Spleens from normal, healthy cats, dogs and rabbits were perfused with Ringer solution until only a few red cells remained. After fixation of the intact organ, small pieces of tissue were dried by a camphene method and examined under the scanning electron microscope. In all three species the red cells remaining in the spleen were either reticulocytes, spiculated cells, or cells of tear‐drop shape and they were found adhering to macrophages and reticulum cells throughout the red pulp. Elongated masses were found on the sinusal surface of fenestrated endothelium (only in dog and rabbit); some of these appeared to be cells of tear‐drop shape emerging from the cords into the sinus. This may perhaps denote a pitting process, as suggested by others, but it cannot be a unique function of fenestrated endothelium for red cells of similar shape were found elsewhere in the pulp. In all three species the network of reticulum fibres presents a very large contact surface area for blood cells and it seems likely that increased cell stickiness, rather than decreased deformability, leads to the trapping of immature red cells in the spleen.


This work considers and offers various methods of removing barriers in the cross-cultural communication in the sphere of language based on the development of theories of language origin and development, and the technologies of their studying and translation, not really known in masses. The problems of a number of uncommon methods of work with information in general are raised. Keywords—philosophy of language and culture; removal of language restrictions and barriers


We investigate the potential of using dual-time-point PET data to perform Patlak modeling. If successful this approach could be used for whole-body dynamic PET in which we compute voxel-wise estimates of Patlak parameters using two frames of data for each bed position. Our approach directly uses list-mode arrival time for each event to compute the Patlak image. We evaluate performance of the method in comparison to fractional changes in SUV values computed from the same two frames of data. The area under ROC curves is used as a figure of merit to assess the relative performance of these two approaches in differentiating tumor from background. We calculate ROC curves using (i) variance estimates computed from the Cramer-Rao bound for a simplified 1D version of the problem and (ii) 4D Monte Carlo simulations of tumors with a range of sizes in a uniform background. Both the simulation and Cramer-Rao analysis suggest that our dual-time-point Patlak estimation method can achieve superior differentiation of tumor from background in small tumors compared to using fractional changes in SUV computed from the same dual-time-point data.


Excerpt Jaundice as a manifestation of scarlet fever rarely has been recorded in the American and English literature. Osler in 1900 (1) and Crandall in 1920 (2) did not mention it, which is a parti...


This paper presents the design and development of a compact C-band down converter realized in a 12mm×12mm surface mount metal ceramic package. The size reduction has been achieved by development of compact sized MMIC components required for the receiver, viz., a double balanced mixer, a voltage controlled oscillator with on-chip varactor and RF and IF amplifiers. All the MMICs have been designed and fabricated using indigenously developed 0.7μm GaAs MESFET (G7A) technology at GAETEC. The receiver works in a frequency range of 5.0-6.0 GHz and produces down converted signal in 500-1500 MHz band when beaten with internal LO of the receiver, operated at 4.5 GHz. The conversion gain of the receiver is 27dB with a noise figure of 5dB. The RF-IF and LO-IF isolation of better than 25dB is achieved though EM optimized placement of MMICs and isolation barriers inside the package.


Iron nitride and carbide nanoparticles were synthesized using iron oxide particles as template. They were furthermore dispersed in aqueous solution via stabilization with a poly(ionic liquid). They provide a great potential combining a high saturation magnetization with low toxicity compared to the iron based compounds that are currently used in several applications such as cell-sorting and hyperthermia or as contrast enhancers for magnetic resonance imaging. We here present a sustainable and green procedure to synthesize iron nitride and carbide by resorting to the variety of iron oxide template nanoparticles. In this way the shape and the size can be precisely controlled and tuned within the nanometer range. During calcination, urea enables to control the composition of the product material, whereas a biopolymer agar protects the particles from agglomeration. We dispersed the particles in water by using poly(1-ethyl-3-vinylimidazolium bromide) as stabilizing agent. Magnetic measurements of the converted...


Introduction: Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disorder with unknown etiology, which presents with vascular lesions and fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. Cardiac, renal, and pulmonary involvements are major causes of death in systemic sclerosis. Although a major cause of scleroderma deaths is cardiac failure, scleroderma rarely causes valvular disease. This is the eighth global report on scleroderma in company with mitral stenosis and the first one in Iran. Case report: The patient was a 48-year-old woman with severe mitral stenosis who was diagnosed with scleroderma 6 months before. Echocardiographic assessments had revealed no clinical manifestation of heart involvement in her previous visits. We used cardiac surgical treatment with successful outcome. Conclusion: The present case confirms the data from the currently available literature, indicating that mitral valve involvement in systemic sclerosis is a rare occurrence. Awareness of this uncommon association and adequate management to prevent complications of the underlying disease are prerequisites for successful mitral valve repair or replacement in such patients.


A method of measuring positions of the passing sheet (6) without stopping to an image forming means for at least region-wise generating an image of a sheet (6), characterized by, the respective imaging of edge portions (7, 7 ') of a sheet (6) based on a two-dimensional position detecting perpendicular made in the viewing plane, transmitting generated by the mapping of the corners of the sheet image data to a computer unit (20) and determining the positions of the sheet shown (6) on the basis determined by from the imaging data corners of the sheet by means of an image recognition algorithm.


Our studies previously demonstrated that new bone formed around implants can be classified into 3 or 4 types based on tissue structure and composition. Results of the present study, using polarized light microscopy, and microscopic Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic imaging (micro-FT-IR) and micro-XRD to examine different areas in the peri-implant new bone, suggest differences in crystallinity (crystal size) between pre-existing bone and peri-implant new bone.


N-t-Butoxycarbonylamino acid anhydrides react with tertiary amines to give 2-t-butoxyoxazol-5(4H)-ones, and with N,N′-dialkylcarbodi-imides to give the oxazol-5(4H)-ones and the N-acyl-N,N′-dialkylureas.


Fluoride is considered as a double edged weapon as in correct dosage it strengthens the enamel to prevent dental caries and in excess causes ugly brown stains of the teeth called dental fluorosis. Drinking water with high fluoride content has been the main reason for development of fluorosis, but food items may also contribute in areas with high concentration of fluoride in soil and water. The purpose of this study was to assess the fluoride content in tea liquor and identify low cost efficient defluoridating materials to remove excess fluoride in drinking water.


In this work of degree, it is a matter of elaborating, starting from Marx, the critique of the
capitalist system and its productivity regime, with everything and its base of theoretical
foundations and economic categories. It means that the civilizational project of modernity
under the determinations of capital, which understands nature as an object and not as this that
we are, as a historical and universal moment of the consciousness shared by humanity, and at
the same time, as a slave project of privatization, sexist, racist, dualist and Cartesian, Christian
and capitalist, as a premise, of our system of mercantile life of domination. I clarify, however,
that my intention is not to settle in a dispiriting pessimistic position, regarding the future, which
prevents a bleak future for humanity and the possibilities of life; in fact, on the contrary, in a
critical position of Marx, that affirms life, not from the abstract but the concrete.


Optical microscopy is one the oldest and most widely used techniques for sample inspection in life and material sciences. Microsphere-assisted microscopy (MAM) has emerged as a simple yet efficient approach to boost the spatial resolution. MAM uses a microsphere, placed in the immediate vicinity of the object, to enhance the numerical aperture and improve the resolution. MAM can be used in conjunction with white-light, wide-field, bright-field, dark-field, confocal, fluorescent, second harmonic generation, two-photon, interferometric, and digital holographic microscopies. It can be employed in reflection and transmission modes. There are several open questions and challenges associated with MAM, including the resolution limit, the mechanism behind resolution improvement, and the limited imaging field-of-view. Here, we present the progress in MAM in the past decade along with the associated opportunities and challenges.


This report investigates major factors concerning windows in buildings and their effect on visual conditions, thermal conditions, and energy requirements. Empirically obtained data are presented for daylight illumination as a function of solar radiation, sky condition, window size and orientation, and interior reflectance. The thermal and visual effects of several window management strategies are examined, along with an analysis of automatic lighting controls. Daylight utilization is seen to offer great potential for minimizing lighting load in perimeter building areas, and careful determination of lighting needs and window management strategies can provide additional benefit.


One afternoon last fall, I was driving along a freeway in North Carolina and noticed a billboard selling advertising space. The message was hard to miss. With huge, bold, white, sans serif letters placed within a solid black background, the advertisement declared: "Use Your Outdoor Voice." At first, I linked this command to the freeway itself, where the "drive" to be aggressive and fearless is on full display. My mind also drifted to the opposite of the "outdoor voice"—the "indoor voice"—and the often punitive and patronizing corrective to "use your indoor voice." While this phrase is used to quiet people (and particularly children) down, more than volume is at stake. It is also about power, discipline, and space, and therefore links to a broader understanding of what it means to be quiet: refrain from talking back; behave appropriately; avoid taking up too much room; make people comfortable. Gender hierarchies inform the related imperatives to use your outdoor voice (be loud, big, and forceful) or use your indoor voice (be quiet, small, and demure). They connect to the long histories of barring women, whether explicitly or implicitly, from the discourses and spaces of the public sphere and linking them instead to privacy and domesticity. While technically anyone can speak with a voice meant to be heard "outdoors" in the world of public life, the question is whether and how that voice will be heard. Will it be listened to attentively? Or will the speaker's words be blocked out, silenced, or dismissed? The reception of voices tells us who gets pushed to the margins, "outside" power and authority. In this special issue of Public Art Dialogue devoted to "Outside Voices," we consider how artists have made language into a material that speaks to the inequities of the public sphere. Whether with voice, text, or written inscription, modern and contemporary art has a rich (if not fully acknowledged) tradition of incorporating language into the visual frame. There are the fragmentary and unmoored "word-image[s]" of Cubism, Surrealism, and Dadaism; the calligraphic gestures and scrawled texts of Abstract Expressionism; the stenciled letters, brand names, advertising copy, and dialogue balloons of Pop; the sober displays of words, sentences, and semiotic systems in Conceptual Art; the puzzle-like arrangements of found typographies in Fluxus; the play with dialogue and vocal embodiment in video; the screams, murmurs, and scripts of


The superposition principle is one of the main tenets of quantum mechanics. Despite its counter-intuitiveness, it has been experimentally verified using electrons, photons, atoms, and molecules. However, a similar experimental demonstration using a nano or a micro particle is non-existent. Here in this article, exploiting macroscopic quantum coherence and quantum tunneling, we propose an experiment using a levitated magnetic nanoparticle to demonstrate such an effect. It is shown that the spatial separation between the delocalized wavepackets of a 20 nm ferrimagnetic yttrium iron garnet (YIG) nanoparticle can be as large as 5 μm. We argue that, in addition to using for testing one of the most fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics, this scheme can simultaneously be used to test different modifications, such as wavefunction collapse models, to the standard quantum mechanics. Furthermore, we show that the spatial superposition of a core–shell structure, a YIG core and a non-magnetic silica shell, can be used to probe quantum gravity.


