In order to improve the ASR performance in noisy environments , distorted speech is typically pre-processed by a speech enhancement algorithm, which usually results in a speech estimate containing residual noise and distortion. We may also have some measures of uncertainty or variance of the estimate. Uncertainty decoding is a framework that utilizes this knowledge of uncertainty in the input features during acoustic model scoring. Such frameworks have been well explored for traditional probabilistic models, but their optimal use for deep neural network (DNN)-based ASR systems is not yet clear. In this paper, we study the propagation of observation uncertainties through the layers of a DNN-based acoustic model. Since this is intractable due to the nonlinearities of the DNN, we employ approximate propagation methods, including Monte Carlo sampling , the unscented transform, and the piecewise exponential approximation of the activation function, to estimate the distribution of acoustic scores. Finally, the expected value of the acoustic score distribution is used for decoding, which is shown to further improve the ASR accuracy on the CHiME database, relative to a highly optimized DNN baseline.


We propose a four-neutrino model which can reconcile the existing data coming from underground experiments in terms of neutrino oscillations, together with the hint from the LSND experiment and a possible neutrino contribution to the hot dark matter of the Universe. It applies the idea that extra compact dimensions, probed only by gravity and possibly gauge-singlet fields, can lower the fundamental scales such as the Planck, string or unification scales. Our fourth light neutrino $\nu_s$ ($s$ for sterile) is identified with the zero mode of the Kaluza-Klein states. To first approximation \nu_sterile combines with the nu_mu in order to form a Dirac neutrino with mass in the eV range leaving the other two neutrinos massless. The smallness of this mass scale (suitable for LSND and Hot Dark Matter) arises without appealing neither to a see-saw mechanism nor to a radiative mechanism, but from the volume factor associated with the canonical normalization of the wave-function of the bulk field in the compactified dimensions. % On the other hand the splitting between \nm and \nu_sterile (atmospheric scale) as well as the mass of the two other neutrinos (solar mass scale) arise from the violation of the fermion number on distant branes. We also discuss alternative scenarios involving flavour-changing interactions. In one of them \ne can be in the electron-volt range and therefore be probed in beta decay studies.


Likelihood ratio tests for a set of k normal means are studied when both the null and alternative hypotheses impose homogeneous linear inequality constraints on the means. Examples of such constraints include hypotheses that the means are equal, that they are nonnegative, that they are linear, or that they are monotone. Several tests involving such constraints have appeared recently, and here we present theory that unifies and extends many of these results. Our approach makes use of the properties of polyhedral cones. We define conditions under which the exact distribution of the likelihood ratio statistic is available, and show that this distribution is of the chi-bar-square form. When the exact distribution is unavailable, it may still be possible to find a stochastic ordering of the test statistic, and thereby derive a conservative test. The asymptotic distribution of the test statistic is also studied. Our results do not require that estimates of the k means be independent, provided that their covaria...


OBJECTIVE Study on expression of cytokine in experimental research on CNV treated by Guishao Dihuang decoction(归芍地黄汤)and TTT.METHODS Induced CNV animal model with semiconductor laser.Divided animals into five groups:normal control,negative control,transpupillary thermotherapy treatment group,traditional Chinese medicine treatment group and combined treatment group.Induced choroidal neovascularizatrion animal model were treated with Guishao Dihuang decoction(归芍地黄汤)and TTT.FFA examinations occurred at week 4 and 8.Hematoxylin eosin stain and histopathology immunohistochemigtry of VEGF,bFGF and PEDF were made at week 8.RESULTS CNV was confirmed by FFA at week 4.Through FFA,hematoxylin eosin stain and histopathology immunohistochemigtry of VEGF,bFGF and PEDF,the best curative effect group was combined treatment group.Although the PEDF increased most in TTT treatment group,there was no statistics difference between it and combined treatment group.VEGF/PEDF decreased most in combined treatment group too.CONCLUSIONS TTT and TCM could subsidise CNV through decreasing VEGF,bFGF and VEGF/PEDF and increasing PEDF.The best curative effect group was combined treatment group.


Markings symbols are used to indicate or legally prescribe specific behaviour on the road. Markings are used to give visual guidance, to control traffic and, therefore, they make an important contribution to promoting the flow of traffic, to influencing behaviour on the road, making the presence of other motorists and encounters with them more safe. Not only the correct geometry of the markings, i.e. their application and method of presentation on the road, but also the materials selected are of vital importance. Markings are only effective as a visual control system if they are sufficiently durable, non-skid and visible. Night visibility is of particular importance; only if this requirement is satisfied is it possible to guarantee day-night uniformity. Markings are an indispensable part of the roads. It is of decisive importance for the purpose of visual guidance and, therefore, for traffic safety and the control of traffic, that markings are used which are easily visible during the night and whose effectiveness is permanently assured. Only in this way are they able to exert their positive influence as a visual control system during the day and night on the European roads. For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 866319.


This paper describes the design of current mode instrumentation amplifier (CMIA) for bio-signal Acquisition system. The CMIA topology is based on voltage mode operational amplifier (op amp) power supply current sensing technique. Op amp mismatch and precise current mirrors are two design challenges of this topology. A new low-voltage single-power high CMRR and PSRR instrumentation amplifier is developed for biomedical applications. The proposed circuit uses a new structure to solve the conventional circuits problems. The overall proposed circuits by virtuoso 6.1.5 using UMC 0.18um CMOS technology achieve a very high CMRR 130dB up to 87 HZ and higher than 100dB up to 10k Hz and PSRR 110 dB up to 1k Hz and 39 dB closed loop gain at 1.8V single power supply.


(57) Abstract: The present invention provides a composition specific binding can inhibit between signal transduction proteins and cytoplasmic proteins. The present invention also provides a method for identifying a compound capable of inhibiting the specific binding between signal transduction proteins and cytoplasmic proteins. The present invention also provides a method of inhibiting the growth of cancer cells. The present invention also provides a method of treating cancer with an effective amount of the composition to cause apoptosis of the cells. The present invention also provides a method of inhibiting the growth of virus-infected cells. The present invention is an effective amount of a composition to cause apoptosis of cells, provides a method for treating a subject infected with a virus. The present invention also provides pharmaceutical compositions.


A marked magnetic field dependence is found for the impurity band density of states in an idealized model of a doped semiconductor. The calculations are based on the Hubbard model in the atomic lim...


Based on the consulting experience in several process improvement projects and existing literature in the area the authors present a structured method to improve an existing process. This removes the ambiguity in identifying the data and information required to analyze a business process and in selection of suitable process improvement pattern. In general two consultants working on same improvement project may not reach the same results. This framework will help in achieving same recommendations consistently. The paper consists of method for analysis of existing process, data and information requirements for process improvement, and an approach to identify business process redesign methods.


Abstract By designing an innovative practicum for a graduate information science student, a library can provide Internet training tailored to fit the specific needs of its college faculty and staff. In addition to program credit, a student gains bibliographic instruction experience in a real world, evolving library environment, and both institution and student benefit from a project that addresses the genuine needs of the institution.


Almost since its inception the photograph has functioned as a lens that appears to open the past while simultaneously marking the boundary between the past and the living present. In fact, Roland Barthes's Camera Lucida specifically explored how this condition of photography operates on viewers, creating the experience of an anterior-future tense. This essay offers a close reading of Barthes's notion of the role of the "punctum" and the analysis of it that the "post-photography" debates of the late 1980s produced in order to explore how images (analogue and digital alike) trigger "immaterial signals" that convey affective qualities. Through an in-depth analysis of affect the essay further demonstrates how images have the potential to create non-narrative and illogical associations with the embodied memories of viewers.


The angular dependence of the critical current density J c in external magnetic field has been measured in Nb/CuMn multilayers with and without a regular array of antidots. The multilayers without antidots behave coherently to what has already been reported in the literature, showing, for sufficiently high anisotropy, dissipation related only to the magnetic-field component perpendicular to the layers, H' . This behavior is generally explained in terms of the presence of kinked vortices. The kink formation has been directly detected in the antidotted samples, where low angle modulation of Jc , related to single vortex kinks entering the system, has been found. The presence of kinks explains also the unusual scaling of J c vs H' found at low anisotropy in the antidotted case up to a value of the angle related to the geometrical structure of the system.


The bounded orbital motion of a massive spinless test particle in the background of a Kerr Brans–Dicke geometry is analysed in terms of worldlines that are auto-parallels of different metric compatible spacetime connections. In one case the connection is that of Levi–Civita with zero-torsion. In the second case the connection has torsion determined by the gradient of the Brans–Dicke background scalar field. The calculations permit one in principle to discriminate between these possibilities.


Plastic is a material that has a high impact on the environment due to the long amount of time it takes to decompose, contaminating residues involved in this material, and the damage caused to human health that this implies. Currently tons of plastic are discarded day after day, for this reason our research is oriented to the production of a bioplastic capable of supplying the conventional plastic but with the advantage that our bioplastic has a considerable environmental impact since this comes from conventional organic waste which are of daily consumption. In the development of our project, we present the data that validate that self-extinction was improved unlike a commercial plastic, in the present project is also taken into account the productivity part of improvement since through operational excellence, costs are reached in several areas of the project such as savings in the amount of raw material when working with a waste material.


8101 Background: The International Prognostic Index (IPI) or absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) was known as a prognostic factor in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). But in the rituximab era, new...


The paper characterises the problem of understanding the local context of demand for knowledge by poor people as "reaching the last mile". From a range of practical studies the paper offers some evidence of ways in which the local context contributes to successful knowledge sharing. The paper highlights the objectives, channels and context that distinguish knowledge-based development from knowledge sharing in business. The case of the Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG), a UK-based NGO promoting the use of technology to reduce poverty in developing countries, is taken as the basis for our discussion. The implications of ITDG's research into reaching the last mile, including partnership models, business models and the relevance of information communication technologies (ICTs) are outlined and insights that are relevant to other domains of knowledge sharing, with particular regard to the importance of context, are discussed in the conclusion.


