Planning for high speed rail networks is better done at the national level when considering widespread public benefits of these networks, and is essential when dealing with institutional issues that are national in scale. Incremental improvements to the nation's extensive resource of existing railways offers hope for early benefits of high speed rail, with speeds initially up to 125 mph, while keeping options open for adding new links at much higher speed, and for emerging technologies like maglev. A 35,000 to 45,000 mile high speed rail freight and passenger network could be brought into being within a three to five year period, through a national initiative that considered the nation's freight and passenger railways as a unit.


In the modern era of rapidly rising medical costs, health care technology assessment--multidisciplinary evaluation of clinical and economic aspects of technology--has assumed an increasingly important role in health policy and clinical decision-making. This review examines health care technology adoption, its impact on medical and surgical practice, and recent trends in health care technology assessment. Part I discusses the difficult challenges posed by assessment and provides a guide to the methodologies used.


Yttria-stabilized zirconia films implanted with multicharged Au ions at an average energy of 160 keV and the fluence of 4 .10 16 cm -2 and annealed at 800°C are investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Metal nanoparticles are shown to be formed in these films. The sputtering yield of films is estimated.


To evaluate the susceptibility to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) in patients with autoimmune conditions treated with antimalarials in a population‐based study.


The arrangements of the economic and fiscal reform as well as the operating economy influenced the evolution of the fiscal revenues within 1990-2004, in Romania. Against the background of the State's receding involvement on the economic and social level, a fall of public costs generating a fall of the necessary budget to cover these costs occurred, amplified by the economic decline in Romania, registered in 1990.Compared to other sates, the average tax level in Romania is low around 30% of GDP, but it has an unequal distribution, while some of the tax payers allocate a tax level of 10-20%, others are forced to support a ratio of 50-60%. Critics consider that the introduction of a unique tax share is a hasty arrangement with no substantiation or impact analysis, jeopardizing the budget balance. Other increase in tax and duties, utilities costs, appearance of new taxes and reduction in budget costs followed. The renunciation to progressive levying of taxes (fiscal equity principle) and the introduction of unique tax share roused a series of pro and against reactions. Ignoring these controversies concerning work tax in Romania, the tax revenue and high social contributions remain an unsolved problem. In Romania, the fall of social security contributions may provide the elasticity of the work market developing the power to encourage internal and foreign direct investments as well as the consumption of the Romanian economy. The three important aspects of the Romanian economy are : the introduction of the unique tax share of 16%, the stimulation of work market and the blocking of qualified manoeuvre migrations abroad.


In this report next three cases were solved under the assumptions that the flow is laminar and the compressibility effects of the fluid can be neglected. (1) When the pressure gradient given to the pipe begins to increase or decrease in proportion to the time. (2) When the pressure gradient changes instantaneously. (3) When the pressure gradient begins damped oscillations. (including exponential damping and harmonic oscillations as special cases). For each case the velocity distribution in the pipe and the discharge per unit time were found, and the transient state of the flow was also explained. From these three examples mentioned above, it was shown that the flow differs widely from that of Poiseuille when non-steady pressure gradients were given along the axis of the pepe


Using CLEO-c data, we confirm the observation of D0 ->omega eta by BESIII. In the Dalitz Plot of D0 -> Kshort eta pi0, we find a background in the Kshort(->pipi)pi0 projection with a m(pipipi0) equal to the omega(782) mass. In a direct search for D0 -> (omega eta) we find a clear signal and measure BF(D0 ->omega eta) = (1.78+/-0.19+/-0.14) x 10**(-3), in good agreement with BESIII.


The utility model discloses a sheet type heat-dissipating groove machining clamp which comprises a vice, L-shaped pressing strips and U-shaped pad iron. The U-shaped pad iron is arranged in a clamping opening of the vice. The L-shaped pressing strips press the U-shaped pad iron in a buckling mode. The L-shaped pressing strips are two in number and are arranged on the two sides of the U-shaped pad iron respectively. The L-shaped pressing strips are arranged between the U-shaped pad iron and the vice. Compared with the prior art, when the vice is used for machining a part, the machining face is not shielded, clamping is of surface contact, the part can not be damaged by pressing, one surface can be machined only by clamping at a time, the original mode of clamping the surface for a plurality of times is changed into the mode of clamping the surface at a time, and the upper portion and the lower portion of the machined part can be protected from concave-convex deformation caused by uneven stress in the machining process.


Objective To explore the diagnostic and differential value of dynamic contrast enhanced MRI(DCE-MRI) for ovarian fibroma.Methods Eighteen cases with 19 lesions of ovarian fibromaes proved by surgery and pathology including clinical informations and DCE-MRI data were analyzed retrospectively.Results There were 19 tumours in 18 cases,including 17 cases with single tumour,1 case with 2 tumours.All lesions showed tumours in pelvic cavity with clear boundary.The maximum diameter of all tumoures was 2.5 ~ 18.0 cm,the mean diameter was(8.78 ± 2.17) cm.Twelve tumours were solid,6 were mixed,1 was cystic.The T1WI and T2WI signals of the solid composition were low on unenhanced MR,the signal of cystic composition was low on T1WI and high on T2WI.On DCE-MRI most tumours showed asymmetrical postpone enhancement with slightly to moderate degree.The peak time of intensify and intensified ratio within 208 s was indiscriminate between tumours and iliacus(P 0.05),while different between tumours and myometrium(P 0.01).Eight tumours with big size were accompanied with a little hydrops in pelvic cavity,6 cases with myomaes of uterus,4 cases with cysts of contralateral ovary.Conclusions Ovarian fibroma always shows single solid tumour,with relatively big size and clear boundary.The T1WI and T2WI signals of the solid composition of tumours are low on unenhanced MR,with asymmetrical postpone enhancement with slightly to moderate degree on DCE-MRI.


A very general and simple model for simulating the power spectral density of an FDM modulated radio carrier is presented. This model is valid for both large and small modulation indices and may be used in intermodulation and interference calculations. Verification of the model with practical measurements is presented.


Various bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) hierarchical micro/nanostructures with cocoon-like, flower-like and branch-like morphologies were successfully synthesised by a facile template-free solvothermal approach. The as-synthesised products were characterised by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM, scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption–desorption and UV–vis absorption spectroscopy. The experimental results indicate that the volume ratio of ethylene glycol to water has a remarkable influence on the morphologies and microstructures of the obtained products. An oriented aggregation process is presented to account for the formation of the hierarchical BiVO4 micro/nanostructures in the current synthetic condition. In addition, the photocatalytic activity of the obtained BiVO4 products under visible-light irradiation was initially evaluated by degradation of Rhodamine B.


Correlators have been used for detecting shapes but not as often for measuring shape similarity. The complex inner product (CIP) has been used in various formulations as a shape similarity measure. The CIP is essentially a one-dimensional correlation approach to measuring similarity. One-dimensional variants of the correlation techniques including the matched filter (MF), phase-only filter (POF), and amplitude-modulated phase only filter (AMPOF) are shown to measure shape similarity in a trend that approaches human perception, however, clear performance differences are noted. The results show that the best correlator for measuring shape similarity is not the best correlator for detecting a shape. It is suggested that detection and shape similarity are fundamentally different functions that are in opposition to some degree. Ideal detection and ideal similarity measurement functions are explored. The degree to which various formulations of correlators approach the ideal functions of detection and similarity measurement are shown as well as results from human psychophysical experiments.


Objective To investigate the association between serum homocyteine(Hcy)and coronary arteriosclerosis.Methods 340 patients in our hospital who had cronary anginography were divided into 4groups: stable angina(SA)group,unatable angina(UA)group,acute myocardial infarction(AMI) group and control group.Gensine score and the level of serum Hcy were determinated in all cases.Results(1)Compared with control group,the serum Hcy levels were significantly higher in all groups with coronary heart desease(P 0.01),increased in UA group and AMI group than that of SA group(P0.01),higher in AMI group than that of UA group(P0.01).(2)Mutiple stepwise linear regression analysis and Logistic regression analysis showed that after controlling the effects of sex,age,blood glucose,blood fat,et al,serum Hcy was still associated with the severity and instability of coronary artery stenosis independently.(3)ROC curve showed the sensibility and specificity of serum Hcy were better than low density lipoprotein cholestero and Gensine score.Conclusion It suggests that the increase of serum Hcy level is associated with the severity of coronary arteriosclerosis.


Objectives. The purpose of this study was to investigate serum pituitary tumor transforming gene (PTTG1) expression in laryngeal carcinoma and its relationship with the clinical pathological characteristics and prognosis. Methods. Expression of serum PTTG1 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 110 patients with laryngeal carcinoma and 60 patients with vocal cord polyps. Expression of the serum PTTG1 levels relationship with the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis were analyzed. Results. In laryngeal carcinoma patients' serum, the PTTG1 median concentration was 141.43 pg/mL (interquartile range [IQR], 111.387 to 160.837 pg/mL), significantly higher than that of the vocal cord polyp group of 94.01 pg/mL (IQR, 81.26 to 108.59 pg/mL), and the difference was statistically significant (z=–6.715, P<0.001). PTTG1 expression with lymph node metastasis, clinical stage, and patients with laryngeal carcinoma was significantly correlated with the tumor differentiation degree (P<0.05). The total survival rate of the PTTG1 high expression group was significantly lower than the low expression group, and the difference of total survival time of the two groups was statistically significant (P<0.001). Conclusion. The PTTG1 expression level can be used as an index for evaluating prognosis of laryngeal cancer. High PTTG1 expression is one of the factors of poor prognosis of laryngeal carcinoma patients.


