Background Recently, interest has increased in surgical fixation for severe thoracic wall injury with good short-term outcomes. However, few reports have evaluated long-term outcomes or complications. This study aimed to assess long-term quality of life and implant-related complications after rib fixation for flail chest and multiple rib fractures. Methods We interviewed patients who had undergone rib fixation from January 2014 to December 2019 about their current ability to work and their usual life. Results Twenty-two patients underwent rib fixation during the study period. Two patients with flail chest had already died after the surgery due to senescence; thus, follow-up information was obtained from 20 patients (91%), with a follow-up duration of 47.5 (IQR 22–58) months. The most undesirable event occurring during the study period was irritation caused by a palpable plate (n=2, 10%), probably due to the thin skin of patients over 70 years old. Eighteen patients were able to return to their usual life or same work as in the premorbid state with no complaints. Two patients are still undergoing rehabilitation due to concomitant extremities fractures. The median EQ-5D-5L index score was 0.89 (IQR 0.84–0.93). There were no implant-related complications requiring plate explantation. Discussion We concluded that rib fixation offers good long-term benefits, with the ability of the patient with flail chest or multiple rib fractures to return to activity in the premorbid state. Elderly patients especially with thin, soft tissue may complain of irritation caused by the plate and should be informed of this prior to surgery. Level of evidence Level IV therapeutic care/management.


The objective of this project is to construct a model to test the heat transfer rate of the internal cooling system of a gas turbine blade. The cooling system is modeled by a two inch square channel. The channel has been constructed out of 1/4" thick Plexiglas and assembled using nuts, bolts, acrylic cement, and weather seal. There were two separate channel geometries that were tested in the experiment. Compressed air was used to simulate the airflow experienced during actual turbine operation, although Reynolds number was in the 6000-9000 range, a turbulent flow but not representative of the actual Reynolds number. A highresistance wire matrix was constructed to produce heat in the channel over a copper film. To measure the heat profile inside the channel, a thermocouple array was used, as well as a qualitative analysis using liquid thermo crystals. Pictures were taken of the thermo crystal film during the experiments which were analyzed and used to confirm the thermocouple results. Final results were in the form of experimental Nusselt number divided by theoretical Nusselt number. The ribbed base plate resulted in a higher Nusselt number by about 15% by comparison to the smooth channel. These results carried over to the higher velocity tested as well, resulting in an optimization of the heat transfer of the system. By optimizing the heat transfer capabilities of the turbine blades, maintenance as well as failure of the blades could be reduced. There is also a potential to increase the net power output of gas turbines as it would be possible to use hotter working fluids. The results of this project will aim to experimentally evaluate and improve the design of gas turbine blade cooling systems.


Two distinct subgroups are generally recognized in the colon-aerogenes group of bacteria: the genus Escherichia which grows poorly if at all on citric acid, is acid to methyl red (M.R.+), does not produce acetyl-methyl-carbinol from glucose, (V.P.—), and is generally of fecal origin, and the genus Aerobacter which grows luxuriantly on citric acid, is alkaline to methyl red (M.R.—), produces acetyl-methyl-carbinol, (V.P.+) and is generally found in soil or on grains. Recently a number of strains have been reported which grow luxuriantly on citric acid but are negative as respects the V.P. reaction and frequently neutral or acid to methyl-red. The systematic position of these strains is in doubt. Werkman and Gillen 1 have recently suggested the generic name, Citrobacter for bacteria producing trimethylene-glycol from glycerol, which can utilize citric acid but are V.P. negative and M.R. neutral or acid. Whether all of the strains falling in this category on the citric acid, V.P. and M.R. tests are capable of producing trimethylene-glycol is not known. The lack of a suitable, convenient, rapid and reliable test for trimethylene-glycol together with the questionable M.R. and V.P. reactions of these strains, renders the discovery of a simple differential test which will distinguish these cultures from typical Escherichia and Aerobacter highly desirable. The production of H2S from Difco proteose peptone seems to serve this purpose admirably. In the accompanying table are shown the results of a study of 401 strains of members of the colon-aerogenes group isolated from eggs. The percentages are considered tentative, as several additional cultures are under observation, and it is possible that some impure cultures might be detected before completion of the study. Only those characteristics which show distinct and clear-cut differential value are considered here.


In this paper, we introduce the concept of IK−convergence of sequences in 2–normed spaces. This notion can be regard as an extension of I-convergence of sequences in 2–normed spaces.


The primary concern is that this guidance appears to contradict the guidance on implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) which was issued in January 2006 (NICE technology appraisal 95). In that document, ICDs were recommended for "primary prevention" in certain groups of patients, including those with prior myocardial infarction, left ventricular ejection fraction less than 30%, QRS width greater or equal to 120 ms, and NYHA functional status grade 1-3. There is a significant overlap with the indications for CRT. It would therefore seem logical that patients who fulfil the NICE criteria for an ICD and the NICE criteria for CRT should be treated with a CRTdefibrillator. Specifically, these patients are those who: • Have had a prior myocardial infarction • Have a left ventricular ejection fraction of less than 30% • Have a QRS width of > 150ms (or > 120 ms and echocardiographic evidence of dyssynchrony AND • Have NYHA Class 3 heart failure symptoms


The advantages of identifying charged leptons in the decay tunnel of conventional neutrino beams are known since long but the technologies that can sustain the corresponding rates and doses became available only recently. We revise these technologies demostrating that a very precise monitoring of νe at source can be achieved tagging the positrons in K+ → eπνe decays. We discuss facilities where positron monitoring is employed to reduce the uncertainties on the νe flux and improve substantially our knowledge of cross sections ("single tag mode"). We also consider more ambitious setups where the time correlation between lepton and ν CC event at the far detector is exploited ("event by event tag mode").


1 Habitat fragmentation and variation in habitat quality can both affect plant performance, but their effects have rarely been studied in combination. We thus examined plant performance in response to differences in habitat quality for a species subject to habitat fragmentation, the common but declining perennial herb Lychnis flos‐cuculi. 2 We reciprocally transplanted plants between 15 fen grasslands in north‐east Switzerland and recorded plant performance for 4 years. 3 Variation between the 15 target sites was the most important factor and affected all measures of plant performance in all years. This demonstrates the importance of plastic responses to habitat quality for plant performance. 4 Plants from smaller populations produced fewer rosettes than plants from larger populations in the first year of the replant–transplant experiment. 5 Plant performance decreased with increasing ecological difference between grassland of origin and target grassland, indicating adaptation to ecological conditions. In contrast, plant performance was not influenced by microsatellite distance and hardly by geographic distance between grassland of origin and target grassland. 6 Plants originating from larger populations were better able to cope with larger ecological differences between transplantation site and site of origin. 7 Synthesis: In addition to the direct effects of target grasslands, both habitat fragmentation, through reduced population size, and adaptation to habitats of different quality, contributed to the performance of L. flos‐cuculi. This underlines that habitat fragmentation also affects species that are still common. Moreover, it suggests that restoration projects involving L. flos‐cuculi should use plant material from large populations living in habitats similar to the restoration site. Finally, our results bring into question whether plants in small habitat remnants will be able to cope with future environmental change.


Sea level variations in the Gulf of Thailand (GoT) during 2001 to 2010 are investigated with the use of observed sea level data at 16 stations. The estimated rates of mean sea level variation in these 10 years are obtained by the least square regression method. The results indicate that the trends of sea level from tide gauge stations had been increased in the GoT with rising rates of 0.35-17.91 mm/yr, and falling rates of 1.09-11.67 mm/yr. 2010 Mathematics Subject Classification: 65C20


A very simple and efficient method for the synthesis of symmetric polymethylated terpyridines in good yields is reported. It is based on the condensation of a bis-pyridinium iodide, with a,bunsaturated aldehydes and ammonium acetate in formamide. The bis-pyridinium iodide was prepared from commercially available 2,6-diacetylpyridine, with iodine in pyridine.


Volatile, thermally robust 1,1-dimethylhydrazidogallane,
[H2GaN(H)NMe2]21 has been synthesized
from the reaction of H3Ga(NMe3) with
H2NNMe2, whereas reaction of compound 1 with an
excess of H2NNMe2 at elevated temperature afforded a
gallium hydrazide derivative,
Ga4[N(H)NMe2]8(NNMe2)2
2, which possessed a novel structure of two
Ga2N2 rings bridged by NNMe2 groups.


Novel encoding scheme for algebraic codes, such as codes on algebraic curves, multidimensional cyclic codes, and hyperbolic cascaded Reed–Solomon codes, is proposed with numerical examples. We make use of the 2-dimensional inverse discrete Fourier transform, which generalizes the Mattson–Solomon polynomial for Reed–Solomon codes. We also generalize the workings of the generator polynomial for Reed–Solomon codes, and realize a systematic encoding for various algebraic codes.


