A wide range of highly correlated ab initio methods has been used to predict the geometrical parameters of the linear (XΠ2) and H-bridged (XA12 and AB12) Ga2H isomers and two isomerization transition states (XA′2 and AA″2) connecting the three minima. Dipole moments and vibrational frequencies are also obtained. The global minimum XA12 ground state of the H-bridged GaHGa isomer is predicted to lie only 1.6 [1.9 with the zero-point vibrational energy (ZPVE) corrections] kcalmol−1 below the AB12 state. The XA12 state lies 5.4kcalmol−1 below the XΠ2 ground state of the linear GaGaH isomer at the coupled-cluster with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations [CCSD(T)] level of theory with the augmented correlation-consistent polarized valence quadruple-zeta (aug-cc-pVQZ) basis set. The full triples coupled-cluster method is found to alter these CCSD(T) predictions by as much as 0.3kcalmol−1. The forward isomerization barriers from the linear ground state to the XA′2 and AA″2 transition st...


We report the preparation of highly grain-aligned and densified [Ca2CoO3-δ]0.62CoO2 bulks and their high thermoelectric performance. The highly c-axis aligned (F=0.94) and densified samples with low resistivity at room temperature (∼5 mΩ·cm) were obtained by the combination of magnetic alignment and spark-plasma-sintering (SPS) methods. Resistivity ρ and Seebeck coefficient S along the ab plane were systematically changed with oxygen content and, consequently, a power factor (=S2/ρ) was enhanced up to 3.5×10-6 W·cm-1·K-2 at 300 K for the sample annealed at 500°C in air.


The chapter deal with the fertilization practices in organic farming and how this affect the requirements for optimized crop genotypes for organic farming. Organic farming does not just lead to generally lower nutrient input, also nutrient sources and timing of nutrient availability is different from conventional farming, leading to different conditions for crop growth. This affects the optimal plant characteristics to breed for, and the way breeding should be performed.


This paper presents the thermogravimetric analysis of four (European) human hair samples under non-isothermal and isothermal conditions, in air. The thermal stability of these samples was evaluated using the following criteria: Tonset the initial temperature at which the thermal degradation starts and apparent activation energy for this stage. The European hair type was determined to have more thermal stability. Therefore, if Tonset the temperature at which their thermal decomposition starts was compared with that obtained by other researchers in similar conditions for three types of human hair (Caucasian, Oriental and African), values 30 up to 70C higher would be established. Thermal resistance tests run in isothermal conditions (230C, for 1 minute) established that only the P1 sample (dyed coarse hair) showed percent mass loss bellow 1%. For this sample, the thermogravimetric data, as well as the kinetic data confirmed a better thermal stability.


1. Adorno, Poststructuralism and the Critique of Identity Peter Dews 2. Adorno and the Metaphysics of Modernism: the Problem of a 'Post-Modern' Art Peter Osborne 3. Art against Enlightenment: Adorno's Critique of Habermas Jay Bernstein 4. Music, Language and Modernity Andrew Bowie 5. Feminism and Postmodernism Joanna Hodge 6.Benjamin's Fl neur and the Problem of Realism John Rignall 7. Tradition and Experience: Walter Benjamin's On Some Motifs in Baudelaire Andrew Benjamin 8. The Invisible Fl neuse: Women and the Literature of Modernity Janet Wolff 9. On Some Jewish Motifs in Benjamin Irving Wohlfarth.


The steps of process design, details and main points of NC machining are introduced. The method of NC machining process design is presented.


Although there has been much discussion in recent years about the ethical and societal implications of reproductive technologies, there has been surprisingly little explicit consideration in the policy context of the fact that women, as child bearers, will bear the impact of any policies seeking to regulate those technologies. This article considers the state of policy affairs in the United States regarding reproductive technologies from the perspective of women as rights bearers—autonomous individuals entitled to access to the health services of their choosing, and as objects of paternalism—on whose behalf claims of concern for safety and nonmaleficence have been registered. The practical effect of such measures on women's autonomy, health, and safety, and on perceptions of women's decision-making capacity, is considered.


This paper introduces knowledge management and computer aided visualisation as a key in establishing both valuation and value creation capabilities in the enterprise where dissemination of knowledge and effective sharing of information through collaboration spur creativity and stimulate business practices. The paper draws an original approach for the design and development of a universal information/knowledge visualisation tool and outlines the mechanics that enable the working prototype that focuses on CAD.


High-speed industrial textile digital ink-jet printer in industrial field has high rate of the real-time data communication to achieve rapid product batch production.USB2.0 interface based on transmission speed limit in the theory and practice of the highest transmission speed stability are discussed,Also introduced USB2.0 influence factors to improve the transmission speed and design methods of improving.and based on the design of a high-speed industrial textiles USB2.0 digital ink-jet printing high speed data transmission system.This system has been successfully applied to large industrial textiles printing and digital project and has good performance and reference value.


During the photoemission process the parallel component of the photoelectron momentum is conserved across the modulation plane of the wavefunction, which is the so-called reference plane. The identification of this plane is straightforward for low Miller-index surfaces, but questionable for surfaces of lower symmetry. In this work, the authors show experimentally the coexistence of two different reference planes for surface and bulklike quantum-well states of thin nanostructured films grown on a regularly stepped substrate.


Abstract: Thin polymer layer–surface conjugates are appropriate materials for the study of surface/interface physico-chemical properties and of their interactions with the environment. They allow control over the performance of the entire system. It is in relation to these factors that the chapter presents recent advances in surface-attached polymer layers. The thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of polymer physical and chemical sorption are discussed first. The second part summarises the preparatory methods for polymer-grafted surfaces with an emphasis on controlled processes which are capable of producing well-defined polymer–surface objects. Finally, the unique properties of polymer brushes, when compared to bulk characteristics or to physically adsorbed layers, are highlighted in connection with specific applications.


Background/Aim: The biological importance of the caudal-related homeobox transcription factor CDX2 in acquiring resistance to anticancer drugs has been studied in ovarian mucinous carcinoma. CDX2 promotes the expression of multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1) and confers resistance to paclitaxel. The regenerating islet-derived family member 4 (REG4) gene is a potential target gene of CDX2. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the expression of CDX2 and Reg IV and the regulation of Reg IV expression and examined novel chemotherapeutic regimens. Materials and Methods: The regulation of Reg IV expression by CDX2 and sensitivity of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) were evaluated using ovarian mucinous cancer cell lines. Results: The correlation of CDX2 with Reg IV expression was demonstrated in ovarian mucinous carcinoma. Reg IV expression was enhanced by transfection of CDX2 and was suppressed by inhibition of CDX2 expression. OMC-3 cells with ectopically overexpressed CDX2 showed enhanced apoptosis and sensitivity to 5-FU. Conclusion: CDX2 promotes resistance to paclitaxel and sensitivity to 5-FU. Novel 5-FU-based chemotherapy based on CDX2 may be used in ovarian mucinous carcinoma.


Topography and composition of the surface of nickel-based alloys under irradiation with Ar2500+ cluster ions with the energy of 20 keV, and atomic Ar+ ions with the energy of 3 keV have been studied. It has been experimentally found that the surface of the alloys is depleted by a component with a lower binding energy. It is shown that the change in the surface concentrations of the alloy components upon irradiation with cluster ions is an order of magnitude greater than upon sputtering with atomic ions. The degree of change in the surface composition is determined by the ratio of the sputtering yields of the alloy components. Keywords: gas cluster ions, ion sputtering, XPS, preferential sputtering, surface topography.


Florida is a tropical paradise that attracts marine enthusiasts and seafood lovers from around the world. Its extensive waterways not only offer unique areas for us to explore but also provide essential habitat for marine life, including marine bacteria that keep the habitat in healthy balance by breaking down organic matter and providing food for larger organisms. One type of marine bacteria known as Vibrio sometimes causes infections and seafood sickness in people with weakened immune systems, but Vibrio should not keep Floridians and visitors from enjoying their favorite activities because Vibrio infections are rare and easy to prevent. This 7-page fact sheet will help you ensure that your time on the water is as safe and enjoyable as possible. Written by Gabby Barbarite, Peter J. McCarthy, Holly Abeels, and Anita Wrightwill, and published by the Florida Sea Grant College Program, November 2015.
SGEF-228/SG140: Frequently Asked Questions about Vibrio in Florida (ufl.edu)


The structures of several variants of staphylococcal nuclease with long flexible unnatural amino acid side chains in the hydrophobic core have been determined by X‐ray crystallography. The unnatural amino acids are disulfide moieties between the lone cysteine residue in V23C nuclease and methane, ethane, 1‐n‐propane, 1‐n‐butane, 1‐n‐pentane, and 2‐hydroxyethyl thiols. We have examined changes in the core packing of these mutants. Side chains as large as the 1‐n‐propyl cysteine disulfide can be incorporated without perturbation of the structure. This is due, in part, to cavities present in the wild‐type protein. The longest side chains are not well defined, even though they remain buried within the protein interior. These results suggest that the enthalpy‐entropy balance that governs the rigidity of protein interiors favors tight packing only weakly. Additionally, the tight packing observed normally in protein interiors may reflect, in part, the limited numbers of rotamers available to the natural amino acids.


One of the difficulties in the correlation-based stereo matching is the selection of window size, since there are two competing factors - perspective distortion and stereo matching error. This paper suggests a tool to tune the correlation window size in a given image domain by using photo-realistic simulation methodology. To facilitate the analysis proposed in this paper, we use photo-realistic simulation methodology to generate a pair of photo-realistic synthetic images of the terrain from a pre-acquired DEM(Digital Elevation Map) and ortho-image, which can be served as the pseudo ground truth. We performed 3D reconstruction on synthetic images of a natural terrain and carried out the evaluation of the correlation window on DEM accuracy. Experimental results are consistent with our strong expectation about two competing factors and show that our approach can be a useful tool to tune the window size.


