The purpose of this study is to identify effects of a tennis balance and isokinetic muscular function. The subjects were six elite university tennis players. Six players in experimental group were given to utilize balance training with general tennis training for 10 weeks(4 days/week). All subjects were measured before and after the experiment. The significant level of hypothesis verification is set-up as p<.05. The results of this study were follows. 1) In the balance ability, overall value was significantly different in the statistics(p<.05). 2) In the Isokinetic muscular function of knee, flexion muscular function (Peak Torque, %BW Peak Torque) was significantly different in the statistics(p<.05). 3) In the Isokinetic muscular function of ankle, all of variables on ankle isokinetic function were significantly different in the statistics(p<.05). In summary, the findings in this study confirm that balance training can enhance balance ability and isokinetic muscular function in lower body.


Describes a set of one frozen seasoning, selected from the group consisting of sauces, sauce, meat sauce, butter, pizza toppings composition, having a corresponding health fresh spices and organoleptic properties comparable to, the form of particles having a porous surface, having 6.0g or less of average weight and has a diameter of 1mm to 20mm substantially uniform size, deep-frozen and thawed rapid and uniform seasoning easily; substantially simultaneously deep-frozen described seasoning process fluid, comprising: the flavoring product into a plurality of drops; allocate the pool of liquid droplets at a temperature at -150 ℃ or less deep-frozen in a first step, to thereby obtain a plurality of local deep-frozen particles of the flavoring, the said local deep-frozen particles having a hard outer surface and a soft core is not completely deep-frozen; and a second step deep-frozen at a temperature of -30 ℃ -90 ℃ to obtain deep-frozen particles flavoring; thus obtained the deep-frozen particles through a purification step, wherein at least a portion of said plurality of deep-frozen particles are reduced in size, thereby obtaining a living 6.0g less, more preferably 1.0 to 5.0g of deep frozen average weight of particles, and Inch substantially homogeneous, having a 1mm 20mm, preferably to a diameter of 3 to 15mm; In the following the process system, the system comprising: dispensing means dropwise dispensing condiment, downstream of the first deep-frozen section dispensing apparatus, comprising - 150 deg.] C or lower temperature liquid bath, droplets and discharged therefrom in the form of particles of deep-frozen partially flavoring fed thereto; and a second deep-frozen member, operating at a temperature of -90 to -30 ℃ deg.] C, in which the complete particles deep-frozen, deep-frozen mounted on the second member (4) downstream of the purifying means (5) for the deep-frozen seasoning particle reduction away from the deep freeze second member (4) (D ) at least a portion size; and a packaging device.


Context  The conceptualisation and measurement of competence in patient care are critical to the design of medical education programmes and outcome assessment.


Review(s) of: China's leftover women: Late marriage among professional women and its consequences, by Sandy To, Routledge, 2015, xvii + 199 pp, glossary, appendices, tables, bibliography, index, ISBN 978-0-415-72361-9 (hbk).


Ted Danson reads the official tie-in to Hallmark Entertainments NBC-TV television event! Imagine the greatest adventure of all time.... Rediscover the immortal story of Lemuel Gulliver and his fantastic voyage. Join him on his journey to the land of the six-inch-high Lilliputians...and into the royal court of the sixty-foot-tall Brobdingnagians. Ascend with him to the flying island of Laputa, whose inhabitants are endowed with uncommon intelligence, but no common sense at all. And follow him into the world of the Houyhnhnms, a race of civilized horses -- lords and masters of the brutish human Yahoos. The tale of a lifetime, "Gulliver's Travels" is filled with action, romance, danger, satirical wit, timeless wisdom, and the high drama only a classic of this caliber can convey. Set sail!


Identifies challenges to and benefits of an integrated electronic toll and traffic management (ETTM) system. Recent developments in Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) technology are reviewed and possibilities of integrating ETC and Traffic Management Systems (TMS) to reduce costs and improve each system's effectiveness are presented. Policy and institutional issues associated with their integration are also discussed. In addition, congestion pricing opportunities than an integrated system provides are identified.


The transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a neuromodulatory technique able to modify cortical excitability and presumably modulate the neural activity of cortical areas involved in autonomic regulation, such as the medial prefrontal cortex (MFPC) and insular cortex (IC). Regarding the ANS, there is evidence of hyper-sympathetic activation in people with HTN. To contribute to the discussion, this thesis was divided as follows: The first chapter titled "Heart rate variability (HRV): analytical methods and their applicability " consists of a review article, aiming at the theoretical foundation about methods of assessment of HRV and its prospects for use. The second chapter consists of an original paper entitled "Effect of transcranial direct current stimulation on heart rate variability in hypertensive women". This research applied anodal tDCS, cathodic and simulated (sham) separately on the left temporal lobe (T3) of hypertensive women showed significant increases in parasympathetic activity, only with the application of cathodic tDCS. However, one cannot say which specific area of the brain was responsible for variations in HRV, since the two electrodes were about regions involved in autonomic control and still not know what the real impact of bipolar stimulation on brain physiology. Although there are limitations, our results may assist in developing a new tool to explore noninvasively the autonomic nervous system, and even open new therapeutic perspectives for treatment of their disorders such as hypertension.


This paper presents a procedure for obtaining the conditions for a full force-balance of a planar linkage. It includes a check on whether a full force-balance is possible where the presence of prismatic joints or links that cannot be counter-weighted for some reason may preclude this. The procedure automatically uses the minimum number of counterweights and keeps the added inertia low. An example demonstrates the advantages of the procedure over those methods that require the derivation of the kinematic equations of motion for the linkage.


After first analyzing the dysfunctional state of America's churches - with their capitulation to modern culture -Schmiechen argues convincingly that the church can be renewed only through the recovery of Christ's gospel of reconciliation. "Schmiechen, a United Church of Christ minister, analyzes the internal divisions and the capitulation to modern culture that he believes characterizes the ecumenical Protestant church today and issues a call for a theological reform of the doctrine of the church. Recent attempts to renew the church have been unsuccessful, he claims, because they have not adequately addressed the peculiar dilemma Protestantism is caught in: it stands for individual freedom yet opposes individualistic piety, and it speaks of a social gospel yet fears institutions. In other words, the church is incapable of affirming the faith and order essential for community. For Protestantism to survive, Schmiechen argues, it must reclaim its vision of the gospel as the liberating and unifying power of God.To this end, the author develops a theology of reconciliation based on a theory of atonement he derives from "1 Corinthians" and offers a vision of the church in which differences can co-exist and the church can grow in the unity of Christ. " - Publishers Weekly


A Happy New Year to everyone and I hope the festive season was fun and full of good things; food, gifts, singing and lovely decorations. We talked about light and dark last month, but it is still very relevant during all the celebrations. We have lots of lights in our decorations, stars light up the sky when it is frosty and clear, and winter sunshine can be blindingly bright. But read on, this month we will talk about football!


Simultaneous occurrence of central diabetes insipidus and pregnancy is a rare events. We report on two pregnancies of a woman with central diabetes insipidus. The course of her pregnancies and deliveries were perfectly normal. This paper describes the specific features and the potential complications, etiology, diagnosis and management of this particular condition. Other authors described problems of increasing disease in pregnancy, complicated labour and lactation. The course of the special case compared with the common opinion in literature leads to a suggestion for a follow-up of the disease in pregnancy. Literature was evaluated for the period of the last twenty years.


Nutritional analyses were carried out on trimmed and untrimmed samples of farmed venison and venison products from summer slaughtered beasts, just under 2 years old. Samples were taken from various cuts ranging from shin to sirloin joints and liver. Analysis showed that the meat contained higher levels of organic nitrogen than the corresponding cuts of beef, lamb or pork. The sodium content of venison was similar to other meat samples, but there was a significantly lower total fat content. This was also reflected in the total energy value for each of the cuts, which was less than 500 kj per 100 g.


We use a modified version of MOOG to generate large grids of synthetic spectra in an attempt to derive quantitative abundances for three CVs (GK Per, RU Peg, and SS Cyg) by comparing the models to moderate resolution (R ∼ 25,000) K-band spectra obtained with NIRSPEC on Keck. For each of the three systems we find solar, or slightly sub-solar values for [Fe/H], but significant deficits of carbon: for SS Cyg we find [C/Fe] = −0.50, for RU Peg [C/Fe] = −0.75, and for GK Per [C/Fe] = −1.00. We show that it is possible to use lower resolution (R ∼ 2000) spectra to quantify carbon deficits. We examine realistic veiling scenarios and find that emission from H i or CO cannot reproduce the observations.


