Background: The relationship between BC and thyroid diseases is controversial. The incidences of autoimmune and non AITD were investigated in patients with breast cancer and age-matched control individuals without breast or thyroid disease.
Objective: The aim of this study was to estimate the association between BC with thyroid disorders in Iraqi women patients and, in particular, the prognostic markers of BC.
Methods and patients: Clinical and ultrasound evaluation of thyroid gland, determination of serum thyroid hormone and antibody levels, and fine-needle aspiration of thyroid gland, while BC mammogram and fine-needle aspiration breast tissue were performed in 96 sample control 16 ,while patients 80 sample use technique EILSA and CL900i.
Result : increase in mean value levels anti TPO in breast cancer and Thyroid autoimmune +Breast cancer as (19.20 ;18.82) % respectively compared with Control lower anti TPO level as (1.64%),The most affected ages in BC (50-≥60) years as (No.=17;70.8%) in Mean ± Std (51.96±8.554) ,while AITD young patients (20-29) as (No.=9;37.5%), for the thyroid autoimmune patients With Mean ± Std. (36.13±12.184.
conclusion: there is a relationship linking between Thyroid autoimmune disorder and BC but probably, thought back for therapeutic reasons intake iodine radioactive or may be gentic and phsyological resons .


Maluku is not only well known for the hundreds spreading islands, but also for its long historical records. It is usually to say that the formation of national consciousness of Indonesia actually began since colonialism period, which all started with the presence of Western occupation in Maluku. This article will discuss how the historical background of Maluku archipelago leave a socio-cultural impact that is still continues until today. The historical experience and socio-political dynamics of Ternate are the prominent case chosen in this article to describe that a small (island) town can stimulate such a large historical contestation.


The multiconfiguration Hartree-Fock theory and many-body perturbation theory are combined in a calculation of the correlation energy of the ground state of the neutral beryllium atom. For this purpose the two-component Be multiconfiguration Hartree-Fock wave function is treated as a reference state and perturbation theory is used to systematically improve upon the accuracy of this function. The correlation energy of each pair of occupied orbitals is determined by solving numerically a coupled set of two-particle inhomogeneous equations. A detailed comparison is made with other beryllium calculations.


Decision making in the treatment of scoliosis is typically based on longitudinal studies that involve the imaging and visualization the progressive degeneration of a patient's spine over a period of years. Some patients will need surgery if their spinal deformation exceeds a certain degree of severity. Currently, surgeons rely on 2D measurements, obtained from x-rays, to quantify spinal deformation. Clearly working only with 2D measurements seriously limits the surgeon's ability to infer 3D spinal pathology. Standard CT scanning is not a practical solution for obtaining 3D spinal measurements of scoliotic patients. Because it would expose the patient to a prohibitively high dose of radiation. We have developed 2 new CT-based methods of 3D spinal visualization that produce 3D models of the spine by integrating a very small number of axial CT slices with data obtained from CT scout data. In the first method the scout data are converted to sinogram data, and then processed by a tomographic image reconstruction algorithm. In the second method, the vertebral boundaries are detected in the scout data, and these edges are then used as linear constraints to determine 2D convex hulls of the vertebrae.


We examine the prospects for measuring the dark energy equation-of-state parameter w within the context of any uncertain redshift evolution of galaxy cluster structure (building on our earlier work) and show that including the redshift-averaged cluster power spectrum (cl) and direct mass measurements of 100 clusters helps tremendously in reducing cosmological parameter uncertainties. Specifically, we show that when combining the redshift distribution and the power spectrum information for a particular X-ray survey (DUET) and two Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect surveys (South Pole Telescope and Planck), the constraints on the dark energy equation-of-state w can be improved by roughly a factor of 4. Because surveys designed to study the redshift distribution of clusters will have all the information necessary to construct cl, the benefit of adding cl in reducing uncertainties comes at no additional observational cost. Combining detailed mass studies of 100 clusters with the redshift distribution improves the parameter uncertainties by a factor of 3-5. The data required for these detailed mass measurements—assumed to have 1 σ uncertainties of 30%—are accumulating in the XMM-Newton and Chandra archives. The best constraints are obtained when one combines both the power spectrum constraints and the mass measurements with the cluster redshift distribution; when using the survey to extract the parameters and evolution of the mass-observable relations, we estimate uncertainties on w of ~4%-6%. These parameter constraints are possible with cluster surveys that are carried out over large, contiguous regions of the sky, so that the cluster power spectrum can be reasonably measured. In combination with cosmic microwave background or distance measurements that have different parameter degeneracies, cluster studies of dark energy will provide enhanced constraints and allow for cross-checks of systematics.


The study objective was to test the influence of three factors namely government spending on education, health, and minimum wages on human development index in five selected provinces of Indonesia. The method of analysis is the Panel-data based analysis covering the time period of 2007 to 2016. The study is focused towards five selected provinces in Indonesia including Bangka Belitung, Lampung, Bengkulu, South Sumatra, and Jambi. The results show that government spending on education and health bring positive but insignificant effects on human development index; whereas, minimum wages turned out to be positive and significantly influencing human development index. Overall the HDI average is not much different and there is no discrepancy between provinces in Southern Sumatra from the range of 68 percent to 70 percent. However, of the five provinces in Southern Sumatra, there are two provinces with higher HDI figures than the others, namely Jambi Province and Bangka Belitung Province. OPEN ACCESS International Journal of Advanced Economics Vol. 1(2), pp.95-101, October, 2019 Fair East Publishers Journal Homepage: www.fepbl.com/index.php/ijae


The goal of the article is to consider the importance of changing the organizational culture in higher education institutions in the context of the current market requirements. The authors analyze the phenomenon of organizational culture and neighboring terms, expand manysidedness of organizational culture. In the article there is described the objective factors, influencing the situation in higher education institutions and making necessary of organizational culture transformation. Also in the article there is done the research of organizational culture in the Siberian Academy of Public Administration. The research is made with the help of K.Cameron and R.Quinn methodology (OCAI).


ABSTRACT Despite the growing number of international students in higher education, few studies have examined these students' struggles or ideological development process as they enter new communities of practice. This study uses longitudinal ethnographic and autoethnographic methods to examine the experiences of three South Korean international graduate students at a U.S. university. Data included recorded conversations, reflective journals, personal journals, and computer-mediated communication collected during participants' second and third semesters in the graduate program. The data were analyzed to determine how participants construct, negotiate, and develop their ideologies and positions in the process of entering a new academic discourse community, relating and responding to various ideological discourses and power-laden labels imposed on them. Study findings highlight the dynamic nature of international students' academic literacy acquisition, and the complex process of their ideological becoming.


Resistance spot welding of AZ31 and AZ80 Mg alloys was carried out in the current research. By increasing the Al contents of base metal from 3wt% (AZ31) to 8wt% (AZ80), the amount of Al-rich inter-dendritic intermetallic compounds (IMCs) in the weld was increased. In addition, obvious grain-boundary (GB) liquation appeared in the heat affected zone (HAZ) of AZ80 during welding


The main objective to perform this study was to evaluate the performance of molecular technique GenoType MTBDRplus in rapid diagnosis of drug resistant TB. Drug Susceptibility Testing (DST) was done by the Genotype MTBDRplus assay for rapid diagnosis of Rifampicin and/or Isoniazid resistant Tuberculosis and its performance was compared to that of the conventional DST–1% Proportion method. In our study, from 101 TB positive isolates, 37 and 38 isolates were multi drug resistant by Proportion method and MTBDRplus assay, respectively. As compared to Proportion method which showed 8 isolates to be resistant to Rifampicin drug, the MTBDRplus assay showed only 4 isolates to be resistant to Rifampicin. Sensitivity of the MTBDRplus assay was found to be 50% and 100% for RIF and INH respectively whereas specificity was found to be 100% for both RIF and INH. GenoType MTBDRplus is highly specific for molecular diagnosis of MDR-TB with significantly lesser turnaround time, as compared to conventional DST method.


Advanced prostheses are currently being sold in consumer markets. The development of these advanced prostheses is largely a result of a better understanding of the biomechanics of human locomotion [1]. Powered and microprocessor controlled prostheses are offering better performance in a variety of movements and in the gait cycle. However the focus in lower limb prosthetics has been largely on locomotion (e.g. walking, stair gait and running). This study focuses on the sit and stand cycles of an individual with an Otto Bock C-leg and an Ossur Power Knee prosthesis, comparing his ability to utilize each prosthesis and comparing his cycle to that of a healthy (non-amputee) control subject. This study is part of a larger ongoing study of the sit and stand cycles seen in a large population of unilateral transfemoral prosthetic users of various kinds. The purpose of this study is to compare the difference in method of standing, and assistance provided by the prosthesis. With the knowledge gained from this study we hope to better understand the biomechanics of the sit and stand cycles, leading to better prostheses in the future.Copyright © 2008 by ASME


Grains produced in porous Fe-SiO smoke are analyzed by means of electron microscopy to determine their crystallographical, morphological, and chemical properties. The nucleation of metal oxide condensates takes place as the vapor evolves in a condensation-flow apparatus, initially producing simple crystalline phases. Fe nucleation follows, and the subsequent heterogeneous nucleation of quenched mixed high-Fe silica grains exhibits associated Fe-depletion, eventually producing pure silica grains. The coalescence exhibited by the pure silica grains is compatible with the higher surface energy found in the pure silica phase. During coagulation the grains melt and anneal to a chemically pure mixture of alpha- and beta-tridymite, and the precipitation of amorphous silica material is observed. The settling of grains in evolving solar nebula is theorized to be related to the stickiness of this material, and maghemite is suggested to contribute to the Fe/Si fractionation in solar nebula.


