The truth is rarely pure and never simple," wrote Oscar Wilde in his play, The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). The truth is also rarely revealed in a blinding flash, but builds up over time in an incremental fashion, with each new study contributing to the emerging understanding of "the truth." Informed readers do not act on the results of a single study; whether it is an observational study or a randomized controlled trial, they interpret that study in the light of the accumulated evidence and evaluate the residual gaps in knowledge before making a decision about changing their practice. To assist in this process, it is vital that the scientific community avoid bias in the dissemination of research results. Dissemination bias occurs when the dissemination profile of a study's results depends on the direction or strength of the findings. It occurs in many forms, including publication bias (publication depends on the direction or strength of the findings), outcome reporting bias (reporting of only those outcomes with "significant" findings), time lag bias (speed of publication depends on the direction or strength of direction of the findings), gray literature bias (findings reported in journals systematically differ from those reported in abstracts, theses, or other reports ["gray literature"]), full publication bias (in which the publication of the full results depends on the reception of the abstract), language bias (language of publication depends on the direction or strength of the findings), duplicate publication bias ("significant" findings being more likely to generate multiple publications), place of publication bias (place of publication depends on the direction or strength of the findings), citation bias (the chance of citation depends on the direction or strength of the findings), indexing bias (biased indexing of published studies), and media attention bias (in which "significant" results are more likely to draw media attention). The dissemination profile of a study may also depend on whether the results are statistically significant ("positive") or not ("negative"), clinically important or clinically unimportant, and favored or disliked by the researchers or potential readers. Biases are also built into the peer review process that leads to publication. Studies published in leading journals are currently graded by reviewers for their novelty, clinical or scientific impact, definitiveness, and perceived interest to the specialty. The net effect is that results supporting a substantial positive treatment effect, especially for a common or difficult-totreat condition, are more likely to be disseminated, just as a spectacular win in the football World Cup is more likely to be noticed than yet another draw. This tendency to attach importance to positive trial results has led to a phenomenon known as the "decline effect," in which readers attach a great deal of importance to a strongly positive result, and change their practice, but then find confirmatory studies to be less impressive. This is a particular problem with small trials and trials with low event rates, or randomized trials that follow sensational observational study results. The statistical reality is that when we design studies to achieve a significant difference at a probability of P 0.05, at one extreme, 1 in 20 of these studies will be negative (P 0.05) and at the other extreme, 1 in 20 of these studies will be impressively positive (P 0.05). If a study in the latter category is the first to be published on a subject, subsequent studies are destined to be disappointing. Journal editors have made a concerted effort in recent years to reduce discrimination against negative studies, although these efforts relate more to randomized trials than observational or post hoc analyses. In addition, it is now enshrined in the Declaration of Helsinki that clinical trials must be registered before recruitment is commenced. Registries require a statement of the primary outcome variable, a priori calculation of sample size, and consideration that appropriate, meaningful endpoints are chosen, rather than those that will yield positive results (www. clinicaltrials.gov). This decreases the risk that the primary outcome can be manipulated for statistical significance. It is also hoped that registries will reduce inadvertent duplication of studies, although whether this is an advantage could be disputed, given the need to confirm important results. It is of note that registries do not contain an obligation to publish, and indeed publication could never be enforceable. Consequently, registries have become another source of gray literature that must be searched before embarking on a major trial or during a systematic review. There are interesting examples of nonpublication of negative results in the medical literature, for which trial results have been From the *Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Management, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; †Department of Pharmacology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; and ‡Department of Anaesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand.


In an earlier report we proposed a new rapid method based on the measurement of the depression of the freezing point of a solution due to the hydrolysis of lactose. In addition, this report describes the influence of acidification on the accuracy and the reproducibility of this method.


has as much a historic as a purely artistic interest. His discussion of the artistic qualities of the water-colours and prints is informative without being unduly technical, and his demonstration of Bartlett's tendency to repeat various basic formulae relating to perspective and composition, though hardly adding to Bartlett's stature as important artist, is well illustrated by the shrewd juxtaposition of reproductions. An identical tree performing the same framing function in engravings of Hallowell ( Picton ), Ontario, and of Manningtree, Essex, is one of the more engaging examples. The text of the book is divided between Ross's own 'twentieth-century view' and a Victorian equivalent, William Beattie's Brief Memoir (1855), the main source for Bartlett's biography and here reprinted in full. Beattie's contribution has the additional interest of being a period piece a short but otherwise representative example of the pious-toned, leisurely-paced, moralistically impeccable Victorian eulogy while Bartlett's death and burial at sea affords Beattie scope for a suitably dramatic and elevated fi nale. The book contains a portrait of Bartlett, one colour reproduction, and thirty-five black and white illustrations from his paintings and engravings. Admirably designed by Allan Fleming, it is a pleasure to read with its attractive proportions and pleasant combinations of type. My sole criticism lies in the regret that for some reason it was not possible to make specifi c reference at appropriate points in the text to the illustrations, which are not presented in chronological order and are therefore difficult to locate when needed. But this is a minor qualification. Modestly priced by presentday standards, it should appeal to a variety of tastes and is deserving of a good sale. 'Letters in Canada' is hardly the place to be recommending books as Christmas Or birthday gifts, but William H enry Bartlett: Artist, Author and Traveller would make many a discriminating friend or relative happy. ( W.J. KEITH )


BACKGROUND: Military Health System (MHS) beneciaries have historically reported greater dissatisfaction with access to care than their civilian counterparts At Osan Air Base in South Korea, the pediatric clinic of1,200 patients is staffed by a single pediatrician, making improvements in access challenging Commandinterest in increasing the number of command-sponsored children on base made improving access to carecrucial OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to improve third-next-available future appointment booking time to 4 0days and acute to 1 5 days without decreasing the average number of relative value units (RVUs) per week METHODS: We conducted plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles aimed at increasing access to care for future andacute visits Baseline pre-intervention data was obtained via chart reviews of medical records from August toSeptember 2019 We based initial clinical interventions on RESET for Pediatrics developed by Fairchild ABPediatrics, including turning off cross-booking and scrubbing appointments Subsequent interventionsincluded switching acutes to the afternoon, offering virtual visits, and changing the future/acute appointment ratio to 70/30 from 60/40 We implemented these interventions in four PDSA cycles and followed third-next-available dates in clinic from October 2019 to February 2020 To analyze the benet of improved access, wenoted changes in patient satisfaction and tracked RVUs earned per week RESULTS: The baseline third-next-available appointment was an average of 10 7 days for future and 2 9 days for acute appointments After thefull intervention period, the third-next-available future appointment had decreased to 4 0 days for future and1 1 for acute visits Third-next-available decreased in a step-wise fashion with each intervention until January,when the provider was out of clinic for two weeks, but continued to decline in February Average number ofRVUs per week pre- and post-intervention were not signicantly different, at 19 45±3 95 and 19 01±0 91,respectively Patient satisfaction with ease of making an appointment increased from 68 9% pre-interventionto 87 6% post-intervention CONCLUSIONS The interventions improved access in our single-provider clinic andthe goal for third-next-available future and acute appointments was met in December 2019 and February2020, respectively Both measures increased signicantly in January, when the provider was out for two weeks,but quickly continued to decline in February The number of RVUs per week was maintained despite openingup access signicantly in clinic and switching many appointments to virtuals Patient satisfaction increasedsignicantly during the study period Limitations on this data include that 132 patients were redistributed tofamily medicine in October;however, the proportional decrease in empaneled patients was small comparedto the signicant decreases in third-next-available appointment times Additionally, the post-intervention data was only collected until February due to the COVID-19 outbreak in March This data indicates that in access tocare can be improved signicantly in single-provider clinic without decreasing reimbursement


The conceptual idea of the paper is that the use of digital biographical narratives in a foreign language classroom creates favorable conditions for the harmonious development and creative, cognitive, communicative and technological skills of students. The paper deals with the methods of teaching students to create digital biographical narratives about the life of outstanding personalities which involve a combination of training to do a biographical research and determine the content of narratives with mastering technologies to create and present digital biographical narratives. The component structure of methods of future Masters of Education teaching to design digital biographical narratives provides five interrelated components: axiological and motivational, content, technology-based, praxeological and creative, result-reflective.


In 2006, the Human Rights Council was established within the United Nations to replace the Commission on Human Rights, which had been in existence since 1946. The creation of the new body was justified by the need to combat some of the weaknesses of the Commission, particularly its excessive "politicization", and to establish a body that could respond more quickly to situations of human rights violations. This article aims to critically analyze the impact of the changes introduced in these early years of the Council's work, while also questioning the validity of politicization as an argument for the dissolution of the UN's main human rights body. The article is based on the conclusions of the author's doctoral thesis on the same subject, defended in December 2011 at the Carlos III University of Madrid.


In this work, we investigate the differential geometric characteristics of pedal and primitive curves in a Minkowski plane. A primitive is specified by the opposite structure for creating the pedal, and primitivoids are known as comparatives of the primitive of a plane curve. We inspect the relevance between primitivoids and pedals of plane curves that relate with symmetry properties. Furthermore, under the viewpoint of symmetry, we expand these notions to the frontal curves in the Minkowski plane. Then, we present the relationships and properties of the frontal curves in this category. Numerical examples are presented here in support of our main results.


We report a case of prolonged survival following hepatic portoenterostomy for biliary atresia, which was performed 3 years before Kasai described the operation. To our knowledge he represents the olde


Metro transportation brings us great benefit,but raises serious metal corrosion because of the stray current. To efficiently support the anticorrosion work,a mathematical model of metro stray current is established in this article. Based on the mechanism of the metro stray current,a corresponding mathematical model is established and the distribution of the metro stray current is studied. The influence of the contact resistivity between tracks and the land and the soil resistivity is analyzed. It is concluded that the metro stray current is mainly caused by the increase of track resistance,the reduction of the contact resistivity between tracks and the land,and the reduction of the soil resistivity.


