The performance analysis of a transcritical organic Rankine cycle system driven by exhaust heat is presented by using 24 organic working fluids.Four parameters,such as the net power output,thermal efficiency,exergy efficiency,and mass flow rate of working fluid,are used to evaluate the performance of this recovery cycle.The results reveal that the maximum net power can be obtained for the saturated ORC,when T1/TC is about 0.98~0.99,and the working fluid with higher critical temperature has more net power output.For the supercritical ORC,the higher expander inlet temperature will benefit the net power output,thermal efficiency,and exergy efficiency,as long as the expander inlet pressure isnnot too low.However,the influences of expander inlet pressure on these performance parameters are linked with the expander inlet temperature and working fluids.The capability of doing power output of supercritical ORC is not always better than that of subcritical ORC.Parameters,such as net power,thermal efficiency,and exergy efficiency,and mass flow rate are discontinuous in the process from subcritical conditions to supercritical conditions.


The article describes the practice of detaining mig rant minors in the Czech Republic. Minors are divided into those who are accompanied by paren ts or other legal guardians and those who are not. The article addresses the main shortcoming s of the legislation on the detention of minors in the Czech Republic and it also deals with the detention of minors with regard to the protection of human rights.


Because identity (language and culture) are central to Pacific knowledge and knowledge construction processes, Pacific students' educational experiences should be viewed through a cultural lens that sees Pacific knowledge and practices as valid and valued. This study explores the relationship between culture and educational outcomes as seen in how participation in a school Polynesian club (a cultural education supplementary site) builds youth feelings of self-esteem, identity and the confidence to connect to other educational, cultural and social spaces.


Objective To observe the effect of early intervention based on conductive education( CE) on HIE patients.Methods Total 89 mild HIE infants within 1- 3 months(46 male and 43 female,all AGA) in our hospital from Dec.2012 to Dec. 2013 were enrolled and divided into two groups. The control group( n = 46,23 cases of boys,23 cases of girls) received the general rehabilitation interventions including touching,Baby Gymnastics,motortherapy,occupational therapy,speech training and massage;the observation group(n = 43,23 cases of boys,20 cases of girls) received CE and parents training on the base of normal rehabilitation interventions. The developmental states of infants in both groups were evaluated with Gesell scale at the age of 6 months and 12 months. Results The Gesell score,motion,cognition,speech and social adaptability in the observation group were better than those in the control group,the differences were significant(P 0.05). Conclusion CE combined with the general rehabilitation interventions can effectively improve the therapeutic efficacy for the mild HIE infants.


Most work on erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFA) over the past few years has focussed on amplifiers pumped at 980 nm and at 1480 nm.1-3 Recently, however, there has been renewed interest for file 800-nm pump band.4 In this paper we present a comparative study of an EDFA pumped by a Ti:sapphire laser tuned to both 800 and 980 nm in order to illustrate the effects of excited-state absorption.5 The erbium-doped fiber used in the experiment has a 4-μm-diameter SiO2-Al2O3-GeO2 core with a relative index difference of 0.035 and a cutoff wavelength of ~815 nm. The erbium concentration is 200 ppm. Gain and saturation measurements were per formed on different lengths of fiber, pumped at 980 nm and at some arbitrary wavelength in the 810-nm region, the optimum wavelength having been found to increase with length. Figure 1 is a plot of normalized gain for λs = 1533 nm as a function of pump wavelength. The 3-dB bandwidth is 14 nm. The peak gain for this 12-m piece is obtained for λ
 p
 = 811 nm and was 25 dB for λ
 s
 = 1533 nm and 20 dB for λ
 s
 = 1553 nm. The maximum absorption, however, was found to be at 797 nm.


Buoyant density of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from Entamoeba histolytica was determined in cesium chloride gradients in the analytical ultracentrifuge. The DNA was extracted from fresh or lyophilized cells in a solution containing 8 M urea. It was purified by absorption on and elution from hydroxylapatite, and on a cesium chloride gradient in the preparative ultracentrifuge. DNA from axenically grown amebae contained a single component and it banded in the region of 1.69 g/ml. DNA prepared from 13 strains of amebae grown with penicillin-inhibited bacterial cells also banded in this region. Some of the latter preparations contained a second component of buoyant density 1.708 g/ml which is attributed to the food bacteria, Bacteroides symbiosus. Buoyant density of amebal DNA ranged from 1.6881 to 1.6913 g/ml corresponding to guanine plus cytosine contents of 27.5 to 30.8 mole per cent. Buoyant density is not a sensitive parameter for making interstrain distinctions among strains of E. histolytica, but it appears to offer promise in an area where little else has succeeded. A number of statistically significant interstrain differences were encountered. Thus low density DNA from NRS or HK9 strains was distinguished from DNA of intermediate density from DKB or 200 strains and from the high density DNA of the F22 strain at probability levels to 0.001. Guanine plus cytosine contents calculated from thermal hyperchromicity (Tin) were lower than those calculated from buoyant density data. The DNA from Bacteroides symbiosus was calculated to contain 48.2 mole per cent guanine plus cytosine, using buoyant density data. Knowledge concerning the base composition of DNA has been useful in taxonomic studies on bacteria. The less extensive work with protozoa was reviewed by Mandel (1967). Recently Adam, Blewett, and Flamm (1969) encountered differences in base composition among DNAs from various Acanthamoeba. The purpose of this investigation was to probe for evidence of different base composition among DNAs from various strains of Entamoeba histolytica. We were particularly interested in comparing the group of high-temperature strains which grow in vitro between 33 and 39 C with the group of low-temperature strains which grow at temperatures of 25, or less, to about 37 C. The chemical method for determining DNA base composition by separation and quantitation of the hydrolyzed bases requires more purified DNA than we could afford for this work. Most of our data were obtained by the buoyant density method which requires only about 1 I/g of DNA for a single centrifuge run. This method has the added capability of resolving DNAs of different densities which may be present in a single preparation. Thus we were able to survey DNA not only from four Received for publication 13 April 1971. axenically grown strains, but also from a larger number of strains grown with penicillin-inhibited cells of the associate organism, Bacteroides symbiosus. Many of the latter strains have not yet been placed in axenic culture. MATERIALS AND METHODS Amebae were grown in axenic culture by the method of Diamond (1968), or with penicillininhibited cells of Bacteroides symbiosus by the method of Reeves and Ward (1965). The hightemperature strains of E. histolytica were grown at 36 to 37 C, the others at 25 to 31 C. Cultures were harvested soon after population peaks had been reached. Cells were collected by centrifugation and washed 3 times with a solution containing 0.11 M NaCl, 0.02 M KC1, 1 mM potassium phosphate (pH 7.4), 0.5 mM MgCl2, and 0.1 mM CaCI2. Centrifugally packed cell volumes were noted and cell counts were made in a Fuchs-Rosenthal counting chamber. The final wash fluid was withdrawn as completely as possible from the packed cells and the cell pellet was quickly frozen in an acetone-dry ice bath. The frozen cells were lyophilized, sealed in glass under vacuum, and stored at -20 C until used. Source of the axenic cultures has been reported by Diamond (1968), and of the monoxenic cultures by Reeves et al. (1967), except for the N strain which is from South Africa and was obtained from Dr. Shirley Madison.


This paper describes the development and validation of the Emotional Labour Scale (ELS) as tested on samples of 296 and 238 respondents. The ELS is a 15-item self-report questionnaire that measures six facets of emotional display in the workplace, including the frequency, intensity and variety of emotional display, the duration of interaction, and surface and deep acting. Estimates of internal consistency for the subscales ranged from .74 to .91. Confirmatory factor analysis results provided support for the existence of six unidimensional subscales. Evidence was also provided for convergent and discriminant validity.


We examine multi-player pervasive games that rely on the use of ad-hoc mobile sensor networks. The unique feature in such games is that players interact with each other and their surrounding environment by using movement and presence as a means of performing game-related actions, utilizing sensor devices. We briefly discuss the fundamental issues and challenges related to these type of games and the scenarios associated with them. We have also developed a framework, called Fun in Numbers (FinN) that handles a number of these issues, such as such as neighbors discovery, localization, synchronization and delay-tolerant communication. FinN is developed using Java and is based on a multilayer architecture, which provides developers with a set of templates and services for building and operating new games


Background: Hypertension in pregnancy is one of the three causes of maternal mortality in Indonesia,which proportion increases every year. More than 25% of maternal deaths in Indonesia in 2017 were causedby hypertension in pregnancy (Profil Kesehatan Indonesia, 2018).Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between MAP, ROT, and BMI onhypertension in pregnancy and to find predictor models of hypertension in pregnancy.Method: This research was conducted at Kedungadem Public Health Center, Bojonegoro Regency with across sectional study method. The sampling technique used purposive sampling with subjects consistingof 100 samples (50 normal tension and 50 hypertension). Data analysis used Chi Square, Logistic BinaryRegression and Area Under Curve.Results: The results showed that a history of preeclampsia (OR 10.29; 95% CI 2.21–47.9), MAP (OR 3.38;95% CI 2.36 4.84), ROT (OR 19.94; 95% CI5.47) -72.71), excess BMI (OR4.06; 95% CI 1.58-10.44), BMIof obesity (OR 4.8; 95% CI 1.26-18.24), were significantly associated with hypertension at 27 weeks of age.The main predictors of hypertension at 27 weeks were positive MAP (AUC 0.874; 95% CI 0.832-0.966; p =0.000) and for predictors at 32 weeks, positive ROT at 27 weeks, 28 weeks and 32 weeks (AUC 0.851; 95%CI 0.914-0.993; p = 0.000).Conclusion: The history of preeclampsia, MAP and BMI were able to predict at 27 weeks of gestation andROT was able to predict at 32 weeks of age.


