A comparative study was conducted to investigate selenium fractionation in Se-rich carbonaceous rocks from the lower Cambrian Niutitang and Permian Maokou formations, which are located in Zunyi of Guizhou Province and Enshi of Hubei Province, respectively. Seven operationally defined Se fractions in Se-rich carbonaceous rocks were determined by the modified sequential-extraction procedure suitable for carbonaceous shale. These fractions include water-soluble, ligand-exchangeable, base-soluble (organic-bounded), elemental, acetic acid-soluble, sulfide/selenide, and residue. The total Se in rock and Se concentrations in individual fractions were measured by HG-AFS. The results showed that the sulfide/selenide and organic-bounded Se were the predominant forms of Se present in the carbonaceous chert and carbonaceous shale from the lower Permian Maokou formation while residue Se was generally lower. The sulfide/selenide and organic-bounded Se were still the major forms in carbonaceous chert of the lower Cambrian Niutitang formation while the organic-bounded, residue and sulfide/selenide fractions were prevalent in carbonaceous shale and Ni-Mo ore. Organic-bounded Se and elemental Se were the dominant forms in bentonite, and in lesser amount the ligand-exchangeable Se. These facts indicated that there exists certain difference in the biogeochemical process of Se accumulation between two rock types from Lower Permian Maokou and Cambrian Niutitang formations. For the former formation, the Se microbe reduction was prevalent in the carbonaceous chert, while in the carbonaceous shale the algal assimilation or adsorption occurred simultaneously with microbe reduction. For the later formation, the algal assimilation or adsorption was be the main biogeochemical process for Se enrichment, while the Se reduction by microbes played a secondary role.


The utility model discloses glass fiber silica gel cloth, comprising glass fiber cloth of a middle layer, wherein the upper and lower surfaces of the glass fiber cloth are coated by liquid silicon rubber. The glass fiber silica gel cloth disclosed by the utility model overcomes the disadvantages of the traditional glass fiber cloth, and has the characteristics of high strength, good wear resistance, high-temperature resistance and the like; and the glass fiber silica gel cloth has good insulating performance and anti-ageing performance, and can be widely applied to fireproof, heat-insulating and insulating industries.


Objectives - The purpose of this study is to see description of entrepreneurship learning and readiness of student entrepreneurship as well as the influence of entrepreneurial learning on entrepreneurial readiness. Design / methodology / approach - The design of this study is cross sectional method. This research uses descriptive approach with explanatory survey method. A total of 82 respondents were selected using probability sampling in the form of simple random sampling. A questionnaire was used as a research instrument to collect data from respondents. The analysis technique used is descriptive technique by using frequency distribution and verification technique by using simple linear regression analysis.Findings - Based on the results of research using descriptive analysis, the results obtained that entrepreneurial learning is in high category, and entrepreneurial readiness is in high category. While the verifikatif analysis, obtained the result that the influence of entrepreneurship learning on entrepreneurial readiness is in the category of being.Originality / value - This research provides a basis for understanding issues of entrepreneurship learning, and entrepreneurship readiness. The difference of this research with the previous research is located on the object that is the tourism vocational school that is Vocational School Negeri 9 Bandung, with the variables studied are entrepreneurial learning and entrepreneurial readiness, and using theory or reference that is different from previous researchers.


The emergence of large-scale pretrained language models has revolutionized the capabilities of new AI application, especially in the realm of crafting chatbots with distinct personas. Given the"stimulus-response"nature of chatbots, this paper unveils an innovative open-ended interview-style approach for personality assessment on role-playing chatbots, which offers a richer comprehension of their intrinsic personalities. We conduct personality assessments on 32 role-playing chatbots created by the ChatHaruhi library, across both the Big Five and MBTI dimensions, and measure their alignment with human perception. Evaluation results underscore that modern role-playing chatbots based on LLMs can effectively portray personality traits of corresponding characters, with an alignment rate of 82.8% compared with human-perceived personalities. Besides, we also suggest potential strategies for shaping chatbots' personalities. Hence, this paper serves as a cornerstone study for role-playing chatbots that intersects computational linguistics and psychology. Our resources are available at https://github.com/LC1332/Chat-Haruhi-Suzumiya


Technology and knowledge are becoming the buzzwords of the new millennium. As the technology is leapfrogging beyond the speed of light, enormous activities are underway in research and development areas paving ways for new and newer technologies day by day and also resulting into the emergence of new areas of technology. These rapid pace of developments in the field of science and technology are also leading towards a new class of knowledge savvy entrepreneurs and knowledge/technology driven enterprises, which are being recognized as an important factor for the economic development of nations and a source of value-added employment generation. At the same time, the process of globalization, establishment of World Trade Organization, stricter quality and environmental considerations, imposition of trade barriers by developed countries, information technology revolution continues to adversely affect the conventional/traditional competitive advantage of the small and medium industries in the developing countries and threaten their survival in the marketplace.


Concurrent monitoring of photosynthetic rate and chlorophyll fluorescence is one of the useful methods to understand the chemical energy balance in photosynthesis. The liquid-phase oxygen electrode is widely employed for determining photosynthetic rate by monitoring oxygen evolution from leaf segments in reaction solution. If it is possible to measure the emittance of chlorophyll fluorescence concurrently with oxygen evolution rate in leaf by the oxygen electrode method, it may become a valid technique for studying the energy flow in photosynthesis of leaf in various physical and chemical solution conditions. We set up a system for concurrent measurement of gross oxygen evolution rate (Og) and chlorophyll fluorescence by partially remodeling a conventional type of liquid-phase oxygen electrode. A piece of 0.785 cm2 leaf with the abaxial epidermis peeled off was fixed in solution of the electrode, and Og and quantum yield of PSII (Fe) were concurrently measured. By the addition of ATP to solution Fe was temporarily decreased, whereas Og was unchanged. Change in osmotic potential from ?0.3MPa to ?1.5 MPa did not affected Og in a leaf, but Fe was gradually reduced with a decrease in the osmotic potential of solution. It may be expected that the concurrent measurement by this remodeled electrode is widely used for analysis of energy balance in photosynthesis and energy utilization efficiency in crop leaves.


The invention provides a method and system for automatically performing network mode testing. The method and system are applied to a communication module which is connected with a network server by adopting one or more modes, and the communication module is arranged in equipment which can log in the network server. According to the method, firstly, the network mode of the communication module is set into a first mode on the basis of a testing starting instruction, and a login program for logging in the network server in the equipment is started on the basis of the first mode; then, corresponding information is output according to whether login is successful or not; if the communication module comprises a plurality of network modes, and the network modes of the communication module are modified into other modes for the next login testing after login is successful until each network mode is traversed. Thus, automatic testing on the network mode can be achieved, and the problem that manual mistaken operation causes the testing failure in a manual testing process can be effectively solved.


College students reported about the sources of their self-knowledge in questionnaire (N=118) and interview N= 42) sessions by generating self-descriptive adjectives, specifying ad libitum how they knew they fit the chosen descriptors (reports the investigator later rated as mentioning self-observation, social feedback, and social comparison processes), and formally ranking the importance of the three sources of self-knowledge. Self-observation appeared in subjects' reports more frequently than feedback from others or social comparison by a proportion of about 7:2:1; average rankings of importance followed the same order. Results were quite similar for both sets of subjects. Two mechanisms that could account for the observed results receive consideration: motivational bias involving self-presentation, and information-processing errors due to focus of attention and the underuse of consensus information.


The transmissible venereal tumor (TVT) is a contagious and sexually transmissible neoplasia of unknown origin. In natural conditions the tumor mainly affects the external genitalia of both male and female dogs. A 6- year old male German shepherd dog, weighing 16 kg was presented for evaluation of a mass on the nasal cavity which the owner had noticed 2 months ago. Clinical examination revealed multiple nodular ulcerated lesions of varying sizes from 1 to 3 cm in diameter over the nasal cavity. The tumor mass had a firm consistency, was hyperemic and ulcerated. Histopathological examination showed uniform-sized dense cells arranged in solid sheets and clusters interlaced by a little connective-tissue stroma. The cells were round and ovoid, with a moderate amount of cytoplasm that was either clear or finely granular and had a large nuclear/ cytoplasmic ratio. On the basis of the clinicopathological findings, this mass was diagnosed as a transmissible venereal tumor.


Significance. One of the least studied aspects of access to and quality of medical palliative care delivery to population is the assessment of subjective perception of satisfaction of palliative care recipients, their relatives and legal representatives with quality of palliative care provided, availability of medicines, including those containing narcotics and psychotropic substances, and medical products for home use. The purpose of the study: to assess subjective perception of satisfaction of palliative care recipients and identify factors affecting this perception. Material and methods. The study material was based on results of a sociological survey of the Russian population conducted by the method of personal interviews at the place of residence (apartment survey) and at the place of palliative care. The survey sample equaled to 600 respondents. The sampling error added up to 3.37% with statistical significance as p<0.1, which is sufficient for initial assessment of palliative care quality in the country. Results. The overall satisfaction with palliative care equaled to 88.7% for inpatient palliative care, and 92.1% for home-based palliative care. The most urgent problem for palliative care recipients remains receipt of prescription for narcotic drugs. The study has identified ongoing problems in this area of palliative care delivery to patients in need. The most favorable situation with accessibility of narcotic drugs is registered in pediatric recipients – none the respondents among legal representatives of the palliative care recipients noted any problems related to receiving narcotic drugs. The study has also identified a problem of insufficient awareness of availability of medical products to patients and their legal representatives, their rights and opportunities secured and provided by the state. Conclusion. In general, the results of the survey of palliative care recipients demonstrate a high level of satisfaction of the respondents with all parameters of palliative care delivery. Thus, the average assessment of satisfaction with quality of palliative care provided to patients both in hospital and at home equaled to 4.4. The study shows a need for further improvement of patient provision with narcotic drugs and improvement of the mechanism of informing palliative care recipients about their rights.


