Objective To test the anti-HBV effects by intracellular expression of dominant negative mutants.Methods Two kinds of full length of mutant HBV gene,which expressed dominant negative mutants,were inserted into retrovirus vector.After recombinant retroviruses,pRV-CP,pRV-CS and G1Na were harvested to infect HepG2.2.15 cell lines,respectively.HBsAg and HBeAg,which had existed in the culture medium,were tested by an ELISA kit.HBV DNA packaged in the nucleocapsid was examined by dot blot hybridization.The existence of recombinant HBV virion in the culture medium was examined by PCR.Results After the recombinant retrovirus transinfected HepG2.2.15 cells for 3,5,7,9 and 11 days,the mean inhibitory rates of HBsAg were 28.9%,39.3% and 2.6% in the pRV-CP,pRV-CS and the empty vector G1Na groups,respectively.The mean inhibitory rates of HBeAg were 67.2%,55.8% and 3.1%,respectively.The inhibitory rates on HBV DNA contained in nucleocapsid were 67.2%,55.8% and 13.4%,respectively.Recombinant HBV virion was detectable in the culture medium of recombinant retrovirus infected HepG2.2.15 cell of pRV-CP group.Conclusions The results indicate that dominant negative mutants expression in HepG2.2.15 cell upon retrovirus-HBV vector could inhibit the replication and antigen expression of HBV and it may be a potential candidate for gene therapy against HBV infection.


. A well-balanced second order finite volume central scheme for the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations with gravitational source term is developed in this paper. The scheme is an unstaggered central scheme that evolves the numerical solution on a single grid and avoids solving Riemann problems at the cell interfaces using ghost staggered cells. A subtraction technique is used on the conservative variables with the support of a known steady state in order to manifest the well-balanced property of the scheme. The divergence-free constraint of the magnetic field is satisfied after applying the constrained transport method (CTM) for unstaggered central schemes at the end of each time-step by correcting the components of the magnetic field. The robustness of the proposed scheme is verified on a list of numerical test cases from the literature.


After independence, India adopted two different types of development strategies for economic growth based on two different ideologies. The first strategy was adopted at the time of launching Five Year Plans in the year 1951. The objective was to create a socialistic pattern of the society, which aims at economic justice and equal distribution of wealth in the society involving constant expansion of the public sector. Many industrial enterprises, service organisations and banks were nationalized and brought under public sector with the objective of fulfilling the national policy. State owned enterprises were expected to attain the commanding heights of the economy. It was believed that with the expansion of public sector enterprises and increase in gross domestic product (GDP) the economic lot of the masses would improve through 'Trickle Down Effect', as it was advocated by Ronald Regan, popularly known as 'Regonomics'. This theory states that tax breaks and benefits for corporations and the wealthy will trickle down to everyone else. It argues for income and capital gains tax breaks or other financial benefits to large businesses, investors, and entrepreneurs to stimulate economic growth. The argument hinges on two assumptions: All members of society benefit from growth, and growth is most likely to come from those with the resources and skills to increase productive output. However, it was later discovered that this strategy did not fetch the desired results. Despite of all the progress claimed to have been achieved during the period from 1951 to 1990, India found it difficult to face the economic crises encountered by the economy in 1991 with the same strategy of development. A new and different strategy of development was adopted in 1991-92, taking the path of globalization, liberalization and economic reforms in the form of privatization, in the place of promotion of public enterprises. From the results achieved so far, it is becoming increasingly clear that the reforms strategy is also not yielding the expected results. The rate of economic growth is not as it was expected to be. People have become poorer instead of emerging to be economically stronger. Per capita availability of food grains has decreased. Industrial sector has not performed satisfactorily and small scale industries sector is in doldrums. Low capital formation in the farm sector has been responsible for the poor growth of GDP in agricultural sector. © 2021 JETIR September 2021, Volume 8, Issue 9 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) JETIR2109368 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org d587 Infact, the condition of the economy, went from bad to worse, due to outburst of pandemic Covid-19. The economic impact of Covid 19 (Corona Virus) on Indian Economy has been largely devastating and disruptive. Indian Economy was shattered and faced worst scenarios. According to Ministry of Statistics, in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2020, India's economy has grown at a meager 3.1%. Krishnamurthy Subramanian, the present chief economic adviser to the Government of India said that "this drop is mainly due to the corona virus pandemic effect on the Indian economy". Unemployment rose from 6.7% on 15 March to 26% on 19 April 2020 and then back down to pre-lockdown levels by mid-June. During the lockdown, an estimated 14 crore (140 million) people lost employment, while salaries were cut for many others. More than 45% of households across the nation have reported an income drop as compared to the previous year. World bank defines this pandemic as "magnified preexisting risks to India's economic outlook", because the economic slowdown was very much noticeable even during pre-pandemic. The World Bank and other rating agencies had initially revised India's growth for fiscal year 2021, with the lowest figures, India has ever seen in three decades, since India's economic liberalization in the 1990s. On 26 May 2020, CRISIL announced that, this is perhaps, India's worst recession since independence. All these features indicates that the reforms strategy of development is not yielding the desired results. It has miserably failed to accelerate the process of development. It calls for better supplementary economic strategy for the development of the economy in general and rural economy in particular. This points to the necessity for rethinking in the planning and development strategy, not in terms of the size of the plan but in terms of decentralized planning as a supplement to reforms strategy. Therefore, in the present context, to set motion of the economy and to accelerate its growth process Gandhian strategy of development will be more opt and it will surely quicken the pace of development. This paper analyses the relevance and need of Gandhian economic principles to speed up economic development of pandemic affected economy.


A systematic approach to urban development through planning to maximize site potentials; control and reduce runoff, erosion and sediment; and derive maximum benefit from site resources.


Aim. The aim of the study was to determine the presence of peculiarities of the age structure in patients with various surrogate molecular biological subtypes of breast cancer. Materials and research methods. This work analyzes the age-related characteristics of the occurrence of molecular biological subtypes in 499 patients with invasive breast cancer. All cases were divided into 5 molecular biological subtypes based on immunohistochemical studies of hormone receptors, Her2, Ki-67. The average age of the patients was 53.4±0.39 years, the predominant group was patients from 50 to 60 years (37.2% of the total). Research results. In patients under 40 years old, the triple negative subtype prevailed (44.8%). Luminal A subtype prevailed in the groups 51-60 years old (more than 41.4%) and over 60 years old (39.7%). Luminal B (Her2-) subtype was equally found in all age groups.


Abstract Steam engines were one of the first machine-types to attract the attention of antiquarians and later Industrial Archaeologists. From the first Newcomen engine in 1712 to the 20th-century steam turbine, these objects still exert a fascination for archaeologists and historians of the Industrial Era. None more so than the Newcomen or more properly the atmospheric steam engine. Such engines were described by L.T.C. Rolt as one of the prehistoric forefathers of the Industrial Revolution period steam engine. Only a handful of examples remain standing today, and amongst the better known are engines from 1791 in the Science Museum in London; from 1787 still in situ at Elsecar in Barnsley; the Coventry Canal Engine from Hawksbury; and Fairbottom Bobs from Ashton-under-Lyne, now in the Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan. Of these only the site of one, Fairbottom Bobs, has been the subject of modern excavation and historical study although it is in the nature of archaeological research that at the time of the site's excavation in 1999 the iconic status of this particular steam engine was not fully appreciated.


With the advent of affordable antiretroviral treatment (ART), flow cytometry has ventured out of the exclusive realms of First World research to the resource‐strapped clinical environment of developing countries (DCs). Flow cytometric instrumentation for ART has become more cost‐efficient, thanks to simplified, yet accurate protocols and smart technologies. These positive developments have, however, not taken shape without problems, as health care in DCs remains weak due to chronic underfunding of their primary health systems. In addition, the multiplicity of donors has created parallel infrastructures that are difficult to manage and may undermine the responsibilities of public services. Hence, there is a prevailing lack of attention to maintenance, support, and human resource development. Not uncommonly, the procurement of high‐value equipment is guided by nontechnical interests with mixed results. As conventional service contracts are unpopular, the sustainability of equipment is under serious threat after warranty periods, with environmental factors such as dust and unreliable power supplies being well‐known culprits. Reagent supplies and servicing constitute further challenges, where a combination of short reagent shelf life, cold‐box shipping, huge distances across poor infrastructures, rigid accounting procedures, and erratic customs requirements cause significant delays and extra costs. Although excellent, highly trained or trainable local staff is available, it is frequently diverted by brain drain from the government sector to privately funded hospitals, research facilities, and overseas postings. Despite these challenges, corporate service management has commonly remained loyal to its roots in the developed world.


The seeds and potted plants of Calendula officinalis were treated with municipal domestic sewage effluents. The treatments were divided into 4 groups according to effluents : tap water(v/v): I, 1 : 0; II, 1 : 0.5; III, 1 : 1; control, 0 : 1. Compared with the control, sewage irrigation treatments (I, II and III) obviously reduced the rate of seed germination and increased the disease incidence of seedlings. The undiluted raw sewage could remarkably restrain the seedling growth, and the retarding effect could be relaxed by diluting with tap water. Furthermore, the diluted sewage of proper concentration could improve the seedlings growth. Compared to the control, sewage irrigation treatments increased the fresh weight of the stem, leave and root of full-grown C. officinalis plant by 161.63 %~215.12 %, 86.77 %~109.23 % and 23.89 %~34.13 %, respectively. The results of this study showed that the diluted sewage could be reused in irrigation and the nutrient elements in the sewage effluents could increase the ornamental value of herbage flowers.


We report a young Thai man who came to our department because of blurred vision in the right eye. Results of ophthalmoscopic examination and fundus fl uorescein angiography were consistent with Leber's miliary aneurysms. Focal argon laser photocoagulation was performed and subsequently regression of the aneurysms was observed. Chiang Mai Med Bull 1992; 31:41-45.


