The paper reviews recent research on self-sensing and self-healing cement-based materials as part of Smart Civil Engineering Infrastructures. Incorporated in Structural Health Monitoring systems, these materials are likely to play an important role in making future infrastructure robust, resilient and sustainable. Smart or intelligent cement-based materials have attracted extensive attention in the last decade or so with strong implications for improving structural durability and service life. Additions of carbon fibres, carbon nano-tubes and various nano-powders giving cement-based matrix electrical properties used for self-sensing have been known for over a decade and a half. In addition, the strong capacity of Strain-Hardening Cement-based Composites (SHCC) for autogenous healing is aided by tight crack-width control, and the application of different mineral and bio-additive based materials to accelerate autonomic self-healing of cracks have been noted with great interest. Monitoring of the durability of concrete structures is often neglected in favour of the structural safety against catastrophic failure. The present review summarizes the latest literature with a focus on identifying and documenting key innovations and field applications, and the performance based design approach to tailoring material solutions for long service life, sustainability and resiliency. Smart infrastructures including Smart Buildings and Smart Cities are being constructed at an increasing pace around the world. One of the major driving force is the explosion of low-cost Internet-enabled sensors as part of the new wave of 'Internet of Things (IoT)'. At a fraction of the cost that is being invested into the latest IoT products for incrementally more comfortable living space, a much more resilient and sustainable infrastructure can be ensured by investing in commercialization of self-sensing and self-healing materials. For this to happen the research community need to identify the gaps between the 'Industry Pull' and 'Technology Push' first instead of inventing solutions waiting for a problem.


Dissipation and Transformations in Water and Sediment. Nature, Transport, and Fate of Airborne Residues. Absorption and Transport in Plants. Biotransformations of Herbicides in Higher Plants. Bioaccumulation and Food Chain Accumulation. Photochemical Transformations. Bound Residues. Predictability and Environmental Chemistry. 81 illustrations,


With the rapid development of science and technology and continuous research in this field,visible lights are used more and more widely.The photochemical and thermal effects of red and blue light irradiation on human tissue are recognized gradually in the medicine,health care and cosmetology industry.Based on the papers and literatures produced in recent years both at home and abroad,this article introduces the development of the research on the application of red and blue light irradiation in medical,health care and cosmetology industry for the reference of clinicians and scientific researchers.


Frozen orange juice concentrate (63.8° Brix) was reconstituted with water to single strength juice and supplemented with a commercial citrus pectinesterase (PE) to give an activity of 1.5 PE units/mL juice. Reconstituted juice and freshly squeezed single strength orange juice were treated with a cation exchange resin. Resin treatment decreased the pH of the juice from 3.75 to 2.0 and completely inactivated PE. PE was also inactivated following acidification of the juice to pH 2.0 with concentrated hydrochloric acid. Very little cloud loss occurred in refrigerated (4°C) juice at pH 2.0 for approximately 12 wk; however, a loss (> 95%) of ascorbic acid resulted. Only microorganisms died-off rapidly (> 99.9%) in juices adjusted to pH 2.0 using ion exchange resin, but not in juices lowered to pH 2.0 with HCl.


Microsomal cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase (EC 1 .14.13.7) in rat liver was assayed by a single-isotopeincorporation method, and factors influencing its activity were studied. Crude cytosol contained a non-catalytic activator which was heat-stable and non-dialyzable. This activator enhanced cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase catalytic activity. The stimulatory property of this cytosolic activator was not altered by cholestyramine feeding, and was retained after fractionation by ammonium sulfate of saturation up to 65%. 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) stimulated hydroxylase activity at concentrations up to 90 p M but it became inhibitory above 150 p M . ATP at concentrations greater than 1.2 mM inhibited hydroxylase activity. NaF was stimulatory at concentrations up to 50 mM with a maximum stimulatory effect at 10 mM, and was antagonistic in effect to ATP. HMG-CoA and ATP at the above inhibitory concentrations and higher abolished the activating effect of the cytosolic factor.-Kwok, C. T., W. Burnett, and I. R. Hardie. Regulation of rat liver microsomal cholesterol 7a-hvdroxvv lase: presence of a cytosolic activator. J . Lipid Res. 1981. 22: 570-579. Supplementary key words A T P . bile acids . cholesterol . cholestyramine . gallstones . 3-hyclrox)-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A . NaF T h e initial step in the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids is catalyzed by cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase (EC 22.214.171.124) which is rate-limiting (1, 2 ) . This enzyme plays a crucial role in the catabolism of cholesterol to bile acids and the maintenance ofthe overall pool size of bile salts. Reduction in the amount of bile salts in hepatic bile has been observed in several studies of patients with gallstones (3-5), and a significant reduction in cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase activity has been reported in patients with gallstones (6). The understanding of the regulation of cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase activity under various experimental conditions is thus of great importance in the elucidation of the pathogenesis of gallstones. Regulation of hydroxylase activity is mediated via active turnover of the enzyme and via modulation of its catalytic efficiency (7), through a feedback mechanism which has been demonstrated in experimental animals and in human subjects (8-10). Cholesterol feeding, cholestyramine treatment, and glucose administration to rats enhance hepatic cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase activity (10, 1 l ) , while bile salts administered in the diet o r by intraduodenal infusion (12, 13) inhibit activity. Modulation of hydroxylase catalytic activity at molecular level, however, is not understood. There have been conflicting reports on the effect of the high speed supernatant obtained from the postmicrosomal fraction on the catalytic activity of cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase. A stimulating effect of this supernatant on cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase was noted by Spence and Gaylor (14) in contrast to earlier studies by Shefer, Hauser, and Mosbach (15) where this was found to be negative. In this study, we provide evidence for the presence of a noncatalytic, heat-stable cytosolic factor, and data on molecular modulation of' cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase by HMGCoA, ATP, and NaF.


Digital elevation model(DEM) is a powerful auxiliary tool in landscape interpretation,but also an important means of expression in terrain analysis.By the SRTM-DEM data processing based on methods of previous studies,use methods like GIS spatial analysis and statistical analysis to analyze the terrain,and then finish the expansion analysis of topography based on the factor of relief amplitude,slope,aspect,elevation.summarize the topographic feature of the region.


Outer conductor contact member for coaxial cable ends, having the following features - inside an outer conductor sleeve (3) is at least one molding element (15 '; 15a, 15b) provided in at least one longitudinal zone (Z) of the outer conductor sleeve (3), - the at least one mold element (15; 15a, 15b) comprises at least one in the interior of the outer conductor sleeve (3) of the sleeve inner surface (3c) uplifting and around the axial central axis (X) helically extending shape element (15) or more extending in the axial longitudinal direction and circumferentially offset from one another disposed forming elements (15; 15b), - the outer conductor sleeve (3) with their connection end (13a) at least in a partial length of a coaxial cable end (1 ') of a coaxial cable (1) turned up or aufdrehbar or pushed or plugged, - the outer conductor sleeve (3) is a coaxial cable (1 ') placeable or placed, that the at least one or more forming elements (15; 15a, 15b) below the cable sheath (11) in the outer conductor (9) or below the outer conductor braid (9 ') in the external conductor film ...


Abstract Medicaid is the largest payer of long-term services and supports and millions of older Americans rely on the means-tested program for health care coverage. There has been longstanding concern that wealthy older adults are taking advantage of the program by divesting assets in order to qualify for coverage. The existing research on the issue is somewhat dated, does not focus on the question of asset transfer, and often lacks a significant longitudinal view. Thus, questions remain about whether states need to tighten asset eligibility rules to prevent the wealthier older adults from accessing the program. This analysis explores longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (1998 to 2016) to determine the extent to which wealthier Americans age 50 and older engage in asset transfer to access Medicaid. Our findings demonstrate that this may occur among a relatively small proportion of wealthy older adults, and that tightening Medicaid eligibility criteria would likely have a small to modest impact on the financial status of the program.


Based on the specific model of a car body,the painting robot's arms are simplified as the non quality links,and the optimization mathematical model of the links is set up.And the optimized parameters of the robot arms are got with the MATLAB program.At the same time,based on the optimized parameters,the workplace of the painting robot is simulated,the simulation result approved that the optimized arms could meet the work-requirement.


Ad dress for Cor res pon den ce: Nurcan Kolancalı MD, University of Health Sciences, Haydarpaşa Numune Training and Research Hospital, Clinic of Pediatrics, Istanbul, Turkey Phone: +90 543 823 57 25 E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com ORCID ID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1137-0440 Re cei ved: 15.02.2017 Ac cep ted: 06.11.2017 ©Copyright 2017 by Viral Hepatitis Society / Viral Hepatitis Journal published by Galenos Publishing House. ABSTRACT ÖZ


With the battlefield electromagnetic environment become more complex, these also weaken operational effectiveness of information technology equipment. Therefore, to seize the electromagnetic superiority become the key of the war in the information control and then take the initiative. In view of the complicated electromagnetic environment simulation, this paper studies the hardware and software of complex electromagnetic environment simulation system. The system has the function of electromagnetic signal parameters editor, multi-domain real-time monitoring function, parameter real-time control function, test evaluation function, the target database management function and system configuration function. To improve the ability of combat troops in complex electromagnetic environment is of great significance.


This chapter presents general patterns about the relationships between Southern African American women and their adolescent daughters with a focus on health, well-being, and sexuality as topics that emerge from the data. My typology of the mother and daughter focus groups is presented with specific characterizations to help readers distinguish among each group and how their "worldview" reflected particular themes. For example, one group is called "Experts" because of the ways the group articulated the choices they made about how they discussed health-related issues with their daughters. It also refers to the way that they positioned themselves in the context of their expertise as health professionals. Analysis reveals how mothers talk among themselves and how daughters talk among themselves about key issues. The major themes that are connected to young womanhood are those of respect, trust, and pressure.


