Laser cutting machines with linear motor drives provide high contour accuracy and high cutting rates. Thus laser beam cutting has become increasingly competitive compared to mechanical precision cutting [1]. Since the several years, new laser beam sources are available for cutting. One of the promising solutions is cutting with fiber lasers. The fiber laser has several advantages such as absorption rate, power efficiency, fiber delivery, better focusing if compared to the CO2 laser.


A number of test were carried out using a new algorithm for decomposing non-monotone planar polygons to trapezoids in this paper.The results show that the method can decompose complex polygons effectively and reduce the number of trapezoids by approximately 34 %.


The crystal structure of cholesteryl methyl carbonate, C29H48O3, M = 444.69 crystallizing in the monoclinic space group P 2(1) with a = 16.993(2) angstrom, b = 7.671(2) angstrom, c = 10.599(2) angstrom, beta = 102.93(3)-degrees , V = 1346.6 angstrom3, Z = 2, D(m) = 1.092 mgm-3, D(c) = 1.097 mgm-3, Cu K(alpha) radiation, mu = 0.5 mm-1 was determined to R(f) = 0.069 (R(w) = 0.037) for 1252 observed reflections out of a total of 2544 reflections with I > 2-sigma(I).


Abstract The Hand Test Acting Out Score (AOS) and to a limited degree other scores were studied in relationship to offense type of 614 military prisoners, their subsequent disciplinary problems in adjusting to confinement, and an Army measure of mental ability. Significant differences were observed between the mean AOSs of Ss who had committed offenses against people and against property and between Ss who subsequently were model prisoners and disciplinary offenders. The mental ability measure was minimally related to Hand Test response categories. Considerable overlap was observed in AOS distributions of the varying antisocial groups and the AOS was felt to be of questionable value in predicting individual antisocial behavior in confinement.


1. General Aspects of the Use of Satellite Remote Sensing for Resources Exploration in Developing Countries.- 2. Present Status of Microwave Remote Sensing from Space with Respect to Natural Resources Monitoring.- 3. SPOT: The First Operational Remote Sensing Satellite.- 4. Spacelab Metric Camera Experiments.- 5. Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) and Related Technologies.- 6. Selected Features of the SEASAT Satellite.- 7. First Results of the European Spacelab Photogrammetric Camera Mission.- 8. Thematic Mapping of Natural Resources with the Modular Optoelectronic Multispectral Scanner (MOMS).- 9. Availability of Remotely Sensed Data and Information from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Satellite Data Services Division.- 10. A Future Outlook.- 11. Interpretation and Application of Spaceborne Imaging Radar Data to Geologic Problems.- List of Participants.


Many of teleosts are known to have Type I collagen with subunit structure of α1α2α3. Carp, however, is exceptional in that an α3 chain is absent from the swim bladder Type I collagen, but is present as a minor subunit in the skin Type I collagen. In this study, the skin α3 chain of carp was isolated by CM-cellulose chromatography in combination with Sepharose CL-4B gel filtration and was characterized with respect to its amino acid composi-tion and peptide map. α3 was found to be genetically distinct from αl and α2 and is as-sumed to exist as an αlα2α3 heterotrimer. Moreover, α3 was intermediate in chemical nature between αl and α2, but showed more similarities to αl than to α2. These results suggest that the skin α3 chain diverged from its al chain.


The most recent results of searches at the LHC for the Higgs boson h have turned up possible hints of such a particle with mass m_h about 125 GeV consistent with standard model (SM) expectations. This has many potential implications for the SM and beyond. We consider some of them in the contexts of a simple Higgs-portal dark matter (DM) model, the SM plus a real gauge-singlet scalar field D as the DM candidate, and a couple of its variations. In the simplest model with one Higgs doublet and three or four generations of fermions, for D mass m_D DD tends to have a substantial branching ratio. If future LHC data confirm the preliminary Higgs indications, m_D will have to exceed m_h/2. To keep the DM lighter than m_h/2, one will need to extend the model and also satisfy constraints from DM direct searches. The latter can be accommodated if the model provides sizable isospin violation in the DM-nucleon interactions. We explore this in a two-Higgs-doublet model combined with the scalar field D. This model can offer a 125-GeV SM-like Higgs and a light DM candidate having isospin-violating interactions with nucleons at roughly the required level, albeit with some degree of fine-tuning.


The present invention relates to a shift control apparatus of an automatic transmission, to a shift control apparatus and method of an automatic transmission, which specifically determines the speed change gear stage based on the acceleration demand of the driver. To this end, the present shift control apparatus of an automatic transmission according to one embodiment of the invention only determines the speed change gear stage based on the data detector and the operation data for detecting the driving data for performing a variable speed control, the speed change gear but base includes a vehicle controller for controlling the transmission, the vehicle controller of setting the required acceleration of the driver based on the driving data, and setting the gear stage of the possible range for reaching the required acceleration of the driver, and the shift speed range the fuel consumption can be a target speed change command to set the gear position to a minimum.


A mainly theoretical investigation is made of the effects of fast mechanical torque control on the transient stability of turbogenerators. Two aspects of the problem are considered. First the likely improvement in 1st-swing stability is examined, and a method is described of obtaining the stability boundaries in state space for different controls. Secondly, a time optimal-control strategy for reducing subsequent oscillations is examined. It is shown that such a control strategy is unreasonable. A single-machine infinite-busbar system is considered, and experimental results on a model power system are reported.


The micro-arc oxidation film on AZ91D Mg alloy in the different solutions as aluminates and zirconate was studied by measuring the steady state I/E recording and Tafel slope coefficient with an IM6e electrochemical active station.The corrosion behavior of the film was also analyzed.The results indicate that the micro-arc oxidation films protect the AZ91D magnesium alloy against spot corrosion,and that the corrosion current reduces obviously.The corrosion resisting property of the AZ91D Mg alloy improves visibly.


Lupeol was isolated form the petroleum ether fraction of ethanol extract of the leaves of ixora coccinea (Fam.Rubiaceae). Pharmacological studies showed that lupeol is having anti-inflammatory activity in carrageenan induced paw oedema in albino rats and anti-mitotic activity in a preliminary cytotoxic study using the "Allium testâ€Â of Leavan.


Author Michael Wehmeyer began his career in special education shortly after the passage of the 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act (which later became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA). In those early days, he recounts, students with disability were mostly segregated from other children, and many of the adults who worked with them assumed they were uneducable. Since that time, the field has come a long way, and inclusive placements and teaching practices have become widespread. But still, Wehmeyer argues, traces of the old segregationist mindset remain. Perhaps the time has come, he concludes, to rethink the usefulness of "special education" as a category and to focus instead on providing personalized supports and services to all students.


Our focus in this paper is on determining an optimal replenishment policy for items with three-parameter Weibull distribution deterioration and inventory-level dependent demand. We developed and analyzed the model under the assumption of partial backlogging. The three-parameter Weibull hazard rate captures the impact of already deteriorated items that are received into the inventory, as well as those items that may start deteriorating in future. The inventory-level demand reflects a real market demand for product whose sales is enhanced by stock on display. We study a case base examples to gain some quantitative insight into the proposed model and we perform sensitivity analysis to draw some managerial implications. Keywords: Inventory Model, Stock-Dependent Demand, Dierential Equation, Optimal Policy, Hazard function.


: To assess the effectiveness of rural camps held under DBCS (District Blindness Control Programme) & compare the results of cataract surgery at base hospital cases. It is a retrospective observational study, medical records of patients operated for cataract in camp & patients operated in base hospital are analyzed.In our hospital outpatient department, we saw 2,08,716 patients from 2010-2019 and 7796 underwent cataract surgery. Under DBCS we conducted 262 camps from 2010-2019 & 4611 underwent cataract surgery.A total of 27,524 patients got screened in 262 rural camps and 4671 underwent small incision cataract surgery at the base hospital after detailed clinical examination and IOL (intraocular lens) power calculation for each patient. Among 2,08,716 outpatients at the base hospital, 7796 underwent cataract surgery. The rate of intraoperative complications in the base hospital was 0.885% whereas in camp cases 1.94%.IOL implantation is done in 100%cases in base hospital surgeries and 0.064%patients left aphakic among rural camps.Screening at outreach camps and surgeries at the base hospital can have excellent results. Mass surgeries in camps following standard protocol can have the least number of complications.


In this note,  common fixed point theorem of compatible mappings of type(A) due to Murthy et al.[ P. P. Murthy, Y. J. Cho and B. Fisher, Common fixed points of GreguS type mappings, Glasnik Maematicki, Vol.30(50), (1995), 335-341] has extended to weakly biased  mappings. Our result also extends the results of Sessa and Fisher [S. Sessa and B. Fisher, Common fixed points of two mappings on Banach spaces, J. Math. Phys. Sci. 18(1984), 353-360] and, Fisher and Sessa[B. Fisher and S. Sessa, On a fixed point theorem of GreguS , Internat. J. Math.  Math. Sci. 9, (1986), 22-28].


Foam cells play a critical role in the atherosclerosis development. It is reported that platelets phagocytosis induces foam cell formation by producing more inflammatory cytokines. However, platelet induced foam cell formation mechanism is not clear. TGFBIp is a secreted extracellular matrix protein that is consisted by 4 fasciclin-1 domains. TGFBIp is produced by several cells include macrophages and works as chemoattractant to monocytes. TGFBIp is also in the platelet granule and it is secreted and bound on platelets when platelets are activated. Platelets are removed by macrophages when they are activated. However, the role of TGFBIp on activated platelets is not clear. In this report, we used TGFBIp lacking platelets to investigate the role of TGFBIp in platelets. When macrophages uptake TGFBIp lacking platelets, foam cell formation is less than WT platelets are uptaken.