Socioeconomic Status and Racial and Ethnic Differences in Functional Status Associated with Chronic Diseases. Kington RS, Smith JP. AmJ Public Health 1997;87:805-10. Objectives. This study examined the relationships between wealth and income and selected racial and ethnic differences in health. Methods. Cross-sectional data on a national sample of 9744 men and women aged 51 through 61 from the 1992 Health and Retirement Survey were analyzed to examine the association between socioeconomic status and racial and ethnic differences in functional status among those with hypertension, diabetes, a heart condition, and arthritis. Results. Compared with Whites, African Americans report higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, and arthritis, while Hispanics report higher rates of hypertension and diabetes and a lower rate of heart conditions. Accounting for differences in education, income, and wealth bad little effect on these prevalence differences. In general, among those with chronic diseases, African Americans and Hispanics reported worse function than Whites. This disadvantage was eliminated in every case by controlling for socioeconomic status. Conclusions. While socioeconomic status, including wealth, accounts for much of the difference in functional status associated with these chronic diseases, it plays a relatively small role in explaining differences in the prevalence of chronic disease, possibly reflecting different causal pathways.


In underwater acoustic sensor networks,using the angle information estimated by multiple sensors to track target provides a new approach to underwater target tracking.As the underwater sound velocity is limited,the time it takes the signal to reach each node is significantly different.This paper presents a method to modify the time delay,and combines it with the particle filter(PF) and the extend Kalman particle filter(EKPF) to solve this nonlinear tracking problem.Simulation analysis shows that the tracking performance of the modified time delay PF and EKPF is better than the general PF and EKPF,and under the same conditions,the tracking performance of EKPF is better than PF.


The K8055 interface board has 5 digital input channels and 8 digital output channels. In addition, there are two analogue inputs, two analogue voltage outputs and two PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) outputs with 8 bit resolution. The number of inputs/outputs can be further expanded by connecting more (up to a maximum of four) cards to the PC's USB connectors. Each card is given its own identification number by means of two jumpers, SK5 and SK6 (see table 1 below for card numbering).


Although the authors of this investigation of children's well-being are economists, Professors Haveman and Wolfe have produced a book that will appeal to a wider audience-one which includes academics from a variety of disciplines, policy makers, and educated lay persons. This is an eminently readable text representative of first-rate social scientific scholarship. While the research design is complex and the analysis is sophisticated, much of the detail of these issues is typically relegated to footnotes and a set of appendices where the motivated reader can turn if he/she requires more in-depth information. Otherwise, readers who do not need this information can peruse the book strictly for its substantive contributions. In their attempt to shed light on matters such as educational attainment and economic behavior, the authors generate and apply a theoretical model they call the &dquo;investment in children perspective.&dquo; They argue that critical outcomes related to children's well-being and life chances are related to choices made at the social (or governmental) level, the family/parent level, and the personal level (by the children themselves). The underlying assumption is that each player that forms a link in this chain makes rational choices about investments based more or less on adequate information concerning the range of available choices and the subsequent consequences that flow from a given decision. Sociologists and others will no doubt take umbrage with the assumption that the behavior of policy makers, parents, and children is always rational. Nevertheless, to the authors' credit they lay a foundation that includes appropriate homage to sociological and psychological research which also addresses this topic, and within the limitations of their perspective and the data at hand, they incorporate some interdisciplinary ideas into their model construction efforts. It is gratifying to see attempts to breakdown the disciplinary boundaries that often characterize research emanating from the social sciences. Focusing on a sample of young adults age 21-26 in 1988 from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the authors investigate the determinants of five central outcomes-high school graduation, years of schooling completed, teenage out-of-wedlock birth, receipt of welfare after out-of-wedlock birth, and economic inactivity. Their view of decision making is dynamic (or sequential in the authors words) and their modeling efforts reflect this, overcoming some of the limitations of earlier work. However, few of the results from this endeavor are surprisingaspects of children's well-being are transmitted intergenerationally, growing up in poverty leads to negative life chances, some welfare exposure early in life begets some welfare exposure later in life. There is now a large volume of research on the well-being of children, yet there is little evidence that there exists many effective solutions for the ongoing difficulties that many children face. Of course, this is not the fault of Haveman and Wolfe. Haveman and Wolfe


In this paper, a contribution is given to provide a tool to the recognition of sinusoidal signals with a particular reference to the field of pediatric hearing rehabilitation. To this purpose, a synthesis technique previously developed by the authors' is used to design a Cellular Neural Network for an Associative Memory able to compare submitted discrete-time sinusoidal signals with memorized ones. A robustness analysis of the synthesized associative memory is also developed both for noisy inputs and for parameter variations. Simulation results are then reported to illustrate the performances of the designed network.


https://e-kcj.org A 69-year-old woman presented with aggravated dyspnea classified as New York Heart Association class IV. She had undergone transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with a 26-mm CoreValve (Evolute-RTM, Medtronic, NY, USA) 17 months prior to presentation. Two months previously, she had been admitted for acute pyelonephritis. Blood cultures during this period of hospitalization revealed methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus epidermidis. One month previously, she had been admitted again for septic arthritis and had received arthroscopic debridement for the right knee. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed severe transvalvular regurgitation (regurgitation volume >51 mL, effective regurgitant orifice area=0.4 cm2) without any vegetation (Figure 1 and Supplementary Video 1). Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) also revealed eccentric transvalvular regurgitation without abnormal leaflet thickening (Figure 1 and Supplementary Video 2). A contrast filling defect, in the region where the regurgitation flow was observed using TEE, was observed in computed tomography (Figure 1). Based on the echocardiographic findings, the patient was diagnosed with transcatheter heart valve failure.1) We decided to perform surgery not only for the correction of transvalvular regurgitation, but also for the benefit of cankerous tissue Korean Circ J. 2019 Jul;49(7):642-643 https://doi.org/10.4070/kcj.2018.0457 pISSN 1738-5520·eISSN 1738-5555


This study was aimed to investigate English need of sharia bank employees in Parepare. The design research was qualitative research. Subject of the research was 12 employees in 3 sharia banks in Parepare. Research data was collected by using interview. The findings showed that: (1) Islamic bank employees need English materials relate to banking, accounting, and computer application; and (2) Islamic bank employees need reading skills more than listening, speaking, and writing skills because they work more with English written documents. Bank employees also work with computer program. All instructions and terms in computer are in English. The employees need good pronunciation in English term of banking, accounting, and computer. They also need skills in correspondence in electronic letter or email.


The skeleton plays an important role in sex determination in forensic anthropology. The skull bone is considered as the second best after the pelvic bone in sex determination due to its better retention of morphological features. Different populations have varying skeletal characteristics, making population specific analysis for sex determination essential. However, most previous studies have used the traditional discriminant function method, which is highly dependent on the population, and does not consider the uncertainty in the process of sex identification. In view of the above problems, this paper proposes a method of sex identification based on fuzzy decision tree. The proposed method is to improve the uncertainty, by constructing the fuzzy function of statistical information based on the cranial measurement item, as the basis of the fuzzy decision process, the classification factor is determined at the end of the training process, and a fuzzy decision binary tree is established. The experimental results show that the proposed method is effective and can provide reference for the practical application of gender discrimination.


DNA damage in cases with neural tube defects occurs due to many causes like genetic mutations, metabolic derangements. The level of DNA damage can be evaluated by single cell gel electrophoresis method (comet assay). The present study included 30 clinically diagnosed Neural tube defect cases, and 30 controls matched for age and sex. The cases were categorized into three groups according to the severity of the disease as mild, moderate and severe. The mean total length of comet (71.9 ± 19.2 μm vs 49.0 ± 10.7 μm) (p<0.05); mean tail length (33.6 ± 15.1 μm vs 4.7 ± 2.4 μm ) (p< 0.05); mean % of DNA in tail (20.3 ± 7.1 vs 8.5 ± 3.9) (p<0.05)were significantly more in cases than in controls. As the severity increases the DNA damage also increases among the cases. The mean % of DNA in tail were 11.2 ± 7.1; 21.4 ± 6.5; 22.9 ± 5.0; in mild, moderate and severe cases respectively. It is concluded that there is significant DNA damage in Neural tube defect cases and also the damage increases with severity of the disease.


Isotonic contractions of rabbit aorta strips recorded in response to chemical stimuli strongly suggest that the shortening process has a dual character, consisting of a fast (F-) and a slow (S-) co...


A couple of decades ago, victims had few, if any, rights to be informed, present and heard within the American criminal justice system. Moreover, victim assistance programs were virtually non-existent. Yet, there have been taken steps in this respect and made tremendous strides in the granting of mandated participatory rights for victims of crime and delivery of services to crime victims. Victims' rights statutes have significantly influenced the manner in which victims are treated within the federal, state and local criminal justice systems.


This report provides a brief list of telephone numbers, room numbers, and Internet addresses of use to new congressional staffers who work with legislative procedures and conduct legislative research. Internet access restrictions are noted. Some of the websites listed are available only to congressional offices; other sites are restricted further and are only available to House or Senate offices.


