In this work, we investigate a machine learning approach to cost-effectively train acoustic models for speech recognition. More specifically, we utilize an active learning method that allows the system/learner to exert control over what new data is introduced into training, allowing us to selectively invest in the resources necessary to provide the truth labels required to train the models. We propose a two-pronged approach to improve speech recognition performance through the selective use of training data. First, we make effective use of the available transcribed data by selectively using only those examples that are likely to improve system performance. And second, we focus future transcription effort on data that has the biggest potential to improve performance. Our approach has the capability to select a set of data from which to build a recognition system that outperforms a system built on larger, but randomly selected, data. We start our investigation of our proposed data-selective methods by using a simple alphadigit recognition problem. We demonstrate both a model-selective and a sequence-selective approach appropriate for situations when whole words are modeled independently of each other, in one case showing that we can improve system performance by selectively using 30% (17.5 hours) of a 50-hour training set. In particular, we reduce the error rate from 10.3% (achieved when using the full 50 hours to train) to 9.0%, without prior knowledge of the true transcription. Finally, we demonstrate, on the more realistic Wall Street Journal corpus, a word-selective method suitable for typical speech recognition applications, showing that selective algorithms are able to meet or beat the error rate predicted by systems trained with a similar amount of randomly selected training data.


1. An anti-theft device (1) for finished products, comprising a case (2), the housing of which contains an anti-theft detector system (4) and locking means (5), an attachable element (3) that can be locked in the case of the case, an attachable element ( 3) has a filamentary shape and is attached to the case in such a way that it remains mobile, this element consists of the proximal end (31a), which is an integral part of the case body and the distal end (32a), which can either be in the attached position, when yes, it is locked in the case body, or in a separate position, when it is free and separated from the case, characterized in that the proximal end (31a) of the attachment element can rotate relative to the device case in the separated position of the distal end (32a), this attachment element (3 ) is made of metal, and in the attached position is hung from the product intended for protection. 2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that it looks like a padlock, the attachable element has the shape of an inverted letter U, the middle part of U forms a handle, and the branches of U respectively form two rods located at a distance from each other, one of which is constantly fixed in the case body and allows a certain degree of freedom of movement of the element, while the other is attached to the case body in such a way that it can be separated. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing of the case includes a recess (24) designed to fit the removable distal end (32a) of the connecting element, in which the blocking part (55) can move, preferably


Concrete which has significant weight is good at compressive strength and poor at tensile strength. This study aimed to find out the relationship between the tensile strength and density of bamboo fiber concrete which 40 % of the fine aggregate was replaced with the sea shell ash (ACL) and the rice husk ash (ASP). The bamboo fiber variations which used, 0,25 % (V1) dan 0,50 % (V2) were calculated from the cement weight. Each fiber bamboo variations has 3 samples of ACL and ASP weight ratio e.g 35:65 (C1), 50:50 (C2), 65:35 (C3). 3 concrete cylinders of diameter 15 cm and height 30 cm were made for each samples. All the specimens were compared to the normal concrete of water cement ratio 0,45 and slump value 6-10 cm.The specimens were made and maintained by SK SNI T-15-1990-03 and SNI 03-2493-1991. The tensile strength of the specimens were tested at the age of 28 days according to SNI 03-24912002. The highest tensile strength was belonged to V2C2. The significance density (2.347,57 kg/m 3 ) belong to the normal concrete. The highest of the density and the tensile strength of eachvariation of ACL and ASP were occurred at the bamboo fiber concrete 0,5 % (V2).


Measurements were made of the changes that occur in the interfacial tension of isopropylbenzene when floating on water containing between 10−5 and 10−3 M of various fluorescein dyes and tetracycline drugs and irradiated for up to 240 min with ultraviolet light. Singlet oxygen was found to be an active intermediate in the reactions. The results are discussed in relation to adverse photosensitization in‐vivo due to fluorescein dyes and tetracycline drugs.


This paper investigates how auditors respond to shareholder activism against their clients. We find that activism targets pay higher audit fees and also are more likely to receive adverse internal control opinions and first-time going concern opinions. Our results suggest that the increased public scrutiny associated with activism campaigns encourages auditors to increase effort and become more concerned about reputational damage and litigation risk. Consistent with this notion, we find that activism targets are more likely to experience accounting-related lawsuits. In additional tests, we find that the increased likelihood of unfavorable internal control opinions reflects increased auditor diligence (i.e, higher quality reporting) rather than purely reflecting increased auditor conservatism. Overall, the results of this paper identify a number of relationships that should be viewed as important by activists, target firms, and auditors.


Morphology of Tetraclinis.-SAXTON24 has investigated Tetraclinis articulata, the "gum sandarach" tree of Morocco and Algeria. He has given an unusually detailed account of microsporogenesis. The mature pollen grain is uninucleate, and approximately three months elapse between pollination and fertilization; while it is I2 months from the first appearance of the strobili to the complete maturity of the seeds. The development of both gametophytes resembles that of other Cupressus forms. Wall-formation in the proembryo occurs in passing from the four-nucleate to the eight-nucleate stage, the mature embryo being somewhat variable in the number and arrangement of the cells. More than one tier of cells takes part in suspensor formation. In the mature embryos three, four, and five cotyledons were found. One of the interesting cytological features is the segregation of the chromosomes into two groups in the prophase of the first division of the fertilized egg. This is taken to be an evidence of the continued individuality of male and female chromosomes. The chromosome numbers were found to be I2 and 24. SAXTON is inclined to believe that the Callitris group was derived from the Cupressus group through some plant resembling Tetraclinis. He traces a geographic line of evolution from northern to southern Africa, and thence by means of former antarctic land connection to Australia. This would make Widdringtonia the most primitive of the Callitris forms.-J. M. C.


A Three Dimension Geographic Information System (3DGIS) for the digital documentation of a special T'angwooden buildings based on personal computer is introduced in this paper. The practical methods of LOD models' data integrated management and database based on realtime visualization are presented in detail.


Abstract We study the convective and absolute forms of azimuthal magnetorotational instability (AMRI) in a cylindrical Taylor–Couette (TC) flow with an imposed azimuthal magnetic field. We show that the domain of the convective AMRI is wider than that of the absolute AMRI. Actually, it is the absolute instability which is the most relevant and important for magnetic TC flow experiments. The absolute AMRI, unlike the convective one, stays in the device, displaying a sustained growth that can be experimentally detected. We also study the global AMRI in a TC flow of finite height using direct numerical simulation and find that its emerging butterfly-type structure – a spatio-temporal variation in the form of axially upward and downward travelling waves – is in a very good agreement with the linear analysis, which indicates the presence of two dominant absolute AMRI modes in the flow giving rise to this global butterfly pattern.


The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Active Remote Sensing Branch has developed the Laser Airborne Remote Sensing (LARS) system for long standoff range chemical detection using the differential absorption lidar (DIAL) technique. The system is based on a high-power CO2 laser which uses either the 12C16O2 or the 13C16O2 carbon dioxide isotopes as the lasing medium, and has output energies of up to 5 J on the stronger laser transitions. The lidar system is mounted on a flight-qualified optical breadboard designed for installation in the AFRL Argus C-135E optical testbed aircraft. This paper will present chemical detection results and issues arising from ground tests of the system performed from September to December 1998. Recent advances in implementing a frequency-agile heterodyne receiver to further increase the standoff range of the DIAL system will also be presented.


Microcomputers and associated software are providing tremendous opportunities for the public works engineer in the analysis and evaluation of transportation projects. In particular, a wealth of software is available for evaluating urban arterial improvements in both the long term and the short term, and in establishing project priorities. Microcomputer software exists for project-level traffic forecasting, traffic operations project analysis, and the prioritization of projects. For project-level traffic forecasting, a microcomputer package, simplified project forecasting (SPF), provides a cost-effective procedure for determining future traffic estimates on urban arterials. Several packages exist for traffic operations project analysis. These include: signal operation analysis package (SOAP-84); progression analysis and signal system evaluation routine (PASSER); highway capacity manual--signalized and unsignalized intersections; and queue work zone (QUEWZ) impacts. The needs inventory system (NIS) provides a useful package for identifying deficient arterials and prioritizing candidate improvement projects. These packages greatly enhance the ability of the public works engineer to evaluate urban arterial projects.


The challenge of mandibular reconstruction rests in the difficulty of re‐creating the intricate three‐dimensional relationship of the oral cavity, thereby ensuring occlusal relationships, oral competence, and facial contour. Recent advances in microvascular surgery have made reliable transfer of autologous tissue possible, but successful reconstruction depends on accurate insetting of the bone flap.


Three Goodsir brothers, John, Henry ("Harry") and Robert, from Fife, Scotland, all shared an early interest in marine zoology in the early 1800s. They all went on to receive medical training, with ...


The right to housing is one of the fundamental rights of a citizen. According to Article 75(1) of the Polish Constitution, public authorities shall pursue policies that promote the satisfaction of citizens' housing needs, in particular by preventing homelessness, supporting the development of social housing and supporting citizens' efforts to obtain their own housing. Admittedly, a number of programs have been recently introduced to achieve these goals. However, an analysis of the solutions proposed and an assessment of their effects lead to the conclusion that the initiatives undertaken in this area are characterized primarily by fragmentation and lack of consistency in the implementation of the solutions adopted. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the proposals of the currently processed Law on State Aid to Savings for Housing, in the light of the programs implemented to date, and to assess the proposed solutions in terms of their potential effects on the state economy.


