Room-temperature recrystallization (self-annealing) of electroplated copper (Cu) films is investigated using three kinds of seed/barrier layers with nontexture and (111) texture. The as-plated films have almost the same texture as the seeds. The texture changes during self-annealing depend on the seed texture. The (111) texture of the self-annealing films increases for the film deposited on the nontexture seed layer, but decreases for the film deposited on (111) texture seed layers. For all the plated films, tensile stress increases after self-annealing, which corresponds to the film shrinkage. Recrystallization rate of the Cu film plated on the nontexture seed layer is higher than the one on the (111) texture seed. It is postulated that the reduction of grain boundary energy is the major driving force for film self-annealing and grain growth.


Background: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is an extensive group of emotional, behavioural and physical symptoms that occur before menstruation. It has a negative impact on activities of daily living, social activities, sexual functioning and quality of life. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of perforan (Hypericum perforatum) on the severity of physical and behavioural symptoms associated with PMS. Materials and Methods: In a triple-blind clinical trial, 93 students with PMS were randomly divided into two groups, including perforan and control (placebo) groups, and followed for three subsequent cycles. They took capsules daily in the first cycle for 1 month, and in the second and third cycles, they took capsules from 8 days pre-menstruation to 2 days post-menstruation and recorded the severity of physical and behavioural symptoms using a PMS questionnaire. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 20. Repeated measures ANOVA, Chi-squared tests and independent t-tests were used to compare the mean scores of the two groups. Results: The data showed that there were no significant differences between the two groups before the intervention (P > 0.05). Nevertheless, the severity of physical and behavioural symptoms of PMS was significantly lower in the perforan group than the control group. This was the case 1, 2 and 3 months after consumption of perforan (P < 0.001). Moreover, a significant difference between the two groups in the decrease of PMS scores was observed by repeated measurement tests (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Perforan significantly reduces the severity of physical and behavioural symptoms of PMS. Therefore, perforan could be effective in the treatment of physical and behavioural symptoms of patients with PMS. Nevertheless, future studies are necessary to confirm these results.


Stability criterion is the key problem in the theoretical framework of biped robots, and it is the precondition of walking patterns planning and real-time control. ZMP (zero moment point) criterion and Poincare return map criterion are the two representative stability criteria for biped walking; however, they are not applicable to dynamic walking and non-periodic walking respectively. To establish a coherent stability criterion, a rigorous mathematical definition of biped walking stability is presented by combining the character of biped locomotion with the notion of classical stability from the view of hybrid trajectory. It is pointed out that, under some assumption, stability of the hybrid trajectory is equivalent to that of the section sequence at switch section in the task space of biped walking. Based on this result, section-map stability criterion is presented. This criterion is applicable not only to dynamic walking which ZMP criterion can not solve, but also to non-periodic walking which Poincare return map criterion can not solve. The applications and experiments of the proposed criterion are presented in the companion paper.


Inthis workthefield emission atatmospheric pressure frompalladium oxide (PdO)nanostructures grownon Si(111) isdemonstrated. Theprocess forthegrowthofPdO nanostructures withaverage height of9-45nmisreported. The structure usedformeasuring defield emission current posses a diodeconfiguration witha separation betweencathode and anode platesof 5.6gm.The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics ofthedeveloped structure wereobserved with voltages between+100Voperating atatmospheric pressure conditions. The basecurrent ofthedeveloped structures without nanoemitters wasof1-4nA.Themaximumcurrent measured forPdOfilmnanoemitters wasof100nA.


Objective: To explore the correlation between human intestinal fatty acid binding protein 2(FABP2) polymorphism and the metabolism of type 2 diabetic patients and their non-diabetic first-degree relatives.Methods: Two hundred and twenty-four patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM) and their 84 non-diabetic first degree relatives(NDR),60 healthy person were divided into the T2DM,NDR and NC group,respectively.The restricted fragment length polymorphisms of Hha Ⅰ enzyme site in codon 54 of the intestinal FABP gene of three groups were analysed by PCR.Results: The polymorphic sites of FABP2 HhaⅠincluding Ala54Ala and Ala54Thr of FABP2 and Thr54Thr polymorphism fragment were found in three groups.The allele freqencies of Ala54 and thr54 were 0.67 and 0.33,respectively.Compared with NC group,the insulin resistance(IR) index,fasting insulin,and the levels of triglyceride(TG),total cholesterol(TC) and low density lipoprotein(LDL) increased significantly(P 0.01),the insulin sensitivity index and the level of high density lipoprotein(HDL) decreased significantly in T2DM group(P 0.01).Compared with patients with FABP2 Thr(-) genotype of T2DM group,the FINS,IR index,and the levels of fasting blood glucose(FBG),TG and LDL increased significantly(P 0.01),the insulin sensitivity index and the level of HDL decreased significantly in patients with FABP2 Thr(+) genotype(FABP2 Ala54Ala,Ala54Thr and Thr54Thr) of T2DM group(P 0.01).Compared to patients with FABP2 Thr(-) genotype of NDR group,the IR index and the level of TG increased significantly(P 0.01 and P 0.05),the insulin sensitivity index decreased significantly in patients with FABP2 Thr(+) genotype of T2DM group(P 0.01).Conclusions: The Han has FABP2 polymorphism in Bengbu.The IR and abnormal lipid metabolism exist in T2DM and NDR group.The FABP2 Thr(+) genotypes in T2DM and NDR groups are related to IR,which is one factor of abnormal lipid metabolism.


Purpose: Use of smokeless tobacco is a major preventable cause of premature death and diseases. It leads to over 5 million deaths annually worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the status of smokeless tobacco use and its associated factors among the business guilds population of Chabahar City, Iran. Method: The present descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 320 users of various types of smokeless tobacco selected by simple random sampling method. Data were collected using a researcher-made demographic questionnaire, smokeless tobacco inventory, attitude questionnaire, and behavior questionnaire. The validity and reliability of these tools were confirmed in the previous studies. Data were analyzed in SPSS using descriptive (mean, standard deviation, frequency, and %age) and inferential statistics (Kruskal-Wallis and Exact Fisher test). Results: Most of the participants used the chewing tobaccos Gutkha and Pan-Parag (24%, 95% CI= 28.7-19.4 and 23%, 95% CI= 27.7-18.5, respectively). The mean scores (standard deviations) of the participants' behavior and attitude were 7.71 (2.59) and 22.34 (7.60), respectively. The results of bivariate analysis indicated no significant difference among different smokeless tobacco groups regarding the attitude scores (P = 0.104). A significant association was observed among different groups of smokeless tobacco regarding the behavioral scores (P = 0.007). Conclusion: The scores of attitude and behavior were significantly low among the business guilds population of Chabahar City regarding consumption of smokeless tobacco. Therefore, effective steps should be taken urgently to launch social awareness programs to educate people about the consequences of tobacco use and effectiveness in curbing the problem.


Copious sweating observed during passive or exercise-induced heat stress (exercise-heat stress) is the primary outcome of the sophisticated eccrine-dependent cooling system that has evolved in humans. One can speculate as to why sweating, with its large ability to liberate heat (580 kcal l-1), would be advantageous for a 'naked ape' ambulating in a warm savanna environment. Despite this grand role of sweating in human thermoregulation and evolution, it is humbling how little we know of its control and regulation. Recent work is beginning to detect the precise brain areas involved (Shafton & McAllen, 2013), but imprecise systemic factors are reported in the literature to be the primary drivers of eccrine sweating.

In this issue of The Journal of Physiology, Gagnon and colleagues (Gagnon et al. 2013) challenge the notion that relative workload (current workload compared to maximum work capacity) is the primary determinant of sweat output during exercise-heat stress. In their experiment, human subjects performed exercise-heat stresses in a direct calorimeter at a fixed workload (290 W) in variable thermal environments (30, 35, 40 and 45°C) or at a variable workload (200, 350, or 500 W) in a fixed 30°C thermal environment. Using this direct method of measuring heat emitted, the evaporative requirement for heat balance was superior to relative workload in predicting whole-body sweat rate, and when relative workload was combined with the evaporative requirement for heat balance, predictions did not improve. Authors interpret these data as definitive evidence against the use of relative workload in experiments when the primary determinant is sweat rate. Rather, authors indicate that matching evaporative requirements to what is needed to maintain heat balance in both steady-state and non-steady-state exercise-heat stress is a superior experimental approach.

Do these interpretations make sense?
Using Occam's razor (the most direct hypothesis being most likely correct), it is logical that the evaporative requirement to maintain a regulated internal temperature would be the driving force for eccrine sweat output rather than a less direct measure such as relative workload. As one can see from a traditional heat balance equation (eqn (1)), relative workload is located within the M–Wk component vs. the more direct E:

(1)

where S is heat storage (balance); M is metabolism and Wk is external work; R+C+K is dry heat exchange via radiation, convection, and conduction; and E is evaporative heat loss.

Relative workload has an inherent fitness bias. This can be observed with similar whole-body and local sweat rates when comparing high fitness (∼60 ml kg−1 min−1) and average fitness (∼40 ml kg−1 min−1) groups at fixed workload (100–110 W). In contrast, at a relative workload (60% of maximal), the same high fitness group had greater whole-body and local sweat rates compared to the average fitness group (Jay et al. 2011).

