ABSTRACT Many industries experience a shakeout, which occurs when, after an initial increase, the number of firms drops significantly in a short period of time. A shakeout drives changes in the market structure and, thus, accompanying changes in firms' strategies. In this paper, we explore differences in firms' product strategies (i.e. product quality improvement, product line management, and product market strategy) before and after the initiation of an industry shakeout, focusing on the role of product exit. In analyzing a sample of US laser printer manufacturers and their products for the period between 1983 and 2002, we find clear differences in firms' product exit decisions before and after the initiation of a shakeout. With these findings, our study contributes to the understanding of the link between industry shakeouts and firms' product strategies.


Background Studies indicate there is a need to improve the delivery of unexpected news via obstetric ultrasound, but there have been few advances in this area. One factor preventing improvement has been a lack of consensus regarding the appropriate phrases and behaviours which sonographers and ultrasound practitioners should use in these situations. Aims To develop consensus guidelines for unexpected news delivery in Early Pregnancy Unit and Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme NHS settings. Methods A workshop was conducted to identify priorities and reach consensus on areas of contention. Contributors included interdisciplinary healthcare professionals, policy experts, representatives from third-sector organisations, lay experts and academic researchers (n = 28). Written and verbal feedback was used to draft initial guidance which was then circulated amongst the wider writing group (n = 39). Revisions were undertaken until consensus was reached. Results Consensus guidelines were developed outlining the behaviours and phrases which should be used during scans where unexpected findings are identified. Specific recommendations included that: honest and clear communication should be prioritised, even with uncertain findings; technical terms should be used, but these should be written down together with their lay interpretations; unless expectant parents use other terminology (e.g. 'foetus'), the term 'baby' should be used as a default, even in early pregnancy; at the initial news disclosure, communication should focus on information provision. Expectant parents should not be asked to make decisions during the scan. Conclusions These recommendations can be used to develop and improve news delivery interventions in obstetric ultrasound settings. The full guidelines can be accessed online as supplemental material and at https://doi.org/10.5518/100/24.


The objective of this study was to systematize the information about the heading-time genes of Japanese rice varieties by analyzing the genes using 7 tester lines (EGI - EG7, Ta-ble 1), which differ from one another in the genotype for th:ree late-heading genes, E1. E2 and E3.


narily rich in direct and indirect recollections of the Continental fox epic. One or more of' the illustrators obviously knew it well, drawing, apparently, as much on the very essence of renardie as upon the most loved episodes. These Decretals are unique in mediaeval English art for their illustrations of the foxphysician story and that of the fox's funeral; and contain some of the earliest examples of the distaff-chase and of the peculiarly English fox-ape alliance. They bear witness to variants of the Roman de Renart now lost or


Life cycle assessment was used to evaluate the performances of product,and linear scale and analytic hierarchy process were applied to establish the model for product life cycle assessment.After attaining the data inventory of product life cycle,the model can carry on quantization,linear scaling,and weighting for the different indexes,and then the indicators,which assessed the degree of product performances,were realized from qualitative to quantitative on the basis of the analysis result.The validity of the model was demonstrated by a beverage packaging.


The deposition of abnormal proteins defines neurodegenerative diseases. Among these proteins, tau deposits define frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) tau, and together with Aβ, it defines the more prevalent Alzheimer's disease (AD). PET scans with ligands binding AD tau neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) topographically quantify the amount of pathology. However, for clinical purposes, this information needs to be summarized into easily applicable and meaningful indices. Here we develop a machine learning‐derived tau PET index, the Spatial Pattern of Abnormality for Recognition of Tau in AD (SPARE‐TauAD).


The working principle in blowing carding unit was related that the electric control system composed of several PLC,through analogue calculation,control continuous even feeding.


Research ObjectiveThe risk of serious intracranial injury in pediatric patients with minor head trauma (MHT) is less than 5%;most computerized tomography (CT) scans in MHT are normal or contribute little to management, yet expose children to unnecessary radiation. Despite evidence‐based risk classification criteria from the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) for assessing appropriate CT use during emergency department (ED) visits, barriers persist to replacing unnecessary scans with structured observation. Field readiness assessments at Intermountain Healthcare suggest that physicians often believe they know the risk factors for traumatic brain injury (TBI) but sometimes misremember elements. Information retrieval when delivering ED care can be cumbersome. Many physicians also perceive ordering CT scans is the safest course of action despite a lack of significant symptoms. We theorized that targeting evidence‐based education at the individual scan decision point, coupled with timely performance feedback, would increase cognitive support for assessing risk of clinically‐important TBI (ciTBI), reducing potentially unnecessary scans.Study DesignWe conducted a prospective pre‐post comparison implementation study. The primary implementation strategies were two‐fold. First, we embedded an alert containing an easy‐to‐understand, information‐rich graphic providing current PECARN risk stratification criteria and supporting evidence for classifying ciTBI, along with a risk assessment prompt linked to a CT order. Second, we provided timely feedback on performance and local prompting to educate physicians. Uptake and effectiveness measures included % adherence change in PECARN guidelines and the CT scan rate. Safety was evaluated by counting 48‐hour readmissions with clinical evidence of ciTBI confirmed via chart review. Acceptability, fidelity and feasibility were assessed using qualitative analysis. Statistical analysis was conducted using tests of proportions.Population StudiedApproximately 14,000 pediatric patients presenting with MHT at 22 EDs from January 2019–December 2020 within a single, integrated delivery system including urban, rural and frontier locations and a children's hospital.Principal FindingsYear 1 adherence to PECARN guidelines was 98.7% with a 14% reduction in the CT scan rate for pediatric MHT patients across geographies with no readmissions for ciTBI (Table). Results were sustained in Year 2 despite increased patient acuity in 2020 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Subsequent field discussions found good acceptance by physicians noting the alert was relevant, timely and easy to understand. Implementation fidelity was high given routinization of the alert into clinical workflow.ConclusionsCombining local performance feedback with use of an information‐rich text alert was associated with significant improvements in adherence to PECARN guidelines and a reduction in the CT scan order rate for diagnosis of clinically‐important TBI in MHT patients without impacting safety. The routinized nature of the alert was associated with good practice sustainment over multiple years across geographies.Implications for Policy or PracticeSimple, information‐rich text alerts may prove useful as an implementation strategy for updating physicians on changes in evidence‐based triage and risk classification criteria often associated with de‐implementation of legacy clinical practices.


Purpose: This study aimed to develop a 'Logotherapeutic Autobiography Program(LAP)' for alcoholics' wives and to identify the effects on traumatic stress and codependency. Methods: LAP was a program which was included logotherapy and autobiography. It was developed through four steps: literature review, pilot program development, pilot study, and detailed program structuring. The session was divided into four stages: warming up, writing an autobiography, finding the meaning in life, and closing. A quasi-experimental trial with a nonequivalent control group was conducted on 19 patients in the experimental group and 21 in the control group who were alcoholics' wives. Data collection was conducted for four months from November 2006 to March 2007. Results: The experimental group reported a significantly lower score in traumatic stress(p=.038) and codependency(p=.032). Conclusion: This study suggests that LAP is very beneficial and applicable and might contribute to the enhancement of mental health in families and communities that suffer from trauma and meaninglessness.


Inaccurate and unrepeatable TLP results have been obtained with a two-probe (2P) wafer-level system. This work identifies three distinct issues associated with probe contact resistance, which negatively impact TLP measurements. Two different solutions, Kelvin TLP and an improvement to 2P TLP measurements, are proposed and their pros and cons are discussed.


Over the past decade, new types of business incubation have been developed. One particularly prominent example is company builders, which use their own resources to build up companies, establishing numerous companies in a series. In doing so, this investor type facilitates internal and external business ideas. It offers a new or-ganizational solution that combines both the innovative capacity of founders and the financial resources of a large company with the desire for long-term employment and corporate affiliation. This article examines the economic impact of company builders in Germany compared with other venture capital (VC) investor types on the basis of employment trends in the portfolio companies from 2011 to 2015. It is shown that company builders promote more dynamic employment growth than do other types of investors. This finding suggests that this type of investor is particular-ly well positioned to take advantage of the institutional deficiency in the German VC market. The results are also discussed in the context of the growth of the Berlin-based VC and start-up ecosystem.


Resettlement poses several risks to vulnerable urban populations such as slum dwellers in cities like Mumbai in the Third World. The causes for involuntary resettlement in the urban context, such as the expansion of airports, widening roads, or building of commercial complexes, are often unconnected to the lives of those living in slums. Resettlement is associated with economic hardships, disruption of the social fabric, and a feeling of uprootment, alienation and psychological trauma. This paper is based on the findings of an action-research study conducted in a resettled slum community in Mumbai, India that aimed to understand the implications of involuntary resettlement from a human rights perspective. It focuses on the impact of involuntary resettlement on issues concerning women's health. It discusses gender differentials in morbidity patterns and the access to healthcare. It argues that there is a need for integrated planning to ensure an improvement in overall living conditions, which also include provision and access to health services apart from just the mere allocation of alternate housing.


A lexical decision experiment was conducted with Japanese learners of English with relatively low English proficiency to investigate whether second-language (L2) learners utilize allophonic variation when recognizing words in L2. The stimuli consisted of 36 isolated bisyllabic words containing word-medial /t/, half of which were flap-favored words (e.g., better, city) and the other half were [t]-favored words (e.g., faster, custom). All stimuli were recorded with two surface forms: /t/ as a flap (e.g., better with a flap) or as [t] (e.g., better with [t]). The stimuli were counterbalanced in the lists using a Latin Square design, so that participants only heard one of the two surface forms. The accuracy data indicated that flap-favored words pronounced with a flap (e.g, city with a flap) were recognized significantly less accurately than [t]-favored words with a flap (e.g., faster with a flap) and [t]-favored words with [t] (e.g., faster with [t]). These results suggest that Japanese learners prefer canon...


