Purpose : The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of ICT deployment on the operational performance of Kenya Revenue Authority Methodology : The research design used for this study was descriptive survey design. The population of this study was top management, middle management and supervisory employees of Kenya Revenue Authority and who have been with the institution for a minimum period of one year. Data was collected by use questionnaires. The questionnaire consisted of structured closed ended statements. Data was analyzed mainly by use of descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics included mode, mean, median, standard deviation. Inferential statistical techniques like correlation coefficients were used to draw a causal relationship between the strategic response and performance. Data was presented by use of graphs, pie charts and tables. Results : Based on the findings, the study concluded that ICT development in KRA management information system is compatible with other systems and flexible enough to support the growth of the firm crucial in assisting employees to enhance their performance. However it is not a significant factor in determining performance of KRA. Adoption of ICT development practices by KRA has increased the access to useful information about best practices of operation. ICT development is important as it enables time saving of operations and increase public access of information. Through ICT KRA has been able to increase their level of transparency. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: Based on the findings, the study recommends that KRA and other public institution have to emphasize on the need to develop their technology and customer relationship management. ICT development is of core importance to many organizations in need of growing successfully and improves efficiency in operations and in serving clients.


Various approaches to black hole entropy yield the area law with logarithmic corrections, many involving a coefficient 1/2, and some involving 3/2. It is pointed out here that the standard quantum geometry formalism is not consistent with 3/2 and favours 1/2.


Abstract An estimated 65,000 Greek citizens migrated to the UK in 2010–2016, many of whom with the prospects of long-term settlement and with a view to provide better socioeconomic and educational opportunities to their children. Their arrival was felt across many sections of life both within and beyond the country's pre-existing Greek-speaking communities. In this article, I present findings on how the arrival of Greek pupils, parents and qualified teachers diversified Greek complementary schools, which were previously run primarily by and for the Greek Cypriot community, and on the critical role language played in the process. Drawing on data from a set of semi-structured interviews with teachers and placing my investigation against the historical backdrop of migration from Greece and Cyprus to the UK, I show how teachers portrayed post-2010 migration as a much needed, albeit not always welcome, boost in ethnocultural vitality; how it helped to perpetuate the hierarchisation of standardised and non-standardised varieties of Greek and the stigmatisation of the multilingual and multidialectal repertoires of people with a Greek Cypriot background; and, how it put a strain on the ties that have historically brought the Greek and Greek Cypriot communities together in the context of the UK diaspora.


Our campaign slogan must be: reform of consciousness, not through dogma, but through the analysis of that mystical consciousness which has not yet become clear to itself. It will then turn out that the world has long dreamt of that which it had only to form a clear idea of in order to really possess it. It will turn out that it is not a question of any conceptual rupture between past and future, but rather the completion of the thoughts of the past. Marx, Letter to Ruge


Neural networks are known to produce unexpected results on inputs that are far 1 from the training distribution. One approach to tackle this problem is to detect the 2 samples on which the trained network can not answer reliably. ODIN is a recently 3 proposed method for out-of-distribution detection that does not modify the trained 4 network and achieves good performance for various image classification tasks. In 5 this paper we adapt ODIN for sentence classification and word tagging tasks. We 6 show that the scores produced by ODIN can be used as a confidence measure for 7 the predictions on both in-distribution and out-of-distribution datasets. 8


The importance of surfactantsused in leather making is comformedby analyzing the applications of nanotechnology, supercritical technology and ultrasound in the procedures of leather making, Meanwhile the challenge from supercritical technology and ultrasoundis also brought forward and the way for surfactant used in the procedures of leather making to reform has been advised.


After the complete demolition of a prestressed concrete bridge in the south of France, a suspected weak posttensioned beam has been put aside for non-destructive testing (NDT). Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Ferroscan® (covermeter), gamma-ray radiography and impact-echo (IE) have been tested and their results are discussed after the autopsy of the beam by hydrodemolition. The paper describes how NDT surveys can answer structural engineers need, using complementary NDT approaches. The use of a second technique should provide a better level of answer, while eliminating certain ambiguities either by improving measurement reliability, or by focusing onto doubtful zones for more precise local measurements. Finally, problems not answered by these techniques, described herein are pin pointed.


PURPOSE: To obtain a composition capable of rapidly curing and forming solventless coating compounds, having a low viscosity, a high boiling point, and good adhesivity to metals, comprising a relatively high molecular weight ultravioletcuring resin and a specific compound. COPYRIGHT: (C)1978,JPO&Japio


Language proficiency among business studies students are essential to their ability to gain knowledge as well as to communicate their thoughts and ideas to others. However, it has been found that students in the field of business put less effort and interest in improving their languge proficiency simply because they place greater importance on their core courses. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate the reasons behind business students' lack of interest and to introduce innovative learning methods to improve their language proficiency. The government in its plan and policy for higher learning institutions has stipulated that language proficiency through the Malaysian University Entrance Test (MUET) and the English Exit Test (EET) is compulsory for all students in order to gain entrance and to graduate. Thus, it is vital that students place importance in the language courses at the university. By means of an experimental method, data was collected through treatment of a control group and an experimental group on language learning. After the treatment was imple-mented, a short grammar test was given to the students. A structured interview was then carried out to determine students' interest in the language proficiency classes. The study found that language proficiency could be improved with new methods of input by means of digital story telling. Students showed interest when learning language rules were disseminated through innovative digital story telling. Further, it was identified that they were not sure of the basic grammatical elements at first but were more confident after the experiment. However, the study was limited to only a small group of business students and therefore for future research can be expanded to a greater group of students from different field of studies.


We construct holomorphic loop groups and their associated affine Kac-Moody groups and prove that they are tame Fr\'echet manifolds. These results form the functional analytic basis for the theory of affine Kac-Moody symmetric spaces, presented first in the authors thesis. Our approach also solves completely the problem of complexification of loop groups; it allows a complete description of complex Kac-Moody groups and their non-compact real forms.


A system capable of producing a series of high frequency waves in fluid may be constructed by placing a piezoelectric crystal of carefully prepared quartz in a di-electric liquid such as xylol. A pair of electrodes is then placed upon opposite sides of the quartz crystal and should be connected with a high frequency oscillator. Such an arrangement of apparatus allows one to set up compression waves even of radio frequency in the liquid. A system similar to this has been described by Wood and Loomis. 1 Radiation by the resultant ultrasonic vibration has been shown by Wood and Loomis 1 to be destructive to certain varieties of organisms including algae, but it was their opinion that bacteria are not injured by such treatment. Radiation by ultrasonic vibration may be attended by cavitation of included gases and it is considered probable by Johnson 2 and by Schmitt and Uhlemeyer 3 that this mechanical expulsion of the gases is the cause of disruption of living cells. Recent observations of Wu and Liu 4 indicate that these rays coagulate protein and thus it becomes probable that protein changes contribute to the cause of death. To test the effects of ultrasonic radiation upon yeasts, the following series of experiments was performed: A wine yeast was incubated in grape juice for 24 to 48 hours at 37°C. This organism, listed in our cultures as a Saccharomyces elliposoideus, was chosen because of its relatively large size and active growth. Treatment was carried out by placing the culture to a depth of approximately one inch within a glass tube 1 1/2 inches in diameter. The bottom of this tube, however, was of heavy cellophane cemented to the side walls.


this article presents a case of a 70 year-old-man with a history of thyroid cancer, that during the previous year had undergone total thyroidectomy, and presented hypoparathyroidism as a post-surgical complication. the patient has 15 days of clinical symptoms of progressive loss of visual acuity in the right eye, also clinical and imaging findings compatible with right eye optic neuritis. during hospital stay, a diagnosis of optic neuritis was made and other common causes of optic neutiris in this age group were discarded.


Poly( butyleneadipate- co- terephthalate) / phyllosilicate organo- modified montmorillonite( OMMT-DK2) biodegradable composites were prepared through melt intercalation in twin- screw extruder and blow film. The XRD results showed that PBAT molecular chain successfully inserted between OMMT- DK2 sheets. The spacing of layers of OMMT increased from 1. 923 nm to 3. 592 nm,3. 306 nm,3. 271 nm,and 3. 215 nm,and exfoliated nanocomposites were generated. DSC results showed that crystallinity,glass transition temperature,melting point and crystallization temperature decreased with the increase of OMMT- DK2. When the OMMT- DK2 content was 3 %( mass fraction,the same below),the tensile strength reached 33. 25 MPa,when the OMMT- DK2 content was 5%,the elongation reached 860 %.


Taking mature leaves of three Anoectochilus species as tested materials,the length width and area of leaf was measured. Mersured data was processed by Excel software. After using SPSS19.0 software to make regression analysis of mersured data,unary regression equations, binary regression equations and temary regression equations were established of estimated Anoectochilus leaves area. The study results provide a scientific and effective method for rapid and accuracy determination of Anoectochilus leave area, and they have good application value in scientific research and production practice in Anoectochilus.


Post-silicon validation is used to detect and fix bugs in integrated circuits and systems after manufacture. Due to sheer design complexity, it is nearly impossible to detect and fix all bugs before manufacture. Post-silicon validation is a major challenge for future systems. Today, it is largely viewed as an art with very few systematic solutions. As a result, post-silicon validation is an emerging research topic with several exciting opportunities for major innovations in electronic design automation. In this paper, we provide an overview of the post-silicon validation problem and how it differs from traditional pre-silicon verification and manufacturing testing. We also discuss major postsilicon validation challenges and recent advances.


