The modeling of the hydraulic powered support column and socket were made by using finite element analysis system ABAQUS,at the same time the contacting analysis problem was studied between hydraulic powered support column and socket with finite element powerful nonlinear analysis system,getting the stress contours of column and socket in working.Based on the mode shape of column and socket,the author found out the hydraulic powered support column and socket's deformation characteristics by comparing analysis on ABAQUS finite element analysis result and Hertz' s solution has been made,provides basis and reference for the design and checking of the hydraulic powered support column and socket.


South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority

 Reduced left atrial (LA) reservoir strain is a marker of elevated LA pressure. Thus it could be a potential non-invasive marker to differentiate pre- and post-capillary pulmonary hypertension (PH) as the latter is defined by elevated pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) > 15 mmHg. However, in pre-capillary PH patients with elevated right atrial pressure (RAP), the atrial septal geometry may be abnormal. This could lead to lower regional LA septal strain, making LA lateral wall strain more accurately reflect PCWP.

 We investigated if LA lateral wall strain can differentiate between pre- and post-capillary PH, and how LA lateral wall strain and LA septal strain are both affected by elevated RAP in pre-capillary PH. Furthermore we investigated if LA septal strain can be used in pre-capillary PH patients to identify those with elevated RAP.

 We analysed 63 patients with PH, 28 pre-capillary and 35 post-capillary, who underwent right heart catheterisation. Echocardiography was performed simultaneously with or within 24 hours of the invasive pressure measurements. Regional LA septal strain and lateral wall strain were measured from the apical four chamber view.

 Pulmonary artery pressure was 39.5 ± 11.1 mmHg (mean ± SD) in the pre-capillary PH patients and 37.0 ± 10.1 mmHg in the post-capillary PH patients (p = ns). Mean PCWP was 9.9 ± 2.5 mmHg and 24.5 ± 6.0 mmHg (p < 0.001), respectively.
 LA lateral wall strain was significantly lower in patients with post-capillary PH compared to pre-capillary PH (11.9 ± 7.7% vs 26.6 ± 9.9%, p < 0.001) (Fig. a,b). At a cut-off value of 18.0%, LA lateral wall strain could predict elevated PCWP > 15 mmHg with AUC = 0.88, sensitivity = 85.7% and specificity = 76.3%.
 In the 28 patients with pre-capillary PH, we classified mean RAP ≥ 10 mmHg as elevated and < 10 mmHg as normal. Seven of these patients had elevated RAP and showed significantly reduced LA septal strain compared to the 21 patients with normal RAP (13.0 ± 6.2% vs 22.1 ± 7.6%, p < 0.01). LA lateral wall strain showed no difference in these groups of pre-capillary PH patients (25.8 ± 10.1% vs 28.9 ± 9.4%) (Fig. c).

 LA lateral wall strain can be used for differentiating between pre- and post-capillary PH. In addition, LA septal strain may be used in pre-capillary PH patients to identify those with elevated RAP.
 Abstract 1231 Figure


Venezuela is a country where natural obstacles to farming, ranching, and communications are formidable. Had it not been for the discovery of vast quantities of oil, the country would have remained as poverty stricken as other parts of Latin America. The discovery of petroleum and the wise decision to spend some of the royalties from petroleum to develop other aspects of the economy of Venezuela have led to rapid progress within the country. To aid in planning the best uses of these royalties, Venezuela organized a separate branch of the federal government known as Cordiplan.1 This central planning agency is divided into units, each of which plans for a separate part of the country or sector of the economy. In the Lower Orinoco River Valley the Corporación Venozolana Guayana (CVG)2 is the federal planning agency. CVG has the legal right actually to engage in industry if it is deemed advisable to do so in order to develop the region. CVG has central offices in the capital, Caracas, and branch offices in the Lower Orinoco Basin.


The rational drug-treatment of multiple sclerosis on an immunological basis requires an acquaintance with the different forms of the disease course along with an understanding of the underlying pathomechanisms as well as a thorough knowledge of the chances and limitations of such a therapy. Besides some well established treatment regimens other approaches are presented which are currently evaluated in clinical trials and their effects and side effects are discussed.


Objective Joint pain is the major clinical symptom of arthritis that affects millions of people. Controlling the excitability of knee-innervating dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons (knee neurons) could potentially provide pain relief. Therefore, our objective was to evaluate whether the newly engineered adeno-associated virus (AAV) serotype, AAV-PHP.S, can deliver functional artificial receptors to control knee neuron excitability following intra-articular knee injection. Methods AAV-PHP.S virus packaged with dTomato fluorescent protein and either excitatory (Gq) or inhibitory (Gi) designer receptors activated by designer drugs (DREADDs) was injected into the knee joint of adult mice. Labelling of DRG neurons by AAV-PHP.S from the knee was evaluated using immunohistochemistry. Functionality of Gq- and Gi-DREADDs was evaluated using whole-cell patch clamp electrophysiology on acutely cultured DRG neurons. Pain behavior in mice was assessed using a digging assay, dynamic weight bearing and rotarod, before and after intra-peritoneal administration of the DREADD activator, Compound 21. Results We show that AAV-PHP.S can deliver functional genes into the DRG neurons when injected into the knee joint in a similar manner to the well-established retrograde tracer, fast blue. Short-term activation of AAV-PHP.S delivered Gq-DREADD increases excitability of knee neurons in vitro, without inducing overt pain in mice when activated in vivo. By contrast, in vivo Gi-DREADD activation alleviated complete Freund's adjuvant mediated knee inflammation-induced deficits in digging behavior, with a concomitant decrease in knee neuron excitability observed in vitro. Conclusions We describe an AAV-mediated chemogenetic approach to specifically control joint pain, which may be utilized in translational arthritic pain research.


In an optical disk having grooves, pits representing reference signals in header regions of the grooves are disposed to be spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction of the groove to suppress undesirable interference or crosstalk of the reference signals in adjacent V-grooves. In the reproduction of such reference signals, two laser beam spots are respectively irradiated on the first and second oblique surface tracks in the V-groove. Two electric signals made by detecting the light reflected from the spots are examined to determine whether they are in coincidence. When coincidence is confirmed, the signals are used as valid reference signals.


An emerging area of biosensors is based on the use of structures provided by recent advances of Nanotechnology such as nanowires, nanotubes and nanopores. Among them, the integration of natural nanopores such as ion channels with electronics is a promising approach to develop rapid, sensitive and reliable biosensors able to detect low concentration of target molecules or DNA sequencing. This paper presents a compact and low-cost system able to readout, process and record current in the pA range, provided by biological or synthetic nanopores. The approach is based on the idea that by processing the outputs of a large amount of single-molecule nanosensors would result in a significant increase of resolution and signal-to-noise ratio. The approach consists of an electronic interface able to detect current-based array of nanosensors, where the management of very large amount of data is critical for the readout process. As working example, we acquired the single molecule signals derived from non-covalent bindings between single a-hemolysin pores, embedded into an artificial lipid bilayer, and β-cyclodextrin molecules. The system embeds the electronic readout with the microfluidic where is placed the nanosensor array. The electronic interface is a 0.5mm2 current amplifier based on an array of ΣΔ converters. Then the high rate data streams are processed and downsampled by a DSP that communicates with a PC via a USB interface for data processing and storage.


PURPOSE: To improve general purposes and handleability by forming of a contact assembly having a motor container and a rotatably driven cutting blade, projecting or retracting the blade via an opening of the latter, and providing a fixed guide plate and a rotatable fence. CONSTITUTION: A contact assembly 24 having a rotatable cutting blade 28 driven by a motor of a container 22 has an opening 30, and the blade 28 is projected forward and retracted rearward via the opening. A fence assembly 26 has a guide plate 60 fixed to the assembly 24, a support base 74 movably mounted at the plate 60 to separate from and approach to a rotating axis, and a fence 76 pivotally secured to the base 74 to rotate around the rotating axis. A rack and pinion mechanism is provided to regulate the base 74, and a slidable rod is provided at the other integrally movable with one of the assembly and the container as a cutout depth regulating mechanism 62.


The vast majority of companies, whether small and medium-sized or large multinational corporations are increasingly turning to new forms and new contents in ...


In a spiked population model, the population covariance matrix has all its eigenvalues equal to units except for a few fixed eigenvalues (spikes). This model is proposed by Johnstone to cope with empirical findings on various data sets. The question is to quantify the effect of the perturbation caused by the spike eigenvalues. A recent work by Baik and Silverstein establishes the almost sure limits of the extreme sample eigenvalues associated to the spike eigenvalues when the population and the sample sizes become large. This paper establishes the limiting distributions of these extreme sample eigenvalues. As another important result of the paper, we provide a central limit theorem on random sesquilinear forms.


One aspect of the present invention provides a seam construction of a facing sheet for covering part of a vehicle seat. The facing sheet part is formed by sewing together a plurality of facing sheet pieces at their respective end portions. Each of the facing sheet pieces comprises a surface portion and a pad member which is laminated on the surface portion. In the end part of each of the facing sheet pieces is at least a portion of the pad member is removed or the cushion part is not laminated on the surface portion. The plurality of facing sheet pieces sewn together using the surface parts at their end portions.


A short and more general proof of Harsanyi's puri…cation theorem is provided through an application of a powerful, yet intuitive, result from algebraic topology.


