Impairments in executive functions (EF) are the core cognitive impairment in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Surprisingly, cognitive rehabilitation is not routinely offered to patients with PD. However, in patients with acquired brain injury (ABI), cognitive rehabilitation, in particular strategic executive training, is common practice and has been shown to be effective. In this study, we determined whether PD patients have different needs and aims with regard to strategic executive training than ABI patients, and whether possible differences might be a reason for not offering this kind of cognitive rehabilitation programme to patients with PD. Patients' needs and aims were operationalised by individually set goals, which were classified into domains of EF and daily life. In addition, patients with PD and ABI were compared on their cognitive, in particular EF, profile. Overall, PD patients' goals and cognitive profile were similar to those of patients with ABI. Therefore, based on the findings of this study, there is no reason to assume that strategic executive training cannot be part of standard therapy in PD. However, when strategic executive training is applied in clinical practice, disease-specific characteristics need to be taken into account.


Abstract: Graraaduate teachers teaching secondary chemistry in Grades 9 and 10 in Singapore are required to prepare their students for a one‐off practical examination that forms part of the General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level (O‐level) chemistry examinations taken at the end of Grade 10. A qualitative analysis experiment is usually part of the practical examination. Previous research has shown that secondary students have difficulty in explaining the reactions and procedures involved in qualitative analysis (Tan, Goh, Chia, & Treagust, 2001, 2002), and a possible reason for this situation is that their teachers may also not have adequate understanding of the reactions and procedures involved, and hence, are unable to teach for understanding. A diagnostic test on O‐level qualitative analysis was administered to a total 270 pre‐service chemistry teachers from 1999 to 2003, and it was found that they had problems explaining the ion‐exchange reactions that resulted in the formation of precipitates...


Abstract : A program of research on possible means of accomplishing restoration of atmospherically distorted images was conducted. Considerable progress has been made in the development of techniques which may be suitable for the restoration of images.


Electromigration in eutectic SnPb has been studied at the device temperature i.e. 100/spl deg/C and at three different current densities viz. 5/spl times/10/sup 3/ A/cm/sup 2/, 5/spl times/10/sup 4/ A/cm/sup 2/ and 5/spl times/10/sup 4/ A/cm/sup 2/. The test samples are prepared by reflowing solder into V-grooves etched on [001] Si wafer. The accumulation of a large lump of solder is observed at the anode for 5/spl times/10/sup 3/ A/cm/sup 2/ and 5/spl times/10/sup 4/ A/cm/sup 2/ current densities. The dominant diffusing species is found to be Pb in both cases. At 5/spl times/10/sup 3/ A/cm/sup 2/, the electromigration doesn't occur. The effects of current stressing on microstructure of eutectic SnPb solder have also been reported. Grain coarsening is observed, which becomes very significant with increasing current density.


Objective:To assess the community residents'awareness and demand state of gene testing service;and analyze the influence factors to demand awareness.Methods:Typical sampling to select 1647 households in Xiacheng distracts of Hangzhou city for questionnaire.Results:The awareness rate of gene testing is 21.8%,demand rate is 12.7%,and intention rate of demand is 61.9%.The significant influence factors to demand willingness of communities residents are as follows: sicken family members(OR=1.619,95%CI= 1.279-2.049),awareness of gene testing(OR=2.368,95%CI=1.782-3.146),genetic history(OR=2.784,95%CI=1.685-4.600),age(x2 =27.210,P0.001),and the attitude to premarital gene testing (x2 = 23.185,P0.001).Conclusion:Communities residents'demand willingness of the gene testing service is strong,but the rate of awareness and demand rate is low.So it is very important to improve relevant propaganda,education and training in gene testing.


Analyzes the significance to enhance education management for party member among graduates in institutions of higher education under the new situation,points out the present problems in education management for party member among graduates,such as problems in management department and system;problems in self-understand;severe employment stress weakens the education management for party member among graduates.Puts forward the measures to solve the above problems: changes concept,innovates mechanism and builds up service awareness;carries out comprehensive education management for party member among graduates on the three stages of learning in school,practice out of school,before leaving school;brings effect of party member among graduates on employment work into full play.


Highly nonlinear circuits are very demanding to simulate, especially when they are excited with two separate frequencies as is the case with, e.g., RF circuits and SC filters. Frequency-domain methods, e.g. harmonic balance (HB), that can handle two-tone signals are more suitable for sine wave excitations and weakly nonlinear circuits. Multivariate steady-state time-domain (MSSTD) analysis is efficient also for signals with sharp edges and strongly nonlinear circuits. The computation of this method has been improved to make the MSSTD analysis faster than before. New features are initial guess, i.e. quick MSSTD (QMSSTD), and new preconditioners for the generalized minimum residual (GMRES) method of the MSSTD analysis, both of which are implemented into the APLAC circuit simulator achieving remarkable speed-up.


be joined by distinguished panelists to discuss how African Americans and Latinos relate to each other in contemporary American society and how these social interactions are transforming the US political, cultural and labor landscapes.


In May 2008, high frequency ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were conducted on the Belcher Glacier Basin, Devon Ice Cap, and validated with avalanche probe measurements to map the thickness and spatial variability of winter (2007-8) snow. The GPR record was combined with field measurements using a neutron density probe and correlated with NCEPNCAR climate reanalysis, QSCAT satellite records, and airborne ASIRAS data to derive multi-year snow accumulation patterns across the basin from 2005-7. The distinct characteristics of the GPR record from the surface to 3 m depth were related to the 2007 and 2005 summer surfaces. GPR derived depths to these surfaces and the assessment of the average annual accumulation rate across this basin correlate very well with previous snow accumulation assessments in other parts of Devon Ice Cap (Mair et al. 2005, Colgan et al. 2008 and Koerner 1977). The complex radar returns in the LSS-05 depth range appear to be related to extensive melt processes during summer 2005, together with a large rain event in summer 2006, which produced large quantities of meltwater at all elevations of Devon Ice Cap. The major broad-scale control factor in determining annual and multiyear snow depth patterns for the basin is elevation, with surface topography and distance from the moisture source being locally important. GPR enabled the position of the basin-wide snow line to be determined by observing internal layers emerging at the surface, with the superimposed ice facies and equilibrium line altitude inferred below this altitude.


In modern information society, data security has become more and more critical. Homomorphic encryption is one of the best choice to solve the security problem of user data on the server because of its unique characteristics of allowing operations in the ciphertext. A homomorphic encryption scheme based on R-LWE is a hotspot in research and application. Polynomial multiplication in ℤp[x]/(xn+1) has brought significant attention recently. The key to accelerating the FV homomorphic encryption scheme is to accelerate the polynomial multiplication [1]. Traditional accelerators use the NTT algorithm. However, the conventional NTT scheme will cause the expansion of the number of terms after the operation, requiring additional modular reduction calculations. This paper presents a hardware accelerator for polynomial multiplication based on Discrete Galois Transform. Compared with traditional NTT, DGT cuts the length of the polynomial by half [2]. At the same time, a negative loop convolution is added to avoid additional modular reduction calculations. We designs a DGT-based hardware accelerator for polynomial multiplication on the ring. At the same time, a particular improvement is made to the DGT algorithm to make it friendly to hardware design and save some cycles. Experimental results show that our accelerator via DGT can effectively improve the multiplication speed of polynomials.


This report contains the results of design and safety analyses performed by the RERTR Program at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) for conversion of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) reactor from the use of HEU fuel to the use of LEU fuel. The objectives of this study were to: (1) maintain the present HEU core size, (2) utilize a proven fuel element design that is economical to manufacture, (3) maintain or improve upon the present margins of safety, and (4) maintain as closely as possible the technical specifications and operating procedures of the present HEU core. 20 refs., 7 figs., 13 tabs.


While the survey chest roentgenogram is one of our best diagnostic tools, experience has shown that conventional roentgenographic methods fail to record some significant lesions, most notably those which occur within the mediastinum (1). Bronchogenic carcinoma frequently involves the structures of the mediastinum before peripheral roentgenographic evidence of disease is apparent. It is felt, therefore, that the development of a roentgenographic technic adaptable to mass screening methods, which would demonstrate the lung fields and the mediastinal structures, would be of great value in the early detection of cancer of the lung. It is possible, to be sure, to study both the mediastinum and the lung fields with conventional technics. The authors believe, however, that these conventional methods are not satisfactory for mass survey studies, since they require multiple exposures. As the number of exposures needed per patient increases, the cost of the examination rises, the roentgen dose to the patient become...


Ensuring the freshness of information is of importance to autonomous vehicles at vehicle-to-everything (V2X)-enabled intersection. In this paper we theoretically investigate the Age of information (AoI) at V2X-enabled suburban intersections and urban intersections. Specifically, we model the locations of connected vehicles by using stochastic geometry and consider a last-come first-serve discipline with preemption. Then we analyze the moments and distribution of the conditional successful probability and the conditional average AoI. Finally, we obtain the moments and the distribution of conditional average AoI. The accuracy of theoretical derivation is verified via simulations. Our numerical results show the influence of different parameters on the average AoI and the theoretical analysis provides a useful guideline for further system design.


In this article, we present a generative adversarial network (GAN) design framework for circuit synthesis design. While the existing methods, such as domain knowledgeand metaheuristic-based methods have been applied successfully in circuit synthesis, they are suited for certain types of circuits and thus limited. Recent advances in efficient circuit topology enumeration methods have proven to be useful for circuit synthesis problem with moderately-sized component catalogs; enumeration methods, however, cannot be used as a solution method for problems with large catalogs. Here we present a strategy based on Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) that facilitates solution of synthesis problems that are too large for enumeration. A GAN is a generative unsupervised learning model where a lower-dimensional latent space is predefined as an abstract representation of the circuit topology space. The GAN is trained to learn the mapping from the latent space to circuit topology space. Circuit topologies can be produced using the generator, and a discriminator helps to improve generator quality. A comparative study is conducted using several recent GAN models, including GANs, DCGANs, WGANs, and improved WGANs. We designed and carried out a series of numerical experiments to evaluate the ability of these GANs to generate new circuit topologies and support design exploration. Two circuit synthesis case studies are presented here: frequency response matching and low-pass filter realizability. The work presented here is an effort to leverage recent advancements in artificial intelligence to 1) create the ability to solve larger synthesis problems than previously possible, and 2) gain deeper design insights into engineering synthesis problems.


