In recent years, China has overtaken the United States as the world's largest carbon dioxide (CO2) emitter. CO2 emissions from high-energy-intensive industries account for more than three-quarters of the total industrial carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, it is important to enhance our understanding of the main factors affecting carbon dioxide emissions in high-energy-intensive industries. In this paper, we firstly explore the main factors affecting CO2 emissions in high-energy-intensive industries, including industrial structure, per capita gross domestic product (GDP), population, technological progress and foreign direct investment. To achieve this, we rely on exploratory regression combined with the threshold criteria. Secondly, a geographically weighted regression model is employed to explore local-spatial heterogeneity, capturing the spatial variations of the regression parameters across the Chinese provinces. The results show that the growth of per capita GDP and population increases CO2 emissions; by contrast, the growth of the services sector's share in China's gross domestic product could cause a decrease in CO2 emissions. Effects of technological progress on CO2 emissions in high-energy-intensive industries are negative in 2007 and 2013, whereas the coefficient is positive in 2018. Throughout the study period, regression coefficients of foreign direct investment are positive. This paper provides valuable insights into the relationship between driving factors and CO2 emissions, and also gives provides empirical support for local governments to mitigate CO2 emissions.


In this article, the one-port transistor amplifier (OPTA) is studied in detail. This kind of amplifier offers a higher gain, with higher power efficiency at microwave frequencies, than a conventional two-port transmissionamplifier. A new theoretical approach to the analysis of the reflection amplifier is applied, resulting in an analytical expression to estimate the transmission gain. An explanation of the principle of operation of this new resonant circuit type transistor amplifier is presented. Results of the gain characteristics are included, comparing the proposed gain expression with experimental results at L-band.


Electric resistivity method can be used in mapping zones of contaminated soils and groundwater salinity. A dense electrical resislivity survey was carried out at a site near ElAdabiya harbor (Suez Governorate) in order to assess the impact ofsalt water on geological and hydrogeological environments. Geologically, the investigated area is composed mainly of alluvial.fans. These fans comprise porous spaces which control the .flow of electric current. Therefor-e, the resistivitv of porous media is controlled not only by the amount of solutions, porosity and permeability of the porous media but also by the total dissolved solids in these solutions. Horizontal electrical sounding (HES), using Wenner- array, was utilized in order to acquire the apparent resistivity data at different spacings (a). Eight iso-apparent r°esistivity maps were obtained at a's = 1, S, 10, 15, 20, 30, 50 and 60 meters. The contoured iso-apparent resistivity maps were separated, by applying least square polynomial technique into general trends (best fitted regional) and locals (statistically residual). Local maps were resolved into positive and negative zones. Low r-esistivity values (negative zones on the local maps) are attributed to contaminated soils in the uppermost surface layer - and to salt water intrusions in the deeper layers. Positive zones are attributed to dry and compact soils in the soil layers and to hard rocks at lower levels.


The relations between electronic structure, chemical bond and thermoelectric property of misfit layered cobaltite of Ca3Co4O9 and 3d transitional metal (Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe and Cu) doped series are studied using density function and discrete variation method (DFT-DVM). Ca3Co4O9 consists of two layers of CoO2 and Ca2CoO3. The highest valence band (HVB) and the lowest conduction band (LCB) near Fermi level are only mainly from O 2p and Co 3d in Ca2CoO3 layer. Therefore, the semiconductor, or thermoelectric property of Ca3Co4O9 should be mainly from Ca2CoO3 layer, but it seems to have no direct relation to the CoO2 layer, which is consistent with that binary oxides hardly have thermoelectric property, but trinary oxide compounds have quite good thermoelectric property. The variation of electronic structure, chemical bond strength and thermoelectric property of doping series is discussed. The improvement of thermoelectric property of Cu-doped Ca3Co4O9 is the most obvious.


Objective: To explore the effectiveness of the application of "teacher-student role reversal" teaching method in clinical medical subject rehabilitation medicine.Methods: 96 clinical medical students were divided into two teaching groups.One is the experimental group which adopts the "teacher-student role reversal" teaching method and the rest 48 students form the control group which is under traditional teaching approach.Questionnaires and theoretical exam were given to the two groups simultaneously afterwards.Results: The experimental group performs better than the control group in theoretical exam(P0.01),and the good-level differences of theoretical exam between two groups have statistical significance(P0.01).Students in experimental group are more interested and active in study,and also have better ability in knowledge memorizing,comprehending,self-learning and problem-solving than those in control group(P0.05).conclusion: "Teacher-student role reversal" teaching method works out fine in "rehabilitation medicine" teaching.


The prognosis of patients with advanced‐stage extranodal natural killer/T cell lymphoma, nasal type (ENKL) has been generally poor, and several anecdotal reports have suggested the role of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). A potential advantage of allogeneic HSCT may be the graft‐versus‐lymphoma (GVL) effect. The susceptibility to the GVL effect, however, has been shown to vary according to histologic subtypes, and it has been hardly documented yet whether ENKL is susceptible to the GVL effect. Here we report a patient with advanced‐stage ENKL who underwent allogeneic HSCT from an HLA one‐allele mismatched related donor, whose clinical course after HSCT suggested the potent GVL effect against ENKL. A 43‐year‐old female underwent allogeneic HSCT for advanced‐stage, chemorefractory ENKL, and achieved complete response. In 4 months after the transplantation, however, the ENKL relapsed in multiple sites. These lesions markedly responded to the discontinuation of immunosuppressive agents and disappeared. Except for a temporal exacerbation of bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia, she has been free from disease for more than a year without other treatments against lymphoma. The clinical course of the current patient suggests the potent GVL effect against ENKL. Allogeneic HSCT, including that with reduced‐intensity regimens, is a promising treatment option for high‐risk ENKL. Am. J. Hematol. 82:937–939, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The classical interpretation of "law" by Xu Shen in his masterpiece "interpreting the Chinese language and characters" has been a highly condensed understanding and knowledge of phenomenon by people during the Han Dynasty, and has influenced the history of Chinese thinking. However, contemporary scholars suspect that whether Xu Shen's interpretation was in conformity with the original ontological meaning of "Law", thus evoking us to explore the facts exemplified by character"law" itself, to index antique literature and underground relics from the words components"water" and "go". The aim of this article is to re-demonstrate the original image of "law" by proving myth legends and cultural anthropological materials and by tracing back to the primitive society.


One of the most critical sources of variation in face recognition is facial expressions, especially in the frequent case where only a single sample per person is available for enrollment. Methods that improve the accuracy in the presence of such variations are still required for a reliable authentication system. In this paper, we address this problem with an analysis-by-synthesis-based scheme, in which a number of synthetic face images with different expressions are produced. For this purpose, an animatable 3D model is generated for each user based on 17 automatically located landmark points. The contribution of these additional images in terms of the recognition performance is evaluated with three different techniques (principal component analysis, linear discriminant analysis, and local binary patterns) on face recognition grand challenge and Bosphorus 3D face databases. Significant improvements are achieved in face recognition accuracies, for each database and algorithm.


School-preparation activities are central for Norwegian children in their final year in pre-schools, but school-preparation activity is an understudied practice. This article gains insight in children's participation in school-preparation activities using video data collected in a pre-school over a 7-month period. Various forms of preparation activities took place on a weekly basis, such as trips, projects and drawing. Children's verbal and embodied actions in a letter-based activity was studied over time, and the children oriented to each other as competitors, supported each other and constructed playful action. The pre-school teachers facilitated and allowed for the children to form the activity.


This work aims to understand the impacts of the influence of the regional metropolises, Fortaleza (CE) and Recife (PE), in the State of Rio Grande do Norte. To understand this polarization, the studies 'Region of Influence of Cities (REGICs)' of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) in the editions from 1967 to 2007 were taken as a basis. These documents evidenced that polarization, that is, a force of attraction divides the State of Rio Grande do Norte, into two areas, each one being influenced by a different metropolis. To understand this fact theoretically, several authors were studied, among which we highlight Moreira (1979), Andrade (1987), Furtado (2003), in a broad literature that involves, among others, the theories of development, which thus allowed to characterize the research as bibliographic, analyzing also secondary data. It was noticed that this phenomenon is extensive within the period under study and that polarization made the region divided by the influence of two different capitals at the same time: Fortaleza, in Ceara and Recife, in Pernambuco which portrays a situation of opportunities in different geographic spaces.


Abstract: There is an ever growing need to research and develop pedagogical strategies that cater to the 21st-century skills. Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is one such instructional strategy. There are currently many PBL environments, but for this report, I use a PBL environment called 'Alien Rescue' as an example. PBL has many goals that it wishes to achieve. In this report, I highlight the importance of five such goals. I then review the practices in Alien Rescue to see which goals it supports the best and which goal could need improvements. I then choose to focus on one of the very important goals, namely, collaboration. I again review the literature to find strategies that support collaborative learning in PBL. Finally, I contextualize these strategies to Alien Rescue. I make specific suggestions that will improve collaboration, o ↵ er implementation tactics for these suggestions, and also give ways to evaluate the e ↵ ectiveness of the suggestions in Alien Rescue. I hope to help in the research and development process of Alien Rescue with this report.


The primary objective of susceptibility testing in the clinical setting is to predict the outcome of treatment of an infected individual with the chosen antibiotics. Results must be derived in a timely manner with a high degree of accuracy and reproducibility. Clinical laboratories can choose to determine the susceptibility of bacteria by a number of methods including disc diffusion, breakpoint testing, broth micro-dilution or antibiotic gradients, most of which can be performed manually or with automation.


