This paper discusses validation of design methods. The challenges and opportunities in validation are illustrated by means of an analogy with medical research and development. Inspired by this analogy, a model-based process is presented for validating robust-parameter-design methods. A hierarchical probability model was used to create a large number of polynomial response surfaces with hierarchy and inheritance properties similar to those of an ensemble of 62 engineering responses from published experiments. Various robust-parameter-design methods were applied to each response surface and the robustness of the resulting designs was assessed. It was shown that crossed array methods are more effective than combined array methods if there is a reasonable probability of three-factor interactions. It is also shown that one-factor-at-time methods provide even greater effectiveness than crossed arrays methods.Copyright © 2004 by ASME


Manufacturing technology of ultra-precision aspheric lens becomes one of the key technologies of advanced manufacturing.As to ultra-precision equipment,the most important key is the development of control software and application software in addition to the machine tool body.In this paper,the authors discuss deeply the algorithms,the configuration and the realization of computer aided design system of ultra-precision for aspheric lens in combination with the experiece got from the cooperative Japanese project of NEDO.An example is proposed to clarify the application of the developed system SGTCAM cooperating with the small size ultra-precision lens machine tool-SGT-n.The result is obtained as high geometrical accuracy(PV)under 100 nano meter,and super surface roughness under 5 nano meter.Such a result has been confirmed by experts.


Usually, only recent developments concerning application for, treatments and costs of inpatient rehabilitation are in focus and reported regularly to all those involved. This contribution, however, analyses the long-term development of data in the context of rehabilitation under the German statutory pension insurance scheme since 1968, seeking to gain insights relative to the present and future situation in the field of rehabilitation.


The gas, liquid, and dust particle behavior inside a centrifugal wet scrubber was simulated and a submodel for predicting its collection efficiency was developed that also takes in account the reduction in collection efficiency due to droplet carryover. Centrifugal wet scrubbers are used in many industries and deliver a high scrubbing efficiency at relatively low capital and operational costs. However, they often experience problems such as droplet carryover at high gas flows and reduced collection efficiency at low gas flows. An improved understanding of flow processes inside the scrubbers is needed to develop a better scrubber design. An experimental test facility was setup for this purpose which also served to validate the CFD modeling results. Ideal operating parameters for maximum scrubbing efficiency and minimum droplet carryover were identified.


Today Reversible data hiding (RDH) is latest research area in field of data concealment scheme. In RDH, the data to be cover up is embedded in the cover image and at the origin side both conceal secret and cover image is reconstructed without any misrepresentation. In this paper we represent a RDH technique based on side match vector quantization for images. Two function data hiding and image compression can be integrated together into one single module .Experiment result show the performance of our proposed schemes better than those of other information schemes for VQ-based and SMVQ based compressed images. This scheme improved the performance of hiding capacity, compression ratio and SSIM, and also improved the performance of decompression quality.


A general quantum constraint of the form (realized in particular in loop quantum cosmology models) is studied. Group averaging is applied to define the Hilbert space of solutions and the relational Dirac observables. Two cases are considered. In the first case, the spectrum of the operator is assumed to be discrete. The quantum theory defined by the constraint takes the form of a Schrödinger-like quantum mechanics with a generalized Hamiltonian . In the second case, the spectrum is absolutely continuous and some peculiar asymptotic properties of the eigenfunctions are assumed. The resulting Hilbert space and the dynamics are characterized by a continuous family of the Schrödinger-like quantum theories. However, the relational observables mix different members of the family. Our assumptions are motivated by new loop quantum cosmology models of quantum FRW spacetime. The two cases considered in this paper correspond to the negative and positive cosmological constant, respectively. Our results should also be applicable in many other general relativistic contexts.


The effects of 30-minute sulfur dioxide (SO2) inhalation exposures on the bronchial clearance of radioactive monodisperse ferric oxide particles were studied in three miniature donkeys. The SO2 concentrations ranged from 26 to 713 ppm. No impairment of bronchial clearance was observed at levels below 300 ppm. Higher concentrations produced severe cough and either slowing or transient arrest of bronchial clearance.


Test-retest stability of the WISC—R Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQs among 46 gifted students showed no statistically significant difference between the means. Groupings included all students, 24 boys and 22 girls, age at initial testing, and grade at initial testing. The test-retest intervals ranged from 1 to 2 yr.


Elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.) consumption has been growing in the last years, generating a large number of stalks (~10% of the berries bunch) that are still under-valorized. This study focused on the evaluation of elderberry stalks as a source of high-value phytochemicals. In this vein, the essential mineral content and lipophilic composition were analyzed for the first time. In addition, the polar fraction was evaluated regarding its total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity by both 2,2-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrate (DPPH) assays. The lipophilic fraction was mainly composed of triterpenic acids (2902.20 mg kg−1 of dry weight (dw)), fatty acids (711.73 mg kg−1 dw) and sterols (288.56 mg kg−1 dw). Minor amounts of long-chain aliphatic alcohols and other components were also detected. Ursolic acid (2265.83 mg kg−1 dw), hexadecanoic acid (219.85 mg kg−1 dw) and β-sitosterol (202.74 mg kg−1 dw) were the major lipophilic components verified. The results of this study also indicated that elderberry stalks might be used as a natural source of essential minerals, particularly calcium, iron and potassium, which are known to play important roles in various body functions. The analysis of the polar fraction also showed that elderberry stalks present TPC as high as elderberry themselves as well as considerable antioxidant activity (1.04 and 0.37 mmol TE g−1 of extract, against respectively ABTS and DPPH radicals). These results highlight the potential of elderberry stalks as a natural source of high-value phytochemicals that may be explored in several fields.


54 LOWASH NATURAL GAS ENGINE OIL AND 5,202,036 4/1993 Ripple et al. .......................... 252/.33.4 ADDTVE SYSTEM 5,262,073 11/1993 Schmitt et al. . ... 252/33.2 5,318,710 6/1994 Campbell .................................. 252A25 75 Inventors: Alan G. Blahey; James W. Finch, both 5,320,762 6/1994 Campbell .................................. 252A25 of Sarnia Canada 5,320,763 6/1994 Campbell was a was was a 252/25 4 5,328,620 7/1994 Ripple ..................... 508/390 73) Assignee: Exxon Research and Engineering 5,330,664 7/1994 Wollenberg et al. ................... 508/390 Company, Florham Park, N.J. FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS


This chapter introduces the overall context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the on-going cooperative frameworks and the triple helix approach with the support of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). These are devoted to accelerate the implementation of further collaboration between medical schools in both North and South of the Mediterranean area. Three important players are identified in each region. These include the medical school, the public authority, and the business related to healthcare. These players from North and South can engage in specific areas that are education, research, and development, before the identification of means and incentives to be further devoted to attract medical doctors. These collaborations follow the trends developed by international organizations, mainly the WHO. The most important conclusions attained in the previous chapters of the present book are also summarized in the present chapter.


A pulsed linear accelerator assembly, RIIM (RADLAC II Module), composed of an injector plus a number of post accelerating gaps was built and successfully operated. The injector and the post accelerating gaps were powered by water strip pulse forming and transmission lines. A high-current, high-voltage, foilless diode injector was used and an annular 40-kA relativistic electron beam was produced and further accelerated through the post accelerating gaps. The final beam energy was close to the sum of injector and gap voltages and equal to 9 MeV.


We present results from our experiments with the irregular reflection of shock waves in argon. We compare the data with the results we obtained numerically; the assumptions for the computational code were that we had unsteady, two-dimensional, compressible, inviscid, flow of a perfect gas. When precautions were taken to reduce the effects of the gas viscosity on the experimental data, we obtained very good agreement between the numerical and the experimental results for the ramp Mach number and the trajectory path triple-point angle, but there were discrepancies with the wave-angle data. The discrepancies were ascribed to the sensitivity of the data to both viscosity and to a singularity. We show that there are actually two weak irregular wave reflections, namely a classic Mach reflection (MR) and a new type, that we call a von Neumann reflection (NR). The structure of the NR is discussed in some detail, and so are the transition criteria for the various wave systems.


This article describes Virtual Advisor, a voice-activated service hands-free traffic information service that will be available to subscribers of the OnStar motorist aid system. The traffic information will include reports of accidents, road congestion construction, weather-related road conditions and major events. The service will be personalized, reflecting the driver's location and destination. Virtual Advisor will also provide subscribers with voice-activated Internet-based e-mail, stock quotes, news, weather sports and entertainment news.


Since completing his architecture degree in Munich and Rome, Clemens Gritl has been designing artificial 3D computer models as a way of reflecting on and exploring urban utopias of the 20th century. His work focuses on the interactions between space, dimension, scale, monotony, and the materiality of urban mega-structures and their impact on human beings. The photorealistic presentation of his work is closely aligned with 1960s architecture photography which displays a unique unbroken optimism and the radical zeitgeist of its era. His works are created in black and white to ensure that the plasticity of brutalist architecture is illustrated in its truest form. Website: www.clemensgritl.com Instagram: clemens.gritl


The aim of the paper is to describe and compare the dynamics of linkages between stock markets during financial crises. We investigate similarities and differences between the patterns of changes in the conditional dependence structure during the 1997 Asian and 1998 Russian financial crises, and the crisis of 2007-2009. The question we try to answer is how the location of the starting point influences the way and the dynamics of the crisis expansion. The basic tool for our analysis is a Markov regime-switching copula model applied to pairs of the daily returns on chosen representative stock indices. The model enables us to distinguish regimes without extreme dependence, and ones with tail dependence which can be of asymmetric type. Our main findings are that the increase in the strength of lower tail dependence is the most significant indicator of the crisis.