The discovery of low-dimensional metallic systems such as high-mobility metal oxide field-effect transistors, the cuprate superconductors, and graphene, silicene, phosphorene, conducting oxide interfaces (e.g., LaAlO3/SrTiO3), and a large variety of transition metal chalcogenide and dichalcogenide systems contradicts the seminal theory for transport in disordered metals that predicts that the metallic state cannot exist in two dimensions (2D). A key issue in such studies is the nature of the metal insulator transition (MIT) in 2D. Since the MIT is a quantum phase transition (one that occurs at T=0K) the transport properties should be independent of the chemical and structural details of the system. In this presentation, we will demonstrate that a generic phase diagram for the 2D MIT can be constructed for two very different systems: 1) highly disordered RuO2 nanoskins and 2) plasma-functionalized graphene. This phase diagram consists of three regions: metallic, weakly localized insulator with conductivity, ~ logT, and strongly localized insulator. We will present details of the transport properties of the disordered RuO2 nanoskins and plasma-functionalized graphene near their respective MITs.


A new coded modulation technique for signal sets designed combining wavelet functions and M-quadrature amplitude modulation (MQAM) is presented. Trellis-coded modulation (TCM) is implemented using the ring of integers modulo-Q as the algebraic structure of the multilevel convolutional encoder. These schemes are suitable for adaptive time-frequency unequal error protection, multiple-access and multiplexing, as well as being effective replacements for existing schemes. Wavelet-based ring-TCM schemes and MQAM ring-TCM schemes are first presented, and then combined to constitute a concatenated ring-TCM scheme. The concatenated scheme shows a coding gain of around 8 dB over uncoded BPSK, and does not require iterative decoding.


In participatory transmedia experiences a wide range of player agency is desirable but can be problematic if the game and storyworld boundaries are unknown or ignored. Players breaking the world boundaries can mean an experience must be aborted or stops being fun.
Yet breaking the rules is fun and in learning & development experiences like wargaming it might even be part of the goal. How then can authors of participatory experiences that play out in the real world allow players to break the rules but not break the world? How can we design an experience for the greatest player agency and the broadest scope of emergent stories yet prevent the world from travelling so far from the author's intended state that it becomes unrecognisable, unplayable or unsuitable?
This paper introduces the concept of an elastic storyworld as an alternative to a persistent storyworld: a world that stretches to accommodate unexpected player actions and yet restores itself over time.
Drawing on definitions of elasticity from physics, the paper suggests ways in which authors might classify and detect player-enacted distortions and how participatory experiences might be designed to be more resilient to the stresses and strains of player agency.


XU Bao-heng's diary recently published can be evaluated as the data bank for revealing the political and social custom of Beijing during the time from the end the Qing Dynasty to the beginning of the Republic of China.XU took office in the Military Council and Secretary Office at the end period of Qing Dynasty,and continued to be secretary of President and State Council at the beginning of the Republic of China.It is apparent that he stood long in political center.He recorded the activities of YUAN Shi-kai's obtainment of the presidency post along the deaths of Guangxu Emperor and Cixi Empress Dowager,and the abdication of the Qing Dynasty.As an assistant officer,XU during this transition period respected work for the state,was prudent and tolerant,gave due consideration to the overall situation,and hence gained YUAN's trust.At the beginning of the Republic of China,the official circles were dark,but XU maintained a narrow living space throughout,which has something to do with his special status.The diary only has fragmentary recording about YUAN's activities,but it reveals the inside stories and details,which can be insightful to understanding the political evolution of that period.


IN MANY CASES of suspected Funnel-web spider envenomation the spider responsible is brought with the patient to the hospital. A variety of less bannful spiders are regularly mistaken for Funnel-web spiders. This can result in unnecessary patient anxiety and a waste of staff time. A brief examination of the spider, if it is not too drastically damaged, can reliably establish whether the spider is a Funnel-web or not. Recognition of particular Funnel-web species is not relevant here. For medical purposes it is safest to assume that all Funnel-web species are potentially dangerously venomous. Specific identification can be sought later if required. Funnel-web spiders are large (1.5-4.5 embody length) black to brown spiders, The abdomen often has a definite maroon tinge and may occasionally be quite pale in colour. The carapace covering the front half of the body issmooth and shiny. From above, the body lacks obvious patterning; from below, the only obvious markings are the four orange-coloured spots of the lung books on the abdomen (which are not, however, diagnostic).


This paper proposes a robust tracking algorithm for an autonomous car-like robot, and this algorithm is based on the Tracking-Learning-Detection (TLD). In this paper, the TLD method is extended to track the autonomous car-like robot for the first time. In order to improve accuracy and robustness of the proposed algorithm, a method of symmetry detection of autonomous car-like robot rear is integrated into the TLD. Moreover, the Median-Flow tracker in TLD is improved with a pyramid-based optical flow tracking method to capture fast moving objects. Extensive experiments and comparisons show the robustness of the proposed method.


A vehicle display apparatus and a display control unit of the vehicle. The vehicle display apparatus includes a display panel (31), the display panel (31) is arranged in the driver visually recognize the display panel at a location (31), and displays information related to the running state of the vehicle. The display panel (31) comprises a first display area for displaying the first information (110) and a second region of the second display information (120) for display. The display apparatus further comprises a vehicle for obtaining a first information in the first display control section (11) and a second information for obtaining and displaying a second information (120) a second display control section (11). Vehicle display apparatus includes a display panel (31), the display panel (31) has a third display area (2110) for displaying third information and fourth information, the fourth display area (2120) for display. Vehicle display apparatus further includes a third display control section (11) and the fourth display control section (11).


Transient analysis of transmission line has recently been received more attention because operating speeds in high-speed digital electronics are increasing. Transmission line equations are hyperbolic partial differential equations, firstly this paper deduces how to change transmission line equations into quasilinear differential equations , thus the transmission line equation numerical result is gotten by computing the differential formation of quasilinear differential equations. The constraint of voltage and current is be considered and lumped equivalent circuit mode at boundary network collaborated at the same time in finding boundary conditions. Finally the paper computes transient response of transmission line with two typical boundary conditions. Numerical result shows that this approach is an effective way. It is explicit algorithm with less CPU consumption which can get time field response directly. The agree-upon effective way does be frequency field method, however it could not get time response unless the numerical inverse laplace transformation (NILT) be introduced. Thus this approach is more effective than FFT algorithm.


To mitigate a global crisis of Li depletion, potassium-based rechargeable batteries have received significant attention because of their low cost and high specific energy density. In particular, the rechargeable potassium oxygen (K-O2) battery has been recognized as a promising energy storage technology because of its low overpotential and high round-trip efficiency based on the single-electron redox chemistry of potassium superoxide. Despite these merits, research on the development of K-O2 batteries is still in its early stages owing to a lack of understanding of the fundamental reaction chemistry and the difficulties encountered in handling, in terms of practical acceptability. Hence, it is necessary to summarize the representative works and provide overall insights on K-O2 batteries and recommendations for future studies. In this article, we critically review the important scientific aspects of K-O2 batteries, discuss the current challenges encountered, and provide recommendations from the scientific and practical points of view. We hope that this article will be helpful in designing innovative and advanced K-O2 batteries.


The effect of aspect ratio on the performance of core compressor exit stages was demonstrated using two three stage, highly loaded, core compressors. Aspect ratio was identified as having a strong influence on compressors endwall loss. Both compressors simulated the last three stages of an advanced eight stage core compressor and were designed with the same 0.915 hub/tip ratio, 4.30 kg/sec (9.47 1bm/sec) inlet corrected flow, and 167 m/sec (547 ft/sec) corrected mean wheel speed. The first compressor had an aspect ratio of 0.81 and an overall pressure ratio of 1.357 at a design adiabatic efficiency of 88.3% with an average diffusion factor or 0.529. The aspect ratio of the second compressor was 1.22 with an overall pressure ratio of 1.324 at a design adiabatic efficiency of 88.7% with an average diffusion factor of 0.491.


SUMMARY This paper describes the modelling of a two axle railway-bogie with variable design configurations and its application in the investigation of the behaviour in transitional and circular curves. Several results indicate possibilities to improve the curving properties and recommend the usage of forced-steering bogies, which show better performance in narrow curves without unbearable sacrifices to high-speed-behaviour on straight track.


The disc diffusion and agar well diffusion methods were used to investigate the synergistic in vitro antibacterial activity of methanolic extracts of pomegranate peel and black seed. Extracts of pomegranate peel and black seed were produced in methanol for this objective and evaluated in vitro against Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterial strains. The results were then compared to the standard drug gentamycin (50 μg). The synergistic in vitro antibacterial activity of pomegranate peel and black seed methanolic extracts revealed varying levels of antimicrobial activity against all test microorganisms.


This research aims to determine the effect of consumers' perceptions of GI on purchasing 6 intention. Data were obtained from surveys conducted with 384 consumers in Turkey. 7 Structural equation model (SEM) was used to analyze the data. According to the results, 8 62.5% of the consumers have information about foods with GI while 58.9% of the consumers 9 consume foods with GI. The SEM results indicated that food with GI perception had a 10 statistically significant and positive effect on the intention to purchase foods with GI. 11 Consumers want to buy geographically marked foods as they are "healthier", "higher quality", 12 and "more reliable". Consumers have positive opinions about foods with GI, and are willing 13 to pay more for them. The fact consumer perceptions do not change is closely related to the 14 performance of products with GI. Monitoring the production processes of GI foods that are 15 more delicious, healthier, reliable, and ensuring the continuity in product quality will increase 16 the demand of consumers for geographically marked foods.


