Bestsellers, defined by the high sales numbers they achieve and the hype they generate, are success stories that periodically galvanise the contemporary book industry. Most publishers actively seek to produce bestsellers, using a range of strategies. Contemporary bestsellers, particularly from peripheral markets and by debut authors, are produced through the strategic joining of two co-existing modes of capitalism: conglomerate capitalism and platform capitalism. This article analyses the publication pathways and reception of two debut bestsellers by Australian authors: Hannah Kent's Burial Rites and Heather Morris' The Tattooist of Auschwitz. To analyse these case study titles, we constructed publishing histories, collected five media reviews for each book from reputable publications and literary journals, and scraped the top 100 reviews on Goodreads. These case studies show how the particular textual qualities of each book, highlighted in publishers' marketing material, shape the media and reader reception of each book, and the mechanisms and strategic alliances with traditional institutional and platform networks at work in producing success in post-digital book culture. Bestsellers show the logics and systems of an industry in flux, and the strategies that can support a debut work to reach a mass audience.


From the +Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, California 9271 7, §Departments of Oral Medicine and Anatomy, University of California, Sun Francisco, California 94143, IlDepartment of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, and @Department of Tumor Biology, University of Texas System Cancer Center, M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute, Houston, Texas 77030


Background: A bidirectional relationship was seen between COVID 19 survivors and psychological issues. Global research shows 1 – 7% of patients infected with COVID had aggressive behaviour in acute as well as post illness stage. In general population, people with higher extroversion scores were associated with lesser social distancing, thereby high chances of infection. No clear data exists from India to comment on personality profile or aggressive intent among COVID survivors. Aim: The current study aimed to assess the personality profile and aggression intent among COVID-19 survivors in patients from Telangana. Methodology: This study is conducted in hospital out-patient or in-patient setting of KIMS, Narketpally,Nalgonda, Telangana in patients of COVID- 19. A total of 157 COVID-19 patients were recruited based on convenient sampling. The data from patients was collected using standardized objective semi-structured proforma which contains clinical and sociodemographic profile, Big Five Inventory, Assessment of Aggressive Intent (which includes six components). Results: Among the study population, 18.5% of them had positive scores in one or more of the six components of aggression. On personality assessment, patients with aggression had significantly lower mean scores on agreeableness (p value 0.003) and significantly higher mean scores on neuroticism (p value 0.049). Conclusion: COVID survivors, along with medical complications, have a risk of having psychological disturbances like aggression. Clinicians should be aware and screen for these psychological issues when the patient comes for follow-up. Early intervention and management of aggression can help in improving the patient's quality of life.


Figure 1. Wallerian Degeneration of the Pyramidal Tract. Coronal views of the brain of a 41-year-old man with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and right-sided spastic hemiplegia, aphasia, and hemianopia were obtained by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) eight months after the patient had an intracerebral hemorrhage. The consecutive T2 weighted coronal MRI slices show the old hematoma as an irregular lesion, which is hypointense because of hemosiderin deposition; dilatation of the left lateral ventricle is also evident. In addition, a long band of increased signal intensity traces the anatomical course of the pyramidal tract from the lesion in the internal . . .


Linear Fresnel collectors have the potential to reduce levelized electricity costs (LEC) of solar thermal power plants and thus accelerate sustainable market penetration of solar thermal power plants. So far no reliable information is available on the operation and performance characteristic of linear Fresnel collectors. To overcome this lack of information a German consortium was formed and led by MAN-Ferrostaal Power Industry with the Solar Power Group GmbH (SPG) aiming at the design, construction, operation and assessment of a linear Fresnel collector operated in direct steam generation mode. To test the collector prototype under real solar conditions, it is connected to the so called DISS test facility of the Plataforma Solar de Almeria (PSA). The DISS test facility is a parabolic trough collector loop used for the in depth investigation of the direct solar steam generation. The test set-up is designed in a way that the linear Fresnel collector can be fed with pre-heated water, a two-phase water-steam flow and a pure steam flow. The linear Fresnel test collector is used to investigate its performance characteristic under real solar conditions.


A special matrix is introduced, the elements of which are zero or first-order differential operators. This matrix is used to define a boundary value problem which covers a wide class of engineering applications. An equivalent variational formulation is found using an extension of the Gauss theorem. From this variational principle the equations of the elements are derived. The unified formulae presented here can be useful for educational purposes and for the design of a finite element system for total analysis.


A shave biopsy of the skin was performed, and a dermatopathologist read it as a nodular, pigmented basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Because of the patient's history of diabetes and the fear of poor wound healing on the lower extremity, surgical removal was deferred. The patient was instructed to use imiquimod five times weekly for 16 weeks to treat the tumor. The patient experienced burning during applications with subsequent ulceration of the plaque. He felt the tumor was slowly diminishing in size but only at the borders of the initial tumor. He followed up 6 weeks later with the dermatologist, who advised him to continue the imiquimod treatment.


Smoking Cessation Treatment (SCT) is a policy that has to be promoted for health economics, and expectations for the success of treatments with varenicline (VAR) are large. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have issued a warning on VAR-induced depression and suicide. In the present study, utilizing the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), we searched for antidepressants (ADs) used during SCT that cause fewer suicide-related events (SRE) (Study 1). We also investigated whether VAR concomitantly administered with ADs increases the risk of SRE (Study 2). In addition, we investigated whether the use of VAR alone is a latent risk factor of SRE. The backgrounds of cases with and without SRE were matched using the Propensity Score. In Study 1, the highest integrated Reporting Odds Ratio (iROR) was noted in concomitantly administered mirtazapine (iROR 6.98; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.57–30.99), while the lowest ratio was noted in concomitantly administered amitriptyline (iROR 0.59; iROR95%CI 0.23–1.50). Study 2 clarified that SCT increases the risk of SRE in AD-treated cases (iROR 8.02; iROR95%CI 5.47–11.76; not significance). Of ADs concomitantly used during SCT with VAR, amitriptyline and mirtazapine showed the lowest and highest risks, respectively (Study 1). It was clarified that concomitant use of VAR in the treatment of depression with ADs increased the risk of SRE (Study 2). The results of Studies 1 and 2 suggested that the use of VAR alone is a latent risk factor inducing suicide.


Active Networks are a new type of networks where all elements are programmable. Active packets can contain fragments of code to be executed on intermediate nodes they pass through. Active nodes provide the necessary environment and resources for the packets to be processed. In giving the users the capability to program the network as they desire, there is an issue of security risks. This paper presents a formal model for an active node that can be used to specify and verify the correct operation of the node. The model is used to verify that scenarios where privacy of data is violated or functionality of a node is compromised never occur. The proposed model is generic to any type of active node and is written using the Prototype Verification System (PVS).


The main raw material for the manufacture of these cutting fluids is mineral-based oil, however, in the last few years vegetable-based cutting fluids have been increasingly used, due to the environmental appeal, and mainly to the more abundant amount of renewable raw material. In addition, vegetable-based oils have polar molecules which, when they come in contact with the metal, they align to the surface and form a lubricant film much more effective and capable to withstand large surface tensions. Despite these advantages, there are not so many works that compare the performance of vegetable-based cutting fluids with mineral-based fluids. The present work compares vegetable-based cutting fluids with an mineral-based cutting fluid applied by flooding, during the turning of ABNT 1050 steel with coated carbide tools, considering the following output parameters: tool life, machining forces, machining temperature and surface roughness. The performances of two vegetable-based metalworking fluids, an emulsion and a synthetic, were compared with a semisynthetic mineral-based fluid and dry machining, in various combinations of cutting speed and feed rates. Additionally, some static tests were carried out in order to characterize the lubricant and cooling abilities, as well as the microbial contamination of the tested fluids. The vegetable-based fluids presented better performances in the tool life, surface roughness, microbiological growth, coefficient of heat exchange (cooling capacity) and wettability (lubricating capacity) tests. In the machining forces and temperature tests better results were obtained when machining with the mineralbased fluid.


In this paper, the consensus of multi-agent systems consist of chaotic permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) has been studied. It is assumed that external disturbances affect the PMSMs, so a robust protocol based on dynamic sliding mode control has been proposed that ensures consensus of multi-agent systems and the stability is investigated by Lyapunov theory. Then an extended state observer (ESO) is proposed to estimate the upper bounds of disturbances which cause a more accurate response in sliding mode control. In the end, simulations show the effectiveness of the proposed methods.


Abstract : A manual navigation scheme for low eccentricity orbits about the earth and moon is presented and applied to the Apollo mission. This scheme requires a set of tables, charts, and the USAF Hand-Held Space Stadimeter and USAF Hand-Held Space Sextant. The scheme consists of geometrically defining and inertially orienting the orbit. Applications in finding safe orbit status, geographic position at any time, and arrival time at any longitude are shown in detail. Numerical examples of these applications are given along with their respective computation times. Recommendations for improvement and extension of the scheme are included. (Author)


Xenon isotopics are products of nuclear fission. The nuclear plant operation may release radioactive xenon to environment, thus result in serious damage to the environment and human health. Therefore, the adsorption and concentrating of xenon has practical application in radioactive waste gas purification. Moreover, the monitor of xenon isotopic, derived from nuclear explosion or nuclear accident, is also one of effective tools for the examination of nuclear explosion. Our previous works showed that activated carbon fiber has higher adsorption amount and selectivity for xenon, and that the adsorption amount is determined not only by the specific surface area, but also by the pore size distribution. Thus to control proper pore size of ACF is the key step for the improvement of the adsorption capacity of ACF for xenon. In this paper, a series of sisal-based activated carbon fibers were prepared under different condition. The effects of carbonization and activation conditions on porous structure of ACFs were investigated for purposes of providing effective preparing process of ACF for xenon adsorption.