Empirical predictions are reported for the lifetimes of the 4s2–4s4p resonance and intercombination transitions in the Zn isoelectronic sequence. The approach uses a direct-mapping reduction of available energy-level and lifetime data and imposes no theoretical assumptions or restrictions. Measured spectroscopic energy-level data are used to characterize intermediate coupling effects in terms of an effective singlet–triplet mixing angle, which is then used to convert lifetime data into mixing-reduced effective line strength factors. Through a linearizing screening parameterization, these reduced line strength factors are found to exhibit regularities permit accurate interpolation, extrapolation, and smoothing and also provide a convenient exposition for that sensitive comparison between experimental results and ab initio calculations.


Cycling-zone pressure-swing adsorption (CZPSA) and combination PSA−CZPSA cycles have been developed to increase the high-pressure product recovery of the Skarstrom PSA cycle. CZPSA uses a low-pressure feed as purge, whereas the combination PSA−CZPSA cycles use both a low-pressure feed gas and a product gas as purge. Extensive parametric studies were simulated using ADSIM for the model system of dilute benzene in nitrogen on activated carbon to determine how process performance was affected by flow scheme, purge sequence, penetration distance, feed and purge pressures and velocities, and pressurization procedure. For example, a nitrogen product purity of yB,prod/yB,feed = 0.05 and a high-pressure nitrogen recovery of P/F1 = 0.46 were obtained using the Skarstrom cycle, whereas the CZPSA cycle achieved values of yB,prod/yB,feed = 0.18 and P/F1 = 0.58. Air drying with activated alumina and air separation with zeolite 13X were also modeled. The Skarstrom cycle produced dry air with a dew point of −71 °C and P...


The Arctic, as noted, may "turn out to be a laboratory for a new international legal regime"[1]. The Ilulissat declaration of the Arctic coastal states provides, however, that there is "no need to develop a new comprehensive international legal regime to govern the Arctic Ocean"[2]. Assessing the contemporary policy framework for the Arctic Ocean and relevant challenges for International Law, different opinions are suggested by international lawyers[3]. Even more complicated and mosaic are political assessments of the potential growth of economic activities in the Arctic Ocean in the context of Environmental Security[4]. In this paper, after reminding about legal definition of the Arctic Ocean, I will deal with the following issues: first, universal level of contemporary international regulation of economic activities in the Arctic Ocean; second, regional and bilateral levels of such regulation; third, relevant national legislation of the Arctic coastal states in force, with focus on the Russian perspective.


Factors affecting floral stalk elongation of tulips during the period from floral bud coloring (budded flower) to the senescence of the perianth were studied. All internodes elongated, however, the greatest elongation occurred in the internode directly beneath the flower and most of the elongation occurred in the upper two-thirds of the internode. Cut tulips elongated less than plants left in the forcing flats. Removal of the budded flower inhibited elongation of the last internode while removal of the leaves was stimulatory with some cultivars. With cut tulips, the perianth appeared to be the primary organ controlling floral stalk elongation followed by the gynoecium and androecium. When the flowers were left intact on the plant the gynoecium exerted the greatest control followed by the perianth and androecium. When the complete flower was removed and IAA or NAA was applied as a lanolin paste to replace the flower, the last internode elongated in a manner similar to the intact flower. Similar applications of kinetin and GA3 were ineffective.


President Barack Obama's Race to the Top (RTT) is a profoundly fl awed educational reform plan that increases standardization, centralization, and test- based accountability in our nation's schools. Following a brief summary of the interest groups supporting the plan, who is currently participating in this race, why so many states voluntarily submitted proposals, and what features of the plan are most problematic, eight arguments are off ered as to why RTT is highly detrimental to our nation.


The value and interest of this work become clear the moment that its quite outstandingly unattractive dust cover has been removed. Any teacher or therapist who has begun to doubt the fascination of remedial language work or to suspect that the really interesting interactions occur elsewhere would be well advised to study this volume carefully since it draws together, from several related fields, seminal work which could alter remedial practice and possibly prevent the development of some of the


In one dimension, we present results from comparisons of stationary state multi-group flux-limited diffusion and Boltzmann neutrino transport, focusing on quantities central to the postbounce shock reheating. In two dimensions, we present results from simulations that couple one-dimensional multigroup flux-limited diffusion to two- dimensional (PPM) hydrodynamics.


The combination of such pathologies as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic heart failure (CHF) is difficult to diagnose and treat because of mutually exclusive approaches. Specialists as a rule focus on the only one disease ignoring comorbid conditions that can affect the well-being of the patient, clinical outcome and prognosis of the disease. The review summarizes the information about the treatment of CHF in patients with COPD. We have indicated the characteristics and action features of the main groups of drugs which application is useful in patients with COPD and associated cardiovascular pathology, we have performed the analysis of current international multicenter studies results on the efficacy of individual classes of " cardiac" drugs and their combinations.


Gold mineralization in Jinchang gold deposit is divided into fracture alteration type, fissure filling type and cryptoexplosion breccia type. The gold ore are divided into breccia, alteration and quartz sulfide vein types. The alteration are mainly silicification, sericitization, k feldspathization and pyritization. The mineralization is divided into early, middle and late stages. The best indicator elements combination for gold prospecting is Au As Bi Mo Co Ni. In different types of orebodies, H O isotope compositions are relatively stable, generally belong to magmatic water. Synthetizing the study of geological, geochemical characteristics in the mining area, it is considered that Jinchang gold deposit is a postmagmatic xenothermal deposit closely related to Mesozoic magmatic activity.


This project report describes Sensefield: An Exhibition of Experimental Ethnography, an event showcasing works at the intersection of art and anthropology held in October 2017 in Taipei, Taiwan.


P Studies once consistently showed that most voters made their decisions primarily on the basis of their partisan predispositions.' Independent or weakly partisan citizens tended to be less interested and knowledgeable about politics, voted less frequently and were generally of lower socioeconomic status.' Recent trends suggest, however, that a "new look" volatile voter is emerging: knowledgeable, affluent and educated, but likely to abstain, split tickets and forgo permanent alliance with a political party.3 The decline of partisan-based voting is allowing the media to have greater direct influence on vote decisions than predicted by the oft-cited limited effects model.4 Analyzing data from several national elec-


Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is a highly infectious picornavirus that causes disease in cloven-hoofed animals, and remains an international economic threat to the livestock industry. Although a protective killed-virus vaccine exists, its utility is limited by the window of susceptibility present between vaccination and the induction of adaptive immunity. Natural killer (NK) cells play an important role in innate immunity by eliminating virus-infected cells. We have previously shown that interleukin-15 (IL-15) plays a critical role in the development, maintenance, and activation of NK cells in swine, and represents a potential method for improving porcine NK cell killing activity. We have constructed a replication-defective human Ad5 vector expressing the gene for porcine IL-15 (Ad5-pIL-15). Culture supernatants of cells infected with Ad5-pIL-15 were capable of stimulating porcine NK cells in vitro as indicated by elevated target cell killing. This suggests that Ad5-pIL-15 has the potential to stimulate porcine NK cell killing activity in vivo. Further experiments will focus on Ad5-pIL-15 and whether it can inhibit FMDV pathogenesis in pigs.


It is the thesis of this paper that the main causes of the failure of the European Constitution result from bad preparation and management of a complex process of constitution-making for a union of states of continental proportions. This process includes the questions of the temporal aspect of constitution-making, the subjects of constitution-making, the strategy of constitutional ratification, the constitution-makers themselves, and finally the very text of the Constitution. Significant discussion on these questions is missing, which is wrong, because these constitutional causes of failure should be instructive for a possible future European constitution-making process. The crucial reasons for the failure of the European Constitution are elaborated as certain preliminary propositions. In the author's opinion, the principal errors of the European constitution-making are evident in the beginning of the constitution-making process in the moment not suitable for the constitution-making, in the ambiguity of the document regarding its constitutional or treaty character, in creating the document completely unintelligible to a common citizen, in making the Constitution without vision and ambition, in the complete absence of any strategy of constitutional ratification, in insisting on direct involvement of the people in the acceptance of the Constitution, which was contemplated legally and politically principally as an international treaty, and in a poorly managed media presentation and defence of the Constitution before the European public. The most important of them is an ambivalent approach of the European constitution-makers to the method of ratification of their Constitution. The next most important error is that they have not made use of comparative experiences of constitution-making of other federal unions.


Neuron positioning is one crucial step of image-guided patch clamp, which is a "gold standard" approach to the study of ion channel biophysics and pharmacology at the molecular level directly. In this paper, we proposed a positioning and tracking method of neurons in label-free tissue slice. Neuron selection, positioning, and segmentation were achieved by designing a two-step positioning algorithm based on convolutional neural networks. Then the contour obtained was used to track the target neuron consistently and accurately, since the neuron will shift as the pipette approaching. In experiments, the proposed method reached 81.4% F1-score (precision = 82.8%, recall = 80%) in neuron positioning, and achieved a success rate of 97.5% in neuron 2D tracking. This method can be applied to automatic image-guided patch clamp systems in the future.


Early warning systems are becoming increasingly important in high‐risk industries, because of their potential to detect all kinds of subtle threats and opportunities, that is, weak signals, in order to avoid strategic surprises. However, it is an under‐researched area within the context of smart factories. For the purpose of the study, semi‐structured group interviews were used to investigate how managers at a smart factory, a highly innovative global supplier in the automotive industry sense weak signals, perceive the role of intuition, smart systems and business model adjustments. The results of the study show that managers perceive early warning systems as highly important for timely response to development changes and that both smart systems and intuition play an essential role in detecting and responding to weak signals. Based on this study, we propose a managerial early warning system model with four stages, namely, identifying, screening, appraising and responding to weak signs, within the context of a smart factory. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Traditional inorganic energy storage materials involve high carbon emissions and low renewability. As an alternative battery material, organic conducting redox polymers (CRPs) have caught much atte ...