It was the purpose of this experiment to produce hepatic lesions in the guinea pig by repeated administration of halothane as an anesthetic agent. Although no clinical chemistry or hematologic findings suggested hepatic disease, seven of 50 guinea pigs anesthetized one to five times with halothane had hepatic lesions. The lesions were characterized by a focal, diffuse hepatic necrosis infiltrated with mononuclear cells.


For many people, the most worrisome objection to a hierarchical approach is the problem of normal variation, which seems to imply that some (ordinary adult) people have a higher moral status than others. Ideally, what many would like is a step function, where relatively minor differences in underlying capacities typically make no difference to moral status at all. The author suggests that an appeal to practical realism—the thought that moral principles must be selected with an eye toward our actual epistemic and motivational limitations—may provide the basis for just such a step function, illustrating the idea through a discussion of rule consequentialism, but showing how the idea can also be applied across a range of foundational views. This approach may support a version of limited hierarchy, where only a handful of different statuses are used to cover people and the entire animal kingdom, giving all people the same status.


It has been well documented that sensorineural hearing loss with and without vertigo is sometimes associated with acute otitis media. In addition, there have been several reports that in cases of unilateral chronic otitis media, deterioration of the bone conduction threshold is significantly higher in the diseased ears than in the contralateral normal ears. Therefore, inflammation of the middle ear could influence the inner ear function or could cause inner ear damage. Otogenic inflammation in the inner ear is classified into two types; suppurative labyrinthitis and serous labyrinthitis based on the pathogenesis in the inner ear. Suppurative labyrinthitis is caused by bacterial invasion of the inner ear mostly via the round window membrane. It is characterized by infiltration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the perilymphatic space and eventually also in the endolymphatic space. Endolymphatic hydrops is also seen. In the later stage, fibrosis and new bone formation occurs in the labyrinth, resulting in profound loss of auditory and vestibular function. Serous labyrinthitis is defined as an irritation of the labyrinth caused by degradation of the tissue fluid environment of the inner ear by bacterial toxins and inflammatory mediators. When the disease is mild, recovery of function may be complete. Inflammatory mediators that have been detected in the middle ear, can pass through the round window membrane under physiological conditions as well as under pathological condition. Bacterial toxins such as LPS and pneumolysin, and mediators including PAF, cytokines and NO may alter the cochlear function, particularly disturbing the ion homeostasis maintained by fibrocytes in the cochlear lateral wall. The repeated invasion and persistent presence of toxins and mediators may lead to permanent morphological change in the sensory cells and stria vascularis of the inner ear.


Development of leukemia in a 37-yr-old woman who underwent chest roentgenography 30 times because of pulmonary tuberculosis is described. Leukemia was diagnosed 7 yr after these diagnostic procedures were begun. The patient had also received arsenical drugs, but their possible effect on leukemogenesis could not be evaluated. It is estimated that the total bone- marrow radiation dose received by this patient was 50 to 100 rad, which is within the range of the doses received by irradiated spondylitis patients reported to subsequently develop leukemia. The literature relating to radiation induction of leukemia is reviewed and means of lowering the absorbed dose in chest roentgenography are discussed. It is concluded that voltage increase and Al filtration (90 kv, 6 mm) reduce patient exposure without impairing film contrast or detail. (BBB)


This case illustrates the rare cause of failure to thrive (FTT) that initially presented with recurrent ear discharge. A five-year-old boy with a history of recurrent ear infections for the past year was treated for acute symptoms during each visit. He later was diagnosed with acute mastoiditis secondary to otitis media by a private otorhinolaryngologist and was referred to a tertiary hospital for admission and parenteral antibiotic commencement. The anthropometric evaluation noted he fell under the group of FTT and had an incidental finding of lower tract respiratory infection that turned out to be tuberculosis infection. Multiple complications occurred during his admission, including candidemia, disseminated tuberculosis, and deep-seated collections. Hence, he was worked up for primary immunodeficiency and was given extensive supportive treatment.


This study aims to gain understanding from several scientific publications to answer the problem, namely the challenges of implementing customary law in the unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, which has favorable laws for saving a healthy Indonesian environment. The author believes that every implementation of the law, both customary Laws and others, certainly has obstacles and challenges in this republic of Indonesia regardless of the goal of saving the environment and other factors. So to prove it, we have reviewed as many as 56 publications to back up all of them in answering this problem. Before we get an answer, of course, we will examine the number of documents that we get by relying on a phenomenological approach, namely getting answers from a large number of data through studies such as coding evaluation data and data interpretation to get correct and valid answers to the study questions after discussing the data findings, where the challenges in implementing customary law are found that the existence of positive law is more substantial even though customary law has received legal provisions and decisions of the supreme court.


A comprehensive set of reservoir engineering programs for the HP-41 calculator is presented. The 32 programs are designed to solve complex reservoir engineering problems, providing accurate performance estimates and forecasts by calculating fluid properties at current reservoir conditions for each step of the analysis. Each program includes an overview, equations, examples, user instructions, and program listings. A bar code is supplied so users with Wands can read the programs directly into their calculations. (JMT)


The causes and solutions of shaft current were introduced and a case of shaft current at the No.16 finishing mill of Masteel's high-speed wire rod plant was analyzed. Practice has proved that shaft current not only affects the bearings of motors but also damages the bearings of gearboxes.


The theoretical discourse in civil–military relations tends to perpetuate the notion that efficiency of military organizations is often negatively affected by the influence of domestic ideological factors. Societal norms are frequently portrayed as antithetical to the functional imperatives of the military. This article questions this notion and argues that an effective form of military organization can be produced by incorporating ethical norms of domestic society into its defense organization. To understand the role of societal ethical imperatives in defense policy, the Kantian model of societal–military relations is introduced here. This model emphasizes the normative character of military missions and suggests that its effective fulfillment requires an institutional culture consistent with such a mission. This is demonstrated in the case studies of West German rearmament and the post–Cold War transformation of the Bundeswehr. These empirical cases demonstrate that the societal ethical norms should be considered integral to military functional requirements.


The functionality model is a new approach in enzyme genetic programming which enables the evolution of variable length solutions whilst preserving local context. This paper introduces the model and presents an analysis of crossover and the evolution of program size.


Abstract This study is attempted to demonstrate the application of rheological measurements in characterization of cosmetics products. As part of this study, several rheological tests were carried out on three common, commercially available body lotions to analyze their complex properties. The tests described in this study were simple and predictive in which the viscoelastic properties were successfully related with the end-use performance properties such as applicability, processing behavior, temperature sensitivity and storage and thermal stability.


of Dissertation presented to COPPE/UFRJ as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (M.Sc.) OPTIMIZATION OF AUTOMATIC HIGHLIGHT DETECTION FOR FOOTBALL BROADCASTS


Abstract Context SJX-653 is a novel neurokinin 3 receptor (NK3R) antagonist. The NK3 pathway is a central regulator of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion and has also been implicated in the generation of hot flashes. Therefore, decreases of luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone in men serve as sensitive pharmacodynamic (PD) markers of central NK3 antagonism. Objective To characterize the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamic activity of SJX-653 in healthy men. Design A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, single ascending dose study. Setting Phase 1 unit. Patients or Other Participants Seven cohorts of 6 healthy men 18–45 years of age (4:2 randomization to SJX-653/placebo per cohort). Intervention(s) Single oral doses of 0.5–90 mg SJX-653. Main Outcome Measure(s) Safety assessments and serial pharmacokinetic (PK)/PD measurements. Results SJX-653 was well tolerated at all dose levels. Cmax and AUC0-24 increased in a dose-proportional manner. The terminal elimination half-life ranged between 9.8 and 12.5 hours independent of dose. A statistically significant, dose-dependent, reversible reduction of LH and testosterone was observed with near maximal effect after 15 mg and little to no effect at 4.5 mg. Maximal LH reduction was 70 ± 7% (mean ± sd) at 6 hours after 30 mg SJX-653 versus 10 ± 43% for placebo (P = 0.0006); maximal T reduction was of 68 ± 5% at 8 hours after 60 mg SJX-653 versus 18 ± 11% for placebo (P < 0.0001). The plasma IC50 for LH reduction was 33 ng/mL. Conclusions These data demonstrate clinical proof-of-mechanism for SJX-653 as a potent centrally-acting NK3R antagonist.