A combinatorial interpretation of nonregular continued fractions is studied. Using a modification of a tiling technique due to Benjamin and Quinn, combinatorial proofs of some identities for nonregular continued fractions are obtained.


The equilibria between neodymium hydroxide, hydrogen ions, and hydroxide ions were studied by measuring the solubility of the neodymium hydroxide in dilute hydrochloric and perchloric acids, neutral water, and sodium hydroxide solutions. Data on equilibrium constants and free energy changes are presented, and to confirm conclusions drawn from the solubility data, the hydrolysis of the trivalent ions of neodymium and praseodymium were studied, basing the hydrolysis constant on the hydrogen ion concentration at which the hydrolysis began.


In all kinds of organizations decisions have to be made and if an organization is to succeed, the ability to make the right decisions is of uttermost importance. When it comes to decision-making the so called rational decision model, in which decision-makers are assumed to possess the necessary information in order to make the correct decisions in accordance with the organizations overall objectives, has been one of the most popular among economists. However, this view has been criticized and said to be inadequate when real decisions in real organizations are to be made, and that the rationality is bounded. There are, however, those who are of the opinion that these limitations can be overcome by computer-based decision-support systems in order to make rational decisions, and, in addition, that these systems can provide the information necessary for making quick and accurate decisions. One such decision-support that has gained popularity during the last decade is the business intelligence system (BI system). In this thesis we want to investigate what impact BI systems may have on rational decision-making, and, in addition, how these BI systems may be composed. Hence, our research questions are: How may companies' BI systems be composed? What impact do BI systems have on decision-makers ability to make rational decisions? Hence, the purpose of this master thesis is to describe how companies' BI systems are composed and analyze the impact BI systems have on decision-makers ability to make rational decisions. The focus in this thesis's framework of ideas is on rational decision-making and general ideas concerning BI systems and their components. These sections are then merged into a research model which is used in order to analyze the results of the study that constitute the foundation of this thesis. The method used in this study is interviews at two companies (SNA Europe and KG Knutsson AB), and the interviewees are persons that use BI systems in their everyday work as a support in their decision-making. We have also interviewed persons from each of the companies' IT departments in order to understand the structure and technical functionality of each of the companies' BI system. When it comes to the composition of the BI systems we have been able to come to the conclusion that they vary quite a bit, depending on the overall IT infrastructure of the company. This does not induce any differences worth mentioning regarding the two companies' use of their BI systems, since the decisions supported and the data used in order to make these decisions are practically the same regardless of company. We have also noted that the easier it is to access information the more the BI system is used. Another conclusion is that company IT infrastructures including several legacy-systems tend to have a more traditionally composed BI system. Regarding the impact on rational decision-making we have been able to come to the conclusion that BI systems improves the rationality concerning decisions based on quantifiable data that are easily measured. These more simple decisions have turned out to be, if not completely rational, at least very close to being rational. We have also seen that when the conditions in which decisions are being made are more complicated, the BI systems at least have some positive effect on the rationality of the decisions. Above all, the BI systems can provide the decision-makers with the information necessary to make more objective, informed decisions and by doing so reduce the limitations of the rationality.


Fifteen Years of Reform After Thirty Years of Utopian Socialism The Population Explosion: An Intractable Problem The Economic Consequences of Changing Political Tides Obstacles to Reform in Chinas Planned Economy The Irreversible Transformation from a Planned to a Market Economy Economic Momentum Shifts to the Nonstate Sector Wage Reform and the Rise of Chinas Power Elite National and Per Capita Income The Never-Ending Struggle to Feed 1.2 Billion People The New Focus on Tertiary Industry Accumulating Deficits and Central-Regional Competition for Financial Resources Inflation: Threat to Reform and Social Stability The Energy Constraint Warnings of an Ecological Crisis Balance of Payments and Foreign Trade Japan-China Economic Relations Post-1972 Opening the Coastal Region: Achievements and Regional Disparities The Surge in Regional Liberalization Managing Growth and Reform in 1993: Transition to the Post-Deng Era Chinas Prospects and U.S.-China Relations Charting Chinas Development to the Year 2000 Chronology: Evolution of the Reform and Liberalization Policy (19781993)


As an important access network technology,EPON provide reliable data,voice and video frequency services for terminal user.Using EPON put up communication continuation not only realize classical communication services but also energetically develop ISP service、realize remote supervisory and controlling and other increase of value services.Less investment make power communication network more advanced and reliable,reduce working capital,improve ability of operation,management and maintenance,fit requirement of power communication market.


Objective: The purpose of this invention is to to solve the various problems that are spread by a high temperature treatment in the baking step of the electromagnetic shielding film of a cathode ray tube, haenghadoe the firing temperature without the pokchuk occurs at the lowest temperature, a cathode ray tube is an electromagnetic shielding film is preferably cured firing methods to provide. Configuration: The present invention, or line to a process to cause the curing by heating first the cathode ray tube electromagnetic wave shielding film is applied to Face panel to the normal firing heater and then precipitation is exposed to ultraviolet rays of a metal precursor containing the electromagnetic shielding film or Face to the electromagnetic shielding film to expose the coated cathode-ray tube in the ultraviolet in the panel, and a metal precursor containing the electromagnetic shielding film to be deposited, and the other hand, conductivity in the densification and crystallization promoted by UV irradiation of the metal oxide thin film in addition to the metal precursor to precipitate you can get a better film. Effects: In the secondary firing of the cathode ray tube in accordance with the works, the firing of the cathode ray tube at a relatively low atmosphere without generation width axis, is not occurred even thermal damage to the cathode ray tube.


PURPOSE: To provide an optical filter which is compact, has durability, whose thickness is comparatively thin, can inexpensively be manufactured and is not sensitive to a system f-number. CONSTITUTION: The filter is constituted of a semiconductor material having a band gap which absorbs light energy lower than a first wavelength and makes higher light energy pass through. A first layer 22 doped by impurities having energy levels in the band gap and a second layer 26 made of an optical material arranged on the first layer reflecting light energy with a third wavelength longer than the second wavelength are provided. Thus, high intra-band transmission, low transmission out of the band and the passage band of sharp cutoff can be provided by combining the first and the second layers. The first layer 22 can be constituted by a substrate itself and the second layer is constituted as an interference filter.


Geoelectrical resistivity imaging is increasingly being applied in environmental, engineering and hydrological investigations on top of geothermal and mineral prospecting, where thorough knowledge of the subsurface is required. A survey at Taiping, Perak was conducted using Wenner-Schlumberger configuration. For field measurement, a set of ABEM Terrameter SAS 4000, switcher unit, electrodes and multicore-cable were used in this study. A resistivity line with length 400 meter and electrodes spacing 5 meter was proposed. Software RES2DINV was used to interpret and analyze resistivity data. The maximum depth in this study is 84.7m and the resistivity value obtained range from 1 to 370 Ωm. The result of resistivity value in range of 10 – 800 Ωm referring to a figure, it can be justified that the study area was under alluvium material. The aquifer identified had shown the resistivity value was range from 200Ωm to 370Ωm. Copyright © 2016 Penerbit Akademia Baru All rights reserved.


Basics for the development of a rational composition of the main magnesian slags and technological methods for their formation according to the periods of BOF bath blowing and the periods of smelting in EAF are the results of fundamental studies of the slags physicochemical properties. Implementation in the converter shop of OJSC "EVRAZ NTMK" of a developed set of technological methods of magnesian slags formation in the main period of blowing and a wearresistant skull on the basis of magnesian final slags ensured record durability of converter linings. These slags have low aggressive effect on the lining of converters, while maintaining high refining properties. The durability of the converters' lining exceeds 7000 heats, while maintaining high technological and technical-economic indicators of the process. During heats of low manganese cast irons in 350-metric ton heavy converters of JSC "EVRAZ ZSMK" under magnesian slags, the features of slag formation and changes in chemical composition of the slag were studied by the periods of the BOF bath blowing. During the process stage of phosphorous cast irons in 300-metric ton BOF at JSC "ArcelorMittal Temirtau", a set of technological methods was developed for the formation of magnesian slags of the recommended chemical composition by the periods of phosphorus cast irons blowing and wear-resistant skulls based on final magnesian slags of moderate basicity. The implementation of the developed technological methods ensured the lining stability of BOF of more than 5 000 heats while maintaining high technological, technical and economic indicators of phosphorous process stage. In the EAF shop of PJSC "Seversky Pipe Plant" a technology for the formation of magnesian slags of rational composition was developed over the smelting periods in EAF-135. Introduction of the technology ensured the record resistance of the refractory lining of the furnace up to 1900 heats per campaign and high level of technological and technical-economic indicators of the process.


In many firms the value of purchased materials and components accounts for 50–80% of total cost of goods sold. For those firms, purchasing decisions cause enterprise wide side effects, and, therefore, should be treated as an integration matter. Supplier selection is a problem that deals with both qualitative and quantitative issues that must be measured using information that is normally spread within the enterprise. To see how this problem was addressed in a small construction company in Brazil, an integrated procurement process, which is a simplification of a more complex methodology, is presented. The case study shows the importance of simpler, yet efficient, solutions to address the decision making problems of smaller enterprises in development countries—a research and commercial niche not well developed yet.


A computational analysis of the seakeeping of a Surface Effect Ship (SES) known as the T-Craft is presented. The model is simulated using the commercial software WAMIT, using low-order, linear potential theory. The model of the TCraft consists of catamaran hulls, rigid end skirts, and the interface between the air cushion and the water surface. Beyond the six rigid body modes of the T-Craft, additional modes are added for the motion of the interface panels. These additional modes are similar to standing wave or sloshing modes; i.e., sinusoidal modes are added until the wave motion in the cushion is modelled accurately. To verify the method used, the model is benchmarked using computational data for a small-scale barge model and experimental data for a T-Craft model. A comparison is performed for the T-Craft with and without its cushion. From the numerical model, the motions are solved in both the frequency and time domain. The results are compared to the experimental data with respect to the response amplitude operators of the rigid body modes. The addition of a cushion improves the heave and pitch response of the craft while amplifying the sway, roll, and yaw.