The magnetization of NdBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub y/ single crystals with various oxygen contents was investigated by superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer over a wide range of temperature and field. The results clearly indicate that the peak effect and flux pinning can be easily adjusted by changing the oxygen content in this material. Although the peak field decreases with increasing the amount of oxygen vacancies, J/sub c/ is significantly improved in the low fields and the peak effect becomes more pronounced. The oxygen vacancy clusters are very effective pinning centers and dominate the flux pinning in the sample subjected to the annealing and quenching process at 400/spl deg/C.


This research was carried out to determine the effects of storage period on hatching characteristics of Pheasant eggs. A total of 258 pheasant eggs were divided into three groups and each group were stored at 18 °C respectively for 4-7 d, 8-11 d and 12-15 d. Eggs were incubated at 36.5°C and 90 % relative humidity for 21 days during at which they were rotated hourly at an angle of 45°. Thereafter; these eggs were transferred into hatching machine during the last three days. A temperature of 36.0°C and relative humidity of 95 % were provided to the eggs at hatching period. Hatchability declined with storage period, for maximum hatchability less than 7 d of egg storage appears to be the best. The effects of storage period on embryonic mortality, hatchability of fertile eggs, hatchability of total eggs and chick hatching weight were significant (P<0.01). Egg weight loss increased with increased storage length (P<0.01). The chick weight tended to decline in relation with storage period up to 7 days.


Drawing a minimal reasoning by an intelligent organism required to use a massive background knowledge that will act as a support for proper reasoning. This is an era of developing intelligent system that act as a human helping in dealing of huge data which is singly impossible to manage by a human being. In this AI (Artificial Intelligence) era, the machine learning concept became evident in the scenario. Ontology learning is a part of that journey. Automated ontology learning became an unavoidable part for creating knowledgebase efficiently and expeditiously. Ontology learning involves several detailed subtasks. It includes taxonomy induction and property identification which are inevitable tasks for making an ontology learning system.


tion under the headings of literary texts and documents, the latter subdivided according to period; they have added a bibliography and notes of their own with suggestions for improved readings in many cases and descriptions of unedited texts which are so fragmentary or mutilated as to defy transcription. The first part of the volume is, therefore, a most useful work of reference for those who may wish to inform themselves about a collection which has been little known among papyrologists, largely because of the unsystematic way in which it has hitherto been published. The remainder of the volume is devoted to new texts, forty in all (pp. 47—79), inventories (pp. 81-86), indexes (pp. 87-104) covering the collection as a whole, and twenty-five plates. Many of the new texts are also fragmentary and must have taxed the ingenuity and patience of the editors to the utmost. But most of them are no more than additional specimens of known types of documents and offer little that is new or even of great interest. Possible exceptions are: 6, a petition asking for assistance in defraying the costs of a festival in honour of the local deities of Socnopaiou Nesos and the Imperial Fortune of the Severi; 22, a list of crowns made of different flowers, some of them described as Sî aA/ĉ poi, a word which the editors suggest may be connected etymologically with the Ka\yri, sometimes written as x<x\Kr), others as oapamaxoC (of Sarapis?), others as epê uAAtxoi; 28, 29, and 40, interesting private letters; and 31, a list of kitchen utensils, most of which can be explained only by reference to the comedians. There are also the addenda lexicis which every new edition of papyri can be guaranteed to produce for the delectation of the philologist : emfapla, for instance, in 14, which has suggested to H. C. Youtie the possibility of a semantic relationship with such words as eVi/?oAi/, tmpfpiaiios, and eViw/irjais, and IXXanoOrJTCo in 26, perhaps to be connected with i'AAd£w, if the reading is correct.


An analytical method was developed and validated for the determination of 45 multi-class pesticide residues in citrus fruit samples collected from and around Pulivendula, India, using GC-MS/MS (Gas chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry) followed by the QuEChERS extraction method . The linear regression coefficients (R-square) of the methods range from 0.998 to 0.999, and the Limit of Detection (LOD) and Limit of Quantification (LOQ) are 1.56 to 25.23 ng/mL and 4.72 to 76.47 ng/mL, respectively. Recoveries of all spiked pesticides range from 82.6 to 117.6%, with a RSD (Relative Standard Deviation) less than 11.2%. The results show that 42 out of 45 pesticides were detected in whole citrus fruit pulp (with peel) samples. Fenthion, bifenthrin, and fenvalerate were not detected. In the collected citrus samples, phorate (21.71 µg/kg), and ethion (51.47 µg/kg) insecticides are present above the Maximum Residue Level (MRL), but cypermethrin (25.89 µg/kg) was detected below the MRL. 13 out of 45 pesticides were detected in edible parts of citrus fruit (without peel) samples, with ethion having the highest residue. All pesticides were within the MRL limits prescribed by the European Union (EU) and Codex regulations for MRL in citrus fruits, and peeling was found to be one of the best ways to get rid of pesticide residues.


Based on the analyzing the functions and characteristics of medical image management system, an extendable visualization system for 3D medical data field is designed and realized in the IDL platform. First, the system designs a series of preprocessing methods suit for the specific characteristics of medical image; Then, the system advances and adopts feature region segmentation and data mining clustering and other methods to segment 3D medical data field directly, and two levels projection of sorted voxel block and other methods to rendering image; Finally, some realization images show that the system can rendering and manage 3D medical data field conveniently and effectively in the PC .


In searching for an exemplary carbon neutral fuel, dimethyl ether (DME) may be the most appealing. This simplest of the ethers can be readily produced from renewably sourced hydrogen and CO2, making it essentially a hydrogen carrier (1). Both nontoxic and easy to liquefy under moderate pressure, DME closely matches diesel and has been run in trucks (2). The ubiquitous propane grill tanks can store DME without modification. Recently, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) demonstrated the potential for direct oxidation of DME in a fuel cell.The breakthrough of our work is LANL's highly active catalyst for direct oxidation of DME that in the early phase of development shows similar performance to direct methanol when using typical low-temperature membranes. However, the output is not sufficient to approach commercial acceptance targets for higher power applications or precious metal cost. High-temperature membrane electrode assemblies (HT-MEAs), based on phosphoric-acid-imbibed membranes, operate at 160 °C to 180 °C without additional water and are highly tolerant to carbon monoxide – an intermediate of DME oxidation. This work exploits a novel ternary LANL anode catalyst with the features of high-temperature operation to produce high-power, low-cost direct DME MEAs.In support of direct DME oxidation, scientists at LANL have recently shown a direct liquid fuel cell operating with DME as part of a program to develop technology for direct methanol (MeOH), ethanol (EtOH), and DME fuel cells (3). In this work, it has been shown that DME can be directly oxidized via a PtRuPd ternary catalyst that not only activates the ether bonds but facilitates the removal of CO as a reaction by product (Figure 1). Even at this early stage, the team led by LANL has shown results that approach a highly developed DMFC system with regards to performance and precious metal loading (3). One highly relevant aspect of this work is the sharp temperature dependency of the current-voltage behavior, with an increase in the cell temperature from 80 °C to 90 °C leading to an increase in the current density at 0.5 V by ca. 50%, from 140 mA cm-2 to 220 mA cm- 2 High-temperature PEM MEAs developed by BASF for the polybenzylimide (PBI) system or pyridine polymer based TPS®system of Advent Technologies, Inc. have demonstrated utility and robustness when operating with highly impure reformates of around 1-3% CO (4). Similarly, cathode sensitivity to air contaminants is also ameliorated. The electrolyte in both systems is phosphoric acid imbibed into a stable and inert polymer matrix. Phosphoric acid is notable in that it does not need water to conduct protons, and can do so over a wide temperature range from ~120 °C to more than 200 °C. Advent is a licensee of BASF's MEA and gas-diffusion-electrode technology.This presentation will summarize our on-going efforts at facilitating direct oxidation of DME by using high temperature PEM MEAs with both PBI and TPS combined with the LANL catalyst operating at 160 oC to 180 oC. Olah, G.A., Goeppert, A. and Prakash, G.K. Surya in J. Org. Chem., 2009, 74, 487-498. Hutchinson, H., 2013 in ASME web article www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/transportation/diesel-alternative-hits-the-road. Advanced Materials and Concepts for Portable Power Fuel Cells, 2014 Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program AMR presentation. Technical Brochure, 2014 Advent Technologies, Inc. at www.Advent-Energy.com. Figure 1


We construct a representation of the coherent state path integral using the Weyl symbol of the Hamiltonian operator. This representation is very different from the usual path integral forms suggested by Klauder and Skagerstam (1985 Coherent States: Applications in Physics and Mathematical Physics (Singapore: World Scientific)), which involve the normal or the antinormal ordering of the Hamiltonian. These different representations, although equivalent quantum mechanically, lead to different semiclassical limits. We show that the semiclassical limit of the coherent state propagator in the Weyl representation involves classical trajectories that are independent of the width of coherent states. This propagator is also free from the phase corrections found in Baranger et al (2001 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 34 7227) for the two Klauder forms and provides an explicit connection between the Wigner and the Husimi representations of the evolution operator.


