In digital image processing, especially in region analying, boundaries and edges are very important information. In this work, the author presents a boundary tracking method based on the direction priority for searching. This method, whose the operation unit is region, takes the normal direction of the direction which is built by current boundary point and previous boundary point as the first direction to clockwise detect next boundary point in 4-neighbour or 8-neighbour of the current boundary point. When the tracking probe meets the first boundary point of the region, the tracking of this region is finished and begins the next tracking of next region. The boundary extracted with this method from image, not only retains the basic expectation of a boundary as a pixel width, connectivity and exactly locating on the contour of a region, present the periphery characteristic of a region, but also the boundary and inner-edge, which are caused by the holes in the region, can be easily separated from each other and either can be output as a thesis map for use. As the method taking well notice of the action which previous boundary points impact upon the posteriors, boundary points can keep their correlations. Because of these foundations, grid-formatted boundaries can be easily translated into vectors during the course of tracking following the requirement of application in practice.


Introduction:
Covid-19, like on every other age group, showed a
detrimental impact on children. We predicted more adversities
among vulnerable lower socio economic groups but outcome
is contrasting due to varied reasons. Despite minimal morbidity
and mortality, There is a substantial impact on lifestyle,
development , mental health and learning behaviour patterns
in Paediatric population.
Some of the positive impact1
:
• Awareness regarding pandemic in detail is explained
,reassurances and practical measures to be taken to keep
themselves and others safe.
• Spending quality time with children during the lockdown
enabled closer relationship and bonding.
• Children had an opportunity to understand the value of
nature and eco systems.
• Introduction of E learning helped the children to develop
more creative skills and activities that would benefit them
in later life keeping in pace with education.
Some of negative impact:
• Closing schools and library facilities which is only mode of
education for some children who cannot access to internet
impacted most in their learning. This is more seen in rural
areas and lower socio economic background2
.
• Anxiousness and frustration regarding reaching higher
heights in their career and success is seen in children.
• Lack of outdoor physical activity which resulted in
overeating and obesity.
• Nutritional deficiency is seen in children from rural and
lower socio economic groups due to school closure who
are dependent on government food programmes provided
at school3
.
• Isolation, physical distance , loneliness, fear of deprived of
company and misunderstanding with their own peer
groups are some challenging situations which brought
drastic behavior changes in children4,5.
• There is a spike in child marriages mostly in lower socio
economic groups .Child right crisis like child labour, child
abuse, more so seen in lower socio economic classes.
Editorial
1
• Addiction to social media and internet leading to cyber
bullying and sexual exploitation.
Conclusion:
Long term impact on children are yet to be seen.
Although some of these may be positive, but negative
impacts may be devastating and could affect child
development .There is a definite need for Government to
work together with child welfare organizations and
international health care organizations working for children
to minimize the negative impact on children


This paper explores the applicability of several variations of the v 2 �f turbulence model to circulation control flows. The effects of modifying the model to capture nonlinear eddy viscosity effects and streamline curvature effects are assessed. Results indicate that the v 2 �f turbulence model is capable producing more physically accurate results for circulation control flow fields than common modern turbulence modeling techniques. Nomenclature


Organic–inorganic lead halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) recently achieved a photo-to-electricity conversion efficiency (PCE) of 22.1%. They drew much attention as promising photovoltaic devices. However, the Pb-based PSCs face great challenges for commercial and industrial applications due to the instability and the toxicity of perovskite materials. Herein, we summarize the current development of various types of Pb-free perovskites, such as the Sn-, Bi-, Ge-, Sr-, and Cu-based perovskites and their devices. In addition, we will address some remaining issues and prospects of the Pb-free PSCs.


To address the vulnerability of a conventional separator to high temperature, a new double-layer function of separator with a double-layer function is suggested for high-safety lithium-ion batteries that are used in harsh condition. The new composite separator was fabricated by coating thermally imidized polyimide aerogel (PIA) on a porous polyethylene (PE) membrane, with polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as a binder, to improve the thermal stability of the separator. The PIA/PE double-layer composite performed very well, especially in terms of thermal stability. The newly suggested separator showed a near-zero thermal shrinkage rate compared to commercial PE separators, which are defective in having high levels of the same, and retained its structure up to 140 °C. The PIA supporting layer showed hardly any change after heat treatment, and the PE layer performed its role as a shut-down layer perfectly, ensuring the safety of the new separator. These results prove that a PIA/PE separator can prevent batteries from exploding and overcharging. In addition, the PIA/PE separator also demonstrated excellent electrolyte uptake and electrolyte wettability to electrolyte. PIA/PE separator based coin cells exhibited outstanding cycling and rate performances, especially at high current rates, compared to coin cells with a standard PE separator. Therefore, the new PIA/PE separator is an ideal candidate for use in high-safety lithium-ion batteries at high temperatures, based on its excellent thermal and chemical stability.


Given the energy crisis and severe environmental pollution, it is crucial to improve the energy utilization efficiency of integrated energy systems (IESs). Most existing studies on the optimal operation of IESs are based on the first law of thermodynamics without considering energy quality and direction attributes. The obtained strategies generally fail to accurately reflect the difference in energy quality. Based on the second law of thermodynamics, we first analyzed the energy quality coefficients of energy in different forms and expressed the exergy flow as the product of energy quality coefficients and energy flow. An exergy analysis model of the electric–gas–thermal integrated energy system was also established based on the energy network theory. Second, modeling and analyzing the dynamic characteristics of gas–thermal networks and the corresponding energy storage capacities were explored. Considering the dynamic characteristics of the gas–thermal pipeline network, the useful energy stored in the pipelines was analyzed based on the energy quality coefficients of natural gas and the thermal energy system, and the flexibility capacity of each subsystem was also analyzed in combination with the operation of units. A simulation analysis was then conducted on the electric–gas–thermal IES 39-20-6 system. The results demonstrated that from an energy perspective, the loss in the coupling equipment only accounts for 29.05% of the total energy losses, while from an exergy perspective, its proportion is as high as 46.47%. Besides, under the exergy analysis, when the dynamic characteristics of the gas–thermal pipeline network are taken into account, the wind curtailment rates of the system decrease from 11.22% to 8.27%.


This study examines religious influence on both environmental concern and behaviour, and perceptions and strategies of adaptation to environmental degradation in Northeast Nigeria. A good understanding of both dimensions of religion-environment connection is critical to theorising on the role of religion in current environmental crisis. The region provides a strong opportunity for study due to the severity of environmental degradation and the powerful role religion continues to play in all spheres of individual and community life. Drawing on sociological perspectives, the study combines statistical analysis with qualitative techniques to achieve its goals.
Lynn White's hypothesis, which proposes that religion predisposes individuals to engage in negative environmental behaviours, was used as a starting point to explore the links between religion and environmental attitudes and behaviour. While the hypothesis as formulated refers to patterns of behaviour in the Judeo-Christian west, it has been widely used in both western and non-western contexts to explore the connections between religion and the environment. This proposition was explored within the study population by using qualitative analysis of interviews with congregation leaders and statistical analysis of self-reported environmental attitudes and behaviour data, obtained via questionnaires administered to members of selected Christian and Muslim congregations. The study also analyses interviews with leaders of the participating congregations and environmental protection officials to explore how faith communities understand and respond to environmental change.
In partial support for White's thesis, analysis found endorsement of 'dominance-over-nature' theologies among both Christian and Muslim participants. However, there is no evidence to support White's thesis that Christians are more likely than non-Christians to believe in human dominion-over-nature when the principals are applied to this study context. Although dominion-over-nature was strongly endorsed in the questionnaire data and widely reported in the narratives of the clergy, its majority interpretation as an ethical responsibility and command to 'look after' the rest of nature casts doubt on the assumption that the dominion belief predisposes religious individuals to devalue and destroy nature in all contexts.
Furthermore, the findings suggest that, contrary to the binary relationship speculated in White's hypothesis, and supported in the wider literature, dominion-over-nature involves a complex set of religious principles/beliefs that are interpreted both as 'divine authority' over nature and stewardship of nature. Moreover, analysis reveals strong evidence of three distinct motivations for pro-environmental actions, namely 'ecocentrism', 'anthropocentrism' and 'theocentrism', and a discrepancy between the principles and practices of religious environmentalism.
The study then moves on from White's hypothesis to explore the broader factors affecting religious environmentalism. The study found religious environmentalism to be dependent on and constrained by additional factors, such as lack of material resources (poverty), lack of knowledge of religious and environmental principles and the social conditions under which environmental issues are prioritised.
Participants' understandings of the causes of environmental change include narratives that accept scientific accounts of anthropogenic environmental problems and point to institutional failures and social conditions as the underlying causes of environmental decline. Also salient are discourses that interpret environmental change from a purely theological standpoint, where environmental change is framed either as God's way of punishing humanity's wrong deeds or as a fulfilment of 'end times' prophesies. These different and conflicting understandings of environmental change have produced different narratives on the strategies of adaptation that range from activism to fatalism, adopted by different religious groups.
The study concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings on theory and research, and environmental reform policies in the region and beyond.


Designed for modern language students, this guide takes you through the Library's resources to improve your research. Still lost? Have a question? Learn what help is available and don't be afraid to ask the staff for any help!


A piezoelectric printhead was designed and fabricated for Drop-On-Demand(DOD)printing.The formation of a droplet was captured by a CCD camera in the jetting experiment on a droplet jetting platform.The deformation curve of a piezoelectric plate was measured by a laser displacement sensor and it then was inputted into a flow simulation solver to simulate the process of droplet jetting with the methodology of free surface volume of fluid.The results show that the formation time,size and the volume and speed of the droplet simulated are in agreement with that of experiments.In the contrast between the formation process of droplet and the displacement curve of piezoelectric plate,it is found that the main droplet has dripped off the nozzle before the end of a high voltage,which can be used to improve the maximum frequency of droplet jetting by reducing the high voltage time and increasing the damping vibration resistance value of piezoelectric plate.The simulation of droplet jetting can also explain the formation mechanism of additional droplets in the experiment,and can successfully reduce the additional droplet by changing the structure of printhead and the viscosity of forming materials.