The NSW Estuary Management Program involves local communities in the management process via nominated representatives on estuary management committees. The vast range of issues involved in estuary management can be a challenge to these committees. Community representatives often enter the process focussing on a particular management issue that concerns the group they represent (e.g., a fishing club, a progress association, or a dune care group). It is essential that the understandings brought to the committee by these representatives are integrated into the management plan, but the complexity of the social-ecological system can make this difficult. In this paper we describe the systems approach, developed by Newell and Proust, that is being used to support the development of an Estuary Management Plan for Pambula Lake on the NSW Far South Coast. The approach embraces complexity, and provides a way to integrate disparate or conflicting views. It thus complements and strengthens the standard estuary management process. The approach begins with the gathering of a broad ‗system history' and the construction of ‗influence diagrams' that help the management group to identify key variables of the social-ecological system. The influence diagrams provide a ‗common graphical language' that enables group members to summarise and integrate their views of the complex feedback interactions that occur between the key variables and the state-change processes that control the values of these variables. Finally, a system dynamics analysis, which uses simple ‗stock-and-flow' models, is used to identify the cross-sector cause-and-effect linkages that dominate the behaviour of the social-ecological system. Taking a systems approach should help the Pambula Lake estuary management group to address a wider than usual range of issues, and so gain perspective on how particular issues of concern relate to each other and to specific management decisions. In so doing it can help overcome barriers to the development of a truly integrated Estuary Management Plan.


We evaluate the {pi}{eta} scattering amplitude at next-to-leading order in chiral perturbation theory. We discuss the conventional approach of the pseudoscalar Goldstone bosons ({pi},{ital K},{eta}) only and an extension including explicit resonance fields. The contributions of these resonances saturate the low-energy constants at order {ital E}{sup 4}. We present predictions for the scattering lengths and phase shifts of the low partial waves.


The development of materials for core components which can serve in high temperature corrosive environments for a long service time is crucial to realize high efficiency and high-burnup operation of advanced nuclear reactors. Alumina forming austenitic (AFA) alloy is a kind of promising materials with improved corrosion resistance as well as strength at elevated temperature. The progress on the composition design and characterization of AFA alloys are reviewed in this work for evaluation their potential applications in advanced nuclear reactors. AFA alloys without the addition of carbon have been fabricated. Microstructures were observed by SEM and TEM. Mechanical properties were measured at room temperature and high temperature.


The main objective of this paper is to highlight pitfalls in using a conventional VaR model to estimate market risk for a Jamaican financial institution. The conventional VaR model for an indicative Jamaican bank (Bank A) was assessed for accuracy and validity using a backtesting procedure. With respect to validity, the conventional model's underlying assumption of a normal distribution of loss returns over the period 3 January 2007 to 12 September 2008 was found to be inappropriate due to the non-normal distributional tendencies in most of the bank's asset classes. In terms of accuracy, the occurrence of a relatively large number of backtesting exceptions implied that there was a breakdown in bank A's VaR model over the review period and hence the need to explore alternative measures. In this regard, the paper recommends the use of Archimedean copulas, given their flexibility and ability to capture tail events as well as non-linear dependence structures. These properties render Archimedean copula risk models more appropriate for estimating (tail) risk than conventional VaR models, especially in relation to capital allocation decisions. Of the three Archimedean copulas contemplated, the Gumbel-Hougaard model provided the most conservative quantile risk estimates, as evidenced in the least number of backtesting exceptions. JEL Classification: C15, C52, C63, C65, G32


This paper presents a Fuzzy-Mon te Carlo Simulation (FMCS) approach for reliability evaluation after a discussion about the fuzzy arithmetic and Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) in systems' modeling. The FMCS method is applied to protective devices and its advantages are expanded.


Ripe ovarian follicles of Xenopus laevis, like those of Rana pipiens are capable of responding to gonadotropins even when their peritoneal epithelium and theca are removed by collagenase. Puromycin or cycloheximide stop oocyte maturation whether stimulated by gonadotropins or progesterone in vitro. Actinomycin D does not affect progesterone-induced maturation but does show variable inhibition with gonadotropin-induced maturation. Both gonadotropins and progesterone induce oocyte maturation to germinal vesicle breakdown in the same time. These data are taken as evidence that gonadotropins do not induce a macromolecular synthesis necessary for steroid release but rather simply induce the release of existing steroid in follicular epithelial cells.


Objective To observe the characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) supplied by right inferior phrenic artery(RIPA) at initial TACE.Methods Totally 106 patients with HCC who underwent RIPA angiography at the initial TACE were analyzed retrospectively.The growth characteristic of HCC supplied by RIPA and the anatomic characteristics of RIPA were observed.Results HCC in 46 patients were supplied by RIPA,which located in liver segment Ⅳ—Ⅷ.Exophytic growth of HCC was noticed in 45 patients,while massive type in 28 patients.The hepatic arteries were intact in all 46 patients.Twenty-two(22/46,47.83%) RIPA originated from the aorta,8(8/46,17.39%) from celiac trunk,10(10/46,21.74%) from right renal artery,3(3/46,6.52%) from proper hepatic artery,and 3(3/46,6.52%) from left gastric artery.Conclusion For HCC at the liver bare area or under the right diaphragm with exophytic growth pattern and massive type,it is necessary to perform RIPA angiography at the first TACE to watch whether it supplies the tumor.


BACKGROUND
The inverted-V deformity is an unwanted aesthetic consequence of dorsal hump resection. Despite their attachment to the nasal bones, the upper lateral cartilages (ULCs) can separate from the nasal bones creating a step-off after cartilaginous dorsal hump removal.

OBJECTIVES
The mechanism of how the ULCs can separate from the nasal bones despite their attachment was studied to improve understanding of the inverted-V complication and its prevention.

METHODS
A dorsal hump resection (bony and cartilaginous) was performed on twelve fresh cadavers to observe the effect on the ULCs. As a secondary study, the effect of different preventative maneuvers was investigated.

RESULTS
Cartilaginous dorsal resection destroys the spreader mechanism of the T-frame and impacts on the stabilization of the ULCs resulting in them becoming free-floating. This causes them to migrate in a posterior, medial and cranial direction relative to the nasal bones. The dynamic attachment of the ULCs to the nasal bones is key in this mechanism and allows actual separation of the ULCs from the nasal bones to result in the inverted-V deformity. Caudal traction to the ULCs re-tensions these attachments, pulling the ULCs against the nasal bones again.

CONCLUSIONS
This anatomical dissection study has established that the connection between the nasal dorsum and ULCs is not a static fusion but is dynamic. This important finding explains why cartilaginous dorsum resection with removal of the T-frame results in recoil of the ULCs despite their attachment to the nasal bones, causing an inverted-V deformity. Based on this understanding, it is advised to apply caudal traction to restore the anatomical position of the ULCs when reconstructing the dorsum in primary rhinoplasty, irrespective of the method used. This will tension the ULCs towards the nasal bones eliminating the inverted-V deformity by utilizing the intrinsic bony-cartilaginous attachments.


The healthcare system is important due to the focus on human care and the interference with human lives. In recent years, we have witnessed a rapid rise in e-healthcare technologies such as Electronic Health Records (EHR) and the importance of emergency detection and response. Cloud computing is one of the new approaches in distributed systems that can handle some of the challenges of smart healthcare in terms of security, sharing, integration and management. In this study, an architecture design of a cloud-based pervasive healthcare system for diabetes treatment has been proposed. For this, three different components are defined as follows: (1) The home context manager which gathers necessary information from patients while simultaneously providing feedback, (2) a patient health record manager that is accessible by nurses or physicians at the hospital, and (3) a diabetes management system which is located with the cloud infra-structure for managing and accessing patient's information. The performance of proposed architecture is demonstrated through a user scenario. Sepideh Poorejbari Pervasive and Cloud Computing Laboratory, Iran Hamed Vahdat-Nejad University of Birjand, Iran Wathiq Mansoor University in Dubai, UAE Diabetes Patients Monitoring by Cloud Computing


The problem of design of state observer for a class of linear systems with multi-variable time delays is discussed,then a criterion for asymptotical stability of the corresponding error system is proposed according to Lyapunov stability theories,by which a sufficient condition of state observer for the linear systems with multi-variable time delays is obtained.Finally,an illustrative example is used to demonstrate the validity of the proposed design of state observer.


Today's live training environment is comprised of many systems in various states of configurations with a limited ability to leverage shared services. The future of live training systems will evolve to a Training as a Service (TaaS) state to reduce overall operating costs, implement new technologies to improve the training experience, and centrally manage the training exercise of distributed training systems. With a TaaS approach to system architecture, a number of new cybersecurity and DoD Information Assurance requirements will need to be implemented in order to ensure the Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability of DoD information Systems. Previous papers (Lanman and Linos, 2012) have outlined in greater detail the motivation and migration strategy for a pilot study on implementing TaaS within the Common Training Instrumentation Architecture (CTIA) used by the Army's Live Training Transformation (LT2) Product Line. This paper will present a number of cybersecurity threats, challenges, requirements, and commercial best practices for secure operations as well as Certification and Accreditation (C&A) requirements of a TaaS approach. Threats not previously present in isolated system architectures will now need to be countered with appropriate defense mechanisms across physical and logical boundaries. This paper will describe and discuss cloud computing guidance for cybersecurity from the U.S. Army Chief Information Officer/G-6 guidance, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). This paper will present a strategy for implementing commercial best practices to facilitate secure operations of a cloud computing approach to live training. Finally, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the security requirements associated with cloud computing, document the certification process necessary to achieve an Authorization To Operate (ATO) for a cloud implementation, and discuss unique best practices associated with a PM TRADE implementation of a TaaS architecture.