The author observed a first-born, 36 years old, who, despite a good birthing schedule, did not open her yawn for 8 hours (when she was observed sick by the author).


PURPOSE
The authors have shown previously that a recombinant HSV-1 that constitutively expresses two copies of murine IL-2 (HSV-IL-2) induces demyelination by activated CD8(+) T cells in the brain and spinal cord of ocularly infected female BALB/c mice. The present study was conducted to determine whether the ocular infection with this recombinant virus induces optic neuritis independent of virus dose, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) background, or sex.

METHODS
Female BALB/c, C57BL/6, SJL/6, and 129SVE mice and male BALB/c mice were ocularly infected with different doses of recombinant HSV-IL-2 virus. Demyelination of optic nerves in infected mice was monitored histologically using Luxol fast blue staining and by measurement of visual-evoked cortical potentials (VECPs).

RESULTS
Both focal and diffuse regions of demyelination of the optic nerves were observed in the HSV-IL-2-infected mice as early as day 10 after infection and as late as day 60 after infection (the final experimental time point) in all strains of mice tested. Optic nerve demyelination was not observed in control mice ocularly infected with HSV-IL-4 or wild-type HSV-1. VECP responses were delayed significantly in the HSV-IL-2-infected mice compared with mice infected with control viruses.

CONCLUSIONS
The results demonstrate for the first time that a combination of viral infection and constitutive expression of IL-2, but not IFN-gamma or IL-4, can result in demyelination and visual impairment in the optic nerves of ocularly infected mice.


Permafrost is one of major geological environments for gas hydrate occurrences. Mean altitude is over 4000m and the permafrost area is about 1.4 x 10(6)km(2) in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Based on the thickness of frozen layer and thermal gradient in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau permafrost, the occurrence and distribution of gas hydrate in the low-middle latitude and high altitude permafrost is predicted by using the thermodynamic method of natural gas hydrate stable temperature and pressure. The thermodynamic phase equilibrium of thermogenic and biogenic gas hydrate imply that gas hydrate is buried in depth from similar to 27 to similar to 2070m, and the resource potential of natural gases caged in hydrates are estimated as about 1.2 x 10(11) to 2.4 x 10(14)m(3) in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau permafrost. Gas hydrate is propitious to occur where the frozen layer is thicker and thermal gradient is lower in the permafrost. Seasonal change of air temperature in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau affects only the uppermost sediments 10m and does not affect gas hydrate that is buried below 30m. Under the global warming, gas hydrate will be unstable and degrade in the permafrost. Its distribution area will be gradually reduced and finally disappear in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau permafrost.


Introduction In semi-arid regions of West Africa, most farmers consider the trees as an integral part of the cropping system. They have maintained over the centuries the traditional system of land use, that of the "parkland" where trees are scattered in cultivated fields (Boffa, 2000, Dan Guimbo et al., 2010). The farmers of Casamance are no exception to this rule. In lower Casamance, Faidherbia albida (Del.) Chev. has always been associated with upland rice. The species is characterized by its inverted phenological rhythm: it loses its leaves during the rainy season and remains leafy during the dry season, reducing light competition with the crop. Furthermore, this tree is able to fix nitrogen, improving soil fertility, and its taproot system reduces water competition with the crops. Therfore F. albida's interest is very large in agroforestry (in combination with both agriculture and livestock) and many traditional systems rely on the beneficial effects of Faidherbia albida on microclimate, soil fertility and finally intercrop productivity. The general objective of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the influence of this type of park on the productivity of rainfed rice, testing the hypothesis "Faidherbia albida has a positive impact on the productivity of rainfed rice."


The social work profession in mainland China has had a turbulent history, affecting social work practice and education in China. Changes to China's economy, and resultant social problems, have led Chinese universities to place greater emphasis on training a new generation of social workers. In a number of cases, Chinese universities have reached out to American universities to learn about U.S. social work practice. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the first year experiences of faculty and students involved in an educational exchange program between the Chongqing Technology and Business University (CTBU) in Chongqing, China and Widener University in Pennsylvania, United States.History of Social Work and Social Work Education in ChinaAccording to Fang (2013), the history of social work education in China has run parallel to the economic and national changes that have influenced the way social welfare problems have been defined and addressed. Originally, social problems in China were addressed using a "clan-based model," whereby villages and ancestral family organizations managed local social welfare needs (Shu, 2013, p. 18). From the 1920s through the 1940s, social work as a profession expanded, with over twenty universities creating social welfare departments (Liu, Sun, & Anderson, 2013; Shu, 2013).After 1952, social work programs, and consequently social work education programs, in China were considered to be "serving the capitalists" (Liu et al., 2013, p. 180); as a result, social work fell out of favor. In the early 1980s, new policies were developed to modernize and industrialize China, leading to a resurgence of social work education programs (Fang, 2013; Feng, 2013; Shu;2013).One of the challenges facing social work education programs in China has been "the task of indigenization" (Liu et al., 2013, p. 192). Because the social work profession has waxed and waned in China, current Chinese social work educators lack professional experience and curriculum development experience, and struggle with providing practice opportunities for their students (Lui et al., 2013). Although China has made progress with reestablishing social work education, there remains a need to support China's efforts to create culturally contextual social work programs that incorporate Chinese values.PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONProgram for Educating Social Work StudentsDuring the Fall 2015 semester, five CTBU students participated in two distance- learning courses in social work (one policy course and one practice course) from their Chongqing location. As part of the two online introductory courses, two Widener University faculty members traveled to China to provide five days of intensive learning to finalize course content and prepare the students for their Spring semester in the U.S. During the Spring 2016 semester, three CTBU students traveled to the U.S. to participate in three campus-based policy and practice courses at Widener University. The goal of this one-year exchange was to bridge undergraduate coursework taken in China in a variety of substantive areas, with future graduate coursework to be taken in the U.S. in social work.Faculty Expectations versus RealitiesFaculty prepared for the Fall 2015 courses according to the format and methods used in their parallel U.S-based courses. Almost immediately the faculty realized there would be difficulties using typical U.S. instruction techniques to educate the CTBU students. For example, although the students were adept at using technology, they were not accustomed to accessing course materials, such as syllabi and assignments, online, to viewing the PowerPoint presentations being used to instruct or to being required to upload papers or participate in message board discussions. In addition, due to the Chinese government's restrictive internet access policies, certain systems of communication and course tools, such as Skype and YouTube videos, were not available. …


Copyright: © 2014 Baker SR. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. I have seen much of this planet's land surfaces. To date I have been a visitor to 80 countries. Everyone has engendered unique memories. Some of the people and places I encountered at each destination confirmed and honed my preconceptions of them but most have provided unanticipated vivid exchanges and vistas that have given me an ever-enlarging trove of lasting impressions. With each trip abroad, my comprehension of the world in its human and natural variety has grown apace.


System for touch detection, apparatus, and method are presented. A plurality of fingers from one hand (five from 2) is tracked on the basis of the finger to move quickly, which is grouped in a fixed position relative to one another. Touch points are matched from the first time to the second time, matching minimizes relative movement between the fingers to be tracked. In some embodiments, the touch sensor receives the first and second touch data includes a touch detection. Processor, the matching of several candidates, match the touch detection from the first set to the second set. For each match, the processor, the rotation and translation matrix between the first and second sets further calculated, applying the rotation and translation matrix in the first set to determine the result, results and configured to calculate the Euclidean distance between the second set. Finally, the processor, from some match, selects the match with the smallest Euclidean distance.


Metal-Semiconductor-Metal is one of the photodetectors that uses in optical detection. The characteristic of these detectors is improved by Plasmonic Science. Some of these characteristics include higher sensitivity, greater efficiency and improved optical absorption coefficient. Our predictions and the numerical results show high absorption in plasma-based combination of Metal-Semiconductor-Metal photodetectors in embedded Nano-grating and Metallic nanoparticles. The results of the simulation using FDTD simulation software shows that by optimizing the Nano grating metal parameters and embedded metallic nanoparticles, higher electric field is obtained, leading to higher absorption compared with the conventional Metal-Semiconductor-Metal detector. This higher absorption is because of the higher ability of embedded metallic nanoparticles in absorbing the light and scattering properties by conduction electrons via stimulated resonance light from metallic nanoparticles.


This paper describes energy efficient and reconfigurable fused/continuous Multiply-Accumulator (MAC) architecture for single-precision Floating-point and 16-bit signed integer operands. This eight-stage pipelined and single-cycle throughput MAC design contains a bit level pipelined multiplier, followed by fast sparse-tree adder and single cycle accumulator loop with delayed normalization logic. Operation driven energy control is achieved using dynamic clock and fine grained power gating techniques. Power gating is employed in 98% of design to save 79% of leakage power in idle mode, at 1.2V supply and 110C. The use of fully shared logic in the multiplier, accumulator and normalization blocks for different operations enables a compact design of 0.54mm2 containing 117K transistors in eight-metal 65nm CMOS technology. The 15-FO4 design provides 6.8GFLOPS of performance with total energy efficiency of 90mW/GFLOP at 1.2V and 3.4GHz operation.


The global financial crisis has further proved the scientificity of Marxism and offered opportunities for the popularization of Marxism.Under the favorable context for the popularization of Marxism,Marxism continues to show strong vitality.The growing public demand for theory and diverse means of publicity have made it an urgent need to build the language construction that is fit for the publicity of Marxism theory.The language construction in terms of publicity team,means of expression and language of publicity will promote faster and more extensive publicity of Marxism and accelerate the pace of the popularization of Marxism.


