p. 184 n. that the most probable date for the Crucifixion is 5 May 30 is a large claim and calls for comment; p. 185 Kornemann gives the traditional identification of Flevum with Vlieland: for arguments in favour of Schiermonnikoog see E. Janssens, Latomus, 1939, 107-10; p. 186 M's Trimerum at Ann. iv. 71. 4 is more than suspect; p. 190 there should be a note on Sejanus' anti-Jewish policy (see E. M. Smallwood, Latomus, xv [1956], 314-29—cited elsewhere in connexion with the expulsion of A.D. 19); p. 191 'Seian fafite, wie es scheint, jetzt [A.D. 31] den Sturz des Prinzeps ins Auge': it is a pity that Schmitt was apparently unable to adduce the findings of the late Martin Friedenthal's 1957 dissertation on this point; for 'Sertorius (Macro)' read now 'Sutorius' in view ofAE, 1957, 250 as against Dio Iviii. 9; p. 203 at Ann. vi. 11. 3 Ernesti's needless quindecim is silently adopted and L. Piso 'Pontifex' thus made at p. 176 to hold thepraefectura urbis from A.D. 17; p. 214 n. Wilhelm showed in 1894 that the Cilician tribe mentioned at Ann. vi. 41. 1 is the Cietae, not the Clitae; ibid, on the phoenix, see now McDonald, Phoenix, xiv (i960), 187 ff.; p. 244 I do not understand the suggestion that Tiberius' health was precarious in A.D. 14 (cf. Suet. Tib. 25. 3 and Dio lvii. 3). There are minor errors or misprints on pp. 26, 36, 119, 154, 158, 180, 220, and 241.


Hydrogels have numerous applications in biomedical engineering and biotechnology, such as in cellular and tissue engineering. The transient mechanical behavior of hydrogels is related to its interstitial fluid flow which is governed by hydraulic permeability. The hydraulic permeability of hydrogels and other hydrated soft tissues (e.g., cartilage and intervertebral disc) is deformation dependent [1–3]. Several empirical expressions for deformation-dependent permeability of cartilage have been proposed, in order to quantify the fluid flow within a gel or tissue under mechanical loading [1,2,4]. In this paper, we report a new approach to investigating deformation-dependent permeability of hydrogels. The objective of this study is to find a relationship between hydraulic permeability and tissue porosity (water content) for hydrogels, and in turn derive its deformation-dependent permeability. This study is important for understanding biological responses of cells to interstitial fluid flow in gels or in cartilage under mechanical loading.Copyright © 2002 by ASME


PAHO is collaborating with Cuba and Bolivia in conducting 2 separate studies designed to improve immunization practices. The study in Cuba seeks to determine the seroprevalence of polio neutralizing antibodies (types 1, 2, and 3) in children under 5 years of age. All Cuban children under 5 will have received between 0 and 8 doses of oral polio vaccine (OPV), depending on their age. This will allow researchers to estimate the seroconversion rates of polio neutralizing antibodies for each number of doses. Because little is known about seroconversion rates of polio neutralizing antibodies to greater than 5 doses of OPV, and because it is believed that 3-4 doses of OPV by routine services may not be adequate to eradicate polio globally, the study's findings will have important ramifications for global efforts to eradicate polio. PAHO will assist the study by providing materials and financial support. In Bolivia, PAHO will assist a project designed to increase tetanus toxoid vaccine coverage of pregnant women in undeserved areas while reducing the risk of infection (such as hepatitis B and HIV) that may be transmitted through improperly sterilized syringes and needles. In order to prevent transmission, the project will utilize a nonreusable injection device called UniJect, which was developed by the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH). Both PAHO and PATH will assist the Bolivian Ministry of Health in carrying out the project, whose objectives will include developing a training program for birth attendants, evaluating the acceptability of UniJect by both mothers and attendants, and evaluating the field performance and design of the device.


BACKGROUND:
The Lablite project captured information on access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) at larger health facilities ('hubs') and lower-level health facilities ('spokes') in Phalombe district, Malawi and in Kalungu district, Uganda.
METHODS:
We conducted a cross-sectional survey among patients who had transferred to a spoke after treatment initiation (Malawi, n=54; Uganda, n=33), patients who initiated treatment at a spoke (Malawi, n=50; Uganda, n=44) and patients receiving treatment at a hub (Malawi, n=44; Uganda, n=46).
RESULTS:
In Malawi, 47% of patients mapped to the two lowest wealth quintiles (Q1–Q2); patients at spokes were poorer than at a hub (57% vs 23% in Q1–Q2; p<0.001). In Uganda, 7% of patients mapped to Q1–Q2; patients at the rural spoke were poorer than at the two peri-urban facilities (15% vs 4% in Q1–Q2; p<0.001). The median travel time one way to a current ART facility was 60 min (IQR 30–120) in Malawi and 30 min (IQR 20–60) in Uganda. Patients who had transferred to the spokes reported a median reduction in travel time of 90 min in Malawi and 30 min in Uganda, with reductions in distance and food costs.
CONCLUSIONS:
Decentralizing ART improves access to treatment. Community-level access to treatment should be considered to further minimize costs and time.


The hypothesis of the role of the internal stresses in the mechanism of formation of diffusion-welded joints is formulated and substantiated. It is based on the activation of welded surfaces and also the formation in the contact zone of microreliefs, separating the contact gap into a number of considerably smaller pores, and on the formation in the gap of centres around which sintering processes can take place without participation of external compressive pressures.


It is commonly said that the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) have been shelved by the federal government. In fact, many have argued that RCAP's report was received "dead on arrival." There was a federal response (Gathering Strength), of course, but the government's policy paper responded to only a handful of the Commission's 444 recommendations and it did not constitute the radical transformation in public policy that RCAP had envisioned. Still, while RCAP itself has been effectively shelved by the federal government, I would argue that RCAP is not really dead since much of its vision of governance lives on in federal policy-in fact, RCAP's vision of governance continues to exist, albeit in a modified state with limited scope and application. This paper examines RCAP's vision of a renewed relationship between the colonizer and the colonized, focusing primarily on RCAP's vision for strengthening Aboriginal governance. As it would be impossible to focus on every element of RCAP's plan, I limit my discussion to the section of the RCAP final report that deals specifically with issues of governance. Doing so, I offer a cursory overview of the relevant section of the report (Chapter 3, Volume 2) before proceeding to a more detailed analysis of specific elements or recommendations that I view as problematic. Specifically, I demonstrate that RCAP's vision of Aboriginal governance necessarily entails a renewed relationship based upon negotiated inferiority or an unequal partnership and not the equal partnership (that is, "partners in Confederation") the Commissioners advocated. Arguing that RCAP's vision of governance is one of negotiated inferiority, this paper provides a brief discussion of this vision as it is rearticulated in federal policy and concludes by suggesting that we need to look beyond this vision of governance and force a new relationship based on a true partnership between Aboriginal peoples and the settler society. RCAP's Vision of a Renewed Relationship The rationale provided by RCAP for decolonizing or renewing the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples is that it is necessary to address the complex (dis)array of a historical myths, deplorable acts, and unspeakable visions upon which Canada was founded. The chilling realities of the present not only explain the existence of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, but they also expose the need for a new relationship and a more equitable and prosperous future. According to the Commissioners, a vision of a balanced relationship has been a constant theme in our work as a Commission.... we rejected the idea that the past can simply be put aside and forgotten as we seek to build a new relationship. What we should strive for instead is a renewed relationship. The concept of renewal expresses better the blend of historical sensitivity and creative initiative that should characterize future relations among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in this country. It would be false and unjust to suggest that we start entirely anew, false and unjust to attempt to wipe the slate clean, ignoring both the wrongs of the past and the rights flowing from our previous relationships and interactions. (1: 676-677) In conceptualizing the renewal of the relationship between the colonizer and the colonized, the Commissioners have based their vision on four key principles: mutual recognition, mutual respect, sharing, and mutual responsibility. According to the Commission, "these principles define a process that can provide the solutions to many of the difficulties afflicting relations among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.... When taken in sequence, the four principles form a complete whole, each playing an equal role in developing a balanced societal relationship. Relations that embody the principles are, in the broadest sense of the word, partnerships" (1: 677-678). The Commission's vision is that this renewed relationship or partnership would be based on mutual recognition, meaning that "Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people acknowledge and relate to one another as equals, co-existing side by side and governing themselves according to their own laws and institutions" (1: 678). …


For the first time, phase fluctuations in the spectral intensity of the pulse train generated by passively mode-locked semiconductor lasers have been measured. The results reveal diffusion-like fluctuations of this phase. The timing jitter fluctuations were also measured, and, in contrast, have a correlation time which is much longer than the repetition time.


The project CYCAS-MED: Crop yield and climate change impacts on agriculture: adaptation strategies to desertification processes in the Mediterranean areas, aimed at the development of tools and methodologies for the assessment of the response of three major crops in Morocco to climatic change. Results for durum wheat are here presented.


The Day-to-day variability of the geomagnetic field elements at the African longitudes has been studied for the year 1987 using geomagnetic data obtained from four different African observatories. The analysis was carried out on solar quiet days using hourly values of the Horizontal, , and vertical, , geomagnetic field values. The results of this study confirm that Sq is a very changeable phenomenon, with a strong day-to-day variation. This day-to-day variation is seen to be superimposed on magnetic disturbances of a magnetospheric origin.


This paper first analyses the contributive reasons and economic consequences of the creative accounting on the basis of the contract theory; then gives a neutral definition of the creative accounting, which has both positive and negative impact on accounting, particularly its enlightening effect on accounting standards. Therefore, making best use of this is a must.