Many researchers have suggested that the main cause of item bias is the misspecification of the latent ability space, where items that measure multiple abilities are scored as though they are measuring a single ability. If two different groups of examinees have different underlying multidimensional ability distributions and the test items are capable of discriminating among levels of abilities on these multiple dimensions, then any unidimensional scoring scheme has the potential to produce item bias. It is the purpose of this article to provide the testing practitioner with insight about the difference between item bias and item impact and how they relate to item validity. These concepts will be explained from a multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) perspective. Two detection procedures, the MantelHaenszel (as modified by Holland and Thayer, 1988) and Shealy and Stout's Simultaneous Item Bias (SIB; 1991) strategies, will be used to illustrate how practitioners can detect item bias. The purpose of most standardized tests is to distinguish between ability levels of examinees and thereby rank order individuals. To rank examinees accurately requires that all of the items in a test discriminate between levels of the same purported ability. Problems are encountered when a test contains items that discriminate between levels of several different abilities or several different composites of abilities. Unfortunately, because ordering is a unidimensional concept, researchers cannot order examinees on two or more abilities at the same time, unless they base their ranking on, for example, the weighted sum of each skill being measured. Specifically, if a test is multidimensional, there is no unique one-to-one mapping between an examinee's estimated unidimensional ability and an examinee's underlying composite of abilities. To study the relationship between an examinee's latent ability and the probability of a correct response, researchers can use probabilistic models of item response theory (IRT) that describe the interaction of an examinee's level of ability and the difficulty and discrimination parameters of an item. In most cases, practitioners use unidimensional IRT models, even though an examinee's score may reflect a composite of abilities. Problems related to this model misspecification have plagued psychometricians for years, especially when they try to model cognitive processes (cf., Traub, 1983). It is important that practitioners who use IRT models realize that items and examinees interact and that this interaction needs to be closely examined. The interaction between a group of examinees and items on a test may be unidimen


To prepare a new reverse dot blot membrane for detection of β-thalassemia gene and evaluate its clinical application. 30 probes were designed and synthesized according to the sequence of human β-globin gene reported in GenBank and the sequence of 17 special mutation in β-globin gene of Chinese. A new reverse dot blot membrane for detection of β-thalassemia was prepared by dotting the probes onto membrane of cellulose acetate(CA). 950 specimens were collected from 2 hospitals and detected by the prepared dot blot membrane and another reference dot blot membrane as criterion. A new reverse dot blot membrane containing 30 probes for detection of β-thalassemia gene was successfully prepared. Between the prepared and reference dot blot membrane, the total positive rate is 99.76%(421/422), specific rate is 99.05%(523/528) and the total coordinate rate is 99.37%. The 6 specimens of which hybridization results were not coincidental were sequenced and the results was coordinate with that of the prepared dot blot membrane. Further more, 5 commonest mutation points of β-thalassemia gene (CD41/42, IVS-2-654, CD17, TATAbox-28, CD71/72) of the specimens were detected by ASA-PCR, and the results was coordinate with that tested by the prepared dot blot membrane. The prepared reverse dot blot membrane for detection of β-thalassemia gene has higher sensitivity and specialty. It could be used to detect not only common mutation points but also seldom mutation points in β-thalassemia gene in Chinese correctly.


During this fast-paced developing world we want advanced procedures to spot the real time methods to identify to save a life, that is valuable in saving a family from negatives if road accidents occur. This paper justifies the hazards on road that happen due to driver being drowsy. Previous studies conclude more hazards being created due respect of drowsiness. This project articulates different types involved in identifying the driver condition and warns the person. The 2 ways we can identify the state of driver at wheel is by using following techniques. First is dependency of psychology whereas other is based on behaviour. In continuous detection tech world, driver exhaustion acknowledgment is one amongst important business. We discuss the driver is alerted based on the response from face. In regard with this Machine Learning the subtopic in AI i.e., computing is employed in specified way of predicting state of a person to generate data which tend to increase the Ideology of "safety first" on the highways and road. AI could be a system that is having capacity to adapt to new learning by continuously improving without requiring the need to modify or adapt to the new technology and the programs. during this paper we include literature survey of previous studies with respect to person drowsiness detection and attention buying technology. We adapt to learn the Perclos or Euclidian algorithm, cascade classifier based on haar, OpenCV, Python that are crucially employed to detect the driver. At last, we undergo the future study and scope with regarding to advancements on the study with particular project.


Africa is one of the world's fastest-growing economic regions, with a rise in its pharmaceutical industry value from $4.7 billion in 2003 to $20.8 billion in 2013. Multinational pharmaceutical companies are becoming more active in drug production and clinical trials across Africa, and there is an increase in the number of local companies engaged in medicines development and marketing. Such expansion of the local pharmaceutical industry requires trained pharmaceutical specialists to support it. The current situation and future requirements for local medicines development, regulation, education and training needs are discussed.


[1] Direct measurements of the dry deposition velocity of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) were made during the daytime between the months of July and October above a grassland surface in northern Illinois by a modified Bowen ratio technique. Differences in the air temperature, water vapor content, and PAN concentration were measured between the heights of 3.0 m and 0.92 m. Although the measurement uncertainties were large, the cumulative data indicate a slight downward flux of PAN, with an average and standard error of 0.13 ± 0.13 cm s−1 for the dry deposition velocity. Theoretical calculations showed that thermochemical decomposition of PAN on leaf and soil surfaces heated to temperatures above the ambient air levels would contribute less than 15% of the total PAN flux at the elevations of the PAN measurements. A theoretical evaluation of the transfer of PAN through leaf stomata and the plant cuticular membrane indicated that uptake of PAN by vegetation during the daytime is controlled by transfer through the leaf stomata rather than the cuticular membrane. The stomatal resistance for PAN is greater by a factor of 1.6 than the value for O3. The mesophyll resistance for O3 is also expected to be less than the value for PAN, because O3 has more reaction sites within plant cells and reacts faster than PAN with protein thiols of the cell membranes. Measurements from other studies indicate that the dry deposition velocity for PAN above a vegetated surface during the daytime is lower by a factor of 0.5–0.3 than for O3. Our measurements of the PAN deposition velocity agree with the results of previous studies and with theoretical calculations based on the physicochemical properties of PAN and the grassland surface. These measurements imply that removal of PAN from the daytime atmospheric boundary layer by thermochemical decomposition is more rapid than dry deposition to a grassland surface.


N 51 ATHANIEL HAWTHORNE is not generally reckoned a significant influence upon Thomas Hardy, though their names are occasionally coupled.' Even if most readers of Hardy are likely to be more familiar with the works of Hawthorne than of, say, William Harrison Ainsworth, almost certainly they will know more about Hardy's debt to the latter than to the former.2 But we do know that Hardy had read at least Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables (1851), since he refers to it unmistakably in The Hand of Ethelberta (1875-76). This essay will suggest that The House of the Seven Gables was a considerable influence upon a slightly later work of Hardy, A Laodicean (1881), but first I shall turn briefly to


1553B bus is connected with many sub-systems called remote terminal.Sub-systems are coupled to a data bus with couplers to complete communications and data exchange among sub-systems and realize concentrated control and display of subsystems.Single or double couplers are designed through the research on work principle of coupler.And the testing methods and results of main parameters of the couplers are introduced.The results indicate that the main performance of the couplers achieves the requirements of the national military standard,GJB 289A-1997.


Strengths-based approaches to working with individuals with traumatic brain injury are rare. Perhaps this is partly because of severe cognitive impairment, but medicalized approaches that highlight deficits are also influential. The article describes Circles of Support, an community-based intervention based that works from a position of strength. This article argues that Circles of Support fall clearly into strengths-based approaches, as supported by reference to the work of Saleebey, de Shazer, and McKnight, as well as literature on empowerment approaches to disability. Selected findings of a 3-year evaluation study illustrate the included conceptual arguments.


Background Diabetic ketoacidosis is a potentially fatal disease that affects adults. Therefore, rapid detection and treatment are required to decrease mortality rates. Most of the earlier research on diabetic ketoacidosis in Ethiopia concentrated on its prevalence and associated factors. This study aimed to assess the treatment outcomes of diabetic ketoacidosis and its associated factors in adult patients admitted to St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2023. Methods This institution-based retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample size of 357. The data were entered in Epidata version 4.6 and exported to the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 for analysis. Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval was estimated to determine its association with outcome of treatment. Results Three hundred fifty-seven diabetic ketoacidosis patients' charts were reviewed. Fourteen (3.9%) diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) patients had died. Those Patients with diabetic ketoacidosis who had acute comorbidity (presence of sepsis) (AOR = 3.24, 95% CI: 1.20–10.2), international unit (IU) insulin administration in the 1st 24 hours (AOR = 8.046, 95% CI: 3.881–25.32), fluid replacement in the 1st 24 hours (AOR = 5.84, 95% CI: 1.53–10.07), and potassium replacement (AOR = 3.08, 95% CI: 1.835–5.817) were independently associated with treatment outcome of diabetic ketoacidosis. Insulin administration for the first 24 hours more than >60 IU insulin showed improvement in treatment outcome by 8.04 times more likely than less <60 IU insulin administration for the first 24 hours. More >6 liters fluid replacement in the first 24 hours had improvement in treatment outcome by 5.84 times more likely than <6 liters fluid replacement. Conclusion A considerable proportion of the patients with diabetic ketoacidosis died at St. Paul's hospital millennium medical college. Stakeholders must emphasize the treatment of patients with diabetes (diabetic ketoacidosis), according to the recommendations of local and international guidelines.


Gertrude— A Postface to a Few Prefaces. For Gertrude, without whose help this issue would never have been put together.—P. A.


This chapter focuses a longitudinal case study of the international knowledge transfer from Kodak to the Industry Technology Research Institute (ITRI) of Taiwan in the period of 2006-2014. It evaluates the complex knowledge transfer process under the lens of strategic alliance learning framework. The chapter illustrates key learning success and hindrance factors for international knowledge transfer. The outcomes of analysis would be useful for international firms and institutes with high-tech components and technical/technological capabilities to seek global strategic partners so as to utilize their technology and know-how to build new industries and firms for future.


Machine learning methods are being successfully applied in text mining. Because of ambiguities which are inherently present in natural languages, we are faced with a challenge of determining the actual identities of entities mentioned in a document. Disambiguation is a problem that can be successfully solved by entity resolution methods.
This thesis studies various possibilities for improving entity resolution performance by using various types of background knowledge and statistical learning. We compare precision and recall of pair-wise entity resolution with collective resolution. We also study the possibility of employing background knowledge. For this purpose, we define a multi-relational entity resolution approach, capable of representing implicit as well as explicit relationships. We discover the benefits of using entity co-occurrences and content similarities as implicit relationships. We also propose an approach capable of handling such heterogeneous relations for collective entity resolution.


