. The North-east Australian Coastal Catchments (NACC) are host to nationally significant wetland complexes, many of which, are ecologically connected to the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area. However, these wetlands are subject to ongoing and increasing pressure from human activities such as the intensification of land use. Current wetland condition is monitored across the NACC, being assessed against a pre-development static baseline, which includes the use of Regional Ecosystem mapping of remnant and pre-clearing vegetation to provide a broadscale present-day biotic reference. Two sediment cores from wetlands within the Fitzroy Basin were analysed to establish a history of wetland variability and to identify the potential influence of climate and land-use changes over the past , 1000 years. Our results have provided long-term environmental reconstructions, showing wetland histories influenced by natural climate variability (El Nin˜o–Southern Oscillation, the Little Ice Age), and environmental changes associated with European land-use intensification. This study is the first of its kind for wetlands located within the Fitzroy Basin.


Acute pancreatitis is a common condition encountered in emergency general surgical presentations. The severity of this condition can range from mild to severe and potentially life threatening in up to 20% of cases. Intravenous fluids are the cornerstone of management however there is very little guidance and poor quality evidence regarding optimal intravenous fluid administration. Aim to establish current clinical practice regarding the rate of intravenous fluid administration in acute pancreatitis and the effect this has on patient morbidity and mortality.
 A prospective multi-centre audit of patients presenting with acute pancreatitis in the North East of England (Sixty days recruitment with 30-day follow-up, November 2020 – February 2021). Patients aged 18 years or above with acute pancreatitis will be included. Data will be collected on intravenous fluid administration within 72 hours of admission. The primary outcome measure will be admission to HDU/ITU with secondary end-points including 30-day mortality, length of stay, radiological evidence of necrosis, and evidence of organ failure.
 Data collection has commenced across nine sites with over 150 patients recruited to date. The results of this study will be prepared in accordance with guidelines set by the STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) statement for observational studies. Data will be analysed using SPSS. Statistical significance will be defined as a p value of ≤ 0.05.
 Data collection will be completed in February 2021. Pending the results of phase one, an RCT will be designed to determine the optimal rate of intravenous fluids for improved patient outcomes.


fear of government intervention in their everyday lives. In short, Lee's driving thesis loses its credibility with a failure to carefully review existing research and an uncritical use of primary sources. For the popular reader, Lee offers an intriguing tale of mysterious links and a sinister cast of international characters. Lee tantalizes the reader with real possibilities, real sources, real people, and real problems. For the more discerning reader, Lee is a disappointment. David A. Meier Departmentof Social Sciences Dickinson State University


As one of the world's largest recipients of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), China is emerging as a key global player in Research and Development (R&D). This rapid increase in R&D investment is mainly attributed to the effort of strengthening the indigenous innovation capacity of domestic actors and, to an increasing extent, to the process of globalization of R&D with multinational enterprises as key driving force. This paper provides a detailed overview of the relative importance of foreign R&D in China based on quantitative mapping in terms of R&D inputs, outputs and local linkages in R&D-related activities, combined with an in-depth description of the nature of foreign R&D activities. Our empirical observation suggests that the growing importance of China in the globalization of R&D is more than a 'flash-in-the-pan'. On one hand, China is facing new challenges, but at the same time is attempting to seize the "window of opportunity" to compete for knowledge and human resources through structural adjustments and new policy initiatives. On the other hand, multinational enterprises from OECD countries are not only intensifying, but also diversifying their activities in a larger number of R&D intensive sectors in China. In such a rapid and dynamic development, China seems to emerge not only as an important source of R&D but also a key magnet of global R&D operations.


The term "free software" has lately became very usual on the Internet. Nevertheless, the use made of this term is very often inaccurate. In this paper the concept is defined, the main advantages of its use in the enterprise and university environments are indicated, and its main applications to the field of Information Science are sketched


SUMMARY.

1
Rates of photosynthetic oxygen evolution by Callitriche cophocarpa and Ranunculus peltatus in stream were measured on live occasions during the light period on 2 days at ambient light and ambient inorganic carbon, ambient light and saturating inorganic carbon, saturating light and ambient inorganic carbon, saturating light and saturating inorganic carbon and air-equilibrium inorganic carbon and ambient light.

2
Despite an ambient CO2 concentration of about 220 μm, which is about ten times air-equilibrium, the concentration of inorganic carbon was more limiting than light on all the occasions that rates were measured. On average, rates of photosynthesis at ambient concentrations of CO2 were about 130 and 425 μmol O2 g−1 DW h−1 for C. cophocarpa and R. peltatus, respectively. These rates as a percentage of carbon saturated rates were only about 35% for C. cophocarpa and about 60% for R. peltatus. Ambient rates as a percentage of light saturated rates were about 80% for C. cophocarpa and about 95% for R. peltatus. Only in early morning and late evening where the photon irradiance was below 160 μmol m−2 s−1 was there evidence for slight light limitation.

3
Based on results from pH-drift experiments and from rates of photosynthesis as a function of CO2 concentration in the presence and absence of HCO3−, C. cophocarpa was unable, but R. peltatus able to use HCO3− at an ambient HCO3− concentration of about 0·84 mm. The greater rates of photosynthesis at ambient CO2 concentration and the lesser limitation by inorganic carbon shown by R. peltatus compared to C. cophocarpa was the result of HCO3−-use as laboratory experiments showed that R. peltatus performed similarly to C. cophocarpa if the HCO3− concentration was reduced to 60 μm.


TITLE: Prevalence and impact of oprD mutations in Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains in 1 cystic fibrosis 2 3 Laura J. Sherrard, Bryan A. Wee, Christine Duplancic, Kay A. Ramsay, Keyur A. 4 Dave, Emma Ballard, Claire E. Wainwright, Keith Grimwood, Hanna E. Sidjabat, 5 David M. Whiley, Scott A. Beatson, Timothy J. Kidd†, Scott C. Bell† 6 7 1 QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia 8 2 Present address: School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7BL, United 9 Kingdom 10 3 School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 11 QLD 4072, Australia 12 4 Present address: Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences & Informatics, University of 13 Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4UX, United Kingdom 14 5 Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia 15 6 Present address: Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New 16 Zealand 17 7 Present address: Genome stability Laboratory, Cancer and Ageing Research Program, 18 Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Translational Research Institute, Queensland 19 University of Technology, QLD 4102, Australia 20 8 Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Queensland Children's Hospital, Brisbane, 21 QLD 4101, Australia 22 9 School of Medicine and Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold 23 Coast QLD 4222, Australia 24


The question: What is the Content of "Systems Analysis"? is not easy to answer, there being many different approaches both within and between different countries. But the question is an important one, and attempts to answer it will have a significant effect upon what systems analysis as an intellectual discipline eventually becomes. Whatever the final content of the discipline is seen to be, we may be sure that it will be affected by the work of the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria. It is therefore an important development that IIASA intends to publish, in its "International Series", monographs on the "state-of-theart"
in Applied Systems Analysis, as well as a Handbook.


This study aims to describe: 1) Internalization of advancing Islamic education through the Tahfidzul Qur'an program in Muhammadiyah Ibtidaiyah Madrasas, 2) Supporting and inhibiting factors in the internalization of advancing Islamic education through the Tahfidzul Qur'an program in Muhammadiyah Ibtidaiyah Madrasas, 3) Solutions to overcome barriers to internalization of Islamic education are advancing through the Tahfidzul Qur'an program in the Muhammadiyah Ibtidaiyah Madrasa. This type of research is descriptive qualitative using data analysis techniques in the form of data reduction, data presentation and conclusion drawing. Research data collection techniques through interviews, observation and documentation. The validity of the data is by source and technique triangulation,
2
namely the Principal, Tahfidz Coordinator and Class Teacher. The results of the study show that: 1) schools that apply the concept of Islamic education are progressing through the Tahfidzul Qur'an program namely: The aspects contained in the concept are three, namely Humanization, Liberation and Transcendence. 2) Factors supporting the concept are: The environment of the community is very supportive, the school always innovates, the guardians of the students actively participate, adequate facilities and infrastructure. The inhibiting factors of the concept are: Too many students, the vision and mission of the school have not been updated with the concept of progress, teachers and education staff are very few, there are guardians who care less about children's development. 3) The solution to overcome these inhibiting factors is to reformulate the Vision and Mission of a progressive Islamic paradigm with Muhammadiyah branch leaders, increase the number of teachers and education staff, innovate so that the concept of progressive Islamic education can be applied, condition students in learning so that the atmosphere is conducive.


An approach to heuristic knowledge reduction based on discernibility matrix is proposed. Knowledge is expressed first using discernibility matrix during the decision table's relative reduction and attributes are selected according to the elements' length in the discernibility matrix and the frequency of each attribute. It has been proved that the problem of searching minimum relative reduction is an NP hard problem. In the most cases the minimum reduction can be obtained using the proposed method. Otherwise, there must be a feasible solution. The practical results show that the approach is quick and effective in solving relative reduction problem.


This paper examines an embedded low-power technique for the single-shot measurement of narrow pulse signals. The circuit serves as an embedded diagnosis tool for the characterization of compressed pulses for ultra wideband sampling schemes, pulsed radar systems, measurements of clocks with very small duty cycles, single event transients in digital circuits, among many other applications. The circuit relies on a new fast voltage-crossing detector to convert a differential input pulse with width to be characterized, into same polarity edges separated by the pulse width to be measured. Those edges are then in turn stretched further using time amplification making them easily detectable by low-resolution time-to-digital converters (TDCs). Dynamic current generation techniques are used in the front-end detector to greatly reduce the power consumption. The proposed circuit is compact and introduces only a few tens of femtoFarad capacitive loading. The circuit was implemented in a 0.18-mum CMOS process. Experimental results confirm the feasibility of the proposed technique


Previous analysis of comparative anti‐citrullinated heat shock protein 90 (citHSP90) antibody profiles between bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and serum indicates that the lung plays a direct role in shaping the immune repertoire of rheumatoid arthritis‐associated interstitial lung disease (RA‐ILD).


