greenhouse gas emissions through land clearing and resource exploitation, land conversion for agriculture, rearing livestock, production and use of cement for infrastructure development, energy generation, and transportation of humans, their goods, and their materials. A warming Earth selects for those species with the suite of physiological traits that allow them to adapt to changing conditions. Those that are incapable go extinct (p. 84).


Pyromellitic dianhydride-based dianhydrides with bulky substituents, such as 1-phenyl pyromellitic dianhydride and 1-(4′-trifluoromethylphenyl)pyromellitic dianhydride, were combined with bis(3-aminophenyl)phenylphosphine oxide and 4,4′-phenylene diamine to prepare polyimides with low coefficient of thermal expansion (∼ 17 ppm/°C) and good adhesion (>100 g/mm). The polyimides were synthesized via a conventional two-step process: preparation of poly(amic-acid) followed by solution imidization with o-dichlorobenzene. The molecular weights of the polyimides were controlled to 25,000 g/mol via off-stoichiometry and the synthesized polyimides were characterized by Fourier transform infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. Their intrinsic viscosity and solubility were also measured, while adhesive property was measured via T-peel test samples of Cu/polyimide. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010


This chapter describes how one institution revised its professional and technical communication program to include more technology and community engagement experiences. The program originally was highly instrumental, focusing on document design skill sets (e.g., use of Adobe InDesign). Before they could evolve the curricula, program faculty needed to ready themselves to invoke technical communication scholarship's historically key talking points regarding theory, because one significant trait of the program's institutional context was a perceived irreconcilable split between theory and practice. Demonstrating to institutional stakeholders a more nuanced relationship between theory and practice justified the teachers' changes to their pedagogical practice. In addition, strengthening their fluency in scholarship's discussions about theory assisted the program faculty in settling upon the specific theoretical frameworks that the revised curriculum embodies: ecologies of practice and civility. Furthermore, increasing community engagement opportunities in the classroom revealed the benefits of incorporating into the curriculum theoretical content knowledge—but without connecting theory exclusively to one particular assignment or project.


The purpose of this work was to determine the frequency of infection by fungal endophytes in Festuca rubra plants from Mediterranean permanent grasslands (dehesas). Plants infected with the fungal endophyte Epichloe festucae were detected in all twenty-seven populations studied in the province of Salamanca, Spain. Infection frequencies in six selected populations ranged from 44% to 92% (average, 70%) of the plants. Infected plants were almost always symptomless. These results suggest that the association between E. festucae and F. rubra is common and occurs at a high frequency in Mediterranean permanent grasslands.


A model with nucleons in a charge independent potential well interacting by an isovector pairing force is considered. For a 24-dimensional valence space, the Hartree-Bogolyubov (HB) plus Random Phase (RPA) approximation to the lowest eigenvalue of the Hamiltonian is shown to be accurate except near values of the pairing force coupling constant G where the HB solution shifts from a zero to a non-zero pair gap. In the limit G ! 1 the HB + RPA is asymptotically exact. The inaccuracy of the HB + RPA in the critical regions of G can be remedied by interpolation. The resulting algoritm is used to calculate pairing corrections in the framework of a Nilsson-Strutinsky calculation of nuclear masses near N = Z for A = 24{100, where N and Z are the numbers of neutrons and protons, and A = N + Z. The dimension of the valence space is 2A in these calculations. Adjusting ve liquid drop parameters and a power law expression for the constant G as a function of A allows us to reproduce the measured binding energies of 112 doubly even nuclei in this range with a root mean square deviation of 0.95 MeV. Several combinations of the masses for dierent N, Z, and isospin T are considered and the calculations found to be in good agreement with the data. It is demonstrated by examples how uctuations as a function of A of the constant X in an expansion of the symmetry energy of the form T (T +X)=2 can be understood from the shell structure.


research in the year 2000 and beyond is accurate analysis of the fibre's fineness (F) and maturity (M). This is because there is great demand for fine and mature cottons worldwide. (F is related to number of fibres in a yarn and M to dye uptake.) Dr Joe Montalvo, Cotton Technology Editor, Journal of Near Infrared Spectroscopy, and Dr Devron Thibodeaux, Textile Technology Coeditor, Journal of Cotton Science, have organised an international task force dubbed "FINMATTEST" to bring together researchers in the development of cotton F and M measurements, from fibre blending to the reference methods to NIR technology. The principals in the team are located at the US Department of Agriculture's, Agricultural Research Service, Southern Regional Research Center (SRRC). Other SRRC personnel involved in the work include Terri Von Hoven, Sherman Faught, Danielle Francois and Shawn Reed. FINMATTEST's mission is to highlight and advance theoretical and experimental work in F and M measurements by: establishing a network of international collaborators; attracting outside funding to support cooperative research and training at SRRC; performing cooperative research at SRRC; and promoting round-robin evaluations of methods and instrumentation in collaborator laboratories. One of the key features of FINMATTEST is the current quantisation of cotton F and M by the most diverse methods and instrumentation in the world, all in one place, at SRRC in New Orleans. Because FINMATTEST's base is from the public research sector, availability to collaborators from government, university and industry is maximised. Additionally, the United States makes greater use of instruments for measuring raw cotton (ginned lint) quality than do all other countries of the world combined. The international marketing of US raw cotton has a competitive advantage because the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) grades each bale, but improvements are needed to maintain and expand markets. There were two early attempts to add F and M to the grading programme. Both are indirect methods. The first was an air flow system called the Fineness and Maturity Tester (FMT). F and M are determined based on the air permeability of a fixed mass of cotton at two different stages of compression and air flow. The observed pressure drops are the independent variables. Fineness and maturity are computed from appropriate prediction equations. (The FMT is calibrated by direct measurements of fibre wall thickness or area and perimeter of large numbers of very carefully prepared fibre cross-sections.) The other attempt was based on NIR technology using the FMT as the reference method. Both attempts failed to meet expected performance criteria. The NIR method is dependent on reliable FMT reference method data for its calibration. Obviously, the FMT should be improved first, otherwise there is no chance of expecting the best possible results by NIR. We have upgraded the FMT reference method and improved the NIR to meet specifications for cotton grading. The most important FMT improvement was the development of physical standards—labeled headspace resistance standards—for calibration and drift-free control of the FMT. In terms of overall NIR accomplishments at SRRC, identification of five critical elements that are causal factors for improving NIR performance has had the major impact. One of these elements states that "cross-sectional perimeter (P) and wall thickness (T) are the fundamental measures of F and M...". By deriving fibre geometrical equations, all of the more traditional measures applied in fibre analysis (e.g. F expressed as millitex and M as maturity ratio) proved to be complex functions of both perimeter and wall thickness. As a consequence, to understand NIR prediction error in either millitex or maturity ratio, it is necessary to decompose the error into prediction errors in P and T. The larger error gives us the needed clue in picking a reference method—indirect or direct—to run the retests. The final step is to win enthusiastic acceptance from the cotton grading community. This will be accomplished with formal round-robin trials and the first of these has already been scheduled. There remains, however, other obstacles to even better measurements of F and M. One of the big challenges is obtaining a homogeneous fibre sample that represents the population of the bale. To illustrate this problem, consider the range of maturity values found within a single cotton plant. The maturity measured on first-position bolls (closest to the stalk and holding the best fibre) varies in excess of 100%. While our current version of the NIR method measures a large sample area, sample heterogeneity remains as a problem. A non-homogeneous cotton sample has other serious drawbacks. The same subsample from a cotton sample must be analysed by the NIR method and the reference method (destructive) to get the best F and M results. Archiving the remainder of a sample for, say, repeat analysis of NIR outliers, is of questionable value. It is clear that improvements in blending would be a major contribution to improving the accuracy of the NIR results. It would also facilitate development of calibrations and round-robin evaluations of the reference method and of NIR technology. Another big challenge is stability of the NIR apparatus. When the AMS is grading bales of cotton, the grading instruments are moved to a classing office whose location coincides with harvesting of cotton in that area of the country. There the instruments are checked for calibration consistency and quickly recalibrated as necessary. Grading is carried out 24 hours a day and seven days a week until all the bales are classified. Then the instruments are trucked to the next classing office and the process repeated until all the bales for that crop year (15–20 million) have been analysed. The NIR instrumentation will have to withstand this type of treatment and remain in calibration. We are working with the manufacturers to address this problem. Still another big challenge is the fact that the FMT is, in itself, a predictive model. Although F and M determine the air permeability of most cottons tested by the air flow method, variation in other fibre features could give small discrepancies between test estimates and directly measured values. Finally, availability of multiple direct methods could be a significant contribution to understanding NIR outliers, especially when repeat tests by the FMT give persistent results. Some examples of F and M work in progress by FINMATTEST collaborators are as follows. First, developing opening and blending efficiency test


Power conservation in passive optical networks (PONs) has been an active area of research since the cyclic sleep-mode was first proposed for optical network units (ONUs). Many studies have then settled upon locking downstream and upstream transmissions for each ONU in a cyclic fixed slot, thus allowing the ONU to switch to sleep-mode for the rest of the transmission cycle. However, such fixed allocation limits the flexibility and dynamicity of the bandwidth allocation and leads to upstream underutilization. Moreover, to maximize power conservation, the cycle duration used must be long enough to make up for mode-switching overheads, which significantly degrades the network performance in terms of packet delays. In this paper, we develop a novel energy-efficient framework for Ethernet PONs (EPONs). To that end, we propose different upstream allocation schemes to improve the fixed-slot performance while maintaining energy-efficiency at acceptable levels. We also propose a more accurate arrangement for downstream-upstream locking. Moreover, we use a long-reach PON setting, where the long propagation delays impact the network performance posing further challenges to the bandwidth allocation. Numerical results show that, under heavily loaded network conditions, packet delays can be reduced by around 60% at an additional power cost of less than 5%.