In this study, the (FePt)100-xCux (x=0, 4.6, 6.7, 8.8, 10.9) (FePtCu) alloy films were prepared by co-sputtering. The effects of Cu addition content and heat treatment on the nanostructure and magnetic properties of the polycrystalline (FePt)100-xCux films are reported. The experimental results show that the ordering temperature of the (FePt)100-xCux (x=6.7) films reduced to 320°C, which is much lower than that of the FePt alloy. After heat treatment at 600°C for 1 hour, the (FePt)100-xCux (x=6.7) film shows a coercive force of 15 kOe and the magnetization of 576 emu/cc. The magnetic properties of the FePtCu films can be adjusted by varying the Cu content in the films. The enhancement of the magnetic properties of the FePtCu films mainly resulted from the formation of the order L10 phase. DSC traces of as-deposited disorder films at different heating rates, to evaluate the crystallization of the order phase, showed that the addition of Cu atoms reduced the activation energy of ordering from 217 kJ/mol to ...


Autonomous learning has become a widely adopted pedagogical approach to language learning and teaching. This paper analyzed the factors that constraints the cultivation of college English Autonomous Learning from cognitive level, psychological level, technical level, and social level. Undergraduate students and college teachers were investigated via questionnaire and interview. The survey found that there are typical bottleneck constraints, teachers' lack of curriculum autonomy, lack of evaluation mechanism on autonomous learning and limitation of communication between teachers and teaching administrators. Solutions are offered afterwards.


Photochemical reactions induced by ionizing radiations can produce color centers in alkali halide crystals and fluorescent centers in silver-bearing phosphate glasses. These reactions are being investigated as a basis for casualty-badge radiation dosimeters. Potassium bromide and potassium chloride crystals were satisfactorily sensitized by heating in a combined atmosphere of alkali vapor and hydrogen. Doses of 25 r of cobalt 60 gamma rays were detected by the visible color changes in sensitized KBr and KCl. The sensitivity of the phosphate glass is comparable to the crystals; however, a reading device is needed for the fluorescent measurements. The crystals and glasses are strongly energy dependent for x-ray energies below about 150-kV effective. In a test atomic bomb detonation the crystals and glasses were exposed to total dosages of 17 to 4,460 r at varying dosage rates. In general, there was a good agreement among the dosage readings for samples of a given material but the readings for different materials varied from 0.81 to 2.3 times the readings obtained with National Bureau of Standards (NBS) film badges.


Are you seeking guide of Northern Tales Traditional Stories Of Eskimo And Indian Peoples by Luca Faust totally free download or read online? This is a perfect location for you to find out what you are seeking. Currently, you could review and download and install the book of Northern Tales Traditional Stories Of Eskimo And Indian Peoples By Luca Faust absolutely free. We give the downloading and install media like a pdf, word, ppt, txt, zip, rar, and kindle.


Studying forgiveness presents a formidable challenge to the organizational scholar. Forgiveness is a concept that has cultural, moral, and behavioral implications. Generally seen as rooted in religion by many (Smith, 1988), it is also a concept that may have a significant impact within the organization. In this paper we will offer a three-part model of the notion of forgiveness. Our model is based on the observation that the existing literature on forgiveness is clustered around three levels of behavioral patterns: 1) individual forgiveness, 2) group forgiveness, and 3) organizational forgiveness. We will also present a newly developed framework with an integrated perspective of forgiveness. Finally, we will argue the importance of forgiveness in the organizational and management literature as we explore the possible benefits of individuals and organizations learning to forgive. Forgiveness in the Workplace 3 Forgiveness as a Behavioral and Organizational Skill: A Literature Review and Comments [INITIAL DRAFT] Studying forgiveness presents a formidable challenge to the organizational scholar. Forgiveness is a concept that has cultural, moral, and behavioral implications. Generally seen as rooted in religion by many (Smith, 1988), it is also a concept that may have a significant impact within the organization. Although the effects of forgiveness are not always measurable, they are often visible to the researcher through patterns of behavior. In addition, the definitions of forgiveness remain ambiguous, particularly at the psychological and organizational levels. For example, Scobie and Scobie (1999) define forgiveness as a conscious decision to set aside one's legitimate claim for retaliation or restitution for a damaging act committed by a significant other, in order for any, or all, of the following to occur: 1) the relationship, or a modified version of the relationship, to be restored; 2) the negative effects associated with the damaging act for the forgiver and/or the forgiven to be reduced; 3) the forgiver to cease playing the role of the victim, and the forgiven to be given the opportunity to make amends; and 4) the forgiver and the forgiven to gain release from the dominating effect of the damaging act. (p. 382) While Cameron and Caza (2002) defined organizational forgiveness as "the capacity to foster collective abandonment of justified resentment, bitterness, and blame, and instead, it is the adoption of positive, forward-looking approaches in response to harm or damage. Forgiveness in organization requires a transformation and an organization become virtuous to the extent to which it encourage, supports and facilitate such transformation" (p. 39). Forgiveness in the Workplace 4 This ambiguity, however, does not mean that forgiveness is not an important topic for organizational scholars to understand. Most managers will agree that interpersonal conflict and performance-based inadequacies are times of high learning. Particularly when they are successfully resolved, interpersonal conflicts are times when managers are able to take their human relations skills to a new level. Central to the idea of developing emotional intelligence, effective managers often have the ability to move past or let go of conflict. This skill may be the beginning of an operational definition of forgiveness. While the above definitions may make some sense to the organizational researcher, as previously mentioned, most managers and organizational participants will have their concept of forgiveness shaped by a religious tradition. The idea of forgiveness is deeply rooted in Christian scripture, but it also appears in the Koran and various Buddhist scriptures. Even those who are not actively religious or aware of a particular theology may have some concept of forgiveness based on their observation of others or their knowledge of religious practices. While we acknowledge that the concept of forgiveness is rooted in religion, it is also clear that there is a strong secular value to being able to practically move in and out of conflict without retaining the negative effects of that conflict. The act of forgiveness moves individuals into a future orientation that is essential for retaining competitive advantage in a business situation. This practical value of a religious principle is what we want to explore. This paper contains three sections. The first is a literature review based in the psychological and organizational literature that is structured around three levels of forgiveness described in the following section. The second section presents a newly developed framework with an integrated perspective of forgiveness. The final section contains an argument related to Forgiveness in the Workplace 5 the importance of forgiveness in the organizational and management literature as we explore the possible benefits of individuals and organizations learning to forgive. Levels of Forgiveness In this paper we will offer a three-part model of the notion of forgiveness. Our model is based on the observation that the existing literature on forgiveness is clustered around three levels of behavioral patterns: 1) individual forgiveness, 2) group forgiveness, and 3) organizational forgiveness. The first level, which has the most active literature base, is individual forgiveness which is focused in psychology. There are many rich examples of victims severely wrong who have psychologically healed by forgiving the victimizer. In organizations there are many examples of important learning that occurs when an individual is able to forgive an employee or a manager for perceived wrongdoing. There are various behavioral benefits of forgiveness at the individual level. For example, there is clearly a psychological benefit to being able to work through conflict without retaining excessive baggage. The literature suggests that people who are able to forgive are also able to do a number of other things well within the organization, including dealing with difficult co-workers and customers, as well as retaining stability and clarity in their actions. The second level articulated in the research is related to group forgiveness. This is most easily illustrated in the family dynamic, where several individuals may embark in behavior that is destructive to the whole. In workgroups often people bring these dysfunctional behavioral patterns into their team. Beyond the complexity of individual forgiveness, is the ability for group members to forgive each other for dysfunctional behaviors with negative consequences. At the group level there is clearly a benefit to teams who are willing to looking past individual idiosyncrasies that may violate group norms in order to achieve a larger goal. These kinds of Forgiveness in the Workplace 6 groups may be able to attract a more creative, innovative, and sustainable group membership. The literature suggests that the ability to form a team that has wide behavioral capacities enhances the team's ability to ultimately perform effectively. Finally, the third level of forgiveness we will explore is focused on the organizational forgiveness realm. We know to that most organizations have few (if any) mechanisms to forgive workers for their behavioral inadequacies or performance shortfall aims. For example, the whole notion of performance appraisal avoids the idea that an individual may go through various life cycles, some of which are dysfunctional. There are many stories within organizations about people who are terminated prematurely as a result of what is deemed to be low performance only to find out later that their knowledge and understanding of the work processes are is central to the survival of the organization. It is of strategic importance than four organizations to be able to forgive employees and help them learn from their mistakes. There are of course benefits of forgiveness at the organizational level. Forgiveness plays a role and organizational learning. Research has found that organizations that retain employees who have learned through failure and who have developed the capacity to change have an overall strategic advantage. Of course each of the above claims wants for empirical research. It is important to note that it has been somewhat challenging for researchers to measure these claims using the traditional psychological or quantitatively based research. Proposed Framework Based upon the available literature, we propose the following integrated perspective of forgiveness: Forgiveness is a psychological act, a communicative act, and a social act. The individual (psychological) level involves letting go of offense even if being offended is justified and the hurt is sustained. The dyadic (communication) level involves letting the offending party Forgiveness in the Workplace 7 know that the offense has been removed or erased. The organizational/cultural level (social) involves relationships and associations that are in balance and functioning effectively. A set of elements and questions for each of these levels of forgiveness provides the framework for scholars and practitioners to analyze and understand this phenomenon at a more comprehensive level. I. Individual Level (Psychology) a. Perception: Has an offense been seen, heard or felt? People perceive the intent to offend differently. For example, the literature suggests that on performance feedback is often perceived as offensive. Yet others value feedback from trusted individuals as a gift. People with a long history of violence or abuse may also perceive offense differently. b. Justification: Are the feelings of hurt justified? Some "own" the hurt, saying the offender was justified, while others personalize and amplify their feelings. c. Sustained: Is the feeling of hurt sustained? For some an offense is felt over time, while others can "let go" quickly. Some research suggests males accumulate fewer but more significant conflicts. Sustained conflict comes when th


This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Power and Energy Definitions Power and Energy Consumption in Digital Circuits Switching Activity in CMOS Digital Systems Reduction of Energy in CMOS Digital Circuits Adiabatic Computing This chapter contains sections titled: Appendix A Appendix B References
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Here I reply to the comment by Yermolaev and Lodkina [arXiv:2008.05160] on "Solar Wind and Heavy Ion Properties of Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections" by Owens (2018).