This paper proposes a new step‐up dc–dc converter, designed based on a new impedance network. The proposed single‐switch topology provides single‐stage conversion with a high boost factor using a high‐gain impedance source. The power switch is placed on the low‐voltage side of the converter. So it is exposed to low‐voltage stress. Thanks to this feature, the switch selection will be more convenient than before as it can be picked up from low‐voltage rating and low on‐resistance semiconductors. The topology is suitable for connecting to current‐sensitive energy resources due to the continuous input current. It operates with low duty cycles that yield decreasing the conduction losses of the power switch and improving the efficiency. Common ground is another advantage, which means the input and the output ground lines are the same. In this paper, the theory and operating principle of the proposed topology are presented in detail. Also, both simulation and experimental results will be represented to confirm the above claims. In this regard, a simple prototype has been built to evaluate the theoretical aspects. Results validate the topology and its operation.


In this paper we will realize the development of handicraft textile value chain is performed under the extension work of the Argentine State agency. First, and experience to locate contextually analyze the context of political and economic changes occurring in our country in recent decades. This first approach will serve as a base and then to analyze the theoretical aspects involved in production experience and from there from an anthropological perspective to analyze the constitutional aspects of the households involved in the project.


Intended primarily for oncology nurses, this pocket guide to chemotherapy should also be of interest to oncologists, pharmacists, medical and nursing students.


Magnetic-relaxation parameters of the paramagnetic centers in poly(tetrathiafulvalene) samples with different doping levels were studied by 2-mm-band EPR spectrometry. Electron relaxation time and the rates of intra- and interchain spin diffusion rates were separately determined by the steady-state saturation technique. Anisotropic superslow librations of polymer chains were measured by the saturation transfer technique. The intensity and the activation energy of these librations were found to depend on the sample doping level. The initial polymer features isoenergetic charge transfer by small polarons in agreement with the Kivelson theory. The interchain mobility of the molecular-lattice polarons in doped samples is correlated with the libration motions and is described with good precision within the framework of the variable-range hopping charge transfer mechanism.


Abstract : A 2-condition valve has been developed which increases the productivity of hydraulic excavators with either constant- or variable-displacement pumps during low-resistance excavation. (Author)


New Biodegradable Hydrogels Can Repair Tissue, Deliver Drugs Fiber scientist C. C. Chu was looking for new medical uses for biomaterials. Rather than use existing products, he decided to develop his own. An estimated 40 million Americans have some form of arthritis or rheumatic condition. That number is expected to climb to 59.4 million, or 18.2 percent of the population, by the year 2020, according to the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Arthritis Foundation, and the American College of Rheumatology. But relief for stiff and aching joints may be on the way. In the not too distant future a new biodegradable hydrogel could be used to engineer new tissues to replace damaged ones in arthritic joints. The hydrogel, which might be implanted, would carry cartilage cells to a knee, a spine, or another problem area in the body. Cartilage cells would use the hydrogel's three-dimensional porous network as a temporary scaffold or template to grow back. Afterwards the hydrogel would break down and disappear from the body without a trace, thereby eliminating the chance of undesirable tissue reactions. Biodegradable hydrogels have many medicine, agriculture, and consumer products, says C. C. Chu, professor of fiber science in the Department of Textiles and Apparel and Cornell's Biomedical Engineering program. They can be used to deliver critical medications in the body, to make agricultural seeds drought resistant, and to create super-absorbent and environment-friendly biodegradable diapers, to name just a few. Hydrogels are polymers that expand like sponges to absorb and retain enormous amounts of water--even several hundred times their weight. They have been used for years as coatings on textile materials and contact lenses, as food thickeners, and as drug delivery agents because their ability to retain water makes them conform well to the human body, which is mostly water. Chu has invented two new classes of hydrogels. They are different from traditional hydrogels because they are biodegradable, stronger, potentially biologically active, and more versatile. Most important, their biodegradability--that is, their ability to break down whether in the body or a coating on a fabric or a seed--would make these new materials more biologically and environmentally friendly. "Hydrogel materials are already commercially available, and a lot of people use them," Chu says. "What's new about our invention is that we came up with two classes of hydrogels that are biodegradable." The biodegradable hydrogels have numerous advantages, Chu explains. If they are used to deliver drugs into the body, they leave no trace of residual materials, which if left behind can cause chronic tissue reaction. They exist only temporarily to make their delivery. After that, they disappear. "We should not pollute our internal environment--our bodies--just as we should not pollute our external environment," Chu says. "Biodegradable materials, such as the biodegradable hydrogels, are more biocompatible than nonbiodegradable materials." The biodegradable nature of the hydrogels also allows for the complete release of medication into the body when they are used for controlled drug delivery. Many of the new drugs available have large molecular weights, such as proteins and peptides, and they have difficulty diffusing from nonbiodegradable carriers. "If you put a certain amount of a drug into a hydrogel used as a drug- release device, you want all the drug to come out over a period of time," Chu says. "But it doesn't with a nonbiodegradable hydrogel because the drug molecule is too big. You always end up with some residual drugs trapped inside. If you use a biodegradable hydrogel, those residual drugs will be released." In 1978 Chu came to the College of Human Ecology to develop an innovative program area in textiles and fibers. …


submission for the 12th meeting on Bacterial Genetics and Ecology (BAGECO), in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from 9th – 13th June 2013: Conference Topic : Free topics Functional screening of a winter and a spring genomic DNA libraries obtained from soils in a winter wheat crop Stroobants Aurore 1 , Portetelle Daniel 1 , Vandenbol Micheline 1 1 Unité de Microbiologie et Génomique, Université de Liège, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Avenue Maréchal Juin 6, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium, e-mail: email@example.com Soils are very rich environments where the diversity of microorganisms is very high. These microorganisms play important role in the degradation of organic matter with enzymes able to degrade it. The aim of this work is to discover by functional screening new enzymatic activities of microorganisms from soils collected in winter and spring in a winter wheat crop. The genomic DNA was extracted from both soils to construct two libraries in Escherichia coli. These libraries were then screened for several enzymes such as lipase, beta-glucosidase, cellulase, α-amylase,... At this time, 2 beta-glucosidases and 3 lipases have already been found in the winter library and 3 beta-glucosidases and 1 lipase in the spring library. Sequence analyses with the BLASTX program revealed that two beta-glucosidases have less than 65% of sequence identity with known beta-glucosidases, one have 64% of identity with a known beta-galactosidase and one have 59% of identity with a glycoside hydrolase. The fifth seems to be a phosphorylase kinase (54% identity) which have a glucoamylase domain responsible for the activity. This ORF is interrupted by a transposase. Three of the four lipases have less than 60% of sequence identity with known lipases/esterases. The fourth show 55% of identity with a known beta-lactamase.


In recent months, several developments have prompted increased interest in the feedlot replacement decision. Among the more important are the high prices for feeder cattle and feed grains, the narrow (and often negative) profit margins confronting the feedlot manager and the increasingly apparent need to produce lean meat with maximum efficiency. To date, replacement criteria for cattle feeding operations have been based on estimated net revenue streams for live cattle. In 1960, Faris [6] reported a criterion which can be paraphrased as follows: Replace when the decreasing marginal net revenue per unit of time for the group on feed is equal to the maximum of the expected average net revenue for the replacement group. All production relationships, costs and prices employed by Faris in estimating the necessary net revenue functions were based on live cattle. More recent developments to the general theory of replacement decisions have been offered by Chisholm [3] and by Perrin [16]. Chisholm called for more attention to the opportunity costs tied up in the production process. Perrin suggested modifications of the original Faris formulation to cover issues such as technologically improved assets. Neither of the modifications appear to be crucial for the short planning horizon confronting the cattle feeder, however. In an earlier analysis [13] the Faris criterion was employed in generating empirical support for the developing replacement theory. The results provided empirical support for its applicability. Net revenue functions were estimated for two groups of cattle and a small-scale simulation model was developed to generate estimates of the correct replacement points if the objective is to maximize returns to the cattle feeding operation over time.


The Dhir becl, one of the major live becls of the Brahmaputra basin, Assam, has an area of 689 ha and is situated in Dhubli district of Assam. The dominance of fresh·water shari<., Wal/ago attu (8.10%) in the becl is a striking feature. Restricted breeding of W. attu . once a year from June to Septemebr ·was obsen'ed. The. mean obset'\'ed length was 37.5, 65.0, 84.5 and 99.0 em in the 6th, 12th, 18th and 24th months of age respectively. The length growth coefficient (K), the asymptotic len!,Jfh (Loc ), and the arbitrary origin of the growth curve (to), for W. attu were estimated to be 0.054484 per month, 136.16 em and 0.0355 month respectively. The calculated life span (Toe) of the fish is 123.86 months (about 10 years). The weight growth parameters were estimated where the monthly growth coefficient (K), the as:vmptotic \Veight (Woc) and the arbitrary origin of' the growth cun'e (to) were found to be 0.0743 j>er month, 7636,92 gram and 0.431908 month respectively. The length weight relationship follows the cube law.


Objective To eualuate the methods and efficacy of interventional therapy for traumatic pseudoaneurysms.Methods 24 patients diagnosed by DSA with traumatic pseudoaneurysm underwent embolization.Results DSA angiography can clearly show the location,shape,opening and size of a traumatic pseudoaneurysm.There were 17 cases of coil embolization of the feeding arteries,five cases of destruction of the feeding artery,2 cases of pseudoaneurysm isolation technique with ethanol.All 24 patients were able to effectively stop the bleeding.Conclusion Interventional treatment of traumatic pseudoaneurysm treatment methods can achieve the purpose of immediate hemostasis.


This Tech Memo is the third in a series reporting the work done at Theodore High School in connection with the study New Solutions to Implementing Instructional Media Through Analysis and Simulation of School Oreanization. The biology course at Theodore High School is described as a system for processing students; the results obtained through simulating this system on a computer are reported. In addition, a computer simulation of an experimental version of the course is reported and compared with data from the actual course.


