The determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) in investment banking are tested using unique data obtained from 43 semistructured interviews with senior managers of multinational banks. Consistent with internalization theory, the decision to service new customers is positively and significantly related to FDI. In line with internalization theory and the sequential entry framework, the perceived risk of doing business abroad is negatively and significantly related to FDI. Lock-in is positively and significantly related to FDI. Very few managers consider it important to follow domestic customers, which does not emerge as significantly related to FDI. Qualitative information facilitated the interpretation of multiple empirical estimations. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Layered double hydroxide (LDH) is a widely used flame retardant in polymer materials; however, the poor dispersion due to its high hydrophilic nature results in disappointing thermal stability and fire safety. In this work, LDH was in‐situ grown on the disordered montmorillonite (MMT) nanosheets to obtain the hybrid of LDH and MMT nanosheets (LDH@MMT, simplified as LM). Various techniques, including X‐ray diffraction, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscope were used to characterize the microstructure of LM. In addition, the acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene (ABS) composite containing LM and intumescent flame retardant (IFR) was prepared, and its mechanical and flame‐retardant properties were also measured. The characterization results demonstrate that the LM exhibits a periodically alternating layered structure. The Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) of the ABS composite reaches 27.2% with a V‐0 rating in the UL‐94 vertical burning test, while its flexural strength and tensile strength decrease by only 17.82% and 13.45%, respectively. Furthermore, the heat release rate, total heat release, smoke production rate, and carbon monoxide production rate of the ABS composite present a significant decline in cone calorimeter tests compared with those of pure ABS. The results further indicate that the hybridization could effectively improve the flame‐retardant performance of ABS composites and perform lesser impacts on their mechanical properties.


Part One: Journeys Beyond Otherness - Communities, Culture and Power 1) Volunteer Tourism as Alternative Tourism: Journeys Beyond Otherness, K Lyons S Wearing 2) "Pettin' the Critters": Exploring the Complex Relationship Between Volunteers and the Voluntoured in McDowell County, West Virginia, USA and Tijuana, Mexico, N McGehee K Andercek 3) Volunteering Tourism Knowledge: A Case from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, C Cooper, L Ruhanen E Fayos-Sola 4) Lessons from Cuba: A Volunteer Army of Ambassadors, R Spencer 5) "Make a Difference!": The Role of Sending Organizations in Volunteer Tourism, E Raymond. Part Two: Inward Journeys: Motivations, Needs and the Self 6) The Volunteer's Journey through Leisure to the Self, S Wearing A Deville K Lyons 7) Gibbons in their Midst? Conservation Volunteers' Motivations at the Gibbons Rehabilitation Project, Phuket, Thailand, S Broad J Jenkins 8) Discovering Self and Discovering Others through the Taita Discovery Centre Volunteer Tourism Program, Kenya, A Lepp 9) Negotiated Selves: Exploring the Impact of Local-Global Interactions on Young Volunteer Travellers, A Matthews 10) Opening the Gap: The Motivation of Gap Year Travellers to Volunteer in Latin America, N Soderman S Leigh Snead 11) The Dynamics Between Volunteer Tourism, P Pearce A Coghlan Part Three: Journeys at the Edge - Overlaps and Ambiguities 12) All for a Good Cause: The Blurred Boundaries of Volunteering and Tourism, K Lyons S Wearing 13) Volunteers as Host and Guest in Museums, K Holmes D Edwards 14) Journeys for Experience: The Experiences of Volunteer Tourists in and Indigenous Community in a Developed Nation - A Case Study of New Zealand, A McIntosh A Zahra 15) Absences in the Volunteer Tourism Phenomenon: The Right to Travel, Solidarity Tours, and the Transformation Beyond the One-Way, F Higgins-Desboilles G Russell-Mundine 16) Mediation of Volunteer Tourism Alternatives: Guidebook Representations of Travel Experiences in Aboriginal Australia, T Young.


Density functional approach was used to study the isotropicnematic (I-N) transition and calculate the values of freezing parameters of the GayBerne liquid crystal model. New direct and pair correlation functions of a molecular fluid with GayBerne pair potential were used. These new functions were used in density functional theory as input to calculate the isotropicnematic transition densities for elongation 0 3.0 x = at various reduced temperatures. It was observed that the isotropicnematic transition densities increase as the temperature increases. It was found that the new direct correlation function is suitable to study the isotropicnematic transition of GayBerne liquids. Comparison to other works showed qualitative agreement.


A comparative study of the field emission properties of conical arrays of atomically heterogeneous, self-organized, micro–submicro–nanodimensional structures, irradiated at normal incidence by high flux of 2 keV argon ([Formula: see text]) and krypton ions ([Formula: see text]) on copper substrates, without employing any external seeding, is presented. The variation in surface structural growths with ion beam fluence is investigated using scanning electron, atomic force, and transmission electron microscopy. The exposed surfaces are atomically heterogeneous due to the presence of embedded argon and krypton ions in the interstitial layers ([Formula: see text]nm) as observed from the x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. Kelvin probe force microscopy is employed to analyze the variation in local work function caused by surface deformities and implantation of inert gaseous ions. The conical arrays are naturally selected field emitter sources, and their field enhancement factor is calculated from the Fowler–Nordheim equations. The argon ion treated substrate at a fluence of [Formula: see text] gives rise to uniformly distributed structures and has a low turn-on voltage of 2.76 kV with an electron emission current of 0.58 nA. Among the krypton ion irradiated substrates, the sample irradiated at the highest fluence of [Formula: see text] produces self-organized conical arrays having uniform dimension, orientation, distribution, and even a higher electron emission current of 0.81 nA with a lower turn-on voltage of 2.12 kV. Thus, it may be concluded that krypton ion irradiation provides better generation of naturally selected arrays of field emitters.


Relevance. Road traffic injuries are one of the leading non-natural causes of death in the world. The principles of organizing the provision of medical care to victims of road traffic accidents (RTA) should be adapted to the resource capabilities of regional health care systems, as well as the distribution of the resident population across the territory.Intention: To develop and substantiate the principles of a system for organizing the provision of medical care to RTA victims on federal highways in Russian regions with a low average population density.Methodology. The results of our own, domestic and foreign scientific research were reviewed, along with regulatory legal documents on the organization of medical care for RTA victims in various conditions. Articles published in 1990–2021 were selected for analysis. Information sources were searched for using specialized scientific search engines (eLibrary, PubMed, Scopus) with the keywords: "traffic accident", "traffic injury", "polytrauma", "federal highway", "injured", "hospital period ". System analysis was used to determine the shortcomings of the existing system of providing medical care to victims of road accidents that occurred on federal highways in the territories of Russian subjects with a low population density. Organizational experiments were used to substantiate and develop measures, the implementation of which will improve the efficiency of providing first aid and medical care to victims of road accidents on federal highways in Russian regions with a low population density.Results and Discussion. A system for organizing the provision of medical care to victims of road accidents on federal highways in the regions of the Russian Federation with a low density of the population in the pre-hospital and hospital periods has been developed and justified; it consists of 4 principles and their organizational measures.Conclusion. The implementation of the model and the principles of the developed system proposed by the author will reduce negative health consequences associated with road traffic injuries on federal highways in Russian regions with low population density.


Abstract Accurate analytic expressions of the surface charge density/surface potential relationship are obtained for a spherical colloidal particle in a solution of general electrolytes. The mathematical procedure is based on a method developed previously by H. Ohshima, T. W. Healy, and L. R. White (J. Colloid Interface Sci.90, 17, 1982).


Hepatitis B (HepB) infection represents a serious risk to health care workers (HCWs). In 1983, when the HepB vaccine was introduced, this risk was


Spelling is an often-overlooked aspect of literacy, receiving less instructional time in classrooms than decoding, fluency, or reading comprehension skills. This chapter describes why spelling intervention—particularly explicit and systematic instruction—is necessary for successful overall reading development of students who are at risk for delay, specifically children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). An overview of current research on spelling development in children who are deaf is presented, as well as what we know about the efficacy of spelling interventions in this and other populations. Based on this research, suggestions are made on how best to teach DHH children how to tackle the seemingly chaotic English orthographic system.


This study used critical ethnography to document microaggressions experienced by women Staff and Faculty of Color at a predominantly White institution of higher education. This article focuses on invisibility, a specific type of microaggression, which emerged as a prominent finding. Participant narratives explicated three manifestations of environmental microaggressions (campus, disciplinary/professional, and community invisibility) and two forms of interpersonal microaggressions (professional and leadership invisibility). Recommendations for higher education professionals are provided.


The introduction of quantitative CBED techniques in recent years has led to experimental studies of charge densities in crystalline materials with unprecedented accuracy. Despite these successes, the development process is still on-going with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the techniques. With this in mind, we have undertaken a systematic study of the low-order structure factors of nickel using the ZAPMATCH zone-axis pattern matching technique of Bird and Saunders. In this approach, a set of low-order structure factors (both elastic and absorptive components) is adjusted until a best-fit is obtained between a many-beam simulation and an elastic filtered zone-axis pattern. Additional higher-order structure factors are included to converge the scattering potential but are kept fixed at neutral atom values during the fit. The questions we set out to address are (i) how to choose the correct number of structure factors to refine from a given data-set, (ii) are the absorptive structure factor components we refine of any use, and (iii) can we determine Debye-Waller factors at the same time as we measure the charge density? The first two points are discussed here.