Cloud computing has become an essential source for modern trade or market environments by abled frameworks. The exponential growth of cloud computing services in the last few years has resulted in extensive use, especially in storing and sharing the data on various cloud servers. The current trend in the cloud shows that the cloud owners use relative functions and target areas in such a way that cloud customers access or store their data either in the same servers or related servers. Simultaneously, from the security point of view, the lack of confidence about the customer's data on the cloud server is still questionable. The hour's need is to provide the cloud service in a 'single port way' by forming the joint management policy to increase customer satisfaction and profitability. In addition to this, the authentication steps also need to be improvised. This paper discusses issues on the security authentication and access provisioning of the cloud service consumers in federated clouds using subscribed user identity. This work proposes the user identity verification module (UidVM) in the cloud service consumer's authentication process to serve as a cloud broker to minimize the work overloads on the central cloud federation management system, thus enhancing the cloud security. Keywords—Security authentication (SA); cloud federation (CF); cloud service provider (CSP); key distribution center (KDC); user identity verification module (UIdVM)


Objective To investigate the primary drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in different age patients in Changzhi,and to provide an evidence for the further development of TB control policy. Methods A total of 739 patients with primary pulmonary tuberculosis were divided into young group,middle age group and old group.The resistance of M.tuberculosis to streptomycin(SM) ,isoniazid(INH) ,rifampicin(RFP) and ethambutol(EMR) was tested by the absolute concentration method. Results The primary drug resistance rates were 31.3%,34.9% and 24.5% respectively in young group,middle age group and old group.There was no significant difference among 3 groups(P0.05) .The frequency of primary drug resistance from high to low in order was SM,INH,RFP and EMR in 3 groups.The primary drug resistance rate to SM in young group was the highest(24.0%) among three groups.The rate of primary multi-drug resistance in middle age group was the highest(5.5%) ,and there was significant difference between middle age group and old group(P0.05) . Conclusion Primary drug resistance varies in different age patients in Changzhi.The great attention should be paid to the age group of high drug resistance.


This report consists of three parts. The first part describes a numerical analysis method for the electromagnetic field analysis of a septum magnet. A novel improvement to the treatment of exciting currents in the time-domain is proposed. The second part discusses numerical predictions of the electromagnetic characteristics of the APS PAR septum. The time variations of stray field and eddy currents are shown for three magnet designs. The last part explores how decreasing the septum material conductivity affects the stray field. The decrease of conductivity may be caused by an inadequate manufacturing of the septum material. The significance of a high quality septum, or flat interface between copper and iron, is emphasized from a point of view of stray field. An ideal method for joining two different metals without distortion, called HIP (Hot Isostatic Pressing), is introduced and recommended based on the authors` experience.


The article compares and contrasts two types of social arrangement, the institution and the network, for the pursuit of science and scholarship. An institution is defined as a corporate group with a distinct boundary that exists or is presumed to exist in perpetuity, whereas a network is seen as an ego-focused or ego-centred arrangement that ceases to exist with the decease of the individual at its centre. As the institutions of science and scholarship, most notably the universities, come under various kinds of social and political pressure, more and more scholars and scientists begin to use networks in the pursuit of their objectives.


Human beta interferon (HuIFN-β) is a natural glycoprotein with antiviral, antiproliferative, and immunomodulatory properties. The administration of HuIFN-β by intravenous (iv) infusion has been shown to have an antiviral effect on HBe antigen-positive chronicactive hepatitis.In order to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and biological effects of iv bolus administrationof HuIFN-βas compared with iv infusion, we studied ten healthy male volunteers whoreceived a single injection of 3×106IU of HuIFN-βby either bolus administration over5 min or infusion over 1hr.The pharmacokinetic study showed that high peak serum IFN levels were achieved at5min but HuIFN-β was cleared rapidly in the five volunteers receiving HuIFN-βbybolus. On the other hand, constant low levels of circulating HuIFN-βby infusion wereseen in the other five volunteers.The interferon-induced intracellular enzyme 2', 5'-oligoadenylate synthetase (2-5 AS), which is known to be one of the mediators of the antiviral activity of IFN and is suggested to be a convenient marker for interferon therapy, was also measured in serum.Both iv bolus and infusion administration resulted in significant elevation of 2-5 ASactivity which remained stable from 24 hr to 72 hr after the injection, while IFN was nolonger detectable in serum.The rate of induction of the 2-5 AS activity was equivalent following each method ofadministation despite the different IFN pharmacokinetic profiles. There were no significant changes in laboratory findings and side effects by iv bolus or infusion administrationof HuIFN-β.These results may substantiate the usefulness of iv bolus administration of HuIFN-βtopatlents.


SRSA Fellows Address: Andy Isserman sums up his life's work and gives advice to young regional scientists, just months before his untimely passing. With a few memorial remarks by Sarah A. Low.


Acknowledgements Abbreviations Notes on Contributors Brief Chronology of the WEA Stephen K. Roberts - Introduction 1. Bernard Jennings - The WEA - the Foundation and the Founder 2. Sean Creighton - Battersea and the Formation of the Workers' Educational Association 3. Lawrence Goldman - The First Students in the Workers' Educational Association Individual Enlightenment and Collective Advance 4. Meredith Kwartin Rusoff - R. H. Tawney and the WEA 5. Stephen K. Roberts - The Evolution of the WEA in the West Midlands - 1905-26 6. Bernard Jennings - The Friends and Enemies of the WEA 7. John Atkins - 'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall' The National Association and Internationalism 1918-1939 8. John Field - Survival, Growth and Retreat the WEA in Wartime - 1939-45 9. John Holford - Unions, Adult Education and Post-War Citizenship the WEA and the Construction of Trade Union Education 10. Rob Duncan - Ideology and Provision the WEA and the Politics of Workers' Education in Early Twentieth Century Scotland 11. Richard Lewis - The WEA and Workers' Education in Early Twentieth Century Wales 12. Zoe Munby - Women's Involvement in the WEA and Women's Education 13. Derek Tatton - Literature, Cultural Studies and the WEA 14. Peter Caldwell and Stephen K. Roberts - From Day Release to Lifelong Learning Workplace Education and the WEA after 1964 15. Julia Jones - WEA Values in the Twenty-First Century WEA Voices Index


In order to meet the similarity of sediment settlement and starting motion,light model sediments are commonly adopted in river model test.The inconformity of the erosion time scale with the flow time scale generated by light model sediments causes distortion in the flow movement and deviation in the river storage tank and sediment transmission,which lead to the dissimilarity of river-bed deformation.Based on the Changjiang Flood Protection Physical Model Test,the paper analyzes the influence of time scale distortion on the flow movement and on the river-bed deformation.The paper also discusses the improvement approach to solving the distortion influence.The control mode of water-sediment process that is ahead of time at inlet and lags at outlet of the physical model may be used in similar models.


Diabetic patients carry the risk of developing a specific form of cardiac dysfunction, termed diabetic cardiomyopathy, which is not accounted for by coronary artery disease or hypertension, but likely stems from hormonal and metabolic derangements associated with diabetes. Several factors contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic cardiomyopathy, and one important role is the loss of the heart's metabolic flexibility with overreliance on fatty acid (FA) oxidation for adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production. Such disproportionate FA oxidation provokes myocardial accumulation of toxic intermediates, such as ceramide and diacylglycerol, a pathology termed lipotoxicity, which has been observed in various animal models and also patients with diabetes (Brookheart et al. 2009; Bayeva et al. 2013). Furthermore, extensive remodelling of cardiac energy metabolism impacts numerous cellular processes, such as excitation–contraction coupling and the mitochondrial redox state, contributing to contractile dysfunction, but presumably also redox-dependent cell death and signalling events triggering maladaptive cardiac remodelling of the diabetic heart. In this issue of The Journal of Physiology, Cortassa and colleagues (2019) shed new light on the pathophysiology of metabolic remodelling in the diabetic heart. To this end, the authors took advantage of a commonly used mouse model of spontaneous type 2 diabetes induced by global genetic deletion of the leptin receptor (db/db). As a consequence of metabolic inflexibility and insulin resistance, contractile performance of Langendorff-perfused db/db hearts challenged with the β-agonist isoproterenol is blunted when the myocardium is supplied exclusively with high levels of glucose, mimicking peaks of hyperglycaemia, compared to non-diabetic hearts perfused with euglycaemic medium. Under these conditions, the addition of palmitate to the perfusion medium enhances cardiac function in db/db, but not wild-type, hearts. In fact, 95% of cardiac ATP production is sustained by oxidative phosphorylation, which in turn is supported by the continuous supply of reducing equivalents (NADH and FADH2) produced by the terminal oxidation of acetyl-CoA via the Krebs cycle. Although the healthy heart relies predominantly (60–90%) on FAs for ATP production, its metabolic flexibility enables utilization of different substrates as energy sources depending on the metabolic milieu (Bertero &


We investigated a scenario where the presence of a broad absorption line (BAL) feature in quasars (QSOs) is contingent upon the line of sight being situated within an outflow cone emanating from the source. We examined the mechanism of dust-driven winds based on the failed radiatively accelerated dusty outflow (FRADO) model proposed by Czerny&Hryniewicz, letting it be responsible for the formation of massive outflow. We calculated the probability of observing the BAL effect from the geometry of outflow which is a function of global parameters of black hole mass (M$_{BH}$), Eddington ratio ($\alpha_{Edd}$), and metallicity (Z). We then compared the results with prevalence of BAL QSOs in a sample of observational data from SDSS. The consistency of our model with the data supports the interpretation of the BAL phenomenon as a result of source orientation, rather than a transitory stage in AGN evolution


Background: Mechanical neck pain is a widespread significant health problem with a huge burden on the individual and economy. Finding a noninvasive effective treatment that's non exhaustive for the therapist and non painful for the patient is highly needed. Aim of Study: This study investigated and compared the effects of instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) using m2t blade and trigger point release (TPR) in terms of neck lateral flexion and rotation range of motion on upper trapezius (UT) myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) in mechanical neck pain. Methods: Forty patients between 18 and 55 years were randomized to one either group A or B. Group A received one session of TPR and passive stretching while group B received one session of IASTM using M2t blade and passive stretching. Tape measurement was used to evaluate patients pretreatment, post treatment and at follow-up. Results: Within group analysis, there was a significant increase in neck lateral flexion and rotation at immediate post treatment and at follow-up in both groups (p<0.001). Between group analysis, there was with no significant difference in lateral flexion and neck rotation (p>0.05) Conclusion: IASTM using M2t blade and TPR were effective in treating patients with mechanical neck pain and UT MTrPs.