The III-V semiconductor materials have been investigated for use in the terahertz range, and results are reported on heterojunction and homojunction detectors. Broad response out to 1 THz has been observed in both Nitride and Antimonide based detectors. A responsivity R of ~2.5 AAV in 1-5 THz range was observed for a GaN detector. A stronger narrower response was also observed around 6 THz due to impurity ionizations. By changing the Al fraction in the Arsenide based detectors, free-carrier response was adjusted to have a threshold frequency in the range of 2.3-20 THz. Extension of this approach to Antimonide materials could allow free-carrier detectors with thresholds near 1 THz. The mechanisms of operation in these detectors will be discussed, and potential advantages and disadvantages of the materials will be considered. Among these is the increased control in tailoring the workfimction in Antimonides, and increased THz absorption in the Nitrides. The relative advantages of n-vs. p-type structures for the THz region will also be compared. This work was supported in part by the US NSF under grant #ECS-0553051.


The non-linear induced scattering by plasma particles of right-hand and left- hand polarized electromagnetic waves propagating along the magnetic field, is studied. The non-linear Landau damping for frequencies near the ion cyclotron frequency in a weak turbulent inhomogeneous plasma is determined.


Abstract Modern engineering design optimization often uses computer simulations to evaluate candidate designs. For some of these designs the simulation can fail for an unknown reason, which in turn may hamper the optimization process. To handle such scenarios more effectively, this study proposes the integration of classifiers, borrowed from the domain of machine learning, into the optimization process. Several implementations of the proposed approach are described. An extensive set of numerical experiments shows that the proposed approach improves search effectiveness.


T Matsubara (ed) 1982 Berlin: Springer xi + 446 pp price DM100 This book falls somewhat uneasily between a conventional textbook of solid state physics and a series of specialised monographs. The central theme is the use of modern theoretical techniques and statistical mechanics.


The utility model relates to a cloth dragging device of a sewing machine. The cloth dragging device comprises a mounting frame, a swing frame, a cylinder, a driving motor, a driven rolling wheel and a speed change gear, wherein the mounting frame is fixedly connected on a machine head of the sewing machine; the swing frame can be pivoted on the mounting frame between the working position and the stand-by station in a swinging way, and the front end of the swing frame is provided with a cloth-dragging rolling wheel; the cylinder is arranged between the mounting frame and the swing frame and is used for driving the swing frame to swing between the working position and the stand-by position; the driving motor is connected with a transmission mechanism for driving the cloth-dragging rolling wheel to rotate; the driven rolling wheel and the cloth-dragging rolling wheel are oppositely arranged on a sewing platform of the sewing machine; when the swing frame is at the working position, the cloth can be compressed between the cloth-dragging rolling wheel and the driven rolling wheel and can be dragged by the cloth-dragging rolling wheel; when the swing frame is at the stand-by position, the cloth-dragging rolling wheel is far away from the driven rolling wheel; and the speed change gear is used for controlling and adjusting the rotation speed of the driving motor.


Nine households of high, medium and low income level were selected as representative household of the Taihu Lake basin, China to study the measuring method of pollutant producing coefficient (PPC) and pollutant discharge coefficient (PDC) of rural domestic sewage and organic waste. Results showed that the income level had no significant influences on TN-/TP-PPC of rural domestic sewage but substantially affected the production and TN-/TP-PDC of domestic sewage, as well as the production and TN-/TP-PPC/PDC of organic waste, which corresponded with income such that high-income farmer households produced the most and the middle income produced lesser and the low income households produced the least amount. The utilization and treatment efficiency of toilet wastewater and the comprehensive utilization rate of organic wastes, particularly the rate of livestock were the primary influencing factors of domestic sewage and waste PDC. These factors were substantially affected by agricultural income level and septic tank type.


A system is presented for the cityor county-level management of bridges located in Wyoming. Although the research work was directly focused on the state of Wyoming, the consideration involved in the system development, the procedures involved, and the final software design are generally applicable to other states that have similar demographics and bridge inventories. Selected bridge management systems (BMS) are reviewed as appropriate, and characteristics of each, along with their advantages and disadvantages, are elaborated. Several of the favorable characteristics of these systems were modified and incorporated into the present system, called WYO_BMS. The objective of this paper is to provide the general background for the development of the WYO_BMS. Details specific to the Wyoming implementation are not provided here, but are available in the final report.


Slotted waveguide antenna with wide bandwidth characteristics is designed at the 9.4-GHz frequency (X-band) for radar application. The antenna design consists of 200 narrow-wall slots with novel design of V-shaped metal reflector to enhance side lobe level (SLL) and gain. New optimized slot design results in SLL of -31.9 dB. The simulation results show 36.7 dBi antenna gain and 780 MHz bandwidth (8.67–9.45 GHz) for VSWR of 1.5.


Seventeen patients thought to have lethal osteochondrodysplasias were evaluated. Diagnosis was established through clinical evaluation, radiological studies and necropsy. Genetic counseling was provided to the affected patient's families. Specific diagnosis was confirmed in 16 cases. Nosologic diagnosis was done through clinical evaluation. However, the most efficient method for verifying the diagnosis was a skeletal radiological study. This fact corroborates the orientation of the International Classification of Osteochondrodysplasias (International Working Group on Constitutional Disease of Bone, 1992) in which a radiological criterion was adopted as the most relevant for classification of osteochondrodysplasias. An anatomopathological study was also done to detect internal anomalies, and was effective in identifying abnormalities in epiphyseal growth plate in a bone fragment study. This method had low specificity, but in two cases it was especially decisive for diagnostic differentiation.


The nucleotide sequence of the xylanase gene (xynY) from alkalophilic Bacillus sp. YC-335 was determined and analyzed. An open reading frame of 1, 062 base pairs for xynY gene was observed and encoded for a protein of 354 amino acids with a molecular weight of 38, 915. S1 nuclease mapping showed that the transcription initiation sites of the xynY gene were different in Bacillus sp. YC-335 and Escherichia coli HB101 (pYS55). S1 mapping also showed that -10 region of the xynY gene recognized by RNA polymerases of E. coli and Bacillus sp. YC-335 were TACAGT and TATGAT , respectively. A ribosome binding site sequence with the free energy of -17.0 Kcal/mol was observed 9 base pairs upstream from the unusual initiation codon, TTG. The proposed signal sequence consisted of 27 amino acids, 2 of which were basic amino acid residues and 21 were hydrophobic amino acid residues. When the amino acid sequences of xylanases were compared, Bacillus sp. YC-335 xylanase showed more than 50% homology with xylanases from B. pumilus, B. subtilis, and B. circulans.


We present an overview of recent advances in the study of energy dynamics and mechanisms for energy conversion in qubit systems with special focus on realizations in superconducting quantum circuits. We briefly introduce the relevant theoretical framework to analyze heat generation, energy transport and energy conversion in these systems with and without time-dependent driving considering the effect of equilibrium and non-equilibrium environments. We analyze specific problems and mechanisms under current investigation in the context of qubit systems. These include the problem of energy dissipation and possible routes for its control, energy pumping between driving sources and heat pumping between reservoirs, implementation of thermal machines and mechanisms for energy storage. We highlight the underlying fundamental phenomena related to geometrical and topological properties, as well as many-body correlations. We also present an overview of recent experimental activity in this field.


This paper describes a special purpose computer, the Data-sharing Control System (DCS), which was developed for multisystem data-sharing. This computer enables efficient block-level data sharing among several loosely coupled computer systems. Major architectural features incorporated into the design of the DCS are discussed in some detail, in the light of general requirements for such systems. The DCS-based loosely coupled multiprocessor architecture, together with the traditional tightly coupled multiprocessing, provides a new framework for the design of reliable large-scale database systems.


Batches of smoked sausage were made with 0 and 10% emulsion, ground to two particle sizes (6.5 and 13.0 mm) and mixed with 0, 10 and 20% added water in a factorial arrangement of treatments. The cooked sausages were held under refrigeration for five days, then heated and served to a trained sausage panel. The addition of emulsions to coarse ground sausage eliminated the significant effect of grind size on total shrinkage. Tenderness and juiciness scores and overall yields increased as the amount of added water increased to 10%; however, there were no further increases in these factors as the amount of added water was increased to 20%.


The present study investigated the interrelationship of goal orientations, perceived ability, and perceived motivational climate to the experience of stress, perceived controllability, and choice of coping strategies. A total of 404 Korean intercollegiate athletes participated in the study. The results from moderated multiple regression analyses revealed that the experience of psychological difficulties was positively predicted by a perceived ego-involving climate and negatively predicted by perceived ability. The perceived controllability over stress was highest among athletes who had higher levels of task and ego orientation in a more task-involving atmosphere. Athletes used more approach coping as they perceived a higher level of task orientation regardless the level of perceived ability, and when they indicated higher task orientation scores in a low ego-involving environment. The avoidance/withdrawal coping strategies were positively related to an ego-involving climate. The findings implied that an examination of cultural variations in motivational factors and coping process among sport participants in a different culture may further extend theoretical applicability across diverse populations.


