After reviewing the most effective methods of contraception such as hormonal contraception or the IUD the authors describe the most common side effects and complications to be expected as a consequence of their use. The condom and the diaphragm are briefly mentioned while the major part of the article expounds the advantages of topical nonhormonal contraception. This form of contraception according to the authors is psychologically well accepted and tolerated is easy to apply not messy and together with a high spermicidal activity has in most cases a highly antibacteric activity to protect against the danger of venereal diseases. One such preparation called Agena has been recently put on the market in Italy where laboratory tests and clinical trials have shown it to be a highly effective contraceptive and antibacteric agent.


At the end of the eleventh century the current territory of the Kingdom of Jordan was the focus of bitter rivalry between the Fatimids and Seljuks from Damascus to control the Hijaz and Red Sea routes. The sudden emergence into the Near East political scene of a new power, the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, permanently disrupted the balance of forces and resulted in a few years in the complete expulsion of Muslim powers. On July 15, 1099, Jerusalem fell to the Crusaders. Having driven back a rei...


A modeling and parameter identification method for rate dependent hysteresis of piezoelectric actuated nano-stage is presented in this work. A system level quasi-static hysteresis model is employed to construct a neural network. To better describe the rate dependent behavior of hysteresis in piezoelectric actuated stage, a Nonlinear AutoRegressive Moving Average with eXogenous input (NARMAX) based dynamic model is incorporated with the quasi-static hysteresis model, where the weights of specifically designed neural network corresponds to the model parameters. To handle the multivalued problem of hysteresis, generalized input gradient is proposed to convert multivalued mapping of hysteresis into one-to-one mapping. The parameters of the nonlinear rate dependent hysteresis in piezoelectric actuated stage is identified by neural network training, taking advantage of their universal function approximation capabilities. The proposed scheme is also compared with conventional black box and particle swarm optimization identification based methods, simulation and experimental results demonstrate significant performance improvement with an error of 20.77nm for proposed method whereas 96.56nm and 31.46nm for black box and particle swarm optimization respectively.


Engineering components, particularly those containing weldments, may contain small crack-like defects that experience combinations of primary and secondary stresses during service. A new function, g(), has been introduced previously to quantify the influence of plasticity interaction under combined primary and secondary loading on a components crack driving force. This paper compares g() with experiments performed to consider g() over a range of plasticity values. This experimental programme was performed on scalloped notch three point bend specimens that had experienced a pre-compression to induce a residual stress field before being tested to failure over a range of temperatures (−150, −90 and −50 °C). Samples which did not undergo a pre-compression were also tested to provide an estimate of the materials fracture toughness at the temperature in question. Through analysing the experimental results it is clear that further material characterisation is required. This paper, therefore, only presents the initial results at this stage. However, as a pessimistic interpretation of the results has been made, and since both the existing R6 and the g() plasticity interaction parameters are acceptable, the experiments provide useful validation to both methods.Copyright © 2011 by British Crown


The architectural design and performance of bi-directional optical backplanes with multi-bus lines are presented and analyzed. Previously, we have reported a general purpose bi- directional optical backplane with single bus line. With the integration of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers and photodetector arrays, in this paper, we further propose and demonstrate an optical backplane with multi-bus lines. With the multi-bus line structure, the bandwidth of the bus system is greatly increased. The performance related issue, such as the power budget consideration, the misalignment, etc., are also discussed, and related experiments are presented.


The 32 nucleotide deletion in the CCR‐5 chemokine receptor gene referred to as Δccr‐5 has been shown to confer resistance to HIV‐1. Using PCR, 1,105 human subjects and 33 common chimpanzees were genotyped attributing them to one of the three possible genotypes: wild‐type homozygote (w/w); Δccr‐5 homozygote (Δccr‐5/Δccr‐5) and Δccr‐5/wild‐type heterozygotes (Δccr‐5/w). The ethnic groups investigated included different Middle Eastern nationalities (mainly Arab) and Russians. Carriers of the Δccr‐5 mutation were found among Arabs, Iranians and Russians. The highest frequency of the mutation was seen in Russians (24.4% of the Δccr‐5 heterozygotes, allele frequency–0.1221). Surprisingly, the only Δccr‐5 homozygote identified in our study was an Egyptian. The origin of the Δccr‐5 mutation in the Middle Eastern populations, both Arab and non‐Arab, is most probably due to a gene flow from the Europeans. The frequency of the Δccr‐5 mutation in Russians is one of the highest known. It might be one of the factors contributing to a relatively slow pace of increase in the incidence of sexually acquired HIV infection in Russia. None of the chimpanzees tested was positive for Δccr‐5. Interestingly, the DNA sequence of the chimpanzee CCR‐5 gene in the region including the site of the Δccr‐5 mutation, and flanking areas, was virtually identical to the homologous human sequence, only two mismatches (silent substitutions) were found. J. Med. Virol. 55:147–151, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The purpose of conducting state case studies was to describe the current status of juvenile justice education, and ways in which NCLB has impacted these systems and services. The case studies had four main objectives. 1. Collecting information and data from states to begin the development of a National Information Clearinghouse for the field 2. Evaluating and reporting the current national state of juvenile justice education post NCLB 3. Assessing how well states have implemented NCLB requirements in their juvenile justice education systems and determine the extent to which NCLB has impacted the services and outcomes of the states' delinquent population 4. Determining the impact that the Juvenile Justice NCLB Collaboration Project had on states' implementation of NCLB


Method of making a polishing layer of the polishing pad, and a step of determining the desired distribution of the particles to be embedded in the polymer matrix of the polishing layer. Using a 3D printer, a plurality of layers of polymer matrix are being continuously deposited, each layer of a plurality of layers of polymer matrix, is deposited by discharging the polymer matrix precursor from the nozzle. Using a 3D printer, a plurality of layers of the particles, depending on the desired distribution, it is successively deposited. A polymer matrix precursor, is solidified in a polymer matrix embedded with particles to a desired distribution.


Information on the role of fuel-wood to household economy is crucial to their sustainable management. However this role is not properly documented in Takum LGA. Therefore contribution of fuel-wood to household economy in Takum LGA of Taraba State was investigated. A three-stage sampling procedure was used in the study. A total of 180 semi-structured questionnaires were administered using 30% sampling intensity to generate data for this study with only 175 retrieved. Contributions of fuel-wood were evaluated using compendium, household income and fuel-wood harvesting methods as indices of household economy in the study area. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-test at α0.05. The result on compendium of trees used as fuel-wood in the study area indicated that, ten (10) trees belonging to eight (8) families are used for fuel-wood in the study area. The result of ttest showed that fuel-wood contributed N9,087.88 ± 6951.91(p<0.05) monthly to household income in the study area. The result on methods used in harvesting fuel-wood in the study area revealed that, five harvesting methods are used in harvesting fuel-wood in the study area. The result indicated that, harvesting of fuel-wood by cutting method has the highest percentage of 46.3% followed by lop/girdle 28.6%, felling 16.5%, uprooting 5.7% and digging 2.9%, respectively. It is recommended that exploitation should be at par with planting and regeneration.


Individuals infected with the HIV/AIDSfrequentlyreceive negative conjecture from the public in all aspects of life as well as in the aspects of spirituality. However, spirituality has been identified to contribute positive impact on people who are suffering hardship including individuals infected with HIV/AIDS. Spirituality is often used as asource of strength or coping strategy to deal with the challenges in life. The HIV/AIDS virus is commonly related to social problems and promiscuous activities. This research was conducted to identify the level of spirituality among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA)in the state of Kelantan. The respondents consisted a total of 34 male and female HIV/AIDS patients. The data was gathered using a set of questionnairesadapted from the Spiritual Quotient Questionnaire (SQQ). The results showed that majority of the respondents have a moderatelevel of spirituality; and there were no significant relationshipsamong the respondents' spiritual level and the selected demographic factors which are age, income, number of dependentsand duration of infection. This somehow shows that even though the respondents had involved withactivities that are against the norms of society, they still maintain a considerablelevel of spirituality. Therefore, the society should avoid casting their prejudice against people living with HIV/AIDS.


The presence of OPAL in ED has brought success in reducing unnecessary hospital admissions for older, often frail patients. Our service involves a joint approach between ED and geriatricians. Our data conclude that, when frail older people are assessed by a single specialist health and social team, unnecessary admissions can be avoided. It has reduced length of stay for those who are admitted and improved patient flow in ED.


This paper focuses on the application of previously proposed p-ary Generalized Self-Shrinking Generator (pGSSG). Software encryption system using keystream produced by the pGSSG is developed and analyzed. For initialization of the generator Galois Field GF(257 32 ) and feedback polynomials are chosen. A mathematical model of the software encryption system is made. It is proved that it is not perfect but the empirical tests with calculation of entropy for input and encrypted files show that it has less than 0.0125% deviation from the perfect secrecy.


A super-high-resolution measurement method of photo-absorption cross sections has been developed and applied to investigate fine structure in nuclear photo-absorption cross sections. The method was the first to utilize a high- resolution high-energy photon spectrometer (HHS) achieving 0.1% energy resolution for photon energies between 10 and 30 MeV, and laser Compton photons covering the energy range of giant dipole resonance. Recent progress indicates that this type of spectroscopy appears to be very powerful for the study of nuclear photo-absorption cross sections, and significant fine structure in some light nuclei are experimentally shown.


The R, F and B cells of the hepatopancreas of Carcinus maenas are derived from undifferentiated (E) cells at the distal end of the tubules. Observations with the scanning electron microscope on freeze fractured tubules show that (a) most of the concentrically structured granules are confined to the R cells with few in F or B cells, (b) within individual R cells, granules are of similar size, and (c) the further R cells are situated from the distal end of the tubule, the greater is the mean diameter of the granules that they contain.


Lack of confirmatory testing of reactive donations for hepatitis C (HCV), B (HBV) and human immunodeficiency (HIV) viruses hampers reliable residual transmission risk analysis in India.