The author identifies the non-polar symmetry Layer Class as an appropriate geometric model for single-layered interlaced structures. The transition from polar to non-polar environment is explored and the expanded range of transformations illustrated. The presence of asymmetric figures (primal sequence), the instructions for transformation (primal code) and the building blocks of weave (lattice cell) are identified. The 80 Layer groups are illustrated and examples of weave from each lattice type shown. It is argued that this symmetry model suggests the presence of a unifying language of innovation that is expressed in both human-generated artefact and living systems. The author begins to construct a model of the internal nature of interlaced structures that is seeded from its asymmetric state, expands and diversifies by a process of unravelling and duplication, translation and anti-translation, and not only accommodates the presence of dislocation but recognises it as a powerful generative element.


A boundary element code is used to study the electromagnetic field scattered by a helix at microwave frequencies. The far-field forward and backward scattering amplitudes are computed for an incident linearly polarized wave with various polarization directions, and a number of orientations of the helix. These computations allow us to study the magnitude of the field scattered in the forward and backward directions as a function of frequency and orientation. They are also the starting point for computing the effective wavenumbers of left and right circularly polarized waves in a chiral composite made of a dispersion of helices in a host medium. Several methods to compute the effective impedance of chiral composites in order to obtain all three constitutive parameters of such media are proposed. Numerical results are given and compared with existing experimental and theoretical data.


The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckac152 Advance Access published on 9 November 2022 ......................................................................................................................................... Editorial ......................................................................................................................................... Four decades of screening and brief alcohol intervention research: the peg and the hole


To design a high current pulsed drive circuit for the pumped drive module of a high power pulsed Diode Pump Solid State Laser(DPSS1),a circuit structure which used a power transformation module based on the zero-current switching technology was adopted.The circuit structure was used to carry out the secondary voltage transformation,the closed-loop feedback control of a MOSFET amplifier tube and the discharge of a storage capacitor.The high current pulse with a pulse voltage of 70V,a current of 200A and a pulse width of 200μm was obtained.The result showed that this method could meet the stable operation requirement of a high power DPSSL electric source.


The epidemic of HIV/AIDS is still active; the prevention, therapy and control of HIV are still full of challenging, unpredictable and herculean tasks. Recently, with great interest we read the article by Su et al. titled ''Polyactin A increases CD4þT cell counts in HIV-infected individuals with insufficient immunologic response to highly active antiretroviral therapy'', which was a prospective, randomized, open-label, parallel clinical trial study. This is commendable, however there were few studies on the essential problem with Polyactin A (PAA). Firstly, the prevalence of the insufficient immunologic response in the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) patients remains high even though the plasma HIV loads had been suppressed successfully, and more important is that the insufficient immunologic response is associated with higher mortality. Therefore, researchers had to use some uncertain immune-modulators or change the HAART strategy reluctantly. Secondly, PAA had been used as an immune-modulator and adjuvant in China for treatment of impaired immunity, especially in cancer and chronic hepatitis B. This paper may be the first clinical evaluation on CD4þT cell counts in HIV-infected individuals with insufficient immunologic response to HAART and the results provided us a prospect of using PAA for those patients without changing the HAART strategy. The study results had illustrated the effects of PAA on the immunologic response among AIDS patients with insufficient immunologic response to HAART, which would be an important basis for the research on this topic in the future. Thirdly, in our view, the conclusions of this study have some biases because of some major defects, e.g. sampling and stochastic methods were described clearly; being an open-label study the results of the CD4þT cell counts had the potential for bias, the central effect had not been calculated in the process of data analysis, etc. In conclusion, despite the fact that it is an interesting study, we still do believe that the effect of PAA on increasing CD4þT cell counts in HIV-infected individuals with insufficient immunologic response to HAART is uncertain, and more intensive research should be carried out to explore its clinic effects and mechanisms in the future.


Resumen en: Farmers training on biological control issues of the citrus leafminer was performed, and agroecosystems based upon grapefruit located in Tolome and Tie...


The Self is essentially a social structure and arises out of social experiences. There are different views about the concept of Self and the process of its differentiation. Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that makes it hard for the people with autism to communicate with others and relate to the outside world. Since autistic people have problems in relating to the outer world, they may have problems in forming a coherent sense of 'self and the other'. Intersubjectivity and interpersonal relations are fundamental to a human being's very essence and being-in-the-world. This paper attempts to analyse the concept of Self and intersubjectivity with reference to autism disorder. An understanding of Self and intersubjectivity is essential for communication and social interaction. An attempt is made to draw views from various theoretical models of Self, and factors which constitute self and intersubjectivity, are discussed. These factors viz, perception, thematisation, symbolisation and theory of mind are examined with reference to autism disorder. Inputs from previous research on these aspects in autism are incorporated and directions for further research are suggested. INTRODUCTION Both social cognition research and psychoanalytic object relations theory address the cognitive and affective processes that mediate interpersonal functioning. Since the 1940s and 1950s, psychodynamic theory and therapy have seen a shift towards a greater emphasis on patterns of thought and feeling that underlie interpersonal behaviour. Fairbairn (1) enunciated an interpersonal alternative to Freudian Theory, arguing that what binds people to one another is a need for relatedness, not the pursuit of sexual pleasure. Sullivan (2) developed an interpersonal theory that emphasises the person's construction of an understanding of Self through early social interaction and the distortions in personality and self-concept necessitated by the avoidance of interpersonally generated anxiety. Sullivan emphasised the centrality of affect in representations of self and others, particularly in childhood. For Heinz Kohut (3), serious or long-lasting disorders of the psyche are all fundamentally the result of deficiencies in the self-object relationship, either in the present or more commonly in the past, so that an adequate nuclear Self either has not formed or cannot be actualised in life. G.H. Mead analysed the phenomena of consciousness from the standpoint of how they are formed within the structures of linguistically or symbolically mediated interaction (4). The Self is essentially a social structure and arises out of social experiences. The expression 'me' designates the perspective from which the child builds up a system of internal behaviour controls by adopting the expectations of the generalised other towards himself. The 'I' reacts to the self which arises through the taking of the attitudes of others. Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. The result of a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain, autism and its associated behaviours have been estimated to occur in as many as 1 in 500 individuals (5). Autism impacts the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. In a normal child, until about the second year of life, we are told that there is no differentiation between Self and other. Before the stage of self-development, or during infancy, all there is, is a striving to gain comfort and to avoid discomfort. Once the infant experiences that its needs are not always met, the manageable frustration that follows is what makes it aware that an outer world exists. When, through its own efforts, through signals or by giving signs; the infant learns that it has been able to influence the external world, is the point at which it begins to become a social being. Children and adults with autism typically have difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interaction and leisure or play activities. The disorder makes it hard for them to communicate with others and relate to the outside world. Since autistic people have problems in relating to the outer world, they may have problems in forming a coherent sense of 'self and the other'. P e r c e p t i o n , M e t a p e r c e p t i o n a n d A u t i s m Intersubjectivity and interpersonal relations are fundamental to a human being's very essence and being-inthe-world. Without intersubjectivity the subject cannot be a subject. Encounters with the world of things is not sufficient to establish subjectivity; human interaction is necessary. The basis of intersubjectivity is established via perception (6). Intersubjectivity is a part of our experience and we observe it in action. The condition for knowledge is the presence of the 'other'. We become aware of the world not primarily because of our contacts with things, but because of our interrelations with others. There are situations in which the presence of the other is not in fact a menace, but on the contrary, a confirmation of one's being — not only psychologically, but also ontologically. The phenomenon of perception is not an objective but an inter-subjective one. Perception becomes complete when proper meanings are given to our sensations. When we fail to give appropriate meanings to sensations, perception becomes distorted. This is what happens in autism. Perceiving inanimate things as real persons, called physiognomic perception, might be a very characteristic mode not only in infancy, but also in autism. Rimland (7) described the perceptual capacities of autistic children as 'molecular perception'. In autism, according to Rimland, stimuli are apprehended, but not comprehended. Meta-perception, a term coined by R.D.Laing (8), is the perception that people have of another person's perception of someone. Here the concern is with the perceptions of the targets' perception of the perceiver. Meta-perception is a complex task which requires meta-representation ability. Because of the problems of autistic children in second-order representations, they have problems in meta-perception also. The difficulty in meta-representation is reflected in various aspects of social interaction like reciprocity, consensus, selfother agreement and anticipation. T h e m a t i s a t i o n a n d m e a n i n g i n A u t i s m The process of making sense of things may be referred to as Thematisation, a concept taken from phenomenological psychology. Thematisation consists of what a person does to give meaning to experiences (9). Meanings are objective in that they must be responsibly discovered rather than arbitrarily invented. Being human always points to, or is directed towards, something or someone other than oneself. A human being is always reaching out for meanings to 'fulfil' in the world, but he is never primarily concerned with anything within himself (10). The process of thematising not only allows an individual to make sense of what is going on in the present (11) but also offers a structure for the thought in different temporal and spatial modalities such as those involved in imagining (12), dreaming (13) and remembering (14). Thematisation implies that there is some cognitive capability for holding thoughts in the mind, or what Piaget calls "representational thinking" (15). Autistic children have problems in originating themes. It can be found in two major characteristics of these children viz. obliviousness to their environment and self-stimulatory behaviours. Autistic people have themes generally different from other people. Thematic contents may be narrower in that they are focused on a single aspect rather than the larger picture. It is clear from the following conversation between a sixteenyear-old autistic boy, SC and his teacher. SC is bilingual with Bangla as his mother tongue and English, second language. He is fluent in both these languages. The following conversations are recorded in natural as well as semi-structured settings. C o n v e r s a t i o n 1 Teacher : Hi...How are you? SC : I am all right. Can I laugh now? Yes, if you want you can laugh. Baat Nikale.................. T : You can sit on that chair. SC : I don't feel comfortable on this chair. There is grass on it. Can I laugh now? If you want you can. Aa...........Aaa..............forty five. Forty five..........Baat Nikale..............Forty five.