Mice with fracture were fed with 5% L-HYP solution. Then the fracture regions were taken pictures by X-ray after days of feeding. It was found from the X-ray picture that L-HYP could help the fracture heal. L-HYP did not have poisonous and side effect.


While large arteries are essential for delivering blood flow into the kidney, renal microcirculation, namely glomerular capillaries and peritubular capillaries (PTC) are responsible for delivering oxygen and nutrients to the renal parenchymal cells, thus also required to sustain sufficient glomerular filtration rate for clearing waste products and production of urine. Postglomerular capillary blood flow exits the glomerulus via efferent arterioles and divide to form PTC plexuses interacting with the tubules of the nephron and interstitium.


ATR algorithm performance is clearly directly related to the signature and clutter on which it operates. This paper describes a practical signal to clutter measure used for comparing data set relative detection and recognition difficulty by making use of the target signature directly. Results are shown on a variety of data sets.


We propose, fabricate, and characterize the on-chip integration of suspended p-n junction InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells(MQWs) device and multiple waveguides on the same GaN-on-silicon platform. The integrated devices are fabricated via a wafer-level process and exhibit selectable functionalities for diverse applications. As the suspended p-n junction InGaN/GaN MQWs device operates under a light emitting diode(LED) mode, part of the light emission is confined and guided by the suspended waveguides. The in-plane propagation along the suspended waveguides is measured by a micro-transmittance setup. The on-chip data transmission is demonstrated for the proof-of-concept photonic integration. As the suspended p-n junction InGaN/GaN MQWs device operates under photodiode mode, the light is illuminated on the suspended waveguides with the aid of the micro-transmittance setup and, thus, coupled into the suspended waveguides. The guided light is finally sensed by the photodiode, and the induced photocurrent trace shows a distinct on/off switching performance. These experimental results indicate that the on-chip photonic integration is promising for the development of sophisticated integrated photonic circuits in the visible wavelength region.


Multituple packet classification is one of the key technologies, and often the performance bottleneck in modern network devices. Devices such as firewalls demand fast packet classification on very complicated rule sets of large size, which is still challenging today. This paper proposes a practical packet classification algorithm named dynamic discrete bit selection (D2 BS), which achieves high classification speed while requiring low storage. D2 BS employs dynamic heuristic schemes at bit level, to explore the inherent characteristics of the rule sets. D2BS has been implemented on various platforms including Intel-architecture, multicore network processor, and FPGA, and is compared with the state-of-the-art solutions. Experimental results on real-life rule sets show that the memory storage required by D2BS is at least one to two orders of magnitude lower than that of the existing work, while the speed is much higher. With 64-byte Ethernet packet and 10K size ACL rule set, D2BS achieves a throughput over 10 Gbps on Cavium OCTEON CN5860 multicore network processor and over 135 Gbps on Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGA, which outperforms the existing work under the same test environment. All results promise that D2BS is a highly practical solution to satisfy vigorous requirements.


Most of the people present in the North-eastern states of India are tribal people whose daily diet constitutes of various fermented food products. These food products are mostly prepared by their own traditional methods which they have inherited from their ancestors. This paper brings together a brief comparative study on the different fermented food products which are region specific and have their unique substrate and preparation methods. The substrates like cereals, pulses and vegetables are fermented by the local tribe. The alcoholic beverages produced in the states have unique taste and out siders preferred to take the drink. The common microorganisms like Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB), Candida sp., Bacillus sp., and Saccharomyces cerevisiae etc., are found in these fermented food products. These products help to improve the economy of the local people and it can be commercialized with proper formulation studies in future.


Recent successes in the Lodgepole Waulsortian Mound play have resulted in the reevaluation of the Williston Basin petroleum systems. It has been postulated that hydrocarbons were generated from organic-rich Bakken Formation source rocks in the Williston Basin. However, Canadian geoscientists have indicated that the Lodgepole Formation is responsible for oil entrapped in Lodgepole Formation and other Madison traps in portions of the Canadian Williston Basin. Furthermore, geoscientists in the U.S. have recently shown oils from mid-Madison conventional reservoirs in the U.S. Williston Basin were not derived from Bakken Formation source rocks. Kinetic data showing the rate of hydrocarbon formation from petroleum source rocks were measured on source rocks from the Lodgepole, False Bakken, and Bakken Formations. These results show a wide range of values in the rate of hydrocarbon generation. Oil prone facies within the Lodgepole Formation tend to generate hydrocarbons earlier than the oil prone facies in the Bakken Formation and mixed oil/gas prone and gas prone facies in the Lodgepole Formation. A comparison of these source rocks using a geological model of hydrocarbon generation reveals differences in the timing of generation and the required level of maturity to generate significant amounts of hydrocarbons.


We commend Isojarvi et al 1 for their article, "Serum Lipid Levels During Carbamazepine Medication: A Prospective Study." This study should greatly contribute to the medical literature, but we are concerned that some of the conclusions are misleading because of their inappropriate statistical analyses. Since multiple comparisons were made using the t test (at baseline, after 2 months, and after 1 year), 1 there is an increased risk of making a type I error. 2 In other words, the chance of finding a significant difference when one is actually not present is increased. An analysis of variance for repeated measures with a posthoc test would have been more appropriate in analyzing statistical significance. 3 With the lack of patient-specific data, we cannot reassess the results for significance using this method, but a Bonferroni correction can be used to decrease the chance of making a type I error when multiple comparisons


We study the problem of online interaction in general decision making problems, where the objective is not only to find optimal strategies, but also to satisfy certain safety guarantees, expressed in terms of costs accrued. In particular, we focus on the online learning problem in which an agent has to find the optimal solution of a linear objective. Moreover, the agent has to satisfy a linear safety constraint at each round. We propose a theoretical framework to address such problems and present BAN-SOLO, a UCB-like algorithm that, in an online interaction with an unknown environment, attains sublinear regret of order O ( T ) and satisfies a safety constraint with high probability at each iteration. BAN-SOLO provides a general framework that can be applied to any setting in which estimators of the objective and the cost function are available. At its core, it relies on tools from convex duality to manage environment exploration while satisfying the safety constraint imposed by the problem. To show the applicability of our framework, we provide two game theoretical applications: normal-form games and sequential decision-making problems.


By the time-kill curve method, a vancomycin-rifampin combination showed neither synergism nor antagonism against 43 of 48 strains of enterococci. Antagonism was demonstrated against five strains.


"'A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us,' Kafka wrote. Self-help is how we skate" (Kaminer, 1992, p. 165).


Landslide is one of the major disasters that occur in Malaysia. Despite various initiatives undertaken by the government to reduce their occurrences, landslide incidents continue to occur, resulting in loss of life and property. The development process coupled with climate change increases the risk of landslides. This manuscript briefly looks at the causal factors of landslides and identifies requirements for landslide risk management to identify options to strengthen landslide risk management in Peninsular Malaysia. Risk management encompassing identification of hazards, vulnerabilities and exposure of elements can prevent landslides from becoming a disaster. The study conducted, noted that the present approach in landslide disaster management has not fully incorporated the landslide disaster risk management approach. Key aspects such as legislation, institutions, zoning of disaster risk areas, risk transfer mechanisms and financial allocations require serious consideration. The determination of the legal basis to incorporate risk management measures, which will set out the needed mandates, jurisdiction and responsibility is one of the important steps. It will help ensure that decision making processes are risk-based, and strengthen the processes in preparing disaster risk maps, comprehensive databases using landslide inventory and register. It would also help in the preparation of early warning and emergency response systems as well as bolster community involvement, awareness, and public education. These will require a holistic approach in landslide disaster risk management. It will support the effort undertaken by government and stakeholders to incorporate the four priority areas of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 which can effectively help reduce the risk of landslides.


We expand the literature about the role of home-host country ties and of firm-specific political resources on firms' international expansion decisions. Prior research presumes ties between home and host countries to directly influence decisions concerning international expansion. Instead, we posit that these ties exert a stronger influence in politically distant environments. Extant studies also assume that all firms in a given country start with the same level of political capabilities, differences being developed through experience in diverse political environments. Conversely, we advance that some firms own firm-specific political resources, which influence international expansion decisions in combination with home-host ties. We use fuzzy set analysis to investigate our propositions on a setting of international investments by Brazilian publicly-traded firms during the 1999-2010 timeframe.


Hybrid testing combines physical experiment and numerical simulation,and hence greatly reduces requirements for the loading system. Furthermore,it is possible and convenient to observe specimen responses during large-scale or even full-scale hybrid test. All features result in attentions widely paid to this testing method. In order to promote research and applications of hybrid test methods,the research group of Professor Bin Wu from Harbin Institute of Technology has been developing a hybrid test platform,namely HyTest. In this paper,a communication module between HyTest and the extensively-used MTS control system has been developed using the VB interface offered by MTS. This module can send commands to the MTS system,store data to computer,perform coordinate transformation,and communicate with HyTest via network. The effectiveness of this module is verified through a hybrid test on a single-story single-span 6-DOF steel frame structure. This article highlights the development method and its application to hybrid testing,and therefore,it is helpful for peers to use HyTest,and can offer a reference for secondary development of the MTS control system as well.


Abstract
Purpose:
Published data regarding retinoblastoma in Saudi Arabia (KSA) is sparse. The study will
present comparison of clinical and pathologic features, and evolving patterns of the treatment during
1983-1997 (Early group=EG) to 1998-2012 (Late group=LG) periods from an RB registry representing
all Rb cases in KSA.


