAM system applying as instance, geometry data exchange between the specified CAE application and an universal CAD/CAM platform-the data is generated by CAE analyzing model from automobile body sheet metal stamping dies; and CAM based on NC manufacturing process modeling and the process simulation for the dies are also generated. Study shows the feasibility and validity of integrated applying of CAD/CAE/CAM in domestic automobile designing and manufacturing enterprises.


This article forms the introduction to a series of review articles designed to guide readers on the selection and application of different health service research methodologies in pharmacy practice research. The reviews will discuss different methods that have been used in pharmacy practice settings, their advantages and disadvantages, problems that have arisen and how these have been addressed. The first article, on survey research, follows on p152. Future articles, which will include discussion of semi‐structured and qualitative interviews, observation studies, and research into service evaluation, are planned for later issues


Child Sex Trafficking (CST) is a human rights violation and major global health issue. Many victims of CST seek medical attention during their exploitation and often present to the emergency department. The objective of this study was to apply and evaluate a screening tool for CST in an inner-city pediatric emergency department. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


The authors examine and summarize findings of demographic and epidemiologic research on mortality in Kenya with a particular focus on the issues that are most important for formulating a national policy to reduce mortality. "This study includes three major components. The first is the estimation of the levels and trends in mortality for each of the 41 districts. This analysis provides the basis for discussing geographic differentials and for evaluating the reliability and generalizability of epidemiologic data on cause of death. The second component is a review of the studies of the effect of socio-economic and environmental factors and health programme availability on mortality differentials." In the third part the authors attempt "to estimate mortality rates by cause for the country and whenever possible to examine geographic differentials or time trends for specific causes of death. The emphasis on mortality reflects the authors belief that cause-specific and overall mortality rates should be the primary tool used by health planners in developing countries for setting priorities." It is concluded that "Kenya has experienced a substantial sustained decline in mortality for at least 35 years. Although it is clear that several health programmes have contributed to this decline (in particular immunization programmes) there is no evidence that the general availability of health facilities has been responsible for much of the decline. Instead most of the decline seems to be associated with general socio-economic development and related cultural changes. This is most clear in the relationship between education and mortality." (EXCERPT)


In its report, the U.S. Preventive Health Services Task Force made the following recommendations against screening for these specific cancers: Prostate Cancer — Routine screening for prostate cancer with digital rectal examinations, serum tumor markers (e.g., prostate-specific antigen), or transrectal ultrasound is not recommended. Lung Cancer — Routine screening for lung cancer with chest radiography or sputum cytology in asymptomatic persons is not recommended. All patients should be counseled against tobacco use. Skin Cancer — There is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against either routine screening for skin cancer by primary care providers or counseling patients to perform periodic skin self-examinations. A recommendation to consider referring patients at substantially increased risk of malignant melanoma to skin cancer specialists for evaluation and surveillance may be made on other grounds. Counseling patients at increased risk of skin cancer to avoid excess sun exposure is recommended, based on the proven efficacy of risk reductions, although the effectiveness of counseling has not been well established. There is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against sunscreen use for the primary prevention of skin cancer. Testicular Cancer — There is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against routine screening of asymptomatic men in the general population for testicular cancer by physician examination or patient self-examination. Recommendations to discuss screening options with selected high-risk patients may be made on other grounds. Ovarian Cancer— Routine screening for ovarian cancer by ultrasound, the measurement of serum tumor markers, or pelvic examination is not recommended. There is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against the screening of asymptomatic women at increased risk of developing ovarian cancer. Pancreatic Cancer — Routine screening for pancreatic cancer in asympto


Background: Unrelated donor umbilical cord blood is an acceptable graft source for patients lacking related donors. However, a non-engraftment rate of approximately 20% despite adequate total nucleated cell (TNC) dose remains a barrier to the overall success of UCBT. Of various patient and graft characteristics that may influence engraftment, identifying an assay predictive of cord blood unit (CBU) potency and overall engraftment would be beneficial. Methods: Pre-cryopreservation (pre-cryo) and post-thaw graft characteristics were available on 423 UCBT performed at our institution between 2/11/2000 and 5/1/2007. The units were obtained from 16 US public cord blood banks and were selected by pre-cryo cell dose and HLA matching. Pre-cryo data (TNC, CD34 cells and CFU) was provided by the cord blood bank as part of routine banking practices. All units were thawed in the Duke Stem Cell Laboratory (SCL). Post-thaw testing (TNC, CD34, CFU) was performed by consistent personnel in the SCL after thaw and washing with Dextran/Albumin as described previously by Rubinstein et al. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify significant pre-cryo, post-thaw, and baseline factors predictive of neutrophil and platelet engraftment. Results: Of the 423 evaluable patients, 68% had malignancies, 61% were males, 73% were Caucasian and 38% were CMV+. The grafts were HLA (93%), sex (50%) or racially (24%) mismatched with the patients. There was excellent correlation between pre-cryo and post-thaw TNC (r 2 =0.92) and CD34 (r 2 =0.68) content, but much weaker correlation for CFUs (r 2 =0.27). In univariate analysis, age (≤5 years), disease (non-malignant), weight (≤12 kg), CMV status (negative), recipient ethnicity (Caucasian), HLA match (5/6 or 6/6) and pre-cryo/post-thaw TNC (larger), pre-cryo/post-thaw CD34 (larger) and pre-cryo/post-thaw CFU (larger) were predictive of both neutrophil and platelet engraftment. Multivariate analysis of parameters are presented in Table 1. In the overall multivariate analysis of neutrophil engraftment, Male units (p=0.01), 5/6 or 6/6 HLA match (p=0.02), larger post-thaw CD34 (p=0.02) and larger post-thaw CFU ( Conclusions: Post-thaw CFUs are a strong independent predictor of neutrophil and platelet engraftment after UCBT. This assay could be tested on a CBU segment and used as a marker of potency for graft selection.


Summary It has been demonstrated that an Okinawan horse was susceptible to infection by the virus of Japanese B encephalitis and that the virus was present in the circulating blood 3 and 6 days after inoculation. It could not be demonstrated 16 hours after inoculation, nor after 9 days, at which time a small amount of neutralizing antibody had appeared. In 3 other horses which possessed high titers of neutralizing antibodies prior to the injection, virus could not be demonstrated in the blood stream following inoculation. These results, when considered in conjunction with the previously demonstrated presence of high titers of antibodies in the sera of many Okinawan horses,1 constitute further evidence that this species of animal may play a role in the epidemiology of Japanese B encephalitis.


The low power wireless sensor devices which usually uses the low power wireless private area network (IEEE 802.15.4) standard are being widely deployed for various purposes and in different scenarios both in civil and military world. IPv6 low power wireless private area network (6LoWPAN) was adopted as part of the IETF standard for the wireless sensor devices in order to decrease the IP overhead and to adapt big IPv6 packets to small maximum transmission unit (MTU) offered by the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. This paper is focused on the adoption of the network coding to 6LoWPAN/IEEE 802.15.4 network. The solution based on COPE mechanism is proposed and described here. Also the implementation problems are discussed.


In mathematical analysis,∑∞n=0x~n=11-x, ∫~x_0cost dt=sin x are well known formulas. In each formula, the left side is not an elementary function, the right side is an elementary function. This is a contradiction which has not been explained reasonably so far. This phenomenon was studied and a reasonable explanation was presented in this paper. A property of elementary function was also discussed.


Abstract We present optical integral field spectroscopy analysis of the main components, with the exception of the halo, as well as of the detected small-scale structures of the planetary nebulae NGC 3242. The observations were obtained with the VIMOS instrument attached to VLT-UT3. Spatially resolved maps of the electronic density (N e), temperatures (T e) and chemical abundances, i.e., in a pixel to pixel fashion of the small and large-scales structures of this planetary nebula are determined in this work. These diagnostic and abundance maps represent important constraints for future detailed three dimensional photoionization modeling of the nebula, as well as providing important information on biases introduced by traditional slit observations.


To assess the care need of COPD patients who have high risk of recurrent admissions and death.

We have collected data prospectively on a group of patients with COPD who have had three or more admissions in the previous year or who have been referred to the COPD multidisciplinary team (MDT) or both


Over 250 new strains of algae have been added to the Collection since the latest supplementary list was published in 1966. The formulae for additional maintenance media and for useful experimental media are included. Reprints of this supplementary list and both previous listings are available without charge from the Collection.


The invention relates to a cooking pot lid equipped with a sealing gasket and manufactured for achieving a sealing status under adsorption and a fixed pressure according to the vacuum principle. In particular, the sealing gasket, which can be desorbed, wraps the edge of the pot lid; and by changing the structure of a sealing gasket body, the sealing gasket can not only conduct rigorous vacuum, but also also enhance the sealing force. The sealing gasket installed at the edge of the pot lid contacts a pot body, the part maintaining sealed is pressurized or provided with a similar pot edge sealing cushion which can be lengthened and enlarged according to the vacuum principle, a closely attached face with the pot body can be enlarged, and the sealing state can be maintained; and as a reserved space is provided, a telescopic part has a good restorability. When a pot with only an upper end edge is used, a protruding edge forms right below the rear of the telescopic pot edge sealing cushion with the sealing gasket body, and can prevent the pot lid from falling off by supporting the upper end edge of the pot body.


In this paper, the class of semi Eh-b-preinvex and pseudo Eh-b-preinvex functions are defined as an extension of E-B-preinvex and h-preinvex functions. In this extension the functions E:ℝn → ℝn, h: [0,1] → ℝ, and b:ℝn × ℝn × [0,1] → ℝ+ are taken into consideration. Various properties for the new functions as well as some properties and characterizations of quasi semi E-preinvex functions are discussed. Some optimality properties for semi Eh-b-preinvex nonlinear optimization problems are proved.