This report presents characteristics of car occupants involved in motor vehicle accidents in the province of Quebec in 1987 who sustained at least a neck injury. It examines also the duration and the cost of indemnization to these victims. This study is based on data obtained from the government insurance board, La Societe de l'assurance automobile du Quebec (SAAQ) which covers all the victims of traffic accidents in the Province of Quebec. The sample used includes 4,328 victims who had submitted a claim for compensation and who had sustained at least one cervical injury. Frequency, nature and severity of the neck injuries were examined as a function of occupant and accident parameters. Results show that 28.7% of injured car occupants sustained a neck injury. Neck strain is the most frequent neck injury (92%). For crashes with a police report, 44.6% of the victims were involved in a rear collision, 86.6% used a seat belt, and 52.7% of the crashes occurred in a zone with a 50 km/h speed limit. Many neck injured persons were involved in non-head impact (86%). Women have a 40% higher risk of sustaining a neck injury than men; however men register more severe neck injuries than women. Our statistical analyses also include the costs for medical treatment not covered by the provincial hospitalization and health insurances, rehabilitation, compensation for pain, anatomico-physiological deficits and time lost from work (income replacement). The latter gives a good estimate of the duration of injury. Cervical strain results often in long term neck pain and disability for the victims and expenses for the insurance company. This study shows that the amount spent by the SAAQ on victims with a neck injury only exceeds 10 million Canadian dollars (Can$) for the accidents that occurred in 1987, including a follow-up. The revenue compensation cost (7 million Can$) is the major part (67%) of the total amount of compensation. The total costs due to neck strains are more than twice as high for women (4.87 million Can$, 3,121 victims) than for men (2.15 million Can$, 2,898 victims). Neck strain costs amount to 84.6% for women and to 45.3% for men of the total costs by sex for the victims with a neck injury only. The study demonstrates the need for improved restraining systems that provide better neck protection for car occupants.


With the development of the society, people lay more and more emphasis on mental diseases. Depression accounts for the majority of people all mental diseases. In this paper, a depression detection model based on SVM is proposed to detect whether Sina Weibo (a kind of microblog) users have depression tendency through in-depth mining of Sina Weibo text. First, text features and extended features were extracted. Then SVM model trained with the two kinds of features and fusion features were compared. Through the experiment, the F1 value of the model trained with text features was as high as 84%.


The nine contributions to this volume represent a great deal more than the substance of a conference on The Problems arising from the Teaching of Personality Development to Students of Education and Social Work, for they indicate a major change in attitude to the professional training of those who work with people. The degree of change that has already occurred was, perhaps, a surprise to the members of the Departments of Education and of Social Service Training at the University College of North Staffordshire, who foresaw the usefulness of such a Conference. Dr. Paul Halmos, who was largely responsible both for the conception and for the planning of the Meeting, started with a tentative idea of perhaps 30 participants but was almost overwhelmed by the response. Among 187 registrations there were representatives of about 75 different University Departments of Education and Teacher Training Colleges, and of about 25 University and other Schools of Social Work Training. In addition there were psychiatrists, educational psychologists, and practising social workers of various kinds, representatives of local authority Children's Departments, almoners, probation officers, student health service officers and, in addition, a few colleagues from overseas. There were five sessions during two and a half days and although the numbers were too great to permit of intimate discussion, most of the participants were experienced enough to make the discussion fruitful. A new approach to professional training for two of the most important professional disciplines concerned with people, is a matter of considerable social importance, and the experience at Keele was that the joint discussion illuminated the different range of problems and approach of the two professions. Naturally there is a great deal remaining to discuss in the field of each, but it was felt that this can be more usefully undertaken at leisure now that the whole subject has been opened. The Conference was opened by Professor W. A. C. Stewart, who spoke on 'the relevance of the psychology of personality develop-


Using a panel of listed Australian firms for the years 1999–2007, this paper investigates whether analysts' forecast efficiency is improved by the occurrence of a publicly observable event, such as a CEO appointment, which signals a firm's earnings management incentives. Two supporting hypotheses are also tested: first, that CEO appointments are associated with income-decreasing earnings management; and second, that analyst forecast errors increase with the level of earnings management present in current period financial statements. Consistent with prior literature, we find income-decreasing earnings management in the year of CEO appointment. Earnings management, as a general phenomenon, is found to be significantly related to analyst forecast errors in the period in which the earnings management occurs. However, we present evidence that analyst forecasts for current year earnings are significantly more accurate with respect to earnings management in cases where a CEO is appointed during the current financial period.


promethazine can also markedly impair platelet aggregation in the newborn and, to a lesser extent, in the mother.5'6 Although its clinical significance is again unknown, the platelet disturbance is of the same magnitude as the disturbance associated with a bleeding state.7 There appears to be sufficient concern to suggest that the practice of using promethazine during labour be discontinued, particularly when the fetus is at risk of hypoxia.


Since 1978, the Chinese Government has drafted a series of laws, regulations, tech-standards and governmental planning to create a primary legal environment for the development and use of renewable energy (RE). This paper introduces the basic framework of the RE Law and the corresponding regulations in China. A number of problems have been identified with the current regulations in practice such as the incentive incompatibilities, policy mismatch and incompleteness of the implementation system. The purpose of this paper is to seek agreement to the introduction of new legislations to promote RE development and utilisation. This paper recommends that there is a need to raise the consciousness of developing and utilising RE in the whole society: to refine or replenish corresponding laws and regulations; to coordinate relationship between relevant regulations or policies; to establish a legislative enforcement mechanism integrating government administration, public participation and social counterweight; and to evaluate implementing situation of laws and policies and revise legal measures promptly.


Adiabatic corrections to the potential curves for the 2p$pi$/subu/ and 3dsigma/subg/ states of H$sub 2$$sup +$ are reported. The effects of these corrections in altering spectroscopic properties of H$sub 2$$sup +$ are described in some detail; likely consequences are indicated in two astrophysical applications. (AIP)


A prospective study was performed in 25 patients, comparing SPECT left ventricular (LV) end-diastolic (ED) volume (V) to that of contrast ventriculography (ANGIO). SPECT examination utilized 25 mCi Tc-99m RBC labeled in vivo. Sixty images were acquired with a Picker Dyna Camera 5 over 180° from RAO to LPO utilizing a 50 msec ED window. The 30-second images were preprocessed using a 5x5 spatial filter with a cutoff of 0.10 and then reconstructed into transaxial slices by filtered back-projection utilizing a low resolution proprietary filter. The apex and base of the LV were determined by review of additional long-axis and short-axis slice reconstructions. LVEDV was subsequently calculated from count-corrected regions of interest (ROIs) generated about the transaxial LV slices. All patients underwent contrast ventriculography (ANGIO) within 72 hours of the SPECT study. The correlation coefficient between SPECT and ANGIO LVEDV over a range of 87 to 506 cc was 0.97 with a standard error of the estimate (SEE) of 23 cc. We conclude that SPECT allows for noninvasive and accurate determination of LVEDV without the need for blood sample counting or assumptions about LV geometry and chest wall attenuation.


Goal of our research is to develop and test approaches that can be used to visualize and dissect the mosaic nature of genomes. This will allow tracing histories of individual genes, detection of co-evolving traits, and correlation of the molecular record with the fossil and geological records. In the past we have developed tools that map the support of individual gene families for the different possible phylogenetic trees. However, because of the huge number of possible trees topologies, this approach cannot readily be extended to the depiction of many genomes. To facilitate the processing of phylogenetic information, we will organize the data from analyses of multiple genomes into matrices. For each gene family we will utilize either the significantly supported bipartitions, or the support for the different quartets that can be formed by selecting four of the analyzed species. All of these data matrices will be of very high dimension ([number of orthologous genes] x [number of possible tree topologies / quartets / bipartitions]).