The hot pressing operation is the final stage in MDF (medium density fiberboard) manufacture; the fiber mat is compressed and heated up to promote the cure of the resin. The aim of the investigations is to study the curing reactions of UF (Urea–Formaldehyde) resins as commonly used in the production of MDF, and to develop a simplified kinetic model. This investigation has combined Raman spectroscopy to study the reaction cure and 13C-NMR for the quantitative and qualitative characterization of the liquid and still uncured resin. Raman spectroscopy was found very interesting for the study of the resin cure and permitted to obtain kinetic data as the basis for a simple empirical model, considering a homogeneous irreversible reaction of a single kind of methylol group and ureas with rate constants depending on their degree of substitution. Although these results can provide a better understanding of the composition and the cure of an UF resin, several issues remain open, such as the influence of the reversibility of the reactions taking place during the curing process as well as the possible formation of cyclic groups in the resin. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 5977–5987, 2006


We commend Ley et al. [1] on their research "Beyond burnout: a four-year survey of osteopathic medical student mental health and the implications for the development of wellness and mental health programs,"which examined the trends of burnout and mental health in a medical student population. Research on this subject is imperative to further understand factors that perpetuate poor mental health statuses among future healthcare providers and to prevent worsening of the current nationwide physician shortage [2]. Ley et al. [1] discussed the importance of understanding when symptoms of burnout ormental health conditions first begin in order to determine when intervention efforts should be pursued. Through this written response, we want to bring attention to research that has been previously conducted on this topic. Specifically, multiple studies have found that premedical students report higher rates of burnout and symptoms of depression compared to nonpremedical undergraduate students, warranting mental health treatments starting earlier than professional school [2, 3]. Furthermore, one of the studies showed that experiencing burnout and depressive symptoms in undergraduate school deterred students from pursuing a medical degree, which may be exacerbating the physician shortage [2]. In addition, we would like to discuss researched interventions that medical schools can adopt to prevent burnout and exacerbation of negative mental conditions experienced by medical students. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a validated program that attempts to create greater awareness and insight, has been employed in both premedical and medical education. It has demonstrated results of long-standing self-compassion and decreased stress levels compared to control groups [4–6]. Slavin et al. [7] discussed curricular initiatives practiced by some medical schools to combat burnout that have demonstrated promising utility, such as pass/fail grading systems, reduced contact hours, and problem-based learning. Other studies have employed modalities such as virtual reality–based guided meditations, Compassion Cultivation Training, measured physical activity goals, and phoneand web-based behavioral interventions that have shown reduced burnout rates in their participants [8–12]. As noted by the significant findings of Ley et al. [1] and other studies, burnout must be identified and targeted early on to prevent its aggravation of depressive symptoms that may contribute to the development of dissatisfaction with career choice and suicidal ideations [1, 13–15]. By developing effective early intervention strategies that target this systemic issue, we can hopefully improve the mental health of medical students and physicians.


This research analyzed the innovative performance toward corporate performance by examining the accounting information system to enhance the correlation between innovative performance and the corporate performance of carved furniture in Jepara. The applied research design was quantitative research with primary and secondary data sources. The sample consisted of the leaders, directors, or owners of the carved furniture corporation in Jepara. The numbers of the sample were 174 respondents, taken with quota sampling technique. The research analysis used Moderating Regression Analysis to explain that innovative performance could improve corporate performance. Besides that, the informative system could enhance the correlation between innovative performance and corporate performance. However, the researchers still found some corporations that did not use the accounting information system maximally. Thus, the accountability was not efficient and effective.


A discussion is presented of the various problems associated with the formulation of predictive techniques relating to the mechanical response of high polymers to radiation. In particular, dosimetric difficulties and errors arising from disregard of sample variations are analyzed. Criteria for the engineering evaluation of radiation sensitivity are examined. The usefulness of rank correlation in preliminary analysis of radiation effects data is outlined. Typical examples are given of explicit correlations between properties, the application of statistical kinetic theory, and semiempirical and empirical response relationships. The limitations of the various approaches are discussed.


Nowadays, with the development of online social networks (OSN), a mass of online social information has been generated in OSN, which has triggered research on social recommendation. Collaborative filtering, as one of the most popular techniques in social recommendation, faces several challenges, such as data sparsity, cold-start users and prediction quality. The motivation of our work is to deal with the above challenges by effectively combining collaborative filtering technology with social information. The trust relationship has been identified as a useful means of using social information to improve the quality of recommendation. In this paper, we propose a trust-based recommendation approach which uses GlobalTrust (GT) to represent the trust value among users as neighboring nodes. A matrix factorization based on singular value decomposition is used to get a trust network built on the GT value. The recommendation results are obtained through a modified random walk algorithm called GlobalTrustWalker. Through experiments on a real-world sparser dataset, we demonstrate that the proposed approach can better utilize users' social trust information and improve the recommendation accuracy on coldstart users. key words: social network, trust-based, collaborative filtering, random walk


This thesis has as main objective to demonstrate the feasibility of creating a small business dedicated to teaching martial arts Quitumbe area south of the city of Quito, classes will be taught taekwondo and karate-do as well as it will complement the performing service promotions therefore to carry out the whole project was necessary to make several studies.
The market was one of the first to analyze it, where it was determined that the target market of the project, will be the habitants of the area Quitumbe L1 between the ages of 5-35 years old, this information could be obtained demand current for the year 2013 which is 713 people and an unsatisfied demand of 382 which is expected to cover in a 41.88% considering the capacity of the project, finally in this study it was evident that the business to be implemented will have acceptance by the people of this sector.


Introduction: The mobile app WhatsApp is gaining popularity in Medical Education informally over the last few years because of its easy availability, instant access and ease in transferring high quality medical images. Dermatology being a highly visual subject, WhatsApp can be used as a learning tool in addition to didactic lectures. Aim: To assess the perception of undergraduate students and faculty about e-learning using WhatsApp in Dermatology. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Dermatology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab, India, in August 2020 among second year undergraduate students. Two modules based on Case Based Learning (CBL) were made and posted on a dedicated WhatsApp group (including students and dermatology faculty). Students were asked to send responses to questions on the group. Students and faculty were also asked to fill a pre-structured, prevalidated feedback questionnaire to assess their perception regarding the use of WhatsApp as a learning tool. Descriptive analysis was used. Open ended questions were analyzed by thematic qualitative analysis and expressed as percentages. Results: Total 80 students participated in the study, 50 students who filled the feedback questionnaire, 30 were females, mean age of the study group was 20.25 years. Twenty seven students (54%) were of the opinion that WhatsApp was a good motivator for Self Directed Learning (SDL) while 20 (40%) of them remained neutral. Twenty nine (58%) students wanted WhatsApp as an online teaching method to be part of teaching in Dermatology. Thirty students (60%) felt WhatsApp was a flexible learning tool in terms of time and place. Among total four faculty, 3 (75%) agreed that WhatsApp was a good learning tool, increased teacher-student interaction and was a good motivator to self-directed learning. Conclusion: If used with a well-structured educational research model, WhatsApp becomes a highly effective tool in medical education.


BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to determine the range of all histologically diagnosed odontogenic cysts along with age range, sex distribution and site of presentation over a 30-year period.

METHODS
All entries for odontogenic cysts occurring during 1975-2004 inclusive were retrieved and analysed for demographic data.

RESULTS
A total of 55,446 specimens were received, of these 7121 (12.8%) specimens were diagnosed as odontogenic cysts. Radicular cyst was the most common diagnosis (52.3%), followed by dentigerous cyst (18.1) and odontogenic keratocysts (11.6%).

CONCLUSIONS
Our study provides demographic data on a large series of odontogenic cysts in a European population. This is one of the largest series reported to date. Cysts such as the paradental cyst have a predilection for certain ages, sexes and sites. Odontogenic keratocysts and glandular odontogenic cysts have a marked propensity to recur as well as behave aggressively. It is essential that such lesions are detected as early as possible to minimize any necessary surgery.


principal products of this mine are copper ores and pyrite. The rocks in the vicinity of the mine consist of sandstones and shales of Mesozoic formation and the Tertiary formation called . the •gMiyai series•h, and acidic igneous rocks usually called •gKumano acidic rocks•h. The ore deposits of this mine are of shallow vein type and are found along normal faults in the Itaya formation, the upper part of the Miyai series. On the basis of the rock facies, the Itaya formation may be divided into the following members in descending order: Member Thickness G-sandstone¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥150 m F-shale ¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥50 m E-sandstone ¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥70 m D-alternation of sandstone and shale ¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥20•`25 m C-sandstone ¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥60 m B-shale ¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥50 m A-alternation of sandstone and shale ¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥ ? Ore shoots are usually formed in the E-sandstone member as shown in Fig. 5. The favorable openings of the E-sandstone member are due to its own physical properties and also to the relative difference. of the


The culture of Chinese southeastern littoral and Egyptian mediterranean littoral are typical littoral culture, maybe such culture will translate into oceanic culture, maybe it will stop on the lever limited by its history background and nature.


To address the global problem of female under-representation in political leadership, several political parties have included gender clauses in their constitutions. However, the crisp question is whether the gender clauses in political parties' constitutions effectively enhance women's representation in politics. An ancillary question is whether these clauses can guarantee real empowerment for women. This study aims to investigate these questions. The study is qualitative and uses secondary data sourced from legislation and political parties' constitutions. The study's findings indicate that the gender clauses in the parties` constitutions are ineffective. This is because the political parties are mostly rhetorical about the phenomenon; as a result, the ideals embodied in some of the political constitutions are hardly ever realised in practice. This is partly because the constitutions do not have concrete strategies for ensuring that women hold powerful positions in their internal structures and public services.