Cymbopogon olivieri is of Gramineae family, of hot and dry pasture areas plants provides a significant portion of grazing areas. Since the physical and chemical properties of soil has significant impact on water conservation, seed germination and plant growth, in this experiment six different soils from different regions in Kerman province prepared and was poured in plastic pot weighing two kilograms, 25 number of seeds were planted in each pot and every two days once in the capacity of farm for each soil were irrigated. The experiment as a complete randomized design with three replications at constant temperature and light conditions were conducted. The comparison of data showed that in the five soil textures, loam clay, prelate, loam, and sandy and loam sandy with high salinity in the germination rate compared to the control (germination in petri dish), no significant changes were observed, but the germination level was significantly reduced in clay texture However, in the sandy soil with high acidity (pH = 5), the germination was severely reduced. The results of germination rate in the samples showed that the highest germination rate are carried out in the light soils and whatever the soil texture is heavier, consequently the germination rate significantly decreases. Continuing the experiments, the durability and growth of plants in the soils was studied. The germination during 20 days after planting in the six soils was done well, but in the four of them, 30 days after planting, gradually the plants growth ceased and they wilted and detected that it was due to the soil salinity, heavy soil texture and presence of heavy metals in the soil. The growth took place in the original soil which was related to the plant habitat and in the prelate soil with wellcontrolled conditions.


Consuming large amounts of fructose during the second trimester of pregnancy and at 2 years of age is associated with a significantly increased risk of asthma in childhood, a new study has found.


4065 Background: Evaluation of the HPV infection- and transformation-status as a predictor of the response to definitive radio-chemotherapy for anal cancer. Methods: 80 patients (54 fm, 26 m) with histologically confirmed anal cancer and known HPV-Infection- (determined by PCR) and p16-expression-status (determined by immunohistochemistry) were analyzed. All pts. were treated with definitive radio-chemotherapy (RCT) with 5-FU/MMC, median age 60ys (35–86), median follow up 54mo (4–180). 41 pts. were HPV+ and p16+ (group 1), 10 pts. were HPV-/p16+ (group 2), 9 pts. were HPV+/p16- (group 3) and 17 pts. were HPV+/p16- (group 4). Endpoints were local control (LC) at 5ys and overall survival (OS) at 5ys. In addition to HPV/p16 status, the influence of T-stage and tumor localization (canal vs. margin) was analyzed. Results: More women than men were HPV+ (fm 77% vs. m 33%) while gender was evenly distributed among HPV-pts. (fm 48% vs. m 53%). Upon univariate analysis, gender, HPV+ and p16+ were significant predic...


Abstract:What happens when we focus primarily on violence as a central question—either within the gender regime approach or by making violence regime an approach in itself? The article first interrogates gender regimes theoretically and empirically through a focus on violence, and then develops violence regimes as a fruitful approach, conceptualizing violence as inequality in its own right, and a means to deepen the analysis of gender relations, gender domination, and policy. The article is a contribution to ongoing debate, which specifically and critically engages with the gender regime framework.


An alternative high temperature structural alloy system based on the X-X 3 Si eutectic compositions of chromium and vanadium is put forward. These low-density (~6g/cm 3 ) eutectics have a bcc solid-solution to increase alloy fracture toughness, and a A15 X 3 Si as the high temperature load-bearing phase. (½Cr,½V)-(½Cr,½V) 3 Si was used as the base alloy for further element additions, and is represented by the symbol 山 10at.% tantalum and aluminium were substituted for vanadium as quaternary and quinary alloy additions. Microstructure, elemental phase partitioning, compression creep and oxidation results will be discussed. Cr-Cr 3 Si has a tidy, fine lamellar microstructure. Vanadium coarsens and destabilises the lamellae to a limited extent. Tantalum addition causes two distinct populations of eutectic to form; one population having finer lamellae than the other. Aluminium does not coarsen or destabilise the lamellar microstructure. High temperature compression tests at 1200°C and 1300°C show that 山 is stronger than the binary alloys, and of similar strength to the quaternary and quinary alloys.


Distribution characteristics of blast furnace burden are presented and some factors that affect these characteristics are analysed.A burden surface distribution model is built by fusing the information of all operation parameters that affect the burden distribution characteristics.The model has been applied to a 2200m~3 blast furnace in an iron and steel factory,to monitor the burden distribution of the blast furnace on line.


New developments based on nanotechnology have to guarantee safe products and processes to be accepted by society. The Polyfire project will develop and scale-up techniques for processing halogen-free, fire-retardant nanocomposite materials and coatings based on unsaturated polyester resins and organoclays. The project includes a work package that will assess the Health and Environmental impacts derived from the manipulation of nanoparticles. This work package includes the following tasks: (1) Identification of Health and Environment Impacts derived from the processes, (2) Experimentation to study specific Nanoparticle Emissions, (3) Development of a Risk Management Methodology for the process, and (4) A Comparison of the Health and Environmental Impact of New and Existing Materials. To date, potential exposure scenarios to nanomaterials have been identified through the development of a Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA) of the new production processes. In the next step, these scenarios will be studied and simulated to evaluate potential emissions of nanomaterials. Polyfire is a collaborative European project, funded by the European Commission 7th Framework Programme (Grant Agreement No 229220). It features 11 partners from 5 countries (5 SMEs, 3 research institutes, 2 large companies, 1 association) and runs for three years (1st September 2009 – 31st August 2012). This project is an example of an industrial research development which aims to introduce to the market new products promoting the safe use of nanomaterials.


Analyzing features of share ownership management and employment relations in Japan this article characterizes the traditional Japanese corporate governance system as an employee‑centered stakeholder model which relies heavily on practices.The main pillars that have sustained the Japanese stakeholder model have been:cross‑shareholdings and long‑term shareholding internal promotion of management and acceptance of dual‑function directors onto the management boardlong‑term employment and voluntarily established forums for labor‑management consultation. The article then examines recent changes that might affect the traditional governance model. As for the structural changes in shareholders and its influence the effects of the dissolution of cross‑shareholdings increasing foreign investmentthe revision of corporate laws to facilitate shareholders representative suits and reduced importance of banks are examined.Drastic revisions to corporate law that have given large companies the option of adopting a US‑type corporate governance system utilizing outside directors might change the nature of the management.The employment system is also experiencing transformation.In the last decadeJapan repeatedly achieved worst‑ever unemployment figures. Lateral mobility has increased and the


Multigenerational housing is increasingly represented at the beginning of XXI century. There are cultural reasons in underdeveloped countries, and mainly economic reasons in developed countries for developing such housing type. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, multigenerational individual type of housing construction is largely present after the war 1992-'95 on the surrounding slopes of Sarajevo. Because of the configuration of new settlements and the fact that it is unplanned construction, new neighbourhoods resemble slums. However, these are permanent structures for which were spent considerable economic resources. Due to the fact that people willingly choose this model of housing in the period after the war, instead of collective condominium building types, this phenomenon should be researched by the academic community. The paper argues that the causes of representation of the multigenerational individual type of housing are dissolution of former socialist society, collapse of social confidence and the inability of society to organize to a higher level but the level of family. The quality of new residence, per the criteria of the housing surface, its insulation and the open areas is significantly higher compared to the previous standards of socialist construction, while the spatial quality of settlements, its infrastructure, equipment and opportunities for further development and integration are poor. Dissolution of the society is led to the dissolution of space; therefore strengthening the community should lead to the unification of community space. Future spatial integration of settlements depends of the ability of society to integrate at a higher level from the family level.


Aim: To clinically determine the efficacy of tincture of benzoin compound in the treatment and prevention of alveolar osteitis (dry socket) following surgical disimpaction of mesio-angularly impacted mandibular third molars. Patients and methods: This is a 6-year prospective study of 232 patients with mesio-angularly impacted mandibular third molars requiring dental extractions at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. The subjects were recruited into two different groups, A (control) and B (tinctureofbenzoincompound),bysimplerandomsampling. Results: In Groups A and B, 16 (13.8%) and 3 (2.6%) of the subjects, respectively, developed alveolar osteitis. There were more males (n = 123, 53.0%) than females (n = 109, 47.0%) in the two groups, with male-tofemale ratio of 3:1. There were more subjects (n = 11, 68.7%) between 25‐44 years in Group A, with a mean age of 31.5 years, than in Group B, with a mean age of 28.3 years. The most common reason for extraction was dentalcariesanditssequelae(n = 121,52.1%). Conclusion: This study suggests that the tincture of benzoin compound is beneficialandsafeinthetreatmentandpreventionofalveolarosteitis.


We present the current status of a research project with the main purpose to provide both students and teachers of Mathematics, to level nationally, a system capable of supporting multimedia theme study in secondary roles. The project comprises all steps required for the development of virtual tutor and corresponding validation by potential users. As one of the steps mentioned above, we applied a diagnostic questionnaire to three high school groups from both public and private institutions located in different social sectors of Costa Rica (rural, urban and urban fringe) and ten secondary school teachers to determine the cognitive needs of students in this subject and system requirements subsequently developed and is presented as part of this article.


The traditional breakup regime map of a liquid jet in subsonic crossflow is revisited using a number of datasets reported in the literature over the last decade. Prior classification divided the breakup regimes into column breakup-dominated and surface stripping-dominated regions based on jet-to-air momentum flux ratio and crossflow Weber number. Models have evolved that consider these two parameters relative to incorporation of the appropriate physics for a given breakup mode. However, no explanation is given in the literature on the physical relevance of the momentum flux ratio as a parameter in defining the breakup regimes, and model selection based on these parameters may not incorporate the key physics of the process. For example, it is reasonable to expect that the liquid jet turbulence as defined by the jet Reynolds number can affect the atomization characteristics. Based on analysis of existing and new data, it is proposed in this paper that the breakup regime map be redefined in terms of turbulent transition jet Reynolds number (instead of momentum ratio) and crossflow Weber number. This view of the breakup process suggests a new approach for selecting the appropriate jet atomization model which may lead to improved predictions of fuel-air ratio distribution from fuel injection in crossflow.