Recent reviews have pointed out that data collection and trait extraction is the major bottleneck in plant phenotyping. Several platforms, like PhenoTiki [3], provides Open Source components for an affordable acquisition of plant images. Recent years also emphasized the importance of 3d geometric features to characterize the morphology of plants [1]. We describe the hardware and software components for the acquisition of 3d images and a precise analysis of the plant morphology. The platform distinguishes itself from existing work in that it is designed as an affordable and modular solution that can be used both in the lab and in the field, in either static or mobile configuration. In addition, the plant images are captured with an off-the-shelf camera that combines color from an RGB sensor with depth information from a time-of-flight (TOF) sensor (DepthSense by SoftKinetic). To reach parts of plants that are occluded in a single view, the camera is mounted on a mobile 5 DOF arm (3 translations and pan/tilt rotations) and several views (typically 100) on a circular path are combined to get a full reconstruction of the plant. An iterative closest point algorithm is used to align clouds taken from nearby poses. Based on the reconstructed plant, the organs of the plant are segmented and analyzed using either the point cloud representation or Figure 2. Example representation for plant reconstruction and morphological analysis: Point cloud, segmented point cloud using K-means, graph representation with the plant shoot identified as the nodes with high betweenness centrality index, surface estimation of a leaf from its triangular mesh.


In this paper a reformulation technique is presented that takes a given linear zero-one programming problem, converts it into a zero-one polynomial programming problem, and then relinearizes it into an extended linear program. It is shown that the strength of the resulting reformulation depends on the degree of the terms used to produce the polynomial program at the intermediate step of this method. In fact, as this degree varies from one up to the number of variables in the problem, a hierarchy of sharper representations is obtained with the final relaxation representing the convex hull of feasible solutions. The reformulation technique readily extends to produce a similar hierarchy of linear relaxations for zero-one polynomial programming problems. A characterization of the convex hull in the original variable space is also available through a projection process. The structure of this convex hull characterization (or its other relaxations) can be exploited to generate strong or facetial valid inequalities through appropriate surrogates in a computational framework. The surrogation process can also be used to study various classes of facets for different combinatorial optimization problems. Some examples are given to illustrate this point. 1. Introduction. This paper describes a technique for generating a hierarchy of polyhedral representations for linear and polynomial zero-one programming problems.


Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a multicarrier transmission scheme it transmits large data over radio wave. PAPR is one of the disadvantage of OFDM system. (Peak to average power ratio) PAPR is nothing but several sinusoidal leads. This paper presents overview of different techniques used to reduce PAPR in OFDM system.These Proposed different techniques of reduction of PAPR gives better performance.


Dioxin pollution of aquatic sediments has been one of the important environmental problems in Japan.Grain size distribution and organic constituents may play important roles in dioxin contents in sediments, which have not been well investigated. This paper aimed to quantify dioxins(PCDDs/Fs and co-PCBs) in sieved surface sediment fractions obtained from Kizu and Sumiyoshi River in Osaka, Japan. The samples were prepared and analyzed following "the Manual of the Survey and Measurement of Dioxins in Sediment" (Environment Agency in Japan, 2000) and "Method for determination of tetrathrough octa-chlorodibenzo-p-dioxins, tetra-through octa-chlorodibenzofutans and coplanar polychlorobiphenyls in industrial water and wastewater" (Japanese Standards Association, 1999) The results showed that TEQ concentrations of dioxins increased with increasing the contents of Ignition Loss (IL) in the sediment fractions. Thus, reporting dioxin contents in sediments without considering grain size distribution may be erroneous, and conventional sediments. This information can be useful for effective remediation of dioxin-contaminated sediments. KEYWORD; PCDDs, PCDFs, Co-PCBs, river sediment, sediment fraction 1. はじめに ダイオキシン類対策特別措置法が施行されたことをうけ、ダイオキシン類による水底の底質の汚染に係る環境 基準が150pg-TEQ/gに 定められた。排ガスなどに比べ、底質中でのダイオキシン類の対策の確立については 対応され始めたばかりである。 ダイオキシン類に汚染された底質を除去するに当たっては様々な手法が用いられており浚渫は汚染底質対策 の中では最も一般的な対応である。浚渫は底質を巻き上げる場合が多く、汚染の拡大につながる可能性がある。 汚染底質の除去であれば汚染区域を閉鎖するなどの対策を施し、汚染物質の拡散を防止するため留意されるが、 浚渫は汚染底質の除去に限らず河床の安定化や航路確保のためなど行われる場合もあり、それらの場合は基 本的には濁水の拡散を防ぐことに主眼を置き対策が行われている。 底質由来の微粒子を含む濁水はこれまでは主に凝集沈殿等で処理されている。しかし、堤ら1)によれば焼却 炉スクラバ排水において0.1μmの 粒子にも高濃度のダイオキシン類が存在することが述べられており、 これまで溶存性とされていた1.0μm以 下の微粒子にもダイオキシン類が比較的高い濃度で吸着していること が明らかになった。また、1.0μm以下の微粒子については凝集沈殿のみによる処理では必ずしも十分に除去を *大阪産業大学新産業研究開発センター (High-Tech Research Center, Osaka Sangyo University) **大阪産業大学大学院工学研究科 (Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka Sangyo University) ***大阪産業大学工学部都市創造工学科 (Dept. of Civil Engineering, Osaka Sangyo University) ****大阪産業大学人間環境学部都市環境学科 (Dept. of Urban Environment, Osaka Sangyo University)


By an extension of ordinary geometrical optics (or acoustics) the intensity of the reflected and transmitted fields due to a point source in the presence of an arbitrary interface between two media is found. Particular consequences of the solution are the general lens and mirror law and the equations for the caustic surfaces.


Syringomas are benign appendageal tumors of the eccrine sweat glands which are more common in women over the extragenital sites like the periorbital, cervical and axillary areas and the chest. Vulvar syringomas although not rare, are reported uncommonly perhaps owing to a missed diagnosis. Vulvar Syringomas are remarkable for pruritus. A case of multiple vulvar syringomas is reported in an Indian female.


1051 (by or near the master), charioteer slab 1037, Amazon slabs 1007/8 and 1012; his second, heads 1058 (by or near the master), 1052, and 1060, torso 1048, Amazon slabs 1018 and 1020/21. Between the two belong the Erbach and Acropolis Alexander heads, which echo his chryselephantine statue; his latest style is found in the Belvedere Apollo. Ashmole gives him slabs 1013— 15 (Buschor's Scopas, as most scholars), and as later work the Acropolis Alexander (the Erbach head being a copy) and the Demeter of Cnidus. Here, one might think, are two clear personalities, one or both wrongly named Leochares; but what of the common factor, the Alexander ? Similarly Jongkees's Bryaxis (J.H.S. lxviii. 29 ff.) shares the Mausolus and Artemesia with Buschor's, but includes heads 1051 (Buschor's Leochares), 1054 (Buschor's Scopas), and 1055 (Buschor's Timotheus). Is it perhaps that our knowledge of fourth-century sculpture is not ripe for this approach?


Impact resistance of spacecraft structures indicate performance criterion effect on final structural configuration and importance of hypervelocity of realistic hypervelocity test specimens


This report was produced for the Green Growth Diagnostics for Africa project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.


A two-dimensional self-calibration method obtains Cartesian traceability for high-precision tools. The calibration method incorporates group theory principles yielding mathematical solutions to a physical Cartesian reference. The calibration method was developed by Stanford University, Hewlett Packard, IBM and funded by the Semiconductor Research Corporation. The method was applied to Leica's LMS2000 and LMS2020 systems.


In Arabidopsis the stomatal defense response, a feature of the innate immunity in plants, involves oxylipin-mediated mechanisms that are independent of the phytohormone abscisic acid.


From theoretical analysis,comparison of two methods on air volume regulation.The traditional approach was adjusting throttle valve or damper opening degree,this method of air volume regulating small range,bad quantity stability,serious air loss,large energy consumption,poor dynamic tracking performance.But fan speed controlled by frequency conversion,taking valve fully open,electric power consumed less than regulating valve opening.In practice,given steam boiler fan,blower for frequency conversion speed regulation scheme,and analyses energy saving effects,thus bring a series of benefits.


Commelina occulta (Commelinaceae), a new endemic species from western Mexico, is described and illustrated. The new species is related to C. tuberosa complex and morphologically close to C. standleyi but differs in having broad leaf blades, larger, axillary inflorescences, glaucous spathaceous bracts with long peduncles, besides being more robust and glabrescent. According to IUCN criteria, the species was assessed as endangered (EN). A key to the western Mexico species of Commelina is provided.


The invention discloses a fattening pig feed and a preparation method of the fattening pig feed. The feed comprises the following raw materials in parts by weight: 500-520 parts of corns, 140-150 parts of fried soybean meal, 70-80 parts of stalk meal, 1-2 parts of edible salt, 4-5 parts of shrimp shell powder, 30-35 parts of brown rice, 1-2 parts of common cruculigo rhizome, 1-2 parts of rubia cordifolia, 1-2 parts of eucommia leaf, 2-3 parts of raw rehmannia, 1-2 parts of white peony root, 1-2 parts of red peony root, 1-2 parts of ginseng, 10-12 parts of leaf of the rehmannia glutinosa libosch, 20-23 parts of hawthorn leaf, 3-4 parts of prunus humilis bunge, 2-3 parts of rubiaceae borreria stricta, 3-4 parts of galium aparine, and 4-6 parts of a phagostimulant. The fattening pig feed is reasonable in proportion, can be used for improving the antibacterial and disease-preventing capability when pigs are fed by the feed, and improving the growing speed of pigs and the quality of pork, so that the cost can be reduced, and the economical income can be increased.