Objective To investigate the myocardial protection effect of simvastatin during percutaneous coronany intervention(PCI) in elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction(AMI);Methods 116 elderly AMI patients admitted for PCI were randomized into high dose simvastatin group and control group.Cardiac markers and MACE at 30-day follow-up were analyzed.Results The markers of two groups were elevated after PCI.The levels of CK-MB;TNT-HSST and hs-CRP at 24h were signif icantly lower in high dose simvastatin group than in control group,while they were not signif icantly different at 8h between two groups.Rate of MACE was significantly lower in high dose simvastatin group.Conclusion High dose simvastatin pretreatment provides myocardial protection during PCI in elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction.


The gender position of The Chinese Way of Divorce is unique and vague.It shows a kind of natural female viewpoint,yet without a female consciousness.It adopts a double gender position,and unconsciously accomplices with male power idea.The work is thought-provoking,also revealing value and desire.


This research tends to analyze six political speech s: three by president Obama and the other three by king Abdulla h the second in an attempt to find out what kinds of metaphors h ave been used and their underlying morality implications. The co n eptual metaphor theory has been used as a methodology of a nalyzing these speeches.


This thesis uncovers a body of literary magazines previously seen as peripheral to Caribbean literature. Drawing on extensive archival research, it argues for the need to open up the critical consensus around a small selection of magazines (Trinidad, The Beacon, Bim and Kyk-over-al), to consider a much broader and more varied landscape of periodicals. Covering twenty-eight magazines, the thesis is the first sustained account of a periodical culture published between the 1920s and 1950s. The project identifies a broad-based movement towards magazines by West Indians, informed and shaped by a shared aspiration for a West Indian literary tradition. It identifies the magazines as a key forum through which the West Indian middle classes contributed to and negotiated the process of cultural decolonisation which paralleled the political movement to independence in the 1960s. Chapter One explores the broad ways in which the magazines envisioned a West Indian literary tradition, before focusing on the tensions between the oral folk tradition and emerging print culture. Chapter Two moves to a closer focus on the middle-class West Indians publishing the magazines and the Literary and Debating Society movement. It argues that through their magazines these clubs sought to intervene in the public sphere. Chapter Three considers the marginalised publications of three key women editors, Esther Chapman, Una Marson and Aimee Webster and identifies how the magazine form enabled these editors to pursue wider political agendas linked to their cultural aims. Chapter Four returns to a broader focus on the magazines' paratextual elements including advertisements and commercial competitions, to explore the business of magazine publication and the ways in which this shaped their contents and compilation. Overall, the cultural and material history of the magazines mapped by this thesis sheds new light on what remains an under-explored but critical period of Caribbean literary history, on the cusp of cultural decolonisation and formal independence.


ICORG-92 remote sensing applications and geographic information systems: recent trends , ICORG-92 remote sensing applications and geographic information systems: recent trends , مرکز فناوری اطلاعات و اطلاع رسانی کشاورزی


A visual servo tracking controller for a wheeled mobile robot (WMR) is developed that utilizes feedback from a monocular camera system that is mounted with a fixed position and orientation (i.e., the eye-to-hand problem). A prerecorded image sequence (e.g., a video) of four target points is used to define a desired trajectory for the WMR. By comparing the target points from the prerecorded sequence with the corresponding target points in the live image, projective geometric relationships are exploited to construct a Euclidean homography. The information obtained by decomposing the Euclidean homography is used to develop a kinematic controller. A Lyapunov-based analysis is used to develop an adaptive update law to actively compensate for the lack of depth information required for the translation error system. In contrast to previous WMR visual servo controllers using a fixed camera configuration, the controller in this paper does not require the camera to be mounted so that the optical axis is perpendicular to the WMR plane of motion.


The results of the treatment of patients with suppurative-inflammatory diseases when lasers were used are presented in this article. The comparision was made between two similar groups: one was treated with laser, the other -without it. After the analysis has been made we came to the conclusion that laswer irradiationfor the treatment of suppurative-inflammatory processes in soft tissues is highly effective and economically beneficial.


NMR measurements on rock core plugs saturated with brine returns valuable information on the porous structure of the rock core. As one is monitoring a single fluid component, it is possible to extract information on the pore size distribution and thus monitor the degree of sorting of the porous rock. The basic assumption is that the mobility of the component confined in the porous rock is high enough to probe the pore space and that the surface relaxivity is fairly independent on the size of the pore to which the surface is connected. Then one may combine diffusion measurements at short observation times, to obtain a value of the surface to volume ratio (S/V), with a CPMG experiment to obtain an absolute pore size distribution instead of the standard T2 distributions.


Abstract: The electrochemical behaviour of SWCNTs randomly dispersed on gold and glassy carbon electrode surfaces was characterised via cyclic voltammetry and complex impedance spectroscopy, using the ferri/ferrocyanide couple as a redox active test probe . In subsequent investigations glucose oxidase (GOx) was adsorbed onto the SWCNT ensemble without apparent denaturation of the enzyme. Cyclic voltammetry and potential step chronoamperometry were used to quantify and understand the process of electron transfer between the immobilised protein redox site and the working electrode. The effect of pH on the system was also investigated. In particular, we have shown that, for the calculation of electron transfer rate constants for surface-immobilised redox systems, chronoamperometry is preferable to voltammetry, which has been the technique of choice until now. Keywords: Glucose Oxidase; SWCNT-modified electrode; Direct electrochemistry; Chronoamperometry of surface-immobilised systems. Introduction


Arabic Calligraphy is one of the main artistic features which belong to the identity of the region. While the calligraphy crafts are widely spread recently in the Arab world markets, they belong still into the field of handmade craftsmanship. The developing of mass production of Arabic Calligraphy design will enhance and support the revival of Islamic Art Identity. Only to a limited extend and certain applications the Calligraphy has been introduced to product design: in limited editions or as application on surfaces. Furthermore, the combination product form and letter form is very often limited to the adaptation of existing


The aim of this paper is to explain how Discursive Practice (hereinafter DP) could be used to promote plurilingualism and to improve the learning of the second language (L2) in a multilingual context. Most teachers are not familiar with the DP, therefore, we explain and illustrate this technique in an understandable way for educators. First we present data on Madrid (Spain) multilingual schools. Then, we briefl y mention European education policies that attempt to regulate plurilingualism, following with a refl ection on how Madrid multilingual schools manage this reality. Finally, we focus on the challenges and op- portunities that multilingual schools face, suggesting the DP as a valuable resource for the promotion of plurilingualism and for the learning of the second language. Through descriptive and heuristic analysis, our aim is to provide teachers with useful resources for their classes, to raise awareness on linguistic diversity, and to facilitate language learning of the host country.


The study on cooperative schemes has become an important component of future information technology research. A multi-relay channel is considered in this paper. Fixed relay stations are adopted here to help the transmission between the base and the users. The base-relay channel can be viewed as a broadcast channel( BC) and the relay-user channel can be viewed as a multiple-access channel( MAC). No direct link exists between the base and the user.We investigate the capacity of this special multi-relay aided communication system. The relation between the capacity and the number of relays employed by the system is given. Then we generalize the study to two special cases: A. the noises at the relay stations are much greater than those at the user; B. the noises at the user are much greater than those at the relay stations. SVD decomposition is implemented at the base station and the user according to the equivalent channel response. The joint probability density of the eigenvalue of the equivalent signal-to-interference and noise ratio( SINR) is analyzed in this paper. The relation between the capacity and the number of relays employed by the system is detailed for that two cases mentioned above.Some idiographic results are enumerated with mathematical analysis. For case A,we proposed to use a matrix which has an F-distribution to approximately describe the joint probability distribution of the equivalent channel matrix. We show that the corresponding capacity will decrease with the increase of the number of the relays. For case B,the joint probability distribution of the equivalent channel has a Wishart-distribution. The corresponding capacity will increase with the increase of the number of the relays. After mathematical analysis,numerical results are given. Simple and practical relay selection strategies are designed for different cases.


Soybean seedlings were grown at 28°C in the dark or the light for 12 days, and four classes of sterol lipids, sterol esters (SE), free sterols (St), acylated steryl glycosides (ASG) and steryl glycosides (SG), were isolated from the cotyledons by solvent extractions, Florisil column chromatography, and thin-layer chromatography (TLC), successively. Each sterol lipid (SE, ASG and SG) obtained was hydrolyzed and then separately divided into sterol, fatty acid and/ or sugar fractions. The hydrolysates and St were analyzed mainly by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC).Under the two conditions tested, the main sterol lipid class was St during germination, the minor one being SG. With the progress of germination, St and ASG decreased under both conditions tested, whereas SE and SG increased, especially SE in the light-grown seedlings. The changing patterns of sterol and sugar compositions of ASG resembled those of SG, but those of fatty acid composition differed between SE and ASG. In general, the changes in fatty ...