Various quantitative tools have been developed for defining markets in competition law investigations. Econometric tests on price co-movement represent one such set of tools: two regions or products are considered part of the same market if their prices co-move. However, price co-movement tests, especially the more advanced econometric tests, have been criticized in the competition policy literature. Critics claim that price tests focus only on price linkages and, furthermore, that some of the advanced price tests are misleading in small samples. This paper applies a range of price tests, including correlation analysis, Granger-causality tests, unit root tests and the recent autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds test, to data from the 2006-2008 competition investigation into business practices in the South African dairy industry. We argue that the different price tests ask different questions and that it is not useful to dismiss an advanced price test if it suggests a different market than that identified by a simple correlation statistic. We also consider the criticism of poor small-sample performance of price tests: many conventional tests have long been shown to suffer from small-sample power and size problems, but critics fail to account for recent improvements in this regard. The paper concludes that the combination of various price-test results offers a rich picture useful for market definition purposes, especially if they are employed as exploratory tools rather than confirmatory ones.


This paper presents the advantages of the trapezoidal association of transistor (TAT) technique for analog applications. Using only an association of fixed minimum size channel length transistors available on a Sea-of-Transistors (SOT), the TAT transistor achieves almost the same performance as its equivalent single transistor. Several structures of TATs and single transistors of electrically equivalent sizes, and operational transconductance amplifiers (OTA) in both methodologies were implemented to allow better performance comparisons. The experimental results obtained are herein shown for 1.0 /spl mu/m digital technology.


Electric city buses usually possess a large battery pack and demand overnight charging at the depot. As a result, it offers a high capital cost, longer charging times, and limits the passenger capacity. Opportunity charging of electric vehicles (EVs) during brief stops is considered to be one of possible solutions to conquer these problems. This paper presents a prospective battery sizing methodology and charger evaluation of electric city buses enabled by wireless charging at frequent stops to achieve driving range extension while minimizing battery size. The quasi-instantaneous power connection can be possible using wireless power transfer (WPT) charging technology. Battery size reduction and range extension of electric city buses employing opportunity wireless charging is illustrated for various WPT charger power ratings under Federal test procedure (FTP) drive cycle and New European driving cycles (NEDC).


Teachers use Google Classroom for online learning so that learning continues despite the policy of learning from home and the existence of distance restrictions. This study aims to analyze the use of Google Classroom in online learning. This study uses a quantitative survey method involving 84 students and 5 teachers. Research data collection through surveys containing several questions assisted through Google Forms. Likert scale questionnaire (1-5) was used to collect data on student perceptions of teacher teaching skills, implementation, barriers to learning, and student satisfaction. Qualitative data were analyzed by descriptive technique. The results of this study indicate that Hybrid Learning by utilizing Google Classroom, especially online learning is able to effectively support the learning process based on teacher teaching skills data by 85%, learning implementation by 85%, and student satisfaction by 97.6%. Thus, Google Classroom is the right application for teachers to use in online learning and distance learning. The obstacles in online learning can be optimized through classroom learning. Suggestions for further research is to develop teaching materials both printed and electronic using Google Classroom.


The New England Sports Network (NESN) Next Producer contest allows students from New England to showcase their skills and talents through sports filmmaking and video production assignments. The reality show is in its second season and features the filmmakers' journeys. The winner of the contest gets a $20,000 cash prize and a job opportunity to be a producer at NESN.


This paper displays a transformer less static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) framework in light of multilevel H-span converter with star design. The proposed control strategy is dedicating them to the present circle control as well as to the dc capacitor voltage control. With respect to the present circle control, a nonlinear controller in view of the lack of involvement based control (PBC) hypothesis is utilized as a part of this structure STATCOM surprisingly. With regards to the dc capacitor voltage control, general voltage control is acknowledged by embracing a corresponding full controller. Bunched adjusting control is acquired by utilizing a dynamic aggravations dismissal controller. Singular adjusting control is accomplished by moving the regulation wave vertically which can be effectively executed in a field-programmable door exhibit. Two genuine H-span fell STATCOMs appraised at 10 kV 2 MVA are developed and a progression of check tests are executed. Here fuzzy logic is used for controlling and compared with other controller the simpered systems tool has proved that the combined system will at the same time inject maximum power and provide dynamic frequency support to the grid. The trial results demonstrate that H-span fell STATCOM with the proposed control strategies has fantastic element execution and solid 54 S.S. Deekshit, S.Sanjeeva Rayudu and Y.Nagendra heartiness. The dc capacitor voltage can be kept up at the given esteem successfully.


Discusses the need for criminal checks to be done on prospective employees, providing examples of negligent recruitment. Outlines the reasons for such a policy before considering the difficulties involved. Provides recommendations for companies, including a written recruitment policy. Investigates the merits of in‐house security departments and security consultant services. Concludes that the initial expense can easily be outweighed by potential theft, fraud and legislative costs.


Results are presented from a detailed analysis of optical and X-ray observations of moderate-redshift galaxy clusters from the Canadian Network for Observational Cosmology (CNOC) subsample of the EMSS. The combination of extensive optical and deep X-ray observations of these clusters make them ideal candidates for multiwavelength mass comparison studies. X-ray surface brightness profiles of 14 clusters with 0.17 < z < 0.55 are constructed from Chandra observations and fit to single- and double-β models. Spatially resolved temperature analysis is performed, indicating that five of the clusters in this sample exhibit temperature gradients within their inner 60-200 kpc. Integrated spectra extracted within R2500 provide temperature, abundance, and luminosity information. Under assumptions of hydrostatic equilibrium and spherical symmetry, we derive gas and total masses within R2500 and R200. We find an average gas mass fraction of fgas(R200) = 0.092 ± 0.004 h, resulting in Ωm = 0.42 ± 0.02 (formal error). We also derive dynamical masses for these clusters to R200. We find no systematic bias between X-ray and dynamical methods across the sample, with an average Mdyn/MX = 0.97 ± 0.05. We also compare X-ray masses to weak-lensing mass estimates of a subset of our sample, resulting in a weighted average of Mlens/MX of 0.99 ± 0.07. We investigate X-ray-scaling relationships and find power-law slopes that are slightly steeper than the predictions of self-similar models, with an E(z)-1LX-TX slope of 2.4 ± 0.2 and an E(z)M2500-TX slope of 1.7 ± 0.1. Relationships between red-sequence optical richness (Bgc,red) and global cluster X-ray properties (TX, LX, and M2500) are also examined and fitted.


This paper presents a new self-optimizing ping-pong handover (HOPP) control mechanism for Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks. The proposed mechanism tunes the handover (HO) parameters Hysteresis and Time-To-Trigger (TTT) based on a predefined policy that aims to reduce the negative impact caused by HOPP. To this end, we define the HOPP performance indicator (HPIHPP) and then use it to adjust the HO parameters. Simulation results show clear performance improvement over the static parameter setting, especially when a history-based weighting of the HPIHPP performance indicator is used.


The web application software "iPortfolioMaker" was developed for supporting professors who collect, accumulate, and analyze the various types of data with respect to general education, in Research and Development Center for Higher Education, Nagasaki University. The authors had thirteen classes in the course "Introduction to computer science" in 2008. This study has surveyed students' opinions about computer operation skills and their current levels, and discusses the familiarity of the skills for Microsoft Word. Questionnaires and exam results are carefully analyzed. Based on the results of the study, this paper also discusses creating and designing the effective course content and program development for "Introduction to computer science". Through discussion, it is shown that the students can obtain a sufficient mastery of the required operation skills, and that the skills are


Molecules of macrocyclic aromatic hydrocarbon 1 assembled to form various three-dimensional (3D) structures via weak intermolecular interactions, including aromatic–aromatic interactions (1a–d). In the crystal obtained from a chloroform and acetonitrile mixture (1a), the molecules arranged in a columnar stack with a progressive helical twist between adjacent molecules due to intermolecular aromatic–aromatic interactions. The chirality of the helices was spontaneously resolved within individual single crystals. In the crystal obtained from a chloroform and nonane mixture (1b), the molecules formed a columnar stack through tilted T-shaped aromatic–aromatic interactions. Furthermore, in the crystal obtained by vapour diffusion of n-hexane or ethyl acetate into a chloroform solution, inclusion compounds (1c and 1d) were formed via van der Waals interactions between the guest molecule and the benzene ring of the biphenyl unit. The n-hexane penetrated 1 to construct [3]pseudorotaxane and an ethyl acetate molecule was trapped by 1.


SIMEA (Social Impact Method of Energy Analysis) is a new methodology to evaluate the environmental impact of energy systems. The SIMEA approach is based on "enlarged environment" definition, considering not only the natural environment but also the "human environment", including the economic structure, social organisation, cultural and historical aspects of the site. The aim of SIMEA is to consider, in an integrated way, the many possible effects on the environment (considering the definition of an enlarged environment: nature, economy, culture, etc.) of an energy system and to evaluate its social consequences and effects. SIMEA is being developed in an "iterative" way, so, after the first development and validation in 1996, a second version of SIMEA has been realised and tested by applying the improved methodology to the same site. The improvements and results are proving the methodology's effectiveness and show that a possible computer-aided application can be expected after an analysis of the comparison between the two experiences has been carried out.