Formulas for drive power of centrifugal supercharger of natural gas are obtained, where efficiency factor (EF) of centrifugal supercharger is equal to product of three EF of centrifugal supercharger: mechanical, polytropic, gas-dynamic. The gas dynamic EF of the centrifugal supercharger is usually not taken into account and is taken equal to one. Gas dynamic EF takes into account the pressure loss of the centrifugal supercharger pumped in the stages and the energy loss due to friction of the centrifugal supercharger impellers in the gas medium. Also in the formula of calculation of drive power of the operated centrifugal supercharger the presence of condensate and water vapors in the natural gas is taken into account, which affects the accuracy of measuring the flow rate of pumped gas in the diaphragm flowmeter. Pumping of pure natural gas is impossible in reality and there are always impurities in natural gas, which must be taken into account to estimate the mass flow rate of gas. For formulas of practical (operated) and theoretical calculations of the drive power of the centrifugal natural gas blower received constant (equal to 0.004) for daily standard gas flow, which simplifies the calculation. The paper presents both precise and simplified formulas for the drive power of a centrifugal natural gas blower.


The variation of coefficient values in state variable description (SVD) block filters as a function of block length is shown to depend strongly on the basis filter structure and block length. An expression for output noise variance is derived using a statistical model of coefficient quantization, which shows a direct connection to coefficient range. Results clearly demonstrate that, contrary to widely held assumptions, coefficient quantization noise in block filters may be worse than their basis filter. The comparison of analytical results with simulations for a sample filter shows good agreement.<<ETX>>


Action-oriented teaching concept lays stress on"action-oriented learning"with a view to improving students'vocational capacity by simulating real work tasks and work processes.The teaching process must be carried out in light of the situational principle supplemented with the scientific principle to develop and opti-mize"mini"thematic learning modules.However,it is rather difficult to apply action-oriented teaching method to liberal art courses.Informative explorations have been carried out on the application of action-oriented teaching method in the teaching reform of Integrated Business English Course.The teaching practice proves that action-oriented teaching plays a positive and significant role in vocational education.


The utility model relates to an inductive wireless communication technology and an automatic control technology, in particular to the address detection for mobile machine of stock yard and automatic control system. The various mobile mechanic precision position of stock yard can be detected in real-time and the consolidated command scheduling for these machines can be carried out. The utility model is the automation control that carries out real-time monitoring for the entire process. The utility model comprises a control section of the machine, a coding flat electric cable, a ground real-time control center and a host computer. The control section of machine completes the information collection of the mobile machine and the action control and the data communication between the vehicle and the ground is realized through the coding flat electric cable. The ground real-time control center completes the address detection of the mobile machine and the combination of the information. The host computer completes dynamic display of the real-time condition and the dispatching management of the production operation and is connected to the local area network of the enterprise through the network adaptor. The address detection for mobile machine of stock yard and automatic control system is used in all the stock yard of steel, mine etc, and has the computer centralized management and automation control of multiple line and multistation work machine.


The various isotopic species of methanol are responsible for more than 40% of all the known far infrared (FIR) laser lines [1]. More than 150 CH3OH laser lines have been assigned, due to both an easier interpretation of the coincidences between CO2 pump lines and absorptions, and to the availability of massive systematic assignment work for the CH3OH spectrum[2]. The number of assigned FIR laser lines is much smaller for CD3OH, to which the present contribution is devoted. Our experimental apparatus consists, basically, of a waveguide CO2 laser with a tunability of 300 MHz [3], and two FIR laser cavities. By means of this apparatus we had already observed 108 new CD3OH FIR laser lines [4].


The Town of Bass Lake Planning Committee grew out of the efforts of the Plan Committee. The committee was a group of volunteer residents, both full time and seasonal, who developed a 20 year Comprehensive Land Use Plan for the township. The Planning Committee's duty is to implement the plan. Meetings are held at the Bass Lake Town Hall on the 1st Thursday of each month at 6:30 PM. The Committee consists of 7 members appointed by the town board.


Despite major therapeutic advances to treat patients with chronic liver diseases, one target remains elusive in hepatology and this is the most important one: liver fibrosis. We can cure patients from chronic hepatitis C; we can vaccinate against hepatitis B virus and control chronic hepatitis B; we have new drugs to treat cholestatic liver diseases and several lines of treatment to treat patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. But the process driving the prognosis of patients with chronic liver disease and the scarring process of the hepatic parenchyma are beyond our armamentarium. Hepatic fibrosing is a highly complex process which has been extensively studied in patients and in great details in animal models. Activation of quiescent hepatic stellate cells into α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA)positive myofibroblasts is a key mechanism since once activated, these cells secrete collagens and other matrix components participating actively in the scarring process. Numerous potential druggable mechanisms have been investigated and pharmacologically tested with success in animal models. However, despite great interest from the academic community and from the pharma only a few drugs have been tested in clinical trials with disappointing results. Salhab et al conducted an elegant series of experiments studying an unlikely target to treat hepatic fibrosis namely the Na/ taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP). NTCP was the first bile acid transporter to be cloned. This feat was achieved in 1989 by Hagenbruch et al when he worked in the laboratory of the late P. MeierAbt in Zürich using an expression cloning strategy. NTCP is expressed on the basolateral membrane of hepatocytes allowing the hepatocellular uptake of conjugated bile acids. In contrary to other transporters, no disease has been linked to mutation in NTCP gene and this is only in 2015 that a patient with a mutated deficient NTCP was described. Fascinatingly, beside massive elevation of serum bile acids this person was reported to be asymptomatic. NTCP captured again the interest of the hepatology community when a Chinese group reported in the journal Elife that NTCP was the longsought receptor for hepatitis B virus. This was rapidly confirmed and led to the development of myrcludex B, aka bulevirtide, a synthetic peptide mimicking the NTCPbinding domain of HBV. This compound is in clinical development for the treatment of chronic hepatitis D. Salhab et al looked at the expression of NTCP not on hepatocytes but on stellate cells. They discovered that NTCP is expressed on activated hepatic stellate cells and that the degree of expression increases with the degree of fibrosis. They found a correlation between NTCP expression assessed by immunostaining of primary human hepatic stellate cells and slices from liver biopsies and the fibrosis stage. Functionally, the presence of NTCP on activated hepatic stellate cells permits conjugated bile acids to enter in to the cells. Incubation of LX2 cells, a human hepatic stellate cell line, with taurocholate acid led to increased expression of α-SMA and collagen. This could be prevented with an antibody neutralising NTCP, with a NTCPsiRNA and with epigallocatechin gallate, which induces NTCP endocytosis. These data suggest that decreased expression of NTCP deactivates LX2 cells through reducing bile acid uptake. Expression of farnesoid X receptor (FXR), a transcription factor activated by bile acids, in stellate cells has previously been reported. 6 Salhab et al report an inverse relationship between the expression of NTCP and FXR in hepatic stellate cells. The activation of FXR in stellate cells by the bile acid derivative obeticholic acid decreased the expression of NTCP and was associated with less α-SMA expression. In a second set of experiments, Salhab et al manipulated pharmacologically the NTCP–FXR axis in two experimental models of hepatic fibrosis. They used a CCl4fibrosis mouse model and the leptin deficient Ob/Ob mice fed with highfat diet. NTCPneutralising antibody resulted in vivo in a reduction of the fibrous tissue in both models. Interestingly, neutralising NTCP was associated with metabolic effects. Ob/Ob mice fed highfat diet receiving the neutralising NTCP antibody had less steatosis, less hepatocellular ballooning and an amelioration of the serum aminotransferases. These results are in line with results published by Donkers et al. These authors found that NTCP knockout mice are protected against obesity and steatosis. Mechanistically, they report that NTCP knockout mice display decreased intestinal fat absorption and increased uncoupled respiration in brown adipose tissue resulting in a negative energy balance. They did not investigate hepatic stellate cells. The NTCP knockout mice had as expected increased circulating bile acid levels and lower cholesterol levels. Of note, Salhab et al did not observe an effect of their neutralising NTCP antibody on cholesterol in Ob/Ob mice fed highfat diet. This work raised several important points. It reveals a novel role for NTCP in hepatic stellate cells and adds to the importance of FXR regulation in these cells. Cellspecific knockout mice may help to understand the respective role of NTCP and FXR in hepatocytes and in hepatic stellate cells. FXR is also present in the terminal ileum where its activation stimulates the release in the portal blood of the hormone fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) which signals on hepatocytes via the FGF receptor 4 (FGFR4). This FXR–FGF19–FGFR4 axis is the target of several drugs, such as FXR agonists, FGF19 analogues and FGFR4 inhibitors. FGFR4specific inhibitors are in development to treat hepatocellular carcinoma. Aldafermin, an engineered FGF19 analogue, is in development to treat cholestatic liver diseases and has been tested also in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Numerous FXR agonists are presently in clinical trials for diverse indications. Obeticholic acid is already approved for the treatment of primary biliary cholangitis and the REGENERATE phased three trial interim analysis reported a beneficial effect not on the resolution of NASH endpoint but on the improvement of fibrosis endpoint. The results of Salhab et al add a new dimension suggesting that the NTCP–FXR axis might be also a good target. Recently, Donkers et al reported that inhibition of NTCP with myrcludex B prolonged the postprandial elevation of circulating bile acids, reduced liver and body fat mass, decreased body weight and increased glucagonlike Liver Vascular Biology, Institut d'Investigacions Biomediques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS) & CIBEREHD, Barcelona, Spain Department for BioMedical Research, Visceral Surgery and Medicine, Hepatology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland Department of Visceral Surgery and Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland


The article considers the environmental problems of the trans-border regions of Siberia and the Far East in the conditions of the Eurasian integration. The environmental consequences of functioning of the economies of the near-border East Asian countries for the Russian trans-border regions are shown. Russian trans-border Siberian and Far Eastern regions perform economic cooperation with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region in various sectors of the economy: mining and manufacturing, agriculture and forestry, nuclear energy, transport and other industries. At the same time, the environmental risks of such cooperation are not always evaluated. This is evidenced by the deteriorating environmental situation in the regions under consideration. The article proposes measures to improve the state environmental regulation of the Eurasian integration process: the development of low-carbon energy and energy-efficient technologies, the use of modern agricultural technologies, focus on the formation of a green economy, coordination of environmental legislation of the cooperating Eurasian states.


