Background: In vivo T cell depletion with ATG or Alemtuzumab is effective to reduce the incidence of graft-versus host disease (GVHD) caused by alloreactive T cells. However, there is also a potential impact of these substances on the function of natural killer (NK) cells who are the predominant cells in peripheral blood in the early phase after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and mediate beneficial graft-versus-tumor activity. Using a novel flow cytometric assay, which detects the lytic granule membrane protein CD107a as a marker for NK cell degranulation, we investigated the effect of T cell depletion with ATG and Alemtuzumab on NK cell function in the early phase after HSCT.

Methods: PBMCs of 34 patients (pts) at day +30 after allogeneic HSCT and of 16 healthy donors were coincubated at 37°C for 3 h with the NK sensitive cell line HL60. In each tube, containing 400μl effector/target suspension (2x106 cells), 20μl of PE-Cy5 conjugated anti-CD107a monoclonal antibody was added prior to incubation. After the first 1 h 10μl of the secretion inhibitor 2 mM monensin was added. At the end of coincubation cells were stained with mAbs (CD56, CD3) for flow cytometry. The percentage of CD107a expressing NK cells was assessed and the absolute number of degranulating NK cells/μl was calculated.

Results: Treatment Characteristics: Fourteen pts received ATG, ten pts were treated with Alemtuzumab and ten patients did not receive T cell depletion. The source of donor was: MRD 12 and MUD 22. NK cell count: The median NK cell count was: 250/μl in healthy individuals, 250/μl in pts without T cell depletion, 400/μl in pts with ATG and 100/μl in pts receiving Alemtuzumab (p<0.0005; Kruskal-Wallis test). NK cell activity: The median percentage of degranulating NK cells was 5.4% in healthy donors, 4,4% without T cell depletion, 2,8% when ATG was used and 0,8% when Alemtuzumab was given (p<0.0005). The absolute number of CD107a+ NK cells in response to the standardized tumor targets accounted for 13,4/μl (median) in normal donors, 12,9/μl in pts without T cell depletion, 7,6/μl in pts with ATG and 0,9/μl in pts with Alemtuzumab (p=0.001). The percentage and absolute number of CD107a+ NK cells were not significantly different between patients receiving ATG and patients not receiving T cell depletion (p=NS).

Conclusion: With a new and feasible method we were able to quantify and characterize tumor reactive NK cells after HSCT. We found that NK cell mediated cytotoxicity towards tumor targets is influenced by the type of T cell depletion: The NK cell activity in patients receiving Alemtuzumab was considerably reduced whereas ATG had only moderate impact on the NK cell activity in the early phase after HSCT.


Objective By means of experimental study of free skin graft on the bone surface buried in the soft tissue,the feasibility of the method mentioned above is explored.Fairly firm connection between transplanted skin and bone surface is formed so that soft tissue meets the requirements of the implant site.Methods 30 healthy 6-month-old New Zealand white rabbits regardless of gender difference have been divided into 3 groups(A,B and C) randomly with 10 in each group.Full-thickness skin graft,split-thickness skin graft and skin flap have been transplanted on the bilateral mandibular angle respectively.4 weeks after the first surgery,the skin grafts of the rabbits in the experimental groups(Group A and B) were exposed by the second operation.All rabbits were executed 6 weeks after the first surgery to obtain the specimens.General specimen observation,histological observation(HE and MASSON) and transmission electron microscope observation were carried out,followed by statistical analysis.Results There were 9,17 and 19 successful cases in Group A,B and C respectively.Success rate was analyzed using χ2 test between the group pairs of AB,AC and BC.Both group pairs of AB and AC showed significant difference while the group pair of BC showed did not.In the general specimen observation,the survived skin was found to have good color and texture and connect closely to the surface of the bone.No obvious mobility was observed either.In the HE and MASSON methods observation,the survived skin showed distinctive layers and have a close connection with the bone surface.There were abundant blood vessels within the skin.In the transmission electron microscope observation,the dermis layer and bone cortex appeared to have close connection.Collagen fiber in the dermis layer ripped into the surface of bone,forming the structure resembling the Sharpey fiber in general periosteum.This indicated a close connection between the skin and bone surface with relatively high connection strength.Conclusion Split-thickness skin graft on the bone with soft tissue cover is a feasible method.


To evaluate the ability of the haloarchaeon Haloferax volcanii to produce Ag and Au nanoparticles (NPs) and to characterize the obtained material in order to find relevant properties for future potential applications.


This discussion of Habits of Mind is rooted in Ellen Winner and colleagues' groundbreaking research on the skills and dispositions taught in visual arts, music, and theater classrooms in the United States. The Habits students are learning in these creative contexts have applications to other domains, such as the sciences and everyday life. The philosophical origins of Habits of Mind are discussed in the context of American pragmatism, critical theory, and aesthetic theory in order to expand our understanding of habits and their relationship to creative-thinking and cognition. In contrast with cultural-norms, students' artistic pursuits may benefit from additional training in expressive imagination.


The customer info application is an application created by PERUMDAM so that customers can receive information and communicate with PERUMDAM. Since its release in 2019, this application has been downloaded by more than 5 thousand people as of May 25, 2022, this is only 3.3% of existing customers. One of the things that can be the cause is the lack of user comfort so this application is not accepted by the public. The purpose of this study is to determine the acceptance of the application in terms of user experience and provide recommendations for new user interface designs based on the results of the analysis. This study uses the TAM model as a reference for preparing the questionnaire by taking 5 variables, namely the perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude toward using, intention to use, and actual system use. The results obtained were analyzed with the help of Smart-PLS. The results of the analysis showed that the R Square value had moderate values on actual system usage and behavioral intention of 53.6% and 51.6%, and small values on attitude toward using and perceived usefulness of 24.7% and 19.4%, respectively. The F-square test shows that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have a small effect on attitude toward using with a vulnerable value of 0.02 - 0.15. Proposed improvements are the new user interface design in the "Homepage" display and the "Complaint Info" display and a new display recommendation, namely "payment info" and "transaction history" display.


Abstract The article presents information on the potential of Industry 4.0 in the field of maintenance. This work explores the potential and trends of predictive maintenance management in an industrial big data environment. The development of predictive maintenance, its technical challenges and in the context of Industry 4.0 was presented. In addition, a case study that illustrates how maintenance management and predictive maintenance can be applied to the maintenance of wind turbines is discussed.


ABSTRACT The present study evaluated the effects of explicit instruction on advanced French second language (L2) learners' (n = 18) contextually appropriate use of two stylistic variables (/l/ deletion vs. retention and ne deletion vs. retention) using two different task types. A planned and unplanned oral task was used to assess students' productive stylistic knowledge before and after the instructional treatment. Performance on both tasks was then compared to a corpus of native French (L1) speakers (n = 12) recorded under the same conditions. As hypothesised, the findings revealed that explicit instruction triggered changes in students' productive use of the target features; however, their ability to align to L1 stylistic norms was mediated by two factors: task types and linguistic complexity of the stylistic variants. Additionally, although instruction prompted change in the use of these variables, some learners reported being unwilling to use informal features, suggesting that personal speech-style preferences may also moderate the use of specific stylistic variants and should, therefore, be further considered in research examining the development of L2 sociolinguistic competence.


According to the tracking problem of the migratory path of pantholopshodgsonii, this paper introduces the tracking and protecting system of pantholopshodgsonii based on tianditu and beidou navigation satellite system, including the overall design, functional design and key technologies. The system is implemented by the domestic software and hardware. It is low cost and can improve the capability of national rare animal tracking and protecting effectively.


IMPORTANCE
Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is the most common cancer and predominantly affects older patients. Because NMSCs do not typically affect survival or short-term quality of life, the decision about whether and how to treat patients with limited life expectancy (LLE) is challenging, especially for asymptomatic tumors.

OBJECTIVE
To compare treatment patterns and clinical outcomes of patients with NMSC with and without LLE.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
A prospective cohort study of 1536 consecutive patients diagnosed with NMSC at 2 dermatology clinics: a university-based private practice and a Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Francisco, California. Patients were recruited in 1999 through 2000 and followed up for a median of 9 years. A total of 1360 patients with 1739 tumors (90%) were included in the final analysis. Limited life expectancy was defined as patients either 85 years or older at the time of diagnosis or patients with multiple comorbidities (Charlson Comorbidity Index of ≥ 3). Treatment options included no treatment, destruction, or 2 types of surgery-elliptical excision or Mohs surgery.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Treatment type.

RESULTS
Most NMSCs (69%) were treated surgically, regardless of patient life expectancy. The choice of surgery was not influenced by patient prognosis in univariate or multivariable models adjusted for tumor and patient characteristics. Many patients with LLE (43%) died within 5 years, none of NMSC. Tumor recurrence was rare (3.7% at 5 years [95% CI, 2.6%-4.7%]) in all patients. Although serious complications were unusual, approximately 20% of patients with LLE reported complications of therapy, compared with 15% of other patients.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Most NMSCs are treated surgically, regardless of the patient's life expectancy. Given the very low tumor recurrence rates and high mortality from causes unrelated to NMSC in patients with LLE, clinicians should consider whether these patients would prefer less invasive treatment strategies.


The conditions for ultrasonic extracting oil from Zanthorylum bungeanum nucleus and shuck were studied.Chemical constitute of oil from Zanthorylum bungeanum nucleus and shuck were analyzed by GC-MS.The experimental results show that the extract yield of Zanthorylum bungeanum oil from nucleus and shuck is 7.8% and 48.9%,respectively.Constitute analysis shows that chemical constitutes of oil from nucleus and shuck and different.Constitute of oil by polar solvent extraction from nucleus is olefin,and its percentage concentration is 48.73%,no acidamide substance in oil.Constitute of oil by polar solvent extraction from shuck is carboxylic acid and carboxylic ester,and its percentage concentration is 66.45%,acidamide substance percentage concentration is 3.84%.