We completely eliminate degrees of freedom in two-dimensional QCD in favor of a single bosonic field. We study the symmetries of the resulting model and its limits of strong and weak coupling.


Background: RA patients are at risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The objective of this study was to assess the carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) in RA patients who have no traditional cardiovascular risk factors and a low disease activity state. This study was also aimed at determining the correlation between serum IL-17 with cIMT. Methods: RA patients who were in low disease activity or remission (28-joint DAS < 3.2) from the Rheumatology Clinic, National University of Malaysia Medical Centre were recruited. Patients with traditional CVD risk factors were excluded. Carotid US was performed in RA patients and their age- and gender-matched healthy controls to determine the cIMT thickness. Serum IL-17 was measured using ELISA. Results: A total of 22 RA patients were recruited. Patients with RA had significantly higher median cIMT {0.53mm [interquartile range (IQR) 0.13]} compared with controls [0.47mm (IQR 0.14)] (P ¼ 0.01). In RA patients, the cIMT had significant positive correlation with age ( r ¼ 0.84, P ¼ 0.00), systolic blood pressure ( r ¼ 0.45, P ¼ 0.04), waist circumference ( r ¼ 0.43, P ¼ 0.04), total cholesterol ( r ¼ 0.54, P ¼ 0.01), BMI ( r ¼ 0.45, P ¼ 0.04) and serum IL-17 ( r ¼ 0.45, P ¼ 0.03) but negative correlation with total high-density lipoprotein ( r ¼(cid:2) 0.43, P ¼ 0.05). Conclusion: Patients with RA had significantly higher cIMT as compared with healthy controls despite minimal disease activity and lack of cardiovascular risk factors, suggesting the vascular injury due to previous inflammation may not be reversible. IL-17 was with suggesting it a role in atherogenesis among RA patients.


Audit committees have developed from a fairly marginal area of public sector activities to a publicly prominent specialism accorded considerable priority and greatly increased legislative recognition. This can be attributed to a myriad of developments such as the King I, King II and King III Reports, as well as the enactment of pieces of legislation such as the Public Finance Management Act. It is due to these developments that the measurement or assessment of the effectiveness of the audit committees becomes imperative. As part of its methodological approach, the article engages in an extensive literature review to glean information on how the audit committees are currently assessed, whether that assessment is adequate and appropriate, and how the current assessment methods can be improved to increase oversight. The information gleaned from literature has been synthesised and, through content analysis, some conclusions were reached. It is found that some of the authorities dealing with corporate governance and, particularly, the audit committees tend to prefer and propose formalisation of self-assessment as an instrument for the measurement of the effectiveness of audit committees. This includes a realisation that the other types of assessments that are more independent, and conducted by external evaluators, are not emphasised as much as they should be. The result of this analysis leads to the conclusion that a usage of a combination of assessments that are both internal and external in nature is a desired goal if the assessment of effectiveness of audit committees is to be done properly. It is imperative to contend that it is only through combined and differentiated assessment methods that it can be established whether the audit committees are capable of satisfying their role of risk management, internal control, financial reporting, corporate governance and external audit.


As explained in an article 'Interpreting Retail Sales Data' in April 2003 Economic Trends (Davies and Hopwood 2003), the Retail Sales Index (RSI) is currently being rebased onto 2000=100. The Retail Sales Inquiry is also subject to a triennial review. This article gives a brief overview of the RSI and describes the development and investigatory work currently underway for the RSI. Each of the topics under investigation is explained in turn. The final section sets out next steps for the development work. The article is in seven parts:


Colin A.M. Duncan's article, "On Identifying a Sound Environmental Ethic in History: Prolegomena to Any Future Environmenta History," Environmentall History Review, Volume 15, Number 2, Spring 1991, endnote #1, line 18 should have read, "…I do not hesitate to class as a masterpiece."


Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy is now curative for multiple genetic diseases; however, it is limited by morbidity and mortality from cytotoxic chemotherapy-based conditioning. To overcome these limitations, we developed an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) targeting CD117 (c-Kit) to specifically deplete both HSCs and progenitor cells. In our preliminary study, 0.2 mg/kg CD117-ADC conditioning resulted in >99% bone marrow depletion, detectable engraftment of gene-modified cells (vector copy number per cell (VCN) ~0.01), and minimal toxicities in a rhesus HSC gene therapy model (ASH 2019). In this study, we investigated escalating doses of CD117-ADC to determine the optimum conditioning dose to enable engraftment of gene-modified CD34+ HSCs in rhesus macaques.
 We evaluated autologous CD34+ cell transplantation with lentiviral gene marking following conditioning using a single injection of CD117-ADC at the 0.3 mg/kg dose for ZL13 and ZJ62, and the 0.4 mg/kg dose for H635 and H96G. The extent of gene marking was compared with myeloablative busulfan conditioning (5.5 mg/kg x 4 days) for 12U018 and 12U020. Mobilized rhesus CD34+ cells (ADC 3.8±1.9x10e7 vs. Busulfan 2.9±0.2x10e7, n.s.) were transduced with a lentiviral vector encoding BCL11A-targeting microRNA-adapted short hairpin RNA (shmiR-BCL11A) co-encoding a truncated human erythropoietin receptor (thEpoR) for stable fetal hemoglobin (HbF) induction (Sci Transl Med. 2021). These cells (in vitro VCN 10.1±3.8 vs. 10.2±7.3, n.s.) were transplanted into autologous animals 6 or 10 days after ADC conditioning (0.3 or 0.4 mg/kg, respectively) or 1 day after busulfan conditioning. Blood counts, gene-marking levels, and HbF induction were evaluated for 0.3-1.2 years post-transplant in ADC conditioning and for 1.5 years in busulfan conditioning. After a reduction of blood counts post-transplantation with ADC or busulfan conditioning, all lineages recovered. Granulocyte (>500/μl, day 6-9 vs. day 8-9), reticulocyte (>50,000/μl, day 10-14 vs. day 11), and platelet (>30,000/μl, day 2-8 vs. no reduction) recoveries were similar for ADC and busulfan conditioning, respectively. Only ADC conditioning resulted in a reduction of platelet counts as well as a novel transient rebound in all major lineages. Two months post-transplant, efficient gene marking (VCN in granulocytes 0.28±0.16 vs. 0.44±0.17, n.s.) was observed in 3 of 4 animals in ADC-conditioning (ZJ62 with 0.3 mg/kg ADC, and H635 and H96G with 0.4 mg/kg ADC). This marking level was similar to busulfan conditioning (Left panel in Figure). Robust and durable HbF induction was also detected by both HbF-positive percentages (F-cell 8.5±1.8% vs. 13.7±5.8%, n.s.) and HPLC-quantitated HbF amounts (8.0±2.9% vs. 11.1±5.2%, n.s.) in these 3 animals, similar to busulfan conditioning (Right panel in Figure). In ZL13 (1 of 2 animals in 0.3 mg/kg ADC), lower gene marking (VCN in granulocytes 0.02) was obtained, along with low HbF induction (F-cell 1.0% and HbF amounts 0.9%), suggesting that 0.3 mg/kg ADC is marginal and 0.4 mg/kg ADC is sufficient for robust engraftment of gene-modified cells. Importantly, CD117-ADC conditioning resulted in minimal toxicities unlike busulfan conditioning.
 In summary, we demonstrated that a single dose of CD117-ADC allows for efficient engraftment of gene-modified CD34+ HSCs in a rhesus gene therapy model, achieving a similar level as myeloablative busulfan conditioning. Robust HbF induction was also confirmed at the protein levels in this rhesus gene therapy model with ADC conditioning. This targeted approach for safer conditioning could improve the risk benefit profile in HSC gene therapy.
 Figure 1 Figure 1.

 Latimer: Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Bhattarai: Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Yoder: Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Palchaudhuri: Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company, Patents & Royalties. Li: Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Bertelsen: Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Olson: Magenta Therapeutics: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company.


In the present work, mixtures of mill scale (MS), an industrial by-product derived from the flaky surface of hot rolled steel, and lignite power station fly ash (FA), both originating from Greek industries, are examined as 100% the starting materials for the sustainable development of ceramics employing powder metallurgy (P/M) fabrication procedures. It should be emphasized that the safe management of such low price and largely available industrial secondary resources by their utilization as 100% the feedstock for another industrial sector (ceramic industry) is strongly prioritized by current EU policies. FA and MS were mixed in various proportions (30–80% wt. in MS), cold compacted at 20 tn using an automated hydraulic press to form a series of 5 cm diam. disc-shaped specimens, and then sintered at three different peak temperatures (1000°C, 1100°C and 1140°C) for 3 h. The experimental results are encouraging, showing that the mechanical performance (diametral tensile strength) of the integral ceramic materials so-produced sharply increases, from 0.77 MPa up to as much as 13.42 MPa, with the temperature increase from 1000°C up to 1140°C, for a 50–50 %wt. FA–MS mixture. Scanning electron microscopy mapping enables a better understanding of the microstructural changes occurring at higher sintering temperatures. On the other hand, the coefficient of thermal conductivity increases with temperature and the MS content in the mixture.


The need of pathologist to analyze tissue samples from remote, constrained by the high initial cost of the initial investment both hardware and software. Therefore researchers are trying to analysis the cost-benefit and QoS of the dynamic Telecytology system in Indonesia. The researchers have built the Telecytology systems with hardware and software, that are as an initial cost of the system. The observer needs an internet connection to connect to the dynamic Telecytology system. This telecommunication cost is as operational cost. There is 3 (three) dynamic Telecytology system to be implemented and compared, first, using the Raspberry Pi, second, using Android smartphones and third, using the iPhone. Then, the systems were compared with the commercial product, such as Skype System. This study tries to prove that the systems are quite affordable in terms of cost-benefit and try to analyze QoS of the systems. The researcher analyzes Internal of Rate Return (IRR) and Net Present Value (NPV) of the dynamic Telecytology system. The best NPV and IRR results are Raspberry Pi System, second, Android System and the last one is iPhone System for 5-years period with the assumption that the inflation rate is 10% per year and to serve one patient. So the project can be accepted. The NPV method is more accurate than IRR method. The best RTT, the best Latency, and the best quality image is iPhone system.