As far as technologies the only thing that anyone can say definitively is that technology will change and that those changes will accelerate. Given that information, the best that any practitioner can do is write programming logic that uses robust, clean baseline technology that follows an existing pattern or standard, and then hope that the next piece of sliced bread builds on the premise of the previous loaf. The way people interface with technology is shifting with the advent of smartphones and tablets. The engineers of the future must understand and apply very sound logic in setting up new systems. The systems of the future are likely continuously deployed and a large portion of the programming logic will auto-generated based on the inputs coming into the system.


Abstract Solvent-free conversion of various epoxides to the corresponding thiiranes was carried out efficiently with immobilized thiourea on CaCO3. The reactions were completed within 1–12 min under oil bath (60 °C–70 °C) conditions to afford thiiranes in 88%–98% yields. [Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Silicon and the Related Elements for the following free supplemental resource: Figures S1–S3.] GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


Introduction Ectopic ovary refers to the presence of ectopic ovarian tissue that is entirely separate from the normally positioned ovary, without any connection with the utero-ovarian or pelvic infundibulum ligaments (Lachman and Berman 1991). We report a case of a patient with breast cancer who underwent bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, whose menstrual cycles returned postoperatively. An exploratory laparotomy revealed the presence of a compatible ectopic ovarian structure.


Rice, which has the highest production and consumption rates worldwide, is among the main nutrients in terms of being economical and nutritious in our country as well. Rice goes through some stages of production from the field to the dinner tables. The cleaning phase is the separation of rice from unwanted materials. During the classification phase, solid ones and broken ones are separated and calibration operations are performed. Finally, in the process of extraction based on color features, the striped and stained ones other than the whiteness on the surface of the rice grain are separated. In this paper, five different varieties of rice belonging to the same trademark were selected to carry out classification operations using morphological, shape and color features. A total of 75,000 rice grain images, including 15,000 for each varieties, were obtained. The images were pre-processed using MATLAB software and prepared for feature extraction. Using a combination of 12 morphological, 4 shape features and 90 color features obtained from five different color spaces, a total of 106 features were extracted from the images. For classification, models were created with algorithms using machine learning techniques of k-nearest neighbor, decision tree, logistic regression, multilayer perceptron, random forest and support vector machines. With these models, performance measurement values were obtained for feature sets of 12, 16, 90 and 106. Among the models, the success of the algorithms with the highest average classification accuracy was achieved 97.99% with random forest for morphological features. 98.04% were obtained with random forest for morphological and shape features. It was achieved with logistic regression as 99.25% for color features. Finally, 99.91% was obtained with multilayer perceptron for morphological, shape and color features. When the results are examined, it is observed that with the addition of each new feature, the success of classification increases. Based on the performance measurement values obtained, it is possible to say that the study achieved success in classifying rice varieties.


In this paper, we have measured the elastic and vibrational properties of CuMnPt6 with embedded-atom method in three states of chemical order: as a disordered FCC (face-centered cubic) solid solution and as the equilibrium L12 and ABC6 ordered structures. Our results agree quite well with the comparable experimental values. The present calculations indicate that the ABC6 and L12 phases are energetically more stable than FCC phase. Numerical estimates of a set of elastic parameters, including aggregate elastic modulus, Poisson's ratio, and elastic anisotropy are performed, and the results demonstrate that the FCC phase is much softer than other two phases. Further analysis from the point of view of vibrational properties such as phonon density of states and vibrational entropy difference are also presented in this study.


A case report ofpatient with late diagnosed postinfarction septal rupture complicated with acute biventricular heart failure, lung edema, and complete heart block has been represented. He underwent surgery with successful outcome (post infarction defect plasty).


Empirical evidence from a Cross-Country panel data indicates the relationship among infrastructure per capita,institutional and economic growth.Based on Panel Unit Root and Granger Test,as found from empirical result,infrastructure has positive effect on economic growth,while its productivity elasticity depends on institutional environment.And institutional affects economic growth by both direct and indirect influent through infrastructure.Both Size of Government and Access to Sound Money have positive effect on productivity elasticity of infrastructure,while Regulation of Credit,Labor and Business have negative effect.Last,Legal Structure and Security of Property Right improves economic growth rate directly.


The architecture of series distributed propulsion system on more electric aircraft is increasingly attractive to researchers. It adopts DC microgrid as power transmission system. To solve the energy distribution problem between energy storage system and power generation system in the DC microgrid, a steady-state power feedforward control is proposed. This method can effectively suppress the fluctuation of the DC bus, and can simply realize the power distribution of power generation system and energy storage system. The mathematical models of power generation system, energy storage system and motor propulsion system are studied, and the simulation results show that the DC bus voltage fluctuation of the system is acceptable, and the power balance is realized.


Determining the effects of PVP upon sedimentation of clay suspensions Simona Schwarz* Gudrun Petzold Qaisar Abbas Bhatti The preparation of particle suspensions, which are widely used in different applications (such as paints, pharmaceuticals etc.) is known to be very difficult. Studies on the influences which are responsible for the stability of these particle dispersions are limited in number. But the stability and characterisation of nanoparticle systems is a central research issue, because knowledge about the stability of dispersions is important for their practical application. Pigments and their properties play an important role in the stability of paints. Properties of pigments such as particle charge, particle size and size distribution all influence the stability of dispersions. The pigments in a paint must be well dispersed in order to perform successfully. If the pigment agglomerates, then the paint will appear to have larger pigment particles and the colour quality may be degraded. The rate of agglomeration depends on many factors, including particle concentration, size distribution, velocity gradients, ionic strength, pH, the presence of polymers and what is termed the zeta potential the potential difference between the dispersion medium and the layer of fluid effectively attached to particles dispersed in it. In the work reported below, the stability of clay particles in aqueous dispersion and in the presence of the watersoluble polymer poly(vinylpyrrolidone) or PVP has been investigated. Various methods for particle characterisation such as zeta potential and particle charge determination, laser diffraction and separation analysis in a centrifugal field were used. The results will show how the particle size, particle size distribution and also the surface charge of particles and the stability of dispersions are influenced by the conditions of suspension preparation such as time of ultrasonication and the addition of PVP as a stabiliser.


through government-owned banks, or those implemented via mass organizations. These subsidized programs hamper the viability of genuine microfinance institutions (MFIs) and reflect a social welfare, rather than a financial sector, approach to microfinance. Only a small number of programs, primarily those implemented by international NGOs and donor agencies, apply best practice and emphasize sustainability. Some new institutions, formed in the 1990s after the collapse of the credit cooperatives, also show potential.


Edited by Paul Peter Rosen, Syed A Hoda. Published by Wolters Kluwer, Philadelphia, 2010, pp 200, hardback. ISBN-13 9781608316700.

For many years, Rosen's Breast Pathology has been used as a diagnostic bible by histopathologists around the globe. In recent years, the newer texts concentrating on needle core biopsy have been invaluable as this technique is widely used in the field of breast disease. This latest edition …


The invention relates to a device for steel grid construction, in particular to a building method of an integral slip type scaffold used for steel grid construction, which solves the problem that the existing various construction methods for grid construction have respective shortcomings. The method comprises the steps of fixing channel steel guide rails; arranging steel tube guide wheels vertical to the guide rails at intervals on each channel steel guide rail; paving channel steel slip bases coincident with each channel steel guide rail on the steel tube guide wheel, and arranging a drawing head connected with a drawing device via wire ropes on the channel steel slip base; erecting a standing bar; longitudinally and transversely erecting horizontal cross bars; erecting a scissors brace; and paving an operating platform. The invention has the advantages of simple erection, stable integral structure, greatly increased slip efficiency, easy operation and high slip safety, has small influence on periphery construction and production environment, has construction continuity, can fully guarantee the quality of grid installation and the construction of other types of work, saves time and labor, ensures the construction safety, and increases the construction efficiency.


Background: Acoustic neuromas are rare, benign tumors arising from Schwann cells of vestibular portion of 8th cranial nerve. Frequent presenting symptoms are unilateral hearing loss, and subsequent tinnitus and vertigo. Objectives: Surgical treatment of acoustic neuromas is to perk up patient outcomes and quality of life through development of safe, effective, and efficient surgical approaches. Methods: The study was conducted at Mardan Medical Complex, Mardan, from January 2018 to January 2023, comprising 25 patients diagnosed with acoustic neuromas through CT scan and MRI. The tumor size was categorized based on its maximum diameter, with tumors less than 1.5 cm classified as small, tumors computing 1.5-3 cm classified as medium, and tumors > 3 cm classified as large, removed surgically through middle fossa, retrosigmoid and translabyrinth approach. Results: We found that 56% of patients had small-sized tumors, 28% had medium and 16% had large-sized tumors. They were surgically managed and preserved hearing in 33.33, 25 and 0% of small, medium and large-sized tumors, respectively. Facial nerve was preserved in 85.71, 71.42 and 50% of patients of the former categories, respectively. No complications were seen in patients with small-sized tumors, 14.28% in medium and 25% in large-sized. Conclusion: Surgical treatment is one of the mainstays of management, and relies on various factors, and goal of surgery should be to minimize complications and maximize functional outcomes. For instance, translabyrinthine approach involves the removal of large-sized tumors, middle fossa for small and retrosigmoid for medium-sized neuromas.