The invention relates to a reflective heat-insulation type really stone paint and a preparation method thereof, wherein the reflective heat-insulation type really stone paint is prepared from the following components in parts by weight: 100-110 parts of water, 2-3 parts of cellulose, 1-2 parts of a neutralizing agent, 0.5-2 parts of a defoaming agent, 10-20 parts of an anti-freezing agent, 1-2 parts of a bactericide, 100-140 parts of a silicone acrylic emulsion, 10-15 parts of a film-forming auxiliary agent, 2-5 parts of a thickening agent, and 700-750 parts of a reflective type color sand. The prepared reflective heat-insulation type really stone paint not only has the characteristics of rich colors, stable performance, safety, no toxicity and the like, but also has the efficacies of reflective heat insulation, environmental protection, energy saving and the like.


Despite rapidly rising interest in meditation and contemplative practices, the majority of scientific research thus far has focused on mindfulnessbased practices within a standard biomedical framework, neglecting more analytical forms of contemplative practice and also neglecting the wider potential for benefits that contemplative practices may have beyond a biomedical framework. Nevertheless, analytically oriented practices may hold great potential both for health-related interventions and for the development of curricula for educational settings, particularly as regards emotion regulation, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, and the promotion of prosocial behavior. This article illustrates differences between more analytically oriented forms of meditation and less analytically oriented forms by presenting the example of cognitive-based compassion training (CBCT), a secularized meditation practice adapted from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of lojong (mind training), and CBCT's use in educational settings for children and in foster care programs for youth in Atlanta, Georgia. Ozawa-de-Silva et al, Education


Abstract The friction and wear of sliding surfaces are responsible for important energy losses and negative environmental effects. Magnesium silicate hydroxide–based nanopowder (KM) is an antiwear and self-recovery material that could be applied in the lubricating subsystem of mechanical components. This study investigates the ability of KM to reduce friction and improve the wear resistance of sliding steel surfaces. A ball-on-flat reciprocating tribometer was used with steel–steel contact to evaluate the lubricating ability of KM as an additive in a commercially available motor oil. Experimental results show that by adding 0.23 wt% of KM to the motor oil, friction and wear can be reduced up to 45 and 40%, respectively, under the longer distance studied. In addition to ball-on-flat tests, a bearing test rig was used to investigate the antiwear behavior of KM as an additive in a commercial high-speed grease. Ball bearings of steel–steel and steel–ceramic contacts were lubricated with a high-speed grease. The addition of 0.4 wt% of KM to the grease improved the durability and reduced the ring wear. Optical microscopy, noncontact 3D profilometry, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were utilized to analyze and discuss the wear mechanisms and surface interactions.


This paper described a process to produce amorphous activated carbon by sawdust with zinc chloride activation and a plane plate activation stove. It also discussed the influences of the ratio of zinc chloride and sawdust, activation temperature and activation time on the adsorption properties of the carbon.


The number of papers and articles on goals would suggest that goal-oriented requirements engineering is a well understood and mature area within the requirements engineering discipline. In particular, there is a wealth of published material on formal goal modelling approaches. However, the uptake of the goal approaches advocated by academics and researchers within real world settings appears to be quite low. Where goals are used in industrial practice their use is mainly informal and the methods used are inconsistent. There appears to be a significant gap between research and practice in the use of goals within requirements engineering. A two-part study was undertaken to check whether there is evidence to support this view of a disconnection between research and industry. Firstly, a literature survey of requirements engineering papers about goals reveals a large body of published material, but the majority has little industrial involvement. Secondly, a questionnaire completed by experienced requirements engineering practitioners suggests that use of goals in practice is inconsistent, informal, and rarely utilises formal modelling approaches. This paper proposes future work that would close the gap between research and practice in the use of goals within requirements engineering.


To evaluate the effect of Ipomea batatas tuber extract (IBTE) on blood lipid profile and atherogenic index in plasma (AIP) of dyslipidemia rats. First, IBTE was extracted by methanol. Fat-rich diets was given for 30 days to induce dyslipidemia in rats. Then, IBTE was given to dyslipidemia rats for 21 days. Lipid profiles in the form of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and AIP in rats were measured and analyzed. The results showed that administration of IBTE 150, 300 and 600mg/kg BW was able to improve the blood lipid profile of dyslipidemia rats, where there was a decrease in levels of TC, TG and LDL-C, and an increase in HDL-C levels. In line with this, the AIP value has also decreased. The conclusion was IBTE have affect to improve the blood lipid profile of dyslipidemia rats and the AIP.


Aim. To study lymphatic metastasis of proximal gastric cancer to determine the extent of surgical intervention both on the stomach wall and lymphatic pathways. Methods. The data on lymphatic metastasis were analyzed in 185 patients with proximal gastric cancer not extending to the esophagus who underwent gastrosplenectomy with extended lymphodissection D2 in 2 surgical departments of the Republican clinical oncology center (Kazan) in 1982-2014. All patients were morphologically verified prior to surgery. 105 out of 185 patients (56.7%) had metastases to lymph nodes. Results. In proximal gastric cancer (within IV and V angiological segments) lymph node involvement in cancer metastases occurs in all sub-segments of the lymphatic system of the stomach. There is a fairly clear pattern: involvement of lymph nodes in metastases mainly occurs in groups №3a, 3b, and 4d, along the common hepatic artery and its branches, around the celiac trunk, along the splenic artery and in splenic hilum. In case of cancer localization in segment IV metastases were observed in 46.7%, in segment V - in 66.7% and in case of involvement of both segments IV and V - in 53.3% of patients. In gastric cancer located within segments IV and V, starting with the involvement of muscular tunic, lymph nodes of perigastric groups (№3b - in 37.1%, 4d - in 11.4%) are often affected as well as parietal lymph nodes of groups 7-12. Conclusion. In cancer located within gastric segments IV and V gastrosplenectomy with extended lymphodissection D2 should be performed to remove lymph node groups along the splenic artery and in splenic hilum.


The reaction was studied of living 1-naphthyltriphenylphosphonium poly(methyl methacrylate) ylides (NTPP,PMMA) with methyl iodide and benzyl bromide in tetrahydrofuran at ambient temperatures. NMR characterization shows clean end-functionalizations. The coupling with equimolar bis-1,4-(bromomethyl)benzene was also carried out and was found to be quantitative. The reactions appear to proceed through a rapid and reversible ionization into a highly reactive NTPP,PMMA enolate. The kinetics of methylation and benzylation in the presence of a large excess of electrophile is given by a pseudo-first-order process. The kinetics of these reactions is compared with that of protonation by water and anhydrous acetic acid. The reaction of the latter system is extremely rapid compared to that with water and the alkylating reagents. This indicates that the rate-determining step in the electrophilic reactions is determined by both the ionization and the ion pair collapse to the ylide.


The explosion of data is leading to huge challenges in storage infrastructure management. A new architecture is presented where data science is used to solve complex storage management problems and the required services are delivered via the cloud providing efficiency and optimized storage management.


Objective To study the influnence of fracture type on outcome in elderly hip fracture. Methods 121 patients with hip fracture were treated from April 2007 to November 2008. Orthopaedists radiographically classify the fractures as either:( 1) unstable intertrochanteric fracture; ( 2) stable intertrochanteric; ( 3) displaced femoral neck; ( 4) non-displaced or impacted femoral neck. Comorbidities,operative details,and postoperative complications were recorded. We observe the the mortality and functional outcome at discharge,6 month postoperatively,12 month after operation. Results 93 cases meet the inclusion criteria,of which 22 cases were unstable intertrochanteric fracture,30 cases in stable intertrochanteric,19 cases of displaced femoral neck,and 22 cases in non-displaced or impacted femoral neck. Age,comorbidities for patients own situation show no significant between 4 group. Although the mortality in displaced femoral neck patients are higher than others at discharge,6 months postoperatively,they do not reach statistically significant difference; the mortality in unstable intertrochanteric fracture show significant increase than others. In addition the ADL score in displaced femoral neck show significant increase than others at discharge; there are no significant differences of ADL scores between these 4 groups at 6th month,12th month postoperatively. Conclusions Hip fracture type have some influence on outcome when rolling out patients status differences. Displaced femoral neck fractures have higher mortality in the early ( hospitalized,6 months after operation) ,but patients in unstable intertrochanteric fracture show significant increase of mortality later( 12 months postoperatively). The influmence of hip fracture type on function recover mainly reflect in short-term. The ADL scores in displaced femoral neck fractures are higher than others at discharge,and little differences between the four groups in the long run were found.


BACKGROUND
Surgical helmet systems commonly are stand-alone systems with a single fan blowing air into the suit, creating positive pressure that blows particles out through areas of low resistance, possibly contaminating surgical attire and the surgical field. Two-fan systems were developed more recently to release spent air, also theoretically lowering pressure in the suit and decreasing the aforementioned risk of particle contamination. To our knowledge no study to date has measured the potential differences in gown particle contamination to support this hypothesis.

QUESTIONS/PURPOSES
We compared a commonly used single-fan system versus a two-fan system and asked: (1) Which fan system results in less gown particle contamination? (2) Are there differences between the systems in the location of contamination?