The paper deals with the attempt to guarantee real-time services over TCP/IP. The scenario taken into consideration is a distributed computing environment where producer and consumer processes feature real time constraints and the communication between them is realised by a LAN based on TCP/IP protocols. The lack of determinism in the communication of this suite of protocols is the reason of the proposal of a real time access protocol. This protocol is implemented by a Java-based middleware between TCP/IP and user's real time applications. In order to introduce more determinism in the execution of the Java code, the PERC Real-Time Java Virtual Machine has been used. The paper focuses on the description of the centralised access protocol and its performance evaluation using the real-time PERC Virtual Machine.


A method has been developed for extracting genomic DNA from samples of Taihu area. In this method, the environmental samples were treated first by grinding and freezing/thawing and subsequently by SDS/proteinase K and CTAB-based DNA extraction. The crude extraction from these samples was purified by dialysis bag and Nucleaotrap respectively. Both purification methods resulted in complete removal of the brown color from crude DNA solution. The purified DNA could be digested well by 4 kinds of restriction enzymes and was pure enough for amplification of 16S rDNA gene and other random primers. Mixed genomic DNA libraries for the environmental samples were constructed by inserting part restriction digesting fragments (3-8 kb) into plasmid pSK- and then transforming competent E. coli JM109 with the resultant plamids. Fig 6, Ref 7


Leydig cells have been found to be either unidentifiable or at apparent low numbers during routine histologic examination of bowhead whale testes. Therefore, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded testicular tissues from 14 bowhead whales were retrospectively examined to determine if immunohistochemical staining could aid in identification of Sertoli and Leydig cells. Multiple intratesticular samples were examined when available. Sertoli and Leydig cells were differentiated using inhibin and calretinin stains. Significant whale length and seasonal differences were not found; however, a trend toward increased staining intensity was noted for autumn harvested whales.


Portulaca molokiniensis is a distinctive new species from the arid islands of Mo lokini and Kaho'olawe. It is clearly distinguishable from its closest relative , Portulaca lutea, by its spinose seeds , extended peduncle-like apical internodes, many-flowered capitate inflorescences, broad, decussate, imbricate leaves, larger flowers, long, sinuous style branches, and cespitose habit. Por tulaca molokiniensis occurs in extremely dry coastal sites on leeward rainshadow islands in Hawai'i, well separated from P. lutea which occurs only on moist windward coastal sites. The new species of Portulaca described here was first collected by Charles N. Forbes on Molokini in February 1913. In a publication appearing la ter that year (Forbes 1913) he identified it as P. lutea Soland. ex G. Forster. It was collected again at the same locality on 13 October 1925 by Harold S. Palmer and identified by Edward L. Caum (Caum 1930) again as P. lutea. It was not documented again until 1978-1984 when it was collected twice on Molokini and three times on Kaho'olawe by various individuals and botanical survey parties (Stemmermann, Char, Higashino and Yosida 1979; Corn, Char, Clarke and Cuddihy 1980; Clarke 1982). It was onl y during the most recent surveys that the se plants were recognized as being pos sibly distinct from Portulaca lutea. In order to evaluate their status, I init iated a study which included detailed observations and measurements of plants growing at both the Molokini and Kaho'olawe localities, similar observa tions and measurements of plants growing under cultivation on Maui, and herbarium studies at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. T hese studies showed that the Mo lokini and Kaho'o lawe plants possess a number of charactersistics distinguishing them from P. lutea as it occurs throughout its entire Pacific ra nge .


In this article, a 7‐GHz to 40‐GHz ultra‐wideband passive double‐balanced mixer MMIC using compact wideband Marchand balun (CWMB) is presented. The CWMB is analyzed and designed by introducing a novel optimal impedance deviation coefficient. A trade‐off between the needed bandwidth and the acceptable insertion loss in an ultra‐wideband passive‐doubly‐balanced mixer design can be made through introducing the optimal impedance deviation coefficient. Finally, to verify the proposed methodology, a compact wideband passive double‐balanced mixer monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) was designed and fabricated using a standard gallium arsenide (GaAs) pHEMT technology according to the process characteristics. Experimental results show that an ultra‐wideband mixer MMIC is realized from 7 GHz to 40 GHz (140% fractional bandwidth) with a measured conversion loss between 9.5 dB~12.5 dB (in‐band fluctuation less than 3 dB) and a LO‐to‐RF isolation larger than 34 dB. The measurement results are in good agreement with the simulation results.


Background: Considered a public health problem, obesity has been cited as a risk factor for the development of asthma. Thus, the overweight has influence on the smooth muscle function and induce systemic inflammation of the airways through the adipocytokines. Although adiponectin is considered an antiinflammatory cytokine, since their concentrations decrease in obesity. The literature has show minimal evidence of this behavior before adipocytokine factors involved in the relationship of obesity and asthma. Thus, the present study aimed to analyze the behavior of adiponectinemia responses and physiological parameters in obese asthmatics and non-asthmatics. Methods: Participated 15 obese adolescents (six asthmatics and nine non-asthmatics), submitted anthropometric measurements, cardiorrespiratory, spirometric and laboratory. The diagnosis of asthma has been through clinical history and ISAAC questionnaire, and obesity as BMI above the 95th percentile. We used the bronchoprovocation test with exercise for assessing exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB). Results: There was difference in % Fall FEV1 (P=0.034) among obese asthmatics and non-asthmatics. For obese asthmatics, the coefficient of determination (R2) demonstrated effect of adiponectin with SBP (r=-0.512, R2=0.105), HDL (r=+0.659, R2=0.292), glucose (r=-0.599; R2=0.199), glucose120 (r=-0.686, R2=0.338), insulin120 (r=-0.614, R2=0.221), Absolute VO2max (r=+0.518, R 2=0.086), VO2max Relative FFM (r=+0.585; R 2=0.178) and % FEV1 (r=+0.580, R2=0.171). In obese non-asthmatics were effects of adiponectin with insulin (r=-0.731, R2 =0.525), HOMAIR (r=-0.684, R2=0.469), QUICKI (r=+0.683, R2=0.535) and VO2max Relative FFM (r=+0.654, R 2=0.346). Conclusion: There were likely effects of adiponectinemia responses with physiological indicators associated with overweight and low cardiorespiratory fitness in obese asthmatics and non-asthmatics. Furthermore, for the obese asthmatic adiponectinemia demonstrated a possible effect relationship with % FEV1.


The present study investigated the relative effects of three different types of instruction on students' phonics decoding performance and attitudes toward learning English: teacher-directed web-based instruction (TDWBI), student-controlled web-based instruction (SCWBI), and traditional classroom instruction without WBI (TCI). Eighty five fourth graders participated in the study and were divided into three different groups. The two WBI groups (TDWBI/SCWBI groups) learned decoding at a computer lab using the Learn to Read program from the Starfall website (www.starfall.com). The TCI group was taught in an ordinary classroom by a teacher using photocopied materials adopted from the Learn to Read program. Phonics decoding performance and attitudes toward learning English were measured before and after instruction. Student decoding performance was scored by two raters. Students' attitudinal responses were collected through a questionnaire whose validity was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis. The paired-samples t-test and ANCOVA were used to analyze the data. It was found that the TDWBI group outperformed the other two groups in the decoding tests at the end of the study, highlighting the importance of the teacher's role in web-based instruction. However, the SCWBI group demonstrated the most positive attitude toward decoding instruction, suggesting that the students preferred operating the on-line program on their own.


AixCaliBuHA enables an automated calibration of dynamic building and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) simulation models. Currently, the package supports the calibration of Functional Mock-up Units (FMUs) based on the Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) standard (Modelica Association Project, 2021) as well as Modelica models through the python_interface of the Software Dymola (Dassault Systems, 2021). As the former enables a software-independent simulation, our framework is applicable to any time-variant simulation software that supports the FMI standard. Using these interfaces, we enable the automated calibration of state-of-the-art building performance simulation libraries such as the Buildings (Wetter et al., 2014) or the AixLib (Müller et al., 2016) library. Figure 1 illustrates the overall toolchain automated by AixCaliBuHA. At the core of AixCaliBuHA lays the definition of data types, that link the python data types to the underlying optimization problem and are used for all subsequent steps.


Given a simple polygon P and a point p 2 P, we show how to maintain the visibility polygon from p, the shortest path tree from p, and the corresponding shortest path partition as p is translated inside P. Given a direction of motion of p, we can determine how far p can move until the rst combinatorial change in the above structures occurs in O(logn) time, and update the data structure in O(log 2 n) time; preprocessing requires O(n logn) time and linear space. For polygons with holes, we can maintain the visibility information online, but the preprocessing time and space increase to O(E + n logn) and O(E), respectively, where E is the size of the vertex visibility graph. We apply these results to construct a method for answering queries for the visibility polygon for a given viewpoint in O((n 3 =m) log 2 n + k) time after preprocessing which takes O(m log 2 n) time and O(m) space, where m is any number between n 2 and n 3 , and k is the output size. This provides a tradeoo between space and query time, extending the existing results of BLM92] and GMR92].


The rise of China's economic and military power is transforming global politics while U.S. strategic interests are re-balancing toward Asia. Meanwhile, tensions over maritime boundaries and island claims within the region are punctuated by police and military stand-offs in the East and South China Seas. This paper considers the discourse surrounding the dispute over sovereignty in the South China Sea. It also examines the roles international law, multilateralism, and traditional diplomacy play in the conflict, and how it serves as a test case for China's future diplomacy and traditional norms of non-interference and a peaceful rise. Finally, the paper suggests pathways toward conflict resolution of the immediate disputes, including de-territorialized and de-nationalized ideas of possession when it applies to contested yet uninhabited maritime frontiers.