A semiconductor device comprising: a substrate of semiconductor material (1) having a front side (4) and an opposite rear side (7); located on the front side (4) a wiring layer (5); located at the rear side (7) of the additional wiring layer (8); and connecting the wiring layer (5) and the further wiring layer (8) of the substrate through hole (3). A hot plate (24) disposed on the substrate, or the substrate, the sensor layer (21) is arranged in the vicinity of the hot plate. Above the substrate (1) the molding compound (14) is arranged on the rear side (7), forming a cavity (17) in the molding compound (14) to accommodate the sensor layer (21), and covers the cavity (17) with a diaphragm (15). The molding compound (14) to the applicator on the wafer, and a film may be used an auxiliary molding process.


The docetaxel and cisplatin plus 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) (DCF) regimen is expected to be superior to cisplatin plus 5‐FU for the preoperative treatment of esophageal cancer. However, a high risk of adverse effects, including febrile neutropenia (FN), has been reported. To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of DCF with prophylactic pegfilgrastim, we conducted a phase II study.


Yes it provides a pin device and its operation method. This is graphene device comprises a dielectric layer covering the active layer and the active layer including a pinned layer and a plurality of contact Yes meth atoms and each of the plurality of meta-atom having a radially as spaced apart from each other.


Thank you for downloading west indian iguanas status survey and conservation action plan. As you may know, people have search hundreds times for their favorite novels like this west indian iguanas status survey and conservation action plan, but end up in harmful downloads. Rather than enjoying a good book with a cup of coffee in the afternoon, instead they are facing with some harmful bugs inside their desktop computer.


This paper constitutes a brief study of the following scheme DAΓ of default reasoning: Given set of premises Σ, assume φ if and only if, for every γ ∈ Γ, Σ ∪ {φ} does not entail γ unless Σ does, where Γ and Σ are sets of clauses, and φ is a clause. The problem of ∀-completeness of DAΓ with respect to nest model semantics is investigated. A method of deriving ∀-completeness of DAΓ1∩Γ2 assuming DAΓ1 and DAΓ2 are known to be ∀-complete is presented. This method yields ∀-completeness of instances of DAΓ with respect to totally minimal semantics, discriminant minimal semantics, Herbrand semantics, and minimal Herbrand semantics. It is shown that the last of these completeness results is strictly stronger than analogous characterization using an extension of the generalized closed-world assumption GCWA.


BACKGROUND
BAP1 (BRCA1 associated protein 1 on chromosome 3) is a commonly mutated gene in clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Aim of the study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of BAP1 by immunohistochemistry in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Methods
It was a descriptive case series in which data was retrospectively collected. Immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate the loss of nuclear expression of BAP1.

RESULTS
Loss of BAP1 was observed in 60% of cases of clear cell renal cell carcinoma. 27% of grade 1 tumours, 62% of grade 2 tumours, 65% of grade 3 tumours and 66% of grade 4 tumours showed loss of BAP1. Loss of BAP1 was observed in 54% cases of stage 1 tumours, 72% of stage 2 tumours and 66% of stage 3 tumours. Our study showed loss of BAP1 in 67% of cases with tumour necrosis, in 75% of cases with sarcomatoid features and in 60% of patients with distant metastasis.

Conclusion
We conclude that the loss of BAP1 nuclear expression is associated with poor prognostic features. i.e., higher grade, higher stage, tumour necrosis, sarcomatoid features and distant metastasis leading to death of patients.


The Subpolar North Atlantic (SPNA) is known for rapid reversals of decadal temperature trends, with ramifications encompassing the large-scale meridional overturning and gyre circulations, Arctic heat and mass balances, or extreme continental weather. Here, we combine datasets derived from sustained ocean observing systems (satellite and in situ), and idealized observation-based modelling (advection-diffusion of a passive tracer) and machine learning technique (ocean profile clustering) to document and explain the most-recent and ongoing cooling-to-warming transition of the SPNA. Following a gradual cooling of the region that was persisting since 2006, a surface-intensified and large-scale warming sharply emerged in 2016 following an ocean circulation shift that enhanced the northeastward penetration of warm and saline waters from the western subtropics. Driving mechanisms and ramification for deep ocean heat uptake will be discussed.


For example, it provides a possible new amorphous oxide applied to the active layer of the TFT. The amorphous oxide include fine crystal. Amorphous oxide, field effect transistors, microcrystalline


The author examined the data for many stations in Japan in the period 1902_??_1940 in order to find whether the amounts of precipitation of them trend parallel to each other or not, and he found that they trend parallel generally in the western Honshu and its neighbouring regions, but not in the northern Japan Sea coastal regions, northern Hokkaido and Ryukyu. The locality of precipitation predominates in these regions. This fact shows that Japan shoule be divided some regions dynamical-climatologically which differ from the climatic regions published before.


Thanks to the shift of mapping companies into a full digital workflow (digital camera and digital processing solution), new generation of products are now available to the end-users. Such new products take all benefit of new paradigm introduced by full digital workflow allowing automation of production processes. Dense Digital Surface Model and TrueOrtho products are such new generation products and were recently introduced into China.


In this work we describe the possibility of photoreflectance spectroscopy to study physical effects in vertical cavity surface emitting laser structures. Photoreflectance spectroscopy has proved to be a powerful technique for non- destructive characterization of such structures prior to a full process.OUr structure is based on the GaAlAs system and is grown by GSMBE technique. The (lambda) cavity includes three 45 angstrom quantum wells. The measure of energetic position of both quantum well emission and Fabry-Perot cavity mode can be achieved by this spectrometry technique. We study here the evolution of the transition energies as a function of temperature: it exhibits an anticrossing effect when both transition arise at about the same energy. This is the proof of a coupling effect between the two oscillators which can no more be distinguished. The reflectivity shows a Rabi splitting effect at the same temperature. These phenomena are explained using a modeling of the structure reflectivity with the Abeles formalism. We take the quantum confined Stark effect into account for the active layer inside the Fabry-Perot cavity. As we consider the electric field value in the cavity, we can then deduce the photoreflectance signal. We demonstrate here the advantages of photoreflectance to observe coupling effects in microcavities.


In this study, we report on the preparation of copper oxide/strontium titanate/multi-walled carbon nanotube (CuO/STO/MWCNTs) nanocomposites and their photocatalytic activity for degradation of dye under visible light. The crystalline structures of the nanocomposites were investigated by an X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, which explored the successful fabrication of CuO/STO/MWCNTs nanocomposites, and the cubic STO phase was formed in all samples. For the morphological study, the transmission electron microscope (TEM) technique was used, which had proved the successful preparation of CuO and STO nanoparticles. The energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), dark field scanning transmission electron microscope (DF-STEM-EDX mapping), and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) analysis were performed to evidence the elemental composition of CuO/STO/MWCNTs nanocomposites. The optical characteristics were explored via UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and photoluminescence (PL) techniques. These studies clearly indicate the effect of the presence of CuO and MWCNTs on the visible absorption of the CuO/STO/MWCNTs nanocomposites. The photocatalytic activity of CuO/STO/MWCNTs nanocomposites was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under visible light irradiation, following first-order kinetics. Among the different x% CuO/STO/MWCNTs nanocomposites, the 5 wt.% CuO/STO/MWCNTs nanocomposites showed the highest photocatalytic efficiency for the degradation of MB dye. Moreover, the 5% CuO/STO/MWCNTs showed good stability and recyclability after three consecutive photocatalytic cycles. These results verified that the optimized nanocomposites can be used for photocatalytic applications, especially for dye degradation under visible light.


The IOC as the leader of the Olympic movement and the sport sector at large is committed to the protection of clean athletes for the sake of the future of sport and for the protection of athletes' health.

To this end, the IOC has committed US$20 million to research the protection of athletes and fair play, half of which will be used for programmes to combat match fixing and illegal betting and half for research into anti-doping.

WADA, jointly funded by the IOC and governments, has …


This research was proposed aiming an in deep study of the mechanism of load transfer across concrete pavement joints including the analysis of which factors influence such load transfers with special regards to the climate factors as concrete temperature. The concrete pavements under study were built in 1999 as a research supported by FAPESP, whose experimental sections has not been used before for such a goal. Backcalculation techniques were employed to analyze deflection data collected with FWD tests over the slabs and it was possible to define values for the test sections materials parameters like concrete modulus of elasticity and the modulus of subgrade reaction. Tests detected loss of load transfer efficiency on the dependence of concrete temperature for non dowelled joints. For dowelled joints, whatever the season of the year or period of the day, joint load transfer efficiency was at least 90% approximately. However, without dowels, efficiency ranged from 60 to 75%. No expressive dependence on the load level was observed during tests, as well as on the slab thicknesses, for cases of dowelled joints. It was observed the increase in the value of the modulus of subgrade reaction when loads were applied in joint position, although not so expressive as sometimes described in the literature. Ranges for concrete and rolled compacted concrete modulus of elasticity resulted similar to former values got from the construction period in laboratory. Therefore, backcalculation procedures using ISLAB2000 software is understood as a valuable tool for concrete slab characterization.


There are many dislocations between China's Financial Law System and the WTO regulation. Thus,the Financial Legislation is a more difficult and arduous task for Chinese government.The important problem and urgent task which China faces is to set up and perfect the modern Financial Law System.The key factor which influences China's Finance Industry merging into the international finance main stream is the realization level of China's rule of financial Law.