Previous marketing practices have caused much criticism of this concept, which is why the necessity for its overcoming is emphasized in academic and professional debates. Therefore, the basic task of the modern marketing concept becomes building good relationships both with the market participants and the wider social public. This paper aims to show that creation of good relations with key participants in the market is one of the possibilities for improving overall business in the global environment. The starting point of this issue is consideration of the marketing criticism from a wider perspective and highlighting its solving potentials in the direction of building good relationships with marketing participants. In this process, it is important to emphasize the potential of marketing relations as the concept that we promote within the contemporary marketing. The concept of marketing relations will be considered through the 4 Os model. Reaching these complex but legitimate demands sets difficult task before the participants in today's market, but trends show that only by developing good relations it is possible to achieve a long-term sustainable position.


sketch of "The Modern Movement in Psychology." How far from modern is the psychology contemplated by Dr. Woodworth may be seen in the fact that his history ends with William James's "Principles of Psychology," published in 1890. Clinical psychology is not mentioned, yet clinical psychology is twenty-one years old this summer, and psychological clinics have been established in the foremost institutions all over the country. There has been one in Dr. Woodworth's own University, and several in New York City, but he never once makes an admission of their existence.


By using the method of questionnair and document,wehave studied the psychological health of college students,and discussed that physical education can improve students' psychologcal health. Using the method of document and that of logical analysis, we discover that the efficient way to improve the psychological health of students should be to carry out physical educational reform, to set up idea of health, to combine psychological health education with improving students' physique, to develop sports interesting, and to develop the habit of lifelong sports.


Polyclonal immunoglobulin G (IgG) from healthy subjects was found to be capable of hydrolyzing carbobenzoxy–Val–Gly–Arg–p‐nitroanilide (a synthetic chromogenic substrate for trypsin) and d–Pro–Phe–Arg–p‐nitroanilide (a substrate for plasma kallikrein). Statistically significant elevation of activity against the former substrate was found in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but not in patients with Sjogren's syndrome (SjS) or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). On the other hand, IgG samples from the patients with these three autoimmune diseases showed reduced activity against d–Pro–Phe–Arg methylcoumarinamide, although the differences were not statistically significant. Preliminary studies have shown that two out of three IgG samples from RA patients exhibited the activity of cleaving a pentapeptide, Gln–Arg–Arg–Ala–Ala, whereas virtually no cleavage of the same peptide was observed with IgG from healthy controls or from patients with SjS or SLE.


The design of tomorrow's mobile communications systems will require accurate mathematical tools for estimating the performance of potential system configurations. Ideally these tools will be easy to apply and be based upon parameters that can be estimated by a simple appraisal of the propagation environment. In this paper a general outage probability technique for considering the effect of noise and cochannel interference on reception reliability is presented. The technique is used to assess the compatibility and applicability of previously published techniques as that either treat noise as cochannel interference or consider a minimum detectable received signal threshold. A simple yet accurate threshold-based technique is described and used to predict bit error rates (BER) for a variety of conditions. Specifically, outage probability is used to accurately predict average BER.<<ETX>>


Using the orthogonal experimental method, we can get the linear regression model of about parallel mechanism stiffness. Selecting four factors three levels of orthogonal experiment method, in ANSYS-workbench to space in third rotation 3-SPS/S parallel mechanism for static stiffness analysis, we have won nine of the data of the experiments, the application of the MATLAB software to experimental data is linear regression, which can get the static stiffness linear regression of parallel mechanism, under the influence of the stiffness, the regression function can be predicted in the different factors of parallel mechanism, we provide a new basis and reference for the following static stiffness analysis.


Presented at the 3rd Annual Meeting of the International Society for Computer Assisted Orthopaedic Surgery in Marbella, Spain, June 2003 This work was supported in part by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, and the Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund Registration Point Selection Factors 1. Number of points (50 vs. 100) 2. Random selection vs. subsampling 3. Point set a. All points b. High curvature (min. local curv. ≥ 1/5) c. Low curvature (min. local curv < 1/5) d. Equal number of high and low curvature


Background: One of the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is to reduce under-five mortality to 25 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030. Unfortunately, most of the Sub-saharan countries are lagging behind. Nigeria is one of such countries with an under-five mortality rate of 128 per 1,000 live births. This calls for serious concerns. There is need to introduce measures to stem the tide. The aim of this study was to identify factors that increase the odds of under-five mortality in Nigeria. Methodology: This was a population-based, cross-sectional survey covering the country of Nigeria. A total of 119,386 under-five children were considered in the study. The sampling frame for the survey was the list of Enumeration Areas (EAs) prepared for the 2006 Population Census of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, provided by the National Population Commission. We conducted secondary analysis of the data collected during the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. Univariable logistic regression analysis was done to identify possible determinants of under-five mortality. In order to control for other variables in the model, we conducted multivariable logistic regression which included only variables that were significant in the univariable analysis. Results: Following multivariate analysis a number of determinants of under-five mortality were identified. They include: Geo-political zones of the children, Gender, Mother's educational level, Mother's number of births in the preceding 5 years, Mother's marital status, Maternal age, Mother's type of family planning method, Child's birth order, Family size, Family wealth index and Place of residence (urban/rural). Conclusion: Multiple logistic regression has enabled us to identify important determinants of under-five mortality in Nigeria. We recommend that policy makers should consider the determinants as they design interventions to combat under-five mortality.


Yield and sugar characteristics of transgenic sugarcane mediated with SrMV-P1 were evaluated for two years based on the pilot experiment of patented transgenic plants approved by National Safety Committee of Genetically Modified Organisms.The results showed that the resistance to ScMV was improved effectively in the transgenic sugarcane mediated with SrMV-P1 gene.ScMV incidences of all transgenic clones,which were investigated for 2 years,were 5% or less,significantly lower than the receptor cultivars(FN95-1702,CK1)and the transgenic clones mediated with only marker gene but without SrMV-P1 gene(P7,CK2).The transgenic sugarcane clone TF64 was not infected by SrMV virus.Besides,the characteristics of yield and sugar in six transgenic sugarcane were much better than those of CK1 and CK2.Furthermore,the results from the fuzzy comprehensive analysis also revealed that transgenic sugarcane clones,compared with FN95-1702 and the P7(CK1 and CK2),had great performance for two years.The transgenic sugarcane TF53 showed the highest yield and sugar contents.Compared to the controls(CK1 and CK2),the yield of TF53 was increased by 32.9%(CK1)and 46.3%(CK2),and sugar content in cane was increased by 2.1%(CK1)and 1.7%(CK2)(absolute value).The highest sugar content in cane was found in TF37 with 15.6%(absolute value).From all the above,we drew the conclusion that resistance of sugarcane mosaic virus could be improved by mediation of SrMV-P1 gene,and the corresponding yield and sugar content was higher than those of control(CK1 and CK2).


Among the different typologies characterizing historic masonry structures, those witch present the most unknown physical and mechanical properties of their internal components, are the structures shaped by massive masonry. The reference is made to examples like the lower part of bell towers, high ditch walls of citadels, retaining walls of rivers or canals, as well as spandrels and piers of arch bridges. How to know the effective structural and load bearing hidden thickness as well as the internal grade of integrity of the wall or pier is still at present a debating issue. Among the wide variety of sonic methods used for detection of internal discontinuities, the Spectral Analysis of Surface Waves (SASW) was developed since decades ago, with different applications, mainly in geothecnical area and reinforced concrete structures, both in the time domain and the frequency domain. In the case of massive masonry elements, techniques analyzing and processing the data with models using phase velocity, frequency-wave number and power spectral analysis seem to present high reliability of detecting the material discontinuities, even of small dimension. Recalling the actual background of sonic non-destructive test different applications, the paper describes the calibration procedure used and the techniques implemented, in term of technological in-situ application and data processing, for the investigation of a retaining masonry wall of an historic water canal near the masonry abutments of a bridge, interested by heavy traffic downtown Milan. prof. J. Cascante, ing. P. Crespi, ing. G. Franchi, prof. A. Migliacci and prof. P. Ronca _____________________________________________________________________________________


Proper design and development of near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent sensors is very important for applications in vivo. In this work, we theoretically designed a ratiometric and NIR fluorescent sensor based on the 10-hydroxybenzo[h]quinoline (HBQ) backbone via systematically investigating the substituent effects of electron-donating groups (−NH2, −CH3, −C(CH3)3) and electron-withdrawing groups (−NO2, −CN, −F, −Cl, −CF3) at the proton donor site on the proton transfer process in HBQ in both the S0 and the S1 states. According to the calculated potential energy profiles along the proton transfer as well as the photophysical properties among all the derivatives, we successfully screened out that 7NH2-HBQ is a promising fluorescent sensor exhibiting the near IR emission spectra accompanied by the large Stokes shift. The potential use of 7NH2-HBQ for F– detection among anions (F–, Cl–, and Br–) was further studied, and the results showed that 7NH2-HBQ is very sensitive and selective toward F– based on the intermolecular hydrogen bonding interaction between F– and OH bond, forming a new complex FACS0. The ratiometric change in the fluorescence intensity could be induced by the H–F bond transfer from the O atom to the N atom in the S1 state.


