Lightweight optical manufacture is no longer confined to the conventional subtractive (mill and drill), formative (casting and forging) and fabricative (bonding and fixing) manufacturing methods. Additive manufacturing (AM; 3D printing), creating a part layer-by-layer, provides new opportunities to reduce mass and combine multiple parts into one structure. Frequently, modern astronomical telescopes and instruments, ground- and space-based, are limited in mass and volume, and are complex to assemble, which are limitations that can benefit from AM. However, there are challenges to overcome before AM is considered a conventional method of manufacture, for example, upskilling engineers, increasing the technology readiness level via AM case studies, and understanding the AM build process to deliver the required material properties. This paper describes current progress within a four-year research programme that has the goal to explore these challenges towards creating a strategy for AM adoption within astronomical hardware. Working with early-career engineers, case studies have been undertaken which focus on lightweight AM aluminium mirror manufacture and optical mountings. In parallel, the aluminium AM build parameters have been investigated to understand which combination of parameters results in AM parts with consistent material properties and low defects. Metrology results from two AM case studies will be summarised: the optical characteristics of a lightweighted aluminium mirror intended for in-orbit deployment from a nanosat; and the AM build quality of wire arc additive manufacture for use in an optomechanical housing. Finally, an analysis of how surface roughness from AM mirror samples and build parameters are linked will be discussed.


A brief comparison of different FT-IR techniques for analysis of a polymer film on a me-tal surface is made. DRIFT (Diffuse Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) is used to obtain spectra of thin films of polystyrene on metal and glass substrates. Band intensities measured for different thicknesses of free polystyrene films are found to follow correctly the Kubelka-Munk theory relating concentration and band intensity.


Measurements and analysis of air breakdown processes by focusing a 193 nm, 200 mJ, 10 MW high power UV laser radiation to 20 – 60 µm spot sizes that produce maximum laser intensities of 1012 – 1013 W/cm2 are presented. Both classical quantum (multi-photon) and (collisional cascade) ionization processes affect the breakdown and plasma formation [1]. Observations are made for a wide range of pressures from 50 Torr to 5 atmospheres. Multi-photon ionization (n = 3) processes play a substantial role for lower pressures at 193 nm due to the high photon energy (6.4 eV). An extensive range of optical and spectroscopic diagnostics with 5 ns time scale gating and 13 µm ICCD resolution is utilized to characterize the plasma. The spatial and temporal evolution of the laser focused plasma is measured using shadowgraphy and two-color laser interferometry techniques with Abel inversion. The plasma temperatures are obtained by measuring the velocity of the shock wave front and by using optical emission spectroscopy. Optical emission spectroscopy is performed to diagnose the plasma temperature using nitrogen and oxygen emission lines. Measurements of the core laser plasma density (ne = 8×1017/cc) and electron temperature (10 eV) decay are made. A longer 18 cm focal length lens and its ionizing shock wave front are utilized to produce air seed plasma to instantaneously initiate a larger volume (500 cc) RF sustainment discharge coupled by means of a helical coil at up to 10 kW power levels. The RF system is matched to the inductive plasma impedance by a set of dual capacitors that can be switched during the rf pulse to obtain an optimal match [2]. Observations of the plasma densities and temperatures, plasma dynamics, RF matching and gas heating during the sustainment pulse utilizing mm wave interferometry and optical spectroscopy will be presented.


Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are the small ubiquitous self-defence products which are extensively distributed in plants. They can be classified into several groups, including thionins, defensins, snakins, lipid transfer proteins, glycine-rich proteins, cyclotides,  and hevein-type proteins. AMPs are important mediators of an innate host defence system, with antimicrobial activities against a broad spectrum of microorganisms. AMPs can be extracted and isolated from different plants and plant organs such as stems, roots, seeds, flowers and leaves. They perform various physiological defensive mechanisms to eliminate viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites, and so could be used as therapeutic and preservative agents.


On reading an old paper about galactic globular cluster abundance observations (of NGC 6752) we came across an intriguing result. Norris et al. (1981) found that there was a distinct lack of cyanogen-strong (CN-strong) stars in their sample of AGB stars, as compared to their sample of RGB stars (which had roughly equal numbers of CN-normal and CN-strong stars). Further reading revealed that similar features have been discovered in the AGB populations of other clusters. Recently, Sneden et al. (2000) followed up on this possibility (and considered other proton-capture products) by compiling the existing data at the time and came to a similar conclusion for two more clusters. Unfortunately all of these studies suffer from low AGB star counts so the conclusions are not necessarily robust — larger, statistically significant, sample sizes are needed. In this conference paper, presented at the Eighth Torino Workshop on Nucleosynthesis in AGB Stars (Universidad de Granada, Spain, 2006), we outline the results of a literature search for relevant CN observations and describe our observing proposal to test the suggestion that there are substantial abundance differences between the AGB and RGB in galactic globular clusters. The literature search revealed that the AGB star counts for all studies (which are not, in general, studies about AGB stars in particular) are low, usually being ≤ 10. The search also revealed that the picture may not be consistent between clusters. Although most clusters appear to have CN-weak AGBs, at least two seem to have CN-strong AGBs (M5 & 47 Tuc). To further complicate the picture, clusters often appear to have a combination of both CN-strong and CN-weak stars on their AGBs – although one population tends to dominate. Again, all these assertions are however based on small sample sizes. We aim to increase the sample sizes by an order of magnitude using existing high quality photometry in which the AGB and RGB can be reliably separated. For the observations we will use a wide-field, low-to mid-resolution multi-object spectroscope to obtain data not only on the AGB but also on the horizontal branches and first giant branches of a sample of clusters. With the new information we hope to ascertain whether significant abundance differences really exist.


The question of what makes a functional centromere remains one of the most important and intriguing unanswered questions in biology. The centromere boundary can be defined by identifying sequences that bind to CENH3, a centromere-specific histone H3 variant (called CENP-A in mammals; reviewed in [


A cutting insert having a serrated topography has a top surface which terminates in a circular cutting edge, a lower surface and a frustoconical side wall connecting the upper surface and the lower surface to each other, and a plurality of teeth on the upper surface, the circular around the cutting edge are arranged uniformly and extending from the cutting edge radially inwardly such that a bisector passing through each serration through a center axis of the cutting insert. The plurality of teeth are arranged in a cutting tool such that regenerative chatter during a cutting operation is reduced. A method of reducing regenerative chatter by arranging the cutting inserts in a cutting tool to certain manner is also disclosed.


The flow softening behavior and deformation mechanism of AA7050 aluminium alloy are investigated though hot compressive tests using a Gleebe-1500 thermal simulator at strain rates of 0.01310 s11 and temperatures of 3003450°C. The results show that the maximal relative softening transforms from 350°C to 450°C with increasing strain rate. Based on the processing maps and microstructure characterizations, dynamic recovery, dynamic precipitation and coarsening may be responsible for the softening behavior of AA7050 aluminium alloy at 350°C and 0.01 s11. With increasing strain rate and temperature, high level of the flow softening is associated with deformation heating, dynamic recovery and dynamic recrystallization. The superimposed processing map with various strains is established, indicating that the optimum hot workability domain is the temperature range of 3903450°C and strain rate range of 0.130.01 s11. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.MT-M2019114]


The aim of this investigation was to develop an instrument assessing the functions of self-talk (ST) in sports. Two studies were conducted for the development of the Functions of Self-Talk Questionnaire (FSTQ). In the first study, a prospective instrument was developed based on empirical evidence and a series of preliminary exploratory factor analysis. The results supported a five-dimensional 25-item solution. In the second study, the psychometric properties of the new questionnaire were tested. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the hypothesized factor structure of the FSTQ. Furthermore, reliability analyses provided further evidence regarding the psychometric integrity of the instrument. The results of the study provide preliminary evidence regarding the multidimensionality of ST functions, suggesting that ST in sports can serve to enhance attentional focus, increase confidence, regulate effort, control cognitive and emotional reactions, and trigger automatic execution. The FSTQ seems a psychometrically sound instrument that could help with enhancing our understanding regarding the use and effectiveness of ST.


In solid‐phase peptide synthesis, the nominal batch size is calculated using the starting resin substitution and the mass of the starting resin. The starting resin substitution constitutes the basis for the calculation of a whole set of important process parameters, such as the number of amino acid derivative equivalents. For Fmoc‐substituted resins, substitution determination is often performed by suspending the Fmoc‐protected starting resin in 20% (v/v) piperidine in DMF to generate the dibenzofulvene–piperidine adduct that is quantified by ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy. The spectrometric measurement is performed at the maximum absorption wavelength of the dibenzofulvene–piperidine adduct, that is, at 301.0 nm. The recorded absorption value, the resin weight and the volume are entered into an equation derived from Lambert–Beer's law, together with the substance‐specific molar absorption coefficient at 301.0 nm, in order to calculate the nominal substitution. To our knowledge, molar absorption coefficients between 7100 l mol−1 cm−1 and 8100 l mol−1 cm−1 have been reported for the dibenzofulvene–piperidine adduct at 301.0 nm. Depending on the applied value, the nominal batch size may differ up to 14%. In this publication, a determination of the molar absorption coefficients at 301.0 and 289.8 nm is reported. Furthermore, proof is given that by measuring the absorption at 289.8 nm the impact of wavelength accuracy is reduced. © 2017 The Authors Journal of Peptide Science published by European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.


70% of the world's population has no access to formal land registration systems. Globally, only 30 states have a functioning, countrywide land administration that also recognizes local tenure systems. In particular marginalized groups such as women, the poor and indigenous people are the most vulnerable to arbitrary practices in land rights governance. Land tenure is a legal regime which determines who can use land, for how long, and under what conditions. Land tenure security can be legitimately based on individual, household, family as well as community claims. The security of tenure is essential for the development of countries, as it incentivizes land holders to invest in their land, thus generating broader social and economic development.