Giving presentations which are visually supported by slides can be tedious as the connection of devices with an available screen often takes a larger amount of time and the right con- figuration is sometimes difficult to be figured out. During this project an app and a website were developed to assist users in connecting their presentation devices quickly and easily with other devices to show the presentations on their screens. The project was executed in the context of the course Program- ming Project, Major at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg. After shortly presenting the concept of our design, the paper will describe the design process, prototyping, final implementation and evaluation of the product.


A survey of computer programs which are currently being used to calculate the distribution of species in aqueous solutions, especially natural waters, has been made in order to 1) provide an inventory of available programs with a short description of their uses, 2) compare the consistency of their output for two given test solutions and 3) identify major weaknesses or problems encountered from their use. More than a dozen active programs which can be used for distribution of species and activity calculations for homogeneos equilibria among the major anions and cations of natural waters have been inventoried. Half of these programs can also accept several trace elements including Fe, Al, Mn, Cu, Ni, Zn, Cd, Pb, Ag, Hg, As, Ba, Sr, and B. Consistency between programs was evaluated by comparing the log of the molal concentrations of free ions and complexes for two test solutions: a hypothetical seawater analysis and a hypothetical river water analysis. Comparison of the free major ion concentrations in the river water test case shows excellent agreement for the major species. In the seawater test case there is less agreement and for both test cases the minor species commonly show orders of magnitude differences in concentrations. These differences primarily reflect differences in the thermodynamic data base of each chemical model although other factors such as activity coefficient calculations, redox assumptions, temperature corrections, alkalinity corrections and the number of complexes used all have an affect on the output.


A wireless intraocular (IOP) pressure sensor based on micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) technology is proposed. The proposed IOP sensor uses variable inductance according to the external pressure. The proposed sensor is composed of two flexible membranes: a ferrite bottom part, an inductor, and a capacitor. The inductance of the sensor varies according to the external pressure. The resonance frequency of the sensor is also varied, and this frequency is detected using an external coil. The external coil is designed with an FR-4 printed circuit board. The feasibility of the proposed sensor structure using variable inductance to detect the external pressure is successfully demonstrated.


The article presents a study on the problems of uncertainty in the context of institutional approach. The role of institution of approvals in the process of risk control and uncertainty reducing is examined. The author suggests the basic simulation model of using approval mechanisms to reduce uncertainty and risk of firms" performance at foreign markets.


Abstract An outlier of the Bagshot Series occurs at St. Ann' Hill, Chertsey, where beds of the Bagshot, Bracklesham, and Barton sub-divisions are exposed. The division into these beds by pebble bed junctions is suggested. Heavy mineral analyses using percentages of fresh and abraded grains of three indicator minerals, viz. tourmaline, rutile, and zircon, suggests that the divisions postulated are justified.


To balance the diagonal gait of a quadruped robot, a dynamic balance control method is presented to improve the stability of the quadruped robot by adjusting its foot position. We set up a trunk-based coordinate system and a hip-based local coordinate system for the quadruped robot, established the kinematics equation of the robot, and designed a reasonable initial diagonal gait through the spring inverted pendulum model. The current trunk posture of the quadruped robot is obtained by collecting the data of its pitch and roll angle, and the foot position is predicted according to the current posture and initial gait of the quadruped robot. To reduce the impact of one leg landing on the ground and increase the stability of the quadruped robot, we adjust the landing point of the robot according to the landing time difference between the diagonal legs. The proposed method can adjust the body in such scenarios as planar walking and lateral impact resistance. It can reduce the disturbance during the robot motion and make the robot move smoothly. The validity of this method is verified by simulation experiments.


While undergraduate research (UR) has been growing across the academy for decades, economics has been relatively slow to adopt it as pedagogy. We argue for the development of comprehensive UR programs that not only require capstone research experiences, but integrate foundational research skills throughout the curriculum. Fundamentally, there is a hierarchy whereby students learn basic research skills in lower-level courses, develop ability integrating content knowledge and research skills in upper-levels, and produce independent or collaborative research projects in later semesters. To facilitate such improvements, we make six recommendations for departments to consider when building or strengthening their UR environment.


Automatic identification of the digital modulation type of a signal has found applications in many areas, including electronic warfare, surveillance and threat analysis. This paper studies the use of wavelet transform to distinguish QAM signal, PSK signal and FSK signal. The approach is to use the wavelet transform to extract the transient characteristics in a digital modulation signal, and apply the distinct pattern in wavelet transform domain for simple identification. The relevant statistics for optimum threshold selection are derived under the condition that the input noise is additive white Gaussian. The performance of the identification scheme is investigated through simulations. When the CNR is greater than 5 dB, the percentage of correct identification is about 97% with 50 observation symbols.


Placental abruption (PA) is characterized by spontaneous detachment of the placenta from the twentieth week of gestation or during delivery. Here we report a case of concealed PA that culminated in death of the fetus in spite of appropriate and immediate approach of physicians. The case alerts us to the possibility of diagnosis of PA in an obstetric emergency. If not identified and addressed appropriately, PA could cause serious and potentially fatal implications for the mother and fetus.


In distillation process, critical process variable like composition is not viable for direct online measurement and control. In such cases data driven soft sensors offer a cheap and effective replacement for traditional sensors to estimate these primary process variables by inferring to measurable secondary variables. In the present work a data driven soft sensor is developed to estimate product compositions of a laboratory distillation column UOP3CC inferring to selective tray temperature and mixture vapour liquid equilibrium data. Initially an Auto Regressive Moving Average Exogenous (ARMAX) process identification method is used to formulate a Two Input Two Output (TITO) linear state space process models using process input-output data. These models are then used to estimate top and bottom compositions using Kalman Filter under additive Gaussian process and sensor noises. The results are reported for a non-ideal mixture separation with a continuous feed input. The performance of the estimator is tested for step change in reflux and reboiler power inputs under feed flow disturbances. Results show that the Kalman filter is able to optimally estimate the composition under the presence of feed flow disturbances.


I. PART ONE: Plant genome structure. 1 Nuclear genome. 2. The inheritance of nuclear genes. 3. Chloroplast genome. 4. Mitochondria. 5. Transposable elements. II. PART TWO: Agrobacterium tumefaciens. 6. Agrobacterium tumefaciens. 7. Ti Plasmid as a vector for plant transformation. III. PART THREE: Plant molecular biology. 8. Symbiotic nitrogen fixation. 9. Tissue-specific expression of plant genes: seed storage protein genes. 10. Effect of light on plant development. 11. Flowering. 12. Breeding systems. 13. Reaction of plant to changes in the environment. 14. The molecular biology of disease and pest resistance . IV PART FOUR: An introduction to plant biotechnology. 15. Transgenic plants. 16. Prospects for plant biotechnology.


This study was conducted to compare the difference between left and right extension and flexion isokinetic muscular strength of the knee, shoulder, and trunk to compare absolute and relative strength in lightand heavy weight Ssireum athletes. Fourteen professional Ssireum athletes were divided into the light (Taebaek and Geumgang) and heavy (Halla and Baekdu) groups according to the body weight. Anthropometric measurements and isokinetic strength (knee: 60o/sec, shoulder: 30o/sec, and trunk: 30o/sec) were assessed for the absolute and relative peak torque values. Left (227.6±48.7 vs 247.0± 23.1 Nm, p=0.05) and right knee (233.7±32.0 vs 266.1±20.5, p=0.05) extension strength in absolute values were significantly different between the groups. Trunk's extension (318.7±37.9 vs 351.2±57.4 Nm, p=0.03) and flexion (249.8±33.0 vs 302.1±42.4 Nm, p=0.03) strength also showed significant difference between the groups. Significant differences were observed for all relative values except for the left knee and trunk flexion. As for the flexion and extension strength ratios, the shoulder extension to flexion ratios of the light group was 1.32 (p=0.02) times and the heavy group was 1.01-0.98 (p=0.34). The trunk extension strength was 3.6 times that of the body weight in the light group and 2.8 times that of the body weight in the heavy group. Heavy Ssireum athletes' absolute flexor peak torques were higher in the knee and trunk than in the light athletes. Also, the weight per weight of light athletes had relatively higher strength than the heavy athletes. In addition, the muscle strength ratio was higher in the light athletes. This study suggests that isokinetic strength is different in heavy and light weight class Ssireum athletes.


The invention discloses a method of using chloromethane to prepare a vinyl chloride monomer. The vinyl chloride monomer is prepared by enabling chloromethane to react with oxygen in the existence of a catalyst with the methane oxidation coupled reaction activity, wherein the reaction equation is 4CH3Cl plus O2 to generate 2C2H3Cl plus 2H2O plus 2HCl; the molar ratio of chloromethane to oxygen is 1:(0.1-10); the reaction temperature is 300-900 DEG C; the reaction pressure is 1-10 atm. The method disclosed by the invention is wide in source of the raw materials, low in prices, and low in production cost; the selectivity of the vinyl chloride monomer is high; the method is a novel technology for synthesizing the vinyl chloride monomer and suitable for popularization and application.


