In change detection analysis, the accuracy of matching techniques depend solely on the accuracy of correction methods (such as geometric correction method, intensity variation methods) used before the actual alignment is performed. When the poor cor rection methods are used during image processing, errors such as matching errors, localisation error and alignment error, may arise during the detection and matching of image features (such as points,contour) hence causing image misalignment w hich may in turn affect the change detection accuracy. This paper reviews some of the challenges faced during image registration together w ith the current image registration techniques. It also reviews the errors associated w ith most of the image registration techniques due to use of poor or inappropriate image processing techniques.


A worm type wheel gear honing machine has been developed over many years. Makers and users often emphasize its polishing effect, deburring ability and noise reducing capabilities. Long experience and experimentation with carburized gear distortion, has led the author to the conclusion that such gear honing, especially single flank honing, has a relatively high ability for modifying gear distortion after heating. This article discusses the use of honing for hardened gears, uses mechanical theory to compare honing with shaving and provides experimental data on honing. New ideas on its scope and possible development are described. (a).


Conventional controllers or hand-tracking interactions in VR cause hand fatigue while manipulating 3D objects because repetitive wrist rotation and hand movements are often required. As a solution to this inconvenience, we propose Thumble, a novel wearable input device worn on the thumb for modifying the orientation of 3D objects. Thumble can rotate the 3D objects depending on the orientation of the thumb and using the thumb pad as an input surface on which the index finger rubs to control the direction and degree of rotations. Therefore, it requires minimal motion of the wrist and the arm. Through the informal user study, we collected the subjective feedback of users and found that Thumble has less hand movement than a conventional VR controller.


ment. When much leverage on the first turn of strapping on the arm is necessary to reduce the overlapping of the fragments and maintain reduction the arm becomes very swollen and the skin abraded, and very often the patient cannot tolerate the appliance. The clavicular cross is cumbersome and the lower end where it impinges on the sacrum tends to slip downwards and to carry the shoulders-., with it, arid the ideal upward and backward position of the "shoulders is lost. In Desault's method, with a wedge in the axilla, the vessels and nerves tend to be seriouslypressed upon, and as in Sayre's method the


Under the effect of earthquake, loss of soil stiffness results in loss of bearing capacity which subsequently lost the support of basic structures that tilt and therefore pack down. The study of settlement of granular media under seismic loading, although it has not retained the attention of many researchers in the past, is crucial if we are to guarantee the good performance of embankments, dikes or land upon which some works at risk. Numerical simulation of soil behavior is performed by numerical methods such as finite difference and finite element method. These methods are programmed in software simulation of increasingly sophisticated. The main objective of this paper is to investigate, by numerical modeling with the code of finite element PLAXIS, variation in settlement of a soil under a rock fill dam port


A jab planter that would enable the small-scale farmer work with improved timeliness and reduced drudgery was developed. The planter can also be used by the medium-and large-scale farmers to supply seeds on already planted farms, in the area of zero germination. The planter uses two different types of metering devices. One is used for planting cowpea, soybean, and maize seeds; while the other is used for okra and sorghum. Seeding rate which ranged from one to three seeds per hole, and planting depth, which is up to 7 cm are according to the farmer's settings. It has a capacity of 0.0392 ha/h when planting distance is about 25 cm on the row and 75 cm between rows. No seed damage occurred. There were no clogging of the openers and seed metering device.


Kiwi as a fruit is a special agricultural produce of Xiuwen County,Guizhou Province. Based on a market survey,an analysis of the present management and the problems available,and the demands of modern corporate system for brand management,this paper makes some suggestions as to the management roles,the consumers' market,the marketing strategies and the media in order to improve the band management of special agricultural produces.


Abstract Despite a large regulatory framework on clean air, air pollution in the European Union continues to be the top environmental threat to health, leading to approx. 400,000 early deaths annually and high health costs. Over 20 of the 27 EU countries fail to keep air quality standards, which for key pollutants are already less strict than what the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends. In the EU Green Deal Communication, the European Commission has pledged to align current standards more closely with WHO. At the same time, the latest science underlines that there is no safe level of air pollution, and WHO is reviewing current guidelines. In EU neighbouring countries, the need to act on clean air standards is even more pressing. During the COVID-19 lockdown, many countries have witness a drop in air pollution, especially in cities. As transport and economic activities kick in again, pollution is on the rebound, making the need for long-term clean air even more apparent. The presentation/paper will showcase ongoing policy opportunities at EU and national level, and discuss how the health sector can become engaged to prevent chronic disease from poor air quality, especially as part of a healthy, green and just recovery.


Maluku is famous as a spice-producing archipelago. Spices are not the only richness that Maluku has.. Maluku also has other cultural richness that are no less unique, namely Maluku Batik. The cultural richness and natural wealth of Maluku have inspired local people to apply the visual beauty of spices to batik motifs and ornaments which later became the hallmark of Maluku Batik. This research aims to analyze the visual application of spices in Maluku batik cloth. The sample included in this study were the batik cloths made by Maluku batik artists. The method that is employed in this research is a qualitative descriptive method by studying decorative styles inspired by the typical spices of Maluku batik. The results of this research study show that Maluku batik is very representative of the local wisdom of its people. Other findings from this study indicate that in general, batik motifs can be sorted based on their historical and cultural backgrounds. The glory of Maluku as a trade route for herbs and spices has been embedded in the collective memory of the Maluku people. One of these collective memories is immortalized through Maluku batik.


One application of harmonic Ritz values is to approximate, with a projection method, the interior eigenvalues of a matrix A while avoiding the explicit use of the inverse A. In this context, harmonic Ritz values are commonly derived from a Petrov-Galerkin condition for the residual of a vector from the test space. In this paper, we investigate harmonic Ritz values from a slightly different perspective. We consider a bounded functional ψ that yields the reciprocals of the harmonic Ritz values of a symmetric matrix A. The crucial observation is that with an appropriate residual s that differs from the commonly used one, many results from Rayleigh quotient and Rayleigh-Ritz theory naturally extend. The same is true for the generalization to matrix pencils (A,B) when B is symmetric positive definite. These observations have an application in the computation of eigenvalues in the interior of the spectrum of a large sparse matrix. The minimum and maximum of ψ correspond to the eigenpairs just to the left and right of zero (or a chosen shift). As a spectral transformation, this distinguishes ψ from the original harmonic approach where an interior eigenvalue remains at the interior of the transformed spectrum. As a consequence, ψ is a very attractive vehicle for a matrix-free, optimization-based eigensolver such as the steepest descent, the nonlinear Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient (PCG), or the Locally Optimal Block PCG (LOBPCG) method. Instead of computing the smallest/largest eigenvalues by minimizing/maximizing the Rayleigh quotient, one can compute interior eigenvalues as the minimum/maximum of ψ. AMS subject classifications. 65F15, 65Y15.


Using data from the 1992-93 and 1995-96 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, this article explores changes in the characteristics of undergraduates who borrowed at the federal limit before and after the 1992 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses are used to address the research questions. The analyses suggest that the 1992 amendments to the Higher Education Act were associated with an increased tendency to borrow at the federal limit, particularly among dependent undergraduates from middle-income families. Disciplines Accessibility | Education | Education Economics | Higher Education This journal article is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/gse_pubs/286


New records of Palaeocampa anthrax Meek&Worthen, 1865 with fossilized soft parts are provided from Montceau-les-Mines in France, late Carboniferous, permitting the identification of a new clade of extinct amphinomid polychaetes. The group also provides an object lesson for problems with species concepts in palaeontology. The biological species concept, the diagnosable phylogenetic species concepts, and the monophyletic phylogenetic species concepts are applied and discussed in the case of P. anthrax, as well as more generally in palaeontology. All three are rejected, but for different reasons. Instead we advocate the application of LITUs (least inclusive taxonomic unit), which refers to the smallest currently recognised taxa, but without making the unjustified rank assignments to species.


This study attempted to investigate the possible impact of physical, emotional, and cognitive job demands on burnout among Malaysian academic leaders at Research Universities (RU). Another objective of the study was to study the direct and mediating role of burnout on the job performance of the target population. Through a quantitative study and by using a five-Likert point, 250 academic leaders in Malaysian Research Universities (MRUs) were surveyed. The obtained primary data were subject to quantitative analysis through outer loading of the items using Smart PLS software. The exploratory and confirmatory tests applied to the primary data earlier to the inferential tests started with testing the direct hypotheses structured followed by the indirect effect. Findings indicated that based on the model extracted and the loaded factors, it was found that cognitive, emotional, and physical demands have a significant impact on burnout. Burnout also showed a significant effect on in-role and extra-role performance of the academic leaders and an indirect effect of burnout between job demands and job performance was observed. As an implication, this study can have pedagogical implications for educational policymakers, education syllabus designers, and academic leaders. Assessing the interaction role of gender type suggests further research, which benefit the policymakers in diversifying the job demand for each type.


This article describes public attitudes toward housing for mentally retarded citizens. It was found that the vast majority of the population sampled were negatively disposed to renting housing facilities to retarded people. The conclusion appears to be that much effort needs to be given to developing more accepting attitudes toward the handicapped.