Background. Teeth bleaching became a standard medical procedure performed in dental practices focused on aesthetic dentistry. There are not many reviews concerning the assessment of long-term effect of bleaching materials in the context of teeth color change. Objectives. The aim of the study was to assess the effect durability of professional tooth bleaching agent. Materials and Methods. 18 generally healthy patients aged 22-32 were subjected to in-office teeth bleaching. The patients were treated with opalescence Xtra Boost® (Ultradent, USa) bleaching gel. Before bleaching and 7 days after bleaching a colorimetric analysis of incisors and canines of the maxilla was performed using a dental spectrophotometer Spectroshade (MHT). colorimetric measurements were repeated after 6 months and again after one year from completion of bleaching. Results. after application of opalescence Xtra Boost agent, a mean color change ∆E of 3.89 points was observed. (p = 0.05) one year after treatment, a mean color change compared to the initial condition was 3.50 points (p = 0.05) for teeth bleached Ultradent's agent. Conclusion. professional teeth bleaching agent examined at present study has long-term effect on hard tissue color change, i.e. enamel and dentine in in vivo conditions (Dent. Med. Probl. 2010, 47, 2, 182–187).


Background: Septicaemia is a major cause of mortality and morbidity, especially in sub-Saharan Africa leading to complications marked by bodily inflammation referred as sepsis. This is a systemic disease associated with presence of pathogenic microorganisms (viral, parasitic and bacterial) or their toxins in the blood. Bacterial septicaemia is the most fatal and prevalent in hospitalised cases. Globally, 76% of children under five years die due to septicaemia. In East Africa a mortality rate of 40% have been reported. In Kenya, South Nyanza regions have reported higher morbidity and mortality cases among children. We hypothesis that apart from immunosuppressive diseases, septicaemia could contribute significantly to this prevalence in the region. Methods: Blood samples were obtained from 248 children whose guardian consented and a detailed sociodemographic questionnaire was administered. Bacterial isolation and characterization were done using the automated BACTEC 9240 system. Results: The mean age of the participants was 27.9 (SD ±20.7) months. The majority (30.6%) were aged between 1 to 12 months, 50.8% were males, 58.9% had body temperatures above 37.6 O C while only 8.1% were HIV seropositive. The mean white blood cells (WBC) of the participants were 17720.9 (SD 8929.1) cells/ml with 5.2% had leucopenia. A total of 84 of the 248 (33.9%) of the children had septicaemia with the majority (28.6%) caused by Staphylococcus epidermidis followed by Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli each at 13.1%. Bacteria that were reported singly included Salmonella Paratyphi B, Citrobacter freundii , Gemella morbillorum , Klebsiella pneumoniae , Lactococcus lactis cremoris , Pantoea spp, and Pseudomonas putida . In multivariate regression analysis, female gender (OR 0.6; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.4 to 0.9), co-infection with malaria (OR 2.7; 95% CI 1.1 to 6.7) and gastrointestinal disorders (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.3 – 7.3) were independently associated with bacterial septicemia infection. Conclusion: Significantly higher proportion of the children in this region are infected with septicaemia. Majority of the cases were caused by Gram positive bacteria. Age and other c-infection contribute significantly to septicaemia infection in this region. Rapid testing and etiological characterisation of children with suspected symptoms of septicaemia is key in this region in order to institute appropriate treatment and management. Keywords : bacterial Septicemia, Epidemiology, Children under five, South Nyanza, Kenya DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/10-10-06 Publication date: May 31 st 2020


L-proline is directly loaded on the multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with exceptionally high loading content of 67 wt.%. The obtained L-proline/MWCNTs catalyst is on par with the catalytic activity of free L-proline, even after 7 rounds of recycling and reusing. The excellent activity of L-proline/MWCNTs in typical Aldol reaction, Mannich reaction, Michael reaction, α-oxyamination reaction, and Knoevenagel condensation shows a broad applicability of the composite catalyst in different reactions and solvent systems. We believe that the unusual loading mode may open a window for designing heterogenized organo-catalysts.


The 5.9 GHz spectrum band is proposed for vehicular communications using Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC), but this band may need to be shared with unlicensed Wi-Fi devices. A recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) outlines two interference mitigation techniques for spectrum coexistence: Detect and Vacate and Re-channelization. A major technical challenge of Re-channelization is that DSRC may experience harmful or a reduced functionality because of adjacent channel interference from Wi-Fi transmitters. We therefore conducted Wi-Fi/DSRC adjacent channel interference experiments to evaluate the significance of Wi-Fi signals adjacent to DSRC transmissions. Our measurements show a significant degradation of DSRC performance from 802.11ac adjacent channel interference only for certain scenarios where the distances between the Wi-Fi transmitter to DSRC receiver is 15 m or below and the distances between the DSRC transmitter to receiver is 300m or higher. However, there is no severe effect when the DSRC transmit power is at the standard 33 dBm level, even considering the recommended fading margin of 5-10 dB.


In this paper, model reference neural network structure is used as a controller for vibration suppression of the Euler–Bernoulli beam under the excitation of moving mass travelling along a vibrating path. The non-dimensional equation of motion the beam acted upon by a moving mass is achieved. A Dirac-delta function is used to describe the position of the moving mass along the beam and its inertial effects. Analytical solution the equation of motion is presented for simply supported boundary condition. The hybrid controller of system includes of a controller network and an identifier network. The neural networks are multilayer feed forward and trained simultaneously. The performance and robustness of the proposed controller are evaluated for various values mass ratio of the moving mass to the beam and dimensionless velocity of a moving mass on the time history of deflection. The simulations verify effectiveness and robustness of controller.


Abstract Requirements gathering in Information Systems is a critical part of any project, as any issues with the elicited requirements have an impact on the project as a whole and in some cases can lead to project failure. To address the issues with gathering effective requirements this paper proposes viewing the requirements gathering process as a human centred journey. The journey being critical to the requirements gathering experience of participants. This allows for a better understanding of the requirements gathering process and its effectiveness. This study helps with the decision-making process by assisting with engineering an effective requirements gathering approach which ultimately follows a design science approach and its objective is to build a prototype of a 'requirements gathering journey' canvas.


The aim of my dissertation is to give a preliminary response to a desideratum expressed by the most recent research on mediaeval Arabic philosophy: that of determining what works by al-Fārābī circulated in al-Andalus at the time of Averroes, and how they influenced the philosopher of Cordova, particularly in the early period of his philosophical production, that of the epitomes or the so-called short commentaries on Aristotle's writings. After presenting the intellectual biographies and philosophical thought of al-Fārābī and Averroes, my inquiry develops in two directions: on the one hand, it demonstrates Averroes' tacit dependence in his early epitomes of Metafisica and De interpretatione on the logical-metaphysical doctrines of al-Fārābī; on the other, it conducts a first survey of all the nominal quotations of al-Fārābī present in Averroes' philosophical writings. The overall purpose of my thesis is therefore to furnish the textual and doctrinal bases for assessing Averroes' philosophical maturation with respect to al-Fārābī and Averroes' progressive independence of thought from the Arabic peripatetic tradition prior to him.


Statistical information about measurement errors is incorporated in an algorithm that reconstructs the image of an object from x-ray diffraction data. The distribution function of measurement errors is included directly into reconstruction processes using a statistically based amplitude constraint. The algorithm is tested using simulated and experimental data and is shown to yield high-quality reconstructions in the presence of noise. This approach can be generalized to incorporate experimentally determined measurement error functions into image reconstruction algorithms.


In this paper we explore the use of state-of-the-art web technologies to facilitate access to advanced spatial analytical software tools. The specific focus is on the development of web services to disseminate advanced algorithms for spatial weights manipulation. The core functionality is contained in an open source library for spatial analysis called PySAL. Among others, this library provides a variety of methods for creating, transforming, and converting spatial weights. Web services using the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) are created to support machine or developer interfaces to those methods via the Internet. We also develop a web application client for direct access to the weights tools via a browser. The system is illustrated with an example use case in which spatial weights operations are applied to epidemiological data for Ohio counties.


The present invention relates to a Corynebacterium glutamicum mutant strain having resistance to high-concentration L-glutamine and a method for producing L-glutamine using the same.


We consider the application of passivity theory to the problem of voltage stabilization in DC microgrids (DCmGs) given by the interconnection of Distributed Generation Units (DGUs), dynamic RL lines, and loads. We first provide a novel result on stable interconnection of multiple passive systems and then apply it to DCmGs. More specifically, we consider the decentralized controllers proposed in [1] synthesized by solving linear matrix inequalities, which allow addition and removal of DGUs in a plug-n-play fashion. We show that they passivate DGUs and combine this property with the inherent passivity of RL lines for proving voltage stability without Quasi-Stationary-Line approximations, which are assumed in [1]. Theoretical results are backed up by simulations in PSCAD.


There is a need to develop fabrics with special finishes. With the help of technological advancement researchers can bring about innovation in fabrics. The purpose of the study is to investigate the technology that can be used for application of functional finishes on fabrics. This review paper investigates the techniques applied in the formation of the microcapsules, its purpose, and method of application for fixing it on textiles, the binders and polymers used and release of aroma. There are various release mechanisms which can be applied as per the requirement or end use. The essential oils used are highly volatile in nature hence very difficult to maintain the durability of the finish in terms of storage and washability. In this review, microencapsulation techniques of application to obtain innovative fabrics for the textile sector has been highlighted.


Abstract Pregnant women has long been considered one of the most vulnerable group for iodine deficiency. Previous nutritional survey revealed that the medium urinary iodine concentration (UIC) for women at child-bearing age of 15-44 years in Taiwan was 125 μg/L (1), which is insufficient for pregnant women. However, the actual iodine nutritional status in pregnancy is unknown. The primary objective of this study was to report for the first time the iodine nutritional status of pregnant women in Taiwan. In addition, dietary sources of iodine nutrition were investigated. A hospital-based cross-sectional survey of pregnant women was conducted in Taipei Veterans General Hospital in 2018. UIC of spot urine samples was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass-spectrometry. A food frequency questionnaire was delivered. The median UIC was 242 μg/L, while 20.4% and 7.3% of the population had median UIC below 100 μg/L and 50 μg/L, respectively. Consumption of seaweeds and agar were rare and the most frequently consumed iodine-containing foods were dairy products. The use of iodine-containing dietary supplements was common (51.5% of the women consume multivitamins especially designed for pregnancy every day). The questionnaire also revealed that 42.3% of the women were unaware of the salt product (iodized or not) in their households. The results indicate that the iodine status in pregnant women in Northern Taiwan is adequate. The difference in median UIC in pregnant women and women at child-bearing age generally may be related to the common use of iodine-supplement during pregnancy.


