TNF-RI and TNF-RII. The authors concluded that the HCV genotype must be included when evaluating insulin resistance in HCV-infected patients and suggest that other factors apart from TNFcould be involved in the development of insulin resistance during HCV chronic infection. This letter deserves the following comments. First, we would like to specify that all the patients included in our study were genotype 1 (which is largely the most prevalent), and, therefore, a potential bias due to this issue can be absolutely ruled out. Second, and more importantly, it should be stressed that in our study, both groups of patients (anti-HCV negative and anti-HCV positive) were closely matched by the degree of liver fibrosis and several indexes of hepatic insulin extraction. In our view, this is a crucial point that should be considered when comparing patients with liver disease. The HOMA model is based on circulating insulin levels, and, therefore, the higher the degree of hepatic fibrosis the lower the rate of insulin extraction and, in consequence, the higher HOMA. Therefore, the measurement of hepatic insulin extraction should be provided before suggesting any influence of the HCV genotype in insulin resistance measured by HOMA. Finally, it should be noted that apart from TNFsoluble receptors, we had also determined interleukin-6, and it was significantly higher in anti-HCV–positive than in anti-HCV–negative patients. Therefore, we agree with Petit et al. (1) that other factors apart from TNFcould be implicated in the insulin resistance associated with HCV infection. In this regard, further studies to evaluate the contribution of other proinflammatory cytokines in the development of insulin resistance associated with HCV infection are warranted.


Conventional speech enhancement methods typically utilize the noisy phase spectrum for signal reconstruction. This letter presents a novel method to estimate the clean speech phase spectrum, given the noisy speech observation in single-channel speech enhancement. The proposed method relies on the phase decomposition of the instantaneous noisy phase spectrum followed by temporal smoothing in order to reduce the large variance of noisy phase, and consequently reconstructs an enhanced instantaneous phase spectrum for signal reconstruction. The effectiveness of the proposed method is evaluated in two ways: phase enhancement-only and by quantifying the additional improvement on top of the conventional amplitude enhancement scheme where noisy phase is often used in signal reconstruction. The instrumental metrics predict a consistent improvement in perceived speech quality and speech intelligibility when the noisy phase is enhanced using the proposed phase estimation method.


During the 1a.tter part of 1885 the Chief Signal Office] issued a letter tojnterested parties, suggesting a convention of the directors of the State weather Service organization€ existing at that time. The suggestion was favorably received and a very profitable conference was held a t the Smithsonian Institution in Washington City on February 34 and 25, 1886, No further meeting of the directors of State weather services was held until the summer of 1892, when, a t the suggestion oj the present Chief of the Weather Bureau, arrangements were made for a convention to be held August 15 and 16 in Rochester, N. Y., in connection with the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. At this second convention of State weather service directors, a t which eigh. teen State services were represented, a permanent organization, known as the American Association of State Weather Services, was effected, and t.he results of the meeting were most encouraging. The proceedings of the convention formed a very interesting publication, which was issued as the "Report of the First Annual Meeting of the American Association of State Weather Services." On August. 1,1593, the following letter announcing the date of the Second Annual Convention of the American Association of State Weather Sxvices, with list of topics for discussion, was addressed to the directors of the several State weather services by Major H. H. C. Dunwoody, the president of the association : SIR : After consultation with the Chief of the Weather Bureau it has beeii decided best to hold the convention of the American Association of State Weather Services for 1893 in Chicago (not at Madison, Wis., as was expected) at the time and place of the meeting of the Met.eorologica1 Congress at the Art Palace of Chicago, Lake front, foot of Adam Rtreet, in that city, August 21-25, 1898. * * * * * w


At the evening meeting entitled The Geographical Background of Hong Kong's Future' five experts spoke on the historical background to Hong Kong's modern development; its contemporary economic and social structure; and the current attitudes towards its future of China, Britain and the Hong Kong community itself. Professor Denis Dwyer, Department of Geography, University of Keele, who convened and organized the meeting, was the opening speaker. His contribution on the historical background and the territory's more recent economic development was followed by an analysis of current social and planning issues by Dr David Drakakis-Smith of the same Department. Mr Roderick MacFarquhar, a former Member of Parliament and founding Editor of The China Quarterly, next contributed a review of British attitudes towards the problem of Hong Kong's future and this was extended by Lord MacLehose, who retired from the post of Governor of Hong Kong in 1982, in a paper which analysed recent events from the viewpoint of Hong Kong itself. The final paper, a discussion of the Chinese view of the present situation, was contributed by Mr Dick Wilson, a well-known writer on Chinese affairs and another former Editor of The China Quarterly. Following the presentation of the papers, a lively discussion was reluctantly terminated for reasons of time by the chairman for the evening, Professor Michael Wise. The present paper by Professor Dwyer draws upon the contributions of all five speakers, the chairman and discussants. Although appropriate individual acknowledgements are made in respect of specific points, the author also wishes to record a more general acknowledgement to all the contributors to the meeting.


Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) is a steady state capable optimised stellarator. The main heating system is electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) operating at 140 GHz providing up to 9 MW microwave power. The power is launched into the machine by front steerable quasi-optical launchers in X- or O-mode. While in X-mode the first pass absorption is 99%, it is only 40... 70% in O-mode. O2-mode heating is forseen for high density operation above the X2 cutoff density of 1.2⋅1020 m−3. A set of diagnostics has been developed to protect the machine from non absorbed ECRH power which can easily damage in vessel components. The non absorbed power hitting the inner wall is measured by waveguides embedded in the first wall (ECA diagnostic). In order to prevent the inner wall from overheating or arcing, a near-infra red sensitive video diagnostic with a dynamic range of 450...1200 °C was integrated in the ECRH launchers. Thermal calculations for the carbon tiles predict a temperature increase above the detection threshold for scenarios of plasma start-up failure or poor absorption on a time scale of 50 ms. However, the temperature increase measured by an IR camera in experiments with failed break down, i.e. no ECRH absorption for up to 50 ms, was only ΔT≈70 ∘ C. In discharges with ≈ 5% transmission the measured temperature increase was comparable. The stray radiation level inside the machine is measured by so called sniffer probes resembling microwave diode detectors which were designed to collect all radiation approaching the probing surface independent of incident angle and polarization. Five sniffer probes are installed at different toroidal positions. They were integrated in the ECRH interlock system. During the first operational phase of W7-X this was the only available plasma interlock system. The signal quality proofed to be high enough for a reliable termination in case of poor absorption. After a breakdown phase of 10 ms, the sniffer probe signals dropped by more than an order of magnitude. Especially in the very first days of operation, most discharges died by a radiative collapse due to impurity influx. In this case the heating power was reliably switched off due to the increased level of stray radiation. Moreover, ECRH bolometers with a slower response time in the launcher ports and an empty diagnostic port were used to estimate the stray radiation level in the ports. In the launcher ports it could be shown that the stray radiation could lead to an overheating of the bellows in long discharges. Possible counter measures are discussed.


An important number of biomass fires annually affect the Province of Córdoba, Argentina, destroying native forest, plantations, pastures, etc; affecting the air quality and producing important material damages. This research addresses the detection and monitoring of the debris plume generated by a biomass fire using the Argentine Meteorological Radar 1 (RMA1), a double polarimetric Doppler Weather Radar located in Cordoba City. The fire under study affected a surface of 51,12 ha (roughly) located close to Laguna Larga City, Province of Córdoba. The debris plume core reached an average height of 2000 m during a good part of the event, the expulsed particles were displaced by wind, during the measurement period, more than 60 km from the focus of the fire and up to a registered maximum height of 5250 m. The particle characterization is done using different polarimetric variables, allowing to discriminate the debris particles from atmospheric hydrometeors and so, making possible the detection and tracking of them.


The communicative space is created by people to exchange their ideas, to express their feelings, to control social behavior of other people, to transmit texts to any point of this space. Being created by mind and hands of human beings, the communicative space is a unique phenomenon in the natural world. In this space people speak to each other face to face, they can also translate their thoughts from the past to the present and the future. It is in this space that human ideas assume material shape, so by studying the processes and events occurring in the communicative space the researchers get insight into the unexplored world of individual and collective thinking. Texts of various configurations, with ideas and information being expressed both directly and indirectly, get along together in the communicative space. Directly expressed information is clearly much easier to perceive and understand than indirect information. A Homo loquens can extract information concealed in metaphors, hints, euphemisms, ironic phrases. Understanding texts of indirectly expressed information requires performing special cognitive operations designed for deciphering and interpreting implicit meanings. The involved intellectual processes are complicated and hard to study because they are hidden in the sub-consciousness and proceed intuitively. Present-day linguistics and psycholinguistics face the challenge of revealing the rules, modes and conventions that control human speech behavior.


Trapping of conidium of  Cercospora nicotianae with spore trap on tobacco plantation. Tobacco is an importing commodity which contributes to the farmer and country. One of the limiting factors in tobacco production is frogeye leaf spot, a fungal disease caused by C. nicotianae . An experiment was conducted to determine the effectiveness of Kiyosawa type of wind vane rotary spore trap for trapping of Cercospora conidia. The experiment as well as done to determine the relationship between rainfall to conidial dispersal on tobacco. The experiment carried out at Mycology Laboratory, Study Program of Plant Pest and Disease, Faculty of Agriculture, UGM and two tobacco plantations in Jember and Klaten from September to December 2001. The results showed that conidia was dispersed as a day spore and can be trapped by Kiyosawa type of wind vane rotary spore trap. Conidia were dispersed in dry, and moist, as well as wet months. During the dry and moist month, conidia was trapped since 06.00 a.m. the trapping reached its peak at 02.00-06.00 p.m., while in wet month at 10.00 a.m. to 14.00 p.m.