Introduction. With the development of modern technologies, the world is changing. Every branch of the economy needs transformation for adequate growth. Energy is no exception. Ukraine and the world are trying to transition to a digital economy and form a digital ecosystem of states. Given the high impact of energy on the economy and the implementation of the state's digital ecosystem, it is crucial to choose the right long-term strategy for developing this industry while simultaneously reducing the impact on the environment. One of these ways is smart energy transformation, a gradual transition from using fossil fuels to environmentally friendly energy sources.The article aims to research the development of the smart energy sector's technologies and their perspectives.Methods. Investigating the smart transformation trends and processes was provided using Google Trends Tools on the frame of systematic approach and analysing the development dynamic of innovative strategies implementation.Results. The main problems of traditional energy, caused by rising energy prices, which in turn are related to the exhaustion of readily available fields of organic and nuclear fuels, as well as frequent accidents at nuclear power plants, which in turn caused the need to analyse the state of energy consumption at the current stage of development. Against the background of problems with fossil energy sources, one of the key global trends in the development of the energy industry is the development of alternative energy sources and digital energy. These processes have already significantly influenced the economy of the fuel and energy complex in some countries and continue to develop. The proliferation of renewable energy is already beginning to have a global impact on electricity generation, consumption, and operation, especially in countries where the share of renewable energy in traditional energy exceeds 10 % in such countries, and Ukraine is projected too soon. The transition from current forecast generation models with essentially constant power to networks with which variable renewable energy sources are connected will likely require significant changes. Implementing renewable and distributed renewable energy will require more effort to manage, redistribute and accumulate energy flows in the grid. Digitisation can solve challenges that will only intensify in the future in three stages: «smart» energy generation, innovative management and settlement with customers, and wise consumption. The main problem here is the need for a considerable amount of data that will need to be processed to understand how the network works at any given time so that, with constant changes to its parameters, variables can be managed, forecasted, customers' current needs and capabilities assessed energy services.Prospects. Digital technologies such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, automation, complex cloud computing and blockchain are gaining popularity in the energy sector. Investments in these technologies are growing yearly and will become decisive by 2030. Digitisation of electrical systems was also investigated. The interconnectedness and evolving roles of generators, consumers and power grids will continue to be a central feature of the future of electricity supply.


Vegetation phenology is used in the study of climate change because of stable distribution, and ease of observation and interpretation. In this study, a 15⁃day time series of averaged normalized difference vegetation indices (NDVI) derived from the daily Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies ( GIMMS) NDVI dataset and 16⁃day averaged NDVI values derived from the daily Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) NDVI dataset were used to analyze trends in vegetation phenology. Firstly, using the ENVI tool to cut remote sensing data, NDVI time series data for the study area from 1982 to 2014 were obtained. Secondly, using a Savitzky⁃Golay filter, noise contamination caused by random factors was reduced by producing a smooth NDVI curve. Thirdly, using double logistic fitting, three important phenological parameters, including the start of growing season (SOS), the end of growing season (EOS), and the length of growing season (LOS) were extracted for different vegetation types. Temporal change trends, as well as its spatial distribution characteristics, of the nine major vegetation types in the Qilian Mountains were analyzed. These types included meadow, steppe, desert vegetation, shrub vegetation, alpine vegetation, coniferous forest, broad⁃leaved forest,


The gas-insulated switchgear test is very important to find insulation faults in time and to increase the reliability of power supply. The study of test technique of gas-insulated switchgear is of practical values. In this paper,radical AC voltage withstanding tests and partial discharge (PD) detection are discussed. On the base of comparison of various test methods,it is introduced that AC voltage withstanding test combining PD detection is more effective in diagnosing defects of GIS. Also it is suggested that available PD on line monitoring system should be used for real-time information of the operation insulation in GIS.


Synthetic peptides are used for identification of functional B cell epitopes in antibody preparations. ELISA‐type assays are used to identify sequences of proteins comprising antibody‐binding regions. This unit describes three peptide display formats. Pepscan (pins) and SPOTs (cellulose membranes) may be used as solid‐phase support media for peptide synthesis, followed by ELISA directly on the resulting peptide array. Alternatively, peptides may be cleaved from the array and tested in a standard microplate‐based antibody capture ELISA format. The discussion includes choosing the peptide sequences by length and overlap, as well as determination of the minimum essential sequence for antibody binding. This method is highly effective for continuous epitopes and is often also useful for discontinuous epitopes.


The result of efforts for the revitalization of traditional market have not been satisfied. The purpose of this study was to suggest implications on planning and design method for revitalization of the traditional market in Korean cities. For that, theoretical review and case analysis were conducted on public spaces in 'Quincy Market' and 'Granville Island Public Market'. The results of case analysis are as follows. (1) The various spaces and facilities that make up the traditional market show a synergistic effect through linkage. (2) Various public spaces for traditional market users have been made in market buildings and open spaces. (3) Food and beverages sold in traditional markets can be eaten in public spaces, and meetings, breaks, performances and events are held in public spaces. (4) A company or non-profit organization with unified executive power is in charge of or participating in


A sufficient condition for stability of unified chaotic system is derived on the basis of the stability theory of impulsive differential equation and switched systems.It has been proved by the result of illustrative example that the control can achieve an effective control.


Medical scientific journals must endeavor to maintain impartiality in dealing with companies that produce methods for diagnosing or treating patients. This is not always easy to do, as some of these same companies pay for advertisements in those same medical journals. Fortunately, the editors of Annals have been insulated against any such influence, and in fact have the opportunity to review all advertisements for any apparent conflicts of interest. We also would not permit an Editor who had a conflict of interest with a study (because he or she had received income from the manufacturer) to participate in handling a manuscript. There is no question, however, that our role as an impartial arbiter places us in a sometimes awkward relationship vis a vis the manufacturer, who has a vested interest in having the imprimatur of Annals for his or her product studies. This role requires that we be diligent in searching for potential conflicts of interest held by authors. These are more difficult to work through, as manufacturers have an extraordinarily wide range of such relationships to offer. For example, the author may receive funds from the manufacturer as a grant to support the work being done (certainly a valid and necessary relationship), or as an unrestricted fund to the author's institution (still a valid vehicle for supporting many academic programs). Or the author may serve in a less obvious fashion as a speaker at events that the manufacturer is paying for, but which are being organized by a third party. These would include the now-infamous "speaker's bureaus" that permitted manufacturers to funnel tens of thousands of dollars to chosen investigators and clinicians (and which have now largely been abandoned). On the other hand, the author may have a more direct relationship with the company, serving on an Advisory Board, or as a consultant, or perhaps being paid in equity, which makes the author a stakeholder in the results of the study. We ask that all of these relationships be disclosed, and generally scrutinize the results of the studies more carefully, but recognize that close relationships between innovative clinicians and manufacturers are necessary for the translation of laboratory findings to commercially available treatments. But how are we to treat studies where some (or all) of the authors are employees of the manufacturer? Certainly, this is the clearest and best defined conflict of interest. If the industry authors are scientific investigators in the study, should they be treated any differently from authors who work as consultants or Advisory Board members for the manufacturer? It is our contention that they should. In the case of undue influence by the industry sponsor, non-industry scientists must consider potential damage to their scientific reputations, which would diminish their subsequent careers. Industry scientists may be faced with the dilemma that behavior that promotes their careers may be at odds with behavior that would enhance their scientific reputation. Let me give you an example from my own experience. Many years ago, I collaborated with some scientists working for a pharmaceutical manufacturer on the mechanism of action of a drug that they were developing for release. In an animal (preclinical) study, we found that the mechanism of action was similar to that of some controlled substances. Our collaborators at the company kept making changes in the manuscript, with requests for revision after revision that dragged on for more than a year. Finally, the day after the drug was approved by the FDA, our collaborators told us it was fine to go ahead and publish. Of course, they were concerned with the information coming out, before the drug was approved, that its mechanism of action was similar to a controlled substance. They wanted their product not to have a controlled designation. This behavior was scientifically indefensible, but it did make a lot of money for the industry sponsor. As a result, when a manuscript is submitted to the Annals in which some of the authors (particularly the first or last author) are industry employees, an important question is whether this relationship has distorted the science. Studies that come from primary authors employed by the manufacturer of a product being studied bear the double concern about how the influence of the manufacturer may have biased the structure of the study, and which studies done on the same product were never presented at all because the result was negative. Of course, if


Simulations of the potential of matched‐field tomography for inverting ocean sound‐speed structure (Tolstoy and Diachok, 1991) have to date neglected effects of bottom interacting modes. A study to determine the effect of bathymetry in the thinly sedimented Pacific on matched‐field processing has been conducted. A range‐ and depth‐dependent sound‐speed field was used. The acoustic field used as synthetic data ''measured'' at the array was calculated by the parabolic equation program FEPE (Collins, 1991). The program was shown to be highly accurate in matched‐field studies against ''exact'' results produced by the normal modes program KRAKEN (Porter, 1991). The effects of irregular bathymetry and shifts in bottom sound speeds were studied through simulations conducted over extensive range and frequency intervals. The results showed an increase in signal array degradation with increasing range and frequency and reduced source localization. Effects of interaction with far and near sides of seamounts (relativ...


The strategical allocation of meters, such as the Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU), at Power Distribution Systems (PDS), represents an optimization of the use of monitoring resources. This optimization can contribute to the State Estimation (SE) process, which consists of obtaining an estimated electrical network state without full monitoring. Meta-heuristics are potential methods for application to optimal allocation problems, such as meters in PDS. Still, computational intelligence techniques, such as Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), can be applied to SE, due to its agility in processing available measures. Therefore, this work aims to investigate the potential of associating a meta-heuristic technique, Artificial Immunological System (AIS), for the allocation of meters with the processing agility of ANN for the evaluation of different allocation options. A case study using a well-known test system in the area of knowledge demonstrates the applicability of the proposed hybrid method.