Three cases of immunoblastic lymphadenopathy (IBL)‐like T‐cell lymphoma were analyzed immunologically, and the ultrastructure of mononuclear cells in the lymph nodes and peripheral blood was examined. In the peripheral blood, light microscopic examination revealed vacuolated lymphocytes. These vacuolated lymphocytes formed rosettes with sheep erythrocytes, and they were CD3‐ and CD4‐positive using the avidin‐biotin method in cases 1 and 2. Electron microscopic examination revealed two kinds of abnormal lymphocytes. One kind was of B‐cell nature with rich lamellated rough‐surfaced endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. The other kind had a large cytoplasm, in which Golgi apparatus, some endoplasmic reticulum, some mitochondria and a few vacuoles were seen. Some of these vacuoles had remnants of mitochondrial cristae or were enlarged endoplasmic reticulum. The vacuolated T lymphocytes and activated lymphocytes of B‐cell nature disappeared with chemotherapy but reappeared with relapse of the disease. These observations suggest that vacuolated cells are related to pale cells in lymph node sections. In other words when these vacuolated cells are found in the peripheral blood of patients with lymphoid malignancies, IBL‐like T‐cell lymphoma can be suspected.


Press generated noise has become one of major industrial noise sources.This paper simply analyzes the noise of high-capability press,and offers some methods of reducing noise form design,processing and lubrication,and through practice to verify it.


Computer networks and their services have become an essential part of research and education. Nowadays every modern R&E institution must have a computer network and provide network services to its students and staff. In addition to its internal computer network, every R&E institution must have a connection with the computer networks of other institutions, and the Internet. Such connectivity is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. This is where the computer networks among the R&E organizations come in: these networks connect R&E organizations with each other and also with other networks, including the Internet. Such networks provide services to R&E organizations located within geographical areas of different sizes: a city, a region, a country, or a continent. They exist in many countries all over the world. Europe, North America and Eastern Asia are the main parts of the world where one finds the most well-developed computer networks among the R&E institutions. This thesis discusses the issue of managing computer networks among R&E institutions. Such networks are here called Research and Education Networks (RENs). Although the management of computer networks has received a lot of attention in the literature, the management of RENs was previously neglected by researchers. The research presented here aims to fill this gap and to design a model which supports the management of RENs. The idea for this research was inspired by a project aimed at the creation of a national REN in Ukraine â the Ukrainian Research and Academic Network (URAN). The research described in this thesis initially started as an attempt to help building this REN in a systematic way rather than in a trial-and-error manner. The research in this thesis was conducted as part of the research program of the Information Strategy and Management of Information Systems of the Delft University of Technology. It continues the line of the Doctoral projects conducted within this research program, which is related to the management of computer networks, namely "Modelling change management of evolving heterogeneous networks", "Management of international networks" and "Management of networks with highly distributed international use".


The activities of the Medical Social Research Project (MESOREP) ope rating in Lulliani Pakistan in cooperation with the Population Council the University of Punjab and the Pakistan Ministry of Health is the suject of this report. The program focused on gaining community leader support meeting the health needs of the community while promoting family planning and conducting an intensive educational program. The educational program was carried out by the development of family planning visual aids training courses in family family planning for influential members of the community and midwives performing skits with a family planning theme home visits by male and female social workers to couples with 3 or more children conducting pediatric gynecological and family planning clinics at the Health Center and organizing volunteers and shopkeepers for the promotion of family planning and the distribution of contraceptives. The Health Center provides free gynecological and contraceptive services and performs IUD insertions. After 17 months 233 clients (12% of the total married fer tile women) from Lulliani and 343 clients from outlying areas were taken into the program. Midwives appeared to be the most effective in persuading clients to accept an IUD. About 20% of the couples visited at home accepted an IUD though the cost of the net increase in IUD users provided by home visits is high (Rs. 500 = U.S. $105 per insertion). Of the conventional contraceptives used 70% of the patients use vaginal foam and 23% use the condom. An oral contraceptive study conducted by MESOREP at Ali Raza Abad showed that only 4 of the 45 women neglected to take their pill more than 2 days. Among the conclusions presented it was judged that 1) a program of maternal medical and nutritional care is an effective setting for recruiting family planning clients; 2) midwives can be helpful in promoting family planned if they are monetarily compensated; 3) negative reports of side-effects with IUDs can inhibit word-of-mouth promotion method; 4) trained volunteers are effective in creating a favorable climate for further promotional efforts; and 5) illiterate village women are capable of regular and continued use of oral contraceptives.


262 Background: Patients diagnosed with cancer experience intense medical care and high costs associated with the disease and its treatment. As a result, patients may consider changes to their health insurance coverage to adjust the medical benefits covered and/or the cost-sharing (e.g., annual maximum out-of-pocket [MOOP] limit) requirements. The purpose of this study was to assess the patterns of health insurance plan coverage patterns prior to and following a diagnosis of cancer among adult patients. Methods: Data from 13,237 patients aged ≥18, enrolled at Kaiser Permanente Northwest, diagnosed with cancer between Jan. 1, 2016–March 31, 2021 [index cancer], with ≥12 months of continuous health insurance coverage pre-cancer diagnosis were included. Patients enrolled in hospice prior to index cancer were excluded. Health insurance coverage outcomes included (1) coverage patterns (maintenance, interruption, termination, switch); (2) a composite of any coverage changes; and (3) cost-sharing patterns. Monthly health plan membership enrollment data was used to assess outcomes between two time periods: pre-diagnosis (12 months prior to index cancer) and post-diagnosis (12-18 months following index cancer). Patient sociodemographic, enrollment, health plan and clinical data were extracted from the electronic health record (EHR). Descriptive statistics were used to assess outcomes. Results: Approximately 40% of patients were ages 18-64, 54% were female and 9% were non-White. At index cancer diagnosis, 60% of patients had Medicare, 37% had a commercial plan and 3% had Medicaid. Among patients aged 18-64, 62% had any change in health insurance coverage between pre- to post-cancer diagnosis, including 41% who switched plans, 19% who terminated and 2% with an interruption. Among patients aged 65+, 50% of patients had any change in health insurance coverage, including 20% who switched plans, 30% who terminated and < 1% with an interruption. For those who switched plans between the pre- to post-diagnosis periods, the most common patterns included switching out of commercial plans (-11% points) and switching into either Medicare (+9% points) or Medicaid (+5% points). Among all patients, 14% changed to a higher cost-sharing plan (difference in mean individual, in-network MOOP limit: $938) and 10% changed to a lower cost-sharing plan (difference in mean individual, in-network MOOP limit: -$1701). Conclusions: Our novel findings provide valuable information about health insurance plan coverage patterns among adults diagnosed with cancer and suggest a large proportion of patients may undergo changes to their health insurance coverage. Future studies that assess the implications of health insurance changes on care access and cancer outcomes are warranted.


The content and distribution of potassium (K) and calcium (Ca) in the leaves of broad bean during the snow cover period were investigated to clarify the role of snow melt water in snow damage. The experiments were carried out under the conditions where air temperature was usually above 0°C and snow had been melting during the snow cover period. The melt water with an average pH of 4.4 contained CL-, SO42- and NO3-. The plants were cultivated in open fields or inside tunnels covered with non-woven fabric to decrease the quantity of melting water. Most of the plants in the open fields were damaged after 52 days of snow cover, but the plants inside the tunnel were hardly damaged. The K content in the leaves decreased under snow cover in both plots and the decrease in open field plots was greater than that in the tunnel plots. On the other hand, Ca content decreased only in the open field plots. The observations of leaves after snow melting with an Electron Prove Micro X-ray Analyzer revealed that the content of K in the necrotized part of the leaf was lower than that in the healthy part. From these results, we concluded that the minerals i leaves were leached out by continuous out by continuous snow melt water and the melt water is one of the factors enhancing the snow damage.


In this paper, we explore common communication needs for the rapidly increasing number of Internet-connected devices, which are appearing in a growing number of domains. We argue that with the rise of these smart objects business cooperation will increase. So-called smart meters then serve as example that a direct and flexible information exchange across enterprise boundaries, markets and even industries is needed. Based on experiences from integration projects and qualitative interviews with experts we deduce key requirements for an abstract communication system. We then map established communication paradigms to these requirements and finally introduce a cloud-based communication system for smart objects we call Virtual Object Warehousing Service. We explore its key characteristics and conclude by providing an outlook how such a general-purpose cloud-based messaging service could satisfy the communication needs of smart objects.


Background Nowadays, vertebral fractures (VF) are one of the frequent and severe complications of systemic osteoporosis, which lead to severe spine pain, restriction of physical activity, increased disability and mortality, however, the data about their particularities depending on their quantity and localization are limited. The purpose was to study the indices of vertebral pain syndrome, physical performance, disability and quality of life in women of older age groups with VF depending on their number and localization. Objectives We examined 230 women aged 50–89 years old, which were divided into 2 groups: I – patients without any history of osteoporotic fractures (n=151), II – women with VF at thoracic and/or lumbar spine (n=79). Subsequently, the persons of the second group were divided into subgroups depending on the number (1 or 2 and more) and localization (thoracic, lumbar spine or combined) VF. Methods The presence and intensity of pain in the thoracic and lumbar spine were evaluated using the 11-component visual analogue scale (VAS), the level of physical performance was evaluated using static and dynamic functional tests (FT) (Thomayer, Schober tests, chest excursion, lateral trunk lean, 3-, 4-, 15-metre tests, "stand up from the chair", static balancing); disturbance of life was determined using Roland-Morris questionnaire, quality of life - EuroQol-5D questionnaire. Results It was demonstrated that the intensity of vertebral pain (pain at the time of investigation, the most common level of pain, pain in the best periods of the disease) is significantly worse in women with VF than corresponding parameters in persons without fractures. It was found that women with 2 and more VF have worse values of majority of measured FT (results of Schober test, lateral trunk lean, chest excursion, breath holding, hand grip strength, 15-metre test) in comparison with control group, while in women with 1 VF only results of Schober test and breath holding were significantly worse than same ones in control group. It was shown that for women with VF at the thoracic spine, results of breath holding and 15-metre tests were significantly worse compared with control, whereas in persons with VF at lumbar spine results of Schober index, lateral trunk lean, hand grip strength and test "stand up from the chair" were worse. In patients with combined VF most of the FT (lateral trunk lean, chest excursion, hand grip strength and 15-metre test) were significantly worse in comparison with control group. The Roland-Morris questionnaire score was significantly higher in women with 2 or more VF compared to controls, unlike the women with 1 VF. We did not found any differences in EQ-5D questionnaire score depending on the number and location of VF. Conclusions Indices of pain assessment and physical performance in women of older age groups have own peculiarities depending on the number and location of VF, which should be taken into account while assessing of physical abilities and developing of rehabilitation programs for people with VF. Acknowledgements We are grateful for the collaboration of the group of scientists of «Institute of Gerontology named after D. F. Chebotarev of NAMS Ukraine» (Kyiv, Ukraine) who performed clinical examination, pain assessment and physical performance. Disclosure of Interest None declared