This paper describes the adaption and implementation of the Virtual Laboratory Project from its home university to other institutions. In the Virtual Laboratory Project students do not interact with real equipment to obtain data, but rather with computer simulations of laboratory equipment, obscured by noise. This innovation was developed with the intent of complimenting physical laboratory experiences by allowing future engineers to practice designing experiments, analyzing and interpreting data and making informed choices based on their analysis, skills they will need in industry. The idea of using virtual laboratories to facilitate project based learning is compelling since, once the software has been developed, the cost to transport a virtual laboratory to a new institution is relatively small, consisting mostly of developing teacher expertise. Understanding and planning for the transportability of educational interventions is being emphasized by funding agencies at the national level. The aspects of transportability specifically studied in this paper include usage history and current adoption information, the Virtual Laboratory Project's perceived sources of effectiveness, barriers to implementation and adaptations made during the implementation process. This paper is a subset of a larger investigation on student learning in virtual laboratories. Artifacts of implementation and teacher and student perceptions were the primary data sources for this investigation. Thus far, the Virtual Laboratory Project has been adapted to high school, community college and other university settings and implemented in a total 15 institutions and 59 cumulative classes. Some of its perceived sources of effectiveness include the industrially situated context which is reinforced by the budget, and the components that afford students the ability to quickly and easily collect authentic data. This preliminary report suggests that this learning environment may have the potential for widespread adoption and adaptation; however, additional research is needed. Introduction Transportability is a widespread goal of education research and curriculum development. If an intervention is effective in one environment, many developers want to share the intervention with other teachers and institutions to have a larger impact and improve the educational process as a whole. Often developers of curricular interventions provide suggestions for implementation, curricular materials, and support; however, one aspect commonly missing is more reflective and evidence-based description of the implementation process as technical and pedagogical innovations move from the institution at which they were developed to other institutions with different faculty, different students and a different culture. The need for more systematic understanding has recently been emphasized at the national level. The President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology Panel on Education Technology reported in 1997 that significant investment needed to be made in understanding learning and supporting the development of best practices. In supporting best practices, the P ge 22139.2 report emphasized the need for large-scale studies to determine best practices and provide information on generalizability. The Interagency Education Research Initiative, formed in response to that report, was created to support research and develop a knowledge base to "support the development, testing, and implementation of scalable and sustainable interventions to improve teaching and learning, particularly through the use of technology." Additionally, funding agencies like the National Science Foundation (NSF) require a "broader impact" component in all grant proposals. Transportability is specifically emphasized in the new Transforming Undergraduate Education, in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (TUES) Program, which requires transportability as a main component for funding of proposals. The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) specifically listed "Scale-up Evaluation" as a research project goal in the most recent Request for Applications and approximately two percent of IES funded projects since 2004 had the goal of researching scale-up evaluations. This paper describes the adaptation of a virtual laboratory curriculum from its home university to other institutions. The Virtual Laboratory Project developed at Oregon State University is very early in the scaling or diffusion process. This innovation's eventual fate is unknown, but investigation of the process at multiple stages is useful for informing future work, both within this project as well as for others. This paper presents preliminary results intended to assess the current adoption, investigate sources of the innovation's effectiveness and examine issues and adaptations of this industrially situated Virtual Laboratory Project during implementation in various settings. Transportability and Scale-up Transportability is a broad topic that is difficult to research and assess. The ultimate question in this type of research is what works, with whom, where and in what conditions? It is concerned with both the overall diffusion of an innovation as well as the details of that process in assessing changes and effectiveness. Diffusion of innovations is a theory put forth by E.M. Rogers in his first book on the topic in 1962. Diffusion of innovations has been used as a theoretical framework for decades and has accounted for more than 5,000 publications in the field. According to Rogers "diffusion is the process in which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system." 6 Characteristics that contribute to the rate at which an innovation is adopted include relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, triability, and observability. The innovation-decision process used by an individual in consideration of adopting an innovation consists of five stages "(1) from first knowledge of an innovation, (2) to forming an attitude toward the innovation, (3) to a decision to adopt or reject, (4) to implementation of the new idea, and to (5) confirmation of this decision." Assessment of implementation is emphasized in the literature because of the major role it plays in evaluating the effectiveness of interventions. Implementation of an educational intervention may be performed with fidelity or adaption. Implementation fidelity, also known as integrity or adherence, is defined as "the degree to which teachers and other program providers implement programs as intended by the program developers." Implementation fidelity has been used to assess interventions and training in parenting, suicide prevention, drug abuse prevention, violence prevention and many other programs. However, recreating the original implementation P ge 22139.3 as intended by the developers is challenging in practice. Implementation adaption, also known as adaptation, reinvention, or flexibility, allows for modifications to an intervention in order to suit the needs of the individual teachers and program providers. The acceptability of adaptation has been in debate since the 1980s, and has recently turned to a closer examination of what kinds of adaptations are acceptable. Coburn pointed out that there was tension between the viewpoints of scaling-up via implementation fidelity versus scaling-up via implementation adaptation and further argued that scaling-up was more than just the use of an intervention in multiple settings, but included other factors. Coburn proposed a conceptualization of scale that includes dimensions of depth, sustainability, spread, and shift. Dede added to Coburn's conceptualization of scale with a dimension of evolution. From a design perspective, innovation development within those five, interrelated dimensions might necessitate certain activities: • Depth: conducting evaluation and research to understand and enhance causes of effectiveness; • Sustainability: adapting to inhospitable contexts via developing hybrids tailored to adverse conditions; • Spread: modifying to retain effectiveness while reducing the level of resources and expertise required; • Shift: moving beyond "brand" to support user ownership as co-evaluators, codesigners, and co-scalers; and • Evolution: learning from users' adaptations to rethink the innovation's design model. McDonald emphasizes the importance of the context in which an intervention is implemented, a point of view that supports careful and evidence based adaptation of an intervention to suit different contexts. Dede also emphasized the adaptation of innovations and summarized scaleup as "adapting an innovation that is successful in one setting to be effectively used in a wide range of contexts." This paper integrates perspectives from both the diffusion of innovation theory and the scale-up framework. We use the diffusion of innovation theory particularly to track the metrics of the adoption process while scale-up provides a beneficial framework to characterize the important and unique attributes of the innovation. Research Design The research design is presented loosely in the form of the diffusion of innovations framework while incorporating Dede's scale-up and innovation development framework. The timeline is presented first, to provide context. Next, the innovation is described along with evolution of the innovation at the home institution. This description includes the authors' expected sources of effectiveness. Communication channels are expressed in two parts, the selection of initial institutions for adaptation and implementation, and the widespread dissemination of the Virtual Laboratory Project via additional diffusion mechanisms. The social system, while complex is partially described with participants in the Methods section, and further explored in the Results and Discussion section. P ge 22139.4 Timeline The development, implementation and scalin


This paper presents a double zero-watermarking algorithm based on transform domain and hyperchaotic iteration.It uses the important coefficients of Discrete Cosine Transform(DCT) domain and Discrete Wavelet Transform(DWT) domain to constructure zero watermarkings separately,uses a hyperchaotic sequence to encrypt,so that the robustness,invisibility and security are improved.Experimental results show that the algorithm improves the integrated performance of the watermarking system.


Scar massage is a commonly used treatment in hand therapy. The current empirical evidence that supports it is disparate and of variable quality, with no established effective dosage and method proposed. This study aimed to identify the current practice among Australian hand therapists using massage as an intervention for scarring following surgery to the hand and upper limb. A purposely designed self-report online survey was emailed to current members of the Australian Hand Therapy Association ( n = 958). Data collected included demographics, intervention techniques, conditions treated and protocols, scar assessment and knowledge and training about scar massage as a clinical intervention. A total of 116 completed questionnaires were received (a response rate of 12.1%). All respondents used scar massage as part of their clinical practice with 98% to improve soft tissue glide ( n = 114), 92% for hypersensitivity ( n = 107), and 84% to increase hand function ( n = 97). Only 18% ( n = 21) of respondents used standardised outcome measures, and most therapists had learned scar massage from a colleague (81%). Commonalities in how respondents implemented scar massage were found. Participants reported relying primarily on clinical experience to inform their practice. Whilst scar massage was widely used, few respondents had received formal skills training or completed outcome measures regularly to formally evaluate its clinical efficacy or impact. Replication of this study with a larger international sample of participants is warranted to determine if these findings reflect general practice.


Abstract In his last letter to Hardy, Ramanujan defined 17 functions $F\left( q \right)$ , where $\left| q \right|<1$ . He called them mock theta functions, because as $q$ radially approaches any point ${{e}^{2\pi ir}}\left( r\,\text{rational} \right)$ , there is a theta function ${{F}_{r}}\left( q \right)$ with $F\left( q \right)-{{F}_{r}}\left( q \right)=O\left( 1 \right)$ . In this paper we establish the relationship between two families of mock theta functions.


Desulphurization characteristic of an anthracite was studied experimentally using a limestone. The investigation included the sulfur releasing characteristics at different temperature and Ca/S ratio, desulphurization efficiency and calcium utilization efficiency. Based on the experimental results, an optimal temperature ranges and Ca/S ratio for sulfur removal were given. Then comparisons of the sulfur releasing characteristics were made for the anthracite and Changuang bituminous coal. It was found that the sulfur in the anthracite comparing to the bituminous coal was released earlier, and the sulfur capture efficiency for the bituminous coal was higher than that of the anthracite under the similar conditions.