Deregulation has been obtained new options in the design and planning of the power system. One of these options is the integration of Distributed Generation (DG) into the power system. In this paper, the presence of distributed generation is regarded as another alternative for supplying the load of subtransmission system. The effects of DG on expansion planning of subtransmission system have been modeled as an  optimization problem where the Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Linear Programming (LP) are employed to solve it. The proposed approach is applied to a realistic subtransmission system and the results are evaluated.


It is well documented that electricity regulates the expression of nicotine acetylcholine receptor(nAChR).Electricity induced depolarization inhibits the expression of nAChR,in which calcium,protein kinase C and myogenin play major roles.Calcium elevation and activation of PKC inhibit the expression of nAChR.It is still uncertain which isoform of PKC participates in the inhibitory process and how protein kinase C regulates myogenin nuclear translocation.The current work is the basis for further exploration of mechanism of the coupling of depolarization with nAChR gene transcription.The pEGFP γ expression vector,in which GFP reporter gene expression was driven by the γ promoter of nAChR,was constructed.pEGFP γ was co transfected with four conventional PKC expression vectors,PKCα,PKCβⅠ,PKCβⅡ and PKCγ,respectively.PKCβⅠ and PKC βⅡ had no effects on the expression of pEGFP γ.PKCγ inhibited the expression of pEGFP γ( P 0.05 ).PKCα greatly inhibited the expression of pEGFP γ( P 0.01).GFP myogenin fusion protein expression vector pEGFP myog was constructed and co transfected into C2C12 muscle cells with four conventional PKC expression vectors also.PKCβⅠ,PKCβⅡ and PKCγ had no impacts on GFP myogenin nuclear translocation,whereas PKC α could inhibit myogenin translocation from cytosol to nucleus.These results suggest that activated PKCα may inhibit myogenin translocation to the nucleus.Thus the transcription of nAChR γ subunit is inhibited.


Upon mixing dilute solutions of poly(monobenzyl itaconate)(c) (PMBI) and poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP) in methanol, a soluble interpolymer complex is formed whose properties depend on the method employed to prepare the sample. It was found that the local concentration of the polyacid is the controlling factor. Depending on that concentration, a metastable polymer complex is formed which turns to equilibrium upon sonication. Cooling or heating and aging time have a minor effect. The turbidity of the polymer complex depends on the polyacid concentration to the power ν (at constant polybase/polyacid ratio). For the metastable complex, ν ≈ 2, typical of week polymer complexes. Changes in turbidity are accompanied by a decrease in ν. In the equilibrium state, ν ≈ 1,5, a value being more typical of strong complexes.


The utility model discloses an opening and closing device for a glove compartment, which comprises a handle rotating shaft and two locking devices placed in the glove compartment body; two locking devices are respectively positioned at two ends of the glove compartment body and connected with the handle rotating shaft; the locking devices comprise short connecting rods, long connecting rods and rotating shafts; the rotating shafts are connected with the handle rotating shaft through the short connecting rods; the ends of the long connecting rods are movably connected with the rotating shafts;and the other ends of the long connecting rods extend from the holes of the glove compartment body. The locking devices are arranged at two ends of the glove compartment, so that the utility model solves the problem of uneven deformation gap between a left corner and a right corner after the glove compartment is closed, and the short connecting rods and the long connecting rods are connected intothe glove compartment through the rotating shafts; and simple components are connected, so that the structure is simple, the cost is low, and the performance of the glove compartment is more reliable.


The study was conducted to determine the effect of Ocimum gratisimum on egg quality and performance of layers. A total of 36 birds were used for this study. The layer birds were randomly arranged into three replicates per treatment. Each replicate which consists of nine layer
birds in four treatment groups were fed with different inclusion of Ocimum gratissimum per 25kg offeed (Og/25kg, 2Sg/2Skg, SOg/S2Skg, 7Sg/2Skg). They were reared in a battery cage. Feed and
water were supplied ad libitum. Data collected was subjected to one way analysis of variance. At week two, the only parameter that was significantly (p<O.OS) affected was the yolk percentage. At the sixth )week, the albumen percentage was significantly (p<O.OS) different among , other
parameters. The test ingredient had a significant (p<O.05) effect on the shell thickness and egg length at week eight. The highest total egg production was recorded at 25g/2Skg feed, with the
lowest egg production at Og/2Skg feed. This shows that Ocimum gratissimum would not improve the egg quality, but it would be beneficial for egg production.


In this article, we discuss the problem of detecting the effect of a shock occurring in a life test experiment involving n test specimens. It is assumed that a shock occurs at the (n – r)th failure where r is known. Such a shock is suspected to have altered the parameters of the remaining lifelengths of the surviving specimens. Under this set-up, a test based on likelihood ratio criterion is discussed. It has been shown that when the lifelength distribution is exponential, the null distribution of the proposed test statistic is beta of type I with parameters r and (n – r). The distribution of the proposed test statistic under alternate hypothesis and the exact form of the power function have been derived. A power comparison of the proposed test statistic is also made with a prediction-based test statistic discussed in the literature.


The rate and mechanism of solid-state phase transformations in steels is of fundamental importance to designing heat treating procedures, consisting of various steps of heating, annealing, cooling, quenching, and tempering. The austenitization of steels is one of these steps, but may proceed too rapidly in many cases for classical investigative methods which involve soaking a sample for various times and subsequently evaluating the resulting microstructure through sectioning, polishing, and optical or electron microscopy. In many cases, the austenite cannot be retained for ambient temperature characterization, as it decomposes upon cooling into a variety of phases and microstructures. Significant improvement to current understanding of austenite formation is possible using in situ observational techniques to study the behavior of migrating interfaces, in terms of rate, evolving morphology, and effect of initial structure, during the phase change. One of these techniques, more recently developed by Emi for high temperature observation of metals, is the hot stage Confocal Scanning Laser Microscope, (CSLM), which will be utilized in the current investigation. Speich and Szirmae conducted a conventional study of austenite formation in iron and iron-carbon alloys, by heat treating samples and subsequently analyzing the resulting microstructures, and developed a model for the interface migration rate in pure iron, where the rate is controlled by the interface reaction (uncorrelated jumping of atoms across the interface) only:


Introduction: Approximately 40% of patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) have an activating somatic mutation in CXCR4, including both nonsense and frameshift variants. There are limited data on the impact of CXCR4 mutations on the outcomes to therapy in WM patients. Mounting evidence suggests that CXCR4 mutations adversely affect depth of response and progression-free survival (PFS) to ibrutinib in patients with WM.
 Methods: We performed a pooled analysis evaluating the impact of CXCR4 mutations and CXCR4 mutation subtypes on response, PFS and survival after frontline treatment initiation (SAFTI) on 76 WM patients who received proteasome inhibitor-based primary therapy. All patients were participants on three prospective clinical trials evaluating the combinations of bortezomib, dexamethasone and rituximab (BDR; ClinicalTrials.Gov ID NCT00250926), carfilzomib, dexamethasone and rituximab (CaRD; ClinicalTrials.Gov ID NCT01470196), and ixazomib, dexamethasone and rituximab (IDR; ClinicalTrials.Gov ID NCT02400437) in previously untreated patients with WM, and were treated at the Bing Center for WM. All patients met criteria for a clinicopathological diagnosis of WM and for treatment initiation, according to the guidelines established by the 2nd International Workshop for WM (IWWM). CXCR4 mutations were divided in nonsense and frameshift mutations, as previously described. Response to therapy was assessed using response criteria by the 3rdIWWM. We fitted univariate and multivariate logistic regression and proportional-hazard Cox regression models for major response and PFS and SAFTI, respectively. P-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant.
 Results: A total of 76 patients were included in this analysis, of which 19 (25%) received BDR, 31 (41%) received CaRD and 26 (34%) received IDR. Thirty-six patients (55%) did not have CXCR4 mutations and 29 (45%) had a CXCR4 mutation, of which 16 had nonsenseand 13 had frameshift CXCR4 mutations. In 11 patients, the CXCR4 mutational status was not determined. The median age at treatment initiation was 63 years (range 46-83 years), median hemoglobin level was 10.3 g/dl (range 6.9-17.1 g/dl), median platelet count was 245 K/uL (range 68-584 K/uL), median serum IgM level was 4,048 mg/dl (range 345-9,550 mg/dl), median serum β2-microglobulin level was 3.5 mg/l (range 1.0-10.8 mg/l), serum albumin was 3.7 g/dl (range 2.4-4.8 g/dl) and median bone marrow involvement was 55% (range 5-95%). There was a higher proportion of serum IgM levels ≥4,000 mg/dl (62% vs. 39%) and lower proportion of serum albumin levels ≤3.5 g/dl (21% vs. 47%) in patients with than in patients without CXCR4 mutations. Our study showed no detectable differences in major response rate at 6 months (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.27-2.22; p=0.63) and 12 months (OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.18-3.23; p=0.71) between patients with and without CXCR4 mutations. The median PFS for patients without CXCR4 mutations was 3.6 years (95% CI 1.7-5.9 years) versus 6.5 years (95% CI 2.7-not reached) for patients with CXCR4 mutations, which was not statistically significantly different (HR 0.59, 95% CI 0.29-1.17; p=0.13). Frameshift CXCR4 mutations were associated with better PFS than nonsense CXCR4 mutations in a multivariate Cox regression model (HR 0.22, 95% CI 0.06-0.80; p=0.02). Patients with CXCR4 mutations had a 10-year SAFTI rate of 75% (95% CI 13-96%) versus 83% (95% CI 27-97%) in patients without CXCR4 mutations, which was not statistically significantly different (HR 3.01, 95% CI 0.17-52.6; p=0.45).
 Conclusions: We conclude that there is no evidence that CXCR4 mutations adversely impact response, PFS and SAFTI in WM patients receiving proteasome inhibitor-based primary therapy.
 Figure

 Castillo: Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Abbvie: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Beigene: Consultancy, Research Funding. Hunter:Janssen: Consultancy. Treon:BMS: Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding.


