In this work, we investigate the compression capabilities of a photonic neuromorphic accelerator relying on an optical spectrum slicing technique [1], following a high-flow 1D imaging cytometry setup, able to image 62000 particles/sec. The utilized image scheme relies on a technique, where spatial information is transfered to the spectrum and subsequently through dispersion to the temporal domain. Therefore, it can replace high speed spectrometers with a single photodetector [2]. On the other hand, the elevated image acquisition rate, trigger the generation of a staggering amount of data, which can cause a processing backlog at the digital backend. In this context, we explore, for the first time, the use of a photonic neuromorphic pre-processing unit, following the cytometer that can reduce the number of trainable parameters at a lightweight digital backend by a factor of 2.5, while at the same time, it can project incoming data to a high dimensional space boosting accuracy.


Coherence in an open quantum system is degraded through its interaction with a bath. This decoherence can be avoided by restricting the dynamics of the system to special decoherence-free subspaces. These subspaces are usually constructed under the assumption of spatially symmetric system-bath coupling. Here we show that decoherence-free subspaces may appear without spatial symmetry. Instead, we consider a model of system-bath interactions in which to first order only multiple-qubit coupling to the bath is present, with single-qubit system-bath coupling absent. We derive necessary and sufficient conditions for the appearance of decoherence-free states in this model, and give a number of examples. In a sequel paper we show how to perform universal and fault tolerant quantum computation on the decoherence-free subspaces considered in this paper.


The purpose of this paper is to report the psychometric properties and normative data of the Self-Care Scale in the Argentine population. The scale evaluates the self-care from an integral view of the construct, this includes the external aspects of the self-care, the intrapsychic self-care and the relational aspects of how human take care of themselves. The scale consists of 31 items that are answered from a Likert format that involve seven possible answers. A non-experimental, cross-sectional, instrumental-type study was designed. A non-probabilistic sample made up of 768 subjects residing in different provinces of the Argentine Republic was established. When carrying out the construct validity studies, the Exploratory Factor Analysis indicates the grouping of the items into six factors. With the Confirmatory Factor Analysis, it was observed that the six-factor model presented a good fit. The results show an adequate internal consistency of the test and an adequate test-retest stability after five weeks. The results obtained in the research carried out are consistent with the findings of the original study, which indicates that the studies of the psychometric properties of the scale are reliable and valid to be used in the general Argentine population.


This article proposes that the oligopoly power and internalization models of the multinational enterprise should be reviewed in light of the newly developing resource-based model of strategy and managerial decision-making models of strategic management. The perspective described here suggests that strategy-making under conditions of uncertainty and the drive to gain competitive advantage from deployment of firm-specific resources are important issues in the internalization decision of the MNE in a host market. The role of transaction cost efficiency in generating subsidiary governance structures is redefined to be compatible with the demands of these additional considerations of the multinational strategic manager.


The study involves physico chemical investigation of the water quality of Kano Rivers and its adjoining groundwater from its headstream up to its downstream in order to ascertain it suitability for human consumption, domestic and agricultural usage. Results show that the water is slightly alkaline, EC ranges from 7-159 Us/cm and average of 29.5 US/cm, pH ranges from6.6-8.7 and average of 7.18, and TDS ranges from 7-128 and mean average of 24.79, Ca ranges from 3.22-128.81ppm and an average of 25.56ppm, Mg ranges from 0.06-175.17 ppm and average of 10.62, (exceeds limits), Na ranges from 3.65-970..48 and an average of 54.17, K ranges from 2.72-52.52 ppm and average of 9.98ppm for the anions contents results shows that HCO 3 ranges from 2746-4863.3 and average of 277.9 ppm, SO 4 ranges from 2.15-147.1ppm and an average of 11.27ppm,Cl ranges from 0.08-116.19ppm with average of 15.25ppm, NO3 ranges from 0.94-47.49ppm with average of8.09ppm then PO 4 ranges from1.26-1.26ppm with average of 1.26ppm. All the analysed parameters shows that the water is heavily polluted in comparison with NIS (2007), EPA (2004) and WHO (2011) guidelines and ones determined by Schoeneich (2010) for the Crystalline Shield of northern Nigeria. pH is slightly higher of average 7.18 and can be related to TDS contents. Three chemical water types were determined based on their locations, upstream Kano is CaHCO 3 type, for the midstream is NaHCO 3 as well as downstream is also NaHCO 3 types with only one showing MgHCO 3 in Surface water of Hadiyau village. Keywords: Major ions, pollution, Water types, Crystalline Shield