The viruses are one of the most threatening factors for plants resulting in gigantic economic losses. These utilize host internal machinery for reproduction and can spread through biological and non-biological means. Among the most hazardous plant viruses, Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is the most ancient virus which causes massive economic losses to tobacco, pepper, cucumber and ornamental crops globally. The problem can be reduced by minimizing the vector population through application of pesticides. Opposite to obtained success in virus control, rapid utilization of synthetic chemicals is disastrous for our ecosystem. Therefore, alternative approaches such as natural derivatives should be explored for eco-friendly management of TMV. So, here we have tried to take into account various natural metabolites which can be effectively and potentially used against TMV. We further explained about the derivatives from animals, fungi, bacteria and actinomycetes which are useful against TMV. The review imbibes the recent research findings regarding exploration of natural derivatives for management of TMV and concludes through highlighting the future prospects via hoping that future pesticides will be safer for human being and our planet.


In recent years, exciting scientific evidence has emerged highlighting the ecological importance of dead animals (i.e., carrion) and their consumption (i.e., scavenging), to the point that we could consider this the golden age of scavenging research. We now have a considerable body of theoretical an


SAW-tags were invented more than 30 years ago, but only nowadays the conditions are united for mass-application of this technology: the devices in 2.4GHz ISM band can be routinely produced with optical lithography and Internet is available for global access to the tag databases. Perspectives of the "Internet of Things, I-o-T" will demand trillions of cheap tags and sensors. The SAW-tags overcome semiconductor based analogues in many aspects: they are true passive devices, can be "read" at a few meter distance with readers radiating 2 to 3 orders lower power levels, they are cheap and can operate in robust environment. Passive SAW tags are easily combined with sensors. Even the "anti-collision" problem (simultaneous reading of many tags situated nearby) has solutions sufficient for many practical applications. In this paper we discuss state-of-the-art in development of SAW-tags. The design approaches will be reviewed - and the most optimal tag designs are demonstrated, as well as encoding methods. We discuss the ways to reduce size and cost of these devices. A few practical examples of tags with simple time-position coding will be demonstrated with 106 different codes. Phase coded devices allow further radical increase of the number of codes, the price to pay being reduction of the reading distance. We also discuss exciting perspectives of using Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technology emerging now for communication applications in SAW-tag systems. Wide frequency band available in this standard is a great opportunity for SAW-tags to radically reduce their size to about 1×1 mm2 keeping practically infinite number of possible different codes. Finally, the reader technology will be discussed as well as detailed comparison made between SAW-tags and IC-based semiconductor device.


BACKGROUND: Appropriate nutrition is important to maintain health, growth, and development of adolescent athlete performance. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of nutritional intervention (NI) promoting Mediterranean diet (MD), on food consumption, and adherence to MD, in scholar adolescent athletes. METHODS: Eighty athletes (Females/Males, 39/41) aged 15±1 years participated to NI. MD Adherence was assessed, using Kidmed index, at baseline, and at 6 months. Food intake was evaluated by 24-hour recall at baseline, and at four NI times. RESULTS: At baseline, 61% of athletes had poor MD adherence, and after NI, this value decreased to 10%. At 6 months of NI, 73% of males vs 46% of females had good MD adherence (≥8). Energy intake represented 2369 Kcal/d, at baseline, and was less than recommended value. After NI, significant increase was observed in energy intake (p = 0.001). Mean fiber intake (19 and 21 g/d in females and males, respectively) was less than adequate intake (26/38 g/d), but increased after NI (p = 0.000). Enhancement was noted in total, and complex carbohydrates, and total proteins, and values were increased with time (p = 0.000, p = 0.000, p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: Nutritional intervention, based on Mediterranean diet, improves total energy, and macronutrients intake, and increases MD adherence scores in adolescents athletes.


Scholarship on Latinos' lagging US high school graduation and college enrollment rates has focused on systematic biases and inequities in schooling. This article argues for an additional complementary explanation for underachievement and school failure. Namely, it suggests that high school underachievement in Latino children of immigrants can be attributed in part to the bureaucratic nature of schooling and a constant onslaught of bureaucratic errors and omissions. Based upon a 5-year multiple-case study in the southeastern United States, it finds that bureaucratic dysfunctions figured prominently in the education of Latino immigrant youth. The article calls for more research on the impact of bureaucratic errors on educational paths of immigrant students and argues that educators might profitably draw from work on organizational failure to help Latino children of immigrants navigate school bureaucracies more successfully.


The Sustainable economic development of Guizhou' s national culture and tourism is,to a large extent,decided by the exploitation,protection and continuation of national culture resources which the libraries of Guizhou colleges and Universities for nationalities must shoulder as their main tasks.Whilebuilding the nank of national culture resources,the libraries themselves gow styong and perfect.


Organometallics is published by the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street N.W., Washington, DC 20036 Reactivity of organogallium peroxides: oxidation of phosphines, phosphites, and triphenylarsine. X-ray crystal structures of (tert-Bu)2Ga(O-tert-Bu)(O:AsPh3), (tert-Bu)2Ga(.mu.-O-tert-Bu)(.mu.-OO-tertBu)Ga(tert-Bu)2 and [cyclic] (tert-Bu)2Ga[(O)P(Ph)2CH(O)P(Ph)2] Michael B. Power, Joseph W. Ziller, and Andrew R. Barron Organometallics, 1993, 12 (12), 4908-4916 • DOI: 10.1021/om00036a034 Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on January 12, 2009


The iterative algorithm and finite element model were built to investigate the deformation and stress of PMMA hollow transparency used in porthole according to the specific loading characteristics.The deformation obtained from proof tests and calculations were consistent with each other,which implied the accuracy of the algorithm and finite element model.Then the calculations were performed to deal with different pressure out of cabin,different thickness of PMMA panel,and different thickness of gas layer.The relations of deformation(or stress) and pressure out of cabin,thickness of PMMA panel,thickness of gas layer were obtained and analyzed.


In this paper we investigate approximate analytical solution so called voltage in one and two space variables for linear and nonlinear telegraph equations by a reliable method namely Modified Laplace Decomposition Method (MLDM) using MATLAB and MATHEMATICA software tools. The MLDM is a mixture of Laplace transform with modified Adomian decomposition method based on Newton Raphson method. The nonlinearity of the problem is tackled by Adomian decomposition and approximate analytical solution to the partial differential equation handled by using the Laplace and inverse Laplace transform technique without differentiation in time domain. We use Newton Raphson method in the domain of Adomian polynomial to modify it. Theoretical concepts for the approximate analytical solution of present scheme are well behaved through stability and convergence analysis. Five numerical examples are carried out in order to check the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed scheme. The telegraph equation with one space variable is solved numerically whereas the approximate analytical solution obtained for two space variables. Employing MLDM, it is possible to obtain the approximate analytical solution (i.e., voltage) of a telegraph equation and found to be in good agreement with exact solutions and also compared with earlier studies for one space variable.


Method for generating in-situ grooves in CMP is provided. Method for generating in-situ grooves, the step of adding the step of patterning the silicone lining (206), placing the silicone lining in the mold (200) or on the, the CMP pad material to the silicone lining, and this comprising the step of solidifying the CMP pad. CMP pads comprising novel groove designs are also described. For example, the specification describes a groove bent in a circular groove and the axial direction of the coaxial, antilog groove, overlapping circular grooves, Rasajasu grooves, the CMP pad having a double helix groove, and multiply overlapping axial curved groove. CMP pad may be made from polyurethane, and grooves produced therein, the silicone lining, laser writing, water jet cutting, 3-D printing, thermoforming, micro - contact printing, hot stamping, and mixtures thereof It may be produced by a method from the group consisting of.


Profit is one of the key performance indicators of the company and each company needs to allocate resources in such a way that it achieves the greatest possible profit. The profit maximization problem is typically a dynamic optimization problem. This paper considers an approach to solving the problem of expanding production, using methods of Reinforcement Learning. The goal is to choose the firm's strategy for the long term: how to use the resources to maximize profits in the long-term period. To make the problem realistic, we consider the case of unstable demand. We study applicability of machine learning methods to optimal control problems, in particular Reinforcement Learning (RL), to optimal control problems arising in economics. To confirm or refute this possibility, we compare the analytical solution to the problem and the estimate obtained using the RL algorithms.


As the industry transitions to the 45 nm node and beyond, requirements for critical dimension (CD) control are getting extremely aggressive. Current 45 nm node specifications call for 2 nm or better CD uniformity (CDU) on the gate level. For critical dimension control in this regime all measurable process effects must be closely monitored and controlled. This includes such effects as etch uniformity, scanner dose and focus consistency, post-exposure bake (PEB) plate uniformity, and incoming wafer variation such as wafer warpage. The problem is that as the number of significant contributors to CDU continues to increase; the number of parameters that can be used to control CDU has not. To better understand how to achieve these increasingly stringent CDU targets, the authors have explored how exposure and resist processing effects CD control. The goal of this work is to simulate how process parameters such as dose and PEB temperature can be used to effectively control CD, while minimizing unintended negative effects on thru pitch CD performance, MEEF, and other lithography process metrics. In addition to traditional lithography metrics, the effect these process changes have on CDU is simulated using a Monte Carlo technique.


