A method for quantifying the levels of concentration of free carnitine, total acylcarnitines and total carnitine in plasma samples of dialysis patients, using mass spectrometry cascade, said method comprising: obtaining a plurality of samples of calibration curve containing dialyzed plasma having mixed therein known concentrations of free carnitine; preparing a plurality of patient samples containing plasma collected from a patient and said samples of calibration curve for analysis, which comprises extracting the patient samples and samples of calibration curve with an alcohol solution containing labeled internal standards; analyzing said patient samples to quantify concentrations of free and acylcarnitine carnitine relative to internal to produce patient data patterns and analyzing said samples calibration curve to quantify free carnitine and acylcarnitines in relation to patterns internal to produce calibration curve data; comparing said patient data to said calibration curve data to obtain carnitine concentration data, said data including carnitine concentration free carnitine concentration, acetylcarnitine concentration and total acylcarnitines concentration for each patient sample; and correcting said free carnitine concentration and said acetylcarnitine concentration to obtain the concentration of free carnitine quantized concentration quantified total acylcarnitine, and concentration of total carnitine quantified for each patient sample, in which the correct concentration of free carnitine It takes into account the hydrolysis of acylcarnitines into free carnitine and the correcting acetylcarnitine concentration takes into account the interference of glutamic acid, and wherein the concentration quantified total carnitine is determined by adding said concentration quantified total acylcarnitines and the concentration of quantified free carnitine.


Rarely does an AI algorithm form the core mechanic of a commercial game. But this is what happened in the case of Third Eye Crime, an upcoming stealth puzzler by Moonshot Games, soon to be released on iOS, whose gameplay relies heavily on the use of Occupancy Maps.


Background: Urinary incontinence in the post partum is a significant health problem in women with serious physical, psychological, and social consequences. The objective of this article is to educate women the correct method to do Kegel exercises, to assess their improvement and to introduce Kegel exercise regimen in every women in the postpartum period. Methods: 72 women in postpartum period with genuine stress incontinence (GSI) included in the study from January 2012 to July 2014 in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of VCSGGMSRI Srinagar, Pauri Garhwal, India. Women divided into 2 groups, first group of supervised Kegel exercises and second group was of women doing pelvic floor exercises at home. To monitor improvement, monthly assessment of pelvic floor function (vaginal palpation and observation) and measurement of PFM strength (vaginal squeeze pressure) by physician and patient both, done in the 2 groups. Results: The women were in the age group of 18-39 years. There were 15 % patients in dry category, 52 % had good improvement and 21 % had fair results. In the supervised exercise group the patients with good clinical response were 80% in the cured and borderline responder category. In the non-supervised group patients in the cured and borderline responders group were (6) 16% and (12) 33% respectively. Conclusions: The high cure rate depends on the factors like how correctly the Kegel exercises were instructed, how correctly the patients learned and performed them.


Abstract Diapause larvae of the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubn.)) and the related Mediterranean noctuid Sesamia cretica Led. possess sufficient supercooling ability to avoid freezing over their normal environmental temperature ranges. In progressive chilling experiments (10 days acclimation at each 5° step in the temperature range from 15 to −5°C), mean supercooling points (measured at a cooling rate of 0.1°C min−1) were lowered from −20.4°C at 15°C to −24.0°C at 5°C (lower lethal temperatures: c.−28°C) in O.nubilalis, compared with −15.0 to −17.2°C (lower lethal temperatures: −15 to −17°C respectively) in S.cretica. Concentrations of glycerol and trehalose determined by gas chromatography of whole body extracts were consistently higher in the former than in the latter species at both 15 and 5°C, and may be responsible for the deeper supercooling in O.nubilalis larvae. Acclimation to 5°C increased glycerol levels in O. nubilalis extracts compared with 15°C, and this was enhanced in larvae exposed for a further 10 days at each of 0 and −5°C (glycerol being 438μmol ml−1 body water). Haemolymph glycerol concentrations showed a similar pattern to whole body extracts in this species. Fat body glycogen was reduced during low temperature acclimation in both species. Body water contents did not change with acclimation in O.nubilalis, whilst S.cretica, containing significantly more water, lost c.7% during acclimation from 15 to 5°C. Haemolymph osmolalities increased during acclimation, especially in Ostrinia larvae, probably as a result of the accumulation of cryoprotectants. The majority of O.nubilalis larvae survived freezing under the conditions of the cooling experiments, whilst larvae of S.cretica did not, thereby confirming an element of freezing tolerance in the former.


The change of added-value tax is an issue in the present financial field.It involves the economic problems of all aspects,and it also influences the investment decisions.By comparing the cash flow between added-value tax of industry and added-value of consumption,a maths pattern which the consumption one can influence the investment target can be drawn.The evidence shows that the change of added-value tax can improve the investment of enterprises.


INTRODUCTION AND AIMS
South Asian countries, with their diverse cultures, have varying prevalences of alcohol consumption. Little is known about Bhutan, a Himalayan country. The objectives of this study are to estimate the prevalence of alcohol consumption among the residents of a rural community in Bhutan and determine their patterns of and factors associated with drinking.

DESIGN AND METHODS
A cross-sectional household survey using a multistage systematic sampling technique was conducted in eight sub-districts of Tashiyangtse. A total of 442 subjects of 270 households were surveyed in 17 villages using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), with the tri-level method and face-to-face interviews.

RESULTS
The drinking prevalence (at least one standard drink in the past year) was 38.5% (52% in men and 30% in women). The prevalence of low-, moderate- and high-risk drinking based on the AUDIT was 22.4%, 13.6% and 2.5%, respectively. Annual per capita alcohol consumption was 5442 and 2566 g in men and women, respectively, while the corresponding values of home-made alcohol consumption were 3768 and 2127 g, respectively. Among drinkers, 30.3% of men and 25.9% of women reported encountering financial consequences. The home was almost the exclusive drinking venue (92.4%). Belief in the medicinal use of alcohol was 34.8% in men and 58% in women as the reason to start drinking. This belief was a strong independent predictor for current drinking after adjustment for age and sex.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
Home-made alcohol and home drinking with a belief of medicinal effects were the major cause of drinking and its consequences in the study area.


Prologue I. Becoming an Actor 1. In the Beginning ... 2. The Actor Takes the Stage: How We Perform Emotion 3. The Problem of Self-Regulation 4. The Actor Grows Up: How Traits Develop into Adulthood II. Becoming an Agent 5. The Age 5-7 Shift 6. The Motivational Agenda: What Agents Want 7. How Values Shape Agency: Morality, Religion, and Politics III. Becoming an Author 8. The Stories We Live By 9. Generative Lives, Redemptive Life Stories 10. The Sense of an Ending


Hyperhydricity is a serious problem in in vitro propagation of carnation and more severe when a shoot or an explant is in succulent condition. The study aimed to study several effect of hyperhydricity, morphologically and anatomically, on leaves and stems of carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L. cv. Maldives). This experoment was conducted at Tissue Culture Laboratory, IPPT, Universiti Putra Malaysia from January to August 2002. The study applied histological technique, hand free section of plant material both cross and longitudinal sections and measurement of several parameters. (Penulis:Staf Peneliti Balai Penelitian Tanaman Hias Cianjur)


The purpose of this study is to review the trends and key conclusions of research on Extramural English activities in English language teaching (ELT) approaches. Several databases, including Scopus, Taylor Francis, and Google Scholar, were examined and 8 articles in all were examined for this purpose. The research methodology employed was a PRISMA systematic review. A content analysis technique was used to assess the articles. The study's findings showed that extramural English in ELT became more popular among researchers in Sweden after 2012. This research sought to look at the trends and conclusions made by the publications. Secondary school students served as the primary participants in the articles that were chosen. It suggests that more research on additional potential participants from different levels is necessary. This study recommends using a qualitative research design in future studies to learn more about students' extramural English activities, which may shed new light due to a different methodological approach. It was discovered that there aren't many studies that focus on the new reality of digital Extramural English practice. Because there is still much room for research in this area, future researchers are encouraged to talk more about Extramural English in relation to technology.


The pictures presented here show stages in the development of III a-J and II a-O emulsions using different exposure intensities, developers and times of development. Previous investigations were made with transmission electron microscopes (TEMs). Therefore it was necessary to remove the whole gelatine and to make replicas of the grain surfaces or thin cuts (30 nm) of the layer. In the latter case the probes heat up and the crystals melt because of the high current of the TEM. The pictures shown here were obtained with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Thus the fragile silver grains could be preserved and kept in their original environment. The current of the probe is low, no noticeable thermal deformation of the crystals occurs (East 1983)


Deep learning is certainly not a limited finding tactic, however, it follows several procedures and also topographies which could be associated with a huge speculum of complex problems. The strategy knows the illustrator in addition to differential attributes in a stratified way. Deep learning strategies have created a notable innovation along with sizable effectiveness in an assortment of applications with useful protection units. It is taken into account to become the greatest choice for revealing the architecture in high-dimensional relevant information by using a backpropagation process and concepts analysis. As deep learning has assisted help make significant advancements and also significant performance in many therapies, the wide-spread domain names of deep learning are service, scientific study, cancer cells diagnosis, natural language processing, medical diagnosis, handwriting recognition, trumpet call recognition, stock market study. This paper provides the intersections towards machine learning and also the challenges of deep learning.


Teachers are professionals and should meet the needs and give aboriginal students a better quality of education because aboriginal people have special culture and historical background. We need aboriginal teachers to improve aboriginal students their learning. This study aims to find aboriginal teacher education gaps and the relationship between age group and gender of Taiwanese aboriginal teacher in primary school We found there is a real relationship between age group and sex. The result shows we have strong evidence that the female Taiwanese aboriginal teachers are more than male Taiwanese aboriginal teachers in primary school with age group 22-29 to 45-49. We suggest there is a need to make a long term planning on primary school aboriginal teacher education sufficient to support primary school aboriginal education.