It has been shown that the condition of phage T1 during ultraviolet irradiation has a marked effect on the sensitivity and photoreactivability of the phage (1). Changes in the dark or light survival curves or both were produced by irradiating the phage after air-drying, after suspending or freezing in different aqueous media, after suspending in different concentrations of ethanol, and after adsorbing to the host bacterium. The present paper is concerned with possible interpretations that can be applied to the observed changes in the survival curves.


JRSH The Journal of The Royal Society for the Promotion of Health July 2008 Vol 128 No 4 As obesity levels soar, STD statistics reach all time highs, and millions of people die annually from smokingrelated causes, could social marketing be the answer to the downward spiral? Caitlyn Donaldson looks at why so many hopes are being pinned on its ability to direct people towards healthy behaviours. Marketing Health, Influencing Behaviour


Obesity is considered to be a disorder of energy balance, occurring when energy expenditure is no longer in equilibrium with daily energy intake, so as to ensure body weight homeostasis. Although the etiology of obesity is complex, dietary factors, particularly the consumption of monosodium glutamate, is considered a risk factor for its development .Shorea robusta Geartn is a medicinal plant demonstrated to exert multiple health benefits. Hence present study was undertaken to evaluate anti-obesity effect of hydro-alcoholic extract of Shorea robusta (HASR) leaves on monosodium glutamate induced obesity in albino rats. Monosodium glutamate is used to induce obesity for 7 days along with normal diet and obtained obese rats were treated with Shorea robusta in a dose of 200, 400 and 600mg/kg p.o for next 41days. Physical parameters such as body weight, various organs and adipose tissue weight and various biochemical parameters like serum glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C, VLDL-C, atherogenic index, SGPT and SGOT were evaluated and compared with both normal control and obesity control groups. From result, it was concluded that hydroalcoholic Shorea robusta leaves extract is a potential drug which can be used for treatment of obesity and favours the correction of disturbed lipid profile.


The development of micro force sensor includes configuration and periphery circuit design. Through the analysis of material and structure form, annular elasticity element is designed in 35CrMnSiA. 35CrMnSiA is always used in high precision sensor, which has biggish strain capacity of l.0×10-3-1.5×10-3. Annular elasticity element has characters of structure simplification, stabilization, high vibration-self value and high sensitive value. The software of Abacus optimizes annular elasticity element, the analysis ascertains the position where the strain piece should affix, and the analysis indicates that annular elasticity element is in the command of strain and stress. Annular elasticity element is machined by wire cut after quencher treatment and midst temperature temper for the raw material 35CrMnSiA. Periphery circuit includes the design of zero adjustment, temperature compensation and amplification function, which assures the high precision. Under the condition of static state, demarcation is done by experiment with the main static eigenvalue of hysteresis 0.64%, repeatability 0.45% and linearity 0.55%. The force sensor belongs to precision level and satisfies the designing request.


ObjectiveTo analyze the change in the incidence of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) in the past 27 years and to probe the relationship between iodine and these carcinomas. MethodsStatistical analysis was performed on data of thyroid diseases, thyroid malignant tumors, PTC , FTC and their complications in Department of Pathology from 1978 to 2004 in General Hospital of Tianjin Medical University with Run test、Cox-Stuart test, ANOVA, t or t′ test and Chi-square test. ResultsIn 27 years there were 231837 cases of biopsies (average 8587cases/year). The biopsies were performed in the thyroid diseases as a whole 6276 cases (2.70%),thyroidmalignanttumors644cases(0.28%), PTCs 465 cases (0.20%), and FTCs 80 cases (0.03%) in 27 years. Biopsies in thyroid diseases as a whole showed a descending tendency since 1982 but an ascending tendency after 1995. Biopsy in malignant thyroid tumor did not show a significant change, and biopsy in PTC showed an ascending tendency and that in FTC showed a descending tendency after 1995. The average age, both in male and female patients, at the time of diagnosis of PTC and FTC showed no significant change during 27 years, but the mean age of male at the time of diagnosis was older than that of female. The ratios of male to female in PTC and FTC were 1:3.31、1:2.81 respectively,and showed no significant change either. There were more biopsies with lymph node metastasis in PTC (33.76%) than those in FTC (10.00%) and more biopsies with blood vessel involved or nodular goiter in FTC (11.25% and 13.75%) than those in PTC (0.65% and 4.52%). Mean age of patients with PTC and nodular goiter (44.3 years old) was older than those without goiter (38.1 years old). The ratios of male to female with PTC and FTC with lymph node metastasis were higher than those without lymph node metastasis. ConclusionThe incidence of thyroid malignant tumors in 27 years has no significant change. The contrary tendency of PTC and FTC suggests that the decreasing malignant degree of carcinoma. It suggests that this area is not in high iodine condition and the change have no relationship with the iodine intake.


Phospholipase A2 (PLA2; EC 18.104.22.168) is a key enzyme in inflammation and is thought to play an important part in inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Three genetically, biochemically and functionally different forms of PLA2 have been identified in human tissues, two low molecular weight (14 kDa) forms (PLA2-l and PLA2-ll) and one high molecular weight (85 kDa) form (cPLA2). It is still unknown which type of PLA2 that can be found in the human gastrointestinal tract. Here, the presence of PLA2-1, PLA2-11 and cPLA2 mRNA was investigated in the human stomach, ileum and colon. Methods. RNA was isolated from the mucosa of the stomach (1 patient, control of previous bleeding; 1 patient, control of duodenal ulcer), from the distal part of ileum (3 patients operated on for colonic cancer; 2 patients for Crohn's disease), and from the colon (4 patients operated on for colonic cancer). mRNA expression was analysed, using the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results. (i) mRNA for PLA2-1, PLA2-ll and cPLA2 was detected in the stomach, ileum and colon. (ii) In the ileum and the colon, the mRNA expression of PLA2-ll markedly exceeded PLA2-l cPLA2. (iii) PLA2-ll mRNA was markedly increased in the ileum of patients with Crohn's disease, PLA2-l and cPLA2 mRNA were unaffected. Conclusion. These results indicate that human gastrointestinal mucosa contains mRNA for three different forms of PLA2. Moreover, the results suggest that PLA2-11 might be of importance in Crohn's disease. Secretin stimulates pancreatic ductules to secrete HCO- into pancreatic juice and H+ to interstitial fluid. The present study was undertaken to examine whether the H+ ion secretion is inhibited by micromolar concentrations of bafilomycin A1, at which concentration the bafilomycin A1 blocks vacuolar H+-ATPase by specific action. Thus, the Aim of the present study was to de- termine whether the secretin-induced H+ secretion is due to activation of a vacuolar type H+-ATPase. Methods: Net H+ secretion was estimated from the rate of intracellular pH (pHi) recovery after acid loading (24 mM NH4CI) of microdissected pancreatic ductules from pig, mounted in a flow-through perfusion chamber on the stage of a fluorescent microscope. pH1 was measured from an es- timated average of 10-15 cells using the fluorescent pHi indicator BCECF and dual-wavelength excitation of fluorescence. The ducts were superfused with HCO5-free HEPES buffers. We used the inhibitor bafilomycin A1 to test whether the secretin-induced H+ secretion was due to vacuolar type H+- ATPase. To identify Na+-H+ exchange, we used the inhibitor amiloride or re-moval of extracellular Na+ by substitution with choline. Results: Secretin induced the net H+ secretion of 2.11 ± 0.2 Amol-ml cell volume-min-1 in NH4CI pulsed, amiloride-treated bile ductules. The net H+ secretion was blocked by bafilomycin A1 (10-6 M), but not by Na+ re-moval (JH+ 2.02 in by by malignant melanoma cells (LOX) were studied in an in vitro system using transwell chambers containing membranes of 8 Asm pore size. Each membrane was coated with the solubilized tissue basement membrane Matrigel. To the upper transwell chambers the LOX cell suspension was added. The transwells were incubated for 72 and cells on the lower part of the membrane were counted. For studying pos-sible effects on invasion, nontoxic concentrations of E 64, u-PA and t-PA were added to the upper chambers just prior to adding the cell suspension. in a dose- dependent manner. When E 64 was added to a final concentration of 400 Amol/l, only 25% of the cells passed the membrane compared with controls. E 64 did not significantly reduce the motility of the tumor cells and did not alter cellular attachment to Matrigel coated dishes. There was no complete inhibition of invasion. u-PA and t-PA increased the invasion through Matrigel. The highest used concentration of the serine proteases (2500 ng/ml), gave a 50% increase of invasion through the membrane. Conclusion Our results indicate that serine and cysteine proteases are involved in the degradation of basement membranes and thus contribute to the invasion of malignant melanoma cells. OA is a somatostatin analogue. We have previously observed its beneficial ef- fect in severe diarrhea. The aim of this study is to compare the effect of OA to antidiarrheal drugs plus placebo on refractory diarrhea of AIDS. Methods. 20 male patients with AIDS and refractory diarrhea were included. Patients were randomly assigned to receive during 10 days either octreotide acetate (mean dose of 600 mcg/kg SC) or high doses of loperamide and diphenoxylate plus placebo (glucose solution). Fecal weight and frequency of bowel movements were daily recorded before and after treatment. the pharmacological treatment of esophageal candidiasis in HIV- positive patients. Aim of this study has to value the role and the therapeutic efficacy of fluconazole and flucytosine, compared with placebo, in the treatment of endoscopically-diagnosed esophageal candidiasis in AIDS patients. The study has 60 HlV-positive patients males 22 females, mean age 27 ± 2) at first episode of esophageal candidiasis diagnosed by endoscopy. No other opportunistic infection of the esophagus The patients for the study did not follow AZT any antiretroviral As regards clinical symptomatology, complete remission was observed in 16 patients of F-group and in 12 patients of FCT-group (p n.s.), with a difference statistically significant for both treatments in comparison with P-group (p Partial clinical remission was observed in 4 patients of F-group in 6 patients of FCT-group (p n.s. vs F group) and in 6 patients of P-group. No clinical response was observed in 2 patients of FCT-group and in 14 patients of P-group (p No remarkable side-effect has been observed in the patients of both groups of treatment. statistically significant in comparison with P F demon- strated a greater therapeutic efficacy than FCT, with a difference statistically significant, as regards both endoscopic and clinical response. Neverthe- less, further controlled investigations are needed to improve our knowledges about the therapeutic action of antifungal drugs in the treatment of Candida esophagitis in HIV disease. The diagnostic value of colonoscopy was assessed in 88 consecutive pa- tients presenting with first attack of severe haemorrhagic colitis [sHC, >6 bloody bowel motions daily, fever and abdominal pain]. Blood tests and cul- tures, stool microscopy, parasitology and culture, abdominal films and sig-moidoscopy were routinely performed on admission. Colonoscopy was per- formed within 24 hours of admission (no later than 4 days after symptom onset) by a blinded endoscopist and biopsies were taken. Exclusion crite- ria were age over 65 years, regular use of NSAIDs and acute abdomen. The definite diagnosis of sHC was based on results of histology and stool cul- ture. Acute self limiting colitis (ASLC) was diagnosed in 37, infectious colitis (IC) in 31 (salmonella 20, shigella 3, campylobacter 5, pseudomembranous colitis 2, yersinia 1), Crohn's colitis in 4 and UC in 16 patients. All patients were correctly classified as IC/ASLC or IBD by colonoscopy. Prominent en- doscopic features in IC/ASLC were erythema, oedema, teleangiectasias, ero-sions, spontaneous bleeding and small aphthoid ulcers surrounded by a red halo. These Our data confirm the low frequency of HP infection in HIV infected pts even if symptomatic for epigastric pain, dyspepsia and vomiting. In all pts we observed various degrees of histologic gastritis even if endoscopic fea- tures were macroscopically normal. Not significant difference was registered in frequency and type of gastritis between HIV and AIDS pts. This low fre- quency of HP infection in HIV pts can be explained by hypochlorhydria typ-ical in those patients [2] and by frequent antimicrobial therapy even if this suggestion requires subsequent studies to be confirmed [3]. [1] Edwards PD. Am. J; 1992; 12, Am. 109, the potential role of retinoic acid (RA) in the of Six different human pancreatic carcinoma cell lines characterized by cytokeratin phenotyp- ing and found to express cytokeratins 8, 18 and 19 are typically in ductal pancreatic carcinomas. in a time- and dose-dependent decrease of anchorage-dependent and -independent growth of all cell lines.