For many years peer tutoring programs have been implemented to improve students' academic skills. Same-age, cross-age and reverse-role peer programs have been developed for students in regular and special education classes. Social benefits have been studied but research investigating the effects of peer tutoring on social/emotional aspects has not been as widespread as that looking at academic gains. Even less research has focused on the student interactions that occur during peer tutoring sessions. The purpose of the current investigation was to examine tutor and tutee verbal interactions. An added dimension was to look at the effects of peer tutoring on the perceptions of students when the tutor was either accepted or not accepted socially. The results indicated that students who were initialiy disliked were liked more at the end of the tutoring program when they served as tutors. Tutors who were initially liked continued to be liked at the end. In addition, tutors initiated more of the verbal interacti...


This poster session paper describes an integrated modeling and analysis capability being developed at JPL under funding provided by the JPL Director's Discretionary Fund and the JPL Control/Structure Interaction Program (CSI). The posters briefly summarize the program capabilities and illustrate them with an example problem. The computer programs developed under this effort will provide an unprecedented capability for integrated modeling and design of high performance optical spacecraft. The engineering disciplines supported include structural dynamics, controls, optics and thermodynamics. Such tools are needed in order to evaluate the end-to-end system performance of spacecraft such as OSI, POINTS, and SMMM. This paper illustrates the proof-of-concept tools that have been developed to establish the technology requirements and demonstrate the new features of integrated modeling and design. The current program also includes implementation of a prototype tool based upon the CAESY environment being developed under the NASA Guidance and Control Research and Technology Computational Controls Program. This prototype will be available late in FY-92. The development plan proposes a major software production effort to fabricate, deliver, support and maintain a national-class tool from FY-93 through FY-95.


Abstract In 1991 Daniel J. Elazar published the book Two Peoples… One Land, calling for a federal solution to the Israeli‒Palestinian conflict. The idea seems to have been discredited by the Oslo process, which raised hopes that the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea would finally be divided between two independent nation states. With these hopes largely dashed, this article seeks to re-examine Elazar's federal idea: the establishment of a single political entity divided into two provinces or states to incorporate both Jewish and Palestinian nations. While the federal solution could potentially face many obstacles, it would enable Israelis and Palestinians to place less emphasis on the drawing of borders and would avoid the traumatic and potentially violent ordeal of evicting entire populations from their homes. Moreover, federal solutions would allow both peoples to conduct their social, religious and cultural life autonomously while sharing political power at the federal level. Most importantly, working towards a federal solution would require both peoples to abandon ideas of separation and recognize our shared fate – living together in a single geographic unit.


Thank you for reading business and its public. As you may know, people have search numerous times for their chosen readings like this business and its public, but end up in harmful downloads. Rather than reading a good book with a cup of coffee in the afternoon, instead they cope with some malicious bugs inside their desktop computer. business and its public is available in our digital library an online access to it is set as public so you can download it instantly. Our book servers spans in multiple countries, allowing you to get the most less latency time to download any of our books like this one. Merely said, the business and its public is universally compatible with any devices to read.


A general guide to finding resources for historical research. This page will assist in locating background information for lingistics topics


This study provides new insight into the asymmetric relationship between oil price (OIL), the exchange rate (REX), economic growth (GDP), and inflation (INF) in the Vietnamese economy, using quantile-on-quantile regression developed by Sim and Zhou (2015) for the period 2000-2021. Our results demonstrate that there exists a strong and positive interaction between GDP, OIL, and INF over the sample period. Similarly, REX has both positive and negative impacts on INF in the middle and high quantiles ofINF's distribution. These findings suggest that changes in oil price volatility, GDP, and exchange rate are sensitive to the inflation rate in Vietnam in different market conditions, which are significant policies for the Vietnamese government, policymakers, and market participants to reduce inflation in Vietnam.


In this paper, we revise the main aspects of the 'Hamiltonian analogy': the fact that optical paths are completely analogous to mechanical trajectories. We follow Schrödinger's original idea and go beyond this analogy by changing over from the Hamilton's principal function S to the wavefunction Ψ. We thus travel from classical to quantum mechanics using optics as a guide. Unfortunately, and despite its mathematical beauty and simplicity, the connection between classical and quantum mechanics through optics is nowadays hardly known and mostly ignored in university education. The present work tries to fill this gap.


One of the most significant national policies in education is 'Free Semester System' that was first introduced in 2013 and would be formally implemented in 2016. In fact, the free semester system makes it guide to do the free selection and implementation for educational content and teaching-learning method that pursuits 'Happy Education'. However, little attention is given to academic efforts on understanding of how to perceive and implement physical education activity according to pilot-testing free semester system in the middle school, even if the teachers are serving the central roles in free semester s ystem. Thus, t he purpose o f this paper i s to explore t he p erception of p hysical education teachers who have experienced free semester system in middle schools. For this, 10 experienced teachers are selected using non-probability sampling and are interviewed 2 times per a teacher. Using a questionnaire developed by KEDI, the questions for in-depth interviews are modified. All data from interviews are analyzed using the method from Connelly & Clandinin(2000). The findings are consisted of two perspectives such as positive perception and negative perception. The positive perception are characterized as three themes: the change of teaching-learning method, the change of students' perception, and the change of evaluation. On the other hands, there are three themes(lack of identity, unsystematic information, burdens of workloads) in terms of negative perception.


The equal symbol has been used in diverse mathematical frameworks, such as arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry, set theory, and so on. In mathematical terms, the equal sign has been used in fixed command of standings. The study reports on the students meaning and interpretations of the equal sign. The study involved Grade 6, 7, and 8 students in a secondary school in Alain, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Much of the earlier research done on the equal sign has focused on the primary school level, but this one focuses on middle school students. The study shows that the maximum foremost understanding of the equal sign amongst Grade 6, 7, and 8 students is a do-something, unidirectional symbol. Students realize the equal sign as an instrument for marking the response moderately than as an interpersonal symbol to associate extents.


Abstract: In this thesis we experimentally observe the dynamics of dark solitons in elongated Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) in the crossover regime between 1D and 3D. Dark solitons are dynamically stable in this regime. This allows the observation of the collisional and oscillational dynamics of two dark solitons in a harmonically confined BEC over several oscillation periods. We can detect the repulsive intersolitonic interaction as an increase of the oscillation frequency of the two solitons strongly depending on their mean distance. Thereby we give the first experimental evidence of the theoretically predicted repulsive interaction between the solitons. We compare our experimental findings to numerical simulations of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation and effective 1D equations. Additionally we develop a model in which the solitons are approximated by repulsively interacting classical particles. This model is based on a soliton interaction potential suggested by [Kiv1995] and can describe the essentials of the soliton dynamics. We observe well agreement between the soliton oscillation frequencies measured in the experiment, the numerical simulations and the results of the particle model. Besides we verify the theoretical prediction that the oscillation frequency of dark solitons in a harmonically confined BEC should be slower than the trap frequency.


In The Financial Imaginary: Economic Mystification and the Limits of Realist Fiction, Alison Shonkwiler argues that the growing abstraction of contemporary capitalism has demanded the emergence of new imaginative conceptions of 'the real': what she terms 'financial realism'. This timely book shows how the novel can be a tool for revealing the hidden workings and circulation of finance capital to provide counter-narratives to the abstractions of late capitalism, writes Rebecca Liu.


T he Global Alliance for Genomics & Health (GA4GH) held its first partner meeting in March 2014 in London. Now numbering more than 176 organizations from 25 countries, the GA4GH is working to make it possible to share genomes responsibly. Harold Varmus, Director of the National Cancer Institute, began the meeting by asking a deceptively simple question, ''Are we really ready to share data?'' Although this should have an obvious answer, there is no simple affirmative reply when the rubber hits the road. This effort is certainly resonant with, and has representation from, many of the other major efforts striving for ethical interoperability, including the Public Population Project in It certainly has echoes in the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Strategies for Responsible Sharing of Clinical Trial Data (Terry 2014) and the very practical project, PCORnet. The meeting engaged 180 people from 17 countries. We worked together to create a shared understanding of the Alliance's purpose, prioritize important goals, determine how to measure progress, and engage the partners. David Altshuler, a major force behind GA4GH and a director at the Broad Institute, described the world with which we are all quite familiar: If we want to eat a burrito for lunch in London, it is quite easy to find one, but it is difficult to find health information specific to our needs. GA4GH should facilitate a world where we can find what we need because a basis for sharing genomes and associated clinical information has been well established. In the first meeting of the nascent Alliance, in New York in early 2013, 50 of us saw the Alliance as the ''home'' for a number of nodes that would execute actual sharing. Now, a year later, it is clear that there will instead be a federated effort, with the Alliance as a network akin to the World Wide Web Consortium. This concept is based on the theory of change that describes the pathway to a goal and requires that we gather a broad and diverse network of stakeholders, publically commit to advancing progress in data sharing, establish common framework to achieve this, and act as a clearinghouse to share best practices and foster innovation. This is a balance of thinking and doing, of establishing guidelines and experimenting with implementation. The effort itself is also a product, and it must also create a trusted, authoritative, and self-sustaining international network that serves the …


Role-based access control (RBAC) has become today's dominant access control model, and many of its theoretical and practical aspects are well understood. However, certain aspects of more advanced RBAC models, such as the relationship between permission usage and role activation and the interaction between inheritance and constraints, remain poorly understood. Moreover, the computational complexity of some important problems in RBAC remains unknown. In this thesis we consider these issues, develop new RBAC models and answer a number of these questions. We develop an extended RBAC model that proposes an alternative way to distinguish between activation and usage hierarchies. Our extended RBAC model has well-defined semantics, derived from a graph-based interpretation of RBAC state. Pervasive computing environments have created a requirement for access control systems in which authorization is dependent on spatio-temporal constraints. We develop a family of simple, expressive and flexible spatio-temporal RBAC models, and extend these models to include activation and usage hierarchies. Unlike existing work, our models address the interaction between spatio-temporal constraints and inheritance in RBAC, and are consistent and compatible with the ANSI RBAC standard. A number of interesting problems have been defined and studied in the context of RBAC recently. We explore some variations on the set cover problem and use these variations to establish the computational complexity of these problems. Most importantly, we prove that the minimal cover problem – a generalization of the set cover problem – is NP-hard. The minimal cover problem is then used to determine the complexity of the inter-domain role mapping problem and the user authorization query problem in RBAC. We also design a number of efficient heuristic algorithms to answer the minimal cover problem, and conduct experiments to evaluate the quality of these algorithms.