List of Figures List of Illustrations List of Tables Preface by Rev. Dr. Jeremy Morris Foreword by Rt. Rev. Richard Chartres, Bishop of London Acknowledgements The Secularization Myth The Background to the Inter-War Years The Expansion of the Middlesex Suburbs ("New London, North of the Thames") 1918-1939 The Response of the Church of England to the Growth of "New London" The Forty-Five Churches Fund Five Case-Studies Strategies of Mission in the Inter-War Suburbs - The Geographical Aspects Strategies of Mission in the Inter-War Suburbs - Other Aspects The Overall Response: Assessing the Extent of "Success" for the Church of England in the Expanding Suburbs of Middlesex, 1918-1945 Summary and Conclusion Appendices Bibliography General Index Churches Index.


[structure: see text] We report an initial step toward the development of sulfonamide-based complements for extended peptide strands. A molecule containing one secondary sulfonamide unit and one valine residue linked by a turn-forming segment was found by IR and NMR to exhibit a doubly hydrogen-bonded folding pattern in chloroform.


Aim To investigate whether spinal cord α_1-adrenoceptors are involved in the antinociceptive effect of systemic ketamine (37.5 mg ·kg~(-1),ip) in rats.Methods Antinociceptive tests were investigated with warm water tail-flick test. The effect of pretreatment with intrathecal α_1-adrenoceptor antagonist prazosin (10,30 μg) on the antinociception of ketamine was observed. In a separate study, the influence of ketamine on the Fos expression of neurons in the spinal cord in rats receiving noxious thermal stimulation was investigated. And the effect of pretreatment with intrathecal prazosin (30 μg) on suppression of ip ketamine on Fos expression of neurons in the spinal was studied. Results Intrathecal prazosin alone did not affect basal TFL (P0.05). Pretreatment with intrathecal prazosin (30 μg) significantly reduced the antinociception of ketamine 10 min after injection but not 10μg (P0.05). Pretreatment with ketamines howed suppression of Fos activity which was partly reversed by pretreatment with intrathecal prazosin (P0.05). Conclusion The spinal cord α_1-adrenoceptors are involved in the antinociception of ketamine.


BACKGROUND:Locoregional therapies(LRTs) are treatments to achieve local control of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Correlation between radiologic response to LRT and degree of induced tumor necrosis is not well understood.The aim of this study was to evaluate different levels of radiologic response after pre-liver transplant(LT) LRT and its correlation with percentage of tumor necrosis on explanted histopathology.METHODS:Institutional Review Board approved LT database was queried for treated HCC in patients undergoing LT.Radiologic response was evaluated to predict tumor necrosis in the explanted liver.Tumor response was evaluated 1 to 3 months after LRT with computed tomography or MRI via Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors(RECIST),and European Association for the Study of the Liver(EASL) guidelines.LRT was repeated as needed until time of LT.Histological tumor necrosis was graded as complete(100%),partial(50%-99%),or poor(<50%).RESULTS:Between 2002 and 2011,128 patients(97 men and 31 women) received pre-LT LRT including transarterial therapy(93),radiofrequency ablation(20),or combination of both(15).The mean age of the patients was 58±9 years.Their mean follow-up was 35±27 months.The median waitlist time was 55 days.One hundred(78%) patients had HCC within the Milan criteria at the initial radiologic diagnosis.Nineteen(15%) of the patients had complete tumor necrosis on histopathology analysis.Fifty(39%) of the patients exhibited partial necrosis,52(41%) showed poor or no necrosis and 7(5%) showed progressive disease.The overall pre-LT radiologic staging was correlated with explant pathology in 73(57%) of the patients.Underestimated tumor stage was noted in 49(38%) patients,and overestimated tumor stage in 6(5%) patients.The post-LT 3-year overall survival and disease free survival were 82% and 80%,and the rates for complete and partial tumor necrosis were 100% vs 78%(P=0.02) and 100% vs 75%(P=0.03),respectively.CONCLUSIONS:In the current era,interpretation of radiologic response after LRT for HCC


This study was performed to compare the shape and dimension of anterior zirconia crowns to other pediatric crowns using a three-dimensional scanner to investigate adequate amount of tooth preparation. Primary central and lateral anterior zirconia crowns, stainless steel crowns and celluloid strip crowns were scanned by a three-dimensional scanner. Outer and inner surfaces of zirconia and stainless steel crowns, and outer surface of celluloid strip crowns were analyzed. In outer scanned images, all sizes of central and lateral size 1 zirconia crown had the largest labiolingual diameter among the three crowns. In inner scanned images, zirconia crown`s mesiodistal diameter was 0.7-1.0 mm smaller and crown length was approximately 1 mm shorter than those of stainless steel crowns. Zirconia crown`s labiolingual diameter was larger in central crowns whereas it was smaller in lateral crowns than that of stainless steel crowns. Recommended preparation required for zirconia crown is incisal 2.5-3.0 mm, mesiodistal 1.5-2.0 mm, labial 0.5-1.0 mm. Cingulum should be trimmed parallel to the long axis. No more lingual reduction is needed in central incisors whereas additional 0.5 mm reduction is suggested in lateral incisors.


The purpose of the research is the study of the morphological structure of echinococcal cysts to assess the possibility of using organ-preserving methods of surgical treatment.Materials and methods. A clinical, instrumental, and morphological fundamental study was performed in the Surgical Clinic of the Botkin Hospital when radiation and morphological data in addition to clinical data were studied for 28 patients who underwent surgical treatment for liver echinococcosis. Excised gross specimens were examined to study the capsule structure, and the penetration of germinal elements of the cysts through membranes of the parasite (64 successively excised primary operated echinococcal cysts).Results and discussion. The fibrous capsule of the echinococcal cyst is a good barrier against Protoscolexes penetrating into the liver tissue. None of the 64 specimens studied in detail was found to have germinal elements of any echinococcal cyst penetrating through its fibrous capsule. The morphological justification of organ-preserving methods in the treatment of patients with liver echinococcosis allows a conclusion that these interventions are safe and radical.


As previously reported, a NASA Langley-developed electroactive polymer-ceramic hybrid system (HYBAS) has demonstrated significant enhancement in actuating displacement. The displacement of the system is derived from both the electrostrictive polymer and from single crystal elements. The electroactive elements are driven by a single power source. Recently, a modification of HYBAS has been made to increase the capability of air driving for synthetic jet devices (SJ) used in aerodynamic control technologies. The dependence of the air driving capability of the modified HYBAS on the configuration of the actuating device has been investigated. For this particular application, the modified HYBAS demonstrated a 50% increase in the volume change in the synthetic jet air chamber, as compared with that of the HYBAS without the modification.


PURPOSE: A method of manufacturing electronic parts packaging structure is provided to improve the reliability of the electronic parts packaging structure by burying in the insulating layer consisting of the same material without the damage of the electronic component. CONSTITUTION: A first uncured resin layer(14) is heated with the stage and transfer head. An electronic component(20) is pressurized with the transfer head to the first uncured resin layer to the low pressure. The pressurized of the electronic component by the transfer head is instituted as the minimum pressure in order to prevent the generation of damage. The heating temperature is instituted as 100-150°C. The first uncured resin layer is fluidized as much as it has the attaching function. The electronic component is adhered temporary without damage on the first uncured resin layer. A second uncured resin layer(16) is formed. The electronic component is laid between the first and the second uncured resin layer. The electronic component is laid in a first dielectric layer(18).


1. Fever and survival rate of New Zealand white rabbits, injected with two doses of live Pasteurella multocida, were compared to determine if the relation between fever and survival observed in reptiles is also seen in a mammal. Since it is known that fever is beneficial in infected reptiles, our experiments were viewed as an initial step in the investigation of a similar potentially beneficial effect in mammals.


In this paper, based on the deterministic rule-based control strategy, controller parameters are optimized by genetic algorithms for parallel hybrid electric vehicle. Compared with previous results, this approach can effectively reduce fuel consumption and emissions without sacrificing vehicle performance. Additionally, the contrast experiments between this approach and fuzzy control strategy have also been done. The fuel consumption and emissions of fuzzy control strategy is better than that of optimized deterministic rule-based control strategy. Because the deterministic rule-based control strategy can keep the battery constantly charging or discharging and the motor often work, the fuzzy control strategy often makes the engine work in high efficiency areas or low-emission zones, so it is worse than deterministic rule-based control strategy in terms of vehicle performance.


The aim of this paper is to analyze the planned changes in European financial law, whose purpose is to restore balance and control over public finances of Member States of the European Union. The problem of rising debt among EU countries made it necessary to review existing and new regulations seeking to strengthen control over the level of public debt, the pace of its growth and the causes of this phenomenon. Accordingly, at EU level, particularly in the countries of the Economic and Monetary Union is to be implemented reform of economic governance, whose elements are also covered related to the strengthening of supervision of EU budgetary policy (e.g. strengthening Stability and Growth Pact, measures taken to detect, prevent and correct macroeconomic imbalance.


A compact V-band star monolithic microwave integrated circuit mixer has been designed using compensated overlay capacitors in dual baluns for the input of local oscillator and radio frequency ports. The reduced-size balun can be simply realized by shunting overlay capacitor in either input or end of balun. The proposed V-band star mixer achieved a conversion loss of 8.6 dB, the port-to-port isolations better than 18 dB, and an input 1-dB compression point higher than 7.7 dBm at 60 GHz. Moreover, better than 50% length reduction of dual balun was achieved, and chip size of star mixer including pads was less than 0.68 times 0.59 mm2.


The paper discusses the Chinese market for liquefied gas(including LNG and LPG)from a number of viewpoints.In the starting position of the paper coverage discusses the primary energy consumption in China and the current status of gas in Chinese energy economy.In the following section,the prospects for Chinese natural gas and liquefied gas production and consumption is outlined,and China's LNG and LPG seaborne trade in the 2000s is forecasted.Finally,conclusion is made.


