human race since time immemorial. It is still one of the more common peripheral vascular ailments since it is estimated that in the U nited States alone, based on statistics from other countries (13), there are probably from 300,000 to 400,000 cases. The workdays lost to industry, the suffering of those afHicted and the money expended for alleged cures and medicaments are stupendous. The maj ority of these lesions observed in patients living in the temperate zone are secondary to arterial or venous diseases of the lower extremity and complicated, in some cases, with a partial obstruction of the lymphatic system. For practical purposes they may be divided into three types: (1) Ulcerations secondary to obliterative arterial disease; (2) Ulcerations secondary to simple varicose veins; (3) Ulcerations secondary to the postphlebitic or postthrombotic syndrome. The purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the etiological factors of the postphlebitic or postthrombotic ulcer and to describe a surgical method of treatment that has proved most efficacious in restoring the limbs to a more nearly normal state. It must be clearly understood that an extremity, following an episode of deep venous thrombosis involving the femoral vein, can never be restored to normal because of the irreversible changes that take place in the veins and their valves. It is impossible, therefore, to speak of a cure of the postthrombotic syndrome, but with the method of treatment to be described, the cure of a postphlebitic ulceration can be obtained in most cases. Many forms of treatment have been advocated for this disease entity, but the great majority have been unsuccessful in producing a cure because they do not correct the underlying pathologic physiology of the condition. This unfortunate state of affairs was due to the fact that this phase of the subject had not been too thoroughly investigated, and as a result was little understood. Even today there is much yet to be learned along these lines, but certain advances have been made in recent years that enable us to understand better the etiological factors of the condition and, as a result, a rationale for the therapy. Homans (8) in 1916 made a definite contribution to the surgical treatment of this condition. He was the first to differentiate between the simple varicose and the postphlebitic types of ulcerations in the lower extremity, and in 1917 (9) was the first to recommend excision of the ulcer with the diseased skin around it and the scar tissue beneath


Highly evolved phosphorous-rich peraluminous magmatic system shows distinctive geochemical behaviors.It was characterized as being high in P,and ASI,low in Ca,Mg and Fe,strong depletions in REE,Th and Y, and mineralizations of W,Sn,Nb and Ta.The alkali feldspar crystallized from the P-rich peraluminous magmatic system is often enriched in phosphorous.The abundance and distribution of phosphorus in alkali feldspar can reveal the evolution history of the magma.As P has strong affinity to Li,an assemblage of spodumene-amblygonite-montebrasite occurred in the last stage of magmatic evolution.Previous studies showed that phosphorus can depress the liquidus and solidus,decrease the viscosity and increase the solubility of water in haplogranite melts.However,there remain some issues in the P-rich magmatic system to be explored clearly in the future,such as the effects of phosphorus on liquid immiscibility,fractionation of REE and other incompatible elements,and mineralizations of the rare metals.


The BRICS, as five emerging national economies, are major global consumers of energy. This paper aims to examine how energy consumption varies with the growth of economy for BRICS countries, by applying the Environmental Kuznets Curves (EKC). Based on the cross-country cross-sectional dataset, we use total amount of energy consumption as the environmental indicator to explore the patterns of EKC. Our results provide evidence of an inverted-U shape of EKC in the overall BRICS nations. Energy consumption tends to increase initially, and then declines after a threshold level of income due to the implementation of environmental policy and promotion of efficient technologies. In addition, this paper separately analyzes China's roles in determining the relationship between energy consumption and income embodied by the BRICS. Similarly, we finds a consistent result that China also displays an inverted-U relationship, no matter whether the aggregate energy consumption or specific energy type is used as the environmental indicator.


Mental Health Information and the Health Records & Information Privacy Act 2002 , Describes requirements for mental health information under the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 and the Health Records and Information Privacy Regulation 2006 and highlights requirements under sections of the Mental Health Act 2007 and Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990.


The FFP machine directl11 e:tecutes programs written in a general purpose high level functional programming language. It is a small-grain reduction machine which dynamicallJI creates independent submachines of varJ!ing size consisting of conglomerations of processor. for each available subcomputation. Buau..e the machine performs problem decomposition and resource alloeation without e:tplicit programmer or software control, it is appropriate for d11namic and irregular computations. We descn"be an implementation that consists of a binarJI tree of onl11 two kinds of processors; this implementation iB u:tensible and well-suited to VLSI implementation.


: In order to achieve high efficiency, high quality and low damage machining of hard brittle materials, additional ultrasonic vibrations in the axial and radial directions of workpiece/grinding wheel are applied simultaneously while grinding. The unique property of this technique is the cutting trajectory of abrasive grain is a spiral line. Accordingly, this technique is named as ultrasonic vibration spiral grinding method. Under the interactions of processing parameters and two-dimensional ultrasonic vibrations, the material removal mechanism becomes more complex, as well as the formation process of surface microtopography. Thus, a numerical simulation method of surface formation in ultrasonic vibration spiral grinding is proposed. Based on the geometric mapping relationship between grains and workpiece in ultrasonic vibration spiral grinding, the spiral cutting and motion model of grains is established. The surface formation model of ultrasonic vibration spiral grinding is provided afterward. Consequently, the three-dimensional surface microtopography of conventional grinding and ultrasonic vibration spiral grinding are simulated respectively. Then, the influence laws of ultrasonic vibrations on the surface formation process are comparatively analyzed. At last, the simulated surfaces are compared with the experimental grinding surfaces and their microstructures are found to be in the same manner, which proves the validity of this simulation method.


(54) WEIGHT REDUCTION OR WEIGHT (86) PCT No.: PCT/US02/15871 CONTROLLING COMPOSITION Related U.S. Application Data (76) Inventors: Brenda Diane Jamerson, Research Triangle Park, NC (US); Alan Metz, (60) Provisional application No. 60/292,634, filed on May Durham, NC (US); Mickey Lee Wells, 22, 2001. Durham, NC (US (US) Publication Classification Correspondence Address: DAVIDJ LEVY, CORPORATE (51) Int. Cl." ........................ A61K 31/537; A61K 47/00 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (52) U.S. Cl. ......................................... 424/439; 514/237.5 GLAXOSMITHKLINE FIVE MOORE DR., PO BOX 13398 RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC 27709-3398 (US) (57) ABSTRACT


Prestack depth migration still suffers from the problems associated with building appropriate velocity models. The two main after‐migration, before‐stack velocity analysis techniques currently used, depth focusing and residual moveout correction, have found good use in many applications but have also shown their limitations in the case of very complex structures. To address this issue, we have extended the residual moveout analysis technique to the general case of heterogeneous velocity fields and steep dips, while keeping the algorithm robust enough to be of practical use on real data. Our method is not based on analytic expressions for the moveouts and requires no a priori knowledge of the model, but instead uses geometrical ray tracing in heterogeneous media, layer‐stripping migration, and local wavefront analysis to compute residual velocity corrections. These corrections are back projected into the velocity model along raypaths in a way that is similar to tomographic reconstruction. While this approa...


One impulse is to take Bergman's masterpiece for granted. Since 1960 at least, with the breakthrough into new narrative forms propagated with most notoriety (if not greatest distinction) by Last Year in Marienbad , film audiences have continued to be educated by the elliptical and complex. As Resnais' imagination was subsequently to surpass itself in Muriel , a succession of ever more difficult and accomplished films have turned up in recent years. But such good fortune releases nobody who cares about films from acclaiming work as original and triumphant as Persona. It is depressing that this film has received only a fraction of the attention it deserves since it opened in New York, London, and Paris. To be sure, some of the paltriness of the critics' reaction may be more a response to the signature that Persona carries than to the film itself. That signature has come to mean a prodigal, tirelessly productive career; a rather facile, often merely beautiful, by now (it seemed) almost oversize body of work; a lavishly inventive, sensual, yet melodramatic talent, employed with what appeared to be a certain complacency, and prone to embarrassing displays of intellectual bad taste. From the Fellini of the North, exacting filmgoers could hardly be blamed for not expecting, ever, a truly great film. But Persona happily forces one to put aside such dismissive preconceptions about its author. The rest of the neglect of Persona may be set down to emotional squeamishness; the film, like much of Bergman's recent work, bears an almost defiling charge of personal agony.


A study of the avifaunal ecology of the Caroni marshes was undertaken with the purpose of assessing the current value of the habitat to birds and predicting possible effects of a proposed restoration plan for the marsh on the avifauna. The avifauna was censused at four sites for a period of 18 months. Physical factors such as salinity, water depth, tidal stage and availability of open water were concurrently monitored. Seasonal sampling of the macroinvertebrate fauna was performed. A short census of Scarlet Ibis in the mangrove proper was also undertaken.