Abstract This article reviews two decades of work carried out at the Centre for Ethnicity and Racism Studies, University of Leeds in the area of racism and higher education. It introduces key issues and themes in this field and also identifies a seven-point agenda for action. This article provides an overview and agenda-setting account of the theoretical and policy innovations developed by this research team, which provide a contextual background for this volume as a whole. Historical recognition of the role of universities as key sites for the production of racialised knowledge across a range of intellectual fields is an essential starting point. We urge promotion of fundamental de-racialisation and de-colonisation of the academy. This cannot be achieved by self-regulation by the sector or by the setting of minimum legal requirements, it requires strong political, institutional and intellectual leadership, alliance-building and mobilisation.


The overlap of literature types is a distinguishing sign for the literary text and its richness; the literary text in general, and the narrative one in particular, may derive from another literary art some artistic qualities and overlap with them. The novel"  The Night Mail "drives us to sense this correlation between the two arts of narration and epistolary, and to grasp the combination which enriched the text, which is the problematic committed to this study. The analysis of the narrative structure is the approach followed in this study, which consists of; a Preface, an Introduction, Three Cores, and a Conclusion. The first core is The Threshold of the Title, the second core is The Structure of the Narrated, and the third core is On the Characters. One of the most important findings of this study is: that the use of epistles in this novel is a way for a revelation which helped to reveal the souls' hidden pent-ups of its characters and to bring them near to the reader.


Case i xpor t : G. N., a housewife aged 55, was seen in April 1952 complaining of impaired vision, which was getting progressively worse. She had marked jaundice, which first appeared January 1950. The visual acuity was 1/10 on the right and 2/10 on the left side. Glasses did not improve the vision. The conjunctiva was slightly injected. The cornea appeared rough. There were a number of small, well defined epithelial defects, visualised with the application of bengal rose or fluorescin. The dye was taken up mainly in that part of the cornea and bulbar conjunctiva, roughly corresponding with the palpebral aperture. A spoke-like pattern was seen in the deeper epithelium of the cornea. This was most marked on the right side, a fine corpuscular flare also being discernible in the aqueous. The appearance of the cornea resembled that of unground glass when examinated in retro-illumination. There was no change in the lens. The papillae were of normal colour. The light sensitivity was found to be 3-41100000 lux. Lacrymation was impaired. Schirmer's test I gave 3 mm of wetting of the filter paper bilaterally. The patient said that she had been troubled by dryness of the eyes and the mouth for a long time. There were small sores a t the angles of the mouth. There was no atrophy of the oral mucosa or the tongue. The menopause had commenced a t the age of 51. There had never been any sign of rheumatoid arthritis. The patient had jaundice and pruritis in January 1950. This occured some months after 5 or 6 children from the same village had a similar condition. A biopsy removed at laparotomy showed changes indicative of acute hepatitis. Liver function tests showed persistent, undiminished involvement of the liver cells.


Soil moisture is a reliable water resource for plant growth in arid and semi-arid regions. Characterizing the interaction between soil moisture and vegetation is important for assessing the sustainability of terrestrial ecosystems. This study explores the spatiotemporal characteristics of four soil moisture layers (layer 1: 0–7 cm, layer 2: 7–28 cm, layer 3: 28–100 cm, and layer 4: 100–289 cm) and the time-lagged correlation with the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) for different vegetation types on an intra-annual scale on the Mongolian Plateau (MP). The most significant results indicated that: (1) the four layers of soil moisture can be roughly divided into rapid change (layers 1 and 2), active (layer 3), and stable (layer 4) layers. The soil moisture content in the different vegetation regions was forest > grassland > desert vegetation. (2) The soil moisture in layer 1 showed the strongest positive correlation with NDVI in the whole area; meanwhile, the soil moisture of layers 2 and 3 showed the strongest negative correlation with the NDVI mainly in grassland and desert, and layer 4 showed the strongest negative correlation with the NDVI in the forest. (3) Mutual responses of NDVI and deep layer soil moisture required a longer time compared with the shallow layer. In the annual time scale, the NDVI was affected by the change in soil moisture in most of the study area, except for coniferous forest and desert vegetation regions. (4) Under the different stages of vegetation change, the soil moisture changes advance than NDVI about 3 months during the greening stage, while the NDVI changes advance than soil moisture by 0.5 months during the browning stage. Regardless of the stage, changes in soil moisture are initiated from the shallow layer and advance to the deep layer. The results of this study provide deep insight into the relationship between soil moisture and vegetation in arid and semi-arid regions.


Inthis paper, theperformance offlexible substrates for lead-free applications wasstudied using Finite Element Method(FEM). Firstly, thethermal induced stress inthe flex substrate during thelead free solder reflow process was predicted. Theshearstress attheinterface between the copper track andflex wasplotted. Thisshear stress increases withthethickness ofthecopper track. Secondly, anACF flip chip wastaken asatypical lead-free application ofthe flex substrate. Thereflow effect onthereliability ofACF interconnections wasanalyzed. Higher stress wasidentified along theinterface between theconductive particle andthe metallization, andtheinterfacial stress increases withthe reflow peaktemperature andthecoefficient ofthermal expansion (CTE)oftheadhesive. Themoisture effect onthe reliability ofACFjoints werestudied using amacro-micro modeling technique, thepredominantly tensile stress found attheinterface between theconductive particle and metallization could reduce thecontact areaandevencause theelectrical failure. Modeling results areconsistent with thefindings intheexperimental work.


Formulations for the excitation of currents on an infinitely long conductor by electric or magnetic dipoles of arbitrary orientation are presented. The conductor can be either insulated or hare to model ungrounded or grounded conductors. Specific calculations are pre- sented for a vertical magnetic dipole source because this source pro- duces the appropriate horizontal polarization and could be used in a borehole-to-borehole configuration. Numerical results for the induced current and secondary magnetic field indicate that long conductors produce a strong anomaly over a broad frequency range. The second- ary magnetic field decays slowly in the direction of the conductor and eventually becomes larger than the dipole source field.


This paper illustrates the self-adjustment and self-development of higher education function by giving a historical analysis to the relations between British universities and industries,which is gradually promoted and strengthened owing to the self-development of higher education as well as the political,economical and other social needs.At the same time,the function of higher education transforms with the improvement of the cooperation between universities and industries,which in return,will push forward the development of higher education and the society.


A transmission signal for wireless communication systems, and methods and apparatus for performing synchronization processing of the transmission signal is provided by the present invention. The basic concept is the synchronization sequences are respectively inserted into a group of transmission data in accordance with a predetermined time offset is to form a group of transmission signals. Synchronization sequence to be inserted into the transmission data is obtained by performing a phase modulation of the same known basic synchronization sequence according to a predetermined phase offset, they are dispersed in the same transmission signal period without overlapping one another, the different transmit antennas It is sent. By using the configuration of the transmission signal and the synchronization sequence, the receiver side only needs to search a portion of the received signal, one of the assumptions group role synchronization sequences as a main synchronization sequence is retrieved quickly possible to become. Based on this, the synchronization position of the transmission signals from other transmit antennas enables estimation, at the same time, by using the phase offset between the synchronization sequences and the basic synchronization sequence, the transmission signals from different transmit antennas It is efficient distinguishable.


spiritual progress. The second part presents the duties of the Christian and the means of sanctification. The duties are summarized under the break with sin, the service of God and love of neighbor. The means of sanctification insisted on by Ignatian principles are prayer, frequent confession and communion, the examination of conscience, retreats and the great devotions to the Sacred Heart and to the Blessed Virgin. A third part considers the pursuit of perfection. This includes writings on the nature and desire of perfection, docility to the Holy Spirit and the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary ways of perfection. The ordinary ways are characterized by mental prayer, especially on the passion, union with God through continual prayer, mortification, the attainment of the Third Degree of Humility and obedience. The presentation of the extraordinary ways as illustrated by Jesuit writers discusses the vocation to infused contemplation, the desire of it, abuses to be avoided by directors, the signs of such a call and illusions. The book concludes with the treatment of the climax of mystical graces. Biographical notices of some seventy Jesuit ascetical writers are appended to the volume. There is perhaps a preponderance of French writers in the list. The above digest of this work was given for a very definite reason. The comments on Ignatian spirituality too often are founded on the assumption that it is characterized by excessive insistence on abnegation, methodical procedure, voluntarism, and a suspicious mistrust of the higher reaches of spiritual life. This anthology, so to speak, of Ignatian spirituality through the last four centuries should help considerably in provoking caution in comments about it; the comprehensiveness, flexibility and adaptability of Ignatian spirituality are revealed.


The Indian aviation industry of late, appears to be not in the shape as it should be. Although there are not much apparent symptoms, a deeper insight would provoke one to find a darker side. Already the scenario has been stained by not so impressive performance of the largest players and the exit of Kingfisher airlines through the trauma of bankruptcy. In fact, our observation is that the industry as a whole is threatened by the specter of bankruptcy which might come true if appropriate steps are not taken before it is too late. This paper is an attempt to analyze the present financial situation for selected airlines using three different models for bankruptcy possibility prediction over a period of five consecutive years (2010-2014) and compare the results with pre-bankruptcy period of Kingfisher airline (2008-2012).