The Egyptian black sand contains several types of altered ilmenite grains which have various magnetic susceptibility values, ranging from the strongly paramagnetic, such as ilmenite, to the non-magnetic, such as rutile grains. The altered ilmenite grains of relatively higher mass magnetic susceptibility, separated at 0.1, 0.2, 0.25, and 0.35 A using the Frantz isodynamic magnetic separator, were investigated. Both brown and black altered grains were investigated using the binocular microscope and the Cameca SX-100 microprobe. Most analyzed spots of grains are composed mainly of pseudorutile (psr) and leached pseudorutile (lpsr), with the contents of TiO2 and Fe2O3 ranging between 56.76 and 78.09% and 37.98 and 12.16%, respectively. The Ti/(Ti+Fe) ratio ranges between 0.59 and 0.85. The chemical formula range of the investigated psr-lpsr is Fe2.07-0.54Ti3O9-4.68(OH)0-4.32. The lowest cationic iron content of the lpsr phase is 0.5 with a corresponding molecular formula of Fe0.5Ti3O4.5(OH)4.5. In the detected leached ilmenite spots, the cationic Fe2+ ranges between 0 and 2.46, while the cationic Fe3+ ranges between 0.17 and 1.94. The Ti/(Ti+Fe) ratio ranges between 0.51 and 0.6, and the Fe/Ti ratio ranges between 0.91 and 0.67. Considering the chemical formula of ilmenite is Fe3Ti3O9, the leached ilmenite formulas have the composition Fe2.72-2.02Ti3O9 with the minimum value of total iron being equal to 2.02. Some of the contained inclusions may be responsible for the acquired magnetic characteristics of some of the detected altered grains. The powdered X-ray diffraction patterns of the investigated different magnetic grains were detected before and after heating at 1100 oC for one hour. The hexagonal psr/lpsr structure is more unstable at 1100 oC than the tetragonal rutile structure. According to the calculations of the molecular formulas for the detected alteration phases, the lowest iron content of the altered lpsr is much lower than that previously reported. Also, during the alteration process, the alteration mechanism is changed in the region of 68-70 wt % of contained TiO2. Then, in the late alteration stages, the lpsr structure does not suddenly collapse but gradually produces other associated mineral phases.


As part of a programme of work commissioned by the Scottish Government, DHI formed a strategic partnership with NHS Lanarkshire to collaborate on health and care service transformation. In consultation with the Chief Executive and the South Lanarkshire Health and Care Partnership's Long Term Conditions Group, diabetes was identified as a key area of need. Following scoping activities in NHS Lanarkshire, services for people living with type 2 diabetes were identified as the focus for innovation and redesign activities.

The project employed a participatory process including pop-up engagement, interviews with people living with type 2 diabetes and primary care and specialist staff, a co-design workshop with practice nurses and specialist staff, and further engagements with people living with type 2 diabetes to refine the concepts. Rich insights were generated on how people would like to be supported at diagnosis, and how primary care staff can be supported by specialist staff to create person-centred diagnosis conversations.

The findings of the current state of care in NHS Lanarkshire are available in full in our 'Interim Findings' report, and provided the contextual basis for future ideas presented in this document. Concepts are presented for a new visual tool to support the diagnosis conversation, a new diagnosis group appointment with a specialist, and new ways of working across primary and secondary care to support practice nurses to deliver person-centred care. These concepts together form the new diagnosis experience, which is discussed alongside recent developments in diabetes policy at a national level. In addition to this 'near' future map, we present opportunities for future care enabled by new digital services and a roadmap to support discussion and further development towards implementation.


Power system design is a profession in many areas of marine electric power systems,as China's offshore oil and gas fields′ development and utilization,the scale of offshore oil and gas fields are gradually expanding,and supply area of the power system is gradually expanding,and the requirements of the power the systems design are also improving.And how to keep stability of the marine power system voltage and to ensure safety of the offshore production is a very important issue that the offshore engineering designers are facing.This article introduces the main voltage adjusting modes of the power system on an offshore platform in detail and discusses a variety of applications and reasonable regulation.


This article presents a new model which is called Periodic Square-Wave(PSW) to describe the material flow of the periodic processes involving intermediate buffer. The material flows incoming into and outgoing from the intermediate buffer are assumed to be periodic square shaped. PSW model gives the same result as that of Economic Production Quantity(EPQ) model for determining optimal lot size of single stage batch storage system. However, for batch storage serial train system, PSW model gives a different optimal solution of about 6 % reduced total cost. PSW model provides the more accurate information on inventory and production system than the classical approach by maintaining simplicity and increasing computational burden.


Dairy milk composition analysis is critical for quality control and pricing purposes. Particularly, fat content in dairy milk determines its market value, and free fatty acids can be used as a proxy for milk quality. Milk with high fat contents (4% and above) is progressively skimmed to obtain a chain of products (butter, cheese, milk, powder milk, etc.), increasing the profitability in a traditionally low-margin industry. Besides total fat percentage, the composition of fatty acids is also relevant, as C14, C16 and C18 free fatty acids can be used to monitor cattle food intake. Established chemical separation techniques to measure fat content, such as the Gerber method, are off-line, manual, labor intensive, cannot distinguish fats and have a high error margin. We present a monitoring system concept, free of labelling and sample processing, for fat milk content using Raman spectroscopy in flowing microfluidic channels. The technique has been tested using several microfluidic flow rates (20 μl/min to 1000 μl/min) with Raman measurements of 5 seconds of exposure time and with a single accumulation. We show that Raman spectra remain the same even after continuously refreshing the fluid during measurements at increasing flow rates. Proof of concept Raman measurements at the region of interest for undiluted whole (3.5% of fat), semi-skimmed (1.5%) and buttermilk (0.5%) are presented under different microfluidic flows, showing the potential of the technique. The technique can also be used to identify different fats, proteins, and minerals.


We investigate the evolution of an individual's willingness to invest in a public good (what we call, helping) in a patch‐structured population with limited natal dispersal. We assume that an individual's decision to invest is informed by its dispersal status: an individual makes one decision given it is native to the patch on which it breeds, and is free to make a different decision given that it is not native to the patch on which it breeds. Unlike previous work, we assume that investment in the public good, and the public good, itself, both have a large effect on individual fecundity. Kin selection analysis reveals that only extreme investment decisions (i.e. 'always invest' or 'never invest') can be evolutionarily stable. Numerical results suggest that the evolutionary instability of the 'never invest' phenotype (what we call, complete nonhelping) implies the evolutionary stability of 'always invest' (what we call, complete helping). In addition, numerical results show that bistability of extreme phenotypes is possible, indicating that the adaptive significance of altruism, in this context, is greater than has been previously recognized. Numerical results are supported by computer simulation, and results, themselves, are briefly discussed in a concluding section.


Water has a fundamental role in important processes spanning a wide range of pressure and temperature conditions. Knowledge of structural, dynamic and thermodynamic properties of water at non-standard conditions is a primary concern since interest on astronomical, geological and technological processes is continuously growing. Molecular dynamics simulations allow to study thermodynamic conditions which require sophisticate techniques and instruments, while at the same time offering the interpretation of properties at atomic level. It is established that the behavior of water is strongly affected by the temperature and pressure conditions, determining the existence of low and high density regimes. For the first time a thermodynamic property, isothermal compressibility, has been adopted to detect the low-high density turning point at ambient temperature in liquid water due to pressure. Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed with five three-site models, allowing to characterize the complexity of water nature at these conditions at atomic level.


The authors propose a method to regulate a single-phase AC source by using a series-connected auxiliary voltage source. A voltage source inverter, connected in series with the AC supply through a transformer, is used to compensate the input voltage variations in order to achieve a regulated load voltage. Input power factor improvement can also be obtained, when operating with reactive load, by phase-shifting the compensating voltage with respect to the input voltage. The total kVA rating for the system is a fraction of the load total power, and is determined by the maximum allowable line voltage variation. The use of a series connection together with a high-performance modulation technique results in a fast dynamic response and a small-size filter. A high-quality output is readily achieved. The authors describe the proposed method, implementation principles, design equations, and a design example. Simulated and experimental results confirm the concept and feasibility of the proposed system.<<ETX>>


The IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) micro-mobility management protocol cellular IP (CIP) can inter-network with mobile IP (MP) to provide wide area mobility. Most of CIP literature concentrates on the micro-mobility aspects of the protocol. The aim of this paper is to address the wide area mobility side of the protocol, i.e. the interconnection between CIP and MIP. More specifically the paper develops a cost function-based analytical model to assess the performance of the CIP-based wide area mobility. The performance of CIP with MIPv4 is compared with CIP with MIPv6.