The influence of the western world on the east was among the greatest trends in the sixteenth century,and it lent itself very well to the great influence on China and Japan.A number of unavoidable reactions were proposed when Chinese and Japanese intellectuals manifested themselves to counter the effects of the intrusion of western colonization and the challenge of western culture.It was not difficult to observe that Chinese intellectuals did not accept them all,nor did they refuse to learn any of them when faced with the western culture and science.


SUMMARY

A virulence survey of Puccinia coronata avenae was conducted in Australia from 1977 to 1980 with a chosen series of resistant oat lines as a tester set, viz., Ascencao, Pc-38, Pc-39, Pc-45, Pc-48, Pc-50, Pc-55, Pc-56 and TAM 0–312. Isolates of the pathogen were classified by using these nine tester lines in combination with the International Differential Set. The survey area was divided into six zones (1) -Queensland; (2) - northern New South Wales; (3) - southern New South Wales; (4) - Victoria; (5) - South Australia and (6) - Western Australia.

Virulence for Pc-38 was widespread throughout Australia and virulences or partial virulences for lines Pc-39, Pc-45, Pc-48 and Pc-55, although not as frequent, were common in Zones 1, 2 and 3. No isolates were found with virulences for oat lines Pc-56 and TAM 0–312, while virulences for Ascencao or Pc-50 were rare. The combination of virulences or partial virulences for lines Pc-39, Pc-45 and Pc-48 was relatively common only among samples from Zones 1, 2 and 3.

The diversity of the pathogen population varied between zones. Isolates from Zones 1 to 6 comprised 16, 21, 9, 8, 5 and 4 different standard races and mean virulence values were 5-0, 3–8, 3-0, 2–7, 2–6, 3-1 and 3-0, respectively. The proportion of complex strains (virulence value 5 or higher) decreased from 48-5% (Zone 1) and 17-0% (Zone 2) to 1–7% (Zone 3), 6-3% (Zone 4), 0% (Zone 5) and 13-9% (Zone 6). Greater diversity of the pathogen population in Zones 1 and 2was indicated by a higher incidence of strains with virulence for one or more of the nine resistant oat tester lines.


The transformation of the sanctuary of St Michael's Church Cambridge served as an outstanding example of the work and intent of the Cambridge Camden Society. This article focuses on one of its key exponents, GG Scott, and his successful introduction of neo-gothic ritualism in Cambridge.


The era of the 1980s was plagued with the fear of HIV transmission by blood transfusions, which bred the notion of single‐unit transfusions being wasteful. This was owing to the episodic risk attributed to transfusions. Concepts surrounding transfusions are changing at its core, especially toward minimizing transfusions firstly because blood is a finite resource and secondly because a dose‐response pattern has been established to each unit of blood transfused.


A 16*16 bit multiplier integrated circuit fabricated in a CMOS technology having only one level of metallization is described. Microarchitecture for the multiplier has been optimized to balance the delays in different sections of the chip. A typical multiplication time of 6.75 ns at 3.3 V power supply has been measured, and better results are expected from a process optimized for 0.5 mu m devices. >


The coat protein gene (CPG) of the citrus tristeza virus (CTV) complex known as Capao Bonito from Pera sweet orange was cloned and sequenced. Results indicated that there are at least two CTV strains in the source plant. These isolates were designated CB3-22 and CB3-104 and they differed in 59 nucleotides which changed 11 amino acids in the coat protein. A dendro- gram was generated which grouped isolate CB3-22 with mild isolates and CB3-104 with severe isolates from other countries. In addition, hybridization results also indicated that CB3-104 titer is higher than of CB3-22 in the plant. A discussion of the ramification of these results is discussed. Index words. Capao Bonito CTV complex, 'Pera' sweet orange, coat protein gene. Capao Bonito and neighboring counties in the South of Sao Paulo State (Brazil) are at risk for sweet orange production due to the occur- rence of the Capao Bonito complex of citrus tristeza virus (CTV). This strain is highly virulent and affects plantings on tolerant rootstocks including Rangpur lime which is tol- erant to common CTV isolates in Brazil. The occurrence of decline in sweet orange grafted on tolerant rootstocks was first reported by Muller et al. (3) in 1968. At that time, the damage caused by this CTV com- plex was not economically signifi- cant, because this area was not a citrus-growing area. Since then, how- ever, production of sweet orange vari- eties in the region has grown. Preimmunization of several sweet orange healthy clones with protec- tive isolates selected from other areas was carried out but the results showed inconsistent protection. Some preimmunized plants showed severe CTV symptoms that could be attributed to a breakdown of cross protection. This was particularly true for the Pera which is the main sweet orange variety growing in Sao Paulo State. In spite of the preimmu- nization, Pera always shows stem pitting in the trunk (4, 5). In the last decade, there has been a huge increase of citrus acreage in the Capao Bonito area and many


Researchers have tried to determine reasons for the growing income inequality in the OECD countries, but human capital is not a reason typically addressed. This paper empirically seeks to determine a relationship between human capital and income inequality using multiple regression analysis. I hypothesize a negative relationship; meaning increases in the independent variable, average human capital in a country, will cause a decrease in the dependent variable, income inequality due to the idea that increases in education should increase the incomes of the poor more than those of the rich. Income inequality will be measured by the Gini coefficient and human capital by average educational attainment. I intend to control for additional independent variables that could affect income inequality such as GDP growth, government spending on education, economic freedom, corruption, and multifactor productivity. Through OLS and fixed effects estimation techniques, I find that a negative relationship between human capital and income inequality possibly exists. Thus, human capital can play a role in fighting against the growing income inequalities in the OECD countries.


We present results from an experimental study of mixing enhancement in compressible mixing layers. In this study, either helium or air was injected at Mach 1 from a tangential slot injector at a backward-facing step into a Mach 2.5 airstream. The tests consisted of studying the influence of various splitter plate geometries on the growth rate of the resulting mixing layer. The results indicate that the splitter plate geometry can significantly enhance the observed mixing-layer growth rates. The geometry that gave the greatest mixing enhancement resulted in a 380% increase in the mixing-layer growth rate and a twofold increase in the final mixing-layer thickness over the reference flat splitter plate case


This paper studies the impact of the changes in married women 's employment and earnings on income inequality among Chinese urban households over two important phases of economic transition: the gradualist reform period(1988 to 1995) and the radical reform period(1995 to 2002).We find that wives ' employment and earnings tended to equalize the distribution of household income;however,the relative size of the equalizing effect increased during the moderate period of reform but declined during the radical period of reform.The changes over time in the distribution of wives ' earnings became a major de-equalizing force in the radical period of reform.


This paper proposes a new closed-loop synchronization algorithm, PLL (Phase-Locked Loop), for applications in power conditioner systems for single-phase networks. The structure presented is based on the correlation of the input signal with a complex signal generated from the use of an adaptive filter in a PLL algorithm in order to minimize the computational effort. Moreover, the adapted PLL presents a higher level of rejection for two particular disturbances: interharmonic and subharmonic, when compared to the original algorithm. Simulation and experimental results will be presented in order to prove the efficacy of the proposed adaptive algorithm.


An account is given by the authors of their own guidelines for surgical treatment of deformities of the anterior abdominal wall. The procedures described are based on experience obtained from 866 surgical interventions at the first author's clinic, between 1959 and 1987. Indications, techniques, and complications are discussed in some detail.


The use of steel fibers in reinforced concrete (RC) structural members aims at the impro-
vement of mechanical properties of such members. This study focuses on shear strength
characteristics of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) beams without stirrups. Test speci-
mens consisting of three RC and ten SFRC beams without stirrups have been tested under
three-point loading in order to investigate the effects of fiber content and shear span-to-
-effective depth ratio on the shear strength. Furthermore, an equation developed previously
for predicting the ultimate shear strength of SFRC beams without stirrups is proposed to
predict the diagonal cracking strength of SFRC beams without stirrups.


Two optical set-ups to implement wavelet transform with a single lens have been proposed, in which the wavelet filter was placed in front of the imaging lens or on the frequency plane. The general formula of the complex field distribution of the output plane has been deduced. The analysing wavelet functions of the band-pass wavelet filters with double and circular slits have been discussed.


This paper reviews the physical fundamentals and mathematical formalism for problems concerning acoustic waves passing through gradient wave barriers formed by a continuous one-dimensional spatial distribution of the density and/or elastic parameters of a medium in a finite-thickness layer. The physical mechanisms of such processes involve nonlocal (geometric) normal and anomalous dispersion determined by the profiles and geometric parameters of the gradient barrier. The relevant mathematics relies on exactly solvable gradient barrier models with up to three free parameters and on the auxiliary barrier method with which the exactly solvable models found can be used to build new, also exactly solvable, models for such barriers. The longitudinal and shear wave transmission spectra through the gradient barriers considered are presented, and the dependence of these spectra on the gradient and curvature of the density distribution and on the elastic parameters of the barrier is expressed using general formulas corresponding to the geometrical and abnormal geometric dispersion. Examples of reflectionless tunneling of sound through gradient barriers formed either by the elastic parameter distribution in an inhomogeneous layer or by curvilinear boundaries of a homogeneous layer are considered. It is also shown that by using subwavelength gradient barriers and periodic structures composed of them, phonon crystal elements can be fabricated.