This report proposes a new processing method for automatically detecting the states of road surfaces from tire noises of passing vehicles. In addition to multiple indicators of the signal features in the frequency domain, we propose a few feature indicators in the time domain to successfully classify the road states into four categories: snowy, slushy, wet, and dry states. The method is based on artificial neural networks. The proposed classification is carried out in multiple neural networks using learning vector quantization. The outcomes of the networks are then integrated by the voting decision-making scheme. Experimental results obtained from recorded signals for ten days in the snowy season demonstrated that an accuracy of approximately 90% can be attained for predicting road surface states using only tire noise data.


The current paper presents a corpus containing 35 dialogues of spontaneously spoken southern German, including half an hour of articulography for 13 of the speakers. Speakers were seated in separate recording chambers, mimicking a telephone call, and recorded on individual audio channels. The corpus provides manually corrected word boundaries and automatically aligned segment boundaries. Annotations are provided in the Praat format. In addition to audio recordings, speakers filled out a detailed questionnaire, assessing among others their audio-visual consumption habits.


Abstract : This thesis examines the elements and actions necessary to develop and implement a standardized purchase card program for Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest Division. The thesis will review regulations, policy, and procedures governing the use of the Government purchase card for acquiring micro-purchases. A variety of Government agencies' purchase card programs are analyzed and best practices extracted. Moreover, barriers and roadblocks to implementing and expanding the use of the purchase card will be discussed. Lastly, recommendations that are germane to the effective implementation of the purchase card for micro-purchases will be proposed.


Figures of speech are broadly defined as a way of saying one thing in terms of something else. They are used to beautify literary works, especially poetry. They are not limited to poetry. They can make the poems more interesting and unique, but some readers cannot identify figures of speech used in poetry. They read without considering the use of them and what their meaning. The purpose of this research is to analyze the types of figures of speech used in Byron's poem and their meaning. This is qualitative research with content analysis. The theory used in this research is figures of speech theory. The result shows that the figures of speech used in the poem are diverse. Byron wants to describe a woman who always wants to bring happiness to others. She is not only perfect in appearance, but also in her heart and actions. Her beauty is a brilliant thing.


Abstract With broad spectral coverage and high spatial and temporal resolutions, satellite sensors can provide the data needed for the analysis of spatial and temporal variations of climate parameters in data-sparse regions such as the Arctic and Antarctic. The newly available Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Polar Pathfinder (APP) dataset was used to retrieve cloud fraction, cloud optical depth, cloud particle phase and size, cloud-top pressure and temperature, surface skin temperature, surface broadband albedo, radiative fluxes, and cloud forcing over the Arctic Ocean and surrounding landmasses for the 18-yr period from 1982 to 1999. In the Arctic, Greenland is the coldest region with the highest surface albedo, while northeastern Russia has the highest surface temperature in summer. Arctic annual mean cloud coverage is about 70%, with the largest cloudiness occurring in September and the lowest cloudiness occurring in April. On annual average, Arctic cloud visible optical depth is about...


Dynamic programming is widely used to benchmark the performance of a hybrid electric vehicle. It is also well documented that it is a very computationally heavy procedure depending on the number of states and control inputs in the problem formulation. In this paper we investigate the possibility of reduction in the computational time by splitting the number of states and control inputs between two models and applying dynamic programming individually, using the output of one as an input to the other and hence cascading the two models. A range extended hybrid electric vehicle powertrain architecture is modeled with four states and four control inputs, which is considered as the full model. Further, the states and control inputs of the battery and engine are separated from the other states, splitting them between the two new DP models. The vehicle performance estimated from this 'cascaded models approach' is compared with that from the full model. Initial comparisons show a very good match with minor differences in performance and considerable a reduction in computation time from around 6 hours to around a minute.


Scrapers typically exhibit a nonlinear load-growth curve whereby the rate of loading (the slope of the load-growth curve )varies with the load time. Allowing a scraper to obtain a maximum load does not imply either maximum production or minimum cost per production Tor a fleet or scrapers operating in conjunction with a pusher tractor. The paper demonstrates this using, for the pusher-scraper operation, a queueing model that includes allowances Tor the variabilities in the pusher and scraper cycles as well as an allowance for the interaction among the scrapers. Field data are presented illustrating the variabilities and interaction present in pusher-scraper operations. Examples are given showing the computations involved in selecting the optimum scraper load time for maximum production or minimum cost per production of the operation. The solutions to the related problems firstly of simultaneously selecting the optimum load time and optimum scraper fleet size and secondly of choosing the optimal pusher capa...


: Geranylgeraniol is a natural isoprenoid derived from the mevalonate pathway and deoxyx-ylulose-phosphate pathway. This non-sterol isoprenoid is converted into geranylgeranyl diphosphate in animal cells and is then used as a substrate for protein prenylation by prenyltransferases and for the synthesis of menaquinone-4 from menadione by UbiA prenyltransferase domain-containing protein 1 (UBIAD1) prenyltransferase. More than 300 prenylated proteins have been identified in humans, which are involved in cell signaling during cell growth, differentiation, cytoskeletal function, and vesi-cle transport. Furthermore, GGOH also has protein prenylation-independent functions. In this review, we have summarized current information regarding GGOH, including the regulation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase—which is the rate-limiting enzyme in the mevalonate path-way—modulation of brain function in ageing, suppression of inflammation, and enhancement of ste-roidogenesis in human and mammalian cells.


An explosive when heated, intentionally or unintentionally can produce a thernal explosion or even a detonation, producing a great deal of damage. Evaluation of an explosion can involve a description of the initial material phisical and chemicalstates, rate of heating, rate of decomposition kinetics, the changes in the explosive chemical and mechanical properties, rate of burning, transfer of explosive energy into thermal and mechanical energyand finally, amount of damage


The purpose of this article was to explore the knowledge and experiences of students enrolled in a teacher preparation progra m at a private university in Pu...


Fraudulent administrative decision is the private party has conducted intention fraud to the administrative agency, which leads to the erroneous administrative decision. There are fraudulent administrative decision without the third party and fraudulent administrative decision with the third party.The fraudulent administrative decision is void which people need not abide by and the administrative agency should not carry out.


The principles of a novel neuromorphic spike event-based polarimetric Dynamic Vision Sensor (DVS), mimicking the biological retina, for dynamic imaging of a scene aimed at increased temporal contrast, are introduced. A novel dynamic segmentation of moving objects was performed using a neuromorphic camera paired with a linear polarizingfilter. High-temporal contrast images were acquired and their local spatial-temporal content was further analyzed using wavelet decomposition. The outcome of the proposed technique clearly indicates that neuromorphic imaging coupled with polarimetric principles can identify and discriminate structures of different origin.


In recent years the electric power construction development tends to high capacity,high parameters in China.The high capacity generator groups,such as the 1000MW generator groups,appear continuously.The quality of construction and design of turbo-generator foundations has important influence on the safe,economical and efficient operation of generator groups.At present,the experiences in the construction and design of over-critical 1 000 MW generator groups are accumulated continuously;and the technical level is improved gradually.The dynamic character optimization of a 1000MW turbo-generator foundation is studied;digital simulation of vibration characters is analyzed;physical simulation experiments and actual measurement in field are carried out in order to optimize the dynamic characters of the foundation furtherly and ensure the high quality of the turbo-generator foundation.The research results will have important reference value for the design of the same kind foundations in future in China.


The study was conducted to demonstrate the current situation of financial revenue and expenditure of a general hospital in Dak Nong province in the period of 2018 - 2020. Retrospective secondary data on personnel situation, professional performance results, financial revenue and expenditure of the hospital in the years 2018-2020 was collected through data collection forms that was pre-designed. Total hospital revenue decreased from 2018 to 2019 (reducing 8.38%) and in 2020 (reducing 12.47%), of which non-business revenues accounted for more than 80% of the total earnings annually. Revenue from health insurance took a high proportion of total non-business revenues, accounting for about 67.65-84.33%. Total hospital expenditure decreased from 2018 to 2019 (falling 10.61%) and in 2020 (falling 9.47%). Spending for professional expertise accounted for more than 50% of the total recurrent expenditure in the hospital, compared to expenses for individual payments with nearly 40%. The gap between the revenue and expenditure of the hospital decreased, with the total difference for the years 2018-2020 was reported as 27,476 million VND, 5,937 million VND, and 1,840 million VND, respectively. Between 2018 and 2020, both the hospital's total revenue and expenditure decreased. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic caused many difficulties in effectively managing financial resources and ensuring the implementation of the financial autonomy roadmap. Keywords: hospital finance, financial revenue and expenditure, Dak Nong Provincial General Hospital.


The present work was aimed at studying the bioleachability of iron from pyrite by the selected moderately thermophilic strains of acidophilic chemolithotrophic and acidophilic heterotrophic bacteria. These included Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans (chemolithotroph) and an un-identified strain of acidophilic heterotroph (code 6A1TSB) isolated from local environments. As compared to inoculated flasks, dissolution of metal (due to acid leaching) was significantly low in the un-inoculated control flasks in all the experiments in ore. A decrease in the bioleaching activity was observed at the later stages of bioleaching of metal from ore. Among the strategies adopted to enhance the metal leaching rates, a mixed consortium of the metal adapted cultures of the above-mentioned bacteria was found to exhibit the maximum metal leaching efficiency. In all the flasks where high metal leaching rates were observed, concomitantly biomass production rates were also high indicating high growth rates. It showed that the metal bioleaching capability of the bacteria was associated with their growth. Pyrite contained 42% iron.