Abstract 1761 Background: The identification of active regimens sharing clinical and mobilizing activity are warranted NHL patients (pts) at high risk at onset or at relapse, as induction therapy before peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT). Vinorelbine (VNR), ifosfamide (IFX), and cytarabine (ARA-C) are of proved efficacy in this setting. Methods: From November 1999 to September 2008, 115 pts underwent the VIHA regimen: VNR 25 mg/mq day 3, IFX 2500 mg/mq days 1–3, and ARA-C 2 gm/mq bid days 2–3. Pts older than 60 years, were given the same regimen at 75% of doses. A total of 4 cycles was repeated every 21 days with G-CSF support from day 7 to day 12 or up to the apheresis. Mobilization was performed from the 3rd cycle, in patients withat least partial remission (PR), achieved after cycle 2. All cases with at least stable disease (SD) at the end of VIHA induction and with a CD34+ cell collection of > 1.5 × 10 Results: Main clinical characteristics: median age 47 (range 28–73) with 36 pts older 60 years, aggressive histology 73, indolent histology 42, primary refractory disease 44, relapsed disease 71, stage III or IV 42, bone marrow involvement 20, sIPI > 2 13. Seventy-seven pts had received at least two lines of chemotherapy before VIHA. Sixty-seven patients (59%) obtained an objective response (OR) with 48 (42%) of these obtained complete remission (CR) according to CT-scan criteria. Seventy-four patients entered PBSCT and 41 did not for the following reasons: 15 due to unplanned PBSCT, 13 pts failed mobilization, one for toxic deaths, and the others for disease progression. With a median follow-up of 47 months, 4-year progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) are 30% and 39%, respectively. In univariate analysis, only the histologic category (aggressive vs indolent) was a predictive factor of response (p.001) and survival (p 2) was a significant negative predictor. Interestingly, there was no difference in OR, PFS and OS between patients treated with full dose or reduced dose VIHA. As concerns stem cell mobilization, in 80 mobilized pts, median number of CD34+ cells collected was 7.1 × 10 6 /Kg (range 1.5–45) after a median of 2 (1-3) apheretic procedures. Among more than 240 VIHA cycles analyzed for haematological toxicity 86% of full dose VIHA required platelet transfusions and 50% RBC transfusions, as compared to 46% (p Conclusions: VIHA shows clinical and mobilizing activity comparable to better known salvage chemotherapy regimens; otherwise our data suggest to use as well the reduced dose regimen, which shares clinical activity and lower toxicity profile. The high CD34 mobilizing activity is notheworthy. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Six Sigma, a business process developed at Motorola in the early 1980s, dramatically improves customer satisfaction from products and services by reducing defects during manufacture. Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) is the method of developing new products that will result in low defect rates during large-scale production (1,2). Thus, DFSS represents one of the methods by which RD novel catalysts are needed to meet the changing customer needs in the refining, petrochemical and fine chemical industries. At W. R. Grace, we have recently developed two novel catalysts for the refining industry using Six Sigma. This article describes the DFSS process employed during the development of these novel catalysts and illustrates how this particular process contributed to the attainment of the DFSS objective. Our DFSS process involved work by a cross-functional team of marketing, R&D, quality assurance, and manufacturing personnel. The process also involved the use of several DFSS tools during the development stage of the novel catalysts. Design for Six Sigma DFSS can be defined as the design of new products or services with a Six Sigma capability and performance (2). Six Sigma capability requires fewer than 4 defects per million opportunities. To achieve this goal, DFSS utilizes a philosophy of strong customer focus as well as a methodology that employs a variety of tools and techniques (3). One example of a new product developed through DFSS is General Electric's Performix x-ray tube (1). Organizations that have reportedly implemented DFSS include General Electric, Allied Signal, Raytheon, and Delphi Automotive (4). Reported benefits for DFSS include increase in life cycle profits (4), elimination of the need to shake post-installation kinks out of new products (1), better added-value of the final product and service, and, thus, stronger customer loyalty and sales (2). Novel Catalyst Development Developing the process to manufacture a novel catalyst is a key R&D step, involving scale-up of a laboratory method of preparing the catalyst. After the completion of scale-up, the novel catalyst is test manufactured. One or more manufacturing tests may be required to establish that the product can be manufactured to meet all customer needs. The DFSS methodology utilizes a variety of tools and techniques that have been described in detail (1,2,5). For the development of novel catalyst products, we selected the following sequence of tools: Process Mapping, Cause & Effects Matrix, Failure Mode Effects Analysis, Control Planning, and Technology Transfer. The Process Map seeks to describe the process employed to manufacture the new catalyst. The process for commercial manufacture can differ in certain aspects from the process to produce the R&D prototype of the new catalyst. Figure 1 is a simplified illustration of a Process Map for a novel catalyst. This example involves a new and improved fluid cracking catalyst used in petroleum refineries to convert crude oil to gasoline and other useful products. The process to manufacture this catalyst involved eight major steps and 47 process input variables. The key input and output variables for each of the process steps were identified and Figure 1 illustrates some of those variables. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] When the new catalyst product was developed, we explicitly identified the product properties that are important to the customers in that segment. The marketing department was involved in the determination/identification of these properties (five for this example), which represented the Critical to Quality attributes (CTQs) of the catalyst. The process input variables identified in the Process Map can have varying degrees of impact on the CTQ attributes. …


This paper presents a low-profile tunable absorber based on the interaction between electromagnetic (EM) waves and plasma medium in the microwave regime. The design is implemented by integrating discrete plasma-shells and practical biasing network layers in a resistively loaded frequency selective surface (FSS). Two approaches., comprised of lossy inductive and lossy capacitive FSS layer, are investigated. A transmission line model is used to provide the working principle of the absorption and its frequency tuning capability. The total thickness is about 3.5 mm corresponding to 0.11λ0 where λ0 is the free space wavelength of the absorption center frequency (fo =9.5 GHz). Through proper activation of the plasma, which induces a dielectric loading on the FSS layer, a linear tuning response is obtained.


This article proposes a new algorithm for coloring a monochrome image. Recently a few effective colorization algorithms have been proposed. Those algorithms can colorize monochrome images by giving them some color hints, and they work well as an intuitive impression. However, a realistic colorization in detail was difficult to achieve by those algorithms because they have not been constructed based on any physical model. They formulate a colorization process as a pixel-based digital signal processing. This article aims at developing a realistic colorization technique by considering a physical reflection model. We focus on the well-known dichromatic reflection model and try to colorize monochrome images by utilizing a property of diffuse-only reflection components. We demonstrate that high quality colorizations of still images may be obtained from a small number of color seeds given by a user.


Rainfall finds an important role in managing the water level in reservoirs and also in agriculture. The accurate prediction of rainfall is an undetermined problem due to varying climatic conditions and environmental changes. Artificial intelligence can be used to forecast the rainfall in particular area based on features like previous years amount of rainfall, change in climate, environmental factors and so on. The unpredicted rainfall may cause havoc damages with floods and loss of human made structures. Hence this study explores the usage of machine and deep learning techniques to predict the rainfall for the future planning of mankind settlement and associated works. Machine learning prediction techniques like regression and deep learning prediction techniques like convolution neural network, long short-term memory is explored. This study also discusses the pros and cons on usage of neural network algorithms and machine learning algorithms base on the availability of data and associated feature. Recent works in the area of rainfall prediction is also being discussed with varying feature extraction and prediction.


Objective To investigate the expression of Annexin-A1 in different types of esophagogastric junction tissues,as well as its clinical significance in esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma.Methods Immunohistochemistry SP method was used to detect the expression of Annexin A1 protein in esophagogastric junction tissues,including 20normal controls,20 intraepithelial neoplasia,66 adenocarcinomas.Results Immunohistochemistry showed that the positive expression of Annexin A1 protein in esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma tissues(71.2%)was significantly higher than those in intraepithelial neoplasia(55.0%)and normal controls(25.0%),significant difference(P0.05)were found between the three groups;The up-regulation of Annexin A1 expression was positively correlated with advanced clinicopathological stage,degree of differentiation,lymph node metastasis and infiltrating depth(P0.05),but not correlated with sex,age and distant metastasis in adenocarcinoma(P0.05).Conclusion The expression of Annexin A1may play an important role in the occurrence,progression,invasion and lymph node metastasis of esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma.


Deep Web information integration has become more and more important due to its rich and high quality data. How to select the most appropriate web database relevant to user's requirement is challenging. However, the existing researches only focus on the data source selection method and ignore the expression of user's query requirement. This paper presents a user query requirements modeling language, which can be used for cross-domain integration for the Deep Web. Simplicity, domain-independent and universality make it a powerful tool for user modeling. Based on this tool, it is possible to build cross-domain Deep Web On-Demand integrated system.


0. Introduction. 1. The first dialysis in 1943. 2. The prelude to the first dialysis in 1943. 3. Step by step towards a robust machine. 4. In the meantime the war went on. 5. The first series of 17 patients. 6. The second and the third artificial kidney. 7. Hibernation of the kidney 1944-1945. 8. Recognition at home and abroad. 9. New ways of fighting uraemia. 10. Breathing with a kidney. 11. The artificial kidney in Canada and the United States. 12. The place of the artificial kidney in present day medicine - and how it was achieved. 13. Renal dialysis in the Netherlands and in Europe. 14. On the shoulder of Kolff. 15. Has Kolff reached his goal? 16. A new life for old dialysers. Acknowledgements.