Changes in structural and hydrogen desorption properties of MgH2 induced by ion irradiation have been investigated. MgH2 powder samples have been irradiated with 45 keV B3+ and 120 keV Ar8+ions, with ion fluence of 1015 ions/cm2. The effects of ion irradiation are estimated by numerical calculations using SRIM package. The induced material modifications and their consequences on hydrogen dynamics in the system are investigated by XRD, particle size distribution and TPD techniques. Changes of TPD spectra with irradiation conditions suggest that there are several mechanisms involved in desorption process which depend on defect concentration and their interaction and ordering. The results confirmed that the near-surface area of MgH2 and formation of a substoichiometric MgHx (x<2) play a crucial role in hydrogen kinetics and that various concentrations of induced defects substantially influence H diffusion and desorption kinetics in MgH2. The results also confirm that there is possibility to control the thermodynamic parameters by controlling vacancies concentration in the system.


ABSTRACT It is well documented that young children have difficulties with strategically remembering past events. Recent evidence on event memory in 35- and 46-month-old children suggests that strategic retrieval (yes/no questions) improves with age, whereas spontaneous retrieval is relatively unaffected by age. We here replicate and extend those findings (N = 124): First, a novel free (strategic) recall test was added to improve ecological validity. Second, the free recall procedure allowed us to make direct comparisons between spontaneous and free strategic recall relative to age. The free recall test revealed similar results in the standard yes/no questions (older children outperformed younger). The direct comparison between spontaneous and free recall revealed a reliable interaction between age and retrieval mode: While the children's age did not affect spontaneous recall, the 46-month-olds outperformed the 35-month-olds on the free recall test. The results add to the accumulating evidence that spontaneous recall of events is an early developmental achievement.


A glimpse at the stock of pragmatics literature brings to light a serious lack of studies delving into the speech act of responding to criticism. Hence, with the view of broadening the scope of research, this study set out to probe into the strategies Iranian celebrities employ to respond to the criticisms leveled at them in a press conference. Using a qualitative method supplemented with quantitative analysis of the data, the present study selected Iran's largest annual film festival, Fajr International Film Festival, as the data collection source. 40 press conferences held within this festival were watched and the celebrities' responses were translated and transcribed. Drawing on a model proposed by El-Dakhs (2020), the responses were categorized into four broad categories of total acceptance, partial acceptance, total resistance, and digression. The result of the analyses revealed that the celebrities most frequently preferred total resistance strategies to unreservedly and straightforwardly wave away the criticisms they had received irrespective of the threat their responses may have posed to the face of the critics. The findings were interpreted in light of the celebrities' disinclination to adhere to Iran's conventional cultural norms regarding saving other people's face and the asymmetrical power relations that might have sanctioned the use of explicit and confrontational strategies.


Very few studies have been undertaken to test the determinants of profitability of the pharmaceutical industry of Bangladesh, even though the industry is one of the most technologically developed and promising sectors of the nation's economy. Following the need for such a research, this study proposed certain financial ratios as significant internal determinants of profitability of the pharmaceutical industry of the country.Profitability is the ability of a venture or business to earn profit. Financial ratios are evaluators of a company's financial health. Profitability determinants are forces that directly impact the profitability of a firm, and as such are useful tools for relevant firms to understand what needs to be done and where they should focus in order to improve on the profitability of their business. The study created a sample of five of the top pharmaceutical firms, and procures their annual reports from 2008-2012 for the research. Then with the relevant data it carried out descriptive statistics analysis,Pearson Coefficient Model and Multiple Regression analysis to test the acceptability of the proposed ratios determinants of profitability. The study tested Gross Profit Margin as dependent variable, SGA/SALES, INV/COGS, AP/COGS DEP/SALES and AR/SALES as the independent variables. After performing necessary calculations and analysis, the study found that 89.1% of the changes in the dependent variable for the pharmaceutical firms under observations can be explained through the independent variables of the study, while only 13.7% of the variations of Gross Profit Margin can be attributed to factors outside these variables. The study also established that only the INV/COGS and AP/COGS ratios can be considered as significant determinants of profitability of the pharmaceutical firms of the country. The study has also discussed how the firms can access and interpret these ratios in order to increase the profitability of their business.


A broad range of nonbroadcast applications can be foreseen for HDTV. Some of them have already been implemented and have proved to be attractive and promising. A list of such applications is given and several of them are briefly analyzed. These applications consist of movie production; theaters; electronic publishing; TV commercials; catalog TV displays; telemedicine; medical still picture files; medical education; museums and zoos; educational applications related natural science and the arts, and HDTV lectures; computer-aided design; and observation and surveillance systems.<<ETX>>


The DOJ's devaluing of concerns about harm to innovation incentives has serious implications that will affect the choices made by other SSOs, as well as enforcement policies of foreign competition authorities looking to U.S. antitrust law for guidance. Stuart M. Chemtob (Wilson, Sonsini)


Abstract : Relations involving the frequency-dependent optical constants give information on the electronic properties of solids. Power reflectivity measurements at normal incidence over a wide frequency region can be utilized in obtaining the optical constants by means of a general integral transformation known as the Kramers-Kronig transformation. A computer program based on this integral transformation has been constructed in Fortran II, version 9000, language for a Remington Rand Solid State 90 computer. The program converts experimental reflectivity measurements into parameters containing the optical constants. A brief presentation of the electronic quasiparticle and collective excitation modes is given in terms of the optical constants. A discussion of the approximations made in putting the integrals on the computer is also given. Two tests were made to check the accuracy of the program. First, a test reflectivity function, for which the Kramers-Kronig integrals could be directly evaluated, was programmed. Then published reflectivity measurements on copper were analyzed. The optical constants determined by the computer program were in good agreement with both the test optical constants and the previously calculated constants of copper.


The invention discloses a motor producing quality monitoring and managing system and a corresponding method. The system comprises a quality monitoring subsystem and a material circulating subsystem. The quality monitoring subsystem comprises a workshop control center, a master control center, a workshop electronic display board, producing lines and unit quality detecting points. The material circulating subsystem comprises turnover boxes of products in process on the producing lines, turnover boxes of qualified products of the detecting points and defective product turnover box. Batch processing of turnover boxes with pasted RFID electronic labels is used during the producing process, and products with the same model number in the same batch use the same turnover box. The RFID electronic labels on the turnover boxes at the working positions are read and written, so that production information of each procedure is recorded, and when product reject ratio exceeds an alarming value, alarming information is timely generated. After production, the producing record of a product of each model number of each worker during the producing process is analyzed, so that next production arrangement is helped to be optimized, productivity is arranged reasonably, and the fact that producing quality is improved stably is guaranteed.


A practical field test, covering some of the parameters governing audio based games, designed for mobile applications utilizing new techniques with the intention of allowing greater interpretive freedom for the player. The tests are realised through an audio-based, simple game application: 'Beowulf'.


Multifaceted self-definition of a contemporary human being brings to the forefront the problem of configuration of identity. In addition to such types of social identity as territorial, natural, cultural, agent (professional), formulated by V.M. Kapitsyn, the authors reveal consumerist, club and cyberspace (network) identities. It allows more detailed configuration of identities of contemporary Russian youth and helps to work out their measurement tools.


Abstract Intracerebral hematoma and intraventricular hemorrhage can significantly worsen the neurological condition of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage due to ruptured intracranial aneurysm. They also significantly affect the outcome of this patiens. We present a case in which early surgery had a significant effect on the outcome of this patient. Early decompression of the brain and subsequent clipping of the aneurysm as presented in our case has lead to a successful outcome.


The mobile smart device and mobile broadband service market is a rapidly growing and changing industry. The research in this paper better segments the mobile phone and high-speed mobile broadband market in the United States. The factors of segmentation have been discovered through a literature review. Demographic items, along with the factors and constructs of this research, are statistically analysed using several methods. Finally, practical implications are created and concluded. The findings suggest specific demographic factors can help determine how to segment the market. It also identifies the factors which deter or encourage customers to purchase a smart device or mobile broadband service.


Abstract A system of functional differential equations with delay dz/dt = Z(t, zt), where Z is the vector-valued functional is considered. It is supposed that this system has a zero solution z = 0. Definitions of its partial stability, partial asymptotical stability, and partial equiasymptotical stability are given. Theorems on the partial equiasymptotical stability are formulated and proved.


In this paper, we propose a new approach to characterize time series with noise perturbations in both the time and frequency domains by combining Granger causality and complex networks. We construct directed and weighted complex networks from time series and use representative network measures to describe their physical and topological properties. Through analyzing the typical dynamical behaviors of some physical models and the MIT-BIH7 human electrocardiogram data sets, we show that the proposed approach is able to capture and characterize various dynamics and has much potential for analyzing real-world time series of rather short length. 6 Authors to whom any correspondence should be addressed. 7 Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Beth Israel Hospital. Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 3.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. New Journal of Physics 14 (2012) 083028 1367-2630/12/083028+11$33.00 © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft


Machine control system (34) comprising: a drive source (12), an operator input means (21) which is adapted to generate a signal indicative of a desired mode of operation of the drive source, a working tool which is driven by the driving source for performing a work activity (32), and a controller (48) which is connected to the driving source and the operator input device in communication, wherein the controller is configured to: to classify a currently executing work activity of the working tool, and adapt the operation of the drive source based on the signal from the operator input device and the working activity classification.


