The invention discloses a method for preparing lithium titanate ceramic powder by a hydrothermal method, which comprises the following steps of neutralizing TiCl4 as an initial raw material through ammonia to prepare an amorphous titanium-dioxide hydrate as a titanium source, proportionally mixing the amorphous titanium-dioxide hydrate with a lithium-compound aqueous solution by using a soluble lithium-contained compound as a lithium source and distilled water as a reaction medium, subsequently transferring the solution into a hydrothermal reactor, carrying out hydrothermal reaction for 0.5-24 hours at the temperature of 95-250 DEG C, subsequently carrying out the solid-liquid separation of reaction-product slurry, and drying an obtained solid product for 4-24 hours at the temperature of 90-120 DEG C to obtain a lithium-titanate precursor; and carrying out the heat processing of the obtained precursor for 1-20 hours at the temperature of 500-800 DEG C, grinding and crushing to obtain the lithium-titanate ceramic powder. The method disclosed by the invention has wide sources of raw materials, the price is low, and the water is used as the reaction medium, so that the preparation cost is lowered, the technical process is simple, and the operation is easy to control.


Two arbitrary zero-placement (discontinuous) PWM strategies are proposed in this paper for DC-AC three-phase voltage source-inversion and three-phase AC-DC voltage-source rectification respectively. They are based on the general space vector modulation approach derived from matrix converter theory. The two PWM strategies are sharing the same algorithm in calculating space vector duty-cycles


Since devices actually operate under AC signals in digital circuits, it is more informative to study random telegraph noise (RTN) at dynamic AC biases than at constant DC voltages. We found that the AC RTN statistics largely deviates from traditional DC RTN, in terms of different distribution functions and the strong dependence on AC signal frequency, which directly impacts on the accurate prediction of circuit stability and variability. The AC RTN characteristics in high-κ/metal-gate FETs are different from that in SiON FETs, and both of which cannot be described by classical RTN theory. A physical model based on quantum mechanics is proposed, which successfully explains the new observations of AC RTN. It is also demonstrated that, if using DC RTN statistics instead of AC RTN, a large error of 30% overestimation on the read failure probability in ultra-scaled SRAM cells will occur. These new understandings are critical for the robust circuit design against RTN in practical digital circuits.


OBJECTIVE To investigate the association of normal fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and the risk for type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Data concerning 13,845 subjects, aged 40–69 years, who had their FPG measured at least three times between 1992 and 2008 were extracted from a database. Three FPG groups were defined (51–82, 83–90, and 91–99 mg/dL). A Cox proportional hazards analysis was applied to estimate the risk of incident diabetes adjusted for other risk factors. RESULTS During 108,061 person-years of follow-up (8,110 women and 5,735 men), 307 incident cases of type 2 diabetes were found. The final model demonstrated a hazard ratio of 2.03 (95% CI 1.18–3.50) for 91–99 mg/dL and 1.42 (0.42–4.74) for 83–90 mg/dL. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that FPG between 91 and 99 mg/dL is a strong independent predictor of type 2 diabetes and should be used to identify people to be further investigated and aided with preventive measures.


Summary When whole caseins from cow and Italian buffalo (Bubalus arnee) were fractionated by chromatography on a column of hydroxyapatite they behaved in a similar manner. κ-Casein was eluted with 5 mM phosphate buffer, pH 6·8, containing 0·2 M-KCI, 4·5 M-urea and 2 mM-2-mercaptoethanol, but β- and αs-caseins were retained and could be eluted successively by a linear gradient from 5 mM to 250 mMphosphate buffer. Buffalo κ-casein preparations, obtained from bulk milk or from milks of individual animals by chromatography on hydroxyapatite, produced identical electrophoretic patterns at pH 8·6. By further fractionation of these κ-caseins on DEAE-cellulose, in each case, at least 7 components were purified; they had different electrophoretic mobilities but were all sensitive towards chymosin. The major fraction migrated like component 1 of bovine κ-casein B.


Flexibilisation is operationalised through casualisation and contractualisation of jobs. The casualisation and contractualisation of jobs has led to informalisation of the labour market. In the context of informalisation of the labour market, the formal institutions of social security such as the state, trade unions and skill have a marginal role to play. It is against this backdrop that this paper tries to study the question of social security of labour in the organised sector in the context of its informalisation. This paper tries to present the precarious living and working environments of labour that set in as a result of informalisation; the evolution of new institutions of social security from within to cope with these precarious environments; and various factors determining both the vulnerability of labour and their access to the new institutions of social security. It needs to be emphasised here that this paper merely presents the existing and emerging institutions and does not take up the question of how far these could be seen as alternative institutions.


Summary Intraperitoneal inoculation of concanavalin A into tuberculin-sensitive guinea pigs at the time of skin testing markedly suppressed the delayed reaction. This effect was abolished when concanavalin A was complexed with egg albumen prior to intraperitoneal inoculation.


Measurements of ozone levels and meterological parameters were analyzed to determine the relative importance of transport-related processes and photochemical production in causing high-ozone events in and around the Atlanta metropolitan area. Back-trajectories calculated by the Branching Air Trajectory Model indicate that the air associated with high-ozone events had often traveled a significant distance within the previous 3 days: for days with ozone levels above 100 ppbv, half of the calculated trajectories showed that the air had traveled over 600 km, with half of those coming from the northwest quadrant. Six-hour vector-averaged winds were used to find that the concentrations of ozone in the air leaving the metropolitan area averaged 20-40 ppbv more than that entering the area.


Recent experimental advances in Floquet engineering and controlling dissipation in open systems have brought about unprecedented flexibility in tailoring novel phenomena without any static and Hermitian analogues. It can be epitomized by the various Floquet and non-Hermitian topological phases. Topological classifications of either static/Floquet Hermitian or static non-Hermitian systems based on the underlying symmetries have been well established in the past several years. However, a coherent understanding and classification of Floquet non-Hermitian (FNH) topological phases have not been achieved yet. Here we systematically classify FNH topological bands for 54-fold generalized Bernard-LeClair (GBL)symmetry classes and arbitrary spatial dimensions using $K$-theory. The classification distinguishes two different scenarios of the Floquet operator's spectrum gaps [dubbed as Floquet operator (FO) angle-gapped and FO angle-gapless]. The results culminate into two periodic tables, each containing 54-fold GBL symmetry classes. Our scheme reveals FNH topological phases without any static/Floquet Hermitian and static non-Hermitian counterparts. And our results naturally produce the periodic tables of Floquet Hermitian topological insulators and Floquet unitaries. The framework can also be applied to characterize the topological phases of bosonic systems. We provide concrete examples of one and two-dimensionalfermionic/bosonic systems. And we elucidate the meaning of the topological invariants and their physical consequences. Our paper lays the foundation for a comprehensive exploration of FNH topological bands. And it opens a broad avenue toward uncovering unique phenomena and functionalities emerging from the synthesis of periodic driving, non-Hermiticity, and band topology.


In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak in early spring 2020, the Bulgarian economy shed a record 120,000 jobs in just six weeks. The unemployed stormed the offices of the National Employment Agency, overburdening its underprotected employees. While other affected countries rolled out variants of basic income or debt freezing, the Bulgarian government elided labor-friendly economic measures by maligning them as "populism."1 Relying on little to no savings, the newly unemployed coped with the rapidly contracting labor markets and unresponsive welfare state in observable ways. With a faltering formal economy, a moral economy enmeshing people in dependencies on kin and friends kicked in to provide "firebreaks" to rapidly deteriorating living standards. This article focuses on these dynamics and asks what possibilities for progressive social change inhere in the moral economy.


Reprints and permissions: http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav 10.1177/1757177413477462 VOL. 14 NO. 2 March 2013 Journal of Infection Prevention 69 O pi ni on /C om m en t riting the JIP Outbreak Column has necessitated that I read more outbreak reports, and read them in greater depth than I did before the column started. In doing so, what has surprised me most is that before I started on the column I thought I could easily and clearly define both an outbreak and a pseudo-outbreak – now I am not quite so sure. Indeed, in writing for this column I have found a series of what the authors called 'pseudo-outbreaks' that are not outbreaks, in that patients did not develop infections; however, they were exposed to and colonised with a common pathogenic microorganism within a care environment. Consequently, I will argue in this column for a new category to be considered. The main topic for this outbreak column is pseudo-outbreaks, that is, alert signals that on investigation are not outbreaks – this of course includes the definition. The purpose of choosing pseudo-outbreaks for a column was to learn lessons on alert signal analysis that would help Infection Prevention and Control Teams (IPCTs). What I have discovered is that there are many lessons to be learned from pseudo-outbreaks and not just about alert signals. Indeed, such are the variety of pseudo-outbreaks that this is the first of two columns on the topic. Every outbreak starts with an 'alert signal' from clinical, microbiological or surveillance data. The alert signal suggests there are more patients with a particular type of infection or specific alert organism than would be expected within a given time period. This is clearly illustrated in the Health Protection Scotland Hospital Outbreak Algorithm and Checklist (Health Protection Scotland, 2012). The first task of the IPCT is to decide – is the alert signal a real or a pseudooutbreak. To aid the decision-making process, the IPCT will review the patients' clinical conditions, collect various time, place and person data and consider from all the available information whether the alert signal is more likely than not to be an outbreak. At the time of the assessment there may be insufficient evidence to be certain; when this is the case, the IPCT should still act as though it is an outbreak until there is sufficient evidence to prove otherwise. The second column will deal with pseudo-outbreaks that can be attributed to failures in specimen collection, processing, result interpretation and clinical diagnoses. This first column will focus on the categorisation of pseudo-outbreaks and discuss those pseudo-outbreaks that arise from surveillance, testing and chance. The newly proposed category, which for now I will call 'no-infection outbreak', will also be outlined in this column with more extensive discussion given in the second column. To start, let us be clear what is meant by the term pseudo-outbreak.