JN 1597, ANDRt HURAULT, SIEUR DE MAISSE and Ambassador Extraordinary from Henri IV, noted that although the English people still professed love for their aging queen, the sentiments of the nobility were such that "the English would never again submit to the rule of a woman."1 There may have been more coincidence between high and low opinion than de Maisse thought. On the evening of Elizabeth's death six years later, the streets of London were lit by festive bonfires and punctuated by cries of "We have a king!"2 The advent of an orderly and Protestant succession does not in itself account for such a celebratory spirit; in fact, it was a significant transformation in the body politic, a reincorporation and regendering of monarchy, that was being heralded. Rather than a seamless transition of power reminding all the populace that the corporate body of the monarch was immortal, unchanging, and unaltered by the demise of a particular sovereign, the death of Elizabeth marked a breach in the body politic as much as a continuation of it, and one that could be figured, at least by some, as a welcome discontinuity. The queen is dead-long live the king. There were extensive and sincere eulogies, to be sure, heartfelt expressions of grief over the passing of Elizabeth, but during the last years of her reign the "political misogynism of the early years"3 had also resurfaced strongly throughout her court and beyond its confines. It would not take many years of Jacobean rule to complicate the desire for a male sovereign, of course. As Christopher Haigh has noted, an idealized portrait of Elizabeth as a shrewd ruler and capable strategist emerged gradually over the first decade of James's reign, oftentimes in the form of a "coded commentary" on the defects of that reign.4 But the recuperation and even reinvention of such a queen-Gloriana, the Virgin Queen, who had reigned for a remarkable span of forty-five years-seems a more complicated cultural process than Haigh's pragmatic account suggests. It is this process of


Eleven cases with multiple spongy necrosis of the pontine base are reported and their clinicopathologic characteristics discussed. Seven of the cases occurred in men and four in women; age ranged from 42 to 90 years old. Eight patients had various types of cancer as background disease. Three patients received central nervous system (CNS) radiotherapy and six received chemotherapy. No consistent clinical factor (e.g., malignancy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, severe immunosuppressive state, specific laboratory data and infection) could be found among the cases. Neuropathological findings were characterized as multiple patchy spongy areas of the pontine base with loss of myelin and axons. There were few reactive gliosis or inflammatory changes. Many axonal swellings and a small number of macrophages were scattered in the lesions. Neurons and glial cells adjacent to these lesions were not affected, and calcification was not found. Almost all of the lesions existed in the transverse fibers of the basis pontis. In the literature, malignancy or toxicity due to CNS radiotherapy or chemotherapy was suspected to be the causative factor of these lesions. In our 11 cases, however, the lesions were also found in patients who had not received radiotherapy or chemotherapy. In contrast, the neuropathological findings of the lesions in our patients were similar in each case. Electronmicroscopically, the myelin sheath was seen to be swollen in the early stage of the lesion. Excluding malignancy, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, there may be an additional unknown causative factor. Metabolic disturbances or toxic agents for myelin were suspected as causative factors.


Staphylococcus aureus pathogenicity islands (SaPIs) form a growing family of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in Staphylococci. Horizontal genetic transfer by MGEs plays an important role in the evolution of S. aureus. Several SaPIs carry staphylococcal enterotoxin and SE‐like toxin genes. To comprehensively investigate the diversity of SaPIs, a series of primers corresponding to sequences flanking six SaPI insertion sites in S. aureus genome were designed and a long and accurate (LA)‐PCR analysis method established. LA‐PCR products of 13–17 kbp were observed in strains with seb, selk or selq genes. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis showed that the products have different RFLP characteristics than do previously described SaPIs; they were therefore predicted to include new SaPIs. Nucleotide sequencing analysis revealed seven novel SaPIs: seb‐harboring SaPIivm10, SaPishikawa11, SaPIivm60, SaPIno10 and SaPIhirosaki4, selk and selq‐harboring SaPIj11 and non‐superantigen‐harboring SaPIhhms2. These SaPIs have mosaic structures containing components of known SaPIs and other unknown genes. Strains carrying different SaPIs were found to have significantly different production of superantigen toxins. The present results show that the LA‐PCR approach can comprehensively identify SaPI diversity and is useful for investigating the evolution of S. aureus pathogenicity.


Feminist pedagogy, one of the most distinguished theoretical and methodological theory and model of teaching in the west, has not been emphasized so much as it should in China and there are some ambiguity in Chinese teacher's understanding and orientation about the pedagogy. This points out that from the end of 20 century feminist pedagogy has shifted the focus from the rights of female to emphasizing empowering all the students, emphasizing the process of producing knowledge. Its core is applying DPE approach in teaching practice.


To close the moment model deduced from kinetic equations, the canonical approach is to provide an approximation to the flux function not able to be depicted by the moments in the reduced model. In ...


Polyurethane foam was used as a precursor for fabricating SiC-based ceramic foam filters. Two recoating slurry processes were adopted to enhance the strength of ceramic foam. One was the recoating slurry of stoved green body and another was the recoating slurry of pre-sintered green body. The differences in weight increase and thermal shock resistance of ceramic foams fabricated by the two recoating slurry processes were investigated. The effects of pre-sintering temperature on weight increase and thermal shock resistance are discussed. Thermal shock resistance of ceramic foams fabricated by two recoating slurry processes is lower than that by the single coating slurry process. Compared with recoating slurry of pre-sintered green bodies, with the same slurry, the weight increase of ceramic foams fabricated by recoating slurry of the stoved green bodies is less, but the number of thermal cycles to failure is much higher. For ceramic foams fabricated by recoating slurry of presintered green bodies with the same slurry, the weight increase and the number of thermal cycles to failure decreased with the pre-sintering temperature.


Objective. Large sessile or flat colorectal polyps, which are traditionally treated surgically, may be amenable to endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), often using a piecemeal method. Appropriate selection of lesions and a careful technique may enhance the efficacy of EMR for polyps ≥20 mm in diameter without compromising safety. The aim of this study was to identify the factors that may be predictive of the risk of polyp recurrence. Material and methods. A retrospective analysis was conducted on the outcome of 161 polyps ≥20 mm in diameter, treated by piecemeal EMR at a single centre using the "lift and cut" technique. All records were reviewed for polyp size, site, morphology and histology. Polypectomy technique, patient follow-up, polyp recurrence and surgical interventions were also recorded. Results. Over an 8-year period, 161 colonic polyps measuring ≥20 mm were removed by EMR. Follow-up data were available for 149 cases (93%) with a mean polyp diameter of 32.5 mm; the total success rate of endoscopic polyp removal was 95.4%. The number of cases requiring 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 attempts at EMR was 89 (60%), 36 (24%), 14 (9%), 2 (1.3%) and 1 (0.7%), respectively. Recurrence was significantly related to polyp size (p<0.001). There was no statistically significant relationship between site and recurrence. Seven patients (4.6%) underwent surgical intervention after EMR because of failed clearance. There were no post-EMR perforations and significant bleeding was reported in only two patients (1.7%). Conclusions. With careful attention to technique, piecemeal EMR is a safe option for the resection of most sessile and flat colorectal polyps ≥20 mm in size. A stricter follow-up may be required for larger lesions because of a higher risk of recurrence.


a 63-year-old female patient was admitted to the hospital for an in-depth diagnosis of accidentally found pancreatic cystic lesion. The lesion was detected by computed tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging of the abdomen and identified as potentially malignant mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCn). endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy with the analysis of the fluid from the cyst was performed as well and it confirmed the malignancy of the cystic lesion. The patient was qualified for surgery and the final diagnosis based on histopathological examination of the surgical material confirmed MCn with the accompanying invasive pancreatic adenocarcinoma.


eISSN 2093-6338 indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), t-MNs have also been recognized as a fatal complication of chemotherapy, with significantly increased incidence [2]. Despite the prolonged survival of patients with indolent lymphomas due to the incorporation of immunochemotherapeutic drugs such as rituximab [3], repeated chemotherapies for persistent or refractory NHL have increased the incidence of t-MNs [4]. Thus, t-MNs have become an important cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with indolent lymphomas [2]. With the prolonged survival of patients with indolent lymphomas, the co-emergence of t-MNs could be more frequent. Here, we describe a patient with coexistence of bone marrow (BM)-involved refractory marginal zone B-cell lymphoma (MZL) and tMDS, who was treated with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).