Objective: With the development of mobile devices and robots, semantic segmentation network begins to pay more and more attention to the efficiency of the model. To speed up the model inference, most of the existing real-time semantic segmentation methods always reduce the size of the image before segmentation, which sacrifices the details and spatial information of the image. In order to achieve a good balance between speed and accuracy, we propose a efficient real-time semantic segmentation network based on lite reduced atrous pyramid pooling. Method: The proposed network structure uses the encoder decoder structure to construct an end-to-end semantic segmentation network. In the encoder part, the image is quickly sampled underground to avoid too much operation on the large-resolution feature map and increase the calculation amount. In the decoder part, the pyramid pooling module of light-weight empty space is used to further obtain the context information to expand the feeling field of the model. The large-size pooling core of litereduced atrous spatial pyramid pooling module group can quickly and effectively extract the context information from the large-size input. Then, skip connection and feature fusion module can fuse multi-scale feature information. Finally, we get the semantic output through up sampling. Result: The network proposed in this paper has been tested on Cityscape data set. For 2048*1024 resolution input image, using a NVIDIA Tesla V100 video card, the network achieves 88.4FPS speed and 74.5% Miou accuracy. Conclusion: The experimental results show that the network structure proposed in this paper is faster than other networks in the control group when dealing with 2048*1024 size pictures, which shows that the research in this paper is valuable.


There are many books and articles of historical interest about mesmerism in the digital library Google Book Search. Some of them are mentioned under the following headings: histories and overviews, phenomena, medical applications, critiques, explanatory concepts, anti-materialistic views, and miscellaneous materials including topics such as work with special subjects, the relationship of mesmerism and phrenology, and bibliographies. Some of the authors represented in the digital library are Alexander Bertrand, James Braid, J. P. F. Deleuze, Albert de Rochas, J. Dupotet de Sennevoy, John Elliotson, James Esdaile, Joseph W. Haddock, E. F. Henin de Cuvillers, Justinus Kerner, C. A. F. Kluge, Charles Lafontaine, and Franz Anton Mesmer. The collection includes issues of the following periodicals: Archives du Magnetisme Animal, Magikon, Le Magnetiseur, The Phreno-Magnet and Mirror of Nature, and Zoist.


Slip boundary has an important influence on fluid flow, which is non-negligible in rock micro-fractures. In this paper, an improved pseudo-potential multi-relaxation-time (MRT) lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), which can achieve a large density ratio, is introduced to simulate the fluid flow in a micro-fracture. The model is tested to satisfy thermodynamic consistency and simulate Poiseuille flow in the case of large liquid-gas density ratio. The slip length is used as an index for evaluating the flow characteristics, and the effects of wall wettability, micro-fracture width, driving pressure and liquid-gas density ratio on the slip length are discussed. The results demonstrate that the slip length increases significantly with the increase of the wall contact angle in rock micro-fracture. And the liquid-gas density ratio has an important impact on the slip length, especially for the hydrophobic wall. Moreover, under the laminar flow regime the driving pressure and the micro-fracture width has little effect on the slip length.


In this study, a gallium nitride (GaN) substrate produced by the Na flux method was planarized using catalyst-referred etching (CARE). To improve the removal rate, the GaN substrate was processed using CARE-assisted photoelectrochemical (PEC) reaction (PEC CARE); the removal rate was 45 nm/h. However, the shape was embossed because of subsurface scratches introduced during preprocessing. These scratches were removed when the PEC CARE process was conducted under an applied potential of 2.5 V. In addition, a smooth surface of surface roughness 0.4 nm rms was obtained. A surface with step-terrace structures on the entire substrate was subsequently obtained when the CARE process was performed using a platinum (Pt) catalyst and deionized water; in this case, the surface roughness was 0.11 nm rms and the removal rate was 5 nm/h.


We calculate the almost sure Hausdorff dimension of uniformly random self-similar fractals. These random fractals are generated from a finite family of similarities, where the linear parts of the mappings are independent uniformly distributed random variables at each step of iteration. We also prove that the Lebesgue measure of such sets is almost surely positive in some cases.


Word of mouth disseminates across Twitter by means of retweeting; however, the antecedents of retweeting have not received much attention. We used the chi‐square automatic interaction detection (CHAID) decision tree predictive method (Kass, 1980) with readily available Twitter data, and manually coded sentiment and content data, to identify why some tweets are more likely to be retweeted than others in a (political) marketing context. The analysis includes four CHAID models: (1) using message structure variables only, (2) source variables only, (3) message content and sentiment variables only, and (4) a combined model using source, message structure, message content, and sentiment variables. The aggregated predictive model correctly classified retweeting behavior with a 76.7% success rate. Retweeting tends to occur when the originator has a high number of Twitter followers and the sentiment of the tweet is negative, contradicting previous research (East, Hammond, & Wright, 2007 ; Wu, 2013) but concurring with others (Hennig‐Thurau, Wiertz, & Feldhaus, 2014). Additionally, particular types of tweet content are associated with high levels of retweeting, in particular those tweets including fear appeals or expressing support for others, while others are associated with very low levels of retweeting, such as those mentioning the sender's personal life. Managerial implications and research directions are presented. We make a methodological contribution by illustrating how CHAID predictive modeling can be used for Twitter data analysis and a theoretical contribution by providing insights into why retweeting occurs in a (political) marketing context.


The overlapped time-frequency two dimensional multiplexing system (OvHDM, Overlapped Hybrid Division Multiplexing) can significantly improve the spectrum efficiency of communication system. The system can be described as a vector convolutional encoding constraint model and the optimum detection algorithm is maximum likelihood sequence detection (MLSD), but the algorithm causes large detection delay due to high complexity. In this paper, a mathematic model similar to MIMO system is derived for OvHDM system and sphere decoding algorithm is applied to fast detect the received signal. Simulation results show that the algorithm based on sphere decoding obtains the same performance of the optimum detection but the computational complexity is significantly reduced. The performance of OvHDM system is better than that of QAM modulation with the same spectrum efficiency at a high signal to noise ratio. This shows that improving the transmission rate with overlapped signals can achieve greater gains than using high-order QAM modulation with the same spectrum efficiency.


This paper surveys different approximation methods of the base e for the natural logarithm, following previous works. Combining the previous works with the method of Padé approximation applied by Chen and Zhang, we obtained an approximation sequence of the form (1 + 1/n)nen with accuracy up to 0(l/np+q+1).


This letter to the editor refers to an article by morgan, r in this issue of the journal, pp 11-20.


In the paper two factors influencing image compression efficiency of SA DCT are examined. Firstly, it is shown that the transform performance is strongly dependent on the smoothness of coded shape border. It is shown that even miniscule corrections of the contour may result in important improvement of restored images, both in terms of measured error, as well as when evaluated subjectively. Secondly, relation between important for coding efficiency orthogonality and DC preserving property of the SA DCT is discussed. The general condition for a transform to be DC preserving is formulated. It implies that there is no easy way to guarantee that a separable shape adaptive transform is both DC preserving and orthogonal. The DC corrected SA DCT is a good compromise solution to this problem.


Objective:To compare the efficacy and toxicity between the homeochronous radiotherapy regimen with cisplatin-docetaxel and homeoehronous chemotherapy of cisplatin-fluorouracil regimen for esophageal cancer.Methods:Retrospective analysis of 42 cases of esophageal cancer treated by radiotherapy concurrent chemotherapy was performed.All cases were adopted three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy with CT location,conventional fractionation,total dose 60-68Gy.Radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy was performed at 1 and 28d.All cases were divided into two groups: 22 cases were treated combined with docetaxel plus cisplatin(group TP);20 cases of cisplatin plus fluorouracil(group DF).Results:All patients were followed up until(100%).The efficiency of the two groups were: TP group 81.8%,DF group 75.0%(P0.05).1,2-year local control rates were: TP group 86.4%,63.6%;DF group 80.0%,60.0%(P0.05).l,2-year survival rates of the two groups were: TP group 81.8%,59.1%;DF group 80%,50%(P0.05).Acute toxicity,of neutropenia in group TP was significantly higher than group DF;the incidence of gastrointestinal reactions in group TP was significantly lower than the group DF.Conclusion:Conformal radiotherapy simultaneous docetaxel-cisplatin chemotherapy for of esophageal cancer compared with cisplatin-fluorouracil can improve efficiency,local control and survival rates.Incidence of bone marrow suppression in the group TP was higher.


In addition, Associate Editor Carol Springer Sargent was joint winner of the Outstanding Accounting Education Research Award from the Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Section of the American Accounting Association for her paper, Find It, Fix It, and Thrive: The Impact of Insisting on Proficiency in Prerequisite Knowledge in Intermediate Accounting, published in Issues in Accounting Education, Volume 28, Number 3. The other winner of this award was Professor David E. Stout for his paper, Pack-and-Go Delivery Service: A Multi-Component Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) Learning Resource, which was published this year in Volume 23, Issue 1 of this journal. My congratulations to them both for this highly prestigious award.


This paper describes an evaluation of the performance of a fast response residential sprinkler system in a simulated apartment in the event of a fire caused by a burning television set. The evaluation was conducted in an 8m × 4m × 2.4m high gypsum plasterboard lined compartment. A 1.2 m2 lobby was used to represent an adjoining room and a standard hollow core door connected the two spaces. The compartment was fitted with two pendent mounted fast response residential sprinkler heads, and the television sets were located in one corner of the compartment. A series of 21 tests was conducted using a tea light candle against the outside of the television casing as the ignition source. Gas analysis for CO, CO2, O2 was carried out along with measurements of visual obscuration, compartment temperature and mass loss of the fuel. Tenability conditions within the compartment were determined using Fractional Effective Dose calculations. The results showed that the sprinkler system did not respond well to the television fires. Conditions within the compartment approached or exceeded tenable limits on a number of occasions. In some instances the television set burned out completely without activating the sprinkler system. Language: ja


This paper,on the basis of elaborating the structure of expandable screen and the mechanism of sand control,analyzes and compares the advantages and disadvantages of well completion technology of sand control by means of expandable screen.