This paper presents an empirical analysis of the issue of the employment quality among ethnic minority migrant population based on the 2017 China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS) data. Firstly, principal component analysis is used to construct an indicator system for the employment quality of the ethnic minority migrant population, followed by descriptive statistical analysis of the employment quality according to the constructed indicator system. Then, the OLS regression model is used to further explore the influence of various factors under individual, social and mobility characteristics on the employment quality of the ethnic minority migrant population. Finally, corresponding countermeasures are proposed to improve the employment quality of the ethnic minority migrant population.


During the period of changing planning economy to market economy in China, the commissions of duty crimes are increasing. Many scholars in the academic circle have probed into the causes form various perspectives. During the transformation period, the ideology for the civil servants has been changed, which has much to do with their commissions of duty crimes. It is of much importance to take hold of their ideology so as to prevent them from commission of duty crimes.


Requests for high level of entertainment,fashion and business are definitely leading to the development of mobile 3D graphics technology in the embedded system.This paper,according to JSR-184 which is the specification defined the mobile 3D Graphics API(M3G) for J2ME,is implemented an implementation of mobile 3D based on embedded Java.It brings forward a clear cut of the specification and relative render pipeline,and proposes the architecture and solution of implementation.It takes an overview of the mobile 3D industry.


In this paper we are proposing a hybrid secure software development lifecycle (H-SSDLC).The proposed H-SSDLC provides the early indications for the software developer to think about the security at the very early stage of software development lifecycle. An empirical evaluation based on the most important security attributes like dependency, availability, confidentiality and integrity is carried on a system to determine the security level of the components. The calculated security (severity) levels provide the early indications for the developer to take the necessary counter measures to mitigate the security flaws early in the software development process. Our proposed framework uses the best of the techniques at each level of development to achieve the more secure system.


This study aims to examine and analysis the influence of Current Ratio (CR), Debt to Equity Ratio (DER), and Return on Assets (ROA) to changes in profits in manufacturing companies sector basic industrial and chemical listed on Indonesia Stock Exchange 2013-2017. A sample of 57 companies were obtained using purposive sampling method. Data collection technique on this research were literature study and internet access. The method used was multiple regression formula. The result showed that independent variables of this research, Current Ratio (CR) and Debt to Equity Ratio (DER) had no significant effect on the profit change and Return On Assets (ROA) had significant effect on the profit change in the manufacturing companies sector basic industrial and chemical listed on Indonesia Stock Exchange period 2013-2017
Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pengaruh Current Ratio, Debt to Equity Ratio, dan Return on Assets terhadap perubahan laba pada perusahaan manufaktur sektor industri dasar dan kimia yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia periode 2013-2017. Sampel sebanyak 57 perusahaan diperoleh dengan menggunakan metode  purposive sampling. Metode analisis data yang digunakan adalah regresi berganda. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa variabel independen dalam penelitian ini, yaitu current ratio dan debt to equity ratio tidak   berpengaruh signifikan terhadap perubahan laba dan return on assets berpengaruh signifikan terhadap perubahan laba pada perusahaan manufaktur sektor industri dasar dan kimia yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia periode tahun 2013-2017.


Hunger and malnutrition continue to be significant challenges in developing nations, including Sri Lanka. To address this issue, the research paper presents "Saubhagya," an online web application that provides a platform for social assistance. The platform allows individuals to donate food and groceries to needy organizations such as blind, deaf, orphanages, making it a user-friendly and effective solution. Users are required to register as food donators, needy people(organizations), partners and food collection agents. The system connects these user groups when necessary, ensuring a smooth and efficient process. One unique feature of "Saubhagya" is its live capability of tracking food collection and delivery using GPS and Google Maps. This feature ensures that food donations are delivered to the right organizations promptly, promoting transparency, accountability, and communication among users. The research paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of "Saubhagya" in reducing hunger and malnutrition in Sri Lanka through user feedback and system performance metrics. If successful, the platform can be scaled to other developing nations facing similar challenges. This research demonstrates the potential of digital platforms in addressing social and environmental challenges. By leveraging technology, collective action can be harnessed to create positive social impact. "Saubhagya" represents a significant step forward in the fight against hunger and malnutrition, and it is hoped that it can inspire others to use technology to address pressing global issues.


The discoveries of a dairy cow in the state of Washington in December 2003 and a beef cow in Texas in June 2005, both infected with BSE, essentially removed any doubt that a better tracking method for animals and meat needs to be implemented in the United States. These tracking methods are often referred to as traceability. However, an important consideration evolving out of the pressure placed on the United States to develop some type of animal and meat traceability system is how to address consumer concerns about food safety related to BSE effectively without drastically disrupting the current domestic meat production and processing system. This article describes why farm-to-fork traceability is a difficult and costly task in modern, high-volume beef packing plants and also provides some insights based on survey data about consumer preferences for different tracking and testing methods to address food safety concerns relative to BSE. The dominant existing model for traceability is in the European Union (EU) and calls for farm-to-fork (linear) traceability systems for meat and other food items; a system many in the American food business currently consider either too costly to implement in the U.S. system or not justified by " sound science. " For example, USDA estimates that implementing just farm-to-slaughter traceabil-ity for all program species would cost approximately $500 million over six years. Sparks Companies Inc. estimated that the initial capital investment required to implement a farm-to-fork system just for cattle in the United States would be approximately $140 million with an additional annual variable cost of about $108 million. Farm Foundation (2004) reports that American food firms would prefer a market rather than a regulated (such as in the EU) solution for traceability. Consequently, concerns about costs and flexibility appear to indicate that a model different than the EU's needs to be developed in the United States to address consumer concerns about food safety related to BSE while being cost effective. The U.S. animal and meat tracking system is currently developing as a two-step process. The first step of this process is the eventual implementation of an animal identification system from farm to slaughter called the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). NAIS may be phased in as a mandatory system and full implementation is scheduled for 2009. The second step of the process would then have meat being tracked after it leaves the packing plant. This two-step approach creates a …


SOCIAL insurance programs of all kinds--including Social Security retirement benefits, unemployment insurance, and the federal government programs of health insurance--have exploded in magnitude during the past two decades of The Public Interest's existence. Today these programs cost more than $300 billion a year and account for more than half of all federal government spending on non-defense programs. Twenty years ago, the total cost of these programs was only $19 billion. Even after adjusting for the general rise in prices, real outlays have increased sixfold between 1965 and 1985. As a result, the share of GNP spent in this way rose from 9..9 percent in 1965 to 7.7 percent now. For most American families, the taxes paid to finance these social insurance programs exceed the family's total income tax payments. The economic impact of social insurance programs is not limited to their budget cost and the resulting effect on tax liabilities. The explosion of government-provided health insurance has caused health care costs to skyrocket. Unemployment insurance has increased layoffs and caused higher unemployment rates. And the Social Security retirement program has forced individuals to retire earlier than they would truly prefer and has reduced the nation's rate of capital accumulation.


An ID card input technology based on IME presented in this paper is to put ID card message into the existed applica- tion without modifying or updating the current system.The main idea was that we added an IME Device Interface Model with filter and editor functions in the structure of Input Method Editor through which the ID card message was put into the former application.therefore,the life-period of the current application became longer.


Faces of three-dimensional crystals have been divided into edge and corner ones to describe the phenomenon of their disappearance and appearance during the crystal growth. The expression for the critical growth velocity governing the presence of corner faces has been derived and verified and the validity of the previous relationship (SZURGOT, PRYWER) for the edge faces confirmed. Three nearest neighbours control the presence of corner faces and two neighbours decide on the edge faces.


The overdose crisis in the United States is not abating. The number of overdose mortalities has never been higher, and synthetic opioid mortalities increased 45% from 2016 to 2017 (Scholl, et al., 2019). The scope is daunting, but there is "low-hanging fruit" yet to be addressed. Though seldom mentioned in public debate, effective treatment is available, yet access to it is mired in red tape.


Much effort has been devoted to the study of the formation of superplastic in aluminum alloys on account of its cost and engineering advantages. From a mechanical point of view, the ability of a crystalline material to undergo superplastic behavior is usually linked to a submicrometer grain size. Equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) is an innovative technique for developing ultrafine-grained microstructures by introducing a severe plastic deformation in a bulk material with no significant changes in its cross-section. Equally, equal channel angular drawing (ECAD) is an emerging technology that permits more industrial applications than the former. However, the deformations thus obtained are much lower. This work presents a study of the application of the finite elements method to this technique using two common angles of 90 and 120°. Process conditions have been modified in order to analyze the effect of friction between the dies and the billet. Moreover, experimental ECAE and ECAD methods have been carried out using 3103 Al–Mn; 5083 Al–Mg and 1370 aluminum alloys through Routes A and B.