We provide an overview of the state-of-the-art for mathematical methods that are used to reconstruct brain activity from neurophysiological data. After a brief introduction on the mathematics of the forward problem, we discuss standard and recently proposed regularization methods, as well as Monte Carlo techniques for Bayesian inference. We classify the inverse methods based on the underlying source model, and discuss advantages and disadvantages. Finally we describe an application to the pre–surgical evaluation of epileptic patients.


We have read with great interest the recent article "Arthropathy-like findings and a carpal tunnel syndrome as the presenting features of Scheie syndrome: Three cases from the same family", by Gökay et al.1 We are pleased that they published with regard to this unusual cause of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), seen more often in children with other pathologies. We are sure that if clinicians bear in mind the possibility of Scheie syndrome in CTS in children and young patients, more cases would be diagnosed, and early therapy could be initiated, with better prognosis.


Learner mobility and employability in Europe has been supported by policies and instruments for the transparency of qualifications and competences, providing a common basis for the recording and exchange of learners' information. The European Committee for Standardization recognises the opportunity for working towards a common framework of related interoperability standards, to integrate ICT tools and services towards mobility and employability. The route followed starts with conceptual modelling and results in application profiles using existing standards and specifications. The European Learner Mobility Achievement Information model described in this article, and its prospective European Standard, are major landmarks on this path.


A laboratory strain of poliovirus (LSc) became progressively more resistant to chlorine inactivation during a series of repeated sublethal exposures to the halogen.


It is very well known that the Senate in Constantinople was founded in 324, during the reign of the Emperor Constantine the Great. However, during his rule the Senate was not on the level of the imperial institution. Constantine's son and successor Constantius II decided to equalize legally the Senates of Rome and Constantinople. Although since 324 till 476 there were two Senates (in Rome and in Constantinople), it seems that legally we had just one institution with the two seats.


According to the features of multi-source water supply systems in big cities,the hydraulic balance equations were replaced by a BP neural network model of nodal pressures,and a primary optimal scheduling model of the multi-source water supply system was built. The constrained optimization problem was changed to an unconstrained problem after the mixed penalty method was used to treat constraint conditions,and the particle swarm optimization( PSO) algorithm was used to solve the problem. To avoid the algorithm getting into a local optimum and improve the precision of the algorithm,the chaos search was brought into the standard PSO algorithm to form the chaotic PSO algorithm. The model was applied to the Tianjin water supply system. The optimized water supply scheme could reduce power consumption of pumping stations by 4 087 kW·h daily and 1. 492 million kW·h annually,and the total cost was reduced by 2. 13%. This clear economic benefit indicated the applicability of the model and the feasibility of the algorithm.


www.PRSGlobalOpen.com 1102 E detection of vascular compromise in free flap surgery leads to increased flap salvage rates.1 The ideal monitor should be accurate, sensitive, specific, precise, noninvasive, cost-effective, and easy to use. Clinical examination remains the "gold standard" despite the use of various technologies including Doppler ultrasound, temperature probes, and microdialysis.2 With its recently improved sensor technology, the near-infrared spectroscopy tissue oximetry device (T.Ox Tissue Oximeter; ViOptix, Inc., Fremont, Calif.) is an additional tool that is widely talked about, yet few studies have examined its utility. ViOptix tissue oximetry sensors measure nearinfrared light scattering and absorption by tissues and serve as an indicator of nuclear dimension and cell density. The ratio of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin gives a saturation variable that enables local tissue oxygenation within a flap. Our reports3,4 showed how changes in the tissue oximetry curve correlate with the clinical presentation of venous congestion. Keller5 and Lin et al.6 concluded that the ViOptix device is effective in detecting vascular compromise before it becomes clinically evident. We have also found the device to be cost effective.4 In the article entitled "Does Increased Experience with Tissue Oximetry Monitoring in Microsurgical Breast Reconstruction Lead to Decreased Flap Loss? The Learning Effect" by Koolen et al., the authors demonstrated a significant reduction in total flap loss after implementing the ViOptix device. In addition, they report an improved salvage rate of 96.6 percent compared with 57.7 percent monitored by clinical examination alone (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in reexploration rate between the two groups. To address the learning curve of implementing new technology, they further analyzed their results within the ViOptix cohort. They demonstrated a significantly decreased reexploration rate per each 100-flap increment of experience with an odds ratio of 0.76. Finally, they report an overall sensitivity of 96.5 percent and a specificity of 99.8 percent of flap compromise with use of the ViOptix device. Although the ideal monitoring system remains elusive, the authors should be applauded for contributing their experience to the ongoing search for a new gold standard. By adding use of ViOptix tissue oximetry to the standard postoperative clinical examination, microsurgeons may be able to reduce total flap loss in autologous breast reconstruction. In our institution, ViOptix tissue oximetry is a standard part of our postoperative monitoring protocol. All residents, fellows, and attending physicians have access to ViOptix tissue oximetry levels on their smartphones in real time. To address the learning curve described by Koolen et al., we have identified three key components for adopting ViOptix tissue oximetry: (1) intraoperative probe placement; (2) immediate postoperative interpretation; and (3) ward interpretation. With patience and attention to detail, surgeons can master intraoperative probe placement with minimal learning difficulty. As mentioned in the article, when placing the probe, we will redirect the operating room lights away from the flap, avoiding interference with probe readings. In


User's intent detection provides essential cues in query understanding and accurate information retrieval through search engines and task-oriented dialogue systems. Intent detection from user queries is challenging due to short query length and lack of sufficient context. Further, limited prior research in query intent detection has been conducted for Urdu, an under-resourced language. With the recent success of Bidirectional Encoder Representation from Transformers (BERT), that provides pre-trained language models, we propose to develop intent detection model for Urdu by fine-tuning BERT variants for intent detection task. We conduct rigorous experimentation on mono and cross-lingual transfer learning approaches by using pre-trained BERT models i.e. mBERT, ArBERT, and roBERTa-urdu-small and two query datasets. Experimental evaluation reveal that the fine-tuned models of mBERT and roBERTa-urdu-small achieve 96.38% and 93.30% accuracy respectively on datasets I and II outperforming strong statistical and neural network baselines.


In this paper we analyse how the field of specialization of evaluation committees may affect the outcome of selection processes. In particular, we show that evaluators tend to assess more severely those dimensions of quality at which they are themseleves more knowledgeable. As a result, candidates whose knowledge profile is closer to that of the evaluator will have a higher probability of success. Data from public examinations to the Judicial and Prosecutor Corps in Spain confirm that grades are significantly lower when the members of an evaluation committee are relatively more expert at the field which is evaluated. This confirms the importance of a diverse and balanced composition of selection committees.


Feed additives have received increasing attention as a viable means to reduce enteric emissions from ruminants, which contribute to total anthropogenic methane (CH4) emissions. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of the commercial feed additive SOP STAR COW (SOP) to reduce enteric emissions from dairy cows and to assess potential impacts on milk production. Twenty cows were blocked by parity and days in milk and randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups (n = 10): supplemented with 8 g/day SOP STAR COW, and an unsupplemented control group. Enteric emissions were measured in individual head chambers over a 12-h period, every 14 days for six weeks. SOP-treated cows over time showed a reduction in CH4 of 20.4% from day 14 to day 42 (p = 0.014), while protein % of the milk was increased (+4.9% from day 0 to day 14 (p = 0.036) and +6.5% from day 0 to day 42 (p = 0.002)). However, kg of milk protein remained similar within the SOP-treated cows over the trial period. The control and SOP-treated cows showed similar results for kg of milk fat and kg of milk protein produced per day. No differences in enteric emissions or milk parameters were detected between the control and SOP-treated cows on respective test days.


Basic qualitative research is presented in order to value and compare preschool (5-6yearold) and first-year primary level(6-7yearold) children's ideas in a Spanish school about several topics: waste, biodegradability, recycling, water pollution and water saving. To obtain this information, complementary instruments were used, although here the obtained results of the first instrument are reported. The results led to identifying the children's main responses on the topic as well as establishing some differences between the two educational stages. It was possible to establish progressive levels of categories for some of the ideas studied. Some teaching suggestions are made: it is ineffective to focus on what types of materials are deposited in each type of rubbish container when they cannot yet differentiate between the types of materials and their properties. Instead, a simplified approach should be developed perhaps by way of stories. A proposal could be developed on the biodegradability of materials as a visually distinguishable property, with some hands-on activities. We would also suggest providing specific examples as specific types of contamination, such as water pollution, on the living conditions of specific forms of life.


Тhe general arrangement of the cylinder block of sleeves, which is part of the crank mechanism, is described. The
defect of cylinder liners is considered when the part has signs of obvious defects or defects. Technical means of control
of cylinder liners of the engine of the КamAZ-740 car are offered.


The GLAST LAT [1] calibration infrastructure is designed to accommodate a wide range of time-varying data types, including at a minimum hardware status bits, conversion constants, and alignment for the GLAST LAT instrument and its prototypes. The system will support persistent XML and ROOT data to begin with; other physical formats will be added if necessary. In addition to the ''bulk data'', each data set will have associated with it a row in a rdbms table containing metadata, such as timestamps, data format, pointer to the location of the bulk data, etc., which will be used to identify and locate the appropriate data set for a particular application. As GLAST uses the Gaudi framework for event processing, the Calibration Infrastructure makes use of several Gaudi elements and concepts, such as conversion services, converters and data objects and implements the prescribed Gaudi interfaces (IDetDataSvc, IValidity, ...). This insures that calibration data will always be valid and appropriate for the event being processed. The persistent representation of a calibration dataset as two physical pieces in different formats complicates the conversion process somewhat: two cooperating conversion services are involved in the conversion of any single dataset.