A liquid and non-aqueous formulation, to form in situ a pharmaceutically acceptable polymeric material on a body surface, including the formulation i) a water-soluble salt of alginic acid (component a); ii) a cationic polymer (component b) and; iii) a pharmaceutically acceptable inert carrier or vehicle, selected from glycols, medium chain triglycerides, glycerides, evening primrose oil, Neem tree oil and vegetable oils, in which component a) is capable of reacting with the component b) to form in situ the pharmaceutically acceptable polymeric material on a body surface after application or ingestion by a mammal.


A linear chain with impurities randomly distributed along it is studied by means of the node counting method. The host atoms as well as the impurity atoms are represented by negative δ-function potentials with different strengths. The solvent atoms are distorted in a specific manner about each impurity atom. The integrated density of states are calculated near a band gap for different impurity concentrations and for various degrees of distortion. It was found that without distortion the gap remains practically structureless, whereas with distortion the energy levels diffuse into the gap. The results are qualitatively similar to that of a model liquid.


Note presenting the incompressible boundary-layer theory of Truckenbrodt extended using a modified Stewartson-type transformation to include compressible boundary-layer development over insulated surfaces. The method is applicable to two-dimensional and axisymmetric, laminar and turbulent boundary layer, and accounts for the pressure gradient along the wall for both compressible and incompressible flow. Some experimental measurements of the boundary layer on small axisymmetric bodies on the wall of a supersonic wind tunnel compared with theoretical predictions.


With the development of Web technology,the development of the GIS technology and the Web technology drives the development of geographical information.And then developing another development direction of WebGIS.This essay makes the simple introduction of ArcIMS,how to use ArcIMS and ASP to develop WebGIS,and shows the WebGIS development prospect.


Geogrid pullout tests were carried out in a large pullout box filled with a transparent granular soil. Geogrid displacements and displacements of a dispersed layer of opaque particles located immediately above and below the plane of the geogrid were measured from image analysis of pictures taken through a window at the bottom of the box. Longitudinal displacements of an extensible biaxial polypropylene geogrid were converted to strains and strain rates and these values used in a rate-dependent load–strain model to calculate load along the entire length of the specimen and load transfer to the surrounding soil. Plots of load transfer, expressed as equivalent shear stress acting over the area between transverse members, against relative horizontal deformation between the geogrid inclusion and the surrounding soil were generated. These data show that for the combination of geogrid and granular soil used in this investigation, load transfer is largely due to shear between the soil particles trapped in the pla...


SummarySera from 40 patients with definite rheumatoid arthritis were investigated for the presence of antinuclear factors as determined by the immunofluorescent antibody technique, employing different human nuclei as antigen.While altogether 34 of the sera reacted with one or more nuclei 88.2% of the positive sera reacted with the nuclei of granulocytes and only 35% with other human nuclei. One third of the sera reacted selectively with nuclei of granulocytes.The finding that 75% of the sera from patients with rheumatoid arthritis contained ANF reacting with granulocytes was obtained only when granulocytes damaged by freezing and thawing were employed. When fresh, unaltered leukocytes were used, only 30% of the sera reacted.The results indicate that the nuclear reactivity of sera in rheumatoid arthritis is mainly directed against the nuclei of the polymorphonuclear granulocytes. The limited nuclear reactivity of these sera may explain the wide variation of the incidence of ANF previously found in rheumato...


Observational evidence for the radial alignment of satellites with their dark matter host has been accumulating steadily over the past few years. The effect is seen over a wide range of scales, from massive clusters of galaxies down to galaxy-sized systems, yet the underlying physical mechanism has still not been established. To this end, we have carried out a detailed analysis of the shapes and orientations of dark matter substructures in high-resolution N-body cosmological simulations. We find a strong tendency for radial alignment of the substructure with its host halo: the distribution of halo major axes is very anisotropic, with the majority pointing toward the center of mass of the host. The alignment peaks once the subhalo has passed the virial radius of the host for the first time, but is not subsequently diluted, even after the halos have gone through as many as four pericentric passages. This evidence points to the existence of a very rapid dynamical mechanism acting on these systems, and we argue that tidal torquing throughout their orbits is the most likely candidate.


A range of mouse models are available in preclinical chronic kidney disease (CKD) research but differ in their disease etiology and pathological hallmarks. To enable better selection of the mouse CKD model optimal for preclinical drug discovery studies, we characterized the kidney transcriptome signature of three well-established models of CKD induced by unilateral ureter obstruction (UUO), unilateral ischemic reperfusion injury (uIRI) and adenine-supplemented diet feeding (ADI).

 Male C57BL/6JRj mice were used in all studies. UUO or sham surgery was performed in 9 weeks old mice, which were terminated two weeks post-surgery. uIRI or sham surgery was performed in 10 weeks old mice terminated 6 weeks post-surgery. 12 weeks old mice received an adenine-supplemented diet or a control diet for 6 weeks. Endpoints included plasma biochemistry, kidney histology and RNA sequencing on kidney samples.

 Compared to corresponding controls, plasma urea was only increased in ADI mice. All three models presented with increased inflammation (F4/80, UUO>ADI>uIRI) and fibrosis (COl1A1, UUO = uIRI>ADI) in the histological analysis. Compared to corresponding controls, all three models demonstrated substantial increases in differential expressed genes (DEGs, UUO, n = 12,046; uIRI, n = 12,236; ADI, n = 11,468), with significant overlap in transcriptome signatures between the models. Gene expression markers of inflammation (e.g., Ccl2, Cd68 and Il1b), fibrogenesis (e.g., Tgfb1, Serpine1 and Col1a1) and kidney injury (e.g., Havcr1, Lcn2 and Spp1) supported histological findings in the three models. Interestingly, several molecular targets pursued in CKD drug discovery were significantly regulated, however with different directionality, in UUO (upregulated Atg7, Bax, Ednra/b, Gli2, Ifng, Shh; downregulated Glp1r, Nr3c2, Ptch1, Slc5a2), uIRI (upregulated Ednra, Gli2, Glp1r, Ifng, Nr3c2; downregulated Agt, Egfr, Slc5a2), and ADI mice (upregulated Agt, Atg7, Bax, Ednra; downregulated Ednrb, Egfr, Flt1, Nr3c2, Ptch1, Slc5a2).

 UUO, uIRI and ADI mouse models demonstrate histopathological hallmarks of CKD, characterized by increased macrophage infiltration and fibrosis, which was corroborated by their individual transcriptome signatures. Despite similarities in histological phenotype, the models were distinguished based on kidney transcriptome changes, with several current drug targets regulated in a model-specific fashion. In conclusion, the current work will enable researchers to select the mouse model optimal for profiling individual preclinical test drugs with therapeutic potential in CKD. Also, our data may serve to enable further development of CKD mouse models with improved clinical translatability.


This paper addresses how to model and correct the image blur that arises due to defocusing, handshaking, object motion (motion blur) while capturing an image. Non-blind deconvolution is a key component in an image deblurring system . The deconvolution tries to invert the blurring of an image that is modeled by the convolution g = f ∗ h. It is the process that obtains a sharp latent image from a blurred image when a point spread function (PSF) is known. However, ringing and noise amplification are inevitable artifacts in image deconvolution since perfect PSF estimation is impossible. The convolutional regularization to reduce these artifacts cannot preserve image details in the deconvolved image when PSF estimation error is large. Hence strong regularization is needed. A simple iterative technique has been developed for non-blind deconvolution using Richardson Lucy Algorithm of two convolved functions. The method is described as follows along with some experimental results. The goal of this paper is to preserve the details of the image, while suppressing ringing and noise artifacts by controlling regularization strength according to the local characteristics of the image.


Rapid recovery of proteasome activity may contribute to intrinsic and acquired resistance to FDA-approved proteasome inhibitors. Previous studies have demonstrated that the expression of proteasome genes in cells treated with sub-lethal concentrations of proteasome inhibitors is upregulated by the transcription factor Nrf1 (NFE2L1), which is activated by a novel DDI2 protease. Here we demonstrate that the recovery of proteasome activity is DDI2-independent and occurs before the upregulation of proteasome gene expression. The recovery requires protein translation, but the efficiency of translation of proteasomal mRNA does not increase upon proteasome inhibition. Based on this data, we propose that the increased efficiency of proteasome assembly is responsible for the recovery of proteasome activity.


