A fundamental question reported in hundreds of court decisions and evaluated every day by claims adjusters is whether a constituent that caused injury and damage is a "pollutant." If yes, the claim will most often not be covered under general liability, professional, property, umbrella, or other policies because of the applicability of a pollution exclusion. Based upon our review of 200 cases, we determined that in 140, or 70 percent of the time, the constituent was considered a "pollutant" and the insurance claim was denied. In order to have insurance for "irritants" or "pollutants," an insured must obtain specific pollution coverage.


A possible explanation of the characteristic systematic behaviour of the first excited 0'' states in even-even nuclei with N or Z=40 is given by taking account of an important effect of the mutual interplay between the pairing and quadrupole correlations. After making it clear what physical situation in shell structure is essential for the appearance of the anoma lous low-lying excited 0'' states, we predict another possible mass-number region where the anomalous 0'' states may be also realized.


Involuntary autobiographical memories are memories of personal experiences that come to mind spontaneously—that is, with no preceding attempt at retrieval. They were one of Ebbinghaus's (1885/1964) three basic kinds of memory but have been ignored by modern cognitive psychology. Recent work suggests that involuntary memories are a basic mode of remembering that operates on the same episodic memory system as voluntary (strategic) remembering and thus follows the same rules of encoding and maintenance. Due to their associative and unplanned retrieval, involuntary memories differ from voluntary memories by being more specific, by being less relevant to one's life story and identity, and by involving more emotional reaction at the time of recall. Research on involuntary autobiographical memories has important implications for the understanding of intrusive memories in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).


This paper is based on research that evaluated strategies used by elementary school students (K-5) for solutions to "diagnosis-solution" problems and "design" problems, mainly categorized as ill-structured problems. The differences in the applications of these strategies by students in different grades were analyzed. The research was based


A variety of studies have demonstrated that large (gradual) solar energetic particle (SEP) events are produced by shocks driven by fast coronal mass ejections (CMEs). As the CME-driven shocks propagate through the corona and interplanetary space, they accelerate energetic particles from ambient plasma. A key piece of evidence supporting the CME-driven shock acceleration scenario is the SEP Fe mean charge state measurements from ~1 MeV nucleon-1 to 200-600 MeV nucleon-1, which are consistent with each other and imply acceleration in either the high corona or interplanetary space. However, the SEP Fe mean ionic charge state measurements are generally inconsistent with typical quasi-stationary interstream or coronal hole solar wind Fe charge state measurements, despite the fact that gradual SEP time profiles indicate that shock acceleration subsequent to departure from the corona dominates the SEP observations. These Fe results indicate that neither overtaken solar wind nor charge state biasing of the solar wind as it is swept up and accelerated by the shock are the dominant component accelerated by the CME-driven shock. We suggest that the dominant component for both the plasma and SEP populations appears to be expelled "coronal" plasma stored in the so-called sheath region (between the CME and the shock front), and that swept-up solar wind generally makes only a minor contribution to the SEPs. The only concurrent observation of SEP and solar wind charge states made to date (by instruments on board ISEE 3 in 1978 September) supports this view. We suggest that coordinated SEP and solar wind charge state observations should be given high priority by state-of-the-art instruments currently deployed on board the Solar Anomalous Magnetospheric Particle Explorer, Wind, and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory.


The compressional wave velocity (Vp) and the strain were measured as a function of confining pressure (Pc) for two kinds of low porosity rock, fine and coarse grained rocks. The samples used are composed of the carbonate minerals. The measurements showed that the VP increase by confining pressure is due to the closing of preexisting cracks in a rock. Based on the relation between the measured Vp and confining pressure, distributions of shapes of pre-existing cracks in rocks were calculated inversely and were exhibited by the crack porosity for a given aspect ratio. For both rocks, the porosity distribution has a maximum in the range of aspect ratio 10-'-103 • The porosities of cracks with aspect ratio larger than about 4 x 10-', and the total crack porosity for the fine grained rock are greater than those for the coarse grained rock. For both rocks, the different distributions of shapes of pre-existing cracks satisfactorily explain the differences in the VpPc relation and in the strain-Pc relation. The change of Vp and its anisotropy (VA) due to confining pressure and differential stress was experimentally investigated for both rock samples. For the investigation of the VA, the compressional wave velocities were measured for three directions in the samples as a function of differential stress under five different confining pressures each of which was, however, kept at constant during a measurement. These measurements could display clear evidence of the V A for both rocks at every confining pressure. In the range of confining pressure measured, the V A was observed to consist of two phases. These phases seem to be closely related to the generation mechanism of the VA. The first phase is due to compaction by the closing of pre-existing cracks in rocks and the second phase is due to dilatancy which could generate new cracks in rocks one after another. The characteristics of the measured V A can be summarized as: (1) The Va (the extent of V A) of the first phase increases rapidly with increasing differential stress and reaches its maximum (VamaX ) at a differential stress. The maximum value of VA, Vamax , decreases exponentially as confining pressure increases. (2) The Va of the second phase increases exponentially with increasing differential stress. In addition, the Va also increases rapidly with increasing volumetric strain in the first stage of dilatancy, and in the second stage of dilatancy, the increasing rate of the Va becomes lower than before. During these measurements, a differential stress at which dilatancy begins (called onstet stress) was determined from a curve which smoothes the measured Va against differential stress. The onset stress thus determined agrees well with that determined


Gene Regulatory Network (GRN) plays an important role to understand the interactions and dependencies of genes in different conditions from gene expression data. An information theoretic GRN method first computes dependency matrix from the given gene expression dataset using an entropy estimator and then infer network using individual inference method. A number of prominent methods use Mutual Information (MI) and its variants for dependency measure because MI is an efficient approach to detect nonlinear dependencies. But MI does not work well for continuous multivariate variables. In this paper, we have investigated the recently proposed association detector method Maximal Information Coefficient (MIC), instead of MI, in inferring GRN. It is reported that MIC can detect effectively most forms of statistical dependence between pairs of variables. We have integrated MIC with two prominent MI based GRN inference methods Minimal Redundancy Network and Context Likelihood of Relatedness. The experimental studies on DREAM3 Yeast data, SynTReN generated synthetic data and SOS E. Coli real gene expression data revealed that inferred network with MIC based proposed methods outperformed their counter MI based standard methods in most of the cases, especially for large sized problem.


In carrying out this work we aim to highlight the particular theoretical and practical aspects of quality management processes in research of my doctoral thesis: The role of leadership in organizational performance. In this regard we had the impact on quality management organization, trying to highlight the role it can play human resources management in general and particularly the leadership in implementing quality management in the organization. To highlight as clearly how quality assurance leadership influence in an organization have treated issues such as management responsibility for achieving quality human resources for quality management and quality prizes. All this theoretical approach was punctuated by examples in the form of case studies presented in the Annexes. Paper: http://ccefa.spiruharet.ro/materiale/dder.pdf


Objective :To study the significance of metallothionein(MT)over-expressionin breast cancer and the relationship between chemotherapy scheme and the expression of MT.Methods :Sp immunohistochemical method was used to examine the expression rate of MTin 88 cases with breast cancer.Results :The total positive rate of MT was 67.05 %(59/88) in breast cancer.The positive rates of MT were 41.67 %,85.71 % and 62.50 %in marrow cancer,lobular cancer and ductal cancer respectively.The positive rate of MTin lobular cancer was significantly higher thanthat in medullary and ductal cancers(P0.05).The positive rate of MT in infiltrating type cancer was higher than that with no-infiltrating.The positive rates for lymph node metastasis group were higher thanthat of non-lymph node metastasis group(P0.05).Conclusion :The expression of MT is related to pathology type and Lymph metastasis and it is a guidance for clinical choice for chemotherapy scheme.


This paper proposes a current harmonics control method for the input current of an electrolytic capacitor-less inverter for an interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM). In general, an IPMSM has large spatial harmonics caused by the rotor structure. The back electromotive force (EMF) of an IPMSM contains harmonics and generates three-phase current harmonics. The three-phase current harmonics result in the input current harmonics of an electrolytic capacitor-less inverter because the power converter system has little energy storage on the DC-link. This paper analyzes an input current harmonics generation mechanism based on averaged DC-link current. The proposed control method that controls the input current harmonics is based on the analysis mechanism. The validity of the proposed method is confirmed through simulation and experimental results.


This article,with Zhejiang Xinhua Hospital as an example,analyses the activities and effectiveness of using LAN for ideological and political work and reflects on measures for improvement.We believe that we should further tap the potential of the LAN in the ideological and political work in the hospital and using LAN should be combined with other approaches to ideological and political work for a better job in this area.


This invention relates to molecular precursors and processes for preparing coated substrates and films of copper indium gallium sulfide/selenides (CIGS/Se). Such films are useful in the preparation of photovoltaic devices. This invention also relates to processes for preparing coated substrates and for making photovoltaic devices.


ABSTRACT Filipp Iankovskii's 2005 film adaptation of Boris Akunin's best-selling detective novel Statskii sovetnik/The State Counsellor (1999) supports a major tenet of current adaptation studies, which holds that the process of transferring a novel to the screen frequently, perhaps inevitably, entails a shift in emphasis and a reconfiguration of elements. I argue that many of Iankovskii's cinematic choices spring from his embrace of values at significant odds with Akunin's as articulated in the novel. An analysis of the plot changes, shifts in the novel's ideological focus, revised treatment of characters, as well as the actors' performances, reveals the debt of Iankovskii's adaptation to the political ideologies of the film's producer, Nikita Mikhalkov, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ultimately, the film sanctions policies that envision an authoritarian state with the power to maintain internal order, silence its enemies and ruthlessly protect Russian interests — ideological beliefs hardly shared by Akunin.


framework to break out of their peripheral isolation. Dagmara Jagesniak-Quast calls attention to the fact that within the Comecon there was a serious attempt to integrate the coal and steel industry, but this, too, was doomed to failure because of disastrous planning strategies and technological backwardness. This backwardness was also the reason why, as Nigel Swain reveals in his chapter, the Hungarian computer industry was unviable even though it managed to carve out a leading position within the Comecon. As Wolfgang Aschauer explains, Hungary's western region experienced an economic upswing during the post-1989 years because of the primacy of information technology. Richard Pomfret's chapter, describing national borders and the disintegration of markets in Central Asia after 1991, seems somewhat out of place—Russia and the Soviet Union are not part of east central Europe per se. Nevertheless, this chapter is extremely useful for comparative purposes. All in all, this collection provides a solid overview of several substantive issues surrounding economic history. It will be particularly useful for scholars and graduate students who work on east central European history and society. I only wish that a volume as serious as this one would include readable maps. Most of the maps are simply impossible to decipher and thus useless.