The Southeastern Simulation Council of the Society for Computer Simulation held its winter meeting on December 3-5, 1975 in sunny Orlando, Florida. Thirtyfive interested simulationists registered for the meeting and ten technical papers were presented that stimulated an interchange of ideas among attendees. Social activities, tours, and demonstrations contributed to the success of the gathering.


The depolarization ratio of the quadrupolar vibrations and the relative intensity of the symmetric l=0 and quadrupolar l=2 acoustic vibrations in the Raman spectra of some dielectric nanocrystals has been calculated. A dipole-induced-dipole model can account for the depolarized spectra from quadrupolar vibrations, but cannot be at the origin of the polarized peak from the symmetric vibration. Bond polarizability seems to be the main physical mechanism at the origin of Raman scattering from these modes. The study indicates that the quadrupolar modes or symmetric modes dominate the spectra when the dipole induced dipole or bond polarizability are more important, respectively. This result explains why semiconductor nanoparticles with covalent bonds show intense symmetric scattering, and fluoride crystals with ionic bond show Raman scattering from quadrupolar modes, and why in oxide crystals the two modes show comparable Raman activity. A comparison of the spectra of titania, zirconia, and hafnia nanocrystals offers further support to the model.


According to the sensing principle, the optic fiber hydrophone includes the light-intensity modulation hydrophone, interference, and FGB. The light-intensity modulation hydrophone changes the optical power based on micro-bending. The interference hydrophone is based on optical interference. Through changing the pressure from underwater sound wave to fiber, change the refractive index of optical fiber core or length. Then, change the optical distance in optical fiber and acquire the water sound wave information by detecting the phase. The FBG hydrophone is based on principle, the pressure around sense grating changes with the underwater sound pressure.


The protocol presented here is to detect and kill orphan processes (1) in distributed computer systems effectively. That is it detects and kills the orphans when they are born. It does not waste any time to kill the orphans as the previous approaches do. All Remote procedure calls (RPC) (21)(3)(4) are recorded in the global log(5)(6) which is associated with the monitor process(5)(6) which is kept in the system to watch constantly the RPCs to find out the orphan computations. It is done by the monitor process which sends a token to those clients who participates in the RPCs and find out the active clients and abort (7) or crash processes (7). The protocol is very much effective in the sense that the orphans are killed immediately after their birth. This protocol also handles the nested invocation (8) of RPCs. So, this protocol maintains data consistency (9) in the system and it avoids the wastage of valuable computer resources. All other approaches wait until the abort or crash process gets rebooted. Till the crash processes get rebooted, the orphans are active and make unwanted result which may lead to inconsistency (10) of data and moreover the wastages of valuable resources like CPU, memory and database etc.


The effect of the parameters of steam system on the characteristic of the constituent part and the overall performance of the combined gas steam cycle is studied.Primary rules for the reasonable design of steam system of combined cycle have been drawn through the thermodynamic computation and analyze on the parameters selection for a single, a double and a triple pressure steam system.The research results provide some valuable instructions for the overall optical design of combined gas steam cycle.


The utility model provides a multimedia video and audio refrigerator with a sticky note function. The refrigerator comprises a central processing unit and a display screen, a touch screen and a memory which are respectively connected with the central processing unit, wherein the touch screen sends the reading request to the central processing unit; the central processing unit reads the corresponding contents saved in the memory and the read corresponding contents are displayed by the display screen; and the touch screen sends the written characters or pictures to the central processing unit for processing and the corresponding characters or pictures are displayed by the display screen. By adding the central processing unit and the display screen, the touch screen and the memory respectively connected with the central processing unit, the refrigerator has the sticky note function; and by adding an audio amplification chip and a speaker, the refrigerator has the multimedia playing function.


10. Jankowski RF. Implementing national guidelines at local level. BMJ 2001; 322: 1258-1259. 11. National Centre for Classification in Health. The international statistical classification of diseases and related health problems, 10th revision, Australian modification (ICD-10-AM). Sydney: National Centre for Classification in Health,1998. 12. SAS Institute. SAS statistical software. Version 8.02. Cary (NC): SAS Institute Inc, 2000. 13. Stats Direct Statistical Software, Version 2.0. Cambridge: Stats Direct Ltd, 2001. 14. Capewell S, McMurray J. "Chest pain — please admit": is there an alternative? BMJ 2000; 320: 951-952. 15. Fitzpatrick MA, Dodd M, Shoevers D, Tracy E. Do management algorithms improve chest pain triage? Med J Aust 1999; 171: 402-406. 16. Katz DA, Griffith JL, Beshansky JR, Selker HP. The use of empiric clinical data in the evaluation of practice guidelines for unstable angina. JAMA 1996; 276: 1568-1574. 17. Roberts RR, Zalenski RJ, Menash EK, et al. Costs of an emergency department-based accelerated diagnostic protocol vs hospitalisation in patients with chest pain: a randomised controlled trial. JAMA 1997; 278: 1670-1676. 18. Gomez MA, Anderson JL, Karagounis LA, et al. An emergency department-based protocol for rapidly ruling out myocardial ischemia reduces hospital time and expense: results of a randomized study (ROMIO). J Am Coll Cardiol 1996; 28: 25-33.


Abstract In a country-wide survey of Culicoides in Nigeria 31 species were caught in light-traps set on the eaves of livestock pens. Three species, namely C. imicola Kieff., C. schultzei (End.) and C. milnei Aust., were most numerous and were found in all parts of the country. C. austeni C., I. & M. was predominant in mangrove swamps, C. schultzei in the hot Sudan zone and C. milnei was dominant on the plateaux. C. imicola and C. milnei were predominant in the forest zone while C. schultzei and C. imicola were dominant in the savanna zones. C. quinquelineatus Goetgh. was a southern species and was replaced in the north by C. moreli Clastrier. Peak catches of most species were between 01.00 and 05.00 h and a large proportion of the Culicoides were engorged with blood. The presence of large numbers of engorged Culicoides, especially C. imicola and C. milnei, around livestock indicates the danger of bluetongue virus transmission.


Micro- finance helps the rural poor to improve their living standards and fulfill their credit needs. Stree Shakti Groups (SSGs) are new innovation in the field of rural economic development, to finance the rural women and also to satisfy their credit needs. This study mainly focuses on the impact of micro-finance on the development of SSG members. The study was undertaken in Doddaballapura taluk of Bangalore rural district of Karnataka state, India and the required data were collected from 100 SSG members and 30 non-SSG members. It was found that the number of income generating activities taken up by SSG members (five) was higher compared to non-SSG members (three) and the income generated from these activities was also higher compared to non-SSG members. There was significant growth in the amount of loan borrowed, repayment and savings over time among SSG members. SSG finance substantially enhanced employment opportunities for members compared to non-members, which led to improved income and living standard of members. Since SSGs play a major role in the development of women, there is a need to encourage more number of SSGs. The study also reveals that the performance of Non Governmental Organization (NGO) promoted SSGs was much better than Government promoted SSGs. Hence, more number of NGOs must be involved in promoting SSGs covering more womenfolk. Keywords: Micro-finance; Stree Shakti group; self help group; impact; empowerment; non-governmental organization DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjar.v36i2.9261 BJAR 2011; 36(2): 333-350


Nuclear issue of Korean Peninsula return the heat when by the end of year 2002 North Korean known by the United States have conducted the collision from Year agreement 1994 hitting its nuclear coagulation program whereabout North Korean re-accused activate the its nuclear program through activity of uranium enrichment what knew will be made to arm the mass destroyer and frightened will fall the irresponsible nations hand or assumed enemy by United States. United States feel is obliged to prevent the North Korean in developing nuclear weapon because this matter oppose against the principle Nuclear of Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) where about North Korean by self also represent one of state which have a share in the agreement signing. From the background above, this research to analyse how far that policy of United States to North Korean that will discontinue the its nuclear development program. Descriptive method are utulized to accomplished this research while empirical datas found in the biblography. Pursuant to the approach above, hence writer formulate the the following research hypothesis: If Foreign policy of United States for concerning nuclear weapon spreading can be executed hence North Korean will discontinue the its nuclear development program. Result of research conducted conclude that policy of United States of concerning its national defender strategy is not used as by a foreign policy of United States, but the policy changed with the stipulating return the economic embargo to North Korean and United States non-stoped will perform a the meeting of through dialogued by 6 state for finishing North Korean nuclear. There by this research is acceptable.


There are many games among participants in a baseless tender project.The paper deeply analyses such games.With the method of valuebenefit evaluation decision,it puts forward the bidding evaluation model and bid winner evaluation model.According to the preference of project owner,the evaluation bid strategy sets and bid winner evaluation strategy sets are raised to ensure of the best result of both project owners and bidders under non-homogeneous conditions.


In this paper, first we establish a fixed point theorem for a pα-nonexpansive wrt orbits mapping in a locally convex space, then we apply it to get a fixed point theorem in probabilistic normed spaces.


Amplification property of an electron-beam pumped KrF laser at the pumping power of 3.5 MW/cm3 has been measured. Waveform of the amplified laser pulse has been analyzed and small signal gain coefficient and saturation intensity have thus been determined. It is confirmed that the production rate of the upper laser state follows very closely the time dependence of the energy deposition rate of the electron-beam in the laser gas and the quantum production efficiency is almost 100%. We find discrepancy between the measured saturation intensity and the calculated value based on the known kinetic constants and the simple two level laser model.


The trend toward linking all aspects of navigation into one wheelhouse console is examined. The various segments of the article carry the headings: Radar Centerpiece for Norcontrol; Turnkey Systems from Anschutz; Datamation: a new console from Radio Holland; Krupp Atlas Experience in Ships of the Future; Mk3 Total Navigator from JRC: Navguide from Hitachi; Racal's MIRANS in Two Versions; Vector System from Selesmar; and Sperry's 'Ring Main' Technique.


