espite advances in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), the disease continues to be a global problem. As of November 2008, the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated 33.4 million people were living with HIV or AIDS worldwide, including 2.1 million children.


Isocurvature perturbations naturally occur in models of inflation consisting of more than one scalar field. In this paper we calculate the spectrum of isocurvature perturbations generated at the end of inflation for three different inflationary models consisting of two canonical scalar fields. The amount of non-adiabatic pressure present at the end of inflation can have observational consequences through the generation of vorticity and subsequently the sourcing of B-mode polarisation. We compare two different definitions of isocurvature perturbations and show how these quantities evolve in different ways during inflation. Our results are calculated using the open source Pyflation numerical package which is available to download.


In this paper, we introduce the notion of ternary semi-integral domain and ternary semifield and study some of their properties. In particular we also investigate the maximal ideals of the ternary semiring Z0 .


Introduction Because current treatments for symptomatic intervertebral disk degeneration focus on pain rather than its cause, with only modest success in the long term, there is a need for new therapies. Since the earliest signs of intervertebral disk degeneration have been observed in the nucleus pulposus (NP), cell therapies focusing on NP regeneration are of great interest. Very early in life, the NP is populated with two cell types: NP cells and notochordal cells (NCs). Incidence and onset of disk degeneration is less and later in certain species that retain their NCs throughout adulthood vs. those that lose their NCs before adolescence.2 Consequently, it has been proposed that NCs might be involved in the maintenance of a healthy NP, and both direct3 and indirect coculture4 of NCs and NP cells have shown increased proteoglycan synthesis by NP cells in the presence of NCs. However, translation of such effects on isolated NP cells to NP tissue may not be straightforward. Thus, in this study, we investigated the in situ effects of NC therapy using an NP explant culture model developed previously in our group.5 Similar to cell cultures, we hypothesized that an injection of NCs in a NP explant would increase the extracellular matrix protein synthesis over 6 weeks in culture. Materials and Methods Porcine lumbar and thoracic NPs (n = 4 donors,<8 weeks old) were harvested and digested to isolate clusters of NCs. NC clusters were then stained with cell tracker CFSE, to be traceable for the full duration of the experiment. Bovine caudal NPs (n = 12 donors, 24 months old) were harvested and injected with 10 µL of: (a) PBS (sham), (b) PBS + 250,000 NCs in clusters, or (c) PBS + 10 ng TGF-β3. The NPs (n = 6/group) were put in dialysis tubing (15 kD MWCO) and cultured for 42 days at 5% O2 in medium (lgDMEM) containing 13.3% polyethylene glycol (to prevent NP swelling)5, 10% fetal bovine serum, 1% penicillin/streptomycin, 100 mg/L ascorbic acid, and 3.7 g/L bicarbonate. At day 0 and 42, water (wet and dry weight), DNA (Hoechst 33529), gylcosaminoglycans (DMMB), and collagen (Chloramin-T) contents were measured. Furthermore, cell viability (Calcein blue-AM/propidium iodide), extra-cellular matrix distribution (safranin-O/fast green/hematoxylin staining), and gene expression (RT-qPCR for HPRT1, aggrecan, collagen-I & II & X, cytokeratin 8 & 19, vimentin, brachyury) were also determined. Results At the end of the culture, the amounts of viable NCs and NP cells were similar to those before culture. The prestained NCs were viable, but no clear vacuolar structures, as observed at day 0, could be found. In all groups, day 42 water, DNA, proteoglycan, and collagen contents were similar to the values on day 0 (graph 1). Gene expression and histology are currently being analyzed. Conclusion Injection of NCs or TGF-β3 into NP did not result in a substantial anabolic tissue response. As previous studies have shown that both NCs3,4 and TGF-β36 stimulate extracellular matrix synthesis by isolated NP cells embedded in a 3D hydrogel, we tested if the lack of increased synthesis could be attributed to the NP culture system. Instead of limiting NP swelling in an osmotic manner (PEG), the NP was physically constrained using an artificial annulus fibrosus (with 100kD MWCO membrane) and only the sham and TGF-β3 groups were tested. Both groups showed results similar to those in the present study indicating that the NP culture system was not the cause of a diminished response. Hence, the discrepancy between the previously reported results3,4 and the present results might be explained by the following: (1) Change of NC phenotype during 6 weeks of culture: in coculture studies3,4 only the short-term (4 and 14 day) effect of NCs on NP cells was examined. As NCs may only be able to maintain their phenotype for a couple of days outside of their original matrix, their stimulating effects may be diminished in a 6-week study. (2) Different extracellular matrix synthesis by NP cells, when they are removed from their original matrix. NP cells may possibly have higher synthesis rates when removed from the tissue, to recreate a new stable environment. Also under such conditions, smaller differences in matrix synthesis, would be obvious but may still be insignificant when compared to matrix contents of the native NP. In conclusion, the stimulating effect of NCs on NP cells, found in isolated cell studies, was not observed when NCs were injected into NP tissue containing NP cells. I confirm having declared any potential conflict of interest for all authors listed on this abstract Yes Disclosure of Interest None declared Livshits G, et al. Annals of Rheumatic Disease 2011;70(10):1740–1745 Hunter CJ, et al. Tissue Engeneering 2003;9(4):667–677 Aguiar DJ, et al. Experimental Cell Research 1999;246(1):129–137 Gantenbein-Ritter B, et al. European Spine Journal 2011;epub van Dijk BGM, et al. Tissue Engeneering Part C Methods 2011;17(11):1089–1096 Nishida k, et al. Spine 1999;24(23):2419–2425


AbstractThe electrochemical oxidation of activated sludge (EOAS) was studied by direct anodic oxidation on the surfaces of stainless steel and graphite electrodes as well as by indirect anodic oxidation on Pb/PbO2 surface. The effects of several operating parameters such as current density, charge passed, initial pH, mixing speed, and configuration, and position of electrodes on the removal rate of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total and fecal coliform were investigated. The experimental data indicated that COD removal rates were, respectively, 66.9 and 77.5% in direct and indirect methods. The results also showed that the Pb/PbO2 electrode through indirect electrooxidation mediated based on the electrogeneration of physisorbed hydroxyl radical and other oxidants like active chlorine has higher mineralization rates and consumes the least energy. Over 99% of total and fecal coliform was removed, which is mainly attributed to electrogeneration of hypochlorite and chloride ions in the aqueous solution. Kinet...


Hypertext systems are easier to write today, comput ers are much faster, languages and libraries are gr eatly enhanced, under standing of software architecture, design and development have all improved dramatically. While documents are accessed the implicit hypertext struc ture of the original documents should be employed. Different hypertext structures and methods for analyzing pape r documents to structures are presented. The struc tures also form the basis for the presentation of the content of the document to the user. Documentation are stored in text files that general ly flat i.e. linear way and this organization is n ot adequate. The documentation of a software system are interleaved with the source code and have many po ssible paths to read the available information. A hypertex t enables non-sequential reading and writing which consists of set of nodes where each node contains some amount of information. These nodes are connected by links and f orm a directed graph.


The rocketborne SPIRE (SPectral InfraRed Experiment) probe was launched from Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska, on Sept 28, 1977 to measure infrared atmospheric emission from the earth's limb.1 The payload included two coaligned, telescoped, circular-variable-filter (CVF) spectrometers. The short-wavelength spectrometer, cooled to 77° K, covered the spectral region between 1.4μm and 7.0μm while the long-wavelength instrument, cooled to 4° K, made measurements between 9.0μm and 16.5μm. The payload reached an altitude of 285 km. The earthlimb was continuously spatially scanned from hard earth to local horizontal at 0.5 deg/sec while taking a spectrum at 2 scans/sec. The spectrometers measured the earthlimb emission during 12 vertical spatial scans at different azimuths. In doing so the emission was measured from the night (scan 8), terminator (scans 1 through 7), and daylit (scans 9 through 12) sectors of the earthlimb. For a given tangent height day scans correspond to different solar elevation angles. The emission from the a 1Δg (v′=0) --> x3Σg (v″=1) transition of O2 at 1.58μm is observed during the day scans only and increases in radiance with solar elevation angle (Figure 1). This shows that the only important process lending to the production of O2(1Δg) is the photodissociation of ozone. The emissions from ozone at 9.8μm (ν3 band), as well as the 4.8μm v1 + v3 combination band, are measured during both day and night (Figure 2). Around 80 km tangent height, the daytime 9.6μm emission is smaller than the nighttime value by a factor of about 5, because of the decreased daytime ozone density due to photodissociation. Below 50 km tangent height the daytime and nighttime emissions do not show a significant variation, in spite of the fact that some daytime ozone is photodissociated to O2(1Δg) which is observed at 1.58μm. The observed emissions from ozone and O2(1Δg) state are discussed in terms of modelled time-dependent ozone concentrations along the line-of-sight.


This essay argues that Jesus's confession of ignorance about the day and hour of his return (Matt. 24:36; Mark 13:32) is logically inconsistent with the Nicene-Constantinopolitan doctrine of his "consubstantiality" (homoousia) with God the Father. The essay first defines "consubstantiality", then presents three formulations of the argument, and finally rebuts a number of possible responses: from the textual originality of the phrase "nor the Son"; from the reinterpretation of "knows" as "makes known"; from the ideas of partitive exegesis and communicatio idiomatum; and from the question of the Holy Spirit's knowledge of the things of God.


The graph crossing number problem, cr(G)<=k, asks for a drawing of a graph G in the plane with at most k edge crossings. Although this problem is in general notoriously difficult, it is fixed- parameter tractable for the parameter k [Grohe]. This suggests a closely related question of whether this problem has a polynomial kernel, meaning whether every instance of cr(G)<=k can be in polynomial time reduced to an equivalent instance of size polynomial in k (and independent of |G|). We answer this question in the negative. Along the proof we show that the tile crossing number problem of twisted planar tiles is NP-hard, which has been an open problem for some time, too, and then employ the complexity technique of cross-composition. Our result holds already for the special case of graphs obtained from planar graphs by adding one edge.