In the procedures for microwave power calibration, which are well documented, the subject of mismatch errors (or corrections) plays a major role. In particular, the evaluation of mismatch corrections requires the measurement of complex r eflection coefficients; and the accuracy of this measurement is limited , in part, by connector imperfections. The applica tion of recently developed "power equation" methods to th is problem provides both a simplified determ ination of the mismatch correction (Mgm) and improved accuracy. In particular, the intermed iate step of measuring the reflection coefficients is eliminated, and the precision connector requirement is greatly relaxed. If this new method were adopted at each level of the usual calibrat ion hierarchy, the accuracy of disseminating measuremen ts re ferenced to the primary standards at NBS would be greatly improved. T he accuracy potential was demonstrated in a series of experiments involving the Type N, GPC-7, a nd waveguide flan ge connectors. The outcome of this experi ment al evaluation, in whi ch the "ord inary" Type N performed on a par with GPC-7, rai ses some rather serious questions relative to current trends in connector development.


In this paper we investigate a certain notion of stability, for one function or for iterated function systems, and discuss why this notion can be a good extension and complement to the notion of hyperbolicity. This last notion is very well-known in the literature and plays an important role in the investigation of the dynamical behaviour of a system. The main result is that although some classical sets of functions like the stable Lipschitz functions are conjugate to hyperbolic functions there exist continuous stable functions which are not conjugate to hyperbolic functions. A sufficient condition for not being conjugate to a hyperbolic function is given.


A hybrid technique for the analysis of pyramidal and conical horn antennas is presented based on an exact vector Dirichlet to Neumann (DtN) mapping mathematical formalism. The transition from the feeding waveguide to the radiating aperture is analyzed by using the mode matching technique (MMT) employing a stepped- waveguide approach. Love's field equivalence principle is employed for the definition of equivalent electric and magnetic current densities at the horn aperture. Explicitly, these currents are located at a plane parallel to the aperture but slightly shifted inwards in order to implement an offset Moment Method for their discretization, which is free of integral singularities. The unbounded area field generated by these sources is enforced to be continuous with the internal mode matching field by strictly following DtN principles. Besides that, this procedure mimics a By-moment approach ensuring the decoupling of the required number of modes from that of the sources discretization degrees of freedom. Finally, the implemented hybrid method is validated against published experimental and numerical results for a number of pyramidal and conical horn antennas including various corrugated geometries.


Tool support for iterative language development is crucial when we treat a domain-specific language as a dynamic element in the software development lifecycle. We present YAJCo language processor generator and its approach to iterative development of DSLs on the case study of the Karel the Robot language. YAJCo is built upon existing parsing technologies and it reuses programmer experience in the field of object- and aspect-oriented programming paradigms and existing tooling infrastructure widely used for system development (e.g. IDE).


Objective:To discuss the indication for caesarean section in this hospital in 2004.Methods:The indication for caesarean section of 1 431 cases were retrospectively studied.Results:The rate of caesarean section was 47.7%. The indictions in turn were fetal distress(12.3%), oligohydramnios(10.4%), breech presentation(9.9%), fetal macrosomia(9.4%), cephalopelvic disproportion(9.2%), cord arourd neck(9.1%), scar uterus(7.7%),abnormal labor(5.7%),premature rupture of membranes(5.2%), operation requested(3.2%).The caesarean section rate for breech presentation,scar uterus,fetal macrosomia,multiple pregnancy was 97.9%, 97.3%, 74.0%, 73.9% respectively. The rate of mother and neonates asphyxia was 1.3%.Conclusion:In order to protect the health of mother and neonates and reduce the rate of caesarean section, the indications of caesarean section should be properly mastered.


Abstract The increase of the wind-stress coefficient with wind velocity was found to start with winds as light as 3 m s−1, below which, following the formula for aerodynamically smooth flows, the wind-stress coefficient decreases as the wind velocity increases. This therefore imposes a lower wind-velocity bound on some previously proposed formulae and modifies the interpretation of some others.


The problem of the generalized output regulation is considered here. In contrast to the classical output regulation problem, where the references to be tracked and disturbances to be rejected are generated by an autonomous exogeneous system, for the generalized output regulation an exogenous system is driven by an unknown external reference signal. In such a way, the class of reference or disturbance signals is expanded. Presented result solves the full measurement feedback case and is based on the well-known notion of the regulator equation combined with the classical concept of the invariant distribution. Illustrative example, including MATLAB-SIMULINK simulations, is presented to demonstrate the suggested approach.


An online-banking type website visiting method and a browser. The browser is suitable for being used for visiting an online-banking type website, and an online-banking website configuration file is stored in a storage module (110) of the browser. The visiting method comprises: detect webpage request information of a webpage address on a browser side (S110); determine, by means of the browser, that the webpage address is address information of an online-banking type website in an online-banking website configuration file (S120); the browser initiates downloading of a corresponding security plug-in on the online-banking type website according to corresponding security plug-in information (S130); and install the downloaded security plug-in on the browser side, and visit the online-banking type website by using the installed security plug-in (S140). The procedure of downloading and installing a security plug-in is executed by a browser in advance before webpage request information is transmitted to an online-banking server, and accordingly, when a user logs into the online-banking server on the browser, the user does not need to manually download and install the security plug-in, and the security can be ensured when the user logs in to the online-banking server.


IEEE standard 1068-2015 for repair and rewinding electric motors has had several modifications made to the 2009 edition to make it more useful to users of electric machines. Along with general revisions, sections have been added to cover the repair of synchronous machine rotors of all types, magnetic slot wedges, permanent magnet rotor machines, bearing currents on adjustable-speed drive (ASD)-driven motors, rehabilitating flooded motors, and a repair checklist. As before, the standard was developed by people associated with motor repairs for many years and is intended for users in the petroleum, chemical process. and other industries.


Purpose: To investigate the potential of achieving significant improvements in the DQE performance of active‐matrix flat‐panel imagers at low fluoroscopic exposures and high spatial frequencies through incorporation of novel pixel architectures based on polycrystallinesilicon thin‐film transistors(TFTs). Methods and Materials: Detailed empirical studies have recently been performed on the signal and noise characteristics of a series of arrays incorporating poly‐Si TFTs. These indirect detection designs involved three pixel architectures employing either a single TFT switch, a single‐stage amplifier, or a dual‐stage amplifier — along with a continuous photodiode structure. Determinations of MTF, NPS, and DQE, as well as of individual pixel properties (sensitivity, linearity, trapping, noise) were performed under fluoroscopic and radiographic conditions. Circuit simulations were also performed to explore the potential performance of these and other hypothetical array designs. Results: The studies indicate that the high mobilities of poly‐Si lead to potential frame rates of at least an order of magnitude greater than those of conventional arrays with a‐Si:H TFTs. In addition, the single‐ and dual‐stage pixel‐amplifier arrays demonstrate signal gain (∼×10 and ∼×25, respectively) very close to design expectations. Furthermore, empirical data taken from these early prototypes demonstrate a small, but non‐negligible enhancement in signal‐to‐noise performance compared to that of similar arrays using conventional designs, as a result of pixel amplification and the use of repeated, non‐destructive readout. Analysis based on these empirical results and circuit simulations indicates that, with circuit design optimization and improved TFT quality, further significant enhancement of performance should be possible. Conclusion: These results indicate that substantial improvements in DQE performance are possible through incorporation of poly‐Si circuits in flat panel pixel designs. Factors limiting the performance of present designs will be described and future steps in the development of this technology will be discussed. This work is supported by NIH grant R01 EB000558.


Background: Pain affects more than 75 million Americans and is the primary reason people seek medical attention. Pain is a common cause of disability and diminished quality of life. While anecdotal evidence exists regarding nurses' use of distraction therapy activities in pain management, little empirical research data is available. Purpose: To examine the effects of video game use (VGU) on pain perception, pain interference perception and perceived self-efficacy in pain management in adult inpatients. Conceptual Model: The conceptual model is based on Self-efficacy Theory (Bandura, 1995). The antecedents of the concept of distraction therapy with use of VGs in patients' selfmanagement of pain, is pain itself. The defining attributes are mastery and control, social observations, positive appraisals, and social supportive relationships. The consequences are selfefficacy in non-pharmacological strategies in pain management and behavioral analgesia. Aims: 1) Describe the demographic variables (age, gender, race/ethnicity, educational level, admitting diagnosis, day of hospitalization, and length of stay); pain location, analgesia variables; VG variables, and total time researcher engaged with subjects of the sample, 2) Describe self-efficacy and pain interference perception following video game distraction therapy (VGDT), 3) Compare changes in pain perception prior to and following VGDT, and 4) Identify factors that predict changes in pain perception following VGDT. This feasibility study utilized a purposive sample of 30 hospitalized adults in a neuro trauma progressive care unit, and an orthopedic acute care unit. Findings: Subjects' age ranged from 19-79 years, M = 41.47 ± 17.52, with 22 males (73.3%) and eight females (26.6%). Total time researcher was engaged with study subjects ranged from 35 – 90 minutes (M = 63.03 ± 13.10). Pre pain perception M = 4.93 ± 2.49, and post pain perception M = 3.17 ± 2.2, a 36% decreased following VGDT. Self-efficacy perception following VGDT mean score was high (M = 6.97 ± 2.30) overall. There were no predictor variables identified. Implications: Future studies are needed to explore more fully the factors operant in the use of VGs as a therapeutic approach for pain in the adult hospitalized patient.


This paper addresses the current practice of transition between high school and university for students currently studying in Indonesia. First, this paper discusses the schooling system in Indonesian schools, and how it works to prepare students when they finish high school. It then examines whether the high school experience gives adequate preparation for students who would like to study at university or college. Three cases are presented in order to provide a fuller picture of how the transition from high school to university actually happens. Three students from the English department at Manado State University Indonesia took part in the study. Through interviews and their narratives, the students' perception of moving from high school to university was explored; in particular, their experiences with their high school education. Their information can be used to address the practices of transition from high school to university. Findings showed that there is a discrepancy between the practices and what was intended to happen according to the system. The study is expected to inform decision-makers about the necessity to evaluate the current system and make changes accordingly.