The present study dealt with the extent to which creativity may be identified in 71 first graders and raised the question of whether and how creativity is related to anxiety and repression at this young age. Furthermore, intelligence was studied in relation to anxiety and repression. A significant correlation of 0.62 was obtained between creativity and decrease in repression. The various subtests and the four dimensions of creativity were separately analyzed in relation to anxiety and repression, and the results were discussed. No relation was found between intelligence and the dynamic variables of anxiety and repression.


Spain and Morocco. Cooperative practices stem from "consultation, reciprocity and self-restraint" (p. 55). The third chapter puts emphasis on crisis management and de-territorialized threats to show how Morocco "learnt to speak" (p. 90) in a different way that favours cooperative security practices. The fourth chapter focuses on the EU's civil protection approach by way of displaying common practices such as "protecting people, property and the environment in the face of natural and man-made disasters" (p. 128). While each of these chapters provides an in-depth analysis of learning and acting together in a technical and practical manner, Bremberg rarely relates these analyses to his conception of power. In this sense, highlighting practical, technical ways-of-doing things in relation to security community-building may help the reader to understand that a practice-oriented power analysis comes to the picture in an implicit rather than explicit way. In other words, the self-evident nature of doing/practising security through learning and acting together may not help readers conceive of how practiceoriented power results from cooperative security practices. Overall, Bremberg draws attention to power of learning, doing, and acting together through cooperative security practices and makes a particular form of security community-building peculiar to the EU's southern neighbourhood. However, while his argument pays attention to a change at the EU's southern neighbourhood, it may not be applicable to the current irregular mobility of migrants in the Mediterranean since his argument is state-centric and is based on the fixity of populations within borders. Thus, whereas Bremberg convincingly highlights the continuing importance of the security community concept in understanding how a nonmember state, Morocco, was socialized into the EU's diplomatic standards through security-community building in different policy fields, his framework may have difficulty in examining how the EU denies access to the majority of Syrian irregular migrants. Additionally, the existing parameters of cooperation, security practices and diplomatic relations in the Mediterranean could be challenged by the irregular mobility of migrants in the near future. Second, Bremberg criticizes discursive approaches to security due to their lack of attention to daily and routine practices of security. Nevertheless, he assumes that the discursive and the world of practices are distinct realms. Actually, by drawing on his very argument on the importance of technical, practical ways-of-doing in relation to security and security community-building, it could be possible to show how competing policy fields try to monopolize the definition of what cooperative security is and what it does in practice at the EU's southern neighbourhood. In turn, this sort of analysis could help answer the question of for whom the EU actually promotes security community-building in the first place. For instance, it is possible to discuss the different discursive materialization of the military field in relation to EU civil protection, or the CSDP. Bremberg's book is an original contribution both to the thriving literature on the practice turn in International Relations and security studies in general and the debates surrounding the security community concept. In particular, the book provides an important discussion on how security community-building could flourish through cooperative security practices among practitioners. The book is of interest to a broad spectrum of readers, ranging from policy-makers to academics in the fields of IR, security studies, and European politics and security. Uluç Karakaş Bilkent University firstname.lastname@example.com © 2016, Uluç Karakaş http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23340460.2016.1199211


Magnetic resonance technique may successfully be applied to determine some basic parameters such as g-factor, magnetization Ms or anisotropy energy constant Ku in thin magnetic frlms. These parameters are obtained from a ferromagnetic resonance experiment when uniform precession of M$stakes place. From spin-wave resonance one may extract very valuable information on the exchange constant A or the surface conditions characterized by the surface anisotropy energy (or pinning parameters p). In fact, it is only spin-wave resonance or similar techniques which allow for measurements of A, p or the coupling constant Kc between ferromagnetic sublayers in multilayered structure. The magnetic phase diagram, temperature dependence of the spin-waves stiffness constant, and the anisotropy energy constant may also be listed as 1ess common examples of spin-wave resonance technique application for the investigation of thin films. This paper presents a theoretical approach to typical examples of experimental results and their interpretation from spin-wave resonance measurements.


PURPOSE: A power saving circuit of a display panel is provided to form a display panel operated under lower power by improving the structure of a circuit. CONSTITUTION: The first and the second energy return portions(16,17) are used for returning energy directly from a scan electrode(1) and a data electrode(3). The first energy return portion(16) is connected between the first power switch(SW1) and a scan drive IC(10). The second energy return portion(17) is connected between the second power switch(SW2) and a data drive IC(11). One electrode of a storage capacitor of the first energy return portion(16) is connected with the output node of a scan common pulse generation portion(12).


This paper investigates an unmagnetized strongly coupled dusty plasma with Boltzmann distributed electrons, isononthermal distributed ions and negatively charged dust grains with variable charge. The modified Kadomstev-Petviashvili-Burgers equation is derived for this system, according to the general method of reductive perturbation theory. Solitonic and shock wave solutions are produced in this medium. Solutions stability and variation of amplitude and width of waves with respect to densities, temperatures and free temperature-trapped ion temperature ratio are also discussed.


At present hospitals store the physical fitness data in paper printed format and these formats are saved in archives in a very irregular manner. The present work aims at the application of cloud computing in a secure way to share and store the medical information. With the stored information concerned physician will be able to build better and deeper referral networks of online medical information transfer system. It results in increase of volume and opens more transferred platform for exchange and collaboration of medical information.


An electron gun with dual anodes has been designed for a Ku-band 140 W space TWT. The initial gun geometry based on the design parameters such as beam voltage (5.8 V), beam current (90 mA), waist radius (0.34 mA) and emission current density (1.0 A/cm/sup 2/) has been synthesized. The gun geometry is worked out with beam forming electrode (BFE) and anodes. The gun geometry has been optimized using Hermannsfeldt's gun simulation code E-GUN for the desired beam flow and beam current. A comparison between synthesis and simulated results for the electron gun has been analysed.


Each of the cyclohexenone rings in the title compound, C23H27NO6, adopts a half-chair (envelope) conformation with the C atom carrying the methyl groups lying out of the plane defined by the five remaining C atoms; the O atoms lie to the same side of the molecule as the respective >C(CH3)2 atoms. The hydroxy and carbonyl O atoms face each other and are orientated to allow for the formation of two intramolecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. In the crystal, the presence of C—H⋯O contacts leads to the formation of supramolecular chains along the b axis. These aggregate into layers that stack along c.


This short historical discussion looks at the motivation for working with offenders whilst in custody, at the same time making some reference to the parallel of working with offenders in the community. These points raise questions with regard to the role and purpose of prisons and punishment in Britain, not only historically but also in contemporary Britian.


Within the constraints imposed and design speed alignment criteria a number of alternative routes can usually be determined within a highway corridor. It is normal practice in a feasibility study to fully evaluate these alternatives in order to define the best route to carry forward to detailed design. If a large number of alternatives exist considerable time and expense may be expended in carrying out topographic and geotechnical surveys, and in traffic and cost modelling. This paper outlines a methodology for a systematic first stage assessment of alternative routes and defines the assessment criteria whereby a large number of alternatives can be quickly compared, from many aspects, and the least viable routes recognised and discarded from further study. A concentrated, but reduced, effort can then be made on fully evaluating the remaining limited number of alternative routes with a consequent reduction in the amount of necessary fieldwork. (Author/TRRL)


An analysis of the how and why international sports federations require changes to host nations laws and in particular their focus on requiring commercial protections over human rights protections


.................................................................................................................................... I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... III DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... V FOREWORD ................................................................................................................................ VI TABLE OF CONTENT ............................................................................................................. VIII LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... XVI LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. XVIII ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................... XXI CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................................... 1 OVERALL INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1 1.


A recent workshop sponsored by the National Research Council has made it clear that the key to further substantial progress in heavy element research is the expanded use of 276-day /sup 254/Es as target material. Einsteinium-254 has the greatest mass and charge of any nuclide that can be produced in the required multimicrogram quantities in the foreseeable future. Four major laboratories (Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)) active in transplutonium research have collaborated to propose a major new thrust in transplutonium research that will require an order of magnitude more /sup 254/Es than is normally available. This project, called LEAP (an acronym for Large Einsteinium Activation Program) has goals of determining the inorganic chemistry and nuclear chemistry and physics of the transeinsteinium elements through atomic number 109, plus a search for superheavy elements. LEAP is based on using approx.40-..mu..g of /sup 254/Es as a target for heavy-ion accelerators. The Tranuranium Processing Plant (TRU) of the Chemical Technology Division of ORNL has been given the task of determining the feasibility of producing a 40 ..mu..g sample of /sup 254/Es and, if later requested, of actually producing the sample. This task,more » which has been under way for several years, is directed toward three areas of investigation: (1) experimental determination of the neutron cross sections of certain transplutonium isotopes important to the production of /sup 254/Es; (2) selection of a /sup 254/Es production scheme; and (3) development of the necessary hardware, followed by an actual test irradiation. 12 refs., 9 figs., 2 tabs.« less


We present multi-wavelength observations of the northern population of ω Cen from the main-sequence turn-off to high on the red giant branch. We show that the best information about the metallic-ity and age of the stars can be gained from combining vby, B-I and V-I colors (in the absence of spectroscopy). We confirm our results for the main-sequence turn-off stars: there is at least a 3 Gyr age spread, which may be as large as 5-8 Gyr, as suggested by Hughes & Wallerstein (2000) and Hilker & Richtler (2000). We find that B-I colors can be affected by excessive CN-content (which can vary at a given value of [Fe/H]). We use proper motion studies to confirm cluster membership at and above the level of the horizontal branch, and we show that the age spread is maintained amongst stars from the subgiant branch through the red giants. We support previous findings that there is another red giant branch, redder (Pancino et al. 2000), and younger than the main giant branch (Hilker & Richtler 2000) but containing few stars. Even though the spatial distribution of the metal-rich stellar population is different from that of the metal-poor population (which could be achieved by capturing a smaller metal-rich star cluster, as suggested by Pancino et al. 2000), it is likely that ω Cen is the core of a captured dwarf galaxy.