Abstract. Vegetation plays an important role in regulating global carbon cycles and is a key component of the Earth system models (ESMs) that aim to project Earth's future climate. In the last decade, the vegetation component within ESMs has witnessed great progress from simple "big-leaf" approaches to demographically structured approaches, which have a better representation of plant size, canopy structure, and disturbances. These demographically structured vegetation models typically have a large number of input parameters, and sensitivity analysis is needed to quantify the impact of each parameter on the model outputs for a better understanding of model behavior. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive sensitivity analysis to diagnose the Community Land Model coupled to the Functionally Assembled Terrestrial Simulator, or CLM4.5(FATES). Specifically, we quantified the first- and second-order sensitivities of the model parameters to outputs that represent simulated growth and mortality as well as carbon fluxes and stocks for a tropical site with an extent of 1×1∘. While the photosynthetic capacity parameter (Vc,max25) is found to be important for simulated carbon stocks and fluxes, we also show the importance of carbon storage and allometry parameters, which determine survival and growth strategies within the model. The parameter sensitivity changes with different sizes of trees and climate conditions. The results of this study highlight the importance of understanding the dynamics of the next generation of demographically enabled vegetation models within ESMs to improve model parameterization and structure for better model fidelity.


According to the status of mineral processing engineering in our school,some deficiencies were pointed out,such as talented person cultivating mode,textbook construction and building scientific research perform.Based on the status of mineral processing engineering the authors put forward some emphases development trend includeing ultrafine powder,surface modification and producess by increase input of scientific research and disiplinary intersection.


In line Frauhofer holography with collimated recording and spherical reconstruction beams can eliminate the primary spherical aberration. The off-axis primary aberrations with this mode are described. Rayleigh's quarter wavelength rule is then used to set the aberration limited size resolution. General solutions are obtained and the particular example of Ruby recording and HeNe reconstruction lasers is described. The problem was suggested to the author by E. N. Leith during an earlier SPIE conference presentation.


The conservative treatment of the condylomata acuminata by Solcoderm is local, painless and ambulatory. One application of Solcoderm by a capillary pipette covering the pathologic formations is enough--they become rapidly devitalized and disappear within 4 weeks. Secondary infections on the treated area are extremely rare.


The thesis presents algorithms, implementation, and results of a new method based on constraint resolution for finding an upper bound on switching activity in the combinational part of a synchronous sequential circuit. The obtained switching activity is the major component for computing circuit power consumption (peak power) and several reliability parameters (e.g., voltage drops in power busses, electromigration). It is a static (input-pattern independent) method. The constraint system representing the circuit is built of constraints defined by gates and the operating environment of the circuit. The variables of the constraint system are all possible waveforms abstracted into four classes and expressed as sets of transitions for each unit of discrete time. The constraints of the constraint system are derived from the gates. Each gate is translated into a projection function which constrains each of its terminals based on the values on all other terminals independently of the netlist distinction between gate inputs and outputs. The method rapidly computes an upper bound on the switching activity. The bound is further tightened by case analysis.
Two major techniques were used to capture a global picture of the circuit and use this acquired information to speed up or improve the analysis. They are reconvergent region analysis and global learning.
The method has two major applications: estimation of peak power and estimation of peak current. Both application were tested with our C++ implementation on ISCAS'85 benchmark circuits and the quality of the results for different heuristics was compared. The results show that each heuristic is more suitable for a different type of circuit. The method was also compared with exhaustive simulation on a set of MCNC circuits.
The current implementation supports the fixed gate delay model and shares most of the code with a timing verification method based on constraint resolution. The performance is further improved by a parallel implementation of the case analysis on a network of inexpensive workstations. Our C++ implementation shows speedup of 8 on a homogeneous network of 10 workstations, and 47 on a heterogeneous network of 87 workstations. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)


A case of primary well‐differentiated carcinoid tumour of the uterine cervix in a Chinese woman of 62 years without endocrine Symptoms is reported and its clinico‐pathological features, ultrastructure and response to radiotherapy discussed. To our knowledge, it is the first of such cases seen in Hong Kong. Clinically, it presented as a polypoid lesion. The initial diagnosis was squamous carcinoma of cervix stage Ib and the patient was treated with radiotherapy. The tumour dis‐appeared after application of first intracavitary irradiation of 4500 mg h. After completion of 9000 mg h, Wertheim hysterectomy followed and no residual tumour was found. Retrospective staining of the pre‐irradiation cervical tumour by Grimelius method was positive for argyrophil granules and electron microscopic study demonstrated neurosecretory granules in the cytoplasm and established the diagnosis.


The delay difference equation is a discrete analogue of the delay differential equation which has been used in describing the dynamics of Nicholson's blowflies. See [1], [4] and [5]. We obtain sufficient conditions for the oscillation of all positive solutions of Eq. (1) about its positive equilibrium N*. We also obtain sufficient conditions for all positive solutions of Eq. (1) to be attracted to N*.


Dr. Flavio Ramalho Romero – Praca Amadeu Amaral 27 / 5o andar 01327-010 Sao Paulo SP Brasil. E-mail: email@example.com / firstname.lastname@example.com Training in microsurgical techniques is the first step to allow procedures in the central nervous system. One of them is the dissection of human placenta. Others include mannequin head, virtual reality environment, animal and cadaver dissections. The human placenta is a maternalfetal structure constituted of a bigger fetal portion and a smaller maternal portion. The fetal membranes and the placenta are responsible for protection, nutrition, breath, excretion and hormone production. The placenta usually shows an ovoid shape with a 16–20 cm diameter and a 2–3 cm thickness. It weighs between 500 and 600 gr. The umbilical cord is usually composed of a vein and two arteries. The fetal surface has a fetal corion – amniotic membrane which is very similar to the cerebral arachnoid and a rich vascular component with 1–6 mm diameter vessels. The anterior cerebral artery has 1–3 mm diameter and the medium cerebral artery one is between 2.4 and 4.6 mm. On the other hand, the vertebral artery has 0.92–4.09 mm diameter, the posterior cerebral and the lower posterior cerebelar arteries ones are between 0.65 and 1.78 mm. Therefore, the human placenta is an excellent material for microsurgical technique training.


Embedding small biopsy specimens in epoxy resin (by preparing 1-5 gm sections and staining them with a variety of techniques) enhances optical resolution and accuracy of histopathological diagnosis. For many years, all our renal biopsy specimens, routinely embedded in paraffin wax, were stained with haematoxylin and eosin, periodic acid Schiff, Martius scarlet-blue and periodic acid-methenamine silver methods, ' which we were anxious to retain after switching to plastic embedded specimens. Epoxy resin was found to be preferable to acrylic resin, mainly because it could be partially removed to allow for good staining. Some technical modifications were necessary as thin plastic sections require more intense staining. We found that some stains benefitted from being heated while others required their times extend- ing; and phloxine replaced eosin as it gave similar but stronger results.2 procedure days, processed at 60°C. The drying at 35°C) and staining sections were also time consuming, making the process unsuitable for urgent cases (patients with rapidly deteriorating renal function and most transplant


The construction of generic visual oncept models is difficult, because the great image databases are not well labeled. This invalidates the traditional optimization methods for the high dimensional visual space. In order to enhance image search and index system we propose novel visual featues based on entropy analysis, and two methods to reduce the features space allowing to estimate the most discriminant visual features for a given keyword. We approximate LDA or MMD on real misslabled image databases. Then, we use a non supervised clustering algorithm to build visual clusters, using all the features of the visual space, or several subspaces made up with the most discriminant features depending of each keyword. Results on COREL show classification enhancement of 69 % while reducing the number of dimensions by 79 %. The collections size impacts for our methods are discussed.