The Provision of Green Open Spaces (GOS) as a playground for children as well as introducing environmental awareness is a concern in various regions. GOS is a facility from the local government to fulfil children's rights in terms of growing and developing in a healthy and safe environment, especially for Brebes, which has declared themselves to be a Child-Friendly Region. Nevertheless, currently, Brebes only has 12 GOSs, which is around 15 per cent of its total area. It hampered by the contradictions between the standard requirements for GOS development and the alteration of land functions due to urbanisation in addition to the lack of community involvement in spatial planning between 2012 and 2017. The purpose of this study is to examine the optimisation of GOS in Brebes Regency from the perspective of environmental communication towards the positioning of Brebes as a child-friendly city; this research is a qualitative descriptive study using ethnographic methods and an environmental communication approach. The qualitative data obtained through in-depth interviews, observations and the documentation of eight informants. The findings show that GOS Brebes currently functions as a media for child development. There are some obstacles in terms of optimising the spaces in Brebes because there are some behaviours that are not child-friendly and/or environmentally friendly. Furthermore, the GOS conditions in Brebes generally fulfil the principles of Child-Friendly Spaces (CFS) as the indicators of the optimal performance of GOS. In addition, communication, resources, disposition and bureaucratic structure are important factors in terms of optimising child-friendly GOS in Brebes. Finally, cooperation between the government and the community members to create an ideal child-friendly GOS should be supported by clear regulations and policies, as well as communicated through the media appropriately and sustainably.


Abstract Contibutions of divergent and rotational wind components to the synoptic-scale kinetic energy balance are described using rawinsonde data at 3 and 6 h intervals from NASA's fourth Atmospheric Variability Experiment (AVE 4). Two intense thunderstorm complexes occurred during the period. Energy budgets am described for the entire computational region and for limited volumes that enclosed storm-induced, upper-level wind maxima touted poleward of the convection. Although small in magnitude, the divergent wind component played an important role in the cross-contour generation and horizontal flux divergence of kinetic energy. The importance of VD appears directly related to the presence and intensity of convection. Although KD usually comprised lm than 10% of the total kinetic energy content generation of kinetic energy by VD was a major factor in the creation of upper-level wind maxima to the north of the storm complexes. Omission of the divergent wind apparently would lead to serious misrepresentatio...


Integrated supply (I/S) by third-party logistics is an effective way to reduce supply-chain cost. The key problem of I/S is to allocate the joint inventory cost among the suppliers. In this paper, a cost-allocating method is put forward based on cooperative game theory and data envelopment analysis to work out a rational allocation ratio for each supplier. The input-output contributions for each participator are taken into account to ensure more equitable and rational results. Finally, an example is used to testify that this method is exercisable and reasonable.


Recent advances in the World Wide Web and semantic networks have amplified
social networking platforms, where the users share their photos, hobbies, location, interests,
and experiences such as movie or restaurants. Social media platforms such as Facebook, twitter and
LinkedIn are used to recommend the users the things of their interests such as movie, food, locations
and friends.

A novel method for the recommendation of movies to a friend using whale optimization
has been introduced. Ratings given by friends of various movies are employed to recommend movies.

Different evolutionary-based optimization methods have been applied for movie recommendation.
The proposed method has been tested on movie-lense dataset and results are compared
with 5 other methods namely, K-means, PCA K- means, SOM, PCA-SOM, PSO and ABC in terms
of mean absolute error, precision and recall.

The experimental results demonstrate that proposed method outperformed all considered
methods for 88.5% clusters centers in terms of precision, recall and mean absolute error.

A novel recommendation system based on users rating has been designed to recommend
movies to friends. It leverages the strengths of whale optimization to find the optimal solution.


The combination of Casting and Powder Metallurgy can promote refined and more uniform microstructures which can result in improved properties and higher isotropy of material. The potential of such blending can be studied by using three important processes viz. Osprey Process, Ceracon Process and Slip Casting Process. These processes can be compared on the basis of microstructure, Austenitizing temperature, and Hardness with Scanning electron microscopy and can be related with conventional processes of manufacturing. © 2016 Elixir All rights reserved. Elixir Mech. Engg. 91 (2016) 37820-37822 Mechanical Engineering Available online at www.elixirpublishers.com (Elixir International Journal) Nitin G. Shinde et al./ Elixir Mech. Engg. 91 (2016) 37820-37822 37821


Historically, societies living under repressive regimes have always come up with alternative forms of communication as tools of subversion. While underground newspapers and 'pirate radio' have been some of the most common forms, the advent of new communication technologies in recent years has brought new forms of alternative media with greater possibilities for transnational and even wider citizen participation and empowerment. This study starts from the premise that Zimbabwe's restricted democratic space has spawned a multiplicity of alternative public spheres that enable groups and individuals to continue to participate and engage in the wider debate on the mutating crisis gripping the country since the turn of the century. The paper looks at how Zimbabweans in the diaspora are creatively exploiting new media to resist state propaganda churned out through the mainstream media. The study analyses foreign-based news websites on Zimbabwe and seeks to ascertain the nature and extent of their contribution to the ongoing discourse on the Zimbabwe crisis. It looks at the organisational and production aspects of these alternative media, and how these affect their performance as alternative channels of discourse.


A derivative and integral sliding mode adaptive control scheme is proposed for a class of nonlinear system with uncertain parameters. The control approach introduces integral control to avoid the assumption that the derivative of desired signal must be known in conventional sliding mode variable structure control, and uses adaptation algorithm based on Lypunov method to make the system insensitive to parameter uncertainties. A nonlinear derivative control is introduced to avoid system chattering caused by parameters tuning . The switching function of integral sliding mode control is defined , and the nonlinear expression of derivative coefficient is presented. The proposed method is applied to position tracking control of an electro-hydraulic servo system. Simulation results indicate that the control approach is robust and improves tracking accuracy considerably.


Bipolar disorder, sometimes referred to as manic depressive disorder is characterized by dramatic shifts in mood, energy, and activity levels that affects a person's ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. More than two-thirds of people with bipolar disorder have at least one close relative with the illness or with unipolar major depression, indicating that the disease has a heritable component (1). There have been numerous studies that have revealed the presence of cerebral atrophy especially in the prefrontal cortex in elderly patients with bipolar affective disorder, associated with loss of grey matter(2), but we will present the case of a 28 year-old male, known with bipolar disease, admitted for a mixed episode, with the predominance of depressive episodes, exacerbated in a work-related stress, on which we discovered a cerebral atrophy on CT examination. By introducing the neuroleptics and mood stabilizer, we were able to notice improvement on symptoms, as well as a regain on his social and professional functioning.


In this experimental study, the effects of using waste marble dust (WMD) as a fine material on the mechanical properties of the concrete have been investigated. For this purpose four different series of concrete-mixtures were prepared by replacing the fine sand (passing 0.25 mm sieve) with WMD at proportions of 0, 25, 50 and 100% by weight. In order to determine the effect of the WMD on the compressive strength with respect to the curing age, compressive strengths of the samples were recorded at the curing ages of 3, 7, 28 and 90 days. In addition, the porosity values, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), dynamic modulus of elasticity (Edin) and the unit weights of the series were determined and all data were compared with each other. Finally, all of the data were compared with each other. It was observed that the addition of WMD such that would replace the fine material passing through a 0.25 mm sieve at particular proportions has displayed an enhancing effect on compressive strength. Marble dust is a by-product of marble production facilities and also creates large scale environmental pollution. Therefore, it could be possible to prevent the environmental pollution especially in the regions with excessive marble production and to consume fewer natural resources as well through its utilization in normal strength concretes as a substitute for the very fine aggregate.

 Key words: Waste marble dust, very fine sand, concrete, dynamic modulus of elasticity, compressive strength, sorptivity.


A 71-year-old woman presented with a 2-month history of progressive exophthalmos. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a tumor occupying the right frontal sinus that compressed the right orbit and eye ball. The tumor was resected through a right frontal craniotomy. The pathologic diagnosis was leiomyoma and similar to the histologic diagnosis of a uterine leiomyoma resected 4 years earlier. We suggest that this rare sinonasal leiomyoma was a benign metastasizing leiomyoma from the uterus to the nasal sinus.


In accordance with the disappointing transferability of the performance analyzing system for large scale thermal power plants,a new type of heat economic analyzing software system which has good universality for online power units is introduced in this paper.This system is designed by RealInfo software.The process is briefly described and the software structure is also presented.The running is well and the result is correct while the heat consumption calculation program is articulated to the configuration software.