Covid 19 pandemic created a high mortality risk among the elderly population, and it also affected more in the case of elderly with disabilities and elderly people those who have pre-existing comorbidities. The studies conducted worldwide have ingeminate the high risk for medical aid and increased cases of death rates in the national level in various countries that are dealing with Covid 19 pandemic. One of the shocking news is that 86% of all death among the elderly population have been reported in two countries, namely Colombia and Chile. In the case of Peru, 70 percent of the death which was reported due to Covid 19 was among elderly people. In this study, the author highlights the impacts of Covid 19 among the elderly with a disability, especially concentrating on their mental health aspects. The world is made up of work pressure, stressful life situations, and family responsibilities creating difficulties in taking care of elderly people with disabilities. During the Covid 19 pandemic, elderly people with disabilities faced a lot of changes in their life situations, especially the care and support they received and problems associated with the satisfaction of basic needs. The elderly with disability represent a chosen cluster of high-hazard issues for the growing Covid-19 with a greater chance of impairment. So, among older people with disabilities, mental health issues are also higher than in other age groups. Early prediction and personalized care and management must be provided to the elderly with disabilities. Keywords: Covid-19, Elderly with Disability, Mental Health, Pandemic.


Hyla bischoffi and H. guentheri share some morphological and call characters with the H. pulchella and H. polytaenia groups. The inclusion of these two species in one of these two groups is still controversial. This study showed that both species have 2n = 24 chromosomes, consisting of five metacentric, five submetacentric, and two subtelocentric chromosome pairs. The nucleolus organizer region (NOR) was located on the long arm of chromosome 10, which also presented a block of heterochromatin in both species. The pericentromeric region of all the chromosomes was positively C-banded. There were no conspicuous differences in the karyotypes of these two species, except for an additional heterochromatic C-band on the short arms of chromosome 6 in H. bischoffi. The karyotypes of these two species were very similar to those of the H. pulchella group and indicate that neither species can be excluded from that group.


Modern technical civilization, which is based on technically educated experts, uses technological determinism as the most efficient method for solving problems. However, many analysts warn that technological determinism might have fatal consequences. Civil engineers being a part of the technical intelligentsia produce living conditions for modern people because they build various settlements and infrastructure. Furthermore, they work with large groups of employees who have different levels of education. Therefore, civil engineers need to know how to interact with and motivate different groups of people. This requires knowledge about human behavior. Finally, scientific investigations about workplace organization in civil engineering are very scarce, and this field is still open for further research. For these reasons, this article will argue that social sciences should be an integral part in civil engineering education.


Laccase enzymes (benzenediol: oxygen oxidoreductase, EC 18.104.22.168) play a major role 23 in the degradation of phenolic compounds such as lignin. They are common in fungi and 24 have been suggested to participate in host colonization by pathogenic fungi. Putative 25 mycoviruses have recently been isolated from the causal agent of pine pitch canker 26 disease, Fusarium circinatum Nirenberg & O´Donell. In this study, the effects of single 27 and double mycoviral infections on laccase activity, growth rate and pathogenicity were 28 investigated in fourteen F. circinatum strains. Extracellular laccase activity was analyzed 29 by the Bavendamm test, image processing and a spectrophotometric method. Mycelial 30 growth, in vivo pathogenicity and seedling survival probability were also determined in 31 Monterrey pine ( Pinus radiata D. Don) seedlings. The findings showed that (i) mycelial 32 growth of isolates from the same fungal population was homogeneous, (ii) the presence 33 of mycovirus appears to increase the virulence of fungal isolates, (iii) co-infection (with 34 two mycoviruses) caused cryptic effects in fungal isolates, and (iv) laccases embody a 35 possible auxiliary tool in fungal infection. The prospects for biocontrol, the adaptive role 36 of F. circinatum mycoviruses and the importance of laccase enzymes in host colonization 37 are discussed. 38


The Mediterranean Basin is characterized by a significant variability in tectonic behaviour, ranging from subsidence to uplifting. However, those coastal areas considered to be tectonically stable show coastal landforms at elevations consistent with eustatic and isostatic sea level change models. In particular, geomorphological indicators—such as tidal notches or shore platforms—are often used to define the tectonic stability of the Mediterranean coasts. We present the results of swim surveys in nine rocky coastal sectors in the central Mediterranean Sea using the Geoswim approach. The entire route was covered in 22 days for a total distance of 158.5 km. All surveyed sites are considered to have been tectonically stable since the last interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 5.5 [MIS 5.5]), because related sea level markers fit well with sea level rise models. The analysis of visual observations and punctual measurements highlighted that, with respect to the total length of surveyed coast, the occurrence of tidal notches, shore platforms, and other indicators accounts for 85% of the modern coastline, and only 1% of the MIS 5.5 equivalent. Therefore, only 1% of the surveyed coast showed the presence of fossil markers of paleo sea levels above the datum. This significant difference is mainly attributable to erosion processes that did not allow the preservation of the geomorphic evidence of past sea level stands. In the end, our research method showed that the feasibility of applying such markers to define long-term tectonic behaviour is much higher in areas where pre-modern indicators have not been erased, such as at sites with hard bedrock previously covered by post-MIS 5.5 continental deposits, e.g., Sardinia, the Egadi Islands, Ansedonia, Gaeta, and Circeo. In general, the chances of finding such preserved indicators are very low.


S-box is the unique nonlinear operation for advanced encryption standard(AES) and affects the capability of the algorithm.For S-box,the period of affine transformed pair is 4,the period of iterative-output is less than 88 and algebraic expression has only 9 items.Based on these characteristics,an improved S-box was constructed,with period of affine transformed pair as 16,period of iterative-output as 256 and algebraic expression of improved S-box and InvS-box as 252 items and 254 items respectively.The improved S-box was compared with AES S-box in 10 algebraic properties,such as the balance,strict avalanche criterion,non-linear degree,resistance against the XSL attack,etc.The results suggest that the improved S-box has better algebraic characteristics and stronger resistance against algebraic attack.


1 Hirschberg, M. H. and Mendleson, A., "Analysis of Stresses and Deflections in a Disk Subjected to Gyroscopic Forces," TN-4218, 1958, NACA. 2 Meirovitch, L., "Bending Vibrations of a Disk Subjected to Gyroscopic Forces," Journal of the Astronautical Sciences, Vol. 8, 1961, pp. 88-93. 3 Johnson, M. W., "On the Dynamics of Shallow Elastic Members," Proceedings of the Symposium on the Theory of Thin Elastic Shells (Delft), North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1960, pp. 281-300. 4 Schlack, A. L. and Kessel, P. G., "Gyroscopically Induced Vibrations of Plates and Membranes," AIAA Journal, Vol. 6, No. 12, Dec. 1968, pp. 2360-2363. 5 Timoshenko, S. and Woinowsky-Kreiger, S., Theory of Plates and Shells, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1959. Wah, T., "Vibration of Circular Plates," Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 34, No. 3, 1962, pp. 275-281. 7 Weiner, R. S., "Forced Axisymmetric Motions of Circular Elastic Plates," Journal of Applied Mechanics, Vol. 4, 1965, pp. 893-898. 8 Stoker, J. J., Nonlinear Vibrations, Interscience, New York, 1950, Chap. VI. 9 McLachlan, N. W., Theory and Applications of Mathieu Functions, Dover, New York, 1964.


There are increased development activities in shale reservoirs with ultra-low permeability thanks to the advances in drilling and fracking technology. However, representative reservoir fluid samples are still difficult to acquire. The challenge leads to limited reservoir fluid data and large uncertainties for shale play evaluation, field development, and production optimization.
 In this work, we built a large unconventional reservoir fluid database with more than 2400 samples from shale reservoirs in Canada, Argentina, and the USA, comprising early production surface gas data and traditional PVT data from selected shale assets. A machine learning approach was applied to the database to predict gas to oil ratio (GOR) in shale reservoirs.
 To enhance regional correlations and obtain a more accurate GOR prediction, we developed a machine learning model focused on Canada shale plays data, intended for wells with limited reservoir fluid data available and located within the same region. Both surface gas compositional data and well location and are input features to this model. In addition, we developed an additional machine learning model for the objective of a generic GOR prediction model without shale dependency. The database includes Canada shale data and Argentina and USA shale data.
 The GOR predictions obtained from both models are good. The machine learning model circumscribed to the Canada shale reservoirs has a mean percentage error (MAPE) of 4.31. In contrast, the generic machine learning model, which includes additional data from Argentina and USA shale assets, has a MAPE of 4.86. The better accuracy of the circumscribed Canada model is due to the introduction of the geospatial well location to the model features.
 This study confirms that early production surface gas data can be used to predict well GOR in shale reservoirs, providing an economical alternative for the sampling challenges during early field development. Furthermore, the GOR prediction offers access to a complete set of reservoir fluid properties which assists the decision-making process for shale play evaluation, completion concept selection, and production optimization.


Climate change is expected to have a major effect on port infrastructure and operations. Stephen Cousins discusses the resources available to help ports assess impacts and responses.