The invention relates to a fixing device for a drainage tube and belongs to the technical field of medical apparatuses. The fixing device is characterized by comprising a fixing sheet, an arched drainage tube fixing groove integrated with the fixing sheet is arranged above the fixing sheet, a strip snap fastener apparatus is arranged on two sides of the arched drainage tube fixing groove for fixing the drainage tube, the fixing sheet is provided with a 60-degree opening, a central hole for holding the drainage tube is arranged at the center of the fixing sheet, a two-sided non-woven fabric sticker with the shape in accordance with the shape of the fixing sheet is arranged below the fixing sheet, and a rectangular dressing is subjected to covering after the non-woven fabric sticker, the fixing sheet and the drainage tube are mounted. According to the fixing device for the drainage tube, the structure is simple, the operation is convenient, and due to the arched groove structure, the drainage tube is not prone to deform, and the drainage is unobstructed; and doctors can adjust the degree of tightness randomly according to specific conditions and observe or treat wounds by only uncovering the dressing.


We propose a new system to reduce emissions of Perfluorocompounds (PFCs) from semiconductor industries by continuous gas chromatography technology. For example, the recycling technology that was suggested before, such as cryogenic distillation, has some problems in its repurification step. It needs a huge distillation tower and much power for refrigeration. The continuous gas chromatography technology is a compact alternative to the conventional technology. This system is composed of the series of separation columns, vacuum pumps, and sequentially controlled valves. The mixture of PFCs is separated by the difference of the affinity for the filling material in the column. Only pure PFCs separated perfectly are outputs and the others are injected to the next column. By recycling the mixture of PFCs, which was not separated by single column, the continuous gas chromatography outputs the pure PFCs continuously. Moreover, it can experimentally separate CF/sub 4/-NF/sub 3/, which cannot be separated by a cryogenic distillation. Based on the accumulation and consideration of experimental data, we realized the continuous efficient separation of CF/sub 4//C/sub 2/F/sub 6/ with the large-scale pilot plant of the continuous gas chromatography. In this method, a high recovery rate of more than 99% was obtained and residual C/sub 2/F/sub 6/ in recovered CF/sub 4/ and residual CF/sub 4/ in recovered C/sub 2/F/sub 6/ were less than 0.01%. This recycling system is compact and it can operate with low-energy consumption.


Corn is an agricultural commodity that is widely grown by farmers. The abundant corn harvest during the main season has caused the selling price of corn to decline. These conditions prompted the Community Service team to implement the PKM program for processing corn emping chips for partners. The partners of this activity are 1) Mekar Jaya Farmers and Nainggolan Farmers are located in Siopat Sosor Village, Pangururan Sub-District, Samosir District. The objectives of this activity are 1) Designing a corn emping chips machine; 2) to improve product quality partners need to make more attractive packaging; 3) Assistance in production and marketing processes. This PKM activity begins with providing knowledge, technology and business management as well as online marketing. Corn farmers can take advantage of their agricultural products by processing corn emping chips. Corn emping chips are made from boiled corn which is flaked using a corn flakes machine with a capacity of 50 kg / hour, then dried in the sun and when it's dry it is ready to be fried and then enjoyed. Corn emping chips are one of the most valuable corn processed products. Corn emping chips are a food diversification product that can support the development of rural agro-industries and can increase the income of corn farmer families.


Abstract Currently we are saying that we are at the dawn of the fourth revolution, which is marked by using cyberphysical systems and the Internet of Things. This is marked as Industry 4.0 (I4.0). With Industry 4.0 is also closely linked concept Logistics 4.0. The highly dynamic and uncertain logistic markets and huge logistic networks require new methods, products and services. The concept of the Internet of Things and Services (IoT&S), Big Data/ Data Mining (DM), cloud computing, 3D printing, Blockchain and cyber physical system (CPS) etc. seem to be the probable technical solution for that. However, associated risks hamper its implementation and lack a comprehensive overview. In response, the paper proposes a framework of risks in the context of Logistics 4.0. They are here economic risks, that are associated e.g. with high or false investments. From a social perspective, risks the job losses, are considered too. Additionally, risks can be associated with technical risks, e.g. technical integration, information technology (IT)-related risks such as data security, and legal and political risks, such as for instance unsolved legal clarity in terms of data possession. It is therefore necessary to know the potential risks in the implementation process.


In the first5-year transition after entering WTO,enterprises in Changchun will have many chances such as expansion of products export,more foreign capital,adjustment of industrial structure,more cooperation with international companies and further deepening of enterprise reform.But at the same time,we are also faced with a series of chanllenges such as the increase of foreign product import,opening of service market,quick familiarization with WTO rules and so on.Therefore,in the5-year transition,enterprises in Changchun must quicken the construction of system in modern enterprise,adjust direction of development,actively carry out the strategy of internationalization,raise the overall capacity of enterprises in technical innovation so as to face the chances and challenges brought by entering WTO.


Introgression of resistance to fusarium head blight in Canadian wheat germplasm by in vitro and marker-assisted selection. A. Badea, F. Eudes, A. Laroche, A. Gaudet, R. Graf, and S. Sadasivaiah. Lethbridge Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, P.O. Box 3000, Lethbridge, AB T1J 4B1, Canada. New in vitro selection method for isolated-microspore culture to improve resistance to fusarium head blight in barley. M. Banik, W.G. Legge, J.R. Tucker, M.C. Therrien, A. Tekauz, F. Eudes, M.E. Savard, and B.G. Rossnagel. Brandon Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), P.O. Box 1000A, RR 3, Brandon, MB R7A 5Y3, Canada; (A.T.) Cereal Rresearch Centre, AAFC, 195 Dafoe Road, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2M9, Canada; (F.E.) Lethbridge Research Centre, AAFC, P.O. Box 3000, Lethbridge, AB T1J 4B1, Canada; (M.E.S.) Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, AAFC, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1A 0C6, Canada; and (B.G.R.) Crop Development Centre, University of Saskatchewan, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A8, Canada. Monitoring of Fusarium spp. in soybean roots, using DNA arrays and reverse dot-blot hybridization. T. Barasubiye, K.A. Seifert, A. Tenuta, S. Rioux, T. Anderson, T.W. Welacky, and C.A. Lévesque. Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1A 0C6, Canada; (A.T.) Ridegetown College, Agronomy Building, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, P.O. Box 400, 120 Main Street East, Ridgetown, ON N0P 2C0, Canada; (S.R.) Centre de recherche sur les grains, Complexe scientifique, 2700 Einstein Street, Québec, QC G1P 3W8, Canada; and (T.W.W.) Greenhouse and Processing Crops Research Centre, AAFC, 2585 Country Road 20, Harrow, ON N0R 1G0, Canada. Aerobiology and regional epidemiology of Gibberella zeae. G.C. Bergstrom and D.G. Schmale III. Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. Recent advances in the toxicology of toxins of Fusarium spp. G. Bondy. Toxicology Research Division, Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0L2, Canada. A new source of resistance to fusarium head blight in spring wheat. W. Cao, G. Fedak, K. Armstrong, A. Xue, and M. Savard. Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1A 0C6, Canada. Comparison of marker-assisted and conventional selection for resistance to fusarium head blight in a backcross breeding program in wheat. W. cao, G. Fedak, D. Somers, C. McCartney, A. Xue, and M. Savard. Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1A 0C6, Canada; and (D.S., C.M.) Cereal Research Centre, AAFC, 195 Dafoe Road, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2M9, Canada. Significant cultivar × location interactions for deoxynivalenol contamination in barley. T.M. Choo, B. Vigier, M. Etienne, E. Sparry, C.D. Caldwell, D.E. Falk, M.E. Savard, and R.A. Martin. Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; (AAFC), 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1A 0C6, Canada; (M.E.) Hyland Seeds, Nairn Research Laboratory, Ailsa Craig, ON N0M 1A0, Canada; (E.S.) C & M Seeds, Palmerston, ON N0G 2P0, Canada; (C.D.C.) Department of Plant and Animal Sciences, Nova Scotia Agricultural College, P.O. Box 550, Truro, NS B2N 5E3, Canada; (D.E.F.) Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada; and (R.A.M) Crops and Livestock Research Centre, AAFC, 440 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4N6, Canada. Performance trial on Ontario winter wheat — an index that accounts for fusarium head blight symtoms and deoxynivalenol level jointly. D.E. Falk and L. Tamburic-Ilincic. Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada; and (L.T.-I.) Ridgetown College, University of Guelph,Main Street East, Ridgetown, ON N0P 2C0, Canada. FusaPROG — a tool for the prediction of fusarium head blight and deoxynivalenol in winter wheat. H.-R. Forrer, T. Musa, A. Hecker, and S. Volgelgsang. Agroscope FAL Reckenholz, Swiss Federal Research Statioin for Agroecology and Agriculture, Reckenholzstraβe 191, 8046 Reckenholzstraβe 191, 8046 Zürich, Switzerland. Relative pathogenicity of isolates, from the prairie provinces of Canada, of Fusarium graminearum producing 3- and 15-acetyl deoxynivalenol. J. Gilbert, R.M. Clear, T.J. Ward, and D. Gaba. Cereal Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 195 Dafoe Road, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2M9; (R.M.C., D.G.) Grain Research Laboratory, Canadian Grain Commission, 1404–303 Main Street, Winnipeg, MB R3C 3G8, Canada; and (T.J.W.) Microbial Genomics Research Unit, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Peoria, IL 61604, USA. High-resolution profilng of wheat genes differentially expressed in response to Fusarium graminearum infection. S. Golkari, J. Gilbert, S. Prashar, and J.D. Procunier. Cereal Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 195 Dafoe Road, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2M9, Canada. Stress-directed selection identifies lines of spring wheat with enhanced resistance to fusarium head blight and other diseases. S. Haber, J. Gilbert, and A. Comeau. Cereal Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 195 Dafoe Road, Winnipeg MB R3T 2M9, Canada; and (A.C.) Soils and Crops Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2560 Hochelaga Boulevard, Québec, QC G1V 2J3, Canada. Development of a potential technology for high-throughput screening of quantitative resistance againts fusarium head blight in wheat. H. Hamzehzarghani, A.C. Kushalappa, Y. Dion, S. Rioux, A Comeau, V. Yaylayan, and W.D. Marshall. Department of Plant Science and Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, McGill University, 21 111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada; (Y.D.) Centre de recherche sur les grains (CÉROM), 335 East Chemin des Vingt-Cinq, Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, QC J3V 4P6, Canada; (S.R.) CÉROM, 2700 Einstein Street, Québec, QC G1V 2J3, Canada; and (A.C.) Soils and Crops Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2560 Hochelaga Boulevard, Québec, QC G1V 2J3, Canada. Using genomic and proteomic tools to characterize the response of maize to Fusarium graminearum. L. Harris, V. Anoop, A. Johnston, D. Schneiderman, A. Saparno, M. Balcerzak, S. Kelso, D. Sprott, S. Gleddie, L.Robert, N. Tinker, and T. Oullet. Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1A 0C6, Canada. Estrogenic mycotoxins in the environment. N. Hartmann, M. Erbs, H.-R. Forrer, S. Vogelgsang, F.E. Wettstein, and T.D. Bucheli. Agroscope FAL Reckenholz, Swiss Federal Research Station for Agroecology and Agriculture, Reckenholzstraβe 191, 8046 Zürich, Switzerland. Effect of Harvesting date and cultivar on deoxynivalenol content in barley. J. Lajeunesse, D. Pageau, and M.E. Savard. Research Farm, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), 1468 Cyrille Street, Normandin, QC G8M 4K3, Canada; and (M.E.S.) Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, AAFC, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1A 0C6, Canada. Breeding for resistance to fusarium head blight in barley, using "exotic" sources of resistance. W.G. Legge, J.R. Tucker, A. Tekauz, R.A. Martin, B. Vigier, and M.E. Savard. Brandon Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), P.O. Box 1000A RR 3, Brandon, MB R7A 5Y3, Canada; (A.T.) Cereal Research Centre, AAFC, 440 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4N6, Canada; and (B.V., M.E.S.) Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, AAFC, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1A 0C6, Canada. Progress in improving resistance to fusarium head blight in barley. W.G. Legge, J.R. Tucker, M.C. Therrien, M. Banik, A. Tekauz, R.A. Martin, T.M. Choo, K.M. Ho, B. Vigier, M.E. Savard, T.K. Turkington, B.G. Rossnagel, W.D. Voth, T. Zatorski, E.B. Lefol, B.L. Harvey, J.H. Helm, P.E. Juskiw, J. Nyachiro, K. Xi, and J. Zantinge. Brandon Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), P.O. Box 1000A, RR 3, Brandon, MB R7A 5Y3, Canada; (A.T.) Cereal Research Centre, AAFC, 195 Dafoe Road, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2M9, Canada; (R.A.M.) Crops and Livestock Research Centre, AAFC, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4N6, Canada; (T.M.C., K.M.H., B.V., M.E.S) Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, AAFC, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1A 0C6, Canada; (T.K.T.) Lacombe Research Centre, AAFC, 6000 C & E Trail, Lacombe, AB T4L 1W1, Canada; (B.G.R., W.D.V., T.Z., E.B.L., B.L.H.) Crop Development Centre, University of Saskatchewan, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A8, Canada; and (J.H.H., P.E.J., J.N., K.X., J.Z.) Field Crop Development Centre, Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, 6000 C & E Trail, Lacombe, AB T4L 1W1, Canada. Genetic diversity among Fusarium spp. in Quebec. S. Marchand, J.V. Bourgades, K. Lavoie, S. Rioux, and F.J. Belzile. Départment de phytologie, Faculté des sciences de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation, Université Laval, Marchand Building No. 1243, Québec, QC G1K 7P4, Canada; and (S.R.) Centre de recherche sur les grains, 2700 Einstein Street, Québec, QC G1K 7P4, Canada. Molecular breeding for improved resistance to fusarium head blight in wheat in Īrān. M. Mardi, M.R. Ghaffari, L. Pazouki, F. Ehya, M.B. Kazemi, H. Delavar, H. Sorouri, S.M. Pirseyedi, A. Nami, A. Naji, A. Sadeghi, M. Mazaheri, H.P. Irandoost, M. Seraj, J. Kamali, S.G.H. Salekdeh, R. Nolz, B. Steiner, M. Lemmens, A. Mousavi, G. Adam, H. Buerstmayr, and B. Ghareyazie. Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Īrān, Kajar, Īrān (M.S., J.K.) Seed and Plant Improvement Institute, Karaj, Īrān (R.N., B.S., M.L., G.A., H.B.) Department of Agrobiotechnology – Tulln, Institute for Plant Production Biotechnology, Tulln, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences – Vienna, Austria; and (A.M.) National Resea