Since the publication of Shannon's 1948 paper "A Mathematical Theory of Communication" the quest has been on to find practical channel coding schemes that live up to the promises given by Shannon. Traditionally, coding theory focused on finding codes with large minimum distance and then to find an efficient decoding algorithm for such a code. In the realm of iterative decoding the picture is reversed: given an iterative decoding algorithm, one has to look out for codes that are suitable for such an algorithm. To understand iterative decoding algorithms, it is advantageous to have a basic knowledge of factor graphs and the summary-product algorithm. Therefore, in a first step we show how the detection problems in a data transmission system can be modeled very naturally by factor graphs and solved with the help of the most popular instances of the generic summary-product algorithm, namely the sum-product and the max-product algorithm. We also show how different iteratively decod-able channel codes fit very naturally into this picture. For loop-less factor graphs the summary-product algorithm gives back the desired results; for loopy factor graphs the results are only approximations to the desired ones. As we do not want that the summary-product algorithm becomes prohibitively computationally intense, we have to bound the local state space sizes. Under these circumstances, it seems favorable in our applications at hand to perform a sub-optimal algorithm on a loopy factor graph than to perform an optimal algorithm on a loop-less factor graph. One reason for this phenomenon lies in the fact that under the above restrictions much stronger codes can be achieved when allowing factor graphs with cycles than without cycles. v VI Abstract In order to apply the summary-product algorithm successfully, experimental evidences seem to indicate that it is advisable that the factor graph looks locally tree-like, i.e. that there are no short cycles. This helps the messages of the summary-product algorithm to be as independent as possible. To be able to construct factor graphs of codes having these desirable properties, our next step is therefore to consider constructions of graphs having large girth, i.e. graphs whose length of the shortest cycle is large. We then unify different constructions of graphs that have a large girth and we propose some extensions.


In sheet metal forming, very often, large plastic deformations are imposed to a thin plate. An accurate description of the material's elastoplastic response is therefore of paramount importance to perform finite element (FE) simulations of an actual forming operation. Reliable stressstrain data till significantly larger strains compared to tensile tests can be identified by means of bulge test. In this work, a dynamic hydraulic bulge test is proposed. The novel split Hopkinson bar bulge setup, combines features of classical split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) and hydraulic bulge tests. The special configuration of the Hopkinson bars leaves the sample surface fully accessible. As such, high-speed optical measurements can be performed on the sample surface allowing the application of, for instance, digital image correlation (DIC) for full-field displacement strain mapping. The potential of the facility is explored by performing experiments on 0.8mm thick Al2024-T3 sheet.


Background: Research suggests that childhood exposure to ultraviolet radiation is a significant risk factor for the development of melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancers. Sun awareness education programs for children can positively influence children's sun protective practices to decrease the risk of skin cancer. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a sun awareness education program, entitled "Sun and the Skin" that had recently been developed and implemented in London, Ontario. Method: The study uses a pre- and posttest design to evaluate both knowledge and behaviour of Grade 4 students participating in the program at baseline, immediately after, and 1 month after the program. Results: The students demonstrated a significant increase in their sun-protective practices after participation in the "Sun and the Skin" program. There was a significant improvement in the students' level of knowledge after the program. Improvement in both behaviour and knowledge were maintained weeks after completion of the program. Minor differences in knowledge due to demographic characteristics were detected after the program. Conclusions: A sun awareness education program for Grade 4 students can improve both their knowledge and behaviour over time. This format should be used in conjunction with changes in school policy in order to make a significant longterm impact.


During twelve months (May 2008-May 2009) fifteen samplings with fog nets (12x2) were made in the neighborhoods of diverse human constructions (houses, companies, university) of the municipality of Sincelejo, department of Sucre and ten samplings in the neighborhoods of the cave of the municipality of San Antonio de Palmito and in the cave of the eco-tourist center Roca Madre in Toluviejo, both in the department of Sucre. The samplings were made in the period between 18:00 and the 06:00. The nets were checked each ½ hour and each individual was classified, the hour was noted down and sex and the reproductive condition were determined. Four periods of nighttime activities were considered, between 18:00 and 20:59; 21:00 and 23:59; 00:00 and 2:59 and 03:00 and 06:00. Differences in the activity schedules of the individuals of both types of refuge were observed in relation with the period (dry and rain) and sex. This might be related to the different conditions of competition for the area control in each case, as well as with the energy-giving necessities of the species. When analyzing the activity of females with different reproductive condition a different behavior was observed in each group and simultaneously similar for both types of refuge, which could constitute a mechanism of protection for the young, since they never remain alone inside the refuges.


The success of an oil field drainage project depend s on the production strategy, defined by an optimization pro cess that maximizes the project Net Present Value (NPV). Considering the complexity of the process, the indu stry tends to simplify the numerical simulations used, m ainly by separating behaviour analysis of the reservoir and pro uction facilities. The pressure drop in the production fac ilities, for instance, is not generally considered in the select ion of number and position of the wells. The main objectiv e of this work is to verify if these simplifications have sig n ficant influence on the final result of the production str ategy selection process. For this purpose, three studies have been done, with different operational conditions and flu id types. For each case, two production optimization processe s of an oil field drainage project have been made, consider ing a simplified and a dynamic pressure drop calculation. The simplified pressure drop analysis consists in a bot tom-hole pressure definition that allows the fluid to rise t o he platform. In the dynamic option, it is necessary to define the production line geometry and the fluid conditions t o calculate the bottom-hole pressure for each configu ration, and the pressure drop is calculated dynamically, at each time step. With the result of both processes, the number and position of wells and performance of the optimized production strategies were compared. Significant di fferences were observed in the two cases tested, showing that the pressure drop influences the definition of the prod uction strategy, although this influence should be minimiz ed by operational conditions. It was also observed that t e greater influence occurs on the heavy oil reservoir and tha t t e locations are more influenced by the reservoir part icularities. Introduction One of the most important factors for the economic viability of an oil field exploitation project is an appropri ate choice of the reservoir production strategy, defining princip ally the number and location of producer and injector wells. That selection, in general, is carried out through an op timization process that has a tendency to be complex, because it depends on many parameters. Therefore, the industry tends to simplify the numerical simulations used, mainly b separating behaviour analysis of the reservoir and pro uction facilities. It is known that an integrated simulation, consider ing reservoir and production facilities, brings benefit s in production strategy definition. However, there are not studies that show this integrated simulation compen sates the computational effort and time demanded. The princip al objective of this work is to quantify the collected value of the simulations coupled in the processes of product ion strategy definition. Literature Review The optimization of a production strategy is an ite ra ive method that searches, through the maximization of a n objective-function, to obtain the best production a lternative. The optimization methods most used do not automatic ally carry out successive parameter modifications, requi ing more time. Mezzomo (2001) produced a methodology of optimization applicable in development and in produ ction phase fields. Nakajima (2003) developed a methodolo gy of strategy optimization with horizontal wells using q uality maps. Cruz et al. (1999) introduced the concept of quality map that consists of a 2D map able to summarize the production potential of each reservoir region throu gh all of the integration variables that influence production . The first publication about multiple reservoirs that coupled a common production system was done by Dempsey et al. (1971) in a gas field. Startzman et al. (1977) spread the model for oil reservoirs. Since then, the use of the integrated s imulations of reservoir and production system has been increas ing.


Legal dispute between e-Court and Courts of general jurisdiction concerning the regulations of code of civil procedure exists in practice. The article shows genesis of arising this legal problem, which is emerged by imprecise intertemporal provisions of Act of 4 July 2019 on amendment of the act Code of Civil Procedure and certain other acts. The author compares the Electronic Procedure by Writ of Payment, which is carried out on the basis of applicable regulations before amendment or after amendment. The article discusses about argumentations of e-Court and Courts of general jurisdiction. Legal dispute concerns the Act on Court Costs in Civil Cases too. The article shows problems concerning with the renewed lawsuit in the other civil procedure than Electronic Procedure by Writ of Payment. The author pays attention to effects of challenged of decision to terminate the proceedings, which is issued by Court of general jurisdiction. The article shows also the possibility, that the intertemporal provisions are contrary to the Constitution.


o be the recipient of an honor such as the Harvey A. K. Whitney Award causes one to reflect on his indebtedness to those who have been responsible for this recognition. This award provides the opportunity for me to transmit the honor to my colleagues, to those who have generously given me ideas to use and who have inspired me to use them, and who have given me the insight to understand the true meaning of pharmacy and the vast possibilities for a full and pleasant professional life in the practice of hospital pharmacy. I recently read a little book entitled Memoirs of Childhood and Youth by Albert Schweitzer. He says: "The ideas which determine our character are implanted in mysterious fashion." Dr. Schweitzer is deeply impressed by the fact that so many people gave him something without knowing it. Continuing, he says:


Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is a widely used tool for dimensional reduction and data visualization. However, it cannot be used directly for microbiome data. In this thesis, we aim to develop PCA for the underlying abundance of OTUs under the assumption that conditional on the latent OTU abundance, the observed counts follow independent Poisson distributions. By correcting this Poisson measurement error, we base our PCA on an unbiased estimator of the covariance matrix of the latent OTU abundances. We further correct the sequencing depth noise by analyzing the data as compositional. In order to deal with the non-normality, we propose a logarithm-transformed Poisson-corrected PCA. We then incorporate sequencing depth correction into this method. Finally, we address the problem of projecting the observed data onto the log-transformed principal component space. We examine the performance of our methods on simulated data and tongue microbiomes data.


