&NA; The finger temperature was continuously recorded during psychoanalytic interviews (free association, dream analysis, utilization of the patient's attitude toward the physician, and offering of interpretation of the patient's reactions by the physician; interviews of 50 minutes five times weekly). The patients were asked to describe the emotional reactions they experienced during the interview, and when they did not do this spontaneously, the analyst asked them what their feelings were at given moments. The data thus obtained on emotional reactions (e.g., anxiety, anger, elation) established an indispensable link between psychological and physiological observations. The factors determining the subject's emotional responses and the correlated vegetative events as exemplified by changes in finger temperature were: the subject's personality, his changing life situations, his prolonged mood as expressed by his dreams, the patterning of his aggressive and sexual drives, his activated memories and particularly his reactions to the therapist. The emotional reactions were always complex with one or another affect predominating at the moment. "Complexity" implies several interrelated, qualitatively different emotional reactions occurring simultaneously, or in quick succession. Complexity resulted from the fact that the patient reacted to situations in terms of diverse aspects of personality, e.g., desire for care as well as for independence. It further resulted from the fact that he was reacting simultaneously a) to the analyst, b) to his day‐to‐day experiences and c) to his early memory patterns. The fall in finger temperature was greatest and most sustained if the patient felt frustrated simultaneously by mate, analyst and parents. The sustained mood of the patient and the intensity and duration of his emotional reactions were dependent on conscious and unconscious dominant attitudes: on the degree of his self‐confidence or on the strength of his devices for maintaining a feeling of security in spite of undercurrent stress. Both of these were usually expressed in the dream the patient had during the night preceding the interview. Emotional stress with predominant anxiety, anger, embarrassment, humiliation, joy with anxiety, depression with hostility, guilt, and fear of abandonment, and conflict over the use of hands for aggressive and sexual purposes, were accompanied by a fall in finger temperature. If the patient was not aware of an emotional reaction, but by speech and other behavior did give evidence of experiencing such an emotional reaction (anger, anxiety), there was a fall in finger temperature. At times but not invariably, the fall was of greater magnitude when he was not aware of evident emotional disturbance. During sexual excitement, there was a rise in finger temperature above the control level. The rapidity and degree of fall in finger temperature were determined by the intensity of the patient's emotional conflict and anxiety, whether conscious or unconscious, and by the nature and intensity of his compensatory measures. In individuals who with unconscious motivations developed a life plan of warding off anxiety by avoiding danger, and by the illusion of being master of the situation—anticipation of helplessness, of abandonment, and of injury, although manifest in their defensive behavior, was compatible with high finger temperature, even in potentially threatening situations. However, they reacted with conflict, anxiety and fall in finger temperature when a turn in events disturbed their safety devices. When the patient, in a situation which represented one of stress for him, was in a state of emotional detachment, repressing conflicting impulses and emotions and in addition, maintaining illusory attitudes of security, comfort, superiority, the finger temperature was high and relatively even, as though in a period of genuine security and relaxation. Thus, the finger temperature remained at a high level during states of emotional "objectification" with undercurrent resentment and humiliation, during a state of "forgiveness" for hostility, and during a state of facetiousness with undercurrent murderous and suicidal impulses. If, however, an intensely pleasant emotion, e.g., elation, predominated as a compensatory reaction for repressed anxiety, the finger temperature fell. Repression of conflicting impulses, together with the attainment of security, through illusions of being cared for and of being master of the situation, prevented thus, not only suffering, but also the occurrence of vegetative reactions, except in situations of severe stress. This observation brings into sharp focus the fact that the patient, in the course of psychotherapy, may cling tenaciously to a form of adaptation which was already found inadequate. He does so because his devices save him from anticipated helplessness and suffering, and furthermore, afford him a measure of success in coping with problems and in the attainment of positive satisfaction. He relinquishes this form of adaptation when he becomes capable of functioning without the limiting protection and the illusory support of his devices.


Customer churn prediction models aim to detect customers with a high propensity to attrite. Both the predictive power, the comprehensibility, and the justifiability are key aspects of these models. An accurate model permits to correctly target future churners in customer retention campaigns, while a comprehensible and intuitive rule set allows to identify the main drivers for customers to churn and to develop an effective retention strategy in accordance with domain knowledge. This chapter provides an extended overview of the literature on the use of data mining for customer churn pre-


marriage between Arnold and Olimpia are noticeable in that they strengthen the vital, optimistic tone of the poet, who now takes a sympathetic attitude toward Arnold's wish for love, which was manipulated and troubled by Caesar. The renewal motif in marriage represents Arnold's wish to surpass mortality. Beyond the "shadow of glory" and "dim image of war" (3.1.42-43), which indicate the protagonist's hubris and his inner struggle, the happy ending suggests to the reader the protagonist's persistent desire to win Olimpia and to be free from his mother's rejection. Arnold's despondency turns into a hope for inner peace. Thus, the drama is not so much a fragment as a finished piece of work in light of its theme and structure. We should note that such a renewal is linked with the positive change in Arnold's attitude toward his power of will. Comedy always deconstructs human claims to control events. Byron's use of comedy in Beppo, The Island, and throughout Don Juan illustrates this truth. In The Deformed Transformed, Byron uses this technique for the first time in one of his plays.


e24152Background: Art therapy can improve quality of life (QOL) and symptoms in patients with cancer. However, prior studies have focused on time-limited interventions. At the University of Califor...


As embedded systems are being networked, often wirelessly, an increasingly larger share of their total energy budget is due to the communication. This necessitates the development of power management techniques that address communication subsystems, such as radios, as opposed to computation subsystems, such as embedded processors, to which most of the research effort thus far has been devoted. In this paper, we present E/sup 2/WFQ, an energy efficient version of the weighted fair queuing (WFQ) algorithm for packet scheduling in communication systems. We employ a recently proposed radio power management technique, dynamic modulation scaling (DMS), as a control knob to enable energy-latency tradeoffs during wireless packet scheduling. The use of E/sup 2/WFQ results in an energy aware packet scheduler, which exploits the statistics of the input arrival pattern as well as the variability in packet lengths. Simulation results show that large savings in energy consumption can be obtained through the use of our scheduling scheme, compared to conventional WFQ, with only a small, bounded increase in worst case packet latency.


The study discusses some health problems or health risks - obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, diabetes, postural alterations, for instance - found in the work of truck drivers, considering aspects related to work organization. Data collection was carried out during the development of a health program focused on the health of truck drivers, sponsored by the Concessionary of the Anhanguera-Bandeirantes System - AutoBAn (a company of the CCR Group), along the Anhanguera and the Bandeirantes highways in the state of Sao Paulo. A closed questionnaire was used for the survey containing questions directed to the life style and work style of truck drivers, and to the way they interfered in their quality of life and their health. Blood pressure of the truckers was measured and other health parameters were analyzed, such as smoking, sedentarism, overweight and obesity, and hereditary factors for diseases. The results of the study show that to 53,39% of the truck drivers interviewed their work activity interferes in their physical health, whereas 43,89% indicated an impact on their mental health. There is also an evident influence of working time and irregular schedules on physical and psychological overcharge, and their mental and physical symptoms, such as relationship problems, loneliness, sleepiness, irritability, fatigue, and diminished reflex that can lead not only to chronic diseases but also acute diseases, among which, polytraumatisms caused by accidents in the highways. Keywords: Truck drivers. Unusual schedule. Work organization. Worker illness.


This paper aims to examine the influence of user characteristics on preference for government service delivery channels. Preferences are understood as citizen use of and satisfaction with digital and traditional government contact modalities. User characteristics are represented by three constructs encapsulating the key elements of citizen features and attitudes.,The constructs are tested on data from a survey of 30 cities in China, resulting in 3,000 respondents, which asked questions on respondents' use of and satisfaction with traditional modes (hotlines and service center channels) and digital modes (e-government and m-government channels) as well as respondents' sociodemographics, technological capacity and view of government.,The results showed two important findings. First, service channel use was related to the first and second constructs (sociodemographics and technological capacity). Second, service channel satisfaction showed strong evidence of relation to the third construct, view of government.,The results of this study make an empirical contribution to understanding the features of citizens that influence channel choice for public service contacts.,This study contributes to the understanding of channel choice in three areas. First, it is an empirical study using survey data and so adds to a largely case-based and conceptual literature. Second, by looking at the impact of citizen attitudes about government and not just their sociodemographic features. Third, by examining channel choice in the context of a fast-developing country like China.


Aiming at the problem of foundation settlement in highway,in the selected cases in a similar geological conditions at expressway in Hebei province,five kinds of foundation treatment methods were compared and the actual effects of different treatment were analyzed by actual observations of settlement,have guide meaning for select soft foundation treatment scheme sciencely.


In the paper, on the basis of three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations and the RNG κ-ε turbulence model, adopting Three-dimensional unstructured grid and pressure connection the implicit correction SIMPLEC algorithm, and using MRF model which is supported by Fluent, this paper carries out numerical simulation of the internal flow of the centrifugal pump in different operation points. According to the results of numerical simulation, this paper analyzes the bad flow phenomena of the centrifugal pump, and puts forward suggests about configuration perfected of the centrifugal pump. In addition, this paper is also predicted the experimental value of the centrifugal pump performance, which is corresponding well with the measured value.


To quantify environmental benefits of reduced vehicle emissions pollution of developing underground urban freeway, formula of Pollutant Quantity from Vehicle Emissions was first introduced to quantify respective emissions of CO, HC and NOx from various vehicles in underground urban freeway per second per kilometer. A model for quantifying environmental benefits of reduced pollution of these three kinds of gases per second of underground urban freeway was set up. North-South Corridor, one roadway of "#" Form Underground Roadways Network of CBD Core Area in Shanghai, was researched as a case study and its environmental benefits were calculated.