Background/Aim: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is an invasive procedure used for the diagnosis and treatment of pancreaticobiliary pathologies. Because it is an invasive procedure that is difficult to tolerate by the patient and takes a long time, it is preferable to use it under deep patient sedation and even under general anesthesia in some cases. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of using a pupillometer versus the Ramsey sedation scale (RSS) during anesthesia management for ERCP on recovery and return of cognitive functions in the geriatric patient population.
Methods: A mini-mental test was applied to evaluate the pre-operative cognitive functions of the cases before the intervention. The included patients were divided into groups using the sealed-envelope method. Management of the depth of anesthesia was evaluated by Ramsey sedation scale; in group R and was evaluated by pupillometer in group P. The infusion dose of dexmedetomidine was changed to 0.1 µg/kg/h according to the results of the evaluation.
Results: Sixty cases were included in the study. No difference between the groups in terms of age (P=0.246), gender (P=0.797), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score (P=0.197), comorbidity (P=0.748), anesthesia duration (P=0.397), midazolam doses (P=0.561), propofol doses (P=0.677), and intra-operative hemodynamic values (P=0.668) were found. Intra-operative dexmedetomidine dose was statistically significantly lower (P=0.004), and recovery was faster in group P (P<0.001). While no differences between the groups in the pre-operative mini-mental test scores (P=0.140) were found, the post-operative scores were statistically significantly lower in group R (P=0.025).
Conclusion: In this study, it was observed that the pupillometer led to a reduction in the use of dexmedetomidine and cognitive functions were better during the post-operative recovery period. As a result, depth of anesthesia can be monitored with a pupillometer. Although the use of pupillometer in endoscopic interventions in the geriatric patient group does not make a hemodynamic difference when compared with the RSS, the pupillometer leads to accelerated recovery from anesthesia, improvement in the return of cognitive functions, and reduction in drug consumption.


The reflection of ordinary light on the internal boundary surface of the uniaxial crystal is studied. The reflection and refraction on the internal boundary surface of the uniaxial crystal are analyzed. The formula of reflection coefficients on the internal boundary surface of the uniaxial crystal are given. According to the bourdary conditions of electromagnetic field.


BACKGROUND
Benign lesions cause ovarian torsion more commonly than malignant ovarian tumors. Further, Krukenberg tumors have rarely been reported to cause ovarian torsion.

CASE PRESENTATION
Herein, we present the case of a patient with an incidentally discovered ovarian mass, which was finally diagnosed as a Krukenberg tumor accompanying ovarian torsion with primary stomach cancer. We further review the clinical, imaging, and histological features of Krukenberg tumors.

CONCLUSION
Radiologists should be aware of Krukenberg tumors that may present with ovarian torsion.


There has been significant changes in the direction of management accounting research since the 1980's and I990' s, from the prescriptive and normative research of the late I950's and 1960's to the positivistic research in the 1970's and 1980's. As such, the purpose of this article is to provide an overview of this development. First, the paper discusses the characteristics of traditional management accounting research. Then, a reflection is given on the debate, which started in the 1980's regarding the limitations of traditional management accounting research. It could be said that the 1980's was a decade of re-evaluation for management accounting, both in term of the research undertaken and in terms of techniques and practices. Now, various theoretical frameworks are used by researchers and new and innovative techniques are being implemented in organisations. The scope of management accounting has also been broadened from those based on economics perspective to a broader based approach.


In this work we obtain the integrated density of states for the Schrodinger operators with decaying random potentials acting on $\ell^2(\mathbb{Z}^d)$. We also study the asymptotic of the largest and smallest eigenvalues of its finite volume approximation


The Gram-negative Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of foodborne gastroenteritis in humans worldwide. The cytotoxic effects of Campylobacter have been mainly ascribed to the actions of the cytolethal distending toxin (CDT): it is mandatory to put in evidence risk factors for sequela development, such as reactive arthritis (ReA) and Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS). Several researches are directed to managing symptom severity and the possible onset of sequelae. We found for the first time that rapamycin (RM) is able to largely inhibit the action of C. jejuni lysate CDT in U937 cells, and to partially avoid the activation of specific sub-lethal effects. In fact, we observed that the ability of this drug to redirect lysosomal compartment, stimulate ER-remodeling (highlighted by ER–lysosome and ER–mitochondria contacts), protect mitochondria network, and downregulate CD317/tetherin, is an important component of membrane microdomains. In particular, lysosomes are involved in the process of the reduction of intoxication, until the final step of lysosome exocytosis. Our results indicate that rapamycin confers protection against C. jejuni bacterial lysate insults to myeloid cells.


Located in Er'lian basin, Baiyinchagan is a depression with faults in the north and overlap in the south. An overall research was carried out on the basis of drill cores, logging profiles, logs and seismic data in combination with the classic pattern of sequence stratigraphic framework by the EXXON Oil Company and the base level cycle pattern of high resolution sequence stratigraphy by T.Cross.As a result,two super sequences and six third order sequences have been identified in Lower Cretaceous Bayanhua Group, the fundamental target bed of this region. In addition, six types of sedimentary facies have been recognized.Among these sedimentary facies, alluvial fans and fan delta are found on the steep slope in the north of the depression, while braid river deltas and turbidite fans are found on the ramp in the south. Three times of lake transgression can be distinguished. It seems that they were formed in early time, developed continuously and reached the largest scale later.


Extraordinary effects of the hydrostatic pressure on the crystallographic and magnetic properties of the ${\mathrm{Er}}_{5}{\mathrm{Si}}_{4}$ alloy have been examined by means of macroscopic (magnetization and linear thermal expansion) and microscopic (neutron powder diffraction) techniques. The high-temperature $O(\mathrm{I})\ensuremath{\leftrightarrow}M$ crystallographic transformation (observed at ${T}_{t}\ensuremath{\cong}215\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$ at atmospheric pressure) shifts to low temperatures at the unexpectedly high rate of $d{T}_{t}∕dP\ensuremath{\cong}\ensuremath{-}30\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}∕\mathrm{kbar}$. In addition, the application of pressure induces an $O(\mathrm{I})$ reentrance in the low-temperature ferromagnetic state of ${\mathrm{Er}}_{5}{\mathrm{Si}}_{4}$. The latter transformation $({T}_{t2})$ is a reversible first-order-type structural phase transition shifting towards high temperature with pressure at a much lower rate of $d{T}_{t2}∕dP\ensuremath{\cong}+6\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}∕\mathrm{kbar}$. This low-temperature $O(\mathrm{I})$ crystal structure has a Curie temperature higher than that of the monoclinic polymorph, pointing out the importance of the interlayer covalentlike bonding to enhance the ferromagnetic interactions in these alloys. Above $\ensuremath{\sim}6\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{kbar}$, both structural transformations collapse, yielding a stable $O(\mathrm{I})$ phase throughout the whole temperature range. In light of these experimental findings, a complete $P\text{\ensuremath{-}}T$ magnetic-crystallographic phase diagram of ${\mathrm{Er}}_{5}{\mathrm{Si}}_{4}$ has been constructed.


This paper focuses on the effective ways of teaching swimming class among college female students.Teachers should aim at college female students' different situations,combining and innovating teaching methods,to improve the swimming teaching quality,promote the popularization of swimming movement.


Ewing sarcoma is 1 of the most aggressive tumors that can affect children and young adults. Despite advances in therapy, the prognosis remains poor emphasizing the need for defining new targets for treatment. We investigated a possible role of nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) activity of Ewing sarcoma‐derived EW7 cells in their tumorigenicity. In these cells, expression of a degradation‐resistant form of the inhibitory factor IκBα inhibited NF‐κB activity without affecting their in vitro proliferation rate. It causes, however, a remarkable loss of their ability to generate tumors in nude mice that correlates with both a decrease in extracellular matrix (ECM) protein secretion and an acquisition of sensitivity to murine tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα)‐induced apoptosis. These data support the concept that NF‐κB activity plays a role in the tumorigenicity of Ewing sarcoma cells, identifying NF‐κB as a potential target for reducing Ewing tumor progression. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Synthetic biology is the design and construction of novel proteins, genetic circuits, and metabolic networks using information from a variety of disciplines, including molecular biology, engineering, mathematics, and physics. In unicellular and multicellular systems, we are currently heading toward the construction of complex networks rather than the early development stages' goal of changing the behaviour of individual constituents. Synthetic biologists can be broadly divided into two groups, one of which seeks to produce artificial life using unnatural substances. Another instance involves taking replaceable components from biological systems and integrating them into systems that function in an artificial way. Innovative behaviours like biostability, oscillations, proteins for biosensing, and drug production have recently been developed. Biological principles and informatics are a commonly accepted combination to make processing more accurate and faster. In this paper we give a deeper insight into the synthetic biology methods, few of its applications and also the discussing various bioinformatics tools for synthetic biology.


During software development, the sooner a developer learns how code changes affect program analysis results, the more helpful that analysis is. Manually invoking an analysis may interrupt the developer's workflow or cause a delay before the developer learns the implications of the change. A better approach is continuous analysis tools that always provide up-to-date results. We present Codebase Replication, a technique that eases the implementation of continuous analysis tools by converting an existing offline analysis into an IDE-integrated, continuous tool with two desirable properties: isolation and currency. Codebase Replication creates and keeps in sync a copy of the developer's codebase. The analysis runs on the copy codebase without disturbing the developer and without being disturbed by the developer's changes. We developed Solstice, an open-source, publicly-available Eclipse plug-in that implements Codebase Replication. Solstice has less than 2.5 milliseconds overhead for most common developer actions. We used Solstice to implement four Eclipse-integrated continuous analysis tools based on the offline versions of FindBugs, PMD, data race detection, and unit testing. Each conversion required on average 710 LoC and 20 hours of implementation effort. Case studies indicate that Solstice-based continuous analysis tools are intuitive and easy-to-use.


The present invention relates to a fastening tool (101, 102) of a transmission shaft (1) arranged at a free end (2, 3) of said transmission shaft (1) and that the balancing machine (B) having said fixing tools (101, 102). This fixing tool is provided with a centering means (110, 110 ") of the transmission shaft (1), which is deformable by centrifugal forces to come into contact with said drive shaft as d a given rotational speed of said fixing tools (101, 102) about its axis of rotation (AX).