printing supported by . Visit Chiesi at Stand D.30 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 2011 Results: Depending on the presence of haplotype-defining point-mutations, patients were divided into three haplotypes: H1 (n=59), H2 (n=17) and recombinant H1/H3 (n=16). ALI occurred in 53% of H2 carriers, 24% of H1 carriers and 50% of H1/H3 carriers with odds ratios 1.0, 0.284 (Confidence Interval= 0.090-0.904) and 0.963, respectively (p=0.033). Severe sepsis/septic shock was positively correlated with ALI/ARDS development, while APACHE II, SOFA, age and soluble EPCR levels were not independent predictors of ALI/ARDS. Conclusion: EPCR genotype seems to be a determinant of ALI/ARDS development in critically ill patients. H1 haplotype carriers have a reduced risk of ALI/ARDS, as compared to H2 haplotype and H1/H3 carriers. 1686 Diagnostic value of Von Willebrand factor (VWF) in patients suffering from respiratory distress Rabab El Wahsh, Safaa Amin, Enas Essa. Chest Department, Faculty of Medicine, Minoufiya University, Shebin El Kom, Minoufiya Governorate, Egypt Forensic Medicine &Clinical Toxicology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Minoufiya University, Shebin El Kom, Minoufiya Governorate, Egypt Clinical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Minoufiya University, Shebin El Kom, Minoufiya Governorate, Egypt Introduction: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by an extensive alveolar capillary leak. Von Willebrand Factor antigen (VWF) is a macromolecular antigen that is considered as a marker of endothelial activation. Aim: To investigate the diagnostic value of VWF antigen in patients with ALI/ARDS caused by poisoning or non-poisoning etiology. Patients and methods: VWF antigen was measured in 52 patients with ALI/ARDS, 13 poisoned patients without ALI/ARDS and 20 control subjects. Results: There was a highly significant difference between VWF level in patients and control groups (P≤ 0.001). VWF level had a significant negative correlation with the ratio between PaO2 and FIO2 in patients with respiratory distress. There was a non significant difference in VWF level between poisoned and nonpoisoned cases. There was a significant relationship between the level of VWF and the severity of poisoning in patients with respiratory distress. Among the poisoned patients, the highest level of VWF was in patients with anticholinesterase poisoning. The difference between VWF level in poisoned patients with ALI/ARDS and those without was highly significant. The level of VWF didn't affect patients' need for mechanical ventilation or their mortality. The cut –off value of VWF at 100% sensitivity and 20% specificity was 0.99 units, while the cut –off value of VWF at 100% specificity and 60% sensitivity was 1.87 units. Conclusion: VWF has a diagnostic value for ALI/ARDS but it does not differentiate between poisoning or non-poisoning etiology, nor does it predict outcome of the illness. VWF is significantly increased in patients with anticholinesterase poisoning. 1687 Stimulation of NOD1 induces RIP2, TAK1 and p38 MAPK dependent pro-inflammatory signalling in human lung microvascular endothelial cells Timothy L. Gatheral, Laura Moreno, Daniel M. Reed, Rekha Badiger, Lucy K. Bailey, Neil Galloway-Phillipps, Jane A. Mitchell. Cardiothoracic Pharmacology, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom Gram-negative bacteria are an important cause of septic shock. NOD1 receptors recognise peptidoglycan in the bacterial cell wall and initiate pro-inflammatory responses. We have previously shown in rodents that stimulation of NOD1 induces vascular dysfunction in vitro and profound shock in vivo. In this study we investigated the role of NOD1 in human lung microvascular endothelial cells (HMVEC) which represent a site of key importance in the pathophysiology of sepsis and acute lung injury. HMVEC from healthy donors were cultured in 96-well plates. Cells were treated for 24 hours with vehicle ± LPS (TLR4) or iE-DAP (NOD1). In additional experiments cells were pre-treated for 1 hour with specific signalling inhibitors prior to addition of agonists (n=4-5). Cell activation was assessed by multiplex ELISA and by specific ELISAs for CXCL8 and 6-keto Prostaglandin F1α. iE-DAP induced significant release of CXCL8, 6-Keto Prostaglandin F1α, IL-1β, IL-2, and IFNγ. 5Z-7-oxo-zeaenol or BIRB0796 similarly inhibited responses to iE-DAP (Figure 1) or LPS (P<0.05;two-way ANOVA). By contrast, PP2 was more potent an inhibitor of iE-DAP (Figure 1) than LPS (p<0.05; two-way ANOVA). Figure 1 In conclusion NOD1 is active in human microvascular endothelium and converges with TLR4 signalling at the level of TAK1 and p38 MAPK. NOD1 thus represents a potential target in the treatment of gram-negative sepsis. 1688 Lactate, pH and angiogenetic markers in exhaled breath condensate correlate with outcome and disease severity in patients with acute lung injury Christian Gessner1, Benedikt Malmann1, Hartmut Kuhn1, Peter Ruschpler2, Lothar Engelamnn3, Stefan Hammerschmidt1, Ulrich Sack2, Hubert Wirtz1. 1Department of Respiratory Medicine, 2Department of Immunology, 3Department of Intensive Care Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany Acute lung injury (ALI) is characterized by increased capillary permeability, interstitial and alveolar oedema, influx of circulating inflammatory cells, and formation of hyaline membranes. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been correlated to a favourite prognosis in ARDS in a number of investigations. VEGF plays a role in regulating vascular permeability to water and protein. The aim of this investigation was to characterize the role of VEGF, Angiogenin, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), IL-8, and TNF-alpha, lactate and pH in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) in mechanical ventilated patients with acute lung injury. For this purpose, exhaled breath condensate was collected from 30 patients with ALI at 24 to 72 hours from start of mechanical ventilation and correlated with ventilatory parameters, clinical scores, and outcome. Cytokines were measured by a cytometric bead array assay (CBA). We observed a significant lower value of VEGF in EBC in the group with lethal outcome compared to survival group (median:32.4 pg/ml vs. 108 pg/ml in survivors.; Mann-Whitney test: p<0.0001) but no significant difference for Angiogenin, bFGF, IL-8, or TNF-alpha. In addtion EBC-lactate and EBC-pH correlated with lung injury severity indices. There was a further correlation of bFGF and IL-8 in EBC with lung injury severity indices. We conclude that measurement of lactate, pH, bFGF, and VEGF in EBC may provide information on prognosis in ALI. 1689 Which is the best source of mesenchymal cells to treat acute lung injury? Johnatas Silva1, Ana Paz2, Debora Xisto1, Miquéias Lopes-Pacheco3, Elga Bandeira3, Milena Vasconcellos1, Vera Capelozzi4, Marcelo Morales3, Paolo Pelosi5, Elizabete Cirne-Lima2, Patricia Rocco1. 1Laboratory of Pulmonary Investigation, Carlos Chagas Filho Biophysics Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 2Laboratory of Embryology and Cell Differentiation, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil; 3Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Carlos Chagas Filho Biophysics Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 4Department of Pathology, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil; 5Dipartimento di Scienze Chirurgiche e Diagnostiche Integrate, Universita' degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Italy Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) may derive from bone marrow, adipose tissue or lung. Previous studies have shown that bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSC) exert beneficial effects in acute lung injury (ALI), but the effects of adipose tissue and lung derived mesenchymal cells (AD-MSC and L-MSC, respectively) have not been evaluated so far. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of BM-MSC, AD-MSC, L-MSC on lung mechanics and morphometry, as well as inflammation and remodeling in an experimental model of ALI. Fortyeight female Wistar rats (200-250g) received Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) intratracheally (100 μg, ALI) or saline (C). At 48 hours, ALI and C groups were further randomized into subgroups receiving saline (0.05 mL), BM-MSC, AD-MSC, and L-MSC (1×105) intravenously. Bone marrow cells were extracted from four male Wistar rats. The induction of differentiation showed that cells from bone marrow, adipose tissue and lung were able to generate osteocytes, adipocytes and chondrocytes besides presenting CD34-, CD90+ and CD29+ profile. At day 7, mesenchymal cells promoted a reduction in lung static elastance, resistive and viscoelastic pressures, alveolar collapse, collagen fiber content and number of neutrophils in lung tissue, independent of the source. However, the beneficial effects of BM-MSC and AD-MSC on lung parenchyma remodeling were greater than those observed with L-MSC. In conclusion, in the present LPS-induced ALI model, BM-MSC and AD-MSC therapies were more effective than L-MSC at modulating inflammatory and fibrogenic processes. Supported by: CAPES, PRONEX, FAPERJ, CNPq 1690 Mesenchymal stem cells prevent early inflammation in a rat model of ventilator induced lung injury Laura Chimenti1,2 , Tomas Luque1, Marisa Bonsignore2, Daniel Navajas1,3,5, Ramon Farrè1,3,4 . 1Unit of Biophysics and Bioengineering, Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; 2DIBIMIS, Section of Pneumology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; 3CIBER de Enfermidades Respiratorias, Ciberes, Bunyola, Spain; 4Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain; 5Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia, IBEC, Barcelona, Spain Background: Recent studies have suggested that bone marrow-derived mesenchy287s Oral Presentation Forum 08:30-10:30 Abstract printing supported by . Visit Chiesi at Stand D.30printing supported by . Visit Chi


In January, 1921, we instituted a study of fifty unselected cases of fully developed exophthalmic goiter. 1 No specific therapeutic measures were employed in order to determine the natural history (spontaneous course) of the disease, 2 and to establish an index for the evaluation of therapeutic procedures. 3 From the group were excluded ( a ) patients who had thyroid enlargement without other manifestations of exophthalmic goiter 4 and ( b ) those who, with or without thyroid enlargement, presented sympathomimetic symptoms, without significant elevation of the basal metabolism (autonomic imbalance). 5 In the group studied, we included (1) patients with a significant elevation of metabolism on repeated readings; (2) patients whose illness was sufficiently severe to warrant residence in a hospital in which beds are at a great premium; and (3) patients from the poorest sections of the city, who were subjected to constant economic strain. The present study is for the purpose of evaluating the efficacy of


Canine abdominal trauma is fairly commonly encountered in general practice, generally as a result of road traffic accidents. Physical examination is key to both recognition of the likely trauma (if it was unwitnessed) and also to allow accurate assessment of the patient. This should initially focus on the major body systems; that is, the cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological systems. Marked derangements in any of these systems can result in rapid deterioration and death, and so stabilisation of the patient should be prioritised over other less-pressing concerns. This focused clinical examination can be repeated to allow monitoring of the progression of the patient's condition and assessment of the dog's response to treatment.

In the abdominal trauma patient, the cardiovascular system can be affected by blood loss, leading to tachycardia, pallor and alterations in pulse quality. The respiratory and neurological systems may be affected by concurrent traumatic injuries and also need careful assessment.