Agriculture may help mitigate climate change risks is by helping reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. One way of doing this is by providing substitute products that can replace fossil fuel intensive products or production processes. Production of biofeedstocks for bioenergy achieves this, where the biofeedstocks are traditional products, crop residues, wastes or processing byproducts. The forms of bioenergy include electrical power or liquid transportation fuels e.g. ethanol or biodiesel. Employing agricultural products in such a way generally involves recycling of carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas, because plant growth absorbs CO2 while combustion releases it. This is likely to mean that emission permits would not be needed for the CO2 emissions that arose when generating biofeedstock fired electricity or consuming liquid biofuels. GHG permit prices could raise the market value of agricultural commodities as long as bioenergy use does not require acquisition or use of potentially costly/valuable emissions permits. Consequently, biofeedstocks may be a way that both: (a) energy firms can cost effectively reduce GHG liabilities and (b) agricultural producers gain agricultural income. But, before wholeheartedly embracing bioenergy as a GHG reducing force, one must fully consider the GHGs emitted when raising feedstocks, transporting them to a plant and transforming them into bioenergy. One must also consider the market effects and possible offsetting effects of production stimulated elsewhere. Two issues arise when taking on such a viewpoint • What are the GHG offsets obtained when using particular forms of bioenergy and what does this mean for comparative economics of feedstocks? • When bioenergy production reduces traditional commodity production does the market reaction of other producers reduce net GHG effects? This paper briefly discusses these issues and is largely drawn from a longer version of the paper by McCarl (2008).


The article examines the impact of the agrarian policy of the state on the development of animal husbandry in the Rostov region in 1953-1958, that is, from the beginning of the reform of agriculture in accordance with the decisions of the September plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1953 to the beginning of the meat and dairy company, held under the slogan "catch up and overtake America". In studying of agricultural policy regional socio-economic differences are of great importance, which affect not only the development of the region, but also the country as a whole. The author analyzes the main qualitative and quantitative indicators of the development of animal husbandry in the region during the study period. The article is based on the study of archival and statistical materials of the Rostov region. The author makes a conclusion that during the study period there was an increase in the number of all types of livestock in the region, milk yields and milk production increased. However, meat production has decreased compared to the level of 1953. There is a great contribution to the production of meat and dairy products in the region of personal subsidiary farms. In the collective farms and state farms of the Rostov region, the development of the fodder base and the provision of premises did not correspond to the growth in the number of livestock. During wintering, a large loss of livestock was observed due to starvation, lack of premises and poor care every year. Implementation of agrarian policy measures in 1953-1958 did not lead to a significant increase in livestock production. In general, not a single planned indicator for the development of animal husbandry was fulfilled in the Rostov region during the study period.


AlGaN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor high electron mobility transistors (MOS-HEMTs) represent an important technology for future high-efficient power and RF electronics. Due to oxide/semiconductor interface issues, fabrication of reliable MOS gate stack is still challenging, however. In this work we investigated the influence of gate oxide preparation technique to static and pulsed-mode operation of Al2O3/GaN/AlGaN/GaN MOS-HEMTs. Devices with gate oxide prepared by high-temperature MOCVD and low-temperature ALD using water vapour or ozone as oxidants are compared in terms of dynamic on-state resistance (RDSon), threshold voltage shift (ΔVth), and Al2O3/GaN interface charge density (Nit).


This article discusses the issues of the quality management system (QMS), which focuses on the process approach with the rationale for its benefits. The basic documents, legislative acts and the theory of quality management, which is a platform for developing an integrated QMS model, have been studied. The format of such a model with regard to poultry production is presented, which is an information map of the entire chain of processes operating in an economic entity of the industry in their interdependence. The expediency of developing a process approach within an integrated QMS in parallel with the traceability system, which will be of a prolonged nature for the future, has been substantiated.


This paper reports the development of a form of spectrometry to study metal surfaces and species adsorbed at those surfaces. Called time-of-flight scattering and recoiling spectrometry (TOF-SARS), the method may find use in characterizing surfaces, studying catalysts, and investigating embrittlement and stress cracking of metals by hydrogen.


This research aimed to describe the best practice of religious education at schools. As many cases has been blown up by the medias, that religious education at schools took place discriminately where the minority religiously student haven't ever got service according to theirs and by the same religious teacher. This research found that there were any best practiced at schools that serve religious education according to student's religious and by the same teacher. These cases were founded at: SMA Labschool Jakarta, SMA Katholik Santo Joseph Denpasar, SMA Ananda Bekasi, SMA SLUA Denpasar, SMK Gloria Manado, SMPN 2 Ende Flores, SMPN 1 Ambon, SMAN 1 Denpasar, SMAN 1 Bogor, SMAN 1 Manado, SMK Singkawang, and SMK Bangkabelitung. Data collected through qualitative approach using interview, observation, and relevant document study, and listed questions as well. The research conducted at 2015 at such location mentioned. Any persons and figures that the data and information derived from were head schools, religious teachers, school staffs, school committees, and students as well. The research concluded that religious education at such schools has been served according to student's religion, and by the same religious teachers. Religious teachers recruited either by government, local government, head schools with agreement of school committee or by foundation that lead the schools.


A young male patient affected with Lafora's disease and concomitant mental deterioration, myoclonic jerks and epileptic seizures is reported. A cerebral biopsy showed round PAS-positive myoclonus bodies in nerve cells and neuropile. A tendency to periodic recurrence of paroxysmal activity in the EEG tracings, an unusual finding in Lafora's disease, is briefly discussed.


A running colour electrophoresis of protein in sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel (PAG) has been developed and the coloured gel was restained with silver nitrate and hydroquinone (HQ) within 20min. Trichloroacetic acid (TCA) was found to be a powerful destaining reagent and reproducibility of this double staining procedure was excellent.


Voriconazole, a broad-spectrum triazole antifungal agent, is well absorbed, with a high oral bioavailability of 96% (6). Maximal plasma concentrations are observed 1 to 2 h after drug administration. The volume of distribution is estimated to be 4.6 liters/kg, and the plasma protein binding is 58%. A terminal elimination half-life (t1/2) of 8 h in CYP2C19 extensive metabolizers (EMs) and a t1/2 of 15 h in CYP2C19 poor metabolizers (PMs) were reported (4). Due to a possible saturation of metabolism, voriconazole exhibits nonlinear pharmacokinetics (6). The main metabolite is voriconazole N oxide, which is formed by CYP2C19, CYP3A4, and to a lesser extent CYP2C9 (2).

CYP2C19 is a polymorphically expressed enzyme, with 2.2% of the Caucasian population being PMs (9) with a genetically determined absence of active enzyme. It is known that voriconazole pharmacokinetics are substantially influenced by the CYP2C19 genotype (4, 7). A reduction of voriconazole metabolic clearance in PMs of CYP2C19 is expected; data published so far indicate approximately threefold higher voriconazole area-under-the-concentration-time-curve or maximum-concentration-of-drug-in-serum values in CYP2C19 PMs than in homozygous EMs (4, 7).

Two common allelic variants of CYP2C9 have a markedly reduced catalytic activity (about 20% for CYP2C9*2 and less than 10% for CYP2C9*3) compared with that of the wild-type enzyme (CYP2C9*1) (3). Accordingly, PMs have an impaired metabolism of phenytoin, tolbutamide, glipizide, and warfarin, although PMs are very uncommon (0.2 to 1.0% of Caucasians but essentially 0% of Southeast Asians) (10). So far no in vivo data are available on the influence of CYP2C9 genetic polymorphism on voriconazole pharmacokinetics.

An ongoing study on the pharmacokinetics of voriconazole patients included those who had received their oral loading dose of voriconazole (400 mg) as a regular therapeutic drug treatment during hospitalization and a 12-h (dosing interval) pharmacokinetic profile after the first dose was obtained. We identified one Caucasian patient as a homozygous carrier of the CYP2C9*2 allele, using an established genotyping method using real-time fluorescence PCR on a LightCycler (Roche, Mannheim, Germany) (1). Additionally, the CYP2C19 genotype was also determined, which was homozygous for the wild-type allele (CYP2C19*1/CYP2C19*1). Plasma voriconazole concentrations were determined in the reference laboratory at Heidelberg University using a fully validated high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay as described elsewhere (5, 8). Noncompartmental pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using WinNonlin 4.1 (Pharsight, Mountain View, CA).

We compared the obtained pharmacokinetic parameters with those from an earlier study with volunteers whose CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 genotypes were characterized (4). In our patient, the apparent oral clearance (Cl/F), area under the concentration-time curve from zero hours to infinity (AUC0-∞), volume of distribution (Vz), and t1/2 values for voriconazole were not different from those of CYP2C9 EMs who were also CYP2C19 EMs after a single oral dose of 400 mg voriconazole (4) (shown in Table Table11).

TABLE 1.

Pharmacokinetic parameters after administration of 400 mg voriconazole as a single oral dose in a CYP2C9*2/CYP2C9*2 patient (CYP2C19 homozygous EM) compared to results for eight CYP2C9 EM healthy volunteers (CYP2C19 homozygous EM)

A conclusion could be that a reduced-metabolizer status of CYP2C9, and therefore low catalytic activity of the enzyme, does not alter the pharmacokinetics of voriconazole. From our data it can be supported that CYP2C9 plays only a minor role in the elimination (metabolism) of voriconazole.


The medium-carbon low-alloyed cast steel water-quenched at 920 ℃ and then tempered at 250 ℃,was investigated by durometer,impact testing machine,optical microscope,scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and X-ray diffraction(XRD).The results indicate that the ferrite appears in the microstructure and ferrite volume fraction increases gradually with the increase of silicon content,shape of the ferrite gradually turns to be concave massive phase.In the range of 0.48wt.% to 1.73wt.%,silicon has little effect on the hardness,but when silicon content is above 1.73wt.%,the hardness decreases with increase of silicon content.The impact absorbing energy of the medium-carbon low-alloyed cast steel firstly increased and then decreased with the increase of silicon content from 0.48% to 2.43%.The medium-carbon low-alloyed cast steel with 0.97% Si shows a better impact absorbing energy and hardness with V-notch impact absorbing energy 20.3 J and the hardness HRC 53.9.