Significance We describe the discovery and analyses of a previously uncharacterized protein, termed Liat1 (ligand of Ate1), which has been identified because of its interactions with the Ate1 arginyltransferase, a component of the N-end rule pathway of protein degradation. All vertebrates contain proteins similar to mouse Liat1. Remarkably, Liat1 proteins of some primates contain tandem repeats of a 10-residue sequence, whereas Liat1 proteins of other mammals contain a single copy of this motif. Quantities of these repeats are, in general, different in Liat1 of different primates. For example, there are 4, 13, 13, and 17 repeats in the gorilla, orangutan, bonobo, and human Liat1, respectively, suggesting that repeat number changes in this previously uncharacterized protein may contribute to evolution of primates. The arginyltransferase Ate1 is a component of the N-end rule pathway, which recognizes proteins containing N-terminal degradation signals called N-degrons, polyubiquitylates these proteins, and thereby causes their degradation by the proteasome. At least six isoforms of mouse Ate1 are produced through alternative splicing of Ate1 pre-mRNA. We identified a previously uncharacterized mouse protein, termed Liat1 (ligand of Ate1), that interacts with Ate1 but does not appear to be its arginylation substrate. Liat1 has a higher affinity for the isoforms Ate11A7A and Ate11B7A. Liat1 stimulated the in vitro N-terminal arginylation of a model substrate by Ate1. All examined vertebrate and some invertebrate genomes encode proteins sequelogous (similar in sequence) to mouse Liat1. Sequelogs of Liat1 share a highly conserved ∼30-residue region that is shown here to be required for the binding of Liat1 to Ate1. We also identified non-Ate1 proteins that interact with Liat1. In contrast to Liat1 genes of nonprimate mammals, Liat1 genes of primates are subtelomeric, a location that tends to confer evolutionary instability on a gene. Remarkably, Liat1 proteins of some primates, from macaques to humans, contain tandem repeats of a 10-residue sequence, whereas Liat1 proteins of other mammals contain a single copy of this motif. Quantities of these repeats are, in general, different in Liat1 of different primates. For example, there are 1, 4, 13, 13, 17, and 17 repeats in the gibbon, gorilla, orangutan, bonobo, neanderthal, and human Liat1, respectively, suggesting that repeat number changes in this previously uncharacterized protein may contribute to evolution of primates.


Metazoan parasite communities of 269 yellow eels (Anguilla rostrata) inhabiting acidic (pH 4.5–5.0) and deacidified (limed to a pH of 6.0–7.0) portions of a watershed in southwest Nova Scotia were compared over 3 years. Paraquimperia tenerrima, Ergasilus celestis, Bothriocephalus claviceps, Proteocephalus macrocephalus, Crepidostomum brevivitellum, and Azygia longa were found. Species richness was greater and there were more multiple infections in the component community in eels from the limed portion of the watershed than in the community in the acidic river. Differential susceptibility of the parasites or their intermediate hosts to acidification appears to be involved in structuring the community. Digeneans were absent from eels in the acidic river. The copepod E. celestis occurred throughout the watershed but was less common in the acidic river. The occurrences of two species, B. claviceps, and P. macrocephalus, were similar at acidified and limed sites. Numbers of infected fish and prevalence of the ...


In the last few years, significant improvements characterized state-ofthe-art Answer Set Programming (ASP) systems. It is now well accepted that their applicability is becoming more and more suited for real world applications requiring complex reasoning tasks. Among the available ASP systems, DLV recently came up with a large variety of language extensions, front-ends and variants that significantly widened its range of applicability. This paper presents an integrated development environment, customized for DLV and some of its extensions, which aims to simplify both the development-and-test process and the coupling of this ASP system with DBMSs.


The technique of reverberation chambers often used in EMC test is introduced,and then the technology of the chamber calibration is discussed.The reverberation chamber is tested by the E-probe and LPDA,and the performance parameters of the chamber,such as ACF,IL and the field uniformity of the workaround are confirmed.


The ability to read a document depends on the reader's skills and the text's readability level. In this paper, we propose a system that uses deep learning techniques to simplify texts in order to match a reader's level. We use a novel approach with a reinforcement learning loop that contains a readability classifier. The classifier's output is used to decide if more simplification is needed, until the desired readability level is reached. The simplification models are trained on data annotated with readability levels from the Newsela corpus. Our simplification models perform at sentence level, to simplify each sentence to meet the specified readability level. We use a version of the Newsela corpus aligned at the sentence level. We also produce an augmented dataset by automatically annotating more pairs of sentences using a readability-level classifier. Our text simplification models achieve better performance than state-of-the-art techniques for this task.


Social network data provide valuable information for companies to better understand the characteristics of their potential customers with respect to their communities. Yet, sharing social network data in its raw form raises serious privacy concerns because a successful privacy attack not only compromises the sensitive information of the target victim but also the relationship with his/her friends or even their private information. In recent years, several anonymization techniques have been proposed to solve these issues. Most of them focus on how to achieve a given privacy model but fail to preserve the data mining knowledge required for data recipients. In this paper, we propose a method to k-anonymize a social network dataset with the goal of preserving frequent sharing patterns, one of the most important kinds of knowledge required for marketing and consumer behaviour analysis. Experimental results on real-life data illustrate the trade-off between privacy and utility loss with respect to the preservation of frequent sharing patterns.


Tannins are classified as flavonoids and non-flavonoids. Non-flavonoids consist of gallic acid, ellagic acid, hydroxycinnamic acid and hydroxybenzoic acid and their derivatives. Flavonoids consist of flavonols, flavan-3-ols, flavan-3,4-ols and anthocyanins. Tannins are also known as the phenolic composition of the wine, total polyphenols or wine phenols. A wide variety of methods may be used to analyse wine for phenols. These methods range from simple to complex. There are three principal methods to analyse for phenols or tannins. These methods are the colorimetric, gravimetric and precipitation assays. As early as 1912, Otto Folin and W. Denis started developing a method to analyse the total phenols of wine. In 1927, Otto Folin and Vintila Ciocaltue adapted the original Folin-Denis to improve analysis of total phenols. To this day it is known as the Folin-Ciocaltue method. It is a long method that takes almost three hours and is read at 765 nm on a spectrophotometer. In 1978, Californians Ann Hagerman and Larry Butler developed a precipitation method, whereby a protein is used to bind to tannins. Hagerman and Butler used bovine serum albumin as a protein and the method is therefore known as the BSA method. James Harbertson adapted this method in 2003, incorporating a bleaching with bisulphite. The reason for this adaptation was that mono pigments (MP), small polymeric pigments (SPP) and large polymeric pigments (LPP) could also be analysed. BSA is a more indirect method of establishing tannin, seeing that it is read at 510 nm on a spectrophotometer. Three years later, in 2006, Sarneckis and his colleagues developed a precipitation method in Australia. They used a polysaccharide, methyl cellulose, to bind to tannins. This method, a more direct option since it reads at 280 nm, is known as the methyl cellulose precipitable (MCP) method.


In 1939, photographer Ilse Steinhoff published a photograph album of her 1937 trip to the former German colonies of Southwest and East Africa. Through a close study of this photograph album, this article elucidates larger themes in the visual culture of post-colonial and National Socialist Germany. The photographs in Deutsche Heimat in Afrika visualize the colonialist imaginary—peaceful but separate racial relations; the German qualities imposed by the settlers on the landscape and in the cities; an expansion of German women's roles that still maintained the traditional realm of family and culture; and the fertility of the African landscape and the next generation of colonial Germans. Steinhoff showed metropolitan Germans the importance of the colonial space through a visual aesthetic that resonated with that of Nazi Germany, thereby combining the fantasy of the past with the ideals of the present to further colonial revisionism in the Third Reich.


The essence of pathogenesis of the six endopathogens in Huangdi Neijing are six diseases and pathogenesis which get their names according to the patterns of wind,cold,summer,dampness,dryness,fire,the six climatic factors of the nature,so their essences are related to the method of analogizing from the similarity of the appearances of the diseases and natural phenomena.Though there are some relations between the six endopathogens and the six exopathogens from the aspect of etiology,they belong to two different concepts,so we should differentiate them but not confuse them.Stroke is given in the paper to prove the important meanings for guiding TCM clinic to differentiate syndrome and ascertain pathogenesis and improve the clinical effect by correctly mastering the essences of the six endopathogens.


Missile launcher with a launch tube (4) for receiving a missile (2) having a main motor (12) and a piston (14) with propulsion means (16), move the piston (14) along the launching tube (4), to the missile eject, wherein the propulsion means (16) are attached in such a manner on the piston (14) or embedded in this that these means of propulsion (16) remain attached to the piston or is embedded therein while the missile (2) from the launching tube (4 ) is ejected, and wherein the propulsion means (16) branched off gases propel a side reaction control system that causes an early maneuvering the missile (2) outside the launching tube (4).


Parameterization is the key factor affecting the implementation of most infiltration models. For the successful application of the Green-Ampt equation in the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model, procedures for estimating the effective hydraulic conductivity (Ke) must be developed. The objective of this study was to identify the major variables which affect Ke under row-cropped conditions and to develop statistical equations to quantify these relationships for use in WEPP. A total of 328 plot-years of data from natural runoff plots from eight sites was used to develop equations for estimating temporal variability of Ke under row-cropped conditions. The average period of record for each crop management system was approximately nine years, during which an average of 96 storm events was selected for each treatment. Crops included corn, cotton, oats, soybeans, and potatoes. Measured soil, climate, slope, and crop management information was used to build all of the WEPP input files. An optimization program was written to determine Ke for every selected event for which measured and predicted runoff volumes matched. Correlation analyses showed that storm rainfall, total effective surface cover, and their cross-product were strongly related to the optimized Ke. An interactive term consisting of soil properties, storm rainfall, and effective surface cover was developed and used for Ke prediction for row-cropped conditions. The r2 for model predicted total runoff of the selected events versus the measured was 0.94 and the slope of regression was 1.01. Model efficiencies for individual storm runoff predictions averaged 0.66. The results also showed that seasonal variations of Ke and runoff were adequately represented.