Background.
 Hematopoiesis is a highly regulated system where multiple, yet undiscovered, factors orchestrate the self-renewal of bone marrow stem cells and their differentiation into blood cells. Following acute stresses like infections, inflammation, chemotherapy or radiation, the hematopoietic system quickly adapts by a process termed "emergency" or "stress" hematopoiesis. For instance, switches from steady state to emergency granulopoiesis or emergency erythropoiesis have been described in response to infection or bleeding.
 We recently identified, both in human and murine erythroid progenitors, a functional cell-autonomous serotonergic network with pro-survival and proliferative functions. Furthermore, pharmacologic restoration of serotonin levels using selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as fluoxetine, a common antidepressant, was demonstrated to rescue the anemic phenotype in mice models.
 Here, we hypothesized that serotonin also has a role on other hematopoietic lineages, and that the serotonergic system could be a valuable therapeutic target in radiation or chemotherapy-induced cytopenia. Moreover, as our previous work suggested a cross-talk between serotonin and erythropoietin, we postulate that serotonin could act in cooperation with known hematopoietic growth factors.
 Material and method.
 For mice models, we submitted C57BL/6 wild-type 8-10 weeks old mice to sub-lethal irradiation and monitored hematopoietic recovery through complete blood counts. We compared mice treated with fluoxetine administrated orally (~ 20 mg/kg/day in drinking water) to a control group, with or without hematopoietic growth factors.
 For the retrospective human cohort, we used a computerized database to identify patients who underwent autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in the adult hematology department of Necker hospital between 2008 and 2018. We compared 22 patients treated with an SSRI to 66 controls, matched according to number of injected CD34+ cells/kg, age, sex, conditioning chemotherapy, pathology, depth of response before transplantation, previous lines of chemotherapy, and year of transplantation. The study was conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki.
 Results.
 First, we confirmed that, following sub-lethal irradiation, pharmacologic restoration of 5-HT levels in mice using fluoxetine improved normalization of the erythroid lineage (at day 17 post-irradiation, mean hemoglobin was 8.1 versus 2.8 g/dL in the fluoxetine versus control group (p=0.0002)).
 Second, the data revealed that the use of SSRI lead to a more rapid restoration of the leukocytes and platelets levels (at day 17 post-irradiation, mean leukocyte level was 1740 versus 314/mm3 (p<0.0001) and mean platelet level was 216 versus 43/mm3 (p=0.002) in the fluoxetine versus control group, respectively).
 Third, we observed an additive effect between fluoxetine and Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor (G-CSF) on the recovery of the three myeloid lineages (at day 17 post-irradiation, mean hemoglobin was 10.5 versus 4.0 g/dL (p<0.0001), mean leukocyte level was 2900 versus 900/mm3 (p<0.0001) and mean platelet level was 308 versus 84/mm3 (p=0.0009) in the fluoxetine + G-CSF versus control group, respectively).
 Finally, analysis of the in vivo murine model under steady state condition showed that without any hematopoietic stress, fluoxetine did not impact hematopoiesis.
 In human, analysis of the retrospective ASCT cohort demonstrated that patients treated with SSRI had a more rapid neutrophil recovery than matched control patients (mean duration of neutropenia <500/mm3 was 12.2 days in the SSRI group and 14.26 days in the control group, p=0.0216). SSRI therapy was not associated with a higher rate or quicker relapses of underlying malignant hemopathy: mean progression free survival was 36 months in both groups.
 Conclusion.
 In this work, we report a previously unknown role of SSRI in the hematopoietic recovery of cytopenia, both after sub-lethal irradiation in mice and after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in human. We also observed a significant cooperation between SSRI and G-CSF on the three myeloid lineages. We propose that the serotonergic system could be a valuable therapeutic target in stress hematopoiesis such as in therapy-induced aplasia in patients.

 Hermine: AB Science: Consultancy, Equity Ownership, Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding.

 Fluoxetine is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor for oral administration. It is an antidepressant approved for major depressive disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, bulimia nervosa and panic disorder. We believe its role on serotonin can improve hematopoiesis.


Assessment of competitiveness in the formation of demand for products of snail and fish farms forms information for making strategic decisions. It helps owners and managers of snail and fish farms to find their positions in the agricultural market, identify strengths and weaknesses, and make informed choices regarding production strategies, allocation of resources in the livestock industry, and orientation to sales markets. It has been proven that this analysis contributes to the achievement of set goals, the formation of business plans, and the implementation of strategies to increase the level of competitiveness indicators. By identifying areas where efficiency can be improved, such as feed conversion, fish hatchery management, and broodstock management, an informed decision on resource allocation and investment can be made for the farm. Such optimization reduces costs and increases productivity and the overall efficiency of a snail or fish farm. It was concluded that increasing the viability and achieving a positive level for the indicators of the competitiveness of the agricultural sector and agricultural producers is again defined as one of the strategic goals of the EU SAP in the new program period of 2021-2027. The assessment of the competitiveness of farms in the production of livestock products is the basis for optimizing resources, positioning the economic entity on the agricultural market, managing risks, implementing technologies, complying with policies, and industry benchmarking. The study was conducted to clarify understanding of the competitiveness of snail or fish farms, how to assess competitiveness in agriculture, to determine the absolute and comparative competitiveness of different types of farms, including snail and fish farms, which factors are decisive for increasing competitiveness at the current stage of development. This provides grounds to increase their business efficiency, profitability, and sustainability, ensuring long-term success and competitiveness when entering domestic and foreign markets.
Keywords: market, import, export, demand, supply, animal husbandry, snail farming, regulation, industry, competitiveness, snail, products, organic aquaculture, fish farming, fish, trade.


We present a statistical study of the performance of three methods used to predict the propagation delay of solar wind structures. These methods are based on boundary normal estimations between the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft orbiting the L1 libration point and the Cluster spacecraft near the Earth's magnetopause. The boundary normal estimation methods tested are the cross product method (CP), the minimum variance analysis of the magnetic field (MVAB), and the constrained minimum variance analysis (MVAB0). The estimated delay times are compared with the observed ones to obtain a quantitative measure of each method's accuracy. Boundary normal estimations of magnetic field structures embedded in the solar wind are known to be sensitive to small‐scale fluctuations. Our study uses wavelet denoising to reduce the effect of these fluctuations. The influence of wavelet denoising on the performance of the three methods is also analyzed. We find that the free parameters of the three methods have to be adapted to each event in order to obtain accurate propagation delays. We also find that by using denoising parameters optimized to each event, 88% of our database of 356 events are estimated to arrive within ±2 min from the observed time delay with MVAB, 74% with CP, and 69% with the MVAB0 method. Our results show that wavelet denoising significantly improves the predictions of the propagation time delay of solar wind discontinuities.


The concept of cryptoalgorithm complexity as a relative characteristic of security is introduced. The method of direct operational analysis is applied to mathematical research of cryptographic algorithms and their keys. Realization of the method is described


Now a days, Buriganga is one of the most polluted rivers in Bangladesh. Most of the industries and factories of Dhaka are situated on the banks of the Buriganga or very close to the river system. Substantial part of urban sewage of the Dhaka city is also thrown in the Buriganga river. A study was conducted to determine the pollution level of water of Buriganga river. Field investigation was started from June 2004 and Sample collection was conducted six times at an interval of two months up to April, 2005. Different water quality parameters such as pH, EC, TDS, DO, Cations (Na + , K + , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ ,NH 4+ ) and anions (HCO 3 - , Cl - , SO 4 2- , PO 4 3- , NO 3 - ) were examined for water of each sampling points to monitor the level of these parameters where it exceed or within the permissible limit. Present investigation suggested that, Dissolved Oxygen (DO) concentration of water of Buriganga river was very low particularly in dry season (2-3 mg/l). Ammonium (NH 4 + ) and Nitrate (NO 3 - ) concentration near Hazaribagh, Sadarghat, Zinzira, Lalbagh, Kotouali and Shutrapur area were very high, which crossed the maximum permissible limit. In dry season the level of pollution was much high than in wet season. That indicates the water of Buriganga was not safe for drinking purposes, irrigation, fisheries, recreational activities and various industrial uses for most of the times of year. Key words : Buriganga river, GIS technology, Temporal variation DOI: 10.3329/bjsir.v44i3.4406 Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res. 44(3) , 327-334, 2009


Bartter Syndrome is an inherited renal tubular disorder with hypokalaemia, hypochloremic and metabolic alkalosis. The syndrome was diagnosed by elevated serum renin levels, which is seen in our case, improved with potassium supplements and Indomethacin. In some patients Indomethacin therapy failed to resolve or prevent nephrocalcinosis. We are reporting a case of neonatal bartter syndrome responded well to Indomethacin and appropriate electrolyte therapy which gradually improved the general condition of the child. Unless there is a high degree of suspicion, patients may go undiagnosed or may be incorrectly managed for protein–energy malnutrition. Early diagnosis helps in improving the outcome by Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE) and NSAID's.


The first crown thioether complex of a d0 ion, [ReO3(9S3)]+, has been prepared by reaction of NH4ReO4 with 1,4,7-trithiacyclononane (9S3) in acidified MeCN and characterized by X-ray, IR, Raman, and 17O NMR methods.


At the end of Text 6, column II, of the Ba'al-texts from Ugarit, the goddess 'Anat confronts and dispatches M6t, the god of death and the netherworld. The Passage has generally been interpreted in one of two ways: either as a fertility ritual, in which Mot is used as fertilizer or as seed for the coming year; or as a rite of desacralization of the present year's crop of grain. In either case, M6t must be visualized as standing grain. This study suggests that Mot is not in fact depicted here as grain being "harvested" by 'Anat, and thus the passage may better be understood as representing the ritual destruction of a hostile deity. As such, the passage is similar in form and function to the Egyptian myth of Re's destruction of Apophis and to the Biblical study of the golden calf. Mot, the enemy of all fertility and fecundity, is thus not being harvested but annihilated; for, in order for Life (Ba'al) to return to Ugarit, Death must die.


of the Act is a violation of section 15 of the Act (15 U.S.C. 2614). (5) Violators may be subject to the civil and criminal penalties in section 16 of the Act (15 U.S.C. 2615) for each violation. Persons who submit materially misleading or false information in connection with the requirements of any provision of this section may be subject to penalties calculated as if they never filed their notices. (6) EPA may seek to enjoin the manufacture or processing of a chemical substance in violation of this section or act to seize any chemical substance manufactured or processed in violation of this section or take other actions under the authority of section 7 of the Act (15 U.S.C. 2606) or section 17 of the Act (15 U.S.C. 2616). (m) Inspections. EPA will conduct inspections under section 11 of the Act to assure compliance with section 5 and this section, to verify that information submitted to EPA under this section is true and correct, and to audit data submitted to EPA under this section. (n) Confidentiality. If a manufacturer submits information to EPA under this section which the manufacturer claims to be confidential business information, the manufacturer must clearly identify the information at the time of submission to EPA by bracketing, circling, or underlining it and stamping it with ''CONFIDENTIAL'' or some other appropriate designation. Any information so identified will be treated in accordance with the procedures in 40 CFR part 2. Any information not claimed confidential at the time of submission may be made available to the public without further notice.