METHODS
Using an existing experimental study model, two surgeons performed five 30-minute TKA simulations comparing a single-fan to a double-fan helmet system after applying fluorescent powder to the hands, axillae, and chest. Both are two-piece hood and gown systems. The single-fan sits on top of the helmet blowing air into the suit; the double-fan system has a second fan positioned at the rear blowing out spent air. Ultraviolet light-enhanced photographs were subsequently obtained of the flexor and extensor surfaces of the arms, axillary areas, and front and back of the chest. We chose these locations because they all contain either a seam or an overlap between gown and hood or gloves through which particles can escape. The images were scored for contamination on a scale of 1 (zero specks) to 4 (> 100 specks) by three independent observers. Interobserver correlation was assessed through Spearman's test yielding 0.91 (95% CI 0.86 to 0.94; p < 0.0001), 0.81 (95% CI 0.73 to 0.87; p < 0.0001) and 0.87 (95% CI 0.80 to 0.91; p < 0.0001) between observers 1 and 2, observers 1 and 3, and observers 2 and 3, rendering the used scale reliable. Results of the observers were averaged and compared using the Mann-Whitney U test.

RESULTS
There was no difference in overall gown particle contamination between the systems (overall single-fan median contamination score 2.5 of 4 [interquartile range Q1-Q3 0-3.42] versus double fan 1 out of 4 (Q1-Q3 0-3); p = 0.082), but all tests showed there was contamination at the gown-glove interface. In general, there were few differences between the two systems in terms of location of the contamination; however, when comparing only the axillary regions, we found that the single-fan group (median score 3.67 [Q1-Q3 3-4]) showed more contamination than the double-fan group (2.33 [Q1-Q3 0-3.08]); p = 0.01.

CONCLUSION
We found no difference in gown particle contamination between a single-fan and a double-fan helmet design. However, we note that contamination was present in all tests with both systems, so surgeons should not assume that these systems provide a contamination-free environment.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE
When using such helmets, the surgeon should not place items close to the axillary region because the seam of the gown may have low resistance to particle contamination. Gown designs could be improved by creating better seals, especially at the arm-body seam.


The concept of smart city is a revolution in itself. Due to constraint in resources, there might be problem in providing services to the residents in future, so maintain a standard of living for growing population, necessity of smart city has aroused. This paper aims at describing the word smart along with its objectives. A Smart city mainly comprises of four pillars of infrastructure i.e. Institutional, Physical, Social and Economic Infrastructure, on which entire city is developed. In past few years, the different aspects of urban smartness is reviewed and compared with traditional cities to know how feasible it is in the respective cities. Smart City is defined on basis of Smart Transport, Smart Health, Smart Retail, Smart Factory, Smart Home and Smart Fitness which are known as the Elements of Smart City. A city to be known as smart city requires fulfilling certain criteria which has been discussed in detail in the paper.To support this information some images and few examples have been given.


Abstract Older adults have experienced greater isolation and mental health concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. In long-term care (LTC) settings, residents have been particularly impacted due to strict lockdown policies. Little is known about how these policies have impacted older adults. This study leveraged existing research with embedded sensors installed in LTC settings, and analyzed sensor data of residents (N=30) two months pre/post the onset of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic (1/13/20 to 3/13/20, 03/14/20 to 5/13/20). Data from three sensors (bed sensors, depth sensors, and motion sensors) were analyzed for each resident using paired t-tests, which generated information on the resident's pulse, respiration, sleep, gait, and motion in entering/exiting their front door, living rooms, bedrooms, and bathrooms. A 14.4% decrease was observed in front door motion in the two months post-onset of the pandemic, as well as a 2.4% increase in average nighttime respiration, and a 7.6% increase in nighttime bed restlessness. Over half of our sample (68%) had significant differences (p<0.05) in restlessness. These results highlight the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing policies on older adults living in LTC. While it is not surprising that significant differences were found in the front door motion sensor, the bed sensor data can potentially shed light on how sleep was impacted during this time. As older adults experienced additional mental health concerns during this time, their normal sleep patterns could have been affected. Implications could help inform LTC staff, healthcare providers, and self-management of health approaches among older adults.


Surface photovoltage (SPV) transient provides a non-destructive, contact-free method for characterization of semiconductor surfaces. Here we study SPV-transients of differently cleaned, heavily doped epiready GaAs wafers. After a rapid initial part the transient shows a very slow decay taking place in 100 - 1000 s time scale. Chemical NH4OH:H2O2:H2O cleaning and atomic hydrogen UHV cleaning are applied. SPV-transients are measured by Kelvin probe in normal atmospheric conditions. A large signal surface trapping model is developed which includes both majority and minority carrier processes and covers the whole light on, steady state, light off sequence. Model fitting allows band bending, energy and density of surface states as well as electron and hole capture cross-sections to be extracted. The results show that the traps are electronic states in thin oxide layer covering the samples. This conclusion is based on the finding that the capture cross-sections are very small, in the range 10-19 - 10-26 cm2, which calls tunneling for explanation. This indicates that after cleaning the oxide layer is rapidly re-grown in laboratory atmosphere in less than 30 min. Typical band bendings are 0.6 - 0.8 eV, trap energies are slightly above the mid-gap and the density of occupied trap states is around 5×1012 cm-2 at thermal equilibrium.


The infrared moisture meter has been widely used in moisture content detecting in tobacco leaf threshing and redrying line,however,its precision was greatly affected by leaf color,calibration was time-consuming and laboursome,and detection range was only about 50 mm.The dynamic calibration system of moisture meter based on network technology was developed,the equipment in the system connected by TDP/IP communication protocol via a network exchanger.The network automatic calibration software was programmed with Visual Basic and ran under the circumstance of microsoft Windows operating system.A static moisture meter was calibrated against oven drying to ensure its precision.The static moisture meter was used to detect the actual moisture content in the sample,the automatic calibration software automatically calculated the correct value,and the in-site moisture meter was corrected via network.The time for obtaining actual moisture content of samples was shortened,and the initial correction took less than 1 hour from 4 hours.The precision of in-site dynamic moisture meter rose from 0.4%-0.6% to 0.3%-0.4%,therefore the variation of actual moisture content could be reflected timely and accurately,and the automatic and accurate control of moisture content in tobacco leaf was realized during redrying.


Abstract. The article provides information about the yield, development of leaf-stem diseases, as well as the biological effectiveness of drugs on meadow fescue crops. The purpose of research is to study the influence of protective agents and growth stimulants that provide the most complete realization of the potential of seed productivity of meadow fescue. After applying protection products, crop structure for 2018–2019 Treatment of plants for vegetation in the phase of entering the tube – the beginning of earing, the following drugs were used: "Fitolavin" – 1.5 l/ha; "Lariksin" – 50 g/ha; "Kolosal' Pro" – 0.5 l/ha; "Strekar" – 1.5 l/ha; "Fitolavin" – 1.5 l/ha + "Kolosal' Pro" – 0.5 l/ha. Research methodology and methods. The experience consists of 18 plots. The total area of one plot is 42 m2, the accounting area of one plot is 28 m2. Plots are placed – blockwise, repetitions are rendomized, the repetition is 3-fold. Observations and studies were conducted according to the generally accepted methodology. Meteorological conditions in 2018–2019 significantly varied from the long-term average. The hydrothermal coefficient (GTC) for the growing season in 2018 was 1.4; in 2019, it was 1.77, which is higher than the long – term average (1.57). Results. The development of the disease on average for all tiers of leaves for two years (2018–2019) in the control was 23.7 %, the prevalence – 67.5 %. In the variants with fungicides and biologics, the development and prevalence of leaf-stem diseases ranged from 9.4 to 17.4 % and from 32.4 to 56.5 %, respectively. The use of plant protection products led to a decrease in the development of diseases by 1.4–2.5 times (by 6.3–14.3 %), and the prevalence – by 1.2–2.1 times (by 11.0–35.1 %).The biological effectiveness of plant protection products ranged from 26.6 to 60.3 %. The applied preparations on average for two years of research provided a reliable increase in seed yield from 0.11 to 0.26 t/ha (from 32 to 76 %). Scientific novelty. The increase in seed productivity according to two-year data (2018–2019) was obtained due to a significant increase in all components of the yield structure.


Microscopy imaging of cell nuclei and cytoplasms is a powerfull technique for research, diagnosis and drug discovery. However, the use of fluorescent microscopy imaging for cell nuclei and cytoplasms labeling is time consuming and inconvenient for several reasons, thus there is a lack of fast and accurate methods for prediction of fluorescence cell nuclei and cytoplasms from bright-field microscopy imaging. We present a method for labeling bright-field images using convolutional neural networks. We investigate different convolutional neural network architectures for cell nuclei and cytoplasms prediction. Using the DeepLabv3+, we found relative impressive results with a 5-fold cross validation dice coefficient equal to 0.9503 as well as meaningful segmentation maps. This work shows proof of concept regarding microscopy fluorescence labeling of cell nuclei and cytoplasms using bright-field images.


Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were administered drinking water containing humic acids either non-disinfected for following ozonation (O{sub 3}) or ozonation/chlorination (O{sub 3}/Cl{sub 2}) for 90 consecutive days. Test animals drank either of two concentrations of humic acids, 0.25 and 1.0 g/L total organic carbon (TOC), while controls received phosphate-buffered, distilled water. No consistent significant treatment-related effects were observed in body weight gain, organ weights, food or water consumption, or hematological and clinical chemistry parameters. No target organs were identified from the histopathological examination of the tissues. The most significant observation, an increase in liver to body weight ratio for the male animals in the 1.0 g/L O{sub 3}/Cl{sub 2} humic acid group, was not observed in any other group, nor was it corroborated via any biochemical measurements or histopathological analysis. Kidney lesions, primarily chronic progressive nephropathy, were a common observation in both controls and treated groups with no apparent relationship to either humic acid concentration or the disinfection process.