In this paper a control strategy using backstepping technique for multilevel inverter based active power filter control is developed. Performances comparison between backstepping strategy and PI regulators based methods is provided. Simulation results prove the robustness and accuracy of proposed technique compared with conventional methods.


From the viewpoint of memetics,the process of teaching students the selection,imitation and transformation of sentence pattern according to certain content and context can be regarded as a meme teaching model,which contains following three stages,the first is the stage of inheritance though which students assimilate and memorize the sentence meme;the second is replication,the stage of selecting context;the last is transformation,to express the sentence pattern in a varied way.Language meme can also be divided into genetype and phenotype,which separately equals to the transformative and direct application of sentence patterns.


Let $A$ and $B$ be standard graded polynomial rings over a field $k$ and $I$ and $J$ be non-zero, proper homogeneous ideals contained in $A$ and $B$, respectively. Denote by $P$ the sum of $I$ and $J$ in $R=A\otimes_k B$. Under reasonable conditions on $k, I$ and $J$, we provide exact formulas and describe the asymptotic behavior of the depth and the regularity of the powers of $P$ in terms of the data of $I$ and $J$. Thereby, we strengthen previous work of H.T. H\`a, N.V. Trung and T.N. Trung. Our main technical result says that, under the aforementioned conditions, for all $s\ge 0$ and all $n\ge 1$, the simple decomposition $I^sP^n=I^{s+1}P^{n-1}+I^sJ^n$ yields a Betti splitting for $I^sP^n$. A decomposition of an ideal $L$ as a sum of two subideals is called a Betti splitting if the minimal free resolution of $L$ is completely determined by those of the summands and their intersection.


Subtribe Oncidiinae comprises a vegetatively heterogeneous assemblage of species that has persistently been incapable of organization. Anatomy was considered to be a possible means to resolve the perplexity of relationships amongst the constituent taxa. The consistent occurrence of a foliar hypodermis, homogeneous mesophyll, conical silica bodies in stegmata, and ubiquitous fibre bundles in leaves provides a matrix for linking the taxa, as do the parenchymatous pith and O-thickened endodermal cell walls in roots. However, the strict consensus of the 40 genera studied was completely unresolved, suggesting that vegetative characters alone are insufficient to assess the relationships amongst these taxa, a conclusion also reached for the remainder of Maxillarieae. © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2006, 152, 91–107.


Phase I was initiated as a result of internal Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) studies that raised concerns about the quality of embankments being constructed. Some large embankments have recently developed slope stability problems. In addition, pavement roughness has been noted shortly after roads were opened to traffic. This raised the question as to whether the current Iowa DOT embankment construction specifications are adequate. The primary objective of Phase I was to evaluate the quality of embankments being constructed under the current Iowa DOT specifications. The project was initiated in May 1997 with a tour of several embankment projects being constructed around the state. At each of these projects the resident construction engineer, field inspector, and contractor were interviewed with respect to their opinion of the current specifications. From construction observations and discussion during these visits it became obvious that there were problems with the current embankment construction specifications. Six embankment projects were selected for in-depth analysis and to represent the full range of soil types being used across the state. The results of Phase I field and laboratory construction testing and observations and post construction testing are presented in this report. Overall evaluation of the results of Phase I indicate that Iowa is not consistently obtaining a quality embankment constructed under the current Iowa DOT specifications. Based on these results, recommendations are made for Phase II to evaluate alternative specifications and develop rapid field methods for compaction control and soil identification.


Irish white-clawed crayfish stocks show high genetic uniformity between systems, although individual populations usually show good heterozygosity. The inference is that they were derived from a single immigrating stock, related to those in Western France. Irish crayfish stocks occur widely and often in good numbers in lakes and streams; they are protected and rarely fished, and there are no alien species. Their use for reintroduction into depleted areas within Ireland, including Special Areas of Conservation, is examined. Irish crayfish also have potential value for restocking depleted continental locations, under stringent conditions of environmental suitability and genetic conformity.


Cylindrical algebraic formulas are an explicit representation of semialgebraic sets as finite unions of cylindrically arranged disjoint cells bounded by graphs of algebraic functions. We present a version of the Cylindrical Algebraic Decomposition (CAD) algorithm customized for solving systems of polynomial equations and inequalities over semialgebraic sets given in this representation. The algorithm can also be used to solve conjunctions of polynomial conditions in an incremental manner. We show application examples and give an empirical comparison of incremental and direct CAD computation.


Abstract A statistical method referred to as cluster analysis is employed to identify features in forecast and observation fields. These features qualify as natural candidates for events or objects in terms of which verification can be performed. The methodology is introduced and illustrated on synthetic and real quantitative precipitation data. First, it is shown that the method correctly identifies clusters that are in agreement with what most experts might interpret as features or objects in the field. Then, it is shown that the verification of the forecasts can be performed within an event-based framework, with the events identified as the clusters. The number of clusters in a field is interpreted as a measure of scale, and the final "product" of the methodology is an "error surface" representing the error in the forecasts as a function of the number of clusters in the forecast and observation fields. This allows for the examination of forecast error as a function of scale.


RESULTS: Significantly higher rmsEMG values were observed during the biceps curl on CABLE in the PM (Mdiff ± SE = 68.99 ± 25.55, p = .017) and AD (Mdiff ± SE = 77.31 ± 24.10, p = .06), along with greater shoulder ROM (Mdiff ± SE = 7.51 ± 3.44, p = .036). The chest press produced significantly higher rmsEMG on CABLE in the BB (Mdiff ± SE = 120.24 ± 26.59, p < .001), RA (Mdiff ±SE = 39.78 ± 17.47, p = .039), and EO (Mdiff ± SE = 16.05 ± 5.93, p = .017), and significantly higher rmsEMG on PLATE in the TB (Mdiff ± SE = 157.35 ± 31.33, p < .001). CABLE also displayed significantly greater hip ROM (Mdiff ± SE = .037 ± .011, p < .001), knee ROM (Mdiff ± SE = .107, p < .001), and shoulder ROM (Mdiff ± SE = 1.277 ± .080, p < .001) for this exercise. The overhead press produced higher rmsEMG on the CABLE in the BB (Mdiff ± SE= 117.32 ± 25.82, p < .001) and EO (Mdiff ± SE = 11.60 ±3.82, p = .009) and significantly greater hip ROM (Mdiff ± SE = .037 ± .011, p < .001), knee ROM (Mdiff ± SE = .107, p < .001), and shoulder ROM (Mdiff ± SE = 1.277 ± .080, p < .001) than PLATE. CONCLUSION: Our results argue for the use of CABLE over PLATE for increased muscle activation and ROM; however, their relative impacts on power, strength and functionality remain undetermined.