In the peculiar situation of the later 40's of Hong Kong,it's a meaningful topic how the Chinese man of letters who exiled handled the way of publication and earned a living.Sima Wensen adjust the publication tactics of Literature and Art Life timely to the group publication pattern under the leadership of man of letters,such as the help of group publishing funds,the mass character of issuing and composition.The unique publication pattern not only enriched people's knowledge of the publication patterns of literature journals in the 40's,but also helped us to know the historical circumstances and modern destiny of modern literature in the 40's and the contemporary writers.By the way,it is helpful especially for us to know South China modern literature.Furthermore,it brings back-prospective enlightenment to us about publication tactics and market operation of literary magazines and others.


sored by the International Political Economy Group. The book analyzes the problems confronting the international economic system as it enters the 1980s and focuses attention upon difficulties relating to surplus capacity, which is defined as "a situation in which demand is insufficient to absorb production at prices high enough both to maintain employment and to maintain profitability for all the enterprises engaged" (p. 13). The book also seeks to clarify the utility of studying international regimes and issue areas (see Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye, Power and Interdependence, Littel Brown 1977).


It is important for search and pay-per-click en- gines to penetration test their click fraud detection systems, in order to find potential vulnerabilities and correct them before fraudsters can exploit them. In this paper, we describe: (1) some goals and desirable qualities of a click fraud penetration testing system, based on our experience, and (2) our experiences with the challenges of building and using a click fraud penetration testing system called Camelot that has been in use at Google.


Abstract An index of biotic integrity (IBI) was developed for use in the lower piedmont and upper coastal plain physiographic regions of west-central Georgia to investigate the relation between stream fish communities and land use. Fish samples and habitat data were collected at 507 sites in 340 first- to fifth-order tributary streams in the Chattahoochee, Flint, Ocmulgee, and Oconee river drainages during 1990–1993. Watershed cutouts upstream of sample sites were made from raster digital files based on LANDSAT thematic mapper satellite imagery from land use and land cover data collected during the winters of 1988–1990. Six of the 12 original IBI metrics were modified to take into account regional ichthyological differences between Georgia and the midwestern United States while maintaining the basic underlying ecological assumptions. The number of darter species metric was expanded to include madtoms (Noturus spp.) and sculpins (Cottus spp.), number of intolerant species metric was expanded to include mod...


As a basic research to establish a viscosity equation of mortar and concrete, we investigated viscosity equation of cement paste.We used various kinds of cement making from them cement paste with water cement ratio 40-100% to measure rheological constants.For our experiments we change the Roscoe's viscosity equation on the suspensions of high concentration to adapt it for Portland cement paste, as results of our experiments we propose a viscosity equation on cement paste as factors in solid volume percentage. volumetric concentration and specific surface area of cement by blaine. Farthermore we discussed correction of thermal condition, influence of time dependent change and influence of many kinds of admixturs.


The central problem tackled in this article is the susceptibility of the solar modules to dirt that culminates in losses in energy generation or even physical damage. In this context, a solution is presented to enable the estimates of dirt losses in photovoltaic generation units. The proposed solution is based on the mathematical modeling of the solar cells and predictive modeling concepts. A device was designed and developed to acquire data from the photovoltaic unit; process them based on a predictive model, and send loss estimates in the generation unit to a web server to help in decision-making support. The results demonstrated the real applicability of the system to estimate losses due to dirt or electrical mismatches in photovoltaic plants.


According to Wichmann, it is not always easy to distinguish these two conditions. The author advises to pay attention to the pulse, which in diabetic coma is frequent and small, but correct, while in hypoglycemic, it is frequent, irregular and arrhythmic.


Background: Postoperative wound or surgical 'site infections (SSI) place a significant burden on both patients and surgeons. SSIs are the second most common nosocomial infection, accounting for 24% of all hospital-acquired infections, and are a major source of morbidity, prolonged hospital stay, and increased health care costs.' Despite the numerous publications on the incidence of and risk factors for SSI in adults, There have been few studies highlighting the details of pediatric surgical patientsThis study was performed to determine incidence risk factors measures to prevent SSI in pediatric population. Methods: The study was conducted in a B J wadia institute and included a total of 650 patients comprising neonates, infants and older pediatric patients undergoing surgery under anaesthesia during a 1year period. Results: Our SSI rate came out to be 9.8%. The factors which significantly increase the incidence of SSI were found to emergency surgery, dirty wounds, duration of surgery, patient with prolonged hospital stay use of prosthesis low Hb level. The commonest organisms found to infect the wounds was E. Coli. Conclusion: Surgical site infections are a major cause of morbidity and increased costs in health care.A multitude of risk factors influence the development of SSIs, and awareness of these will help to promote effective preventive strategies..


The invention predetermined methacrylate repeating unit derived from a monomer: 10 wt% to 70 wt%, the predetermined vinyl aromatic monomer repeating units derived from 5 weight% to 40 weight%, and the predetermined cyclic acid anhydride repeating unit: 20 a copolymer containing a wt% to 50 wt%, of repeating units derived from a vinyl aromatic monomer content of (a) and a cyclic acid anhydride repeating large and less than 10 molar ratio (B / a) of the content (B) of the unit 1 in the range, and the total of the monomers remaining in the copolymer relative to 100 parts by weight provides an acrylic thermoplastic resin, characterized in that not more than 0.5 part by weight.


The Productivity Commission's inquiry report into 'Tasmanian Freight Subsidy Arrangements' was tabled in Parliament in May 2007. The Commission was asked to report on arrangements for subsidising containerised and bulk shipping between the mainland and Tasmania and to recommend an appropriate future approach and/or arrangements. The Commission found that the current arrangements do not operate as intended. Different ways of claiming rebates for the same freight task can result in different TFES (Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme) payments. This can lead to overestimated freight costs and result in higher than appropriate rebates. The Commission recommended that rebates be based on original invoices from carriers that include a specific wharf-towharf charge. The Commission also recommended that wheat no longer be eligible for assistance under the TFES. The TWFS (the freight equalisation scheme for wheat) would pay the same level of assistance per tonne to wheat shipped in containers and in bulk, with assistance based on the disadvantage of the least cost method of shipping (plus intermodal costs, less a rail freight equivalent cost).


Mine planning in underground mining determines where, when and how to extract the mineral considering technical and economic factors. However, usually the extraction and development planning are performed separately. First, the production plan is generated and once the production goals are fixed, the development plan is generated so that it supports the production plan. As it turns out, the procedure described above is sub-optimal, because there is no guarantee that the optimal value will be achieved. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the development rate to generate a feasible mining plan that considers the activities of construction and preparation of the necessary infrastructure to comply with the proposed mining plan. This work aims to solve the underground production problem of a Block / Panel Caving mine considering development and extraction activities simultaneously. The results show that this approach allows obtaining an optimal mining plan, which addresses, simultaneously, the preparation and production activities. This plan optimizes the mineral reserves consumption strategy considering a development and production rate per period, draw rates by caving condition and opening of drawbells strategy.


The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of nixtamalization process on the phytic acid loss of maize and the subsequent influence on iron bioavailability of the iron-deficient piglets. Two experiments were conducted to achieve the objective: in the first step, three types of maize varying in phytic acid contents were processed by five lime concentrations treatment (0, 0.6, 1.2, 1.8 and 2.4%), four cooking duration (0, 45, 60 and 75 min) and thereafter soaking for five periods (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 h) to optimize the best nixtamalization process parameter based on the maximum loss of phytic acid. In the second study, weaning piglets suffered iron-deficient were fed two diets: either lime-cooked maize produced by optimal parameter (NTM) or non-nixtamalized maize as control (CON), to examine the effects of the nixtamalization on the iron bioavailability, iron status and growth performance. The results showed that: (1)The greatest phytic acid loss of three types of maize and their processing parameters (lime concentration, cooking duration and steeping duration) were 17.4% (1.2%, 75 min and 4 h), 14.9% (1.8%, 75 min and 4 h) and 27.5% (1.8%, 75 min and 4 h), respectively. (2) The hemoglobin concentration (Hb), Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Red Blood Cell count (RBC) and Hemoglobin-Fe (Hb-Fe) content were improved in the NTM piglets compared with CON piglets (p<0.05). (3) The Average Daily Gain (ADG) and Average Daily Feed Intake (ADFI) at D 14 and D 28 were higher in NTM than CON group (p<0.05). These results demonstrated that nixtamalization process parameter should be varying according to the phytic acid contents of the maize to break down the maize phytic acid effectively. Above all, the lime-cooked maize could enhance the iron status and the growth performance of weaning piglets suffered iron-deficiency anemia, thus could be considered as an effective intervention protecting the consumer (including human and animal) from suffering iron deficiency.