Pathomorphologically NEC is characterized by inflammation and severe tissue damage. To complete the understanding of all pathogenic mechanisms in the work, an objective morphological analysis of the state of inter-tissue relations in the small intestine wall with the NEC was conducted. The elucidation of the leading pathogenetic mechanisms that determine the prevalence and progression of degradation in the ineffectiveness of protective inflammatory response both to the child's body as a whole and to the intestinal wall of the NEC will allow the development of a system of criteria for early diagnosis and prevention of NEC development. The aims.  Clarify the morphogenesis of the NEC, conduct an immunohistochemical study and morphological analysis of the state of inter-tissue relations in the small intestine wall at the NEC in premature infants compared with bacterial enterocolitis. Materials and methods of research . Morphological and immunohistochemical research presents the material of the small intestine of infants born from enterocolitis (sepsis) and NEC - 18 autopsy and 7 intraoperative materials: 7 preparations with a stage of preperforation, 9 with a stage of perforation. To objectivize pathomorphological changes in the intestine, a comparison was made with infectious enterocolitis (5 autopsies). An assessment was made of the condition of the small intestine wall obtained during perforation operations (border zone and adjacent organ region). Controls were cuttings of the healthy small intestine of preterm infants whose death came from non-infection-related causes and NECs (4 cases). Results of the research. Pathological changes in the NEC affect all the walls of the small intestine. Clinically in preterm newborns the disease is characterized by progression of both generalized symptoms and gastrointestinal ones against the background of the systemic inflammatory response. The leading pathomorphological process is the change in the quantitative morphological parameters of the vascular bed, the development of severe edema with the dissociation of inter-tissue relations and the marked destruction of structural elements of the intestinal wall. In this case, the inflammatory-reparative process is characterized by the prevalence of alteration in the inadequate response of leukocytes to the degree of destruction and reduction of the reparative potential of tissue elements of the gut mucosa. This determines the persistent violation of its barrier function, reducing the resistance to action of microbial agents and progressive damage. The leading pathogenetic mechanisms determine the prevalence and progression of degradation in the ineffectiveness of protective inflammatory response both in the child's body and in the intestinal wall at the NEC.


Treatment of [RuCl2(p-cymene)]2 with sodium benzenethiolate in methanol afforded a cationic dinuclear ruthenium thiolate complexes, [Ru2(SPh)3(p-cymene)2]Y (2a: Y = Cl; 2b: Y = PF6), whose structure is determined by X-ray analysis of 2b.


Smith is a talented orator. He doesn't do much acting in this piece, yet only a well-trained actor could pull off the skilled storytelling I witnessed here. Most of his ideas were given in fragments that eventually came together when I surrendered to the fact that I had no idea what was coming next. All I had to go on was his intensely rich description of the intersections of Rodia's past with his own. Smith gave me a tour of the towers and of his own personal monuments that guide his active participation in the making of the history of Los Angeles. His desire to make a difference as both a performer and activist was accomplished in one beautifully crafted performance built from the fragments of life that make all of our experiences worth talking about.


In view of"text"and"people-oriented",the teaching of"Chinese contemporary literature"at higher vocational colleges requires teacher to have personalized explanation for fully demonstration of his unique charm of teaching.Text used in teaching should arouse students' love,and teachers' teaching enthusiasm and inspiration.Students should use a variety of ways to read text,enjoying the pleasure of reading to achieve teaching objectives with teacher.


Hearing impairment is one of the most common difficulties among the elderly. Due to its prevalence, the aim of this study was to compare the quality of life among the hearing and hearing impaired elderly.This descriptive-correlational research was conducted on the elderly who spent their time in the parks of Tehran (Iran). One hundred individuals were randomly selected. Data was collected using questionnaires about quality of life (sf-36). The collected data was analyzed with Pearson correlation and Ttest analysis. The quality of life among the hearing elderly (mean 97.47) was better than the quality of life among older people with hearing impairment (93.48). Total scores of quality of life among hearing and hearing impaired elderly showed a statically significant difference (p<0.05). Quality of life among older women was significantly better in comparison with the older men (p<0.01).Quality of life among hearing elderly was better than the hearing impaired elderly. The results of this study imply the importance of quality of life in maintaining mental health among the elderly.


Most crops respond positively to an increase in CO{sub 2} concentration, based on experiments in glasshouses, growth chambers and open-topped CO{sub 2} enrichment enclosures. For example, from examining 480 citations an average response of 30% increase in yield with doubling of CO{sub 2} was found. Such previous experiments with cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) have shown it to be one of the most responsive species observed, with yield increases of 60 to 100% when CO{sub 2} is doubled. 12 refs., 8 figs., 5 tabs.


Live yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae NCYC Sc 47 (Biosaf®) was added to the diet of wean ing rabbits to evaluate the effects on growth, feed eff ici ncy, health status, digestibility and caecal parameters. Two Biosaf® levels (1 and 10 g Biosaf®/ kg feed, group C1 and C10 corresponding to 10 6 and 10 CFU/g of DM in diet) were compared to a control gr oup (C0) without yeast addition. Thirty rabbits (3 groups of 10) were used to measure the d igestibility and caecal parameters and to calculate the yeast survival rate in the digestive tract. Gro wth performances and health status were studied on 120 rabbits (3 groups of 40 cages individually). In diet, live yeast concentration fell slightly (-0.2 to 0.5 log CFU/g DM) after pelleting, although the pel leting temperature was high (70-80°C). The survival rate of yeast in digestive tract was high and increased from 90 to 97% with yeast supplementation, but this did not affect the faecal digestibility or the caecal pH. However, redox potential (Eh) of the caecal content increased sign ifica tly with yeast addition. Mortality was 50% lower with the highest yeast addition (C10) compare d to C0 and C1 groups, while growth, intake or feed efficiency remained similar.


Foam fracturing fluids have been used to stimulate low pressure, fluid sensitive formations. The characters of foam fracturing fluids have been recognized as leaving minimal damage to fracture conductivity, flowing back quickly, lowing leak off efficient, high efficient fluid, high viscosity and strong proppant carring capacity. Parameters studied in the laboratory include: research and development system of CO 2 foam fracturing fluid, optimization of the formulation and the properties of CO 2 foam fracturing fluid being tested. In the end, conclusion drawn are (1) CO 2 foam fracturing fluid have a strong foamability and foam stability, predominate rheological and proppant carring capacity, lowing leak off and quick breakdown as well, which are satisfied to fracturing technology and it has been confirmed by the experimental results of reservoir cores that CO 2 foam fracturing fluid is characterized by lower expanding and damage for reservoir rock. (2) In the process of CO 2 foam fracturing, CO 2 foam fracturing crosslinked foam by acidity of agent have such capacities as improving dimensions of fracturing, increasing quantity of proppant and sand fluid ratio. Increasing production of CO 2 foam fracturing fluid has been testified in Changqing oil field.


I am very gratifi ed by this honor. I knew Mike Franck and admired his dedication, his knowledge and intelligence, his candid observations about our profession and its ethical needs. He was a consistent supporter of efforts to improve and a model for all of us. I begin by observing that I have considered myself a lawyer engaged in teaching rather than an academic also engaged in law practice. I believe the practice of law is demanding intellectually, ethically and, if I may say so, spiritually. In performing as a teacher it is useful, in my opinion, to present one's self as among those who most of the students will join in undertaking to practice law as well as study it. Some years ago my colleague Professor Deborah Rhode referred to our profession as a mansion of many rooms. Pressing the metaphor a little further we could call it a condominium in or near the high rent district. Our services have become very expensive. We are held together by a common code, the Rules of Professional Conduct or the Code of Professional Responsibility as the case may be. The rules of the code addressing many salient issues are very general, not to say vague, and correspondingly ambiguous in many applications. There is no avoiding this condition because different rules for various areas of practice would be ethically invidious in some degree and, in my estimate, as a political matter very diffi cult to formulate. The rules never were much more defi nite even in the imagined golden age of our profession, whenever that was. But it was thought, or imagined, that we shared a common credo, a common understanding of the nature of our work and the role of the legal profession in society. That may no longer be the case. For the younger lawyers, and some not so young, the "billable hour" has become the watchword. For many partners the watchword has become "profi ts per partner." In both cases and in many areas of practice a dominant concern has become the economic returns to practitioner and the economic stability of law fi rms. In these circumstances it becomes imperative that conscientious lawyers having attachment to traditional virtues of the profession seek companionship among others of like mind. It would be futile in my opinion to seek a special regime of rules, because, even if it could be accomplished, the price in professional disunity would be high. But the regime of rules, to which I have devoted much professional


The first part of this thesis deals with the phenomenon of thermoelectricity. It involves the improvement of the thermoelectric properties of silicon using innovative nanostructures. My contribution was to help fabricate these thermoelectric devices, and is the focus of this part of the thesis. The second part and primary focus of this thesis is the analysis of thin films using scanning probe techniques. These surface techniques include atomic force microscopy, electric force microscopy, Kelvin probe force microscopy, and scanning tunneling microscopy. The thin films studied are graphene and molybdenum disulfide, two remarkable materials that display unique two-dimensional qualities. These materials are shown to be useful in studying the properties of adsorbates trapped between them and the substrate on which they rest. Moreover, these adsorbed species are seen to affect the structural and electronic properties of the thin films themselves. Scanning probe analyses are particularly useful in elucidating the properties of these materials, as surface effects play a significant role in determining their characteristics. The final part of this thesis is concerned with the study of Akt in live cells using protein capture agents previously developed by my colleagues. The activation and degradation of Akt is investigated using various biological assays, including Western blots, in vitro kinase assays, and cell viability assays. Finally, the usefulness of synthetic capture agents in perturbing protein pathways and as delivery agents is assessed and analyzed.


