Objective To observe the clinical effect of fixation via injured vertebra for the treatment of thoracolumbar fracture.Methods From May 2008 to December 2010,38 patients with thoracolumbar fracture were recruited and the injured vertebra and adjacent vertebrae were fixed with pedicle screws.There were 28 males and 10 females,aged from 21 to 65 years old,averaging 36.5 years.There were 1 case of fracture in T8,2 in T9,4 in T10,8 in T11,7 in T12,10 in L1,4 in L2,and 2 in L3.The time from being injured to operation ranged from 3 to 7 days,averaging 4.5 days.Several parameters including height of fractured vertebra,Cobb's angle on sagittal plane,Frankel grade of nerve function were detected and followed up.Results All incisions healed during the primary period.The patients were followed up for 12 to 18 months with an average time of 15 months.All fractures gained bone fusion.No broken screws,deaths or nerve injury aggravation occurred.Frankel grade of nerve function significantly bettered after operation(P0.05).X-ray re-examination showed that the height of fractured vertebra restored higher than 90% with normal shape.CT results showed that the radius vector of the spinal canal restored satisfactorily with good recovery of the injured vertebra.One and 12 months after the operation,the height of injured vertebra and the Cobb's angle improved significantly(P0.05).Twelve months after the operation,the vertebrae did not shorten in its height.Conclusion Internal fixation via injured vertebra with pedicle screw to treat thoracolumbar vertebral fracture have several advantages: less trauma,less stiffness,more stable vertebral column,which can rectify and prevent kyphosis effectively.


Despite the significant presence of multilingualism in both opera production and reception as well as in the context of opera translation, the coexistence of different languages in the world of opera has only sporadically received any research attention, either from musicologists or translation scholars. After a brief discussion of the problematic language issue in the history of opera, this article will examine the multilingualism which marks the genesis of opera texts and many opera productions. Next, it will present different types of multilingualism in opera pieces, with examples of each type. Finally, it will study the relationship between translation and multilingual operas from different standpoints, including a brief analysis of the plurilingual reception context often created by the various translation modalities applied to opera works. A descriptive and contextual approach will mainly be used in this study, which aims to do justice to the presence of multilingualism in the opera house, in both source and target contexts, as well as to encourage further research on this topic within Translation Studies.


SuGIMoTo Tuyosi cKyoto Prefeetura! Uniy., Kyote) Preliminary studies on the estimation oi the population density of an aquatic paidge, TendiPes dorsalis Mleigen (llendipeditiae: DiPtera) in broeks. Jap. J. Ecol., 19, I-S C1969). An attempt is made to establish an adequate sampllng method for estimating the density of the egg clusters and larvae of an aquatic midge, TendiPes dorsalis Mlaigen. 1. In each larval stage the spacial distributions ftt well the negative binomial distributions with a cemmon k. In the present paper a common k is used as useful means to establish an efficient and valid sampling method at several points. 2. The females la'y eggs in clusters on the side walls of brooks and tend to avoid areas covered with moss for oviposition. So the mossy area was excluded from the sampling


OF THE DISCLOSURE A method of preventing the spoilage of yeast leavened bread which consists of incorporating in the dough a mixture of an acetate and an acid compound which is crystalline at room temperature, the latter being coated with at least one coating agent of the group consisting of animal and vegetable oils and fats, monoglycerides, diglycerides, waxes and paraffin. This invention relates to a method of preventing the spoilage of bread. More specifically, the invention relates to a method of making yeast leavened bread of high quality by using as the effective preservative in lieu of the conventional propionic acid preservative the exceed ingly safe and harmless edible acetates and coated acid compounds, which are crystalline at room temperature. The term "acid compound,' as used herein, refers to organic acids as well as the organic and inorganic acid salts. In making bakery products, and especially the yeast leavened bread, it has been the invariable practice to use on the order of 0.2-0.4%, based on the weight of flour, of calcium propionate. One of the reasons for using this compound resided in preventing the bread product from being subjected to the dreadful conse quences of the rope bacterium and another was for preventing with the use of calcium propionate the damage that would be caused to the bread by means of mold. The damage caused by these microorganisms and the prevention thereof will be more fully described below. The rope is caused by the growth of microorganisms of the genus Bacillus which possess strong resistance to heat. This causes a total loss of the merchandise value of bread. Further, since the contamination of the plant by these Bacillus mesentericus, Bacillus subtilis, etc., is extremely tenacious, the contamination by these microorganisms is most feared by those engaged in the art of baking. In the past, countermeasures such as the addition of acetic acid or acid phosphates and the introduction of an acid dough step have been adopted. That is to say, most of the methods employed were those which con sisted in reducing the pH of the dough to close to that at which the growth of the genus Bacillus takes place. This method, however, had the drawback that the finished product would be adversely affected if the pH was re duced too much. Hence, this method was not fully satisfactory. However, with the appearance of the propionates in recent years the problem of ropy bread was said to be practically solved. There still remained some drawbacks, however. That is, calcium propionate affects the normal leavening action of yeast, and in the case of the recently developed advanced continuous process having a rela tively short leavening period, the effects that appear cannot be ignored. Again, if calcium propionate is added in an amount exceeding 0.2%, it gives off an odor which is objectionable. On the other hand, let us now consider mold. Im mediately subsequent to baking of bread there exists 10


The neutron-field intensity is estimated for a region proposed as a building site in the vicinity of the Bevatron . The contributions to the field by direct shield penetration of primary neutrons, by direct propagation of secondary neutrons from the shield, and by diffusion of slow neutrons are considered.


The processes involved in the conversion of cassava tuber into various products generate large volumes of wastes in solid, liquid and gaseous forms. These wastes when discharged into the environment have serious environmental impacts on the natural composition and structure of soil. The aim of this research work was to investigate the effects of cassava whey on the physicochemical properties and metal contents of soil samples around Gari facrory at Erinfun Village along Federal Polytechnic road, Ado-Ekiti. The physicochemical parameters determined were the pH, moisture content, loss on ignition, organic matter, water holding capacity, bulk density, particle density, total porosity, calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and cyanide (CN). Heavy metals determined were lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and iron (Fe). The presence of cassava whey in the soil led to increasing soil acidity, moisture content, water holding capacity, CN, Cr, Ni, Pb and As concentrations while reductions were observed in total porosity, organic matter, loss on ignition, particle density, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn and Zn concentrations. The results show appreciable variations of physicochemical parameters and heavy metal contents when compared to the control sample.


Melt grafting of glycidyl methacrylate(GMA) grafted onto polypropylene(PP) was studied using a Thermal Haake.The results showed that the grafting efficiency of GMA increased because the(absorbed) liquid monomers and various compositions could be well dispersed into PP powder.By adding(styrene) as the comonomer,the grafting efficiency increased also,and the degradation of PP was (restrained.) Under optimum conditions,the graft efficiency is up to 94.0% with the lowest melt flow rate obtained by studying the amount of styrene(St) and initiator and the reaction temperature.The optimum conditions are 12 g St,12 g GMA and 1.4 g cumyl peroxide(DCP) on the base of 100 g PP powder at 170 ℃.


Aim: Aortic valve diseases are associated with myocardial fibrosis. The relationship between severity of myocardial fibrosis and left ventricular mass reduction (LVMR) after aortic valve replacement (AVR) still needs to be elucidated. Material and methods: In a single-center, retrospective trial, 130 patients underwent AVR with/without concomitant surgery. The study population was divided by etiology into aortic stenosis (AS) and aortic regurgitation (AR) groups. LV end-diastolic diameter, LV septal and posterior thicknesses, LV mass, and aortic annulus were obtained in all study patients. Left ventricular mass regression index (iLVMR) was found by the difference between preoperative iLVM and follow-up iLVM. iLVMR in months was calculated by divided iLVMR on the number of before follow-up visit. Myocardial tissue was embedded in paraffin, and sectioned into 4 µm slices for histological staining (picrosirius red) and scanning. The fraction of myocardial volume occupied by collagen tissue was determined. Results: The left ventricular remodeling of AS and AR patients is There was significant LV mass reduction in both aortic valve disease groups in the follow-up group, p<0.001; AR group, The number of LVH cases decreased in both groups in the follow-up period group, p<0.001; AR group, p<0.05). In Post-AVR period the ejection fraction of LV did not improve in the AS group, AR group (p<0.05). and iLVEDD significantly decreased in the AS group (p<0.001 and p<0.001), compared to the AR group (p=NS, p<0.05). We did not found correlations between MF and LVM in preoperative, and follow-up periods for AS and AR groups. Moreover, MF did not correlate significantly to iLVMR and iLVMR in months. A significant correlation exists in AS patients between MF and preoperative iLVEDD (r =0.21, p=0.04). Conclusion: The LVM reduction was observed in both AS and AR groups. LVM of AS group recovered more quickly than that of AR group. In our study MF does not affect LVM regression. Large cohort of patients with myocardial biopsies and long-term follow-up are needed to access the impact of the MF on the LVMR.


The article presents the human aspects of the pastoral care of the Church. Man in every business engages the whole person. So it looks like the pastoral- it has all the characteristics of a human activity. If so, is this a faulty (fallible) human side. Impairment, specifying the nature of the human activity, it is therefore not a negative feature, and only serves as a descriptive name. Malfunction or human action, in contrast to the action of God, is a separate, individual, subjective, imperfect. This action therefore needs, on the one hand, to the ideal reference pointing to specific values, and the resulting standards and operating principles, and, on the other hand, I need a relationship to other individuals and to the community.