This research report was commissioned before the new UK Government took office on 11 May 2010. As a result the content may not reflect current Government policy and may make reference to the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) which has now been replaced by the Department for Education (DFE). The views expressed in this report are the authors' and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department for Education. With over £30bn of public money spent every year, English schools face complex financial decisions that relate almost exclusively to their spending. In this Report, we analyse the degree of variation in expenditure items between schools, and examine how much of that variation is due to their circumstances, and how much reflects specific decisions made by the school. Lastly, we consider the potential for improvements in resource utilisation. Although these issues have been addressed before, most of the existing literature focuses on overall school expenditure. Thus we contribute in a number of ways: 1. By exploiting a new dataset, we can examine schools at a very disaggregated level and isolate some of the real operational decisions that they make on how to allocate their budgets. The new School Workforce Census covers all employees in all schools in the country, and includes information such as age, pay and tenure; 2. We control in considerable detail for the schools' circumstances to ensure that we are focusing on schools that are facing the same operational environment; 3. To better understand discretion over expenditure, we analyse what schools do with their " residual " income. That is, income which is not accounted for by their circumstances; 4. We use data over two years to examine how schools adjust their spending in response to changes in their income. Our results show that there is huge variation in the allocation of expenditure by schools. Even controlling in great detail for the specific individual circumstances of each school, much of that variation remains. For some components of expenditure, the decisions appear to be largely unexplained by any observable features of the school. The results show that even many of the important operational financial decisions of schools are largely idiosyncratic. The degree of difference in expenditure is such that it seems very hard to interpret this as optimal responses to the different perceived local rates of return to particular factors in the education production function. Of course …


Abstract : An oceanic planetary boundary layer model is used to determine the effects of fresh water flux on the seasonal pycnocline and mixed layer at Ocean Station 'P' (50 N, 145 W). First sensitivity of the model was tested by constant forcing with a range of values of precipitation minus evaporation. Then realistic forcing with daily average evaporation, monthly average precipitation values, observed winds and heat fluxes were applied to the model for a simulation of the year 1967. The sensitivity study revealed that precipitation and evaporation have a significant impact on the seasonal evolution of mixed layer depth and temperature, even though the surface heat flux is not changed. The use of realistic forcing indicates the importance of having realistic initial salinity profiles in such models. This is especially true in the autumn and winter seasons when rainfall reduces seasonal mixed layer deepening by as much as 25 meters, representing a 20% change. For the simulation of the year 1967, the model-predicted values of salinity very closely follow climatology for the first half of the year. During the late summer and fall, predicted salinity is greater than suggested by the climatology and may be due to unrealistically steady values of precipitation. (Author)


The domain development during the magnetization reversal is studied in TbFeCo films with field-induced in-plane anisotropy (K/sub in/ approximately=10/sup 5/ Jm/sup -3/) by means of a Kerr microscope equipped with an electronic image processing system. The nucleation of the domains does not take place at the film edge, but rather at defects which have a strongly deviating polar component of their easy axis. The coercivity of the films is determined by wall friction. The threshold against the nucleation of reversed domains is taken at a lower external field. Nevertheless, the hysteresis curves in the easy direction are very steep due to the viscous continuous motion of the walls after domain nucleation. The reversal preferably starts at line defects that re perpendicular to the easy axis because of the demagnetizing fields that support the reversal. A unique relationship between the polar M-components in defects and the in-plane M in the adjacent regions is caused by a tilt in the local easy anisotropy axis within the defect. >


In this paper, the authors obtain the boundedness of the fractional integral operators with variable kernels on the variable exponent weak Morrey spaces based on the results of Lebesgue space with variable exponent as the infimum of exponent function p(·) equals 1. The corresponding commutators generated by BMO and Lipschitz functions are considered, respectively.


Lithium-sulfur batteries are one of the most promising battery systems nowadays. However, this system is still not suitable for practical application because of the number of shortcomings that limit its cycle life. One of the main problems related to this system is the volumetric change during cycling. This deficiency can be compensated by using the appropriate binder. In this article, we present the influence of a water-soluble binder carrageenan on the electrochemical properties of the Li-S battery. The electrode with a carrageenan binder provides good stability during cycling and at high C-rates. Electrochemical testing was also carried out with a small prototype pouch cell with a capacity of 16 mAh. This prototype pouch cell with the water-based carrageenan binder showed lower self-discharge and low capacity drop. Capacity decreased by 7% after 70 cycles.


Learning is most effective when accompanied by doing. If someone desires to become a baseball player, being told how to play the game, watching others play and even understanding the rules of the game are mostly ineffective if the individual never "swings the bat". This paper outlines the implementation of this method (swinging the bat) in Computer Science courses being taught at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Previously lecture-based courses were vastly improved by introducing real-world industry projects that allowed students to fully engage in the learning process. Partnering students with non-profit, educational and civic entities requiring professional deliverables mimics real-world business scenarios that require real-world professionalism. Typical industry projects encompass a wide array of skill sets, everything from time management and team collaboration to oral and presentation skills as well as the technology and processes required. While the success of these project-based courses has been overwhelming, this type of teaching pedagogy is not void of pitfalls and challenges. While outlining the process implemented in structuring these Computer Science courses to be project-based, this paper also addresses the challenges to be considered when choosing to adopt this teaching methodology.


Food is edible materials daily to meet the needs for maintenance, growth, employment, and replacement of damaged tissue. The increase of population, technological advances, advances in education and the economy, as well as changes in the value system in society, spurring the growth of the food industry for the manufacture of processed food products as much as possible so as to meet the needs of the market. But in general it is not offset by an increase in the safety and quality of processed food itself. This study was to determine the extent berujuan Household Food Industry in Karanganyar apply CPPB-IRT in kesuluruhan aspects of production. This research is descriptive quantitative research conducted on a number of Household Food Industry is in Karanganyar to assess the application of CPPB-IRT in these industries represented by grouping these industries into the so-called Level IRTP levels, where Level IRTP consists of Level I to Level IV. Primary data were obtained by using the check list and interview directly with the responsible party knows or all activities in the industrial production, followed by direct observation of the production activity in each Household Food Industry. The results of the study of 81 IRTP spread Karanganyar indicate that as many as 53% IRTP are at Level IV


To validate a research model established by Ferro et al. (2016) in which trust and commitment are mediators between economic and non-economic satisfaction. The sample for this study comprises a total of 400 small and medium-sized Puerto Ricans enterprises from various industrial sectors. A total of 133 usable questionnaires were returned, generating a response rate of 33.25%. A research model consisting of hypothesised relationships between constructs was tested based on a survey of small and medium-sized companies in Puerto Rico. Structural equation modelling using AMOS software was used to analyse the data. Trust and commitment are mediators between economic satisfaction and non-economic satisfaction. Valid and reliable theory should be applicable across contexts and through time offering a foundation of the generality of empirical findings. It provides managerial support and guidance to assess satisfaction, trust, and commitment in business relationships. It offers a foundation of validity and reliability across contexts and through the time of a nomological framework consisting of economic and non-economic satisfaction, trust and commitment.


ABSTRACT This paper discusses the main factors contributing to the development of networks between public, nonprofit and private organizations providing social services. Industrial marketing and purchasing literature was mobilized to analyze those networks, and a case study research was used to discuss how actors, activities and resources are interrelated to produce a collective and cooperative action to provide social services to population. The research has contributions for theory and practice. First, the ongoing interaction and exchange, through the implementation of collective activities leads to building ties and stable relationships that contribute to the mobilization of stakeholders. Second, the informality of interactions facilitates relationship building among stakeholders insofar as it facilitates the coordination and cooperation in the network, reinforcing trust relationships. Finally, performing collective activity requires that the actors interact, share resources, adapt their internal structures and develop interdependencies between actors, resources and activities, leading to the development of the perceived network value.


By use of a vehicles emission dispersion model and GIS, software with graphic interfaces is set up. The users can display vehicles emission pollution in terms, of pollutants concentrations status when selecting the point in the interface. Moreover, influences of the emission dispersion on ambient air quality in the selected point or area can be quickly displayed in the interface through analysis and calculation by the software procedure.


A large scholarly literature exists about plans for a peasant reform in the reign of Nicholas I. However, the most important archival documents about the debates on the peasant question remain unpublished. The new book by T. V. Andreeva "The distant approaches to the Great Reform: The peasant question in Russia in the reign of Nicholas I" seeks to fill this lacuna. The book begins with a historical survey of the six government committees that were tasked with planning reforms, followed by an extensive collection of archival documents of both official and private provenance. In the debates under Nicholas I, the specific problem of serfdom was folded into the larger question of the social position of the peasants, which the government regarded as a source of both political instability and economic backwardness. The solution that officials envisioned was a reform that was comprehensive, multi-faceted, and gradual. Step-by-step, the evolution that had led to creation of serfdom from the 17th century onward was to be reversed: the landlords were gradually to lose their power over the person of the serfs, who were to be attached only to the land itself. Eventually, the serfs were to be emancipated with land; in the meantime, restrictions on the power of landlords and a comprehensive reform of the state peasants were to serve as preparatory steps. According to Andreeva, the vision of Nicholas and his advisors was too limited and conservative, and premised on the mistaken belief that it was possible to modernize the country without touching the core of the sociopolitical system.