In the trees studied, vegetative buds began development in early April, bud burst occurred in early June and shoot elongation was completed by late July. Vegetative buds initiated bud scales from mid-April until mid-July and then initiated leaf primordia until the vegetative buds became dormant in November. All axillary buds were initiated in mid-May and their bud scales were initiated until early July. During bud-scale initiation, distal vegetative lateral apices were more conical but had a mitotic frequency similar to other lateral apices. Near the end of bud-scale initiation, vegetative apices accumulated more phenolic and ergastic compounds in future pith cells than did potential seed-cone or pollen-cone apices. Bud differentiation occurred in mid-July at the end of lateral shoot elongation. During bud differentiation the mitotic frequency of pollen-cone and seed-cone apices increased much more than that of distal vegetative apices. This resulted in a marked increase in apical size and a change in api...


Along with the appearance of energy shortage and environmental pollution,the use of natural renewable resources to prepare polymer composites has drawn much attention.This article briefly reviewed the applications of four main biomass materials(starch,cellulose,lignin,protein) in rubber which were gain by domestic and foreign scholars.Suggestions for the future development of biomass materials in rubber were put forward.


The aim of the study was to develop a multiangle discrimination method which combines mineral elements with volatile compounds to identify the geographical origin of rice. The levels of twenty-four elements and characteristic volatile compositions of rice samples from different growing area (Panjin, Wuchang and Sheyang city of China) were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) and electronic nose (E-nose), respectively. The obtained data were subject to the analysis of variance (ANOVA), principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). The twenty elements including B, Mg, Al, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Zn, Ga, As, Sr, Cd, Sn, Sb, Ba, Pb, Bi and Tl and eleven sensors including LY2/LG,LY2/G, LY2/AA, LY2/GH, LY2/gCTL, LY2/gCT, P10/1, T30/ 1,T70/2, P10/2 and PA/2 were mainly contributed to discriminate the origin of the rice, and the average classification accuracy was 93.5%. Compared with one-dimensional discrimination method, the multiangle analytical method of combining mineral elements with volatile compounds significantly improved the discrimination accuracy of origin of rice.


In order to remove the noise of the photoelectric detection circuit and solve the noise problem when the photoelectric detection circuit detects the weak optical signal,this paper analyzes the inside and outside noise sources of the photoelectric detection circuit,designs a kind of photoelectric detection circuit with low noise,gives the noise model of the photoelectric detection circuit,derives the output signal-to-noise ratio formula of the photoelectric detection circuit,analyses and studies the factors which affect the output signal-to-noise ratio formula of the photoelectric detection circuit in detail,and suggests the method and the basis of selecting the relevant parameters of the components when the photoelectric detection circuit with low noise is designed,such as the photoelectric components,the electronic components,the pre-amplifier,and so on.This method has a very important directive function for designing the photoelectric detection circuit with low noise.


A bibliographical search through the major libraries of Italy has revealed a large and various collection of writings of logic published during the 19th century before the rise of Peano and his school (from the 1880son). A survey of current findings is provided.


Small talk–superficial, trivial communication–comprises up to one-third of adults' conversation and is a key component of employees' experience in the workplace. Despite its ubiquity, little is kno...


At present, most of the classic Discriminative Correlation Filter (DCF) use rectangle to track targets. Although this method of selecting targets by rectangle is convenient, the shortcomings are also particularly obvious. For example, DCF may mistake some background information as target. Moreover, the DCF simply uses the linear method to update the target template, which will introduce interference into the model. In order to solve the above problems, we propose a mask and multi-peaks re-prediction correlation filter algorithm. First, the segmentation algorithm is used to extract the edge information in the target region, and the target mask is made according to the edge information. In this way more accurate target information is obtained. Secondly, when the target is interfered, the filtered response graph will fluctuate drastically. We compare the similarity between the target of the first frame and the alternative region that made through multiple peaks to select the most accurate and effective target, and use this target to update the model. We evaluated the proposed algorithm on the OTB-2013 dataset and UAV123 dataset, experiments show that our algorithm can better deal with background interference and has better performance than other advanced algorithms.


Bacterial endosymbionts are common across insects, but we often lack a deeper knowledge of their prevalence across most organisms. Next-generation sequencing approaches can characterize bacterial diversity associated with a host and at the same time facilitate the fast and simultaneous screening of infectious bacteria. In this study, we used 16S rRNA tag encoded amplicon pyrosequencing to survey bacterial communities of 310 samples representing 221 individuals, 176 colonies and 95 species of ants. We found three distinct endosymbiont groups—Wolbachia (Alphaproteobacteria: Rickettsiales), Spiroplasma (Firmicutes: Entomoplasmatales), and relatives of Asaia (Alphaproteobacteria: Rhodospirillales)—at different infection frequencies (at the ant species level: 22.1%, 28.4%, and 14.7%, resp.) and relative abundances within bacterial communities (1.0%–99.9%). Spiroplasma was particularly enriched in the ant genus Polyrhachis, while Asaia relatives were most prevalent in arboreal ants of the genus Pseudomyrmex. While Wolbachia and Spiroplasma have been surveyed in ants before, Asaia, an acetic acid bacterium capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen, has received much less attention. Due to sporadic prevalence across all ant taxa investigated, we hypothesize facultative associations for all three bacterial genera. Infection patterns are discussed in relation to potential adaptation of specific bacteria in certain ant groups.


As cultural diplomacy is usually grounded in a
set of values that state or non-state actors are
expected to share, we opted for a preliminary
study of the cross perception of fundamental European
values as they are perceived on the Arab
side, with a limited scope and a selected theoretical
object that is the model of European political
models and especially the European liberal democracy
as perceived by the Arab intellectuals.


Abstract In many glass systems where the recrystallization processes of devitrification have been extensively studied, the crystalline phases produced have symmetries consistent with both pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties in the individual crystallite. Heretofore, however, except for the ferroelectric glass ceramic, where preferred orientation and the associated macroscopic piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties were induced by an electric poling of the ferroelectric domain texture after the recrystallization process, little attention appears to have been given to other possible techniques for inducing a proper orientation texture.


An assembly of a semiconductor die attached to a substrate is made with a composition comprising compounds that contain an oxazoline functionality and an electron acceptor or an electron donor functionality. Electron donor functionalities include styrenic, cinnamyl, and vinyl ether groups. Electron acceptor functionalities include maleimide, acrylate, fumarate, and maleate groups. An exemplary compound has the structure: formula (I).


Positron emission tomography (PET) images are typically reconstructed with an in-plane pixel size of ~4mm for cancer imaging. The objective of this work was to evaluate the use of smaller pixels for the task of detecting focal warm lesions in a noisy structured background. Experimental phantom data from the Utah PET Lesion Detection Database was used, modeling whole-body oncologic FDG PET imaging of a ~92kg patient. The data comprised 24 scans over 4 days on a Biograph mCT TOF PET/CT scanner, with up to 23 lesions (diam. 6-16mm) distributed throughout the thorax, abdomen, and pelvis each day. Images were reconstructed with 2.036mm and 4.073mm pixels using ordered-subsets expectation-maximization (OSEM) both with and without point spread function (PSF) modeling and time-of-flight (TOF). Detection performance was assessed using the channelized non-prewhitened (CNPW) numerical observer with localization receiver operating characteristic (LROC) analysis. The observer was first used to optimize the number of iterations and smoothing filter for each case. Tumor localization performance and the area under the LROC curve (ALROC) were then analyzed as functions of pixel size. In all cases, the images with ~2mm pixels (ALROC = 0.59[OSEM], 0.60[PSF], 0.65[TOF] and 0.66[PSF+TOF]) provided higher detection performance than those with ~4mm pixels (ALROC = 0.56, 0.57, 0.61 and 0.63, respectively). The degree of improvement from using ~2mm pixels was larger than that from PSF modeling for these data, and provided roughly half the benefit of using TOF. Notably, all three effects cumulatively improved performance, and PSF+TOF reconstruction with 2mm pixels offered the best performance. This study suggests that a significant improvement in lesion-detection performance for general oncologic PET imaging can be attained by using smaller pixel sizes than current typical practice. The primary drawback is a ~4× increase in reconstruction time and data storage requirements.


4D printing is an advanced technology that aims to endow the additively manufactured objects with time‐dependent transformations. Despite the great progress in the last decade, however, there are still some technical barriers for the majority of existing 4D printing techniques including the dependency on customized or expensive 3D printers and the demand of sophisticated chemistry in the preparation of active materials. Herein, an efficient and economical 4D printing approach that adopts multispeed fused deposition modeling (FDM) technique to embed graded built‐in strain into flat precursory pattern is proposed, allowing for prompt and talorable shapeshifting upon heat stimulus. Guided by the systematic optimization of FDM processing parameters, it is allowed to directly construct complex 3D structures from flat precursory patterns with flexibility and high fidelity, considerably reducing the built time and process complexity.


The article is devoted to the approach to the creation of a comprehensively competent of project-oriented organization. The standards for the assessment of the competence of organizations are analyzed. A hi-adaptive approach to the creation of an information system of a project-oriented organization is proposed. The approach to creation of complex competence is formulated.