The synchrotron provides an ideal environment to develop new approaches to x-ray imaging. At the Canadian Light Source (CLS) there are a number of activities on the Biomedical Imaging and Therapy (BMIT) beamlines directed to advancing the x-ray optics used for imaging. These optics have been used to improve existing methods as well as provide new capabilities not possible before. K-Edge Subtraction (KES) is a powerful synchrotron imaging method that allows the quantifiable determination of a contrast element (i.e. iodine) and matrix material (usually represented as water) in both projection imaging and computed tomography [1]. With living systems, a bent Laue monochromator is typically employed to prepare imaging beams above and below the contrast element K-edge which focus at the subject location and subsequently diverge onto a detector [2]. Conventional KES prepares the two beams by utilizing a splitter that blocks approximately 1/3 of the vertical beam size to prevent "edge crossing" energies beyond the monochromator [3]. A bent Laue monochromator has been developed that has very good focal [4] and also, good energy dispersive properties for KES. With a 5mm vertical incident beam from CLS BMIT bend magnet beamline, the vertical splitter size that blocks the edge crossing energies is less than 200 microns at the monochromator location. This makes the design and mounting of a splitter impractical from a mechanical and thermal loading perspective. Since approximately 4% of the vertical beam profile is involved in "edge crossing" energies, no splitter is employed. Also, the beam can be narrowed vertically allowing a smaller crossover angle than a splitter based system which minimizes crossover artifacts. Some aspects of this system will be presented. An extension of this system has been applied to x-ray absorption spectroscopy where one wishes to determine the speciation or oxidation state of an element. Obtaining a 3D image of chemical forms of an element within a living system would be insightful for many health research areas. XAS can derive chemical form information, but is challenging to apply to 3D objects [5,6]. Meanwhile, KES can reveal the 3D distribution of an element, but traditionally with no chemical information. We have developed a system to test feasibility of 3D speciation imaging with a bent Laue monochromator and analysis algorithms using Se in a living plant system as a test case. Future studies will apply our methods to other biomedical systems. The initial experience with the system was successful with high flux, good energy dispersion properties and spectral bandwidth around the Se K-edge. Some initial results of this work will be presented. The drive to improve and expand the amount of information extracted from various imaging modalities has led to the use of multiple x-ray photon energies in computed tomography clinical systems [7]. The interest in multiple energy imaging (MEI) is not only with the use of laboratory x-ray source but also with synchrotron x-ray source [8]. A novel MEI system, which prepares a focused polychromatic x-ray, has been developed which is made up of a cylindrically bent Laue single (5,1,1) silicon crystal monochromator and an area detector. Depending on the horizontal beam width of the filtered synchrotron radiation (20 to 50 keV) and the bent radius of the crystal, the size and spectral range of the focused beam prepared vary. For example, using a bent radius of 95 cm and a 50 mm wide beam, a 0.5 mm wide focused beam of spectral range 27 keV to 43 keV was obtained. This spectral range covers the k-edges of iodine (33.17 keV), xenon (34.56 keV), cesium (35.99 keV), and barium (37.44 keV); some of these elements are used as biomedical and clinical contrast agents. With the developed MEI system, a test subject composed of iodine, xenon, cesium, and barium along with water and bone were imaged and their concentrations successfully extracted. Some results from this effort is presented. Finally, the small vertical beam size of a synchrotron limits its usability in some applications. Micro-CT imaging requires multiple scans to produce a full projection, and certain dynamic imaging experiments such as dynamic lung imaging [9] simply are not possible; a larger vertical beam is desirable to enable such experiments which can be accomplished with a long beamline. However, at BMIT it was not financially feasible to build a longer beamline. Instead, a beam expander was developed that makes the source appear to originate at distance much farther away. This was accomplished using a double crystal bent Laue monochromator in a non-dispersive divergent geometry. The design and implementation of this beam expander is presented along with results from the micro-CT. Flux (photons/area/time) has been measured and found to be comparable to the existing flat Bragg DCM in use at BMIT-BM [10]. An improved version preserves the phase and coherence properties of the output beam and some results of this effort will also be presented [11].


Recent studies imroduced dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) reduction as a reliable microbial activity parameter (ALEF & l<LEINER 1989, GRIEBLER 1997, GRIEBLER & SLEZAK 1997). The assay is based on the microbial reduction of DMSO to dimethylsulfide (DMS). DMSO serves as an electron acceptor and, therefore, DMSO reduction rates are used as a measure of the respiratory activity of microbes from aquatic or terrestrial habitats. The DMSO reduction method has been already applied to soils (ALEF & l<LEINER 1989, SPARLING & SEARLE 1993), to sediments of sewage ponds (RAJBHANDARI et al. 1991), to activated sewage sludge (SKLORZ & BINERT 1994), to various aquatic sediment systems (GRIEBLER 1997), and recendy to the water column (GRIEBLER & SLEZAK 2001). The present paper reviews how widespread DMSO reduction is among microorganisms. A literature survey resulted in 36 bacterial genera (91 species, >300 strains) which are documemed with regard to DMSO reduction (Table 1). The list includes aerobic as well as anaerobic prokaryotes, 49 isolates from various soils and lake mud, and eukaryotic organisms represented by 20 fungal species o f l O genera (Table 1). Nine randomly chosen bacterial isolates from groundwater (GW01-GW09) were tested for DMSO reduction under culture conditions. The strain-specific DMSO reduction rates were determined and related to bacterial cells and bacterial carbon. Bacterial dimensions, biovolume and carbon content were obtained by automated image analysis (PSENNER 1991).


Research for this paper was undertaken with the aim of revealing perceptions of a select group of environmental assessment experts with experience in wind power regarding public opinion. The multi criteria decision making (MCDM) software was used to quantify the expert perceptions of what made a wind turbine site publicly acceptable. Seven environmental experts experienced in wind farm environmental assessment were interviewed using the 'Expert Choice' software. The software recorded and tested interviewee decisions regarding acceptable site types and the criteria that would make them acceptable in terms of public opinion. The need for this research was that historically many environmental expert reports used by wind power site developers that attempted to meet the various criteria for planning permission provided little or no information on public opinion regarding the proposed site that could later lead to it being opposed locally.


Basilique de St-Saveur, front elevation, showing the portal and tympanum; Dinan is a walled Breton town and a commune in the Cotes-d'Armor department in northwestern France. Major historical attractions include the Jacobins Theatre dating from 1224, the flamboyant Gothic St Malo's Church, the Romanesque St Saviour's Basilica, Duchess Anne's Tower and the Château de Dinan. Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (accessed 7/16/2008)


Let X be a nonempty, bounded, closed and convex subset of a Banach space B. A mapping fιX-*X is called a contraction mapping if 11 fix) — f(y) \\ ̂ 11 x — y |1 for all x, y e X. Let % be a nonempty commutative family of contraction mappings of X into itself. The following results are obtained. (i) Suppose there is a compact subset M of X and a mapping /i6% such that for each xe X the closure of the set {fi(%)' w = 1,2, •} contains a point of ikf (where / * denotes the n iterate, under composition, of /i). Then there is a point xeM such that fix) = x for each / e g . (ii) If X is weakly compact and the norm of B strictly convex, and if for each / e g the /-closure of X is nonempty, then there is a point xeX which is fixed under each / e g . A third theorem, for finite families, is given where the hypotheses are in terms of weak compactness and a concept of Brodskii and Milman called normal structure.


As part of the medical studies at the University of Lausanne, students are asked to achieve a
personal research project and write a master thesis in addition to other exams in order to
achieve a medical degree. As I have always been attracted to obstetrics, it became obvious
that I would ask to perform this research project in this field.
This master thesis has taken place at the Klinik fur Geburtshilfe, at the Universitatsspital in
Zurich (USZ) from March 2017 to April 2018 and aims at assessing the accuracy of fetal and
newborn HCs measurements, combined with it's relation to delivery.
It has always been considered obvious that the larger the head of the fetus, the higher risk of
delivery difficulties. This relationship seems, however, nowadays still quite imprecise. The
objective of the current Master thesis is therefore to provide, in a first part, an overview of the
history up to today's aspects of childbirth and the methods used over time to assess the fetal
head circumference (HC). This first part aims for a better understanding of the second part
and does not provide a complete overview of the obstetric history. In the second part, the
design and initial results of a prospective study are presented. In this study, the accuracy of
the post-birth HC measurement will be verified by measuring inter-observer variability, the
accuracy of the pre-birth HC's ultrasonographic assessment will be verified by comparing the
data with those obtained immediately, as well as two days after birth.


Provided are a composition for improving the brain function, which can be orally taken at a low dose, and a method therefor. The composition for improving the brain function contains, as the active ingredient, X-Pro-Pro-Leu-Thr-Gln-Thr-Pro-Val-Val-Val-Pro-Pro-Phe-Leu-Gln-Pro-Glu-Y (wherein X is nil or represents Ile or Asn-Ile; and Y is nil or represents Val-Met), X-Val-Val-Val-Pro-Pro-Phe-Leu-Gln-Pro-Glu-Y (wherein X is abscent or represents Thr-Gln-Thr-Pro, Pro-Leu-Thr-Gln-Thr-Pro, Leu-Thr-Gln-Thr-Pro or Pro; and Y is abscent or represents Val-Met), or a salt of the same. The method for improving the brain function comprises administering said peptide or a salt of the same.


* Abbreviations:
 AAP — : American Academy of Pediatrics
 APC — : adenomatous polyposis coli
 BRCA1 and BRCA2 — : breast cancer–associated genes 1 and 2
 FAP — : familial adenomatous polyposis
 HBOC syndrome — : hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome

The Committee on Bioethics of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advises against genetic testing of children for conditions that have their onset in adulthood. They write, "Genetic testing for adult-onset conditions generally should be deferred until adulthood or until an adolescent interested in testing has developed mature decision-making capacities."1 The Clinical Genetics Society in the United Kingdom expresses similar views, writing that "The predictive genetic testing of children…for an adult onset disorder should generally not be undertaken…until the 'children' request such tests for themselves, as autonomous adults."2

Nevertheless, many parents seek genetic testing of their children, especially for situations in which a genetic disease is known to be present in the family. They may have different reasons for wanting their children tested. These requests create a dilemma for pediatricians. The dilemmas arise, in part, because not all "adult-onset" diseases are alike. Sometimes, there are interventions that may be beneficial in childhood; sometimes, parents seek the reassurance that might come with a negative test result.