Lead poisoning of raptors is an ongoing and pervasive global conservation concern with potentially significant impacts for some species and populations. This Conservation Letter provides a scientific review of raptor lead poisoning globally and concludes by highlighting lessons learned and potential solutions. This letter is not intended as an exhaustive literature review. Rather, the intent of the Raptor Research Foundation (RRF) is to provide readers with enough evidence-based examples that they can appreciate the scope and prevalence of lead poisoning, understand the potential effects on raptor species and populations, and gain a basic understanding of the challenges associated with addressing lead poisoning of raptors across regions. Lead is a nonessential metal that has a variety of uses in modern society including ammunition, fuel additives, and storage batteries. The same properties that make lead useful for anthropogenic applications worldwide—resistance to corrosion and low mobility—cause lead to remain in host environments for millennia (Jørgensen and Willems 1987, Davies et al. 1990). The mining, manufacturing, combustion, recycling, and disposal of lead and lead products has resulted in lead concentrations in the atmosphere, soil, and water that are several orders of magnitude higher than naturally occurring concentrations (Franson and Pain 2011). Emissions of lead into the air and water enable lead to be inhaled or ingested, the two most common pathways of exposure to terrestrial vertebrates (Franson and Pain 2011). Exposure to lead, a highly poisonous neurotoxin, has been documented among raptor species worldwide (e.g., Haig et al. 2014, Krone 2018). The primary route of exposure is ingestion, typically through consumption of prey items containing lead fragments (Katzner et al. 2018, Krone 2018). Although lead does not generally appear to bioaccumulate through the food chain, secondary poisoning has been documented in raptors (e.g., Feierabend and Myers 1984). Lead poisoning can also be a secondary effect of shooting (persecution) when the shooting event itself is nonlethal, but lead remains lodged in the body (Berny et al. 2017). For more information on persecution, see the Conservation Letter: Raptor Persecution (Madden et al. 2019). Effects of Lead Poisoning on Raptors. The lethal and sublethal effects of lead on raptors have been well documented (e.g., Watson et al. 2009, Krone 2018). Lead enters the bloodstream after being broken down by stomach acids following ingestion or is absorbed through the lungs after inhalation. After entering the bloodstream, lead is transported to soft tissues such as the kidney and liver and eventually to the skeletal system where lead replaces vital nutrients such as calcium in the bone matrix (Scheuhammer 1987, Gangoso et al. 2009). Blood lead concentrations can be reflective of both recent and past 1 Email address: firstname.lastname@example.com


Compounds of formula 1, and their pharmaceutically acceptable salts, solvates, chelates, non-covalent complexes, prodrugs, and at least one chemical entity chosen from mixtures have been described. Carriers, adjuvants, and together with at least one pharmaceutically acceptable vehicle chosen from excipients comprising at least one chemical entity of the present invention, a pharmaceutical composition is described. Method of treating a subject suffering from certain diseases, which respond to inhibition of Btk activity / B cell activity have been described. The method for determining the presence of Btk in a sample have been described.


Copyright note: Penn School of Design permits distribution and display of this student work by University of Pennsylvania Libraries. Suggested Citation: Nittinger, Carl Edward (1991). A Primary Resource for the Restoration, Reconstruction and/or Replication of 18th And Early 19th Century Architectural Elements: The Architectural Study Collection of Independence National Historical Park. (Masters Thesis). University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.


For effective communication, interlocutors must be cognizant of lingua-cultural aspects in context-dependent situations. Among others, they include culturally and linguistically diverse university settings where students are tempted to complain about grades to teachers and request grade changes. To reduce the negative impact of these speech acts, students may resort to compliments whose utilization varies from culture to culture. This study investigated the attitudes of 146 undergraduate Emirati students towards complimenting an instructor from a different lingua-cultural background before negotiating a grade at a university in the United Arab Emirates that uses English as the medium of instruction. Data were collected using a survey and a discourse completion task. Results show that 49% of the respondents thought that it would be appropriate to use a compliment prior to a complaint about a grade or a request for regrading. Students primarily complimented their teacher's teaching skills and effort in teaching. The syntactic structures of their compliments mainly included You+V+NP (You+Verb+Noun Phrase). Results highlight the significance of considering interlocutors' lingua-cultural backgrounds and the potential impacts of an ulterior motive behind a compliment in deciding whether or not to produce one. If it is used, topics (i.e., what is complimented upon) to include in the compliment must be chosen delicately, considering the cross-cultural nature of the context and social status of the interlocutors.


Optical excitation at low temperature of pentacene guest molecules in benzoic acid crystals leads to the appearance of a great variety of defect structures. The reaction mechanism proposed is the transfer of a proton from the matrix to the dye forming a very unstable hydrogenated complex of pentacene which relaxes to ground state pentacene and a proton in a defect position of matrix. These results may serve as model for the study of spectral holeburning and spectral diffusion processes in amorphous solids.


Despite the great success of using gradient-based controllers to stabilize rigid formations of autonomous agents in the past years, surprising yet intriguing undesirable collective motions have been reported recently, when inconsistent measurements are used in the agents' local controllers. To make the existing gradient control robust against such measurement inconsistency, we exploit local estimators following the well-known internal model principle for robust output regulation control. The new estimator-based gradient control is still distributed in nature, and can be constructed systematically even when the number of agents in a rigid formation grows. We prove rigorously that the proposed control is able to guarantee exponential convergence, and then demonstrate through robotic experiments and computer simulations that the reported inconsistency-induced orbits of collective movements are effectively eliminated.


Cryptosporidiosis is a common illness in young cattle that causes high morbidity and some mortality. A common prophylactic treatment are halofuginone products but it seems likely disease could be reduced by other other pharmacological products or some management strategies. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analyses on key outcomes for treatment of calves before and after 5 days of age with any management strategy, any nutritional strategy or any non-halofuginone product. A systematic literature search was undertaken with data extracted for outcomes = oocyst shedding, diarrhea, mortality and weight gain. Experiments had to describe results for same age animals in contemporary arms. Control animals had to be observed concurrently in planned experiments (pre-post and case-control studies were not eligible). Both randomized and other clinically controlled trials were eligible. Results were subgrouped by study design and outcomes were described in detail where at least two articles described the same treatment strategy. 55 articles were found. Significantly lower incidence of oocyst shedding, diarrhea burden and mortality was reported in many experimental arms, especially when animals started treatment before 5 days old. Weight gain was not mostly affected by treatment, however, by three weeks of age. The evidence base is at least encouraging but insufficient about paromomycin, bumped kinase inhibitors and azithromycin treatment, especially for diarrhea and oocyst shedding, given late or early. Azithromycin is the most promising of these.


Section XI of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code provides rules and requirements for maintaining pressure boundary integrity of components, piping, and equipment during the life of a nuclear power plant. Code Case N-597-2 of Section XI, Requirements for Analytical Evaluation of Pipe Wall Thinning, provides evaluation procedures and acceptance criteria to justify continued operation of Class 1, 2 and 3 piping items subjected to wall thinning by a mechanism such as flow-accelerated corrosion. The acceptance criteria ensure that margins equivalent to those of the ASME B&PV Code are maintained. The technical basis for Code Case N-597-2 was previously presented at the 1999 ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference. Since then, the ASME Section XI Working Group on Pipe Flaw Evaluation has identified the need for further explanation of the technical basis for the Code Case, such as the procedures for evaluation of wall thickness less than the Construction Code Design Pressure-based minimum allowable wall thickness, tmin . This paper provides an additional description of the Code Case technical basis and validation against experimental and historic wall thinning events.Copyright © 2006 by ASME


This paper studies the link between downsizing and the economic and financial performance of the firm. A study of 141 French companies, who announced redundancies in 1997, 1998, and 1999, shows that staff cutbacks occur in companies whose past performance is relatively poor and who show a high rate of debt and a low profit margin. In addition, the performance of these companies over the three years following the staff cutbacks varies according to the initially stated reason for downsizing and how added value is split between employees and shareholders.


Social studies is a discipline that deals with social change and ensures that meaningfully interaction of the recipients with their physical and social environments is attained. It engenders sound education of the citizens, as well as inculcates a sense of social consciousness and social responsibility. Social studies a study that can help an individual to understand his environment, find out the problems of his environment as well as solving existing social problems. It is a study that inculcates the value of honesty, cooperation, and the needs of the nation, as well as the desirable skills to solve environmental problem. It is against this background that mass failure of students on the subject has resulted to several reactions by members of the public. Could child abuse be the remote cause to low academic achievement of students in social studies?


Archival collections of paraffin blocks remaining after the diagnosis and treatment of diseases are frequently touted as a "treasure" in the study of human diseases. If so, why are the Department of Health and Human Services and other federal departments and agencies proposing to put this


The Internet of Things (IoT) vision requires increasingly more sensor nodes interconnected and a network solution that may accommodate these requirements accordingly. In wireless sensor networks, there are energy-limited devices; therefore techniques to save energy have become a significant research trend. Other issues such as latency, range coverage, and bandwidth are important aspects in IoT. It is considering the massive number of expected nodes connected to the Internet. The LoRaWAN (Low Power WAN Protocol for Internet of Things), a data-link layer with long range, low power, and low bit rate, appeared as a promising solution for IoT in which, end-devices use LoRa to communicate with gateways through a single hop. While proprietary LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network) technologies are already hitting a large market, this paper addresses the LoRa architecture and the LoRaWAN protocol that is expected to solve the connectivity problem of tens of billions of devices in the next decade. Use cases are considered to illustrate its application alongside with a discussion about open issues and research opportunities.


Previous studies have shown that AMPK activation causes relaxation in isolated vessels from healthy animals but this has not been investigated in dysfunctional resistance arteries of hypertensive animals. Here we investigate the effects of AMPK activator 5‐aminoimidazole‐4‐carboxamide‐1‐β‐D‐ribofuranoside (AICAR) on resistance arteries from normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) and Spontaneously Hypertensive rats (SHR). Mesenteric arteries were mounted on a small vessel myograph, pre‐contracted with 10−5M norepinephrine and exposed to increasing concentrations of AICAR (10−6, 10−4, 10−2M). Dose‐dependent relaxation occurred (~10% at 10−6M and ~90% at 10−2M [AICAR], respectively), and did not differ between SHR and WKY. Incubation with the NOS inhibitor Nω‐nitro‐L‐arginine methyl ester (L‐NAME, 10−4M) blunted relaxation in the WKY at 10−6M AICAR (by ~17% vs. CON, n=6, P<0.01), but did not affect relaxation at higher [AICAR]. Conversely, L‐NAME significantly blunted the relaxation response of SHR rings across all [AICAR] (by ~15–25% vs. CON, n=8, all P<0.01). Thus AICAR causes relaxation in both SHR and WKY mesenteric artery segments, but the relaxation response to AICAR is more NO‐dependent in vessels from SHR compared to WKY. Collectively these findings suggest that AMPK could influence the regulation of resistance vasculature in normotensive and hypertensive animals in an NO‐dependent manner.