Sewage discharges into the ocean are one of the main sources of pollutant load on the coasts, resulting in health risks and ecological deterioration. The Southern California Bight runs from Point Conception in California (USA) to Punta Colonet in Baja California (Mexico). The impact of U.S. sewage discharges on the bay is well-documented, much less exist about the Mexican discharges. Official wastewater quality results for 17 wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in Tijuana-Rosarito, Baja California from 2011 to 2020 are presented for the first time. The average wastewater flow during these years was 3,421 L s−1, covering the discharge of 2,049,413 people. Water quality was compared with the current Mexican Norm for the discharge of wastewater to the ocean. It was found that only 53% of the samples complied with all the normed parameters, while 88% complied specifically with trace metal concentrations. Among the parameters above the norm were fecal coliforms, total suspended solids, and chemical and biochemical oxygen demand (COD and BOD). The San Antonio de Los Buenos WWTP accounts for the discharge of 80% of the BOD for all Tijuana-Rosarito WWTPs, 76% of COD, 84% of total suspended solids (TSS), 54% of total nitrogen (TN), and 55% of total phosphorous (TP) to the ocean. These represent mean yearly discharges from 2011 to 2020 of 150 tons of TN, 27 tons of TP, 528 tons of TSS, 401 tons of BOD and 1,191 tons of COD. Immediate action is needed to stop these high loads into the Pacific coast.


We analyze results on ..pi..-..pi.. scattering using a framework based on nonlinear chiral Lagrangians both at the tree level and at one-loop order. Overall the data can be well understood up to energies of 0.7--0.8 GeV, as well as at threshold, and some of the Lagrangian parameters are well determined. As a side comment, we note that the Skyrmion solution is stable given this experimental fourth-order Lagrangian, but its mass is about 70% too high.


In arguing for social capital's relevance to business activities, I once set aside day trading – along with outright gambling – as an exception. Day trading's practitioners operate independently of...


Japan, with a history of rapid urbanization and pollution debacle, offers a remarkable series of experiences and lessons for combating urban environmental problems. In this paper, the institutional frameworks for urban environmental management are introduced, including administrative departments, environmental law legislation and urban planning. The urban environmental transitions in Japan are classified to four periods of time: public hazard control phase, energy saving and amenity-town phase, eco-city and cycling economy promotion phase and low carbon society development phase. The main environmental issues, responding policies and consequent improvements in each stage are analyzed. In today's developing countries, it is deemed that they probably need to spend much shorter period of time and deal with the increasing overlaps of sets of environmental burdens. Nevertheless, from the experiences of Japan, we believe that a strict law and regulatory system, strong emphasis on urban land use planning and environmental planning, and widespread engagement of citizens and enterprises are the keys to success. We wish to provide useful references for the developing cities especially those in Asia which share similar features and are now combating the same environmental challenges that Japan had once faced.


The novel pharmaceutical controlled release composition for oral use comprising midodrine and / or its active metabolite desglimidodrin. The novel compositions are designed to release midodrine and / or desglimidodrina after oral administration in a manner that ensures the implementation of absorption in the gastrointestinal tract, thus obtaining relatively fast peak concentration of the active metabolite desglimidodrina plasma, followed by a long and relatively constant concentration desglimidodrina plasma . Disclosed is also a method of treating orthostatic hypotension and / or urinary incontinence, which method comprises administering to a patient in need thereof an effective amount of midodrine and / or desglimidodrina in the composition in accordance with izobreteniem.Mezhdunarodnaya application has been published, together with the international search report.


Abstract The reversible thermal isomerization of calciferols (D) to precalciferols(P), leading to a temperature-dependent equilibrium in solutions, interferes with many chemical and biological analytical procedures for the evaluation of vitamin D products. Two quantities should be distinguished: the potential vitamin D content (precalciferol + calciferol) and the actual vitamin D content (calciferol only). of these two, only the potential vitamin D content is of importance to the buyer of vitamin D. Biological vitamin D assays give the potential vitamin D content, provided sample and reference standard dilutions are equilibrated by heating simultaneously to be sure that all have the same P–D ratio. This equilibration is superfluous in most of the chemical determinations of the potential vitamin D content. The actual vitamin D content can be determined by chemical, but not by biological, assay.


This paper deals with Weaponizing History in the Russo-Ukranian War in diachronic perspective focusing on the events of 2014 and 2022. It shall be demonstrated that in 2014 it was medieval narratives that were the main focus: For instance, in the presidential speech addressed to the Federal Assembly on December 4, 2014, the annexation of Crimea was legitimized by the disputed "Korsun Legend". This firmly established narrative has made it possible to proclaim Crimea to be the cradle of the Russian nation and a sacred place. In the recent war Putin invokes the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945) which has been developed into a central place of remembrance in his regime and according to which Ukraine is to be denazified and delegitimized as a product of Bolshevism. It is significant to note that these narratives synchronize and harmonize rather well with one another in the collective historical consciousness of Russians.


Summary Tests are described designed to determine values of E and σ for concretes of various mix proportions and water/cement ratios. The influence of age (maturity) and humidity of curing have als...


Question relevant of query recommendation,as a branch of query recommendation in search engines,is aimed at enhancing users' search experience by suggesting appropriate queries.It has become one of the main obstacles in query optimization.In this paper,the authors studied the language features of interrogative queries based on the search engine logs,and conducted research on the explicit and implicit ones.A " Theme-Focus-Questions( TFQ) " model was proposed to suggest interrogative queries by combining the features of their themes and focus.The authors did experiments on large scale query logs and the search engine feedback.The value of MAP was 0.713 and the Subtopic Precision( SP @ r) had reached 0.630.


Logistics in China is a newly emerged industry with its rapid growth.It is necessary to grasp the features of logistics industry to make scientific industrial policies.However,the current related researches are not quantitative and all-inclusive sufficiently.This paper considers that both growth and structure features should be taken into account and provides an empirical model framework.The production function model is funded to analyze the growth features,which reveal the decisive factors determining the development of logistics industry from the traditional one to the developed one.An input-output method is used to analyze the structural features that helps interpret the relationship of technology and economics between logistics and other industries and the status of the current logistics in the national industry structure.The empirical model framework can be used to quantitatively reveal the features through the comparisons of the contributions of basic and intermediate input to the total output of logistics industry.


This article presents an overview of the capital raising activities among property/real estate technology (i.e. Proptech) firms. This overview highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the Proptech sector in recent years. This article provides a detailed summary and description of how the capital raising activities distribute across different Proptech categories and geographic locations in different market conditions. The authors find that the capital-raising activities in Proptech have cooled down despite the rising real estate prices last year. The authors hope that this review can present a more comprehensive picture of the Proptech development and attract more researchers to investigate the costs and benefits of Proptech to the real estate markets. This research contributes to the understanding of Proptech sector more comprehensively by utilizing a unique hand-collected dataset. The results present a different perspective on the recent trends of Proptech firms as they feature both the promising trends and concerning issues within the field.


The automated image-based robust estimation of crack widths in concrete structures forms a significant component in the automation of structural health monitoring. The proposed method, called rectangle transform, uses the gray-scale profile extracted perpendicularly to the direction of crack propagation. Based on the concept of an idealized profile, it transforms the empirical profile into an equal-area rectangle from which the width is inferred. On the available dataset and compared to two other approaches, it shows at least par performance for widths larger two pixels and distinctly better performance on widths smaller equal two pixels. Moreover, it is more robust towards blurred input.


FDA has recently approved a new fixed-dose combination of amlodipine besylate (AMD) and celecoxib (COX) for the treatment of hypertension and osteoarthritis. No analytical method has been reported for analysis of these two analytes so far. Hence, to monitor the quality and quantity in the formulation of AMD and COX a simple, accurate, precise, economical, and eco-friendly spectroscopic analytical method has been established. The first method involves the determination of AMD and COX by the first derivative UV spectroscopic method with scaling factor 10. However, the second method was based on the direct measurement of UV absorbance of AMD at 364.3 nm and ratio first derivative UV spectroscopic method for COX. Both methods showed good linearity in the range of 5 to 40 μg/ml for COX, whereas AMD showed linearity in the range of 0.5 to 10 μg/ml in first derivative method with scaling factor 10 and 1 to 10 μg/ml in the second method with good correlation coefficient (R2 > 0.998). Both the methods were validated for LOD, LOQ, accuracy, precision, recovery studies, and stability as per the ICH guidelines, and the validated results were well within the acceptable range. Both the methods were successfully utilized for the determination of AMD and COX in the presence of each other in the formulation, and statistically compared between the proposed methods. Therefore, the proposed procedures can be utilized for regular quality control studies.


This paper reports the first demonstration of a mode localized resonant accelerometer (MLRXL) as a seismometer. The prototype sensor demonstrates a noise floor of 4.5μg/√Hz at a defined operating point corresponding to an amplitude ratio of 1.22. The device situated in Cambridge, UK recorded an earthquake of magnitude 3.8 with the epicenter at Grimsby, UK on the 9th of June, 2018. This measurement demonstrates the potential for mode localized MEMS accelerometers to be utilized for seismic applications with comparable performance to existing seismometers, with particular relevance to long-period measurements.


According to the law of value ,the thesis explains that the law of value is against the administrative force in the economical activity. It expounds the causes of formation and the expressions of the profession monopoly.It raises the main steps against the profession monopoly.


Microvalve structure comprising: a substrate (10); a flexible structure (20) disposed on the substrate; and a polymer actuator (40) which is inserted in the flexible structure (20), wherein the flexible structure comprises a portion (25) due to a bend-adjusting movement of the polymer actuator (40) from the substrate (10) can be spaced so as to be formed such as a valve, that only in the flexible structure (20) between the valve portion (25) and the substrate (10), a microchannel (35) is defined, and wherein the polymer actuator (40) of the microchannel (35) through the flexible structure (20) is separate and is formed such that it can change the width of the microchannel (35) by the bending-actuating movement.