What are the potential mechanisms of the fitness-induced increase in sweat output?
Whole-body sweating mechanisms are difficult to determine and remain elusive. However, locally perfusing the sudorific agonist acetylcholine (ACh) via intradermal microdialysis stimulates muscarinic type-3 receptors on eccrine sweat glands, and if water vapour is collected via capacitance hygrometry just above the skin containing the microdialysis membrane, agonist to sweating dose–response relations can be determined in small areas of skin. Using this limited but better controlled approach, increasing maximal work capacity via 8 weeks of aerobic exercise training causes an increase in the in vivo maximal sweating responses (Wilson et al. 2010). Inactivity, such as 14 days of bedrest, decreases maximal work and sweating capacity and importantly, aerobic exercise training during bedrest rescues this response (Crandall et al. 2003). However, neither of these changes in work capacity changes the in vivo eccrine sweat gland cholinergic sensitivity. This indicates that for a given amount of ACh release from cholinergic sudomotor nerves there is not more sweating, but if the amount of ACh released increases, more eccrine sweating results. These data combined with this new study (Gagnon et al. 2013) suggest that trained individuals may release more ACh at a given relative workload, which may be responsible for their higher sweat rate.

Gagnon et al. (2013) provide a long list of previous studies that compared independent groups at a relative workload rather than the more predictive evaporative requirement for heat balance. Are all these previous studies flawed? Not necessarily. Many, but not all, of these studies were fitness-matched to maximal work capacity and thus relative workloads would be similar. That said, the authors of this new study (Gagnon et al. 2013) give the field pause to consider what actually drives the sweating response during exercise-heat stress. Although more work needs to be completed to determine these precise driving forces and what can be used to compare experimental groups, future studies should be cautioned against using relative workload as a between-groups standardization when eccrine sweating is the main variable of interest.


Digital Human Models (DHMs) or 3D anthropometric human models are important tools in the design process for ergonomic evaluation of products. Currently, few DHMs fit the specific requirements of industrial designers regarding a synthesis of the scope, affordability, validity, usability and compatibility. In this thesis, a prototype DHM is proposed with designer-oriented features. To identify the problems and needs of the designers, literature research, questionnaires, surveys and observational research were conducted to formulate the initial list of requirements for the proposed DHM. Besides conventional functionalities of DHMs, the list of requirements has an additional set of functions and requirements which are tailored towards the identified needs of the industrial designers. Based on SolidWorks®, a DHM prototype was developed and tested with a product evaluation experiment. The results and feedback led to an optimized model and a second product evaluation experiment was conducted on a larger scale within the bachelor course "Modeling" with 2nd year students. Results reveal that the prototype fills the basic needs of a DHM and has its unique designer-oriented features, especially in usability, affordability and compatibility. Limitations of the proposed DHM are also found regarding the robustness, the usability and the functionality. Those identified limitations contribute to the fine-tuning of the list of requirements for developing a more advanced designer-oriented DHM. A future outlook will include amongst other things: switching to another programming language, making the manipulating of limbs more intuitive, possibilities for custom data import and linking the project to 3D scanning.


The Dead Sea Scrolls are objects of unrivalled importance and fragility. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) invited a number of experts to provide advice to them regarding the possibility of digitising the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS). This led to a Pilot of the imaging technology in August 2008. This paper will describe the innovative workflows and technology used in the Pilot, and further developed since then, to deliver unique perspectives on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Of particular interest is the spectral imaging of selected fragments between 650-1000 nm with a nominal bandwidth of 10 nm. This technique and the experience of the Pilot offer many lessons for other such imaging and conservation projects. Introduction Hidden for almost 2,000 years in remote caves in the Judean Desert, the Dead Sea Scrolls are considered the greatest archeological find of the twentieth century. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has worked for decades to preserve and make accessible these artifacts. The Scrolls have been the subject of intense scholarly investigation, much of which is based upon infrared photography dating back to the 1950's.. Very little photography or imaging has been done in the last 20 years compared to the totality of the Scrolls. Thus, there is a gap in the detailed image information available for scholarship as well as a lack of an active image record that could be used to assist the conservation efforts of the IAA. The IAA invited a number of experts to provide advice to them regarding the possibility of digitising the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS). This led to a Pilot of the imaging technology in August 2008. The provisional vision statement for the digitisation of the Dead Sea Scrolls is: "The IAA will digitise the Dead Sea Scrolls to protect the Scrolls for future generations whilst enabling all to be able to digitally view and research these artefacts of unrivalled value to world heritage". The challenge for the Pilot was to gain a high resolution, color accurate image from the Scrolls in the color visible spectrum. This high standard has to be replicated in the Infra-Red (IR) imaging to show characters and writing not easily legible in the visible spectrum. It is well known that IR imaging provides much greater text contrast for illegible scrolls and that IR imaging is necessary to provide text for scholars. Further to this imaging there is a requirement to enable better conservation of the Scrolls through the superior monitoring that can be achieved via Imaging Spectroscopy (IS). This vision joins conservation and access together as key deliverables for the IAA. Digitising the Dead Sea Scrolls is about enabling conservation and preservation of the Scrolls with high quality surrogate images and non-invasive monitoring. The pilot team, invited by the IAA, included Greg Bearman, Simon Tanner, Julia Craig-McFeely (Royal Holloway, University of London), Tom Lianza (X-Rite) and Yonatan Ben-Dov (University of Haifa). Many IAA staff were involved in the pilot but particularly: Pnina Shor (Head of Project and Head of the Department for the Treatment and Conservation of Artifacts), Clara Amit, Lena Libman, Tamar Rabbi, Iris Yossifon and Arcady Mutar. The authors thank and acknowledge the excellent work of the whole team that has enabled the successful pilot itself and this paper. The Dead Sea Scrolls The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls some 60 years ago has driven an extensive volume and intensity of scholarly research and investigation. These Scrolls, found in 11 remote caves in the Judean desert overlooking the Dead Sea, are of great importance to the history and development of Judaism and Christianity. The Scrolls are also a rich source for other scientific discovery. The Scrolls were found in very fragmentary condition, with some 900 or more identified Scrolls in many thousands of fragments (possibly 15,000). These fragments range from substantial and recognizable Scrolls, sometimes over a meter long, to small pieces a few centimeters across to some very fine particles a few millimeters in diameter. Shuka Dorfman, IAA Director General, describes the Israel Antiquities Authority's role and the Scrolls thus: 'Since its establishment, the IAA has promoted and supported an intensive research and publication program... [and] established a conservation laboratory dedicated to the preservation of these outstanding 2000-year-old manuscripts for future generations... Another objective is the presentation of the scrolls to the public, without endangering their preservation... The Scrolls, biblical and sectarian, were written as early as the third century BCE, but most date to the first century BCE and the first century CE. They contain fragments of all the books of the Hebrew Bible (with the exception of the Book of Esther), as well as a complete text of Isaiah. Especially significant are the fragments of the Apocrypha... The sectarian texts reflect the beliefs and apocalyptic expectations of the community that wrote them'. [4] The Scrolls were written on both parchment and papyrus. The parchment mostly has writing on one side only. The smaller fragments are stored and arranged in an alignment known as Plates. The legibility of the text on fragments ranges from the clear to totally invisible to the naked eye; with many of the fragments so dark in tone that it isn't easily possible to tell there is text at all. It is for this reason that the Scrolls have been the subject of infra-red photography in the past, in an attempt to be able to see the previously hidden text. The only complete photography of the Scrolls was made some 50 years ago and includes infra-red photography of most of the fragments. Pilot Imaging Process The imaging pilot took place over two weeks in August 2008 at the IAA. Using borrowed and leased equipment we set up three imaging stations in the imaging studio located just a few meters from the IAA Conservation Laboratory to ease movement of the Scrolls. The room was specially prepared and the set-up to broadly comply with the ISO 3664:2000 standard, "Viewing conditions Graphic technology and photography". Figure 1: The Imaging Lab uses specially made tables to support the Scrolls during imaging (Job, Plate 638). The reasons for setting up three stations was partly for conservation reasons and mainly to enable the specialist imaging technologies for each form of imaging to have its optimal setting. • The visible spectrum imaging utilized a Phase One camera for both the Color and the Infra-Red imaging stations with interesting implications for workflow and image consistency. • The Munsell Color Division within X-rite provided a unique and bespoke linear Color Checker target. This target consists of a twenty four patches in a row, reduced in size to fit across an approximate 250mm width. • The Pilot project tested a completely cold light source, namely 940 nm LEDs, to illuminate the texts for IR imaging. • The major driver for the project is conservation issues. We will use spectral imaging as part of a monitoring program for the scrolls. • Another motivation for acquiring spectral images is that it has been proposed to borrow some techniques from biomedical skin imaging to measure the water content of the scrolls with an optical method; non invasive, noncontact and one that may work for scrolls or other objects in glass or other transparent mountings. Images will be captured at 600 dpi or greater. All images will be shot at a fixed height so as to produce a consistent image across the collection. Images are captured in 48-bit RGB color for color and 16-bit grayscale for IR. One key principle decided in the Pilot was that only one Scroll Plate will be allowed into the imaging process at one time. So each Plate will pass from visible to IR and then possibly to image spectroscopy in one continuous workflow with all handling done by an IAA conservator and the imaging by an IAA photographer. Color Imaging The color imaging used a Phase One Camera medium format back with a Hasselblad camera body. The Pilot worked with the P45 model of camera, but the latest P65+ is now available offering a 60.5 megapixel resolution. The illumination was provided by cold lighting and two systems were tested with DeSisti Broadlights providing the optimal pool of light for color imaging. The camera was operated tethered to a computer. Images of the AF resolution target showed we were almost at diffraction limited imaging with the camera body and macro lens (Hasselblad 120 mm macro). For the Dead Sea Scrolls Pilot project, the Munsell Color Division within X-Rite provided an experimental linear Color Checker target based upon the classic Macbeth Color Checker target. This target consists of a twenty four patches in a row. The target patches have been reduced in size to fit across an approximate 250mm width. A 200 mm scale is also printed on the target. Figure 2: X-Rite linear Color Checker target The size and shape of the color target means that it can be included in every shot without reducing the scale of the object being photographed. Deciding to use separate Color and IR imaging stations The imaging technology was considered carefully by the Pilot leaders and the best practice, most preferred equipment from the international community of use was fully assessed. The challenge is to gain a high resolution, color accurate image from the Scrolls in the visible color spectrum. The IR imaging must replicate this to show characters and writing not easily legible in the visible spectrum. They must be closely equivalent images to allow accurate comparison between visible and IR image outputs. The Phase One was used by both the Color and the IR imaging stations in the Pilot. The Infra-Red imaging capability is achieved by removing the IR blocking filter from the Phase One. Phase One has offered to build a camera back with that filter removed and with the Bayer filter array also removed (actually simply not added during manufacturing).


