Purpose – To investigate and portray the nature and use of formal strategic planning in the Greek ocean shipping industry.Design/methodology/approach – Studies carried out in well‐developed industrialised countries, predominantly in the manufacturing sector, have contributed significantly to a better understanding and development of the strategic planning field. Nevertheless, there is lack of research based on countries and sectors/industries that are less conventional in nature. The study attempts to shed some light on how shipping management companies (SMC) carried out strategic planning, through a cross‐sectional study based on a random sample of 34 Greek shipping organisations.Findings – The main findings of the study concern the main planning dimensions: planning completeness, formality, internal and external orientation, CEO's involvement, planning horizons and revision frequencies.Research limitations/implications – The study provides a benchmark for the measurement of the development of strategic ...


Objective: To advance the great-leap-forward development of post-doctor's research work.,impel post-doctor's work to take the sustainable development path. Methods: Through the summary of the successful experience of the scientific research management over the past five years,the post-doctor's work station has explored the new mode with which combining the trade and the whole society scientific research resource,possessional and vertical management combining together,developing with rolling type. Results: explain the new thinking of high-level personnel training and the greatleap-forward development of post-doctor work through the retrospecting and analysis of the post-doctor's work. Conclusion: The work of post-doctor emphsizes on development and innovation.


IntroductionIn regional Australia and New Zealand, museums and art galleries are increasingly becoming primary sites of cultural engagement. They are one of the key tourist attractions for regional towns and expected to generate much needed tourism revenue. In 2017 in New South Wales alone, there were three million visitors to regional galleries and museums (MGNSW 13). However, apart from those (partially) funded by local councils, they are often run on donations, good will, and the enthusiasm of volunteers. Regional museums and galleries provide some paid, and more unpaid, employment for ageing populations. While two-thirds of Australia's population lives in capital cities, the remainder who live in regional towns are likely to be in the 60+ age cohort because people are choosing to retire away from the bustling, growing cities (ABS). At last count, there were about 3000 museums and galleries in Australia with about 80% of them located in regional areas (Scott). Over the last 40 years, this figure has tripled from the 1000 regional and provincial museums estimated by Peter Piggott in his 1975 report (24). According to a 2014 survey (Shaw and Davidson), New Zealand has about 470 museums and galleries and about 70% are located outside capital cities. The vast majority, 85%, have less than five, full-time paid staff, and more than half of these were run entirely by ageing volunteers. They are entrusted with managing the vast majority of the history and heritage collections of Australia and New Zealand. These ageing volunteers need a diverse range of skills and experience to care for and interpret collections. How do you find the time and budget for professional development for both paid staff and volunteers? Many professional development events are held in capital cities, which are often a significant distance from the regional museum—this adds substantially to the costs of attending and the time commitment required to get there. In addition, it is not uncommon for people working in regional museums to be responsible for everything—from security, collection management, conservation, research, interpretation and public programs to changing the light bulbs. While there are a large number of resources available online, following a manual is often more difficult than learning from other colleagues or learning in a more formal educational or vocational environment where you can receive timely feedback on your work. Further, a foundational level of prior knowledge and experience is often required to follow written instructions. This article will suggest some strategies for low cost professional development and networking. It involves planning, thinking strategically and forming partnerships with others in the region. It is time to harness the power of modern communications technology and use it as a tool for professional development. Some models of professional development in regional areas that have been implemented in the past will also be reviewed. The focus for this article is on training and professional development for workers in regional museums, heritage sites and keeping places. Regional art galleries have not been included because they tend to have separate regional networks and training opportunities. For example, there are professional development opportunities provided through the Art Galleries Association of Australia and their state branches. Regional galleries are also far more likely to have one or more paid staff members (Winkworth, "Fixing the Slums" 2). Regional Museums, Volunteers, and Social CapitalIt is widely accepted that regional museums and galleries enhance social capital and reduce social isolation (Kelly 32; Burton and Griffin 328). However, while working in a regional museum or gallery can help to build friendship networks, it can also be professionally isolating. How do you benchmark what you do against other places if you are two or more hours drive from those places? How do you learn from other colleagues if all your colleagues are also isolated by the 'tyranny of distance' and struggling with the same lack of access to training? In 2017 in New South Wales alone, there were 8,629 active volunteers working in regional museums and galleries giving almost five million hours, which Museums and Galleries NSW calculated was worth over $150 million per annum in unpaid labour (MGNSW 1). Providing training and professional development to this group is an investment in Australia's social and cultural capital.Unlike other community-run groups, the museums and heritage places which have emerged in regional Australia and New Zealand are not part of a national or state branch network. Volunteers who work for the Red Cross, Scouts or Landcare benefit from being part of a national organisation which provides funding, support workers, a website, governance structure, marketing, political advocacy and training (Winkworth, "Let a Thousand Flowers" 11). In Australia and New Zealand, this role is undertaken by the Australian Museums and Galleries Association AMaGA (formerly Museums Australia) and Museums Aotearoa respectively. However, both of these groups operate at the macro policy level, for example organising annual conferences, publishing a journal and developing Indigenous policy frameworks, rather than the local, practical level. In 1995, due to their advocacy work, Landcare Australia received $500 million over five years from the federal government to fund 5000 Landcare groups, which are run by 120,000 volunteers (Oppenheimer 177). They argued successfully that the sustainable development of land resources started at the local level. What do we need to do to convince government of the need for sustainable development of our local and regional museum and heritage resources?Training for Volunteers Working in Regional Museums: The Current SituationAnother barrier to training for regional museum workers is the assumption that the 70:20:10 model of professional development should apply. That is, 70% of one's professional development is done 'on the job' by completing tasks and problem-solving; 20% is achieved by learning from mentors, coaches and role models and 10% is learnt from attending conferences and symposia and enrolling in formal courses of study. However, this model pre-supposes that there are people in your workplace whom you can learn from and who can show you how to complete a task, and that you are not destroying or damaging a precious, unique object if you happen to make a mistake.Some museum volunteers come with skills in research, marketing, administration, customer service or photography, but very few come with specific museum skills like writing exhibition text, registering an acquisition or conserving artefacts. These skills need to be taught. As Kylie Winkworth has written, museum management now requires a [...] skills set, which is not so readily found in small communities, and which in many ways is less rewarding for the available volunteers, who may have left school at 15. We do not expect volunteer librarians to catalogue books, which are in any case of low intrinsic value, but we still expect volunteers in their 70s and 80s to catalogue irreplaceable heritage collections and meet ever more onerous museum standards. That so many volunteers manage to do this is extraordinary. ("Let a Thousand Flowers" 13)Workers in regional museums are constantly required to step outside their comfort zones and learn new skills with minimal professional support. While these challenging experiences can be very rewarding, they are also potentially damaging for our irreplaceable material cultural heritage.Training for museum professionals has been on the agenda of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) since 1947 (Boylan 62). However, until 1996, their work focused on recommending curricula for new museum professionals and did not include life-long learning and on-going professional development. ICOM's International Committee for the Training of Personnel (ICTOP) and the ICOM Executive has responded to this in their new curricula—ICOM Curricula Guidelines for Professional Museum Development, but this does not address the difficulties staff or volunteers working in regional areas face in accessing training.In some parts of Australia, there are regional support and professional development programs in place. For example, in Queensland, there is the Museum Development Officer (MDO) network. However, because of the geographic size of the state and the spread of the museums, these five regionally based staff often have 60-80 museums or keeping places in their region needing support and so their time and expertise is spread very thinly. It is also predominantly a fee-for-service arrangement. That is, the museums have to pay for the MDO to come and deliver training. Usually this is done by the MDO working with a local museum to apply for a Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) grant. In Victoria there is a roving curator program where eligible regional museums can apply to have a professional curator come and work with them for a few days to help the volunteers curate exhibitions. The roving curator can also provide advice on "develop[ing] high quality exhibitions for diverse audiences" via email, telephone and networking events. Tasmania operates a similar scheme but their two roving curators are available for up to 25 days of work each year with eligible museums, provided the local council makes a financial contribution. The New South Wales government supports the museum advisor program through which a museum professional will come to your museum for up to 20 days/year to give advice and hands-on training—provided your local council pays $7000, an amount that is matched by the state government—for this service. In 2010, in response to recommendations in the Dunn Report (2007), the Collections Council of Australia (CCA) established a pilot project with the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in Western Aust


This chapter provides proven methods for the routine immunologic monitoring of the cellular immune status of patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Since a majority of immunologic assays are performed with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), procedures for the isolation and cryopreservation of PBMCs are also discussed in the chapter. The section describing each procedure is prefaced with an explanation of the rationale behind the described assay, quality control measures necessary for standardization of testing, and practical advice on pitfalls to avoid. When monitoring the immunologic status of patients with HIV infection, isolation of lymphoid cells is often required for performing several immunologic procedures, such as lymphocyte immunophenotyping and measurement of lymphocyte function. Three- and four-color panels of monoclonal antibodies that may be used for the basic monitoring of patients with AIDS have also been discussed. In summary, immunophenotyping of patients with HIV infection can provide the most clinically relevant information as to the immunologic status of these patients.


American Indians in the Lower Mississippi Valley: Social and Economic Histories. Daniel H. Usner Jr. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998. vii +189 pp., plates, maps, tables, notes, index.