Diallyldimethylsilane provides a source of the allyldimethylsilyl cation in the ion cyclotron resonance spectrometer; reaction of this cation with alcohols (ROH) produces adducts which decompose by loss of C3H6 to yield the ion . This elimination is thought to occur by a 1,5-hydrogen shift, together with either stepwise or concerted silicon-carbon bond cleavage. The corresponding aducts from ethers ROR1 (R1⩾R, R1⩾Et) first lose (R1H˙) and then undergo the elimination described above.


Olympiodorus in the Roman Empire of the late fourth and early fifth centuries. An Egyptian, and a convinced but discreet pagan, he knew Greek, Latin, and evidently Coptic. He studied philosophy, wrote history and poetry, and pursued a public career as a diplomat. His diplomatic service included an embassy to the Huns in 412, at least one more embassy to 'barbarian tribes', and probably a mission in 424-5 from the Eastern Roman Empire to the Western Roman Empire. Although most of Olympiodorus' history is lost today, its fragments remain our chief source for the Western Roman Empire around the time Rome fell to the Visigoths in 410, and supply important evidence for the history of the Huns, the Nubians, and pagan intellectuals in the early fifth century.1 A good deal of guesswork is needed to reconstruct the outlines of Olympiodorus' history and life from incomplete and tantalizing scraps of texts. His history is one of many books in Greek summarized in the Bibliotheca of the ninth-century Byzantine polymath Photius. Photius' summary indirectly shows that Olympiodorus was the almost exclusive source for the last few years of the unfinished New History of Zosimus, compiled around the year 500. 2 Further fragments from Olympiodorus survive in the fifth-century ecclesiastical histories of Sozomen and Philostorgius, and possibly in the sixth-century Wars of Procopius.3 The many summaries of books in the Bibliotheca, an informal compilation that appears to be based largely on Photius' old reading notes, vary in length and quality.4 Photius disliked Olympiodorus' work, which he


Two sisters, aged 2 and 3 years, having generalized cutis laxa, presenting with progressive loose pendulous skin since birth are reported.


A review is given of techniques for maintaining high purity in laboratory and industrial processes that are carried out at high temperatures. Attention is given to: the case in which the crucible containing the substances being studied is in thermal equilibrium with the reactants; the case in which the operations may be carried out using classical heating methods; and the case in which the heating is accomplished by pure energy'' methods (plasma jets, electron torches, etc.). A bibliography of about 100 references is included. (T.F.H.)


The heat transfer process involved in the curing of fiber-reinforced thermosetting composites is investigated numerically. This composite is made of woven fiber and resin and placed in a cylindrical mould. The governing equation for one dimensional heat transfer, and accounting for the heat generation due to the exothermic cure reaction in the composites had been used. A finite element method is developed to solve the mathematical model problems for composites manufacturing. The solution of the complete mathematical system gives, both, the temperature and the degree of reaction as functions of time and position. It was found that the temperature at the central of the sample increases up to the external imposed temperature, because of the thermal conductivity of the resin and fiber. The heat generated by the exothermic reaction of the resin is not adequately removed; the increase in the temperature at the center increases the resins rate reaction, which in turn generates more heat.


The predissociation decay behavior of molecule carbonyl sulfide (OCS) has been investigated by resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization spectroscopy using the pump-probe technique of dichroic femtosecond lasers in real time. The lifetime of excited OCS around 74 720 cm(-1) by two-photon absorption of 268 nm, corresponding to upsilon(1)=1 of the Rydberg state [(2)Pi(1/2)]4ppi((1)Sigma(+)), is directly determined to be tau(D)=1071+/-11 fs. This picosecond decay process indicates that the excited state is predissociative. The temporal information of dissociation enriches the knowledge of the potential-energy surface of the associative excited state.


Summary Eight male subjects were maintained for ten days on a low-nitrogen basal diet, supplemented with (1) milk to provide 91% of the total calcium intake, or (2) milk to provide 76% of the calcium intake and eggs to provide 7%. The apparent absorption of calcium when milk was fed at the higher level was 62±8%, and at the lower level, 70±8%. The per cent absorption of total calcium was slightly higher when milk was fed at the lower level; this difference was not significant. Fecal bulk on the dry weight basis increased by 77% when milk was fed at the higher level and fecal calcium increased by 119%; 45–54% of the additional 1.25g. calcium at the higher level was absorbed.


Social Media (SM) is a relatively new health communication channel that enables people to communicate and interact with a larger number of people, find and share information about their health and medical conditions, and to receive health messages. This article reviews the strategic advantages of social media within the borderless healthcare functions including the role that healthcare organizations are playing in leveraging social media platforms as part of their strategic business model. This is followed with several case studies highlighting both international and local organizations use of social media to support their healthcare business activities. Next, the concerns for healthcare organizations and health practitioners when it comes to marketing on social media are also discussed particularly the social media issues and challenges surrounding the healthcare business activities followed with suggested guidelines as way out from this cumbersome problem. Theoretical views from four leading ethical theories; Kantianism, Act Utilitarian, Rule Utilitarian and Social Contract Theory (SCT) towards the approaches to business ethics respectively using the social media as strategic advantages within the healthcare business activities will also be discussed in detail and to decide whether the act is ethically accepted by the ethical theories highlighted. The final section of this article will analyze some of the international and local policies as well as laws that govern the use of social media within the healthcare business activities including Malaysia Cyber Law Acts.


The phytochemical and nutrient composition of the pulverized dried root of Cissus quadrangularis (an edible Nigerian vegetable) were determined. Phytochemical tests on the plant revealed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, glycosides with the absence of cyanogenic glycosides. Proximate analysis showed II 0.01% moisture content, 3.33 0.58% fat, 7.50 0.17% crude protein, 68.89 1.16% carbohydrate, 3.33 0.10% ash, 5.97 0.1% fibre, and 335.50 3.43 kcal/100g energy content.
The root powder also constituted a rich source of mineral elements (mg/100g dry matter): Potassium 67.5, calcium 39.5, zinc 3.0, sodium 22.5, Iron 7.5, lead 3.5, cadmium 0.25, copper 0.5, magnesium 1.15, chromium 0, cobalt 0. Analysis of the toxicants also revealed that the oxalate, tannin, phytate, saponin contents were 135, 0.3, 20, 0.16 mg/100g dry matter, while hydrocyanic acid was not detected. The results are discussed in terms of the nutritive value as well as the public health implication of having this vegetable as part of the diet.

Key words: Cissus quadrangularis, nutritional evaluation.
 Bio-Research Vol.1(1) 2003: 63-68


Objective: The antral follicles are the intrauterine alveolar cells which is closely relative to the ovary growth and function of females. This study aims to exploring the predictive value for ovarian response by means of observing the changes of AFC levels during the in vitro fertilization(IVF) cycle so as to provide a theoretical basis for clinical research. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 157 patients who were accepted the IVF-ET at the center of reproductive medicine in our hospital from January 2012 to December 2012. According to the bAFC, the selected patients were divided into two groups, namely, the group A(bAFC≥10) and group B(bAFC10). Then the time and dose of Gn, the numbers of ovum, the levels of E2 in serum on the date of HCG injection, the rate of fertilization and pregnancy in the two groups were compared and evaluated. Results: The dose of Gn, the numbers of ovum, the levels of E2 in serum on the date of HCG injection and the rate of pregnancy in group A were higher than those of the group B with statistically significant differences(P0.05); there were statistically significant differences about the age and the quantity of bAFC in the two groups(P0.05); but there was no significant difference about the reasons and time of infertility and the assistant methods for pregnancy in the two groups(P0.05). Conclusions: It is suggested that the quantity of bAFC could predict the functions of women's ovary for those who were taken the in vitro fertilization and it might become an essential indicator in the future for the clinical to detect the ovarian reactions of the infertile females during the super ovulation cycles.


* Dept. of Carbon and Nano Engineering, Jeonju Univ., **Dept. of Mechanical and Vehicle Engineering, Jeonju Univ.,***Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School, Jeonju Univ., **** TOP Co., Ltd.(Received July 9, 2014 ; Revised February 3, 2015 ; Accepted February 3, 2015)Key Words: Commercial Vehicle Seat(상용차 시트), Magnetic Spring Suspension(마그네틱 현가기구), Transmissibility(진동전달률), Vertical Vibration(수직진동), Seat Factor(승차감지수), Weighted Root Mean Square Value(WRMS:가중 유효치)초록: 상용차 운전자들은 운전시간이 길고, 엔진폭발에 의한 아이들 진동 등으로 인하여 일반인보다 많은 피로감을 느낀다. 본 논문에서는 아이들 진동에 의해 상용차 운전석에 전달되는 진동을 줄여 승차감을 향상시키기 위하여, 마그네틱 스프링을 이용한 시트현가장치를 제안하였다. 또한 최적설계를 통해 평행사변형 마그네틱 현가기구를 설계하였으며 이 제안된 시트를 장착한 차량의 진동 및 성능을 연구하였다. 그 결과 진동 전달률은 코일스프링 현가기구가 0.990, 평행사변형 마그네틱 현가기구는 0.823로 우수한 성능을 보여주었다. Abstract: Commercial drivers feel tired more than the general public, because their driving times are long and they experience more idle vibration. In this study, we developed a nonlinear model of a magnetic, linear spring seat suspension to determine the optimal design to improve ride comfort. The resonant frequency for the optimal design of the suspension was found to be 3.5 Hz, and the stiffness was analyzed through displacement-load experiments. Additionally, the vibration transmissibility was analyzed by the suspension stiffness, and the existing coil spring type vibration transmissibility was found to be 0.99. A parallelogram type magnetic spring was determined to result in a better performance than the existing spring with a vibration transmissibility of 0.823.