An aestimate of a typical life time of zebra pattern associated with escaping of fast particles from the trap into the loss-cone, is given. Besides, we estimate a number of fast electrons that is necessary to be injected into the trap in order to provide the observed brightness temperature of zebra stripes.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html


Abstract : There are already in use in the UK a variety of methods for the telecommunication of requests: through direct terminal-to-computer and computer-to-computer links or via information retrieval database systems. These are decribed with particular reference to the British Library Lending Division's Automated Request Transmission (ART) services. Possible extensions of these services are also outlined. A rapid document delivery service based on facsimile transmission between British Library sites has been in operation for some time, and the results of a pilot service to international users employing more advanced equipment are reported. The increasing provision of satellite links and developments in digital optical recording (DOR) discs and electronic publishing are stimulating the planning of more revolutionary electronic document delivery systems. Factors affecting the provision of such services are discussed as a prelude to a review of a number of UK and European initiatives. (Author)


The success of any organization depends on its ability to maintain profits while the landscape of its operations changes. Organizations must be able to use available resources to identify changes in their daily operations and have the ability to address them in a timely manner. Operational dashboards provide a tool for managers to easily monitor employee performance and to coach their staff in order to achieve improvements. These stoplight type metric displays provide visual representations in near real-time. Consequently, the use of dashboards is particularly crucial to healthcare because it prompts management to respond to the changing needs of HCO departments, which ultimately affect its quality of care and impact its overall performance measurements. To meet these challenges, it is recommended that the administration of a large acute care HCO develop a dashboard in order for it to monitor the results and evaluate the progress of its busy Nursing Department which is responsible for handling Inpatient and Outpatient service care.The success of any organization depends on its ability to maintain profits while the landscape of its operations changes. Organizations must be able to use available resources to identify changes in their daily operations and have the ability to address them in a timely manner. Operational dashboards provide a tool for managers to easily monitor employee performance and to coach their staff in order to achieve improvements. These stoplight type metric displays provide visual representations in near real-time. Consequently, the use of dashboards is particularly crucial to healthcare because it prompts management to respond to the changing needs of HCO departments, which ultimately affect its quality of care and impact its overall performance measurements. To meet these challenges, it is recommended that the administration of a large acute care HCO develop a dashboard in order for it to monitor the results and evaluate the progress of its busy Nursing Department which is responsible for handling Inpatient and Outpatient service care. Identified in Table 1 are examples of metrics that could be used to develop such a tool. Also included in this table is the dimensional significance that this information bears. By comparing results on a weekly or monthly basis, administrators would be able to evaluate quality and to identify possible areas of improvement within this critical department, which functions as the backbone of the healthcare organization. This undoubtedly will lead to higher quality care, more efficient processes, lower costs, and higher patient and staff satisfaction.Efficiency metrics provide insightful information which contributes to the ability of meeting DRG requirements. The impact to the HCO is multifold for this purpose. Efficiency means that more patients can utilize the services provided, which leads to better overall community care, higher profits from DRG, and more income revenue from turn-over of patients (Table 2).As stated earlier, cost is also a key indicator. Therefore, since the licensing and skill levels of nurses impact both quality and costs of care, it is recommended to also measure these metrics in the nursing dashboard. (Table 3)Satisfaction is another measurement of a successful HCO. Moreover, nursing satisfaction can be used to predict the unit's employee retention. To this end, keeping the best nursing staff on hand ensures that the quality of care standards would be met. In addition, overall efficiency and cost control would exist because the nursing staff would use training to enhance their service offering rather than learning basic protocols.HCO quality metrics are an important indicator of the overall hospital performance. Because facility reimbursement is based on pay for performance (P4P), quality standards must be maintained. …


Coal and other disadvantaged fuels such as petroleum coke and refinery bottoms can be used for the production of chemicals around the world. Coal is an established feedstock in gasification and has been the primary focus in markets like China, where the use of coal to chemicals is needed due to limited access to oil and natural gas reserves. Disadvantaged feedstocks such as petroleum coke and heavy residues are currently experiencing a shift in market utilization. New legislation on criteria pollutants in countries like India and IMO2020 legislation are reducing the size of petroleum coke and residue feedstock end markets. The need to dispose of these disadvantaged feedstocks has created new project opportunities for gasification plants. However, with the new opportunities come increasing pressures to lower the CO2 but also increasing the opportunity to take advantage of CO2 emission reduction benefits and/or to deploy the CO2 for enhanced oil recovery.

Air Products provides high quality technical solutions as a technology supplier, process integrator and operator. This paper will present our unique perspective on the amenable streams for CO2 capture within the gasification plant, thoughts on how the technologies are developing to further reduce the overall CO2 footprint of a coal to syngas facility, and what the major driving forces are present in selecting technologies and process options.
Gasification produces CO2 as a natural byproduct of the reactions taking place in the gasifier to produce syngas as well as downstream water gas shift reactions. The high temperatures and pressures that various gasification and shift processes can operate under provide potential capture points in the plant flowsheet depending on the quantity and purity of CO2 needed. In addition, product syngas requirements dictate the purity and CO to H2 ratio of the product syngas which has a direct influence over the amount of CO2 available to capture from the product syngas streams.
Pressurized CO2 sources are a more cost effective way to capture high levels of CO2. As compared to SMR technologies in which approximately 50% of the CO2 is at pressure, solid and liquid gasification technologies contain almost all of the CO2 within the pressurized syngas stream. The amenable product stream locations vary in quantity, purity, and pressure of CO2. Therefore, the degree of capture from the plant is an important variable when selecting the location and technology employed to capture at a specific facility. Gasification also has the advantages of heat recovery from the process to produce steam which can offset the steam demand from low pressure CO2 sources like on purpose boilers. Heat recovery and integration options are core to producing an economic solution to the CO2 capture.
Various technologies exist for the removal of CO2 from gasification plants. The methanol based Rectisol process is one technology employed in gasification plants for the effective removal of CO2 from the pressurized gasification syngas streams. It is a proven technology for purifying the syngas stream, but it is not the only technology which can be employed to capture CO2. Numerous studies on decarbonized fuels have outlined Rectisol as well as other acid gas removal technologies for power production. In this paper, the focus will be on revisiting these standby technology options and introducing additional technologies, like Air Products Sour PSA technology, that provide options to capture various levels and purities of CO2, for the solid or liquid feedstock to syngas markets.
Currently, Air Products has formed a joint venture with the Luan Coal Group to operate a large-scale gasification plant which converts coal to liquids. The carbon in the coal does not leave the facility as CO2 as in decarbonized power production processes. A significant portion of the carbon is incorporated into the final product from the syngas. This utilization of carbon in the products influences the amenable envelope of technologies that can be used to capture CO2 from the plant. Maximizing the carbon that resides in product molecules provides an interesting twist on previous decarbonized power carbon capture studies. Maximizing carbon utilization provides insight into how to design the balance of plant and what technologies could be developed that would directly impact the material balance as well as the CO2 emissions from the overall facility.
Air Products is uniquely positioned to analyze the technical challenges of capturing CO2 from gasification facilities. Identifying cost effective solutions to individual opportunities and the technical driving force influencing design choices will be discussed in this paper.


This paper addresses the problem of representing the image and speech signal using a set of features that are approximately statistically independent. This statistical independence simplifies building probabilistic models based on these features that can be used in applications like speaker recognition. Since basic independent component analysis (ICA) isn't suitable to many applications because of the sources' assume that they are i.i.d., we modeled the dependency by a non-linear function, and a multi-layer feed-forward neural network was used to implement the non-linear ICA algorithm, i.e. SD-ICA, which has low computational complexity and fast convergence. The experiment given later proves that the algorithm can be used in extracting both images and speech features and it outperforms than basic ICA.


Three-year old'Royal Gala'apple(Malus domestica Borth.)tree[sgrafted onto(M.robusta Rehd.)]grown in split-root pots were used to study that effects of partial root-zone alternative irrigation(PRAI)and partial root-zone located irrigation(PRLI)on shoot growth and leaf physiological characteristics.The results indicated that in PRAI,large irrigation rate significantly improve shoot growth and make autumn shoots growth early,and the second growth of new shoots were observed except the treatments of 1/4,2/4,and 3/4 root-zone irrigated by 500 mL and 2/4 root-zone irrigated by 750 mL.In contract,there is no significant difference on shoot growth between treatments,and shoot growth was little in all the treatments in PRLI.Leaf water potential and stomatal conductance had no difference in PRAI and PRLI.However,those were more stable in PRAI than PRLI.Therefore,shoot second growth was determined by irrigation rate,and leaf physiological characteristics were effected by irrigation root-zone.The second growth of shoots can start when partly root-zone(1/4 or 2/4 root-zone)was irrigated.However,their growth was retarded when 3/4 or 4/4 root-zone was irrigated and the irrigation rate was more than 750 mL.PRAI can save much more water than PRLI with maintaining physiological characteristics of apple tree.In this study,irrigating 2/4 root-zone with 750 mL water in PRAI was optimal according to regulation of shoot growth and saving water and maintaining leaf physiological characteristics.