Bedside ultrasound of the inferior vena cava (IVC) has grown to be an important tool in the assessment and management of critically ill patients. This study endeavors to examine which location along the IVC is most highly correlated with changes in intravascular volume status. We compared the following three sites: (1) the diaphragmatic juncture (DJ) (2) two centimeters caudal to the hepatic vein juncture (2HVJ) or (3) left renal vein juncture (LRVJ). Data was collected in this prospective observational study on patients in the adult emergency department who were treated with intravenous fluids (IVF). IVC measurements were recorded at each site during standard inspiratory and expiratory cycles, and again with the patient actively sniffing using rapid forced inspiration. IVF was then administered and the same six measurements were repeated after completion of fluid bolus. The difference in caval index (dCI) was calculated for all six data sets and correlated with the mL/kg of IVF administered. There was a statistically significant correlation between mL/kg of IVFs administered and dCI at all three sites (DJ: r = 0.354, p=0.0002; 2HVJ: r = 0.334, p=0.0003; LRVJ: r = 0.192, p= 0.03). The greatest correlation between amount of fluids administered and dCI was observed at the diaphragmatic juncture. Our data suggests that every mL/kg of IVFs administered should change the dCI by 0.86-1.00%. This anticipated change in IVC diameter can be used to gauge a patient's response to intravascular volume repletion during fluid resuscitation. Results Discussion and Conclusions Our study demonstrated that the greatest correlation between the amount of intravenous fluids administered and the dCI was seen at the diaphragmatic junction (DJ) and that this site is where the largest change in diameter can be appreciated on ultrasound during intravascular volume resuscitation. Our data also suggests that for every mL/kg of IVFs administered, the dCI should change in a predictable way, increasing by 0.86-1.00%. This anticipated change in IVC diameter can be used to gauge a patient's response to intravascular volume repletion. Methods This was a prospective, observational study where bedside ultrasound was used to obtain serial IVC diameter measurements in emergency department (ED) patients. It was conducted at a Level 1 trauma center with an annual ED census of approx. 65,000 patients. Eligible patients included those older than 16 years and receiving IVF as part of their treatment plan based on clinical diagnosis. Patients were excluded if they were unable to give consent, under positive-pressure ventilation, a trauma patient, or pregnant greater than 20 weeks of gestational age. EM residents, ultrasound fellows and attending physicians were trained on performing bedside IVC measurements. Patients were placed in the supine position. Using a phased array transducer on a SonoSite M-Turbro (Bothell, WA), the IVC and aorta were identified in the transverse plane in the subxiphoid window. Once the IVC was identified in the transverse plane, the probe was rotated 90 degrees so that a long-axis view of the IVC was obtained. Measurements of the IVC were obtained in the longaxis view along the anterior to mid-axillary line on the right side of Introduction There are currently a variety of methods available for assessing a patient's intravascular volume status such as the use of pulmonary artery catheters or central venous pressure monitors. Many of these methods require invasive procedures that place the patient at risk for complications such as hemorrhage and infection. Physical exam findings such as skin turgor, mucous membrane appearance, and capillary refill have been shown to be very subjective and are limited by the interpretation of the practitioner. The idea of using bedside ultrasound to evaluate the IVC and its relationship to intravascular volume status has been met with great enthusiasm. The application is portable, non-invasive, and the results have been shown to be highly reliable in various patient populations. Practitioners have found that the IVC can be easily visualized via bedside ultrasound, and measurements of the IVC correlate directly with pressures and readings obtained from more invasive monitoring devices. The IVC is a highly compliant vessel, whose size varies with changes in total body water and the respiratory cycle. During inspiration, negative intrapleural pressure develops, which results in increased venous return to the heart, causing a decrease in Table 2: Mean difference in IVC collapse (dCI) at each site and its correlation to intravenous fluid (IVF) administered (mL/kg). The greatest correlation between mL/kg of fluid administered and change in caval index was seen at the diaphragmatic junction.


The present study served two purposes. First of all, the reliability and validity of a variant of the Affect Misattribution Procedure (AMP) adapted to Asian samples was tested. Secondly, we aimed at assessing prejudice towards Koreans by means of the AMP and the Implicit Association Test (IAT) as well as different self-report measures. The AMP variant was reliable and showed meaningful correlations with some self-report measures, but not with the IAT. Furthermore, both in the AMP and the IAT, participants demonstrated prejudice against Koreans, whereas the self-report measures showed a less consistent pattern of prejudice. Our discussion focuses on chances and challenges of using indirect and direct measures in Asian samples.


3 Abstract: Image denoising has become an essential exercise in medical imaging especially the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). In the proposed method noisy image is first decomposed into sub-band by wavelet transform and the nonlocal means filter is applied to each sub-band. This proposed method preserves the wavelet coefficients corresponding to the structures, while effectively suppressing noisy ones. Experimental results are also compared with the other different techniques like median, wiener, wavelet, wavelet based wiener, non-local mean. The quality of the output images is measured by the statistical quantity measures such as peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), signal-to- noise ratio (SNR) and Mean square error (MSE) .The quantitative and the qualitative measures used as the quality metrics demonstrate the ability of the proposed method for noise suppression. Magnetic Resonance Images (MRI) are widely used for diagnosis and the treatment of brain tumors. It is the most powerful imaging technique developed to study the structural features and the functional characteristics of the internal body parts. It possesses good contrast resolution for different tissues and has advantages over computerized tomography (CT) for brain tissue studies. The diagnostic and visual quality of the MR images are affected by the noise added while acquisition. Noise in MRI (1) is mainly due to thermal noise that is induced by the movement of the charged particles in the radio frequency coils as well as the small anomalies in the preamplifiers. The presence of noise not only produces undesirable visual quality but also lowers the visibility of low contrast objects. Noise removal is essential in medical imaging applications in order to enhance and recover anatomical details that may be hidden in the data. In recent years, wavelet transform shows a clear advantage in the field of signal and image denoising domains, and has many research results. The important property of a good image-denoising model is that it should completely remove noise as far as possible as well as preserve edges. In this paper effectiveness of six denoising algorithms viz. median filter (2),wiener filter(3),wavelet filter(4),wavelet based wiener(5),NLM(6),wavelet based NLM(7) using MRI images in the presence of additive white Gaussian noise is compared. Wavelet filter (4) removes noise pretty well in smooth regions but perform poorly along the edges. Image denoising has been extensively studied and thus there is a large amount of literature on denoising. Among these numerous works, we will briefly mention only a few of recently developed methods that are related with our method, specifically the wavelet domain coefficient thresholding and modeling (8),(9),(10) and nonlocal means filter (6).The problem with the conventional wavelet domain filtering is the removal of small but important coefficients while thresholding or the generation of unwanted coefficients in the probabilistic modeling approach as stated above. In this paper, it is expected that the nonlocal means filtering of the coefficients can alleviate these problems while effectively removing noisy coefficients. Specifically we propose a wavelet domain image denoising method where the nonlocal means filtering is applied to each of the subbands. By the nonlocal means filtering, the small wavelet coefficients which are part of important image structures are well kept while suppressing the noisy coefficients, whereas the conventional wavelet denoising methods sometimes suppress small but important coefficients as well.


The work investigates the stress concentrations produced by periodic notches (i. e. uniformly repeated) in elastic solids under different loading conditions. Neuber's criterion, which likens the effect of a periodic notch to a single notch of similar profile but lesser depth, is critically examined. The criterion simply correlates the depth reduction factor to the ratio between the depth and the pitch of the original periodic notch, regardless of its shape. By examining literature results in periodic notches on circular bars and plane strips under torsion or axial loads, the work proves the accuracy of the Neuber's method for the ideal configuration of a sharp and shallow notch under shear stresses. By contrast, for real notches with a large root radius and finite depth, the accuracy is very poor, in particular for normal stresses. However, it is found that by simply 'repairing' the expression of the depth reduction factor and distinguishing between notches under shear or normal stresses, the criterion provides very accurate results, and becomes quite useful for real geometries.


Background:  Insect bites produce diverse skin reactions. Although quite common, the histopathologic features of arthropod assaults have not ever been studied systemically.


An 80 year old man with diabetes presented to the accident and emergency department on New Year's Eve with acute onset abdominal pain. He was tachycardic and hypotensive, and had lactic acidosis. Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm was suspected. Given that the patient was stable, an urgent computed tomography with intravenous contrast was performed, the results of which are shown as an axial image (fig 1⇓).

Fig 1 Axial contrast enhanced computed tomogram of a patient with acute onset abdominal pain

### Short answers

Fig 2 Axial contrast enhanced computed tomogram showing an enlarged left kidney (small arrow) and gas within the renal parenchyma (large arrow)

### Long answers

#### 1 Salient findings

Emphysematous pyelonephritis is a fulminating acute necrotic pyelonephritis characterised by gas …


According to the Danish infection control in the health care sector, the requirements for reprocessing of sterilisable medical equipment must commence no later than 6 hours after completion of surgery. The procedure must ensure that the quality of the instrument does not deteriorate because of holding time. In both national and international procedural descriptions and guidelines the rule of reprocessing sterilisable medical equipment is described with a "should" and the reprocessing must be initiated "as soon as possible". A systematic review showed lack of evidences of the consequences that may occur in relation to infection control and in the deterioration of instrument quality if deviated from the standard 6 hours.


Background: Bullying is a widespread phenomenon among young people and is used to describe interpersonal relationships characterized by an imbalance of power. The Indonesian Child Protection Commission noted that there were 161 cases of bullying in 2018. Adolescents who are involved in bullying experience risks such as psychiatric symptoms, alcohol and drug abuse and even suicide. This study aims to analyze the effects of bullying on self-concept and social disorders in high school students in Sleman Yogyakarta. Subjects and Method: This study used a cross sectional study design. This study was conducted in Sleman Regency in August 2019. The sample was taken by using stratified random sampling with a total of 200 senior high school students. The independent variables include parental education, social environment, anxiety level, self-concept, and social interaction disorders. The dependent variable was bullying behavior. Data were collected using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed by using multilevel multiple logistic regression with stata 13. Results: Low family education (b= 3.11; 95% CI= 0.83 to 3.67; p= 0.002), social environment in the city (b=3.15; 95% CI= 0.71 to 3.09; p= 0.002), have social media (b=4.13; 95% CI= 1.46 to 3.83; p= 0.000), have a level of anxiety (b= 2.92; 95% CI= 0.62 to 3.17; p= 0.005), negative self-concept (b=2.83; 95% CI= 0.62 to 3.40; p= 0.005), social interaction disorder (b= 3.23; 95% CI= 0.87 to 3.55; p= 0.001) increased the likelihood of experiencing bullying in adolescents. Variations at the school level indicated that there was a contextual influence on bullying behavior (ICC= 13.18%). Conclusion: There is a statistically significant influence of parental education, social environment, social media, anxiety levels, self-concept, and social interaction disorders on bullying behavior in adolescents. Variations at the level of school show that there is a contextual influence on bullying behavior in adolescents. Keywords: bullying, adolescents, multilevel analysis Correspondence:  Hainas Sani Privetera. Masters Program in Public Health, Universitas Sebelas Maret. Jl. Ir. Sutami 36A, Surakarta 57126, Central Java. Email: email@example.com. Mobile: +6282328848001. Journal of Health Promotion and Behavior (2020), 05(04): 306-316 https://doi.org/10.26911/thejhpb.2020.05.04.08.