Once the major body systems have been assessed and stabilisation (if required) is underway, a thorough examination should be completed. It is vital to know whether the patient has suffered from blunt or penetrating abdominal trauma; that is, whether there is an opening into the abdominal …


A microwave-assisted extraction technique was developed for the determination of nine sulfonamide antibiotics (sulfaguanidine, sulfacetamide, sulfadiazine, sulfathiazole, sulfapyridine, sulfamethazine, sulfamerazine, sulfamethoxazole, and sulfadimethoxine) in six sediments and soils of varying organic carbon content. Method optimization was performed using Lake Erie sediment and revealed the optimum extraction solvent to be methanol, with an extraction time of 45 min. After extraction, samples were "cleaned up" via filtration and quantified using LC-MS/MS spectroscopy. Method calibration curves were constructed in each environmental solid with sulfonamides ranging from 10 to 2000 ng/g; method detection limits were typically in the sub- to low nanograms per gram range. Method validation entailed spiking each solid at three different concentrations spanning the calibration curve (40, 300, and 800 ng/g); generally, method accuracy for spiked solids exceeded 80%, with precision being within 20%. Finally, we e...


If insulation silicone of ZW8-40.5 type vacuum switch,which is in running status,be affected with damp,or be doped with organic impurity,the insulating property would be deteriorated at a rapid pace,the insulating barrier would be breakdown and lead to the grounding fault.Based on analyzing the cause of failure running on four unit ZW8-40.5 type vacuum switch,preventive measures is presented in this paper.


Objective To study the relation and value of ThinPrep cytological test(TCT)and high risk hybrid capture 2human papillomavirus(HC2-HPV)DNA test in screening of cervical lesions. Methods Four hundred and fifty-one patients who simultaneously underwent ThinPrep cytology test and HC2-HPV DNA test in Hunan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital from May to July 2012 were enrolled in this study.Colposcopy examination was conducted in the patients with one positive result of the above-mentioned tests or with suspected clinical symptoms,and the colposcopic diagnosis results were compared and analyzed so as to explore the relation and application value of TCT and HC2-HPV DNA test. Results Among451 patients,254(56.3%)had an abnormal result of TCT.ASCUS,LSIL,HSIL and SCC were seen in 96(21.2%),75(16.6%),57(12.6%),and 26(5.7%)patients,respectively.Among 254 women with abnormal TCT result,the positive rate of high risk HPV was 68.1%.The high risk HPV positive rates of ASCUS,LSIL,HSIL,and SCC were 42.7%(41/96),76.0%(57/75),85.9%(49/57)and 100%(26/26),respectively.It showed that with the increase of cervical lesions degree,HPV infection rate also increased accordingly. Conclusions The results suggest that TCT combined with HC2-HPV DNA test is an effective method in detection and diagnosis of cervical cancer and precancerous lesions,which improves the accuracy rate of diagnosis and reduces the omission diagnostic rate.It is the best cervical screening test at present and provides a more reliable scientific basis for prevention and treatment of cervical lesions.


The synthetic analogue of Gonadotropin-releasing hormone Surfagon was administered in mice-male of CBA line in dose of 0.1 mkg/kg and caused intensification of lymphocytes migration from B-zones of spleen, moderate decrease in thymus cortex thickness, increase in reticular zone width of adrenal cortex with the signs of corticocytes activation. In dose 5 mkg/kg T-zones of spleen were changed, thymus cortex thickness was significantly decreased, but in adrenal glands the increase in glomerular zone width was determined. The preservation of peptide effects after castration was evidence of steroid independent character of the revealed morphofunctional changes in organs of immune and endocrine systems.


Summary Cortisone inhibits many of the manifestations of scurvy in the guinea pig while desoxycorticosterone aggravates the condition. These activities of the hormones probably depend on their action on mesenchymal tissues. The scorbutic guinea pig, untreated or treated with DCA, may be a valuable test subject for the assay of anti-arthritic compounds.


Combustion behavior of woodblocks and rubber balls was investigated in a vortex fluidized bed combustor (VFBC) with an intermittent fuel feeding system. Effects of various operating parameters on t...


SYNTHESIS 2008, No. 18, pp 2883–2890xx.xx.2008 Advanced online publication: 22.08.2008 DOI: 10.1055/s-2008-1067243; Art ID: F09708SS © Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York Abstract: The one-pot reaction of b-lactam carbenes with 1-naphthyl or 5-quinolyl isonitriles followed by treatment with aqueous hydrochloride produced benzo[h]-d-carbolin-2,4-diones or pyrido[3,2-h]-d-carbolin-2,4-diones, respectively, in moderate yields. The easy availability of b-lactam carbenes and aryl isonitriles, and the simple chemical manipulations render our approach practical in the synthesis of various novel aryl fused d-carboline derivatives, which are not easily prepared by other synthetic methods.


Innovations in GIS 4 continues the theme of new directions in geographical information systems (GIS). It contains revised versions of a selected subset of the papers presented at the forth conference held at the University of Kent at Canterbury in April 1996. The chapters contained in the book reflect the interdisciplinary nature of GIS research as well as its developing maturity. There is a concentration on the techniques and tools that can support and enhance the spatial analysis process in diverse applications domains as well as an awareness of the organizational context in which GIS function. This volume reflects the gamut of research issues in GIS by concentrating on five main themes: data modelling and spatial data structures, spatial analysis, environmental modelling, science, ethics and infrastructure and the impact of the internet.


Photoelectron-transfer-catalyzed intermolecular carbon-carbon bond formation of primary, secondary, and tertiary amines with {alpha}, {beta}-unsaturated esters and nitriles using photosensitizers such as anthraquinone, acridone, and dicyanoanthracene has been investigated. The addition of {alpha}-aminoalkyl radicals, generated via photoelectron-transfer processes, to olefinic substrates and the subsequent 1,5-hydrogen abstraction reactions of the amine-olefin adduct radicals lead to a number of interesting multiple-olefin-added products. The adducts of the primary and secondary amines with {alpha}, {beta}-unsaturated esters undergo further cyclizations to give spiro and cyclic lactams, respectively.


The goal of this 'Green Paper' is to contribute, in a neutral way, to a conversation that has been going on for some time amongst a variety of actors, concerning whether mandatory reporting standards are a prerequisite for effective 'sustainability' or 'nonfinancial' corporate reporting. Specifically, we ask whether the existing standard-setting regime for financial reporting – that of the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) – should be extended to include setting standards for nonfinancial information.


An accuracy of holding the exactly lines of position during the aircraft fly refers to the one of the main problems of navigation theory. The problem of holding the predefined line of aircraft location with the help of distance measuring equipment usage has been discussed in the article. According to international requirements for the minimal list of avionics equipment for civil aircraft, the problem is considered from the point of view of optimal pair DME using during all phases of flight. The values of maximum error of navigation by DME/DME for the Ukrainian airspace in case of optimal pair of navigation points were estimated and represented in contour lines.


This research studied the use of carbon fiber reinforced geopolymer composites as corrosion resistant pipe material. Geopolymer material is a general term for material synthesized from fly ash. Fly ash is an industrial by-product (coal combustion residue) with high silica content (SiO2) and Alumina content (Al2O3). In addition there are also other elements in a relatively small percentage. This material will compound like cement if activated with Sodium Silicate. This study aims to obtain the optimum composition for high quality mechanical properties. The method used is to synthesize material with various elemental compositions. Furthermore, a mechanical test (bending test) is performed to see the effect of each element to be optimized. Besides that, a physical test in the form of SEM-EDX was also conducted to see the microstructure. Materials with optimum composition have been fabricated as pipes with centrifugal casting process. Mechanical testing of pipe samples is done by hoop tensile strength test. The test results show that the strength of geopolymer composites can achieve 58 MPa.


We introduce the notion of perturbations of quantum stochastic models using the series product and establish the asymptotic convergence of sequences of quantum stochastic models under the assumption that they are related via a right series product perturbation. While the perturbing models converge to the trivial model, we allow that the individual sequences may be divergent corresponding to large model parameter regimes that frequently occur in physical applications. This allows us to introduce the concept of asymptotically equivalent models, and we provide several examples where we replace one sequence of models with an equivalent one tailored to capture specific features. These examples include a series product formulation of the principle of virtual work; essential commutativity of the noise in strong squeezing models; the decoupling of polarization channels in scattering by Faraday rotation driven by a strong laser field; and an application to quantum local asymptotic normality.We introduce the notion of perturbations of quantum stochastic models using the series product and establish the asymptotic convergence of sequences of quantum stochastic models under the assumption that they are related via a right series product perturbation. While the perturbing models converge to the trivial model, we allow that the individual sequences may be divergent corresponding to large model parameter regimes that frequently occur in physical applications. This allows us to introduce the concept of asymptotically equivalent models, and we provide several examples where we replace one sequence of models with an equivalent one tailored to capture specific features. These examples include a series product formulation of the principle of virtual work; essential commutativity of the noise in strong squeezing models; the decoupling of polarization channels in scattering by Faraday rotation driven by a strong laser field; and an application to quantum local asymptotic normality.


Single phonon excitations, with energies in the $1-100 \, \text{meV}$ range, are a powerful probe of light dark matter (DM). Utilizing effective field theory, we derive a framework to compute DM absorption rates into single phonons starting from general DM-electron, proton, and neutron interactions. We apply the framework to a variety of DM models: Yukawa coupled scalars, axionlike particles (ALPs) with derivative interactions, and vector DM coupling via gauge interactions or Standard Model electric and magnetic dipole moments. We find that GaAs or $\text{Al}_2\text{O}_3$ targets can set powerful constraints on a $U(1)_{B-L}$ model, and targets with electronic spin ordering are similarly sensitive to DM coupling to the electron magnetic dipole moment. Lastly, we make the code, \textsf{PhonoDark-abs} (an extension of the existing \textsf{PhonoDark} code which computes general DM-single phonon scattering rates), publicly available.


Unresolved chronic inflammation, whether pathogenic or non‐pathogenic, increases chances of malignant transformation. Because inflammation is characterized by acidification due to disrupted circulation and impaired CO2 removal, chronic acidic pH becomes a stress factor. When cells are stressed they mutate to better adapt to the stress. Epigenetic effects of long‐term exposure of cells to chronically acidic pH have not yet been studied. We set to identify genes that are affected by a long exposure, for months and years, to chronically acidic pH as found in sites of chronic inflammation.