When, if ever, should we accede to parents' requests to test a child for an adult-onset condition? In this "Ethics Rounds," we present 2 cases that illustrate the dilemma. We then ask experts in genetics and bioethics to comment on the cases and suggest the factors that pediatricians should consider when facing requests from parents for genetic testing of children.

### Case 1

A woman with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) contacted a genetic counselor to request genetic testing for her newborn infant. FAP is an autosomal-dominant, hereditary colon cancer syndrome caused by mutations in the adenomatous polyposis coli ( APC ) gene. Affected individuals generally begin to develop precancerous polyps as teenagers, although some have developed polyps as early as age 7. Colon cancer is inevitable, and the average age of colon cancer diagnosis in untreated individuals is …

Address correspondence to John D. Lantos, MD, Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, 2401 Gillham Rd, Kansas City, MO 64108. E-mail: jlantos{at}cmh.edu


Analysis of the electrical double layer at the electrode-water interface for voltages close to the breakdown point has been carried out based on a static, Monte Carlo approach. It is shown that strong dipole realignment, ion-ion correlation, and finite-size effects can greatly modify the electric fields and local permittivity (hence, leading to optical structure) at the electrode interface. Dramatic enhancements of Schottky injection, providing a source for electronic controlled breakdown, are possible. It is also shown that large pressures associated with the Maxwell stress tensor would be created at the electrode boundaries. Our results depend on the ionic density, and are in keeping with recent observations. A simple, perturbative analysis shows that high field regions with a sharp variation in permittivity can potentially be critical spots for instability initiation. This suggests that the use of polished electrodes, or composite materials, or alternative nonpolar liquids might help enhance high-volta...


A generalized procedure of decoupled pulse width modulation (DCPWM) based on Method called Direct Torque Control (DTC) for Open Ended Winding Induction motor drive (OEWIM) is anticipated in this paper. This drive topology uses two isolated dc sources with equal magnitudes, feeding two standard two level three-phase inverters. To overcome the complexity in classical space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) algorithm, a simple generalized approach is presented in this research by using the phase voltages. With this procedure, various PWM algorithms can be generated by varying a constant value. The dual inverters are operating independently with half of the switching frequency. To show the usefulness of proposed PWM fed DTC drive, simulation results analysis has been carried out by using MATLAB and results obtained.


We investigate the second-order biases of the maximum likelihood estimates from normal linear regression models with unknown error covariance matrix. The error covariance matrix depends on a set of unknown parameters that can be efficiently estimated by maximum likelihood. We give a matrix formula for the n1 biases of the maximum likelihood estimates of these parameters, where n is the sample size. The formula is simple enough to be used algebraically to obtain several closed-form expressions in special cases. It has also advantages for numerical purposes.


This Work was conducted in Eucalyptus stands at the Itapoa farm of the Mannesmann Fi-El Florestal Ltda. in Paraopeba, MG. The species of fungus growing-ants and leaf-cutting ants found in regrowth areas and in harvesting phase plantings were: Acromyrmex balzani Emery, 1890; Acromyrmex laticeps nigrosetosus Forel 1908; Acromyrmex subterraneus subterraneus Forel, 1893; Atta laevigala (F. Smith, 1858); Alta sexdens rubropilosa Forel, 1908; Mycocepurus goeldii Forel, 1893; Sericomyrmex sp.; Trachymyrmex fuscus Emery, 1894 and three morphospecies of Trachymyrmex Forel, 1893. Taxa belonging to the genus Atta Fabricius, 1804 represented 39.14 and 41.22% of the total number of nests found in the regrowth area and in the harvesting phase plantings, respectively. For Acromyrmex Mayr, 1865 these values were 14.34 and 13.16%; for Trachymyrmex, 40.59 and 30.89%; for Mycocepurus Forel, 1893, 5.34 and 12.50% and Sericomyrmex Mayr, 1865, 0.59 and 2.23% in the regrowth area and in the harvesting phase plantations, respectively.


Improving our understanding of the relation between the water content and the seismic signatures of unconsolidated superficial soils is an important objective in the overall field of hydrogeophysics. Current approaches to constrain the water content in the vadose zone from seismic data are based on computing the ratio between compressional and shear wave velocities Vp/Vs. While this allows for the detection of pronounced changes in saturation, such as the groundwater table, it is essentially insensitive to variations in the saturation‐depth profile. Conversely, evidence shows that surface waves are sensitive to both the location of the water table and the saturation‐depth profile. Classic rock physics models are unable to explain the corresponding observations. We propose to estimate surface‐wave signatures accounting for capillary suction effects. We extend the Hertz‐Mindlin model using Bishop's effective stress definition, thus accounting for stiffness changes associated with capillary stresses acting on the soil's frame. We then compute the elastic properties of the partially saturated medium using the Biot‐Gassmann‐Wood model. Considering a 1D unconsolidated porous medium under steady‐state saturation conditions, as given by Richards' equation, we simulate body‐wave travel times and surface‐wave dispersion characteristics for different water table depths and overlying soil textures. Our results illustrate that surface‐wave phase velocity dispersion curves are remarkably sensitive to capillary effects in partially saturated soils, exhibiting velocity changes of up to 20% in the 10–100 Hz frequency range. These effects, which are particularly important in medium‐to fine‐grained soils, are virtually nonexistent in the corresponding Vp/Vs profiles.


Design guides on smoke management in atria commonly used will be reviewed in this paper. Different approaches used in those guides are outlined. It is observed that the engineering principles on smoke dynamics behind these design guides are similar, though the basic approaches might be different. Smoke ventilation appears to be a common approach for smoke management in an atrium. An acceptable smoke layer height can be achieved or at least, the descending rate of smoke layer would be reduced. It should be noted that these guides can only give general principles for the design, but not necessarily covering all the atria. That is because only an efficient system with simplified design procedures for an ideal scenario is provided. Further guidance on solving practical problems frequently encountered is discussed.


'rooted in the domestic' (p. 138), Harvey contests the idea that the eighteenth century saw the construction of an individualist self. Examining the role played by the domestic in the construction of manly personhood, she shows that the physical house was critical to men's self-identity as a 'masculine family self ' (p. 139). Harvey's attention to language is one of the more interesting aspects of her book. Distinguishing between 'house' and 'home', 'oeconomy' and 'economy', 'housekeeping' and 'keeping house' serves to configure and illuminate the gendered aspects of oeconomy. For example, Harvey points out that 'oeconomy' is not coterminous with 'economy' because oeconomy integrates the household whereas 'economy' erases it by privatizing it. At the same time, some of the traditional meanings that Harvey challenges with these semantic distinctions were neither as strictly gendered nor as fixed as her argument suggests. The book is an original and thought-provoking contribution to the history of the domestic and of masculinity. One of its strengths lies in Harvey's inclusion of much detail about the minutiae of everyday life drawn from the 'over 14 account books, 11 diaries, 9 commonplace books as well as bills and receipts, letters, parish records and probate material' (p. 20) she examined in her meticulous research. Another is that it challenges assumptions which have been perpetuated because the relation between men and the domestic in the eighteenth century has been 'obscure', and thus raises new questions which should promote a fresh look at these often contested topics.


After second look at the paper, we agree that we had a mistake in solving equation (59), which is equation (32) in the article by Leng et al. This resulted in the wrong formula for the horizontal y-velocity (69). As a result, calculations of the compensatory stresses are not correct. Therefore, the 3-D model suggested in our paper cannot be used without recalculation of the compensatory stresses. We thank Leng et al. for fixing this mistake but do not agree that they extruded our 2-D analytical solution to a third dimension. The authors thoroughly duplicated and repeated our derivation of 3-D analytical solution, fixing one mistake in our derivation and choosing different values of parameters in the calculation of an integral in one formula.


Mobile was one of the current popular technology development. It could be seen that many people used mobile gadget marked by the rise of smartphone widely used by people around the world. The aim of this research was to design and develop mobile-based sales information system on batik store to speed up the employees routine in administrator, cashier, receptionist, and warehouse person to exchange information about batik customer data. This research was system engineering research to develop mobile-based sales information system used in Batik store could have standard sales operational cycle that could help employees and customers in doing transaction.


A study is made of a new class of Astron equilibria which have disc-like current distributions. The simplicity of the disc equilibria and the corresponding particle orbits allows analytic calculations of stability and compression which are not possible for other current distributions. The present work includes a derivation of the compression scaling laws for a class of self-similar field-reversing discs in a uniform external magnetic field Be(t). For a distribution of canonical momentum (Ptheta ) proportional to Ptheta - alpha (with alpha >2), the disc radius (R) decreases as Be-( alpha -1)(2 alpha -1)/, the total kinetic and self-magnetic energy increase as Be+( alpha +1)(2 alpha -1)/, the total number of disc particles decreases as R, and the disc magnetic-moment decreases as Be-( alpha -2)(2 alpha -1)/. The field reversal factor remains a constant.


Significance Tight junctions form selectively permeable seals that limit paracellular flux. Increased tight junction permeability has been associated with intestinal disease. Previous studies indicate that casein kinase 2 (CK2) phosphorylates S408 within an unstructured region of the cytoplasmic tail of the tight junction protein occludin. Moreover, CK2 inhibition and consequent S408 dephosphorylation reduce paracellular permeability in vitro and in vivo and attenuate experimental immune-mediated intestinal disease in vivo. Here, we show that S408 phosphorylation enhances intramolecular interactions between the unstructured region and the distal α-helical bundle to limit binding to the tight junction protein zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1). Conversely, S408 dephosphorylation limits intramolecular interactions, promotes occludin binding to ZO-1 in vitro, and enhances occludin anchoring at the tight junction in vivo.