Viruses like COVID-19 are very small They are nanometer in diameter To detect and prevent them, nanotechnology is a crucial tool This review paper reviews the recent progress of nanomedicine in fighting COVID-19 At the beginning, how nanoparticle works in our body is described here Recent observations of these medicines' performance are illustrated with some practical case studies Different types of vaccines based on nanoparticles and their potentiality of fighting COVID-19 are also described What can be the potential challenges for this technology along with prospects are also discussed At the end, some nanomedicines have been suggested that can be effective to fight the virus This paper can be used as a state-of-the-art at this critical moment to the globe for promising nanotechnology-based therapy related to the survival of people from coronavirus © 2020 World Scientific Publishing Company


Abstract 753 Mutations of the FLT3 gene (FLT3/ITD and FLT3/ALM) are common in AML and the presence of FLT3/ITD is associated with poor outcome in de novo AML. Although the prevalence of FLT3 mutations has been documented in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), the prognostic significance of FLT3 mutations in pediatric patients with APL has not been well characterized. We screened specimens from 119 children with APL for the presence of FLT3 mutations and correlated the mutations with clinical characteristics and outcome. Prevalence of FLT3 mutations was determined in specimens from 119 APL patients treated on pediatric cooperative group protocols (CCG 9710, CCG 2911, CCG 2891, N=96) or per institutional standard therapies (N=23). Of the 119 patients evaluated, FLT3/ITD was detected in 33 patients (28%) and FLT3/ALM in an additional 15 patients (13%) with a combined prevalence of 41%. These abnormalities of the FLT3 gene appear to be mutually exclusive in APL patients as no patient had both FTL3/ITD and FLT3/ALM. For the 16 patients with FLT3/ALM, one patient sample had a 6 base pair deletion involving part of the Eco RV site and all others had a single base pair substitution resulting in a missense mutation of amino acid D835 (8 patients with D835Y, 2 patients each with D835H, D835E and D835A and one patient with D835V). In pediatric AML, the ITD allelic ratio (ITD-AR) has been shown to have prognostic significance, and patients with ITD-AR >0.4 demonstrate a worse prognostic outcome than those with ITD-AR Presence of FLT3 mutations was correlated with clinical characteristics and outcome in 50 patients treated on the intergroup APL study CCG-9710 which treated patients on contemporary ATRA based chemotherapy. Of the patients treated on C9710, 12 had FLT3/ITD (24%) and 9 had FLT3/ALM (18%) for a combined prevalence of 42%. Of those with FLT3 mutations, 70% had elevated diagnostic WBC (>10,000cells/uL) compared to 26% of those without FLT3 mutations (p=0.0068). Conversely, of those with elevated WBC, 67% had FLT3 mutations. Remission induction rate at the end of one course of therapy was assessed in patients with and without FLT3 mutations. Ninety-three percent of the patients without FLT3 mutations achieved a complete remission compared to a CR rate of 60% in those with FLT3 mutations (p=0.0137). Patients with FLT3/ITD and FLT3/ALM had similar remission induction rates (55% and 67%, respectively). Early death in the first 30 days of induction therapy occurred in 7 patients (14%), all in patients with high diagnostic WBC. All patients with early death had a FLT3 mutation, 4 with FLT3/ITD and 3 with FLT3/ALM. Induction death rate in those with and without FLT3 mutations was 33% and 0%, respectively (p=0.0015). Among patients with high diagnostic WBC, the induction death rate in those with and without FLT3 mutations was 50% and 0%, respectively (p=0.0468). Overall survival (OS) for those with FLT3 mutations was 66.7% compared to 82.7% in wild type FLT3 patients (p=0.3273). Event-free survival at 5 years from diagnosis for patients with and without FLT3 mutations was 47.6% and 62.1%, respectively (p=0.4670). Presence of a FLT3 mutation was highly correlated with elevated white blood cell count at diagnosis. Pediatric APL patients with FLT3 mutations have a significantly higher risk of death during induction. Within the group of patients with high diagnostic WBC, all induction deaths occurred in patients with FLT3 mutations. This resulted in a lower rate of complete remission and worse overall survival and event free survival in patients with FLT3 mutations. The prevalence of FLT3 mutations in pediatric APL provides evidence for further evaluation of FLT3 inhibitors in the treatment of pediatric APL. Due to the association of FLT3 mutations with induction death, FLT3 inhibitors should be evaluated as a therapeutic option early in the course of APL treatment. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Abstract This article presents a synthesis of what is known about areas of rapid land-cover change around the world over the past two decades, based on data compiled from remote sensing and censuses, as well as expert opinion. Asia currently has the greatest concentration of areas of rapid land-cover changes, and dryland degradation in particular. The Amazon basin remains a major hotspot of tropical deforestation. Rapid cropland increase, often associated with large-scale deforestation, is prominent in Southeast Asia. Forest degradation in Siberia, mostly related to logging activities, is increasing rapidly. The southeastern United States and eastern China are experiencing rapid cropland decrease. Existing data do not support the claim that the African Sahel is a desertification hotspot. Many of the most populated and rapidly changing cities are found in the tropics.


ARTICLE INFORMATION ABSTRACT Original Research Paper Received 29 August 2016 Accepted 06 November 2016 Available Online 18 December 2016 The aim of this work is to propose a procedure for online structural health monitoring of a double curvature arch dam structure using combination of the extended finite element model (XFEM) based on cohesive crack model (XFEM based cohesive crack segments) and continuous Wavelet transform (CWT). In this way, the Karun 3 dam, one of Iranian under operation arch dam, is numerically modeled and analyzed using the finite element method (FEM) and XFEM based cohesive crack segments respectively, and the dam is analyzed under the seismic excitation. The XFEM based cohesive crack segments for concrete material as a reliable model is used for investigating real responses of Karun 3 concrete dam against applied loads and damages. In this model, whole of the structure is potentially under damage risk, while there is no initial crack. Then, for specification of crack effects and nonlinear behavior, the structural modal parameters and their variation should be investigated based on structure response for obtaining damage initiation time and its location by using system identification based on CWT. Results show the high ability of proposed procedure, in spite of difficulties arising from input effect, modal interference and choosing reference point effectiveness on modal shapes. By using analysis of the procedure results, the history of physical changes occurred in the structure and cracking initiation time from investigating time-frequency window of the structure response and exact location of crack from comparing the intact and damaged crest and central cantilever vibration modes are made possible.


Relevant literature notes that leadership in business contexts inspires innovativeness. This study considers this insight as a starting point but moves beyond the existing literature by focusing only on leaders to understand how leadership inspires a leaderi¯s own innovativeness. The author chose the people who own and manage a business (owner-managers) and used the perceptions of workers in businesses to evaluate the existence of leadership as well as leadership orientations of owner-managers. The key objectives of this study ¨C namely, evaluating how perceived leadership and leadership orientations of owner-managers affect their own innovativeness ¨C reveal remarkable results. There are two leadership orientations, one focusing on the work and the other that focuses on people. There are many factors related to owner-manager innovativeness. The perceived leadership of owner-managers moderately affects their innovativeness in a positive direction. The factors related to people-oriented leadership can also affect their innovativeness positively at a moderate level.


Wild mustard is one of the common and troublesome winter weeds of chickpea fields and a great competitor to reduce the chickpea productivity. Plant species (chickpeas cv. Saral and wild mustard) were compared at freezing temperatures (+4 as a control, 0, −4, −8, −12, −16, and −20°C) based on the morphophysiological traits and their recovery ability. Chickpea chlorophyll fluorescence was more sensitive to low temperatures than wild mustard. Chickpea and wild mustard Fv′/Fm′ (light‐adapted maximum efficiency of photosystem II [PSII] photochemistry) decrease 33% and 11% exposed to −16°C, respectively, compared with +4°C. Particularly at lower temperatures, wild mustard electrolyte leakage was smaller than that of chickpea; the temperature drop had a greater impact on the stems than the leaves. Per temperature degree drop from −12 to −20°C, the survival probability decreased by 12.5%. Wild mustard had a greater root dry matter (RDM) compared with chickpea plants. 50% dry matter depression temperature (RDMT50) could better distinguish among the species freezing response; wild mustard RDMT50 was ~1°C higher than chickpea. Plant survival and Fv′/Fm′ correlation suggested the reliability of chlorophyll fluorescence measurements to assay plants freezing tolerance. The important contribution of a more powerful root system to wild mustard survival under adverse circumstances may be suggested by the positive association between plant survival and RDM. Higher tolerance of wild mustard to freezing stress ultimately leads to greater survival, regeneration, continued growth, and geographical distribution. Therefore, the wild mustard invasion will be possible in chickpea fields after freezing stress, especially in the cold climates and high‐altitude regions.


It has previously been proved that there is a strong correlation between the low-frequency AC applied magnetic field amplitude dependence of the asymmetry of the magnetoacoustic emission (MAE) burst and the strength of the domain-wall-defect interaction in iron-base ferromagnets. The AC magnetic field frequency dependence of the asymmetry is investigated in the range of 1 to 200 Hz. When represented by the third moment of the rectified acoustic emission pulses, the asymmetry becomes a bell-shaped function of frequency with its center located around 25 Hz. The experiment is performed with low-carbon, high-yield stress steel specimens of three different levels of domain-wall-defect interaction strength. The results show that the increase in the interaction strength causes a vertical down shift of the asymmetry in the entire frequency range investigated.<<ETX>>


Background. The purpose of our study was to investigate the concentrations of markers of bone turnover in normal pregnancy and preeclampsia. Material and Methods. Forty-five pregnant patients with preeclampsia, 78 healthy pregnant women (26 in first, 26 in the second, and 26 in third trimester of pregnancy), and 20 nonpregnant women were included in the study. Serum concentrations of osteoprotegrin (OPG), receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (sRANKL), and the markers of bone turnover, osteocalcin and CrossLaps—degradation products of type I collagen, were determined using the ELISA method. Statistical analysis was performed using Mann–Whitney U-test. Results. The concentrations of sRANKL and OPG were significantly higher in the second trimester of normal pregnancy when compared to the first and the third trimesters and to nonpregnant controls. The concentrations of osteocalcin were significantly higher in the first trimester of physiological pregnancy in comparison with nonpregnant women and with second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The concentrations of CrossLaps were significantly higher in the second trimester of normal pregnancy when compared to the first and third trimester. In preeclampsia, the sera concentrations of osteocalcin and CrossLaps were significantly higher when compared to the third trimester of normal pregnancy. Conclusion. The results suggest that the bone formation is increased in the first trimester, whereas the bone resorption is increased in the second trimester of normal pregnancy. Furthermore, the results suggest that the bone turnover is increased in patients with preeclampsia when compared to healthy normotensive pregnant women.