Background The independent growth factor 1 (Gfi-1) is a transcription factor essential for several diverse hematopoietic functions and developments. However, the role and molecular mechanism of Gfi-1 in the development and progression of cervical cancer remains unclear. Purpose The present study investigates the relation of expression of Gfi-1 with prognoses in patients with cervical cancer. Methods We used Western blot and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and the inhibition of proliferation and metastasis of cervical cancer cells in vitro. Results This study confirms that the expression of Gfi-1 in cervical cancer tissues was higher than that in adjacent normal tissues. The level of Gfi-1 mRNA in human cervical cancer tissues was significantly higher than that in normal tissues adjacent to cancer. Furthermore, overexpression of Gfi-1 promoted cell proliferation, colony formation, and migration of cervical cancer cells. The increased expression of Gfi-1 promotes the proliferation of cervical cancer cells targeting the tumor suppressor F-box and WD repeat domain containing 7 (FBW7). Clinically, our data suggest that overexpression of Gfi-1 is associated with poor prognosis in patients with cervical cancer. In a tumor xenograft model, knockdown of Gfi-1 inhibited the tumor growth of Hela cells in vivo. Conclusion Our results reveal that Gfi-1 plays an important role in cervical cancer and Gfi-1/FBW7 axis serves as a potential therapeutic target for cervical cancer.


The model of information support estimation of the decision maker (DM) based on a study of qualitative indicators of informedness, which characterizes the completeness, accuracy and timeliness of DM informedness , is presented. On the basis of these characteristics the level of danger situations in the operation of complex objects is formed. In implementing the model are used the methods of one-parameter classification with operations of fuzzy sets and strong intersections, as well as methods of interval classification with the operations of union and intersection of fuzzy sets, and also with operations of strong union and intersection of fuzzy sets. The proposed methods allow classifying the situation to inform DM about the validity and security of the decision with the available information support. The proposed model is based on a study of qualitative characteristics of informedness of DM and can be used to estimate the level of danger situations in the problems of the complex objects operation.


We introduce a novel form of decoy-state technique to make the single-photon Bennett 1992 protocol robust against losses and noise of a communication channel. Two uninformative states are prepared by the transmitter in order to prevent the unambiguous state discrimination attack and improve the phase-error rate estimation. The presented method does not require strong reference pulses, additional electronics or extra detectors for its implementation.


The dynamic model of radial piston pump was established and analysis on steady response periodicity of time-variable stator vibration system by Lyapunov transform was made.Measurement mechanism was designed to test and verify the steady response periodicity of stator vibration for JB32H-type radial piston pump.It is concluded from analysis and test results that the stator vibration system is periodic,which is equal to the ratio of the angle between two adjacent pistons to rotor speed.When the ratio of excitation period to stator vibration system period is a rational number,the stator steady response showed periodic,and the period is equal to the least common multiple of stator vibration system period to excitation period;when the ratio of excitation period to stator vibration system period is an irrational number,the stator steady response showed non-periodic.


To achieve high level of innovativeness, cities are in collaboration with public and private organizations that allow city halls to tap into networks of companies and clusters as well as executing ...


—The rate of degradation of acetylcholinesterase [EC 188.8.131.52] in mature rat cerebral cortex was determined from the time course of the label introduced into the protein by one intraventricular injection of l‐leucine‐l‐14C. The half life of the enzyme was 2.84 ± 013 days.


We extend the improved Schwarz inequality of Dragomir [1, Theorem 2] to any power p ≥ 2, ‖x‖p‖y‖p − |〈x, y〉|p ≥ ∣∣∣∣∣∣det |〈x, e〉| (‖x‖ p − |〈x, e〉|p)1/p |〈y, e〉| (‖y‖p − |〈y, e〉|p)1/p  ∣∣∣∣∣∣ p for any vectors x, y, e ∈ Cn with ‖e‖ = 1. Applications to n-tuples of complex numbers are also included.


Previous studies have indicated that incidence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is partly related to the damage of antioxidant systems, but etiology of RA is not fully identified. This study was performed to evaluate nutrient intakes including antioxidants, health related behaviors and food habits of RA patients and controls. RA patient group (n=68) and sex-matched healthy controls (n=68) were joined in this study. Nutrient intake was estimated using a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. As mean age of RA (52.9±13.8 years) was significantly higher than those of controls (48.7±5.9 years), data were analyzed by using Student`s t-test, adjusted for age. There was no significant difference between two groups in body mass index. Compared with those of controls, frequencies of drinking (p<0.001) and coffee consumption (p<0.05) of RA groups were lower. RA groups had lower frequencies of fruit (p<0.01), vegetable (p<0.05) and fatty meat (p<0.05) consumptions and balanced diet (p<0.01), and higher frequencies of fried dishes (p<0.01), and salty dishes (p<0.01), compared to controls. The most nutrient intakes including energy intake of RA were tended to be lower than those of controls. Vitamin A, β-carotene and vitamin C intakes were significantly lower in RA than controls (p<0.001). Daily vitamin A, β-carotene and vitamin C intakes of RA were lower than those of control (vitamin A: RA 360.6±252.23 μg RE, control 844.5±426.2 μg RE, p<0.001; β-carotene: RA 1450.9±1019.0 μg, control 3968.8±2248.21 μg, p<0.001; vitamin C; RA 40.6±21.48 mg, control 84.7±40.29, p<0.001) These results suggest sufficient consumption of antioxidant nutrients may prevent and improve RA status. (Korean J Community Nutrition 13(2):253~262, 2008)


What determines how US economic sanctions affect the international trade conducted with their targets? This article develops a liberal-based explanation for why economic sanctions increase their targets' trade with some third parties and decrease it with others. It is theorized that the effects of defense pact alliances between sender and third-party states are conditional upon the strength of the third parties' commercial dependence upon the target states. Third parties will cooperate with senders when the costs are low, but use their alliance relationships as cover to sanctions bust when the commercial benefits are high. This suggests that the United States can best gain the support of allies whose cooperation matters the least, while the allies whose support is most important tend to sanctions bust. It is also theorized that a target state's allies trade more with it than its nonallies. An empirical analysis of ninety-six episodes of US-imposed sanctions supports these hypotheses.


Recently, we have presented a new technique for immunophenotyping cells that have numerical chromosome aberrations. We referred to this method as "Fluorescence-Immunophenotyping and Interphase Cytogenetics as a Tool for Investigation of Neoplasms" (FICTION). We present here an advanced FICTION method with three-color staining and improved sensitivity.


In South China Sea,there are two different kinds of legal disputes between China and other counties,so different methods and solutions should be adopted to solve disputes in peaceful way.This thesis expounds the disputes between China and the USA over military activities in Exclusive Economic Zone according to regime of the Law of the Sea.Considering that China and the USA have many obstacles to be overcome by means of regime of international law,therefore they shall solve disputes through dialogue and consultation to seek common understanding on principles of the Law of the Sea.Meanwhile,in order to prevent the marine accident,both parties shall establish communication and emergency response mechanism on marine issues,and the key point is to improve China's related policies and legal system on marine issues.


Introduction The pig has been used extensively in experimental studies of human eye diseases. Pig retina shares many morphological features with the human eye. The use of porcine ocular cells (POC) as putative xenotransplants appears theoretically possible. We investigated cytokine‐induced changes of the JAK/STAT signaling pathways in POC in response to human cytokines.


It is now well established that the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) needs to be reformed. After more than 18 months of discussions, the EU Commission disclosed, in its communication published in January 2014 on " A policy framework for climate and energy in the period from 2020 to 2030 ", its legislative proposal of a market stability reserve (MSR) in the EU ETS. This measure, that should be implemented from the next compliance period (2021-2028) onwards, would reduce the surplus of allowances growing since 2008 and improve the ETS's resilience to external shocks by automatically adjusting the supply of allowances to be auctioned. The operation of this MSR would be determined by predefined rules that, once agreed on, leave no discretion to either the Commission or Member States. The choice of the EU Commission to introduce a reserve in the EU ETS is very innovative even if other emissions trading schemes have already introduced a reserve in their design. Initial discussions began in March and April 2014 in the European Parliament and Council and the question of whether the MSR really improves the functioning of the EU ETS in the long term is still being debated. What other structural mechanism would be better suited in improving the long-term effectiveness of the EU ETS? To help in the decision making process, this report presents a multicriteria analysis. Without prejudging their political support, five policy options have been evaluated that would introduce some flexibility in the EU ETS and potentially ensure its long-term credibility: an auction reserve price, permit supply rules that target a certain corridor of surplus (market stability reserve), permit supply rules that target economic activity, permit supply rules that target overlap with other energy policies and a rolling emissions cap. The assessment of these five policy options was based on a criteria tree and on the EU ETS experts' panel's votes that expressed their preferences collected through a survey conducted in February 2014. Each policy option was evaluated according to their performance on the CO 2 emissions reductions, on their political & economic performance and on their institutional feasibility. This


A measurement power supply has been designed and made,which applies measurement of Inorganic electroluminescence film.Its output voltage and frequency can be variable,whose main circuit adopted technology such as buck chopper and full-bridge converter.The power supply also adopts technology such as over-current protection,peak voltage detecting.All of these technologies make the power operate on a stabilization condition and its performance is credible.The measurement method of Inorganic electroluminescence development brightness has been given.The experiments has been done in 4450 specimen,variable properties of brightness with voltage and frequency were obtained.