National Sports Associations, National and International Sports Federations and even International Olympic Committee continue to struggle meeting the 20% representation quota of women in executive boards. Although women's representation as athletes, coaches and officials increased in national and international sports competitions but not in leadership particularly in top positions. In sports leadership, empirical research showed statistical figures that women have gained access in leadership pipeline however, they still lack in representing the executive boards. This study is a part of a larger phenomenological investigation which purpose was to identify factors that may influence the persistent underrepresentation of women in top leadership position. From a purposive maximum variation sampling of seven participants, top women leaders in Malaysia national sports organisations were interviewed about their career path and experiences on how and why women top leaders continue to lag behind with their male counterparts. Results suggest self-limiting behaviors, work-life conflict and interpersonal relationships among other women contributed to the underrepresentation of women in top positions. Factors attributed to social perception of gender and leadership roles incongruence also limited women leaders' access in organisations which subsequently contributed to pipeline problem. Moreover, participants offered suggestions in overcoming the challenges and personal strategies in advancing opportunities and career development.


Since the end of 1993 a draft of the 8th revision of the Educational Rules in Medicine (Arztliche Approbationsordnung) was published by the Federal Ministry of Health, suggesting substantial changes of ways and contents of medical education the consequences of which for university departments of psychosomatics and psychotherapy are discussed in this paper.


The paper deals with the feasibility study and use of advanced composite materials in the Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) program's field-test equipment. Emphasis is placed on thermal expansion in the optical test-equipment structure under elevated-temperature conditions. A design approach using a low-CTE graphite/epoxy composite for the optical bed is considered, and based on several constraints, four basic design approaches are evaluated: honeycomb, separated plate, machine solid, and thin solid. A prototype system is covered, and the test results of coupon samples of the composite baseplate material indicate that CTE is less than 1 ppm/deg C over a wide temperature range.


The design and optimization of electrode is the key work in the design of conductive asphalt concrete structure. On the basis of preliminary experimental research, two most representative electrode forms were selected for influencing factor analysis and optimization scheme design. Then the distance, length and material of electrodes were changed respectively to compare the snowmelt effect of conductive asphalt specimens. The optimization results demonstrate that copper is selected as the electrode material, considering the cost and the influence of the later stage on the pavement performance, single beam copper electrode is recommended as the best electrode form, with spacing of 4cm and the heating effect of asphalt pavement is the best. The relevant research results provide data reference for the engineering application of conductive asphalt concrete.


Shave biopsy describes the technique of sharp removal of epidermal or dermal lesions by horizontal slicing cut parallel to the surface of the surrounding skin. It usually extends to the level of the mid-dermis, with the subcutaneous tissue left undisturbed, and is useful for any elevated lesion when a full-thickness of tissue is unimportant, as in nevi, where it often produces excellent cosmetic results. However, pigmented lesions suspected of being a melanoma should be sampled using a punch, excisional, or incisional biopsy. Skin lesions with a minimal dermal component, such as seborrheic keratoses or fibrous papules of the nose, are also excellent candidates for this technique. Shave biopsy is the ideal method of diagnosis for basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, warts, domeshaped nevi, cutaneous horn, dermatofibroma, acrochordon, and angiofibroma.


Mesenteric hypertrophy has been recognized as an indicator of the complicated course of Crohn's disease. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the visceral fat area (VFA) is associated with postoperative clinical and endoscopic recurrence.


The objective was to measure the psychometric properties of the Caring Ability Inventory by Ngozi Nkongho, as well as the degree of caring skills and its relationship with the students' sociodemographic factors. Method: The design of the study was qualitative, correlational and cross-sectional. The instrument, Caring Ability Inventory by Ngozi Nkongho, was applied to a sample of 314 nursing students. Results: The findings, via exploratory factor analysis, identified three arising factors which were different from those proposed by the author; however, they possess theoretical plausibility. Those factors are: willingness to help, appreciation for the experience of others, and self-confidence. Statistically significant and direct correlation was observed among the factors. Significant differences were observed regarding willingness to help between the group composed by first and second year students (basic level), and the group composed by third, fourth and fifth year students (advanced level). Thus, basic level students showed a lower degree of willingness to help than advanced level students. Regarding sex, differences were observed only in the first factor, in which women showed a better willingness to help than men. Conclusion: The research shows that the instrument used efficiently measures the students' caring abilities, clinical experience progressively increases caring abilities; therefore, the instrument is presented as a possible choice to evaluate some aspects regarding the quality of the care given.


Aim: Blooming is one of the color doppler artefacts which has unique importance for the tiny or slow-flow blood vessels of the fetus and is different and varies depending on the technique. The purpose of our study is to compare doppler techniques related to the flowering artefact so that the imaging method closest to the actual size of small vessels can be selected.
Method: Twin-view mode was used for measurements in 100 patients, referred to our department for obstetric ultrasonography. The diameter of the intrahepatic umbilical vein was measured from the inner to the inner side of the vessels in both B mode side and each colorized lateral side of the vessels with all of the Doppler modes.
Results: Diameters of the vessels measured by advanced dynamic flow were less than the ones measured by conventional color doppler and power doppler.
Conclusion: Lowering the doppler gain will decrease the blooming artefact. However, this can cause flow information to be lost. Inversely, raising the gain will result overestimating the vessel diameter or over colorizing the tissue or mass with regard to vascularity. Vascular colorize is crucial for correct placement of PD sampling gate, which could be particularly useful in the small vessels of the fetus. ADF provides more accurate measurements of the diameters of the vessels due to less blooming. Because of that, we consider that ADF is a superior Doppler technique compared with CCD and PWD, for identifying a vessel and guiding the PD sample volume.


The playing track of some visual objects are often set in the simulation environment,and a series of transformations are required for the dynamic and ordinal simulation process.The path module and navigator module are provided in the professional software Vega for simulation which solve these problems very well.Firstly,the two modules and their API functions are discussed based on Vega in this paper.Secondly,how to create the path and the navigators' objects are described,and how to set control points of the path and the navigator with path tool are introduced.Then,Programming for these two modules is presented. Finally,the accurate positioning of playing path,setting of velocities,selecting of tension factor and the methods for adjusting playing orientation are discussed based on practical application in simulation environment.


In April 2015, President Barack Obama apologized for a drone attack that killed four people, two suspected terrorists and two hostages, one of which was American. This reignited a national debate on the efficacy of drones in the war on terror. Absent from the discussion, however, was the fact that the targets, the suspected terrorists, were both Americans. No one seemed bothered by this fact. But we should be. Because the Executive branch of the Unites States government continues to accumulate power beyond which is granted to it under the U.S. Constitution. This Article examines how the Executive derives this additional power using the National Security Agency's secret surveillance program, the indefinite detention of terror suspects, and the implementation of a kill list, where Americans and non-Americans alike are targeted and killed without any judicial determination of guilt or innocence. Moreover, Congress and the Judiciary have condoned the Executive's unconstitutional power accumulation by not only remaining idle and refusing to challenge this taking, but by preventing other American citizens from challenging the Executive as well. The notion of separation of powers that has served as the foundation for America's democracy is rapidly eroding. Without a check from the other branches of government on this growing Executive power to spy on, detain, and kill Americans, America is becoming less of a democracy and more like the authoritarian regimes it fights so hard to extinguish.


Contemporary research on consumer complaints shows that the concept of justice is fundamental to understand the process of complaining and its outcomes from ...


In search of a reliable methodology for the prediction of light absorption and emission of Ce3+‐doped luminescent materials, 13 representative materials are studied with first‐principles and semiempirical approaches. In the first‐principles approach, that combines constrained density‐functional theory and ∆SCF, the atomic positions are obtained for both ground and excited states of the Ce3+ ion. The structural information is fed into Dorenbos' semiempirical model. Absorption and emission energies are calculated with both methods and compared with experiment. The first‐principles approach matches experiment within 0.3 eV, with two exceptions at 0.5 eV. In contrast, the semiempirical approach does not perform as well (usually more than 0.5 eV error). The general applicability of the present first‐principles scheme, with an encouraging predictive power, opens a novel avenue for crystal site engineering and high‐throughput search for new phosphors and scintillators.


Citation: Coleman, T. & Dale, J. (2009). Whoa! The shelves move! (And other cool things about your library that K-12 students need to know). ACRL, Seattle, WA.


David Marquand revisits the trajectory of his thinking and writing across his varied life experiences. Above all, Marquand places value on the 'mutual learning' that goes with pluralist democracy as well as the potential, through public deliberation, for citizens to transform their outlooks, perspectives and maybe even their very natures as human beings by taking on board the perspectives of others that they encounter in political conversation, even in the most informal of settings. This is what worries Marquand most about populism: that populism of any kind has the effect of extinguishing the potential for dynamic political education, mutual respect, public empowerment and moral advancement. It is also why Marquand, in his essay, issues a ringing endorsement of pluralist democracy and a sharp denunciation of populism in which its leaders, or, in many cases, demagogues, falsely claim to speak 'for the people', when they are merely speaking to the people, while also fraudulently framing the people as a 'homogenous and monolithic whole'.


This is a case report of a 40‐year‐old woman with progressively worsening dyspnea culminating in chylothorax and pneumothorax. Chylous ascites, lymphedema of the left lower extremity and chyluria later developed and death ensued from uncontrollable loss of chylous fluid. Lymphangiography revealed a lesion extending from the left inguinal region to the lower para‐aortic zone. Biopsy showed the classic histologic features of lymphangiomyoma1 and the histologically benign lesion was noted in its earliest stages as a proliferation of the smooth muscle in the walls of lymphatic vessels. This is the twenty‐first acceptable reported case of the condition which occurs almost exclusively in females, frequently presents with progressively worsening dyspnea, frequently involves the thoracic duct, is nearly always associated with chylothorax and sometimes pneumothorax, is frequently associated with a particular pulmonary pathology and may be related to the tuberous sclerosis complex. It is suggested that it be regarded as a syndrome designated by the name lymphangiomyomatosis.


OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect on balance and strength of 3 months of intensive balance and/or weight training followed by 6 months of low intensity Tai Chi training for maintenance of gains.


ObjectiveTo investigate the hospitalizing behavior among rural residents above 50 years old in Chongqing,and to explore the existing problems and contermeasures.MethodsThe face to face investigation was adopted with questionnaires. The medical members in primary areas or participating in the new rural cooperatives medical service were investigated by in-depth interview,and the results of investigation were carried on qualitative and quantitative analysis.ResultsThe rural society medical care assurance showed to be low,the ability of them reveal to be insufficient to resist risk of disease,and the main medical cost was at their own expense. Although 99.5% of farmers participated in the new rural cooperative mechanic service,but the real benefit to them should be evaluated as well as the present situation is still worrying.ConclusionThrough the coordinated mechanism of higher level of institution,department of hygienic,the medicine supervision,the finance,the price,the guarantee of social and the plan should be cooperated,meanwhile,all the strength in society and different level of government should be activated to benefit the farmer with the fruits of reform and open policy and the economic development.


Abstract : This thesis provides a student of Command and Control with a computer simulation of a simple Command and Control (C2) model. The simulation is a user- friendly, interactive program with multi-colored, high-resolution graphical displays to illustrate the effect of C2 on a stylized, simple, combat situation. A User's Manual is provided to facilitate the use of the simulation.


Background & Aims: Primary aim of Active Case Finding (ACF) is to ensure that active TB is detected early to reduce the risk of adverse outcomes as well as help in reducing TB transmission. There is a paucity of literature about prevalence of Tuberculosis among street sweepers. WHO described a high risk group for TB but it doesn't include street sweepers though we are considering them at risk of TB due to their occupational exposure. Hence, active case finding among street sweepers is done. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted for active case finding of TB among street sweepers of North zone Ahmedabad. Symptomatic screening of all sweepers done and sweepers having any of the symptoms was investigated further by Chest X-ray and Sputum Microscopy. Sweeper who was diagnosed positive for TB, treatment was initiated as per NTEP guidelines. Results: Total 1200 sweepers were there in the north zone. At stage 1 43.5 % dropped out. 56 (8.25%, CI: 6.15-10.35) were having Presumptive TB. 28 sweepers participated for further testing. 50% (56-28=28) dropped out at the second stage. One Confirmed TB patient was identified and put on Treatment. Conclusion: We could reach approximately 50% of the total sweepers and the reason behind the low turnout could be the unprecedented event of covid19. Huge drops out at different stages of the screening process indicates poor health seeking behaviour, fear etc so further work to be done in this direction. Emphasis on usage of personal protective gears need to be given. Keywords: Presumptive TB, tobacco, personal protective gears.


In the present-day, the situation, the energy, exergy, economy, environment and safety strategies are the key issues which are practicality restrained to evaluate refrigeration cycles both having higher as well as ultra-low evaporator temperatures. Although the ultra-low temperatures for cryogenics is approaching 0 K, and its applications such as freeze drying, pharmaceuticals, chemical and petroleum industry use cascade refrigeration cycles[1-2]. As reported by Chen et.al. [3], that the demand of refrigeration at the low evaporation temperature is increasing which ranges from high heat flux microchip technology to rapid freezing, freezing food and cold storage. The demand of refrigeration at the low evaporation temperature is increasing which ranges from high heat flux electronics to rapid freezing, frozen food and cold storage. Tassouet al. [4], suggested that the refrigeration is a necessary part of the food chain and to slow down the physical, chemical and microbiological activities that cause deterioration in food, the food is frozen between18 to35°C. Generally, technologies of mechanical refrigeration are invariably employed in these processes which either contribute electricity consumption and environmental impact or low performance. These processes include vapor compression refrigeration, half, single, double and triple effect vapor absorption refrigeration systems. Although the performance of vapor compression refrigeration cycle succeeds the others yet its electricity consumption is higher. Rabah Gomri [5-6] carried out exergy analysis and thermo-economic optimization of the triple-effect Li/Br-water absorption refrigerating system and found maximum exergetic efficiency of triple effect refrigeration system is about 35.1 % for condenser 30°C , absorber cooling water temperature Abstract


SWF criterion values for CFRP specimens (10 mm thickness) with a variety of strength characteristics have been calculated. Strength values are determined by destructive flexural testing methods. Correlation-regression analysis of the data obtained is carried out. Correlations of SWF criterion and flexural strength are plotted. Fallibility of strength characteristics determination by acousto-ultrasonic technique and established correlations is estimated.


Based on the analysis of the existing cementing problem to small annular well, the latex cement of polyvinyl alcohol was developed and applied in practice. The study results show that the fluid loss and the initial consistency decrease, and the thickening time of cement slurry increase with the increase of latex addition. As the latex addition increase, the free water of cement slurry approach to zero, and the compressive strength of cement stone is reduced, and the flexibility of stone increase. The reasonable latex cement can well solve the difficult problem at the cementing practice of small annular well.


There are today two major Identity Management solutions, namely the Liberty Alliance and CardSpace from Microsoft. Unfortunately, these solutions are not interoperable.This paper proposes an Identity Management solution that integrates both the Microsoft CardSpace and the Liberty Alliance Identity Management. The idea is to integrate the current SIM authentication used in GSM with both Liberty Alliance and CardSpace such that it can be used for Internet services. Indeed, this is a step further than earlier work that uses SIM authentication for WLAN (Wi-Fi – EAP-SIM). To use the mobile phone as the unified authentication token is a compelling idea due to its popularity and high penetration.


ABSTRACT: Often, firms reveal oversights and bad decisions publicly through their financial reporting (for instance, restating earnings, impairing goodwill, etc.). These "confessions," which usuall...


Summary Measurements of antitryptic and antichymotryptic activity of serum have been carried out employing casein proteolysis. The results led to the conclusion that only one entity is involved in these phenomena. Fasting for 6 days had no effect on the antitryptic activity of serum. Hypophysectomy resulted in a marked decrease in the antitryptic activity, reversible by injections of whole pituitary. Injections of crystalline growth hormone led to an increase in the inhibitory activity of serum of hypophysectomized rats. No direct effect of growth hormone on chymotrypsin was observed.


Mathematic models of flowing state of liquid in cargo pipe network are built up and Gibbs theory is exerted to twophase flow and corresponding function between pressure and temperature is deduced. Finite element theory is applied to mathematic model of twophase flow and expected result is obtained.


Background: Sox11 deletion mice exhibit developmental defects, yet the detailed roles of Sox11 in osteogenesis are unknown. Results: Sox11 stimulated proliferation and survival of mesenchymal and osteoblast precursor cells through up-regulation of Tead2, as well as stimulated osteogenesis via Runx2 and Osterix. Conclusion: Sox11 positively regulates osteogenesis. Significance: Novel functions of Sox11 and its target genes during osteogenesis were established. Sox11 deletion mice are known to exhibit developmental defects of craniofacial skeletal malformations, asplenia, and hypoplasia of the lung, stomach, and pancreas. Despite the importance of Sox11 in the developing skeleton, the role of Sox11 in osteogenesis has not been studied yet. In this study, we identified that Sox11 is an important transcription factor for regulating the proliferation and survival of osteoblast precursor cells as well as the self-renewal potency of mesenchymal progenitor cells via up-regulation of Tead2. Furthermore, Sox11 also plays an important role in the segregation of functional osteoblast lineage progenitors from osteochondrogenic progenitors. Facilitation of osteoblast differentiation from mesenchymal cells was achieved by enhanced expression of the osteoblast lineage specific transcription factors Runx2 and Osterix. Morpholino-targeted disruption of Sox11 in zebrafish impaired organogenesis, including the bones, which were under mineralized. These results indicated that Sox11 plays a crucial role in the proliferation and survival of mesenchymal and osteoblast precursors by Tead2, and osteogenic differentiation by regulating Runx2 and Osterix.


In the paper is presented statistical analysis of the effect of compression-ignition engine working time on the phenomenon of exhaust gas maximum pressure increase in crankcase and cylinder liner, pistons and rings wear. Characteristics of the crankcase maximum pressure variations were made for the start-up speed and for selected rotational speeds of the 359 compression-ignition engine crankshaft as well as micrometric measurements of the cylinder liner and pistons and rings wear. The engine was operated under normal traction conditions while pressure analyses and cylinder liner micrometric measurements were made, respectively, after an operational run of 204864 km. Crankcase exhaust gas maximum pressure measurements were made both with air vent open and closed for a cold (lubricating oil temperature of 285 K) and a warm engine (333 K). Basing on the analysis of obtained examination results, it was showed that crankcase exhaust gas maximum pressure measurement (also during the startup) may be used for determination of engine run and life. Average and maximum wear and tear of cylinder liners, maximum wear and tear of pistons in the perpendicular plane to the piston pin axis, dependency of maximum crankcase pressure in the function of operational mileage of a 359 engine for lubricating oil temperature of 333 K, dependency of maximum crankcase pressure in the function of operational mileage for lubricating oil temperature of 285 K are presented.