Interaction of ultra‐intense ultra‐short laser pulses with condensed matter can create strongly nonisothermal two‐component plasma. It is shown that electron‐electron interactions are important at such conditions and kinetic equation is analytically solved. The influence of the laser field on the energy exchange between electrons and ions is investigated.


We study the problem of per-stream joint maximum sum-rate (MSR) precoder and minimum mean-squared error (MMSE) equalizer design for interference alignment in the multi-input multi-output interference channel. We consider the general case of more than three users with more than one stream per user. We propose a new generalized iterative algorithm which directly maximizes the average overall sum-rate without assuming the signal-to-noise ratio to be infinite. The receivers' implementation complexity increases proportional to the square of the number of equalizer taps which becomes prohibitive as the network size increases. To address this issue, we examine the performance-complexity tradeoffs involved in a sparse equalizer design. Our numerical results demonstrate that, for the full-complexity MMSE equalizer design, our proposed algorithm achieves higher overall sum-rate compared to previously proposed interference alignment algorithms. In addition, we reduce the MMSE linear equalizer complexity by 30% while limiting the sum-rate loss to about 10%, at most, compared to the full-complexity design.


Purpose – This conceptual paper seeks to examine the issue of whether or not a brand needs to be consistent. Whilst this assumption often seems to be made within the marketing literature, it has not previously been examined.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses the example of wine to explore the consumer's desire for consistency. The paper is not based on a specific research project, but rather reflects the findings of a number of projects, and of an engagement with commentators on wine over a number of years.Findings – The paper suggests that rather than wine invariably being the same it is necessary for it to offer a regular standard of quality within varying external constraints, and that consumers may actually search out such inconsistency. By extension, it is argued that this is relevant for other goods, such as a foods and fashions, and aesthetic and ludic products.Practical implications – It may be relevant for managers to build inconsistency into product design in some cases to give consume...


Recognition of the energy savings potential in motor driven systems has led to the development of energy efficiency testing and classification standards for motors and end-use equipment (e.g., pumps and fans) and the implementation of minimum energy performance regulations targeting them worldwide. However, these standards and regulations have been limited to components, disregarding the interaction between them. The energy savings achievable by addressing and improving the entire system are potentially much higher in relation to those achievable when considering individual components. Recently, an effort to develop standards in this regard was carried out by standardization bodies (IEC and ISO) leading to the publication of the IEC61800-9 Power Drive System standard series. The paper, in its first part, describes recent evolutions in electric motor energy-efficiency standards and in the implementation of related regulations worldwide. In the second part of the paper, using the latest energy efficiency test and classification standards, a comparative analysis of different energy-efficient motor technologies is presented. Using results from laboratory tests combined with data provided by manufacturers, different power drive systems are compared considering different operating points in two typical pumping systems. Estimated economic savings from a total cost of ownership perspective are presented.


Siliceous chondrules and lithic fragments that could not be derived through normal igneous processes seem to occur commonly in enstatite chondrites and unequilibrated H-chondrites: these include chondrules of almost pure Si02 in Qingzhen (Nagahara and El-Goresy, 1984) and KotaKota (Leitch and Smith, 1982) and lithic fragments and chondrules whose primary phase is Si02 in Qingzhen (Nagahara and El-Goresy, 1984) and chondrules whose primary phase is Si02 in several H-chondrites (Brigham et al., 1982). Bulk compositions of enstatite chondrites projected onto the system Fe Mg,Si04 Si02 lie within or very close to the primary phase field of Si02 • Since enstatite is the major siliceous component of these meteorites, the remaining siliceous components must be in the primary phase field of SiO, in order to produce such highly siliceous bulk compositions. Because it is so difficult to imagine igneous solid/liquid fractionation processes that could produce these high-SiO, components, I suggest they were derived by vapor/liquid fractionation during condensation in the primitive solar nebula. In such a case, phase relations in the system FeMg,SiO,Si02 suggest that these particles, in condensing directly from vapor, passed through conditions in which two or three immiscible liquids were produced (for convenience, the additional sulfide liquid is ignored). The system contains three intersecting 2-liquid domes which envelop an underlying 3-liquid volume. As total pressure in this system decreases, the vaporous surface intersects the 2-liquid domes at lower and lower temperatures, eventually intersecting the 3-liquid volume also. At even lower total pressures for these compositions, crystalline cristobalite would condense directly from the vapor, accompanied by two immiscible liquids. Textural relations in some of the enstatite chondrite particles suggest that temperatures and pressures were high enough so that at least two of the liquids considered here were present. Composition of the high-silica phase often suggests that it was present as a third liquid. This would require rather high temperatures and pressures in that part of the primitive solar nebula where these particles were produced.


The water depth data of the sea area of CB6C well in Chengdao oil field are processed using trend surface analysis method in this paper, and the water depth errors in water depth survey are analysed. In this paper, We apply these techniques to process the data of water depth and analyses their errors in the sea area of CB6C well of Chengdao Oil Field.


This application, conduit, in particular a device for opening the conduit blood tubing system or the blood bag system, conduit includes a closure member for closing the flow path of the conduit, the apparatus comprising an outer from comprises at least one opening unit 10 configured to pressurize the conduit occlusion member by applying a force acting on the conduit is opened. Opening unit is a contour such that it can force acting on the conduit exclusively conduit as also added to the area or at least the locking member applied exclusively is located is inserted into opening unit there. .FIELD 2a


This paper is developed from open-access databases available online in order to have an overview of the concepts regarding students' educational wellbeing. Databases that have been used to review include Sage Journals, Scopus, Google Scholar, Educational Resource Centre (ERIC), JSTOR-Journal Storage, Emerald, Science Direct, SpringerLink, Taylor and Francis and Directory of Open Access Journal (DOAJ). Keywords for searching information are student's well -being, educational wellbeing and student learning. The conceptualization of this study is entirely developed based on sociological theories and secondary data but incorporating current literature reviews collected from different perspectives and sources. Different definitions and interpretations have been developed in conceptualizing student wellbeing by different scholars and organizations based on their different thematic motivations. In this study, student educational wellbeing was conceptualized with five components, namely access to educational resources, enhancing soft skills, social skills, hard skills and skills functioning and capabilities that students need to live a happy and fulfilling life. skills they need to live fulfilling lives and be productive in the flexible and innovative workforce required in the 21st century. A school-based focus on supporting children to develop a deep sense of wellbeing is a central component of effective education for their future, their country and the world (Noble & McGrath, 2015). However, there is commonly no accepted definition for student educational wellbeing. This paper focuses on conceptualising student educational wellbeing in Sri Lankan settings based on several theories, models and empirical studies. This paper is developed from open-access databases available online in order to have an overview of the concepts regarding students' educational wellbeing. Databases that have been used to review include Sage Educational Resource JSTOR-Journal Direct, SpringerLink, Taylor and Francis and Access Keywords for searching information are student's well -being, educational wellbeing and student These were either unpublished (conference presentations, or (as in book Based on the abstracts of these several hundred articles, we lessened our search to several studies as being related to our theme. Accordingly, 88 articles were reviewed for this study. The grey literature technique was used to analyse for the conceptualisation of this paper. Grey literature can be used for a systematic review that is not available in commercial publications and the importance of grey literature the themes. Grey can academic papers, consisting and committee conference


We have investigated the magnetic properties of Mn/Si–O/Si(100)-substrate systems and Mn/Si–O/Si trilayers. The Mn/Si–O/Si(100)-substrate systems show ferromagnetism after annealing at temperatures above 570 K, although the as-deposited systems are not ferromagnetic. The Mn/Si–O/Si trilayers also show ferromagnetism after annealing, and the highest saturation magnetization is obtained at a Si–O thickness of 2.5 nm. Changes in saturation magnetization due to temperature show that the Mn/Si–O/Si trilayers have two kinds of ferromagnetic compounds with different Curie temperatures.


Described herein are methods and systems for producing methyl t-butyl ether (MTBE) by reacting an isobutene-containing stream with methanol in an MTBE production unit. In accordance with the method described herein, at least a portion of the isobutene- containing stream is obtained from a mixed C4 stream from a steam cracking unit and is not produced by passing the dehydrogenation of isobutane. Furthermore, an alkane-containing stream from the MTBE production unit is used as a feed stream for the steam cracking unit.


The purpose of the book is to initiate a new way of approaching these three writers, and high modernism in general, as essentially "religious" in nature, seen most fully in how they attempt to reform what we mean by religion, even reform what we mean by such basic terms as "belief," "God," and "Church." These writers seek to renew religious belief in an increasingly secular age in and through their poetry, which is why my emphasis is on "poetry as theology"; that is, the poetry enacts theology, are themselves acts of theology. Stevens and Joyce are usually considered purely secular and perhaps even hostile to religion, and I hope my approach of close reading their work will help begin a reassessment; even Eliot, who is explicitly "religious," has not been fully appreciated because of a misconception of what "religion" may mean and how it is understood by literary critics.