In this paper, an absorptive structure based on a periodic structure is presented and its absorption performance is examined. This is a single-layer planar resonant structure, and a lossy periodic surface is used for enhancing the absorption characteristic instead of the conventional resistive layer. Using well known structure, we propose a design technique to determine the important design parameter by using a simple equivalent circuit and analytical method. In addition, the method for accurately measuring the reflectivity of the structure is presented, and through measured result the design is verified. The measured result for the proposed absorptive structure, showing a broadband reflectivity response with a fractional bandwidth of approximately 91% below -10 dB, is presented along with other computational results to confirm the function of the structure.


Nanoparticles of ZrO 2:Er 3+, Yb 3+ fabricated by a soft template method combined with microwave heating under high pressures were reported for the first time. Nano ZrO 2:Er 3+, Yb 3+ in concentrations of 0.1–15 mol% have been fabricated in the presence of soft template agent diethylene glycol or polyethylene glycol in a microwave reactor at pressures up to 55 atm. The average size of the as-synthesized nanoparticles was found to be 5–13 nm. The upconversion luminescence of the ZrO 2:Er 3+, Yb 3+ was found in the red region of 630–710 nm and in the green region of 510–570 nm, with excitation by an infrared diode laser at the wavelengths of 830 and 940 nm, respectively. The change in content ratio between monoclinic and tetragonal phases when the annealing temperature increases from 600 to 1200 °C was investigated. The tetragonal phase content decreases and disappears for the samples annealed at 1200 °C. The increase in the content of the monoclinic phase is suggested to be a main reason for the increase in the upconversion luminescent intensity of nano ZrO 2:Er 3+, Yb 3+.


Low‐temperature anionic ring‐opening homopolymerizations and copolymerizations of two glycidol derivatives (allyl glycidyl ether (AGE) and ethoxyethyl glycidyl ether (EEGE)) are studied using a metal‐free catalyst system, 3‐phenyl‐1‐propanol (PPA) (an initiator) and 1‐tert‐butyl‐4,4,4‐tris(dimethylamino)‐2,2‐bis[tris‐(dimethylamino)phosphoranylidenamino]‐2Λ5,4Λ5‐catenadi(phosphazene) (t‐Bu‐P4) (a promoter) in order to obtain well‐defined functional linear polyethers and diblock copolymers. With the aid of the catalyst system, AGE is found to successfully undergo anionic ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) even at room temperature (low reaction temperature) without any side reactions, producing well‐defined linear AGE‐homopolymer in a unimodal narrow molecular weight distribution. Under the same conditions, EEGE also undergoes polymerization, producing a linear EEGE‐homopolymer in a unimodal narrow molecular‐weight distribution. In this case, however, a side reaction (i.e., chain‐transfer reaction) is found to occur at low levels during the early stages of polymerization. The chemical properties of the monomers in the context of the homopolymerization reactions are considered in the design of a protocol used to synthesize well‐defined linear diblock copolyethers with a variety of compositions. The approach, anionic polymerization via the sequential step feed of AGE and EEGE as the first and second monomers, is found to be free from side reactions at room temperature. Each block of the obtained linear diblock copolymers undergoes selective deprotection to permit further chemical modification for selective functionalization. In addition, thermal properties and structures of the polymers and their post‐modification products are examined. Overall, this study demonstrates that a low‐temperature metal‐free anionic ROP using the PPA/t‐Bu‐P4 catalyst system is suitable for the production of well‐defined linear AGE‐homopolymers and their diblock copolymers with the EEGE monomer, which are versatile and selectively functionalizable linear aliphatic polyether platforms for a variety of post‐modifications, nanostructures, and their applications.


In this experiment was studied the effect of solvent-based polyimide resin and water-emulsified polyimide resin on strength of aramid paper,the result between the two resins was compared. The result shows that the strength of aramid paper can be improved observably by impregnation with either solvent-based polyimide resin or wateremulsified polyimide resin. The performance of aramid paper by impregnation with solvent-based polyimide resin is higher than wateremulsifi ed polyimide resin.


In order to understand the reason for a board of appeals, and something of its functions, it is essential to have a general idea of the system of handling and disposing of the public lands, their resources, and all other matters within the jurisdiction of the department of the interior. It has been the wise policy of the United States so to dispose of its lands and resources as to encourage the establishment of homes and the extraction and use of minerals, rather than to seek to derive a revenue therefrom. The agricultural lands of the public domain are freely given to citizens who will establish their homes, erect improvements, and cultivate the soil. The taking of the minerals is permitted under what amounts to a gift, conditioned upon certain development work; so with the use of water for irrigation, for power, and for municipal and domestic purposes.


Abstract Geografisk Tidsskrift, Danish Journal of Geography 106(2): 131–144, 2006 The subject of this paper is long-term large-scale changes in human society. Some very significant examples of large-scale change are presented: human population growth, human appropriation of land and primary production, the human use of fossil fuels, and climate change. The question is posed, which kind of attitude is appropriate when dealing with large-scale changes like these from an ethical point of view. Three kinds of approaches are discussed: Aldo Leopold's mountain thinking, the neoclassical economists' approach, and finally the so-called Concentric Circle Theories approach. It is argued that the last of these three approaches must be preferred, even though further interpretation will be needed in relation to specific decision-making.


Collagen type XI is a quantitatively minor but developmentally essential component of the extracellular matrix and as a secreted protein is subject to a variety of posttranslational modifications. These modifications have been shown to influence the affinity of endogenous binding between collagen XI and various extracellular matrix components. The three dimensional structure of the amino terminal domain (Npp) of this molecule has been determined through homology modeling. As a result a putative heparan sulfate binding site has been predicted. Heparan sulfate is an abundant sugar found on the surface of most cells and on proteoglycan molecules of the pericellular matrix. This study focuses on the structure of amino terminal domain of a1 of collagen type XI and the subsequent interactions between this domain and other extracellular matrix proteins.


Flume studies were conducted in which riprap-protected embankments were subjected to overtopping flows to determine the average interstitial velocity of the through-flow. Velocity measurements were made in riprap having median stone sizes D50 ranging from 1.02 in. (2.6 cm) to 6.2 in. (15.8 cm) on embankment slopes of 1–20%. A tracer solution injection and recording system was developed to estimate the through-flow velocities. The average interstitial velocities for 19 flume tests were measured and reported. A predictive relationship was developed in which the average interstitial velocity was a function of the embankment slope and rock size D10. Flow measurements varied ±40% about the average velocity.


The 2-D water and sediment mathematical model which reflects flood retarding and sand silting of flood plain in the Lower Yellow River has been set up in this paper.Through carrying on 2-D water and sediment numerical simulation of the "92·8" typical flood,the authors studied influence of zoning flood retarding and sand silting on flood travel.The simulating results in different conditions show that,adopting the zoning flood retarding and sand silting in the Lower Yellow River effectively worked on retarding flood and sharpening peaks in the flood retarding basin,guaranteed and expanded transverse exchange of water and sediment in the floodplain and channel,and maintained the vigor of the river channel.This can relieve " secondary suspended river" states in the Lower Yellow River to a certain extent.


Rapid population growth throughout Bangladesh has resulted in a steady shift of population from rural to urban areas. In Bangladesh, municipalities are defined based on criteria laid out in the Municipal Ordinance 1977. However, some municipalities have very poor infrastructure and service levels, which raises the question of the validity of the municipal definition criteria contained in the Ordinance. In this work, 18 municipalities in different parts of the Rajshahi region were selected for study, with data collection mainly reliant on secondary sources. It was found that most municipalities in the study area are dominated by rural characteristics. Agricultural activities still play a vital role in occupation patterns and the major share of land use is agrarian, which is clear evidence of a diversion from the municipal declaration criteria stated in the Ordinance. The aims of this study were to explore the formulation of municipalities in accordance with Municipal Ordinance 1977 and to determine existin...


The IEEE 802.15.3 is an ad hoc MAC layer suitable for multimedia WPAN applications and a PHY capable of data rates in excess of 20 Mbps. In 2.4 GHz unlicensed band, IEEE 802.15.3 specifies data rates up to 55 MBPS. It basically employs an ad hoc PAN topology, with roles for "master" and "slave" devices.In this work, it needs to determine the delay in discovering the devices by Pico Net Controller (PNC) and the most efficient antenna pattern so as to achieve maximum throughput and as a result increase in the QoS. At the beginning of each super-frame, a network beacon is transmitted which carries WPAN-specific parameters, including power management, and information for new devices to join the ad hoc network. PNC sends beacons to various devices and the device, which accepts the beacon, sends an acknowledgment frame to PNC. When the devices are connected to PNC, the piconet is formed through which PNC and devices can communicate with each other. For the performance assessment of the wireless networks using antennas, baseline models of directional antenna and isotropic antennas have been developed using the simulator OPNET Modeler 12.0. The code developed is to be such that, it can be easily extended to a real time implementation. From the results of the simulation it is observed that although the models with isotropic antennas have good throughput, the maximum is achieved by using directional antenna models. Moreover, use of directional antennas at transmitter and receiver decreases in end-to-end delay. For simulation, licence version of OPNET Modeler 12.0 is used. Keywords— PNC, QoS, piconets, DEVs, throughput


Abstract : The 1986 Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Anti-Terrorism Act has caused the State Department's facilities acquisition to grow swiftly to a program of over $2 billion. That growth, together with the Department's decision to comply with all terms of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, has led to major policy and procedural changes, and those changes have resulted in some inefficiencies in construction acquisition. The Acquisitions Division would be more effective if it were organized along functional instead of geographic lines. Moreover, the projected workload for the division supports a staffing of 41 positions, uo to 28 today. However, the Acquisitions Division needs a phased plan to strengthen its management controls. The division should increase its level of automation, implement a system to track contract actions and report their status to the division's customers, and establish performance standards. In addition, the division should improve document control of contract files and request the Procurement Executive to adopt the standard contract numbering system recommended by the General Accounting Office.