In this article our main aim will be to examine, on the basis of the explora tion of concrete examples of Bulgarian tax-farmers from the central Rumelian lands, to what extent tax-farming was a source of individual wealth in the second half of the 19th century and to consider whether it functioned as a way of financing the Ottoman state: did the state in effect borrow from wealthy individuals ? tax-farmers ? and/or did such individuals in turn manage to use the collection of state revenues as a source of individual wealth and for "public projects", and if so, how? Documents of different type and origin provide such information. The personal or family archival collections, including correspondence, registers and account books of Bulgarian merchants and tax-farmers from the second half of the 1840s, the 1850s, 1860s and 1870s, after the reintroduction of tax-farming as the main way of collection of the tithe, the beglik and other revenues, have first attracted our attention since they allow detailed analyses at the micro level of several relatively well documented cases. We shall first examine the case of a Bulgarian merchant of different com modities (wax, suet, fat obtained from bones and marrow, butter, cheese, meat products, fish, lemons, almonds, beans, coffee, sugar, flour, and other foodstuffs and spices, leather, woollen yarn, silk, cotton and cotton cloths, metals ? steal, copper and copperware ? blue day, combs, pins) imported and exported via Varna, Ruscuk and Svishtov from and to central Europe, London as well as to the Ottoman capital and Russia, often in partnership with other merchants. His name was Haci Mincho Haci Tzachev and he was also Tarnovo sandik emini in the first half of the 1840s. From the late 1840s up to his death in 1855 Haci Mincho Haci Tzachev appears also in the role of a tax-farmer of several revenues from the region. We can only speculate to what extent his service as a kaza official was directly helpful or profitable for


Abstract In 2021 as part of a research on apterygotes in Iran 18 specimens of Protura were collected; 14 of them were identified as Acerella muscorum (Ionesco, 1930), one was an Acerentomon belonging to the affine group, three were female specimens of a new species of Acerentulus described in this paper. Like other species belonging to confinis group, Acerentulus iranicus sp. nov. has a complete row of posterior setae (18) on tergite VII, a long foretarsal sensillum a almost reaching seta γ3, and sensilla b and c almost of the same length, both passing the base of seta γ3. The closest species to A. iranicus sp. nov. is A. setosus Szeptycki, 1993 from Western Caucasus (Russia). This species differs from the new species for its smaller pseudoculi, the ratio between mesothoracic setae P1 and P2, the presence of a doubled pore on tergite XII, and the longer foretarsal sensillum a. The partial description of an undetermined specimen of Acerentomon belonging to the affine group is outlined too. A key to the Protura species known from the Middle East is provided. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A0243956-A081-4D5D-8FEA-361CA7123852


Electric vehicles(EVs) is a candidate to be the future of world transportation. The idea of changing fuel charged transportation services to electrically charged systems is a breakthrough for efficient energy harnessing, conservation, and smooth energy transformation. Also, it is an effort to reduce detrimental emissions which have corresponding ramifications on a global scale. This directly impacts the present weather conditions plummeting the effects of global warming. In the current age of advanced technologies, there are many organizations which host the manufacturing of these vehicles. However, charging is a well-known problem for EVs. Therefore, several methods have been proposed to charge EVs. One of the conventional way is to charge a vehicle at a stop or a "station." The significant limitations are the time required for charging EVs and shorter traveling distances. Therefore, wireless charging has been proposed. There are several factors which affect the wireless charging. This paper surveyed the works which have been introduced by researchers. Numerous techniques are developed where the EV is charged based on the electromagnetic induction or inductive power transfer. Even though the passive wireless charging is implemented, the main issue which arises is the placements of wireless charging pads as well as the placement of the charging stations. Therefore, the paper introduces implementations and simulations from several research papers that focus on placements of wireless charging sections. Also, the paper describes several challenges to implement these systems. The factors affecting the charging methods and placements of the charging pads and stations are listed in the form of the parameters. The discussion and literature reviews will help the researcher and the general audience to understand the deployment of wireless charging pads or providing eco-routing of electric vehicles.


Virtual reality systems create interaction between users and virtual environment. Gesture recognition has wide applicability in various industries. There are several types of I/O control devices to achieve quality between user and system interaction. Current hand-held and armband devices enhance immersion and interaction between user and virtual environment. Cognitive trainings in Virtual reality have positive effect to measure user interaction and responsiveness. In fact, there are different technologies and ways to recognize gestures for controlling Virtual environments. It can be helpful to work more naturally and intuitively with hand gesture in the future.


Abstract The corn earworm (CEW), Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), is a highly mobile pest of numerous field and vegetable crops in much of North America. In the Midwestern United States, CEW is a voracious pest of several high-value vegetable crops, including sweet corn, tomatoes, and snap beans, and seed corn grown for the field corn industry. Historically, synthetic pyrethroid insecticides have been cost-effective and have provided excellent control of CEW, with control of larvae in sweet corn exceeding 90%. However, since 2000 pyrethroids have only provided 35 to 45% control in field tests conducted in the Midwest, as indicated by small-plot sweet corn efficacy trials. During 2005, the four most commonly used pyrethroids averaged only 19.3 to 37.3% control of CEW (mean of 5 trials in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana). In addition, the survival of moths exposed to the standard pyrethroid, cypermethrin, using the Adult Vial Test (AVT), indicated high survival rates (44 to 66% at 5 µg cypermethrin and up to 45% survival at 10 µg). These levels are similar to, or higher than recent AVT results from Louisiana and Texas. These states reflect two possible "source" regions of late-season CEW that likely migrate north to the Midwestern states each summer. These results, including the stability of resistance each year in the Midwest, are discussed within the context of developing and expanding a North American resistance monitoring and management network.


This paper presents and implements a novel stochastic volatility (SV) model, based on the structure of the GARCH model, to describe the relationship between an observed financial return series and its standard deviation, namely volatility. The proposed approach has been compared to the standard GARCH as the underlying modeling structure within a particle-filtering-based scheme for state estimation. The proposed structure has been implemented to estimate the volatility of both a simulated return series and the NASDAQ Composite index during the period July 21, 2008 July 17, 2009. The results of this procedure show that the parameters of the GARCH model can be used in the uGARCH structure, allowing the latter representing the hidden volatility as accurate as the standard GARCH, but also providing an estimate of the whole probability density.


It is assumed that not least common words, i.e. words belonging in the intersection between LSP and general language, present a number problems in terms of equiva-lence, collocation and complementation in connection with L1-L2 translation and L2 production of technical texts. To this end, such a word, represented by the Danish verb afbryde 'interrupt', is selected from a concrete technical text, in which it occurs with no less than 12 different objects as well as, in one context, without an object. Existing dictionaries of a variety of types as well as authentic English texts are examined to determine possible equivalents as well as their respective collocation potentials. On the basis of these findings, a suggestion is made for the lexicographical representation of afbryde and its equivalents in an L2 basic dictionary with accessory L1-L2 word list.


Posidonius' F 223 EK has been long regarded a puzzle. In this text Strabo discusses a theory of Posidonius about the influence of the Sun on the climate. The article argues that Strabo misinterprets Posidonius' words and ascribes him egregiously absurd ideas. Accordingly, modern commentators, following Strabo, misconstrue Posidonius' theory in the same way. The article suggests a new interpretation of this theory, which makes it possible to explain Posidonius' words and save him from false charges of absurd ideas.


OBJECTIVE
The cultivation of squamous cell carcinoma cells of the upper aerodigestive tract is more difficult compared to other malignancies because of microbial contamination. The establishment of new squamous cell carcinoma cell lines is absolutely necessary to further characterize this tumor entity.

METHODS
Two squamous cell carcinoma cell lines of the floor of the mouth and the tongue were established from tumor biopsies. They were examined by light and electron microscopy. Furthermore immunocytochemical and DNA cytofluorometric studies were performed. The growth features were tested in a tumor-stem cell assay and through transplantation in thymusless nude mice.

RESULTS
The epithelial character of the cells was determined morphologically, immunocytochemically, and immunologically. Both cell lines shaved an aneuploid DNA Index of 1.92 for the tongue carcinoma cell line (HCTK-1) and 1.77 for the floor of the mouth cell line (HCFMK-1). The plating efficiency was 0.008 and 0.01%. Cell differentiation in the original tumor and the nude mice tumor was identical. HCTK-1 is in the 25th passage and HCFMK-1 in the 42nd.

CONCLUSIONS
The two new squamous cell carcinoma cell lines HCFMK-1 and HCTK-1 may serve as a basis for various in vitro investigations and may help to further characterize squamous cell carcinomas of the upper aerodigestive tract.


The legal status of pets, as the object of legal relations between people, traditionally raises many debating questions. On the one hand, pets are objects of real law, on the other – they are animated creatures that can experience emotions and communicate with humans. Moreover, pets in case of their housing rules violations, often become a threat for the surrounding people's safety. That is why the search for ways to modernize administrative and legal regulations in this area of public relations does not lose its relevance. The purpose of this article is to study the problems of administrative and legal regulation of pets' keeping. Methodology: common methods of cognition were used - comparison, analysis, synthesis, abstraction, systemic, structural and functional approaches, etc. The results of the study made it possible for the author to formulate a number of proposals to improve the existing legislation on the pet housing regulation. The author argues the relevance of the pet registration introduction. In addition, the arguments are given for the necessity to establish at the level of federal legislation an administrative responsibility for assumption allowing a pet to attack a person.