In order to improve the accuracy of diagnosis of disaster risks in subway construction,this paper adopts extension set theory. Through the analysis of mapping relationship between risk signs and key monitoring indicators,key monitoring indicators thresholds were determined. The risks were classified according to degree of alarm. An extension matter-element model of subway construction disasters was built. Through the correlation functions,the comprehensive alert degrees were calculated. The controllable degrees of risks were determined with the degrees of alarm and controllable degrees,early-warning diagnosis was quantitized,and the pertinence and effectiveness of early warning measures were improved. The results show that multi-index comprehensive diagnosis of disaster risks and analysis of their tendency and controllable degrees,can provide decision-making support to managers determining the intensity of emergency response,or making corresponding contingency plans.


The Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) is an optical multispectral push-broom sensor with a focal plane consisting of over 7000 detectors per spectral band. Each of the individual imaging detectors contributes one column of pixels to an image. Any difference in the response between neighboring detectors may result in a visible stripe or band in the imagery. An accurate estimate of each detector's relative gain is needed to account for any differences between detector responses. This paper describes a procedure for estimating relative gains which uses normally acquired Earth viewing statistics.


p-subsequential transducers are efficient finite-state transducers with p final outputs used in a variety of applications. Not all transducers admit equivalent p-subsequential transducers however. We briefly describe an existing generalized determinization algorithm for p- subsequential transducers and give the first characterization of p-subsequentiable transducers, transducers that admit equivalent p-subsequential transducers. Our characterization shows the existence of an efficient algorithm for testing p-subsequentiability. We have fully implemented the generalized determinization algorithm and the algorithm for testing p- subsequentiability. We report experimental results showing that these algorithms are practical in large-vocabulary speech recognition applications. The theoretical formulation of our results is the equivalence of the following three properties for finite-state transducers: determinizability in the sense of the generalized algorithm, p-subsequentiability, and the twins property.


Objective To investigate the diagnosis and treatment of severe thoracic injury from ARDS. Methods 43 patients with severe ARDS from chest trauma were analyzed retrospectively. Results All the patients were cured and left hospital,but 2 case were dead for multiple organ failures. Conclusion Once the diagnosis of ARDS is made,pelvic abscess must be given effectively in the early stage,and the improvement of hypoxemia is key to the treatment of RDS.


Direct evidence, using reflection high‐energy electron diffraction, is found for a transition, at a specific thickness, from an amorphous to a crystalline state in Sb deposited on GaAs(110). After crystallization, Sb exists as small, 30–40 A crystallites with a (0001) contact plane but randomly azimuthally oriented. A new surface phase, GaAs(110) p(3×2)‐Sb, is found and appears to be a consequence of the crystallization transition.


Extended Abstract This work aims to prepare and characterize novel nanocomposite materials based on low density polyethylene (LDPE) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanostructure for food packaging applications. The fabricated nanocomposites films were examined by X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) and mechanical properties. The XRD results confirmed that the formation of LDPE nanocomposites films containing different concentrations of TiO2 nanostructure. The mechanical properties of the prepared LDPE/TiO2 nanocomposites were investigated. Moreover, the thermal properties of the prepared films displayed that the good enhancement of the thermal stability of the prepared film after addition of TiO2 nanostructure. Furthermore, the permeability of oxygen transmission rate (GTR) and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of the prepared LDPE nanocomposites were evaluated. Moreover, the antimicrobial activity of the prepared films against gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria and gram negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria were investigated.


Today, in addition to meeting domestic demand for electricity, Armenia also exports electricity to neighboring countries. This fact indicates that the sector can be of vital and strategic importance for the development of the national economy and increasing the economic competitiveness of the country. Therefore, the further development of the sector and the more effective use of existing competitive opportunities can be the best preconditions for promoting the country's economic growth, increasing economic competitiveness and ensuring national security. The paper addresses the current trends in
the modern energy system of the Republic of Armenia and the possible risks and challenges arising from them, as well as the motivations for the development of the sector by the public and private sectors.


Multi-agent deep reinforcement learning (MDRL) is an emerging research hotspot and application direction in the field of machine learning and artificial intelligence. MDRL covers many algorithms, rules and frameworks, it is currently researched in swarm system, energy allocation optimization, stocking analysis, sequential social dilemma, and with extremely bright future. In this paper, a parallel-critic method based on classic MDRL algorithm MADDPG is proposed to alleviate the training instability problem in cooperative-competitive multi-agent environment. Furthermore, a policy smoothing technique is introduced to our proposed method to decrease the variance of learning policies. The suggested method is evaluated in three different scenarios of authoritative multi-agent particle environment (MPE). Multiple statistical data of experimental results show that our method significantly improves the training stability and performance compared to vanilla MADDPG.


This study was conducted to identify the physical changes before and after the coastal reclamation and to study the effects of the reclamation activity with special focus on the biological status of the Penang waters using the Geographical Information Science application. The study area is in Penang waters. Landsat satellite images were analyzed using IDRISI Kilimanjaro and ArcGIS 10. The water quality analysis was carried out using water quality optics model developed by Lim Hwee San et al., (2009). The results showed that the concentrations of Total Suspended Solids (TSS) during the reclamation were high at 75 mg/L 150 mg/L, exceeding National Water Quality Standards (NWQS), Department of Environment < 25 mg/L 50 mg/1 for class I and II that are not suitable for nature conservation, threatens sensitive aquatic life and are not suitable for water use. After reclamation, the TSS concentration was found to decrease to 75 mg/L 100 mg/L but still exceeded the NWQS. The concentrations of chlorophyll-a before the reclamation overall were as high as 7 mg/L 9 mg/L while after reclamation, the concentration of chlorophyll-a in Penang waters was moderate at 5 mg/L 7 mg/L. A statistical test was conducted to see the relationship between chlorophyll-a concentration with TSS, SST, amount of rainfall and tidal level using regression analysis. The analysis results showed that chlorophyll-a has a significant relationship with TSS, SST, amount of rainfall and tidal level. As a whole, coastal reclamation activities do caused declination of water quality, thus affecting the biological status of Penang waters.


The aim of this paper is to explore the determinants of productivity and productivity change in the Moroccan economy, with a particular interest in examining the role of international trade in impacting upon productivity levels. Methodologically this is achieved through a twostage methodology. First we focus on productivity, and productivity change and its determinants at the micro (firm) level. In the first stage we derive estimates of firm and sectoral level productivity, and examine their evolution over time. The second stage of the work is concerned with understanding and explaining the differences in productivity across the firms/sectors, and of the role of trade liberalization. Our results suggest that changes in firm level productivity are relatively modest (in particular in the latter half of the period), and that there are quite considerable changes in aggregate productivity arising from a relatively high degree of entry and exit of firms, and from changes in the shares of incumbent firms. The results also indicate that the relationship between key variables such as import or export openness can vary importantly according to the size (class) of the firm.


American Society of Clinical Hypnosis 2016 Annual Scientific Meeting and Workshops Plenary Sessions Friday, March 11, 2016; Evidence-Based Ego State Therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); Arreed Barabasz A single manualized abreactive hypnosis session (5–6 hours) based on Ego State Theory (EST) was recently subjected to two placebo-controlled investigations meeting evidencebased criteria. Thirty patients in study 1 (Christensen, Barabasz, & Barabasz, 2015) and 36 patients in study 2 (Barabasz, Barabasz, & Christensen, 2015) who met PTSD criteria were exposed to either 5–6 hours of a manualized treatment or a placebo in a single session. In contrast to the widely applied non-abreactive approach (Frederick, 2005), abreactive hypnosis emphasized hypnotically activated "reliving" of the trauma experience carried out until both physical and psychological exhaustion was observed in the patients (Watkins & Barabasz, 2008). Reassurance and reconstruction techniques followed each abreaction. In study 2, hypnosis and control groups reduced PTSD checklist (PCL) scores immediately post treatment (placebo PCL score mean reduction 17.34 and EST treatment PCL mean reduction 53.11). However, only the hypnosis patients maintained significant treatment effects at follow-ups. Study 1 used the Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS), Beck Depression II (BDI—II), and Beck Anxiety Scales (BAI). Only the hypnosis group showed significant positive effects from pre-treatment to all post treatment measurement periods in contrast to the placebo groups in either study. Abreactive ESTwas shown to be a highly effective and durable treatment for PTSD. Apparently, EST works because it is emotion focused and activates sub-cortical structures and because the supportive interpretive therapist reconstructs the patient's personality to be resilient and adaptive. Saturday, March 12, 2016; Prevention as the New Frontier: What Can Hypnosis Do to Help Prevent Depression?; Michael Yapko Over the last 2 decades in particular much has been learned about the phenomenon of depression and some of the key characteristics of effective treatment. No matter how American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 59: 323–325, 2017 Copyright © American Society of Clinical Hypnosis ISSN: 0002-9157 print / 2160-0562 online DOI: 10.1080/00029157.2016.1170522 effective treatment ultimately may become, therapy will remain an "after the fact" intervention; the person in therapy is already depressed and the therapist strives to help him or her overcome its debilitating effects and get on a pathway to a better, more satisfying life. Have we learned enough yet about effective treatment to begin to shift our focus in the direction of prevention? There is good evidence that prevention strategies can work and work well and these deserve far more attention than they have been given thus far. Some of these proven prevention strategies will be described in terms of their structure and potential benefits to at-risk populations. Hypnosis has much to contribute to prevention strategies, as will be explored in this plenary address. Sunday, March 13, 2016; Embedding Hypnosis in the Treatment of Posttraumatic Disorders; Eric Vermetten Is there value in adding hypnosis to the treatment of PTSDs? Trauma is a disruption of the continuity of experience and is typically accompanied by fear, horror, and helplessness. Whilemost persons are resilient some do not recover from the impact of the experience. The experience repeats itself through intrusive recollections of the traumatic event, hyperarousal, numbing, and behavioral avoidance of reminders associated with the trauma. The treatment of symptoms of traumatic stress is currently embedded in an exposure based format of psychotherapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), or cognitive behavioral therapy. While hypnosis has a long standing tradition in the treatment of various forms of post trauma reaction the current evidence based approaches are not recognizing its principles or application. The beauty of hypnosis lies herein that it can facilitate synchronicity between history, mind–body responses, the unbound affect, as well as natural resiliency. Hypnosis provides controlled access to memories that may otherwise be kept out of consciousness Hypnotic treatment also allows modifying ownership and agency of traumatic memories. This presentation will revisit the research as well as explore the added value of clinical approaches of hypnosis in psychotraumatology. Monday, March 14, 2016; Brain Oscillations and Hypnosis: Implication for Enhancing Outcome Efficacy; Mark Jensen The human brain has roughly 100 billion neurons. Brain oscillations represent the combined electrical activity of groups of these neurons. When a group of neurons fires together they do so at different frequencies, ranging from slower (delta, theta, alpha) to faster (beta, gamma) oscillations. Hypnosis has been most closely linked to activity in the theta band and changes in gamma activity. These oscillations are thought to play a critical role in both the recording and recall of memory and processing of emotions. In this talk, I will present a model hypothesizing a link between theta (and 324 ABSTRACTS