Abstract In March 2020, the infection COVID-19 spread as a pandemic emergence. Among multiple biological and environmental factors, hypovitaminosis D is a credible candidate. The aim of this study is to shed light on the pathogenic role of vitamin D deficiency in the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 and in the aggressive immune and inflammatory response by the host. We retrospectively analyzed the biochemical panel of immune system markers and the tandem mass spectrometry coupled to liquid chromatography (LC-MS-MS) measured vitamin D, in the serum samples of patients with SARS-CoV-2 studied in all aspects of clinical relevant parameters. RESULTS between 18th March and 20th April 2020 we enrolled 29 consecutive patients with COVID-19. They were 17 (58.6%) males and 12 (41.4) females, and the median age was 79 (69–88) years. Mean 25OHD was 17.3±2.1 ng/ml, with a median of 15.7 1 ng/ml (i.r. 6.7–25). Twenty-five patients (86.2%) had 25OHD levels <30 ng/ml, 18 patients (62.0%) had 25OHD levels <20 ng/ml and 10 patients (34.5%) had severe vitamin D deficiency (<10 ng/ml). In the group of patients with severe disease (ARDS, cardiovascular complications, CID) 69.2% (n=9/13) of patients presented hypovitaminosis D (<20 ng/ml). All patients who dead for COVID-19 during hospitalization (n=6) had 25OHD≤30 ng/ml and 5/6 had 25OHD≤20 ng/ml. IL-6 and CRP were measured in all patients and were considered surrogate markers of cytokines storm. The majority of patients had levels of IL-6 (n=22, 75.8%) and CRP (n=25, 86.2%) above the upper limit of the reference range of our laboratory (IL6 6.59 and CRP 1 mg/dl) and the median was IL 6=16.1 (i.r. 7.3–36.3) and CRP=6.67 (2.64–11.52). Patients with 25OHD <20 ng/ml had higher levels of IL-6 (p=0.004; 19.9 vs 10.4) and CRP (p=0.009, 9.85 vs 1.40) and did not differ for the other clinical and biochemical variables. If we considered as 25OHD cut-off the mean value in our population (17.3 ng/ml), patients with lower levels of 25OHD had higher age (p=0.033) and higher levels of IL6 (p=0.016), CRP (p=0.04), troponin (p=0.04) and D-dimer (p=0.017), compared to the others. An inverse correlation was found between 25OHD levels and IL-6, CRP, and troponin. In a univariate regression analysis hypovitaminosis D (<20 ng/ml) was a predictive factor for IL6 (expressed as LnIL6) levels (β=0.57, P=0.003) and for PCR levels (β=0.42, P=0.034). We also performed a multivariate regression analysis with hypovitaminosis D (<20 ng/ml), sex, BMI, age (<70 years) and ARDS as independent variables. Notably, hypovitaminosis D (β=0.49, P<0.02), BMI (β=0.4, P=0.04) and ARDS (β=0.44, P=0.02) were confirmed to be significant variables for IL6 (expressed as LnIL6) level prediction. In the same multivariate model hypovitaminosis D (β=0.49, P=0.034) was confirmed as independent predictor of CRP levels. In conclusion, hypovitaminosis D is related to the negative prognostic inflammatory status in patients with SARS-Cov2.


The authors discuss and apply extensions needed to treat multiblock copolymers within the mean field theoretical framework for microphase separation in diblock copolymer metals, originally due to Leibler. The mean field calculations are complemented by lattice Monte Carlo realizations using the bond fluctuation model. They find that the microphase separation transition occurs at larger {sub {chi}}N as the number of blocks in increased beyond two (i.e., beyond diblock), and that the characteristic length scale of the emerging morphology decreases as the number of blocks increases. The latter prediction is in qualitative agreement with published experimental results due to Sontak and co-workers for model multiblock poly(styrene-isoprene) systems and recent results due to Hjelm and co-workers for a segmented poly(ester-urethane) relevant to Los Alamos interests. Additionally, the mean field predictions and bond fluctuation realizations yield consistent results.


A method of producing calcium fluoride, said method comprising introducing an effluent containing a fluoride ion with an aqueous solution of calcium chloride in a reaction system for depositing particles of calcium fluoride of a comparatively large size with a purity of 98% or higher, and then recovering said particles, wherein the pH of the reaction system is kept at 2 or less by acidic conditions with hydrochloric acid, in which the product of calcium fluoride has a mean size particles of 5 to 300 .mu.m, and wherein an aqueous hydrochloric acid solution is separately introduced into a reaction system, continuously or intermittently, wherein the reaction is carried out at a temperature of 30 to 90 ° C.


Intensity and phase modulated multimode fibre-optic sensors are described. Cross-talk between two multimode fibers has been used to develop sensors for the detection of oil films on the surface of water and for analog measurements of liquid levels and temperatures. Frustrated total reflection at the end of an optical fibre is used for detecting air or gas bubbles and also for measuring refractive index and turbidity of liquids. Development of interferometer in the form of multimode Fibre Fabry-Perot sensor 'FFP' is described. The versatility of multimode FFP sensors is demonstrated and the advantages of multimode technology in fibre-optic interferometry are indicated.


In accordance with the characteristic shape of the nucleus and degree of condensation of the nuclear substance, spermiogenesis in Euhadra hickonis can be roughly divided into four stages. The chromatin in the highly polymorphic nucleus of the first stage, early spermatid, forms relatively thick (ca. 50 nm) fibrils which associate here and there into irregular clumps. In the next stage, the spermatid nucleus becomes conspicuously spherical, its contents appear more finely homogeneous and the irregular clumps of chromatin are few. In the third stage, the nucleus gradually takes on an ellipsoidal shape as the antero‐posterior axis shortens. The anterior part of its envelope becomes structurally modified in preparation for the adherence to it of the developing acrosome, and an implantation fossa forms posteriorly at the center of a second area where the nuclear envelope has been modified. The diameter of the chromatin fibrils again increases and those near the implantation fossa become oriented perpendicular to the nuclear envelope.


This paper presents a mathematical technique useful in the solution of certain nonlinear electrical and mechanical problems of practical importance. The mathematical procedure involves the formulation of the problem in terms of nonlinear integral equations, and, by its use, practical results may be obtained in many cases where the approximate solution of the integral equation may be effected by the assistance of the Laplace transform theory. No attempt is made to present a general theory, but instead the general method is illustrated by applying it to the solution of typical problems of technical importance such as the analysis of electric circuits with nonlinear resistance, nonlinear inductance, nonlinear capacitance, and to the steady-state solution of van der Pol's equation.


Introduction: Despite the importance of the family food insecurity during pregnancy, there was no research in this regard in Iran, where generally has a modest food security status. The present study was designed to investigate the prevalence of household insecurity in pregnant women and found its relationship with pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and anemia during pregnancy. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2016 and December 2017. Samples were women after childbirth referred to health centers for postpartum care in the Qazvin province. The household food security status (using Household Food Insecurity Access Scale) and pregnancy outcomes including preeclampsia, diabetes during pregnancy, and anemia during pregnancy were investigated. Results: Overall food insecurity was observed in 32.3% of participants. The increased chance of having a total pregnancy complication rate was 64% (odds ratio [OR] [95% confidential interval [CI]] = 1.64 [1.06–2.54]) in food insecure group compared to food secure participants. Specifically, gestational hypertension was 24% (OR [95% CI] = 1.24 [0.58–2.69]), preeclampsia was nearly four times (OR [95% CI] = 3.88 [1.18–12.83]), gestational anemia was 24% (OR [95% CI] = 1.24 [0.58–2.71]), and gestational diabetes was 63% (OR [95% CI] =1.63 [0.81–3.30]). Conclusion: Food insecurity might increase the likelihood of pregnancy complications. Since the pregnant women's diet plays an important role in maternal and fetal health, the assessment of maternal nutritional status and household conditions regarding access to food supplies and the ability to supply diverse and balanced foods during pregnancy is important.


[1] Ugur G Abdulla, Inverse Problems and Imaging, 7, 2(2013), "On the Optimal Control of the Free Boundary Problems for the Second Order Parabolic Equations". [2] O. A. Ladyzhenskaya, V. A. Solonnikov, and N. N. Uraltseva, Linear and Quasilinear Equations of Parabolic Type, vol. 23 of Translations of Mathematical Monographs, American Mathematical Society, Providence, R. I., 1968. [3] F.P. Vasilev, Optimization Methods: Minimization in Functional Spaces, Regularization and Approximation, Moscow, 2002 [4] Yoshida, Kōsaku. Functional Analysis. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1980. Print. [5] U.G.Abdulla, Introduction to Optimal Control of Parabolic PDEs: Frechet Differentiability in Optimal Control of Parabolic PDEs, parts 1 and 2, Ugur Abdulla's Mathematical Blog, http://math.reu.fit.edu/blog/ This problem arises as an optimal control problem in thermophysics. It is required to control the density of heat sources f, and the temperature p of the exterior media in such a way that at the given final moment T, the temperature of the object is as close as possible to the desired distribution g.


A theory for momentum flux in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) stabilized by continuous surface buoyancy is extended to include turbulent flux of an arbitrary scalar contaminant and then used to estimate how wind-driven sea ice melts as it encounters temperatures in the oceanic boundary layer that are above the melting point. Given wind stress and temperature difference Δθ across the oceanic PBL, the theory predicts melt rate and ice drift velocity. Results indicate that the effect of buoyancy on PBL turbulence is significant even with small values of Δθ(<0.5 K). Curves of melt rate and ice speed as functions of u*, the interfacial friction velocity, show that melting is strongly dependent on stress at the interface and that the effective drag on the ice undersurface is significantly reduced at oceanic temperatures commonly observed in the marginal ice zone. The latter suggests that divergence will occur at the ice margin when off-ice winds advect the pack over water above the melting temperature. The structure of mean currents beneath the ice is also investigated; results indicate that advection will play an important, if not dominant, role in determining water column properties near an ice edge front.