This study examines the dynamics and outcomes of movements by indigenous communities that targeted an agro-industrial investment demanding remedy to adverse impacts on their socio-economic conditions. Since the employment of initial institutional tactics, such as peaceful protests and petitions, yielded no significant outcomes, the indigenous communities escalated their tactics to non-institutional tactics: Violent protests. To respond, the government chose a combination of partial repression and moderate concession. To address the government responses, as well as the demands of indigenous communities, the company mitigated most of the adverse socio-economic impacts. As a result, the indigenous communities were able to achieve most of their demands. This paper, therefore, concludes by arguing that tactical escalation of indigenous community movements from institutional to non-institutional tactics influences the government and company to address the demands of indigenous communities, and also shapes the behaviour of the company operating in a host country with lax and uncertain regulatory enforcement.


An efficient P(V)-N activation strategy for the preparation of high-quality 5-hydroxymethyl-, 5-formyl-, and 5-carboxyl-2′-deoxycytidine triphosphates has been developed. The method was also optimized for gram-scale synthesis of the corresponding parent nucleosides from 2′-deoxythymidine.


When it comes to service management, good governance can be a defining force for services to thrive. Here is one preschool's account of how governance ensures their service stays in tune with the community's needs.


Peer-to-peer applications have witnessed a huge growth in popularity over the last decade. At the same time, mobile phones have experienced a similar surge in terms of their usability and power. Due to these changes, this paper proposes a file transfer application that will help determine if creating a peer-to-peer application for mobile devices is feasible. Keywords-peer-to-peer; android; power consumption; mobile device; Bluetooth; WiFi


We're still confident in the firm's long-term prospects, but we recommend waiting for a wider margin of safety before investing.


Consumers' willingness to disclose and allow electronic storage of their personal health information (PHI) is critical to the successful digitization of healthcare. However, concern about privacy and potentially negative consequences of privacy loss (e.g., loss of jobs) can discourage PHI disclosure by consumers. It is thus imperative to identify and address key roadblocks from the perspective of consumers that may impede the progress of developing countries in digitizing healthcare. Toward this end, this research-in-progress integrates the privacy calculus model with procedural justice to investigate the willingness of individuals in developing countries to disclose PHI in order to receive care in contexts where the disclosed PHI is stored and used electronically. A comprehensive model is proposed to explain the determinants of consumer PHI privacy concerns and willingness to disclose PHI. We will test the proposed model using the survey method. Several theoretical contributions expected from the study are provided.


I'tikaaf is a worship maintained by very deep hunger in fasting month of Ramadan. Hunger causes different results on the immune system. This is a prospective study. In this study, the changes in the immune system were investigated during the period of the i'tikaf, which is deep hunger worship. In the last 10 days of Ramadan, before and at the end of i'tikaf blood was taken from 46 male volunteers who performed i'tikaf worship and various biochemical and immunological parameters were examined. Comparison of the measures taken before and after i'tikaf indicated a statistically significant decrease in weight, BMI, waist circumference and hip circumference (p<0.001). Of the hematologic parameters, the lymphocyte count increased significantly (p=0.009). Also, a significant increase was observed in the values of IgA, IgM ve Ig G within the hematological parameters (p<0.001). During the period of i'tikaf, feeding with very low calories (1000 calories) caused an increase in the levels of lymphocyte and immunoglobulins and got the immune system stronger.


the Transactions of the former Institution of Mining and Metallurgy (IMM), has a track record of over 100 years of publishing and has continued to maintain its preeminent position in the field. The journal has successfully navigated its course through many challenges while absorbing new changes and renewing itself. In June 2002, the IMM merged with the Institute of Materials to become the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. The combined Institute is a world-wide professional body for scientists and engineers. In 2002, while the merger talks were taking place, the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) and the IMM discussed a proposal to merge the AusIMM Proceedings and the Transactions of IMM into a single international publication. The successful outcome is a renewed international Transactions, which will retain the three-section format of Trans. IMM. It is intended that, eventually, the three sections will evolve into independent journals covering their respective subject areas. Section C: Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy (MPEM) will, like its companion sections, in 2004 be published by Maney for the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining in association with the AusIMM. For 2004, a new Editorial Board with membership drawn not only from the two institutes, but internationally, has been constituted, signalling the ambition as a premier journal of international scope and repute. It is also my pleasure to welcome the appointment of Nimal Subasinghe of Murdoch University and a member of the AustIMM as the Co-editor. In liaison with the Editorial Board, we will seek to maintain the very high standard of the journal. The journal will build on its tradition of core areas such as mineral processing – physical and chemical, hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy, electrometallurgy and refining, while expanding with an increasing emphasis on areas relating to slags, molten salts, glasses and fluxes; sensors and control; cements and concrete; modelling and simulation; environment and sustainable technologies; bioprocessing and bio-remediation; recycling, recovery and waste minimisation; and emerging technologies. Contributions exhibiting an interdisciplinary approach will be particularly welcome for the novel insights they provide. All submissions will be put through a rigorous peer reviewing process. It is precisely because the challenges facing the mineral and the metal industry are great – environmentally, financially, economically and politically – that the need to explore new research paths and to share development and operating experience in the midst of such challenges have become of paramount importance. Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy will, while drawing its strength from a proven track-record, endeavour to break new ground. The Editorial Board strongly encourages scientists and technologists from the global pool, practising in this area, to join us in taking up this challenge by contributing their work for publication and thus sustaining MPEM's unfailing efforts in this new millennium.


To address the decline in intercity bus stops, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) undertook a study to determine the level of ridership at Missouri bus stops and to determine the needs, characteristics and perceptions of Missouri riders. The results of the study would aid MoDOT's Multimodal Division in understanding the role of intercity bus service and reverse the trend of bus stop closures. Using a survey tool that was created for the study, face-to-face interviews were conducted with passengers. The interview process had three components: current trip information, previous bus trip experience, and demographic information. Missouri residents were the primary targets of the study, but the prominence of non-Missouri residents on the bus indicated there was an interstate component that should be included in the study. The interviews were conducted both at bus stops while passengers were waiting to board and on-board as the bus continued along its route. From the study, MoDOT was able to identify passenger characteristics related to demographic information, their frequency of use of intercity bus service and their perceptions about the current level of service. Bus passenger counts were also taken at most of the bus stops along routes.


Pre-Ottoman and Ottoman NOEL MALCOLM, Agents of Empire: Knights, Corsairs, Jesuits and Spies in the Sixteenth-Century Mediterranean World (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), Pp. 640. $34.95 cloth.In recent years, scholarship on the Mediterranean has continuously emphasized the connections and entanglement between Christian-ruled Southern and Western Europe, on the one hand, and the Muslim-ruled territories of the Ottoman Empire, including North Africa. While this focus has a somewhat longer history in the context of Venice's maritime empire, which commercially and politically depended on good relations with the sultan, it has also begun to assert itself in recent studies of Eastern and Central Europe. Rather than focusing on the Ottomans' role as religious and ideological archenemies, an increasing number of historians have paid attention to phenomena, such as the movements of goods and people but also political and military alliances, which assigned the Ottoman Empire a central place in what Molly Greene has programmatically called a "shared world."1 While Noel Malcolm's latest masterpiece is part of this scholarly context, it also has strong roots in the history of Southeastern Europe, large parts of which were under Ottoman rule from the fourteenth until the nineteenth centuries.At its core, Agents of Empire traces the story of two interrelated families from Albania, the Brutis and the Brunis, in the second half of the sixteenth century. The individuals studied by Malcolm are so remarkable that it is puzzling that no one seems to have picked up on them before now. For example, although Gasparo Bruni, who became a Knight Hospitaller in 1567, served under Marcantonio Colonna as captain of the flagship of the papal fleet From 1570 until 1573, his participation in the Battle of Lepanto (1571) (113-14, 168-9) has gone "unmentioned in almost every one of the standard modern accounts" (xviii). Gasparo's later career in the 1570s and 80s took him to the papal enclave of Avignon where he fought the Huguenots. The knight's brother Giovanni, too, found himself enmeshed in the War of Cyprus (1570-3) and in the midst of the engagement which is still celebrated as one of Christian Europe's greatest military victories over the Ottoman Empire. Appointed to the Venetian-Albanian archbishopric of Bar in 1551, Giovanni attended the third session of the Council of Trent (1562-3), where he intervened several times in support of strengthening the rights of bishops and archbishops vis-avis their subordinates. As a loyal subject of Venice, he became involved in several attempts to spark rebellions in the Ottoman-ruled parts of Albania after the outbreak of war in 1570. In the autumn of that year he negotiated unsuccessfully for the castle's surrender with the deputy (kahya) of the sancakbeyi of Shkoder, a relative of Bruni's who had converted to Islam (132-3). When Bar fell to the Ottomans in 1571, Giovanni was taken captive by the Ottomans and, alongside his nephew Niccole, who had fought the Ottomans at Ulcinj, was put to the oars on one of the Ottoman galleys, quite possibly the kapudanpa§a Pertev Pasha's flagship. While the archbishop survived the actual battle of Lepanto, he was killed by ChristianEuropean soldiers who boarded the vessel in search of plunder (167-9). Giovanni Bruni's negotiations with the kahya of the sancakbeyi of Shkoder are not the only example of what, with reference to Natalie Rothman's conceptual work, can be considered attempts to capitalize on trans-imperial family ties.2The Brutis were related to Koca Sinan Pasha who served as Grand Vizier four times between 1580 and his death in 1596 (263-4). Bartolomeo Bruti started his career as a giovane di lingua (trainee dragoman) in the Venetian embassy in Istanbul, but his talents as an interpreter, negotiator, intelligence agent, and self-promoter saw him also working at times for the Spanish, the Holy Roman Emperor, and the voivodes of the principality of Moldavia, where he was crucial in negotiating the appointment of Iancu Sasul as the Ottoman vassal prince in 1579. …


ethnic regions in the teaching of English education has been a problem.Educators have to improve their teaching methods made unremitting efforts But no deep recognition from the English teaching difficult.The paper was the use of social psychology theory,the minority regions in the Teaching of English social prejudice,social values and judgment,groups such as the impact analysis for the nation teaching of English studies provide a new perspective.