The Fascist International Although anyone who knows the proverbial "corridors of power," knows that in political life hardly anything happens without unwritten deals over common purposes, plans, and methods, and although it is also understandable that certain persons have more influence than others, yet often a great scream arises as soon as you note that there is a "stringpuller" behind certain events. Just because the Nazis brought the racist bogeyman of a "Jewish conspiracy" onto the scene, doesn't mean that it can be generally denied that there are conspiracies. Yes, you can go so far as to say that nothing significant happens—good as well as evil—without a conspiracy standing behind it—that is, a purposeful plan has been carried out. For that, you don't need to put forward any shaky hypotheses. The oligarchical elite is sometimes so arrogant that it itself describes this conspiracy. Thus the Jesuit Carroll Quigley wrote in his book Tragedy and Hope, in which he disclosed much amazingly accurate material about the ominous intent of monetarist oligarchical circles, that such publicity could hardly harm their goals, because this grouping has taken power so thoroughly that any resistance against it would be senseless. Marilyn Ferguson in The Aquarian Conspiracy expresses almost exactly the same thing, as does H.G. Wells, who speaks of an "open conspiracy." One of the most remarkable books in this respect is the already cited book by Armin Mohler, Conservative Revolution. Not only because he had the boldness to "reawaken" fascist thought as early as 1950, but also because it throws some light on the corporate policy of the Siemens Company. If you consider that Peter von Siemens belonged to the Anthroposophs, and Armin Mohler, as chairman of the Siemens Foundation, is a prophet of the "Conservative Revolution," then there's no reason to wonder at the dubious role the Siemens family is playing against technological progress, especially in the area of nuclear energy. Mohler leaves no doubt in this book—a barely revised dissertation published by Karl Jaspers in 1949—of what he speaks: "Conservative revolution" is a synonym for what is


According to past experience, the nearly stagnant conditions caused by the presumed equilibrium between the Saronikos Gulf sea breeze and an opposing synoptic flow is identified as the principal mechanism leading to high pollution episodes in Athens during the summer. Previous experimental work could not answer several questions related to air mass flow over the "transitional" areas of the Athens Basin such as the offshore, the coastal regions and the natural openings. In this context, recent experimental work focuses on the inland propagation of the southerly sea breeze from the coast to the northern part of the basin mainly under moderate northerly background winds. An experimental campaign was designed to cover the basic key-locations revealing the wind flow over the Athens Basin. With the aid of a network of meteorological stations, two tethered balloons and a high range acoustic sounder operated over a two months summer period it is attempted to address some features of the wind flow over the Athens Basin. Results from this experimental campaign are presented and discussed.


Clear cell odontogenic carcinoma (CCOC) is a rare tumor occurring predominantly in posterior mandible during 5-7 decade with a female preponderance, potentially aggressive tumor capable of frequent recurrence and loco regional spread and distant metastasis. Till date around 75 cases have been reported in literature. In this paper, we report case of a 60-year-old male with CCOC in maxilla extending from distal surface of the right maxillary canine to retromolar area and involving maxillary sinus with no association with impacted teeth. The diagnosis was confirmed by aspiration cytology and histologically, the tumor was composed of sheets of epithelial cells, with areas of clear cell changes. The presence of clear cells in the histological sections, accounts for the aggressive nature of the tumor simulating the clinical appearance. Prevention of recurrence can be achieved by radical resection.


One of the problems besetting discussions of sex within the academy is that they are so decidedly 'unsexy'. Those fascinating things that lie at the limits of bodily experience, intimacy, ecstasy and danger are effectively made safe for intellectual consumption through mechanisms of theoretical distancing. So effective is this strategy that it can become almost impossible to discern the connection between debates about the discursively constructed sexual body and what people do in bed (or elsewhere). Novice students thumbing through the pages of the numerous volumes of works on gender performance, heteronormativity, queer theory and so on, in search of the 'rude bits' would, most likely, be sadly disappointed with what they found. If the displacement of the body into theory is almost complete within academic discourse what about the theological debates that take place on the subject of sex within the Church? Here a parallel problem is encountered—which produces very similar results. Sex is not abstracted but rather idealized. An increasingly common theological assumption is made that our human sexual activities are merely symbolic representations of a deeper sacred reality. It is assumed that relations within the Trinity or between Christ and the Church are of the utmost significance and when sex takes place between people it must be judged in conformity with the essential norms these divine relations are taken to represent. Once again sex, as a significant human practice, disappears to be replaced by considerations of idealized spiritual relations taking place on a higher level. These double processes of deferral raise particular dilemmas for a journal such as Theology and Sexuality. We recognize that if proper recognition is not given to theory then it becomes difficult to engage with Theology & Sexuality


Many offshore oil and gas platforms around the globe are reaching their end-of-life and will require decommissioning in the next few decades. Knowledge on the ecology of offshore platforms and their ecological role within a regional context in Australia is limited and the subsequent consequences of decommissioning remain poorly understood. Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) video is often collected during standard industry operations and may provide insight into the marine life associating with offshore platforms; however, the utility of this video for scientific purposes remains unclear. We propose a standardised method of analysing this large database of archival ROV footage with specific interest in analysing the vertical distribution of fish species. Baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVS) are a widely used tool for studying marine faunal communities, and we demonstrate the value of BRUVS for understanding the regional ecology around offshore platforms. A combination of BRUVS and ROV data can be used to determine the relative ecological value of offshore platforms within a regional context. The Wandoo oil platform on Australia's North West Shelf was used as a case study to test these proposed methods by assessing demersal and pelagic fish populations both on and around the Wandoo platform and various natural habitats in the region.


While makeup was considered decadent only 40 years ago, China has becomethe eighth largest cosmetics consumer in the world. Foreign companies areinvesting in the market amidst fierce competition, willing to cash in on thisrenewed obsession with beauty in a country where there are "more lipsthan all of America and Europe combined."


Because the stratified levels in schools and school systems bear widely accepted symbolic statuses, students' positions in the hierarchy may influence the pattern of their educational careers, independently of their scholastic achievement. This article measures the effects of the rank of students' reading groups in first grade and their first-grade achievement on assignment to a reading group at the beginning of second grade. Two patterns are discovered: one in which students' reading-group levels in second grade depend on their first-grade positions, and a second in which achievement appears to be the criterion used for placement. However, examination of the composition of first- and second-grade reading groups reveals that in both cases, teachers attempt to reduce the heterogeneity of low- and middle-reading groups between first and second grade.


To evaluate the "marginalization thesis" which posits that marginalized populations are more likely to engage in the undeclared economy, a 2013 Eurobarometer survey of six South-East European countries is analysed. Finding that some marginalized populations (e.g., those having difficulties paying household bills, the unemployed, younger people) are significantly more likely to participate in undeclared work, but others are not (e.g., poorer nations, women, those with fewer years in formal education, those living in rural areas), the outcome is a call for a more variegated and nuanced understanding of the marginalization thesis. The paper then discusses the theoretical and policy implications.


LBL-11143 CT,.ti\ - A'H\'LH S^ [ E l Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory • C a UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY EARTH SCIENCES DIVISION Presented at the Third International Symposium on the Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management, Boston, MA, November 17-20, 1980; and to be published in the Proceedings, Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management, Volume 3. New York: Plenum Publishing Corporation. BACKFILL BARRIERS: THE USE OF ENGINEERED BARRIERS BASED ON GEOLOGIC MATERIALS TO ASSURE ISOLATION OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN A REPOSITORY John A. Apps and Neville G.W. Cook June IMS® Ji3*% Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract W-7405-ENG-48 C! r.-.:ir.w O THIS OOGUMUT IS F mzsm


Mammography may be a "gold standard" for breast cancer screening, but for some women, its interpretation amounts to little more than a coin flip. In women with dense breasts, which contain more stromal and epithelial tissues than fat, interpretation of mammograms is difficult. Among these women, tumor detection rates with mammography barely exceed 60%. Both tumors and breast tissues appear white on a mammogram, but fat looks black. Clinicians can easily detect cancerous lesions against the darker fat backdrop, whereas dense tissues obscure tumors that could be life threatening.

Now researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., say that a different screening method—molecular breast imaging (MBI)—may offer a promising alternative for women with dense breasts, who make up much of the female population. Deborah Rhodes, M.D., an assistant professor at the Mayo Clinic, said roughly a quarter of all women older than 40 years have breast tissue that is more than 50% mammographically dense.

Compared with mammography, she said, MBI detected three times as many cancers among a population of 940 dense-breasted women who also had at least one additional breast cancer risk factor, such as a family history of the disease. These preliminary findings, announced in September at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's 2008 Breast Cancer Symposium in Washington, D.C., came from an ongoing, comparative study of MBI and mammography that was launched at the Mayo Clinic in 2005. "We're talking about a supplement to mammography that could be readily adopted by communities, instead of just major academic institutions," said Rhodes, who is also the study's principal investigator. "While [mammography is] terrific for some women, it doesn't work well for others. For them, we need a better test, and that's what MBI could provide."


Chromium complexes bearing non-innocent iminopyridine ligands were investigated as precatalysts for the polymerization of ethylene using different aluminum cocatalysts and Lewis base NEt3 as additi...


PITHAPF(Parallel Inductor Type Hybrid Active Power Filter) has an additional inductor connecting in parallel with its coupling transformer to provide the path for fundamental reactive current.As its active part does not bear the fundamental voltage,PITHAPF is more suitable for the dynamic harmonic suppression of high-voltage system and the large capacity reactive compensation.Its composite control strategy is analyzed,and the influencing factor of load harmonic current and the influencing factor of grid harmonic voltage are defined.The simulative and experimental results confirm that,PITHAPF has excellent performance in harmonic compensation and resonant inhibition when the control parameter of grid-side harmonic current is a negative imaginary number and the control parameter of load-side harmonic current is 1.