PURPOSE: To oxidize a trench side wall to various thicknesses corresponding to the need of a trench IC by depositing and removing a silicon nitride coating on a first oxide layer formed on the entire surface of a trench, exposing a first oxide, etching the exposed part and selectively oxidizing it to a second thickness different from a first thickness. CONSTITUTION: The first oxide layer over the selectively oxidized entire trench surface area of the trench side wall is grown to the side wall 1 of a prescribed thickness. Thereafter, silicon nitride is vapor deposited on the first layer of the oxide of the trench. The selected side wall of the trench is scratched by ion implantation and the damaged part of the silicon nitride is etched. Then, the exposed first oxide layer is wet-etched and selectively oxidized so as to be the side wall 2 thicker than the side wall 1. Thus, the trench side wall is individually oxidized to a desired thickness.


Executive Summary. This study examines the transmission mechanism of prices and volatility spillovers be-tween the housing markets in Coslada (small city) and Madrid (large city) in Spain. Such analysis provides some insights into the processes house prices follow in small and large cities. A bivariate Generalized Autoregressive Conditionally Heteroskedastic model is utilized. The findings reveal strong evidence of a positive unidi-rectional price spillover from the housing market in Madrid to the housing market in Coslada. However, there are no volatility spillovers between the two markets. Overall, the results support the conventional expectation that prices spill over from the larger cities to the smaller cities.


In this paper, we conduct research on the applications of theory of lexical chunks and cultural equivalence theory on Chinese for foreigner education. There are a lot of language chunks in block is different from the special language unit words, phrases, sentences, prefabricated resistance, can be stored as a whole and extract which plays important role in language acquisition. Teaching Chinese as a foreign language, the theory of lexical chunks in such aspects as help memorization and build up your language sense showed a huge advantage. To explore the teaching methods of lexical chunks has important significance to improve the effectiveness of Chinese teaching. Our research proposed the novel paradigm for the education which will be meaningful and helpful.


In thispaperthetheoryof CarryValue Theorganization ofthepaperisasfollows. Section II Transformation (CVT)isdesigned anddeveloped onapairofn- discusses someofthebasicconcepts onfractals, L-systems, bitstrings andisusedtoproduce manyinteresting patterns. One tilling problem, Cellular Automataetc.whichareusedinthe ofthemisfoundtobeaself-similar fractal whosedimension is subsequent sections. Theconcept ofCVT isdefined insection sameasthedimension oftheSierpinski triangle. DifferentIII. Itcanbefoundinsection IVthat CVT generates abeautiful construction procedures like L-system, Cellular Automata rule, self-similar fractal whosedimension isfoundtobesameasthat Tilling forthis fractal areobtained whichsignifies that like other ofmonsterfractal, Sierpinski triangle. Section V deals withthe tools CVT canalsobeusedfortheformation ofself-similar various wayslike L-System, Cellular Automata andTillings by fractals. Finally itisshownthatCVT canalsobeusedforthe whichthesame fractal inbinary numbersystemcan be production ofperiodic aswell aschaotic patterns, constructed. CVT canalsobeusedfortheproduction of


This book discusses the applications of radioanalytical chemistry across a wide spectrum of interdisciplinary science and technology. This book also explores the history of the field, current trends, and future directions.


Introduction: Leptin is a hormone secreted from adipocytes that regulates metabolism and energy homeostasis through the leptin receptor (LEPR). The aim of this study was to investigate the association of leptin receptor gene Q223R gene polymorphism, and plasma leptin level among obese breast cancer females. Materials and Methods: The study enrolled 160 breast cancer patients and 160 healthy control females. LEPR Q223R polymorphism was determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Serum leptin was determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay human leptin kit. Immunohistochemical tests from paraffin blocks were carried out for estrogen and progesterone staging using the precise antibodies. Results: An association was found between LEPR gene Q223R gene polymorphism among obese breast cancer females. Statistical difference was found between GG (60.6%) Arg/Arg genotype (OR=2.986; 95%CI=1.540 to 5.789; p= 0.001) compared to AA (33.1%) Gln/Gln genotype. GG Q223R LEPR polymorphism showed statistically significant difference among obese breast cancer patients (BMI more than 25) compared to control (P < 0.0001). GG genotype of Q223R LEPR polymorphism showed statistically significant increased leptin level (p-value =0.0001) among obese patients (mean± SD; 23.39±4.32) compared to control (17.83±5.67). Conclusions: Q223R LEPR polymorphism GG genotype was associated with increased leptin profile among obese breast cancer females.


The Herschel–Quincke (HQ) resonator concept is an innovative technique that consists of installing circumferential arrays of HQ waveguides around the inlet of a turbofan engine. An HQ waveguide is essentially a hollow side tube that travels along (but not necessarily parallel to) the engine axis and attaches to the inlet at each of the two ends of the tube. To investigate the potential of the concept, the approach was tested on a full‐scale production Honeywell TFE731‐60 engine. An HQ–inlet system containing two arrays was designed to attenuate the blade passage frequency (BPF) tone at approach condition, i.e., 60% engine power. However, the system was tested over the full range of engine power settings. The effects of each array both individually and together were evaluated as compared to the hard‐wall case. Both far‐field and induct data were recorded during the tests. The results show good attenuation of both the BPF tone and broadband components. Furthermore, reduction of ''buzz‐saw'' tones, i.e., add...


A cell consists of a large number of components interacting in a dynamic environment. The complexity of interactions among cell components makes design of cell simulation a challenging task. Multiagent systems can be considered a suitable framework for modelling and engineering complex systems organised as autonomous interactive components. The multiagent paradigm proved natural and useful not only in building simulations, but also for devising an engineering methodology. To evaluate the proposed approach, we constructed a multiagent model of cell components involved in the metabolic pathways of Carbohydrate Oxidation (CO).


The objective of this paper is to investigate the `state of the art` of the interdomain routing protocol BGP. First, BGP is critically reviewed focusing on the BGP policy and decision making process. And then the problems which still remain as open questions are investigated in the areas of 1) protocol stability, 2) traffic engineering and 3) quality of service. The recent research trend to answer the open questions is discussed.


Abstract : Second, third, and fourth order moments are used for passive detection of simulated transient signals embedded in both simulated independent Gaussian noise and measured noise. The measured noise was recorded by a vertical array located near the San Diego harbor and is dominated at low frequencies by ship-generated noise. The detectors do not assume noise or signal stationarity, and can use either one, two, or p channels of data for the p-th order moment detector. Detection simulations using six synthetic transient signals embedded in the measured noise reveal that the fourth order moment detector often detects better than the second order moment (or energy) detector in both the Gaussian noise and the measured noise. Although the application of one-dimensional passband filters before the moment calculations improves the performance of all three detectors, it induces additional detection gain for the higher order moment detectors.


Investigations of trophic interactions between marine mammals and marine resources typically use trophic models that are based on food composition, energy content of the prey and energy requirements of the predators. Although the diets are known to vary intraspecifically accord- ing to year, season, sex and age, this variation is rarely taken into account in published models. The aim of the present study was to assess the diet of the short-beaked common dolphin Delphinus del- phis in the Bay of Biscay (France), examine intraspecific dietary variation and explore its effects on calculated daily food intake. Stomach contents were analysed from 71 common dolphins stranded along the French coast between 1999 and 2002. The composition of the fresh fraction of the diet was quantified by occurrence, relative abundance, reconstructed mass and prey size distributions for all prey taxa. Overall, the most important prey species were sardine, anchovy, sprat and horse mackerel, which represented 44.9, 22.6, 8.0 and 5.0% by mass of the fresh diet, respectively. The diet composi- tion displayed significant variation in relation to season and sex/maturity status, in terms of both prey species composition and prey size distributions. Temporal variation in diet composition was interpreted in relation to prey availability in the Bay of Biscay. Because different prey types have different energetic values, changes in diet composition could lead to changes in the estimated total biomass needed to fulfil energetic requirements. In spite of the main prey species varying ex- tensively, estimated daily food intakes changed relatively little because all diets included a high proportion of fat fish (73 to 93% by mass).


