Flow velocity spectra of main arteries in 24 healthy adult subjects and 21 healthy aged subjects were transcutaneously studied using the directional ultrasonic Doppler technique. I) The instantaneous flow velocity spectrum is continuous throughout a pulse cycle, and intensified near the instantaneous maximum velocity, especially in the earlypart ofa pulse cycle. 2) No reverse flow phase is observed in the common carotid artery except for a small momentary reverse component. A reverseflow phase is always exhibited in thefemoral artery and in many occasions in the other main arteries; it follows the systolic forward flow phase. After the reverse flow phase the diastolic forward flow phase appears. In some subjects a second reverseflow phase and thirdforwardflow phase are successively observed. 3) The arterial bloodflow almost looks like a propagation ofa damped longitudinal oscillation. 4) At the time of conversion between theforwardflow phase and the reverseflow phase, bothforward and


This paper presents some aspects about measurement and compensation of the systematic odometry errors for differential drive platforms. The experimental results obtained by running two different UMBmark tests show that systematic calibration can reduce systematic odometry errors more than 10 times.


We have investigated the multiplicity of charged particles emitted forward and backward in the c.m.s. in ..pi../sup -/p and ..pi../sup -/n interactions at 40 GeV/c. The multiplicity distributions have the same form for ..pi../sup -/p and ..pi../sup -/n interactions in the forward hemisphere and are different in the backward hemisphere. A positive correlation is observed between the average multiplicity of particles in one hemisphere and the number of particles in the other, which is identical for ..pi../sup -/p and ..pi../sup -/n interactions.


In 2010, we published an initial evaluation of a multiplex PCR for the detection of herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1, HSV-2 and Treponema pallidum in patients with genital ulcer disease.1 This study indicated that the assay would improve our ability to detect primary syphilis with little detrimental impact on overall service costs and turnaround time (TRT). We now present 5-year experience (14 March 2009 to …


Commentary on ACOG Committee Opinion 777: Sexual Assault, which discusses the role of the ob/gyn in caring for sexual assault survivors and includes information on screening.


A mass was found in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen in a 17-year-old girl who presented after 3 months of abdominal pain. Barium studies revealed ulceration of the terminal ileum, narrowing of the cecum, and submucosal nodules of the ascending colon (Fig. 1). CT scans showed circumferential thickening of the bowel wall in the ileocecal region with adjacent mesentenic adenopathy. Findings on the chest radiograph were normal. The submucosal nodules were visualized by colonoscopy, but the biopsy findings showed only nonspecific granulomatous inflammation. The ascending colon, terminal ileum, cecum, appendix, and contiguous mesentery were resected. Granulomatous inflammation with acid-fast bacilli and areas of caseation necrosis were found in the bowel wall and lymph nodes. The final pathologic diagnosis was primary ileocecal tuberculosis. Gastrointestinal tract tuberculosis usually involves the ileocecal region [1], where there is abundant lymphoid tissue and relative stasis. The pathogenesis appears to involve swallowing of infected material that had been coughed up into the mouth. The bacilli penetrate the mucosa and localize in the submucosal lymphoid tissue, where granuloma formation, caseation necrosis, and cicatnization occur. Sloughing of overlying mucosa results in ulcers [1]. Lymphatic spread to adjacent mesentenic nodes occurs in a manner similar to the spread of primary pulmonary tuberculosis from lung to hilar nodes. The result is an inflammatory mass. Barium studies may show luminal narrowing, submucosal nodules, and ulceration. In advanced cases, deep fissures and fistulas may be seen, but penicecal abscesses are rare. The CT findings include enlargement of the ileocecal valve, thickening of the cecal and terminal ileal walls, and adenopathy [2]. Caseous liquefaction in mesentenic nodes may be seen as central areas of reduced attenuation [3]. The definitive diagnosis of ileocecal tuberculosis requires identification of the acid-fast bacillus. Symptoms are generally chronic and nonspecific. Although most patients have a positive response to purified protein derivative, findings on the chest radiograph are often normal [4]. Conventional antituberculous agents are efficacious; surgical resection is reserved for complications such as obstruction, perforation, or fistula formation.


In this paper implementation of a control system for high precision applications is presented. The control system is developed for a Piezo LEGS motor, which is a walking piezo motor that can be employed in nanometric precision applications. In the control system structure, two main components are digital signal controller which executes control algorithm and power driver that is generating driving voltages for the motor. The waveforms of the driving voltages are designed using a recently presented coordinate transformation. This transformation enables synthesis of driving waveforms according to design requirements regarding force imposed to the motor's rod and rod's x-direction trajectory profile. In this work, the waveforms are selected to ensure no relative motion between the motor's legs and rod, and constant velocity of the rod within one step. Control algorithm is named as virtual time control. Despite its simplicity, the algorithm allows high precision positioning which is very close to theoretically achievable one.


This paper establishes ACE system that supports active emergency call service. ACE system is physically composed of E-device (emergency mobile device) for the handicapped, single elderly, and children, and E-server (emergency server) with realtime monitoring management feature. E-device reports emergency situation to emergency institutions and the user's guardian through Internet or CDMA. Therefore, E-device is devised to be affordable, light- weighted, and small enough for the minorities including the handicapped, the elders, and children could carry around. E-server is developed as a comprehensive control system which provides realtime monitoring feature in order to manage E-devices efficiently and guarantee quality service.


In this paper we experimentally investigate a high-speed full-duplex indoor optical wireless communication system incorporating subcarrier multiplexing to accommodate for multiple users. Subcarrier multiplexed downlink allows a simpler multi-user access scheme whereby subcarrier allocated for a user is extracted and directly detected using an optical bandpass filter and a low-cost and low-speed photodiode. Compared with the conventional millimeter-wave-over-fiber system, our proposed system does not require any high-speed opto-electronics devices and has a simpler signal distribution scheme. Our results show that error-free operation of simultaneous 5 Gbps (2×2.5 Gbps) down-link and a 255 Mbps up-link can be achieved.


The purpose of the present work was to evaluate Ringer's lactate solution as a medium for collecting bovine embryos and to establish the efficiency of four estrus synchronization treatments. To obtain these objectives, eleven Holstein cows were used. The cows with corpora lutea were subjected to four different treatments of estrus synchronization, which were aimed out independently and one after the other. In the first one (1), a single injection of prostaglandin (PGF2α) was used. In the second one (2), two injections of PGF2α at 11 day interval were given. In the third one (3), the follicular state was synchronized by using a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) followed by PGF2α.


Objective
To assess the value of serum carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA)and carbohydrate antigen 19-9(CA19-9)levels in the diagnosis of gastric cancer in elderly patients.

Methods
This prospective study included 104 elderly patients with gastric cancer at our hospital from March 2015 to December 2016 to serve as an experimental group.Moreover, 104 elderly patients with benign gastric lesions were enrolled to serve as a control group.Serum CEA and CA19-9 levels were compared between the two groups.The diagnostic specificity, sensitivity, and validity for gastric cancer were calculated by using CEA or CA19-9 alone or the two in combination.

Results
Serum CEA and CA19-9 levels in the experimental group were significantly higher than in the control group(t=3.001 and 5.110, P=0.039 and 0.016, respectively); The specificity, sensitivity, and validity of CEA and CA19-9 in combination were significantly higher than when each of the measures was used alone(χ2=2.101 and 2.109, P=0.031 and 0.019, respectively). Serum CEA levels showed good predictive power for both lymph node metastasis of gastric cancer(Z=5.109, P=0.002)and liver metastasis of gastric cancer(Z=3.910, P=0.026); Serum CA19-9 levels could predict lymph node metastasis of gastric cancer(Z=4.189, P=0.003).

Conclusions
Serum CEA and CA19-9 in combination have high sensitivity and validity for gastric cancer detection; Elevated CEA can predict gastric cancer metastasis and elevated CA19-9 may predict lymph node metastasis.

Key words:
Stomach neoplasms; Antigens, tunor-associated, carbohydrate


The incorporation of bulky defects into ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) copolymers can result in a relaxor behavior, accompanied by outstanding electrocaloric properties near room temperature. However, it remains elusive whether ferroelectric transition occurs in relaxor terpolymers, which is critical for the design of electrocaloric cooling devices. In this work, we study the electrocaloric fatigue in poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chlorofluoroethylene) (61.8/30.4/7.8 mol. %) terpolymer, in which we revisit its controversial issue of the phase transition. We observe that the electrocaloric response of the terpolymers remains nearly constant (ΔS = 25.5 J K−1 kg−1, ΔT = 5.1 K at 100 MV m−1) within 50 cycles at different temperatures around room temperature. Moreover, we conduct temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy measurements on the terpolymer to provide insights into the evolution in intermolecular lattice spacing and intramolecular conformation. We find no clear evidence of the ferroelectric-to-paraelectric phase transition near the temperature range, where differential scanning calorimeter measurement displays an endothermic peak.The incorporation of bulky defects into ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) copolymers can result in a relaxor behavior, accompanied by outstanding electrocaloric properties near room temperature. However, it remains elusive whether ferroelectric transition occurs in relaxor terpolymers, which is critical for the design of electrocaloric cooling devices. In this work, we study the electrocaloric fatigue in poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chlorofluoroethylene) (61.8/30.4/7.8 mol. %) terpolymer, in which we revisit its controversial issue of the phase transition. We observe that the electrocaloric response of the terpolymers remains nearly constant (ΔS = 25.5 J K−1 kg−1, ΔT = 5.1 K at 100 MV m−1) within 50 cycles at different temperatures around room temperature. Moreover, we conduct temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy measurements on the terpolymer to provide insights into the evolution in intermolecular lattice spacing and in...