The article deals with the philosophical analysis of the university as a unique subject of social cognition. The article considers the features of cognitive interaction of the university with the society that is transforming, and the modern condition of oppressions of education of social sciences and humanities in higher educational institution. It investigates the change of the university mission in the public discussion, it is represented the influence of values of communicative university community on the process of social cognition; it is analyzed the role of university as an integrator of knowledge. It is defined the influence of university autonomy on its culture-creating function. The connection of social responsibility of university with its role as a subject of social cognition is illustrated. It is determined that the special feature of cognitive interaction of the university with the society is a presence of subject and object contradiction in the process of philosophical reflection that is analogous to the subject and object interaction in the processes of social cognition. The change of the university mission in the public discussion leads to the appearing of its new specifics as the social subject of the social cognition. Essentially, the process of the social cognition happens as a social and historical process of the knowledge development and its results are forwarded to the students in the form of reflection that is a priori deepened in the past, in extreme case – in the contemporaneity. However, the fast development of society requests from this society deepening in the future and thus, needs from universities not only research that is connected with the possible social scenarios, it means the fulfilling of the forecast function as a core of the social cognition and the corresponding transformation of students' training in social sciences and humanities. The process of philosophical reflection of the university has an important methodological meaning for understanding its unique role in the process of the social cognition. Philosophical reflection of the university as an idea of the social institute and as organization in discussion of the social cognition must be a subject of profound research of modern humanistics.


The invention discloses a green control method of citrus diseases and insects, wherein the method comprises the following steps: 1) changing a citrus garden from dense to sparse; 2) trimming large branches; 3) cultivating swards; 4) treating mites by mites; 5) trapping and killing insects; 6) reasonably applying chemicals. Because of adopting the green and environment-friendly control method, the green control method of citrus diseases and insects provided by the invention is capable of resolving a problem of green control on the citrus diseases and insects, crops are protected, the use of chemical pesticides is decreased, the ecological environment is protected, the safety of human and livestock is protected, the control effect on main citrus diseases and insects is higher than 90%, the control effect is increased by 15-20%, the use times of the chemical pesticides is decreased by more than 50%, the soluble solid of the citrus is increased by 2-3%, the rate of high-quality fruits is increased by 5%, and the economic benefit, the social benefit and the ecological benefit are obvious.


Birds played an essential role in the life cycle. This study aimed to determine the bird diversity in coal mining reclamation areas with different ages of reclamation plants: one, four, and eight years old, located in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The bird diversity was determined using two methods: direct observation and capture-released using mist nets. The birds captured by mist nets were identified, and morphometric measurements were conducted. The results showed 26 species of birds found in this study. Birds species were dominated by Blue-throated bee-eater (Merops viridis), Yellow-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier), Asian-glossy starling (Aplonis panayensis), and Javan myna (Acridotheres javanicus). The bird's diversity in the reclamation area with four years of reclamation plants was higher than the other areas. However, the number of birds in the reclamation area with eight years of reclamation plants was the highest. Differences in habitat conditions in the three research areas might cause a low similarity index of bird diversity. Javan myna and Yellow-vented bulbul were found in all research sites. In conclusion, pioneer bird species were observed during the early process of post-coal mining reclamation. The existence of cover crops was essential as a source of food for the birds and nests.


Under inhomogeneous illumination, a silicon wafer or solar cell can generate lateral current flow due to gradients in the quasi Fermi energy levels. This lateral current flow is impacted by a few of the key electrical parameters of the sample, such as emitter sheet resistance, series resistance and diffusion length. This lateral current flow can be directly correlated to the spatially resolved luminescence intensity from the photoluminescence image. Therefore, photoluminescence imaging with inhomogeneous illumination can provide additional information, which is usually difficult to extract from a conventional photoluminescence image at open circuit voltage. Index Terms – photoluminescence image, DMD, solar cells, silicon wafers, series resistance, diffusion length.


SOLUTION: The goggles condensation prevention system is adapted to protect the user's eye, and are adapted to define at least partially enclosed space between the user's eyes and eye protection protective glasses that, a power supply, is preferably a pulse width modulator having a microcomputer, preferably made of MOSFET devices, and switching means responsive to the pulse width modulator, preferably, indium tin oxide (ITO) a heating element on safety glasses, in order to control the heating of the protective glasses, power, pulse width modulator, a system comprising a circuit interconnecting the switching means, and heating element. In one embodiment, protective glasses is divided into heating zones. Adjusting or automatic defogging capability of heating, and to allow for variable state suitability of the present invention, the current regulating means, sensors, and user selectable profiles are employed as desired. .FIELD 5


The article analyzes the meaning given by university students to the concept of university social responsibility, through research with a qualitative approach through a single and instrumental case study, considering the semi-structured interview and the focus group as information gathering techniques. It is concluded that the social responsibility of the university raises the challenge of refocusing the institutional mission, towards a formation process linked to the surrounding social reality, as well as through a more active social role of the university in face of the social needs and problems of the territory where the universities are installed.


This paper contains the results of the study of some software engineering pillars, from the point of view of the project management. The selected study pillars include standards (IEEE 1074, IEEE 12207), software engineering practices (SW-CMM) and methodologies (unified process and extreme programming). The analyzed project management processes include estimate, planning, monitoring and control, configuration management, quality management and human resources management. As a result of this study, we will offer an overview of the intensity of the processes inside the selected software engineering pillars. The results can be useful to decide the kind of software engineering methodology, process, etc, to be used in an organization or project, according with its management needs. INTRODUCTION The Software Engineering Body of Knowledge includes many elements defined by the main flow of knowledge, organizations and paradigms, and these have defined in a pragmatic way a division of concepts: technical and management area. Some standards like IEEE 610.12-1990[5]: definition of terms for the software engineering, IEEE 1002-1987[6]: definition of the taxonomy of software engineering standards, IEEE 1074-1997[4]: standard for developing software life cycle processes, IEEE/EIA/ISO 12207.0[7]: standard for information technology software life cycle processes, and the IEEE SWEBOK[3]: guide to the software engineering body of knowledge; are considered methodological pillars for the software engineering and all these give importance to the management into the development processes and these allow a start point for the organization and analysis of software engineering as a science. This paper finds the implicit relationships existent among different methods, standards and software engineering practices; and the software project management. We define the processes that determine the software project management and then assessment the management processes in each one of the pillars. Section 2.1 describes briefly the selected pillars, and in section 2.2 we analyze how the pillars take into account the following project management processes: estimation, planning, monitoring and control, configuration management, quality management and human resources management Figure 1: Structure for software engineering elements. Figure 2: Factors for project management Process-1Process-iProcess-nMethod-1Method -2Method -mTechnique-1Technique -t-


An analysis is made of the construction of sandsoilpile composite elements in the sand cushion of composite foundations. By use of the limitdestruction theory, an equation of compatibility of pilesoil stress in the sand cushion is derived and applied to the analysis of some factors, including the pilesoil stress ratio, sand cushion thickness, and replacement ratio. The calculated result basically agrees with the practical situation, showing the strong capability of the method to reflect the mechanism of function of the sand cushion. Through theoretical analysis and calculation of the function of the sand cushion by the present method, the pilesoil stress and its variation process can be determined. The present research provides an alternative approach to the study of sand cushions.


5-Deazaflavinas are involved in enzymatic redox reactions from a variety of biological systems and have structural similarity with riboflavin. Electrochemical and photochemical properties are the result of the substitution of N-5 of the isoalloxazine ring for a carbon. Herein, we described the progress in obtaining 5-deazaflavins analogues starting from barbituric acid, uracil analogues, three  amino-threechloropirimidines  and  quinolincarbonitriles.  Molecular  diversity  was  obtained using both appropriately substituted aldehydes and amines, via conventional, simple and convergent reactions. When comparing the different synthetic reported strategies for the construction of the 5-desflavines and analogues, these are classified into two general strategies: i) construction of the quinoline  ring  over  pyrimidine  moiety  or  ii)  construction  of  the  pyrimidine ring  over  quinoline moiety.


ABSTRACT Sustainable destination development is significantly facilitated by the involvement of all relevant stakeholder groups including the local community. Stakeholder collaboration is crucial for effective tourism development because it has the potential to achieve common goals among all stakeholders involved, but it presents multifaceted challenges for destination management. This paper examines the current stakeholder collaboration in the Mentawai Islands surfing tourism industry by exploring multiple stakeholder perspectives. Field research was conducted in the period between July and September of 2010, through in-depth interviews with local stakeholder representatives. The research indicates that despite an apparent enthusiasm to participate and collaborate in tourism planning, collaboration between stakeholder groups was in fact limited or largely avoided. Corruption, traditional mistrust of government and lack of an organised collaboration initiative are seen as the major barriers to effective collaboration in the Mentawai Islands surfing tourism industry.


14.00 This study analyses the set of variables intervening in the participative management of health services in the Sao Paulo's municipality, stressing the ambiguities and contradictions inherent to an innovative political and administrative process. The questions exposition is developed in three stages: the first one states as a problem the subjects of participation and decentralization; the second describes the challenges faced by an innovative proposal for municipal administration, and the third specifically examines the problem of health. Normal 0 21 false false false PT-BR X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */
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Here, we have studied the antibacterial effects of a newly synthesized carbon structure with excellent properties, named porous carbon cuboid (PCC) nanoparticles, upon Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Corynebacterium glutamicum bacterial cells and its algicidal effects upon Chlamydomonas reinhardtii microalgal cells. More specifically, the antibacterial properties of PCCs enriched with acid treatment (PCC-ox) or metal encapsulation (PCC-Cu and PCC-Ag) were investigated under various concentrations of PCCs and their interaction times. Additionally, the impact of PCCs upon microalgal growth was estimated by measuring the total chlorophyll level during their cultivation. As a result, E. coli and C. glutamicum were shown to be substantially inhibited by PCCs, depending on their special characteristics, dose, and bacterial strain. Moreover, it has been proven that the antibacterial effect is time-dependent. Growth of C. reinhardtii was inhibited by PCCs in a material-dependent manner, whereas P...