In the present paper, a discrete differential calculus is introduced and used to describe dynamical systems over arbitrary graphs. The discretization of space and time allows the derivation of Heisenberg-like uncertainty inequalities and of a Schrödinger-like equation of motion, without need of any quantization procedure. Ever since the seminal work of Regge [1] on gravity, discretization has been often used in classical physics to explore complex continuous theories in a noperturbative fashion. The idea there is to reduce the infinite number of degrees of freedom of (typically Riemannian) manifolds by dealing instead with piecelinear spaces described by a finite number of parameters. For example, in standard Regge calculus a manifold is approximated by a simplicial lattice with fixed coordination number, while in the dynamical triangulated random surface method [2] the very coordination numbers are treated as dynamical degrees of freedom. The notion of discrete ambient space (or space-time) has thus become one of the standard ways of making complex geometries and topologies accessible to (essentially combinatorial) discrete calculations, in a setting naturally renormalized. On the other hand, when quantum features are considered, discreteness plays an unexpected role. It was shown that merely importing conventional quantum models on ambient spaces that are represented by inhomogeneous graphs [3], [4] the graph inhomogeneity plays the role of curvature, giving rise to effective interactions among free particles. The question raises of course of whether or not a quantum model of this sort of a system living on a graph, represented e.g. in the second quantization formalism, actually describes the real (possibly interacting) physical system we intend to represent; whether or not is has a classical counterpart from which it can be obtained by a process of quantization. Canonical quantization, however, requires an underlying structure that is not manifestly evident when the system lives on a graph. In this paper we intend to explore some of the structural features that underly the problem. Let us consider a dynamical system whose ambient space, discrete, is provided by a graph X , either finite or infinite. The graph will be assumed to be completely defined by its vertex and edge sets, V (X) and E(X), respectively. The edge connecting two given vertices v and v will be denoted as 〈vv〉. The geometry of X arises completely from the adjacency relations encoded in the adjacency matrix A(X), whose entry Avv′ ; v, v ′ ∈ V (X) is different from 0 and equal to 1 if and only if v is adjacent to v, i.e. if 〈vv〉 ∈ E(X). It should be noticed that in ordinary differential geometry, graphs, like any other point set, can be considered as 0-dimensional real (or complex) manifolds. The adjacency matrix A(X) is related to the topology of X : a classical example is provided by comparison between complete graphs K6, which can be embedded planarly in the projective plane, but not in the euclidean one, and K7, which can be embedded in the 2-torus. In this sense it is possible to say that the graph geometry has a combinatorial origin. Nevertheless, a graph X is still a topological space, even if not embedded in some differential manifold: it can indeed be endowed with the topology induced e.g. by the chemical distance metric (the chemical distance between v and v being the number of edges of the shortest path connecting the two vertices). Moreover an atlas of X over Z can be defined, simply by fixing an integer labeling of the vertices of the graph. In that case it would be possible to consider X as a sort of one dimensional integer manifold, with a non trivial topology related to its connectivity properties and with every vertex unambiguously identified by one integer coordinate. Let us now introduce the commutative algebra A(X) of complex valued functions over X , together with the ordinary function product. A basis is provided by the set of vertex characteristic functions {av|v ∈ V (X)}, such that av(v ) = δv,v′ . If f(v) = fv, then one can write f = ∑ v∈V (X) fv av . Orthogonality and completeness relations hold: av · av′ = δv,v′ av , ∑ v∈V (X) av = 1 , where 1 is the multiplicative identity. Another set of generators {a〈vv′〉|〈vv 〉 ∈ E(X)} may be also defined, in one to one correspondence with unoriented edges 〈vv〉. A generic 1-form ′ ω, belonging to the set Ω(X), will be written as ω = ∑ 〈vv〉∈E(X) ω〈v′v〉a〈vv′〉.


It is necessary for the system such as the robotics vision and the monitoring camera to detect the motion of the object and recognize the target in real time. However, this is difficult in conventional image processing systems constructed with a charge coupled device (CCD) camera and Neumann-type computer since information processing in this setup is accomplished in a time-sequential way. On the other hand, real-time image processing is easily performed in biological systems constructed with the retina and the brain since information processing is achieved in massively parallel nerve networks which have a hierarchical structure. The biological vision system constructed with the retina and brain can detect the motion of the object in real time and judge the target instantly. The complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuits based on the biological vision system can be expected to realize the high speed processing system since each unit circuit operates in parallel as well as the signal processing of the biological vision system. Many researchers proposed the CMOS circuits for edge detection and motion detection based on the biological vision system (Mead, 1989.; Moini, 1999.; Asai et al., 1999b.; Liu., 2000.; Yamada et al. 2001.; Nishio et al. 2003). These circuits are characterized by the high speed processing. Particularly, there are neurons for tracking the target in the superior colliculus of the brain. The simple target tracking model was proposed based on the signal processing of the brain. The cells for generating the motion signal were introduced at the first stage of the model. The motor for tracking the target was controlled by the motion signal. Recently, analog CMOS circuits were proposed based on the model for tracking the target (Asai et al., 1999a.; Liu et al., 2001.; Moini, 1999). At the first stage of the circuits, analog motion detection CMOS circuits (Asai et al., 1999b.; Liu., 2000.) based on the biological vision system were introduced for generating the motion signal. Recently, we proposed simple analog CMOS circuits for generating the motion signal based on the biological vision system (Nishio et al. 2004.; Nishio et al. 2007). The circuit consists of the half of the number of transistors utilized to previous proposed motion detection circuit, which is used at the first stage of the tracking system. The realization of the simple system for tracking the target can be expected by using our circuits to the first stage of the tracking system. In this study, simple analog CMOS circuit for motion detection was proposed based on the biological vision system. And, I tried to develop the test system for tracking the target based


What could be a common point among getting information about a concert, transferring money from one's bank account, publishing a genomics database, communicating with one's children on the other side of the planet, and accessing information about one's car ? The fact that they can all be done through the Web. It is indeed difficult to think of a human activity that hasn't been impacted by the Web, and as I write this article in April 2017, the current estimate is that the Web has more than 3 billion direct users throughout the world. In the same month, the British computer scientist Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee was awarded the 2016 Turing prize for having invented the World Wide Web, the first Web browser, and the protocols and algorithms that enabled the passage to the scale of the Web. Sir Tim, as he is called, is a professor at MIT and at Oxford University. This prize is just the latest of a long list of distinctions that he has received. But the Turing prize is considered the Nobel prize of computer science, and this award has been widely expected for his invention of the Web, an invention which has transformed our society since its creation in 1989. This is thus a good occasion to revisit, in this article, the history of his invention, and at the same time try to highlight many of the influences and currents that interacted to bring it about. This will also be an occasion, for us, to deconstruct certain notions and to reintegrate others, in an effort to tie together the numerous influences that weaved the web.


Disinfection is an essential link for the treatment of medical waste water.Given growing environmental safety concerns,pathogenic microorganisms need to be killed by qualified disinfectant without leaving secondary pollution during waste water treatment.Conventional chlorination plays a leading role among current disinfection techniques.However,it has some disadvantages such as easy generation of disinfection by-products.With the rapid development of new technology application represented by ultraviolet disinfection,it is more likely to replace traditional disinfectants.Membrane disinfection and electrochemical disinfection are emerging research directions that show broad prospects in the market.


Nanoparticles have made a steady progress in all the branches of science. It is used in biological applications including nanomedicine. Zinc oxide is also known as Zincite generally seen in a crystalline form. Zinc oxide nanoparticles are multifunctional. It has effective antibacterial activity. This study focuses on the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticle by the sonochemical and green method, characterized by XRD, SEM and to determine the antibacterial efficacy of green and chemical techniques. Results prove that green synthesized Zinc oxide nanoparticle shows the enhanced biocidal activity. In addition the current study has demonstrated that the particle size variation and surface area to volume ratio of green synthesized Zinc oxide nanoparticles are responsible for significant high antibacterial activity. From the result obtained it suggested that the biogenic green fabrication is a better choice due to eco-friendliness.


www.analog.com/analogdialogue practice by extracting information using matrix calculations, such as the Sobel matrix operator. In an FPGA (field-programmable gate-array) implementation, doing this on a pixel basis gives satisfying results. A simple FPGA implementation is shown in "A proposed FPGA Based Architecture for Sobel Edge Detection Operator" by Tanvir A. Abbasi and Mohm. Usaid Abbasi. Noise can be removed by adding a Gaussian 2D filter, as described in "Hardware Acceleration of Edge Detection Algorithm on FPGAs" by Mathukumar Venkatesan and Daggu Venkateshwar Rao, which describes a successful implementation of a detector similar to the Canny edge detector.


This article challenges the assumed superiority of neo-classical labour economics as a means of theorizing labour unions by applying a critical realist critique to methodologies typically applied in the field. For this purpose, the critique draws on the work of Roy Bhaskar and other critical realists by first situating critical realism within two broad philosophical traditions: classical empiricism and transcendental idealism. It points out the failure of these traditions to acknowledge the possible existence of autonomous structures and objects which are beyond empirically based calculation and conceptualization, arguing instead that such structures and objects can only truly be revealed through research methodologies that make reference to a layered ontology. The discussion then advances on this by outlining the main features of critical realism's three-way ontology, before providing an example of how this ontological reasoning diminishes the validity of research of labour unions based solely on the type of deductivist methodologies commonly used in labour economics. JEL: B4, J5


Pyriproxyfen is a new type of insecticides which belong to insect growth regulators.It has the characteristics of broad-spectrum,high efficiency and low toxicity etc.In order to clarify whether the environmental contamination from using pyriproxyfen for agricultural pest control causes chronic toxicity to silkworm(Bombyx mori L.),the present study determined the effect of pyriproxyfen to the growth and development of silkworm with leaf dipping method.The results indicated that pyriproxyfen had low acute toxicity to the 2nd instar silkworm larvae,with LC50 at 96 h greater than 1 000 mg/L.The symptoms of acute toxicity of larva included vomiting,head and thorax swelling,and body twisting into "S" shaped.The chronic toxicity of pyriproxyfen to the 2nd instar silkworm larvae was relatively high,with significant influence on growth and development of the larvae.The major symptoms included yellow body color,no eating,no movement,and slow growth.All larvae feeding on mulberry leaves treated with 75~1 000 mg/L of pyriproxyfen showed prolonged larval duration,higher body weight at moulting,uneven development,and a final failure in normal cocooning and pupation.According to these test results,the toxicity of pyriproxyfen to silkworm is slow and durable.It should be far away from mulberry field when used for agricultural pest control.


Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine condition characterized by endocrine, reproductive and metabolic abnormalities. There is no cure for PCOS and existing treatments are suboptimal. Obesity and adverse metabolic features are prevalent in PCOS patients, but weight loss has a beneficial effect on PCOS features. However, dietary interventions aimed at weight loss are difficult to sustain long-term. Interestingly, recent data from animal studies has shown that a mitochondrial uncoupler, BAM15, is an effective approach to pharmacologically treat obesity and metabolic diseases. Aim: To investigate the efficacy of BAM15 to ameliorate PCOS-traits in a PCOS mouse model. Method: The effect of BAM15 treatment on metabolic and reproductive PCOS features were evaluated in dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-induced PCOS mice fed a standard chow diet ± BAM15 for 10 weeks. Results: As expected, exposure of female mice to DHT induced the PCOS metabolic features of increased body weight (P<0.05), lean mass (P<0.001), increased parametrial and mesenteric fat pad weights (P<0.05) and adipocyte hypertrophy (P<0.05). DHT-induced PCOS mice also exhibited increased HOMA-IR, cholesterol and fasting triglyceride levels and hepatic steatosis (all P<0.05). Conversely, DHT-induced PCOS females treated with BAM15 displayed lowered body weights similar with controls, a significant decrease in parametrial and mesenteric fat depot weights (P<0.05) and reduced adipocyte hypertrophy. Likewise, BAM15 treatment decreased HOMA-IR, cholesterol and fasting triglyceride levels and the degree of hepatic steatosis observed in PCOS females, to levels comparable with control females. Lastly, PCOS mice presented the reproductive PCOS traits of irregular cycles and ovulatory dysfunction, though BAM15 treatment did not improve these PCOS features. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that the pharmacologic mitochondrial uncoupler BAM15 is able to ameliorate metabolic PCOS features in a PCOS mouse model. These data provide evidence to support BAM15 as a potential innovative therapeutic approach to manage associated metabolic PCOS features.


Strategy games are a unique and interesting testbed for AI protocols due their complex rules and large state and action spaces. Recent work in game AI has shown that strong, robust AI agents can be created by combining existing techniques of deep learning and heuristic search. Heuristic search techniques typically make use of an evaluation function to judge the value of a game state, however these functions have historically been hand-coded by game experts. Recent results have shown that it is possible to use modern deep learning techniques to learn these evaluation functions, bypassing the need for expert knowledge. In this paper, we explore the implementation of this idea in Prismata, an online strategy game by Lunarch Studios. By generating game trace training data with existing state-of-the-art AI agents, we are able to learn a more accurate evaluation function which when combined with the existing Prismata Hierarchical Portfolio Search system, produces a new AI agent which is able to defeat the previously strongest agents.


Don't throw them out-repair them! This practical manual shows you how to preserve cloth-bound library books. Schechter gives detailed instructions for the cleaning and mending of paper, book hinge repair, case and textblock reattachment, cloth rebacking, and retitling. He describes procedures chronologically and illustrates them with black-and-white photographs. Supply lists are provided with each procedure and a bibliography of supporting literature is also included. These simple-to-learn steps are geared primarily to nonvaluable material and can be used as easily by nonprofessionals as professionals. The book can be used as a repair manual in libraries or as a training tool.


In the present research, factors that inhibit the systematic use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the educational processes of the Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas del Noroeste, S.C. (CIBNOR) are determinate. It exam-ines the level of affectation in the adoption of these technologies for factors such as age, the relation of the teaching practice, the stimuli that perceive by its exer-cise, the professional and job profile, among others. Therefore, a mixed research was carried out, by applying a survey to the entire academic staff of CIBNOR and conducting semi-structured interviews to a smaller sample of the institution's aca-demics, in the first instance, with the intention to statistically examine the data cor-relation, and the graphical analysis of dispersion and regression, and as a com-plement, to have the possibility of triangular, and more important, to complete the results of the quantitative analysis, through the qualitative analysis, of the ex-pressed by the institution's academics in the interviews conducted. The results ob-tained show that the profile of the institution's academics, generally of PhD dedi-cated to the research of some branch of biology, does not constitute a factor that affects the familiarity, use, attitude and competences that they have on the ICT, the age is shown as a marginal factor that is negatively related; being the insufficiency of the economic stimuli towards the teaching, which is outlined as the factor that inhibits the adoption of the technology in its exercise.


The background of financial instruments as an expression of money capital and the credit system is addressed, based on the development achieved in trade and capital markets, which motivated the economic sciences to establish the International Accounting Standard (IAS) 32 Instruments Financial: Presentation; This conditioned the accounting to evaluate the impact of the financial instruments in the results of the entity, by determining the value as one of its main functions.


A neutron multiplicity counter is designed and calibrated with the integrated electronics data acquisition and processing software described here.The predelay time length search equations are developed by balancing the correlated counts and the background counts of Am-Li neutron sources.A deadtime coefficient fitting method minimizes the root mean square.Nine parameters are acquired and two plutonium samples are used to verify the counter performance and parameter calibration algorithm.Test results show that the design and calibration for neutron multiplicity measurements are valid.


e11553 Background: Systemic chemotherapy is often ineffective due to the impermeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and inherent chemoresistance of CNS metastases. There are limited data suppo...


The standard of care for patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is chemotherapy and radiotherapy, even for patients with limited disease. To define the role of surgical resection in patients with limited SCLC, we investigated the outcomes of patients diagnosed with limited‐stage disease (LD) SCLC.


Introduction 1. Democracy: Ideals and Practicalities 2. Economics and Finance: Where Has Theory Come from and What Do We Face Today? 3. Public Good and the Public Sphere 4. Informational Failures 5. Informational Potential


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the clinical value of pleural fluid adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity in differentiating tuberculous pleural effusions (TPE) from malignant effusions.

METHODS
The serum and pleural adenosine deaminase activity of 91 cases confirmed by pleural biopsy through medical thoracoscopy were retrospectively analyzed. TPE was confirmed in 49 cases and malignant effusion in 42 cases. The optimal cutoff for TPE was determined by using the ROC curve.

RESULTS
The mean pleural ADA was significantly (t = 7.383, P < 0.01) higher in PTE (46 +/- 26) U/L as compared to malignancy (16 +/- 8) U/L, so was the pleural fluid/serum ADA ratio (4.1 +/- 4.0 vs 1.76 +/- 1.2, t = 3.852, P < 0.01), but there was no statistically significant difference between malignant and tuberculous effusion in serum ADA activity [(13 +/- 5) U/L vs (12 +/- 6) U/L, t = 1.582, P > 0.05]. The cutoff value of pleural ADA for PTE was 28.7 U/L, with a sensitivity of 75.5% and a specificity of 95.2%.

CONCLUSIONS
Pleural fluid, but not serum, ADA activity, can be used for the differentiation between tuberculous and malignant pleural effusions.


In this work, we give locally repairable regenerating code (LRRC) [1]–[4] constructions that can protect the file size promised by the graph analysis ofthe modified family helper selection (MFHS) scheme[1] at the minimum-bandwidthregenerating (MBR) point. I. RANDOM L INEAR CODE CONSTRUCTION FOR ACLASS OF (n, k, d, r) PARAMETERS In this section, we prove the existence and construction of linear locally repairable regenerating codes (LRRCs) th at achieve the MBR point of the MFHS scheme for (n, k, d, r) values that satisfy that n−d−r = 2 andn mod (n−d−r) = 0, i.e., the family size in the MFHS scheme is 2 and there are no incomplete families. The code existence proof idea and construction are inspired by the work in [7]. The goal of this section is to prove the existence and construction of linear codes that can protect a file of size


Containing praseodymium (Pr) element, magnetic material composed of PrFeB ternary alloy as main component and other ones in proper proportions possesses magnetic capabilities of high quantity of residual magnetization. The disclosed magnetic material in high capabilities shows economic benefit of low cost and fine magnetic characteristic in low temperature, since rare earth material of praseodymium is easy to be obtained and in lower cost related to rare earth material of neodymium (Nd). Nd is utilized to replace Pr in trace amount in order to raise quantity of residual magnetization. Moreover, multiple flame resisting elements are added to the magnetic material to improve microscopic structure of alloy sheet band, and enhance magnetic capabilities further.


Real-time operated wireless sensor networks produce large amounts of data, so that typical eyeball based analysis of data comes to its limits. Consequently we have to adapt and automate our data handling and archiving procedures, as well as our data analysis tools. Management of sensor data requires metadata to understand the semantics of observations. While modelers have high demands on metadata, experimentalists prefer to minimize entering metadata, as this is an additional effort. Quite often this is done on subjective basis ("field notes") without following a strict and predefined structure with transparent criteria and consistent vocabulary. Nevertheless, data has to be semantically annotated. The claim of this presentation is to focus on the essentials, being described by location, time, owner, instrument and measurement. The applicability is demonstrated in a case study focussing on monitoring changes of river-groundwater interactions in the context of river restoration.