Abstract Background The esophagus is in constant contact with the austere environment caused by food and gastric reflux. It is protected by a squamous epithelium which maintenance is provided by a rare subpopulation of basal cells: Keratin 15+ (Krt15+) stem cells. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying the expansion and the function of these stem cells. It was shown that the transcription factor ASCL2 is strongly upregulated in Krt15+ cells compared to Krt15- cells. Interestingly, ASCL2 is a gene target of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, which acts as a regulator of proliferation and maintenance of the stemness state. Purpose The ultimate goal of my research project is to determine the role of ASCL2 in the maintenance of esophageal stem cells. To do so, I will investigate the role of ASCL2 in esophageal epithelial biology. Method Lentiviral infection approach was used to obtain mouse esophageal organoids overexpressing ASCL2 (ASCL2OE). Organoid culture, immunostaining (such as IF and H&E), qPCR, WB, mass spectrometry and proliferation assay were used to characterize the effect of ASCL2OE on morphology, differentiation, proliferation, self-renewal, and gene expression. Result(s) ASCL2OE severely altered the morphology of organoids, which were smaller and less differentiated. Defects in differentiation was investigated by IF which showed that some cells expressed both p63 and K13, respectively basal and suprabasal markers. Thus, cells seem to be blocked in an intermediate state of differentiation suggesting a default in cell fate decision. Mass spectrometry analysis confirmed a change in biological processes related to differentiation of keratinocytes and of epithelial cells. We also investigated the role of ASCL2 in self-renewal and observed that organoid formation rate (OFR) was reduced in ASCL2OE organoids. Furthermore, proliferation was also reduced in WST-1 and EdU assays. We then observed significant changes in the cell cycle by flow cytometry: there is an increased in the number of cells in G0/G1 and a major decrease in G2/M cells, suggesting a blockade in G1. Interestingly, CDNK2a (p16INK4a), an inhibitor of cell cycle progression, was increased in our mass spectrometry results. Finally, ASCL2 could also play a role in radio and chemoresistance of Krt15+ stem cells, as ASCL2OE organoids are less sensitive to radiation and chemotherapy agents than control. Conclusion(s) ASCL2 could play a role in orchestrating cell fate decision in the esophageal epithelium as ASCL2OE organoids showed alteration in differentiation, proliferation, and cell cycle. Please acknowledge all funding agencies by checking the applicable boxes below Other Please indicate your source of funding; NSERC, Canada Research Chairs and CRCHUS scolarship Disclosure of Interest None Declared


With the reform and urbanization in China,a large number of migrant workers and their families move into the cities. They become an important part of urbanization. Their children at the school age now will become future builders and the hosts of future cities,thus a good and fair education environment is needed. But there do exist many problems which need to be solved. Government,schools,the society and the united front should work together to promote the education environment of migrant workers' children. Only in this way can a harmonious society be built.


In this paper, a "practical" observer for nonlinear systems is given. Namely, it is shown that if the output and its time derivatives up to a sufficiently high finite order are bounded and the initial estimation error is sufficiently small, then the proposed observer is such that the estimation error can be made arbitrarily small for all sufficiently large times. Differently from other observers presented in the literature, the proposed observer does not require either global injectivity of the observability map or the knowledge of its local inverse.


Abstract : This report provides an overview of more than 1,000 graduate-level international/intercultural training programs. It describes military advanced degree programs, public sector and federally supported programs, advanced academic degrees in international and area studies, and private sector intercultural training. Using library reference sources, an online data base, university catalogs, and interviews with relevant military personnel, Title VI administrators, university officials, corporate executives, and intercultural consultants, the investigators organized extensive information into program abstracts in U.S. Regional and World Area Guides. The U.S. Regional Guides feature program abstracts identifying over 700 intercultural training programs at 200 institutions of higher education that offer graduate-level programs in degree fields appropriate to prepare military personnel for service abroad. Degree fields include business, security affairs, development studies, international communication, and international technology management. The World Area Guides list more than 400 graduate study abroad programs directly linked to major universities in eight world regions. Relevant professional associations and consortia are described.


In the paper the problems that arise in the experimental evaluation of DACs dynamic parameters are discussed. Usually, a measurement station for DAC characterization provides the time evolution of the DAC output voltage. A fundamental issue deals, then, with the synchronization between the acquired voltages and the codes sequence at DAC input, in order to shape the DAC characteristic, which associates the output voltage to each input code. Therefore, a timing association procedure, able to furnish the transfer function of the DAC under test during the characterization stage is required.


The on-board batteries of the Emus have extremely high accuracy requirements for real-time estimation of state of charge (SOC). The ordinary Ah integration method and the open-circuit voltage method cannot meet the actual requirements of the Emus. This paper estimates the battery SOC based on the extended Kalman filter (EKF) algorithm. By building a first-order Thevenin equivalent circuit model to combining the car battery with the EKF algorithm, ultimately improve SOC estimation accuracy. In order to improve the estimation accuracy of the model, the variation law of the polarization voltage and polarization capacitance of the battery pack under different SOC values were obtained, and the functional relationship was fitted by the least square method. Finally, the simulation was performed in MATLAB / Simulink environment. The experimental results show that the EKF algorithm overcomes the shortcoming that the AH integration method cannot eliminate the accumulated error, and can implement the estimated battery SOC value, in addition the estimated error is controlled within 4%.


The present investigation is focus on the preparation process of silica-based ceramic mold using silica sol as binder. Results show that taking NH4Cl solution as catalyst and using vacuum drying process to fabricate silica based ceramic mold not only avoid the complex hydrolyse process of ethyl silicate used in conventional ceramic mold, but also gain the ceramic mold with relative good surface quantity and reduce the cost. Meantime, gel hardening of silica sol slurry may complete in 1 h. From these results it is concluded that silica sol can be used to prepare ceramic mold as binder.


The borehole-surface networked oil-water interface resistivity imager receiver which is in-depth research and designed in the thesis bases on the borehole-surface resestivity method.The text recommended a few hardware and the software constitution of module. The main function of every module is set forth in detail.These include the kind of system error and its calibration and principle calculation,the best way to weak low frequency signal conditioning,synchronization technique that the system applied.


An observational study about the Nocturnal Boundary Layer (NBL) structure and evolution was carried out in the Amazonia region, over forest and deforested areas, for 2 periods: wet and dry seasons. The data sets used for this work were collected on 3 field sites - RM (transition forest-pasture site), Forest and FNS (pasture site) - located in the state of Rondonia - Brazil. The result analyses pointed out that the NBL structure was better described during dry season when local effect are predominant and that during the wet season identifying behavior patterns in the NBL is more difficult due to interaction occurring between local-scale atmospheric phenomena and the meso and large-scale one (which acting is more strength during the wet period). Furthermore, in general the transition forest-pasture area (RM) presented development patterns similar to the forest ones till 06 am (local time) and on the transition times (late at afternoon and early morning - between 06am and 07am) these patterns were more similar to those observed over the pasture site (FNS). The analysis also showed the occurrence of a low level jet over the first 400-800 meters above the surface - for the wet season, and between 400-600 meters - for the dry season. And the predominance of weak turbulence below the jet, near the surface, was observed in both the wet season and the dry season, where a nearly homogeneous mixing layer appears well defined.


The purpose of this study is to identify the extent of relative efficiency of the futures contracts of crude oil, traded in the multi commodity exchange of India limited. This study examines the price discovery process in the short-run and long-run by using daily data from 1 April 2006 to 30 June 2015. Stationarity and cointegration tests reveal that spot and futures prices are I(1) and cointegrated. Granger causality test has been employed to examine the short-run price discovery, which shows a bi-directional causality with a dominance of the futures market. Three different information share techniques-component share method of Gonzalo and Granger (1995), information share method of Hasbrouck (1995) and modified information share of Lien and Shrestha (2009) – have been used to measure the relative efficiency of the spot and futures market in the long-run. These results (short-run and long-run) indicate that the price discovery takes place in the futures market. Relative efficiency and the price discovery have crucial implications for optimal portfolio allocation and forecasting of future spot prices. These findings might be useful for the regulators, government, exchange and policy makers to form market structure policies and guidelines for the commodity markets in emerging economies.


A collection of hunting stories set in India, ranging from the nineteenth century to the present day with authors ranging from Corbett through to Kipling, Orwell and Saki.


In this paper, we propose a method for generating natural language annotation automatically from video sequences taken by handy camera. In general, video image and natural language are totally different form of information. The main challenge is how to bridge the gap between them and to translate one to another. In our method, an appropriate predicate is selected for expressing video contents by combining semantic features extracted from video sequences. It is, however, difficult to select most appropriate words for expressing the contents. Therefore we construct a concept hierarchy of motions and situations to select verbs from coarse to fine. We perform some experiments to test the effectiveness of the proposed method, and confirmed appropriate annotations are generated.


The mere exposure phenomenon (repeated exposure to a stimulus is sufficient to improve attitudes toward that stimulus) is one of the most inspiring phenomena associated with Robert Zajonc's long and productive career in social psychology. In the first part of this article, Richard Moreland (who was trained by Zajonc in graduate school) describes his own work on exposure and learning, and on the relationships among familiarity, similarity, and attraction in person perception. In the second part, Sascha Topolinski (a recent graduate who never met Zajonc, but found his ideas inspirational) describes his own work concerning embodiment and fluency in the mere exposure effect. Also, several avenues for future research on the mere exposure phenomenon are identified, further demonstrating its continuing relevance to the field.