Fossils most often consist of discrete objects, such as the shell of a brachiopod, or individual bones of a vertebrate skeleton. Cataloging and labelling these specimens is relatively straightforward. However, fossil hard substrates (shells and lithoclasts) with multiple encrustations and borings made by marine organisms can present a greater challenge, as exemplified by material recently collected from a remarkable locality in northern Japan. About 6.5 metres of marine gravels belonging to the Pleistocene Setana Formation, dated at about 1 million years old, are exposed at Kuromatsunai. The well-rounded lithic clasts and associated shells are densely encrusted by well preserved bryozoans and other sclerobionts on all surfaces. Up to 25 different bryozoan species can be found on a single cobble. Full curation of such cobbles is difficult: with little or no free space for affixing labels, how can individual encrusters be indicated and catalogued? Here we present the results of our evaluation of various imaging techniques (microphotography, macrophotography, SEM, 3-D laser scanning etc), and ways of incorporating annotated images into the specimen database (KE EMu) used at the Natural History Museum. A combination of macrophotography and SEM produced the best solution in providing high resolution digital images that could be annotated and uploaded into the KE EMu database.


This study designed the normal diet (Con), high-lipid diet (HL), and 50 mg/kg berberine supplemented Con and HL diets (named as ConB and HLB, respectively). Fingerling black sea bream (Acanthopagrus schlegelii) (initial weight

 1.47
 ±
 0.03

  g) were fed these four diets for 8 weeks, and the liver immune response and intestinal health were evaluated. Fish fed the HL diet had the lowest serum glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities, while berberine supplementation significantly improved serum catalase activity (

 P
 <
 0.05

 ). The expressions of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (tnfα), nuclear factor-kappa b (nf-κb), and interleukin 1 beta (il-1β) were significantly increased by the HL diet, whereas berberine supplementation significantly downregulated these proinflammation cytokine expressions (

 P
 <
 0.05

 ). Berberine supplementation in normal and high-lipid diets significantly promoted hepatic anti-inflammation cytokines interleukin-10 (il-10) and transforming growth factor beta-1 (tgfβ-1) expressions (

 P
 <
 0.05

 ). The intestinal expressions of tnfα, nf-κb, and tgfβ-1 were not significantly influenced by different treatments, while Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-sod) expression was significantly upregulated in the ConB group compared with the Con group. High-lipid diet reduced intestinal villus length. the thickness of muscularis mucosa, mucosal folds, and diversity and richness of intestinal microbiota but increased numbers of goblet cells and width of lamina propria. Berberine supplementation in high-lipid diet alleviated these pathological changes and rebalanced intestinal microbiota composition. At the genus level, fish fed the HL diet had significantly lower abundances of some probiotics such as Lactobacillus and Hydrogenophaga than that of the HLB group (

 P
 <
 0.05

 ). In conclusion, berberine supplementation in high-lipid diet reduced liver inflammation, improved the antioxidative status of fish, and alleviated intestinal damage and intestinal microbiota alteration of black sea bream.


The goal of this work is to study the details of laser induced ignition and combustion of high-temperature condensed-phase exothermic reactions. In this work high-speed photography (HSP) and real-time optical pyrometry have been combined to provide a diagnostic tool with a 1 ms temporal resolution for studying laser ignition and combustion wave propagation. Previous experiments have involved the use of HSP for studying combustion wave propagation (1) Real-time pyrometry studies of the ignition process have also been performed previously. The present paper describes how HSP has been expanded to include three-view split-frame photography to allow the ignition and combustion processes to be recorded and studied simultaneously. 2 refs., 3 figs.


The features of the influence of a set of special exercises with gymnastic stick and elements of stretching to develop flexibility while improving aerobics classes. In pedagogical experiment involved 20 girls 17 18 years old, first-year student. During the final part of the session used a set of special exercises aimed at increasing the range of motion when the torso and the mobility of the shoulder joints. The dynamics of indicators of flexibility. Determined that the selected set of special exercises in the classroom improving aerobics has a positive effect on the performance increase flexibility. Significant increase in the results can be seen in test 1 tilt body forward, which is characterized by increased mobility of the joints of the spine. It was determined that the transfer of gymnastic stick behind his back indicates an increase in the mobility of the shoulder joints.


The dye Fast Red E, 2-hydroxy-1, 1′-azonaphthalene-4′,6-disulphonic acid, disodium salt, is reduced at the dropping-mercury electrode in a single four-electron wave over the pH range 2·0–11·3, with E½ values ranging from –0·08 to –0·61 V versus S.C.E. The rising portion of the polarographic wave is markedly influenced by the adsorption of depolariser but well defined limiting currents that are proportional to concentration in the range examined, viz., 10–3–10–4M, are obtained.


The study of the neurodegenerative component came to the forefront of multiple sclerosis research 20 years ago.1 In the following years, MRI-estimated brain volume was extensively used as the in vivo proxy for neurodegeneration.2 More recently, it has become a key outcome measure in the search for new efficacious therapies,3 and it is now steadily moving towards its implementation in clinical practice for routine monitoring of disease evolution and treatment response in individual patients.4 Absolute brain volume estimates were immediately substituted by parenchymal fractions, particularly for cross-sectional studies, as it was clear that the remaining brain was dependent on its initial maximal volume.5 On the back of that, the concept of Brain Reserve stems from the notion that people with initially larger brains are more resistant to brain damage before any clinical signs of neurological impairment can be observed and has particularly been developed on the cognitive paradigm and measured using intracranial volume as a proxy of maximal lifetime brain growth.6 However, do we need to take extra care of each patient brain reserve in our studies aiming at investigating the neurodegenerative component of multiple sclerosis? The answer is most probably no, as the brain volume outcomes in use do already take that into account in a way or another through adjusting by total intracranial volumes in the calculation of fractions or because they usually rely on percentage longitudinal changes. Moreover, brain reserve would only be relevant in cases where clinical correlations are to be considered and would not apply to any other studies on neurodegeneration, such as pathology studies. As it is fixed for any given individual and seems to be associated with the genetic background, it is highly likely that it is also not relevant for any within-subject approaches. A further consideration would be that research looking at specific areas or regions of the brain would be without a valid proxy, as the specific maximal lifetime growth of that structure could not be easily inferred. Finally, even though the concept has been well studied in Alzheimer's disease and seems to be incontrovertible,7 the evidence in multiple sclerosis is still scarce and somewhat inconsistent;8–10 differences in the pathophysiology of both diseases may underlie the differences observed. In contrast to brain reserve, cognitive reserve relies on 'density' rather on simply 'volume' of the brain and relates to cognitive enrichment activities, usually in the premorbid stage. Some of the drawbacks already applied to the brain reserve concept can be argued against their use in all studies addressing neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis, such as their sole relevance in research involving clinical outcomes. However, there are some aspects that clearly set cognitive reserve apart from brain reserve. As opposed to brain reserve, cognitive reserve is dynamic so that reserve-building activities are closely linked to rehabilitation interventions;10 as a consequence, and interesting as this concept may be, its dynamic features transform cognitive reserve into a moving target which may be very difficult to reliably include as a covariate in neurodegeneration studies. And not just one but rather many moving targets as a large number of different proxies have been used to infer cognitive reserve in the studies performed to date in multiple sclerosis: verbal intelligence, cognitive leisure, education and a number of multifactorial indices including several of such proxies in a single score.11 To add to the complexity, these different proxies have been associated with differential impacts on neuropsychological parameters, so that, for instance, education might have a protective effect against cognitive slowing12 and cognitive leisure against memory impairment.8 The interplay between cognitive and physical reserve and impairment on those domains adds a further layer of complexity. Overall, it may seem as taking brain and cognitive reserve always into account when studying neurodegeneration is not just an impossible mission but also one of unknown consequences.


Objective:To study the expression of Cathepsin S on the atherosclerotic lesion of aortic wall in apoE-deficienct (apoE-/-)mice of different weeks.Methods:Sixteen male apoE-deficienct mice were randomized into two groups:sixteen-week-old group(n-8),twenty four-week-old group(n=8).All the mice were fed with high-fat diet and killed at 16 week,24-week respectively. Optical microscopy was adopted to assess the degree of atherosclerotic of aortic wall and image analysis was performed with computer. The expression of Cathepsin S on the atherosclerotic lesion in apoE-deficienct(apoE-/-)mice of different weeks was studied by SABC immunohistochemistry and computerized with imaging analysis respectively.Results:Compared with the sixteen-week-old group,the extent of atherosclerotic lesion of twenty four-week-old group was significantly serious(P0.01);the expression of Cathepsin S in aortic wall was significantly higher(P0.01).Conclusion Expression of Cathepsin S is strengthened obviously along with increase of atherosclerotic lesions in apoE-deficienct mice.


The 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic caused worldwide panic. Response to the pandemic varied widely between and within countries. The Swedish National Board of Health and Social Welfare responded by recommending vaccination of the entire population and a wide range of community mitigation measures. This study assessed the impact of the Swedish policy interventions. The study employed an internet-based questionnaire survey to collect data from master students on English programs at Lund University. The results show that majority of the respondents were aware of the pandemic and the Swedish government's recommended mitigation measures. The overall adoption of the recommended measures was low among the respondents. Vaccination uptake was 43.1%. The low uptake was attributed to vaccine safety concerns and low risk perceptions. Mitigation measures that were provided for free, and those that did not affect the daily routine received a high adoption compared to those that entailed spending money. The government's communication on influenza A (H1N1) was effective; however, some areas needed improvement to enhance adoption. It is imperative that communication about risk and benefits are communicated but with emphasis on the positive to avoid the dominance of the negative. In addition, group specific fora are necessary to address concerns.

 Key words: Behaviour responses, influenza A (H1N1), pandemic, risk perceptions, vaccination practices.