This study investigates the English as a foreign language (EFL) Preservice teachers' beliefs and practice; and their relationship; and examines the extent to which teacher education plays a role in promoting innovative teaching of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). It focuses particularly on the context of the school-based teaching practicum in basic education level in southern Thailand.
A sequential mixed approach employing quantitative and qualitative research methods was used for data collection in two stages. Stage One is based on self-survey questionnaire data from 166 Thai EFL pre-service teachers from three universities which explored their self- reported beliefs. In Stage Two, observation of English communication classes of 3 pre-service teachers were conducted in three practicum schools, in a nine - month teaching practicum course. Classroom practices were observed and documented providing further insights into their beliefs and practices regarding to CLT. Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the quantitative survey data. Content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative observation data.
Analysis of the findings indicated that majority of the participants held positive beliefs about CLT principles and the PST cases taught differently from many of their reported beliefs. Key findings of the study confirm that the Thai EFL pre-service teachers, taught to a limited extent, in accordance with their pedagogical beliefs. Findings showed that PSTs' instructional decision-making was central to the deep-rooted core beliefs regarding 'accuracy is as perfect learning'. Active experimentation and self-reflection helped bridge the gap between conflicting beliefs and enhanced their effort in innovative teaching. Factors that affect CLT adoption include students' motivation to learn and the guidance from supervisor/mentor. Implications for EFL teacher education are that PSTs should be made aware of their personal beliefs and the possible contextual constraints they face. The study suggests the consideration in the localization of the ELT reform.


Summary. It has been suggested that drawings are constructions which follow certain principles and that young children are reluctant to relinquish these principles. Kindergartners, second graders, fourth graders were asked to draw familiar objects (e.g., toy car) placed in several orientations or in an orientation of their choice to determine if the orientation depicted in their drawings would be guided more by graphic principles or by the view before them. The use of graphic principles prevailed in the choice of orientation even though many children in second and fourth grade carefully recorded other aspects particular to the objects in front of them (e.g., make and model of car).


Abstract : The report is concerned with the problem of estimating the upper limit of a distribution using a random sample drawn from it. Specifically, the theory may be applied to the estimation of either the upper or lower limit of finite range distribution or to the estimation of either the upper or the lower limit for distributions where one of the limits is infinite. The literature on this particular estimation problem is limited and confined to special cases of parametric distributions such as the gamma distribution with unknown origin and the uniform distribution. The most general situation discussed in the literature arises in the Pearsonian system of frequency curves with the lower end or upper limit finite. (Author)


alarming to the parents. Other case stories are given which illustrate the need for various types of professional treatment in the total care of one child with cerebral palsy; the effect which a cerebral-palsied child may have on the parental relationships; the disturbing effect that such a child may have on the relationships between other children in the home; and the results on the parents of the burden of the constant care of the cerebral· palsied child. One story concerns a cerebralpalsied child with mental retardation, and the mother's difficulty in accepting the need for commitment to a state institution for the feebleminded. Although casework treatment as such is not mentioned specifically throughout the book and case situations are not described in social work terminology, it is evident in many situations that the social worker's understanding and advice play a part in the changing of parental attitudes. The book is prefaced by a statement by Dr. Winthrop Phelps, a pioneer in the field of cerebral palsy, who comments that it represents an excellent description of the types of cerebral palsy and their response to treatment. At the end of the book is a glossary giving simple explanations of some of the medical terminology used in discussion of cerebral palsy, and a list of some of the cerebral palsy associations and clinics throughout the country together with a bibliography which. while not complete, does list a number of articles on cerebral palsy. The book will do much to broaden the knowledge of professional workers concerned with the care of a cerebral-palsied child. The decision of whether or not to place this book in the hands of the parents would depend on their capacity to use it. To an intelligent and mature parent, this book would give reassurance that there is a slowlygrowing body of knowledge of treatment for the cerebral-palsied. MARGARET G. HOLDEN Division of Services for Crippled Children University of Illinois Chicago, Illinois


Airborne laser scanner (lidar) is very useful technic to acquire a high resolution digital elevation model (DEM). According to a review of 2000s studies, a high-resolution DEM acquired by airborne laser scanner contributed to development of volcanic geomorphology, volcanic geology and volcano geophysics. Airborne laser scanner is also effective for an investigation at the time of volcanic eruption. However, we should note an airplane may not fly. In addition, data sharing of a high-resolution DEM is an important problem for volcanologist.


This paper presents a generic approach for automatic singing assessment for basic singing levels. The system provides the user with a set of intonation, rhythm and overall ratings obtained by measuring the similarity of the sung melody and a target performance. Two different similarity approaches are discussed: f0 curve alignment through Dynamic Time Warping (DTW), and singing transcription plus note-level similarity. From these two approaches, we extract different intonation and rhythm similarity measures which are combined through quadratic polynomial regression analysis in order to fit the judgement of 4 trained musicians on 27 performances. The results show that the proposed system is suitable for automatic singing voice rating and that DTW based measures are specially simple and effective for intonation and rhythm assessment.


Main results: The mean heart-rate measurements were lower for the no-music group in the waiting room (102 vs 91 beats/min, p 5 0.001); the measurements were not significantly different between groups before, during, and after the procedure. Between the time when the heart rate was measured in the waiting room and when it was measured again in the cast room before the procedure, the rate had decreased in the music group and increased in the no-music group (Table). A borderline difference existed between groups for change in heart rate between the waiting room and during the procedure (Table). No significant difference in heart rate between the two groups was noted between the time during the procedure compared with the time before the procedure or between the time during the procedure compared with the time after the procedure (Table). 17% of children in the no-music group had heart rate increases in excess of 40 beats/min, whereas no child in the music group had an increase of .40 beats/min (p 5 0.04).


Abstract An automatic technique to perform measurements of variable range via variable focal length is presented. This technique provides measurements of variable range by means of a Bezier network based on a laser line projection. The variable range measurements are performed by adjusting the camera position and the focal length. These parameters are automatically computed during the vision task by means of the line position. Also, the initial calibration of vision parameters is carried out via image processing of the laser line. Thus, the proposed technique avoids external re-calibration, which is applied by the traditional methods of flexible measurements. This leads to an improvement of accuracy of the measurements of variable range via Bezier network. It is because the proposed method does not add errors of external re-calibration to the measurement process. This technique performs measurements of variable range via magnification of the surface depth, when it is not retrieved by the initial configuration. Thus, the system adapts the set-up to the resolution of complex surface, which is being profiled. Furthermore, the adjustment does not interrupt the vision procedure because the change of vision parameters is calculated in a fraction of second. The contribution of this technique is elucidated by an evaluation based on the traditional measurements of variable range. Also, the time to achieve the surface measurements is examined.


According to the study of extracting the essence oil from orange peel by microwave method,the best experimental technology condition was got.Putting 30 g fresh orange peel into 60 ml anhydrousalcohol for 2 min at power of 300 w,under the microwave temperature of 55 ℃,the obtained rate of essence oil was 2.17 %.Comparing with other extracting methods,this microwave method had more advantages of shorter extracting time,higher obtained rate,lower cost and no pollution.


Background The EuroQuol 5 Dimension (EQ5D) is a validated tool to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) and the revised IPSS (R-IPSS) are the gold standards of prognostication in patients (pts) with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) and low blast count acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The EQ5D is the most used tool for patient reported outcome measures but is underused in MDS, CMML or AML, with only one report on the use of the updated 5 level (5L) published to date (Yu H, Qual Life Res 2021, 855).
 Aims 1) Compare HRQoL of pts with MDS, CMML or AML with a German population norm (Grochtdreis T, Eur J Health Econ 2019, 933) matched by age, sex and no. of comorbidities. 2) Assess the impact of baseline HRQoL on azacitidine (AZA) treatment (trt) outcomes. 3) Longitudinal analyses of EQ-5D/lab value pairs per AZA cycle.
 Methods Pts treated within the Austrian Azacitidine Registry were analyzed (NCT01595295, data cut-off 13 Dec 20). EQ5D and lab values were assessed at the start of AZA trt cycles. The EQ5D-5L German value set (Ludwig K, Pharmacoeconomics 2018, 663) and the reverse crosswalk tool provided by EuroQol were used for calculation of the EQ5D-index. Baseline characteristics with univariate p<0.10 (n=10) for association with OS were included in the multivariate (MV) regression. After stepwise selection, 6 variables remained and were used for MV adjustment (MVA). Outcome endpoints were overall survival (OS), time with clinical benefit (TCB) and time to next treatment (TTNT). Assign Data Management and Biostatistics GmbH performed statistical analyses with SAS® 9.4
 Results 1456 EQ5D (n=225 3L; n=1231 5L) questionnaires were analyzed; 129, 33 and 110 of 272 pts had MDS, CMML or AML. Pts reported more pronounced restrictions in usual activities (+28%, p<·0001), anxiety/depression (+21%, <·0001), selfcare (+18%, p<·0001) and mobility (+15%, p<·0001), as well as lower mean EQ5D-5L indices (0·81 vs 0·88, p<·0001) and lower self-rated health on a visual analogue scale (VAS) (64 vs 72%, p<·0001) than a matched reference population.
 Pts with an EQ5D available at AZA start (n=205) were stratified according to their Level Sum Score (LSS), EQ-VAS or EQ5D-index being </≥ the respective group median. After MVA, the EQ5D-index remained significant for OS (+5·0 mo; p=0·0143; HR=1·52 [1·09-2·13]), TCB (+3·0 mo; p=0·0258; HR=1·43 [1·04-1·95]) and TTNT (+3·0 mo; p=0·0332; HR=1·42 [1·03-1·96]) (Fig 1). Thus, an EQ5D-index <0·8845 at AZA start indicates an increased risk of death (+52%), shorter AZA trt duration (+43%) and a higher risk of requiring a next trt or dying (+42%) in MV adjusted analyses.
 In univariate logistic regression, LSS (p·0009), EQ-VAS (p=0·0237) and EQ5D-index (p=0·0110) were correlated with response to AZA. After MVA, LSS remained significantly predictive of AZA response (p=0·0160; odds ratio (OR)=0·451 [0·235-0·852]), and the EQ5D-index showed a trend (p=0·0627; OR=0·522 [0·296-1·032]). A LSS of ≥8 at AZA start thus indicates a 0·45 times lower odds of responding to AZA.
 Increases of the likelihood ratio (LR) were observed after addition of 1) LSS to the IPSS (p=0·0068) or R-IPSS (p=0·0205); 2) EQ-VAS to the IPSS (p=0·0031) or R-IPSS (p=0·0058); 3) EQ5D-index to the IPSS (p=0·0015) or R-IPSS (p=0·0012), indicating that they provide added value to the IPSS and the R-IPSS.
 Up to 1432 "EQ5D response/clinical parameter" pairs revealed that hemoglobin level, platelet count, transfusion dependence, serum ferritin, creatinine, albumin, adverse events G3-4, AZA days and dose per cycle and hematologic improvement in erythrocytes and platelets significantly correlated with ≥5 of 8 EQ5D parameters.
 Conclusions These data indicate for the first time that:
 1) Patients with MDS, CMML or AML have profound impairments in HRQoL compared to a German population norm.
 2) Baseline EQ5D-index predicts adjusted OS, TCB and TTNT.
 3) Baseline LSS significantly predicts response to AZA.
 4) Baseline LSS, EQ-VAS and EQ5D-index significantly add value to the existing gold standards for prognostication (IPSS, R-IPSS).
 5) EQ5D responses during AZA trt correlated significantly with lab values associated with response, toxicity and AZA dose and no. of trt days per cycle.
 Based on these results, we will continue to use the EQ5D-5L and recommend the longitudinal use of this brief questionnaire in both clinical trial- and real-world settings.
 Figure 1 Figure 1.