An approach to surface modification for direct formation of nanosized anatase over cathodic arc PVD deposited (Ti,Al,V)N coating at a temperature of about 150 °C is proposed. In order to determine the surface structure influence on the electrochemical properties, bare and coated samples were exposed to Ringer-Braun physiological solution. The aim was to compare their corrosion performance (impedance characteristics, obtained by means of EIS and cyclic voltammetry (CV)) during immersing over an extended period of time 2 hours, 1 and 7-days while the average temperature was close to the human body level (37±1°C). The capacitive behavior of the coated sample indicates a phase angle close to 71o and slightly decreasing impedance modulus /Z/ because of disruption by the high initial hydration and ions diffusion from the saline. The corrosion resistance of the coated system decreases as a function of time as a result of the thin oxide dissolution and lack of repassivation of the nitride. The characterization of the surface layer of the coating was obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), glow discharge optical emission spectrometry (GDOES), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis of core electron levels.


Automatic modulation classification (AMC) plays an important role in both civilian and military applications. Today, increasingly more researchers apply a deep learning framework in AMC. However, few papers take into account that a typical deep model is difficult to deploy on resource constrained devices. In this paper, we propose a new filter-level pruning technique based on activation maximization (AM) that omits the less important convolutional filter. Compared to other network pruning techniques, the convolutional neural network pruned via the AM method achieves equal or higher classification accuracy in the RadioML2016.10a dataset.


We present a detailed analysis of the optical pulse reshaping and intensity discrimination of picosecond optical pulses in dual-core fiber (DCF) couplers.


ABSTRACT Introduction. Behavioral and cognitive improvements in clients with Asperger's Syndrome (AS), employing continuous performance tests (CPTs), intelligence and academic measures, and electroencephalographic data, have been reported following 40 sessions of neurofeedback (NFB) training combined with coaching in metacognitive strategies. However, measures of executive functions (EFs) in this population have not been commonly employed and NFB is still not commonly used as a treatment for AS. Therefore, this pilot project used Tower of London – Drexel University (ToLDX), an individually administered test of EFs, in addition to the previously mentioned measures. The goal of the current study was to investigate the utility of ToLDX as an assessment tool for clients with AS as well as further study the effects of NFB and training in metacognitive strategies on executive functioning in clients with AS. Method. Nineteen consecutive clients at the ADD Centre, Toronto, Canada (M age = 12 years 0 months) recru...


In most organizations, there still exists a variety of enterprise-level applications that were developed at different times, with different technologies, and on different platforms. One of the job challenges our IT graduates face is to be involved in the projects of integrating those applications, and such a challenge requires particular technical knowledge and skills.
 Driven by such a market need, inspired by the IT body of knowledge, and motivated by our continuing effort of IT curriculum development and improvement, we have designed a senior level course titled "Application Integration". The course content spans from basic principles and architectures of various application integration approaches, to the foundations of modern application integration that include all the basics of XML technology, and to service-oriented architecture computing paradigm.
 The course involves extensive laboratory exercises and a semester project. The lab assignments require students to design and make their own "dog food" early in the semester so that it will be processed (manipulated) over time. The diverse of their initial designs provides a forum for active participation and learning as well as discussions among the students and instructor. The semester project is either a single phase or a two-phase project. The two-phase project consists of an earlier phase involving the creation of standalone applications by each individual student with different technologies and platforms, and a later phase dealing with the development of a dashboard type application that integrates individually developed applications.
 The feedback from students who took the course has been very positive and encouraging. Students were not only actively immersed in learning the knowledge and technology of application integration, but they were also immersed in their great learning experience to better prepare for their careers.


In the National Spherical Torus Experiment [J. Menard et al., Nucl. Fusion 47, S645 (2007)], "giant" edge localized modes (ELMs) can occur resulting in a loss of plasma stored energy of up to 30%. These events are distinct from type I ELMs, whose energy loss is typically 4–10%, and they are accompanied by a cold pulse that causes a global decrease in the electron temperature profile. Estimates of the electron thermal transport during the cold pulses show a large enhancement over the underlying cross-field thermal diffusivity, χe, of up to several tens of m2∕s. Following the ELM, short-wavelength fluctuations increase in the plasma edge and core, corresponding to an increase in the electron temperature gradient from the propagating cold pulse. Fast electron temperature measurements indicate that the normalized electron temperature scale length, R∕LTe, reaches the threshold value for instability predicted by a fit to linear stability calculations. This is observed on time scales that match the growth of the...


There is a long and unresolved debate between the symbolic and sub-symbolic methods. However, in recent years, there is a push towards in-between methods. In this work, we provide a comprehensive overview of the symbolic, sub-symbolic and in-between approaches focused in the domain of knowledge graphs, namely, schema representation, schema matching, knowledge graph completion, link prediction, entity resolution, entity classification and triple classification. We critically present key characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of the main algorithms in each domain, and review the use of these methods in knowledge graph related applications.


The author first presented The Surface of Directed Gradient (SDG) Algorithm (devel oped by Professor Carl de Boor) at the 1996 GALOS Conference in Bali in a paper entitled 'Mapping the Foot of the Continental Slope (FCS) with Spline Smoothed Data Using the Second Derivative in the Gradient Direction (SDG).' Since that time the author has run the algorithm on data from several areas using the ET0P05 data developed by NOAA (Bennett, 1998). The SDG Algorithm is a faithful translation of the United Nation's Law of the Sea Article 76 definition of the FCS as 'In absence of evidence to the contrary, the point of maximum change of the gradient at its base' (United Nations, 1993, pg 27, Article 27, 4.b) into a mathematical algorithm. For such data on a rectangular grid, the author has obtained an explicit mathematical function as a bi-cubic smoothing spline representation to the raw data. On occasions the ET0P05 data are a bit noisy in some areas and requires some smoothing in order to map the location of the FCS in a meaningful way. The spline function rep resentation of the data provides a useful smoothing parameter, p.


The slab flyer test was simulated by using the explicit software FEA software AUTODYN,the different size composite charge was composed by high explosive (PBX9404) and insensitive explosive (LX17),and their ability of acceleration was compared.Numerical simulation results show the coupling situation of the flyer driven by composite charge, and the relationship between effective explosive volume,detonation velocity and energy output was revealed.The study indicated the defined variable η has linear relationship with maximum velocity at the center of the flyer,the fitted equation can be used to estimate the flyer velocity in engineering.


To explore whether the age at cancer diagnosis was associated with residential exposure to magnetic field, we compared average ages at diagnosis for cases of leukemia, brain tumor, or female breast cancer with elevated exposure (magnetic flux density ≥ 0.2 μT, or residential distance from major power lines ≤ 100 m) to average ages at diagnosis for cancer cases with same diagnoses but with a background exposure (< 0.2 μT or > 100 m from major power lines). Comparing with brain tumor cases with background magnetic field exposure (n = 506), brain tumor cases with elevated exposure (n = 71) were 6 years older on average at diagnosis (P = 0.01). The difference was greater for males (45.2 vs. 52.1 years, P = 0.01) than for females (44.3 vs. 48.2 years, P = 0.27). No such phenomena at a significant level was observed for leukemia, female breast cancer, or a random sample of general population. We noted an association between magnetic field exposure and a greater mean age at diagnosis for brain tumors. Whether or not these phenomena suggest a delayed occurrence of brain tumors following a higher than background residential magnetic field exposure deserves further investigation. Bioelectromagnetics 24:218–221, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


A set of calculations has been carried out with the EUGES-ARIES code system to study the swelling performance limits of a sodium-bonded mixed-carbide pin design, which was recently proposed for the introduction of advanced fuels into liquid-metal fast breeder reactors. The results indicate that a useful peak burnup of 150000 MWd/ton can be attained with pin diametral plastic deformations up to 2%, under optimal irradiation conditions. However, probable thermal disturbances in the fuel and cladding mechanical deterioration due to steel carburization still represent a risk source for pin failure. A further improvement of the swelling performance of mixed carbides is therefore needed to refine the examined pin design for future full-scale reactor applications.


A left ventricular aneurysm is a complication that occurs after a myocardial infarction. It usually involves apical or anterolateral wall of the left ventricle (85%) and most often follows left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion. The wall of the true aneurysm contains endocardium, epicardium and fibrous scar tissue. It can be functionally akinetic or diskynetic. If patients present with symptoms such as heart failure, angina or ventricular arrhythmias, elective surgery is indicated. Surgical approach that is used most often is endoventricular circular ventriculoplasty described by Dor et al. Materials most commonly used for endoventricular repair are pericardial and polytetrafluoroethylene patches, but they are prone to calcification and retraction. CorMatrix is a tissue scaffold made from decellularized porcine small intestinal submucosa. It is rich in collagen, glycosaminoglycans and growth factors. Experimental studies performed on animals showed that implantation of extracellular matrix in the infracted area of the heart was followed by the appearance of contractile elements and altering typical scar tissue formation.