Mr Arnold Smith was one of those people who enjoy staying in the here and now because, despite a guilty love of Doctor Who, he had long ago decided it was unlikely he would reach anywhere important, with the possible exception of Burnie. But nobody, Time Lords included, seemed to count Burnie, and it had only been a short holiday. He hadn't even seen Launceston. He was intending to live out his life in Tasmania, in the correct time frame for a man of his era, as happily as any man living alone in rainy Rosebery could...


In a broad aspect, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for downhole safety valve remediation using a measured, controlled, explosion to remove scale and/or other debris from within or around the downhole safety valve or for explosively locking out the safety valve in an open position.


There are two modes of transmission of scabies that have been suggested—transmission of the mite by fomites or transmission by personal contact. Hebra' in 1844 and Burchardt^ in 1869 presented evidence that fomites were relatively unimportant in the transmission of scabies; however, MacCormac and SmalP in 1917 considered horses, as well as blankets and underclothing from infected individuals, as the main sources of infection. The discussion continued and there were many varied opinions as to the ease of transmission by fomites. It was not until the work of Mellanby'' that experimental studies were done to confirm or deny the role of fomite transmission. He used non-infected volunteers and subjected them to various experiments to try and transmit this parasitic infestation under controlled conditions. He showed that bedding can transmit scabies, but the risk was exceedingly small—an incidence that was less than 0.05%. Non-infected volunteers occupied beds, recently vacated by patients known to have scabies and also wore their underclothing. Even when the time interval that the volunteers needed to change into the underclothing and use the beds of scabetic patients was reduced to seconds, none of the volun-


We investigated the use of waste glass fiber-reinforced plastic (GFRP) to remove dye from industrial wastewater. The dye adsorbent material, based on GFRP/clay ceramics, was produced by mixing crushed GFRP with clay and firing the resulting mixture. Several types of ceramics were produced by adjusting the mixing ratio of clay, crushed 40% GF/GFRP, and firing atmosphere. Adsorption tests with methylene blue (MB) dye were performed by mixing the ceramics into an MB solution while controlling the stirring speed and measuring the decrease in MB dye concentration over time. These results showed that GFRP/clay ceramics reductively fired at 1073 K had a higher MB dye adsorption ability than that of the clay ceramic. The MB dye absorptivity of the reductively fired ceramics increased as we increased the mixing ratio of GFRP. We attribute this result to the high plastic carbide content in the ceramic, which has excellent dye absorbability. Furthermore, these particles had a comparatively high specific surface area and porosity.


Betaine is a trimethylglycine, serves as osmoregulator to prevent dehydration and plasmolysis under adverse hyperosmotic environments. Choline oxidase gene from Arthrobacter sp. catalyzes two step oxidation reaction of choline to betaine followed by betaine accumulation in cells which in turn help them to survive and thrive in harsh environmental condition. To identify potential choline oxidase gene source, a gram stain positive, rod shaped, catalase and oxidase positive, motile, aerobic bacterial strains designated as HYJE003 and HYJE005 was isolated based on the colony morphology, biochemical and molecular characterization from the industrially polluted soil samples of Hyderabad, India. Optimum growth of the isolated strains was observed at 32°C on nutrient agar media and was found that both the strains were capable of utilizing variety of sugars as carbon source. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain HYJE003 was closely related to Arthrobacter globiformis with pairwise sequence similarities of 99.85%, 99.63%, 98.76% and 98.12% respectively. The strain HYJE005 was closely related to Arthrobacter phenanthrenivorans with pairwise sequence similarities of 99.93%, 99.47%, 99.25% and 98.11% respectively. Choline oxidase gene potential of the isolates was studied by feeding the cultures with choline chloride and converted betaine was assessed by the formation of betaine reineckate. Findings revealed that the isolated strain Arthrobacter globiformis-HYJE003 has four times higher conversion rate of choline chloride to betaine than the strain Arthrobacter phenanthrenivorans HYJE005.


The ultrastructure of the ovary and the developing oocytes of the polychaete Kefersteinia cirrata have been described. The paired ovaries occur in all segments from the 11th to the posterior. Each consists of several finger-like lobes around an axial genital blood vessel. Oogenesis is well synchronised, young oocytes start to develop in September and vitellogenesis begins in January and is completed by May. The young oocytes are embedded among the peritoneal cells of the blood vessel wall which have accumulations of glycogen and other storage products. Each oocyte becomes associated with a follicle cell with abundant rough endoplasmic reticulum. Yolk synthesis involves the accumulation of electron dense granules along the cisternae of the abundant rough endoplasmic reticulum. Active Golgi complexes are present and are involved in the production of cortical alveoli. The oocyte has branched microvilli, which contact the follicle cells or blood sinuses between the follicle cells and peritoneal cells. In post...


Abstract : The handbook is intended to supply both testing specialists and general users of tests with a set of instructions for implementing a program of confidence testing in technical training situations, provided information concerning such factors as the identification of promising areas of application, the relative value and ease of alternative scoring methods, techniques for evaluating confidence information, and administrative considereations. It contains a discussion of Pick-One and Distribute 100 Points confidence formats, other confidence procedures, and the relative merits of each method, selection and confidence test scale scores, uses of confidence testing, and instructions for those administering confidence tests where either hand or machine scoring is used. (Author)


This research discusses impoliteness strategies and its speech acts of main antagonist utterances in Cruella movie. The objectives of this research are to find out the impoliteness strategies in the utterances of main antagonist in Cruella movie using Culpeper's impoliteness strategies (1996) and to find out the speech acts in the impolite utterances of main antagonist in Cruella movie using Searle's classification of speech acts (1979). The study adopted a descriptive qualitative method. The source of data of this research is a movie entitled Cruella. This research uses the dialogue script of Cruella movie as the data. The result shows that there are 90 data found in this research consisting of five impoliteness strategies and five kinds of speech acts in the utterances of main antagonist in Cruella movie. The impoliteness strategies found in this research are negative impoliteness with 49 data or 54%, positive impoliteness with 18 data or 20%, bald-on record impoliteness with 11 data or 12%, sarcasm or mock politeness with 8 data or 9%, and withhold politeness with 4 data or 4%. The kinds of speech acts found in this research are directive with 41 data or 46%, representative with 22 data or 24%, expressive with 21 data or 23%, commissive with 4 data or 4%, and declaration with 2 data 2%. The classification of speech acts found in the impoliteness strategies are directive in negative impoliteness with 30 data or 33%, expressive in negative impoliteness with 12 data or 13%, representative in positive impoliteness strategy with 8 data or 9%, representative acts in bald-on record impoliteness with 7 data or 8%, directive in positive impoliteness with 6 data or 7%, representative in negative impoliteness strategy with 4 data or 4%, expressive in sarcasm or mock politeness with 4 data or 4%, directive in bald-on record impoliteness with 4 data or 4%, commissive in negative impoliteness with 3 data or 3%, expressive in withhold politeness with 3 data or 3%, expressive in positive impoliteness with 2 data or 2%, declaration acts in positive impoliteness strategy with 2 data or 2%, representative in sarcasm or mock politeness strategy with 2 data or 2%, commissive in sarcasm or mock politeness with 1 datum or 1%, directive in sarcasm or mock politeness with 1 datum or 1%, and representative in withhold politeness with 1 datum or 1%. Based on the result of this research, directive speech act in negative impoliteness strategy is the most frequent utterances performed by the main antagonist in Cruella movie.


Polynomial graph filter (PGF) is an important tool for processing the irregular data captured from various complex networks, so the design of PGF is studied in this paper. First, Legendre polynomials are briefly reviewed and the basics of graph signal processing (GSP) are described. Second, the PGF design using Legendre polynomials is presented. The closed-form solution of filter coefficients is derived for lowpass, bandpass and highpass filters. Third, an efficient implementation structure of PGF based on recurrence relation of Legendre polynomials is investigated. Finally, the signal denoising application of sensor network data is demonstrated to show that the PGF method has better performance than the conventional smoothness-based method in term of the improvement of signal to noise ratio.


Organic food (OF) consumers are concerned with health, safety, and quality of food they eat. However, not all OF consumers are equally "organic." This article aims to offer more insights into the organic consumers' profile by clustering Canadian OF consumers into market segments based on their usage rate and psychographic characteristics. Results show 3 distinct segments of OF consumers varying significantly in their motivations to buy OF in their lifestyles but not in their demographics. The article also investigates these consumer segments' willingness to pay (WTP) premium prices for OF products. WTP is thus not only determined by food category but also by type of consumer. Results also point out significant linkages between psychographic characteristics and WTP for OF.


The Future Circular Collider (FCC) is a crucial step forward to study new physics beyond the standard model and to test fundamental aspects as space–time minimal length and Lorentz violations. As an example, a possible enhancement of e+e− pair production due to noncommutative effects, catalyzed by the huge magnetic field produced at the beginning of a heavy-ion collision at FCC, is discussed. In noncommutative electrodynamics, a free photon in the magnetic background can produce a e+e− pair. In particular, for hard photons with transverse energy 100–600 GeV at the beginning of the collision and for a particular kinematical setting of the pair, i.e. large total transverse momentum in the reaction plane and invariant mass in the range 200–400 MeV, the noncommutative contribution, evaluated with the present bound of the noncommutativity fundamental area, can be significant. Other, more exotic, possible signatures of space–time noncommutativity are also considered.