Good filler dispersion in a polymer resin is crucial for achieving performance. Main focus of this study is the effect of dispersion of various fillers in epoxy resin to produce radiation hardened plastic packaging which can be used as a shielding against a high frequency radiation attack. High-frequency rays have tendency to intrude in the resin and polymer especially are quite vulnerable to be penetrated by high-frequency rays which may create an early degradation of product. Hence, stabilizers are also used which can absorb the high-frequency radiation and save the material from early degradation. However, particular fillers are also required that can uniformly disperse in the resin and create a film which can provide extra protection against high-frequency radiation attack. Three types of compositions are prepared using epoxy/graphite, epoxy/lead, and epoxy/boron nitride nanopowder. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images are used to study dispersion in resin. Small batches using gravity casting method at laboratory using compatibilizers are prepared to carry out experiments. Results of linear absorption coefficient carried out using Am–Be neutron source are also discussed in the paper. POLYM. COMPOS., 35:1263–1266, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers


This paper focuses on solving the adaptive optimal tracking control problem for discrete‐time linear systems with unknown system dynamics using output feedback. A Q‐learning‐based optimal adaptive control scheme is presented to learn the feedback and feedforward control parameters of the optimal tracking control law. The optimal feedback parameters are learned using the proposed output feedback Q‐learning Bellman equation, whereas the estimation of the optimal feedforward control parameters is achieved using an adaptive algorithm that guarantees convergence to zero of the tracking error. The proposed method has the advantage that it is not affected by the exploration noise bias problem and does not require a discounting factor, relieving the two bottlenecks in the past works in achieving stability guarantee and optimal asymptotic tracking. Furthermore, the proposed scheme employs the experience replay technique for data‐driven learning, which is data efficient and relaxes the persistence of excitation requirement in learning the feedback control parameters. It is shown that the learned feedback control parameters converge to the optimal solution of the Riccati equation and the feedforward control parameters converge to the solution of the Sylvester equation. Simulation studies on two practical systems have been carried out to show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.


We present highly automatic techniques for formal verification of pipelined microprocessors with hardware support for multithreading. The processors are modeled at a high level of abstraction, using a subset of Verilog, in a way that allows us to exploit the property of Positive Equality that results in significant simplifications of the solution space, and orders of magnitude speedup relative to previous methods. We propose abstraction techniques that produce at least 3 orders of magnitude speedup, which is increasing with the number of threads implemented in a pipelined processor. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work on automatic formal verification of pipelined processors with hardware support for multithreading.


To investigate the indication, operation mode and therapeutic of extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) with intraocular lens implantation (IOL) in diabetic. Methods Propetive evaluation of extracapsular cataract extraction with posterior chamber intraocular lens (ECCE wiht PC-IOL) in 58 eyes of 56 diabetic patients, and 60 eyes nondiabetic patients. Results No severe intra-and post-operative complications were found, and a postoperative final visual acuity of 0.6 or better in 55.4% of diabetic eyes and 61.7% of nondiabetic eyes, a difference that was not statistically significant ( P 0 05). Conclusions Preoperatively, if the diabetes of patients with cataract can be controlled by diet or hypoglycemic agent, their glucose level in the blood remains normal and stable for a period of time and there are no other systemic and ocular complications, ECCE with IOL can be performed on such patients and the therapeutic results of the operation can be safe and reliable.


The resistive memory has become one of the most promising new memory types because of its excellent performance, and HfO2 resistive material has attracted extensive attention. The conduction mechanism based on oxygen vacancy is widely recognized in the research of new nonvolatile memory. An RRAM electrothermal coupling model based on the oxygen vacancy conduction mechanism was constructed using COMSOL. The resistance process of the device is simulated by solving the coefficient partial differential equation, and the distribution of oxygen vacancy concentration, temperature, electric field, electric potential and other parameters in the dielectric layer at different voltages are obtained. The effects of temperature, dielectric layer thickness, top electrode thermal conductivity and conductive wire size on the resistance characteristics of the device are studied. It has guiding significance to further study the RRAM mechanism.


This paper presents a CMOS stress sensor chip including arrays of piezoresistive sensor elements with high spatial resolution sensitive to the in-plane stress components σxx – σyy and σxy , to the out-of-plane stress σxz and σyz , and to the normal stress sum σΣ = (σxx + σyy )/2 − σzz . For the first time, an application of novel vertical stress sensors is presented, measuring the mechanical stress distributions below electroless nickel (eNi) bumps subject to lateral shear forces and vertical compression. All measured stress values are linearly proportional to the applied forces. The vertical shear stress sensors resolve residual vertical shear stresses of up to 51 MPa in the shear experiments. An adjustable numerical model is established assuming two different Young's moduli of silicon nitride (SiN) emulating the adhesion between the SiN and eNi. Qualitative agreement of the in-plane stress distributions between experiment and numerical simulation is found in the shear and compression experiments, while good correlation for σΣ is found only for temperature uncompensated stress values in the compression test. The modeling of the absolute values shows differences to the experimental data of about ±30%.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


The iridium-catalyzed reaction of imidazoles with formates in the presence of hydrosilanes as co-reactants, leading to the production of 2-[(alkoxy)(siloxy)methyl]imidazoles, is described. Dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (DMAD) was the additive of choice for the reaction, in terms of reaction efficiency. No reaction was observed in the absence of the hydrosilanes. While substituents at the 1- and 5-positions on the imidazole ring did not affect the reaction, substituents at the 4-position greatly retarded the reaction. The regioselective reaction of 1-methyl-1,2,4-triazole occurred at the carbon atom between the sp3 and sp2 nitrogen atoms of the ring, but not between two sp2 nitrogen atoms The products were converted into imidazole 2-carbaldehydes by hydrolysis under acidic conditions.


Despite its early biochemical identification [1], the exact function of the glycoprotein V (GPV) subunit of the platelet glycoprotein (GP) Ib–V–IX complex has remained elusive. Recently, the generation of GPV knock out mice has allowed exploration of the role of this subunit in hemostasis and thrombosis. Two separate GPV strains have been used, both on mixed 129/Sv · C57BL/6J backgrounds [2,3]. Both strains exhibited a normal phenotype with respect to their platelet count, size and ultrastructure, expression of GPIbab–IX, adhesion to von Willebrand factor (VWF) and aggregation in response to agonists such as adenosine 5 -diphosphate (ADP) and thromboxaneA2 (TxA2). The only deviations from a normal profile were increased aggregation in response to low concentrations of thrombin and decreased adhesion and aggregation in response to collagen [3,4]. The impact of GPV deficiency on thrombosis is still under debate as divergent observations of a prothrombotic or antithrombotic tendency have been reported in two separate studies of GPV mice [4,5]. In view of the effects of genetic background on hemostatic parameters and platelet function [6,7], a possible explanation for these discrepancies could reside in the use of mixed genetic backgrounds. Another potential source of variation is the thrombosis model, which could differ in terms of the levels of injury and nature of the agonists, despite use of a similar mesenteric artery FeCl3 injury model in these studies [8,9]. The purpose of the present study was to reassess the thrombotic responses of GPV mice following backcrossing on a C57BL/6J background to eliminate one source of variation. GPV mice on a mixed 129/Sv · C57BL/6J background were raised as described previously [2]. After backcrossing randomly to produce a 99% congenic strain at the F7 generation, these mice (GPVB6) were used for experiments and compared with a pure C57BL/6J strain (Charles River, France). Previous observations of an increased aggregation response to thrombin and a decreased reactivity to collagen of GPVdeficient platelets [3,4] were confirmed in GPVB6 mice. In each case, the difference with respect to the wild type was subtle and better detected at a low agonist concentration (data not shown). Adhesion of GPVB6 platelets to collagen fibers was also moderately decreased during perfusion of hirudinated blood at a shear rate of 1500 s (data not shown). Arterial thrombosis was evaluated in an intravital model of injury of mesenteric arterioles with two degrees of severity [10]. Localized injury was induced using a pulsed nitrogen dye laser (440 nm) applied through the objective of a DMIRB microscope (Leica Microsystems, Wetzlar, Germany) with a Micropoint laser system (Photonics Instruments, St Charles, IL, USA). Reproducible lesions inducing reversible parietal or more extensive almost occlusive thrombi were produced by adjusting the firing time and laser intensity. Superficial injury generated reversible thrombi, which attained smaller maximal sizes in GPVB6 than in GPV mice (Fig. 1A), although the difference did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.0788, n = 27). A severe injury led to larger almost occluding thrombi, which grew at a similar rate and reached comparable sizes in the two strains (Fig. 1B). However, the subsequent thrombus regression was retarded in GPVB6 (40% decrease at 10 min) as compared to GPV mice (71% decrease; P = 0.0051, n = 22, area under the curve). In the severe lesions, thrombus formation has been shown to depend on thrombin generation and amplification of the response by ADP [10]. The implication of thrombin in the increased stability of GPVB6 thrombi was evaluated in hirudin-treated animals. Hirudin induced a similar decrease in maximal thrombus size in the two strains and an almost complete regression of the thrombi, which was even accelerated in GPVB6 mice (Fig. 1C). The role of ADP amplification was assessed by treating mice with the P2Y12 receptor inhibitor clopidogrel. This profoundly decreased the thrombus size in wild-type mice but was less efficient in preventing thrombus formation in GPVB6 animals (48% and 77% inhibition in GPVB6 and GPV strains, respectively; P = 0.0027, n = 8; see Fig. 1D). Overall, GPVB6 mice exhibited a decreased or increased thrombotic tendency in this arterial model, depending on the degree of vessel wall injury and the implication of collagen, thrombin and ADP. GPVB6 mice were also evaluated in a model of intravascular thromboembolism induced by intravenous injection of thromboplastin or a mixture of collagen and adrenaline. These agents cause death through obstruction of Correspondence: François Lanza, INSERM U.311, Etablissement Français du Sang-Alsace, 10 rue Spielmann, BP 36, 67065 Strasbourg Cedex, France. Tel.: +33 388 212525; fax: +33 388 212521; e-mail: francois.lanza@ efs-alsace.fr


Security in wireless networks is becoming more and more important due to the absence of centralized infrastructure. In this paper image steganography using Least Significant Bit (LSB) has been implemented in succession with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). The stego image, which carries message in the encrypted format, is hidden in a huffman compressed video file using LSB algorithm. This compressed video is transmitted via ad hoc networks, by using Ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) and Dynamic Source Routing (DSR). Scenarios with different packet and node sizes were considered for analysis. These protocols have been compared based on simulation parameters like packet delivery ratio, throughput and average end to end delay. It is also worth noting that percentage of dropped packets has increased only by 0.0947 in the case of DSR and 0.1229 in AODV under 50 node size, thereby eliminating the performance overhead in the proposed secure scheme.