SUMMARYAdvances in plant banding reveal a great heterogeneity within chromosome heterochromatic segments. Special Feulgen stainings have been tested in combination with other methods and new classes of heterochromatin have been found either in unrelated and related species.


1. The particular modification of the method of tympanomanometry as it is employed in our laboratory has proven to be a useful tool in the investigation of the normal human intra-aural muscle reflex.2. Some of the signal-response relationships of this reflex have been investigated and discussed.3. Evidence was presented which supports the thesis that both the stapedius and tensor tympany muscles in the human respond to sound stimuli.4. The suggestion is made that this technique lends itself to increasing the accuracy of pre-operative diagnosis of some forms of conductive hearing loss.


The article presents the analysis of trends in the development of the institutional environment of the economy of the Russian Federation. The article calculates the level of institutional deformation in the economy of the Russian Federation, which showed significant changes during the analyzed period from 2010 to 2014, which may be partly due to a significant change in the global market and a number of successive financial and economic crises. The final stage of the study is the analysis of changes in the level of institutional trust of the population, which is based on a ten-factor model. The measurements of the level of institutional trust showed significant changes in the institutional trust of the population in financial institutions during the analyzed period 2008–2018.


Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is a preclinical stage of AD. White matter hyperintensities (WMH), an MRI marker of cerebral small vessel disease, associate with AD biomarkers and progression. The impact of WMH on SCD phenotype is unclear.


The aim of this study was to test the effects of tDCS on adult reading and spelling abilities. Experiment 1 examined whether tDCS improved adults' performance on reading and spelling tests. We found no evidence that left temporal tDCS stimulation improved word spelling, word reading accuracy, or word reading fluency compared to sham stimulation. Experiment 2 tested the effect of left-temporal tDCS stimulation on spelling training in adults. There was no evidence for a facilitatory effect of tDCS on spelling training despite its large and significant effects on adults' ability to spell difficult words. These results, paired with previous studies, argue against the use of tDCS as an intervention for poor reading and spelling until we identify a tDCS paradigm that reliably improves reading and spelling skills.


Temasek is Singapore's largest state-owned holding company which has made tremendous contributions to Singapore's economic development.Compared with Temasek's successful human resources management experience,the Chinese state-owned enterprises' human resources management is insufficient in strategy.Meanwhile labor,employment and distribution systems have not been completely reformed.Measures to solve the above problems are as follows: in order to make human resources the enterprises' core resource,state-owned enterprises should establish a correct view of human resources,use economic methods of personnel management and improve the "three-system"reform.


Following an introduction, non-native species are exposed to environments that differ from those found in their native range; further, as these non-native species expand beyond the site of introduction, they must constantly adapt to novel environ- ments. Although introduced species are present across most ecosystems, few species have successfully established themselves on a truly global scale. One such species, the house sparrow Passer domesticus, is now one of the world's most broadly distributed vertebrate species and has been introduced to a great part of its current range. To date, work on four continents suggests both ge- netic and phenotypic variation exists between native and introduced ranges. As such, house sparrows represent an excellent op- portunity to study adaptations to novel environments and how these adaptations are derived. The global distribution of this spe- cies and the multiple independent introductions to geographically isolated sites allow researchers to ask questions regarding ge- netic variation and adaptation on a global scale. Here, we summarize the molecular studies of invasive house sparrows from the earliest work using allozymes through more recent work on epigenetics; using these studies, we discuss patterns of dispersal of this species. We then discuss future directions in techniques (e.g. next generation sequencing) and how they will provide new in- sight into questions that are fundamental to invasion biology. Finally, we discuss how continued research on the house sparrow in light of these genetic changes and adaptations will elucidate answers of adaptation, invasion biology, range expansion, and resi- lience in vertebrate systems generally (Current Zoology 61 (3): 465-476, 2015).


The work contains the results of the comparative theoretical and empirical analysis held to study «contact» as a person's consciousness condition at the moment of a dialogue when being at different emotional and communicative levels of interaction with the interlocutor.


The electromagnetic radiation emitted when a beam of electrons crosses a periodic stratified medium with a constant velocity is discussed. The treatment is valid for radiation wavelengths of the order of the period of the structure, particularly when Bragg reflections can take place. It accounts globally for the /hacek C/erenkov emission, the resonant transition radiation, and the Bragg resonances.


List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Note on Dates, Abbreviations, and Transliteration Preface: Hadrami Society, an Old Diaspora I. BURIAL 1. The Society of the Absent 2. Geography, a Pathway through History 3. A Resolute Localism Conclusion to Part I: Making Tarim a Place of Return II. GENEALOGICAL TRAVEL 4. Ecumenical Islam in an Oceanic World 5. Hybrid Texts: Genealogy as Light and as Law 6. Creole Kinship: Genealogy as Gift Conclusion to Part II: Local Cosmopolitans III. RETURNS 7. Return as Pilgrimage 8. Repatriation 9. The View from the Verandah 10. Evictions Concluding Remarks: Names beyond Nations Bibliography Index


The state-of-the-art in paper mechanics calls for novel experimental data covering the full-field hygro-expansion of inter-fiber bonds in paper, i.e., the 3D morphological changes and inter-fiber interactions. Therefore, a recently developed full-field single fiber hygro-expansion measurement methodology based on global digital height correlation is extended to orthogonally bonded inter-fiber bonds, to investigate their full-field quasi-3D hygroscopic behavior. A sample holder has been developed which enables the quasi-3D characterization of the initial geometry of individual inter-fiber bonds, including the fiber thickness and width along the length of the fibers as well as the degree of wrap around and contact area of the bond, which are vital for understanding the inter-fiber bond hygro-mechanics. Full-field hygroscopic testing revealed novel insights on the inter-fiber interactions: (i) the transverse hygro-expansion of each fiber strongly reduces when approaching the bonded area, due to the significantly lower longitudinal hygro-expansion of the other bonded fiber. (ii) The relatively large transverse strain of one fiber stretches the other crossing fiber in its longitudinal direction, thereby significantly contributing to the sheet scale hygro-expansion. (iii) Out-of-plane bending is observed in the bonded region which is driven by the significant difference in transverse and longitudinal hygro-expansion of, respectively, the top and bottom fiber constituting the bond. A bi-layer laminate model is derived to rationalize the bending deformation and an adequate match is found with the experimental data. Under the assumption of zero bending, which represents constrained inter-fiber bonds inside a paper sheet, the model is able to predict the contribution of the transverse strain in the bonded regions to the sheet-scale hygro-expansion.


We report on pump-probe measurements of reflectivity and transmissivity of a plasma produced in transparent solid materials. The plasma is created by irradiating uncoated transparent planar glass targets with 1.0-ps FWHM laser pulses at a peak intensity of 2.0×10 13 W/cm 2 Time-resolved measurements using a probe light pulse incident from the backside are presented, revealing two competing mechanisms: one is highly absorptive due to a bulk underdense plasma formed behind the target surface, and the other is highly reflective due to an overdense plasma layer at the surface


Aiming at the main drainage pump equipment of Jingting Coal Mine, introduces the scheme of technological reformation to the main drainage pump for mine use, contrasts and analyses from the aspects of technology and economy and confirms the best scheme. Besides, introduces the theoretical grounds of the scheme, calculation process and the methods and process of technological reformation, summarizes the characteristics of the scheme and puts forward the relevant problems in drainage pump reformation.


This review examined the academic benefits of using inquiry-based science instruction in elementary classrooms. It also examined different ways teachers integrate inquiry-based instruction. Several studies identified increases in science content knowledge, concepts, and process skills as outcomes associated with inquiry-based instruction. Other studies in this review showed mixed or negative results for academic benefits of inquiry-instruction. This review also highlights hands-on investigations, discourse, and literacy as three ways teachers integrate inquiry. Findings of this review suggest inquiry-based instruction allows students to understand difficult science concepts, justify their ideas, and can create positive attitudes toward science.


The coronavirus (COVID-19 pandemic) has unprecedented effects on the hospitality industry. Challenges resulting from the loss of demand caused by travel restrictions, national and local lockdowns, social distancing measures, and truncated hours of operation, and sudden business closures following governmental lockdown orders (Hall et al., 2020). This study used the case of InterContinental Zhuhai Hotel to investigate how to lead and deliver true hospitality to guests during COVID-19 pandemic. Insights were explored to restore guest's confidence in luxury hotels in this unprecedented period. A purposeful sampling method is employed to investigate by using in-depth interviews with hoteliers. Based on thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with hoteliers about the ways to lead and deliver true hospitality to restore guest's confidence during COVID-19 pandemic, 10 Cs were identified from this study:
1) Charismatic Leadership Driving all Teams Stepping out of Comfort Zone Courageously!
2) Comprehensive Delivering True Hospitality of Incredible and Caring Services
3) Conclusive and Strict Sanitary Measures
4) Caring Services and Careful Disinfected Measures by Front Office Team
5) Convincing Cleaning Standards by Rooms Services Team
6) Creative Culinary Produced by Food and Beverages Team
7) Changeable Sales Strategies but Unchangeable Spirit of True Hospitality by Sales Team
8) Communicative and Creative Marketing Communications by Marketing and
Communication Team
9) Compassionate and Supportive Human Resources Team
10) Committed and Competent Teams Coping COVID-19 Pandemic Cooperatively
The implications of the study are that these strategies are expected to impress and enhance guest experiences which are reflected on online ratings and comments. Based on the research results, a framework for leading and delivering true hospitality to restore guest's confidence during COVID-19 pandemic was proposed. The practical Implications for hoteliers, leading and delivering true hospitality is a fundamental but powerful strategy to restore guest's confidence and achieve sustainable competitive advantages in these fierce and harsh market conditions. For guests, delivering true hospitality of incredible and caring services that can meet and exceed their expectations can restore their confidence towards the hotel and further build loyalty to the hotel even during COVID-19 pandemic. The findings show practical insights to lead and deliver true hospitality to restore guest's confidence in a luxury hotel. The study investigates one of the luxury hotels in Zhuhai, China, an area where research is sparse within the context of Asia and almost non-existent in Zhuhai, China. From this perspective the study contributes to the hotel management and service delivery of luxury hotels during health crisis literature.
Keywords: Covid-19 Pandemic, Hotel Management, Services Delivery.