A 49-year-old man consulted for progressive dyspnoea and bilateral lower extremity oedema. His history included a hospital admission because of a multi-resistant Escherichia coli septicaemia 3 years before. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a calcified mass adjacent to the aortic root ( Panel A ). Transoesophageal echocardiogram showed a large ascending aorta pseudoaneurysm originating at the level of Valsalva sinuses, and communicating with the anterior aspect of the aortic …


The present invention relates to a process for the production of tea and Ganoderma containing powder, specifically the Ganoderma lucidum extract powder and tea leaves by the process of integration. The production process includes: a physical processing of Ganoderma lucidum, a 95% consumption of alcohol extract, a hot water extraction, once concentrated in vacuo, and dried, screened a tea, a spray, a fermented, roasted again, once Airing, secondary baking ten process steps.


The propellant mixture ratio of gas generator changes when thrust control valve operate to change LRE thrust level. The mixture ratio change of gas generator result in gas temperature change and failure of turbine blade or deterioration of LRE specific impulse. The mixture ratio stabilizer(control valve) has been developed to maintain propellant mixture ratio of gas generator. This article deals with static characteristic of stabilizer. Also gas generator system simulation test has shown that the stabilizer can maintain propellant mixture ratio effectively within tolerable range.


Summary In this article, the basic existence theorem of Riemann-Stieltjes integral is formalized. This theorem states that if f is a continuous function and ρ is a function of bounded variation in a closed interval of real line, f is Riemann-Stieltjes integrable with respect to ρ. In the first section, basic properties of real finite sequences are formalized as preliminaries. In the second section, we formalized the existence theorem of the Riemann-Stieltjes integral. These formalizations are based on [15], [12], [10], and [11].


are hardly justified. He certainly produced some odd-looking engines, but they were powerful, if wayward and expensive to run. The text reads welI, despite the odd misspelIing and grammatical error, while less economy in the use of commas would have been an advantage. The employment of 'ad hoc' as a verb is new to this reviewer. There may be little in The Great Days of the Southern Railway for the economic historian, although those seeking background to the social history of the mid-twentieth century will come across some useful cameos. But the Southern Railway buff will find it irresistible. Geoffrey Hughes


Abstract. The Canadian Red Cross Blood Services have been harvesting plasma from whole blood by plasmapheresis procedure for the last 10 years. To date, we have performed approximately 230,000 procedures. To determine whether this procedure is a health hazard to an individual, a donor safety program was established in 1979 at the National Reference Laboratory. Serum levels of total protein, albumin, and immunoglobulins are monitored at intervals set by the Bureau of Biologics, Health and Welfare Canada. In this communication, we present a 10‐year evaluation of this program. A comparison of the protein concentration distributions between first‐time and long‐term plasmapheresis donors showed no significant differences. Therefore, we have demonstrated that the donors are not at risk as the result of changes in the measured plasma protein levels following plasmapheresis procedure as performed over the last 10 years at The Canadian Red Cross Blood Services.


The Argentine economy is currently going through the deepest and most prolonged recession of the postwar period: a devastating panorama that contrasts vividly with its significant growth in 1991-1998. In this article we will analyse the macroeconomic dimensions of the crisis which led to the abandonment of convertibility. Firstly, we will identify some structural weaknesses of the Argentine economy that are a source of macroeconomic instability. In particular, we will study the role of the imperfect access to international capital markets, the limited openness, the lack of financial depth and the nominal and policy rigidities, as well as the role of the errors in expectations and volatility. Secondly, we will examine the sequence of disturbances (shocks) in 1998-1999, concluding that the simultaneity of many of them aggravated their effects and that, under the convertibility regime, the economy was not prepared to face such consequences. Finally, we will briefly outline the policies that the country should apply in order to restore macroeconomic and financial stability.


The emerging market of wearable smart electronics calls for flexible energy storage solutions with high performance but low cost. To fulfill this demand, a novel method involving high-pressure and high-temperature filtration has been developed to fabricate flexible and freestanding thin-film electrodes with high packing density for lithium ion batteries. The method is universal, can be used for fabricating both cathodes and anodes, and is applicable for most electrochemically active materials. No organic solvent is involved throughout the fabrication process, demonstrating excellent environmental benignity. Despite of the absence of current collectors, electrochemical characterizations on a pair of proof-of-concept anode (graphite) and cathode (lithium iron phosphate) reveal good areal capacity and rate capability. Prototype full pouch cells constructed using the electrode pair demonstrate excellent deformability, durability, and power output, promising for practical implementation with low fabrication cost.


Titan makes up 95% of the mass of all 82 satellites of Saturn. Titan's diameter is 5152 km, which means that it is larger than the Moon by 50%, and it is also significantly larger than Mercury. On the satellite, a subsurface ocean is possible, the theory of the presence of which has already been advanced earlier by some scientists. It is located under a layer of ice and consists of 10% ammonia, which is a natural antifreeze for it and does not allow the ocean to freeze. On the one hand, the ocean contains a huge amount of salt, which makes the likelihood of life in it hardly possible. But on the other hand, since chemical processes constantly occur on Titan, forming molecules of complex hydrocarbon substances, this can lead to the emergence of the simplest forms of life. There are limitations on the probabilistic and statistical approaches, since not every process and not every result (form and structure of the system) is probabilistic in nature. In contrast to this, fractal analysis allows one to study the structure of complex objects, taking into account their qualitative specifics, for example, the relationship between the structure and the processes of its formation. When constructing a harmonic model of Titan, the method of decomposition of topographic information into spherical functions was used. As a result, based on the harmonic analysis of the Cassini mission data, a topographic model of Titan was created. In the final form, the model describing Titan's surface includes the expansion of the height parameter depending on the spherical coordinates into a slowly converging regression series of spherical harmonics. For modeling surface details of the surface on a scale of 1 degree requires analysis of the (180 + 1)2 harmonic expansion coefficients. An over determined topographic information system was solved to meet the regression modelling conditions. In this case, a number of qualitative stochastic data, such as external measures, were used together with the standard postulation of the harmonic system of the Titan model. As a result of a sampling of self-similar regions (with close values of the self-similarity coefficients) on the surface of Titan, coinciding with the SRGB parameter (characterizes the color fractal dimension), the elements of the satellite's surface were determined, which with a high degree of probability were evolutionarily formed under the action of the same selenochemical processes.


Our recent studies have suggested that squirrel monkeys can utilize a fast, nonvisual mechanism for canceling their vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) when they are fixating a visual target and their head is moving.' We have investigated the neural basis of this nonvisual suppression of the VOR by recording from neurons in the vestibular nuclei in alert, trained squirrel monkeys during smooth pursuit and cancellation of the VOR (VORC). Secondary vestibular neurons were identified by their short latency (0.9-1.3 mseconds) response to electrical stimulation of the vestibular nerve. They were further classified on the basis of their spiking behavior during horizontal sinusoidal smooth pursuit eye movements and VOR suppression. Two main types of ipsilateral head movement sensitive secondary neurons were identified: (1) neurons sensitive only to horizontal head movements (pure vestibular) and (2) neurons whose firing increased during contralateral smooth pursuit and paused during saccades [positionvestibular-pause (PW) neurons]. The head velocity sensitivity of the neurons was investigated during two types of vestibular stimulation, sinusoidal head rotations and unpredictable steps in head acceleration. The head movement sensitivity of most pure vestibular neurons (n = 20) did not change when squirrel monkeys canceled their VOR during sinusoidal turntable rotation [mean response gain (0.8 sp/second)/(deg/second)]. The data from one of these units, averaged over 10 cycles of head rotation, is shown in FIGURE 1A. In contrast, the head movement sensitivity of most PVP neurons (n = 19) was significantly attenuated during cancellation of the VOR (mean attenuation in response gain 30%). The response of a typical P W neuron during sinusoidal VORC and VOR (corrected for eye position and desaccaded) was averaged over 10 cycles of head rotation and is displayed in FIGURE 1B. The modulation of this neuron decreased by more than 50% during VORC. The amount of attenuation in the head velocity sensitivity of P W neurons was poorly correlated with the eye velocity signal of the neuron during smooth pursuit, suggesting that the smooth pursuit eye velocity sensitivity of the neuron is not responsible for this attenuation head velocity sensitivity of the P W neurons. The amplitude of the response of most PVP neurons to unexpected passive perturbations of the head (400"/second2 head acceleration steps) was attenuated in trials during which the monkeys were canceling their VOR, while the response of the pure vestibular neurons was the same regardless of the monkey's behavior. The short latency suppression of the VOR, which is generated by an unpredictable head acceleration step when the squirrel monkeys were initially canceling their VOR, is demonstrated in FIGURE 2A. The averaged population responses (corrected for each