The influence of water column elasticity on the stability limits of a hydro- turbine generating unit with long pen-stock operating on an isolated load is investigated. D-decomposition method is used for deriving the stability regions including the elastic water column. It has been shown that a modified water column compensator enhances the stability regions and dynamic performance considerably.


The invention relates to an electronic cigarette atomizer facilitating installation of a heating filament. The electronic cigarette atomizer comprises an oil-storage atomization body, a suction nozzle and a base, and the suction nozzle and the base are arranged at the front end and the rear end of the oil-storage atomization body respectively; the base is provided with the heating filament and a heating filament fixing base, two or more mounting holes are formed in the outer side surface of the heating filament fixing base, two or more clamping blocks which can move up and down are arranged inside the heating filament fixing base, and the clamping blocks and the mounting holes are in one-to-one correspondence; the heating filament fixing base is provided with two or more manual operation portions, and the manual operation portions are in transmission connection with the clamping blocks and control the clamping blocks to move up and down; the two ends of the heating filament are inserted into the mounting holes in a one-to-one correspondence mode and are clamped and fixed under the action of the clamping blocks. In this way, the heating filament can be installed and dismounted without operating the manual operation portion, no tool needs to be used, the electronic cigarette atomizer is easy, convenient and fast to operate and high in production efficiency, cost is lowered, safety and reliability are achieved, the excellent product rate is obviously raised, in addition, the structure is simple and ingenious, production and processing are easy to conduct, and the electronic cigarette atomizer is beneficial to batch production.


Both No. 93/PUU-X/2012 and PERMA No. 14 Year 2016 regulate a forum of resolution for syari'ah economy disputes, particularly the dispute that arises in a contractual relationship between syari'ah banks and their customers, whether in litigation or non-litigation setting. The development of syari'ah banking is still far due to the pressure of globally financial and economy crisis. Therefore, it is the best moment to pursue the development and progress of syari'ah banking by exhibiting the advantages of Islamic economy system that has competence to compete with the convensional ones, especially in terms of customer security assurance in the process of seeking for business dispute resolution which may possibly happen. Such process, however, remains in syari'ah corridor with kaffah and istiqomah attributes. For people in syari'ah business, all the transactions they do should be under the provisions of syari'ah regulation. An appropriate forum to seek for syari'ah economy dispute resolution is through mediation, given that it is the best one and more reflecting the values of Islam.


We report on a nonperturbative approach to the one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) Hubbard models that is capable of recovering both strong- $(U\ensuremath{\gg}t)$ and weak-coupling $(U\ensuremath{\ll}t)$ limits, with U the on-site Coulomb repulsion and t the kinetic energy. Dynamical corrections to the electron self-energy in the single particle Green function are explicitly included by expanding in terms of the 16 eigenstates that characterize two nearest neighbor sites. We first show that even when U is much smaller than the bandwidth, the Mott-Hubbard gap never closes at half filling in both 1D and 2D. Consequently, the Hubbard model at half filling is always in the strong-coupling nonperturbative regime. For both large and small U, we find that the population of nearest-neighbor singlet states approaches a value of order unity as $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{T}0$ as would be expected for antiferromagnetic order. We also find that the double occupancy is a smooth monotonic function of U and approaches the anticipated noninteracting limit of $1/4$ as $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{U}0$ and vanishes as $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{U}\ensuremath{\infty}.$ Finally, we compute the heat capacity $[C(T,U)]$ for both 1D and 2D. Our results for 1D at moderate to high temperatures are in quantitative agreement with those of the exact Bethe ansatz solution, differing by no more than $1%.$ In addition, we find that in 2D, the $C(T,U)$ curves vs T for different values of U exhibit a universal crossing point at two characteristic temperatures $T\ensuremath{\approx}1.7t\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.1t$ and $T\ensuremath{\approx}0.4\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.1t$ as is seen universally in Hubbard models and experimentally in a wide range of strongly correlated systems such as ${}^{3}\mathrm{He},$ ${\mathrm{UBe}}_{3},$ and ${\mathrm{CeCu}}_{6\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Al}}_{x}.$ The success of this method in recovering well-established results that stem fundamentally from the Coulomb interaction suggests that local dynamics are at the heart of the physics of strongly correlated systems.


Abstract Steel piling is preferred for offshore stationary drilling platforms because wood creates a fire hazard and stressed concrete may fail if salt water penetrates to the stressed reinforcemen...


A principal aim of this journal is to bridge the gap between traditional computational linguistics research and the implementation of practical applications with potential real-world use. This new column aims to help with that bridge-building, by providing a window on to what is happening with speech and language technologies in the industrial and commercial worlds, and a discussion forum for topics of interest in the technology transfer space.


Research has shown that information technology, such as reentry mapping, community information systems (CINS) and other geographic information system (GIS)–related applications have improved criminal justice and social welfare outcomes. These Web-based applications are essential in that they serve as portals for extensive data allocation, collection, storage, and information sharing. One such Web-based application, reentryBase, is a planned CINS, designed to respond to the growing need for improved delivery of social and supportive services to those returning from prison and jail. Its specific aim is to build capacity for both outreach to ex-offenders and networking among and between reentry stakeholders.


The German troops' large-scale retreat on the Eastern Front was accompanied by a substantial population outflow from the occupied regions of the USSR. The German Mennonites (approx. 35,000 people) preferred to obey the occupiers' order and evacuate to the west in the autumn of 1943. Several thousands of them were transported in echelons directly to Warthegau and the region of Danzig. The remaining part of deportees had to sustain a difficult and dramatic route in the convoys. The Nazi leadership planned to use them as settlers or labour force on the annexed Western Polish lands. After the end of the Second World War, most of the Mennonites were forcibly repatriated to the USSR; others succeeded in emigrating to Canada or Latin America.


The production of ancient glass is the crystallization of the wisdom of the majority of ancient working people in China. The differences in fluxes and the differences in the burial environment during weathering have a great impact on its chemical composition content. In this paper, a relevant classification model is established based on the data of various properties of glass. In this paper, Fisher linear discriminant model and random forest classification model were established according to the content of different chemical components, and Fisher linear discriminant model, which is easier to test for sensitivity analysis, was selected. Next, the clustering results were obtained by systematically clustering high potassium glass and lead-barium glass, and the classification basis was determined by drawing a line graph and then establishing a subclass classification model to classify high potassium glass into low potassium subclasses and high calcium subclasses. Sensitivity analysis was performed by changing the values of key parameters to check the reasonableness and stability of the subclass classification model. A discriminant model was established to initially determine the categories of eight unknown classified glass artifacts. Sensitivity analysis was performed by changing the key variables through the gradient descent method, and the model was obtained to have good sensitivity.


Many road vehicle accidents are the result of collisions with foreign objects, and automatic collision avoidance is of critical interest to car manufacturers and their customers. Previous work on formally verifying collision avoidance maneuvers typically assumes point-shaped or circular-shaped vehicles for simplicity. In this paper, we formulate and formally verify sufficient conditions for the safety of a representative collision avoidance system for cars with a realistic geometrical shape. The collision avoidance system discussed here is designed to issue swerving advisories. We model the vehicle kinematics and control advisory as a hybrid program, allowing to model both discrete decisions of the system and continuous dynamics of the car. We formally verify the collision avoidance system by providing rigorous, computer-checked mathematical proofs of collision avoidance under well-defined, explicit sufficient conditions on vehicle kinematics and parameters. This formal verification provides a mathematical guarantee that the collision avoidance system can prevent the vehicle from collision under all possible scenarios as long as certain conditions hold true.We model the system using differential dynamic logic ${\text{d}}{\mathcal{L}}$ and use the automated theorem prover KeYmaera X for formal verification. This work employs a purely symbolic model, and can thus be extended to verify other types of collision avoidance systems exhibiting richer behavior.


To tackle the problem of transmission uncertainty for ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC) in unlicensed band, existing studies have proposed many channel reservation based schemes categorized into single-channel reservation and multi-channel reservation schemes. The schemes integrate the full duplex radio and orthogonal busy tone technologies to reserve URLLC channel. URLLC channel reservation is accomplished by all URLLC devices continuously sending busy tones on the URLLC channel. Compared to the multi-channel reservation scheme, the single-channel reservation scheme is more friendly to the heterogeneous system, such as Wi-Fi, but it generates an unsatisfactory probability of successful channel reservations as it is difficult to find the common single channel for all URLLC devices especially when the traffic load of unlicensed band is above a certain level. This paper proposes a progressive single channel reservation (P-SCR) scheme to promote the success probability of channel reservation by relaxing simultaneousness restriction of URLLC channel reservation. The P-SCR scheme allows user equipment to reserve the common URLLC channel in a progressive manner and introduces an advanced preparation time to improve channel utilization and probability of successful URLLC channel reservations. The performance evaluation results showed that the proposed P-SCR scheme obviously outperforms the existing single- and multi-channel reservation schemes in terms of the probability of successful channel reservation.