UNLABELLED
The aim of this study was to define the normal manometric pattern of esophageal motility in response to food ingestion and to evaluate the contribution of esophageal manometry in the management of patients complaining of functional dysphagia.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Twenty-one healthy volunteers and 25 consecutive patients complaining of functional dysphagia with normal conventional esophageal manometry were included in this prospective study. An event marker was used to study the relationship between dysphagia and motility events.

RESULTS
Twenty-two out of 25 patients (88%) reported dysphagia during esophageal manometry with food ingestion, while none complained of dysphagia during conventional esophageal manometry. Significantly, food ingestion induced in healthy volunteers and in patients: an increase in the amplitude and duration of esophageal body peristaltic contractions, and a decrease in their propagation speed; an increase in the basal pressure and a decrease in the relaxation percentage of the lower esophageal sphincter during deglutition. The percentage of solid swallows with one or several of the 7 abnormal motility patterns studied prospectively was significantly higher among patients (53.7%) than among healthy volunteers (4.3%) (P < 0.0001); it was also significantly higher among patients during swallows with dysphagia (70.1%) than without dysphagia (33.6%) (P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION
Esophageal manometry with food ingestion is an effective means of defining abnormal motility patterns and their relationship with dysphagia during functional dysphagia.


ABSTRACT The parameters of thermal power, excess air, and supply air distance at burner pot are critical to obtain low emissions and high combustion efficiency in a pellet stove. The main aim of this study is to predict the performance and gaseous emissions in a pellet stove with four different supply airflow distances of 15, 30, 60, and 75 mm above the burner pot base at different excess air ratios and thermal power inputs. For this purpose, different models, namely, support vector regression, k-nearest neighbors, and deep neural network, are developed to predict the performance and emissions of the pellet stove. The thermal power, excess air ratio, and supply air distance were used as input variables to predict the flue gas temperature, efficiency, carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The hyperparameters of the designed models are tuned using several optimization approaches: grid search, Bayesian optimization, particle swarm, and genetic algorithms. Experiments are conducted to validate the performances of the models with optimized hyperparameters using statistical metrics such as coefficient of determination, mean-squared error, mean absolute error, and mean absolute percentage error. Analysis results indicate that the deep neural network performs the best with the highest correlation coefficient and lowest error metrics in the prediction of output parameters. The coefficient of determination (R2) values of the DNN model were obtained as 0.8875, 0.8464, 0.934, 0.8692, and 0.9992 in the training phase 0.909, 0.8760, 0.9164, 0.9086, and 0.9991 in the testing phase for the efficiency, Tg, CO, NOx, and CO2 parameters, respectively. The results of this study can serve as a guide to help researchers, engineers, and facility owners or operators predict the gaseous emissions levels and to get an idea of the impact of operating conditions on performance and emissions behaviors.


This paper reflects upon Evelyn Blackwood's 1995 'Falling in Love with An-Other Lesbian' essay on love and desire during fieldwork research as it intersects with the figure of the 'virtual anthropologist' in Kath Weston's 1997 essay of the same name. My multiple subjectivities (specifically those nativised) enabled and restricted what I considered bonds and differences between me and others during ethnographic research among gay Filipino men using mobile dating apps. I revisit an experience from four weeks of preliminary data collection between May and June 2015 in Manila, Philippines, where I decided not to include a sexual encounter with a research participant named Wesley. Moving forward with my study, my reflections on censoring sexual encounters with research participants helped me to acknowledge several sources of moral anxieties and ethical considerations that influence how this specific testimony took its shape and to consider how to construct and apply a malleable ethic of honesty for current and future projects especially when intimacies themselves are the focus.


Body mass index (BMI) has been associated with the risk of esophageal cancer. But the influence of BMI on postoperative complications and prognosis has always been controversial.


The levels of von Willebrand factor (VWF) in plasma are influenced by several variables, such as age, blood group, pregnancy, hormones, and smoking. The VWF levels may vary greatly on repeated laboratory testing in the same subject.[1][1] About 60% of the variation in plasma VWF is caused by genetic


Rotating orthotropic blade equations based on the assumptions of the plate theory and the nonlinear von Karman strain–displacement relations are obtained, and, furthermore, updated equations associ...


Previous basic and applied biomedical research has created the basis for high standards of healthcare in Europe and has achieved excellent abilities to diagnose and treat diseases and promote health. United European Gastroenterology (UEG) has joined forces with the Biomedical Alliance in Europe (BioMed Alliance) to strengthen European health research, because it now needs even greater support to address many unresolved and novel challenges. Unprecedented opportunities have arisen for improving health and achieving better diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive strategies, due to amazing innovations and new methodological options evolving in life sciences, medical research, engineering, information technology and other fields. Increasingly complex biomedical research requires close transnational collaboration, because human diseases have no national borders. The COVID-19 pandemic is a telling example of the essential requirement for international research collaboration to protect human health. The European Union (EU) has effectively facilitated and supported collaborative research through a series of courageous framework programmes since 1984, with a continuous impressive increase of their budgets (Table 1). These EU research programmes have been a huge success, delivering major breakthroughs in scientific understanding and tangible benefits for people. They have markedly contributed to elevating research standards across Europe, establishing a strong infrastructure for collaboration, building capacity particularly among young researchers and positioning Europe as a leading hub for research, innovation and competitiveness. The European Commission (EC) has prepared a new phase of research funding with the proposed ninth framework programme Horizon Europe for 2021 to 2027. Along with other funding schemes, Horizon Europe will address important societal challenges and remains the EU's flagship scheme for supporting research and innovation, with a proposed total budget of e100 billion (Table 1). Horizon Europe builds on the preceding Horizon 2020 programme and proposes new elements such as Moonshot Missions, a stronger emphasis on translational initiatives, a consolidated budget for blue-sky initiatives and more collaborative effort to converge scientific knowledge into concrete solutions for citizens. Five mission areas have been identified to deliver solutions for some of the world's greatest challenges: adapting to climate change, cancer, climate-neutral programmes and smart cities, healthy oceans and inland waters, and soil health and food. We commend the EC for its vision on research and innovation and the related budget proposal. However, the budget has not yet been adopted and the political struggle continues. The European Parliament proposed to increase the programme's budget to e120 billion, which was supported by the Commissioner for Innovation and Research. In contrast, competing priorities of EU member states, who need to find unanimous agreement for the budget to pass, threaten to squeeze the research programme's budget.


An object of the present invention is to provide a heat patch to transfer heat to the human body when placed on or near the human body. A gas permeable first layer and the heat patch containing encapsulant made of a second layer attached to the first layer. Heating the composition is in the encapsulant. Heating the composition, a gas (e.g., air) to generate the heat is received through the gas permeable first layer. Gas permeable first layer includes an inner surface and an outer surface. Gas impermeable cover is removably attached to the outer surface of the first layer. In another embodiment, a gas impermeable cover includes a plurality of portions removably attached to each of the separate areas of the gas permeable first layer. In yet another embodiment, a gas impermeable cover includes information related to the heat generated by the heat patch when the cover is removed from the gas permeable first layer. .The


A 53yr old male patient reported with a chief complaint of missing teeth causing difficulty in speech and mastication. On examination, the maxillary arch was completely edentulous and in the mandibular arch 33, 34, 43 and 44 were present. Discussion: Conventional mode of treatment for patients with few remaining teeth was to render them completely edentulous and provide a complete denture prosthesis. However with the advent of overdenture concept, this trend changed thereby preventing alveolar bone resorption, providing better load transmission, maintain sensory feedback and achieving better stability of denture with emphasis on psychological benefit of not being completely edentulous. An overdenture fabricated with balanced occlusion, besides providing increased retention also enhances the stability of the prosthesis. Conclusion: This case report describes the fabrication of a tooth supported charecterised overdenture with bilateral balanced occlusion. ____________________________________________________________________________________


In this paper we examine the descriptive potential of a combinatorial data structure known as "Generating Set" in constructing the boundary maps of a simplicial complex. By refining the approach of \cite{Dumas} in generating these maps, we provide algorithms that allow for relations among simplices to be easily accounted for. In this way we explicitly generate faces of a complex only once, even if a face is shared among multiple simplices. The result is a useful interface for constructing complexes with many relations and for extending our algorithms to $\Delta$-complexes. Once we efficiently retrieve the representatives of "living" simplices i.e., of those that have not been related away, the construction of the boundary maps scales well with the number of relations and provides a simpler alternative to JPlex. We finish by noting that the generating data of a complex is equivalent in information to its incidence matrix and we provide efficient algorithms for converting from an incidence matrix to a Generating Set.


Dialogue breakdown detection is a promising technique for dialogue systems. To promote the research and development of such a technique, we have been organizing a dialogue break-down detection challenge where the task is to detect a system's inappropriate utterances that lead to dialogue breakdowns in chat-oriented dialogue. In this paper, we present an overview of dialogue breakdown detection challenge 3. Unlike the previous two challenges held in Japan, we used datasets in two languages: English and Japanese. Overall, eight teams participated in the challenge, in which six teams worked on English and four teams on Japanese, with two teams working on both. We describe the task setting, datasets, and evaluation metrics for the challenge as well as the results of the submitted runs of the participants.


Proceedings of the Second Contractors' Meeting organized by the Commission of the European Communities, Directorate-General for Energy, held in Brussels, Belgium, 28-29 April 1987.