The ariid catfishes Arius dispar and Arius manillensis are commercially important in the Philippines and have been overexploited in the past. This study describes for the first time the length-weight and length-length relationships, condition factor, sex ratio, and gonadosomatic index of the two species. A total of 1,698 A. dispar and 874 A. manillensis were collected from Laguna de Bay over the period of 12 months to assess the aforementioned parameters. For both species, the sex ratio significantly differed from equality, the length-length relationships were highly significant and the coefficients of determination (r2) were all greater than 0.96. Length frequency analysis indicates overfishing for both species. The average monthly gonadosomatic index (GSI) ranged from 0.04 to 0.15 in A. dispar males and from 0.23 to 2.99 in females. The average monthly GSI ranged from 0.04 to 0.49 in A. manillensis males and from 0.28 to 4.02 in females. For females of each of the two species, the GSI had two peaks: one from February to May (dry months) and the other from July to September (wet months). These peaks might correspond to the spawning runs of these two species. This study provides baseline information which can be used for the management and conservation of these economically important fishery resources.


Internet programming presents many challenges. One is arranging for programs written in different languages to communicate. Another is taking advantage of work that has already been done. This article shows how to use the power of ODBC to access a database, and at the same time build an easy user interface with a Java applet.


High spectral resolution lidars (HSRLs) are becoming more and more important in profiling atmospheric aerosols as accurate measurement can be achieved by employing the high-spectral-resolution spectroscopic filter. A field-widened Michelson interferometer (FWMI) is specially designed to be the spectroscopic filter for a near-infrared HSRL. The FWMI is superior to other commonly used filters, such as F-P interferometric filters and atomic/molecular absorption filters for its large angular acceptance, high photon efficiency and wavelength flexibility. It consists of a cubic beam splitter and two orthogonal arms. In this paper, the designing procedure of determining the materials and dimensions of the arms is described in detail. The result designed to the spectral line of 1064nm is presented and is analyzed to have good working performance. A tolerance evaluation model is also established to assist the design process.


In vitro evaluation of  aqueous leaf extract of Cicer arietinum L. when tested against Aspergillus flavus was recorded 93.0%  inhibition at 50% concentration followed by Penicillium sp and recorded 91.3% inhibition. Fusarium oxysporum recorded moderate activity of 88.0% inhibition and Curvularia lunata showed 80.0% inhibition  and least inhibition was observed in Cladosporium cladosporioides and recorded 74.5% inhibition. Significant inhibition was also observed in 10, 20, 30 and 40% inhibition. Compared to synthetic fungicide, Dithane M 45 and Bavisin tested at 2% concentration recorded 100% inhibition in all the test fungi.


Abstract This veterinary study is aimed at further standardization of H2O2 and pH measurements in exhaled breath condensate (EBC). Data obtained in the study provide valuable information for many mammalian species including humans, and may help to avoid general pitfalls in interpretation of EBC data. EBC was sampled via the 'ECoScreen' in healthy calves (body weight 63–98 kg). Serum samples and condensates of ambient (indoor) air were collected in parallel. In the study on H2O2, concentrations of H2O2 in EBC, blood and ambient air were determined with the biosensor system 'ECoCheck'. In EBC, the concentration of H2O2 was found to be dependent on food intake and increased significantly in the course of the day. Physiologically, lowest H2O2 concentrations at 06:00 varied within the range 138–624 nmol l−1 EBC or 0.10–0.94 nmol per 100 l exhaled breath and individual concentrations were significantly different indicating a remarkable intersubject variability. Highly reproducible results were seen within each subject (three different days within 4 weeks). No correlation existed between H2O2 concentrations in EBC and blood, and EBC–H2O2 was not influenced by variables of spontaneous breathing. Further results confirmed that standardization of H2O2 measurements in EBC requires (1) the re-calculation of the concentration exhaled per 100 l exhaled breath (because the analyzed concentration in the liquid condensate underlies multiple methodological sources of variability given by the collection process), and (2) subtracting the concentration of inspired indoor H2O2. In the study on pH use of the ISFET electrode (Sentron, the Netherlands) and a blood gas analyzer ABL 550 (Radiometer, Denmark) led to comparable results for EBC–pH (r=0.89, R2=79.3%, p≤0.001). Physiological pH data in non-degassed EBC samples varied between 5.3 and 6.5, and were not significantly different between subjects, but were significantly higher in the evening compared with the morning. EBC–pH was not dependent on variables of spontaneous breathing pattern or ambient conditions, and no significant correlation was found between serum and EBC for pH.


Steffen Michels

Hybrid Probabilistic Logics: Theoretical Aspects, Algorithms and Experiments

Probabilistic logics aim at combining the properties of logic, that is they provide a structured way of expressing knowledge and a mechanical way of reasoning about such knowledge, with the ability of probability theory to deal with uncertainty. Such probabilistic logics can serve as a basis to automate uncertainty reasoning, based on a structured and interpretable representation of knowledge. There is a wide spectrum of probabilistic logic languages, which differ in the fundamental balance between how expressive a language is and how hard it is to reason about knowledge expressed in the language. On the one hand, a language should be expressive enough to allow one to express all knowledge required to model a problem at hand. On the other hand, it should still be possible to draw useful conclusions in reasonable time.

In this thesis we propose probabilistic logics with a unique balance between expressiveness and hardness of reasoning, which perfectly matches the requirements for many problem domains. On the expressivity side, we want to support hybrid models, i.e. combining discrete and continuous factors. On the reasoning side, we want to preserve soundness of reasoning, which means that conclusions drawn from knowledge agree with that knowledge. This may seem a basic requirement, but all common inference methods for hybrid models are either restricted to only a small class of such models, or provide only unsound reasoning, based on approximations that come without any guarantees.

This thesis covers a wide range of results. We provide a theoretical basis for probabilistic logics with the properties outlined above, but we also propose efficient inference algorithms, which we evaluate theoretically and experimentally. We also design practical languages, suitable for knowledge representation, and show applicability using a challenging real-world problem.


There are good geological conditions for forming copper deposit in Zhongtiaoshan area.In resent years,copper mineral resources evaluation were carried out in Heiyadi-Michagou area.Based on study of the big scale geological mapping,composite survey by geophysical,geochemical and drilling methods,2 copper mineralized belts and 4 copper bodies with middle scale were found in the contact between the metamorphic basic volcanic rock and the metamorphic acid rock.The ore bodies are buried,and controlled by the stratohorizon and structure.The assemblage of geophysical and petrochemical anomalies appears very well,and according to which some prospecting suggestions were put forward.


Abstract Acyl halides, i.e., acyl bromides and acyl chlorides can be generated in high yields under mild conditions from the corresponding carboxylic acid in the presence of equivalent amounts of NBS/NCS and tri-phenylphosphine. The reaction between carboxylic acids, bromocyane and triphenylphosphine (Ph3PBrCN), affords under similar conditions acyl bromides. Bromocyanotriphenylphosphorane reacts also smoothly with epoxides, e.g., phenyloxirane. It appears, however, that the expected bromocyanides are not obtainable by this reaction, vicinal dibromides being formed instead.


Respiratory rate is a critical physiological measure examined in a clinical setting for early detection of illnesses such as COVID – 19 and acute respiratory distress syndrome, which is caused by fluid accumulation in the lungs, preventing air from filling the lungs. In the present work, a wearable device based on a Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensor is developed. The FBG sensor is bonded to PVC oxygen mask and the wearable device is analyzed for the feasibility of adopting it for real-time respiratory rate monitoring in a non-invasive manner. Various phases in a breathing pattern are captured by the FBG sensor and the respiration rate is computed using the optical wearable device. Preliminary trials show that the sensor is effective in measuring the respiratory rate for normal, slow and rapid breathing patterns. The results obtained indicate about 20 breaths per minute for normal breathing and around 10 and 35 breaths per minute for slow and rapid breathing respectively. Small size, lightweight, and high flexibility are the pros of the proposed device compared to electronic sensors. Since it is immune to electromagnetic interferences, the wearable device can be used in some special environments such as Magnetic Resonance.


The invention provides a network-based AUV intelligent fault-tolerant integrated navigation simulation system which comprises a strap-down inertial navigation simulator, a GPS simulator, a DVL simulator, an AUV navigation terminal. A sub-navigation system is connected with the AUV navigation terminal through an IP network and transmits relevant navigation information to the AUV navigation terminal on a real-time basis, and fault detection and integrated navigation operation are finished in the AUV navigation terminal. Each sub-system has the characteristics of independent working, so that a plug-and-play AUV intelligent fault-tolerant integrated navigation simulation system is formed; the problem that the traditional navigation facility accesses to the integrated navigation terminal through an RS232 serial port and is limited to the number of serial ports is solved, thereby achieving the purpose of multiple accesses and representing a trend of equipment internet protocolization. Therefore, research cost is effectively reduced, and the invention has significant engineering application value for researching integrated navigation system and the design of communication for latter navigation system.