In order to clarify the role of spontaneous apoptosis of non‐Hodgkin's lymphomas In the growth regulation system, apoptdc Indices (Al) assessed by DNA nick end‐labeling and proliferative activity, estimated In terms of Ki‐67 Iabeling Indices (KI) and mitotic Indices (MI), were compared. in addition, expresslon of bcl‐2, p53 and c‐myc was also examIned in relation to these Indicators. For thls study, 103 Iymphoma cases were used, comprising 72 of B cell and 31 of T cell origin (42 nodal and 62 extranodal). Al, KI and MI were signiffcantty Increased in llne with bcl‐2 negativity and p53 positivify, and there was no relation to the T, B cell classification or expression of c‐myc. These Indicators positivety correlated overall. Posltive correlation was stricter in groups belleved to represant a good pragnostic predictive factor, such as B cell origin, bci‐2(+), p53(‐) and c‐myc(‐). Significant cross‐correlation was noted only between bcl‐2 wersus T, B cell classification. However, no inverse correlation between bcl‐2 and p53 was evident. These results sug gest, in non‐Hodgkin's lymphomas, that apoptosls plays an Important role together with proliferative activity in counterbalancing tumor volume, and is strlctty linked to bcl‐2 expression, less 80 to p53 expresaion, but Independent of T, B cell classification and c‐myc expression. Apoptotlc indices may be a perdlctive Indicator for prognosis simllar to proliferative activity.


This article considers what integration efforts in psychology would look like if informed by a trinitarian account of creation. Further theological reflection about the doctrine of creation reveals four key conclusions that are valuable for conceiving the relationship between theology and psychology: (1) The goodness of the created realm establishes the investigation and exploration of human nature through science and psychology; (2) Human nature can be explored through psychology because God's providential care allows a certain "order" of creation to be preserved despite the reality of sin; (3) God endows humanity with creative abilities to discover and develop the created realm and culture through the science of psychology; (4) God's trinitarian relations with the world establishes the theological basis for the social, embodied, and relational aspects of human nature that are able to be discerned through the study of psychology. The implications that these four key conclusions have for psychological research and clinical psychology will also be discussed.


The paper examines the accumulation of debt by Swedish local governments. I find that right‐wing governments accumulate more debt when facing a higher probability of defeat, whereas the opposite occurs for left‐wing governments. These effects are sizable: a right‐wing government increases its level of debt by 15 percent, whereas a left‐wing government decreases its debt by 11 percent if they are both certain of being replaced as compared to when they are certain of remaining in office. The results are consistent with the predictions from a strategic debt model developed by Persson and Svensson.


designing housing reforms that are comfortable for the elderly and disabled people, so that the patients suffering physically from aging or cerebral vascular disorder can go back to their homes from the hospitals or other institutions to continue their lives. Occupational therapists should evaluate the disability of each patient to determine various things including the type of handrails and their heights for each physical condition and disorder. They also have to choose the type of switches such as round or square push switch, or the touch sensor switch. However, there is very little scientific evidence that deals with this individual impairment. It is necessary to establish scientific evidence for occupational therapy to determine the switch pushing motion for the individual impairment. As for the basic background study for these approaches, there are reports related to the improved pinch force after training as a direct


In order to meet user demands of connecting DWDM system with multi-signal with arbitrary rate,this paper firstly introduces a design concept of wavelength conversion board,which is to use SY87721 clock to get signal adaptively at any speed from 28 Mbit/s to 2.7 Gbit/s of the clock signal.Secondly,it introduces the principles of the clock extraction,the method to connect MCU to CPLD,the register allocation and read out of the modalities.Finally,an introduction to the method of testing the reference clock signal frequency when using the reference clock is also mentioned,which will help a lot to the system maintenance.


An electrical insulator comprising a body of insulator and a clamp formed as an integrated part, wherein the insulator body has a base fitting assembly for attachment to a support structure at one end with the clamp being formed at the other end , said clamp a body defining a strap support or a recess for receiving an electrical conductor zone if the electrical insulator extends substantially horizontally or substantially vertically relative to the support structure and a pin on which a clamping device or retention is movable along a track defined in the body of the clamp for fixing an electrical conductor in the strap support or recessed area.


Based on model of M.Poulos,air defense system of HVU escort fleet is divided into two parts: area defense and point defense.After some necessary assumption and simplification,a model of integrated ship to air defense system is developed.Based on this model,three attack scenarios are assumed and air defense effectiveness(ADE) of different scenario is calculated.The result is that the criterion of ADE should be the excess staying power of HVU and that HVU should be equipped with point defense of ship to air system to improve defensive power.


Terms uch as intuition are frequently used to describe the experk.nce of immediacy in the comprehension f possible behavior from diagrams or computer interfaces. If this aspect of cognition is operationalized as automatic processing reflecting certain environmental constraints (st a~nements), the effects of intuition can accommodated within a more general model of cognitive difficulty. The availability of resource independent but specialized processing suggests that systematic methods for reducing cognitive difficulty by substituting intuitive situations for nonintoitive ones (metaphor) are possible. Results from pilot experiments using Tower of Hanoi smmq~ to investigate the role of attunement and form of ~ in such substitutions are reported.


The invention relates to a fertility regulation gene and its application, and belongs to the plant breeding field. The invention concretely relates to fertility restorer of homozygous recessive genetic male sterile rice plants, and its use. The invention further relates to a method for constructing a rice male sterile line and a maintenance line, carrier construction and transgenic material properties, and concretely relates to a constructor, a rice cell, tissue or organ, a method for constructing the rice male sterile line, a method for restoring the male fertility of the rice sterile plant, a method for preparing rice seeds, a transgenic material, a method for preparing hybrid rice, and a use of the rice male sterile line in the preparation of hybrid rice.


The present invention, (a) amylomaltase-treated starch, relates to a new starch composition comprising (b) amylopectin starch, and (c) optionally a low DE maltodextrin. The present invention further reduced the amount of fat required in the recipe optionally, the use of the new starch composition for producing baked products.


Abstract A nitrogen fertilization experiment was conducted in 33-year-old ponds at the Auburn University Fisheries Research Unit, Auburn, Alabama, after sediment removal and renovation. Twelve ponds were treated with 3 kg P2O5 (1.3 kg P)/ha, and ammonium nitrate was applied to give a range of nitrogen application rates (0–14 kg/ha). The maximum production of bluegills Lepomis macrochirus was achieved at 6 kg N/ha. The optimum fertilizer application rate for ponds from which sediment had been removed was 6 kg N with 3 kg P2O5 (1.3 kg P)/ha, which implies the following ratios: N:P2O5 = 2:1 and N:P = 4.6:1. This fertilization rate should be more appropriate than the commonly used rate of 9 kg N with 9 kg P2O5 (3.9 kg P)/ha for new ponds in the southeastern United States.


The inclusion of students with learning disability in regular classroom settings has been identified worldwide as essential to the provision of effective education for all and the creation of a more accessible environment. There have been few empirical studies in developing countries on teachers' competence to educate students with specific learning disabilities in an accessible environment. This study aimed to explore the influence of agricultural science teachers' competence on skill acquisition among students with auditory processing disorder. Different types of teachers' competence were examined, including methodological competence, motivational competence, material utilization competence, and teaching evaluation competence. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design with a multi-stage cluster sampling technique. A survey instrument was developed and distributed to 237 agriculture teachers in Nigeria that were asked about their perception on teachers' competence in inclusive education in providing agricultural skills and support for students with auditory processing disorder. Therefore, the agriculture teachers were asked to complete the questionnaires given one week. Data revealed that the agriculture teachers reported moderate level of teachers' competence for teaching students with auditory disorder in inclusive school settings. Implications of these results include the need for further investigation into the training needs of agriculture teachers regarding competencies for inclusive education practices, such as differentiation and universal design for learning to promote social justice.


The migrant workers are a new labor force,with a huge number but at a disadvantage in social status. However,the four legal channels to safeguard the migrant workers' legal rights—supervision,mediation,arbitration,litigation—have lost their efficiency and justice to different degrees. Therefore,to protect their legal rights is nowadays a major issue which can not be ignored. To solve this problem,we must improve the system of labor inspection,reform the mechanism of labor dispute handling,perfect the system of legal aid for migrant workers,enhance their quality,set up organizations to protect their rights,and smooth rights protection channels,so as to achieve social efficiency and justice.