FIBRE CONCRETE 2019 10th international conference on fibre reinforced concretes (FRC), textile reinforced concretes (TRC) and ultra-high performance cementitious composites (UHPC) The Fibre Concrete Conference series is held biennially to provide a platform to share knowledge on fibre reinforced concretes, textile concretes and ultra-high performance cementitious composites regarding material properties and behaviour, technology procedures, topics of long-term behaviour, creep, durability; sustainable aspects of concrete including utilisation of waste materials in concrete production and recycling of concrete. The tradition of Fibre Concrete Conferences started in eighties of the last century. Nowadays the conference is organized by the Department of Concrete and Masonry Structures of the Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Civil Engineering. The 10th International Conference Fibre Concrete 2019 provides opportunity for presenting of 50 papers for participants from 14 countries all over the world. The keynote lectures are given by Professor Bažant and Professor Akira Hosoda. The conference program covers wide range of topics from scientific research to practical applications. The presented contributions relate to performance and behaviour of cementitious composites, their long-term behaviour and durability, sustainable aspects, advanced analyses of structures from these composites and successful applications. This conference was organized also to honour Professor Vladimír Křístek on the occasion of his jubilee and to appreciate his merits and discoveries in the field of concrete and cement based composites, structural mechanics and engineering.


The paper describes a method for the detection of deadlocks in large UML models of reactive systems. Therefore a multi-phase-approach will be presented which consists of the four phases: property extraction, potential deadlock analysis, deadlock reachability analysis and result visualisation.


In this study, 106 women (M age = 23 years) completed a series of questionnaires online assessing personality traits and facets (subscales), learning preferences (Activist, Reflector, Theorist, Pragmatist), and attitudes toward learning preferences. The results of several hierarchical regression analyses found that a large proportion of variance in learning style was accounted for by personality traits or facets. For example, 43% of the variance in the Activist Learning Style was accounted for by higher scores on Extraversion, and lower scores on Conscientiousness and Negative Emotionality. When personality facet scores were used as predictors, the proportion of variance jumped to 55%. Similarly, between 27-31% of the variance in Reflector, Theorist and Pragmatist Learning Style was accounted for by personality facet scores alone. The results are discussed in terms of attitudes and the need for evidence-based practices.


The current study deals with the Value-Oriented Education Regarding Bhagavad-Gita's Teachings. Bhagavad-Gita's Teaching is acting as a catalyst in the development of value-oriented education. The developing countries like India have been facing problem of lacking valueoriented education. To solve this problem , Bhagavad-Gita's Teachings help a lot in inculcating value education not only amongst students but also to take a greater role in building capacity for institutional leaders, further assessment of the dominant factors of Bhagavad-Gita's Teachings which influence value-oriented education is necessary for a whole range of factors as for example physical value, mental value, moral value, disciplinary value, emotional value, social value, political value, practical value, cultural value, educational value, national value, international value, aesthetical value, ethical value, economical value, religious value, cognitive value, affective value, psychomotor value and so on. The paper concludes that value-oriented education regarding Bhagavad-Gita's Teachings establishes the relationship between theory and practice of education for society as a whole. However, the present study suggests that Bhagavad-Gita's Teachings would be beneficial for the both students and teachers for inculcating value oriented education among them for the betterment of the society as a whole.


Bi-doped BaTiO3 nanocrystal powders were prepared by liquid doping and low-temperature solid-state reaction.Bi-doped BaTiO3-based PTC ceramics were then prepared through sintering the prepared powders.The crystal phase,particle size and microstructure of the prepared powders were investigated,and the effects of sintering condition on the electrical properties of the prepared PTC ceramics were also studied.The results show that the prepared Bi-doped BaTiO3 powders possess a cubic crystal structure at room temperature and have a sphere-like shape and are about 60 nm in size.The PTC ceramics prepared by sintering at 1 330 ℃ for 20 min shows the best performance(R25 = 26.29 Ω and Rmax/Rmin = 3.585×104) in comparison to the ceramics prepared under other conditions.


A Ni atom is employed as the energy donor to a Cu upper laser level. After the energy transfer is done by collision between Ni and Cu atoms, the population of the Cu upper laser level is enhanced via a cascading decay resulting in a four-level excitation loop. The peak value of the lasing pulse was increased by a rate of 400%, whereas the pulse width was not changed. The near-infrared spectra, λ=809.3 and 793.3 nm, emitted via this cascading decay method, were also observed and the intensity properties agreed with that of the lasing lines.


This study aims to analyze the influence of local revenue, general allocation funds, special allocation funds and the number of residents to regional expenditure in the province of Central Java in 2009-2014. The type of data used in this study is the combined secondary data from cross section data and time series data from 2009-2014. The data used is obtained from the official website of Central Bureau of Statistics of Central Java Province. The method of analysis used is panel data regression analysis.
 The results showed that cross section of local revenue variable, general allocation fund and special allocation fund have significant influence to local expenditure, while the variable of population has an insignificant influence to local expenditure. In time series, local revenue variable and general allocation fund have significant influence to local expenditure while variable of special allocation fund and population have an insignificant influence to local expenditure. Simultaneous test results (Test F), indicating that local revenues, general allocation funds, special allocation funds and the number of residents simultaneously significant effect on local spending in Central Java Province. In addition, based on cross section and time series shows the phenomenon of Flypaper Effect in Central Java Province in 2009-2014.


Background: The entire Alpan banana plant can be utilized medicinally. Since the banana's rapid global expansion, several non-wood plant fibers have been used as substitutes for wood pulp in the manufacture of pulp, paper, and paper board. Currently, modest commercial pulping operations use a range of non-wood fibers, including bamboo, jute, straw, rice, and abaca. The increasing number of banana varieties is a result of the everyday developments that are being achieved in several fields. The Materials and Methods: The purpose of this current study is to check fungal pathogenicity in infected Alpan banana fruit, molecular characterization of the pathogenic species and evaluation of biochemical activities in banana fruit. The studied biochemical activities include protein content, ascorbic acid, total sugar and total phenolic compounds. Ascorbic acid oxidase (AAO) and Phenol Oxidase (PPO) are also studied in the selected banana variety. Result: The fungal pathogenicity assay showed incidence of Aspergillus species on Alpan banana fruit. A very high prevalence of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus were observed in examined fruits. Species confirmation were based on molecular characterization method and its subsequent bioinformatic analysis. Proteins, total phenolic content and Keto acid were observed to be 223.01, 47.32 and 964.0 mg/g respectively whereas PPO and AAO showed 0.800 and 0.175 U/ml content in the fruit sample. Conclusion:The study concludes the prevalence of fungal infection in ripe bananas by Aspergillus species and changes observed at their biochemical constituents level post fungal infestation


BACKGROUND: In the past decade, regenerative medicine and cell‐based therapies have emerged as new science and technology, with the main goal of repairing, replacing, or regenerating new tissues. A critical issue in this field is the high polymorphism of HLA, which compromises immune acceptance. The lentivirus‐mediated delivery of short‐hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) has proved to be an efficient method to inhibit the translation of a specific gene.