This paper addresses a discrete time inventory model where the maximum amount of supply from which instantaneous replenishment orders can be made is a random variable. Optimal ordering policies are characterized as critical number policies with monotone increasing optimal critical values. A sufficient condition is then presented for myopic ordering policies to be optimal.


The present invention discloses an electromagnetic interference simulation test platform in Substations secondary systems belonging to the second substation equipment EMC art. The first electromagnetic disturbance measurement system simulation test platform, a first analog sensor, disc insulator, a second analog sensor housing pipe is disposed in the GIS different positions, GIS duct housing by plastic coated metal hose assembly of the cabinet and analog HSBC the connector housing; a first secondary cable and the second analog sensor analog sensor through the plastic coated metal tube are connected to the electromagnetic interference measurement system. The present invention can be conveniently real transient electromagnetic environment simulate actual substation, expand the source of electromagnetic interference caused by different research; while full load of different secondary grounding system under different electromagnetic disturbance suffered.


Consistent with the Land Urbanism and Green Infrastructure theme of this special issue of Land, the primary goal of this review is to provide a plain language overview of recent literature that reports on the psychological, physiological, general well-being, and wider societal benefits that humans receive as a result of experiencing public green infrastructure (PGI) and nature in urbanized landscapes. This enhanced well-being and the wider societal benefits that accrue to urban dwellers as a result of interacting with quality PGI contributes to the concept known as city or urban livability. The quantitative analysis and theoretical synthesis reported in this review can inform decision makers, stakeholders, and other PGI and urban nature (UN) researchers of the benefits that urban populations receive from experiencing quality PGI spaces and UN and the contribution those spaces make to the livability of urban areas. With diminishing opportunities for the acquisition of new public open space to increase PGI and re-establish UN near urban centers, the efficient management and continuous improvement of existing PGI and UN is essential to promote and foster opportunities for human-to-nature contact and the known benefits therein derived. In addition to identifying an increased research interest and publication of articles that report on the contribution of PGI spaces to urban livability over the past decade, the review identifies and reports on the seven focus areas of PGI-livability research and the six attributes of PGI spaces that the current literatures report as contributing to the livability of urbanized landscapes. After providing a quantitative analysis for the reporting of those research areas and PGI attributes and summarizing key findings reported in the literature regarding the contribution that PGI spaces make to urban livability, this review also identifies knowledge gaps in the published literature and puts forward recommendations for further research in this rapidly expanding multidisciplinary field of research and policy development.


The invention aims to provide a novel sand pump. The novel sand pump comprises a pump body, a main shaft, an impeller, a packing sealing device and a bearing pack. The main shaft is connected with the pump body through the bearing pack. An oil injection hole is formed in the position, above the bearing pack, of the pump body. The packing sealing device is installed on the main shaft between the bearing pack and the impeller. A shaft sleeve is arranged between the packing sealing device and the main shaft. A gap is formed between the packing sealing device and the bearing pack. Through the utilization of the novel sand pump, sealing effects are guaranteed and damage of drilling fluid to the bearings is greatly reduced, so that reliable operation of the sand pump is guaranteed, the service life of the bearings is prolonged, and maintenance cost is lowered.


Research on multilingualism and the acquisition of language(s) faces numerous challenges given its inherently interdisciplinary character. This discussion will focus on the notion of internal context, a concept that forcefully demonstrates the need for integrating linguistically-oriented research with cognitive research in general. Investigating the internal context of language processing centres on the 'interpreted' world inside individual minds together with all the cognitive mechanisms that shape it. It will be argued that explanations are required that must go well beyond accounts of the linguistic properties of individuals' grammatical abilities and that, for this purpose, theoretical broad-based frameworks are needed that can act as 'base camps' facilitating explorations that venture beyond purely local domains and allowing findings from different research areas to be integrated within a shared perspective of how the mind works.


Misgendering is perceived as the use of incorrect pronouns and gender categories when addressing Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) people. This common habit is widely observed in reports, surveys and assessments, where the pressures to comply with a binary understanding of gender are high and alternative options for self-identification are not frequently offered. The present study reads misgendering as a manifestation of epistemic injustice, and uses resources from Science, Technology and Society (STS) Studies in order to highlight the importance of situated perspectives on the matter. After being analysed as a commonplace microaggression, misgendering is conceptualised as an act of structural hermeneutical marginalisation that is not usually intentional but product of society's lack of sensibility towards gender diversity. Finally, a reparative approach against misgendering is offered through the Gender Fair Language model, which involves relational and situated contributions in order to prevent already marginalised people and experiences from being further excluded.


An understanding of ultrasound contrast agent (UCA) microbubble dynamics in blood vessels is important for ultrasound imaging and therapy. Recent photographs of UCAs excited by high‐intensity ultrasound pulses in ex vivo vessels reveal unexpected phenomena. Strong bubble pulsations near the vessel wall induce contraction of the vessel that remains after bubble motion has subsided. Also, the bubble often translates toward the center of the vessel while forming a jet in the direction of translation. Three models describing the dynamics of a bubble in channels formed by elastic walls have been developed in an attempt to understand these phenomena. Two of the models describe a bubble between parallel elastic layers immersed in a viscous fluid. One incorporates bubble translation and aspherical bubble shape, which accounts for the onset of jetting, but is limited to incompressible fluids and layers with small shear moduli. The other accounts for fluid compressibility and arbitrary layer viscoelasticity, but is...


Based on ABAQUS platform, this paper completes the simulation of micro-aluminum wire straightening process. Through ABAQUS simulation analysis software, combined with the characteristics of straightening process in metal wire, the straightening process is simulated and simulated; This paper analyzes some state parameters (plastic strain, residual stress, straightening force and straightness, etc.) of metal wire after straightening, and verifies the correctness of structural parameters, technological parameters and straightening scheme design included in straightening device by comparing the change curves of coordinates before and after straightening; It provides a reference basis for further perfecting the straightening theory of ultra-fine metal wire and exploring how to improve the configuration of related parameters in the straightening process.


S OME OF THE DIFFICULTIES that may be engendered by the doctrine of implied revocation of wills, following a change in the testator's marital status,1 are illustrated by the recent decision in Younker v. Johnson.2 In that case the testator and his wife were married on February 28, I898. After 39 years of marriage, the defendant obtained a divorce decree which confirmed a fair and equitable property division. The testator died leaving a will under the terms of which the defendant was devisee of one-half of all property of which the testator was seized at his death. It further appeared that the will was made one and one-half years before the testator and the defendant were divorced, and thirteen and one-half years prior to his death. The Probate Court held that the will had been revoked by implication as to the defendant. That decision was reversed by the court of appeals, and the record was certified to the Ohio Supreme Court for review. The Supreme Court held, five to two, that the divorce decree coupled with the settlement of property rights compelled the conclusion that the will provision wherein the defendant was benefited was impliedly revoked. It is uniformly held, absent a statute to the contrary, that divorce does not, perse, revoke those parts of a will which benefit a divorced spouse.' There is, however, a split of authority as to whether divorce, coupled with. a settlement of property, constitutes such an implied revocation.4 This divergence among jurisdictions is attributable, in most


Extra-embryonic tissue-spermatogenesis homeobox gene 1 (ESX-1), an X-linked gene that encodes homeobox protein, expresses specifically in X-chromosome bearing spermatozoa. The antibodies against this recombinant protein will be useful to assess the efficiency of sex sorted semen in buffalo. Therefore, the present study has been undertaken to clone and express the ESX-1 gene and then to study the characteristics of the expressed protein. In this investigation, the cDNA of ESX-1 was cloned, sequenced and expressed in E. coli. Predicted amino acid sequence of ESX-1 had shown highest homology with Bos taurus (91.6%). The homeobox region had shown the identity of 98.4%, 70.5%, 70.5%, 69.4% and 69.4% respectively with Bos taurus, Homo sapiens, Pan troglodytes, Macaca mulatta and Mus musculus. Expressed protein was purified using Cobalt-Agarose affinity column. SDS-PAGE showed a product ~27kDa recombinant fusion protein. The purified product was confirmed by Western blot analysis using Ni-NTA anti hisitidine HRPase conjugate. The antibodies against Esx-1 protein can be used for evaluation of sex sorted semen.


A new genus of Terebratellidae King, Gmelinmagas, found in Sarita Cruz and Chubut, usually referred to Terebratella dorsata Gm. is described. A discussion is presented on the fundamental differences of both these forms. The characters which distinguish the new genus are the dense shell ·having only anterior ribs and a short partition wall forked up to 1/3 of its length forming an evident cardinal sinus with the crural bases. Gmelinmagas corresponds to the Neothyiinae, having a less pronounced morphology than the other known genera of the group. The available data up to now seem to confirm the absence of Tertiary brachiopods of Patagonia among living representatives of the g1:oup in the adjacent coasts.


In order to integrate and query irregular and dynamic information on WEB in a database like fashion, the authors use object exchange model (OEM) to construct information model of WEB in this paper. To express each component of pages as an OEM object, the authors design an algorithm which extracts semi structured data from HTML pages, and the testing results are given. This method can extract structured and semi structured data. It has better applicability than other existing methods.