Objective To study the clinical outcomes of an iliac flap straddling the donor site plus sensory nerve implantation to repair massive defects of calcaneal bone and skin at one stage.Methods Based on anatomical study of the tradition iliac flap,a new iliac flap was designed which straddles the donor site,is pedicled on the deep iliac circumflex artery and links the deep iliac circumflex artery and the superficial iliac circumflex artery to supply blood.From June 2007 to the October 2011,18 patients with massive defects of calcaneal bone and skin were treated with our new iliac flap straddling the donor site plus sensory nerve implantation.They were 12 men and 6 women,aged from 18 to 56 years (average,36 years).The areas of bone defect averaged 7.2 cm × 2.6 cm and the areas of skin defect averaged 23.0 cm × 11.0 cm.Results The massive defects of calcaneal bone and skin were all repaired with good shape and function at one stage and flaps survived.The patients were followed up for 1 to 3 years after operation (average,1.8 years).The protective sensory was recovered well at the heel.One year postoperation,the two-point discrimination ranged from 16 to 24 millimeters (average,18.6 millimeters).All patients resumed normal walking and no ulcer occurred.According to the functional assessment system of American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society,8 cases were excellent,9 good and one acceptable.Conclusion In repair of massive defects of calcaneal bone and skin,an iliac flap straddling the donor site plus sensory nerve implantation can result in good clinical outcomes at one stage.

Key words:
Surgical flaps;  Calcaneus;  Wounds and injuries;  Straddling the donor site; Sensory nerve implantation


Two two-dimensional coordination polymers, [Cd(μ1,3-SCN)2(μ1,6-L)]n 1 and [Co(μ1,3-SCN)2(μ1,6-L)]n 2, have been synthesized with 2,3-dimethylpyrazine-1,4-dioxide (L) and thiocyanate as mixed bridging ligands, and their crystal structures were determined by X-ray crystallography. Both crystals belong to monoclinic system, space group C2/c. The other crystal parameters are as follows: for complex 1: a = 9.732(3), b = 14.658(5), c = 8.811(3) , β = 102.935(4)°, Z = 4, V = 1225.1(7) 3, C8H8CdN4O2S2, Mr = 368.71, Dc = 1.999 g/cm3, F(000) = 720 and μ = 2.117 mm-1; for complex 2: a = 9.528(7), b = 14.563(11), c = 8.415(6) , β = 102.195(9)°, V = 1141.3(14) 3, Z = 4, C8H8CoN4O2S2, Mr = 315.23, Dc = 1.835 g/cm3, F(000) = 636 and μ = 1.863 mm1. The two complexes show similar two-dimensional sheet structures. Along the c axis one-dimensional chains are constructed by the coordination of Cd(II) (or Co(II)) ions with μ1,6-L bridging ligand, and the μ1,3-SCN bridging ligands make the chains connect to each other, resulting in the formation of a two-dimensional sheet on the ac plane.


This paper intends to present an experimental study on the effectiveness of using bentonite mixed with originating sedimentary residual soil as a liner. In order to investigate the effectiveness of soil-bentonite mixture, several tests were performed on Salak Tinggi sedimentary residual soil mixed with different percentage of bentonite content such as 5%, 10% and 15%. The laboratory testing was performed on the mixed sample consist of physical properties of the soil such as: pH, plastic limit (PL), liquid limit (LL), plasticity index (PI), linear shrinkage (LS) and specific gravity (SG). Meanwhile, the compaction testing was performed such as Bristish Standard Light (BSL) and Bristish Standard Heavy (BSH). The compaction test was conducted to determine the maximum dry density (MDD) and optimum moisture content (OMC) at two different compaction energies. The result showed that the addition of bentonite on the Salak Tinggi residual soil can change and improve the physical properties of the results. Moreover, the results of compaction show a decrease in the MDD value for any increase in the percentage of bentonite mixture at all energies. However, MDD value increases with increasing of compaction energy used in soil–bentonite mixture. All these changes improved the performance of residual soil use as liner purposes.


Ecological survey of six sites in three main restored marshes (Huwaiza, Chebaish and East Hammar) was carried out during 2006 and 2007 to study the re-establishment and distribution of aquatic macrophytes. A total of 44 species were recorded, only 1 exotic (Hydrilla verticillata) was found in all three marshes after inundation. Ricciocarpus natans (Bryophytes) was new record in Chebaish marsh, while Cyperus aucheri, Torulinium odoratum , badderwort (Utricularia australis) and saw grass (Cladium mariscus) were observed in Huwaiza marsh for the first time in this study. The highest number of aquatic plants was registered in Huwaiza marsh (35) in comparison with Chebaish (27) and E.Hammar marsh (24). The present study showed that the aquatic macrophyte species restoration percentage were 97.22%, 61.36% and 63.15% in Huwaiza, Chebaish and E.Hammar marsh respectively. 1Introduction: The Mesopotamian marshes were considered as the largest wetland ecosystem in the Middle East and Western Eurasia covered more than 15,000 km (Al-Hilli, 1977; Maltby, 1994; Nicholson and Clark, 2002; Richardson, 2008). The importance of these marshes is due to their historical, economic, social and environmental values characterized by frequency of water flows, accumulation of nutrients, organic matter and the production of commercially important vegetation and fish. They play a key role in the intercontinental flyway of PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com D.A.H. Al-Abbawy and A.A. Al-Mayah/ Marsh Bulletin 5(2)(2010)177-196 178 migratory birds, support endangered species (UNEP, 2001; Stevens and Alwash, 2003; USAID, 2004). Iraqi regime drained these marshes in the 1990s, turning 95% of that wetlands to desert (UNEP, 2001). Since early 2003, the marshes total surface area was expanded from seven per cent to 41% of their maximal extent in the early 1970s, but the most recent estimates in December 2006 indicate that they reach 58% of its original size (UNEP, 2007). The presence of macrophytes is one of the defining features of wetlands. They play as vital part in structure and function of aquatic ecosystems by altering water movement regimes (Chambers et al., 1999; van der Valk, 2006), providing shelter, food for many levels of wildlife, and at the same time produce oxygen needed by animals (Chambers et al., 2008), taking up nutrient, releasing dissolved organic matter, increasing sedimentation (Sand-Jensen, 1998; Schallenberg and Waite, 2004) and improving water clarity (Scheffer et al., 1993). Vascular aquatic macrophytes have a wide distribution all over the world and many of them are cosmopolitan. The vegetation covering land surface is main component of biosphere. The vegetation of aquatic plants plays a very important role on the natural environment conservation and improvement to keep human beings living environment evergreen while the vegetation supplies many resources to human living and development continuously. The objectives of present study were: 1) Collection and identification of plant species in marshes after inundation. 2) Determination of restoration percentage of species and comparing it with recent and historical studies. 3) To survey the extent and distribution of macrophytes. 2Materials and Methods Study sites Huwaiza marsh Historically Huwaiza marsh covered approximately at least 3,000 km expanding to over 5,000 km during the floods (UNEP, 2007). It lies to the east of the Tigris, extending towards the Iraqi-Iranian border. Two sites were selected to represent the vegetation patterns in the marsh. UmAlwared(S1) with shallow water and dense vegetation and GPS reading (N 31 34 20. E 47 31 28) Um-Al-Naaj(S2) with deep and open water and GPS reading (N 31 36 06. E 47 42 12). Huwaiza marsh is non tidal freshwater marsh and representing the best remaining natural marsh in the original Mesopotamian wetlands, dominated by dense stands of Phragmites australis. Chebaish marsh Its part of Central marshes situated towards the west of Tigris River and north of the Euphrates, delimiting by the triangle PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com D.A.H. Al-Abbawy and A.A. Al-Mayah/ Marsh Bulletin 5(2)(2010)177-196 179 between the towns of Al-Nasiriyah, AlAmarah and Al-Qurnah. Abosobat(S3) a river-like canal with dense vegetation located in (N 30 58 15. E 47 02 21) and Abocholan(S4) a new reflooded area located in (N 30 57 48. E 47 04 80) were selected in Chebaish. Its non tidal oligosaline marsh, receives water from Euphrates. Almost the entire area is covered by tall reed-beds of Phragmites australis and Typha domingensis. Central marshes covered an area of about 3,000 km extending to over 4,000 km during flood periods (UNEP, 2007). East Hammar marsh Situated almost entirely south of the Euphrates, extending from near AlNasiriyah in the west to the outskirts of Basra on the Shatt-al-Arab in the east. Their surface area covered 2,800 km of continuous permanent marsh. Two sites were chosen in E. Hammar marsh, Burga (S5) at the end of Junction Mashab and Salal (N 30 39 99. E 47 39 65) and Nagara (S6) with open water (N 30 40 07. E 47 38 56). Its tidal marsh with brackish water long 120 km and formerly the largest water body in the lower Euphrates (UNEP, 2007). Macrophytes Aquatic and semi aquatic macrophytes were collected by walking around and throughout marshes. Monthly surveys of marshes starting in January 2006 to December 2007 in order to collect the highest number of species. Samples were taken to the laboratory for confirmative identification and deposited in Basra University Herbarium BSRA. The plants were identified based on Flora of Iraq (Townsend et al., 1968; Al-Saadi and AlMayah, 1983; Townsend and Guest, 1985; Al-Mayah and Al-Hemeim, 1991). Presence or absence of plant species was recorded in each site of the marshes monthly. Restoration percentage A restoration percentage calculated as the number of species present now compared to historical records (Reference study of Al-Mayah , 1994). PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com D.A.H. Al-Abbawy and A.A. Al-Mayah/ Marsh Bulletin 5(2)(2010)177-196 180 Figure 1: Samples sites from study area. (source: Google earth) 3-Results In Southern Iraqi marshes 44 macrophytes species included 13 dicot, 28 monocot and one species of moss, fern and macroalgae were collected and identified during January 2006 to December 2007; twelve of which were submergent, 6 floating, 11 emergent , 13 wet and one non-native submergent species (Tables 1,2&3). Total aquatic plant species recorded in Huwaiza marsh was 35, while it was 27 and 24 in Chebaish and E. Hammar marsh respectively (Fig. 2). Digital photographs of some aquatic macrophytes presence in study sites were shown in figure 3. Figure 4 showed the composition of aquatic plant groups (%) in each studied marsh. Wet and emergent plants had the highest percentage in Huwaiza marsh, while the submergent plants have highest percentages in E.Hammar and Chebaish marshes. Where as the lowest percentage of floating plants was recorded in E.Hammar compared with other two marshes. PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com D.A.H. Al-Abbawy and A.A. Al-Mayah/ Marsh Bulletin 5(2)(2010)177-196 181 Herbaceous plants were the dominated species (35) recorded in the studied marshes and 6 grass species and only one species of each of macroalgae, fern and moss (Fig.5). Tables 4&5 explained presence of aquatic vascular plants in each marsh during 2006 and 2007. The occurrence of aquatic plants in 2006 was as follow: Stations S1 and S2 registered 22 species and were similar in 19 species, while S3 and S4 registered 22 and 19 species respectively and were similar in 17 species. In S5 and S6, total number of species reached 19 and 15 respectively with 15 similar species between both stations. It was clear that number of species increased in all studied stations during 2007 in comparison with 2006. Similarity among different studied stations was showed in cluster analysis in figures 6&7. Jaccard index (Ss) showed that the highest similarity was between Chebaish and E.Hammar that reached 59% (Table 6). Restoration percentage were calculated and showed that the highest value was recorded for Huwaiza marsh reached 97.22%, while it was 63.15% and 61.36% for E. Hammar and Chebaish marshes respectively. The highest value of restoration was recorded for submergent group comparing with other groups (Table 7). Figure 2: Number of aquatic macrophytes recorded in southern Iraqi marshes during 2006-2007. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40


Aims  The effect of metabolic control on hepatic synthesis of plasma proteins in Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), in the post‐absorptive and post‐prandial state, is not known.