Microorganisms with profitable effects to eliminate disseases have been found in the study of microbial communities associated with plants. Little is known about biotic factors in the interaction of Musa-M. fijiensis. This paper was aimed to isolate, identify and characterize bacterial strains with antifungal activity against Mycosphaerella fijiensis . Bacterial strains from phyllosphere were isolated and, morfologically and biochemically identify . The antifungal activity of bacteria were determined by the production of difusibles compounds in culture media. The isolate CCIBP-B.1 was selected because it showed a marked inhibitory effect in the micelial growth of Mycosphaerella fijiensis and it was identified as Bacillus .spp. The compounds exudated in culture media by CCIBP - B.1, showed an inhibitory effect on the micelial growth and produced malformation in hyphae of Mycosphaerella fijiensis . Results contribute with new approaches and perpectives in the biological control and management of M. fijiensis using the data known about Musa-M. fijiensis interactions to design more efficient Musa breeding strategies. Key words: bacteria, antifungal metabolite, Black sigatoka, biocontrol


The historical analysis of development of the architecture of buildings for informal education is presented in the article in a link with social processes which took place from late XIX and to early XX century. Several historical facts of a beginning of on-line education, out-of-school establishments which had a compensatory nature at that time and examples of these architectural objects are described in the article. Timelines and typological boundaries are provided.


Dielectric heating in insulating systems is a well known phenomenon for sinusoidal voltages, but waveforms with harmonic content will increase the power released in the system due to dielectric loss. In this paper a simple way of estimating the sensitivity of an insulating system or material to non-sinusoidal voltage waveforms is presented. The sensitivity is expressed as two parameters. The first parameter describes the relative increase in power loss in the material for a specific waveform as compared to a sinusoidal waveform with the same rms voltage and is denoted pfact. The temperature derivative of pfact can be viewed as an indicator of the probability of thermal runaway. If the derivative is positive the power developed in the material will increase with increasing temperature, which will facilitate a thermal runaway situation. The method is illustrated with an analysis of a high voltage polypropylene capacitor.


Introduction: Infant and child mortality in Indonesia due to PD3I as much as 5% (1.7 million people) until 2015. It is caused of lack basic immunization in infants that can be seen from the achievement of the Universal Child Immunization which has not reached the national target. Unachieved the target Universal Child Immunization is also found in kualin public health center is 61.5% of the target of 90% in 2015. One of the reason was the perception of parents about immunization, based on the Health Belief Model theory which states a person consideration before healthy behavior was influenced by perceived benefits and perceived barriers. The purpose of this study to clarified the relationship perceived benefits and perceived barriers to parents with basic obedience imunisation implementation in infants Method : This was a cross-sectional study and the population were mothers whose infants age 12-18 months in Kualin health center's coverage reqruited through cluster sampling and simple random sampling. The sample were 80 mothers. The dependent variable of this research was the obedience in implementing basic immunization to infants. The independent variable consisted of perceived benefits and perceived barriers. Data collecting used questionnaires and infant's Health Progress Chart (KMS), and were analyzed by using statistical test, Spearman Rho with significance score, α ≤ 0,05. Result : There was a medium relationship and tends to be positive between Perceived benefits and the obedience in implementing basic immunization to infants (p= 0,0001, r=0,428). There was also a medium relationship and tends to be negative between perceived barriers and the obedience in implementing basic immunization to infants (p=0,0001, r=-0,525). Discussion : The high perceived benefits and a low perceived barriers to parents related to compliance with the implementation of basic immunization in infants. It was expected to parents to check their children condition in Posyandu every month and health care provider conduct home visits for sweeping immunization


Doctor Kathleen Merikangas is Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, Psychiatry and Psychology, and Director of the Genetic Epidemiology Research Unit at the Yale University School of Medicine. She has recently taken a position as a Senior Scientist in the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Mental Health where she is developing a program on Developmental Genetic Epidemiology in the Mood and Anxiety Program. Doctor Merikangas has training in clinical psychiatry, chronic disease epidemiology and human genetics. She was the recipient of a Research Scientist Development Award from the National Institute of Mental Health on the Genetic Epidemiology of Psychiatric Disorders and currently holds a Research Scientist Award from the National Institute of Drug Abuse linking the genetic epidemiology of substance abuse with psychiatric disorders. She is an author of more than 200 scienti®c publications and has presented lectures throughout the US and in more than 20 countries. She is on the Editorial Board of several scienti®c journals and is a member of the Core Scienti®c Advisory Panel for the MacArthur Foundation Network on Psychopathology and Development; Executive Committee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Research Network on the Etiology of Tobacco Dependence; and the Institute of Medicine Panel on Neuroscience and Behavior. She has recently served on the National Advisory Mental Health Council Work Group on Mental Disorders Prevention Research and the National Advisory Council of the National Institute of Drug Abuse. She has also participated on review committees of the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Drug Abuse, the Canadian Medical Research Council, Swiss National Foundation and the Wellcome Trust. She is a member of several scienti®c advisory boards abroad including the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich, Germany, the University of Lausanne School of Medicine in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. She is Director of an NIMH training program in Psychiatric Epidemiology at the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale that supports eight preand postdoctoral students annually. She has been the primary mentor of 30 preand postdoctoral fellows at Yale since 1990. Doctor Merikangas' two chief areas of research are: the role of mechanisms for familial aggregation of mental disorders using the family study and high risk designs and factors and causes of comorbidity of mental disorders in family study and prospective longitudinal research. She is the principal investigator, coinvestigator or consultant to numerous federally and non-federally funded research grants. Current research projects include: `Community Studies of Psychiatric Disorders and Medical Disorders'; `Family Studies of Comorbidity of Substance Abuse and Psychiatric Disorders'; `Longitudinal Studies of Vulnerability for Psychiatric and Substance Disorders'; `In ̄uence of Pubertal Status and Sex on the Startle Re ̄ex'; `Behavioral Activating and Inhibiting Systems and Vulnerability to Substance Abuse' `Psychophysiologic Vulnerability Markers for Anxiety'; `Migrant Study of Puerto Rican Families'; `Family Study of African Americans in New Haven Community'; `Twin-Family Study of Migraine'; and the Principal Investigator of the Genetics Core Facility of a Transdisciplinary Tobacco Research Center supported by the National Cancer Institute and `Prevention Programs for Adolescents: Primary Prevention of Secondary Disorders. She is a coinvestigator of a large-scale epidemiologic study of mental disorders in the US and several international sites directed by Dr Ronald Kessler (funded by the National Institute of Mental Health). As part of the WHO Health 2000 initiative, estimates of morbidity of mental disorders will be collected from 20 countries. Doctor Merikangas is coordinating the extension of the National Comorbidity Study in the US to include youth aged 12±15 years. The goal is to provide comprehensive integration of the key subdisciplines including molecular genetics, clinical genetics, statistical genetics, population genetics and genetic epidemiology from Brown, Harvard and Acta Psychiatr Scand 2002: 105: 79±80 Printed in UK. All rights reserved Copyright ã Munksgaard 2002


The present document has for aim analyze the impact of the introduction of taxes in the industry of mobile telephony. A common tax in this sector is the canon received to finance the activities of taxation and supervision of the use of the radio spectrum. With such an end, the competition model between mobile networks proposed by Laffont, Rey and Tirole (1998), was modified introducing three different tax structures: a tax I specify in every minute of mobile telephony (Tax Type I), a tax depending on the participation of market of each one of the networks (tax type II) and a tax lump-sum (Tax Type III). Since results of the model, obtains that the signatures manage to move the consumers the whole of the tax (diminishing the consumer surplus) when the tax structure is a type I and type II. On the contrary, when the tax is of type III, the prices and the quantities of balance, as well as the surplus of the consumer, they have been keeping constant.


Abstract Pathologists often realize the need of diagnostic electron microscopy studies after an entire specimen has been embedded in paraffin but deparaffinization can destroy diagnostic organelles. We compared the ultrastructure of 22 human tumors processed directly for electron microscopy with specimens of the same tumors after reprocessing from paraffin blocks. We found that desmosomes and tonofilament bundles (squamous cell carcinoma), melanosomes (melanoma), microvilli with core filaments (colonic adenocarcinoma), and mitochondria (Warthin's tumor) were readily recognized after deparaffinization and reprocessing for electron microscopy. The neuroendocrine granules (small cell carcinoma), however, could still present an identification problem. The various techniques of handling these specimens are discussed. (The J Histotechnol 15:133, 1992)