Background  To date, little is known about the role of behavioral risk factors for influenza transmission as well as hygiene behavior in the household setting during the influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009. In a household‐based study conducted during 2008/2009, we identified several behavioral risk factors for influenza transmission; 30% of index patients and 30% of household contacts reported increased hand cleaning frequency in the week after symptom onset of the index patient. We conducted another household‐based study during the pandemic season 2009/2010.


Filosto et al. evaluated the muscle biopsy findings from 240 patients who had isolated muscle pain and correlated pathologic and clinical data. The probability that a patient has a definitive muscle disease was 2%.

see page 181

The editorial by John T. Kissel notes that muscle pain is among the most common complaints encountered by primary care physicians, and may be the commonest presenting symptom in neuromuscular clinics. Population-based studies have suggested that the incidence of diffuse, persistent muscle pain is approximately 10% of the population. The Filosto et al. report is notable in that 80% of patients had biopsy abnormalities, but only 20% could be given a specific diagnosis and only 6% had a specific myopathy. Future work in this area, exploring both the mechanisms of pain at the muscle level, through gene chip and proteomic technologies, as well as the central events involved in the perception of pain in these patients, is essential.

see page 170

Young et al. studied outcome in …


Aims/background —Compared with nano-second (ns) pulses of conventional Nd-YAG lasers, picosecond (ps) laser pulses allow intraocular surgery at considerably lower pulse energy. The authors report initial clinical experiences using a Nd:YLF ps laser for the treatment of various indications for photodisruption. Methods —A Nd:YLF laser system (ISL 2001, wavelength 1053 nm) was used to apply pulse series of 100–400 µJ single pulse energy at a repetition rate of 0.12–1.0 kHz. Computer controlled patterns were used to perform iridectomies (n=53), cap-sulotomies (n=9), synechiolysis (n=3), and pupilloplasties (n=2). Other procedures were vitreoretinal strand incision (n=2) and peripheral retinotomy (n=1). For comparison, 10 capsulotomies and 20 iridotomies were performed with a Nd:YAG ns laser. The ps laser cut of an anterior capsule was assessed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results —Open, well defined iridectomies (mean total energy 4028 mJ, mean diameter 724 µm) were achieved at first attempt in 92% of the cases. In 64% an iris bleeding and in 21% an IOP increase of >10 mm Hg occurred. All capsulotomies were performed successfully (mean energy 690 mJ/mm cutting length) but with a high incidence of intraocular lens damage. The attempted vitreoretinal applications remained unsuccessful as a result of optical aberrations of the eye and contact lens.


From 1997, when Klotho protein was first discovered and named "the anti-aging hormone", scientists have been thoroughly investigating its biological properties. this protein plays an important role in numerous metabolic pathways that contribute to slower ageing processes. the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases, impairment of cognitive functions and chronic stress increases with age. additional factors, such as nicotine, rosiglitazone, statins, blood-pressure lowering drugs, calcitriol, magnesium, chronic psychosocial stress and aerobic exercises have an influence on Klotho protein plasma concentration. the research on proteins that increase Klotho plasma levels is important because of broad range of biological processes in which Klotho is engaged. Further studies on this substance could result in new possibilities of treatment for several common diseases.


The Great East Japan Earthquake (Mw9.0) on 11 March 2011 accompanied with a huge tsunami of more than 10 meters in height devastated many cities and ports along the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan, and claimed nearly 20,000 lives with many of them still missing. This report reviews actions taken by the Japan Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department (JHOD) after this unprecedented disaster. Immediately after the earthquake, the JHOD carried out hydrographic surveys for the urgent need to help clear the passage in ports due to sunken debris swept away by the tsunami. These surveys have enabled the vessels with relief supplies on board for the affected areas to enter the ports. The JHOD revisited the affected ports for the next stage of hydrographic surveys. These surveys will contribute to revised nautical charts based on new data collected after the earthquake, and includes the ongoing restoration and reconstruction work of quays and port facilities. This stage includes the re-determination of the datum level of the affected ports, which is necessary because of large subsidence being reported in the areas. All of these efforts by the JHOD clearly demonstrate the significance of the hydrographic activities in case of the post-quake emergency situation, not only for the safety of navigation but also for economic recovery.


Objective
To determine the development characteristics of social anxiety of peasant-worker's children in Harbin, and explore the effect of gender, parents quarrel, parents divorced and maternal factors on social anxiety.The study provided a scientific basis for the intervention of social anxiety.

Methods
The children in grade 1-5 from 3 schools in Harbin were collected by random cluster sampling in 2012.Then the same questionnaire was used to track the peasant-worker's children in 2014.The questionnaire included general information, Social Anxiety Scale for Children (SASC), Egna Minnen av Bardndosna Uppforstran(EMBU), Acceptance Subscale and Psychological Control Scale.

Results
(1) The detection rates of social anxiety of peasant-worker's children in 2012 and 2014 were respectively 29.3%, 30.2%, and the detection rates had no significant difference (χ2=0.111, P=0.790). But there was significantly difference between the two years(2012: 6.90±4.26; 2014: 5.88±4.20; t=3.419, P=0.001). Children of newly occurring social anxiety in high grade was fewer and the ability to symptom relief was better.There was no significant difference between boys and girls on newly occurring and symptom relief(newly occurring: χ2=0.018, P=0.910; symptom relief: χ2=0.541, P=0.518). (2) In 2012, the differences of the detection rate of children's social anxiety on parents quarrel, parents divorced were not significant(parents quarrel: χ2=0.881, P=0.393; parents divorced: χ2=0.246, P=0.658). In 2014, the detection rate of children's social anxiety on parents quarrel, parents divorced were significantly higher than children in normal families(parents quarrel: χ2=11.758, P=0.001; parents divorced: χ2=9.907, P=0.004). The detection rate of children's social anxiety of divorced parents increased with age(χ2=4.398, P=0.041). (3) In 2012 and 2014, children's social anxiety had positive correlation with mother excessive interference and over-protective, mother refusing and denying, mother punishment, and had negative correlation with mother acceptance(P<0.05). In 2014, it had positive correlation with mother control and negative correlation with mother emotional warmth understanding(P<0.05). (4) In 2012, the regression coefficient of mother refusing and denying was 0.186.In 2014, the regression coefficient of mother acceptance and control were -0.266, 0.169.

Conclusion
Social anxiety can be spontaneous remission, and the ability was better in high grade.Parents quarrel, parents divorced and maternal factors can affect the development of peasant-worker's children's social anxiety, which should be concerned.

Key words:
Peasant-worker's children; Social anxiety; Follow-up investigation; Maternal factors


The article presents the results of studies of the influence of agroecological factors on the formation of qualitative characteristics of spring barley varieties. Spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is widely cultivated as a fodder, industrial and food crop. The aim of the work is to study the features of the formation of some qualitative characteristics (laboratory germination, weight of 1000 seeds, bulk weight) of seeds of various varieties of spring barley, depending on the agro-climatic conditions of the growing season during the years of their formation. The objects of the study are 14 varieties of spring barley of domestic and foreign breeding, grown in 2020 and 2021, in the Arsk variety plot of the Predkama zone of the Republic of Tatarstan. The seeds of these varieties obtained in 2020 and 2021 were used for the study. At the same time, in 2020, the weather conditions were quite favorable for the growth and development of barley plants, and the conditions of 2021 were characterized by severely dry phenomena. Field experiments were laid in 2022 in the fields at Agrobiotechnopark LLC of Kazan State Agrarian University. At the same time, seeds of spring barley of the studied varieties of the harvest of 2020 and 2021 were sown. All seeds met the requirements of the standard for seed material. Presowing treatment of seeds was not carried out. Seeding rate - 5 million viable seeds per 1 ha. The growing season of 2022 was characterized by relatively moderate temperatures and sufficient precipitation to form a high yield. Agro-climatic conditions during the years of formation of the seed material (2020 and 2021) significantly affected the quality characteristics of the seeds of the 2022 crop. It was found that the seeds of the 2020 offspring varieties (Kamashevsky, Endan, Cornet resistant, Guzel, Zhivago) had low laboratory germination - 76%, 84%, 76%, 18%, and 68%, respectively. For the seeds of the 2021 harvest, the germination rate of the Kamashevsky and Kornet resistant varieties increased by 16%, the Guzel variety - by 58%, and the Zhivago variety - by 32%. Soratnik and Zhivago varieties showed the maximum laboratory germination from the seeds of the 2021 crop, their germination was 100%. The mass of 1000 grains of the harvest of 2022 of the variants of sowing with seeds of 2020 varied in the range from 45.9 to 59.3 g. The Nord 17/2645 variety turned out to be the most coarse - 66.5 g. Sorcerer (679 g/l). The volumetric weight of the crop obtained from the seeds of 2021 for varieties varied in the range from 640 to 690 g/l. The varieties Tevkech, Rafael, Soratnik, Eifel and Nord 17/2645 showed relatively high stability of these traits over the years.


Central bank losses usually originate, the author explains, when a bank takes on other functions besides its normal role, such as subsidized loans to priority sectors, rescues of troubled financial institutions, or takeovers of private or public debt. This paper attempts to review the issues related to Central Banks'quasi fiscal deficits. In the first section, a taxonomic description of origins of quasi fiscal deficits is made. The second section explores the relation between economic and accounting losses. The third section analyzes inflation adjustment and net lending treatment which are relevant to the definition of non financial public sector deficits. Finally, alternative ways of calculating the central banks'quasi fiscal losses are reviewed.