A vibration monitoring system based on fiber Bragg grating is proposed to meet the need of protective barrier along the railway to monitor the foreign matter invasion. A high sensitivity fiber Bragg grating vibration sensor based on cantilever structure is developed. Three vibration sensors were deployed to a protective barrier with a length of 20 meters to conduct intrusion vibration monitoring test. Test results show that: 1) the fiber Bragg grating vibration sensor can well monitor the vibration signal; 2) the vibration intensity decreases obviously with the distance impact position increasing; 3) the response time of vibration measurement of different sensors is also in sequence when the distance impact location is different. Therefore, the magnitude of the external impact and the impact position in the protective barrier can be analyzed through the response amplitude distribution of each sensor and the response time sequence of the sensors.


Abstract Dual-beam modulated photoconductivity (DBMP) experiments allow measurement of three relaxation times that characterize the trapping-detrapping and the recombination processes participating in the steady-state photoconductivity of hydrogenated amorphous silicon. The shortest times t 1 and t 2 associated with electron thermal emission from doubly occupied dangling bonds and from band-tail states respectively are shown to be related to the response time τR of the initial decay of photoconductivity measured in a transient experiment. To discover the relationship existing betweent 1, t 2 and τR, we first analyse the temperature dependence of the steady-state mobility μ ss = μ n τR, /τr where μ n and τn are the free electron mobility and lifetime. We reach the conclusion that μ ssis the weighted average of the mobilities characterizing the electron traffic between D− centres and the conducting states on the one hand, and that between tail states and the conduction band on the other hand. The model allo...


Lavender is a valuable perennial plant from the Lamiaceae family. It is grown mainly for its essential oil, but it also contains polar bioactive compounds such as polyphenols and coumarins. Their level depends on the species, cultivars, geographical origin, climatic conditions, harvest time and extraction method. The authors investigated the effect of several extraction procedures (maceration, decoction and ultrasound-assisted extraction) applied to three cultivars of Lavandula angustifolia (Betty's Blue, Elizabeth, Hidcote) and two cultivars of Lavandula x intermedia (Grosso, Gros Bleu) on the yield of the polyphenolic compounds and antioxidant activity. HPLC analysis showed the presence of rosmarinic acid (2.52–10.82 mg/g), ferulic acid glucoside (2.94–8.67 mg/g), caffeic acid (1.70–3.10 mg/g), morin (1.02–13.63 mg/g), coumarin (1.01–5.97 mg/g) and herniarin (1.05–8.02 mg/g). The content of phenolic acids and flavonoids was higher in lavender, while the content of coumarins was higher in lavandin in all types of extracts. The antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH-EPR assay for antiradical properties (104.58–206.77 μmol Trolox/g) and FRAP assay for reducing properties (79.21–203.06 μmol Trolox/g). The obtained results showed that the cultivar is the dominant factor differentiating the samples. Still, the extraction method plays an important role in the final bioactive substances content and antioxidant properties of obtained extracts.


Globalization processes can be seen in the system of socio-economic relations worldwide. These processes, including the higher education system, focus on increasing the effectiveness of education, supporting international coverage of education, and, most importantly, the use of modern methods of modernizing higher education. The article examines the current state of the Higher Education in Uzbekistan and the role of Bologna Process to create innovative environment in Higher Education System of Uzbekistan. In addition, problems related to the implementation of this process in the higher education system are discussed. As well as, the further reforms are given to eliminate those problems.


We study the deformation of the three-dimensional conformal structures by the Ricci flow. We drive the evolution equation of Cotton-York tensor and the L1-norm of it under the Ricci flow. In particular, we investigate the behavior of the L1-norm of the Cotton-York tensor under the Ricci flow on three-dimensional simply-connected homogeneous manifolds which admit compact quotients. For a non-homogeneous case, we also investigate the behavior of the L1-norm of the Cotton-York tensor for the product metric of the Rosenau solution for the Ricci flow on a two-sphere and the standard metric of a circle.


Fraud against the Community budget requires a supranational response because it is an area in which organised crime groups work on a cross‐border basis. The paper considers some of the difficulties confronting the mounting of such a supra‐national response: the inbuilt character of fraud on the Community budget, given the nature of the organisation; difficulties with information technology; the scale of the problem; the lack of prioritisation of the issue by Member States; corruption within the political establishments of Member States; and legal problems. The paper concludes with an examination of the available models for operational cooperation in the fight against fraud: the K4 Commission set up under the Maastricht Treaty, the SIRENE bureaux, Interpol, Europol and UCLAF, the Commission's own anti‐fraud unit. National police investigators have anyway set up their own cross‐border networks to combat the changing modes of cross‐border crime; but all this raises questions about national sovereignty and accountability.


In this study,the predictability and physical processes leading to the rapid frontal cyclogenesis,that took place in the east coast of the U.S.during 3—4 October 1987,are examined using a nested-grid.mesoscale model with a fine-mesh grid size of 25km.It is shown that the model reproducesreasonably well the cyclogenesis in a coastal baroclinic zone.its subsequent deepening and movementas well as the pertinent precipitation.It is found that the frontal cyclogenesis occurs in a favorablelarge-scale environment with pronounced thermal advection in the lower troposphere and markedpotential vorticity(PV)concentration aloft associated with the tropopause depression.The transportof warm and moist air from the marine boundary layer by the low-level in-shore flow provides thenecessary energy source for the observed heavy precipitation and a variety of weather phenomenareported in the cold sector.Several 24-h sensitivity simulations are performed to examine the relative importance of diabaticheating,adiabatic dynamics and various initial conditions in the frontal cyclogenesis.It is found thatlatent heat release,even though quite intense,accounts for only 25% of the cyclone's total deepeningin this case:the weak impact seems due to the occurrence of latent heating in the cold sector and theupward lifting of the dynamical tropopause by diabatic updrafts.Vorticity budgets show that the low-level thermal advection dominates the incipient stage,whereas the vorticity advection determines therapid deepening rate at the mature stage.The results reveal that the predictability of the presentstorm is closely related to the vertical coupling between the surface cyclone and the upper-level PVcore,which is in turn determined by initial offshore perturbations in the lower troposphere.


This study aims to capture actual condition of preschool science education and training in the field accurately. Based on this, the requests of preschool teachers for the contents and method of the preschool science teacher training programs are also analyzed. Fifty preschool teachers participated in this study, and have collected data especially for the qualitative analysis, categorized them, and found out the themes of each areas through the content and meaning analysis methods.
In terms of the current condition of science education and training, preschool science teachers are categorized according to the following four groups. For the request of preschool science teachers for teacher training programs in particular, it is pointed out training of understanding and improvement of conceptual orientation of science and knowledge, a long-term systematic training, and improvement of efficient science teaching method.


The HICO (Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean) program is the first demonstration of environmental characterization of the coastal zone using a spaceborne maritime hyperspectral imager. HICO is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research as an Innovative Naval Prototype (INP), and will demonstrate coastal products including water clarity, bottom types, bathymetry and on-shore vegetation maps. As an INP, HICO will also demonstrate innovative ways to reduce the cost and schedule of this space mission by adapting proven aircraft imager architecture and using Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components where possible.


This paper introduces the description methods and common law of composite moisture absorption.Factors that influenced the moisture absorption of composites are studied.


M OST teachers of French cannot go to France as often as they wish, yet I am sure there is not a single one who does not desire to keep in contact with things French. The French schools at Middlebury and elsewhere doubtless give this opportunity, as far as the language is concerned, better than anywhere else on this side of the Atlantic, and they certainly deserve the respect and co-operation of all those whose interests lie in France and things French. There are many, however, who do not care to attend schools of French for various reason and yet who cannot visit France as often as they would like. For these I suggest a vacation trip in French Canada as a delightful way of making contacts with a civilization that has remained essentially French during two centuries and a half of English rule. Perhaps there are some who will immediately say that one's pronunciation might be affected by contact with Canadian French. It is certainly not my purpose either to attack or defend the French spoken in Canada, but I feel perfectly sure that the pronunciation of no one prepared to teach French will suffer while in French Canada, nor will he be unable to understand or make himself understood except in very rare cases. The opportunity of hearing Canadian French and of comparing it with the accepted norm of pronunciation of the mother-country will add, ipso facto, pleasure and profit to a sojourn among our northern neighbors. In the larger cities, such as Montreal, one can live in an atmosphere that is essentially Parisian as far as the language and its speakers are concerned. I should urge all those who contemplate such a trip as I propose to travel by automobile. Only in this manner can one get the spirit of French Canada. Naturally, I do not wish to disparage the delightful scenic trips on the St. Lawrence; they are too well and favorably known, and all who can should take them. However, one will not make contact with the French-speaking population to any great extent on the large steamers, nor will one see at close hand the things that make this region so delightful a place to visit to those who are seeking something more than an agreeable vacation. French Canada means, generally speaking, the province of Quebec. Anyone who reads magazines or newspapers has seen the advertisements of Montreal and Quebec-the city and the province. I do not believe I am wrong in saying that these are more truthful in their statements than many similar advertisements. The Provincial Travel Bureau at Quebec will gladly send to any one interested maps and "literature" concerning any or all areas to which a visit is contemplated. I have found on my two trips to French Canada that the historical comments, facts, data, statistics, and mileages are accurate and reliable. It is not the purpose of this paper to tell what to see or to describe what


We proposed a new universal method for significantly increasing accuracy of critical points of 2 and 3-dimensional Ising models and exploring fluctuation mechanism. The method is based on analysis of block fractals and the renormalization group theory. We discussed hierarchies and rescaling rule of the self similar transformations, and define a fractal dimension of an ordered block, which minimum corresponds to a fixed point of the transformations. By the connectivity we divide the blocks into two types: irreducible and reducible. We find there are two block spin states: single state and k-fold state, each of which relates to a system or a subsystem described by a block spin Gaussian model set up by mathematic map. Using the model we obtain a universal formula of critical points by the minimal fractal dimensions. We computed the critical points with high accuracy for three Ising models. It is the first time to find a critical point only requires a fractal edge, which causes fluctuations, and the point acts as a fluctuation attractor. Finally, we discussed a possibility of different block spins at the critical point.