This paper deals with a fault detection method taking model uncertainties described by bounded variables into account. This problem is treated as an interval Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) whose relations depend on both sought unknown variables and on uncertain model parameters belonging to interval supports. A set-membership inversion method is used for solving this interval CSP. An analysis on used existential and universal quantificators is provided and an example shows that the proposed approach is also suited to a large variety of problems handled in Automatic Control.


The thesis is focused on treatment and the composition of exhaust gases from the engine using a catalyst material and teaching aids closed loop, including the exhaust system Skoda Fabia 1.4 16V (55 kW). In the first part focuses on motor fuels, whether their composition, formation and combustion. In the following sections focus on the composition of exhaust gases and the properties of harmful substances generated by the combustion of fuel in connection with excess air coefficient, the development of emission regulations EHK and distribution of EU standards. Furthermore, comparing the measured emission rates for engine Skoda Fabia 1.4 16V meeting Euro 4 and 1.2 TSI with Euro 5 In the final stage, we come to modify the composition of exhaust gases using a catalytic converter and lambda probe, and consequently their structures.


Several current typical routing protocols of WSN are studied.The protocols are divided into six classes: the traditional ones,the ones based on the data center,on the geographic position,and on the service quality,the monolayer and the multi-layer ones.Meanwhile to analyse the advantages and disadvantags,describe the characteristics and at the end compare the functions of each protocols.


We report a case of lung bulla herniation occurring two years after a tube thoracostomy application due to pneumothorax. A new bulla can develop or a pre-existing bulla can herniate through a weak part of thoracic wall, a tube thoracostomy site as in our case. Diagnostic and radiological features of this uncommon case are described.


Objectives: Medial ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (UCLR) is a common procedure performed for Major League Baseball (MLB) pitchers. The etiology of UCL injury is complex and not entirely understood. The purpose of this study was to use publically available pitch tracking technology (PITCHf/x) to compare the pre-injury throwing mechanics of MLB pitchers who require UCL reconstructive surgery with those of pitchers who have never undergone UCL reconstruction. Methods: Pitch tracking and demographic data on MLB pitchers who had undergone UCL reconstruction between the 2010 and 2017 seasons was gathered. Pitchers were excluded if they did not throw 100 total pitches in each of the three years prior to surgery. Furthermore, only pitch types that a given pitcher utilized more than 25 times in each of the three years prior to surgery were included for individual analysis. Pitch type, release location, and velocity were compared between the UCL reconstructive surgery cohort and a matched-control cohort. Results: The average pitch release location for pitchers who required UCL reconstruction was more lateral in the two years immediately preceding surgery than the control cohort (p=0.001 and p=0.023). Furthermore, a time-based comparison between the year immediately preceding surgery and two years prior showed a more lateral release immediately prior to surgery (p=0.036). Pitchers who required UCL reconstruction throw similar rates of fastballs as the control cohort and the average pitch velocity and fastball velocity were similar between the UCL group and the control group. The control pitchers displayed a significant decrease in average pitch velocity (p=0.005) and average fastball velocity (p=0.012) over the period of the study. Conclusion: Pitch tracking indicates pitch selection and pitch velocity are similar before that the average release point is more lateral preceding UCL reconstruction as compared to the control cohort suggesting that pitch release location might be an independent risk factor for UCL injury and reconstruction. On the other hand, pitch selection and pitch velocity are similar between these cohorts. Powerful technology including PITCHf/x allows for accurate monitoring of factors such as arm position and could potentially be used to identify pitchers at risk for UCL rupture. Figure 1 Average pitch release location with error bars for standard eror of the mean. Location is measured as feet from the center of the mound, and left-handed pitchers are normalized to the right handed pitcher. UCL pitchers (dark grey) have a significantly more lateral and lower release locations in Year I (the year immediately prior to surgery) than did the control group (light grey). Furthrmore, the release location of UCL pitchers is more lateral in the Year I than in Year III.


This work is focussed on the investigation of surface enhanced infrared ab- sorption (SEIRA) of adsorbates on wet chemically prepared Au nanoparticle (AuNP) films. Optical properties of AuNP films were investigated with VIS spectroscopy; it was shown, that it is possible to describe these properties with effective media theories. The SEIRA activity was analysed by FTIR spectroscopy of adsorbates on AuNP films and comparison of the spectra with other FTIR spectra of the same adsorbate on a smooth SEIRA inactive Au film. A SEIRA factor of 26 was found for a film of discrete spherical AuNP, while in case of grown AuNP films a SEIRA enhancement of up to three or- ders of magnitude was achieved. The AuNP film morphology was characterized with scanning force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. SEIRA ac- tive AuNP films were used as optical sensors for the ex-situ measurement of specific antibody-antigen coupling and the in-situ measurement of adsorbates (octadecanethiol, DNA) during the adsorption process.


Communication and collaboration skills are very important for Software Engineering practitioners. The practitioner who possesses these skills, as well as solid technical knowledge, will possibly perform his activities in a more efficient way. Generally, people acquire these skills through experience. However what can happen when we emphasize training this kind of skills during Software Engineering courses? Practitioners might get better prepared to the market expectations in lesser time, which could reduce training costs in the industry. In this paper we present an observational study aiming to allow a better understanding on how can communication and collaboration skills be improved by using Distributed Software Development (DSD). In the literature, we found previous researches that indicate a relationship between DSD and the improvement of skills. We use these researches as basis for our study. After a qualitative analysis of the data, we identified that, in the context of our experiment, the use of DSD in classroom accelerated the adoption of communication and collaboration practices and it can improve these skills.


Background: Regional anesthesia is the preferred technique for most of lower abdominal and lower limb surgeries as it allows the patient to remain awake and minimize the problems associated with airway management. Hyperbaric bupivacaine 0.5%, although extensively used for spinal anesthesia, has a limitation of short duration. The addition of fentanyl, a synthetic lipophilic opioid, is known to prolong postoperative analgesia. Aims: We aimed to study the effect of the addition of different doses of fentanyl to hyperbaric bupivacaine about hemodynamic changes, the extent of sensory and motor block, duration of analgesia, and complications that occur during the procedure. Settings and Design: This study was a prospective, comparative, randomized, and double-blind study. Materials and Methods: Patients were randomly allocated to three groups of 30 each. Group I (n [number of patients] = 30) received bupivacaine 0.5% heavy 2.0 mL diluted up to 2.5 mL with normal saline. Group II (n = 30) received bupivacaine 0.5% heavy 2.0 mL and fentanyl 20 μg diluted up to 2.5 mL with normal saline, and Group III (n = 30) received bupivacaine 0.5% heavy 2.0 mL and fentanyl 50 μg diluted up to 2.5 mL with normal saline. Statistical Analysis: The data were analyzed using Chi-square and Student's t-test. Results and Conclusions: The onset of sensory and motor block was early in Group III in comparison to Group I and Group II (P < 0.05). The duration of analgesia was significantly longer in Group III, followed by Group II, and least in Group I. None of the patients in Groups I and II had any complications such as hypotension, nausea, vomiting, bradycardia, and pruritus. However, the incidence of hypotension, nausea, and pruritus was more in Group III. 2 mg intrathecal bupivacaine with 20 μg fentanyl provides reliable and satisfactory sensory and motor block without increasing the incidence of side effects.


Ever y chil d i s bor n wit h creativ e potential , bu t this potential ma y b e stifle d i f car e i s no t take n t o nurture and stimulate creativit y . Creativity is the ability to see thing s i n a ne w an d unusua l sight , t o se e problems that n o on e els e ma y eve n realiz e exist , an d then com e u p wit h ne w , unusual , an d effectiv e solution s to thes e problems . Childre n lik e t o tr y ou t differen t ways, experimen t wit h differen t materials , an d se e wha t they ca n d o creativel y . Findin g differen t way s t o exspressing themselve s physicall y satisfie s th e urg e fo r creative action. Bu t i t mus t b e thei r ways , thei r ides , an d their accomplishment. Physica l educatio n give s children opportunit y fo r explorator y an d creativ e activit y . Childre n nee d a n opportunit y t o tra y ou t thei r ow n ideas, solv e som e o f thei r ow n movemen t problem s an d bring fort h movemen t o f thei r ow n origin . T eacher s nee d to take advantage of this drive by providing opportunity fo r th e chil d t o com e u p wit h hi s ow n movemen t ideas. Kat a kunc i : Kreatifitas , pembelajara n pendidikan jasmani


Security in Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) or Internet of Things has become a hot research topic due to their wide deployment and the increasing new runtime attacks they are facing. Thereby, applications are unaware of what security mechanisms are as well as dynamic changing attacks. Accordingly, the concept that must cope with this new security challenge has to satisfy an overall performance such as power consumption, being actually a key issue for internet of things. This objective is completely compatible with green computing (Green 1.0). This research investigates methods mainly based on autonomic computing and adaption security to build a framework capable of determining appropriate security means for a highly dynamic wireless network with respect to contextaware, self-management, self-optimization and self-protection paradigms of autonomic system. Trust computing was the means used to mitigate the influence of attackers. Extensive simulations using agent based approach have been also conducted for a case study of pollution detection in Geneva city in concordance with Green 2.0. We have proved the performance of the framework in the case of mobile sensor network in the presence of different mobile attacks. The results clearly show that SARM is efficient in terms of survivability, overall network utilization and power consumption. Keywords-Security adaptation; Autonomic; Trust; Green IT


The debate on the failure of the efforts to avert the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 is dominated by two narratives presented as mutually exclusive. On the one hand, 'hawks' chastise the West for failing to forcefully confront Russian adventurism earlier. On the other hand, 'realists' criticise the West's overreach in efforts to incorporate Ukraine into the Western structures. Both views implicitly contend that there was only one way to prevent the war. This paper argues that those positions are, in fact, not incompatible and failure to prevent war lies in the habitual mismatch between strategic goals and resources, implicitly recognised by both sides of the debate. Ambitious goals and meagre resources constituted a middle-of-the-road compromise, inadvertently increasing the risk of the war by encouraging Russia to take the opportunity to challenge the West's weakly backed ambitions. In an attempt to draw some tentative lessons, the paper concludes by exploring some hypotheses on why such mismatches between goals and resources occur and persist.