This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. For more information, please contact email@example.com. Recommended Citation Henry, James Allen, "A comparison of the expressive speech of profoundly hearing-impaired children : "hearing aids on" versus "hearing aids off "" (1987). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 3714.


The more severe academic and psychosocial problems make young adult migrant students tend to have academic resilience to avoid psychological distress which could adversely affect their academic performance. One of the factors that help students to become resilient is protective factors, namely social support from the closest environment. Being away from family and relatives makes peers become the most intimate environment for young adult migrant students. Another consideration is that undergraduate young adult migrant students are at the stage of development where peers have a crucial role at this stage development. Based on this phenomenon, the present study is aimed to find out whether there is a correlation between peers' social support and academic resilience among young adult migrant students. Social support itself is divided into two main categories: assistance related and non-assistance related. Participants in this study were 101, 17-25-year-old migrant students with at least 6-month experience studying in Jakarta and living without their parents. The research used a quantitative non-experimental method, employing the questionnaire of Social Provisions Scale and Academic Resilience Scale. The results of the correlation test (Spearman test) indicated that there was a significantly positive relationship between peer social support (assistance related r 0.472 (p = 0.00 0.05) and non-assistance related r 0.569 (p = 0.00 0.05)) and academic resilience among young adult migrant students. This result shows that that the higher the social support provided by peers, the higher the academic resilience of young adult migrant students will be.


This paper applies genetic algorithms (GAs) to estimate the parameters of an induction motor's dynamic mathematical model. The motor's dynamic model, which is generally employed for speed control and parameter estimation applications, is improved for the purpose of improving the parameter estimation accuracy by the assumption that the stator self inductance L s is identical to the rotor self inductance L r . The motor's dynamic response to a direct on line start is used to estimate the parameters. Results are presented for both the general and improved mathematical models of the induction motor, using different levels of measurement noise. For comparison, the results of a simple random search (SRS) method under the same condition are also given.


Scholarly research in the field of dance begins with the methodological premise that some things are only effectively known through their enactment. This article utilizes movement practice as a site for cultural research. The imminent, fluctuating and heightened physicality of movement research, reconstructed here in writing, contributes a different perspective toward the understanding of authenticity in relation to the construction of knowledge. The article is written in the present tense from the perspective of the protagonist to convey the ethnographic site in progress, and to highlight the visceral aspect of the issues at hand.


Advocates understand the idea that "code is speech" to create an impenetrable legal shield around anything built of programming code. When they do this they misunderstand, or misrepresent, free speech law (and rights law in general), which rarely creates such impenetrable shields, the principles that underlie that law, and the ways those principles should and might apply to code. The idea that government cannot regulate things because they are made of code cannot be right. That principle not only lacks support in most theories of freedom of speech, but is actively rebutted in the very case law that advocates claim to be marshaling in favor their position. Further, in promoting this position, advocates misrepresent — in a manner it is hard not to see as willful — the very nature of the programming code they care so much about.


The introduction of a dislocation from the free-surface of a grain A of a polycrystal has been investigated from the theoretical point of view. Assuming two disclination dipoles are lying in a high angle boundary separating the corresponding grain A and a neighbor grain B, the equilibrium position of the dislocation has been determined in the grain A versus the separation distance between the two dipoles, the length and strength of each dipole.


Objective To explore the clinical effect of urethral electrocision and drug reperfusion in treatmentof glandular bladder inflammation.Methods Eighty cases of glandular cystitis were treated with transurethralelectrocision plus pirarubicin perfusion.Results Among 80 patients treated with comprehensive treatment,the total effective rate was 92.3%,of which 69.4% with satisfactory outcome,and basical satisfaction in 22.9% of patients,failure in 9.7%.Conclusion The application of transurethral electrocision plus pirarubicin perfusion in treatment of glandular cystitis is effective,and it is worthy to be recommended for clinical application especially in basic-level hospitals.


The development of defense forces is always confronted with the problem of resource constraints, including national funding sources that are faced with other priority national policy options. This paper presents the Indonesian defense doctrine and views of the threats experienced in every era of regim in Indonesia. We also, will be described the history of Indonesian defense, and a description of the threats and ambitions of the new order (Orde Baru) to the order of reform (Orde Reformasi). The research method is the literature review of various library materials. In every era of leadership Indonesia always has a desire to be the best in the international region. The priority on the economy is the direction in developing the national power. Because a country that has great economic power is certainly able to develop the welfare of its people. However, the power of this economy needs to be accompanied by a defense force to protect all the economic activities of society. Keywords: Defense Budget Policy, Strategic Environmental Threat, State Ambition, Old Order, New Order, Order of Reform


The article presents the history of subsidiary of the mentioned institution in Sarapul. It examines the causes of origin, social basement and main activities of the organisation.


Nintendo's Mario Kart 8 features several underwater tracks, allowing players the opportunity to race through aquatic environments. One of the courses, titled "Water Park," features a scene where the player surfaces from water by driving up a ramp. From the player's perspective, an unrefracted image of a Ferris wheel and two trees is present above the water line as shown in Fig. 1. Of course, this view ignores the index of refraction difference of water and air; the only distinction players can make between the two environments is a marginally visible blue hue to the features above the water line.Nintendo's Mario Kart 8 features several underwater tracks, allowing players the opportunity to race through aquatic environments. One of the courses, titled "Water Park," features a scene where the player surfaces from water by driving up a ramp. From the player's perspective, an unrefracted image of a Ferris wheel and two trees is present above the water line as shown in Fig. 1. Of course, this view ignores the index of refraction difference of water and air; the only distinction players can make between the two environments is a marginally visible blue hue to the features above the water line.


The May-Hegglin Anomaly (MHA) is a rare autosomal dominant giant platelet disorder characterized by abnormally large platelets with defective leucocytes and thrombocytopenia with varying degrees of bleeding manifestation. Here we report successful pregnancy outcome in a primigravida with MHA. (Preterm Pre-labour Rupture of Membranes) PPROM mother, with abnormalities of the extremities due to ABS is discussed.


Objecfive To detect the specific autoantibodies against platelet in idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and to study the relationship between these autoantibodies and the severity of ITP as well as therapeutic effect.Methods Autoantibodies (GPⅡbⅢa and GPIb) against platelet glycoprotein was measured by a monoclonal antibody immobilization of platelet antigen assay (MAIPA) in 40 ITP patients.Results 10 patients had mono-specific antibodies to GP Ⅱ bⅢa and 6 patients had mono-specific antibodies to GPIbα.Another 20 patients had antibodies to both antigens and 4 patients had no detectable antibody to either platelet antigen.There Was negative correlation between the antibody against GPⅡbⅢa(b=-0.071,P<0.01),CPIbα(b=0.092,P<0.01) and platelet counts.The ratio of refractory cases in patients with antibodies to both antigens(8/20) was significantly higher than that in patients with mono-specific antibodies(1/16)(χ2=6.09,P<0.05).Conclusion The specific autoantibadies against platelet might be valuable for discrininafion of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and non immune thrombocytopenia.The types of antibodies are related with severity of ITP and therapeutic effect.

Key words:
Thrombocytopenic purpura;  Antibody; Platelet glycoprotein


Enzyme Bio-cleaners are the organic compounds including enzymes produced by the simple fermentation of fresh fruit wastes with addition of brown sugar and water by using the selective microorganisms like Yeast. This fermentation creates natural chains of proteins, mineral salts, organic acids, alcohol and enzyme which have the capacity to breakdown, change, create and catalyse functions that make it a wonderful cleaning aid in household as well as in industrial and medical applications. By understanding the above concept and mechanism, the present study was carried out for the production and analysis of enzyme bio-cleaners by using yeast in different fruit wastes such as Citrus limetta (Mosambi) and Punica granatum (Pomegranate) collected from various Fresh Juice Stalls in Bangalore. During fermentation, the enzyme production like cellulase, amylase and protease were tested for it activity in fermented broth at different period of fermentation and found with moderate level of activity. The results of the present investigation are presented and discussed in detail in the report.


Background:Delivering knowledge and economic information through the Internet has been so popular that a lot of countries make major information technology construction plans to enhance competitiveness. In this case, sharing educational resources and narrowing the rural-urban education divide with computer networks have become a common trend globally. Educational reform in past years does not simply focus on memorizing materials, but learning practical knowledge so that the importance of cognition in learning processes is highlighted.Material and methods:his study focuses on universities students majoring in hospitality management in Taiwan. A total of 600 copies of the questionnaire were distributed to college students and 396 valid copies were collected, with the retrieval rate of 66% for this study.Results:The research results reveal that: 1. Self-regulated learning shows significant positive effects on motivational beliefs; 2. Motivational beliefs present remarkably positive effects on academic performance; and 3. Self-regulated learning appears to have notably positive effects on academic performance.Conclusions:According to the research results, conclusions and suggestions are proposed at the end of this study, intending to enhance teachers' instruction and students' academic performance.


The uncertainties which surround any attempt to modify social behaviour through legislation are well recognised. So too is the probability that such uncertainties will multiply in a "plural" context; where, for example, national legislation is imposed upon formerly autonomous groups in the period following their incorporation. But even if we take it for granted that desired behavioural changes are unlikely to appear as direct, matching results of legislative action, we should equally avoid the assumption that law made at the centre will have no impact on the periphery. Even in the absence of efforts towards enforcement, knowledge of an enactment (however slight or incorrect) is likely to be utilised and thus carried over into the sphere of action with results not necessarily foreseen by the legislator. Some response is all the more probable in a case like that of the Tswana, for whom the idea of legislation being used to introduce desired changes was entrenched long before the coming of the Bechuanaland Protectorate (see Schapera, 1943a: 1970).