The family, twin, and adoption studies of the DSM-III-R personality disorders are reviewed. Most data concern the schizotypal, borderline, and antisocial personality disorders, where increased famlly risk has been reported. Only antisocial personality disorder has so far shown convincing data for a genetic etiological factor. Most family studies in the field have used inadequate methodology, and methodological improvement is a major issue of such studies in the future


The field of questions linked to child and adolescent obesity is still growing. Identifying real advances is mandatory at the stage where the gap between individual benefit is huge. The great news in 2008 is that Public Health interventions start showing an impact in some European Countries. At the same time, fundamental research gives better insights into the biological background. Adipose tissue itself is a world. Child physiological growth pattern has to be reconsidered in the light of recent World Health Organization (WHO) data on breast-feeding. Perspective on genetics, including the modulation of gene expression and metagenetics (gut flora impact), is far more complex than initially thought. How should this be taken into account when early severe obesity is developing? In children, we still face the lack of drug treatment and the additional risk of bariatric surgery, which still has to be evaluated on a long-term basis even in adults. Complex clinical situations induce a temptation to shift from the simple rough clinical diagnosis of obesity to the prescription of an ''efficient'' treatment. As we have worked in this field for many years, we actually know that poor achievement often reflects the insufficient quality of initial analysis of the patients' troubles. A wrong diagnosis leads to mismanagement and treatment failure. Sleep disorders are a very good cue in this respect. They are neglected in a vast majority of obese children. In such conditions, the risk to misuse drugs or surgery is real and great. The best treatment is the one you do not need! Such a complex question needs to be re-examined regularly in the perspective of child development, advances in adults' obesity medicine and scientific knowledge. The purpose of ECOG satellites and meetings is to facilitate these exchanges, to develop guidelines and to provide help for promoting efficient child and adolescent obesity prevention and management. We hope that this issue of the International Journal of Paediatric Obesity will contribute to support this goal and thank the participants for their contribution to the debate.


In Canada and elsewhere around the world Indigenous Peoples are struggling to rebuild their 'nations' and improve the socio-economic circumstances of their people. Many see economic development as the key to success. This is certainly true for the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada (the First Nations, Metis and Inuit). Through entrepreneurship and business development they believe they can attain their economic and 'nation-building' objectives. Many Aboriginal groups in Canada believe they can achieve these purposes through participation in the global economy and have adopted processes that reflect this belief. They recognize the success of this approach depends on the long-term profitability of the businesses they create. In order to improve the viability of their businesses, Aboriginal people are forming partnerships of all types among themselves and with non-Aboriginal enterprises. Based of regulation theory, Anderson with others has developed a theoretical perspective on Indigenous development in the "new flexible economy". In order to test the validity of the theoretical model and especially to explore the way that the interplay between the state, supranational bodies, the civil sector, corporations, and community gives rise particular modes of development, we are doing a series of case studies based on the approach of Yin (2004). We have developed the case study protocol based on the theoretical model and are testing it by doing this initial case study on the Osoyoos First Nation. However, the ultimate quest is for an understanding of the conditions that need to be present for a successful entrepreneurial venture.


The underpricing phenomenon of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) has been widely studied across different stock markets around the world and has often been explained to be a result of asymmetrically distributed information and ex-ante uncertainty. However, as Ritter and Welch (2002) argue, these theories are unlikely to explain the persistent pattern of high initial returns during the first trading day. This paper focuses on the importance of investor sentiment and of information gathered by the underwriter before the start of the book building process. The cross-sectional regression analysis, using both censored and uncensored data, shows that the initial returns are mainly influenced by investor sentiment and uncertainty about the potential demand concerning the forthcoming IPO, and less by ex-ante uncertainty about the underlying firm's value.


Infiltrative lung diseases enclose a large group of irreversible lung disorders which require regular follow-up with CT imaging. This paper addresses an automated quantitative assessment of different disorders based on lung texture classification. The proposed approach exploits a cascade of convolutional neural networks and a specific preprocessing of input data based on locally connected filtering. The classification targeting the whole lung parenchyma achieves an average of 84% accuracy (75.8% for normal, 90% for emphysema and fibrosis, 81.5% for ground glass).


The purpose of this research is to identify the impact of the product quality and service quality towards Bandung Super Model's (BSM) customer loyalty. The sample is taken by the method of accidental sampling by using the issac and michael formula. The amount of sample is 131 customers. Data are collected using a questionnaire that is measured by the Likert scale. Additionally, this study employs multiple linear regression analysis which is supported by the SPSS program version 11.5. Results have shown that the variable product quality and service quality variables have influenced Bandung Super Model's (BSM) customer loyalty, either simultaneously or partially. That variable which has dominant influence toward customer loyalty is a service quality because they have the most dominant big value that is equal to 31.19% compared to other variables. Keywords : Product Quality, Service Quality, Customers Loyalty


Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar's 1979 critical study The Madwoman in the Attic, with its gynocritical approach to the fictions of nineteenth-century women writers and the anxieties those writers faced, has garnered much critical attention since its publication--both positive and negative. As feminist criticism has expanded and branched off into several new disciplines, the idea that women writers formed a kind of literary community through the way in which they incorporated their anxieties into the fictions they created has been challenged by subsequent critics. This study examines that critical disapproval and seeks to demonstrate why Gilbert & Gubar's approach is still worthy of study as a system of interpretation and how their approach can be adapted and applied to literature written after the nineteenth century. This project explores the relevance of Gilbert & Gubar's critical study through an examination of three novels published since 1979: Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale (1986), Jeanette Winterson's The Passion (1987), and Zadie Smith's White Teeth (2000). The Handmaid's Tale is an example of how a novel written by a contemporary "literary woman" can be influenced by the works of previous male authors--but in a positive manner. The Passion, through the presence of agoraphobic tendencies and reactions in the text and its characters, leads to the conclusion that anyone who struggles against patriarchal tradition will suffer at the hands of that tradition. Lastly, White Teeth demonstrates how the kind of anxiety that "infects" the writing of women has changed at the beginning of the twenty-first century from a more patriarchy/society based anxiety to one based on issues of religion, ethnicity, and race. V


In 4D seismic monitoring, the variation of reservoir features is mainly indecated by the changes of Lame constant, and eventually represented as velocity of layer and seismic response. Hence, Lame constant should be the most direct and sensitive indication for the variation of reservoir features under certain condition. In the paper, inversion methods of Lame constant are introduced and used actually in the inversion of 4D seismic monitoring data. The results show that it is feasible to use Lame constant inversion into 4D seismic monitoring.


Customers' concerns about the potential risks in online transactions hinder the development of e-commerce. Researchers have devoted a lot of effort to looking for a way to alleviate the uncertainty pertaining to these risks. Online customer reviews designed to deliver information in addition to a manufacturer's product description, have attracted researchers' attention. In this study, we assume that the risks in an online transaction originate specifically from sellers' hidden information and hidden actions. With the aid of customer reviews of products, we want to measure how this uncertainty and these risks can be alleviated. In addition, we measure the effects of customer reviews with different argument qualities and different star ratings.


The early precursor reports (covering data from 1969 to 1979 and 1980 and 1981) attracted significant attention. This was partly due to concerns about Three Mile Island and partly because precursor data provide a form of validation for probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), which was then a new and unfamiliar technology. However, more recent annual summaries of precursor data have received considerably less attention. In earlier work, the authors have shown that accident precursors can give rise to significant increases in estimated risk, especially when the observed precursors had previously been considered relatively unlikely, i.e., when they are surprises. Therefore, such events should be taken seriously as indicators of potential plant problems. For these reasons, they undertook a qualitative review of recent accident precursors. The purposes of this review were (a) to assess the validity of PRA models and results, (b) to identify possible improvements to PRA models, and (c) to identify possible plant improvements.


Thermal Interface Materials (TIM) are materials which are used in microelectronics, mainly in microprocessors, to improve the yield of heat transfer between the silicon die and the copper heat sink, replacing the trapped air in this area due to the surface roughness of both components. The heat transfer in this material depends mostly of its chemical composition and its thickness. This work deals with the measure of thickness and the determination of chemical composition for the TIM of an Intel Pentium 4 microprocessor, using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with energydispersive x-ray spectrometer (EDX), present in the Nanotechnology Laboratory of the ITCR.


Three different sol–gel routes were used in order to study the stability and the crystallinity of the ternary system Y2O3, Ti(OBu)4, Rb2CO3. Different techniques such as FTIR, 13C NMR TGA, DTA and XRD were used to characterize xerogels and final products. Results demonstrated that using hexanoic acid during the sol step preparation influences structural changes in the precursor gel. The effect of heat treatment to eliminate the organic material from xerogels was investigated by thermal gravimetry and differential thermalanalysis. According to the ratio of acetic acid to hexanoic acid, the phase structure of TiO2, viz. anatase to rutile phase, could tailored. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared catalysts, under sunlight irradiation, was evaluated using 2-naphthol as a pollutant model. Results showed a great enhancement in the photocatalytic efficiency for doped TiO2 sample prepared in the presence of 30acet–70hex. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


In Pakistan, per hectare crop yields of rain-fed areas are relatively lower than obtained from irrigated areas. It is mainly due to less water availability and poor soil fertility. Lower soil organic matter limits micronutrients replenishment to soil solution.Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the zinc (Zn) requirement of maize, as well as to find out the interactive effect of organic and mineral fertilizer sources of nitrogen (N) on maize growth, yield and nutrient uptake. Experiments were conducted at National Agricultural Research Centre, (NARC) Islamabad, having latitude 33o 43΄ N, longitude 73o 04΄ E, and altitude 490 m. Soil of the study area is coarse loamy, mixed, hyperthermic Udic Ustochrept and belongs to Nabipur soil series. It is alkaline, calcareous, low in organic matter content, and deficient in N, P, K and Zn contents.
Initially, an incubation study was conducted to investigate the pattern of Zn retention, release and equilibrium of added Zn fertilizer in soil,. Four levels of zinc viz. 0, 2, 4 and 8 mg kg-1 were applied to soil weighing 300 g, and incubated by maintaining field capacity moisture at 30±1 °C for 15 days. Soil samples were drawn after 1, 5, 10 and 15 days for the determination of extractable Zn concentrations. Zinc availability / release were enhanced with increasing Zn rate, rendering the highest Zn concentration of 7.8 mg kg-1 in soil extract with 8 mg kg-1 Zn application. In the beginning, release rate was rapid and decreased gradually up to 15 days.
In the field experiment, main plots had four combinations of N sources viz. control; 100 % recommended dose of N from chemical fertilizer (CF); 75 % N from CF + 25 % N from farm yard manure (FYM), and 50 % N from CF + 50 % N from FYM. In the sub-plots, there were three levels of zinc fertilizer viz. 0, 4, 8 kg Zn ha-1. This experiment with the same treatments was conducted in both spring and summer seasons of 2008 on maize. Crop growth, yield parameters, photosynthesis rate, activity of nitrate reductase and superoxide dismutase enzymes, and nutrients uptake were measured. After the crop harvest, status of organic matter, N, P and Zn in soil was determined. Data on crop and soil parameters were subjected to statistical analysis of variance, and treatment means were compared by lsd test at P ≤ 0.05 to obtain statistical difference among them. Maize grain yield was at the highest with 75 + 25 % (CF + FYM) with 4 kg Zn ha-1, although it was statistically at par with that from 50 % + 50 % (CF + FYM) with 4 kg Zn ha-1 and 75 % + 25 % with 8 kg Zn ha–1. Zinc application showed a significant increase of grain and straw yield. Zinc uptake increased with the application of Zn fertilizer. Enzyme activities were enhanced with the application of Zn and FYM. The Study revealed that substitution of 25 or 50 % N with organic manure + 4 kg Zn ha-1 perform better than 100 % N fertilizer alone, with respect to improvement of crop growth, yield and soil fertility, and activities of superoxide dismutase and nitrate reductase. It reflects that integrated plant nutrient management ensures balanced supply of nutrients to the crop and improves stress tolerance as well.