The excellent review of Osborn waves by Tsikrikas et al merits additional clinical commentary. The J wave abnormalities as they occur on the surface electrocardiogram (ECG) remain somewhat enigmatic as to their causation as well as to their ultimate significance in initial cases. They begin during phase 1 of the myocardial action potential and continue into the early segment of phase 2 (rapid early repolarization), producing a ''slurred'' or notched artifact in place of the usual isoelectric ST segment. Various forms of the J wave abnormality occur and may begin during the midportion of the downslope of the QRS complex or at its terminal portion (the site of the S wave) or J junction. The Osborn J wave is felt to be a hallmark of hypothermia; however, it has been described in various other conditions or pathophysiologic states not involved with hypothermia. At a body temperature of approximately 35 C, the first ECG changes are those of sinus bradycardia and decreased T wave voltage, followed by prolongation of the PR, QRS, and QT intervals. The ''O'' or J wave occurs at temperatures from 34 C to 30 C. At this point, arrhythmias of any type may occur but are usually atrial fibrillation or ventricular arrhythmias culminating in cardiac arrest. The basic electrophysiologic abnormality in J wave production is the development of a transmural voltage gradient that alters the depolarization/repolarization cycle so that the aberrant J wave is produced by an ionic channelopathy at the molecular level. Repolarization in the canine model has been shown not to be influenced by the normal myocardial temperature gradient, but this would be undoubtedly affected by the hypothermic state. J waves in nonhypothermic states have been said to be associated with anoxia, acidosis, ischemia, hypercalcemia, and cerebrovascular insults. Whether the net electrophysiologic effect in these conditions is the same as those produced by hypothermia is open to question and debate. Osborn noted that it appeared to be the acidotic state that produced the electrical deviation involved in the hypothermic J wave. This supposition was favored in the case report by Edelman and Joynt in which hypothermia was maintained in a patient following cardiac arrest in which the J wave resolved with electrolyte replacement and control of the acidotic state. One must remain skeptical when attributing true J wave abnormalities to the Brugada syndrome. The initial presentation of the syndrome referred to elevated, coved, saddle-back ST segments in the presence of complete or incomplete right bundle branch block in patients with syncope or sudden cardiac death. These elevations notably occurred in precordial ECG leads V1, V2, and V3. It was initially assumed that the ECG abnormalities were due to delayed depolarization or aberrant depolarization. Initially, the often subtle ST deviations in the Brugada syndrome were thought to be inherent, genetically predisposed channelopathies without structural disease. Subsequently, some patients were found to have evidence of minor degrees of localized myocardial pathology (fibrosis, fatty infiltration, and myocyte degeneration) primarily involving the right ventricle. An excellent review of the subject by Martini and Nava indicated that the ''Brugada'' syndrome was actually first described in Italy in 1988, 4 years before it was reported byBrugada. Their review of the Brugada J wave syndrome is indicative of our present dilemma in ascribing the various J wave ECG patterns as being ''variants or variants of the variants of the Brugada syndrome.'' They impose a serious scientific controversy–ridden analysis of the subject which still holds true 8 years later. A personal communication from Dr Martini agreed with the opinion of withholding the terms ''Brugada variants and variants of those variants.'' Some J wave perturbations may be related principally to abnormalities of late depolarization, others to early repolarization and some to a combination of depolarization/repolarization defects. Perhaps the ''Osborn'' J wave should be ascribed only to cases of hypothermia, ''Brugada waves'' as originally described, left to that syndrome and all others simply referred to as J wave abnormalities.


We propose a novel approach for removing noise from multiple reflections based on an adaptive randomized-order empirical mode decomposition (EMD) framework. We first flatten the primary reflections in common midpoint gather using the automatically picked normal moveout velocities that correspond to the primary reflections and then randomly permutate all the traces. Next, we remove the spatially distributed random spikes that correspond to the multiple reflections using the EMD-based smoothing approach that is implemented in the  $f-x$  domain. The trace randomization approach can make the spatially coherent multiple reflections random along the space direction and can decrease the coherency of near-offset multiple reflections. The EMD-based smoothing method is superior to median filter and prediction error filter in that it can help preserve the flattened signals better, without the need of exact flattening, and can preserve the amplitude variation much better. In addition, EMD is a fully adaptive algorithm and the parameterization for EMD-based smoothing can be very convenient.


Banking MA of has been all along the focus of attention for its large scale and profounel effect, the emergence of international and inter-industry MA. Economics of scale motivates banking MA, and this effect comes from the bank's own advantages. In this trend and effect,having little capital and weak competitive power, our banks should construct strategy union,strengthen intemational cooperation and adopt MA.


This work focuses on subgrid‐scale (SGS) modeling for finite‐difference large‐eddy simulations, employing filters in physical space. When a filter in physical space is used, an overlap is allowed between the unresolved and the resolved scales. For such a filter, all the three terms in the classical decomposition of the SGS stress tensor are present: the Leonard and cross‐terms, due to the overlap between scales, and the true SGS Reynolds tensor, expressing the pure effect of the small scales. A dynamic subgrid‐scale stress model is proposed, for finite‐difference large‐eddy simulation of incompressible and compressible flows in which the Leonard and cross‐parts of the SGS stress tensor are assumed to be proportional to the resolved part (the ''modified Leonard term''), which is computed explicity. The SGS Reynolds stress is modeled by the eddy‐viscosity Smagorinsky model. The two unknown parameters in this model are computed dynamically, as in Germano et al. [Phys. Fluids A 3, 1790 (1991)], but using a le...


Sepsis is a syndrome that is initiated by infection and is characterized by a systemic inflammatory response.Genetic polymorphisms affect the susceptibility of individual to this syndrome at the occurrence and development. TLR4 plays an important role in the innate immunity of recognizing pathogenic microorganism. Most studies have been indicated that polymorphism of TLR4 are contributed to the susceptibility of sepsis. In particular, the mutations of Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile of TLR4 are associated with the development and outcome of sepsis. In this review, we summarize the function and signal transduction pathways of TLR4 and the correlation between genetic polymorphism of TLR4 and sepsis.

Key words:
Toll-Like receptor4;  Sepsis;  Genetic polymorphism


Problem of cavitation is the undesirable phenomena occuring in the fluid flow in many hydraulic application (pumps, turbines, valves, etc.). Therefore this is in the focus of interest using experimental and mathematical methods. Based on cavitation modelling in Laval nozzle results and experience (1), (2), (4), following problem described as the water flow at the outlet from turbine blade wheel was solved. Primarily the problem is simplified into modelling of water flow in cone. Profiles of axial, radial and tangential velocity are defined on inlet zone. The value of pressure is defined on the outlet. Boundary conditions were defined by main investigator of the grant project - Energy Institute, Victor Kaplan's Department of Fluid Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineer- ing, Brno University of Technology. The value of air volume was insignificant. Cavitation was solved by Singhal model of cavitation.


Introduction. The concentration of agricultural enterprises on the implementation of innovations allows them to adapt to modern environmental conditions and stay on the market for a long time. Innovative solutions in the agri-food sector can help increase food production efficiency. Such technologies can help reduce production costs, increase yields and added value. Today, there is an urgent need to address issues related to stimulating the development of agricultural enterprises, as well as to analyze innovation processes and identify factors that negatively affect the innovation climate in the agricultural sector.
Objective. The purpose of the study of the peculiarities of innovation processes in stimulating the
development of agricultural enterprises and substantiation of the directions of intensification of the innovation process in the agricultural sector.
Methods. In conducting research, a set of such methods and techniques of scientific knowledge was used: abstract-logical (in forming the logical-structural scheme of the system of economic relations of participants in new forms of business organization), monographic and economic-statistical (in assessing the current state of innovation); methods of analysis and synthesis (in the formalization and evaluation of the effect of factors on the development of innovation processes), the method of scientific comparison.
Results. The peculiarities of innovation processes in stimulating the development of agricultural enterprises are studied. The role of innovation processes related to the dynamics of the intensity of research and development, the ratio of costs for research and development and GDP, production and the penetration of high technology. It is determined that the system of economic relations of participants of agrarian enterprises of innovative direction is based on entrepreneurial and innovative environment. The indicators of innovation activity in the priority direction "Rational use of nature" are analyzed. The largest share of financing costs in the priority thematic area "Prospective technologies of the agro-industrial complex and processing industry" has been established. The analysis of the dynamics of the number of introduced new technological processes and innovative types of products for 2012-2019, units The main directions of national incentives for the development of agricultural enterprises based on innovations, the impact of innovation processes on stimulating the development of agricultural enterprises in terms of the interests of the region, innovative incentives for the development of agricultural enterprises. It was found that the process of using innovations to stimulate agricultural enterprises can be represented as a set of tools, factors that encourage the development of entrepreneurship in solving the most important problems of the agricultural sector, region (state), as well as certain mechanisms of their interaction.
Keywords: innovations, innovation processes, incentives, agricultural enterprises, innovative solutions.


Based on the use of a resonant cantilever, a mass sensitive gas sensor for the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOC) has been developed. Analyte gases are absorbed by a sensitive layer deposited on the cantilever: the resulting mass change of the system implies the cantilever resonant frequency decreases. In this paper, the process technology, based on the use of SOI wafer, is described. To integrate the measurement, piezoelectric and electromagnetic excitations are investigated and for the detection of microcantilever vibrations, piezoresistive measurement is performed. Then, the polymer choice and the spray coating system are detailed. Using various geometrical microcantilevers, the frequency dependence on mass change is measured and allows us to estimate the mass sensitivity (0.06 Hz ng−1). In gas detection the first experiments exhibit the sensor response, then by calculating the partition coefficient (K = 977), the minimum detectable concentration of ethanol is deduced and permits us to estimate the gas sensor resolution (14 ppm). Finally a comparison between millimeter size and micrometer size cantilevers shows the importance of noise in the design of an integrated sensor.