The purpose of this article is to investigate the geometry of static perfect fluid space-time metrics on compact manifolds with boundary. In the first part, we provide a boundary estimate for static perfect fluid space-time. In the second part, we establish a unified Böchner type formula for a large class of spaces that include the static perfect fluid space-time, critical metrics of the volume functional, static spaces and CPE metrics. Moreover, as a consequence of such a formula we obtain a gap result for a compact static perfect fluid space-time.


High-altitude chemical releases are investigated with the use of several numerical models of chemistry, dynamics, and electrodynamics. The specific releases investigated were SF[sub 6] and CO[sub 2] in the F-region of the ionosphere. The chemistry for reproducing observations from the CRRES-at-Kwajalein SF[sub 6] release must include oxidation reactions of ions and neutrals. The dominant negative ion observed, F(-), was modeled well with SF(-)[sub 5] + O yields SOF[sub 4] + F(-) as the dominant production mechanism. SOF(-)[sub 3] is potentially an important negative ion resulting from electron attachment of SOF[sub 4]. The electrodynamic model of the SF[sub 6] release did not produce a plasma depletion plume as was hoped. The electrodynamic perturbation is small and short-lived. It will not produce large-scale plume structure associated with equatorial spread-F. The modeling of CO[sub 2] releases produced too much 6300A airglow when compared with REDAIR experimental results. The conflict between simulation and experiment requires reduction of CO[sub 2] + O(+) reaction rates or inclusion of a CO[sub 2] removal mechanism such as freezing. Modeling also shows that the two CO[sub 2] releases of the REDAIR experiment may have spatially mixed airglow signatures.


A study is made of the absorption of sound by conduction electrons in a ferrimagnetic semiconductor with two uncompensated sublattices subjected to a quantizing magnetic field. The scattering of electrons by magnons is taken into account. It is shown that the absorption coefficient oscillates as a function of the magnetic field if the elementary scattering event involves simultaneously two magnons (from the acoustic and optical branches). Resonance maxima in the absorption correspond to values of the field for which the activation energy of the optical magnon hω Os is a multiple of the spacing between neighboring Landau levels belonging to the same spin subband and the oscillation period, considered as a function of the reciprocal field, is determined by the effective electron mass and by the value of ω Os


Formacresol as an obtundant pulpal therapy medication has been successfully utilized for over one hundred years. The safety of this drug therapy is presently controversial. Although formocresol has the potential for malignant transformation, it has a long term track record of safety. Decreased formocresol pulpal therapy utilization has the potential to limit tooth preservation globally, especially in pediatric patients. Issues regarding carcinogenicity, toxicology, and mutagenesis are discussed. Further issues such as expense, ease of administration, availability, and effectiveness are also discussed. A review of the published literature regarding formocresol case reports is investigated. In conclusion, although formocresol has several known problematic side-effects, it is the opinion of the authors that when properly utilized as a pulpal medicament, formocresol is safe, inexpensive, readily available, easily administered, and effective.


Daniel DeMenocal arrived in Hong Kong in the early 1900s as the first US staffer of one of the earliest US bank branches in Asia. Of all the things that might have impressed him—China's treaty ports, financing opium trade, the language barrier—one that stuck out was the handwriting: "These young Britishers all had extremely good hand-writing," he later recalled.1 DeMenocal learned the consequences of sloppywriting, after several colleagues from the International Banking Corporation were demoted over their poor handwriting. The bank sent young US staffers like De Menocal to London to learn proper British banking methods. At the time, the idea of a US "international banker" hardly existed. Training in Londonwas a way to counter the deficit in domestic know-how. But when De Menocal's colleagues failed to master penmanship, they had to prolong their stay. "[T]heir handwriting was so bad," recalled De Menocal, "that the London office could make no use of their service and they were all sent to an English school to be taught how to write before they were permitted to touch pen to paper."2 As De Menocal learned, legible and accurate records were essential to the success of financial institutions, and those institutions were themselves vital linkages connecting imperial metropoles and their colonies, territories, andmarkets around the world. Clean handwriting and rigorous bookkeeping constituted the prosaic foundations onwhich financial empires were built.3 My dissertation, "Branching Out: Banking, Credit, and the Globalizing US Economy, 1900s–1930s," investigates these foundations. It untangles the interrelations of expanding US global power in the early twentieth century and the protocols and paperwork of US foreign banking that undergirded it. Doing so reveals that US empire-building was not a coherent,monolithic project devised inWashington, DC, boardrooms but insteadwas amessy coproduction of often divergent publicand private-sector agendas. Despite their tensions, these agendas nevertheless had the effect of expanding US influence around the world.


In Brazil, cancer has become one of the major public health problems, reflected in an important cause of mortality. The National Institute of Cancer (INCA) estimated that 466,730 people had the disease in the country in 2008 [12]. The number of cancer patients in the country is increasing and some of these patients are treated with brachytherapy, using iridium-192 wire sources and iodine-125 seeds. Brachytherapy irradiation at a very close distance is a form of lesions treatment which is based on the insertion of sources, in this case activated iridium wires inside tumours. During this process, the ionizing radiation destroys the malignant cells very efficiently [8]. Some of the major brachytherapy advantages over the external radiation, i.e. capacity to give form to isodose distribution in irregular lesions, considerably diminishing dose outside the implant area (saving normal tissues) and the treatment quickness can be highlighted. These radioactive sources are imported at high cost, what restricts their application. The local production of these radioactive sources became a priority in order to reduce the cancer management impact in end users. Owing to these reasons, the Energy and Nuclear Research Institute (IPEN), which belongs to the Nuclear Energy National Commission (CNEN), established a programme for the development of technique and production of iridium-192 wire sources and iodine-125 seeds in Brazil. Development and production of radioactive sources used for cancer treatment in Brazil Maria E. C. M. Rostelato, Paulo R. Rela, Carlos A. Zeituni, Anselmo Feher, Jose E. Manzoli, Joao A. Moura, Eduardo S. Moura, Constância P. G. Silva


This article builds on a powerful statement by Hans Joas regarding creativity, with which he claims 'the self escapes its bounds and loses itself in pursuit of the forces of sociality that make it up'. To develop this argument, we propose a hermeneutic approach that centres on myths and rituals that narrate how subjective and collective orders are dissolved within the indeterminate ( apeiron). Although this question has been further explored within theoretical frameworks that discuss the death drive, the body without organs, the inoperative community and so on, these approaches do not refer to the subsequent rebirths, which the logos seems incapable of tackling but which traditional wisdom manages to address. The lesson that this ancient wisdom can pass on to sociology is that the communitas can act as the apeiron of the social from which the self and society itself escape their bounds to be reborn.


I. Introduction II. Some observations from experimental cytology III. Relevance to the study of tumours IV. The explanatory value of the hypothesis V. Consideration of some objections VI. Conclusion References


Partial factor productivity(PFP) is an important index reflecting the status of soil basic fertility and the effect of chemical fertilizers application.120 typical farmers conducting maize and potato intercropping practice distributed in 8 villages,4 prefectures in Yunnan province were selected to investigate the status of fertilizer application,then the partial factor productivity(PFP) of chemical fertilizers in maize and potato intercropping in Yunnan province was analyzed.The results indicated that the total nutrients input in maize and potato intercropping system was 838.96 kg/hm2 averagely and the chemical nutrients input was 564.91 kg/hm2.The total fertilizer PFP in maize and potato intercropping was 20.01 kg/kg,the PFP of N,P2O5 and K2O fertilizers were 27.41,137.17 and 164.39 kg/kg respectively.Compared with that in monocropping,the PFP of N,P and K2O of maize increased by 7.34,47.61 and 47.93 kg/kg respectively,the PFP of N,P2O5 and K2O of potato increased by 9.1,103.29 and 124.9 kg/kg.Maize and potato intercropping were better than monocropping in increasing fertilizer use efficiency.


A method of laser-assisted field-free dynamic molecular orientation employing a short, moderately intense three-color phase-locked laser pulse is proposed. Numerical simulations show that it provides an exceedingly effective control of orientation in molecular gases even at room temperatures. The underlying mechanism is based on the specific laser-induced orientation-dependent selective excitation of molecules and subsequent self-transformation of the induced geometrical orientation into a dynamical one. It is shown that this mechanism is significantly more powerful than the widely investigated kick mechanism.


Teachers' professional cognition is the spiritual cornerstone of students as an excellent teacher. It is the source of the basic strength of the teacher's career and the most basic psychological preparation for the teacher's career. If we want to cultivate good teachers and normal students, we must first make students appreciate and accept the profession of teachers. Only in this way, students can devote themselves to the position of teacher with a more active and pleasant attitude, relieve all kinds of pressures and problems, strengthen students' identification with the teacher profession, and help students fall in love with this profession. This article researches the status and strategy of the professional identity of rural teachers of publicly funded normal students. After understanding the relevant theories about the professional identity of rural teachers of publicly funded normal students on the basis of literature data, it investigates the current situation of the professional identity of rural teachers of publicly funded normal students. According to the survey results, the professional identity of public-funded normal students at this stage is low, and the basic dimensions of professional identity are all lower than the theoretical median. Among the suggestions for improving professional identity, relevant policies have been introduced to improve the relevant treatment of teachers accounted for 45 %about.