At DSM Fine Chemical crystallization-induced resolution was scrutinized for better applications reaching beyond the standard classical resolution method. Some of these modifications are presented in this paper.


nalized behavioral disorders, characterized by outwardly aggressive, defiant, destructive, and impulsive behavior (Otol Neurotol. 2012;33:751; Cochlear Implants Int. 2006;7:61). Thirteen studies assessed the behavior of children with permanent hearing loss who were not treated with hearing aids or cochlear implants. All but one study observed internalized behavioral problems among the children studied. Eight studies looked into the behavioral issues of children with otitis media, minimal hearing loss, or unilateral hearing, and reported conflicting evidence on the connections between behavior and hearing.


Objective To explore the curative effect and prognosis of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in treatment of three negative breast cancer. Methods A total of 102 cases of patients with breast cancer were selected, and 42 cases of TNBC patients who were confirmed by pathological histology were selected as the observation group, while 60 cases of the no-three negative breast cancer patients were selected as the control group. Curative effect and prognosis of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in two group patients were observed and compared. Results The complete response rate of 42 cases of TNBC patients who were treated with paclitaxel plus cisplatin regimen was 16.67% and the total effective rate was64.29%, all significantly higher than that of the control group(5.00%, 51.67%), had statistical significance between the two groups(P0.05), but the recurrence metastasis rate and disease-free survival rate of obervation group were higher/lower than control group(P 0.05), adverse reaction after chemotherapy of main neutrophil and platelet,hemoglobin and the digestive system adverse reactions were tolerated in two groups, and the chemotherapy was not affected, the adverse reaction conditions were similar in the two groups. Conclusion The complete response rate of paclitaxel plus cisplatin neoadjuvant chemotherapy for three negative breast cancer is higher.


Itch is a well-known dermatological symptom whose reactions in the brain have been studied very less. In a study with functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) response to histamine iontophoresis, McGlone et al (2001) showed that the forebrain regions activated by brief itch (3–4 min) are different from those activated by pain. These findings provide insights into separate motivational and behavioral consequences of itch and pain. In previous studies, Darsow et al (2000) and Hsieh et al (1994) could also identify functional covariates of the itch sensation in the central nervous system by positron emission tomography (PET) analysis. A co-activation of the anterior cingulate cortex, supplementary motor area, premotor area, and inferior parietal lobe was found. Somatosensory areas were significantly activated only in one study (Darsow et al, 2000). All the studies reported above either used stimulation evoking short-lasting itch or recorded brain activation in a short time frame (e.g., 50 s). To our knowledge, there are no studies examining brain activations during the course of longer-lasting skin reactions usually seen after histamine prick. Therefore, we tested brain responses to longer-lasting histamine reaction in healthy participants. Effects of pain due to the prick were controlled by an additional prick condition using saline.


The calibration of a three-axis magnetometer plays a vital role in its wide practical applications. Most previous calibration methods are based on the invariance of the magnitude of the magnetic field vector. However, this kind of method degrades seriously when the training data are collected at limited-range attitudes and are much of relevance. A new calibration model of magnetometer based on the combination of magnitudes of horizontal and vertical magnetic components is proposed. The numerical simulations demonstrate the proposed method can exactly estimate the error parameters both in the case of small and large-range rotation angle. The result of the physical experiment is consistent with simulations, showing the method in this paper has a better calibration performance than previous methods when the range of attitude angle of the magnetometer is limited.


We have calculated the interaction for H2O–H2 at 722 points on a five‐dimensional surface where both molecules are treated as rigid rotators and we have fitted the ab initio points to a 48‐term angular expansion of products of spherical harmonics and rotation matrices. The resulting potential energy function shows strong angle dependence with a large contribution from electrostatic interactions. When averaged over H2 orientations, the resulting water‐atom‐like surface is found to have zero crossing and minimum at similar distances to the corresponding H2O–He surface but to be generally more repulsive at short range and more attractive at long range. The isotropic average of the potential has a zero‐crossing radius σ=3.05 A and a well depth e=49.5 cm−1 at an intermolecular separation Rm=3.52 A.


This abstract introduces an efficient method for identifying various facial expressions from image inputs. To recognize the emotions of the facial expressions, a number of facial feature points were extracted. The extracted feature points are then transformed to 49-dimensional feature vectors which are robust to scale and translational variations, and the facial emotions are recognized by a support vector machine (SVM). Based on the experimental results, SVM performance was obtained by 50.8% for 6 emotion classification, and 78.0% for 3 emotions.


The shortage in wood supply makes the effort to find alternative wood material become more and more important. It was reported that the outer parts of oil palm stems could be used as solid wood after being properly treated, and oil palm stems were one of strategic solid wood alternative in Malaysia. Being a monocotyledon, oil palm stems have a contradictory characteristic to the conventional hardwoods and softwoods and thus the sawing patterns suitable for hardwoods and softwoods should not be suitable for the oil palm stems. Two modified sawing patterns ("polygon sawing", PS and "cobweb sawing" CS) and one ordinary sawing pattern (life sawing, LS) were compared. The purpose of this study was to find the most suitable sawing pattern for oil palm stems in term of the outer lumber recovery and quality, and the sawing time. The CS provided the highest outer lumber recovery (35%) followed by PS (27%) and LS (23%). The PS provided the highest occurrence of wide lumbers, followed by the CS and LS. The CS needed more than twice effective sawing time (15.4 min.) than the LS and PS. It was concluded that the PS was to be the most suitable pattern for the sawing of oil palm stem.


Background: β-thalassemia is one of the most common hereditary diseases in Egypt. The leading causes of renal dysfunction in thalassemic patients include chronic anemia, iron overload from repeated blood transfusions, and kidney-induced damage from the use of iron chelators. Objective: We aimed to investigate the association of serum cystatin-C in children with β-thalassemia major and albumin/creatinine (A/C) ratio and to assess its accuracy as an early indicator of nephropathy. Methods: This case-control study enrolled 41 children diagnosed as β-thalassemia major on chelation therapy and 41healthy, age- and sex-matched controls. The kidney function was assessed using blood urea and serum creatinine to calculate the glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) by Schwartz formula, A/C ratio, and serum cystatin-C. Results: We found that 26.8 % of β-thalassemia patients had kidney dysfunction (eGFR below 90 mg/min/1.73 m2). These patients were significantly different from thalassemic patients with normal eGFR regarding the frequency of blood transfusion (P-value < 0.0001), duration of chelation therapy (P-value = 0.002), blood urea (P-value = 0.001), serum creatinine (P-value < 0.0001), A/C ratio (P-value < 0.0001), serum cystatin-C (P-value = 0.009), and eGFR (P-value < 0.0001). Conclusion: Serum cystatin-C might be a good diagnostic test for early detection of glomerular dysfunction like A/C ratio and may precede it.


Penrose's null initial data techniques are used to obtain a solution to the electromagnetism‐free Dirac equation, involving Bessel functions. Each Dirac field is split up into an infinite number of elementary contributions whose densities satisfy Dirac‐like distributional field density equations on the interior of the future cone of an origin of real Minkowski space. The initial data hypersurface for all the elementary fields is conveniently chosen to be the future null cone of the origin. It is observed that the field density equations are invariant under proper Lorentz transformations. The entire fields are then expressed as explicit scaling invariant convolutions taken over the initial data cone.


The invention provides an automatic urinary and fecal nursing device which comprises a main unit, a feces collector, a directional sliding connector mechanism and a washing mechanism. A dirt storage tank is arranged on the main unit; the directional sliding connector mechanism is used for communicating the dirt storage tank with the feces collector; the feces collector comprises a feces collecting groove assembly and a body leaning mechanism, the body leaning mechanism is mounted on a mattress, and the feces collecting groove assembly is mounted in the body leaning mechanism; the washing mechanism is arranged in a feces collecting groove of the feces collecting groove assembly. The automatic urinary and fecal nursing device has the advantages that a long-term bedridden patent can act and turn over on the feces collector, the problem that the anus of a patient cannot be cleaned thoroughly after the patient defecates can be solved, problems that an existing dirt storage tank cannot be conveniently and reliably disconnected from an existing feces collector and connected with the existing feces collector and the like can be solved, and the comfort can be effectively improved for the patient when the automatic urinary and fecal nursing device is used.


This paper presents models for flight delay prediction by considering both the local effects and network effects for the individual airport. Following a complex network approach, the authors analyse the local and network effects separately. Results indicate that the long-term flight delays are mainly caused by network effects, while the short-term flight delays are strongly associated with local delays. Therefore, the existing factors such as temporal variables, weather condition and seasonal effects are replaced with specific novel factors (e.g. crowdedness degree of airport and air traffic system, demand-capacity imbalance) for flight delay prediction. More specifically, this paper shows that the model prediction performance for both classification (predict whether the flight is delayed) and regression (predict the delay values) achieves higher accuracy when using the novel factors. Random Forest algorithms were trained and tested on the U.S. domestic flights in July 2018, and the results show that for classification model, the accuracy, precision and recall score reach 96.48%, 94.39% and 90.26% when classifying delays are within 15 min. Similarly, for regression model, 93.92% of the test errors are within 15 min.


Since when have retrogressive "masturbatory views of history," represented by the "liberal view of history," come to dominate bookstore shelves? They became noticeable to the eye around the time of the Gulf War. In fact, Fujioka Nobukatsu, the leading proponent of the "liberalview-of-history" [jiyushugi shikan], begins both of his books—Reforming Modern History Education (1996) and A Modern History of Shame (1996)—with prologues describing the impact of the Gulf War. He observes that "many Japanese, relying on the idealism of article nine in the constitution, were able to steep themselves completely in sent imental paci f ism." Furthermore, "the Gulf War was a shocking event that demonstrated that the ideal of 'pacifism' contained within article nine, and upon which 'peace education' was based, failed in the face of the reality of international politics." In short, according to Fujioka's reminiscences, the Gulf War was a sensational event that exposed the defects of Japan's "postwar democracy." Kang Sang Jung


The display apparatus disclosed having a common substrate and the TFT substrate, a flexible printed circuit board is fixed to the TFT substrate. IC row along the alignment direction is provided on a region of the TFT substrate, the terminal connection region is provided next to the short side direction of the IC are aligned in the IC. The flexible printed circuit board and the IC may use thermocompression bonding head, through the anisotropic conductive film to the TFT substrate.