The thesis deals with the technology of top down construction method. The basic types of protection
of excavation pit are presented. Details of classic top down method, nonshored formwork system for top down construction, strut as permanent system, bracket supported R/C downward and strut top down are explained. Two examples from Slovenia, parking house Kongresni trg in Ljubljana and The National and University Library of Slovenia designed by the architect Jože Plecnik, are described.
The focus of this work is the description and comparison of individual methods, their advantages and disadvantages and conditions of use.


The HealthCare System assemble colossal amount of data which the system are inadequate to turn into fast information processing and also inadequate to cultivate and exploit it in a proper demeanor. Other dilemma are also materialize with respect to the reusability of the system in a different surroundings designed by the developer. Nowadays we are fixating upon interoperability of database and system hardware. In this paper we have suggested a new design of healthcare database system of a HealthCare System using the modern MDA approach of software engineering to improve the portability, resilience, and maintainability. We have delineated that MDA accession also provides interoperability, simple maintenance of highly computational based business oriented system by taking the study of healthcare database. In this paper we have delineated how database modeling is done with MDA for modeling at different levels like CIM, PIM, and PSM, which gives a new dimension to the database based application development. Keywords--Model-driven development (MDD), Model Driven architecture (MDA), Class Diagram, Platform independent models (PIM), Computation Independent Models (CIM), Platform specific models (PSM).


Auditory evoked potentials are popular for assessing hearing in marine mammals because they do not require the same access to and training of animals as behavioral methods; however, within‐subject comparisons of behavioral and electrophysiological thresholds are still necessary to benchmark evoked potential results against the more universally accepted behavioral data. In this study, auditory thresholds were measured in nine dolphins using both behavioral and electrophysiological methods. Subjects included eight males and one female, ages 21‐43 yrs. Some had a full‐range of hearing and others exhibited high‐frequency hearing loss. Tests were conducted in‐air, in San Diego Bay, and/or in quiet pools. Hearing test stimuli included frequency‐modulated, amplitude‐modulated, or pure tones projected in the direct field or via a "jawphone" contact transducer. Comparisons reveal good agreement between the evoked potential and behavioral methods, particularly when the testing environments, stimulus delivery method...


Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is now recognized as an important coastal process affecting local and regional sources of solutes to coastal oceans. The objective of this study was to compare SGD estimates through Martinique Beach (Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC, Canada) using different sampling techniques in order to quantify SGD fluxes of dissolved organic and inorganic carbon (DOC, DIC) exported to a coastal embayment. These fluxes were estimated using hydrogeological and geochemical methods, including direct measurement via seepage meters and hydrogeological estimation using Darcy's law. Darcy estimates led to a fresh SGD flow ranging from 0.020 m3/s at the shoreline to 0.030 m3/s at the beach face. Direct measurements by seepage meters revealed higher SGD flows, with a mean value of 0.090 m3/s. These SGD flows were mainly composed of recirculating seawater flushing by the falling tide. The unconfined aquifer of Martinique Beach is a biogeochemically reactive zone, where DOC and DIC are nonconservative. The groundwater residence time (~32 days), low oxygen conditions (~20%) and high DOC concentrations (~ 2 mmol/L) represent a suitable environment for biogeochemical reactions to occur, and subsequently alter groundwater-borne carbon concentrations. We calculated a fresh-groundwater carbon load of 147 kg/d of DIC and 27 kg/d of DOC at the beach face. Even though recirculating seawater dominated the volume of total SGD, fresh SGD was an important carbon pathway, accounting for 12 and 20% of total DIC and DOC, respectively. This site-specific study is the first attempt to estimate volumetric and chemical groundwater fluxes to a coastal Canadian ocean, and demonstrates the strong interaction between fresh groundwater and coastal systems.


ABSTRACT Certain moose (Alces alces) populations in the northeastern United States are in decline because of increasing frequency of winter tick (Dermacentor albipictus) epizootics characterized by high calf mortality and reduced productivity in the population. Previous research identified soil fungi in wallows of bull moose that are pathogenic to larval winter ticks. We analysed skin/hair samples of moose harvested in Maine, USA, to further understand this fungus–tick–moose relationship. A total of 32 keratinophilic fungi from moose fur and skins were isolated, predominately Penicillium, Cladosporium, Aspergillus, Alternaria, Trichoderma, Beauveria, and Scopulariopsis. Each displayed pathogenic activity against unfed winter tick larvae (sole infestation stage) by topical application of spore inoculums and Koch's postulates. Bulls had more entomopathogenic fungi, pathogenic fungal isolates to ticks, and infected larvae than cows and calves. We propose a disease cycle with interactions of soil fungi, moose, and on-host winter tick larvae killed by entomopathogenic soil fungi. Bull moose presumably experience enhanced exposure and protection from abundant soil fungi due to their wallowing behaviour during the breeding season that is coincidental with questing by winter tick larvae.


Changes in tree species composition and regeneration patterns were studied in 53 permanent vegetation plots located at two sites (Pioneer Forest and University State Forest) in oak-hickory forests of southeastern Missouri where mortality and decline of red oak species have been identified. The two sites also exhibited differing levels of decline and mortality. Between 1962 and 1991 the importance value (IV) of white oak at University State Forest increased from 20 to 56%, while that of black oak and, to a lesser degree, scarlet oak decreased. Over the same 28 year period, the IV of white oak at Pioneer Forest increased from 36 to 49%, but the importance of black oak remained constant, and the importance value of scarlet oak decreased only slightly. Sapling densities of the red oak species group (black oak, scarlet oak, and southern red oak) ranged from 2-43/ha at University State Forest and from 0 to 30/ha at Pioneer Forest. These densities were low when compared to those of the corresponding white oak species group (white oak and post oak) sapling densities for University State Forest (16-51/ha) and Pioneer Forest (0-148/ha). Recent recruitment does suggest, however, that red oak group species will have a continued importance in these forests; the densities of black oak and scarlet oak seedlings (880-1665/ha at University State Forest and 408-1167/ha at Pioneer Forest) were comparable to those of post oak and white oak (1187--1474/ha at University State Forest and 233-2625/ha at Pioneer Forest).


Morganella morganii is a rare etiologic agent of septic arthritis (1–3; M. P. Jarrett and A. I. Grayzel, Letter, Arthritis Rheum. 23:128-129, 1980). In 1980, a 75-year-old man with a history of osteoarthritis had the first case of M. morganii septic arthritis of the knee. He responded to intravenous antibiotics, but his course was complicated by the development of synovitis secondary to gout and pseudogout (Jarrett and Grayzel, letter). The second case, in 1986, was that of a 53-year-old woman with severely deforming rheumatoid arthritis who responded well to antibiotics and closed drainage and subsequently underwent successful arthroplasty (1). The third case report described a 95-year-old man with a history of recurrent rectal adenocarcinoma who was hospitalized for evaluation of a persistent right shoulder effusion. The patient had slow resolution of the joint effusion when treated with antibiotics (3). Our patient was a 60-year-old man with a known case of diabetes mellitus and peptic ulceration who presented with a swollen knee and a discharging sinus for the last 1.5 months. There was no history of trauma, and he denied having fevers, chills, rigors, rash, or malaise. On examination, there was a discharging sinus with an ulcer 3 by 3cm in size on the anterior aspect of the right knee. There was marked limitation of motion, with limitation of flexion to 50 to 70°. Pus exuded from the sinus was cultured and grew M. morganii. Laboratory data included a hematocrit value of 38%, a white blood cell count of 9,000 cells/mm 3 (74% polymorphonuclear cells and 12% lymphocytes), and a fasting blood sugar level of 160 mg% (normal value, 80 to 100 mg%). Roentgenograms showed degenerative changes with widening of the joint space and periarticular soft-tissue swelling. The patient was treated with drainage of the swelling and the antibiotics to which the organism was susceptible in vitro. The M. morganii strain was found to be sensitive to amikacin, cefuroxime, cefadroxil, and cefotaxime and resistant to amoxicillin and cefoperazone. The patient was started empirically on lincomycin (500 mg three times a day) and later shifted to cefadroxil (500 mg twice a day), followed by cefuroxime (500 mg twice a day). Despite open drainage and the cover of antibiotics with daily dressing for 17 days, the infection did not respond to the antibiotics. Repeat culture revealed pure growth of M. morganii with the same sensitivity pattern. Seeing no improvement, the attendants took the patient to a tertiary-care hospital, where amputation was advised. However, nature took its own course when the patient developed a peptic ulcer perforation and succumbed to it. Patients with gram-negative infections usually develop warm, erythematous, painful joints associated with fever and peripheral leukocytosis. However, patients with Proteus mirabilis and M. morganii infections may be culture positive and show few articular or systemic symptoms or signs of infection. In contrast to infections caused by P. mirabilis, M. morganii infections can be effectively treated by antibiotic therapy and closed drainage (1). But this was not seen in our case, where the joint, despite the open drainage and antibiotic cover, was almost completely destroyed. This could be attributed to the predisposing factor, diabetes, in this patient. Septic arthritis should therefore be given particular attention when present in an elderly patient with an additional predisposing factor. We thank the Central Research Institute, Kasauli (Himachal Pradesh), India, for reconfirming the identity of the strain. We also thank Narottam Sharma, from the Regional Institute of English Chandigarh, for proofreading of the manuscript.