The complications of mechanical lithotripsy include a trapped basket surrounding the stone, fracture of the basket wires or the main operation wire, malfunction of the mechanical lithotriptor crank handle, and ductal injury [1,2]. Impaction of a basket with a captured stone inside occurs occasionally not only during mechanical lithotripsy but also during removal of small stones with non-lithotriptor basket catheters. Clinically, impaction of a basket with a small stone can occur because of stenosis of the distal biliary tract. Basket impaction is a severe complication, which usually needs an additional procedure. We here describe and illustrate the use of rescue lithotripsy to treat this complication. When unexpected impaction of a basket occurs during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP; ●" Fig.1), the basket catheter must be cut close to the catheter handle. The endoscope and outer sheath of the basket catheter must then be removed (●" Fig.2). A snare catheter without the outer sheath is passed through a previously shortened metal sheath used for mechanical lithotripsy. The appropriate length for the metal sheath is determined by the length of the traction wire for the basket catheter. This method is useful because the tip of the traction wire, which would be difficult to pass through the commonly used metal sheath, is made up of several wire bundles that easily come untied. A bundle of the traction wire is untied at the cut end and several wires are folded back through the tip of the snare. The snare catheter is then slowly pulled back through the metal sheath drawing the traction wire with it and out of the metal sheath (●" Fig.3). The metal sheath is then passed through the alimentary tract over the traction wire (●" Fig.4). This allows the traction wire to be more tightly fixed (●" Fig.5 and●" Fig.6) and the calculi can then be crushed. If the traction wire fractures at the outer end of the wire, the above procedure can be repeated using a shorter metal sheath [2].


The chemical reaction between [Au11(PPh3)8Cl2]+ and n-alkanethiol CnH2n+1SH (n = 2, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18) serendipitously yielded stable Au25 cluster compounds with the formula, [Au25(PPh3)10(SCnH2n+1)5Cl2]2+. Single-crystal X-ray structural analysis of [Au25(PPh3)10(SC2H5)5Cl2](SbF6)2 revealed that the Au25 core is constructed by bridging two icosahedral Au13 clusters with thiolates sharing a vertex atom. Optical absorption spectroscopy showed that coupling between the Au13 building blocks gives rise to new electronic levels in addition to those of the Au13 constituents.


The government has made various efforts to improve the quality of national education, which, among others, through the improvement of curriculum, procurement of books and learning tools, improvement of infrastructure facilities, improving the quality of school/madrasah management, various training and improving educator qualifications, including in this case is an improvement in the ability of educators in the learning process by using various models and strategies or learning methods, thus enabling learners to always be active in terms of learning. Research methods using action research or action research is a research model that is at the same time practising and theorizing, or combining theory while implementing in practice. The results of the study found that the student's Fiqh learning achievement increased after the Cooperative learning model was applied to class V MI Mambaul Huda West Stage Magetan lesson year 2020/2021. This is evidenced by test results data in cycle III showing an average student score of 92. Similarly, the percentage of completion is 100%.


anti-Exclusionist novel, based on the reallife elopement of Henrietta Berkeley with her brother-in-law, Ford, Lord Grey (a supporter of Monmouth), rhetorically depicts the heroine as becoming a courtesan. Ms. Conway observes that the authority Behn invested in Gwyn and Hortense Mancini enabled her to use the novel as a means of uniting her interest in sexual relations and political crises in the 1680s. In The Secret History of Queen Zarah and the Zarazians, a Tory political secret history from 1705 (once attributed to Delarivier Manley, but now to Joseph Browne), the Whig Sarah Churchill, duchess of Marlborough (known to be a loyal and loving wife), is rendered as a courtesan. The courtesan did not provide a point of reference any more stable than the term Protestant in popular culture's continuous reimagining. The courtesan's regular appearance in novels through the middle of the eighteenth century marked the nation's unresolved anxieties about religion and politics. Here it would have been useful if Ms. Conway had developed further the connection between the political secret history and the developing novel. She appropriately refutes Robert Mayer's distinction between histories understood as fact and those as fiction during this period; however, it nevertheless would have been helpful to identify at least a porous border distinguishing the secret history from the novel. For example, although twentiethcentury critics viewed the secret histories of Delarivier Manley as novels, Manley, like Browne, was working in the genre that Lionel Gossman has identified as the ''little history'' (la petite histoire), a gossipy account that contradicted the dominant histories of the day. Defoe, Richardson, and Fielding clearly incorporate such little histories into their novels, but their texts function in a way that many secret histories of the period do not. In Roxana, Defoe ''evokes Nell Gwyn's legacy and the Restoration's struggle to sustain the dream of Protestant community'' in order to demonstrate that this dream will not be achieved through theological abstraction, but ''the embodied status of the individual.'' Ms. Conway points to Clarissa's dealings with the prostitutes and to references to Mme. de Maintenon, mistress to Louis XIV. In Fielding's Tom Jones, Sophia Western, mistaken for the Jacobite Jenny Cameron, is aligned rhetorically with an apolitical Gwyn. Richardson and Fielding thus both ''realized that the political divisions that haunted England in the wake of the '45 remained unresolved.'' Moreover, ''Clarissa and Tom Jones gain their power from an awareness that the answers to the questions raised by the Restoration and its aftermath could only ever be partial and incomplete.'' Ms. Conway persuasively demonstrates that ''Courtesan narrative opens a window onto a continent of religious controversy and sexual politics that offers no safe harbours for those travelling its coastlines.'' The achievements of her text are manifold. Rachel Carnell Cleveland State University


This paper investigates data processing schemes that define the distribution of decision making that affects system accuracy and energy consumption. There exist two typical schemes, namely: centralized and distributed schemes. In a centralized scheme, nodes collect samples and send them to a "fusion center." This scheme provides optimal decision accuracy; however, it consumes considerable energy. In contrast, distributed schemes allow nodes to make local 1-bit decisions, which are sent to the fusion center to make the final decision. In a hybrid scheme, the network specifies the level of accuracy required for the whole system. This can be achieved by manipulating the scheme to work interchangeably as centralized or distributed. Most of the energy consumed is in the transmission process; therefore, this paper proposes an energy-saving hybrid scheme that focuses on optimizing transmission energy. In this proposed scheme, each node is able to alternate between centralized and decentralized scheme according to its location and path length. To validate the proposed approach, it is simulated and the results are compared with the hybrid scheme.


By RIY Adan Thirty to 90 cm deep in the mud lies the mangrove clam – one of the most noteworthy species among the edible mangrove-associated mollusks. This mangrove clam Anodontia edentula (locally known as imbao) is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, from East and South Africa, including Madagascar and the Red Sea, to eastern Polynesia; north to southern Japan and Hawaii, and south to New South Wales. It inhabits the muddy bottom of mangrove areas, or the adjacent mudflats. It grows to a maximum size 8-9 cm shell length, total weight of 180-210 g and is a potential aquaculture species. Imbao is a highly-prized shellfish in coastal areas where it is abundant; hence an important source of food and livelihood. In the Philippines, imbao is ample in Visayas and Mindanao. It is sold in some seafood restaurants at prices slightly higher than other clam species, at P5-8 apiece. Imbao is often cooked as soup, steamed or broiled, others prefer to eat it raw. However, overexploitation and habitat destruction has led to the decline of its population. In 1997, SEAFDEC/AQD started work on imbao – as a component of its mangrove-friendly aquaculture program. AQD sees stock enhancement within a wider program of mangrove conservation and rehabilitation as a way to bring it back. Towards this end, AQD researchers led by Senior Scientist Dr. Jurgenne Primavera has undertaken studies on the shell's reproductive biology and existing fisheries. Mangrove clams were collected in San Roque, Estancia, Iloilo using the "mata" system – a non-destructive collection method. They hired the services of skilled imbao collectors; people who can pinpoint the exact location of imbao through the opening of its siphon – or what is locally called "mata" (a reference to the hole or opening in the substrate). This method spares mangroves from damage caused by digging. Field samplings revealed that imbao can be collected at mean depths of 30-40 cm. Monthly range of sizes of imbao was 43 –51 mm mean shell length and 21 170 g total weight. Moreover, female and male adults were successfully induced to spawn using serotonin. Females that spawned ranged from 60 g, 57 mm shell length to 125 g, 73 mm shell length. The maximum number of eggs spawned by a 71 g female was 1 million. AQD researchers are also studying the potential of imbao as sediment cleaner. Imbao belongs to a shell family (Order Veneroida, Family


Abstract To study the effect of solvents on the elastic properties of vulcanized rubber, the following three points were investigated. 1. The swelling maximum obtained by various mixed solvents. 2. The stress-strain curves of rubber swollen to different degrees. 3. Time-swelling and time-deswelling curves. The spiral theory of molecular structure of rubber proposed by Fikentscher and Mark is utilized to explain the experimental results.