The objective of the present study is to understand the way that families from Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, have perceived the evolution of their way of feeding, because of globalization. Nine people from different types of families and socio-economical levels were invited, who oversee the family food, to inquire the meanings they give to it, through a qualitative methodology, conducting open interviews and observations. Results. The results express the way in which they have integrated processed foods exposing the socioeconomic factors that they perceive like the triggers of those changes. Limitations. The study describes the psychosocial factors, commenting at first instance some uncertainty on what is healthy to consume and at the same time, nostalgia for what was previously consumed. In conclusion, it can be argued that families have had to adapt themselves in creative ways to survive in the globalized world and that, in a certain way, there has been a constant departure from culinary traditions due to mainly socioeconomic aspects; likewise, the social discourse of what is healthy has partially modified the Yucatecan diets to begin to adapt to a homogenized pattern of health.


A description of causes of occurrence and consequences associated with late detection of a hidden man-induced contamination as well as materials of the experimental works on rehabilitation of a historically contaminated area located in the Atyrau region allowing to considerably reduce concentrations of contaminants (petroleum products) in soil-water bearing horizon in 2016-2019 is provided in this article. In the framework of anticipated activities on the area rehabilitation, a bioremediation of the contaminated ground water and soil layer has been undertaken using a method stimulating natural processes of the biological remediation based on a compulsory oxygen aeration of the contaminated soil layer with the purpose ofthe accelerated development of oil oxidizing bacteria community. The method provided in this article is an innovating pilot project implemented in the area of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is based on the technological experience from the international practice, where a closed wells network was applied for injection of biostimulating reactants to solve similar tasks. At the same time, considering its adaptation to the local natural conditions, the tested method has appropriate distinctions from the alternatives both in terms of technological system of free drainage and bioremediation process efficiency control, and in terms the reactants applied for biostimulation


Objective: To promote pharmacist's role in the rational use of drugs and medicinal plants. To engage students in activities related to patients and patients' care and needs, involving them in critical analysis of the data collected.
Methods and findings: a pharmaceutical care tent was put up on a public area of the Faculty of Chemistry during Heritage Day. Pharmaceutical care students carried out semi-structured surveys to passers-by, collecting information on their pharmacotherapy, and the consumption of medicinal plants, handing out information leaflets, as well. A research study was carried out from the data collected. One hundred and forty-four people (95 women and 49 men), aged between 12 and 89 years were interviewed. Forty-four percent were elderly (65 years of age or older), 21% of the total were polymedicated and 51% consumed one or more medicinal plants. Antihypertensives were the most used drugs. A 16% of the elderly presented at least one STOPP criterion and 14% a START.
Conclusions: The experience was well-accepted by the public and students felt confident in their role as future members of the health care team. Once again, the need for responsible health education of the population was demonstrated.


In this paper, the problem of optimal energy distribution by dynamically changing the size of coalition, which consists of one micro-grid and several customers, is studied using the theory of Markov Decision Process (MDP) - a discrete optimization method. In this paper, the micro-grid, which acts as one of the players, needs to decide the size of the coalition for utilizing the generated energy optimally. On the other hand, the customer, which acts as another player, needs to decide its strategies, so as to optimize a trade-off between the associated cost, i.e., communication cost and energy distribution cost, and effective power supply. Using MDP, it is shown how dynamically coalition can be formed and the customer can be assured of an efficient power distribution.


This is the pilot study for the Peace Education Curricular Analysis Project – a project that seeks to become a longitudinal and global analysis of national curriculum statements for pro-peace values. National education as a system of organized learning can act as a transmission belt – a cultural institution that assigns communal ideals and values and uses pedagogy to echo social standards. As this analysis considers that it is possible to assess non-peace education for peace education qualities, this study analyzed New Zealand's early childhood, primary, and secondary education curricular statements to ascertain the presence or absence of three elements common in peace education programs: recognition of violence; addressing conflict nonviolently; and creating the conditions of positive peace. The methodologies used in this mixed methods study include directive and summative content analysis. This analysis finds that the curricular statements (2) of New Zealand have made progress to educate students toward peace and non-violence and that in general, the early childhood curricular statement incorporates a greater amount of pro-peace content than the primary and secondary curriculum statement. Opportunities exist to strengthen peace education content in future New Zealand curricular statements.


IAIs remain a major challenge in clinical practice. They are the main cause of postoperative morbidity following abdominal surgery and the most frequent cause for admission to a surgical intensive care unit (2,3). IAIs differ from infections encountered elsewhere in several respects. First, the clinical spectrum of IAI is extremely wide, ranging from uncomplicated acute appendicitis with a relatively benign course to diffuse peritonitis from perforated viscus or ischemic bowel with high morbidity and mortality. While both scenarios comprise of IAIs, they require different approaches to diagnosis and treatment. Additionally, the role of surgery in the management of patients with IAIs is pivotal and generally considered to be a decisive factor in the outcome. The clinical and microbiological diagnosis is also often problematic: IAIs are typically polymicrobial, and not every microorganism involved can be identified in the clinical microbiology laboratory by routine cultures; the pathogenicity of certain microorganisms cultured from IAIs is not considered to be the same for every patient and often relates more directly to the severity of underlying disease or comorbid conditions of the host; and the clinical signs and symptoms do not often match the severity of disease and may lead to substantial delays in appropriate diagnosis and management (3–8). Additionally, antibiotic resistance among enteric pathogens has evolved globally and at an alarming rate, while very few newer agents have emerged to replace older therapeutic regimens.

The current clinical practice guideline was jointly developed by the CSS and AMMI Canada. The primary goal was to develop updated recommendations for the medical and surgical management of complicated IAIs since publication of the 2003 antimicrobial treatment guideline by the IDSA (1). Particular focus is directed at risk stratification for poor outcomes based on epidemiological studies, current status of antimicrobial susceptibility and resistance profiles among enteric pathogens, therapeutic efficacy of antimicrobial regimens based on randomized clinical trials, operative versus percutaneous approaches for source control, the role of IAH and ACS in IAIs, and infection control and preventive measures for postoperative IAIs and surgical site infections. An additional objective is to categorize the recommendations according to the strength and quality of the available evidence using a standardized grading system. Importantly, the current guideline provides recommendations for initial empirical antimicrobial management of complicated IAIs based on clinical settings and issues unique to the Canadian health care system (eg, publicly funded health care system and regionalization of health care delivery).


How flexible and adaptive a production system can be, unquestionably depends on its software architecture and the level of modularity, flexibility, and adaptability of its software components. Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) are responsible for the functionalities of machines in the production system. Therefore PLC-software architecture and its software components play a vital role in a flexible, modular, and adaptive production system. In the current scenario, PLC software components use global variables to interact with each other to deliver certain machine functionality. Having global variables in PLC-software, increase hidden dependencies, reduces flexibility thus results in a less modular and less adaptable production system.In this paper, we are evaluating a service bus concept for modular and adaptable PLC-software that controls modular machines and production cells. As a result, a list of requirements for realizing such a concept is proposed.


In this paper,First,the function and structure of TUSB6020 is introduced,as well,the principle is illustrated,Then,a scheme interface of the connection between TUSB6020 and TMS320DM6437 is designed,which including hardware and software design.Consequently,the connection between TUSB6020 and TMS320DM6437 is realized.This scheme can used in all sorts of embedded system and convenient system,which can realize the function of USB OTG reliably and nimbly.


The potential of AlCl3 modified palygorskite was assessed for adsorption of phosphate from aqueous solutions. The Langmuir isotherm adequately described adsorption with an R2 goodness of fit of 0.9683. The process kinetics was found to follow the pseudo-second-order model. Positive △H and △S values indicated that the adsorption of phosphate onto AlCl3 modified palygorskite was endothermic. Negative △G showed that the adsorption of phosphate onto this sorbent is feasible and spontaneous.


The utility model relates to a device for extracting residual oil from waste carclazyte which belongs to the technical field of equipment for recovering oil-leached residual oil from waste carclazyte. The utility model solves the technical problem of providing the device for effectively recycling the residual oil from waste carclazyte. According to the technical scheme, a waste carclazyte inlet and a condensate port of an extracting jar are arranged at the top of the extracting jar; a solvent inlet, a waste carclazyte outlet, a steam inlet of the extracting jar, a steam exhaust outlet of the extracting jar and a mixed oil outlet are arranged on the side wall of the extracting jar; the mixed oil outlet of the extracting jar is connected with an oil inlet of a separating jar through a check valve; the condensate port of the separating jar is arranged at the top of the separating jar; the steam inlet of the separating jar and the steam exhaust outlet of the separating jar are arranged on the side wall of the separating jar; and an oil outlet is arranged at the bottom of the separating jar. According to the utility model, the residual oil in the waste carclazyte is reduced to be below 3-5% by utilizing an extracting method; an organic solvent is used as an extracting solvent for extracting the residual oil in the waste carclazyte; and the organic solvent is reused, so that excellent economic benefit is brought to an enterprise.


The scaling limit of large simple outerplanar maps was established by Caraceni using a bijection due to Bonichon, Gavoille and Hanusse. The present paper introduces a new bijection between outerplanar maps and trees decorated with ordered sequences of edge-rooted dissections of polygons. We apply this decomposition in order to provide a new, short proof of the scaling limit that also applies to the general setting of first-passage percolation. We obtain sharp tail-bounds for the diameter and recover the asymptotic enumeration formula for outerplanar maps. Our methods also enable us treat subclasses such as bipartite outerplanar maps.