We consider the difference equation , , in the context of a Hilbert space. In this setting, we propose a concept of oscillation with respect to a direction and give sufficient conditions so that all its solutions be directionally oscillatory, as well as conditions which guarantee the existence of directionally positive monotone increasing solutions.


The article presents the situation of the public budget of Romania in the period of the global eco-nomic decline. In this context a series of factors were identifed that contributed to the decrease of the fnancial income and to an increase of the public expenses.


Introduction Piper betle Linn. is a climber plant in the family of Piperaceae. It has been extensively used in the traditional herbal remedies in Thailand. The reported pharmacological effects of P. betle were antimicrobial8, anti-oxidant3, anti-inflammatory9, anticarcinogenic4,6, anti-diabetic2 and xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity5. The major bioactive constituent in P. betle is hydroxychavicol or allylpyrocatechol. Due to the beneficial activities of P. betle, the use of the extract of P. betle leaf containing the active compound, hydroxychavicol, to prepare as the pharmaceutical dosage forms is interesting. Multiparticulate drug delivery systems such as beads have been used to deliver the active compounds. The active constituent incorporated in the systems could release in a sustained manner. Furthermore, the encapsulated compounds could be protected from the environments; thus, the stability of the encapsulated compounds could be extended. Sodium alginate is a good candidate for preparation of beads due to its excellent properties such as good biocompatibility, good biodegradability and non-toxicity. The encapsulation of the active ingredients is obtained by cross-linking ability of sodium alginate when contact to divalent cations in aqueous solution.1 The objectives of this study were therefore to develop sustained release alginate beads containing P. betle leaf extract intended for oral delivery of hydroxychavicol and to determine the effects of formulation variables on the physical properties and the in vitro hydroxychavicol release.


Information Systems (IS) require high cost for their maintenance activities. The relative cost for maintaining software and managing its evolution represents more than 90% of the total project cost [1]. The underlying assumption for this PhD work is that the earlier we can measure the quality of future software, the more we can improve it by being able to correct errors at the specifications level and the less will be the cost of these corrections. We propose to measure software quality using conceptual representations of the information system for both static and dynamic aspects.


A steady-state non-isothermal process of forming a viscoelastic flat polymer film is considered. The polymer melt is extruded through a flat die, subjected to uniaxial stretching and at the same time air cooling, and then finally cooled down on a chill roll. It is assumed that the film is wide enough and the distance between the extruder die and the cooling roller is minimal to such an extent that the change in the width of a film in the course of longitudinal stretching can be neglected. From a rheological standpoint, a polymer melt is a viscoelastic fluid. The upper-convective Maxwell model is used, for which the viscosity and relaxation time are assumed to be temperature dependent. The mathematical model is supplemented by the equation of non-isothermal  crystallization kinetics. The problem is solved by a numerical method of finite differences.


A real-time modeling and rendering offshore wave based on geometric model and particle system method was proposed.This method modeled the irregular waves by reconstructing Fourier model, rendered the roll waves using Bezier curve, and modeled the surf and simulate the broken waves by particle system,and got the position of the waves using collision detection technology. Finally, this method realized 3D dynamic simulation of offshore wave scenes including advection, rolling and breaking waves, waves striking a bank etc.


The paper presents the results of feasibility study of transferring of electronic personal medical records to patients, and methodological and managerial approaches to their usage shown by an example of a patient with spine pathology who underwent medical treatment in Novosibirsk RITO.


The efforts to establish a greater pool of knowledge in the field of low temperature heat transfer for the application of geothermal spring waters to space heating are described. A comprehensive set of heat loss experiments involving passive radiant heating panels is conducted and the results presented in an easily interpretable form. Among the conclusions are the facts that heating a 65 to 70 F/sup 0/ space with 90 to 100 F/sup 0/ liquids is a practical aim. The results are compared with the much lower rates published in the American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers SYSTEMS, 1976. A heat exchange chamber consisting of a 1000 gallon three compartment, insulated and buried tank is constructed and a control and pumping building erected over the tank. The tank is intended to handle the flow of geothermal waters from Pinkerton Hot Springs at 50 GPM prior to the wasting of the spring water at a disposal location. Approximately 375,000 Btu per hour should be available for heating assuming a 15 F/sup 0/ drop in water temperature. A combination of the panel heat loss experiments, construction of the heat exchange devices and ongoing collection of heat loss numbers adds tomore » the knowledge available to engineers in sizing low temperature heat systems, useful in both solar and geothermal applications where source temperature may be often below 110 F/sup 0/.« less


Dictyostelium RacH localizes predominantly to membranes of the nuclear envelope, endoplasmic recticulum and Golgi apparatus. To investigate the role of this protein, we generated knockout and overexpressor strains. RacH‐deficient cells displayed 50% reduced fluid‐phase uptake and a moderate exocytosis defect, but phagocytosis was unaffected. Detailed examination of the endocytic pathway revealed defective acidification of early endosomes and reduced secretion of acid phosphatase in the presence of sucrose. The distribution of the postlysosomal marker vacuolin was altered, with a high proportion of cells showing a diffuse vesicular pattern in contrast to the wild‐type strain, where few intensely stained vacuoles predominate. Cytokinesis, cell motility, chemotaxis and development appeared largely unaffected. In a cell‐free system, RacH stimulates actin polymerization, suggesting that this protein is involved in actin‐based trafficking of vesicular compartments. We also investigated the determinants of subcellular localization of RacH by expression of green‐fluorescent‐protein‐tagged chimeras in which the C‐terminus of RacH and the plasma‐membrane‐targeted RacG were exchanged, the insert region was deleted or the net positive charge of the hypervariable region was increased. We show that several regions of the molecule, not only the hypervariable region, determine targeting of RacH. Overexpression of mistargeted RacH mutants did not recapitulate the phenotypes of a strain overexpressing nonmutated RacH, indicating that the function of this protein is in great part related to its subcellular localization.


I read with anxiety that diploma-educated students may not be able to register until they qualify to degree standard (analysis October 16).


A network structure of robot dynamics is discussed. The topology of the network model is presented as a graph with input, intermediate and output variables. Geometric and mass‐inertial parameters of the robot links are independent variables while inertial forces, coupling, centrifugal, Coriolis, gravity forces and friction forces are dependent variables for the network. Operators of connections between dependent variables are defined. A parameterization of the operators based on the independent variables is established. En example of a robot with two degrees of freedom is given.


The present disclosure provides systems and methods for providing geographic information including data indicative of a flow lane that a vehicle can follow to facilitate improved vehicle navigation and/or control. A flow lane can provide an indication of a path of travel for a vehicle relative to a map or other source of geographic information, as well as a reference for localizing a vehicle's location relative to the flow lane. In some examples, a flow lane can represent an ideal path of travel for a vehicle or other moveable object. Additionally, a flow lane can indicate a region in which a vehicle may travel relative to the ideal path of travel. 17 Defensive Publications Series, Art. 1390 [2018] https://www.tdcommons.org/dpubs_series/1390


Drought is an important factor-limiting yield in maize. Cytokinins are well reported for reducing the perilous effects of drought stress in maize (Zea mays L.). A net house study was planned to compare the efficacy of synthetic cytokinins, benzyl amino purine (BAP) with a natural source of cytokinins i.e., leaf extract of Moringa olifera as foliar application on maize seedlings subjected to different levels of drought (75% & 50% of field capacity). On weekly basis, the plants were sprayed with BAP (50 mg L -1 ) and moringa leaf extract (MLE) (30 times diluted with water) @ 25 mL/plant. The Plants applied with normal irrigation (100% field capacity) and water spray were taken as control. The crop was analyzed for seedling vigor, growth, water relations, physiological attributes and enzymatic antioxidants. The results showed that drought stress significantly affected the leaf area, plant height; rooting density, root fresh and dry weights, shoot fresh and dry weights, cell membrane thermostability (CMT), leaf temperature, osmotic and turgor potentials, peroxidase (POD) activity and chlorophyll a contents. Foliar applications significantly improved the leaf area, plant height, root fresh and dry weights, CMT and chlorophyll a, b contents. BAP alleviated the drought stress better than other treatments as it increased the root fresh and dry weights, CMT, chlorophyll a and b contents significantly. MLE increased leaf area, plant height, chlorophyll a and b contents under severe drought stress (i.e., 50% field capacity) and root fresh and dry weights under mild stress. Under normal and mild drought stress levels, MLE found as a best stimulus for plant growth that triggered the physiological and biochemical attributes, while under severe drought stress BAP (50 mg L -1 ) gave the best results for mitigation of drought effects in maize.


The effect of diosmin, a flavone derivative, on the Ca2+ sensitivity of the venous contractile apparatus was investigated in chemically (β‐escin) skinned strips from the rat isolated femoral vein. Diosmin (0.5–10 μm) shifted to the left the concentration‐response curve to Ca2+ (0.05–5 μm). The maximal effect was observed in the presence of 1 μm diosmin which increased the contractile response evoked by 0.15 μm Ca2+ from 26.3% to 78.9% of the maximal Ca2+‐induced response. This work demonstrates that the venotonic action of diosmin involves an increase in the Ca2+ sensitivity of the contractile apparatus. Such a mechanism of action could represent a new and important means of therapeutic control of vasomotor activity.