An algorithm for classification of gene expression data based on Fiedler Vector was proposed.Firstly,the Laplacian matrix of complete graph is constructed on all the different types of gene expression data.Then,the Fiedler Vector is obtained by the singular value decomposition of this Laplacian matrix.Finally,the samples are divided into two classes by utilizing the signs of the Fiedler Vector components.The effectiveness of this algorithm has been proven by simulation experiment and real data experiment.


The inhibition efficiency of sodium metavanadate in controlling corrosion of carbon steel in an aqueous solution containing 60 ppm of Cl has been evaluated by weight loss method. Sodium metavanadate (SMV) has good inhibition efficiency, 200 ppm of SMV has 98% inhibition efficiency (IE) 50 ppm of SMV has 48% (IE). The IE of the system improved by addition of various concentration of spirulina solution (0.5% aqueous solution) when 2 ml of spirulina solution is added to 50 ppm of SMV IE tremendously enhances from 48% to 98%. 't' test reveals that his enhancement is statistically significant. The protective film formed on the metal surface. It has been analyzed FTIR spectra and UVvisible spectra. The mechanistic aspects of corrosion inhibition have been investigated by electrochemical studies such as polarization studies and AC impedance spectra confirm the protective film formed on the metal surface. Correspondence: *V. Sribharathy, Corrosion Research Centre, Department of Chemistry, GTN Arts College, Dindigul – 624 005, Tamil Nadu, India. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com; Contact: +91 9442034461.


(1981). Reform and resistance to royal authority in fourteenth‐century France: The leagues of 1314–1315. Parliaments, Estates and Representation: Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 109-137.


The purpose of the study is to investigate the influence of intention to leave towards employee engagement among young employees, in the perspective of Malaysian commercial banks. The study distributed 450 questionnaires to young bankers who are employed with commercial banks in Malaysia through "Drop off" and "Pick up" method. The method was employed due to the confidentiality practiced by the banks. This method of survey distribution was proven effective whereby 412 responses were gathered which demonstrated 91.8% response rate. Descriptive, frequency, correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis were conducted in this study, and the findings showed that intention to leave only make minimal unique contribution towards employee engagement in the perspective of young bankers in Malaysia.


heat exchanger tubes in bubbling fluidized bed reactors are necessary to remove the reaction heat of exothermal reactions. Vertical internals that mimic the heat exchanger tubes in coldflow models, proofed to reduce the bubble size and lead to a more even distribution of the bubbles above the cross-section. Another option is to orientate the internals horizontally inside the column. By means of a measurement campaign at a cold-flow model, differences concerning the hydrodynamic behavior between a column with horizontal and vertical internals were investigated and determined. It turned out that the horizontal internals influence the hydrodynamics in a way which is not beneficial concerning the reactor performance due to an accumulation of bubbles below the horizontal internals and preferential pathways of the bubbles between the horizontal internals. Bubbling fluidized beds (BFB) are used in various industrial applications due to their high rates of heat and mass transfer (Kunii and Levenspiel, 2013). To control the temperature of highly exothermic reactions (e.g. methanation), the heat transfer area has to be enlarged by means of heat transfer tubes. The orientation of the heat exchanger tubes is commonly horizontal or vertical. The hydrodynamics around the immersed tubes greatly affect the heat transfer since the heat transfer coefficient is influenced by the mean contact time of particles with the tube surface as shown by (Chen, 2003). In a pseudo 2-D bubbling fluidized bed with horizontal internals, the bubble behavior was investigated by means of optical measurement techniques by (Asegehegn et al., 2011) and (Hull et al., 1999a). The solids mixing behavior of a bubbling fluidized bed was investigated in the scope of (Hull et al., 2000). X-ray measurements have been used by (Maurer et al. 2015a) and (Maurer et al. 2015b) to investigate the hydrodynamics in a 3-D bubbling fluidized bed with and without vertical internals. The hydrodynamic behavior in a 3-D bed with a horizontal tube bundle was investigated on the basis of computer simulations in (Li et al., 2011) and on the basis of X-ray photography in (Yates et al., 1990). In the scope of this study, X-ray measurements were performed in to investigate the fluidization behavior of a cold-flow 3-D bubbling fluidized bed with a diameter of 22 cm which is immersed by horizontal tubes. The experimental results obtained from the column with horizontal internals are compared with a dataset from a fluidized bed of the same diameter without and with vertical internals. Based on this comparison, the applicability of the investigated internals configuration can be judged regarding a future utilization under reactive conditions. Fig. 1 (a) Picture of the column with horizontal internals; (b) schematic drawing of the horizontal internal location including the investigated measurement heights


SUMMARY The problem of identifying the number of modal groups manifested in a sample of data is of continuing interest and importance in statistical practice. In this paper, we combine features of two current approaches to the mode-testing problem with some new ideas, to produce a method that provides the data analyst with a powerful and flexible way of exploring modality in univariate data. This approach also provides what appears to be the first satisfactory test of modality for samples of circular data.


Performance appraisal system is of important apprehension of any organization while administrating its human resources. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the performance appraisal system for teachers in private schools and elaborate the problems align with this system. The Educators School has been taken as a case study. A quantitative research approach has been applied which consist on a self administered questionnaire to get primary data for exploring different parts of current performance appraisal system and perceptions of teachers regarding performance appraisal approaches in their school. Research results shows that The Educators School is using performance appraisal system that is closely related with traditional ACR (Annual Confidential Report) conducted annually. This study is conducted on a small level only on one franchise of the school system with small sample size. Researchers suggest that school administration should provide continuous feedback to their teachers and a solution to overcome their weaknesses and this system should only be used for performance improvement purpose.


Carl August Weinhold a professor of surgery in Halle-Wittenberg Germany published a communication in 1827 suggesting infibulation under regular controls by authorities for men as of the age of 14 in order to prevent irresponsible procreation leading to the overpopulation of central Europe with dire consequences for civilization. He considered overpopulation to be caused by the animalistic instincts of beggars the sick servants apprentices and unmarried low-level military personnel. In the beginning of the 19th century there was public concern about overpopulation industrialization the collapse of social order and the stagnation of agriculture a concern reinforced by the famine of 1816-17. Politicians the clergy economists teachers and philanthropists were looking for solutions. Infibulation already had been practiced by the Romans for actors singers and athletes. Weinholds proposal met with scorn skepticism and outright ridicule. Among the students in Halle the proposal elicited derision and laughter. A reply was published to his proposal by a theologian in Halle who stated that this scheme was against all civil and Christian laws. His colleagues also attacked the proposal and claimed that he enjoyed no respect either as a teacher or a physician since he operated on patients like a butcher. 3 years later his colleagues took a written stand against him and his infibulation concept and proposed a 6-month vacation for him. He turned for help to the Prussian King William III who ordered that they should not remove Reinhold. The surgeon published 4 more pamphlets about the misuse of siring and about population balance. In 1829 2 young doctors from Zurich visited Reinhold in Halle. They noted that he spoke less about infibulation but suggested this crazy idea was perhaps a consequence of his feminine physique. Weinhold was upset that a new doctor was sent by the Ministry to hold lectures in Halle. He probably committed suicide and died in 1829 at 47 years of age.


Unlike the palatal approximant /j/ that occurs in 85% of the world's languages (Ladefoged & Maddieson 1996 : 322), other palatal consonants are relatively rare cross-linguistically. We can come across the palatal nasal /ñ/ in 31% of the 451 languages represented in the UPSID database (Maddieson 1984), while the plosives /c é/ and/or the affricates /cç éJ/ are even less well-attested (Ladefoged 2005 : 163). Voiceless /c/ occurs in 12%, and voiced /é/ in 9.5%, of the languages of UPSID. Both plosives exist eg in Azerbaijani, Basque, Breton, or Turkish, as well as in the Uralic languages Komi (Zyryan) and Nganasan; only voiceless /c/ is found in Vietnamese or Khanty (Ostyak). Long /c:/ is said to be present in a single language of the database: Waray, spoken in Australia; and long /é:/ to only occur in Wolof, spoken in Gambia and Senegal. Of the palatal affricates, voiceless /cç/ appears in 2.7% and voiced /éJ/ in 1.8% of languages in the database. Both can be found,1 eg in Albanian, Mandarin Chinese, and Komi (thus, in the latter, the two plosives contrast with the two affricates). The voiceless palatal fricative /ç/ occurs in 2.44% of the languages as a contrastive segment, eg in Irish, Mandarin, and Norwegian; and its voiced counterpart /J/ in 2.66%, eg in Inuit (Greenlandic). Both fricatives can be found in Komi (a language that can now be seen to exhibit as many as six palatal obstruents). Returning to the more frequently occurring palatals: /ñ/ is attested in 141 languages of the database, and /j/ in 378, thus turning out


Chemical modification of cotton and fibran fabrics via benzoylation was performed under different conditions to produce benzoylated natural and regenerated celluloses having different degrees of substitution. Two techniques of benzoylation were carried out with the aim of transfer printing the benzoylated cellulosic fabrics and keeping the tensile strength of the modified fabrics without a great loss. Samples of these benzoylated cellulose were transfer printed and avaluated for color strength.