Title On the Nature of Cytoplasmic Constituents in Amoeba diploidea Examined by Means of Staining and Chemical Reactions (With 3 Tables, 4 Textfigures and 1 Plate) Author(s) TARAO, Sirô Citation 北海道帝國大學理學部紀要 = JOURNAL OF THE FACULTY OF SCIENCE HOKKAIDO IMPERIAL UNIVERSITY Series VI. Zoology, 8(1): 9-30 Issue Date 1942-01 Doc URL http://hdl.handle.net/2115/27039 Type bulletin File Information 8(1)_P9-30.pdf


In previous paper we showed that Symbiotic System Science (SSS) is a growing scientific area which is taking a leadership role in fostering consensus on how best to bring about symbiotic relationships between autonomous systems. Capitalizing on SSS insights and development, the recognition that SAS (Symbiotic Autonomous Systems) are poised to have a revolutionary impact on society over the coming years is quite straightforward. The promise of SSS is to reveal a convenient roadmap to arrive to Human-centered Symbiotic System Science (HCSSS) to develop more reliable Human-centered Symbiotic System (HCSS), to fully utilize the capabilities of cognitive computing and brain-inspired system as support for more effective application of our higher human faculties. In present paper we discuss HCSSS to bring about symbiotic relationships between HCSS, as evidenced by the living human brain modalities, supported by the CICT OUM framework.


The rise of governance theory is a critical development of the reinventing-government movement in the late twentieth-century.There has been a rich literature on theoretical reflections and policy applications by Chinese scholars in the field of political science and public administration.This achievement,however,is made through their biased selection of the theories of governance.This paper thus examines the diverse research agendas and discursive structures within governance theory,in order to correct the existing weakness in the process of knowledge accumulation of governance.


This paper deliberates traffic calming devices, such as speed hump, speed breaker, raised crosswalk, chicane are among others, which have being deployed in isolation or area wide basis had improve safety record of the locality and their acceptance by the community. In relation to road related accidents, countermeasures that are able to give advance warning and physically alert the driver of potential hazard ahead, and forced appropriate action to be taken can prevent accident occurrence or its severity. Traffic calming employ devices which relatively low cost and it's self-enforcing in changing drivers driving characteristics. These traffic calming tools when being 'blend' with the surrounding geometry may improve the neighborhood environment aesthetically, thus give an added value to the area. Studies have shown that with speed hump implementation may improve the road safety of the area. In conclusion a schematic guideline on the procedure of selecting appropriate device(s) to meet specific objective(s) is highlighted to assists practitioner in deciding the best treatment for specific traffic safety problems.


Aim. To assess the resistance of soils in the south of Russia to silver pollution using biological indicators.Methods. The contamination of soils in southern Russia (ordinary chernozem, grey sandy and brown forest soils) was simulated with silver under laboratory conditions. Soils were contaminated with water‐soluble silver nitrate in order to reveal the maximum ecotoxicity of silver. Soil stability was assessed according to the most sensitive and informative biological parameters in dynamics of 10, 30 and 90 days after pollution. Results. Silver contamination inhibits the activity of oxidoreductases (catalase and dehydrogenases), reduces the total number of bacteria and the growth and development of radish. For all soils, a direct relationship was noted between silver concentration and the degree of deterioration of soil properties. The toxic effect of silver was most pronounced on the 30th day after contamination. According to their resistance to silver pollution, the soils investigated form the following sequence: ordinary chernozem> grey sandy soil ≥ brown forest soil. Conclusion. The light granulometric composition of grey sandy soils and the acidic reaction of the environment of brown forest soils, as well as the low organic matter content, contribute to the high mobility and high ecotoxicity of silver in these soils. Regional maximum permissible concentrations (MPCs) of silver content in ordinary chernozems, grey sandy and brown forest soils have been determined as ‐ 4.4, 0.9 and 0.8 mg/kg, respectively.


It is now commonplace to hear about the re‐forming potential of new employment practices such as employee involvement, TQM, empowerment, teamworking, and HRM. There are arguments that these have contributed to organizational success, and a feeling that these are all things to be welcomed. But not all analysts agree that these are as widely practised as the glowing reports would have us believe, and there is a contrary view that these approaches lead to greater work intensification and less satisfied employees. Many of the gurus who write about these issues implicitly assume that all can be improved by a wave of the magic wand and the slaying of a few "evil" characters along the way. Reality, of course, is much more complex. The argument here is that there are no instant solutions, but the process and achievement of change are difficult since so much depends on the quality of employee‐management relationships at the workplace.


Exact aetiology of most autoimmune diseases is unknown. Genetic predisposition, environmental factors, microbiota dysbiosis and the gut–brain axis are known to interplay in autoimmune disease development. Arresting such interplay, by implementing a particular diet (such as the low FODMAP diet) or by consuming specific drugs (such as zonulin antagonists) for example, will reduce disease symptoms, reverse intestinal hyperpermeability and allow remission. The aim of this study was to investigate possible mechanisms of autoimmune disease aetiology and alterations in intestinal permeability, specifically in coeliac disease and type 1 diabetes mellitus. This was done by collecting researched evidence from journals and other publications. Understanding the pathology of the diseases and identifying the particular genes and triggers involved as well as improving investigative methods will potentiate the development of prevention and treatment therapies.


Computer language is a kind of compulsory course of Computer Science in higher vocational school, which includes fundamental and specialty categories. It is often difficult for both teaching and learning, and not so good for the teaching effect. Based on the author's more than 10 years teaching experience in the course, the article tries to specify and analysis the problem and reason in computer language course teaching, and then proposes a better teaching model to improve teaching quality.


Background: Maintaining romantic relationships is one of the most important developmental tasks in young adulthood. Lower relationship satisfaction is associated with more expressed irrational relationship beliefs (Janjani, Momeni, Rai, & Saidi, 2017). According to the Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, irrational beliefs should cause maladaptive behavior in conflicts. However, it is not clear how particular irrational relationship beliefs are associated with specific conflict resolution strategies in young adulthood. Purpose. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the link between irrational relationship beliefs and conflict resolution strategies in young adulthood. Method. 148 young adults (110 female, 38 male) having romantic relationships participated in this study. The irrational relationship beliefs were assessed with a questionnaire by R. J. Eidelson and N. Epstein (1982). Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory – II (Rahim & Magner, 1995) was used to measure conflict resolution strategies. Results: The results showed that the more expressed irrational belief "Disagreement is destructive" was related to higher use of dominating and avoiding and lower use of integrating and compromising conflict resolution strategies in young adulthood. The more expressed irrational belief "Partners cannot change" was associated with lower use of integrating and compromising conflict resolution strategies in young adulthood. No links between the irrational belief "Partners cannot change" and avoiding conflict resolution strategy were found in young adulthood. The more expressed irrational belief "The sexes are different" was associated with higher use of dominating conflict resolution strategy in young adulthood. The more expressed irrational belief "Sexual perfectionism" was related to lower use of integrating conflict resolution strategy in young adulthood. Conclusions. Results of this study partially support Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. 1 Address for correspondence: Kristina Žardeckaitė-Matulaitienė, Vytautas Magnus University, Department of Psychology. Address: Jonavos g. 66-328, LT-44191, Kaunas, Lithuania. email@example.com


The wasted corn stalk from Gangwon province is composed of 44.6 % glucan, 19.0 % xylan, 23.8 % lignin, 4.5 % ash and 8.1 % others. Statistical analysis, full factorial design, revealed that temperature was the most influential factor in the dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment and that the influence of temperature on xylose yield was 3.5 and 3.2 times higher than those of treatment time and acid concentration, respectively. Temperature was also the most influential factor for glucose yield in the pretreatment but it was less than 5 % throughout the pretreatment. Although minor sugar yield was observed when microwave or ultrasonication was solely introduced as a pretreatment method, the complex method incorporating microwave or ultrasonication into dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment enhanced sugar yield significantly. In particular, xylose yield was doubled when microwave and dilute sulfuric acid treatment was sequentially applied. The optimization of pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis as well as the investigation on the complex pretreatment in detail are left for further study.


A PID artificial intelligence algorithm was presented based on the analyses of conventional PID control theory and the roles of the main parameters of the PID.The algorithm was used to correct the position deviation of strip.According to the degree of deviation,PID control parameters were self-tuned.The Contradictions existed in control process are effectively resolved.


There are several methods of handling missing data in sample surveys, which is a typical problem of non-response. Imputation(fill-in) method is one of the methods to deal with non-respon se. The term Imputation refers to the process of assigning one or more values to an item when there is no reported value fo r that item. Many forms of imputation are available, includi ng mean imputation, ratio method of imputation, hot deck imputatio n, cold deck imputation, regression imputation, etc. In rec ent past, a number of efficient compromised imputation strategies has b een proposed by several survey statisticians.This paper su gge ts a one-parameter family of estimators, popularly known as Fac tor-Type Estimator (FTE), with compromised imputation str ategy and discusses its properties. The proposed strategy has been ob s rved to be more precise than other compromised estimators under optimality conditions. To support the discussed results, t he relative efficiencies of the estimator have been obtained using four sets of empirical data.


Output tracking for nonlinear systems is complicated by the existence of "singular submanifolds". These are surfaces on which the decoupling matrix loses rank. To provide an additional control action we identify a class of smooth vector fields whose integral curves can be incrementally tracked using rapidly switched piecewise constant controls. These discontinuous controllers are applied to sliding mode control.


To investigate the impact of intervention strategy for chemotherapy and operation on prognosis in colorectal cancer with liver metastases.A total of 139 patients with liver metastases of colorectal cancer was divided into two 2 groups;88 patients received adjuvant hepatic arterial infusion(HA) with mitomycin C(MMC) and 5-fluorouracil(5-Fu),51 patients received adjuvant systemic venous infusion(SV) with MMC and 5-Fu,which began at the third week after hepatic operation,every 4 weeks for 6 courses in all .HA group received MMC 20mg,5-Fu 7g and SV group received MMC 10mg 5-Fu 5.25g every course in 7 days.All patients had been followed up for three years,1-year and 3-year survival rates were evaluated. The 1-year survival rate was 87.5% in HA group and 50.9% in SV group(P0.01).The 3-year survival rate was 36.4% and 15% respectively(P0.01).[Conclusion] The prognosis in patients with HA is significantly better than those with SV after hepatic operation for colorectal metastases.