The knowledge of the effectiveness of adequately administered radiation therapy in achieving palliation and regression of certain types of malignant tumors and recent reports suggesting at least some effectiveness with the systemic use of chemotherapeutic agents in similar cases (1, 10) have precipitated an interest in the possibility of increasing therapeutic effectiveness by the use of these two modalities in combination. Published reports of such combined therapy have suggested an increased tumor response as compared to either method alone (4, 5, 8). In this series of cases treated with combined radiation and chemotherapy the results will be on the basis of patient survival; or in those instances where the patient is still alive, on objective evidence of tumor response. Because of the inherent dangers of the two therapy modalities, we are aware that premature conclusions can prove harmful in the long run. Case Selection This report is based on 99 cases of solid tumors. No patients with a diagnosis of l...


An object of the invention is to realize a method and an apparatus for processing and observing a minute sample which can observe a section of a wafer in horizontal to vertical directions with high resolution, high accuracy and high throughput without splitting any wafer which is a sample. In an apparatus of the invention, there are included a focused ion beam optical system (31-33) and an electron optical system (41, 42) in one vacuum container, and a minute sample (22) containing a desired area of the sample is separated by forming processing with a charged particle beam (4), and there are included a manipulator (70, 72) for extracting the separated minute sample, and a manipulator controller for driving the manipulator independently of a wafer sample stage.


The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global health crisis. Given the delays in obtaining RT-PCR results, the reference diagnostic technique, CT (computed tomography) plays a central role in triaging patients arriving in the emergency department, allowing them to be admitted to "COVID" or "non-COVID" services. To make reliable automatic diagnoses and to quantify the lesion extent, we used deep learning methods for the diagnosis of COVID-19. In this work, we implemented six CNN architectures, namely VGG16, ResNet50, MobileNet, GoogLeNet, Xception, and DenseNet121, and evaluated their performance using appropriate metrics on CT images from freely available public databases. The ResNet50 model was found to give the best results for acceptable computational complexity.


Many years ago, one of the authors of this chapter recognised that Tablet XXVI of Labat's Traite akkadien de diagnostics et pronostics medicaux , despite the apparent, and mistaken, association with 'contusion' or 'bruising', was in fact concerned with stroke. The chapter shows that how central a part mouth paralysis or 'mouth seizure', Sum. ka-dib-bi-da, Akk. kadibbidu or ṣibit pī , played in the description and treatment of stroke in ancient Mesopotamia. One further text is of relevance in the context of 'mouth seizure'. In S. Parpola's Letters from Assyrian and Babylonian Scholars , No. 327, a text edited by the author under the title 'List of Remedies'. Facial palsy has no relation to stroke, although to an observer, weakness about the mouth and speech difficulty might well suggest the possibility of connection. Keywords: ancient Mesopotamia; Babylonian texts; facial palsy; mouth seizure; stroke


Honeycomb structure; resonant frequency; dynamic performance; spacecraft construction; cell angle; foil thickness. Honeycomb cored structures are considered one of the most efficient composite structures which are commonly used in different industrial applications. These structures are characterized by high strength to weight ratio and good impact resistance thus it is suitable for aerospace structures. Structural properties of honeycomb structure depend on its lower, upper skin sheet thickness, the core material thickness, cell dimension, cell angle and foil thickness. Using of honeycomb structure panels in satellite main structure provide the opportunity to reduce satellite mass in significant manner. This study concerns with the static and dynamic performance of honeycomb sandwich panel structures and its applications in spacecraft construction. This work studies the static and dynamics characteristics of a spacecraft structure including an intermediate plate made of two different materials; the first one with an Aluminum intermediate sandwich plate while the second with honeycomb sandwich plate. The obtained results show that the satellite structure supported with honeycomb intermediate plate produces higher value of the fundamental resonant frequencies compared to the corresponding ones in satellite structure with Aluminum intermediate plate which is better for the launch vehicle requirements. Moreover, the spacecraft structure mass was reduced by around 15%.


High-precision Lambshift measurement on high-Z hydrogenlike atoms [1] arose a renewed interest in the quantum electrodynamic (QED) calculation of electronic atoms. Comparison of theoretical results with corresponding experimental data allows sensitive tests of QED in strong electromagnetic fields [2,3]. Any discrepancy between theory and experiment may either motivate an improvement of theoretical calculations and a refinement of experiments, or it may indicate a possible influence of non-QED effects. In this context, the study of nuclear polarization (NP) contributions to the total energy shift of atomic levels becomes important because as a background effect, it represents a natural limitation of any highprecision test of QED. Unfortunately, evaluation of NP is not practicable on the first principle. Any calculation of NP is inherently phenomenological and depends on the parameters of the nuclear model used to describe the intrinsic nuclear dynamics.


In oilfield water-injection network pipe friction factors are important parameters.Oil field water-injection network has been built for a long time,so the pipe friction factors have been changed,so we need to correct friction factors.Under the condition of knowing a part of nodes pressure values,the unknown pressure values are as random parameters and a kind of stochastic optimization model-expected value model is established about pipe friction factor inversion in oilfield water injection system.According to the model's features,the mathematical model is solved by the use of genetic algorithm and stochastic simulation method.Finally,the model on the ideal pipe network is solved,and rationality of the model and feasibility of the method are verified.


A fault-tolerant controller for an automatic driving system on rough road is described. The controller has a series-parallel duplex system which obviates the need for extensive hardware. The fault detection and system reconfiguration are handled by software. When the output result of each of the duplex system units differs, an output-connected module executes fault detection. Results of the actual driving test over long distances under study indicated that the controller can serve as an on-board controller for an automatic driving system on rough road.<<ETX>>


This chapter contains two case studies on the accountability of peace operations in Bosnia. The first case study analyzes how pluralist accountability evolved in response to allegations that a significant number of international personnel, partly under contract with private military companies, were involved in sex trafficking. In the case of human trafficking, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Bosnia as well as domestic institutions acted as accountability holders. The second case study on Bosnia demonstrates how pluralist accountability failed to evolve in response to the violation of detainees' rights by the NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) operation. In this case, competition was rather weak as there were no concurring transnational nongovernmental or intergovernmental human rights organizations that competed for promoting the rights of detainees. Moreover, SFOR's low vulnerability with regard to human rights demands hindered the evolution of pluralist accountability.


This paper addresses the topic of the reverse channel in cable TV networks-maximizing the capabilities of the upstream spectrum using advanced modulation and demodulation techniques. We provide an overview of the different modulation schemes that were proposed for the next generation cable modem upstream physical layer (also known as 'HI PHY') in the IEEE 802.14 standardization committee and describe the solution that was finally chosen by the leading silicon vendors in the cable modem industry.


The famous two-slits experiment is used to theoretically introduce the problem of detecting both which-slit (WS) property and another quantum property incompatible with the WS one, together with the measurement of the (complementary) position of the final impact point. General conditions for the existence of solutions are singled out, and a family of solutions is concretely found. Moreover, we theoretically design an ideal experiment which realizes this non-trivial detection.


This paper examines the unexplored link between the prevalence of overweight and obesity and vehicle demand in the United States. Exploring annual sales data of new passenger vehicles at the model level in 48 U.S. counties from 1999 to 2005, we find that a 10 percentage point increase in the rate of overweight and obesity reduces the average MPG of new vehicles demanded by 2.5 percent: an effect that requires a 30 cent increase in gasoline prices to counteract. Our findings suggest that policies to reduce overweight and obesity can have additional benefits for energy security and the environment.


Foreword 1. Language and Culture in a Global Perspective 2. Tour de France in German Language Teaching: a Preliminary Analysis 3. The Concept of Culture: An Introduction 4. Language, Nation and Culture: The German Tradition 5. Cultural Complexity 6. A Sociolinguistic View of Language 7. Linguistic Flows and Linguistic Complexity 8. Languacultural Dimensions 9. Discourse and Double Intertextuality 10. Cultural Contexts 1 1. Cultural Contents 12. Linguistic, Discursive and Cultural Flows 13. The Language-Culture Nexus 14. Language and Culture - a Multidimensional RelationshipReferences Index


The phytochemicals of various parts of the plants mainly the secondary metabolites are well known for its high potential therapeutic values such as antifungal, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antiplasmodial, antioxidant, insecticidal etc. In the present investigation an attempt was made to analyze the various phytochemicals present in Artemisia nilagirica (Clarke) Pamp which is wide spread and commonly grown for its religious importance and fragrance through GCMS. Methanolic leaf extract of the A.nilagirica (Clarke) Pamp revealed eight different compounds and the structures were predicted and recorded. The phytoconstituents of the target extract revealed high medicinal values in the pharmaceuticals industries. These compounds were separated by column chromatography for further authentication of the therapeutic values. INTRODUCTION: The knowledge and use of phytochemicals as medicine has begin from the very ancient era towards Ayurveda, siddha and Unani 1 . The significant increase of plant derived materials attributed development of new drugs and re-establishment of old ones according to the demands of mankind 2, 3 , various bioactive compounds are said to be efficient antibacterial, antiviral, fungicide, immunosuppressive, cytotoxic, algicidal etc 4, 5, 6 . Since 1926, it has been proved that the bioactive compounds are characterized to inhibit microorganisms and also witnessed to have a significant increase in the prevalence of resistance to bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa etc 7,


This paper deals with the science of copper metallurgy of the Ganeshwar-Jodhpura culture existed during the period between the third and second millennium BC. The north-east Rajasthan witnessed the earliest emergence and local development of settled community life based on copper metallurgy and farming based economy around the 2800 BC.