Objective To establish the predicted value of pulmonary function for normal Chinese children under 4 years old.Methods The tidal flow-volume loop (TFV) and other parameters (the volume,flow rate and resistance) were measured in 1002 normal children,aged between 0~47 months.They were devided into 8 groups.Results TFV in healthy baby appeared to be atypical ellipse,it changed to be tactful as the child grow up.Most of the parameters had close relationship with height,weight and age,especially for the first two ones.Relative parameters showed that the expansion of volume was quicker than the increment of the flow.The development of small airways was quicker than the large airways.The metabolic rate decreased with the age increasing.The change of TPTEF/TE,VPEF/VE could reflect the degree of the obstruction in the small airway.Conclusion Tidal breathing testing is the first choice in testing the pulmonary function for children under 4 years with more accurate,simplicity and reproducibility.


PRIMITIVE MEDICINE Though till now there has been no lack of histories on the origins of special subjects (architecture, ceramics, etc.), there has not been any composed work on prehistoric medicine. Dr. St6phen-Chauvet who is the leading French authority on this subject, has set himself the task of elucidating it in all its aspects: morphological, physical, and ethnical.* Documentary evidence of the palaeolithic and neolithic ages is almost non-existent. We have therefore to depend almost entirely on the evolution and civilization through which the earliest tribes are known to have passed. From statuettes, frescoes, and hewn stones' certain deductions can be made. Internal pathology was much less important than external. In Oceania, for instance, we know that such diseases as syphilis, smallpox, tuberculosis, scarlet fever did not exist before the arrival of white people. A common feature of all the statuettes and frescoes representing prehistoric man is the difference between the sexes. Men, who hunted, fought, and worked, are depicted as of slender build ; while women are all adipose, with big breasts, abdomens, and thighs, the resuit, no doubt, of their troglodyte and physically inactive existence reinforcing the hereditary enlargements of their endocrine glands. Among prehistoric peoples it is evident that magic amulets and fetishes played a large part in the preventive or curative attempts to deal with maladies. The chapter on the methods used is well illustrated. In pharmacy the ancients employed purgatives, diuretics, vermifuges, and even antivenenes and aphrodisiacs. When dealing with external pathology, Dr. Stdphen-Chauvet has to rely mainly on the evidence of bone injuries, such as fractures, dislocations, and cranial wounds. He is astonished at the number of trephine cases that have been found to have healthy bone cicatrization and rarely with secondary ostitis. Dr. Prunieres in 1884 found in 186 skulls which had been trepanned that some of the orifices were circular or conical, made by triangular pointed flints. It is, however, doubtful about the skull which is described on page 127 of this book as an Aurignacian skull from La Quina. Aurignacian (upper palaeolithic) skulls are of the neoanthropic or modern type. The skull on the cover, on the other hand, resembles the palaeo-anthropic type and is similar to some of the Neanderthal skulls. The supraorbital ridges are massive, though from the side view it is not certain that they meet in the centre to form a torus. There does not appear to be any canine fossa or mental eminence in this illustration. Dr. Chauvet leaves us in -doubt whether the La Quina skulls were Aurignacian or Neanderthal in type. This thoughtful and well-produced volume represents much antiquarian research.


In this paper an ideal process of the acid bright electroless nickel plating is presented, based on the discussion of the complex agents, accelerators, brighteners and operational conditions on the deposition rate. The results show that the coating is of good brightness, wear-resistance and corrosion-resistance. 


This study is aimed to reveal the conceptual understandings of preservice elementary teachers' about the centre of universe and how universe is formed.  The sample of this research consists of 306 preservice elementary teachers' who are studying in faculties of educational sciences in Turkey. Two open-ended questions regarding the centre of universe and how universe is formed are asked to preservice teachers. Categories such as "scientific response", "response that cannot be accepted scientifically", "uncoded" and "no understanding" are used in the analysis of preservice teachers' responses. The scientific response about the centre of the universe, saying "there is no centre of universe", is encountered in more than half of the preservice teachers' responses. Alternative conceptions, such as "Sun is the centre of universe", "Earth is at the centre of universe", "Milky Way Galaxy is at the centre of universe" are encountered in this question. Nearly half of the preservice teachers gave correct responses, by saying "big bang theory", regarding the question on how the universe is formed. Alternative conceptions, such as "by the cooling and densification of dust clouds", "parts coming off the Sun", "the universe's being always present" are encountered in preservice teachers' responses to this question. Some of these alternative conceptions are encountered in this study for the first time.


Network Function Virtualization (NFV) is a recent paradigm designed to decouple network functions (e.g., load balancing and firewall) from the physical proprietary devices on which they run, allowing software instances of these functions to be performed on commodity hardware. In order to instantiate Virtual Network Functions (VNFs), Network Points-of-Presence (N-PoPs) must be selected in such way they satisfy capacity and performance constraints defined by the functions. The set of VNFs, as well as the order in which they must be applied in certain data flows, is defined as a Service Function Chaining (SFC). A problem associated with such environment is the difficulty in obtaining an adequate understanding of the network infrastructure. As the infrastructure grows to meet the demands of new services, it is difficult to clearly visualize the network due to its large number of elements. In addition, the visualization of SFCs aggravates this problem, by the need to analyze multiple chainings at the same time, each one concerning a subset of the network elements. In this context, there are related works that propose visualization mechanisms with the aim of facilitating the performance analysis of these networks. In contrast, the development of visualization tools that facilitate the understanding of how the elements are instantiated is still scarce in the literature. In this work we investigate, design and prototype a visualization environment for networks with virtualized functions. This environment is materialized in the prototype of a system that, taking advantage of element clustering, allows to observe the infrastructure by an appropriate level of abstraction in different situations, as well as revealing/hiding important elements for understanding SFCs of interest.


The role of diet in migraine is not well understood. We sought to characterize usual dietary intake patterns and diet quality in a nationally representative sample of women with and without severe headache or migraine. We also examined whether the relationship between migraine and diet differs by weight status.


Judima is traditionally prepared by the Dimasa community of Assam. This is a rice beer traditionally being used by them generation after generation on various occasions and day-to-day life. As Judima got the Geographical Indication tag commercialization of this beverage increased. Therefore, scientific documentation of its method of preparation and characterization is of utmost need of the hour to maintain quality. The two steps involved in the making of Judima are-making of rice cake and the making of rice beer is involved. The state of Judima is liquid and its colour is yellowish. The pH of both fresh and preserved Judima is near 5. The alcohol percentage of fresh Judima is 20±2 mg/ml and Old Judima is 21.5±2 mg/ml, similarly, the Carbohydrate content of fresh and old Judima is 18±1.8 mg/ml and 19.6±2.7 mg/ml respectively. On the other hand, the protein content and free amino acid of fresh Judima are 3.8±1.8 mg/ml and 0.8±0.5 mg/ml respectively and that of Old Preserved Judima is 3.1±0.98 mg/ml and 1.3±0.77 mg/ml. Although indigenous people prefer old preserved Judima for consumption as they have more belended flavours ans smoother to drink it cannot be clearly stated that it is because of the difference in biochemical parameters as the p-value for all the observations is greater than 0.05 therefore, the difference is not significant.


In this paper, a novel computation method named MMK (Multi-sensory Markov-Kalman) localization, is proposed for self-localization of mobile robots in polygonal environments. The method combines multimodal robust Markov localization and unimodal efficient KF method, and is much improved by utilizing multi-sensory information. The localization process requires less memory and lower resolution discretization of the pose space. Both efficiency and precision can be improved by using information from sonar and visual sensors. Experiments are conducted to demonstrate the validity of the proposed approach


The amphiphilic triblock copolymer, poly(ethylene oxide)‐block‐poly(propylene oxide)‐block‐poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO‐b‐PPO‐b‐PEO) was incorporated into novolac resin to prepare thermosetting blends. The morphology of the thermosetting blends was investigated by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and small‐angle x‐ray scattering (SAXS) and the nanostructures were obtained. It was identified that the reaction‐induced phase separation occurred in the blends of phenolic thermosets with the model poly(propylene oxide) (PPO), whereas poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) was miscible with novolac resin after and before the curing reaction. In terms of miscibility and phase behavior of the subchains of the triblock copolymer with novolac resin, it was demonstrated that the formation of nanostructures in the thermosets followed a mechanism of reaction‐induced microphase separation.


Enthalpies of mixing for the binary gaseous system methane-hydrogen sulfide were measured by an isothermal flow calorimeter at temperatures of 293.15, 305.15, and 313.15 K. For each isotherm, the measurements were made at pressures of 0.507, 1.013, and 1.520 MPa (5, 10, and 15 atm, respectively). The experimental results were compared with those predicted from the equation of state of Benedict-Webb-Rubin and Redlich-Kwong and the Redlich-Kwong equation with the modifications proposed by Jacoby and Robinson.