Few poets have marked tabular spacing as richly as André du Bouchet (1923–2001), yet existing studies of this aspect of his writing tend to interpret that space as mainly metaphorical, standing in for absence. I contend that the negative space inherent to metaphors of silence and void limit a reader's understanding of how these interstices render complex any reading and create tensions which play between the temporal-spatial continuum of the page. In a unique combination of both linear and tabular space, the visual impact of du Bouchet's poetry causes the reader to linger at the point where meaning and movement collide. This collision, I argue, originates in the particular use of a set of repeated terms combined with the white spaces of the page to determine both ease of movement and points of immobility. The words, then, rely on the spacing around them and the spaces between them. In this article, I propose a theoretical model of the structural function of the space between words and explain how white space, which is often overlooked or minimized, becomes a catalyst capable of acting upon meaning and movement in reading by virtue of the combined effects of both graphic and linguistic modes.


The required high-frequency laser diode (LD) FM responses for a continuous phase frequency shift keying (CPFSK) heterodyne delay modulation system were investigated. The degradations due to insufficient high-frequency FM response are evaluated, considering the FSK waveform distortion, which gives undesired phase error at the demodulation circuit. From the phase error, bit error rate (BER) degradation is calculated. The calculated results indicate that the delay-time adjustment for the demodulation circuit is effective in minimizing the power penalty. The theoretical evaluation, including the demodulation circuit optimization, explains the experimental results fairly well. Using the same evaluation procedure, required high-frequency LD FM responses are derived. The results, together with the required low-frequency FM responses, give guidelines for transmitter LD selection for coherent CPFSK systems. >


common iliac artery four hours before his admission to hospital. Under general anssstnesia, the right common femoral artery was exposed and opened. There was no intraaluminal thrombus at this ievel. After insertion of a Fogarty catheter upwards, and its Withdrawal, a three-inch embolus was extracted. The catheter was then inserted distally, and on its withdrawal a one-inch embolus was extracted. Ankle pulses were restored.


ABSTRACT Using historical narratives and a qualitative research approach, this paper analyses the social, cultural and cognitive causes of differentiation and stratification among Chinese migrants in the Republic of Ireland. It discusses individuals' diversified capabilities, attitudes and actual levels of integration, as well as their disparate patterns of self-identification. In the research area of Chinese migrants in Ireland, in-group diversity and its implications is still a novel research topic. With this introductory work, the authors seek to draw more attention to this particular group, especially to the need for studies of encounters between subgroups and longitudinal investigations. The paper points out that subgroups of Chinese migrants in Ireland are divided according to social classification and self-categorisation, which have distinct significances for subgroup members' integration and identity.


Background: Children are recognized as "therapeutic orphan" in many parts of the world, one expression of this is the lack of adequate pediatric labeling information. Some research studies have been done to investigate the pediatric labeling condition in the U.S. and other countries, but no national studies had been carried out in China. This survey was conducted aiming to inquire the current situation of pediatric labeling in China. Methods: We investigated 6020 child-applied medicines from 15 representative Chinese hospitals, and analyzed the information according to the dosage forms, therapeutic category, and label information integrity. Results: Among all these medicines, only 238 (3.95%) are pediatric products, the rest are adult formulations with an extended use in children. The major pediatric formulations were injection (45.95%), tablet (23.69%), and capsule (4.93%), respectively. Alimentary tract/metabolism medicine (24.70%) and infections medicines (20.60%) had the most species. In prescription drugs, only 210 of 5187 (4%) medicines had adequate pediatric labeling information. The main cause of this deficiency was lack of evidence derived from pediatric clinical trials. Conclusion: The dilemma of "therapeutic orphan" requires significant attention. Inadequate labeling information and lack of pediatric clinical trials were two prominent issues in China. It calls for more efforts from pharmaceutical industries, regulatory agencies, and legislature in China to collaborate and find solution to improve the situation.


Salmonellosis is a globally important zoonosis, and Salmonella Heidelberg is one of the most prevalent serovars in poultry production worldwide, as well as in food poisoning cases. Antimicrobial drugs were previously widely used to face health challenges in animal production; however, since their ban as performance enhancers, many alternative strategies have been proposed. One of these strategies is the use of plant extracts, such as those containing the alkaloids benzophenanthridine and protopine. These compounds have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulation, and nutritional effects. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of the supply of a product containing benzophenanthridine and protopine (Sangrovit(r)WS 100 g/1000 L of drinking water) to broilers during different rearing periods 1-21, 1-6 and 6-21 days of age challenged or not with Salmonella Heidelberg at six days of age. There was no effect of the product on the performance, jejunal morphometry, cecal goblet cell counts, or control of Salmonella spp. in broilers challenged or not with Salmonella Heidelberg. However, the group receiving the alkaloids from 1 to 21 days of age, compared with the control group, presented a numerical difference of 28 points in productive efficiency index, which directly impacts live production cost of live broiler, representing savings of R$ 0.11/kg of meat produced.


This article give a summary of the nursing experience of children with autism and epileptic seizure,including basic nursing, psychological nursing, the specific nursing of epileptic seizures, diet nursing, and so on.Considering that professional and reasonable nursing care can significantly improve children's condition, promote the recovery, reduce the incidence of autolesion, avoid occupational injury.Also it can promote the establishment of good nurse-patient relationship.


Most writings on the problem of choice of production technology are based (explicitly or by implication) on assumptions which apply more easily to industry than to agriculture. 1 A model of a different character seems to be necessary to discuss the issues involved in the choice of techniques of agricultural production in underdeveloped economies. In particular, one has to examine the implications of having a non-wage economy and also of having land as one of the dominant factors of production.


Cyanobacteria are one of the important components of rice field ecosystems. Few of which have the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen and are therefore, considered as natural biofertilizer which enrich the productivity of rice. Calothrix is one of the potent groups of N2 fixing cyanobacteria and is very common in rice grown areas of Assam. Therefore, the present survey conducted in rice field soils of Assam to study the diversity of Calothrix spp. Altogether 5 strains were isolated, identified and characterized based on morphological characters as well as 16S rRNA gene sequence.


Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) may develop pulmonary hypertension, out of proportion to the degree of interstitial disease Much like Gregory being transferred from the front of the football team to the back, hyper-polarised Xenon is transferred from the alveolar air space, leading to dissolution in the lung parenchyma and plasma and then into the red blood cells In this issue of Thorax (see page 134) Chu and colleagues performed single cell sequencing analysis on matched bronchoalveolar lavage cells and peripheral blood monocytes and used supervised and unsupervised learning methods to identify a new cluster of genes ME31 which associated with different severity of disease in a way that was not distinguishable by genotype alone


Proposes a constrained local force model to estimate the non-rigid motion of left ventricle over a cardiac cycle. The local force model is derived from the dynamics of independent point masses driven by local constant forces over a short period of time. The trajectory that minimizes the kinetic energy required to move a point mass from one surface to another is considered as the local displacement vector. However, the original model suffers from problems of potential one-to-many point correspondence and inconsistent motion estimation. The proposed constrained local force model attempts to achieve better and more accurate motion estimation. First, Gaussian curvature is incorporated as constraint on point correspondence to solve the one-to-many correspondence problem. Second, motion estimations of neighboring points are taken into account to obtain more consistent estimation. Experimental results show that the constrained model achieves an improved estimation in cardiac motion analysis.


AbstractBackground: Prevention and treatment of post-operative pain continue to be a major challenge in post-operative care. Preemptive analgesia has been shown to be effective in reducing the severity of post-operative pain. Serotonin and norepinephrine are involved in the modulation of endogenous analgesic mechanisms, Duloxetine is a selective Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor (SNRI) mainly used in the treatment of depression, anxiety and chronic pain. The analgesic effect of duloxetine is believed to result from increased activity of serotonin (5-HT) and Norepinephrine (NE) within the CNS.Aim of Study: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of pre-operative duloxetine on the duration of spinal anesthesia, severity of post-operative pain, and total analgesic consumption.Methods and Material: Sixty patients aged 18-60 years, ASA I-II, scheduled for elective hip surgery were randomized into two equal groups: Duloxetine group (Group D): 30 patients received duloxetine 60mg on two divided doses 30mg every 12h for three days before the operation, 2h pre-operative and 12h after the surgery. Control group (Group C): 30 patients received placebo capsules by the same way as duloxetine group.Measurements: Demographic data (age, Body Mass Index (BMI), sex), Hemodynamic (HR, MAP), duration of surgery, duration of spinal anesthesia, post-operative pain was assessed by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at 0, 2, 6, 12, 24 and 48h after the surgery, the time at which rescue analgesia was given and total analgesic consumption in 48h was recorded.Results: There was no significant difference between both groups as regards to demographic data, hemodynamics (HR & MAP), duration of surgery and duration of spinal anesthesia. VAS score was significantly lower in in Group D than Group C. Time till administration of first rescue analgesia was significantly prolonger in Group D than Group C.Conclusions: We conclude from this study that pre-operative administration of oral duloxetine 60mg daily divided into two doses 30mg every 12hr for 3 days significantly decreases post-operative pain and total analgesic consumption and improve patient psychology with a significant reduction in associated side effects but has no effect on the duration of spinal anesthesia.


Abstract
Purpose – This chapter revisits an archive of life-story interviews of immigrant care workers in Italy in order to map the underlying placements, meanings and emotional connotations of the word 'home' (casa). The discursive ways of using this word are connected to the respondents' shifting life milieus and orientations towards receiving and sending societies.

Methodology – The chapter builds on the content analysis of a subset of biographical interviews of immigrant women employed in live-in care work in Italy.