Purpose Carbon monoxide (CO) is an accepted cytoprotective molecule. The extent and mechanisms of protection in neuronal systems have not been well studied. We hypothesized that delivery of CO via a novel releasing molecule (CORM) would impart neuroprotection in vivo against ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI)-induced apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells (RGC) and in vitro of neuronal SH-SY5Y-cells via activation of soluble guanylate-cyclase (sGC). Methods To mimic ischemic respiratory arrest, SH-SY5Y-cells were incubated with rotenone (100 nmol/L, 4 h) ± CORM ALF186 (10–100 µmol/L) or inactivated ALF186 lacking the potential of releasing CO. Apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production were analyzed using flow-cytometry (Annexin V, mitochondrial membrane potential, CM-H2DCFDA) and Western blot (Caspase-3). The impact of ALF186± respiratory arrest on cell signaling was assessed by measuring expression of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and soluble guanylate-cyclase (sGC) and by analyzing cellular cGMP levels. The effect of ALF186 (10 mg/kg iv) on retinal IRI in Sprague-Dawley rats was assessed by measuring densities of fluorogold-labeled RGC after IRI and by analysis of apoptosis-related genes in retinal tissue. Results ALF186 but not inactivated ALF186 inhibited rotenone-induced apoptosis (Annexin V positive cells: 25±2% rotenone vs. 14±1% ALF186+rotenone, p<0.001; relative mitochondrial membrane potential: 17±4% rotenone vs. 55±3% ALF186+rotenone, p<0.05). ALF186 increased cellular cGMP levels (33±5 nmol/L vs. 23±3 nmol/L; p<0.05) and sGC expression. sGC-inhibition attenuated ALF186-mediated protection (relative mitochondrial membrane potential: 55±3% ALF186+rotenone vs. 20±1% ODQ+ALF186+rotenone, p<0.05). ALF186 protected RGC in vivo (IRI 1255±327 RGC/mm2 vs. ALF186+IRI 2036±83; p<0.05) while sGC inhibition abolished the protective effects of ALF186 (ALF186+IRI 2036±83 RGC/mm2 vs. NS-2028+ALF186+IRI 1263±170, p<0.05). Conclusions The CORM ALF186 inhibits IRI-induced neuronal cell death via activation of sGC and may be a useful treatment option for acute ischemic insults to the retina and the brain.


NSW Department of Health - Learning and Development Policy , Introduces a learning and development system so that activities are aligned with the needs of Central Administration of DoH and its employees.


A new method of derivation of the fundamental impedance characteristics of a thyristor controlled series compensator (TCSC) is discussed in this paper. This derivation uses the state space model of a fixed capacitor-thyristor controlled reactor (FC-TCR) circuit. It is assumed that the FC-TCR circuit is supplied by a constant AC current source. The fundamental TCSC characteristics are then derived by the step-by-step solution of state equation. In this derivation we present two methods-one assuming that the TCR reactor has infinite Q-factor and the other assuming that it has finite Q-factor. The derived fundamental characteristics are verified through digital computer simulation studies and some experimental results are also presented.


The purpose of this survey was to make a critical study of (a) educational philosophies, (b) the place of auditorium activities, (c) the purpose of auditorium activities, and (d) the value of auditorium activities in the whole scheme of educational procedures.


In the past decades,the plant genetic engineering technology in improving the yield and quality of Brassica napus L.had been greatly developed.Establishing an efficient and stable regeneration system of explant is one of the important segments of genetic engineering breeding.In this study,hypocotyls of Brassica napus L.were used as the explant,and the callus induction ratio was analyzed under different genotypes,seedling ages and combinations of various hormones.The results showed that Yangyou 6 hypocotyl explant had the largest contribution on the callus formation under the same tissue culture conditions,and the best conditions of callus formation was the 5 d age seedling,pre-culturing for 3 d,culturing in the medium containing 0.1 mg·L-1 2,4-D,1.0 mg·L-1 6-BA and 5.0 mg·L-1 AgNO3.


The quotations in Siddham Yaojue(悉昙要决) from the series of Qieyun(切韵) books keep the way that the series of Qieyun(切韵) books in Japan used to be.Compared with the versions of Qieyun(切韵) we can see today,the quotations are not quite the same as the original.The versions that the quotations from and the versions we can see today are different.


Two uncultured phloem restricted plant pathogens, the γ3 proteobacterium «Candidatus Phlomobacter fragariae » and the stolbur phytoplasma (group 16SrXII-A) are associated with strawberry marginal chlorosis (SMC) in France. As "Ca. P. fragariae " and stolbur phytoplasma induce identical symptoms, the only way to identify the pathogen infecting a given diseased plant is to perform conventional PCR assays. Because using two PCR techniques for detecting separately each of the two bacteria is time consuming and because specificity and sensitivity of the detection test needed to be improved, a new approach using triplex real time PCR was developed for the routine detection of "Ca. P. fragariae " and stolbur phytoplasma. The real time PCR has the advantage of being faster reduces the risks of producing false positives. Furthermore, real-time PCR techniques provide the possibility of multiplexing by using probes with different compatible fluorescent dyes. Here, we present a new sensitive Taqman® method which permits the simultaneous amplification of three DNA targets in one test: the map gene of stolbur phytoplasma, the spo T gene of "Ca. P. fragariae " and the cox gene of strawberry chloroplast taken as an internal control. The specificity and the efficiency of this method were determined. Keywords : Strawberry Marginal Chlorosis, Triplex taqman® PCR ,Candidatus Phlomobacter fragariae , stolbur phytoplasma.


The design of an IPTV multicast system for the Internet backbone network is presented and explored through extensive simulations. In the proposed system, a resource reservation algorithm such as RSVP, IntServ, or DiffServ is used to reserve resources (i.e., bandwidth and buffer space) in each router in an IP multicast tree. Each router uses an Input-Queued, Output-Queued, or Crosspoint-Queued switch architecture with unity speedup. A recently proposed Recursive Fair Stochastic Matrix Decomposition algorithm used to compute near-perfect transmission schedules for each IP router. The IPTV traffic is shaped at the sources using Application-Specific Token Bucker Traffic Shapers, to limit the burstiness of incoming network traffic. The IPTV traffic is shaped at the destinations using Application-Specific Playback Queues, to remove residual network jitter and reconstruct the original bursty IPTV video streams at each destination. All IPTV traffic flows are regenerated at the destinations with essentially zero delay jitter and essentially-perfect QoS. The destination nodes deliver the IPTV streams to the ultimate end users using the same IPTV multicast system over a regional Metropolitan Area Network. It is shown that all IPTV traffic is delivered with essentially-perfect end-to-end QoS, with deterministic bounds on the maximum delay and jitter on each video frame. Detailed simulations of an IPTV distribution system, multicasting several hundred high-definition IPTV video streams over several essentially saturated IP backbone networks are presented.


Current market developments require organizations to produce high-quality tailored software variants while simultaneously coping with increased software complexity. Software Product Line Engineering (SPLE) is a well-known approach to manage this variability and complexity, however no step-wise migration process is available allowing a co-existence of SPLE along with established development processes. In this paper, we introduce an incremental SPLE migration strategy and process starting from using the feature model as synchronized product and variant documentation. They can be applied as a first step of SPLE migration along with the continuous software development cycle. We performed initial steps of the process on industrial low voltage drive embedded firmware spanning around few millions lines of code using a commercial SPLE tool and validated short-term benefits by means of stakeholder feedback.


We have fabricated a new photoconductive antenna based on a transverse electromagnetic horn and low temperature grown GaAs. It has been tested with a time-domain terahertz setup. The horn was used as the emitter and a standard dipole photoconductive antenna was used as the receiver. The spectrum covers the 0.2–2 THz range with good signal/noise ratio.


In this study, we compared the effects of propofol and dexmedetomidine on the upper airway collapse pattern and cardiopulmonary parameters of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) undergoing drug‐induced sleep endoscopy (DISE).


The invention minutes (powder) form according as the make-up, to allow for even laundry gently put the puff which touch to the skin when cosmetic facilitate the powder supply to the puff quickly, and also the noise of the opening and closing of the lid and the anti-scattering of the powder It is to provide a powder container for make-up. The present invention to this, and the container body 10, which powder is accommodated, wherein the container is fastened to the body (1), the upper surface with the puff 32, the connecting member 30 and the connecting member provided with a make-up in constituting the cosmetic powder container consisting of a lid 40 which is removably with undercut manner to protect the puff 32 of 30, wherein the container body (10) only includes a vibrator 28 for the powder supply comprising a vibration means 20, or the lid 40 as provided with a sound and powder scattering prevention means 140 for only prevent the noise and powder scattering in accordance with the opening and closing pressure of the cap, or the container body that ( 10 and the lid 40) to the vibrator (28) vibrating means 20 and the noise to prevent the noise and powder scattering in accordance with the opening and closing pressure of the cap and powder scattering prevention means (140) including for the powder supplied to the each also having integrally A minute, even if make-up gently dudeurimyeonseo the makeup during puff 32 is configured so that the quick easy ejection supply of powder may be, and also prevent "pop" the scattering of sound or powder which according to the opening and closing of the lid 40 effectively will be. Powder, minute, puff, puff, vibration means, a non-blocking means, the resonator, the inner cap, the spring, the vibration


Results of numerical simulation of enclosed volume with supply and exhaust ventilation are presented. Impact of computational mesh resolution on obtained results was shown. Objective of conducted research was to evaluate impact of input mesh size on simulation results quality. An enclosed cube with local heat source, which was mimicing artificial light fixture was considered as computational domain. Numerical model was based on SST turbulence model and was formulated for a steady state problem. Temperature distribution was obtained for five considered meshes with various resolution. Statistical evaluation of obtained results was conducted with normal probability plots.