Jon-jae, Yu Jin-ha is a Confucianism philosopher leading the value of Wigeoncheoksa(衛正斥邪) and the education in Kyeonggi do, Seosan Chungnam, in the late period of Choseon. When he was 26years old, became a member of Hwa-seo learning group under Seon-jae Yu jung-gyo. His Neo-Confucianism is found in Dong-am Dairy and Eo-rok written by Sim won-seong, Jeong jae-hwa, I cheol-seung, Min tae-jik. He shows theory of Igiiwon inherited Jeong-ju tradition. The world consists of metaphysical Li and physical I. Those concepts are within Neo-confucianism. Simply, Li is a presider of Gi, which is to "Ligiwiju" and Neo-confucianism is to consistent spirit. He overemphasizes a presider of Gi contrived, not understanding Yul-gok"s Limuwi. Therefore he clears up enhanced Juli, the point is common with Toe-gye but different from Yul-gok He is interested in mind(心), virtue in theory of mental and focuses on mind presider, function of which is Li. Mind is combined Li and Gi, Li is a master Gi is a servant ultimately. Yu jin-ha focuses on perceptual function of mind which is connected to modern science. Also virtue is not Gi but Li mentioning all of the Confucian classic begin Li such as Geunsarok, Sohak so Daehak could not be a exception. Not only his conduct emphasized on willingness(立志), introduction book for example Sohak, gyeokmongyogyeol but also distinguished right from wrong strictly in that times. The distinction is same as Li and Gi distinction. That is to say, Liseongihak"s values. Sincerity"s recovery could be based on tendency change, emphasizing on a match highlighting a practical learning attitude through Jihaengbyeongjin, Eonhangilchi. In succession to learning of Yulgok and Geongju, Emphasize geogyeong(居敬), Geungri(窮理), Yeokhang(力行). In short, Yu jin-ha was a a Confucianism philosopher who practiced the value of Wijeongcheoksa(衛正斥邪) and Byeokidan(闢異端), cleared the virtue of Guli inherited from tradition of Hwaseohakdan(華西學團learning group) philosophically in the ethnic crises and ethics of life.


The two-mode even and odd coherent Schrodinger cat states are introduced for the generalized stationary and non-stationary harmonic oscillator. The expected values of positions and momenta and their dispersion matrices are calculated for the Schrodinger cat states. The quadrature squeezing and correlation phenomenon are studied and the Wigner and Husimi functions are constructed explicitly for these states. The photon statistics of the two-mode even and odd coherent states of the generalized oscillator is described in terms of the photon distribution function, which is expressed in terms of Hermite polynomials. The photon number, means and dispersions show oscillations which are characteristics of squeezing and correlation phenomenon.


Particle trap is an important measure to restrain the damage of moving metal particles to the insulation of DC gas insulated transmission lines (GIL). However, there is still no clear guiding principle for the design of particle trap in DC GIL, and there is little theoretical research on particle trap. In this paper, a particle trap design, wedge-shaped particle trap, is proposed. Compared with traditional particle trap, the results show that wedge-shaped particle trap can shield the electric field at the bottom of the trap more efficiently and effectively, and can block spherical particles escape. Furtherly, wedge-shaped particle traps are optimized based on particle capture probability. Considering the strong randomness of particle motion, it is difficult to achieve the optimization through experiments, so the simulation based on Monte Carlo idea is used to optimize the trap parameters, and random release of a large number of spherical metal particles to simulate the random collision motion of particles. The trap parameters are optimized with the capture rate as the optimization objective. The results show that when the width of the trap slots is 4 mm and the inclination is 50 degree, the trap have the best acquisition probability. Therefore, The particle trap design optimization method can provide guidance for the design of DC GIL particle traps with different voltage levels.


(1) Background: Caesarean sections in obese patients are associated with an increased risk of surgical wound complications, including hematomas, seromas, abscesses, dehiscence, and surgical site infections. The aim of the present study is to perform a meta-analysis and systematic review of the current literature focusing on the strategies available to decrease wound complications in this population. (2) Methods: We reviewed the data available from the PubMed and the Science Direct databases concerning wound complications after caesarean sections in obese women. The following key words were used: "caesarean section", "cesarean section", "wound complication", "wound morbidity", and "wound infection". A total of 540 papers were retrieved, 40 of which were selected for the final systematic review and whereas 21 articles provided data for meta-analysis. (3) Results: The conducted meta-analyses revealed that the use of prophylactic drainage does not increase the risk of wound complications in obese women after a caesarean sections (pooled OR = 1.32; 95% CI 0.64–2.70, p = 0.45) and that vertical skin incisions increase wound complications (pooled OR = 2.48; 95% CI 1.85–3.32, p < 0.01) in obese women, including extremely obese women. (4) Conclusions: Subcutaneous drainage does not reduce the risk of a wound complications, wound infections, and fever in obese women after caesarean sections. Negative prophylactic pressure wound therapy (NPWT) may reduce the risk of surgical site infections. The evidence of using a prophylactic dose of an antibiotic before the caesarean section is still lacking.


Exploring perceptual learning style preferences and their relationships with academic achievement is important to success in teaching and learning language. The aim of this study, therefore, was to investigate the perceptual learning style preferences of Libyan EFL University students majoring in English at Omar Almukhtar University and to check whether there is a significant relationship between students' perceptual learning style preferences and their academic achievement. A total of 75 fourth year English major students were participated in this study. A self-reporting learning style questionnaire developed by Kinsella (1994) was used to collect data and final semester examination scores were used to determine the average academic achievement for each participant. The findings showed that tactile style was the most dominant learning style among the students followed by auditory style while kinesthetic style was the least favoured learning style. The findings also revealed that there was a significant relationship between students' learning style preferences and their academic achievement; the strongest correlation (r=0.30, P<.01) was found between the auditory learning style and academic achievement. The findings are discussed in this study with implication for university instructors to identify their students' perceptual learning style and match them with their teaching style to influence students' achievement, and deliver their lectures by using different approaches and techniques to ensure that the learning process is effective and efficient for a great number of their students. This study contributed to the EFL field in Libya by providing clear information on students' learning style preferences and their correlation with academic achievement.


Bipolar disorder (BD) is a lifelong neuropsychiatric disorder that exerts a substantial personal and public health toll, an elevated lifetime risk of suicide, 1 and a remarkable degree of heterogeneity or diversity (we use these terms inter changeably). Existing studies of heterogeneity in BD tend to focus on variability or clustering along a limited number of features or domains. 2 However, identifying heterogeneity across a limited number of features does not necessarily help us characterize the overall heterogeneity of BD across levels of analysis (e.g., genetic, molecular, psychological, clinical). Until recently, it was not clear how heterogeneity should best be measured or conceptualized, 2,3 thereby limit ing our ability to understand the diversity of BD in a holis tic sense. In addition to these recent advancements in heterogeneity measurement, 4,5 understanding the diversity of BD requires us to develop research strategies and meth ods specific to this purpose. In the man agement, the understanding approach to understanding heterogeneity in bipolar (BD).


Objectives: This study was performed to assess the intra-operative surgical complications and postoperative maternal morbidity rate of caesarean section. Study design: A total of 2647 women, delivered by caesarean section in our department between 1983 and 1992, were studied retrospectively. Three caesarean section groups were formed: (1) primary elective, (2) primary acute, without any effort to deliver vaginally, and (3) secondary acute, due to a failed vaginal delivery. The Student's-?-, Fisher-exactand ^ 2-test were used for statistical analysis. Rusults: The overall maternal intra-operative complication rate was 14.8%. The most common complications were lacerations of the uterine corpus (10.1%) and bloodloss 5=1000 ml (7.3%). The complication rate of the secondary group (23.4%) was significantly higher ( p <0.001) compared to both primary groups (7.4%). The overall maternal postoperative morbidity rate was 35.7%. Fever (24.6%), bloodloss between 1000 and 1500 ml (4%), haematoma (3.5%) and urinary tract infections (3.0%) were the most frequent complications. The primary elective group showed significantly (p <0.001) lower major (2.6%) and minor (23.7%) complication rates compared to the emergency groups (major 5.2%, minor 34%). Conclusion: Emergency caesarean sections carried the greatest risks regarding maternal complications compared to elective procedures. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.


The invention relates to a spheroidal cast alloy for producing cast iron products with great mechanical strength, high wear-resistance and a high degree of ductility. Said alloy comprises the following as non-iron components: between 2.5 and 3.8 wt. % C, between 2.4 and 3.4 wt. % Si, between 0.02 and 0.08 wt. % P, between 0.02 and 0.06 wt. % Mg, between 0. 01 and 0.05 wt. % Cr, between 0.002 and 0.02 wt. % Al, between 0.0005 and 0.015 wt. % S, between 0.0002 and 0.002 wt. % B and conventional impurities. According to the invention, the alloy contains between 3.0 and 3.7 wt. % C, between 2.6 and 3.4 wt. % Si, between 0.02 and 0.05 wt. % P, between 0.025 and 0.045 wt. % Mg, between 0.01 and 0.03 wt. % Cr, between 0.003 and 0.017 wt. % Al, between 0.0005 and 0.012 wt. % S and between 0.0004 and 0.002 wt. % B. The alloy is used for example to produce chassis parts or brake discs in the automobile industry.


BACKGROUND: The medicinal plant of Thymus serpyllum L. in nature, depending on the geographical region, climatic conditions, and growing environment, is represented with some chemotypes. Composition and quantitative content of the basic groups of the biologically active substances can be differed, and thus their biological properties are also various.
AIM: The aim of the study was to determine possibility of the using the ultrasonic extracts of two chemotypes of T. serpyllum L. of Central Kazakhstan as an antimicrobial agent against test strains of microorganisms.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two samples of T. serpyllum were extracted with 70% ethanol using ultrasound. The polyphenol content of the ultrasound extracts was determined using the LC-ultraviolet-ESI- tandem mass spectrometry technique. A study of an antimicrobial activity of the ultrasonic extracts was performed with eight strains of Gram-positive bacteria, six strains of Gram-negative bacteria, and four cultures of fungi.
RESULTS: The ultrasonic extracts of two chemotypes of T. serpyllum L. are similar in composition of phenolic compounds but differ in a quantitative content of phenolic acids and flavonoids, except for a rosmarinic acid. The ultrasonic extracts have a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activity, exhibit the bactericidal or bacteriostatic activity against all tested bacteria and fungi at a concentration of 0.0625–20 mg/ml, but differ in their strength of action against test strains of microorganisms.
CONCLUSION: The ultrasonic extracts of two chemotypes of T. serpyllum L. of Central Kazakhstan can be considered as a potential drug with a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activity. The results of chromatographic analysis will be used for standardization of a drug.