The house mouse is probably the most widespread invasive mammalian species, being ubiquitous worldwide. In commensal situations, they are known mainly for property damage, for consumption and contamination of stored foods, as a noise/sanitation/odor nuisance, and as a vector of some diseases. In some field settings, they also cause considerable damage to field crops and to natural resources, such as when introduced to islands. We rely heavily upon sanitation, rodent-proofing, capture devices, and rodenticides to control populations and reduce damage. However, a number of situations exist whereby these traditional methods are not adequate or appropriate: crop damage during "mouse plagues" in Australia, livestock feed consumption and contamination and disease hazards in poultry and animal facilities in the U.S., and natural resource damage on small islands. In this review, challenges and some potential solutions to house mouse management are presented, including genetic resistance to anticoagulants, the effectiveness of baits given abundant food resources, the re-invasion problem and need for perimeter strategies, efforts with fertility control, and the need for effective multi-capture trap devices. In difficult situations, an IPM strategy that incorporates a combination of methods closely integrated with land uses and management practices is necessary.


Dance-names and bawdy in the English Renaissance namelessness in English Renaissance drama nominal jests in Shakespeare's plays place-names in Shakespeare's grand design for the "Henry VI" plays the power of the name "Essex" in "3 Henry VI" Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Montague? toward an organic approach to onomastics in Shakespeare's drama unity of theme in "Volpone" names in English Renaissance graffiti names in English Renaissance graffiti as they appear in literature a romance of names - the letter-book of Dr. Gabriel Harvey self-naming and self-defining in subscriptions to familiar letters in the English Renaissance the poetics and politics of naming - the case of Sir Walter Raleigh and his queen women's names in the English Renaissance elegy humanism and onomastics in the English Renaissance the idea of the wilderness in the English Renaissance nominal analogy in the English Renaissance nominal jesting in the English Renaissance.


This study aims to examine the effect of company size, leverage, and profitability on social responsibility disclosure in manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) 2014-2016. The sample used in this study is manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange ( IDX) based on predetermined criteria. The sampling method used was purposive sampling and 153 data were selected as samples, and hypothesis testing in this study using multiple regression analysis. The results of this study indicate that the independent variable company size and leverage partially have a significant effect, but the independent variable partially profitability does not have a significant effect on social responsibility disclosure. And the test results of the coefficient of determination show a number of 0.103, this indicates that simultaneously the independent variables of company size, leverage, and profitability are able to explain the dependent variable social responsibility disclosure as much as 10.3%, while the remaining 89.7% is explained by other variables.


This article explores the relationship between the concept of 'security' and intellectual property. Security today encompasses traditional state-centric, military concerns (such as prevention of external aggression) to 'human security' concerns, which places individuals rather than states as the main objects in need of security. The intellectual property system, consisting of copyright and related rights and industrial property, seeks to encourage creativity and inventiveness, which are necessary components of the economic, cultural and technological well-being of countries. This preliminary examination reveals that national security concerns and questions of 'ordre public' have permeated international intellectual property treaties since the late nineteenth century. In today's context of international struggle against wanton terrorism (and possibly nuclear terrorism), of geo-economic competition among countries and of the struggle to become free from the shackles of poverty, intellectual property has emerged as a critical factor for individual, national and international security. This paper examines the relationship between security and particular aspects of intellectual property – patents, patent information and trade secrets.


To support the real-time transport protocol (RTP) over wireless networks is essential for transporting real-time data streams. However, the RTP introduces significant header overheads, which cannot be adequately employed in wireless networks. An enhanced compressed RTP (ECRTP) with mobility support for wireless networks is presented, which is based on the, compressed RTP (CRTP). The ECRTP uses the local-link retransmission mechanism to recover transmission errors over wireless links. The simulation results show that ECRTP consumes insignificant network bandwidth and maximizes successfully received packets compared with RTP and CRTP in an error-prone and bandwidth limited wireless network. Consequently, the playback quality of real-time data streams is improved for wireless networks.


As per the census of 2011 the tribal population consists of 8.6% while it was 8.2% according to the census of 2001 in India. This paper addresses the socio-economic status of Tharu tribes in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh. The socio economic status is an important determinant of health, nutritional status, mortality and morbidity of an individual. Socio Economic Status also influences the accessibility, affordability, acceptability and actual utilization of available health facilities. To classify the socio-economic status of the respondents, Uday Pareek and Trivedi scale has been adopted with subject to preliminary test and slight modification as per the need of the study. Measuring the socio-economic conditions of Tharu tribes from Uday Pareek and Trivedi scale, it can be concluded that all the Tharu tribes belong to four categories viz: Upper Middle Class, Middle Class, Lower Middle Class and Lower Class. 0.28% respondent belonged to upper middle class, 5.33% were middle class, 75.56% belonged to lower middle class and 18.83% to lower class. The findings can be beneficial for implementing projects that can help in improving their situation of backwardness.


The ecological environment promotes the construction of smart grids, while the smart substation is the key to the construction of smart grids. Based on the supervision of the Zigui 220 KV smart substation project in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region of China, this paper studies how to well create the supervision for the smart substation project construction. With the research focus of "four-control, two-management and one-coordination" in the supervision and according to the problems and experience in the project construction, some reasonable suggestions are put forward, and then the accumulated methods and experience by supervisors when they are engaged in the supervision for the smart substation project construction are summarized.


Chinese tourism has been undergoing the transformation into the trend of recreation.By using Pearson correlation analysis and partial correlation analysis,the paper takes Nanjing City as an example to demonstrate the urban citizen needs of reareation during holidays.Obviously there exist many differences between favorite and general tourism.The paper discusses the curnent conditions for its further development.


Clinical indicators of influenza activity continue to rise in England and Northern Ireland and are now above baseline levels in Scotland