Some limitations to the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) for nonlinear and nonstationary signal processing are remarked. As an enhancement to the HHT, a time varying vector autoregressive moving average (VARMA) model based method, which is different from the Hilbert transform approach commonly used in the original HHT, is proposed to calculate the instantaneous frequencies of the intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) obtained from the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) of a signal. By representing the IMFs as time varying VARMA model, the Kalman filter is used to estimate the time varying model parameters, and then the instantaneous frequencies of IMFs calculated according to the time varying model parameters can be used to yield the Hilbert spectrum in parallel with the envelopes derived from the cubic spline interpolation of the maxima of IMFs. The daily length of day dataset covering the period from January 20th, 1962 to January 6th, 2001 and the North–South acceleration component of the 1940 Imperial Valley earthquake recorded at El Centro, California, USA, are analyzed with both the enhanced and the original HHT method. The analysis results show that the enhanced method is more accurate and produces more physically meaningful and readable Hilbert spectrum, which can broaden the application fields of the HHT in engineering.


In functionally graded saturated poroelastic circular plates with immovable simply supported and clamped rims, the axisymmetric nonlinear bending under transverse thermo-mechanical loading has been parametrically studied and compared with the axisymmetric postbuckling and nonlinear bending under thermal loading. Based on the classical plate theory, Love–Kirchhoff hypotheses and Sander's assumptions, the general coupled nonlinear radial and transverse equilibrium equations, central continuity, symmetry and boundary conditions has been derived in ordinary and state-spatial forms. The corresponding difference equations have been achieved by using the generalized differential quadrature method. The equations have been assembled and numerically solved by using the Newton–Raphson iterative algorithm. The effects of the mechanical and thermal loads, pore distribution type, porosity parameter, Skempton's coefficient, and thickness and boundary condition type on the behavior of the deflection, whether caused by thermo-mechanical bending, thermal postbuckling, or thermal bending, have been investigated in detail. From the parametric study, a novel quantity determining bending behavior has been found. The axisymmetric themo-mechanical nonlinear bending deflection is inversely and nonlinearly proportional to thermal load when the quantity is greater than a critical value and is nonlinearly proportional to thermal load when the quantity is less than a critical value. It was verified that the plate behavior complies with the general rules known for FG saturated poroelastic circular plates and with those known for metal–ceramic functionally graded circular plates whose governing equations are mathematically analogous to those of the current research.


This article investigates a look-ahead transport dispatching algorithm for the Automated Material Handling System (AMHS) of a semiconductor manufacturing facility. We consider two types of information: the estimated arrival time of upcoming transports of lots and the time required for an occupied vehicle to become idle. A Mixed Integer Linear programming model has been proposed to minimize the assignment (waiting) time of transport missions. Due to the complexity of the problem, three heuristics have been developed and tested on industrial data. The experiment simulation has been conducted by using a simulation model of a real semiconductor factory. The tests have shown the relevance and the effectiveness of the look-ahead dispatching algorithm.


Using artificial sea water(8 g/kg) as a control,three kinds of substrates was used to pot-cultivate 1-year-old mangrove of Aegiceras corniculatum for one year in fresh water condition to investigate the effect of cultivation under fresh water condition on the eco-physiological characteristics of Aegiceras corniculatum in different substrates.Results of this study indicate that,though there is a significant effect on eco-physiological characteristics when cultivated in different substrates,Aegiceras corniculatum can grow normally under fresh water condition,as the 1-year-old Aegiceras corniculatum showed physiological characteristics of strong photosynthesis and root activities.The substrates of pond scum bran =1∶0 and pond scum bran=2∶1 were suitable for the plant cultivation under fresh water condition.


Polynomial functions over finite fields are important in computer science and electrical engineering in that they present a mathematical representation of arithmetic circuits. This paper establishes necessary and sufficient conditions for polynomial functions with coefficients in a finite field and naturally restricted degrees to be compatible with given subfields. Most importantly, this is done for the case where the domain and codomain fields have differing cardinalities. These conditions, which are presented for polynomial rings in one and several variables, are developed via a universal permutation that depends only on the cardinalities of the given fields. Acknowledgements: The author would like to thank Florian Enescu, whose skill as an instructor is surpassed only by his dedication to the development of his students. The author would also like to thank the anonymous referee for providing excellent guidance toward improving this paper. This project was undertaken as a part of the Research Initiations in Mathematics, Mathematics Education, and Statistics (RIMMES) program at Georgia State University.


A one-component laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV) has been used to measure the two-dimensional periodic flow field about a double circular arc, compressor blade in cascade. Eleven boundary layer profiles were taken on both the pressure and suction surfaces of the blade, and two profiles were taken in the near wake. In this part of the study, the detailed LDV studies are described. The measurements indicate that the onset of transition occurs near 60 percent chord. The lack of a logarithmic region in the data measured at 97.9 percent chord indicates that transition is not complete. The thin laminar boundary layers near the leading edge led to some measurement problems, characterized by large turbulence intensities, in using the LDV.


This study examined the role of quality of health, water and sanitation as key drivers of economic progress, with a focus on Nigeria from 1990 to 2015. The indicators considered were economic progress (GDP per capita), health (infant mortality rate), access to water and sanitation. The ex-post facto research design was used in this study. Also, the Autoregressive Distributed Lags (ARDL) estimation method was chosen. Empirical findings show that there is a long-run relationship where the quality of health, water and sanitation has a positive effect on economic progress. The results indicate that access to water, sanitation and better health boosts the economic progress of Nigeria. It can be said that these facilities complement labour productivity. While comparing the policy options tested in this study, the improvement of the sanitation facilities has the highest marginal impact in fostering growth in Nigeria.


Only 17% of Mali's population is urban; however, the country's urban population is highly concentrated in the capital city of Bamako. Urban primacy, i.e., the concentration of the urban population in only 1 or 2 centers, is characteristic of many developing countries and is viewed by many social scientists as detrimental to the balanced development of the country as a whole. Political power is frequently concentrated in these large urban complexes. Consequently, the urban centers receive a larger and disproportionate share of the resouces of the nation. In addition, the cities are overburdened and unable to meet the increasing demand for housing and services. In Mali onlu 1.3 million of the country's 7.6 million inhabitants live in cities of 5000 or more; but 38.9% of these urban dwellers live in Bamako. More than 1/2 of the urban dwellers who live in Mali's 13 cities of 10,000 or more are residents of Bamako. Mali's urban population distribution was examined in reference to established urban primacy indicators or standards. The rank size rule is considered to be a standard for the ideal distribution of the urban population. According to the rule, the largest city should only be 2 times as large as the 2nd largest city, the 2nd largest city should only be 3 times as the 3rd largest city, and so on. If the largest city is several times larger than the 2nd city, then the 1st city is considered to be a primate city. Bamako is more than 6 times larger than Segou, the 2nd largest city. Bamako is clearly a primate city. Other indices of primacy are the 4-city primacy index, i.e., the population of the largest city/total population of the next 3 largest cities, and the 11-city primacy index, i.e., the population of the largest city/total population of the next 10 largest cities. These indexes reveal that the population of Bamako is 2.49 times larger than the total population of the next 3 largest cities and 2.34 times larger than the total population of the next 10 cities. These indexes, as well as the small differences between the 2 indexes, demonstrate again that Mali's urban population distribution does not adhere to the ideal rank size rule.


The article proves significance of addressing development of extended education of children; it reveals the potential of modern institution of extended education; it makes an accent on analytics of the main problems of the system of extended education at the modern researches; it has represented the approaches to managing development of competitive ability of extended education of children; it defines priority goals for extended education institutions as objects of management; it positions the tendencies of activity of institution of extended education as an object of pedagogical management.


Statistical block copolymers, composed of donor (D) and acceptor (A) blocks, are a novel type of material for organic photovoltaics (OPVs) devices. In particular a new series of polymers based on PBTZT-stat-BDTT-8, recently developed by Merck, offers high solubility in different solvents, and a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) in different device architectures. Although it is known that the electronic properties of these materials may be significantly affected by attaching different functional groups on different blocks, it is not fully clear how important the influence of the polymer composition (i.e., the D/A block ratio) is, even if previous studies suggest that this might also have an effect. Therefore, the effect of the polymer composition in terms of HOMO, LUMO energies, and band gap was explored by studying a number of long chain oligomers with more than 1000 atoms each and with different D/A ratios. This study, that is novel both conceptually and methodologically, was made possible by using ...


Heat loading analysis of the Solid Waste Disposal Facility (SWDF) waste storage configurations show the containers may exceed 90{degrees}C without any radioactive decay heat contribution. Contamination containment is primarily controlled in TRU waste packaging by using multiple bag layers of polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene. Since literature values indicate that these thermoplastic materials can begin mechanical degradation at 66{degrees}C, there was concern that the containment layers could be breached by heating. To better define the mechanical degradation temperature limits for the materials, a series of heating tests were conducted over a fifteen and thirty minute time interval. Samples of a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) bag, a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) high efficiency particulate air filter (HEPA) container, PVC bag and sealing tape were heated in a convection oven to temperatures ranging from 90 to 185{degrees}C. The following temperature limits are recommended for each of the tested materials: (1) low-density polyethylene -- 110{degrees}C; (2) polyvinyl chloride -- 130{degrees}C; (3) high-density polyethylene -- 140{degrees}C; (4) sealing tape -- 140{degrees}C. Testing with LDPE and PVC at temperatures ranging from 110 to 130{degrees}C for 60 and 120 minutes also showed no observable differences between the samples exposed at 15 and 30 minute intervals. Although these observed temperaturemore » limits differ from the literature values, the trend of HDPE having a higher temperature than LDPE is consistent with the reference literature. Experimental observations indicate that the HDPE softens at elevated temperatures, but will retain its shape upon cooling. In SWDF storage practices, this might indicate some distortion of the waste container, but catastrophic failure of the liner due to elevated temperatures (<185{degrees}C) is not anticipated.« less


Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks (WMSNs) are becoming one of the latest trends in the Internet of things. However, in WMSNs the energy constraint is a significant issue. In this paper, an idea of integrating energy harvesting technique with energy efficient scheduling mechanism is proposed. In order to increase the overall energy efficiency, the previously studied scheduling algorithm is used and integrated with a multi-core processor technique. Since increasing the number of cores in a processor decreases the overall energy efficiency, integration of energy harvesting with the processor can alleviate energy loss. The proposed idea constitutes of implementing the technique of lightweight processor (LWP) on a first core and leaving the second core in idle state with multiple lightweight processor implementation. The second core is divided into two parts namely, the main part and the multiple LWPs. The main part of the second core is used to relieve the processing speed issue and the multiple LWPs are used to cover up the flaws of missing deadlines if the number of tasks are increased. The second core comes in operation when the battery capacity is above 50%, using the RF energy harvesting scheme. This method increases the overall energy efficiency of each sensor node from 38% to 60% compared to the single core and single LWP method.