A field experiment was conducted at Udaipur for two consecutive rabi seasons of 2011-12 and 2012-13 with aim to rationalize the water use and enhance the productivity of fenugreek through use of appropriate IW-CPE ratio and fertilizer level. Results show that IW-CPE ratio of 1.0 registered significantly higher pooled seed yield (1833 kg ha-1) to an extent of 45.48, 27.50 and 11.90% and pooled haulm yield (5111 kg ha-1) to a level of 41.42, 23.72 and 10.26% over lower IW-CPE ratios 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8, respectively. However, pooled seed and haulm yield were statistically at par between IW-CPE ratios of 1.0 and 1.2. IW-CPE of 1.0 also recorded significantly higher pooled consumptive use (211.91 mm ha-1) over lower IW-CPE ratios. Water use efficiency (WUE) under IW-CPE ratio of 1.0 (8.63 kg grain mm-1 ha-1) was indifferent to IW-CPE ratio of 1.2 however; these treatment registered significantly lower pooled WUE values than various lower IW-CPE ratios. IW-CPE ratio of 1.0 also registered significantly higher pooled dry matter plant-1 at 40 and 80 days (1.40 and 11.97 g, respectively) and at harvest (17.07 g) over different lower IW-CPE ratios. IW-CPE ratio of 1.0 fetched significantly higher pooled net return (Rs 58442 ha-1) and benefit cost ratio (3.53) over lower IW-CPE ratios but variations were indifferent with IW-CPE ratio of 1.2. Among fertility levels, 40 kg N + 40 kg P2O5 ha-1 registered significantly higher pooled yield (seed: 1721 kg ha-1 and haulm: 4777 ha-1), consumptive use (173.59 mm ha-1), WUE (10.40 kg grain mm-1 ha-1), dry matter plant-1 at 40 days (1.34 g), 80 days (11.67 g) and at harvest (16.39 g), net return (Rs 54176 ha-1) and benefit cost ratio (3.33) but variations were indifferent with 60 kg N + 60 kg P2O5 ha-1 in pooled seed and haulm yield, consumptive use, WUE, dry matter plant-1 at 40 and 80 days and harvest and net return.


AIM
To examine the effect of a novel peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) alpha/gamma dual agonist TZD18 on cell proliferation and apoptosis in human glioblastoma T98G cells and its possible mechanism.

METHODS
RT-PCR, MTT, TUNEL, Flow cytometry, and Western blot analysis were employed.

RESULTS
TZD18 inhibited the growth of T98G cells in a concentration-dependent manner, which was associated with a G1 to S cell cycle arrest. Besides, significant apoptosis was induced after treatment with a non-toxic dose of TZD18. During the process, the expression of Bcl-2 protein was down-regulated, while that of Bax and p27kip proteins was up-regulated, and the activity of caspase-3 was elevated. However, this effect appeared to be PPARalpha and PPARgamma independent since their antagonists could not reverse this effect.

CONCLUSIONS
TZD18, a novel PPARalpha/gamma dual agonist, inhibited cell growth and induce apoptosis in human glioblastoma T98G cells in vitro, indicating a therapeutic potential for TZD18 in the treatment of glioblastoma.


STUDY QUESTION
Can vaginoplasty in patients with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome (MRKHS) be achieved using an acellular porcine small intestinal submucosa (SIS) graft?

SUMMARY ANSWER
Vaginoplasty using SIS graft was successfully achieved in women with MRKHS, and the anatomical and functional outcomes of this procedure were comparable to those of laparoscopic peritoneal vaginoplasty.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY
There is a great variety of vaginal reconstruction techniques, which suggests there is no single superior surgical technique.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION
This prospective observational study included 34 patients with congenital vaginal agenesis who underwent vaginoplasty using SIS graft (the SIS group) between December 2011 and July 2013, and 41 patients with the same disease who underwent laparoscopic peritoneal vaginoplasty (the Davydov group) between January 2008 and July 2013.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS
Patient and surgical data, follow-up information, and the female sexual function index (FSFI) scores in the two groups were analysed and compared.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
Compared with the laparoscopic Davydov procedure, the operating time of vaginoplasty using SIS graft was significantly shorter, and the estimated blood loss was significantly less. Patients in the SIS group had an earlier return of bowel activity, and an earlier return to work. However, the total cost in the SIS group was significantly higher than that in the Davydov group due to the cost of the SIS graft ($3525 per graft). Most patients (28/34 in the SIS group and 37/41 in the laparoscopic Davydov group) returned for their follow-up 9 months post-surgery. The mean length of the neovagina in the SIS group seemed slightly shorter than that in the Davydov group (6.8 ± 0.9 cm versus 7.3 ± 1.3 cm, P = 0.081). Thirteen patients (46%) in the SIS group and 11 (29%) in the Davydov group had a neovagina <7 cm long (P = 0.453), whereas 4 patients (14%) in the SIS group and 3 patients (8%) in the Davydov group had a neovagina <6 cm long (P = 0.201). Sixteen patients in the SIS group and 25 in the Davydov group subsequently had a sexual partner and became sexually active. Four patients in the SIS group and six in the Davydov group reported low total FSFI scores (≤23). There was no statistically significant difference in the total FSFI scores and the scores of all six domains of the FSFI between the two groups. The average time of continuous mould wearing in the SIS group was statistically significantly longer than that in the Davydov group (7.8 ± 3.3 months versus 4.8 ± 1.6 months, P = 0.001). In the patients with a neovaginal length of ≥6 cm, the FSFI score of the women (26.6 ± 2.3 versus 21.5 ± 1.5, P < 0.001) and the satisfactory score of their partner (8.6 ± 1.2 versus 6.6 ± 1.2, P < 0.001) were both statistically significantly higher than patients with a neovaginal length of <6 cm.

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION
The main limitation of this study is that it is non-randomized. Further randomized studies are warranted to compare the effects of these two procedures.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
Despite the need to wear a mould for longer, vaginoplasty using SIS graft provides an attractive, alternative treatment for women with MRKHS.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS
This study was supported by the Chinese National Nature Sciences Foundation (grant number 81471416) and the National Key Clinical Faculty Construction Program of China. No competing interests are declared.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER
N/A.


The existence of exchange coupling or magnetostatic coupling between two phases, one magnetically hard and other magnetically soft is a way for obtaining higher maximum energy product (BHmax). In this study, it is discussed the microstructures for obtaining either exchange coupling or magnetostatic coupling in real materials. One relevant condition is that the assumptions of the Stoner-Wohlfarth model should be obeyed, with both phases, hard and soft, with dimensions less than single domain particle size. A real possibility is enveloping a spherical grain of hard phase with a first shell of soft phase, and another second shell or layer of a paramagnetic phase. The paramagnetic phase may play relevant role promoting magnetically decoupling between the grains.


Stony debris flow transits to sediment sheet flow when the river bed gradient becomes gentle. The sediment sheet flow consists of a water flow layer and a sediment moving layer. Fine sediments are expected to behave as a part of the fluid rather than a solid phase in the sediment moving layer. Further, it can be thought that a part of fine sediment can be suspended in the water flow layer. However, it was not possible to physically express whether the fine sediment behaves as a solid phase or a fluid phase in the numerical simulation model. Here we physically modeled fine sediment behavior in sediment sheet flow. We confirmed the applicability of the new model to describe the longitudinal deposited sediment gradient in flume experiments.


Aim: This research aimed to screen the biosurfactant-producing bacteria from soil, especially for the betterment of the environment in terms of bioremediation and biodegradation of lipids and hydrocarbons. Methodology: Bacillus spp. isolated from the soil was cultured and inoculated into different mineral media such as Glucose, Sawdust, and Bagasse mineral media. The surfactin was extracted and the activity was studied using oil emulsification test, oil spreading assay, and drop collapse assay. Bacillus spp. that provided better results were sequenced and submitted to NCBI. The surfactin of the specific bacteria was characterized using TLC, UV-vis spectra, and FTIR analysis. Finally, the antifungal activity assay was performed against Aspergillus flavus, Rhizopus spp., and Aspergillus niger. Results: Bacillus species subjected to gene sequencing was identified as Bacillus mycoids strain ARJCBNR (On464184). UV-vis spectra and FTIR analyses revealed various functional groups such as 3356.14 cm-1 (N-H stretch), 1635.64 cm-1 (C=O amide), and 1211 cm-1 (C-O stretch) representing the surfactin compound between 4000 and 500 cm-1. Upon antifungal activity, sawdust-extracted surfactin had a higher zone of inhibition against all the tested fungi. Interpretation: This study revealed that Bacillus spp. can utilize agro-industrial waste as substrate to produce surfactin. Also, the surfactin extracted from sawdust mineral media showed higher antifungal activity. Key words: Bacillus spp., Biosurfactant, Mineral media, Soil, Surfactin


Computationally intensive applications may be efficiently solved by decomposing the problem into several tasks that can be executed in parallel. High Performance can be achieved by scheduling such applications on Heterogeneous Distributed Computing Systems. The problem of task scheduling in HDCS has been proved to be NP-complete and heuristics are generally used to obtain near optimal solution. In this paper a novel heuristic approach based on slack namely, Slack based Task Scheduling (STS) is proposed. The proposed heuristic first generates the schedule by ordering the execution of the tasks. Then the algorithm shortens the schedule length by inserting the tasks into the slack that is created by delaying some tasks. By efficiently utilizing the slack of a task, shorter span schedules can be generated and performance can also be enhanced. The STS algorithm's performance analysed and compared with the well known HEFT and PETS algorithms. The experimental results reveal that STS algorithm's performance is better PETS and HEFT algorithms in terms of schedule length ratio, speedup and efficiency.


After three months in goverment, the coalition is now seeking to change the relationship between citizens and the state. The extension of involvement and choice for people using health services is central to the Government's health reforms. This includes an individual's choice of provider and the further development of a personal health budgets program.