Findings – Three categories emerge across respondents' narratives. Their everyday life experience is based in Home_here-and-now (the present dwelling place) and thus depends on its often limited inclusive potential. However, their everyday life experience is also affected by the home conditions in their country of origin (Home_there-and-now) and by their recollections, understandings and revisits of the past home experience prior to migration (Home_there-and-then). These immigrant women are engaged in an ongoing balancing act between different spatial and temporal dimensions of what they frame as home. Critical to their wellbeing is the ability to keep cultivating meaningful connections with Home_there-and-now and to reproduce some patterns of Home_there-and-then.

Originality/Value – As my study suggests, their present dwelling and living conditions remain the central arena for immigrants negotiating a more inclusive sense of home. Reconstructing home-related views and practices is a good heuristic strategy for researchers to illuminate 'biographies of belonging' as a whole. An analytical focus on the ways of using the word 'home' reveals broader patterns of integration and transnational participation.


The effects of sucrose monolaurate (SML), alone in combination with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), acetic acid, lactic acid, and citric acid, on growth and survival ofEscherichia coliO157:H7 in tryptic soy broth (TSB) were determined. Four food-grade emulsifiers consisting largely of sucrose esters of fatty acids (lauric, palmitic, stearic and oleic) were evaluated for their effects on growth and survival ofE. coliO157:H7 and naturally occurring psychrotrophic and mesophilic aerobic micro-organisms in refrigerated ground beef and on raw sliced beef. Finally, the ability of sucrose laurate, alone and in combination with EDTA, to inactivateE. coliO157:H7 on raw sliced beef was investigated. Growth ofE. coliO157:H7 at 37°C was unaffected in TSB containing 500 or 1000 gml−1SML. EDTA (300 and 600 gml−1) inhibited the growth ofE. coliO157:H7 in TSB. Inhibition was enhanced in TSB containing 300 gml−1EDTA in combination with 500 and 1000 gml−1SML. Acetic acid (0.1%) had a significant (P≤0.05) inhibitory effect on the growth ofE. coliO157:H7 at 37°C, particularly during the first 24 h of incubation. SML, at 500 and 1000 gml−1, enhanced the rate of thermal inactivation ofE. coli0157:H7. The presence of EDTA and SML in TSB acted synergistically with heat to inactivateE. coli0157:H7. Food-grade sucrose esters of fatty acids did not have an inhibitory effect onE. coliO157:H7 in ground beef stored at 4 or 15°C. Treatment of raw sliced beef by dipping in solutions containing 1 or 3% sucrose laurate reduced significantly the surface populations ofE. coliO157:H7. The use of SML, alone and in combination with EDTA and other organic acids, to inactivateE. coliO157:H7 on the surface of beef, warrants further investigation.


With the advent of new sensors and technologies, smart devices that monitor the level of indoor air quality (IAQ) are increasingly available to create a healthy home environment. However, little has been studied regarding design principles for effective IAQ visualizations to help better understand and improve IAQ. We analyzed Amazon reviews of IAQ monitors and their design components for IAQ visualizations. Based on our findings, we created a conceptual framework to explain the process of facilitating an effective IAQ visualization with a proposed set of design considerations in each stage. The process includes helping users easily understand what is happing to IAQ (awareness), what it means to them (understanding), and what to do with the information (action), which results in two outcomes, knowledge gain and emotional relief. We hope our framework can help practitioners and researchers in designing eco-feedback system and beyond to advance both research and practice.


Analyses of data for the City of San Francisco, Calif., obtained from continuously recording current meters showed the most energetic current component, the first principal component, to be strongly tidal and to lie along an axis pointing approximately to the Golden Gate. The difusers were placed perpendicular to this component, where possible, to obtain the maximum beneficial effect of the currents on dilution. A mathematical model was applied to the proposed diffusers to predict dilution in the presence of currents, using measured oceanic conditions. Results show the dilution and wastefield rise height to vary widely due to the varying oceanic and discharge conditions. The median dilutions are found to depend on season and to be increased substantially over those predicted by neglecting the dynamic effect of currents on dilution. The effect of diffuser orientation was also investigated with the model, and it was found that suitable orientation to the prevailing currents can significantly affect the initial dilution.


Muscle endurance is critical for many sports, but is rarely assessed. Previous work has used a sustained contraction to measure muscle endurance, finding that females have greater endurance than males. However, a sustained contraction results in greater ischemia and is driven by peak strength. Thus, new clinical assessments of muscle endurance that overcome this challenge are needed. PURPOSE: To evaluate quadriceps endurance between healthy males and females, and compare quadriceps endurance to quadriceps strength. METHODS: 19 healthy subjects (10 M, 26.8 ± 7.6 y; 77.6 ± 12.2 kg; 9 F, 23.8 ± 7.3 y; 60.4 ± 6.2 kg; Tegner 7.0 ± 0.9) participated in this study. Leg dominance was self-reported. Maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) and endurance were assessed at 90° of flexion on a Biodex dynamometer. Endurance was assessed via 5-second contractions followed by 3-second rests at a target of 70% MVIC. Once the subject's torque output fell below 50% of the target for 3 repetitions, the test was completed. Endurance was calculated as the area under the torque curve summed across repetitions. Independent t-tests compared differences between males and females. Pearson product moment correlation coefficients assessed the relationship between quadriceps strength and endurance. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in peak isometric strength normalized to body weight (M: 2.6 ± 0.6 Nm/kg, F: 2.6 ± 0.5 Nm/kg), nor was there a relationship between cumulative work and peak strength (p = 0.85, r = -0.05), age (p = 0.22, r = 0.30) or bodyweight (p = 0.31, r = 0.25). Males displayed greater cumulative work than females (M: 242.9 ± 127.3 Nm*s/kg, F: 142.9 ± 71.6 Nm*s/kg, p = 0.05). Both males and females showed significantly greater endurance in the dominant limb (Dominant: 194.9 ± 114.3; Non-dominant: 122.2 ± 55.3; p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The muscle endurance test was not influenced by strength, age, or bodyweight. However, we did find significant differences in limb dominance which could be due to greater use of the dominant limb. In contrast to prior studies, males had greater endurance. We speculate that this could be due to differences in how the muscle reperfuses during rest periods. Future work should assess if these differences carry over after injury and evaluate the physiological determinants for the observed differences.


Dynamic Software Product Lines (DSPLs) implement features of a product family, from which products can be derived and reconfigured at runtime. This way, systems can alternate their configurations without service interruption. The activation and deactivation of features at runtime pose challenges for the implementation of a DSPL, in particular for handling object states such as runtime changes to object-scoped variables, their value assignments, and the variable properties. To quantify the complexity of this object migration, we propose a systematic code-level measurement approach which harvests feature implementations and the corresponding variability models for code introductions responsible for critical changes to object states. We have applied our measurement process tentatively to data sets representing 9 SPLs implemented using Fuji. This way, we arrived at first insights on object-migration complexity in SPLs. For example, we observed that the number of feature-specific object states is distributed very unequally in Fuji SPLs, with a few objects having an overly complex map of potential object states and the majority of objects potentially seeing transitions between 1 and 5 object states. We also evaluated different tactics of applying SAT solvers to analyze variability models in this context.


Andre Gorz proposed the thought of labor liberation which embarks from its individual principle's humanism's standpoint,and profoundly analyzes the present Labor Alienation in developed capitalist society in the reality foundation.He thought the liberation of time,the abolishment of alienated labor,the unification of work and leisure is three kinds of ways of labor liberation.Begin from these three aspects,we can fundamentally solve the question of Alienation between labor and people,realize people's liberation,solve the problem of ecological crisis effectively,set up the correct view of work,consumption and happiness.


This text aims at phenomenon of "local culture missing" existing in advertising design field our country currently, according to the principle of semiotics, and tries to definite the concept of "cultural code" in advertising design through leading the cultural context to the research of traditional sign. this research aim is setting up valid path of cultural code and to attain integration of the native cultural resource, promote advertising design valance.


Objective[WT5"BZ] To study the treatment of talipes equinovarus in arthrogryposis multiplex congenita(AMC). [WT5"HZ]Methods[WT5"BZ] We retrospectively reviewed 64 feet deformities in 32 patients with AMC who were treated from 1980 to 1998 and evaluated according to the Sodergard grading. [WT5"HZ]Results[WT5"BZ] Conservative treatment was considered satisfactory in 4 feet, 60 feet were operative. Recurrence of the deformity occurred in 46 feet (77 7%), which underwent third operation. Despite a high recurrence rate, 14 feet were treated first with radical soft tissue release or talectomy. [WT5"HZ]Conclusions[WT5"BZ] Clubfoot deformity in arthrogrypotic patients can be treated first with radical soft tissue when the patient is less than 1 year of age. If the foot deformity is persistent or recurs, more radical operative methods (e.g.,talectomy)are advocated. [WT5"HZ]


FIELD: mobile communications. SUBSTANCE: in accordance to the invention, after receiving a position request, dispatched by LCS client, LCS server checks whether number of current position request tasks exceeds a maximum of position request tasks; and if so, then LCS server refuses to process current position request; in opposite case LCS server processes position request. On one side, LCS server may set different maximums of position request task for different LCS clients and may limit the number of requests dispatched by LCS client; on the other side, LCS server may take a decision concerning continuation of processing of following position requests according to its productivity, to ensure safety of LCS server system functioning in case of appearance of a conflict with large number of position requests. EFFECT: ensured control of number of position requests for further processing by location service (LCS) server. 12 cl, 4 dwg


I present a model for acceleration of protons by the second-order Fermi process acting on randomly scrambled magnetic flux arches above an accretion disc. The accelerated protons collide with thermal protons in the disc, producing degraded energetic protons, charged and neutral pions, and neutrons. The pions produce gamma-rays by spontaneous decay of π 0 and by bremsstrahlung and Compton processes following the decay of π ± to e ± .