Objective To explore the effective way of evaluation of clinical nursing quality and to promote continuous nursing quality.Methods The application of planning workfload as the general pattern of nursing quality evaluation,nursing quality was evaluated weekly.All the the nursing issues were discussed,solutions were carried out,evaluated and feedback.Results Application of planning workfload significantly improved the effectiveness of evaluation,the quality evaluation by 30 times were put forward,31 items were improved,efficiency was 81.57%.All the nursing indicators improved obviously.Conclusions The application of planning workfload to guide nursing evaluation can effectively solve the problem of clinical nursing managemem and is beneficial to continuous improvement.

Key words:
Planning workfload; Nursing quality:Evaluation


A NIRS imager is used as a real time monitor in psychological test to record the response in blood oxyhemoglobin state and blood flow of the frontal gyri of human subject. The imager has 9 lamps and 4 dual detector pairs and an area of 9*4 cm. In mental work and pattern recognition test, we recorded oxygen consumption and blood flow changes of the volunteer's frontal gyri. The psychological results showed that down part of the left frontal gyri has intensive relation with pattern recognition and has definite boundaries. However, the mental work involved more zones of frontal gyri and it may be a more complicated think model. The results also suggested that brain have an exquisite and complicated adjust ability. As a result, the oxygen supplement in excited area increased as the neuron excited.


The exploitation of coal,petroleum and natural gas in northern Shaanxi not only promoted the rapid development of economy,but also brought enormous pressure for fragile ecology and resulted to severe water pollution,water and soil loss,vegetation destruction and other eco-environmental problems,so many countermeasures were put forward according to these problems,such as greatly developing circular economy,conducting cleaner production in petroleum enterprises,continuously renewing mining technology and so on.


Objectives To analyze implementation progress of national essential public health service project,find problems,and propose corresponding suggestions,to promote the implementation of equalization of essential public health services.Methods Literature review,questionnaire survey and personal in-depth interviews were used for data and information collection.Descriptive statistical analysis and generalization are carried out.Results The funding and matching funds are still not enough and timely,funds precipitation and misappropriation are exist;Numbers and structures of primary health workers need improved;The quantity and quality of national essential public health services are still low,and relatively unequal;Performance evaluation and supervision mechanisms are inadequate.Conclusions In order to promote the equalization of essential public health services,the government should improve financing input and management,strengthen primary health workers' capacity,and perfect the evaluation and supervision mechanisms,and so on.


The fisheries policies and the protection measures which is apply to sector in Turkey and in the EU. Turkey has done entensive trade with European Nations point of view foreign trade relations. Economical intensity in relations has become stronger with globalism, life style and politic entegrations. Relation which is gradually remaining of Turkey with European Nations has been seen at fishing sector. Although the slowing down of the production of Union Nations, their demand increases. Because of this, fishing is very important for European Union Nations. In this study, Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), which is one of the newest policy and to valid on all the European Union since 1983, and the mean parts of Turkey's Fisheries Policy had been studied. Protection methods which is apply to sector and evaluations had been done.


This study was conducted to examine the role of phosphoinositides (PIns) and phosphorylation of 47,000 dalton (P47) and 20,000 dalton (P20) proteins in platelet activation by bacterial phospholipase C (PLC). PLC induced serotonin secretion (SS) and platelet aggregation (PA) in a concentration dependent manner. PLC (0.02 U/ml) caused phosphorylation of P47 in a time dependent manner (27% at 0.5 min to 378% at 7 min). PLC did not induce more than 15% phosphorylation of P20 by 7 min. Aspirin (500 ..mu..M) blocked phosphorylation of P20 but did not inhibit SS, PA or phosphorylation of P47. PLC (0.04 U/ml) decreased radioactivity (cpm) in /sup 32/P labeled phosphatidylinositol (PI), PI-4,5-bis-PO4 (PIP2) and PI-4-PO4 (PIP) by 20%, 12% and 7.5% respectively at 15 sec. The level of PI but not that of PIP2 returned to base line in 3 min. PIP level increased above control values within one min. PLC increased phosphatidic acid level (75% at 0.5 min. to 1545% at 3 min). In other experiments PLC produced diacylglycerol (DAG) in a time and concentration dependent manner. However, no DAG was detectable in the first 60 sec. These data suggest that: (a) PIns turnover and phosphorylation of P47 but not that of P20more » is involved in platelet activation by PLC; and (b) DAG production from outer membrane phospholipids is not a prerequisite for platelet activation by PLC.« less


The influencing factors and effect of cement pavement maintenance using concrete curing compound under natural condition are studied in this paper.The test section of three cement concrete pavements are separately maintained by sprinkling and using concrete curing compound,the amount of which is controlled according to 200,300,350 g/m2.The core strength and rebound strength under each curing condition for 28 d are compared with that under the corresponding standard curing condition.The influence of the amount of curing compound and curing temperature on concrete strength are obtained.It is concluded that using curing compound can achieve higher surface hardness.


Genetic algorithm and partial least square (GA-PLS), the kernel PLS (KPLS) and LevenbergMarquardt artificial neural network (L-M ANN) techniques were used to investigate the correlation between retention time (RT) and descriptors for 15 nanoparticle compounds which obtained by the comprehensive two dimensional gas chromatography system (GC × GC). Application of the dodecanethiol monolayer-protected gold nanoparticle (MPN) column was for a high-speed separation as the second column of GC × GC. The L-M ANN model with the final optimum network architecture of [9-4-1] gave a significantly better performance than the other models. This is the first research on the quantitative structure–retention relationship (QSRR) of the nanoparticle compounds using the GA-PLS, GA-KPLS and L-M ANN.


About 200 unionists, refugee activists and students rallying in Melbourne on April 8 outside a Liberal Party fundraiser to celebrate 20 years since the election of the John Howard government, were attacked by police on horses and the indiscriminate use of pepper spray.


Detailed and reconnaissance field mapping and the results of geochemical and mineralogical analyses of outcrop samples indicate that the Devonian shales of the Broadtop Synclinorium from central Virginia to southern Pennsylvania have an organic content sufficiently high and a thermal maturity sufficiently moderate to be considered for a shale gas play. The organically rich Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale is present throughout most of the synclinorium, being absent only where it has been eroded from the crests of anticlines. Geochemical analyses of outcrop and well samples indicate that hydrocarbons have been generated and expelled from the kerogen originally in place in the shale. The mineralogical characteristics of the Marcellus Shale samples from the Broadtop Synclinorium are slightly different from the averages of samples from New York, Pennsylvania, northeast Ohio, and northern West Virginia. The Middle Devonian shale interval is moderately to heavily fractured in all areas, but in some areas substantial fault shearing has removed a regular "cleat" system of fractures. Conventional anticlinal gas fields in the study area that are productive from the Lower Devonian Oriskany Sandstone suggest that a continuous shale gas system may be in place within the Marcellus Shale interval at least in a portion of the synclinorium. Third-order intraformational deformation is evident within the Marcellus shale exposures. Correlations between outcrops and geophysical logs from exploration wells nearby will be examined by field trip attendees.


Gallstone ileus is an uncommon mechanical bowel obstruction caused by impaction of one or more gallstones in the intestine. The ileum is involved in about 80% of cases. Difficult and delayed diagnosis and old age of the patients account for its high mortality. We herein report one case with gallstone ileus diagnosed by ultrasound preoperatively in which the patient survived after surgery with only a few complications related to the patient's debilitated medical problems. Emphasis is also put upon how to deal with acute abdomen in elderly patients; in addition to traditional roentgenography, ultrasound may afford a tool to detect gallstone ileus.


The various modes of market socialism designed by the fifth generation market socialists may solve the problem of trust agency fairly well.In the meanwhile,the modes have some shortcomings.However,the resolution of the problem provides good experience and reference for the reform of state owned enterprises. [


Objective. To evaluate the actual diet of children with type I diabetes in order to develop recommendations for nutrition correction.Materials and methods. An observational study of actual diet of the case-control type was conducted in a group of children with type I diabetes mellitus (DM1; n=47) and a comparison group of conditionally healthy children living in Omsk Oblast (n=43). Actual nutrition was studied by analyzing the frequency of food consumption reported by parents in interviews.Results. The level of energy consumed with food in the group of children with DM1 accounted for 1929 kcal. It corresponded to physiological needs and was consistent with the comparison group. However, consumption of fats was higher than recommended, while that of carbohydrates was, on the contrary, lower. Energy from added sugars and saturated fats was at twice the recommended levels. Protein intake was adequate to physiological needs, but the proportion of animal proteins was greater in the group of children with diabetes. The author noted excessive consumption of fats and shortage of omega-3 fatty acids. The amount of carbohydrates in the diet of children with DM1 was lower than the physiological needs, but did not differ from the comparison group, the consumption of simple sugars was greater in children from the comparison group. There were no differences in consumption of minerals and vitamins, with the exception of vitamin A, which was greater in the diet of children with DM1. The amounts of vitamin A, D, beta-carotene, vitamin B9 and iodine were lower than recommended. An excess of sodium and phosphorus in the diet and calcium imbalance were also revealed.Conclusion. Nutrition of children with type I diabetes is considered to be improper. The nutrition imbalances are similar in both groups. When consumption of carbohydrates is insufficient, an excess of simple sugars is noted. Priority micronutrients for correction are vitamins A and D, folates, iodine.