Lakes, either artificial or natural, are greatly important as a component in their catchments' hydrology, but also as ecosystem service providers. However, due to climate change, they have begun to face numerous problems with their water quality and quantity. Furthermore, general circulation models (GCMs) show future climate change with a reduction in rainfall and increase in temperature. The aim of the current study is to present an application where GCMs and state-of-the-art hydrological modelling system MIKE SHE/MIKE 11 are combined for assessing the response of a Greek lake in terms of its water balance and water level under climate change. Four general circulation models (GCMs; GFDL-CM3, MIROC-ESM-CHEM, MIROC-ESM, IPSL-CM5A-LR) for the extreme climate change scenario of RCP8.5 were used in the basin of Lake Zazari in Greece as a case study. Results showed that, by keeping the irrigated demands (the main water user) unchanged in the future, the lake exhibited a lower water level for all GCMs, fluctuating from −0.70 to −1.8 m for the mean (min) water level and from −0.30 to −1.20 m for the mean (max) water level. Instead of the above and by preserving the amount of withdraw water n from the lake at a certain percentage of inflows, the irrigated area should be reduced from 54.1% to 64.05% depending on the circulation model.


The paper formulates and proves the statement that for complicated systems with Erlang distribution of work and restoration periods of time, the calculation of stationary probabilities of functioning states, characterizing the system reliability, can be reduced to the calculation of the state probabilities of some equivalent system. The system has a more complicated structure with work and restoration periods of its elements being significantly distributive random values with specifically selected mathematical expectations. It brought the possibility to calculate its reliability using a traditional approach. All arguments were illustrated with examples. The authors produced correlations for calculations of the boundary values (lowest and highest) of the state probabilities with a recurrent form and high accuracy.


The topics of smart things and Internet of Things (IoT) is a recent technological trend that has many application fields, particularly in terms of Information and Communication technologies (ICT)-enabled benefits for society (e.g., smart cities, mobility, active and healthy ageing). The term IoT refers to a world-wide network of interconnected objects uniquely addressable based on standard communication protocols. The paper is a report on the work in progress in implementing IoT topics in order to create a smart cultural object as a physical object (e.g., a piece of a museum collection) transformed in a virtual object capable of sensing and processing capabilities and source and recipient of different web-based information. The project design and its steps together with the description of the first phases consisting in choosing technologies as part of the open source hardware and software environment to realize the smart cultural object are described.


Growth-oriented government policies in postwar Japan created high levels of domestic pollution. These conditions gave rise in the 1960s and 1970s to widespread public protests, spearheaded by locally based environmental "citizens' movements. "However, decreasing pollution levels, a weak tradi tion of citizen political participation in Japan, and the low environmental awareness of the average Japanese citizen all combined to weaken the in fluence o f thesegroups in the 1980s. Although some groups, especially anti nuclear movements, have had limited success, Japanese grassroots environ mental groups are still considerably smaller and less influential than their Western counterparts.


The note presents the results of the experiments performed in the Water Resources and Hydrodynamics Laboratory of the Department of Civil Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, concerning the steady-state stick profile and its generation from rest with a vertical barrier, using a vertical flat plate in a flume.


Descriptions, analyses, and concrete treatments of specific developments in reading instruction comprise these proceedings of the Twentyeighth Annual Reading Conference. Subjects include reading in modern society; innovations in reading instruction; evaluation of innovations; linguistics and reading instruction; development of purposeful, flexible readers; and trends in publishing. Each topic is given practical application.


The purpose of this extended abstract is to introduce an integrated research and application platform, which is established to evaluate the impact scenario of earthquakes to the metropolitans in Taiwan. This platform plays as an interface to bridge research techniques and government information and database, and to establish a standard and state-of-the-art environment for analysis and formulation. The objective of this unique platform is to furnish a comprehensive impact and damage scenario to fulfill the necessary data for planning disaster mitigation strategies and preparedness actions that make the cities in Taiwan more resilient to earthquakes.


Preparing students to live productive and rewarding lives is a fundamental purpose of education. During the past 15 years, the career/vocational education movement has been the focus of educational reform efforts, primarily as a result of the failure of secondary education to provide many students with knowledge and skills that would be relevant to their future goals (Hoyt, 1982; Kokaska & Brolin, 1985). The need for adequate and appropriate vocational preparation for high school students with disabilities has long been recognized and documented in high dropout rates (Robinson & Robinson, 1976) and equally high postschool unemployment rates (Dinger, 1961; Peterson & Smith, 1960). Numerous improvements during the past several years have expanded vocational preparation opportunities for high school students with disabilities. However, recent research documenting continued high rates of unemployment (Hasazi, Gordon, & Roe, 1985; United States Bureau of Census, 1982) and underemployment (Mithaug, Horiuchi, & Fanning, 1985; White, Schumacher, Warner, Alley, & Deshler, 1980) among adults with disabilities leads to the conclusion that developing adequate and appropriate career/vocational education programs for high school students with disabilities must remain a central focus of attention for special educators. To facilitate progress in this area, several persistent problems should be addressed including (a) the lack of cooperation and collaboration between special and vocational educators, (b) the fact that special educators are often unprepared to implement vocational curricula, and (c) the lack of incentives for vocational educators to serve students with disabilities


Transfer alignment is an initialization of the missile INS prior to launch using data provided by master INS or GPS/INS system in aircraft. Generally, Kalman filter is applied to estimate misalignment attitude. Unfortunately, the Kalman filter provides optimal estimates only if the system model is accurate and filter noise is white and accurately obtained. Considering the complicated vibrated air environment, these demands can not be satisfied all the time. Therefore, after establishing a 12-state velocity matching transfer alignment model, an improved adaptive method is derived on the basis of the study on traditional adaptive Kalman filter such as Sage-Husa and intense adaptive filter. The improved adaptive filter is aimed at modifying the model and noise matrix with the process of filtering according to the practical measurement data. Numerical simulations show that with this improved adaptive filter under a "s" turn maneuver, transfer alignment Kalman filter keeps good working condition under large range of P, Q and R, and reaches good performance on estimating precise and convergent speed.


This article gives an overview of the emerging literature on large deviations for random graphs. Written for the general mathematical audience, the article begins with a short introduction to the theory of large deviations. This is followed by a description of some large deviation questions about random graphs, and an outline of the recent progress on this topic. A more elaborate discussion follows, with a brief account of graph limit theory and its application in constructing a large deviation theory for dense random graphs. The role of Szemer\'edi's regularity lemma is explained, together with a sketch of the proof of the main large deviation result and some examples. Applications to exponential random graph models are briefly touched upon. The remainder of the paper is devoted to large deviations for sparse graphs. Since the regularity lemma is not applicable in the sparse regime, new tools are needed. Fortunately, there have been several new breakthroughs that managed to achieve the goal by an indirect method. These are discussed, together with an exposition of the underlying theory. The last section contains a list of open problems.


Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) consist of self-governing sensors that sense as well as monitor the area in which these nodes are deployed and distribute this information in a distributed manner. Presently, the WSN with long life and minimum energy consumption are in demand. To overcome this problem, Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH) is presented with the addition of Cuckoo Search (CS) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) concept. The problem of LEACH protocol like which node is considered as Cluster Head (CH) is overcome by CS. On the basis of healthy function, the nodes property such as energy consumed by each node is categorized. Those nodes that have higher energy compared to the defined function are put in one category and remaining in another category. These two categories of nodes are provided as an input to SVM and train the system. Therefore, the best node having the highest energy is considered as CH and hence enhanced the lifetime by saving the energy upto 21.86 %.


The biotransformation of L‐sodium glutamate (L‐MSG) to gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) catalyzed by the cells of Lactobacillus brevis with higher glutamate decarboxylase activity was investigated. The results showed that pH, temperature, and FeSO4 · 7H2O concentration had significantly positive effect on GABA yield. The individual and interactive effects of pH, temperature, and FeSO4 · 7H2O concentration were further optimized in terms of GABA yield. In the present work, an artificial neural network (ANN) and response surface methodology (RSM) models were developed, which incorporated pH, temperature, and FeSO4 · 7H2O concentration as input variables, and GABA yield as output variable. The optimized ANN topology included four neurons in the hidden layer and the best network architecture was 3‐4‐1. The trained ANN gave total root‐mean square error (σ) equal to 1.84 for GABA yield while the RSM gave σ equal to 2.63. The results demonstrated a slightly higher prediction accuracy of ANN compared to RSM. The modeled maximum GABA yield was identified by applying particle swarm optimization algorithm to the ANN model developed. The modeled maximum GABA yield reached 91 mM under the following optimal conditions: 25 mL Na2HPO4‐citric acid buffer (100 mM, pH 4.23), 120 mM L‐MSG, 0.83 g/L FeSO4 · 7H2O, 10 µM PLP, the resting cells obtained from a 60‐h culture broth, 2.68 g dry cell weight (DCW)/L, and without agitation at 40°C for 5 h. The previous high value of GABA yield that was observed was 81.8 mM. The optimized conditions allowed GABA yield to be increased from 81.8 to 90.57 mM after verification experiments test. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2007;96:924–931. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Optical coatings are increasingly gaining importance in volume applications like displays, optical data storage, architectural coatings, lighting, etc. This has brought movement into the classical methods of preparing optical coatings. The more important trends are:


An evaluation of pregnancy outcomes on the Island of Hawaii utilizing birth certificate data indicate a Maternal and Infant Care Project group of potentially higher risk than a non Project group with comparable outcomes in relation to birth weight. A significant difference was noted in gestational age. The suggestion of lower gestational age however was not evidenced in the Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian ethnic group of the Project group. Fewer live births of women under 20 were of low birth weight and of 33 weeks or less gestation than the live births of women who did not receive Project services. There was a trend of a higher number of infants with gestational ages of 43 weeks or greater in the Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian group of the Project population. The discrepancy of gestational age may have been an additive effect of all the ethnic groups contributing lower and higher gestational age infants. Data regarding the relationship between birth weight and gestational age were not given in this study. Utilizing the birth certificates to compile the information for the evaluative study revealed a reliable source for obtaining characteristics and pregnancy outcomes for comparison groups. (Authors)