In this paper, we propose a vibrotactile stimulation system and explore the potential of combining it with volitional myoelectric control for robotic transtibial prostheses. The proposed system consists of six vibrators, three on the anterior side of the thigh and the other three on the posterior side. Six able-bodied subjects and two transtibial amputee subjects participated in the study, and three experiments were performed. The first two experiments were designed to evaluate subjects' ability to perceive vibrotactile stimulations and make fast response. In the third experiment, we aimed to investigate the necessity of adding vibrotactile feedback to the loop of volitional myoelectric control. Experimental results indicate that subjects are able to discriminate stimulations produced by different vibrators, and detect the change of stimulation positions with small time delay. Furthermore, the addition of vibrotactile feedback improves the performance of controlling a virtual ankle to reach target positions. These preliminary results validate the promise of applying the vibrotactile stimulation system for robotic transtibial prosthesis control.


A multicompartment model is proposed for a semibatch melt polycondensation of poly(ethylene terephthalate) in a rotating disk polymerization reactor and compared with laboratory experimental data. The reactor is a horizontal cylindrical vessel with a horizontal shaft on which multiple disks are mounted. The reactor is assumed to comprise N equal sized compartments and each compartment consists of a film phase on the rotating disk and a bulk phase in which disks are partially immersed. The effects of disk rotating speed, number of disks, reaction temperature, and pressure were investigated. It was observed that ethylene glycol is predominantly removed from thin polymer layers on the rotating disks and the enhanced interfacial area exerted by ethylene glycol bubbles accounts for about 30–50% of the total available interfacial mass transfer area. Although the rate of polymerization increases as more disks are used, the maximum number of disks in a reactor must be determined properly in order to prevent the formation of thick polymer films that result in a reduced specific interfacial area and reduced polymerization efficiency. At a fixed reaction pressure, the equilibrium conversion is reached but the rate of reaction can be further increased by increasing the reaction temperature. The results of the proposed multicompartment model are also compared with those predicted by a simple one-parameter model. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


The electrical packaging methods follow the market requirement and technology trend. Therefore the consumer electronics progresses from P-DIP, PLCC, PQFP, through BGA, LBGA and VFBGA, to FCBGA that is packaged by flip chip structure. In order to meet the trend of the cost down or small/thin requirement, the CSP packaging was developed. Because of the trace width upgrading speed in back-end packaging is much faster than that of PWB, the WLCSP packaging was developed following bumping technology to meet the requirements of better electrical function, shorter assembling process flow and cost down issue. For the same reason, the trace width upgrading speed in front-end packaging is much faster than that of back-end packaging, the bump pad pitch on WLCSP is getting smaller and smaller, and even smaller than the solder ball manufacturing capability. Thus, the development and application of WLCSP products are restricted. Infineon's Brunnbauer et. al. [1] announced a new processes and structure compared to the standard wafer level package, namely the fan-out type eWLBTM (embedded wafer level ball grid array) reconfigurated by molding compound. It is well known that the polymer is easy to sorb moisture, and some of the properties will be therefore changed more or less. This thesis is primarily based on the processes and structure of Infineon eWLBTM semi-product to discuss the moisture sorption and swelling impact at different temperature / humidity environments (30℃/60%RH, 85℃/60%RH, 85℃/85%RH). It is known from the experimental results that the moisture sorption and swelling are indeed involved by the environmental temperature and humidity. There are the closely impact to moisture sorption, the moisture sorption follows the Non-Fickian diffusion model, the humidity impact to swelling is more critical than that by temperature. Finally the moisture diffusion coefficient and the activation energy are found from this experiment, also the fitting equations of the time related moisture sorption rate and the time related strain, and the coefficient of moisture expansion.


This research is to present the form of learning method through internet network called "collaborative leaning", including the attitude of teachers and students toward "collaborative learning", the form of learning method through internet. The developed learning method through internet network consists of; 1) learning management system, 2) course management system, and 3) seminar management system. And the applied collaborative learning is as follows; 1) face-to-face interaction, 2) individual accountability, 3) positive interdependence, 4) cooperative social skills and 5) group processing. An outcome of the experiment is found that the attitude of teacher and student toward "collaborative learning" which is the forms of learning method through internet is in the range of excellent and good, respectively. It is, therefore, accepted that "collaborative learning" which is the form of learning method through internet is able to assist teacher and student to conduct both asynchronous and synchronous class through internet efficiently. Teacher and student can interact via video conference that allows the simultaneous attendance in which many students can learn from each other infinitely. Teacher is also able to self-create the lesson contents without having the skills of computer's program designing.


Introduction: Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have an increased risk of adverse outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Prior studies in patients with DM have reported prognosis in relation to treatment with insulin or not, and not in relation to type of DM. The prognosis after CABG in patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM1 or DM2) is not known. Methods: We included all patients who underwent primary isolated CABG in Sweden during 2003 through 2013 from the SWEDEHEART register, and the Swedish National Diabetes Register identified patients with DM1 or DM2. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for all-cause mortality in patients with DM1 or DM2 compared with no diabetes mellitus. Results: In total 36 035 patients underwent primary isolated CABG during the study period, of whom 628 (1.7%) had DM1, and 7544 (21%) had DM2. Patients with DM1 were younger (59 vs. 67 years), and had reduced kidney functi...


HfB2 and ZrB2 composites containing SiC are known to have good thermal shock and configurational stability at elevated temperatures. These are promising ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs) for use on the sharp leading edges of next generation space vehicles. Sharp leading edges on these vehicles will need to: withstand repeated exposures to temperatures > 2200 C in oxidizing environments; have good thermal shock and ablation resistance; and withstand the mechanical stress of launch and reentry. The HfB2/SiC composite is currently undergoing processing improvements in an effort to better the performance of a material that has been studied for approx. 35 years. The potential for HfB2/SiC composites to meet the requirements of hypersonic flight depends on controlling processing techniques. This presentation will focus on understanding processing steps now being undertaken to optimize the material properties of HfB2/SiC composites at NASA Ames Research Center. Correlation between processing techniques and microstructure will be shown. Preliminary oxidation studies will also be discussed.


A well-defined amphiphilic graft copolymer consisting of a hydrophilic poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) backbone and hydrophobic poly(lactic acid) side chains was synthesized by the combination of reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, ring open polymerization (ROP), and the grafting-from strategy. RAFT homopolymerization of an OH-containing tert-butyl 2-((4-hydroxy-butanoyloxy)methyl)acrylate (tBHBMA) monomer was first conducted to give a well-defined PtBHBMA homopolymer bearing pendant hydroxyls in every repeat unit. The pendant hydroxyls of PtBHBMA directly initiated the ROP of lactide without post-polymerization functionality transformation so as to provide a well-defined poly(tert-butyl acrylate)-g-poly(lactic acid) (PtBA-g-PLA) graft copolymer via the grafting-from strategy. The hydrophobic PtBA backbone was transformed into a hydrophilic PAA backbone to afford the target well-defined PAA-g-PLA amphiphilic graft copolymer (Mw/Mn = 1.17) containing equally-distributed carboxyls along the backbone. The PAA-g-PLA amphiphilic graft copolymer shows pH-responsive micellization behavior and it can self-assemble into non-toxic large compound micelles under certain conditions for loading methotrexate (MTX). The in vitro accumulative release characteristics of MTX-loaded micelles were investigated by UV/vis spectroscopy. In comparison with free MTX, the MTX-loaded nanoparticles display higher cytotoxicity against MG-63 in 24, 48 and 72 h.


Using the fuzzy clustering approach, this paper studies the problem of state identification of road traffic. Firstly, the traffic characteristics of road network are analyzed in fuzzy theory view. Then the basic steps of traffic state identification are designed based on the fuzzy clustering method. At last a demonstration is given founded on a throughway traffic data of China. The result shows that the fuzzy clustering approach is promising for the dynamic identification of road traffic state.


Under the condition of limited information on route, incomplete check, minimum maintenance and other characteristics, it will be that the concept of reliability estimate extended to real-time application of reliability. The single remaining life prediction method based on HOLT algorithm to solve dynamic use under the environment of residual life prediction problem. Case analysis results show that the method of forecasting precision can get the engineering application requirements, so it is effective and feasible.