We present a comparison of Vanka and Braess-Sarazin smoothers in coupled multigrid methods for the solution of incompressible Navier-Stokes equations describing two-dimensional flows past obstacles. The numerical tests are based on the Crank-Nicolson time discretization and the nonconforming Pi/Po-finite element discretization in space on unstructured grids. All computations were performed on 32 processors of a MIMD parallel computer. The Vanka smoother turned out to be in general more efficient in this framework.


The paper studies the passenger transport network of the Bryansk town and the prospects for its development. It gives the study of the route alignment of the urban passenger transport network and determines the degree of the alignment of existing routes. The paper proposes the optimization of a number of routes.


Purpose: The aim of the study was to describe the relationship between preferences for communication and socio-demographic, tumour-related, and personality variables in a sample of Spanish cancer patients. Methods: A sample of 168 cancer patients completed a set of questionnaires: (1) the Spanish adaptation of the Measure of Patients' Preferences, which includes three scales: content (what and how much information is given), facilitation (setting and context variables) and support (emotional support during the interaction); (2) the Extroversion and Neuroticism scales from the EPQ-RS; (3) the EORTC QLQ-3.0; and (4) the HADS. Results: Regression analysis showed that the patients who scored highest on the Content scale were women, young people, those whose illness was in an advanced stage or who had received the diagnosis for the first time and those who scored high on the Extroversion scale. Patients who scored highest on the Support scale were those with a first diagnosis and those with high Extroversion scores. Women, with high Extroversion scores, scored higher on the Facilitation scale than did other patients. Conclusions: Personality, age, gender and cancer diagnosis experience are important variables to take into account when conducting studies of doctor-cancer patient communication.


Abstract : The report shows that equilibrium and nonequilibrium photocurrent can be accurately predicted for diodes without large contact overlap capacitance or long lifetime (tau). Predictions are made from simple electrical measurements using standardized procedures, charts, and nomographs. A feasible method for predicting transistor nonequilibrium photocurrent, from electrical parameters, for t > 0.1 tau is presented. For diodes without large contact overlap or long lifetime (tau sub .1 > 20 microsec) equilibrium photocurrent values, predicted using the avalanche technique, are within +39% and -28% (one sigma level) of measured values. (Author)


Hœmatopinus columbianus, N. sp. Head longer than broad, semicircular in front, wider and more depressed behind the antennæ, rostrum projecting; antennæ located in front of the middle of the head, the first joint large, deeply set in the border of the head, second joint the longest, third, fourth and fifth nearly equal, fifth slightly smaller; a strong bristle is borne on the postero-lateral angle. The pronotum is short, rather narrow, and the sternal plate is very broadly ovate, almost circular, but the sides posteriorly tapering slightly and the posterior border obtusely rounded or subtruncate. The second and third pairs of legs are nearly equal and considerably larger than the anterior pair, and their tarsal claws are broad and blunt or obtuse at tip.


Spruce seed was treated with different concentrations of kinetin solutions for different duration of soaking at room temperature. The highest germination percentage, was obtained by treating the seed with 1.5×10 -5 concentration of the solution after 72 hours of soaking.


Studied the design of the Electromagnetic Calorimeters,equipments and measurements which are used in the measure of crystals,and we have measured all the crystals.


A new form of sporting settler homonationalism emerged in the Pride Houses at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. For the first time ever, Pride Houses were set up where gay and lesbian supporters watched and celebrated the Olympic events. Drawing on poststructuralism, queer and settler colonial studies, the paper analyzes how the Pride Houses were based on settler colonial discourses about participation and displacement. A settler discourse about First Nations and Two-Spirit participation in the Pride Houses allowed gay and lesbian Canadian settlers to both remember and forget the history of settlement. Another settler discourse took for granted the displacement of Two-Spirit youth from their community center and Indigenous people from their traditional territories in order for the Olympics and the Pride Houses to take place. The paper suggests that queering settler politics in sport means confronting, rather than disavowing, colonialism and challenging homonational forms of gay and lesbian inclusion in ...


The most important observations of recent climate trends reveal that 2014 was the hottest year on record globally, terrestrially, and in the ocean (Blunden and Arndt 2015). The California Current shifted from a highly productive La Niña state in 2013 to a less productive, anomalously warm state by fall 2014, with striking warm-ocean anomalies in some areas (Leising et al. 2014). The " 2014 warm anomaly " or " the blob " (Bond et al. 2015) consisted of an unusually large area of warm sea surface temperatures that expanded from the Gulf of Alaska in winter to encompass most of the California Current in summer and fall 2014. Numerous unusual biological sightings indicated a year of marked climate anomalies. At the global level, careful attention has been devoted to attribution of temperature trends to natural variability vs. increasing anthropogenic input of CO 2 , and a wide consensus has emerged that the latter is necessary to explain recent observations. However, attribution is notoriously difficult at the regional level, where natural variability plays a much larger role. Numerous retrospective analyses at all spatial scales have documented rising ocean temperatures. Nevertheless, a provocative analysis (Johnstone and Mantua 2014a) found that the long-term trend in sea surface temperature in the northeast Pacific is likely driven mostly by natural variability in winds. These authors did not deny that ongoing increases in CO 2 will raise sea surface temperatures in the future. Rather, they emphasized that natural variability extends beyond decadal patterns to include low-frequency phenomena that we cannot fully understand or predict, such as the observed trend in winds over the Pacific. Similarly, in California over half of the state was classified as being in " extraordinary drought " status, yet the high-pressure phenomenon driving this 3-year drought appears largely due to natural variability in atmosphere-ocean dynamics (Seager et al. 2014). However, the high temperatures that exacerbated this drought are likely to have been influenced by anthropogenic factors (Funk et al. A clear impact of recent ocean acidification on pteropod shell formation and survival was demonstrated by field evidence of extensive shell dissolution in undersaturated water off the coast of Washington, Oregon and California (Bednarsek et al. 2014), supported by an experimental test of causation (Busch et al. 2014). Oceanographic models continue to improve our understanding of upwelling (Jacox et al. 2014), how upwelling influences ocean acidification (Lachkar 2014), and how rising iii global …


The invention belongs to the field of robots, and particularly relates to a small searchlighting rotor flight vehicle which is suitable for transporting medical assistance medicine and medical instruments and for medical assistance. The small searchlighting rotor flight vehicle comprises a central processing unit, a posture measuring unit, a navigation positioning unit, a servo power system, a searchlight device system, a power supplying system and a wireless communication module. The central processing unit is used for processing data of the posture measuring unit, the navigation positioning unit and the wireless communication module, determining the flying posture, flying position, flying speed and flying direction of the rotor flight vehicle and controlling the servo power system and the searchlight device system. The rotor flight vehicle is easy to operate, and by means of the precise positioning method, the small searchlighting rotor flight vehicle arrives at the appointed position, and irradiation for different places is achieved. The small searchlighting rotor flight vehicle is applied to first aid service and other occasions needing light sources, the rescuing time is effectively saved, the using range is wide, and efficiency is high.


Modal refractive index and modal field distribution of metalclad slab waveguide with complex refractive index was investigated by exploiting finite element method(FEM).A 6layer waveguide with absorbing layers was analyzed.The comparison of the computational results between finite element methods and analytical method shows good accordance between these two methods.The variation of the modal effective refractive index of TM mode with respect to thickness of the core layer of metalclad 3layer slab waveguide and the variation of the modal effective refractive index of TM mode with respect to thickness of the metal layer for 5layer slab waveguide were calculated.The mode change process was given.


The strong industrial drive towards smaller and ever smaller devices has fueled interest in semiconductor nanostructures, also known as quantum dots (QDs). The electronic structure of these systems has been the subject of intense investigation over the last decade. Little work, however, has been done to investigate the role of defects in these systems. We have employed three distinct methodologies to understand the electronic structure of defects in QDs : (i) the effective mass theory (EMT) ; (ii) the tight-binding theory (TB) ; (iii) and the first principles local density approximation (LDA). The behaviour of defects in QDs is surprisingly different from that in the bulk. The hydrogenic level undergoes a shallow-deep instability as the size of the quantum dot is decreased. The deep level on the other hand is relatively insensitive to the size when the quantum dot is large. It exhibits random variations as the dot size is lowered below a threshold value. We find that there is an optimum size for which the quantum dot of a given semiconducting material is most efficient. Our work should have a direct bearing on efforts to make devices from these QDs.


A review of the nuclear and chemical features of uranium is presented. The problems of dissolution of a sample and counting techniques are discussed. A collection of radiochemical procedures for the element as found in the literature is included. (M.C.G.)


In the upscaling process from pore to core different techniques are being used. In this presentation a novel application of Volume Averaging is described. The basic development follows the representative unit cell concept (RUC) developed by du Plessis (1988). This RUC concept is extended to multiphase flow. With the aid of a conceptual geometrical micro-model of a porous medium effective equations are derived which describe multiphase flow. Due to the strong nonlinearity of the flow proces non-local terras are introduced into the equations. These upscaled equations are analyzed in the presence of strong capillary forces and different wettability conditions inside the porous medium. The presente of capillary forces modifies the flow behaviour strongly and introduces non-local terras in the averaged equations.


The author analyzes the documents regulating the soviet troops (forces) relations with the population and authorities of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania during the period from autumn 1939 till summer 1940, shows the complex developmental character of these relations and pays special attention to the most typical problems and their causes in the reached agreements realization practice.