In the era of Internet of Things (IoT), Digital Twin (DT) is envisioned to empower various areas as a bridge between physical objects and the digital world. Through virtualization and simulation techniques, multiple functions can be achieved by leveraging computing resources. In this process, Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) have become two of the key factors to achieve real-time feedback. However, current works only considered edge servers or cloud servers in the DT system models. Besides, The models ignore the DT with not only one data resource. In this paper, we propose a new DT system model considering a heterogeneous MEC/MCC environment. Each DT in the model is maintained in one of the servers via multiple data collection devices. The offloading decision-making problem is also considered and a new offloading scheme is proposed based on Distributed Deep Learning (DDL). Simulation results demonstrate that our proposed algorithm can effectively and efficiently decrease the system's average latency and energy consumption. Significant improvement is achieved compared with the baselines under the dynamic environment of DTs.


Rice (Oryza sativa) is a monocotyledonous cereal crop plant that produces an edible grain. Limitations in conventional breeding arise because of the lack of resistance genes in cultivated rice germplasm (Oryza sativa) and inadequate understanding of phenotypic variability. Callus induction is the best way to create variations in crop plants through micropropagation. So efficient plant regeneration through in-vitro propagation is very essential for the successful utilization of Biotechnology in rice crop improvement. The objective of this study was to develop a tissue culture system for micropropagation of rice plant to produce a healthy and completely free from any type of limitations for further use too to make rice plant which show resistance to all type of biotic and abiotic stresses.


Introduction. Endoscopic inguinal herniorrhaphy in children has become widespread, but there are no comparative results of using various technologies for its implementation. Material and methods. The results of 1136 laparoscopic herniorrhaphies in children for inguinal hernia throughout the period from 2006 to 2016 were analyzed. The first group (GL1) comprised 812 patients who underwent laparoscopic suturing of an inguinal hernia with intracorporeal purse-string suture. The second group (GL2) included 324 children, who were treated with the subcutaneous endoscopically assisted ligation (SEAL) technology - single-ported transcutaneous herniorrhaphy with laparoscopic assistance. Children were operated most often at the age from 1 year to 7 years. The average age of patients in the first group amounts of 4.6 years, in the second group - 4.5 years. All herniorrhaphies were performed standardly, with the use of the same instrumentation. Results. There were revealed such advantages of the use of the SEAL method as the time of training of beginning surgeons to the technique of endoherniorrhaphy is shorter by 2.5 times at the preclinical stage of training, at the stage of assisting and bringing the independent technique of its implementation to perfection; the duration of the operation is shorter due to the exclusion of the time for the introduction of the second/third port and the imposition of an intracorporeal node that presents the greatest difficulty for beginning surgeons; the number of intra- and early postoperative complications do not differ in both groups. The number of relapses is greater in GL2 children with large inguinal and scrotal hernias. The duration of hospitalization in groups did not differ. Conclusion. The use of SEAL technology is economically more profitable due to the relative simplicity of technique of herniorrhaphy and the minimal use of the number of endoscopic instruments. In large inguinal and scrotal hernias, it is more appropriate to use the traditional technique of imposing intracorporeal suture.


In the early 2000s, generations of population decline had left New Orleans with a glut of properties that became abandoned or vacant. The arrival of Hurricane Katrina, and the devastation that accompanied it, magnified exponentially the challenges facing New Orleans, which included post-Kelo constitutional amendments that created unanticipated restrictions. This article examines the serious land use challenges faced by pre-Katrina New Orleans.


The dance teaching of music education speciality in teachers coll eg e must follow the goal of teachers college and lay stress on its characteristics .To develop the good artistic accomplishments of these students,it must concentr ate on improving the dancing skill,knowledge and teaching ability.


Objective: To investigate effects of early life prevention on the incidence of infant bronchial asthma and the related risk factors for infant bronchial asthma. Methods: The present study enrolled 502 infants who were born in our hospital during January 2014 to July 2015. All cases were randomly divided into the prevention group and the control group. Additionally, 132 infants (<1 year) who were diagnosed with bronchial asthma were included as a positive control. A combination of rational strategy included antenatal education, nutrition supplement, smoke avoidancd, control of delivery mode and feeding were performed for the prevention group. No prevention methods were used for the control. Basic characteristics for both groups of mothers and infants were collected and the risk factors for bronchial asthma were analyzed. Results: The vaginal delivery rate was remarkably higher in the prevention group. The prevention group had significantly higher rate of the folic acid and vitamin D intake for mothers and vitamin D intake for infants, higher rates of being breast-feeding ≥6 months, intake of Vitamin D and the rate for complementary feeding after 6 months, as well as significantly lower rates of the smoke exposure and the rate of having flowers or pets. Meanwhile, the prevention group had significantly lower rates of wheezing, eczema and respiratory tract infection during the follow-up period. The bronchial asthma rate in the prevention group was 3.98% (1/251), remarkably lower than the rate of 19.92% (5/251) in the control group. Allergy history, smoke condition, nutrition conditions and delivery mode for mothers, and allergic constitution, breast-feeding, vitamin D, and respiratory tract infection for the infants were independent risk factors for bronchial asthma. Conclusion: The prevention strategy significantly reduced the bronchial asthma incidence rate. Allergy history, smoke condition, nutrition conditions and delivery mode for mothers, as well as allergic constitution, breast-feeding, vitamin D, and respiratory tract infection for the infants were risk factors for bronchial asthma incidence.


In recent years, the frequency of forest fires has been increasing in western North America. With an increase in forest fire activity, attention has been drawn to the negative effects forest fire smoke has on air quality and visibility. This study quantifies the relationship between smoke, air quality and visibility. Determining how much smoke produced by forest fires influences air quality and visibility will improve air quality forecasting. This study was conducted from 2007 through 2011 during the fire season (April October) in southwestern British Columbia, focusing on the Georgia Basin airshed. A host of tools were used to determine how air quality and visibility were influenced by forest fire smoke. Satellite Fire Detection from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 's, National Geophysical Data Centre (NGDC) was used to determine on which days during the four year period smoke was present in southwestern British Columbia. To determine where smoke particles were transported from, NOAA's HYbrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model was used. Backward trajectories were computed from Vancouver International Airport on days which smoke was present. PM2.5 (particles with a diameter less than 2.5 microns) and O3 (ozone) concentrations were examined at twelve locations. Gases and aerosols produced by forest fires are known to degrade visibility. A semi-automated approach was used to calculate visibility using digital images. Southwestern British Columbia's air quality and visibility was negatively influenced by smoke. Up to 30% of summer days in the Georgia Basin airshed were influenced by smoke. The summer of 2009 experienced the most smoke days. Smoke and aerosol concentrations were largely influenced by dominating weather


To facilitate sensor integration and provide a testbed for autonomous sense and react research, an onboard sensor processing and autonomy system has been developed for the REMUS 100 AUV using the Robot Operating System (ROS) and the REMUS RECON interface, which provides backseat control of the vehicle. An interface library, pyREMUS, has been developed to handle the REMUS RECON interface, and a ROS package, ros_remus, uses this library to provide a deep level of interoperability between the REMUS vehicle computer and other ROS-based subsystems. This system has been deployed on multiple REMUS 100 vehicles and it is currently used operationally for field research programs. Vehicles outfitted with this system have seen numerous deployments, where they have been used for seabed surveys, sensor evaluation, and engineering tests.


Let £: E—>X be a complex w-plane bundle. A self-conjugacy of £ is a map % • E-+E which is a norm-preserving bundle equivalence on the underlying 2w-dimensional real bundle and has the property that x(Xe) = Xx(^) for e(E.E and X complex. If Xi is a self-conjugacy of £*, define (£1, xi) to be equivalent to (£2, X2) if there is a bundle equivalence /x: £1—>E2 with M^^M homotopic to xi; i-e. there is a continuous map H: EiXi—>£i with if| EiXO — M^^M» u | .E iXl=Xi> a n d i J | £ i X / is a self-conjugacy of £1 for each / £ / . If X is a self-conjugacy of £, x niay be interpreted as a cross-section of the bundle £' associated to £, whose fibre is the space of 1-1 normpreserving self-conjugacies of the fibre of £. The fibre of £', denoted V(n), is homeomorphic to U{n)1 the unitary group, but there is no canonical homeomorphism. A noncanonical homeomorphism is given by left or right composition with any element of V(n). Let W(n) be the total space of the V(n) bundle associated to the universal bundle over BU(n). Then if/: X—>BU(n) is a classifying map for £ and x is a self-conjugacy of £, x interpreted as a cross-section of £' gives a lifting of ƒ to a map g: X—>W(n). Conversely any such lifting of ƒ gives a self-conjugacy of £.


In the context of reviewing noncompact lattice gauge models at zero and finite temperature we study in detail a contribution of the invariant measure and the time-like plaquette configurations to correlation functions, analyze the problem of the compactness of the potentials in respect to the confinement and indicate the essential features to deal with the Wilson gauge theory in the weak coupling region. A method for calculating an effective confining noncompact model is also proposed.