The use of proteins associated with neurite outgrowth, synapse formation, and Schwann cell proliferation as surrogate measures for peripheral nerve regeneration is evaluated. Rat sciatic nerve regeneration across a 10-mm gap in silicone rubber conduits (SRCs), genipin-crosslinked gelatin conduits (GGCs), and porous GGCs (PGGCs) is observed. The axonal growth of regenerated nerves after 8 weeks is determined using light microscopy and computer-based quantitative image analysis. The expressions of axonal growth-associated protein 43 (GAP-43), synaptic protein synapsin I, and transforming growth factor type-β (TGF-β) in regenerated nerves are assessed using Western blot analysis. The nerve regenerates in the SRCs has a larger area and more myelinated axons compared to those in the PGGCs and the GGCs. The levels of GA P-43 and synapsin I, but not TGF-[l. are well correlated with axonal growth in the regenerated nerves. These data suggest that SRCs provide a more stable and suitable growth environment for regenerating axons than do PGGCs and GGCs. In addition, GAP-43 and synapsin I may be useful indicators of the status of regenerating axons in bridging conduits.


I looked for evidence of consistent variation in individual quality of breeding females in a population of Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia). Consistent differences in in- dividual quality were detected by looking for correlations in reproductive parameters between nesting attempts. Seven reproductive traits were examined for evidence of variation in in- dividual quality. In addition, I determined whether the degree of repeatability was affected by differences in conditions among years, by female age, or by success of previous nesting attempts. There were consistent differences among females in the date of initiation of nesting, clutch size, egg mass, and nutritional condition of offspring. The differences in egg mass between females may be heritable. There was evidence that repeatability of nestling condition is influenced by the success of previous nesting attempts. Although consistent differences were found in quality of female sparrows, there were no "superparents." Females that were


A lumped capacity heat transfer model has been developed and compared to measurements from a turbocharger operating on a 2.2L Diesel engine under steady and transient conditions ranging from 1000-3000rpm and 2-17bar BMEP. The model parameters have been estimated based on similar devices and this study quantifies the errors associated with this approach. Turbine outlet gas temperature prediction was improved with RMSE reduced from 29.5oC to 13oC. A sensitivity study showed the parameters of the heat transfer model influence gas temperatures by only ±4oC but housing temperatures by up to 80oC. Transient simulations showed how errors in the thermal capacitance also lead to errors. This study shows the importance of undertaking a full thermal characterisation and the need for accurate adiabatic maps in turbocharger simulations.


Pressure sensors are used in various industrial applications assisting in preventing unintended disasters. This paper presents the design and fabrication of a novel Seesaw device incorporating a diaphragm and Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensor to measure the pressure of liquids. The designed sensor has been tested in a static water column. The proposed design enables the user to easily make and modify the diaphragm based on the required pressure range without interfering with the FBG sensor. The developed pressure sensor produces improved accuracy and sensitivity to applied liquid pressure in both low and high-pressure ranges without requiring sophisticated sensor construction. A finite element analysis has been performed on the diaphragm and on the entire structure at 10 bar pressure. The deformation of the diaphragm is comparable to theoretical deformation levels. A copper diaphragm with a thickness of 0.25 mm is used in the experiments. All experiments are performed in the elastic region of the diaphragm. The sensor's sensitivity as 19.244 nm/MPa with the linearity of $99.64 \%$ is obtained based on the experiments. Also, the proposed sensor's performance is compared with recently reported pressure sensors.


The Co I I , Ni I I , Cu I I , Zn I I , Pd I I and Cd I I complexes of Schiff bases derived from 3-amino-2-mercapto-quinazolin-4-(3H)-one and 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde, 2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde and 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldlehyde have been prepared and characterised by physico-chemical data. All the three ligands behave as uninegative, bidentate towards Pd I I coordinating through phenolic oxygen and azomethine nitrogen and as uninegative, tridentate towards the other metal ions with additional coordination through thioketo sulphur. The geometry and the bonding characteristics associated with the complexes have been deduced from the electronic and ESR spectral data.


A star image fusion method based on coordinate transformation is presented for a multi-FOV star sensor. By using coordinate transformation, simulated star images are generated and images from different FOVs are fused in the same coordinate system. Star image fusion is combined with triangle algorithm which is widely applied, and the star recognition method is improved for multi-FOV star sensor. The result of simulation shows that the recognition accuracy rate is higher than 95%, which satisfies the requirement of the actual application. The performance of multi-FOV star sensor is superior to that of single-FOV star sensor obviously.


This paper presents to create a centralized alumni network for betterment of institutions and upcoming student's community. The System is able to collect and store alumni information for future communication. Former students of institution can communicate with their immediate friends as well as forthcoming students and various members involved in the institution community. Apart from the alumni, the institutions/organization also benefitted when sustains this network. This single system can satisfy almost every requirement of the alumni. Usually, alumni associations are organized in colleges, but may also be organized in a place where the alumni can meet each other. Despite the fact that there are many existing systems in colleges to maintain the alumni information, they are manual and more time consuming to current students to reach out their alumni and maintaining the privacy of the alumni. To overcome these issues, we proposed a web based application which allows alumni to update their information and students can connect with them and can view the filtered events posted by alumni and admin through Support Vector Machine algorithm (SVM). Proposed method, SVM algorithm used to classify the alumni members and their posting message from others in this


In this article some peculiarities of physical development of schoolchildren suffering from "minor" forms of tuberculosis are considered, the interrelation between the disease severity and the level of physical development of pupils has been revealed.


ABSTRACT The purpose of the present research was to examine the influence of cognitive processes on discourse global coherence ability measured across different discourse tasks and collected from younger (n = 40; 20–39 years) and older (n = 40; 70–87 years) cognitively healthy adults. Study participants produced oral language samples in response to five commonly used discourse elicitation tasks and they were analyzed for maintenance of global coherence. Participants also completed memory and attention measures. Group differences on the global coherence scale were found for only one type of discourse—recounts. Across discourse elicitation tasks the lowest global coherence scores were found for recounts compared to the other discourse elicitation tasks. The influence of cognitive processes on maintenance of global coherence differed for the two age groups. For the younger group, there were no observed significant relationships. For the older group, cognitive measures were related to global coherence of stories and procedures.


In conventional seismic design, structures are assumed to be fixed at the base. To reduce the impact of earthquake loading, while at the same time providing an economically feasible structure, minor damage is tolerated in the form of controlled plastic hinging at predefined locations in the structure. Uplift is traditionally not permitted because of concerns that it would lead to collapse. However, observations of damage to structures that have been through major earthquakes reveal that partial and temporary uplift of structures can be beneficial in many cases. Allowing a structure to move as a rigid body is in fact one way to limit activated seismic forces that could lead to severe inelastic deformations. To further reduce the induced seismic energy, slip-friction connectors could be installed to act both as hold-downs resisting overturning and as contributors to structural damping. This paper reviews recent research on the concept, with a focus on timber shear walls. A novel approach used to achieve the desired sliding threshold in the slip-friction connectors is described. The wall uplifts when this threshold is reached, thereby imparting ductility to the structure. To resist base shear an innovative shear key was developed. Recent research confirms that the proposed system of timber wall, shear key, and slip-friction connectors, are feasible as a ductile and lowdamage structural solution. Additional numerical studies explore the interaction between vertical load and slip-friction connector strength, and how this influences both the energy dissipation and self-centring capabilities of the rocking structure.


The study is aimed to study phonological versus logographical effects in neural cognitions when perceiving Chinese characters. The paradigm has a series of figural animal, ancient pictographic Chinese character, modern Chinese character, and mandarin-based syllables. Participants are grouped by two levels of word recognition skills, the mastered-group and the learner-group. The current study used Electrical Geodesics (EGI) system with dense array geodesic sensor nets to record digitalized electroencephalogram and event-related potentials. Results show that behavioral and neural cognitive reactions to the designed characters indeed have varied phonological and logographical effects on cortical regions. Conclusions and inferences can benefit developments of cognitive science.


We present the first experimental demonstration of an electronic-photonic co-designed transceiver circuit heterogeneously 3D co-integrated with high-density, low-parasitic Direct Bond Interconnect (DBI®) featuring full SerDes that achieves -20.3dBm OMA sensitivity and 691fJ/bit link energy efficiency.


2 Shanghai University of T.C.M shanghai201230 3 Department of Cardiology No. 252 Hospital of PLA Baoding 071000 Hebei Province 4 Department of Cardiology Guang'anmen Hospital China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences Beijing 100053 China Abstract .On the basis of the modern literature and clinical cases investigation of CF,and under the guidance of the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, we screen the diagnosis factors and kinds of syndromes and symptoms by using the computer technology database technology and intelligence information processing technology (as: vague-mathematics Bayes'method and artificial neural network,and so on) and establish the respective database,and develop the cardiac failure expert system. This study refered to a Cardiac failure Chinese medicine expert system under the guidance of the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, which combined the computer technology, intelligent information processing technology and Chinese medicine theory, it achieves intelli-gentification of Chinese medicine symptoms' diagnosis of Cardiac failure.The core-modular of this system is the modular of symptoms' diagnosis,it can do distinguish diagnosis of the Chinese medicine symptoms by coding and definiting the diagnosis factors and using the computer programme. This system is profit to elevate the clinical diagnosis' normalization of medical worker,and the clinician's accuratissime and speed of differentiation of symptoms and signs .


Three rats were first trained to make a bar-press-release response for regular reinforcement and then exposed to 22 sessions of concurrent reinforcement-electric shock punishment. The variability of response durations increased with response suppression and decreased with response recovery. Distributions of response durations indicated that their variability is a sensitive dependent variable for assessing the effects of punishment.