Purpose: Protontreatment planning for thoracic and gastrointestinal targets requires sensitivity to motion issues upstream from the distal surface of the defined disease site. Variations in radiological path length due to organ motion, both inter‐ and intra‐fraction, can result in significant under‐ and over‐shoot of the defined protondose distribution due to the high radiological range sensitivity of particle beam radiotherapy. We describe a method for interactive exploration of this range sensitivity through direct, 'on‐the‐fly' dose recalculation using a GPU‐based visualization language, Shadie. Methods: Based on a python‐like syntax, the GPU kernel is defined and recompiled by the Shadie language interpreter for CUDA code compilation. This kernel is evaluated directly in the rendering pipeline, coupling the display to the final, volume rendered patient anatomy. The size and/or number of spatial‐temporal volumetric datasets is limited only by available GPU memory, allowing for kernel operations against multiple data sets simultaneously. A pencil beam protondose calculation algorithm has been re‐implemented using this shader language to allow real time recalculation of protondose distributions. Interactivity of the volume rendered image is provided by exposing relevant treatment delivery variables to the user, including: beam range, modulation, couch and gantry angle, and source position. As these exposed variables are modified, the dose is continuously recalculated and displayed. Results: The speed of the dose calculation engine allows for 4D visualization of both anatomy and dose distribution in a volume rendered environment. The flexibility of Shadie allows for easy adaptation to multiple visualization needs, including mean and standard deviation dose distribution maps as well as a cinematic mode where the dose is recalculated as the datasets are cycled through sequentially. Conclusions: This tool may provide assistance when planning/reviewing treatment sites subject to temporal variability, allowing for deeper understanding of the dosimetric implications of organ motion.


Under the background of the policy change,both the public pressure and the spatial distance are important factors which influence the stock-price synchronicity. Generally speaking,the former decreases stock-price synchronicity whereas the later increases it. How these two factors affect the stock-price synchronicity through environmental information disclosure has become a problem needed to be solved. From the perspective of policy changes,this paper selects manufacturing firms in china during the periods of 2004-2006 and 2009-2011 as samples to investigate the effects of environmental information disclosure on stock-price synchronicity. The result shows that,before the implementation of the environmental policy in2008,remote firms' environmental information disclosure is related to stock-price synchronicity negatively. However,after the policy implementation,the relationship becomes positive. As for the firms with short distance to the city center,the effect is insignificant. Therefore,with an increasing public pressure,firm location plays a vital role of mediation in the process of environmental information disclosure affecting stock-price synchronicity,which should be paid enough attention to by the supervision department.


This paper used a choice experiment (CE) method to investigate Chinese middle class tourist preferences for nature based destinations in southwestern China. Interview data from 616 respondents presented that in general, the respondents preferred natural based destinations in southwestern China with more features of convenience, cultural and natural attractions, but less tarnished nature experiences, sustainable tourism services and cost. The effect coded models revealed in further details that the developed convenience level, the magnificent natural attractions and original cultural attractions were most preferred by the respondents. Though the general negative impact of tarnished nature experiences on destination preference, it was not the pure wilderness, but the mixture of naturalness and basic infrastructures, and occasional other visitors, were mostly welcomed by the respondents. The limited sustainable tourism services got modest positive appreciation but the extensive sustainable tourism services level was not preferred by the respondents.


Large-scale colonisation of the spat of the green mussel, Mytilus viridis, a
species heretofore considered as not existing in sizable quantities in the Cochin
region, was noticed on the anti-erosicm granitestone embankments of Andakaran
Azhi beach between Shertalai and Cochin. The spat, which appear to settle during
the postfflonsoon period, grow in profusion in the midlittoral and infralittoral
regions. The density of the population varies from surface to surface even on a
single boulder. A marked concentration is noticed in the sheltered, dark niches
beneath the stores, while the flat upper surfaces that are constantly exposed to
severe wave actions appear to be least suitable for mussel growth. It was estimated
that on an average, 220-248 spat|100 Cm' were in areas submerged most of the
time, while 112-170, in less favourable surroundings. The population which is
densest at Andakaran Azhi diminishes gradually northwards. But on the whole,
the potentiality of this resource is large enough to provide ample seed for extensive
culture operations along this region.


I. Some time in mid-1999, a young man from the village of Masameni in southern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, 'proposed love' to Zandile, a 16-year old girl from the nearby village of Makholweni. She promptly refused his attentions. But the man, named Amu, did not give up, and his persistence eventually weakened her resolve. By December that same year, Zandile 'fell in love' with him. They embarked on a relationship which, in the end, lasted no more than two months. Amu then proposed a second time, but Zandile refused again, this time stressing that she would have nothing further to do with him and almost as if to demonstrate this, she began seeing another boy who lived in Newtonville, another village close-by. In despair, Amu came to Makholweni, and began 'searching' for Zandile. Every day, he would walk up and down the main road in the village, shouting out that he loved her and wanted her as his wife. Still she refused to give in to his pleading and insisted that she no longer loved him. On the night of September 21st last year, Zandile was struck by what was to be the first of many attacks of umhayizo: a form of bewitchment suffered by girls and young women, which is believed to be caused by young men who have been rejected in love. Zandile's umhayizo manifested itself in the usual way, and was immediately recognisable to those around her: without warning, she became inconsolable, crying with an unusual high-pitched wail, violently attacking anyone who approached. She insisted repeatedly that she wanted to run to Masameni (the home of Amu), swearing and spitting at those who tried to restrain her or convince her not to go. People gathered in the yard of the homestead and watched as her mother and several other women tried to pacify her. Water was fetched in large basins and splashed onto her face and body, while all the time Zandile protested and shouted out, trying to run away. Eventually, she was taken inside one of the huts and her hands and feet were tied up with rope (so that she would not escape). The women accompanied her into the hut and did not leave her side until she recovered from the ordeal several hours later. Inside the hut, a woman tried to get Zandile to drink water, while another sprinkled holy water (obtained from the local Roman Catholic mission) into the air around her. Someone lit imphepho and kept it burning in a little dish near Zandile, waving the smoke from these embers into her face. Occasionally, prayers and sacraments were whispered over her person. Gradually these efforts to calm her seemed to take effect. Zandile's wailing eventually quietened, and once her distress abated, she dropped off to sleep. But the umhayizo returned again several nights in the weeks that followed. On one such occasion, the inkosi [chief] of Makholweni came to her homestead to investigate the matter. In the midst of all the chaos and confusion, his presence had a remarkable effect on Zandile and she seemed to almost regain her composure. He knelt down on his haunches and put his hand on her shoulder to address her, asking: 'Ningobani?' ('Who are you?') to which Zandile remained silent. He then asked: 'Nivelaphi?' ('Where do you come from?') in both cases, addressing not Zandile herself, but whatever (or whomever) had 'possessed' her in this form [note: both questions formulated in the plural]. Eventually she responded only: 'Masameni'. She revealed nothing further on the matter until the umhayizo returned several days later this time, while she was at school. A teacher began to pray for her specifically, he prayed for the 'demons' to leave her body. He pleaded that she reveal to him who had done this to her. Eventually, Zandile shouted out: 'Ngingu Amu; ngingo wakwa Dlamini, eMasameni. Ngiyeke!' ('My name is Amu; my clan-name is Dlamini, from Masameni. Leave me alone!'). 2


Dust storm occurs frequently in Beijing and northern China in recent years especially after 1990, and it has become the most severe natural disaster in late ten years. Therefore, it is very important to prevent the dust storm disasters in several urgent regions such as the windward regions of Beijing, and such task becomes the main aim of ecological construction. According to corresponding researches, the changes of ground quality contributed more to these disasters due to land-use changes and over-due anthropogenic activities in the processing of dust storm forming. This paper aims at the land degradation suffered wind erosion in the windward regions of Beijing including the mountains of northern Hebei Province, Inner Mongolia Plateau between Hebei Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. A GIS-aid to the land use suitability evaluation for land-use planning incorporates topography, vegetation cover, wind velocity and its direction, soil types, land-use types, and the distance to sandy land, water source and villages. According to the degradation state, present land-use is categorized into available land, protected land, degraded land and heavily degraded land. Multi-criteria analysis is performed to evaluate landscape rehabilitation for each category, according to appropriately measured and weighted factors. A degradation map is developed using an algorithm that combines factors in weighed linear combinations. The result shows that the wide part in Duolun County, Inner Mongolia and the area on Inner Mongolia Plateau of Fengning County, Hebei Province have a low value of land use suitability, and these areas are located very close or are corresponded with the distribution of half-stable sandy dune, degraded grass land and tillage land on hill slope, also the sandy land in the northern valley of Fengning County has a low suitability value. So, these areas are the pivotal land plots to be managed. The study is very helpful to land-use planning and landscape rehabilitation in such regions.


Abstract Internet literacy offers a modern set of tools that can help older adults achieve the three pillars of successful aging, especially in the post-pandemic world. In the United States, older adults have shown significant growth in the usage of the internet and online services. However, information and social connectivity for older adults with lower incomes and education levels still lag. The current pandemic raises the public question of whether internet access and education should be deemed as a basic human right. Internet access is even more critical for older adults who need additional technology access and training, tailored to fit their varying experience, disability, and cognitive ability levels. The pandemic has demanded numerous technological skills for daily life: videoconferencing to carry on work, ordering groceries, taking exercise classes online, talking to family members and healthcare providers, and now registering for vaccination. Thus older adults need help with technology use more than ever. We need awareness of the "digital divide" and collaboration from designers, developers, services, products, and programs or interventions from various public and private sources. Identifying social and logistical barriers to technology literacy, we propose a conceptual model of using intergenerational training strategies to ameliorate the digital divide experienced by older adults. In this paper, we will review successful intergenerational programs like Students to Seniors, and Zoomers to Boomers, and introduce a similar model for internet literacy. The intergenerational mentoring model is advocated due to its wide-ranging potential benefits for both the older generation and the younger generation.