A plant-cage study was conducted on cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L.), to compare mineral oil, mineral oil plus water, and water spray formulations of cyfluthrin for residual toxicity to the boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman. Percent mortality was measured at 0, 24, and 48 h after application for two rates of cyfluthrin, 0.021 and 0.037 kg (AI)/ha. Mineral oil synergized the toxicity of cyfluthrin compared with water. Oil formulations, particularly mineral oil without water, increased the residual toxicity of cyfluthrin against boll weevils compared with the aqueous formulation. Mineral oil cyfluthrin combinations also reduced boll weevil feeding injury to flower buds. Reduced feeding injury may have been due in part to a repellent or antifeedant effect of cyfluthrin on boll weevils.


L: Yes, it is indeed my view that 'languages' are states of the human mind/brain. I know that this is not the received view in philosophy, but it is none the worse for that. First off, instead of bothering about what the word 'language' means, let us consider some facts. The human brain is equipped with some resources whatever they might be which enable us to acquire any language English, French, Latin, etc. This strikes me as obvious, just a fact. Well, if this is so, then the human brain has some property P that distinguishes us from chimpanzees, rabbits and rocks. P is innate, unlearnt it comes with being human, just as flying comes with being a bird, or swimming comes with being a shark. Secondly,...


MEDiCAL STUDEnT CLERKSHip in pSYCHiATRY The significance of the psychiatry clerkship in medical student education is broadly and internationally recognized (1). In the United States, all 126 allopathic medical schools oblige their students to complete a clinical clerkship in psychiatry (2). In medical schools in the United States, the length of this clerkship is 4–6 weeks (3–5). According to the " A Position Statement on the Length of the Psychiatry Clerkship " published in 2006 by the Association of Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry, " the psychiatry clerkship must be at least 6 weeks in length or longer " (6). In some non-U.S. Medical Schools, the duration of the psychiatry clerkship is 8–10 weeks (7, 8). The medical student psychiatry clerkship has taken an increased importance as the clinical practice of medicine evolves. Clinical training in psychiatry is a necessary part of a general medical education (9). Medical educators suggest that " any physician … must be able to diagnose, treat, manage, and refer patients with psychiatric disorders " (10). However, most physicians receive little training in interacting with patients with major mental illness and can feel uncomfortable or ineffective communicating with them, even about physical complaints (11–13). Students should understand that the knowledge of psychiatric principles is important for non-psychiatric physicians. Studies have demonstrated that about 20–40% of patients in primary care settings have a diagnosable psychiatric illness (14–18). The annual prevalence of all psychiatric disorders , including substance use disorder, is about 30% in the United States (19). The lifetime prevalence of any psychiatric disorder in the United States is >45% (20). Despite this, there is underrecognition of psychiatric conditions in the primary care setting (17, 21, 22). To understand psychiatric principles in patient care, students should obtain a foundation of knowledge concerning the psychological and humanistic aspects of the practice of medicine based on the study of the behavioral sciences and clinical psychiatry; learn interpersonal skills related to the management of patients with medical and/or psychiatric diseases; and follow attitudes and values that enhance the professional roles of physicians (23, 24). Suicide and intentional self-harm are major health-care issues. A research report suggests that patients hospitalized in a general hospital have an eight times higher risk of committing suicide compared to the general population (25). Many physicians who work with medical or surgical patients do not have adequate training in suicide assessment techniques and treatment …


The purpose of this paper is to present conclusions drawn from preliminary neutronic calculations and to present a possible reactor design configuration capable of meeting the above thermal flux level, flux location, and lifetime requirements. (JDB)


This report describes the results of experiments designed to evaluate the suitability of using conventional crushing equipment for the crush, burn, leach concept of HTGR head-end fuel reprocessing. Under this concept, fuel elements are crushed to ring-size particles smaller than 3/16 in. (4.8 mm) while minimizing the breakage of TRISO-coated fuel particles. Conventional equipment has been evaluated for the primary and secondary crushing steps. This report evaluates roll crushers that are proposed for the tertiary and final stage of crushing, and gives the status as of June 16, 1975. 18 figures.


Abstract:The paper deals withthe analysis of structural system that built gradually such that the structural stiffness varies with time of construction. The analysis of such structural system is carried out by applying finite element method. First, all of the finite elements are included in the computation of number of degrees of freedom. Then, the analysis is initiated by considering all of elements and the numbering of degrees of freedom are carried out. Assembled elements are denoted by assigning the value of modulus elasticity, and absent elements are denoted by assigning zero modulus of elasticity. Nodal degrees of freedom that are located in absent elements are suppressed from the global equilibrium equation. Hence, the analysis is performed with changing global structural stiffness. A computer package program in FORTRAN is written for the analysis. The new package program is applied in the analysis of several study cases.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the expression level of class I integrase (intI 1) mRNA in Acinetobacter baumannii from biofilm cells and planktonic cultured cells ,and to analyze the drug-resistance of Class I integron positive strains.

METHODS
Acinetobacter baumannii were collected from hospitals,and Class I integron strains were screened by gene amplification. Total RNA of Class I integron positive strains was extracted, and the intI1 mRNA expression in the bioflim cells and planktonic cultured cells was measured by RT-PCR. Susceptibilities to antibiotics of Class I integron positive strains were also examined.

RESULTS
The intI1 gene mRNA was expressed under 2 conditions, and the mRNA expressed in the biofilm cells was about 4 times higher than that in the planktonic cultured cells. Among the 64 strains of Acinetobacter baumannii, 46 strains were Class I integron positive strains. The antibiotic resistance of intI1 gene cassette-positive strains was higher than that of gene cassette-negative strains.

CONCLUSION
The intI1 gene mRNA can be up-regulated in Acinetobacter baumannii biofilm cells.Class I integron plays an important role in drug resistance. It is much easier to capture gene cassettes for bacteria under biofilm condition.


This paper proposes an algorithm for finding phonological phrase boundaries in sentences with neutral focus spoken in both normal and fast tempos. A perceptual experiment is designed using Praat's experiment MFC program to investigate the phonological phrase boundaries. Phonological phrasing and its relation to syntactic structure in the framework of the endbased rules proposed by (Selkirk, 1986), and relation to purely phonological rules, i.e., the principle of increasing units proposed by (Ghini, 1993) are investigated. In addition to that, this paper explores the acoustic cues signalling phonological phrase boundaries in both normal and fast tempos speech. It is found that phonological phrasing in Hindi follows both endbased rule (Selkirk, 1986) and the principle of increasing units (Ghini, 1993). The end-based rules are used for phonological phrasing and the principle of increasing units is used for phonological phrase restructuring.


The plasma-chemical reduction was studied experimentally of molybdenum, sulfur and germanium fluorides with different isotopic composition by hydrogen in plasmas sustained by inductively coupled (IC) and capacitively-coupled (CC) RF discharges. The emission spectra of plasmas recorded under different experimental conditions are discussed. Reaction mechanisms are proposed. In the case of 98MoF6 reduction in CCP, the combined radical-atomic mechanism including intermediate MoF3 resulting in bulk and powder 98Mo formation was established. In the emission spectrum of the 32SF6 + H2 system in ICP at 0.2 Torr, only lines assigned to SiF2, SiF and F2* originating from the decomposition of 32SF6 and a fast reaction of its products with the reactor's quartz walls were observed. Due to this etching process, the yield of 32S was moderate. Increasing the pressure in the reactor above 1 Torr resulted in an increase of the 32S yield. The mechanism of 72GeF4 reduction depends on the pressure and plasma type. At 0.25 Torr in ICP, a 72Ge deposit was formed via the 72GeF radical; however, at 3.5 Torr in CCP, the mechanism changed to a molecular one. Results of the study of the structure and the isotopic and chemical purity of isotope samples obtained are briefly presented.


Three papers discuss issues related to manpower analysis and educational investment in developing countries. The authors suggest a broader approach to the analysis of the relationship between manpower and the educational system than has traditionally been used. The major contention is that forcing all manpower questions into any single analytical framework will result in low quality analysis and low quality educational investments, and therefore, a wide range of techniques is advocated. In addition, an argument is made for the need for continuity of manpower analysis through the development of a planning process which goes well beyond the identification and preparation of a specific education project. The construction and repetition of an annual routine to monitor conditions in the labor market would provide a regular set of relevant signals to a wide range of decision makers in the education and training sector. The papers do not provide a new blueprint for manpower analysis but review the present situation, advocate a well-structured planning process, and suggest the wide range of analytic approaches available and necessary for improved analysis.


The concept of the effective infection opportunity population (EIOP) was incorporated into the SIQR model, and it was assumed that this EIOP would change with the spread of infection, and this was named as the effective SIQR model. When calculated with this model, the uninfected population S decreases with the passage of time. However, when the EIOP N increases because of any reason, the infection threshold becomes larger than 1. Even after the first wave seems to have subsided, the infection begins to spread again. Firstly, we find the curve of EIOP change so that the calculation result by this model matches the data of the first and second waves. Then, we use this curve to fit with only the data of the second wave alone, and the third wave is predicted. In the case of new coronavirus infection, there are various restrictions on data collection to identify individual coefficients of mathematical models, and the true value is almost unknown. Therefore, the discussion in this paper is only about data fitting for predictive calculation. Therefore, the simulation on the true value is not aimed. However, since the data of infected persons reflect the true values, the results of data fitting can be used for the prediction of infected persons, isolated care recipients, inpatients, and severely ill persons. They are useful for a qualitative understanding of infection. The idea of EIOP is important in the sense that it connects the mean-field and the non-mean field, but the existence of data is essential, and the theory alone cannot simulate the non-mean field. We have developed two methods for treating the non-mean field cases where we don't have enough data. We have briefly introduced them.