The subject of the international administration of territory has attracted and continues to attract much attention from legal scholarship, as proven by the increasing amount of existing literature on the subject over the past decade. The developments in this area of the law – most notably the missions in East Timor and Kosovo launched in 1999 – are fascinating from a legal conceptual and practical point of view. To offer a complete review of a book of more than 500 pages in a few pages is of course impossible; I will therefore focus on the general approach and conception of the book, and on some specific issues that drew my attention. Writing on a subject which might possibly lose any relevance in the coming years – perhaps to resurface several years later –, or which may on the contrary be just the starting point of an evolution, is challenging since it implies that one inevitably vacillates between the need to conceptualize certain trends, and the sometimes obvious reality of 'ad hoc-ism'. Bernhard Knoll, in a very interesting and well-researched book, clearly favors the former approach. The book focuses on the concepts and theories behind the international administration of territory, and in particular on issues pertaining to the legal status of territories under international administration. The subject of the book therefore complements well already existing literature on the subject. Knoll's approach combines discussions relating to the legal underpinning of the international administration of territory, with practical examples from recent and less recent cases, to support the developed arguments. However, Knoll has an inclination to enter into debates on conceptual legal-technical aspects which at certain points substantially raises the


The most common problem in urban areas is the high public demand and the limited provision of housing. In meeting the needs of affordable housing for low income communities, the Government of Indonesia implements Rusunawa Project. Object of this research is Pandanarang Rusunawa. Rusunawa Pandanarang is one of the vertical housing in Cilacap that is facing deterioration issue and needs good maintenance management. This study aims at insetting priority and optimizing maintenance plan due to limited funds (limited budget) and the amount of damage that must be repaired.This study uses one of the optimization methods of Dynamic Programing on the application of Integer 1/0 Knapsack Problem, to determine an schedule the maintenance activities. The Criteria that are used such as: the level of building components damage and the level of occupants participation. In the first criterion, the benefit (p) is the percentage of damage that is fixed with the cost (w). While on the second criterion, the benefit (p) is the percentage of occupant participation rate on the maintenance activities with the cost (w). For the budget of Rp 125.000.000, 00, it was obtained from the simulation that the value of the optimum solution on the first criterion at the 7th stage of 71.88% with total cost Rp 106.000.000, 00. At the second criterion, the value of the optimum solution at the 7th stage of 89.29% with total cost Rp 124.000.000, 00.


Four testing methods were performed to investigate the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) resistance of the base metal, weldment and heat affected zone (HAZ) of an overaged Al-3.7wt%Zn-2.5wt%Mg Alloy in 3.5% NaC1 solution. Cruciform weldment test results reveal that the residual stress from welding cannot result in SCC. The results of U-bend and constant load tests also show that this alloy loaded in longitudinal and long transverse direction has excellent SCC resistance even after welding. Furthermore, type I double cantilever beam (DCB) test shows the crack occurs in specimens loaded in the short transverse direction but cannot propagate through weldment due to the better SCC resistance of ER5183 Al-Mg filler metal. Type Ⅱ DCB test indicates that the 5CC resistance of HAZ is better than that of base metal because of reoveraging which results in coarsening and reducing amount of precipitates and increasing space between precipitates in grain boundaries during welding.


Over 1.2 million Americans are currently living with a traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). Despite the need for effective therapies, there are currently no proven effective treatments that can improve recovery of function in SCI patients. Many therapeutic compounds have shown promise in preclinical models of SCI, but all of these have fallen short in clinical trials. P-glycoprotein (Pgp) is an active transporter expressed on capillary endothelial cell membranes at the blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB). Pgp limits passive diffusion of bloodborne drugs into the CNS, by actively extruding drugs from the endothelial cell membrane. Pgp can become pathologically up-regulated, thus greatly impeding therapeutic drug delivery ('multidrug resistance'). Importantly, many drugs that have been evaluated for the treatment of SCI are Pgp substrates. We hypothesized that Pgp-mediated drug resistance diminishes the delivery and efficacy of neuroprotective drugs following SCI. We observed a progressive, spatial spread of Pgp overexpression within the injured spinal cord. To assess Pgp function, we examined spinal cord uptake of systemically-delivered riluzole, a drug that is currently being evaluated in clinical trials as an SCI intervention. Bloodto-spinal cord riluzole penetration was reduced following SCI in wild-type but not Pgp-null rats, highlighting a critical role for Pgp in mediating spinal cord drug resistance after injury. Others have shown that pro-inflammatory signaling drives Pgp up-regulation in cancer and epilepsy. We have detected inflammation in both acutelyand chronically-injured spinal cord


In vivo drug release properties and biocompatibility of gentamicin-loaded controlled release implants made of beta-tricalcium phosphate ceramics designed for the local antibiotic treatment of bone infections were investigated. Controlled release pellets containing 0.4 and 0.8 mg of gentamicin were implanted into the femoral bone of rats. Drug release was measured from renal excretion over a time period of 3 weeks


Background : The ability to secure the airway in a variety of patients and clinical circumstances constitutes an essential domain for the health team. It is an everyday activity for the anesthesiologist, who is considered to be the "expert" in this area. Therefore, their cooperation is often required in Emergency Services, in Intensive Care Unities and in other areas of the hospital where medical staffs present difficulties in ventilating and / or intubating the airway of patients. Objective : To design an intervention protocol in order to address the difficult airway. Methods : An exploratory study was performed. It was supported by qualitative and quantitative methodology. Documentary analysis, observation, expert criteria and surveys to specialists were among the methods used. Results: Theoretical systematization showed that the difficulties in addressing the airway in patients undergoing surgery are a challenge in the performance of the anesthesiologist. Although many tests can predict, to a certain extent, the approach to the airway, none of them is absolutely specific. Conclusions : An intervention protocol was designed for addressing the difficult airway. It is based on needs assessment in the performance of the Anesthesiology and Reanimation Specialist. The proposed protocol was validated by experts and is an alternative that helps building a consensus and improving the performance of the anesthesiologist.


In recent years, wireless communications systems such as wireless LAN, Bluetooth, etc. are being rapidly adopted. As the antennas used in wireless communications systems are usually installed in small mobile devices, it is demanded that the volume should be small. In our research, we focus our attention on flexible printed circuits (FPCs) to meet the miniaturization demand. In this paper, we introduce a planar inverted F antenna (PIFA) suitable for IEEE802.11b/g and Bluetooth. The antenna is made of FPC. We measured the radiation pattern of the antenna when the antenna is successively curved and folded, and it is clear that its radiation performance does not vary much when the antenna is deformed. We analyzed the antenna by using the moment method.


Attention based explanations (viz. saliency maps), by providing interpretability to black box models such as deep neural networks, are assumed to improve human trust and reliance in the underlying models. Recently, it has been shown that attention weights are frequently uncorrelated with gradient-based measures of feature importance. Motivated by this, we ask a follow-up question:"Assuming that we only consider the tasks where attention weights correlate well with feature importance, how effective are these attention based explanations in increasing human trust and reliance in the underlying models?". In other words, can we use attention as an explanation? We perform extensive human study experiments that aim to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the degree to which attention based explanations are suitable in increasing human trust and reliance. Our experiment results show that attention cannot be used as an explanation.


Religiosity is spiritual expressions related to the system of beliefs, values, and laws. A Muslim woman who is religious in her daily activities has a religious attitude. Her position in the perspective of Islamic education faces a challenge, especially in the current digital era. This paper is an attempt to answer the questions of religious characteristics, religious behaviors, and dimensions among the Indonesian Muslim woman. The data was obtained from the results of in-depth interviews from the key informants from five zones of the archipelago in Indonesia and was compared to document studies. The results showed that first, the religious characteristics of Indonesian Muslim women having a career in the digital era are rich in faith, diligent worship, and noble characters. Second, their behaviors and religious dimensions are related to the aspects of beliefs, worships or practice, consequences, and religious knowledge. This study concluded that religiosity is an implication of the depth and maturity of Muslim women. Muslim women might become religious in their manifested career life formed through a unified and integrated dimension. The digital age is a tool to facilitate belief as a guideline in a career.


BACKGROUND: Facial reticular blue veins are of esthetic concern. Most often these veins develop on the lower lids. The safest and most effective way of treatment is by vascular lasers. CASE REPORT: We report on a successful reticular vein treatment using a long-pulsed 1064 nm Nd: YAG laser. We present a follow-up of 8 years with constant esthetic improvement without unwanted adverse events. CONCLUSION: There was no relapse demonstrating the efficacy of Nd: YAG laser.


1. The rhizome and early aerial shoot of Agropyron repens Beauv. each possesses a relatively short apex bearing only a few primordia. During the growing season the apex becomes more elongated and bears more primordia, which now show smaller stepsin advancement. Later the apex elongates considerably and becomes transformed into the inflorescence. Of the axillary buds which grow out, the highest ones produce "blind" shoots, the lowest develop into shoots ending in inflorescences, and those underground give new rhizomes. 2. The shoot apex consists of three thimble-shaped layers-the dermatogen, the hypodermis, and the subhypodermis, which inclose a central core. There are probably three separate sets of initials or initial groups, one each for the dermatogen and the hypodermis and a common one for the subhypodermis and core. 3. Leaf primordia can first be detected by isolated periclinal divisions in the dermatogen cells on the side of the apex. These divisions are themselves probably preceded by similar ones in the hypodermis. Further divisions in the dermatogen and the hypodermal cells lead to the production of a crescentic protuberance. Increased activity in the region of the future mid-insertion insures the continued distichous phyllotaxis of the shoot. Lateral spreading of the divisions around the axis converts the crescent into a collar which then grows upward and produces a miniature cowl inclosing the apex and the younger primordia which have since arisen. Continued activity of the dermatogen at the free edge of the collar and then the cowl adds tissue to the tip and margins of the primordium. The internal tissue of the young leaf is derived from both the dermatogen and the hypodermis; the subhypodermis and core contribute nothing. 4. The axillary buds, which are fore-shadowed by the production of radial files of cells in the subhypodermis, emerge soon after the insertion of the leaf above has spread around from the other side of the apex. No periclinal divisions occur in either the dermatogen or the hypodermis at the position of the future bud tip, so that these two layers in the bud are derived directly from the same layers in the main shoot. The subhypodermis and core of the bud are derived from the subhypodermis of the main axis. 5. The mode of origin and development of the axillary buds should be borne in mind when amphidiploids are to be produced by the action of colchicine on seedlings or young plants. 6. It is suggested that the zonation observed in the apex is not due to any particular qualities inherent in the cells themselves but to the particular types of metabolism in these strata. This leads to a less rigid concept than that of either the Hanstein or the Breslau schools.