This paper assesses the Taipei's fire rescue capability against post-earthquake fires (PEFs) from a hypothetical earthquake. Taiwan's Shanchiao Fault was used as the trigger fault for establishing earthquake modeling assumptions. Monte Carlo simulation was used with hypocenter coordinates, the Richter magnitude scale, and earthquake focal depths as the uncertainty analysis variables for performing stochastic simulations of 100 sets of seismic event parameters. These parameters were entered into the Simple Earthquake Seismic System (SESS) and the Taiwan Earthquake Loss Estimation System (TELES) to conduct uncertainty analysis regarding PEFs. PEFs were simulated and the disaster readiness of all firefighting squads (strongholds) in Taipei was investigated to analyze the uncertainty in PEF rescues. The SESS analysis results indicate that the original risk probability was 25.26%, increasing to 45.88% with the activation of a regional mutual aid system. The original risk calculated by the TELES was 52.97%, which increased to 96.22% of the overall disaster response capacity requirements after the regional mutual aid system was launched. Although the SESS results remained below the 60% risk threshold following the launch of the regional mutual aid system, the rescue capacity was substantially increased. The TELES analysis results indicate that the regional mutual aid system can substantially increase local disaster rescue capacity, nearly satisfying all disaster resource scheduling requirements. The location, scale, and pattern of earthquakes and the resulting casualties are always uncertain. However, the results of this study verify that the 2 independently developed earthquake damage estimation systems can provide an effective reference for post-earthquake rescue scheduling assessments.


The study examined the role of human resource department in organization, a case of ASN financial services limited. The issues studied included effectiveness of HR departments in contributing to the goals of organizations, evaluating the contributions of HR departments to the development of ASN financial services limited, the challenges faced by the HR department of ASN financial services in carrying out its duties. Both primary and secondary data were used in conducting the research. The population of the study included the entire senior staff of ASN financial services. A survey method was the statistical techniques used for the study and a purposive sampling technique was used in selecting 37 staff for the study. Majority of the respondents agreed that the HR department plays an essential role in the recruitment of staff, managing employee performance, analyzing the training needs of staff and organizing training and development programs for them and having a reward policy among others. Keywords : Organization, Financial Services, Employee Performance. Training and Development.


We present a ROM based 16times16 multiplier for low power applications. The design uses sixteen 4times4 ROM based multiplier blocks followed by carry save adders and a final carry select adder (all ROM based) to obtain the 32 bit output. All ROM blocks are implemented using single transistor ROM cells and eliminating identical rows and columns for optimizing the power and performance. Measurement results in 0.18 mum CMOS process show a 40% reduction in power over the conventional carry save array multiplier when operated at its maximum frequency. The ROM based design also provides 44% less delay than the array multiplier with a minimal increase (7.7%) in power. This demonstrates the low-power operation of the ROM based multiplier also at higher frequencies.


We conducted a review of all leprosy case records maintained at Claver Social Welfare Centre, Amda, Sararikela-Kharsawan District, Jharkhand during March 2006. The centre has been doing leprosy work for the last 25 years and we focused on one village, Kudasingi, because one new patient presented recently at the clinic. The village is a group of households with people subsisting by cultivating land, (mainly landless labourers) or owning a small piece of land. The habitats are closely packed clusters and rows, built out of clay bricks and thatched with tiles or husk. The population in this village has risen from 627 to 853 persons in this period living in 192 households. Over 23 years there were 89 new patients diagnosed in this study village, of whom 16 were children and 48% were male. The trend over the 23 years is presented in Figure 1, the peaks in case detection represent periods of intensified case finding and leprosy elimination campaigns. Seventy patients completed the prescribed drug regimen, 19 patients left the control area or died, and 2 patients treated 10 years back have relapsed. Four patients who completed treatment had residual Grade 2 disability; they had presented late with disability at detection. The trend in new leprosy case detection continues to be stable and persistent in this village with peaks representing operational activities. This simple review of leprosy trends in a small village in India gives a clear message of the continuing need for surveillance and sustained quality leprosy care for patients at all stages.


We use computational models to examine the circumstances under which modulation of a single neuron can alter the dynamics of an entire circuit. We show that under some circumstances, the circuit's behavior is robust to the neuromodulation of a single hub neuron, while under other circumstances the same neuromodulatory action of a single neuron can produce a large variety of circuit outcomes. Abstract Cover Figure Neuromodulation of a single neuron in a circuit can either have little to no effect on the output of the circuit, or it can change the pattern of activity within that circuit. This is dependent on the synaptic parameters given the same circuit architecture, thus illustrating the insufficiency of the connectome alone for determining circuit behavior. When does neuromodulation of a single neuron influence the output of the entire network? We constructed a five-cell circuit in which a neuron is at the center of the circuit and the remaining neurons form two distinct oscillatory subnetworks. All neurons were modeled as modified Morris−Lecar models with a hyperpolarization-activated conductance (ḡh) in addition to calcium (ḡCa), potassium (ḡK), and leak conductances. We determined the effects of varying ḡCa, ḡK, and ḡh on the frequency, amplitude, and duty cycle of a single neuron oscillator. The frequency of the single neuron was highest when the ḡK and ḡh conductances were high and ḡCa was moderate whereas, in the traditional Morris−Lecar model, the highest frequencies occur when both ḡK and ḡCa are high. We randomly sampled parameter space to find 143 hub oscillators with nearly identical frequencies but with disparate maximal conductance, duty cycles, and burst amplitudes, and then embedded each of these hub neurons into networks with different sets of synaptic parameters. For one set of network parameters, circuit behavior was virtually identical regardless of the underlying conductances of the hub neuron. For a different set of network parameters, circuit behavior varied with the maximal conductances of the hub neuron. This demonstrates that neuromodulation of a single target neuron may dramatically alter the performance of an entire network when the network is in one state, but have almost no effect when the circuit is in a different state.


As an old important method of self-protection and private help, private criminal investigation always exists commonly. But nowadays in China, a lot of problems have been exposed in the private criminal investigation. The concrete conception of the private criminal investigation has been defined from three sections including the criminal investigation of private detectives, the secretly private criminal investigation of lawyers and the criminal investigation of other privates. The author analyzes its main puzzles in our country currently.


This study aims to determine the effect of the application of cooperative learning model two stay-two stray towards learning outcomes and learning activities of students on the subject of colloids in the 2nd half of class XI SMAN 2 Sidikalang. This type of research is an experimental research. The study population was all students in grade XI natural sciences at SMAN 2 Sidikalang. Samples were taken at random as much as 2 classes and student samples randomly assigned 40 people per class. This study uses the initial and final test design randomized control group, where both classes were given a different treatment, a class using Learning Model Two Stay-Two Stray, and one other class using conventional learning model in the form of group discussions. Based on the results of data processing, obtained an average improvement of learning outcomes in the experimental class = 70.00%, while the control class = 46.32%. Testing the hypothesis on learning outcomes is done by using the t test (the test right) with α =0.05, db = 78 obtained t (3.98)> t table (1.68). This indicates that the t arithmetic is outside the reception Ho Ha accepted meaning. Likewise with the hypothesis of the learning activities of students, Ho was rejected because at α = 0.05, db = 78 obtained t (2.87)> t table (1.68)., It can be stated that there is the effect of the application of cooperative learning model two stay-two stray towards learning outcomes and learning activities of students on the subject of colloids in the 2nd half of class XI SMA N 2 Sidikalang. This type of research is an experimental research. The study population was all students in grade XI natural sciences at SMAN 2 Sidikalang. Results of processing data correlate with the learning outcomes of students learning activities obtained positive correlations were low and the experimental class is r = 0.44. Keywords : Cooperative Learning Model's, Two Stay-Two Stray, Learning of Activities


Radioactive sodium, Na24, was prepared by use of the electrostatic pressure generator of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institute of Washington. Samples emitting about 105 beta-rays per second were injected intravenously, as the chloride, into pregnant cats. At various intervals of time after injection, fetuses were removed by Caesarian section and a sample of blood taken from the mother. The radioactivity of the samples, in terms of beta-particles per second, was measured by a pressure ionization chamber and string electrometer, using the method previously described. 1 Typical data are presented in Tables I and IL Analysis of these data reveal the following relationships: 1. Table I. The fetus near term comes to within 10% of a limiting equilibrium value with respect to sodium ion in the maternal plasma only after 12 to 18 hours. This is in striking contrast to the extracellular fluid of the mother which comes to the same value in about 4 minutes. 2 2. Table II, column 6. The rate of transfer across the placenta per unit weight of placenta is very low in early stages of pregnancy (gestation age, 15 to 20 days) but increases in linear manner to a value 60 times that of the early stage at a gestation age of 57 days. After this stage, the rate of transfer per unit weight of placenta decreases somewhat until term (62 days). 3. Table II, column 5. The rate of transfer to a unit weight of fetus, however, is high in early stages and falls with the duration of pregnancy. For example, the ratios of rates of transfer for gestation ages of 15-20 days, 40 days and 60 days are 5.5:2.5:1. The relatively high rate of transfer per unit weight of fetus in the youngest fetuses is accounted for by the large size of the placenta compared to that of the fetus (Table II, columns 2 and 3).