The embodiment of the utility model discloses a hardboard structured camera module capable of being directly welded on a main board, which comprises a camera module lens, a photosensitive chip mounted on the camera module lens, a camera module lens seat mounting the camera module lens and a PCB substrate carrying the camera module lens seat, wherein a copper plated half hole is formed on the PCB substrate. In the hardboard structured module capable of being directly welded on the main board of a mobile phone disclosed by the embodiment of the utility model, the PCB type camera module does not need a connector or an FPC during the assembly and connection process with the main board of the mobile phone, and the welding way is adopted for realizing the connection with the main board of the mobile phone, thereby being very firmly welded on the main board of the mobile phone and improving the anti-drop performance of the product.


Based on questionnaire survey in Ningbo University,we analysis the present situation of political education for postgraduates then we give some measures to be taken in strengthening in the political education for postgraduates so as to raise their quality of moral ethics.


Recent work on Locator/ID Separation has focused primarily on the
control plane protocols concerned with finding Identifier-to-Locator
mappings. However, experience gained with a trial deployment of a
system designed to implement Locator/ID Separation has revealed two
general classes of problems which must be resolved after the mapping
is found: The Locator Path Liveness Problem and the State
Synchronization Problem. These problems have implications for the
data plane as well as the control plane.


In order to improve the accuracy of error estimation in inertial navigation system, a perspective of complex measuring system with self-organizing approaches and genetic algorithms was put forward. The approach of modifying nonlinear Kalman filter utilizing self-organizing algorithm with redundant trends was described, which can decrease the calculated capacity during the calculation process of nonlinear complex models. Meanwhile, modification of nonlinear Kalman filter, utilizing genetic algorithm as a reference signal to calculate the offset, was also realized, which can accurately reflects the component characteristics of the studied measuring complex system. It turned out that the error estimation accuracy of inertial navigation system was practically improved by 8%-12% with the application of self-organizing approaches and genetic algorithms.


Abstract. A core goal of sustainable agricultural water resources management is to implement lower water footprint (WF), i.e., higher water productivity, while maximising economic benefits in crop production. However, previous studies mostly focused on crop water productivity from a single physical perspective. Little attention is paid to synergies and trade-offs between water consumption and economic value creation of crop production. Distinguishing between blue and green water composition, grain and cash crops, and irrigation and rainfed production mode in China, this study calculates the production-based WF (PWF) and derives the economic value-based WF (EWF) of 14 major crops in 31 provinces for each year over 2001–2016. The synergy evaluation index (SI) of PWF and EWF is proposed to evaluate quantitatively the synergies and trade-offs between the two. Results show that both the PWF and EWF of most considered crops in China decreased with the increase of crop yield and prices. The high (low) values of both PWF and EWF of grain crop tended to obvious cluster in space and there existed a huge difference between blue and green water in economic value creation. Moreover, the SI revealed a serious incongruity between PWFs and EWFs both in grain and cash crops. Negative SI values occurred mostly in northwest China for grain crops, and overall more often and with lower values for cash crops. Unreasonable regional planting structure and crop prices resulted in this incongruity, suggesting the need to promote regional coordinated development to adjust the planting structure according to local conditions and to regulate crop prices rationally.


In This Issue 2 Editor's Notes; New Product Introductions 3 An Introduction to MEMS Vibration Monitoring 6 Complex Power-Supply Sequencing Made Easy 9 Creative Compensation Enables Tiny Amplifier to Drive 200-mW Loads 13 Simple Circuit Allows Backward Compatibility for Digital Power Controllers 16 Capacitance-to-Digital Converter Facilitates Level Sensing in Diagnostic Systems 19 Current-Output Circuit Techniques Add Versatility to Your Analog Toolbox


As a non-destructive testing and analysis technology, the neutron multiplicity measurement method plays an important role in the field of arms control verification. Great progress has been achieved in the fast neutron multiplicity measurement of plutonium, while there are few studies that have been conducted in the fast neutron multiplicity measurement of uranium. In this study, a set of fast neutron multiplicity measurement devices based on the BC501A liquid scintillation detector was built, and two small mass uranium samples with low density were studied. It is found that the change of the total neutron counting rate is irregular, and the coincidence counting rate will increase linearly with the mass. It is due to the energy loss caused by the scatter of the Am-Li source neutron with the sample, resulting in part of the neutron energy below the threshold. A simulation detection system is built by Geant4 to verify the reliability. On this basis, four kinds of packaging materials such as steel, copper, aluminum, and graphite were studied. The measurement results of different materials were compared and analyzed. The thickness of the material was studied, and the functional relationship curve was fitted. In this study, the fast neutron multiplicity measurement of small-mass and low-density uranium samples was carried out and verified. The influence of different packaging materials on the multiplicity measurement was analyzed, which is of great significance for the development of the fast neutron multiplicity measurement technology.


The electroimpedance sue depends on volumes of of brain tisblood, extracellular and intracellular fluids. Thus the registration of impedance makes it possible to study changes of water balance of brain tissue. This method Can provide rather high space and time resolution when electrodes are implanted into the brain. We proposed two techniques: the measurement of brain impedance and the analysis of the pulse waves of the brain impedance (REGi)


Reaction of 1-nitroso-2-naphthol (Hnn) with [Ru(PPh3)3Cl2] in 2 : 1 mole ratio in refluxing ethanol affords two geometrical isomers of a complex of type [Ru(PPh3)2(nn)2], in which the 1-nitroso-2-naphtholate ligand is coordinated to ruthenium as a mono-anionic bidentate N,O-donor. The two isomers are labeled as ttt and cct, indicating respectively trans-trans-trans and cis-cis-trans disposition of the N, O and P donor atoms around the metal center. Structures of both the ttt and cct isomers of the [Ru(PPh3)2(nn)2] complex have been determined by X-ray crystallography. This cct isomer is found to be energetically less stable, and is quantitatively convertible into the thermodynamically more stable ttt isomer simply by refluxing in ortho-xylene. Both the tttand cct-[Ru(PPh3)2(nn)2] complexes are diamagnetic, and show characteristic 1H NMR spectra. They also show intense absorptions in the visible and ultraviolet regions. Cyclic voltammetry on the tttand cct-[Ru(PPh3)2(nn)2] complexes shows an oxidative response near 0.8 V vs SCE and a reductive response within –0.3 to –0.5 V vs SCE. DFT calculations have been carried out to explain the electronic spectral, as well as electrochemical, observations.


Computer program calculates thermodynamic properties from basic spectroscopic data. Program capacity is a mixture of 100 different species composed of ten different elements. The output is a complete thermodynamic and chemical description of the gas.


Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the spontaneous language samples of children with specific language impairment (SLI) to those of typically developing children for frequency of verb particle produc- tion and frequency and errors types associated with verb particle production. Method: The language transcripts of 10 children with SLI (age 3;8 (years;months) to 5;7) were compared to those of 10 typically developing children (age 2;11 to 3;4) matched for mean length of utterance (MLU). The transcripts were analyzed for the number of verb particles produced and errors occurring with the verb particles attempted. Three types of errors were identified: verb particle constructions, subject argument omissions, and object argument omissions. Results: No significant difference was noted between groups I


Objective To analyze existing or potential ethical issues in clinical genetic trials and practice.Method A questionnaire survey of 22 medical institutions in Shanghai and key informant interviews were conducted.Results 7 medical institutions had clinical genetic trials or services;the average number of genetic tests provided by public hospitals in 2011 was 1.75 times as high as that in 2009;31% persons who worked on clinical genetic trials and/or services in the public hospitals had ethics training in the past year and no health examination institutions provided ethics training to their employees;and 3 institutions conducting clinical genetic testing did not require informed consent before providing them.Conclusion Clinical genetic trials and practice have developed rapidly in recent years but are still not widely used in Shanghai.Genetic testing should be promoted to apply in clinics,and their application should be regulated according to ethical norms and criteria.


In this paper, we report studies on photorecombination (PR) processes for highly charged W ions. The experiment was performed at Shanghai electron beam ion trap by employing a fast electron beam-energy scanning technique. The KLL dielectronic recombination (DR) resonance strengths for He- up to O-like W ions were determined. The strong interference effect between DR and radiative recombination (RR) was observed and the Fano factor, which measures the interference degree, was determined for the main resonances of ground state He-, Be-, B-, C-, N-, and O-like W ions. In addition, we show experimentally that an autoionizing state can have both Fano and Lorentzian behavior naturally, depending on the processes involved. A fully relativistic configuration interaction method implemented in the flexible atomic code was employed to calculate DR, RR processes and also the inference effect.


Background: Antenatal exposure to histological chorioamnionitis affects neonatal outcome. Early identification of affected infants could potentiate early intervention. However, in clinical practice the final results of placental pathology may take weeks. Methods: Placental pathology and relevant clinical data were obtained from consecutively born singleton infants (gestational age < 32 wks) in the Erasmus MC. Prediction models for histological chorioamnionitis (HC) and for HC with fetal involvement (FI) were constructed using clinical variables known at birth, in a backward logistic regression model. ROC curves were computed using model-derived predictives. Results: Of the 216 included infants 84 had HC, of whom 51 had FI. HC+FI was best predicted by a combination of low gestational age, clinical chorioamnionitis, PPROM, absence of preeclampsia and not being small for gestational age (Table 1; AUC(95%CI)=0.93(0.89-0.96), p<.001). HC was best predicted by the same model with addition of placental weight (Table 2; AUC(95%CI)=0.95(0.93-0.98); p<.001). At a set specificity of 90%, sensitivity of the model is 82% for HC+FI and 85% for HC. Conclusion: HC and HC+FI can be predicted fairly accurately by a simple set of clinical variables available at birth. External validation is required to confirm the usefulness of these models. This may potentiate early intervention to improve future outcome in affected infants.