Recent advances in the manufacture of quantum computers attract much attention over a wide range of fields, as early-stage quantum processing units (QPU) have become accessible. While contemporary quantum machines are very limited in size and capabilities, mature QPUs are speculated to eventually excel at optimisation problems. This makes them an attractive technology for database problems, many of which are based on complex optimisation problems with large solution spaces. Yet, the use of quantum approaches on database problems remains largely unexplored. In this paper, we address the long-standing join ordering problem, one of the most extensively researched database problems. Rather than running arbitrary code, QPUs require specific mathematical problem encodings. An encoding for the join ordering problem was recently proposed, allowing first small-scale queries to be optimised on quantum hardware. However, it is based on a faithful transformation of a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) formulation for JO, and inherits all limitations of the MILP method. Most strikingly, the existing encoding only considers a solution space with left-deep join trees, which tend to yield larger costs than general, bushy join trees. We propose a novel QUBO encoding for the join ordering problem. Rather than transforming existing formulations, we construct a native encoding tailored to quantum systems, which allows us to process general bushy join trees. This makes the full potential of QPUs available for solving join order optimisation problems.


This study aimed to describe the problems faced by teachers prior to the learning process, the learning process after the learning process of mathematics based on the National Curriculum SMP Negeri 2 Blora. This research is a qualitative research. The subjects were three math teachers who teach in class VIII N 2 Blora and five students of class VIII SMP 2 Blora, selected by purposive sampling. Data collection techniques in this research is participant observation, semi-structured interviews and document study. Data analysis was performed periodically during and after the collection of data through three stages, namely: (1) data reduction, (2) presentation of data, and (3) conclusion and verification. Mechanical data validity checking is done by triangulation techniques and triangulation of sources. The results were obtained in the planning of teacher learning proses` sometimes do not make the lesson plan before teaching process. RPP found in the material component not explained by category, facts, concepts, principles and procedures. RPP components are made basically the same format as the RPP on Curriculum 2006, only the Curriculum 2006 core competencies there is no. In the implementation of learning problems it found that teachers due to lack of fulfillment of textbook-based Curriculum 2013, these problems are also felt by students. In the implementation of assessments by teachers are not many obstacles, because the judgment easier and easier for students to obtain better value.

Keywords: Curriculum 2013, Problematics of Learning


A recession began in December of 2007. The general consensus is that the primary cause of the recession was the credit crisis resulting from the bursting of the housing bubble. This paper discusses the four primary causes of the housing bubble-low mortgage interest rates, low short-term interest rates, relaxed standards for mortgage loans, and irrational exuberance. This paper concludes that the combination of these factors caused the housing bubble to be more extreme and the resulting credit crisis to be more severe.


Paleodieta reconstruction has been, for a lot time, an important item for Mexican anthropology, for the strong controversy that exists about if the Mesoamerican communities had access to enough sources of animal protein for their diet. From 1997, investigators of the Department of Studies of the Atmosphere of the ININ and the Paleozoology Laboratory of the IIA, UNAM, have gathered their efforts to adapt Mexican environmental conditions to a model that allows us to define levels of meat consumption starting from the accumulation of elements appearance in the bone (mainly Strontium and Zinc). The initial phase of study used wild archaeozoological samples from Teotihuacan Valley which were related quantity of elements appearance and trophic position. The results demonstrated a correspondence among both variables, therefore the possibility to use the pattern with organisms whose diet ignores, for example domestic species of human beings. When applying it to Teotihuacan dogs it was possible to define different patterns of meat consumption and their owners. The results demonstrate the potential of these investigations for the paleodiet recognition and their importance inside the bioanthropology and paleoanthropology.


We develop the cost of pediatric hernia based on its clinical pathway which is launched by Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical Collage, to study the method of cost calculating as well as providing evidence for the reform of payment. The article shows that total cost is RMB 2 178.42 curing per patient of pediatric hernia in 2006 in Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical College, cost of drugs,materials , surgery ,examination accounts for 5.53%,15.41%,23.45%,6.38% separately, and the rest accounts for 49.23% .


As the feature size of flip chip (FC) decreasing, the chip power increasing rapidly. Joule heat in the circuit will cause the temperature to rise and lead to thermal expansion in the FC package assembly. Therefore, the reliability of FC package under the electro-thermo-mechanical coupling interaction should be deeply investigated. In this paper, the electro-thermo-mechanical coupling analysis of the reliability of FC package was performed by finite element simulations. Taking into account the temperature dependence of the resistivity, the traces, pads, and solder bumps were analyzed using linearized resistivity. Firstly, the 3D finite element model of the FC package system was established. Then, the Joule heat and thermal expansion in flip chip were analyzed by thermal-electric-mechanic coupling method. Thus, the current density and temperature distribution were obtained, at the same time, the thermal stress and deformation were also analyzed. Moreover, the effects of current, operating temperature, and underfill material properties on Joule heat and thermal expansion in flip chip were deeply analyzed. This research work provides important guidance for the reliability design of flip chip.


Objective To explore the effect of ischemic preconditioning(IP) on apoptosis and expression of Bag-1 mRNA and protein in bile duct cells of ischemia-reperfusion(IR) injury. Methods Thirty SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation group(SO group,n=10),IR group(n=10) and IP group(n=10).The liver orthotropic ischemic reperfusion model was established according to Chien's method.TUNEL technique,hybridization in situ and immunohistochemistry were used to determine apoptotic index and the expression of Bag-1 mRNA and protein,respectively. Results Compared with SO group,apoptosis of biliary epithelial cell increased in IR group.Apoptosis of biliary epithelial cell was significantly lower in IP group than in IR group(P0.05).Compared with SO group,expression of Bag-1 mRNA and protein in biliary epithelial cell increased in IR group (P0.05) and IP group (P0.01). Conclusion The protective effect of ischemic preconditioning can be implemented by up-regulating the expression of Bag-1 mRNA and protein in biliary epithelial cell.


Westerly (WWEs) and easterly (EWEs) wind events, short- lived anomalous westerly and easterly surface winds, are known to occur with unusual large magnitude over the equatorial Pacific. As their relative frequency of occurrence and dependence on background conditions are yet to be fully clarified, we analyzed daily surface winds for 1982−2013 from which WWEs and EWEs are detected. Both types of events appear over the Pacific warm pool, where sea surface temperature (SST) is sufficiently high for active deep convection, and favorably occur with increasing Niño4 SST. However, the frequency of occurrence of EWEs is less than that of WWEs, resulting in asymmetry in wind amplitude. Local and remote anomalous convections are equally important in exciting these events, but different local development processes cause the asymmetry in the frequency of occurrence. These results can also be seen in wind stress anomalies, albeit obscured due to nonlinearity therein. Asymmetry of westerly and easterly wind events: Observational evidence.


The article discusses the importance of and the need for pedagogical support for the adaptation of students in a modern university. The adaptation of young people in a higher education institution is often associated with the need to improve adaptation strategies that will allow them to successfully adapt to the learning process. To implement this task, it is necessary to create conditions for providing pedagogical support to students for their adaptation at the uni- versity. Pedagogical support of students means forming their skills of effective response in various social situations and learning conditions. Teachers and students should be actively involved in this process; therefore, it is suggested that programs that would include the basic skills of adaptive behavior should be developed.


Whether the control module independently exists or not has been a hot theoretical issue in recent syntactic debates in generative grammar. In the standard theory (Chomsky 1981, Landau 2003), raising and control have been treated as distinct processes: Whereas raising involves movement, control involves a nile of construal relating PRO to its antecedent. Hornstein (1999) and Boeckx (2000), among others, have recently claimed that control is just an instance of raising. Despite some theoretical merits, the latter claim, called control-as-movement, can only thrive at the cost of the standard theta theory in that this claim is forced to allow the movement into a theta-position. This paper attempts to combine two approaches which are deficient on their own into a new proposal in which problems of these two can be reconciled. The major point of this middle path is that the obligatorily controlled PRO is a reflexive clitic similar to se in the Romance languages, and that it moves toward its antecedent, called control-as-anaphor-movement. As a consequence, this approach maintains the standard theta theory as it is and still captures the movement properties of control while eliminating the control module.


ABSTRACT This paper explores the relationship between changes in the labour process, recent developments in the vocational curriculum and challenges that these changes present to the preparation of further education lecturers in England and Wales. Firstly it will be argued that the economy is moving from a Fordist to a post‐Fordist phase and that this change is affecting the vocational education curriculum. Previous attempts to relate post‐Fordism to education have tended to analyse the relationships in terms that are too general. When a specific aspect of education and training is examined such as the introduction of National Vocational Qualifications and General National Vocational Qualifications in England and Wales, more light is shed on the question of 'correspondence'. This in turn reveals issues such as divisions between mental and manual work and issues of conception and execution which tend to be ignored or overlooked in debates about changes in the curriculum and changes in the economy. Secondly...


This article examines how genetic counsellors and clients account for evidence when explaining the familial cancer risk. Against the backdrop of scientific developments in genetics, which give rise to new knowledge about genes and genetic tests, there also prevail layers of uncertainty surrounding genetic test results vis-à-vis risk status. Formulation and assessment of evidence thus become a core communicative activity, especially when the evidence is inconclusive, whether based on genetic test results or patterns of family inheritance. Drawing upon transcripts of 26 tape-recorded cancer genetic counselling sessions in Norway, and following discourse analytic methodology, we specifically consider those explanations which are triggered by inconclusive evidence, hence engendering uncertainty. This analysis focuses on the kinds of evidence (e.g. direct vs. indirect) that are mobilised by the counsellors and the clients for specific purposes. We suggest that the counsellors' cautious framing of evidence is twofold: firstly, it is geared towards management of uncertainty, that is acknowledging the inconclusive nature of current evidence and secondly, evidence-based explanations serve as justifications for future actions, including decisions about future tests in search for more credible evidence.