One of my great challenges as a second grade teacher is getting students who struggle with reading to become engaged, motivated, and enthusiastic about reading. This paper will look at different literature findings about using strategies that involve high interest reading materials to motivate readers. It will seek to determine the values of these practices for all students, but especially those who struggle as readers. It will also look at different types of high interest materials that could potentially motivate readers. This paper will provide resources to others looking to use high interest materials to motivate readers. High Interest Reading 5 Introduction The following statement from a CNN.com article by the Associated Press (2007) was music to almost anyone involved with literacy's ears. It started by telling readers that the ?1h Harry Potter book had sold over eight million copies. A book selling over eight million copies in the first 24 hours means there are a lot of people out there reading, presumably kids reading by themselves in the middle of summer, or families reading together, all of the things that teacher encourage their students to do while they are away from school. But why was there this rush to read? Was this particular book assigned by teachers nationwide? The CNN story continued by comparing the success and craziness that surrounded the release of this book was on par with the hysteria that surrounded The Beatles' first visit to America in the 1960s (Associated Press, 2007). This, again, was over a book, but it gets even better as you read on to a place where it talks about people using the weekend to read and discuss this book (Associated Press, 2007). Literature circles are popping up all over the country, people are talking about a book, not a television program, a movie, a video game, a song, or a political scandal, but a book, and no one to my knowledge was assigned to read this book or have a conversation about it. There were not pre-scripted comprehension questions assigned to these 8 million plus readers . Instead they had intrinsic joy of reading, the connection with characters, and the mental imagery that comes with reading. This was all the readers needed. The focus of this literature review is on exploring: why kids read, how reading choices help motivate readers, and how does motivation and high interest reading material help low level and struggling readers. In order to do this it is necessary to define some terms relative to this topic. Based on this review strategies and recommendations will be drawn for teachers and others to help them find and use high interest reading materials with students. High Interest Reading 6 What are Struggling and Reluctant Readers ? Defining a struggling reader can be very difficult. Vacca (2001) defines a struggling reader as one who is "lacking competence with reading strategies and lacking confidence in oneself to make meaning with texts" (p. 8). Hall (2007) explains that there may be many reasons for a reader to struggle. The primary reason was cognitive disability, such as decoding words or comprehension. But she also identified inability to set goals for reading, inability to decipher text structures, difficulty defining main ideas, and struggles in applying reading strategies. She goes on to say that many struggling readers are, "students who are likely to have a long and negative hi story with reading in school" (p. 133). She argues that many students who struggle with reading believe that the effort they put in will not be rewarded due to a difficulty in comprehending text, and therefore they are not motivated to read. Early on, Dunston (2007) theorized that, "struggling readers were missing required skills that, once learned, would produce successful reading" (p. 329). Later she came to realize that such "skill and drill" instruction was not going to help solve all students' reading problems. Just because a student is able to read with skill does not mean they are always willing. This reluctance can also lead to reading and motivation problems. Clarke (2006) states, "being able to read doesn't mean being willing or skilled at reading" (p. 66) . He stated students at hi s Rhode Island school would often lament about reading not being "cool", being unable to find a book they liked, and even admitted to hating reading. He continues by stating, "Many students view reading as a fo rced activity" (p. 67). Clive Elementary in the West Des Moines Community School District teacher-librarian Laura Swessinger echoes the statement of Clarke stating, "many reluctant readers find reading to be difficult. They often are slow readers who have not mastered comprehension strategies. When they have not developed skills they do not High Interest Reading 7 find books that interest them and feel forced to read" (personal communication, September l l, 2007). The authors all mentioned that struggling and reluctant readers lack skills necessary or desire necessary to be an efficient and effective reader. On the one hand, they talked about confidence and motivation, but on the other they also talked about a lack of ski lls, such as comprehension or decoding. Finding the sources of the deficiency of struggling or reluctant readers can be large challenge for teachers, and forcing them by making them read required texts may make the problems grow. However, using a variety of forms of text and finding reading materials that may motivate them to read could help. What are High-Interest Reading Materials ? Finding a clear-cut definition of what makes reading material high-interest is, and was difficult, because that changes from reader to reader, but that makes identifying high-interest material no less important. Graves and Phillipot (2002) quoted Richard Allington after he observed remedial reading classes in which students did very little remedial reading. "If they don ' t read much how are they are ever gonna get good?" (p. 179). Getting students to read is the problem facing many teachers today. Some teachers have looked more to student interests to motivate readers. The pair agrees with this possible solution and add, for students to view reading as purposeful and become life-long readers they have to read materials that are enjoyable and that they can understand. Hidi (2001) agrees that catering to students' interest can be an important factor in developing readers, "we recognized that interest had an important role in readers' text processing" (p. 192). She also discusses the work of Renninger and Wozniak (1985) regarding interests of young children where they determined that interests served as important factors in attention, recognition, and recall for readers. Thus, it is fair to conclude that High Interest Reading 8 high interest, as it applies to reading, would be text that gains a student' recognition, holds their attention, and leads to their recall. Determining and locating such texts can help lead to students' motivation and as Oldfather (1993) is quoted as saying, "Motivation frequently makes the difference between learning that is temporary and superficial and learning that is permanent and internalized" (Edmunds & Bauserman, 2006, p. 414). The goal for most educators is that their students find practical, real-world applications for their learning and can apply it as life-long learners, not just rote memorizers. If the objective is teaching reading strategies and creating confident readers, which were two main components that struggling readers lacked, and the text is only a vehicle, then it might be a good practice to find materials for teachers that can both motivate and teach skills. Methodology While clearly defining high-interest reading material was difficult, finding information relating to using and obtaining high-interest material was not. This topic has clearly become a priority, by not only reading educators, but also by publishing companies who are producing high-interest reading series to help motivate readers. The economics and "sell" of high-interest reading materials finding information that is free of publisher biased was more of a challenge than previously expected. The resources available through the Area Education Association (AEA) website such as EBSCO and ERIC had many articles that related to high-interest reading material and motivating readers. The relevance to my topic and the immediacy of information varied as greatly as the ideas presented. The internet also proved to be a valuable tool, as searches on high-interest reading and reading motivation both returned websites and discussions too numerous to view. Clive Elementary in the West Des Moines Community School District's reading staff most notably Kristin Shell (third grade), Connie Seery (reading resource), and High Interest Reading 9 Laura Swessinger (Media Specialistffeacher Librarian) proved to be invaluable resources through interviews and by pointing in to other new and valuable resources. After the process of searching, locating, and reading the various resources that I came across it became obvious I need to define and narrow my search more clearly. This process led me to use motivation as a more central theme as opposed to one on the periphery. In choosing my resources I not only looked at the date, but also the source of the resources I used and choose those articles which I found to be the most relevant to the topic and issues I chose to address. Literature Review The Reluctance and Struggles of Readers: Why Some Kids Won't and Some Kids Don't. Leigh Hall (2007) points to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to call out the deficiency of American readers. She references that NAEP (2005) shows "that 69% of eighth graders tested had mastered few of the skills needed to comprehend texts at their grade level" (p. 132). She also points out the NAEP assessment shows students struggle with inferring, integrating what they read into their live


A TVAR model has been shown to perform well when applied to short data records for Instantaneous Frequency (IF) estimation of frequency modulated (FM) components in white noise. However, when the model is applied to a signal containing a finitely correlated signal in addition to the white noise, estimation performance degrades; especially when the correlated signal is not weak relative to the FM components. We extend the time-varying autoregressive (TVAR) model-based IF estimation for a finitely correlated environment by introducing a decorrelation delay larger than one between the time-varying coefficients. Comparison of the decorrelating TVAR based IF estimator to a conventional TVAR based IF estimator reveals performance gains at moderate to high signal to FM component power ratios.


Would voters support or reject a co-ethnic candidate if she were to adopt a platform that appeals equally to all ethnic groups? We address this counterfactual question using experimental data collected in the context of the 2001 elections in Benin. A hierarchical probit model with a structural equation is used to analyze the data. We adopt a Bayesian approach together with Markov Chain Monte Carlo to handle the computations. We …nd that ethnic ties strengthen


1. Ford AC, Achkar JP, Khan KJ, et al. Efficacy of 5-aminosalicylates in ulcerative colitis: systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Gastroenterol. 2011;106:601-616. 2. Ford AC, Khan KJ, Talley NJ, Moayyedi P. 5-aminosalicylates prevent relapse of Crohn's disease after surgically induced remission: systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Gastroenterol. 2011;106:413-420. 3. Ford AC, Kane SV, Khan KJ, et al. Efficacy of 5-aminosalicylates in Crohn's disease: systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Gastroenterol. 2011;106:617-629. 4. Barbara G, Cremon C, Annese V, et al. Randomised controlled trial of mesalazine in IBS. Gut. 2016;65:82-90. 5. Lam C, Tan W, Leighton M, et al. A mechanistic multicentre, parallel group, randomised placebo-controlled trial of mesalazine for the treatment of IBS with diarrhoea (IBS-D). Gut. 2016;65:91-99. 6. Humes DJ, Spiller RC. Review article: the pathogenesis and management of acute colonic diverticulitis. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2014;39:359-370. 7. Morris AM, Regenbogen SE, Hardiman KM, Hendren S. Sigmoid diverticulitis: a systematic review. JAMA. 2014;311:287-297. 8. Kruis W, Kardalinos V, Eisenbach T, et al. Randomised clinical trial: mesalazine versus placebo in the prevention of diverticulitis recurrence. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2017;46:282-291. 9. Khan MA, Ali B, Lee WM, Howden CW. Mesalamine does not help prevent recurrent acute colonic diverticulitis: meta-analysis of randomized, placebocontrolled trials. Am J Gastroenterol. 2016;111:579-581.


Purpose Evidence that indicates bile acid is a promoter of colon cancer exists. Deoxycholic acid (DCA) modifies apoptosis or proliferation by affecting intracellular signaling and gene expression. However, because previous studies have been based on studies on colon cancer cell lines, the effect of DCA on normal colonocytes is unknown. Methods Normal colonocytes and Caco-2 and HCT116 cells were treated with 20 µM and 250 µM of DCA, and the effect of different concentrations of DCA was measured based on the expression of cell-cycle-related proteins by using Western blots. Results The expressions of CDK2 and cyclin D1 for different concentrations of DCA in normal colonocytes and colon cancer cells were similar, but the expressions of cyclin E and A were significantly different. In HCT116 colon cancer cells, the expression of cyclin E increased regardless of the DCA concentration, but in normal colonocytes and Caco-2 cells, the expression of cyclin E was not changed or decreased. In HCT116 colon cancer cells, the expression of cyclin A was not changed or decreased regardless of the DCA concentration, but in normal colonocytes and Caco-2 cells, the expression of cyclin A was increased at a DCA concentration of 20 µM. Conclusion The effect of DCA on stimulating cell proliferation suggests that DNA synthesis is stimulated by an increased expression of cyclin E in colon cancer cells. Our results suggest that a low dose of DCA induces cellular proliferation through increased expression of cyclin A and that a high dose of DCA induces decreased expression of cyclin E and CDK2 in normal colonocytes.


The aim of this article is the research of the university creative teams personnal potential use features as an instrument of its effective reproduction. The authors discover specificity of principals, functions, mechanisms and methods of university creative team management. The specific of economic and social result of university creative team personnal potential reproduction is detected. The category of «the university creative teams personal potential use» is formulated.


The present business world is facing challenges in accessing their fragmented data to create an accurate and consistent view of their core information assets across the enterprise to drive business decisions and operations. To deliver timely, trustworthy and holistic information to various stakeholders, the enterprise has to employ promising data integration architecture. The Web Services approach based on service oriented architecture provides business agility through loose coupling and reusability of data assets. It enables applications and business processes to access relevant data consistently and accurately whenever it is needed no matter wherever and in whichever form it resides. This paper implements SOAP based web services to integrate data between a web portal and an ERP system. The Performance Testing is also conducted to study the behavior of web services under varying loads.