Although tellurium is not regarded as a true trace element, in that there is no recognized biological role for tellurium in human tissues and no clinical deficiency syndrome, nonetheless the amounts of tellurium in the human body are reported to be higher than several of the recognized trace elements. This article reviews known biological effects of tellurium, including the rare accounts of tellurium poisoning in man. The experimental neurotoxic effects of tellurium, in both peripheral nerves and cerebral tissues, may serve as useful model systems for human neurological diseases


Described in this paper is a program-analysis method that can be used to effectively determine the logical structure of a program, explicate the computation a program will perform, and show the equivalence of programs. Applications to the problem areas in test-case generation, proving program correctness, and translation of "GOTO" programs into "GOTO-less" programs are discussed.


four grades, from less severe (grade I) to severe (grade 4). Grades 3 and 4, in which plasma leakage is so profound that shock occurs,arealSo referred to as dengue shock syndrome (DSS) (3). Dengue virus infections are a serious cause of morbidity and mortalityin many areas of the world: Southeastand South Asia, Central and SouthAmerica, the Caribbean,and Africa. It is estimated that 100 million cases of dengue fever and 250,000 cases of DHF occur annually (4). Thus, DF/DHF is one of the most important infectious diseases in the world. The regions in which dengue virus infectionsare shown to be serious health problems have been expanding,and the number of DHF cases is increaslng. The World Health Organization reports that domestic dengue virus infections occur in nearly 100 countries and reglOnS. A dengue outbreak occumd in Osaka, Robe, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki from 1942 to 1945, and dengue viruStype I was responsible for the outbreak (5). Dengue virus infections have never reached epidemic proportions in Japan sincethen, and there are currently no domestic dengue virus infections in contemporary Japan. However, imported dengue cases have been reported (6). We have beenperforming serodiagnosis of dengue virus infection upon request from hospitals and clinics. The features of imported dengue cases that we serodiagnosed from 1985 to 1995 at the Department of Virology 1 , National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan (NIID) were previously reported (6)・ Serum speclmenS Were Obtained from dengue-suspected cases in clinics and hospitals in Japan from 1996 to 1999, and were sent tothe Department of Virology 1, NIID for the laboratory diagnosis of dengue. In the present manuscript, We reprt features of these dengue cases. Dengue virus infections were diagnosed by lgM-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RTIPCR), and hemmagglutination inhibition (HI) test,


Additions are made to the description of Syllides articulosa, S. convoluta, S. japonica, and S. longocirrata. Syllides fulva and S. verrilli are recognized as valid species, and Syllides benedicti is newly described. Several new records are given. The overlapping of characters of Syllides and Pionosyllis is pointed out. Possibly, the insertion of the blades of the compound setae may prove to be a reliable character in differentiating the two genera.


Your article "Physics under siege" (November p6) probably evoked a greater degree of deja vu from your readers than was intended. This problem is not unique to the UK. I have experienced a number of budget and space allocation formulas over the past decades. The requirements of physics have always deviated significantly from those provided by these formulas. There is a simple explanation for this anomaly – cutting-edge research in physics requires the development of experimental instrumentation systems that cannot be bought off-the-shelf.


A new Dpsc ion-exchange resin was synthesized with sulforic acid and carboxylic acid from styrene-methyl methylacrylic acid-divinyl benzene(vinyl styrene). The new Dpsc ion-exchange resin was characterized with the selectivity factor, resolution and The height equivalent to a theoretical plate. The L-valine was prepared with Dpsc ion-exchange resin from valine fermented broth on a preparation scale. The retention volume was reduced to four fifth by 0.2moL/L and 0.5moL/L gradient elution on the new Dpsc ion-exchange resin column at a flow rate of 6ml/min at 25℃.


Yesterday we proved that every real symmetric matrix A has a real eigenvector v ∈ R n , so that Av = cv for some c ∈ R. Theorem 1. For a real symmetric matrix, there exists a basis of eigenvectors that is orthonormal with respect to the standard scalar product on R n. Proof. We begin the proof of a very useful observation which we shall use several times. Namely for two vectors x and y, the scalar product (x, y) can be identified with the 1 × 1-matrix y T · x. Therefore, for every matrix B we have (Bx, y) = y T Bx = (B T y) T x = (x, B T y). In particular, for B = A, we have (Ax, y) = (x, Ay). This is very useful, because it allows to generalise the notion of a symmetric matrix to that of a symmetric linear transformation of a Euclidean vector space, that is the transformation A for which (Ax, y) = (x, Ay) for all vectors x and y. (If we introduce a coordinate system corresponding to an orthonormal basis, the vector space gets identified with R n with the usual scalar product, and a symmetric linear transformation is represented by a symmetric matrix). Let us proceed with the proof. Consider a real eigenvector v of A, and consider the vector space U = span(v) ⊥. We have V = span(V) ⊕ U, so dim(U) = dim(V) − 1. Let us show that U is an invariant subspace of A. Let u ∈ U, so that (u, v) = 0, and let us show that (Au, v) = 0. We have (Au, v) = (u, Av) = (u, cv) = c(u, v) = 0. Therefore, U is an invariant subspace; the scalar product of V makes it an Euclidean space, and A is a symmetric linear transformation of that space. It follows by induction on dimension that the theorem holds.


Globalization and other change drivers in the world mean that especially now more than ever, organizations have to strive to remain relevant, easily recognizable and profitable. FMCGs around the globe find they are just as vulnerable to changes in the market and the stake they hold could easily be lost to a competitor in a similar niche. The purpose of the study was to establish the influence of employee recognition on organizational performance in FMCGs in Kenya. A descriptive research design was adapted involving the staff of Nairobi Coca cola Bottlers Limited. The data obtained was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. The study established that employee recognition has significant influence on how organizations will perform and recommends that FMCGs who wish to get higher results from their human resources should consider how well they recommend their staff as this enhance s their organization performance. Keywords: FMCGs, Sub Saharan Africa, Organizational performance, Employee Recognition, Nairobi Coca Cola Bottlers Limited


Storm water treatment has been gradually acknowledged for the removal of pollutants from urban areas using the hydro cyclone separation technique. The separation efficiency of the hydrodynamic vortex separator (HDVS) is a complex phenomenon. With the aim enhance the separation potency of HDVS for storm runoff to get rid of sand particles, the HDVS with different structural configurations was studied by computational fluid dynamics. A steady-state model was created to simulate the HDVS, where the simulation of solid–liquid part flow within the HDVS was conducted by 3-D Eulerian–Eulerian multiphase model and Reynolds stress model combined with the kinetic theory of granular flow. The rate contours, recess, outlet volume fraction of solid phase and particle removal efficiency were specially analyzed. The simulation results showed that the separation efficiency of HDVS had a positive relation to different structural configurations. The optimal design parameters of HDVS were obtained. The great agreement of flow rate and alter the law of separation potency proves that the mentioned multiphase is in-line accustomed to optimize the separation efficiency of hydrodynamic vortex separator.


What we have established by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies in silicon concerning the properties of its intrinsic defects (vacancies and interstitials) and their interactions with other defects is reviewed. The lessons learned are compared to what is currently being observed in diamond, and some general observations made. Also described is a recent identification by EPR of a dominant electrically active defect involving a single hydrogen atom in CVD diamond.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent of hazing that had existed in former high school athletes who were enrolled in introduction to coaching classes in a Northern Rocky Mountain state. A nationally accepted survey was given to 189 college students of whom the majority had participated in high school sports. Results were interpreted to determine the extent these students had been hazed in their athletic careers and specifically what those behaviors were. Implications were made for future definition and clarification of hazing to ensure proper enforcement and elimination of all negative behaviors. In the fall of 2007, a parent anonymously accused a respected and highly successful high school coach of physically and verbally abusing his athletes. As a result of him being abruptly accused and relieved of his duties, his former and current players and the community came to his defense. It had been determined that his 'physical and verbal abuse' was a team rule that his players would not consume soft drinks and not wear hats in class during the season. It was also determined that the 'anonymous' complaint had been filed by a parent whose son was not getting playing time.?


Smiles's discussion of Gal 3:10 ignores several key studies of the past decade (e.g., Dunn, Wright). That Paul has no problem with (the?) Jewish covenant is questionable in light of J . Louis Martyn's discussions of Gal 3:15-18 and 4:21-31. Smiles also seems a little too quick to accept pre-Pauline creeds or confessions in the apostle's letters (perhaps a discussion of criteria would have been helpful).


Electro/mechanical microchips and method of making with burst ultrafast laser pulses. A method for making an electromechanical chip using a plurality of transparent substrates, comprising the steps of: machining, using photoacoustic compression, full or partial voids in at least one of the plurality of substrates. The plurality of transparent substrates are stacked and arranged in a specific order. The transparent substrates are affixed and sealed together. The chip may be sealed by laser welding or adhesive.


This paper presents a novel method to improve the security of the modulation technique of chaos shift keying (CSK). The strategy developed in the method is to remove correlation among state variables by means of applying delays to state variables in constitution of transmitted signal. The proposed method is tested under several applicable breaking techniques, i.e. of return map, power analysis, and generalized synchronization. It is shown that the proposed method can resist from conventional attacking techniques. Numerical simulation will be demonstrated with Lorenzpsilas system to verify the effectiveness of the method.