Of 33 cases of Stevens-Johnson syndrome treated over a 20-year period, five developed keratitis sicca with corneal pannus and one developed corneal pannus alone. The severity of the ophthalmic complications was related to the severity of the disease in its acute phase and was not related to the local treatment used on the eyes.


ABSTRACT This review focuses on the sedimentary records of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in China and the worldwide. We provide a global image of sedimentary record of PAHs in different regions, including their contents, vertical profiles, and possible sources. Generally, historical PAHs recorded in China, dominated by biomass burning and domestic coal combustion, are moderate on the global scale with an upward trend while elevated levels of historical PAHs are usually found in developed countries with a downward trend. This review ends with some concerns about historical PAHs in sediments and some directions deserved further efforts.


The interpretability of decisions on the basis of approximate descriptions of situations is approached by means of the use of linguistic modifiers. The closeness between two descriptions is evaluated by means of the measure of their differences. An analogy-based reasoning method is proposed in compatibility with fuzzy deductive reasoning, using linguistic modifiers.


The textile industry is known to use massive amount of dyes to colour fabrics and subsequently the treatment of textile effluent is one of the greatest challenge. The aim of this research is to investigate the ability of the bacterialfungal consortium to decolourise methyl red dye. The synergy effects of microbial consortium offer considerable advantages over single culture in mineralisation of complex dye compounds. The consortia were developed by using isolated white rot fungi and strain of Bacillus subtilis. The sample of white rot fungi were isolated from rotten wood and then were observed under microscope to determine its morphology. The individual cultures of white rot fungi designated as WRF D1, WRF E1, WRF F1, WRF G1 and WRF H1 and Bacillus subtilis were tested on the ability of decolourising 50 mg/L of methyl red. The results of the study were compared with the performance of microbial consortium of white rot fungi and Bacillus subtilis. Based on the observation, the strain of isolated fungi exhibited similar morphological characteristics of white rot fungi with the filamentous shape and the presence of basidiospores. The preliminary study demonstrated the ability of the isolated white rot fungi to produce ligninolytic enzyme by formation of brown ring on PDA plate containing MnCl2. The decolourisation of methyl red by the individual cultures was in the range of 35 40 %. The result revealed that consortium of white rot fungi and Bacillus subtilis significantly enhanced the decolourisation of methyl red dye with more than 80 % of dye removal. The highest percentage of decolourisation (82.16 %) was exhibited by the consortium of WRF E1 and Bacillus subtilis after 72 h in shaking conditions (120 rpm, 30 oC and pH 5). The data collected from this research provided convincing evidence on the potential of bacterial-fungal consortium for dye decolourisation.


Service brand image is most strongly affected by service company employees, while the intensity of advertising has proved to have the lowest effect. The effect that service company employees have on the service brand image indicates the importance of the role played by internal marketing in the development of strong service brands. A service company must concern itself with its employees systematically and appropriately, ensuring an adequate level of competence and job satisfaction. Also, service company employees represent a factor that may exert a positive impact on problems arising from the specific characteristics of services. Problems relating to service intangibility can be dealt with by using more personal, rather than impersonal elements. Problems related to service inseparability can be overcome by placing a greater emphasis on the recruitment and training of contact employees. Problems with respect to heterogeneity can be resolved by personalizing the services, in which employees again play an important part. The paper is focusing on marketing mix, brand equity and its impact on service marketing in broader sense.


In highly modified coastal environments, such as commercial harbours, the installation of artificial habitats has garnered support as a means of enhancing local biological recruitment and connectivity. The success of these measures depends largely on the patterns of species colonisation. Using post-installation monitoring data, we compared the composition of assemblages of invertebrates colonising artificial habitats that were immersed for different periods (~6 vs. ~18 months) in three commercial harbours along the French Mediterranean coast. The artificial habitats were colonised by taxonomically diverse invertebrate assemblages of ecological and economic importance, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoids. Composition differed significantly with the immersion time of the artificial habitats, with total abundance, species richness, and evenness being significantly higher after ~18 than after ~6 months of immersion, indicating that long periods are necessary to enrich these new habitats with economically and ecologically important species. These results can inform restoration protocols and emphasise the value of post-installation monitoring programs.


Perception for ground robot mobility requires automatic generation of descriptions of the robot's surroundings from sensor input (cameras, LADARs, etc.). Effective techniques for scene understanding have been developed, but they are generally purely bottom-up in that they rely entirely on classifying features from the input data based on learned models. In fact, perception systems for ground robots have a lot of information at their disposal from knowledge about the domain and the task. For example, a robot in urban environments might have access to approximate maps that can guide the scene interpretation process. In this paper, we explore practical ways to combine such prior information with state of the art scene understanding approaches.


Mesenchymal stem cell (mSC) have promoted advances in cell therapy, Veterinary Medicine and Cell Biology research. Adipose tissue (AT) and bone marrow (BM) are important mSC sources. This study aimed to compare the ultrastructure of equine MSCs derived from AT and MO and differentiated in vitro in adipogenic lineage. AT were harvested from tail base of a horse, and about 16 mL of BM were harvested with myelogram needle, according to Protocol 758 approved by Ethics Committee of the Institute of Biosciences - Unesp. mSC isolation from AT was performed by enzymatic digestion with collagenase, and mSC-BM were isolated by a Ficoll gradient density. Culture was performed in medium containing DMEM high glucose, penicillin/ streptomycin and amphotericin, and supplemented with 10% FBS until second passage, when samples received adipogenic differentiation medium (StemPro® Adipogenesis Differentiation Kit - Gibco CA USA), during 18 days. Adipogenic differentiation was confirmed by Oil Red satinning which showed abundant lipid droplets on cytoplasm of mSC-TA and less amount on mSC-BM. Ultrastructural analysis showed similarity in morphology of MSC-BM and AT, as surface covered by protrusions and vesicles, indicating high cellular activity. Nucleus was centrally located, showing irregular appearance. Large amount of rough endoplasmic reticulum were observed in cytoplasm, which in some places presented dilated cisterns and large amount of amorphous material. Vesicles and phagosomes of different sizes were also observed, especially in MSC-BM. Mitochondria showed higher electrondensity with evident crests and tubular aspect in both samples, and elongated aspect highlighted in MSCs-AT. Lipids were observed in cytoplasmic vesicles of MSC-AT and practically nonexistent in MSCs-BM. In conclusion, adipogenic differentiation of mSC-AT showed similar characteristics to preadipocytes more evident than mSC-BM.


The passage of classical particles through a grainy scattering medium can be described by a line‐arized Boltzmann equation. A discussion is given of the physical conditions which justify the use of the Fokker‐Planck diffusion approximation to this equation. Some limiting properties of the solutions of the diffusion equation are first discussed for the initial‐value problem in an infinite medium characterized by a diffusion length D. For a total path lengthl ≪ D convenient formulas are given for the distribution of scattering angles θ and, for given θ, the first few moments of the final position vector are computed. These results are taken as a basis for approximate treatment of steady‐state boundary‐value problems. The case of a particle beam incident on a thin plane parallel slab of thickness d ≪ D is considered. Approximate formulas are given for the angular distribution of the transmitted beam and for the (very small) fraction of the beam which emerges from the entrance face. Errors are assessed, and t...


Introduction: A Flow-sensitive black-blood (FSBB) technique employing to 3D gradient echo (GRE) with motion-probing-gradient [1], and a MRA technique named Hybrid-of-opposite-contrast (HOP) MR angiography combining TOF and FSBB using dual-echo 3DGRE [2] were proposed. In addition, basic idea for correcting wraparound signal in vessels using phase-corrected real signal in FSBB was also proposed [3]. The purpose of this study was to propose and assess an advanced technique of image processing using phase and magnitude signal for further enhancing blood-to-background contrast for HOP sequence. Methods: A sequence of dual-echo 3D-GRE with flow-dephasing on both echoes and an image processing technique for phaseenhancement were combined. The enhancement process was as follows: First, the background phase was separated by subtracting lowfrequency phase from the original [3,4]; second, the normalized real part of corrected complex signal, ) cos( cor Φ , was obtained as:


Potential applications for superconductors exist in transformers, transmission lines, generators, motors, circuit breakers, and rectifiers. Superconducting electromagnets also promise savings in power and weight when used with controlled thermonuclear fusion devices and magnetohydrodynamic generators. Discussion, however, is limited to recent developments in power apparatus


The paper argues that unlike the predictions of the literature on second-generation reforms, there occurred an important change in the pattern of social policy during the Cardoso years, with the attendant improvement in social indicators. The budgetary process has been increasingly and extensively hardwired; inter-governmental relations have undergone extensive restructuring; and the line ministries in the social area have been insulated from coalition-building politics. It argued that the change was determined by the broader transformation of Brazilian federalism caused by an extensive process of constitutional reform, and that the executive had both the incentives and the capabilities to promote it.


Nonlinear optical (NLO) materials capable of generating second harmonic frequency play an important role in the domain of optoelectronics and photonics. Nonlinear optical crystals with high conversion efficiencies for second harmonic generation (SHG) and transparent in visible and ultraviolet ranges are required for numerous device applications. Within the last few years, much progress has been made in the development of nonlinear optical organic materials for second harmonic generation. However, most of the organic NLO crystals are constituted by weak van der Waals and hydrogen bonds with conjugated  electrons. Hence they are soft in nature and it is difficult to cut and polish the crystals and also to have intense absorption in the UV region. In view of these difficulties, a new type of NLO materials have been built from organic-inorganic complexes which form strong ionic bond than the van der Waals and hydrogen bonds, thus increasing the mechanical strength of these semiorganic crystals.