Abstract Slow‐release fertilizers were prepared by coating diammonium phosphate (DAP) with rosin and tricalcium phosphate. The DAP dissolution kinetics in water of these products is of the 1st order, leading to the conclusion that the values of the dissolution rate constants depend on the coating percentage. A glasshouse test with rye grass was carried out in order to evaluate the efficiency of the fertilizers as regards nitrogen (N) uptake by the plant and N lixiviation in high leaching conditions. It has been proved that by using coated products the loss of N was reduced, but the yields of dry matter were still good as was the N uptake by the plant. It has also been proved that losses through lixiviation are lower when the fertilizers are mixed with the soil. Finally it was possible to establish linear correlations between kinetic indices deduced from the solubility of the products in water and indices deduced from the response of the soil‐plant system.


This paper summarises an invited talk given at the 14th International Symposium on Symbolic and Numeric Algorithms for Scientific Computing (SYNASC'12). It first delineates the emerging field of Agreement Technologies, sketching its main technological building blocks and relating them to each other. A scheme is proposed to organise these building blocks outside of the traditional Agreement Technologies "layer cake", providing examples of how it can be used to relate different lines of research in the field.


[1] Fans, critics, and academics have previously written in depth on the topic of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's (1997-2003) most controversial couple, Willow and Tara. While it has been widely praised as a positive example of a same-gender relationship in a mainstream TV show, this representation has also been polarizing among lesbian and bisexual fans of Buffy, as well as academics, due to different interpretations of how Willow's sexuality is portrayed. [2] As outlined in Em McAvan's essay "'I Think I'm Kinda Gay': Willow Rosenberg and the Absent/Present Bisexual in Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Willow's path of sexual discovery can be read as bisexual via the mostly nebulous representation of her orientation as neither entirely lesbian or straight, before eventually declaring herself as "gay now" ("Triangle" Buffy the Vampire Slayer 5.11, 00:33:53-55). While this has often been interpreted as a subversion of the heterosexist trope of bi "But Not Too Bi," (in which, according to TV Tropes, a bi or bi-coded character is only temporarily visibly attracted to someone of the same gender before returning to visible heterosexuality), McAvan points out it still carries the weight of negativity that comes with presenting bisexuality as a temporary or transitional state compared to monosexuality. [3] However, it can also be argued that Willow's character arc is a representation of the lesbian experience of compulsory heterosexuality (as characterized by Adrienne Rich's paper


This manifesto proposes gambiarra as a framework to approach, both, Performance Studies in Brazil and the constitutive complexities of performance by implementing a local perspective and epistemology. The term gambiarra has an unclear etymology and its most popular meaning refers to the makeshift assemblage of tools and utensils. In Brazil, PS manifests through the entanglement of the colonisation of desire, the colonial wound (Mignolo), and the quest for decolonisation. The idea of anthropophagy (de Andrade) has long been implemented as a strategy to disengage Brazilian art forms and culture from colonial paradigms without, however, rejecting them—but rather ingesting them. Thus, this manifesto attempts to assemble a gambiarra for performance—also via its writing—, without negating the Anglo-(North) American PS paradigm, to relocate PS at the crossroads: where precarity and provisionality are performed. It argues that gambiarra offers decolonial potential, since it defies linear discourses and means of production as it reframes peripheric modes of performance. Gambiarra attends to and features the many instabilities that make performance. Therefore, the manifesto engages with the complexities of Brazilian PS, strictly linked to the country's geopolitical context, in order to accentuate performance's constitutive open-endness.


We study the spelling suggestion problem for XML keyword search, which provides users with alternative queries that may better express users' search intention. In order to return the suggested queries more efficiently, we evaluate the quality of the query by estimating the selectivity and quality of each query pattern. The selectivity estimation is based on the XSketch synopsis, which summarizes the structure and value distribution of the original XML data source. We propose an approach to generating the top-K query candidates. Experiments with real datasets verifies the effectiveness and efficiency of our approach.


The AC-DC transfer difference of a single-junction thermal converter can be evaluated with an uncertainty of the order of 0.1 ppm using a fast-reversed DC source. At this level of uncertainty the dependence of the AC-DC voltage transfer difference on the value of the range resistor has been measured. It is shown that the Seebeck effect in the heater/heater support lead junction is responsible for this behavior.


Purpose A comprehensive renal mass evaluation CT protocol is usually performed for simultaneous characterization and staging of incidentally discovered renal masses considered indeterminate on ultrasound (US). The purpose of the study was to determine if a comprehensive examination is appropriate in these patients. Materials and Methods The authors performed a retrospective review of 100 patients (mean age, 61 years) with 102 sonographically indeterminate renal masses and who were referred to undergo CT for lesion characterization. Lesions were classified according to surgical histology or imaging follow-up evaluation. Statistical analysis was performed. Results Thirteen lesions (12.7%) in 11 (11%) patients (mean age, 59 years) were malignant. Eighty-seven lesions (85.3%) in 87 patients (87%; mean age, 62 years) were benign. Two lesions (1.96%) in two patients (2%) remained indeterminate. Conclusion Although comprehensive renal mass evaluation protocol provides a more thorough patient evaluation, only a small fraction of indeterminate renal masses seen on US are malignant. The authors' results suggest a targeted renal CT imaging protocol for evaluation of indeterminate renal masses incidentally discovered on US.


This paper proposes a subspace method to estimate impairment compensation coef cientsin a receive array antenna. These impairments due to imperfections in the analog front end circuits are the gain/phase mismatches among the different antenna elements and imbalances between in-phase and quadrature (I/Q) components. A signal model in the presence of the gain/phase mismatches and I/Q imbalances is developed first. Then a signal subspace constraint is formulated such that a simple method can be used to estimate the mismatches and imbalances. It is shown that the method results in an unambiguous estimate. Its performance is also evaluated using numerical simulations.


Abstract : The motivation behind our discussion and analysis focused on understanding the realities of current political, strategic, operational and tactical environments. Current operations involve an increasingly rapid tempo, involving short decision cycles and high stress. There is an increased link between the units in which political considerations affect strategy, operations and tactics on a short term basis. While there are fewer tactical units, these units have increased fire power. Hence the activities of an individual tactical unit can have a greater impact at tactical, strategic and political arenas (in a negative and positive way). This is made possible due to increased communications capacity (both bandwidth and connectivity). Thus, network centricity is a double-edged sword.


Heart failure (HF) had emerged as an epidemic since two decades ago and is now a major threatening public health problem affecting 23 million population worldwide.[1] It is a complex clinical syndrome resulting from inefficient myocardial pumping. As it is commonly presented as the end manifestation of various cardiac diseases which compromise the myocardial contractility and diastolic function, its prevalence is ten-fold higher among older adults aged 65 or above.[1],[2] Similar to other organ failure, chronic heart failure (CHF) is characterised by a typical progressively deteriorating trajectory punctuated by serious episodes of acute disease decompensation.[3] The burden of CHF is, therefore, not only manifested at the patients' level in terms of distressing symptoms, functional disability and compromised quality of life, but also directed to the health care system in terms of high hospital readmission and service utilization.


Abstract The whitefly-transmitted begomoviruses (family Geminiviridae) infect dicotyledonous plants and occur in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Although most commonly found in herbaceous plants, recently begomoviruses have increasingly been identified in woody plants. Leaf samples from five mulberry (Morus alba L.) plants with leaf yellowing and curling symptoms were collected in Lahore (Pakistan) and shown by PCR to be associated with a begomovirus, an alphasatellite and a betasatellite. The complete sequences of two begomovirus clones, as well as an alphasatellite clone and a betasatellite clone, were determined. The begomovirus clones were shown to be isolates of ageratum enation virus (AEV), a virus most commonly identified in weeds but increasingly being identified in crops such as tomato, soybean and fenugreek. Analyses of the sequences of the alphasatellite and betasatellite clones showed them to be isolates of Guar leaf curl alphasatellite and Papaya leaf curl betasatellite, respectively. Both the virus and the alphasatellite sequences showed evidence of a recombination. This is the first report of the weed-infecting monopartite begomovirus AEV, and associated satellites, infecting the woody plant mulberry.


Experimental results and a mathematical model are presented to describe differential evaporation rates in electron beam melting of titanium alloys containing aluminum and vanadium. Experiments characterized the evaporation rate of commercially pure titanium, and vapor composition over titanium with up to 6% Al and 4.5% V content as a function of beam power, scan frequency and background pressure. The model is made up of a steady-state heat and mass transport model of a melting hearth and a model of transient thermal and flow behavior near the surface. Activity coefficients for aluminum and vanadium in titanium are roughly estimated by fitting model parameters to experimental results. Based on the ability to vary evaporation rate by 10-15% using scan frequency alone, we discuss the possibility of on-line composition control by means of intelligent manipulation of the electron beam.


This chapter assesses infections of cardiovascular implantable devices. Cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIED) include permanent pacemakers (PPM), implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD), and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices. The reported risk of CIED infection depends on the complexity of the device and host comorbid conditions. Once infected, complete device removal and systemic antibiotic therapy are necessary to achieve cure. Earlier versions of CIEDs required surgical placement of epicardial leads, which was facilitated by sternotomy, and generators were mostly placed in the abdominal area. However, in contemporary practice, most device leads are placed percutaneously via the subclavian vein, and the device generator resides in a subcutaneous pocket in the pectoral area. Use of epicardial leads is now reserved for special situations where transvenous lead placement is not possible or deemed high risk due to active or recent bloodstream infection.


Maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) is an essential parameter to assess functional capacity of patients with heart failure (HF). We aimed to identify clinical factors that determine its value, as they have not been well characterized yet.