The present invention discloses a video aligning apparatus and method. The invention determiner node and the left image of the subject is the first pixel, where the first is the second pixel of the right image of the object corresponding to one pixel, calculation for judging whether the matching area; If it is determined that the matching area, consisting of a first pixel and a second pixel and a second pixel corresponding to the left side window and said node consisting of peripheral pixels surrounding the first pixels corresponding to the node, and the peripheral pixels surrounding the point at which, using the brightness information of the right window comprises a computing unit for calculating a differential value both eyes have the characteristic. According to the present invention, by matching the image to the stereo matching algorithm using a dynamic programming technique and applying the SAD (Sum of Absolute Difference) and census transform (Census Transform), by applying a dynamic gamma value considering the surrounding pixels, the illumination there is an effect that can be stronger, and reduce the calculation error in the change. Stereo image, image matching, the stereo matching, disparity, Disparity


TRANSFAC is a database about eukaryotic transcription regulating DNA sequence elements and the transcription factors binding to and acting through them. This report summarizes the present status of this database and accompanying retrieval tools.


This study has revealed the effects of collarless rnetal-ceramic crowns on the dog gingival tissues at one and three months after setting, and compared the effects with those of metal-ceramic crowns by means of lightand scanning electron microscopy. In addition, the merphology of the marginal surface of these two types of crowns was also examined before setting. The results obtained were summarized as follows; 1. It seemed to be necessary to use the correct powder of margin (C.P.M.) for getting a good adapted margin of collarless metal-ceramic crowns made by the nonmatrix method.


With the aim of an efficient thermal energy storage, this study was carried out on the phase change process in a double‐pipe latent heat storage system incorporating sinusoidal wavy fins during both melting and solidification and the outcomes were compared with that for smooth and non‐finned units. The phase change material is in the outer side while the water (heat transfer fluid) is passed through the inner side which formed a vertical double tube. The investigation on the performance of different wave‐amplitudes and wavelengths of the wavy fins lead to the qualification of the best wave profile. The characteristics of the water flow were also examined. The numerical results reflect that, for the best wavy profile, with the wave‐amplitude and wavelength of 2 and 1 mm, respectively, the time for melting and solidification reduces by 43.49% and 17.81%, compared with that of the non‐finned unit while they are 7.7% and 4.45% compared to the smooth fin case. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis of the Reynolds number and inlet temperature of water indicates that higher Reynolds number and the temperature difference between the inlet water and melting point result in a time reduction in the charging and discharging.


Feruloylated diacylglycerols was synthesized by various lipases in both organic phase and solvent-free system,and the transesterification reactions in those two different solvent systems were compared.It is found that the high yield and less by-products in the reaction catalyzed by Novozym435 made it a more appropriate catalyst for the traneseterification reaction.Comparing with the organic reaction system,the solvent-free system showed its unique predominance as a reaction medium.The Novozym435 lipase catalyzed reaction in a solvent-free system was repeated fifth times with the recycling of enzyme and has good operational stability.


In the course of network communication, the exposure of network topology may seriously result in leaking sensitive information to attackers, saying social relationships or financial flows. Howbeit, balancing the functionality of routing between topology concealment is never a trivial task in consideration of efficiency, robustness, and scalability. Though a certain of topological-hiding protocols have emerged in recent years, they are faulty with third-party dependence and high latency. This paper focuses on devising a broadcast protocol exploiting the structure of ideal. We also implemented it utilizing the Chinese Remainder Theorem (CRT) and compared it with previous schemes. It is proved that our protocol is unconditionally secure under the game-based definition of topology hiding and capable of broadcasting the information with few iterations. Besides, the simulation also demonstrates its preferable computation/communication overhead in contrast with existing protocols, not to mention that any third-party would be unnecessary.


A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
Master of Technology: Diagnostic Radiography
in the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences
at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012


We consider an equilibrated supply chain with two equal partners, a vendor and a retailer (also called newsboy type products supply chain). The actions of each partner are driven by profit. Given the fact that at supply chain level are specific external influences which affect the costs and concordant the profit, we use a game theoretic model for the situation, considering costs and demand. At theoretical level, symmetric and asymmetric information patterns are considered for this situation. There are at every supply chain's level situations when external factors (such as inflation, raw-material rate) influence the situation of each partner even if the information is well shared within the chain. The model we propose considers both the external factors and asymmetric information within a supply chain.


Great start so far! I'm relatively new to the subject (but not to math), but have recently been reading Spivak's "Catetory Theory for the


In this study global positioning system (GPS) technology is used to monitor the structural movement of a cable-stayed bridge over the River Tamar in northern Tasmania, Australia. Observed displacements are compared with predicted deflections derived from modeling undertaken with the Space Gass structural analysis software suite. Results show that GPS is successful in quantifying both thermally induced bridge displacements and high frequency transient motion caused by vehicle loading. GPS-derived estimates of the bridge's short-term dynamic motion correlate well with the predicted model response, providing the ability to verify the model and pose potential improvements to the model configuration. Deflection signatures from GPS show typical displacements on the main span of 54±3.5 mm in height, with corresponding longitudinal displacements on the tower structure of 17±2 mm. Displacement of the bridge caused by thermal variations is also clearly evident in the data and correlates well with additional external measurements. GPS is a valuable observational tool for monitoring structures and provides a powerful analysis tool for verification and/or improvement of structural design and modeling.


Fostering the motivation to read in children and adolescents is an elusive task for many good teachers. Although there has been a great deal of research on cognitive aspects of reading, little recent research on reading motivation exists. Several strategies are discussed relative to their ability to strengthen reading fluency, which affects self-confidence and motivation. Anecdotal commentary and cited research lends credence to the notion that teachers who have a passion for reading and who serve as excellent role models have a strong influence on their students' motivation to read.


This book intends to respond to the questions by casting a look at the articulation of women's sufffrage rights in all of the countries that today make up the European Union. It aims to tease out numerous levels of cross-country diffferences and similarities in women's accession to the vote. The stories in this book illuminate the role that female sufffrage has played in the construction of female citizenship, and the place female sufffrage and female citizenship occupy in working notions of citizenship. The book provides a retelling of the story of how citizenship was gradually coined in Europe, first nationally and then supra-nationally, from a woman's perspective. This book is full of examples of how women's nature and likely behaviour, as well as the prioritization of other political causes, had an impact on both when female sufffrage was recognized and whose actions ended up being mainly responsible for it. Keywords:Citizenship; European Union; Female Sufffrage; political causes


Abstract The effects of three concentrations of copper (0.034, 0.057, and 1.30 mg/L) on the behavior of social groups of bluegills Lepomis macrochirus were examined. Social hierarchy formation was similar in all test groups. Ten behaviors, including respiratory disruptions and changes in comfort movements and aggression, were monitored. At the group level, there was a significant positive dose-response relationship demonstrated for coughs, yawns, fin flicks, nips and threats. The most subordinate and most dominant individuals of the hierarchy were affected more than the other fish. Subordinate fish had higher cough, yawn, and fin-flick frequencies during treatment than all other fish in the population; the dominant fish had the next highest frequencies. The aggressiveness of the dominant fish in each tank increased after copper exposure. The observation of significant behavioral changes at copper concentrations as low as 0.034 mg/L demonstrated that behavior can be a sensitive indicator of copper stress.


The year under review (Jurv 2005-July 2006) contains legally significant events that deserve further, thoughtful consideration by legal counsel charged with advising on privacy, security and data management issues, especially issues resulting from transactions where closings may be delayed as a result of necessary remediation efforts to address compliance requirements. The lessons learned from these events should help "protect" companies and reinforce the continuing message that further investment in data governance initiatives need to be a priority for organizations, particularly those engaged in operations in other countries. This article's focus is on those events over the year that should encourage an improvement in policies, procedures and practices because of the significant challenges they pose to current data governance regimes within organizations. The risks that have become more self-evident include the substantially increased quantities of data that can be compromised by a "personal information security incident" and the sharply diminished time that organizations have to detect and respond effectively to such incidents. It is becoming increasingly obvious that effective data governance requires clear identification of the types of sensitive data within an organization. This identification requirement reflects the simple need to ensure corresponding legal obligations to control and protect such information are respected. The implications of some of these obligations require an organization to ensure that it retains control of the flow of such data.


In this paper, the design characteristics in a digital MCR (Main Control Room) including related HF (Human Factor) issues and operator behavior characteristics of digital environment from a simulator data analysis are described. In addition, HRA (Human Reliability Analysis) data items for UA (Unsafe Act) IGT (Information Gathering Template) to reflect the characteristics of a digital MCR are suggested. Thirteen HRA data items based on the characteristics of a digital MCR such as a computer-based information display system, CPS (Computer-based Procedure System), and SCs (Soft Controllers) are derived and the HRA data items are connected to the category in the existing UA IGT for a conventional MCR. The added HRA data are based on the operators' behavior found from the simulation data. Research to calculate the HEP (Human Error Probability) reflecting a digital environment is being performed by KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) and HRA data items derived from this paper are expected to be applied in the identification of the relation between the UA and PSF (Performance Shaping Factor).