Is sham acupuncture necessary? SIRS, I read with interest the article by Dickman et al. The aim to determine the efficacy of adding acupuncture in the gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) treatment should be applauded, as proton pump inhibitor (PPI) treatment fails to achieve satisfactory effects in managing GERD-related symptoms in some cases. However, there is no sham acupuncture as a control group in the trial, and the reason is that sham acupuncture may provide therapeutic effects. In my opinion, sham acupuncture should be used as placebo control, especially in trials designed to examine the efficacy of acupuncture. There are many reasons: first, the special ritual of acupuncture manipulation may provide placebo effects, as it seems mysterious to patients, especially patients who receive acupuncture therapy for the first time, which may arouse patients' positive expectation and improve symptoms accordingly. Second, psychological factors are reported to be strongly associated with reflux symptoms, and commonly acupuncture treatment can bring more communications between patients and practitioners than medication because of the manipulation procedure. And as it is known to all, a good doctor–patient relationship may enhance patient improvement. Third, nonspecific effects of a treatment can be divided in to desirable (placebo) and undesirable (nocebo) effects. Nocebo effects include negative patient expectations that can affect every treatment of process. Thus, positive expectation of acupuncture and negative expectation of conventional medicine which may already have been experienced by patients as inadequate, may lead to significant difference between acupuncture with medication and pure medication. Therefore, I think sham acupuncture is necessary in this trial. With sham acupuncture, we can exclude placebo effect, although it may bring therapeutic effect, when drawing a conclusion on whether a therapy is efficacious. I think, we should be cautious and try to exclude every possible placebo effect. As for this trial, I think the control group should be designed as sham acupuncture plus doubling PPI treatment.


Objective:To study the feasibility of using ~ 19 F nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to monitor CD transgene expression in human colon cancer cell line. Methods:The cell line SW1116 was transfected with a gene coding for cytosine deaminase (CD from E.coli) by retroviral mediated method. The assessment of expression of CD gene in colon cancer cell line was carried out by ~ 19 F-NMR spectroscopy drug sensitivity to 5-FC in vitro and in vivo. Results: ~ 19 F -NMR spectroscopy showed that incubation of cultured CD+cells with 774 μmol/L 5FC for 24 h , the spectrum of intact cells shows two broad resonances corresponding to 5-FC (chemical shift relative to trifluoroacetate δ-91.7) taken up into cell, 5-FU(δ-93.3) produced by the action of cytosine deaminase. The resulting SWCD_ 2 cell line was more sensitive to the prodrug 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC); IC_ 50 =66 μmol/L, compared to parent cancer cells SW1116;IC_ 50 =16 000 μmol/L. Conclusion:The feasibility of using 19NMR spectroscopy to noninvasively monitor CD gene expression in human colon cancer was demonstrated. This capability provides an new approach for measuring gene expression that will be useful in clinical gene therapy trials.


Whether or not immigration negatively affects the labor market outcomes of natives is an ongoing debate. One challenge for empirical evidence is the simultaneity of supply- and demand-side effects. To isolate the demand side, we focus on refugees in Germany who are exogenously allocated to districts and excluded from the labor market. We leverage quasi-random variation in the local refugee share as an instrument to show that an influx of 1000 asylum-seekers creates almost 300 jobs in a district, on average. This effect is mainly driven by a demand for additional (female) labor in service, public administration and social work. The results are robust to various sensitivity checks and an alternative difference-in-differences identification strategy. Moreover, we show that employment effects largely offset the financial burden on the public. Quantifying the demand side of immigration adds to our understanding of local labor market dynamics in an increasingly mobile world.


More and more international companies were required to disclose the expected impact of applying the International Financial Reporting Standards. The objective of this paper is to examine the association between the level of disclosure and corporate governance quality. Using a sample of listed companies with 30 June balance dates, we find that the quantity of disclosure was positively related to some aspects of superior corporate governance, such as the frequency of board and audit committee meetings and the choice of auditor.


The (Nd1–<italic>x</italic>Gd<italic>x</italic>)2O3 thin films were grown on Si(001) in 2005 using molecular beam epitaxy followed by an in vacuo metallization of Pt contacts. Pt/(Nd1–<italic>x</italic>Gd<italic>x</italic>)2O3/Si(001) metal-oxide-semiconductor structures have been characterized several times over the period of 2005–2015 in order to investigate the stability of their physical and electrical properties. Core-level X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectra remeasured during 2015 depict that the layer still retains its original properties that were measured in 2005. Although there has been some degradation of electrical properties such as capacitance and leakage current over several years, interestingly the midgap density of interface traps' (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$D_{{\mathrm{it}}})$ </tex-math></inline-formula> value has been found to be decreased from <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1.1 \times 10^{12}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> to <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$3.5 \times 10^{11}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> eV<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{-1}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>cm<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{-2} $ </tex-math></inline-formula> over the years. The formation of silicate-like interface inferred from XPS measurements can be attributed to such an improvement over this period. Time-dependent dielectric breakdown measurements under constant current stress and constant voltage stress were also carried out to investigate the reliability of the structure.


A method and a system for preventing reflection of light on a display device and a nonvalatile computer readable medium are provided. The system includes a light reflection detector that is configured to detect a region in which light reflection is generated by external light interference on a screen of the display device. A light reflection preventing controller is configured to change a color of the detected light reflection region into a light absorbing color when the light reflection region is detected by the light reflection detector to minimize the light reflection on the display device.


Motivated by a revised expectation that the Katwe geothermal prospect is more likely to host a deep-circulation rather than a magmatic type of geothermal system, new structural geology and Magnetotelluric (MT) resistivity surveys have been acquired and integrated with previous data including spring geochemistry, TEM resistivity and temperature-geology logs from six shallow wells, supporting the development of a geothermal resource conceptual model for a >125°C deep-circulation resource. The Katwe geothermal prospect is situated in the western branch of the East African Rift System (EARS) which has recently been recognized to more likely host <200°C deep-circulation types of geothermal reservoirs rather than the >230°C magmatically-heated geothermal reservoirs that have been drilled and developed in the eastern branch of the EARS. The Katwe prospect is characterized by 32.5° – 72.1°C hot springs in the Kitagata crater and warm springs in the Katwe crater within the Katwe-Kikorongo Volcanic Field (KKVF). Geochemistry at Katwe is complicated by evaporites and saline lakes in the basins adjoining the KKVF. Based on the evidence of volcanic influence from the 140 maar craters and cinder cones of the KKVF and >200°C cation geothermometry of the hot springs that had seemed consistent with a volcano-hosted geothermal model, in 2006/2007, six temperature gradient holes (TGHs) of depths ranging from 200 to 300 m were drilled but with disappointing temperature gradients of <36°C/km. From 2016 to 2018, a re-evaluation of Katwe as a deep-circulation prospect has been supported by the recently concluded, UK Department for International Development (DFID) funded, East African Geothermal Energy Facility (EAGER) – Geothermal Resources Department (GRD) project as part of the programme to re-assess the four high priority geothermal prospects in Uganda including three others: Kibiro, Panyimur and Buranga. The revised EAGER-GRD assessment at Katwe concluded thus: by modelling mixing of shallow groundwater, lake water and hot spring water, a thermal upflow water chemistry could be inferred, for which further modelling of the mineral saturation index and chalcedony geothermometry indicated that the hot springs probably originated from a 110 to 136°C aquifer heated by deepcirculation. New structural geology mapping that focused on Quaternary faults concluded that deep permeability is likely associated with fault intersections and step-overs along the strike of the Nyamwamba fault system near the Kitagata crater, likely dipping at about 55° into the basin and extending 7 km to the south-southwest. A 43 station MT resistivity survey, interpreted using 1D and 2D methods by GRD with EAGER support, extended earlier TEM resistivity imaging to greater depths, indicating that the adjacent sedimentary basin hosts only very limited shallow aquifers. GRD has also independently conducted supplementary soil temperature and soil gas flux surveys since the end of the EAGER project but with as yet inconclusive results. Based on the EAGER-GRD integration of the new structural geology and MT data with the reanalysis of existing shallow TGH and geochemistry data, a range of geothermal resource conceptual models of the Katwe prospect have been constructed indicating potential for a >1000 m deep well to encounter a >125°C deep-circulation resource. However, the location of the fault-hosted upflow remains ambiguous and so two additional shallow TGH wells have been recommended prior to considering any deeper drilling. Such a geothermal resource would be potentially suitable for pumped production for binary electricity generation and/or direct use opportunities that may be consistent with the special land use status of the Katwe area.