Letter from G. W. Duncan to Mary Moore. He doesn't have news, but he says that he hasn't done any farm work because of the rain. He says that he has some of the payment, if they want it. He would like to renew the rate for another year. He doesn't think he will make a profit with cotton and has used his money for another purpose. He wants to pay the money if they want it by the due date. He asks that they respond soon.


Based on stochastic time and fuzzy loss in war, the model of optimal path is constructed by dependent-chance programming and a genetic algorithm is designed. For solving the problems of the necessity - node, the special rules of coding, crossover and mutation are designed. Initial chromosomes are predisposed to improve the efficiency of algorithm. The steps of simulation to gain time and loss are presented. Finally, some experiments are performed and analyses are presented to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm.


Author(s): Scholl, Andreas; Liberati, Marco; Nolting, Frithjof; Ohldag, Hendrik; Stohr, Joachim | Abstract: Models of exchange bias put different emphasis on certain features in the magnetic microstructure of the interface between the ferromagnet and the antiferromagnet. Some stress the role of a) planar or b) vertical domain walls whereas others emphasize the role of c) uncompensated interface spins. Using X-ray Photoemission Electron Microscopy and X-ray Spectroscopy using X-ray Magnetic Dichroism, we will show that all three play a role, although planar walls only appear in soft antiferromagnets like single crystalline NiO [1]. Lateral walls enhance bias as will be shown in a statistical analysis of the domain-size-dependent bias field in LaFeO3 [2]. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC03-76SF00098 at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.


Recently, three-dimensional (3D) scaffold of tissue engineering was developed by rapid prototyping (RP) technology. 3-D scaffold of RP technology provide interconnective structure for cell growth and tissue regeneration. Also, it can control the pore size and porosity using the 3D-plotting system. In this research, we fabricated hybrid scaffold of polycaprolactone PCL) and hydroxyapatite (HA) for bone tissue engineering. We used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to observe the surface of the scaffold. To characterize the scaffold, mechanical property and cell proliferation was measured.


The pyrolysis characteristics was closely related with heat resisting property and flame resisiting property of leather.Six retanning agent were selected to retan cattle wet blue with a routine method.The pyrolysis performance of retanned leather was analysized by the thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry(TG-DSC) simultaneous thermal analyzer to get some parameters of pyrolysis process: temperature range,time range and absorbed heat.The results show that the initial decomposition temperature of the retanned leather was lower than that of the control leather.Among the retanned leather,the temperature of 10% weight loss of chrome retanned leather was the highest,267.7 ℃.The leather retanned with organic phosphor had the highest absorbed heat value of 250.8 J/g and its char yield value was only second to chrome leather.The parameters of other retanrned leather were also different.


In this paper we introduce a novel type of building blocks termed NXO, where X denotes any natural or unnatural amino acid with reversed acid and base functionality achieved by converting the acid into an acid hydrazide and the amine into an oxamide. These NXO building blocks can be incorporated into artificial β-sheets and β-turns and their hydrogen bonding pattern is compared to tripeptides.


Scope and prospects of work in the field of human factors in rural India are discussed. Modifications in technology for its adaptation to the needs of the native society are important. A man-powered grain harvester designed to satisfy these needs is discussed. Various individuals and organizations interested in different disciplines of human factors in India are listed. These individuals and organizations could act as a nucleus for much broader work in the field.


Given the broad application of aspirin as antiplatelet drug, availability of standardized methodology to assess potential interaction with any co-medication on platelet aggregation is desired. We characterized the effect of aspirin (ASA) therapy on collagen-induced platelet aggregation in whole blood to define such methodology. Collagen-induced platelet whole blood aggregation was assessed in 6 healthy male volunteers on 2 occasions (Day 1, Day 7) using the Chronolog aggregometer. From Day 2 up to Day 7, subjects received a daily oral dose of 75 mg ASA. The relationship between collagen dose and platelet aggregation response was assessed. On Day 1, maximal aggregation was observed at 1 μg/mL collagen (15.3 ± 4.6 Ω) and higher. Reproducible results were obtained without any indication of intra-subject fluctuations. ASA treatment decreased maximal aggregation by 80% and 38% at 0.5 and 2.0 μg/mL collagen, respectively. Power calculations were performed based on the observed intra-subject variability and demonstrated minimal sample sizes of 9 - 11 subjects for future cross-over ASA-drug interaction studies exploring effects on platelet aggregation, which demonstrates that the proposed collagen-induced ex vivo whole blood platelet aggregation is a feasible methodology to evaluate ASA-drug interactions in healthy volunteers.


Anderson-Fabry disease (AFD) is a rare inherited X-linked disease, caused by mutations of the gene encoding the α-galactosidase A enzyme, that leads to a deficiency or absence of its activity with ...


Oracle database provided a good support on Java, described in detail in the Windows operating system environment how to configure Oracle's own Java development environment, and how to use the Java to query and insert in Oracle database.


The impact of information and education programs that touch the emotions, beliefs, intellects and allegiances of diverse audiences around the world is oft en difficult to gauge, especially when many public diplomacy activities may only produce long-term, rather than immediate, impact. Nevertheless, all United States government agencies must build evaluation and measurement into strategic communication and public diplomacy program design. Evaluation should measure progress toward the achievement of goals, allowing managers to adjust methods and means, and make informed decisions about resources. Performance measurement and evaluation ensure accountability and transparency so that stakeholders, including the American public, can justify program expenditures as a prudent use of taxpayer funds. The Policy Coordinating Committee should implement its evaluation and measurement strategy.Keywords: Policy Coordinating Committee; public diplomacy; United States government agencies


Following a search of the World Wide Web and a publication review, a large number of forestry software applications were identified. Although the search was worldwide, language barriers directed the search towards English speaking nations with developed forestry industries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Britain. Over sixty forestry applications were identified and thirty one were selected for review on the basis of relevance to this project. Of these, approximately half are commercial, while the other half are the products of research projects carried out by universities and forest authorities.


A brief analysis of the state-of-the-art in the area of heat and mass transfer from the point of view of its intensification, as well as the design of the heat exchangers based on the use of strongly non-uniform electric field and the presence of corona discharge is presented. An electric precipitator is taken as an example for consideration of peculiarities of electroconvective heat and mass exchanger based on the principle of corona discharge. The main problems that arise in the design of heat and mass transfer exchangers are formulated. A working equation describing the above mentioned problems is obtained and the corresponding partial solutions are found.


The thermochromic behaviour of some indolinobenzospiropyrans was studied by heating solid compounds in K Br. Changes in i.r. spectra are interpreted as being due to the formation of a pseudoquinonic structure, (V).


The current study was aimed to develop a stable sustained release drug delivery system for ibuprofen and a cytoprotective agent misoprostol in a combined dosage form. Non-aqueous emulsion solvent evaporation method was used to prepare ibuprofen microspheres. Ethylcellulose (EC) and Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) were used as the release retarding polymers in combination. Ibuprofen microspheres were prepared separately and then compressed into tablet dosage forms with misoprostol dispersions in HPMC. For surface topography of microspheres, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) was used. Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometry (XRD) were employed to evaluate pharmaceutical incompatibility and physical state of drug in formulation. The mechanism and pattern of drug release were determined by applying kinetic models. Tableted microspheres were also assessed for accelerated stability study for three months. SEM showed spherical shape microspheres. FTIR and XRD data for developed formulation indicated stability and compatibility of drugs with excipients. After 10 h, 86.97 and 89.33% of ibuprofen and misoprostol were released from micro particles while 75.43 and 77.65% from tableted microspheres, respectively. Non-aqueous emulsion solvent evaporation was found to be a suitable method to prepare stable sustained release tableted microspheres of ibuprofen and misoprostol in combination.

 Key words: Ibuprofen, misoprostol, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), ethylcellulose (EC), tableted microspheres, DDSolver®.


There has been much attention given by scholars to the investigation of inter-language pragmatics (ILP), and some of them have been concentrating on how ILP speakers modify their speech acts (SA) of request. This study was aimed at investigating request modification produced by Indonesian English speakers. A group of 23 college students majoring in tourism was involved as research participants. The participants were given two tests using two role play cards with two hotel-context request situations, i.e. low imposing request (R-Rq) and high imposing request (R+ Rq). Pretest was given prior to and post-test was given upon treatment. The situation was chosen based on[1] exemplar generation1 model. The data of request utterances was analyzed and compared with request taxonomies proposed by some scholars. Data analysis showed that the research participants were more competent pragmatically upon the treatment, indicated with the fact where they were able to produce 13 request modification patterns being compared to 11 patterns prior to the treatment.


There are many interpretations of what constitutes a democracy. Not all of these recognize that the fundament for a democratic society is the acceptance of dissent. All qualities that we see as con ...


In recent years, Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) technology has been developing in laboratories and is starting to be established in the industry, mainly in the agri-food sector. So far all experimentations on the use of PEF in the wine industry was carried out at the laboratory scale on some kilograms of grapes, or liters of wines. Since 2015, we are studying the interest of the use of PEF on grape polyphenols extraction on a semi-industrial scale of 2 tons per hour. The first tests were carried out by comparing the PEF technology to a control, and a conventional thermovinification with liquid phase vinification and traditional vinification with different fermentation times. The first results obtained are encouraging. Vinified in the liquid phase, the grapes treated with PEF give wines with a color intensity of 20 to 30% higher than the control and a higher TPI of 7 to 17%. In the liquid phase, the treatment of the harvest by PEF does not make it possible to obtain the extraction level of the thermovinification. After a short maceration of 3 days, the polyphenols extraction level is similar to the thermovinification, and greater after 14 days, and so is the color (respectively +12 and +16%). No change in IBMP content was observed. The wines resulting from treatment of the harvest by PEF do not have the aromatic profile of thermovinification wines. The PEF has a fruity character comparable to the control and accentuates the aromatic characteristics of the grape variety. The wine are often judged less aggressive and astringent by reinforcing the perception of sweetness and full bodied. A few tests in white grape harvest by PEF, shows a significant gain of the thiols and terpenols.