1024x768 Objective: T o define the relationship between intravesical prostatic protrusion (IPP), prostate specific antigen (PSA), and prostate volume (PV), and to determine which one is the best predictor of bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) due to benign prostatic enlargement. Material & method: 95 male patients > 40 years old presenting with LUTS and BPH, between January until July 2012. They were evaluated with digital rectal examination (DRE), International Prostate Symptoms Score (IPSS), total PSA serum, uroflowmetry, post-void residual urine measurement, IPP and PV using transabdominal ultrasound. Statistical analysis included Chi-square and Spearman's Rank correlation test. Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the correlation of PSA, PV, and IPP with BOO. Results: Mean PSA was significantly higher in obstructed patients (8.6 ng/mL; 0.76-130) compared to non-obstructed patients (6.44 ng/mL; 1.0-40.6). Mean PV was significantly larger in obstructed patients (50.33 mL ± 24.34) compared to non-obstructed patients (45.39 mL ± 23.43). Mean IPP was significantly greater in obstructed patients (7.29 ± 2.78) compared to non-obstructed patients (6.59 ± 2.93). The Spearman rho correlation coefficients were 0.617, 0.721, and 0.797, for PSA, PV, and IPP, respectively. Using ROC curves, the areas under the curve for PSA, PV, and IPP were 0.509, 0.562 and 0.602, respectively. The positive predictive values of PV, PSA, and IPP were 59.7%, 55.6% and 60.2% respectively. Conclusion: PSA, PV, and IPP measured through transabdominal ultrasonography are noninvasive and accessible method that significantly correlates with BOO in BPH patients. IPP is a better predictor for BOO than PSA or PV. Keywords: Bladder outlet obstruction, intravesical prostatic protrusion, prostate specific antigen, prostate volume, transabdominal ultrasound, benign prostate hyperplasia. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */
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What makes a knowledge resource, like a domain model, thesaurus, or ontology, effective for term-level text annotation in the Biology domain? In this work we compare several approaches to ontology design with examples from well-known resources such as OBO, MeSH, and Genia. Based on these comparisons we establish goals for a knowledge resource that supports term-level text annotation and text mining: such a resource should represent terms and relations that are expressed in contiguous spans of text, and its terms should bear meaningful correspondences with other knowledge resources. Finally, we trace how these two goals have affected the re-design of the Genia Ontology over several iterations. The result is a new term hierarchy and a new design process, both specifically tailored to term-level text annotation. This research explores practical influences on the design of knowledge resources for Bio-NLP systems.


We demonstrated perfect light absorption inultra-thin optical nanocavity made of a percolation aluminum film and a thin silicon film deposited on aluminum metal surface. Critical coupling to the optical nanocavity results in complete light absorption at specific wavelength, determined by the silicon film thickness. Due to light penetration into aluminum metal on top and bottom, the optical nanocavity silicon layer thickness can be one order of magnitude less than the perfect light absorption wavelength.


We report the performance of a reliable three-dimensional nanometer-sized Superconducting QUantum Interference Device (SQUID). The use of superconductor-isolator-superconductor Nb/Al-AlOx/Nb Josephson tunnel junctions together with small SQUID loop dimensions permits a high modulation depth of the SQUID's critical current and thus leads to very low intrinsic flux noise of the device. In particular, we present electrical characterization including detailed noise investigations. At 4.2 K, two-stage noise measurements with a SQUID as a low noise preamplifier result in a white flux noise of 51 nΦ0/Hz1/2, which is equivalent to an energy resolution of 1.3 h, with h being Planck's constant. Simulation of spin sensitivities results in about 1 μB/Hz1/2 for an electron spin positioned directly above the SQUID ring.


Immigration policies have never been as abundant and prominent as in our days, and yet immigration has never met with such an extended state of dissatisfaction. This article aims at explaining the underlying reasons for the above paradox, paying special attention to the many difficulties that immigration policies face nowadays and the challenges and dilemmas they are confronted with, particularly in the European Union region.


447 Background: Clear cell sarcoma (CCS) is a ultrarare soft tissue sarcoma, which is highly aggressive and associated with a poor prognosis. CCS is histologically characterized by clear cells, representative of intracellular glycogen accumulation. Primary tumors commonly arise from tendinous sheaths or aponeuroses in the upper and lower extremities—the most common site being around the ankles. Average age at diagnosis is 25 years old. 5-year survival is between 40 and 60%. CCS is the result of fusion gene EWSR1/ATF1. Multimodal therapy, including wide surgical excision with radiotherapy, is often used to treat CCS. Chemotherapy may be used if patients are not eligible for surgery. No significant study has analyzed the factors which predict the utilization of wide surgical excision. This study aims to describe the factors involved in the receipt of this surgery. Methods: The National Cancer Database (NCDB) was used to identify patients diagnosed with CCS from 2004 to 2020 using histology codes 9044 as assigned by the Commission on Cancer Accreditation program. Kaplan-Meier, ANOVA Chi-Square, and Logistic Regression tests were performed, and data were analyzed using SPSS version 27. Statistical significance was set at α = 0.05. Results: 669 patients with CCS formed the initial sample. Of these patients, 466 patients (69.7%) received a surgical procedure of the primary site. Additionally, 14 patients (2.09%) received radiation and 69 patients (10.31%) received adjuvant chemotherapy. The receipt of surgery was associated with a marked increase in median survival ( 91.5 months vs. 8.525 months; p<0.05). Surgical resection with clear margins was achieved in 409 patients (61.14%), of whom experienced improved survival compared to patients with residual tumor burden. Each additional year of age in a patient conferred a 2.4% decrease in likelihood of the patient receiving surgery. Lower stage disease was significantly more likely to be treated surgically (OR 11.4; p<0.001), while stage IV disease and abdominal primary site tumors were associated with lower rates of surgery. Facility type (academic vs. nonacademic), insurance, or distance travelled for care had no effect on rates of surgery. Conclusions: As a significant portion of CCS patients receive surgical treatment, this study confirms that tumor resection is associated with increased overall survival of patients with CCS. Improved survival with surgery correlates with clear surgical margins and full tumor resection. It appears that patients are more likely to be treated surgically if their disease is of lower stage. Patients with abdominal primary site tumors or stage IV disease are less likely to receive surgery. This research serves as the beginning of developing standardized treatment plans for CCS patients. Further studies are needed to better understand the factors involved in receiving surgery and other treatment modalities as part of CCS treatment.


The stress and adhesion of YbF3 thin film deposited by thermal evaporation have been investigated. The stresses of singlelayer YbF3 thin films at different technical conditions have been evaluated by using a Veeco interferometer. In our experiment, residual stress of YbF3 thin film is tensile. Thermal stress seems to be the main contribution to the residual stress. Deposition method affects the stress of thin film. The stress relaxation is observed in air. The stress of YbF3 thin film increases after heat treatment.


In this study, the potency and implications of bacteria growth, H 2 S and FeS production in microbially induced corrosion of oil pipelines were done using 5 biocides. Hydrogenase test was carried out and used to detect the presence of micro-organism that causes corrosion in the pipeline samples. The biocides were then compared to ascertain how efficiently they can curb the proliferation of bacteria in experimental set-up filled with a bacterial cultured agar using anaerobic medium. Generally, it was found that there use led to reduction in bacteria growth, less and less of iron sulfide and hydrogen sulfide as the concentration and duration of experimentation increases. Specifically, it was found that while cow urine and biaguanide terminate their iron sulfide production after 5 th and 6 th week, respectively, others continue throughout the 13 week experimentation period. Similarly, cow urine and biaguanide terminate their hydrogen sulfide production after 3 rd and 5 th , respectively, others continued throughout. Altogether, 10 exponential trendline equations were formulated for iron sulfide and hydrogen sulfide production. R 2 goodness-of-fit statistical technique was employed in the analysis for future predictions from the model and the values obtained in each case is close to 1 which indicates a good measure that future outcomes are very likely to be predicted well by the developed equations. Keywords : Biocides, Microbial Corrosion, Hydrogen Sulphide, Iron Sulphide, Bacteria Growth


This study investigated CO2 capture from flue gas by using glycerol as solvent. Absorption was simulated using a rate-based model with three cases under similar operating conditions. CO2 separation was first simulated using ENRTL-RK thermodynamic model with monoethanolamine (MEA) as solvent. CO2 absorption was then simulated using NRTL-RK thermodynamic model with glycerol solvent, and then an aqueous mixture of MEA/glycerol was also simulated using ENRTL-RK thermodynamic model. Simulation results confirm that glycerol can be used as promoter with MEA solvent to enhance CO2 capture. The optimal glycerol concentration for CO2 absorption is 10–40 wt %, in which 10 wt % glycerol exhibits the lowest CO2 concentration in the outlet gas from the absorber. The CO2 removal efficiency increases from 62.24% for 10 wt % MEA aqueous solution to 64.33% for the mixture of 10 wt % MEA–10 wt % glycerol aqueous solution. The CO2 removal efficiency for 10 wt % glycerol aqueous solution is 27.31%.


It is well known that the 2π minimally supported frequency scaling function φα(x) satisfying φα(ω)=χ[-α,2π-α)(ω), 0<α<2π, is not time localised. The Shannon wavelet packets φnα(x) are generated from φα(x) via an arbitrary pair of low-pass and high-pass filters (h, g), which is associated with an orthogonal multiresolution analysis. The authors prove that φnα(x) is time localised if α and n satisfy certain conditions. They also show that the decay properties of φnα(x) depend on the multiplicity of the zero ω=π of the symbol m0(ω) of the low-pass filter h.