Abstract
Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a disease of wear and tear, leading to disability and ultimate surgical treatment. KOA has multiple etiologies and is considered a disorder of physiological processes that is manifested by progressive lesions of articular cartilage caused by chondrolysis, synovial membrane inflammation and subchondral osteophytes production. Modalities that limit the progression of the KOA and rehabilitation are a constant interest for clinicians and medical researchers. Various physical therapies and pharmacological strategies are currently used for pain management, with no clear benefit in terms of inhibiting disease progression. In this context, the use of exogenous hyaluronic acid (HA) (that is a vital component of the synovial fluid and involved in lubricating all synovial joints) has been explored as viable alternative to alleviate knee pain and temporarily restore knee function. In the following, we will review the use of HA injections associated with the physiotherapeutic recovery plan in the treatment of KOA. The therapeutic effects of the HA is still a matter of debate in the field, with no consensus being reached so far and thus, difficult to evaluate. However, much research has to be done to understand the therapeutic efficacy of HA alone or in combination with physical therapies and the role that other factors may play in unraveling its beneficial effects on the KOA.
Key words: knee, osteoarthritis, hyaluronic acid, physiotherapy, rehabilitation,


The present invention provides an inhibitor of β- secretase enzyme, it relates to useful phenylamide and pyridyl amide derivatives compounds in the treatment of diseases β- secretase enzyme such as Alzheimer's disease is involved. The present invention also is also relates to the use of these compounds and compositions Pharmaceutical compositions and β- secretase enzyme in the treatment of such diseases involved include those compounds.


Heart rate variability (HRV) has become a valuable noninvasive method to assess cardiovascular autonomic regulation. In 1987, Kleiger et al. reported that reduced HRV was related to increased mortality after myocardial infarction (MI) [11]. In more recent studies, reduced HRV has been related especially to sudden arrhythmic death, but also to other cardiac events, such as death caused by heart failure [6, 13, 15]. HRV as a risk marker for cardiac mortality has been used to study the prevenReceived: 1 July 2003 Accepted: 8 June 2005


A 7Li NMR spin–lattice relaxation investigation over the temperature range 200–340 K is reported for a polycrystalline sample of LiCF3SO3 and a sample of poly(ethylene oxide)(PEO)–LiCF3SO3 with an O: Li molar ratio of 3.5:1. In both cases the 7Li magnetization recoveries were found to be single exponential and so the spin–lattice relaxation could be characterized by a single time constant, T1(7Li). The 7Li spin–lattice relaxation in polycrystalline LiCF3SO3 is shown to be dominated by a mechanism that involves the modulation of 7Li,19F magnetic dipolar interactions due to the reorientational motions of the CF3 groups about their threefold symmetry axes. The Arrhenius parameters derived for this motion are shown to be in good agreement with those determined in an earlier 19F spin–lattice relaxation study. The 7Li spin–lattice relaxation time measurements in the 3.5:1 PEO–LiCF3SO3 sample are taken to reflect the properties of the single crystalline complex, which is known to be present in PEO–LiCF3SO3 mixtures. The extent to which magnetic dipolar relaxation processes contribute to 7Li spin–lattice relaxation in this complex is discussed in some detail. It is demonstrated that modulation of 7Li, 1H magnetic dipolar interactions, due to backbone motions of the PEO chains, probably makes a significant contribution. There also appear to be strong links between the motional processes responsible for both 1H and 7Li spin–lattice relaxation.


It provides an energy management gateway. The energy management gateway includes a memory, a processor coupled to the memory, the building management system executed by a processor (BMS), and the interface energy management system is executed by a processor interface. BMS interface is configured to receive a first message, message constructed according to a first industrial protocol. Energy management system interface is configured for converting the first message into a second message constructed in accordance with the industrial protocols different energy management protocol, the second message comprising a query, the query comprising at least one set of commands and qualifiers, at least one query addressed to a first terminal and a second message to the first endpoint comprises at least one member of the first domain of the first domain, the first domain is different from said at least one member of the first end point device.


All-optical TDM gate switches utilizing the intensity-dependent refractive index of third- order nonlinear-optical materials (optical Kerr materials) are promising for obtaining switching times much faster than those of semiconductor optical devices. Optical gating experiments, such as signal demultiplexing and optical logic operations on picosecond time scales, have been carried out using switches with silica glass fibers [1,2]. Although these fibers do not exhibit high nonlinearity, they are frequently used as nonlinear media because of their long interaction length (~ 1 km) and intensity confinement. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of efficient fiber switches using much more highly nonlinear- optical materials, enabling a fiber length 1/1000 that of switches using the conventional silica glass.


A group with all elements except the identity being the irrational numbers is constructed and some propositions of it are given.Furthermore,from the groups of this kind,we generate a new group by means of direct product.This new group is Abelian but not cyclic.


Bilateral neovascular age‐related macular degeneration (nAMD) causes difficulties in daily life, especially with regard to near‐vision tasks, despite well preserved Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at distance. Therefore, alternative visual function measures were evaluated in terms of their correlation with vision‐related quality of life scores (QoL).


The main and fundamental cause of system security threaten is software vulnerability. The first step of software vulnerability analysis is classifying software vulnerability scientifically, logically and practicably. The essence of software vulnerability is analyzed. The fundamentals of taxonomies are described. The shortage of some typical software vuhxerability taxonomies is analyzed in detail, and the basic idea of a new software vulnerability in multi dimensions is given.


Acknowledgment I would first like to thank my adviser Charles B. Blankart for his support and guidance. I also wish to thank my second adviser Christian Kirchner. Part of this book is based on joint research. Chapter 3 is the result of work with Greetje Evereart and Chapter 5 with Verena Hahn. I want to thank both co-authors for inspiring and fruitful collaborations. This work was considerable improved by the comments and criticism of many people. In addition to those already mentioned, I am deeply grateful to Research Potential and the SocioEconomic Knowledge base " is gratefully acknowledged. Some of this book was also written while I was a visiting researcher at the Bank of Finland Institute for Economies in Transition, which provided an outstanding working environment. Finally, I am deeply thankful to Ulrich Wieler for his encouragement and support during these last years.


Background: This is a Prospective study carried out at Department of Orthopaedics & traumatology, Amaltas Institute of Medical Sciences, Dewas, M.P. in 30 patients of proximal humerus fracture were attended in casualty and OPD and were admitted. Result: Most of the injuries caused by was road traffic accident. In our study, patients with two part fracture had better functional outcome as compared to patients with three and four part fracture. Conclusion: The internal fixation with the PHILOS plate seems to be a reliable option in the operative treatment of upper end humeral fractures, especially in osteoporotic bone. It allows secure fracture fixation and quick shoulder mobilization. PHILOS plates are pre-shaped & pre-contoured plates to match proximal humeral anatomy with multiple proximal locking screw placement options has made fixation of complex fractures easy. It provides rigid fixation, enhanced axial & angular stability & allows early mobilization of the shoulder without compromising fracture union.


This paper presents the first certifiably correct solver for distributed rotation and pose synchronization, the backbone of modern collaborative simultaneous localization and mapping (CSLAM) and camera network localization (CNL) systems. By pursuing a sparse semidefinite relaxation, our approach provides formal performance guarantees that match the state of the art in the centralized setting. In particular, we prove that under "low" noise, the solution to the semidefinite relaxation is guaranteed to provide a globally optimal solution to the original non-convex problem. To solve the resulting large-scale semidefinite programs, we adopt the state-of-the-art Riemannian Staircase framework and develop Riemannian block-coordinate descent (RBCD) as the core distributed local search algorithm. RBCD is well-suited to distributed synchronization problems as it only requires local communication, provides privacy protection, and is easily parallelizable. Furthermore, we prove that RBCD converges to first-order critical points for general Riemannian optimization problems over product of matrix submanifolds, with a global sublinear convergence rate. Extensive evaluations on real and synthetic datasets demonstrate that the proposed solver correctly recovers globally optimal solutions under low-to-moderate noise, and outperforms alternative distributed techniques in terms of solution precision and convergence speed.


The Allelopathic effects of different concentration (0.10,0.05,0.025g/L respectively) of water extraction from leaf litter and persistent fruit cluster of Rhus typhina on the germination of Zea mays seeds were investigated.The results showed that the seed germination was significantly inhibited by both water extractions of leaf litter and fruit cluster.Germination percentage,germination index and vigor index were all lower than those of control and the germination course was delayed after being treated with different concentrations of extraction.The allelopathic effect of water extraction from leaf litter was higher than that of fruit cluster extraction and concentration effects of both extractions were all observed.


A sliding mode controller with conditional integrator is proposed for pitch angle regulation in multi-megawatt wind turbines working under high speed wind conditions. The control objective is to improve the transient and steady-state performance of conventional continuous sliding mode pitch controllers by adding a conditional integrator, that is only active within the boundary layer. The control design is validated using the 5-MW offshore wind turbine model from NREL's FAST comprehensive aeroelastic simulator and considering pitch actuator dynamics. Furthermore, the mechanical response of different elements of the wind turbine is evaluated using MLife.


This research includes available techniques and simplified methods to estimate and classify the quality of hardness for different water supply sources like sea water, various wells (Fayda, khabyar, jumbyar) and tap water of Basrah ,Mosul, Duhok and Baghdad, by using prepared soap solution from different commercial liquid soap with different concentration (SS 1,2,3 , SS 4,5,6 , SS 7,8,9 ). The hardness of water is relative to the formation of foam (suds) when soap solution is added to water samples until a foam layer of a certain height (2cm) formed. We determine the volume (in drops, milliliter) of soap solution. If there is a lot of foam formed quickly with little soap solution, the water is rather soft. If you need to add a lot of soap solution to produce a certain height of foam, the water is rather hard. Many factor that establish during experiments, the quality of water supply, measuring degree of hardness, concentration of water samples. Compared with the results of laboratory tests for water stations of Mosul gave our method of encouraging and positive results to continue in the future, so liquid soap bubbles (foam) are a good indicator of classifying types of water. Key words: Estimate and classify the hardness of different water sources, New and simple calculations


In recent decades, pharmaceutical companies have been facing increasing difficulties in sustaining sales growth due to tight market competition (off‐patents, pricing erosion, and generics substitution). Pharmaceutical companies are desperately seeking ways to sustain and optimize their sales coverage and sales volume in the middle and long term. In such unpromising circumstances, one of the few options that comes to mind is customer relationship management (CRM). This study specifically looks at the "utilization‐individual impact" link. In particular, this study aims to identify the personality type of sales representative most closely linked with individual usage of sales forces automation systems in the pharmaceutical industry in Taiwan. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Talk about timely—a reference book about insurgency arrives for review just as the Islamic State insurgency declares itself a caliphate. Someone might say this is an argument against reference books, that they can't possibly keep up with the pace of world events. But such a book edited by such a respected scholar as Tucker is relevant for anyone who wants a better understanding of where the Islamic insurgency fits in the flow of history. That history runs as far back as the Maccabean Revolt and right up to the wars of our time.