Callus of grape inoculated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens often suffer cell browning and necrosis,which greatly reduces the efficiency of transformation.Stress response genes seem to play key roles during this process.Using semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(sqRT-PCR),we studied the expression levels of pathogenesis-related protein 10(PR-10),manganese-superoxide dismutase(Mn-SOD),ascorbate peroxidase(APX),isoflavone reductase-like protein 5(IRL 5),catalase(CAT) and β-1,3-glucanases genes in embryogenic callus(EC) and non-embryogenic callus(NEC) of Vitis vinifera L.at 0 min,30 min and 3 d after inoculation with A.tumefaciens.The expression level of PR-10 gene was quite high in both NEC and EC and gradually increased during co-cultivation.Mn-SOD in NEC had no obvious change,while the relative expression level of Mn-SOD in EC 30 min after inoculation increased to 1.8 times that of EC before inoculation.At 3 d of co-cultivation,it reduced to 0.9 times.The expression of APX in NEC was stable and low during the process,while the expression level in EC before inoculation,30 min and 3 d after inoculation was 3.2,2.1 and 4.1 times higher compared to the corresponding level in NEC,respectively.The expression of CAT in NEC was very low and gradually declined.The expression in EC 30 min after inoculation increased by 2.4 times compared to that before inoculation.IRL 5 presented the same decreasing tendency in NEC as CAT,and its expression was relatively high in EC.The expression of β-1,3-glucanases was much higher in NEC than EC.Before inoculation,30 min after inoculation and 3 d after co-cultivation,the relative expression intensity of β-1,3-glucanases in NEC was 28,4.5 and 3.7 times higher than in EC.Further more,the expression of these genes in EC treated with protease was also detected.After 3 d of co-cultivation,the expression of Mn-SOD,APX and IRL 5 in protease treated EC were reduced,but the expression of CAT and β-1,3-glucanases increased to 3.7 and 8.7 times as high as that in EC without protease treatment,respectively.The results,to a certain extent,unraveled the mechanism underlying the difference in reactions to A.tumefaciens between EC and NEC and provided a new insight into Agrobacterium-induced cell plasticity at gene level,which could be useful for strategies to reduce callus browning and cell death and thus improve grape transformation efficiency.


Investors in private corporations face unique problems relating to corporate control, illiquidity and valuation of securities. In this research, we survey a large sample of US corporations. Our sample includes both private and public firms. Major findings of our research are as follows: Private firms use written shareholder agreements for safeguarding ownership interests and dividend payments. Family owned firms dominate the ownership structure of private firms. Insiders of private firms own a much larger proportion of common stock than insiders in public firms, and the CEOs of private firms often happen to be the largest stockholders.


AbstractTo understand the influence of formation methods on the performance of graded gravel, graded gravel specimens composed through two common methods, i.e., compaction and vibratory formation, were analyzed. First, the K change method was adopted to design the graded gravel; subsequently, the graded gravel specimens were generated through the aforementioned methods. The maximum dry density, optimum moisture content, and CBR values of the specimens were measured separately, and the parameters were analyzed comprehensively. The analysis of the ideal data indicated that (1) compaction formation severely disturbed the previous gradation of graded gravel, particularly the gradations from 13.2 mm to 1.18 mm; (2) vibratory formation slightly disrupted but basically maintained the previous gradation; (3) the CBR values of the graded gravel specimens formed through vibratory formation were almost twice as high as those generated through compaction formation; and (4) a densely graded gravel specimen does not in...


The growing recognition of the importance of early life factors in the development of coronary heart disease (CHD) may increase prospective research in this period of life. From a methodological point of view, drop out of subjects, particularly when this is selective, is a major threat to the validity of the results. Specific information about determinants of drop out in current studies may therefore yield important information for future studies. We have analysed risk of drop out in the Young Hearts Project, a prospective study in Northern Ireland.1

The Young Hearts Project is a prospective cohort study, which started in two cohorts of 12 year old boys (n=251) and girls (n=258) and 15 year old boys (n=252) and girls (n=254) in Northern Ireland (overall response rate 78%) in 1988. Its aim and design have been described elsewhere in detail.1 In 1992/93 these children were re-examined …


Objective:To investigate the need for a new or updated eyeglasses prescription among myopic adults,so as to guide the rational practices of eyeglass prescription.Methods: Data on 3061 cases(6122 eyes) of eyeglass prescription for adult myopia were analyzed,including dioptroscopy,occupation,mean hours spent on daily reading,time from the previous prescription and the reason for current prescription.Results: Miopia was not shown to be associated with gender(P0.05).In those with vision loss,annualized increase in diopter was(0.39±0.19)D for low myopia,(0.19±0.12)D for moderate myopia and(0.28±0.16)D for high myopia.The increase in diopter was greatest in long-hour readers with low-to-moderate myopia(P0.05).The reasons to eyeglass prescription included vision loss(81.3%),the need to replace eyeglasses for a new frame(13.8%) and malfunction of the eyeglasses(4.9%).The mean length from last prescription was(2.8±0.6)years.Conclusion: Increase in diopter is closely related to prolonged reading among adults.Proper advices should be given to those who require eyeglass prescription.


: Education is one of the tools humanity uses to help in developing society through man. Since society needs the contributions of everyone in developing it, a lot of efforts are made through research and others to educate almost everybody in society in contributing to it. The mind of the individual has to be trained to a level that it would be beneficial to each member of the society. In creating a better society, we could not depend on one person in carrying out the desired development else society or community would lag behind. Hence every person whether with any form of disability or not has to be developed to his/her full potential. Inclusive education has been internationally recognized as a philosophy for attaining equity, justice and quality education for all children, especially those who have been traditionally excluded from mainstream education for reasons of disability, ethnicity, gender or other characteristics (Nguyet & Ha, 2010).


The acoustic absorption characteristics of foamed aluminum and the effect of its structural parameters on the characteristics have been investigated. The results indicate that the acoustic absorption behavior of foamed aluminum has an uncertain relation with its porosity; the effect of pore size is non-monotonous, while the flow resistance, which characterizes the structural coefficients, might be the most important factor. It is also found that the absorption peak is widened and the noise reduction coefficient can be increased through suitable compressive deformation.


Ionization of Ne, Kr and Xe is measured up to 1018 W cm-2. Correlated multielectron processes (observed up to Xe11+) are shown to increase with atomic number.


Extracts of Escherichia coli as a elicit were treated to suspension cultures of Streptanthus tostus in order to observe the effect on the pholem development. By the elicit treatment, cell wall, sieve endoplasmic reticulum (SER) and p-protein were normally synthesized, but the structure of amyloplast was changed from a round form to irregular and swollen unhalthy form with a tiny starch granular. Oil drops were new synthesized and accumulated in a large oleoplast and proteins were also accumulated in a single membrane. The concentration of sucrose in the phloem, which was induced during the elicit treatment, was higher than normally developed phloem cells. These results suggest that phloem cells might be changed in the normal cycles of metabolism of lipids, carbohydrates and proteins to overcome during the eilicit stress.


A model for syngas production from pyrolysis oil gasification was developed, validated, and used in this work to predict the effect of operating conditions on syngas properties. The model consists of a process line that includes units for pyrolysis-oil drying, decomposition, combustion, and gasification processes. The model was validated using experimental data from the literature, showing a good agreement between the results and the reference method. Syngas potential applications were assumed, e.g., for direct use in fuel cells and fuel production. Sensitivity analysis was carried out to evaluate the impacts of gasifying agent, temperature, and the oil moisture content on syngas composition, lower heating value (LHV), and H2:CO molar ratio. For fuel cells applications, gasifying with O2 and air lead to a substantial decrease in syngas LHV. The syngas should be produced at a high temperature. The moisture content in pyrolysis-oil also should be minimized. For fuel production applications, partial O2 can be used to adjust the H2:CO molar ratio. The syngas should be produced at an appropriate temperature around 1000°C. The moisture content in pyrolysis oil should also be selected at 40%.


Based on field survey from May 1996 to June 2003, species diversity, distribution and population sizes of rare, endangered and national key protected wetland waterfowls in Hubei province of central China were studied with direct counting and special survey. There were 45 species of these waterfowl in Hubei's wetlands, belonging to 24 genera of 9 families of 6 orders, in which 34 species were recorded. Two species,Egretta eulophotes and Ixobrychus minutus were firstly recorded in Hubei. In terms of geographical distribution types, the Palaearctic, Oriental and Cosmopolitan species numbers were 35, 8 and 2 respectively. The Palaearctic species were dominant. According to the seasonal pattern, 30 species were winter migrant, 8 were summer migrant, 5 were traveling birds and 2 species were resident. The Grallatores (23 species) were nearly equal to the Natatores (22 species). About 41.1796 ×104 individuals were estimated as the total number of these kinds of waterfowls in Hubei province. Twenty-three species with 8247 individuals were the IUCN red list of threatened birds, 22 species with 3615 individuals were listed as the China red list of threatened birds,23 species with 40.6316×104 individuals were ranked the threatened birds by CITES, and 24 species with 3838 individuals were graded as the national key protected birds. Eleven species were not recorded within our investigation, and it showed that they could be extinct in the wild or critically endangered in Hubei wetlands. The result showed that Honghu, Chenhu,Longganhu, Liangzihu and Wanghu Lakes could be ascertained as the Ramsar international key wetlands in terms of 1 % criterion of the globe waterfowl geographical population.


Title of Document: WHOLE STREAM NITROGEN UPTAKE AND DENITRIFICATION IN A RESTORED STREAM OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY Carolyn A. Klocker, Master of Science, 2007 Directed By: Assistant Professor Sujay S. Kaushal, Marine, Estuarine, and Environmental Science Little is currently known about the effects of stream restoration practices on in-stream processing and nitrogen removal. This study quantified nitrate retention in a survey of two restored and two unrestored streams in Baltimore, MD using unenriched nitrate additions, denitrification enzyme assays, and a N isotope tracer addition in one of the urban restored streams, Minebank Run. Denitrification potential in sediments was variable across streams, whereas nitrate uptake length was significantly correlated to surface water velocity, which was lowest in restored streams. In situ denitrification rates in Minbank Run were 153 mg NO3 N m d, and approximately 40% of the daily load of nitrate could be removed over a distance of 220.5 m. Stream restoration projects that decrease water velocity and increase residence time may lead to considerable rates of nitrate removal through denitrification. WHOLE STREAM NITROGEN UPTAKE AND DENITRIFICATION IN A RESTORED STREAM OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY


Postal automation is yet a partially solved challenge, and part of the challenge is the automatic and accurate extraction of stamps in envelope. We observed that the stamp perforations form a distinct boundary between the stamps and the background. The number and the linear distribution of stamp perforations can be utilized to extract and validate each stamp accurately. In this paper we approach this problem by proposing a novel stamp extraction and validation algorithm. First, the character of stamp boundary is emphasized and extracted through the RGB Components Absolute Difference under Variant Illumination Condition (CADVIC). Second, the stamp perforations are validated based on correlation matching, and then Hough Transform is exploited to generate the borderlines of each stamp. A number of experiments show our method is effective.