We developed a general method for direct and fully integrated generation of photon pairs in counter-propagating spatially entangled Bell-states using parametric down-conversion in photonic crystal slab waveguides without the need for periodic poling.


A representative series of polymeric hydrated lanthanoid perfluoroadipates (Ln2(pfad)3(H2O)n)·mH2O (Ln = La, Ce, Nd, Gd, Yb) has been prepared from the reaction of perfluoroadipic acid with either the appropriate lanthanoid oxide or Ce2(CO3)3 in water. X-ray crystal structures showed (Ln2(pfad)3(H2O)10)·4H2O (La, Nd) to be two-dimensional inorganic polymers, which contain nine-coordinate Ln atoms to which are attached five water molecules and four carboxylate oxygen atoms. Two pfad ligands bridge two Ln atoms through one carboxylate group, the other being free, whilst one pfad ligand bridges four Ln atoms in a µ4-(η 1 ,η 1 /η 1 ,η 1 ) manner. In two-dimensional polymeric (Yb2(pfad)2(H2O)8)(pfad)·6H2O, each eight-coordinate ytterbium atom has four water ligands and four carboxylate oxy- gen donor atoms. The two carboxylate ligands bind in a µ4-(η 1 ,η 1 /η 1 ,η 1 ) manner, and there is one pfad counter-ion per two ytterbium atoms. These structures show features quite different from those of many lanthanoid adipate complexes (Ln2(ad)3(H2O)n)·mH2O, but there is no F-Ln coordination. From the reaction of (Nd2(pfad)3(H2O)10)·4H2O with ben- zene-1,2-disulfonic acid (H2bds), the mixed ligand complex (Nd2(bds)2(pfad)(H2O)8) was isolated. This is a one- dimensional polymer featuring Nd2(bds)2 units linked together by µ-η 2 ,η 2 pfad ligands. Each Nd atom is nine-coordinate with three sulfonate oxygen donors, two carboxylate oxygen atoms, and four water ligands, and the bds ligands bind in the new µ-η 2 (O,O'),η 1 ( '' O ) manner for Ln complexes. Surprisingly, (Na2pfad) was isolated unhydrated from water, the six-coordinate Na atoms being coordinated by four carboxylate oxygen atoms and two (C)-F atoms in an octahedral ar- ray. The ligands are duodecadentate, each -CF2CO2 unit binding to five different sodium ions through four oxygen and one α-F atom with the second α-F atom bound to a sodium ion in a OC(O)CF-Na chelate ring.


Objective To investigate the effect of trimetazidine on Tpeak-Tend interval(Tpe) in the patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy(ICM).Methods A total of 120 patients with ICM was divided into two groups of A(61 cases,received additional trimetazidine 20 mg,tid) and B(59 cases,given conventional drugs alone as the control).The changes of Tpe were observed on the 2nd,4th,6th,8th,10th and 12th month.Results Tpe of group A was significantly shorter on the 4th month than that before treatment[(131.36±14.67) ms vs.(137.03±17.17) ms](P0.05),which in group B was not until on the 10th month[(127.64±12.62) ms vs.(135.98±18.56) ms](P0.05).Conclusion On the basis of conventional therapy,Tpe decreases earlier with additional trimetazidine therapy in the patients with ICM.


Anonymous communication has become a hot research topic in order to meet the increasing demand for web privacy protection. Previously the dummy packet padding strategy was used and it was vulnerable to security attacks. This method inherits huge delay and bandwidth waste, however, there are few such systems which can provide high level anonymity for web browsing. A predicted packet padding strategy is proposed to replace the dummy packet padding method for anonymous web browsing systems. The proposed strategy mitigates delay and bandwidth waste significantly on average. The traffic analysis attack and defense problem are defined and also a metric, cost coefficient of anonymization (CCA) is defined to measure the performance of anonymization. Authorization of access to data in a network, which is controlled by the network administrator. Users choose an ID Index Terms—Anonymity, predicted packet padding, web browsing.


In power engineering, studies related to the distribution of temperatures and velocities in fluids that move, for example, in pipelines or channels, are of theoretical and practical importance. The presented work displays the results of the development of an approximate analytical method for mathematical modeling of the process of heat transfer in laminar flows. By the example of solving the problem of heat transfer in a flat channel with a Couette flow, the main provisions of the method are considered. The combined use of the integral heat balance method and the collocation method made it possible to obtain an analytical solution that is simple in form. The obtained accuracy of solutions depends on the number N of points of the spatial variable at which the original differential equation is exactly satisfied.


This research gives an extensive, general picture of the physical behavior of the Chinese population. It is evident, by the analysis of the many changes of social and economic factors (i.e. income, leisure time, diet/nutrition, psychological well-being, needs of the elderly, etc.), that there is a great potential for increasing physical activity in China. Therefore, it is only through extensive discussion and analysis that the most important strategies regarding the promotion of physical activity in China can be illustrated.


HELLP stands for hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets, and is associated with preeclampsia. The intense vasospasm in the microvessels essentially crushes the red blood cells and platelet cells and causes hepatocellular necrosis and edema. Complications are progressive and sudden and must be anticipated. The clinical course includes disseminated intravascular coagulation, liver infarction, rupture or hemorrhage, renal compromise or failure, abruptio placentae, eclampsia, pulmonary edema, acute respiratory distress syndrome, fetal compromise, shock, and cardiac arrest. Early interventions include identification and stabilization, fetal assessment, transport to a tertiary center, rapid platelet and red blood cell transfusion, emergent childbirth, steroid therapy, liver transplantation, and tremendous psychological support.


Online Diagnosis System And Treatment For Pediatric is developed to help parents for diagnosing the disease that affect their babies. Through this system, user or patient may know about the disease and treatment for the disease by navigating the site in the internet without seeing the doctor. Beside that, user also can gain information about the diseases, child development and Child training activities. Therefore, Online Diagnosis System And Treatment For Pediatric will be developed to provide all information about the diseases that usually infected by babies. The goal of this system is to auxiliary parents to let know the types of the disease besides the rapid treatment methods. The system also helps to reduce the usage of paper for documentation of information regarding the disease and treatment. This system will be developed using prototype methodology. Microsoft Visual Interdev Version 6.0 is used to develop the interface while the database use is Microsoft Access 2000.


&NA; The evaluation and management of lower urinary tract disorders in the older patient is especially challenging. Older individuals are more likely to have functional limitations affecting cues and responses to toileting, along with multiple comorbid conditions and polypharmacy complicating lower urinary tract dysfunction. This article describes the management of two older individuals ‐ an 85‐yearold male and 78‐year‐old female ‐ both with lower urinary tract symptoms resulting in urinary incontinence and/or retention.


In this article, I propose that visions of utopia, collectivity and emancipation represented in films about divided Korea should not be understood in terms of a facile escapism on the part of the audience. Rather, it should be viewed as an expression of social meaning that constitutes an important part of the viewing process and an experience of pleasure. I suggest that the implicit critique of dominant normative temporalities lies at the heart of this experience of popular pleasure. Consequently, the study looks into various instances of a construction of time that runs counter to the hegemonic experience of time. To propose that such a critique is interwoven in such a film as Welcome to Dongmakgol, I turn to Bakhtin's carnivalesque as a theory of time that is antithetical to the temporalities produced by official history in which the division of the nation is naturalized. My argument challenges the views which theorize the spectacular images in that film as a fulfillment of the Freudian "primal scene" fantasy. They tend to focus on the analysis of the individual while the pleasure of the audience has been positioned as related to elements of a fundamentally personal formation of the self. Arguing that such an analysis stops short of looking into the whole process of spectatorship, I then offer an alternative concept of time that entails a possibility of intervention in history.


According to reference [8],based on the statistical theory,bringing in risk concept,the acoustic emission testing and magnetic flux leakage testing data of tank bottom corrosion were comprehensively analysed,and then the quantification method of the acoustic emission parameter based on the testing data of the magnetic flux leakage which was about tank bottom corrosion was got.Through the analysis of the 6 tanks,the quantification relationship between the acoustic emission typical parameter of a class of tanks which held crude oil medium and tank bottom corrosion was got in an area,the relationship between acoustic emission activity and risk corrosion rate of CRP is y=13946.9758x,the relationship between CRP and actual corrosion rate CTP is y=12.0412x.Testing the tanks which need evaluate with acoustic emission,using the evaluation model,CRP can be got and then management corrosion rate of CMP can be got,the basis of management and maintenance decision of tank can be provided for.


Internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS) was introduced by the third generation partnership project (3GPP) as a horizontal application platform necessary to address the need for a new platform with unified features, common elements, quality of service, open standardized interface for all existing and future multimedia applications and services. IMS is a promising candidate to drive the telecommunication network towards Next Generation Networks. This paper presents an IMS Client that is compliant to the 3GPP, internet engineering task force and the European telecommunications standards Institute. Though work has been going on for the development of the IMS Client by other researchers, such clients were found to not address memory and processing power limited mobile devices. The proposed IMS Client was developed under the Java 2 Micro-Edition platform in order to be deployed within mobile devices. The implementation and demonstration of the IMS Client on the IMS testbed are presented. The presented IMS Client was able to perform the IMS functionalities such as registration, session establishment and text messaging.