Ellis, et al., "Isolation of Alcohol Oxidase and Two Other Methanol Regulatable Genes from the Yeast Pichia pas toris', Molecular and Collular Biology, Salk Insistute, vol. 5, pp. 1111–1121 (1985). Altschul et al., "Basic Local Alignment Search Tool." Jour nal of Molecular Biology, 1990, pp. 403-410, vol. 215, No. 3. Birren et al., "Sequence Analysis, A Laboratory Manual." Genome Analysis, 1997, pp. 543–559, vol. 1, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. Carrillo et al., "The Multiple Sequence Alignment Problem in Biology." Siam Journal on Applied Mathematics, 1988, pp. 1073-1082, vol. 48, No. 5. Coulson A., "High Performance Searching of Biosequence Database." Trends in Biotechnology, 1994, pp. 76–80, vol. 12, No. 3(122). Cregg et al., "Functional Characterization of Two Alcohol Oxidase Genes from the Yeast Pichia pastoris." Molecular and Cellular Biology, 1989, pp. 1316–1323, vol. 9, No. 3. Cregg et al., "Recombinant Protein Expression in Pichia pastoris." Molecular Biotechnology, 2000, pp. 23-52, vol. 16, No. 1. Cregg et al., "Recent Advances in the Expression of Foreign Genes in Pichia pastoris." Biotechnology, 1993, pp. 905–910, vol. 11, No. 8. Devereux et al., "A Comprehensive Set of Sequence Analy sis Programs for the VAX." Nucleic Acids Research, 1984, pp. 387–395, vol. 12, No. 1. Guarente et al., "Fusion of Escherichia coli lacz to Cyto chrome c gene of Saccharomyces cervevisiae.' Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 1981, pp. 2199-2203, vol. 78, No. 4. Koutz et al., "Structural Comparison of the Pichia pastoris Alcohol Oxidase Genes." Yeast, 1989, pp. 167-177, vol. 5, No. 3. Ohi et al., "The Positive and Negative cis-acting Elements for Methanol Regulation in the Pichia pastoris AOX2 gene." Mol. Gen. Genet, 1994, pp. 489–499, vol. 243, No. 5. Miller J.H. (ed), "Experiment 48, Assay of B-Galactosi dase." Experiments in Molecular Genetic, Cold Spring Har bor Laboratory, 1972, pp. 352-355. Sears et al., "A Versatile Set of Vectors for Constitutive and Regulated Gene Expression in Pichia pastoris." Yeast, 1998, pp. 783–790, vol. 14, No. 5. Meinkoth et al., "Hybridization of Nucleic Acids Immobi lized on Solid Supports." Analytical Biochemistry, 1984, pp. 267–284, vol. 138, No. 1. Tschopp et al., "Expression of lacZ gene from two Metha nol-regulated Promoters in Pichia pastoris." Nucleic Acids Research, 1987, pp. 3859-3877, vol. 15, No. 9.


Rhizome is modification of stem that grows below the surface of the soil and produce new bud and roots from its segments. Besides being used as spices, rhizome also used by people as ingredients of traditional medicine to treat various diseases. This proves that rhizome has many benefits. However, the ability to recognize types of rhizome can only be done by certain people because rhizome has variety of types, aromas, and different colors. This study was designed to build an Android based application to recognize the types of rhizome, so that people can recognize types of rhizome without having special knowledge. The application was built using Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) methods with SqueezeNet architecture model. This study used 9 class of rhizome with Zingiberaceae Family, namely Bangle, Jahe, Kunyit Kuning, Kencur, Lengkuas, Temu Kunci, Temu Ireng, Temu Mangga, and Temulawak. Testing is carried out to know the performance of application such as accuracy level of application in recognize types of rhizome. Based on the results of testing with 54 rhizomes sample images, the application is capable of recognizing rhizomes types by obtaining a top-1 accuracy value of 41% and top-5 accuracy value of 81%.


In a previous work we developed a model for radiation losses in two conductors TEM transmission lines in free space. In this work we develop some fundamentals to generalize the above model for two conductors in dielectric insulation transmission lines.


The purpose of this research is to analyze the financial performance of
Bank BNI and Bank BTN when measured by a ratio of profitability. Measurement
of the ratio of profitability can be used as a benchmark of the effectiveness of
performance management when are reviewed from the profit. This type of
research is used descriptive quantitative data in the form of annual financial
statements of Bank BNI and Bank BTN for the period 2010-2012. The result of
the research obtained that for Bank BNI from the year 2010 to the year 2012
financial performance shows a stable and consistent this is look from the ROE,
ROA, and ratio of the NPM are increasing every year and a decrease of the ratio
of bopo that indicate the success of operational efficiency by management.
Whereas Bank BTN from the year 2010 to the year 2012 shows financial
performance which has not been stable yet consistent it is seen from the ratio of
ROA has decreases every year, the ratio of the ROE, NPM and BOPO that tends
to fluctuates.


Upon activation with either thrombin (T) or thrombin-thrombo modulin complex (T-TM), the zymogen protein C (PC) is transformed into a serine-protease, activated protein C(APC), by release of a small activation peptide. The rate of PC activation changes dramatically with T or with T-TM as a function of the Ca++ concentration in the activation medium, suggesting a configurational change of the zymogen in the presence of Ca++ . It has been shown that Ca++ binding to one single high-affinity binding site of gla-domainless PC is accompanied by a significant decrease of the intrinsic fluo rescence emission intensity of the protein and that the high-affinity binding site is retained following activation of gla-domain-less PC (J. Biol. Chem: 258; 5554, 1983). In the present work we have investigated the fluorescence properties of PC in order to answer the following questions: 1) is there a difference in the fluorescence properties of PC as compared to APC? 2) is there a difference between the conformational changes of PC activated with T or T-TM? From our experimental data we conclude that : a) the fluorescence emission intensity of fully activated PC is about 54% of the PC zymogen fluorescence intensity (λexc 280 nm, λ em 345 nm, 0.6 μuM PC or APC in 20 mMTris-HCl, 0.1 M NaCl, pH 7.8 at 25°C) ; b) during activation of PC (2 μM) with T-TM (150 nM) in the presence of 2 mM Ca++ , there is a good correlation (r=0.959) between fluorescence quenching and degree of PC activation, as measured by the rate of cleavage of the chromogenic substrate S-2238; c) the maximal fluorescence quench of PC activated with T or T-TM are virtually identical. Preliminary data suggest that Ca++ affects differently the fluorescence emission properties of PC and APC. These results suggest that evaluation of the fluorescence properties of PC might represent a valuable tool for the characterization of abnormal PC molecules.


Single HLA locus mismatched stem cell transplantation (SCT) is applied in patients with hematological malignancies who may benefit from allogeneic transplantation but lack an HLA-matched donor. Although HLA disparity between patient and donor increases the risk of developing GVHD, the relative risk of GVHD after single HLA locus mismatched SCT is only 1.5 fold. In view of the high frequency of allo-HLA reactive T-cells, which is about 1000-fold higher than the frequencies of minor histocompatibility antigen specific T-cells, this risk increase is lower than could be expected. Since almost all nucleated cells express HLA class I, one would expect all single HLA class I mismatched transplanted patients to develop severe GVHD. We hypothesized therefore that the presentation of the HLA class I mismatched allele on nucleated cells of the patient is not sufficient to elicit an effective allo-immune response. We characterized the allo-immune response in a patient with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who was treated with a T-cell depleted SCT from a sibling donor who was HLA identical except for an HLA-A2 crossover. Six months after SCT, donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) of 2.5*10e6 T-cells/kg was given for mixed chimerism comprising 99% T-cells of patient origin. No clinical response and no GVHD developed. Twelve months after SCT 95% of T-cells were still of patient origin, and AML relapse occurred with 9% blasts in bone marrow for which a second DLI containing 7.5*10e6 T-cells/kg was given. Five weeks after the DLI the patient died of grade IV GVHD. During the GVHD, conversion to donor chimerism developed. In peripheral blood of the patient 90% of CD8 and 40% of CD4 donor T-cells were activated as determined by HLA-DR expression. To analyze the nature of the immune response, the activated CD8 and CD4 donor T-cells were single cell sorted, expanded and tested for alloreactivity and HLA restriction using cytotoxicity and cytokine production assays against a panel of target cells blocked with different HLA-mAbs. 82% of the CD8 T-cell clones were alloreactive and restricted to the allo-HLA-A2. The response was highly polyclonal as shown by the usage of different T-cell receptor Vβ chains with different CDR3 sequences. 26% of the CD4 clones were alloreactive and this response was also polyclonal. The CD4 clones were HLA-DR1 restricted and recognized donor EBV-LCL transduced with HLA-A2, indicating that the peptide recognized in HLA-DR1 was derived from the mismatched HLA-A2 molecule. The recognized epitope was demonstrated to comprise AA 103–120 derived from a hypervariable region of HLA-A2. At the time of the first DLI, only HLA class I expressing T-cells and non-hematopoietic patient derived cells were present, capable of activating the CD8 T-cells but not of triggering the CD4 response. Leukemic blasts present at the time of the second DLI, however, expressed both HLA-DR and HLA class I, and were shown to activate the CD4 as well as the CD8 clones. We hypothesize that the HLA class II expression on hematopoietic cells of the patient at the time of the relapse was essential for the development of this immune response. In conclusion, these results indicate a role for patient leukemic blasts acting as host APCs in initiating the GVH response by activating both a CD4 and CD8 T-cell response in an HLA class I mismatched setting.


INTRODUCTION High patient compliance and flexibility in designin g dosage forms attracted the oral drug delivery systems to be the most convenient mode of drug administration when compared to other dosage forms. Of these, matrix systems have gained widespread importance in controlled drug delivery due to cost-effective manufacturing technology. ABSTRACT The objective of the study was to develop controlle d r lease matrix tablets of Losartan potassium by s implex lattice design and evaluating the relationship and influence of different content levels of HPMC, Eudr agit RSPO, Eudragit RLPO and ethyl cellulose, in order t o achieve a zero-order release of Losartan potassiu m. Tablets were prepared by wet granulation process. In-vitro drug release study revealed that HPMC causes initial burst release of drug hence combining HPMC with Eudragit sustained the action for 8hrs (95.92±0.57% release). Fitting the in-vitro drug release data to Korsmeyer equation indicated t hat diffusion along with erosion could be the mechanism for drug release. In conclusion, results suggest that drug r elease kinetics from these formulations corresponded best to zero-order kinetics. Compared to conventional ta blets, release of model drug from these HPMC matrix tablet s was prolonged, leading to achieve an effective therapy with low dosage of the drug, to reduce the frequency of medication.