Combining Messaging, Realtime Interaction and Publishing into the work environment of the future A paper the architecture and design of the WebDesk


African Prints are major raw materials for the Clothing Industry in Ghana. Garment manufacture requires the consideration of technical factors such as alignment of prints to the fabric grain line, standard fabric width, appropriate motif placement/arrangement and repeat pattern among others. As a qualitative enquiry, the study employs descriptive observational research design with observation and interview as the main data collection instruments. The analysis of the study revealed that due to lack of collaboration between the textile and fashion industries, most African prints on the market do not possess the requisite technicalities but rather show weak spots such as limited fabric width, predominant use of full and half-drop pattern layouts, large motifs with intricate textures that pose a greater challenge to the garment designer. Moreover, it was apparent that most local print designs do not follow lengthwise grain of fabric although the grain line is a very important technical consideration in garment construction. The prints, on the other hand, are packaged in six or twelve yards implying that getting the required width will necessitate joining pieces together which is not convenient and amount to a lot of waste during garment construction. The study, among other things, recommends a strong collaboration between textile and fashion designers to ensure that all necessary technical requirements in garment construction are met in the textile design process in order for the two parties to work effectively to meet international standards. Keywords : Mummy cloths, Garment, Construction, Technicalities


Herein, we present the results of the first full quantum mechanical (QM) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for the reaction of formaldehyde with ammonia (Scheme 1) in solvent with explicitly considering approximately 200 water molecules. The results of the simulations with constraint dynamics showed that the reaction proceeds through a stepwise mechanism with a zwitterionic species (ZW) as a stable intermediate.


This article reads Amilcar Cabral's much under-studied early soil science as a body of work not dissociable from his project of liberation struggle against Portuguese colonialism in Guinea-Bissau a...


This article presents the features of the hierarchical decentralized traffic signal control system UTOPIA (Urban Traffic OPtimization by Integrated Automation)


Abstract Two new classes of chiral side-chain polymers comprising a variously spaced biphenyl unit as both a mesogenic core and a fluorescent chromophore were investigated. The chiral group was either a 2,3- or a 2,2-disubstituted oxirane ring. The structures of the smectic phases (A, B, or E) were investigated by X-ray diffraction. Excimer fluorescence emission was detected at room temperature in the smectic phase.


Epstein-Barr virus is a ubiquitous gamma herpesviras that infects more than 90% of human population.EBV is associated with a spectrum of nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC).IgA/VCA and IgA/EA in se- rum can be used in NPC screening and diagnosis.It is known that IgG antibodies directed against Zebra encoding by BZLF1 is one of diagnestic parameter for NPC.It should be researched whether the specific antibody against the other EBV early antigen can be used in NPC screening and diagnosis.Objective To express early gene BRLF1 in E.coli,purify the recombinant protein,and use it as antigen to detect specific antibody response in patient with NPC in order to search for new screening or diagnostic parameter for NPC.Methods The C-terminal two-thirds of BRLF1(Rtac2/3)were prepared and were used as antigen in indirect ELISA.Serum samples were derived from 59 patients with NPC and 59 healthy volunteers.Results Significant difference between the NPC group and healthy control group was revealed(P<0.01).Among the 59 patients with NPC,50 showed positive results in specific IgG antibody detecting,while in heathy control group,only 7 cases showed positive results.The sensitivity of the assay is 84.7% and the specificity is 88.1%.Conclusion IgG antibody against Rta can be one of important di- agnostic parameter for NPC.The sensitivity or the specificity can be improved if the assay was combined with the assay of IgG antibodies against Zebra in NPC screening.Therefore the assay can be used in screening and diagnos- ing for NPC.


The operational optimization of large hydrological basins still remains a challenger issue. Large travel times of the water between upstream reservoirs and the mouth of the river, several days as horizon of optimization, very nonlinear equations, uncertainties and ecological constraints result in complex optimization problems with difficult solutions. The present work uses a new formulation, with continuous variables and restrictions expressed as linear equations. Upper and medium Guadalquivir basin is analyzed, including 18 hydro plants with different characteristics and goals of operation. Considerations about uncertainties in the production are formulated. The algorithm has an adequate performance, requiring small cpu times to reach the solution.


ABSTRACT Freeze tolerance, an overwintering adaptation of at least 10 species of ectothermic vertebrates, is promoted by integrated biophysical and physiological responses to ice forming within tis...


This paper considers the nature of Tajikistani statehood in an era of globalization. It takes as its foil a recent report of the International Crisis Group, 'Tajikistan: on the road to failure'. The paper interrogates this claim and finds that it is based on a poor conceptualization of the state which disregards advances in state theory made in the last two decades. However, this problematic declaration cannot simply be dismissed but, being from an authoritative source, must be considered for its constitutive functions for Tajikistani statehood. The paper thus considers Tajikistan's position in world politics theoretically in terms of the sociological and anthropological literature on global assemblages, particularly Sassen's concept of denationalization. It goes on to investigate a single case of the contemporary Tajikistani state: the state-owned Tajik Aluminium Company's (Talco) international trading arrangements and tolling agreements. The paper argues that the post-Soviet, post-conflict Tajikistani state is not simply captured by elite networks or a shell for the personnel of the regime. Rather, whilst an explicitly 'nationalizing state', it has been transformed along the lines of denationalization. Tajikistan's official institutions, in cooperation with global actors from multinational corporations to donor agencies, have been incorporated within certain global economic and political assemblages. The paper discusses the implications of all this in terms of the consequent hollowing out of the national-territorial state model and the establishing of lines of economics and politics which make the state, in parts, global.


Adequate taxonomic or horticultural classifications of pineapple cultivars have not been devised. Hume and Miller's groups as modified by Py and Tisseau form a good basis but do not emphasize the value of the totally spineless cultivars. Another group, "Maipure," is proposed at this time.


Plasma homocysteine (tHcy) is a marker of folate or cobalamin deficiency states (1) and a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (2), and is altered by renal insufficiency (3). Increased tHcy in liver diseases may also play a role in hepatic disorders (4)(5). Chronic treatment of experimental animals with ethanol or CCl4 is associated with hyperhomocysteinemia, and the hepatoprotective effect of S -adenosylmethionine on experimental cirrhosis is accompanied by a normalization of methionine metabolism and a decrease in tHcy concentration (4)(5). Studies in cultured hepatocytes suggest a role of the liver in metabolism of Hcy (6). However, the presence and degree of hyperhomocysteinemia in patients with liver disease and its modulation by chronic alcohol intake are, as yet, not well defined.

We studied 76 patients with liver cirrhosis (55 men and 21 women; age range, 57 ± 11 years) who were being treated in the outpatient clinic of Hospital Universitari de Sant Joan. The diagnosis of cirrhosis was based on liver biopsy or on clinical evidence, including echography to evaluate splenomegaly and portal vein dilation and fiber-optic gastroscopy to detect the presence of gastroesophageal varices. The etiology of cirrhosis was alcoholic in 48 patients (63%) and nonalcoholic in 28 (37%). Twenty-nine …


Ten species of Cladiopsocus Roesler were identified among recent collections from the Colombian departments of Amazonas and Putumayo. Eight new species were found, five from Putumayo and three from Amazonas, that are here described and illustrated. C. ramulosus (Enderlein) and C. domesticus (New) were found in the Putumayo department. The number of species in the genus is increased to 28, with two from Angola, and 26 from the Neotropics. An identification key to the males of the neotropical species is included.


Based on data from conventional observations,intensive network of automatic weather stations(AWS),ADTD lightning instrument and weather radar,we analyzed the mesoscale characteristics of a severe convective storm event occurred in western Chongqing on 23 July 2011.The main results are as follows.(1) The event occurred under the condition of a cold low circulation between the Tibet high and the subtropical high.Several factors such as strong unstable stratification,sufficient water vapor in the low level,large downdraft convective available potential energy(DCAPE) and moderate vertical shear in 0-6 km are favorable to the development of the storm.(2) The disastrous gale is mainly located in the center and its surrounding areas of surface heavy rainfall and high density of ground lightning.Mesoscale characteristics associated with the ground gale,such as convergence line,convergence zone,cold pool and thunder high,are observed by AWS.Negative cloud-to-ground(CG) lightening dominated in the event,and the ratio of negative to positive CG is approximately 101:1.(3) The gust fronts,echo hanging,weak echo region(WER) and boundary weak echo region(BWER) are quite clear on the PPI and RHI charts of radar reflectivity factors,and features such as mesosyclone,divergence on low tilts,large radial velocity region,inflow flows,divergence in the upper level and convergence in the low level are also evident in the radial velocity chart.The above characteristics are of significant importance in disastrous gale detection and its early warning.


Redistribution is one of the principal mechanisms through which countries secure low income inequality. Maintaining moderately high wage levels at the low end of the distribution may be increasingly difficult and perhaps even counterproductive from an egalitarian perspective. If so, redistribution is likely to become even more critical. Redistribution can be achieved through the tax system, via government transfers, or both. In practice, however, very little redistribution is accomplished via taxation, and a shift toward greater use of taxes to achieve redistributive ends is unlikely. Benefits, therefore, may be the key to successful pursuit of low inequality for affluent countries. But generous benefits can create employment disincentives. This produces a bind for policy makers. Generous benefits secure the redistribution countries need to get low inequality. Because of aging and capital mobility, a high employment rate is needed to finance those benefits. But if benefits are generous, they may reduce the employment rate. Is there a way out of this dilemma?


A qualitative study regarding the situation of an extensive number of people who have joined violent Islamic extremism groups, such as the Islamic state, from the city of Gothenburg, Sweden. The st ...