Abstract Γ bands of 23 anion-radicals of meta- and para-substituted benzophenones have been assigned and compared to Γ C=O of the parent neutral compounds. Carbonyl frequencies of the anion-radicals (assigned on the basis of data for isotope-labelling compounds) have been found to appear in a 7–8 times wider frequency interval as compared to the frequency range of corresponding neutral compounds, i. e. the structural effects on Γ on the anion-radicals are 7–8 times stronger, compared to those on Γ C=O of the neutral benzophenones. Comparison of ketyl Γ with the sum of the substituent constants has shown three separate correlations for: i) ketyls free of nitro groups; ii) ketyls with nitro groups in para-position; iii) ketyls with nitro groups in meta-position. The absence of general correlation has been explaned by the different types of the odd-electron distribution. These results do reject a series of literature conclusions about the substituent effects on Γ of the anionradicals of substituted benzophen...


In view of not considering economy and external influences,it is difficult to evaluate failure risk of regional power grid in market environment by reliability methods.A risk assessment model based on power grid construction and management is proposed,that is,by means of constructing a complete failure risk index system composed of such indices as power supply capability,power demands,economic effect,meteorological influence and policy,common factors including information of original indices are extracted by factor analysis,and then utilizing support vector machine(SVM) this risk assessment model is built.The reasonableness of the proposed model is verified by case study.


Abstract 377

Factor (f) XI deficiency is associated with a bleeding diathesis but factor fXII deficiency is not, indicating that, in normal hemostasis, fXI must be activated in vivo by a protease other than fXIIa. Several groups have identified thrombin as the most likely activator of fXI, although this reaction is slow in solution. While certain non-physiologic anionic polymers and surfaces have been shown to enhance fXI activation by thrombin, the physiologic cofactor for this reaction is uncertain. Activated platelets secrete the highly anionic polymer, polyphosphate (polyP), and our previous studies have shown that polyP has potent procoagulant activity. We now report that polyP potently accelerates fXI activation by alpha-thrombin, beta-thrombin and fXIa, and that these reactions are supported by polyP polymers of the size secreted by activated human platelets. We therefore propose that polyP is a natural cofactor for fXI activation in plasma.

In reactions using purified proteins, fXI activation by alpha-thrombin was undetectable (under the conditions employed) in the absence of polyP or in the presence of polyP with polymer lengths shorter than 55mers. On the other hand, polyP of the size range secreted by human platelets (60 to 100mers) potently stimulated fXI activation by thrombin, as did longer polyP polymers. PolyP of this size also potently stimulated fXI autoactivation. Addition of EcPPXc, the isolated polyP-binding domain of E. coli exopolyphosphatase, specifically abrogated polyP-mediated fXI activation by alpha-thrombin. We further observed that releasates from activated platelets markedly accelerated the rate of fXI activation by alpha-thrombin, but this activity was inhibited by EcPPXc. Using surface plasmon resonance analyses, we found that fXI, fXIa and alpha-thrombin all bound tightly to immobilized polyP, yielding Kd values of 6.4 nM, 1.5 nM and 15.1 nM, respectively.

We next examined whether polyP enhances fXI activation by thrombin in a plasma environment. To eliminate interference from fXI activation by fXIIa, we used fXII-deficient plasma and added corn trypsin inhibitor (CTI) to inhibit any remaining traces of fXIIa. Since beta-thrombin activates fXI but has greatly diminished capacity to cleave fibrinogen, we performed clotting assays using beta-thrombin and varying polyP sizes in fXII-deficient plasma containing CTI. Longer polyP polymers (65 to 445 phosphate units) shortened the clotting time in a concentration-dependent manner. FXI-deficient plasma exhibited prolonged clotting times in this assay, with clotting times that were essentially unaffected by the presence of longer polyP sizes. These results show that polyP shortens the beta-thrombin-mediated clotting time of plasma in a manner that is dependent on fXI but independent of fXII.

Finally, we examined the ability of polyP to enhance thrombin-mediated thrombin generation in plasma using CAT assays. Increasing concentrations of polyP caused increasing thrombin bursts in a polymer length-dependent manner, while no thrombin generation was observed in the presence of polyP without beta-thrombin. This effect was dependent on fXI, as addition of blocking antibodies to fXI inhibited polyP-mediated thrombin generation. Consistent with this notion, there was no observable polyP-mediated thrombin generation in fXI-deficient plasma, although this was restored when fXI-deficient plasma was reconstituted with purified fXI.

Our studies demonstrate that polyP polymers of the size secreted by activated platelets enhance fXI activation by thrombin and also enhance fXI autoactivation. Furthermore, platelet releasates promoted fXI activation by thrombin, an activity that was abrogated by EcPPXc. Taken together, these findings support the notion that platelet polyP may be a natural, physiological cofactor for the activation of fXI by thrombin, and may represent a previously unrecognized link between fXI and hemostasis/thrombosis.

Disclosures: Choi: University of Illinois: Patents & Royalties. Smith: University of Illinois: Patents & Royalties. Morrissey: University of Illinois: Patents & Royalties.


Organic Chemistry
Numerous compounds in pharmaceutical research have carbon-nitrogen bonds, and chemists are always looking for ways to make them more efficiently. Gui et al. present a method that links the carbon in an olefin to the nitrogen in a nitroaromatic compound (see the Perspective by Ku


 Abstract—A new method for fault diagnosis of discrete event systems modeled by Neural Petri Nets (NPNs) is presented in this paper. Assuming that the PN structure and initial marking are known, faults are modeled by unobservable transitions. Neural networks (NNs) have important role to improve the method. The outputs of them are connected to unobservable transitions and yield the percentage of faults that may happen for prioritize the faults by online computation of the set of possible fault events. In this method the operator checks the fault that has more value at first. So we reduce the time that spends for repairing the system. Moreover, the graphical representation of the nets allows the diagnoser agent to compute off-line reduced portions of the net in order to improve the efficiency of the online computation, without a big increase in terms of memory requirement.


Photoluminescence(PL) spectra of InGaAsSb multiple quantum-well materials (MQW) grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) were investigated.The results show that the quality of InGaAsSb MQW materials depends on substrate temperature. An appropriate substrate temperature can increase the photoluminescence( PL) intensity. With the same composition, the PL wavelength increases with the increasment of well thickness to some extent, yut it increases slowly beyond the range of well thickness.


The invention discloses a method to prevent and treat retina injury of mammal, which comprises the following steps: giving effective dispense erythrocyte-stimulating factor (EPO) into vitreous chamber of injured eye; finishing the method. The EPO possesses the function of protecting retina vessel and neuron, which does not cause imperfect effect for other organ or tissue with local give medicine.


In this paper we consider ways to alleviate negative estimated depth for the inverse depth parameterisation of bearing-only SLAM. This problem, which can arise even if the beacons are far from the platform, can cause catastrophic failure of the filter.We consider three strategies to overcome this difficulty: applying inequality constraints, the use of truncated second order filters, and a reparameterisation using the negative logarithm of depth. We show that both a simple inequality method and the use of truncated second order filters are successful. However, the most robust performance is achieved using the negative log parameterisation.


Stem cell–based cellular cardiomyoplasty represents a promising therapy for myocardial infarction. Noninvasive imaging techniques would allow the evaluation of survival, migration, and differentiation status of implanted stem cells in the same subject over time. This review describes methods for cell visualization using several corresponding noninvasive imaging modalities, including magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, singlephoton emission computed tomography, and bioluminescent imaging. Reporter-based cell visualization is compared with direct cell labeling for shortand long-term cell tracking. (J Am Coll Cardiol 2006;48:2094–106) © 2006 by the American College of ublished by Elsevier Inc. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2006.08.026


Due to the increasing interest in market segmentation in modern marketing research, several methods for dealing with consumer heterogeneity and for revealing market segments have been described in the literature.In this study, the authors compare eight two-stage segmentation methods that aim to uncover consumer segments by classifying subject-specific indicator values. Four different indicators are used as a segmentation basis.The forces, which are subject-aggregated gradient values of the likelihood function, and the dfbetas, an outlier detection measure, are two indicators that express a subject's effect on the estimation of the aggregate partworths in the conditional logit model. Although the conditional logit model is generally estimated at the aggregate level, this research obtains individual-level partworth estimates for segmentation purposes. The respondents' raw choices are the final indicator values. The authors classify the indicators by means of cluster analysis and latent class models. The goal of the study is to compare the segmentation performance of the methods with respect to their success rate, membership recovery and segment mean parameter recovery. With regard to the individual-level estimates, the authors obtain poor segmentation results both with cluster and latent class analysis. The cluster methods based on the forces, the dfbetas and the choices yield good and similar results. Classification of the forces and the dfbetas deteriorates with the use of latent class analysis, whereas latent class modeling of the choices outperforms its cluster counterpart.


.............................................................................................................................. ii I . Introduction ..................................................................................................................1 II. The Scale of the Problem..............................................................................................2 III. The Urban Spatial Context ...........................................................................................7 IV. Potential Tools For Solution.......................................................................................14 V. The Main Externalities ...............................................................................................20 Congestion............................................................................................................20 Pollution................................................................................................................26 Accidents ..............................................................................................................31 VI. Urban Land Use and Finances....................................................................................37 Land Market .........................................................................................................38 Structure Planning ................................................................................................40 Infrastructure for the Poor ....................................................................................42 Municipal Finance ...............................................................................................43 VII. Conclusion. .................................................................................................................47 Annex I: Note on Measuring and Pricing Congestion......................................................52 Bibliography.......................................................................................................................56


In order to get an estimation method for the effective precipitation in Huaibei plain during the crop growth period, an experiment lasting for three years was designed based on three levels and six processing according to the survey of the effective precipitation. In the experiment, wheat and summer maize were taken as objective, and the area of the six set measurement tubes of the earth lysimeter were 2.0 m2and 4.0 m2whose buried depth under control of the groundwater are 1.0 m, 1.5 m and 2.0 m in Wudaogou Key Laboratory of Water Resources. The soil sample is lime concretion black soil. Based on a long series document, the analysis of the effective precipitation and the effective precipitation coefficient in different groundwater burying depth(1.0 m, 1.5 m and 2.0 m)were gotten at three kinds of typical annuals(5.1%, 48.7% and 94.9%), and the effective precipitation at different time, that is, month, quaternary and year was estimated.