Background: Excessive sun exposure results in increased activity of the tyrosinase enzyme and the amount of melanin in the skin which causes hyperpigmentation, a sign of premature aging. The purpose of this study was to prove that Ashitaba (Angelica keiskei) leaves extract cream 8% inhibited the increase of melanin and tyrosinase enzymes as effective as hydroquinone cream 4% in the ultraviolet B-exposed guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) skin. Methods: This study used a randomized post-test only control group design. The subjects were 36 male guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus). Subjects were divided into two groups, the hydroquinone cream 4% group and the Ashitaba leaves extract cream 8% group exposed to UVB light. Skin samples were collected 48 hours after the last exposure to measure the tyrosinase enzyme levels using the ELISA method and the amount of melanin was examined by Masson-Fontana staining. Results: The mean levels of tyrosinase in the hydroquinone cream 4% group was 19.51 ± 5.16 ng/L and the Ashitaba leaves extract cream 8% group was 23.76 ± 3.09 ng/L (p = 0.005). The mean amount of melanin in the hydroquinone cream 4% group was 2.98 ± 2.27% and the Ashitaba leaves extract cream 8% group was 4.77 ± 3.33% (p = 0.069). Conclusion: The administration of Ashitaba (Angelica keiskei) leaves extract cream 8% inhibited the increase of melanin amount as effective as hydroquinone cream 4% and inhibited the increase of tyrosinase enzymes not as effective as hydroquinone cream 4% in the ultraviolet B-exposed guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) skin


Comment on: Menotti L, et al. Inhibition of human tumor growth in mice by an oncolytic herpes simplex virus designed to target solely HER-2-positive cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2009;106:9039-44.


Aiming at the problem of large temperature error in the melting and clarifying process of borosilicate glass in the process of vitrification of high-level waste liquid with 100 kW fiber laser, a temperature control algorithm based on RBF neural network PID was proposed. The vitrification of borosilicate glass is a nonlinear, time-lag and large inertia process. Conventional manual control and PID control cannot meet the temperature control requirements during the vitrification of borosilicate glass. In this paper, a three-layer RBF neural network model is established, and the PID parameters are adjusted online by using the adaptability of the RBF neural network. The simulation results show that compared with manual control and PID control, the RBF neural network PID control has faster adjustment speed, smaller overshoot and stronger self-adaptation, and effectively reduces the temperature error during glass curing., improving the robustness of the system, resulting in higher waste containment and thermal efficiency.


SYNOPSIS During seismic events, the overturning moment exerted by the hydrodynamic pressure of a liquid contained in an unanchored, thin-walled liquid storage tank tends to lift the tank base plate off its foundation. The nonlinear uplift and contact mechanism between the base plate and the underlying foundation is investigated in the present study. Nonlinearities due to base plate contact with foundation, large deflection and plastic hinge formation are examined.


A simple protein-mediated approach for preparing freestanding (silica free) microscale titania structures with morphologies inherited from complex-shaped, three-dimensional (3-D) biosilica templates (diatom frustules) is demonstrated. The silica diatom frustules were exposed in a repetitive alternating fashion to a silica-binding, titania-forming protein (protamine) and then to an aqueous titania precursor to build up a conformal titania-bearing coating. After organic pyrolysis at 500 °C, the conformal, continuous nature of the resulting crystalline anatase titania coating was confirmed by (i) demonstrating that a titania-coated frustule acted as a sensitive electrochemical hydrogen detector and (ii) selectively removing the silica templates to yield freestanding titania structures that retained the 3-D diatom frustule shape.


This paper is about the collaborative use of a far-infrared spectrum human detector and a visible spectrum human detector; the idea is to make collaborate these two detectors of different nature to automatically adapt the human detection whatever the luminosity changes and whatever the infrared emission changes of the scene. Our collaborative approach of detection handles: 1) gradual luminosity changes due, for instance, to the passage from night to day (and vice-versa), 2) sudden luminosity changes due, for instance, to navigation in a forest (when going through a glade in a forest), 3) infrared emission saturation when the global temperature of the scene is very high and does not permit to distinguish human people in infrared. Our approach of detection permits to detect people 24 hours a day and regardless the weather conditions. Furthermore, the proposed approach is relatively fast: it is practically as fast as using one detector alone whereas two are used in the same time.


AbstractThis paper investigates the initial development of the double ITCZ in the Community Climate System Model version 3 (CCSM3) in the central Pacific. Starting from a resting initial condition of the ocean in January, the model developed a warm bias of sea surface temperature (SST) in the central Pacific from 5°S to 10°S in the first three months. This initial bias is caused by excessive surface shortwave radiation that is also present in the stand-alone atmospheric model. The initial bias is further amplified by biases in both surface latent heat flux and horizontal heat transport in the upper ocean. These biases are caused by the responses of surface winds to SST bias and the thermocline structure to surface wind curls. This study also showed that the warming biases in surface solar radiation and latent heat fluxes are seasonally offset by cooling biases from reduced solar radiation after the austral summer due to cloud responses and in the austral fall due to enhanced evaporation when the maximum S...


Harrogate Borough Council have announced district will not see a rise in the Harrogate borough element of their council tax bills for the firth year ...


We present a view-based face recognition system which combines elements from both feature-based and appearance-based approaches to increase recognition performance under illumination changes. It uses corners and their local neighborhood at several scales to construct local features which form the representation of each face image. Matching feature sets takes into account both configurational and appearance-based similarity. We present recognition results on a highly realistic synthetic face-database demonstrating the system's ability to tolerate illumination changes. In addition, the proposed framework agrees well with current findings from psychophysics.


Phycocyanin is a pigment compound that can be found from Spirulina platensis microalgae. It has been used for food colorant, cosmetic dye and fluorescence reagent for clinical diagnosis. Phycocyanin can be extracted using various procedure that was affected by many factors, one of them is the type of solvent that was used in the extraction process. This research will study the usage of different solvents, using sodium phosphate buffer and calcium chloride. The extraction method used in this research is freeze-thawing. The parameters of this extraction are phycocyanin yield and purity. The obtained result shows a higher yield of phycocyanin from extraction using phosphate buffer, with the value of 35.31 mg/g, and a higher phycocyanin purity from extraction using CaCl2 with the ratio of 2.6.


What does it mean for a journal to be international? A journal with ''Asia-Pacific'' in its title can suggest a publication representing views from a particular region or it can indicate where the journal is edited and produced. The Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education (APJTE) is both located in the region and aims to publish research from within this region, but does not exclusively publish research from the AsiaPacific region. Rather research in teacher education is a global endeavour and submissions to the journal indicate this global reach (see Table 1). Researchers publishing in a global context are no doubt likely to encounter the 'tension' between the pressures of global conformity and pressures of local diversification and identity formation (Vulliamy, 2004). That is, authors seeking to publish in APJTE, within this international arena, will need to represent their local issues within the international purview and reach of the APJTE. Table 1 illustrates that authors are not daunted by the international location of the APJTE, and indeed demonstrates that the reach of the journal is indeed global. The table provides some insights into the popularity of the APJTE as an avenue for publication. At least 15 of the 93 articles submitted for publication in 2005 came from outside the Asia-Pacific region. However, the geographic location of authors did not influence the decision to send papers for review. These decisions were based predominantly on whether the submissions conformed to the purview of the journal, and on the quality of the writing. It should be noted that decisions to accept or reject a paper never reflect the location of the research, but rather, the quality of the writing and research, and whether that research conforms to the purview of the APJTE. These decisions are made by the Editorial team in consultation with reviewers, while decisions about what to publish depend on the judgement of reviewers. This issue of the journal demonstrates the geographical breadth of submissions and the high quality of research scholarship that APJTE is currently attracting. In some ways it also shows the irrelevance of a concern about 'geography'. While authors may be writing from various locations around the globe, often they are writing about issues that occur in yet other places still. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education Vol. 34, No. 2, July 2006, pp. 139–141


Rigid body motion table is a celebrated piece of knowledge and educational cornerstone found in almost all theoretical mechanics textbooks. What these tables lack is the complete presentation of all quantities describing the rigid body motion, namely the orientation or the angular position of the rigid body. This omission is due to the vector formalism that is used. To correct this inconsistency the authors show how the same table should be written using matrix formalism. The authors also show how the fixed table helps students to much easier derive frequently used formulas and equations regarding theoretical mechanics and more specifically rigid body motion.


Conventional wisdom has been that public utility regulation of electric utilities was a failed enterprise and that better public policy would be to deregulate electricity, much as we have deregulated other industries. This article describes how that deregulation has been done in New York State. The article argues that rather than full deregulation, New York has replaced one regulatory system with another, albeit one that is more sensitive to economic incentives. The article reviews the process followed by New York in adopting electricity deregulation, particularly the collaborative effort between the New York Public Service Commission and the industry to articulate a "vision" for the electric utility industry in New York, and describes the difficulties in implementing deregulation. Four factors help explain the deregulation shortfall: the institutions of deregulation; the approach that regulators have taken to "market power"; the industrial facts of electricity markets; and the design of the wholesale auction market. The article concludes that although structural and design factors have led (predictably) to more of a regulated electric market than was promised, the goal of deregulation should not be abandoned. Instead, the PSC will need to move from regulatory agency to "supervisor of competitive markets," with a focus on market-set prices rather than regulated ones and on the incentives necessary for capital investment in generation and transmission capacity.


Macrophages and glial activation contribute to the pathophysiology of spinal cord injury (SCI). Some preclinical studies have shown the anti-inflammatory effects of aripiprazole (ARP). In the current study, we evaluated the anti-inflammatory effects of ARP in a rat SCI model. Forty male Wistar rats underwent either T9 vertebra laminectomy or were used as a sham-operated group without laminectomy. There were four major groups in this study: a sham-operated, three treatments (normal saline [vehicle] control versus ARP 10 and 20 mg/kg/day for three days after surgery, first dose 30 minutes post-surgery) SCI groups. We evaluated locomotor scaling and neuropathic pain behavioral tests over 28 days. On Day 28, tissue samples were investigated for neuroinflammatory and histopathology changes through flow cytometry and ELISA. ARP (10 and 20 mg/kg/day, 3 days) treatment significantly reduced locomotors disability (P<0.01) and mechanical (P<0.01) and thermal allodynia (P<0.001) scores. Additionally, Levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α level and interleukin (IL)-10 were significantly altered in ARP-treated spinal cord tissues 28 days after SCI (P<0.01). Moreover, spinal cord tissue expression of M1 and M2 macrophages, as well as M1/M2 ratio, were reduced in ARP-treated SCI animals, concurrent with decreased M1 and increased M2 and M1/M2 in dorsal root ganglion (P<0.001). Our study indicates that ARP has therapeutic effects on SCI via the reduction of neuroinflammation and SCI sensory and locomotor abnormalities.