Background: Substance abuse is one of the most important problems nowadays that has found the world range. A disaster that destroys millions of lives, and big national funds are spent to fight or compensate its damages. Objectives: This study was conducted with the aim of examining the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on reducing smoking among addicts in Tehran. Methods: The method used in this study in terms of the applied purpose and data collection, was quasi-experimental design with pretest-posttest group and control group. Statistical population of the present study consisted of all male smokers aged 20 to 40 years living in Tehran, who had been referred to the stop smoking clinic in Tehran municipality and Javanmardan park for treatment. Convenience sampling method was used to choose samples from statistical population. In this way, 30 persons who smoked cigarette daily were chosen and referred for treatment; they were randomly divided into one experimental group and one control group. Thus, 15 persons were randomly assigned to the control group and 15 ones to the experimental group (mindfulness). The Selfmade questionnaire for smoking rate was used in this study. Using SPSS software, obtained data from questionnaires were analyzed and divided into two parts, descriptive and inferential. Results: According to the obtained results, there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups (P < 0.05).The results showed that mindfulness is effective in reducing smoking in the persons aged 20 to 40 years. Conclusions: Based on the findings of this study, it can be stated that some solutions should be considered in order to conduct the mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in counseling centers.


To increase the depth of field of an optical system, an inver sion of the chromatism is produced. This accommodates the fact that, in natural light, users prefer, for their photographs, taking long distance shots outdoors, where the illuminant is mostly composed of blue, and short-distance shots indoors, where the illuminant is mostly composed of red. While opti cal devices naturally focus the blue components at a shorter distance than the red components, which is unfavorable, with an inversion of the chromatism, a focus more in keeping with what is required is restored.


© 2004 Ch r i s Fe rguson , Gene Spence r , and Te r r y Met z Chris Ferguson is Dean for Information Resources at Pacific Lutheran University. Gene Spencer is Associate Vice President for Information Services and Resources at Bucknell University. Terry Metz is College Librarian and Associate Vice President for Technology and Information Services at Wheaton College. recent years, many higher education institutions, from liberal arts colleges to major research universities, have integrated their information technology (IT) and library organizations. Still more institutions are actively exploring the possibility of doing so. Their reasons for combining the separate organizations range from positioning the institution for the challenges of a digital future to resolving a serious service crisis in one of the existing organizations. In addition, merging library and IT operations into a single service organization simply makes sense from both the user's and the administrator's perspective.1 The users of these services and resources are often unable to distinguish clearly between tool and content, and they are increasingly confused about whom to consult for help in accomplishing their work. Some merged organizations have addressed these problems by blending the operations of the IT help desk and the library reference desk, by collocating IT and library functions in a single campus location, by undertaking integrated visioning and planning, by fostering joint instructional programs for students and faculty, and/or by designing new professional positions that combine the expertise of librarians and technologists. Than the Sum of Its Parts


The purpose of the researcher was to investigate the qualified admissions criteria described in Kan. Stat. Ann. 76-717 and their relationship to degree completion, retention rates, and college GPA at Fort Hays State University when applied to a previous freshman class. The independent variables were: qualified admission requirement attainment. ACT composite score, high school grade point average, high school class rank, gender, ethnic background, and enrollment status. The dependent variables were: graduation status, enrollment status, and college grade point average. The sample size was 323 subjects. Twelve null hypotheses were tested employing a z-test of difference between independent proportions analysis. One null hypothesis was tested employing a one-way analysis of variance, and two composite null hypotheses were tested employing a three-way analysis of variance (general linear model). All null hypotheses and composite null hypotheses were tested at the .05 level. A total of27 comparisons were made. Of the 27 comparisons, 19 were for main effects and 8 were for interactions. The results of the present study appeared to support the following generalizations: 1. more college students who met the minimum qualified admission requirements graduated in four years or less or were currently enrolled after four academic years: 2. more college students who had ACT composite scores greater than or equal to 21 graduated in four years or less or were currently enrolled after four academic years: 3. more college students had high school grade-point averages greater than or equal to 2.0 graduated in four years or less or were currently enrolled after four academic years: 4. more college students who ranked in the lap 1/3 of their high school class graduated in four years or less or were currently enrolled aft('r four academic years: 5. more college students who have graduated have higher college grade point averages than college students who were currently enrolled after four academic years or not enrolled. respectively: 6. Caucasian college students have higher college grade point averages than non-Caucasian college Students: 7. College students who met all of the individual minimum qualified admission requirements, two of the three individual requirements, one of the individual requirements, or none of the requirements have higher college grade point averages. respectively: 8. college students who had ACT composite scores greater than or equal to 21 have higher college grade point averages: 9. college students who had high school grade point averages greater than or equal to 2.0 have higher college grade point averages: and 10. college students who ranked in the top 1/3 of their high school class have higher college grade point averages.


(57) Abstract: The disposable garment with enhanced extensibility around the waist opening is disclosed. Disposable garment having a crotch region between the front region, back region and front region and the rear region. The disposable garment comprises a chassis and seams. Chassis includes a backsheet, and the top sheet and the back sheet inserted absorbent core between the joined topsheet, the topsheet. Chassis includes ear panels extending outwardly central panels having side edges and waist edges, and in the front region and the rear region of each side edge of the central panel in the lateral direction. Ear panels is to stretch to form the extensible ear. Extensible ear has upper edge, lower edge, an inner side edge and the outer side edge. Outer side edges are not parallel to the inner side edge, not parallel to the longitudinal centerline of the garment, and projects outwardly in a side direction near the upper edge. Lateral width of the extensible ear between the inner side edge and the outer side edges thicker towards the closer vicinity of the lower edge of the upper edge. Seam is bonded to the corresponding portions is each ear panel along the Gaisoku edge so as to form one waist opening and two leg openings on opposite sides of the region of the disposable garment. Seams are not parallel to the longitudinal centerline.


Introduction While contentand task-based learning are not new concepts in ESL/EFL teaching, it has yet to be fully integrated into many language programs' curricula especially within Japan. In the International Languages and Culture Department (ILC) learners have been introduced to a new contentand task-based learning approach in the second year of their English language program. This new curriculum was created to promote cooperative learning, communication and critical thinking through tasks that are related to and content-appropriate for learners' needs within the ILC Department. This paper will explain the context and rationale for developing a new curriculum. We will also describe the full academic year curriculum focused on building a sense of community, encouraging cooperation and developing critical-thinking skills through investigative tasks.


1. Paul D. Creating change: building the capacity of the medical workforce in Aboriginal health. ANZ J. Surg. 2013; 83: 55–9. 2. Curtis E, Reid P. Indigenous Health Workforce Development: challenges and successes of the Vision 20:20 programme. ANZ J. Surg. 2013; 83: 49–54. 3. Hill S, Sarfati D, Robson B, Blakely T. Indigenous inequalities in cancer: what role for health care? ANZ J. Surg. 2013; 83: 36–41. 4. Blair V, Kahokehr A, Sammour T. Cancer in Māori: lessons from prostate, colorectal and gastric cancer and progress in hereditary stomach cancer in New Zealand. ANZ J. Surg. 2013; 83: 42–8. 5. Moore SP, Green AC, Garvey G, Coory MD, Valery PC. A study of head and neck cancer treatment and survival among indigenous and nonindigenous people in Queensland, Australia, 1998 to 2004. BMC Cancer 2011; 11: 460. 6. Moore SP, O'Rourke PK, Mallitt KA et al. Cancer incidence and mortality in Indigenous Australians in Queensland 1997–2006. Med. J. Aust. 2010; 193: 590–3. 7. Brennan MF. George Adlington Syme Oration. The surgeon as a leader in cancer care. Aust. N. Z. J. Surg. 1998; 68: 691–97.


Wireless communications using free space optics (FSO) are sensitive to atmospheric conditions. Hydrometeors, but also clear-air turbulence, may introduce severe impairments reducing FSO channel availability. Yearly radiosounding profiles, available near Rome (Italy), are used to estimate the power scintillation index through a new physical turbulence structure constant model and to estimate scintillation fade statistics for near-infrared FSO.


Based on the risk of coumarins used in cosmetics to human health,an accurate and convenient high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)method was developed for analyzing seven coumarins in cosmetics on C18 column.The relative standard derivation(RSD)of retention time and peak area were below0.1% and 2%,respectively.The limits of detection(LOD)of seven analytes were all below40μg/L.The recoveries of all analytes obtained by spike samples ranged from80%to94%.This method has advantages of high-speed,accuracy,sensitivity and convenience,it could be used to analyze coumarins in cosmetics effectively.


The article describes the requirements for ultrasonic testing of hoisting machines on vehicles. Showing scheme of control and quality evaluation of elements of metal structures during ultrasonic testing.


The traditional outcomes of the Fontan operation (FO) in endocardial cushion defect (ECD) patients have been suboptimal. Previous studies have been limited by the smaller number of ECD patients, longer study period with an era effect, and do not directly compare short‐term outcomes of FO in ECD patients with non‐ECD patients. Our study aims to address these shortcomings.


Based on the lack of management information and maintenance workload in DCS system, the paper puts forward a solution about DCS Device Management of entire life cycle for the first time.According to the characteristics of DCS,the solution combines B/S mode and C/S mode,and achieves the unified,comprehensive,long-range management and maintenance of devices including I/O module,Communication module,Controller,Workstation and Network Environment.This solution has been put into the system of SUPCON ECS-700.