Teachers attach importance to passing knowledge on the students instead of improving the ability of students in the traditional teaching methods.And teachers pay more attention to the high scores but they neglect the development of students' mental ability.The research object of this paper is mainly about senior student physics learning.My paper begins with the thinking quality of students.I emphasize association between theory and practice.I try to find out some solutions to the barrier emerging in the process of student' s studying by analyzing the problem.


ovarian syndrome with lifestyle interventions including weight management. The aim of this study was to develop Garcinia cambogia enriched food product. Four variations with 1.5g (V1), 2.0g (V2), 2.5g (V3) and 3.0g (V4) of dehydrated dried Garcinia cambogia were developed incorporating oats (25%), wheat-bran (5%), peanuts (5%), almonds (5%), pumpkin seeds (5%), flaxseed (5%), dates (30%) and dark chocolate (15%) and subjected to organoleptic evaluation. The most acceptable variation was V1. The ash (4.14g+0.61), moisture (11.68g+1.14), carbohydrate (54.91g+3.09), protein (9.88g+0.27), crude fiber (5.49g+0.47), pH (3.7), magnesium and zinc content were estimated for V1. Further research is needed to explore the potential of Garcinia cambogia enriched food products vis-à-vis weight management and PCOS.


Leisure cognitive activities are suggested to reduce the risk of dementia. Herein, we aimed to investigate the prospective association between engaging in different musical activities and the risk of dementia among Japanese older adults.


A cell firmly attached to, or held in a folded position around, a fibrin strand is subjected to buffeting from unattached red cells and hence to forces which may tear the membrane. If the tear takes place along the line of the fold at the site of membrane apposition, two symmetrical or asymmetrical hxmoglobin-containing fragments will form with loss of little, if any, hemoglobin. Tears at other sites in the membrane will result in partial loss of hemoglobin, and the formation of irregularly shaped fragments (Bull et al. 1968). The fine fibrin strands capable of causing red cell fragmentation are an integral part of fibrin clots forming in a moving blood stream in vitro. It seems probable that such fine fibrin strands are a frequent, if not invariable, feature of the fibrin deposits which form during intravascular coagulation in vivo. Their presence is dependent on the rate of fibrin polymerization exceeding the rate of fibrinolysis, and the rapidity with which the pressure of continued blood flow moulds these delicate and highly adhesive structures into denser, more amorphous portions of the clot. The delay in fixation of human tissues probably accounts for the infrequent presenqe of identifiable fine fibrin strands in human material, although they are a constant and readily reproducible feature of disseminated intravascular coagulation in animals, and in in vitro models. Acknowledgments: We are indebted to Dr H K Weinbren for Fig 7, to the Department of Morbid Anatomy of the Royal Postgraduate Medical School for the preparation of histological material, and to Mr WBrackenbury for the skilled


This thesis deals with the estimation of synchronization parameters in {Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing} (OFDM) communication systems and in active ultrasonic measuring systems. Estimati ...


For an interceptor that follows a Keplerian trajectory and nominally intercepts a moving target, we have obtained a closed form linear expression for the miss distance in terms of the perturbations of the booster cut-off conditions, where the miss distance reflects the predicted miss at the point of closest approach (PCA) between the interceptor and the target. We use this analysis result to develop a new guidance law which, in the absence of gravity, ensures (1) that the magnitude of the predicted PCA miss decays exponentially, and (2) that the magnitude of the relative velocity is constant. The numerical simulations of the performance of the guidance law show that, in the presence of gravity, an interception with a large gain yields a relatively tight engagement, while requiring approximately constant velocity of the interceptor. Finally, the performance degradation of the new guidance law in terms of the r.m.s. of the predicted PCA miss due to random navigation errors was numerically simulated. The results show that increasing the guidance law gain increases the r.m.s. of the predicted PCA miss, which results in a degradation of the interception performance. Thus a trade-off in gain magnitude is required to prevent the degradation.


In this paper, we present an advanced differential evolution (ADE) algorithm for solving global unconstrained optimization problems. In the new algorithm, a new directed mutation rule is introduced based on the weighted difference vector between the best and the worst individuals at a particular generation. The mutation rule is combined with the basic mutation strategy through a linear decreasing probability rule. This modification is shown to enhance the local search ability of the basic DE and to increase the convergence rate. Two new scaling factors are introduced as uniform random variables to improve the diversity of the population and to bias the search direction. Additionally, a dynamic non-linear increased crossover probability scheme is utilized to balance the global exploration and local exploitation. Furthermore, a random mutation scheme and a modified Breeder Genetic Algorithm (BGA) mutation scheme are merged to avoid stagnation and/or premature convergence. Numerical experiments and comparisons on a set of well-known high dimensional benchmark functions indicate that the improved algorithm outperforms and is superior to other existing algorithms in terms of final solution quality, success rate, convergence rate, and robustness.


In Palala Resources (Pty) Ltd v Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy and others [2016] 3 All SA441 (SCA) (Palala), the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) had to determine whether or not a mineral right granted under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (28 of 2002) (MPRDA) lapses irrevocably when the company that holds it is deregistered because it failed to submit an annual return to the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). The SCA had to determine whether, as a matter of law, the re-registration of a company under the Companies Act (61 of 1973) had the effect of reviving a lapsed right.


The aim of this study is to identify the characteristics of asbestos containing materials and risk assessment in Community Service Centes. We investigated 133 CSCs between January and December in 2009. We collected presumed asbestos containing materials according to EPA AHERA, and analyzed it by US EPA method 600/R/116. The airborne samples of CSCs were analyzed by Phase Contrast Microscopy. For the survey on ACM risk assessment, we sed both ASTM rule and Korea ACM risk assessment by the Korea ministry of employment and labor. The results were as follows. Detection rate of the ACM in CSCs showed that before 1970's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, 2000's buildings were 40%, 100%, 85.7%, 92.3% and 46.4%, respectively. The miscellaneous materials showed that a high detection rate were gasket (100%), wall cement flat board (96.2%) and ceiling textile (74.9%). Ceiling textiles contained chrysolite/amosite (1 and 6%) and cement flat boards contained chrysolite (6 and 15%), gasket contained chrysolite (5 and 40%). The airborne concentration of fiber materials were ranged with 0.003~0.004 f/cc in CSCs by PCM. In this study, ASTM rule of asbestos material showed that 2 materials were "Abatement" grade and 309 materials were "Q&M" grade. And, adjusted Korea ACM risk assessment showed that 36 materials were "Fair" and 278 materials were "Good". Study results can be used for data of asbestos use and management plane at Community Service Centers.


This paper presents a study of special trajectories attainment for mobile robots based on the dynamical features of chaotic systems. This method of trajectories construction is envisaged for missions for terrain exploration, with the specific purpose of search or patrol, where fast scanning of the robot workspace is required. We propose the imparting of chaotic motion behavior to the mobile robot by means of a planner of goal positions sequence based on an area-preserving chaotic map. As a consequence, the robot trajectories seem highly opportunistic and unpredictable for external observers, and the
 trajectories's characteristics ensure the quick scanning of the patrolling space. The kinematic modeling and the closed-loop control of the robot are described. The
 results and discussion of numerical simulations close the paper.


In this paper, a structural approach to analysis and design of general state-feedback active damping for grid-tied inverters equipped with LCL filters is proposed. The underlying principle is firstly to transform the resonance damping into a disturbance rejection problem through a structural model decomposition method. And then, for the disturbance rejection problem, a state-feedback-based control solution can be easily obtained, of which the popular capacitor-current-feedback active damping is a special case. Finally, the effectiveness of the theoretical analysis and design is well supported by simulation results.


objective Precocious pubarche (PP) in girls is associated with hyperinsulinaemia and dyslipidaemia of prepubertal onset, and with ovarian hyperandrogenism and ovulatory dysfunction in adolescence, particularly if they also had prenatal growth restraint and postnatal growth acceleration. Hyperinsulinaemia may be the pathogenic key factor, possibly amplified by hyperandrogenaemia. While such PP girls do not have increased body mass index (BMI), we hypothesized that body fat mass and fat distribution may differ between PP girls and matched controls, and may relate to insulin and androgen levels.


CT three-dimensional reconstruction has been widely used in the diagnosis and classification of fractures. Fracture mapping based on the CT three-dimensional reconstruction can visually display the morphology of fracture lines by drawing a fracture model, showing the starting and ending points, progress and area of the fracture lines. It provides a new method for diagnosis and classification of fractures, operative plan and design of implants for fractures, statistic analyses of predominant fracture sites, and developing standardized fracture models. This review gives a brief introduction of the research progress at home and abroad in fracture mapping for scapular fracture, pilon fracture, ulnar coronoid fracture, tibial plateau fracture, radial head fracture, intertrochanteric lateral wall fracture and acetabular quadrilateral surface fracture, summarizes the likely sites in the above fracture models and clinical application of fracture mapping in fracture classification, and discusses the prospects and problems of this technique in clinical application.

Key words:
Image processing, computer-assisted; Diagnostic imaging; Review; Fractures, models, maps; Fracture lines, morphology


268 Psychological input in lupus care: A review of a 12 month pilot into psychological support at Barts Lupus Centre Maria Vidal;Mary Githinji;Dev Pyne; Rheumatology


We have constructed Love-type magneto-surface-acoustic-wave (MSAW) devices using amorphous FeB alloy films sputtered on glass substrates. For the Love-type SAW transducers, we employed interdigital electrodes combined with ZnO films rf-sputtered by oblique deposition, where the crystallographic c-axis of ZnO film is grown inclined to the substrate plane. The velocity controllability of a device using monolayer FeB film (operated at 72 MHz) is 1.03%. This controllability can be improved through the suppression of eddy-current accompanying MSAW propagation using multilayer FeB films alternately stacked with thin SiOx layers.