THERE has been much speculation on the conditions on the earth at the time of the appearance of the first life. Many of our modern id-eas are due to A. 1. Oparin,' who pointed out that the spontaneous generation of the first living organism would have been more probable if large quantities of organic compounds had been present in the oceans of the primitive earth. Oparm further suggested that the primitive atmosphere would have been reducing, and that organic compounds might be synthesized under these conditions. The first organisms arising might be entirely dep-endent on the environment for organic substances. N. H. Horowitz" outlined how a simple organism might acquire the ability to perform various syntheses and eventually develop into an organism capable of synthesizing organic compounds from carbon dioxide, water and mineral salts. Other authors have failed to upset the hypothesis that a reasonable concentration of organic compounds could arise only in a reducing atmosphere. Heroic measures, such as the use of el-ectric or ionic discharges from a cyclotron, have failed to obtain more than minute traces of organic materials such as formaldehyde. H. C. Urey: a chemist, has done much to d-evelop our ideas of how the solar system may have been formed from cosmic dust clouds containing a great exc-ess of hydrogen. The giant planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, have still atmospheres of methane and ammonia, for with their lower temperature and greater mass the escape of hydrog-en is more difficult than it is from the earth. It appears likely that the primitive earth had an atmosphere containing hydrogen, methane, nitrogen and ammonia and small amounts of the oxides of carbon. The change to the present atmosphere has been due to a progressive loss of hydrogen, which results in the production of nitrates, free oxygen and ferric compounds. More recently S. L. Miller and H. C. Ureyhave discussed in detail the escape of hydrogen, the equilibria of carbon and of nitrogen compounds, the synthesis of organic compounds, especially the synthetic activities of electric discharges occurring naturally, and the synthetic activity of ultraviolet light, radioactivity and cosmic rays. They point out that the older theories of the formation of the earth in a molten condition have largely been abandoned in favour of the view that it was formed from a cold cloud of cosmic dust. The earth's temperature rose, first, because of the release of gravitational energy and, secondly, because of radioactive energy. They believe that the temperature of the earth's surface probably never reached levels above 150 C., at which there would be degradation of any higher compounds formed. In other words, the conditions were such for a long time that organic compounds, once synthesized, would have a high chance of surviving for an indefinite period. Some workers have believed that the first organism may have been a polynucleotide capabl-e of self-duplication. Oparin instead favours some colloid which was able to accumulate proteins or other substances from the environment, grow in size and then split into fragments, which repeat the process. Ultimately the coacervate (or conglomerate) would presumably begin to duplicate itself more efficiently and develop some sort of genetic apparatus. It must be conceded that this part of the story is highly speculative, but it seems that the discussion of Miller and Urey enables some hypotheses, such as the formation of organic materials in an oxidizing atmospher-e, to be discarded. It is of interest that the authors believe that conditions may have been propitious for the development of life on


This work is about the generalization of sum-product problem. The general principle of it was formulated in the Erdos-Szemeredi's hypothesis. Instead of the Minkowski sum in this hypothesis, the set of values f(x,y) of a homogeneous polynomial f lin two variables, where x and y belong to subgroup G of is considered. The lower bound on the cardinality of such set is obtained. This topic has an applied value in the theory of information and dynamics in calculating the probabilities of events, as well as in various methods of encoding and decoding information.


Abstract Using only (-)-2-methylbutan-1-ol as an optically active starting material, other chiral aliphatic materials have been derived by synthetic procedures which preserve the optical activity, and a number of chiral mesogens incorporating the biphenyl (or p-terphenyl) ring system have been prepared. The new cholesterogens give a wide range of physical properties-melting points, cholesteric-isotropic liquid transition temperatures and pitch values. The twisting powers of the individual materials, i.e., the cholesteric pitch values, are related to the proximity of the chiral centre of the alkyl group to the ring system in which it is a substituent. Many of the compounds exhibit only cholesteric mesophases but some give additional smectic phases. The physical properties of the mesogens are assessed with particular reference to their applications in electro-optical displays or in surface thermography. In the latter case, the compounds provide a range of cholesterogens of good chemical/photochemical stabil...


One hundred unrelated, randomly chosen, consecutive patients with otosclerosis, verified by operation, were typed for HLA-A, -B, -C antigens. No significant association between HLA-A, -B, -C antigens and otosclerosis was found.


En Botanical notes on the "Spunnulate" (dolinas) of Castiglione (Lecce).
Many soils depressions, due to earth collapse are aligned along the western coast of Salento, in wich an interesting vegetation is preserved. The "Spunnulate of Castiglione" have been studied and their vegetation has been considered as a starting point for the interpretation of the vegetation of the site, which at the time is badly degraded.The presence of Quercus ilex supports the hypothesis that in the past the site was covered by Q.ilex grove, which has been destroied by man and fire. The last remains of such a vegetation survire today in the hardest dites of Murgia hills, sheltered from the salted sea winds.


This paper deals with the emotional model of the software-robot. The software-robot requires several capabilities such as sensing, perceiving, acting, communicating, surviving. There are already many studies about the emotional models like KISMET, AIBO and so on. This paper focused on the modeling of new emotional model using the modified friendship scheme. Though many emotional models are implemented their human respond architectures are invariance as time passed. The emotional model with the modified friendship has variance property depends on interaction between human and robot like real dogs.


The distribution of industries is a key issue of industrial economies. It is directly related to the development of the economies of a country or an area. Heilongjiang, a province in China, plays an important role regarding the overall arrangement of industries in the country. How to arrange the industrial distribution and to develop economy in that province is an important topic. A detailed study of the current situation and existing problems of both the industrial distribution and the economy development in that province is presented in this paper. Corresponding strategies to deal with those problems are also suggested.


This document describes proposed extensions to the GSMPv3 protocol to
allow its use in a broadband environment, as a control plane between
Access Nodes (e.g. DSLAM) and Broadband Network Gateways (e.g. BRAS).
These proposed extensions are required to realize a protocol for
"Access Node Control" mechanism as described in [9]. The resulting
protocol with the proposed extensions to GSMPv3 [4] is referred to as
"Access Node Control Protocol" (ANCP). This document focuses on
specific use cases of access node control mechanism for topology
discovery, line configuration, and OAM. It is intended to be augmented
by additional protocol specification for future use cases considered
in scope by the ANCP charter.


In the context of neutron star mergers, we study the gravitational wave spectrum of the merger remnant using numerical relativity simulations. Postmerger spectra are characterized by a main peak frequency $f_2$ related to the particular structure and dynamics of the remnant hot massive or hypermassive neutron star. We show that $f_2$ is correlated with the tidal coupling constant $\kappa^T_2$ that characterizes the binary tidal interactions during the late-inspiral--merger. The relation $f_2(\kappa^T_2)$ depends very weakly on the binary total mass, mass-ratio, equation-of-state, and on thermal effects. This observation opens up the possibility of developing a model of the gravitational spectrum of \textit{every} neutron star binary merger which unifies the late-inspiral and postmerger descriptions.


As the legislative pressure to reduce energy consumption is increasing, data analysis of power consumption is critical in the production planning of manufacturing facilities. In previous studies, a machine, conducting a single continuous operation, has been mainly observed for power estimation. However, a modularized production line, which conducts complex discrete operations, is more like the actual factory system than an identical simple machine. During the information collection of such production lines, it is important to interpret and distinguish mixed signals from multiple machines to ensure that there is no reduction in the information quality due to noise and signal fusion and discrete events. A data pipeline from data collection from different sources to pre-processing, data conversion, synchronization, and deep learning classification to estimate the total power use of the future process plan is proposed herein. The pipeline also establishes an auto-labeled data set of individual operations that contributes to building power estimation models without manual data pre-processing. The proposed system is applied to a modular factory connected with machine controllers using standardized protocols individually and linked to a centralized power monitoring system. Specifically, a robot arm cell was investigated to evaluate the pipeline with the result of the power profile synchronized with the robot program.


Chlamydiasis is a widespread bacterial infection in the world. Serological
tests are expensive, and in addition, intrinsic antigens can cause cross-reactions and make the diagnosis process difficult. Multi-epitope protein antigens are novel and potential diagnostic markers
that have the capability of more accurate and cheaper diagnosis. Therefore, in this study, the main
goal is to design a new protein vaccine, including multiple epitopes of B cells with dominant immunity from three proteins named MOMP, ompA and Pgp3D from C. trachomatis

The amino acid sequences were obtained from the UniProt database. The areas with the
highest antigenicity were identified using the EMBOSS server. Linear B cell epitopes were determined using BCPRED, ABCpred, and Bepipred servers. Epitopes with the highest antigenicity were
connected using the EAAAK linker.

Two epitopes from MOMP, two from ompA, and one from Pgp3D were selected. These
epitopes were connected to each other with the EAAAK linker. Three residues (0.592), 16 residues
(0.76), 36 residues (0.578), and 37 residues (0.734) were obtained from the prediction of the spatial
structure of the B cell multiple epitopes designed with ElliPro. Model 1 of RaptorX was selected as the
best structure. In this model, the ERRAT quality, ProSA-web z-score, and Verify3D were 83.1169, -
5.17 and 84.62% with PASS score, respectively. Moreover, the Ramachandran plot showed that
86.093% of the amino acid residues were located in the favored region. To achieve the highest level of
protein expression, the designed multi-epitope reverse-translated with the Genscript server and was
cloned in E. coli. The highest level of expression was achieved, and a CAI score of 0.91 was reported.
The gene GC content was 51.98%, and the contribution of low-frequency codons was 0%.