The article deals with the problem of the readiness of the literature teacher for the forming of the national identity of students in foreign literature lessons. The aim of the article is to outline the components of the foreign literature teacher's readiness and his / her actions in the formation of students' national identity. The following methods of scientific research were used to achieve the goal and to solve the set tasks: theoretical: analysis of sociological and psychological-pedagogical sources about national identity and ways of its formation in school youth – to substantiate scientific thesis of the research; empirical: analysis of conceptual scientific foundations of professional training – to determine the components of the readiness of the literature teacher to form the national identity of students; practical: problem-search, modelling, systematization – to prepare recommendations, models of lesson preparation by the teacher. Each literature teacher should have basic knowledge of the theory and practice of forming of the national identity of school youth. Without assimilation and respectful attitude to the national values of people, it is impossible to form the national consciousness of the students. The article identifies and describes the motivational and value, cognitive and activity components of the teacher's readiness for forming the national identity of students in foreign literature lessons, approaches to learning: personal-oriented, national-oriented, cultural, dialogical, integration of knowledge-based, knowledge-integration active.
The ways of formation of national identity of students in lessons of foreign literature are described, notes for the student, an algorithm of modelling of the lesson on national-patriotic education are offered. The offered methodical materials will help the teacher of foreign literature to be ready for effective solution of this problem. The result of forming a national identity of students will be conscious citizens-patriots of their country.


Objective To get Bordetella bronchiseptic(Bb) expressing recombinant protein pertactin(PRN)and establish an indirect ELISA for detection of rabbit Bordetella bronchiseptic antibodies.Methods According to a pair of designed specific primers,PRN gene of rabbit Bordetella bronchiseptica was amplified by PCR and inserted into prokaryotic expression vector pGEX-4T-1.The recombinant expression plasmids were transfected into BL21(DE3) strain.The optimal concentration of coated antigen recombinant protein PRN and serum dilution was determined to develop the ELISA technique.Results PRN gene of Bordetella bronchiseptica was successfully cloned and expressed.The SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis unfolded the excellent immunogenicity of the recombinant proteins which were used as coating antigens to develop the ELISA method for Bb-specific antibody diagnosis.The peridium consistency of the recombinant protein PRN determined in this experiment was 500 ng /mL,and the optimal testing serum dilution was 1:40.Conclusions The PRN indirect ELISA developed in this study offers a simple and practical way for monitoring antibody of Bb,and provides much information for laying a basis for development of a Bb diagnosis kit.


3D bioprinting often involves application of highly concentrated polymeric bioinks to enable fabrication of stable cell-hydrogel constructs, although poor cell survival, compromised stem cell differentiation, and an inhomogeneous distribution of newly produced extracellular matrix (ECM) is frequently observed. Therefore, this study presents a bioink platform utilizing a new versatile dual-stage crosslinking approach based on thiolated hyaluronic acid (HA-SH), which not only provides stand-alone 3D printability, but also facilitates effective chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). A range of HA-SH with different molecular weights is synthesized and crosslinked with acrylated (PEG-diacryl) and allylated (PEG-diallyl) polyethylene glycol in a two-step reaction scheme. The initial Michael addition is used to achieve ink printability, followed by UV-mediated thiol-ene reaction to stabilize the printed bioink for long-term cell culture. Bioinks with high molecular weight HA-SH (> 200 kDa) require comparably low polymer content to facilitate bioprinting. This leads to superior quality of cartilaginous constructs which possess a coherent ECM and a strongly increased stiffness of long-term cultured constructs. The dual-stage system may serve as an example to design platforms utilizing two independent crosslinking reactions at one functional group, which allows to adjust printability as well as material and biological properties of bioinks. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


ABSTRACT This paper reports on the narrative of Shannon, a Taiwanese Canadian female assistant language teacher (ALT) of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme, one of the world's largest government-sponsored programmes for recruiting English language teachers to teach overseas [Nagatomo (2016). Identity, gender and teaching English in Japan. Multilingual Matters]. The interview data were analyzed with the methodology of critical discursive psychology (CDP), a version of discourse analysis developed by Wetherall and Potter (1992. Mapping the language of racism: Discourse and the legitimation of exploitation. Harvester Wheatsheaf). CDP allows the researchers to engage in 'double movement' of Marxist ideological critique and Foucauldian genealogical analysis, with which I demonstrate how Shannon's subject position was conditioned by broader ideologies and discourses about race, gender, and language. My analysis highlights how the ideology of native speakerism impacts an Asian native speaker's experience as an ALT in Japan with a particular focus on Shannon's struggle in a dilemmatic subject position between Asian Self and foreign Other. Due to her Asian appearance, Shannon constantly felt that she was 'not foreign enough' to fulfil the role of an exoticised native speaker and struggled to negotiate her legitimacy as an English teacher. Taking dilemma as a generative space for change, I discuss potential pathways for ideological critique and discursive transformation.


The utility model relates to a solid tobacco tar electronic cigarette, comprising a tobacco rod, a tobacco tar bin, an atomization device and a tar guiding component. One end of the tobacco rod is provided with a suction nozzle. The tobacco tar bin is arranged inside the tobacco rod and is used for accommodating the tobacco tar. The atomization device that is arranged inside the tobacco rod includes: an atomization cap; an atomizer, which is arranged inside the atomization cap and is used for atomize the tobacco tar into smoke; and a smoke channel, which is used for connecting the suction nozzle and the atomization cap. And tar guiding component is used for guiding the tobacco tar from the tobacco tar bin into the atomization device. Besides, the atomization cap is accommodated into the tobacco tar bin; the tar guiding component penetrates the side wall of the atomization cap and is stretched into the tobacco tar bin; and the solid tobacco tar inside the tobacco tar bin covers the atomization cap and the tar guiding component. According to the utility model, problems that the melting speed of the solid tobacco tar of the existing solid tobacco tar electronic cigarette is slow and the installation process of the existing electronic cigarette is time-consuming can be solved, thereby achieving objectives of improvement of the melting efficiency of the solid tobacco tar of the electronic cigarette as well as simpleness and rapidity of the installation process of the electronic cigarette.


Power customer credit risk will cause the business risk to power supply enterprise. The classical and limited matter-elements of power customer credit risk is established in this paper with the theory and methods of extenics and entropy theory. Based on entropy theory, the subjectivity which lies in ascertaining factors' weights in lower hierarchy is avoided, and objective and reasonable assessment results are obtained. Compared with other assessment methods, this method can reflect more objectively and truly the credit degree of power customer and this method is easy to use.


This paper adopts a new perspective of figure-ground theory to explain Khaled Husseini's The Kite Runner. By illustrate the prominence of the "kite"figure and thematic ideas of this novel,the readers can better know its cognitive principles and further understand the theme of this story.


Background: The current standard of care in MM, lenalidomide (LEN), is frequently used as part of first-line (1L) treatment (tx) or as maintenance tx following autologous stem cell transplantation; therefore, there is a growing need for appropriate tx options in patients (pts) with relapsed/refractory MM (RRMM) previously treated with LEN. OPTIMISMM is the first and only phase 3 trial in early RRMM (median 1-2 prior lines) to specify prior LEN tx as an inclusion criterion. The trial showed a significant improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) with pomalidomide + bortezomib (BORT) + dexamethasone (DEX) (PVd) vs BORT + DEX (Vd) (median PFS 11.2 months (mo) [95% confidence interval (CI): 9.66-13.73] vs 7.1 mo [5.88-8.48]; hazard ratio [HR] = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.49-0.77; P < 0.0001). How the PVd results from the OPTIMISMM trial compare with results achieved with other tx options for LEN-exposed pts with RRMM has not been established.
 Aim: This analysis aimed to put the phase 3 OPTIMISMM (PVd) trial results into perspective by comparing with results achieved for other tx options post LEN.
 Methods: A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted in May 2018 and updated in Dec 2018, in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Cochrane guidelines, to identify randomized controlled trial (RCT) data on efficacy outcomes in LEN-exposed pts with early RRMM. Electronic database searches were performed in Embase®, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Library, and study eligibility criteria were defined using the PICOS framework. Searches were restricted to Jan 2004 onward.
 Descriptive statistics were used to assess between-trial heterogeneity in study design, baseline demographics, and clinical characteristics. Where the evidence network and heterogeneity assessment suggested an indirect treatment comparison (ITC) was feasible, the analysis was conducted in the Bayesian framework, according to the NICE Decision Support Unit guidelines.
 Results: ENDEAVOR and CASTOR were the only relevant trials that reported PFS in pts with RRMM previously treated with LEN. Comparator txs included carfilzomib + DEX (Kd) (ENDEAVOR) and daratumumab + BORT + DEX (DVd) (CASTOR). OPTIMISMM was designed to prospectively evaluate pts who had prior LEN, whereas ENDEAVOR and CASTOR reported only pt subgroups with prior LEN; all studies reported the number of pts who were refractory to LEN, with values varying from 18% (DVd) in CASTOR to 71% (PVd) in OPTIMISMM (Table).
 Differences in prognostic baseline characteristics were noted between the overall study populations in OPTIMISMM and ENDEAVOR; as the corresponding data were not available for CASTOR, a full assessment of heterogeneity was not possible.
 Although Vd initially seemed to link the network of evidence, the comparator arm of the CASTOR trial had a fixed 8-cycle Vd tx duration, whereas pts randomized to the comparator arm in OPTIMISMM and ENDEAVOR received Vd continuously until disease progression. As the Vd arms could not be considered comparable, DVd was excluded from the ITC.
 Based on data from ENDEAVOR and OPTIMISMM, PVd could only be compared with Kd and Vd. Based on the ITC, Vd was associated with a statistically significant shorter PFS vs PVd (HR PVd vs Vd = 0.62, 95% credible interval [Crl]: 0.50-0.76) in the prior-LEN RRMM population. No statistically significant difference was observed in PFS for Kd vs PVd (HR PVd vs Kd = 0.90, 95% Crl: 0.62-1.28). It is important to note that pt characteristics vary between these trials, particularly regarding prior LEN.
 Discussion: Due to increasing use of LEN in the 1L setting and as maintenance tx, a growing population of pts with early RRMM are treated with LEN. This SLR found that OPTIMISMM is the only study to date to prospectively investigate the efficacy of regimens in this population. Only 2 other RCTs were identified that reported data for pts with prior LEN, and in both cases, these were subgroups of the overall trial population, thus limiting the robustness of the comparator data. HRs for PFS from the ITC aligned with those from OPTIMISMM, confirming the superiority of PVd over Vd. The ITC between PVd and Kd found no statistically significant difference between these regimens. Comparison with DVd was not possible given the differences in design between CASTOR and OPTIMISMM. Further studies in pts previously treated with LEN are warranted, given the impact of prior tx on outcomes for pts with early RRMM.