Sirs: In 1956 Miller Fisher [4] described the syndrome of ophthalmoplegia, ataxia and areflexia in three patients. Although most clinical and neurophysiological findings in this syndrome suggest an unusual variant of the acute idiopathic polyneuritis of Guillain-Barré [6], some findings such as cerebellar type of ataxia and supranuclear eye movement disorders suggest an additional involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) [10]. In keeping with this concept, brainstem involvement has been observed in some patients with Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS) in whom magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed [5, 8, 9]. We report a patient with clinical features consistent with MFS with both acute peripheral neuropathy and cerebral lesions outside the brainstem. A 42-year-old woman with no past medical or family history, and no history of alcohol abuse or toxic substance exposure was admitted with double vision, unsteadiness of gait and posture and weakness of both legs. Neurological complaints had begun 1 day earlier when diplopia and pain in the legs had appeared (day 1). She had no fever on admission and was fully conscious without signs of meningeal irritation and without drowsiness. There was no sign of antecedent infections. She had symmetric partial ptosis and complete external ophthalmoplegia; the pupils reacted sluggishly to light. Examination of other cranial nerves showed right facial nerve palsy and no deafness. There was marked cerebellar ataxia on the finger-nose and heel-knee tests in both sides. The patient presented with severe weakness of both lower limbs, and all tendon reflexes were absent. No pathological reflexes were found. Pinprick sensation was mildly impaired on the right part of the body, including the face. There were severe gnostic sensory disturbances of inferior limbs. Biochemical, haematological, virological and renal function investigations were normal. Chest radiography showed no abnormality. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was crystalclear and contained 1.00 g/l protein and 2 lymphocytes/mm3. Serological tests for neurotropic viruses and syphilis in CSF were negative. Gammaglobulin ratio in CSF, performed by electrophoresis, was normal, and the search for oligoclonal bands was negative. The search for anti-ganglioside antibodies (including anti-GQ1b, GT1a, GT1b, GD1a, GD1b, GM1, GM2, GM3, asialo-GM1 and sulphatides) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was negative. The search for anti-Campylobacter jejuni antibodies, anti-neuronal antibodies and anti-cerebellar antibodies was also negative. Auto-antibody screen was negative, as was rheumatoid factor; serum complement concentrations were normal. T1-weighted MRI demonstrated areas with increased signal intensity in cerebral white matter (Fig. 1), brainstem and cerebellum (Fig. 2). After intravenous injection of dimeglumine gadopentetate all lesions showed T1 shortening, confirming blood-brain barrier breakdown. Neurophysiological examination showed normal bilateral motor and sensory nerve conduction velocities in ulnar, median, tibial, peroneal and sural nerves. Distal motor latencies were normal. Soleus H reflexes and tibial nerve F waves were absent (Table 1). Electromyography of limb muscles was normal. Upper and lower extremity somatosensory evoked potentials were normal, as were visual evoked potentials. Brainstem auditory evoked potentials showed a reduced amplitude of the right V wave. Electroencephalography showed no abnormality. Corticosteroid treatment (methylprednisolone, 1.5 mg/kg per day) was started on day 4. Tendon reflexes re-appeared on day 15 and gradual improvement in ocular movement, ataxia and inferior limbs LETTER TO THE EDITORS


Endeavour, an educational charity, has two complementary sections: a commercial training service offering personal development training courses and programmes, and a voluntary and community service which organises activities, events and community work and provides "a curriculum of training", especially for young people. Endeavour mounts expeditions and work projects combining adventure with service. In 1989 Endeavour ran a four‐week work project in Jamaica, in and around the Mustard Seed Community, Kingston. About 20 volunteers paid their way and raised money for tools and materials to use in construction and maintenance work. They repaired houses and plumbing amenities and constructed play and adventure facilities for resident children, many of whom were handicapped. They also helped care for (feed, dress, entertain) these children, and joined with local people in excursions and social gatherings.


The distribution and migration patterns of overwintering perch were studied by hydroacoustics and gill netting in Lake Constance, central Europe. In autumn, perch left the littoral and moved to deeper waters for overwintering. They lived at temperatures below 6°C for about six months. In January, perch were present between the 42 and 69 m depth contours. Their distribution then shifted to increasingly shallower depths by 0.25 m per day, and they returned to the littoral in early May where adults spawned in late May. During winter, perch performed diel vertical migrations, resting on the bottom during day and swimming up to 25 m off the bottom during night. Light was the proximate cause of this regular vertical migration. Perch did not gain an energetic advantage by migrating in a homothermal water column, but they may have gained access to copepods in addition to their main diet of benthic invertebrates. It is hypothesized that predator avoidance is the ultimate cause of diel migration in overwintering perch which avoid piscivorous birds by resting on the bottom during day and avoid burbot by swimming off the bottom during night.


The author considers possible health risks associated with the use of visual display units for word processing and similar applications


The configuration and hydrogen‐bonding network of side‐chain amides in a 35 kDa protein were determined by measuring differential and trans‐hydrogen‐bond H/D isotope effects by using the isotopomer‐selective (IS)‐TROSY technique, which leads to a reliable recognition and correction of erroneous rotamers that are frequently found in protein structures. First, the differential two‐bond isotope effects on carbonyl 13C′ shifts, which are defined as Δ2Δ13C′(ND)=2Δ13C′(NDE)‐2Δ13C′(NDZ), provide a reliable means for the configuration assignment for side‐chain amides, because environmental effects (hydrogen bonds and charges, etc.) are greatly attenuated over the two bonds that separate the carbon and hydrogen atoms, and the isotope effects fall into a narrow range of positive values. Second and more importantly, the significant variations in the differential one‐bond isotope effects on 15N chemical shifts, which are defined as Δ1Δ15N(D)=1Δ15N(DE)‐1Δ15N(DZ) can be correlated with hydrogen‐bonding interactions, particularly those involving charged acceptors. The differential one‐bond isotope effects are additive, with major contributions from intrinsic differential conjugative interactions between the E and Z configurations, H‐bonding interactions, and charge effects. Furthermore, the pattern of trans‐H‐bond H/D isotope effects can be mapped onto more complicated hydrogen‐bonding networks that involve bifurcated hydrogen‐bonds. Third, the correlations between Δ1Δ15N(D) and hydrogen‐bonding interactions afford an effective means for the correction of erroneous rotamer assignments of side‐chain amides. Rotamer correction by differential isotope effects is not only robust, but also simple and can be applied to large proteins.


HCO3 − is the signal for early activation of sperm motility. In vivo, this occurs when sperm come into contact with the HCO3 − containing fluids in the reproductive tract. The activated motility enables sperm to travel the long distance to the ovum. In spermatozoa HCO3 − stimulates the atypical sperm adenylyl cyclase (sAC) to promote the cAMP-mediated pathway that increases flagellar beat frequency. Stimulation of sAC may occur when HCO3 − enters spermatozoa either directly by anion transport or indirectly via diffusion of CO2 with subsequent hydration by intracellular carbonic anhydrase (CA). We here show that murine sperm possess extracellular CA IV that is transferred to the sperm surface as the sperm pass through the epididymis. Comparison of CA IV expression by qRT PCR analysis confirms that the transfer takes place in the corpus epididymidis. We demonstrate murine and human sperm respond to CO2 with an increase in beat frequency, an effect that can be inhibited by ethoxyzolamide. Comparing CA activity in sperm from wild-type and CA IV−/− mice we found a 32.13% reduction in total CA activity in the latter. The CA IV−/− sperm also have a reduced response to CO2. While the beat frequency of wild-type sperm increases from 2.86±0.12 Hz to 6.87±0.34 Hz after CO2 application, beat frequency of CA IV−/− sperm only increases from 3.06±0.20 Hz to 5.29±0.47 Hz. We show, for the first time, a physiological role of CA IV that supplies sperm with HCO3 −, which is necessary for stimulation of sAC and hence early activation of spermatozoa.


The highly volatile nature of the stock market has made stock price prediction as challenging as weather forecasting. Consequently, as a hint of this dread, people don't invest in the stock market. In this paper, we have discussed hybrid networks and a stacked LSTM network for stock price prediction. Additionally, it also focuses on portfolio optimization done using six different techniques, which focuses on creating best performing portfolios categorized on the basis of sectors. One hybrid neural network consists of 1D-Convolutional layers and LSTM layers, and the other is a combination of GRU and LSTM layers. The stock prices of SBI, Indian Bank, Bank of India are predicted using stacked LSTM and Hybrid Neural Networks and compared using the sliding window of time steps with variable width. The neural networks predict the following day's closing price using a variable sliding window. The RMSE, MSE, and MAE are used to evaluate the efficiency of these neural networks. The hybrid network is proving to be more competent in various situations.


With the growth of OTC markets, concerns arise that alternative markets remove volume and liquidity from centralized exchanges. This article investigates by examining the exchange-traded futures market and its OTC alternative, Exchange of Futures for Physicals contracts, or EFPs. EFPs provide a means to obtain futures positions, coupled with offsetting cash position(s), off the trading floor. The ability of traders to obtain a desired price on bundled or complex packages of trades helps traders avoid transactional risk associated with pit execution. Analysis of EFPs establishes their effect on the exchange-traded market depends on the level of transparency. Transparent EFP trading improves market quality of the exchange, increasing total volume, increasing liquidity, lowering transactional risk, and lowering hedging costs. If EFP trading can attract more volume to the futures market overall, then market quality is also improved. An empirical analysis confirms that EFP trading is motivated by transactional risk, showing increased levels during periods of increased trading volume and volatility. Consistent with the notion that OTC markets can be complementary to centralized exchanges, we find that EFP trading is not associated with reductions in market quality and may act as an outlet for extra volume when markets are under the most stress.