Homogeneous glasses were formed in the Cr2O3-TeO2-B2O3-SrF2 system, up to 20 mol% Cr2O3. For these glasses, IR and Raman spectral measurements were carried out in order to elucidate the local structure. The results showed that BO3 and BO4 are the main structural units of the glass system and the chromium ions are located in the network. It was evidenced the presence of TeO3 and TeO4 units as possible structural units in our glasses.


Gold targets have been irradiated with 3.0-Bev protons and the yields of cesium, barium, and rubidium nuclides investigated by mass spectrometry. A high-sensitivity surface-ionization technique, using a multiple filament source arrangement and capable of determining (within 5%) ${10}^{8}$ alkali metal atoms, was developed. The separation of products from the gold target was accomplished by extracting the gold into diethyl ether. The contamination level of stable ${\mathrm{Cs}}^{133}$ in the gold foil and reagents was determined by isotope dilution methods to be \ensuremath{\sim}9\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{9}$ atoms. Ratios of production cross sections for neutron-deficient cesium isotopes and their barium parents were calculated from mass spectra. Cross sections were placed on an absolute scale by a radiochemical determination of the ${\mathrm{Cs}}^{127}$ cross section. No cesium isotopes with $Ag128$ are formed in appreciable independent yield. An upper limit of 0.002 mb was placed on cross sections for ${\mathrm{Cs}}^{132}$ and the neutron-excess cesium isotopes. No stable cesium resulting from nuclear reactions was detected above the natural contamination background. Ratios of production cross sections for rubidium radioisotopes were determined. The natural contamination of rubidium was too large to place a meaningful limit on stable rubidium production.


With the latest advances in image sensor technology, cameras are able to generate video with tens of megapixels per frame. These high resolution videos streams offer great potential to be used in the surveillance domain. For ground based systems, gigapixel streams are already used with great effect as illustrated by the ICME 2019 crowd counting challenge. However, for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), this vast stream of data exceeds the limit of transmission bandwidth to send this data back to the ground. On board data analysis and selection is thus required to use and benefit from high resolution cameras. This paper presents a result of the CAVIAR project, where a combination of hardware and algorithms was designed to answer the question: 'how to exploit a high resolution high frame rate camera on board a UAV?'. With the associated size, weight and power limitations, we implement data reduction by deploying deep learning on hardware to find the relevant information and transmit it to an operator station. The proposed solution aims at employing the high resolution potential of the sensor only onto objects of interest. We encode and transmit the identified regions containing those objects of interest (ROI) at the original resolution and framerate, while also transmitting the downscaled background to provide context for an operator. We demonstrate using a 35 fps, 65 Megapixel camera that this set-up indeed saves considerable bandwidth while retaining all important video data at high quality at the same time.


This article provides an overview of the concepts and practice of professional development in library and information science, and studies the way in which professional development is changing with the advent of the Internet. The authors suggest that the incorporation of networking activities into the working lives of librarians is producing fundamental changes in the process of professional development. The article suggests ways in which electronic sources can be used to replace or enhance traditional modes of professional development, and concludes with a selection of specific Internet resources of interest to education librarians for professional development.


This text sets down the criteria that the Catalan Republic's constituent power should follow in establishing a legal framework for the official language. After a brief explanation of the origins of the concept of an "official language", it propounds the proclamation of the official nature of both Catalan and Occitanian (on a territorial basis) in the Constitution itself; an enlarged definition of the idea of official-ness incorporating the concept "llengua pròpia", thereby removing it from the legal framework; and the recognition, in a set of accessory constitutional norms, of the linguistic rights of speakers of other languages in their dealings with all governmental institutions.


ABSTRACT The objective of this study aimed to recover and characterize fish oil from by-products generated in the sardine fillet canning process. The oil was recovered by hydraulic pressing at 85°C for 30 min. This experiment was done twice a month for one year. The recovery oil samples were analyzed for their fatty acids profile, acidity, peroxide value, and p-anisidine value. The results of this study showed that recovery yield varied significantly during the year depending on the catching period, from 6.0% (April) to 32.9% (July). The average values of acidity, peroxide value, and p-anisidine value were 1.43% oleic acid, 4.61 mEq active oxygen/kg oil, and 4.25, respectively. The fatty acid categories and individual fatty acids of the recovered oil showed a significant seasonal dependency. The sum of polyunsaturated fatty acids ranged from 35.29 to 42.93%. Within this group, the most important acids are eicosapentaenoic acid 20:5 n-3 (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid 22:6 n-3 (DHA). The EPA and DHA ranges were 20.46–24.95% and 4.57–10.18%, respectively. This study confirmed the ability to recover high quality food-grade oil from by-products of the fish canning industry that can be used in other food products to ameliorate their nutritional quality.


Study Objective. To standardize treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) in internal medicine patients using an adult AWS practice guideline with a symptom‐triggered management approach.


We report on the optical characterization by photoluminescence and reflectivity of AlxGa1–xN/GaN high electron mobility transistor structures. The samples studied were grown either by molecular beam epitaxy or metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy, on silicon (111) or sapphire (0001) substrates. We focus on a broad luminescence band, shown to be related to the GaN cap layer (surface quantum-well) and its injection intensity dependence. (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


The new research by scientists at NASA and the Italian Space Agency has implications for the entire Saturn system as well as other planets and moons.


To provide a link between the micellar templates and the mesoporous material characteristics in the final product, the physical properties of aqueous systems prepared with two kinds of fluorinated surfactants are described and analyzed under equilibrium and out-of-equilibrium conditions: the surfactants are C8F17C2H4(OC2H4)9OH, [RF8(EO)9] and C7F15C2H4(OC2H4)8OH, [RF7(EO)8]. This study may help us to understand why the ordered mesoporous materials are recovered only when RF8(EO)9 micellar solutions are used as building blocks while RF7(EO)8 solutions give rise to wormhole like structure. The distance to the lower consolute boundary (LCB) and a shift in position by salt additions are also taken into account. The experiments concern four systems of two surfactants; 1) pure RF7(EO)8 in water, 2) RF7(EO)8 in the presence of the NaI salt, 3) pure RF8(EO)9 in water, and 4) RF8(EO)9 in the presence of the NaCl salt. Several experimental techniques have been used (rheology, flow birefringence, neutron scattering) to shed light on the physical difference between the four systems. The phase diagrams of both surfactants show that a direct micellar phase (L1) exists in a wide range of concentrations and temperatures. In any cases, the distance to the LCB is a parameter which influences rheological behaviour although the micellar phase still is a L1 phase. The flow birefringence experiments performed on both systems bring complementary information of the size and shape of the micelles. For both systems, with and without salt, the results suggest the existence of small elongated micelles linked by weak forces except for the RF8(EO)9 system which shows no birefringence; the micelles in solution are probably small with a shape close to a sphere. From all four systems, the loss of the Maxwellian character is generally observed when the conditions approach the miscibility curve. These results consolidate the assumption that in order to prepare ordered mesoporous materials, the thermodynamical conditions at which the silica precursor is added to the micellar solution should not be too close to the miscibility curve. Therefore, this study suggests that the Maxwellian character seems to be a pre-requisite condition of the micellar solution for obtaining ordered mesoporous materials


We show that the resolvent of the Laplacian on SL(3,$\mathbb{R}$)/SO(3) can be lifted to a meromorphic function on a Riemann surface which is a branched covering of $\mathbb{C}$. The poles of this function are called the resonances of the Laplacian. We determine all resonances and show that the corresponding residue operators are given by convolution with spherical functions parameterized by the resonances. The ranges of these operators are infinite dimensional irreducible SL(3,$\mathbb{R}$)-representations. We determine their Langlands parameters and wave front sets. Also, we show that precisely one of these representations is unitarizable. Alternatively, they are given by the differential equations which determine the image of the Poisson transform associated with the resonance.


The article deals with the issues of water availability of crops and water consumption coefficients of spring wheat depending on varietal features, seed protectant and pre-sowing treatment of seeds in the conditions of Chuvash Republic. The applicant studied three zoned and recommended for introduction into production varieties of spring wheat Margarita, Simbirtsit and Prokhorovka. Factor A-Simbirtsit, Prokhorovka and Margarita varieties. Factor B-means of protection: 1. Benet. 2. Nano-Gro. The results of the analysis of crop moisture availability and water consumption coefficients of spring wheat depending on the seed protectant with the grain protectant Benlat and with the preparation Nano-Gro are presented. Research results indicate the effectiveness of using elements of cultivation technology as a method of pre-sowing treatment of seeds and influence on the moisture availability of crops and water consumption coefficients of spring wheat depending on the seed protectant with the spring wheat grain protectant Benlat and with the preparation Nano-Gro. According to the analysis, it was found that the actual total water consumption (SW) in mm in 2015 was at the level of 472.3 mm, in 2016-at the level of 453.1, and in 2017- at the level of 245.8 mm. It was established that depending on weather conditions that were during vegetation, varietal characteristics of wheat and seed treatment, biological (Kbiol), commercial (Ctov) and daily (Csut) water consumption coefficients varied significantly. It was found that pre-sowing treatment of spring wheat seeds with Nano-Gro solution contributes to a significant reduction in the water consumption coefficient of spring wheat for the entire vegetation period of plants. The issue of improving the water availability of grain crops and the coefficient of water consumption of spring wheat depending on the seed protectant served as the object of study for many researchers. Therefore, the study of the regularities of moisture availability of grain crops and the coefficient of water consumption depending on the reception of pre-sowing treatment of seeds and varieties remains an eternal topic of research of scientists.