There are significantly many people including IT workers, old persons, job seekers, etc., who suffer from (psychological) distress in their work or life. Compared with this, there are only a limited number of human counselors who can provide mental care to such many distress persons. Initially for psychologically distressed IT workers, we developed a counseling agent (CA) called a context respectful counseling agent (CRECA), which serves IT workers just like a human counsellor. In a context respectful/preserving way to provide unconditional positive regard, CRECA replies prompting to dig or clarify problems as well as paraphrases or processes mirroring. In this paper, to save more persons including even elderly people other than IT workers, CRECA is enhanced to realize Virtual Counseling Agent (VCA) as follows: 1) making more human-friendly by an image avatar with voice conversation, 2) letting confirmation replies such as the relationship among wishes, obstacles, etc. as well as with past sayings in client's utterances, especially for the forgetful/elderly persons. For successful voice conversation, Google cloud speech API is not only exploited but its error processing is elaborated in our VCA system. The evaluation by 14 subjects showed the effect of this new VCA as follows: 1) the dialogue continuation length became twice as long as that of ELIZA, 2) positive feeling by selfawareness became high score 5 or 6 in 7 stages of Likert scale for all the elderly 7 persons.


Fashion magazines are the perfect medium to observe the twin synergies of adaptation and copying within the larger thesis of 'glocalization'. For it would seem that fashion magazines all over the world resemble each other to a certain degree but each publication is differentiated enough to sell monthly. While magazines overall tend to conform to a format and genre, individual publications have to shape themselves into unique titles with their own ethos and style that target a specific readership tribe. How do fashion magazines, local and syndicated, establish their niche and attract the readership they want? This article looks at a unique global fashion magazine, WestEast magazine from Hong Kong, and the strategies it has utilized to sell to a global readership from Asia to the West. This analysis of WestEast's inception and growth demonstrates that the process of adaptation and copying begins with product conceptualization, and that a culturally nuanced understanding of its local readership and market is essential for its success.


This article reviews the rationale for and various approaches used by economists to incorporate distributional consequences of projects or policies into benefit-cost analyses. Approaches reviewed include distributional weights and metrics based on the Lorenz curve. Analysis of distributional issues in partial equilibrium and general equilibrium settings are briefly reviewed. We present an empirical demonstration of how the contingent valuation method (CVM) and hedonic property methods (HPM) can be used to quantify how non-market environmental benefits are distributed by income and ethnicity. Using CVM, the distribution of non-market benefits can be cross-tabbed with respondent demographics, so that a variety of "distributions" of benefits by relevant demographic groups can be calculated. Using the HPM, the analyst can statistically test to see if the implicit price gradient varies with differences in income and ethnicity. In our empirical example, we find that ethnicity and income interaction terms on the implicit price gradient are statistically significant suggesting differential effects of National Forest fire suppression policies on Hispanics and low income households.


The Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (GIFTS) Instrument is the next generation spectrometer for remote sensing weather satellites. The GIFTS instrument will be used to perform scans of the Earth's atmosphere by assembling a series of field-ofviews (FOV) into a larger pattern. Realization of this process is achieved by step scanning the instrument FOV in a contiguous fashion across any desired portion of the visible Earth. A 2.3 arc second pointing stability, with respect to the scanning instrument, must be maintained for the duration of the FOV scan. A star tracker producing attitude data at 100 Hz rate will be used by the autonomous pointing algorithm to precisely track target FOV's on the surface of the Earth. The main objective is to validate the pointing algorithm in the presence of spacecraft disturbances and determine acceptable disturbance limits from expected noise sources. Proof of concept validation of the pointing system algorithm is carried out with a full system simulation developed using Matlab Simulink. Models for the following components function within the full system simulation: inertial reference unit (IRU), attitude control system (ACS), reaction wheels, star tracker, and mirror controller. With the spacecraft orbital position and attitude maintained to within specified limits the pointing algorithm receives quaternion, ephemeris, and initialization data that are used to construct the required mirror pointing commands at a 100 Hz rate. This comprehensive simulation will also aid in obtaining a thorough understanding of spacecraft disturbances and other sources of pointing system errors. Parameter sensitivity studies and disturbance analysis will be used to obtain "limits of operability" for the GIFTS


The workplace is looking for well-educated information technology professionals, yet universities are still educating students using out-dated computer science and information systems curricula. This paper looks at how a small university transformed its undergraduate computing programs into a single integrated information technology program with concentrations in computer science, computer forensics, and information systems, housed in a school of business. It discusses the problems that the university identified with its current program offerings, the process of making the changes in a single academic year, the resulting curriculum, and the progress to date. Both the criteria from the accrediting organization ABET and workplace requirements from the Department of Commerce were considered in developing the program.


Nonlinear process control is a difficult task in process industries. Conical tank level control is one among them. Real processes often exhibits nonlinear behavior, time variance and delays between inputs and outputs. This paper aims at implementing an adaptive control algorithm for a conical tank system. System identification of the non-linear process is done using black box modelling and found to be first order plus dead time (FOPDT) model. Here Proportional integral (PI) controller based on Ziegler Nichols (ZN) method is designed initially and the results are compared with model reference adaptive controller (MRAC).The real time implementation of process is done in LabVIEW using NI DAQ (BNC 2120). Better controller performance and error can be minimized by using MRAC than that of the ZN tuned PI controller.


This study demonstrates how midlevel dry air and vertical wind shear (VWS) can modulate tropical cyclone (TC) development via radial ventilation. A suite of experiments was conducted with different combinations of initial midlevel moisture and VWS environments. Two radial ventilation structures are documented. The first structure is positioned in a similar region as rainband activity and downdraft ventilation (documented in Part I) between heights of 0 and 3 km. Parcels associated with this first structure transport low–equivalent potential temperature air inward and downward left of shear and upshear to suppress convection. The second structure is associated with the vertical tilt of the vortex and storm-relative flow between heights of 5 and 9 km. Parcels associated with this second structure transport low–relative humidity air inward upshear and right of shear to suppress convection. Altogether, the modulating effects of radial ventilation on TC development are the inward transport of low–equivalent potential temperature air, as well as low-level radial outflow upshear, which aid in reducing the areal extent of strong upward motions, thereby reducing the vertical mass flux in the inner core, and stunting TC development.


Based on the scenery resources investigation of Xishuangbanna primitive forest park,the study on its resources characteristic is made.On this foundation,the paper determines the main mentality and the principle of the traveling development,and the corresponding countermeasure is raised.


Introduction
 Therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (t-MN) in the revised 2016 World Health Organization classification include cases of acute myeloid leukemia (t-AML), myelodysplastic syndromes (t-MDS, and myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms (t-MDS/MPN) in patients exposed to cytotoxic or radiation therapy for an unrelated neoplastic or non-neoplastic disorder (Arber DA,Blood. 2016). It constitutes ~7% of acute myeloid leukaemia (Hulegardh E, 2015).
 This is a single center retrospective study aimed to assess the clinicopathologic and genetic characteristics and survival factors for patients with t-MN diagnosed in National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation over the time period between 2012-2018.
 The studied parameters included demographic data, type of original disease, cytotoxic agent, the latency period for developing t-MN, pathologic characteristics of t-MN, TP 53 expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC), cytogenetics and molecular genetic findings. The estimated overall survival is calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method.
 Patients and Method:
 The inclusion criteria are myeloid neoplasms in patients with a prior history of exposure to the alkylating agent, Topoisomerase II inhibitor, antimetabolites, radiotherapy (including brachytherapy), radioactive iodine, regardless of latency period. A total of 20 patients have met the diagnostic criteria of t-MN out of 232 total patients diagnosed as AML with an overall incidence of (8.6%).
 The median age of the cohort was 49 years (16-72 years). Females are predominant 12 (60%) with almost equal distribution between different age groups (<50 and above 50 years old).
 Results:
 According to the type of original disease, three groups were identified; solid cancers, lymphoid neoplasms, and autoimmune diseases (AID). 12 patients (60%) were treated for solid cancers with breast cancer being the most encountered. Four patients (20%) had prior lymphoid malignancies (multiple myeloma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Burkitt lymphoma, and acute lymphoblastic leukemia). The final group include 4 patients (20%) who had AID including: Chron's disease , ankylosing spondylitis or aplastic anemia.
 The mean latency period before developing t-MN was 45.9 months (3.8 years) with a range of [15.8-221.1] months; 11 patients(55%) had a latency of ≤5 years and 9 patients (45%) had a latency period >5 years.
 The cytogenetic findings in our cohort include recurrent genetic abnormalities which were detected in 8 patients (40%). 4 patients (20%) had complex karyotype. A normal karyotype was detected in 5 patients (25%). 4 patients showed abnormalities of chromosome 5 and 7.
 Next-generation sequencing (NGS) had been used to analyze targeted regions in 19 genes recurrently mutated in myeloid neoplasia. Preliminary results are listed in table (1). TP53 gene is a frequently mutated gene in our cohort. Other mutated genes detected with a frequency of >5% include TET2, SETPB1, SF3B, NPM1, IDH-1, and NRAS.
 P53 protein expression by IHC was assessed; a cutoff of > 1% p53 strongly positive cells (3+) was used to define p53-positivity. The patients were categorized according to P53 expression into three groups.
 Only the group of patients with strong p53 positivity (3+) was well correlated with P53 somatic mutation detected by NGS, and strongly associated with a complex karyotype and poor survival.
 Some factors affecting the median overall survival (OS survival) are shown in figure (1).
 Conclusion:
 Data from our study indicate that TP53 gene is a frequently mutated gene in t-MN. Other mutated genes detected with a frequency of >5% include TET2, SETPB1, SF3B, NPM1, IDH-1, and NRAS. Age, complex KT and P53 expression are significant factors affecting overall survival in t-MN patients.
 Patients with t-MN with recurrent genetic abnormalities are specifically enriched in our cohort with higher proportion than published data (~15%) and are not limited to exposure to Topoisomerase II inhibitors. Patients with prior history of autoimmune diseases (in our cohort) showed longer latency period, longer overall survival and negativity for P53 expression.
 This is a preliminary data from our cancer center in Qatar. Larger studies in collaboration with other centers in our region regarding the prognostic impact of gene mutations including TP53 are needed before their incorporation into risk stratification.