This paper first reviews empirical evidence and estimation methods of structural credit risk models. Next, an empirical investigation of the performance of default prediction under the down-and-out barrier option framework is provided. In the literature review, a brief overview of the structural credit risk models is provided. Empirical investigations in extant literature papers are described in some detail, and their results are summarized in terms of subject and estimation method adopted in each paper. Current estimation methods and their drawbacks are discussed in detail. In our empirical investigation, we adopt the Maximum Likelihood Estimation method proposed by Duan [Mathematical Finance 10 (1994) 461–462]. This method has been shown by Ericsson and Reneby [Journal of Business 78 (2005) 707–735] through simulation experiments to be superior to the volatility restriction approach commonly adopted in the literature. Our empirical results surprisingly show that the simple Merton model outperforms the Brockman and Turtle [Journal of Financial Economics 67 (2003) 511–529] model in default prediction. The inferior performance of the Brockman and Turtle model may be the result of its unreasonable assumption of the flat barrier.


Trash present at different locations, both outdoor and indoor is a menace. Collection of the garbage so that it can be disposed off properly can be a mundane and time-consuming job requiring human labor. This was avoided by using Robots to automate this task and increase efficiency. Technologies involved in the development of these automated systems using sensors and processing units such as Arduino, Raspberry Pi. Most of them were built more specific to their requirements like which terrain (indoor or outdoor, land or water) they must work on, and different autonomy levels (manual, remote-control or fully autonomous were attained or proposed to attain successfully by using IoT for remote-control and path-planning using image-processing in fully autonomous robots.


Recently, chaotic neural networks have been paid much attention to, and contribute toward solving TSP. We study the existence of chaos in a discrete-time neural network. Chaotic behavior is an inside essence of stochastic processes in nonlinear deterministic system. The investigation provides a theoretical confirmation on the scenario of transient chaos for the system. All the parameter conditions for the theory can be examined numerically. The numerical ranges for the parameters which yield chaotic dynamics and convergent dynamics provide significant information in the annealing process in solving combinatorial optimization problems using this transiently chaotic neural network.


INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Ureteral reconstruction of long-segment proximal and middle ureteral strictures not amenable to primary excision and anastomosis is technically difficult. Although surgical management of long distal ureteral strictures may be facilitated by well-established techniques such as a psoas hitch and Boari flap, these adjunctive maneuvers are not as readily available for use during proximal and middle ureteral repair. We described our multi-institutional experience with robotic ureteral reconstruction (RUR) for long-segment (>4 cm) proximal and middle ureteral strictures. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed our multi-institutional database to identify all patients with proximal and/or middle ureteral strictures greater than 4 cm who underwent RUR at two institutions between 3/2015 and 6/2018. Patients with long ureteral strictures that involved the distal ureter were excluded. The method used to facilitate a tension-free anastomosis was determined by the primary surgeon depending on clinical history and intraoperative findings. Postoperatively, all patients were assessed for: clinical success: the absence of flank pain; and radiological success, the absence of obstruction on imaging. RESULTS: Twelve patients met inclusion criteria for our analysis. The median stricture length was 4.5 cm (IQR 4-6). With regards to RUR with grafting, 8/12 patients underwent buccal mucosa graft ureteroplasty and 1/12 patient underwent both buccal muscoa and appendiceal graft ureteroplasty. Of the patients that underwent buccal mucosa graft ureteroplasty, 2/8 (25%) patients required a concomitant downward nephropexy and 1/8 (12.5%) patients required a psoas hitch. With regards to RUR without grafting, 1/12 (8.3%) patients underwent ureteroureterostomy with downward nephropexy and 2/12 (16.7%) patients underwent ureteral reimplantation with psoas hitch and Boari flap. The median operative time was 224 minutes (IQR 197-277), and estimated blood loss was 100 (IQR 50-125). There were no intraoperative complications. The median length of stay was 2 days (IQR 1.8-3.3). There were no major postoperative complications (Clavien >2). At a median follow-up of 9 months (IQR 7-20), 12/12 (100%) cases were clinically and radiologically successful. CONCLUSIONS: Although surgical management of long-segment proximal and middle ureteral strictures is difficult, RUR may be performed with excellent intermediate-term outcomes. For such cases, reconstructive urologists must be familiar with grafting, and mobilizing the kidney and bladder to facilitate a tension-free anastomosis. Source of Funding: None


Combined with real projects,it introduces the form work design plan choice of the transfer floor of some high-rise hotel and its calculation,explores the detailed construction method and safeguard,so as to ensure the construction quality of formwork and satisfy the construction requirements of high-rise buildings.


Objective:The fucoxanthin from Laminaria japonica was determined by C18-HPLC-PDA.Methods:By C18-HPLC-PDA,fucoxanthin from brown alga was readily separated under following conditions:DiamonsilTM C18(4.6mm×250mm,5μm);mobile phase A:acetonitrile-water(9:1,V/V);mobile phase B:ethyl acetate;linear gradient:B increased from 0 to 100% in 20min;flow rate:1.0mL/min;PDA wavelength range:250~600nm;sample injection volume:20μL.According to its chromatographic behavior and spectral characteristics,fucoxanthin was identified and quantified with the aid of an external standard.


This bachelor work deals with the analysis of insurance mediation activities. The object of this report is to evaluate the application of European Union law into the legal system in selected countries and propose legislative changes relating to the insurance intermediation in the Czech Republic. The first part is aimed at legislative definition of brokering activities at European level. In the second chapter is the attention given to the legal standards of the Czech Republic and in the third section the author provides an analysis of insurance markets focused on mediation activities in three Member States. In the final part, there are on the basis of the obtained information suggested recommendations regarding qualitative changes in the Czech legislation.


Based on DEDS theory,this paper established the process model to realize logistics functions of ships′ loading and unloading,and containers′ collecting and dispatching in container terminals.By the analysis of terminal traffic net structure,we established the traffic net model,in which we take road sections as the basic unit.and intersection safety model.Then,we put up a compound model of traffic simulation and analysis,combining the process model and traffic net model by computer simulation method.This model is proved valuable in engineering application.


The topic assigned to me is the authority and justification for infant baptism. In his letter from Geneva, generously asking me if I would make this presentation, Stephen Cranford of the Faith and Order Commission suggested that I bring out the reasoning behind the practice of infant baptism and attempt to sharpen the issues rather than resolve the question. I say "generously" because my counterpart in this topic is Dr. George Beasley-Murray, whose eminence as New Testament scholar and author is well known to all. And I happily admit a debt of gratitude to him for the great help his scholarly book, Baptism in the New Testament, was to me when I was doing my dissertation.


Health Care Policy in the United States: Lessons for Canada At first blush, the suggestion that the American experience in health care policy may contain some helpful lessons for Canada may seem surprising. For one thing, there is a large body of opinion in the United States (and also in Canada) which holds that the adoption of a system closely modelled on the Canadian one represents a promising type of reform for the United States, as that country tries to repair some of the worst deficiencies in its system of health insurance and health services provision. By the same token, most Canadians consider their health care system as vastly superior to the American one, and would argue that any change inspired by the American example is bound to be a change for the worse.


Aquifer storage recovery (ASR) was tested in the Santee Limestone/Black Mingo Aquifer near Charleston, South Carolina, to assess the feasibility for subsurface storage of treated drinking water. Water quality data obtained during two representative ASR tests were interpreted to show three things: (1) recovery efficiency of ASR in this geological setting; (2) possible changes in physical characteristics of the aquifer during ASR testing; and (3) water quality changes and potability of recovered water during short (one- and six-day) storage durations in the predominantly carbonate aquifer.

Recovery efficiency for both ASR tests reported here was 54%. Successive ASR tests increased aquifer permeability of the Santee Limestone/Black Mingo Aquifer. It is likely that aquifer permeability increased during short storage periods due to dissolution of carbonate minerals and amorphous silica in aquifer material by treated drinking water. Dissolution resulted in an estimated 0.3% increase in pore volume of the permeable zones. Ground water composition generally evolved from a sodium-calcium bicarbonate water to a sodium chloride water during storage and recovery. After short duration, stored water can exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maximum contaminant level (MCL) for chloride (250 mg/L). However, sulfate, fluoride, and tri-halomethane concentrations remained below MCLs during storage and recovery.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate effect of root canal curvature and location of the fragment on the removal of broken file from root canal.

METHODS
Sixty extracted mandibular premolars were divided equally into six groups according to location of fragment (2 mm or 8 mm below root canal orifice) and root canal curvature (20 degrees, 30 degrees or 40 degrees). Broken files were removed using ultrasonic tips combined with dental operating microscope. Number of successfully removed case and operating time were recorded. Pre- and post-operative digital radiographs were input into image analyzing software to calculate diameter variance of root canal at the level of tip of broken file.