In this paper, we present a tag-based collaborative filtering recommendation method for use with re- cently popular online social tagging systems. Combining the information provided by tagging systems with the effective recommendation abilities given by collaborative filtering, we present a website recommendation system which provides live-updating personalized recommendations that update to match the user's changing interests as well as the user's bookmarking profile. Based upon user testing, our system provides a higher level of relevant recommendation over other commonly used search and recommendation methods. We describe this system as well as the relevant user testing results and its implication towards use in online social tagging systems.


PurposeThis paper aims to argue that Economics is not a neutral science.Design/methodology/approachPost-structuralist perspective of Lyotard (1984), alongside the Pragmatics of Searle (1979) and Travis (1981) are useful for analyzing enunciations in mainstream Economics.FindingsEconomists use illocutionary acts expressed in formal language to achieve perlocutionary effects. Because of the importance attached to objectivity in mainstream Economics, the use of artificial languages is preferred to natural language. However, formal language is preferred regarding its perlocutionary effects on economists' community.Originality/valueThis paper puts together the Continental and the Analytical Philosophy and show, in an original manner, how their intersections and how they can be useful to better understand the epistemology of Economics.


Ever since the collapse of the Bretton-Woods system, gold has retained its function as an important monetary commodity (Baur and Lucey, 2010), and continues to provide important inflation forecasting information to monetary policy setters (Tkacz, 2007). However, Capie et al. (2005) highlight the instability of gold price dynamics through time, attributing it to unpredictable political attitudes and events. In this paper, we investigate gold price dynamics under different monetary policy regimes using UK index-linked gilt data. We show that gold lost its role as an inflation hedge after May 1997, supporting the argument that Bank of England independence has been effective in anchoring inflation expectations at a low level. Further, we show that gold also lost its role as a stock market hedge and its position as a safe haven investment following March 2009, suggesting that the introduction of Quantitative Easing markedly changed the relationship between gold and the stock market.


It is commonly known that one-dimensional (1D) solitons are stable in optical waveguides and Bose–Einstein condensates (BEC) and other media with self-focusing (SF) cubic nonlinearity, while in the multidimensional geometries the solitons are unstable against collapse [BER 88, KUZ 11]. In the course of the last two decades, several techniques have been proposed to stabilize solitons in multidimensional media [MAL 05]. One approach for achieving the stabilization relies on the use of periodic (lattice) potentials [KAR 09, YAN 10, PEL 11]. More recently, much attention has been directed at the stabilization of solitons by means of nonlinear pseudo-potentials induced by spatially periodic modulations of the nonlinearity strength, although the stabilization of multidimensional solitons by means of the latter technique is not easy [KAR 11].


The adsorption of fluoranthene from acetonitrile solution (containing 0.1 mol dm–3 tetrabutylammonium perchlorate as background electrolyte) onto mercury electrodes has been studied. It is shown that potential-step chronoamperometry, at a rotating-disc electrode, allows the determination of the surface coverage of the adsorbed material. The latter is found to be dependent on the concentration of fluoranthene in bulk solution and it is inferred that when this is less than ca. 2 × 10–4 mol dm–3 the molecules are oriented flat on the electrode surface, whereas at higher concentrations they are vertically positioned. A.c. impedance measurements are also reported.


Purpose – This paper aims at multi-attribute and multi-program group decision making when the attribute weights are completely unknown and the attribute value information is in the form of the interval number. Design/methodology/approach – This is an artificial intelligence algorithm for designing information gathering in group decision making. The authors propose the nonlinear programming model to gather information based on plant growth simulation algorithm (PGSA). The authors collect each program on each attribute group decision preference ordering interval and then use them to find the preference vector and the preference matrix. The entropy method is used to determine the weight of each attribute by the constructed preference matrix. According to the possibility degree matrix of each attribute, the combined effect vector is established by the priority weight vector method, which sorts and selects the best decision making program. Findings – To the authors' knowledge, the application of PGSA in the fi...


ELLIS and BOCHNER have managed to put together a fascinating collection of texts that exemplify alternative forms of writing in the social sciences. They classified them under three categories-"autoethnography", "sociopoetics", and "reflexive ethnography". The reason for this, as they explain in the introduction (written in the form of a dialogue between them over the nature of the book, its aim and the different contributions) is that these texts "explore the use of the firstperson voice, the appropriation of literary modes of writing for utilitarian ends, and the complications of being positioned within what one is studying" (p.30). Let's deal with each of these kinds of texts. [1]


Murabahah contracts are the most dominant transactions in financing contracts at Islamic Financial Institutions, because they are more consumptive in nature. The customer uses a murabahah contract with credit or installment financing by paying agreeing to the time defined in the initial contract agreement, but since the COVID-19 epidemic has commanded a biggish bump on the economy in the country, government, financial institutions, and the lower middle class especially those who have difficulty earning income and even employees who are laid off from their jobs. So that the financing agreement that was previously implemented becomes problematic because of bad credit financing. This study discusses how to deal with murabahah credit financing during the pandemic and how government policies minimize these problems. The breed of this exploration is archive exploration, the analysis applied in this research is qualitative and descriptive analysis, the data collection method uses the observation method. The results showed that in financing murabahah loans that were problematic during the pandemic, the government issued a policy through Financial Services Authority Regulation Number 48/POJK.03/2020 concerning Amendments to Financial Services Authority Regulation Number 11/POJK.03/2020 concerning National Economic Push as a Contracyclical Policy for the Impact of the Converlet of Corona Virus Disease 2019. In which there is one strategy by implementing credit restructuring or in this case financing as a rescue Try not to get worse and makes it difficult to resolve customer incompetence.


Purpose: Several approaches are available to evaluate myocardial contractile reserve during exercise. Cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) allows a response characterization by well established variables with powerful prognostic power. Echocardiography allows for peak cardiac power output (CPO= mean BP x (SV/60) x HR) calculation, by incorporating flow measurement with blood pressure, which has been proposed as an index of energy imparted by the left ventricle (LV) to the volume of blood ejected per second. We aimed to explore if peak CPO reflects functional capacity as evaluated by CPET.

Methods: 66 patients (mean age 64±11; male 81%) with different cardiovascular disease (HFrEF 59%, HFpEF 41%, aortic and mitral valvular disease 7.4%, aortic valvular disease 14.9%, mitral valvular disease 23.9%) in NYHA class II (50%), III (42%) and IV (8%) and mean EF of 51±16% were evaluated at rest and during incremental exercise (tiltable cycle ergometer) assessing peak CPO, peak VO2, VO2% of predicted peak and peak O2 pulse.

Results: A good linear correlation was found between peak CPO and peak VO2, % of predicted peak VO2 and peak O2 pulse (Sperman's rho respectively of 0.619, 0.547 and 0.49, p <0,0001). The correlation was maintained along all the spectrum of LV systolic function at rest (see the figure), being patients with reduced EF (n 27) distributed on the left side of the regression due to the reduced contractile reserve.

![Figure][1]

Conclusions: CPET indices of functional capacity showed a good correlation with echo-derived peak CPO, both in normal and reduced LV systolic function. These results confirm the potential prognostic role of such echocardiographic index and suggest the importance of systematically assess peak CPO during stress echocardiography.

 [1]: pending:yes


I N the wall-paintings of the Egyptian tombs the head of the human figure is always represented as either completely bare or covered with a wig. In the period of the Eighteenth Dynasty it is usually the less important figures that are represented with bare or shaven heads, though occasionally an important personage is portrayed without a wig. In the latter case, however, he is always shown acting in a priestly capacity or performing a religious rite. During the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties even the most important male figures are often drawn with bare and shaven heads, as is to be seen in many Ramesside tombs, the reason being that in this period such people were nearly always represented as acting in a sacerdotal capacity. The shaven portion of the head was either painted the same colour as the body or a lighter tint. The latter was the more usual method in the earlier period, the colour com monly employed being either a brownish-red or brick-red which contrasted well with the dark red used for the rest of the body. In Ramesside times, however, this distinction of colour between the shaven part of the head and the rest of the body was rarely made. Very closely cropped or newly-growing hair was often represented by painting the head a deep pink colour covered with numbers of black or red spots. Good examples of such work may be seen in the tombs of Meryamun and Userhet (nos. 22 and 56). The usual method of representing a wig was to 'paint it in black or blue, the latter colour being quite frequently used. It is difficult to understand why blue should have been used for this purpose unless we suppose that the ancient Egyptian could not readily distinguish between black and blue, as is the case with the fellahin at the present day. Another possible explanation is that certain kinds of black hair appear to have a bluish tint in a strong light, whereas others are distinctly warm in colour. Black, however, was the colour more frequently used, though both black and blue wigs are often to be seen in the same wall-painting. A serious disadvantage attended the use of black paint for this pur pose in that much of it was not of a permanent nature. In some tombs it has practically disappeared, especially where it has been exposed to a strong light, so that the wigs on many figures appear never to have been painted black at all.


We report the fabrication of unidirectionally aligned molecular dipole dot arrays of vanadyl phthalocyanine (VOPc) on Au(111). Low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (LT-STM) studies reveal that isolated VOPc molecules adsorb predominantly at the elbow sites of the 22 × √3 herringbone reconstructed Au(111) surface, and adopt an O-down configuration with the phthalocyanine plane parallel to the substrate. It is proposed that the low-coordinated Au atom at the elbow sites on the reconstructed Au(111) can interact strongly with the O-down oriented VOPc molecule, and hence leads to the formation of the unidirectionally aligned VOPc molecular dipole dot arrays.