 Pleyer: AbbVie, BMS, Novartis: Honoraria, Other: Travel support. Heibl: BMS: Honoraria. Leisch: Honoraria from BMS, Celgene, Gilead, Takeda and Novartis; Travel support: Celgene and Novartis: Honoraria, Other: Travel support. Melchardt: Abbvie, Celgene, Novartis: Honoraria. Wolf: Roche: Honoraria, Research Funding; MSD: Honoraria, Research Funding; BMS-Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Pfizer: Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Honoraria; Gilead: Honoraria; Incyte: Honoraria; GEMOAB: Honoraria. Greil: Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses, Research Funding; Merck: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses, Research Funding; Sandoz: Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses, Research Funding; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses, Research Funding; MSD: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses, Research Funding; Daiichi: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses, Research Funding; Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses; Amgen: Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses, Research Funding. Stauder: Celgene/BMS: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel support; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

 While azacitidine is approved for all patients with MDS, CMML and AML by the US FDA, it is not approved for all patients subsets by EMA.


We shall discuss how some groups arising in algebraic K -Theory are related to pseudo-isotopies of ton-simply connected smooth manifolds. Our methods are an extension of the techniques used by Cerf in Ill to show that "pseudo-isotopy implies isotopy" in the simply connected case: we study one parameter families of "gradientlike" vector fields associated to certain one parameter families of real valued functions. This paper is semi-expository in nature. A more detailed account will appear in the future.


Results | In 2007 to 2008, 2545 eligible physicians completed the NAMCS induction survey. The proportion of physicians who received some compensation for quality was 21.5% (95% CI, 18.9%-24.0%) and the proportion for patient satisfaction was 18.7% (95% CI, 16.3%-21.1%). An almost similar percentage of physicians did not know whether they received compensation for quality (16.2% [95% CI, 13.1%19.2%]) or patient satisfaction (16.0% [95% CI, 13.0%19.0%]). Physicians who did not know whether their compensation was linked to quality were more likely to practice in an urban setting (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.50 [95% CI, 1.36-4.56]), more likely to practice in a freestanding clinic or urgicenter (AOR, 2.01 [95% CI, 1.07-3.78]), and less likely to practice in a community health center (AOR, 0.16 [95% CI, 0.06-0.42]) vs private practice. Physicians who did not know whether their compensation was linked to patient satisfaction were also more likely to practice in an urban setting (AOR, 2.24 [95% CI, 1.30-3.85]) and less likely to practice in a community health center (AOR, 0.17 [95% CI, 0.07-0.42]) vs private practice (Table).


We consider a contextual online learning (multi-armed bandit) problem with high-dimensional covariate $\mathbf{x}$ and decision $\mathbf{y}$. The reward function to learn, $f(\mathbf{x},\mathbf{y})$, does not have a particular parametric form. The literature has shown that the optimal regret is $\tilde{O}(T^{(d_x+d_y+1)/(d_x+d_y+2)})$, where $d_x$ and $d_y$ are the dimensions of $\mathbf x$ and $\mathbf y$, and thus it suffers from the curse of dimensionality. In many applications, only a small subset of variables in the covariate affect the value of $f$, which is referred to as \textit{sparsity} in statistics. To take advantage of the sparsity structure of the covariate, we propose a variable selection algorithm called \textit{BV-LASSO}, which incorporates novel ideas such as binning and voting to apply LASSO to nonparametric settings. Our algorithm achieves the regret $\tilde{O}(T^{(d_x^*+d_y+1)/(d_x^*+d_y+2)})$, where $d_x^*$ is the effective covariate dimension. The regret matches the optimal regret when the covariate is $d^*_x$-dimensional and thus cannot be improved. Our algorithm may serve as a general recipe to achieve dimension reduction via variable selection in nonparametric settings.


A now procedure for the design of sensitivity-reduced control for linear regulators is described. The control is easily computable and implementable since it requires neither the solution of an increased-order augmented system nor the generation and feedback of a trajectory sensitivity vector. The method provides a trade-off between reduction in sensitivity measure and increase in performance index.


Methods used to determine various atmospheric gas distributions are summarized. The experimentally determined mixing ratio profiles (the mixing ratio of a gas is the ratio of the number of gas molecules to the number of air molecules) of some atmospheric gases are shown. In most in situ experiments stratospheric gas samples are collected at several altitudes by balloon, aircraft, or rocket. These samples are then analyzed by various methods. Mixing ratio profiles of Ci, ClO, and OH were determined by laser induced fluorescence of samples. Others have analyzed gas samples by gas chromatography in order to determine the molecular abundances of CCl2F2, CCl4, CCl3F, CFCl3, CF2Cl2, CHClF2, CH3CCl3, CH4, CO, C2Cl3F3, C2Cl4, C2HCl3, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, C3H8, C6H6, C7H8, H2, and N2O.


Thephysical and mechanical properties of soy- bean were determined at 8 to 16% moisture content. In this moistu- re range, grain length, width, thickness, arithmetic average diame- ter and geometric average diameter increased from 7.24 to 8.19, 6.79-7.12, 5.78-6.23, 6.60-7.18, 6.57-7.14 mm, respectively. The volume of grain and area of grain surface increased linearly from 130.97 to 160.32 and from 125.46 to 144.39 mm 2 , respectively. The sphericity, bulk density, true density and porosity decreased linearly from 0.91 to 0.87, 766.12-719.00, 983.33-905.67 kg m -3 and 22.58 to 20.61%, respectively. The angle of internal friction in- creased linearly from 27.37 to 31.81 with the increase of moisture content. The static coefficient of friction increased from 0.385 to 0.571, 0.304-0.441 and 0.164-0.286 for concrete, wood and galva- nized steel surfaces, respectively.


This paper reviewed already-done studies on the use of ecological function of common wild vegetables:making use of Oenanthe javanica,Vallisneria spinulosa,Houttuynia cordata Thunb and Sagittaria sagittifolia L.to purificate eutrophicated water body, sewage and control algal;using Houttuynia cordata Thunb to eliminate weeds and remediate heavy metal polluted soils;using Sagittaria Sagittifolia L.to control nonpoint source pollution.And further studies for ecological function of wild vegetables were also discussed.


The giant, Phanerozoic largest Mn deposits of southern Ukraine and Georgia and the Mn-rich strata of Mangyshlak, northeastern Bulgaria, northwestern Turkey, Hungary, and Slovakia were laid down synchronously at the base of the Early Oligocene interval. Their formation was controlled by an optimum combination of major geological events. The collision of Eurasia and the Indian subcontinent in terminal Eocene time boosted the generation of new sea floor at the crests of the global system of mid-ocean ridges with ensuing global transgression and a huge input of hydrothermal components (Mn, Fe, SiO2, Ca, CO2, etc.). Meanwhile in the Paratethys, Early Oligocene was a time of inception of and/or rapid subsidence in the marginal inland basins that stored black shales and vast amounts of dissolved Mn 2+ . Shelf settings provided the milieu for extensive Mn deposition due to transgressive incursions of dense oceanic waters that displaced the Mn-rich anoxic ones.


We developed a simple and reliable method for determining delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) in plasma (ALA-P) by fluorometric high-performance liquid chromatography. The method was applicable to 100 pl of plasma and the mean •} standard deviation for analytical recovery was 100.4 •} 2.6% when 50 ƒÊg/l of ALA was added to 14 plasma samples. The detection limit for ALA-P was 2.0 ƒÊg/l (signal-to-noise ratio was 5) and the standard curve was linear in a wide range up to 400 ƒÊg/l. The ALA-P level for 26 unexposed male adults was 8.6 •} 1.3 ƒÊg/l. In 72 male lead workers, logarithm of ALAP concentration was significantly correlated with blood lead concentrations (Pb-B) of 2.5115.4 ƒÊg/dl (r = 0.924, p < 0.001). Even at the Pb-B level less than 15 ƒÊg/dl, significant linear relationships were found between Pb-B and log ALA-P (r = 0.632, p < 0.01), between Pb-B and delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase activity (ALA-D) (r = -0.573, p < 0.05), and between ALA-D and ALA-P (r = -0.765, p < 0.001). It is suggested that ALA-P determined by the present method is a useful indicator of biological effects of lead, especially in the wide range of Pb-B level.