Moral claims not only purport to be true, they also purport to guide our choices. This book presents a new theory of normative judgment, the "standard-based theory," which offers a schematic account of the truth conditions of normative propositions of all kinds, including moral propositions and propositions about reasons. The heart of Copp's approach to moral propositions is a theory of the circumstances under which corresponding moral standards qualify as justified, the "society-centered theory." He argues that because any society needs a social moral code in order to enable its members to live together successfully, and because it would be rational for a society to choose such a code, certain moral codes, and the standards they include, are justified. According to the standard-based theory then, if certain moral standards are indeed justified, corresponding moral propositions may be true. Copp's approach to morality and explaining normativity and the truth conditions of moral claims, raises a number of important issues in moral theory, as well as in metaphysics and the philosophy of language.


Focal aphasic syndromes are found only occasionally in si tuations of generalized insult to the nervous system of t h e type produced by in fec t ion , metabolic disturbance, or raised intracranial pressure. The language disturbance that occurs most of ten in these situations is anomia. This is of ten accompanied b y impairmen t of at tent ion and immediate memory and by fluctuations of the level of consciousness. The clinical picture is clearly distinguishable f rom that of a focal disturbance of higher nervous function. This relative infrequency, therefore, is one of the reasons that has prompted us to describe and discuss the following case, the o the r being tha t t he occurrence of these disturbances in this particular patient may be relevant to current i n v e s t i g a t i o n on the neurologic structures underlying language, particularly the role of the dominant angular gyrus in reading and writing activities.


3 Introduction Introduction Art reproductions are viewed under various lighting conditions, even during image evaluation. These conditions range from light booth to office to museum shop to living room to gallery. Consequently, it is important to understand and to quantify the significance of this effect. A recently completed project sponsored by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation evaluated current practices in fine art image reproduction (see Frey & Farnand, 2011). This project consisted of a series of experiments in which a set of objective targets and pieces of artwork in various media were imaged by participating museums and prints were made from the delivered image files. One of these pieces of artwork was a platinum print donated by the Image Permanence Institute (IPI) at RIT. Over the course of the experimentation, it was determined that the reproduction quality of this photographic print was particularly sensitive to the viewing illumination. Empirical evidence suggested that perceived reproduction quality shifted even among different D50 light booths. Measurement results obtained by Gamm, reported in Part A of this monograph, indicate that, while some of the light booths deviated from the ISO Standard specifications, the differences should not have been large enough to result in visual differences in the reproductions. However, visual differences were observed in the Mellon study. To further explore this result, the experiment was repeated with a variety of monochrome photographs similar to, and including, the platinum print used in the Mellon study. The photographs, selected from IPI's collection, were imaged by three cultural heritage institutions, printed on a variety of equipment at RIT, and visually assessed under two D50 lighting set ups. Quantifying the illumination differences in D50 viewing booths in use today is important for those involved with fine art reproduction workflows. It is useful for those attempting to generate what are inherently metameric matches to have an understanding of how much variation in image appearance may result from differences in illumination. Toward this end, a survey of D50 light booths used throughout the print production workflow was conducted. Introduction CIE illuminant D50 is widely accepted by the graphic arts industry worldwide as the reference illuminant of choice for the critical evaluation of prints. However, CIE illuminant D50 is not physically realizable as a source, and must be simulated for use in viewing booths. Illuminant D50 is most commonly simulated using linear fluorescent lamps with correlated color temperatures of 5000K. Yet, …


Wherever cross-cultural philosophical commentary is going on, it is not long before a particular hermeneutic attitude manifests itself with considerable force. It is an attitude expressed in a thesis that emphasises the difficulty or impossibility of translating key philosophical terms. Here is an example taken randomly from a recent book on the comparative ethics of war: 'Dharma is one of those Sanskrit words that defy all attempts at an exact rendering in English or any other tongue.' For all I know, this claim may hold good of 'dharma'; but similar claims are frequently made in other cases and should be called into question. The hermeneutic attitude that I challenge may be found both in explicit claims about the untranslatability of key philosophical language and, perhaps more pervasively, in the practice of accompanying a translation with a transliteration of the original language – as if the translation itself were in counterfeit and untrustworthy coin. I call this thesis 'semantic pluralism'. Key philosophical terms in a particular tradition and language have a meaning which can only be captured within that context; translation into another context can at best be only imperfect. Whether this thesis applies to all such terms or only to some, I leave open, and also what the precise linguistic status of the recalcitrant elements is. Note that I am speaking here of a hermeneutic attitude rather than a clear doctrine. I characterise my antipluralist thesis, by contrast, as the claim that such translation is always possible. If that is right, it has practical implications for the conduct and presentation of philosophical discussion between cultures. I shall proceed to defend my claim, first by a general and abstract philosophical argument, and then by illustration from apparent counter-instances in European philosophy. My general argument invokes considerations that have been elaborated by Wittgenstein and Donald Davidson. We will imagine two speakers, A and B, of a language that superficially appears to be single but in reality may not be; and we will call the languages spoken by each language A and language B, without prejudice to how many languages (one or two) are


To distribute relief commodities for post-earthquake,developed a stochastic demand multi-objective LRP model with multi-commodities multi-modal transportation to determine the locations of relief distribution centers in the disaster area, as well as the relief vehicle routes in each period during relief process. According to the characteristics of the model,proposed an improved genetic algorithm based on dynamic programming and weighted coefficient transformation,and adopted a punished function method to deal with restriction in model. The results of a numerical example show availability of the proposed model and algorithm,and it can help the emergency management department provide assistant decision-making.


This article examines some of the ways in which colonial identities were constructed and maintained with reference to food and eating in the Netherlands Indies (colonial Indonesia) during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It argues that food was an important focus for the cultural performance of Europeanness among colonists with aspirations to European status. Specific notions of class and race informed these social performances, and degrees of competence distinguished between eaters. To eat 'European' often meant publicly avoiding Indonesian dishes, even if they were enjoyed privately, and learning to appreciate foods from 'home'. Class and cultural identity intersected with race at the colonial table.


Abstract Synthesis and structural properties of nickel oxide-gadolinium doped ceria (GDC) nanocomposite via sol–gel/electrospinning route were investigated for the first time, and the results were compared with those obtained through gel combustion method. Various analytical techniques, such as XRD, SEM, EDS, TEM and BET, were used to characterise the prepared samples. The electrospinning process resulted in the nanocomposite powder with specific surface area of 145·8 m2 g−1, whereas in the case of the gel combustion method, it was about 9·6 m2 g−1. The bulk densities of the nanocomposites prepared via electrospinning and gel combustion methods were found to be 4·08 and 4·8 g cm−3 respectively. Finally, an attempt was made to evaluate the electrochemical properties of the electrolyte supported Ni–GDC/yttria stabilised zirconia (YSZ)/lanthanum strontium manganate (LSM) cell, using the fibre derived material as the anode and hydrogen as the fuel. The results indicated that the maximum power density and the open circuit voltage of the cell were 55 mW cm−2 and 1·2 V at 800°C respectively.


The present study was undertaken to evaluate the antiradical and antioxidant properties possess by oxovanadium(IV) complexes. Free radicals are key factor to damage the biomolecules, cell organelles, and cell and tissues, which are responsible for metabolic as well as other chronic diseases. In our study, we find that VO-Threonine is most potent DPPH scavenging while VO-Glutamine shows least potent DPPH free radical scavenger. Further the inhibition patter of ABTS free radical, VO-Histidine complex shows is most effective inhibitor to quench the ABTS free radical among the twenty oxovanadium(IV) free radical. L-Cystine amino acid was the good antioxidant activity in comparison to others amino acids while VO-Lysine demonstrates the valuable antioxidant properties. Further we concluded that there no significant correlation between antiradical and antioxidant compounds.


ABSTRACT Nowadays, fluorescent dyes have become significant tools in immunostaining experiments. Different fluorescent dyes have various physicochemical traits. Some of these traits, for instance photobleaching and photostability, are applicable calibers in such experiments as immunocytochemistry (ICC), immunohistochemistry (IHC), and flow cytometry (FC). In this study, photobleaching, photostability, and mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of FITC (fluorescein isothiocyanate)- and Dylight488- conjugated Herceptin, the humanized anti Her2 monoclonal antibody drug, were examined. After conjugation of FITC and Dylight488 to Herceptin, their degree of labeling (DOL) was calculated by a spectrophotometer. Photobleaching, photostability, and MFI of conjugates were subsequently investigated by ICC and FC on BT-474 cells. Dylight488 labeled Herceptin revealed higher fluorescent lifetime and photostability than FITC conjugated Herceptin.


Security problem is one of many important aspect in information system. In communications will be message sending to another people. So, definitly those message must arrive safely. An information generally should only be shown for certain people, it is very important to prevent message's security to fall to the wrong hands. To lessen criminal activity within data security, so cryptography can be use as the right solution. In this research, Chaos teory with logistic Map will be use to generate keys randomly and long. Then those keys implemented to Stream Cipher algorithm and Electronic Code Book (ECB). With these Chaos teory, random keys will be generated and key's length will be same with the plaintext in Stream Cipher. While in ECB, a random key's length will be added so weakness can be covered. From this research's result, Chaos teory with Logistic Map can make remembering random and long keys easier. Other than that, this research also developing in some certain iteration number which was generated by Logistic Map can be chossen as key's first iteration number, so in keys generation, variation and possibility in keys guessing will be increased. Keyword : cryptography, chaos, logistic map, generate key, stream cipher, electronic code book


This paper aims to refine and expand the theoretical and application framework of higher-dimensional digital chaotic system (HDDCS). Topological mixing for HDDCS is strictly proved theoretically at first. Topological mixing implies Devaney's definition of chaos in a compact space, but not vice versa. Therefore, the proof of topological mixing promotes the theoretical research of HDDCS. Then, a general design method for constructing HDDCS via loop-state contraction algorithm is given. The construction of the iterative function uncontrolled by random sequences (hereafter called iterative function) is the starting point of this research. On this basis, this paper put forward a general design method to solve the construction problem of HDDCS, and several examples illustrate the effectiveness and feasibility of this method. The adjacency matrix corresponding to the designed HDDCS is used to construct the chaotic Echo State Network (ESN) for predicting Mackey-Glass time series. Compared with other ESNs, the chaotic ESN has better prediction performance and is able to accurately predict a much longer period of time.