Determination of the mechanisms of mercury release from coal combustion by-products (CCBs) is one area of research at the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC). Two of the tasks of this research are as follows: • Determine the level of mercury that would offgas from various CCBs. • Examine the potential for biological activity to further mobilize mercury in CCBs. In these experiments, six CCB samples were tested for mercury vapor release at ambient and near-ambient temperatures. The results have shown no clear evidence that the rate of mercury release is related to the bulk mercury concentration. The six samples are being retested for ambient temperature release. These new experiments are being done in duplicate in an improved version of the apparatus to verify previous results. Because of improved methods, results indicate that the vapor release of mercury is an order of magnitude lower than previously thought. Microbiological experiments were also performed on two of the CCB samples. Results for biological release were scattered and difficult to evaluate because of experimental difficulties. Mercury release was increased, and some evidence was found for the formation of organomercury compounds. Microbial activity was evident.


By use of molecular dynamics simulations, we have studied the evolution of epoxy and hydroxyl functional groups on graphene oxide (GO) during high-temperature thermal reduction. We find that the reduced GO sheets are characterized by a large number of stable holelike defects formed by breaking of C−C bonds in the basal plane. These defects are always decorated by the carbonyl (C═O) groups and are formed due to the strain in the basal plane created by epoxy and hydroxyl functional groups that are located close to each other. With very few exceptions, the carbonyl groups that are observed in Raman spectroscopy and other experimental studies are generally attributed to the C═O terminations of the edges. However, our study using first-principles calculations and a reactive force field approach clearly shows that the formation of carbonyl groups within the graphene basal plane is energetically favorable compared to other well-known functional groups such as epoxies and ethers. We have identified the specific r...


Excited states of {sup 151}Pm have been observed using the {sup 150}Nd({alpha},{ital p}2{ital n}) reaction at a beam energy of 35 MeV. Levels with spin up to 19/2 have been seen in a positive parity band built on the 5/2{sup +} ground state, and up to 21/2 in a negative parity band built on the 5/2{sup {minus}} level at 117 keV excitation energy. Levels of the same spin but opposite parity are nearly degenerate and there are strong ({similar to}1.1{times}10{sup {minus}3} W.u.) electric dipole transitions between members of the two bands. The energy staggering of levels and their electromagnetic decay properties are somewhat different for the two bands.


Hydrofracturing technology has been widely used to stimulate the tight hydrocarbon reservoirs that usually comprise heterogeneous glutenites. Hydromechanical coupling and leak‐off are essential characteristics of this process and need to be properly addressed in numerical simulation, which plays an important role in quantitatively evaluating the efficiency of this technology. Due to the challenges in accurately representing the complex structure and physical properties of heterogeneous glutenites as well as hydraulic‐driven crack propagation, however, the hydromechanical coupling, leak‐off, and material heterogeneity have not yet been handled satisfactorily. To overcome these challenges, we use the continuum‐based discrete element method (CDEM) to simulate the hydraulic fracturing of heterogeneous glutenites, considering hydromechanical coupling and leak‐off effects. The CDEM models are constructed using the geometrical and physical parameters that were extracted from natural heterogeneous glutenites using computed tomography, X‐ray diffraction, and triaxial tests, based on image processing and reconstruction approaches. The CDEM models are composed of hydraulic fractures and microscale pores, and Darcy's law was integrated within the model to govern fluid leak‐off; this is a nontraditional approach to leak‐off effects. The coupled finite element‐discrete element‐finite volume approach is used to determine the fracturing behaviors of heterogeneous models. The fracturing crack propagation and distribution patterns of homogeneous and heterogeneous models under various horizontal in situ stress differences are characterized by fractal theory, and the models are compared to assess the influences of material heterogeneity and in situ stresses on the hydraulic fracturing of heterogeneous glutenites.


This dissertation discusses several topics relating to the analysis, design, and strengthening of self-supporting and guyed communication towers, some of which are not covered by Canadian Standard CSA S37-01 and American Standard ANSI/TIA/EIA-222-G. The effect of sudden guy rupture and guy slippage on guyed towers, effect of eccentricity on the tensile strength of bolted ring-type splice connections, calculation of prying action on bolted circular splice connections, and strengthening of solid round leg members with split pipes were studied. Experimental investigation was conducted on small-scale guyed tower test specimens, bolted ring-type and circular splice connections, and solid round steel members strengthened with split pipes. Finite element analysis models of small-scale guyed towers and solid round test specimens were built to simulate the experimental investigation. Based on experimental investigation, it was found that the maximum load amplification factors due to sudden guy wire rupture with an initial tension of 10% of the guy wire breaking strength ranged from 1.45 to 2.21, and those with doubled initial tension decreased to a range of 1.43 to 1.96. For guy slippage, it was found that those factors ranged from 1.10 to 1.56. The maximum load amplification factors are highest when rupture or slippage happened at top level guy wires. The finite element models can be used to determine the maximum load amplification factors due to sudden guy rupture and guy slippage on tower test specimens. On the basis of the research, it was concluded that bolted ring-type splices should be designed for combined stresses due to axial tension and bending moment. The equations for prying action given in the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction Handbook and American Institute of Steel Construction Manual can be used in circular flange connections, with the bolt pitch taken as the distance between the centres of bolts measured along the bolt circle. It is recommended that split pipes be used along the entire solid round steel member and be connected with end welds in addition to U-bolts/tabs. For stocky members, stitch welds are preferable since there is a minimal strength increase by using U-bolts/tabs only. The finite element models can be used to determine the failure loads of un-strengthened and strengthened solid round steel test specimens.


Skin cancer incidence is rising in the Western world. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a known carcinogen and sun-protection strategies, including


Supply chain Management has assumed a significant role in firm's performance and has attracted serious research attention over the last few years. A literature review reveals a considerab le spurt in research in theory and practice of SCM. Co mbining and informing on features of Supply Management and distribution Management. This integration has resulted in the concept of extended enterprise and the supply chain is now manifest a s the collaborative supply chain across intercompan y borders to maximize the value across the entire sup ply chain. A large number of research papers have been published in various journals in last two deca des. In this paper an attempt is made to review th e status of literature on Supply Chain Management. A literature classification scheme is proposed. A t otal of 588 articles from 13 refereed academic journals are classified into articles in five methodologies i.e. Exploratory, Normative, Methodology, Literature Review and Hypothesis testing. This literature review finds that exploratory type of research is mostly preferred it is expected that with the maturity of SCM the hypothesis testing method will pick up. The art icles are further categorized in fifteen categories on the basis of content analysis. Based on this review , some possible research issues are identified.


This study investigated the effect of encouraged active coping through changed task difficulty on baroreceptor reflex sensitivity (BRS), an index of vagal activity, by use of mirror drawing (MD) which is considered to be a typical attentional task. This study consisted of two experiments. In both of these, heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured, and BRS was computed using the sequence scanning method. In the first experiment, 24 subjects carried out simple computerized MD. As a result, increases in HR, SBP, DBP, and BRS were observed. In the second experiment, 14 subjects performed two MD conditions. In the restricted condition, a maximum time for going round the star and a limit to the degree of deviation outside it's border were established whereas in the non-restricted condition, these parameters were not applied. Increase in HR, SBP, and DBP was more remarkable in the former than in the latter condition. BRS increased in the latter, but decreased in the former. From the first experiment, it was revealed that simple MD fundamentally increases vagal activity. This may be attributable to the attentional nature of MD. In the second experiment, it was found that the encouragement of active coping suppressed vagal activity, even in the attentional task. These results suggested that the amount of mental effort required by the task has a large influence on the suppression of vagal activity. (Japanese Journal of Physiological Psychology and Psychophysiology, 20(3): 233-239, 2002.)


Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL)▪ No Pre-labelled Data ➔ Training with Trial-and-errors!– Sequential decision making problems @ Unknown environments– Applications: gaming agent, autonomous systems, agent adaptation


We design M(≥3)-phase spreading sequences of Markov chains optimal in terms of bit error probabilities in asynchronous SSMA (spread spectrum multiple access) communication systems. To this end, we obtain the distributions of the normalized MAI (multiple access interference) for such systems and find a necessary and sufficient condition that the distributions become independent of the phase shifts.


Objective: To determine the frequency of antibodies to neuronal surface antigens (NSA-abs) in patients with possible autoimmune encephalitis (AE) or new-onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE). Background: The frequency of NSA-abs in patients with possible AE or NORSE is unknown. Design/Methods: Patients seen between January 1, 1999 and August 31, 2016, with criteria (Lancet Neurol 2016;15:391–404) for possible AE (n=98), were included. Clinical information was reviewed and antibody testing was performed. One autopsied case of NORSE not examined for NSA-abs was included. Outcome was compared between patients with features of NORSE and those with NSA-abs. Results: NSA-abs were identified in 38 of 98 (39%) patients with possible AE, including NMDA receptor (NMDAR)-abs (n=32), AMPAR-abs (n=3), LGI1-abs (n=2), GABAbR-abs (n=2), and antibodies not characterized yet (n=2); two patients had multiple NSA-abs. Twenty-seven of the 38 patients with NSA-abs responded to immunotherapies, and 28 (74%) ultimately recovered at the median follow-up (29 months; range, 1–179). Eleven of 98 (11%) patients had features of NORSE, and none had NSA-abs. Patients with NORSE presented with status epilepticus following fever, and were highly refractory to conventional antiepileptic treatment and first-line immunotherapies, but 3 of 5 patients treated responded to intravenous cyclophosphamide. Only 3 of 12 (25%) patients with NORSE recovered considerably but still had seizures frequently at the median follow-up (10 months; range, 3–84). Initial brain MRI in patients with NORSE was unremarkable, but follow-up MRIs in 9 of 11 patients showed symmetric T2/FLAIR hyperintensities in the hippocampus, amygdala, insula, claustrum, thalamus, and perisylvian operculum. In 10 of 12 (83%) patients brain atrophy developed. The autopsy of one case of NORSE showed nonspecific hippocampal pathology. Conclusions: NSA-abs were detected in 39% of patients with possible AE; 74% of these patients improved. In contrast, patients with NORSE did not have NSA-abs, were refractory to immunotherapies, and more frequently had poor outcome. Disclosure: Dr. Iizuka has received research support from Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation. Dr. Kaneko has nothing to disclose. Dr. Tominaga has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kanazawa has nothing to disclose. Dr. Ugawa has received personal compensation for activities with CHUGAI-IGAKUSHA, Igaku-Shoin Ltd, Medical View Co. Ltd., and Blackwell Publishing K.K. Dr. Ugawa has received research support from Taiwan Movement Disorders Society, Chinese Neurology Society, Astellas Pharma Inc., Eisai Co., Ltd., FP Pharmaceutical Corporation, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Elsevier Japan K. K., KISSEI PHARMACEUTICAL CO., Ltd. Dr. Hara has nothing to disclose. Dr. Onozawa has nothing to disclose. Dr. Asari has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hata has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kaneko has nothing to disclose. Dr. Yoshida has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sugiura has nothing to disclose. Dr. Ugawa has received royalties from CHUGAI-IGAKUSHA, Igaku-Shoin Ltd, Medical View Co. Ltd., and Blackwell Publishing K.K. Dr Ugawa has received research support from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, and the Support Center for Advanced Telecommunications Technology Research. Dr. Watanabe has nothing to disclose. Dr. Tomita has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kosakai has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kaneko has nothing to disclose. Dr. Ishima has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kitamura has nothing to disclose. Dr. Dalmau receives royalties from the editorial board of Up-To-Date. Dr. Dalmau has received royalties from a patent from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and royalty payments and/or for technology and invention on NMDAR, GABA(B), GABAaR, DPPX, and IgLON5 antibody test. Dr. Dalmau has received research support from Euroimmun. Dr. Nishiyama has nothing to disclose.