OVERVIEW OF GHANA AND THE GHANA HEALTH SERVICE The Republic of Ghana has an elected president, a unicameral legislature and an independent judiciary. It is geographically divided into 10 regions, which are further divided into a total of 138 administrative districts. The population of Ghana is currently estimated at 20.5 million. The annual population growth is estimated at 2.7%. Ghana has a GDP growth rate of 5.2%, with a per capita income of US $425.The agriculture sector employs 60% of the labor force and accounts for 51% of the total GDP. Ghana's Human Development Index in 2005 was 0.52. The life expectancy in Ghana is 55.5 years for men and 58.1 years for women. The under-5 mortality rate is 111 per 1,000 live births and the infant mortality rate is 64 per 1,000 live births. Public health expenditure is 1.7% of the GDP, private health expenditure is 2.9%, and health expenditure per capita is US $854.


The purpose of the study is to investigate data on climate implication and adaptation measures for energy use in buildings. It is based on a scoping literature review, concerned mainly with the main journals operating in the field of climate adaptation of the built environment. Research documents that significant changes are taking place due to the implications of climatic change. Studies concerning climate change impact on energy use in buildings in warm climates represent the majority of the findings. The volume of research within the consequences for the built environment in cold regions is found to be surprisingly low, especially concerning the pecuniary stakes involved. However, significant regional differences are observed. Though further research is of essence, policy/regulatory measures ought already to be taken, based on climate scenarios.


In this paper, for the first time, we study the inverse Sturm–Liouville problem with polynomials of the spectral parameter in the first boundary condition and with entire analytic functions in the second one. For the investigation of this new inverse problem, we develop an approach based on the construction of a special vector functional sequence in a suitable Hilbert space. The uniqueness of recovering the potential and the polynomials of the boundary condition from a part of the spectrum is proved. Furthermore, our main results are applied to the Hochstadt–Lieberman-type problems with polynomial dependence on the spectral parameter not only in the boundary conditions but also in discontinuity (transmission) conditions inside the interval. We prove novel uniqueness theorems, which generalize and improve the previous results in this direction. Note that all the spectral problems in this paper are investigated in the general non-self-adjoint form, and our method does not require the simplicity of the spectrum. Moreover, our method is constructive and can be developed in the future for numerical solution and for the study of solvability and stability of inverse spectral problems.


It is well known that the frequency synchronization of complex power networks is a prerequisite for stable operation. This paper investigates the global frequency synchronization in power networks via coordinating novel controllers on both the generator-side and the load-side. The designed controllers compute the monitored information from the generator-side and load-side simultaneously, and transmit the processed signals to steer the generators and load buses for maintaining frequency stability. In particular, the generator (load)-side buses can communicate with the load (generator)-side buses, not limited to the same side. Furthermore, nonlinear switching control protocols are proposed to analyze the frequency stability for overcoming the deficiency that the conventional linearized methods can only guarantee the local stability in or near an equilibrium state. The global stability region is rigorously proven, in which the sufficient conditions are derived for achieving global frequency synchronization of power systems. Finally, a prevailing modified Western System Coordinating Council (WSCC) 9-bus system and the widely-used IEEE 39-bus system are selected to validate the effectiveness and feasibility of the theoretical results.


by the Sakas at a much later period. The difficulty is briefly recognized by Dr. Puri, but might have been given much fuller treatment. We suggest the possiblity that Patanjali lived not in the second but in the early first century B.C., when traditions about Pusyamitra and the Yavanas were still current, but when the Sakas had already penetrated the north-western frontiers of the sub-continent of India. No doubt many authorities would disagree with us on this point, and even if it were granted this would not diminish the value of Dr. Puri's work. His treatment of the history of the period, to which he adduces important archaeological and numismatic evidence, is very sound, though in a work published so recently note should have been taken of Dr. Lohuizen's Scythian period, if not of Dr. A. K. Narain's Indo-Greeks. The body of the work elucidates Patafijali's references to the life of his times in the light of other evidence. While no strikingly new theories are put forward, and no important fresh information is given, the book forms a very useful study of the social history of the period. I t is unfortunate that it contains so many typographical errors, few of which are noted in the list of corrigenda at the end of the book. In Professor Burrow's introduction we read that ' . . . Dr. Puri has set himself the task a [sic] complete account of such material', and that ' . . . it is significant the [sic] memory of the iSunga Agnimitra should have remained alive over the centuries significant because the number of ancient Indian monarchs to whom this happened is singularly small'. These errors are evidently the results of careless proofreading on the part of the author and the printers, for they can hardly be the fault of the Boden Professor of Sanskrit, who ably reviews the significance of the Sunga period in the history of India as a whole.


Terpenoids are the important secondary metabolites of soft coral. In the investigation of soft corals collected from South China Sea, we have found many cembranoid diterpenes with bioactivity and two rare unique biscembranoid tetraterpenes, i.e. methyl sartortuoate and methyl isosartortuoate. We have suggested a plausible biogenesis pathway for these two tetraterpenoids in the soft coral Sarcophyton tortuosum.Recently, B. F. Bowden et al. obtained one more tetraterpenoid with the similar structure from the same species Australian soft coral. Besides, they isolated one of the probably biogenetic


THE PRESENCE of large quantities of silicon in many plant species has stimulated considerable research on the essentiality and function of this element (see Wagner, 1940, for literature review). Yet the equally interesting question as to the manner of its absorption and accumulation has been largely ignored. Although plants normally grow in a siliconrich substrate, the way in which they absorb this element in quantity is not readily apparent. At ordinary soil temperatures and hydrogen-ion concentrations, most of the naturally occurring compounds of silicon commonly are regarded as either insoluble or colloidal, and should therefore be unavailable for absorption. In the present study certain factors thought capable of influencing silicon absorption have been investigated. The factor of soluble silicon concentration was given special attention, since it is possible that plants accumulate large amounts of silicon from very dilute solutions, as has been demonstrated for selenium by Byers (1935) and Trelease and Trelease (1938). On the other hand, in accordance with modern concepts of solute absorption (Steward,


Mechanisms of disease in the small air passages of the lungs are described, their effects on lung function considered, and some of the ways in which such disease may be recognized are discussed.


J Higgs and M Jones; eds. 347 pages. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann; 1995. $65.00. ISBN 750607874. Order phone 800-366-2665. Clinical reasoning is a major component of clinical competence and is a dynamic process that occurs before, during, and after the collection of data through history, physical examination, imaging, and endoscopic and laboratory tests. Thirty-seven contributors to this book have produced 27 chapters on the methods clinicians use in clinical reasoning, methods used in the present and past to teach clinical reasoning, and current research related to improving student instruction in this area. Only one of the book's authors is a physician, and most references pre-date 1993. Forms of clinical reasoning important to the physician's diagnosis and therapeutic choices are discussed in excellent chapters by Higgs and Jones (chapter 1) and Elstein (chapter 4). The uses of clinical reasoning by nurses, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists are discussed in separate chapters. Chapters on the teaching of clinical reasoning to physicians, students of speech and hearing science, physiotherapists, nurses, students of orthoptics, and occupational therapists appear later in the book. Methods of reasoning often used by inexperienced and expert clinicians are clearly described. Rapid pattern recognition and categorization is a common and rapid means of diagnosis used by experts, whereas more difficult and complex cases require the use of inductive reasoning to develop a set of hypotheses (possible diagnoses) and then the use of deductive reasoning for further testing and data interpretation. This hypothetico-deductive method is usually slower to achieve a diagnosis, and it requires that the expert have a large and case-specific database in memory. The authors point out that problem-solving expertise has been shown to be highly problem-specific and that the reasoning skills used to solve one problem do not guarantee success if the content or nature of the next problem is different. The book is encyclopedic in scope, and some parts are so concerned with basic definitions and theories of knowledge that they read like sections of a philosophy text. The chapters on reasoning in other health professions frequently repeat what has gone before. They may be attempts to enlarge the book's audience or, more generously, to give guidance to health professionals other than physicians and medical students. Problems in the teaching of clinical reasoning in medicine are discussed, and current and proposed efforts are described. The past failings of patient management problems are well described, as are the difficulties in assessing and scoring student performance on tests of clinical reasoning. Discussions of computer-assisted reasoning are somewhat sketchy; this is an important deficiency, because computer assistance is needed to solve clinical problems with a high rate of accuracy. The role of quantitative methods, such as sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and likelihood ratios, in clinical reasoning is not discussed. Stricter editing and shorter length would have been improvements. Despite the abundance of redundant and irrelevant information in some chapters, this is an excellent book on a difficult subject that is critically important to the education and clinical efforts of all health care workers. At least half of the chapters are well worth reading at least once. The book is a useful introduction to clinical reasoning, its uses, methods of teaching it, and future research about it.


In this work, we have used an optical microring-based resonator, and developed a Multiphysics finite element model of this resonator for ultrasensitive biomolecule and nanoparticle detection. We applied an input tunable laser light at the input node of the straight form waveguide at a wavelength of 1.55 μm and monitored the transmitted light at the output node. During this process, we recorded the transmission spectrum and located the exact position of the resonance wavelengths shifted towards higher wavelength value (red shift). A linear correlation was observed, between increasing the radius of the microring and the resonance wavelength red shift. Additionally, we have shown that we could detect resonance value shifts for very small changes in the microring radius, as low as 10 nm.