This paper presents a low-energy configurable syndrome/chien search pipelined Reed-Solomon RS (255; 239) decoder architecture using Euclidean algorithm. The configurable structure enables the syndrome and Chien search blocks to work either in serial mode which needs 255 clock cycle to finish, or in two parallel mode which needs 128 clock cycle to finish. The Euclidean algorithm block can be shared with 8 or 16 channels based on the required rate per channel. In serial mode, the configurable cells enable the Euclidean algorithm block to be shared between 16 channels each channel takes rate up to 4 Gbps. In two parallel mode, the configurable cells enable the Euclidean algorithm block to be shared between 8 channels each channel takes rate up to 8 Gbps with latency reduction of 47% and power reduction of 27% relative to using two serial channels in parallel. The 16 channel RS (255; 239) decoder has been implemented by 0.13µm CMOS IBM standard cells with a gate count of 200K and area of 20mm2, simulation results show this approach can work successfully at the data rate 64Gbps


A 240-d study was conducted to assess the efficacy of long-acting, erodible implants containing Norgestomet (NOR; 11β-methyl-17α-acetoxy-19-norprogesterone) on growth performance and preventing pregnancy in grazing postpubertal beef heifers. Nonpregnant, cyclic crossbred beef heifers (n = 240) were stratified by BW (763 ± 7.5 lb [346 ± 3.40 kg]) and assigned to 80 blocks (3 heifers/block). Blocks were allocated randomly to 5 pastures (48 heifers/pasture). Heifers were assigned randomly within block to receive 1 of 3 implants (randomized complete block design) containing 0 (control), 100, or 150 mg NOR (d 0). Heifers grazed mixed fescue-bermudagrass pastures with ad libitum access to mineral-vitamin mix. Heifers were exposed to fertile bulls from d 7 to 200 (≥ 1 bull/25 heifers). Bull breeding soundness evaluations were conducted on d 0, 50, 100, and 150. Heifer BW was recorded pretreatment and on d 50, 100, 150, 200, and 240. Pregnancy was diagnosed by ultrasonography on d 50, 100, 150, 200, and 240. Orthogonal contrasts were used to assess the effects of control vs NOR (100 or 150 mg NOR) and dose efficacy (100 vs 150 mg NOR). Control heifers exhibited lower (P < 0.05) average daily gain (ADG) when compared to heifers that received 100 or 150 mg NOR (0.84 vs 1.04 and 1.06 lb [0.38 vs 0.47 and 0.48 kg]/d, respectively). Implants did not completely eliminate pregnancy at any NOR dosage. Pregnancy rates were 90.0 (90% CI = [82.9, 94.4]), 8.9 (90% CI = [4.8, 15.8]), and 12.5% (90% CI = [7.5, 20.0]) for control, 100, or 150 mg NOR, respectively. Heifers that received 100 or 150 mg NOR experienced lower (P < 0.0001) pregnancy rates compared to control heifers. By d 150, 88.8% (71/80) of control heifers were pregnant, and 90.0% (72/80) were pregnant by d 200. Administration of 100 or 150 mg NOR prevented pregnancy in at least 92.5% of heifers for 200 d. Pregnancy rates of heifers that received 100 or 150 mg NOR were not different (P = 0.46). These data suggest that implants containing 100 or 150 mg NOR increased rate of gain and decreased pregnancy rates in grazing postpubertal beef heifers.


New complexes of the type [Pt{R1C⋮CCR2R3(OH)}(PPh3)2](R = H, Ph, or CH2OH) are described. 31P and 1H n.m.r. data are given and the 1H pattern of the methine proton is shown to have more second-order character than previously reported. These complexes carbonylate smoothly to give platinalactone complexes, [[graphic omitted]:CHR1}(PPh3)2], of a new type.


This paper proposes a semi-supervised unmixing method, which simultaneously exploits the abundance sparsity and spatial correlation that are inherent in hyperspectral images. To capture spatial information, a sliding window containing neighboring image pixels is first defined. Then, a regularized optimization problem is defined that incorporates a mixed penalty consisting of a sparsity inducing ℓ1 norm and a matrix rank-penalizing weighted trace norm. To solve the optimization problem, an efficient alternating direction method of multipliers based algorithm is developed. Experimental results conducted on both synthetic and real data illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.


We have measured Coulomb-blockade effects in a two-tunnel-junction structure formed with a scanning-tunneling-microscope (STM) tip and samples composed of gold particles deposited onto a partially oxidized aluminum-base-layer film. Clear topographic images of the particles are routinely taken with the STM and well-defined Coulomb-blockade and staircase current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the imaged particles are obtained. The variable nature of the tip-particle junction is used to measure the changes in the I-V characteristic as the tip-particle separation is changed. Using a semiclassical theory for the Coulomb blockade in serially coupled junctions, the tip-particle and particle-base-layer junction parameters are uniquely determined


Reports work on increasing the operational life of transformer oils by reducing oxidation, and looks at the possibilities of evaluating the action of metal-deactivating additives, and new combinations of inhibitors. The paper also examines the possibilities for making predictions of the useful working life of transformer oils in the presence of synergistic inhibitors.


This article examines our on-going attempts to operationalise a critical qualitative research approach – drifting, which we have adopted from the feminist collective Precarias a la deriva, – in order to conduct research with people who have arrived in Finland as asylum seekers and refugees, as well as with the civic activists who work by their side. Our research focuses on the everyday bordering practices that exclude asylum seekers and refugees, and the activities of de-bordering. The article claims that drifting combines the advantages of mobile research methods with the critical and collective praxis of activist research, which allows the upsurge of non-hegemonic knowledge. Drifting holds great promise for exploring everyday borders and their consequences, which usually remain hidden to the majority of native residents. In drifting, the injustices that occur at borders within countries in Europe are not only exposed for research and the wider public, but they are also challenged with research-based interventions.


Manning proposes that the 'traditional' monopsony model, once regarded as an analytical curiosity, be adopted as a widely‐applicable description of firms' behavior in labor markets. In Manning's view, search frictions in the labor market generate upward‐sloping labor supply curves to individual firms even when firms are small relative to the labor market. Thus a model of 'monopsonistic competition' best characterizes labor markets as a whole. Manning's book applies this new perspective to a wide range of 'traditional' topics in labor economics, ranging from labor supply, to gender discrimination, to the effects of trade unions on wages and employment, generating refreshing new insights in each case. Ultimately, however, this reader was left unconvinced that monopsony is the 'right' model of most firms' labor market behavior in the long run.


ABSTRACT The expression of rRNA genes located in the nucleolar organizing region (NOR) present on the short arm of chromosome 1R from rye was examined in hexaploid mutant forms K1 and K2 with translocation of 1B/1R chromosomes. By silver staining and in situ hybridization (FISH) it was able to detect the presence and activity of the 1R NORs. On the basis of the determination the number of Ag-NORs and the average number of nucleoli per root tip cell, FISH signals (spots) in interphase nuclei and metaphase chromosomes, an active expression of rRNA genes of 1R chromosome in the presence of wheat genomes was also established.


In this article, a maiden attempt have been taken for the online detection of faults, classification of faults, and identification of the fault locations of a grid-connected Micro-grid (MG) system. A deep learning algorithm-based Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) network is proposed, for the first time, for the online detection of faults and their classifications of the considered MG system to overcome the issues that persist in the existing algorithms. Also, a combination of an LSTM network and feed-forward neural network (FFNN) with a back-propagation algorithm (BPA) is proposed to identify the exact locations of the faults since the identification of fault locations is more challenging than fault categorizations. To select a suitable deep learning network with multiple hidden layers for achieving the aforesaid objectives, a rigorous analysis has been done. To study the accuracy of the proposed techniques, different types of faults with different parameters are considered in this paper. An extensive simulation has been done in MATLAB/Simulink platform to study the performance of the system with the proposed techniques. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed techniques, the entire system is implemented in the real-time platform using the OPAL-RT digital simulator. Comparison has also been done for the results obtained using ANN and proposed techniques. The results show that the proposed techniques based on the deep learning network effectively detect, classify, and identify the location of different faults of an MG system with acceptable performances.


Network coding technique is used to the multicast of tactical scene,which is abstracted in this paper.And based on analyzing the characteristic of this network with central node and many-to-all traffic,a transmission policy based on coding only upon the central node and corresponding greedy algorithm were proposed.The up-bound of theoreticgain for the transmission policy based on network coding was analyzed,and simulation results show that the gain of greedy algorithm is close to the optimum.Finally,the analyzing and simulation results provide important insights that the proposed policy based on network coding has better real-time performance than the classical policy in the multicast application.


Objective Weight gain is a possible adverse effect of the use of antipsychotics, and is an important factor for long-term health and treatment compliance. Olanzapine is an atypical antipsychotic known to cause considerable weight gain. A relationship between weight gain and the G protein β3 subunit gene (GNB3) 825C/T polymorphism has been reported. We therefore examined this possible association in a Korean schizophrenic patient group receiving olanzapine treatment. Methods Weight and height measurements were obtained prior to starting olanzapine and measured again after long-term treatment. Genotyping for the 825C/T polymorphism was performed using a PCR-based method. Results We found that long-term treatment with olanzapine resulted in mean gains in weight and body mass index (BMI) of 5.2 kg and 1.93 kg/m2, respectively. There was a no significant difference in the mean body weight change from baseline to the endpoint after olanzapine treatment between the genotype groups (p=0.796). There were also no significant differences in genotype or allele frequencies between the severe weight-gain (more than 10%) and minimal weight-gain (less than 10%) groups (χ2=0.037, p=0.98; χ2=0.020, p=0.89). Conclusion The finding from this study thus does not support a relationship between the GNB3 825C/T polymorphism and weight gain in Korean schizophrenic patients receiving olanzapine treatment.


A laboratory‐scale multiphase hollow fiber membrane reactor was employed to investigate the lipase‐catalyzed enzymatic resolution of racemic glycidyl butyrate. A mathematical formulation was feveloped to simulate the performance of this system. Model parameters were determined independently (except the effective rate constant, ks) and incorporated in the model simulations. In this study, two modes of operation are considered: subtractive resolution, in which the unreacted substrate is recovered in the organic stream; and product recovery, where the optically pure product of the enzymatic reaction is recovered in the aqueous stream. Good agreement was obtained between theoretical predictions and experimental results under a variety of conditions. The effect of mass transport limitations on the performance of this system was investigated. An increase in enzyme loading resulted in a higher Thiele modulus due to an elevated rate constant as well as a concomitant decrease in the effective diffusivity. Optical purity decreased in both subtractive resolution and product recovery at higher Thiele modulus with the effect being more pronounced in the product recovery mode. Finally, normalized plots were established to describe the effect of enzyme immobilization on both the effective enzymes activity and effective diffusivity. © 1993 Wiley & Sons, Inc.