Banking industry is undergoing unprecedented changes driven by consolidation by means of mergers and acquisitions all over the world. To procure the benefit of economies of scale, merging and acquisition has become one of the principle objectives of many banks. Merger of SBI with its 5 associate banks namely State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Mysore(SBM), State Bank of Travancore (SBT), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and Bharatiya Mahila Bank took place on 1st April, 2017 is the largest merger in history of Indian Banking Industry. The merger had made State Bank of India one of the 50 biggest banks of the world. The study would enumerate the benefits to the customers and its associated banks. The study has put forward the Customers as well as acceptability behavior for the services.
Key Words: Associate banks, Customers, Merging, Services, Share holders


Reserve carbohydrate and the plant hormone auxin present in the stalk are involved in the development of sugarcane plant. Thus, this study aimed to quantify sugars and auxin content in the initial development of stalks and sugarcane buds, as a function of diameter and position in the stalk. The experiment was conducted in a 3x3 factorial scheme (diameter x stalk section), with four replicates. Eleven-month-old plants stalks were classified into three diameters (fine 3 cm) and divided into three sections (apex, middle and base). Data were submitted to analysis of variance, and when significant the means were compared by the Tukey test at 5% probability. The diameter factor resulted in greater interference in the content of the biochemical variables evaluated (sugars and auxin), in comparation to stalk section. Biometric variables (length and dry mass of shoot and roots, budding and budding speed index), in general, were mostly affected by stalk section factor. The diameter factor interfered in the content of endogenous auxin in the stalk and buds. Root growth was related to endogenous auxin concentration and the highest sprouting percentage was obtained from the apical section of the talk due to the availability of reducing sugars content. The use of mini-stalks for the propagation of sugarcane proved feasible.


A technique is proposed for determination of transient's duration in adaptive compensation of fractional spurs generated by delta-sigma modulators in fractional frequency dividers of phase-locked loop with a variable division coefficient. The adaptive compensation of fractional spurs is implemented using a dedicated additional device connected to the low-pass filter input.


In order to linearize Mises yield criterion, Tresca and Twin shear stress yield functions were added and their mean function was calculated and used as a new linear yield criterion called MY (mean yield)criterion in Haigh Westergard stress space. The mathematical relationship of the MY criterion and its yield locus in the π plane as well as the derivation of the rate of plastic work done per unit volume were given out. Precision analysis and an actual example show that the MY criterion is a linear one whose maximum relative error with the Mises criterion is no more than 3 9% and mean relative error no more than 1 95%; the expression of plastic work rate done per unit volume for the criterion is also linear.


A typical influenza epidemic kills 20,000 Americans, while some 40,000 die each year from pneumococcal infections. Safe, effective, and inexpensive vaccines are available for both diseases, yet they remain underused. Among the elderly, who are at high …


This paper deals with the Aw-Rascle-Zhang model for traffic flow on uni-directional road networks. For the conservation of the mass and the generalized momentum, we construct weak solutions for Riemann problems at the junctions. We particularly focus on a novel approximation to the homogenized pressure by introducing an additional equation for the propagation of a reference pressure. The resulting system of coupled conservation laws is then solved using an appropriate numerical scheme of Godunov type. Numerical simulations show that the proposed approximation is able to approximate the homogenized pressure sufficiently well. The difference of the new approach compared with the Lighthill-Whitham-Richards model is also illustrated.


Abstract Adenylate cyclase from Brevibacterium liquefaciens was purified to apparent homogeneity and crystallized. The purification was achieved by conventional procedures starting from crude extracts obtained by the digestion of bacteria with lysozyme. The over-all purification was 4500-fold with a yield of 10%. The purified enzyme was activated by pyruvate, and catalyzed the conversion of 30 µmoles of ATP to adenosine 3' : 5'-monophosphate and PPi per min per mg of protein under the standard assay conditions. The purified enzyme was apparently homogeneous as judged by polyacrylamide gel electrophoreses and immunological criteria. Polyhedral crystals were obtained from an ammonium sulfate solution of the enzyme. A minimum weight average molecular weight of the native enzyme was estimated to be 92,400 by sedimentation equilibrium ultracentrifugation using a partial specific volume of 0.728 ml per g. Gel filtration experiments on columns of Sephadex G-200 indicated a Stokes radius of about 49 A. Ultracentrifugation in sucrose density gradients revealed that the purified enzyme has a sedimentation coefficient of about 4.5 S which was not affected by the presence of pyruvate and Mg2+. On the basis of these physical parameters, a frictional ratio of about 1.6 was calculated. The enzyme was dissociated into subunits by treatment with sodium dodecyl sulfate. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that in gels containing 0.1% sodium dodecyl sulfate, the two subunits had the same molecular weight of 46,000 and in gels containing 8 m urea, the denatured enzyme migrated as a single species. These results indicated that the native enzyme consists of two polypeptide chains, identical or very similar in size and charge. Certain other properties of the enzyme are also described.


This study investigated the role of oxidative damage and nitric oxide (NO) synthases in the fetal heart using a model of intrauterine growth restriction induced by uteroplacental circulation restriction (UCR).


This paper presents a study of the tool wear in High Speed Machining (HSM) of hardened steel. The used hardened steel was the AISI H13 with hardness between 52 and 54 HRc. High speed milling experiments were developed to evaluate the wear mechanisms for finishing endmill with ball nose and for roughing mill with round insert cutter. The analysis was limited the flank wear. In both processes the tool life was measured and the tests were developed for different cutting conditions for dry machining and different tools. The results show a good tool life for finishing endmill, for this tool the adhesion and the chipping were the limit for a longer lifetime. For roughing mill with round insert cutter the process was restricted to the small depths and moderated cutting speed, and the abrasion mechanism was the main wear on the cutting edge.


THE current national expenditure for Thealth services represents 6 per cent of the Gross National Product (GNP). There is increasing concern in government circles that the expenditure for health services be better coordinated so that a greater benefit be derived from health-service expenditures. At the same time, there is a tendency to increase the amount of money spent for health services, and it is estimated that the proportion of Gross National Product spent for health services could be tripled to 120 billion dollars or $600 per person per year. Two basic concerns are perceived: first, that of efficiency of the system which might be measured in terms of costs-benefit ratio; and, second, that of availability, i.e., that health services be so abundantly located that all persons may avail themselves of these resources. Anderson' has postulated two fundamental characteristics which condition the operation of the entire structure of health services and which are related to the problems of efficiency and availability. These elements, which he characterizes as exceedingly elastic, are (1) the variability of the perception of illness and what people do about it, and (2) the necessary discretionary judgment and responsibility (together with the authority) that is required of physicians, the chief gate-keepers of the system. Taking into consideration both of these fundamental characteristics, the variability of perception of illness and what people do about it is reflected in the fact that, although we have such a relatively large expenditure for health services and have a great deal of knowledge in terms of prevention and cure of disease, there are still large segments of our population, particularly in the lower socioeconomic levels, with higher than average incidences of disease and mortality. The use of nonprofessionals has increased considerably with the advent of government-financed programs to aid the disadvantaged and the poor. Reissman2 estimates that 150,000 nonprofessional positions have been established through poverty and other federal legislation. The use of such nonprofessional aides has been known in the field of public health for a number of years: among the Indians and Eskimos of Canada as of 1958, among farm workers in California in 1961,3 and among the Navajo Indians as early as the middle 1950s. The use of such personnel in overseas programs, often under the title of village worker or community aide, is well-documented.


This article examines issues of diversity and inclusion in Australian public relations from the perspective of a female migrant academic. Using an autoethnographic approach, I draw from a postcolonial feminist perspective and recount my experience of public relations in Australia. This article incorporates self with the social, particularly expressing a voice often unheard of in the public relations discipline. In expressing my 'voice', I use memory texts that have triggered dialogues within myself and with others in my environment. I argue that Australian public relations education is a product of the country's struggles with its identity. To move forward, the public relations discipline requires more culturally aware faculty and practitioners who can develop and champion a curriculum that embraces multiple and inter-cultural perspectives.


While the invention relates to the switching between the page enables information exchange. The present invention provides a method and system using .NET web application development, for switching between the page source (SP) and the target page (TP) in the drill-down navigation mode can be realized while enabling the exchange of information, the present invention include: - provide intelligent navigation services (SNS), which has the form of a service configuration at page development library for information management between the intelligent navigation of the source page (SP) and the target page (TP), - intelligent navigation services (SNS) located at runtime given user session, and can be from a given web user session when an event occurs (SP, TP) collection, intelligent navigation information required to store (SNI) and / or to give web page a given user session (SP, TP) provides intelligent navigation information needed (SNI).