A compact, as well as wideband design of a strip-fed microstrip patch antenna (MPA) is presented for X-band operations. A metal-ring superstrate is being used to load a conventional MPA for the enhancement of impedance bandwidth from 6% to 25%. More than 9 dBi peak-gain is revealed from a compact antenna (~λ×λ) over the wide operating band. Experimental validation is performed with a set of antenna prototype fabricated using the laboratory facility. Measured results are very close to the simulated predictions. Experimental data confirm about 29% matching bandwidth which is much improved compared to the simulated prediction.


In an effort to secure the northern and southern United States borders, MITRE has been tasked with developing Modeling and Simulation (M&S) tools that accurately capture the mapping between algorithm-level Measures of Performance (MOP) and system-level Measures of Effectiveness (MOE) for current/future surveillance systems deployed by the the Customs and Border Protection Office of Technology Innovations and Acquisitions (OTIA). This analysis is part of a larger M&S undertaking. The focus is on two MOPs for magnetometer-based Unattended Ground Sensors (UGS). UGS are placed near roads to detect passing vehicles and estimate properties of the vehicle's trajectory such as bearing and speed. The first MOP considered is the probability of detection. We derive probabilities of detection for a network of sensors over an arbitrary number of observation periods and explore how the probability of detection changes when multiple sensors are employed. The performance of UGS is also evaluated based on the level of variance in the estimation of trajectory parameters. We derive the Cramer-Rao bounds for the variances of the estimated parameters in two cases: when no a priori information is known and when the parameters are assumed to be Gaussian with known variances. Sample results show that UGS perform significantly better in the latter case.


: Tomato fruit blotch virus (ToFBV) is a blunervirus that causes blotches on mature tomato ( Solanum lycopersicon L.) fruits in Italy and Australia in 2020, and was newly detected in Brazil. A cytological study on pericarp tissues from the blotched areas of infected fruits collected in Brasília, Brazil, revealed characteristic cell alterations. Small and slender bacilliform particles (ca. 25 nm wide × 100 nm long) were found accumulating in the perinuclear space and the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum of the epidermis, peri- and mesocarp cells. No viroplasm-like inclusion was observed either in the nuclei or in the cytoplasm. Such cell alterations are reminiscent of those described in cultured mosquito cells infected by negeviruses, an unofficial group of insect viruses. Negeviruses and some other arthropod-borne viruses shared a common ancestor in the RdRp gene with kitavirids, including blunerviruses. Although additional detailed studies are required, we show evidence that ToFBV particles are enveloped and bacilliform, and that such similarity in cytopathology seems to support the evolutionary relationship between plant kitavirids and insect negeviruses.


ABSTRACT In the linear time-invariant (LTI) framework, the transformation from an input–output equation into state space representation is well understood. Several canonical forms exist that realise the same dynamic behaviour. If the coefficients become time-varying however, the LTI transformation no longer holds. We prove by induction that there exists a closed-form expression for the observability canonical state space model, using binomial coefficients.


The bifunctional phosphine–abnormal N-heterocyclic carbene ruthenium(II) complex RuBr(OAc)(PPh3)(P–aNHC) (1) has been synthesized in high yield by reaction of Ru(OAc)2(PPh3)2 with a phosphine imidazolium bromide (P–NHC × HBr) and characterized by X-ray diffraction. This compound shows high catalytic activity for the transfer hydrogenation of ketones to alcohols in 2-propanol. Rate and efficiency of 1 can be enhanced by the addition of ethylenediamine or benzylamine, affording TOFs up to 140 000 h–1. Reaction of 1 with ethylenediamine leads to the Ru carbene/amine complex [Ru(OAc)(PPh3)(P–aNHC)(H2NCH2CH2NH2)]Br (2), which displays the same activity of the in situ generated species.


To more efficiently harness the renewable energy sources, advanced power converters have become an indispensable part in real time implementation. Multilevel inverters (MLI) appear to be a promising alternative to the classical inverters in medium power applications. This article attempts to present a quantitative review of recent reduced switch multilevel inverter topologies. The topology selection plays a vital role in utility applications. The figure of merits that have been considered for the quantitative analysis are switching losses, cost function, and reliability. The analysis has been carried out for eight asymmetric topologies, which involve reduced device count. To have a common platform for comparison, all the eight topologies are selected with 15-level output. The exhaustive analysis has been compiled in a pictorial fashion and solid conclusions have been derived for future utility. A new 15-level asymmetric MLI has been proposed in this article. The proposed inverter is validated through MATLAB/Simulink, and the results are presented. The proposed topology has been compared with existing inverter. The proposed topology has been exhaustively analyzed to figure out the impact of switching frequency and duration on time from reliability perspective. Also, the implementation level cost has been provided in detail including the various factors. The results reveal that the proposed topology provides superior performance in terms of total harmonic distortion (THD), losses, cost, and reliability.


We present a new design of micro-photodiodes for in-vitro tests to electrically stimulate the ganglion cells of chicken and rat retinae upon light exposure of the photodiodes. Based on amorphous silicon, our laterally series connected double-stacked micro-photodiodes provide an open circuit voltage of 2.3 volts. Photolithographic steps as well as etching procedures for patterning the back contact, the amorphous silicon layers and the front contact are described. We analyse current- voltage-measurements performed with direct contact of the metal needles of a micro-positioning system to the device's electrodes. In order to test the performance of an individual micro-photodiode in an electrolyte environment, the stimulation electrode of the device is also contacted with a micro-droplet of buffer solution. Further improvement is needed, mainly addressing the problem of long-term stability of the device in electrolyte environments.


The primary controller of Nintendo's Wii console is Wii Remote. It has the motion sensor that can recognize user's motion as three dimensional coordinate. Also, it can be used as wireless pointing device on personal computer through Bluetooth. In this study, we suggested PC based drawing system using the motion sensor and the IR sensor via Bluetooth communication.


A functionally layered honeycomb model is proposed to control the dynamic energy absorption offered by uniform honeycombs.The in-plane dynamic responses are controlled by the variation of the cell radius.The numerical results show that through the proper choice of the gradient coefficient,the initial force peak can be reduced significantly,and the energy absorption can be controlled.Moreover,the values for the transmitted stresses into the protected structures can be greatly reduced.These findings can provide valuable suggestions in the multi-objective optimal design of honeycombs.


Background: COVID-19 epidemic is rapidly increasing throughout the world . It is an important public health crisis which threat the humanity. Pediatric nurses are at the frontline of fighting against COVID-19. Nurses are faced with various challenges through the provision of care to provide high quality of nursing care for children and their family. So, this study aimed to identify the challenges facing pediatric nurses throughout the provision of nursing care for children with COVID-19. Design : Descriptive research design was used. Setting: This study was carried out at isolation pediatric unit in Assiut University Children Hospital. Subjects: Convenience sample of (33) pediatric nurses have participated in this study. Two tools were used in this study. Tool I: Structured interview questionnaire sheet for nurses. Tool II: Challenges facing pediatric nurses during COVID-19 crisis. Results . High Mean and SD of psychological challenges of pediatric nurses followed by challenges related to the organization's inefficiency in supporting nurses, physical challenges and finally challenges related to the nature of the disease (covid19) with Mean and SD were 12.9 ± 2.66 ,11.48±2.43, 11.36±1.78 & 8.0±1.80 respectively. Conclusion: Most of the studied pediatric nurses faced high challenges during COVID 19 and there was a statistically significant relationship between the total challenges level and personal data of the studied nurses except residence. Recommendations : Training programs are necessary to empower nurses with applicable preparations & manipulation for the challenges and experiences facing them to improve the skills that enable them to deal with challenges that help in controlling of crisis.


15 s profiles were averaged as half-hour profiles between 10:30-11:00 UTC. COSMO's results referred to the profiles of 10:45 UTC, and IFS estimations were given at 11 UTC. The analysis was carried out for 33 summer days, 13 days from August 2015, and 20 days from Aug 2016. The PBL heights were produced by the same methods: the parcel method (denoted by subscript and the bulk Richardson method (denoted subscript R). These methods require meteorological parameters as temperature and pressure profiles generated by the models and the radiosonde. Ceilometers, only backscatter signals. were analyzed by the WCT The results statistically mean error (ME),


The general-base-catalysed exchange of the methylene protons of the title compound in D2O has been studied using n.m.r. techniques with 70 bases that include aliphatic monocarboxylates and dicarboxylates, o-, m-, and p-substituted benzoates, 2-, 3-, and 4-substituted pyridines, creatinine, and D2O. Aliphatic monocarboxylates, m- and p-substituted benzoates, the pyridines, and D2O conform to a single Bronsted relationship (β 0.79 ± 0.05). However, o-substituted benzoates exhibit enhanced catalytic activity while the aliphatic dicarboxylates and creatinine show reduced catalytic activity. The possible causes for such deviations are discussed.


who should have necessary preparation to fulfill the office. Observing that the exorcist would ordinarily use the rite for solemn exorcism approved by Pope John Paul II and promulgated in , Bogetti comments that the diocesan bishop might also request permission from the Holy See for the exorcist to rely on the  pre-conciliar rite. This book is guided by the principle that a solemn exorcism remains an extraordinary feature of the Church's prayer for deliverance from evil through the healing grace of Christ. J O H N J . C O U G H L I N , O . F . M . New York, NY


One of the key factors ensuring the increase in sheep production in future is the development of intensive reproduction of the herd. The article presents the results of an experiment that helped study and give comparative characteristics for the meat productivity and natural resistance of the pedigree Edilbay sheep breed in conditions of a pedigree reproducer in 2018-2019. The young stocks of original and new types were studied to assess their interior traits, establish the direction and degree of correlation between the biochemical blood parameters and meat productivity of young sheep, as well as determine indices reflecting the immune status of organisms of the experimental sheep. When starting the test, the live weight of animals of the pure and pedigree types were almost the same, while when finishing the experiment at the age of 12 months, animals in Group II exceeded animals in Group I by 4.3 kg (5.8%, P<0.01). The best average daily gain of experimental sheep was also in Group II, i.e., 167 g, which was higher than in Group I by 9.1% (P<0.01). Consequently, the rams of new type had the highest growth rate. The data of the control slaughter showed that both experimental groups had high meat productivity. The analysis of natural resistance indicators of small ruminants of various types and their relationship with productive qualities in different climatic zones have also shown the need to use different integral indicators to assess the immune status in further breeding of animals. The analysis of natural resistance indicators of small ruminants of various types and their relation with productive qualities in different climatic zones has suggested that there is a need to use several markers to assess the immune status for further sheep breeding.