Different types of deep-hole blasting techniques are needed to solve gas drainage problems in complex and variable cases. Blasting parameters suitable for mines are selected based on the relationship between blast stress field changes and gas flow combined with field application and numerical simulation. The Datong Mine was a background to study the blast crush zone and drainage influence range following deep-hole blasting with holes laid in coal seams, which resulted in a 24% increase in gas flow in the drainage hole 6 m from the blast hole. In response to the difficulty of forming blast holes in the soft coal seam of the Yuyang Mine, drilling and blasting in the floor rock stratum adjacent to the coal seam increased the gas flow in the drainage holes by 125%. When applying the deep-hole technique with holes crossing multi-seams for gas drainage in Shiping Mine, the volume of gas drainage increases significantly with increased effective stress in the drainage hole. For example, when the spacing at the hole's bottom between the blast hole and the drainage hole is 4.6 m, the volume of gas drainage increases by 3.3 times, compared with 8.8 m. Twenty-six protruding mines in southern China have applied the above deep-hole pre-splitting blasting technology, all of which have achieved good results and are of great significance to future applications in multiple fields, such as gas control.


The time-domain simulation of the flooding process of damaged warships is the only way to settle new challenges in the future,such as sinking time prediction of the damaged warships,available time prediction for rescue and selection of rescue measures.So far,research in China in damage stability hasn't involved the impact to the flooding process which bring by the air in cabins.Methods for time-domain simulation of the flooding process were explored in this paper.A large number of two-dimensional and three-dimensional models have been simulated in time-domain using Fluent.Impact to the flooding process from air in cabins was explored.What's more,corresponding discussion and exploration to changes of flooding velocity of the entrance was also presented.Conclusion can be drawn that simulation of the air in cabins must be taken into consideration in certain circumstances.A research program to reduce the computational domain has also been proposed.These will be meaningful to the selection of time-domain simulation methods of the flooding process of damaged warships.


This paper presents a multiobjective approach for a spatial-based zone design model to the division of a land surface into two or more pieces. The model employs multiobjective optimization technique and Geographic Information System (GIS) as its components. This paper defines the problem based on multiobjective because it considers relationship among objectives and it is much more realistic to solve a real-world spatial zoning problem. The multiobjective decision analysis has been used to approximate and handle the Pareto-optimal solution to get optimal solution set after this paper applies a heuristic method to generate nondominated alternatives. This paper also aggregates the decision-makers' preferences by allowing interactivity with decision-makers. The flow of the model and its implementation in the GIS environment is presented. The computation has resulted in improvements in spatial zoning.


Sketches of Yuewei Cottage is created by Ji Yun because of discontent with Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio.Ji Yun places the fact and the learning in the most important position in Sketches of Yuewei Cottage.Echoed with this,Sketches of Yuewei Cottage has also formed a unique effect in artistic technique.


Abstract The physical nature of (001) coincident-site lattice (CSL) twist grain boundaries in alkali-halide bicrystals has been investigated. For that purpose the energies and structures of such boundaries and of the free (001) surface are determined by means of a computer code developed in recent years. All the results for the alkali halides are found to be in complete qualitative agreement with earlier calculations for MgO and for the transition-metal oxides MnO, FeO, CoO and NiO in that (1) the grain-boundary energy versus misfit-angle curve shows no "cusps", and (2) larger twist angles result in larger volume expansions at the boundary. A quantitative comparison with the metal oxides shows two interesting differences, however. First, the alkali-halide bicrystals are substantially more stable; second, their volume increase at the boundary is significantly lower. Both phenomena are investigated in some detail by analysing the effect of the different contributions to the interionic pair potentials on the...


Purpose:To improve the understanding of concealed penis and to choose a proper surgical treatment to correct the disorder.Methods:According to different pathological change, 19 cases with concealed penis are classified into 3 types, fascia bands type, phimosis type, obesity type. Different surgical procedures are selected according to the calssification. It is mainly to relax the narrow prepuce ring for the phimosis type and penile dosal Y V plasty should be used for the cases of inadequate penile skin. Removed the dysgenic dartos fascia bands for the fascia bands type. For obesity type, the penile skin can be fixed to the lateral Buck's fascia at the base of the penis with removal of the excessive suprapublic fat. Results:All patients had an effective exposure of penis postoperatively. Conclusions:Giving the classification to the concealed penis will be able to further realize the disease and to select optimal surgical method.


The organization of the subcortical and cortical connections of the rat agranular insular cortex was examined. Retrogradely transported dyes were used to map the agranular insular cortex efferents to brainstem visceral nuclei (the nucleus of the solitary tract and the parabrachial nucleus), to gustatory‐visceral and limbic thalamic nuclei (medial ventrobasal and mediodorsal thalamus, respectively), and to association cortex (medial prefrontal and contralateral agranular insular cortex). The results revealed that a specific area within the ipsilateral agranular insular cortex projected to all of the subcortical and cortical areas listed above. This area of overlap in the agranular insular cortex stretched from the level of the genu of the corpus callosum rostrally to the crossing of the anterior commissure caudally.


Recent Kepler photometry has revealed that about half of white dwarfs (WDs) have periodic, low-level (∼10−4 − 10−3), optical variations. Hubble Space Telescope (HST) ultraviolet spectroscopy has shown that up to about one half of WDs are actively accreting rocky planetary debris, as evidenced by the presence of photospheric metal absorption lines. We have obtained HST ultraviolet spectra of seven WDs that have been monitored for periodic variations, to test the hypothesis that these two phenomena are causally connected, i.e. that the optical periodic modulation is caused by WD rotation coupled with an inhomogeneous surface distribution of accreted metals. We detect photospheric metals in four out of the seven WDs. However, we find no significant correspondence between the existence of optical periodic variability and the detection of photospheric ultraviolet absorption lines. Thus, the null hypothesis stands, that the two phenomena are not directly related. Some other source of WD surface inhomogeneity, perhaps related to magnetic field strength, combined with the WD rotation, or alternatively effects due to close binary companions, may be behind the observed optical modulation. We report the marginal detection of molecular hydrogen in WD J1949+4734, only the fourth known WD with detected H2 lines. We also re-classify J1926+4219 as a carbon-rich He-sdO subdwarf.


The special atmospheric environment accelerats the corrosion process of electrical connectors in southeast coastal areas. It causes the failure probability increased and the reliability level declined. This paper discussed the most kinds of electrical connector corrosions in southeast coastal areas. The corrosion characters of the metal material used on the electrical connectors are expounded, and environmental factors in the corrosion of electrical connectors are introduced at length.


Many interesting parameters in queue theory study either have not theoretical results or, existing, are mathematically intractable what makes their utility very scarce. In this case a possible issue is to use simulation methods in order to get more useful results. In this paper this procedure is followed to learn something more about quantities of interest for those infinite servers queue systems, in particular about busy period parameters and probability distributions. A fortran program to simulate the operation of infinite servers' queues is presented in this work. Poisson arrivals processes are considered but not only.


The 440 MPa HSLA steel was welded with gas metal arc welding(GMAW),and the microstructure of weld metals and the morphology of inclusions were analyzed with OM,TEM,SEM,and EBSD.The effects of shielding gas on the microstructure,impact toughness of the weld metals and the size,quantity,compositions of inclusions were investigated.The results show that impact toughness of weld metal is bad with 100% CO2 as shielding gas,and weld metals with good impact toughness can be obtained with 80% Ar+20%CO2 and 90% Ar+10%CO2(volume fraction) as shielding gas.The microstructure of weld metal of 100%CO2 GMAW is made up of ferrite and bainite,and that of both 20%CO2 GMAW and 10%CO2 GMAW are predominantly acicular ferrite with small areas of ferrite side plates.With the increasing of the proportion of CO2 in shielding gas,the amount and dimension of inclusions increase,and the compositions of its main ingredients change.For 440 MPa HSLA steel,welding with proper gas composition can produce welded joints with good properties.


Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex. Klotzch) cultivars vary widely in susceptibility to bract necrosis, a disorder that has been associated with localized calcium deficiency. When 'Supjibi Red' (SR) poinsettia shoots were grafted on 'SR' stocks, a higher incidence of bract necrosis was observed (26.4% of bracts) 28 days after initial anthesis than on corresponding 'SR' shoots grafted on 'Annette Hegg Dark Red' (AH) stocks (13.8% of bracts). 'AH' shoots developed few bract necrosis symptoms, regardless of rootstock. Calcium (Ca) concentrations were higher in whole bracts of'AH' than of 'SR', but were unaffected by rootstock. In a second study, 'SR' shoots were grafted on a double rootstock of one 'AH' and one 'SR' to determine if removing either rootstock, at the start of flower initiation or at anthesis, affected bract necrosis. At 28 days after initial anthesis, 'SR' scions on only 'AH' roots from the beginning of flower initiation, or on 'AH' roots from time of initial anthesis, had less bract necrosis (12.3% and 14.9%, respectively), than 'SR' scions grafted on only 'SR' roots from the onset of the study (24.2%). At harvest (36 days after anthesis), Ca concentrations in bract margin tissues were highest on 'SR' shoots grafted to 'SR' roots throughout the study [0.17% of dry mass (DM)], and lowest on shoots grafted to only 'AH' from the time of flower initiation (0.15% of DM) or from time of initial anthesis (0.14% of DM). There was no significant correlation between Ca concentrations in bract margin tissue and bract necrosis. A single spray of benzyladenine to bracts, after bract necrosis symptoms first began to appear (at initial anthesis), totally arrested the further development of bract necrosis for up to 34 days. Similar treatment with daminozide increased the incidence of bract necrosis. This evidence suggests a new concept of bract necrosis etiology that includes a role for endogenous hormones. Chemical names used: N,N,dimethylaminosuccinamie acid (daminozide), N 6 -benzylaminopurine (benzyladenine).