 No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


This study aimed to determine the characteristics of dermatology consultation requests from the adult and paediatric emergency departments (EDs) of a university hospital during 8 months of the COVID‐19 pandemic in 2020 and to compare them with the same 8 months of 2019.


The article contains a comparative legal analysis of the Institute of admissibility of complaints of citizens on violation of their constitutional rights and freedoms under the legislation of the Russian Federation and the legislation of its subject  the Republic of Dagestan. The reasons for the differences in the legal regulation of the institution in question are considered, the proposal to improve the legislation on the constitutional Court of the Republic of Dagestan is made. It is concluded that compliance with the principles of the rule of law and the priority of the rights and freedoms of citizens can only be achieved through the joint efforts of all bodies of state power and local self-government, officials and ordinary citizens to ensure constitutional legality in lawmaking and law enforcement, which the constitutional justice bodies consistently uphold.


Inverse emulsion polymerization technique was employed to synthesize hydrophobically modified polyacrylamide polymers with hydrophobe contents near to feed composition. Three different structures were obtained: multisticker, telechelic, and combined. N-Dimethyl-acrylamide (DMAM), n-dodecylacrylamide (DAM), and n-hexadecylacrylamide (HDAM) were used as hydrophobic comonomers. The effect of the hydrophobe length of comonomer, the initial monomer, and surfactant concentrations on shear viscosity was studied. Results show that the molecular weight of copolymer increases with initial monomer concentration and by increasing emulsifier concentration it remained almost constant. Shear viscosity measurements results show that the length of the hydrophobic comonomer augments the hydrophobic interactions causing an increase in viscosity and that the polymer thickening ability is higher for combined polymers.


This paper explores the intersections of migration, gender, and sexual health with Indonesian women living in Perth, Western Australia. The study was part of a larger participatory action research project to co-design an intervention to increase HIV testing in migrant Indonesian women. Unstructured interviews were conducted with adult Indonesian women (n = 10) on their experiences of migration and sexual health. Zimmerman's migration phases (pre-departure and travel, destination, and return) provided a framework to conceptualize women's migration journeys. We found that women's migration journeys were shaped by gender, with male-led migration often reinforcing gender norms. Structural and sociocultural factors (including visa status) influenced women's sense of belonging while living in Australia, such as help-seeking behaviour and engagement in sexual relationships. Intersecting factors of gender, culture, and the migration process should be considered when designing public health interventions to improve women's sexual health, in particular migration policies and procedures.


A novel wideband digital electronic support measure(ESM) receiving technique based on instantaneous frequency measurement(IFM) is proposed.Firstly,a short time Fourier transform(STFT) is put on the input signal.The IFM is realized by fast insertion to the STFT results.Secondly,an instantaneous frequency detection technique is implemented by using multi-threshold.Lastly,the output is down sampled according to the detective bandwidth.The difficulty of capturing wideband simultaneous signals in ESM system can be conquered according to this novel receiving technique.Furthermore,the scheme can be expediently implemented in field programmable gate array(FPGA) device due to its regular fabric.Computer simulation results indicate that the detection sensitivity of one signal can reach-5 dB.The right detection rate can overcome 90 percent so as the input signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) is in the range of-5 dB to 15 dB.That is 20 dB dynamic range can be got.The simulation results also show that 18 dB double signal simultaneous dynamic range can be achieved by using this scheme.


The COVID-19 pandemic is so widespread that any patient in the prehospital environment is considered a significant transmission risk. UK charity air ambulances are affected by challenges regarding ...


CADA Manufacturing Engineer has no sheet-metal pieces setting-out model and can't design directly.The paper analyses the regularity of setting-out and complete the meth- od of sheet-metal pieces setting-out design by CADA Manu- facturing Engineer which enlarges its usage scope.The method of sheet-metal pieces setting-out design is put for- ward in details by CADA Manufacturing Engineer which makes deformed joints as example.


Controlled/living free radical polymerization of styrene and butyl acrylate was performed in bulk and emulsion using a reversible addition−fragmentation transfer (RAFT) process. The effect of the transfer agent to initiator ratio was explored in bulk and emulsion polymerizations. The effect of monomer addition was investigated in emulsion, and two different processes were used:  batch and semicontinuous. Better control was obtained with the continuous addition of the monomers, resulting in clear films of the styrene−butyl acrylate copolymers. These copolymers were characterized and studied by size exclusion chromatography, scanning differential calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and simulation, indicating that the semicontinuous process produces copolymers with a block of styrene and a block of tapered random copolymer.


We evaluate the performance of the Krylov subspace method by using highly efficient multiple precision sparse matrix-vector multiplication (SpMV). BNCpack is our multiple precision numerical computation library based on MPFR/GMP, which is one of the most efficient arbitrary precision floating-point arithmetic libraries. However, it does not include functions that can manipulate multiple precision sparse matrices. Therefore, by using benchmark tests, we show that SpMV implemented in these functions can be more efficient. Finally, we also show that product-type Krylov subspace methods such as BiCG and GPBiCG in which we have embedded SpMV, can efficiently solve large-scale linear systems of equations provided in the UF sparse matrix collections in a memory-restricted computing environment.


Summary Inhibition of carbon steel corrosion by "INCORGAS" compositions in a NACE medium containing hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and linear polarization resistance methods. Contribution of the inhibitor to the total protective effect of the "corrosion product film/inhibitor" system was calculated. Polarization measurements testify that the anodic process is hindered in the presence of the inhibitors. The same conclusion was made from the data of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.


In order to increase the efficiency in the management of their institutional resources, Brazilian private higher education institutions have been adopting management methods aligned with the best market practices. Therefore, hiring competent professionals aligned with institutional values is of paramount importance to keep the company competitive and avoid the negative impacts that wrong hiring can bring. Thus, this paper aims to present a proposal for the selection of teachers who meet organizational expectations through the application of the Value Focused Thinking (VFT) problem structuring method to define the values and objectives of decision makers; and the Multi-attribute value theory (MAVT) method for selecting the alternative most consistent with the value judgments of them.


ABSTRACT When the research team began its qualitative exploration of what and how a cohort of preservice elementary/early childhood teachers' in the University of California, Los Angeles' IMPACT Urban Teacher Residency Program learned, the 12-member team did not anticipate the degree to which preservice teachers would credit peers in their learning. On the urging of participants, the team began to systematically consider peer interactions. Curious about coherence in teacher education experiences, the team also attended to the program's promotion of collaborative approaches. This article details ways that preservice teachers collaborated, inside the classroom and beyond, to support their learning and teaching. It also explores university features that supported collaboration including curricular inclusions, cohort models, student-centered seminars, mentor relationships, consistent modeling and feedback, and placement swaps. Findings suggest that peer relationships may be especially important to preservice teachers' learning and also that university messages can reinforce the value and practices of collaboration.


In this presentation, I show how the study of lists in the context of chemical regulation can reveal the underlying relationships of power and domination their production and maintenance entail. Regulating chemicals involves building and maintaining a regulatory system that makes the collection, organization and evaluation of chemical data possible. Implementation of these objectives requires the development, negotiation and circulation of regulatory lists. Inspired by studies in the anthropology of writing (Denis & Pontille, 2013 ; Goody, 1977), this presentation place such lists at the center of the analysis.


Abstract : The Coastal Benthic Boundary Layer (CBBL) Research Program is a 5-year Office of Naval Research study that addresses the physical characterization and modeling of benthic boundary layer processes and the impact of these processes on seafloor structure properties, and behavior. In this report, results from the third year of the CBBL are summarized. Included are preliminary results from 1995 experiments conducted in carbonate sediments of the Florida Keys (The Key West Campaign). Also included are analyses of data collected during earlier experiments conducted on the soft methane-rich sediments of Eckemforde Bay (Baltic Sea) and on the sandy relict sediments of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Year-end reports for the 19 projects supported by the CBBL are included along with a list of publications supported by this program.


Through the establishment of an electronic health record documentation achieving system for community residents and implementation of comprehensive health services,community health management has transferred the goal of community health services from " treatment" to " prevention".As a rest,the efficiency of disease diagnosis has been greatly increased and the cost of disease treatment has been significantly reduced.However,the current management model of community health services in China are associated with some significant problems including unification of electronic data,I' m incomplete network,weak resident's consciousness of the community healthcare management.In this paper,we will first share our thoughts with peers on community healthcare management and then put forward some suggestion on creating a new cloud computing platform- based management model of community health services in China.


Multi-fragment effects play important roles on many graphics applications, which require operations on more than one fragment per pixel. The classical depth peeling algorithm [Everitt 2001] peels off one layer each pass, but the performance degrades for large scenes. We prefer to capture multiple fragments in a single pass, which is difficult because the fragments generated in graphics pipeline are not allowed to be scattered to arbitrary positions of the buffers. Compute unified device architecture (CUDA) [NVIDIA 2008] provides more flexible control over the GPU memory, but accessing of the fragments generated by graphics pipeline is not yet supported. In this work we design a CUDA rasterizer so that many graphics applications can benefit from the free control of GPU memory, especially for the multi-fragment effects. We present two efficient schemes to capture and sort multiple fragments per pixel in a single geometry pass via the atomic operations of CUDA without read-modify-write (RMW) hazards. Experimental results show significant speedup to classical depth peeling, especially for large scenes.