In this interview, Alan Singer provides a comprehensive review of the field of American education. He discusses it's beginnings and current concerns. He responds to questions about school reform and educational issues.


We study complex eigenvalues of large symmetric random matrices of the form , where both and are real symmetric, is a random Gaussian and is such that when . When the model can be used to describe the universal statistics of S-matrix poles (resonances) in the complex energy plane. We derive the ensuing distribution of the resonance widths which generalizes the well known distribution to the case of overlapping resonances. We also consider a different class of `almost real' matrices when is random and uncorrelated with .


Aims. We study the coevolution between the black hole accretion rate (BHAR) and the star formation rate (SFR) in different phases of galaxy life: main-sequence star-forming galaxies, quiescent galaxies, and starburst galaxies at different cosmic epochs.
Methods. We exploited the unique combination of depth and area in the COSMOS field and took advantage of the X-ray data from the Chandra COSMOS-Legacy survey and the extensive multiwavelength ancillary data presented in the COSMOS2015 catalog, including in particular the UVista Ultra-deep observations. These large datasets allowed us to perform an X-ray stacking analysis and combine it with detected sources in a broad redshift interval (0.1 <  z <  3.5) with unprecedented statistics for normal star-forming, quiescent, and starburst galaxies. The X-ray luminosity was used to predict the black holeAR, and a similar stacking analysis on far-infrared Herschel maps was used to measure the corresponding obscured SFR for statistical samples of sources in different redshifts and stellar mass bins.
Results. We focus on the evolution of the average SFR-stellar mass (M*) relation and compare it with the BHAR-M* relation. This extends previous works that pointed toward the existence of almost linear correlations in both cases. We find that the ratio between BHAR and SFR does not evolve with redshift, although it depends on stellar mass. For the star-forming populations, this dependence on M* has a logarithmic slope of ∼0.6 and for the starburst sample, the slope is ∼0.4. These slopes are both at odds with quiescent sources, where the dependence remains constant (log(BHAR/SFR) ∼ −3.4). By studying the specific BHAR and specific SFR, we find signs of downsizing for M* and black hole mass (MBH) in galaxies in all evolutionary phases. The increase in black hole mass-doubling timescale was particularly fast for quiescents, whose super-massive black holes grew at very early times, while accretion in star-forming and starburst galaxies continued until more recent times.
Conclusions. Our results support the idea that the same physical processes feed and sustain star formation and black hole accretion in star-forming galaxies while the starburst phase plays a lesser role in driving the growth of the supermassive black holes, especially at high redshift. Our integrated estimates of the M* − MBH relation at all redshifts are consistent with independent determinations of the local M* − MBH relation for samples of active galactic nuclei. This adds key evidence that the evolution in the BHAR/SFR is weak and its normalization is relatively lower than that of local dynamical M* − MBH relations.


The incorporation of Multiterminal High Voltage Direct Current (MTDC) grids in power transmission can be seen as a solution that will allow to increase the transmission capacity of bulk transmission systems. An important example of such a system is European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-e). Furthermore, it can enable an efficient integration of the distantly located sources of renewable energy. To ensure the secure operation of a combined power system, the Transmission System Operator (TSO) should be provided with the complete and accurate information about the state of the system. However, due to such factors as measurement errors, communication noise and unavailability of certain measurements, the measurement data should be processed by a State Estimation (SE) algorithm. This computational technique enables an efficient identification of the operating state of a system and is implemented in Energy Management Systems (EMS) of Alternating Current (AC) power systems. The objective of this thesis is to expand the existing SE technique for the case of a combined power system with AC and MTDC grids by creating an efficient and accurate SE algorithm on the base of the Weighted Least Squares (WLS) algorithm for AC power systems.


Advances in cognitive science along with modern-day smart technologies and software services that take into account our mental state will enable a software industry that is poised to meet customers' needs on the fly in new and truly individualized ways.


Cloud computing is gaining growing interest from industry, organizations and the research community. The technology promises many advantages in terms of cost saving by allowing organizations and users to remotely gain access to a huge pool of data storage and processing power. However, migrating services to cloud computing introduce new challenges in performance and service quality. Quality of service (QoS) is and has been used as a means of monitoring cloud service performance. However, QoS is based on network parameters which do not necessarily reflect users' quality of experience. This paper discusses cloud computing quality of experience as perceived by the person using the cloud-based applications and services. We also review a selected current contribution to the quality of experience (QoE). We have expert reviews undertaken to identify six key performance indicators (PKIs). Based on these six KPIs, we sent our surveys, collected feedback and analyze data to confirm that QoE measurement can meet organizational goals, user satisfaction and stakeholders' requirements.


Lignocellulosic biofuel production mainly carried out by two ways: simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) and separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF). In the present study, simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) was carried out using microwave assisted thermochemically pretreated (0.5 M NaOH for 20 minutes at 120°C in preheated oven) corn husk. Using co-cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Fusarium oxysporum, SSF process was optimized. Maximum ethanol production (6.24%, v/v) was observed after 24 h of incubation. Further for enhanced ethanol production, effect of different surfactant was carried out on SSF using co-culture strategy. It was found that addition of Tween 60 enhanced the ethanol production upto 6.38% (v/v). Further for addition enhancement of ethanol production, different co-culture strategy was adopted. It was found that maximum ethanol production (6.58% v/v) was obtained when ethanol fermentation was carried out by Fusarium oxysporum followed by Saccharomyces cerevisiae.


Review of the cosleeping literature yields a very limited body of prevalence research, only a small portion of which involves psychiatric populations. An archival records review of child and adolescent urban outpatients suggests that prevalence has been underestimated in the literature and that cosleeping is associated with child and parent anxiety and issues of separation and sleep management, rather than with inappropriate sexual contact.


We consider the problem of forecasting multi-class job flow times in a resource-sharing environment. We assume the deviation of flow times in each class from the class nominal value follows an exponential distribution with its parameter following a gamma distribution. A large simulation experiment is conducted to assess and compare the performance of the Bayes and empirical Bayes forecasting methods under differing model assumptions. Simulation results show that non-parametric empirical Bayes methods are more efficient and robust relative to the parametric empirical Bayes.


Olympic education is a cultural and social movement that reflects the desirability of certain community and exerts deeply influence on education and sports culture.Along with the coming of Beijing 2008 Olympic Game,it enters in a splendid period,it will contribute to spread Olympic culture and also help Chinese and Western culture to be more consummate contact by complementation and interaction through seriously scanning the cultural and social value of Olympic education in contemporary China.


The relationship between the stress associated with low social status and disease susceptibility is apparent in human and non-human primates. In human beings, low socioeconomic status is associated with increased mortality from all causes, increased coronary heart disease (CHD) morbidity and mortality, increased rates of depression, the prevalence of themetabolic syndrome, and central obesity (1). We have studied these relationships in female cynomolgus monkeys for many years. Like human beings, low social status (subordinate) female monkeys are more susceptible than their dominant counterparts to a number of pathological processes that result in disease, including depression and coronary artery atherosclerosis. This chapter will focus on the relationship between social status, fat distribution patterns, and two disease endpoints in adult female cynomolgus monkeys, coronary heart disease risk and depression.


The reaction between alkyl isocyanides and substituted-benzylidene Meldrum's acid derivatives in the presence of water produces 4-(alkylamino)-3-aryl-4-oxobutanoic acids in good yields.


Due to technical problems and licensing policy, number of users encourages migration from licensed to the open source operating systems. Linux, a real multitask Unix-like OS, satisfies requirements for a robust, well-supported operating system. In the paper, we are presenting strategy of transferring our environmental monitoring applications to the open code platform. User experiment "Urban environmental monitoring" performed within the INES project is targeted to the automatic environmental monitoring in Slovenia. INES is a project in the 5. Framework program of European Union. Its main intention is encouragement of open source code use in small and middle size European companies. Environmental information system (EIS) is described in detail. It consists of a number of virtually connected automatic measuring stations. Embedded automatic measuring station based on open source operating system is presented with all software components. Software is based on Qt development tool. Software is divided in separated modules for collecting, validating, storing, distributing and presenting data. Modules are using TCP/IP communication protocol. For data storing open source database management system is used.


In this article, sintered fibrous porous metals are targeted to study the nonlinear flow resistivity and their absorption characteristics at high sound pressure levels. A method of deriving the nonlinear coefficient of the Forchheimer relation for highly porous fibrous metals is proposed by solving Oseen's equation, and a semi-empirical flow resistivity model is obtained in this article. The nonlinear absorption performance of fibrous porous metals can be predicted by employing an acoustical model for sound absorption at high sound pressure levels. The theoretical prediction agrees with experiments. The absorption mechanism of fibrous porous metals is also briefly analyzed. The method in this paper could have certain guiding significance for the design and optimization of fibrous porous metals , especially in the high sound pressure level environment.


Unlike other rights of the paternal-filial relationship, legislator does not define what is personal care of children, nor does provide its content. The absence of legal conceptualization implies that the scope of reality protected by law is not delimited. The work delimits the current content of personal care of children right-duty, starting from the analysis of five elements that combine a comprehensive conception.