Abstract The reflected critical slab problem is investigated in one-speed neutron transport theory for reflecting boundary conditions. The neutron angular flux is expanded in a series of first kind Chebyshev polynomials and isotropic, backward and forward scattering kernel is used as the scattering function. The critical sizes for one-speed neutrons in a uniform finite slab surrounded by identical reflectors from both sides are calculated for various values of the collision parameter, backward and forward scattering and reflection coefficient. Numerical values calculated for the critical slab are presented in the tables and are found to be in good agreement with literature values.


About one of every six business stories focuses on international news, increasingly with a global emphasis, this content analysis of Business Week, Forbes, and Fortune reveals. The sample of 1964–1968, 1974–1978, and 1984–1988 stories finds there are more stories in the later than earlier period, but they are shorter so the amount of total space devoted to international stories has remained constant. Stories mention a U.S. connection about half the time. The relationship between U.S. trade and international coverage was relatively weak, with Western Europe covered more than U.S. trade would justify and the Americas covered less. Cultural ties proved as important as proximity.


In today's feminist studies and movements, theories of gender as a social, cultural and linguistic construct predominate. However, there are also theories of biological and evolutionary psychological determinism. But on both sides of the discussion, gender is always considered to be determined by something: society or biology. This dissertation questions this determinism, and asks what is the place of the individual, searching for an active role in the construction of their own gender. Answers will be sought in the neuroscientific and psychoanalytic theories of personal identity construction. The analysis of these theories aims to broaden the hypothesis of gender construction, and to contribute to the understanding of the theoretic conflicts in this area, offering a biopsychosocial proposal of gender, that invites reflection of a more profound meaning of the word "emancipation".


The central topic of this chapter is whether holism or atomism captures the truth about normative reasons. Holism can be understood as a weak view about the nature of reasons, which would allow for invariance, or as a strong view which rules out invariance. There are four main problems with strong holism, or Jonathan Dancy's arguments for it: a plausible particularism based on it is likely to be in practice very close to generalism; Dancy assumes the correctness of certain commonsense views about our reasons; his examples are of non-ultimate reasons; and there are certain universal principles it is hard to believe could be wrong, such as that the causing of suffering to a non-rational sentient being always counts against an action. The difficulty with weak holism is that justification can be understood as analogous to explanation, and this gives us an atomistic and generalist conception of a normative reason. Keywords:atomism; generalism; holism; Jonathan Dancy; particularism


A fully integrated CMOS base-band part of a low-IF WPAN receiver is presented, which consists of an active complex filter, an automatic gain control unit, and a 10-bit pipeline ADC. The highlights of the receiver include a low-power active complex filter with a new gm -C filter structure and a high-resolution, low power pipeline ADC using averaging and double sampling techniques. The chip was designed using 0.18-mum standard CMOS process. The filter provides more than 55-dB image rejection ratio and IM3 of -50-dB for 0.2-Vpp input signal. The converter has a peak SFDR of 61 dB, maximum DNL of 0.5 LSB, and INL of 0.9 LSB. The whole circuit draws 4-mA from a 1.8-V power supply


Evaluation of the application of the knowledge management needs to be done so that the company can determine the effectiveness of knowledge management to help improve employee performance and also provide a reference for the company in taking a decision when it will develop existing knowledge management. PT Telecommunications Indonesia makes portaltelkom.co.id as a form of corporate concern in supporting the development of knowledge and to facilitate the employee in completing the work. The use of framework north and Probst in measurement when evaluating knowledge management is proven to yield significant results. Linkert scale calculation and testing of the actual percentage reached the same conclusion, namely knowledge management at PT Telecommunications Indonesia has been good (scale linkert = 4.01 while the percentage of actual = 82.20%). This situation meets the wishes of the company, so the knowledge management that there is no need to be replaced.


A timing model for the design of an AM display was established integrally considering the charging process and delay propagating in the AM FPD driving. Based on the model, the bottle neck of different size FPDs was analyzed.


I 15 percent of the administered dose was found in the muscle of the dissected muscle tissue. Negligible amounts were found in the muscle of the opposite thigh in each case. Hence it would appear that both in man and in the rabbit phenylbutazone was precipitated from its sodium salt solution (pH 8.2) in the injecti ')n site (pH 7.2-7.4). Since the amount of fluid available in an intramuscular injection site is very restricted compared with the amount of fluid available in the gastrointestinal tract the phenylbutazone dissolves more slowly from the intramuscular site than it does in the gastrointestinal tract. Such dissolution-rate controlled absorption from an intramuscular injection site should also be a warning that care must be taken in the preparation of dosage forms for oral administration as well. A drug may also be administered intramuscularly in solution-suspension form. This terminology merely indicates that the drug has appreciable water solubility but the injected fluid has considerable excess drug in crystalline form which is in suspension in the saturated solution. Providing the form of the drug administered has appreciable solubility in the fluids at the injection site the observed plasma (or serum) concentration curve after injection of such a solution-suspension will be very similar to that obtained with just a solution of the drug. The peak concentration obtained with the solution-suspension will be slightly delayed with respect to time from that obtained with the solution itself. An example is spectinomycin dihydrochloride: 1 1.25 ml of a sterile aqueous solution-suspension containing 400 mg/ml (total dose 500 mgbase equivalents) was administered intramuscularly to the same six subjects in crossover fashion as received the drug intravenously (above). Blood samples were taken at the same times as in the intravenous phase of the study and the samples were treated similarly. The average serum concentrations are plotted in Figure 10.3. The data were fitted by a non-linear least squares method employing a digital computer to


Immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies mediate allergic reactions, and their binding to FcaRI is responsible for longterm sensitisation of mast cells and basophils [1]. Disruption of this interaction is a validated strategy for therapeutic intervention in allergic diseases including asthma [2]. IgE is known to display an acutely and asymmetrically bent conformation in the Fc region through which it binds to FcaRI; this bend becomes even more acute upon receptor engagement, as shown both crystallographically and in solution [3-7]. We report the crystal structure of a complex formed between IgE-Fc and two bound Fab fragments of a inhibitory anti-IgE antibody, and show that IgE-Fc can also adopt a totally extended conformation. The IgE-Fc has adopted a completely symmetrical conformation that requires an "unbending" of approximately 120° from the previously characterised structure. Molecular dynamics simulation reveals a series of stable conformations for free IgE-Fc that suggest a pathway from the acutely bent crystal structure through stable, extended conformations close to that seen in the Fab complex. We show by ITC, stoppedflow kinetic and FRET analyses that IgE-Fc adopts extended conformations in solution, and that these are an intrinsic property of IgEFc, not induced by Fab binding. We propose that IgE-Fc passes through these extended conformations as it flips between two bent conformations in which the CΣ2 domains fold back on opposite faces of the CΣ3-CΣ4 domains. The ability of IgE to exist in both bent and extended conformations may be essential for allergen recognition by IgE-Fc when bound to FcΣRI on the surface of mast cells, and as the B cell receptor respectively. Understanding the full range of conformations accessible to the free IgE molecule is also key to developing IgE-targeted therapies for allergic disease.


The main problem of this study is the ineffectiveness of the workings of employees of PT. Graha Fortuna Purnama which is marked by the low performance of employees due to the fact that there are still employees who do not understand how to use the EDMS (Electronic Document Management System) system properly. This is presumably due to the company's lack of commitment to achieving its goals because employee job satisfaction has not been created to the maximum. This research method using a quantitative approach, with a population of EDMS application users is an employee of 203 employees, an engineering random sampling method and set aside a sample of 134 employees. Data analysis techniques used in this research are by using multiple linear regression analysis, which aims to test the effect of multiple independent and dependent variables. It is also used to obtain the results that are valid and reliable data that can be used to solve the existing problems in the company. From these results obtained results that EDMS, organizational commitment, job satisfaction together with a significant effect on the performance of employees of PT. Graha Fortuna Purnama. The conclusions obtained by EDMS, organizational commitment, job satisfaction empirically have an effect on employee performance either partially or simultaneously. Suggestions are given so that companies further improve employee performance by conducting training, education, and outreach about the importance of EDMS.


The advantages of friction stir welding (FSW) are well known from numerous publications. In this work it was proposed to apply FSW in restoration of sizes of copper plates of machines for continuous casting of billets (MCCB) moulds and for the further surface hardening with nickel or nickel alloys. The microstructure of characteristic zones of joints was studied. Application of FSW provides quality joints with sufficiently high mechanical properties of deposited layer. The structure of copper—copper and copper—nickel joints was studied. It was established that in formation of joints the mechanical stirring of metals plays a leading role, and their mutual diffusion affects them to a much lesser extent. Experimental investigations were laid as the basis for development of restoration technology of copper plates with nickel coating. Ref., 10 Figures.


The paper examines how pre‐play communication between players with partial credibility affects the ensuing strategic interaction. We consider an environment where players are uncertain about the economic and psychological costs of reneging on promises but learn these at the time of their implementation. We demonstrate that in the equilibrium both players make promises. The latter are partially effective in terms of achieving collusive outcomes and improving the players' payoffs under strategic complementarity, where promises are used to signal future collusive behavior. In contrast, under strategic substitutability the ability to make a promise can be used to signal future aggressive behavior and one of the players may even get a lower expected (before the type is revealed) payoff than in the game without communication.