pathology, quite established his own position. * All accounts from Vienna speak of the success which has already attended his teaching. No more crucial instance could be given of the method of appointing professors which prevails in Germany. Should it have the effect, as seems probable, of reviving the school of surgery in Vienna, no better proof could be given of its soundness. Beside the clinical professors, there are, of course, many who never concern themselves with practice; and it is hardly necessary to point out how closely connected is this fact with the rapid advances made in Germany of late years in the sciences ancillary to medicine. Not only anatomy and physiology, but those which lie nearer to the practical side, such as morbid anatomy, are considered sufficient for the occupation of a life-time; and neither the Professor of Pathological Anatomy, nor his assistants, have any hospital work or other professional occupation. The name of the illustrious Professor of Pathological Anatomy at Vienna is so well known as hardly to need mention; it belongs, indeed, to the history as well as to the present glories of the science. The immense achievements of Professor Rokitansky in this field are, however, not quite appreciated in this country. The English translation of his great work, by which he is chiefly known, is in many respects unfortunate. In the first place, it was made from a work which its author has since entirely remodelled; and in the second place, it was so long delayed as to be out of date, even at the time when it first appeared; since which it has, of course, dropped further and further behind. At the present day, it represents the position of its author as little as it represents the actual state of the science. Such is, indeed, the common fate of scientific text-books, but doubly unfortunate is the lot of those which are translated. The last edition of Rokitansky's work, published with the title of Lehrbuch, is a work not to be praised without presumption; and, however much the phraseology and theories may occasionally differ from those which are now coming into use, the value of the immense mass of observed facts is undiminished. A still higher value attaches to his numerous special memoirs. But books give, at the best, a very imperfect notion of the influence which this remarkable intellect has exerted on the progress of science. There are probably few German pathologists who have not been at some time pupils at Vienna. Forster speaks of the crowds of students and physicians who made a pilgrimage to Vienna to study what was regarded as the new science of pathological anatomy at the fountain-head. The great Virchow, whose system has supplanted that of his teacher, represents the first generation, and his pupils, who have furnished the most important researches of late years, represent the second generation of pathologists, from the great patriarch of Vienna. In the medical and scientific circles of Vienna, Professor Rokitansky occupies a most important position, and has immense influence both in the governing body of the University, and in the Imperial Academy of Sciences. On various public occasions he has delivered important addresses, conceived in the metaphysical spirit which was so apparent in the earlier editions of his Pathological Anatomy; they are pronounced by competent judges to display very deep thinking, and they are certainly very hard reading. In estimating the present teaching power of the University, we cannot, however, give a large place to Professor Rokitansky. His lectures are not attractive, and are meagrely attended; and though all students of a certain standing are compelled to enter their names and pay fees, they usually content themselves with these ceremonies. The impression seems to be, that all the Professor has to say can be read in his book-another instance of the misfortunes of authors. The teaching of pathological anatomy in Vienna, let us hasten to say, does not flag for want of young and able teachers ; nor are any resources wanting in the splendid institution devoted to it. The opportunities for observation cannot but be large when they are supplied by the deaths among two thousand patients. So great is the amount of mat6riel in a single morning, that it would be impossible even to glance at everything, and the assistants are accustomed to reserve the more interesting specimens for special demonstrations at a different hour. The institution itself is a large and stately building ; for, though the University of Vienna is in general but poorly supplied with funds, when an institution is founded in the imperial city, it is always built in the grand imperial way. The ground floor contains several rooms for autopsies, among which is one very large theatre for the cases from the clinical wards, and another specially assigned to the cases involving medico-legal inquiries, sent in by the police or other authorities, which are made by Professor Rokitansky personally, in the capacity of Pathologist to the city of Vienna. It is a most admirable arrangement, en-


Educational tests are used extensively for predicting future performance of individuals. Multiple regression is the most commonly used approach for this purpose, but occasionally it is desirable to use multiple cutoff scores. This paper provides Taylor-Russell type tables for determining the theoretical proportion of successful students in a selected subpopulation as a function of: the proportion successful in the unselected population; various intercorrelations; and the percentage cut on each of the two variables.


Objective:To investigate the prevalence of enterotoxin production and resistance to anti-microbial drugs of Staphylococcus aureus in selected retail food products.Methods:In terms of GB/T4789.10-2003,food product such as raw meat,cooked food etd were analyzed for S.aureus.Isolated S.aureus strains were tested for staphylococcal enterotoxin production and antimicrobial resisitance.Results:From 177 food samples,S.aureus was detected in 45 product samples.Enterotoxin production was observed 32(71.11%).Conclusion:The data show that the foods in Ouhai are severely contaminated with S.aureus which could cause potential health hazards to consumers of Chinese food products and S.aureus shows resistance to different kinds of antimicrobial angents.


Management development is increasingly perceived, marketed and sold as a wise investment rather than simply a socially good thing for industry to provide. The most powerful demonstration of its investment potential is perhaps available from the action learning models that Revans has pioneered most particularly in Europe especially in Belgium and the UK, but also in the Middle East, South East Asia and Australia.


Fluctuations are experimentally studied using Langmuir probes and magnetic probes in the a/2≤r≤ a region of the REPUTE-1 reversed-field-pinch plasma. An electron-heat flux q E e due to electrostatic fluctuations is too small to account for the total electron-heat flux q total e . It is implied that magnetic fluctuations mainly determine the electron energy confinement in the interior region


It is demonstrated that in-situ sputtered Cu-containing films serve as excellent diffusion sources for chemical vapor deposited (CVD) Al at temperatures as low as 230 degrees C. Pure Cu, Al-2 wt.% Cu, and Al-0.5 wt.% Cu were used as the source film. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) was used to determine the film grain structures. It was found that the diffusion of Cu from the in-situ Cu-Al film is unhindered by the CVD process and reaches a concentration approximately that of the solid solubility in the CVD Al. A maximum of 0.37 wt.% of the Cu is incorporated into the CVD film from a sputtered pure Cu source. This should provide adequate electromigration resistance for the CVD Al.<<ETX>>


The history of metrics used to describe the vowels will be reviewed. The early arguments concerned whether the absolute or relative pitches of one or more resonances were crucial for their specification. Special attention will be given to the work of R. J. Lloyd of Liverpool who forcefully argued in 1890 that ratios of the pitches of audible resonant peaks characterized the vowels. Arguments and experiments relating to these issues will be traced from the late 1800s to the present. [Supported by NINCDS 03856.]


Sub-sampling phase detectors (SSPDs) have recently been demonstrated to enable phase-locked loop (PLL) realizations with very low in-band noise. However, the PLL becomes susceptible to disturbances or interference via substrate or power supply coupling as experienced in systems on chip (SOCs), which could put the PLL out of lock. A tri-state phase-frequency detector with a dead-zone is traditionally added to act as an auxiliary frequency-locked loop (FLL) to enable the PLL to regain lock, albeit after a long delay. We propose a different solution to combine a tri-state PFD with an SSPD wherein the PLL is prevented from losing its lock while simultaneously achieving an improved in-band phase noise performance. A 2.2 GHz integer-N PLL has been prototyped in a 65 nm CMOS process to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed combined phase detector. It was experimentally verified that the PLL is more robust to disturbances than a PLL with a sub-sampling phase detector; it achieves a measured in-band phase noise of -122 dBc/Hz when operating with the proposed combined PD from a 1.1 V supply voltage.


This article presents the results of an extensive review of the published literature on faculty development for online teaching. This review included 68 articles and five books, which were reviewed to identify elements of the training and the findings (e.g., theoretical bases, training aims and organization, content of training, nature of sample (number and type of participants), outcome measures used). The emphasis was not on the recommendations of the authors, but the methods of arriving at the findings. The review produced seven insights, from the importance of basing faculty development on theory, the frequency of publications that present models of faculty development for online teaching, the need to disentangle treatments, the need for rigorous evaluations, and the importance of considering individual faculty differences, designing and evaluating faculty development with specific outcome measures, and considering cost (either cost-efficiency or cost-effectiveness) when evaluating faculty development programs.


Background: Nursing services provided by nurses are based on knowledge and competence in the field of nursing science developed in accordance with Client needs, scientific developments, and the demands of globalization. These health services include nursing services that are carried out responsibly, accountably, with quality, and safely by nurses who have obtained registration and permission to practice. Nursepreneur is innovation and courage to take risks and is ready to work hard to achieve goals with optimism. Which has important components namely: 1) quality, 2) role, 3) option and success. The post-pandemic new world, especially in the health care system, continues to grapple with the demands of costs to provide patient care and safety. By using the application of the nursing theory model. Purpose :. Assessing scientific studies on the application of evidence-based intervention in wound care using nursing theory, identifying the important role of telenursing in improving nursing services in Nerspreneurship, Method: literature study Conclusion: Telenursing in nursing focuses on providing nursing care through information technology, such as telephone, computers, and the Internet that can be used to improve treatment outcomes among older people, especially those with low literacy skills and low financial status (Esmaeilpour-BandBoni et al., 2020). The statement from the results of the study refutes that Telenursing is intended for patients who have higher education and middle and upper economic states.


The geomorphologic dispersion is described by the width function,the hydrodynamic dispersion is described by the channel response function, and a formula of the watershed geomorphology instantaneous unit hydrograph(WGIUH) can be obtained.The geomorphologic parameters in the formula of WGIUH is determined by the digital elevation model(DEM) of watershed.The example is given in order to test and verify the new method.


Based on the data reservoir relative permeability of sandstone reservoirs in Sanghe Oilfield,the oil-water relative permeability curves of Sanghe oilfield could be classified into straight line and downward concave types.Statistical researches show that shapes of phase permeability to water are in connection with reservoir lithology,heterogeneity,wettability,permeability,degree of compaction and clay minerals factors.Mainly reasons include downward concave curves are due to plugged throat effect during displacement.Whether straight line or downward concave types,relational expression of the oil-water relative permeability ratio and water saturation is exponential model and its displacement pattern assumes Type C water drive curve.


In this investigation, in vitro corrosion tests have been carried out in naturally aerated Hank's solution at 25 o C, to evaluate the corrosion resistance of a commercial sintered NdFeB magnet by immersion test and electrochemical techniques. Generalized corrosion occurred and Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) was applied to analyze elements leached into Hanks solution. The results showed that Co, Fe and Nd have been released into the physiological medium. In the cytotoxicity test by neutral red uptake and agar diffusion methods, the commercial Nd- Fe-B magnet tested did not present toxicity.