Some form of compulsion seems to be far more important, in the making of a writer, than innate literary gifts. It is as if one grain of talent – in the right psychological climate – can become a great harvest, where a load of grains – in the wrong climate – simply goes off. The really unusual thing happens, no doubt, when the load of grains meets the right climate. Then, maybe, precocious abilities really do prove that they are convertible to real abilities. But the suspicion remains that we are talking about an unhappy not to say disastrous state of affairs, where this immense biological over-supply of precocious ability is almost totally annihilated, before it can mature. ted hughes , Winter Pollen (1994: 31) An act of criticism is, at best, also an act of creativity: they are hemispheres of the same world. Historically, in the West at least, criticism and creative writing are two phases of the same activity, and criticism illuminates most sharply when practical experience of writing is at the bottom of it. The best criticism creates new open spaces for creativity. Creative writing and creative criticism Many university creative writing courses place an equal emphasis on the study of literature and the practice of writing. Out of a belief that criticism must rest in balance with creativity (or motivated by an unvoiced qualm that too much creativity numbs or softens critical intelligence), many writing courses are asked to require that students submit for assessment a reflective essay, or a commentary, on the aims and processes involved in writing their portfolio of creative writing.


Abstract Several approaches for the stereocontrolled introduction of a 2-propyl group into (4S)-hydroxymethyl-1,4-butyrolactonevia enolate chemistry were investigated. A practical synthesis of the (2R)- and (2S)-isomers was developed.


Globalization and cultural diversity have speeded up the formation of creolized food as well as creolization of dietary consumption.The paper analyzes this phenomenon from functionalism and hermeneutics of cultural anthropology and advances some cultural strategies to cope with it as follows:showing respect to different catering cultures of different ethnic groups,protecting the pluralism of food cultures,developing creolized food with great effort and promoting the exchange of food cultures.


Data replication in data grid is an important technique, by which, better access performance can be got. It is also a fault-tolerant approach, but at the same time brings some hidden trouble for security. Therefore, security and fault-tolerance should be colligated to research. Combining data replication with security, we proposed a mathematic model which can determine data replication quantity. In this model, taking economic interest and reputation index of service supplier into account, an optimization problem of two targets was simplified under reasonable hypothesis. Numeric calculation and analysis show that there is an optimal quantity for the data replication.


RAVEN is a generic software framework to perform parametric and probabilistic analysis based on the response of complex system codes. The initial development was aimed to provide dynamic risk analysis capabilities to the Thermo-Hydraulic code RELAP-7, currently under development at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Although the initial goal has been fully accomplished, RAVEN is now a multi-purpose probabilistic and uncertainty quantification platform, capable to agnostically communicate with any system code. This agnosticism includes providing Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). These APIs are used to allow RAVEN to interact with any code as long as all the parameters that need to be perturbed are accessible by inputs files or via python interfaces. RAVEN is capable of investigating the system response, and investigating the input space using Monte Carlo, Grid, or Latin Hyper Cube sampling schemes, but its strength is focused toward system feature discovery, such as limit surfaces, separating regions of the input space leading to system failure, using dynamic supervised learning techniques. The development of RAVEN has started in 2012, when, within the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program, the need to provide a modern risk evaluation framework became stronger. RAVEN principal assignment is to provide the necessarymore » software and algorithms in order to employ the concept developed by the Risk Informed Safety Margin Characterization (RISMC) program. RISMC is one of the pathways defined within the Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program. In the RISMC approach, the goal is not just the individuation of the frequency of an event potentially leading to a system failure, but the closeness (or not) to key safety-related events. Hence, the approach is interested in identifying and increasing the safety margins related to those events. A safety margin is a numerical value quantifying the probability that a safety metric (e.g. for an important process such as peak pressure in a pipe) is exceeded under certain conditions. The initial development of RAVEN has been focused on providing dynamic risk assessment capability to RELAP-7, currently under development at the INL and, likely, future replacement of the RELAP5-3D code. Most the capabilities that have been implemented having RELAP-7 as principal focus are easily deployable for other system codes. For this reason, several side activaties are currently ongoing for coupling RAVEN with software such as RELAP5-3D, etc. The aim of this document is the explanation of the input requirements, focalizing on the input structure.« less


The invention discloses a mild combustor of a gas turbine and an implement method, relating to the technology of a combustor. The method comprises the following steps that: first of all, air passes through a flame tube and a gas pipe of a cooling combustor to improve the temperature of the air, then enters the combustor through an air nozzle to form a high-speed jetting air opposite to the flowing direction of the smoke gas of the combustor; the high-speed jetting air injects and absorbs and then is mixed with a part of burned smoke gas to form high-temperature low-oxygen air; the high-speed jetting air flows through the vicinity of the fuel nozzle and is mixed with the sprayed fuel to form a flammable mixture; then air conducts mild combustion in a combustion zone of the combustor; the smoke gas formed by burning flows out of the combustion zone and enters a mixing section; before entering the mixing section, a part of smoke gas is mixed with the high-speed air entering from the air nozzle, the smoke gas entering the mixing section is mixed with the air entering from a mixing hole to reach the temperature requirement of the combustor exit, and then flows to a turbine of a gas turbine from a gas conduit. The combustor is simple in structure, control and operation, and low in pollution emission and noise.


Fluid dispensing device soap. Comprising a back body (2) with fixing means to the wall (13-17) and support means and coupling (9, 11, 30) of a deformable container removable container (10) soap; a front cover (3) pivotally hinged pivotally to the rear body (2); and soap dosing means, operable when the front cover (3) against the packaging container (10) and against a shoulder (21) of the rear body (2) when swinging the front cover on the rear body is pressed. The dispensing device is characterized in that (1) further comprises support means and housing (7, 22, 23) of a bar (8) freshener sublimation.


Abstract This paper analyses the techniques used by police officers at two South London Police Stations: Orpington and Peckham. Audio tapes of 161 police interviews were analysed with regard to their duration, type of techniques employed, suspects' reactions, and the number of confessions obtained. The findings reveal that the great majority of the interviews are short, non-confrontational, and that exchanges are conducted with polite and compliant suspects. The Orpington suspects were significantly more 'co-operative' than their Peckham counterparts which may reflect quite different social and demographic conditions. In only a fifth of the cases did the police employ any challenging tactics to question the suspect's version of events. Overall, there were fewer coercive or manipulative tactics employed compared with earlier studies although the number of confessions or admissions obtained has remained relatively constant. Recommendations are made for police interview training to reflect these findings.


Salinity and turbidity are two important seawater properties in oceanography. We have studied the use of a high resolution refractometer to measure the salinity of seawater. The requirement of a multifunctional sensor makes the turbidity measurement based on our refractometer valuable. We measure turbidity according to the attenuation of the laser beam caused by the scattering. With the configuration of our refractometer, several issues impact the laser beam attenuation measurement, while the measurement of salinity is impacted by the scattering as well. All these issues make light distribution nonsensitive sensors such as position sensitive devices unsuitable for building the refracto-turbidimeters. To overcome these issues, a charge-coupled device combined with a new location algorithm is used to measure both the refractive index and the attenuation. Several simulations and experiments are carried out to evaluate this new method. According to the results, the way to improve the resolution is discussed as well. The validation of our method is proved by comparison to the nephelometer specified by the nephelometric turbidity unit standard.


Purpose – Inter‐firm learning, or dyadic learning, has been studied extensively in recent years: however very little attention has been devoted to extending the concept to an international context and no formal definition exists. The purpose of this paper is to propose "cultural adaptation" as a special form of international dyadic learning and link it to supply relationship performance.Design/methodology/approach – Case studies were conducted in four Chinese‐Western buyer‐supplier relationships, providing cross‐case replication, employing qualitative and quantitative methods. Data were triangulated by questionnaires, semi‐structured interviews, and documentation.Findings – Qualitative and quantitative evidence shows that cultural adaptation can lead to mutual benefits (relationship rents) and inbound spillover rents for both parties in a supply relationship.Research limitations/implications – Using four cases and a small sample of key informants completing the questionnaire limits generalisability of fin...


In the often polarized discussions over immigration, the point is sometimes missed that immigration often brings immediate and tangible benefits. Nowhere is this truer than in the hollowing-out parts of America. Many nonmetropolitan counties in America have seen net out-migration for decades. While young people have always left small towns, the loss of this group comes at a time when opportunities for those who stay have been severely reduced. One trend that runs counter to the decline of many nonmetro areas is the influx of immigrants, the majority of Hispanic origin, during the 1990s and 2000s. The authors argue that if immigration is "done right," it can provide a lifeline to many places that are hollowing out. In this article, the authors outline the complex nature of immigration in rural America and offer two case studies of small towns, one where immigration became a lightning rod for controversy and division and one where the process has occurred with little divisiveness and a great deal of success. The authors conclude with some policy suggestions as to how to better accommodate immigration in rural America.