Subhalo abundance matching (SHAM) inserts galaxies into dark matter only simulations of the growth of cosmic structure in a way that requires minimal assumptions about galaxy formation. A galaxy is placed at the potential minimum of each distinct self-bound subhalo with a luminosity which is a monotonically increasing function of the maximum mass (or circular velocity) attained over the subhalo's earlier history. Galaxy and subhalo properties are linked by matching model and observed luminosity functions. Simulated structures can then be compared in detail with observation, for example, through galaxy correlation statistics, group catalogues, or galaxy-galaxy lensing. Robust astrophysical conclusions can be drawn from such a comparison only on scales which are unaffected by the numerical limitations of the simulation. Here we compare results for the Millennium Simulation (MS) with subhalos defined using the SUBFIND to those obtained applying identic al analysis to the much higher resolution Millennium-II. Correlation statistics on scal es between 200 kpc and 2 Mpc converge to within 20% only for subhalos with masses at infall corresponding to at least 1000 simulation particles in the MS. Numerically converged results can be obtained to much lower infall particle number, if galaxies are followed even after their associated subhalos have been tidally disrupted, as in most recent semi-analytic galaxy f ormation simulations. This allows robust comparison between simulation and observation over a wider dynamic range in mass than for a SHAM analysis which ignores such "orphan" galaxies.


Prompt diagnosis using an accurate and quick laboratory test would promote timely intervention and result in a decrease in maternal mortalities caused by pregnancy induced hypertension. The 24-hour urine collection, the gold standard in diagnosing proteinuria in preeclampsia, is both tedious and time-consuming resulting to delayed management or poor compliance. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine whether 4-hour, 8-hour and 12-hour urine protein values correlate with the 24-hour urine protein value in women with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. Pregnant patients diagnosed with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy admitted at the Obstetrics Ward and Labor Room of the Philippine General Hospital who are more than 20 weeks age of gestation were included in the study. The 24-hour urine collection was modified accordingly and subdivided into the 4-, 8-, 12- and 24-hour collection. Total volume, total protein and urine creatinine for the samples were obtained and the results were analyzed using the Pearson correlation. Only the 4- and the 8-hour samples were found to be statistically significant variables associated with the 24-hour sample. Cut-off values for the 8-hour sample were determined to be 657mg for severe proteinuria.


We reported the practical implementation of a real-time image-based human detection in FPGA. The Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) features and the AdaBoost classifiers are used as an approach. The systolic array architecture based Support Vectoring Machine (SVM) processing is also implemented in our system. According to the results, it can be shown that the humans are successfully detected from a 1280 x 1024 of image resolution with 129 fps of frame rate, it is not only from the front and back views (horizontal axis) but also robust in human detection from different angles (vertical axis). We also compared our architecture with other works.


Objective To understand the current situation of infants' physical development under 3years old in Shaoxing of Zhejiang province,and to provide a basis for making corresponding intervention measures.Methods Cluster-random sampling was used to investigate 6635infants in all.ResultsThe average level of length and weight of all the infants investigated were above the 2006WHO criteria,and the boys' physical growth was faster than that of the girls at all stages except the length of 30-month old infants.The results showed that the difference was significant(P0.01).The detection rate of obesity was 3.01%for boys,which was higher than that of girls,and the difference was significant(χ2=7.420,P0.01).The obesity rate of infants under one year old was 4.55% which was the highest.The rate of malnutrition was 1.02%,and there were no significant differences in different gender groups and age groups(P0.05).Conclusions The physical growth of infants are good in general in Shaoxing.The prevalence of malnutrition is at a low level.However,the prevalence rate of obesity is relatively high,and therefore,we should strengthen early intervention for obese children in the future.


Allopregnanolone (ALLO), is a brain endogenous neurosteroid that binds with high affinity to y-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors and positively modulates the action of GABA at these receptors. Unlike ALLO, 5a-dihydroprogesterone (5a-DHP) binds with high affinity to intracellular progesterone receptors that regulate DNA transcription. To investigate the physiological roles of ALLO and 5a-DHP synthesized in brain, we have adopted a mouse model involving protracted social isolation. In the frontal cortex of mice, socially isolated for 6 weeks, both neurosteroids were decreased by approximately 50%. After administration of (17/3)-17-(bis-1-methyl amino carbonyl) androstane-3,5-diene-3carboxylic acid (SKF105,111), an inhibitor of the enzyme (5areductase Type I and II) that converts progesterone into 5a-DHP, the ALLO and 5a-DHP content of frontal cortex of both grouphoused and socially isolated mice decreased exponentially to 10%-20% of control values in about 30 min. The fractional rate constants (k h1) of ALLO and 5?-DHP decline multiplied by the ALLO and 5a-DHP concentrations at any given steady-state esti? mate the rate of synthesis required to maintain that steady state. After 6 weeks of social isolation, ALLO and 5?-DHP biosynthesis rates were decreased to 30% of the values calculated in grouphoused mice. Moreover, in socially isolated mice, the expression of 5a-reductase Type I mRNA and protein was approximately 50% lower than in group-housed mice whereas 3a-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase mRNA expression was equal in the two groups. Protracted social isolation in mice may provide a model to inves? tigate whether 5?-DHP by a genomic action, and ALLO by a nongenomic mechanism down-regulate the action of drugs acting as agonists, partial agonists, or positive allosteric modulators of the benzodiazepine recognition sites expressed by GABAA receptors.


In view of the importance of startup process of biofilm in biofilm method for sewage treatment experimental study is made on the startup process of biofilm of Sequencing Biofilm Batch Reactor(SBBR) process in treatment of municipal sewage with high ammonia nitrogen.Meanwhile,preliminary test is carried out in order to increase the removal ratio and removal speed of COD,NH4+-N of SBBR process.


There has been an emerging interest by financial institutions to develop advanced systems that can help enhance their anti-money laundering (AML) programmes. In this study, we present a self-organising map (SOM) based approach to predict which bank accounts are possibly involved in money laundering cases, given their financial transaction histories. Our method takes advantage of the competitive and adaptive properties of SOM to represent the accounts in a lower-dimensional space. Subsequently, categorising the SOM and the accounts into money laundering risk levels and proposing investigative strategies enables us to measure the classification performance. Our results indicate that our framework is well capable of identifying suspicious accounts already investigated by our partner bank, using both proposed investigation strategies. We further validate our model by analysing the performance when modifying different parameters in our dataset.


An effective transformation system for glucose oxidase gene mediated by Agrobacterium Tumeficiens was realized in Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). The true transformants have been achieved. Factors affecting callus differentiation and plant regeneration were also discussed. Kanamycin resistance and PCR tests indicate that the alien gene has been integrated into the genome of Gossypium hirsutum L.


ABSTRACT

Objective: To present our surgical experience and technique in performing endoscopic sinus surgery for vascular sinonasal tumors without pre-operative embolization using intraoperative ligation of the external carotid artery or its distal branches.

Methods:

Design: Retrospective Series
Setting: Tertiary Private Teaching Hospital
Participants: Seven Patients

Results: Out of 7 patients (5 males, 2 females, aged 12 to 64 years old) with non-embolized vascular sinonasal tumors, 2 had juvenile angiofibroma, 3 had a benign vascular tumor (hemangiopericytoma, hemangioma and a vasoformative solitary fibrous tumor), and 2 had a malignancy (rhabdomyosarcoma, squamous cell carcinoma). Four (57.1%) had external carotid artery ligation, two (28.6%) had internal maxillary artery ligation and one (14.2%) had sphenopalatine artery ligation. The mean intraoperative blood loss was 2447.1 mL (range 900mL to 5,000mL) and average operation duration was 7.6 hours (range 2.9 hours to 14.5 hours). The average amount of transfused blood products was 1785.7mL (zero to 3,000mL). The average hospital stay was 7 days (range 2 to 13 days) with one post-operative complication (ICU admission for hypotension from intraoperative blood loss).

Conclusion: Intraoperative ligation of the ECA or its distal branches to disrupt the vascular supply of sinonasal tumors may provide a viable means of preventing excessive intraoperative blood loss in patients with non-embolized vascular sinonasal tumors.


Many paediatricians with a special interest in the use ofdrugs in children have waited a long time for a textbook that covers all that is currently known in the field of paediatric pharmacology, and most of them will not be disappointed as this book presents a comprehensive overview of the subject. Many of the contributors, each a recognised authority on his subject, have not been afraid to point to the many gaps that exist in our knowledge. I found this a refreshingly honest and useful approach and one that should stimulate the research-minded reader. Criticism that there is a lack of information and that the book has been compiled too early can, I think, be refuted by the overwhelming need for the practising clinician to have such information to hand. The contents are rightly limited to clinical pharmacology, but the practising clinician looking for guidance will be pleased by the therapeutically orientated style of the chapters-for example, anticonvulsant usage, use of antipyretics, etc. The areas covered are broad-for example, pharmacological principles, compliance, ethics, adverse effects, poisoning, and the usual major drug classes, but a chapter on antihypertensive drugs would have been useful. Most books can be criticised and this one is no exception. Much of the information is duplicated and in the first two chapters, different abbreviations are used for dose, elimination rate constant, and volume of distribution. With careful editing it should have been possible to avoid the repetition that is a feature of this and of many other multiauthor texts. It suggests a lack ofconsideration of chapter content, an unwillingness to alter an authoritative contribution, or an inability to provide adequate cross referencing. With lack of data on many subjects recourse to studies on adults is often necessary, but I think this should have been better clarified especially in areas where a difference between ages is most likely to exist. Also, some chapters-for example, the one on drugs in human milk-are of greater theoretical than practical help as the author has given data on a fairly small number of drugs compared with a large total for which information, though limited, is available. Paediatricians on this side of the Atlantic will be surprised by the mention of tetracycline and oral contraceptives until they remember the different patient populations existing elsewhere. Likewise the preponderance of information on theophylline preparations for the treatment of asthma reflects the natural history of drug (un)availability in the USA rather than the balance of experience of such drug use here. These are not major criticisms; this is a good book which may be a little large as a forerunner in the open market of a specialty subject here. Nevertheless, general acknowledgement of the principles and use here will be bound to enhance our approach and will greatly benefit our drug-receiving child population. Acknowledging its deficiencies, I warmly recommend it.