This brief presents a procedure for synthesizing a transient process by exciting a causal linear shift-variant system with an orthonormal random sequence. The output process has finite average energy and is described by its average energy density spectrum. This spectrum is equal to the ensemble average of the magnitude-squared of the Fourier transform process associated with the transient process. A prototypical bandpass average energy density spectrum is introduced, and a more general spectrum is obtained by adding together a collection of prototypical spectra each having different values for the center frequency, bandwidth, and peak amplitude. Realizations of the transient process are obtained by a matrix transformation applied to an ensemble of MATLAB-generated random input vectors. The average of the magnitude-squared discrete Fourier transform of the resulting random output vectors approximates the average energy density spectrum of the transient process. >


Cross-linked enzyme aggregation(CLEA) is a novel carrier-free immobilization technique.In this study,the extraction and purification of free papain,the preparation of papain-CLEA and application conditions of CLEA,the stability and influence of different ions on the activity of free papain were studied.The results showed that the optimal temperature,pH value and the Michaelis-constant(Km) for free papain catalysis were 65℃,6.6 value and 1.25μmol/mL,respectively.The optimal temperature,pH value and the Michaelis-constant(Km) for CLEA catalysis were 75℃,7.6 and 0.44μmol/mL,respectively.The Km of CLEA was lower,and it could resist to high-temperature and had higher activity and good stability compared with those of the free papain.In addition,it was not sensitive to pH value and temperature changes and metal ions.


A direct link between a clinical pediatric PACS module and a FONAR MRI image network was implemented. The original MR network combines together the MR scanner, a remote viewing station and a central archiving station. The pediatric PACS directly connects to the archiving unit through an Ethernet TCP-IP network adhering to FONAR's protocol. The PACS communication software developed supports the transfer of patient studies and the patient information directly from the MR archive database to the pediatric PACS. In the first phase of our project we developed a package to transfer data between a VAX-111750 and the IBM PC I AT-based MR archive database through the Ethernet network. This system served as a model for PACS-to-modality network communication. Once testing was complete on this research network, the software and network hardware was moved to the clinical pediatric VAX for full PACS integration. In parallel to the direct transmission of digital images to the Pediatric PACS, a broadband communication system in video format was developed for real-time broadcasting of images originating from the MR console to 8 remote viewing stations distributed in the radiology department. These analog viewing stations allow the radiologists to directly monitor patient positioning and to select the scan levels during a patient examination from remote locations in the radiology department. This paper reports (1) the technical details of this implementation, (2) the merits of this network development scheme, and (3) the performance statistics of the network-to-PACS interface.


Contact and impact problems are routinely encountered in joint biomechanics and computer generated gait analyses. Reduction of the system's configuration space dimensions by inequality constraints is one of the main difficulty when solving such problems. Much effort has been devoted, especially by the finite element community, to the formulation of contact constraints which are easy to compute (Laursen and Simo, 1993; Heegaard, 1995; Wriggers and Imhof, 1993).


A cascaded three stage GaAs HEMT RF amplifier designed and simulated for the front end of transmitters in 5G mobile communication networks has been described in this paper. The amplifier produces an output power of 6W for 1mW input power at 15GHz with a gain of 32.38dB and low noise figure of 2.07dB. The 3dB bandwidth of the amplifier was 2.15GHz from 14.5 GHz to 16.65GHz. The Power Added efficiency (PAE) of the amplifier was 84.76% for Power output (Pout) = 37.38dBm. The S11, S22 and S12 of the amplifier were −25.11dB, −26.82dB and −46.93dB respectively. The entire power amplifier will fit into an FR4 epoxy PCB layout of area 128.5mm X 109mm with a standard substrate thickness of 1.6mm. A stage by stage description of the amplifier and its corresponding results have also been discussed in this paper.


A four-dimensional phase-shift keying (4D PSK) modulation technique is described and analyzed. The format for the transmitted signal consists of two orthogonal carriers each of which is phase-modulated through p discrete phase shifts. The combinatorial nature of the signal design problem for an arbitrary dimensionality N=2n (n is an integer) is presented, and a strategy for signal selection for the special case of four dimensions is discussed. The error rate performance is presented for the Gaiussian and Rayleigh fading channels and compared to that of well-known two-dimensional modulation techniques. It is shown that selected signal configurations yield both power- and bandwidth-efficient modulation schemes. When implementing this modulation technique, several practical issues are discussed, such as, constant vs. nonconstant envelope signal structures, coherent transmitter/receiver implementation, expurgation techniques to yield symmetric signal sets, and maximum likelihood detection in a fading environment.<<ETX>>


Aim To test the hypothesis that tSSEP findings reflect clinical and MRI MS lesions, the aim of this study was to investigate tSSEP changes in patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) in relation to clinical and brainstem MRI findings. The second aim was to investigate whether the interpretation of the tSSEP results in the form of the tSSEP score enables better evaluation of the afferent trigeminal pathway involvement than analyzing each tSSEP parameter separately. Methods 115 consecutive CIS patients were enrolled from August 1, 2014 until March 1, 2016. Facial sensory symptoms and brainstem MRI (1.5 T) lesions were analyzed. tSSEP testing was performed for each patient from the raw tSSEP data. The tSSEP score was calculated separately for the left and right side (according to the cut-off values for absent response and prolonged latency of the main component, P1 (0 = normal response, 1 = prolonged latency, 3 = absent response) and the two values were summed. Results There was no difference in the absolute values of the tSSEP variables regarding the presence of clinical symptoms. No association was found between tSSEP abnormalities and clinical symptoms (P = 0.544). Brainstem lesions (midbrain and pons) were associated with the absent tSSEP responses (P = 0.002 and P = 0.005, respectively). tSSEP score was significantly higher in patients with brainstem lesions (P = 0.01), especially midbrain (P = 0.004) and pontine (P = 0.008) lesions. Binary logistic regression showed that tSSEP score had a significant effect on the likelihood that patients have midbrain MR lesions, χ2(1) = 6.804, P = 0.009; and the model correctly classified 87% of cases. Conclusions The consistent finding of this study was the association between tSSEP and midbrain lesions on MRI, indicating that tSSEP evaluates proprioception of the face. This study establishes the value of tSSEP in assessing brainstem function in early multiple sclerosis.


One of the primary uses of camera networks is the observation and tracking of objects within some domain. Substantial research has gone into tracking objects within single and multiple views. However, few such approaches scale to large numbers of sensors, and those that do require an understanding of the network topology. Camera network topology models camera adjacency in the context of tracking: when an object/entity leaves one camera, which cameras could it appear at next? This paper presents a decentralized approach for estimating a camera networkpsilas topology based on sequential Bayesian estimation using a modified multinomial distribution. Central to this method is an information-theoretic appearance model for observation weighting. The distributed nature of the approach utilizes all of the sensors as processing agents in collectively recovering the network topology. Experimental results are presented using camera networks varying in size from 10-100 nodes.


Generation of ELF and VLF waves via a thermal instability process in a HF-modulated polar electrojet has been investigated. It is shown that a positive feedback through the electron-neutral collisional heating process can cause the transient response of the plasma to the modulated HF heater to grow exponentially. The threshold fields of the instability under normal electrojet conditions are found to be about 2.25 V/m and 1.13 V/m for the operation of the o-mode and x-mode heaters with a 50% duty cycle, respectively. For a heater wave field of, e.g., 1.5 V/m, the instability can be excited by the x-mode heater within a few tens of millisecond. The predicted dependence of the ELF/VLF radiation amplitude on the percentage of the duty cycle of the HF modulation is identical to that of the recent observational results of Barr and Stubbe. 28 refs., 2 figs.


The theme of digital literacy of today's children is not only actual and important but its conceptualization and reconceptualization is necessary to happen suddenly. If the researchers and pedagogues (and parents, of course) want to understand the child of today they should investigate his/her common 'digital' life. This article presents the results of a survey among parents of primary school age children. The survey is a part of fundamental research, funded by the Bulgarian Science Fund – Digital Competencies and Media Education at Pre-school and Primary School Age (DN 05/8 14.12.2016) with coordinator Prof. Dr Rumyana Papancheva from the University "Prof. Dr Asen Zlatarov", Bourgas. The author is the leader of the Working Group "Research of the connection between Reading and Digital literacy" as part of the project. Based on preliminary done investigations and on an acquainting with literature about this problem in Bulgarian and English languages it has been developed a toolkit that is integrated in the questionnaires. In the first stage of the project there are made three types of surveys – for students (priority from fourth grade), for parents and for teachers. The survey of parents' toolbox contains a questionnaire with 41 questions. The design of the study was divided in three parts – section "Reading" (18 questions), section "Digital literacy" (13 questions – 5 of them open questions) and section that tried to analyze the parents' opinion about a connection between reading literacy and reading habits and the formation of digital literacies of children up to 11 years old. There was also a demographic part. The accent in this article is on the results of parents' survey – there are analyzed parents' attitudes towards a formation of digital literacy of their children. In 2018 there were interviewed 144 parents from different Bulgarian towns – capital, a very big city /over 200 000 population/, a big city / up to 200 000 population /, middle towns – up to 100 000 population, small towns up to 30 000 population and very small towns – under 10 000 and villages. In the research it was used Europass' Self-Assessment Grid for Digital competence and parents should do self-assessment of their abilities for Information processing; Content creation; Communication; Problem solving and Safety. It is also shown at what ages children start using digital technologies. It is interesting to understand that some kids (9%) had started using devices before they have turned one year. Relatively equal is the distribution in other aged groups. Only one parent said that their child doesn't use digital technology. The survey describes children's habits of digital technology usage – how many hours per day they use smartphones or other devices; what kinds of activities (playing games, reading e-books, watching YouTube, studying) children carry out with digital technologies, etc. The article also presents the demographic profile of respondents and some interconnections found between the parents' profiles and the children's attitudes towards the usage of digital technologies.


We report the crystal structure evolution of CaCu0.2Mn6.8O12 as a function of temperature between 10 K and 290 K. The analysis of the diffraction data is carried out with the Rietveld method applied to the average trigonal structure of CaCu0.2Mn6.8O12. The x = 0.2 member shows similar low temperature extrema for the unit cell parameter evolution as the previously reported x = 0.1 and x = 0 members of the CaCuxMn7−xO12 system. All magnetic and crystallographic transition temperatures indicated by the unit cell parameter evolution obtained by powder X-ray diffraction methods systematically decrease with increasing Cu content, x.