From the analysis of labour use in agriculture one observes a clear segregation in the agricultural activities by sex. Weeding, cleaning grain and storage of grain are done exclusively by women. Activities related to land preparation, irrigation, spraying fertilizer and pesticides are generally done by men. Other agricultural operations such as seed collection, dung spraying, sowing, transplanting, harvesting, threshing, and carrying the grains to home are jointly done by the men and woman. But all market related activities like buying agricultural inputs and hiring labour and sale of output are exclusively done by the male members, generally the head of the family. One can conclude from the above analysis that while women share a large burden of agricultural activities, they are assigned an inferior role. Tasks requiring use of machines, new inputs and market related activities are controlled by men. Women are mostly involved in lighter manual work and work not related to marketing activities.


In the last five decades, the governments in South Asian countries have focused their attention on the growth of power sector and invested huge capital (both public and private)in the power sector to increase the production of power i.e. electricity. In India, power sector was not well attended even the investments in the sector were very high. Most of the investments were in the form of loans and debentures to generate more and more power for industry, agriculture and the domestic as well as of the public sector utilities. The institutional devices for such investments were in the form of Electricity Boards(as a public sector undertaking)at the state governments' level. The Union government has not directly involved itself in the production of power except in the atomic power generation. Such electricity boards were not successful in their responsibilities as the State governments were over dominated by the political considerations. Consequently, low power generation, mismanagement and capital losses emerged at the state level electricity boards in most of the states. Hence, the Indian economy was in the doldrums and experienced severe problems of the development in most of the economic areas. Basically, the strategy adopted to develop the infrastructure sector in the country has been faulty both at the policy and the institutional level. In a highly centralized planned and over controlled economy, the means of production were not properly designed and managed. Malhotra (Dec1997) has identified six reasons of mal-development of the infrastructure sector:(i)investment requirements exceed the national capacities;(ii) the performance of the infrastructure sector has not met the international standards;(iii) the managerial and the technical resources were inadequate;(iv) innovations in technology have been enormous; (v) new approaches of economy (privatization and independent regulation) were ignored; and (vi) the limited coverage and quality of infrastructure sector has not been able to catch the global competitiveness. Besides these reasons, political reasons like politics of poverty have stifled the efforts of the public sector in India. Further, the state and Union governments have exploited the resources of the State Electricity Boards(SEBs)for their own purposes by ignoring the capital and generation capacities of the SEBs and these boards have incurred huge losses. Moreover, the policy of government to subsidize the agriculture sector in the uses of electricity have crippled the efforts of the SEBs to generate capital as the subsidy was not paid back to the SEBs by the state and Union governments. Last but not least, some of the results of the welfare policies could also be seen in the huge losses of the SEBs. On the whole, the institutional device (public sector undertaking) was not proper to bear such big responsibility due to lack of power, overstaffing, low quality of technology, manpower and over-bureaucratization.


We consider an initial and boundary value problem for the two dimensional wave equation with nonlinear damping concentrated on an interior curve. By the use of the theory of nonlinear semigroups we prove a wellposedness result. The main result asserts that generically (i.e. for almost all interior curves) the solutions decay to zero in the energy space. We also show, that whatever the interior curve is, the decay is not uniform.


THE AIM OF THIS ARTICLE IS TO SHOW THAT, ALTHOUGH MATHEMATICAL MODELS ARE EASY TO USE, THEY CAN LEAD TO ERRONEOUS INTERPRETATIONS OF PHYSICAL PHENOMENA. IN THE STUDY OF SOIL CONSOLIDATION (AS UNDERSTOOD BY TERZAGHI) THE USE OF THE CONSOLIDATION COEFFICIENT CV IS A TYPICAL EXAMPLE OF THIS. IT IS RARE THAT THE TWO PHYSICAL PHENOMENA INVOLVED IN CONSOLIDATION ARE BORNE IN MIND: PORE WATER FLOW AS A FUNCTION OF TIME AND THE STRESS/STRAIN LAW GOVERNING THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE SOLID PARTICLES. THE CONSOLIDATION COEFFICIENT CV BRINGS TOGETHER THE PARAMETERS INVOLVED IN THESE TWO LAWS. THIS ARTICLE DEALS WITH THE INTERPRETATION OF THE PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF THE CONSOLIDATION OF MULTI-LAYER SYSTEMS USING BOTH THE MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL APPROACHES.


A new multiobjective linear programming (MOLP) algorithm is presented. The algorithm uses a variant of Karmarkar's interior-point algorithm known as the affine-scaling primal algorithm. Using this single-objective algorithm, interior search directions are generated and used to provide an approximation to the gradient of the (implicitly known) utility function. The approximation is guided by assessing locally relevant preference information for the various interior directions through interaction with a decision maker (DM). The resulting algorithm is an interactive approach that makes its progress towards the solution through the interior of the constraints polytope.


group of plant reoviruses (7)]; details of the appearance of their inclusions are similar, though the core of the lily virus particles in sections seems smaller, but this may be an experimental artifact. Furthermore, acanthovirus virions have two shells of which the outer can be lost, resulting in virions of two sizes like those of the lily virus. However, the lily virus does not share all its properties with the acanthoviruses. For example, intact acanthovirus virions typically have a spiky surface, whereas those of the lily virus did not, also acanthoviruses have so far only been found in graminaceous plants and they typically cause enations, whereas the lilies we examined only showed mosaic symptoms. It is generally more difficult to detect viruses in plants, for quarantine purposes, than to detect other types of pathogen , especially as plants are usually examined before export and those with obvious disease symptoms removed. Attempts to transm it viruses to indicator plants are time-consuming and expensive, serological tests are quick but can only be done for already-known viruses. Electron microscopy, though expensive, is still perhaps the most useful single test, as th is investigation has confirmed. As a result of our investigation the consignment of lily bulbs was destroyed.


We have presented the evolution of angular momentum and orbital period changes between the component spins and the orbit in close double white dwarf binaries undergoing mass transfer through direct impact accretion over a broad range of orbital parameter space. This work improves upon similar earlier studies in a number of ways: First, we calculate self-consistently the angular momentum of the orbit at all times. This includes gravitational, tides and mass transfer effects in the orbital evolution of the component structure models, and allow the Roche lobe radius of the donor star and the rotational angular velocities of both components to vary, and account for the exchange of angular momentum between the spins of the white dwarfs and the orbit. Second, we investigate the mass transfer by modeling the ballistic motion of a point mass ejected from the center of the donor star through the inner Lagrangian point. Finally, we ensure that the angular momentum is conserved, which requires the donor star spin to vary self-consistently. With these improvements, we calculate the angular momentum and orbital period changes of the orbit and each binary component across the entire parameter space of direct impact double white dwarf binary systems. We find a significant decrease in the amount of angular momentum removed from the orbit during mass transfer, as well as cases where this process increases the angular momentum and orbital period of the orbit at the expense of the spin angular momentum of the donor and accretor. We find that our analysis yields an increase in the predicted number of stable systems compared to that in the previous studies, survive the onset of mass transfer, even if this mass transfer is initially unstable. In addition, as a consequence of the tidal coupling, systems that come into contact near the mass transfer instability boundary undergo a phase of mass transfer with their orbital period.


Abstract The ternary system BaO-ZnO-TiO 2 is of great interest for use in the production of microwave dielectric ceramics, as the temperature coefficient of the dielectric constant for a ternary phase in the system has the opposite sign from that of the major component in such devices, BaTi 4 O 9 . The ternary system has been found to contain four ternary phases, ideally BaZn 2 Ti 4 O 11 , Ba 4 ZnTi 11 O 27 , Ba 2 ZnTi 5 O 13 , and Ba x Zn x Ti 8- x O 16 -hollandite. Compatibility triangles for the ternary system have been established and the crystal chemistry and crystal structure of each of the phases was investigated. The phase equilibria data and crystal structures are compared with those encountered in the binary system and other ternary and more complex systems involving barium polytitanates.


It is proposed that the important connection between 3C 273 and 3C 279, the first two extragalactic sources detected at greater than 100 MeV energies, is their superluminal nature. In support of this conjecture, we propose a radiation mechanism that focuses gamma rays in the superluminal direction, due to Compton scattering of accretion-disk photons by relativistic nonthermal electrons in the jet.


Part II continues the development of policy synthesis techniques for multiclass queueing networks based upon a linear fluid model. The following are shown:

A relaxation of the fluid model based on workload leads to an optimization problem of lower dimension. An analogous workload-relaxation is introduced for the stochastic model. These relaxed control problems admit pointwise optimal solutions in many instances. A translation to the original fluid model is almost optimal, with vanishing relative error as the network load $\rho$ approaches one. It is pointwise optimal after a short transient period, provided a pointwise optimal solution exists for the relaxed control problem. A translation of the optimal policy for the fluid model provides a policy for the stochastic network model that is almost optimal in heavy traffic, over all solutions to the relaxed stochastic model, again with vanishing relative error. The regret is of order $|\log(1-\rho)|$.


This paper discusses the necessity of teaching English Listening Comprehension based on the learner-centered approach. It then presents five attempts in the practice of teaching Listening to English majors at the tertiary level: ① undertaking needs analysis; ② using authentic materials; ③ developing active listening strategies; ④ multimedia assisted English Listening Comprehension teaching and learning; ⑤ dynamic supplement of classroom teaching with after-class listening activities. It finally evaluates the innovation from the following three aspects: analysis of data, comments from the colleagues and feedback from the students. It is shown that the innovation is effective. The author hopes that more attention will be paid to the research in the theory and practice of teaching English Listening Comprehension in China.


can be tested easily by applying a simple computer simulation, and also may be improved by frequent training in making tactical decisions challenged by the programme. The significance of priority decisions on victims' outcomes can be demonstrated. The challenge by repetitive training can be maintained by creating a comprehensive library of various simulated multiple casualty situations. momentum. This paper also will discuss the role played by the Sultanate of Oman in the enhancement of disaster preparedness in the region.