Abstract Possible origins of the igneous bodies off the west coast of the North Island, as revealed previously by geophysical surveys, are considered in the context of the wider Cenozoic geotectonic development of New Zealand. First it is suggested that the northwest-southeast-trending anomaly sources north of Manukau Harbour cannot be genetically related to the Miocene orogenic andesites and basalts onshore in western Northland, as earlier proposed, chiefy because the onshore subduction-related frontal arcs were oriented north-east-southwest. An alternative origin suggests that the offshore igneous bodies are of the correct age and position to be either rift volcanics or the products of early sea-floor spreading within the axial trough of the mid-Cenozoic Challenger Rift System. The geophysical character, and limited geologic data, of the anomaly sources in the southern field indicates that they may have a dual origin. At least some of these anomaly sources probably originated as frontal arc andesites as...


Healthcare worker jobs, particularly in the nursing profession, are among the fastest growing occupations in the United States. However, the nursing field is overwhelmed with an aging workforce, low morale, ineffective leadership practices, employee dissatisfaction, and increased worker turnover. Healthcare organizations have witnessed an increase in employee job dissatisfaction amongst nurses, which ultimately has led to increased employment turnover among other negative consequences such as lack of organizational commitment, absenteeism, reduced patient care, and disgruntled employees. This quantitative, nonexperimental, correlational research examined the relationship between perceived Registered Nurse (RN) job satisfaction and leadership styles in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The results of this research supports earlier research and demonstrates a statistically significant positive relationship existing between perceived job satisfaction and leadership style in the Pittsburgh MSA. The results may serve beneficial to healthcare organization leaders for influencing employee leadership development programs, individualized professional coaching, and consulting processes targeted at increasing retention, reducing turnover, and improved patient healthcare.


The recent advances in detecting and locating damage in bridges by different kinds of non-destructive testing and evaluation (NDT&E) methods are reviewed. From the application point of view, classifications for general bridge components and their damage types are presented. The relationships between damage, bridge components, and NDT&E techniques are summarized. Many useful WEB sources of NDT&E techniques in bridge damage detection are given. It is concluded that: (1) vibration-based damage detection methods are successful to a certain extent, especially when the overall damage is significant and, low frequency vibration can identify those areas where more detailed local inspection should be concentrated; (2) robust identification techniques that are able to locate damage based on realistic measured data sets still seem a long way from reality, and, basic research is still necessary in the mean time; (3) the rapid development of computer technology and digital signal processing (DSP) techniques greatly impacts upon the conventional NDT techniques, especially in control data processing and data displaying, as well as in simulation and modeling; (4) most of the NDT&E techniques introduced in this paper have their own practical commercial systems, but the effort required for combining the theoretical, experimental and engineering achievements, is still a challenging task when establishing the relationship between the unknown quantities and the measured signal parameters and specialised instruments have shown great advantages for doing some things more effectively than general ones; (5) in bridge damage detection, a problem usually requires the application of different NDT&E techniques; two or more independent techniques are needed to enable confidence in the results.


Is thin endometrium (<6 mm) associated to an abnormal receptivity status?

 Thin endometrium (<6 mm) is significantly associated with a displaced WOI.

 The measurement of endometrial thickness by 2D vaginal ultrasound (US) is a routine practice in Assisted Reproduction Techniques (ART). Thin endometrium (<6 mm) is associated with poor reproductive outcome; however, the potential reason is unknown.

 Retrospective cohorts study including 25,888 patients in which endometrial lining was measured by 2D US the day before progesterone supplementation in HRT cycles for frozen embryo transfers and Endometrial Receptivity Analysis (ERA) was performed after 5 days of progesterone administration.
 Endometrial thickness was classified as < 6 mm, 6-12 mm, or > 12 mm; ERA results were considered as receptive or displaced WOI (Pre-receptive, post-receptive, proliferative, and late-receptive) that needs a personalized embryo transfer (pET).

 Endometrial thickness was measured from one endometrial layer to the other on a longitudinal transvaginal scan at the site of maximum thickness evidenced by 2D US. For ERA analysis, RNA was extracted and sequenced by NGS. Then, the ERA computational predictor obtained the diagnosis as standard or displaced WOI.

 RA results reveal that women with thin endometrium (<6mm) present significantly higher incidence of displaced WOI (47.49%) than 6-12mm (38.20%) (p = 0.0038), and >12mm (39.75%) (p = 0.026). No other differences were found.
 *Significant different against other two groups.
 Global Chi-square test for association P = 0.002.

 This is a retrospective study, having innate limitations of its nature.

 Thin endometrium (<6mm) is associated to a higher displaced WOI compared to normal lining or hypertrophic endometrium. Normal endometrial thickness (6-12 mm) considered as "receptive" does not preclude a transcriptomic receptivity status in 38.20% of the cases. This finding should be considered when embryo transfer is planned.

 Not applicable


The embodiment of the invention provides a terminal antenna based on a ceramic back shell and terminal equipment. The terminal antenna comprises the terminal ceramic back shell used as a dielectric resonator and a coplanar waveguide fixedly arranged on the ceramic back shell; the coplanar waveguide is connected with a signal output end of a wireless communication module; and the coplanar waveguide is used for transmitting a signal output by the wireless communication module to the ceramic back shell so as to enable the ceramic back shell to radiate out the signal. The terminal antenna based on the ceramic back shell and the terminal equipment which are provided by the embodiment of the invention solve the problems of limitation to installation of the terminal antenna and influence on development of the terminal equipment, which are caused by a limited space of the terminal equipment in the prior art.


A detailed analysis of the measurement procedures recommended by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) shows that – with proper definition of audio quality – the FM broadcasting system can provide an audio signal-to-noise ratio of no better than 40 dB, when the interference in the neighboring channels exhausts the limits established by the internationally agreed protection ratios. Thus any attempt to relax the protection, be it motivated by the desire to implement additional FM or new digital services in the FM band, would inevitably degrade reception quality of existing services to levels hardly acceptable by broadcast listeners.


Background. The rise of highly resistant bacteria creates a persistent urge to develop new antimicrobial agents. This paper investigates the application of the lipopeptide antibiotic daptomycin in infections involving the human bone. Methods. Compressive and tensile strength testing of daptomycin-laden PMMA was performed referring to the ISO 5833. The microstructure of the antibiotic-laden PMMA was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. Intracellular activity of daptomycin was determined by a human osteoblast infection model. Elution kinetics of the antibiotic-laden bone cement was measured by using a continuous flow chamber setup. Results. There was no significant negative effect of adding 1.225% and 7.5% per weight of daptomycin to the PMMA. There was no significant difference in intracellular activity comparing gentamicin to daptomycin. Elution of daptomycin from PMMA showed within the first-hour initial peak values of 15–20 μg/mL. Conclusion. Daptomycin has a certain degree of activity in the intracellular environment of osteoblasts. Daptomycin admixed to PMMA remains bactericidal and does not significantly impair structural characteristics of the PMMA. The results of this paper suggest that daptomycin might be a potent alternative for treating osteomyelitis and implant-associated infection in trauma and orthopedic surgery caused by multiresistant strains.


Maria Anita Carmona Harrison was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas. She grew up in the city's Guadalupe neighborhood, and she attended an all "Mexican" school before entering integrated schools in Lubbock. After graduating from Lubbock High School, Carmona Harrison earned a degree in elementary education from Texas Tech University —becoming the first Chicana educated entirely in Lubbock public schools to graduate from the university. She taught in several Lubbock schools.


Part 1 Introduction: the regulations European Directive the law prior to the regulations what is an undertaking? - the importance of goodwill particular problems - franchises, single contracts and leases transfers not covered by the regulations transfer of part of an undertaking a series of transactions. Part 2 The rights and obligations transferred: whose contracts are subject to the transfer principle? what rights, duties, powers and liabilities are transferred? rights and obligations not transferred when rights and obligations are transferred protecting the purchaser. Part 3 Hiving down: regulation 4. Part 4 The position of the employee: pensions non-contractual provisions a possible resolution. Part 5 Dismissals and redundancy. Part 6 The position of the union: information and consultation collective bargains recognition. Appendices: sample indemnity clauses the regulations the transfer directive.


The article analyzes the historiographical situation in the field of the study of the Holy Land (Palestine) and the Russian cultural, religious and political presence in the region. It traces the dynamics of the study of the Holy Land in the context of Russian politics in the region is traced, from the experiences of self-determination in the middle – second half of the 19th century to the present. The specificity of the region is associated with the saturation of its religious, value and cultural meanings. Neither its remoteness nor other factors became an obstacle to the realization and historical understanding of the special Christian kinship of the Russian consciousness with the locos of the Holy Land. Its study got to be one of the significant directions of the national humanitarian thought in the late 19th – early 20th centuries. The analysis of the key works, plot and thematic lines in historiography revealed three generations in the study of the Holy Land associated with certain epochs in the history of Russia and the history of international (church-diplomatic) relations. The imperial period was characterized by a powerful popularization vector, the first experiments in the field of Christian archeology of the region. The post-Soviet return to the study of the region was characterized by attention to the study of the structures and institutions of the Russian presence in the region (the Russian Spiritual Mission, the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society). The modern generation of researchers is characterized by an interest in studying the realities of modern history, the objectification of the church-diplomatic factor in international relations of the post-war world.