Children with kwashiorkor were treated with a diet providing 4 g/kg protein and 200 kcal/kg. They were divided into two groups. Ten children received a diet based on opaque-2 maize and twelve other children received a skim milk diet for a period of 4 to 5 weeks. The results indicate that opaque-2 maize is effective in the treatment of kwashiorkor. Both the clinical and biochemical responses observed in children who consumed the maize diet were comparable to those obtained with skim milk. Thus, the nutritive quality of the protein of opaque-2 maize appears to be as good as that of milk protein. Am. .1. Clin. Nutr. 27: 122-124, 1974. Cereals form the staple diet in many develop- ing countries where protein-calorie malnutri- tion is widely prevalent. The quality of cereal protein is poor because of its low content of essential amino acids, particularly lysine. In recentyears, efforts have been made to produce food grains of better nutritional quality. Opaque-2 maize is a variety of corn which contains higher amounts of lysine and trypto- phan than ordinarycorn.Studiesinexperimen- tal animals have shown that PER value for opaque-2 maize is equal to that of milk protein (1, 2) and it has been suggested that this can replace milk in the diets of children in poor communities. A clinical trial was therefore undertaken to test the efficacy of opaque-2 maize in the treatment of protein-calorie malnutrition.


Highly substituted indene and naphthalene derivatives have been readily prepared in good-to-high yields by a palladium-catalyzed domino reaction. This domino reaction involves a Heck carbopalladation/cyclization/coupling process.


Science process skills are skillssthattmust be mastereddby students in the scienceelearning process. Theelow skills offstudents' science processes are the main basissfor this research. This study aims to determine the effect and increase the application3of STEM approaches to the science2process skills of elementary school students. The type of research used in this study was quasi-experimental with a non-equivalent control group design. The sample consisted of two classes of fifth grade elementary school students, which were then divided into experimental classes that received treatment with the application of learning using a STEM approach and control classes that received learning using a scientific approach. The results of data analysis showed that learning with the STEM approach resulted in an increase of 0.81 and was in the high category, while the scientific approach resulted in an increase of 0.38 and was in the medium category. These results show that students' science process skills improved better in classes that applied a STEM approach compared to classes that applied a scientific approach. In addition, there was an influence from the STEM approach on improving the science process skills of elementary school students by 16.9%. In this study, it was concluded that: 1) The improvement of science process skills of students whoareceived learning1using a STEM approach1was better than3students who received learning1with a scientificiapproach. 2) STEM approaches to science learning affect students'iscience1processiskills.


The innate and powerful ability of the human mind to create narratives from a given situation is an effective means of transmitting information in a full context. The project described here, "20 Seconds into the Future," presents the office of H. Kadigan, itinerant mathematician, along with all the accoutrements of his personality. Visitors investigate the contents of the room, the books and papers, letters and photos, building up a complete view of his world and his work within mathematics and its applications. In this paper we outline Physical Narratives in general and describe an example of the world of a research mathematician. The room communicates his life and work, the breadth of his mathematical interests and the applications of mathematics within the world of physics. What is a Physical Narrative? A Physical Narrative (PN) is a space which the public is invited to explore, within which they find the traces of a story that they piece together during their experience. Evidence suggests that this is a natural and effective mechanism for determining character of a room's occupant [5]. One comparison is with a detective coming into a crime scene; confronted with the physical evidence, their job is to reassemble the story that led to this state. Another metaphor is that the space is a network of story elements, with visitors moving from one element to the next according to interest and offered cross references across space (within the room) and time (within media streams). Story elements reinforce one another using network effects. Two recent examples of such environments in an artistic context are inspiring. In Shelter II[2] entry was through a discarded roadside sausage stand to a tunnel that entered the building through a second store window. Moving through the space, one discovered traces of human habitation. One was left with the feeling of having stumbled across a recently abandoned human outpost on a distant planet, very familiar yet completely alien. Opera for a Small Room[3] is filled with opera memorabilia, an active piece of operatic fetish and obsession, portrayed through mechanised systems. A related example within a science context was the travelling "Einstein Office" that toured in the Physics Year 2005. There are several ways of placing Physical Narrative within the constellations of other art forms, including theatre, computer games, interactive installations and Alternate Reality Games [1]. As we move from poetry through writing, theatre, film making and games, we see the movement of content from the imagination of the reader to the media. In a PN, we must build all possible areas of investigation of the visitor into the world: there is no off-camera area. Similarly we cannot control how a visitor will explore the space. They may arrive at any time and may find many things in the space to investigate. This is a strength of the PN, as each visitor can be initially and independently intrigued by different aspects (entry points) of the space and the story, thus appealing to a wider spectrum of visitors. The genre of PNs offers a wealth of possibilities for allowing exploration of a world. In this article we will summarise our experiences around one PN with a mathematical and research focus. Bridges 2011: Mathematics, Music, Art, Architecture, Culture


The scholarship is an educational aid that given to the student in a university. Scholarship are usually given to students, neither economically underprivileged students nor students who have great achievement in an academic field or non-academic field. Politeknik Harapan Bersama as one of education provider in higher education gives scholarships to their students. Scholarship that given to underprivileged students known as Student Learning Aid scholarship (BBM) and scholarships are given to students with academic achievement know as Potential Academic Improvement Scholarship (PPA). The aim of this research is to build decision support system of scholarship recipient using Weighted Product (WP) method. Decision-making system of scholarship receiver is still done by manual, so it takes long time in deciding scholarship receiver. The scholarship grantee decision support system using the Weight Product method is expected to select scholarship receiver automatically when the value for each criterion has been inputted in the system, so resulting in a ranking which calculated using Weight Product method. With this system, the decision making is more objective. The result of this system is the ranking of scholarship receiver candidate.


The following paper starts from the basic idea that risk management is an organic part of the current management activities. During the last Financial Crisis 2008-2009 the preventing influence of the risk management activities assured the economic health of the different companies in various ways and with different tools. Furthermore the paper focuses the function synthesis as a prognosis instrument of the current, preventing risk management. The materials involve the concrete situation of the Wienerberger Corporation, which is the world's largest producer of bricks. The used method of this paper is the function synthesis by means of the TI-84 Plus. The results zoom in on the different advantages and disadvantages of the functions synthesis by giving the development prognosis of the focused variable for the year 2011. The conclusion emphasizes two main points: On the one hand the great significance of the preventing risk management activities during the Financial Crisis 2008-2009 and on the other hand the summarized description of the function synthesis and its influence on the decision maker.


There has recently been a great increase in the use of highfrequency currents for heat treatment of metals, in such processes as surface hardening, cementation and alloying, welding, hot machining, and zonal tempering. The paper deals chiefly with surface hardening.After giving an account of the advantages of the process and an estimate of the power requirements, the authors deal with the design of the heating coil in relation to the shape of the specimen, and describe a "model" method whereby the distribution of the electromagnetic field in the system may be investigated.Curves are plotted from the authors' experimental results to show the distribution of temperature and current density over the specimen, and the variation of the power absorbed, during the heating period.The effect of frequency upon the depth of penetration of eddy currents in steel is examined, and consideration is given to the relation between the depth of penetration and the shape of the surface being treated.The paper concludes with a statement of the results which have been obtained from the application of the high-frequency method to the hardening of tools and gears.


The present invention is heat insulating calcium silicate micro bead mortar and its construction process, and belongs to the field of heat insulating material technology. The heat insulating calcium silicate micro bead mortar has added calcium silicate and waterproof microcrystalline material, and the superfine calcium silicate powder forms strengthening protection film on the surface of vitrified micro bead, so that the heat insulating calcium silicate micro bead mortar has raised strength and improved waterproof performance. It may be used as the outer heat insulating layer and has reduced construction cost.


Purpose
To find the system with minimum investment and best quality performance that is capable of producing all of the product variants, assessing the complexity of designing assembly system at the early concept stage is an essential step, which helps and instructs a designer to create a product- and system-oriented assembly solution with the least complexity. The purpose of this paper is to propose a quantifying measurement of complexity in the design of a modular automated assembly system.

Design/methodology/approach
The configurable assembly system is becoming a trend, which enables companies to quickly respond to changes caused by different product variants but without a large investment. One of the enabling factors is the availability of modular solutions of assembly modules that can be configured according to different technical requirements. This paper develops a methodology using fuzzy evaluation to calculate the design complexity in the design phase for a modular automatic assembly system. Fuzzy linguistic variables are used to measure the interaction among the influence factors, to deal with the uncertainty of the judgement. The proposed method investigates three matrices to present how the function-based assembly modules, design complexity factors, part attributes and product components, which are regarded as the main influence factors, complicate the construction of a modular assembly system. The design complexity is derived and quantified based on these assessments.