Background: Although previous studies have reported "obesity paradox" of mor- tality among patients with acute myocardial infarction or heart failure, no study has investigated whether "obesity paradox" exists among patients with takotsubo syndrome (TS). Purpose: To examine the association between body mass index (BMI) and in- hospital mortality among patients with TS. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study using the Diagnosis Procedure Combination nationwide inpatient database in Japan. We identified TS patients aged ≥ 20 years who were admitted to acute-care hospitals from July 2010 and March2014.EligiblepatientswerecategorisedintothreegroupsaccordingtoBMIatadmission:underweight( < 18.5 kg/m 2 ), normal-weight (18.5–24.9 kg/m 2 ), and overweight ( ≥ 25.0 kg/m 2 ). The outcome was in-hospital mortality. We examined the association between BMI groups and in-hospital mortality in a multivariable logistic regression model with adjustment for patient demographic and 16 comorbidities. Results: We identified 4,689 eligible patients with TS (mean age, 73.2±11.3 years; female, 78.7%; mean BMI, 21.1±3.9 kg/m 2 ) hospitalised at 723 acute-care hospitals, including 1,171 (25.0%) patients in the underweight group, 2,855 (60.9%) patients in the normal-weight group, and 663 (14.1%) patients in the overweight group. Patients in the overweight group was younger (mean age, 71.3±12.2 years) than those in the normal-weight group (73.0±11.2 Methods and results: We included 90 consecutive patients with AHF or cardio- genic shock admitted to a cardiac ICU. 30-day mortality was 35.6%. Median age of patients was 65, IQR 51–74 years and 76.7% of patients were male. Median NT-proBNP levels were 4986, IQR 1525–23842 pg/mL. Non-survivors showed significantly higher levels of NT-proBNP (23718, IQR 2981– > 35000 pg/mL vs 3262, IQR 1000–8212 pg/mL; p < 0.001) and higher levels of GDF-15 as compared to survivors (7120, IQR 3816–10168 ng/mL vs. 2720, IQR 1473–7100 ng/mL; p < 0.001). Patients above the median of GDF-15 had a 3.4-fold increased risk of death (p=0.003) independently of demographics, NT-proBNP and vaso- pressor use. Patients with both GDF-15 and NT-proBNP levels above the median had the highest risk of dying (HR 8.5, p < 0.005). Conclusions: GDF-15 predicts mortality of patients with severe AHF or cardiogenic shock. NT-proBNP levels and GDF-15 levels have additional prognostic value. Background: Evidence-based guidelines have been showing that Heart Failure (HF) is now becoming a preventable and treatable disease, more than 1 mln hospitalizations due to HF are reported annually in EU. Efforts should be focused in defining and ensuring the most appropriate patient management in order to improve the quality of life and reduce the economic burden. Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe the healthcare resources consumption among HF patients and to analyze related costs. Methods: Retrospective analysis based on administrative databases (DB) of 2 LHU in Italy was performed. Patients with a main diagnosis of HF from 01/01/2010 to 31/12/2013 (inclusion period) were included. The ID was the date of discharge during inclusion period; for the subanalysis on patients with a second episode of HF, the ID was the date of the discharge of the second hospitalization with HF. All patients were then followed up after the ID till the end of the data availability or death (follow-up). The healthcare consumption and related costs were analyzed 12 months pre and post ID. Analyses were performed also on the subgroup of patients with a second hospitalization -within study period- for HF. Results: 5070 patients with HF were 47% male, mean age of 78.6 Percentage of rehospitalizations for HF were: 3.3% at 1 month, 8.0% at 3 11.8% at 6 and 16.7% at 12 months. Healthcare expenditure for HF patients, at 1 year was (cid:2) 6,159. The mean hospitalization costs of managing patients with rehospitalization was (cid:2) 5812. A total of 1,159 patients with HF were discharged alive after a second hospitalization with HF during study period, 51% were male and mean age was of 78.1 years. Percentage of re-hospitalizations for HF were: 5.6% at 1 month, 13.3% at 3 months, 20.4% at 6 months and 28.4% at 12 months. Healthcare expenditure for this subgroup of HF patients at 1 year was (cid:2) 7918. Incidence rates were:130.0 for HF, 238.8 for HF or respiratory causes, 278.4 for HF or respiratory or renal causes, 269.1 for CV causes and 197.8 death; while after the second episode with a hospitalization for HF the incidence rates were: 238.2–375.4–418.5–392.7 314.9. Conclusions: findings Background: Body mass index (BMI) is associated with mortality, but in the pa- tients with heart failure (HF) the association with BMI and mortality and other outcomes have not been well documented in the Asian Pacific region, Japan. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the association of low BMI and outcome of mortality, hospitalization of HF and hospitalization by dehydration, in patients with acute heart failure (AHF). Methods: The KICKOFF Registry is a prospective multicenter cohort study of HF patients. We have enrolled 746 patients with AHF at 13 hospitals in Kitakawachi which is located at the eastern end of the city of Osaka, Japan, from April 2015 to January 2017. The patients were categorized to three groups: BMI < 18kg/m 2 (low BMI; n=110), 18 kg/m 2 ≤ BMI < 25kg/m 2 (normal BMI; n=489) or BMI ≤ 25 kg/m 2 (high BMI; n=147). We compared the clinical characteristics and outcomes between the low BMI and the other groups. Result: The patients with low BMI were older, female more, and longer mean length of hospitalization than the other groups (low BMI vs. normal BMI vs. high BMI: 83.4±9.5 vs. 77.2±10.9 vs. 72.2±13.0 years of age; p < 0.01, 63.6% vs. 47.2% vs. 41.5%; p < 0.01, 83.4±9.5 vs. 77.2±10.9 vs. 72.2±13.0 days; p < 0.01, respectively). They had more valvular disease and dementia than the other groups. They had less hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In Kaplan-Meier analyses, there was no signif-icant difference with hospitalization of HF. However, the mortality and the hos- pitalization by dehydration were higher in low BMI than the other groups during six-month follow-up (p < 0.01). After the adjustment by gender, age, and the other comorbidities in multiple logistic regression models, low BMI was independently associated with the mortality (hazard ratio, 1.31; 95% confidence interval, 1.2– 4.3; p=0.01), and the hospitalization by dehydration (hazard ratio, 2.99; 95% confidence interval, 1.82–9.55; p < 0.01). BMI Background: Predictors of 30-day hospital readmission in heart failure (HF) hos- pitalized patients have been extensively studied however there are no specific data on the role of non-cardiovascular risk factors to identify patients with read- missions. Methods: We analyzed the effect of non-cardiovascular disease burden by fre- quency of ICD-9 code categories on HF readmissions among HF hospitalizations from January 1st, 2007 to June 30th, 2014, at our Medical Center. We modeled the probability of readmission within 30 days as a function of demographic and clinical covariates. Variable selection was carried out using a bootstrap LASSO procedure in a randomly assigned training set with 1000 bootstrap samples, and tested in the validation set. Odds ratios and confidence intervals are reported using the validation set, adjusted for age, sex, and race. Results: A total of 4061 patients with HF hospitalizations were identified, 793 of them (20%) were readmitted within 30 days. The strongest predictor for 30-day readmissions was hospital admission in the prior year (p < 0.001). Digestive sys- tem diseases increased the risk for readmission by 16% for each additional diagnosis (p=0.046), while respiratory diseases and genitourinary diseases showed a trend towards a higher risk of readmissions with increasing burden of such comorbidities (p=0.07 and 0.09) (Figure).


The researcher analyzed the conversational structure in the conflict zone interview. The aspects that the researcher examined were opening, closing, adjacency pairs, turn-taking allocation, and repair strategies by using theories of Schegloff and Sack, the data of this descriptive qualitative study were classified into three rules (R1, R2 and R3) of turn-taking allocation namely R1(current-select-next), R2(next speaker self-selects), and R3(no-current-speakerselect- next & no-next-speaker-self-selects) and four strategies of conversational repair: SISR(self-initiated self-repair),OISR (other-initiated self-repair), SIOR(self-initiated other repair), and OIOR(other-initiated other-repair The researcher collected the data by downloading  and transcribing the video. The research found that the opening of this conversation used the greeting-thank sequences. In the closing section,the interviewer ensured there was no information left and then closed by saying thanks and pleasure. Regarding turn taking allocation based on Sacks. R1 appeared 231 times, R2 appeared 22 times and R3 didn't appear. In the conflict zone interview, there were 4 combinations of adjacency pairs. There were combinations of questions –answers with 54 pairs, information-response with 8 pairs, statement-confirmation with 55 pairs, and greeting-thank with only 1 pair. Then, there are 4 types of conversational repair found in the conversation. The type of repair that dominates in the conversation was Self-Initiated Self-Repair(SISR) which appeared 45 times. Self-Initiated Other-Repair (SIOR) appeared 3 times, and Other-Initiated Self-Repair (OISR) appeared with 11 times.And then,the last one is Other-Initiated Other-Repair (OIOR) was not found at all.


Formerly, wired network has verified its capabilities but in this day and age wireless communication has emerged as a robust and most intellectual communication technique. Both the types have its own merits and demerits based on its network characteristics. Wired and wireless networking has different hardware necessities, ranges, mobility, reliability and benefits.The aim of the paper is to provide a simulated outlook of Wireless and Wired Network covering whole campus. This simulation has been attempted by using Packet Tracer as a simulating platform. In this paper, analysis helped to guesstimate and optimise the performance of wired and wireless networks using the proposed optimization techniques.


Analysis of the amount of harmonic distortion generated by a vibrator at different drive levels could provide a simple method of reducing harmonic distortion in difficult environments without recourse to complex acquisition procedures.