The period with which radio bursts recur on Jupiter (the System III period) is defined by the IAU to be 9h 55m 29.71s based on early radio astronomical data, and is generally assumed to represent the period of rotation of the Jovian interior. A recent estimate of the System III period from radio burst data is 0.025s shorter than the IAU value. In apparent contradiction to the radio observations, in situ measurements of the rotation period of Jupiter using the orientation of the dipole moment are consistent with the original rotation period defined by the IAU and inconsistent with the suggested period decrease. Thus, the present IAU period should be retained as the best estimate of the rotation rate of the Jovian interior. Since the radio bursts are generated near the base of the Io field line while the dipole field is measured by Galileo near the equatorial plane, the difference between the two rotation periods could be explained if Jupiter's magnetic field is undergoing perceptible secular variation.


A Japanese mother and her infant son were recorded on high quality equipment in the home setting. The imitative utterances of the infant were analyzed acoustically and compared to the mother's. The intonation contours from age five weeks were found to reproduce acoustic characteristics of F0 frequency, pattern, and duration; apparently in that order of acquisition. It was also found that the mother raised her F0 from an average of 185 Hz to an average of 325 Hz when interacting with her child. 325 Hz is within the infant's own F0 range, apparently facilitating imitation. At approximately 11 weeks the child also began to spontaneously produce vowel sounds, and to imitate his mother's vowels. The infant vowels were frequency scaled, and not simple acoustic matches. The child could have reproduced some of his mother's vowels almost exactly, but instead finds a phonetic equivalence in an acoustic vowel space that is appropriate to his smaller supralaryngeal vocal tract. [Work supported by NICHHD.]


Abstract Mourasuchus pattersoni, from the late Miocene Urumaco Formation of Venezuela, is the fourth and most recent species described for the genus. The holotype, and only known specimen, is comprised of an almost complete skull with both mandibular rami and several postcranial remains. In ventral view, the right palatine bone has a spherical, nodular bony protuberance located on the anterior portion, near the suture with the maxilla. Unfortunately, we cannot assign a specific diagnosis based only on macroscopic inspection. Its appearance, form and location are compatible with three conditions: torus palatinus, a common benign intraoral bone overgrowth; osteoma, a benign neoplasical overgrowth of the bone; and hamartoma, an overgrowth of normal bone tissue that can only be differed from an osteoma by histological features. While occurrences of torus palatinus or hamartomas are not yet known in the nonhominid vertebrate fossil record, there are previous records of osteomas in fossil vertebrates, including in crocodylians, such as a specimen assigned to 'Crocodylus sp.' from the Eocene, aside from several records for living crocodylians. Future studies are needed to uncover an accurate diagnosis of this unusual structure and help increase our knowledge of paleopathology in fossil crocodylomorphs in general, especially in the Caimaninae clade.


The new myrmicine genus Tyrannomyrmex is described based on a solitary worker from Negri Sembilam, Malaysia. The principal traits of the ant are mandibles with two teeth, inner modified setae on the ventral margin of mandibles, and mesosoma devoid of any groove or suture. This new genus somewhat resembles the Adelomyrmex genus-group (particularly Baracidris from Africa) especially because of the modified setae; the structure is different, however (cylindric in Tyrannomyrmex, spatulate in Adelomyrmex genus-group) and the similarity may be a convergence. The antennal and clypeal configuration, as well as tooth number, distance the genus from the adelomyrmecines. The genus is described from a single species, T. rex n. sp., from Malaysia. A discussion of the affinities with Adelomyrmex genus-group is presented.


The utility model discloses a gas-liquid separating system for liquid nitrogen, comprising a liquid nitrogen supplying part, a liquid nitrogen gas-liquid separating Dewar and an automatic control part, the liquid nitrogen supplying part consists of a liquid nitrogen storage tank and a liquid nitrogen distributing station, a liquid inlet ultralow-temperature solenoid valve, an exhaust ultralow-temperature solenoid valve, a liquid level sensor and a pressure sensor are arranged on the liquid nitrogen gas-liquid separating Dewar, the automatic control part consists of a supervisory computer, a PLC and an actuating mechanism. The gas-liquid separating system for liquid nitrogen realizes the automatic control of liquid nitrogen inlet, liquid nitrogen outlet and exhaust, the liquid nitrogen supply and normal operation of the equipment is guaranteed, the quality and safety of the test and the production is guaranteed. Moreover, the automatization system can prevent the personnel from operating and moving the liquid nitrogen Dewar manually, the intermediate links are reduced, the safety of the operator is guaranteed, the labor is saved and the operating efficiency is improved.


In this study an attempt is made to examine the influence of kinship on a series of individual transitions and behaviours that mark the life course (marriage, leaving home, out-migration and mortality). Moving beyond a 'traditional' view, in which kinship is restricted to the cohabitation group, the study tests both the effects of the household and of the family beyond the household in order to observe their independent, opposite, or complementary actions. All these issues must be considered within the more general context of the 'nuclear hardship hypothesis': should family links beyond the unit of cohabitation be taken into account? How far can family support isolated people?


Series of quaternary ammonium salts of substituted five-membered-ring iron complexes were prepared by reaction of allyl(cyclopentadienyl)iron(II) dicarbonyl with iminium salts. Also, reactions of allyl(cyclopentadienyl)iron(II) dicarbonyl with in situ prepared iminium salts afford the same products in good to excellent isolated yields.


1 shall try to tell the part of the carbonic anhydrase story that occurred between 1945-1960, which is characterized by advances in the physiology of the subject (kidney, eye, CSF, pancreas, red cell). It was also the period when the sulfonamide inhibitors were synthesized, came into use as physiological probes, and reached the market for the treatment first of cardiac edema, then of glaucoma, and with many other minor but important indications for therapeutic use. I shall briefly review these years and additionally give a few minutes to the pharmacology of acetazolamide and related drugs, since their use will be mentioned prominently during this conference. The historical line relating to kidney began with a simple experiment by Rudolph Hoberl who showed that sulfanilamide alkalinized the urine of a frog. Pitts and his colleagues, using sulfanilamide, made the profound discovery that protons are secreted into the urine and that this process as well as HCOY reabsorption is dependent upon carbonic a n h y d r a ~ e . ~ , ~ The precise degree of dependence and the role of other processes are not yet settled, but it is interesting to recall that despite massive doses of sulfanilamide, which would inhibit >99% of the enzyme, Pitts's dogs excreted only 12% of filtered HCOY. Schwarz was the first to connect Hf secretion with NaC reabsorption in this context, and gave sulfanilamide to treat congestive heart f a i l ~ r e . ~ Recall that in 1949 mercurials were the diuretic treatment for this disease; Schwarz's paper ushered in the new diuretic age, when Roblin took this lead and synthesized new and more powerful carbonic anhydrase inhibitors leading to aceta~olamide.~.~ The pharmacology and chronic renal physiology of this compound were successfully worked and the drug reached the market in 1954. Details of these developments have been given elsewhere. Meanwhile an entirely different intellectual line was being pursued in the field of aqueous humor secretion, starting with the theories of Jonas Friedenwald,Io and followed by the findings of Wistrand" and Kinsey12 on carbonic anhydrase in the anterior uvea, and HCO; excess in the aqueous humor. All the elements were in place for the finding by Becker that acetazolamide reduced flow and pressure in the eye and could be used for the treatment of glaucoma.l3*I4 Thus within a few months after our diuretic reached the market, a new and unforseen use was at hand. I have told this part of the story e1~ewhere.l~ At this time, the 1950s, there was continued interest in carbonic anhydrase and acetazolamide in other medical contexts: ulcers and epilepsy were two major areas during and after our development program. I will discuss gastric physiology and the ulcer problem later; the use of acetazolamide in epilepsy, which is based on CO2 retention secondary to inhibition of the red cell enzyme, has failed for a


Solid state batteries are deemed to become the cornerstone of the future electric mobility. Nevertheless, research on solid electrolytes is still ongoing due the many limitations of current polycrystalline materials. The isotropic and non-periodic structure of amorphous ceramics have shown to contribute to increase the overall ionic conductivity of the material by decreasing the grain-boundary resistive contribution. At the current state, the most promising amorphous material happened to be lithium phosphate oxynitride LiPON (σLi = 10-6 S/cm, ), which demonstrates that the absence of grain boundaries, allows the formation of lithium small dendrites which can grow inside the material without cracking it, avoiding short life cycle of the battery over high current densities [1]. Gao et al. [2] addressed the limited ionic conductivity of LiPON to the strong bond between the PO 4- group with Li+: for this reason, elements with weaker electronegativity than P, such as Al, can generate an ionic bond with O with weaker electrostatic force, regulating the kinetics of Li+ transport and speeds up the diffusion process [3]. In this scenario, Lithium Aluminate (LiAlO2) and Nitrogen-doped Lithium Aluminate (LiAlON) result in a competitive position for the development of an innovative amorphous-glassy electrolyte: very few studies have been conducted on the development of lithium aluminate based solid electrolytes at the present time, mainly due to its low processability at the amorphous phase and the low ionic conductivity of the crystalline phase, more common in the traditional sintering processes.
 In this study, we demonstrate for the first time the possibility to obtain with Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD), a completely amorphous LiAlO2 solid electrolyte with a room temperature ionic conductivity of 10-10 S/cm. Thanks to the PLD processing, the grade of polymorphism can be easily controlled as well as film thickness range (10nm up to 10um) and film porosity. By controlling the deposition atmosphere, different content of nitrogen doping has been achieved, promoting the formation of the highly ionic conductive LiAlON (almost two order of higher conductivity). Electrochemical analysis such as DC polarization and Impedance Spectroscopy, revealed the wide electrochemical voltage stability against lithium metal and the high ionic conductivity of the solid electrolyte. A multi-layer approach for the direct deposition of the solid electrolyte over lithium metal surface is proposed, allowing the realization of symmetric cell test and plating/stripping test. Good protection of Li metal substrate has been observed from the LiAlO2 SSE over 24h, hindering oxidation and degradation of the sample.
 [1] - Nowak, Berkemeier, and Schmitz, "Ultra-Thin LiPON Films – Fundamental Properties and Application in Solid State Thin Film Model Batteries."
 [2] - Gao et al., "Screening Possible Solid Electrolytes by Calculating the Conduction Pathways Using Bond Valence Method."
 [3] - Guan et al., "Superior Ionic Conduction in LiAlO 2 Thin-Film Enabled by Triply Coordinated Nitrogen."