The study involved determination of resistance levels of spider mites ta argano-phosphates using topical application and slide dip techniques; laboratory serening tests of alternative acaricides using an O/P resistant strain and a field trial of the screened materials. 1. Strains of Tetranychus were from Timaru(TR), Havelock Narth (HNR), Lincaln (LN). Germany (GR, GN). Comparisons of the resistant strains and normal strains at the LD50 and LC50 levels were as follows : (a) Using the topical application tochnique; with Parathian. resistant levels of the GR. TR and HNR strains of T. urticae were respeativuly, 1035. 484 and 452 times as resistant' as the LN strain. (b) Using the slide dip technique; with Phosdrin, resistant of GR, TR and HNR strains of T. urticae were 635, 274 and 266 times greater respeativuly, than the GN strain. 2. The laboratory sereaning tests were carried out far their contact plus stomach and residual effect to assess the toxicities of eleven alternative materials which would be used far control of O/P resistant strain of T. urticae. The acaricide groups represented were 3 organo-chlorines (Spidex, Kelthane and C 8514), 2 nitrophenyls (UC 19786 and Morocide), 2 cyclic carbonates(Eradex and Morestan). I carbamate (UC2004 7A), 1 mixture of carbamate and orano-chlorine and 2 other chemicals (C 8677 and M2527). From all acaricide tested. Kelthane and Morocide were the most effective, folowed by Spidex and M2527. Morestan, C8514. C8677 and RS 143 were intermediate, but Eradex, UC 19786 and UC 20046A were poor. 3, The number of sapmles required for estimation of the population in the field evaluation of acaricidal effects was one giving the highest practical precision. It was decided, after preliminary sampling trials. to use samples of 30 leaves per replicate which gave a standard error. 4. In the field trials, Morocide applied at the a. i. conc. to black currant trees gave excellent control of O/P resistant population of T. urticae for about 12 days, but Morocide 0.025 and Kel thane a. i. cone. gave efficient control for about 6 days. In other words. first applications of Kel thane ane Moroeide gave very high degrees of control of O/P resistant population of the two-spotted spider mite. However, the results indicate that secondary application would sometimes be necessary. There was no foliage damage of black Currants and strawberries by either acaricides at the concentrations used. Acknowledgment ... The authors are grateful to: Dr. R. P. pottinger, Senior Lecturer in Agricultural Zoology. Lincoln college. New Zealand. for his helpful assistance in aiding with the organization of thd field work. Department of agriculture officers for mite colonies. Mr. D. A. Slade, Technical Advisor. Fruitgrowers' Federation (now at Massey University) for his assistance and provision of mites for testing. Mr T. McRae of Timaru for permission to use his crops for field tests. The following chemical companies and I or their New Zealand agents for so readily supplying samples of acarides; Ivan Watkins-Dow Limited. Fruitgrowers Chemical Company Limited. Henry H. York & company (New Zealand). Shell Oil (New Zealand) Limited.


Without a background in the Federal budget process, one might find many recent legislative choices truly inexplicable. Why, for example, would the Congress enact a Medicare drug plan that provides to the same beneficiary, sequentially in the same year, first-dollar coverage, then no coverage, and then full coverage? Not for health or medical reasons. Why would the Congress enact a tax bill that starts and stops tax rates multiple times within the same law and provides for the repeal of a provision in the first year after it is to be fully phased-in? Not for economic or business reasons.


As ITS develops into a deployable set of services, communications has become a major focus. ITS will require a broad range of communications capabilities and services to effectively serve its users. The Global Information Infrastructure, a world-wide convergence towards completely inter-networked communications and communications services, may eventually provide these capabilities and services. Thinkers from both ITS and GII communities have recognised the immense synergies possible if the mobile information systems required by ITS link to, or are part of, the 'anytime, anywhere' communications and data handling systems proposed by the GII. The combination of ITS and the GII would enable a variety of basic services which are currently not readily available (or not available at all), such as common priority schemes across multiple media to support mobile emergency calls. Work is under way to realise this vision in international standards organisations such as ISO, EEC and ITU, as well as think-tanks like the Cross Industry Working Team (XIWT). This paper will examine the relationship between GII and ITS, some of the possibilities for synergy between the two programs, and current international activities in the GII/ITS arena. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see IRRD abstract no. 899454.


As a starting point and to clarify the methodology of this project we emphasize that the first person to coin the term Business Intelligence was Hans Peter Luhn, IBM researcher, who, in his article "A Business Intelligence System" published in 1958 mentions the term and provides the following definition: "is the ability to learn the relationships of facts presented in a way that guides actions towards a desired goal". And although it is quite basic compared to today, it opens the doors to a large field of research that brings us to one of the most important technologies of today. Years later topics were introduced to the world of BI, as for example the creation of the concept of database, then large databases for large companies, in the same way the concept of the Datawarehouse, time later arrived the Business Intelligence 2.0, Big data and so on to structure a robust methodology in which all companies worldwide would be immersed. On the other hand, and hand the main objective of the BI was structured. It allows companies to optimize resources, monitor the fulfillment of the company's objectives and the ability to make good decisions to obtain better results. It represents a competitive advantage for the company, since it acts as a strategic factor in its organization and responds to the doubts that arise in a business, such as financial control, cost optimization, customer profile analysis, production planning or profitability of a product. Thus, all Business Intelligence systems have in common the following features: Accessibility to information: these tools and techniques guarantee users' access to data, regardless of where they come from. Decision Support: Users are sought to have access to analytics tools that allow them to select and use the data they are most interested in. End-User Orientation: The aim is the independence between the technical knowledge of users and their ability to use these tools.


Image demosaicing is the process of recovering truecolor images from raw data captured by color filter arrays. The research focuses on the improvement of a state-of-the-art demosaicing algorithm built upon the pivotal assumption that there exist two representative colors in an image neighborhood. Using a JAVA experimental framework, we have implemented the target algorithm and compared it with three alternative demosaicing schemes. The failure mode of the algorithms is identified and two forms of adjustment are proposed. Confirming important behaviors of the algorithm, the adjustments achieve modest improvement in demosaicing quality in selected image areas. Further research is necessary to confirm the statistical significance of such improvement, and to fully explore the adjustments' potentials. iv Acknowledgments


Precise control of protein translation in neurons, particularly translation occurring in dendrites near synaptic sites, is critical for the proper regulation of synaptic strength. The most direct way to affect the strength of glutamatergic synapses is to alter the abundance of AMPA-type glutamate receptors (AMPARs). Here I demonstrate the critical role that two separate translational regulators play in controlling the translation of the AMPAR subunit GluR1, both under steady-state conditions and during synaptic plasticity.Homeostatic synaptic plasticity adjusts the strength of synapses during global changes in neural activity, thereby stabilizing the overall activity of neural networks. Suppression of synaptic activity increases synaptic strength by inducing synthesis of retinoic acid (RA), which activates postsynaptic synthesis and insertion of AMPARs. Here, I show that the Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP), an RNA-binding protein that regulates dendritic protein synthesis, is essential for increases in synaptic strength induced by RA or by blockade of neural activity in the mouse hippocampus. Although activity-dependent RA synthesis is maintained in Fmr1 knockout neurons, RA-dependent dendritic translation of GluR1-type AMPARs is impaired. Intriguingly, FMRP is only required for the form of homeostatic plasticity which is dependent on both RA signaling and local protein synthesis. Expression of FMRP in knockout neurons reduced the total, surface, and synaptic levels of AMPARs, implying a role for FMRP in regulating AMPAR abundance. Critically, postsynaptic expression in knockout neurons of wild-type FMRP, but not two different mutant forms of the protein, was able to fully restore synaptic scaling.microRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNA molecules which bind to the untranslated regions of mRNAs and inhibit translation. Using a bioinformatics approach, I identified a pair of miRNAs, miR-96 and miR-182, which bind specifically to a known sequence in the GluR1 mRNA and prevent its translation. When overexpressed, these miRNAs reduce total and extrasynaptic levels of GluR1 protein in neurons, and prevent the induction of homeostatic plasticity by activity blockade. Both miR-96 and miR-182 are expressed in cortex throughout postnatal development, although we were unable to detect activity-dependent changes in the abundance of either miRNA. Attempted knockdown of both miRNAs revealed no significant effect on the abundance of GluR1 or the ability of neurons to undergo homeostatic plasticity.Taken together, these data offer significant insight into the regulation of local translation of glutamate receptors at the synapse, particularly during specific forms of synaptic plasticity. These results also suggest that some of the symptoms of Fragile-X syndrome may be attributed to defects in the induction of homeostatic plasticity.


FIELD: medicine, biotechnology. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to antibodies specifically binding to new human extracellular matrix polypeptides called as RGI; immunoconjugate containing the same and method for selective cell degradation; method for treatment of prostates cancer and metastasis in patients suffering from prostates cancer. EFFECT: new method for treatment of prostates cancer. 28 cl, 7 ex, 7 dwg


We describe several technical tools that prove to be efficient for investigating the rewrite systems associated with an equational specification. These tools consist of introducing a monoid of partial maps, listing the monoid relations corresponding to the local confluence diagrams of the rewrite system, introducing the group presented by these relations, and, finally, replacing the initial rewrite system with an internal process entirely sitting in this group. When the approach can be completed, one typically obtains a practical method for constructing algebras satisfying prescribed equations and for solving the associated word problem. The above techniques have been developed by the first author in a context of general algebra. The goal of this paper is to bring them to the attention of the rewrite system community. We hope that these techniques may be useful for more general rewrite systems.