145 ISSN 1479-6694 10.2217/FON.13.252 © 2014 Future Medicine Ltd Future Oncol. (2014) 10(2), 145–148 Almost six decades have been spent by researchers and clinicians, after the DNA double helix discovery, on the simple transcription concept of a single gene–phenotype linear approach. All currently available drugs, including targeted agents, against a single genetic abnormality [1], are based on this idea established by Crick in 1958 [2]. However, the transcriptional process is far more complicated [3], with recent evidence for transcriptional circuitry driving genes and cell function. This knowledge has been enabled by high-throughput sequencing technologies and computational network approaches [4,5]. In this article, we summarize the latest success paradigm of the trastuzumab–emtansine conjugate (T-DMI) and other new combinations of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) for human EGF receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer, all based on the central 'dogma' of linear experimentation. In addition, we highlight the future next-generation, molecular networks-based therapeutics in breast cancer. Genetic & genomic advances Despite advances in research, breast cancer remains a major health problem, with approximately 1.4 million new cases of breast cancer diagnosed worldwide [6]. Apart from established surgery, radiotherapy, systemic cytotoxic chemotherapy and tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors, targeted therapy represents significant progress in the multimodal treatment of breast cancer.


We report on the high-precision astrometric observations of maser sources around the Galactic Center in the SiO J =1–0 v=1 and 2 lines with the VLBA during 2001 – 2004. With phase-referencing interferometry referred to the radio continuum source Sgr A*, accurate positions of masers were obtained for three detected objects: IRS 10 EE (7 epochs), IRS 15NE (2 epochs), and SiO 6 (only 1 epoch). Because circumstellar masers of these objects were resolved into several components, proper motions for the maser sources were derived with several different methods. Combining our VLBA results with those of the previous VLA observations, we obtained the IRS 10EE proper motion of 76±3 km s −1 (at 8 kpc) to the south relative to Sgr A*. Almost null proper motion of this star in the east–west direction results in a net transverse motion of the infrared reference frame of about 30±9 km s −1 to the west relative to Sgr A*. The proper-motion data also suggests that IRS 10EE is an astrometric binary with an unseen massive companion.


In this paper, dissipativity problems of stochastic systems with time delays are introduced. Sufficient conditions for exponential dissipativity and dissipativity are derived with respect to quadratic supply rates by Lyapunov functional methods. Stochastic stability is achieved under assumptions of supply rates when the time-delay stochastic systems are exponential dissipative and dissipative. The exponential stabilization criteria is obtained under switched controllers in the mean square sense.


The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of combined exercise on body composition, blood pressure(BP) and insulin resistance in hypertensive patients. 40 subjects were divided into combined exercise (n=20) and control (n=20) groups. The combined exercise was composed of aerobic and resistance exercise program. Body composition, BP, insulin resistance of all subjects were measured at before and after the program participation. Body weight, % body fat, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic BP were significantly decreased within exercise group, and exercise group was shown that there were significant differences of % body fat, waist circumference and lean body mass, and BP, compared with control group. However, insulin resistance was not shown that there was any significant difference within and between group. In summary, combined exercise could improve the levels of body composition and BP.


The article provides a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of the sphere of circulation and use of municipal solid waste in the Russian Federation and the Federal Republic of Germany. The characteristics of the legal regulation of both countries in the field of waste management are given. Legal acts adopted in the European Union are the basis of German legislation in the field of waste management. Comparison of the legislative framework of Russia and Germany revealed their significant difference. Noteworthy is the lack of a clear hierarchy in the handling, disposal and processing of MSW. Attention is drawn to the huge number of illegal landfills and waste incineration sites in Russia. In our country, composting has not become widespread enough, and it is usually used by the population in individual houses or garden plots. However, the composting process can also be centralized and carried out at special sites, which are organic waste processing plants. The end product of this process is compost, which can be used in various agricultural applications. The main ways of improving the legal regulation in the field of waste management are proposed. In particular, it is recommended to develop a complete waste management strategy and a roadmap for its implementation. The waste management strategy in Russia should be based on a model that takes into account the specifics and cost-effectively combines the collection, transportation, processing, recycling and disposal of waste. It is necessary to create universal centers that unite enterprises for the collection, storage, recycling, processing and marketing of garbage and materials produced from waste coming from the largest cities of Russia. In the short term, the key goal is to solve the problem of the formation of illegal dumps, as well as landfills near large cities.


This paper aims to analyze the band gap and the pulsed back gate bias influence on the retention time of an UTBOX SOI applied as a 1T-DRAM memory cell. This parameter is increased for higher band gap and constant whatever the pulsed back gate level during the write state. No significant difference on the retention time was observed when comparing the pulsed and constant back gate bias.


Globalization has brought a number of challenges to Thailand's foreign policy. It is open to closer public scrutiny and the issues of democracy and human rights have also become important elements. How the country is to steer its foreign policy in order to reap benefits and avoid the downside of the new international economic reality represents a challenge. The Chuan government's policy, while it admittedly could not avoid pragmatism, nevertheless kept its sight on principles. It is yet to be seen how succeeding governments, starting with the Thaksin government, will deal with the dilemma between principle and profit within the increasing complexity of international relations in the global age. The Changing Setting of Foreign Policy Formulation Prior to the decades of the 1980s and 1990s, Thai foreign policy had been formulated independent of the public domain to the extent that the Foreign Ministry was dubbed "the twilight zone". Pressures, both external and internal, have opened up foreign policy decision-making to greater public scrutiny, to the extent that one can say that the "twilight zone" no longer exists. In one context, the greater openness can be explained as a consequence of rapid economic growth with the adoption of an export-led growth strategy and subsequent financial liberalization. The result has been a growth rate of more than 10 per cent in 1987, 1988, and 1989. Deregulation and capital account convertibility in 1991-93 led to massive inflows of money. A more socially and politically conscious middle class emerged. Politically, a more pluralistic body politic has emerged, with business and other non-bureaucratic interests as important components. This new business interest group consists not only of Bangkok-based firms but also of businessmen in the provinces. The influence of this interest group has become clearly visible in the business-driven focus of Thai foreign policy. The Chatichai government's policy of "turning Indochina from a battlefield into a market place" was in no small way influenced by businessmen in areas bordering the Indochina countries who saw potential economic opportunities. The Thai economy has always been outward-looking. Despite the economic crisis of 1997-99 that resulted in a more inward-looking sentiment on the part of the general public, to a large extent the business sector continues to look to externally-generated growth. Important changes in the Thai foreign policy process have followed the movement towards political reform, with the momentum growing from the student unrest in the 1970s and becoming particularly evident after the May 1992 incident (when the urban middle class participated in street demonstrations against the military government, which was quelled with much bloodshed). The downside of globalization in the form of the economic crisis of 1997-99 had a positive impact in providing a significant impetus to the reform effort. There was a heightened recognition among the public that the country needed a political system that was more in line with an economy which was now integrated with the wider world. There was increased appreciation that transparency and accountability was necessary not only for economic but also for political and bureaucratic structures. Consequently, public demonstrations had the effect of deterring the efforts of conservative elements to dilute important political reforms being introduced in the new constitution. These included measures providing for greater transparency in policy-making, such as the provision for freedom of information and public hearings. The more democratic political environment impacted on Thai foreign decision-making in reducing the influence of the military over policy implementation and in exerting pressure on foreign ministry officials to, at the very least, pay lip service to public views and critiques. As noted above, the rapid economic growth in the 1980s also resulted in a large middle class that was more politically aware, as evident in its role in the May 1992 protest against the military. …


Adolescents nutritional status is one of the major challenges for health workers and society, which is caused by their excessive intake of food, but lack of fiber intake and lack of physical activity. This research is to know how relationship between vegetables and fruit habits, nutrition and family support with adolescent nutritional status. This research design used was cross sectional, where research is conducted one-time to find relationships between the independent variable and the dependent variable. Its samples consisted of 340 adolescents in Pangkalpinang city. Subjects were screened by using google form first, data collection is done directly with the help of enumerators. The results of statistical tests showed that the habit of consuming vegetables (p = 0.005) and physical activity (p = 0.016) were the variables that had the most influence on adolescent nutritional status. Adolescents who often consume vegetables and have a minimum physical activity of 600METs / day have the opportunity to have a good nutritional status.


Inducing a Quiet Space The interaction between light and matter forms the foundation of many applications in communication and sensing, as well as provides insights into fundamental quantum-level processes. Optical coupling of a mechanical system can be used to study these processes. However, because the mechanical oscillator is unavoidably coupled to its environment, thermal noise can spoil the sensitivity of the optomechanical coupling. Dong et al. (p. 1609, published online 15 November) exploit the ability to form a mechanical "dark state" that can effectively isolate the mechanical system from thermal-induced noise. The formation of such a noise-free zone may provide a simpler route to probe quantum optomechanical systems that circumvents the need to cool the oscillator to its quantum limit where all thermal motion is frozen out. The formation of a mechanical dark mode can be used to isolate an optomechanical system from thermal noise. Thermal mechanical motion hinders the use of a mechanical system in applications such as quantum information processing. Whereas the thermal motion can be overcome by cooling a mechanical oscillator to its motional ground state, an alternative approach is to exploit the use of a mechanically dark mode that can protect the system from mechanical dissipation. We have realized such a dark mode by coupling two optical modes in a silica resonator to one of its mechanical breathing modes in the regime of weak optomechanical coupling. The dark mode, which is a superposition of the two optical modes and is decoupled from the mechanical oscillator, can still mediate an effective optomechanical coupling between the two optical modes. We show that the formation of the dark mode enables the transfer of optical fields between the two optical modes. Optomechanical dark mode opens the possibility of using mechanically mediated coupling in quantum applications without cooling the mechanical oscillator to its motional ground state.