 Weisel: Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; GSK: Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Adaptive Biotech: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene Corporation: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Juno: Consultancy. Dhanasiri:Celgene Corporation: Employment, Equity Ownership. Gauthier:Amaris Consulting: Employment, Equity Ownership; Celgene Corporation: Consultancy. Padhiar:Amaris Consulting: Employment. Casal:Celgene Corporation: Employment. Richardson:Oncopeptides: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Karyopharm: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.


We report the case of a neonate born at 384/7 weeks of gestation with median birth weight and size and in the 75th percentile for head circumference. Routine pregnancy follow up allowed the antenatal discovery of azygos continuation with absence of the inferior vena cava.


Abstract : Test procedures for testing a rate-integrating, Single-Degree-of-Freedom strapdown gyroscope are presented. Tests are restricted to static and constant-rate modes in both inertial reference servo and analog-torque-to-balance configurations. Alignment procedures and adopted sign conventions are discussed. Temperature control considerations are described. (Author)


Objectives: Preeclampsia (PE) is still a problem in the field of obstetrics. This is due to the unclear etiology, morbidity and mortality are still high. Currently, there has been a change in the definition and understanding of Preeclampsiaa, Early Onset Preeclampsiaa (EOPE) and Late Onset Preeclampsiaa (LOPE). EOPE is a disorder accompanied by severe complications for both the mother and the perinatal due to placental factors, while LOPE is a disorder that is characterized by a mild complications in maternal from maternal disorders. This study aims to find differences in characteristics, management, maternal and perinatal outcomes to EOPE and LOPE. Methods: An analytic observational study was done with cross sectional design involving retrospective data 433 pregnant women with preeclampsia who delivered in Hasan Sadikin Hospital Bandung. Data were taken from January 2013 to December 2014. It was noted the characteristics, management, maternal and perinatal outcomes. Data were analyzed using parametric and nonparametric test with significance p < 0.05. Results: The results showed that the incidence of EOPE (27.5%) was lower than LOPE (72.5%). Diastolic blood pressure is significantly higher in EOPE 109.71 ± 10.761 and 106.05 ± 8.871 compared to LOPE. The most spontaneous delivery is with EOPE labor (91.2%) while in LOPE delivery with using forceps (73.8%). Long of stay in EOPE at 5.59 ± 6.90 is longer than the LOPE at 5.32 ± 4.70. Complications in perinatal outcomes such as low birth weight (<2500 gram) are more in EOPE (97.5%) compared to LOPE (45.6%) and asphyxia is more on EOPE (11.7%) compared to LOPE (1.3%). Stillbirth in EOPE (16%) is more than LOPE group (2.8%). Conclusions: It is obtained that EOPE incidence rate is lower than LOPE. Mother and perinatal complications are greater in the EOPE group.


EU knowledge triangle composed of education, research and patents is being analyzed as a mean to improve quality of life in EU, including its economy and crisis resolution potential. While research side of triangle is satisfactory, education needs improvement in content and student and staff mobility. The number of patents should be higher given the number of research papers published. Obstacles to smartocracy approach are highlighted together with EU growth strategy 2020 with its supportive programs and other possible solutions to smart growth. Case studies are used to illustrate the need for flexible and timely support particularly in new IT business models. Bureaucracy, slow reactions, lack of success culture, and red tape together with conservative universities are limits to change based on creativity and smart growth. It was stated that EU strategy 2020 represents welcomed but slow move in good direction. Finally, return to basics of creativity, as an individual process, is being reinforced together with the idea of supporting inventors with the unemployed managers to help them with the implementation of inventions in the social phase of the patent process.


The present work shows the oscillation of a microbubble using temperature gradients. This gradient is caused by the absorption of laser light by silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) immobilized on the tip of a single-mode optical fiber FO (9/125 μm). The immobilization of these nanoparticles was performed using the technique known as photodeposition. Subsequently, the tip with the nanoparticles was immersed in ethanol. We used a infrared (λ=1550 nm) laser with fiber optic output which was controlled (modulate) with a waveform generator. When the laser pulse is at its high level, a radial temperature gradient is generated and the liquid near the tip of the optical fiber evaporates creating a microbubble. This microbubble remains attached to the face of the optical fiber due to the Marangoni force (FM) that brings it to the point of highest temperature. When the laser pulse changes to its low level, the temperature gradient disappears and the Marangoni force becomes zero. This causes the buoyancy force (FB) to become predominant driving the microbubble to the surface. However, for a new laser pulse the cycle repeats itself, keeping the microbubble oscillating within a region. As the laser modulation frequency increases the oscillation distance of the microbubble decreases.


In a paper, communicated to the Royal Society in March last, I described a series of Balanoglossus larvse, found by me in the Bahama Islands. The series extended from a larva with one pair of gill-slits to a form resembling in many ways a normal Tornaria; but the differences between this larva and the normal European form were so great as to induce me to believe that a process of degeneration was going on, and that the Tornaria-like creature was the oldest, not the youngest, of the series. On seeing my paper, Professor Spengel, whose researches on Balanoglossus are well known, wrote to me, informing me that I was altogether mistaken in my interpretation of the larvae which I had found, and that my series belonged in fact to the normal order of development.


I AM writing in response to the News item in Veterinary Record , 'Nottingham vet school shortlisted for leadership and management award' (May 14, 2011, vol 168, p 502).

As much as I would like to congratulate Nottingham, I was appalled …


ABSTRACT Introduction Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is effective for pathological health anxiety, but little is known about unwanted outcomes. Areas covered We investigated unwanted outcomes in the form of adverse events, overall symptom deterioration, and dropouts in CBT for pathological health anxiety based on a systematic review of 19 randomized controlled trials (PubMed, PsycInfo, and OATD; last updated 2 June 2023; pooled N = 2188), and then a secondary original study of two randomized controlled trials (pooled N = 336). In the systematic review, 10% of participants in CBT reported at least one adverse event and 17% dropped out. Heterogeneity was substantial. In the original investigation, 17% reported at least one adverse event, 0–10% met criteria for overall symptom deterioration, and 10–19% dropped out. In guided Internet-delivered CBT, dropouts were more common with lower education and lower credibility/expectancy ratings. Higher adherence was associated with a larger reduction in health anxiety. Expert opinion Unwanted effects are routinely seen in CBT for pathological health anxiety, but, under typical circumstances, appear to be acceptable in light of the treatment's efficacy. There is a need for more consistent methods to improve our understanding adverse events, dropouts, and overall symptom deterioration, and how these outcomes can be prevented. Plain languages summary People who worry excessively about having or developing a serious disease are commonly offered cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). Little is known about unwanted outcomes in CBT for this patient group. This study had two parts. First, we conducted a systematic search of the existing literature where we found that about 10% of patients in CBT experience an event that they perceive as unwanted or negative. About 17% of patients drop out of treatment prematurely. Results differed substantially between studies. Second, we analyzed the outcome of two original studies and found that about 17% of patients in CBT experience an event that they perceive as unwanted or negative. Patients who experienced such an event reported, on average, a smaller reduction in health anxiety if CBT was delivered face-to-face, but not if it was delivered via the Internet. About 0–10% rated their health anxiety as having become worse after CBT, and 10–19% dropped out prematurely. In CBT delivered via the Internet, patients were more likely to drop out if their level of education was lower, and if they rated the treatment as less credible and expectancy-evoking during week 2. We conclude that unwanted effects are relatively common but typically mild and acceptable.


The purpose of the trials was to establish feeding methods or management strategies that can reduce the level of boar taint at slaughter.


Until recently the Dutch did not realize that manors and country houses and their surrounding parks and gardens formed an inseparable entity, and should not be looked at as two isolated and different kinds of objects. It was Jonkheer H. W. M. van der Wijck who, about 10 years ago, opened our eyes to this fact and insisted on acknowledging this entity of the country seat (called 'buitenplaats' in Dutch) as a specific category among products of culture and art, which as such deserves protection.