As the use of Distributed Interactive Simulations has grown, the need to support a large number of players in the environment has become apparent. DIS has not been able to support a large number of entities because of its high network bandwidth requirements and the large computational loads it places on host computers. A combination of an agent based architecture and smart networks provides a promising solution to these problems when implementing large-scale distributed simulations. An agent system using the remote programming paradigm, transporting the necessary parameters and the necessary code for remote execution [WHITE95], could reduce the network bandwidth requirements and large computational loads associated with a large distributed simulation. This reduction would occur by eliminating unnecessary PDU traffic through the use of mobile agents that represent the originating entity. These agents would travel to, and reside on, the host computer of other entities and provide the necessary state information for stationary entities without using network resources. Smart Networks could be used to create a flexible area of interest manager, allowing entities to specify their area of interest and the information that they require from within that area [HARR95a]. This approach allows an entity to get all of the information it requires to represent its view of the simulated world while eliminating unnecessary information processing. DISTRIBUTED INTERACTIVE SIMULATIONS:


: The debugging of distributed algorithms is a major challenge which greatly benefits from the help of an interactive and informative human-computer interface. In this paper we present ViSiDiA, a platform for the visualization, simulation and debugging of distributed algorithms. Our approach respects real-life constraints such as process anonymity and privacy, network synchronicity. We propose a new fully-distributed method for the debugging and monitoring of distributed systems, based on the computation of global states and global predicates from local information in anonymous and asynchronous networks. We show how the debug information can be visualized concurrently with the algorithm execution.


Introduction: A widely acknowledged aspect of emergency preparedness is hospital-wide staff education. Maintaining interest in hospital emergency preparedness among hospital staff is challenging. A hospital-wide education process involving a robust lecture and hands on donning and doffing sessions followed by periodic disaster drills has been recently undertaken as a quality improvement process. Method: A prospective pre- and post-test study of 256 hospital staff were given a six-hour training course in comprehensive Hospital Incident Command Systems (HICS), Hazmat (Hazardous Materials), and CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiation, Nuclear, and Explosive) events. The same pre and post-test were given to all participants that contained questions to assess emergency preparedness knowledge. Results: 256 registrars within seven months (two classes per month) completed training with pre and post-tests. The average class size was 18.3 (range= 14 to 26 registrars). 3 of 256 (1.1 % 95% confidence interval) registrars achieved the pass mark of 70% in the pre-test survey and 230 (89.8 %) registrars achieved the pass mark in the post-test (χ2-test P < 0.001) with an absolute increase in the pass rate of 84%. Conclusion: This finding justifies Emergency Preparedness Training at our institution, showing a marked improvement in staff knowledge of HICS and CBRNE management. This study should encourage continuous widespread use of Emergency Preparedness training in hospital Emergency Preparedness.


Background: Actinic keratoses (AK) are carcinomas in situ and can progress to invasive squamous cell carcinomas. Treatment of actinic keratoses can be achieved by physical ablation, chemotherapeutic agents, immunomodulators or photodynamic therapy.


A surface gravimetric survey in Dobrowolski Station in Bunger Oasis \as made. The maps of free-air anomaly, Bouguer anomaly and residual Bouguer anomaly were prepared as result of compiling the gravimetric data. An image of isoanomalies proved an occurence of gravitational disturbances in the studied area. The depth of Mohorovicic discontinuity was also defined on the ground of Woolard's theories. K e y w o r d s : Antarctic, gravimetry


Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of employee training on employee job satisfaction in Western Uganda with a focus on Mbarara University of science and technology (MUST).
Methodology: A mixed methods approach and cross-sectional design were used. The study population were composed of academic and non-academic staff members of MUST. Researchers were guided by Krejcie and Morgan sample determination table to come up with a sample size of 230, and selected the sample using Simple random sampling technique. Self-administered Questionnaire and interview guide helped in collection of data; then after collected data were processed and analysed using SPSS version 20.
Findings: Study results show a significant and moderate positive relationship between on-job training, off-job training and job satisfaction (r=.381, p<.01) and (r=.308, p<.01) respectively for on-job training and off-job training.
Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study makes a unique contribution to human resource training and development literature by providing context-based evidence on the positive relationship that exist between employee training and job satisfaction in public institutions in western Uganda. Practitioners in these institutions are anticipated to gain new insights on the vital role of employee training towards elevating satisfaction levels of staff. The study recommended that public higher learning institutions in western Uganda re-orient their strategic focus to training and development needs of their staff if they are to achieve their set targets. This is justified because this study has found out that such practices help them keep their staff morale boosted which apparently affects the way they render services to their clients.


In 1974 Roland Barthes, Francois Wahl, Philippe Sollers, Julia Kristeva and Marcelin Pleynet spend a month in Mao Zedong's China. The "Tel Quel group", as they were seen, visits the country under the tutelage of Luxingshe Agency, which also provides two guides and translators in order to accompany visitors. Taking as a guideline Barthes's Travels in China ([1974] 2009) and the article "Alors, la Chine?" (without translation in English), I will try to identify, describe and interpret the presence of the Chinese Foreigner by the eyes of the French writer, through these spacial and linguistic formulations, as well as the descriptions of the Chinese people. From this reading, in a more abstract degree, situations of exercise of authority and the search for otherness will be the object of reflection, marking the timelessness of the Barthesian gestures of repulsion to the first and the search for the second. Barthes's views will be opposed to those of his fellow travellers, who also reported their impressions once back to France. How is China grasped by the textual plot of travel narratives and the discourse of group members? Which aspects converge and which diverge in these multiple views on the same object, the Foreigner, particularly Chinese, in a moment of political and ideological authoritarianism?


The colorectal caner related morbidity in China is increasing gradually approaching the levels of developed countries in recent years.The early screening and treatment, as well as the follow-ups, are significant in reducing the morbidity and mortality related with colorectal caner.In this article, the general situations and problems in these fields are systematically expounded.

Key words:
Colorectal neoplasms; Universal precautions; Combined modality therapy


Geomorphological maps are needed for the management of the intertidal areas in the main water systems in the Netherlands. Rijkswaterstaat, as manager of all the main water systems in the Netherlands, produces these maps on a regular basis only for the Western Scheldt and the Eastern Scheldt. The classic method used to produce these maps is based on manual mapping from false color aerial photographs. This method is labor-intensive and therefore expensive, which is the reason why they were never made for the much larger systems as the Wadden Sea and the Ems-Dollard. Utrecht University developed an automated method which uses Object Based Image Analysis. The advantage of using objects instead of pixels is that beside the spectral properties texture and context can be used for the classification. (Douma et al., 2018). The classification is done in eCognition, using a ruleset where objects are stepwise assigned to classes. In total eight classes describing the geomorphology are recognized. The method is applicable on multiple water systems and on photographs of different years. As the method is sensitive to difference in quality and lightening conditions of the photographs, calibration on the main thresholds performed which are internally coupled with the rest of the ruleset. The results are very good. The method is first developed on the Western Scheldt where the automated method agreed with the manual method for 73% (Douma et al. 2018). After some improvements it was tested on the Eastern Scheldt and the Wadden Sea. For the Eastern Scheldt the agreement with the manual method was 90%. For the Wadden Sea it was not possible to do a comparison with the manual method because the geomorphological maps where never made for these water systems. Here the results where validated by an expert of Rijkswaterstaat. This validation showed that 85% till 95% of the classification was correct (Douma et al., 2019a). The production time for a water system as the Western Scheldt is for the manual method roughly 400 hours and for the automated method 80 hours. This reduces the costs of geomorphological maps which makes it possible for Rijkswaterstaat to produce them for other large water systems, in particular the Wadden Sea and the Ems-Dollard.


Let $\mathscr{M}_{(2,1)}(N)$ denotes the infimum of the size of the largest sum-free subset of any set of $N$ positive integers. An old conjecture in additive combinatorics asserts that there are a constant $c=c(2,1)$ and a function $\omega(N)\to\infty$ as $N\to\infty$, such that $cN+\omega(N) 0$. The constant $c(2,1)$ is determined by Eberhard, Green, and Manners, while the existence of $\omega(N)$ is still widely open.
In this paper, we study the analogue conjecture on $(k,\ell)$-sum free sets and restricted $(k,\ell)$-sum free sets. We determine the constant $c(k,\ell)$ for every $(k,\ell)$, and confirm the conjecture for infinitely many $(k,\ell)$.