The correct determination of the shelf mass including content is very important for the proper function of a universal shelf stacker (USS) drives life and construction USS so that these elements were not overloaded. Weighing can be done by direct methods using various sensors tension and compression but also the indirect method, by the torque sensing of current frequency converter, which controls the speed of the three-phase asynchronous motor. This method does not require any additional construction or adaptation or additional sensors or electronic evaluation system power operation. Weighting method of shelf in USS is based on the fact that the torque converter current is proportional to the sum of the weight of the shelf and the extractor and its value provides almost every frequency converter. In contrast to the direct weighing method of the shelf it is obvious economic advantage of this method and the accuracy is sufficient for the operation of USS.


This article suggests that secondary school geography teachers and PGCE Secondary geography trainee teachers should look to make connections with younger children in partner priimary schools to better understand early years practice.


This descriptive study aimed to measure social support among heart failure patients under clinical follow-up and to check for existing relations between social support and demographic variables. A specific instrument was used to evaluate two types of social support, i.e. emotional and instrumental, in terms of perceived frequency and satisfaction. Answers range in a possible interval from 1 to 5 in which, the higher the score, the higher the frequency and satisfaction with each evaluated support type. Data were collected between February and October 2005. Study participants were 85 patients, 55 of whom were men; 55 participants were married, and average age was 57+14.4 years (interval from 24.7 to 85.6). We found an average score of 3.8+0.7 (interval from 2 to 5) for the emotional dimension and 3.9+0.7 (interval from 1.7 to 5) for the instrumental dimension. This indicates high levels of availability and satisfaction about the received support. We found a correlation between the emotional domain of social support and years of education, but did not find any evidence of relations between social support and age, gender and marital situation among the participants, which is inconsistent with findings from other studies.


Our understanding of breast cancer (BC) has increased significantly over recent years, with evolving knowledge on the genomic, biological, and physiological alterations associated with tumor progression. These dynamic processes are reflected in tumor biomarkers, which aid cancer diagnosis, directing therapy, and estimating prognostic endpoints in the clinic. Biomarkers obtained from biospecimens, and more recently, from quantitative imaging, have demonstrated exponential growth with advances in laboratory techniques, imaging technology, and computational capacity. Over the past decade, this has afforded new opportunities to better characterize tumor intrinsic subtypes and identify individualized factors associated with treatment refractory and recurrent breast cancer. Among promising biomarkers, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have been the focus of substantial research, with growing evidence to demonstrate their association to aggressive and highly proliferative breast cancer phenotypes. TILs are involved in multiple steps of cancer immunoediting that drives tumorigenesis and constitute cytotoxic and helper T cells, B cells, and natural killer (NK) cells [1–3]. During the early phases of carcinogenesis, recognition and clearance of malignant cells are mediated by TILs and other immune infiltrates. Subsequently, escape from immune-driven cell death ensues, as tumor cells develop an adaptive mechanism to evade immunosurveillance; this is achieved, in part, by disrupting chemokines that control 'eat me' signaling in the microenvironment. Immunoediting elicits increased recruitment of TILs, localized predominantly to the stroma. These dynamic changes effectively modulate the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) to sustain the growth of the neoplasm. It has become clear from previous studies that the level of stromal TILs is correlated to breast cancer prognosis and can serve as a predictive marker of therapy response [4,5]. This has been extensively studied in triplenegative (TNBC) and HER2-positive breast cancer subtypes. 2. TIL biomarkers in breast cancer


We propose a novel display based game environment using augmented reality technology with small robots. In this environment, the small robots can be augmented by a display image according to their positions and postures. The augmentation activity reinforces the fun of playing with such small robots in the real world.


Structural color in Nature has been observed in plants, insects and birds, and has led to a strong interest in these phenomena and a desire to understand the mechanisms responsible. Of particular interest are the optical properties of butterflies. In this paper, we review three investigations inspired by the unique optical properties exhibited in a variety of butterfly wings. In the first investigation, conformal atomic layer depositions (ALDs) were used to exploit biologically defined 2D photonic crystal (PC) templates of Papilio blumei with the purpose of increasing the understanding of the optical effects of naturally formed dielectric architectures, and of exploring any novel optical effects. In the second study, it was demonstrated that faithful mimicry of Papilio palinurus can be achieved by physical fabrication methods through using breath figures to provide templates and ALD routines to enable optical properties. Finally, knowledge of the optical structure properties of the Princeps nireus butterfly has resulted in bioinspired designs to enhanced scintillator designs for radiation detection.


The objective of this study was to know the effect of Carbon-Nitrogen ratio (C/N ratio) in pretreated Parthenium hysterophorus L., on the microbes involved in the biomethanation. Experiments were performed based on completely randomized design with five pretreatments of P. hysterophorus i.e. alkali, acid, water, biological and whey water which is replicated thrice to obtain the C/N ratio. The results showed that the C/N ratio obtained were statistically significant with respect to that of the pretreatments which was further subjected for anaerobic digestion. The results also indicated that the C/N ratio is independent to that of the pretreatment with respect to that of the CH4 yield.


The most important value of literature lies in its beauty,internal and formal,which is determined by the aesthetic attributes of literature.On one hand,the beauty of literature is florid,which is presented in its genuineness,amusement and originality.On the other hand,it is dynamic and developing,so the author should keep pace with times to upgrade the aesthetic tastes of both his own and the reader..


In a power system, the continuous power supply, for critical load. The continuous power supply is essential for applications like for communication network, financial transaction and medical therapies. So there is a need of back-up supply to load. Considering these needs of continuous power supply, a scheme is implemented with inverter and battery energy storage system (BESS) along with renewable energy source such as Wind Turbine Generator (WTG) used such that supports the real and reactive power to load. Also the proposed scheme improves power quality as per International Electro-technical Commission (IEC). This is achieved with hysteresis controller. It is used with current controlled voltage source inverter (VSI) and implemented with BESS.


The problem of the dual synchronization of two different fractional-order chaotic systems with uncertain parameters is studied. This paper introduces a synchronization method in accordance with Lyapunov stability theory, and the adaptive controllers and adaptive laws are designed to realize the dual synchronization of fractional order chaotic systems. Finally, two numerical examples of unknown different fractional-order chaotic systems are also given to prove the accuracy of the theory in the paper, and the effectiveness and performance of the proposed adaptive dual synchronization strategy are verified by simulation.


"Book of Songs" is the source of all kinds of poetry in our country,among which the Parting plays a strong role on the later ages in the ways of bid farewell and lyricism.Three aspects were included in the ways of farewell:upsetting,grant,presenting poems,while creating a specific scenario and narration rendering were disscussed in lyricism,which has a far-reaching impact on the Parting poem in later ages.


Objective To investigate the developmental characteristics of children aged 8~16months of lexical comprehension,explore the early development of Chinese vocabulary comprehension in infants. Methods Using Chinese communicative Development Inventory(CCDI Putonghua version),parents of 620children(8~16months)were asked to reported their children's language abilities. Results From 8~16months of age was the rapid growth of the vocabulary comprehension,vocabulary comprehension capacity increased steadily in all sections with chronological age.Eighty-month-old children could understand an average of 53words,include 23nouns and 16verbs.By 16months,children could understand 310 words,include 153nouns and 69verbs.Nouns and verbs were stable occupy more than 70%,noun proportion increased gradually,the verb occupies the proportion declined gradually. Conclusion 8~16months of age is a period of rapid development of children's vocabulary comprehension.By 8months children could understand to 50words,In 16months,children could understand 300words.


Animals show a rich diversity of signals and displays. Among the many selective forces driving the evolution of communication between individuals, one widely recognized factor is the structure of the environment in which signals are produced, transmitted and received. In particular, animals communicating by sounds often emit acoustic signals from specific locations, such as high up in the air, from the ground or in the water. The properties of these different display sites will impose different constraints on sound production and transmission and may therefore drive signal evolution. Here, we used comparative phylogenetic analyses to assess the relationship between the display site properties and the structure of reproductive calls from 161 frog species from the frog families Ranidae, Leptodactylidae and Hylidae. Specifically, we compared the dominant frequency of species that vocalize from aquatic versus non-aquatic sites, and its relation with body size. We found that the dominant frequency of frogs calling from the water was lower than that of species calling outside of the water, a trend that was consistent across the three families studied. Furthermore, phylogenetic path analysis revealed that the call site had both direct and indirect effects on the dominant frequency. Indirect effects were mediated by call site influencing male body size, which in turn was negatively associated to call dominant frequency. Our results suggest that properties of display sites can drive signal evolution, most likely through morphological constraints, in particular the ones imposed on the sound production mechanism. Also, variation in body size between calling sites explained some of the differences we found in call frequency, highlighting the relevance of the interplay between morphological adaptation and signal evolution. Changes of display site may therefore have important evolutionary consequences, as it may influence sexual selection processes and ultimately may even promote speciation. Impact summary To attract or impress mates, animals have evolved a great diversity of communication signals, such as song and dance, or brightly colored body parts. Whether these sexual signals are successful depends to a large extent on the environment in which they are produced, transmitted and perceived. For acoustic signals, such as the mating calls of frogs, the environment is well known to influence both their transmission and perception. The impact of the environment on the production of sounds is however far less understood. Here we studied the relation between the environment and signal design across a wide range of frog species, specifically comparing calls of aquatic versus non-aquatic species. Frogs that called from water were found to call at lower pitch, which was partly explained by the fact that they were also larger. Our results point towards an important environmental driver of signal evolution, namely morphological constraints on signal production. We argue that the environment can impose limits on morphological traits that are either directly or indirectly involved in signal production. Such a mechanism would in particular be important when species move into new habitats, as rapid changes to display sites may lead to rapid changes in sexual signaling and sexual attractiveness.