Lechenaultia R.Br. (Goodeniaceae) is a charismatic genus of 29 formally named species, of which all but one occur in Western Australia (Western Australian Herbarium 1998–; CHAH 2006). Many produce showy flowers in striking shades of blue, red, orange or yellow making them a popular choice for native gardens. Indeed, the genus has a long horticultural history, first appearing in the glasshouses of Victorian England with the introduction of L. formosa R.Br. to the United Kingdom in 1824 (Step 1897). Even Charles Darwin was fascinated by Lechenaultia, conducting experiments over successive years to understand the pollination mechanism of the unusual cup-like indusium that distinguishes the family Goodeniaceae (Darwin 1861, 1871). Unfortunately, while some species are well known in cultivation many are scarce in the wild, with L. chlorantha F.Muell. listed as Endangered, L. laricina Lindl. as Vulnerable, and a further 11 otherwise considered rare or poorly known (Western Australian Herbarium 1998–; Smith & Jones 2018). The new species described below is one such plant—discovered by William Archer in the Mallee bioregion of southern Western Australia in 2012, only three populations occurring in close proximity have been discovered to date. This species also has horticultural potential as it produces highly attractive, mauve-blue flowers that fancifully resemble a flamenco dancer.


Abstract The secondary inner filter effect on the fluorescence excitation spectra of rhodamine 6G aqueous solutions with concentration was demonstrated in this paper. The peak of fluorescence excitation spectrum stays at 525 nm at low concentrations, while it breaks up and turns into valley at high concentrations. The threshold concentration was determined to be 3.16 mg/L by the second derivative spectroscopy. A mathematical model was proposed to explain the inflection point of fluorescence excitation spectrum caused by the secondary inner filter effect. On the basis of it, the threshold concentration was calculated to be 2.86 mg/L, approaching to the experimental result.


Computer controlled apparatus for laser flash spectroscopy has been constructed. Nitrogen laser (energy 1 inJ, pulse width 1 ns) is used both for excitation of the sample and for pumping the tunable dye laser which serves as a source of monitoring light. Two different scans are possible: (i) a mode with a fixed wavelength of the inonitoring light - the temporal evolution of the transient absorption in the range from -2 ns up to 100 ns can be observed by changing the length of the variable self-compensating optical delay line, (ii) a mode with a fixed time delay - the corresponding transient absorption in the range 380 - 800 nm can be measured. For illustration, time evolution of transient absorption and time resolved spectra of benzanthracene in ethanol are reported.


The influence of an explosion-driven deformation on the defect structure in RDX crystals embedded in a polymer-bonded explosive was investigated by means of confocal scanning laser microscopy. The images were compared to the defect structure in the as-received RDX grades, embedded


Managing energy consumption for computation and communication is a key requirement for flying ad hoc networks (FANET) to prolong the network lifetime. In many applications, the main role of drones is to collect imagery information and relay them to a ground station for further processing and decision making. In this paper, we present a predictive compression policy to maximize the end-to-end image quality penalized by the communication and computation costs. The idea is to predict the number of remaining links to the destination for a given routing algorithm and use it to re-compress image frames at intermediate nodes such that the overall energy consumption is minimized. Numerical results confirm that the performance of this method is within 4% of the global optima and higher than the current fixed-rate policies with a significant margin.


The study we now present is the result of the theoretical discussion present in our master's dissertation, which has the title: "When one light goes out and another comes on: the boy Geydson and the Assisted Liberty in the backlands of Pernambuco". This work is an excerpt of the research and seeks to understand the process of institutionalization of childhood in Brazil with regard to adolescents in conflict with the law. See that Assisted Freedom today defined in ECA as a socio-educational measure in the open, had its historical roots in the early twentieth century, the text is based on the legislative contributions that demarcate this institutionalization: the Code for minors of 1927, the reformulation of the Code in 1979, the Federal Constitution of 1988, the Statute of Children and Adolescents in 1990 and more recently the National System of Socio-Educational Assistance with resolution 119 of 2006 and Law 12,594 of 2012, as well as other related legislation, at national and that helped to build the discourse that was instituted between the invention of the "minor offender" and the conception of the adolescent in conflict with the law.


Despite its proven usefulness for vector field visualization, LIC requires large amounts of processing power and memory. Parallel processing is an effective approach for computational intensive problems, however in the case of LIC it can suffer from workload imbalance depending on the distribution and orientation of the vectors elements in a given vector field. Specifically, elements of the boundary and singularity regions have the potential to cause workload imbalance, therefore affecting the parallel processing performance. In this paper, we propose and evaluate a coarse-grid pre-processing based load balancing method for minimizing this undesirable performance loss. By utilizing the same LIC algorithm in both pre-processing and final LIC computation stages, we can avoid redundant computations and minimize the impact of the pre-processing stage on the total LIC computation time. Since this method does not influence the original LIC algorithm, it is expected to work along with other enhancements proposed for LIC. We verified the effectiveness of the proposed method for maximizing the performance of parallel 3D LIC.


This study investigates an electric‐type active mass driver (AMD) system for structural vibration control. Composed primarily of an electric servomotor and a ball screw, the electrical AMD system is free from noise problems, oil leakage, and labor‐intensive maintenance that commonly are associated with hydraulic AMD systems. The desired stroke amplification of the mass and the power demand of the servomotor can be adjusted via the ball screw pitch, which in turn affects the effectiveness and efficiency of the system. Meanwhile, an instantaneous optimal direct output feedback control algorithm is adopted. Numerical simulation is performed using a five‐story steel frame as the object structure under the conditions of the 1940 El Centro earthquake. The AMD system proves to be effective and efficient within a certain range of the ball screw pitch. The reductions of the peak responses can reach as high as 70% if properly designed. Requiring only the velocity measurement of the top floor for on‐line feedback control, the proposed control algorithm is recommended for practical implementation. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Summary The rapid rate of development and redevelopment in urban Hong Kong in recent years had extensively damaged or destroyed existing trees. The present legislation and enforcement measures are inadequate to protect natural features in the city. An attempt to identify and characterize the most outstanding specimens of the urban tree population hopefully could provide the baseline for their proper preservation. Some 288 exceptionally large and beautiful specimens in the older core urban areas of Hong Kong, belonging to 66 species, had been identified in a city-wide survey. Each target was studied in detail in the field with respect to 30 attributes related to species characteristics, tree dimension, structure, condition, location, and special botanical features. A semi-quantitative scoring scheme with a view to minimizing subjectivity has been designed for the evaluation. A formula is proposed to calculate an overall numerical score for individual trees. The species composition and diversity, geographic...


The following report concerns itself with the notion of rhythm in Akan/Twi. In light of the findings concerning rhythm in speech using the Speech Cycling Task by Cummins & Port (1998), Port (2003, 2007), and Tajima & Port (2003), this study attempts to understand what kind of rhythmic timing patterns pertain to Akan/Twi. This paper is an attempt to discover the foundation on which to design more rigorous experiments. As of yet, it is not understood what rhythmic patterning appears in languages that do not have stress, or accents. That is, rhythm is not well defined in purely tonal languages. The main report in this paper is to simply understand which syllables are considered prominent in Akan. The current experiment uses the Speech Cycling Task to a minimal extent. By using the Speech Cycling task, rhythmic patterns emerge that will allow for the researcher to model the timing of a language. The paper will begin with a brief background on rhythm and some methodologies for experimentation, and a background on the Speech Cycling task itself. The hypotheses and preliminary designs of future experiments will be outlined.


The present invention provides a memory module including an optical interface capable of simultaneous reading and writing, a PCB, and a data processing system including the memory module and the PCB. The memory module according to embodiments of the present invention includes an optical waveguide capable of transmitting and receiving read data and written data at the same time, a light source which converts the read data into an optical signal depending on a preset polarity, a polarization beam splitter (PBS) which separates a transmission path for the read data from a transmission path for the written data depending on the polarity, an optical detection unit which converts the received written data into an electrical signal, and a plurality of memory devices which store the written data and read the read data.


The authors introduce a new solution concept, divine equilibrium, which refines the set of sequential equilibria in signaling games by requiring that off-the-equilibrium-path beliefs satisfy an additional restriction. This restriction rules out implausible sequential equilibria in examples. Divine equilibria exist because a sequential equilibrium that fails to be divine cannot be in a stable component. The authors demonstrate through examples that the stable component of signaling games is typically smaller than the set of divine equilibria and present a characterization of the set of stable outcomes in generic signaling games. Copyright 1987 by The Econometric Society.


In arbitrary Riemannian 4-spaces, continuity equations are constructed which could be interpreted as conservation laws for the energy and momentum of the gravitational field. Special attention is given to general relativity to obtain, of natural manner, the pseudotensors of Einstein. Landau-Lifshitz, Möller, Goldberg and Stachel, and also the conservation equations of Komar, Trautman, DuPlessis and Moss.