Summary The use of cytoplasmic estrogen receptor (ER) to help select patients with advanced breast cancer for endocrine therapy is well established and whenever possible should be part of the routine evaluation. Other potential uses of steroid receptors are emerging. The data suggest that an ER determination on the primary tumor may be very important in designing new adjuvant trials. Finally, the presence of progesterone receptor in a tumor signals the presence of a higher ER content and very likely a favorable response to endocrine therapy. Data from the author's own laboratory were supported in part by the NIH (CB 23862, CA 11378) and The American Cancer Society (BC-23G). I wish to thank Drs. Degenshein, King, Skinner, and Matsumoto for providing me with their data prior to publication, and Dr. J. P. Raynaud of Roussel Uclaf for providing the R5020 for the progesterone receptor studies.


Taking the urbanization transformation of Beishidian District of Jincheng City,Shanxi Province,as an example,this paper introduces the present situation of urban villages in this district,expounds the methods and inspirations of the construction of urban village,probes into the planning of communities in the transformation of urban villages,and puts forward some measures for guaranteeing the smooth implementation of the transformation project.


ABSTRACT Legal drafting is a vital skill for lawyers and thus it is important for law students to be exposed to drafting throughout their degree. One of the first year courses most suited to this exercise is contract law. This paper discusses the inclusion of a drafting exercise as part of the contract law assessment over four years in terms of the authenticity of the assessment task and feedback from students about the exercise. A sample exercise is included in the paper. These exercises required students to draft clauses to be inserted into a contract or draft a short contract and this work demonstrated an application of the material being covered in class. Initially, this assessment was set as a largely independent exercise with students being directed to relevant resources. It was found that additional scaffolding was needed and each year more extensive resources were provided. Although the students who participated in the survey were predominantly students who had passed the course, the majority each year believed that it was a useful exercise, of value for their future careers and of more practical relevance than other forms of assessment.


An improved state-space analysis of the CMOS static RAM cell is presented. Introducing the concept of the dividing line, the critical charge for heavy-ion-induced upset of memory cells can be calculated considering symmetrical as well as asymmetrical capacitive loads. From the critical charge, the upset-rate per bit-day for static RAMs can be estimated.


This article analyzes the consequences of financial liberalization, using a large panel of Indonesian manufacturing establishments. It discusses whether financial reforms have had an impact on investment and on the allocation of credit and whether the effects differ depending on the type of firms. The overall conclusion is that shifting from administrative toward market-based allocation of credit has increased borrowing costs, particularly for smaller firms, but, at the same time, had benefited firms by giving them widened access to finance. Copyright 1994 by Oxford University Press.


Thermal endurance tests to AIEE Standard 57 [1] have been performed in six laboratories each using self-prepared varnished specimens made from a common sample of polyester enameled wire and polyester varnish. The results have been analyzed to test the hypothesis of the departure from linearity of the relationship between the logarithm of life and the inverse of the absolute temperature. A comparison is made between the experimental results at the lowest test temperature and the corresponding extrapolated values based on the experimental results at the higher temperatures. The variation between the results of different laboratories is considered. Comparison is made with previous work [2] undertaken in six laboratories on PVA enameled wire specimens, prepared and impregnated with an oil-modified phenolic varnish by a single laboratory, and with published AIEE results. Comparison is also made with the results of a previous interim statistical analysis, [3] applied to the test results at the three higher temperatures only. The main statistical analysis is performed both for the complete set of results, and for the median results only. The extrapolated thermal lives based on the two methods are shown, with one exception, to differ by less than 6 percent at 20°C below the lowest test temperature. The importance of the median method is that generally not all of the specimens are required to be tested to failure, with a consequent saving of a substantial amount of testing time, particularly at the lowest test temperature.


The aim of this work is to analyze the recent progress of the Italian Southern Mutual Loan-Guarantee Societies (Confidi) by using a sample of its year's Balance Sheet in order to investigate the determinants of its profitability and to get a better idea of how to plot next year's profitability story and what Confidi future business wealth will be.
Recently, the evolution of the Confidi has been influenced by the regionalization of economic policy, by the Basel II accord and finally by the introduction of a modern legal framework for prudential supervision. As a result of the Framework law of 2003, the Confidi are not for profit entities specialized in granting collective guarantees to SMEs. In order to enforce their role as a link between banks and SMEs, with the objective of facilitating access to bank credit, the Italian Confidi need to implement an evolutionary progress of their mission and to work proactively with banks and the SMEs themselves.
Despite the strength and dynamism of the Italian Confidi system, the future is not without challenges in particular for small Confidi most of which are located in the South of Italy. In this area the financial system is mainly based on banks and there is also a gap between North and South of Italy in the availability and in the cost of credit for SMEs.
Overall, the work is divided into five chapters. The first chapter provides a descriptive analysis of the new competitive environment and a theoretical study on role and rationale of Italian Confidi. The second chapter focuses on the theoretical models and on the empirical researches on the determinants of collateral usage in credit market: it is shown that banks normally require guarantees on loans granted to SMEs that appear to be riskier, less capitalized, and with multiple banking relationships. On the base of these results, the third chapter investigates the problem of bank loans to small firms and the role of mutual guarantees as possible solution in facilitation SMEs' access to finance: exiting evidence suggests a critical relevance of the Italian Mutual loan-Guarantee Societies on the small firms' credit access and condition and also a reduction on the cost of credit due to the Confidi intermediation, particularly for Italian Southern SMEs. On this evidence the fourth chapter analyzes the effect of the new Capital Adequacy Directive and of the Framework law 2003 on the Italian Confidi system. Finally, in order to study the recent progress of the Italian Southern Confidi, the fifth chapter focus on a sample of Italian Southern Confidi and, by applying the methodology suggested by Cacciamani (1999) and Vallascas (2005), investigates the determinants of its performance and the way to enforce their role in the new competitive environment.
Overall, the empirical findings of this research show that the small size of Italian Southern Confidi is an impediment to reach adequate level of efficiency and profitability for its staying in credit market. In order to continue to have a significant role to play in facilitating SMEs access to finance, the reinforcement of its administrative structure – often limited – and the improvement of the risk monitoring procedures are the main elements for further professionalization.


Assume that the vertices of a graph $G$ are always operational, but the edges of $G$ are operational independently with probability $p \in[0,1]$. For fixed vertices $s$ and $t$, the \emph{two-terminal reliability} of $G$ is the probability that the operational subgraph contains an $(s,t)$-path, while the \emph{all-terminal reliability} of $G$ is the probability that the operational subgraph contains a spanning tree. Both reliabilities are polynomials in $p$, and have very similar behaviour in many respects. However, unlike all-terminal reliability, little is known about the roots of two-reliability polynomials. In a variety of ways, we shall show that the nature and location of the roots of two-terminal reliability polynomials have significantly different properties than those held by roots of the all-terminal reliability.


A new pseudospark-type electron gun has been utilized in the F4 high-enthalpy, low-density, hot-shot wind tunnel at ONERA. The main goal was to perform accurate measurements of the velocity profile across the boundary layer and the freestream through a time-of-flight principle. In these experiments, an intense pulsed electron beam traces the path of a high-voltage, sustained-glow discharge in some 10 ns. A charge-coupled device camera is opened briefly, 5 μs after the electron gun actuation, to image the position of the luminous column convected by the flow


Abstract This study examines gender differences and similarities in students' confidence in job skills from the Job Outlook 2018 survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. As predicted, female students reported higher self-efficacy than male students in interpersonal skills, friendly/outgoing personality and organizational ability, while male students report higher self-perception of competence in problem-solving, analytical/quantitative, technical and computer skills. Consistent with expectations, no gender differences in confidence were found in leadership, initiative, strategic planning and entrepreneurial skills. Implications for curriculum development are discussed.


Increasingly you may hear researchers, librarians and other information professionals talk about "text mining". Although this is a process aligned with information retrieval, it is not always clear how we can support and engage with these related activities. The following post brings together a number of resources that show the value and benefits of text mining, and introduces two free tools to help you start exploring this growing area of work.


Abstract Research purpose. Currently, higher education institutions (HEIs) are faced with new challenges. They have to compete globally and take into account modern trends in education and science. Human capital becomes one of the most significant resources for HEI performance. The purpose of the study is to determine which factors influence human capital development at HEI. Design / Methodology / Approach. Selected human capital development factors were analyzed at Latvian HEIs. Factors including existing laws and conformity assessment procedures and requirements were considered. A survey was utilized to determine the most influential factors in human capital development at Latvian HEIs. The survey results were analyzed by implementing CATPCA to identify the most critical factors. Findings. The results show that essential elements of human capital at HEI are the pedagogical competence of the academic staff, their scientific competence, and the number of professionals from industry that are part of the academic staff. The CATPCA results revealed four main factors influencing human capital development at HEI, which could be divided into 1) staff competence and motivation; 2) legislation and development strategy; 3) availability of resources; 3) cooperation. Originality / Value / Practical implications. Human capital is one of the key factors for the sustainability of HEIs in Latvia. By accounting for the factors that influence the development of human capital in HEIs, institutions can more effectively and proactively develop human capital management strategies, which allow the institutions to achieve performance in the long term.