A study on producing synchronous grouting materials using mucks collected in shield tunneling in different strata is carried out,so as to find new ways for the effective recycling of mucks produced in shield tunneling.The influence of the clay content and plasticity index of the mucks on the performance,mechanical properties and water dispersion resistance of the synchronous grouting materials produced is studied.The result shows that the fluidity,stability,mechanical properties and water dispersion resistance of the synchronous grouting materials produced using mucks with 10% ~ 30% clay content and 40% ~ 70% sand content meet the design requirements.For mucks with their clay and sand content outside the above-mentioned range,correction methods are proposed.Synchronous grouting materials produced using mucks collected in shield tunneling are trialed in the construction of Wuhan Metro and good results are achieved,with the accuracy of the axial line of shield driving controlled within 5 cm,and the uplifting of segment lining and the ground settlement being less than 3 cm.


Summary This investigation has established the possibility of survival of unfertilized mouse eggs with extracellular ice formation in glycerolated modified Locke's solution at −10° for periods up to 3 1/2 hours. Survival of eggs so treated was evaluated by progeny development after transplantation into foster mothers.


Information is presented to aid communities tailor an energy conservation program specifically to themselves. Existing and new buildings, procurement, employee transportation programs, street lighting systems, and energy resource recovery are discussed. Examples are given on what can and has been done in communities. (ERA citation 06:022248)


The paper studies the effect of past recessions/crises (hyper-inflation periods, financial & oil crises, terrorism etc.) on average rental income, operating expenses and taxes of downtown office building across the US. The real estate data were gathered from the BOMA Experience Exchange Reports (1960 through 2008) and include two distinct building groups (300,000 to 599,999 sf and more than 600,000 sf). This dataset was then supplemented with economic and other factors from multiple public/government databases. Two different methodologies were applied with the goal of understanding: a) the effect of economic/other factors on the aforementioned variables and b) the underlying cyclicality patterns which aid in the prediction of future trends until 2020. The results indicate that increases in the square feet/worker affects all variables and recessions have a lasting effect on operating expenses and taxes of the smaller group of buildings. Increases in crude oil prices also seem to decrease the income of both building groups. The cyclicality modeling reveals 19 to 25 year cycle for income, expenses and taxes of both groups, with a decrease of income levels being predicted until 2011 and a peak estimated for 2016. In contrast, operating expenses and taxes are expected to increase especially after 2012. Introduction Economic, real estate, oil and other crises can cause significant lack of confidence and recessions, which eventually affect office markets. Being in the midst of a financial crisis makes this paper timely because it studies past crises and their effects on downtown office market trends across the US. This retrospective look of past crises and their effects on office markets is pivotal in the estimation of current short and medium-term market responses. A series of researchers analyze the various causes and effects of past crises; among them, Blomberg and Hess (2002) who looked at the relationship between recessions and internal as well as external conflicts in a large sample of countries (152) from 1950s to 1992; they concluded that the risk of conflict increases after a recession. Blanchard and Galf (2007) explored the difference


Nutrient paucity due to unavailability of quality food sources is a major impediment to the progress in improvement in the field of human nutrition. Phytic acid is a major anti nutritional factor that binds with cationic nutrients like zinc and iron, and makes them unavailable for human intestinal absorption. Zinc and iron are among the important nutrients required for human growth and development. This study was aimed to know the effect of cooking on nutrient availability with respect to relative phytic acid contents. Seeds of five different economically important food crops namely peanut, sunflower, soybean, pigeon pea and rice were used. Reduced phytic acid content was observed in cooked seeds of peanut (47 %), soybean (52 %), sunflower (56.5 %), pigeon pea (49.5 %) and rice (47.9 %). However, soybean and rice zinc contents and peanut, pigeon pea and rice iron contents were increased in cooked seeds. The mean nutrient availability in cooked and noncooked seeds was statistically non-significant (p < 0.05). The cooking treatment significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the inherent phytic acid content in seeds besides soaking and germination treatments, although the phytic acid break down did not show increased nutrients content as expected in all food crops.


Abstract The concept of Wick product is strongly related to the underlying Brownian motion we have fixed on the probability space. Via the Girsanov's theorem we construct a family of new Brownian motions, obtained as translations of the original one, and to each of them we associate a Wick product. This produces a family of Wick products, named γ-Wick products, parameterized by the performed translations. We aim to describe this family of products. We also define a new family of stochastic integrals, which are related in a natural way to the γ-Wick products.


Objective To study the chromosomal abnormality and Y chromosome microdeletion of the male with infertility. Methods Karyotype analysis was carried out in sperm disease patients with 369 cases of azoospermia,128 cases of severe oligospermia,108 cases were carried out detection of AZF microdeletion on ychromosome. Results There was 22. 73% about the abnormality of chromosome in azoospermia group,6. 57%about abnormal euchromosome, 9. 34% about chromosome polymorphism. There was 1. 56% about the abnormality of chromosome,1. 56% about abnormal euchromosome,4. 69% about chromosome polymorphism in the patients with severe oligozoospermia group. There was 2. 70% about chromosome polymorphism in the healthy control group. There were statistically significant about the chromosome abnormalities( P 0. 05). There was 7cases( 7. 69%) with Y chromosome microdeletions in the azoospermia patients. Conclusions The male sterility is closely related to abnormal chromosome karyotype and Y chromosome microdeletion.


The invention relates to a technology for treating super heavy oil sewage through the heat pump evaporation method. The technology comprises the following steps: pretreating super heavy oil sewage generated by SAGD, sending to a mixing reaction tank to mix and add medicine, pressurizing with a booster pump, exchanging heat with a heat exchanger, sending to an evaporator tower, then compressing with a steam compressor and performing heat exchange treatment in the evaporator tower, and outputting the obtained distilled water, condensed water and steam through different pipelines. The technology of the invention is suitable for raw water with wide range of water quality, and can be not only used for the advanced treatment of high temperature super heavy oil sewage, but also for the heat recovery common thick oil sewage treatment; and the technology can be used to fully utilize the high temperature of the super heavy oil sewage and organically combine the sewage treatment with the comprehensive utilization of heat energy, thus achieving the effect of high quality and high efficiency and the aim of saving energy and reducing consumption.


In recent years,the importance of the theory of foreign language teaching has been greatly emphasized in foreign language teaching.Meanwhile,multimedia computer assisting learning(MCAL) is being accepted by teachers increasingly.The author of this paper is making an attempt to study the application of MCAL in the theory of foreign language reading teaching.


The Chinese directional motion verbs wang往 and lai来can be glossed in English as 'go' and 'come', and the distinction between 'go' and 'come' in English is comparable to that between wang and lai in Chinese. Their usage in the YiChing is described and analyzed in this article. In the YiChing, wang and lai frequently co-occur in the same sentence, as well as occurring singly elsewhere. Based on a corpus analysis of the YiChing, combined with qualitative interpretive analysis, this article proposes that the majority of co-occurring usages of wang and lai are metaphorical. Metaphorical uses can also be found in the single usages of the two verbs. These metaphors are informed by the cultural practices and values that form the context for the YiChing as a cultural artifact as well as a classical text. Further, these directional motion verbs are based on metaphorical extensions that lead to their semantic changes (metaphors are based on the motion). Thus, the article further analyzes the role of metaphor and cultural context in the semantic changes to the directional motion verbs wang and lai.


Background: Abnormalities in serum lipids and lipoprotein levels with essential hypertension are vital independent causal factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The coexistence of these factors has a synergistic effect in heightening the risk of cardiovascular events. The aim of the study was to evaluate the pattern of dyslipidemia among hypertensives and to determine some of its correlations in patients attending a tertiary hospital in South South Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 544 eligible hypertensive patients attending the Cardiology Clinic, University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), Uyo, Nigeria, over a period of 6 months. Fasting lipids, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were evaluated. Results: Overall, 60.0% of the hypertensive patients had dyslipidemia, with 43.4.0% having high TC, 30.3% high LDL-C, 20.8% elevated TG, and 12.9% low HDL-C, respectively. There was a significant relationship between gender and lipoproteins, with women having significantly higher lipoproteins (TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, and non-HDL-C) than men. Women also had more measures of obesity with a higher body mass index and waist circumference. TC and non-HDL had a significant association with both systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP). Altogether, 43.4% of the hypertensives had poorly controlled BP and significantly higher atherogenic lipoproteins (TC, LDL-C, and non-HDL-C). Conclusion: This study has demonstrated the relatively high prevalence of dyslipidemia among hypertensive patient in this population. High plasma TC is the most dominant pattern of dyslipidemia. Hypertensive patients with poorly controlled BP have worse atherogenic lipoprotein values and are more likely predisposed to ASCVD.


Parameter uncertainty plays a significant role in decision making regarding groundwater contamination and remediation, especially for non-conservative chemicals. This paper presents a probabilistic screening model to accommodate parameter uncertainty in the aquifer media, and physical–chemical parameters, using the first-order reliability method (FORM). The application of the developed model is illustrated on transport of benzene in groundwater. The results matched those obtained using the Monte Carlo simulation method, with a smaller number of functional evaluations. Parametric studies were conducted to estimate the effect of various parameters on the results.


Using a combined quantum-mechanical\char21{}classical method, we study the collisions of small Na clusters with large Ar clusters as a model for cluster deposition. We work out basic mechanisms by systematic variation of the collision energy, system sizes, and orientations. The soft Ar material is found to serve as an extremely efficient shock absorber. The collisional energy is quickly transferred at first impact, and the Na clusters are always captured by the Ar surface. The distribution of the collision energy into the Ar system proceeds very fast at the velocity of sound. The relaxation of shapes goes at a slower pace using times of several picoseconds. It produces a substantial rearrangement of the Ar system, while the Na cluster remains rather robust.