This study had as objectives: to raise in the literature the technical-scientific production about women's knowledge on prevention of cervical cancer and identify, on the raised production, the approach of nursing with the theme. This is an integrative review, conducted with scientific articles, which were available online on Lilacs, Scielo and BDENF, in the years 2011-2016. There were selected 19 articles, which after analysis, were categorized into two themes to facilitate understanding of the researched topic, as follows: knowledge of women on the prevention of cervical and approach of nursing to the cervical cancer theme. It was observed that the lack of knowledge of women on the prevention of cervical cancer could result in serious problems to their health since it became clear that there is still a significant portion of women unaware of the importance and purpose of the screening test. Like this, it is necessary carry out educational, planned and implemented strategies, health promotion and prevention actions with the involvement of users, being information an excellent tool for facilitating a better understanding of users, minimizing negative interference on the exam and its purpose.


and presswork as a whole, "the whole consisted of several concurrent projects rather than any single book" (p. 35). Blayney's reconstruction of Okes's work on the Lear Quarto is much fuller, reaching into almost every aspect of the Jacobean book trade, than could have been achieved through analyses of typographical evidence in isolation, and Blayney is refreshingly undogmatic in assessing the strengths and limitations of different kinds of bibliographical evidence and analytic techniques. Whatever application of his findings to the text of King Lear he may make in the sequel, Nicholas Okes and the First Quarto is a major contribution to the historical study of Renaissance printing. RUTGERS UNIVERSITY Paul Bertram


A Before- After Control- Impact Paired (BACIP) model was used to evaluate the effectiveness of phytoremediation treatment on reduction of bentazon concentrations in shallow groundwater at a study site in Louisiana. Two different statistical approaches were made to evaluate the impact to this test site from the remediation program through time. Data were evaluated by Bayesian analysis of variance test methods. Data sets were unique in that the control data used for impact evaluation, as compared to before and after data, were compiled from groundwater upgradient monitoring wells existing prior to remediation. The statistical model supports the hypothesis that the phytoremediation program has positively impacted groundwater at the study site. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Assess the role of the polymorphism of AGT genes (rs4762) and GNB3 genes (rs5443) in the development of the essential arterial hypertension separately and by combining their polymorphic variants.Material and methods. The case-control study involved 100 patients with EAH stage II, 1-3 degrees of blood pressure (BP), high and very high cardiovascular risk. Among the patients, 21% (21) constituted men, and 79%(79) were women. The mean age of patients was 59.86±6.22 y.o. The control group comprised 60 almost healthy individuals, relevant in age (49.13±6.28y.o.) and gender distribution (63% - women, 37% - men). To study of polymorphism of AGT (rs4762) and GNB3 (rs5443) genes, we performed a qualitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in real time.Results. In patients with EAG residents of Northern Bukovyna mutated T-allele of AGT gene (rs4762) is found in 15,97% of cases, which is more frequent than in practically healthy by 9,72% (p=0,023); mutations of AGT gene in homozygous species in the control group have not met at all. Binary logistic regression confirmed an increase in the risk of inheriting EAH according to dominant and additive models in carriers of the minor T-allele of the AGT gene (rs4762) almost 3 times higher than in homozygotes for the major C-allele (р=0,04 і р=0,03). Inheritance of EAH is not associated with polymorphic variants of the GNB3 gene (rs5443).
Conclusions. Тhe T-allele of the AGT gene (rs4762) increases the risk of development of EAH almost 3 times, while the polymorphic variants of the GNB3 gene (rs5443) are not the predictors of the emergence of EAH in the population.


Consumption-oriented or efficiency-oriented, it is a hard choice for the green technology innovation pathway. This paper uses the intermediary model to empirically analyze the panel data from 250 prefecture-level cities in China from 2010 to 2019. The conclusions show that: 1. At present, energy consumption-oriented green technology innovation at the national level in China shows a completely intermediary effect, which has a more obvious emission reduction effect; compared with energy consumption, energy efficiency-oriented green technology innovation only has a very weak intermediary effect of 6.58%. 2. Only the Eastern non-resource cities and the Midwest resource cities' green technology innovation have the effect of energy efficiency-oriented emission reduction, accounting for 8.11% and 9.02%, respectively. 3. Both the Eastern resource cities and the Midwest non-resource cities have no intermediary effect on energy efficiency, so carbon emission reduction is more difficult than in other cities.


In this paper, we propose a weakly-supervised approach for 3D object detection, which makes it possible to train a strong 3D detector with position-level annotations (i.e. annotations of object centers). In order to remedy the information loss from box annotations to centers, our method, namely Back to Reality (BR), makes use of synthetic 3D shapes to convert the weak labels into fully-annotated virtual scenes as stronger supervision, and in turn utilizes the perfect virtual labels to complement and refine the real labels. Specifically, we first assemble 3D shapes into physically reasonable virtual scenes according to the coarse scene layout extracted from position-level annotations. Then we go back to reality by applying a virtual-to-real domain adaptation method, which refine the weak labels and additionally supervise the training of detector with the virtual scenes. Furthermore, we propose a more challenging benckmark for indoor 3D object detection with more diversity in object sizes for better evaluation. With less than 5% of the labeling labor, we achieve comparable detection performance with some popular fully-supervised approaches on the widely used ScanNet dataset. Code is available at: https://github.com/wyf-ACCEPT/BackToReality.


Psychological safety should be viewed as a system of a persons attitudes towards the world, themselves and other individuals. Attitudes defined by personal attributes and revealed through interrelations between a person and objective reality provide a certain activity level of an individual and determine their satisfaction with life. The latter is the basis of a persons psychological safety. Sociopsychological safety of an individual is a function of harmonious and satisfying relationships providing safety. That in turn helps to realize the spiritual and mental potential of an individual through their life activity and save their integrity.


Rieckhoff's text is divided into two unequal halves: Hallstatt and Early La Tene, and the period of niigrations to the oppida, though the division is not absolute as some subjects such as agricultural production are described within sections covering the whole Iron Age. Subjects are dealt with thematically, e.g. trade, burial, production; but there is also a strong emphasis on regional variation, and change over time, though assuming considerable continuity of culture and population. Changes of interpretations in recent decades are discussed, such as interpreting Viereckschanzen as high-status settlements rather than temples, though in this case I would have welcomed more discussion on the purpose of the standing posts in some of the shafts/wells. Generally there has been an impressive increase in our knowledge of settlement evidence, especially of the smaller settlements. Rieckhoff is aware of the debate in British circles on the ancient Celts. Indeed, she has specifically asked me in reviewing this book to take a critical view, and so, though I found myself in agreement and informed by this excellent overview, I will concentrate on the areas of disagreement. So, were there ever any Kelten in Deutschland? Though I would be inclined to say yes, this should have been more tightly argued. It is not enough to quote Herodotus saying that the Danube originated in the territory of the Celts. Even if we agree that people of Mediterranean origin were present north of the Alps, at least in the 6th century, later authors such as Aristotle and even Polybius were still vague about the geography. The possibilities that the Pyrene of Herodotus was the same as that in the Massaliot periplous, and given his belief in the symmetry of the Nile and the Danube flowing from the west in their respective continents, makes locating the Celts in the 5th century in southern France as likely, if not more so, than in southern Germany. And what of the evidence for the Helvetii, the Rauraci, the Boii and the Vindelici? This brings us to the more fundamental problem of correlating the Celts with La T h e . While Rieckhoff states some of the problems, she decides on following the ethnic terminology throughout (e.g. Hallstatt equals early Celts), which I consider unwise. There is still confusion about whether Hallstatt and La Tene are cultural or chronological terms, and this should have been discussed; it becomes highly relevant for the abandonment of the Heuneburg, which Rieckhoff (and I agree) dates to around 480 Bc, whereas in the gazetteer, Reim dates it to 400 BC and talks of La Tene occupation on the defended site (following the interpretation of the excavator, Gersbach). There is La T h e A occupation on the southern open settlement but not in the hill-fort, and this confusion should have been laid to rest. I also disagree with her on the interpretation of La Tene art as being connected with religious beliefs: where we know about the background to orientalizing art (e.g. in Greece) the motifs, especially the mythical beasts, are more connected with ancestor myths and social status than religion. I am also doubtful about the role played by Mediterranean societies in orchestrating the exchange systems between the north and south. Though there is strong evidence for individuals of Mediterranean origin north of the Alps during Hallstatt D, I still feel that the initiative, at least in the 5th century, came from the north. I am dubious about grand strategies in Vulci for opening up the 'central European market', let alone strategic planning on the part of 'the Greeks' or 'the Etruscans'. Though on occasion there may have been centralized strategies by individual cities, mainly we are looking at entrepreneurial activity by individuals with no strategic plan beyond making a profit. Finally, Rieckhoff sees the major change as falling in the 3rd century, in the 'period of migrations', including extensive abandonment of settlements, and a change in ideology as seen in the burial rites, etc. Yet this is glossed over and not discussed in detail. If the invaders of Greece and Asia Minor at this time were drawing on people from as far away as southern Germany (rather than, say, the Hungarian Plain), would the numbers be sufficient to have any obvious impact on the settlement pattern? I doubt it. There are other factors at play, including the nature of the archaeological record. However, these questions are simply opening up areas of debate, and I can only welcome a stimulating and readable synthesis. JOHN COLLIS Department of Archaeology University of Sheffield email@example.com