Introduction. "Genetic errors" with malformations and hormonal alterations result in a broad spectrum of disorders of sexual identity difficult to classify for etiopathogenesis and anatomy. Male pseudohermaphroditism (PEM) is the result of defects in masculinisation, persistence of mullerian ducts or genital malformations. In these patients, there is always a 46 XY karyotype, male gonads with the external genitalia and phenotype completely or partially female. The authors describe 2 cases of PEM. Patients and Methods. RS and HNA, 9 and 15 years old. Both had 46 XY karyotype and female phenotype with the presence of penile clitoris and small vagina. The urethral meatus was positioned at the base of the penile clitoris and upper vagina and testicles, were located at the proximal portion of the inguinal canal.Patients were subjected to MRI showing absence of uterus and ovaries. The endoscopy described a small vagina dead-end about 4-5 cm long. Complete resection of the vagina, bilateral orchiopexy, correction of perineal hypospadias with urethral tubulization, reconstruction of the scrotum, with the results of penoscrotal hypospadias were performed. Discussion. Sexual differentiation is the process between VII and XII weeks of gestational age leading to formation of male or female fetus from embryo potentially bisexual. Brain Code gender is bipolar: male or female. In the sexual disorders there is a discrepancy between anatomical sex and the brain code. Genital malformation with a direct mechanism (external genitalia) and indirect (prenatal pathological imprinting on all the receptors of target organs) may exacerbate the brain deterioration of the code resulting in disease patterns difficult to manage according psychological and surgical aspects. Conclusions. Pediatric Surgeon plays a key role in the treatment of genital anomalies. Valutation of pelvic-perineal anatomy is important for the choice of sexual phenotype and related surgical strategy. Early correction of genital abnormality may effectively prevent the child present psychological, behavioral onsequences and problems in family and society.


Plant lectins have a wide spectrum of biological significance. In this project work the isolation and purification of the lectins (SBL) from the Soybean (Glycine max) Mahabeej JS-335 have been reported. The lactose binding lectins were purified from the Soybean seeds by performing affinity chromatography using a lactamil sephadex 100G. Affinity products were dialysed against PBS and SDS-PAGE was done to identify the fractions 'molecular weight. This work explored different techniques of protein (lectin) purification and describing their characteristics.


Pollen allergies are seasonal epidemic diseases that are accompanied by high incidence rates, especially in Beijing, China. With the development of deep learning, key progress has been made in the task of automatic pollen grain classification, which could replace the time-consuming and laborious manual identification process using a microscope. In China, few pioneering works have made significant progress in automatic pollen grain classification. Therefore, we first constructed a multi-class and large-scale pollen grain dataset for the Beijing area in preparation for the task of pollen classification. Then, a deblurring pipeline was designed to enhance the quality of the pollen grain images selectively. Moreover, as pollen grains vary greatly in size and shape, we proposed an easy-to-implement and efficient multi-scale deep learning architecture. Our experimental results showed that our architecture achieved a 97.7% accuracy, based on the Resnet-50 backbone network, which proved that the proposed method could be applied successfully to the automatic identification of pollen grains in Beijing.


We examine the anomalous dimension matrix appropriate for the phase space restricted B --> X(u) ell anti-nu and B --> X(s) gamma decay spectra to subleading nonperturbative order. The effects of the time ordered products of the HQET Lagrangian with the leading order shape function operator are calculated, as are the anomalous dimensions of subleading operators. We establish the renormalizability and closure of a subset of the non-local operator basis, a requirement for the establishment of factorization theorems at this order. Operator mixing is found between the operators which occur to subleading order, requiring the subleading operator basis be extended. We comment on the requirement for new shape functions to be introduced to characterize the matrix elements of these new operators, and the phenomenological consequences for extractions of $|V_{ub}|$.


Significance The delivery of drugs into the central nervous system is limited by the blood–brain barrier. Consequently, there exists an unmet need to develop technologies with the ability to deliver biologic drugs (such as peptides, proteins, or nucleic acids) into the brain or spinal cord via peripheral administration routes. In this paper, a screen of recombinant bacteriophage identified a peptide, targeted axonal import (TAxI), that is able to deliver protein cargo into spinal cord motor neurons after intramuscular injection by a retrograde transport mechanism. The demonstration of a nonviral-mediated delivery system demonstrates the clinical potential of this technology to develop powerful therapeutic tools to treat motor neuron diseases. A significant unmet need in treating neurodegenerative disease is effective methods for delivery of biologic drugs, such as peptides, proteins, or nucleic acids into the central nervous system (CNS). To date, there are no operative technologies for the delivery of macromolecular drugs to the CNS via peripheral administration routes. Using an in vivo phage-display screen, we identify a peptide, targeted axonal import (TAxI), that enriched recombinant bacteriophage accumulation and delivered protein cargo into spinal cord motor neurons after intramuscular injection. In animals with transected peripheral nerve roots, TAxI delivery into motor neurons after peripheral administration was inhibited, suggesting a retrograde axonal transport mechanism for delivery into the CNS. Notably, TAxI-Cre recombinase fusion proteins induced selective recombination and tdTomato-reporter expression in motor neurons after intramuscular injections. Furthermore, TAxI peptide was shown to label motor neurons in the human tissue. The demonstration of a nonviral-mediated delivery of functional proteins into the spinal cord establishes the clinical potential of this technology for minimally invasive administration of CNS-targeted therapeutics.


Human intestinal nematodes control was carried out in a population aged 2 or above from 1994 to 1996. Mass drug administration was conducted with mebendazole of albendazole 200 mg/d for 2 days once a year for successive 3 years. The mean rate of yearly taking medicine was 60.41%. With the whole stratified sampling in combination with the method of KataKatz, it was found that the overall infection rate of the human intestinal parasites decreased by 80.56%(79.97%-15.55%), and the infection rates of hookworm, Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura decreased by 78.76%(43.18%-9.17%), 93.58%( 43.62 %-2.80%) and 89.04%(41.69%-4.57%) respectively. The multiple infection rate decreased by 96.93%(41.35%- 1.27 %). The results showed that this method was effective, convenient and safe for human intestinal nematodes control.


During my undergraduate studies, there was a course that was required of all freshmen for completion of any degree program. The class was very large and met in an auditorium-styled seating lecture hall. Psychology 101 was considered one of the basics, and it was unavoidable. There was only one professor that taught the course during my first semester, a tenured member of the faculty, with a reputation for being really tough. On the first day of class, he began his lecture with a look at how the world "really" is. He pontificated about which race of people in the class were genetically inclined to do the best, and which ones would struggle, bordering failure. He pointed out who was more inclined to lead fruitful lives, and how many of us would not be at the university by the end of the semester. We heard of how some of our cultures forbade us to excel in certain aspects of life, and who those persons were that would ultimately be successful in whatever they endeavored, adding ever so often quotes and citations from literature that supported these notions. After grunts and sighs grew in the lecture hall, he proclaimed, "This is not my opinion, these are the facts."


The embodiment of the invention provides a method for energy conservation and activation of a base station, a network device, an active device and a network system. The method for energy conservation of the base station comprises the following steps: if carrier frequency, a cell, a base station or a tracking region meets the condition of moving to an energy conservation mode, determining the target energy conservation mode of the carrier frequency, the cell, the base station or the tracking region, and moving the carrier frequency, the cell, the base station or the tracking region to the target energy conservation mode. According to the embodiment of the invention, the carrier frequency, the cell, the base station or the tracking region can be switched to the target energy conservation mode according to the working condition of the carrier frequency, the cell, the base station or the tracking region, thereby carrying out energy conservation treatment on the base station according to actual working situation, so as to reduce energy consumption of the base station, reduce operation cost for operators and promoting environmental protection.


Finding an effective instruction mode for ESL students in the US educational system has not been an easy task. The country's secondary and tertiary institutions continue to struggle to meet the needs of their large non-native student populations. The article revisits the debate whether sheltered instruction is an effective model to follow. In our study, a sheltered section of a college-level reading class was more effective in improving students' reading abilities compared to mainstream sections where the international students were mixed with native speakers.


towards privatization of hybridization practices in the latter years of the twentieth century. Business historians interested in the corporate patenting of seeds and genes will fi nd these fi nal chapters particularly illuminating. Kingsbury maintains a balanced tone throughout much of the book, presenting both the pros and cons of various breeding practices. In the end, Hybrid seeks to bring together those who support advanced breeding science and those who recognize the value of time-honored farming techniques. Kingsbury envisions a future in which farmers on the ground and breeding experts in scientifi c laboratories engage in the free exchange of ideas and resources in an effort to feed a hungry world. But the question remains whether this hybrid strategy, one that combines the best of scientifi c and traditional practices, can truly be realized in a world that distributes fi scal and ideological capital so inequitably. Though Kingsbury acknowledges the problems with corporate ownership of hybridization technology, he downplays the degree to which lack of access to breeding science—rather than lack of understanding—contributes to the healthy skepticism that surrounds modern GM experiments. While Kingsbury's book does much to combat "illi nformed criticism" of hybridization, this work does not take us into the private labs of today's GM giants (p. 419). Secret breeding technologies developed in corporate greenhouses remain black boxes, and as long as this is so, Hybrid will appeal mostly to the converted rather than those opposed to the expansion of Monsanto monopolies.


This investigation reports on TEM, X-ray diffraction, DSC, and SQUID magnetometer study of magnetic structures formed in Fe-30Pd-4Ag alloys solution treated and then thermally aged at 400-500℃ for various times. The results reveal that an intermediate structure appears between the fcc→L10 martensitic transformation. The intermediate phase, denoted L1(subscript m,) has a monoclinic structure with lattice parameters of a=3.208 A, b=3.696 A, c=3.127 A, and β=91.997°, which indicates that the monoclinic structure is possibly adaptive martensite, as confirmed by TEM, X-ray diffraction, and DSC. The SQUID test shows that the ZFC and FC curves of the ST specimen do not coalesce until they reach room temperature at T(subscript R)=300 K. The serrated ZFC and FC curves of the specimen aged at 500℃ for 100 h indicate that two phases exist in the aged specimen. The two phases are comprised of monoclinic L1(subscript m) phase and tetragonal ordered L10 structure, which have differing magnetic anisotropy.