ABSTRACT With this study we intend to explore the impact of naturism on the Valencian anarcho-syndicalist power base in the 1920s and 1930s. The methodology used in this article has been oral history, since we consider this as the most useful to access the ways of understanding reality, as represented by historical actors. In fact, we have analysed unpublished oral sources to examine the processes of reappropriation of spaces and their uses developed by libertarian militants. Through the collective practices associated with naturism, the libertarian militant structured new contentious discourses that influenced the return to nature as an essential phase of the revolution. These experiences would engender the basis upon which to construct an anarcho-naturist identity, along with a whole set of new meanings and representative universe, which varied according to the experiences of each militant. In short, with this work we interrogate the different representations and subjective experiences of the libertarian militancy around naturism and its practices, which will thus improve the understanding of the weight of naturist collective practices in the imaginary, and in the process of constructing the identity of libertarian militant.


Background: Placenta previa causes massive obstetric haemorrhage and severe maternal morbidity. The objective is to analyse the effectiveness of uterine vessels (artery and vein) ligation before uterine incision in reducing blood loss and hysterectomy during caesarean section for major placenta previa without increasing morbidity in the newborn.Methods: A retrospective analysis of caesarean section for major placenta previa from 2002 to 2017 was done.  Uterine vessels ligation before uterine incision was done in 52 patients. In 19 patients unilateral and in 33 patients bilateral uterine vessels ligation was done before uterine incision. In control group, 12 patients with major placenta previa uterine vessels were ligated after the removal of the placenta. The blood loss, blood transfusion, maternal morbidity and NICU admission of the newborns were compared.Results: The mean blood loss was 1002 ml in unilateral, 793 ml in bilateral uterine vessels ligation group, compared to 2191 ml in the control group. The mean blood transfusion volume 0.89 units in unilateral 0.60 units in bilateral ligation group while 2.33 units in the control group. The difference in blood loss and blood transfusion were statistically significant. Out of 52 babies, only 6 babies were admitted in NICU for mild depression with stay less than 3 days.Conclusions: Uterine vessels ligation before uterine incision reduces blood loss and hysterectomy during caesarean section for placenta previa without increasing the morbidity in the newborns.


An increasing number of mega-cities, such as Cape Town and São Paulo, are confronted with increasing droughts as well as an increase in water demand. Inevitably, this leads to an increasing pressure on the available water resources and associated risks and economic impact for the water dependent sectors, such as drinking water supply, industry, energy production, agriculture, and nature.

Here, we present the WaterLOUPE approach (https://deltares.nl/waterloupe) to estimating water scarcity risk for mega-cities and their surrounding catchment that combines the global model PCR-GLOBWB and global datasets (e.g. Shared Socioeconomic Pathways and OECD Economic Outlook) with local datasets and local expert knowledge. Data and models provide the required information to estimate the water scarcity hazard, level of exposure of the relevant sectors and their vulnerability. With our approach we estimate sector-specific risks at the spatial scale of sub-catchments or municipalities. Moreover, the water scarcity risk is provided both for the current situation and future climatic and socio-economic scenarios.

Our approach has been tested, both technically and through stakeholder workshops, in several case studies (São Paolo, Cape Town, Cali, and Tel Aviv-Yafo). The results of our sector-specific water scarcity risk calculations have shown to reflect the local situation of water users in mega-cities very well. As such, the outcomes of the approach have provided a useful knowledge base that enables stakeholders in the catchment to discuss water scarcity risk, which is a first step to collaboration on mitigation and adaptation strategies to decrease water scarcity risks in mega-cities.

Overall, it can be concluded that although climate change tends to decrease water availability, the main drivers of the water scarcity risk are socioeconomical and are related to the strong growth of water demand and the high vulnerability of specific water users. Generally, it was found that water scarcity risks for poor households, small scale farmers, local businesses and nature are relatively high, also under moderate drought conditions. On the other hand, the risks for industries and non-poor households are low to moderate even in more drought prone areas or periods. In most cases the level of water scarcity risk is expected to increase in the future, underlining the urgency for mega-cities to develop actionable and inclusive strategies to mitigate and adapt to the new normal of increasing water stress.


Both friends and critics of Berea College have analyzed and evaluated its Appalachian commitment across the years. Anthropologist Allen W. Batteau, in his influential The Invention ofAppalachian says that Berea President William G. Frost (1892-1920), invented the rhetoric of Appalachia, and is the one responsible for the creation ofAppalachia as a region. Batteau says that Berea College, in fact, furnished the cadre of early workers for Appalachian development by intellectually linking Appalachia to eighteenth century Revolutionary America and viewing the people as "our contemporary ancestors," as well as essentially northern frontiersmen, thus making Appalachia seem interesting and important to mainline Americans.1 And historian Henry D. Shapiro, in an older but similar analysis, has seen Frost as a major architect of the vision of Appalachia as "a strange land inhabited by a peculiar people."2 In recent days there has been a substantial outpouring of concern over the closing of Berea's Appalachian Museum. The decision was made by an on-campus long-range planning committee whose major concern appears to have been the academic efficiency of the college, but the unfortunate result has become a public relations nightmare. Groups throughout Kentucky and the region have concluded that Berea's Appalachian commitment is eroding, and have voiced their concern widely. Two Bereans, Sally Wilkerson, retired professor of art, and Garry Barker, formerly director of student industries, have led the attack against the closing ofthe museum. It might be that the symbolic crisis is as serious as Berea's 1967 decision to close its Foundation School, the College's high school division. A few years ago, in response to Dr. Deborah McCauley's comments on the reviews that Appalachian Heritage ran of her book, Appalachian Mountain Religion, McCauley charged that Berea's President, Larry D. Shinn, showed a lack ofunderstanding ofBerea's history, and indeed was guilty of "patent revisionist history."3 In response to her I tried to describe the complex and often contradictory nature of Berea's history.4 My remarks were based on an important insight suggested by Berea's long-time dean, the late Louis Smith.


We present a novel motion planning method for intelligent vehicle with long-range perception under the uncertain constraints of unstructured road boundary on the basis of obstacle roadside fusion strategy and beam curvature method . Not only does this method inherit the advantages of reliability, smoothness and speediness from LCM, but also it can produce more reasonable path than traditional LCM does by virtue of the global information acquired by long-range sensors.


Identification of unknown pharmaceutical impurities is an essential part in the drug development process. In the present study, we developed and applied liquid chromatography (LC) – solid-phase extraction (SPE) / nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methodology with cryoprobe for identification and structural characterization of unknown impurities in 3- bromo-5-(trifluoromethyl)aniline. The three main impurities were separated and isolated by LC-SPE system. After multiple trapping, isolated impurities were eluted from the SPE cartridges with deuterated acetonitrile and one- and two- dimensional homo- and heteronuclear NMR spectra were recorded. The structures of the unknown impurities were determined by detailed inspection of NMR spectra and by mass spectrometric (MS) analysis. The results of the present preliminary study demonstrated that LC- SPE/NMR can be used for rapid impurity profiling of 3-bromo-5-(trifluoromethyl)aniline.


The effect of glass fibers on the crack resistance of reinforced polyurethane foam is studied. The foam was developed to meet the requirements for insulation material for the TGZ Mark III cargo containment system of LNG carriers.


We prove that associated with mass is spacetime curvature which leads to creation of volume and mass shells in every instance due to the energy equivalence principle. We put forth the relations between a point surface tension and a spacetime curvature. The conclusion is that the spacetime is of fluid nature. Finally we find the chi psi omega law and the action which is of central importance in quantum mechanics. From thereon we may estimate the true acceleration of the particle.


Objective: The present study was to explore the phytochemical analysis and antidiabetic potential of the root of Commiphora caudata in high-fat diet (HFD) streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
Methods: The ethanolic root extract of C. caudata at a dose of 400 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg was administered to diabetic rats. Glibenclamide (5 mg/kg) was used as standard drug.
Results: The data were statistically assessed using one-way ANOVA followed by Dennett's multiple comparison tests. To unfold the mechanism, we studied all the biochemical parameters glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoproteins (HDL), low-density lipoproteins (LDL), and very LDL (VLDL) and histopathological examination of the pancreatic tissue section. The ethanolic extracts of root of C. caudata showed significant reduce of the level of cholesterol, TG, LDL, VLDL, and significant increase in the serum level of HDL at 400 mg/kg rather than 200 mg/kg.
Conclusion: Further studies should look into the characterization and isolation of the constituents to know the exact mechanism of hypoglycemic activity. Statistical analyses of this screening method confirm that the proposed method is appropriate and it can be expected to improve basic idea to the researcher who is working in area-like antidiabetic activity.