Axions in the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) mechanism provide a promising solution to the strong CP problem in the standard model of particle physics. Coherently generated PQ scalar fields could dominate the energy density in the early Universe and decay into relativistic axions, which would conflict with the current dark radiation constraints. We show that a thermal inflation driven by a U (1) gauged Higgs field dilutes such axions. We discuss an available baryogenesis mechanism for the U (1) B − L gauge symmetry.


2 Acknowledgements Stirling Educational Psychology Service would like to thank all the schools, teachers and pupils who made the development of the Stirling Children " s Wellbeing Scale (SCWBS) possible. In particular we would like to thank Jeana, Julia, and Lauren for their invaluable input into building the items for the scale and their critical feedback and the four pupils of Our Lady " s PS for helping to finalise the scale by ironing out the wrinkles in our statements. We would also very much like to thank the teachers and head teachers who helped coordinate the study on behalf of the schools: Elaine Wylie from St Ninians PS; Summary Introduction The Stirling Children " s Wellbeing Scale (SCWBS) was a project initiated by the Educational Psychology Service with the objective of creating a holistic, positively worded scale measuring emotional and psychological wellbeing in children aged of 8 to 15 years. The scale was developed and standardised by administering the questionnaire across 18 schools in the Stirling Council area with a population sample of 1 800 children.


This paper investigates the geometry of compact stellar objects through the Noether symmetry approach in the energy-momentum squared gravity. This newly developed theory overcomes the problems of big bang singularity and provides the viable cosmological consequences in the early time universe. Moreover, its implications occur in high curvature regime where the deviations of energy-momentum squared gravity from general relativity is confirmed. We consider the minimal coupling model of this modified theory and formulate symmetry generators as well as corresponding conserved quantities. We use conservation relation and apply some suitable initial conditions to evaluate the metric potentials. Finally, we explore some interesting features of the compact objects for appropriate values of the model parameters through numeric analysis. It is found that compact stellar objects in this particular framework depend on the model parameters as well as conserved quantities. We conclude that Noether symmetries generate solutions that are consistent with the astrophysical observational data and hence confirm the viability of this procedure.


Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are often criticized for their work in the healthcare sectors of developing countries. Recently, they have been moving from a projectized to sectoral support approach in an attempt to respond to this critique. Community-based intervention is a sectoral technique that can be used to exploit the community as a resource to provide the community itself with support in ways that the limited human resources in the healthcare sectors of developing countries currently cannot. The peer group intervention and community health worker are both tested strategies that have resulted in positive outcomes in the healthcare sectors of disadvantaged areas. Although community support systems may be limited in technical skill, a new body of research indicates that this intervention can nonetheless be a predictor of improved management of chronic illnesses that present high disease burden. By working with local stakeholders, NGOs may be able to effectively facilitate this intervention to promote sustainable positive health outcomes. By evaluating the effectiveness of the community-based intervention in Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) management in Malawi, a greater understanding of its role can be gained in a more tangible manner.


Chlorinated ethenes such as tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene have been widely used as dry‐cleaning and degreasing solvents. Under anaerobic conditions, microorganisms reduce these parent compounds to less‐chlorinated daughter products such as cis‐1,2‐dichloroethene (cDCE), and often further to ethene. This process can be stalled at cDCE, due to insufficient supply of reductants and/or inadequate microbial‐community composition. Recently, a novel bacterium, Polaromonas sp. JS666, was isolated that is able to aerobically oxidize cDCE as sole carbon and energy source. As such, it is a promising candidate for use as a subsurface, bioaugmentation agent at sites where anaerobic bioremediation is inappropriate or has stalled and cDCE has migrated to, and accumulated within, aerobic zones, or where it is practical to impose aerobic conditions.


In-situ dual phase X Li4Ti5O12/(1-x) of LTO: TO due to varying heat treatments of the same dried gel with Li:Ti=4.5:6. Composites of LTO with TiO2 showed reduced band gaps and predicted increased electronic conductivity of the samples for enhanced electrochemical performance as anodes of Li-ion batteries. XPS showed that in both LTO and LTO/TO nano-composites, Ti cations are in the oxidation state of 4+, indicating the charge neutrality and suitability for oxidation/ reduction reactions during Li-ion intercalation/de-intercalation.


As a new surface technology, microarc oxidation can be applied to the ceramic coating with bioactivity on Ti alloy. With good biocompatibility, high bond strength and short healing period, the film is worth applying to clinical operation. In this paper such information of microarc oxidation is reviewed as its developing history, research progress and basic principle. The structure, properties and bioactivity of the ceramic coating are also introduced.


By making use of the Krasnosel'skii fixed point theorem of cone expansion-compression type,existence and multiplicity theorems of positive solution for a class of nonlinear second-order m-point boundary value problems are established.


Let's start with the "who" question. I have encountered people who variously believe the answer to be the Beijing government; the People's Bank of China; the US Federal Reserve Board; some combination of HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank and the Bank of China (which are the note-issuing banks in Hong Kong); the Hong Kong Legislative Council; the Hong Kong Government; or the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.


Because excessive secretion of gastric juice is a common concomitant of chronic peptic ulcers, various workers have looked for substances having an inhibitory action. The secretion of HCl, though partly controlled by the vagus nerves, is peculiar in being stimulated by histamine and in being not greatly affected by atropine. The effect of atropine is described differently by different observers (Polland, 1930; Atkinson and Ivy, 1937; Gray, 1937; King, Comfort, and Osterberg, 1944). It appears to be more effective in abolishing the secretion produced by giving a meal than that produced by injecting histamine. Davenport (1940), and later Rehm and Enelow (1945), investigated the effect of sodium thiocyanate; when given intravenously to dogs in sufficient amount, it was found to inhibit the secretion of HC1 completely. Recently Babkin and Karp (1947) have observed that the two antimalarial substances quinine and mepacrine (atebrin), when injected intravenously into dogs, depressed the secretion of gastric juice produced by stimulation of the vagus nerves. The doses they used were large in relation to the doses ordinarily given to man; thus a dog of 10 kg. received 0.2 g. quinine bisulphate or 75 mg. mepacrine. When secretion was produced by the injection of histamine, neither quinine nor mepacrine affected it. Recently a simple method of examining substances for an inhibitory action on gastric secretion has been developed in this laboratory by Wood (1948); cats are used, anaesthetized by cyclopropane or pentobarbitone (nembutal). The only essential point in which the method differs from that proposed by Lim (1923), and modified by Roth and Ivy (1944), is that histamine solution has been infused into the jugular vein at a uniform rate for periods up to 7 hours. In order to obtain a uniform infusion, a pump designed and made by Dr. E. H. J. Schuster has been used, with which a reasonably steady secretion of gastric juice has been obtained. The oesophagus was tied in the neck and not at the cardiac orifice, to avoid the vagi.


Surface modification of nanoparticles (NPs) has been reported to play a significant role in determining their interactions with cell membranes. In this research, the interactions between carboxyl- or amine-functionalized Au NPs and model mammalian cell membranes were investigated by a nonlinear optical spectroscopic technique, sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy, supplemented by attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. To test the effects of surface composition on the NP–membrane interactions, we altered the ratio of different functional groups on the NP surfaces to create NPs with varied surface chemistry. In this study, a substrate-supported 1,2-distearoyl-d70-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (d70-DSPC or dDSPC)/1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DSPC) lipid bilayer was used as a model cell membrane. It was found that the interactions between the Au NPs and the lipid bilayer induced the lipid bilayer to flip-flop. A higher surface coverage o...


This paper analyzes the potential of the joint exploitation of the Spanish PAZ satellite and the two TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X German satellites for interferometry. Since both platforms are almost identical and they were launched on the same orbital plane, similar images under the same geometry may be acquired by both missions. Several time series over different test sites with distinct land cover types in Germany and Spain that have been acquired by both missions are compared in order to evaluate the possibility of joint exploitation for interferometry. Results show no loss of performance on the in-terferograms obtained while combining satellites of both missions. This allows to effectively reduce the minimum revisit time from 11 days to 4 or 7 days.


Artificial sweeteners are used worldwide as a class of synthetic or half-synthetic sugar substitutes in food and beverages.Most of them can hardly be metabolized in vivo,thus are excreted via urines and feces before entering the environmet.Some typical artificial sweeteners have been proved to occur ubiquitously in the aquatic environment with the highest concentration up to 190 μg.L-1.Furthermore,some artificial sweeteners are also recalcitrant against the removal process in water treatment plants.Therefore,they have been recently recognized as emerging organic contaminants.In this paper,the behavior of artificial sweeteners in water treatment processes and their source and occurrence in the environment are reviewed,and the contamination characteristics of the artificial sweeteners are summarized.Some future research directions in this field are proposed accordingly.