The present invention relates to a rotor portion of the rotor for a gas turbine (10), to a rotor blade (18) and one locking element (46,62). The rotor portion (10) includes a rotor disk (12), said rotor disc (12) having thereon inserted into the positioning groove (16) of the rotor blade (18), the rotor blade (18) provided at an end by means of side sealing member (30) prevented from moving along the positioning slot (16). In order to provide for the sealing element (30) fixed to the circumferential reliable, easy to design and simple structure, the present invention proposes that each sealing element (30) through a corresponding one locking element (46,62) fixing the locking elements (46,62) are engaged into the holes provided in the blade root (20) and a rotor provided at an end side (58).


The burnout syndrome is defined as an entity related to work stress, characterized by emotional fatigue, depersonalization in treating clients or patients, and difficulty to reach personal realization. Objective: to determine the presence of the "burnout" syndrome, depression, and other associated factors in medical student interns working at a public-specialized Hospital Escuela in Honduras. Method: We performed a cross-sectional study in 201 medical student interns (7th year medical students) doing their internship in the areas of Internal Medicine, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Pediatrics and General Surgery at the "Hospital Escuela", a public hospital managed by the Honduran Ministry of Health. After obtaining their consent, a structured instrument was used to determine the socio-demographic variables, lifestyle, use of alcohol and other substances, medical disability, length of internship, absence from work and work environment, which might impact their performance. Furthermore, we had them undertake the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Zung Self-Assessment Scale for Depression. Results: The overall prevalence of the burnout syndrome in medical student interns was 86.6%; depression was 24.4%. 60.3% of the burnout syndrome was observed in females and 39.7% in males. 75.1% had high emotional exhaustion, 60.2% presented signs of depersonalization, and 26.4% had a feeling of low personal accomplishments. Single medical student interns had a higher prevalence of depersonalization (64.2%) compared to those married (36.0%). In relation to lifestyles and burnout syndrome, a marginal protective effect was reported due to exercise, but an increased consumption of psychotropic substances was observed. Conclusions: This study reports a high prevalence of the burnout syndrome in medical student interns at the "Hospital Escuela", which is a serious health problem among the medical population associated with poor quality of life, poor performance and deterioration in the care of patients. Therefore, we recommend the establishment of sures for its prevention


Part of a trend beginning in the mid 1970s, many states became quite aggressive and competitive in providing public financing, tax incentives, and regulatory relief for those businesses considering location or relocation in the state. This article focuses on a particular redevelopment financing mechanism called Tax Increment Financing (TIF), and attempts to assess some of its political and financial consequences in various states. TIF is a state-authorized, locally implemented plan that helps finance public improvements associated with private development projects. Currently, Tax Increment Financing has been authorized in about 33 states, but many states have experienced political, legal, and fiscal controversies with its implementation.


Women entrepreneurs are considered here as a backbone of economic growth and development. This research is conducted to explain the role of microfinance banks in women's financial, socioeconomic, and political empowerment. The sample was gathered from the customers of microfinance banks operating in the specific areas of Sukkur, Pano Aqil, and Khairpur districts of Sindh province. Women perception about the microfinance bank was found to be positive as they give positive feedback about the banks. According to the findings, limited knowledge about business and financial matters make it highly challenging for women entrepreneurs to start and run business smoothly. However, most of the women are living separate with their husbands, and due to more children, women enjoy freedom of mobility.


The continuous box girder with variable width has been widely applied in the superstructure of modern viaducts. The stress states of the box girder with variable width are more complex compared to those of the box girder with the same width. In this study, both single beam and grillage models are established to analyze the continuous box girder with variable width. The results of models indicate that reaction forces from the grillage model are more accurate, compared with those from the single beam model. In addition, the grillage model can reflect complex spatial distribution of stress states of the superstructure and non-uniform internal forces of each web. It concludes that taking advantages of the grillage models, the grillage models are recommended to be used to accurately analyze and design the continuous box girder with variable width in the aspects of the arrangement of prestressed tendons, bearings selection and dimension of cross beams.


So far, research in Indonesia examines that the factors that influence creative accounting are the application of Good Corporate Governance, leverage, company size, and political connections, while research on the effect of other comprehensive income (OCI) as a result of the application of fair value accounting has not been widely carried out. This study finds evidence that aggregate OCI accumulation does not affect earnings management and income smoothing. However, testing on group OCI items that will be reclassified to net income has a negative effect. Asset realization commitment increases the negative effect of OCI on earnings management and income smoothing. Creative accounting through OCI can be done through a policy of delaying the realization time and or reducing the real amount of assets realized to get the net profit value according to the interests of management and the subjectivity of determining the fair value of assets and liabilities.


The purpose of this paper is twofold. Firstly I present an optimal regularity result for minimizers of a \begin{document}$ 1D $\end{document} convex functional involving the BV-norm, under Neumann boundary condition. This functional is a simplified version of models occuring in Image Processing. Secondly I investigate the existence of minimizers for the same functional under Dirichlet boundary condition. Surprisingly, this turns out to be a delicate issue, which is still widely open.


Breast cancer affects thousands of women across the world, every year. Methods to predict risk of breast cancer, or to stratify women in different risk levels, could help to achieve an early diagnosis, and consequently a reduction of mortality. This paper aims to review articles that extracted texture features from mammograms and used those features along with machine learning algorithms to assess breast cancer risk. Besides that, deep learning methodologies that aimed for the same goal were also reviewed. In this work, first, a brief introduction to breast cancer statistics and screening programs is presented; after that, research done in the field of breast cancer risk assessment are analyzed, in terms of both methodologies used and results obtained. Finally, considerations about the analyzed papers are conducted. The results of this review allow to conclude that both machine and deep learning methodologies provide promising results in the field of risk analysis, either in a stratification in risk groups, or in a prediction of a risk score. Although promising, future endeavors in this field should consider the possibility of the implementation of the methodology in clinical practice.


The aim of this work is to describe our Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) protocol for lung Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) together with the evaluation of the results from applying this protocol over a sample of 47 patients analyzed retrospectively.
Simulation time-resolved four-dimensional CT (4DCT) images are acquired taking into account the respiratory cycle of the patient. During the treatment, using VMAT technique, pre- and post- treatment Cone Beam Computer Tomography (CBCT), as well as intrafraction fluoroscopy whenever possible due to lesion position visualization, are performed to verify tumor amplitude motion and position.
Fluoroscopy image was acquired in 72% of patients analyzed, from which 71% verified the right position against 29% who needed to be reposition by using intrafraction CBCT at least in one fraction. Post-treatment CBCT systematic and random errors are below 1 mm, thereby protocol validation is accepted.
Fluoroscopy manages to verify tumor position accuracy depending on high contrast visualization. However, in comparison to intrafraction CBCT, it involves reducing treatment


At present day, generalized forms are rarely found in the structure of tuberculosis in children. A significant risk factor for the development of generalized lesions is prolonged contact with a tuberculosis patient. The diagnosis of a specific etiology is often complicated by the absence of pathognomonic symptoms. Immunodiagnostics, microbiological and molecular genetic research play an important role in the diagnosis of tuberculosis infection in children. The purpose of this study was to analyze the case of the development and diagnosis of generalized tuberculosis in a child of primary school age (7 years and 11 months) with lesions of the lungs, larynx, middle ear. The examination methods included immunological intradermal tests (Mantoux test, RTA test), in vitro test (QuantiFERON-TB), multispiral computed tomography, bronchoscopy and laboratory methods of examination. The manifestation of the disease occurred gradually with the occurrence of hypochromic anemia with a further increase in symptoms of intoxication. A comprehensive examination established a disseminated process in the lungs, larynx and middle ear lesions. Family tuberculosis contact was established when the disease was detected in a child. During the examination, the evaluation result of the Mantoux test showed an increase in sensitivity to tuberculin. The hyperergic result of the RTA test indicated the activity of MBT in the body. At the same time, the irregular conduct of immunodiagnostics using the Mantoux test, the monotony of the test did not allow timely measures to be taken in relation to the in-depth examination of the child for tuberculosis. The specific etiology of the disease was reliably confirmed by cultural and molecular genetic research methods. The child was diagnosed with generalized tuberculosis, disseminated pulmonary tuberculosis in the infiltration phase, MBT (+) with drug resistance to isoniazid, streptomycin, paraaminosalicylic acid, tuberculosis of the larynx and vocal apparatus, PCR (+) with drug resistance to isoniazid, tuberculous right-sided otitis media, MBT (+) with drug resistance to isoniazid, streptomycin, paraaminosalicylic acid. The presented clinical case indicates the need for timely detection of tuberculosis contacts, regular immunodiagnostics, and compliance with phthisiological alertness of doctors of all specialties in relation to children with long-lasting symptoms of various diseases. The complete physical examination using an intradermal RTA test (Diaskintest), microbiological and molecular genetic research methods allows to establish the tuberculous etiology of the lesion.