PHACE is a clinic-radiological syndrome first described by Friedon in 1996 as an infantile segmental hemangioma with other features like posterior fossa abnormalities, arteriopathy, cardiac defects and eye anomalies. Long term outcome varies according to the severity of associated defects.


ABSTRACT High levels of stress, anxiety, negative thoughts and emotions are being increasingly reported amongst university students and all impact negatively upon academic performance and student satisfaction. A cross-sectional design was adopted to explore how personality traits and attitudes relevant to wellbeing (i.e. mindfulness, positive and negative affect, perceived stress, self-criticism and resiliency) could best predict student satisfaction as measured by a simulated National Student Survey (NSS). It was found that students who scored higher in mindfulness, positive affect and resiliency reported higher levels of satisfaction on the NSS. Contrarily, negative affect and perceived stress significantly predicted lower levels of satisfaction on the NSS. Mindfulness was the strongest predictor of higher NSS scores; however, students who criticise themselves (the opposite of self-compassion) do not appear to benefit from mindfulness. A directive for introducing 'life skills' within higher education environments, with the purpose of building more resilient and better-performing graduates through mindfulness and self-compassion, is discussed.


Impact damper for motor vehicles, by which a cross member (2) of a bumper in each case in the region of its ends (4) with respect to longitudinal beams (3) is supported impacting soft (with at least a junction element (9) over to the node element (9) pivotally mounted rigid struts on the one hand with a bumper-side bearing bracket (5) and on the other hand on the articulated struts (10 ') or with inclusion of additional node elements (7, 8) and this connecting together rigid struts (10, 10') with a longitudinal carrier-side stop bracket (6) supported 10) each pivotally wherein each node element (7, 8, 9) on its longitudinal sides (12, 13) support surfaces (17, 18) which (a stop surface (19, 20) of the stop bracket (6) and / or the bearing bracket 5 is connected ) and adjacent support surfaces (17, 18) of another node element (7, 8, 9) for abutment can be brought.


High overtone Bulk Acoustic Resonators have been developed for radio-frequency application such as oscillator stabilization, but also as an alternative to surface acoustic wave resonator for sensor development. In the present work, the possibility to operate such devices at temperature up to 800°C is investigated experimentally. Devices built using Aluminum Nitride deposited on Silicon with Platinum electrodes have been manufactured and resonance frequencies near the 434-MHz centered ISM band have been characterized from room conditions to 800°C. Although the exposition to such a temperature yields changes in the device response, it turns out that the operation is partly reversible and that these HBARs could operate without major defects for several tens of hours at such regimes. The development of wireless temperature sensors on this base then reveals accessible.


This paper describes an electrical method for measuring the bandgap difference across the neutral base of SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT's). It measures the effective bandgap difference due to differences in germanium concentration including the effects of heavy doping on bandgap reduction. Numerical device simulation was used to investigate the use of the proposed technique on high performance transistors with graded and uniform germanium profiles. Experimental verification of the technique is conducted on SiGe HBT devices fabricated using LPCVD.


Many chromosomal aberrations in neoplastic tumor cells are specific for tumor types. These aberrations include both gains and losses of chromosomes (or chromosome regions) as well as translocations. The use of molecular probes to identify these aberrations may have potential application in the design of various cancer therapies that target the aberrant genes.


A method for producing a fibrous material including carbon fibres or glass fibres or plant fibres or polymer-based fibres, that are used alone or in a mixture, and are impregnated by a thermohardenable polymer using a mixture containing a hardener and carbon nanofillers, such as carbon nanotubes (CNT). A mixture containing said nanofillers, such as CNTs, and the hardener is used to introduce said nanofillers into the fibrous material. A continuous production line (L) for producing the material in the form of at least one calibrated and homogeneous strip (20) of reinforcing fibres impregnated with a thermohardenable polymer, includes the device (100) for arranging two series of fibres (1, 2) used to form a strip in such a way as to arrange the two series of fibres such that they are brought into contact with each other by means of two calendering devices.


ABSTRACT To the Editor:— Some statements about the use of stilbamidine in the treatment of tic douloureux made by Dr. Robert Dean Woolsey in the Dec. 31, 1955, issue of The Journal, page 1713, deserve comment. Since these statements are incongruous with established experience, that particular portion of the report is quoted: "Stilbamidine has recently been reported by Smith and Miller as having a beneficial effect upon the course of trigeminal neuralgia. Nearly every patient with trigeminal neuralgia who has entered my office recently has carried a clipping from the local newspaper or a recent copy of Time describing the wonders of this form of therapy. On reading the article, one finds that the drug was given over a period of one week and then discontinued. The pain usually subsided about a month later. Had sterile water been used, one could predict approximately the same results. Trigeminal neuralgia commonly comes and


Objective To provide the Health Administration or hospitals with a set of scientific and wholesome evaluation indexes to accurately estimate hospital performance or to strengthen scientific hospital management. Methods Many statistic methods were used to select the indexes. The weight coefficients of the indexes of each layer were ascertained with layer analysis. And hospital performances were estimated with comprehensive indexes and compared, using PEMS3.0 for windows statistic software for data analysis. Results 46 indexes were selected from more than 50 indexes of eight layers including resource assignment. And 24 indexes were further selected from the 46 to form the system of evaluation indexes for hospital performance. The weight coefficients of the indexes of each layer were ascertained with layer analysis. Hospital performances were estimated with comprehensive indexes. Conclusion With the design being scientific and wholesome with reasonable weight coefficients and practical estimation outcome, the system of indexes can be used for perfomance esitimation of comprehensive hospitals.


There have been several retellings of the Frankenstein narrative since its publication. Peter Ackroyd's rendition of the same was published in 2008 under the title, The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein. The text attempts to look at Mary Shelley's narrative from a different perspective, rather than simply reiterating the events in a familiar way. It employs the historical fictional mode of storytelling. This paper attempts to study the role of Ackroyd as a reader, author and manipulator of history. It will also strive to understand the politics behind Ackroyd's attempted resurrection of Shelley, Byron, Polidori and Mary Shelley as his characters. The goal is to comprehend, how Ackroyd's voice functions within this cacophony of voices.


SUMMARY—

The diffusion coefficient for the penetration of salt into swordfish muscle was not constant but depended upon the salt concentration in the muscle and upon the temperature; the coefficient-salt concentration curve for 25°C had a minimum value at a salt concentration of approximately 1.5 moles/liter and was always lower in fish muscle than in aqueous salt solutions of the same salt concentration as the muscle. Other parameters which also served to characterize the migration of salt in fish muscle were determined as follows: the equivalent conductance of salted fish muscle was found to be an inverse linear function of the square root of the salt concentration in the muscle and to be always lower in muscle than in aqueous solutions of the same concentration as the muscle; the sodium and chloride ion transference numbers, found to be approximately of the same magnitude in muscle and in water, exhibited the same qualitative variation with salt concentration and with temperature in both media.

As in aqueous solution, the diffusion coefficient and the equivalent conductance of salt in fish muscle were found to increase with increasing temperature. It was found that experimental values of the diffusion coefficient at a given temperature agreed reasonably well with values predicted by the equation is the diffusion coefficient in the muscle at infinite dilution and γ is the "mean molar activity coefficient" of salt, also in the muscle, at concentration c. The activation energies for salt diffusion in fish muscle and in water at infinite dilution were both found to be of the order of 4700 calories per gram-mole, a value within the region of hydrogen-bonding energies.


Ben J. et al. (1) showed that physical inactivity in Australia has high prevalence, since a moderate physical activity (30 minutes almost everyday) as well an intense one (at least 3 days per week) is absent in 40% of the people. In Summer 2004 a questionnaire-survey on GPs' physical activity was carried out. It was addressed to 510 GPs belonging to the Italian telematic net ''Health Search''. Two hundred and seventeen out of 510 (42.5%) GPs answered. The average GPs' age was 50 (38 61). One hundred and ninety one GPs' replies came from men, 26 from women. The average BMI was 25.6 (SD /3): female BMI was 22.9(SD /3.3), male BMI was 26 (SD /2.9). Only 24/217 GPs (11%) were smokers. GPs' weekly average physical activity appeared to be 3 hours and 12 minutes (range: 0 15 hours). In particular 105/217 (48.4%) GPs explained they devote less than 2 hours per week to a moderate physical activity. Among them 59/217 (27.2%) GPs stated they spend less than 1 hour a week on a moderate physical activity, 46/ 217(21.2%) between 1 and 2 hours per week. The hours devoted to physical activity were not correlated to GPs' age, sex, country. The data related to GPs' physical activity in our survey; which are similar to ones of the Australian study, are worrying. In fact, the cardiovascular risk of the majority in our research, men and population above 50, is higher than the average. This specific deficit in a positive health lifestyle behaviour is contrasting with the admissible percentage of smoking habits. On the one hand physical activity beneficial effects (2) as well as the importance of GP ad ''behavioural model'' cannot be forgotten, on the other hand these results should stimulate Italian GPs to increase their physical activities and control more systematically their patients'attitudes to physical activities.


Through the practice of bank protection by throwing alloy-steel wire gabion into the water on Shishou reach of the Yangtze River, the key point of construction is summarized. The advantages and the condition of application are analyzed.


The quality of the home learning environment has been proven to be of major importance for child development, but little is known about the role of domain specificity in promoting early childhood learning at home and its dependence on family background. This article presents a framework of the home learning environment in early childhood that includes three domains of stimulation (i.e. family support, stimulation in literacy and stimulation in numeracy) and their contextual conditions. The study examines the extent to which the structural characteristics and educational beliefs of the family are connected to educational processes taking place in the home learning environment during preschool age. Results show that general educational processes of the home learning environment operate independently of structural characteristics and parental educational beliefs, whereas the domain-specific educational processes of the home learning environment are more strongly related to the structural characteristics and parental educational beliefs. A model of the home learning environment should thus always include different domains of stimulation (general and domain-specific) presented as parallel cases.