This study digital Media and Information Dissemination in Tertiary Institutions Akwa lbom State. Nigeria sought to determine the extent to which electronic media (e-mail, voice-mail, picture message. and live calls) influence organizational communication in tertiary institutions in the study area. The study adopted the descriptive survey design. Four specify objectives, and a research question were raised and translated into a research hypothesis for testing at .05 level of significance. Conceptual and empirical review of literature indicated that digital media is likely to affect organization communication among staff of tertiary institutions at horizontal and vertical communication patterns. A researcher made instrument called Digital Media Interaction Scale (DMIS) with reliability coefficient of .87 using cronbach Alpha was 752 respondents representing 10% of the study population was used. They were selected using stratified and random sampling techniques where the five governments owned tertiary educational institutions in the study area formed strata. Data collected were analyzed using percentages and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The results show that digital communication media have significant influence, ensure more effective and transactional organizational communication at diverse degrees of intensity and reach depending on authority structure and line staff within the institutions examined. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended among others that staff of tertiary academic institutions should be encouraged to use digital communication media to boost effective and efficient communication.


Two 1-DOF pendulums coupled with a weak spring are considered. This system is a coupled Controlled Hamiltonian Systems that has been studied widely in these days. The control objective is to make pendulums swing synchronously with small input. To this end, Speed Gradient Energy method proposed by Fradkov is adopted to design the controller. Although experimental results showed that the method succeeded in achieving the objective, the mechanism of synchronization was not clear. In this study, the contracted dynamics of the whole system is analyzed and properties of the system are investigated. Through the investigation, a criteria to define the feedback gain of the controller is revealed. Computer simulation and experimental results showed the validity of the method.


Prof. D. M. Rossiyskiy (Nauchn. Izv. IKP, 1923, No. 5) raised a very important question about the treatment of artificial hyperleukocytosis, obtained by introducing substances into the blood that cause an increase in the number of leukocytes.


The present invention (A) an amino group, an alkoxysilyl group, an epoxy group, a hydroxyl group and a diene-based rubber component containing 30 to 100% by mass of the rubber at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of a carboxyl group having from 0.01 to 5.0 mmol per 100 g; (B) silica per 100 parts by mass of the rubber component, from 5 to 130 parts by mass; And (C) a rubber composition containing a carboxyl group, a hydroxyl group, an amino group, and an aliphatic component having at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of epoxy groups, wherein the silica per 100 parts by weight of 3 to 15 parts by weight of the aliphatic component. The rubber composition and tire using the same are excellent in scorching property before vulcanization, and is excellent in rolling resistance and wet skid properties after vulcanization. The rubber composition, the tire rolling resistance, wet skid resistance


This paper proposes a new reliability evaluation method for effective evaluation of the reliability of DDS-based distributed system according to the characteristics of data publish/subscribe in the system. Firstly it introduces the necessity of evaluation of the reliability of DDS-based distributed system, and points out the shortcomings of reliability evaluation method of the traditional software system. Puts a new reliability evaluation method which is based on the traditional method Considered the complexity of component interaction by combining the characteristics of data publish/subscribe in the system.Finally, this paper proves the correctness of the method by comparing the verification examples.


The present article is a study of germs of regular foliations transverse to an embedded strongly exceptional submanifold of a complex manifold. Cohomological conditions are given on this embedding for the existence of these foliations and their classification is established. One dimensional foliations singular at the submanifold and a generalization of a linearization theorem of Poincar\'e for these foliations, are used in this study. As a consequence of our approach, we obtain a refinement of the embedding theorem of Grauert.


This contribution deals with the simulation of Shaft made up of complex part (i.e.composite materials). There is need of low density and high Tensile strength of any shaft which will increase its working efficiency and reduce weight. Initially the existing shaft is solid then converted into hollow and finally composited of same diameter. This all three are tested under FEA and results are compared with each other for better one. The composite layered (Glass Fibre or Carbon Fibre which ever is the best from both) trying with different Fibre Orientations on outer diameter of shaft. The different fibre angle gives different effect to the shear stress von mises stress and deformations. The results are compared from numerical analysis and we get the better fibre angle for good strength shaft. In this way wind mill shaft will get optimized by getting good results of composite shaft by comparison with existing.


Cytoglobin and neuroglobin are recently discovered members of the globin family. In situ hybridization localized neuroglobin mainly in brain and retina, while cytoglobin was expressed ubiquitously in all analyzed tissues. In the present study, polyclonal antibodies were raised against both proteins and the distribution of them was studied by immunocytochemistry at tissue and subcellular level. Cytoglobin immunoreactivity was uniformly distributed and found in all tissues studied. At the subcellular level, cytoglobin immunoreactivity was exclusively detected in the cell nucleus. In contrast, neuroglobin immunoreactivity was detected in specific brain regions with varying intensities and in the islet of Langerhans in the pancreas. The immunoreactivity was restricted to the cytoplasm of neurons and endocrine beta cells. The nuclear localization of cytoglobin opens new perspectives for possible function(s) of globin-folded proteins as transcriptional regulators. dole; coli direct oxygen sensor; PAS, sensory domain named after the eukaryotic proteins Period, Arnt, and Simple-minded; NPAS2, neuronal PAS protein 2; enzyme-linked immunosorbent incubation mNgb or was overnight, after the were incubated with FITC-conjugated Fab fragments of goat anti-rabbit IgG (H (cid:4) L) (diluted 1:200) for 6 h, followed by a 2-h incubation with unlabeled Fab fragments of goat anti-rabbit IgG (Jack-son ImmunoResearch number 111-007-003) to block all possible re- maining binding sites of the first primary The were then incubated overnight with the second primary antibody, which was directed against glial fibrillary acidic protein (anti-GFAP, rabbit polyclonal, 1:200, Dako Z334), calretinin (rabbit polyclonal, 1:5,000, Switzerland) or calbindin (rabbit polyclonal, Swant CB-38). These antibodies were detected with a Cy3-labeled goat anti-rabbit IgG (H (cid:4) L) (GAR-Cy3; diluted 1:4,000, 1 h, Jackson ImmunoResearch number 111-165-144). Negative controls were performed by substitution of non-immune sera for the primary or secondary antisera and antibody specificity was checked by preabsorption of the mNgb and hCYGB antisera with the antigen. To this end, were diluted 1:1,000 and overnight at with


Abstract:Our early music canon traces a narrative of cultural ritual and social representation that reveals national, political, and economic priorities, of both the past and the present—a function not altogether different from historic monuments, or from other culturally bounded architectural spaces, such as museums, or concert halls. As we interact with these objects from the past, what is our ethical responsibility in choosing how to present these materials—either in the classroom, in published scholarship, or in performance? Opera provides an interesting fluidity within this matrix of past and present, narrative and representation, cultural exchange and difference. Revealing layered meanings from the mimetic to the imaginary, operatic symbolisms challenge our relationships to the past, sometimes creating performative discomfort with race and ethnicity. This article examines intellectual frameworks and methodologies that can expand our interpretive lenses, while providing simple strategies and resources for classroom engagement that can (with alteration) also be fruitful for the studio and the stage. Drawing on excerpts from Rameau's "Les Sauvages" from his opera-ballet Les Indes galantes (1735), I explore layers of narrative and cultural symbolism regarding race and representation and question the limits of "exoticism" as a conceptual foundation.


In November–December 1992, we measured microstructure, the hydrographic field, and the velocity field in the western equatorial Pacific near 1°43′S and 156°E as the first part of the Tropical Ocean - Global Atmosphere - Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment. During our stay, we observed two westerly wind bursts with maximum speeds of about 10 m s−1, rainfalls of about 20 mm h−1, and nearly 2 weeks of calm and dry weather. During wind bursts, mixing in the upper 1 MPa was dramatic and rapid, and the major turbulence in the thermocline was produced by near-inertial shears following the wind bursts, during which dissipation rates and Richardson numbers were comparable to those in the central Pacific. By the end of the October–November westerly burst, the averaged eddy diffusivity of momentum in the mixed layer was about 10−2 m2 s−1. Below the mixed layer, a layer about 0.50–0.75 MPa thick with high shear and strain along with a high dissipation rate persisted even after the wind burst. During calm days, mixing was primarily driven by nighttime convection and was confined to the upper 0.1 or 0.2 MPa. In general, no diurnal deep cycle in dissipation rate was found below the mixed layer, unlike in the central equatorial Pacific. Entrainment below the mixed layer occurred when both wind work and convection were large. On average, the entrainment heat flux at the base of the mixed layer was about 6 (±2) W m−2. Salinity gradients were important to density between 0.3 and 0.6 MPa. However, the salinity stratification did not control entrainment mixing. During calm and dry weather, the mixed layer heat content was governed by the vertical divergence of the radiative flux, that is, the net surface heat flux minus the radiative flux out the bottom of the layer. Both the entrainment flux and the advective flux (which was estimated as the residual term) were smaller than uncertainties in the surface heat flux. During the October–November wind burst, however, the advective term was one of the most dominant terms in the heat budget. Although the entrainment heat flux was small over short timescales, it may be important in long-term budgets because the long-term net surface heating could also be small.


I would like to thank Rani Spiegler for the many discussions we had on Behavioral Economics during the last few years. I could not imagine writing this essay without the benefit of his comments, insights, ideas and criticism.