DOI: https://doi.org/10.46544/AMS.v26i4.10 Abstract The objective of the paper was to evaluate and propose a method for the valuation of the purchase of minority interest in the squeeze-out of large mining companies in the Czech Republic. The research was conducted on a case of a specific company. An analysis of the relevant industry, potential, and financial analysis were performed. Based on these analyses, the method of DCF Equity (Discounted Cash Flow) was selected as a suitable method that can best capture and consider the specifics of the company assessed since, within this method, cash flows are discounted to the owners. The resulting fair value of the transaction reflects the stock market value to determine adequate cash settlement in squeeze-out. It sufficiently compensates the damage caused to the minority shareholder while accepting the price by the majority shareholder, who is willing to pay up to the amount corresponding to the benefits the transaction brings to them. In accordance with the IVS, the selected method is suitable for squeeze-out transactions, where legislators have the information on the values of the majority shareholder ́s benefit and knows the value the minority shareholder is willing to accept in squeeze-out.


Polyurethane dispersions are being used increasingly in industrial applications. Because of the high cost of these dispersions they are being employed where the performance achieved with waterborne acrylic, alkyd, polyester and epoxy resins is not adequate, or they are being used in combination with other resins to improve certain properties. I will discuss the problems associated in formulating polyurethane dispersions, how these systems can be pigmented, and crosslinked with either melamine or polyisocyanate crosslinker and how to catalyze these formulations. In addition I plan to discuss how to combine these polyurethane dispersions with other polymer systems.


Calcium sensing and the control of calcium-related pathways play important roles in the control of cellular processes. This work investigated the folding/unfolding properties of calmodulin, a key calcium sensor protein. Using optical tweezers, single calmodulin molecules were repeatedly mechanically unfolded and information about their unfolding and refolding behavior obtained. With this setup, single molecules could be investigated on time scales spanning several orders of magnitude. It could be shown that calmodulin folds, at high calcium concentrations, in a complex network of intermediates. At low calcium, the behavior could be explained using a model for the folding in the presence of ligands. Further, this work presents statistical methods that can be used to obtain detailed information about the folding of complex systems from one-dimensional force-time trajectories.


ABSTRACT Background: Despite a lack of valid trials documenting their efficacy, baclofen and dantrolene are widely used to treat spasticity. Objective: The primary purpose of this project was to evaluate the effects of planned withdrawal of baclofen and dantrolene in consenting patients who were receiving complex continuing care. We also surveyed physicians and patients (or their substitute decision makers) for the reasons they considered when deciding to participate in the withdrawal program. Methods: In this descriptive study, data were collected before, during, and after the withdrawal intervention. A withdrawal protocol was used in which the clinical team performed individualized monitoring as a basis for making any withdrawal decisions. Results: Of 69 patients taking either baclofen or dantrolene, 29 were excluded from the withdrawal protocol primarily because of physicians' decisions. Of the 40 eligible patients, 26 (65%) participated in the tapering protocol. Of these 26, 15 (58%) were able to discontinue the drugs, 6 (23%) had their doses reduced, 4 (15%) had no change in dose, and 1 patient died during tapering. Six (23%) had other changes made to their spasticity treatment, and 4 (15%) experienced improvements in other symptoms that could have been adverse effects of the antispasticity agents. Conclusions: More than half of the participating patients were able to have baclofen or dantrolene discontinued or the dose lowered; some had adjustments in other medications. Targeted medication withdrawal programs can be used to reduce unnecessary medication in patients receiving long-term care in an institutional setting. RESUME Historique : Malgre le manque d'essais valides confirmant l'efficacite du baclofene et du dantrolene, ces deux agents demeurent largement utilises pour traiter la spasticite. Objectif : Le principal objectif de cette etude etait d'evaluer les effets d'un sevrage planifie du baclofene et du dantrolene chez des patients consentants qui recevaient des soins continus complexes. Les medecins et les patients (ou leurs decideurs substituts) ont egalement ete sondes pour connaitre les raisons expliquant leur decision de participer au programme de sevrage. Methodes : Dans cette etude descriptive, les donnees ont ete collectees avant, pendant et apres le sevrage. Les decisions relatives au sevrage etaient fondees sur la surveillance individualisee des patients par l'equipe de soins cliniques, conformement a un protocole de sevrage. Resultats : Parmi les 69 patients qui recevaient du baclofene ou du dantrolene, 29 n'ont pas ete retenus pour suivre le programme de sevrage, principalement a cause de la decision du medecin. Des 40 patients admissibles, 26 (65 %) ont participe au protocole de diminution progressive des doses d'antispastiques. De ces 26 patients, 15 (58 %) ont pu completement arreter leur traitement, 6 (23 %) ont pu reduire leurs doses, 4 (15 %) ont conserve leurs doses initiales et un est decede durant le traitement degressif. Six patients (23 %) ont eu d'autres changements apportes a leur traitement antispastique et 4 (15 %) ont connu une reduction d'autres symptomes qui auraient pu etre des effets indesirables des antispastiques. Conclusions : Plus de la moitie des participants ont reussi leur sevrage de baclofene ou de dantrolene ou une reduction de leur dose de ces medicaments; certains ont eu des ajustements a leurs autres medicaments. Les programmes de sevrage medicamenteux cibles peuvent servir a reduire l'utilisation inutile de medicaments chez les patients en centres hospitaliers de soins de longue duree.


Hafnium and zirconium silicate (HfSixOy and ZrSixOy, respectively) gate dielectric films with metal contents ranging from ∼3 to 30 at. % Hf, or 2 to 27 at. % Zr (±1 at. % for Hf and Zr, respectively, within a given film), have been investigated, and films with ∼2–8 at. % Hf or Zr exhibit excellent electrical properties and high thermal stability in direct contact with Si. Capacitance–voltage measurements show an equivalent oxide thickness tox of about 18 A (21 A) for a 50 A HfSixOy (50 A ZrSixOy) film deposited directly on a Si substrate. Current–voltage measurements show for the same films a leakage current of less than 2×10−6 A/cm2 at 1.0 V bias. Hysteresis in these films is measured to be less than 10 mV, the breakdown field is measured to be EBD∼10 MV/cm, and the midgap interface state density is estimated to be Dit∼1–5×1011 cm−2 eV−1. Au electrodes produce excellent electrical properties, while Al electrodes produce very good electrical results, but also react with the silicates, creating a lower e l...


Objective: The purpose of this study is to compare the prevalence of depression and anxiety in people with and without COVID-19. Study Design: Cross-sectional Place and Duration: Sahara Medical College / Sughra Shafi Medical Complex Narowal. Feb-2021-Aug 2021 Methods: In this study, 178 cases of both sexes had age 15-55 years were presented. After obtaining written consent, the patient's complete demographic information—including age, sex, and BMI—was collected. Two groups of patients were split evenly. Group M contained 89 COVID-19 patients, while group N contained 89 cases but did not contain COVID-19. Both groups' rates of depression and anxiety were assessed. It was decided to use structural questionnaires. SPSS 18.0 was used to analyze all the data. Results: Among 178 cases, 104 (58.4%) were males and 74 (41.6%) were females. Majority of the cases 80 (44.9%) had age 18-30 years, 65 (36.5%) had age 31-40 years and 33 (18.5%) had age >40 years. 120 (67.4%) had BMI <25kg/m2 and 58 (33.6%) had BMI >25kg/m2. We found significantly higher number of depression 48 (53.9%), anxiety 30 (33.7%) and stress 19 (21.3%) in patients of group M as compared to group N found in 24 (26.9%), 18 (16.9%) and 11 (12.4%) with p value <0.005. Conclusion: In this study, we found that, in comparison to non-COVID 19 patients, COVID-19 patients typically experienced significant levels of anxiety and depression. Patients with medical conditions should learn methods for quick identification and treatment of depression and anxiety. Keywords: COVID-19, anxiety, depression, illness


Sexual dimorphism in skull characteristics of Pyrenean chamois is studied in a sample of 85 adults (36 males and 49 females) by means of 26 quantitative variables. Skull variables were analised by multiple regression and principal component techniques. The Pyrenean chamois shows one of the smallest sexual skull dimorphisms of the Rupicapra subspecies. Only length, thickness, and related variables of horns present significant differences between sexes. Nevertheless, horn height was statistically identical in both sexes. Ecological implications of skull variability and skull variables relationships are discussed. Several discriminant functions were developed by means of discriminant analysis. Those that better identified sexes include horn core diameters. We also developed other functions based on upper skull variables that could be used to identify incomplete specimens or archaeological remains.


The 21st century, which we live in today, is rapidly changing based on the fourth industrial revolution and information and communication technology. According to change, existing urban models are emerging as smart cities. Smart City is a sustainable city that improves urban functions of various elements by applying information and communication convergence technology and environment friendly technology to urban space and solves urban problems that are occurring now. Energy, a core element of the city, enables efficient energy management of energy systems through an Internet of Things-based platform. The Internet of Things is a technology that sends and receives data by attaching sensors to various objects through a network. The goal is to use resources efficiently as the Internet of Things is spread and various industries are applied. This paper is a prediction study based on machine learning algorithms for efficient use of energy infrastructure in the Smart City. The proposed system builds the optimal Smart City by estimating energy efficiency of the Smart City and improving resource utilization.