In human capital models, individuals choose a level of education that maximises either their lifetime wealth or utility. That choice is largely unaffected by the potential decisions of other individuals. Any sense of strategy by individuals to differentiate themselves from others is relatively unimportant in these decisions, since most simple models assume that employers observe individual productivity reasonably quickly.


Speech enhancement aims to separate a target speech from background noise. Recently, speech enhancement has been formulated as a supervised learning problem, in which a learning machine is trained to estimate the target spectrum denoted as mapping-based method or a time-frequency mask denoted as masking-based method. Signal approximation methods indirectly estimate the target spectrum via the mask estimation, which combines the advantages of both mapping based and masking based methods. Moreover, conventional methods usually ignore the phase which is also important to the speech quality. To consider the phase, the complex number spectrum needs to be modeled. However, modeling may be difficult. In this work, a pure real number spectrum is used as an alternative representation of the complex number spectrum, and a signal approximation method is used for speech enhancement. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms other commonly used methods.


This study aims to analyze the effect of exports and imports before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic. The decline in export-import activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic has hurt Indonesia, where exports in 2020 compared to 2019 have decreased by 2.68 percent. In addition there are war between Rusia and Ukraine which gives effect to our Intrenational trade. This research was conducted using a quantitative method with export, import and economic growth variables in Indonesia from 2018 to 2020 by using data panel regression methods. Data was obtained from various sources in the form of journals and books along with publication data from the Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics.  The results of the study show economic growth affected by exports and import by 76.25%. Exports have a negative and significant effect on economic growth.  Meanwhile, imports have a positive and significant effect on economic growth. Exports and imports of goods and services during the pandemic era had a major impact on the Indonesia economy, proven by the 2.07% decline in gross domestic product in 2020. War Russia and Ukraine did not have a big impact because it benefited Indonesia in terms of oil exports to international markets, but the quality of goods and services needed to be improved in order to compete in international markets. And imports need to be controlled so that the balance of trade is not disrupted and the production of goods and services in Indonesia is still fulfilled.


A formal power series solution (i) x(t) = Σ<inf>1</inf>∞ mk x<inf>k</inf>(t) is given for the companding problem (ii) Bf{x(t)} = my(t), B{x(t)} = x(t), where B is the bandlimiting operator defined by Bg = (Bg)(t) = ∫ g(s)[sin λ(t − s)]/[π(t − s)]ds and f(t) has a Taylor series with f(0) = 0, f′(0) ≠ 0. Expressions for the x<inf>k</inf> are given in terms of the coefficients of f, and operations on y, and in a different form in terms of the coefficients of the inverse function φ, φ{(x)} = x. A series development is given for a bandlimited z(t), Bz = z, such that the solution of (ii) is given by x = B<inf>φ</inf>(z). Also a series development is given for the "approximate identity", x ≐ Bφ{Bf(x)}, where x = x(t), Bx = x, which is shown to be a good approximation to x for fairly linear f(x), not necessarily having a Taylor series expansion. As an example of one application of the results, a few terms are given for correction of the "inband" distortion arising in envelope detection of "full-carrier" single-sideband signals. The results should prove useful in correcting small distortions in other transmission systems. Finally, it is shown that the formal series solution (i) actually converges for sufficiently small |m|. This involves proving that the companding problem (ii) has a unique solution for arbitrary complex-valued y(t) and complex m of sufficiently small magnitude, the solution x(t; m) being, for each t, an analytic function of the complex variable m in a neighborhood of the origin. It is a curious fact, as shown by an interesting example, that the series (i) may converge for values of m for which it is not a solution of (ii).


We consider the problem of recovering a k -sparse signal β 0 ∈ R p from noisy observations y = X β 0 + w ∈ R n . One of the most popular approaches is the l 1 -regularized least squares, also known as LASSO. We analyze the mean square error of LASSO in the case of random designs in which each row of X is drawn from distribution N (0 , Σ ) with general Σ . We first derive the asymptotic risk of LASSO for w 6 = 0 in the limit of n, p → ∞ with n/p → δ ∈ [0 , ∞ ) . We then examine conditions on n , p , and k for LASSO to exactly reconstruct β 0 in the noiseless case w = 0 . A phase boundary δ c = δ ( ǫ ) is precisely established in the phase space defined by 0 ≤ δ, ǫ ≤ 1 , where ǫ = k/p . Above this boundary, LASSO perfectly recovers β 0 with high probability. Below this boundary, LASSO fails to recover β 0 with high probability. While the values of the non-zero elements of β 0 do not have any effect on the phase transition curve, our analysis shows that δ c does depend on the signed pattern of the nonzero values of β 0 for general Σ 6 = I p × p . This is in sharp contrast to the previous phase transition results derived in i.i.d. case with Σ = I p × p where δ c is completely determined by ǫ regardless of the distribution of β 0 . Underlying our formalism is a recently developed efficient algorithm called approximate message passing (AMP) algorithm. We generalize the state evolution of AMP from i.i.d. case to general case with Σ 6 = I p × p . Extensive computational experiments confirm that our theoretical predictions are consistent with simulation results on moderate size system.


OBJECTIVE To screen the 6 alkaloids Abstracted from Combretum Caffrum according to their anti-tumor activity.METHODS MTT was applied to observe the effect of these 6 alkaloids on K562,MCF-7,DU-145,NCI-H460 and HCT-116.RESULTS They inhibited the proliferation of human tumor cell strains to different degree,especially C002 which was of greatest anti-tumor activity.CONCLUSION C002,as effective as CA4 on anti-tumor,has the potential to become a new drug as tumor blood vessel blocker.


The 5000 km long Queen Charlotte-Alaska-Aleutian seismic zone is subdivided into 17 unequally sized segments. Their boundaries are delineated based on the prior distribution of large and great earthquakes. The 17 segments are chosen to represent areas likely to be ruptured by "characteristic" earthquakes. This term usually implies repeated breakage of a plate boundary segment by either a large or great earthquake, whose source dimensions remain consistent from cycle to cycle. This definition does not exclude the possibility that occasionally adjacent characteristic earthquake segments may break together in a single "giant" event that is larger than the characteristic size outlined. Conversely, a segment can also sometimes break in a series of smaller ruptures. Formal computations of the conditional probabilities for future large and great earthquakes in the 17 segments of the Queen Charlotte-Alaska-Aleutian seismic zone are based on the following data sets and findings: (1) recurrence intervals from historic and geologic data; (2) direct recurrence time estimates based on rates of relative plate motion and the size or displacement of the most recent characteristic event in each segment; and (3) the application of a lognormal distribution of recurrence times for large and great earthquakes. Results of these computations indicate seven areas that have high (i.e., ≥60%) conditional probabilities for the recurrence of either large or great earthquakes within the next 20 years (1988–2008). These areas include Cape St. James, Yakataga, the Shumagin Islands, Unimak Island, and the Fox, Delarof, and Near Islands segments of the Aleutian arc. When a shorter time interval is considered (1988–1998), those segments more likely to rupture in large (MS 7–7.7) rather than great earthquakes have a high conditional probability. These areas include the Unimak, Fox, and Delarof Islands segments. The largest uncertainties in these forecasts stem from the short historic record (providing a single recurrence time estimate for some segments, or widely varying estimates for others); from the unknown importance of aseismic slip; and from a vague definition of "characteristic" earthquake size. In fact, characteristic earthquake size may not be a time-invariant quantity.


Climate change has become a fact, and its effects are felt by people around the globe. Particularly dangerous are prolonged droughts, since they not only have a negative effect on the development of plants, but also become the cause of many dangerous diseases. The intensive use of fertilizers and pesticides or melioration as a support for agricultural production turned out to be highly harmful to the soil, and in many places led to its degradation. Much of the world is struggling with a lack of proper hydration, and desertification is beginning to threaten all continents. The research results of interdisciplinary scientific teams focused on counteracting environmental devastation and restoring vital biodiversity are not only diligently followed, but also applied as quickly as possible.


Schottky barrier photodiodes have been fabricated on p‐type Hg1−xCdxTe, composition x=0.22 and carrier concentration from 6×1015 to 5×1016 cm−3, with Au and Ti as contact metals. It has been found that Au barrier height is lower than that of Ti for all carrier concentrations. Low temperature annealing, 75 °C for 24 h, reduces the effective Au barrier height and raises the Ti barrier height. The electrical results are correlated with Auger depth profiling of the difference interfaces, and transport mechanisms are proposed.


We analyze and quantify the interdependence of real effective exchange rates while considering the regional location of countries. More specifically, using the dynamic hierarchical factor model (Moench et al 2011), we decompose exchange rate movements into worldwide and two regional factors as well as country-specific elements. Then we provide evidence that a substantial proportion of variation in the exchange rates is country-specific.


In this paper, the performance of hybrid automatic repeat request with incremental redundancy (HARQ-IR) in a mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is analyzed. Based on the theory of stochastic geometry, both interference and the randomness in nodes' locations are incorporated into our analysis. The outage probability after the kth retransmission is analyzed and the outage performance of HARQ-IR is compared with that of Type-I HARQ and HARQ with chase combining (HARQ-CC). Our analysis reveals that the performance gains of HARQ-IR over Type-I HARQ and HARQ-CC increase with the number of retransmissions while they decrease with the path loss exponent. The network throughput in terms of transmission capacity is also analyzed. The results indicate that a certain small number of retransmissions is sufficient to achieve the maximal transmission capacity. Meanwhile, the optimal intensity of source nodes to maximize the transmission capacity is shown to be within a specific interval.