Foils of Pt 0.1 mu thick are annealed at 800 deg C and exposed to various fission fragment doses. Electron microscope examination of the foils after irradiation reveals that defects are formed preferentially along coherent twin boundaries, but not along ordinary boundaries. It is concluded that the twin boundary acts as a barrier to focused collisions, such that focused collisions along the , , or directions, upon arriving at the boundary, are changed into nonfocusing collisions. Point defects are formed when this change occurs. Factors influencing this effect, such as foil thickness, are noted. (T.F.H.)


Abstract This paper examines Félix Ravaisson's account of habit, as presented in his 1838 essay Of Habit, and considers its significance in the context of moral practice. This discussion is set in an historical context by drawing attention to the different evaluations of habit in Aristotelian and Kantian philosophies, and it is argued that Kant's hostility to habit is based on the dichotomy between mind and body, and freedom and necessity, that pervades his thought. Ravaisson argues that the phenomenon of habit challenges these dualisms, and at least in this respect anticipates the discussions of habit in the work of twentieth-century phenomenologists such as Merleau-Ponty and Ricoeur. The paper outlines Ravaisson's account of habit in general, showing how his analysis of the "double law" of habit develops from the work of Maine de Biran, and highlighting the way in which Ravaisson offers a new and original philosophical interpretation of the phenomena of habit. Whereas Maine de Biran remains within a dualistic framework, and finds that habit is problematic within this framework, Ravaisson uses habit to demonstrate continuity between mind and body, will and nature. Then the focus is narrowed to consider how this analysis of habit is applied to a specifically moral context, and how it illuminates traditional Aristotelian theories of virtue. The paper ends by considering several practical consequences of the foregoing discussion of habit and the moral life.


This study was carried out in The Ruminant Research Station (Abu Ghraib)/ Department of Animal Resources Research/ Office of Agricultural Research/ Ministry of Agriculture during the period from July 6, 2017 to Feb 3, 2018. Twenty one non pregnant Awassi Turkish ewes were used in the experiment. The age of the animals ranged between 2-5 years old with a weight ranged between 45-70kg. Befor insert CIDR, The animals were examined with ultrasonography to be sure that they were not pregnant. These ewes were divided into three equal groups of 7 ewes/ treatment. They were fed naturally on basal diet. The first group were not treated (T1) which serve Control group, and injected with 5-10 ml of normal saline in intramuscular. Ewes of Second group were Treated (T2) by injected with a 155 µmol/kg arginine I.V. The Third group were Treated (T3) by injected with 155µmol/kg arginine intramuscular. All Treated ewes were inseminated by rams for 7 days. The inseminate rams were revolved among folds to get rid of their effects on ewes, Each inseminated ram was given a number. Blood samples were taken from jugular vein on the 1st and 2nd days of arginine injection and then insert CIDR and on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th,13th ,and 16th days of this treatment to measure the change in the levels of a blood and chemical properties during arginine treatment. The results of a lab. analysis during the treatment of amino acid arginine showed no significant differences between the treated group with arginine as compared to the control group in the percentages of white blood cells, but there were a differences in the number of Neutrophils in the group of intravenous injection, the group of intramuscular injection, (75.14, 75.00), respectively as compared with control group (71.0). Lymphocytes showed no significant differences between parameters under study as well as for Eosinophil. The differences were observed between the coefficients and the study periods. The period (4) was significantly superior (P<0.05) in the arginine treated as Compared with the control group, (20.42 ± 2.61) and the percentage of intravenous injection (17.28±1.98), respectively compared with a control group (19.00 ± 2.51), as for Basophil, there was a gradual decrease in all study groups. The results showed that the value of cholesterol a significant superiority (P<0.05) in the treated group with arginine in ewes serum as compared with the control group. It was noticed that the group of intravenous injection of arginine significantly increase the group of intramuscular injection of arginine (P<0.05) (6, 8) in blood cholesterol level. The periods (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7) of injection of amino acid arginine showed no significant differences between them. The glucose concentration level, showed no significant differences between the arginine amino acid treatment group and the control group and at the different. It was concluded from this study that treatment with amino acid arginine did not affect characteristics of the blood, and its chemical properties.


This paper introduces an integrated mode choice–multimodal transit assignment model and solution procedure intended for large-scale urban applications. The cross-nested logit mode choice model assigns travelers to car, transit, or park-and-ride. The dynamic multimodal transit assignment–simulation model determines minimum hyperpaths and assigns and simulates transit and park-and-ride travelers iteratively until the network approaches a state of equilibrium. After a given number of iterations, the updated transit network travel times are fed into the mode choice model and the model reassigns travelers to transit, car, or park-and-ride. The outer feedback loop between the mode choice model and the transit assignment model continues until the mode probabilities for each traveler do not change between iterations. A unique contribution of the method presented in this paper is that it reaches mode choice convergence with the use of disaggregate agents (travelers) instead of aggregate modal flows at the origin–destination level. The integrated model is successfully implemented on the Chicago Transit Agency's bus and train network in Illinois. Different procedures for reaching convergence are tested; the results suggest that a gap-based formulation is more efficient than the method of successive averages.


A method for the monitoring of anomalous human behaviour that is based on the logical description of complex human behaviour patterns and special kinds of blob (a separated area of a foreground image) motion statistical metrics is developed. The concurrent object-oriented logic language is used for the analysis of graphs of tracks of moving blobs; the graphs are supplied by low-level analysis algorithms implemented in a special built-in class of Actor Prolog. The blob motion statistics is collected by the low-level analysis procedures that are of the need for the discrimination of running people, people riding bicycles, and cars in a video scene. The first-order logic language is used for implementing the fuzzy logical inference based on the blob motion statistics. A research software platform is developed that is based on the Actor Prolog logic language and a state-of-the-art Prolog-to-Java translator for experimenting with the intelligent visual surveillance.


Cadmium exposure has been associated with adverse perinatal outcomes. One possible mechanism is endocrine disruption. Studies of non-pregnant adults suggest that cadmium impacts androgen production; here, we examined these associations during pregnancy. Participants in the Understanding Pregnancy Signals and Infant Development (UPSIDE) cohort provided biospecimens and questionnaire data in each trimester (n = 272). We quantified urinary cadmium, serum total testosterone (TT), estrone, estradiol, and estriol and serum free testosterone (fT). In adjusted longitudinal models, we examined sex steroid concentrations across pregnancy in relation to specific gravity-adjusted, ln-transformed cadmium concentrations. Additionally, we examined trimester-specific associations and stratified models by fetal sex. Results are presented as percent change (%∆) in hormone concentrations. In longitudinal models, higher cadmium concentrations were associated with lower fT across pregnancy (%∆ = −5.19, 95%CI: −8.33, −1.93), with no differences in other hormones observed. In trimester-specific models, higher cadmium concentrations were associated with lower TT in trimester 2 (%∆ = −15.26, 95%CI: −25.15, −4.06) and lower fT in trimester 3 (%∆ = −14.35, 95%CI: −19.75, −8.59). Associations with TT were stronger in pregnancies carrying female fetuses. Maternal cadmium exposure may be associated with reduced testosterone in pregnancy. Additional work is necessary to understand how alterations in gestational testosterone activity may impact pregnancy and child health.


Abstract This paper describes the palladium catalyzed highly efficient three component coupling (TCC) reactions between chromones, allylic acetates, and alcohols, which lead to a library of multiply substituted chromones. The activity of various palladium catalysts, such as Pd(PPh 3 ) 4 and Pd 2 dba 3 ·CHCl 3 and their combination with various bisphosphine ligands, was investigated by using THF as a solvent, which revealed that Pd(PPh 3 ) 4 catalyst was the best one. The reaction most probably proceeds via the formation of benzopyrilium cation, generated from the reaction between chromones and allyl acetate, in the presence of palladium catalyst. The subsequent trapping of the benzopyrilium cation by alcohols would give the corresponding products in excellent yields. This alkoxy-allylation reaction was highly diastereoselective and only one diastereomer was obtained in all the cases.


Cell cultivation devices that mimic the complex microenvironment of cells in the human body are of high importance for the future of stem cell research. This paper introduces a prototype of an electromechanical stimulation platform as a modular expansion of an earlier developed mechanical stimulation device for stem cell research. A solution processable ink from PEDOT:PSS and graphene is studied as a suitable material for fabrication of transparent stretchable electrodes. Challenges of electrode integration on a flexible membrane using this material are critically discussed.


A cavity can be divided into a natural cavity such as corrosion cavity in the limestone area and an artificial cavity such as tunnel for mining by the origin of their creation. Diverse geophysical prospecting methods have been introduced for detecting such an underground cavity. In this study, there was a review on the applicability of a crosswell tomography with high resolution and variables that determine data quality. In addition, there was a comparison on the imaging of prospecting data of limestone corrosion sinkhole (Doline) through a surface seismic tomography. As for prospecting of an underground cavity, data acquired from 3th tunnel built by North Korea for attacking South Korea by using the crosswell tomography were used. As a result of interpretation, it was proven that the success of underground cavity prospecting is heavily influenced by data acquisition variables, the sensitivity of hydrophone, and features of the frequency of a source. Also, there appeared the amplitude attenuation of seismic traces and the delay of first arrival time when acquiring data on the field. In order to prospect limestone corrosion sinkhole area, a refraction tomography was introduced. Furthermore, for interpreting the result, the underground of corrosion sinkhole area was expressed as an image by comparing reflection data with resistivity data.