Li Pu Taro is the famous traditional products in lipu county, with 340 years of planting history. Since 1998, lipu county carefully selected for the stem tip tissue culture by the indicators of quality, taro shape accords with the characteristics of lipu taro, finally kept the original taste of lipu taro, enhanced the growth potential, disease resistance,yield and quality of lipu taro. Variety advantage could maintain 3 to 4 years.


The airspace challenge for the United States is to protect national sovereignty and ensure the safety and security of those on the ground and in the air, while at the same time ensuring the efficiency of flight, reducing the costs involved, protecting the environment, and protecting the freedom of access to the airspace. Many visions of the future NAS hold a relatively near-term perspective, focusing on existing uses of the airspace and assuming that new uses will make up a small fraction of total use. In the longer term, the skies will be filled with diverse and amazing new air vehicles filling our societal needs. Anticipated new vehicles include autonomous air vehicles acting both independently and in coordinated groups, unpiloted cargo carriers, and large numbers of personal air vehicles and small-scale point-to-point transports. These vehicles will enable new capabilities that have the potential to increase societal mobility, transport freight at lower cost and with lower environmental impact, improve the study of the Earth s atmosphere and ecosystem, and increase societal safety and security by improving or drastically lowering the cost of critical services such as firefighting, emergency medical evacuation, search and rescue, border and neighborhood surveillance, and the inspection of our infrastructure. To ensure that uses of the airspace can continue to grow for the benefit of all, a new paradigm for operations is needed: equitably and safely sharing the airspace. This paper is an examination of such a vision, concentrating on the operations of all types of air vehicles and future uses of the National Airspace. Attributes of a long-term future airspace system are provided, emerging operations technologies are described, and initial steps in research and development are recommended.


Molecules and atoms that are normally gaseous at room temperature and pressure will liquefy or solidify as their temperature reduces or their pressure increases. In the apparatus detailed here a commercial cell contains pressurized SF6 so that it exists in both gaseous and liquid states, with the density of both being similar at room temperature. The critical point on the phase diagram can then be investigated, by elevating the temperature of the cell so the densities of liquid and gas equalize. Under these conditions light passing through the cell is highly scattered by density fluctuations in the fluid. By measuring the transmitted light as a function of both temperature and wavelength, the critical exponent can be derived and the effects of light scattering with wavelength investigated.


With the continuous development of deep sub-micron technology, the design scale of integrated circuits is getting larger and larger, and more and more interfaces between SOC and the outside, which poses more challenges to the physical design of integrated circuits. For large-scale SOC, it requires a lot of work to place and route the PADs by manual, what's the worse, this work can always be with high error rate. In order to solve this problem, an original physical design method which uses scripts to place the PADs is created to realize the automatic arrangement of complex SOC PAD. This method is suitable for any SOC with separated IO and PAD. The form and parameters of the scripts can be adjusted according to the specific process, so as to realize the automatic PAD arrangement, shorten the physical design period, and speed up the time to get into the market. This method has been applied in many products of the company, such as PLC chips, ADC chips, MCU chips, RFID chips, etc.


This paper highlights the foreign expertise of the budgetary process development at the local level. It states that the armed aggression of the Russian Federation resulted in significant damage to the economy of Ukraine, affecting thus the development of the budgetary process. Modern scholars studying the domestic budgetary process, including its local dimension, are listed.
The aim of the research is to perform a critical review of the foreign experience regarding the budgetary process development at local level.
This paper highlights the concept of the budgetary process in Ukraine, the essentials of its five stages, the reasons for the low quality of the budgetary process in Ukraine, the core principles being followed in the European Union states in the process of securing selected tax revenues for local self-government bodies, essential factors determining the possibility to assign certain taxes within the local category, the main characteristics of the local budgets' revenue share establishment in developed Western countries, distinguishing these from domestic practice. It is emphasized that for all developed foreign states division of local budgets into local operational (administrative) budget and local development budget (investment budget) is typical. It is stressed that the main focus of budgetary policy in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe was placed on decreasing the amount of transfers and taking parallel measures to raise the share of tax revenues, ensuring the establishment of self-sufficient and financially capable territorial communities. Аuthor paid special attention to research of budgetary process specificity in Germany, United Kingdom and France.
The conclusions contain a statement for the budgetary process of any country to be characterized by certain features reflecting the specificity of national economy regulation, the structure of domestic production and means of influencing the development of the financial system. Modern global trends are characterized by the increasing importance of decentralization in the organization of local financial systems and changes in budgetary processes at the local level.


One needs to establish the element stiffness matrix and element mass matrix when analyzing the dynamic performance of compliant mechanism by finite element method(FEM).In this paper,The mathematical model of two-axis flexure hinge is established,and the higher-order cosine function is reduced to one-order cosine function by principle of mathematical induction,and the closed-form equations of element mass matrix of two-axis flexure hinge are solved.Closed-form equations are compared with other numerical integrations such as compound trapezoid formula,compound Simpson formula,Gauss-Legendre formula,Gauss-Chebyshev formula and Romberg integration,and it shows that this method is very applicable and its precision is the highest.


We have noted the normal values of sodium and potassium in the serum of 50 normal subjects. The method employed was the flame photometer. Suggest the use of the technique and fast anaerobic whey separation in handling blood samples


When an auditory stimulus is presented at a repetition rate fr of about 40/s, a robust steady‐state auditory evoked potential (AEP) is recordable [R. Galambos et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA) 78, 2643–2647 (1981)], and has an approximate sinusoidal waveform with frequency fr. A similar phenomenon is encountered when auditory evoked magnetic fields (AEMFs) are measured at the scalp with a SQUID magnetometer. We have determined the fr dependence of the steady‐state AEPs and AEMFs for the same human subjects. Using the assumption of a sandwich system (linear transformation‐zero memory nonlinear transformation‐linear transformation) response, we have also produced computer simulations of the fr dependence of steady‐state responses from measured transient‐response data. The simulations account fairly well for the steady‐state data. The stimulus was a 500‐Hz tone pip presented with fr varying from 3‐50/s. The AEMF was recorded from a point around the T4 location, and the AEP was recorded between electrodes at CZ and the mastoid process of the test ear. Preliminary results for optimal fr's are 40‐45/s for the AEPs and 30‐35/s for the AEMFs. [Work supported by NINCDS, NSF, and the Purdue University Biomedical Support Fund.]When an auditory stimulus is presented at a repetition rate fr of about 40/s, a robust steady‐state auditory evoked potential (AEP) is recordable [R. Galambos et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA) 78, 2643–2647 (1981)], and has an approximate sinusoidal waveform with frequency fr. A similar phenomenon is encountered when auditory evoked magnetic fields (AEMFs) are measured at the scalp with a SQUID magnetometer. We have determined the fr dependence of the steady‐state AEPs and AEMFs for the same human subjects. Using the assumption of a sandwich system (linear transformation‐zero memory nonlinear transformation‐linear transformation) response, we have also produced computer simulations of the fr dependence of steady‐state responses from measured transient‐response data. The simulations account fairly well for the steady‐state data. The stimulus was a 500‐Hz tone pip presented with fr varying from 3‐50/s. The AEMF was recorded from a point around the T4 location, and the AEP was recorded between electrodes ...


The rapid increase in population resulted in the use of non-renewable fossil energy is increasing and its availability is dwindling. So its dependence must be immediately reduced by using renewable alternative energy sources such as biomass energy. This research aims to find out the potential of fruit seeds (durian, mango, jackfruit) as raw materials for making bioethanol, to find out the fruit seeds (durian, mango, jackfruit) that produce the highest levels of bioethanol, and to find out the effectiveness of adding seeding solution to the fermentation process. The research was conducted in the Laboratory of the Faculty of Engineering, Malahayati University, on a laboratory scale (300 ml). The methods used include the pretreatment stage, namely the collection of materials, the hydrolyse stage, namely the addition of a solution of 2.5% H2SO4, the seeding stage of seeding bacteria in yeast with the addition of a solution of brown sugar, the fermentation stage, and the distillation process. The results showed mango seeds provided the best bioethanol levels (4%) compared to bioethanol levels from durian seeds and jackfruit seeds. Yeast tape gives better results than bread yeast.


Abstract The prevailing indication in the literature is that enhancement of transpiration by vesicular‐arbuscular (VA) mycorrhizae is usually mediated by improved host phosphorus nutrition. The present experiments were conducted to investigate this in mycorrhizal Rosa hybrida L. 'Samantha' plants. In growth room and greenhouse studies, roses colonized by either a native or an exotic VA mycorrhizal fungus had greater transpiration rates than nonmycorrhizal rose plants of similar size and phosphorus content, under similar conditions. This mycorrhizal effect on transpiration was observed throughout a range of soil water potential. Whether or not plants were mycorrhizal, phosphorus content was not correlated with transpiration rate on an individual leaf basis.


'Zhonghuai1' is a male intraspecific hybrid of Populus deltoides,and was selected in the local field test from a stock that was obtained by controlled pollination between P.deltoides CL.'55/65' and P.deltoides CL.'Imperial'.It is a quality variety suitable for making plywood with the traits of fast growth,cold resistance and high resistance to Anoplophora glabripennis,and is adaptable to grow in the North,the Northwest and the southern Northeast of China.