As the National Association of Multicultural Education and its companion journalMulticultural Perspectives are committed to equity, inclusion, diversity, and justice in schooling, this review of Dr. Carol Anderson's bookWhite Rage furthers the association and journal's ideals. In this review we discuss Anderson's successful crafting of a historical description of an arduous journey toward Black equality in the United States. At every turn along this journey Black progress has been vehemently resisted, often by the very people charged with representing the U.S. populace. In a political moment when equality faces heightened attack, the first and most important step is an honest accounting of history often omitted from history books. Only by first recognizing this history can we move forward in our cross-disciplinary work toward social justice. Dr. Carol Anderson, Endowed Professor and Chair of African American Studies at Emory University, has given us a meticulously researched history of White supremacy in the United States inWhite Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide. Indeed, the subtitle reveals a daunting purpose behind the book: to speak, reveal, and make visible that which has driven the racial divide in the United States. But Anderson accomplishes this with all the tenacity and skill of an expert documentarian. We feel it is important to note the breadth of her academic career as a scholar and researcher in public policy. She asserts: "White rage is not about visible violence, but rather it works its way through the courts, the legislatures, and a range of government bureaucracies" (p. 3). In addition, "Working the halls of power, it can achieve its ends far more effectively, [and] far more destructively" (p. 3), thus positioning this as a different type of White rage than what one might "classically" think of—as in the form of Klansmen wearing their sheets. The book focuses on policy and law that have predictably acted against Black advancement. Correspondence should be sent to Peter M. Newlove, University of Colorado Denver, 1380 Lawrence St. #734, Campus Box 106, Denver, CO 80217. Email: email@example.com Opinions expressed in this column do not represent views or official positions of the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME). Similarly, reviewed resources carry no "official endorsement" by NAME. The authors are solely responsible for selecting and reviewing the resources featured in the column, and we strongly encourage readers to examine resources prior to purchasing. Materials submitted for review in this column should be sent directly to any one of the reviewers at the following addresses:Ming Fang He, Language, Culture, Identity, Power, and Place in Multicultural, Multiracial, and Multilingual Education, Department of Curriculum, Foundations, and Reading, College of Education, Georgia Southern University, P. O. Box 8144, Statesboro, GA 30460-8144.


Using the latest information and prices for mortgage-backed securities in September 2013 this analytical piece tests the correlation between the value of these instruments and the value of the FTSE 100 share price index. The correlation between the value of mortgage-backed securities and the value of FTSE 100 shares price index.


INTRODUCTION: Lung transplantation is the only therapeutic option for a subset of patients with end-stage lung disease. Most lung transplantations are performed using brain-dead donors, a condition that compromises the success of the procedure. The physiopathology of brain death is complex and involves haemodynamics, the sympathetic nervous system and inflammatory mechanisms. Administering methylprednisolone 60 minutes after inducing brain death in rats has been shown to modulate pulmonary inflammatory activity. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of methylprednisolone on transplanted rat lungs from donors treated 60 minutes after brain death. METHODS: Twelve Wistar rats were anaesthetised and randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups (n=6): a control group that underwent the induction of brain death and the administration of saline solution and a methylprednisolone (MET) group that underwent the induction of brain death and the administration of methylprednisolone after 60 minutes. All of the animals were observed and ventilated for 120 minutes and then submitted to lung transplantation. We evaluated haemodynamic and blood gas parameters, the histologic score, the lung tissue determination of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD), the level of TNF-α and the level of interleukin-1β (IL-1β). RESULTS: There was a significant reduction in the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in the group that received methylprednisolone (p=0.0084 and p=0.0155, respectively). There were no significant differences in TBARS and SOD between the control and MET groups (p=0.2644 and p=0.7461, respectively). There were no significant differences in the blood gas parameters, the haemodynamic parameters and the histologic alterations between the control and MET groups. CONCLUSION: The administration of methylprednisolone after brain death in donor rats reduces inflammatory activity in transplanted lungs but has no influence on oxidative stress.


In order to observe the wonderful phenomenon,a short-term microgravity experimental system was built.The shape of burning candle flame and the speed and shape of the oil drops were clearly observed affected by microgravity,which could help students to understand the physical concepts better and summarize the rules of physics corresponding to microgravity.


The algorithm of a four-parameter (isotropic, mixed cosine, normal zenith cosine square, and incident cosine square) microfacet cosine linear kernel-driven (MICOKE) bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) model is introduced. The MICOKE model was built from bidirectional reflectance factor data from a portable surface reflectance measurement system at $3 \times 3$ sample points (5-km spacing) at the Dunhuang site(longitude: 94.26°–94.38°, latitude: 40.09°–40.18°) in 2013. Traditional observation geometries were converted to microfacet observation geometries. Possible candidate models in multivariate power series form were tested and compared by the square of the correlation coefficients (SCCs) and the standard deviations (STDs). A model with a large SCC and small STD was selected as the MICOKE model. Using the Dunhuang site field campaign observation data, the mean of the SCCs of MICOKE was 4.73% higher than that of the Ross–Li BRDF model over 350–2500 nm for small observation geometries (SMGs). Using the Dunhuang site FY-2G/VISSR data, the SCCs of MICOKE were above 0.957 for large observation geometries (LAGs). In comparison, the SCCs of Ross–Li were only 0.020 (small field) and 0.357 (full field). The MICOKE model was compared with the Ross–Li model by the use of MCD43C1 and MCD12C1 products for 16 cover types. The SCCs varied from 0.930 to 1.000. The MICOKE BRDF model greatly improves the accuracy of the Gobi cover type for LAG and can be widely used in remote sensing.


Male Wool Carder bees, Anthidium septemdentatum Lepeletier 1841, were videographed as they patrolled their territories of several square meters in the Mediterranean macchia to record their reactions when the much larger Xylocopa violacea Fabricius 1775 entered these. They feigned attacks by flying very close to X violacea at speeds of up to 1 m s -1 , even in a maze of twigs; they flew slowly, circling the intruder; they made single or multiple advances which sometimes led to direct touching of the body or wings of the intruder. Impact speed was nearly 1 m s -1 , typical impact impulse, impact force and impact pressure against the two abdominal sides were 0.00012 Ns, 0.024N (16 times body weight) and 24 kPa respectively. Carpenter bees never appeared to be hurt.


The effects of different contents of miscrosphere with 1.0 μm median particle size on powder pressure entity dense packing density,workability and mechanical performance of composite cement paste were studied based on comparative research.The results showed that when the content of miscrosphere was between 0~40%,dense packing density of powder pressure entity was related closely to fluidity of fresh cement paste.The higher the dense packing density of powder pressure entity,the greater the fluidity of fresh cement paste.When the content of miscrosphere was 30%,composite cementing materials achieves the densest packing density which means the lowest void ratio and thus leads to the greatest fluidity of fresh composite cement paste.The 3 d and 7 d compressive strength of composite cement paste with 30% miscrosphere was low,but the 28 d compressive strength exceeded ordinary cement paste,and the 60 d compressive strength was much higher than any other composite cement paste.


Philadelphia — Understanding the clinical behavior and the biological mechanisms of malignant melanoma in its earlier stages may be the key to developing optimal treatment and management strategies for this deadly skin cancer.


ABSTRACT: A procedure to apply genetic algorithm to optimize operation rules is proposed and applied to the LiYuTan Reservoir in Taiwan. The designed operation rules are operation zones with discount rates of water supply. The first step of the procedure is to predefine the shape of boundary curves of operation zones according to reservoir storage routing. Then, relatively fewer variables are used to describe the curves, and a last genetic algorithm (GA) is applied to optimize the curves. The procedure is applied to the newly built LiYuTan Reservoir for increasing domestic water demands. Shortage index is used to evaluate the performance of operation zones. A year is divided into 36 operational periods, with each month containing three operational periods. The shortage indexes calculated in operational periods are 9.81, 8.27, and 7.13, respectively, for the reservoir without operation rules, applying operation zones optimized by GA with encoding 36 storage levels for each curve, and adopting operation zones optimized by GA with encoding the curves with predefined shape. The average deficits for the three cases are 77.2, 43.6, and 33.3 (104 m3/day), respectively. The results indicate that operation zones optimized by the proposed procedure have smaller shortage indexes and lower average deficits. In addition, the optimized operation zones have less variation and thus are more practical for operation. Conclusively, the proposed procedure utilizing GA to optimize operation zones with predefined shape can provide better and realistic outcomes through limited iterations.


The paper applied the Trade-Off Analysis-Multi-Dimensional (TOA-MD) model to evaluate the economic impacts of climate change and benefits of adaptation strategies for maize-based agricultural production systems in Southern Africa. The analysis was based on data collected from three countries, South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. The empirical analyses combined simulated baseline and future simulated yield from the Decision Support Systems for Agro- technology Transfer (DSSAT) crop model, under five different climate scenarios selected from 20 Global Circulation Models (GCMs). The paper focused on analysing three main objectives: (a) the sensitivity of current crop production systems to future climate change, (b) the sensitivity of future crop production systems to future climate change and (c) the benefits of adaptation in the future. The empirical results show that current and future crop production systems in the three study countries are sensitive to future climate change and yields would decline if no adaptation strategies are implemented. The results with the adaptation package show positive gains in yields, farm net returns and marginal reductions in poverty. In addition, the percentage of vulnerable farmers decrease for the scenario with adaptation compared to the other two scenarios without adaptation. Since various assumptions and uncertainties are associated with using the proposed approach, the results should be interpreted with caution. Despite these limitations, the methodology presented in this study shows the potential to yield new insights into the way that realistic adaptation strategies could improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.