The terms of calves infection by helminths in the Western Kazakhstan are in-vestigated. Eggs of Fasciola spp., Dicrocoelium lanceatum and Paramphistimum cervi, Moniezia expansa, larvaes of Dictyocaulus viviparus, eggs/larvaes of Nematodirus spathiger and Haemonchus contortus are founded in July in calves faeces for the first time, in May strongylates eggs. The calves infection by hel-minthes raised at next months. The calves infection in Summer determines maxi-mal infection in Autumn


Previous research has demonstrated that constructive algorithms are powerful methods for training feedforward neural networks. The CasPer algorithm is a constructive neural network algorithm that generates networks from a simple architecture and then expands it. The A_CasPer algorithm is a modified version of the CasPer algorithm which uses a candidate pool instead of a single neuron being trained. This research adds an extension to the A_CasPer algorithm in terms of the network architecture - the Layered_CasPer algorithm. The hidden neurons form as layers in the new version of the network structure which results in less computational cost being required. Beyond the network structure, other aspects of Layered_CasPer are the same as A_CasPer. The Layered_CasPer algorithm extension is benchmarked on a number of classification problems and compared to other constructive algorithms, which are CasCor, CasPer, A_CasPer, and AT_CasPer. It is shown that Layered_CasPer has a better performance on the datasets which have a large number of inputs for classification tasks. The Layered_CasPer algorithm has an advantage over other cascade style constructive algorithms in being more similar in topology to the familiar layered structure of traditional feedforward neural networks.


Lactation and breast feeding are essential for the mother and the neonate in the early period of life to protect and promote health. Lactation is very important for successful Breastfeeding, Good lactation is established only when the mother is relaxed and free from distractions. To promote this, reflexology and acupressure is used as a complimentary alternative medicine to enhance lactation and breastfeeding.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:
A comparative study to assess the effectiveness of acupressure Vs reflexology on lactation among immediate postnatal mothers in selected hospitals, Kanyakumari district, Tamilnadu.
OBJECTIVES:
1. To assess the adequacy of lactation among experimental group I of immediate postnatal mothers before and after acupressure.
2. To assess the adequacy of lactation among experimental group II of immediate postnatal mothers before and after reflexology.
3. To compare the pretest and posttest scores on adequacy of lactation in experimental group I and II among immediate postnatal mothers.
4. To determine the effectiveness of acupressure Vs reflexology on adequacy of lactation between experimental group I and group II.
5. To find out the association between posttest scores on adequacy of lactation among experimental group I and II of immediate postnatal mothers with the selected demographic variables.
HYPOTHESIS:
RH1: There is a significant difference in adequacy of lactation among experimental group I of immediate postnatal mothers before and after acupressure.
RH2 There is a significant difference in adequacy of lactation among experimental group II of immediate postnatal mothers before and after reflexology.
RH3: There is a significant difference between acupressure and reflexology on lactation among immediate postnatal mothers on experimental group I and II.
RH4: There is a significant association between posttest score and adequacy of lactation with selected demographic variables in group I and group II among immediate postnatal mothers.
METHODOLOGY:
A Quas experimental design was used in this study. The sample size of the study was 250 immediate postnatal mothers. The instrument used for data collection were breast assessment tool, breast feeding tool and structured interview to collect demographic variables. Acupressure experimental group I and reflexology for experimental group II was given to immediate postnatal mothers on individual basis. Effectiveness of acupressure and reflexology among immediate postnatal mothers was assessed using breast assessment and breast feeding tool.
RESULTS:
Acupressure and reflexology are effective in promoting lactation adequacy on postnatal mothers. The 't' test value for experimental group I and II, level of breast secretion and breast feeding was 15.73 and 14.12 (P< 0.05).
• Effectiveness of acupressure vs reflexology on lactation, 't' test value was 10.69 for breast secretion and 9.86 for breast feeding in experimental group I and II.
• There is no significant association between posttest score of breast secretion with demographic variables of immediate postnatal mothers such as occupation, monthly income, type of diet, antenatal check up, gestational age, initiation of breast feeding in experimental group I and II.
• There is no significant association between breast feeding with demographic.
• variables such as occupation, monthly income, type of diet, initiation of breast.
• feeding and number of times breast feeding given in experimental group I and II.
• There is significant association between posttest scores of breast secretion with age of the mother, education, family support, birth weight, type of feed given and sex of the baby in group I and II.
There is significant association between posttest scores of breast feeding with age, education, family support, birth weight, type of feed given and sex of the baby in experimental group I and II.
CONCLUSION:
Both acupressure and reflexology were an effective intervention to promote lactation among immediate postnatal mothers. The results of this study showed that complementary therapies were useful in promoting lactation among immediate postnatal mothers.


The result of the field trial indicated that 60% cymoxanil + propineb WP at 60 to 80 g/667m2 showed a good effect against Pseudoperonospora cubensis, the control effect was 80.50% to 89.65%, same as or superior to the effect of 72% mancozeb + cymoxanil WP at 167 g/667m2.


AIMS
To estimate pooled all-cause and cause-specific mortality risk for people with regular or problematic cocaine use.

METHODS
Systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective or retrospective cohort studies (n≥30) of people with regular or problematic cocaine use with data on all-cause or cause-specific mortality. Of 2808 papers, 28 were eligible and reported on 21 cohorts with a total 170,019 individuals. Cohorts identified based on acute care for drug poisoning or other severe health presentation were excluded. Title/abstract screening was conducted by one reviewer; a second reviewer independently checked 10% of excluded studies. Two reviewers conducted full-text screening. Data were extracted by one reviewer and checked by a second. A customised review-specific study reporting quality/risk of bias tool was used. Data on crude mortality rates (CMR) and standardised mortality ratios were extracted for both all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Standardised mortality ratios were imputed where not provided by the author using extracted data and information from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Data were pooled using a random-effects model.

RESULTS
The pooled all-cause crude mortality rate was 1.24 per 100 person-years (95% CI: 0.86, 1.78; n=16 cohorts), but with considerable heterogeneity (I2 =98.8%). The pooled all-cause standardised mortality ratio was 6.13 (95%CI: 4.15, 9.05; n=16 cohorts). Suicide (SMR 6.26, 95%CI 2.84, 9.68), accidental injury (SMR 6.36, 95%CI 4.18, 9.68), homicide (9.38, 95%CI 9.38, 3.45, 25.48), and AIDS-related mortality (SMR 23.12, 95%CI 11.30, 47.31) were all elevated compared with age and sex peers in the general population.

CONCLUSIONS
There are elevated rates of mortality among people with regular or problematic cocaine use for traumatic deaths and deaths attributable to infectious disease.


Primary and cumulated type bauxite deposits occur in the western Guangxi district, there is a relationship between these two type bauxite deposits. Some samples of bauxites and wall-rocks are collected and measured for REE. It has been shown that the metallogenic parent rocks for primary bauxite are Maokou Formation limestone of lower Permian period, and partially added by old weathered materials. The primary bauxite was formed in a marine sedimentary surrounding and cumulated bauxite was derived from weathering-leaching of primary bauxite.


We developed a SMEDDS to enhance the oral delivery of resveratrol by using high performance liquid chromatography, a pseudo ternary phase diagram and a central composite design (CCD). We found that the optimal formulation of 12.69% greoil gtcc, 62.29% Cremophor EL, and 25.02% Labrasol. We characterized the particle size and zeta potential of the final SMEDDS.


Objective: To identify in the scientific literature the educational technologies in health for the prevention of traffic accidents. Method: An integrative literature review conducted in October 2019 through original articles indexed in the Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature, Nursing Database, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Scopus and Web of Science, without temporal or language restriction. The analysis of the results occurred descriptively. Results: We found 62 articles, of which eight were included in the study. They were published in international journals, four clinical trials, three qualitative studies and one quasiexperimental. The predominant type of technology was video. The most discussed theme was child safety in traffic. Conclusion: Educational health technologies in accident prevention proved to be effective, but are still incipient in this area, and further studies are needed to create, validate and apply these technologies, especially for motorcyclists, since no studies have been identified for this public, as it represents the population most exposed to traffic accidents in the world panorama.


The feature-interaction problem has been explored for many years. Still, we lack sufficient knowledge about the interplay of different kinds of interactions in software product lines. Exploring the relations between different kinds of feature interactions will allow us to learn more about the nature of interactions and their causes. This knowledge can then be applied for improving existing approaches for detecting, managing, and resolving feature interactions. We present a framework for studying relations between different kinds of interactions. Furthermore, we report and discuss the results of a preliminary study in which we examined correlations between internal feature interactions (quantified by a set of software measures) and external feature interactions (represented by product-line-specific type errors). We performed the evaluation on a set of 15 feature-oriented, Java-based product lines. We observed moderate correlations between the interactions under discussion. This gives us confidence that we can apply our approach to studying other types of external feature interactions (e.g., performance interactions).


We study the classical and quantum rotation numbers of the free rotation of asymmetric top molecules. We show numerically that the quantum rotation number converges to its classical analog in the semi-classical limit. Different asymmetric molecules such as the water molecule are taken as illustrative example. A simple approximation of the classical rotation number is derived in a neighborhood of the separatrix connecting the two unstable fixed points of the system. Furthermore, a signature of the classical tennis racket effect in the spectrum of asymmetric molecules is identified.