Psychological and social stressors are a recent element which we have learned often provoke our bodies into an accompanying uproar linked to mere thought (Sapolosky, 1994). That uproar in our bodies is directly associated with the principle of "homeostasis" that serves to explain the typical functioning of a healthy body. Our bodies (digestive, circulatory and other body functions) seek to operate in such a manner as to maintain a sufficiency needed for a healthy life, and when that sufficiency is not being met there is disharmony created by feelings of unpleasantness which Festinger (1957) called "cognitive dissonance," and that causes the individual to seek ways to receive such angry feelings. The Cassel Bio-Sensors is designed to assess both the degree and nature of disharmony present (Cassel, 1978; 1985; and 1987). Nature of Stressors A stressor then, is anything that disturbs the homeostasis of the well functioning body and where "cognitive dissonance" (feelings of unpleasantness) is the inciting force to restore harmony or homeostasis. A stressor is no longer limited to an absence of physical needs (hunger, injury, blood loss, temperature extremes, etc.), psychological needs (anxiety, neurosis, hostility, etc.), but also includes not achieving own personal psychological insults, but also in the expectation of them; so they may be real or imagined. Clearly, stressors are the principal inciting force that disturbs the homeostasis or harmony of our inner space (Cannon,1936). Nervous Systems An important part of our body that is always associated with harmony of the internal regions is the nervous system. It is comprised of two major parts that operate in opposition to each other. First, the parasympathetic nervous system is typically associated with our conscious brain and mediates calm vegetative activities. Second, the sympathetic nervous system is typically associated with emergency states (fight, flight, fright, and sex) and is largely unconscious in nature. Internal harmony exists only when the sympathetic nervous system is under voluntary control, and where personal goal setting and striving of the individual is the primary focus in life (Stryer, 1992; Weiner, 1992). Endocrine System Epinephrine (adrenaline is British term) secreted by the adrenal glands, is largely under control of the sympathetic nervous system, and is typically released in excessive quantities during the major vehicle creating the emergency state where normal functions cease, and the blood is sent to vital organs so individual is able to fight or fight or flight to survive. So, clearly, it is the presence of this emergency state, real or imagined, that typically causes disharmony in our inner states. Brain as an Endocrine Structure The more recent research describe how the brain is the master gland which exercises control over the pituitary gland which previously was considered to be the governor of other glands. It is now recognized that the base of the brain, the hypothalamus, contains a huge array of inhibiting hormones which instruct the pituitary gland that in turn regulates the secretion of the peripheral glands; some as releasers and others as inhibitors; so that the strict control of the reticular formation in one's limbic system no longer applies for such action (Sapolsky, 1994). Hostility and Heart Disease Recent studies suggest that floating hostility is directly associated with heart disease, anthersclerosis and high rates of mortality (Chesney, et. al., 1988). Blood pressure goes exceedingly high for people with floating hostility which typically involves cynical mistrust and repeated overt aggressiveness. Often such persons are likely to also be heavy smokers. Peptides and Neurotransmitters Of the nearly 100 peptides and neurotransmitters identified to date, at least four of them play a critical role in relation to harmony in our inner space through the cognitive element in feelings (Goldstein, 1990; and Burks, 1991). …


THE INVENTION CONCERNS POLYMERIZABLE COMPOSITIONS CONTAINING A MINERAL CHARGE AND PROCESS USING TO PRODUCE PARTICLE POLYMER: COMPOSITION CONTAINING THE 10 TO 80 WEIGHT OF MINERAL CHARGE 0.1 A 5 BY WEIGHT OVER THE mINERAL LOAD AGENT sILANE TYPE COUPLING 2 0.01 A WEIGHT OVER THE mINERAL CHARGE OF ACCELERATOR COUPLED WITH sILANE AND, IF THE DESIRE, 5 TO 50 OVER WEIGHT THE vINYL mONOMER POLYMER SOLUBLE vINYL IN vINYL mONOMER WARM UNLESS THE INTRODUCTION OF SUCH COMPOSITION HAVING A VISCOSITY OF 20C 100a 10000CP IN WATER CONTAINING sTABILIZER SUSPENSION, AND HEATING MIXTURE TO MAKE THE SUSPENSION POLYMERIZATION MONOMER VINYL OBTAIN PERMITS pOLYMER PARTICLE WITH nARROW DISTRIBUTION OF GRAIN SIZE.


Percutaneous endoscopic spinal surgery performed in the awake state offers a new paradigm for treatment of symptomatic lumbar disc prolapse. We report the outcome of 23 patients who underwent this procedure. Visual analogue scale for pain improved from 7.3 to 2.1; 19 of the 23 patients achieved good to excellent results according to the MacNab criteria. Patient acceptance of the procedure was 91.3%. All but one patient were discharged from hospital within 24 hours. One patient developed foot drop post-operatively. There was no incidence of dural tear, post-operative infection or worsening of symptoms. We conclude that this is a safe, effective, and well-tolerated procedure.


– To achieve accurate slug lengths and velocities in slug flow regime, monitoring of the droplet/bubble train is an essential stage which necessitates the use of proper techniques. In most experiments, the traditional measurement apparatus consists of a high-speed camera coupled to a microscope which are employed to characterize such flows in microchannels. However, when using these techniques, optical distortion caused by the curved channel walls can result in large measurement uncertainty which undermines the measurement accuracy. In this regard, this study introduces a novel technique to easily and reliably measure the slug length and velocity. This automated non-intrusive measurement technique allows in-line high-frequency of droplet/bubble detection and related physical properties based on changes in the light intensity caused by a phase shifting in liquid-liquid or liquid-gas flows.


This study aimed to determine factors of rural income inequality changes in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China, to help formulate measures to reduce regional inequality and alleviate poverty in the southwestern mountainous area of China, which experiences frequent natural disasters and poor living conditions. Changes in rural income inequality are examined, which are then decomposed into different component factors based on the Gini index. Income inequality is comprised of four types of income source: wages, household operations, properties, and transfers. This analysis focuses on the period of 2003 to 2011—a special transitional stage during which the Wenchuan earthquake intervened. The results indicate that income from household operations plays a dominant role in income inequality. Its contribution to the overall inequality fluctuates from 36.40 to 50.39% and had a positive effect on reducing inequality after the earthquake. Wage income contributed the second-most to income inequality and had positive and negative effects on reducing inequality before and after the earthquake, respectively. Transfer and property incomes are important forces in income inequality that have different influencing mechanisms. Transfer income positively helps reduce income inequality. Exclusive favors or preferences should be granted to such areas.


Salts of methyl ester of 2-benzimidazolylcarbamine asid with hydrochloric, phosphoric, boric, sulfoand alkylbenzoylsulfoasids are synthesised. By the methods derivatography, IR-and UV-spectroscopy confirm structure of the obtained compounds. By a variation of the nature of solvent basic possibility of essential increase of solubility of salt forms of fungicide is shown. It is revealed high fungicidal activity of the synthesised salts on the basis of 2-benzimidazolylcarbamine asid with simultaneous possibility of decrease in its consumption rates in 2-5 times.


The methane monooxygenase of methanotrophs is capable of catalyzing propene to produce epoxypropane directly in one step,without formation of by-products except water.Compared with the chemical synthesis method for production of epoxypropane,the biosynthesis has promising potential due to the mild reaction conditions,high selectivity and environmental friendliness.In this paper,the conditions were optimized for production of epoxypropane from propene with Methylosinus trichosporim OB3b whole cells cultivated by the traditional method,including temperatures,initial propene concentrations,sodium formate and MgCl2 concentrations,which are important factors affecting the epoxypropane biosythesis.Based on the optimization results,the performance of epoxypropane production carried out with M.trichosporium OB3b of high cell density was investigated,which was obtained by a novel rapid cultivation method developed by the authors.The final concentration of epoxypropane was almost four times of the highest productivity reported so far.


The daytime atmospheric nitrous acid (HONO) source has attracted considerable attention due to its important role in determining the concentrations of hydroxyl radicals (OH c ), O 3 , and secondary organic aerosols (SOAs). The widespread nitrophenols (NPs) are potential HONO sources; however, the relevant reaction mechanism has not been explored yet. We employ quantum mechanical calculations combined with the statistical RRKM rate theory to explore the photochemical reaction paths of two common NPs (2-NP and 4-NP) to form HONO in the gas and aqueous phases. It is revealed that both NPs have strong sunlight absorption, and photolysis occurs on the excited T 1 state. Both NPs can easily dissociate under light in both gas and aqueous phases, where OH c and NO are the major products rather than HONO. Due to the higher solubility, 4-NP is found to more easily generate HONO in aqueous solution, which experiences the intermolecular excited state hydrogen transfer with vicinal water molecules. Kinetics shows that the relative humidity (RH) hardly promotes the gas-phase photolysis, and the temperature slightly a ff ects the reaction rates. However, as a minor product, HONO generations from gas-phase 2-NP and aqueous 4-NP have high photolysis frequencies of 5.73 × 10 − 5 and 5.25 × 10 − 6 s − 1 , respectively, indicating that the hydrolysis of NPs can be important sources for atmospheric HONO.


Resonance light scattering(RLS)characteristics of the interaction of deoxyribonucleic acid(DNA)with NewMagenta were studied in a buffer of Tris-HCl at pH0.85.The resonance scattering enhancement was found to have a linear relationship with the DNA concentration.A new method for the determination of DNA(fsDNA and ctDNA)at nanogram levels was thus proposed.The linear range for fsDNA is0.02~6.0mg·L -1 ,whereas that for ctDNA is0.04~7.0mg·L -1 .The correlation coefficients are0.9984and0.9987,and the detection limits are18.3and21.8μg·L -1 ,respectively.Effects of interference subˉstances were studied.The method has been satisfactorily applied to the determination of DNAin synthetic samˉples.Furthermore,the reaction mechanism has been studied,and the complex formation constant between NewMagenta and DNA was obtained from the UV-Vis spectra.


Eleven major guidelines in the area of breast cancer were published in 2014 alone, covering areas ranging from risk assessment and genetic counseling to the management of HER2-positive (HER+) brain metas- tases and chemotherapy-induced neuropathy. This mini-review and commentary summarizes new recent guidelines and the key updates contained therein.