Findings
The proposed approach presents a formal quantification to evaluate the design complexity with regard to a modular assembly system from beginning, which can be identified and used as criteria to indicate the quality of performance and investment cost in advance. A mathematical model based on the fuzzy logic is established to provide both theoretical and practical guidance for the paper. To validate the predictive model, the statistic relationships between the assessed system design complexity, real assembly defect rate and investment cost are estimated based on regression analysis. The application of the presented methodology is demonstrated with regard to a traditional rear drive unit in the automotive industry.

Originality/value
This paper presents a developed method, which addresses the measures of complexity found in the design of a modular assembly system. It would help to run the design process with better resource allocation and cost estimation in a quantitative approach.


Vibrations are considered in the system control valve-steam piping (supplying steam to the nozzle box)-nozzle box of the high-pressure cylinder (the CVSPNB system). A mathematical model for this system is proposed. It can be used in studying the influence of constructional and performance factors in exciting acoustic resonance and system stability.


BACKGROUND
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been increasingly used to evaluate stent apposition following implantation. Since stent struts are visualized as linear structures with strong surface reflection and typical dorsal shadowing, apposition of struts is evaluated by measuring the distance between the strut surface reflection and adjacent vessel surface in consideration of strut thickness. However, there are no data available to validate the measurements of strut thickness by OCT. The aim of this in vitro study is to validate the accuracy of OCT measurement of stent-strut thickness of different commercially available stents in evaluating stent apposition.

METHODS
We performed the in vitro study after implantation of 5 commonly used stents in a phantom model artery. Stent-strut thickness was measured by a commercially available OCT system and was compared to the manufacturers' nominal strut-thickness data for each stent. Intra- and interobserver variability were also assessed.

RESULTS
A total of 239 stent struts were evaluated. The differences in stent-strut measurements as compared to the manufacturers' nominal strut thickness data were low. The intra- and interobserver measurement differences were low (6 +/- 7 microm, and 6 +/- 7 microm, respectively), with high correlation coefficients (r = 0.957 and r = 0.957, respectively; p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS
This in vitro study demonstrates that OCT analysis measuring stent-strut thickness provides accurate data with high reproducibility, suggesting that assessment of stent-strut apposition using OCT is feasible.


Introduction ? Background and Related Work ? Program Requirements ? Implementation ? Results, Evaluation, and Reflection ? Conclusions and Future Work ? Bibliography ? Appendices ?


Cutera has announced that Canadian regulatory agency Health Canada has approved the company's Excel V laser for vascular, pigment and overall skin-rejuvenation treatments, Globe Newswire reports.


Simultaneous measurements of space charge and external current were carried out using a PEA measurement system with an electrometer on the back of a grounding electrode in order to clarify the physical situation of a huge packet of positive space charges in LDPE films. A large number of positive charges from a semiconducting anode were accumulated at the interface between LDPE and an Al‐cathode at a mean applied field of 1.5 MV/cm and then finally disappeared. The results of simultaneous measurements showed that the external current kept a relatively high value during charge accumulation and further increased when the charges disappeared. Both the charge dynamics and the external current were restricted by addition of a low‐molecular‐weight paraffin wax, indicating that carrier transport was influenced by the microstructure of the polymer. The dynamics of the residual charges after short‐circuiting is also discussed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 179(4): 10–17, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.21256


Abstract Conventional and high resolution electron microscopy have been used to investigate the L12-L10, two-phase mixtures in the Co-Pt system. The domain of coexistence of the phases L12 (Copt3) and L10 (Copt) has been determined. Three different processes of formation of the two phase mixture from the high temperature disordered state (A1) have been studied as a function of the aging temperature: (1) A1 → L10 → L10 + L12, (2) A1 → L12 → L1 0 + L12, (3) A1 → L10 + L12. In the final state, the microstructures present the same main topologies. Processes (1) and (2) involve two steps, the first one consists in ordering one of the single phases. The second step is shown to involve an interfacial wetting of the domains walls of the ordered structure formed during the first step. When the phases L10 and L12 simultaneously appear within the disordered matrix (process (3)), an archetypal microstructure is formed: it consists of a regular tiling of domains according to a precise and fascinating topology driven b...


The aim of the study - to study the clinical features and indicators for asthma control inoverweight children to optimize treatment strategies.Material and methods. 200 schoolchildren with asthma who were treated in the pulmoallergy department of the Chernivtsi Regional Children's Clinical Hospital have beenexamined. 52 patients with excess body weight (body mass index was greater than 25,0)belonged to group I, and children with body weight corresponding to the age norm (bodymass index from 18,0 to 24,9) were included into clinical group II under observation.Results. It has been found that the average number of points according to the ASTquestionnaire in patients of group I reached 14,0 ± 1,33 points, and in the comparisongroup – 16,3 ± 0,54 points (p˃0,05). At the same time, the share of patients withuncontrolled course of the disease among the overweight children reached 61,5% incomparison to 48,3% in the comparison group (p˃0,05).Indices of the risk of uncontrolled asthma (the sum of AST test scores 0,05) in group II.Conclusions. Bronchial asthma in overweight children is more likely to debut at an earlyage and characterized by a persistent course. Predisposition to the body overweight inpatients with bronchial asthma has a negative effect on the indices of the disease controlachievement, although it is accompanied by an evidence decrease of the inflammatoryprocess of the respiratory tract in the course of treatment.


Determining locations and geometries of subsurface reefs as well as carbonate accumulations having unusual porosity and permeability became a challenge on geophysical exploration (Chopra, 2007). In this context, seismic attributes represent an advanced tool that leads the reservoir characterization and the reef build ups imaging. The present study is focused on Isis oil field located in the eastern Tunisian offshore. It consists of an integrated subsurface study based on well data and 2D and 3D seismic data. The main objective is to delineate the Cenomanian reef structure recognized in the study area as a good stratigraphic reservoir. Our methodology is based on seismic interpretation, seismic facies analysis and seismic attribute application. Calibrated and interpreted seismic sections shows a tilted block trapping style within the Cretaceous interval with the presence of a locally high Cenomanian structures. In addition, we identify the existence of some mounded bodies occupying the boundaries of Grabens. These mounded shapes are recognized by their chaotic facies and their seismic terminations that rests against the body. The integration of well data enables us to interpret these facies as a Cenomanian build up. Indeed, the drilled wells on the study area prove the existence of a reef deposition facies expressing the same configuration. Several seismic attributes were computed to highlight the structural architecture of studied area and especially the buildup construction signature. Variance attribute evidences the NW-SE faults and delineate the Isis Graben. The buildup bedding configuration was characterized based on the instantaneous attribute. Calibrated attributes enable us to further believe that the mounded identified buildups provide a good analog with the proven Isis reef structure. The revealed results reflect the efficiency of the applied attributes in reef reservoir characterization. Spectral decomposition methods (FFT and CWT) were also applied to further characterize the identified constructions. The results show the close relation between "tuning frequency and thickness variation, the low frequency reflect the thickening of the reservoir rock. Finally, a depositional facies model defining the basin architecture and the carbonate buildups distribution was established using the integration of all the applied tools.


In order to realize the communication of real-time data and historical data of the reservoir scheduling automation system of power grid,the telecommunication middleware soft for the reservoir scheduling automation system is developed.The structure and function of the telecommunication middleware soft and its installation and application to the reservoir scheduling automation system of Zhejiang power grid are introduced.


Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a prototypical immune-mediated inflammatory disease, is now definitely recognized to increase cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, irrespective of established classical risk factors. The chronic inflammatory state, a hallmark of RA, is increasingly considered to be a driving force for accelerated atherogenesis. Consequently, aggressive control of RA disease activity has been suggested to be instrumental for cardiovascular risk reduction. Currently, statins are the cornerstone of cardiovascular risk-reducing strategies. Apart from their lipid-lowering capacity, statins also exert immune-modulatory effects, which therefore may be of dual benefit in RA patients. Yet guidelines for optimal cardiovascular risk reduction in patients with RA are lacking, largely owing to the absence of randomized, clinical trial data. In this review, we focus on the pathophysiology and observational evidence of cardiovascular risk in RA, as well as the need to adjust currently employed cardiovascula...


The performance and energy efficiency provided by lightweight manycores is undeniable. However, the lack of rich and portable support for these processors makes software development challenging. To address this problem, we propose a portable and lightweight MPI library (LWMPI) designed from scratch to cope with restrictions and intricacies of lightweight manycores. We integrated LWMPI into a distributed OS that targets these processors and evaluated it on the Kalray MPPA-256 processor. Results obtained with three applications from a representative benchmark suite unveiled that LWMPI achieves similar performance scalability in comparison with the low-level vendor-specific API narrowed for MPPA-256, while exposing a richer programming interface.


Recent reports on temporal photoluminescence (PL) intensity fluctuations (blinking) within localized domains of organo-metal lead halide (hybrid) perovskite microcrystals have invoked considerable interest to understand their origins. Using PL microscopy, we have investigated the effect of atmospheric constituents and photoillumination on spatially extended intensity fluctuations in methylammonium lead bromide (MAPbBr3) perovskite materials, explicitly for micrometer (ca. 1–2 μm)-sized crystals. Increase in the relative humidity of the ambience results in progressive reduction in the PL intensity, and beyond a threshold value, individual microcrystalline grains exhibit multistate PL intermittency (flickering), which is characteristically different from quasi two-state blinking observed in nanocrystals. Such flickering disappears upon removal of moisture, accompanied by considerable enhancement of the overall PL efficiency. We hypothesize that initiation of moisture-induced degradation marked by the loweri...