We propose a music retrieval method that uses onomatopoeia query to enable easy and intuitive retrieval of music even for users without musical knowledge. When we use a music retrieval system, we usually need some information on the music, such as artist names or lyrics. However, if we do not know such information, it is difficult to retrieve the music, especially instrumental music. In the proposed method, we create an index of changes in note length and pitch in all of the music to be retrieved in advance. When searching, the proposed system extracts the change in note length and pitch from the user's query. The extracted information is used to calculate the similarity of a musical piece and the query by using a dynamic programming matching algorithm. The proposed system ranks a musical piece on the basis of similarity. The music format of the retrieval target is MIDI. In this paper, the result of retrieval experiments with the proposed method is shown.


CuInSe2 thin films for solar cells are deposited on indium tin oxide conductive glass substrates by one step electrodeposition process in a three-electrode system. The structural, compositional, and morphological properties of the deposited CuInSe2 thin films are then characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Results indicate that the CuInSe2 thin films with smooth, homogeneous, and polycrystalline can be easily obtained. The atomic ratio of Cu, In, and Se of the CuInSe2 thin films is 1.00:1.14:2.45 after annealing in a vacuum tubular furnace, and the thickness of the CuInSe2 thin films is measured in a range between 1 μm and 1.6 μm, which meets the requirement for fabricating tandem solar cells.


The structure,the main technical parameters and the operating principle of the highly effective biofilm biogas reactor were discussed in this paper.At the same time,many designs such as the devices for storing methane and fermenting,the workshop of hydraulic pressure,the synthetical systems of inputting and outputting and mixing the stuff,the self-heated system at constant temperature were also carried out.Thereinto,the integrated system both realizes the fuction and simplifies the structure,the particularity of the system offers the reference of the same industry.


Culinary advancement is increasing year after year. This development is consistent with the rise of pioneering culinary businesses. This culinary development occurs not only in general but also in the development of special foods for autism. Altilis cookies is a startup that sells GFCF (Gluten Free Casein Free) snacks made with breadfruit flour as the main ingredient. Altilis cookies , as a new company, requires a helpful business model analysis to serve as a benchmark for future growth. Using a business approach, the canvas model can build and develop a business that can be created, given, and doubled in value by utilizing the nine existing blocks (Narto, 2017:105). The research method used in this journal is quantitative descriptive. Primary and secondary sources are used to collect data. The purposive sampling method is used to determine informants, which is the technique of deciding informants based on the subjective considerations of researchers (Sugiyono, 2012). The application of this canvas business model is intended to facilitate the business development process because it contains elements with attachments, which are, of course, critical for business progress.


Since its emergence in the Wuhan Province of China in December 2019, the novel coronavirus (herein COVID-19) has spread around the world at such "alarming levels" that the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the outbreak a pandemic on 11 March 2020.[1] The virus has become entangled with military metaphors and analogies, leading academics like Cynthia Enloe to argue that "waging a war" against the virus is a problematic frame to use.[2] After outlining a definition of security and discourse using Poststructuralist and Copenhagen School contributions to security studies, this essay will employ these theories to analyse the vocabulary of global political leaders. Given that the language surrounding COVID-19 implies that the virus is a threat, COVID-19 has been placed within a security discourse and been securitized. The outcomes of this will be analysed in relation to historical global health crises, culminating in the argument that the political effects of placing COVID-19 within a security discourse are simultaneously advantageous and problematic.


Vector and tensor elds are very important in many application areas The purpose of this paper is to present new techniques to visualize deformation tensor elds and in nitesimal bendings


ABSTRACT Two common perspectives regarding lower-class behavior are examined. The authors find little empirical support either for the "culture of poverty" position, with its singular emphasis on retained and transmitted cultural modes, or for the "blocked opportunity" or "situational" hypothesis. Recent evidence is adduced which shows a 3rd perspective, adaptive drift, to be the most adequate conceptualization. In this perspective, the poor are able to drift between lower-class and mainstream cultural ways because they are marginal to society, and are treated as less than full members of it. The policy implications of all 3'positions are extrapolated. The adaptive drift model is viewed as most clearly related to policies aimed at reducing inequalities by guaranteeing basic rights to the market, to governmental services, and to the control of institutions.


Flow cytometry is a specialized form of microscopy. By means of a flow system, particles (cells, nuclei, chromosomes) are constrained to pass singly through a beam of light. Scattered and fluorescent light is focused onto photomultiplier tubes so that the light emitted at different wavelengths can be quantified. The number of parameters measured per cell, generally between threc and six, is small compared to the information processed by the human brain when looking down a conventional microscope. Thc power of the technology lies in the ability to make quantitative measurements on tens of thousands of cells in a short space of time (typically, 20,000 cells in 20 s). It therefore yields statistically good information about cell populations. The rapid growth in flow cytornetry over the last decade can be attributed to the availability of monoclonal antibodies, the development of new fluorescent dyes and the reduction in the cost of computing. Monoclonal antibodies have allowed previously unrecognized subsets of cells to be defined as well as the detection and measurement of proteins of functional significance (for example, growth factor receptors). New dyes can be used to follow changes in functional parameters (such as the concentration of calcium ions). Multi-parametric analysis of cells in a flow cytometer would be impossible without a well-programmed computer. Some instruments can physically sort subsets of cells with high purity (about 98",) and these are often referred to as cell sorters or fluorescence-activated cell sorters. The first five papers in this issue of the Journal were presented at an inaugural meeting of the Cytometry Section of the Royal Microscopical Society in November 1988. Although they only cover a very limited number of topics, it is hoped that they will give some feel for this technology. Detailed descriptions of a wide range of applications can be found in Ormerod (1990).


In forest ecosystems, litterfall collected in trapping devices is exposed to periods of wetting and drying, which may initiate the first stages of decomposition. This could lead to an underestimation of organic matter and nutrient input due to leaching or an overestimation due to immobilization. The objectives of this study were to quantify changes in mass and nutrient stocks of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), basswood (Tilia americana L.), and beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) leaves under in situ conditions and to quantify changes in leaf mass and nutrient stocks and leachate concentration when exposed to different quantities of moisture (high 100 mm, medium 60 mm, and low 30 mm) under ex situ conditions. Results from this study showed that sugar maple and basswood had a significantly greater (P 0.05) mass loss than beech in the in situ and ex situ study. Nutrient stocks either decreased significantly (P 0.05) or remained the same, depending on species in the in situ study. Similar results were observed in the ex situ study, in which carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium stocks decreased significantly (P 0.05) with increasing exposure to moisture, but calcium and magnesium stocks showed less pronounced changes. Mean concentrations of dissolved organic carbon, dissolved organic nitrogen, and ammonium were significantly different (P 0.05) between species and moisture treatments, whereas nitrite showed no such differences. Results from this study suggested that the collection of leaf litter should take place frequently during the peak leaf abscission period and during periods of high precipitation. This would provide a more accurate quantification of the quantity of nutrients entering the forest ecosystem in the within-system pathway between live vegetation and the forest floor detritus pool. In addition, more frequent litterfall collection may also minimize litter decomposition and nitrification. FOR .S CI. 59(4):484-493.


The present invention, zirconia, titania, a composite oxide of at least one iron oxide of alumina, carrying an alkali metal, according to the composite oxide catalyst iron oxide. Further, the present invention is the above composite oxide catalyst is contacted under heating an aqueous solution containing glycerol, converting glycerol in the aqueous solution to at least allyl alcohol and propylene, according to the manufacturing method of the allyl alcohol and propylene . According to the present invention, it is possible to glycerol aqueous solution as a raw material to produce allyl alcohol and propylene with high selectivity.


Nowadays, it's an age of information. The information technology based on computers is developing rapidly, which provides basis and possibilities for digital learning. Now network environment has developed perfectly, the computer technology foundation is almost mature, and the information resources are very rich. Above these, it is very meaningful to develop a digital learning environment to support present learning with the help of network technology, virtual reality technology and multimedia technology.


The governing equations of soil moisture dynamics, photosynthesis, and transpiration are reviewed and coupled to study the dependence of plant carbon assimilation on soil moisture. The model follows the scheme of the soil‐plant‐atmosphere continuum (SPAC) and uses a simplified model of the atmospheric boundary layer to arrive at an upscaled, parsimonious representation at the daily time scale. The analysis of soil moisture, transpiration, and carbon assimilation dynamics provides an assessment of the role of soil, plant, and boundary layer characteristics on the diurnal courses of photosynthesis and transpiration rates, while the subsequent upscaling at the daily level provides a functional dependence of stomatal conductance on soil moisture that is in good agreement with field experiments. The upscaled dependence of transpiration and carbon assimilation on soil moisture is used in Part II of this paper to explore the impact of soil moisture dynamics on plant conditions when rainfall variability is explicitly considered.


The invention relates to a multi-channel signal acquiring system belonging to the technical filed of digital signal processing. The system comprises: one clock module, two double-channel high speed data acquisition module, eight NAND storage modules, one unloading module, one secondary baseboard module, one main control module and one client end module, the analog signals can be acquired and stored in real time by four-way 900 MHZ sampling rate, the system has 3 TB storage capacity. The invention adopts the NAND storage body as the storage medium, has advantages of small facility volume and low power consumption, the synchronization consistency of four-way acquisition channel can be implemented by the synchronization processing of a clock enable signal, a sampling trigger signal and a sampling clock and the accurate design of a signal delay.


Sintering tests in a gyrotron installation have been performed in order to study the densification behavior of nanostructured ceramics under MM-wave radiation. It was shown that MM-wave sintering is superior to conventional heat treatment. In order to reach the desired densities with the MM-wave technique the necessary processing times are markedly shorter and the sintering temperatures are lower.


In our previous papers we have studied the production of a single hole in the photon number distribution of a field state [Phys. Lett. A 240 (1998) 277; 253 (1999) 123]. In this letter we extend the procedure for the controlled creation of an arbitrary number of holes.