The Au sputtering yields by Ne ions were measured in the range of low injection energy with a low-energy mass analyzed ion beam system. For the ion beam characterization, the mass and energy spectra of the Ne ion beams were measured with a plasma process monitor (Balzers, PPM421) and it was found the Ne beams were essentially monochromatic. The ion beam was injected into an Au thin film prepared on a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and its sputtering yield was evaluated from the Au mass decrement. It has been found that the measured Au sputtering yields by Ne ion beams in the energy range of 100-200 eV approximately agree with the previously reported corresponding values. The sputtering yields were also measured for the injection energies below 100 eV. The threshold energy for Au sputtering by Ne estimated from the low energy data is 35 eV.


I investigate the critical behavior of (2+1)-dimensional CPN−1 model with a Chern-Simons term. I derive the 1/N expansion in this model and show that the theory is renormalizable in this framework. The critical exponents η and υ are calculated to the O(1/N). They exhibit θ (coefficient of the Chern-Simons term) dependence.


A frequency method was proposed to analyze cable tension from measured natural frequencies according to cable tension monitoring of acable stayed bridge during construction. Xinzao Pearl River Grand Bridge was chosen as an example. A geometrical calculation simulation model was established to compare measured cable tension to theoretical cable tension during construction. This paper introduces several cable tension test methods. The principle and theoretical derivations under certain conditions, the method of which fundamental vibration frequency is deduced by dominating vibration frequency, the influence of boundary conditions, bending stiffness, and cable sag on the frequency method testing, and the practical application of frequency method were discussed. A spatial finite element model was established based on finite element software MIDAS. The application of the forward-analysis iterative method was considered to analyze the cable tension during construction. Then the cable tension test method and analysis principle were explored. Finally, it was shown that measured cable tension based on the frequency method was accurate. The measured value is approximately equal to the theoretical value. The experimental error was within the permitted range. The accuracy and reliability of the frequency method was effectively confirmed. The cable tension test for the similar bridges during construction was compatibly applied.


Complex metal oxides (CMOs) are used broadly in applications including electroreactive forms found in lithium-ion battery technology. Computational chemistry can provide unique information about how the properties of CMO cathode materials change in response to changes in stoichiometry, for example, changes of the lithium (Li) content during the charge–discharge cycle of the battery. However, this is difficult to measure experimentally due to the small cross-sectional area of the cations. Outside of operational conditions, the Li content can influence the transformations of the CMO when exposed to the environment. For example, metal release from CMOs in aqueous settings has been identified as a cross-cutting mechanism important to CMO degradation. Computational studies investigating metal release from CMOs show that the thermodynamics depend on the oxidation states of lattice cations, which is expected to vary with the lithium content. In this work, computational studies track changes in metal release trends as a function of Li content in Lix(Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3)O2 (NMC). The resulting dataset is used to construct a random forest tree (RFT) machine learning (ML) model. A modeling challenge in delithiation studies is the large configurational space to sample. Through investigating multiple configurations at each lithium fraction, we find structural features associated with favorable energies to chemically guide the identification of relevant structures and adequately predict voltage values.


The invention discloses a focus adjustable endoscope capsule. The focus adjustable endoscope capsule comprises a shell, an endoscope assembly and a power source, wherein the endoscope assembly is packaged inside the shell. The endoscope assembly comprises a front lens assembly and an LED lighting module which are arranged at the front end inside the shell and further comprises a focus adjustable image collecting assembly driven by a control unit, and the focus adjustable image collecting assembly is fixed inside the shell. Image signals collected by the focus adjustable image collecting assembly are transmitted to an external signal receiving device through a wireless receiving and sending module and an antenna. According to the focus adjustable endoscope capsule, a focus adjustable device is achieved through the shape memory alloy and is placed in the endoscope capsule, and therefore the endoscope capsule has the function of adjusting focus, medical workers can more clearly observe the diseased positions, the judging accuracy is improved, and the treatment of a patient is facilitated. According to the focus adjustable endoscope capsule, images can be transmitted in real time and transmitted intermittently according to the demands, the effective working time of the endoscope capsule in the body can be prolonged, and the diagnosis area is enlarged.


Abstract The notion of cycle indices of an automaton is introduced as a pair of positive parameters (b, q) effectively evaluated by the automaton. It is shown that the totality of periods of constant automata which may be represented as superpositions of a given automaton, Boolean functions, and the delay element, coincides with the variety of divisors of the members of the geometric progression b, bq, bq2,... This suggests an algorithm for checking the expressibility of constant automata, as well as a theorem on the verification of the expressibility of the totality of all automata with a limited number of states.


Electric contacts formed on an n-type diamond film by means of the Ga ion implantation were studied. The implanted Ga contacts revealed Ohmic property at room temperature. Contact resistivity for the implanted Ga contacts formed on the diamond film with donor density of 3×1018 cm−3 was 4.8×106 Ω cm2. The value is more than one order smaller than that for conventional vacuum-deposited metal contacts on the same diamond film. This contact has enabled us to measure electric properties for relatively lightly doped n-type diamond films in a temperature range between room temperature and 600 °C.


In situ immobilization of heavy metals in polluted soil with immobilizing agents is a fast and effective approach to alleviating the environmental and healthy pressure resulted from soil pollution. Here we evaluated the effectiveness of three metal-immobilizers, namely potassium dihydrogen phosphate(KH2PO4), calcium carbonate(Ca CO3)and sodium silicate(Na2Si O3), on soil Pb immobilization. After amendment of these immobilizing agents, soil p H, bioavailable Pb, and Pb fractions were measured, and the crystal structure of soil was also studied by X-ray diffraction technique. Chemicals KH2PO4, Ca CO3 and Na2Si O3 performed the best in immobilization of Pb-polluted soil at a mass addition rate of 5%, 5% and 2%, respectively. Soil exchangeable Pb was decreased while residual Pb increased by three amendments.Lead precipitates Pb3(PO4)2, Pb CO3, and Pb Si O3 occurred in soil after adding immobilizers, resulting in the immobilization of Pb in soil.Compared with the control, the addition of KH2PO4 reduced bioavailable Pb and exchangeable Pb by 95.7% and 96.1%, respectively, but increased residual Pb by 4.7 times, showing that KH2PO4 possessed the best Pb-immobilizing performance among all three amendments.


Nowadays, municipalities provide services to more than 70 percent of countries around the world, particularly the developing countries. Nevertheless, the important role of such nongovernmental institutions has not been adequately recognized in realization of resistive economic policies. As a large Iranian city, Zahedan has the capability to become an economic hub in the eastern region of the country due to its unique geographical location. Thus, the municipality of Zahedan can play an invaluable role in achieving such a goal. This paper attempts to discuss the most important challenges facing municipalities, including the municipality of Zahedan in line with fulfillment of the resistive economic policy. These challenges are categorized into four areas including: Laws and regulations, administrational issues, human resources and citizen participation. The methodology is descriptive-analytical. Moreover, the data were analyzed in terms of statistical measures through SPSS. The results indicates that the greatest challenge concerning the faded role of municipalities in the urban economy originates respectively from laws and regulations, administrational issues, human resources and citizen participation.


PURPOSE: A train speed controlling apparatus and a method thereof are provided to offer a braking power before reaching an ATP(Automatic Train Protection) speed limit and to implement a safe operation of the train. CONSTITUTION: An estimating unit(10) estimates a speed after the predetermined time of a train. The estimating unit uses the operation data of the train and a dynamic model of the train. A calculation unit(20) uses the future speed which the estimating unit estimates. A first controlling unit outputs a reducing speed command. A generating unit(40) generates an ATO(Automatic Train Operation) velocity profile. [Reference numerals] (10) Future speed estimating unit; (2) Train; (20) TTSLC calculation unit; (30) Auxiliary speed control unit; (40) ATO speed profile generating unit; (50) Speed following control unit; (AA) ATP speed limit; (BB) PSM sensor signal; (CC) Propulsion; (DD) Braking power; (EE) Acceleration; (FF) Speed;


this paper mainly introduces the design direction and design principles of UI, and mainly introduces the interface design process of mobile APP. Through the introduction of this paper, readers can preliminarily understand the steps of interface design of mobile APP and have a clear design idea.


White for suggesting references, to David Eltis and Brij V. Lal for comments on an earlier version of this paper, and to J. Krishnamurty for editorial,assistance. During the past two decades, there has been an outpouring of research on the seaboard mortality associated with intercontinental migration during the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The focus of historical interest in this linkage between mortality and migration has been the Atlantic slave trade and mortality rates have been calculated on voyages from various regions in Africa to various destinations in the Americas during the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These slave trade studies have spawned a renewed interest in the mortality associated with immigrant and convict voyages and mortality rates have been calculated on Dutch immigrant voyages to the East Indies during the eighteenth century, European immigrant voyages to North America during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and European convict and immigrant voyages to Australia during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries 2


In the last year, several new studies have shown the potential of optogenetic stimulation to rapidly modify depression- and anxiety-related behaviours in animal models. Optogenetic technology, as described in a previous editorial,1 gives a whole new meaning to "light therapy" that is potentially more effective and rapid and has fewer adverse effects than classic light therapy or pharmacological approaches to treat mental illness.