Two things that come to mind when we talk about animation are cartoons and animated films that tend to be adored by children. As a future teacher who wants to teach children about animation in the best possible way, I decided that the topic of my thesis will be flip books. They are an ideal introduction to the world of animation and are the simplest inventions that show the illusion of movement. The thesis is divided in 3 parts.
 In the theory part I will write about the history of animation ranging from the first contraptions to present moving pictures until the appearance of the first animated movies. I will explore the history of flip books and list some alternative forms of flip books that have appeared so far. I will study some basic animation techniques and analyse key points in animating human and anthropomorphic characters, as well as backgrounds. I will also analyse how to design characters and backgrounds. In the author's part I shall present my own process of making a flip book and write down my experiences.
 In the pedagogical part I will talk about 2 cases where animation was successfully presented to primary school children. Based on these two cases, my experiences with making a flip book and the knowledge I have gained through writing the theory part of the thesis, I will make a lesson plan for students in the ninth grade of primary school in which they make their own flip book and thereby get acquainted with the basics of animation.


For a Bose system interacting through a two-body potential there is a large occupation number in the zeromomentum state with small fluctuations. Thus, one can express the chemical potential and low-lying excitation energy in terms of the density fluctuation only. The formulas derived are shown to coincide with well-established resuits in the low-density Bose gas. The use of experimental neutron scattering data is suggested to improve the numerical answer. A particular application is made to the He/sup 4/ case. If one utilizes the Feynman variational excited state as the (approximate) true state vector, which is correct experimentally for low-momentum excitations, an explicit phonon excitation for actual He/sup 4/ is found. (auth)


This essay use "Water Environmental Planning in Shenyang(2006-2015)" as a case to show the details such as including,type,step,foundation and project assessment of water environmental planning.While state the whole project of water environmental planning,it still put forward the future program people should take dealing with River Liao in the next years.


The purpose of this study is to predict the possibility of selling the apartment housing lots which account for the largest portion in the residential development districts and to figure out the factors that influence the most in the sales. Although residential land development projects have a substantial impact on the mass supply of housing, stabilization of the real estate market, and the Korean economy, research on this subject is hardly found. The land price is affected by the house price, and the land market is a derivative demand of the housing market. Therefore, the factors affecting the land sales include the factors of the land itself and the factors affecting the housing market in the surrounding area, and this is proved by Logistic regression analysis. The results of this study are as follows: First of all, the sales of land are impacted by local real estate market and macroeconomic factors as well as land itself. Secondly, the land price discount is a general method to increase sales volume, but it was not effective during the housing recession period. Lastly, mortgage interest rate hike has a negative impact on the sales of land. Based on the study, it is possible to find out various methods to raise the sales of land in the residential land development by determining the factors that impact the sales of lands and the influence of each factor.


Slurry erosion and combined slurry and cavitation erosion resistance of thermal spray coatings are studied and compared with the as-received martensitic stainless steel material. 70Ni-Cr coatings are deposited on SS 410 material through plasma thermal spray process. The synergy effect of the combined slurry and cavitation erosion resistance of plasma thermal spray coatings were investigated in a slurry pot tester in the presence of bluff bodies known as Cavitation Inducers. Results showed the combined slurry and cavitation erosion resistance of martensitic stainless steel - 410 can be improved by plasma thermal spray coating. It is observed that the plasma spray coated specimens are better erosion resistant than the as- received material, subjected to erosion test under similar conditions. As-received and the surface modified steels are mechanically characterized for its hardness, bending. Morphological studies are conducted through scanning electron microscope.


In recent years, early detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) disease has been a vital task in the medical science field. HCV became the main health concern to the public, as it was noticed to have more blood donors in Egypt equated to other nationalities. The WHO assessed that in 2019, around 290 000 individuals died from hepatitis C, which says the seriousness of the HCV disease. So, early prediction, preventions, and curing the disease are vital components to save individuals from HCV. In this paper, we propose and investigate experimental results of the five machine learning (ML) models and probabilistic neural network (PNN) based approach to detect the HCV utilizing University of Califonia Irvine (UCI) ML Egyptian HCV dataset. We also analyze the statistical reports of HCV stages and their features. As per result analysis, the random forest (RF) ML model performs superiorly to other traditional ML algorithms with 97.5% of accuracy. The PNN (incremental hidden layer [HL] neurons) based proposal model shows a very high performance (99.6% of accuracy) at 30‐HL neurons of PNN. As per comparative analysis, the proposed model is superior to experimental basic ML models, and early HCV disease works are related to this area. This research focuses on early detection, prevention, and challenges of handling HCV.


Objective:To study the anticonvulsant activity of Periostracum Cicadae.Methods:The alcohol and water extraction of Periostracum Cicadae(PC) were prepared by alcohol and water respectively.And the anticonvulsant activity of the alcohol and water extraction were observed in mice with PTZ-induced seizures.Results:The alcohol extraction showed no effect on seizure rate in mice.But it prolonged remarkably the incubation period of seizures and the dying-time of mice with PTZ-induced seizures and reduced mortality at 4 g/kg and 8 g/kg.The water extraction,4 g/kg and 8 g/kg,inhibited remarkably the PTZ-induced seizures in mice,and prolonged remarkably the incubation period of seizures and the dying-time of mice with seizures,reducing mortality as well.Conclusion:The alcohol and water extraction of PC both have anticonvulsant activities.Between them,the water extraction play the role directly,and its anticonvulsant activity is stronger than the other's.


Water/crude oil interfacial tension,interfacial film strength and percentage of removed water from crude oil emulsions in the presence of demulsifiers was measured.It was shown that the change of interfacial tension is related to its initial status.The change reflects the degree to which demulsifier molecular absorbed on interface.Interfacial tension cannot be used to evaluate demulsifiers effectiveness of demulsification.Those demulsifiers which can not only absorb on interface strongly,but also lower interfacial film strength drastically are able to break crude oil emulsion effectively.


Administration of a moderately large or large dose of cortisone to dogs having acute myocardial infarctions inhibited slightly the rate of removal of necrotic muscle fibers in these animals as compared with untreated animals. Delay was appreciable at four and six days after production of the infarct in animals receiving 2.5 mg. of cortisone per kilogram of body weight and at 4, 6, 12 and 21 days in animals receiving 10 mg. per kilogram. At all other periods up to essentially complete healing of the infarcts as defined at 60 days, no appreciable differences existed between treated and untreated animals.


Summary Loosely following Bakhtin's lead, this paper points to the successive acts of marginalisation that have over the years led to the standard critic's production of internally consistent and coherent readings of Chaucer's "Knight's Tale", and supplies readings of select passages from the text in an attempt to demonstrate the inherently fractured or heteroglossic nature of this text and, by implication, of all texts.


In this paper, we are concerned with the study of the mathematical analysis for an optimal control of a nonlocal degenerate aggregation model. This model describes the aggregation of organisms such as pedestrian movements, chemotaxis, animal swarming. We establish the wellposedness (existence and uniqueness) for the weak solution of the direct problem by means of an auxiliary nondegenerate aggregation equation, the Faedo–Galerkin method (for the existence result) and duality method (for the uniqueness). Moreover, for the adjoint problem, we prove the existence result of minimizers and first-order necessary conditions. The main novelty of this work concerns the presence of a control to our nonlocal degenerate aggregation model. Our results are complemented with some numerical simulations.


In this paper we analyze the variable regressive palatalization of /t, d/ in a variety of Brazilian Portuguese (BP) in contact with Italian dialects. We follow Coetzee's (2016) assumptions regarding the distinctive effects of grammatical and non-grammatical factors on the grammar. The aim of the study is to test such claims with Noisy-HG (BOERSMA; PATER, 2008; COETZEE, 2012; 2016; COETZEE; KAWAHARA, 2013). Palatalization in BP affects /t, d/ and it is triggered by a following underived /i/ (t/i/jolo 'brick', d/i/nheiro 'money') or derived [i] from /e/ in unstressed word positions (t/e/atro ® t[i]atro 'theater', nád/e/ga ® nád[i]ga 'buttock'). We focus on palatalization triggered by derived [i]. Besides tokens of non-palatalized consonant plus non-raised vowel ([te]atro, ná[de]ga) and of palatalized consonant plus raised vowel ([ʧi]atro, ná[ʤi]ga), the data set comprises tokens of non-palatalized consonant plus raised vowel ([ti]atro, ná[di]ga), an innovation of the analysis regarding prior studies (BATTISTI; DORNELLES FILHO, 2010; GUTIERRES; BATTISTI; DORNELLES FILHO, 2018). The data were extracted from sociolinguistic interviews by Battisti et al. (2007). The linguistic constraints interacting in the grammar of palatalization come from Battisti and Dornelles Filho (2010). The analysis demonstrates that a non-grammatical factor as 'place of residence' works as a scaling factor on faithfulness constraints, moving their weights up or down and so affecting the variable raising of /e/, a process that feeds palatalization.


An extended model for the HF channel is being implemented on a multi-DSP board. As a channel model, an extension of the Watterson (1970) model is proposed, adjusted to encompass both frequency dependencies to serve as a basis for testing wideband modems, and structural variations of the propagation parameters to subject modems using adaptive algorithms and equalisers to proper test conditions. The implementation of the model on a multi-DSP board is accomplished using `Grape' (Graphical Rapid Prototyping Environment). The hardware implementation has to cope both with the complex channel model and the wide bandwidths of the signals that have to be treated. The use of general purpose DSP boards enables a modular and flexible design, which is kept as close to the physical phenomena as possible. There is an option for a division in subbands in order to simplify the processing of wideband signals.


A gradient-based optimization approach is employed to select design tolerances for the component dimensions of a mechanical assembly to minimize manufacturing cost while achieving a desired probability of meeting functional requirements, known as the yield. Key to the feasibility of such an approach is to be able to use Monte Carlo simulation to make estimates of the derivatives of the yield with respect to the design tolerances quickly and accurately. A new approach for making these estimates is presented and is shown to be far faster and more accurate than previous approaches. Gradient-based optimization using the new approach for estimating the derivatives is applied to example problems from the literature. The solutions are superior to all previously published solutions and are obtained with very reasonable computer run times. Additional advantages of a gradient-based approach are described.