This is a Tortoise type tale. The principal motif in it is A 2239: Animal characteristics fr am miscellaneous punishments. Another motif is K 401: Blame for theft fastened on dupe. The title of the tale is Tortoise Steals Leopard's Drum. However, it turns out to be a myth explaining the origin of a certain characteristic of an animal. What I intend to do in this comparative analysis is to illustrate the adjudication process whereby one particular variant of a Yoruba folktale is acclaimed the best of its type in a given Yoruba Community and therefby the story-teller from whom emanates that particular variant achieves a rise in his reputation äs a narrator of folktales. F i r s t V a r i a n t : the tale äs told by Aribuki Gbadamosi, an elderly man who hails from Ofa district of Yorubaland. In this variant, it is of the following features that judicial notice is particularly taken by the audience. Firstly, there is no account of how Tortoise succeeded in stealing Leopard's drum; the tale concentrates on the motives for the theft and the consequences of the theft. Secondly, there is an incident of deception in which Tortoise tricks Giant Rat into taking the stolen drum in exchange for his own. Thirdly, there is a melodious song with a refrain emanating alternately from each of a number of animals in turns and from Leopard. Fourthly, the tale is interpreted at the very end äs an explanation of the whitish appearance of the tip of the giant rat's tail. Fifthly, the storyteller's narrative style is very vivid and his language is delightfully idiomatic and figurative. In tlhis wariant, the characters in the tale are Leopard (wrongly presented äs the King of the Animals) and All Other Animals (including Tortoise). The initial Situation is that Leopard decreed that each animal should specially make a drum for the kingdom's annual festival celebration. King Leopard himself made a drum, a very good one. Each of the other animals made a drum and was able to recognize the sound of his own drum. Tortoise did n o t make any drum; he intended to steal the King's own drum, hoping to get away with the crime. Step l of developments is that Tortoise successfully


Based on optical diffraction theory and geometry optical, such as diameter of diffraction spot, Point Spread Function(PSF), Strehl Ratio, Modulation Transfer Function(MTF), etc., were analyzed using theoretical analytical expression and numerical simulation of segmented telescope in the paper. The effect of sub-segmented mirrors' Piston error and Tip-tilt error on far-field was calculated. The results show that both Piston error and tip-tilt error affect system's Strehl Ratio and MTF and blurred far field image. Tip-title error can cause the generation of piston error. The compensation for the Piston error would highly improve the far field imaging characteristics.


Earnings from Australia's commodity exports are forecast to rise by 7 per cent in 2006-07, to $134.2 billion. Exports of minerals and energy resources are forecast to account for around 80 per cent of the total increase. The turnaround in seasonal conditions since June 2005 provided an ideal finish to the 2005-06 winter crops in many regions and has promoted good pasture growth. Total winter crop production in Australia in 2005-06 is estimated to be 40.1 million tonnes, the second highest on record. Growth in world demand for most of the major minerals and energy commodities is forecast to ease over the medium term. In most cases this will be reflected in an easing of prices in 2007 and beyond. Commodity export earnings are projected to ease over the medium term (in real terms), albeit remaining above 2004-05 levels.


The competition among great powers in the COVID-19 is the prime focus of this paper. As the great powers China, Russia and United States instead of cooperating in the crisis situation and generating global response towards pandemic they started accusing each other for the spread of virus. These great powers adopted vaccine nationalism and went for vaccine diplomacy. Moreover these great powers manufactured their own vaccines and promoted self-manufactured vaccines instead of generating collectively response towards the crisis resultantly which created more challenges for world.


Sweet pepper is an important vegetable crop in Taiwan. A postharvest fruit decay disease of goat-horn sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum cv. Madrid), stored at 4-7°C, was observed and sampled during a fresh market survey in Chiayi, Taiwan, in January 2017, consisting of slightly shrunken, irregular, soft, gray or grayish-brown lesions on 33% of fruits. The skin of diseased peppers remained intact but the discolored fruit tissue was rotted. A fungus was isolated from surface-sterilized diseased tissue on water agar, purified and maintained on potato dextrose agar (PDA). Three purified isolates, Bc001, Bc002 and Bc003, were obtained,,with single-celled conidia,,ellipsoid or ovoid, colorless or pale brown, 10.4 to 20.4 × 8.3 to 16.6 µm in size. The isolates did not produce sclerotia on PDA. The colony and conidia morphology was similar to that of Botrytis sp. Three surface-sterilized fruits of C. annuum cv. Madrid and three of green sweet pepper (C. annuum var. grossum), pin-prick inoculated with spore suspensions (1×106 spores/ml) of each isolate and kept under moist conditions at 25°C, exhibited irregular, soft, grayish-brown lesions one day post inoculation similar to those observed in natural infections. The same fungus could be consistently re-isolated from the inoculated sweet pepper fruits, fulfilling Koch's postulates. The control fruits remained disease-free. Sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the rDNA of the three isolates with the universal primers ITS1 and ITS4 (White et al., 1990).showed 100% identity with B. cinerea by MEGABLAST analysis and were deposited in GenBank (accession Nos. KY616853, KY616854 and KY616855). Since B. cinerea symptoms on field-grown hot chili pepper (C. annuum var. acuminatum) were not recorded in detail (Sawada, 1919), to our knowledge, this is the first report of B. cinerea causing postharvest fruit decay of goat-horn sweet pepper in Taiwan.


In 1962, Owen, Dietz, and Camiener reported the isolation of a new antitumor antibiotic from the culture filtrate of Streptomyces sparsogenes. The structure of the crystalline antibiotic, named sparsomycin, remained elusive until 1970, when Wiley and MacKellar reported results of spectroscopic and degradation studies which elucidated the structure. In addition to the molecular structure, investigators have examined the mechanism of action, toxicity, and related analogues, striving to establish sparsomycin or a synthetic analogue's usefulness as an effective chemotherapeutic agent. The initial pharmacological evaluation of sparsomycin revealed it possessed activity against KB human epidermoid carcinoma cells, a variety of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, and fungi. This broad spectrum of activity prompted a closer examination of the biochemical mechanisms. These studies revealed sparsomycin interfered with protein synthesis by inhibiting peptide bond formation near the enzyme peptidyl transferase. Ottenheijm, Liskamp, and Tijhuis reported the first total synthesis of sparsomycin in 1979, which provided access to greater quantities of the material for investigational use. Sparsomycin was selected for use by cancer patients in phase I clinical trials, but was found to cause ocular toxicity which hindered its development as an antitumor agent. In an effort to reduce or eradicate the toxic effects while maintaining the antitumor activity, analogues of sparsomycin were prepared. Using the sparsomycin analogues which were synthesized, studies were performed to determine the effect alteration of key structural parameters had on the efficacy of the compounds. Previous investigators examined analogues which incorporated modifications of the uracil ring, the unique mono-oxodithioacetal moiety, and the stereochemical configuration of the chiral centers. Vince and Lee reported there was an apparent requirement for the Q-configuration at the asymmetric carbon atom. Overall, however, the small number of sparsomycin analogues prepared and evaluated limited the definitive statements concerning the functional groups required for antitumor activity. In order to expand and clarify the structure-activity relationships, three series of new sparsomycin analogues were prepared for this project. The compounds of Series I and II, distinguished by the inclusion or exclusion of a hydroxymethyl functional group, were designed to elucidate the effect on activity of replacing the mono-oxodithioacetal side chain of sparsomycin with 4-substituted benzyl groups. The Series III analogues, which excluded the hydroxymethyl functional group, featured a 4-substituted benzyl amide group in place of the mono-oxodithioacetal moiety of sparsomycin, and were designed to investigate the potential interaction of an amide oxygen in contrast to the sulfoxide oxygen of sparsomycin. The target compounds synthesized for this project were experimentally examined to quantitate their effects on [ 75 Se]-selenomethionine…


SUMMARY Two new 8-spored, non-conidial, homothallic species of Neurospora are described: N. galapagosensis Mahoney & Backus and N. africana Huang & Backus, obtained from soil samples collected on the Galapagos Islands and in Eastern Nigeria, respectively. These organisms were discovered through use of a technique which appears to be highly effective for isolating sordariaceous fungi from soil. The new Neurospora taxa share several important distinctive features with both N. terricola Gochenaur & Backus and N. dodgei Nelson & Novak but appear to be most closely related to the latter. Prior to 1960 no truly homothallic Neurospora was known, nor had any Neurospora been described which did not have a Monilia imperfect stage. This state of affairs was changed, however, with the discovery, early in the present decade, of Neurospora terricola Gochenaur & Backus (5) and N. dodgei Nelson & Novak (8)-two homothallic 8-spored species apparently devoid of both conidia and spermatia. The former had been encountered in Wisconsin lowland soil and the latter in moderately high elevation soils of Puerto Rico. In the present communication two additional specific taxa of the same general pattern are described. One of these was isolated from Galapagos Islands soil, the other from a soil sample from Nigeria. As had been the case with the discovery of N. terricola and N. dodgei, they were found through the use of selective isolation procedures. The discoveries reported here were made in the course of studies on the microfungal flora of selected tropical soils, the general results of which will be reported elsewhere.


This paper presents a comprehensive analysis and the performance enhancement of short block length channel detection incorporating training information. The current communication systems' short block length channel detection are assumed to typically consist of least squares channel estimation, followed by quasi-coherent detection. By investigating the receiver structure, specifically the estimator-correlator, we show that the non-coherent term, which is often disregarded in conventional detection metrics, results in significant losses in terms of performance and sensitivity in typical operating regimes of 5G/6G systems. A comparison with the fully non-coherent receiver in multi-antenna configurations reveals substantial losses in low spectral efficiency operating areas. Additionally, we demonstrate that by employing an adaptive DMRS/data power adjustment, it is possible to reduce the performance loss gap which is amenable to a more sensitive quasi-coherent receiver. However, both of the aforementioned ML detection strategies can result in substantial computational complexity when processing long bit length codes. We propose an approach to tackle this challenge by introducing the principle of block/segment coding using First-Order RM Codes which is amenable to low-cost decoding through block-based fast Hadamard transforms. The Block-based FHT has demonstrated to be cost-efficient with regards to decoding time, as it evolves from quadric to quasi-linear complexity with a manageable decline in performance. Additionally, by incorporating an adaptive DMRS/data power adjustment technique, we are able to bridge/reduce the performance gap with respect to the conventional maximum likelihood receiver and attain high sensitivity, leading to a good trade-off between performance and complexity to efficiently handle small payloads.