In recent years, most of the advanced Pressurize Water Reactor (PWR) design contains passive cooling features, especially for the containments, which are functioning as the final radioactive emission barriers. To evaluate the best estimation codes for containment design, large scale thermo-hydraulic experimental facilities will be necessary for Code Verification and validation (V&V). Normally, the multi-phase jet is the main source for containment thermo-hydraulic processes under Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) conditions. This paper presents the scaling studies of source effects in large cavity experiment facility design. The similarity in core safety features, such as cavity temperature and pressure, is preserved firstly in the scaling and some dominant design parameters are given. Some primary design features are decided. The jet mass flow rate and heat sink surface ratios are provided for the prevailing parameters for system transient simulation. Based on mass and energy conservative equations, the parameters ratio for jet mass flow rate, jet time scale, jet integral energy, break size and expansion structures size are determined. Furthermore, some transient multidimensional phenomena are also considered. A novel six regions hierarchical model is similarly provided specially for cavity space scaling. The interaction between jet and space natural circulation was modeled. The local heat and mass transfer simulation and system level evaluation are coherence in the experimental design. Based on the preceding results, estimation for distortion on experiments can also be made to evaluate the experimental data deviations from prototype design.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


February 25, 2016, Sh.Marjani Institute of History of Tatarstan Academy of Sciences held an academic seminar on the theme "The Eastern Uluses of the Kazan Khanate". The seminar was organized by M.A.Usmanov Centre for Research on the Golden Horde and Tatar Khanates. The Head of the Centre, Dr. I.M. Mirgaleev, and Dr. A.V. Aksanov acted as speakers. The seminar was dedicated to the main aspects of the history of the Western Urals' Tatars. Participants discussed the hypothesis of the destruction of the Great (Ural) Hungary (Bascardia) and forcible deportation of its people as a result of the Western campaign of Batu (original idea by Roman Hautala). On the basis of heterogeneous authentic inforamtion, archaeological, epigraphic, genetic and linguistic materials, speakers proved the thesis of settling in the territory of Greater Hungary of the Kimaks, Bulgars and Khwarezmians, as well as of establishing in its place of Akidel ulus, that later became a part of the Kazan Khanate. Speakers pointed to the discrepancy between the notions of historiography about Bashkir ulus's location in the Kazan Khanate and authentic sources' information of the 15th-16th centuries. On the basis of wide use of Bashkir shedzheres and extrapolation of the later information on the situation in the Kazan Khanate, many researchers came to the conclusion that the Bashkir ulus located in the southeast of the Khanate. In turn, the authors of the 16th century wrote that this ulus was located at the north-eastern borders of the Kazan Khanate. Speakers hypothesized that Bashkir ulus had a special military and strategic value both for the Kazan Khanate and for the Russian state, which came to replace it. However, under the authority of the Russian state this ulus began to be used also for the purpose of conquering the Southern Urals. At the end of the 16th century, the main conflict zone shifted to the southeast and this was followed by inclusion in the Bashkir ulus of new "Bashkirs" from among the Nogai and Shibanid Tatars. Consequently, the ulus area shifted and substantially expanded. In 1586, it received the status of Ufa district.


Introduction The accuracy of UCA implantation is an important prognostic factor in survivorship. Previously, conventional instrumentation was adapted for UCA, possibly contributing to a lower long-term survivorship. This study aims to assess UCA position on x-rays, performed through a minimally invasive approach, in comparison to UCAs utilising an open approach. Methods Patients were selected for UCA according to strict criteria. In particular, a varus knee Results The femoral component varus/valgus angle was 5.6° (range: 2 to 10) and flexion/extension angle was 4.9° (range: 0 to 11). The tibial component varus/valgus angle was 86.4° (range: 80 to 89°) and the postero-inferior tilt angle was 83° (range: 80 to 85). There was no radiolucency at the tibial plateau interface greater than one millimetre. One patient was treated for deep vain thrombosis and two patients underwent manipulations due to reduced range of motion. There were no deep or superficial infections and no UCA revisions. Conclusions Radiological analysis of Oxford UCAs using a minimally invasive technique demonstrates similar implant positioning compared to the open approach. Patients gain the advantage of earlier recovery due to less synovial and quadriceps disturbance and no patella dislocation. Ongoing follow-up is required to determine whether these benefits extend to improved prosthesis survivorship.


If the cooling capacity is introduced into a room above the heating sources, mainly in rooms with mixed flow, certain air velocities not being able to be kept within will be found in the room even if the outlets are adjusted optimally. This knowledge existed already earlier. Experiments with cooled ceilings show now that these velocities depend only on the cooling capacity related to the floor area for a given geometry. The experimental results also give hints to which area the capacity has to be related. The good agreement with the known velocities in mixed flows encourages to extend the results of cooled ceilings to mixed flow.


The project designs a microgrid based on downtown community of El Monte city, California. The system main components include a solar PV system, a battery, a diesel generator, an inverter, a control system, and loads. The microgrid design is simulated using MATLAB Simulink. The results show that the microgrid can supply power to its community adequately and independently without relying on a utility power grid. The microgrid is smart as it can operate autonomously thanks to its automatic control system. For various operational scenarios, the microgrid proves to be resilient where it can supply its load demand successfully using its solar system, battery, and diesel generator. The load voltage is kept at satisfactory values of around 1.0 per unit. The power distribution efficiency is around 99%. The results contribute to development of smart microgrids which, in turn, improve the reliability and resiliency of large power grids, as well as provide energy independence to communities


Starting with a presentation of the previous hypotheses dealing with the Modena archivolt, the article focuses upon the patrons as means of explaining the arrival of the Arthurian legend at Modena. It also craves to explain the striking compositional similarities between the Modena and Bari archivolts. The author rejects Loomis' identification of the patron, since it does not substantiate the transfer of the Arthurian tale from Bari to Modena; he also rejects another hypothesis concerning the pilgrim road. Via Francigena because of the archivolt's uniqueness, which might point to a particular context, not to a 'social' pattern. The author then takes an interest in the presence of four names in the acts of Modena: Arthur, Roland, Bohemond and Tancred. He explores the prestige of Bohemond of Antioch in the Lombard milieu of the beginning of the XIIth century. In the end, after providing and linking various pieces of evidence, he believes the Modena archivolt's patrons could have met an Anglo-Norman group of knights at Bari, where they had lived for one year and a half (1106-1107), waiting for prince Bohemond's campaign into the Balkans. The Modena archivolt could in fact be a synthesis between a French tale and the Bari archivolt, whose story has nothing to do with king Arthur.


TERT gene, the most frequently mutated gene in patients with telomere biology disorders (telomeropathies), encode telomerase reverse transcriptase enzyme. Heterozygous variants in the TERT gene impair telomerase activity by haploinsufficiency and pathogenic variants are associated with bone marrow failure syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia predisposition. TERT variants show incomplete penetrance and can also be found in asymptomatic family members. Some patients with telomeropathies present with severe symptoms at early age, and in other diseases may appear later in life like aplastic anemia, pulmonary or hepatic fibrosis. Affected families may show anticipation that may result in more severe forms of the disease in succeeding generations. Due to the rarity of the disease and the small number of clinical trials, telomeropathies are often unrecognized and misdiagnosed.


Background: Alemtuzumab is a highly effective treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) but requires ongoing pathology monitoring for autoimmune adverse effects. The Alemtuzumab in MS Safety Systems (AMS3) study evaluated the implementation of an automated pathology-monitoring system. Objectives: To develop an efficient automated clinical decision support system (CDSS) to electronically prompt and track pathology collection and to provide prescribers and patients with customised alerts of abnormal results for identified risks. Methods: A total of 10 patients with relapsing-remitting MS treated with alemtuzumab were enrolled to test the system. Standard care laboratory monitoring was performed and compared to the performance of the CDSS. Results: The automated CDSS, an integrated patient smartphone application and an additional pre-screening tool were all successfully developed. Compliance with pathology monitoring was 96.7%. The automated analysis of pathology results was significantly faster than standard care neurologist review (p < 0.001). The system correctly identified and alerted abnormalities, including one case of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) while the treating neurologist was on leave, enabling prompt treatment of serious adverse events. During the course of the study, the CDSS was deployed throughout Australia. Conclusion: We successfully developed automated pathology monitoring with a CDSS, demonstrating real-world benefits of high compliance and timely alerting of important results.


The survival rate at 3 years after potentially curative surgical or radiation treatment for locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (SCCHN) remains quite poor at 30 to 50%. Over 50% of these patients relapse locally or at distant sites and with a median survival of 6-9 months. This review focuses on the established and experimental strategies seeking to improve this outcome. Cetuximab is a chimeric immunoglobulin G1 monoclonal antibody engineered specifically to compete with the natural ligand for EGFR binding sites on the external surface of the cell membrane. This antibody have demonstrated significant disease control rate of over 45% as single agent in the locally recurrent/metastatic disease setting. The combination of cetuximab with platinum-based and taxane-based chemotherapy regimens has resulted in disease control rate of up to 80%. Studies are currently ongoing to assess the activity of immunotherapeutic agents like CTLA-4, PD-1, and PD-L1 inhibitors in the treatment of advanced SCCHN both in biomarker selected and unselected patient population with encouraging preliminary results. Moreover, the combination of these agents with standard chemotherapy regimens, and with cetuximab in the treatment of SCCHN is also being explored.


PURPOSE: To provide a method and a means for incorporating digital data that can be read by a machine in the gray scale image inconspicuously. CONSTITUTION: In a gray scale image formation system 21, a modulator 22 modulates a gray scale image sample into a low contrast regarding the foreground and background of a previously selected image according to binary data and applies it a gray scale sampled value which fluctuating between right adjacent gray scale levels as a function of the binary data to a printer 23. The binary data incorporated in a print image are loaded to a buffer 25 which operates or does not operate with a control signal and when the control signal has true logical level, an AND gate 26 performs gate control over clock pulses at a specific frequency and sends them to the buffer 25, which applies the binary data to the modulator 22 in sequence at the frequency.


Events and objects in the world generally do not occur in isolation. This surrounding spatial and temporal information has major effects on visual processing, effects that are typically described as contextual modulations. Given qualitative similarities among various contextual surround effects (e.g., the effects tend to exaggerate differences and suppress uniform stimuli), it might seem intuitive that these processes are related. It is unknown, however, whether contextual modulation processes across visual sub-modalities are independent, or at least in part share a common underlying mechanism. This is especially relevant for clinical work where these contextual effects are often linked to inhibitory function. We addressed this question using an individual differences approach in three different populations (total N = 129): neurotypical adults, older adults and patients with schizophrenia. The context battery included six tasks that assessed surround modulations in luminance, contrast, orientation, motion (2X) and size domains. The results revealed robust contextual effects across all tasks. However, despite large sample sizes, we found no significant correlations among different contextual tasks. Across groups, we did find significant differences: (a) weaker surround contrast effect in both schizophrenia and older adults, (b) stronger repulsive surround tilt and motion effects in older adults and (c) weaker surround suppression for motion in both schizophrenia and older adults. We find that (1) strength of contextual modulation does not correlate across visual sub-modalities and (2) deficits in contextual modulation that go in different directions. Together, this indicates an absence of a common underlying mechanism for contextual modulation in vision.