Synopsis : Measurements have been made to study the equilibrium between H2O/H2 gas mixture and FetO-MnO melt in Fe crucible at 1 450 and 1 500°C. The influence of slag composition on the activity of iron oxide and Fe3+/Fe2+ ratio has been clarified. The activity of MnO in Fet0-Mn0 slag in equilibrium with iron and the oxygen content in liquid iron equilibrated with this slag have been calculated using a-function of Fet0. As the result, it has been confirmed that FetO-MnO slag shows approximately ideal behaviour. Furthermore, the dissolved oxygen content in liquid iron equilibrated with FetO-MnO slag has been evaluated based on the present results.


The invention discloses a method for detecting the effectiveness of oil chromatogram online monitoring data. According to the method for detecting the effectiveness of the oil chromatogram online monitoring data, the effectiveness of abnormal data is automatically analyzed and judged by combining oil fault types of GB/T-7252-2001 standard and a sensor array, namely a system can automatically analyze and judge the effectiveness of the monitored abnormal data, and can effectively determine the effective monitoring data. The effectiveness, accuracy and reliability of data of an oil chromatogram online monitoring system can be improved.


A health-hazard evaluation of Encinitas Floral Company, Encinitas, California was conducted in June and July, 1984. The confidential evaluation was requested because of concern about possible exposures to Temik and other pesticides used at the company's two sites, Sanford and Saxony. Medical interviews were conducted with an unspecified number of employees. Work practices were observed. The authors conclude that a health hazard exists at both sites. Recommendations include establishing a formal respirator program in accordance with OSHA requirements, wearing personal protective clothing and equipment, and improving the exhaust ventilation systems.


Abstract Hearing the national call for higher education accountability, the author of this tripartite article urges university administrators to move towards a more data-driven approach to counseling center supervision. Toward that end, the author first examines a key factor—perceived increase in student pathology—that appears to shape budget and staffing decisions in many university centers. Second, she reviews the emerging but conflicting research of clinician-scholars who are trying to empirically verify or refute that perception; their conflicting results suggest that no study alone should be used as the "final word" in evidence-based decision-making. Third, the author delineates the campus-specific data that should be gathered to guide staffing and budgeting decisions on each campus. She concludes by reminding readers that data-driven decisions can and should foster high-quality care that is concurrently efficient, effective, and in sync with the needs of a particular university and student body.


Past evidence suggests that organizational transformation from IT implementations is rare. Data warehousing promises to be one advanced information technology that could produce transformation. Based on the stages of growth theory and adaptive structuration theory (AST), this paper attempts to understand how data warehousing could lead to organizational transformation by studying a data warehouse's growth in an organization. In particular, the benchmark variables for data warehousing stages of growth are examined using adaptive structuration theory to explain organizational transformation that takes account into unique organizational situations.


2061 Background: EGFR/AKT pathways anomalies are well known in gliomas. Nevertheless, specific alterations for the different types of gliomas have not been assessed. Our goal was to look for differences in the status of EGFR, 10q and CDKN2A/ARF genes in three groups of gliomas. Methods: We performed molecular analysis of 43 oligodendrogliomas (OD), 22 oligoastrocytomas (OA) and 18 glioblastomas (GBM). LOH at 1p, 19q and 10q was assessed by Real Time PCR quantitative microsatellite analysis. Markers for 10q analysis (D10S536 and D10S1683) are located proximal to PTEN and DMBT-1 loci respectively. EGFR and CDKN2A/ARF were studied by multiplex real time PCR. Clinical information related to diagnosis, tumor characteristics and outcome was also documented. Results: As expected by current knowledge, alterations in EGFR/AKT pathways were highly common in GBM, showing significant differences in EGFR amplification and also 10q and p16 deletion, when compared to OD. In a more detailed analysis, including number of ...


The locally twisted cube LTQn is a newly introduced interconnection network for parallel computing. As a variant of the hypercube Qn, LTQn has better properties than Qn with the same number of links and processors. Yang, Megson and Evans [Locally twisted cubes are 4pancyclic, Applied Mathematics Letters, 17 (2004), 919-925] showed that LTQn contains a cycle of every length from 4 to 2 . In this note, we improve this result by showing that every edge of LTQn lies on a cycle of every length from 4 to 2 inclusive.


Abstract A series of seven homoleptic CuI complexes based on hetero‐bidentate P^N ligands was synthesized and comprehensively characterized. In order to study structure–property relationships, the type, size, number and configuration of substituents at the phosphinooxazoline (phox) ligands were systematically varied. To this end, a combination of X‐ray diffraction, NMR spectroscopy, steady‐state absorption and emission spectroscopy, time‐resolved emission spectroscopy, quenching experiments and cyclic voltammetry was used to assess the photophysical and electrochemical properties. Furthermore, time‐dependent density functional theory calculations were applied to also analyze the excited state structures and characteristics. Surprisingly, a strong dependency on the chirality of the respective P^N ligand was found, whereas the specific kind and size of the different substituents has only a minor impact on the properties in solution. Most importantly, all complexes except C3 are photostable in solution and show fully reversible redox processes. Sacrificial reductants were applied to demonstrate a successful electron transfer upon light irradiation. These properties render this class of photosensitizers as potential candidates for solar energy conversion issues.


Experiments are descriptionbed in which rapidly fatal doses of organic and inorganic selenium for sheep are established. The distribution of the element in the body after intravenous injection of isotopically labelled selenite, selenomethionine and selenocystine is discussed.


Maxillary enlargement is a rare complication of secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT). A 35-year-old Korean man undergoing chronic hemodialysis presented with a painless enlargement involving the maxilla and mandible. Plain radiography and CT scan showed bony expansion at the maxilla and mandible with multiple radiolucency. Serum intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) was >1,600 pg/mL. Tc- 99m sestamibi (MIBI) parathyroid scan and neck sonogram were compatible with SHPT. He underwent limited parathyroidectomy and commenced a course of paricalcitol. Fifteen months after surgery, maxil- lary enlargement and bony resorptions involving both hands markedly improved. Thirty-six months after the surgery, the serum iPTH level was 109.3 pg/mL. This is the first report in Korea documenting a patient with maxillary enlargement in SHPT who was successfully treated with limited parathyroidec- tomy and paricalcitol.


Crohn's disease (CD) is one of the inflammatory bowel diseases characterised by transmural inflammation of various segments of the gut. The pathogenesis of the disease remains obscure and medical and surgical therapy is limited. This review highlights the basic clinical features of the disease as well as some recent insights into the aetiology of the disease. Standard medical therapy is discussed and more recent biologic therapies including the use of anti-TNF-α antibodies are described. The changing focus of therapy, from non-specific anti-inflammatory medications to targeted biologic therapies, is reviewed. A number of novel therapeutic targets and patented therapies are reviewed and future directions for research and clinical testing are discussed.


As Jeremy Hunt left his position as England's health secretary he welcomed his successor with a tweet: "Couldn't ask for a better successor than @matthancock to take forward long term NHS plan with his brilliant understanding of the power of technology. The new NHS app will be in safe hands!"1

The only thing I knew about Matt Hancock was that he already had an app of his own. This app was accused of basic privacy flaws (such as allowing access to photographs on a smartphone even when the user had denied this option: it has now been updated).2 We all make mistakes, we're all human, etc.

Hancock told an audience this year …


The paper presents an efficient methodology for establishing synchrocheck relay settings for transmission lines of high power transit corridors, optimized for maximum use of the design capacity without jeopardizing equipment safety. It details the criteria used for limiting the generation units shaft mechanical surges to non-cumulative fatigue values and for keeping the electromagnetic stresses of generators and switching equipment within the withstand ratings. The main recommendation is that synchrocheck relay settings of critical lines shall be based on dynamic simulations of the switching particulars in a large number of relevant system configurations. Typical setting values as often applied in the practice may not be on the safe side, especially for lines in the vicinity of major power plants.


In this survey paper, we will briefly describe three different spatial data models. The spatial data models are designed to handle different types of spatial data. This first data model is to handle partial spatial information. The second model deals with multidimensional raster data, which includes the query interface and storage management. The last model is aimed at multiple representation of resolution-dependent objects.


We study the problem of formulating the discrete dense stereo matching using continuous convex optimization. One of the previous work derived a relaxed convex formulation by establishing the relationship between the disparity vector and a warping matrix. However it suffers from high computational complexity. In this paper, the previous convex formulation is translated into an equivalent quadratic programming (QP). Then redundant variables and constraints are eliminated by exploiting the internal sparse property of the warping matrix. The resulting QP can be efficiently tackled using interior point solvers. Moreover, enhanced smoothness term and effective post-processing procedures are also incorporated to further improve the disparity accuracy. Experimental results show that the proposed method is much faster and better than the previous convex formulation, and provides competitive results against existing convex approaches.


In general, catalyst beds are made up of a size distribution of particles. Often the distribution of particle sizes can be well represented by either a rectangular or triangular size distribution. This paper shows that characteristic mean particle sizes can be defined for both the rectangular and triangular distributions such that the effectiveness factor based on this single particle size lies close to the effectiveness factor for the distribution. Thus, by using the correct mean particle size a quick and reasonably accurate evaluation of the effectiveness factor for the particle size distribution can be made.