Until recently most studies have focussed on method development for metabolic rate assessment in adult and/or juvenile fish with less focus on measurement of oxygen consumption (ṀO2 ) during early life history stages, including fast growing larval fish and even less focus on non-teleostean species. In the present study we evaluated measurement techniques for standard metabolic rate (SMR), maximum metabolic rate (MMR) and aerobic scope (AS) in an Acipenseriform, the lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens, throughout the first year of life. Standardised forced exercise protocols to assess MMR were conducted for 5 or 15 minutes before or after measurement of SMR. We used different levels of oxygen decline during the measurement period of MMR post-forced exercise to understand the influence these may have on the calculation of MMR. Opercular rate and tail beat frequencies were recorded by video as measures of behaviours and compared to metabolic rate recorded over a 24-hour period. Results indicate that calculated values for aerobic scope were lower in younger fish. Neither exercise sequence nor exercise duration influenced metabolic rate measurements in the younger fish, but exercise duration did affect measurement of MMR in older fish. Finally, there was no strong correlation between metabolic rate and the measured behaviours in the Lake Sturgeon at either age. Based on the results, we recommend that a minimum of 6 h acclimation to the respirometry chamber should be given prior to measuring SMR, a chasing protocol to elicit MMR should ideally be performed at the end of experiment, a short chasing time should be avoided to minimize variation and assessment of MMR should balance measurement limitations of the probes along with when and for how long oxygen consumption is measured. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of in-situ transconjunctival scleral fixation of dislocated one-piece foldable intraocular lens (IOL) with flanged prolene 6/0 suture. Patients and methods The study included seven eyes of seven patients with dislocated IOL. A 6/0 prolene suture was threaded into a 30-G needle that was then passed transconjunctively. The needle was passed through the optic–haptic junction of the luxated IOL. The prolene was then retrieved through the corneal tunnel. Two central and two scleral bulbs (flanges) were created by heating the ends of the prolene suture. Results The best-corrected visual acuity was significantly improved from 0.16±0.05 preoperatively to 0.62±0.08 3 months postoperatively (P=0.006). There were nonsignificant IOP elevation and endothelial cell loss (P>0.05). All cases had well-centered IOL. No postoperative complications such as vitreous hemorrhage, macular edema, retinal detachment, or endophthalmitis were recorded. Conclusion In-situ transconjunctival scleral fixation of foldable one-piece IOLs is a safe effective technique for fixing dislocated IOLs.


There is considerable evidence that the use of tangible contexts enriches the learning experience for students. In view of this, the author has developed two 'industry-linked context-based chemistry practicals' that illustrate the importance of core chemistry topics within commercial/industrial contexts. A common feature of the practicals is that the students work with actual commercial samples and compare their data with that published by the two companies. The principal features of the two practicals are described and contrasted with conventional practicals. Finally, the results of a student evaluation of the practicals are reported.


Workers protection in collaborative industrial robotics application represents the predominant aspect of robot safety in production systems. Flexible production systems and multimodal human-robot interactions often encompass cooperative tasks that are performed in fenceless configurations. Collaborative open workspaces enable, in fact, a workflow of continuously interchangeable tasks done by operators or by robot at close distance or using hand-guided modes. Layout and workflow optimization may, in fact, require a co-presence in some shared spaces whose safeguarding (e.g. robot speed limitations, distances) is conservatively restricted by the current standards. In such scenarios, the tracking of operators is mandatory for the overall assessment of the system safety. In this work, a combination of wireless sensing technologies, highly robust wireless protocols and safe computation over a standard ethernet IP (black channel) concur to improve the functional safety of a cooperative robotic system. The system architecture and data framework are in particular discussed with reference to the properties of the communication protocols implementing the safety layer.


Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, more than 600 000 people die annually in the US along. In reality, no matter what kind of cancer, the survival rate is much higher and the expense is much lower for people diagnosed with early stage cancer than with later stage cancer. However, current clinical techniques are difficult to detect cancer in the early stage, due to their small size and the fact that they are hidden very deep. Nano materials provide incredible properties, such as high relative surface area, quantum confinement, etc., which have been largely used for early detection. This mini review gives a simple overview of current progress in the field of nano materials for early detection of cancer.


In this paper the shortage of managing interchange in GIS?T is discussed Object oriented highway network and interchange model based on LRS (Linear Referencing System) are analyzed and established based on the ARCINFO Network Model Spatial data structure of interchange and codes of each feature class are built, setting principles of each feature class are introduced At last, application of this model in SHGIS?HIMS is presented.


This paper reviews the trends in poverty and inequality in Singapore since independence, as well as policy recommendations adopted through the years, and their results. Poverty is discussed not only in terms of wage earnings, but also in relation to employment conditions, social challenges that pile up together with income poverty, and intergenerational mobility. The paper finds that notwithstanding improvements in early decades, after fifty years, the problems of a social divide and poverty have come full circle. Social policy in Singapore retains its fundamentally productivist philosophical orientation, but the recent deterioration in poverty, inequality and mobility trends is leading to adoption of more welfare-oriented and universalist policy solutions. Social inclusion is now a national priority, and policy redirection for the future needs to take place in wide-ranging policy domains, including the labor market and economic growth.


In conclusion, I have only to emphasise that the methods which have been under discussion are not put forward as -adequately-tested therapeutic measures. They may, however, chance to be, if I may so express them unblamed, contributions to the building up of the newer and better system ef therapeutics. NoTEs AND REFERENCES. 1BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL, December l1th, 1891. 2-BRITISH MEDICAL *JOURNAL, lec. cit. 3 BERITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL, Joc. cit. 4 Lancet, Februas;y 25th, 1893. 5 BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL, February 3rd, 1894. These tubes can be obtained from Mr. A. E. Dean, 73, Hatton Garden, E.C. 0 BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL, July 29th, 1893. 7 BRITIMH MEDICAL JOURNAL, July 29th, 1893. 8 Loc. cit. 9 This case was very kindly placed *t my disposal for these observations by Surgeon Colonel E. Fairtand and Professor Cayley. 10 Here and elsewhere in this paper ,where the temperature at which the determination was made is not directly stated it Is to be understood that the determinaton was made at 18.50 C. or Circ. 650 F. I find that this temperature has several advantages over the temperature 370 C. or 98.40 F., which was originally proposed by me as a suitable standard tempera'tere for coagulability determinations. A. temperature of 18.50 C. presents the following advantages: (n) coagulation takes place more slowly than at 370 C., and therefore the determinations can be made more accurately; (b) the temperature approximates to the temperature at which ordinary hospital wards are kept; (c) the tubes therefore require very little cooling or heating to bring them to the correct temperature; (d) the proposed Ltandardtemperature is a mean between freezing point and blood heat, and therefore is easily remembered as " half blood heat." ii Archiv f. Neilkunde, 1878. 12 Vide i.nfra, effect of alcohol on coagulability. ' P1Oreedinge Royal Society. vol. lv. 14 These statements may, I believe, be accepted as accurate, for they were confirmed by the grandfather, who has an extraordinarily wide experience of hmmophiliac haemorrhage, as he has stood by the death beds of his six sons who all suC'cumbed to hiemophiliac bleeding or to its sequelae. 15 The more ofavourable temperature conditions and the heemorrhagic increase of coagulability brought about by haemorrhage that had occurred are no doubt responsible for a good deal of the observed accj?e. ration of coagulation time. It is, however, only legitimate to Infer that the administration of calcium chloride was largely contributory to it. 16 Coempare the results already recorded of previous additions of lime to the extravascular blood of this child. 11 BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL, July 22nd, 1893. 18 Peptone is known to be inefficacious when administered by the stomach. Leech extract has in my experience also proved inefficacious. 19 This hsemorrhage, which had -continued for more than a month on the regimen of lemon juice, was 4brought to a complete standstill by the exhibition of 2 grammes of calcium chloride daily diluted in 3 pints of barley water, and taken in sips in order to produce a local as well as a general effect. Coagulation time, which stood at 6k minutes before the exhibition of lime, came down t,y gradual steps to 841 minutes a few days after the commencement of the treatment. 2OZeitschriftf. Biologie, 1882. 21 Arch.f. Heilkunde, 1878.


The accumulation of sediment in the bottom of the dam is one of the major causes contributed to dam failure. This in turn creates risks of flooding for villages and cities below it. The aim of this research is to investigate the output of the bathymetric contour map of the bed of small Earth dams in Duhok at three different locations (Kashkan, Zawita and Skreen) as well as to determine the volume of accumulated sediment for each one at different periods of establishment. In addition, a comparison between the current statuses and the design life of each one was achieved. Both vertical depth and horizontal position measurements are implemented using two methods. The first one is the manual and direct method using lead line rope, weight, total station and DGPS for data collection in Zawita and Kashkan reservoir. While, the second method used the Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) integrated with the Global Positioning System (GPS) to record both vertical depth and horizontal position measurements automatically in Skreen dam. The ADCP was calibrated for adjusting the axes (heading, roll and pitch) before collecting data. The data of ADCP were processed and analyzed using River Surveyor Line software and the bathymetric contour map of the selected reservoir's bed was created using AutoCAD civil 3D software. Also, the volume of sedimentations of each selected Earth dam was calculated from the difference between the created topographic surface of the reservoir bed and its original one. The results show that the volume of the sedimentation in kashkan reservoir is about 13810 m3 for the period of 2009 to 2018, Zawita reservoir is about 4449 m3 for the period 2010 to 2018, Skreen reservoir is about 4608 m3 for the period 2009 to 2018, and the design life of each one estimated by state was approximately similar to the finding of this research.