In order to improve the combustion properties of combustible objects, the microcellular combustible objects were fabricated by the supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) foaming technology. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the closed vessel tests were applied to characterize the cell structure and combustion properties of microcellular combustible objects. The results demonstrated that there were numerous micron-scale cells in the microcellular combustible objects fabricated by the SC-CO2 foaming technology, which enhanced the specific surface area. Both the foaming temperature of 90℃ and the foaming time of 15min led to the increase of the cell density and diameter. The closed vessel tests indicated that the microcellular combustible objects performed the shorter burning time (14.66 ms) than that of original sample (16.49 ms), and the decrement was 11%. The higher foaming temperature, the longer foaming time and the higher RDX mass fraction promoted the spread rate of burning gas of the microcellular combustible objects in burning process because of the higher specific surface area and oxygen balance. Therefore, the microcellular combustible objects foamed by SC-CO2 had a very good application foreground in weapons.


Despite rapid advances in understanding the neurobiology of bipolar disorders, rapid cycling states continue to be the Achilles heel for psychiatrists. This is due to their elusive presentation, poor treatment response, frequent recurrences, high suicidality and overall poor prognosis (Wu and Dunner, 1993; Coryell et al., 2003; Nierenberg et al., 2010). The management of rapid cyclers, especially in the acute depressive phase with antidepressants remains a challenge, due to antidepressant induced mood switches (hypomanic, manic and mixed) and fear of worsening the overall course of illness (Ghaemi et al., 2003). The scenario becomes more complicated in the setting of severe depression with suicidality, where electroconvulsive therapy is the only recommended treatment (Srisurapanont et al., 1995). However, nonavailability, prohibitive costs, negative public perceptions and stigma limit the utility of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in clinical settings (Rose et al., 2003). Ketamine, a widely used anaesthetic agent and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDA) antagonist offers a way out of this conundrum with its rapid antidepressant and antisuicidal effects with better efficacy and tolerability. We present a case of a 19-yearold female with rapid cycling bipolar depression admitted after a suicide attempt, successfully treated with ketamine when she failed to improve with standard treatment.


On July 8, 197 6, Miss Mary Griffith of Port Fairy, Victoria, found a specimen of the Grey-backed Storm Petrel Garrodia nereis on Port Fairy's South Beach. It was found in very fresh condition at the foot of the primary dunes, twenty feet above the high water mark. The location and freshness of the carcass suggest it may not have been beach-washed. The specimen was frozen, but because the freezer was accidentally turned off it later became badly water-damaged. Miss G. Bowker, Miss M. Brady and myself received the specimen in this condition and identified it as G. nereis.


This research report comprises part of a larger study, which endeavoured to identified the competencies of newly qualified nurses (NQNs) as viewed by senior professional nurses (SPNs) in the clinical units. This report concentrates only on the competencies of the NQNs working in the psychiatric nursing units. SPNs (N=29) from certain health services in the Northern Province (NP) of the RSA, constituted the population for this research. A descriptive survey was used as a research approach to conduct this research. The fieldwork, entailing the distrib~ltiona nd collection of the questionnaires by a researcher, was done during a period of political and labour unrest in this area.

*Please note: This is a reduced version of the abstract. Please refer to PDF for full text.


As space does not permit me to tantalize, then startle, and finally convince, my title is my conclusion, to be followed by the brief argument that establishes its validity. There is an old and good Euclidean precedent for this approach; when we begin with something like "A straight line falling across parallel straight linesmakes the alternate angles equal to one another," the conclusion is unlikely to be a surprise, but the proof may be elegant, its solidity fair compensation for the absence of dramatic revelation. It is my contention that the geometry associated with perspective is the least interesting aspect of the revolutionary redefinition of painting that took place in early fifteenth-century Florence, although it is often taken to be its quintessential element. By "perspective," many people,


Psychoanalysis is the theory of the subject that bets on the facts that makes the difference between the human being and the rest of the species of the world and makes it subject: the language is the attribute that allows him to have a desire and makes it unique. Under this paradigm of Psychoanalysis this thesis is written in order to say about women and her statements, from her position that places her unstablebly, to continue leading the way in which she can march from her restlessness, from herself. Posing the question of the subject and his desire and how it is woven into feminine; it hinges on the form of subjectivity of the woman that it was enunciated by Freud as the Dark Continent, and is little known by her nature, carries a tangible lack in a dark cavity, a failure that makes the subject herself, that makes her being no totally. It begins with the approach of the being, giving a ticket to the subject of Psychoanalysis to the subject of the unconscious from the configuration, and it can bring to the scenario the matter of the desire that is what Psychoanalysis is about. The desire that instinctually mobilizes the subject that is inside, and seeks to be said, in symptoms, in word or in act, who gets a path and that touches the enjoyment of that incomprehensible place for some other speeches psi, to articulate in the specific case of the woman side of femininity, as it is played or mobilized in those significant by which it is named, and the possibility for Psychoanalysis to offer to become something else than repetition, to become from her desire and the implication in her subjectivity.


Therapy is the outcome produced by the combination of the traditional Chinese medical science and the tea culture. It is a common phenomenon and it has along history. There are many kinds of explanations about the source of tea therapy, such as the common tea therapy, the special tea therapy and variety therapy. They are complementary to each other and prove correspondence to each other. These explanations show the extensive and profound knowledge of tea therapy in the Three Gorges area.


Source: Polar, Environment, and Science (POLES) survey, November−December 2016 Globally, 2016 was the warmest year on record, surpassing records set in 2015 and 2014,1 and each new record emphasizes the longer-term upward trend. Though not every place on Earth experienced warming effects last year, they were quite evident in many areas. Rising South Pacific sea temperatures caused the largest die-off ever recorded of the coral that composes Australia's Great Barrier Reef, and both Arctic and Antarctic sea ice reached record lows for several months of the year. Among scientists looking at such data, there is overwhelming agreement that human activities are shifting Earth's climate in hazardous directions, and urgent actions are needed to slow this down.2 Among U.S. politicians and the public, however, there remain wide divisions on whether humancaused climate change is real, whether scientists agree, and whether anything should be done.3


In latent theory the measurement properties of a mental test can be expressed in the test information function. The relative merits of two tests for the same latent trait can be described by the relative efficiency function, i.e. the ratio of the test information functions. It is argued that these functions have to be estimated if the values of the item difficulties are unknown. Using conditional maximum likelihood estimation as indicated by Andersen (1973), pointwise asymptotic distributions of the test information and relative efficiency function are derived for the case of dichotomously scored Rasch homogeneous items. Formulas for confidence intervals are derived from the asymptotic distributions. An application to a mathematics test is given and extensions to other latent trait models are discussed.


The vaporization of Cr2O3 under neutral and oxidizing conditions has been studied using mass spectrometric methods. The vaporization proceeds with the formation of Cr, CrO, CrO2, O, and O2 as the principal gaseous species. Under oxidizing conditions CrO3 was also observed. Dissociation energies of the gaseous molecules are D00(CrO)=101.1±7 kcal/mole, D00(CrO2)=227.1±15 kcal/mole, and D00(CrO3)=341±20 kcal/mole.


OBJECTIVE
In order to determine the mechanism by which nitric oxide (NO) inhibits prolactin release, we investigated the participation of cGMP-dependent cAMP-phosphodiesterases (PDEs) and protein kinase G (PKG) in this effect of NO.

METHODS
Anterior pituitary glands of male rats were incubated with inhibitors of PDE and PKG with or without sodium nitroprusside (NP). Prolactin release, and cAMP and cGMP concentrations were determined by RIA.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
The inhibitory effect of NP (0.5 mmol/l) on prolactin release and cAMP concentration was blocked by EHNA (10(-4)mol/l) and HL-725 (10(-4)mol/l), inhibitors of cGMP-stimulated cAMP-PDE (PDE2). 8-Br-cGMP (10(-4) and 10(-3)mol/l), which mimics cGMP as a mediator of NP effects on prolactin release, also decreased cAMP concentration. Zaprinast (10(-4)mol/l), a selective inhibitor of specific cGMP-PDE (PDE5), potentiated the NP effect on cAMP concentration. Rp-8-[(4-chlorophenyl)thio]-cGMP triethylamine (Rp-8-cGMP, 10(-7)-10(-6)mol/l), an inhibitor of PKG, reversed the effect of NP on prolactin release. The present study suggests that several mechanisms are involved in the inhibitory effect of NO on prolactin release. The activation of PDE2 by cGMP may mediate the inhibitory effect of NO on cAMP concentration and therefore on prolactin release. NO-activated PKG may also be participating in the inhibitory effect of NO on prolactin release.