Active sensing by means of light is rare. In vertebrates, it is known only from chemiluminescent fish 21 with light organs below their pupils, an anatomical arrangement that is ideal to generate eyeshine in 22 the pupils of nearby organisms. Here, we test whether diurnal fish can achieve the same by 23 redirecting sunlight through reflection instead. We recently showed that small (< 5 cm), benthic, 24 marine triplefin fish actively redirect downwelling light using their iris. We hypothesized that this 25 mechanism allows triplefins to improve detection of a cryptic organism by generating eyeshine in its 26 pupil. Here, we tested this by attaching small dark hats to triplefins to shade their iris from 27 downwelling light. Two controls consisted of triplefins with a clear or no hat. These treatments test 28 the prediction that light redirection increases the visual detection ability of triplefins. To this end, we 29 placed treated fish in a tank with a display compartment containing either a stone as the control 30 stimulus, or a scorpionfish, i.e. a cryptic, motionless triplefin predator with retroreflective eyes. After 31 overnight acclimatization, we determined the average distance triplefins kept from the display 32 compartment over two days. Both in the laboratory ( n = 15 replicates per treatment) and in a similar 33 field experiment at 15 m depth ( n = 43 replicates per treatment) fish kept longer distances from the 34 scorpionfish than from the stone. This response varied between hat treatments: shaded triplefins 35 stayed significantly closer to the scorpionfish in the laboratory and in one of two orientations tested 36 in the field. A follow-up field experiment at 10 m depth revealed the immediate response of 37 triplefins to a scorpionfish. At first, many individuals ( n = 80) moved towards it, with shaded 38 triplefins getting significantly closer. All individuals then gradually moved to a safer distance at the 39 opposite half of the tank. Visual modelling supported the experimental results by showing that 40 triplefins can redirect enough light with their iris to increase a scorpionfish's pupil brightness above 41 detection threshold at a distance of 7 cm under average field conditions and at more than 12 cm 42 under favorable conditions. We conclude that triplefins are generally


Researchers used neural networks to better define the parameterizations necessary for modeling the distribution and characteristics of orographic gravity waves.


The tests of mix proportioning of C50 concrete filled into steel tube structure of Yonghe Bridge in Nanning are presented.Various behavior of the concrete that can restrict expansion rate is studied,and the mix proportioning of the concrete is finalized after influences of varied usage of binding materials,sand ratio,different admixtures and adding materials on the concrete performance are investigated through several test methods.


Given a self-similar set K in Rs we prove that the strong open set condition and the open set condition are both equivalent to Ha (K) > 0, where a is the similarity dimension of K and Ha denotes the Hausdorff measure of this dimension. As an application we show for the case a = s that K possesses inner points iff it is not a Lebesgue null set.


The purpose of this tutorial is to introduce tools within the Eclipse open-source software development environment that can be used to support project teams. This tutorial will guide attendees through the process of creating a team project, using existing features to track the work of other members of the team, and using tools to assist the instructor in evaluating student participation within the team project.


An intensity-based texture segmentation approach for the detection of regions with abnormal texture characteristics in magnetic resonance imaging is presented. Our algorithm is tested over several images taken from The Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI-database), and the results suggest that this approach is suitable for the successful identification and extraction of regions of interest whose properties can be potentially related to signature features of Parkinson disease.


In a globalized, interconnected world, multilingualism is essential for effective communication, understanding of other cultures, and the development of global citizenship values. In addition to being part of a global personal cultural identity and a practical tool for communication in transnational teams, multilingualism has been linked to creativity and to problem-solving, both of critical importance in addressing complex issues, and regular use of more than one language has even been shown to stave off dementia. International organizations, multinational corporations, and educational institutions approach multilingualism differently, each with the language strategy that aligns most closely with their mission and goals. How can international educators best prepare students for an increasingly multilingual world and workplace where multilingualism is the norm rather than the exception?


Two different types of nanosensors recently developed in our group are presented in this article. Silicon nanowire (Si-NW) field effect sensors have been developed and recent measurements demonstrating pH sensors with Nernstian sensitivity as well as real-time DNA hybridization measurements with binding affinity assessment are presented. Metal nanostructured surfaces are presented with periodically self-aligned nanopyramid and nanowire structures with precisely defined pitch and nanogap dimensions spanning large areas that form high-density arrays of hot-spot scattering sites ideally suited for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and Raman spectroscopy.


Animal husbandry complexes are sources of air pollution. In terms of the impact on the environment, the impact of large animal husbandry complexes is comparable to the impact of industrial facilities. In the area where animal husbandry complexes and poultry farms are located, the air is polluted with microorganisms, dust, ammonia and other animal products that often have unpleasant odors. Environmental safety is the most important component of the agri-food policy of the modern Russian state, because they directly affect the quality of life and health of the population. The purpose of this work is to assess the impact of the animal husbandry complex on the atmospheric air. An assessment was made, relevant conclusions were drawn, and measures for environmental protection were proposed.


We present recent multi-object spectroscopy of globular clus- ters in the Virgo gEs M49 and M87. In M49, we have a total of 144 con- firmed clusters out to 8 arcmin radius (∼ 6 Reff or 35 kpc). We find that the blue (metal-poor) clusters have both a higher velocity dispersion and rotation than the red (metal-poor) clusters. For the metal-rich population we place an upper limit of (v/�)proj < 0.34 at 99% confidence. We cal- culate the velocity dispersion as a function of radius, and show that this is consistent with isotropic cluster orbits and the M49 mass distribution determined from X-ray data. For M87, we combine new CFHT data with previous data to obtain a total sample of 278 clusters out to 10 arcmin radius (∼ 45 kpc). We find a similar global rotation for the metal-poor and metal-rich clusters of 160−170 km/sec. Beyond ≃ 2 Reff (15 kpc), both the metal-poor and metal-rich clusters appear to rotate about the photometric minor axis. The combined cluster sample is consistent with isotropic orbits, but when considered separately, the metal-poor clusters show significant tangential bias ofcl ≃ −0.4, while the metal-rich clus- ters show a radial bias withcl ≃ +0.4. In both galaxies, the metal-rich and metal-poor clusters share different kinematics, but there is no clear preference for any one formation scenario.


The verification of a two-dimensional non-linear analysis based on a hybrid constitutive model, which consists of the Ramberg-Osgood model extended to two-dimensional problems and a dilatancy model, is discussed through a comparison of the shaking-table test results for a one-storey structure standing on a dry sandy deposit with those for the same on a saturated sandy deposit. Since the relationships G vs. γ and h vs. γ for shear strains of 10−5−10−3 can be obtained accurately by an inversion analysis of the resonance curve of the sandy deposit the proposed non-linear method can represent well the observed non-linear response of the dry or the saturated sandy deposit including the structure. This method, however, should be applied carefully to assess the response of a soil-structure system when the three-dimensional interaction affects significantly the response of the model. An equivalent linear analysis using a sway-rocking model is applied to simulate the non-linear ground motion including the three-dimensional interaction, and it is found that the sway-rocking model can also represent well the non-linear response of the system.


The optical constants n and k for a weakly absorbing thin film material can be determined from the transmission scan of a single thick layer of the material coated on a substrate. The envelope method makes use of the wavelengths and transmittance values of the maxima and minima of a spectral scan to determine the optical constants. The values and positions of these extrema are affected by the dispersion of the optical constants. The dispersion of the index affects the position of the odd quarterwave extrema, but not the halfwave extrema. The effect is small (typically 0.5%) for high index oxide materials. The dispersion in the extinction coefficient causes larger errors, especially near the absorption edge where the extrema can be shifted by several percent. The effects of the dispersion are calculated and the results are used to obtain more accurate values of the optical constants and thickness of the film. The various errors and the resulting corrections to the optical constants are compared for a typical high index oxide film.


– The dielectric properties of adipose tissue have large variability mainly due to variable water content. In this study, a parametric model of the dielectric properties of adipose tissue that expresses the Cole–Cole parameters as functions of water content was proposed. The model was parameterized on the basis of dielectric measurements of porcine adipose tissues in vitro in the frequency range from 1 GHz to 100 GHz. Our model demonstrated fair agreement with the measurement results. In addition, dielectric properties derived from our model was compared with those derived using the mixing rule to demonstrate the advantage of the proposed model.


Although H3 and H9 subtypes of Avian infl uenza virus(AIV) are low pathogenic in birds,they have adapted abilities to infect mammalians,which poses potential threat to human beings.Therefore,surveillance of H3 and H9 subtypes of AIV is important for public health.In the present study,TaqMan primers specifi c for either H3 or H9 subtype were designed to develop fl uorescent quantitative PCR(qPCR) by comparing the homology of HA gene sequences submitted on the GenBank.The specifi city testing and amplifi cation trials demonstrated that TaqMan primers only recognized their respective H3 or H9 subtype.The sensitivity testing of the assay was performed using 10 fold serial dilutions of pMD19-T-H3HA and pMD19-T-H9HA as templates.The result showed that qPCR was able to detect 100 DNA copies of H3 subtype or 10 DNA copies of H9 subtype,which was 100 fold or 1000 fold higher than conventional PCR.In addition,this assay was also able to detect 10 EID50 of both H3 and H9 subtypes,which was 1000 fold higher than conventional PCR.The interand intra-assay trials demonstrated that the variations were less than 3% for both subtypes,indicating its good reproducibility.Moreover,qPCR was used to detect viruses in lung samples from experimentally infected chickens.As compared to conventional PCR,qPCR was 10-100 fold more sensitive for H3 subtype or 100 fold more sensitive for H9 subtype than conventional PCR.Therefore,qPCR method developed in this study showed high specifi city and sensitivity and could be used for epidemiological study of H3 and H9 subtypes.