Liquid-suspended rotor micro-mechanical gyroscope uses a high-speed rotating hollow rotor in response to the density of the liquid as the mass to do the angular velocity detection. In order to improve the liquid-suspended gyroscope's performance, this paper suggested a new high performance magnetic driving technology. In this technology, the driving performance is optimized by applying six-phase overlapped driving signal to the twelve driving coils of the stator. With this driving technology, the rotating speed of rotor in 3# industrial white oil can go up to 8700rpm.


Classic droop control ensures the synchronization of distributed generation (DG) units inside a microgrid without requiring any deployment of communication links, however it causes unwanted frequency fluctuations and degrades system dynamics. Angle droop control and V − I control have been developed as two major global positioning system (GPS)-based control methods, both of which realize a fixed-frequency operation of the microgrid through synchronizing DG units with GPS timing technology and brings improvement to the dynamic response of the overall system. This paper reveals the similarities and the correlations between these two methods that they can both be regarded as different forms of virtual impedance control. A novel adaptive virtual impedance control method is proposed accordingly to generalize GPS-based control strategies into a unified control frame. An impedance and inner controller design approach considering both stability constraints and power quality requirements based on the small-signal model of GPS-based microgrids is presented for practical implementation. An adaptive transient resistance concept is adopted to enhance the system stability during large disturbances and grid faults. Case studies are presented to validate the system performance and fault ride-through abilities of the proposed control scheme.


Abstract. Material detection algorithms used in hyperspectral data processing are computationally efficient but can produce relatively high numbers of false positives. Material identification performed as a secondary processing step on detected pixels can help mitigate false positives. A material identification processing chain for longwave infrared hyperspectral data of solid materials collected from airborne platforms is presented. The algorithms utilize unwhitened radiance data and Nelder–Meade numerical optimization to estimate the temperature, humidity, and ozone levels of the atmospheric profile. Pixel unmixing is done using constrained linear regression and Bayesian information criteria for model selection. The resulting identification product includes an optimal atmospheric profile and a full radiance material model that includes material temperature, abundance values, and several fit statistics. A logistic regression method utilizing the model parameters to improve identification is also presented. Several examples are provided using modeled data at several noise levels.


Knowledge and practice are the most important thing in Sufism. Knowledge refers to spiritual stations and levels of the heart, which increases the confidence of the heart from one level to the other, until the position of faith and the dignity of a Muslim becomes inward. Practice is the behavior and deeds that affect the change in the heart of a person. This article aims at clarifying the importance of knowledge and practice in sufism, discussing the change in the mind of a sufi and identifying the relation between knowledge and practice. All which makes a person muhsin, the peak of the spiritual journey of a servant to the pleasure of Allah. This qualitative study is based on content analysis using various sources of sufism discipline. The study finds that knowledge and practice are important elements in sufism; they are the fundamental basis that one cannot ignore in attaining closeness to Allah s.w.t. This is because all knowledge and practices in sufism is aimed at constant concentration on the unity to Allah s.w.t., the main milestone in the creed of Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah. Without unity and closeness to Allah, the aqidah is believed to be only blank and not strong enough to guide towards the perfection of self-sacrifice to Allah s.w.t. Therefore, it is worth explaining that knowledge and practice are not merely knowledge that refers to mere deeds and actions of the limbs that are unconnected to the change in the nature of the heart.


The primary goal of the Image Understanding Architecture (IUA) project is to build a proof-of-concept prototype of a 1/64th slice of a next generation vision architecture, and develop the software support environment that will be needed to utilize the hardware. The. majority of the hardware effort is taking place at Hughes Research Laboratories, Malibu, California although UMass has principal responsibility for the design of the IUA architecture. UNIass has also undertaken some smaller portions of the hardware development (the feedback concentrator for the low and intermediate level arrays, and the communications router for the intermediate level array. The majority of the software effort is taking place at UMass, although Hughes is also involved in some software development, both in support of their hardware efforts, and in the form of algorithm development for specific applications on the IUA. During the second year of this program, we have focussed on extensions to the IUA software simulator programming environment, the development of library routines and demonstration software for the IUA, construction of the custom chips for the architecture, circuit board design, and the design and implementation of an integrated image understanding benchmark for DARPA. This report presents the results of the IUA project for the second year of its original two-year contract period. The purpose of the IUA project is to design and construct a nextgeneration parallel processor that specifically addresses the needs of real-time computer vision applications. Included in this report is a summary of accomplishments during the second year, an overview of the IUA design, a description of the new DARPA Integrated IU Benchmark Exercise, a summary of the performance figures for the IUA on the exercise, and test reports and photos of chips developed through MOSIS under this program in an appendix.


This study investigated the role of various leadership styles including autocratic, democratic and laissez faire, on students' academic performance in public secondary schools in Nyamira County, Kenya. The objectives of the study included; identifying leadership styles used by head teachers of secondary schools, establish whether the head teachers' leadership styles played a role in students' academic performance in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) which has been poorly presented in a period of five years (2007-2011), and to suggest measures of monitoring head teachers' leadership styles and students' academic performance. The study sought to analyze each style and its influence on academic performance of students in schools in the county. The study used ex-post facto research design. In identifying the sample size the study used purposive and stratified sampling technique. The study used questionnaires and interview schedules, as tools of data collection from respondents. Data was collected on independent variable, which were leadership styles and that of dependent variable which were school performance. The respondents included students, teachers and principals drawn from 113 schools. The schools in the County had a total population of 5,037 boys and 3,990 girls from single sex boarding schools, mixed day and mixed boarding secondary schools who sat their KCSE, in 2011. Statistical methods including, percentages, means, were used. The study sought to identify gaps left by other studies and try to narrow them through the findings of this study. The findings were presented in form of tables, figures and charts. The study established that the main type of leadership style (s) used by head teachers of secondary schools in Nyamira County was democratic leadership style, followed by the autocratic style which was applied in some schools; There was a positive relationship between KCSE performance and leadership styles between, 2007 and 2011, in the sense that schools that used a combination of autocratic and democratic leadership styles excelled in KCSE performance than those that used either. It was also found that the main measures that had been put in place to bring up head teachers' leadership styles that enhance students' academic performance at KCSE included: appealing for parental and community support, bench-marking of best performing schools and poor performing schools in the same category, testing policy, use of motivational speakers, severe punishment to foster discipline, departmental meetings, ensuring syllabus coverage and use of modern technology. The study therefore recommended involvement of all stakeholders to scale up the best outfit of leadership style for the enhancement of students' academic performance in KCSE. The study once accomplished would be availed to the principals, to help them adopt a fair leadership style(s) in order to improve performance in KCSE. It would also be availed to the stakeholders (especially education officers) to help in advising on the best approaches to improving performance. 1. sChool of eduCaTion ISO 9001:2008 Certified 9 1.2 Role of head TeaCheRs' oRGanisaTional CulTuRe in Kenya CeRTifiCaTe of PRimaRy eduCaTion PeRfoRmanCe: a Case of nyandaRua souTh disTRiCT, Kenya MIRIAM KIRATHI, Master of Education Degree in Education Planning Management and Administration suPeRVisoR: Dr. Ogogo Collins ABSTRACT Organisational Culture can be defined as a collection of values and norms shared by people or group in an organisation (Hill and Jones, 2004:417). This study sought to investigate the role of head teacher's Organizational Culture (OC) in Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) performance in Nyandarua South District. The study was guided by the following objectives: To determine the role of head teachers' OC on KCPE performance of public primary schools in Nyandarua South District; to identify the teachers' perception of their OC and how it affects the KCPE performance; to establish the role of OC on KCPE performance in Nyandarua South District, and to determine how pupils' perception of their school's OC affects the KCPE performance in Nyandarua South District. The study was guided by Schein's Organisational Culture theory model (1988) which has elements of culture. Literature has been reviewed on the role of head teachers' OC, teachers' and pupils' perception of their school's OC. The researcher used descriptive survey design. Target population was 40 public primary schools in Nyandarua South district. The researcher used two schools for piloting which did not participate in the actual study and eight schools for the research study. A total of eight head teachers, 24 teachers and 80 pupils were randomly and purposively sampled for the study. The researcher used questionnaires, interview schedule and observation schedule for data collection. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics for quantitative data and thematically for qualitative data all based on research questions. The findings were presented in tables of frequency distributions percentages, bar graphs and pie charts. The study concluded that poor performance in public primary schools in Nyandarua South District was high owning to minimal time allocated to academic matters as reflected by the time spent on private studies, supervised studies and remedial teaching, where only1-5 hours was spent per week. Most significant aspects of head teachers' OC in influencing academic performance were that there seems to be a friendly atmosphere among the people head teachers supervise. The teaching load for the teachers was enormous as majority of the teachers had above 32 lessons per week. There was clear information on roles and responsibilities of teachers, the school was great to work in, teaching was a great profession, the head teacher listens and values the teachers' ideas and that other teachers take their fellow teachers opinions seriously. The study recommended that the ministry of education should offer continuous capacity building to the head teachers on management of the schools to enhance their organizational culture to enhance performance. The study also recommended that the government and other stakeholders should implement strictly their guiding policies on head teachers' Organizational Culture to ensure the mismanagement in schools was minimised. The study also recommends that the head teachers should review the school management strategies to address the bottleneck issues that exist in the management of their Organizational Culture.Organisational Culture can be defined as a collection of values and norms shared by people or group in an organisation (Hill and Jones, 2004:417). This study sought to investigate the role of head teacher's Organizational Culture (OC) in Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) performance in Nyandarua South District. The study was guided by the following objectives: To determine the role of head teachers' OC on KCPE performance of public primary schools in Nyandarua South District; to identify the teachers' perception of their OC and how it affects the KCPE performance; to establish the role of OC on KCPE performance in Nyandarua South District, and to determine how pupils' perception of their school's OC affects the KCPE performance in Nyandarua South District. The study was guided by Schein's Organisational Culture theory model (1988) which has elements of culture. Literature has been reviewed on the role of head teachers' OC, teachers' and pupils' perception of their school's OC. The researcher used descriptive survey design. Target population was 40 public primary schools in Nyandarua South district. The researcher used two schools for piloting which did not participate in the actual study and eight schools for the research study. A total of eight head teachers, 24 teachers and 80 pupils were randomly and purposively sampled for the study. The researcher used questionnaires, interview schedule and observation schedule for data collection. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics for quantitative data and thematically for qualitative data all based on research questions. The findings were presented in tables of frequency distributions percentages, bar graphs and pie charts. The study concluded that poor performance in public primary schools in Nyandarua South District was high owning to minimal time allocated to academic matters as reflected by the time spent on private studies, supervised studies and remedial teaching, where only1-5 hours was spent per week. Most significant aspects of head teachers' OC in influencing academic performance were that there seems to be a friendly atmosphere among the people head teachers supervise. The teaching load for the teachers was enormous as majority of the teachers had above 32 lessons per week. There was clear information on roles and responsibilities of teachers, the school was great to work in, teaching was a great profession, the head teacher listens and values the teachers' ideas and that other teachers take their fellow teachers opinions seriously. The study recommended that the ministry of education should offer continuous capacity building to the head teachers on management of the schools to enhance their organizational culture to enhance performance. The study also recommended that the government and other stakeholders should implement strictly their guiding policies on head teachers' Organizational Culture to ensure the mismanagement in schools was minimised. The study also recommends that the head teachers should review the school management strategies to address the bottleneck issues that exist in the management of their Organizational Culture. ISO 9001:2008 Certified 10 1.3 effeCTs of head TeaCheRs' leadeRshiP sTyles on Kenya CeRTifiCaTe of PRimaRy eduCaTion PeRfoRmanCe in PubliC PRimaRy sChools in RuiRu muniCiPaliTy, Kiambu CounTy, Kenya MWAURA WILLIAM WAINAINA, Master of Education