In this paper, the performance of a PDMS-based microfluidic device is thoroughly characterized for detecting continuous static and dynamic loads. This device comprises of a single PDMS rectangular microstructure and a set of electrolyte-enabled distributed transducers. It is fabricated by a standard fabrication process well developed for PDMS-based microfluidic devices. One potential application of this device is to measure spatially-varying mechanical properties of heterogeneous soft materials, through quasi-static, stress relaxation and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) tests. Thus, the response of this device to three types of inputs: static, step and sinusoidal, is examined with a custom experimental setup. For the first time, the capability of using a polymer-based microfluidic device to detect sinusoidal inputs is reported. The characterized results demonstrate the potential of using this device to measure soft materials.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


The film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) is regarded as one of the greatest science fiction movies ever made. It occupies number one on the American Film Institute's top ten science fiction films and fifteenth place overall in its top one hundred movies list. Its revolutionary storyline and techniques mean that it continues to inspire filmmakers today. Lines and scenes from the movie have become legendary and are regularly quoted in film, television, and popular culture. But while all of Kubrick's films were complex and multilayered, compounded by his customary refusal to explain his intentions, 2001 is perhaps the most complex, multilayered, and enigmatic of all. As with all his films, it requires multiple viewings to unlock its secrets. This complexity has led to an ever-expanding scholarly literature on 2001 all detailing new interpretations. Books and articles range from production and reception histories to intricate analyses. Additional resources are available in the separate Oxford Bibliographies article in Cinema and Media Studies "Stanley Kubrick"; please cross-check. They have not been repeated here.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the results of selective anatomic augmentation of partial anterior cruciate (ACL) ligament tears in 36 consecutive patients with mean 3years follow-up. Our hypothesis is that this selective augmentation of partial ACL tears could restore knee stability and function. In a consecutive series of 314 ACL reconstructions, 40 patients in which intact ACL fibers remained in the location corresponding to the anteromedial or posterolateral bundle were diagnosed perioperatively. All patients underwent selective augmentation of the torn bundle, while keeping the remaining fibers intact using autogenous hamstring graft. 38 patients (28 males, 10 females) were available with minimum 3 year follow- up. 26 cases had AM bundle tears and 12 cases had PL bundle tears respectively. Patients were assessed with International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) 2000 Knee Evaluation Form, Lysholm score; instrumented knee testing was performed with the arthrometer (KT 2000). Statistical analysis was performed to compare the preoperative and postoperative objective evaluation. At 3 year follow-up, 12 (31.6%) patients were graded A, 25 (65.8%) graded B and 1 C (2.6%) at IKDC objective evaluation. Lysholm9s score and mean side to side instrumental laxity improved significantly. The results of anatomic single bundle augmentation in partial ACL tears are encouraging with excellent side to side laxity.


Over the last few years pressure has been brought to bear on nurse managers worldwide to cut costs in their departments and to freeze posts, while maintaining a high quality of nursing care. Computers can be utilised in nursing administration to cut costs and to help increase productivity. There are three main areas in which computers can serve as an aid to nursing administration. A word-processor in the manager's office can save a lot of time, the spreadsheet is invaluable for financial planning and a data base, which can be likened to an electronic filing cabinet, quickly produces information which would previously have taken hours to compile. There are computer programs, such as the Nurse Manager which are designed specifically for nursing administration, the above program combines the latest micro-computer technology with a patient classification system to provide a powerful staff management tool.


Objective Objective: To investigate whether highvolume hemofiltration(HVHF) can be used for the burn patients with systemic inflammation response syndrome(SIRS).Methods The study was performed in 36 burn patients with SIRS,and they were divided into HVHF group and control group randomly.Temperature,heart rate,blood pressure and oxygen saturation of patients in HVHF group were monitored before and after treatment,and the concentrations of plasma cytokines were measured at 0,4,6,8 and 10 hours after HVHF.Acute physiology and chronic health evaluation(APACHE)Ⅱscores of each group were recorded.Results Temperature,heart rate,mean artery pressure and oxygen saturation of the patients were improved(P0.01)after HVHF and the concentrations of TNF-α,IL-6 and IL-8 were decreased significantly(P(0.01))APACHE Ⅱ sores were significantly lower(P0.01)after treatment compared with those in control group.Conclusion Inflammatory factors of burn patients with SIRS can be removed by HVHF and prognosis can be improved.


Objective To investigate the effect of pioglitazone on oxazolone-induced colitis and to clarify the mechanism of apoptosis by Fas/Fas ligand(FasL). Methods Eighteen BALb/c mice of ulcerative colitis induced by oxazolone enema were equally allocated into 3 groups. The mice in group 1 were sacrificed 3 days after enema,lamina propria mononuclear cells(LPMC) were isolated from freshly obtained colonic specimens and treated in vitro with pioglitazone (40 μmol/L),the annexin-V-FITC was used for detection of apoptosis,and Fas/FasL expression was assayed by flow cytometry. Meanwhile,untreated mice were served as normal controls. Mice in group 2 (control group) and 3 (experiment group) were treated with methylcellulose or pioglitazone(20 mg·kg -1 ·d -1 ) 3 days after enema and were administrated for consecutive 7 days. The colonic inflammation including disease activity index (DAI),macroscopic and histological changes,myeloperoxidase(MPO) activity and levels of interleukin (IL)-4,IL-5 were evaluated. Results Apoptosis of LPMC,expression of Fas and FasL in normal and colitis mucosa were 12.89±1.23,70.63±6.24,8.59±5.47 and 4.25±0.84,62.60±5.85,23.75±10.23,respectively. After treated with pioglitazone,both apoptosis of LPMC and expression of Fas increased,while FasL expression decreased (40.58±10.32,83.98±11.38 and 10.04±5.21 respectively). In group 2 and group 3,the macroscopic and microscopic score,MPO activity,IL-4 and IL-5 level were 2.50±0.55,8.83±0.75, 3.81±0.17,216.46±34.32,102.28±25.74 and 0.33 ±0.52,4.00±0.63,1.25±0.16,179.36±18.15,61.65±17.45,respectively. Conclusion The results indicate that pioglitazone treatment can significantly attenuate colonic inflammation,and it might be related to the apoptosis of LPMC through Fas and FasL.


The p-methyl and amino benzene sulfonic acid neodymium is synthesized by the direct reaction method,characterized by elemental analysis,infrared spectra,thermogravimetric analysis methods.The results show that the molar ratio of Nd to benzene sulfonic acid is 1:3 in the title compounds;the Nd compounds contain two crystallization water molecules and have the higher heat stability.


Ten minute scans at -1.5, +1.5, and +3 were each followed by equal length scans at 0. The -1.5 observations were on 2009 DOY 034 (Feb 3), while the other two positions were observed on DOY 035 (Feb 4). The observations at 0 were used to normalize the amplitudes at the other positions to a common level, since the correlation amplitudes varied with time. The 0 values corresponding to each non-zero setting were made within one hour, while the 0/non-zero pairs were separated by twenty hours and four hours.


This chapter investigates whether the major approaches in democratization literature offer satisfactory explanations for Turkey's recent transition to unstable authoritarianism. It argues that modernization theory has a limited explanation for the rise of authoritarianism in recent years. The causation between democratization and development flows from the former to the latter in the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi era. Business and major unions have been, mostly if not all the time, state-dependent/state-led actors, and their impact on democratization does not have a strong independent effect. While (medium) leverage and (high) linkage with Europe and the West were crucial in the startling pro-democratic reforms (2000–2005), later on they did not save Turkey from being an authoritarian country. Studies on Turkish political culture suggest that support for democracy among elite and public opinion is highly contextual. Among subfields of democratization literature, Turkish studies have notably contributed to the debate on secularism. Future studies could focus on a kind of political Islam enmeshed within nationalism, especially in the form of Turkish-Islam ideology, as well as differences in religious communities and their alliance with political actors. Overall, Turkish studies offers a fertile ground to contribute to the democratization literature that investigates the uneasy relationship between nationalism, national identity, and democracy.


The application of scene matching navigation and guidance of UAVs has high requirement to real time performance.To solve the problem,the stage for generating the local image descriptors of Scale Invariant Feature Transform(SIFT) algorithm was improved.A matching algorithm was proposed,which took the feature point as the centre of a circle,and some concentric circles were constructed to divide the feature local areas.At the same time,the matching points were selected to decrease the model estimation error.Numerous experiments were carried out on remote sensing images with geometric distortion such as scale,rotation and so on.The result showed that the method can improve the real time performance while keeping the locating accuracy of SIFT algorithm.


AbstractThis chapter illustrates two practical applications of the TOPOI model for intercultural communication. The first case deals with cultural boundaries impacting the effectiveness of a global team. The second case involves a situation where one party makes unexpected requests.


Presently, sleep disorders are rapidly increasing due to sudden social development and lifestyle diversification. Among the various factors contributing to comfortable sleep, bedclothes are a major factor that readily influence the sleeping conditions, as they directly come in contact with the human body. This study therefore researches use and purchasing status of bedclothes by consumers, as well as the subjective satisfaction. This would accordingly help us to understand the consumers' performance needs, and collect basic data to develop bedclothes that assist comfortable sleep. This study used multiple choice questions and a 5-point Likert scale in a survey-style research. The results of the study indicate that consumers prudently considered practicality and durability, as bedclothes are seldom purchased. The most preferred material was cotton, but the use of microfiber, a new material, has also increased. Further, consumers' preferred lightweight bedclothes that displayed excellent water absorption, thermal insulation, durability, detergency, and flexibility. Hence, bedclothes developed according to the results of this study are expected to aid comfortable sleep.


The invention discloses a low-cost permanent magnet linear generator with a single concentrated winding and high power density. The permanent magnet linear generator is characterized in that an even number of stator teeth are uniformly arranged on a stator; stator slots are formed in two adjacent stator teeth; permanent magnets are arranged between stator slot yokes and a stator back yoke; main air gaps exist between the stator teeth and rotor teeth of a rotor; magnetic flux generated by the permanent magnets enters the rotor through the main air gaps to form main magnetic flux; the permanent magnets do not rotate along with the rotor; the magnetizing directions of the permanent magnets on the same stator slot yoke are the same; the magnetizing directions of the permanent magnets on the two adjacent stator slot yokes are opposite; an armature winding is placed in each stator slot; the magnetic flux on the stator teeth is changed by controlling the interaction of the current magnetic field of one armature winding and the magnetic fields generated by the permanent magnets; torque is generated by utilizing change of magnetic resistance between the stator and the rotor. The permanent magnet linear generator has the beneficial effects that the motor is only provided with one winding, so that the current magnitude and direction of the armature winding only need to be controlled during operation; a power circuit only needs two power switch devices.


In this paper, an improved stochastic discrimination (SD) is introduced to reduce the error rate of the standard SD in the context of multi-class classification problem. The learning procedure of the improved SD consists of two stages. In the first stage, a standard SD, but with shorter learning period is carried out to identify an important space where all the misclassified samples are located. In the second stage, the standard SD is modified by (i) restricting sampling in the important space; and (ii) introducing a new discriminant function for samples in the important space. It is shown by mathematical derivation that the new discriminant function has the same mean, but smaller variance than that of standard SD for samples in the important space. It is also analyzed that the smaller the variance of the discriminant function, the lower the error rate of the classifier. Consequently, the proposed improved SD improves standard SD by its capability of achieving higher classification accuracy. Illustrative examples axe provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed improved SD.