Acoustic technology is a specific technology which can provide strong communication under the water for military and non military applications. In recent years, the underwater wireless sensor networks have a considerable growth. These networks can be applied for monitoring environments, underwater exploring, preventing unexpected events, tactical supervising and mines detection under the sea. On the other hand, there are numerous unsolved issues for UWSN in a very large scale, Such as reliable transportation, Routing, MAC, Localization, Limited Bandwidth, high and Variable propagation Delay, Defective underwater Channels, low battery power and, etc. Autonomous or Unmanned Vehicles under the water (UUV, AUV), equipped with some sensors, which can detect natural resources under the sea and collect the scientific data. In this article, we try to review UWSN routing and introducing some challenges and issues relevant to these networks, after that a comparison between routing protocols, which are proposed until now, is represented. The aim is that to find a proper protocol for underwater mines detection application


Seo-woo Jeon Byeonghun(1857~1927), who had served Go Gongseom as a master and found enlightenment through opening the Hyeonguan(玄關) by practicing Taoism(which is assumed Jeon-Jin-Gyo (敎) Yong-Mun-Pa(派;group)), had ranged over extensive classics of Taoism. 'The Jeongsin cheol_hak(精神哲學;Jeongsin philosophy)' of Seo-woo Jeon Byeonghun has its roots in the concepts of Taoism. However, knowing and sighing for limits of practicing Taoism, he did absorb it critically. Considering the meaning of 'Gyeomseong(兼聖)', 'Seongjin (成眞)', 'Hyeonguan(玄關)', 'brain nerves(腦神經; This concept differs from the cranial nerves)', which are the most highly emphasized in his theory, leads to knowledge of that "Korean Sundo(韓國仙道; Korean traditional Taoism)" is deeply related to Seo-Woo"s theory. 'Gyeomseong(兼聖)' reflects the thought of 'Hongikingan Jaeseihwa'(弘益人間 在世理化; 'benefit all mankind', humanitarianism) which is Korean national founding principle. 'Seongjin(成眞)' shows Korean Sundo(韓國仙道)"s thoughts of 'The cosmos and one are united' which are connoted by 'Seongtong(性通)'. The principle of 'Hyeonguan(玄關)' and brain nerves(腦神經) matches up with the point of view which understands brain as a critical part to perceive oneself and the human nature. Jeon Byeonghun"s 『Jeong_sin_cheol_hak_tong_pyeon(精神哲學通編)』 has received rave reviews from people who are highly reputed. Regarding that his 'Jeongsin philosophy(精神哲學)' shares key words with indigenous 'Korean Sundo(韓國仙道)', he has to be known as a memorable thinker in Korean 'Sundo(仙道)' history.


Since 1990s,tuberculosis(TB) epidemic had reemerged in the world.WHO estimated that probably 1/3 of the world population is infected with tuberculosis,nearly 9 million new TB patients are found every year,of which 300 000-600 000 were multi drug resistant-TB(MDR-TB) patients,but the actual number of MDR-TB patients is more than 1 million,and the number of MDR-TB patient in China accounts for 1/4-1/3 of the world total.Drug resistant TB,especially MDR-TB,is one of the main causes of the reemergence of TB and the obstacles of TB control.This paper summarizes the MDR-TB epidemic and the control in the world to guide the further study of TB prevention and control.


Different indigenous oils viz., soybean, linseed, sunflower, castor, sesamum, Toria (T 9 ), mustard, Karad, Taramira and safflower oils were used @ 1ml and 3ml per kg seed of barley. Among them Karad, Toria (T 9 ) and Taramira oils showed their effectiveness with both the dosages, i.e., 1 ml and 3 ml/kg seed in reducing the adult emergence. The infestation of weevil after 90 days of the treatment with higher of Karad, Toria & Taramira dose, i.e., 3 ml/ kg seed was recorded in terms of reduction in weight loss of the grain, which gave 100 per cent protection, while 77.07, 74.54 and 73.34 per cent protection of seed respectively, was obtained treated with lower dose, i.e., 1 ml/kg seed. Results regarding mortality percentage of adults indicated that Karad, Toria, Taramira, mustard and sesamum oils provided best performance after 5 days of their application at both the doses as compared to other oils and control.


Food processing facilities are faced with many challenges in ensuring that the food supply is safe for consumption. Listeria monocytogenes is a food pathogen that has been linked to ready-to-eat foods, including tree nuts. Listeria monocytogenes is part of the ubiquitous microorganism genus, Listeria. The most likely cause of Listeria contamination in food is post-processing contamination. The purpose of this research is to identify and examine possible solutions a nut processing facility might employ to mitigate a food safety


Undernutrition is a leading contributor to disease and disability in people of all ages. Several studies have reported significant association between nutritional status and gut microbiome composition but other factors such as demographic settings may also influence the adult microbiome. The relationship between undernourishment and gut microbiome in adults has not been described to date. In this study, we compared the gut microbiome in fecal samples of 48 individuals, from two demographic settings (rural and urban slum) in Karnataka, India using 16S rRNA sequencing. Nutritional status was assessed based on BMI, with a BMI of < 18.5 kg/m2 classified as undernourished, and a BMI in the range 18.5–25 kg/m2 as nourished. We analyzed 25 individuals from rural settings (12 undernourished and 13 nourished) and 23 individuals from urban slum settings (11 undernourished and 12 nourished). We found no significant difference in overall gut microbial diversity (Shannon and Unweighted UniFrac) between undernourished and nourished individuals in either geographical settings, however, microbial taxa at the phylum level (i.e., Firmicutes and Proteobacteria) and beta diversity (unweighted UniFrac) differed significantly between the rural and urban slum settings. By predicting microbial function from 16S data profiling we found significant differences in metabolic pathways present in the gut microbiota from people residing in different settings; specifically, those related to carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. The weighted sum of the KEGG Orthologs associated with carbohydrate metabolism (Spearman's correlation coefficient, ρ = −0.707, p < 0.001), lipid metabolism (Spearman's correlation coefficient, ρ = −0.330, p < 0.022) and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites (Spearman's correlation coefficient, ρ = −0.507, p < 0.001) were decreased in the urban slum group compared to the rural group. In conclusion, we report that the geographical location of residence is associated with differences in gut microbiome composition in adults. We found no significant differences in microbiome composition between nourished and undernourished adults from urban slum or rural settings in India.


1953 2003 Transport policy may well have reached a turning point. It will not be possible to manage projected traffic growth using traditional methods that concentrate on increasing infrastructure capacity. New incentives, new pricing, and new instruments to better manage investment and demand are all required. In order to meet the emerging challenges, this publication outlines a number of strategic directions for transport policy in the coming years.


Abstract: Milner and Goodale's influential account of the primate cortical visualstreams involves a division of consciousness between them, for it is the ventral streamthathastheresponsibilityforvisualconsciousness.Hence,thedorsalvisualstreamisa'zombie' stream. In this article, I argue that certain information carried by the dorsalstreamlikelyplaysacentralroleintheegocentricspatialcontentofexperience,especiallythe experience of visual spatial constancy. Thus, the dorsal stream contributes to apervasivefeatureofconsciousness. 1. Introduction SincetheseminalworkofMishkinandUngerleider(1982),thestandardpictureoftheprimatevisualsystemidentifiestwoseparatevisualstreamsemanatingfromearlycorticalvisualareas:a dorsalstream thatextendsintotheparietallobeanda ventral streamthatextendsintothetemporallobe(seeFigure1).UngerleiderandMishkinfurtherarguedthatthedorsalstreamservesspatialvision('where')whiletheventralstreamservesobjectvision('what').Subsequently,MilnerandGoodale(1995)advancedaninfluentialreconceptual-izationofthefunctionofthestreams:thedorsalstreamisforthedirectcontrolofmotoraction;theventralstreamisforperceptionwhichinformscognition.Whilemuchfocushasbeendirectedattheirclaimsaboutaction,Ifocusontheirclaimsaboutconsciousness.


Efficiency level of a bank can be measured using some financial aspect ratios such as aspects of liquidity, asset quality aspects, and aspects of sensitivity. Aspects of liquidity is the ability of banks to meet short term obligations or liabilities which have maturity. The ratio used is a loan to deposit ratio (LDR) and investing policy ratio (IPR). In addition, aspects of asset quality. To measure the quality of bank assets of which one can use productive assets such as APB, non performing loan (NPL) and PPAP. Aspects of sensitivity used is the ratio of interest rate risk (IRR). This research uses secondary data taken from published financial statements of seven foreign exchange bank in period 2008 to 2011. The data is the processed using the test of statistic as an analytical to test the research hypothesis, namely by using linear regression analysis to determine the influential variables in accordance with the theory. F test to determine the effect of simultaneously all the variables and the t test to determine the effect of the partial of each variable. Based on the results of data processing, LDR, IPR, APB, NPL, PPAP, dan IRR simultaneously have significant influence on the efficiency of the foreign exchange bank. Individually, from the sixth ratio theres is only one ratio which significantly affect the PPAP. Keyword: Efficiency, Loan to Deposit Ratio, Investing Policy Ratio, Non Performing Loan, and Interest Rate Ratio xiv


Dust exposure levels were measured during catalyst handling (loading and unloading) in the chemical industry. Several oversteppings of occupational standards were found during this assessment, corresponding to a wide range of exposure. In some cases, exposure of workers not directly involved in the catalyst handling were shown. Industrial hygienists should pay special attention to the pollutants suspected, including pollutants contained in the feed stocks


The right-bank Polissia of Ukraine is one of the most wooded regions of Ukraine. Its forests affect the climate of Eastern Europe. At the same time as performing many useful functions, the forests of the region also perform significant environmental contributions to carbon accumulation. Determination of the quantitative indicators of carbon deposition and the proportion of participation of different forest stands in these processes is extremely relevant in current environmental conditions. To study the density of phytomass and deposited carbon we used the methodology of data collection and analysis developed by P. I. Lakida. In the process of research on the accumulation of trunk wood and carbon deposition of the main wood-forming tree species in the forests of Right-Bank Polissia, the components of phytomass and its density were calculated. It was established that the forests of the study region cover an area of 1946.4 thousand hectares, the productivity of trunk wood stock is 419.5 million m. Among the wood-forming tree species pinewood is the largest in the volume of the deposited carbon and produced phytomass. The planting of oak by area and total stock of trunk wood is inferior to planting pine. Carbon density in oak stands is higher comparing to other tree species and the total density in all study areas. The excess is in the range of 9.6 % (Rivne region) to 22.4 % («Zhytomyroblagrolis» forests). The density of the oak phytomass exceeds the average indicators of the forests phytomass density of the region as a whole and its largest values are recorded in the oak forests of Rivne region (21.1 kg/m). The results of the research indicate the expediency of expanding the area of valuable tree species, first of all, the oak plantations taking into account its considerable bioproductivity and the ability to provide a high level of phytomass and carbon density. In the future it is promising to explore the possibility of carbon deposition by all the components of forest ecosystems.