This paper considers the task of asymmetry recti cation We start by giving various reasons why the possession of symmetry may be bene cial for designed shapes and mention how various construction methods may produce shapes which are less symmetric than desired We then consider how to make asymmetric parts symmetric a process we call asymmetry recti cation In detail we break this process into three stages the detection of existing partial or almost symmetries the choice of the parameters of the symmetry to be imposed and nally construction of the symmetric shape from the original shape Various possible approaches to each of these steps are considered and their relative merits discussed


The use of electromyographic signals (EMG) to study muscle coordination requires robust methods to accurately detect EMG onset, especially when investigating anticipatory actions or the order of muscle recruitment during motion analysis. Some studies have used the normalized cross-correlation function (CCF) for estimating activation delays. This study aimed at evaluating the use of CCF to determine time delays between pairs of EMG, in comparison with a visual detection of EMG onset. 372 isotonic motion EMG from four different muscles from 31 subjects were analyzed during the movement of prone hip extension with knee extension. All comparisons including gluteus maximus muscle resulted with significant differences between methods. This found suggest that the use of CCF for evaluating delay in muscular activation onset requires caution, since this function takes into account the whole signal patterns and not only the EMG onsets.


The subject comes before its teaching.The study of teaching the subject of Ancient Chinese Literature should first identify the special qualities of ancient Chinese literature and the special traits of its teaching,which are the core issues of the teaching philosophy for the course.Besides the commonly known qualities and traits such as humane concern,emotional expression,and literary cultivation,another important quality of the course is its stress on developing life spirit and re-shaping of character.To better understand the essence of literature teaching,a breakthrough is needed in the present trend to focus on the technique in the study of the teaching of the course.The teachers need to raise their competence in and awareness of course reform.To uplift the teaching quality of the course,it is necessary to continually enhance our examination of the ontological elements of literature and literature teaching,continually update our teaching philosophy,and continually apply our philosophy in teaching practice.


Abstract Spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (SICH) remains the most devastating type of stroke with the highest morbidity and mortality. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, serious modifications have been made in health care systems, affecting patients with all kinds of disease, including SICH. This study compared mortality rates, and clinical and functional outcomes of patients diagnosed with SICH in the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 time periods. Retrospective analysis was performed using patient data from Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital from 2018 to 2021, dividing it into two subgroups based on the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, 329 patients in total were analysed. No statistically significant differences were found in mortality rate (p = 0.389) and neurological status at hospital admission (p = 0.309) between the time periods prior to COVID-19 and during the COVID-19 period. A statistically significant difference was found in the clinical status of patients (p = 0.016) measured using the Glasgow Coma Scale, indicating a worse level of consciousness of patients diagnosed with SICH at the time of admission to the hospital in the COVID-19 period. No statistically significant differences were found in the clinical outcome (p = 0.204) and functional outcome (p = 0.556) of the patients at discharge from the hospital. In the COVID-19 period, admission of patients with SICH fell by 25%. For patients with SICH, the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a reduced admission rate and a worse level of consciousness at the time of admission, calling for further research to identify what caused it and how to avoid delayed medical help in the case of the development of acute neurological symptoms during the COVID-19 outbreak.


A fluorinated acrylate monomer, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5-octafluoropentyl-methacrylate (OFPMA) was synthesized from a reaction between methacrylol chloride and fluorine containing alcohol (2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5-octafluoropentanol, OFPOH). The fluorine containing acrylate co-polymer (OFPMA-MA) was prepared by a solution copolymerization of OFPMA and methyl acrylate (MA). An UV-curable fluorine containing inter-penetrating polymeric network (IPN) system was formulated by mixing OFPMA-MA co-polymer with UV curable epoxy acrylate oligomer. The UV-curable IPN system was coated on fabric surface and cured by UV radiation process. Upon UV curing, the highly cross-linked polymer anchored into fabric fibers that enhance the washing durability of treated fabric. The fluorinated acrylate monomer (OFPMA) and UV-curable epoxyacrylate oligomer (UV-epoxy) were characterized by FT-IR and NMR. The water repellency of the treated fabric surface was exhibited that related to its fluorine content of UV-cured IPN system. The fluorine contents of treated fabrics after washing were identified by SEM-EDS and their surface properties were proved by the contact angle measurements and Kawabata fabric evolution system (KES-FB).


The classical nested neutral-point-clamped (NNPC) and nested T-type converters experience large voltage fluctuations across the flying capacitors (FCs). To deal with the issue, this paper proposes a new five-level modified active NNPC (5L-MANNPC) converter that is free from dc-link capacitors. The key feature of such configuration is that it eliminates the need for additional control loop for dc-link voltage balancing. The mathematical model of the converter is developed, and a finite control set model predictive control (FCS- MPC) approach is designed to achieve accurate tracking of the output current and voltage balance across the FCs for the proposed converter. Lower FC voltage ripples and less optimization targets are the main merits of the proposed topology. The experimental results are provided to validate the feasibility of the proposed converter.


The purpose of this study is to suggest useful basic data for planning and designing a large-scale take-out coffee shop in the future, based on the post-occupancy evaluation of the use in the 'P' take-out coffee shop that has been taken the coming generation near the university town. Especially, this study put emphasis on researching the preference and satisfaction of each floor level from users in the 'P' coffee shop. The results of this study are as follows. The second floor is the most preference floor in the users of the coffee shop that has 4 floor levels and has a great number of users. When the users select any floor, the most important factor is the noise. Also, there are the additional factors ; a prospect, a length between the tables, a distance from counter to floor and so on. The results show that it is necessary not only to improve the matter of the noise with various spatial elements but also to consider the method that users are able to be on the floors all over. These results provide useful data for planning and designing of a large-scale coffee shop in the future.


If you hire the right people, everything else in your business becomes easier; if you hire people who are even marginally the wrong people, everything else in your business becomes excruciatingly harder. In fact, if throughout the history of organizations, people had hired right, and managed right, there would be little need for the extraordinary mechanisms that organizations have created to get people to do the right things. We would no longer need job descriptions, incentive systems, performance review, motivational seminars, and the list goes on and on. Hiring right begins with your ability to penetrate beyond the exterior of how someone looks, their resume, and their experience, and to discern what is in their heart i.e. their values, attitudes, and character.


COMMUNITY nurses as purchasers of secondary services for their patients and clients; nurses employing salaried GPs; do such ideas sound like fantasies? Perhaps, but such initiatives could become a reality in a brave new primary healthcare world if nurses take the opportunities being offered by the government's pilot proposals under the Primary Care Act.


The shortcomings of polycarboxylate superplasticizer that it can delay the cement hydration and early strength development of its concrete is slow limit its use in precast concrete and the buildings in cold weather.In view of this,this paper adopts the method which combines triethanolamine(TEA) with three kinds of polycarboxylate superplasticizer,aiming at studying the effect of complex water reducers on properties of dispersion,setting time and early strength of cement.Results show that the complex of TEA and polycarboxylate superplasticizer significantly improved the early strength of cement,changed the cement setting time to some extent,and reduced slightly slurry dispersion.Compared with naphthalene superplasticizers,complex water reducers have obvious advantages in early strength of cement and slurry dispersion.


When stimuli are learned by repetition, they are remembered better and retained for a longer time and so when it comes repetition learning part they lack in the medial temporal lobe of the brain region, and cortical regions are involved in the learning effect when subjects retrieve associative memory, and whether their activations differentially change over time due to learning experience. On the other hand, Memory consolidation is a timedependent process by which recently learned experiences are being transformed into long term memory. It stabilizes the memory trace after the initial acquisition, neurologically, the process of consolidation utilizes a phenomenon called long-term potentiation, which allows a synapse to increase in strength as increasing numbers of signals are transmitted between the two neurons. Lobes of the cerebral cortex: While memory is created and stored throughout the brain, some regions are associated with specific types of memory. The temporal lobe is important for sensory memory, while the frontal lobe is associated with both shortand long-term memory. Repetition of information and the retrieval of the incident that took place with an individual affects the mindset of an individual. Eventually, it solidifies the connections which are used to recall memory and also helps to emphasize a feeling or idea, create rhythm, and also helps in developing a sense of urgency. The motive of memory repetition is to bring attention to an idea. However, that learning is different from the experiential knowledge of an individual due to participation in an event. To study the memory and its related issues neuropsychological tests were used to measure memory and Brain Electrical Oscillations Signature (BEOS) profiling was used to measure the difference between the Experiential Knowledge (EK) produced because of repetition of information as compared to event-related memory. A total of 30 individuals were randomly selected after taking an interview for BEOS recording. BEOS recording was done for both repetitions of information based EKs and Event-based EK's. The results were compared using a paired sample t-test along with Mean & Standard Deviation of Episodic Memory & Repetitive Memory which has been discussed in the paper in detail. Index Terms Repetition of Information, Experiential Knowledge, Event-Based memory, BEOS Recording, Neuropsychological Assessment. www.ijcrt.org © 2020 IJCRT | Volume 8, Issue 12 December 2020 | ISSN: 2320-2882 IJCRT2012012 International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT) www.ijcrt.org 75


Some traditional face-to-face teaching is being replaced with on-line methodologies. While there are advantages to this replacement, there are certainly drawbacks to it as well. A teaching environment that combines both, however, a hybrid classroom, gains the best of both worlds. There should be a reason why hybrids are used and courses should be optimized to use this method; however, this is no easy task. This paper discusses the use of a hybrid course and the techniques, instruction, and assignments used to optimize and amplify that method for a particular course, Introduction to Management Information Systems.