In steel-making processes of iron and steel industry, the purity and quality of steel can be dependent on the
amount of CO contained in the molten metal. Recently, the supersonic oxygen jet is being applied to the
molten metal in the electric furnace and thus reduces the CO amount through the chemical reactions between
the oxygen jet and molten metal, leading to a better quality of steel. In this application, the supersonic oxygen
jet is limited in the distance over which the supersonic velocity is maintained. In order to get longer
supersonic jet propagation into the molten metal, a supersonic coherent jet is suggested as one of the
alternatives which are applicable to the electric furnace system. It has a flame around the conventional
supersonic jet and thus the entrainment effect of the surrounding gas into the supersonic jet is reduced, leading
to a longer propagation of the supersonic jet. The objective of the present study is to investigate the
supersonic coherent jet flow. A computational study is carried out to solve the compressible, axisymmetric
Navier-Stokes equations. The computational results of the supersonic coherent jet are compared with the
conventional supersonic jet.


That the thyroid plays an important, though little understood, part in growth and in the coordination and regulation of vital phenomena has been demonstrated repeatedly-with unusual clearness in the case of amphibia'-and it is fully recognized by physiologists. We are also familiar with some of the more conspicuous constitutional disturbances which follow derangements of the normal activity of the gland. We suspect that the latter is associated in some way with the development of important racial characteristics.2 And only recently evidence has been presented that resistance to certain infections is likewise in some obscure way linked up with the degree of development (or activity) of the thyroid and of other endocrines. This information has come through the systematic study of experimental syphilis and tumor metastases in rabbits by Brown and Pearce3 carried out upon a sufficiently large scale to minimize individual variations. The authors mentioned found that changes occurred in the size and in the gross and microscopic appearance of the thyroid gland coincidently with definite stages in disease reactions. Unfortunately, any explanation of the basic phenomena is prevented at the outset by our lack of comprehension of the mechanism of thyroid secretion. The gland is constructed upon a peculiar and totally different plan from any others.


Happiness and dignity are eternal pursuances of human.Happiness is not only related to the conditions of the subject,but also affected to a great degree by objective social conditions like economy,politics,culture,society and environment.The government plays an indispensable role and assumes important responsibilities in providing and guaranteeing these conditions.To create external conditions for the people to live happily and help them obtain more sense of happiness is the undeniable responsibility of the government.


In order to make X-ray measurement of stress using oscillation technique, its optimum conditions were studied with respect to the grain size of the specimen and the geometrical conditions of the soller slit system. Investigation was also made of the influence that the oscillating angle, the oscillating speed and the time constant would have on the diffraction profiles or the stress determined by X-rays. The abnormality of diffraction profile of coarse grained specimen, caused by the geometrical conditions of the soller slit system, decreased by the oscillation of the X-ray optical system. And the number of grains, which contributed to the diffraction, increased by the oscillation technique. The diffraction profile obtained with the instrument became normal, when the range of oscillating angle was twice as large as the half breadth of the diffraction profile. And the peak position of diffraction profile could also be determined with ease. The periodic change of intensity was observed on the diffraction profile when the oscillation technique was used. This phenomenon was remarkable with the incnease of incident angle ψ0. It was due to the difference of diffracted X-ray intensity for different angle in oscillation. When


Objective: Discrimination of ovarian tumors is a necessary procedure for proper treatment. In this study, we developed a convolutional neural network model with a convolutional autoencoder (CNN-CAE) to classify ovarian tumors.
 Methods: A total of 1,613 ultrasound images of ovarian tumors with the known pathologic diagnosis were pre-processed and augmented for deep learning analysis. We designed the CNN-CAE model that removes the unnecessary information on ultrasound images (e.g. calipers and annotations) and classifies ovarian tumors into five classes. We assessed the CNN-CAE model performance using a validation set of 327 images with the following metrics: accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Gradient-weighted class activation mapping (Grad-CAM) was applied to visualize and verify the CNN-CAE model results qualitatively.
 Results: In classifying normal versus ovarian tumors, the CNN-CAE model showed 96.0% accuracy, 96.5% sensitivity, and 0.9837 AUC with DenseNet161 CNN architecture. In determining malignancy of ovarian tumors, the CNN-CAE model showed 86.85% accuracy, 75.68% sensitivity, and 0.9225 AUC with DenseNet121 CNN architecture. The Grad-CAM results show that the CNN-CAE model finds valid texture and morphology features from the ultrasound images and classifies ovarian tumors from these features.
 Conclusion: CNN-CAE is a feasible diagnostic tool that is capable of robustly classifying ovarian tumors by eliminating marks on ultrasound images. CNN-CAE demonstrates a significant application value in clinical conditions.
 Citation Format: Youn Jin Choi, Yuyeon Jung. Ovarian tumor diagnosis using deep convolutional neural networks and denoising convolutional autoencoder [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 1925.


From engineering application,the mixed sensitivity problems of systems with output multiplicative uncertainties were investigated.Beased on H ∞ state feedback theory and loop transfer recovery(LTR) technique, an observer based robust H ∞/LTR state feedback synthesis method was develped.The method involves two stages.The first stage is target design,that is,under the assumption that the states of the system are available for feedback,a static H ∞ state feedback controller is designed to satisfy the robustness and performance specifications.The second stage is recovery design,that is ,the properties of the target H ∞ state feedback are reobtained by designing state observers.An example was given to illustrate the validity of the method.


On the basis of analyzing the necessity of profile of control measurements in the development of Zhongyuan oilfield and present situation of industry "three wastes"(buck residue,waste pulp, saw wood ash),the feasibility of the profile control using these wastes has been studied. The tests for pore changes include core permeabilities,casting image, Hg pilo-pipe pressure cure, scanning electron microscopy. And tests inthe well site have been carried out. Results have shown that these "wastes" can be used in the profile control of Zhongyuan oilfield .Some improvement and suggestion have beenput forward.


Track technology depends decisively on the track structure of the material after irradiation. In order to reveal microstructures of the ion-tracks, many techniques have been applied to characterize the track. Conductometric method is wildly used in the area as it can monitor in-situ the pore formation and growth processes that are closely related to structures of the ion track.


We develop an analytical solution to the dynamic multi-period portfolio choice problem of an investor with risky liabilities and time varying investment opportunities. We use the model to compare the asset allocation of investors who take liabilities into account, assuming time varying returns and a multi-period setting with the asset allocation of myopic ALM investors. In the absence of regulatory constraints on asset allocation weights, there are significant gains to investors who have access to a dynamic asset allocation model with liabilities. The gains are smaller under the typical funding ratio constraints faced by pension funds.


In order to ensure the safety construction and support of the large span open- off cut for No. 11113 coal mining face in Panbei Mine,a pilot gateway and secondary reaming gateway method were applied to the construction of the open-off cut. The combined support parameters of the bolt / steel mesh / anchor were designed and observations were conducted on the deformation features of the open- off cut surface and the deep surrounding rock,the stress features of the bolt( anchor) and single prop and others at the each construction stage. With the analysis on the mine strata pressure observations,the support parameters were optimized,dense timber chocks were added in the open- off cut and an excellent support effect was obtained.


Catheter navigation is typically based on fluoroscopy. This implies exposure to harmful radiation, lack of depth perception and limited soft-tissue contrast. Catheter navigation would benefit from guidance that makes better use of detailed pre-operatively acquired MR/CT images, while reducing radiation exposure and improving spatial awareness of the catheter pose and shape. A prerequisite for such guidance is an accurate registration between the catheter tracking system and the MR/CT scans. Existing registration methods are lengthy and cumbersome as they require a lot of user interaction. This forms a major obstacle for their adoption into clinical practice. This paper proposes a radiation-free registration method that minimizes the impact on the surgical workflow and avoids most user interaction. The method relies on catheters with embedded sensors that provide intra-operative data that can either belong to the vessel wall or to the lumen of the vessel. Based on the acquired surface and lumen points an accurate registration is computed automatically, with minimal user interaction. Validation of the proposed method is performed on a synthetic yet realistic aorta phantom. Input from electromagnetic tracking, force sensing, and intra-vascular ultrasound are used as intra-operative sensory data.


The results of studies conducted confirm the possibility of infecting rabbits with the cattle leucosis virus. It is pointed out that infection material may be the factor of transmitting the cattle leucosis virus and, hence, serve as a source of infection communication.


The issue of public debt, including its service is relevant to most countries. As a result of the study, the importance of this problem was identifi ed with appropriate arguments in the writings of scientists. Identifying the eff ect of public debt on economic growth and debt policy in the Visegrad four countries. The objectives of the article are: to review the literature on this subject and to compare the views of scientists; to identify the level of infl uence of public debt and external debt on GDP dynamics in these countries; to justify the forecast level of public debt by 2020. In the research process, statistical, comparative, economic-mathematical methods. To study this eff ect built linear regression model for each country and compiled by the regression equation using the method of least squares. The importance of identifying the relationship between the dynamics of public debt and economic growth is caused by the fact that in countries of V4 Group are observed diff erent approaches to the formation of debt policy. The level of Public debt as a percentage of GDP in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia of the period of 2011–2015 has been analyzed. Using a mathematical apparatus, the impact of debt on GDP can be analyzed, it shows that this impact on GDP in all countries of the V4 Group can be diff erent as strong – Czech Republic and Hungary, and signifi cant – Poland and prominent – Slovakia. In order to more broadly identify the infl uence of other factors on economic growth, the main indicators are analyzed, in particular infl ation, exports, imports, unemployment, etc. Poland is the most economically developed country of the V4 countries and the GDP dynamics has a great importance to the debt ratio. During 2016 – mid-2018, the Polish government predicts a slight increase in the dynamics of GDP and the volume of this type of debt will grow at a moderate pace. Such stability is evidence of the reliability of an economic system that can withstand globalization challenges. The results of the study indicate that each of the countries of the V4 Group pursues its own economic policy, which is the most optimal for some periods. It is safe to assert that the growth of exports and imports is a signifi cant factor in ensuring of economic growth in the V4 countries. It is worth noting that an important factor of economic growth of Slovakia is strong economic ties with Germany, which is Slovakia's number one trade partner. Czech Republic is the second largest trading partner for Slovakia, both in terms of exports and imports.