The results confirmed that the designed construct could identify C. trachomatis with
high sensitivity and specificity in serum samples of patients with chlamydiasis. However, further
experimental studies are needed for final confirmation.


Enterobius vermicularis eggs were found in human coprolites collected from the archaeological site of San Pedro de Atacama, North of Chile, in occupational layers dated from 1,000 BC. Agricultures and herding were begining at this period of time in this region of South America. The paleoparasitological data amplifies the knowledge about the distribution of human oxyuriasis in Pre-Columbian America.


The paper presents the results of a study on the frequency distribution of the occurrence of alleles of single nucleotide polymorphism 2258 G A (Arg753Gln) TLR2 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis of the Russian population of the Chelyabinsk region. Genotyping was performed by allele-specific PCR, followed by detection of the results in a 3% agarose gel. It was shown that in patients with RA, the frequency of occurrence of the allele 2258 * A and the heterozygous genotype G/A TLR2 was increased and the frequency of the homozygous genotype on the ancestral allele was reduced. The established significance of single nucleotide polymorphism of 2258 (Arg753Gln) TLR2 for the formation of resistance / susceptibility to RA in the Russians of the Chelyabinsk region is confirmed by the overdominant and dominant inheritance models.


Adopted by the 196 Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) last December, and signed by 175 countries on 22 April 2016, the Paris Agreement provides guidelines for global efforts in addressing climate change, and establishes a five-year review cycle for detailedwork programs of cutting emissions, differentiation between countries as to their responsibilities for action, and financing for poor countries to deal with rising temperatures. 'Governments have ushered in a new era of global cooperation on climate change—one of the most complex issues ever to confront humanity. What was once unthinkable is now unstoppable. For the first time, every country in the world has pledged to curb their emissions, strengthen resilience, and act internationally and domestically to tackle climate change', acclaimed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. In a nutshell, Paris Agreement sets a target of holding the increase in the global average temperature towell below 2◦Cprior to 2100 and pursuing the efforts to limit the temperature increase to1.5◦C.The landmarkAgreementhas 29 articles, includingmitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, finance, technology development and transfer, capacity building, transparency of action and support, and global stocktake, which pose many new global opportunities and challenges for climate research and services. Global warming has caused ice melting in polar regions and the northern hemisphere and elevation of sea level, extreme weather and climate events such as tropical cyclone and ENSO, acceleration of global water cycle, as well as ocean acidification and hypoxia. Since the earth's climate system is highly non-linear, even if the global temperature increase could be limited to 1.5◦C via emission reduction, risks and vulnerability may remain that could result in more frequent extreme weather events, regime shifts of non-equilibrium ecosystem, and persistent rise of global and regional sea level. Therefore, in response to the Agreement, scientific community should build up a massive research effort on the mechanisms and adaptation of climate changes, including reliable assessment of climate changes and their impacts in global and regional scales, especially decadal predication that could provide scientific evidence in support of the reduction of carbon emission. While the Agreement represents a monumental step in the international efforts in controlling global warming, many difficult problems remain to be solved. Most notably, it is unclear what amount of reduction in greenhouse gas emission is required to control the global warming below 2◦C by 2100. Multi-components of the earth's climate system and multiscale spatial-temporal variations call for interdisciplinary research through collaboration and innovation, in order to improve the prediction of decadal and longer timescale climate changes. To achieve this goal, we need to build global comprehensive observational networks, reliable earth system models as well as develop more effective prediction-assessment approaches. In this regard, China's investment still lags behind developed countries, and increased investment in fundamental research on the mitigation and adaptation strategies of climate changes are called for. The good news is that the government has recently approved the 'Earth System Simulator' project and is planning for the establishment of comprehensive ocean observation systemover theChina's 13th 'Five-Year Plan' as well. In terms of social economic development, ambition of the Agreement in emission reductions could be achieved by restructuring the world's energy usage from fossil fuels to renewables, which influences geopolitics and world economy as well as will enhance the innovation-driven development in renewable energy. Key renewable marine energies, such as tidal wave energy, ocean thermal energy, and sea-water chemical energy, together with solar and wind energy, will contribute larger shares of energy sources and help to reduce carbon emission. With increasing use of marine energy, we can expect technological advances in equipment innovation andmanufacturing, newmaterials, and ocean engineering, all of which benefit economy, promote upgrade and transformation of industries as 'Marine Energy Plus'. The Paris Agreement will undoubtedly bring opportunity for a drastic restructuring of China's energy industry, and we should bemaking early preparation tomeet this upcoming adjustment. In short, the Paris Agreement will promote climate research, industrial structural adjustment, and economic social development, in spite of potential difficulties in its implementation and the deficiency in current technologies


Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) is the most popular method to study the binding properties of nucleic transcription factors in vitro recently, but the disadvantage is that isotopes can cause damage to human body, which increases the complexity of operation. In this study, radioactive EMSA system was optimized to improve the stability of EMSA. Results indicated that, the purification of probes effectively reduced the background of autoradiography; the centrifugation of dissolved purified proteins facilitated to produce neat and clear bands; the use of a 350 V and 4 ℃ insured the stabilization of DNA-protein complexes during electrophoresis; the removal of radioactive liquid from gel and the adherence of gel to a piece of paper were helpful to obtaining clear autoradiography. Finally the optimized system effectively improved the stability of EMSA.


Abstract : There is a characteristic property of an arbitrary signal that is useful to the design engineer. It is known as the power spectrum. Knowledge, for example, of the power spectrum of different types of noise would give an engineer necessary information to assist him in filtering it out of the response of his equipment. However, give an infinite record of noise, it is necessary that the computer of the power spectrum known how much of the record he needs to analyze in order to give an accurate specification of the power spectrum. It is the purpose of this memo to define a useful rule of thumb to prevent excessive labor on the part of the computer.


The enantiomers of 7-fluoro-1-methyl-3-(methylsulfinyl)-4(1H)-quinolinone [(±)-1, flosequinan], a new drug for the treatment of heart failure, were synthesized from the optically active (R)-α-methylbenzylamine derivatives of quinoline. The key intermediates, (R)-α-methylbenzylamine derivatives, were prepared by diastereomeric separation. The configuration of (+)-1 was assigned on the basis of an X-ray crystallographic analysis of the synthetic precursor (4a). The absolute configuration was found to be (R)-(+)-1 and (S)-(-)-1.


When applying automatic speech recognition (ASR) to meeting recordings including spontaneous speech, the performance of ASR is greatly reduced by the overlap of speech events. In this paper, a method of separating the overlapping speech events using an adaptive beamforming (ABF) framework is proposed. The main feature of this method is that all the necessary information for the adaptation of ABF, including microphone calibration, is obtained from meeting recordings based on the results of speech event detection. The performance of the separation is evaluated via ASR using real meeting recordings.


Sequence Time Domain Reflectometry (STDR) have been demonstrated to be a powerful technique for detecting the length of cable or length of open circuit or short circuit cables. Using this method along with using smart meter on the main electrical panel board to monitor consumption if load at each circuit, enable user to monitor power consumption at each node (power outlet) only by operating a smart digital meter and an STDR circuitry on each circuit at the main electrical panel board. This paper introduces this method and examines it on dead-wire and energized wire with a load connected across it. Experimental results are demonstrated for both types. Test result show the potential application of this approach to provide consumption information and potential cost saving via feedback for users.


This essay examines the discourse around the trigger warning through the analytic paradigm of racial literacy and the rhetorical frames of colorblind racism to illuminate how the trigger warning as currently conceptualized, even when framed as a means of equitable engagement, is mediated by and upholds the racial status quo.