To ensure the safety of traffic accident site and avoid the successive accident happening,the evaluation index system is established based on traffic and management features.The criterion layer includes human factor vehicle factor,road and environment factor,management factor and the decision layer consists of fifteen indexes.Based on the entropy value theory and attribute recognition,the paper also develops an attribute recognition model based on coefficient of entropy.The weight of evaluation index and attribute measurement are calculated by the entropy coefficient theory.To verify the applicability of the model,the collected characteristic data from accident sites is put into the model to evaluate safety degree of the objective site.The results show that the model can not only be used to evaluate the safety condition of the accident site disposing scheme,but to compare the effectiveness of different disposing schemes.


The negative impacts that the seepage of nitrogen into natural ecosystems has on the environment, are well known. Nitrogen from the atmosphere is a significant contributor of N to the environment; it can be transported over long distances and puts pressure on ecosystems. Amounts of 15 to 20 kg N/ha/annum have been established as critical values for shifting natural ecosystems (Bobbink and Roelofs, 1995). Measurements in South Africa are still rare. In Mount Edgecombe, measurements of the bulk deposition were first taken in 2007/08. This poster will provide an introduction to forms of atmospheric deposition, as well as the results of the Mount Edgecombe measurements.


Two of the three most important causes of Information Technology projects failure have been related to a poor resource estimation. In average, software developers expend from 30% to 40% more effort than is estimated. Because that no single technique to estimate software development effort is best for all situations, it is important to propose new models to compare their results and then generate more realistic estimates. In this study, the aimed is to present a hybrid model that combine fuzzy logic and neural networks for achieving higher accuracy for estimating the development time of software projects. The accuracy of time estimation for a Neuro-Fuzzy System (NFS) is statistically better than the accuracy obtained from a previous NFS and statistical regression (model most used by default to compare) when the forty-one modules developed from ten programs were used as dataset. Results show that the value of MMRE (Mean of Magnitude of Relative Error) applying a NFS was substantially lower than MMRE applying a previous NFS and statistical regression. It can be conclude that a new NFS could be applied for estimating the effort of software development projects when they have been individually developed on a disciplined process.


The complex issues of qualification of environmental crimes related to the legal assessment of persons who jointly commit environmental crimes are considered. It has been established that the issues of legal assessment of accomplices in practice cause difficulties in connection with the assessment of the special wrongfulness of the perpetrators, who, as a rule, seek to hide the presence of guilt by indicating ignorance of the illegality of the actions of their accomplices. Recommendations are given for introducing amendments and additions to the guiding resolutions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, which can qualitatively improve the protection of public relations that ensure the safety of the environment and natural resources. It is noted that significant difficulties are associated with the legal assessment of accomplices of illegal hunting, the co-executors of which, by distributing responsibilities for the search, tracking, pursuit, extraction, primary processing and transportation of hunting resources, often hide their true intentions and evade responsibility. At the same time, excessive repressiveness is also noted, suggesting objective imputation in case of illegal hunting, which is unacceptable. Separately, the issues of joint co-infliction in the commission of careless environmental crimes are considered.


Daly's Bridge is a historic steel suspension footbridge in Ireland, known locally as the 'Shaky Bridge' for its noticeable movement under pedestrian loading. While there is concern regarding the performance of the structure, testing or modelling have not been carried out till date and inadequate information exist in relation to carrying out such analyses. In this paper, Daly's bridge is instrumented and tested for the first time and a model of the bridge is established and improved in the process. Apart from ambient vibration, excitation from traversing pedestrians and cyclists is considered. Video analysis of dynamic deflection, a wavelet packet based technique using acceleration responses and dynamic measurements from a cheap smartphone accelerometer application are used to identify and compare the natural frequency of the bridge. The work contributes to the evidence base of full-scale measurements of instrumenting and analysing responses of aging pedestrian bridges highlighting the complexity, challenges, opportunities and limitations related to varied levels of information available from disparate sources . The study also highlights the need of investigating to what extent cheap sensors can be successfully used as compared to their more expensive and sophisticated counterpart.


This work focuses on the optimisation of key process parameters of Colocynthis vulgaris Shrad seed oil extraction using response surface methodology. The effects of temperature, particle size and t...


Purpose: The purpose of this study was to elucidate the effect of prior photodynamic therapy (PDT) on the efficacy of intravitreal bevacizumab for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Methods: One hundred and nine eyes of 102 patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration were evaluated—80 eyes without prior treatment (group 1) and 29 with prior PDT (group 2). Best-corrected visual acuity, ocular coherence tomography, and funduscopy were assessed monthly. Results were evaluated at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. Results: One hundred and one eyes completed a 12-month evaluation. At 12 months, best-corrected visual acuity increased 5.6 letters with treatment (P = 0.001): +5.7 letters in group 1 and +5.4 in group 2 (P = 0.92). Overall, visual acuity improved ≥15 letters in 22.5% of eyes: 24.0% of naive eyes versus 18.5% with prior PDT (P = 0.56). Best-corrected visual acuity loss ≥15 letters occurred in 6 eyes, 5 with naive lesions. An overall reduction in ocular coherence tomography central retinal thickness was observed at all time points. Mean number of injections per eye per year was 5.6, 6.13 in group 1 versus 4.22 in group 2 (P = 0.01). Two retinal pigment epithelial tears, one subretinal macular hemorrhage, and two strokes occurred in naive lesions. Conclusion: The authors showed similar efficacy for intravitreal bevacizumab independently of prior PDT treatment. Eyes with prior PDT needed a statistically significantly lower number of injections to control their lesions.


Several factors are important determinants of students achievement. Students positive perceptions about these factors contribute to their achievement. Considering importance of students perceptions about themselves, teachers support, and institutional climate in influencing their academic achievement, this study specifically examines students perceptions about themselves as learners, teachers support, and institutional climate for predicting their achievement. This research employed survey and correlational research designs. For this research, 372 students were randomly selected as a sample using cluster and stratified random sampling techniques. For data collection in this study, a questionnaire was adapted from Donahue (1994). For data analysis, both descriptive and inferential statistics were used, with help of SPSS. It was concluded from multiple regression analysis that university students achievement (i.e., dependent variable) can be significantly predicted from their self-perceptions, teachers support and institutional climate (i.e., independent variables).


Leukocytic pyrogen isasmall endogenous protein that mediates fever. Because ofthelimitations of ioassays, circulating leukocytic pyrogen hasnotbeendem- onstrated during fever inhumans. Thepyrogen wasproduced invitro after phagocytosis ofstaphylococci byblood monocytes. Antibody against thepyrogen wasobtained fromrabbits im- munized with leukocytic pyrogen andtheantiserum waspuri- fied bysolid-phase immunoadsorbants. Purified antibody tothe pyrogen wasattached toactivated Sepharose 4Bandused in conjunction with gelfiltration topurify thepyrogen. Thepy- rogen waslabeled with 125I andfurther purified bygel filtration andion-exchange chromatography. Thefinal preparation of 125I-labeled pyrogen demonstrated ahomogeneous bandduring isoelectric focusing andother separation procedures. With antibody topyrogen attached toSepharose, less than 0.1ofa rabbit pyrogenic dose ofhumanleulocytic pyrogen inhibited thebinding of12'I4abeled pyrogen tothis immunoadsorbant, andthis inhibition wasnotaffected bythepresence ofhuman serum. Thus, aradioimmunoassay for humanleukocytic pyro- gvnhasbeendeveloped that maybeused todetect circulating pyrogen during fever inhumans. Fever isamajor host response tomanyinfectious, immunologic, andtoxic agents. Although these agents have varied molecular compositions, itishypothesized that they cause fever byin- ducing phagocytic leukocytes tosynthesize andrelease asmall mediator protein called leukocytic pyrogen (LP) (1). Subse- quently, LPraises body temperature byits actions onspecial- ized neurons inthepre-optic region oftheanterior hypothal- amus. Inhumans, LPisproduced invitro fromstimulated phagocytes (2, 3), butcirculating LPhas yettobeconvincingly demonstrated during febrile diseases (4). This maybedueto thelimitations ofthebioassay for human LP,which utilizes the production offever inrabbits. Animmunoassay for human LP should bemoresensitive than abioassay. However, thelability andlosses ofLPduring purification, aswell asthelack ofa specific antiserum, havehampered thedevelopment ofan immunoassay. Inarecent report (5), wedescribed thepro- duction ofspecific rabbit antibody tohumanLP.Using this antiserum, wehave developed aradioimmunoassay for human LP,which isthesubject ofthis report.