Objectives: The improved recognition of symptomatic femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) has lead to an emphasis of early diagnosis and treatment in the adolescent population. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the radiographic and clinical outcomes in patients with open physes that underwent hip arthroscopy for the treatment of symptomatic FAI. Additionally, we describe the three-dimensional (3D) pathomorphology in this unique population. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 39 hips (28 patients; 75% male) with a mean age 15.8 years (range, 12.8-19.3 years) with FAI, who additionally demonstrated open physes on pre-operative radiographs. Radiographic parameters included the lateral center edge (LCE), Tonnis angle, AP and lateral alpha angle and head-neck offset ratio (HNOr). Each patient also underwent a pre-operative CT scan, which was utilized for the evaluation for femoral and acetabular measurements and simulated range of motion (ROM) to impingement. Preoperative and post-operative functions were evaluated prospectively using the modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS) and pain on a visual analogue scale (VAS). All patients participated in organized athletics and 50% were in multiple sports year round. Results: All patients (100%) within this cohort had open femoral neck and iliac crest physis. The ischial tuberosity and greater trochanteric physes were open in 95% and 54% of the hips respectively. Although there was no significant difference between pre-operative and post-operative LCE and Tonnis angles, the alpha angle and HNOr were significantly improved (39.7° vs. 61.7°; p<0.001 and 0.19 vs. 0.17; p<0.001). Mean femoral version was 17.6°±7.4°, while the acetabular version at the 1:30 and 3:00 positions were 1.0°±6.7° and 14.0°±4.1°. The mean maximum alpha angle was 72.0°±12.1° and was located on average at the 1:15 position. Simulated ROM to bony impingement was 121.6°±12.1° for flexion, 33.8°±13.3° for internal rotation in 90 degrees of flexion. Mean follow-up was 18.6 months (range, 6.3 - 55.8 months). There was a mean 23.0-point improvement in the mHHS (pre-operative 69.4, post-operative 92.4; p<0.001) and a mean decrease of 3.5 points in the VAS for pain (pre-operative 5.2, post-operative 1.7; p<0.001). 93% percent of patients returned to their preinjury level of sports participation and did not feel limited by their hip. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that a greater pre-operative LCEA correlated with a greater change in the mHHS score (r=0.374, p=0.038). Similarly, a greater pre-operative AP alpha angle and change in the AP alpha angle also correlated with a greater change in the VAS pain score (r=0.411, p=0.038 and r=0.426,p=0.019, respectively). No major complications were noted, but 3 hips (2 patients) underwent revision hip arthroscopy during the follow-up period secondary to further development of cam-type FAI. There were no cases physeal growth arrest, growth disturbance, avascular necrosis. Conclusion: The arthroscopic approach for the treatment of FAI in adolescents with open physes is a safe and effective and has a high return to sports rate. Risk for recurrent FAI in the presence of open growth plates was noted. Young, highly athletic adolescent patients with a larger FAI pathomorphology demonstrate the most predictable improvement in clinical outcomes after arthroscopicy.


Functional mitral regurgitation (MR) is the second most common valvular heart disease worldwide and is increasing with age. The present study investigates the gender distribution and 1 year prognosis of older patients (≥65 years) with pharmacologically treated MR in a real‐world population with moderate to severe functional MR.


The purpose of this study is to examine the purchase of outdoor gear by middle aged consumers and their consumption patterns and find the factors...


Due to the surge of business scandals over the past years there is an increased interest in business ethics and moral behavior in business. What are the dynamics that cause a purchaser to accept a bribe, accountants to become fraudulent, bankers to ruthlessly speculate on currencies, stocks, commodities, and mortgages, without any regards to the consequences? And why and under which circumstances do CEOs try cover up the scale of disasters caused by their corporations? Questions like these and the consequent request for moral behavior in business have received increased attention in the academic community. The field of business ethics seeks to answer these. This book will discuss research and research methods in the field of decision-making business ethics research. It provides a brief explanation of the causes and backgrounds for the increased interest in business ethics research. Because of its popularity and the proven track record in helping to find answers to the above questions, a major part of this book will discuss scenario-based decision-making research with a focus on ethical and unethical decision-making in businesses and organizations.


In addition to the variables of interest in this research (namely, age, delay, sequence type, mode of experience, and verbal reminders), children's performance may have been affected by a number of features of the research design. This Appendix is a report of the results of analyses of three potential influences on the children's performance. First, we examined the possibility that the particular experimenter who conducted the session might have affected the children's performance. Second, we examined the possibility that conclusions regarding children's recall of the event sequences were qualified by specific event sequence effects. Third, we examined the possibility that differences in the lengths of the child-controlled response periods might account for the patterns of effects observed. Although in each case some effects obtained, in no case did the findings present substantive qualifications to the major patterns described in the body of the text.


The objective here is to develop a home automation and security system which can be controlled and monitored remotely using any telephone line. The user can enter into the system by entering the valid pin code. After entering into the system, the user can control the status of devices connected with the system using any Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). The system can also be implemented for security purposes in banks or at home. If the user is at outstation, he can change the status of the lights remotely for security reasons. The heart of the system is a PIC micro-controller (PIC18F4520) which controls the complete working of the system. The GSM modem is also interfaced with the micro-controller. The remote user can also monitor the current status of the devices by sending SMS message to the GSM modem. The system can be controlled and monitored from anywhere by using telephone line.


No one really knows whether nonprescription pediatric cough and cold remedies actually work, but evidence shows that they are not safe for young children, a group of FDA advisers concluded in October.

FDA held the meeting to obtain advice about a petition filed earlier this year by Baltimore City


Phase behaviors of nanocrystalline TiO2-II have not been well studied due to the difficulty in its preparations at ambient pressure. In this work, we prepared nanocrystallites of TiO2-II with avera...


An accurate prediction of solar energy becomes imperative for the planning and optimization of solar-based energy systems. The present research involves the implementation of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models employing a cascade forward backpropagation algorithm for predicting short-term PV power using meteorological parameters based on distinct weather conditions. Prediction of solar energy during clear weather is easily done; however, the challenge lies in prediction under cloudy weather conditions. Therefore, the present work involves the prediction of power in solar PV systems for clear, hazy, partly and fully cloudy weather in composite climatic zone. Models are developed by simulating in MATLAB platform and for validating the accuracy of the results, statistical evaluation indices are used. The model can be used easily for predicting power for the preliminary design of solar-based applications.


The invention relates to a device for non-invasive detection of growth processes and simultaneous measurement of chemical and / or physical parameter, comprising the following components: a) the lighting unit, b) optical detection unit, c) at least one growth containers with growth medium, d) at least one transparent, planar optode e) control unit, f) electronic data acquisition and evaluation unit The invention further relates to a method for non-invasive detection of growth processes and simultaneous measurement of chemical and / or physical parameter, comprising the following method steps: a) detecting the growth processes using imaging methods. b) detection of chemical and / or physical parameters by using a planar, transparent optode, wherein the data of a) and b) simultaneously and in parallel to each other are obtained.


The purpose of the paper is to present a rural tourism destination and its tourist turnover, in the case study of Ivanjica municipality. Rural tourism is one of the leading tourism products in the global tourism market. Rural tourism destinations have become very prominent in many countries, including Serbia. Within these destinations there are various tourism elements such as traditional culture, archaeological and architectural heritage, gastronomy, recreation, history, sports, etc. Rural area is not just a village. Rural areas also refer to all settlements with no city status. The paper presents the statistical analysis results of tourist turnover in Ivanjica municipality from 2011 to 2018. The statistical analysis is based on data obtained from Tourist Organisation of Ivanjica. Based on analysis results, Discussion and Conclusions provide an overview of the current situation, as well as recommendations for future activities aimed at improving tourist turnover in this destination.


According to Ravin's method an oxidative activity of ceruloplasmin was determined in the group of patients with carcinoma of larynx before and after rtg-therapy and at the control group of healthy individuals. As a result of this assay the significantly increased of oxidative activity ceruloplasmin was obtained in the individuals with the carcinoma of the larynx before rtg-therapy in comparison to the group of healthy subjects. Simultaneously a significant decrease of the oxidative activity of serum ceruloplasmin in the individuals with carcinoma of the larynx after rtg-therapy was observed.


In practice,the measurement precision of fiber Bragg grating sensor is limited by noise,cost and other factors.In order to achieve low-cost and high-precision fiber Bragg grating sensor system,a method is proposed which uses adaptive threshold wavelet denoising and B-spline fitting algorithm on the fiber Bragg grating reflection spectrum.Two results are obtained by experiment and simulation.One is that adaptive threshold wavelet denoising can effectively improve SNR of the system.The other is that the error of the wavelength testing is 0.01 nm before fitting and 0.0017 nm after fitting under the same sampling precision and error is lowed about an order of magnitude.Experimental results prove that the method can effectively reduce reading errors caused by noise,and improve the resolution for measurement of fiber Bragg grating wavelength shift in order to achieve high-precision measurement of temperature,strain and other external parameters.


Synchronization and channel acquisition for ultra-wideband signals are investigated. The channel impulse response is estimated via two approaches: a least-squares method which ignores channel structure, and a subspace technique which finds channel sparseness and then exploits this structure for final channel estimation. Symbol and frame synchronization is also accomplished using least squares methods. Performance is investigated through the evaluation of mean-squared channel estimation error and probability of error with a RAKE receiver employing the channel estimates for an indoor wireless channel. It is observed that the subspace method exploiting the clustered property of the channel yields the best performance at the expense of complexity.


To establish manufacturing technology of tofu shake added with red rice prepared with Monascus purpureus KCCM 60570, the quality characteristics of tofu shake added with M. purpureus KCCM 60570 were investigated. Also, we determined the optimal mixing ratios of raw materials including red rice for manufacturing tofu shake. Monacolin K and mold number of red rice were increased rapidly until 8 day of incubation and then gradually increased during the 12 day manufacturing period. As the results, it was considered to be most suitable to prepare red rice for 8 days at 25°C, and inoculate 1% (w/w) M. purpureus KCCM 60570. Sensory evaluation of tofu shake added with red rice and tofu shake without red rice was not significantly different at p<0.05. In sensory evaluation, tofu shake added with 0.5% (w/w) red rice was higher in taste, texture, and overall acceptability than the other. Therefore, the optimal mixing ratio of red rice and tofu shake is 0.5% (w/w). These results suggest that the addition of red rice could improve the quality of tofu shake.