A time dependent Feshbach method is implemented to study the correlated electron dynamics of He doubly excited states below the He+ (N=2) ionization threshold, using ultrashort laser pulses in XUV-pump IR-probe delay schemes.


Premise of the Study The Plant Phenology Ontology (PPO) was originally developed to integrate phenology observations of whole plants across different global observation networks. Here we describe a new release of the PPO and associated data pipelines that supports integration of phenology observations from herbarium specimens, which provide historical and modern phenology data. Methods and Results Critical changes to the PPO include key terms that describe how measurements from parts of plants, which are captured in most imaged herbarium specimens, relate to whole plants. We provide proof of concept for ingesting annotations from imaged herbarium sheets of Prunus serotina, the common black cherry. We then provide an example analysis of changes in flowering timing over the past 125 years, demonstrating the value of integrating herbarium and observational phenology data sets. Conclusions These conceptual and technical advances will support the addition of phenology data from herbaria, but also could be expanded upon to facilitate the inclusion of data from photograph‐based citizen science platforms. With the incorporation of herbarium phenology data, new historical baseline data will strengthen the capability to monitor, model, and forecast plant phenology changes.


Lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia Emeric ex Loisel.) is one of the most valuable species for the fragrance industries due to its extraordinary scent. This research was carried out to compare the floral and scent characteristics from the micropropagation and cutting propagation in field conditions for four years between 2014 and 2017 in Isparta-a city in the south-western part of Turkey, which is called "The Lavender Valley of Turkey". The experiment was arranged according to a randomized complete-block design with three replications. In comparison with the propagation methods, the yield and floral characteristics of the micropropagation were higher than the cutting propagation. The fresh stem flower yield, the dried flower yield, and the examined characteristics of the lavandin were higher in the subsequent years compared to the previous years. While the highest plant height (90.10 cm), the spike length (10.16 cm), the leaf length (56.16 mm), the spike number per plant (479.0 spike plant-1), the cluster number per spike (10.70 cluster spike-1), the fresh stem flower yield (7791.0 kg ha-1), and the dried flower yield (2054.6 kg ha-1) were obtained from the micropropagation method in the year 2017, the lowest values of these characteristics were determined from the cutting propagation in 2014. The essential oil contents of the lavandin were not significantly different in both propagation methods. The essential oil contents of fresh stem flower and the dried flower of lavandin were decreased in the subsequent years, and the highest essential oil content (1.27 and 7.36%, respectively) was determined from 2014, and the lowest essential oil content (1.21 and 6.92%, respectively) from 2017. The linalool, linalyl acetate, camphor, α-terpineol, and borneol L were close to each other in both propagation methods, while the eucalyptol content of the micropropagation was higher than the cutting propagation.


Glaucoma is the second driving reason for blindness after waterfalls and its identification is basic to anticipate visual harm. Glaucoma is the third driving reason for blindness in India. The structure composed, will have the capacity to help in early discovery and conclusion of glaucoma utilizing AM segmentation and Cup to Disk Ratio (CDR) are used for the accurately detected of Glaucoma. Optic disk and optic cup diameter is measured by region props technique. Drive database is used for analyzing the proposed work. Structural parameters are measure to check the structural variation with the help of bench mark image. Report said, due to glaucoma, its structure get varies. Hence, helping ophthalmologist in prior location of glaucoma which will help the general public thus to fight the quiet enemy of vision


The History of Islamic thought  by some schools of kalam (theology) who have different views with one another. Differences in views on the different schools of kalam theology in Islam is based on the difference manhaj or epistemology to understand and believe in the existence of God. The concept of divinity of each of the flow of Islamic theology in different and sometimes diametrically opposed in interpreting sentences shared Tawhid, which is La ilaha illallah as an axiom in Islamic theology.  Not only difference of interpretation at the level of mere theological concepts, but also implications for the realm of social applications of these theological views. So the difference in the attitude of life is largely determined by differences in theological outlook.


Abstract In this paper, a broadband, low insertion loss, and compact folded substrate integrated waveguide (FSIW) phase shifter is proposed for the first time. By loading the complementary split-ring resonators (CSRRs) on the middle metal layer of the FSIW, a closed-type slow-wave transmission line (TL) is obtained, which can provide a wideband phase shift (39%) compared with the equal-length fast-wave one. The enclosed structure of the CSRR-loaded FSIW prevents the CSRRs from radiation as suffered in the previous reported CSRR-loaded TLs, resulting in a low insertion loss. This feature greatly reduces the amplitude imbalance between the main line and the reference line of the phase shifter. In addition, no transition structure is required between the FSIWs with and without CSRRs for broadband impedance matching, which makes the phase shifter more compact and easier to integrate with other FSIW devices. To validate the performance of the proposed phase shifter and to illustrate its ease integration, a novel FSIW 180° directional coupler that consists of an FSIW 90° coupler and an FSIW 90° phase shifter is designed, fabricated, and measured. The measured results agree well with the simulated data.


Generalization of Fisher model to the case of ternary grain boun dary diffusion and binary bulk diffusion is suggested. Presence of the segregated third component at GB can lead to the substantial change of an effective grain boundary diffusivity of the ma in diffusant due to cross-term influence of diffusional fluxes. This is an alternative (with respe ct to the competitive segregation) explanation of the recent experiments on iron diffusion in aluminum with copper segrega t d at GB.


This article deals with the creation and growth of intermetallic compounds (IMCs) in solder joints. The test specimens of copper substrate were made for this experiment. The soldered joints were created on the test specimens by hand soldering process at the temperature of 250°C. Four lead-free solder alloys and one tin-lead solder alloy were chosen for research of IMCs. The test specimens were divided into several groups. These groups differ in two parameters. The first parameter is soldering process, concretely soldering time. Half of the specimens were soldered for a period of 10 seconds and the second half of specimens were soldered for a period of 60 seconds. The second parameter is a thermal stress. The test specimens were exposed to elevated aging for research of long-term behavior of IMCs in solder joint. The specimens were thermal stressed in hot air oven at the temperature of 150°C for a periods of 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 weeks. The results of analysis of IMCs in solder joints using confocal and metallographic microscopes are presented in this article.


We have fabricated sensitive magnetic field detection devices based on the planar Hall effect. The active material consists of permalloy ultrathin films (60A thick) on top of a Fe/Pd bilayer epitaxially grown on MgO


We consider strictly irreducible representations with which the discontinuity of a derivation on a (locally multiplicatively convex) Fréchet algebra must be associated. Only those strictly irreducible representations which are compatible with the topology of the algebra are considered. The main results show that when consideration is fixed upon each seminorm, the exceptional set of primitive ideals supporting the discontinuity must be a finite set, with each ideal being the kernel of some finite‐dimensional irreducible representation. This result is the best possible, as can be seen by considering the radical Fréchet algebra constructed by Charles Read with identity adjoined which has a derivation with separating ideal that is the entire algebra, and one could take (countable) Fréchet products of his counterexample. It is also proved that derivations on commutative Fréchet algebras, the structure spaces of which are compact metric in the weak* topology, have only finitely many such exceptional points overall.


The invention provides a chopped fiber reinforced ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) composite material which is characterized by comprising the following components in percentage by weight: 50-85% of ABS resin, 5-30% of chopped fiber, 3-8% of compatilizer, 5-15% of toughener, 0.1-1% of antioxidant, 0.5-2.5% of coupling agent and 0.5-1% of lubricant. The invention also provides a preparation method of the chopped fiber reinforced ABS composite material. The chopped fiber reinforced ABS composite material maintains the original excellent properties of ABS, can effectively enhance the tensile strength, elastic modulus, thermal deformation temperature and dimensional stability, and widens the application field of ABS.


Today, all of the states in the United States and many countries screen their newborns for biotinidase deficiency. Biotinidase deficiency meets the major criteria for including a disorder into screening programs. However, rarely do we learn the actual story behind the discovery of a disorder where the underlying etiology was elusive or about the events leading to a disorder's incorporation into a newborn screening program. This is the story of the role that serendipity played in the story of biotinidase deficiency and the newborn screening of the disorder.


Digital city" is a copy of an actual city in the virtual space. It is expected to play an important role in urban planning, disaster simulation etc. Recent advanced remote sensing technologies, which are capable to quickly provide detailed information of city areas, ease the construction of 3D city models. In this study, a virtual 3D city model is constructed using MapCube data, consisting of configuration of buildings obtained from airborne laser scanner surveying flights. First, GIS data including MapCube building data, roads, vegetation, and ground elevation from various sources are compiled. Then, all the data are imported into VTP (Virtual Terrain Project), an environment to easily construct the reality in an interactive 3D digital form. Subsequently, the textual information of actual buildings captured from aerial and ground photographs is added on the 3D model in VTP. Using these 3D models, it is able to illustrate various scenarios of an earthquake disaster through damaged buildings, road cracks and fires. The created models can be used in information dissemination and education of disaster mitigation.