Abstract : This paper presents an analytical solution to the operator algebraic Riccati equation (ARE) for selfadjoint parabolic systems. The solution to the operator ARE is important in the design of the steady state, on line filter for estimating the system's states. This analytical solution is derived by considering the operator analog of Potter's method of using the Hamiltonian system's eigenvectors and eigenvalues to solve a finite dimensional ARE. As an example of using this analytical solution, the steady state filtering error covariance for the 2D heat equation is studied.


The invention relates to a fertilizer for plants, and especially relates to a base fertilizer for sweet potatoes. In order to solve the production problems of excess nitrogen during current sweet potato plantation process, and severe potassium deficiency during tuber expansion stages, the invention provides a base fertilizer for sweet potatoes. The preparation method of the base fertilizer for sweet potatoes provided by the invention comprises the following steps: putting sawdust treated by hydrochloric acid in mother liquor prepared by effective components, fully soaking, and drying to obtain the product. The effective components of the mother liquor comprise, by weight, 5-8 parts of amino acids, 5-8 parts of humic acids, 10-15 parts of potassium dihydrogen phosphate, 1 part of sodium selenite, 1 part of zinc sulfate, and 1 part of ferrous sulphate. The potassium content of the base fertilizer for sweet potatoes provided by the invention is 1.5-2 times as high as the nitrogen content, which accords with the condition that the potassium content is 1.57 times as high as the nitrogen content in sweet potatoes; the base fertilizer has good slow release performance, and can provide potassium for a long time.


A research report submitted to the Faculty of Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the Degree of Master of Management in the field of Public Development


My father was fond of aphorisms, some of which seem especially pertinent now, in the aftermath of the presidential election. One of his favorites: If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. And his soothing observation in the face of great disappointment: circumstances are smarter than the man. These words I hear still in the resonant all-will-be-well voice of my dad, a man now dead more than a quarter century. In this new political landscape, finding my father's sense of equanimity has not been easy. Trump's victory rattled my sense of our nation. Whatever the calculations that led so many voters to cast a reality television star as our nation's leader, the campaign season and its culmination left me feeling that, in an evening, our national identity had shifted—that our nation had, at worst, embraced racism and, at best, acquiesced to it. I worried about not only Trump's policies, but also his use of the bully pulpit to shape policy debate, to move people to accept or endorse government positions that I think we should resist. How, under Trump, can the ideal of justice be pursued? Consider three criminal justice challenges. First, we have far too many people in jails and prisons. We have 5% of the earth's population, yet 25% of its prisoners. The costs of this misguided policy, in both dollars spent and human potential lost, are monumental, burdening not simply those who are incarcerated but also their families and communities. A second problem, epitomized by police shootings of unarmed African Americans, is police mistreatment of civilians, too often with impunity. Third, we are a nation awash in guns and the


The lndian Botanic Garden, Howrah and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew are very much involved chiefly on the study and distribution of economic plants though they were not founded for the same purpose. The paper deals wtth relationship of the two gardens for the last two centuries in undertaking plant introductions of useful exotic species in particular.


Hybrid routing protocols in Ad Hoc networks combine proactive routing protocols with on-demand routing protocols and take advantages of both. However, the cost in delays and overheads resulted from simple domain formation algorithm of existing hybrid routing protocols is a main obstacle in improving the performance of overall ad hoc network. Owing to the above issues, in this paper we creatively apply the idea of clustering routing to hybrid routing protocols and propose a centralized adaptive hybrid routing protocol referred to as CAHR. In CAHR, several key nodes are selected using the centralized adaptive selection algorithm and different domains are formed according to the key nodes elected. By taking advantages of the key nodes, redundancy of routing forward is avoided, routing overheads are reduced and as a consequence, routing efficiency is improved. With simulations in OPNET Modeler of various scenarios, the superiority of CAHR is verified over traditional hybrid routing protocols in routing overheads, end-to-end latency, throughput and packet delivery rate.


The complete genomic sequences of two Chinese measles vaccine viruses, Shanghai‐191 (S‐191) and Changchun‐47 (C‐47), were determined and compared to the sequences of other measles vaccine strains as well as the prototype measles strain, Edmonston wild‐type (Edwt). Compared to Edwt, S‐191 and C‐47 had 49 and 43 nucleotide changes, respectively. These differences were found at 52 nucleotide positions that were not found in other vaccine strains. Phylogenetic analysis of the all of the available genomic sequences for measles vaccines showed that S‐191 and C‐47 were most closely related to the Leningrad‐4 strain. S‐191 and C‐47 shared conserved vaccine virus‐specific amino acid changes in the phosphoprotein (P), V, C, matrix (M), and hemagglutinin (H) that could represent important targets for future studies aimed at understanding the molecular basis of attenuation. In addition, S‐191 and C‐47 had several unique amino acid changes including 13 positions that differed from Edwt. This is the first comparison of the complete genomic sequences of Chinese measles vaccines to the sequences of other vaccine strains. J. Med. Virol. 81:1477–1483, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


World War I soldiers from the Pioneer Battalion, including Pa Tawhai (on left). Other man unidentified. Photograph taken between 1914 and 1919 by an unidentified photographer.
Other - This is a copy photograph, probably made by Frank J Denton, or Mark Lampe
Source of descriptive information - Notes on file print.
Quantity: 1 b&w copy negative(s).
Physical Description: Glass negative


With all the buzz around analytics in the technology universe, it's hard to sort out hype from reality. The truth is that analytics present organizations with an exciting new frontier for extending and leveraging their investments in transactional systems like enterprise resource planning (ERP) - and the technology is proving its value.


Like his earlier novels,this collection of short stories continues the similar thematization which has been recurring from Ishiguro's beginning of creations.Through reading Nocturnes,readers are reminded the similar familiarity of his first-person narrators or protagonists who ironically reveal but also purposely conceal the inconsistency of their nostalgia and the present realities,which becomes an allegory of the pursuing self-identities human beings intend to elude in the foregrounding predicament of human conditions.


As a result of textual research of Tao's humble greeting to his superiors and his family economics, we can infer that Tao's resignation in Pengze owes much to his disgust at the trivialities in the officialdom because he professed to be above politics and worldly considerations and to the influence of the recluses' behavior in the East and West Jin Dynasties.


We derive analytic bounds for the zeros of the third Jackson
 q -Bessel function J v ( 3 ) ( z ; q ) .


A green and clean route for the synthesis of 5-hydroxy-4-methyl-6H-thieno[2,3-c]xanthen-6-ones (2) has been developed by the photoirradiation of 3-(prop-2-ynyloxy)-2-(thiophen-3-yl)-4H-chromen-4-ones (1). This photoreaction of the 3-propynyloxychromenones being observed for the first time is very interesting and appears to be the result of a tandem sigmatropic shift and cyclization. The structure of 2 has been determined by the spectroscopic (Fourier transform infrared [FTIR], nuclear magnetic resonance [NMR], and mass) and single crystal X-ray crystallographic studies.


A rotary annular saw blade (4) consisting of a cover device (6) having a front side (20), a back side (21) and a distal end (52), a cutting and dust collecting assembly. The bottom surface (36) of the cover device extends in a planar shape. The saw blade longitudinal passages (45, 46) extend from the top surface to the bottom surface of the cover device. The distal end comprises a distal air chamber (60) having an inlet (45a) whose opening is in the same plane as the bottom surface. The outlet (58) is connected to a vacuum source. The rotating direction of the moving blade is such that the rear part (4a) of the saw blade moves from the upper side to the rear side toward the bottom surface direction beyond the bottom surface of the cover device. The present invention further relates to a cover device that is used in a cutting and dust collecting assembly and belongs to a cover device and a sealed body belonging to a processing device. [Representative] Figure 1


Objective To investigate the regulative effect of exogenous Angiotcnsin-(1-7) [Ang(1-7)] on nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and its downstream proinflammatory cytokines in rats after cerebral ischemic-reperfusion injuries.Methods Forty-two male SD rats were randomly divided into sham-operated group,control group and Ang-(1-7) treatment group (n=14); cerebral ischemia in control group and Ang-(1-7) treatment group was induced by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO).The rats in the sham-operated group and control group were infused with artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF,0.5 μL/h) while rats in the Ang-(1-7) treatment group were with Ang-(1-7)(100 pmol,0.5 μL/h)into the lateral ventricle by implanted osmotic minipumps following reperfusion.At 24 h after reperfusion,all rats were sacrificed to detect the expression of NF-κB p65 subunits in cell nuclei of the ischemic cortex by Western blotting.The spatial distribution of NF-κB p65 subunits in ischemic cerebral tissues was detected by immuno-histochemical assay.The concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in serum were detected by ELISA.Results A significant reduction of NF-κB p65 expression in cell nuclei by 46% in the Ang-(1-7) treatment group was noted as compared with that in control group (P<0.05).The nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 in the ischemic cortical cells in the Ang-(1-7) treatment group was significantly reduced,and the rate of NF-κB p65 positive cells was decreased by 29% as compared with that in control group (P<0.05).Besides,the serum levels of TNF-α (71.603±18.539 pg/mL) and IL-1 β (44.648±10.387 pg/mL) in the Ang-(1-7) treatment group were obviously decreased as compared with those in the control group (104.763±24.412 pg/mL,64.787±14.441 pg/mL,P<0.05).Conclusion Exogenous administration of Ang-(1-7) could attenuate inflammatory reaction following cerebral ischemia,perhaps by interacting with Mas receptor or through the antagonism against the pro-inflammatory effect of Ang Ⅱ.