Background: Randomized trials demonstrated benefit of IV tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is strongly time-dependent, but were underpowered to specify the shape of the time - benefit curve. Large registries can provide insight into how quickly benefits of tPA decay with time. Methods: We analyzed the relationship between onset to treatment (OTT) and 4 outcomes, discharge to home, discharge free of disability (mRS 0-1), discharge ambulatory status, and mortality, in acute ischemic stroke patients treated with tPA within 4.5h in 1456 GWTG-Stroke hospitals from Jan 2009 to Sept 2013. Results: Among the 65,384 tPA-treated patients, median age was 72, 50.5% were female, median OTT was 141 mins (IQR 110-173), and 11.3% (7368) had OTT 0-90m, 71.1% (46,457) had OTT 91-180m, and 17.6% (11,559) had OTT 181-270m. A slight curvilinear relationship was observed between OTT and discharge to home and discharge free of disability, with inflection at 150 minutes (Figure). Discharge free of disability showed rapid decline between 15-150m (11 fewer patients per 1000 treated per 15m delay) and slower decline from 151-270m (5 fewer per 1000 treated per 15m delay). In contrast, a linear relationship with OTT throughout the 15-270 minute window was observed for independent ambulation at discharge (8 fewer per 1000 treated per 15m delay) and in-hospital mortality (2 fewer per 1000 treated per 15m delay). Considering all mRS disability scale transitions, benefit declined more rapidly in the first and second hours (25 and 33 worse outcomes per 1000 treated per 15m delay) compared to 3-4.5 hours (11 worse outcomes per 1000 treated per 15m delay). Conclusions: Rates of excellent, disability-free outcome and of discharge to home after IV tPA decay more rapidly in the first 2.5 hours after stroke onset, while independent ambulation and mortality decline in a linear fashion throughout the 4.5 hour window. Speedier start of tPA treatment within the first 2.5 hours after onset maximizes treatment benefit.


(54) FIBROUS FOOD CASINGS HAVING Publication Classification MODIFIED RELEASE PROPERTIES AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURE (51) Int. Cl." ...................................................... F16L 11/00 (52) U.S. Cl. ....................... 138/118.1; 138/125; 138/146 (76) Inventors: Eric M. J. Verschueren, Vossclaar (BE); Reinhard Fichtner, Diest (BE) (57) ABSTRACT Regenerated cellulose food packaging film, including Correspondence Address: fibrous food casings have modified cling properties for Michael L. Dunn packaging dry and Semi-dry type Sausage products, and Dunn & Associates particularly Specialty dry Sausage recipes. The cellulosic P.O. BOX 10 food casings have a fibrous reinforcement impregnated with Newfane, NY 14108 (US) a coating composition containing an admixture of a Viscose Solution and a food grade cationic thermosetting polymeric (21) Appl. No.: 09/906,510 adhering agent. The coating composition is applied in a Single Step by injecting into the Viscose Solution before (22) Filed: Jul. 16, 2001 being extruded into the fibrous web. This assures both even distribution of the polymeric adhering agent in the web, as Related U.S. Application Data well as maintenance of a constant level of polymer being applied during the coating process. The degree of cling/ (63) Continuation of application No. 08/096,320, filed on adherence of the casing to the meat mass is more uniform Jul. 23, 1993. over the entire circumference of the tubular casing.


Introduction: The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of hypertension in appearently healhty young adult population and evaluate the glucose and lipid metabolism and the prevalence of obesity in young hypertensive subjects. Results: Blood pressure measurements were carried out on 200 appearently healthy volunteers. The prevalence of hypertension on this group was 18% (36 persons). On this 36 hypertensive patients waist circumference, body mass index and plasma glucose, lipids were measured and an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was carried out. Type 2 diabetes was found in 3 (8.3%) subjects, impaired glucose tolerance in 6 patients (16.6%), and impaired fasting glucose in 2 patients (5.5%). Impaired glucose homeostasis was present in 30.5% of the young hypertensive patients (20 persons). If we had carried out an oral glucose tolerance test only for those hypertensive subjects with fasting plasma glucose 5.5 mmol/L, we would have missed 34% of the patients with impaired glucose tolerance. The prevalence of central obesity was alarming: 69.4% (24 persons) had a waist circumference over the normal admitted values (80 cm in women or 94 cm in men). The plasma cholesterol values were increased in 5 patients (13.8%) and the plasma trygliceride levels were above the normal values in 11 patients (27.7%), the HDL-cholesterol level was decreased in 4 subjects (11.1%). Conclusions: The prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension on young adults is relatively high in our geographical region, probably due to an improper life-style. Impaired glucose homeostasis, dereglation of lipid metabolism and central obesity are common in this young hypertensive subjects. An oral glucose tolerance test is reasonable to carry out for the young hypertensive subjects for early detection of impaired glucose and lipid homeostasis. Life style changes and weight reduction/stabilization are important goals in the treatment of the this young hypertensive patients.


Most enterprises are suffering information invisibility in multi-site production supply chain information. Without appropriate information transparency, supply chain exception such as due date changes, and material shortage usually increase the planning complexity. In addition, the balance of supply and demand for each distinct manufacturing site simultaneously is quite difficult to maintain. Therefore, this study develops an integrated demand-supply balancing (IDSB) system framework and takes a textile company that has implemented the IDSB system to demonstrate how the IDSB system to handle supply chain exception. DSB function justifies the feasibility of each reallocation plan in terms of supply and demand balancing perspective. Finally, a textile company case study shows that the IDSB system can indeed support global production planners to effectively generate more feasible multi-site master production schedule and reallocation plan than traditional approach in terms of available material, capacity and order due date.


The rapid expansion and adoption of internet-based microfinance platforms have provided an opportunity for individuals to direct philanthropy towards specific causes to a degree not previously possible. In this paper, we make use of rich, individual loan-level data from www.kiva.org, an internet website that facilitates philanthropic cash transfers from small scale individual donors to specific microfinance loan recipients, to examine whether, and what patterns of, discrimination exist based on the choices made by these donors. We exploit detailed information provided on each borrower though objective loan information, pictures and textual descriptions to investigate the determinants of individual charitable giving. We find that donors appear to discriminate in favor of more attractive, lighter-skinned, and less obese borrowers, even as donors appear to systematically favor regions of the world where lighter skin is less prevalent. These effects are statistically and quantitatively significant and robust across a variety of specifications. Discrimination on the basis of physical attraction and skin color appears to be heightened for female borrowers, while obesity matters more for male borrowers.


The basis for using mechanical property ratios to predict moisture sensitivity in asphalt concrete is discussed. Also discussed are (a) physical property ratios, which depict specific types of pavement distress such as fatigue cracking and are calculated from the wet accelerated conditioned and dry mechanical properties, and (b) mathematical models to predict field-developed wet performance life, which are based on relative life computational methods and incorporate the physical property ratios. Initial test data from the moisture damage test sections of NCHRP Projects 4-8(3)/1 and 4-8(4) are used in two relative life mechanistic models developed at the Univeristy of Idaho to predict wet performance lives. Periodic core properties obtained during a 10-year period are used to evaluate in situ wet lives of the test sections. Comparisons indicate that predicted lives and in situ lives are similar. Implications are that additional built-in complexity in moisture damage models may not be needed in the near future. Control of moisture damage is more reliably achieved through the application of both indirect tensile strength and resilient modulus cutoff ratios, which are readily calculated from prediction models. These ratios are dependent on strength and modulus test data, pavement location, and performance requirements. There is reason to think that a high reliability of zero moisture damage can be achieved in the field when cutoff ratios are exceeded.


Acoustic pressure fields are capable of patterning and levitating particles of a wide range of ma-terials and sizes through air, water or biological tissue. This has applications in crystallography, cell manipulation, lab-on-a-chip scenarios, pharmacology, containerless transportation and even levitation of living things. Overall, the research domain of acoustic pressure fields has seen signif-icant advances in recent years. Its flexibility and potential applications have been greatly increased with the development of holographic techniques and the use of optimizers. However, there is still room for improvement, as limitations hinder the application of acoustic fields in various research scenarios. For example, there is no unified hardware platform that can flexibly support exploratory research in acoustic holography applications. Most commercial or DIY devices lack the resolution or power that researchers require, so they need to fabricate more complex, cumbersome and ex-pensive devices. Moreover, previous research has focused on the levitation and manipulation of small particles and droplets; however, a full prototype for contactless fabrication has yet to be de-veloped since there is no existing work on trapping elongated objects in position and orientation. Furthermore, microfluidics is limited in terms of three-dimensional (3D) manipulation, droplet size and cross-contamination. This thesis provides a comprehensive introduction to the optimization of acoustic fields, re-viewing its importance in applications across multiple research and industry domains. This thesis also examines the previously stated limitations and shortcomings of the design and application of acoustic fields. Novel algorithms are proposed to generate desired target fields and to significantly improve their resolution and power through spatial and temporal multiplexation. An open and affordable hardware platform is presented to facilitate customisation for experimental require-ments by researchers exploring novel applications for ultrasonic holograms. Optimum acoustic traps are designed and evaluated to lock elongated elements in position and orientation. Contact-less fabrication using full acoustic trapping of elongated parts is demonstrated through additive manufacturing based on levitated particles, sticks and UV resin; the addition on top of other ob-jects and building inside containers is also illustrated. Finally, a 3D digital microfluidics system is proposed based on focused ultrasound through a hydrophobic mesh. Able to handle a large num-ber of liquid droplets (> 40μL), and capable of merging/splitting them or vertically propelling them, this system significantly improves already existing EWOD systems generating less surface contamination. This thesis presents these achievements and their related works, models, methodologies, pro-cedures and conclusions. I hope that these pieces of work are a significant advancement in the research of acoustic fields and may inspire and facilitate future novel applications of acoustic holo-grams by researchers in various domains of academia and industry.