Objective: analyzing the knowledge of Community Health Agents (ACS-in Portuguese) related to child vaccination schedule recommended by the PNI. Method: a study of sectional type developed through investigation with 106 agents from Teresina-Piaui. It was built a database in SPSS version 19.0, operated by univariate and bivariate techniques, adopting the significance level of 5%, presented in tables. The study had the research project approved by the Research Ethics Committee, CAAE 07381812.2.0000.5214. Results: the knowledge was classified as regular for 41,5% of the sample, inappropriate by 39,6% and only 18,9% classified it as adequate. Lesser known vaccines were: pneumo-10 valent (14,1%), (24,5%) meningococcal, polio (35,8%) and pentavalent (38,6%). Conclusion: there is a need for implementation of permanent education programs for the appropriate knowledge of the agents. Descriptors: Vaccination; Immunization Programs; Community Health Agents. RESUMO Objetivo: analisar o conhecimento dos Agentes Comunitários de Saúde (ACS) relacionado ao calendário de vacinação infantil preconizado pelo PNI. Método: estudo do tipo seccional desenvolvido por meio de inquérito com 106 ACS de Teresina-Piauí. Foi construído um banco de dados no SPSS versão 19.0, explorados pelas técnicas univariadas e bivariadas, adotando-se o nível de significância de 5%, apresentados em tabelas. O estudo teve o projeto de pesquisa aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa, CAAE 07381812.2.0000.5214. Resultados: o conhecimento foi classificado como regular para 41,5% da amostra, inadequado por 39,6% e apenas 18,9% classificou-o como adequado. As vacinas menos conhecidas foram: pneumo-10 valente (14,1%), meningocócica (24,5%), poliomielite (35,8%) e pentavalente (38,6%). Conclusão: há necessidade de implementação de programas de educação permanente para o adequado conhecimento dos agentes. Descritores: Vacinação; Programas de Imunização; Agentes Comunitários de Saúde. RESUMEN Objetivo: analizar los conocimientos de los Agentes Comunitarios de Salud (ACS) en relación con el calendario de vacunación infantil recomendado por el PNI. Método: estudio del tipo seccional desarrollado a través de una encuesta con 106 ACS de Teresina, Piauí. Fue construida una base de datos con el programa SPSS versión 19.0, operado por técnicas univariadas y bivariadas, adoptando el nivel de significación de 5%, presentados en tablas. El estudio tuvo el proyecto de investigación aprobado por el Comité de Ética en la Investigación, CAAE 07381812.2.0000.5214. Resultados: el conocimiento se clasificó como normal para el 41,5% de la muestra, inadecuado por el 39,6% y sólo el 18,9% clasificó como adecuado. Las vacunas menos conocidas fueron: pneumo-10 valiente (14,1%), meningitis (24,5%), la poliomielitis (35,8%) y pentavalente (38,6%). Conclusión: hay necesidad de implementar programas de educación continua para el adecuado conocimiento de los agentes. Descriptores: La Vacunación; Los Programas de Inmunización; Agentes Comunitarios de la Salud. 1Nurse, Professor with Mastership and Doctorate, Nursing Graduate/Postgraduate Program, Federal University of Piaui/PPGENF/UFPI. Piauí (PI), Brazil. Email: email@example.com; 2Graduate in Radiology Technology, Nurse Egress, Federal University of Piaui/UFPI. Piauí (PI), Brasil. Email: email@example.com; 3Nurse Egress, Federal University of Piaui/UFPI. Piauí (PI), Brasil. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com ORIGINAL ARTICLE Araújo TME de, Almeida PD, Bezerra FKO. Knowledge of community health agents... English/Portuguese J Nurs UFPE on line., Recife, 9(8):8778-83, Aug., 2015 8779 ISSN: 1981-8963 DOI: 10.5205/reuol.7696-67533-1-SP-1.0908201503 The duties of the Community Health Agent (ACS-in Portuguese) were laid out in Federal Law No. 11.350/2006, which regulates their activities, such as: the promotion of education actions for individual and collective health; the detection of births and deaths in the community, diseases and other health problems and conducting periodic home visits to monitor the family. One of the actions of the ACS is monitoring the immunization schedule of the population, addressing about the meaning of this care, especially for children's health. Whether through active search or any other strategy, the health team must be able to provide this care and achieve high level of vaccination coverage. As a member of the closest health team of the community and meeting it in a unique way, the ACS is a key point in the care for immunization of the community. Despite the progress obtained after the establishment of the National Immunization Program (NIP), and the large quantity of families assisted by the Family Health Strategy (FHS) in the city of Teresina-PI, immunization coverage of children under one year of age, according to the NIP/IP 2011, is still unsatisfactory for some immunobiologicals, such as rotavirus vaccine (84,9%), yellow fever (92,7%) and pneumococcal (78,3%). The low coverage, in general, arise from false contraindications, unnecessary delays, neglect by the professionals in not observing the Child Card vaccines thereof and including the unpreparedness of many of the ACS facing the dynamics of changes in the vaccine schedule. Before the recognition about the importance of the ACS in the maintenance and monitoring of the health of the population, thus, this research may contribute to health services, especially for the improvement of immunization programs, by drawing attention to the importance of adequate knowledge of FHS professionals about the immunization schedule of children. The study aims to analyze the knowledge of Community Health Agents (ACS) related to the childhood immunization schedule recommended by the PNI. This study is of sectional type, developed through investigation in areas of the Family Health Strategy located in the urban area of Northern/Center of Teresina, Piauí, Coordination, which was intentionally selected, considering that this coordinating body has 22 vaccines rooms and 72 teams from the FHS, of which 67 are inserted in the


The Southern Yanchuan Block was in the critical period of coalbed methane(CBM) production,it was very important to establish a complete set of systemic draining theories and technologies.Due to the limitation of geologic data,the sensitivity of coal seam pressure,and the complexity of CBM seepage mechanism,its draining technology was still at the research stage,there was no mature experience to used as reference,and no systematic theories used as guiding rule.The article is based on development practice and draining data of the field,the relationship of pressure and depth is quantitatively defined by analyzing the variance of production,then the rule of draining is derived for providing the theory for production and optimizing the work approach.


This article aims to shed light on the processes by which student teachers change and shape their understanding of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) as a tool for learning. Two types of processes are investigated. One is the process by which student teachers gain a technical proficiency, i.e. how student teachers benefit from their technical skills in a school context. The other process is concerned with how student teachers are able to integrate or combine a technical proficiency with a broader view on how teaching and learning should be conducted. The research reviewed indicates that an isolated technical proficiency is not sufficient for providing new teaching opportunities, and there seems to be a gap between technical knowledge and knowledge on how to employ technology in a learning context. In this light, student teachers need to develop a view on ICT that goes beyond the mere technical aspects. The concepts "mastery" and "appropriation" from Wertsch (1998) are employed to structure the discussion. These two concepts from Wertsch can inform us about the way in which student teachers approach ICT as a tool for learning and can help characterize this approach.


Summary form only given, as follows. The last couple years have seen a large increase in the use of 3-D electromagnetic-PIC simulation. Klystrons are typically some of the most difficult vacuum electron devices to model in electromagnetic PIC, because of the close tolerances on geometry, bandwidth, and power loading, and because of the inherently long run times in terms of RF cycles. The need for 3-D modeling, rather than 2-D, is driven by inherently 3-D devices such as multiple beam klystrons, sheet beam klystrons, and relativistic annular beam klystrons. However, there is also interest in modeling the 3-D output coupling geometry in conventional round-beam klystrons, especially when multiple cavity output circuits are employed. Several new modeling capabilities have been developed to facilitate the 3-D simulation of klystrons, in addition to the continual upward march of CPU speed. These include a 3-D resonant-port model capable of proper handling of space-charge, and progress on finite-element type metal boundary conditions. The former can dramatically reduce the cavity fill time, while the latter can help ease the demand for small cell size, since it provides accurate modeling of curved surfaces with moderate resolution. Also, the realistic modeling of periodic permanent magnet focusing in 3-D is also now commonplace. The application of these new modeling capabilities will be illustrated for the devices listed above.


Spectra of surface-enhanced Raman spectra were taken for 2,2'-bipyridine adsorbed on silver surface from aqueous (10 -7 M) and ethanol (10 -5 ) solutions.


Questioning a Uniform and Coercive Code of EthicsIn the question of ethics, the emphasis falls on a continuing process of thinking that diagnoses, criticizes, clarifies by means of questions, destructures the components of meaning and power that silently shape our lives together, and also questions the values and concepts that have rulegoverning and axiomatic power in our culture. ...The question of ethics does not arise outside of ethics, but from within it. Its thought is disciplined by efforts to maintain questionableness, by learning how to ask questions in given settings, and by finding its own heritage and problems. ...There is a subversiveness in such processes vis-a-vis the normal and ordinary, a subversiveness not unlike that of poets and philosophers who are routinely excluded or silenced by totalitarian regimes. But subversiveness is neither a goal nor an ideal for the question of ethics. Its goal is to rethink, rework, rewrite, to listen again to the cultural inevitabilities that make us who we are and to affirm the transformative process without sense of origin or teleology.- Charles E Scott, The Question of EthicsA culture's world view, dominant rationality, and core ideology provide the defining context that speaks to how a culture understands and interprets itself. A culture's ethical doctrine provides the text that speaks to the body of values by which a culture understands and interprets itself with regard to what is good and bad and right and wrong (Scott, 1990). A culture's ethical doctrine is inextricably to its view of people and theory of life. It defines, reflects, and perpetuates that which is held out to be the dignity, the values, and the ideals of human life. Finally, the ethical doctrine reflects the ethos, the underlying system of values, which permeates and colorizes the ideological strands in the culture's fabric. This broad-based understanding of ethics speaks to the inseparable interweave of the culture's world view and ideology with its core beliefs and values. As a doctrine, ethics refers to a grouping of principles that provide the moral foundations underlying legitimate knowledge, sound value judgments, and good conduct in the discourse of everyday life. Ethics, it has been said, is the point at which philosophers come closest to practical issues in morals and politics (Hare, 1997). Ethics, it might also be said, speaks to the practical relevance of moral philosophy in the lived experiences of everyday life as both citizens and professionals.In the psychoanalytic culture, the legacy of Freud has been described as a dialectic in which every psychoanalytic proposition blends science with humanism (Bornstein, 1985). Historically, this legacy has guided the development of psychoanalysis from the paradigm of biology, medicine, and the natural sciences-a way of thinking that continues to dominate in the analytic culture to this day. In this modernistic mythology, a natural science of the mind is unprejudiced and unmediated by theories, assumptions, or values, and humanism provides the values that humanize the harshness of the science and its objectively discovered knowledges. In this medicalized version of psychoanalysis, the largely unquestioned biomedical objectives of curing and healing various psychic structures are contextualized by the humanistic values of caring and helping to alleviate pain and suffering. Historically, psychoanalytic organizations have actively advanced psychoanalysis as a health care profession, or a specialty thereof. Each of the major psychologies of drive, ego, object, and self have understood people from the organizing conceptual framework of symptomatology, etiology, and pathology, and psychoanalysis has been considered to be a medical technique concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of various mental disorders, diseases, and illnesses. Not surprisingly, the moral foundations for ethical directions, decisions, and conduct for the psychologist-psychoanalyst are to be found in a medical code of ethics such as the American Psychological Association's (APA, 1992) The Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. …


Abstract The decline in indicators of human development linked to rising social inequalities, despite post-modern society's unprecedented economic prosperity, has been called 'modernity's paradox' (Keating and Hertzman 1999). Scholars of developmental health suggest that micro-level influences from the social, economic and psychological circumstances in early life may explain social inequalities across the lifespan. However, children's poor developmental and health outcomes are also a product of the wider contexts of their lives. This paper extends the human developmental framework by linking the proximal determinants of health and well-being with macro-level forces. It reviews recent changes in the political, economic and social environments in developed countries, to provide insights into the recent trends in poor outcomes in children and youth, which remain paradoxical given the expectations of economic prosperity and the advances in medical and other technologies. The paper concludes with policy and research recommendations to reduce social disparities in child outcomes.