Xia Traditionally 2205–1766 BCE Shang 1600–c. 1050 BCE Western Zhou c. 1050–771 BCE Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn period) 770–481 BCE Zhanguo (Warring States period) 475–222 BCE Qin 221–210 BCE Western Han 206 BCE–9 CE Xin dynasty 9–23 CE Eastern Han 25–220 CE Sanguo (Three Kingdoms period) 220–265 CE Jin 265–420 CE Western Jin 265–316 CE Eastern Jin 317–420 CE Nanbeichao (Six Dynasties period) 420–589 CE Sui 589–617 CE Tang 618–907 CE Song 960–1279 CE Northern Song 960–1126 CE Southern Song 1126–1279 CE Yuan 1279–1368 CE Ming 1368–1644 CE Qing 1644–1911 CE Republican Period 1912–1949 People's Republic of China 1949–present


In order to explore the effect by mixed plants to soil water holding capacity,we have taken the soil from Jingtai,Gansu for the experimental material,set up four treatments with different plants mixed proportion( such as 1% corn cobs,1% corn leaves,3% corn cobs and 3% corn leaves),and use the centrifuge method to measure the soil water characteristic curve. At the same time,utilize the HYDRUS software to simulate and calculate. The results shown that: Under the treatment with same suction and mixed proportion,the soil volumetric water content with mixed proportion of 3% was higher than 1% soil; Under the same mixed proportion theatment,the soil volumetric water content mixed corn leaves was higher than mixed corn cobs soil,also the soil volumetric water content with all plants mixed treatments were total higher than the pure soil as without any mixed. Though the different model fitting analysis for the soil water characteristic curves,have indicated that the Van Genuchten model was the best fitting model for the four treatments. This research results can be provided a certain reference for exploring the rule of soil water and salt movement under plants mixed condition in this region.


A novel confocal endoscopic imaging system is designed for imaging thick sample. The lateral and axial detected image intensity is deduced and calculated based on point spread function (PSF). The analysis of influence of pinhole and fiber on resolution is given. Our researches show that the lateral resolution improvement is much more sensitive to pinhole size than the axial resolution. Confocal system has narrower half width at half maximum (HWHM) and higher lateral and axial resolution for smaller pinhole. At last a criterion for pinhole size is introduced first of all to ensure confocal imaging and maximize signal-to-noise ratio, which is very helpful in the practical design of confocal endoscopic imaging system.


The fluoride-accumulating abnormality of Antarctic krill is a unique and interesting physiological trait,and its mechanism has drawn more and more attention. Advances in the researches of fluorideaccumulating mechanism of Antarctic krill were reviewed in this paper,including the source of fluoride,the distribution characteristics,chemical speciation,and the analysis of variations of fluoride in Krill,and the speculation of accumulation patterns. The prospects of research trends in future were also discussed.


According to the embodied cognition theory,body postures related to emotion affect individual's perception,understanding,and processing of emotion.In the current study,we probed the embodying emotion of visual photos through holding pencil in the mouth.Results in experiment showed,the main effect of facial action control was significant,F(1,30)=25.842,P0.001.There was a significant main effect in valence decisions of photos,F(1,30)=5.470,P0.05.The interaction between valence decision of photos and facial action control was significant,F(1,30)=4.954,P0.05.Therefore,visual photos processing could affect its emotion information processing through body or action.Facial action control could affect emotion understanding.Namely,visual photos concepts had embodying emotion.


ABSTRACT This study examines the effects of board capital on small and medium enterprise (SME) growth speed using a robust regression model, in a sample of the every firm listed on the MAB (alternative Spanish stock market). We adopted the resource-based view (RBV), the resource dependency perspective, and the Penrosean theory to argue that directors' characteristics provide the resources required for SMEs to achieve a higher growth rate. Our research concludes that the board's functional diversity positively affects SME growth, the extent of prior training among the directors of quoted SMEs is higher than expected, and there is no relationship between the previous experience of directors in CEO positions and SME growth.


This study proposes an estimating procedure that can be used to set the optimal seismic level in the seismic retrofit design for a low-rise reinforced concrete (RC) building. Along with damage control, the cost of maintenance over the remaining service life is also considered in the estimating procedure. However, when a seismic retrofit level defined by the ground acceleration corresponding to the ultimate deformation of the single degree of freedom (SDOF) system for a selected building is specified, several seismic retrofit methods can be used to achieve the specified seismic retrofit level. Since their respective maintenance costs differ, the average value of the annual costs of maintenance for a specified seismic retrofit level was adopted. Under the condition that the average value of the annual reliability indices of a seismic retrofit level for a specified damage state needs to be equal to or greater than the allowable annual reliability index, the seismic retrofit level corresponding to the minimal value is regarded as the optimal level. Finally, a case study was used to discuss the application of the estimating procedure for the optimal seismic retrofit level proposed here. In addition, combinations of the upgrading rates in yielding acceleration and the ductility capacity of the SDOF system are also suggested to the designer of the retrofit for the selected building.


Cultural Myth The existence of the myth is part of the surface of the collective. Where there is society there is myth; no society exists without myths. Myth, according to Doutte, is personalized collective desire (Doutte, 1909). Mythical constructions are inherent in the human condition and the human condition is not without reference to collectivity. Several scholars have studied the phenomenon of social and political myth. For Sigmund Freud the key of myth creation was traced to the emotional parts of individuals (Freud, 1900/1913). According to Freud, myths are like dreams: they express unconscious fantasies in disguised form and fulfill unconscious wishes. Thus they relieve pressure from the unconscious and fulfill psychological needs. The emotions attached to the unconscious fantasies give myths their great appeal and allow other ideas – such as moral and political ideals – that are woven into myths to receive an emotional charge as well. Freud also claimed that myths, like dreams, are censored. They therefore have both manifest and latent content. Manifest content is the surface narrative, while latent content is the unconscious wishes and fears. The latent content is disguised in the manifest content. Disguise takes several forms, and the role of the analyst is to unpack this meaning. The phenomenon of myth was a determinant factor of pre-modern societies too. According to Eliade, the purpose of myth was to return to the time before time, before the gods or tribal ancestors (supernatural beings) created the world. This pre-cosmic state is sacred time, and according to Eliade it is the aim of the religious person to go beyond the natural/profane world of space and time, through ritual or storytelling, and enter into the sacred space of eternal time, thereby experiencing the primal power in the form of a hierophany that gives order to the laws of culture. This storytelling is the actual discursive construction and expression of cultural myth. According to Barthes, 'myth is a type of speech' (Barthes, 1977: 1). For him, myths serve the ideological function of naturalization (Barthes, 1957). Their function is to naturalize the cultural – in other words, to make dominant cultural and historical values, attitudes and beliefs seem entirely 'natural', 'normal', self-evident, timeless, obvious 'common-sense' – and thus objective and 'true' reflections of 'the way things are'. Contemporary social scientists argue that social groups tend to regard as 'natural' whatever confers privilege and power upon themselves. Barthes saw myth as serving the ideological interests. With this he basically developed his theory of mythification and claimed that all social phenomena are political in the sense that they reflect some kind of personal or group interest but that these interests are concealed. Thus they do not look political at all even though they are inherently political. Consequently, for Barthes, human interests that guide social behaviour remain concealed behind images and discourses that don't look political. Thus, for him, a 'myth' is not a fictitious tale. Rather, myth is a perpetration of mass culture upon the world. Barthes' definition of myth is actually more aligned to a definition of ideology such as Terry Eagleton's in Ideology: An Introduction (Eagleton, 1991). He writes: 'A dominant power may legitimize itself by promoting beliefs and values congenial to it; naturalizing and universalizing such beliefs so as to render them self-evident and apparently inevitable;


Region-of-interest (ROI) image coding is one of the new features included in the JPEG2000 image coding standard. Two methods are defined in the standard: the Maxshift method and the generic scaling based method. In this paper, a new region-of-interest coding method called Perceptually Optimized Shift (POShift) is proposed. Unlike other proposed methods, the POShift method realigns the bitplanes based on perceptually optimized order, which makes the visually most important bitplanes (in both ROI and BG) to be coded firstly. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method significantly outperforms the previous ROI coding schemes in overall ROI coding performance.


Design and analysis of Quadrifilar helical antenna are presented in this
 paper. The proposed antenna is designed for Cube-Sats in the low earth and
 medium earth orbits. It is a combination of four helical antennas, each
 separated by 90?, and excited separately at the feeding point. The antenna
 is designed for operation at 4.5 GHz with an impedance bandwidth of 11.11 %.
 Design of the antenna is done in two steps. The first step being the design
 of a ground plane, which can make the antenna operate at 4.5 GHz. The second
 step is to analyze the antenna?s performance for different helix angles
 using the best ground plane dimensions obtained in the first step. The gain
 versus frequency curve has been obtained and the designed antenna is having
 a gain of more than 4 dB at the resonant frequency of 4.5 GHz.


On the platform of Simulink,a simulation model of induction motor drag system was constructed.The mechanical properties,starter of three series resistance and the energy consumption braking were tested.Basic principles and rules of drag system had been effectively reflected in the simulation results.