TiO2 nanopowders doped with La3+ or Ce4+ can be prepared by sol-gel method using tetrabutyl titanate as precursor to inspect the annealing temperature on the crystal structure of TiO2.The photocatalytic degradation experiments are done for TiO2 photocatalytic activity on the different burning temperature,calcined time,and La3+ or Ce4+doped concentration.The results show that,TiO2 powder at 400 ℃ is anatase with a high-activity;the doped TiO2 samples show higher photocatalytic activity than the undoped ones in short time;and the best moore score of La3+doping concentration is 0.05,Ce4+ doping concentration is 0.20,and the best calcined temperature is 400 ℃,calcined time is 9 h.The former shows higher photocatalytic activity at low doping concentration while the latter achieves complete degradation at relative high concentration.


We present a novel, to the best of our knowledge, extended-cavity diode laser based on a modified Littrow configuration. The coarse wavelength adjustment via the rotation of a diffraction grating is decoupled from the fine tuning of the external cavity modes by positioning a piezo transducer behind the diode laser, making the laser robust against misalignment and hysteresis even with long external cavities. Two laser prototypes with external cavities of different lengths were tested with a 780 nm laser diode, and locked to an atomic reference. We observed a mode-hop-free frequency tunability broader than the free spectral range of the external cavity upon changes in its length. The design is well suited to atomic and molecular experiments demanding a high level of stability over time.


The chemoselective hydrosilylation of olefins and ketones catalyzed by Fe and Co complexes bearing an iminobipyridine derivative ligand was investigated. The reaction of a 1 : 1 mixture of styrene and acetophenone over the Fe catalyst achieved selective hydrosilylation of acetophenone. In contrast, the corresponding Co complex showed the opposite selectivity‐styrene‐selective hydrosilylation. The reaction of 3‐acetylstyrene with both olefin and ketone moieties in the molecule showed that the Co complex catalyzed olefin‐selective hydrosilylation. In contrast, the addition of pyridine to the Co‐catalyzed system showed the opposite chemoselectivity, affording the ketone hydrosilylated product. The chemoselectivity of olefin/ketone hydrosilylation was switched by replacing the central metal of the complex with the iminobipyridine derivative ligand and by changing the simple reaction conditions (absence or presence of pyridine) using an identical Co complex.


This article describes a method for preparation of low concentration gas standard mixtures of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) emitted primarily by plants. A set of 10 plant volatiles including α-pinene, β-pinene, 3-carene, linalool, methyl salicylate, α-cedrene, β-caryophyllene, β-farnesene, aromadendrene and α-humulene was used in the study. Gas standard mixture of these compounds was generated using a capillary diffusion system (CDS). Diffusion coefficient (D) and saturation vapour pressure (p s) data of these compounds were calculated from experimentally determined gas chromatographic retention indices (RI) and empirical relationships between D and p s versus RI. A comparison of the calculated and measured concentrations of investigated compounds has proved that designed CDS can be successfully used for the proper quantification of BVOCs.


Objective: To understand the role of urotensin Ⅱ ( U Ⅱ ) and proadrenomedullin N-terminal 20 peptide ( PAMP) , a fragment of proadrenomedullin ( proADM ) possessing biological activity, in the pathophysiological process of congestive heart failure (CHF) by observing the variation of their plasma levels and exploring their interrelations. Methods: Plasma U Ⅱ and PAMP levels were measured by radioimmunoassay in 52 patients with CHF and 14 healthy subjects. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and the ratio of E/A were determined by echocardiography. Results: The plasma U Ⅱ level was significantly lower in patients with CHF than the healthy subjects (1.5±1.0 pg/ml vs 4. 3±1.2 pg/ml, P 0.05), while plasma PAMP level was significantly higher in the former group (30. 6±5. 8 pg/ml vs 21.0±6.6 pg/ml P 0. 05 ). The levels of U Ⅱ and PAMP were parallel with the severity of CHF, and significant correlation of plasma levels of U Ⅱ with LVEF (r=0.530, P=0.000) and the ratio of E/A (r=0.618, P = 0. 000) was noted. LVEF and ratio of E/A were found to be inversely correlated with plasma PAMP levels in the patients ( r = - 0. 568, P = 0. 000; r = - 0. 350, P ?0. 004 ) . Also found was the significant correlation between plasma U Ⅱ and PAMP levels (r= -0.528, P = 0. 000) . The treatment of the patients resulted in increased plasma U Ⅱ levels and lowered PAMP levels. Conclusion: The variations of plasma levels of U Ⅱ and PAMP are parallel with the severity of CHF, suggesting their cooperative actions in the pathophysiology of CHF.


This study explored factors influencing the intention of buying a car among Vietnamese consumers. This quantitative study administered questionnaire surveys to 242 respondents in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The linear regression analysis revealed five factors influencing the car purchasing intention: brand, perceived quality, technology, the performance of the car and customers' purchasing capacity (i.e. value and income). As the strongest contribution to the car purchasing intention, the car brand contributed the most to customers' decision-making process. Surprisingly, consumers considered safety and security very minimally when deciding to purchase their cars. Concerns and potential benefits of the results were discussed from the perspective of consumers, manufacturers, and policymakers.


The authors have presented the results of research on the efficiency of using gas-consuming heating boiler plants in deep heat recovery technologies with deep cooling of their waste gases of water-heating heat recovery equipment of various types. When carrying out the research, the traditionally used equipment was considered, the heat exchange surfaces of which consisted of bundles of smooth and cross-cut pipes of two types. In one of these types, bimetallic pipes (with a steel base and aluminium fins) were used, in the other flat-oval pipes with plate-shaped rectangular finning. As the surface material for these flat-oval pipes and smooth-tube bundles, alloy steel was used. The authors suggest using polymer micro- and nanocomposites as a material for the heat exchange surface for water heat recovery. In this case, these surfaces should be composed of bundles of smooth tubes. During the research for different operating modes of boiler plants during the heating period, such basic relative characteristics of these surfaces were determined, such as thermal permeability per unit mass of this surface and its volume per unit of heat capacity. A comparative analysis of these characteristics is made when using traditional heat exchange surfaces and surfaces made of polymeric micro- and nanocomposites with different heat conductivity coefficients for water heat recovery heaters. The value of the working temperatures of the heat transfer surface from micro- and nanocomposites is determined by its polymer matrix, and by the thermal conductivity the necessary composition of polymer fillers, which can be aluminium microparticles or carbon nanotubes. Thus, we have shown that in order to heat boiler plants, the hot-water heat recovery equipment of these nanocomposite materials by specific heat output has significant advantages over traditional analogues of this purpose.


This paper characterizes the relation between a conjugacy equation '�f = g�' and a permutable functional equation ��f = f �� where f : X ! X, g : Y ! Y are given self-maps, and ';� are unknown maps. When f and g are Mobius transformations, we prove that there exists a bijective meromorphic solution of a conjugacy equation if and only if f and g have the same normal form. Moreover, every bijective meromorphic solution is expressed by a permutable meromorphic function with their normal form.


The paper deals with monitoring of operational parameters of heat production in biomass combustion boilers. There is presented software for on-line combustion process monitoring with other possibilities: creation of analyses, reports and statistical evaluations of monitored parameters.


Objective To investigate feasibility on the treatment of acute gangrenous cholecystitis in elderly by laparoscopy cholecystectomy and its advantage. Methods Sixty-two elderly patients with acute gangrenous cholecystitis in two hospitals were randomly divided into two groups,laparoscopic group( n = 31),laparotomy group( n = 31). The situations of two groups were compared. Results 30 cases of 31 laparoscopic group patients successfully completed laparoscopic subtotal gastrectomy,1 case converted to laparotomy resection. Operative time,intraoperative blood loss,drainage tube removed time,hospital stay in laparoscopic group were significantly lower than those in laparotomy group( P 0. 05). The number of total complications in laparoscopic group was significantly lower than that in laparotomy group( P 0. 05). Conclusions The treatment of acute gangrenous cholecystitis by laparoscopy cholecystectomy has the characteristics of small surgical trauma,good wound recovery,and less pain after surgery. It is a safe and effective method.


The problem of providing the of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic population with drinking water, taking into account severe climatic conditions, is extremely urgent. The uneven distribution of the population over the republic vast territory dictates special requirements for the water supply organization. One of the solutions may be the partial involvement of sub-permafrost waters in the local systems of drinking water supply for the population of Central Yakutia. They contain increased concentrations of lithium, fluorine and sodium and can be used for drinking water supply only after preliminary water treatment, despite the significant reserves of subpermafrost waters and their undoubted advantages. The choice complexity of the water treatment technological scheme is due to the lack of approved methods for purifying drinking water from lithium. The authors carried out an experimental-industrial approbation of the ion-exchange method for removing lithium from the subpermafrost waters of the Yakutsk artesian basin. On the basis of the results obtained, a comprehensive scheme for the purification of Central Yakutia subpermafrost waters for drinking water supply was developed, which provided for a decrease in the concentrations of lithium, fluorine and sodium to standard requirements.


Objective Our study aimed to compare the mortality risk among patients admitted to internal medicine departments during official consecutive holidays (using Chinese New Year holidays as an indicator) with that of weekend and weekday admissions. Design Nationwide population-based cohort study. Setting Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. Patients Patients admitted to internal medicine departments in acute care hospitals during January and February each year between 2001 and 2013 were identified. Admissions were categorised as: Chinese New Year holiday (n=10 779), weekend (n=35 870) or weekday admissions (n=143 529). Outcome measures ORs for in-hospital mortality and 30-day mortality were calculated using multivariate logistic regression with adjustment for confounders. Results Both in-hospital and 30-day mortality were significantly higher for patients admitted during the Chinese New Year holidays and on weekends compared with those admitted on weekdays. Chinese New Year holiday admissions had a 38% and 40% increased risk of in-hospital (OR=1.38, 95% CI 1.27 to 1.50, p<0.001) and 30-day (OR=1.40, 95% CI 1.31 to 1.50, p<0.001) mortality, respectively, compared with weekday admissions. Weekend admissions had a 17% and 19% increased risk of in-hospital (OR=1.17, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.23, p<0.001) and 30-day (OR=1.19, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.24, p<0.001) mortality, respectively, compared with weekday admissions. Analyses stratified by principal diagnosis revealed that the increase in in-hospital mortality risk was highest for patients admitted on Chinese New Year holidays with a diagnosis of ischaemic heart disease (OR=3.43, 95% CI 2.46 to 4.80, p<0.001). Conclusions The mortality risk was highest for patients admitted during Chinese New Year holidays, followed by weekend admissions, and then weekday admissions. Further studies are necessary to identify the underlying causes and develop strategies to improve outcomes for patients admitted during official consecutive holidays.