We report here on the synthesis of nucleotide activated oligosaccharides by transglycosylation with β-galactosidase from Bacillus circulans applying microwave irradiation (MWI) and conventional heating. The presented prod cts could serve as novel inhibitors or donor substrates of Leloir-glycosyltransferases. Some of them have been isolated from human milk but the biological role remains unclear due to limited access to the nucleotide oligosaccharides. The synthesis with β-galactosidases is challenging, because of competing hydrolysis of the product by the same enzyme. Effects of MWI and thermal heating on the hydrolytic and synthetic performance of the enzyme were systematically analysed and described here. We demonstrate that under both conditions similar product yields are obtained, however, the enzymatic hydrolysis of the product is significantly decreased under MWI leading to stabl product formation. The obtained product yields and absence of product hydrolysis under MWI can be rationalized by time-dependent activation and inactivation of the β-galactosidase.


Networking refers to the practice of sharing, transporting, and exchanging data between nodes within a shared medium. Data traffic refers to the mass volume of data moving across the computer network at a given time. Due to the advancement of technologies, everyday usage of data is tremendously increased. Nowadays networks are in a need of efficient algorithms to route data. For this, several classical algorithms like Dijkstra, bellman ford, etc were proposed. In Dijkstra, to route data from sending point to the ending point, the shortest path will be considered and that will be utilized for routing the packets. The major disadvantage of using this algorithm is that only the shortest path will be utilized, while the remaining paths will be left unused, and also if all the data transfers are using the same shortest path, then obviously that particular path will be congested. This causes a greater potential for network traffic to cause data loss. In order to bridge this gap, we proposed a BBR(Bandwidth based Routing) algorithm that selects a data path which has the maximum bandwidth for packet transmission in Software Defined Network (SDN). This reduces network traffic data loss and achieved better QoS (Quality of Service). For experimentation with BBR, multipath topology was considered and implemented in the simulation tool Mininet. The experimentation analysis revealed that the BBR has outperformed the state of art algorithms.


The development of innovation incubation industry has greatly promoted the economy in Taiwan,and its mode of operation and experiences are worth learning by colleges and universities in the mainland. In this paper,the characteristics and operation mode of innovation incubation centers in Taiwan are elaborated,and the current status of those at colleges and universities in the mainland is analyzed. Meanwhile the experiences of the mode of innovation incubation centers in Taiwan and their references to colleges and universities in the mainland in the regards of achievements transformation,technology transfer and serving enterprises are reviewed as fpllows.( 1) Promoting the establishment of incubation centers at colleges and universities,particularly at the local colleges and universities,combining the advantages of disciplines.( 2) Making clear the functions of incubation center and the development focus,accelerating the research achievements transformation.( 3) Strengthening the construction of industrial park bases and the combination among oroduction,learning and research to form a regional cluster.( 4) changing the conception of scientific research talents,improving the teacher appraisal system and their service consciousness of science and technology.


Can venture capitalist skill explain the heterogeneity and persistence of venture capital fund performance, and if so which skills matter and when? This paper sheds light on these two questions by examining whether characteristics based on the educational and work histories of the venture capitalist teams who form first-time funds can predict the performance of those funds. First-time funds whose founding teams possess venture investing experience exhibit greater percentages of portfolio company exits. However, the correlation between past venture investing experience and fund exit percentages doubles when the founding team also has experience managing a start-up. Further, the predictive power of founding team characteristics on fund performance is stronger in seed stage funds than for later stage funds. Decomposing fund exit percentages by IPOs and acquisitions as well as first round investments and follow-on investments shows which team characteristics matter more for different types of exits and is suggestive of the roles that various characteristics play in the performance of funds' investments. Finally, I show that the predictive ability of venture capitalist characteristics persists in follow-on funds. The findings indicate that skill plays an important role in the heterogeneity and persistence of venture capital fund performance and indicate which measures of skill seem to matter and when. I thank seminar participants at Carnegie Mellon, Duke, the first RICAFE2 conference at the London School of Economics, the American Finance Association Meetings and the Western Finance Association Meetings for their comments and Sridhar Arcot, Michael Brandt, Rudiger Fahlenbrach, Simon Gervais, David Hsu, Laura Lindsey, Manju Puri, David Robinson and Catherine Schrand for their suggestions. I thank Joseba Celaya, Adrian Cighi and Ling Luo for research assistance. All errors are mine. * Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, Box 90120, Durham, NC 27708, USA; Email: email@example.com; Tel: +1-919-660-7981; fax: +1-919-660-8038


Following an interview with Consultant Clinical Psychologist Sharon Mulhern, Keith Miller writes about her work for a staff support service.


Five out of 12 physically healthy patients with depression undergoing a tyramine pressor test developed cardiac arrhythmias. These arrhythmias occurred in drug‐free patients in three out of 12 infusions following as little as 0.03 mg/kg of tyramine and after moclobemide, a reversible inhibitor of monoamine oxidase‐A, in four out of 14 tyramine infusions with as little as 0.04 mg/kg of tyramine. The arrhythmias seen were independent of patient's age and occurred both before and after 30 mmHg elevations in systolic blood pressure. Electrocardiographic abnormalities and arrhythmias seen were a loss of p waves, sinus tachycardia, frequent atrial ectopic beats, atrial premature beats, Wenckebach phenomenon, junctional rhythm, ventricular ectopics, varying QRS configurations, and ventricular bigeminy. Tyramine, both oral and intravenous, caused similar reproducible changes in dogs, though not in rats, mice or guinea pigs. Practical implications are that tyramine pressor testing in humans should be performed cautiously and only with adequate cardiac monitoring and resuscitation facilities at hand. These findings suggest that a normal dietary component can induce serious cardiac arrhythmias, and that a low‐tyramine diet may be of value for patients who are susceptible to cardiac arrhythmias.


Common thresholds and threshold functions in wavelet shrinkage image denoising are analyzed in this paper.A new adaptive fuzzy threshold filter algorithm based on wavelet transform is proposed in this paper.The improved algorithm modifies BayesShrink by increasing an amendatory factor,and combines fuzzy theory to denoise.It can be adaptive to denoise image by fuzzy threshold function.Compared with soft-threshold algorithm based on BayesShrink and improved algorithm,experimental results show that improved algorithm is not only improves the PSNR and MSE,but also makes denoised image more clear.It is effective to image denoising.


The LiFePO4 cathode material is synthesized with different Li sources by carbothermal reduction methods,and the crystalline structure and morphology of the precursor and cathode material are characterized by TG-DTA and X-ray powder diffraction and the electrochemical properties are investigated by charge-discharge and CV tests.The results show that the finest particle size and the optimal electrochemical performance are achieved for the sample synthesized with CH3COOLi·2H2O.And a high capacity of 143.3 mA·h/g is delivered at the C/20 rate.The sample also displays a stable cycle-life,and even after 15 cycles,the discharge capacity is still 98% of initial capacity at C/10 rate.It is shown by CV tests that the reversibility and the polarization of the sample synthesized with CH3COOLi·2H2O are the best and the smallest.


To the Editor: I read with interest and pleasure the October 2006 article by Kwei et al entitled "Mastopexy With Autologous Augmentations After Massive Weight Loss: The Intercostal Artery Perforator (ICAP) Flap." The authors described a combination of a pedicled ICAP flap, together with a wise pattern mastopexy. The authors should be congratulated for their work to confirm the utility of perforator flaps in patients after massive weight loss (MWL). On the other hand, I would like to clarify few points regarding the development of this flap in the literature, which have partially been missed in this paper. Perforator flaps based on the intercostal vessels are first described by Badran et al. The flap is harvested from the lateral side of the trunk region and transferred as a free flap for neck resurfacing after burns. We described the use of a similar flap, as cited in Dr. Kwei's paper, in breast surgery either for reconstructive or esthetic purposes. The anatomy, classifications, and surgical technique were described in the perforator flaps book. Perforator flaps raised on intercostal vessels at the lateral side of the trunk are classified as lateral intercostal artery perforator flaps (LICAP). I presented the use of the LICAP flap in breast surgery, including for patients after MWL, in different meetings (BAAPS meeting in Dublin, Ireland, July 2004; ASRM meeting in Puerto Rico, January 2005; EURAPS meeting in Marseille, France, May 2005). Our clinical experience of the ICAP was reported afterward, including 4 patients who had a combination of mastopexy with LICAP flaps in patients after MWL. In this technique, the perforators were mapped preoperatively, but they were found and dissected within underlying muscle to have a longer pedicle, which provides easier positioning and shaping of the flap and consequently better breast shaping. More detailed description of this technique will be published very soon. The breast can be either reshaped simultaneously or in a second procedure. We recommend a simultaneous use of a superior pedicle mastopexy and a LICAP flap, which is shaped and positioned similar to a retroglandular implant. However, there is no harm in performing the procedure in 2 stages (first the flap transfer under the breast and then the mastopexy), because these patients will need in most cases different body contour surgeries and some revision procedures. The follow-up of the patient presented by Dr. Kwei et al is relatively short. We should expect more sagging and relaxing with time, which can often occur in patients after MWL due to poor skin quality. In the way that is described by Kwei et al, the use of the ICAP without perforator dissection does not differ much from the technique described by Rubin et al, where the side rolls are used in conjunction with a Wise pattern mastopexy. The only difference is that Rubin et al do not look specifically for the intercostal perforators and the flap is deepithelialized and rotated upwards. Obviously, perforator dissection is not necessary if the flap can reach easily the desired pocket. Without perforator dissection, the LICAP can only be positioned at the lateral side of the breast. Depending on the preoperative evaluation of the breast, the LICAP flap should be positioned where it is most needed. We expect a dramatic increase in surgical procedures for patients after MWL, and a better understanding of the development of each technique is important in the literature.


The present situation of polution by ephedrine production wastewater and treating technology are summarized.Assorted treating technology and methods in china over past 10 years are introduced.It's intention is to provide approach of treating wasterwater to ephedrine production plants.