This paper discusses the possible application of an innovative set of binary sequences, the De Bruijn ones, as spreading codes in satellite navigation systems. Binary De Bruijn sequences feature inherent Zero Correlation Zone property, that may be effectively exploited to strongly limit the impact of multi-path and interference. Simulation results are presented, referred to span 5 De Bruijn sequences, to show the orthogonality and correlation-related properties of these codes, that may properly fit the requirements of satellite based navigation systems.


Geostrophic currents and transports in the boundary currents near Madagascar are described for a section at 23°S off the east coast and at 12°S to the northeast of Cape Amber. These results are based on conductivity-temperature-depth and expendable bathythermograph sections made during cruises of the Marion Dufresne in 1984, 1985, and 1986, supplemented by those historical data that were sufficiently deep. The reference levels used are 1100 dbar at 12°S and 1170 dbar at 23°S, based on the results from 11 months of current meter records obtained in 1984–1985. Comparisons are made between the geostrophic current profiles and direct observations, both from moored current meters and from acoustic Doppler profiling in the Upper 200 m. The mean geostrophic transports above the chosen reference levels are 29.6 Sv northwestward off Cape Amber out to 115 km offshore and 20.6 Sv southward at 23°S out to 110 km offshore. The directly recorded currents show no detectable seasonal signal below 200 m: above that level other historical data suggest a seasonal amplitude in transport of approximately ±2 Sv at 12°S and ±0.3 Sv at 23°S.


in many management courses. Despite the recent increase in the literature of this approach, relatively little attention has been devoted to the processes involved in the supervision of AL projects. Whilst there is a literature on techniques for supervising and managing research projects in general (see for instance Howard & Sharp, 1983) very little of that literature appears to prepare one for some of the dilemmas and paradoxes of the human relationship between supervisor and supervised. The aim of this article is to explore some of these dilemmas and difficulties and, in so doing, to illuminate something of the dynamics of AL in general. The aim is not to suggest 'how to do supervision' but rather to structure our own experience in a particular way, in the hope that it may provide a useful framework for others to consider


To examine effects of PP6 gene (Ppp6c) deficiency on pancreatic tumor development, we developed pancreas‐specific, tamoxifen‐inducible Cre‐mediated KP (KRAS(G12D) plus Trp53‐deficient) mice (cKP mice) and crossed them with Ppp6cflox/flox mice. cKP mice with the homozygous Ppp6c deletion developed pancreatic tumors, became emaciated and required euthanasia within 150 days of mutation induction, phenotypes that were not seen in heterozygous or wild‐type (WT) mice. At 30 days, a comparative analysis of genes commonly altered in homozygous versus WT Ppp6c cKP mice revealed enhanced activation of Erk and NFκB pathways in homozygotes. By 80 days, the number and size of tumors and number of precancerous lesions had significantly increased in the pancreas of Ppp6c homozygous relative to heterozygous or WT cKP mice. Ppp6c−/− tumors were pathologically diagnosed as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) undergoing the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), and cancer cells had invaded surrounding tissues in three out of six cases. Transcriptome and metabolome analyses indicated an enhanced cancer‐specific glycolytic metabolism in Ppp6c‐deficient cKP mice and the increased expression of inflammatory cytokines. Individual Ppp6c−/− cKP mice showed weight loss, decreased skeletal muscle and adipose tissue, and increased circulating tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α and IL‐6 levels, suggestive of systemic inflammation. Overall, Ppp6c deficiency in the presence of K‐ras mutations and Trp53 gene deficiency promoted pancreatic tumorigenesis with generalized cachexia and early death. This study provided the first evidence that Ppp6c suppresses mouse pancreatic carcinogenesis and supports the use of Ppp6c‐deficient cKP mice as a model for developing treatments for cachexia associated with pancreatic cancer.


Preface v Contributors vii 1 The Origin and Early History of the U.S. Antarctic Search for Meteorites Program (ANSMET) 1 Ursula B. Marvin 2 Fieldwork Methods of the U.S. Antarctic Search for Meteorites Program 23 Ralph P. Harvey, John Schutt, and Jim Karner 3 Curation and Allocation of Samples in the U.S. Antarctic Meteorite Collection 43 Kevin Righter, Cecilia E. Satterwhite, Kathleen M. McBride, Catherine M. Corrigan, and Linda C. Welzenbach Pictorial Guide to Selected Meteorites 4 Primitive Asteroids: Expanding the Range of Known Primitive Materials 65 Michael K. Weisberg and Kevin Righter 5 Achondrites and Irons: Products of Magmatism on Strongly Heated Asteroids 79 David W. Mittlefehldt and Timothy J. McCoy 6 ANSMET Meteorites from the Moon 101 Randy L. Korotev and Ryan A. Zeigler 7 Meteorites from Mars, via Antarctica 131 Harry Y. McSween, Jr., Ralph P. Harvey, and Catherine M. Corrigan 8 Meteorite Misfits: Fuzzy Clues to Solar System Processes 145 Timothy J. McCoy 9 Cosmogenic Nuclides in Antarctic Meteorites 153 Gregory F. Herzog, Marc W. Caffee, and A. J. Timothy Jull 10 A Statistical Look at the U.S. Antarctic Meteorite Collection 173 Catherine M. Corrigan, Linda C. Welzenbach, Kevin Righter, Kathleen M. McBride, Timothy J. McCoy, Ralph P. Harvey, and Cecilia E. Satterwhite Index 189


Human intestinal trefoilfactor (hITF) cDNA has been transferred into protoplasts of Pleurotus ostreatus by electroporation. Integration of the hITF cDNA into the genome Pleurotus ostreatus was confirmed by PCR analysis. Then competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for detection and quantitative analysis of human intestinal trefoil factor. Results show that the highest hITF protein content in mycelia is 2 000~2 250 ng/g, about 1.5% of the total soluble protein. The transgenic Pleurotus ostreatus is proved to have good biological activity of preventing rats from the gastric ulcer induced by ethanol, in which both of polysaccharides and hITF have a direct effect on ulcer tissue.


Received: 08 November 2019 Revised received: 22 November 2019 Accepted: 22 November 2019 The DSSAT-CROPGRO model was used to characterize phenology and cultivar coefficients of cowpea treated with diluted human urine (equivalent to 60 kg-N/ha), simulated under ten irrigation schedules for a 5 year production period in Juba County of Central Equatoria State, South Sudan. Two treatments (T0) without urine and (T1) with human urine dilution during the growing season of 2016 were used and, 5-years model simulations on the grain number/m2, LAI, canopy height (m) and pod number/m2 compared. Irrigation schedules were carried out once the volumetric soil moisture content measured using the Theta Soil Moisture Probe was close to 15%. Results showed that cultivar coefficients EM-LF, FL-LF and FL-SH for both T0 and Y2015 (calibrant) were on average 6-8 days shorter than under T1. Also, the SIZLF under T1 was about 8-17% greater than under both T0 and calibrant Y2015 indicating the significance of diluted human urine on cowpea cultivar coefficients and phenology. The model also gave good agreement between observed and simulated growth parameters with low RMSE of the pod nr/m2 at 17 for T0, and 37.5 for T1, the RMSE for grain nr/m 2 was 360 kg for T1, and 347 kg for T0, whereas the RMSE of LAI showed no significant difference. The d-indices in estimating LAI and canopy height were generally low and showed the largest errors than for pod nr/m2 and grain nr/m2. The results showed that the model satisfactorily simulated and underscored the significance of diluted human urine on both phenology and cultivar coefficients of cowpea.


Objective
To evaluate narrow-band imaging(NBI)for early esophageal cancer and precancerous lesions.

Methods
A total of 170 patients (192 lesions) diagnosed as having superficial esophageal carcinoma and precancerous lesions by endoscopy were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical data of endoscopy, narrow-band imaging (NBI) and iodine chromoscopy were analyzed.

Results
The detection rates of early esophageal cancer were both 100.0% in NBI(13/13) and iodine staining (13/13), with no statistically significant difference (P>0.05). The detection rate of high grade intraepithelial neoplasia in NBI and iodine staining was 94.9% (94/99) and 100.0% (99/99) respectively with no statistically significant difference (P>0.05); The detection rate of low grade intraepithelial neoplasia in iodine staining was 100.0% (80/80), significantly higher than that of NBI 78.8% (63/80) (P<0.01).

Conclusion
NBI and iodine staining endoscopy show better diagnostic value for early esophageal cancer and similar diagnostic value for high grade intraepithelial neoplasia in precancerous lesions. But for the low grade intraepithelial neoplasia, the diagnostic value of iodine staining endoscopy is better than that of NBI.

Key words:
Esophageal neoplasms; Precancerous lesion; Staining and labeling; Endoscopy; Narrow-band imaging


Purpose
This paper aims to propose and demonstrate novel microphone sensors based on the frequency delta-sigma modulation (FDSM) technique, which replaces the conventional delta-sigma modulator in the delta-sigma analog-to digital converters. A key of the FDSM technology is to use a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) for converting an input analog signal to a 1-bit pulse-density modulated digital signal. High-performance sensors can be realized if the VCO is replaced by an oscillator whose oscillation frequency depends on an external physical parameter.

Design/methodology/approach
Microphone sensors are proposed based on FDSM that uses a suspended microstrip disk resonator, where the backside ground plane is replaced by a thin metal diaphragm. A resonant tunneling diode (RTD) oscillator is also used, as the performance of these sensors significantly depends on the oscillation frequency. To demonstrate the basic operation of the proposal, prototype devices were fabricated with an InGaAs/AlAs RTD.