The International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs) is increasingly being adopted in a number of jurisdictions. Despite the economic importance of non-publicly accountable entities, little is known about what factors influence countries' decisions to adopt IFRS for SMEs. In a unique sample of 128 countries, we find that countries that are not capable of developing their own local generally accepted accounting principles are more likely to adopt IFRS for SMEs. We also provide evidence that in jurisdictions where full IFRS have been applied to private firms, the likelihood of adoption of IFRS for SMEs increases, suggesting that jurisdictions reduce the financial reporting burden on SMEs. Moreover, in line with prior literature, there is evidence that countries with a relatively low quality of governance institutions are more likely to adopt this new set of accounting standards. The results also hold under alternative measures and different estimation approaches. Overall, our results are helpful in understanding the worldwide diffusion of IFRS for SMEs. Standard setters and regulators might consider our study in the future development of accounting harmonisation of non-publicly accountable entities.


Objective To report a preliminary experience of outpatient management of patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) through an innovative approach of healthcare delivery. Patients and Methods Patients evaluated at the Mild-to-Moderate COVID-19 Outpatient clinics (MMCOs) of San Raffaele University Hospital and Luigi Sacco University Hospital in Milan, Italy, from 1 October 2020 to 31 October 2021 were included. Patients were referred by general practitioners (GPs), Emergency Department (ED) physicians or hospital specialists (HS) in case of moderate COVID-19. A classification and regression tree (CART) model predicting ED referral by MMCO physicians was developed to aid GPs identify those deserving immediate ED admission. Cost-effectiveness analysis was also performed. Results A total of 660 patients were included. The majority (70%) was referred by GPs, 21% by the ED and 9% by HS. Patients referred by GPs had more severe disease as assessed by peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2), ratio of arterial oxygen partial pressure to fractional inspired oxygen (PaO2/FiO2), C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and interstitial involvement at lung ultrasound. Among them, 18% were addressed to the ED following MMCO assessment. CART analysis identified three independent predictors, namely home-measured SpO2, age and body mass index (BMI), that robustly divide patients into risk groups of COVID-19 severity. Home-measured SpO2 < 95% and BMI ≥ 33 Kg/m2 defined the high-risk group. The model yielded an accuracy (95% CI) of 83 (77–88)%. Outpatient management of COVID-19 patients allowed the national healthcare system to spare 1,490,422.05 € when compared with inpatient care. Conclusion Mild-to-moderate COVID-19 outpatient clinics were effective and sustainable in managing COVID-19 patients and allowed to alleviate pressure on EDs and hospital wards, favoring effort redirection toward non-COVID-19 patients.


The death of a child is a devastating event for most parents and other family members. However, responses to a child's death vary by culture, generation, and often the age of the deceased child. For the Chinese, child death is a "bad death" and brings shame to the family. Filipino parents of a deceased child feel severe guilt after their loss. In some Caribbean cultures young mothers are prevented from attending the child's funeral or going to the cemetery by women in the previous generation in the belief that if you "take one to the cemetery you will be taking all of your other children there as well." In other cultures, those who die as children have not sinned, securing their place in heaven. In the ethnically-diverse US, more than 43,000 children aged 18 and younger die each year, most in intensive care units. Friends, relatives, co-workers, and healthcare providers (HCP) often are uncomfortable with the parents after their child's death, not knowing what to do, what to say, and what would help the deceased's parents and family members. Many assume that parents and family members want to be left alone after the infant's or child's death. As a result, parents, siblings, and grandparents report feeling isolated and abandoned by those close to them when they need them most. Little research has been done with these US family members in the difficult first year after the child's death. What has been done has shown that studies of parents have been conducted years, even 3-7 decades, after their infant's or child's death. However, many studies have very diverse samples regarding the age of the "child" at death. In some studies, family members are responding to the death of a "child" who died in childhood (≤18 years old) and a "child" who died as an adult (19 and above), sometimes as old as 40, in the same study. In addition, studies of siblings whose brother or sister died during the sibling's childhood are often retrospective. Some studies postpone data collection until the sibling reaches adulthood; and some studies recruit bereaved siblings when they are adults. Very few studies have been undertaken with grandparents of the deceased child. With funding from the US NIH National Institute of Nursing Research and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, a body of research has been conducted on parents', grandparents' and siblings' health and functioning during the first year after the infant's or child's death in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) to fill our knowledge gap.


A centrifugal fan is provided with: a casing side plate having a casing suction opening; a spiral scroll; a cut-off part; a casing discharge opening; a main plate; a retaining ring; a plurality of blades arranged between the main plate and the retaining ring; and a space on a suction side surrounded by the blades, wherein an airflow accelerating member which increases airflow velocity of gas moving between the blades is provided in the space on the suction side.


The American Political Science Review (APSR) centennial provided us an occasion for the examination of the political science profession as reflected from its pages. Employing a citation analysis of 220 major political scientists published in the APSR and probing deeper into the citation record of some of its prominent scholars, this paper charts the dynamics of political science history. Since its birth over a hundred years ago, the profession has been in a state of constant flux, where new movements surge as previous ones decline once their integration into the fund of professional knowledge was completed. The paper argues that the surge and decline pattern is not a "tragedy of political science," but a sign of a healthy and vigorous profession.


List of tables Preface Acknowledgements List of abbreviations 1. Introduction Part I. Modern Spoken Chinese: 2. Establishment and promotion of Modern Spoken Chinese 3. Norms and variations of Modern Standard Chinese 4. The standard and dialects Part II. Modern Written Chinese: 5. Development and promotion of Modern Written Chinese 6. Norms and variations of Modern Written Chinese 7. Dialect writing Part III. The Modern Chinese Writing System: 8. Basic features of the Chinese writing system 9. Simplification of the traditional writing system 10. Phonetization of Chinese 11. Use and reform of the Chinese writing system: present and future 12. Conclusion Notes References Index.


iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Through this long and challenging research, I would like to thank the following people who have made the completion this research possible (in no particular order): ? To Dr. Rhodora Gonzalez, my thesis adviser, for giving me opportunities to get " out of the box " and into the world. I would also like to thank her for her excellent guidance, undying encouragement and enormous patience during the entire length of this research. ? To Dr. Jaime Caro, my critic, and Prof. Florence Galeon, my reader for lending me their time in reviewing and critiquing this research. ? To Dr. Francois Bousquet, Dr. Cristophe Le Page and all my trainers in Multi-Agent Systems and Cormas for showing me a new path to take in my future endeavors in research. I would also like to thank them for their patience in answering my questions on MAS and Cormas, however mundane those questions may be. ? To my friends Corné van der Sande and Susanne Boom, for the enormous time and support – emotionally, technically, and intellectually – they have given me to help me get through the challenges of this research. ? To my friends Royce Eustaquio, Ma Cecilia Rubio, and Jose Don de Alban for their support, especially when the going gets really tough. I would also like to thank them for their " pangungulit " for me to finish my MSc degree. ? To the local people of Loon, and the members of the NGO Samahan ng mga Kababaihan ng Lintuan for welcoming the research team and me into your communities, and lending us their time and knowledge. ? To the other members of the research team, namely Ariel Blanco, Francisco Tavora, and Victor Obedicen for making the fieldwork enjoyable and educational at the same time. ? To my family for their enthusiasm and support they gave me to finish this research. I would also like to thank the following organizations for making this research possible: ? The satellite image used in the production of the Bohol model was obtained with permission from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-Fisheries Resource Management Project. iv ? The digital data for the barangay boundaries used in the production of the Bohol model, was obtained with permission from the Haribon Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources. coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement), through their Asi@IT&C project, provided …


the notion of "negotiation of meanings" is frequently employed within Science Education. There is, also, a register of its use in the fields of History, Mathematics, Language (especially related to spaces where questions tied to translation of languages are treated), Technologies of Information and Communication, Natural Sciences and Education in general. It is frequently found in one disciplinary field with different meanings and different vagueness regarding what is really understood by it in a certain context. The diversity of disciplines that make use of it has contribuited to increase the polysemy of the notion.


ABSTRACT How do protest movements affect electoral politics in electoral authoritarianism? Related research has usually focused on the immediate effects of protests on regime change, while longer time periods have received less attention. To address this shortcoming, this paper explores the 2017/18 presidential campaign of the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, asking how it was related to earlier contentious episodes, beginning with the countrywide protest wave of 2011/12. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data sources, I argue that these protests affected different categories of actors differently. While they clearly provided Navalny with a boost in recognizability among the population, they were less important for mobilizing the online supporters of his 2017/18 campaign. At the same time, previous movement experience appears to have been vital for the political socialization of a significant share of Navalny's core activists. Considered together, the results attest to the importance of studying the long-term trajectories of protest in stable electoral authoritarian contexts.


Mycotoxins are secondary fungal metabolites that can cause pathological, physiological, and/or biochemical alterations in other species, including higher vertebrates. Zearalenone (ZEN) is produced by the genus Fusarium and after ingestion via contaminated cereals, may lead to animal fertility problems and reproductive pathologies. The compound has endocrine disrupting effects with a strong estrogenic action. Current data indicates that pig (hyperestrogenism) is amongst the most susceptible to ZEN, whilst in humans, this mycotoxin is suspected to be a triggering factor for central precocious puberty development in girls. Biotransformation of ZEN forms the metabolites α-zearalenol (α-ZOL) and β-zearalenol (β-ZOL), which are also produced by Fusarium in cultures, but in lower concentrations than ZEN.


Congenital absence of a limb (amelia) is extremely rare with an incidence ranging from between 0.05 to 0.15 per 10000 live births with total absence of an upper limb having an incidence of between 0.02 to 0.07 per 10000 live births (Birch-Jensen, 1949; Bod et al, 1983; Froster-Iskenius & Baird, 1990; Kallen et al, 1984). The different rates quoted probably reflect the different periods over which the cases were collected in the various studies, ranging from 3 to 32 years, rather than a true variation. Complete absence of all four limbs is particularly unusual. Froster-Iskenius and Baird identified two cases amongst 1213913 consecutive live births in British Columbia between 1952 and 1984, one of which was associated with thalidomide exposure (Froster-Iskenius & Baird, 1990). In their search of the world literature, Dresher and MacDonell identified only 11 cases, including one described in 1886. To these they added a further two cases (Dresher & MacDonell, 1965). We present two cases of severe limb reducti...