Mixed HfTaOx dielectric has been deposited by radio frequency (RF) magnetron co-sputtering of HfO2 and Ta2O5 targets on Si substrates and with Pt bottom electrode for metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) and metal–insulator–metal (MIM) structures, respectively. HfTaOx layers are characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to examine the chemical composition. Surface morphology and crystallinity of the deposited film were examined, using by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), respectively. For both the structures electrical properties have been studied in detail. MOS capacitor capacitance–voltage (C–V) characteristics have been utilized to determine the interface trap density and trap distribution in the silicon band gap. A small capacitance non-linearity and low dissipation factor were found in the Pt/HfTaOx/Pt MIM structures.


Small and medium enterprise systems need to be preserved which is a necessity for our country as the growth is at the grass roots levels. Cloud computing can be a solution to help preserve the small and medium enterprises by promoting their services through the web as they can avoid huge infrastructure costs. However, most of the enterprise practitioners are not technology savvy, and it will be a daunting task to choose the best select service provider from the vast number of cloud service providers present. Hence, in this paper a comprehensive three-pronged technique which will facilitate the easy selection of cloud service providers is proposed. An interval valued fuzzy soft sets algorithm is used to rank the cloud service providers based on the user ratings of the cloud service providers. The information regarding the cloud service providers has been collected to create ontology to match the service providers with user requirements. This suite of tools can be used by the enterprise owners to select the best cloud service provider for their requirements with minimum IT knowledge.


The self-developed automatic weighing system and its application is introduced in this paper.The system structure,the hardware and software core technologies and the benefit evaluation are described.


Binary numbers (BNs) generation is crucial for wireless body sensor networks (WBSNs) security because they can be utilized for authentication or encryption of physiological data in WBSNs for healthcare applications. The paper compared pseudorandom number generators and biometrics based binary number generators for WBSNs, i.e. generated from the linear congruential generator (LCG) and the interpulse intervals (IPIs) based generator (IBG), e.g. IPIs extracted from electrocardiogram (ECG) and photoplethysmogram (PPG). The results of the study found that the randomness of binary numbers derived from the two generators hardly have difference and the generation time and memory occupation of a 128-bit BN derived from the LCG and IBG is 435.14ms and 22.62ms, 1.236KB and 0.199KB respectively. The study opens up a few key issues for future investigation, including the initial seed generation for the LCG, IPIs extraction for the IBG and IPIs encoding schemes.


This paper presents a study of the relocation of capacitors to the point of loading of the electrical network that has poor performance such as low voltage profiles and high power losses. This study takes the case of the electricity network of Indopintan Sukses Mandiri Semarang. The purpose of this study is to obtain an electrical system scenario that can reduce power losses that have an impact on the cost of electricity bills. There are two stages that need to be done, namely the load flow analysis process on the electricity network, followed by the fuzzy inference process to determine the optimal location of the capacitor. The results of the study indicate an increase in the average voltage profile of each main distribution panel from 0.982 pu to 0.987 pu as well as a decrease in total real power losses and total blind power by 3 KW and 7 KVAR. This reduction in power losses can save electricity bill costs of Rp. 29,295,367.2 per year.


Lymphomas are solid tumours of the immune system accounting for 14% of all head and neck malignancies. Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) are a heterogeneous group of lymphoproliferative disorders originating in B cells, T cells or natural killer T-cells. They have a vast array of clinical presentations and histological findings which can make diagnosis difficult. Lymph nodes, spleen, and liver are common sites of NHL. Extranodal soft tissue manifestation of NHL is a rare presentation of all lymphomas with a common occurrence in the geriatric population. Prevalent NHL is diffuse large B cell lymphoma which has significant clinical, morphological, and molecular heterogeneity leading to difficulty in timely diagnosis and treatment, and usually denotes an advanced stage. Here we throw light on primary skeletal muscle lymphoma-diffuse large B cell type, in an 81-year-old female patient mimicking cellulitis. It is vital to differentiate lymphoma from other entities to avoid perplexity in management.


Spin-unrestricted localized INDO method was used to calculate the electronic structure of rare earth cluster Sc(Sc_6Cl_(12)Co).Based on the analysis of the composition of the molecular orbitals and bond orders,it was pointed out that the interstitial transition metal atom Co in the octahedral Sc skeleton forms strong covalent bond with six Sc atoms and the bonding of Sc- Cl is mainly ionic in character.There are nine valence molecular orbitals in the cluster.


Abstract : This report examines two forms of decoy that may arise in warfare involving improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The first is a fake IED, which costs less than a real IED and wastes the time of route-clearing patrols that investigate it. The second is an understaffed surveillance tower, which may provide some deterrence to insurgent activities, as from the outside the tower appears to be fully operational. For each form of decoy, we formulate mathematical models to study the optimal strategies for both the insurgents and the government forces. We use numerical examples to demonstrate our models, and to point out the situations when these decoys may play a significant role in IED warfare.


Background: Adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes are related to pregnancies spaced too closely together. Objective of present study was to compare the expulsion rate and complications between post placental IUCD insertion between caesarean section and vaginal delivery.Methods: This study was a prospective comparative study conducted in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, at Agartala Government Medical College over 1.5 Years (January 2016-June2017) All cases at term pregnancy delivering by caesarean section and vaginal delivery were divided into two different groups. Sample size of 105 in each group. Subjects recruited from-obstetrics OPD and casualty of Agartala Government Medical College (AGMC) and GB Pant Hospital expulsion rate and complications. Comparative evaluation of Expulsion rate and complications following post placental IUCD insertion between caesarean section and vaginal delivery at the end of six months, one year and one and half year.Results: There was no significant difference in either complications between the two groups (P value-.913) or outcomes (p value-.035). Expulsion rate 18.2% following vaginal delivery compared to those with intracaesarean insertion i.e 3.8%.Conclusions: The complications associated with postplacental Intrauterine device insertion is insignificant, still the awareness, acceptance and continuation are very low. Therefore Information, education Communication activity by the field workers must be enhanced to overcome this knowledge gap.


Associations between underweight/obesity and manifestations of influenza infection remain unclear, especially in children. This study investigated the dose‐response relationships between weight status and clinical outcomes among children hospitalized with influenza‐related respiratory infections.


SUMMARY The anatomy of the siphons of Solen marginatus and S. capensis has been described by both light and electron microscopy. Externally the siphon is annulated, each annulation corresponding to a region within the siphon wall where connective tissue is reduced. When disturbed, animals first shed a few terminal segments of siphon before proceeding to escape by burrowing rapidly. Observations and histological sections before and after autotomy have shown that loss is achieved with rapid contraction of the circular and radial muscles of the siphon wall about one of the weakness planes. This action compresses, elongates and breaks the longitudinal muscle fibres, which run for the full length of the siphon across the autotomy planes. Although valve adductions accompany autotomy, loss of segments of siphon can occur without any mechianical aid.


This paper undertakes a detailed examination of the availability and quality of data on public expenditures in agriculture in Africa. We consider the case of Mozambique, a country characterised by low income and low administrative capacity, but also by a policy environment that has turned a focused lens on public funding to agriculture. We explore the extent to which domestic analysts may be able to access and use such data to reliably quantify public resource allocation to the sector, and to unpack the 'black box' of what goes into country-level public expenditure statistics. We find that data are, surprisingly, freely available in great abundance. This has encouraging aspects but also pitfalls: On the one hand, data that are often out of public sight are openly accessible for Mozambican researchers to draw upon. But the drawback of high abundance emanates from its manifestation in the form of a proliferation of multiple classification systems used to create a fine disaggregation of public funds data; given Mozambique's limited public sector capacity, this has meant that each classification system leaves a lot to be desired, making it hard to use any single one to accurately and fully reliably reconstruct the amount of public resources going to agriculture. Making the hard choice to eliminate some of the classification systems, and dedicate this freed-up capacity to be more thorough on the retained ones, would better serve domestic users of such data, as well as the government, which is both a consumer and producer of these data.


Without any further explanation, the three authors refer preferentially to the algorithm proposed by the German Diabetes Society (Deutsche Diabetes Gesellschaft, DDG). Patients with type 2 diabetes often present with complex symptoms, and most of them are treated by general practitioners. As an experienced GP I do not see any identifiable benefit in the equal status given in the article to the substance dapagliflozin; for this reason, this medication is not mentioned in the third therapeutic stage by the German College of General Practitioners and Family Physicians (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Allgemeinmedizin und Familienmedizin, DEGAM) and the Drug Commission of the German Medical Association (Arzneimittelkommission der Arzteschaft, AkdA).

The article can also be used for the purpose of collecting CME points. It is of note that the selected authors are exclusively hospital clinicians and that none of the authors from the DEGAM diabetes working group was involved. Dapagliflozin should not be used in patients older than 75. On the other hand, the number of diabetes patients older than 80 is steadily rising. I would have wished for a differentiated reflection on the use of metformin in this age group, and not for quotes from the widely known prescribing information. The authors are likely to be well aware of the fact that in other European countries, the threshold for the glomerular filtration rate is lower. As a GP who is active in continuing medical education I will not recommend this article.