Findings
A satisfactory noise shaping property, which is a significant nature of delta-sigma modulation, was demonstrated over three decades for the prototype device. A sound-sensing peak was also clearly observed when applying 1 kHz sound from a speaker.

Practical implications
High-performance ultrasonic microphone sensors can be realized if the sensors are fabricated by using a thin InP substrate with high-frequency oscillator design.

Originality/value
In this study, the authors proposed and experimentally demonstrated novel microphone sensors, which are promising as future ultrasonic sensors that have high dynamic range with wide bandwidth.


The paper presents mathematical and numerical models of the blood flow in human arteries. We describe selected modelling techniques for the mechanical phenomena occurring in the arteries: blood flow, displacement of the wall and the fluid-structure interaction between the blood and the wall. The paper concentrates on the theoretical results showing the conditions of applicability of presented models. We describe variational models for the Casson flow of blood as well as stochastic Fluid Particle Model (FPM) modified for the nonlinear flows. For the artery wall we describe the model which is the physically nonlinear Koiter shell and the Finite Element Method (FEM). We also present the simulations of the fluid-structure interaction that uses the weakly coupled approach of FPM for blood with FEM for the wall.


Flexible and lightweight energy storage is required for powering wearable electronic devices. Among the developed energy storage devices, supercapacitors have gained much interest as energy storage for wearable applications through their long cycle life and high power density. This work presents a flexible supercapacitor based on carbon cloth coated with graphene/polyaniline nanocomposite. Graphene/polyaniline nanocomposite is adopted as active material due to its high stability and the synergistic feature of pseudocapacitive and electrical double layer capacitance. The nanocomposite is synthesized from aniline and graphene in the sulfuric acid solution containing carbon cloth by chemical oxidative method, allowing the aniline to polymerize directly on the carbon cloth and graphene. Flexible supercapacitor devices with PVA/H2SO4 gel electrolyte exhibit an areal capacitance of 194.90 mF/cm2 at a scan rate of 5 mV/s. The device retains 77.21% of its initial capacitance after 500 cycles of cyclic voltammetry tests and exhibits a good performance during bending at 90° and 180°. This work demonstrates the potentials of carbon cloth-based supercapacitors for high-performance wearable supercapacitors.


It is estimated that 2.4 million individuals around the world are trafficked each year. Human trafficking continues to be a complex issue mostly affecting those who are female, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and from marginalized ethnicities. Despite 28% to 50% of trafficked individuals presenting to health providers, health professionals are not well equipped to clinically assist these individuals. This paper discusses the current training opportunities and interventional paradigms in the Lower Mainland, and proposes improvements necessary for health providers to effectively tackle this issue.


PRELIMINARY TABLE OF CONTENTS Imaging Modalities Craniocervical Junction Cranial Nerves Orbits and Adjacent Skull Base Nasal Cavity and Paranasal Sinuses Oropharynx, Nasopharynx, and Adjacent Skull Base Temporal Bone Oral Cavity and Tongue Salivary Glands Larynx and Hypopharynx Temporomandibular Joint and Mandible Neck and Nodes Brachial Plexus


In remote sensing image,the event of mixed pixel can be presented by fuzzy extended probability measures.These measures are considered by fuzzy classification.However,due to the effect of nonlinear factor and the complexity of nature materials,spectral variability occurs to the endmembers,which leads to the primary error in the process of spectral unmixing.This paper focused on the fuzzy presentation on the endmember spectral variability by possibility distribution for remote sensing image:on the assumption of the multidimensional normal distribution,chi-square distribution is proposed for the fuzzy presentation.Based on the chi-square distribution,a possibility distribution fuzzy partition arithmetic is developed for fuzzy partition of endmembers in the whole image,which presents the endmember spectral variability.In order to evaluate the performance of the algorithm,an experiment using real hyperspectral image is demonstrated in this paper.The proposed algorithm clearly reveals the spectral variability of endmembers in the image,which provides valuable insight into the accuracy of mixed pixel analysis.


The synchronization problem between non-identical fractional orders chaotic systems has few investigated. This letter presents generalized synchronization of different fractional orders chaotic systems with non-identical orders. Based on the basic properties of fractional calculus and the stability theory of fractional order systems, a general method is obtained. Furthermore, the paper presents different dimensions chaotic systems to achieve the synchronization and the corresponding simulations show the feasibility of the method.


The patient is a 60-year-old female cigarette smoker with hypertension and hypercholesterolemia who received intravenous immunoglobulin for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropothy. Her first infusion (Polygam, Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Glendale, CA) was given at a rate of 0.4 glkg over 5 hours without any changes in heart rate or blood pressure. While traveling home immediately after her treatment, she developed bilateral shoulder and arm pain, left greater than right, as well as throat pain and diaphoresis. She was instructed by her neurologist to come to the emergency department, where her electrocardiogram showed first degree atrioventricular block and T wave inversion in lead V2, both old. Her serum creatine kinase was 312 U/L (normal: 46-295 UIL) with a relative index of 6.2 ngldU (normal: 0.0-3.0 ng/dU) and her troponin-I was elevated at 5.2 ng/mL (normal: 0.0-0.4 ng/mL), thus meeting the criteria for a non-ST-egment elevation Ml. The patient's creatine kinase and troponin peaked the following day at 1146 U/L and 45.4 ng/mL, respectively. Her cholesterol was 162. An echocardiography revealed posterior and inferior wall akinesis. A coronary angiogram performed 42 hours after presentation revealed noncritical narrowings of 30% in the right coronary artery 40% in the ramus intermedius, and 30% in the first obtuse marginal artery. No thrombus was noted. There were no symptoms after the initial presentation; the patient's hospital course was uneventful.


Drag coefficients of meteoroids have been investigated in various flow regimes. Some new simple approximations for the drag coefficient and convective heat transfer coefficient of the meteoroid are proposed. Analytic solutions of the meteoroid drag equation were obtained using these approximations. Some numerical solutions with all variable coefficients have also been obtained. The comparison of solutions with constant and variable coefficients shows significant differences, depending on the size of meteoroid.


Two-axle motor vehicle (10) having a self-contained, removable propulsion unit (16, 46), a body (28), a floor (34) and an electrical system, - wherein as the drive unit (16, 46) either is an independent electric drive unit (16) with at least one electric motor (66, 68) as a drive unit or a self-sufficient drive unit (46) with an internal combustion engine (88) as a drive unit used, the respective drive unit ( 16, 46) • has one of the two axles of the motor vehicle (10) • is disposed under the body (28), • is connected to the driven wheels from the drive unit (60), suspensions (56, 58) and brakes equipped, • one openable support wheel (36) for easy replacement of the drive unit (16, 46), and - having the motor vehicle (10) self-centering cone clutches (18) which connect the respective drive unit (16, 46) fixed to the structure (28).


Telephone: (204) 789 3631 Fax: (204) 789 3912 E-Mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Website: umanitoba.ca/faculties/dentistry Dean: Anthony M. Iacopino Associate Dean (Academic): Randall Mazurat Associate Dean (Research): Elliott Scott Associate Dean (Clinical): Lawrence Stockton Director of Administration and Finance: Linda Chartier Administrative Assistant: TBA Student Advisors: Jean Lyon (Admissions), Susan Petras


This chapter explores the generalizability of ratings on text quality of ninth-grade students in pre-university education and first-year university students. For first-year university students, one does not need to rate as many texts as for ninth-graders. Especially, when writing in a foreign language, first-year students prove to be very stable writers. The stability of text quality scores appears to depend on the way texts are rated as well. So-called analytic scoring schemes seem to result in reliable but topic-dependent text quality scores. Holistic ratings, on the other hand, appear to give raters less support (resulting in a lower inter-rater agreement) but result in less topic-dependent scores. Hence, in order to generalize, writers do not need to write that many texts if these texts are holistically rated. Implications of these results for experimental studies on writing and educational effectiveness of writing pedagogies are discussed. Keywords:analytic scoring schemes; first-year students; generalizability; holistic ratings; ninth-graders; text quality scores; writing skills


Implementing the Internet across multiple countries in Africa is a complex process that requires participation, training, and collaboration at the local, national, and international level from governments, individual users, and IT providers. The authors report on some of the work happening that's allowing people to interconnect on many levels.


The present relates to a chip assembly, a flow cell and a cytometer for characterizing particles in a sample solution. The chip assembly comprises a pair of chips, at least one of the chip defining on its inner surface at least two channels, the two channels defining therebetween a common intersecting area. Each channel is adapted for receiving one or more optical fibers. The chips define a through-hole extending throughout the chip assembly in a transverse direction relative to the channels and passing through the common intersecting area. The flow cell comprises the chip assembly, an excitation fiber and at least one collection fiber extending through respective channels; the collection fiber for collecting light scattered or emitted by particles flowing through the through-hole and excited by an excitation light transported by the excitation fiber. The flow cytometer comprises a light source for generating the excitation light and the flow cell.


The present paper is mainly concerned with the definite ar ticle of Beowulf. The literature about the West Germanic definite article has always allotted a prime place among the old Germanic texts to this poem: it is undisputably archaic (Kuhn 1933: 105, D. Hofmann 1959:189), and suitable for statistical generalisations. Its more than 6,000 hemistichs contain about 300 instances of the. definite article (Lichtenheld 1872:332).


In view of the existing time-consuming and identity exchange problems in the pedestrian tracking process. A multi feature fusion tracking method based on adaboost detection is proposed. Firstly, the multi-scale wavelet transform is used to extract the foreground regions of the moving target, and the Haar-like feature is used in the foreground region to detect human heads. Then the particle filter tracking algorithm is introduced by combining color and gradient direction histogram to track the detected heads. Finally, the pedestrians are tracked through the association matrix. The experimental results show that the proposed method has a good tracking result when there are the cross motion and short occlusion between the pedestrians.