Purpose: To develop a method to quickly determine tissue optical properties(absorption coefficient μa and transportscattering coefficient μs') in a semi‐infinite medium. Method and material:Optical properties where determined by measuring the ratio of light fluence rate to source power along a linear channel at a fixed distance (4 mm) from an isotropic point source. The light detection system consists of two parallel light transmitting catheters placed 4mm apart. Diffuse light, from a 2mm cylindrical diffusing tip, is collected by an isotropic detector with a 0.5mm scattering bulb whose position is determined by a computer controlled step motor, with a positioning accuracy of better than 0.1 mm. The system automatically records and plots the light fluence rate per unit source power as a function of position. The result is fitted with a diffusion equation to extrapolate μa and μs'. Measurements where made in liquid tissue simulating phantoms, with known reduced scattering coefficient (μs') and absorption coefficient (μa). A theory based on light source on semi‐infinite medium has been developed to interpret the measured data. To test the ability of this algorithm to accurately recover the optical properties of the tissue, we made measurements in tissue simulating phantoms consisting of Liposyn concentration of 0.53% (μs' = 3.68cm−1) in the presence of Higgins black India ink at concentrations of 0.002, 0.012 and 0.023% (μa = 0.1 – 1 cm−1). For comparison, the optical properties of the phantom were determined independently using broad‐beam illumination. Results: We find that μa and μs' can be determined by this method with a standard (maximum) deviation of 24% (27%) and 29% (42%) for μa and μs', respectively. Conclusion: We developed a model for quick and accurate determination of tissue optical properties in semi‐infinite medium, which is theoretically suitable for determination of optical properties for esophagus PDT.


The invention discloses an energy-saving heat-insulating building block with a noise reducing function, which is prepared from the following raw materials in parts by weight: 100 part of fly ash, 42-45 parts of cement, 40-45 parts of light calcium carbonate, 33-37 parts of centrifugal rein glass wool, 14-19 parts of diatomite, 5-8 parts of coal gangue and 4-10 parts of polypropylene expanded particles. The energy-saving heat-insulating building block with a noise reducing function has a heat conductivity coefficient of smaller than 0.04W/m.k and is extremely good in heat insulation properties; meanwhile, the heat-insulating building block disclosed by the invention is quite high in sound absorption capacity, so that the external sound can be absorbed so as to stop forward movement of sound wave, and thus a noise reducing function is realized and the building cost is lowered.


Preclinical evaluation has shown that cancer cells are more sensitive to the proapoptotic effects of proteasome inhibition than normal cells. Therefore, several groups of proteasome inhibitors such as peptide aldehydes, peptide boronates, nonpeptide inhibitors, peptide vinyl sulfones, and epoxyketones, have been developed and are now widely used as research tools to study the role of the UPP in various cellular processes.Currently, only two proteasome inhibitors, bortezomib and NPI-0052, have been reported in clinical trials.


We investigated the efficacy of mirtazapine in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Forty-four adult outpatients with GAD were treated openly with a fixed dose of mirtazapine (30mg) for 12 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the change from baseline in total score on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAM-A). The Clinical Global Impression of Improvement (CGI-I) was rated at the endpoint. Patients with a reduction of 50% or more on the HAM-A total score and a CGI-I score of 1 or 2 at endpoint were considered responders to treatment; remission was defined as a HAM-A score 7. At 12 weeks, response was achieved by 79.5% of the patients (n 35) and remission by 36.4% of patients (n 16). This study supports the notion that mirtazapine is an efficacious and well tolerated treatment for GAD. Limitations of the present study must be considered and further placebo-controlled trials are needed.


In recent years there has been a significant increase in beekeeping in urban and sub-urban areas of many countries. Alongside this trend has been the establishment of agro-chemicals as an integral part of modem farming systems. It is, therefore, timely to review the law relating to honeybees and beekeepers and to consider their social obligation. This article, whilst it is concerned directly with the situation in England and Wales, should prove of value to readers in many countries, particularly Common Law countries.


What might EU migrants in the UK do in order to cope if the UK leaves the EU? Might they stay or go? Using data from an online survey we find out what the three largest EU nationality groups (Portuguese, Polish and Romanian) in the UK have to say. These three groups represent three different EU enlargement waves, with Portugal having joined the European Union in 1986, Poland in 2004 and Romania in 2007.


The object of the present paper is to prove some theorems concerning the existence and the uniqueness of the solution of the initial value problem for the evolution equation (E) .


Research on leadership over many decades has studied various psychological factors that have to do with effectiveness, such as leader personality traits and cognitive ability. Although leader qualities are especially important as they relate to followers, measures of leadership too often focus on leader behaviors apart from their effects on followers. As Burns (1978) has said, "Leadership, unlike naked power-wielding is ... inseparable from followers' needs and goals" (p. 19). This is recognized when a leader's ability to exert infl uence depends on the attitudes of followers toward that leader, as in Barnard's (1938) Theory of Authority and Hollander's (1958) Idiosyncrasy Credit Model, both stressing positive impressions.


Vehicle transmission comprising a hydraulic torque converter of the type comprising a clutch provided for mechanically connecting the input and output sides of the torque converter over some travel speeds of the vehicle for enhanced operation and economy. The clutch is manioeuvre within a preferred range of speed under the effect of a relatively low engagement force to a slip clutch to reduce this vibration. A control device causes an increase in the engaging force of the upper clutch that normally established for a small throttle opening, below a reference value to produce a braking effect by the engine. The controller also allows to stop the increase in the engaging force at low throttle openings when the rotational speed of the output side of the hydraulic converter becomes lower than the rotational speed of the input side as this occurs when moving from a steep descent to a gentle downhill, or when the low temperature and high viscosity of the oil result in a too abrupt operation. (CF DRAWING IN BOPI)


We compare mid- and far-infrared attenuated total reflectance spectra for calcite and aragonite, which are two polymorphs of calcium carbonate, CaCO3, in order to demonstrate which spectral feature changes can be attributed to phase (crystal structure) differences. These comparisons, together with our recent studies of multi-phase carbonate-containing samples, help to lay the groundwork for distinguishing far-infrared spectral features that are related to crystallinity differences in calcium carbonates.


In an attempt to discover the major nutrients controlling Uroglena americana bloom in the Northern Lake Biwa, the algal bioassay was conducted by using a monoxenic culture of U. americana isolated from the bloom . From the bioassay with or without addition of nitrogen, phosphorus, iron and/or vitamins tounenriched lake water, it was discovered that phosphorus and iron were the first limiting nutrients for the algal bloom, and that the lake water contained a sufficient quantity of nitrogen.


Precast concrete blocks are used mainly for score protection, slope protection and riverbed structure protection, etc. Because these concrete blocks are exposed to water or wetting environments, the steel rebar used as reinforcements in concrete blocks can corrode easily. Corrosion of the steel rebar tends to reduce the performance and service life of the concrete blocks. In this study, Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer(GFRP) rebar, which does not corrode, was applied instead of a steel rebar to prevent performance degradation of the blocks. Recycled concrete aggregate and high early strength cement(HESC) were used in the concrete mix for field applicability. The experiment results showed that the workability and form removal strength of the recycled aggregate concrete using HESC showed comparable results to normal concrete and the compressive strength at 28 days increased by about 18% compared to normal concrete. The load resistance capacity of the recycled aggregate concrete blocks reinforced with a GFRP rebar increased by approximately 10∼30% compared to common concrete block.


The reason and characteristics of freshet disaster in Jiangxi province were analyzed.The difficulty of the freshet disaster control was stated.At last,the countermeasures was proposed.


This study presents a comparison of reporting of drug use and related attitudes and beliefs by national samples of eighth and tenth grade students under two different modes of administration conditions: confidential and anonymous. The results show that there were clearly no differences between the conditions in tenth graders' reports of drug use and related attitudes and beliefs. With eighth graders, the results show, at most, only a very modest mode of administration effect and quite possibly no effect at all. The results are reassuring to researchers who conduct surveys of drug use and related attitudes and beliefs among secondary school students.


This article aims at understanding the process of professionalization of expert knowledge in the Human Rights' field in Argentina. The institutionalization of the Human Rights cause involves both a change in the professional law field and the transformation of the militant cause into a question of specialized knowledge that increasingly requires more technical expertise. Throughout the study of the deep transformation that took place during two generations of law activists and professionals, this article discusses the place of education and expert knowledge in the acquisition of new credentials that qualify individuals to participate in this universe. This paper looks into changes in these activists' profile through time, in lawyers profiles' reconversion, a process that involves from the earliest lawyers that joined politics and started their carrers as political prisoners 'defenders belonging to revolutionary groups during the 60s and 70s to the new generation of activists who started their careers and joined politics after democracy (1983) and who have based their legitimacy on academic degrees in international law and their simultaneously belonging to the academic and bureocratic scenes, as well as transnational activism.