A field experiment was conducted in polyhouse at Hi-tech Horticulture Park, Department of Horticulture, Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh during Late Kharif season of the year 2010 with mulch to study the effect of retention of fruits on yield and quality of watermelon. It consisted of twelve treatment combinations, comprising of four levels of fruit retention viz., 2 fruits/plant (F 1 ), 3 fruits/plant (F 2 ), 4 fruits/plant (F 3 ) and control (All fruits were retained) (F 4 ) were embedded in a Split Plot Design in CRD with four replications. The experiment result were highest average fruit weight (2.57 kg), yield tons per hectare (45.27 t/ha), maximum pulp weight (1706.56 g), total soluble solids (11.18 °B), non-reducing sugars (3.95 %), reducing sugars (1.70 %), total sugars (5.29 %) and ascorbic acid content (7.86 mg/100 g pulp) was found in case of F 2 (3 fruits per plant). While, maximum fruit length (21.29 cm), fruit girth (13.84 cm) and lowest rag weight (612.66 g) was observed in case of F 1 (2 fruits per plant). Whereas, maximum fruit yield in terms of kg per plot (36.76 kg) and number of fruits per plot (18.66) was recorded in case of F 3 (4 fruits per plant).


A 70 year old woman presented with a painless abdominal mass. She had a background of previous oesophageal carcinoma with liver metastases with a remarkably long …


We examine the deterrence effect of whistleblower laws on accounting fraud. We exploit state False Claims Acts (FCAs), under which reporting fraud at a firm invested in by a state's pension fund can result in monetary rewards from that state's government. Using staggered adoption of FCAs between 2001 and 2010, we compare the accounting fraud probability of firms owned by state pension funds after FCA adoption in the state to that of firms not exposed to any state's FCA. We find that firms' exposure to FCAs reduces the likelihood of accounting fraud by 5% to 9%. Consistent with the reduced likelihood of fraud lowering the risks of auditing the affected firms, audit fees are 4.5% to 6% lower after a firm is exposed to state FCAs relative to firm-years not treated. Conversely, we find little evidence consistent with increased investment in internal auditing being a mechanism by which whistleblowing exposure lowers fraud risk. Finally, we find the introduction of the Dodd-Frank whistleblower provision in 2011 reduced the probability of accounting fraud to a greater extent for firms that had not been affected previously by state FCAs, corroborating the deterrence effect of the state and federal whistleblower laws.


The objectives of this study are 1) to determine the effect of the role of BUMDes Jaya Abadi in the cooperative sector as a funding institution during the COVID-19 pandemic on the welfare of rubber farmers. 2) To determine the effect of the role of BUMDes Jaya Abadi in the cooperative sector in creating jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic on the welfare of rubber farmers. 3) To determine the effect of the role of BUMDes Jaya Abadi in the cooperative sector as part of public education during the COVID-19 pandemic on the welfare of rubber farmers. 4) To determine the effect of the role of BUMDes Jaya Abadi in the cooperative sector as a stabilizer during the covid-19 pandemic on the welfare of rubber farmers. 5) To find out the joint influence of the role of BUMDes Jaya Abadi in the cooperative sector as a funding institution, creating jobs, public education, and stabilizing during the COVID-19 pandemic on the welfare of rubber farmers. The population used in this study were rubber farmers in Kampung Adi Jaya, amounting to 125 people. The sample used in this study were 95 people. The data obtained were analyzed using multiple linear regression equations, coefficient of determination, t test, and f test. Based on the results of research and discussion, several conclusions can be drawn that funding institutions have a direct positive and significant influence on the welfare of rubber farmers. Creating jobs has a direct positive and significant impact on the welfare of rubber farmers. Public education has a direct positive and significant effect on the welfare of rubber farmers. Stabilizers have a direct positive and significant effect on the welfare of rubber farmers. Funding institutions, creating jobs, public education, and stabilizers together have a positive and  significant influence on the  welfare of rubber farmers.
Keywords: welfare of rubber farmers, the role of cooperatives


Diamondlike a‐C:H films have been deposited by plasma decomposition of C2 H2. 50 samples were prepared with a systematic variation of the deposition parameters: the substrate bias voltage was between −100 and −1400 V and the C2 H2 gas pressure was between 4×10−4 and 2.6×10−1 mbar. The following properties of the films were measured: the density by Rutherford backscattering, the total concentration of hydrogen by elastic recoil detection, the bonding ratio sp3 /sp2 by infrared spectroscopy, the internal stress by the bending beam method, and the hardness with a Knoop microhardness tester. It has been shown that the hardness and other mechanical properties cannot be correlated to the average carbon coordination number mc. This is because mc is calculated under the assumption of a homogenous single‐phase model, which does not seem to be justified. It is demonstrated that the mechanical properties can be explained by the application of a void model.


To compress color-pixel blocks, a novel color BTC algorithm, called the quaternion-moment block truncation coding (QMBTC), is presented in this paper. The QMBTC are derived by using the quaternion arithmetic and moment-preserving principle. The proposed color BTC algorithm can adaptively truncate a pixel block into one or two output classes according to the distribution of color values inside the blocks. The experimental results show that the compression ratio will increase as compared with existing color BTC algorithms and the picture quality of reconstructed images is satisfactory.


We present our recent experimental work involving nanocavities which enable efficient light-matter interaction in small optical mode volumes. To achieve this, we investigated photonic crystal membrane platforms for designing high-quality (Q) factor nanocavities and efficient planar waveguides. Particularly, we discuss waveguide-nanocavity coupled systems for realization of asymmetric Fano resonances which are characterized by having transmission maximum and minimum in close spectral separation (~1nm) suitable for optical switching applications.


The Jacurici Complex, located in the NE of the São Francisco Craton, hosts the largest chromite deposit in Brazil. The mineralized intrusion is considered as a single N-S Paleoproterozoic conolith-type elongated layered body disrupted into many segments by subsequent deformation. The Jacurici Complex also hosts Ni-Cu sulfide mineralization, in the northern part, and PGE mineralization associated to the chromite ore. Four segments located along the belt have been studied: Ipueira, Medrado, Monte Alegre and Várzea do Macaco. Here we integrate all results and discuss the magma chamber process that could explain the formation of the deposit. All segments have a similar stratigraphic succession with an ultramafic zone (250 m thick) that host a 5 to 8 m thick main chromitite layer (MCL) and a mafic zone (40 m thick). The chromite composition of the MCL is similar to those from other thick chromitites and to chromite from chromitites hosted in large igneous complexes such as Bushveld, Stillwater and Great Dyke. The parental magma was very primitive based on olivine (up to Fo93) and orthopyroxene (up to En94) composition and originated from an old subcontinental lithosphere. Os and Nd isotopes suggest that crustal contamination have occurred near to the MCL interval. Mineral inclusions in chromite from the MCL show evidences of H2O and CO2 enriched magma during ore formation. Chromite also hosts base metal sulfides and PGM, including laurite that can occur as isolated or as composite inclusions. The association of laurite with base metal sulphides and also the presence of hydrous and CO2-rich minerals enclosed in chromite could suggest contamination and S-saturation previous or simultaneous to chromite crystallization. Our new findings support crustal contamination as a trigger for the ore crystallization and that fluids may have favored chromite crystallization. However, the anomalous thickness of the chromitite is a difficult feature to explain considering it is hosted in a very thin layered mafic-ultramafic body. The petrologic evolution suggests that a high volume of magma flowed through the sill. We considered a combined model where the chromite crystallized along the margins of a conduit triggered by crustal contamination, producing a semiconsolidated chromite slurry that slumped forming a thick chromitite. Although a connection to a much larger igneous system is assumed, the petrological and tectonic significance of this Paleoproterozoic magmatism and its precise regional geological correlation still require further investigation.


Low carbon steels for long products either for automotive applications and others have been added with boron.The addition of boron has improved the mechanical properties such lower hardness,lower yield strength and higher elongation.Boron added steels varied both in residual elements and most importantly in nitrogen content. The microstructure of B-added steels reveals very fine precipitates.The optimum cooling of B-added steels is related to the thermodynamics of boron reaction with nitrogen and other elements such as carbon.The understanding of these reactions is key to control the final mechanical properties.


The G-20 Data Gaps Initiative has called for the IMF to develop standard measures of tail risk, which we identify in this paper with systemic risk. To understand the conditions under which tail risk is present, it is first necessary to develop a measure of what constitutes a systemic stress, or tail, event. We develop such a measure and uses it to assess the performance of eleven near-term systemic risk indicators as 'early' warning of distress among top financial institutions in the United States and the euro area. Two indicators perform particularly well in both regions, and a couple of other simple indicators do well across a number of criteria. We also find that the sizes of institutions do not necessarily correspond with their contribution to spillover risk. Some practical guidance for policies is provided.


In terms of newspaper-magazine reviews of Alexander Ostrovsky's works, published in the 1850s-70s, the problem of artistic text literary-critical evaluation is examined in the article. The author of the article assumes that artistic text evaluation is directly related to ideology and to the main request of time in terms of which, the text receives this assessment. According to Georgiy Fridlender, one of the most important tasks that Russian public life of the second half of the 19th century set for literature was to create an image of a viable and still positive hero. Alexander Ostrovsky in his work was oriented to answers to the most pressing social requests. Nevertheless, his works often did not satisfy his contemporaries, and sometimes insulted their moral feelings. An attempt to trace how the negative moral and ethical assessment of the playwright's creative work was conditioned and the role that newspaper and magazine criticism played in shaping the literary process is undertaken in the article.


The frequency distribution of HII regions radii in our galaxy has been investigated. The correlation between the number of these regions and their radii has been re-determined, and could be represented by an exponential function. The size distribution of the HII regions in 10 spiral galaxies has been derived and combined with that of our galaxy to derive the distances of these galaxies. It has been found that the distances derived are in a good agreement with the published ones. The interstellar extinction in the galaxies has no influence on the distance estimate when using this geometrical method.


Development of a new approval drug costs more than 2 billion dollars. Identification of protein-ligand interaction in silico actually reduces the cost of drug discovery. Recently, several methods based on deep learning have gained impressive performance on protein-ligand binding prediction. However, these methods only used a few datasets and thus focused on either classification (protein-ligand bind or not) or regression (protein-ligand binding affinity) task. The robustness and applicability of these models have been limited. In this paper, we propose a novel multi-task model for predicting protein-ligand interaction. Taking sequence data with different types of labels as input, the model can perform classification and regression task simultaneously. The results indicate the multi-task model achieves good performance on both classification and regression tasks after training on heterogeneous databases with different supervised information.