This work was carried out to evaluate the effect of irrigation depth on yield and production components of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) under soil and climatic conditions of the Coastal Tablelands in the State of Piaui - Brazil. The trial was conducted at the Embrapa Meio-Norte Experimental Area, in Parnaiba, in a sandy soil, during the period from August to October, 1998. Irrigation depths were applied through a sprinkler line source system. The treatments were constituted by combination of four depths of irrigation (449.1; 428.6; 317.1 and 194.4 mm) and two cowpea cultivars (BR 17 Gurgueia and BR 14 Mulato) arranged in a completely randomized block design in split-plot and five replications. Significant effects (p<0.05) of depth of irrigation and cultivar interaction with respect to number of pods per plant (NPP) and grain yield (GY) were observed. The highest NPP (25.6) and maximum GY (2,809 kg ha-1) for the BR 17 Gurgueia cultivar was obtained with the irrigation depth of 449.1 mm. The maximum NPP (15.0) and GY (2,103.4 kg ha-1) for the BR 14 Mulato cultivar were obtained with the irrigation depth of 363.5 and 389.9 mm, respectively.


sc ) via hydrogen bond transfer between each of the guanidine groups and amino acids on one or several peptides and so increases the apparent molecular weight of the protein. With increased quantities and incubation with the PrP sc for one hour at 37°C; these molecules form multimolecular protein aggregates and allowed its recovery via a low centrifugation step. Also other consequences of these interactions are either a drop or even a complete reduction of the prion PrP sc infectivity. These molecules though their interaction with microbes provoked an anti-bacterial activity. The guanidine-containing compounds constitute a very important class of therapeutic agents suitable for the treatment of a wide spectrum of diseases as well as disinfecting agents. Several molecules possesses two guanidine groups as streptomycin, dihydrostreptomycin, triethylenetetramine, bis-3-aminoproylamine, guanidine hydrochloride, and spermine tetra-hydrochloride. The presence of these 2 functional guanidine groups within a non-polymeric hydrophilic molecular system was suspected to be the chemical structure of streptomycin implicated in the interaction with proteins [1]. This interaction takes place through hydrogen bond transfer among the 2 guanidine groups on streptomycin and the amino-acids of one or several prion peptides. The addition of low concentration of streptomycin to a constant amount of non-soluble fraction of the infectious prion protein (PrP sc ) followed by electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel and immuno detection revealed an increase in the apparent molecular mass of each of the three bands and this increase of the protein molecular mass was proportional to the added streptomycin quantity. When higher streptomycin concentration were added and incubated with PrP sc for one hour at 37°C aggregation and flocculation of the prion protein occurred due to cross-linking by such a proportionally small streptomycin molecule and the PrP sc


Pet nutrition has undergone many improvements over recent decades and the benefits of this are plain to see. Today's pets live longer and enjoy better health. However, at the same time, some conditions such as obesity and associated diseases have increased in prevalence, with energy-dense, good-tasting foods and a more sedentary lifestyle implicated as risk factors. There are now diets emerging to take account of these and other lifestyle factors, and decisions on what and how to feed a pet should take into account both the animal's lifestage and lifestyle.


The Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) converts a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide (syngas) selectively into hydrocarbons with a large chain length distribution. Syngas can be produce from different resources such as natural gas, coal and biomass. In the light of energy resource diversification, FTS can make a contribution to the production of liquid fuels. However, methane formation as byproduct has a large impact on the process economic feasibility. This study aims at the understanding of the methane formation over syngas conversion catalysts, such as nickel and cobalt. To this purpose, Steady-State Isotopic Transient Kinetic Analysis (SSITKA) and step-transient experiments over different nickel and cobalt samples have been carried out and the data have been used to develop a microkinetic model describing methane formation. By using these methodologies, it was found that the CO conversion to methane proceeds through two different surface intermediate species. The microkinetic model is developed on the hypothesis of two reacting paths leading to methane: the unassisted CO dissociation and the H-assisted CO decomposition. It is proposed that these two reacting intermediates are related to the structure of the catalyst particle, specifically to the distribution of the catalyst surface sites on terraces and steps


Ocean wave swell generated in the vicinity of Campbell Island in the Southern Ocean is tracked along Great Circle paths across the Pacific Ocean. Data from a wave buoy at Campbell Island provides data on the directional spectrum in the generation region. The swell is measured at locations along a series of 19 Great Circle paths across the Pacific using Sentinel-1 SAR and CFOSAT satellite data. The WAVEWATCH III spectral wave model is used as a diagnostic tool to investigate the physical processes active in the swell propagation and decay. The results indicate that present day spectral wave models over-estimate the decay rate of swell. Although these models contain source terms to represent swell decay and negative wind input, these terms still largely remain tuning parameters. The data indicates that further research is required to adequately represent the observed magnitudes of the swell decay. In addition, the data show that currents have only a small impact on the observed swell decay and that islands can have a major impact. Such island impacts are poorly represented by spectral wave models.


Empirical evidence clearly shows that comorbidity between disorders is the rule in mental disorders, rather than the exception. The regularity and frequency of certain patterns of comorbidity suggests that comorbidity arises for substantive reasons, such as shared etiology between disorders. Two latent liability factors have been proposed to account for patterns of comorbidity between common mental disorders: internalizing and externalizing. Internalizing psychopathology encompasses phenomena such as depression, anxiety, and phobias, while externalizing psychopathology encompasses phenomena such as substance use problems and impulsive, antisocial behavior.

Keywords:

externalizing;
internalizing;
psychopathology;
statistical methods in psychology;
assessment


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The aim of our study was to compare short‐ and long‐term outcomes of stent insertion followed by surgery with those of emergency surgery for left colon malignant obstructions.


Peoples Gas System, Inc. (PGS) is the largest natural gas distributor in Florida with 12 divisions that service most of the state`s major metropolitan areas. The company is a consolidation of various gas utilities with maps and records dating back to the early 1900s. As a result, these records are in various paper formats, map scales and condition. Distribution maps are drawn on large format medium: linen cloth, mylar or vellum. These maps are routinely copied and reduced to a size that is suitable for field use. Service records have been recorded on numerous types of paper that are stored in different file cabinets according to the card size. As these records are researched on a daily basis, the condition of the permanent records steadily deteriorate and are commonly misfiled. A major concern is the loss of records due to a natural disaster. Hurricanes, which are a constant threat in Florida, could physically affect many of PGS`s division offices. The distribution maps have been archived on microfilm on a continuing basis, but other irreplaceable records have not. Disaster recovery of the maps from the archives would be very time consuming and expensive.


In a highly developed corridor along Ponce de Leon Avenue in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) have a combined storm water and sanitary sewer collection system that conveys flows into their Puerto Nuevo Wastewater Treatment Plant. To reduce flows and treatment costs, a plan was developed and implemented to separate the storm water and sanitary sewer flows that will minimize disruption to the businesses along the corridor. The existing combined flow channel is approximately 10,700 feet long, located in the center of Ponce de Leon Avenue, which runs through a mainly business and commercial area within a heavily congested arterial. There are three one-way traffic lanes and a dedicated one-way bus lane. Many of these banks, governmental and private office buildings, will experience disruption during construction activities, so the new sanitary sewer lines had to be carefully planned to minimize impacts to traffic and to the local businesses. To minimize disruption where possible, the design team elected to construct two sanitary sewer collector pipelines, one on each side of the road so that service laterals would not need to extend across multiple traffic lanes. The following steps were followed to complete the planning, design and construction phasing of the project: (1.) Topographic mapping and surveying. (2.) Subsurface Utility Engineering. (3.) CCTV of the existing combined system channel to locate the existing sewer and storm water laterals. (4.) Alignment study for the new collector sewers. (5.) Identification of sections of sections of the collector lines to be constructed by other than open cut methods. (6.) Preliminary Engineering Report summarizing project design, construction sequencing, schedules and cost estimates. (7.) Geotechnical Report (8.) Final design (9.) Bidding (10.) Construction The paper will discuss all aspects about the project and describe the challenges and insights gained.


ABSTRACT Based on the input-output model, this article constructs a database of inter-provincial trade flows covering 26 industries and 28 provinces of China from 1992 to 2017. By heuristic search algorithm and iterative regression method, this article identifies the location of unobserved 'borders' in China's internal trade. Existing in the Northeast, Northwest, and Southwest of China, the 'borders' reduce inter-regional trade by 36.11–39.10%, 47.85–52.43%, and 40.07–47.06% from 1992 to 2017, respectively. The results are robust against employing alternative methodology, industry-level trade flows as well as alternative measurement of transportation costs. Social networks, difference in industrial structure and their geographic structures might adjust slowly with the development of the economic and even affect the 'border' effects. The 'border' effects are neither administrative barriers nor statistical artefacts, but arise more from spatial heterogeneity related to fundamentals.


Abstract The detected variety in chemistry and circumstellar shell morphology of the limited sample of Galactic post-AGB stars is so large, that there is no consensus yet on how individual objects are linked by evolutionary channels. The evaluation is complicated by the fact that the distances and hence luminosities of these objects are poorly known. In this contribution we report on our project to overcome this problem by focusing on a significant sample of post-AGB stars with known distances: those in the LMC. Via cross-correlation of the infrared SAGE-SPITZER catalogue with optical catalogues we selected a sample of 322 LMC post-AGB candidates based on their position in the various colour-colour diagrams. We determined the fundamental properties of 82 of them, using low resolution optical spectra that we obtained at Siding Spring and SAAO. We selected a subsample to be studied at high spectral resolution in order to obtain accurate abundances of a wide range of species. This will allow us to connect the theoretical predictions with the obtained surface chemistry at a given luminosity and metallicity. By this, we want to constrain important structure parameters of the evolutionary models. Preliminary results of the selection process are presented.


Acknowledgments Introduction 1 Self and Similitude: Renaissance Representations of the New World 2 "Constructing" Individuals and "Creating" History: Subjectivity in Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau 3 Traditions of History: Mapping India's Past 4 Of Monsters and Man: The Peculiar History of Race Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index


Gentrification is believed to be an urban phenomenon that has a negative impact on neighborhood society. Therefore, the neighborhood community becomes an important study object in order to understand the process of gentrification itself. This study observes the community in Medokan Semampir community group, Surabaya, that raised a case study in which they made collective action to face gentrification. Collective action can be viewed as a solution in order to facilitate the common interests of a gentrified community. The aim of this paper is to explain the collective action process in the context of social capital, and how communities can keep the capital as collective assets to prevent gentrification processes anguish its members.