Introduction. Age is considered as an important clinical and pathological factor in cancer patients. Malignant tumors are more likely to develop in older people, but the disease is less aggressive than in young patients. According to various authors, the influence of age on the development of tumors largely depends on the age-related features of the immune system.The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship of indicators of systemic antitumor immune response with the age of patients with primary operable breast cancer and cancer of the oral mucosa.Materials and methods. The study included patients with all subtypes of primary-operable breast cancer (n = 145) and patients with cancer of the oral mucosa (n = 29). Immunophenotyping of peripheral blood lymphocytes was performed using a wide panel of monoclonal antibodies to markers of adaptive and innate immunity cells.Results. In elder patients (40 years and older) with primary-operable breast cancer, the percentage of activated CD25+ lymphocytes and CD4+CD25+ and CD3+CD4+ T cells, NKT cells, activated HLA-DR+ lymphocytes, including activated CD3+HLA-DR+ T cells before treatment, was statistically significantly higher than in patients younger than 40 years. Patients of this group showed increase of CD8+CD - 11b+CD28– CTLs and a decrease in the number of naive lymphocytes (CD4 – CD62L+ and CD8+CD11b – CD28+) in comparison with control percentage, and the downward trend in CD4+CD25+CD127– Treg, with increased numbers of CD4+CD25+ T cells. In patients with cancer of the oral mucosa, an increase in the number of cells of some populations of the immune effector link and a decrease in the number of suppressor lymphocytes were revealed with age.Conclusion. The results suggest that age-related differences in the state of systemic antitumor immune response contribute to a more favorable course of breast cancer and some other malignancies in older persons. It is obvious that the features of age differences in the immune response to the tumor should be taken into account when prescribing systemic therapy, including immunotherapy.All patients gave written informed consent to participate in the study


The internet has become an important social context in adolescence, and communicating online with friends has become a natural part of everyday life. The present cross-sectional study examined the effects of social cues and popularity on developing adolescent social cognitions in online settings using a sample of 90, 11to 14-year-old students from British Columbia, Canada. Participants completed self-report cyber-bullying, cyber-victimization, and cyber-aggression motivation measures. Hostile intent attributions were obtained using an instrument containing 8 hypothetical vignettes, where potentially harmful messages were sent to the protagonist, but the sender's intentions were ambiguous. The results show an increasing cyber-bullying and cybervictimization trend from earlyto midadolescence. There was some evidence to suggest that individuals in mid-adolescence were more sensitive to online social cues and popularity. Individuals in mid-adolescence were more likely to engage in cyber-aggressive behavior to obtain a material or social reward. Despite having a small sample size, this study provides a good foundation for further research examining developmental processes that underlie cyberbullying


Wireless sensor networks facilitate real-time data processing in many applications such as intrusion detection and military surveillance. These applications inherently demand a high level of security. Public key cryptographic techniques such as Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) provide a flexible interface to ensure security, requiring no pre-distribution of keys. However, ECC is very compute-intensive, owing to the computationally complex elliptic curve point multiplication operation. This work presents a technique to speed up the elliptic curve point multiplication operation, achieving a cost reduction of about 48% over the double and add algorithm and about 40% over the width-w Non Adjacent Form (NAF) algorithm. Additionally, results of its software implementation are also presented, simulating the specifications of MEMSIC's wireless sensor network development kit. Finally, we conclude that the timing results obtained from the software implementation conform to the theoretical results.


Low survey participation from online panel members is a key challenge for market and social researchers. We identify 10 key drivers of panel members' online survey participation from a qualitative study and then determine empirically using a stated choice experiment the relative importance of each of those drivers at aggregate and segment levels. We contribute to knowledge on survey participation by (a) eliciting key drivers of survey participation by online panel members, (b) determining the relative importance of each driver, and (c) accounting for heterogeneity across panel members in the importance assigned to drivers. Findings offer immediate practical guidance to market and social researchers on how to increase participation in surveys using online panels.


This article presents an empirical analysis of income distribution based on income tax data for Slovenia in 1991-2000. It presents evidence of rising inequalities in income distribution (gross income, gross wages and pensions). These results are supported by coefficients of variation, Gini coefficients and by the Lorenz curves. Inequalities increased rapidly in the 1991 to 1993 period. After a significant decrease in 1994 and a steady increase from 1995 to 2000, the peak value from 1993 was not surpassed. Atkinson's requirements for dominance comparisons are not violated. Inequalities are also present in the distribution of the benefits of economic growth among income groups.


This paper takes the large space air-conditioned buildings air-conditioned buildings as research subjects and sets numerical conditions of large space air-conditioned buildings prototype to conduct a simulation study by means of numerical simulation.Numerical and experimental results show that the standard k-εturbulence model can be used to describe the characteristics of the large space air-conditioned buildings building;the experimental results of a typical location room temperature basically consistent with the numerical results of the prototype and enlarged model.Results of this study will provide a useful reference for the researches of large space air-conditioned buildings air-conditioned building.


In Response: We are grateful to Sterpetti for the appreciation of our recent publication "G-CSF for Extensive STEMI: Results From the STEM-AMI OUTCOME CMR Substudy"1 and for the highlighted points concerning the mechanism of action of G-CSF in this clinical setting. The results of our work proved that early administration of G-CSF on top of standard of care for acute STEMI improves left ventricular function, adverse remodeling, scar size, and myocardial strain as assessed after 6 months by cardiac magnetic resonance. G-CSF treatment has been widely investigated over the last 15 years in the setting of acute myocardial infarction and, although reassuring as for safety, such a therapeutic strategy remains controversial in terms of efficacy. In addition, mechanisms by which G-CSF exerts its protective effects on injured myocardium are still unclear. Available evidences suggest that the direct and indirect cardioprotective effects of G-CSF are multiplex, including the mobilization of stem/progenitor cells from the bone marrow, the activation of prosurvival signaling into the myocardium, the promotion of neovascularization and, last but not least, the modulation of inflammation.2 We concur with Sterpetti3 that this latter aspect may represent one of the paramount effects that should be better addressed in the future by designing, as suggested, clinical studies with standard anti-inflammatory agents on top of G-CSF treatment. Heterogeneity of clinical trials, in terms of patient selection, threshold of left ventricular dysfunction, cardiac function evaluation tools, and timing of G-CSF administration has probably represented the main factor for the mixed results reported. In this context, the modulation of inflammatory mediators exerted by G-CSF is not clear as well. Both inhibition and increase of circulating proinflammatory cytokines have been described after G-CSF administration in STEMI,2,4 probably reflecting the aforementioned clinical miscellaneousness. Hopefully, the STEM-AMI OUTCOME trial5 will provide more data about the circulating inflammatory profile before and after G-CSF treatment. More interestingly, as suggested by Sterpetti, given the well-known ability of G-CSF to activate monocytes and macrophages, there is currently poor information about the capacity of G-CSF to generate functional benefits into the infarcted myocardium through circulating and resident macrophage polarization. This area of investigation clearly deserves further experimental studies. A final aspect raised by Sterpetti concerns a possible immune response elicited by G-CSF. Although this event cannot be excluded, we think that the short-term administration protocol of G-CSF we adopted in our study should put such theoretical shortcoming under cover. To summarize, our study represents a valuable proofof-concept of the therapeutic benefit of G-CSF after STEMI, as indicated by different left ventricular functional outcomes. Further mechanistic investigations will help to elucidate the contribution of G-CSF in the modulation of myocardial inflammation after an ischemic injury. We are confident that such novel research avenue will revitalize the interest for the investigation of the therapeutic potential of G-CSF after extensive STEMI.


The Seri people are an indigenous group that inhabits at the central coast of Sonora, Mexico and who have been historically linked as hunter-gatherers and fishing activities. The group was handled by the program of rural schools implemented by the federal government from the decade of 1920. This paper pretends, from the regional perspective to explore the scope of the cultural policy in order to show the factors that led to its implementation and based from the argument that the rural education aimed to the indigenous population was determined by the negotiations of intermediary agents; in this case, ranchers, teachers, local merchants and religious groups who adjust and fit the educational programs to the cultural conditions of this community.


appears instead that they are inserted separately into the device during manufacture. The sealing process (the details of which are not known to us) is presumably the important factor in preventing any dislodgement. Second, since the CO2 sensor attaches to the airway adaptor in a manner that normally obscures the view of the windows it is very difficult to locate the site of any leak from a dislodged window. Third, if the window was missing from the device, where had it gone? No plastic could be located in the circuit (which was in any case changed). It was hoped that the whole circuit and set-up was new, and had not been used the day before (since this was the first case of the day), but this could not be confirmed with certainty. If the circuit had indeed inadvertently been used before, it is hoped that a breathing filter was sited distal to the device and that this would have prevented the dislodged plastic window from entering the patient's airway or trachea. There is mounting concern regarding the increasingly widespread use of single-use devices such as laryngoscopes [1] and single-use bougies [2]. Singleuse devices are purported to reduce the risk of cross-infection, but this may be outweighed by more serious issues if they actually perform less well in their intended task than multiple-use devices. Current legislation seems to regulate only the ability of a device to satisfy certain (perhaps arbitrary) criteria for registration and 'CE marking'; it does not seem to require that devices are actually effective in the tasks for which they are designed [3]. The case concerning the leak re-emphasises the observation that leaks from the anaesthetic machine and circuit can sometimes be very difficult to locate [4]. Both incidents confirm the importance (as always) of checking the anaesthetic machine before use.


which are applied in distribution system planning studies and operation. Reliability of distribution systems is an important issue in power engineering for both utilities and customers. Reliability is a key issue in the design and operation of electric power distribution systems and load. Reliability evaluation of distribution systems has been the subject of many recent papers and the modeling and evaluation techniques have improved considerably.


Gemcitabine is a synthetic pyrimidine nucleoside analogue which is administered intravenously as a chemotherapeutic to treat numerous cancers. Gemcitabine requires transport into cells and activation by phosphorylation, the resulting gemcitabine triphosphate is incorporated into newly synthesized DNA during cell division, inhibiting further DNA synthesis and causing cell death. Gemcitabine is used to treat cancers including those of the pancreas, lung, breast, colon, and ovary either as first or second line treatments as a single agent or in combination.