This study sought to survey the inventory control techniques adopted by supermarkets in Nairobi. To achieve this, primary data was collected through a questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered to 50 supermarkets as per appendix (iii). Data was received from 39 supermarkets. It was established that all the supermarkets applied more than one inventory control technique. EPOS was quoted as most popular technique followed by FIFO, EOQ and minimum stock levels respectively. Techniques such as just-in-time were also applied by some supermarkets that dealt with huge supplies and had limited storage space. The basic (Q,r) inventory technique was the least popular technique. The respondents generally pointed out a number of challenges regarding the application of the respective inventory control techniques. EPOS registered the highest number of challenges mainly because it was also the most widely used. The main challenge of applying the EPOS technique was that, it was expensive to install and maintain. FIFO was also quoted as not applicable to all types of inventory and not accurate in predicting reorder levels. Similar sentiments were also raised in respect of the minimum stock level technique, batch control, periodic review and just-intime inventory control techniques. EOQ was quoted as not easy to learn and that it was expensive to install and maintain.


Treatment of transplanted patients with cyclosporin A (CSA) may cause adverse effects such as nephrotoxicity and hypertension. As CSA is known to induce oxidative stress in several tissues, it may cause vascular problems by triggering oxidative stress in endothelial cells (EC). However, oxidative stress has been reported for acute exposure to CSA concentra¬tions exceeding its clinical range, whereas immunosuppression requires life‐long treatment with therapeutic concentrations. We therefore compared the effects of 21 h pharmacological (200 μM) vs. 8 days clinical (0.5–2.5 μM) doses of CSA on cultured human EC. Pharmacological doses of CSA cause a decrease in cell density via apoptosis and a down‐regulation of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl‐2. However, these effects are independent of CSA‐induced oxidative stress. In con¬trast, therapeutic concentrations of CSA cause Bcl‐2 up‐regulation and modification of EC morphology, both effects blocked by antioxidants. Therefore, a low level of oxidants may act in EC as second messengers that up‐regulate Bcl‐2, thus promoting survival of im¬paired EC. Our data suggest that the oxidative stress induced by clinical concentrations of CSA may be involved in the adverse effects of the drug on the vascular system of transplanted patients via an adaptive response involving Bcl‐2 up‐regulation rather than an apoptotic process.—Longoni, B., Boschi, E., Demontis, G. C., Ratto, G. M., Mosca, F. Apoptosis and adaptive responses to oxidative stress in human endothelial cells exposed to cyclosporin A correlate with BCL‐2 expres¬sion levels. FASEB J. 15, 731‐740 (2001)


Solid rocket propellant and rocket motor components were aged in a vented container on the interior of the LDEF. This paper will present the results of aging the Improved Performance Space Motor-II/Payload Assist Module-Delta II (IPSM-II/PAM-DII) space motor components. Ballistic and mechanical properties of the space aged main propellant, igniter propellant, and ignition system were compared with similar data from preflight and ground aged samples. Mechanical properties of the composite materials and bonded joints used in the motor case, insulation, liner, nozzle, exit cone, and skirt were similarly evaluated. The space aging results will be compared to data collected in a ground based vacuum aging program on similar components. The operation of the vacuum actuated venting valve and pressure actuated resealing of the container will also be addressed. The materials tested showed no significant changes due to space aging. These results indicate that properly designed solid rocket motors can be expected to perform reliably after extended periods of exposure to a space environment.


The fabrication of the Bullwinkle Platform took place over a three year period from June, 1985 through May, 1988. This paper deals primarily with the fabrication of the massive 49,000 ton single piece jacket. The yard preparation, fabrication sequence, timing and the numerous innovative techniques utilised during construction such as core block assembly of the center portion of the jacket, mounting cranes on top of the jacket core to place infill members, major lifts performed primarily with winches, and extensive usage of computers during roll ups and loadout are all highlighted. See also the two following Abstracts and Abstract No.89071510.


A new kind of piezoelectric radial field diaphragm(RFD) was introduced in this paper.The RFD was consisted of two flexible diaphragms and a PZT wafer.The flexible diaphragms with spiral electrode were adhered on both sides of the PZT wafer symmetrically.When a voltage was applied,the radially distributed electric field was produced in the spiral electrode and the PZT wafer was driven to produce the radial displacement.On the basis of fabrication process of RFD,the center displacements are investigated.The experimental results showed that both the voltage and frequency have a great influence on the displacement.When a sin signal with 400 V and 5 Hz is applied,the maximum displacement of the diaphragm was obtained.Some advantages,such as easy control,stable and reliable performance,were showed by the diaphragm.


Turkish Pharmaceutical Track & Trace System (ITS) is implemented as a system in which drug movements are tracked in order to ensure drug safety. The system is integrated among drug stores, pharmacies and reimbursement institutions. As the pharmacies are the primary users, their evaluations regarding the system are considered important. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the pharmacies'- a shareholder of ITS in Turkey- satisfaction level for ITS and problems and suggestions encountered in the system. The most expressed contribution of ITS to the pharmacists' work was the ease of medicine tracking and control with 27.1%. The average satisfaction level of pharmacists about ITS was found to be 2.9±1.2. In the research, the most expressed of the regarding the areas of ITS that need to be developed is 'work without interruption' with 37.1%. ITS application has provided advantages for pharmacies in many aspects that facilitate operations. However, continuous development of technology, increasing information resources and diversity, changing expectations, and utilization levels of the users require the constant improvement of the performance of the system.


Copper oxide nanoparticles were anchored on sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS)-functionalized macroporous carbon by utilizing the supramolecular self-assembly of SDS acting as a soft template. The as-prepared composite provides new features of electrocatalytic activities and may hold great promise for the design of environmental sensors.


In this paper, a new morphology-based homomorphic filtering technique is presented to enhance features in medical images. The homomorphic filtering is performed based on the morphological sub-bands, in which an image is morphologically decomposed. An evolutionary design is carried to find an optimal gain and structuring element of each sub-band. As a search algorithm, Differential Evolution scheme is utilized. Simulations show that the proposed filter improves the contrast of the interest feature in medical images.


Purpose: To report a case of chorioretinal atrophy after photodynamic therapy to subfoveal choroidal neovascular membrane. Methods: We followed up the photodynamic treatment to a 57-year-old woman who complained of the falling of vision in her right eye for 2 months and was diagnosed with subfoveal choroidal neovascular membrane at our institution. Since the size of neovascular membrane increased 3 month after the first photodynamic treatment, the patient underwent retreatment. Concentric chorioretinal atrophy developed around the laser applied site 3 months after retreatment, and enlargement of the atrophy area occurred 2 years later. In multifocal electroretinography, the retinal function of the chorioretinal atrophic eye was not decreased compared with the other eye. Results: The choroids collateral circulation damage or direct drug photochemical effect was thought to be the cause of the chorioretinal atrophy after photodynamic treatment at the laser applied site but there is no functional decline of the atrophic retina.


Allergic rhinitis as common airway disease has high prevalence in all peoples worldwide. In allergic diseases, Th2 cells release type 2 cytokines that support the inflammation in airways. All the drugs used for allergic rhinitis do not cure completely, and the choice of drugs according to cost and efficacy is very important in all groups of atopic patients. Therefore, in this study, the effect of commercial drugs on cytokine gene expression has been studied. Male Balb/c mice were divided into six groups. Allergic rhinitis was induced in five of the six groups with ovalbumin, and four of these five groups were treated with salbutamol, budesonide, theophylline, and montelukast. The fifth group was used as positive control group and the sixth group as negative control group. For the survey, RNA was extracted, cDNA was synthesized, and quantitative real‐time PCR was done for 21 genes.


A very simple system with quasiperiodic dynamics is introduced, consisting of a single spin, with spin \textonehalf{}, in a pulsed magnetic field. The pulses are of two types, and the two types alternate in a quasiperiodic way. By adapting renormalization-group and dynamical-systems techniques first introduced in the study of one-dimensional quasiperiodic structures, I characterize the long-time behavior as a function of the experimental parameters. Within different well-defined regions of parameters space, the time correlations decay (a) more slowly than a power law, (b) as a power law, or (c) faster than a power law, and probably exponentially.


Through investigating and developing a "Historic Flood Query System" for National Yellow River Upstream Committec, the structural design of network topology of this system and MSChart graphic control feature of Visual Basic are introduced. Concrete design envisage, realization way, functions, software flow chart, and output mode of the system are explored in detail. [WT4"HZ]


The paper is devoted to the development of a new method for presenting biomedical images based on local characteristics of the intensity of their shape. The proposed method of image processing is focused on images that have low indicators of the intensity of the recorded radiation, resolution, contrast and signal-to-noise ratio. The method is based on the principles of machine (Bayesian) learning and on samples of random photo reports. This paper presents the results of the method and its connection with modern approaches in the field of image processing.