Recent High Court and Supreme Court judgments have awarded large compensations for complications arising out of intravenous treatment. Extravasation of fluids and drugs is the most common complication of any medical procedure worldwide. Extravasation injury leading to gangrene occurs rarely and is due to factors related to patient characteristics, underlying disease, and the type of drug which is being injected. Human error rarely may be contributory to development of the extravasations and injury resultant thereof, but to label all of these complications as negligence by the application of "res ipsa loquitur" has serious consequences. High compensation risk for a complication which is faced universally by all doctors has the potential to raise the cost of this simple procedure.


This study is a component of the Philippine Poverty Environment Initiative (PPEI), a project that links environmental management to poverty alleviation. The PPEI supports the target of both the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Program to integrate pro-poor climate and environmental concerns into development planning and economic-decision making. In pursuing such target, this study sought to analyze the allocation and management of public expenditures in the Philippines to provide key guidance to strategic planning and budget preparation and to identify ways in which to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of resource allocations. The study seeks to review the public environmental expenditures at national and local levels and analyze how they contribute to environmental and poverty outcomes. It also aims to explore the manner by which the level of environmental expenditure data could be incorporated in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTDF).


In this paper, we describe a method to enhance the FTRAN and BTRAN operations in the revised simplex algorithm by using a reduced basis matrix defined by basic columns and nonbasic rows. This submatrix of the standard basis matrix is potentially much smaller, but may change its dimension dynamically from iteration to iteration.

For the classical product form update ("eta update"), the idea has been noted already by Zoutendijk, but only preliminarily tested by Powell in the early 1970s. We extend these ideas to Forrest-Tomlin type update formulas for an LU factorization of the reduced basis matrix, which are suited for efficient implementation within a state-of-the-art simplex solver. The computational advantages of the proposed method apply to pure LP solving as well as to LP-based branch-and-cut algorithms. It can easily be integrated into existing simplex codes.


The absolute cross section for production of atomic Balmer ..cap alpha.., ..beta.., and ..gamma.. radiation by dissociative electron collisions with molecular hydrogen and molecular deuterium has been measured from threshold to 540 eV. Also measured are some absolute cross sections for the excitation of a few molecular lines. All of the cross sections for dissociation show some structure just above threshold. Below this structure, dissociative excitation is interpreted as proceeding through both predissociation and direct dissociation via a bound state above the dissociation limit of the molecule. Above this structure, dissociation proceeds through production of the unbound doubly excited /sup 1/..sigma../sup +//subg/ and /sup 3/..sigma../sup +//subu/ states of H/sub 2/. It is also argued that excitation of these doubly excited states is the major channel for production of excited atomic states in addition to being the major channel for production of protons by electron collisions with the molecule. Indeed its relative contribution increases with an increase of the principal quantum n. This contribution follows an inverse power law of 5.0 +- 0.5. Dissociation via the bound states depends on n with an inverse power law of 6.5 +- 1.0. The cross sections for production of excited deuterium atoms were foundmore » to be less than those for production of excited hydrogen atoms in the corresponding states, and the ratio varied from approx. 0.5 below 30 eV to approx. 0.82 at high energies, again indicative of three competing processes for dissociative excitation of the molecular target gas. (AIP)« less


On the supply side, ongoing reports of yields that exceed expectations in many areas suggest that the next USDA forecast of the U.S. average yield will be at least equal and perhaps exceed the September forecast of 155.3 bushels. There is still some uncertainty about the magnitude of harvested acreage that will not be cleared up, at least partially, until the USDA releases the next Crop Production report. Even so, it appears that production will be large enough to result in a sizable build-up in stocks by the end of the current marketing year.


Abstract This study discusses the effect of alternation in the ruling party in presidential elections on three-factor risks and returns of the three main exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Taiwan, which has an unclearly defined international status and whose citizens have the right to vote directly for the president. We find that after the ruling party has been determined, in the period between Election Day and inauguration day, both the stock market and ETFs show a slight rise in prices. This suggests that most investors are initially optimistic after the election results have been announced. Meanwhile, the reverse book-to-market risk value deteriorates significantly. These results indicate that political uncertainty increases the risk premium of market factors and reverse book-to-market factors for some ETFs.


Beitrage zur Philosophie, which is Heidegger's another important masterpiece on the problem and history of Being after Sein und Zeit, is filled with many newly created vocabularies and themes, but it seems to foreshadow many hotly debated issues after Sein und Zeit. The aim of this article is to interpret parts of this work, especially to explain the significance of "the last god" (der letzte Gott) raised in this book. This points to some implications for a reading strategy and a new kind of transcendental philosophy, which integrates the discussion of temporality and topology together. It leads to a model closely related to the discussion of the fourfold (Geviert) and ontological difference in Heidegger's later thought, and may offer implication to some issues of modernity.


This paper redirects some of the philosophical discussion of sexual objecti cation. Rather than contributing further to debates over what constitutes objecti cation and whether it is harmful, I argue that aesthetic experience is a useful tool for resisting objecti cation. Attending to our embodied experiences provides immediate evidence that we are subjects; aesthetically attending to that evidence is a way of valuing it. I consider the human body as an aesthetic site, then as an ethico-aesthetic site, and nally as a site of resistance. In addition to deepening accounts of body aesthetic experience, this paper helps frame human bodies as integral to moral agency, rather than impediments to it.


The Noetherian type of a space X, Nt(X), is the least cardinal kappa such that X has a base B such that every element of the base is contained in less than kappa many elements of the base. Denote X the space obtained from 2^{aleph_omega} by declaring the G_delta sets to be open. Milovich proved that if Square_{aleph_omega} holds and (aleph_omega)^omega=aleph_{omega+1} then Nt(X)=omega_1. Answering a question of Spadaro, we show that if (aleph_omega)^omega=aleph_{omega+1} and a strong form of Chang Conjecture holds for aleph_\omega then Nt(X)>omega_1.


Sir, I read with interest the randomised controlled trial that assessed the effect of vault drainage on postoperative morbidity after vaginal hysterectomy for benign gynaecological disease. The primary outcome measure was defined as febrile morbidity, which is an indirect manifestation of vault haematoma. A more precise measure would have been symptomatic vault haematoma. More than three in four patients had vaginal hysterectomy for pelvic organ prolapse. Such patients have easily accessible pedicles, and are thus at reduced risk of vault haematomata than patients without pelvic organ prolapse. Moreover, they are also more likely to have a vaginal pack following the pelvic floor repair, which may reduce the risk of haematoma and return to theatre, a step that could have been better standardised in the protocol. Likewise, the technique of vault closure should have been standardised, as it can also influence the risk of vault haematoma. The trial protocol specified non-suction drains, and this excludes corrugated drains that are used in vault drainage after vaginal hysterectomy. It is not clear how randomisation numbers were generated. The sealed envelopes, with trial allocation, were attached to patients' notes at the preoperative assessment visit. This means that randomisation was carried out at this visit, rather than in theatre. As a result, some randomised patients did not have hysterectomy, and these patients should have been included in the intention-totreat analysis. This could have been avoided by keeping the sealed envelopes in theatre, to be opened consecutively upon the actual performance of hysterectomy. These points and their significance should have been highlighted in the discussion. The indication for hysterectomy should have been compared between the two groups. The number of patients having additional surgery, including pelvic floor repair, and the nature of such surgery, should have been provided and compared between the two groups. Some of the numerical data were described using the mean, without the standard deviation, alongside the median, without the interquartile range, and all were compared using a Student's t-test, without an indication of the normality of their distribution. Parity, postoperative fall in haemoglobin and hospital stay are unlikely to fit a normal distribution, and should be compared using a non-parametric test. There is little point in providing the mean postoperative temperature of patients, assuming it was normally distributed in every patient, when the mere occurrence of postoperative febrile morbidity was chosen as the primary outcome measure. The number of women returned to theatre should have been compared between the two groups. All these points need to be looked at for a better analysis of the trial findings. j


tothe high performance of mechmiCalproperties on SiCcvD fiber. Besides, SiCcvD fiber is a continuous ceramic fiber withdiameter of 140 pm or 70 pm, produced by a chemiCalvapor deposition method and having a carbon (graphite) core of about 30pm diameter atthe center,also a carbonrich layer of about lltmthickness onthe extemalsurface・ It is widelyknownthat Sic cemiCand carbon do not only have high performance in mechanicalproperties, butalsoare used as semiconductor or electricalheater l12]. However, for SiCcvD fiber, electriCalandthemal properties are not Clarified except coefficient ofthermalexpansion reported bythe manufacturer・ h the present study, electriCalresistance of SiCcvD fiber was examined at roomand elevated


The latest language in education policy in Zambia is to use a �familiar� language in the initial stages of education before transitioning into a regional and later foreign language medium. Investigating the use of a familiar language�Namwanga�in Northern Zambia, in the context of a regional language�Bemba�the article shows that learning of literacy in the regional language is better supported by classrooms that allow free use of the �home� language or mother tongue. Results from a reading and comprehension task show no hindrance to the achievement of reading fluency in a regional language when a familiar language is encouraged in the classroom. The article provides support for multi-literacies developed through languages that learners are exposed to in their environment rather than a foreign language.