Binary systems, such as K - Ca or NH 4 - Ca pairs, are used commonly in traditional Quantity/Intensity studies, and it is assumed that the results obtained can be extrapolated to ternary systems. It is also believed that K and NH 4 behave analogously with respect to micaceous clay minerals. The existing data on the subject of ternary systems, however, and on the interaction between K and NH 4 in soils do not provide enough evidence that ternary exchange reactions, K - Ca - NH 4 , in soils can be predicted from binary exchange data. In this study, the Q/I relationships of K-Ca in the presence and absence of NH 4 and of NH 4 -Ca in the presence and absence of K were investigated in two soils of micaceous clay mineralogy : an acidic Alfisol (Ultic Haploxeralf) and a calcareous Entisol (Typic Xerorthent). In both soils, as expected, the addition of NH 4 to the K-Ca system decreased the potential buffering capacity for potassium (PBC K ), and the addition of K to the NH 4 -Ca system decreased the PBC NH4 . The data also revealed that in these two solid, K and NH 4 at low exchangeable loads did not behave as the true exchange analogs one commonly expects. Ammonium was more capable of displacing K from the solid surfaces than K was of displacing NH 4 . This indicates that K-NH 4 interactions are complex. In certain soils, addition of NH 4 fertilizers might increase potassium availability, whereas in others, the opposite can be true.


Nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) and its receptor (NOP) are widely distributed in the central nervous system (CNS), where they modulate several functions such as pain, anxiety, stress, learning, memory, food intake and drug addiction. On this basis, the purpose of the present research was to investigate, in the rat, the role of NOP ligands in: a) modulation on nociception in paracetamol-induced analgesia; b) anxiety-related behaviours after development of tolerance to hypolocomotor effects and c) exposure to chronic stressful conditions which cause depression.
As regards point a), we have demonstrated that both the antinociceptive effect of paracetamol (400 mg/kg, i.p.), evaluated by means of the hot-plate test (1) and the changes in central serotonin content were completely abolished by administration of N/OFQ (10 nmol/rat, i.c.v.) and restored by a pre-treatment with the NOP antagonist UFP-101 (20 nmol/rat, i.c.v.).
In anxiety experiment (b), a double i.c.v. injection on N/OFQ dose-dependently decreased the expression of anxiety-related behaviour in both the elevated plus maze and the conditioned defensive burying tests without affecting locomotor activity. UFP-101 significantly reduced the effects of N/OFQ to control values in either test (2).
In the stress paradigm (c), rats were exposed to chronic mild stress (CMS) (3) for a period of at least 6 weeks to induce a condition of anhedonia, measured as reduction of 1% sucrose solution intake.
The stressed groups were treated, once a day, with UFP-101 (5, 10 and 20 nmol/rat, i.c.v.), or imipramine (IMI, 15 mg/kg, i.p.), or saline for 21 days. UFP-101, reinstated sucrose solution intake within the 1st week of treatment following the highest dose; at 10 and 5 nmol/rat it abolished the reduction in sucrose intake from the 2nd and 3rd week treatment, respectively. The restoration of sucrose consumption, once induced, remained stable up to the end of the experiment for all treatments. In the FST, 24 h after the last administration, all UFP-101 treatments decreased the time of immobility to that of non stressed controls. IMI produced similar effects on sucrose intake and on the FST.
Pre-treatment with either UFP-101 at the higher doses or with IMI completely abolished the increase in CORT induced by CMS. 5-HT turnover was increased by CMS in the frontal cortex and decreased in the pons; UFP-101, as well as IMI, were able to revert these changes to values comparable to those of non stressed controls. Repeated co-administration of N/OFQ (5 nmol/rat, from day 12 to day 21) completely prevented the behavioural and biochemical effects of UFP-101 (10 nmol/rat). Our results showed that UFP-101 reversed the CMS-induced changes in behaviour, HPA axis control and central 5-HT turnover. It also abolished increase in serum corticosterone induced by CMS and reverted changes in central 5-HT/5-HIAA ratio.
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA and protein in hippocampus were not reduced by CMS nor did UFP-101 modify these parameters.

On the whole, the present findings support the view that the N/OFQ-NOP system represents an important candidate target for the development of innovative therapeutics for several neurological conditions, including nociception, and psychiatric diseases, chiefly involving anxiety and depression.

References:
1. M. Sandrini et al., Eur J of Pharmacol 2005, 507, 43-48.
2. G. Vitale et al., Peptides 2006, 27, 2193-2200.
3. P. Willner, Trends Pharmacol Sci 1991, 12, 131-136.


Objectives Homeostatic regulation of body temperature is fundamental to mammalian physiology and is controlled by acute and chronic responses of local, endocrine and neuronal regulators. Although the skin is the largest sensory organ of the human body, and plays a fundamental role in regulating body temperature, it is surprising that adaptive alterations in skin functions and morphology only vaguely have been associated with physiological responses to cold stress or sensation of ambient temperatures. Methods To unravel the physiological responses to a compromised epidermal barrier in detail we have used animal models with either defects in skin lipid metabolism (ACBP-/- and skin-specific ACBP-/- knockout mice) or defects in skin structural proteins (ma/ma Flgft/ft). The primary objective was to clarify how defects in epidermal barrier function affect 1) energy expenditure by indirect calorimetry, 2) response to high fat feeding and a high oral glucose load and 3) expression of brown-selective gene programs by quantitative PCR in inguinal WAT (iWAT). Results We show that mice with a compromised epidermal barrier function exhibit increased energy expenditure, increased food intake, browning of the iWAT, and resistance to diet-induced obesity. The metabolic phenotype, including browning of the iWAT, is reversed by housing the mice at thermoneutrality (30°C) or by pharmacological β-adrenergic blocking. These findings show that a compromised epidermal barrier induces a β-adrenergic response that increases energy expenditure and browning of the white adipose tissue to maintain a normal body temperature. Conclusion Our findings show that the epidermal barrier plays a key role in maintaining systemic metabolic homeostasis. Highlights Energy expenditure is significantly augmented in mice with impaired epidermal barrier. Mice with compromised barrier display increased food intake while maintaining normal bodyweight. Mice with an impaired epidermal barrier are resistant to diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance. Compromised barrier function induces expression of brown-selective gene programs in iWAT. Thermoneutral housing or blocking β-adrenergic signaling prevents induction of brite-selective genes in iWAT and reverses food intake.


This paper studies the use of a collection of semi-Markov processes (referred to as paths) to describe the movement of coronary patients within a hospital. Two earlier papers by the same author [Health Serv. Res. 7, 191–208 (1972) and IEEE Trans, on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics SMC-3, 327–336 (1973)] define the state of a patient by a specific set of care requirements dictated by his "state of health;" this paper considers a state definition based solely on the care unit in which the patient resides. This new state definition is simpler to administer, especially when patients of different diagnoses are included in the model. The paper uses field data to estimate the parameters of the underlying processes and evaluate the adequacy of using such a model. Procedures involving simple matrix operations are introduced to obtain length-of-stay and patient-day statistics in each care unit as well as in the hospital. An approach for reconstructing the original arrival distribution based on admission data is also ...


Significance Novel insecticides are developed and implemented in agriculture without a broad understanding of their sublethal effects. Although all act via nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, neonicotinoids and the novel sulfoxaflor insecticide exhibit differences in relative toxicity. In this study comparing the effects of these insecticides on visual motion detection and escape behavior, we show that sulfoxaflor displays decreased sublethal toxicity despite similar lethal endpoints of these insecticides. Imidacloprid reduces putative neural population code variability when responding to approaching objects, suggesting that neonics may constrain the tuning of visual sensory circuits. We suggest that neuroethologic methods are powerful tools to link toxic effects across levels of biological organization and further our understanding of how neural populations operate in complex sensory environments. Insect nervous systems offer unique advantages for studying interactions between sensory systems and behavior, given their complexity with high tractability. By examining the neural coding of salient environmental stimuli and resulting behavioral output in the context of environmental stressors, we gain an understanding of the effects of these stressors on brain and behavior and provide insight into normal function. The implication of neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticides in contributing to declines of nontarget species, such as bees, has motivated the development of new compounds that can potentially mitigate putative resistance in target species and declines of nontarget species. We used a neuroethologic approach, including behavioral assays and multineuronal recording techniques, to investigate effects of imidacloprid (IMD) and the novel insecticide sulfoxaflor (SFX) on visual motion-detection circuits and related escape behavior in the tractable locust system. Despite similar LD50 values, IMD and SFX evoked different behavioral and physiological effects. IMD significantly attenuated collision avoidance behaviors and impaired responses of neural populations, including decreases in spontaneous firing and neural habituation. In contrast, SFX displayed no effect at a comparable sublethal dose. These results show that neonics affect population responses and habituation of a visual motion detection system. We propose that differences in the sublethal effects of SFX reflect a different mode of action than that of IMD. More broadly, we suggest that neuroethologic assays for comparative neurotoxicology are valuable tools for fully addressing current issues regarding the proximal effects of environmental toxicity in nontarget species.


Spleen deficiency sydrome(SDS) is often observed in clinical practice,and its modern research is a key and hot point in the basic theoretical research of TCM or TCVM.The authors analyzed the status and existing problems in SDS research,and then put forward a assumption to study SDS essence combined proteomics with metabonomics,so as to provide a new thinking for SDS modernization research.


In symmetric key algorithm in linear block cipher to encrypt and decrypt the messages using matrix and inverse matrix. In this proposed technique generate lower and upper triangular matrices from square matrix using decomposition. In encryption process, the key is lower triangular matrix and decryption process, the key is upper triangular matrix under modulation of prime number. We illustrate the proposed technique with help of examples.