The effect of uncontrolled positive feedback, arising in the cavity of a monopulse laser having an optomechanical shutter due to the scattering of the spontaneous radiation at the lateral surface of the active element, is investigated. It is shown that this feedback leads to considerable amplitude instability of the radiation. A method is suggested for eliminating the uncontrolled feedback.


933 Nitric Oxide and Lipid Peroxidation are Increased and Associated with Decreased Antioxidant Enzyme Activities in Children with Nosocomial Pneumonia


The Marciniak‐Kuczynski model is classically used in conjunction with the assumption of a pre‐existing thickness imperfection in form of a narrow groove. Alternatively, one may replace the thickness imperfection by a material imperfection. In the present work the material imperfection is realized by assuming an initially soft groove. Both imperfection concepts are compared to each other under linear and non‐linear strain‐paths. It turns out that the concepts are only equivalent under linear strain‐paths while the forming limit stresses are insensitive to the type of imperfection and the strain‐path.


Environmental justice addresses the unequal environmental burden often borne by minorities and low-income populations. In Brazil, many studies confirm extreme socio-environmental inequities in urban areas. Analysis based on socio-environmental vulnerability allows us to understand the intra-urban spatial distribution of socio-environmental differences and to provide insight for the development of planning policies that enhance the capacity of communities to respond to multiple risks (social, environmental, etc.) (Mendonca, 2004). This study examines the levels of socio-environmental vulnerability in the Jacarepagua lowlands of Rio de Janeiro, taking into account the existing strengths and limitations of public administrations in their efforts to balance private and public interests in regards to environmental justice.


The process of biomineralization of foraminiferal test is essential for its characteristic morphogenesis and the composition of element and isotope to be taken in is used also as paleo environmental proxy, numerous studies have been approched to reveal the mechanism of shell formation. However, how fast the foraminifera calicification and how much calcium carbonate deposits depends on the species, which is not well understood in most species. elongate tubular spirally their cytoplasmic be rapidly changing generations that in a several days after division of mother cells From our it was also that the shell formation is repeatedly carried out in the day, and the elongation rate of the shell is very fast. Therefore, in this study, Spirillina vivipara was used to estimate calcification rate. In this presentation, we report on the fastest shell extending rate in foraminifera.


We found that the expression of genes involved in kojic acid (KA) biosynthesis, kojA, kojR, and kojT, was highly elevated in the Aspergillus oryzae autophagy-deficient mutants. In agreement, KA production was much increased in these mutants. Nuclear translocation of KojR, a transcription factor, was observed in the autophagy mutants before they were starved, explaining why KA production was boosted.


Due to their ultralong dephasing times, rare-earth-ion-doped crystals can be a powerful tool for investigating small interactions undergoing in the crystal. Furthermore, narrow spectral holes along with persistent lifetimes make them an ideal candidate of high-density optical data storage. We present some recent topics in this area.


Crossmedia communication, in which content is spread over multiple platforms and the user is required to cross over from one medium to another to acquire the full experience, has until now been mainly the domain of the marketing, game and entertainment industry. However, now that more and more 'serious' applications and services, such as online banking or multichannel shopping, are becoming distributed through multiple platforms as well as used at various times and locations, its specific characteristics are becoming increasingly relevant for other design domains as well. This paper will reflect on the process of designing crossmedia applications and services by describing experiences from teaching a course in crossmedia interaction design to industrial design students. It is argued that, in order to create seamless, interactive experiences, real crossmedia design should go beyond a pragmatic mix of the principles and characteristics of the design disciplines that constitute the individual platforms.


This research presents a unified performance analysis methodology for the power domains of uplink non‐orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) system consisting of a base station and an arbitrary number of users over Rayleigh fading channels. The study derives exact closed‐form expressions for key performance metrics, such as outage probability (OP), symbol error rate (SER), outage capacity (OC), average channel capacity (AVC), and amount of fading, using binary phase shift keying (BPSK) and quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulations. The analysis encompasses all necessary channel parameters for evaluating the performance of an uplink NOMA system. The theoretical and simulation results completely supported one another. Furthermore, the results were compared with experiments in the literature using similar parameters. The proposed system was determined to increase performance by 40% for OP, 62% for SER, and 4.74 times for AVC at SNR = 20 dB. Finally, this study introduced exact solutions that can significantly accelerate NOMA systems analysis by exploiting the information in the existing database for analytical design processes in communications theory.


Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) is a powerful active optical component to change the optical wavefront by electrical signal and had been widely investigated for many applications. We use LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) which has high reflectivity and spatial resolution as main component of SLM educational kit, and present a series of experiment to let students know the background theory of SLM. Our course mainly has three parts, the first part is the principle of LCoS SLM which has polarization, jones matrix, and uniaxial crystal theory. The second part is wave optics which can see interference, diffraction, and dispersion phenomenon. The last part is Fourier optics which has the concept of spatial frequency, spectrum, Fresnel diffraction, and Fraunhofer diffraction. This educational kit also includes software that produces some basic diffraction grating which dynamically response to parameter changing and customized user's own diffraction grating by macro commands. In this paper we will describe the background theory, experiments design, and result of experiments to show what students can learn from the SLM educational kit.


Major obstacles impeding the advancement of large area color plasma displays are the limited brightness, speed and operating efficiency. In the chain discharge mechanism described here, electrons, which in normal operation are lost to recombination, are instead transported by a transverse field between adjacent columns to trigger a chain of discharges. Brightness of the chain discharges (occurring within 2.2 psec) measured on a 60 line/inch plasma panel is four times as large as that of current AC memory operation. The spreading of glow to neighboring cells, due to the strong discharge, prevents the use of this effect in current panel structures. The mechanism, however, opens up opportunities for new device structures and excitation methods for much brighter large area displays.


An analytic technique for synthesizing two-element biomimetic antenna arrays (BMAAs) is presented. This method addresses the shortcomings of previous methods used to design such arrays, which uniformly relied on using a numerical optimization procedure to find acceptably suboptimal solutions for the design of the coupling networks of such arrays. We first present an analytic method for determining all possible S-parameters that satisfy the requirements of the four-port external coupling network (ECN) of a two-element BMAA. Subsequently, all possible lumped element implementations of the ECNs are presented. Finally, we present a method for determining the values of the reactive elements constituting the ECN from its S-matrix. We demonstrate the proposed design procedure for a BMAA consisting of two 10.3 cm-long monopole antennas separated by 5 cm. The design procedure is used to determine the reactive elements constituting the ECNs for two (out of infinity) S-matrices and 13 different ECN architectures. Two representative coupling networks were also fabricated and the responses of the BMAAs using them were experimentally characterized. The measurement results are found to be in good agreement with the simulations, verifying the validity of the proposed synthesis technique.


This experimental research has objectives to find out the difference between the three-time-aweek training and the four-time-a-week training upon the result of tuck style long jump, and to find the difference of long term between high leg explosive and low leg explosive upon the result of tuck style long jump, and to figure out the interaction between the frequency of one-week training and leg explosive power upon the result of tuck style long jump. The result of the research in the first hypothesis testing indicated that there was a significantly different effect between the tree-time-a-week training frequency and the four-time-a-week training frequency on the result of tuck style long jump. The second hypothesis testing was that there was a significantly different effect between high leg explosive power and low leg explosive power upon the result of tuck style long jump. The third hypothesis testing was that there was a relationship between the a-week training frequently and the leg explosive to tuck style long jump.


Two single-stage loop-Lype flexible manu' facturing systems which are the two-machine parallel system and the two-machine series system are modeled and analyzed as Markov chains. These systems are composed of a loop conveyor line, a loading unloading .station, several pallets with workpieces and two machines of the same type. The production rates of the systems are obtained by finding the limiting state proba.hilities. Numer leal examples are presented and the comparison of two systems in terms of the production rates is shown.


In the knowledge economy era,the communication,innovation and applications of knowledge have become the main engine to drive the social development.Small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) play important roles in China's economic structure.However,China's SMEs have some common problems,such as low technology and low employees quality,which seriously hinder their development.Improving SMEs' knowledge services can improve SMEs core competitiveness and promote their technology innovation and sustainable development.


The growth of multi-layer stacks of GaN QDs on n-doped Al0.5GaN template by metal organic chemical vapor phase deposition has been investigated. A two-step growth technique consisting of a low temperature method and high temperature method has been employed to deposit the n-Al0.5GaN spacer-layer over GaN QDs. The third-layer GaN quantum dots with 22nm low temperature and 15nm high temperature Al0.5GaN spacer-layer show uniform-size and excellent optical performance. The photo-luminescence suggests that the peak intensity of GaN QDs with two-step grown spacer-layer has been overall enhanced significantly compared to the low temperature grown spacer-layer with the same thickness.


There is a growing consensus among gerontologists that senescence, the degenerative phenomenon accompanying aging, is not a direct product of natural selection [i]. They contend either that senescence occurs at a point in the ontogeny when the reproductive value is so low that selection would be inoperative [2, 3 ] or that senescence is subject to natural selection only indirectly, when it is bound genetically with other characters [4, 5]. The popularity ofthese "non-adaptive" theories is not difficult to understand. Most of the evolutionary theories about senescence, which directly invoke natural selection, have been rather unsatisfying. Although there may be exceptions to the efficacy of natural selection [6], the process is so general that a character which is seemingly outside its realm necessarily attracts attention. If in such situations we are able to find a plausible alternative model utilizing natural selection, it generally proves to be the more attractive explanation. It was this challenge that drew me to the question of the evolution of senescence.