Ecosystem management is a holistic style of environmental management which integrates physical, chemical, biological, political, economic, and social factors in an ecologically-defined region. Because some of the key foundations of ecosystem management are a sound scientific basis for management, an understanding of the functioning of the entire system, and the use of adaptive management, monitoring is an important part of ecosystem management. Within the past few years, ecosystem management has become a favored approach in United States environmental management, with applications on federal, state, and local levels. This study examined the implementation of ecosystem management in three regions: the Chesapeake Bay, South Florida, and the Pacific Northwest. Program literature was reviewed and program participants were interviewed to determine how ecosystem management was being applied, how monitoring was being used as a tool for ecosystem management, and what factors have led to success or difficulty in implementation. The results of this research were compiled into a summary of general issues facing ecosystem management programs. Thesis Supervisor: Paul Levy Title: Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Urban Studies and Planning


In this paper, I argue that it is quite useful, both theoretically and empirically, to adopt a socio‐cultural approach to the study of moral development. This entails viewing 'moral functioning' as a form of mediated action, and moral development as the process by which persons gradually appropriate a variety of 'moral mediational means'. Mediated action entails two central elements: an 'agent', the person who is doing the acting, on the one hand, and 'cultural tools' or 'mediational means', the tools, means, or 'instruments', appropriated from the culture, and used by the agent to accomplish a given action, on the other. I make this argument drawing on recent work in socio‐cultural psychology, specifically the work of James Wertsch (1998). I also consider the work of both Carol Gilligan (1982) and Lawrence Kohlberg (1981, 1984) as illustrative examples, to show how their respective insights about moral functioning and the process of moral development can be interpreted from, and enriched by, a mediated action/socio‐cultural perspective.


Most Active Queue Management(AQM) algorithms based on control theory have low robustness and queue stability under the complex network environment with uncertainties since those algorithms are more sensitive to the variations of network parameters.Aiming at the above problem,this paper presents a novel fuzzy AQM algorithm based on the relative changes of queue length and link rate,which introduces two relative errors as congestion notifications and also as the inputs of fuzzy inference system,one is the error between current queue length and the desired values,the other is the error between the link rate and link capacity,an appropriate dropping probability at router is determined by a set of fuzzy rules.Simulation results show that the algorithm has better performance on queue stability and less delay,at the same time it has good robustness for nonlinearity and load variation.


The article deals with the transfer of geographical names between Czech and Polish. It defines the terms endonymy and exonymy terminologically. It examines the scope of codification and official lists of geographical names and exonyms. It also discusses the issue of awareness of users of a given language of the existence of these lists and the frequency of their use.


Toffovrov irapdXoyou irovqarai TOIS 'EAAijtri.. .oow 01 ftey ( = the Greeks at large) Iv6/iu£ov...ol Se (— the Athenians) rjXOov h SuceAiav. Instead of writing the sentence exactly in this form, Thuc. contrasts the opinions of different sections of the Greeks before passing on to the Athenians, whose action must however be described before the main antithesis can be considered complete. For wore therefore we absolutely require ol Se. But what is to be done with the first member 1 Is it not clear that we must read ocrov <oi /u,ev> KO,T opX* ^ Tro^e/zou, oi fiiv evuivTov, oi Se Svo, ol


We report the redox activity of quinone materials, in the presence of ionic liquids, with the ability to bind reversibly to CO2. The reduction potential at which 1,4-naphthoquinone transforms to the quinone dianion depends on the strength of the hydrogen-bonding characteristics of the ionic liquid solvent; under CO2, this transformation occurs at much lower potentials than in a CO2-inert environment. In the absence of CO2, two consecutive reduction steps are required to form first the radical anion and then the dianion, but with the quinones considered here, a single two-electron wave reduction with simultaneous binding of CO2 occurs. In particular, the 1,4-napthoquinone and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tricyanomethanide, [emim][tcm], system reported here shows a higher quinone solubility (0.6 and 1.9 mol·L–1 at 22 and 60 °C, respectively) compared to other ionic liquids and most common solvents. The high polarity determined through the Kamlet–Taft parameters for [emim][tcm] explains the measured solubilit...


Abstract : A plasma cloud was created at an altitude of 94 km over Wallops Island by exploding a canister of a cesium compound, which had been fired from a 7-in. gun. This cloud was illuminated from NRL by hf and vhf radar. The results of coherent pulse doppler analysis of the cesium cloud signature indicate that the cloud evolved in a billowy manner, with turbulent eddies of about 10,000 sq m cross section appearing at several times within the nominal 70-sec duration of the signature. It was the presence of large-amplitude, specular echo components in the cloud signature that led to the suggested behavior of a cloud evolving in a billowy manner. The fact that these could be due instead to transient resonances in the plasma cloud cannot be completely discounted.


It is the principal proposition of this paper that formal agricultural research, and its supporting policies and planning, has not responded adequately to the special situation that exists in semi-arid Africa. In many cases the transfer of research approaches based on temperate and more humid tropical experience has contributed to greater instability and the growing environmental crisis. Radically different research structures, objectives, methods and expectations are necessary to contribute to the redevelopment of long term regenerative systems of production that will provide the short and long term needs of the people who live in the semi-arid regions and at the same time protect these environments.


The (one-dimensional) Su-Schrieffer-Heeger Hamiltonian, augmented by spin-orbit coupling and longer-range hopping, is studied at half filling for an even number of sites. The ground-state phase diagram depends sensitively on the symmetry of the model. Charge-conjugation (particle-hole) symmetry is conserved if hopping is only allowed between the two sublattices of even and odd sites. In this case, we find a variety of topologically nontrivial phases, characterized by different numbers of edge states (or, equivalently, different quantized Zak phases). The transitions between these phases are clearly signalled by the entanglement entropy. Charge-conjugation symmetry is broken if hopping within the sublattices is admitted. We study specifically next-nearest-neighbor hopping with amplitudes ta and tb for the A and B sublattices, respectively. For ta=tb, parity is conserved, and also the quantized Zak phases remain unchanged in the gapped regions of the phase diagram. However, metallic patches appear due to the overlap between conduction and valence bands in some regions of parameter space. The case of alternating next-nearest-neighbor hopping, ta=−tb, is also remarkable, as it breaks both charge-conjugation C and parity P but conserves the product CP. Both the Zak phase and the entanglement spectrum still provide relevant information, in particular about the broken parity. Thus the Zak phase for small values of ta measures the disparity between bond strengths on A and B sublattices, in close analogy to the proportionality between the Zak phase and the polarization in the case of the related Aubry-Andre model.


This paper describes a mechanism that generates positive interdependence within a subject which uses project based learning. Positive interdependence makes the members of a group to perceive their own work and involvement as essential to the success of the whole group. The mechanism described is based on several short exams distributed along the course. In these tests, each student must answer a question about the work the group is doing. This question is made so that is easily answered by those involved students but tricky otherwise. The individual exam score also affects on the score of the peer members. The paper describes the mechanism and its usefulness in the light of the first experiences. Palabras clave Aprendizaje basado en proyectos, interdependencia positiva, evaluacion. 1. Motivacion


Purpose. Research of spans' bearing capacity for metal railway bridges operated for a long time in areas with high-speed train movement implementation. Methodology. To achieve this goal the determination of bearing capacity of  metal spans of railway bridges was conducted by method of classification. Classes of spans ware determined in three ways taking into account the speed of the train and dynamic factor according to the Eurocodes. Findings. As a result of the study classes of metal spans of railway bridges were received and recommendations to improve the existing methods to determine the bearing capacity of metal spans of railway bridges by the method of classification were developed. Originality. The results that were obtained in the study point to the need to improve current regulations to determine the bearing capacity of bridges operated in areas with high-speed movement of trains. Practical value. The results of the study enable reliable determination of bearing capacity of metal spans of railway bridges by classification method and will introduce a qualitative change in the regulations on the classification of bridges with current advances in global calculations of bridges operated at high-speed and higher-speed highways.


The topology control is a vital process to maximize the lifetime of wireless sensor networks. Since sensor nodes are energy constraint, so our aim also is to maximize the network lifetime by utilizing the energy of nodes very efficiently. In this paper, we propose (TPCTC) a topology control algorithm with transmission power adjustment based on optimal no. of neighbours to raise the network energy- efficiency and the network throughput and to cope with the trade-off between the energy balance and energy efficiency, a non-linear optimization problem is formulated to find the optimal route nodes and their various transmission ranges. Our simulation results(using Matlab) show that in comparison to LEACH and Direct communication, TPCTC(transmission power controlled topology control) achieve significant increment in network lifetime.


This paper introduces the latest Process Chip SPACE061A,which was produced by SunPlus Co.,and analyzes the advantage of this chips as the center platform of speech processing.The discussion is focused on the expanded design of the hardware,the shelf of software development,and how to develop sound recognition controller with SPACE061A..


In Hachijo Island, there are some huge volcanic-origin tsunamigenic boulders. These are about over 3000kg in weight without any sign of organic carbon, such as fossils. Because such huge boulders are mainly moved by extreme tsunami events, they are paid attentions as a key to understanding of past disaster events. If they are the coral boulders, we can estimate the date of past tsunami by using radiocarbon dating. However, we cannot estimate the date by using this theory for the volcanic boulders without any organic fossils. One of an alternative way to date volcanic boulders is the cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating because it simply accumulates on boulder surface. But, the cosmogenic dating can not apply to the boulders if the boulder had experienced multiple rotations. We applied paleomagnetic approach to these volcanic-origin boulders and tried to examine the age of tsunami event, and rotation history of these boulders. This method is useful for all boulders with a bit of magnetic grains regardless of its lithology, and we can determine multiple rotations. Boulders acquire the secondary magnetic component, called viscous remanent magnetization (VRM) after tsunami. This secondary viscous remanence is acquired to the original magnetic vector after the boulder has been removed from the original state. By using Neel's thermal activation theory, the magnetization at low temperature for a long time can be demagnetized at high temperature in a short time. Thus, we can count backward to the age when VRM was acquired (i.e. the past tsunami event). And we can understand how they emplaced, by displacement of direction of magnetization. As a result, some samples from these boulders have acquired VRM components. Especialy, andesitic boulder located on 20m above sea level, showed multiple VRM components, suggesting subsequent tsunamis. However, calculated age was older than geological age of Hachijo island. Thus, combination with other dating method such as cosmogenic nuclide dating, is required to verify a gap of tsunami age, and improve accuracy of paleomagnetic dating method. SEM34-P10 Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2016


The unprecedented growth of the Internet has rapidly increased the convergence and integration between the two main technologies of the last few decades namely, computing and telecommunications. With this convergence the world is witnessing the most rapid development in human history. In fact, telling stories about one's own experiences from 10–15 years ago sounds like old history for today's young generations. The speed of developments seems to be faster than the man's brain can cope with.