AC Hill oat (Avena sativa L.) is a spring-type, daylength-sensitive, naked-seeded cultivar suitable for the feed and food industries in eastern Canada. It outperformed the check cultivar Tibor in yield, kernel size, hectolitre weight, and percentage of covered seeds in threshed grain. It is resistant to crown rust (Puccinia coronata Cd. f.sp. avenae Eriks. and E. Henn.) race CR13 but is equal to Tibor in loose smut (Ustilago avenae (Pers.) Rostr.) resistance, plant height and susceptibility to septoria (Septoria avenae Frank f.sp. avenae) blotch and barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV). It is more susceptible to lodging and later in heading and maturity than Tibor.Key words: Avena sativa L., rust and smut resistance, cultivar description, naked oat


The estimation of the errors in the values obtained by fitting a least-squares polynomial to a number of equally-spaced observations of a variable quantity is discussed. Curves and tables of the weight function are obtained.


In an electric linear actuator with limit switches in two end positions of a push tube (15) which is displaceable by an electric motor (4) via transmission means (5) including a spindle (14), limit switches (8, 9), in dependence on the position of the torque tube operable. An electric motor (4) is arranged in a first housing portion (1). A second housing section (2) takes the in him displaceable pushing tube (15, 54) and the spindle (14), which is rotatably mounted in a bearing plate (3) between the housings. A simple sealing of the electrical parts as well as to achieve an exact limit, the limit switch (8, 9) also in the first housing portion (1) are arranged. An elongated plunger unit (25) in the first housing portion (1) and the second housing portion (2) extends through the bearing plate (3) parallel to the torque tube (15) and is displaceable to actuate the limit switches (8, 9). A second portion of the plunger unit (25) in the second housing portion (2) is moved along in Endstellungsbereichen of the torque tube (15) with the latter. The first housing section (1) is sealed with respect to the second housing portion (2) and to the outside. The plunger unit (25) is connected, which center the plunger unit (25) in an intermediate position with centering means (32).


We review physics-based models of photoacoustic computed tomography and associated inversion methods for reconstructing images from limited data sets in acoustically heterogeneous media. Transcranial brain imaging and breast cancer detection applications will be presented.


Objective To explore the influence of pregnancy in the treatment of laparoscopic surgery on endometriosis patients after three kinds of treatment.Methods Selected 123 examples intrauterine membrane endometriosis associated with infertility patients as the research object,were performed laparoscopic surgery,using simple sampling method randomly divided into A,B,C three groups,each group of 41 cases.Group A was given subcutaneously injected with bright C gonadorelin acetate microspheres,Group B with oral pregnant three ketene capsule,group C was given expected treatment.Behavior period for 2 years follow-up,the observe comparing three groups of patients with recurrence after treatment and pregnancy outcomes.Results( 1) After 2years' follow-up,the total pregnancy rate of group A was 78.05%,compared with 73.17% of group B had no obvious difference( P 0.05); two groups of A,B clear difference compared with 43.90% of group C( P 0.05);( 2) Followed up for 2 years,A,B two groups each recurrence of 3 cases,the recurrence rate was 7.32%,comparison had no statistical significance( P 0.05); Clear difference compared with 26.83% of group C( P 0.05); periodⅠ of 53 patients total pregnancy rate followe-up for 2 years was 64.15%,compared with 61.91%of Ⅱ period,had no obvious difference( P 0.05); period Ⅳ of 7 patients were 2 cases of pregnancy within 2years,the pregnancy rate was 28.57%,compared with 47.62% of Ⅲ period had no significant difference( P 0.05),compared with Ⅰ,Ⅱ period in patients had significant difference( P 0.05).Conclusions The curative effect of giving subcutaneously gonadorelin acetate microspheres injection to patients with endometriosis associated with infertility is good,which can effectively increase the rate of patients with pregnancy,worth of clinical promotion.


AbstractThe USArray Transportable Array (TA), a component of the National Science Foundation's EarthScope Initiative, has proven to be a successful model for large-scale real-time monitoring networks. Approximately 400 stations are deployed simultaneously in the continental United States on a nominal Cartesian grid across an area of approximately 2,000,000 km2. Each station was originally designed to operate autonomously as a seismic observing platform capable of recording and transmitting data at 1 and 40 samples per second in real time. The expansion of onboard instrumentation to include surface atmospheric pressure sensors improved the USArray's real-time capability in monitoring the atmosphere and weather phenomena at the same sample rates. Though not a traditional weather monitoring station, the combination of these seismic and pressure sensors at each TA station can contribute to the observation of surface weather phenomena and has facilitated broader-scale observational applications. Twenty-five TA...


SIGNIFICANCE
Spontaneous closure of an idiopathic full-thickness macular hole (FTMH) is a rare event. The underlying mechanisms are unclear due to the difficulty in detecting subtle structural changes even with serial imaging. Previous reports are largely optical coherence tomography (OCT)-based but multimodal imaging could highlight new information.

PURPOSE
to report the spontaneous closure of an idiopathic FTMH (iFTMH), its recurrence and late closure documented by serial OCT integrated with multimodal imaging modalities and microperimetry (MP).

CASE REPORT
A healthy 46 year old man was referred to the department of Ophthalmology of the University of Padova for an iFTMH in the right eye with preserved visual acuity. The patient was scheduled for monthly controls up to 12 months by an integrated assessment of OCT, angiography-OCT (A-OCT), short wave-length fundus autofluorescence (Sw-FAF), MP. Two months later, tracked OCT scans showed a closure of the hole with a residual lamellar macular hole (LMH). Sequential examinations revealed a discontinuation of photoreceptors (EZ), a recurrence of iFTMH and, seven months later, iFTMH re-closed without any relevant changes up to 12 months. Foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area increased from the baseline reaching its maximum value when iFTMH recurred. Two hyper-fundus autofluorescence points were detected in the foveal area, one progressively decreased and one reached the most intense signal when iFTMH recurred. Retinal sensitivity (RS) decreased mostly in one hyper-fundus autofluorescence point when the EZ line discontinued and reached the lowest value when iFTMH recurred, increased mostly in the other points when iFTMH reclosed.

CONCLUSIONS
spontaneous iFTMH closure, its recurrence and reclosure is a rare event. By monitoring with multiple imaging modalities, MP and their overlaying elaboration can add new biomarkers with diagnostic and prognostic value.


The author discusses planning an optical link budget and optical receiver design. Error performance and modulation are then considered together with the advantages of optical systems over microwave systems. The author concludes by discussing the safety of optical links and their future.


Given the [Formula: see text] functions of the closed string sigma model up to one loop in [Formula: see text], the effective action implements the condition [Formula: see text] to preserve conformal symmetry at quantum level. One of the more powerful and striking results of string theory is that this effective action contains Einstein gravity as an emergent dynamics in space–time. We show from the [Formula: see text] functions and its relation with the equations of motion of the effective action that the differential identities are the Noether identities associated with the effective action and its gauge symmetries. From here, we reconstruct the gauge and space–time symmetries of the effective action. In turn, we can show that the differential identities are the contracted Bianchi identities of the field strength [Formula: see text] and Riemann tensor [Formula: see text]. Next, we apply the same ideas to DFT. Taking as starting point that the generalized [Formula: see text] functions in DFT are proportional to the equations of motion, we construct the generalized differential identities in DFT. Relating the Noether identities with the contracted Bianchi identities of DFT, we were able to reconstruct the generalized gauge and space–time symmetries. Finally, we recover the original [Formula: see text] functions, effective action, differential identities, and symmetries when we turn off the [Formula: see text] space–time coordinates from DFT.


Excerpt During the past decade there has been a widespread interest revived in the subject of tuberculosis among nurses, with particular emphasis on the transmission of the disease from patients to...


The study was conducted to determine the factors that influencing the manipulation of financial statements of companies listed on the HaNoi Stock Exchange (HNX) by a logistic regression model. The data set used includes 103 financial statements of 71 enterprises that are listed on the Hanoi Stock Exchange over the period of 2016 to 2019. Most of the companies investigated were operating in the real estate sector (34.21%) or the utility business (26.32%). The analysis found that 38 financial statements were classified into manipulated group. The result from logistics model suggested that the possibility of manipulated financial statements is inversely correlated with two variables (TATA and FIRM AGE). The probability of manipulated financial statements is higher as AQI, SGAI, CAF and SIZE variables increase. As a result of this study, the paper has proposed four solutions for companies listed on the HaNoi Stock Exchange to improve transparency and reduce the problem of manipulated financial information in audited annual reports.


This chapter presents a discourse about the spiritual and moral dimension to the school curriculum in Australia. It looks into the spiritual-moral influence of a school as a community and as a curriculum. It stresses the need for an adequate theory linking educational processes with young people's personal development.


During Wallerian degeneration in the central or peripheral nervous system the migration of macrophages to the injured tissue can be observed. Then these cells phagocytize the accruing myelin and axon debris at the injury site. In a co-culture model of mouse sciatic nerves and peritoneal macrophages we examined the phagocytic capacity of macrophages under different culture conditions. Small pieces of sciatic nerve remained for 8 days in culture together with thioglycollate-elicited macrophages either in DMEM + 10% FCS or in serumfree Iscove's MEM (Panserin) supplemented with N2 components. We found that macrophages developed differentially in the two culture media. Macrophages in serum-free medium were larger in the intial phase of culturing, but later they showed morphological differences with regard to the appearance of fat vacuoles within the cells. These findings were confirmed by a special culturing method in "ibidi"-3D culture dishes where in which the cells were exposed to both media. Macrophages in the Panserin compartment were larger and cell survival was much prolonged in Panserin in contrast to DMEM+FCS.
Immunohistochemistry for different macrophage markers revealed the highest expressions for Mac-3, Mac-1, CD68, F4/80 and scavenger receptor CD204. In DMEM+FCS all expression levels were higher than in Panserin, suggesting that DMEM+FCS has a higher potential of immunomodulation – probably due to the content of FCS.
The amount of fat vacuoles within the cells was evaluated by ORO staining and revealing slightly lower numbers but larger sizes in DMEM+FCS in contrast to Panserin (higher numbers of lower size), which indicated a differentially regulated myelin uptake within the macrophages and an altered myelin processing in these different media.
By overlaying photomicrographs of ORO-stainings with different macrophage markers several double stainings could be shown, but also single stainings for either a macrophage marker or for fat vacuoles are visible. This indicates that not all positive cells contain fat vacuoles or vice versa, and that not all fat vacuoles have been processed by macrophages.
Our results indicate that macrophages are able to react in the presence or absence of serum in culture media. The different culturing conditions and in particular FCS obviously influence immunocompetence and cellular catabolism in macrophages as well as their migratory potential. These findings might afford insights in the phagocytic capacity of macrophages and their cellular differentiation.