People are generally exposed to radiation from natural sources. Radon is the most important radiation source among natural sources. Radon is a naturally occurring, radioactive noble gas that is odorless and tasteless. Radon is normally found at very low levels in outdoor air and in drinking water from rivers and lakes but higher levels in indoor air in homes, schools, and office buildings, and in well water. When radon undergoes radioactive decay, it expels high-energy alpha particles. The alpha particle radiation dose from long-term exposure increases the chance of developing lung cancer. Radon is the second most important cause of lung cancer after smoking. There is no known threshold concentration below which radon exposure presents no risk. Even low concentrations of radon can result in a small increase in the risk of lung cancer. No study of the radon exposure-lung cancer association has been performed in Korea. What is needed is a large-scale prospective study of the association between residential radon exposure and lung cancer. The cumulative indoor radon exposure is an important environmental health hazard (carcinogen).


Background Abdominal obesity, hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL cholesterol levels and hypertension frequently co-occur within individuals. The cluster of these features is referred to as the metabolic syndrome (MetS). The aim of this thesis was to investigate which metabolic endpoints should be studied in order to explain the clustering of MetS features best. Furthermore, genetic association studies were conducted to get more insight into the pathophysiology underlying the clustering of MetS features.  Methods We conducted two studies to investigate which metabolic endpoints should be studied in order to best explain the clustering of MetS features. In the EPIC -NL case-cohort study we studied the model fit and predictive ability for type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular diseases ( CVD ) of several MetS models, including traditional and novel MetS features. Model fit was analysed with confirmatory factor analysis. Furthermore, we reviewed published twin and family studies, which presented genetic correlation coefficients between different traditional and novel MetS features and between MetS and novel MetS features. We conducted four studies investigating which single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were associated with clustering of MetS features. First, we systematically reviewed published candidate gene studies on MetS. Second, we analysed whether SNPs associated with inflammatory biomarkers, waist circumference, insulin resistance, HDL cholesterol or triglycerides in genome wide association studies (GWAS) were also associated with MetS and MetS-score in a random sample of the EPIC -NL study. Third, in the Doetinchem cohort, we determined if SNPs of genes located in transcriptional pathways of glucose and lipid metabolism were associated with multiple MetS features simultaneously. Fourth, we evaluated the interaction between these SNPs and BMI in relation to glucose levels.  Results A MetS model composed of the traditional MetS features and high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) optimally predicted T2D and CVD , while still representing a single entity. Our review of 9 twin and 19 family studies showed that genetic correlations were strongest, i.e. genetic pleiotropy was highest, between waist circumference and HOMA-IR, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and between adiponectin and MetS. After having systematically reviewed 25 genes in 88 candidate gene studies, we found evidence for an association of FTO rs9939609, TCF7L2 rs7903146, APOA5 C56G (rs3135506), APOA5 T1131C (rs662799), APOC3 C482T (rs2854117), Il6 174G>C (rs1800795) and CETP Taq-1B (rs708272) with MetS. SNPs associated with waist circumference in GWAS were on a group level significantly associated with MetS in a random sample of EPIC -NL, whereas a group of SNPs associated with insulin resistance was significantly associated with MetS-score. On the individual level MC4R rs17782312 and IRS 1 rs2943634 were associated with MetS. In the Doetinchem cohort CETP Ile405Val (rs5882) and APOE Cys112Arg (rs429358) were associated with both the prevalence of low HDL cholesterol levels and with abdominal obesity. In this cohort, two highly correlated SNPs in the PPARGC1A gene, Gly482Ser (rs8192678) and Thr528Thr (rs3755863), showed a significant interaction with BMI on glucose levels. Conclusion Our results show that one MetS factor with or without hsCRP, can be used to study the clustering of MetS and MetS related features, because this factor can be represented as one statistical entity. However, in order to fully explain the clustering of MetS features, specific combinations of MetS features should be studied. Our results indicate that genetic pleiotropy is highest for the combination of HOMA-IR and waist circumference and the combination of HDL cholesterol and triglycerides. Therefore these combinations are good candidate endpoints for studies on genetic variants pleiotropic to several MetS and MetS related features. SNPs associated with the clustering of MetS features are involved in mechanisms traditionally believed to underlie MetS development, i.e. glucose metabolism and weight regulation, but also in other mechanisms, i.e. lipid metabolism and inflammation. This suggests that, although the MetS features may represent a statistical entity, there are multiple, related mechanisms explaining the clustering of MetS features.


Sobolev descent has long been established as an efficient method for numerically solving boundary value problems, ordinary differential equations and partial differential equations in a small number of iterations. We demonstrate that for any linear ordinary differential equation with initial value conditions sufficient to assure a unique solution, there exists a Hilbert space in which gradient descent will converge to the solution in one iteration. We provide two elementary examples, one initial value problem and one boundary value problem, demonstrating the effectiveness of the theory in numerical settings. As there are ample efficient numerical methods for solving such problems, the significance of the paper is in the approach and the question it raises. Namely, do such spaces exist for wider classes of differential equations? Abbreviated title Single-Iteration Sobolev Descent


The article considers the issues of sound descriptive motivation of the lexical units, which denote fauna realia. The author suggests a set of protomeanings that serve as their basis.


The evolution of public agricultural extension arrived at a worldwide turning point in the 1980s, one that represented the end of a major phase in the growth of publicly funded extension in both the developed and developing world. Agricultural extension increasingly has become defined as one or other of (apparently) differentiated activities of technology transfer or rural development. In many situations, the transfer of technology, heretofore considered the purview of public sector systems, has been reconceived. Such changes suggest a refocussing of paradigms for the delivery of public sector extension. In developed industrialized countries, which often provide models for extension service delivery elsewhere, the declining relative importance of agriculture for economic growth, the increasing education and affluence of smaller populations of rural producers, and the increasing use of externally purchased inputs have changed the nature of publicly funded extension services and led to a questioning of the means of delivery of extension services by governments . In developing countries, where publicly funded extension is often more important, there has been considerable questioning of the structure and forms of extension delivery. (Sharareh Khodamoradi and Mohammad Abedi. Implication of private extension in developing countries. Journal of American Science 2011;7(3):51-58). (ISSN: 1545-1003). http://www.americanscience.org .


Abstract Background Schizophrenia is characterised by marked cognitive deficits that are central to the disability caused by the disorder. These deficits are present prior to the onset of schizophrenia, are severe by the time of first presentation and persist. They are thought to arise from a core problem in neural connectivity. Cortical connectivity can be measured using changes in the synchronous activity of the brain in the gamma band (30-100Hz) of the electroencephalogram. This study characterizes the profile of gamma synchrony and behavioural performance during higher-order cognitive processing in schizophrenia. Methods Gamma synchrony was acquired during a Continuous Performance Test (CPT) in 59 young people with First Onset Schizophrenia (FOS) and 59 matched controls We quantitated synchrony for regions associated with the fronto-parietal attention and visual networks. Groups were compared on gamma synchrony for intrinsic (pre-stimulus), task-evoked change (relative to baseline) and absolute (not relative to baseline) measures. The relationship between gamma synchrony, CPT accuracy, psychopathology and functioning was also explored. Results FOS showed a reduced ability to modulate task-evoked changes in gamma synchrony, in the context of generally higher intrinsic and absolute synchrony, particularly in frontal regions. These gamma synchrony abnormalities in FOS were associated with performance on the CPT, but not with symptoms or functioning. Discussion This study is the first to demonstrate that gamma synchrony abnormalities are not limited to perceptual or lower-order cognitive processing. Task-relevant changes in synchrony were constrained by an overall excess of intrinsic background synchrony that was unrelated or not amenable to modulation by specific task demands. This excess in regional synchrony disturbed functional connectivity in central executive circuits and affected cognitive performance but not symptomatically. The results are consistent with gamma synchrony being a measure of dysconnectivity, a core abnormality in schizophrenia.


According to the author, current attempts to strengthen and enlarge the rights of the state will undoubtedly lead to violence increase and disfunction of that institute. Therefore, the supreme task of the society is to subject administrative apparatus to laws and norms that meet the interests of a nation.


In this paper we contend that the many extant sociologies and histories of Education have overwhelmingly tended to efface the specific materials, practices and happenings which constitute (a) 'school'. Drawing upon research regarding contemporary school (re)design in the UK, we claim that attention to such specificities demands an appreciation of schools – and 'school' itself – as evental. Sketching the conceptual, critical and political implications of this claim, we present three (not entirely congruous, yet not entirely separable) apprehensions of the event(s) of recent British school (re)design. First, we consider the political discourses of major, ongoing school (re)construction and (re)design programmes such as Building Schools for the Future. These programmes are fashioned as major policy Events; similarly, the new school environments they produce are intended transformative, interventional Events in local communities. Second, we consider the complex, multiple quotidian events, actions and connections through which school (re)design – and indeed school(ing) itself – happens, in practice and in situ. Third, acknowledging the vast volume and intricacy of such connections and details – the minutiae of building regulations, the small talk of local government policy-making, the small print of private finance initiatives, and the contingencies of children's and teachers' participation in design, for example – we consider the excessive quality of events of school design, per se, and its implications for chief accounts/understanding of spaces of/for education.