Farmers must continuously deal with weed infestations in crops. Herbicides are very effective tools to control weeds yet there has been an over reliance on their use at the expense of other useful methods of weed management. Successful long-term weed management requires a shift away from simply controlling problem weeds to implementing cropping systems that prevent weed reproduction, reduce weed emergence, and minimise weed competition with crops. Agricultural systems that utilise diverse crop rotations, competitive crops, higher crop seed rates, specific fertiliser management, crop mulches, and cover crops can effectively manage weed populations, especially when used in conjunction with limited but targeted use of herbicides. Farmers in Canada are slowly, but surely, adopting these more sustainable weed management systems. Further research and extension efforts are required to ensure that these integrated weed management systems are consistently effective and economically viable to ensure more universal adoption at the farm level.


In this work we report on the effect of graphene nanoplatelet inclusion on the thermal degradation of polytetrafuoroethylene (PTFE) in nitrogen. PTFE/graphene nanocomposites, containing up to 4 vol% graphene were produced by solution-assisted blending followed by sintering. Decomposition parameters were determined by direct fitting of the Sestak-Berggren equation to the experimental data. It was found that the activation energy of thermal decomposition increased up to as much as 20% and was practically independent of the graphene content in the studied PTFE/graphene nanocomposites. This was attributed to the tortuosity of the graphene layers hampering the diffusion of the gaseous decomposition products.


Objective To explore the role and clinical significance of interleukin-6(IL-6) in children with bronchial asthma.Methods Sera were collected from 29 cases with asthmatic attacks,32 asthmatic children who in stable conditions,and 20 health children.Serum IL-6 concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay(RIA).Results 1.Asthmatic children appeared significantly higher levels of serum IL-6 during asthmatic attacks as compared to those in stable conditions and healthy ones respectively(P0.001).2.The serum IL-6 concentrations in stable conditions were also markedly higher than that in control group(P0.001).3.Asthmatic children3 years old had significantly higher serum IL6 concentrations than ≤3 years old children in remission.Conclusion IL-6 may participate pathogenesis of asthma,and it may play different biological roles during asthmatic attacksas or stable conditions.


The lightning strike has been at various times encountered by aircraft in past years, which severely jeopardizes the flight safety and thus increases the operation cost and deteriorates service quality for an airline company. The fault tree analysis was adopted in this paper to systematically analyze a typical case of aircraft lightning strike. Basic events, together with the minimum cut sets and minimum path sets were resolved. It was found that the large number of minimum cut sets implied significant lightning strikes on aircraft, and special attention should be paid to the improvement of professional competence of flight dispatchers as well as the supply of newest weather information to dispatchers by air carriers. By further combining with the analysis of the structural importance of basic events, detailed procedures were proposed to prevent aircraft lightning strike, which is thus believed to be beneficial to airline industry.


Miniature and light weight thick piezoelectric films (>40μm) integrated ultrasonic transducers (IUTs) for bulk longitudinal (L) and shear (S) and plate acoustic waves (PAW) propagation are presented. The unique and distinct advantages of these IUTs are that they can be fabricated, using sol-gel based technique, directly onto sample with complex structures including curved surfaces and require no couplant for operation. Using novel mode conversion methods, the L wave generated by IUTs can be converted to S, symmetric, anti-symmetric and shear-horizontal (SH) PAW. The experimental results agreed well with those obtained by a finite difference based method which solves the 3D visco-elastic wave equations. These IUTs can operate at temperatures at least up to 150°C, at center frequencies ranging from 1 to 20 MHz, and provide damage detection range of tens of centimeters in metallic structures. An inductive coupled technique is used to achieve non-contact measurements with these IUTs.


The article considers the forecasts and forward-looking estimates of the development of the world economy and its oil sector, including the situation with demand and prices on the world oil market, published by the world's leading analytical and forecasting centers in the run-up to 2020, in comparison with the expected results and preliminary estimates of the actual development of the situation It is shown that almost from the first months of 2020, events in the world began to unfold according to unforeseen scenar-ios, and how, in accordance with the developing situation, the forecasts made earlier changed The author analyzed the evolution of predictions for oil demand in 2020 made by EIA USA and the OPEC Secretariat in the period since December 2019 and January 2021, compared to the end of 2018-2019, and the expected outcome in 2020 (as in the whole world and its main regions and countries) The article gives the latest estimates of the expected results of development of the world economy and its oil sector in 2020, made by experts of the IMF, the OECD, the IEA, the OPEC Secretariat and other organi-zations, and their projections for 2021 It is shown that the IEA experts, way USA and the OPEC Secretariat almost equally understand the dynamics of expected global oil demand this year Their adjustment of the forecast estimates for 2021 was generally consistent with the development of the situation on the world oil markets in 2020 and followed the refinement of the estimates for 2020 Accordingly, these estimates do not contain any funda-mental changes in the current trends Their authors assume that in 2021, the world oil markets will continue to face significant uncertainty, both directly re-lated to the coronavirus pandemic and the unresolved problems accumulat-ed over the previous two years in the global economy It is concluded that based on the specifics of the current transition stage of the development of the world economy and energy, it is necessary to build a domestic system for monitoring and forecasting the world economy and its oil and gas sector © 2021, Neftyanoe Khozyaistvo All rights reserved


This article addresses the influence of outliers on building time series models. Two methods for detecting aberrant values are discussed, and models are built for the studied data series in the outliers' presence and absence. Data used consisted in the annual precipitation series recorded at Sulina (Romania). The models have been further employed for generating precipitation fields. This process shows a good concordance of the historical data and the forecast in terms of mean, minimum, maximum values, and minimum recorded precipitation in two, five, seven, and ten successive years. The results show that the field generated after the outliers' removal is better in terms of ten statistical indicators.


The origins and formation of Global Studies as an interdisciplinary sphere of academic knowledge refer to the last quarter of the twentieth century. Its emergence was the result of the process of integration of different disciplines in attempts to solve complicated and complex problems of the planetary scale. At the same time the notion 'Global Studies', though being in use already in the 1970s, was not widely spread then. Its content has started to be discussed seriously since the end of the 1990s only when the researchers shifted their attention from global problems to comprehension of the globalization phenomenon. By that time considerable theoretical and factual data had been accumulated in the sphere of planetary processes and phenomena, and the terms 'global studies', 'globalization', 'global world', 'antiglobalizm', 'global problems', etc. became common, having become widespread not only in academic literature, mass media and political vocabulary but also in everyday vocabulary, too. So, the necessary conditions for the formation of a new research field have appeared, although it is not accepted unambiguously by all even today. The matter is that the basic meaning of the mentioned above definitions at the level of general idea seems to provoke no special difficulties, however in the academic sphere their content remains a subject of serious discussions and needs to be defined more precisely, as different researchers quite often interpret them differently. Thus, for instance, some consider Global Studies as an academic discipline, others see it as a sphere of social practice, while yet others as a supradisciplinary branch of academic knowledge, and someone completely denies its right for existence. There are no less discrepancies with respect to globalization which is sometimes interpreted either as a cause of global problems or on the contrary, as its direct consequence. At the same time some scholars believe that globalization is an objective process, and Global Studies aim at investigating this process and its consequences, others view globalization as a result of the action of definite social-economic structures or political forces in the international arena, what also assigns a fundamentally different perspective in understanding of global studies.


new report on local policing in the rural areas around Chichester has highlighted the potential of recent initiatives to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour through the work of specialist community support teams and neighbourhood forums. The whole issue of crime is currently high on the public agenda so perhaps this is a good time to look back at the history of the police force in our part of the county. The origins of modern-day policing in Chichester can be traced back to the decision of the city's watch committee in 1836 to form its own police force. A superintendent was appointed, at a salary of £25, and one sergeant and seven constables were employed, the latter each receiving 13s (65p) a week. Early photographs show them wearing black frock coats with a high collar and armed with a staff. At first, top hats were worn but helmets, bearing the city coat of arms, replaced them in 1872. The police station was at Eastgate and there was a lock-up in Chapel Street. The County Record Office has the minute books of the watch committee and they provide a fascinating and sometimes amusing insight into the early years of policing in the city. A regular series of admonitions reveals some constables were not entirely averse to interrupting their perambulations of the city streets by the occasional clandestine visit to local public houses and beer shops. PC Henry Prior, for example, was suspended for returning 'very tipsy' from escorting a prisoner to the House of Correction at Petworth. He might have been excused his lapse as constables were expected to undertake the return journey on foot. Indeed, another officer was dismissed for accepting a lift on a dung cart while on escort duty. Petty crime and vagrancy tended to keep the force busy and the workload was increased in Goodwood Week when 'roughs and disorderly persons' moved into the area for the races. It was not uncommon for senior police officers to be recruited from military ranks. Among the archives of the city force is a letter from an officer in the 4th King's Own Regiment offering himself for the position of superintendent on the strength of his gallant service in the Zulu War. After the county force was formed in 1857, the city became headquarters of the Chichester Rural Division with a second police station at Southgate, where the bus station now stands. Remarkably, Arthur Pratt was superintendent of the city force at the Eastgate station while his brother, Henry, was now in charge of the divisional force at Southgate. Chichester continued to operate its own police force until April, 1889 when it was amalgamated with the county force. A farewell dinner was held at the Unicorn Inn to mark the occasion and on his retirement Arthur Pratt was presented with a marble and gold clock supplied by the jewellers, AJ Faith of East Street. The old Eastgate station was now closed in favour of the one at Southgate. Technology arrived in 1904 when the station was connected to the exchange system of the National Telephone Company. This was a major step forward as previously the superintendent had to travel round the outlying posts at Oving, Fishbourne, Singleton and so on to alert the country detachments to assist in an investigation. Special constables were appointed in large number in the first world war to assist the regulars in maintaining order and preserving national security. It was also at this time, 1915 to be precise, that a Voluntary Women's Police Force was formed – in the words of the Chichester Observer, 'to protect girls from the dangerous attention of the many troops in the city'. The headquarters of West Sussex