This paper concerns the viscous and non-resistive MHD systems which govern the motion of electrically conducting fluids interacting with magnetic fields. We consider an initial-boundary value problem for both compressible and (nonhomogeneous and homogeneous) incompressible fluids in an infinite flat layer. We prove the global well-posedness of the systems around a uniform magnetic field which is vertical to the layer. Moreover, the solution converges to the steady state at an almost exponential rate as time goes to infinity. Our proof relies on a two-tier energy method for the reformulated systems in Lagrangian coordinates.


ABSTRACT Relying upon a content analysis of one specific type of medium to which young people are exposed beginning at an early age, on a regular basis, and for many years (i.e., animated cartoons), the present study examines what types of messages are provided about violence that takes the form of simple assault. Results indicate that assault is fairly prevalent in cartoons and that this prevalence has diminished over time. Most of the time, cartoons show assaults to "land" on their intended victims, but having done so, to cause few if any adverse effects. Moreover, assaults rarely backfire on the perpetrators. Anger, revenge, and inherent mean-spiritedness are the most common reasons implied for why characters commit acts of violent assault.


The catheter assembly includes a catheter shaft having a rotating seal between the proximal region and a distal region and two. The rotating seal, and a second component that is fixedly coupled to the first part and end regions fixedly coupled to the proximal end region. Parts, are engaged in overlapping configuration. Rotating seal is as operable between an operating state and the inoperative state. In the inoperative state, the first part and the second part are partitioned by a gap that allows rotating the distal region of the catheter shaft to terminal regions. In the operating state, the first part and the second part is at least partially sealing engagement with each other, thereby are so-terminal region is stationary relative to the proximal region.


Establishment and completion of interior examination and evaluation mechanism of the Party is of great significance to keeping advantage of the Party.This issue is studied and discussed in seven aspects such as its significance and necessity,experience about its examination and evaluation at home and abroad,its status quo,its objective and requirement and basic ideas,its strategies,its measures and its practice and exploration in this paper.


Background: Adults at high risk of fragility fracture should be offered pharmacological treatment when not contraindicated, however under-treatment is common. Objective: This study aimed to investigate factors associated with bone-health medication initiation in older patients attending primary care. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: 44 general practices in Ireland from 2011-2017. Subjects: Adults aged [≥]65 years who were naive to bone-health medication for 12 months. Methods: Overall fracture-risk (based on QFracture) and individual fracture-risk factors were described for patients initiated and not initiated onto medication and compared using generalised linear model regression with Poisson distribution. Results: Of 36,799 patients (51 % female, mean age 75.4 (SD=8.4)) included, 8% (n=2,992) were observed to initiate on bone-health medication during the study. One fifth of all patients (n=8,193) had osteoporosis or had high fracture-risk but only 21% of them (n=1,687) initiated on medication. Female sex, older age, state-funded health cover and osteoporosis were associated with initiation. Independently of osteoporosis and co-variates, high 5-year QFracture risk for hip (IRR=1.33 (95% CI=1.17-1.50), p<0.01) and all fractures (IRR=1.30 (95% CI=1.17-1.44), p<0.01) were associated with medication initiation. Previous fracture, rheumatoid arthritis, and corticosteroid use were associated with initiation, while liver, kidney, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and oestrogen-only hormone replacement therapy showed an inverse association. Conclusions: Bone-health medication initiation is targeted at patients at higher fracture-risk but much potential under-treatment remains, particularly in those >80 years and with co-morbidities. This may reflect clinical uncertainty in older multimorbid patients, and further research should explore decision-making in preventive bone medication prescribing.


One of the most challenging problems in conducting machine learning is the learning process of feedforward neural networks (FFNN), which means finding the proper weights for connections and biases. The performance of FFNNs is mainly dependent on the success of the learning process. Gradient descent-based methods such as back-propagation (BP) are among the most widely employed learning algorithms, whereas they are susceptible to be trapped in local optima. Population-based metaheuristic algorithms such as differential evolution (DE) are a reliable alternative to tackle complex problems. In this paper, we propose a quasi-opposition-based differential evolution approach for FFNN learning to improve the performance of FFNNs (QODE-FFNN). Our proposed algorithm benefits from a variant of opposition-based learning (OBL) to enhance the performance of FFNN. Based on OBL concept, the opposite of a candidate solution is generated. Afterward, OBL selects the best between a candidate solution and its opposite based on their objective function values. In this paper, we employed a variant of OBL to improve the performance of FFNN, called quasi-OBL, which generates a random point between the center of search space and its opposite. Also, in our proposed algorithm, connection weights and biases are encoded as a candidate solution, while the objective function is based on a classification error. Experimental results confirm the performance of QODE-FFNN compared to other recent approaches.


We have read with great interest the paper which was recently published by Straus et al. 1 on the association between the use of non-cardiac QTc-prolonging drugs and the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). On the basis of their findings, which were drawn from a large population-based case-control study, the authors concluded that the use of certain non-cardiac drugs that prolong myocardial repolarization is indeed associated with an increased risk of SCD.

This study seems to represent an extension of a methodologically almost identical study published in 2004 by the same group.2 This previous study reviewed all cases of death in the Integrated Primary Care Information study between 1 January 1995 and 1 April 2001 (in the recently published paper, the time of observation was extended to 1 …


The sciences, like other human endeavours, proceed not by lock-step logic but by wonderfully varied, ofttimes inexplicable and sometimes admittedly fruit!ess pathways, as other chapters in this volume attest. The vogue of 'transcendental anatomy', one of the most curious and for the historian one of the most elusive -episodes in nineteenth-century biology, provides rich confirmation of the pluralistic nature of natural science. Straightforward, unambiguous definitions of 'transcendental anatomy' are rarely to be found either in dictionaries o r in the literature of those who claimed to practise it. Even the venerable Oxford English Dictionary did not define it. The term seems to have been popularized in the 1820s by the French anatomist Etienne Reynaud Augustin Serres (1786-1868), who used it to designate collectively the morphological laws of animal de~e lopmen t .~ The formal definition quoted above appeared only at the end of the nineteenth century, however, and it gives but the barest hint of the controversies that transcendental anatomy evoked, and the careers it enhanced and tarnished, in the first half of that century. Roughly equivalent rerms of that period, such as 'higher anatomy', 'philosophical anatomy' and 'transcendental morphology' will be treated as synonymous with 'transcendental anatomy' in this chapter. The distinguishing characteristics of transcendental anatomy, throughout its history, were (a) the presupposition that a single Ideal Plan or Type (or, at most, a few such plans) lay behind thegreat multiplicity of visible structures in the animal and plant kingdoms, and that this Plan determined an organism's functional capacities rather than being determined by them; (h) the fur ther presupposition that the Ideal Plan acted as a force for the maintenance of anatomical uniformity, in opposition to the diversity-inducing (some WO u ld argue degenerating) forces of the physical environment; (c) the belief that t h i s a priori Plan, though it had no physical existence in its pure state, w a s nevertheless discoverable; and (d) the aspiration to discover additional c o n cepts ('laws') which would support and elaborate the Ideal Plan by specifying how apparent anatomical diversities may be seen as uniformities. Despite the variety of other beliefs which the practitioners of transcendental anatomy brought to, or derived from, the enterprise, the above elements seem fundamental and common to their work. Studies of the past decade have examined the development of transcendental anatomy in the writings not only of the best known representatives a n d spokesmen of the tradition Goethe, Lorenz Oken, Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire and Richard Owen -but of a number of lesser-known naturalists of the e r a , such as Henri de Blainville, Edward Forbes, John Goodsir, Robert Edmond Grant, Joseph Henry Green, Robert Knox and Jeffries W ~ m a n . ~ Surveying these works, several themes emerge. First, the propositions of transcendental anatomy were compatible with a surprisingly wide variety of other biological, metaphysical and socio-political doctrines; there was thus a malleability t o transcendental anatomy which no doubt contributed to its popularity a n d longevity. Second, some advocates regarded transcendental anatomy as the ultimate explanation for biological structures, while others saw it as o n e of several necessary explanatory devices. One might call these two approaches the 'strong program' (high transcendentalism) and the 'eclectic program' ( low transcendentalism). Third, transcendental anatomy, initiated primarily in the German provinces, elsewhere assumed a variety of forms. As it expanded in Paris and reached a culmination in Britain, transcendental anatomy grew more diverse, more complex and more interesting. In his classic exposition of anatomical traditions, Form and Function (1916), E. S. Russell said of transcendental anatomy that 'The philosophy seems to have come chiefly from Germany, the science from France.' T o that terse assessment we might add that its variety and longevity seem most manifest in Britain. The purpose of this chapter will thus be to elaborate briefly these themes, and to suggest possible avenues for future exploration.


The problem of environment pollution is most acute at this moment. It is particularly urgent for Southern Siberia regions, where major industrial and resource centres are concentrated (Kemerovo region, Krasnoyarsk territory, Khakassia and Tyva Republics). Main pollution sources in these regions are anthropogenic landscapes, the area of which is several hundred thousand hectares. Decrease of this influence may be achieved either by self-recovery or by reclamation. In both cases forming of the soil cover on the surface of anthropogenic landscapes takes place. Basic rock transformation in the soil-forming process is arranged and directed at matching the chemical and physical properties of the substratum and the zonal soils. In this connection, a specific feature of immature soils of anthropogenic landscapes is that geo-genic factors play a major role in soil-formation (properties of rock, first of all). At the same time for mature zonal soils environmental conditions are the main factor of soil-formation. Specific features of soil-formation under different climatic conditions is the aim of the research. The research showed that soil formation on coal-mine dumps in different climatic zones varies. Differentiation of immature soil profile into genetic horizons is more expressed in anthropogenic landscapes located in the forest-steppe zone. Soil evolution here is at the initial, organic-accumulative, turf stage and reaches the humusaccumulative stage reflecting the zonal soil-formation peculiarities. With the territorial aridity growth, soil evolution decelerates and reaches the turf stage in steppe conditions and organic-accumulative stage in dry-steppe conditions. In the humid climate of Kuznetskiy Alatau mountain taiga turf and humus-accumulative soils occur, which later can develop into organic-accumulative ones. Zonal soilformation specifics consist in the formation of soils with thick eluvial horizon. When estimating the features organic matter systems transformation in these soils, it should be stressed that the intensity of initial lithogenic components reorganization increases with the growth of the climate aridity. At the same time the content of mobile organic compounds increases in soil profile. The processes of disintegration of initial rock fragments and, as consequence, fine-dispersed fraction formation are most significant where soil evolution reaches the turf stage. The intensity of redistribution of the formed units decreases with the decrease of precipitation.