The invention discloses a laser safety protection method and a laser safety protection device in an optical communication system, which belong to the field of laser safety. To solve danger problems existing on application occasions of a raman amplifier or a remote pump amplifier that whether a network breaks down and whether the network has laser leakage fail to be correctly judged through a mode of detecting optical power, the invention provides a method, which comprises the following steps: each path of optical channel signal bears a low-frequency identification signal through the low-frequency small-amplitude modulation to each path of optical channel in an optical fiber, and the normality of an upstream optical fiber link can be judged if any low-frequency identification signal is detected at a downstream node, or else the upstream optical fiber link is considered to be faulty further to control the output of optical power of the node to achieve the aim of laser safety. The invention also provides the laser safety protection device in the optical communication system, which is used for realizing the safety protection of laser.


Nations have a common interest in controlling proliferation and protecting nuclear materials. The aim is to work together towards a credible, comprehensive safeguards systems to meet the common interest. There must be improved safeguards and security coordination and communication among governments, nuclear facility designers and operators, system designers and assessors. DOE is committed to supporting international programs and U.S. government safeguards activities. Meeting the challenge of proliferation calls for improved coordination, communication and cooperation nationally and internationally.


Importance. The aspiration of education system to formation of traditional spiritual and moral values in modern society is considered. The aim of the research is to determine the attitude of youth to Halloween and the specifics of the perception of this event.
Materials and methods. The subject of the study determined the role and place of Halloween celebration in the life of young people. To achieve the goal we used such methods as: desk research, sociological survey, individual interview.
Results and Discussion. The features of public order protection by police officers during Halloween celebration are considered; set forth the anti-social essence of this "holiday"; Its detrimental influence on the formation of spiritual and moral values of citizens is considered; described the specifics of the process of formation of traditional worldview of police officers as the basis for counteracting threats to national security; substantiated the thesis on the need to actualize the formation of traditional culture in contemporary Russian society. The understanding of the semantic content of Halloween by students is also considered. The statement that Halloween is a substitute event, which draws on significant information resources that could be spent on more useful activities, such as the development of traditional Russian culture, is proved. The impact of Halloween celebrations on public safety is analyzed.
Conclusion. Halloween is part of the cultural and linguistic intervention in our society. Defenders of the law should adhere to traditional Russian values, and this will contribute to the overall level of cultural formation.


cervical cord. AJNR 1984;5:685-689. 23. Miller DH, McDonald WI, Blumhardt LD, et al: Magnetic resonance imaging in isolated noncompressive spinal cord syndromes. Ann Neurol 1987;22:714-723. 24. Stimac GK, Porter BA, Olson DO, et al: Gadolinium-DTPAenhanced MR imaging of spinal neoplasms: Preliminary investigation and comparison with unenhanced spin-echo and STIR sequences. AJNR 1988;9:839-846. 25. Sze G, Krol G, Zimmerman RD, Deck MDF: Intramedullary disease of the spine: Diagnosis using gadolinium-DTPA-enhanced MR imaging. AJNR 1988;9:847-858. 26. Valk J: Gd-DTPA in MR of spinal lesions. AJR 1988;150: 1163-1168.


The present study aimed to identify associations with previous lactation production on twinning prevalence in US dairy farms using data comprising over 7.9 million dairy calving and production records from 827 herds between 2001 and 2020. Inclusion criteria were breed (Holstein, Jersey, dairy and mixed cross), herd size (> 50 calvings/year), and 305-d milk production > 3,182 kg (7,000 lbs). Cows without previous production information or calving date were removed from the final data set, including all first lactation cows. Parity was grouped into 2 and 3+. Final data included n = 2,894,163 records from 2009 to 2020 from 577 herds in 24 states with average herd size from 50 to 14,948 calvings/year. Data were analyzed by logistical regression using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS with herd within state as random effects. Absolute 305-d milk production from each cow's previous lactation, parity, breed, calving month, year, calving interval (CI), and interaction terms of production by parity, production by breed, CI by parity, and CI by breed were used as predictors for next lactation twinning prevalence. All fixed effects were significantly associated with the outcome (P < 0.001). Twinning prevalence was increased for higher levels of milk production within parity 2 and 3+ (OR: 1.067, 1.064; CL: 1.057–1.078, 1.054–1.075), and within Holstein, Jersey, mixed crossbreed, and dairy crossbreed (OR: 1.042, 1.068, 1.085, 1.07; CL: 1.038–1.046, 1.053–1.082, 1.056–1.114, 1.051–1.09). Parity 3+ had increased twinning compared to parity 2 (OR: 1.497; CL: 1.478–1.517). Holsteins had increased twinning compared to Jerseys (OR: 1.466, CL: 1.394–1.542). Year showed no clear trend. Twinning was increased for calving in spring/summer (April-September) with peak in June and July (OR: 1.377, 1.374; CL: 1.346–1.409, 1.344–1.405), correlating to conception months of September and October. These data can be instrumental to guide research focus and producer decisions to reduce twin births in lactating dairy cows.


The invention discloses a method for monitoring goods in real time in logistics management. The monitoring method comprises the following steps of: constructing a spatial-temporal data model by using an object-oriented thought, defining each object in the logistics management, establishing a data table, introducing an event mechanism, defining a data table and change information of changes caused by each event, combining the changes of related information in the data table in a specified time domain into a set, representing the change of the spatial information of the goods through the set, simultaneously grouping the goods according to the attribute information change types of the goods, performing management by using groups as units, finally defining the chain relation among the events, establishing a data integrity control table by using the events as a core, and completing update of the spatial information according to the table so as to realize real-time monitoring of the goods. The method has the operation flows that the information of the warehoused goods is recorded through a RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) label and bound with a vehicle ID (Identity) when the goods are delivered, and the spatial information of the outgoing goods can be acquired by positioning a vehicle through a GPS (Global Positioning System) positioner so that update of the spatial information of the goods is realized.


Questions of management by credit risks within the limits of the system actions are considered, allowing reaching an optimum combination of riskiness and credit operations profitability. It is shown, that the main cause of bank risks occurrence is a uncertainty (unpredictability) of some economic parameters, characteristics and both bank and its clients parameters. So, as credit function is usually spread all over organization it is offered to control it with use of modern IT-technologies.


The enterprise competition environment has changed rapidly,the new requirements,concepts and organization forms appear constantly,this causes great impact on the traditional cost management,and also puts forward new requirements to the strategic cost management.This paper makes an inductive analysis about the thoughts breakthrough and practical characteristics of the strategic cost management,and sums up: from the thoughts breakthrough side,the traditional cost management pay more attention to local,low-level cost,cost of producer and cash flow movement,has the characteristics: cost management and strategic phase separated,cost and capital phase separation;In contrast,the strategic cost management pay more attention to the whole,high-level cost,consumer cost and business model,has the characteristics: cost management and strategic phase combined,cost and capital phase combined.From the practical characteristics side,the traditional cost management pay more attention to the internal and physical operation,has the characteristics: pricing according to the cost,pursue the individual enterprise cost lowest,the cost reduction cannot be continued;The strategic cost management pay more attention to the external and virtual operation,has the characteristics: costing according to the price,pursue the value network overall cost minimum,the cost reduction can be continued.The concepts of "integral","external","intangible","Immeasurable" "insufficient","harmonious" and "limitless" which the strategic cost management holds,overcomes the defects of traditional cost management,such as "local","internal","tangible","measurable","myopic","paradoxical" and "limited".This makes the research route of strategic cost management become clearer,and gives a better guide to the practice of enterprises.


Proteolytic enzymes may be involved in blister formation in dermatitis herpetiformis (DH). We have examined collagenase, gelatinase and elastase‐like enzyme activities in fluids collected from spontaneous blisters and from suction blisters raised on developing DH‐lesions induced by application of potassium iodide. Control suction blisters were raised on unaffected DH‐skin and on healthy volunteers. High enzyme activities were found in spontaneous blisters, and suction blister fluids obtained from developing lesions showed increased levels of gelatinase and elastase‐like enzymes. Inhibitor studies revealed that a part of the elastase‐like enzyme activity might be derived from inflammatory cells. Gel filtration chromatography disclosed two separate elastase‐like enzymes which, as they had high molecular weights, could be either enzyme‐inhibitor complexes or aggregates.


Summary 1. Inducible defences alter the strength of interaction in food webs. Their effectiveness depends both on the maximum level of induction and the speed at which induction happens. Maximum level and speed of induction should therefore evolve in concert. 2. We examined the effect of genotype, number of predators and previous exposure to predators on speed and maximum level of induction in a morphological defence expressed by eight clones in three species of the ciliate Euplotes . 3. Both speed and maximum level of induction, and the reaction to predator density varied among genotypes. These results show that there is genetic variance for all aspects of this inducible defence and the potential for complex evolutionary change under selection. 4. Higher predator densities led to higher maximum levels of defence and, for one measure of induction speed, more rapid induction. Previous exposure to predators had no detectable effect on either speed or maximum level of induction. 5. Our results demonstrate that Euplotes can precisely and rapidly adjust their morphological defence to the magnitude of predation risk. The speed of induction and the maximum level of defence varied among genotypes and this will lead to variation in defence level and vulnerability under natural conditions. Variation in prey vulnerability is a key factor promoting stability in food webs.