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Approximating dependencies of tribotechnical parameters of friction pairs sintered powder friction material and different steel counterfaces of disk friction device on sliding speeds, obtained by results of tests on friction machine and intended for selection of materials of friction pairs, are given.


The C31 subunit belongs to a complex of three subunits (C31, C34 and C82) specific to RNA polymerase (pol) III that have no counterparts in other RNA polymerases. This complex is thought to play a role in transcription initiation since it interacts with the general initiation factor TFIIIB via subunit C34. We have obtained a conditional mutation of pol III by partially deleting the acidic C‐terminus of the C31 subunit. A Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain carrying this truncated C31 subunit is impaired in in vivo transcription of tRNAs and failed to grow at 37 degrees C. This conditional growth phenotype was suppressed by overexpression of the gene coding for the largest subunit of pol III (C160), suggesting an interaction between C160 and C31. The mutant pol III enzyme transcribed non‐specific templates at wild‐type rates in vitro, but was impaired in its capacity to transcribe tRNA genes in the presence of general initiation factors. Transcription initiation, but not termination or recycling of the enzyme, was affected in the mutant, suggesting that it could be altered on interaction with initiation factors or on the formation of the open complex. Interestingly, the C‐terminal deletion was also suppressed by a high gene dosage of the DED1 gene encoding a putative helicase.


Computer tribology is understood as a synthesis of the information technology and tribology, which provides for an effective instrument to obtain new knowledge and new results. There are several fields, which may be considered to form computer tribology. These are modeling of tribological processes, modeling of complex tribology systems, information and expert systems, computer technology of tribodesign, computer experiments and diagnostics. Objectives of computer tribology and experience in some of the above mentioned fields are presented and discussed.


GPU Genco, supported by the Electric Power Research Institute and the US Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office and the Federal Energy Technology Center, is demonstrating cofiring of wood waste with coal using separate injection of prepared wood waste at its Seward Generating Station. The program is based upon 3 previous tests: a program of parametric testing at Shawville Generating Station and two parametric test programs at Seward Generating Station. Foster Wheeler Development Corporation is the primary contractor for the demonstration. The physical plant installed at Seward Generating Station includes a pole barn, a trommel screen, a fuel storage silo, and a pneumatic transport system. Testing of cofiring has been at the 5 to 10% heat input level. This paper summarizes the progression of cofiring testing at GPU Genco, details the facility design and equipment installed at the Seward Generation Station.


The motions of the three parliamentary groups Bundnis 90/Die Grunen (Alliance 90/The Greens) (Strengthening collective wage agreement systems - Facilitating generally binding collective wages and branch-specific minimum wages, parliame-tary printed document 17/4437), Die Linke (The Left) (Stabilising the collective wage system, parliamentary printed document 17/8148) and the SPD (Social Democratic Party) (Stopping the erosion of the collective wage agreement systems - Safeguarding the regulation of the general application of collective wage agreements, parliamentary printed document 17/8459) are aimed at stabilising the collective wage system in Germany. The spread of the low wage sector and the erosion of the collective wage bargaining system are to be counteracted through a reform of the declaration of general application of collective wage agreements. In this the expansion, to all branches, of the law on the posting of workers and the introduction of a general, legal minimum wage are being called for. In this statement, IAB is presenting its research findings concerning the topic of legal and branch-specific minimum wages. It is not commenting on legal issues of wage bargaining. The proposal that the law on the posting of workers should be extended to all branches does not seem feasible. A system in which for each branch - and possibly with separate differentiations according to qualifications and/or regions - a different minimum wage level applies would probably be extremely difficult to admin-ister because of its complexity. A uniform, legal minimum wage on the other hand - possibly differentiated between eastern and western Germany and with special regulations for young people and young adults - whose level has been determined by sound judgement, is capable of supporting the collective wage agreement system as a lower limit and of contributing to avoid things taking a wrong turn within the low wage sector.


The invention discloses a preparation method of a kiwi fruit preservative. The method comprises the following steps of weighing and mixing 3-10% of syzygium aromaticum and shaddock ped extractive, 2-5% of chitosan, 0.1-1% of natamycin, 1-3% of glucose, 1-3% of citric acid, 5-10% of ethyl alcohol and the balance of water, thus obtaining the kiwi fruit preservative. The product is safe and non-toxic, the components have good cooperativity, and broad-spectrum bacteriostasis and sterilization can be realized, thus better preventing moisture from emitting, and effectively preventing the kiwi fruit from rotting, wilting and mildewing.


A brief survey on the development history, operating principles, properties and classification of fuel cells was introduced. On the basis of survey, detailed analysis and expounds on the present state of research, applications and prospects of fuel cells were presented. Furthermore, some problems existing in the fields of fuel cells were investigated.


Photovoltaic (PV) panel was used to develop a simple and practical leaf area meter. Components of the developed PV leaf area meter include a PV panel as sensor, a wooden cabinet as enclosure, a flashlight as light source, and a commercial digital multimeter for voltage measurement. The principle of projected area measurement is the voltage generated by the PV panel varies directly with sample area, when corresponding panel surface is exposed to incident radiation. The PV leaf area meter performance was evaluated using cardboard cutouts of various geometrical shapes of known areas and the voltage generated had good correlation (r = 0.9911) with sample areas. Linear fits adequately modeled the areas from non-dimensional voltages (R2 > 0.98). Leaf samples from mango, sapodilla, guava, custard apple, and cotton covering a wide array of natural shapes were tested and compared among the existing graphical, scanner-based electronic leaf area meter, and digital planimeter methods. Digital planimeter produced better performance (R2 = 0.9996) than scanner-based electronic leaf area meter (R2 = 0.9979), followed by the PV leaf area meter linear regression calibration equations based on direct leaf samples (R2 = 0.9953) and leaf samples with glass cover (R2 = 0.9834). However, on testing with additional leaf samples, the glass cover method gave better predictions than direct leaf method. As leaf was flattened by the glass cover and represented the true projected leaf area, this method was recommended. PV leaf area meter costs only 3.9% of scanner-based electronic leaf area meter and 14.7% of digital planimeter. The developed PV leaf area meter had a mode of operation similar to a commercial electronic leaf area meter, yielded quick and reliable results, and was highly cost effective.


This Research Topic on "Molecular Studies of Covid-19 Chemistry" aims to highlight current advances carried out at the molecular level, providing insight into the mechanism of infection of SARS-CoV-2. In particular, this Research Topic is devoted to studying unknown aspects of the SARS-CoV-2 infection process in order to identify new therapeutic targets and validate potential inhibitors. The published articles do so using multidisciplinary approaches that involve computational chemistry, chemical-physical, and biochemical methodologies. The researchers who contributed to this Research Topic present 18 themed articles that show the latest advances in newly identified targets against SARS-CoV-2. Different authors have searched for novel leads from the available natural substances and clinically available drugs by targeting the SARS-CoV-2 Spike's protein receptor binding domain (RBD), which remains by far the main target against the virus. Indeed, Carino et al. specifically target the druggable pockets located in the central β-sheet core in the RBD through virtual screening methods. This strategy suggests several triterpenoid/steroidal agents that block the protein-protein interactions between the RBD with human Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2). The findings of the computational screening are experimentally validated through ACE2/SARS-CoV-2 Spike Inhibitor Screening Assay Kit and from the analysis of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG Antibodies. Overall, the authors have come up with strong potential triterpenoids, primary, secondary bile acids, and semi-synthetic derivatives for the RBD/ACE2 binding blockers reporting them as SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors. Gopinath et al. also identified new inhibitors for blocking the RBD-ACE2 interface. applying a unique protocol that combines mixed solvent MD simulations (MixMD) with highthroughput virtual screening (HTVS). MixMD are employed to identify the stable binding conformations of drug-like probes in the S-protein–ACE2 interface and those stable sites are applied for use in the molecular level screening. Among the compounds identified by MixMD, ZINC000002128789 showed a potential binding affinity to block the protein-protein RBD-ACE2 interface binding and prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection. On the other hand, Tito et al. explored Plant-derived secondary metabolites as a source of potential inhibitors able to prevent and counteract the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 infections. By using in vitro approaches, the authors investigated the role of a pomegranate peel extract in attenuating the interaction between the SARS-CoV-2 Spike and ACE2, and on the activity of the virus 3CL protease. Although further studies are required to assess the efficacy of this extract in vivo, the results here reported open up new promising opportunities to employ natural extracts for the development of effective and innovative therapies in the fight against SARS-CoV-2. Sakkiah et al. focus their research on interactions between the Spike and ACE2 building, a complex structure by homology modeling and by molecular dynamics simulations elucidating the interactions. In particular, the twenty interacting residues, responsible for binding, were Edited and reviewed by: John D. Wade, University of Melbourne, Australia


Chikungunya fever (CF) is an acute vector-borne disease common in countries with tropical climates. Over the past decade, the range has expanded due to the transfer of the virus to the Western hemisphere. In children, the disease occurs with a greater frequency of damage to the nervous system, the development of hemorrhagic syndrome. Severe forms of CF develop during intranatal infection. The article presents clinical and catamnestic observation, an assessment of laboratory data of a 14-year-old child who fell ill with CF while visiting Thailand. A review of the literature on the CF course peculiarities in childhood is given. Due to increased travel to tropical countries in recent years, the number of imported diseases, including arbovirus fevers, has increased; age composition of patients has expanded, including children. Information about this pathology is necessary for pediatricians and infectious disease specialists.