In this paper we study the polynomial functional equations of the form $a f(a_1 x +a_0) +b f(b_1 x +b_0)=g(x)$,where  g(x) is a polynomial of the degree $n \geq  0$. Theorem  \ref{T2.3} affirms that the given equation has a unique polynomial solution provided if $a a_1^i + b b_1^i \not= 0$ for each integer $i \geq  0$. Other non-polynomial solution depends on solutions of the homogeneous equation   $a f(a_1 x +a_0) +b f(b_1 x +b_0) = 0$.


This article explores the far-reaching implications of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on the consumer well-being. There has been much debate recently regarding the CPI. It has been claimed that it exaggerates the realities of the economic conditions in favor of the poor. However, the author, by construct ing two CPIs, one for the rich and one for the poor, maintains that, on the contrary, the current CPI does not fairly reflectthe economic conditions that the poor are facing. If anything, it understates the cost of living for the poor. Thus, having only one representative national CPI is not quite fair. The article proposes at least one price index for the rich and one for the poor.


Crystal binding energy of a core electron at the 3d5/2 level of a Pd atom has been estimated to be -4.0±0.02 eV by decoding the X-ray photoelectron spectra obtained from both the Pd surfaces and the Pd nanoparticles. Findings indicate that the increase in the binding energy originates from the effect of coordination number (CN) imperfection of atoms at a flat surface or at the curved surface of a nanosolid. The CN imperfection shortens the remaining bonds of the lower-coordinated atoms spontaneously associated with bond energy increase, which perturbs the Hamiltonian of an extended solid and hence shifts the core level to higher binding energy. Therefore, the significance of atomic CN imperfection cannot be overlooked in dealing with a low-dimensional system, and the recent bond-order–length–strength (BOLS) correlation mechanism is essentially adequate, for the significance of atomic CN imperfection.


Decision-making that leverages the collective knowledge of multiple individuals is ubiquitous in organizations, occurring in settings such as groups, committees, top management teams, and boards. Research has examined how decision-making structures (e.g., plurality voting) aggregate individuals' beliefs into a single organizational choice. We argue that decision-making structures play another role beyond just aggregating individuals' beliefs — they also shape the learning of the individuals who participate in decision making. Learning-by-participating is distinct from learning-by-doing (i.e., experiential learning) in that individuals receive feedback not on their own choices, but rather on the choice made by the organization. We develop a theoretically grounded conceptual framework to characterize different decision-making structures, together with a computational model of organizational decision-making, to examine the impact of learning-by-participating across different such structures. We find that decision-making structures vary across two critical outcomes — their efficacy in aggregating information and their efficacy in shaping individual learning, and that these outcomes may be inversely related. Adjudicating among these two outcomes is the way in which organizations utilize the knowledge of organizational contrarians, individuals who favor choices that differ from that of the organization. A key implication is that the choice of a decision-making structure requires taking the learning context into account. Structures that are effective in settings where the potential for learning is limited may be less effective when individual learning is important. We discuss further implications for research on organizational decision making, learning, top management teams, and the wisdom of organizational crowds.


Tin monosulfide (SnS) is a promising material for a photovoltaic absorber layer. Significant strides have been taken to better understand its material properties. The X-ray diffraction patterns of radio-frequency sputtered SnS thin films are investigated. Samples were deposited under varying total pressure, target power, substrate-to-target distance, and substrate temperature. Rietveld refinement of samples deposited under varying conditions yielded evidence of multiple phases present in SnS thin films. Refinements were completed with one or more tin sulfide phases, showing a dominant herzenbergite SnS phase (Pbnm). Possible secondary phases include orthrhombic (Cmcm) and cubic (Fm3m) crystal structures. Lattice parameters, cell volume, and unit cell density were investigated as a function of deposition conditions. Results indicate that growth mode is related to deposition rate. Early studies of heated stage depositions showed that SnS thin films have added mobility at the substrate.


NXP has been involved these last years in PICS technology (Passive Integrated Connective Substrate) for passive components such as high-density capacitors, inductors and resistors. In order to improve the electrical characteristics of these devices and more particularly of inductors, top aluminum metal can be replaced by a thick copper layer. This paper will describe a study concerning a micromolding copper process for these PICS substrates. High deposition rate (1 μm/min), thickness distribution and uniform electrical characteristics (close to bulk values) are the main challenges for the industrial deposition process. We used two sets of electrolyte (sulphate bathes) with organic additives. Additives consumption and degradation have been carefully monitored using CVS (Cyclic Voltammetric Stripping) and TOC (Total Organic Compounds) analysis. A wide range of current density (2 to 5 A/dm) was used to optimize the process. Copper deposition was performed on various pattern geometries representative of our products. For the two types of electrolyte, the wafer uniformity is as targeted (< 5%) but differences are observed for the within die uniformity (up to 1.5μm depending on the design). In the selected range of current density, the growth rate is below expectations. Both chemistries lead to low surface roughness (<25nm) for all current densities evaluated. Copper line profile is flat in one case and curved on the other one; this curved profile can have a negative impact for some applications. The electrical resistivity varies from 1.7 μΩ.cm to 2.3 μΩ.cm. Finally, the process developed fulfills the main technical requirements (thickness uniformity, low roughness, good electrical performances...) but strong differences in bath management and additive consumptions have allowed to select one of the electrolyte for our applications.


Throughout Southeast Asia, the situation today is essentially the same. A deadly combination of poorly regulated commercial logging and a thriving illegal timber trade are decimating forest resources across the region. According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, SE Asia has the highest rate of deforestation in the world (Fahn 2003). Ecological destruction of this scale has profound implications for SE Asia and the world as a whole. Indeed, the close connection between deforestation and illicit logging should be apparent as governments and NGO's increasingly restrict, or even ban, the legitimate timber industry. This paper focuses specifically on the illegal timber trade between SE Asia and the rest of the world, namely Japan, China, the US, and the European Union. I will first examine the nature of this illicit industry and its possible consequences before moving onto the social and political forces that shape the illegal timber economy. Significance The sheer scope of the timber trade, both legal and illegal, warrants its continued study. While deforestation and illegal logging are popularly associated with Brazil and the Amazon, the tropical rainforests and other old growth forests found in SE Asia are in at least as precarious a position, if not more so. Take Thailand, for example. Thanks to a boom in timber exports during the second half of the 20 th century, total land covered by forests fell from 50 per cent in the


A trilayer resist process using spin‐coated As2S3 film as a barrier layer was investigated and optimized for use in optical and electron beam submicron lithography. The As2S3 layer eliminates the intermixing of solvents used to deposit the organic layers. Dimensional loss due to reflection from the substrate is avoided. A high reactive ion etch differential rate of the As2S3 film compared to organic resists has been observed which allows a precise transfer of patterns. 0.4 μm wide patterns over 1 μm topography were replicated without dimensional loss. Preliminary work on a bilayer process using As2S3 planarizer shows promise.


Environmental context. Clouds and the factors controlling cloud properties are essential components in understanding and accurately predicting global climate change. This work examines nanometre-sized atmospheric particles, particularly bursts of enhanced particle concentrations following cold fronts over the Southern Ocean. The properties of these events have been established to enable modelling of their significance as a source of cloud-droplet-forming nuclei. Abstract. Nanoparticles (diameter <10 nm) were studied in clean maritime air at Cape Grim over a 2-year period. Concentrations were determined using a condensation nucleus counter (CNC) and an ultra-CNC (UCNC), requiring careful treatment of drifts in counter efficiency. This is the first extended examination of nanoparticles following cold fronts and shows that nanoparticle enhancements were present following 94% of 121 cold fronts studied. Typical enhancements were ~100 cm–3 with maxima ~300–500 cm–3, occur 9–11 h after the front and contain multiple peaks with peak-to-peak separation of 8–11 h. Most enhancements were associated with drier conditions, indicative of increased entrainment of free-tropospheric air after the front. The quasi-periodicity of the enhancements may be related to mesoscale structures in cloud fields following fronts but this requires testing. This quantification of event properties allows evaluation of the significance of these events for the cloud nucleating particle (CCN) population.


A conceptual model for the organization and execution of a performance assessment of a radioactive waste disposal site, including uncertainty and sensitivity analysis, is described. This model is based on a formal definition of risk as a collection of ordered triples, where the first element in each triple is a set of similar occurrences, the second element is the probability or frequency of the first element, and the third element is a vector of consequences associated with the first element. This division of risk into its three constituent parts provides a useful model for the structure of a performance assessment for several reasons. First, it provides a clear distinction between the major parts of a performance assessment. Second, it provides a way to distinguish between different types of uncertainty, including completeness, aggregation, model selection, imprecisely known variables, and stochastic variation. Third, it leads naturally to the representation of stochastic variation with a complementary cumulative distribution function (CCDF) and the representation of state of knowledge uncertainty with a family or distribution of CCDFs. Fourth, it provides a context in which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limits for radioactive releases to the accessible environment can be represented and calculated. The preceding ideasmore » are illustrated with results obtained in a preliminary performance assessment for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southeastern New Mexico.« less


Unicommissural unicuspid aortic valve (UAV) is a rare valvular malformation. It may lead to severe aortic stenosis with or without aortic regurgitation. UAVs have many characteristic changes such as premature dysmorphic valvular calcification and premature valvular dysfunction. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) was described as the gold standard for the diagnosis of UAVs. We reported the case of a 58 years old man who presented with syncope and dyspnea due to severe aortic stenosis secondary to a heavily calcified unicommissural UAV. After the surgery pathological specimen showed severe amorphous calcification just like a calcified amorphous tumor (CAT).