HASTURK SAHIN, F., T. AKTAS, H. ORAK and P. ULGER, 2011. Influence of pretreatments and different drying methods on color parameters and lycopene content of dried tomato. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 17: 867-881 The effects of drying methods namely hot air drying (at 65, 75 and 85oC drying temperatures and 1.5 and 2.5 m/s air velocity), vacuum drying, freeze drying and sun drying; and pretreatments namely dipping into 1% ascorbic acid + 1 % citric acid (EPSA) and dipping into 2 % sodium metabisulfite (EPSM) after 2% ethyl oleat + 4% potassium carbonate solution application on lycopene retention and color properties of dried tomato samples were investigated. Lycopene content values were determined by HPLC method and color parameters (L*a*b* and yellowness index) were measured directly a Hunter Lab chromatometer. a * / b *, b * L * / a *ΔL *, Δa*, Δb*, ΔC *, ΔE * values were calculated by using measured color characteristics. Effects of drying methods, pretreatments and interactions of pretreatments and drying methods on the lycopene values and color parameters were found significant as statistically. Maximum lycopene content was determined in freeze dried tomatoes and sun dried tomatoes followed these samples. Especially EPSA pretreatment increased the lycopene amount of dry tomato at the high temperature drying applications. In respect of color parameters, EPSM pretreatments the better results of L*, a* and b* values.


In the course of investigations on the pathogenesis of rabies,a it was observed that antirabies serum was effective if injected intramuscularly after an intramuscular challenge and also if administered intracerebrally after an intracerebral challenge. Provided that the serum was given within 10 minutes of the injection of virus, its protective effect was the same with either route of administration. When it was given more than 10 minutes after the virus injection, however, its protective power was lost more rapidly in the brain than in the muscular tissue. In the present note, the results of some further experinients with antirabies serum are summarized.


To demonstrate that percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) may in some cases be a safe option for patients with a high-risk surgical category, we report a complex clinical case of revascularization of multivessel coronary artery disease including left main coronary artery (LMCA) quadrifurcation. Methods For safety reasons, PCI was done in 2 separate sessions (staged PCI). Stenting of the LMCA quadrifurcation was performed using different stenting techniques in combination: modified balloon mini crush stenting technique was used for LMCA and intermediate artery (IMA) stenting; modified balloon crush stenting technique was used for LMCA, circumflex artery (CX) and first obtuse marginal branch (OM1) stenting; provisional stenting technique was used for CX stenting, followed by sequential kissing balloon post-dilatation technique between LMCA and every branch; proximal optimization technique (POT) was performed in the LMCA. Left anterior descending artery (LAD), intermediate artery, circumflex artery, first obtuse marginal branch, left main coronary artery and its quadrifurcation were stented with 5 drug-eluting stents (DES) (Resolute Integrity, Medtronic); right coronary artery (RCA) was stented with 3 bare-metal stents (BMS) (Rebel, Boston Scientific). Results The interventions ended without complications, the ejection fraction increased from 35% to 48%, congestive heart failure functional class decreased to class I. Subsequent coronary angiography, eight months after the last PCI, revealed patent stents with mild, nonsignificant restenosis. More than three years after the intervention, the patient has no complaints (according to MACE).


X-prolyl dipeptidyl peptidase (PepX) is a dipeptidase that appears to be ubiquitous in dairy lactic acid bacteria. PepX is best characterised for its highly specific peptidase activity, namely the ability to remove dipeptides from the N-terminus of larger peptides, where proline is residue 2 in the peptide sequence. PepX however is also able to synthesise esters via a transferase mechanism. The structure of PepX from Streptococcus thermophilus has been solved by molecular replacement methods to 1.9Å resolution using PepX from Lactococcus lactis [1] as a model. The refined structure has an R factor of 18.2% and Rfree of 23%. Characterisation of the ester synthetic activity showed that PepX was capable of producing ethyl butanoate, only if the synthetic triacylglyceride tributyrin was the donor molecule. The basis for this specificity is discussed in terms of the structure of the enzyme, and the topology of the active site. A model for the catalytic activity that is in agreement with the observed kinetic data is presented.


For the problem of laboriousness, poor anti-jamming, low accurate measurement of the measurement technology in the existing coal mine, wells and near-surface, this paper proposes a data acquisition system based on ultra-high density resistivity method design. In this design, arranging the electrode once can supply any kind of four units to collect data. Beside, this design improves the anti-interference ability of collecting signal by using the synchronization encoding technology and achieves a high precision data acquisition in the use of 24 AD (Analog-to-digital converter). After testing, the design can measure up to 380 meters and have a sampling accuracy of up to 0.0025%.


EFL students nowadays have a variety of career options. Most of them, however, still do not have a well-understanding or a strong readiness for their job targets. This study was conducted to find out the EFL students' most career options, some language standards when selecting careers and to what extent students feel that they are ready for their future careers. To answer these questions, we use exploratory questionnaires to survey the participants. The findings demonstrate that teaching English is the most attractive career that EFL students want to attend after graduating, followed by the freelancer. However, a group of students still cannot locate their future careers. Additionally, juniors and seniors are considered to have better preparation for their career prospects than freshmen and sophomores.

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Abstract: Determinants of Service Quality and Continuance Intention to Use Online Reporting System. This study aims to analyze the effect of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, convenience, and security towards service quality and continuance intention to use SIPP online at BPJS Employment. This study uses online survey method to 50 companies participating in BPJS Employment with Platinum and Gold segmentation. The online questionnaire was filled by the head of Human Resources Department. Data were analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results show that service quality was significantly influenced by perceived ease of use and convenience, while continuance intention to use SIPP online was only influenced by perceived usefulness. Keywords: continuance intention, service quality, online reporting system  Abstrak: Faktor Penentu Kualitas Layanan dan Minat untuk Melanjutkan Penggunaan Sistem Pelaporan Online.  Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis pengaruh perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, kenyamanan, dan keamanan terhadap kualitas layanan dan minat untuk melanjutkan menggunakan SIPP online di BPJS Ketenagakerjaan. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode survei online kepada 50 perusahaan peserta BPJS Ketenagakerjaan dengan segmentasi Platinum dan Gold. Kuesioner online diisi oleh Kepala Bagian Sumber Daya Manusia. Data dianalisis dengan menggunakan PLS-SEM. Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa kualitas layanan secara signifikan dipengaruhi oleh perceived ease of use dan kenyamanan, sedangkan minat melanjutkan penggunaan SIPP online hanya dipengaruhi oleh perceived usefulness. Kata Kunci: minat melanjutkan penggunaan, kualitas layanan, sistem pelaporan online


Zhidao and renwei are both basic predicates of propositional attitude,expressing the epistemic modality.In the semantic structure of zhidao the epistemic subject has the proposition P,and moreover,what P refers to exists in reality.Pragmatically speaking,zhidao plays a role of rheme in the communicative structure.Renwei has a similar semantic structure,but its P does not refer to something real in reality.Renwei usually occupies the theme position in the communicative structure.The differences between the two verbs have some serious effects on semantic negation,presupposition,interrogation,and so on.


Platelet factor 4 (PF4) is a tetrameric protein composed of four 70-amino-acid subunits that is contained in platelet α-granules. Large amounts of PF4 (up to 10-25 µg/ml) are released upon platelet aggregation. The role of PF4 in hemostasis remains elusive as PF4 has been reported to possess procoagulant and anticoagulant activities as well. We have observed that PF4 exerts a major effect on the structure of the fibrin clot. By evaluating the formation of a fibrin clot by turbidimetric methods and by electronic microscopy, we have shown that PF4 has a considerable effect on the fibrin polymerization process. By binding to fibrin, PF4 thus drives the assembly of protofibrils which then form an impermeable network. In addition, we have demonstrated that PF4 dose-dependently inhibits the generation of thrombin in a plasma-based assay. Furthermore, we have shown that PF4 prevents the activation of factor V by thrombin, which results in inhibition of the prothrombinase complex. Surprisingly, PF4 is also a very potent inhibitor of platelet aggregation. We therefore propose that PF4, which contains a high density of positive charges exposed at its surface, might compete with thrombin towards various ligands of thrombin exosite 1, such as factor V, fibrinogen, PAR-1 (. . . ).


The method used for ground-based total ozone observations and the design of two instruments used to monitor atmospheric total ozone at Arosa (Dobson spectrophotometer and Brewer spectrometer) are briefly described. Two different procedures of the calibration of the Dobson spectrometer, both based on the Langley plot method, are presented. Data quality problems that occurred in recent years in the measurements of one Dobson instrument at Arosa are discussed, and two
different methods to reassess total ozone observations are compared. Two partially automated Dobson spectrophotometers and two completely automated Brewer spectrometers are currently in operation at Arosa. Careful comparison of the results of the measurements of the different instruments yields valuable information on possible small long-term drifts of the instruments involved in the operational measurements.


This paper x-rays the performance of the Nigerian ports at two points in time; that is, from 1956-2005 as pre concession era and 2006-2012 as post concession era. It highlights the challenges that undermine the capacity of the sector from meeting up with the global best practices. The data on cargo movement were derived from the Nigerian Port Authority Annual Reports. The study relied on descriptive statistics, trend analysis, chi-square analysis and port performance indicators such as indicator of output and indicator of service in explaining the trend of port performance for the periods under review. The trend analysis employed to explain the trend of cargo movements in all the ports in Nigeria was the Quarterly Moving Averages. It was revealed that the trend of cargo throughput in Nigeria is determined by the inward cargo movement. The analysis also revealed a fluctuation in cargo movement from 1956 to 2005 while the cargo throughput continues to increase unabated from 2006 to 2012. The concession of the port must have been responsible for this upward movement in cargo trend. There was a remarkable increase in inward and outward cargo movement during the post concession era in comparison to the pre concession era.      This paper recommends that government encourages public ownership and private sector operations of the port infrastructure in Nigeria. Keyword: Port concession, infrastructure, evaluation, indicators, performance