U-Pb geochronology of zircon grains retrieved from magmatic rocks intruding
 the Jadar block terrane in the central Balkans is used here to add new
 constraints on the terrane accretion processes and the provenance of crustal
 sources of this potentially exotic crustal block. Using an unorthodox
 approach, we analyzed zircons extracted from the products of Cenozoic (Cer
 and Boranja granitoid massifs) and Triassic magmatism (Bobija andesitic tuff
 - Pietra Verde). In fourteen samples of granites and epiclastites, we
 analyzed about 600 grains, and of these, about 30-40% were derived from the
 basement and were used further for the geological interpretation. Most
 samples show a similar Precambrian and Paleozoic age spectrum, including
 ubiquitous Neoproterozoic and well-defined Silurian-Ordovician populations.
 Only a few older zircons are present, composing minor populations at c. 1.2
 Ga and 3.2 Ga. The younger zircons represent a ubiquitous Triassic
 population that is the strongest in all samples. This age population is most
 likely associated with local Permo-Triassic magmatism generated due to the
 opening of the Neotethys. In contrast to the magmatic rocks of Boranja and
 Bobija, the zircon age spectrum of the Cer polyphase pluton shows a strong
 Carboniferous peak, indicating a potentially important link to the Variscan
 margin of Eurasia. This supports opposing interpretations that either this
 part of the Jadar block terrane represents a southern continuation of the
 ?Bukkium? and Sana-Una terranes comprising displaced fragments of the
 southern European Variscan foreland, or, more likely, that it has an Adria
 affinity and that these zircons are derived from Cretaceous sediments of the
 Sava Zone, i.e., the suture that separates European and Adriatic domains,
 which were assimilated during the intrusion of the Cer granitic magmas.


Edwardsiella tarda is an important pathogen to aquaculture animals,causing fish edwardsiellosis dis-eases.Vaccination is an efficient protection against this disease in fish.OppA is a component of the oligopeptide permease system of E.tarda.We evaluated the potential of OppA as an antigenic candidate vaccine against ed-wardsiellosis.The oppA gene was cloned into expression vector pPROEXHTa and expressed in E.coli BL21(DE3).The expressed 6His-OppA was purified with Ni-NTA SefinoseTM Kit and used as an antigen to immunize turbot(Scophthamus maximus) twice.At day 34 post-vaccination,the serum antibody titer in the immunized fish was 1:1024,and the relative percentage survival(RPS) was 25.9% when the immunized turbot was challenged with pathogenic E.tarda.The present studies indicate that OppA of E.tarda can induce immune response in fish and provide protection against edwardsiellosis.


BACKGROUND
Strategy to inhibit the virus replication is an attractive means in combating SARS-CoV-2 infection.

OBJECTIVE
We studied phyto-compounds from Strychnos nux-vomica (a poisonous plant) against SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase by computational methods.

METHOD
Molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and energetics calculations were employed to elucidate the role of the phyto-compounds.

RESULTS
Ergotamine with a binding free energy of -14.39 kcal/mol showed a promising capability in terms of both the binding affinity and interacting to conserved motifs, especially the SDD signature sequence. The calculated dissociation constants for ATP, ergotamine, isosungucine and sungucine were 12 µM, 0.072 nM, 0.011 nM and 0.152 nM, respectively. The exhibited kd by these phyto-compounds reflected a tens of thousands fold potency as compared to ATP. The binding free energies of sungucine and isosungucine were much lower (-13.93 and -15.55 kcal/mol, respectively) compared to that of ATP (-6.98 kcal/mol).

CONCLUSION
Sharing the same binding location as that of ATP and having high binding affinities, Ergotamine, Isosungucine, Sungucine and Strychnine N-oxide could be effective in controlling the SARS-CoV-2 virus replication by blocking the ATP and inhibiting the enzyme function.


Introduction In recent years, system integration associated with System on Chip (SoC) design has grown at a rapid rate and continues to drive the semiconductor design market. Although this growth has been beneficial for the design community, the sophisticated and complex manufacturing requirements of next generation devices have increased the cost of ASIC and ASSP development. Product implementation of complex, low-power designs requires early integration of various hardware features with corresponding firmware onto one silicon device. The reduced lifespan of current products have condensed SoC development cycles and have made the SoC verification and in-system validation process an arduous task. The bulk of time spent during the product development cycle of SoCs is often in hardware/software integration and has brought in-system validation to the forefront of this extensive process.


Background: While breast cancer is rare in women ≤ age 35, patients in this age group are more frequently diagnosed with aggressive cancer subtypes and pathologic germline mutations in cancer susceptibility genes than older patients. Higher recurrence and mortality rates in young breast cancer patients may be related to differences in tumor biology, pathologic mutation status, host characteristics or treatment. Specific Aims: The primary purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate germline mutation status, breast cancer subtypes, and other associated risk factors that may impact recurrence-free and overall survival in patients diagnosed with breast cancer at age ≤ 35. Methods: This was a retrospective review of all breast cancer cases diagnosed in women ≤ age 35 (n= 306) at Allina Health facilities from the years of 2000 – 2017. We collected information on germline mutation status, histopathologic tumor characteristics (including grade, hormone receptor status, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 [HER2] status, molecular subtype), pregnancy-associated cancers (within a year of diagnosis), treatment, and recurrence-free and overall survival in this cohort. Kaplan Meier analyses were conducted for recurrence-free and overall survival by mutation status and molecular subtype. Findings: With a mean follow-up of 6.5 years, the overall survival rate was 88.2%, with a recurrence-free survival rate of 85.2%. A total of 69.3% of patients obtained genetic testing, and 26.9% of those patients had high-risk pathologic mutations, particularly breast cancer gene (BRCA)1 and BRCA2. There were no significant differences in recurrence-free or overall survival between patients with high-risk genetic mutations as compared to those with low-risk/no mutations. However, the definitive surgery and chemotherapy use did vary by mutation status; patients with high-risk mutations were more likely to have bilateral mastectomies and receive chemotherapy (p = 0.002 and p = 0.04, respectively). Kaplan Meier analysis showed that survival was impacted by breast cancer molecular subtype; patients with Luminal B cancer had the lowest overall survival followed by HER2 positive and triple negative cancers (p = 0.05). Other factors associated with decreased survival included cancer stage, angiolymphatic invasion, tumor grade, and pregnancy-associated diagnoses (within a year of diagnosis). Conclusions: Our study shows that patients with high-risk genetic mutations (primarily BRCA1 and BRCA2) were more likely to receive chemotherapy and bilateral mastectomies. Patients with high-risk mutations had similar rates of survival and recurrence-free survival compared to patients without mutations in this study despite an increased risk of overall recurrence and subsequent cancer. In spite of their young age at diagnosis, nearly a third of patients in this study did not receive genetic testing; these results may have impacted treatment and outcomes. Patients diagnosed with Luminal B subtype had the lowest overall survival. Pregnancy-associated breast cancer diagnoses were associated with decreased survival in this age cohort. Citation Format: Tsai ML, Knaack M, Martone P, Krueger J, Baldinger SR, Lillemoe TJ, Susnik B, Grimm E, Rueth N, Swenson KK. Breast cancer diagnosed in young women ≤ age 35: Importance of germline mutations and cancer subtypes on treatment outcomes [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-10-03.


Retrograde transport of the fluorescent tracer True Blue was used in combination with immunohistochemical staining of dopamine‐β‐hydroxylase (a marker protein for noradrenergic neurons) to determine the origin of noradrenergic projections to three cranial nerve nuclei: (1) the motor nucleus of the trigeminal nerve, (2) the motor nucleus of the facial nerve, and (3) the spinal trigeminal nucleus pars interpolaris. Noradrenergic cells in the rat brainstem were divided into sub groups and their numbers were determined in serial sections stained with an antiserum to rat dopamine‐β‐hydroxylase. Following tracer injections into the three brainstem nuclei, retrogradely labeled noradrenergic neurons were counted and the percentage of True Blue‐labeled noradrenergic cells in each subgroup was calculated.


In the present literature review we consider epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnostics and treatment of medulloblastoma in children. The special attention in this review is paid to postoperative radiation therapy in a combination with chemotherapy and also to treatment of medulloblastoma in children of early age. The complications of chemotherapy and radiation therapy of medulloblastoma are considered. The data of the literature demonstrate rather high probability of achievement of permanent remission in patients with the localized tumor, but in metastatic disease the results of treatment are worse. Thus, in the high risk group the improvement of radioand chemotherapy techniques is necessary with possible revision of treatment approaches to the possible zones of relapses. Improvement of methods of treatment should be based on the detailed analysis of treatment failures and late effects of the methods of therapy.


In this work, an electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) sensor was fabricated to detect silver ions based on the competitive interaction between luminol, silver ions and cucurbit[6]uril (Q[6]). Q[6] modified electrode (Q[6]/GCE)...


A method and apparatus for displacing a portion of either or both of a vehicle seat back and a seat base to reveal a CRS anchor are disclosed. The inventive concept disclosed herein provides the use of a seat back foam displacing assembly that includes a user-operable actuator, an interface attachment member, and a tension extension member connecting the actuator and the interface attachment member. By moving the user-operable actuator, a portion of either or both of the seat base and the seat back may be displaced allowing visualization of and access to the CRS anchor. Such a system fully satisfies the need to provide easy access to the CRS anchor while fully and aesthetically concealing the anchor when not in use. The actuator may be any one or more of a lever, a handle, or a strap. A tension member guide may optionally be provided.