This is a simple practice undertaking assessing Lithuanian housing market for bubble. A triangulation of historical comparison and Price to Income Ratio are used to screen the market. The overall estimates suggest that current house prices in Lithuania are within historical averages and statistical thresholds. Housing is certainly not in a bubble. Considering market prospects, prices have room for further inflation, ceteris paribus. Prospective buyers are advised to enter the market even though current house price levels may seem elevated for some, whereas the best time to buy a property was twenty years ago anyway. For institutions that have a long-term investment horizon, multifamily in key Lithuanian cities is an attractive investment conduit.


The functional intergrity of sperm membrane of 61 fertile men and 72 infertile men were determined with Eosin Y-water test.The results showed the undamaged rate of sperm membrane in fertile group was much higher than that in infertile group.In both the groups,the undamaged rate of membrane were highly correlated with the percentage of tail swelling,sperm motility and sperm viability.It also showed there was a low correlation between the undamaged rate of membrane and the percentage of sperm normal morphology.We considered the Eosin Y-water test could be used as a reliable,simple,speedy and comprehensive method for evaluating sperm membrane intergrity.


Braga Meetings in Ethics and Political Philosophy in 2019. I thank all participants there for their comments. Special thanks go to the editors of this volume, Raquel Barradas de Freitas and Sergio Lo Iacono for their excellent and helpful feedback, and to Carlo Burelli for his continuous intellectual support. # is research has been made possible by a Marie Curie Fellowship, project number 836571. 1 See Kenneth Newton , Dietlind Stolle and Sonja Zmerli , ' Social and Political Trust ' in Eric M Uslaner (ed), ! e Oxford Handbook of Social and Political Trust ( Oxford , Oxford University Press , 2018 ) , 37 – 56. 2 # e connection is more generally established between trust and fair and impartial institutions. See again, Newton, Stolle and Zmerli ' Social and Political Trust ' but also Bo Rothstein and Dietlind Stolle, ' # e State and Social Capital: An Institutional # eory of Generalized Trust ' ( 2008 ) 40 Comparative politics , 441 – 59 ; Markus Freitag and Marc B ü hlmann , ' Cra! ing Trust: # e Role of Political Institutions in a Comparative Perspective ' ( 2009 ) 42 Comparative Political Studies , 1537 – 66 ; Blaine G Robbins , 'A Blessing and a Curse ? Political Institutions in the Growth and Decay of Generalized Trust: A CrossNational Panel Analysis 1980 – 2009 ' ( 2012 ) 25 PloS one , https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0035120 ; Robert D Putnam , Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy ( Princeton , Princeton University Press , 1993 ) ; Eric M Uslaner , ' Democracy and Social Capital ' in Mark E Warren (ed), Democracy and Trust ( Cambridge , CUP , 1999 ) , 121 – 50. 3 Tom W G van der Meer and Sonja Zmerli , ' # e Deeply Rooted Concern with Political Trust ' in Tom W G van der Meer and Sonja Zmerli (eds), Handbook on Political Trust ( Cheltenham , Edward Elgar , 2017 ) , 1 – 18, 1. 6


yopia is reported to be 26% among adults1. With an axial length greater than 25.5 mm and/or a minimum refractive error of 6 diopters2 and globe elongation, the condition is termed High Myopia3. Current stats claim that as much as 30% of the world population is myopic. With chances of the disease affecting almost 5 billion people by 2050, this would make it 50% of the global population4. As per Sydney Myopia study conducted recently, it was found that 17-year old myopic adults around the world collectively constituted 31%, which is twice the number obtained in a similar study done almost a decade ago5.


In a sense Stirling's formula can be adapted to slide-rule computation of x! when a; is a fraction and tables are not at hand.


As part of my graduation project of the Master Design For Interaction at the TU Delft I accepted a design assignment for the Workplace automation (WPA) division at Priva in De Lier. WPA concerns the registration and management of all labour and production data in greenhouses. Priva recently started a project to refresh their software offerings for registering labour in horticulture and needed an interface design for a new feature in their software. Goal The new functionality that needed to be designed concerned the validation and correction of horticulture labour data. Each day hundreds and sometimes thousands of labour registrations are made with the current software. Greenhouse employees register data each time a certain activity is performed. The location, person, time, activity and objects involved are all registered. This data combined can show the manager what happened each day, where he should improve his process and what he can expect in the future. However, users make errors all the time, which is where validation and correction comes in. This process step is not defined very well in the current software. The goal of this project was to design a validation environment, which allows for fast and intuitive validation and correction of labour data. Approach The approach for this project was to use an iterative design method combined with multiple user tests to grow towards a solution. The analysis of the project focused on creating empathy with the user and his context through the means of storyboards and user profiles. This stands in contrast to lists of requirements and use-cases, which is what a more technical oriented approach would deem necessary. Design For the design of the interface a few key assumptions were made which were inspired by the user needs. First off al the interface should be informative and predictable. This is solved by splitting the screen in 2, a list of results on the left and the same data on a map on the right. The application should also be helpful by directly communicating any found errors to the user. The user should be able to recognize his context (left) in the application (right). Data should be very direct and organic. Users will get questions when they see strange records so it should be possible to make little side quests to investigate. Usability test results The results from the two user test with eight end users participating prove that users respond very well to the implementation of the design assumptions. People find the layout very clear and compact, while at the same time it gives them more information then the current software. It is expected that new users and people with internet experience will have less problems adjusting to the new interface then people who work very little with computers. Recommendations A number of improvements can be made in future design cycles to improve upon this interface proposal. For example, supporting sectors and adding more visual details can improve the map. The final stage of error recognition is most likely the ability of the user to define his own error rules. Notes assist should also be added to the current design, but is easy to implement using the current design patterns. Of the overall recommendations I want to stress the importance of the performance of the application. Within Priva the term 'Speed and Easy' is often coined, which is exactly what is required for this specific software solution. Validation requires a lot of small interactions, which can become very annoying to the user if he can't find what he is looking for and has to wait between each click.


Although Jolly's conclusions about the date of the Arthaśāstra can no longer be accepted, he pointed here to an important methodological approach. In my 2002 edition and translation of the Lekhapaddhati-Lekhapañcāśikā, an anonymous medieval text on models of letter writing and the composition of legal documents from 12th-15th century Gujarat, I tried to follow Jolly's advice by investigating different Dharma texts in order to establish different phases of a gradual development as represented in those texts. It was my aim to define the place of documents in the wider context of public and civil law and their relation to the later authoritative principle of the threefold evidence in juridical procedure (trividhapramāṇa) consisting of documents, witnesses and possession. As I showed there, older texts, including all the preserved Dharmasūtra texts as well as the most ancient Dharmaśāstras, are not aware of written documents as legal evidence. According to my analysis, the last phase of this legal procedure without written evidence is represented by two texts: the Mānava Dharmaśāstra and the Kauṭilīya Arthaśāstra. It was again Jolly who, soon after the discovery and first edition of the Arthaśāstra, noticed the close parallels between Dharmaśāstra texts and Kauṭilya's Arthaśāstra (Jolly 1913 = 2012: 817-864). In fact, many passages can be interpreted as direct borrowings either from the Kauṭilīya Arthaśāstra itself or from a closely related text of the same genre.1 The reason that I now take up this issue again is that some recently published translations of the Mānava Dharmaśāstra and the Kauṭilīya Arthaśāstra seem to contradict my former conclusions and therefore demand a reconsideration of the arguments which I brought forward in 2002.2


Adam Smith's view of justice is profound.It was first built on the basis of his own Labor theory of value,strongly showing the characteristics of pro-people and pro-progress,and to some extent,having inevitably non-historical nature.Smith put the community's progress,in which the improvement in the situation of workers takes place,as the fate of justice.Liberty and general competition lead to justice.People's endless desire to improve their situation wields the "invisible hand" to promote social history towards justice from injustice.


Manumycin A (Manu A) is a natural antibiotic produced by new Streptomyces strain, exhibiting antitumor and anticancer effects. However, the anticancer effects of Manu A on oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) have not been reported. OSCC is an aggressive type of cancer because of its poor prognosis and low survival rate despite advanced medical treatment. We observed that Manu A reduced cell growth and Sp1 protein levels in OSCC cell lines (HN22 and HSC4) in a dose- and time-dependent manner. We also observed downregulation of Sp1 downstream target genes such as p27, p21, Mcl-1 and survivin. Moreover, nuclear staining with DAPI showed that Manu A was able to cause nuclear condensation and further fragmentation. Flow cytometry analyses using Annexin V and propiodium iodide supported Manu A-mediated apoptotic cell death of OSCC cells. Furthermore, Bcl-2 family such as mitochondrial pro‑apoptotic Bax, anti-apoptotic Bcl-xl and Bid were regulated by Manu A, triggering the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. In conclusion, these results indicate that Manu A is a potential to treat human OSCC via cell apoptosis through the downregulation of Sp1.