The present study titled "Customers' perception and evaluation of branded apparel" focusses on the behavior and attitude of young Indian customers in the age group of 18-25 years towards branded apparels. The present study aims at increasing understanding of Indian Customers' brand choice for global and domestic brands.Customers' perception and evaluation is an integral part of Consumer buying behaviour. India is an emerging consumer market. With the advent of various national and international brands being available in the Indian market for several decades, research in the area of branded apparel becomes imperative to understand consumer buying behaviour. It has been observed that customers have a wide range of choices for purchasing apparels and they have no clear vision to what they buy and when to buy. Today's consumption in young Indian customers has no confines - they work and splurge money for more non-essential products and this has perhaps been an important driving factor and evolution in the Indian Apparel Retail sector. Statistical tools and models used for analysis include Structural Equation Modelling, Mean and Rank, Independent sample student t- test and one-way ANOVA. A sample of 2000 respondents of Delhi/NCR, Bangalore and Chandigarh was considered for the study. These insights of young consumer behavior will be imperative in strategy formulation and facilitate to gain from the situation which is instrumental in increasing the turnover. This segment of society i.e. young customers is very important group amongst all the groups in the society because major purchases in the family, is done for this segment and revolves around this segment. This makes it all the more important to understand the psychology, mindset, motivators, satisfiers and dissatisfiers. In the present study, Parameters such as their shopping habits, gender differences while shopping, and important factors that influence their purchase decision have been studied. This study developed apparel buying behaviour model on the basis of 5 dimensions namely Store attributes, Product attributes, Reference Groups, Promotional factors and Consumer characteristics.The study suggests causal linkages among these dimensions, they are correlated with each other at a statistically significant level and influence the buyers purchase behavior.This study contributes to academia by providing a conceptual framework to understand apparel buying behaviour of young Indian customers which can be used by practioners to improve their retail strategies and increase their retail sales.


This article deals with the results of the research on the behaviors of the rural buildings made up of local materials during earthquakes. This article reveals the mechanical properties of masonry detected based on experimental research results on wall samples made of local materials such as mud bricks, clay and straw mixture, rubble stones and limestones cut in standard sizes. In addition, the constructive measures prepared for the earthquake resistance of rural structures and the application techniques of these buildings in common construction are also generalized in this article.


When the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches (WCC) arrived in Accra last year to meet at the University of Ghana from July 22 till August 5, its members discovered that the country was about to follow the rest of West Africa and adopt right-hand driving. A large advertisement on the road from Accra out to the university campus carried alarming overtones: "On August 4 Go Right. Cadbury Says Good-bye." In the event, the shift from left-hand driving took place smoothly. But at the Ghana meeting the Faith and Order Commission itself seemed to say good-bye to some major features and preoccupations of its own past. These changes affected (1) the subjects dealt with, (2) the nature of the participants, and (3) the conditions affecting theological reflection. Let me take these points in turn.


Using a Phillips-type equation and annual aggregate data from 15 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, we estimate the effects of the following policies on the 'non‐accelerating inflation rate of unemployment' (NAIRU): restrictions on firing, growth in government 'productive' expenditure, growth in social security benefits, and lax immigration policy. We consider Greece separately, but treat the other 14 countries as a fixed‐effects panel. Two effects seem to be robust to changes in the sample: restrictions on firing and growth in social security benefits raise the NAIRU.


The effects of immobile and mobile liquid saturations on the non-Darcy flow coefficient in propped fractures have been investigated. It was observed that an immobile liquid saturation of up to 20% PV can triple the non-Darcy flow coefficient and a small mobile liquid saturation will increase the non-Darcy flow coefficient by nearly an order of magnitude (over that of the dry case). The linear relationship between the logarithm of the non-Darcy flow coefficient and the logarithm of the proppant permeability for propped fractures, as proposed by Cooke, is shown to be invalid in the presence of an immobile or mobile liquid saturation. Constants are presented that can be used to obtain a more accurate approximation than has previously been available on the non-Darcy flow coefficient for single-phase flow in fractures propped with 10/20- and 20/40-mesh Ottawa sand. The experimental data obtained from this research was compared with those of others reported in the literature.


ABSTRACT We recently developed a Brca1 coiled-coil mutant mouse model (Brca1CC ). Brca1CC/CC results in embryonic lethality, with a fraction of mice reaching birth but with defects that parallel Fanconi anemia. Brca1CC/CC cells lacked Rad51 foci and were PARP inhibitor sensitive. Strikingly, inter-crossing with Brca1Δ11 generated Brca1 CC/Δ11 mice that were developmentally normal.


This paper deals with floristics and the ecological distribution of bryophytes in the evergreen broadleaved forests of Daweishan Nature Reserve (22°28′~22°45′ N, 103°39′~103°5l′ E) by means of the Point Central Quarter Method. A total of 134 species representing 34 families and 66 genera were reported, among them 59 species (44. 0% of the total) belonging to East Asian elements, and 53 species (39. 6%) to tropical ones. The ecological distribution of bryophytes in the evergreen broadleaved forests of Daweishan Nature Reserve can be divided into four main types: (1) Epixylophytia (2) Geophytia; (3) Petrophytia; (4) Epiphyllitia. By Kroeber's percentage of similarity, the index of similarity is high among Daweishan Nature Reserve, Baishanzu Nature Reserve and Huaping Nature Reserve at the level of family and genus. It, however, is low at species level. Chinese names of eight species, Brotherella complanata, Brotherella curvirostris, Clastobryopsis robusta, Sinskea flammeum, Sinskea phuea, Toloxis semitorta, Trachycladiella aurea and Trachycladiella sparsa, are newly given.


The nature and state of non-timber forest products small and medium enterprises and what drives their growth in Kenya is not fully understood. Studies done have not adequately described the firms and demonstrated what influence their growth. Thus, this study performed descriptive and inferential statistical analyses to characterize and establish growth determinants of the firms. The study was conducted as a cross-sectional survey with questionnaire administered to entrepreneurs of 314 firms dealing with non-timber forest products selected using stratified random sampling methods from nine representative counties of Kenya. Factors assessed included characteristics of: the firm (age, products handled, size and legal status); and entrepreneurs/owners (age, gender, education, experience, managerial and social skills). Frequency counts and percent were used in characterizing respondent firms whereas regression analysis was applied to establish growth determinants. It was observed that most firms were relatively new in operation, small in size with less than 10 employees, operated as sole proprietorship ventures and dealt with fruit based products. Most entrepreneurs were well educated young adults but had no requisite managerial and social skills, and industry experience. Nature of products and legal status (firm characteristics), and entrepreneur's age and education (entrepreneur characteristics) influenced firm growth. It was concluded that entrepreneurship in non-timber forest products was in nascent stages of growth run with entrepreneurs without requisite qualifications necessary for creating competitiveness and growth of the industry. There was need, therefore for the firms to enhance their capacities through appropriate staff recruitment and/or training. Additionally, firm registration especially incorporating partnerships and limited companies be encouraged and *Corresponding author: firstname.lastname@example.com supported.


Introduction Hypercoagulopathy and thromboembolic manifestations are being increasing acknowledged in transfusion dependent thalassemics; both intermedia and major. Studies in preceding decade have shown that hemostatic alterations including natural anticoagulant deficiency obligate thalassemic for thromboembolism. The aim of our study is to determine the status of natural anticoagulants and their association with thromboembolism during follow up.

Method This is a prospective case-control study, during which 40 cases and 30 controls were registered between Jan 2009 to Dec 2009. Complete blood count, protein C, protein S, antithrombin, serum ferritin, liver function test; HbsAg and Anti HCV were determined. Patients were followed till 30th June 2012 for thromboembolic disease.

Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 17. The results were expressed as mean ± SD for quantitative variables and qualitative variables are presented as frequency & percentages. Student't' test was applied for the comparison of means. We also computed spearman correlation at 5% level of significance to identify relationship between the deficiency of natural anticoagulants with maternal characteristics, hematological parameters and biochemical markers. Chi- square test was applied for correlation of prothrombotic markers with hepatitis B & C.

Results The mean age of patients and control was 12.30±5.5 and 13.39±4.5 years respectively. There were 21 males and 19 females in patient group. The mean protein C, protein S and antithrombin in patients and control were 58.25±22.5 versus 110.67±22.60 ( P <0.001), 67.90±19.58 versus 98.70±21.54 and 89.73±18.09 versus 104.0±10.98 ( P <0.001) respectively. Protein C was exceedingly deficient in 65% followed by protein S & antithrombin in 35% and 20% respectively. Protein S deficiency revealed positive correlation with protein C deficiency and hemoglobin ≤ 8 gm% was correlated with antithrombin deficiency( P <0.05). No positive correlation of prothrombotic markers were established with others parameters evaluated. Till June 2012, 7 patients were lost to follow up and 2 died owing to cardiac failure. Of the 31 patients in regular follow up none has experienced thromboembolism both clinically and radiologically.

Conclusion Decremented prothrombotic markers, primarily protein C, are implicated in elevated thrombotic risk in TM patients. However we did not encounter thromboembolism in our patients during follow up. We recommend prothrombotic screening and prophylactic anticoagulation in high risk group: bed bound splenectomized, cardiopulmonary complications and post operative.

Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


A connector (200) of the present invention has a at least one detection terminal (50) that is connected to an electrode (66) provided on the fuel cell (300), and an insulating connector case housing the detection terminal (50). The connector case (30) may have either a channel- shaped groove (43) or a protruding guide (63) for mating with, and for causing sliding with a protruding guide (63) or channel-shaped groove (43) provided on the fuel cell when the connector (200) is attached to the fuel cell (300).