Two experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of CO2 concentration in the air and light intensity on the utilization of NO3 and NH4 by vegetable crops. In the first experiment, lettuce, tomato, and kidney bean were grown in a nutrient solution composed of various NO3/NH4 mixtures under several concentrations (3601800 ppm) of CO2 in the air. The growth of each crop was enhanced by CO2 enrichment and was better when plants were provided with N as a combination of NO3 and NH4 than with NO3 alone. Especially in tomato, growth enhancement by CO2 enrichment was greater with NH4 than with NO3. In the second experiment, cucumber, tomato, and spinach were grown in a nutrient solution containing N in various combinations of NO3 and NH4 under twa levels of light intensity (unshaded, 40% shaded) and air CO2 concentration (360, 1300 ppm) ; lower growth was obtained under the shaded condition. The growth of each crop was markedly increased by CO2 enrichment under unshaded higher light intensity. However, under the shaded condition, the effect of CO2 enrichment on spinach growth was small. When plants were grown with NO3 alone, increasing N concentration in the solution (2-12 me/l) produced little increase in dry weight at 360 ppm CO2 irrespective of light conditions, but produced marked increase at 1300 ppm CO2. Greater growth increment owing to CO2 enrichment was produced with NH4 than with NO3. Furthermore, growth reduction due to shading was smaller with NH4 than with NO3. The results may suggest the possibility that NH4 is a more effective N source than NO3 under higher air CO2 concentration or lower light intensity. Moreover, N concentration in the solution needs to be kept relatively high to produce the yield increase by CO2 enrichment.


The aim of this work was to study the deformation behavior of an Armco iron after severe plastic deformation by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP). Particular attention was paid to predict the dislocation density by different approaches like the model proposed by Bergstrom. Experimental measures of dislocation density by different techniques are used in the discussion. Cylindrical samples of ARMCO iron (8mm of diameter, 60mm of length) were subjected to ECAP deformation using a die with an intersecting channel of Φ=90° and outer arc of curvature of ψ= 37° die. Samples were deformed for up to 16 ECAP passes following route Bc. The mechanical properties of the material were measured after each pass by tensile tests. The original grain size of the annealed iron (70 μm) was drastically reduced after ECAP reaching grain sizes close to 300nm after 16 passes.


This paper reveals a study on air pollution process over North China, applying remote sensing technology, using satellite observation and in situ measurements during the twenty-first Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting, which was held in Beijing between 6 and 12 November when the clear weather was called "APEC-Blue". In the meantime, pollutants concentrations including PM2.5 and PM10 in Beijing were lower than 100 μg/m3 owing to the effective government measures and policies, as well as meteorological conditions. High aerosol loading (AOD > 1) was observed over south of Beijing and vertical observations showed that the pollutants were prominent near the land surface. Different from the meeting period, high pollutants concentrations with explosive growth (the values of PM2.5 and PM10 peaking at 291 μg/m3 and 360 μg/m3 respectively) appeared over Beijing after the meeting period, accompanied by strong temperature inversion and high Relative Humidity (RH) values. The pollution particles transferred from Beijing area to south part of North China. Otherwise, fine-mode particles with strong absorption characteristic (UVAI > 1.5, AOD > 1) covered the Beijing sky in the meantime, indicating the existence of black carbon aerosols.


The cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)/Protein Kinase A (PKA) pathway promotes arousal in nematodes, fruit flies and mammals. Caenorhabditis elegans displays unique forms of sleep: developmentally timed sleep (DTS) and stress‐induced sleep (SIS). The cAMP/PKA pathway is downregulated during both DTS and SIS; however, where in the nervous system this is occurring is unknown. C. elegans provides a unique avenue for studying the ubiquitous cAMP/PKA pathway with single cell resolution in a living animal. To do this, we have introduced the red light‐activated adenylate cyclase, ilac22, and the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)‐based cAMP biosensor, epac1‐camps, into the C. elegans system. We have found that activation of IlaC in the DVA interneuron is sufficient to disrupt DTS, SIS and non‐physiological quiescence induced by over‐expression of neuropeptides. Next, we have expressed epac1‐camps in the DVA and ASI neurons and are currently quantifying cAMP during SIS. Our preliminary results indicate that cAMP is increased in the DVA during sleep relative to awake individuals, and we are beginning to quantify cAMP in the ASI neurons to test if this pattern is conserved. PKA‐mediated phosphorylation of the metabolic regulator adenosine monophosphate‐activated protein kinase (AMPK) inhibits its activity. To determine if AMPK is functioning downstream of cAMP/PKA, we are quantifying AMPK‐phosphorylation during SIS using temporal western blot analysis.


Abstract 4067 Although patients with multiple myeloma (MM) initially respond to current treatment modalities, it remains an incurable disease. Many new therapeutic options have become available during the past several years but nearly all patients develop resistance to currently available therapeutic options. In addition, there is no tumor marker that is uniformly expressed in all MM cells although CD138 is considered to be present on the surface of tumor cells in most cases of MM but generally is only present in a subset of the patients9 tumor population and may be absent in the most resistant part of the tumor clone. In order to address these unmet clinical needs, we queried Compugen9s MED Platform, an expression database which covers over 40,000 microarray experiments, for genes overexpressed in B cell-derived malignancies including MM and that exhibit low expression levels in normal cells and tissues. One of the most prominent candidates was CGEN-928, which was validated as over-expressed in MM at the mRNA level using an independent panel of both hematological malignancies and normal tissues. In this study, we first investigated whether the previously unidentified membrane antigen CGEN-928 is expressed in cells from human MM cell lines, human MM xenografts and fresh bone marrow (BM) aspirates derived from MM patients using flow cytometric analysis and immunohistochemical staining with the anti-CGEN-928 TM21 polyclonal antibody (Compugen Ltd, Tel Aviv, Israel). Using this antibody, we found that CGEN-928 was highly expressed in cells from the MM1s, U266 and RPMI8226 MM cell lines. Next, we examined CGEN-928 antigen expression in fresh tumor cells from BM aspirates from 17 MM patients and also showed high expression of CGEN-928. Notably, expression of this antigen was not only found on CD138 + MM cells but also on MM tumor cells lacking CD138 expression. We also examined the expression of CGEN-928 using our human MM xenograft models LAGκ-1A (bortezomib-sensitive), LAGκ-1B (bortezomib-resistant) and LAGλ-1 (melphalan-resistant). The bortezomib-sensitive MM tumor LAGκ-1A expresses CD138 whereas the bortezomib-resistant version LAGκ-1B developed from the same patient after the patient developed bortezomib reisistance does not express CD138. Cells from all three tumor types showed high levels of reactivity with the TM21 antibody. Similar to the fresh MM BM samples, CGEN-928 expression was not only found on CD138 + MM cells but also on CD138 - tumor cells derived from these human MM xenografts. Because this molecule is highly expressed on MM cells, we hypothesized that the anti-CGEN-928 antibody may show anti-MM effects and enhance the anti-MM effects of other anti-MM drugs. To evaluate this , we examined the effect of the TM21 antibody alone and in combination with dexamethasone, melphalan and bortezomib in vitro using cell proliferation MTT assays. Anti-TM21 polyclonal antibody (100 mg/ml) decreased MM tumor cell proliferation and increased apoptosis in cells from the MM1s, RPMI8226 and U266 cell lines. Next, we determined the effects of combining the anti-CGEN-928 antibody with bortezomib, melphalan or dexamethasone on MM1s cells. Cell proliferation assays demonstrated marked enhanced anti-proliferative effects when CGEN-928 antibody at concentrations of 5, 10, 50 and 100 mg/ml was combined with bortezomib, melphalan or dexamethasone. Further investigations are defining the mechanisms and signal transduction pathways that produce the anti-MM effects of CGEN-928. These preliminary studies suggest that the CGEN-928 antigen is highly expressed in MM and treatment with an anti-CGEN-928 polyclonal antibody produces anti-MM effects alone and in combination with other anti-MM agents; and thus, this antigen may be a target for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Currently, a monoclonal anti-CGEN-928 antibody is in development that will be used by our group to evaluate its anti-MM effects both in vitro and in vivo using our SCID-hu models of human MM. Disclosures: Levy: Compugen Ltd.: Employment. Dassa: Compugen Ltd.: Employment. Cojocaru: Compugen Ltd.: Employment. Berenson: Compugen Ltd.: Research Funding. Levine: Compugen Ltd.: Employment.


The BP operated Greater Plutonio field development offshore Angola comprises a spread-moored FPSO in 1,300 m water depth, serving as a hub processing the fluids produced from or injected into the subsea wells. The selected riser system is a Hybrid Riser Tower comprising 11 risers bundled around a central structural tubular (Core Pipe), tensioned by a steel Buoyancy Tank at its top and maintained by an anchor base at its bottom. The Riser Tower is fabricated onshore and then towed to the field for final installation in deepwater near the FPSO. Once the Riser Tower installation is completed the risers are connected to the FPSO by means of flexible jumpers and to the flowlines by means of rigid spools. All fabrication and installation work has been performed by Acergy. This paper presents the studies performed to cover all the steps of the installation phase: build-up of the Orcaflex model, miscellaneous studies to determine model and analyses parameters, towing analysis, upending analysis, Buoyancy Tank ballasting and deballasting analyses, and contingency analyses. This paper is mainly focused on the Riser Tower installation but also covers the installation of the Riser Tower anchor and of the flexible jumpers in order to give a complete overview of the operations related to the Riser Tower system. A comparison between computed data and data measured during operations is also presented to support the overall installation analysis methodology. Lessons learned are provided for future improvement of Riser Tower installation covering main challenges such as Riser Tower modeling, weight/buoyancy repartition along the Riser Tower, Buoyancy Tank ballasting adjustment in Lobito bay, fatigue issues during surface and subsurface tow, bending moment issues during upending, etc.Copyright © 2009 by ASME


A mathematical model is presented to establish a relationship between the quantity of trace analyte vapor lost to the surface of delivery tubing and the tubing diameter, while in transit between stages of an instrument. Cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrometry for mercury, hydride generation techniques, and interfaces like the interface between electrothermal vaporization and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry all risk significant analyte loss before measurement. The results of this modelling substantiate the results of limited experimental work published elsewhere suggesting the use of the smallest possible tubing diameter for the delivery of atomic vapor through a tube. This diameter is calculable using Poiseuille's formula. Using this model, kinetic theory, and experimental data, the sticking probability for mercury on latex tubing is calculated to be approximately 1.6 × 10−6.