In this study, the concentrations of selected toxic metals (Pb, As, Cd) and essential elements (Zn, Cu) of local canned seafood including sardines, tuna, anchovies, shellfish (mussels and cockles), prawns, mackerel and cuttlefish were determined. All 30 samples were purchased from supermarkets in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. The highest concentration of trace metals in all samples was Zn which is 38.96±0.56 mg/kg, followed by Cu (2.40±0.57 mg/kg), Pb (1.71±0.71 mg/kg), As (0.96±0.70 mg/kg) and Cd (0.25±0.70 mg/kg). The average concentration of toxic elements were the highest in anchovy species with concentration of 6.93 mg/kg followed by shellfish (4.24 mg/kg), mixed seafood (4.17 mg/kg), cuttlefish (3.63 mg/kg), prawns (3.28 mg/kg), sardines (2.65 mg/kg), tuna (1.68 mg/kg) and the lowest which is mackerel (1.36 mg/kg). The results were compared with the previous studies.In this study, the concentrations of selected toxic metals (Pb, As, Cd) and essential elements (Zn, Cu) of local canned seafood including sardines, tuna, anchovies, shellfish (mussels and cockles), prawns, mackerel and cuttlefish were determined. All 30 samples were purchased from supermarkets in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. The highest concentration of trace metals in all samples was Zn which is 38.96±0.56 mg/kg, followed by Cu (2.40±0.57 mg/kg), Pb (1.71±0.71 mg/kg), As (0.96±0.70 mg/kg) and Cd (0.25±0.70 mg/kg). The average concentration of toxic elements were the highest in anchovy species with concentration of 6.93 mg/kg followed by shellfish (4.24 mg/kg), mixed seafood (4.17 mg/kg), cuttlefish (3.63 mg/kg), prawns (3.28 mg/kg), sardines (2.65 mg/kg), tuna (1.68 mg/kg) and the lowest which is mackerel (1.36 mg/kg). The results were compared with the previous studies.


We extend the high harmonic spectroscopy (HHS) technique in solids with a systematic study of the generated spectra as a function of photoexcitation pump fluence to time-resolve the electronic dynamics associated to the insulator-to-metal (IMT) phase transition in VO2 [1]. When heated above ~343 K, VO2 experiences a complete atomic rearrangement of the crystal lattice structure from a monoclinic insulator (M1 phase) to a metallic rutile crystalline structure (R phase). When initiating this IMT via photoexcitation, the pathways are even more complex. During photoexcitation, the ultrashort pulse instantaneously excites electrons creating the M1 * state. With sufficient pump energy, the periodic lattice of the M1 phase can completely transit into the R phase. With insufficient pump energy, the excited photodoped electrons in the M1 * state relax after a few hundred femtoseconds into a pseudothermal state in which the thermalized photodoped populations have the same chemical potential (M1 *,b state). After about a picosecond, the M1 *,b state reaches a longlived metastable monoclinic metallic M state. When the pumping fluence is between these two thresholds, a final mixed state between rutile and monoclinic is produced (R + M). So far, only Morrison et al. have reported the existence of the monoclinic metallic M state using ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) measurements [2]. The question we asked: Is high harmonic spectroscopy sensitive to the evolution of the IMT? We track the IMT dynamics in VO2 by measuring the yield of an intraband harmonic, requiring a conduction band with an anharmonic band structure. A mid-infrared laser pulse (drive) at 10 μm is used to drive high harmonic generation (HHG) from a 100 nm thick, epitaxial VO2 sample [3]. The sample is photoexcited with a 50 fs, 1.5 μm laser pulse (pump) to initiate the IMT. The fifth harmonic signal is recorded as a function of the time delay between the pump and the high harmonic driver. Within the range of pump fluence where Morrison et al. have reported the observation of the monoclinic metallic M state, we measured a drop of the harmonic signal at zero delay when electrons are promoted to the conduction band, followed by a recovery of the harmonic yield within a picosecond as measured using UED [2]. This demonstrates the potential of high harmonic spectroscopy as a complementary technique for tracking ultrafast dynamics in solids. Furthermore, recent results will be presented showing additional information extracted using high harmonic spectroscopy. [1] M.R. Bionta et al., "Tracking ultrafast solid-state dynamics using high harmonic spectroscopy," under review (2018). [2] V.R. Morrison et al., "A photoinduced metal-like phase of monoclinic VO2 revealed by ultrafast electron diffraction," Science 346, 455 (2014). [3] M.R. Bionta et al., "Probing the phase transition in VO2 using few-cycle 1.8 μm pulses," Phys. Rev. B 97, 125126 (2018).


A systematic study was carried out on the synthesis of oriented continuous zeolite MFI thin films on stainless steel substrate by direct in-situ crystallization, and clear correlation was obtained between crystal orientation in the zeolite film and the composition of the synthesis solution. Within the synthesis system of TPAOH:NaOH:TEOS:H2O:NaCl, OH-/Si and Na+/TPA+ ratios play a critical role in controlling crystal orientation. For sodium-free or low sodium syntheses, only random-oriented films are formed at OH-/Si ≥ 0.64, (a, b)-oriented films at 0.64 > OH-/Si > 0.5 or at 0.2 ≥ OH-/Si > 0.1, and b-oriented films at 0.5 ≥ OH-/Si > 0.2. For a given OH-/Si ratio, addition of Na+ leads to change of crystal orientation from b-oriented, to (a, b)-oriented, to (a, b, c)-oriented, and eventually to random-oriented.


We present a complete systematically theoretical study of multifragmentation for asymmetric colliding nuclei for heavy-ion reactions in the energy range between 50 MeV/nucleon and 600 MeV/nucleon by using soft and hard equations of state. This study is performed within an isospin-dependent quantum-molecular dynamics model. To see the effect of mass asymmetry, simulations are carried out in the absence of Coulomb interactions. Coulomb interactions enhance the production of fragments by about 20%. We envision an interesting outcome for large asymmetric colliding nuclei. Although nearly symmetric nuclei depict a well-known trend for rising and falling with a peak around E=100 MeV/nucleon, this trend, however, is completely missing for large asymmetric nuclei. Therefore, experiments are needed to verify this prediction.


Indigenous peoples of the Arctic region, such as the Aleut, Arctic Athabaskan, Gwich'in, Inuit and Sami, face significant challenges in protecting their traditional cultures and languages in the face of contemporary environmental, social and economic pressures. While the role of traditional cultures in education has improved in the past few decades, assessment of any achievements remains difficult. The present chapter provides an overview of Arctic indigenous peoples' education issues, challenges and successes.


ABSTRACT At the close of 2010, an immediate effect of the rule changes to the European Union's budgetary powers brought in by the Lisbon Treaty was a non-agreement of the annual budget for 2011, which was repeated for the budgets of 2013 and 2015. Interviews and documents show that the European Parliament lost and the Council won in determining spending outcomes for 2011 and immediate payments for the subsequent years; whether this also resulted in lower budgets overall is ambiguous. When spending increased, this was in line with the will of the Council. The most significant variable was the change in the rules, which shifted the location of the default budget or reversion point to Council's advantage if there were no agreement.


Critics have begun to assess T.S. Eliot's ties to Aestheticism and Decadence in recent years, after many decades of ignoring an important influence that Eliot himself had anxiously disavowed; the influence of Beardsley, however, remains unexamined. The artistic enfant terrible of the 1890s — to art what Oscar Wilde was to letters — Beardsley made a reputation for himself with openly erotic black-and-white illustrations stylistically influenced by the Japanese prints then in vogue in Parisian artistic circles. A Catholic convert, Beardsley was "a satirist of vices and follies and extravagancies, but not, so to say, a sentimental student of them for their curiosity and fascination's sake;" so wrote poet Lionel Johnson in a letter that Eliot later acquired for publication in the April 1925 issue of The Criterion. Much the same could be said of Eliot.


This paper proposes a novel network architecture for beyond 3G (B3G) cellular networks, called UWB-based generalized virtual multiple-input multiple-output (G-VMIMO) architecture. The inherent characteristics of UWB technology bring some specifically suitable advantages to design an ad hoc network. The integration of B3G cellular networks and UWB-based wireless personal area network (WPAN) produces the virtual MIMO system. In this paper, we briefly introduce UWB-based wireless personal area network, and then describe the principle and the unique features of G-VMIMO architecture in detail. The feasibility and applicability of G-VMIMO system are validated by computer simulation. Simulation results indicate that the G-VMIMO system achieves good capacity gain. Finally, the challenges caused by the practical application of G-VMIMO system to cellular networks and wireless personal area network is analyzed.


Based on MSC.MD.ADAMS and Patran/nastran,the dynamics mechanics model is established for load receptor of dynamic truck scale. The key point is to obtain the stress and strain of the load receptor. The result can provide theoretical support and amelioration method for structure design of the load receptor.


The present invention is a 6,9-bis [(2-aminoethyl) amino] benzo [g] isoquinoline-5,10-dione dimaleate as active ingredient, together with a carrier selected from lactose and dextran, mixed with sodium chloride Te relates injectable pharmaceutical composition comprising the form of a lyophilized powder.


The influence of microclimate parameters (temperature and humidity), ultraviolet radiation (UF-A, UF-V, UF-S) and factors of urban environment on the content of pigments (chlorophyll, carotenoids ) in the leaves of Betula Pendula growing in Yoshkar-Ola-city. Microclimatic conditions and UVR irradiance in various areas of the city were significantly different, which was clearly observed in the seasonal dynamics (summer and autumn months). However only minor changes in the chlorophylls and carotenoids content in leaves of betula, depending on the areas of growth, were registered.


A nonsingular fast terminal sliding mode guidance law with an impact angle constraint is proposed to solve the problem of missile guidance accuracy and impact angle constraint for maneuvering targets. Aiming at the singularity problem of the terminal sliding mode, a fast terminal sliding mode surface with finite-time convergence and impact angle constraint is designed based on fixed-time convergence and piecewise sliding mode theory. To weaken chattering and suppress interference, a second-order sliding mode supertwisting algorithm is improved. By designing the parameter adaptive law, an adaptive smooth supertwisting algorithm is designed. This algorithm can effectively weaken chattering without knowing the upper bound information of interference, and it converges faster. Based on the proposed adaptive supertwisting algorithm and the sliding mode surface, a guidance law with the impact angle constraint is designed. The global finite-time convergence of the guidance law is proved by constructing the Lyapunov function. The simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed guidance law, and compared with the existing terminal sliding mode guidance laws, the proposed guidance law has higher guidance precision and angle constraint accuracy.