Abstract 970 Despite advances in treatments for patients with non-Hodgkin9s lymphoma (NHL), the relapse rates remain high and 40% of diffuse large B-cell NHL (DLBCL) patients die of disease. These patients have variable levels of immunodeficiency that may impact their prognosis. Previously we reported that monocytes in relapsed NHL patients suppress both autologous and allogeneic T cell proliferation and that these monocytes were unable to mature into dendritic cells in vitro . These suppressive functions were associated with increased frequency of CD14 + HLA-DR neg monocytes in NHL patients (NHL: 29.4 ± 3.2%, n = 36; healthy donors 7.54 ± 0.97%, n = 27; p − CD33 + HLA-DR − ) or non-classical monocytes (CD16+), neither of which was different in numbers between NHL and healthy donors. We have now expanded our study cohort and found that the percentage of CD14 + HLA-DR neg cells among circulating monocytes was increased in patients with more aggressive disease: DLBCL 37.5 ± 5.11%, n = 16 vs SLL and MALT lymphoma 15.8 ± 4.02%, n = 7; p = 0.01. Two newly diagnosed patients and three patients with localized disease amenable to resection all had frequencies of CD14 + HLA-DR neg monocytes closer to that of healthy donors whereas 5 of the 6 patients with low grade NHL that transformed to DLBCL had significantly elevated percentage of these suppressive monocytes (49.1 ± 4.70%). To better understand the mechanism of immune suppression by CD14 + HLA-DR neg monocytes, we investigated production of IFN-alpha induced by CpG oligodeoxynucleotide. Monocytes from NHL patients were less effective at IFN-alpha production (0.54 ± 0.22%, n = 4) compared to healthy donors (1.37 ± 0.25%, n = 4; p = 0.04). The corresponding culture supernatants also had a 4-fold reduction in IFN-alpha level by ELISA (p = 0.01). Reduced IFN-alpha production and subsequent decreased stimulatory response may contribute to diminished treatment response to CpG in NHL. Finally, we also found that the frequency of CD14 + HLA-DR neg monocytes correlated with increasing plasma levels of arginase I, a known mediator of T cell suppression (n = 16, p = 0.06). Such correlation was not observed for circulating VEGF, IL-6 or IL-10. Taken together we have described a population of immunosuppressive CD14 + HLA-DR neg monocytes in NHL patients that is more prevalent in aggressive disease and likely suppresses T cell function through multiple mechanisms including arginine metabolism. This work was supported through the University of Iowa and Mayo Clinic Lymphoma SPORE CA097274 and the Gerstner Family Foundation. Disclosures: Witzig: Novartis: Research Funding.


INTRODUCTION – Millions of US Dollars are spent annually to improve the skills of bean breeders in Africa through training. PABRA specifically invests finance, human resource and time in ensuring that the continents breeders are up to date and relevant with the breeding skills in order to meet the continents food and income needs through crop improvement. However, little to no research has been done to verify the extent of application of what is taught, what enhances application from trainers views. This study focuses on trainer explanations of the variations in breeding knowledge and skills acquisition, as well as application following training.


Endothelium‐dependent dilation of skeletal muscle arterioles is mediated by factors yet to be identified in very young rats, and partly mediated by at least one unidentified hyperpolarizing factor in older juvenile rats. We assessed the possible contribution of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to this arteriolar dilation at both of these growth stages. Gracilis muscle arterioles were isolated from rats at ages 24–26 days (weanlings) and 46–48 days (juveniles). Simvastatin and ACh induced endothelium‐dependent dilations were attenuated by catalase in juvenile arterioles (JA) but not weanling arterioles (WA). In JA, exogenous H2O2 induced constriction at low concentrations and dilation at higher concentrations. In WA, H2O2 induced only constriction or had no effect. Responses to H2O2 at all concentrations were attenuated by NOS inhibition in JA, but not WA, although they were equally attenuated by endothelial removal in both groups. In intact WA and JA, constrictions to lower levels of H2O2 were abolished by the K+ channel inhibitors TEA and glibenclamide, with these inhibitors unmasking a constrictor response to higher levels of H2O2. These findings suggest that endogenous H2O2 contributes to endothelium‐dependent arteriolar dilation in juvenile rats but not younger rats, and that this H2O2 acts in juvenile rats partly by stimulating endothelial NO release and activation of K+ channels. (NIH DK64668, AHA 0330194N, NIH HL 44012)


This datasheet on Apricot ring pox and cherry twisted leaf diseases covers Identity, Overview, Distribution, Dispersal, Hosts/Species Affected, Diagnosis, Impacts, Prevention/Control, Further Information.


Fort 2] wrote a beautiful paper in which he proved that the dyadic solenoid is not a continuous image of any plane continuum. In that paper he also showed that a certain spiral to two circles is not a continuous image of any non-separating plane continuum. These results relied on a theorem of Morton Curtis 1] on locally trivial bre spaces with totally disconnected bres. The author has always found these arguments somewhat less than satisfying because, in particular, they cannot be used to show that a spiral to a single circle is not a continuous image of any non-separating plane continuum. In this paper, we isolate a theorem from which all these results can be obtained. Speciically, this theorem avoids the use of the results on locally trivial bre spaces. Throughout this paper we use the term mapping to mean continuous function and by a continuum we mean a compact, connected metric space. Suppose Y is a continuum. A sub-continuum K of Y is said to be a W-set provided if f is a mapping of a continuum X onto Y , there is a subcontinuum H of X such that fH] = K. For information on mappings to the circle, see Whyburn 7, pp. 219-229]. We use exp to denote the mapping of the reals, R, onto the circle, S 1 , deened 89


Nitrogen-15 NMR spectroscopy showed strongly upfield values of the chemical shift for one of the azo nitrogen atoms of a boronic-acid-appended azo dye: this indicated the formation of a boron-nitrogen (B-N) dative bond. The B-N dative bond was cleaved by sugar addition.


Owing to its multifunctionality diversified small business realizes in the region not only production functions, but also promotes realization of such public benefits as: ensuring food security; saturation of the regional and local markets by goods and services; more complete use of local resources; ensuring all-the-yearround employment of local population; growth of the income; preservation of a way of life, cultural heritage and originality.


We develop a time-dependent model that takes into account the selfconsistent interaction of the thermal solar wind plasma, pickup ions and ACRs. The model takes into account the shock modication by the pressure of accelerated particles and can reproduce a selfconsistent spectrum of accelerated particles. It is very similar to the le Roux & Fichtner model [5], but nevertheless our results are essentially different compared with theirs. Opposite to [5] our results demonstrate that the ACR spectrum, shock structure and its position are very sensitive to the injection rate of pickup protons at the termination shock, where some their fraction is presumably involved into the acceleration process. According to our results to reproduce the observed ACR ux es quite a high injection rate is required.


New material collccted from the Rhynie Chert Bed (Siegenian age) has revealed new filamentous and unicellular algae. Two of the filamentous forms and one palmelloid form are described. Filamentous and unicellular algae are particularly common in a white kind of chert not previously reported and which is interpreted as having been formed by the in situ silicification of a silicate-rich pond. Some rhizoid-nodes of Palaeonilella cranii (Kidston & Lang) Pia and a possible rhizoid-borne proembryo arc also described and compared with similar structures in living Charophyta.


The design and performance evaluation of an inhomogeneous LTCC-based dielectric flat lens at 94 GHz is presented. A previously introduced dielectric flat lens design with its effective permittivity (εr) circularly distributed in a set of six discrete concentric rings is modeled and analyzed for a practical LTCC technology fabrication. The focusing capabilities of this lens prototype are numerically estimated and practically tested at 94 GHz, in order to evaluate its performance for automotive radar applications, passive imaging systems, or communication systems at this frequency, in which the beam-scanning and high-gain beams are desirable. Our numerical results indicate that we are able to obtain up to 21 dB of broadside gain and beam-steering capabilities from -52° to 52° with around 13.5 dB gain. Promising preliminary measurements at 94 GHz show that with the proposed LTCC-based flat lens antenna solution we can achieve beam-steering capabilities from -45 to +45° without appreciable pattern distortion.


PURPOSE
We report our experience with the holmium laser in the endoscopic management of primary obstructive megaureter (POM) in adults.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
From February 1997 to September 1998, three women and one man 26 to 63 years old underwent ureteroscopic endoureterotomy for POM with symptomatic vesicoureteral junction obstruction. The left ureter was more commonly affected than the right (R:L 1:3). The diagnosis of POM was based on a clinical history, intravenous urography, diuretic renography (T 1/2), and micturating cystogram. Endoureterotomy of the juxtavesical and intramural part of the ureter was performed in a retrograde fashion using the holmium laser. Incision of the subepithelial part of the ureter and the ureteral orifice was avoided. A pigtail stent was left in situ for 6 weeks. Postoperatively, patients were assessed at 3 months and yearly thereafter. The mean follow-up was 30.5 months.

RESULTS
All patients demonstrated symptomatic and radiologic improvement.

CONCLUSIONS
Endoscopic incision of POM in adults with the holmium laser is safe, simple, and minimally invasive. This procedure should be considered as an initial approach for patients who have failed conservative treatment. However, further follow-up is necessary to determine its long-term efficacy.