Key words:
Angiotensin-(1-7); Cerebral ischemia reperfusion; Nuclear factor-κB; Inflammatory cytokine


Methidium was determined by reversed-phase liquid chromatography with UV detector.The column temperature was 30℃,the wavelength of UV detection was at 276 nm.On a Thermo Hypersil ODS column(2.1mm×100mm,3m) with methanol and water(the ratio of volume was 40∶60) as mobile phase at the flow rate of 0.12mL/min,methidium and other compounds were separated.There was a good linear relation(R2=0.9998) between of 0.5~10 mg/mL methidium in solution.For the precision test,the RSD was 1.311%,1.780% and 0.861% when methidium was 0.5mg/mL,2.5mg/mL and 10mg/mL respectively.For the recovery test,the RSD was 2.717% and 1.818% respectively with 1mg/mL and 10mg/mL.


As neural networks increasingly make critical decisions in high-stakes settings, monitoring and explaining their behavior in an understandable and trustworthy manner is a necessity. One commonly used type of explainer is post hoc feature attribution, a family of methods for giving each feature in an input a score corresponding to its influence on a model's output. A major limitation of this family of explainers in practice is that they can disagree on which features are more important than others. Our contribution in this paper is a method of training models with this disagreement problem in mind. We do this by introducing a Post hoc Explainer Agreement Regularization (PEAR) loss term alongside the standard term corresponding to accuracy, an additional term that measures the difference in feature attribution between a pair of explainers. We observe on three datasets that we can train a model with this loss term to improve explanation consensus on unseen data, and see improved consensus between explainers other than those used in the loss term. We examine the trade-off between improved consensus and model performance. And finally, we study the influence our method has on feature attribution explanations.


In this paper we derive team and Person-by-Person (PbP) optimality conditions for Itô SDEs with nonclassical information structures. The optimality conditions are given in terms of a Hamiltonian System described by coupled backward and forward SDEs and conditional Hamiltonians, conditioned on the information structures, for regular (measurable functions) and relaxed strategies (conditional distributions).


Parturition is simply described as the process by which the fetus is expelled from the uterus to the extrauterine environment. However complex interactions of the fetal hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, hormonal (oxytocin, estrogen, progesterone relaxin), mechanical (uterine stretch), electrical (gap junctions) and inflammatory (cytokines) factors have important roles in the initiation and maintenance of labour.1 We aim to further investigate the similarities and differences in the expression of prolabour genes and cytokines in the lower myometrial segment in labour versus no labour. Women were recruited in four defined groups (n=12): preterm not in labour (24-36 weeks), term not in labour (>37 weeks), term early labour (3-4 contractions in 10 minutes and <3cm dilated) and term established labour (3-4 contractions in 10 minutes and ≥3cm dilated). Myometrial biopsies collected from the upper aspect of the lower segment incision at the time of caesarean section for medical reasons and immediately flash frozen at -80°C. There was no evidence of infection, abruption, slow progess of labour and syntocinon administration. RNA was extracted using the RNAeasy mini kit from Qiagen Ltd. 1.0 mg was reverse transcribed and quantitative PCR was performed to examine the expression of COX-2 and IL-8 with GAPDH as a housekeeping gene.2 COX-2 expression was found to be significantly increased in labour compared to no labour. We have therefore shown that labour is a proinflammatory process using myometrial samples from a well defined group where we have eliminated confounding factors.


Abstract. Centrality is an important concept in the study of social networks, which in turn are important in studying organisational and team behaviour. For example, "central" individuals influence information flow and decision-making within a group. However, the relationship between mathematical measures of centrality on the one hand, and the real-world phenomenon of centrality on the other, is somewhat unclear. In this paper, we provide two additional perspectives: an analysis of real-world social-network data, and a study of networks produced by a simulation process. Comparing the two perspectives leads to recommendations on when to use different centrality measures. 1. INTRODUCTION Social Network Analysis [1] is an important tool for studying organisational structures. When simulating organisations, Social Network Analysis concepts are of great value in interpreting the results [2]. Within Social Network Analysis, centrality is an important concept [1]. High centrality scores identify actors with the greatest structural importance in networks, and these actors would be expected to have a key role in simulated and real-world behaviour. This applies to networks of many different kinds [1]. tSeveral methods for measuring centrality exist, and this raises the question: which of these methods should be used? The difficulty in answering this question is that centrality is a sociological concept, but there is no well-defined


ABSTRACT Kuratowski's closure-complement problem gives rise to a monoid generated by the closure and complement operations. Consideration of this monoid yielded an interesting classification of topological spaces, and subsequent decades saw further exploration using other set operations. This article is an exploration of a natural analogue in ring theory: a monoid produced by "radical" and "annihilator" maps on the set of ideals of a ring. We succeed in characterizing semiprime rings and commutative dual rings by their radical-annihilator monoids, and we determine the monoids for commutative local zero-dimensional (in the sense of Krull dimension) rings.


The issues of land resources management in the Russian Federation (including social and economic reforms) are analyzed. Key principles of land resources management at the current stage of land use development in the Russian Federation are formulated.


We combine steady-state with transient optoelectronic characterization methods to understand the operation of photovoltaic devices based on a benchmark model squaraine blended with a fullerene acceptor. These devices suffer from a gradual decrease in the fill factor when increasing the active layer thickness and incident light intensity. Using transient photocurrent, transient photovoltage, and bias-assisted charge extraction measurements, we show that the fill factor deteriorates due to slow charge carrier collection competing with bimolecular recombination. Under normal operating conditions, we find a bimolecular recombination rate constant of ∼10–17 m3 s−1, which corresponds to a reduction of one to two orders of magnitude compared to the Langevin model.


We derive the local, covariant, continuous, anticommuting and off-shell nilpotent (anti-)BRST symmetry transformations for the interacting U(1) gauge theory of quantum electrodynamics (QED) in the framework of augmented superfield approach to BRST formalism. In addition to the horizontality condition, we invoke another gauge invariant condition on the six (4+2)-dimensional supermanifold to obtain the exact and unique nilpotent symmetry transformations for all the basic fields, present in the (anti-)BRST invariant Lagrangian density of the physical four (3+1)-dimensional QED. The above supermanifold is parametrized by four even spacetime variables xμ (with μ = 0, 1, 2, 3) and a couple of odd variables (θ and θ̄) of the Grassmann algebra. The new gauge invariant condition on the supermanifold owes its origin to the (super)covariant derivatives and leads to the derivation of unique nilpotent symmetry transformations for the matter fields. The geometrical interpretations for all the above off-shell nilpotent transformations are discussed, too. PACS: 11.15.-q; 12.20.-m; 11.30.Ph; 02.20.+b


Abstract By using the Calkin–Wilf tree, we prove the irrationality of numbers of the form where N is a positive integer that is not a perfect square, p is a rational integer such that , and q is a positive integer that divides . For this, we consider an analogue of the Calkin–Wilf tree with root α and we define a special path in this tree that satisfies remarkable properties of periodicity and symmetry. This path is closely related to the continued fraction expansion of α and allows us to give new proofs of theorems due to Legendre and to Galois about the form of such an expansion in special cases of square roots and reduced quadratic surds.


Part 1 Logic programs: basic constructs database programming recursive programming the computation model of logic programs theory of logic programs. Part 2 The Prolog language: pure Prolog programming in pure Prolog arithmetic structure inspection meta-logical predicates cuts and negation extra-logical predicates program development. Part 3 Advanced Prolog programming techniques: nondeterministic programming incomplete data structures second-order programming interpreters program transformation logic grammars search techniques. Part 4 Applications: game-playing programs a credit evaluation expert system an equation solver a compiler. Appendix: operators.


The objective of this four-year resaerch effort is to develop and test a methodology to estimate the economic impact of median design. In the first year of this study, a methodology was developed and tested on one case study location in College Station, Texas. Data were collected before and during consruction along this corridor where a raised median was being installed. In this year of the study, the research team sought additional case study locations to test the methodology. After investigating several potential case study locations, the research team selected 10 sites in the following cities: McKinney, Longview, Wichita Falls, Odessa, Houston, and Port Arthur.


The focus of the overwhelming majority of critical commentary on Mary Lavin's work has been on her short stories. Her poetry, however, can give us insight into Lavin's development as a writer, showing early stages of experiments with themes and ideas, prefiguring their later emergence in her stories. Themes of loss, yearning, and the emotional pathology of choice recur through her lyric work, and examining in particular her unpublished poems, we can trace the biographical tensions as well as her artistic growth.


Developing a progressive strategy for the use of energy from forest biomass will become a critical challenge for the future generations of Moldova. Located in the southeastern part of the European continent between Ukraine and Romania, Moldova has limited natural resources compared with other developing European countries such as Albania or Bosnia. The lack of fossil fuels (natural gas, oil and coal) and mineral ores have resulted in a strong economical and political dependence on Russia and Ukraine. Agriculture has been the dominant land use over the last few centuries, and poor land practices has led the country with some of the richest soil in the world to now have a greatly diminished economy with few alternatives. This, in turn, jeopardises the security of Moldova. New alternative land use based on forest resources could diversify and greatly improve the economy. In Sweden for instance it was the development of mining, forest and hydroelectric industries from indigenous raw material that enabled Sweden to become a modern industrial nation. Denmark may become the world leader in straw combustion and Norway is developing its wood pellets market. Developing a bioenergy program for Moldova based on forest biomass may provide a similar strategy that could greatly improve the economy of Moldova. This strategy must encourage farmers to invest money, land and time in commencing commercial forestry practices aimed at developing a bio energy economy. There are numerous cultural, historicial and political challenges that need to be overcome in order to develop a viable forest biomass energy program in Moldova. We hypothesised that the forest use histories as reflected in ownership pattern and forest area affected the sustainable forest management. However, the opportunities are equally great as the challenges, and the development of a bio-energy program for Moldova can result in economic independence, security, and social health for future generations.