It has been proposed that acid volatile sulfide (AVS) is an important sediment phase for determining the toxicity of certain trace metals. By evaluating the ratio of the molar quantities of simultaneously extracted metal (SEM) to AVS, the toxicity of metals to organisms in contact with sediment can be predicted. This study examines the role of AVS in predicting the toxicity of zinc, lead, and copper in marine sediments.

Sediment samples were titrated with zinc, lead, and copper and subsequently analyzed for SEM, pore-water (PW) metal, and AVS retention. In most cases, metal was not detected in the pore waters until the AVS was exceeded, suggesting that AVS is an adequate measure of the metal-binding capacity of a sediment. The [SEM]-to-[AVS] ratios were calculated and toxicities predicted for each spiking concentration where [SEM]/[AVS] > 1. A 10-d, flow-through, acute bioassay using the marine poly-chaete Capitella capitata was conducted to examine the prediction of toxicity from the metal titrations and the bioassay sediment chemistry data. In most cases, mortalities occurred as predicted. AVS and the [SEM]-to-[AVS] ratio proved useful as predictors of toxicity for zinc, lead, and perhaps copper. Another tool for predicting metal toxicity in sediments may be the [PW]/LC50 value; in every case where this ratio was >1, mortalities occurred.


The Instrumentation Technology Branch of the Air Force Armament Laboratory is currently involved in the development of several high speed photographic, videographic, and photonic instrumentation systems to support the testing and analysis of developmental weapons and test items under dynamic conditions. These projects include development of a large format (14 inch by 17 inch) laser illuminated Cranz-Schardin shadowgraph system for materials research, development of a solid state imager based shadowgraph system for aeroballistic studies, experiments with gated imagers for a variety of test applications, and experiments with high speed video imagers and illuminators for airborne and range tracking instrumentation. An additional issue discussed is the development of a timing and annotation standard for video imaging instrumentation systems operating at higher than NTSC standard rates.


Experimental results have shown that the peak loss wavelength of long period gratings can shift in the direction of either shorter or longer wavelengths as the induced index change of the grating increases. An expression, which the authors believe to be novel, is derived and verified experimentally, to explain this phenomena. It is shown that the waveguide dispersion characteristics of the core and clad effective indices play a key role in the evolution of the transmission characteristics of the grating.


In this study, we propose a novel fiber optic sensor to show the measurement feasibility of distributed temperature and strains in a single sensing fiber line. Distributed temperature can be measured using optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) with a Raman anti-Stokes light in the sensing fiber line. Moreover, the strain can be measured by fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) in the same sensing fiber line. The anti-Stokes Raman back-scattering lights from both ends of the sensing fiber, which consists of a 4 km single mode optical fiber, are acquired and inserted into a newly formulated equation to calculate the temperature. Furthermore, the center wavelengths from the FBGs in the sensing fiber are detected by an optical spectrum analyzer; these are converted to strain values. The initial wavelengths of the FBGs are selected to avoid a cross-talk with the wavelength of the Raman pulsed pump light. Wavelength shifts from a tension test were found to be 0.1 nm, 0.17 nm, 0.29 nm, and 0.00 nm, with corresponding strain values of 85.76  , 145.55  , 247.86  , and 0.00  , respectively. In addition, a 50 m portion of the sensing fiber from 30 ℃ to 70 ℃ at 10 ℃ intervals was used to measure the distributed temperature. In all tests, the temperature measurement accuracy of the proposed sensor was less than 0.50 ℃


In early colonial Philippines, the Spanish crown believed the Catholic missionizing project was of primary importance. Colonizers and clergy, preliminarily, intended to convert all the Filipino indigenous peoples in the late sixteenth to early seventeenth century. However, the tumultuous seventeenth century impeded this mission. In this paper I analyze the ways in which colonizers interpreted the transformation of Filipino gender norms. By examining published correspondence among crown authorities, lay officials, and clergy, I assert that Spanish colonizers measured the success of their mission according to the Filipino's gendered performance of Spanish Catholic gender norms. As full conversion of the Filipinos and Filipinas seemed more improbable, colonizers shifted their focus from what the colonizers believed to be superficial expressions of faith, to the chronicles of exceptional Filipinos. Although colonizers interpreted the success of their mission in different ways over time, they persistently conceptualized their mission through the transformation of indigenous gender norms.


Traditional Cyprus cheese, known as hellim in the Northern part of Cyprus (the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) and halloumi in the Southern part of Cyprus (the Republic of Cyprus) is a unique cheese product known for centuries. Nowadays, as the industrial production of hellim / halloumi cheese is developing, and the product starts to gain its popularity on external markets, ongoing issues of obtaining geographical indications are taking place. The aim of the study is to compare approaches used both by the Northern and Southern Cyprus producers to market their traditional cheese on export markets. The results show that both parts of the island have agreed on the recipe of the hellim / halloumi cheese. Currently, the Southern Cyprus has double the capacity to produce, and the price on the export markets is 40% higher. The main export markets and marketing strategies used by the two parts of the divided island are very different, thus, the author concludes that the Southern and the Northern Cyprus are not direct competitors when it comes to exporting and marketing their traditional cheese and can obtain geographical indications together, as it would benefit both.


Activation functions provide the non-linearity to deep neural networks, which are crucial for the optimization and performance improvement. In this paper, we propose a learnable continuous piece-wise nonlinear activation function (or CPN in short), which improves the widely used ReLU from three directions, i.e., finer pieces, non-linear terms and learnable parameterization. CPN is a continuous activation function with multiple pieces and incorporates non-linear terms in every interval. We give a general formulation of CPN and provide different implementations according to three key factors: whether the activation space is divided uniformly or not, whether the non-linear terms exist or not, and whether the activation function is continuous or not. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method on image classification and single image super-resolution tasks by simply changing the activation function. For example, CPN improves 4.78% / 4.52% top-1 accuracy over ReLU on MobileNetV2_0.25 / MobileNetV2_0.35 for ImageNet classification and achieves better PSNR on several benchmarks for super-resolution. Our implementation is available at https://github.com/xc-G/CPN.


This study explores the relationship between two orthodoxies in contemporary development; gender mainstreaming and participatory development. Specifically, this study examines whether these two strategies stand in conflict, in theory and in practice, where the donor agency the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) serves as the empirical case. Discourse analysis was conducted to examine whether the conflict can be discerned in Sida's written suggestions for how to work with gender mainstreaming in development cooperation. To add nuance and depth, interviews have been carried out with Sida staff members to gain broad perspectives on the potential conflict. This study argues that the conflict can be discerned based on the underlying principles of gender mainstreaming and participatory development. While this study also provides a first attempt to illustrate how the conflict manifests itself in practice, future research is needed to establish the conflict's empirical appearances. However, this study contributes with valuable indications of the conflict's appearance and manifestation in practical development efforts that Sida is engaged in.


Switching-directional backlight units (BLUs) were designed and prototyped for full resolution field alternate auto-stereoscopic 3D liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Since the design concepts are different for 2D/3D and 3D/2D displays, the switching characteristic of BLU with two confronting illuminating sets, was applied to build 2D mode into 3D display, and 3D mode into 2D display. A design based on the 2D concept required a uniform bilateral prismatic structure with a cross-section of isosceles triangle on the back surface of the functional light-guide plate (LGP). This structure led to an increase in double-sided uniformity, i.e., for double-sided illuminations (2D as primary function of the 2D/3D display), and a decrease in single-sided uniformity, i.e. for single-sided illumination. However, a design that was based on the 3D concept required an angle gradation for the unilateral prisms with a cross-section of a scalene triangle on the back surface of the functional LGP that led to an increase in single-sided uniformity and a decrease in double-sided uniformity (3D as primary function of the 3D/2D display). Both switching concepts were used to display 3D and 2D on the LCDs of small size handheld game devices and still cameras.


During a water-potential measurement sequence, temperature change within the pressure chamber exhibits certain distinct phases. At the introduction of gas into the chamber there is a rapid increase in temperature, normally in excess of 8 °C above ambient, which is directly related to the rate of pressure increase. After reaching a maximum, temperature begins to decline gradually during continued pressure increase, and subsequently falls to ambient after gas entry ceases. When pressure is rapidly released from the chamber at the end of a measure ment, temperature instantly falls to subzero values. The causes of these temperature changes are explained in terms of simple thermodynamics, and ways of reducing them are described.


This study examines the impact of transportation infrastructure on corporate innovation. This topic is important because transportation infrastructure represents one of the major types of government spending and innovation is crucial for economic growth at both firm- and national levels. To shed light on this important topic, we exploit the introduction of high-speed rail services (HSR) in China from 2007 to 2013 as exogenous shocks that improved the transportation infrastructure of smaller cities with unplanned access to HSR. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we show that, relative to control firms without access to HSR, treated firms located in cities with unplanned access to HSR exhibit increased level of innovation output as captured by increased number of patents applied and granted. We identify two possible channels through which transportation infrastructure enhances innovation: increased technical knowledge spillover and improved attractiveness to talents.


The OPERA experiment at the Gran Sasso Laboratory was designed to study νμ → ντ oscillations in appearance mode in the CERN-to-Gran Sasso neutrino beam. We report on the final analysis of the full data sample based on looser selection criteria than in previous analyses and multivariate approach. Oscillation parameters have been determined with a reduced statistical uncertainty, and the discovery of tau neutrino appearance is confirmed with an improved significance level. Moreover, the search for electron neutrino events has been extended to the full dataset exploiting an improved method for the electron neutrino energy estimation. New limits have been set in the framework of the 3+1 neutrino model.