The phacoemulsification method used in cataract surgery is considered. In general, it can be realized by two different techniques. The most widespread technique is based on the use of instruments combining both the function of aspiration of crystalline lens fragments and the function of irrigation of substituting fluid in the same coaxial tip. The bimanual phacoemulsification is an alternative technique, which means carrying out of aspiration and irrigation by two divided tips. Advantages of the bimanual technique are revealed by hydrodynamic analysis on base of simplified mathematical modeling of flows arising in the eye anterior chamber during surgical operation. The data of this analysis compared with according data of coaxial technique allows getting convincing proofs of preferences of the bimanual technique because it decreases adverse hydrodynamic effect on the eye tissue, reduces consumption of replacing fluid and operation time. All these items make immediate positive influence on the quality of surgery.Copyright © 2008 by ASME


An approach to obtain the optimal controller From an optimal criterion is presented. The controller is very general in the sense that it is multivariable, it compensates Tor process delay and it allows a penalty on the input variable variance. The controller can be obtained in two forms: the state-space model form with the steady-state Kalman filter that separates the control algorithm in distinctive steps to provide an insight into the control problem, while the transfer function form is very convenient for implementation.


* A.R. and M.L. have contributed equally.
 INTRODUCTION: Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a clonal disease that arises from the expansion of mutated hematopoietic stem cells. Oxidative stress could play an important role in the pathology of MDS since a correlation has been observed between high ROS levels and decreased survival in MDS patients. In addition, the oxidation of proteins leads to their aggregation, change and conformational changes that can cause the loss of their functions. Due to alteration of the proteome has been described in patients with MDS, in this study we considered the discovery of protein carbonylation to analyze its oxidation pattern. In addition, as the oxidative stress signaling pathways can regulate the cell cycle through p53, we analyzed p21, an important p53 target during the stress response. Finally, the possible benefit of treatment with Deferasirox as antioxidant therapy was studied.
 METHODS: Carbonylation pattern was analyzed in the different cell lines (n = 14, 6 MDS, 4 reactive controls and 4 MDS + DFX) by immunohistochemistry by derivatization with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) and detection with anti-DNP antibodies. The degree of protein carbonylation was studied, also by derivatization and detection with anti-DNP, in primary cells of erythroblasts expanded for 11 days, by one-dimensional and two-dimensional electrophoresis (n = 16; 7 MDS, 6 controls, 2 reactive controls and 1 MDS + DFX). Expression levels of p21 were analyzed by qRT-PCR (n=19; 8C, 8 MDS, 3DFX).
 RESULTS: Immunohistochemical assays revealed a higher level of carbonylation in patients with MDS (Fig. 1a). Interestingly, Deferasirox-treated MDS patients had lower levels than non-treated patients (Fig. 1b). In addition, to evaluate the carbonylation in the erythroid precursors, the pattern of carbonylated proteins in the expanded erythroblasts was analyzed. Again, a higher level of MDS was observed compared to the control group, which was reversed after treatment with Deferasirox. Two-dimensional electrophoresis revealed that differences in carbonylation are due to a limited number of proteins or aggregates, rather than to a large spectrum of proteins. Finally, an increased p21 expression was observed in patients with myelodysplasia and, surprisingly, this effect was reversed with Deferasirox treatment.
 CONCLUSION: Patients with MDS showed a differential protein pattern respect to control patients, both in the myeloid and erythroid series. The increase in oxidative stress in myelodysplastic patients seems to activate signaling pathways involving p21. Treatment with Deferasirox can reverse the level of oxidation and the increase of p21 in patients with MDS.

 Martinez Lopez: Celgene: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Jansen: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; BMS: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Research Funding, Speakers Bureau.


Abstract Usability and user experience are an important factor in the overall value of products and services offered by law libraries. User experience evaluation tools can help librarians make better decisions for their users when choosing databases to purchase or subscribe to, designing a library website, or selecting and implementing discovery layers. This article describes an array of evaluation tools and discusses how and when they can be implemented in the law library context.


Combination of the education of Ideological and Political theory and social practice is a basic principle to strengthen and improve the ideological and political education of college students.This paper has mainly discussed the problems between ideological and political theory course and practical education to college students,one is the effect of the ideological and political theory course for the practical education of college students,and the other is that social practice is the fundamental approach for contemporary collgeg students to come to society.It shows that the ideological and political theory course in colleges and universiyies must strengthen and improv the practical education to college students,and make if more useful in the practical education to them.


We revisit the concept of a totally regular variable of functions in one quaternionic variable and its application to Lagrange interpolation. We consider left‐regular functions in the kernel of a modified Cauchy–Fueter operator. For every imaginary unit p, let ℂp be the complex plane generated by 1 and p and let Jp be the corresponding complex structure on ℍ. We identify totally regular variables with real‐affine holomorphic functions from (ℍ, Jp) to (ℂp, Lp), where Lp is the complex structure defined by left multiplication by p. We show that every Jp‐biholomorphic map gives rise to a family of Lagrange interpolation formulas for any set of N distinct points in ℍ. In the case of quaternionic regular polynomials of degree at most N, there exists a unique regular interpolating polynomial that minimizes the Dirichlet energy on a domain containing the points. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The invention provides a physiological signal recording system and a physiological signal recording instrument thereof, and relates to the technical field of medical electronic equipment. The physiological signal recording instrument comprises a body of wearable equipment and an electroencephalogram collecting end; the body is at least used for receiving and transmitting an electroencephalogram; the electroencephalogram collecting end is used for collecting the electroencephalogram, and sending the electroencephalogram to the body through wireless communication; the body sends the electroencephalogram to an upper computer through the wireless communication. According to the physiological signal recording system and the physiological signal recording instrument thereof, the technological problem that an existing electroencephalogram collecting device cannot collect the electroencephalogram generated in an actual life of a user, and thus a technological effect of collecting the electroencephalogram generated in the actual life of the user is achieved.


Hand detection and localization is one of the challenging problems in image processing. It is the major first step in many computer vision applications like hand gesture recognition system that often requires as input the location of the hands. It is followed by two other stages; tracking and recognition. The accuracy of the later two stages strongly depends on the quality of the first one. There are many challenges in hand gesture segmentation such as changing illumination, shadows, and complex backgrounds. Even though there are several approaches for detection of moving hand area, most of the existing algorithms produce false positives. This paper proposes a robust hand gesture segmentation method that is based on adaptive background subtraction with skin color based threshold. The proposed method aims to automatically segment the hand gesture from a given video under different illumination conditions and complex backgrounds. Experimental results show that the proposed method is accurate, robust, reliable, and significantly reduces false positives. Besides that, this method provides high detection rate compared to other commonly used method for hand gesture segmentation.


Abstract : The fallout field produced by the employment of a tactical nuclear weapon (TNW) can vary significantly in activity over distances of the order of tens of meters. Since typical towns have diameters on the order of hundreds of meters, the effects of such fallout can also vary significantly over the area of the town. In this study a methodology was developed to investigate fallout effects upon a representative West German town. Basement, first and second story and outdoor detectors were considered. Included in the investigation are the effects of local decontamination procedures. It is demonstrated that assumptions of a uniform fallout field cannot, in general, be applied to the situation of tactical nuclear warfare. Not only are the 50-hour exposure doses a function of position in town, but the protection factors, for the four different detector locations in an around a home, also vary with position in town-particularly for towns on the fringes of the fallout pattern. Although the methodology developed is applicable to the general TNW fallout situation, the numerical results presented, herein, are for a single town model located in three positions in and around the fallout field from a single weapon-wind scenario. Hence, care should be exercised in drawing general conclusions about the magnitude of the exposure dose distributions and town protection factors. Such general conclusions, however, could be drawn if future sensitivity analyses are performed.


Generalized neurofibromatosis, as a special class of multiple neuromas, was first described by von Recklinghausen in 1882. It has since been called "von Recklinghausen's disease." Pathologically, it is a type of fibroma, apparently taking origin from the connective tissue of the nerve strands. Nerve trunks, roots or individual peripheral nerve fibers may be involved; and different fibers of the same nerve, as well as derivatives of many different trunks in a given area, may exhibit lesions. The swellings may be near the skin surface, in the case of the peripheral nerves, or deeply buried in the tissues, and at any distance from the point of origin of the trunks. In shape they are often short and bulbous, or long, tapering and pyriform. Projecting above the plane of the skin surface, they appear as small, flattened, sessile tumors; long flattened pendulous taperings, or knobby, warty, gnarled formations. "Neuroma racemosum plexiforme," or


Financial project is 20 century the later stage in 80 decade in western developed countries development get up a burgeoning subject, it' s produce and develop, is financial and environmental, the result of economic main internal management, the extensive application of new technology and financial theory that develops together organic role. The application of financial project manages cost and raising for reduction, is economic and financial to run efficiency to play the part of is important to take affect, have at the same time also produced some negative influences for economic financial operation. The financial market of our country is a, is rear to send market, should restrain its negative influence fully using the role of actively effective it on transfer develops financial project, serve our country economic financial development.