Michael Herman is a pioneer of the academic study of intelligence. His career spans the worlds of intelligence and academia in the United Kingdom, and has done much to bring the two closer together. Born in 1929, Michael was educated at Scarborough High School before securing a scholarship to read Modern History at Queen's College Oxford, in 1946. His studies there were interrupted by two years' National Service between 1947 and 1949, when Michael served in the Intelligence Corps in Egypt. He then returned to Oxford to complete his studies and was awarded a First Class degree. In 1952 he joined the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) based in Cheltenham, where he was to remain in a succession of roles until 1987, a period that also included secondments to the Cabinet Office, as Secretary of the Joint Intelligence Committee, and to the Defence Intelligence Staff. [Taken from introduction]


Guizhou Province is abundant in coal resource,but environmental issues have become increasingly prominent because of overexploitation of coal resources. In this paper,a case study of Ganbazi Coal Mine in Xishui County of Guizhou Province was briefly analyzed for the destruction of groundwater resource by coal mining. From the perspectives of groundwater aquifers,water level,water quality and water quantity,serious impact of coal mining on groundwater was analyzed. Relative measures were proposed to address the issues of groundwater resource.


The situation in the residential real estate market in Canada, namely, the formation of demand for housing in the face of rising prices is analyzed in this article. The key factors of demand formation are identified, such as prices, incomes and assets of households, the ratio of incomes of groups of people with different levels of education, household preferences by type of housing, immigration flows. Based on a theoretical analysis and analysis of statistical data over a long period of time, current trends in the formation of demand in the Canadian residential real estate market are identified. A conclusion on an objective basis for price increases in the residential real estate market is substantiated.


Tianchi tunnel from construction to now has occurred 9 serious water inrush (gushing) accidents, resulting in a large number of economic, social and ecological damage to the environment. This paper carried out thorough theoretical analysis and field observation from Tianchi tunnel stratum rock properties, engineering geology, hydrogeology, the surrounding patch, runoff and drainage and the changes of surface water environment, as well as tunnel excavating. The reasons that had obtained from the previous 9 water inrush (gushing) of Tianchi tunnel. Some effective references had put forward for the engineering treatment, provided some valuable references for other similar underground engineering construction.


The resolution of a horizontal array in shallow water is limited by the environmental variability introduced by several oceanographic processes. The present work exercises a numerical model for how one oceanographic process, nearly linear internal waves, affects array coherence. As the linear internal waves can be represented as a random process, the model is statistical and calculates the mean coherence length. Three results from William Carey's pioneering work [J. Acoust. Soc. Am., vol. 104, pp. 831-837, 1998] are examined: an analytical model for the array correlation function, the weak dependence of coherence length on source-receiver range, and scenarios where linear internal waves can produce a coherence length of approximately 30 wavelengths.


This article examines representations of the home-maker and mother in advertisements from dailies, women magazines, and manuals of pre-state Israel. It is based on about 150 ads which were divided into topicoriented groups and then analyzed using content analysis and semiotic models. The ads were investigated as cultural texts reflecting ideologies, concepts, and norms of its creators as well as of the audience they were aimed at. The findings show four main ideologies embodied in the ads: the ideology of nationalism, the ideology of domesticity, that of Modernism and the ideology of science. In this article, the last two ideologies are presented, followed by analyzed examples of home-makers and mothers' representations in relation to domestic chores and to family members in the house. Throughout all ideologies, an ambivalent image of the woman is portrayed: a woman exclusively in charge of the household jobs, albeit lacking authority and power. We notice a repetitive representation of a mother responsible for the health of her children, who is asked to rely on an expert's advice, but not on her own intuition and experience.


Diabetic cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (DCAN) seriously threatens the prognosis and quality of life of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, associated with increased mortality. The present study aimed to investigate the relevant risk factors of DCAN.


Experimental results on hadronic structures are discussed in view of our physics understanding. Achievements and challenges are noted. 1Invited opening plenary talk at the 8th International Works hop on Deep Inelastic Scattering and QCD, Liverpool, UK (2000)


The reactions of heteroleptic stannylene (N,C,N)SnCl (1), where N,C,N is an abbreviation for N,C,N-chelate 2,6-(Me2NCH2)2C6H3, with selected palladium complexes resulted in new SnII−PdII complexes in which 1 itself acts as a 2e-donor ligand, resulting in a Cl−PdII−SnII−Cl structural motif, instead of a PdII−SnII−Cl2, which would be expected in the case of insertion of 1 into a PdII−Cl bond.


This paper presents a photovoltaic module cell temperature measurement and 81 points heat distribution mapping technique using only 9 temperature sensors. The operating principle, mapping technique, experiment setup and performance analysis of the proposed measurement system is discussed. The proposed measurement system consists of 9 negative temperature coefficient thermistor based temperature sensors attached at the back of photovoltaic panel equally spaced in 3 by 3 manner, a microcontroller, a data acquisition and visualization software with interpolation technique developed in MATLAB. The proposed temperature measurement system is verified using FLUKE infrared thermometer at every single point of measurement. The results show an average error of 1 °C and the error tend to decrease as the solar irradiance received from the panel increases. The proposed measurement system contributes to the visualization of 9 by 9 heat distribution across a given panel for thermal flow analysis in PV/T cooling design studies.


The UK government has asked the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to stop working on guidance on six public health topics and "to put on hold" work on a further 13.

NICE has been told to abandon its guidance on preventing road injuries in children and young people; spatial planning for health (changing the physical environment to improve health); policies for smoke free homes and cars; support for people buying nicotine replacement products; and what commissioners and local authorities can do to combat trade in illicit tobacco products.

Changes to the NICE workload follow the publication of the public health white paper, Healthy Lives, Healthy People …


Analyses the reasons that middleware comes into being, its definition,the value of middleware in the three-tier architecture and what kind of problems middlewa re technique can solve. The importance and applications such as Web database, TC P/IP Network Interface and E-commerce are introduced in programming design ba sed on middleware technique as well.


We predicted the non-structural protein NS1of aleutian disease virus(ADV)by DNAStar software Protean module.Then three fragments of NS1gene named as L1N1,L2N2and L3N3were amplified using the laboratory saved NS1-pMD18-T plasmid as template.We constructed three cloning plasmids pMD18-T-L1N1,pGEM-T-L2N2and pMD18-T-L3N3. After identification,they were linked to pGEX-4T-1prokaryotic expression vector by two enzymes EcoRⅠand SalⅠ,respectively,and transformed into E.coli BL21(DE3)inducing with IPTG.The expressed recombinant proteins were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting.The results showed that three recombination prokaryotic expression plasmids pGEX-4TL1N1,pGEX-4T-L2N2and pGEX-4T-L3N3were successfully constructed and the SDS-PAGE results showed that three purpose proteins were expressed about 57,55and 44ku as expected.Furthermore,the proteins were recognized by ADV positive sera and had the reactionogenicity.In the study,the NS1gene of ADV was expressed segmentedly in E.coli for the first time and laid a foundation for the further study of ADV subunit vaccines.


Owing to the limited cell size of eNodeB (eNB), the relay node has emerged as an attractive solution for the long-term evolution (LTE) system. The nonlinear limit of the alternative method to multipleinput and multiple-output (MIMO) based on frequency division multiplexing (FDM) for orthogonal FDM (OFDM) is analysed over varying transmission spans. In this reported work, it is shown that the degradation pattern over the linear, intermixing and nonlinear propagation regions is consistent for the 2 and the 2.6 GHz bands. The proposed bands experienced a linear increase in the error vector magnitude (EVM) for both the linear and the nonlinear regions proportional to the increasing transmission spans. In addition, an optical launch power between -2 and 2 dBm achieved a significantly lower EVM than the LTE limit of 8% for the 10-60 km spans. © The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2014.


We study numerically the propagation of optical vortex beams through disordered nonlinear 2D photonic lattices. We find that due to disorder, new optical vortex-antivortex pairs are nucleated at the positions of perfect destructive interference.


A novel four-quadrant analog multiplier circuit based on a cross-coupled squarer topology combining with subtraction circuits is presented.The circuit is implemented in 0.18 μm technique of CMOS.The results of HSPICE simulation show that the proposed multiplier has a static-state power dissipation of 80 μw,its linear range with respect to both differential input voltages is ±0.3 V and its bandwidth is about 1 GHz when it works at 1.8 V.Under the same power consumption and power voltage level,the proposed multiplier shows better linearity comparing with previous low power multiplier.


Objective To analyze the causes of death and the cis position among residents of Jiangjin District in 2012, and provide a scientific basis for developing prevention and healthcare measures. Methods We classified the diseases by using software ICD- 10 according to international classification of diseases, and the causes of death statistics DeathReg2005 was used for statistical analysis. Results The mortality rate in Jiangjin District in 2012 was 664.72/100,000, with the male mortality of835.13/100,000 and the female mortality of 488.06/100,000. The ratio of male to female was 1.71:1. According to ICD- 10code classification, the top 5 leading causes of death in Jiangjin District in 2012 were as follows: circulatory system disease(mortality rate of 220.74/100,000), respiratory diseases(133.72/100,000), tumor(131.29/100,000), the external causes of injury and poisoning(55.14/100,000), and endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases(41.84/100,000), accounting for 87.67% of the total death toll. Conclusions The deaths of residents in Jiangjin District are mainly caused by chronic diseases,moreover, chronic non- communicable diseases become the main diseases among them. Prevention and intervention of chronic diseases are the focus of future work.


Accurate estimates of housing demand elasticities are useful not only for housing forecasts and policies, but also for analyzing such diverse issues as the burden of property taxes and the suburbanization of metropolitan areas. However, despite voluminous empirical studies, estimates vary widely on the responsiveness of the demand for housing with respect to changes in permanent (or long-run expected) income and housing price.' These differences have arisen largely from the use of grouped rather than micro household observations in the cross-section


Objective To review and analyze the clinical effect of the treatment of repairing wounds on hands by subdermal vascular network shin flap with pedicle.Methods 62 patients with hand skin defect surface were treated by repairing the defect surface with thin pedicle flaps with subdermal vascular from abdomen and chest wall,the pedicles were amputated 7 to 8 days after the operation.Results The flaps survived without necrosis after the pedicles were amputated.During the follow-up of 3 months to 1 year,the repaired skin of hands was plain and the color was good,the aspect and function were satisfying.Conclusion It is an ideal method to repair the skin de-fect of hand with skin pedicle flap with subdemal vascular network and is easy to perform,and the results are effective,so this kind of operation has quite practical clinical values.