In this study, we build the analytical models of reliability index on anchor-shotcret support structure of tunnel which is non-symmetrica. Considered function's high non-linear, the reliability index computation is adopted by Monte-Carlo method. The calculation results show that reliability index decreases when variation coefficients of crustal stress, cohesive force, inner friction angle, thickness of shotcrete layer, concrete compression strength and extension strength of anchor-shotcret and anchoring force increased and reliability index increases when variation coefficients of tunnel radius and final origin angle of broken wedge increases. Variation coefficients of inner friction angle, tunnel radius and final origin angle of broken wedge has outstanding influence on reliability index and then thickness of shotcrete layer, concrete compression strength, cohesive force, crustal stress and anchoring force. Reliability index increases with lateral pressure factor increased. Reliability index rapid decreases with crustal stress increased.


Francisella tularensis (Ft) is the causative agent of a fatal human disease, tularemia. Ft was used in bioweapon programs in the past and is now classified as a category A agent owing to its possible use as a bioterror agent. Despite over a century since its discovery, an effective vaccine is yet to be developed. A live attenuated vaccine strain (LVS) exists; however, an unknown cause of attenuation and adverse effects in immunized individuals eluded its licensing as a vaccine. This study identified potential vaccine candidates for prophylaxis of respiratory tularemia. Five mutants of Ft LVS [FTL_0057, FTL_0291, FTL_0304, FTL_0325 and superoxide dismutase B (SodB)] were tested for their protective efficacy against Ft SchuS4 challenge. BALB/c mice were immunized intranasally (i.n.) with these mutants. Doses as high as 5x10(3) CFU (for SodB) or 1x10(7) CFU (for other mutants) did not cause any adverse reaction in immunized mice. A kinetic experiment revealed that the immunized mice cleared the mutants by days 14-21 post-immunization (PI). I.n. challenge with 100 CFU of Ft SchuS4 30 days PI protected 100% of mice immunized with SodB, FTL_0057, FTL_0291 and FTL_0325 mutants, while all the mice immunized with FTL_0304 mutant succumbed to infection. Mice that survived the challenge cleared Ft SchuS4 by day 45 post-challenge. This study has identified superior, safer and genetically defined live attenuated vaccine candidates for prevention of respiratory tularemia.


r I a l Generation Y is in the workforce now. the mystery surrounding its members and their needs, expectations, characteristics, and personalities has been studied extensively. as with members of the generations before, generation "Y-ers" share characteristics that are both admired and avoided. on the one hand, they give earlier generations of workers a lot of hope that they will bring opportunities for change to the workplace. on the other hand, they give us a good dose of angst about their work and career views and approaches that are "not like ours." With our generation Y colleagues, we share not only the workplace but also a healthcare environment that is undergoing fundamental changes demanded by almost every sector of our society. the rapid growth in chronic disease, consumer demands, unsustainable cost escalation, quality improvement imperatives, economic uncertainties, and healthcare's information age are all driving our transformation from being provider-centric to patient centered. We must leave behind our paper-based world for one that is electronic, and that leaves us awash in data with implications we are only beginning to decipher. our fee-for-service payment structure is giving way to bundled payment structures that demand teamwork, although autonomy and silos defined our comfort zone for so long. in this new environment, we can no longer just say "we deliver the best healthcare," we have to prove it with data. now is the time when we need the characteristics that are so uniquely strong among our generation Y workers. as feature author llewellyn Piper puts it, the millennials "are team oriented . . . and are comfortable and even thrive in multicultural, diverse environments." the generation Y workforce places particular value on (and derives value from) a team-based, collaborative, and diverse environment. terrence cahill and Mona Sedrak, our other feature authors, agree, saying: "Millennials have grown up working in teams. . . . in today's healthcare environment, very little can be accomplished alone. therefore, the millennials' The Millennials: Challenges, Opportunities, and Promise


Recently, S-parameter method that is the measurement method of the input impedance of the balanced antenna is proposed. It is a problem of this method that the jig influences measured value when the measurement frequency increases. To remove the influence of the jig, we have examined compensating method using the ABCD-matrix. In this report, to verify the accuracy of the S-parameter method compensated by the short-correction, the input impedance of the dipole antenna is calculated by the FDTD method. It is shown that the result of the S-parameter method is agree very well with the results of delta gap fed dipole antenna and the theories by King.


The main concern of this paper is how to define proper measures of multipartite entanglement for mixed quantum states. Since the structure of partial separability and multipartite entanglement is getting complicated if the number of subsystems exceeds two, one can not expect the existence of an ultimate scalar entanglement measure, which grasps even a small part of the rich hierarchical structure of multipartite entanglement, and some higher order structure characterizing that is needed. In this paper we make some steps towards this direction.
First, we reveal the lattice-theoretic structure of the partial separability classification, introduced earlier [Sz. Szalay and Z. Kokenyesi, Phys. Rev. A 86, 032341 (2012)]. It turns out that, mathematically, the structure of the entanglement classes is the up-set lattice of the structure of the different kinds of partial separability, which is the down-set lattice of the lattice of the partitions of the subsystems. It turns also out that, physically, this structure is related to the LOCC convertibility: if a class can completely be mapped into another one by the use of LOCC, then it can be found higher in the hierarchy.
Second, we introduce the notion of multipartite monotonicity, expressing that a given set of entanglement monotones, while measuring the different kinds of entanglement, shows also the same hierarchical structure as the entanglement classes. Then we construct such hierarchies of entanglement measures, and propose a physically well-motivated one, being the direct multipartite generalization of the entanglement of formation based on the entanglement entropy, motivated by the notion of statistical distinguishability. The multipartite monotonicity shown by this set of measures motivates us to consider the measures to be the different manifestations of some "unified" notion of entanglement.


Computer course has enriched the elementary education content, and has changed structure of knowledge of the middle school student.Therefore this has the immeasurable effect to improving scientific and cultural quality. Certainly, education of computer is also to run through all the time all-round and complicated job, from elementary school to junior middle school and to high school, the different stage has the different education content and teaching characteristic. According to my personal work experience, I bring forward a little view about the education of computer in high school stage in this article.


We have studied Ca-He spin changing collisions using far wing laser scattering half-collision'' techniques. We have observed a strong red wing-blue wing asymmetry which we interpret in terms of an orbital alignment preference in the energy transfer cross section. This orbital alignment effect approaches 100%.


Twenty hybrids were developed from crossing four environmental genic male sterile (EGMS) lines with five testers in line × tester mating design to magnitude of heterosis over better parent for grain yield and contributing traits in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Five hybrids 'WTSC9059' × 'Sakha101', 'WTSC9039' × 'Sakha102', 'WTSC9059' × 'Sakha108', 'WTSC9039' × 'Sakha108' and 'WTSC9039' × 'Sakha101' express superior value for number of panicles, fertility percentage, 100-grain mass, grain yield, apparent heterosis and phenotypic acceptance. The top three heterotic combinations identified for grain yield/ha were 'WTSC9059' × 'Sakha101', 'WTSC9039' × 'Sakha102' and 'Longping' × 'Sakha105' which exhibited 100.00, 71.51 and 66.61 % heterobeltiosis, respectively. The lines 'WTSC9059' and ''Longping'' and testers 'Sakha101', 'Sakha102' and 'Sakha108' was found to be good general combiner for most of the characteristics and could be extensively used in future hybrid rice breeding program. The grain yield was correlated highly significant and positive with panicle exertion, panicle mass, fertility percentage and appearance of heterosis, otherwise the negative correlation and significant was found with flag leaf area.


The invention relates to a key synchronizer driving eight-rod servo press coordinated with dual electric machinery. Two servomotors arranged symmetrically left and right are connected with a driving slide block by a key synchronizer driving mechanism coordinated with a set of dual electric machinery, and the driving sliding block is connected with a pressing slide block by two sets of eight-connecting bar pressing mechanism arranged symmetrically left and right. The key synchronizer driving mechanism coordinated with the dual electric machinery comprises a screw rod, a small connecting bar, a horizontal connecting bar and a sliding stand; each set of eight-connecting bar pressing mechanism comprises a short connecting bar, an upper elbow connecting bar, a lower elbow connecting bar and a punch connecting bar. The two servomotors can drive synchronously according to the set law of motion; the key synchronizer driving mechanism coordinated with the dual electric machinery can drive the driving slide block to move, and the driving slide block can push the pressing slide block to move by the two sets of eight-connecting bar pressing mechanism, therefore, the synthesis of the movement and the power of the two servomotors can be realized, and the large-tonnage ram pressure and movement are obtained, thus realizing the large-tonnage servo pressing with lower cost.


T he EURECA (EUropean REtrievable CArrier) has been launched by ESA on the 31 th of July 1992 for a one year mission on a quasi-circular orbit of 508 km and 28° of inclination. The Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BISA) had developed for this mission a simple UV-visible radiometer (named ORA for Occultation RAdiometer) capable of measuring atmospheric neutral density, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, water vapour, and aerosol altitude profiles. The experiment was combined with a companion infrared radiometer designed by the Department for Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics of the University of Oxford to measure upper atmospheric water vapour.


Surface topology and chemistry play a role in effecting osseointegration of dental and orthopedic implants with surrounding bone. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanofilms, functionalized with BMP‐2, was investigated as an approach to fabricate an instructional surface coating. Six, nine and twelve‐layered TiO2 substrates were also studied to investigate the additive effect of surface roughness. Osteoblast growth, functionality and matrix mineralization on nanofilms were evaluated. Cell proliferation decreased with increasing surface roughness on both uncoated and BMP‐2 coated TiO2 substrates as indicated by MTT results. A significant reduction in cell proliferation was also observed on BMP‐2 coated substrates in comparison with uncoated substrates. Osteonectin and osteopontin expression on BMP‐2 coated substrates was significantly greater than that on uncoated substrates suggesting an enhanced osteogenic effect by BMP‐2 on osteoblast protein expression. Varying layers of TiO2 did not measurably affect osteonectin and osteopontin expression by osteoblasts seeded on both uncoated and BMP‐2 coated substrates. A significant enhancement in calcium production was observed with increasing layers of TiO2 on both sets of experimental substrates. Increase in calcium levels and deposition on BMP‐2 immobilized substrates showed an enhanced osteogenic effect resulting in increased osteoblast mineralization. This study demonstrated that BMP‐2 could be immobilized onto TiO2 substrates via nanoassembly and that osteoblast osteogenic activity can be directly influenced by a bioactive substrate. This study suggests that functionalized TiO2 nanofilms may lead to the development of implants with better osseointegration and enhanced durability.