RESULTS
All the 6 groups of broken files were successfully removed with out perforation. Among same fragment location groups, diameter variance was increased in greater curvature groups and the difference was significant (P < 0.05), while operation time was not significantly different (P > 0.05). Among same root canal curvature groups, the deeper the fragment, the longer operation time, difference being significant (P < 0.05), while difference of diameter variance was not significant (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION
The more curvature of root canal, the more dentine removal amount at the level of broken file tip. Location of fragment has no effect on dentine removal amount. Safe straight-line access and adequate thickness of dentine are essential to removal of broken file from root canal.


espanolThis article highlights the potential and the limitation of digital technology in Indian cultural industries, including the field of documentary cinema. While paying attention to the process of digitisation of state archival images (such as those of the Films Division in Mumbai and those of the Anthropological Survey of India in Kolkata) vis-a-vis more contemporary new forms of participatory and interactive archives such as those of Pad.ma (Public Access Digital Media Archive), this account investigates the complexities and possibilities of the moment of 'archivisation' of digital images. The goal here is not to celebrate the 'digital turn' for the creation and diffusion of documentary images in India – or, to see the 'digital turn' in a 'positivist' way. Rather, it is to contextualise and historicise the 'digital turn' by placing it in relation to the 'video turn', which occurred in India in the 1980s, and the 'telecommunication turn' (such as the arrival of portable telephones and the first emailing practices), which occurred in the subcontinent in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Through such historical reflections, this article shall finally underline the socio-technological complexities that exist today around the 'digital' in (as well as outside) the subcontinent and the possibilities that more contemporary interactive participatory archives bring to forms of representation and communication between different cultures and societies. francaisCet article vise a mettre en valeur le potentiel et la limite des technologies numeriques dans les industries culturelles indiennes et, plus specifiquement, dans l'industrie et les pratiques du cinema documentaire. En mettant l'accent sur la numerisation des images d'archives d'etat (de la Films Division de Mumbai et de l'Anthropological Survery of India de Kolkata) vis-a-vis des nouvelles archives participatives et interactives comme celle de Pad.ma (Public Access Digital Media Archive), cette etude pose des questions autour des nouveaux enjeux concernant les images numeriques « archivees ». L'objectif ici ce n'est pas de mettre en valeur dans une maniere « positiviste » le « tournant numerique » dans la creation et la diffusion d'images documentaire en Inde. Plutot, il s'agit de contextualiser et historiciser ce tournant en le mettant en relation avec le « tournant video », deja vecu en Inde pendant les annees 1980, et le tournant des telecommunications (comme le telephone portable et les premiers e-mails), deja vecu vers la fin des annees 1990-debut 2000. A travers ces reflexions historiques, cet article mettra finalement en valeur les enjeux socio-technologiques autour du numerique au service de la creation d'images en Inde, comme ailleurs, et les possibilites que les archives participatives offrent aux formes de representation et de communication entre plusieurs cultures et societes.


Recently, deep learning models such as deep convolutional neural networks have shown great success in different imaging tasks in general and in detection of diabetic retinopathy in particular. An automated detection system is undoubtedly a great help for the screening stage of diabetic retinopathy for further treatment to reduce the burden on the public health system. In this paper, a general framework for automated detection virtual environment is developed as a virtual hospital using a convolutional neural network (CNN) approach as imaging end. Image classification is done in two stages. The best model being 87.12% accurate for the first stage on more than 53000 images which is better than previous works tested only on very less amount of test data. Using this model, a standalone application is generated with extra features for user interaction to be used by the patient in the virtual hospital when he presses a key on the keyboard.


This paper is directed to those individuals concerned about measuring paniculate matter concentrations with portable light-scattering instruments. Extensive studies have been conducted of the relation between the light-scattering coefficient and particulate matter concentration in urban aerosols. There have been only a few studies to determine if this relation holds for single source aerosols such as those from forest fires. To gain further knowledge of this relation, light scatter in a nephelometer (bscat ) and particulate matter concentration (M) were measured simultaneously at 11 low-intensity prescribed forest fires in Georgia and Florida. Analysis of the data with a least squares regression through the origin gives a M/bscat ratio of 2.8 × 105 μg/m2 with 90% confidence limits of ± 0.1 × 105 μg/m2. Comparison of this ratio with that from other studies is hampered by their use of nephelometers with different spectral responses and/or different methods of analysis. A table is presented comparing all rat...


PURPOSE
To describe the experiences of patients with nursing care they had received when hospitalized for mania.

DESIGN AND METHODS
Multicenter qualitative study using open interviews. Data were analyzed using the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method.

FINDINGS
Sense of security is vital for the recovery of these patients, nurses can support and hinder this. Feelings of security are related to clear and calm communication, respect, recognizability of nurses, and daily structure.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS
Nurses should make sure that the patient recognizes them as nurses. Nurses should spend as much time as possible in the living room. Clear communication about treatment goals is important.


To rapidly and accurately investigate the performance of the dielectric loaded rectangular Cerenkov maser, a simplified nonlinear theory is proposed, in which the variations of wave amplitude and wave phase are determined by two coupled first-order differential equations. Through combining with the relativistic equation of motion and adopting the forward wave assumption, the evolutions of the forward wave power, the power growth rate, the axial wave number, the accumulated phase offset, and the information of the particle movement can be obtained in a single-pass calculation. For an illustrative example, this method is used to study the influences of the beam current, the gap distance between the beam and the dielectric surface, and the momentum spread on the forward wave. The variations of the saturated power and the saturation length with the working frequency for the beams with different momentum spreads have also been studied. The result shows that the beam—wave interaction is very sensitive to the electron beam state. To further verify this simplified theory, a comparison with the result produced from a rigorous method is also provided, we find that the evolution curves of the forward wave power predicted by the two methods exhibit excellent agreement. In practical applications, the developed theory can be used for the design and analysis of the rectangular Cerenkov maser.


TIle heart·warming reunion took place in the bitter cold of Andrew. Air Force Base, about 12 miles /roo! the Capital. Four hours later, Capt. Freeman B. Olmstead and Capt. John R. McKone were at the White House, ,uests of honor at a coffee klatch with the President and Mrs. Ken· aedY. • AntI • few houri .fter th.t, 1M White Houlo Iwltchod II,n.11 .. the Immecll.te futuro of the IMII. OrI,ln.ny, thily woro to .,.,... • few d.y. hero, but Pro .. Itcrot.ry Pierro hllngor .n· IIouItcod they woro flying to thillr __ In K.ns.. Frld.y nl,ht .. S.turday momln,. Mr. Salinger said the airmen had "expressed a desire to go borne and see their children." The White House has imposed • ban on interviews with the men. 'I1IeIr s~en departure for their bomes at Forbes Air Force Bali4l iD Topeka, Kan., presumaQJy will set them down on a military base, .un cloistered from reporters. On this situation, Sen. stylea Bridges, (R·N.H.J, chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Com· mittee, commented : "Surely, thiI two roturnln, air· _ "0 matur~ .nd Intelll,ent IIIIUIh not to di.clo.o that which would end.n .. r our n.tlon.1 ... curi.., .nd welfero • . . "The American people are en· titled to a full disclosure of the facla. " Sell. Bridges called it a "gag" which possibly implies that the Adqlini&trallon wants "to cover up lOme phase of this affair." He said It "clearly Indicates the new Dem· ocratlc Administration intends to be less than completely candid with the American people." The two flyers were dry·eyed and poker faced on their big day. A little pale, gulping down their tlcitement, kept away from in· qulrlng reporters, the men main· \lined the i r military bearing \bklucbaut the hubbub. Capt. John R. McKono, 21, of TepeIc., K.n., wa. the flnt out of the felir.-n,inod (on.tell.tlon .ttw it I.nd_ from G .... a.y, Labredor. Ho .aluted and .hook Presldont Konnody'. h.nd, but hi. oyo. wort cut to the ri,ht, whore his wife .tood In the .now, • tarlnt at him, her han. cl .. ,. lei Hptly. Capt. Freedman B. Olmstead, M, of Elmira N.Y., repeated the fableau. His wife started edging toward him. "How do you do, Captain, how are you?" President Kennedy said to eaeh man, then he stepped back a pace or two, and the two young officers bolted for their wives. It .11 quite • homecomlnt. The two men IuKI not _ thl\r wlv" .Ineo July 1, when ttlOY ... tff In their RB-47 rocennal .. lenct Itt from a be.. at Brlz .. H ...... , In,land. The pl.ne w •• ..... dewn ovor thiI aaronh Se. IIy I levitt fI,hter. Caph. Mek_ and OlmltoMi wera .rro.t· Id _ hold •• ".ple." In Mo .. cow. Four other crewmon perl.h· Id. . Rebel Ship's Port Unknown; Willing To Free Captives .


In this article the basic ideas about systems thinking are being considered, some elements of the systems thinking formation technique in the teaching process of comprehensive school computer science course are being setting out. The results of experimental approbation of this technique are given.


Gmsh open source software is used to generate ultra-detailed tetrahedral grids of up to 1 billion cells. The package allows one to build automatically specified grids on a PC in parallel OpenMP mode in a time not exceeding 1 hour when using an Intel i7–9700K PC. The experience of using the package to construct the spatial grids for problems of flows past aerospace objects is described. Several examples of supercomputer calculations for the flows past aerospace objects are given.


In this paper we present a work concerning the conception, implementation and testing of a photovoltaic system that is equipped with a new concept of control and manage the energy in a PV system with a battery storage. The objective is to exploit the maximum of power using Hill climbing improved algorithm that considers optimal electrical characteristics of PV panels regardless of the system perturbation, to manage the energy between blocs of PV system in order to control the charge/discharge process and inject the energy surplus into the grid and also to estimate the state of charge with precision. Moreover, the system guarantees the acquisition and presentation of results on computer, supervision and so on. The results obtained show the robustness of the PV system, good control and protection of batteries under the maximum of energy provided by the PV panels. The state of charge estimation is evaluated by using measured parameters in real time; it shows an improvement of around 5% compared to the conventional technique.


Electron-microprobe Th-U-Pb chemical age determination of monazite is a new in-situ geochronological method developed over the last few years. Its basic premises are that monazite contains a negligible amount of common lead and that the Th/U/Pb values are not affected by any processes excepting Th and U radioactive decay. Therefore, Th-U-total Pb chemical age of monazite can be obtained by high-precision determination of mother and daughter elements and statistical analysis. Using the international standards of ThO_2, U metal, PbCrO_4 and YAG as standards, we carried out systematic evaluation of experimental conditions and analyses for Th-U-total Pb chemical dating of monazite on a JEOL JXA-8100 electron microprobe. Application of this electron-microprobe chemical dating of monazite from a metasedimentary rock of the Jingangkou formation, Wutai Group, Wutai Mountains yielded three distinct isochron ages: 2 172 ± 37 Ma (n=4), 1 922 ± 24 Ma (n=40), and 1 847 ± 62 Ma (n=6). The 2 172 ± 37 Ma age, in agreement with SHRIMP U-Pb zircon ages for granitoid magmatism in the Wutai group, appears to represent an early thermotectonic event. The 1 922±24 Ma age is within the analytical uncertainty of the metamorphic age of 1 911 ±38 Ma, determined by an internal Sm-Nd isochron of whole-rock and metamorphic minerals. Also, the 1 847 ± 62 Ma age is similar to the ~1 850 Ma SHRIMP metamorphic zircon ages in neighbouring Hengshan and Fuping complexes. These geologically significant results from the Wutai Group indicate that this electron-microprobe Th-U-total Pb chemical dating of monazite has obvious advantages over other geochronological methods.