Copyright: © 2014 Nakao YM, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of multiple risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes that are deserving of more clinical attention. In 1988, Reaven reported that several risk factors like hypertension, dyslipidemia, and hyperglycemia commonly cluster together [1]. In 1998, World Health Organization proposed the first formalized definition using the term metabolic syndrome [2]. Then, various diagnostic criteria have been proposed by different organizations over the past decade [2-15]. In Japan, a consultation group on the definition of metabolic syndrome identified abdominal obesity as the major underlying risk factor and a prerequisite component for diagnosis of metabolic syndrome [16]. However, there has been a debate as to whether this feature should be a mandatory clinical criterion and additional inspection has been necessary.


The matrix analysis is the base of the multivariate statistical analysis.Complicated formula will be simpler and easier to use if matrix model is used.Some methods of resolving matrix problems are proposed by the application of partition and setting of matrix.


We have read with great interest the recent article by Zendejas et al. (1) on cold pulsatile perfusion (PP) of pediatric kidney allografts. The authors reported a case of PP preservation to test the viability of small pediatric kidneys donated after cardiac death. Since we have been using PP preservation for all deceased donor kidneys including pediatric en bloc kidneys (2–4), we would like to make a few comments. We reviewed all deceased donor kidney grafts at University of Miami from January 2005 to July 2008, which included 35 pairs of PP preserved pediatric en bloc kidneys (Table 1). The series included kidneys recovered from unstable donors, although only one en bloc graft was donated and PP preserved after cardiac death. En bloc kidneys were hypothermic pulsatile perfused through infrarenal aorta on the RM3 (Waters Medical Systems, Rochester, MN) using Belzer's machine perfusion solution (Trans-Med Corp., Elk River, MN). The perfusion pressure was set at 30 – 40/ 14 –31 mm Hg. No grafts were discarded after recovery based on donor characteristics or perfusion parameters. Kidney grafts were preferably allocated to younger patients and transplanted into 25 adult patients (20–61 years) and 10 pediatric patients (1–17 years). With a median follow-up of 20.5 months, 1-year and 2-year graft survival rates were both 88.6%. Thirty of 35 grafts (85.7%) functioned immediately. Three grafts (8.6%) were lost because of vascular complication within 1 week after transplantation. One graft lost the left kidney because of renal artery thrombosis while retaining the right kidney function. Another two grafts had delayed graft function (DGF) requiring hemodialysis in the first week after transplantation. One of them was lost because of antibody-mediated rejection, whereas the other graft fully recovered from acute tubular necrosis. The recipient age and size were not related to graft loss or technical complication. Median serum creatinine values at last follow-up were 0.90 mg/dL for adult recipients and 0.45 mg/dL for pediatric recipients. Four of five grafts recovered from donors younger than 1 years of age, and three of four grafts from donors weighing 8 kg or less had graft loss or DGF. Five of seven grafts with graft weight of 50 g or less lost at least one kidney. All grafts lost or with DGF had terminal flow of PP just before transplantation of 52 mL/min or lower and terminal renal resistance of 0.48 mm Hg/mL/min or higher. Conventionally used renal flow or resistance values per 100 g kidney mass were not good predictors of poor outcome. We agree with Zendejas et al. that PP preservation is a feasible option even for small pediatric kidneys and useful to evaluate marginal kidney grafts before transplantation. Its use may decrease the incidence of DGF when the kidney is recovered from marginal donors or preserved for prolonged time. The en bloc kidneys with renal flow lower than 50 mL/ min and renal resistance higher than 0.5 mm Hg/mL/min should be used cautiously because of higher risk of graft loss.


Approaches. Revival has been approached from a number of perspe ctives: historical, functionalist, structuralist, symbolical. The studi es deal with revival and musical change, identity, nationalism, ethnicity an d many other topics. There seem to be no ruling paradigm, no well-paved intell ectual autostradas to follow, instead a jungle of ideas. A problem is tha t a greater part of the litterature, theoretical and empirical, deals with the revival of folk traditions only. Of course, revival processes are not confined to folk traditions only, but are going on also in all kinds of fields. It is obv ious that a lot could be won by widening the horizons and compare for example th e revival of old jazzstyles, Bach ́s music in the 1820's, punk, Beatl es and other popular musics of today. There are so many parallells betwe n for example the early music revival instigated by Arnold Dolmetsch in the 1880 ́s and the folk music revival of the same period, that a mere coinc idence simply is out of question.


The paper presents two techniques to speed up routing of user circuits within an island-style FPGA design flow. The basic algorithm is the modified Pathfinder that supports a mixed route graph representation of FPGA routing resources. The first technique reduces the number of rip-up and reroute iterations and allows decreasing routing time by 38% on average while increasing the critical path delay up to 10% only. The second technique utilizes the idea of directed pathfinding on a mixed route graph with known geometric coordinates of its vertices and edges. Various values of directed path search adjustment factor were investigated and the optimal one was discovered. The introduced routing method adjusted by an optimal factor value is shown to double a routing speedup without routability degradation. Also, the paper proposes a formal description of FPGA routing resources and a routing task itself.


The public reaction to Australian women artist Margaret Olley's paintings of reclining nude Aboriginal women and still lifes, focussing on her painting 'Susan with Flowers' (1962) is discussed by placing them in the social and cultural context of the early 1960s Brisbane. It is suggested that 'Susan with Flowers' portrayed an Aboriginal woman with commonly found flowers in Australia, while the initial presence of the nude paintings in the private sphere diluted any possible racial interpretation of them.


Antiplasmin cleaving enzyme (APCE) is a proteinase that specifically, but slowly cleaves the Pro-Asn bond in long-form α 2 -antiplasmin (Met-α 2 AP) in human plasma. This slow cleavage produces a steady-state plasma mixture of Met-α 2 AP and an N-terminally shortened form of antiplasmin, Asn-α 2 AP. The Asn-α 2 AP form crosslinks to fibrin ~13-fold faster than Met-α 2 AP. A faster crosslink rate causes a greater number of antiplasmin molecules to become bound during fibrin formation, thereby enhancing resistance to fibrinolysis. Inhibition of plasma APCE may decrease the number of antiplasmin molecules crosslinked and result in clots that are more easily removed during fibrinolysis. Therefore, an inhibitor specific for APCE could potentially be used to regulate fibrinolysis. Human Met-α 2 AP exists in two polymorphic forms at position six in the mature sequence, with arginine predominant, and tryptophan accounting for a lesser percentage. We have determined the relative cleavage rates of synthetic peptides from a peptide library that span the cleavage site. The peptides contained all common amino acids except cysteine in the polymorphic position (P7 position). Arg was the optimal amino acid in this position with a relative cleavage rate ~5–10-fold faster than other amino acids except Lys, which was ~70% of the Arg rate. The P7 position Arg enhancement was also observed when Arg was in the P6 or P5 position, but no enhancement was observed when Arg was moved to positions P8, P4, P3 or P2. It was also determined that APCE is preferentially an endoproteinase rather than an aminodipeptidase, with a 10-fold greater rate of hydrolysis of the internal Pro-Asn bond in the Met-α 2 AP 1–17 peptide sequence MEPLGRQLTSGP-NQEQV over the Pro-Asn bond penultimate to the amino-terminal bond in the Met-α 2 AP 11–27 peptide sequence GP-NQEQVSPLTLLKLGN in peptide hydrolysis experiments. We conclude that APCE inhibitors designed with a positive charge placed upstream of the Pro-X scissile bond equivalent to five to seven amino acid residues may prove to be highly potent and specific. In addition, such inhibitors should also prove useful for blocking the activity of the closely related enzyme fibroblast activation protein. This work was supported by NIH grant HL072995.


The photoinduced hydrophilicity of double layer films was fabricated by using a conventional rf-magnetron sputtering method. The photoinduced hydrophilic reaction of the surface was enhanced by the presence of under the layer by irradiation of a 10 W cylindrical fluorescent light bulb. However, when the and layers were separated by an insulating layer, the surface did not appeared high hydrophilic, under the same light bulb. The enhanced photoinduced hydrophilic reaction can be explained by the charge transfer between and layers. It was also demonstrated that visible light passing through the layer could excite . Thus, visible light can be used for the hydrophilic reaction in the present system.


The purpose of this study is to inquire into the actual states and recognition characteristics on the temporal changes of residential and sound environments in a region. It was analyzed the aspects and characteristics of attitude changes on the residential and sound environments of the residents in Namwon city in a span of ten years through the results of questionnaire survey in 2001/2002 and 2011. The importance of amenity factors in relation to satisfaction of residential environments emerged as sanitation conditions in 2001 and housing structure in 2011, and the estimation of these two factors were lowered in 2011 than 2001. The importance of impression factors in relation to satisfaction of residential environments emerged as health in 2001 and 2011. The estimation of health and vitality factors were lowered in 2011 while intimacy was highered. The consciousness on regional development through the residents participation were expanded to a higher level from infrastructure and urban/housing environments to natural environments, festive occasion and cultural welfare. Analysis on the comparative importances of sound groups rated compatible with the surroundings showed that the residents set store by sound environment expressing regional characteristics such as traditional environment sound and working environment sound in 2002, and natural environment sound, traditional environment sound and local environment sound in 2011.


Let alone the regard of the masterpiece of Gong Zizhen,His poetry collective:Jihai zashi fully shows:Gong Zizhen was a devout Buddhist but with a complexity of "Outside Buddhism and inside Confucian".That's more,Gong Zi zhen insisted that Buddhism is an efficient remedy for social reform,civilian's moral perfection and spiritual promotion of the revolutionaries with other law's complement.And then he dissolved this idea into these poets to express his Buddhist thought and the overriding oneness and the basic world saving doctrine of the Buddhism strongly.


We have measured the specific heat of single-crystal ${\mathrm{YbBe}}_{13}$ from 0.4 to 25 K and compared it to Schottky anomalies based on two different previously reported ${\mathrm{Yb}}^{3+}$ crystal-field spectra. Qualitative agreement is found with the level scheme determined by inelastic neutron scattering, and small quantitative discrepancies are consistent with a strongly enhanced electronic contribution (\ensuremath{\gamma}\ensuremath{\sim}30 mJ/mole ${\mathrm{K}}^{2}$). ${T}_{N}$ is determined to be 1.115\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.016 K.