Interleukin-4(IL-4) is a pleiotropic cytokine which plays a pivotal role in shaping immune responses. IL-4 mediates important proinflammatory functions in asthma, including the IgE isotype switch. IL-4 exerts its biological effects through binding to its receptor (IL-4R) complex, with a α chain as the high affinity binding subunit. Soluble IL-4R lacks the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains, therefore it can not induce cellular activation. By acting as a decoy to circulating IL-4 and neutralize its activity, its high specificity and affinity make it ideal as an IL-4 antagonist. With RNA extracted from human monocyte as the template, the sIL-4R cDNA encoding the extracellular domain of IL-4R α chain was obtained by RT-PCR. Then the recombinant vector pBV220/sIL-4R was constructed and introduced into E.coli DH5α. After induction and cell breakage, the recombinant sIL-4R was recovered in the inclusion body. Through a two-step purification procedure, the recombinant sIL-4R accounted for 90% of total protein. N-terminal assay indicated that recombinant sIL-4R had N-terminal sequence identical to that of native sIL-4R. Western blot and the ligand binding blot analysis also indicated the expressed sIL-4R with biological activity.


This article presents a reanalysis of data from Gondolf's (2012) article in this journal on reoffending by men in the 15-month period subsequent to participation in batterer intervention programs. Gondolf concludes that violence by the female partners "was relatively low and does not appear to influence the program outcome in terms of men's reassault" (p. 10). The reanalyzed data lead to the opposite conclusion. The policy and practice implications are that the high rate of assault by women, including initiation of violence by female partners, needs to be addressed to enhance the effectiveness of programs to prevent and stop violence against women.


According to the local characteristics of geography and climate and specialization of pharmaceutical factories, puts forward targeted principles of greening design: stress the importance of tree shape, leaf phase and hued vegetable, and Elements of maintenance operations are especially introduced when giving priority to a lawn.


Icy silty deposits in northern Siberia, here termed 'ice-complex sediments' (ICS), have a higher salinization than other continental deposits of Neogene-Pleistocene age. Data for salinity (%) and the ratio of Ca ion content to Cl ion content for samples from the Yana-Indigirskaya and Kolymskaya lowlands indicate that the salinization of Pleistocene permafrost is lowest, that icy silts have salinities between 0.1% and 1.0%, and that recent floodplain, coastal and alas deposits have salinities greater than 1%. These differences are thought to reflect the phase change in gas-liquid inclusions in crystals and rocks when they break and their contents (solutions) are released during freezing. This process is termed cryocryptogenesis. It is concluded that ICS deposits were formed under less humid and colder conditions than exist today in northern Yakutia, but more humid than central Yakutia.

Des depǒts limoneux avec de la glace, presents en Siberie septentrionale, seront appeles ici complexe de sediments et de glace (ICS). Ils ont une teneur en sels plus elevee que les autres depǒts continentaux d'ǎge Neogene-Pleistocene. Des donnees de salinite (%) et le rapport du contenu en ions Ca sur le contenu en ions Cl d'echantillons des basses terres des regions Yana-Indigirka et Kolima indiquent que la salinisation du pergelisol pleistocene est plus faible, que les silts avec de la glace ont des salinites entre 0.1% et 1.0%, et que les depǒts actuels des plaines d'inondation recentes, les depǒts cǒtiers et les depǒts d alas ont des salinites plus grandes que 1%. Ces differences resultent sans doute de changements de phase dans les inclusions formees de gaz et de liquides presentes dans les cristaux et les roches. Quand ces inclusions se brisent, leur contenu (solution) est libere pendant le gel. Ce processus est appele cryocryptogenese. La conclusion de la presente etude est que ces depǒts ICS se seraient formes sous des conditions moins humides et plus froides que celles qui existent aujourd'hui dans la Yakoutie septentrionale, mais plus humides que celles du centre de la Yakoutie.


The authors have utilized a previously proposed mathematical equation (introduced originally for development of empirical equations) as a useful tool for evaluation of first‐order reaction rate constants. By assigning physical significance to the parameter α, the equation can be utilized in obtaining excellent estimates for limiting boundary values and velocity constants.


Pre-support is commonly used in the construction of weak surrounding rock.Combined with the practice of hole-bay tunnel construction,analysis is made on the lead pipe shea,advance small pipe grouting technology,and the successful experiences are concluded which will provide a reference for similar construction.


Dear editor, Brain perivascular spaces (PVSs) or Virchow-Robin spaces are pial-lined, interstitial fluid-filled structures surrounding the arteries entering brain parenchyma. Enlarged PVSs are radiological manifestation of posttraumatic encephalopathy and a common biomarker of small vessel disease (SVD). Exuberant forms of PVSs are rarely reported. A 55-year-old male truck driver, retired professional boxer with a history of severe untreated hypertension, obesity, brainstem lacunar stroke, dyslipidemia, heavy smoking, right sided severe internal carotid stenosis (SICS) (90–99%) and hyperhomocysteinemia was brought to the emergency room because of sudden onset of right hemiparesis followed by focal complex hemiconvulsion. On neurological examination the


Naomi Sokoloff is an Associate Professor in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization and Chair of the Jewish Studies Program at the University of Washington. She is the author of Imagining the Child in Modern Jewish Fiction (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992) and has co-edited two books: Gender and Text in Modern Hebrew and Yiddish Literature (JTSA, 1992) and Infant Tongues: The Voice of the Child in Literature (Wayne State University Press, 1994).


Flight inspection is an important method and means for verifying and evaluating whether the air signals of civil aviation communications, navigation, and surveillance equipment of flight procedures, are intact and effective or not. It is directly related to civil aviation flight safety. Flight inspection uses high-performance aircraft equipped with special flight inspection equipment to complete. During the inspection, the ground technician adjusts the ground navigation equipment based on the data reported by the flight inspector. This paper proposes to develop a flight inspection air-ground joint debugging system. After the inspection equipment on the aircraft obtains the navigation equipment signal, the signal parameters are sent to the ground flight inspection joint debugging system in a data format through the ground-air data link. The system automatically judges whether the parameters are normal or not, otherwise communicate with the navigation equipment according to the software preset instructions and adjust the parameters of the ground navigation equipment, and finally complete the flight inspection adjustment of the navigation equipment signals.


We present and analyze a penalization method which extends the the method of [Ph. Angot, C.-H. Bruneau, and P. Fabrie, Numer. Math., 81 (1999), pp. 487-520] to the case of a rigid body moving freely in an incompressible fluid. The fluid-solid system is viewed as a single variable density flow. The interface is captured by a color function satisfying a transport equation. The solid velocity is computed by averaging at every time the flow velocity in the solid phase. This velocity is used to penalize the flow velocity at the fluid-solid interface and to move the interface. Numerical illustrations are provided to illustrate our convergence result. A discussion of our result in the light of existing existence results is also given.


1 Malzahn K, Mitze M, Thoenes M, et al. Biological and prognostic significance of stratified epithelial cytokeratins in infiltrating ductal breast carcinomas. Virchows Arch 1998;433:119–29. 2 Nassar A, Sussman ZM, Lawson D, et al. Inference of the basal epithelial phenotype in breast carcinoma from differential maker expression, using tissue microarrays in triple negative breast cancer and women younger than 35. Breast J 2012;5:399–405. 3 Lakhani S, Ellis I, Schnitt S, et al. WHO classification of tumours of the breast. Lyon, France: IARC Press, 2012. 4 Tot T. Patterns of distribution of cytokeratin 20 and 7 in special types of invasive breast carcinoma: a study of 123 cases. Ann Diagn Pathol 1999;3:350–6. 5 Ellis P, Schnitt SJ, Sastre-Garau X, et al. Tumors of the breast and female genital organ: pathology and genetics. Lyon, France: IARC Press, 2003. 6 Lopez-Bonet E, Perez-Martinez MC, Martin-Castillo B, et al. Diagnostic utility of mammaglobin and GCDFP-15 in the identification of primary neuroendocrine carcinomas of the breast. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2011;126:241–5. 7 Maluf HM, Koerner FC. Carcinomas of the breast with endocrine differentiation: a review. Virchows Arch 1994;425:449–57. 8 Scopsi L, Andreola S, Pilotti S, et al. Argyrophilia and granin (chromogranin/ secretogranin) expression in female breast carcinomas: their relationship to survival and other disease parameters. Am J Surg Pathol 1992;16:561–76. 9 Miremadi A, Pinder SE, Lee AHS, et al. Neuroendocrine differentiation and prognosis in breast adenocarcinoma. Histopathology 2002;40:215–22. 10 Sapino A, Papotti M, Righi L, et al. Clinical significance of neuroendocrine carcinoma of the breast. Ann Oncol 2001;2:S115–17. 11 Van Krimpen C, Elferink A, Broodman CA, et al. The prognostic influence of neuroendocrine differentiation in breast cancer: results of a long term follow-up study. Breast 2004;13:329–33. 12 Tian Z, Wei B, Tang F, et al. Prognostic significance of tumor grading and staging in mammary carcinomas with neuroendocrine differentiation. Hum Pathol 2011;42:1169–77. 13 Wei B, Ding T, Xing Y, et al. Invasive neuroendocrine carcinoma of the breast: a distinctive subtype of aggressive mammary carcinoma. Cancer 2010;116:4463–73.


Cyberworlds could be a platform for both research and e-learning particularly in research intensive disciplines such as biology, physical chemistry, molecular medicine, biophysics, structural biology, bioinformatics, etc. The computer simulation of assembling molecules has been studied intensively in the field of computer-aided rational drug design. The assembly of molecules in a three-dimensional space or molecular docking is used for rational drug design where a ligand docks onto a receptor. The computer-aided design systems allow real-time interactive visualization and manipulation of molecules in virtual environment. These techniques help the user to understand molecular interactions, and to evaluate the design of pharmaceutical drugs. Besides the visualization techniques, there has been increasing interest in using haptic interfaces to facilitate the exploration and analysis of molecular docking. Haptic device could enable the users to manipulate the molecules and feel its interaction during the docking process in virtual experiment on computer. In this paper, we propose visual haptic-based biomolecular docking system that could be used for biomolecular docking to study helix-helix interactions and in e-learning.