Background/Aims: Following extracellular shedding, transmembrane domains (TMs) of β-amyloid precursor protein (βAPP) and Notch-1 undergo proteolysis by presenilin (PS)/γ-secretase at least at two sites, near the middle of the TM (γ-/S4 cleavage) and at the interface between cytosol and the TM (Ε-/S3 cleavage), releasing Alzheimer disease (AD)-associated β-amyloid (Aβ)/Notch-1β (Nβ) and βAPP intracellular cytoplasmic domain (AICD)/Notch-1 intracellular cytoplasmic domain (NICD). Inhibiting PS/γ-secretase activity is an essential approach to AD treatment, but it also decreases NICD production, which may cause severe side effects. Therefore, it is important to investigate the differences between the cleavages at the two sites. γ-/S4 and Ε-cleavages have diversity, and produce a number of Aβ/Nβ and AICD species. S3 cleavage diversity has been recently identified. It is significant that each cleavage occurs with strict precision, not randomly. Methods: Biochemical analysis of cultured cells was performed to explore the processing mechanisms. Results: Familial AD-associated PS1 mutations as well as a subset of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs cause similar changes in γ-/S4 cleavage precision, suggesting a common process for these cleavages near the middle of the TM. While the precision of the Ε-cleavage is drastically affected by physiological factors, that of Ε-/S3 cleavage is not. Conclusion: The processes of the two cleavages occurring in different portions of TMs may be diverse, thus representing possible targets for anti-AD therapeutics to selectively reduce Aβ.


Effective selection procedures in career-orientated university courses like B.Cur. are of prime importance. In addition to studying full-time, these students are employed by the Health Services. Before an effective selection criterion can be identified, a profile of the typical students doing this course should be compiled.


Marine Large Pack Pile (MLPP) is a new technique for soil improvement by installing gravel or crushed stone piles reinforced by pack material such as geotextile. This method is used to improve bearing capacity and shear strength of weak soils and reduce consolidation settlement of clay grounds. This method can be used instead of sand compaction pile (SCP) method or gravel compaction pile (GCP) method. In this study, several 1g model tests and centrifuge tests were carried out to compare the engineering behaviors of SCP, GCP, and MLPP. The results reveal that MLPP is more effective than SCP and GCP in terms of bearing capacity and settlement reduction.


Vital capacity (VC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) measured in 7,123 men during annual or biennial medical examination were analyzed as a function of age (A), weight (W), and standing height (H). The subjects were grouped according to their smoking habits. A cross-sectional and longitudinal study was performed. Vital capacity and FEV1 were found to increase with age during the first 22 to 23 yr; thereafter, a steady decline was observed, more pronounced in smokers than in nonsmokers. In both longitudinal and cross-sectional surveys, body weight influenced the values of VC and FEV1. An increase of weight tended to be accompanied by an increase in VC and FEV1 in the younger, taller, and lighter subjects. This effect lessened and even reversed with increasing age and weight, decreasing height, and heavier smoking (in the longitudinal study). The influence of height on VC and FEV1 appeared to depend markedly on the weight of the subjects.


Objective To understand the basic physical indicators and awareness of residents of Jing'an county,and to provide a basis for evaluating the prevention and control of chronic disease. Methods A total of 2 868 residents were selected by stratified cluster sampling.The basic physical indicators and awareness of residents were investigated by household questionnaires and physical examination. Results The height,weight,waist circumference,body mass index,systolic blood pressure,diastolic blood pressure,fasting plasma glucose levels and postprandial blood glucose levels were(162.01±7.34)cm,(59.26±11.13)kg,(77.24±8.87)cm,(22.53±3.70)kg·m-2,(15.41±1.96)kPa,(9.79±1.26)kPa,(5.08±0.94)mmol·L-1and(8.43±2.25)mmol·L-1 in residents of Jing'an county,respectively.The awareness rate of height,weight,waist circumference,blood pressure and blood glucose were 76.22%,72.70%,70.71%,69.97% and 30.51%,respectively.The proportions of overweight and obesity were 22.28% and 4.46%,respectively.Conclusion The basic physical indicators and awareness rates are low among residents of Jing'an county.The relevant knowledge should be popularized and physical examination frequency should be increased to improve health awareness and to reduce the incidence of overweight and obesity.In addition,blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring should be strengthened and awareness rates should be improved to control the occurrence of hypertension and diabetes.


The tolerance for individuality, intimacy, and interpersonal differences within the family's relational system were assessed as indicators of family system differentiation. These indicators of differentiation within the parent/adolescent and marital relationships were examined, through adolescent reports, aspredictors ofpsychosocial maturity in a sample of late adolescents. The research also examined gender of adolescent and gender ofparent as independent and interactive moderators of developmental maturity. The hypothesis, that adolescents who perceived high levels of differentiation within the parent/adolescent and marital relationships would report higher levels ofpsychosocial maturity than would adolescents who perceive those relationships as less differentiated, was confirmed. In addition, interactions of gender and family system were found in which, most notably, the lowestpsychosocial maturity scores were reportedformalesfromfamilies characterized by less differentiated manrital subsystems and a problematic mother/son relationship.


An additional anion-induced enhancement of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) for Rhodamine 6G adsorbed on a silver electrode upon addition of chloride and citrate anions was determined as a function of the applied potential. The observed increase in intensities amounts to about 100- and 10-fold, for SERS and SERRS spectra, respectively. It was shown that the total increase in SERS intensity by added anions cannot be exclusively explained in terms of the potential-dependent charge-transfer effect and by the 'active sites' effect caused by thermodynamically unstable atomic-scale roughnesses. We suggest that this increase can be also ascribed to anion-induced reorientation of the dye molecule or to the potential-independent molecular resonance caused by the strong influence of coadsorbed chloride ions on the electronic levels of Rhodamine 6G. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.


Objective To find out about the effect of a venous blood leukocyte filtration model on leukocyte immune function in canines.Methods Twenty - one mongrel dogs were anesthetized intravenously and randomized into two groups:the leukocyte filtration group(LF group) and the control group(C group).In the LF group,venous blood leukocytes in dogs were filtrated by aseptic puncture of the bilateral external jugular veins.In the control group,dogs were anesthetized continuously after aseptic puncture of the bilateral external jugular veins.The level of TNF-αand IL - 6 and the expression of CD11/18 and CD14 were tested in both LF group and C group at 0h,1h,2h and 6h.MPO enzyme activity and histopathology in the lung in both groups was measured at 6h. Results There was no significant difference in TNF-αlevel,expression of CD11/18 and CD14,MPO enzyme activity between LF and control groups.There was no change of histopathology in the lung between LF and control groups.The IL-6 concentration was reduced at 1h and 2h.Conclusion Venous blood leukocyte filtration will not activate immunofunction of the body or degrade some inflammatory factors.


Climate change and a deteriorating environment is a key challenge to sustainability, bio-diversity, food security and stability across the European region. Pollution, deteriorating soil quality, desertification and poor air quality are threatening the lives and futures of all of the continent's people. Climate change is one of the all-encompassing global environmental changes likely to have deleterious effects on (a) natural and human systems, (b) economies, and (c) infrastructure. This paper aims to highlight the sustainable economic development strategies as adopted by the European Union (EU). It also discusses strengths and weaknesses of the EU 2020 mechanism from an international perspective. Secondary data have been used in this presentation and nature of analysis is descriptive in nature. The paper concludes that in the future the primary focus of sustainable development and climate change policy research and global agreements in the EU should be the de-carbonization of economic development. Consequently, instead of treating climate stabilization and economic development as separate and equal, the strategy should be to re-integrate the global policy goals.


The strengths located within the urban fabric of a population, have witnessed the changes that time ha s suffered from this. By its constitution, relevance and importance, the urban strongholds taken the tit le of landmarks within the city automatically. Changes in the urban fabric, together with the requirements o f municipal public life, have made these castles must accommodate new uses. This adaptation to its new u s , usually in conflict with the distribution, structur e and materiality classical building. Thus, interve ntions to be performed must meet functional objectives and at th e same time preserving the heritage value of the bu ilding. This article aims to define basic criteria for such intervention strengths, based on the classical int erventionist theories. As an example, we discuss two examples of strengths of Valencia, which have been operated un der different criteria.


AIM: To investigate the expression and significance of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in the formation of Barrett's esophagus (BE) and its progression to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) in a rat model. METHODS: Sixty-five eight-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent end-to-side gastrojejunostomy, followed by end-to-side esophagojejunostomy approximately 0.5 cm distal to the gastro-jejunostoma to produce the duodenogastroesophageal reflux model group. Another 10 rats undergoing a sham operative procedure were taken as a control group. Some animals were sacrificed and their esophageal samples were taken from the model group at week 1, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 respectively after surgery and from the control group at week 20. Longitudinally esophageal paraffin slides were made and used for hematoxylin and eosin staining and iNOS immunohistochemical staining. Pathological changes and expression of iNOS in the distal one-third of the esophageal mucosa were detected microscopically. RESULTS: ① No pathological changes were found in the control group. Significant esophagitis were observed in the model group after surgery. There was a progression in epithelial cell proliferation and inflammation from mild to severe in the distal one-third of the esophagus, and BE and EAC were observed. The incidence of BE and EAC increased with time: 37.5% and 0% at week 8, 60% and 10% at week 12, 90% and 30% at week 16, 86.6% and 53.3% at week 20. ② Immunohistochemical staining of iNOS was negative in the control group. In the model group positive expression of iNOS in the distal one-third of the esophagus was observed in 0%, 0%, 50%, 80%, 100% and 100% of the rats at week 1, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 respectively and in 100% of the rats with BE and EAC. Positive iNOS staining was observed in the stromal macrophages directly beneath the epithelium. CONCLUSION: Excessive nitric oxide produced by iNOS in the stromal macrophages may contribute to the pathogenesis of BE and its progression to EAC.