A 40 GHz 130nm CMOS power amplifier unit-cell is designed and simulated for use in a downlink transmitter of a millimeter-wave radio-over-fiber system. The system will be used as a complementary solution to Fiber-to-the-Home where geographical limitations and cost considerations are critical. The power amplifier unit-cell has a single-stage cascode structure for stability and input-output isolation. In addition, it utilizes slow-wave transmission lines for matching. The P1dB output power is 10 dBm, gain is 7.4 dB, and PAE is 10%. The PA unit-cell is to be used in a multi unit-cell power combining structure on silicon for larger output power at 40 GHz.


Abstract. We assessed δ13C and δ15N profiles and endoparasite community composition in Great Egrets (Ardea alba), Great Blue Herons (A. herodias), and White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) from four wildlife rescue centers (two mainland, two on islands in the Florida Keys) in south Florida, USA to elucidate feeding ecology. We detected among-species differences for δ15N but not δ13C and noted decreased δ13C enrichment in Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons (but not White Ibis) from these centers. Parasite component community and infracommunity species richness were higher in Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons relative to White Ibis, and higher in birds of the same species from mainland centers. Multivariate analysis of parasite infracommunity structure detected co-occurring clusters of parasite taxa characteristic of Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons on the one part, and of White Ibis on the other; mainland Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons had similar parasite communities and clustered separately from conspecifics from the islands. We detected a significant (negative) correlation of infracommunity species richness with δ13C but not δ15N. Lastly, parasite infracommunity Bray-Curtis similarity correlated significantly with stable isotope Euclidean distances. We conclude that the two approaches converge towards similar outcomes, providing complementary and consilient information on host feeding ecology.


Industry4WRD readiness assessment (RA) model is one of the Industry 4.0 readiness assessment and maturity models that help manufacturing industry companies to identify gaps and improvement plan to implement the Industry 4.0 concepts. Industry4WRD is also in line with other global implementation initiatives and has the potential to be one of the practical worldwide guidelines and standards for the future of the Industry 4.0 implementation. Since 2015, there are various Industry 4.0 readiness assessment and maturity models were introduced, and Industry4WRD RA model is still a new model released in 2018. This paper discussed the methodology and processes of applying the Industry4WRD RA model to help manufacturing companies identify the current gaps and areas for improvement plan towards Industry 4.0. For implementation purposes, one of the manufacturing small-medium enterprise (SME), was selected to illustrate the methodology and processes for assessing the respective dimensions during a mock-up exercise. The designed rubrics with a description of criteria to facilitate the processes and methods are demonstrated with the computation of the final results, and the Industry 4.0 readiness profile been concluded.


The present thesis thoroughly treats a special friction reduction phenomenon that may appear in boundary lubricated tribological contacts, of the type encountered in numerous mechanical components ...


ABSTRACT Characterizations and expressions of the CMP inverse are given. The relationships between the CMP inverse and some well-known generalized inverses are investigated. The characterizations for which Moore-Penrose inverse and the core part of A commute are obtained by using the CMP inverse. Moreover, a new binary relation based on the CMP inverse is introduced and investigated.


In this paper, we focus on the design of differential amplitude/phase modulation schemes by a look-up table for Rayleigh fading channels. In the first part of this paper, we first propose the noncoherent distance measure for each two signal vectors based on the maximum-likelihood (ML) signal detection under Rayleigh fading channels. The design criterion/procedure of the look-up table is then investigated. In the second part of this paper, linear dispersion codes are used to construct a multi-dimensional differential amplitude/phase modulation scheme, with the aid of the genetic algorithm. Both schemes are shown to provide improvements in error performance, when comparing to the conventional scheme provided in the literature.


It is with great excitement that I write my first Director's message for the American Studies Newsletter. I am fortunate to be following in the footsteps of venerable predecessors. Much is owed to them: Carl Smith and Jay Grossman have given generously of their time and expertise to guide me around the stars and stripes of the Program. And, due in no small part to their tutelage, it has been a flagship period for American Studies. We have had two phenomenal years of research, writing, teaching, and extra-curriculars. All in all, it has been a period of tremendous growth. From hosting Open Houses and the new reading group titled Middle Mondays, to hearing Michael Chabon lecture to a standing room only crowd and attending the Presidential Inauguration in D.C., it has been a period that has engendered an enormous sense of community and togetherness in the Program.


We employ a broadband Ti:sapphire femtosecond oscillator to simultaneously launch two localized surface plasmon modes in rectangular plasmonic nanoholes. The resonant frequencies of these two modes match well with our laser spectrum. As a result, the nanoholes do not only efficiently boost the third harmonic radiation intensity, but also significantly broaden the harmonic's bandwidth, producing a nanoscale deep-ultraviolet light source in the range of 240 to 300 nm. Due to the involvement of two modes, the third harmonic beam becomes elliptically polarized and reaches its maximum intensity when laser polarization direction is 60° with respect to the long edges, rather than the commonly used 90°.


One Grand Chain — The History of Anaesthesia in Australia 1846-1962—Volume 2 – 1934-1962. G. Wilson, G. Kaye, G. Phillips, B. Baker; Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, 630 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Vic. 3004; $65.00; 255×180 mm; pp. 657; ISBN: 0 9585208 5 2. The legacy remains. The documentation of the introduction of anaesthesia into Australia required of Gwen Wilson a lifetime of research. With the publication of Volume 1 of One Grand Chain, the story was told from 1846 to 1934 in a fashion which fully captured the reader's interest. But Gwen ran out of time! Her voluminous notes have been capably edited into five chapters, covering the establishment and growth of the Australian Society of Anaesthetists, followed by the delicate and protracted negotiations relating to the founding of the Faculty of Anaesthetists. The Society followed the international trend for anaesthetists to band together, to improve the quality of anaesthesia as well as improving their status as specialists. When educational standards were being set to allow specialisation, the story is told of the introduction of Diplomas in Anaesthesia by the Universities of Sydney and Melbourne, highlighting the need for a national higher degree. The world situation, viewed through the eyes of Geoffrey Kaye, adds to the understanding of this evolutionary process. Description during his tour of anaesthesia centres, of the restrained growth during the years prior to WWII, sets the scene for the rapid expansion post-war, both in numbers and quality of administration. In the United Kingdom, educational standards were set and administered by the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons conjointly. In Australia, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons agreed to accept a Faculty of Anaesthetists. But not without lengthy discussions and negotiations, all recorded in detail. For example, reciprocity was a difficult issue due to alterations in requirements for Diploma as well as variation in Fellowship examination subjects. The detail of a number of these negotiations may seem unnecessary to some readers, but it is fascinating to identify with personalities, their dedication buoyed by a universal desire for excellence. Gwen's breezy style is maintained in this volume, with numerous and humorous asides, making the reader very close to the author. Chapters by contemporaries have been added, covering the advancement of techniques and agents, the improvement of resuscitation and intensive care including the role of the anaesthetist outside the operating theatre, ending with the founding of the first full University Chair of Anaesthetics and the evolution of the Faculty into an autonomous Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists. No-one will need to rewrite the story, only to flesh out further the already meaty skeleton. R. BAILEY Australian Society of Anaesthetists, Edgecliff, New South Wales


eases have no greater IMT of the carotid arteries than nondiabetic subjects of the same age-group (in our study, <40 yr of age). So IDDM alone does not seem to be a risk factor for developing premature atherosclerosis. Meanwhile, we studied > 160 patients, continuing to confirm our previous results. Thromb 12:261-66, 1992 5. Frost D, Beischer W: The risk of atherosclerotic lesions of the carotid arteries in young type I diabetic patients (Abstract). Diabetologia 35 (Suppl. 1):96, 1992


The article discusses the state and ways of development of the education system of Kazakhstan, taking into account international trends in the modern world. The signing of the Bologna Declaration by Kazakhstan in March 2010 faced the country with the necessity of modernizing significantly the education system, including continuous natural science education. At the same time, the transition from the "knower" concept i.e. armed with a system of knowledge and skills, to "a person prepared for life", i.e. a person who is able to think and act actively and creatively, as well as to self-improve intellectually, morally and physically. In this direction, the modernization of the education system is a factor for a successful future. The implementation of the provisions of the Bologna Declaration made it possible to make changes to the goals, content, forms, and methods of teaching subjects to students in secondary school and to pedagogical staff in higher education institutions. Over time, this will enable the country to successfully enter the global educational


A Hughes Aircraft Co. employee attempts to locate the correct phone to request a slightly higher orbit for the Intelsat 1 "Early Bird" satellite in 1965. Shows a photograph of the Intelsat 1 satellite.


This study aims to reveal the effect of learning activities on students' science learning outcomes in SD N in the Ahmad Dahlan cluster, Sruweng sub-district, Kebumen regency. This research is a quantitative research. The population in this study were all students at SD N in the Ahmad Dahlan cluster, Sruweng sub-district, while the sample in this study were fifth grade students in SD N in the cluster Ahmad Dahlan, Sruweng sub-district, totaling 89 students. Data collection used a questionnaire, and data analysis used a simple regression analysis technique. This study resulted in the conclusion that learning activities have a positive and significant influence on students' science learning outcomes in public elementary schools in the Ahmad Dahlan cluster, Sruweng sub-district, Kebumen regency. This is evident from the value of Sig = 0.000 < α = 0.05. The value of the correlation coefficient (r2) = 0.385 or a contribution of 38.5%.