Background:  The rck/p54 protein of 473 amino acids belongs to the family of DEAD‐box/putative RNA helicase proteins. DEAD‐box proteins have been implicated in a wide variety of cellular processes ranging from the initiation of protein synthesis and ribosome biosynthesis to premRNA splicing by means of modifying the RNA structure. Our previous data suggested that rck/p54 positively affected the translation initiation of c‐myc mRNA.


Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. The Combustion Process Chapter 3 Oil Burners Chapter 4. The Air Delivery System Chapter 5. The Fuel Delivery System - Oil Tank Installations Chapter 6. The Fuel Delivery System - Pumps and Nozzles Chapter 7. The Ignition System Chapter 8. Boilers Chapter 9. The Steam Heating system Chapter 10. The Hot Water Heating Systems Chapter 11. Warm Air Heating systems Chapter 12. Basic Electricity Chapter 13. Electrical Equipment Chapter 14. Oil Burner Controls Chapter 15. Control Circuit Wiring Chapter 16. Service Procedures - Burner Not Operating Chapter 17. Service Procedures - Improper Operation Chapter 18. Domestic Hot Water Chapter 19. Annual Tune-Up Chapter 20. Combustion Efficiency Testing Chapter 21. Improving Combustion Efficiency


The article takes from the game theory,it abstracts the act of the governments between central government with local government and between the local governments,on the base of the background analysis on the game of the governments .It provides the rational decision of the governments at different times by founding the game analysis model.


It remains poorly understood how histone modifications regulate changes in gene expression during preimplantation development. Using a bovine model, we profiled changes in two activating (H3K4me3 and H3K27ac) and two repressive (H3K9me3 and H3K27me3) marks in oocytes, 2-, 4- and 8-cell embryos (that developed in the presence or absence of the transcription inhibitor a-amanitin), morula, blastocysts, inner cell mass cells and trophectoderm. In oocytes, we find that broad bivalent domains of H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 mark developmental genes, and that prior to genome activation, H3K9me3 and H3K27me3 co-occupy gene bodies. During genome activation, chromatin accessibility is established before canonical H3K4me3 and H3K27ac, and although embryonic transcription is required for this active remodeling, it is dispensable for maintenance of pre-established histone marks. Finally, blastocyst lineages are defined by differential Polycomb repression and transcription factor activity. Overall, these results further support the use of bovine as a more appropriate model system than the mouse to study genome activation and cell lineage specification during human preimplantation development.


For certain heat exchanger configuration, an experimental study was conducted to investigate performance characteristics of a heat pump driven by a variable speed rotary compressor. Compressor speed was first approximately determined to be 65㎐ based upon map-based performance data of the corresponding compressor. In order to optimize heat pump performance for the selected compressor speed. a throttle valve was used to manipulate condensing and evaporating pressure more conveniently than capillary tubes. Also, refrigerant charge was determined from the variation curve of capacity and EER as a function of refrigerant charge. The objectives of the current study are to examine the effect of operating parameters (compressor speed, refrigerant charge and operating mode) on heat pump performance and to propose a standard method to obtain optimized performance. In addition, analytical simulations are made to predict maximum performance of the present design and to suggest a direction to improve current capacity and EER.


In order to provide scientific instructions for the local agricultural production of hybrid corn,the affection of fertilizer on agronomic characters,yield-related traits,mass and economical production of hybrid corn were analyzed in the "3414" experiment.Meanwhile,the fertilizer effects of N,P,K were also analyzed in this experiment.The results showed that,the agronomic characters and yield-related traits of 13 treats were more or less higher than that of the control group;the magnitude effect of the three elements of fertilizer(N,P,K) on the traits in turn were weight per ear,grain number per ear,ear height,plant height,nevertheless,that on diameter of ear,rows per ear,ear length and 100-grain weight were comparatively small.Among the 14 treats,treat sixth(N2P2K2) got the highest yield,which was 661.3 kg per 667m2.Treat fifth(N2P1K2) possessed the best economical benefit.The highest net income lied in treat fourteenth(N2P1K1),which was 1 261.09 yuan,and the biggest ratio of output to input was 2.17,which existed in treat thirteenth(N1P2K1).


Analyses of honey, conducted in the laboratory of the Department of biology, bioresources and aquaculture of Novosibirsk state UNIVERSITY, showed that they are of great value for diastase number (15.9–26.6), invertase activity (136–190), sucrose content (0–1, 6). Spectral analysis of Siberian honey has shown that bee honey contains all 70 elements, minerals in a biologically active state and doses necessary for normal human and animal life. There is no product of the same value in nature.


. This study reports for the first time patches of Moreiradromia antillensis megalopa in superficial waters over the shelf-break and addresses their relevance as evidence of synchronism in the planktonic larval pool. Patches were registered during a plankton survey conducted between 13 o and 22 o S, over the shelf break in the central coast of Brazil.


This article briefly introduced the disease incidence and disservice situation in China. The disease is regarded as cancer in pines for its higher spread and death speed and the difficulty in prevention. Strict quarantine is the main measure on countrol of the disease, for there are many difficulties in the prevention. The most important part of the disease study is the early diagnosis and detection.


The study takes non-English undergraduate students and their English teachers as research objects,to analyze the correlation between the CET-4 passing rate and teaching evaluation results.The data analysis showed that with the extending of university learning time,students' dependence for their teachers decreased,and their self-learning capacity gradually increased,which completing the change from teacher-reliance to self-reliance.In addition,without academic pressure,college students inclined to evaluate their teachers more diversely,humanely based on personality charm instead of objective standards.


Multilingualism is one of the foundations of the United Nations (UN) and translation of UN documents plays an important political and practical role in the functioning of the Organ isation. This paper argues that UN translation is a special ised area of translational activity and has its own characteristics and special demands necessitated and dictated by the nature of the work of the UN and international diplomacy and developed over the sixty years' history. Thus, UN's experience in translation can provide an important insight and lesson for translators, translation organ isations and translation educational institutions. This article focuses on the nature of translation at the UN as a special ised translation activity and describes and discusses some of the linguistic and institutional features of UN translation.


Abstract This study investigated the relationship between student performance on behavioral measures (reading, language, and executive function) and reading comprehension while reading with and without text-to-speech (TTS) accommodations. Twenty-nine children with reading difficulties ages 8 to 12 years completed a battery of reading, language, and executive function measures. They read 5 passages and answered comprehension questions under the following conditions: (a) silent reading, (b) reading aloud, (c) listening with digitized speech only, (d) reading with the use of TTS with no highlighting, and (e) reading with the use of TTS with highlighting. We used a principal component analysis and a mixed-effects logistic regression model. Language/Reading was a significant predictor of comprehension in both TTS conditions, whereas Executive Function was a strong predictor of comprehension in the listen only and silent reading conditions. Implications of language proficiency and executive function for successful use of TTS to support reading comprehension warrant further investigation.


thE jaPanEsE BUddhist tale collection Hōbutsushū (Collection of treasures; circa 1179) includes a parable that closely resembles the Indian epic Rāmāyana. The Rāmāyana is a famous literary traveler, with hundreds of variations across South and Southeast Asia, and yet few scholars know that the jātakas — accounts of the Buddha's previous lives— bring a version of that epic to Japan. 1 The broad geographic influence of the Rāmāyana can feed into ethno- nationalist statements from some Indian scholars, who note "the spectacular phenomenon" of the "diffusion of Hindu elements in Asian countries" through the Rāmāyana (Desai 1970, 5). Many scholars have contested such ethnic totalizations, arguing that the Rāmāyana across Asia is "a multi- voiced entity," with retellings "that vary according to historical period, regional literary tradition, religious affiliation, genre, intended audience, social location, political 1991, Nevertheless, modes of analysis fixed flat imprints like a wax seal everywhere it goes. 2


Classification.- Stochastic Algorithms for Clustering.- A Classification Algorithm for Binary Observations Based on Euclidean Representations of Hypergraphs.- Agglomerative Hierarchical Multicriteria Clustering using Decision Rules.- GLIMTREE:RECPAM Trees with the Generalized Linear Model.- Algorithms and statistical software.- BOJA: A Program for Bootstrap and Jackknife.- Prototyping Dynamic Graphics Functions in S.- Programming Languages for Statistical Computation.- Expert systems in statistics.- Statistical Knowledge-Based Systems - Critical Remarks and Requirements for Approval.- New Approach To GUHA-Method from the Reliability Viewpoint.- Classifying Documents: A Discriminant Analysis and an Expert System Work Together.- Estimation Procedures for Language Context: Poor Estimates are Worse than None.- Knowledge Modelling for Statistical Consultation Systems Two Empirical Studies.- An Expert System Strategy for Selecting Interesting Results.- Computer Assisted Interpretation of Conditional Independence Graphs.- WAMASTEX - Heuristic Guidance for Statistical Analysis.- Multivariate data analysis and model building.- On Model Search Methods.- Principal Components Analysis with Respect to Instrumental Variables via Univariate Splines.- Selecting the Best Subset of Variables in Principal Component Analysis.- Interesting Projections of Multidimensional Data by Means of Generalized Principal Component Analyses.- Maximum Likelihood Estimation of Mixed Linear and Multiplicative Models for Contingency Tables Using Distan.- Alternate Forms of Graphical Modelling - A Comparison.- Exact Significance Testing by the Method of Control Variates.- Testing Collapsibility of Hierarchical Loglinear Models for Contingency Tables.- The Generalised Biplot: Software Potential.- Exploratory Approach and Maximum Likelihood Estimation of Models for Non Symmetrical Analysis of Two-Way Multiple Contingency Tables.- An Orthogonal Procrustes Rotation Procedure for Multiple Correspondence Analysis.- Optimization techniques and nonlinear models.- Optimization in Statistics - Recent Trends.- Fitting Non Linear Models with Two Components of Error.- Computing for robust statistics.- Some Proposals for Fast HBD Regression.- Robust Selection of Variables in the Discriminant Analysis Based on MVE and MCD Estimators.- Interactively Computing Robust Covariance Matrices.- Sensitivity Analysis in Factor Analysis: Methods and Software.- Influence Functions of Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors in Multidimensional Data Analysis.- Algorithms for Non-Linear Huber Estimation.- Statistics and database management.- Co-Operative Processing - A Challenge for Statistics and Database Management.- A Structured Language for Modelling Statistical Data.- Time dependent models.- Spectral Analysis of Non-Stationary Time Series.- ARMA Simulator for Testing Methods of Process Diagnostic.- Statistical Inference in an Extremal Markovian Model.- Interpretation of Spectral Estimation Results for Nonstationary Signals.- An Automated Method for Trend Analysis.- Analysis of spatial data.- A Test of Spatial Isotropy.- Computational inference.- Characteristics of Sequential Sampling Plans for Attributes: Algorithms for Exact Computing.- Exact Experimental Designs via Stochastic Optimization for Nonlinear Regression Models.- A Comparison of Algorithms for Combination of Information in Generally Balanced Designs.- A Comparison of Non-Negative Estimators for Ratios of Variance Components.- Optimal Fit in Non-Parametric Modelling via Computationally Intensive Inference.- Notes about new developments in statistical software.- Statistical Models in S.- GLIM4 - Developments in Model Fitting.- Address list of authors.