ABSTRACT The gradual lifting of restrictions on capital movements and the relaxation of exchange controls in recent years have led to a substantial increase in international stock market activities. Due to several recent developments, many experts suggest that stock markets have moved toward afar greater degree of global integration, which has led to a renewed interest in the efficiency of international financial markets. This paper examines the extent to which the linkages of the twelve largest European stock markets have changed over the last decade. The findings suggest the presence of distinct systematic relationships among these stock markets. Such relationships, typical of the existence of overall market efficiency, make it more difficult for investors to generate abnormal rates of return in these markets. INTRODUCTION Recent developments in financial market deregulation, the gradual lifting of restrictions on capital movements, the relaxation of exchange controls, major progress in computer technology and telecommunications, as well as a significant increase in the cross-listings of multinational company stocks have led to a substantial increase in international stock market activities. Also, more recent improvements in communication and computer technology not only have made the flow of international information cheaper and more reliable, but also have lowered the cost of international financial transactions. In addition, greater coordination in trade and capital flows policies among the industrialized nations may have contributed to more similar economic conditions and developments in these countries, which would be reflected in their respective stock markets. Largely as a result of these developments, many experts suggest that, especially in recent years, stock markets have moved toward a far greater degree of global integration which has led to a renewed interest in the efficiency of foreign financial markets. Since market efficiency requires stock prices to react quickly not only to information pertaining to the domestic economy, but also to international conditions as well, systematic relationships among stock markets in different countries should exist as long as financial markets respond efficiently to external forces. Most research on global market efficiency has dealt with the systematic movements of stock prices, the lead-lag relationship among market indices, and the benefits of diversification (for examples, see Chan et al, 1997; Yang et al.,.2003; Agmon, 1972; Grubel and Fadner, 1968; Haney and Lloyd, 1978; Maldonado and Saunders, 1981; Panton et al, 1976; Stehle, 1977; and Watson, 1978). Several studies (e.g., Bessler and Yang, 2003, Sakar and Li, 2002; Milliard, 1970; Panton et al. 1976; Ripley, 1973; and Robichek et al., 1972) examined the degree of association among global exchanges. Panton et al. (1976) conclude that there is some stability and structure in international markets, with some markets displaying a high degree of stability. Ripley (1973) on the other hand, reports that more than 50 percent of the movements in typical developed countries' indices is unique to the specific country. Also, Robichek et al. (1972) found a lack of a significant correlation between the stock returns of some countries. Examining inter-country correlation coefficients over one-year, two-year, and four-year subperiods, Watson (1980) observed that, in general, inter-country correlation coefficients do not change significantly from one period to the other. The results of the above mentioned studies suggest that, for many countries, stock price movements have some correlation, but that most of the movements appear to be unique to a country. Attempts by Agmon (1972) and Branch (1974) to detect lead-lag relationships among stock markets around the world led to the general conclusion that there is little or no interrelationship between different stock exchanges. Also, Schollhammer and Sand (1985) report that for the four largest stock markets in Europe (i. …


Research has demonstrated that giving inmates adequate education during their custodial sentences can reduce recidivism Gerber and Fritsch, 1993; Ripley, 1993; Vacca, 2004). There is a relative lack of research, however, on the impact of prisons on their own staff, with little systematic examination of the professional community who are tasked with assisting the social adaptation of inmates. Even less attention is generally paid to examining and surveying the prison teachers who design and deliver the prison programs which aim to reduce recidivism. Staff should perform high-quality work to be able to participate in the preparation of inmates for reintegration, but they may be prevented from doing so effectively through restraints, for example, those related to overcrowding and staffing shortages. Presenting both quantitative and qualitative data, this article discusses the main problems constraining the work of corrections educators based in both prisons and colleges in Hungary. The data presented are drawn from an investigation conducted by the three Hungarian lead authors between January 2017 and April 2017. The data collection approach included questionnaires and interviews conducted with corrections educators and staff inside two Hungarian correctional centres and four 'outside' educational institutions or colleges.


Skeletal muscle damage produced in rats by 2% lidocaine in combination with agents that mimic or modify actions of epinephrine was assessed histologically. Only drugs producing vasoconstriction- epinephrine, phenylephrine, and felypressin — significantly augmented lidocaine myotoxicity. This potentiation was in direct relation to each drug's ability to retard absorption of the local anesthetic from its injection site.


The pH sensitivity of chemical exchange‐relayed nuclear Overhauser enhancement (rNOE) signal in a saturation transfer experiment is not fully understood and needs further investigation.


This paper discusses students' statistical ideas in the compulsory education stage.In the process of training students statistical idea,we should pay attention to raise students' statistical thoughts and statistical methods as well as the ability of finding problems,the innovation spirit,the ability of choice,reconsideration consciousness and judging ability and so on.


OBJECTIVE To investigate the chemical constitutents in the roots of Asparagus officinalis for obtaining a more comprehensive understanding on its effective components.METHODS Compounds were separated by column chromatography with silica gel and Sephadex LH-20,whose structures were elucidated by spectral analysis and chemical evidence.RESULTS Four compounds were isolated from the EtOH extract.Their structures were identified as:(+)-nyasol(1),3′-methoxynyasin(2),syringaresinol-4′,4″-O-bis-β-D-glucoside(3) and syringaresinol-4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(4).CONCLUSION Compound 1~4 are isolated from the plant for the first time.


This article reports the results of a descriptive quantitative research study on teacher candidates' reflection on instrumental motivation. The research instrument used was a questionnaire containing thirteen items asking about the teacher candidates' future goals, estimated time to achieve the goals, underlying reasons of joining in the English Department, and possible alternatives that they could probably have in relation to their attempt of achieving the future goals, and how they perceive themselves as student-teachers. The results showed
that before studying in WMCUS most of the students, as many as 86.48%, considered having a professional career as the most important future goal than other goals, which they (48.64%) wanted to achieve between five and 10 years from the year the data was collected. Also, 43.24% of the participants considered that joining the ED as one of the means to pursue the future goals even though 56.75% of the participants acknowledged that the ED in WMCUS was not the first choice. The participants also regarded themselves as ordinary individuals who were not very enthusiastic in pursuing their future goals and they were motivated as long as the circumstances allowed them to (45.94%). It was also found that the instrumental motivations changed overtime.


Introduction. Public perceptions of pandemic risk and prevention measures influence adherence to COVID-19 prevention efforts. Even though several factors influence public perceptions, there has been no research on the predictors of COVID-19-related perception in Ethiopia and there are few articles among academic staff worldwide. Thus, this study aims to assess predictors of COVID-19-related perception among Gondar University academic staff. Method. Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 10 to May 10, 2021. Daniel Soper's calculator was used to determine the sample size. A simple random sampling technique was employed. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using Stata V14. Structural equation modeling was performed to identify determinants of COVID-19 related perception. A

 p

 value less than 0.05 and a 95% confidence interval of β were used to declare the statistical significance of the variables. Result. A total of 602 academic staff participated. Mean age of participants was 32.38 (±5.83) years. Family size (β = 0.12), chronic illness (β = −0.19), knowledge (β = 0.11), and cues to action (β = 0.43) were significantly associated with perceived susceptibility. Similarly, educational status (β = −0.11), perceived susceptibility (β = 0.61), and cues to action (β = 0.13) were significantly associated with perceived severity. Likewise, knowledge (β = 0.11) and cues to action (β = 0.62) were significant predictors of self-efficacy. Correspondingly, knowledge (β = 0.23), chronic illness (β = 0.09), profession (β = −0.09), perceived susceptibility (β = 0.19), perceived severity (β = 0.23), and self-efficacy (β = 0.29) were significant predictors of perceived benefit. Similarly, age (β = −0.18), profession (β = 0.10), and perceived susceptibility (β = −0.39) were significantly associated with perceived barriers. Conclusion. Several sociodemographic and other factors affect COVID-19 related perceptions. Intervention should consider those factors to improve COVID-19 prevention practice.


To generate a seamless mosaic of a forward-looking sonar (FLS) video sequence, this study proposes a novel fusion method for FLS image mosaic, which includes two main steps from coarse to fine. In the coarse fusion step, the source images are first decomposed into multi-scale sub-bands using the non-subsampled contourlet transform (NSCT), then the sub-bands of the source images are merged, based on the Gabor energy and the local contrast for low and high frequency sub-bands, respectively, to generate the fused sub-bands which are used to produce the fused image by inverse NSCT. In the fine fusion step, a decision map is used to choose the pixels of the fine fused image from the coarsely fused image or one of the source images. This decision map is first constructed by measuring the similarity of the coarsely fused image to the source images, and then processed by a morphological post-processing technique to ensure its continuity and smoothness. Extensive experiments on FLS image fusion and mosaic have been conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness and the superiority of the proposed technique using both a subjective evaluation and objective metrics.


The invention relates to a method of manufacturing continuous glass mats son, at least a portion of said son being coated with a non-aqueous mixture can react under actinic radiation. The resulting mats have uniform and sufficient cohesion throughout their thickness, this cohesion is important to obtain by means of said composite mat having good mechanical properties.


We shall present a non-standard framework to describe a matter uid in Weyl geometries and investigate conservation laws. In particular we shall obtain a set of properties which allow to obtain in this generalized setting the standard relation between conservation of the energy-momentum tensor and number of particles. Coupling with matter is also discussed in relation with conformal transformations.


The European Commission has routinely considered potential harm to innovation as part of its merger assessments, particularly in R&D driven sectors such as pharmaceuticals and technology. In…


The Romans used a vast array of colors in their mural paints. The applied pigment mixtures containing Egyptian blue resulting in green, ochre, brown, gray, and white hues were studied. The chromatic characterization of wall paintings by electronic spectroscopy provided an easy and reliable procedure for the grouping of the samples to be studied (see Table). Subsequent use of other spectroscopic techniques such as Fourier-transform (FT) IR and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), combined with X-ray diffraction (XRD), led to convenient identification of the pictorial layer components that define and differentiate each chromatic group. Colors impossible to produce with only one pigment can be obtained by mixing Egyptian blue with other pigments. The dominant wavelength is displaced in such way that the artist obtains new tonalities.


Problem Statement: Development of human industrial activities without additional environmental protection measures, namely the proper treatment of wastewater, discharge of effluents led to inadequate industrial and urban treated or untreated, which resulted in impaired quality of watercourses by the appearance of a wide range of contaminants: organic substances readily biodegradable pesticides, organochlorine aliphatic and aromatic derivatives, oil products. Romania's EU accession involves compliance with commitments, implementation plan set out in Directive 76/464/EEC and "daughter directives" on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment, developing pollution reduction programs in the industrial units and that their gradual implementation, in order to "total technical compliance". Purpose of Study: The paper presents measures of Best Available Techniques to eliminate the danger of pollution by dangerous substances discharged into the wastewater treated envoy. Methods: We use : EQS- Environmental