This report is a master thesis in mechanical engineering conducted by a student at Lulea University of Technology. The thesis was done at Gestamp Hardtech in Lulea. The goalof the master thesis was ...


Laboratory measurements of seismic attenuation were performed on borosilicate samples using the forced oscillation method. First, we studied the effect of partial water-air saturation. Significant and frequency-dependent attenuation was only observed at nearly full water saturation and at low pore fluid pressures (≤0.5 MPa). A peak in attenuation, quantified by the inverse quality factor 1/Q, of 0.02 was observed at about 1.5 Hz. A similar experiment was performed for water-nitrogen saturation and, again, at low fluid pressures and near full water saturation, a peak in attenuation of 0.015 was observed at about 3 Hz. Increasing the confining stress and fluid pressure equally, and thus keeping the effective stress unchanged, resulted in negligible attenuation. An attenuation mechanism that can explain these results, possibly better than wave-induced fluid flow (WIFF) at the mesoscopic scale, is the dissolution and exsolution of microscopic gas bubbles in response to wave-induced fluid pressure variations.


Edward Kemp, although best known as a park superintendent and as a designer of parks and gardens, was also an influential and best-selling author. His How to Lay out a Garden, running into several editions, is the best known and most influential of his written works, but there were others, notably editions of the Hand-Book of Gardening, and Parks, Gardens etc. of London and its Suburbs, the first ever such regional survey. He assisted Joseph Paxton with the editing of his publications, and was a regular and thoughtful contributor to magazines, most notably the Gardeners' Chronicle, where his critiques, such as that of the then new gardens of Biddulph Grange, received considerable attention. He, along with John Gibson and Edward Milner, was one the protegees of Joseph Paxton who did so much for the dissemination of horticultural knowledge, as authors, editors and compilers, in the midst of the nineteenth century communications revolution. It will consider Kemp's role and influence as an innovative writer and disseminator, considering the structure, format, content, and reception of his published work, his relationship with his publishers, and his place in the Victorian information world.


The study aimed to explore appropriate flotation reagents to recover copper minerals from a high content of slime and refractory oxidized copper ores. Based on the research on the properties of the material, the reagent regime was investigated and a technological flowsheet consisting of one roughing flotation, two concentrate flotation, three scavenging flotation and one concentrate-scavenging flotation was adopted to perform the closed circuit floatation experiment. The optimum depressor of flotation experiment was determined as CHO, activator as (NH4)2SO4 and collector as isoamyl xanthogenate. Under such a condition of reagent types and their appropriate reagent dosages, a copper recovery of 75.03% with a concentrate grade of 18.01% was obtained.


The relapse warning signs list we compiled includes the most common indicators that a person is about to relapse. Call us for help at 877.855.3470


The present invention relates to a coating composition, coated fibrous web, and its production process. The present invention also relates to the particles. The coating composition comprising a pigment binder structure granule formed from pigment particles, a binder and an additive may be present, the pigment particles are bonded to each other by an adhesive. Substantially rotationally symmetrical shape of the particles according to the present invention, comprising a housing portion and the inner portion, the inner portion is lower than the density of the shell portion. The dried particles may be prepared by spraying an aqueous slurry, the slurry comprising pigment, binder and possible additives. The shape of a coating composition can be varied by using a control deformation. For example, they can be flattened by calendering to form the surface of desired shape, and without a separate binder or by adding only a small amount of a bonding agent attached to the surface of the fiber web.


The study was carried out to generate first hand information about normal plasma concentration of sodium, potassium, phosphorus, ionised calcium, total calcium, magnesium and chlorides in Indian she camels in early lactating, late lactating and pregnant stage. Mean values of plasma concentrations of sodium, potassium, phosphorus, ionised calcium, total calcium, magnesium and chlorides in pregnant camels were 158.58 mEqL−1, 4.31 mEqL−1, 4.75 mg/dl, 5.15 mg/dl, 10.04 mg/dl, 2.09 mg/dl and 119.18 mEqL−1, respectively. While mean values of plasma levels of sodium, potassium, phosphorus, ionised calcium, total calcium, magnesium and chlorides in lactating camels in early lactation were 160.74 mEqL−1, 4.45 mEqL−1, 3.91 mg/dl, 5.25 mg/dl, 10.24 mg/dl, 1.90 mg/dl and 119.18 mEqL−1, respectively. Range of plasma levels of ionised calcium and total calcium was narrow but there was significant difference among early lactating, late lactation and pregnant she camels; higher level of plasma calcium was found in early lactation than the pregnant and late lactation stages. However, no significant difference was observed in values of magnesium, phosphorus, sodium and potassium among 3 physiological stages. Plasma chloride levels in camels in late lactation stage was significantly lower than the camels in early lactation and pregnant camels.


By constructing a special cone and using the fixed point theorem of cone expansion and compression, this paper shows the existence of positive solutions for two-point boundary-value problems of nonlinear singular differential systems. To illustrate the applications of our main results, some examples are given.


EDITOR,--The well known association between use of oral contraceptives and venous thromboembolism received renewed interest when the results of three unpublished epidemiological studies suggested that the newer oral contraceptives containing third generation progestogens are associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism compared with the older oral contraceptives.1 2 Part of the explanation for this could be the shorter average duration of use of the newer oral contraceptives: if the risk of venous thromboembolism was highest during the first months of use it would be lower among women who had taken their oral contraceptive for longer than this without …


Increased use of conjoint analysis during the concept testing stage of food product development raises the question of whether conjoint analysis results translate into successful product development. Five food bar concepts from a previous conjoint analysis study targeted for the "Overall" panel, "Female" segment, "Male" segment, "Label Readers" segment and "Calorie Health Nuts" segment, were used for consumer testing. Standardized packaging was also developed to test elements not easily perceived from the product itself, i.e., low fat, low calorie and other nutritional information. The "Female #1 - commercial (Fiber One)" bar had the highest overall acceptance, 6.9 on a 9-point hedonic scale. Packaging significantly increased all ratings. Cluster analysis results were compared with segmentation from conjoint analysis. Similar results were found, showing there were clusters of consumers specifically interested in prototypes developed for specific conjoint analysis segments, which supports that conjoint analysis results translate into actual products.


In recent years,the farmers' non-institutionalized political participation is gradually increasing.It is a notable feature of rural political change.Its essence is the contradiction between the Rural Governance powers transfer and Inadequate design of the political system.This is a rational choice of the farmers under the existing institutional framework,as well as more complex external environment.This behavior is mainly manifested as the petition,organized protests and "weapons of the weak".


We have carried out a comprehensive study of the transport and thermodynamic properties of R(1-x)Ca(x)VO(3) (R=Pr, Sm, and Y), obtaining detailed information on the nature of the insulator-metal transition induced by Ca doping. The behavior of the electronic term of the specific heat as a function of doping indicates that the transition is achieved by the use of band-filling control. We find that disorder plays an important role in the transition, which is manifested by weak localization effects in the vicinity of the critical doping level. The metallic state in all three materials is characterized by the presence of strong electron correlations.


This thesis investigates word order patterns in spoken Basque for two dialects, Navarrese-Lapurdian and Gipuzkoan. The data for the analysis was elicited with stimuli pictures in an experiment in dialogue form. The 26 participants were from Hazparne (Lapurdi), Donostia, and Andoain (both Gipuzkoa). The data consists of transitive main clauses, both questions and declaratives with nominal subject and object, some uttered in a neutral context, others with a focused subject, and others with a focused object. Every sentence contained 2-4 verbal elements (lexical verb, inflectional auxiliary, ari, saiatu/entseatu). The data confirmed previous findings: the basic word order of Basque is A O V. The focused NP or WH-word has to be left-adjacent to the verb but this rule can be broken in Navarrese-Lapurdian, where the constituents can also occur in situ. It was also confirmed that Navarrese-Lapurdian speakers use a marked focus, in which the focused NP or WH-word is followed by the auxiliary only. Surprisingly, this pattern was also found for the speakers from Andoain. Moreover, it was found that the variety of orders in which verbal elements can follow the focused NP or WH-word is bigger than assumed. These orders underlie a common pattern: the auxiliary moves to the left of the focused NP or WH-word and can pied-pipe other verbal elements, beginning with the one deepest embedded in the structure of the verb phrase. Pied-piping was found to be optional for the speakers from Hazparne and Andoain but obligatory for the speakers from Donostia. Furthermore, the data indicates in which way the change from obligatory adjacency of focus/WH-word and verb to in situ is about to happen in the Hazparnian dialect. It also shows that both dialects try to be as economical as possible in trying to avoid movements from the underlying word order A O V, where possible. Furthermore it shows that the two dialects are complex in a different way: while the obligatory adjacency of focused NP/WH-word in Gipuzkoan forces certain movements, the Navarrese-Lapurdian dialect is complex as two structures exist parallel to each other.


DESCRIPTION In the proposed technology myoelectric activity at the residual limb of amputees is used to predict complex phantom limb movements. These phantom movements are then feedback to the patient in real-time via Augmented and Virtual Reality. The purpose of engaging patients in Phantom Motor Execution is to eliminate Phantom Limb Pain (PLP) by normalizing maladapted brain circuitry and exploiting competitive plasticity. This novel and non-invasive approach has been shown effective in chronic suffers from whom no other treatment worked previously (chronic intractable PLP). EMG signal processing and pattern recognition are used to predict motor volition of distal joints (several degrees of freedom simultaneously). This technology overcomes the limitations of previous PLP treatments such as mirror therapy or VR approaches based on sensorized gloves or motion capture systems. In addition, this approach is suitable for bilateral amputates, home-use, is non-invasive and more engaging as it involves serious gaming. Myoelectric pattern recognition and augmented reality for the treatment of Phantom Limb Pain