In the paper an appreciable hierarchy of mathematical models is proposed. It describes the actual dynamics of COVID-19 thickness during 02/12/2020 – 09/22/2021. The incidence sub-model reflects reliably regular (aperiodic and periodic), as well as random components. It is established that the dynamics of the epidemy is essentially seasonal thrice a year. Model elaborated enables to clarify and explain weak weekly fluctuations in the death rate dynamics. It turned out that the maximum risk of death is at 15 and 22 days of disease duration. It means that this virus will presumably be a "satellite" of the human population with corresponded mortality at 1.75%. Calculations performed enable to estimate the level of stochastics in disease and death dynamics. It is near to the amplitude of periodic variation. Computer experiments with developed model predict the global dynamics of the incidence of COVID-19. New epidemic data can show the prospect of improving our model to regard the competitiveness between new sporadically emerging virus strains.


Our goal in this project is to design and implement a system which allows for rapid testing and deployment of theoretical work into production environments. Translation of theories into real-world applications is often difficult and can result in failure when requirements not accounted for during research become evident and critical in an production environment. Furthermore, modeling assumptions may be inappropriate, which does not become evident until it is deployed within production systems. For these reasons, we set out to build a plug-and-play software simulator which allows for expedited testing of new theoretical algorithms within an Adaptive Electric Vehicle Charging Network. This system is built to rapidly test new changes in an environment modeled after real world data and scenarios. This greatly reduces the amount of time required for feedback. To achieve this end, we implement several software models. The first is a model of a battery, which behaves according to data recorded from real electric vehicle charging profiles. We wrap this software-implemented battery into a model electric vehicle (EV), which communicates with the existing software suite as if it were connected to a real charging station (EVSE). It is important to note that in this case, the software knows no more about the vehicle and its battery than it would in the real-world case. We then load an algorithm into the software suite and run a battery of tests, each exposing metrics about performance and stability. These metrics are then checked that they are within acceptable bounds. Usually, such a test would take hours, as that is the time scale for charging EV batteries. To counteract this, we accelerate time within the software. In our tests, we usually run the simulation at 3600x normal time. This means each second counts as one hour. With this optimization, an algorithm can run through an entire week's worth of charging curves in under a minute. The various algorithm performance metrics exposed by the simulator include but are not limited to total energy delivered, service level, and maximum power draw. These metrics can then be fed back into the development of the theory.


Strategies to control rotor dynamic behavior are critical to achieve improved performance of rotating machinery. It is possible to control the dynamics of a rotating system through the bearing characteristics, i.e., changing their damping and stiffness coefficients. Bearings that can be commanded to change their characteristics over time are known as active bearings. Because active bearings have a complex design, their use in commercial machines is limited. In this scenario, journal bearings are still regularly used since they can provide damping and high load carrying capacity. Moreover, by modifying the fluid film thickness or clearance, one can control the dynamic behavior of the bearing, which is not a simple task when a traditional geometric format is used. However, since the fluid film thickness is proportional to the axial position of the shaft in conical bearings, their dynamic characteristics could be manipulated through compensation of the shaft's axial position via a thrust magnetic bearing. Therefore, this paper proposes an alternative hybrid bearing design, which consists of a conical fluid-film bearing and a thrust magnetic bearing. The magnetic bearing is used to sustain the axial force created and actuate the system. For the system analyzed, the new concept was able to reduce the maximum lateral vibration of the rotor by 30%.


Facies classification by means of multiattribute clustering is becoming a more widely used method of identifying and extracting multiple facies within a dataset. Typically these methods are entirely data driven, have minimal input, and therefore do not take into account any a priori knowledge from the interpreter. We present a new interpreter-driven technique that provides simple, real time interaction with multidimensional attribute space. Volumetric attribute analysis is an effective way of isolating individual properties of the seismic response. These properties can be drawn from models of the wavelet, from local geometry and shape, or from statistical behavior. Typically, more than one attribute is required to fully characterize an area of interest. Simultaneous interpretation of multiple attributes has been greatly facilitated by modern color blending and opacity blending schemes. However, objectively the simultaneous analysis of multiple attributes is difficult for the human interpreter. The interpreter-driven technique presented here is based on diverse context information stored in the human brain. By defining facies within the 3D sub-surface space these contexts are converted into class, or cluster, centers. These class centers define seismic facies based on the statistical distribution of the attributes included in the classification. We apply our methodology to diverse hydrocarbon provinces at both regional and reservoir scale classification. Co py rig h 20 11 G CS SE PM


According to the investigation and statistics of 65 villages and towns in Fuxin city,from the practice of performance examination of the town leaders,the Township leaders discuss issues in depth. On the basis of the definition of town leaders,analyzing the performance examination of the town is the needs of establishing the images of the party and government the needs of implanting rural policy of the party and government and the needs of updating and motivating rural leaders.The author also proposed theme of the examination,which is township and performance examination of leading institutions and organizations,"360 degree"the main of performance evaluation,and furthermore,persisting the principle of dealing with different people in different ways,pertinence and flexibility.


In July 1984, 863, normal persons aged 3-81; male 179, female 174 were examined for hair follicle mites in Xinjian village, Sheng County, Zhejiang Province. 144 positive cases were found, an infection rate of 40.79%. There was no significant difference in infection rates between either sex, however, the rate of infection increased with age.Among the infected individuals, 84 (58.20 %) were infected with Demodex folliculorum, 84 (23.61%) with Demodex brevis and 26 (18.06%) with both species-The infection rates of D. folliculorum and the intensity of, their infection were markedly higher than those of D, brevis. But there was no significant difference either in the infection rate or in the Intensity of infection in either sex. The route of transmission and pathogenicity of the hair follicle mites are discussed.


Damping of strong electron waves due to the excitation of many weak waves by elastic scattering in a parallel-plate crystal is discussed on the basis of many-beam theory of electron diffraction. The effect of the weak waves is expressed by using the correction term to Fourier coefficients of potential. Simple expressions for the real and imaginary parts of the correction term are obtained. The result of the present theory is compared with pseudo-kinematical theory in the case of the thinnest crystals. The damping of electron waves due to the thermal diffuse scattering is dealt with as an application of the result of the theory.


The imperial power scholar officials political system in China's feudal society was set up in the Song Dynasty.THe setting up of this system was a result of mutual influence and effect of several factors.Outwardly,it was rightly connected with imperial exams system and the national policy of esteeming civilians and repressing warriors.Inwardly,it was the outcome of the changes of the production relations and class structures since the end of Tand Dynasty and Five Dynasties.It was the result of the development of social economics and culture.The setting up of the Scholar officials of Song Dynasty went with the stream of the historical development.


Abstract Controlling odor of stored animal waste and its satisfactory disposition are two of the most difficult problems facing dairymen. Waste handling systems may range from a gutter cleaner and daily hauling with manure spreader to extended storage in concrete tanks whose contents are pumped and spread periodically. Daily hauling requires the lowest investment in equipment but has the disadvantage of higher labor costs and the hazard of unfavorable weather, soil, or crop conditions. Slat floors in warm free-stall barns with under-the-building manure storage offer a suitable system for manure handling with a minimum of labor. Carefully planned ventilation systems of high capacity must be provided for all confined units. Research shows that manure containing little bedding deposited in the end of a 9.1×27.4×2.4-m external flat-bottom tank will distribute itself under its own weight. Waste heat from the dairy barn ventilation system will prevent freezing.


"Local realism" is a world view in which the properties of physical objects exist independent of whether or not they are observed (realism), and in which no physical influence can propagate faster than the speed of light (locality). In 1964, in one of the most important works in the history of the foundations of quantum theory [1], the Irish physicist John Bell proved theoretically that local realism is in contradiction with the predictions of quantum mechanics. With his now famous "Bell inequality", he showed that it is possible to determine experimentally which of the two radically different world views actually governs reality. The terms in the inequality are the correlations of measurement results. Bell's inequality is satisfied by the predictions of any local realistic theory, whereas quantum mechanics predicts measurement outcomes that can violate it.


This paper reviews some of the notable recent findings in breast cancer detection for Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CADx) systems using Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) approaches. Digital mammogram classification using machine learning is a popular technique used for minimizing the risk of beast cancer. In this paper, a brief survey on the usage and appreciability of ELMs for breast cancer detection in CADx systems has been studied. The databases mostly preferred for training and testing of the ELM-based systems include the Mini-MIAS and DDSM databases among a select group of synthetic mammographic databases; they may also include actual medical images procured from supportive hospitals. In most of the reported results, it has been observed that the ELM-based approaches for breast cancer detection show superior results in terms of accurate classification as well as accurate segmentation. The articles studied in this review show how ELMs have been utilized in both a basic form as well as various modified versions.


We introduce a formalism that connects entanglement witnesses and the distillation and activation properties of a state. We apply this formalism to two cases: First, we rederive the results presented in Eggeling et al. (e-print quant-ph/0104095), namely, that one copy of any bipartite state with nonpositive partial transpose (NPPT) is either distillable, or activatable. Second, we show that there exist three-partite NPPT states, with the property that two copies can neither be distilled, nor activated.


Image assessment continues to be a topic of intense research over the last decades. Researchers have presented many image attributes and proposed countless computational methods for the image assessment. In this work we define an image attributes measurement method for quantifying frame interestingness. The attributes are used for the purpose of obtaining a set of candidate key frames. The first challenge was to define adequate frame attributes and how they could be measured. In this work, nine attributes were acquired from human experts and these attributes were judged as important in an image interestingness measure. In the context of this study, the definitions of attributes were restricted to obtaining candidate key frames for key frame consideration. Even though this is a preliminary finding, the constraints for each attribute were found to be satisfiable since the filtering rule allows for a selection of candidate key frames based on human preference factor.