The changes in the general condtions and blood have been observed in the rats receiving oxygen iehalation for 12 hours a day. In the first stage when the animals are laced in an oxygen chamber, they become less active and sooner or later they fall into a sleeping state with a reduced respiation frequency without taking food. After about 20 days' training even in the oxygen atmosphere they show a little movement with some activity and a little increase in appetite. After about 30 days in the oxygen chamber they begin to act almost as if they were outside the chamber with a slight loss in body weight. Hemoglobin content of blood decreases day by day during the first 20 days, reaching a new equilibrium, 20-30 per cent of the original value, which is kept up for the following 40 days without any change. Red cell number continues to fall reaching the minimum value after about 20 to 30 days, 90 per cent of the original number, and increase gradually reaching the original level about 2 months after the initiation. The reticulocyte number increases day by day reaching the maximum of 52.3 per cent after 10 days and keeps this level till the end of the experiment, i. e for two months. Leukocyte number is kept in a normal range throughout the experimental days. From the above experimental data the author concludes that the decrease in hemoglobin content seems to be due to the toxic action of oxygen itself but far from the adaptation syndrome, as only 2 per cent or less decrease in hemoglobin can be expected from the theoretical calculation in the oxygenation rat of hemoglobin.


This paper aims to develop a comparative analysis between the work 'Negrinha' by Monteiro Lobato and 'The light is like water' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. To do so, it was analyzed how the child fantasizes, dreams and imagines, when his right to play and deceive are usurped. In both tales we can see that the condition of being a child is taken. In the story 'Negrinha', the little orphan is enslaved, ill-treated, subjected to physical and psychological violence. In the story 'Light is like water', children are isolated from the world, in the fifth floor apartment, number 47. By their stories, children are considered using imaginary to cherish their frustrations and anguish with everyday life.


Electromagnetics finds applications to radar, scattering, comnunication syste, antenna design, microwave devices, remote sensing, etc., and an in-depth knowledcje of the subject is necessary to expand the state-of-the-ar t in all of these areas. For development work as well as research per se, a continuing supply of trained people is important now and in the future, and the need is unlikely to diminish. Because of the nature of the subject, graduate training is almost certainly required, and whilst an M.S. degree is adequate for the majority of the development work, we must continue to educate a few of the more original and insightful thinkers to the Ph.D. level. Hopefully, the latter will be the source of the new ideas and concepts on which the vitality of the field depends, and will also become the leaders and the teachers of the future. Compared with a decade or so ago, the number of university students and, hence, newly-qualified engineers in this area has diminished. Coupled with this, the number of new concepts and techniques that have appeared has also decreased, particularly in the U.S., and whereas the U.S. was formerly the unquestioned leader in electromagnetics, I do not think it true any longer. Indeed, many of the new ideas that have surfaced in the last decade have originated abroad. There are several reasons for this, and the forces that are now at work may well make the situation worse as the years go by. To appreciate this, it is necessary to examine how the present situation has come about. Electromagnetics as we now know it is a product of WU I1 and the development of radar. Yany of those responsible for the development, and who may well have been associated with the MIT Radiation Laboratory, joined the faculties of major universities in the vars immediately following the war. Under their ieadership, the field blossomed, becoming an integral part 0" the electrical engineering discipline. Thanks to tale ready availability of 'no-strings' federal


Since the introduction of four-wheel drive (4WD) and especially front wheel assist (FWA), many studies have been conducted on the optimal weight distribution between tractor front and rear axles because this influences traction efficiency. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the traction and efficiency advantages in the adoption of mechanical ballast position adjustment devices. The tested device is an extendable ballast holder mounted on the front three-point hitch of the tractor, able to displace the ballast up to 1 m away from its original position. An estimation of the fuel consumption during ploughing with the extendable ballast holder in different configurations was performed. Tractive performance was evaluated through drawbar tests, performed on loam soil with a 4WD tractor having a maximum engine power of 191 kW and a ballasted mass of 9590 kg. Results show that changing the tractor weight distribution over the range allowed by the extendable ballast holder produces limited effects in terms of tractive performance and fuel saving. The adoption of such devices is thus ineffective if other fundamental factors such as tyre pressure, choice of the front-to-rear wheel combination and lead of the front wheels are not considered during tractor setup.


Background: Decades of research supports the benefits of kangaroo care (KC) for the parent and newborn. Supportive KC devices may be an important tool clinicians can use to assist parents with KC. In recent years, there has been a rise in the availability of KC devices. However, the use, needs, and preferences for these supportive devices by neonatal clinicians have not been documented. Purpose: To survey clinicians' use, needs, and preferences of KC supportive devices, and examine whether differences exist based on clinician and organizational characteristics. Methods: A cross-sectional, online survey was sent through neonatal organization Web sites, conferences, and social media. Results: Many clinicians (n = 68, 43%; N = 158) facilitated KC with a supportive device, with 81% of devices provided by the clinician's employer. The most important "Must Have" feature of a KC device was "Safety: Reduces patient falls if caregiver sleeps or needs to use hands" (84% of respondents) followed by washability (82%), and "immediate, effective access to the baby" (78%). Clinicians' responses did not differ based on hospital setting, type of unit, KC experience, or experience using a KC device. Implications for Practice: To support safe use of KC devices in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) clinical care, a device must hold the proper KC position consistently, allow immediate access to the infant, and hold the infant in place without the parent's hands to prevent falls. Training is needed to ensure safe device use. Implications for Research: Future research should evaluate the safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of these devices.


The Bush administration has garnered deserved credit for its management of the war against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan and the fostering of an international coalition against terrorism. The coalition, a singular success for the Department of State and its secretary, Colin Powell, has raised the forgotten subject of political violence to the paramount spot on our diplomatic agenda and has effectively discredited regimes that tolerate the use of their territory by terrorists for violent attacks against other countries. It is a significant policy change from the Clinton years, but one made possible only as a consequence of the al Qaeda suicide bombings of 11 September 2001. It is apparent that only a catastrophe to the United States could inspire countries as varied as Libya and Russia to join an antiterror coalition and assist in waging international war against the proponents and foot soldiers of terrorism. Syria has permitted the Palestinian Islamic Jihad to use Syrian territory for safe haven—and operational planning for terror operations in Israel—while describing the Jihad as a national liberation group seeking to obtain legitimate goals of opposing an Israeli military occupation. Yet Syria has diminishing international support for its patronage of Islamic Jihad while Lebanon is coming under increasing pressure for allowing Hezbollah to continue military initiatives against Israel, despite the Israeli withdrawal from its self-declared security zone, and for failing to establish the Lebanese army as the controlling authority in the border area. Hezbollah played a major role in facilitating the January 2002 Iranian arms shipment destined for Palestinians in the Gaza.


IntroductionErectile dysfunction (ED) is a global problem, and although oral phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitor drugs have revolutionized the treatment of ED, there still are many cases who fail to respond to these drugs or who present with other pathologies that need the penile prosthetic implant (PPI) surgery. PurposeThe aim of the present study was to assess sexual satisfaction in ED patients on penile prosthesis and on oral PDE-5 inhibitors. Materials and methodsThis comparative, cross-sectional study included two groups of ED patients recruited from the Andrology Outpatient Clinic of Suez Canal University Hospital, Ismailia, Egypt: group 1, in which patients were treated with penile prosthesis implantation (29), and group 2, which included patients on PDE-5 inhibitors treatment (35). Patients were asked to answer a validated questionnaire (Erectile Dysfunction Inventory of Treatment Satisfaction). ResultsThe overall score of treatment satisfaction was significantly higher in the group treated with penile prosthesis surgery than that in the group treated with oral drugs: 93.55±7.34 versus 75.06±17.22. Libido and the frequency of intercourse increased with PPI. ConclusionPPI surgery is a valid and successful way of treating ED patients; it provides patients with a higher satisfaction rate than does oral PDE-5 inhibitor.


We study decoherence of a quantum dot charge qubit due to coupling to piezoelectric acoustic phonons in the Born\char21{}Markov approximation. After including appropriate form factors, we find that phonon decoherence rates are one to two orders of magnitude weaker than was previously predicted. We calculate the dependence of the $Q$ factor on lattice temperature, quantum dot size, and interdot coupling. Our results suggest that mechanisms other than phonon decoherence play a more significant role in current experimental setups.