I do not agree with the Nursing and Midwifery Council's decision to caution Norma Ndebele for her role in exposing poor patient care (news September 10).


Based on conventional active queue management (AQM), random early detection (RED) and modified random early detection (MRED) algorithms, progressive random early detection (PRED) algorithm improved by the progressive adjustment method is proposed. It regulates the packet dropping probability progressively by comparing the instantaneous queue size with the progressive maximum queue threshold parameters. Experimental results show PRED's flexibility makes itself achieve higher transmission throughput and lower end-to-end average delay for various network topologies.


Aim at some problems and difficulties in the process dam engineering design and construction of motan hydropower station,using the successful experiences of built projects such as the Xiamaling Hydropower Station for reference,some suitable design scheme was proposed.Thereby some techinical problem and sheme selection suggestions have been summed up for gravity dam construction on soft foundations.


Based on the analysis of the mast mechanism of lunar rovers developed in other countries,a 3-DOF mast mechanism is designed.A dynamical model for the mast mechanism is built.Kinematics and dynamics of the mast mechanism are analyzed,and their equations are built.The joint torque curves are obtained by solving those equations.


It is not often that an academic text takes you on a journey. fahima ife's book of essays and poetry, Maroon Choreography, invites us to theorize not by defining and analyzing but rather by inhabiting an undocumented past of escape from slavery that links to present-day escapes from slavery's afterlife. In this process of imagining, the text engages with an important conversation within Black studies, critical theory, and performance studies. Maroon Choreography "attempts to move outside the blackness-asenslavement narrative, to move inside a collective Black interior by way of breathing" (p. xii). The author's poetic description of their own present-day flight into the bayou leads us into a kind of subjunctive past world—a world that might have been, a world of seven Black Indigenous escapees who (might have) refused the choreographies pressed on them by the increasingly mechanized plantation economies of the 17th century North American colonies. Many elements of the text bring us back to this theme of escape—imagined flight that we nonetheless know must have happened, whether in big or small events, because Black and Indigenous people have survived the long and ongoing terror of enslavement and genocide that is baked into the very structure of the modern world. In a sense, that flight, that moving "outside the blackness-as-enslavement narrative" and "inside a collective Black interior," while never strictly defined, looks like many things in this text. In the chapter "recrudescence," for example, it looks like the author having "a single encounter—a conversation and an erotic mo(ve)ment i shared with a friend" (p. 83) in which they "slipped inside the wild open secret of the marsh" (p. 86) and "... blackness/glistens and slips inside/night's moist opening/listens to night/call light to life memory" (p. 5). Elsewhere, ife names some of the means of flight found repeatedly in Black life across multiple times and spaces within modernity: "the backwoods fugue, the juke joint, the hush


Summary This research examines the shift from pay secrecy to transparency and seeks to improve the understanding of previously unrecognized negative consequences on job satisfaction. Drawing on undermet expectations research, we propose that shifting toward pay transparency decreases job satisfaction among employees who encounter negative discrepancies between expected and revealed pay standing (undermet pay standing expectations). Using data from field and experimental studies, we tested our hypotheses that episodic envy mediates the effect of undermet pay standing expectations on job satisfaction and that this indirect effect is moderated by victim sensitivity. Study 1 results suggest that undermet pay standing expectations lead to the predicted decrease in job satisfaction through episodic envy. In Study 2, we surveyed employees of a technology company before and after their shift to pay transparency and found partial support for our hypotheses, suggesting that episodic envy mediates the negative effects of undermet pay standing expectations on job satisfaction only for those low in victim sensitivity. Study 3 supported our overall model by illustrating that low victim sensitivity strengthened the negative indirect effects of undermet pay standing expectations on job satisfaction via episodic envy in an experimental study. We then discuss the implications for theory and practice.


We describe microfluidic channel assisted carbon nanotube (CNT) alignment followed by microfabrication and characterization of a suspended CNT thin film. The alignment of CNT is enhanced by heating the CNT dispersion, which is characterized with Raman spectroscopy yielding a high G- to D-band intensity ratio of 22 along the microfluidic flow direction. The sidewall of CNT film pattern, left in a lift-off process, is eliminated by oxygen plasma etching. The resistivity of aligned CNT film is found as 1.45 × 10−3 Ωcm. The aligned CNT film is released by etching a sacrificial layer of amorphous silicon and characterized mechanically demonstrating a nominal high Young's modulus of 635 GPa and a yield strength of 2.4 GPa through a fixed-end beam deflection test. The lithography compatible fabrication process and the highly conductive film with an excellent mechanical property enable the aligned CNT film to be a potent candidate for nanoelectromechanical device applications.


In clause authors offer technical procedures of formation of algorithm of management by tests and consider work of algorithm on an example of the lift. It is considered as preparation of data for a cycle of tests by is repeated-static loadings; a cycle of tests муфты restrictions of the moment; algorithm of work of the stand at tests of the lift for functioning; algorithm of performance of a cycle of tests by is repeated-statistical loadings and algorithm of realization of operators of the source language where each procedure corresponds to the certain mode of tests.


It is pointed out that too great s hear stress created by heavy vehicles on high-grade highway surfaces causes unt imely fatigue fractures and treadway damage.The authors explore the shear stress es at different depths of the surface layers.They suggest that,to increase the b earing capacity and avoid untimely damage,measures in surface materials and surf ace structure should be adopted in pavement design.


In this paper, a dynamic model of a robotic dolphin using Kane method is presented, and a speed optimization method based on this model is proposed to improve the proplusive speed by fitting the dolphin′s wave. Firstly, the joint angle of each link and centroid′s coordinate of robotic dolphin′s head are selected as the generalized coordinates. Then, after analyzing the kinematic of robotic dolphin with three propulsive joints, the generalized inertia forces are given. In the meantime, the generalized active forces are obtained by analyzing the forces of each link. And thus the robotic dolphin′s dynamic equations are determined. In addition, the fluke is modeled as a finite span hydrofoil or flat plate according to different ranges of its attack angle based on lifting-line theory and resistance model, respectively. Furthermore, combing the propulsion by fitting dolphin′s wave, a speed optimization approach by adjusting the amplitude and phase of fluke′s joint angle′s profile is proposed. Finally, simulation results show that the dynamic model and optimization method are effective.


A gray level image segmentation algorithm is proposed based on Average Intensity Project (AIP) and shift Gaussian model for gray level images with connection between thread and area with similar gray level. The evaluation is performed on 30 gray level images, and the results show area overlap measure of 91% between the extracted characteristic parameter and the manual segmentation. Introduction Gray level image segmentation algorithm is one of main support to judge the edge parameter which be used to recognize the great value target. Due to some target is very similar in pixel gray with its surrounding environment; therefore, it is an emphases and a difficulty that research to how to divide exactly vascular adhesion area. Now, mainly methods to divide similar gray level image are these: utilizing morphological method to divide vascular adhesion in literature [1], but the parameter of canker bulgy is to be control difficulty, so make for lack or exorbitance, and probably eliminate its edge burrs. In literature [2], to use with these step that threshold segmentation, model setting, and nodule segmentation, due to modeling pertinence is weak relatively, so its effect is not good. In literature [3], an amelioration method on C equal-value clustering is used to divide gray lever image, the characteristic parameter can be picked up, but this method can be used to divide 2 or more. In literature [4], it rebuilt three-dimensional image in utilizing planar CT image, it can be revert characteristic parameter of the area, but its computation is very most, and can not solve effectively the problem in great area, or its borderline is not clear. The reason which not to pick up characteristic parameter exactly is, that the information of gray lever images is not use sufficiently, other said that module building is not based on point of pixel gray and geometry characteristic, so some information on originality image is lost.


1. Organizing lifestyle change in a community, S Dagogo-Jack 2. Dietary controversies and the metabolic syndrome: low carb, low fat, low calorie or low fructose? N Davis, N Tomuta, J Wiley-Rosett 3. An exercise prescription for the metabolic syndrome, R Bentley-Lewis, M Pendergrass 4. Impact of hypoglycemic agents on the metabolic syndrome, TK Thethi, S Singh, V Fonseca 5. Weight loss agents and the metabolic syndrome, W Cefalu 6. Blockade of the renin - angiotensin system on the metabolic syndrome: implications for diabetes prevention, P Deedwania 7. What is the appropriate lipid lowering therapy for the metabolic syndrome? O Ganda 8. Anti-inflammatory effects of insulin: implications for the metabolic syndrome? P Dandona, A Chaudhuri, P Mohanty, H Ghanim 9. Anti-inflammatory drugs: suppressing the inflammatory state in obesity, V Fonseca, I Jialal 10. GLP-1 agonists and DDP-IV inhibitors and the metabolic syndrome, AH Stonehouse, JH Holcombe, DM Kendall Abbreviations General index.


An aptamer that binds to NGF, which satisfies the following (1) and (2): (1) comprising any one of the nucleotide sequences (a), (b) and (c) below: (a) a nucleotide sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 1-54 (wherein uracil may be thymine I); (B) a nucleotide sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 1-54 (wherein uracil may be thymine I), in which 1 to 4 nucleotides are substituted, deleted, inserted or added; and (c) a nucleotide sequence having an identity of 90% or higher with a nucleotide sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 1-54 (wherein uracil may be thymine), and (2) having a base length which it is not more than 73.


Last Wednesday, Vienna hosted a meeting of Balkan countries involving Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, FYROM, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia in divisive move that deliberately excluded the Greek government from decisions concerning the tackling of the mounting refugee crisis in Europe's borders. On Monday, FYROM had already previously decided to deny entry to Afghan migrants and restricted access to Syrians and Iraqis.