Dear Editor, Type 3 von Willebrand disease (VWD) is the rarest (1 in 1 million) and the most severe VWD, characterized by undetectable, and low, plasma levels of von Willebrand factor (VWF) and factor (F) VIII (<20 IU/dL), respectively.1 Patients with type 3 VWD mostly present mucocutaneous bleeding, haematoma and haemarthrosis.2,3 Treatment is ondemand replacement of the missing factor. However, patients with a high risk of severe bleeding can receive prophylaxis.4 Inhibitor formation is a serious complication of replacement therapy in type 3 VWD. About 10% of the patients who develop inhibitor show severe anaphylactic reactions to any products containing VWF and they become nonresponsive. Inhibitor development is a multifactorial event that can be affected by causative mutation, type and duration of replacement therapy,


An online non-contact fault detection Method of LED chips is presented based on the photovoltaic effect in diodes. By observing the photo-generated current in the bonding lead frame of a LED chip, the LED chip and its electric connection with the lead frame during packaging are checked. The fault detection principle is described in detail in this paper. By using the method based on the law of electromagnetic induction, the photo-generated current can be measured without any touch. The experimental results show that the method can be easily realized, and thus can be used for online fault detection of LED chips in packaging.


A high power frequency-doubled semiconductor disk laser emitting 7.4 W of output power at the yellow wavelength range is reported. Fundamental emission at around 1190 nm was achieved using a high quality gain mirror incorporating GaInNAs quantum wells. The infrared radiation was frequency doubled using an intracavity beta barium borate crystal. To the best of the authors knowledge, this is the highest output power reported for a single-chip semiconductor disk laser emitting yellow radiation.


X-ray CT plays a great role both in medical fields and in industrial nondestructive tests. In imaging, metal objects absorb X-rays greatly, which introduces streaks on reconstructed images. In this paper, we propose a method for metal artifacts reduction. Firstly, the metal projection region is accurately identified and an interpolation method based on such identification is applied to get the projection data without metal. The image excluding metal is reconstructed from the modified projection data. Secondly, the image without metal is combined with the image of metal to form a complete reconstruction. Numerical simulations and a phantom experiment demonstrate that the metal artifacts can be effectively suppressed using our method and the reconstructed image is more accurate in depicting the details of cross-sections, especially in the immediate neighborhood of the metal object. The proposed method is computationally efficient and can be easily adapted to current commercial CT scanners.


A linear code C over a finite field is normalized if it contains the all ones vector. If a normalized code C is also self-dual then its complete weight enumerator is invariant under the action of a linear group G, which is explicitly determined. The character of this representation is then used to calculate the Molien series for G.Further restrictions on C may lead to larger finite linear groups containing G. It is determined here that if the field is not $GF(2)$ or $GF(4)$ then there are only finitely many linear groups containing G with the property that the only scalar matrices appearing are those already contained in G. In fact, if the characteristic is odd and $\tilde G$ is the unimodular subgroup of G, then the finite unimodular subgroups containing $\tilde G$ are contained in a unique, such maximal linear group. The classification of the finite simple groups is used for the proof of this last result.


CASE HISTORY A woman of 50 was admitted on July 17, 1940, with biliary colic. This sLubsided in a few hours, and the temperature only reached 99° F. for two evenings. She-was not jauLndiced. On July 31,1940, she was operated on. The gall-bladder was enlarged, somewhat injected, and not thickened, and contained a single barrel stone. The common bile duct looked and felt normal, and was not opened. The cystic duct and cystic artery were defined and tied with ease. The gall-bladder was dissected and the fossa sutured pauri passi,t obtaining moderately good sero-capsular margins to stitch together. The whole field appeared clean and dry, and the abdominal wall was closed with fine interrupted silk, without drainage. The operation was a particularly easy one, lasting a little over half an hour. She returned from the theatre at 5 p.m. : by 10 p.m. my house-surgeon had had to be called to her twice (and order morphine on each occasion) as she was very restless and complained of much pain in the upper abdomen and in the right shoulder. Her colour was poor and her pulse of small volume, although the rate had only risen to 104. The following morning at noon I saw her; she was an ashen-grey colouir (normally rather florid), distressed and anxious, with r apid shallow breathing. Air entry was poor at the right base, btut there was no mediastinal shift or rise of temperature. We considered the remaining alternatives to be intraperitoneal haemorrhage and biliary leakage. A blood transfusion of one pint was given duiring the afternoon. She was no better; indeed, her pulse steadily rose to 120. She was still in pain, and was pale, anxious, and restless. I thought there was dLlllness in the right flank, and noticed that turning her over on her side made the pain almost unbearable. -It was decided that if there was to be an exploration then this was the time, and her abdomen was reopened that afternoon, exactly twentyfour hours after her first operation. There was some bile below the liver, and a fair amount in the kidney pouch, but most of it had seeped around between the liver and diaphragm-certainly less than ten ounces in all. There was no sign of infection. An excellent view was got of the operative site-the cystic duct was still snugly ligated. The origin of the leak was found to be a raw area the size of a penny where the capsule had torn laterally and escaped sLIture at the level of the neck of the gall-bladder. No ruptured bile channel could be seen. The torn capsule was included in three sutures embracing the liver beneath and the fossa margin opposite, and the bile mopped out. A corrugated drain was brought out in the flank through a stab wound and the median incision closed again. After this the patient never looked back. Her rapid improvement after the second operation was almost as striking as the rapid deterioration after the first. That night she was pink and warm, with a full pulse. The wound healed by first intention. The drain was removed on the fifth day, very little bile and no pus having drained. She was discharged well on the eighteenth day.


Simple Summary We explored the existence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and related variant in samples of goats and sheep obtained from Antalya and Mersin provinces, representative of Mediterranean region of Turkey. Based on 16S rRNA and groEL genes of A. phagocytophilum and related variants, we examined blood samples by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by sequencing. The results showed that the prevalence of A. phagocytophilum and A. phagocytophilum-like 1 infection was 1.4% and 26.5%, respectively. Sequencing confirmed molecular data and showed the presence of A. phagocytophilum and A. phagocytophilum-like-1 variant in the sampled animals. Abstract Anaplasma phagocytophilum causes tick-borne fever in small ruminants. Recently, novel Anaplasma variants related to A. phagocytophilum have been reported in ruminants from Tunisia, Italy, South Korea, Japan, and China. Based on 16S rRNA and groEL genes and sequencing, we screened the frequency of A. phagocytophilum and related variants in 433 apparently healthy small ruminants in Turkey. Anaplasma spp. overall infection rates were 27.9% (121/433 analyzed samples). The frequency of A. phagocytophilum and A. phagocytophilum-like 1 infections was 1.4% and 26.5%, respectively. No A. phagocytophilum-like 2 was detected in the tested animals. The prevalence of Anaplasma spp. was comparable in species, and no significant difference was detected between sheep and goats, whereas the prevalence significantly increased with tick infestation. Sequencing confirmed PCR-RFLP data and showed the presence of A. phagocytophilum and A. phagocytophilum-like-1 variant in the sampled animals. Phylogeny-based on 16S rRNA gene revealed the A. phagocytophilum-like 1 in a separate clade together with the previous isolates detected in small ruminants and ticks. In this work, A. phagocytophilum-like 1 has been detected for the first time in sheep and goats from Turkey. This finding revealed that the variant should be considered in the diagnosis of caprine and ovine anaplasmosis.


Compact Solar Combisystem for an Apartment Building The Riga Technical University Institute of Energy Systems and Environment, in cooperation with three Latvian companies, is implementing the project "Compact solar and pellet module" financed by the European Union. Within the framework of this project a combisystem will be installed in the Grandeg Ltd modular pellet boiler house. The solar combisystem will provide domestic hot water and space heating load for an apartment building in Sigulda. Due to the limited amount of space in the modular boiler house, optimal decisions should be made on the technical parameters of the system, including the volume of the heat storage tank and the surface area of solar collectors. Every alternative has both advantages and disadvantages. Economic factors of various alternatives are analyzed.


An integrated circuit that measures time intervals with high precision and accuracy has a wide range of applications including data conversion, ranging, and 3-D imaging. The resolution with which time intervals are quantized by a ring oscillator or delay line is limited by the minimum delay of an inverter in the technology. We propose the use of cyclic-coupled ring oscillators (CCROs) as a time-domain quantizer to achieve a combination of subgate-delay time resolution together with a short conversion time, thereby enabling data conversion with high resolution as well as high bandwidth. The resolution-power tradeoff in coupled oscillators is studied. Simulation indicates up to a factor-of-13 subgate-delay time resolution with 13 coupled oscillators. A real-time quantizing time-to-digital converter with coupled oscillators is designed for a time-domain analog-to-digital converter. Powered by a factor-of-8 subgate-delay time resolution of 1.6 ps obtained with nine coupled oscillators, and a sample time of 4 ns for 11-bit conversion, the converter delivers a 9.9-bit ENOB over a signal bandwidth of 125 MHz and an SFDR of 88 dB. Results demonstrate that CCROs is an attractive candidate as a high-precision high-linearity time-domain quantizer for data converters.