Acoustical transmission lines formed into a spiral configuration possess the latent property of having different lengths along adjacent lines when traversing along a radius: for an acoustical spiral, sound waves in adjacent transmission lines will progress from an antiphase relation at the center of the spiral to an in‐phase relation at some radius r (λ) from the center. This is a transformation dependent only upon wavelength. When those transmission ‐ line walls that are facing the environment are covered with a low‐mass, tightly stretched membrane, radiation from this secondary surface will occur at the appropriate time. Radiation of a transverse wave rotating about the spiral axis occurs when sound waves in adjacent transmission lines are in phase. In this paper, several radiation modes and phasing properties are discussed. Owing to automatic adjustment of aperture size with change in frequency, the spiral membrane enclosure has a broad and constant beamwidth. An acoustical source, such as a loudspeake...


Ceramic pigments are one of the conventional ceramic products widely used for decoration of tiles, tableware etc and the quality of this decoration is one of the factors that governs the market of the products. These pigments, prepared commercially through solid state reactions among constituent oxides, are known to often fall short of expectations regarding homogeneity and brightness of colour, preparative temperature etc. This minireview provides a brief description of the global research going on for the development of sol-gel technologies as superior alternatives to the conventional commercial ones. The areas dealt with are the major host structures and colouring components selected in sol-gel research, necessary preparative steps for their synthesis In the form of pigments, the major advantages that accompany this processing technique and the apparent directions this research Is taking.


Direct gas leakage between the air outlet and gas inlet of heat exchangers is reduced by rotary providing a pressure device to draw air through ducts in a sector plate. The gas can be drawn through slots in the sector plate by a suction device arranged the opposite side of the sector plate from the rotor.


Introduction: This study was designed to investigate the demographic, epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of cases admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with a diagnosis of intoxication. Methods: Inpatient intoxication cases who were treated in the PICU between May 2015 and May 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. Results: A total of 86 patients were included in the study. The average age was 10.8 ± 6.4 years and 53.5% of the cases were aged between 13-18 years. In terms of gender, 48.8% of the cases were male. Almost half of the (53.5%) intoxications occurred due to attempted suicide, 39.6% were accidental, 4.6% were due to substance abuse and 2.3% were due to incorrect drug dosage. Pharmaceutical agents were responsible for intoxication in the majority (79.1%) of patients, and among these, central nervous system (CNS) drugs were the most common (41.8%). Carbon monoxide poisoning was the most common nonpharmaceutical agent cause (8.1%). The agents that caused the intoxication were taken orally in 91.8% of cases. The average time from consumption to admission was 239±423.9 minutes. Gastric lavage was applied to 41.9% of the cases and activated charcoal was applied to 44.1%. Mechanical ventilation support was given to 32.6% of the patients. The most common findings were CNS symptoms (in 54.6% of patients). The mean length of stay (LOS) in PICU was 4.3±6.7 days and LOS in the hospital was 5.8±7.1 days. Mortality rate was 1.2%. Discussion and Conclusion: Knowing the epidemiology of intoxication is of great importance for rapid and correct treatment. Multicenter comprehensive studies are needed to reveal risk factors related to mortality.


In many disciplines success depends on access to scarce resources, such as unique instruments. Research on computersupported cooperative work (CSCW) has contributed to the development of technologies, such as collaboratories, that broaden access to scarce scientific and engineering resources. While broader access is often applauded, little attention has been focused on the problem of equitable and efficient resource allocation in the face of increased demand created through collaboratory use. This paper, then, applies concepts from the economic discipline of mechanism design to compare different resource allocation schemes (RAD, Vickery, and knapsack) within a hypothetical collaboratory. Experimental results show that knapsack achieves a more equitable distribution of resources than RAD or Vickery, but that RAD and Vickery are both more efficient than knapsack. The findings highlight the need for systematic exploration of allocation mechanisms within collaboratories, where simple optimization (e.g., knapsack) is likely to produce a sub-optimal match of resources to needs. More generally, the findings illustrate the utility of economic approaches in understanding issues that emerge in large-scale collaborations, such as entire scientific and engineering communities, that have not typically been the subject of CSCW research. ∗(Produces the permission block, and copyright information). For use with SIG-ALTERNATE.CLS. Supported by ACM. †A full version of this paper is available as Author's Guide to Preparing ACM SIG Proceedings Using LTEX2ǫ and BibTeX at www.acm.org/eaddress.htm ‡The SI authors. §The econ author. Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of thi s work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided th at copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage an d that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. To cop y therwise, to republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, re quires prior specific permission and/or a fee. WOODSTOCK '97 El Paso, Texas USA Copyright 200X ACM X-XXXXX-XX-X/XX/XX ... $5.00.


The Renewable Energy Resource Statutes have been enforced since January 1,2006.This is the milestone in exploiting and using the renewable energy resource in our country.However,there are some shortcomings in the statutes.In order to make it perfect,measures should be taken to establish system of fundamental principles,set up assorted quota institutions and institutions of exchanging green certificates,increase reward system,and strengthen legal liabilities.


3-hydroxi-3 metyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors, also known as statins, are effective in reducing plasmatic cholesterol and thus preventing cardiac, cerebral, and peripheral vascular ischemia. One of the main reasons that limit their use is the potential for muscular disorders, such as the increase of plasmatic CK, myalgia, myositis, and rhabdomyolysis. Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the presence of fluctuating voluntary muscle weakness. It is triggered by antibodies directed against nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChR) located at the neuromuscular junction, within the muscle membrane. A number of drugs may either unmask the disease or worsen it when installed. Recent publications have reported on cases of MG who aggravated their condition with the intake of statins. Here, we report on eleven patients who presented symptoms of MG after medication with statins. Six patients received atorvastatin (54.5%), three simvastatin (27.3%), and two rosuvastatin (18.2%).


Today the young ophthalmologist is often so highly trained in the science ofour specialty that he forgets he is treating a total human being and not just a pair of eyes. We try our best to instil in our residents the importance of considering the entire needs of a patient, including his family, but I believe the true test of a physician comes when one observes how he handles his complications. Almost anyone can handle a patient with a successful result but how a physician handles his bad results and anyone who does anything must have these is probably the best indication of his skill in the art of medicine. No matter how far we advance scientifically, the art of medicine as exemplified by Mr Lang and many great physicians must always be an integral part of our training and care.