Introduction Research in the area of building performance simulation is a wide concept. A distinction can be made between different topics related to simulation: simulation environments, development of design tools, (Simplified) methods, (feasibility) studies with use of building simulation, quality assurance of tools and simulations. This paper focuses on the development of design tools/environments and is limited to a few research developments: Climasim, developments at TNO, and the foundation of the Knowledge Center Buildings & Systems.


Reuse of software components available in open distributed systems is a promising approach for efficient development of complex distributed applications. In open distributed systems, type mechanisms are used both to find appropriate external software components and also to guarantee that their respective interfaces match. Furthermore, a type manager allows application developers to interactively browse existing functionality and enables the automatic mediation of compatible software components at run-time. This paper presents a uniform view for handling the functionality offered by software components regardless of context-specific aspects and a framework that allows for the automatic deduction of different flavors of compatibility relations. Finally, we describe our current type management prototype implementation.


The invention discloses a terylene fine-grid fabric. Warp yarn and weft yarn both adopt big bright fully-drawn yarn, wherein the titer of the big bright fully-drawn yarn is 20 deniers, and the big bright fully-drawn yarn comprises 24 fibres; the adopted warp yarn and the adopted weft yarn form a square grid in a distance with the length of 0.1cm, and the four sides of the grid adopt double-follow fibres so as to form a three-dimensional grid shape. The invention solves the problems in the prior art and provides the terylene fine-grid fabric which not only is light and thin but also is firm and wearable.


[...] swearing-in ceremony in the gardens of the Tuynhuys are (left to right) Dr Ferdie Harzenberg, Deputy Minister of Bantu Mr Hennie Smit, Minister of Coloured Relations, Mr Alwyn Schlebusch, Minister of Public Works, the Prime Minister, Mr Vorster, Dr Diederichs, Mr Bram Raubenheimer, Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, and Dr Andries Treurnicht, Deputy Minister of Bantu Administration and Education.


Visual LISP language is favored by many people for its simple and practical. Because of most CAD teaching materials centre on introducing concrete languages' use and single symbol making, lack of a comprehensive descriptionof the whole process of developing professional symbols library, it is very difficult for People having mastery of LISP languages to developing professional symbol library by this language. In this article, the authors develop a symbols library for common Topographic Maps and design an environment to transfer and input the symbols with the aid of Visual LISP language, including defining graphic coordinates systems, coordinates transformations, putting library files in order, calling user-defined file etc. This paper provides great help for people who Devote oneself to map symbol library system development.


As in Canada, the challenges of health care reform are a constant political refrain in electoral battles in the United States. Since the 1940s, in fact, successive presidential elections have been marked by the issues of health care access, cost, and coverage. The failure of Harry Truman's fair deal proposals and the success of Lyndon Johnson's great society project both had core visions for health reform, while the more recent challenges faced during Bill Clinton's first term in office underscore the persistent problems in addressing health care issues in the US.1The 2008 election year lived up to its promise of political spectacle, with a showdown between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination, and the fresh image of Sarah Palin recasting the Republican ticket with John McCain. In the vortex of the personality politics that dominated the campaign, it remained important not to lose perspective on the real political issues of the contest. The policy stakes between the parties were real and salient for voters and candidates alike. And although the economic crises of the fall 2008 would dominate headlines, health care reform remained a main ballot box issue in the November election.HEALTH CARE IN THE 2008 CAMPAIGNIn most US political contests, "pocketbook" issues tend to dominate voter concerns, particularly in worsening economic times. Members of the babyboom generation have become increasingly insecure about their health-care future as costs soar and even middle-income Americans remain worried about being able to afford health care.The stakes also are high for businesses grappling with how to insure workers in an economic downturn and how to compete with firms in other countries - including Canada - that don't have to shoulder that burden directly. Yet even though a good number of business leaders recognize the need for health reform, the business community remains divided on the nature of needed change and has been unable to sustain or support concerted legislative efforts.2Moreover, the persistent problem of the uninsured - 47 million at last count - haunts every political candidate.3 Why the US can spend so much on health care and yet have so many residents uninsured has led to a lively scholarly debate, but the question of the uninsured is of key practical concern as well .4 This is because access to health care in the US depends on insurance coverage, not citizenship, as is the case in practically every other industrialized country.In fact, in the United States today, in sharp contrast to Canada, access to care is not guaranteed. Instead, access to care depends on one's insurance coverage, which varies widely between individuals and is determined by state of residence, employment status, financial capacity, age, and disability. Most Americans (and their dependents) are covered through voluntary employment-based health insurance, in which they share in paying the costs of premiums with their employer. A small minority carry individual private insurance.So, while Canadians bemoan rising taxes and politicians fret about increases in health care budgets, our concerns are largely about the collective impact of rising health care costs. In the US, meanwhile, those costs are felt directly in people's wallets. As the economy tightens and the potential for unemployment rises, so too does the possibility of losing coverage. But financial squeezes also come into play for the employed, since many low-wage workers cannot afford to pay health insurance premiums, while most part-time workers are not offered those benefits at all.As in Canada, health care reform in the US is also about government programs, public spending, and fiscal federalism. This is because government involvement in health care is substantial, through major federal legislation instated in the 1960s, through tax subsidies for health insurance for employees and the self-employed, and through extensive regulations of insurers and health maintenance organizations. …


A graduate research thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Science(M.Sc) in Information Systems.


Neurocognitive manifestations of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) have been reported in the acute phase, especially in critically ill patients. The potential mechanisms underlying these symptoms are not fully understood but probably involves the inflammatory, vascular, and neurotropic effect of the coronavirus. While short‐, mid‐and long‐term consequences remain unclear, patients with neurocognitive sequelae reminiscent of other cognitive disorders, including AD have been reported. The aim of this study is to investigate if there is an increased risk for long‐term cognitive dysfunction/impairment, biochemical and structural brain changes after a severe COVID‐19.


A 41-year-old man presented with pain in his right arm for 6 weeks, with no systemic problems. Radiography revealed a large lytic lesion in the proximal third of the humerus (figure 1), with elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR; 81 mm) and increased uptake only in the right humerus (figure 2) on a three phase isotope technetium 99-m (99mTc) bone scan. Histology of the lesion indicated it to be multiple myeloma; the tumour cells were positive for CD45 and CS 138. Following core biopsy, the patient sustained a pathological fracture requiring a closed interlocking humeral nail (figure 3 …


Purpose
This study aims to take a step toward integrating research regarding the image, role and identity of management accountants by understanding how employers' perceptions of the ideal management accountant image differ from operational managers' perceived role expectations, how management accountants perceive their identity and how those factors shape management accountants' understanding of who they are and want to be.

Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative design draws upon the case company's 100 job advertisements and 31 semi-structured interviews with management accountants and operational managers. Those data are entwined with role theory and its core concepts of expectations and identities and also early recruitment-related theoretical aspects such as image and employer branding.

Findings
The findings reveal how employers' perceptions of the ideal image and operational managers' role expectations shape and influence the identity of management accountants. However, management accountants distance themselves from a brand image and role expectations. They experience identity conflict between their current and desired identity, the perception of not being able to perform the currently desired role. Although this study presents some possible reasons and explanations, such as employer branding for the misalignment and discrepancy between perceptions of employer (image), expectations of operational managers (role) and management accountants' self-conception of the role (identity), this study argues that the identity of a management accountant results from organizational aspects of image and role and individual aspects of identity.

Research limitations/implications
Image and external role expectations can challenge identity construction and also serve as a source of conflict and frustration; thus, a more comprehensive approach to studying the identity of management accountants is necessary to understand what contributes to the fragility of their identity.

Practical implications
The results provide an understanding of the dynamics of the image, role and identity to support management accountants and employers and to further address the suggested dissonance and ambiguities.

Originality/value
This study contributes by showing how the dynamics and connections between the image, role and identity influence the identity construction of management accountants. Moreover, this study shows how overpromising as a part of employer branding might not reflect the reality experienced by management accountants but may cause frustration and threaten the management accountants' identity.


Side chains of conjugated polymers play an important role in their properties. To investigate the influence of side chains on photovoltaic properties, two conjugated polymers with benzo[1,2-b:3,4-b]dithiophene (BDT) and 4,7-dithiophen-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (DTBT) units, Z3 and Z4, were designed and synthesized. These two polymers have identical conjugated main chains and very similar side chains. In polymer Z3, hexyl groups are linked to the thiophene units directly, and in polymer Z4, hexyloxy groups are linked to the thiophene units. Since the hexyloxy group exhibits a smaller steric hindrance and a stronger electron donating effect than the hexyl group, properties of Z3 and Z4 are very different. The hole mobility of the Z3:PCBM blend film is 1.84 × 10−7 cm2/(V s), which is 2 orders lower than that of the Z4:PCBM blend, and photovoltaic results demonstrate that the fill factor (FF) of the Z3-based device is 0.37, while that of the Z4-based polymer solar cell (PSC) device reached 0.61. These results re...