Abstract Although increasing numbers of people live in multicultural environments devoid of a dominant culture, little is known about how, in such environments, they deal with the products or consumption practices of different cultures. This study explores the phenomenon of cultural pluralism, defined as a pattern of emergent consumption acts that result in the adoption, by individuals, of products or consumption practices from several cultures. A qualitative study involving 20 participants investigated the adoption of culturally cued products over time. Four cultural pluralism strategies emerge from the analysis. First, cultural experimentalism characterises the continuous search for the products, practices, and experiences of other cultures. Second, cultural extensionism characterises a cautious strategy slowly leading consumers beyond their comfort zone of known products towards those of other cultures. Third, cultural purism characterises a selective approach towards culturally cued products which limits consumption to a specific set of cultures. Fourth, cultural passivity characterises inertia or lack of engagement with other cultures and their products. Several antecedents are identified, whose salience appears to vary with each strategy, and each strategy has different behavioural outcomes. The study contributes to the literature on multicultural marketing by providing a more inclusive view of consumption in multicultural environments than that afforded by the sole consideration of ethnic origin or individual traits and orientations.


We investigated the association of vitamin K status with warfarin sensitivity among 40 orthopaedic patients beginning perioperative algorithm‐dosed warfarin. Baseline vitamin K status was assessed using plasma vitamin K‐1 and vitamin K‐1 2,3 epoxide concentrations, and a questionnaire‐based estimation of usual vitamin K intake. Warfarin sensitivity was assessed as the increase in the International Normalized Ratio (INR) after two doses of 5 mg of warfarin and as the 4‐d accumulation of under‐γ‐carboxylated prothrombin (PIVKA‐II), adjusted for warfarin dose requirement. Multivariate models were used to assess vitamin K variables as predictors of warfarin sensitivity. The mean INR increase was 0·53 U and the mean PIVKA‐II increase was 771 ng/ml/mg warfarin. Demographic factors were not associated with warfarin response. For each 1 standard deviation (SD) lower value of plasma vitamin K‐1, but not the other vitamin K variables, the INR rose 0·24 U (P ≤ 0·01). A higher usual vitamin K intake and plasma vitamin K‐1, and lower plasma vitamin K‐1 2,3 epoxide, were all associated with a lower PIVKA‐II increase over 4 d. Respective differences in PIVKA‐II accumulation per SD increase of each variable were −165, −218 and 236 ng/ml/mg warfarin (all P ≤ 0·05). We concluded that dietary and biochemical measures of vitamin K status were associated with early warfarin sensitivity.


27 pp. Bookmarks supplied by UO. Maps and figures included. Appendices not included. Adopted October 15, 2007. Captured February 25, 2008.


Abstract : Atmospheric turbulence introduces random phase distortions in optical imaging systems. The development of new laser and imaging systems requires information on the spatial and temporal distribution of this atmospheric turbulence. Measurements of the image spread and the jitter induced by the atmosphere on an optical system provide two techniques to quantify these phenomena. This thesis evaluates a Spectra Sources Lynxx PC Plus charge coupled device (CCD) array as an atmospheric turbulence sensor. Data acquisition and processing programs were written to measure the image spread of a point source and centroid jitter of a point source imaged through the atmosphere. Since atmospheric jitter measurements require high image frame rates on the order of 200 images per second, a large portion of this thesis involved measurements of the times for the CCD detector, interface board and IBM compatible computer to perform their tasks. Recommendations for higher performance are presented.


For the tree algorithm introduced by [Cap79] and [TsMi78] let $L_N$ denote the expected collision resolution time given the collision multiplicity $N$. If $L(z)$ stands for the Poisson transform of $L_N$, then we show that $L_N - L(N) ≃ 1.29·10^-4 \cos (2 π \log _2 N + 0.698)$.


This workshop presentation on teenage pregnancy in India indicates that hospital statistics on teenage childbearing show rising marriage and childbearing ages and changes in rural attitudes. 70% of teenagers delivering at a maternity hospital had at least a primary education. 75% of the Indian population is still rural and teenage pregnancies reflect this majority. Although total fertility rates during 1981-91 declined by 43% the total fertility rates among adolescents have remained much the same. Many adolescent births take place at home in rural and urban slums. Adolescent health care in rural areas is still limited. Adolescents are usually treated by female health workers during pregnancy. Early marriage was perpetuated in the past by tradition beliefs about preservation of a girls chastity and family needs to reduce expenditures. Early marriage is still practiced in the northern states of India where the educational level of girls is low. Survey findings from four northern states indicates that only 25% of girls aged 10-14 years were enrolled in school compared to 84% in Kerala. Findings also indicate that 82% of rural and urban teenagers who delivered in hospitals were illiterate. A 1988 Indian survey found that only 8.6% of girls aged 15-19 years were using contraception. Most of the adolescent contraceptive use was among married girls and girls living in urban areas. Premarital sexual relations are becoming more common due to a relaxation of social and cultural norms restricting sexual behavior. An Indian family planning survey found that 13% of girls and 28% of boys approved of premarital sexual relations. There appears to be an increase in adolescent abortion and postabortion complications. The authors suggest that teachers and parents need to speak more honestly about sexual matters and that sex and health education needs to be more effective.


A simplified tetramethyl analogue 3 of Teleocidin B-4 (1) has been synthesized from dinitrotoluene 6 via indole 4. The valine moiety of analogue 3 was provided by the coupling of (N-methylamino)indole 16 derived from 4 with the triflate of (R)-2-hydroxyvaleric acid benzyl ester, and the tryptophanyl portion was constructed by alkylation of the resulting (S)-N-valylindole 17 with ethyl (3-bromo-2-oximido) propionate to give the oxime 18. After reduction to the diastereomeric amines 20 and 21, closure to the 9-membered lactam-esters 24 and 23 (respectively) was accomplished using BOP. Separation and reduction of the esters led to teleocidin analogue 3 and its epimeric alcohol 25, respectively


In this paper we show how re-interpreting PageRank as an argumentation semantics for a bipolar argumentation framework empowers its explainability. To this purpose we propose several types of explanation, each of which focuses on different aspects of the algorithm and uncovers information useful for the comprehension of its results.


Objectives: To learn about HIV/AIDS knowledge level of the mobile population at the railway stations in Beijing,so as to provide a scientific basis for the further conduction of AIDS intervention.Methods: Radom sampling was used to select some of the mobile people at Beijing Railway Station and Beijing West Railway Station.With their informed consent,they were interviewed face to face with the structured-questionnaire.All the data was recorded in Excel and analyzed through SPSS 13.0.Results: From 1126 qualified questionnaires,we learned that a large proportion of the f1oating population was sex-active(78.68%,19-39 years old) and received only junior and high middle school education(64.74%).About 6.82% of the subjects had never heard of AIDS.TV and broadcast were their major ways to learn information about HIV/AIDS(54.6%).The interviewees understanding the meaning of "HIV" and "AIDS" accounted for 41.79% and 28.15% respectively.A high percentage of mobile population knew the three major HIV transmission routes with a rate above 79.39%.However,only 41.04% knew that ordinary daily life contact like hand-shaking and having meal together were not among HIV transmission routes.In addition,28.91% believed that HIV could be transmitted through once sexual intercourse.14.2% thought that once infected,the patient would died soon.As to the therapies of AIDS,58.29% of subjects chose the answer "Traditional Chinese Medicine" instead of "drug cocktail therapy"(34.11%).With regard to current HIV prevalence and government's effort,70.77% believed that the Party and the government could control HIV prevalence efficiently.Conclusion: There should be more publicity about HIV/AIDS knowledge for mobile population on TV and over broadcast with simple and intelligible words.Besides transmission route,more information about AIDS should be exposed to the public so that they won't become so dreadful about AIDS and will recognize that AIDS is not easily communicable when prevented in right ways.The roles and effects of condom in preventing HIV transmission should be emphasized in sexual intercourse.


This brief presents a multiternary digit (trit) multiplier design in carbon-nanotube field-effect transistor (CNTFET) technology using unary operators of multivalued logic. The proposed structure is based on the classical Wallace multiplier and includes a novel ternary multiplexer design requiring only a small number of CNTFETs. Two ternary full-adder configurations are also proposed based on an examination of the multiplier structure. In addition, the design includes a new single-trit multiplier which requires 67% less CNTFETs compared to a recent design. HSPICE simulations reveal low power-delay product for the proposed designs for different choices of drive strength. Furthermore, the designs are comparable to prior works with respect to noise margin.


Experimental measurements of the frequency spectra and frequency cross‐spectra of the wall pressure fluctuations beneath a turbulent boundary layer were made in a low‐noise flow facility. The data, taken over a range of flow speeds, clearly display a dimensionless frequency (ωδ/uτ=50) at which the spectra achieve a maximum and a low‐frequency range with an approximately ω2 rolloff. The scaling laws for the low‐, mid‐, and high‐frequency regions of the spectrum are established. The cross‐spectral data, obtained over a range of streamwise separations (0.21≤ξ/δ≤16.4), allow for the computations of the decay Γ(ξ,ω) and convection velocity Uc(ξ,ω) of the wall pressure field. These data show the existence of two distinct wave number groups: a high wave number group that scales on the similarity variable k1ξ=ωξ/Uc(ξ,ω) associated with turbulent sources in the log region of the boundary layer, in which eddies decay in proportion to their size, and a low wave number group that defines the cutoff for the large‐scal...


Social policy is now central to political debate in Britain. This collection of essays by a distinguished panel of leading social policy academics asks what has been achieved by efforts to improve services and reduce poverty, and what is needed to deliver more effective and popular services to all and increase social justice.