The calls and displays of the swallow-tailed gull (Creagrus furcatus) are described and fitted into the pattern of larid displays; some ecological aspects of reproductive behaviour are briefly described. 1. The striking vocabulary includes a scream, snore, rattle and whistle. There is a 'long call' apparently homologous with the generalised gull long call and a special call associated with downward choking. 2. Swallow-tailed gulls breed in relatively small groups, the reproductive activities of the population of any island being highly unsynchronised, though those of the group significantly more so. The 'local' synchronisation is probably socially facilitated. 3. Fighting is rare, but includes a twisting movement reminiscent of the kittiwake's (Rissa tridactyla) cliff-adapted method. 4. Threat gaping is shown. 5. The oblique postures may be separated into (a) the retracted oblique (probably not equivalent to the generalised forward oblique of some other gulls) (b) a low oblique (probably homologous with the generalised oblique of other gulls). 6. A downward jerking movement may be a form of long calling and swallow-tails show a backward head jerk in closequarter territorial encounters. 7. An aggressive upright may be distinguished from an anxiety upright. 8. Upward choking (as in the kittiwake, but not in other gulls) and downward choking occur; both forms are hostile displays on the nest site. 9. The butterfly flight is probably strictly an intra-pair display and is associated with snore-scream calls. It may be related to the soar-and-swoop of the black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus), which is probably ritualised pursuit flight. 10. In the swallow-tail foot-looking is commonly associated with agonistic behaviour. 11. Courtship feeding of female by male is a regular part of pre-laying pair behaviour as in other larids. 12. Pre-copulatory behaviour is accompanied by head tossing. 13. Nest building is accompanied by long bouts of nest site calling. The nest is architecturally functionless. 14. The single egg (incubation period 35 days and incubation stint about 24 hrs) produces a highly cryptic chick. 15. Egg shells are not systematically removed. 16. The chick may accompany its parents some distance from the site in the first 48 hours after hatching. 17. Squids form a large part of its diet. The position of the swallow-tailed gull with respect to other larids is tabularised and discussed.


Objective.—To evaluate prospectively the efficacy and safety of almotriptan 12.5 mg as compared to placebo when administered within 1 hour of headache pain onset for the acute treatment of 3 migraine headaches.


Aronson 1 isolated a strain of tubercle bacillus from an iguana which was found dead in the Philadelphia Zoo. A number of tubercles were seen in the lung of this animal and also in the liver. The spleen contained no gross tubercles. A single tubercle was found in the upper pole of the left kidney. In guinea pigs injected intracutaneously with this culture Aronson found that a small ulcer occurred at the site of inoculation. The glands became enlarged and succulent but went on to healing. The organism was found to be pathogenic for the chameleon and salamander and also for the frog. It was not pathogenic for the snake. As regards the frog Aronson's findings have been confirmed by Holly 2 and by the writers with a transfer of this organism which Aronson sent to us sometime ago for further study. Examination of stained slide preparations reveals the organism to be acid- and alcohol-fast. Ziehl-Neelsen stained vertical sections from growing colonies made with a technique reported by us 3 show some non-acid-fast rods in addition, but the tiny non-acid-fast rods and granules so conspicuous in vertical sections of human and bovine tubercle bacillus colonies are entirely lacking. It would seem then that this organism multiplies principally by simple fission. According to Henderson and Aronson 4 the organism is culturally and serologically identical with Mycobacterium marinum which was isolated from salt water fish. In view of the pathogenicity of this organism for frogs it occurred to the writers to determine whether a similar situation existed for tadpoles. If this proved to be the case the tadpole would make a valuable experimental animal for certain problems as the entire animal may be sectioned and all of the organs examined in the same creature at the same time. It would also permit investigations concerning the reaction of embryonic tissue toward infection by a member of the Mycobacterium group.


Sodium hydrotelluride was found to serve as a new efficient agent for selective reduction of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds under mild reaction conditions.


The main goal of our paper is to obtain sufficient conditions for the asymptotic equivalence of a linear differential system and a quasilinear system of impulsive differential equations with piecewise constant argument of generalized type, in short IDEPCAG. A deviating argument is of the advanced and delayed type. As an auxiliary result, the structure of the set of solutions of the quasilinear system is specified. Several examples are also given to show the feasibility of results.


The research aimed to evaluate the effect of the composition of different substrate on the production of blueberry seedlings. The seedlings used were highbush, 'Georgiagem' from in vitro multiplication. Seven different substrate were used: T1 - Plantmax® (100%); T2 - Plantmax® + perlita (1:1); T3 - soil + composed industrial + perlita (1:1:1); T4 - soil + rice husks (1:1); T5 - soil + composed industrial + vermiculite (1:1:1); T6 - acacia bark + soil (1:1); T7 - pine needle mulch + soil (1:2). The substrate pine needle mulch + soil, followed by the substrate Plantmax®, acacia bark + soil and soil/rice husks + soil, which promoted greater dry mass of roots and shoots. The substrate Soil + composed industrial + perlita and soil + composed industrial + vermiculite, pH alkaline, showed lower production of dry matter and lower concentrations of Fe, Mn, Zn, N and P. Pine needle mulch + soil, soil + rice husks, acacia bark + soil and the substrate Plantmax® with or without perlita g were the most suitable r for the production of blueberry seedlings, cultivar 'Georgiagem'.


Background : Recently, many studies have focused on human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status in gastric cancer due to HER2-targeted therapy using trastuzumab. We investigated HER2 overexpression and amplification and their concordance rate in Korean gastric adenocarcinomas. Methods : Tissue microarrays were constructed with 232 gastric adenocarcinoma samples. We performed immunohistochemistry (IHC), silver-enhanced in situ hybridization (SISH) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for HER2. Results : IHC was negative in 94.8% (218/232), equivocal in 1.7% (4/232) and positive in 3.5% (8/232) of cases. HER2 protein expression was heterogeneous in 75% (9/12) of IHC 2+/3+ cancers. Gene amplification was observed in 6.5% (15/230) by SISH and the same 15 cases were also FISH-positive. We observed HER2 amplification in 1.4%, 27.3%, 25%, and 100% of IHC 0, 1+, 2+, and 3+ gastric adenocarcinomas, respectively. The concordance rate between IHC and SISH results was 95.7%. Conclusions : HER2 overexpression and amplification were less frequent in gastric adenocarcinomas than breast carcinomas. Compared to breast carcinoma, (1) there may be IHC-negative but gene amplification-positive cases for HER2 and (2) frequent intratumoral heterogeneity of IHC for HER2 in gastric adenocarcinomas.


In this paper, we discuss two simple of a FBG design for: a) simultaneous pulse filtering and chirping, and b) signal chirping using FBG as a higher-order dispersive element.


Various leachate recirculation strategies were applied to a batch-wise operated solid-phase digestion system in laboratory-scale tests. Comparative experiments with both continuous and intermittent leachate recirculation revealed no advantages of a continuous flow. Results suggest that leachate recirculation should not be carried out continuously during process initialisation when methanogenesis is the rate-limiting step. Continuous watering resulted in the accumulation of Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA) during process start-up. In addition, no need for continuous water circulation was found for the following digestion process when hydrolysis was rate-limiting. Even in the absence of liquid recirculation, degradation was only slightly retarded when the biomass moisture content was adjusted.


Tampereen ammattikorkeakoulu Tampere University of Applied Sciences Degree Programme in Mechanical Engineering Production engineering MÄÄTTÄNEN, JANNE: Reduction of Lead Time in Screens and Feeders Bachelor's thesis 79 pages, appendices 23 pages March 2016 The purpose of this thesis was to identify the current situation with lead times of screen and feeder orders at the Hollola office of Sandvik Mining and Construction. The Hollola office is responsible of all the orders of screens and feeders. The objective of thesis was to discover the current situation, to find out what problems there are, and to examine the order handling process and what effects these have on the lead time. Along these themes the overall goal was to consider how it is working in the company and where they could improve to get the lead time possibly shorter. The Hollola office's database was used as primary source of information. The thesis doesn't take into account how much the improvements suggested here will improve the lead time and how much they would cost to the company. Discovering the lead time of screens and feeders four phases of the process were researched: handling the order, making drawings, ordering the parts and manufacturing the machine, ordering the transport and departure of the machine. Manufacturing the machine included the biggest problems for lead time. Manufacturing the machine is biggest part of the process and it consists of manufacturing the machine and part ordering. Assembly centers should pay more attention for part ordering for reducing the lead time. Another problem is either excess communication or slight amount of communication in certain phases. Reducing the lead time requires a lot of focusing for part ordering. Parts are ordered for one order at the time, so there are not big storages. Sizes of storages should be improved, so that the manufacturing could be started earlier and the delivery time of parts could be reduced.


Photon Energy, Inc. has produced CdS/CdTe solar cells by a low-cost, spray technology. The NREL-measured efficiency of the best device is 12.7% at air mass 1.5. For the first time, the minority-carrier lifetime of the polycrystalline CdTe grains was measured by time-resolved photoluminescence. The longest measured lifetimes were over 5 ns and were found in large grain (-4pm), high-density material near the CdS/CdTe interface.