The purpose of this study was to determine the needs for preventive dentistry counselling, prophylaxis and calculus removal and periodontal therapy among recently incarcerated state prison inmates. As a result of clinical and radiographic examinations of 637 male inmates, these requirements were determined for the total sample and for four age groups, three ethnic groups, six crime-type groups, three residency groups, five intelligence quotient groups and first offenders and recidivists. Among the total sample, 93% of the men needed preventive counselling, prophylaxes and calculus removal; 32% required Type I and/or Type II periodontal treatment. Young men required less periodontal therapy than older inmates. Caucasians needed fewer segments of treatment than Hispanics. Sex offenders required less prophylaxes and calculus removal than men convicted of burglary, larceny and drug-related crimes. Treatment requirements were not related to residency, recidivism or intelligence quotient. The findings indicate extensive requirements for periodontal and adjunctive therapy among incarcerated men and should influence resource allocation in prison dental care delivery systems.


Systems and methods for assigning a short codes to provide uniformity among wireless carriers. In the systems and methods, a Universal Short Code (USC) Administrator maintains a list of short codes and their lease status so that SMS messages sent to a particular short code may be routed to the proper holder of the short code. A network facilitator is in communication with both the USC Administrator and at least one wireless carrier to route the SMS message to the proper holder of the short code. The short code may be leased for a specified period of time so that the short code can be reassigned after expiration of the lease.


The invention provides a self-assembly preparation method of a noble metal-graphene double-layer composite conductive film. The noble metal-graphene double-layer composite conductive film is obtained by taking noble metal ions or complex ions and graphene oxide as raw materials and adopting a solvent-induced self-assembly method. In the method, the thickness of the noble metal layer, the graphenelayer and the overall film of the double-layer composite conductive film can be regulated and controlled through concentrations and volumes of noble metal ionic solution and graphene oxide solution, and the electrical conductivities of the silver layer and the graphene layer in the double-layer composite conductive film can be regulated and controlled. The invention provides a stable and reliablepreparation method of the noble metal-graphene double-layer composite conductive film which can be applied to an electronic device.


This study is for the food art psychological counseling program to investigate how to affect the self-esteem of youth. The progress of this research was done to target 4 girls with low self-esteem at the request of the 'K' Middle School students in Gyeonggi-do over a total of nine sessions from June, 2014 to August, 2014. On the first session day, the pre-test was conducted through the questionnaire on students' self-esteem before program activities and post test was performed through the same strip in the program end date. It was recorded ,in addition, the changing pattern of students on the activities of each session in interviews. As a result, it showed statistically more meaningful post-test scores than pre-test in the self-esteem tests. While the present program activities, I could see them getting to know themselves in the looking for their consideration with a positive mind and it could also be effective in establishing their own vision. Based on this research, I proposed that more research and dissemination is needed so that various programs to meet the needs of young people at eye level can be proceeded.


Low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWH) are the drugs of choice in the prophylaxis and initial treatment of thromboembolic disease, as well as maintenance therapy in patients who are not candidates for oral anticoagulation1,5,6. They are anticoagulant drugs of indirect action, the mechanism of action of which lies primarily in anti-Xa activity, presenting a less intense inhibitory effector on factor IIa1,2. Its half-life is longer than that of HNF, presenting high availability, which is why it is administered subcutaneously in one or two doses per day, presenting its maximum peak of activity at 3-4 hours with rapid subsequent drop. Its route of elimination is exclusively renal, so caution must be exercised in its dosage in patients with moderate and severe renal insufficiency.
Among the side effects described are: bleeding, urticarial reaction, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), osteoporosis, and even skin necrosis2,5. Compared with HNF, it presents fewer bleeding complications, with no differences in the incidence of HIT. Another not infrequent effect is liver toxicity, which occurs in up to 9% of patients treated with LMWH depending on the series, in most cases without associated symtoms1,5.
We present the case of a patient with hepatotoxicity in the context of treatment with low molecular weight heparin, this being a diagnosis of exclusion after ruling out other possible etiologies and who presented resolution of the condition after the suspension of LMWH.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a 2 × 2-perspective of management–stakeholder cooperation in organizational issues. The model encompasses the perspectives of both management and stakeholder and bridges the two dominant views in stakeholder thinking, namely, the transactional and the relational view. Design/methodology/approach – From a state-of-the-art elaboration of the stakeholder literature, this paper combines two separate perspectives on management–stakeholder cooperation. Findings – The bilateral perspective stresses that the ease of this collaboration not only depends on the willingness of management to pursue cooperation, but also on that of the stakeholder. The double-motive perspective signifies that both parties can be dominantly motivated by either individual, issue-based reasons (transactional motives) or by the desire to establish lasting relationships (relational motives). Originality/value – This paper presents a more elaborate picture of management–stakeholder cooperatio...


In this study, 20 fish taken from Sapanca Lake, Sakarya River and Western Black Sea (Karasu) in total and heavy metal accumulation (Cu, Fe abd Zn) in the muscles of 15 species was determined with ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectometer) device. When the results were examined, Cu, Fe and Zn concentration was determined to be 2.60-5.31 μg/g, 0.25-54.36 μg/g and 13.66-47.11 μg/g respectively in fish samples. In addition, the same procedures were applied with the standard reference material DORM-3 reference material (Fish Protein Certified Reference Material for Trace Metals) to determine the accuracy of the method. As a result, it has been determined that the amount of heavy metals contained in the analyzed fish samples is below the limit values provided by the Turkish Food Codex, Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization and therefore consumption of these does not constitute a threat to health.


[Objective] To explore the bacteriostasis effect of several medicaments for external use on chronic ulcer wounds.[Methods]24 cases of chronic ulcer were collected and randomly divided into three groups,namely,the iodophor ointment group,the iodophor solution group and the bromogeramine solution group;the bacteriostasis effect of them were compared.[Results]The bacteriostasis effect of the iodophor ointment was significantly higher than that of the other groups.[Conclusion]Iodophor ointment is proved to be effective for bacteriostasis and is applicable for chronic ulcer wounds.


didn't it? You felt human-a person, not just a piece of the furniture-or, worse still, an embarrassment to everyone, like a bad smell in a clean ward. Last week he told me the story of the guide at Niagara Falls, who says, "I'll bet you have nothing like this where you come from," and the little man from Glasgow who replies "No, but I know a good plumber who might be able to fix it for you." I had heard it before, but I didn't have the heart to tell him so; he must have saved it up for the ward round, knowing I was a plumber. So that's the first thing you get on a good ward round. They treat you like a human being. And you begin to relax a little. And you feel less tense, more yourself. BILL: What's the second thing? GEORGE: The second thing is that they want to know all about your symptoms. The ones that matter most to you are the ones that matter most to them. So far as possible, they aim to do something about them. There's nothing half hearted about it. You can see they mean business. They have a quick look at you, check up on a few things in a professional, workmanlike sort of way-maybe explain some of your symptoms-and then tell you what they are going to do and what they are hoping for. BILL: Perhaps in some wards they just don't have the time. It's like any other job. You have to pick and choose a bit when you are under pressure. GEORGE: No. It's not that. Take this lot we are with now. Every week they have a dozen new acute cases-sometimes they hardly know if they are coming or going. At times like that they can't spend more than a minute or two with patients like you and me. Even when they are not so busy, they forget things, they make mistakes, they are not perfect ... far from it. But they care. They try. They don't give up easily. When I came in I was in a terrible state, with pain and shortness of breath and God knows what else. I wanted to feel better quickly or die. And they saw this immediately. So they got to work. No messing about. No red tape. No waiting for scans or x-rays that weren't really …


This paper describes an experimental and theoretical investigation of beam-to-column connections for standard pultruded I and wide-flange structural shapes. Three different connection types were developed and tested. Results of the tests are presented in graphical moment-rotation data form. In addition, photographs and detailed descriptions of the failure modes of the different connections are provided. The results of this testing are compared with test data obtained for previously tested connection types. Recommendations for a "pultrudable" beam-to-column connection element are provided. In addition to the testing, numerical finite element work was performed using the COSMOS finite element code to determine whether the complex connection behavior could be accurately modeled by a numerical method. In this preliminary finite element investigation only linear elastic analysis was performed to obtain the initial moment-rotation characteristics of the connection. Results of the finite element work were very encouraging. Moment-rotation data obtained from the numerical analysis gave results which were comparable to those obtained from the tests. Further development of the finite element models would be required to predict the full non-linear moment rotation and failure characteristics of the connections. However, these results indicate that in the future preliminary investigations could be performed numerically rather than by the use of expensive and time-consuming tests.


Perspectives tricyclics, 11.4% for those taking other antidepressants, a 7.0% for people not taking any antidepressants. Moreove those taking antidepressants suffered a significantly great number of serious adverse events: All classes of antidepressant drug were associated with significantly increased risks of all cause mortality, attempted suicide/self harm, falls, fractures, and upper Health reporter Ray Moynihan explores disturbing new data about the ever-popular pills


This paper investigates the performance of hybrid scheme of subcarrier multiplexed spectral-amplitude-coding optical code division multiple access (SCM SAC-OCDMA) system based on AND Subtraction detection. In this system, Recursive Combinatorial (RC) code is used where it is a new code structure in SAC-OCDMA. The effects of noise such as phase-induced intensity (PIIN) noise, thermal noise and intermodulation distortion (IMD) are taken into consideration in order to analyze the system. The theoretical values are being compared based on some parameters. AND detection can discard the effects of multi access interference (MAI). As a result, the system performance are improved based on AND detection technique.


The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for manufacturing filters for tobacco industry products, wherein the filter material (13) of the strap (16) fed to a molding means (18, 22), wherein the strap ( 16) is a cutting from the filter material layer (13). Methods and features of the invention that the width of the filter material layer (13) is fed from the reserve under the filter material (10). Device of the present invention is provided with at least one second division member for the filter material layer (13) cut from the stock material, the filter (10).