Abstract : The main focus of our research has been on the fundamental aspects of optimization in the context of uncertain (and possibly large) data sets revealed in an online fashion, considering the intersection and interplay of three main phenomena (incomplete and uncertain data, online decisions with or without real-time restrictions, and large data sets). Motivated by applications associated with the deployment of autonomous multi-agent systems for spatial exploration and information harvesting, our research has concentrated on the development and analysis of competitive online algorithms for the simplest canonical models defined in our proposal (single agent prize collecting online traveling salesman problem and Hamiltonian path problems), as well as for some generalizations of the secretary problem, a class of closely related online problems.


Reported was a 3 week fluency shaping program in which 56 stutterers (aged 8 to 59 years) were each assisted by a single speech therapist through the following program stages: very slow speech; vowels; consonant initiated syllables; one, two, and three syllable worts; short, self generated sentences; spontaneous speech; and transfer. Ss also worked with a computer system which monitored speech sound characteristics and provided feedback on the accuracy of responses. Each S was described in terms of sex, age, previous treatment indication, and stuttering frequency prior to program participation. Reported were significant preand post-treatment differences in Ss on measures of disfluent word frequencies. A newly derived objective index of stuttering severity. was said to correlate significantly with global ratings of severity made by a speech pathologist. Post-treatment measures on the Perceptions of Stuttering Inventory made on the average of 4 months after the program were found to be significantly lower than the pre-treatment measures. Followup data collected 2 years after the program showed that significant gains in speech fluency had been retained for seven out of 10 Ss. (Author/GW)


Arguably the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 (SFDRR) fail to deal with root causes of disasters (Wisner, 2020) and therefore calls for science to support policy move towards more holistic solutions to disaster risk. In this context, root causes analysis has been described as "a structured investigation that aims to identify the true cause of a problem and the actions necessary to eliminate it" (DKKV, 2012, p. 12). A systematic review of 40 studies of disaster causation concluded that the FORensic INvestigations of disasters (FORIN) provides a broad and adaptable approach for the study of disaster root causes (Fraser et al., 2016). FORIN has been developed by the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) program of International Council for Science (ICSU), International Social Science Council (ISSC) and United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) (Oliver-Smith et al., 2016). The FORIN approach has been used to investigate the root causes of disasters around the world. For example, to reveal the underlying causes and risk drivers in the Haitian earthquake (Oliver-Smith et al., 2016), to inform the narratives to identify the factors that exacerbated the loss of human life in one of the most devastated local municipalities on the coast by 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (Nakasu et al., 2017) or to understand the political ecology of the recurrent El Niño-related disasters in Peru (French et al., 2020). FORIN research focuses on demonstrating with strong evidence that disaster risks are socially constructed. The principal contributing causes of disaster risk should be clearly identified along with ways in which they can be reduced or avoided through in-depth analysis that ties structurally-based root causes into causal chains to the active social drivers of risk that result in the unsafe conditions that place people in harm's way. There are two clearly differentiated stages in FORIN: "FORIN analysis opts for a separation of basically descriptive, systematizing aspects of explanation from more deep-rooted causal analysis in order to organize thought and research needs as opposed to dictating an order of enquiry as such" (Oliver-Smith et al., 2016, p. 23). The approach provides scope for flexible adaptation and application in different research contexts. This includes its application to complex phenomena such as climate change (Gotangco et al., 2014) and pandemics because the strengthened understanding of these socially constructed risks offers potential to "move to a new and different normal, transforming the way the global geopolitics and economics are constructed" (Alcántara-Ayala et al., 2021, p. 2). The first FORIN descriptive explanation suggests the immediate relating of patterns of loss, damage and impact to the differentiated impact of hazards on exposed social elements. Vulnerability Edited by: Irasema Alcántara-Ayala, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico


GIS research has matured enormously in the 20 years since the GISRUK series began in 1993. Many new topics have been added to the research agenda, while others have moved out of the agenda either because they have been solved or because they are no longer as relevant. New developments continue to arrive, in the form of new data sources, new technologies, and new concepts, many of them from outside the field. GIS has found applications across the entire spectrum of human experience, touching virtually all of the problems and issues facing humanity, and motivating an increasing volume of applied research. In what follows I first review the evolution of the research agenda; then discuss some of the most recent topics and challenges; and finally add a more personal retrospective to address a question that all of us might ask: why is this field so compelling, and why in my case has it provided more than 40 years of fascination and stimulus?


In the production of oxytetracycline using a strain (BS-21) of Streptomyces rimosus in media with different amino acids, we observed that if the medium contained threonine as a sole source of nitrogen, isoleucine was produced in a quantity corresponding to 17 per cent of the threonine. The isoleucine was identified by means of paper chromatography. The synthesis of isoleucine was accelerated and increased by the presence of small amounts of alanine. In such experiments isoleucine was produced in a quantity which corresponds to 25 per cent of the threonine added to the medium (table 1). Based on experiments carried out with different mutant strains, it is believed that threonine is the precursor of isoleucine. This supposition was confirmed by isotopic experiments (Umbarger and Adelberg, J. Biol. Chem., 190, 883, 1951; Adelson, J. Biol. Chem., 206, 335, 1954; Adelberg, In A symposium on amino acid metabolism, p. 419, Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1955; Umbarger, ibid., p. 442; Strassman and Weinhouse, ibid., p. 452). The results of our investigations are explained by the above experimental data. Our experiments give a new basis for further investigations regarding the formation of isoleucine. The composition of the media used follows. Basic medium: glucose, 1.5 per cent; NaCl, 0.3 per cent; KH2PO4, 0.025 per cent. Medium A contains in addition to the basic medium, DLthreonine, 0.79 per cent. Medium B contains in TABLE 1 Formation of isoleucine


In order to master decay law of the expressway pavement performance, and reasonably predict the overhaul period, pavement surface condition index and riding quality index which decayed roughly "anti-S-curve" were obtained, based on the test data accumulated from nearly a 1 000 km for 10 years in Hunan expressway pavement performance. The new cosine function model of pavement performance degradation was put forward,and the mathematical and physical meaning of model parameters were studied. The results show that model parameter ? has good consistency with the overhaul period of the road. The cosine function model of pavement performance degradation can be applied to evaluate expressway pavement surface condition and riding quality condition, which is consistent with the actual overhaul period, and the correctness and practicability of the model are verified.


Residual germ cells larger than primary spermatogonia but similar in other respects are found throughout the testis in the walls of the lobules and in the cysts of developing germ cells. There is no evidence for germ cell migration through the testis. Spermatogonia arise in situ from residual cells.


Abstract A mixed ligand zinc coordination polymer, {Zn(μ-DPE)(DBM)2}n (1) (HDBM: dibenzoylmethane and DPE: (E)-1,2-di(pyridin-4-yl)ethene), was prepared and identified by elemental analysis, FT-IR, 1H NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In the 1D linear coordination polymer of 1, the zinc atom has a ZnN2O4 environment with octahedral geometry. These complex units are linked by the bridging of the planar N2 donor DPE ligands. In the coordination network of complex 1, in addition to the hydrogen bonds, the network is more stabilized by π–π stacking interactions between pyridine and β-diketone moieties of the ligands. These interactions increase the ability of the compound to interact with biomacromolecules (BRAF kinase, CatB, DNA gyrase, HDAC7, rHA, RNR, TrxR, TS and Top II) as investigated by docking calculations.


The polarization rotation and coherent population trapping signal arising due to two photon process using linearly polarized light are found to be significantly enhanced for a Zeeman degenerate system. The zero crossing of the dispersive profile is found to be shifting proportional to the applied magnetic field, albeit the absorptive profile position remains invariant for a slightly imbalanced orthogonal circular polarization component. It provides an alternative method for precise measurement of vector magnetic field without requirement of a bias field. The use of polarization rotation signal for magnetic field measurement offers added advantage due to improved signal to noise ratio.


Aiming to the problem that the performance of spread spectrum receiver degradation due to data windowing in narrow band suppression, a robust windowing technology is proposed in this paper. Furthermore, a novel structure of receiver based on inverse windowing is proposed. The computer simulation results confirm that the novel windowing technology can improve the performance of narrow band suppression receiver.


We present exact calculations of partition function $Z$ of the $q$-state Potts model with next-nearest-neighbor spin-spin couplings, both for the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic case, for arbitrary temperature, on $n$-vertex strip graphs of width $L_y=2$ of the square lattice with free, cyclic, and M\"obius longitudinal boundary conditions. The free energy is calculated exactly for the infinite-length limit of these strip graphs and the thermodynamics is discussed. Considering the full generalization to arbitrary complex $q$ and temperature, we determine the singular locus ${\cal B}$ in the corresponding ${\mathbb C}^2$ space, arising as the accumulation set of partition function zeros as $n \to \infty$.


The nation-building projects in much of post-socialist Eurasia have been characterized by the promotion of ethnic majorities and marginalization of minority groups. In dialogue with the scholarship on nation-building, ethnic exclusion and conflict, and ethnic migration, this study examines individual views on current and future interethnic relations, assessments of prospects for own ethnicity, expectations for future economic changes, and intentions to migrate abroad in the multiethnic nation of Kyrgyzstan. I use nationally representative survey data to model differences in these outcomes across the majority-minorities divides and between regional subgroups of the nation's ethnic majority. The results show that a native minority that experienced recent ethnic violence has the most negative assessment of current interethnic relations. However, the minority group of outside origin, which never suffered direct violence but whose size and societal preeminence have eroded rapidly, is least optimistic about the future and is most inclined to migrate. Yet, the analyses also detect substantial regional differences within the ethnic majority, underscoring the complexity of historically-rooted ethnocultural and socioeconomic cleavages as well as of more recent political experiences. I interpret these findings within the context of evolving meanings of ethnic identity and national belonging in this rapidly changing society.