Some principles and definitions - why aim to be global? innovation and start up basic building blocks, the business, the products, a strong home base becoming continental "Worldthink" - concept and practice evolution and growth - developing global organizations, strategic alliances and trading partners financing global growth - options, private vs public global and small - special risks and problems Europe and the Single Market, North American and Japanese global approaches sustaining growth and leadership post globalization.


In this article a simple method to reveal the direction of grain growth in nickel-induced lateral crystallization (NILC) is demonstrated. This method uses 6000 A amorphous silicon film as the starting layer which is then crystallized by nickel. Then silicon dry etching is used to delineate the grains and the condition of grain growth in NILC is clearly shown. It is found that the grain growth directionality and uniformity are greatly dependent on the relative position and the shape of the nickel source origin. The optical microscope shows that the grain formation is in triangular shape. The structural condition is confirmed by an atomic force microscope which is used to scan over the grain. A mechanism of grain growth related to the movement of nickel silicide chains is proposed. Performances of n-channel metal–oxide–semiconductor transistors fabricated on different positions of the crystallized region are compared and it is found that the grain growth directionality shown after this grain-revealing metho...


The accelerated technological advance of the last decades has intensified the debates about the concerns with the future of humanity. As a consequence, there has been, in cinema, a significant increase in the number of representations on the theme, which address issues ranging from climate problems, through the consequences of the use of nuclear energy, to ethical and political issues. According to Serge Bernstein (2016), these representations can be classified into four categories: utopia, anti-utopia, pseudoutopia, and uchrony. Utopia is the idea of a perfect, ideal society. Anti-utopia consists of a society that has overcome its current problems and restructured itself, but this restructuring has created a worse society. Pseudo-opia is a society that has managed to overcome its problems, but what are called "improvements" are often questionable. Uchrony, on the other hand, can portray a future society, but one that has the same structure as today's society, with increased problems, as a consequence of the behavior of today's society. This investment in the representations of the future in cinema brings the problem of investigating how this has been done and what sense effects are generated. In this way, the aim of this paper is to analyze the representations of the future in the film Geostorm (2017), directed by Dean Devlin. This is an uchronous cinematographic work, which shows the climate problems of today's society greatly aggravated, with catastrophic weather events and the need for the creation of a technological network to control them. The methodology used to carry out this work was bibliographic research and the production of summaries and debates. With the study of the film, it was possible to develop reflections on how the cinema has been willing to represent the future by establishing a critique of the current ethical relations regarding the fact that the use of technology, when done in an unethical way, can generate catastrophic consequences, from the analysis that this technology presented in the film has been put under the control of a man in a position of power who turns off some areas to satisfy his own interests. It is concluded that Geostorm (2017) makes a criticism of how political issues and the dispute for power interfere with the future of humanity. The film is also a good example of how Hollywood cinema portrays the United States as a heroic country that saves the world supposedly without any political and economic interests. This kind of work can bring plausible explanations about how we imagine, today, what consequences current political relations will have for the environment.


Abundant research exists on negative social impacts of projects located by global companies in developing regions. The most commonly identified negative impacts are: loss of sovereignty; commercialization of privatized public services; the practice of lobbying; the lack of transparency; corruption; social criminalization; job insecurity; and violation of rights of indigenous peoples. The aim of this study is to evaluate the possible negative social impacts of projects of the Spanish power company Iberdrola in Mexico. Therefore, it focuses on knowing the positions of the critical sectors of the company operating in Mexico, and analyzing the company's arguments and positions. The applied methodology is assessment. It relies on the collection of documents from various sources (public and business institutions, researchers, social movements), and interviews with different agents (affected individuals, academics, technicians). The results contrast the favorable reception of the company by local and central political powers with discontent by the public, which blames multinationals for the continued rise in the price of electricity. Compliance with the company's code of ethics in all territories in which it operates is another issue that is discussed.


To evaluate the performance of three different centers with respect to their ability to identify the fetal aortic isthmus (AoI) adequately and place a Doppler sample volume in the AoI correctly, and to address the reproducibility of the isthmic flow index (IFI) calculated from Doppler waveforms recorded in the three centers.


Retention of intra-articular loose bodies following reduction of traumatic dislocation of the hip frequently leads to unsatisfactory resuls; therefore, their presence was often considered to be an indication for arthrotomy. Here we report one case of the retention of the infra-articular loose fragments following reduction of traumatic hip dislocation. We used arthroscopy instead of open arthrotomy to retrieve them to retrieve them successfully. The postoperative course was smooth and the patient did well. After 13 months' follow-up, his hip functions was fully restored and no discomfort was complained of.


The goal of the EleV Program is to transform education and employment systems to support 100,000 Indigenous young people in their journeys through education and onto Mino Bimaadziwin ("a good life", a meaningful livelihood). This ambition necessitates moving beyond individual-level programs, to investments which embrace complexity to tackle root causes and drive transformation at institutional and ecosystem levels. May 4, 2023


No. 5(53), 2008 CENTRAL ASIA AND THE CAUCASUS88to its length and excessively high environmental demands. The route from East Siberia is realis-tic, but the sale of East Siberian blue fuel at a privileged price, which China is insisting on, isonly possible providing that Russian companies have access to the distributing assets of China'sgas corporations.


The proposed method is to recognize objects from different categories of images using Gabor features. In the domain of object recognition, it is often to classify objects from images that make only limited part of the image. Hence to identify local features and certain region of images, salient point detection and patch extraction are used. Gabor wavelet features such as Gabor mean and variance using 2 scales and 2 orientations and 2 scales and 4 orientations are computed for every patch that extracted over the salient points taken from the original image. These features provide adequate resolution in both spatial and spectral domains. Thus extracted features are trained in order to get a learning model, tested and classified using SVM. Finally, the results obtained using Gabor wavelet features using 2 scales and 2 orientations and 2 scales and 4 orientations are compared and thus observed that the latter performs better than the former with less error rate. The experimental evaluation of proposed method is done using the Caltech database.


Abstract The Bridal Veil Limestone Member of the Oquirrh Formation (Pennsylvanian, Bashkirian) represents the basal second-order supersequence of the composite Absaroka I Supersequence in the Oquirrh basin. At its type locality in the central Wasatch Range of Utah, the 410-m-thick Bridal Veil Limestone consists of 64 coarsening-upward carbonate cycles bundled into 20 depositional sequences that range from 3 to 60 m in thickness. Sequence boundaries are marked by thin (0.5–2.0 m), regionally persistent quartz-sandstone beds and/or microkarst horizons. The typical coarsening-upward cycle comprises a 1- to 15-m-thick couplet of mud-rich, slope-forming limestone overlain by grain-rich, ledge-forming limestone. Heterozoan carbonates, characterized by a skeletal grain association of light-independent invertebrates (brachiopods, crinoids, bryozoans, and siliceous sponges) are far more abundant than limestones containing photozoan components (foraminifera, algae, and ooids) even in grain-rich cycle caps. The lack of photozoan facies in the low-latitude Oquirrh basin appears to be related to turbidity of the water column overlying the Bridal Veil ramp. Thin (0.5–2.0 m), regionally persistent sandstone beds reflect transport of siliciclastics from the incipient Weber shelf (located to the northeast) during episodes of sea-level drawdown (falling stage and lowstand systems tracts). Though volumetrically insignificant, these sandstone beds play a critical role in regional correlation of the Bridal Veil Limestone and in identification of sequence boundaries. The majority of cycles delineated on Cascade Mountain and Mount Timpanogos can be traced into the Lake Mountains and Thorpe Hills located 30 and 50 km west of Cascade Mountain, respectively, indicating that sequences, sequence boundaries, and lowstand sandstone beds are regionally persistent. However, lack of conodonts and foraminifera in Bridal Veil Limestone samples collected to date limits correlation with the global sea-level curve and with basal Oquirrh carbonates outside of the study area. Nevertheless, sequence stratigraphic analysis of the Bridal Veil Limestone is significant because the Oquirrh basin is one of only a few basins in North America that preserves a record of Bashkirian (Morrowan) carbonate deposition.


From receiving countries' point of view, immigration may be an attractive policy option because it may attenuate the pace of aging in countries further along in their demographic transitions. Immigration policy potentially has important economic implications for several reasons. First, solely due to the compositional effects associated with immigration, a larger share of the population could be concentrated in the working ages. Second, immigration, particularly in the form of permanent immigration, may affect transfers and the accumulation of assets. Immigrants pay taxes that support children and the elderly, they have children who are supported by native taxpayers, and they grow old and rely on future generations of taxpayers. In this study, we assess whether cross-border immigration is likely to be an important policy option in response to population aging in Asia. The analysis presented here suggests, however, that realistic immigration policy is not likely to have a substantial influence on population age structure and its economic consequences on both receiving and sending countries are likely to be modest.


Healthcare waste (HCW) is defined as the total waste stream from a healthcare facility .Most of it (75-90%) is similar to domestic waste and is known as healthcare general waste and is made of paper, plastic packaging, food preparation, etc. that haven't been in contact with patients. But a smaller proportion (10-25%) is hazardous waste that requires special treatment . If these two categories of wastes are not separated properly then the entire volume of healthcare waste is considered as infectious and hazardous to human health and can result in disease and injury so it is necessary to set up a safe and integrated management system.


Localized adenopathy causing atelectasis is an unusual manifestation of leukemia. During exacerbation of acute lymphocytic leukemia, a patient developed atelectasis on the basis of exobronchial compression by an enlarged lymph node. More obvious causes for the adenopathy seem to be excluded on the basis of clinical and postmortem findings.