Analytical models of a helical gear pair are developed in order to examine the effect of sliding friction on the dynamic transmission error. Simplified 6 degree-of-freedom and single degree-of-freedom analytical models are developed. These models characterize the contact plane dynamics and capture the velocity reversal at the pitch line due to sliding friction. By assuming a constant mesh stiffness density along the contact lines, a linear time-varying model (with parametric excitation) is obtained. The effect of sliding friction is quantified by an effective mesh stiffness term. Floquet theory is then used to obtain closed-form solutions to the dynamic transmission error given periodic piece-wise linear tooth stiffness function. Responses to both initial conditions and forcing function under a nominal torque are derived. Analytical models are validated by comparing predictions with numerical simulations. Finally, parametrically-induced instability issues are briefly mentioned.Copyright © 2007 by ASME


Dr. Elizabeth (Mandy) Kay-Raining Bird (Ph.D. Madison, Wisconsin) is a Professor in the School of Human Communication Disorders at Dalhousie University. Her research and teaching is in the area of child language development and disorders, with a particular focus on children and adolescents with Down syndrome.


Using the 100 mm semi-armor piercer as protecting target,the anti penetration property of fiber ceramic composit materials were studied by experiment.The finite element analysis model of projectile penetrating into fiber ceramic composit targets was established by the software LS-DYNA.The process of deformation and the stress propagation in both projectile and target were obtained.The results showed that the fiber ceramic composit materials obviously erode the projectile mass,and they reduced the residual energy of the projectile to a great extent.Nnumerical results were well matched with the experimental observations.The results might provide a reference for the next experimental and theoretical analysis.


Aim. The aim of this article is to analyse legal and illegal trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the post 2010 era. According to the complex interdependence, the region is witnessing a regional security complex and the relationship between the actors is characterised by both cooperation and competition (Rana, 2015). In these circumstances, the national security defines in a narrower sense of protection of a nation from physical attack and safeguarding its economic activities from devastating outside threats (Gandhi, 2010). Both Pakistan and Afghanistan are pursuing their own national interests in the context of national security and sometimes, their national security interests compete with each other.
Method. The qualitative method of research was employed to analyse the implications of legal and illegal trade between Afghanistan-Pakistan in post 2010 era. The data was collected from different sources including books, scientific journals, research articles, newspapers and websites.
Results. By using various valuable references, it has been verified that beside the political and geological factors, low prices of the smuggled items and corruption are also main reasons of exploitation of the Afghan's transit trade. It has created bad impact on Pakistan's economy and well as it is still threatening other national interests of the country.
Conclusion. The study confirms that the menace of smuggling can be decreased through durable policies and well-connected measures. A checks and balances system should be activated in the context in Pakistan and differences with Afghanistan's government should be decreased through a bilateral dialogue process.


The key to support the emission trading in China is to establish an effective regulatory system. This paper sets up an incomplete information dynamic game model between government and pollution enterprise from the perspective of related subjects' interests. Through the equilibrium analysis, a conclusion is reached that if central government increases the punishment force to the local protection and public participate level, it can effectively restrict local government shield enterprise's violations. On that base, an incentive compatible water environmental regulatory system is established which both government and public take part in, to ensure the smooth implementation of emission trading policy in China.


This paper studied the contents of black carbon(BC) in the surface sediments of the inner continental shelf of the East China Sea,focusing on the distribution,influence factors and source of BC in different areas.In addition,the BC contents were compared with those in suspended particulate matter(SPM) derived from Xuliujing in the Yangtze River estuary.The results showed that the average BC content in SPM of Xuliujing was 1.68±0.51 mg/g,and the content in the dry season was higher than that in the flood season,which is related with seasonal change of combustion.The distribution of BC in the surface sediments of the inner continental shelf of the East China Sea was characterized by regional difference.The BC contents in nearshore varied over a narrow range and were negatively related with size,and lower than those in SPM of Xuliujing,which showed that BC came from river input and was dominated by soot in this area,and partial small-sized BC was not completely deposited.The BC contents in the east of 123°E were extensively high and positively correlated with size,indicating that BC was dominated by graphitic black carbon.Moreover,the BC/TOC values range from 0.11 to 0.55 in the sediments,so we should not ignore the difference in distribution and species from one area to another,when investigating the carbon cycle in this area.


Two interviews were conducted with 20 participants from a Mental Health and Mental Retardation (MHMR) crisis house. Subjects were classified as good or poor premorbid level of functioning using a case history form and information from their social history charts. The study employed a self-narrative method to direct self disclosure. In the first interview, participants were asked to describe themselves. In the second interview they were asked to identify what they would change about their histories and to describe how this would make a difference in how their lives turned out. Support was not found for the hypothesis that those with the higher premorbid functioning would be better able to shift perspectives and use more positive self constructs. Methodological, theoretical and future research areas are discussed.


This report summaries available information on the behaviour of bacteria in urban drainage systems. The report has been prepared as a preliminary step towards the modelling of bacteria in MOSQITO and/or QUDOS, the sewer flow quality models currently under development at Hydraulics Research Limited... It is anticipated that simulation of bacterial quality will be required to coordinate with receiving water impact models and recreational water quality standards such as the EC Bathing Beaches Directive.


The article focuses on showing the representations of Poles and Jews in bibliographic narratives of people of Ukrainian origin displaced from areas of the Bieszczady and Pogorze Przemyskie within the Operation Vistula. Using the method of oral history, the author conducted several interviews. In each of them there appeared the "others" from the immediate neighbourhood, which are remembered as the participants of shared fun, family members, or the neighbours, with whom the most important holidays were celebrated. The author does not assess whether the remembered images correspond to contemporary reality, which ultimately, due to the war and ethnic cleansing, ceased to exist. He believes, however, that the strong presence of Poles and Jews in the memories of his interlocutors proves that these "others" were an important fragment of the lost world.


Recently, implant treatment has become common. We must consider how to let implant prostheses be stable for long : ion dissolution may take place, because metal used for implants is different from the superstructure. To settle this problem, you can use the same metal as the implant for the superstructure, or use no metal. We introduce the superstructure made of pure titanium or the glass fiber frame in these cases. These cases are doing well after treatment.


Conclusions on the functional and structural organisation of photosynthetic water oxidation are gathered from a critical survey of the wealth of data reported in the literature and author's own experimental research: (1) the water oxidising complex (WOC) contains a tetranuclear manganese cluster of 'dimer of dimers' structure and functional heterogeneity of the metal centers, (2) the four step univalent oxidative pathway leading to water oxidation into molecular oxygen and four protons comprises only manganese, tyrosine Y z of polypeptide Dl and the substrate as redox active species, (3) the redox transitions S 0 → S 1 and S 1 → S 2 are manganese centered whereas S 2 → S 3 is most likely a ligand-centered reaction, (4) there exist several lines of evidence for a marked structural change that accompanies the redox transition S 2 → S 3 , (5) one Ca 2+ is an indispensible constituent of a functionally competent WOC while the role of Cl - is much less clear and a direct participation disputable, (6) substrate water is most likely bound in all redox states S 0 ,---, S 3 and exchangeable with the bulk phase. The protonation state is determined by the redox state S i and the protein microenvironment. A mechanism is proposed for water oxidation in the WOC that is based on three key postulates: (1) water oxidation takes place in the first coordination sphere of one manganese dimer [Mn a Mn b ]; (2) the essential O-O bond is preformed in S 3 as part of a rapid redox isomerism S 3 (I)⇔S 3 (II) where in S 3 (II) a nuclear geometry and electronic configuration is attained that corresponds to a peroxidic-type species; and (3) S 3 (II) is an 'entatic state' for the formation of complexed dioxygen triggered by Y ox z induced electron abstraction from the WOC and electronic redistribution to S 0 (O 2 ).


Background: Deviated nose and septum is challenging, which results in functional and cosmetic problems. It blocks the nose and makes person ugly. The classical septoplasty approach becomes unsuitable for such severe deviations. Extracorporeal septoplasty is a surgical technique for correcting a severely deviated nasal septum, which also corrects the aesthetic part of the nose. The objective of this study was to describe extracorporeal septoplasty for Deviated nose and anterior septal deviation. Methods: A prospective observational outcome study was done in patients with Deviated nose and anterior septal deviation who underwent extracorporeal septorhinoplasty. Preoperative and postoperative evaluation was performed using a photographs, computerized tomography (CT) scan, and Nasal obstruction symptoms evaluation scale. Results: A total of 38 consecutive patients were enrolled, out of which majority were male (24, 63.2%) with only 14 (36.8%) female. The ratio of male female was 1.7:1. All the subjects had deviated nasal septum. Among these, nose deviation was externally noticeable in 20 (52.6%) cases, whereas in remaining cases it was inconspicuous. There were 21(55.3%) patients where Nasal Septum was deviated to the right side followed by 17(44.7%) with left side deviation. There was a significant improvement in mean nasal obstruction symptoms evaluation postoperatively (71.2 versus 22.7 with p value equal to 0.01). According to the pre and postoperative photographs 17(44.7%) patients had good improvement, nine (23.6%) showed excellent improvement and the result was fair in six (15.7%) patients. Conclusions: Extracorporeal septoplasty is effective in improving both nasal airway function and aesthetics in patients with severe Nasal Septal deviation.


Radiological insertion of Tenckhoff catheters can be an alternative option for peritoneal dialysis access creation, as compared to surgical catheter insertion. This study will review the outcomes and complications of radiological Tenckhoff catheter insertion in a metropolitan renal service and compare costs between surgical and radiological insertion.


Human orientation as the motive and target of development is the value foundation of scientific development.The construction of teaching staff in minority colleges and universities must implement human-orientation ideology to realise their continuous,healthy and rapid development and set a solid foundation to improve their teaching staff in an all-round way.


......................................................................................123 5.1 Background ....................................................................................................... 124 5.2 Results ............................................................................................................... 128 5.3 Discussion ......................................................................................................... 145 Supplemental (Appendix to Chapter V).................................................... 150 Chapter VI Conclusion and future directions ............................................................ . 159 Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 165 Appendix A Rights and permissions .......................................................... 183