Twenty-two of 57 freshmen medical students chose to attend a pediatric clinic once a week in the evening for six months. Responses to a structured questionnaire were scored on a positive-negative attitude continuum (from −7 to +7), a high score indicates a positive attitude. Those students electing to attend an evening pediatric learning experience without credit, scored 4.15 before and 4.30 after exposure. Those who did not attend the presentations scored 2.44 and 2.46 on the two questionnaires. The humanistic student can be identified on admission to medical school and those with this viewpoint may be guided towards appropriate learning experiences. The findings of this study indicate that it is possible to assess differences in expectations of students early in their first year and it is necessary to provide alternative electives to develop differing specialized interest.


The aim of the Degenerate Objects around Degenerate Objects (DODO) survey is to search for very low-mass brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets in wide orbits around white dwarfs via direct imaging. The direct detection of such companions would allow the spectroscopic investigation of objects with temperatures much lower ( T8.5, and so could belong to the proposed Y dwarf spectral sequence. The detection of a planet around a white dwarf would prove that such objects can survive the final stages of stellar evolution and place constraints on the frequency of planetary systems around their progenitors (with masses between 1.5 and 8 M ⊙ , i.e. early B to mid-F). This paper presents the results of a multi epoch J band common proper motion survey of 23 nearby equatorial and Northern hemisphere white dwarfs. We rule out the presence of any common proper motion companions, with limiting masses determined from the completeness limit of each observation, to 18 white dwarfs. For the remaining five targets, the motion of the white dwarf is not sufficiently separated from the non-moving background objects in each field. These targets require additional observations to conclusively rule out the presence of any common proper motion companions. From our completeness limits, we tentatively suggest that ≤5 per cent of white dwarfs have substellar companions with T eff >500 K between projected physical separations of 60-200 au.


Mutated BRCA1/2 genes have been identified as causative genes for ovarian cancer, and it has been reported that 10%–20% of all epithelial ovarian cancers have a BRCA mutation. As novel treatment drugs utilizing this BRCA gene mutation, significant attention has been paid to adenine dinucleotide poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors. Among them, olaparib has been reported to beuseful in patients with a BRCAmutation in Study 19 and SOLO-2 trials. It is important to establish a system for genetic counseling and to perform BRCA gene testing in patients with ovarian cancer. For patients with BRCA -mutatedadvancedcancer, if adequate response to chemotherapy has been achieved, olaparib is recommended as maintenance therapy for both advanced and recurrent cases. For patients without BRCAgenemutation, bevacizumab combinedwith chemotherapy or asmaintenance therapy is also an option.


Mobile cloud computing has been involved as a key enabling technology to overcome the physical limitations of mobile devices toward scalable and flexible mobile services. In the mobile cloud environment, searchable encryption, which enables direct search over encrypted data, is a key technique to maintain both the privacy and usability of outsourced data in cloud. On addressing the issue, many research efforts resolve to using the searchable symmetric encryption (SSE) and searchable public-key encryption (SPE). In this paper, we improve the existing works by developing a more practical searchable encryption technique, which can support dynamic updating operations in the mobile cloud applications. Specifically, we make our efforts on taking the advantages of both the SSE and SPE techniques, and propose PSU, a Personalized Search scheme over encrypted data with efficient and secure Updates in mobile cloud. By giving thorough security analysis, we demonstrate that the PSU can achieve a high security level. Using extensive experiments in a real-world mobile environment, we show that the PUS is more efficient compared with the existing proposals.


Genetic factors are considered to play an important role in drug dependence/addiction including the development of drug dependence and relapse. With the use of a model of drug self‐administration in mutant mice, several specific genes and proteins have been identified as potentially important in the development of drug dependence. In contrast, little is known about the role of specific genes in enduring vulnerability to relapse, a clinical hallmark of drug addiction. Using a mouse model of reinstatement, which models relapse of drug‐seeking behavior in addicts, we provide evidence that a partial reduction in the expression of the glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) potentiates methamphetamine (METH) self‐administration, enhances motivation to take METH, increases vulnerability to drug‐primed reinstatement, and prolongs cue‐induced reinstatement of extinguished METH‐seeking behavior. In contrast, there was no significant difference in novelty responses, METH‐stimulated hyperlocomotion and locomotor sensitization, food‐reinforced operant behavior and motivation, or reinstatement of food‐seeking behavior between GDNF heterozygous knockout mice and wild‐type littermates. These findings suggest that GDNF may be associated with enduring vulnerability to reinstatement of METH‐seeking behavior and a potential target in the development of therapies to control relapse.–Yan, Y., Yamada, K., Niwa, M., Nagai, T., Nitta, A., Nabeshima, T. Enduring vulnerability to reinstatement of methamphetamine‐seeking behavior in glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor mutant mice. FASEB J. 21, 1994–2004 (2007)


The Hidden Subgroup Problem is a well-known computational problem in Algebra whose efficient solution has wide-reaching consequences, including, but not limited to integer factoring, discrete logarithm, graph isomorphism and the shortest vector problem. We will consider some quantum algorithms that work for special cases of the HSP. We will take some theorems for granted, in order to streamline our discussion with respect to the essence of the HSP. Theorems that will be used but will not be proven will be marked by a ?.


In this paper we analyze an optical receiver (OR) for the optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR). Using optical receiver's model, which consists of shunt-shunt feedback transimpedance amplifier (TIA) and InGaAs avalanche photodiode (APD), we discuss and give equations for all important noise sources, which are amplifiers input transistor channel thermal and flicker noises, avalanche photodiode noise and feedback resistors noise. Than in terms of OTDR parameters, we explain the need of TIA variable gain, define the range of bandwidths, and introduce optimal values for OR dynamic range, APD multiplication and feedback resistance. Using these values we give an OR reference design and analyze received results. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eee.18.8.2624


The reaction product of 4-oxo-4H-[1]benzopyran-3-carbaldehyde and 1,2-benzenediamine is 1,8-dihydro-6,13-bis(2-hydroxybenzoyl)dibenzo[b,i]-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradeca-4,6,11,13-tetraene (1), and its dehydrogenation product is 3-(2-benzimidazolyl)-4H-[1]benzopyran-4-one (2) as shown by X-ray structure analysis confirming our earlier report.


The palaeobiogeographic distribution of Western Australian ostracods during the Jurassic and Cretaceous illustrates how Gondwana broke apart to form the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and how the new ostracod genera from here migrated into the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Western Pacific Ocean and the Western Indian Ocean.


To begin with, a brief story, perhaps strange for a Slavic and East European Journal review, but relevant to the subject at hand. Since I am neither a Russianist nor a Sovietist, but rather a scholar of the contemporary African and more broadly post-colonial worlds, my first voyage to Russia was both recent and brief. But despite that trip's brevity my time there revealed an oddly familiar occidentocentric, even colonized mindset. Of course St. Petersburg, the city I visited, is Russia's most Western location, and that city's quasi-namesake was Russia's great Westerizer, yet neither I nor my tour-group (a diverse set of academics from five continents) were prepared for the exo-centricity we met. The city itself is glorified as either Russia's Amsterdam or its Venice, and Peterhof its Versailles. Buildings are noted for their Italian or French architects, and restoration of the city's fine library was deemed crucial since it held manuscripts not by the likes of Dostoevsky or Pushkin, but Diderot and Voltaire. Such issues, I suspect, will be familiar to readers of the Slavic and East European Journal, as yet more evidence of the longstanding tug between East and West in Russian culture. They were familiar to me, however-an Africanist largely ignorant of Russia-for different reasons: because this exocentricity, this West-directed other-identification and part-denial of self was characteristic for me not of Russia but of nations and peoples in that great range of societies formerly termed "Third World" but now called "post-colonial," especially in those many places where Western European culture had been dominant or prestigious, had passed for universal, or had been imperfectly digested.


The recent rise in the prevalence of obesity in the UK population includes women of reproductive age and children. For both groups there are specific health concerns consequent on excess bodyweight, including obstetric complications, fetal growth abnormalities and a range of obesity co-morbidities seen in children that were rarely found in young people a generation earlier. This paper identifies some of the issues which challenge policy-makers: guidelines for gestational weight gain and for weight loss after pregnancy; inequalities and interventions in pregnancy; interventions to prevent child obesity; and the role of individuals, government and the commercial sector in implementing policies for promoting healthy weight. The rapid rise in adult and child obesity in the UK population is widely recognised. The Health Survey for England shows that, among women of peak child-bearing age (here defined as ages 16–44) the proportion with a BMI over 30 kg/m 2 has risen from about 7 % in the early 1980s (1) to 19% in 2009 (2). The 2009 survey also found that a further 27% of women in this age-group were overweight, non-obese (BMI 25. 0–29. 9). Figures for Scotland are similar, with 21% of women aged 16–44 obese and a further 29 % overweight, in 2008 (3). Figures for Northern Ireland in 2010/2011 are expected later in 2011, but are likely to be similar to those in Scotland (4). Among children, the levels of overweight and obesity have also risen rapidly since the early 1980s and although there is some evidence that the rise in prevalence may have eased in recent years, the levels remain high, with between a quarter and a third of all school-age children overweight or obese, according to the definitions used (5). These rapid changes in the population's nutritional status raise questions for policy makers. Is obesity purely an individual responsibility, or are there social, economic and environmental factors which put individuals at particular risk? Is child obesity simply the responsibility of parents or should policy-makers consider intervening, and if so, what interventions should they consider? Health concerns Obesity during pregnancy is related to higher health care costs, largely due to a higher level of caesarean sections and a raised incidence of high-risk obstetric conditions including gestational diabetes and hypertension (6). Among women (average age 29 years) of normal weight prior to pregnancy, weight gain during pregnancy of more than 20 kg is associated with more than threefold increased …


Thixotropic aluminum alloy slurries were produced by using a new electromagnetic rheocaster. Rheocast aluminum alloy matrix composites ingots were reheated inside the freezing range, and then cast under pressure into a die. It has been established that the heat extraction rate and the reheating temperature range play a prominent role in controlling the microstructure of the thixoformed product. Moreover, both abrasion resistance and hardness are decidedly improved.