Objective: This paper provides intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for estimation of sample size inflation required in future cluster randomised trials in primary or residential care.


The invention relates to a peanut nutritional milk and the preparation method, belonging to the technical field of food drink processing. The ingredients and the weight percentage of the invention are as follows: the protein 2.0 to 4.0 percent, sucrose 5.0 to 8.0 percent, emulsification stabilizing agent 0.15 to 0.25 percent, and remainder is the water. Compared with the prior art, the invention has the advantages that: (1) using the peanut butter protein directly to avoid the complicated crafts of pretreatment of peanut kernel, the protein extraction and other crafts, thus the production equipment disposition is simplified. (2) the nutritional milk prepared according to the invention has a protein content as high as 2.0 to 4.0 percent. (3) the nutritional milk presents cream color and has the unique fragrance and the taste of peanut and milk, taste is pure without burnt taste. During the guarantee of six months, the milk presents the uniform shape of the emulsion without lamination, flocculation phenomena and obvious deposit layer. Only by slightly shaking, the deposit can restore to the original condition.


Does the equalization of legislative representation reduce policy bias? We examine this question by focusing on the redistricting and reapportionment of seats associated with the recent electoral reform in Japan. We first show that the reform of 1994 resulted in a considerable degree of equalization in the allocation of legislative seats per capita. Second, using municipality-level data, we present evidence that municipalities in over-represented districts received significantly more subsidies per capita from the central government, as compared to those in under-represented districts, in both pre-reform and post-reform years. Third, by examining the relationship between the change in seats per capita and the change in subsidies per capita at the municipality level, we show that the equalization in voting strength resulted in equalization of government transfers per person.


Azadirachtin, applied topically to final instar larvae of the African armyworm (Spodoptera exempta, Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), adversely affected oogenesis and reproductive maturation in subsequent female moths. Moths obtained from such treated larvae failed to mature their oocytes, probably as a result of interference of azadirachtin with vitellogenin synthesis and/or its uptake by developing oocytes. Such larval treatment also caused substantial decreases in fecundity and although fertility in affected females was not decreased significantly, emerging larvae were less viable, less than 40% reaching the fourth instar.


In the European Union (EU), a simple approval process for hyaluronic acid (HA) products has yielded a broader array of offerings than what's available in the United States, an expert says. Easier EU approvals also have given HA a virtual lock on the European filler market, he adds.


The use of digital fluorescence confocal microscopy in biological sciences has grown in recent decades due to the versatility of fluorescence imaging. The ability to selectively label specific morphological features, genetic mutations and/or chemical micro-environmental changes with discreet fluorescent labels allows a better understanding of the complex systems that regulate cellular processes. Specimens can range in size from single cells to tissue sections and tissue arrays, which can occupy the entire surface of a microscope slide (25mm x 70mm). Using a confocal scanning laser MACROscope, a wide-area confocal imaging system (Biomedical Photometrics Inc.), it is possible to image these large specimens at high resolution, without the need to tile many small microscope fields. A hyperspectral imaging (HSI) mode has been added to the MACROscope system to assess the use of HSI in the removal/separation of tissue autofluorescence from digital images of fluorescently-labeled paraffin-embedded, formalin-fixed tissue sections. In pathology and immunohistochemistry applications this autofluorescence can hinder, or even prevent, detection of the applied fluorescent label(s). In the present study, fluorescence emission from the specimen was sampled at ~7 nm bandwidths across 32 channels, amounting to viewing ~220 nm of the visible spectrum as a hyperspectral data cube. The data cube was then processed to remove the contributions from autofluorescence, leaving only the signal from the fluorophore(s) of interest. Comparisons are drawn from HSI obtained with a commercial hyperspectral confocal microscope (Zeiss LSM 510 META) employing image tiling. The initial results demonstrate the ability to spectrally unmix the tissue autofluorescence in large tissue sections.


The speed of data processing is the key issue in the research of MySQL optimization techniques,this article aims to encapsulate MySQL C API( application programming interfaces) by taking C ++ dynamic link library method. Combined hierarchical design idea with techniques of connection pool and multi- thread,the database is optimized. The test results show that the optimized database is easy to operate and the efficiency and the speed of data processing is greatly improved. With sound maintainability and portability,the system has achieved expected target.


Liver cirrhosis is a late- stage hepatic fibrosis,which results from various risk factors such as viruses,alcohol,fat,drugs and immunity,and genetic metabolism,leading to chronic liver damage. This paper reviews the etiological treatment and therapy for complications. It is pointed out that liver transplantation,which is currently the only effective approach to the treatment of liver cirrhosis,is limited by liver donor shortage and high cost. Stem cell therapy becomes a hot spot of research due to its huge potential for the treatment of liver cirrhosis. However,its mechanism remains unclear with many pending problems.


We extend weak monadic second-order logic of one successor (WS1S) to symbolic alphabets by allowing character predicates to range over decidable first order theories and not just finite alphabets. We call this extension symbolic WS1S (s-WS1S). We then propose two decision procedures for such a logic: 1) we use symbolic automata to extend the classic reduction from WS1S to finite automata to our symbolic logic setting; 2) we show that every s-WS1S formula can be reduced to a WS1S formula that preserves satisfiability, at the price of an exponential blow-up.


In this paper we describe how a Nintendo Wii remote control (known as the Wiimote) can be used in the design and implementation of several undergraduate-level experiments in a physics laboratory class. An experimental setup composed of a Wiimote and a conveniently located IR LED allows the trajectory of one or several moving objects to be tracked and recorded accurately, in both long and short displacement. The authors have developed a user interface program to configure the operation of the acquisition system of such data. The two experiments included in this work are the free fall of a body with magnetic braking and the simple pendulum, but other physics experiments could have been chosen. The treatment of the data was performed using Bayesian inference.


Experimental and theoretical studies were made of the separation efficiency of an air cyclone separator. The results of numerical calculations of three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations indicate that the flow field changes with circumferential angle. The upward and downward velocity components merge strongly near the entrance of the dust box. Large particles are collected on the upper wall, small particles on the conical wall.It is also confirmed that particles with small inertia enter the dust box first, but finally exit from the cyclone because of the upward velocity component. The experimental partial separation efficiencies obtained agree well with the numerical calculations when the data are rearranged according to the particle inertia parameter.


The authors examine Austrian subject-to-tax clauses based on the context of the treaty and the interaction of the domestic legislation of the treaty partners. The wording, as well as structural and historical issues of the specific treaty, serve as the basis for the discussion.


Drawing on activation theory, this paper aims to examine the process through which abusive supervision influences job-oriented constructive deviance (JCD) in the hospitality industry.,Data are collected from 198 employees working with 34 supervisors, at three time points across four hotel groups in Macau. The instantaneous indirect effect and moderated curvilinear effect using established measures are tested.,First, abusive supervision was positively associated with hotel employees' job dissatisfaction and their job dissatisfaction had an inverted curvilinear effect on JCD. Second, job dissatisfaction nonlinearly mediated the impact of abusive supervision on JCD. Third, high problem-focused coping decelerated the diminishing benefits of job dissatisfaction on JCD.,First, organizations should accept employees' constructive deviance but suppress managers' abusive supervision. Second, organizations need to improve employees' problem-focused coping skills and channel job dissatisfaction into constructive and active behaviors.,Theoretically, the authors test a nonlinearly mediating and moderated curvilinear model and address the research concern on whether, why and how service employees decide to engage in positive deviant behaviors when encountering abusive supervision. Practically, the authors avoid concluding that moderate levels of abusive supervision can promote positive employee behaviors and refrain from justification of abusive supervision in the hospitality context.


Theoretical aspects of an assessment of risks of trade and economic operations in modern scientific literature are for today poorly studied and application of new techniques and means of practical application demand. The purpose of the present article is application of a technique of the factorial analysis at an assessment of risks of commission of trade and economic operations. In article the practical aspect of use of the mechanism of carrying out an assessment of risks by means of implementation of the factorial analysis of trade and economic operations within the Customs union is scientifically reasonable and reflected. The main factors are revealed and the assessment of extent of their influence on object of research is carried out. Results of work can be used at activity of statistical and customs offices, when conducting research work and educational process of students in «Customs business».


The concentrations of selenium in two Se supplements(teas and"Gold Partner"tablets)were determined by molecular fluorescent spectrometry with λem=520nm and their bioaccessibility of selenium were studied to estimate bioavailability using an in vitro method(simulated gastric and intestinal digestion/dialysis).Recoveries(93.6~103.6%),precision studies(RSD3%)and linear correlation coefficient(R2=0.9989)demonstrated the reliability and accuracy of the analytical method employed in this study.The selenium content in teas was 0.28~1.68 μg/g and 16.38~20.92 μg/g in"Gold Partner"tables,respectively.The extraction percentage of Se in different tea infusions was present in 15.42%~28.35%.Se-enriched teas showed the higher bioaccessibility(13.88%~17.81%),while the"Gold Partner"tables were found only 0.43%~2.68%.In conclusion,these data indicated that Se-enriched teas were better in the bioavailability of selenium than"Gold Partner"tablets distinctly.


Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija, University of Rijeka, and Glosa Rijeka are the publishers of the professional book and university textbook "Management of Sustainable Development: Economics, Ecology, Environmental Protection", by Ph.D. Mladen Crnjar and M.SC. Kristina Crnjar, Rijeka, 2009. The university textbook is comprised of six interrelated parts on 577 pages structured in 22 thematic units. There are 37 tables, 22 charts and 20 schemes incorporated in the text, and at the end of each part, there are questions for discussion and revision. At the beginning of the book, authors provide the preface and table of contents. List of the used bibliographic units is followed by abstract, list of tables, charts and schemes, index of names, terms and abbreviations, and notes about the authors.