Unlike classic light therapy, which involves a generalized effect of photic stimulation of the visual system to mediate its effects,2 optogenetics involves the activation by light of engineered light-sensitive ion channel proteins expressed in cells of interest.3 These light-sensitive channels respond to different colors: channelrhodopsin is activated by blue light and depolarizes to activate neurons, while halorhodopsin is activated by yellow light and hyperpolarizes, inhibiting neuronal activity. Viruses have been generated that can express the light-sensitive channel directly or that express the Cre recombinase to trigger its expression in transgenic animals. For in vivo studies the virus is injected into the brain region of interest, and the channel is activated by light fibres implanted at the region of interest in live behaving animals. Recent studies using optogenetic approaches in mice suggest that stimulation by either laser-or LED light at wavelengths to activate channelrhodopsin expressed in transgenically targeted dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) can mediate an immediate effect in 2 models of depression.4,5 Importantly, the pattern of stimulation was critical, with phasic but not tonic light stimulation mediating the effect. Interestingly, in the social defeat model phasic stimulation resulted in increased susceptibility to depression-like behaviour, while inhibition of the same neurons conferred resilience.4 By contrast, in a chronic mild stress model of depression, phasic stimulation conferred resistance and inhibition induced depression-like behaviour in forced swim, tail suspension and sucrose preference tests.5 Why these results of stimulating or inhibiting VTA dopamine neurons are opposite is unclear, but it could relate to differences between the models: social defeat is an acute high-stress treatment that induces social isolation and anhedonia-like behaviour and may model posttraumatic stress disorder.6 Chronic mild stress subjects mice to a repeated low level of inescapable stress that is more akin to depression in humans. Phasic activation of the VTA, while considered a reward pathway, is more accurately a salience monitor for both positive and negative events.7 Its activation is induced by social defeat, and optogenetic activation triggers the negative salience behavioural response.4 While in chronic mild stress, phasic VTA activation may trigger motivated behaviour, counteracting the demotivating effects of this paradigm.

Several studies have shown the importance of region- and cell-specific activation of channelrhodopsin in triggering anxiety-like behaviours. Perhaps most strikingly, by viral injection of channelrhodopsin in the basolateral amygdala and stimulation of the central amygdala using bevelled light fibres, it was possible to selectively stimulate basolateral projections in the central amygdala to elicit anxiolytic behavioural effects.8 Kheirbek and colleagues9 used a nonviral transgenic approach to show that activation of ventral hippocampal granule cells elicits antianxiety responses in open field or elevated plus maze tests, while activation of the dorsal hippocampus enhances context-dependent fear memory. Interestingly these studies found that either dorsal hippocampus inhibition or stimulation prevented context-dependent fear memory, consistent with an ablation of the memory by block or noise due to excess cells activated, respectively. In yet another example of cell specificity, Liu and colleagues10 specifically labelled cells participating in the fear response using a transgenic mouse containing the event-inducible c-Fos promoter to express the doxycycline-inducible tTA protein and then injected into the hippocampus a viral construct with a tTA response element driving expression of channelrhodpsin. When placed in a conditioned fear environment and treated with doxycycline, only the few fear-activated hippocampal neurons expressed the ChR2; subsequently, light activation of these cells was sufficient to induce the fear response under innocuous conditions.

In contrast to the immediate actions of optogenetic stimulation described above, other studies show region-specific effects of chronic stimulation on behaviour. For example, chronic, but not acute, stimulation of 5 min/d over 5–6 days of medial orbitofrontal, but not adjacent prelimbic cortical, glutamate neurons can elicit obsessive–compulsive grooming behaviour in mice.11 On the other hand, activation of adjacent lateral orbitofrontal cortex reduced compulsive grooming in a genetic model of obsessive–compulsive disorder.12 The chronic studies are important because they show that in addition to immediate effects, optogenetic stimulation can be used to modify long-term behaviour and further broaden the ability of light-activated channels to modify behaviour. However, the studies in mice are extremely invasive and involve microinjection of virus into deep brain regions, implantation of light fibres in the brain above the injected brain areas and attachment to laser or LED devices. Is it possible to overcome these obstacles and envisage a clinical use for optogenetics? If the answer is yes, optogenetics might provide an effective new clinical paradigm for treatment of depression that is a more refined version of deep brain stimulation, but the obstacles must be solved.


This data release contains one table of data from a four-year study of Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons frontalis) breeding ecology conducted in the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska during 2013-2017. Location data depict habitat use of 5 marked female birds throughout the annual cycle.


counsel's bench. They had to be kept out of sight until he had shown what his findings of fact were likely to be. The fact that the book is written against a background of Italian judicial practice and institutions adds charm to it. It was surprising to read, however, a longish section dealing with the kind of advocacy which sends judges to sleep and the way they can use sleep as a protection against advocates' verbosity. Perhaps the original Italian would have shown that the use of the word "sleep" was figurative. When I did divorce work I never had a wife as a client who said to me, as the author seems to suggest Italian wives often do, "Rather than give my savings to that assassin (referring to her husband) I'd rather have them eaten up by lawyers". Practice in London was dull in comparison.


Abstract Background Rising availability of medical imaging exams in the emergency room potentially leads to an increase of ileitis findings by imaging in a context of gastrointestinal symptoms. However, it can be difficult to determine the clinical significance of this radiological finding in an acute consultation setting and to establish the relevant investigations. Aims The aim of this study is to describe the current management and the long-term outcome of patients with diagnostic of acute ileitis on imaging during an emergency consultation in our center, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke(CHUS). Methods We performed a retrospective study of all patients diagnosed with ileitis by abdominal ultrasound or computed tomography (CT scan) during a visit in our emergency department over the years 2010 and 2017. Patients with previous diagnosis of Crohn disease were excluded. Data collected were clinical, radiological and endoscopic at diagnostic and over at least 3 years following the initial visit. Results A total of 118 files were reviewed. The initial imaging modality was 43% ultrasound and 57% CT scan. 36% of patients had an ileocolonoscopy within one month of the initial visit. Of these, 60% demonstrated macroscopic endoscopic abnormalities. 51% of patients had follow-up imaging within 3 months of the initial consultation. 64% of these images demonstrated persistence of pathological changes in the ileal region. Only 48% had a stool culture at diagnosis. 72% of patients met a gastroenterologist and 45% saw a general surgeon. The most common cause of ileitis was an infectious origin at 44% predominantly with Yersinia enterocolitica and Campylobacter jejuni. 13% received a diagnostic of Crohn disease. 20% of ileitis remained undetermined. Among these, there was a case of Crohn's disease which was eventually diagnosed 2 years later. The initial factors associated with a diagnosis of Crohn's disease were family history of inflammatory bowel disease (OR 6.17 95% CI 1.67 to 22.781 p = 0.006), extra-digestive manifestations (OR 23.31 95% CI 2.255 to 240.92 p = 0.008), discontinuous impairment at initial imaging (OR 19.8 95% CI 4.284 to 91.52 p = 0.000), presence of stenosis at initial imaging (OR 14.429 95% CI 1.227 to 169.68 p = 0.034), the presence of abscess or collection on imaging (OR 11.54 95% CI 1.76 to 75.63 p = 0.011) and wall thickness in mm (1.22 95% CI 1.06 to 1.40 p = 0.005). Conclusions Our study shows that the majority of acute ileitis found on imaging are of infectious origin. A portion of acute ileitis corresponded to the initial presentation of Crohn's disease. Thus, we believe that it is preferable to offer at least clinical follow-up to patients with acute ileitis on imaging and to consider additional investigation by imaging and / or colonoscopy when symptoms persist and this particularly in presence of factors associated with Crohn's disease. Funding Agencies None


The increasing incidence of breast cancer during pregnancy and postpartum in Nigeria remains a source of concern and management dilemma. Integrating a screening program into existing antenatal and postnatal services might provide a real opportunity to promptly detect and plan treatment in low-income countries. The objective of this work was to describe the profile of women referred for additional investigation after clinical breast examination (CBE) in pregnancy and during lactation and to identify factors that might influence uptake. We used an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach. A cross-sectional survey described 206 women who were referred for free breast ultrasound scan (BUS) after CBE at recruitment, in the third trimester, and at 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum in three different public health centers in Ibadan, Nigeria. We conducted 16 in-depth interviews (IDIs) to explore reasons for their decisions on BUS. Quantitative data were summarized and multiple logistic regression was performed to determine the association between explanatory variables and BUS uptake at P < .05. IDIs were transcribed and analyzed using a thematic approach. Mean age of participants was 28.5 ± 5.14 years. The majority of participants (61.7%) presented for BUS. Study participants were mostly recruited from secondary health facilities (71.8%), had less than a higher national diploma education (76.7%), and were of the Yoruba ethnic group (94.7%). History of breast self-examination practice was reported by 52 participants (25.24%) and 20 (9.71%) had ever performed CBE. Women with a higher national diploma level of education or greater were more likely to have undergone BUS (adjusted odds ratio, 4.41; 95% CI, 1.13 to 17.31). Reasons mentioned during IDI for avoiding BUS were financial constraint for breast cancer treatment and management after diagnosis, fear of an unfavorable BUS report, psychological wellbeing after breast cancer diagnosis, lack of trust in the health system, lack of information on BUS, and an assumption of none or less aggressive symptoms. Most of the women interviewed (93.8%) informed their husbands about the BUS referrals and they all received support. The majority of participants who were educated presented for BUS. Some women declined additional evaluation of their breasts for fear of financial constraints, breast cancer diagnosis, and unknown fear of psychological implications. The following represents disclosure information provided by authors of this manuscript. All relationships are considered compensated. Relationships are self-held unless noted. I = Immediate Family Member, Inst = My Institution. Relationships may not relate to the subject matter of this manuscript. For more information about ASCO's conflict of interest policy, please refer to www.asco.org/rwc or ascopubs.org/jco/site/ifc . No COIs from the authors.