ABSTRACT To investigate the selectivity of different size fractions in the flotation process, the Fuerstenau upgrading equation was used to fit the results of flotation kinetics of various size fractions and to evaluate the flotation selectivity. The hydrophobic and hydrophilic functional groups on the surface of coal of different size fractions were analyzed quantitatively by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy, and a hydrophilicity index (HI) was defined. The difference in the values of HI was also applied to assess the flotation selectivity. The results show that the fitting constant k from the Fuerstenau upgrading equation is positively correlated to the flotation selectivity. The constant k values of the three size fractions are as follows: 3.16 for 0.25–0.125 mm, 2.86 for 0.125–0.074 mm, and 2.03 for –0.074 mm. It reflected that the selectivity of the coarse size fraction was the best, followed by the medium size fraction, and the selectivity of fine size fraction was the worst. The required clean ash content of 12% was achieved at a separation density of about 1.6 g/cm3. The difference in the HI values between 1.4–1.6 g/cm3 and > 1.6 g/cm3 determine the selectivity. The greater the difference in the HI values is, the better the selectivity is. The difference in the HI values were 1.2195 for 0.25–0.125 mm, 0.8327 for 0.125–0.074 mm, and 0.5873 for –0.074 mm, which is consistent with the results obtained using the Fuerstenau upgrading equation to characterize the selectivity of coal slime.


An optical glass whose internal transmittance, in terms of 1 mm thickness, with respect to light of 400 nm wavelength is 90% or greater, which optical glass comprises 25 mol% or more of B2O3 and 0.1 to 20 mol% of TeO2. There is further provided the above optical glass wherein La2O3 is contained, and still further provided the above optical glass which satisfies the relationships: glass transition temperature = 1.70. Moreover, there is provided a process for producing an optical device including any of the above optical glasses, which process comprises causing the optical glass in molten form to drop through a flow outlet of platinum alloy outflow pipe to thereby obtain a preform and effecting precision press molding of the preform.


Statins reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and decrease cardiovascular events. Although statins are generally well tolerated, the FDA warns that statins may induce skeletal muscle side effects, cognitive changes and increased fasting glucose levels. Skeletal muscle biopsies from patients with statin myopathy have revealed defects in mitochondrial ultrastructure. Impaired mitochondrial function has been postulated as a key cause of statin-induced myopathy and hepatotoxicity. Long-term statin effects on cardiac muscle are currently unknown. Wild type mice received atorvastatin, pravastatin or vehicle daily for seven months by oral gavage. Atorvastatin and pravastatin reduced LDL-C compared to vehicle. Echocardiography at two-week intervals showed no differences in %FS, %EF, circumferential fiber shortening and ventricular wall thicknesses between atorvastatin, pravastatin and vehicle treated mice. After seven months of atorvastatin, pravastatin or vehicle administration cardiac muscles (n=21...


A fast multipole method (FMM)/graphics processing unit-accelerated boundary element method (BEM) for computational magnetics and electrostatics via the Laplace equation is presented. The BEM is an integral method, but the FMM is typically designed around monopole and dipole sources. To apply the FMM to the integral expressions in the BEM, the internal data structures and logic of the FMM must be changed. However, this can be difficult. For example, computing the multipole expansions due to the boundary elements requires computing single and double surface integrals over them. Moreover, FMM codes for monopole and dipole sources are widely available and highly optimized. This paper describes a method for applying the FMM unchanged to the integral expressions in the BEM. This method, called the correction factor matrix method, works by approximating the integrals using a quadrature. The quadrature points are treated as monopole and dipole sources, which can be plugged directly into current FMM codes. The FMM is effectively treated as a black box. Inaccuracies from the quadrature are corrected during a correction factor step. The method is derived, and example problems are presented showing accuracy and performance.


The invention discloses a reverse printing embroidery technology. A piece of cloth is dyed firstly and then embroidered, all or part of embroidery patterns are shielded by a piece of isolation paper, redundant isolation paper is cut off, then a layer of transfer paper with colors or patterns printed is laid for transfer, parts except the part shielded by the isolation paper are transferredwith required colors or patterns, and the part shielded by the isolation paper is not transferred with colors and forms patterns naturally. According to the embroidery technology, after the cloth is dyed and embroidered, the isolation paper is used for isolating the patterns, so that the transfer colors or patterns cannot be transferred to the shielded part, that is, the part on which no color or pattern is transferred forms the patterns; the accuracy of the patterns is guaranteed, so that the production quality and the product quality are improved, and products have the better sense of artistic value.


The paper introduces a novel architecture of all digital phase locked loop(ADPLL). It proposes a novel frequency acquisition method by separating frequency detecting process from phase detecting process which shortens the acquisition-time greatly. Furthermore, 1-bit quantified theory is used in ADPLL to increase the controllability of the loop. A precise mathematical model of the ADPLL is built with Matlab. Through the simulation result, the feasibility of this system is justified. Stabilization is an important performance of PLL. The proposed ADPLL is a nonlinear system, so the conventional linear system analysis theory is not suit anymore. This paper uses Lyapunov theory to test stabilization of the proposed ADPLL system.


This paper reports a study into the use of standard image processing techniques and measures to score and index radargrams. The study has developed from work investigating the use of neural networks to interpret sub surface radar signals. The paper details: The image processing techniques used to score the radargrams and the results of the scoring; How finite difference time domain modeling was used to generate the synthetic radargrams for the study; Introduces the simple methods used to reconcile the input to the modeling and the scores generated by the image processing. The situation modeled was that of an air filled void under a reinforced concrete slab.


N 2 O is the major greenhouse gases influencing global warming, and agricultural land is the predominant (anthropogenic) source of N 2 O emissions. Here, we report the high N 2 O-reducing activity of Bradyrhizobium ottawaense , suggesting the potential for efficiently mitigating N 2 O emission from agricultural lands. Among the 15 B. ottawaense isolates examined, the N 2 O-reducing activities of most (13) strains were approximately 5-fold higher than that of Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens USDA110 T under anaerobic free-living conditions. This robust N 2 O-reducing activity of B. ottawaense was confirmed by N 2 O reductase (NosZ) protein levels and in the soybean rhizosphere after nodule decomposition. While the NosZ of B. ottawaense and B. diazoefficiens showed high homology, nosZ gene expression in B . ottawaense was over 150-fold higher than that in B. diazoefficiens USDA110 T , suggesting the high N 2 O-reducing activity of B. ottawaense is achieved by high nos expression. Furthermore, we examined the nos operon transcription start sites and found that, unlike B. diazoefficiens , B . ottawaense has two transcription start sites under N 2 O-respiring conditions, which may contribute to the high nosZ expression . Our study proposes the potential of B. ottawaense for effective N 2 O reduction and unique regulation of nos gene expression that contributes to the high performance of N 2 O mitigation in the soil.


According to the theory of naturalism,"culture" was usually understood in current fashion as a kind of existent "cultural phenomena" and "cultural patterns" that have been already "at hand".The reason for the normal understanding about culture is that we lost the existential foundation of culture. A culture built on the existential foundation should be understood as "original-self culture".It has been on the way of "coming on hand" forever.


Objective:To investigate the alteration of serum xanthine oxidase activity and the uric acid content in the heroin addicts. Methods:31 cases of normal male controls and 40 male heroin addicts were enrolled. The serum xanthine oxidase activity as well as the uric acid content was examined respectively. Results:The serum xanthine oxidase activity in the heroin addicts was significantly higher than the controls (P 0.01),whereas the serum uric acid content had no difference between the two groups. Conclusion:Heroin abuse can lead to a raise of serum xanthine oxidase activity in heroin addicts,and it may be correlated with the oxidative damage induced by heroin.


Influence of rippled load on lithium batteries is receiving increased attention. According to recent studies, accelerated ageing strongly depends on the frequency control of the ripple. We use electrochemical models to derive a highly simplified regression model that catches the asymptotic behavior and allows parameter identification and calibration to specific cells.


Calls for a political ecology of health have recently emerged in geography. This article builds on these to suggest a practice of a political ecology of health by incorporating the insights of medical anthropology, STS, and history of medicine. Framed around three perspectives – partial and situated knowledges, Marxist-feminist approaches, more-than-human geographies of health – this article argues that incorporating the insights of political ecology and cognate disciplines into the problems we investigate and the methods we use will make for a stronger practice of a political ecology of health.


Previous research has demonstrated that the discrimination of stop consonants differing in VOT is categorical (nonmonotonic) in high‐uncertainty tasks such as the ABX paradigm, but may become less categorical as the level of task uncertainty is decreased. In particular, Sachs and Grant [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Suppl. 1 60, S91 (1976)] reported that the perception of a /ga‐ka/ continuum became monotonic after considerable training in a low‐uncertainty, same‐different task. Four subjects participated in a replication of the Sachs and Grant experiments with a /ba‐pa/ continuum. Results were similar to Sachs and Grants's and indicated that in the lowest uncertainty task VOT discrimination followed Weber's Law. An analogous set of experiments were carried out for somewhat simpler stimuli, following Miller et al. [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 60, 410–417 (1976)]. These stimuli were digitally generated as a bandpassed noise followed by a buzz. The duration of the noise preceding the buzz varied in the same manner as the VOT ...


Objective It studied the methods of enhance online shops′visual image. Methods In light of generally existing problems in present stage in shop homepage,such as information blind accumulation,the lack of personality and the ignorance of the artistic problems,it put forward the methods of accurate and effective information,user experience-centered and artistic design language to integrate shop image design. Conclusion The conclusion is drawn that a whole-new design method is employed in the online home page to adapt to the new trend of the development of the shops,to achieve the purpose of winning more customers in the new competitive field,and broadening the market of shops.