A practical design procedure for an constant temperature and humidity air handling unit controller is suggested. Conventional two-position mode algorithm has been preferred due to its ease of tuning and stability, but it causes rough hunting and energy consumption. Dynamic modeling techniques for the air handling unit which has nonlinearly coupled two inputs and two outputs are compared and a hybrid control algorithm which combines PI control and two-position mode is proposed so that it can be practically implemented only with software modification. The simulation result predicts improved control performance and reduction in energy consumption under reasonable trade-off conditions.


The {sup 13}C isotope composition of methane emitted to the troposphere from Amazon capims (floating grassmats) ranged from {minus}36.9 to {minus}48.0{per thousand} averaging {minus}44.4 {plus minus} 4.2{per thousand}. All pools of methane associated with the grassmats were {sup 13}C enriched; methane withdrawn from plant stems ranged from {minus}39 to {minus}49{per thousand} while bubbles stirred from the root mat averaged {minus}41.4{per thousand}. As the CH{sub 4} flux from these habitats makes up some 40% of the total flux from the Amazon flooplain, CH{sub 4} emissions form the region as a whole must be enriched in the heavy carbon isotope. Methane withdrawn from the stems of five genera of rooted macrophysics ranging in latitude from the Florida Everglades to the Alaskan Arctic exhibited {sup 13}C enrichment relative to the sedimentary methane bubble reservoir. Several hypotheses based upon isotopic fractionation by methane transport, oxidation and production processes are proposed to explain this phenomenon.


Zakat are the obligation of giving a portion of an individual's wealth and possessions for primarily charitable purposes. In this research, it is specify in zakat distribution to Ar-Riqab's community. Therefore, the study was conducted at Pusat Pemulihan Akhlak INSANI, Selangor. This study reviews the form of zakat that given by Majlis Agama Islam Selangor (MAIS) and to identify zakat funds are used in program. Data and information obtained through documentation and interviewing methods with INSANI's counsellor, then analysed using the comparative and deductive method. The finding shows that the overall of the distribution of zakat Ar-Riqab are distributed mostly in two forms which is in assist in monetary and assets given.


This paper presents a novel cognitive intervention utilizing touchscreen tablet applications for self-training: TECH-'Tablet Enhancement of Cognition and Health' and examined its feasibility for older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). A single-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted and participants were allocated to TECH (experimental) or control group. This paper focuses only on the TECH group. Twenty-eight community-dwelling older adults with MCI (age range 65–87) participated in the TECH groups. Feasibility (adherence and satisfaction from the program) was high. Data collection is still ongoing to establish the effectiveness of TECH for people with MCI.


Human exposure modeling relates pollutant concentrations in the larger environmental media to pollutant concentrations in the immediate exposure media. The models described here are available on other EPA websites.


The polymers having original star structure, for use in non-transfer make-up preparations for skin and mucous and semi-mucou membranes. Polymer of star structure can be described by formula: A-((M1)p1 - (M2)p2........(Mi)pj)n (I) A = multifunctional center; n = at least 2; ((M1)p1 - (M2)p2........(Mi)pj) = polymeric chain, identical or different, also named branch, consisting of polymerized monomers Mi, identical or different, and grafted in covalent manner on center A; p = polymerization indices; i = at least 2; pj = at least 2. Polymer comprises one or more monomers Mi whose correspondent homopolymer has Tg (glass transition temperature) at least 0 degrees C, preferably at least 20 degrees C, and whose minimum content in final polymer is at least 40 wt.%, preferably 60-90 wt per total wt. of monomers, and furthermore one or more monomers Mj whose correspondent homopolymer has Tg up to 0 degrees C, preferably up to (-15) degrees C, and whose maximum content in final polymer is up to 60 wt.%, preferably 10-40 wt.% per total w of monomers. Independent claims are also included for: (1) cosmetic or pharmaceutical composition comprising at least one polymer as claimed, in respective cosmetically/pharmaceutically acceptable medium, in amount 1-50 (preferably 5-35) wt.%, in form of solution or dispersion in aqueous, organic, hydro organic (especially alcoholic or hydro alcoholic) and/or fatty phase, with composition additionally containing film-forming agent, such as plasticizer, and/or coalescing agent, and having form of oil/water or water/oil emulsion, aqueous, oily or solvent dispersion or solution, in fluid, thickened or gelatinized semi-solid or paste form, or in solid (e.g. stick form); (2) process of cosmetic treatment of keratin matter such as skin, hair, scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows, nails or lips, comprisi application of composition as claimed; and (3) the use of polymer as claimed in cosmetic composition or in preparation of pharmaceutical composition to achieve reduct or complete elimination of transfer of film obtained by application of composition.


Abstract The paper questions Binmore's identification of justice with fairness and his corresponding focus on bargains to the neglect of conventions, notably of ownership. Section 1 deals mainly with the role ascribed to man's earliest genetic heritage in shaping fairness norms and the putative effect of such norms on bargaining solutions. Section 2 argues that the scope of fairness as opposed to justice in determining the social order is quite narrow, It sketches a theory of fairness distinct from justice, derived from the principle of treating like cases alike.


The sensitive and fast response of infrared (IR) detectors exploiting the pyroelectric effect in semiconducting and amorphous Y-Ba-Cu-O (a-YBCO) has been previously reported. We are proposing an analytical model that explains the very fast response of those devices, i.e. 2 to 4 orders of magnitude faster than the regular pyroelectric detectors, while keeping a competitive sensitivity in terms of IR detectivity. This model allows to simulate the amplitude and phase response as a function of the modulation frequency of the IR power between a few tens of Hz up to a few MHz. All the model parameters reflect the measured a-YBCO properties and device characteristics, without adjustment.


One way to improve the efficiency of CdS/CdTe solar cells is to incorporate complex CdTe alloys into the device architecture. While formation of wider bandgap Cd1−xMgxTe has been demonstrated with sputtering and co-evaporation, use of sublimation techniques for large areas is yet to be investigated. Using a sublimation technique suitable for large area processing, we deposited Mg thin films onto TEC10 and TEC10/CdS/CdTe structures. XPS depth profiling and ellipsometry show that the Mg and the underlying CdTe layer intermixed substantially, formed an alloyed film, and incorporated oxides into the film. For non-CdCl2 treated CdS/CdTe devices coated with Mg, a 120 mV gain in Voc was realized by utilizing a Br2/methanol etching process prior to metallization. Nonetheless, additional measures are needed to effectively implement this complex alloy into a high efficiency device structure. Use of statistical process optimization and high vacuum systems are suggested to improve the film quality.


Combined with the characteristics of undergraduate teaching in the department of gynecology and obstetrics and the existing problems, we applied online learning, QQ, micro channel and other new media forms to the undergraduate theory teaching and practice of the department of gy-necology and obstetrics, so as to solve the problems in the teaching, improve the quality of teaching and further expound the problems in the new media teaching

Key words:
New media; Obstetrics and gynecology; Teaching; Application


(57) ABSTRACT A system for diagnosing malfunctions in a variable valve actuation device is disclosed. The system has a rocker arm assembly that includes: a first arm, a second arm with the first and second arms attached at a first end, a hydraulically oper ated latch assembly that functions to secure the first arm to the second arm when latched. The rocker arm assembly pivots upon a hydraulic lash adjuster. It also includes a source of pressurized fluid connected to a hydraulic valve that provided fluid high or low pressure fluid to the hydraulically-operated latch. The latch may be operated by a remote device. A pres sure transducer is positioned within the hydraulic lash adjuster (HLA) and is adapted to create a signal indicating the fluid pressure in the HLA. A control unit is coupled to the hydraulic valve and the pressure transducer, and is adapted to sense engine operation parameters, actuate the hydraulic valve, read the signal from the pressure transducer and iden tify malfunctions of the rocker arm assembly based upon the signal from the transducer.


Objective To investigate the short-term effect of simvastatin on the bone metabolism in hypercholesterolic patients with osteopenia.Methods 55 hypercholesterolic patients with osteopenia(mean age 66.8±4.7 years,male 24 and female 31)were enrolled and assigned into two groups randomizedly.One group received simvatatin(20 mg/day),another with diet control.All subjects received 1000mg calcium tablets each day.In all subjects,at baseline and after 6-months serum lipids,bone metabolism markers and BMD were measured.Results After 6-months treatment of simvastatin,total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol and(P0.01 for both parameters).Alkaline phosphatase(ALP) and bone gla protein(BGP) did not change significantly.However,urine deoxypyddinoline/creatinine(Dpd/Cr) levels decreased signicantly(6.32±1.36 vs 5.04±1.32,P0.01).Meanwhile,in the control group all metabolic markers did not change significantly.Although there was a tendency of increase of BMD in both lunar spine and femoral bone in the treatment group,none of them reached statistical significance.Conclusion Simvastatin may have potentially beneficial effects on bone metabolism in hypercholesterolic patients with osteopenia mostly by reducing bone resorption rather than by stimulating bone formation.Further studies with more patients and longer duration are necessary to evaluate its effects on prevention of osteoporosis and subsequent fractures.


While breastfeeding has been linked to a reduction in numerous diseases and conditions, its ties to obesity are less certain. Researchers set out to look more closely at the relationship by studying feeding reports and 12month body mass index (BMI) measurements for 2,553 infants from the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development cohort. About 97% started breastfeeding, and the median duration was 10 months.