310. Routine Use of Contact Precautions for MRSA and VRE: Which Way is the Pendulum Swinging? Dana Russell, MPH; Susan E. Beekmann, RN, MPH; Philip M. Polgreen, MD; Zachary Rubin, MD; Daniel Z. Uslan, MD, MS; Clinical Epidemiology and Infection Prevention, UCLA Health, Los Angeles, CA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA; Infectious Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine/University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA


In December last year the Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) released internationally agreed changes to the Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Life Support (ALS) guidelines.


Let X ⊂ Pn be a closed subscheme and let HF (X, ·) and hp(X, ·) denote, respectively, the Hilbert function and the Hilbert polynomial of X . We say that X has bipolynomial Hilbert function if HF (X, d) = min {hp(Pn, d), hp(X, d)} for every d ∈ N. We show that if X consists of a plane and generic lines, then X has bipolynomial Hilbert function. We also conjecture that generic configurations of non-intersecting linear spaces have bipolynomial Hilbert function.


Patient: Female, 53 Final Diagnosis: Adult-onset Still's Disease Symptoms: Abdominal pain • fever Medication: — Clinical Procedure: — Specialty: Rheumatology Objective: Rare disease Background: Adult-onset Still's Disease (AOSD) is a rare systemic inflammatory disease accompanied by a triad of spiking fever, maculopapular exanthema, and arthralgia. To date, there is no definite laboratory or imaging test available for diagnosing AOSD, and the diagnosis is one of exclusion, which can be very challenging. Case Report: We report on the case of a 53-year-old female who presented with fever, arthralgia, and abdominal pain. Her initial laboratory tests showed elevated AST and ALT, and normal leukocytes with bandemia. During her hospitalization, we evaluated the patient for other potential differential diagnoses. After an extensive workup, the patient was diagnosed with AOSD based on Yamaguchi criteria. Her serum ferritin levels were measured and found to be markedly elevated, which is a non-specific finding in AOSD patients. Conclusions: This case highlights the important role of a detailed history and physical examination for timely diagnosis of AOSD to prevent complications and improve patient's prognosis.


Significance We provide biogeochemical, micropaleontological, and petrological constraints on a subseafloor habitat at the passive Iberia Margin, where mixing of reduced hydrothermal serpentinization fluids with oxic seawater provided the energy and substrates for metabolic reactions. This mixing zone was inhabited by bacteria and archaea and is comparable to the active Lost City hydrothermal field at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Our results highlight the potential of magma-poor passive margins to host Lost City-type hydrothermal systems that support microbial activity in subseafloor environments. Because equivalent systems have likely existed throughout most of Earth's history in a wide range of oceanic environments, fluid mixing may have provided the substrates and energy to support a unique subseafloor community of microorganisms over geological timescales. Subseafloor mixing of reduced hydrothermal fluids with seawater is believed to provide the energy and substrates needed to support deep chemolithoautotrophic life in the hydrated oceanic mantle (i.e., serpentinite). However, geosphere-biosphere interactions in serpentinite-hosted subseafloor mixing zones remain poorly constrained. Here we examine fossil microbial communities and fluid mixing processes in the subseafloor of a Cretaceous Lost City-type hydrothermal system at the magma-poor passive Iberia Margin (Ocean Drilling Program Leg 149, Hole 897D). Brucite−calcite mineral assemblages precipitated from mixed fluids ca. 65 m below the Cretaceous paleo-seafloor at temperatures of 31.7 ± 4.3 °C within steep chemical gradients between weathered, carbonate-rich serpentinite breccia and serpentinite. Mixing of oxidized seawater and strongly reducing hydrothermal fluid at moderate temperatures created conditions capable of supporting microbial activity. Dense microbial colonies are fossilized in brucite−calcite veins that are strongly enriched in organic carbon (up to 0.5 wt.% of the total carbon) but depleted in 13C (δ13CTOC = −19.4‰). We detected a combination of bacterial diether lipid biomarkers, archaeol, and archaeal tetraethers analogous to those found in carbonate chimneys at the active Lost City hydrothermal field. The exposure of mantle rocks to seawater during the breakup of Pangaea fueled chemolithoautotrophic microbial communities at the Iberia Margin, possibly before the onset of seafloor spreading. Lost City-type serpentinization systems have been discovered at midocean ridges, in forearc settings of subduction zones, and at continental margins. It appears that, wherever they occur, they can support microbial life, even in deep subseafloor environments.


Insulin‐like growth factor (IGF)‐II is known to induce hypertrophy of isolated adult rat ventricular cardiomyocytes cultured in the absence of serum. However, it is not known how the growth factor exerts this hypertrophic effect. We show here that IGF‐II induces hypertrophy of the cultured cardiomyocytes via two alternative pathways: (1) an IGF‐I receptor‐dependent pathway, or (2) a lysosome‐dependent pathway when the IGF‐I receptor‐dependent pathway is blocked.


The objective of this article is to describe the therapeutic itineraries for the care and rehabilitation of people with disabilities in Argentina and Chile. As a methodological strategy, we will present secondary data and some of the findings of two independent qualitative studies. The results show that when pursuing healthcare, people with disabilities and their families face situations that are negative for their quality of life, social participation, and self-esteem. In this way, their position of disadvantage and social devaluation is reproduced.


This article considers two recent opinions, one of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the other of the Supreme Court of the United States. Both deal with the exhaustion of intellectual property rights, but the results and underlying reasoning clearly conflict. In this brief article, we attempt to discuss these cases and suggest some reasons for the different results. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Abstract The subject of this paper is one aspect of the two cultures of 'head work' and 'hand work' in secondary education. It is based upon an ethnographic study of Victorian trade teachers who had previously been employed as tradespersons. The paper concludes that particular defining characteristics were significant in the maintenance and integrity of the trade teacher work culture. These characteristics related to: work practices that were linked to identities that had been constituted in an industrial world; attitudes to work, gender, and the perceived perspective and image of mainstream teachers; and, the architecture and society of, what were once, technical schools. This group was initially distinguished by being referred to as 'tradies' by both themselves and others. At the same time, they worked alongside mainstream teachers who referred to themselves as 'academics', but who were referred to by the trade teachers as 'accos' (which rhymes with tobacco and is a derivative of academic).


The effect of p53 protein expression and MIB‐1 proliferative activity on survival and chemotherapeutic response in patients with lymph node (LN)‐positive transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the urinary bladder remains unclear. The objective of this study was to assess the ability of these markers to predict disease‐associated outcomes and response to chemotherapy in a cohort of patients with LN‐positive TCC.


In the perspective of social changes and in the comparative vision of crossing countries,history and social systems,this article probes into the evolutional course,characteristics and developmental trend of vocational education in South Korea and China.The analysis and comparison is carried out in three aspects.Firstly,the authors compare the basic characteristics of evolution of the two countries'vocational education macroscopically.Secondly, the authors analyze the course,the characteristics and the influencing factors of policy formulation in vocational education microscopically.Thirdly,based on both macroscopic and microscopic study,the authors discuss the developmental environment and the background,the prospect and the challenges,the direction and the new characteristics of vocational education in both countries.At last,the authors put forward several practical proposals for the development of vocational educational in South Korea and China on the basis of a thorough understanding of the trend in the past and future.


Abstract A new genus and species of planthopper, Stonymetopus megus gen. et sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Fulgoridiidae) is described as the first Fulgoridiidae from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, a family previously only known from the Jurassic. The new genus has a relatively large size with pointed head and obelliptic eyes (in lateral view). Its short metatibia are not apically dilated, and first metatarsomere exhibits five to six short teeth bearing sarcosetae between two longer lateral ones, while the second metatarsomere seems toothless but with a blunt ventroapical extension. Tegmina are coleopterous-like with long subparallel main veins. A mature, post-parasitic dryinid larva (Hymenoptera: Dryinidae) is adjacent to the fossil planthopper and the ethology of these parasites is briefly discussed.


In this paper we aim to tackle the Cold sub-challenge proposed in the INTERSPEECH 2017 ComParE Challenge. The goal is to determine whether given speech is under cold condition. In this paper we present two frameworks. One of them is based on an alternative neural network-based autoencoder using two different loss functions. The first one is the standard reconstruction error used in unsupervised autoencoder, and the hinge loss (second loss function) is incorporated into the middle layer to attract utterances spoken by the same condition into similar identity code spaces. The classification is then carried out by comparing the cosine similarity of identity codes between the target and the mean of cold and non-cold utterances. With a simple logistic regression combining our method and the baseline systems predictions, we achieve 65.81 % and 66% UAR on development set and test set provided by 2017 ComParE, respectively. Another approach is based on strength modeling, where diverse classifiers' confidence outputs are concatenated to original feature space as input to the support vector machine. The feature representations are derived from multiple sub-dictionary within the framework of GMM Fisher-vector encoding and eGeMAPS functional features concatenating with diverse classifiers. We achieve 70.2% and 65.5% on development and test set provided by 2017 ComPareE, respectively.


In the decade of 1970s, KAREL was proposed as innovative way to teach algorithmic thinking to children. This paper discusses the design and implementation of KALA the robot. KALA attempts to bring the world of KAREL to real life, incorporating a platform that consists of a differential robot, a mobile application and a customizable and interactive labyrinth board. KALAs programming is performed using the mobile app, where the user programs a series of instructions that KALA will execute navigating across an interactive labyrinth board. Several tests with users showed improvement in algorithm thinking with just a few attempts to use the platform.