A contract is an important concept to enable a transaction without jeopardizing the rights and security of the transaction's parties. Its implementation varies either through traditional or modern methods. To date, the smart contract gains attention among industry players and academicians. It is a modern technological innovation that can execute a contract by utilizing a blockchain network. In particular, the researchers view that smart contracts can be adapted in products offering based on various Shariah contracts in Islamic banking institutions, such as financing products based on the tawarruq contract. Nevertheless, it requires detailed research in terms of concept and structure to measure its potential to integrate with Islamic banking operations. Therefore, this study will examine the smart contract concept as well as identify its advantages for Islamic banking institutions' operations, particularly in tawarruqbased financing products. A qualitative approach based on library studies concerning relevant documents and literature are implemented to achieve these objectives. The collected data were then analyzed using descriptive content analysis methods. The results found that the smart contract is a contract innovation based on blockchain technology that can implement tawarruq-based financing products terms automatically, decentralized, and distributed manner. Thus, its thorough implementation can reduce the risk of faults in transactions and potentially ensure the transparency of transactions' is well-preserved. However, further research on the risks associated with this technology, especially Shariah risks, needs to be clarified before being fully integrated into Islamic banking operations.


The performance of a four-phase data system over delay- and attenuation-distorted transmission lines in the presence of impulse noise has been simulated on a digital computer previously. This paper describes an extension of that simulation to performance with the additional degradation of additive Gaussian noise. Results are presented for Gaussian noise alone in terms of absolute error rate, and for Gaussian plus impulse noise in terms of conditional error rate given the occurrence of an impulse. Some conclusions on the limiting effects in various situations are given.


The regions surrounding the catalytic amino acids previously identified in a few "retaining" O-glycosyl hydrolases (EC 3.2.1) have been analyzed by hydrophobic cluster analysis and have been used to define sequence motifs. These motifs have been found in more than 150 glycosyl hydrolase sequences representing at least eight established protein families that act on a large variety of substrates. This allows the localization and the precise role of the catalytic residues (nucleophile and acid catalyst) to be predicted for each of these enzymes, including several lysosomal glycosi-dases. An identical arrangement of the catalytic nucleophile was also found for S-glycosyl hydrolases (myrosinases; EC 18.104.22.168) for


In a scene in "The Importance of Being Earnest" Oscar Wilde pinpoints an array of properties of religious ritual systems that cognitive theorizing about religious rituals, viz., the theory of religious ritual competence, has subsequently systematized (Lawson and McCauley 1990; McCauley and Lawson 2002). To the amusement of hundreds of audiences, Wilde's play also identifies a conundrum for religious ritual systems. Cognitive theory about religious ritual suggests that the solutions to that conundrum may bear directly on the comparative advantages of religious systems in competitive religious markets. After briefly sketching some connections between cognition and religious ritual that constitute the foundations of my and Tom Lawson's theory of religious ritual competence in section 2, section 3 summarizes the theory's account of a set of systematic relations that arise in all religious ritual systems as a result of cognitive constraints on rituals' representation. Section 4 explores how increasing the frequency with which some religious rituals are performed purchases for a religious system some selective advantages but how realizing that pattern of ritual practices would require overcoming some formidable empirical and logical challenges. Wilde's handling of these matters in one of the scenes of his famous drawing room comedy is the subject of section 5. Section 6 discusses the relative promise of three ritual arrangements that offer hope of circumventing the conundrum, which this scene from "The Importance of Being Earnest" highlights. Section 7 shows that Wilde's treatment encapsulates the tell-tale features, save one (which is the source of the humor), that, according to the theory of religious ritual competence, would arise under such circumstances.


This study was carried out to investigate the effects of inuloprebiotics (INPs), an alternative antibacterial growth promotor, from Jerusalem artichoke extract (Helianthus tuberosus L.) on egg production and quality in Hyline brown laying hens. The hens were divided randomly into four treatment groups and housed in individual cages for 10 weeks: a control group (0 ppm INP) (T1), 450 ppm (T2), 600 ppm (T3), and 750 ppm (T4). Egg production, egg weight, Haugh unit, eggshell thickness, and breaking strength were significantly higher in all of the INP-treated groups compared with the control (p<0.05). Egg cholesterol was highest in the T1 group and decreased with INP addition from 15.04 to 17.98% (p<0.05). Compared with the T1 group, triglycerides in the blood and in total cholesterol decreased significantly in groups T2, T3, and T4 by 21.71-24.07% and 27.17-30.36%, respectively (p<0.05). The growth of cecum Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus was stimulated in groups T2, T3, and T4 compared with T1, whereas the growth of Escherichia and Salmonella was clearly inhibited (p<0.05). The results suggest that the addition of 450 ppm INP to the diet of laying hens can improve egg production and egg quality.


Materials and Methods: Thirty-three extracted human teeth were longitudinally sectioned to obtain 65 specimens. After coronary dentin exposure and smear layer standardization, samples were divided into 5 groups (n = 13) and etched according to the Er,Cr:YSGG laser (20 Hz, 600 μm tip, 30%/30% air/water spray) parameters used: G1 (no laser), G2 (0.25 W), G3 (0.5 W), G4 (0.75 W), and G5 (1.0 W). Then, one sample per group was prepared for SEM observation. The remaining specimens were divided in two subgroups for the application of adhesive systems (Single Bond [3M] and Clearfil SE Bond [Kuraray]) followed by the application of a 5-mm buildup of Z250. The microtensile bond strength (μTBS) was determined after 24 h of storage in water at 37°C. The obtained data were compared using the two-way ANOVA and Tukey's test (p ≤ 0.05).


Objective: To determine the prevalence and severity of dental decay and oral hygiene in children and adolescents in children's villages of Lima. Materials and methods: Transversal descriptive study. A non-random sample of 224 children aged 1 to 17 who resided in one of three SOS Children's Villages participated in the study. Dental decay was evaluated with the WHO diagnostic criteria, and oral hygiene was measured with the Greene and Vermillion Debris Index. Results: The prevalence of dental decay in the group aged 1-4 was 36.8%, and in the 5-7, 11-13 and 14-17 groups, the prevalence was 67.7%, 56.6% and 82.4% respectively, considering both dentitions. Caries severity (dmft+DMFT) in the same groups had an average ± standard deviation of 1.16±2.41, 3.48±3.71,1.66±2.02 and 3.19±2.51 respectively. Poor oral hygiene was predominant in the sample, with a prevalence above 50% in all the groups except the 14-17 one, who evidenced more frequent hygiene (67.2%). Conclusions: Results show a signifcantly high prevalence of dental decay alongside poor oral hygiene.Tis shows that it is necessary to implement oral health programs for at-risk populations.


Most human leukemia cell lines are dependent on serum supplementation (usually fetal calf serum (FCS)), although the extent of serum dependency differs among each cell line. Kasumi-1, a t(8;21) AML cell line is one of the most serum-dependent cell lines. Since growth and survival of many leukemia cell lines are associated with phosphorylation of Akt, we examined the Akt phosphorylation by FCS treatment. In Kasumi-1, Akt was phosphorylated by culture with FCS in a dose-dependent manner, although no such Akt phosphorylation was observed in NB-4, a t(15;17) cell line. By FCS stimulation, Akt (Thr308, Ser473) was phosphorylated from 0.5 hr and the phosphorylation sustained until 48 hours in Kasumi-1. Then, we tested the effect of VEGF/VEGFR signaling in phosphorylation of Akt by FCS. The addition of VEGFR1/Fc and VEGFR2/Fc (which bind external VEGF and abrogate its function) inhibited the Akt phosphorylation from 2 hours until 10 hours, although the growth of Kasumi-1 was not inhibited. The addition of VEGFR2 kinase inhibitor (which inhibits internal VEGF signal) inhibited the Akt phosphorylation from 0.5 hr until 2 hours, and the growth of Kasumi-1 was greatly inhibited.

Taken together, it is suggested that serum dependency of Kasumi-1 is at least in part attributed to VEGF/VEGFR pathway. Then, both external and internal VEGF/VEGFR pathways work in Kasumi-1, which in turn phosphorylate Akt. However, blockade of only internal VEGF signal (by VEGFR2 kinase inhibitor) inhibit the early Akt phosphorylation (0.5 hr), which resulted in growth inhibition, indicating the importance of early Akt phosphorylation.


The literature on scalp reduction is reviewed and an improved technique of scalp reduction is presented. The amount of bald skin that can be excised by the author's technique exceeds that previously reported by two to three times. The technique rests on tried principles of wide undermining in the galeal-periosteal plane, use of serial relaxing incisions in the galea, closure of specifically designed flap edges under increased tension, and the administration of adrenocorticosteroids postoperatively.