Parasitism levels and seasonal phenology of the introduced species leafblister sawfly, Phylacteophaga froggatti, in south-western Australian blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus globulus) plantations were investigated. Leafblister sawfly was found at all times of the year, with overlapping generations. However, it became locally rare or extinct on a frequent but temporary basis at all sampled plantations for unknown reasons. Cirrospilus margiscutellum and Bracon confusus were the only parasitic wasps reared from leafblister sawfly larvae and pupae, with both species occurring at such low levels that they did not have a significant impact on leafblister sawfly populations. The parasitic wasp B. phylacteophagus, successfully used in the biological control of leafblister sawfly elsewhere, was not found. Its absence indicates that the elevated pest status of leafblister sawfly in south-western Australia may be a result of inadequate biological control, and a 'classical' biological control program using B. phylacteophagus is recommended for the pest.


The large cross-section of the Lyman alpha (Lya) line makes it a sensitive probe of the ionization state of the intergalactic medium (IGM). Here we present the most complete study to date of the IGM Lya opacity, and its application to the redshift evolution of the 'Lya fraction', i.e. the fraction of color-selected galaxies with a detectable Lya emission line. We use a tiered approach, which combines large-scale semi-numeric simulations of reionization with moderate-scale hydrodynamic simulations of the ionized IGM. This allows us to simultaneously account for evolution in both: (i) the opacity from an incomplete (patchy) reionization, parameterized by the filling factor of ionized regions, Q_HII; and (ii) the opacity from self-shielded systems in the ionized IGM, parameterized by the average photo-ionization rate inside HII regions, \Gamma. In contrast to recent empirical models, attenuation from patchy reionization has a unimodal distribution along different sightlines, while attenuation from self-shielded systems is more bimodal. We quantify the average IGM transmission in our (Q_HII, \Gamma) parameter space, which can easily be used to interpret new data sets. Using current observations, we predict that the Lya fraction cannot drop by more than a factor of ~2 with IGM attenuation alone, even for HII filling factors as low as Q_HII>0.1. Larger changes in the Lya fraction could result from a co-evolution with galaxy properties. Marginalizing over \Gamma, we find that current observations constrain Q_HII = 6.


Lightweight Middlebox TCP Master's thesis submitted for the degree of Msc in Computer Science Author: Romain Gaillard Supervisor: Prof. L. Mathy Academic year 2015 2016 Nowadays, middleboxes are important actors of the Internet and they are used in many contexts such as network address translation, firewalls, load balancers, and intrusion detection systems, among others. Consequently, their implementation can have a great impact on the performance of networks and it is thus crucial to ensure that they do not become bottlenecks. The objective of this work is to develop a lightweight and middlebox-oriented TCP stack that takes into account the specificities of the context in which middleboxes work in order to provide them with the ability to inspect and modify the traffic, as well as inject packets. All of this on the fly. This manuscript first describes the architecture of the developed framework, listing its components and functionalities, and how to use them to create middleboxes. We then continue by providing information about the development and the design of the framework, describing the underlying data structures. In addition, we detail the algorithms at the heart of the TCP stack as well as the corresponding time complexities and we explain why they are important to achieve our goals. The results indicate that it is possible to use this framework to implement a middlebox that performs deep packet inspection with a small and constant overhead. On the other hand, when the middlebox starts modifying the flows, the overhead becomes linear regarding the size of the content. We show that the modularity of the framework we developed allows the users to mitigate the induced overhead by selecting only the features they need. Finally, we list some elements that could not be implemented in this work, proposing some improvements to the present work that could be made in the future in order to extend it.


DOI: 10.21276/sjebm.2018.5.10.4 Abstract: This study was purposed to investigate the effects of culture and market pressures on outsourcing performance with specific reference to Yahweh God's Will Limited in Nigeria. The study was therefore, anchored on four specific research questions which were centred on the extent to which culture affect outsourcing performance of a company, the impacts of market pressures on outsourcing performance, the factors that affect the implementation of outsourcing and the extent to which outsourcing affects Yahweh God's Will Limited's performance. Based on these questions, the research employed a pragmatic philosophy to allow the researcher use the method that best suits the situation at the particular point of execution. Also, the research made use of both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods using surveys (questionnaires and interview) to enhance data triangulation. A total of 61 participants were selected for the study while only 58 questionnaires were suitable for analysis. In addition, two (2) top management staffs in the human resource unit of the company were interviewed. The data was analysed with the use of both inferential and descriptive statistics via the use of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings from the research revealed that both culture and market pressures had a significant influence on the outsourcing performance of Yahweh God's Will Limited; this means that customs, lifestyle and values within and outside the company were important influencers of the company's outsourcing performance. Also, the results showed evidence of a significant relationship between market pressures and outsourcing performance in the company. This means that demand, supply, customer, supplier and particularly foreign exchange pressures had a huge influence on the outsourcing activities of the company. In addition, evidence from the data analysis showcased that the company's performance was positively affected by its outsourcing activities. The research further highlighted some recommendations which included ensuring compatibility between the organization's culture and the culture of outsourced personnel, recruiting skilled and experienced labour, maintaining a cordial relationship with suppliers and customers, and ensuring an effective forecast of foreign exchange.


The invention relates to a Method of using cryptographic equipment by JAVASCRIPT. The method comprises the following steps: step 1) of accessing the HTTPS (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) service of the cryptographic equipment by the applied WEB page JavaScript script through an SRC (Source) attribute of a tag by an HTTPS protocol, and putting the parameter data into an URL (Uniform Resource Locator) link; step 2) of requiring a caller to verify the identity after acquiring the parameters in the URL required by the HTTPS by the HTTPS service of the cryptographic equipment, after the identity verification is passed, operating the cryptographic equipment according to the parameters; step 3) of returning an operating result of the cryptographic equipment by means of balling back a JavaScript function in the WEB page after the operation is finished; acquiring the operating result in the JavaScript callback function by the applied WEB page, and then processing the operating result according to an own business process. The method of using the cryptographic equipment by JAVASCRIPT provided by the invention has the advantages of being free from a browser plug-in, cross-platform, flexible in deployment, high in security, convenient, supporting very long data and saving cost and the like.


Through the last decade, India has seen unprecedented developmental changes with rising standard of living amongst the masses. Significant and sustained increase in housing demand, coupled with considerable shrinkage in skilled workforce, have challenged the construction industry with sizeable shortfall of housing units. The recently announced "Housing for All by 2022" campaign by the Indian Government has also put additional pressure on the construction industry to deliver projects in record time frames. Traditionally, residential houses in major cities of India have been multi-storied high-rise apartments suitable for modular construction. Modular construction using Load Bearing Shear Wall (LBSW) System with rapid construction methodologies such as Aluminium/Tunnel Formwork or Precast Concrete fits perfectly as an alternative for traditional construction with shorter construction duration and reduction in labor, while exceeding quality standards of conventional construction practices in India. Thus, LBSW is system is becoming increasingly popular for several tall buildings projects of Mass Housing in Metro as well as Tier 1 cities. This paper focuses on current guidelines for the minimum wall thickness for LBSW System in terms of structural design and Fire Resistance Rating (FRR). FRR requirements are looked at in more detail as these guidelines govern wall thickness requirements for Tall Buildings in the range of 70 -100 m for LBSW Systems – typical height range for Mass Housing projects. FRR provisions of International Codes are compared to IS Code provisions. In the interest of economical design of LBSW Buildings, it is proposed to adopt international FRR provisions without affecting the design intent and structural integrity of the building.


Perlite is a naturally occurring siliceous rock of volcanic origins. When heated to more than 1000�C it expands up to several times its original volume and thus creating the premises of light weightiness and thermal insulating properties. The indoor comfortable climate of modern lifestyle requires large amounts of energy to be created and sustained. This, in turn, leads to large amounts of CO2 being released in the atmosphere. Continuous research efforts are invested in creating materials with good insulation properties, be it thermal, acoustic or vibration. The paper presents the experimental results on thermal conductivity of cement-based mortar with different percentage of natural sand being replaced by expanded perlite. Thermal conductivity values were determined at different curing ages up to 28 days. The obtained results shown that lower values of thermal conductivity are obtained with the increase in the replacement percentage, thus proving the suitability of using expanded perlite in rendering plasters and mortars for its thermal insulation characteristics.


Geometrical effects on the water effective permittivity in porous media. Capacitance methods and Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) rely on the permittivity differences of water compared to that of the solid phase of soil (75 vs. 5), in order to estimate the water content in the vadose zone. Water in soil is stored in pores of variable geometry (cylindrical, spherical, ellipsoidal, etc.) or it is adsorbed on the surface of mineral particles of different shape and rugosity. The geometrical effects that a saturated porous medium exerts on the permittivity of the liquid phase are known, but these have been poorly studied in soil. In this paper a simple method, based on weighted averages of the permittivity, is presented, that allows including geometrical effects on the computation of the dielectric constant of water. The model permits taking into account regular geometries such as spheres or cylinders. It is shown, for example, that the permittivity of water adsorbed in spherical pores is reduced 25% compared to the theoretical value obtained assuming a planar disposition (55 vs. 73). The model is generalized to ellipsoidal geometries, which would allow us the inclusion of complex geometrical effects in the estimation of the water content in the soil.


Application of the explosive compaction technology is proposed to solve the problem that conventional high- filled embankment reinforcementproject is costlyand has unsatisfactory effect.,A cavity is formed after blasting in soilunderground,withthe soil around the cavitycompressed under blast loading.The embankment is reinforcedby filling materials into the blasting cavity and compressingthem layer by layer. This paper studies the explosive experiments under nine different conditions and analyzesthe compaction effectunder different water content and compaction degree. The results show thatsoil with lowcompactiondegree and highwatercontent before blastingformsblasting cavities with relatively large radius.The test project carried out on a highwaywith highfilled embankmentdemonstrated that application of thetechnology achieved satisfactory effect with undamagedpavement and slope,shortened duration of maintenance and repair,reduced cost,and reduced impact of road construction on traffic.