SUBTITLE: MANY COMPANIES TODAY ARE SEEKING QUICK HITS TO THEIR BOTTOM LINES IN THE FORM OF ROI FROM INVESTMENTS IN SUPPLY CHAIN SOFTWARE. IN TODAY'S TRICKY ENVIRONMENT, ADOPTERS OF SUPPLY CHAIN TOOLS ARE GAINING MORE THAN JUST ROI WITH POINT SOLUTIONS -- THEY'RE FINDING NEW WAYS OF MANAGING THEIR SUPPLY CHAINS.


A DRAM chip requires periodic refresh operations to prevent data loss due to charge leakage in DRAM cells. Refresh operations incur significant performance overhead as a DRAM bank/rank becomes unavailable to service access requests while being refreshed. In this work, our goal is to reduce the performance overhead of DRAM refresh by reducing the latency of a refresh operation. We observe that a significant number of DRAM cells can retain their data for longer than the worst-case refresh period of 64ms. Such cells do not always need to be fully refreshed; a low-latency partial refresh is sufficient for them.We propose Variable Refresh Latency DRAM (VRL-DRAM), a mechanism that fully refreshes a DRAM cell only when necessary, and otherwise ensures data integrity by issuing low-latency partial refresh operations. We develop a new detailed analytical model to estimate the minimum latency of a refresh operation that ensures data integrity of a cell with a given retention time profile. We evaluate VRL-DRAM with memory traces from real workloads, and show that it reduces the average refresh performance overhead by 34% compared to the state-of-the-art approach.


In this paper, the production of biomass and ligninolytic enzymes by the white‐rot fungus Pleurotus pulmonarius (Fr.) Quélet cultured on wheat bran at high initial moisture was evaluated. When the initial moisture was lower than 86%, the fungal hyphae penetrated into and bound tightly to the solid‐substrate particles. When the moisture was equal or higher than 86%, the growth was characterized by formation of a large mycelial mass above the substrate (surface growth). In this case, the mycelial mass could be easily separated from the residual solid substrate and quantified by gravimetric analysis. The fungus produced 0.32 g of dry mycelial mass per g of dry substrate after 15 days of cultivation. Analysis of the residual substrate showed that growth was mainly due to the consumption of soluble proteins and carbohydrates. The condition of high initial moisture strongly promoted the expression of laccase (up to 24,000 U per g of substrate or 78,000 U per g of dry fungal biomass), while the production of manganese peroxidase was negatively affected. In fact, manganese peroxidase was maximally produced when the initial moisture was 75% (2,000 U per g of substrate). The production of other enzymes, such as polysaccharidases and proteases, was not significantly affected by the initial moisture. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


Objective To establish a content determination method of Salivae Miltiorrhizae and Ligustrazine hydrochloride in Radix Salivae Miltiorrhizae Ligustrazine injection(RSML) under the same chromatogratic condition and to study the stability of RSML with used solvents.Methods HPLC system was used in the analysis of Salivae Miltiorrhizae(SM) and Ligustrazine hydrochloride(LH).The changes of mixed solution after matching in external appearance,pH and contents of RSML were observed.Results The content of Salivae Miltiorrhizae and Ligustrazine hydrochloride was determined accurately.The stability of compatibility of RSML with used solvents was affected by storage time and temperature.Conclusion RSML should not be used at high temperature or in strong light.


Using the multiplicity of solutions for the projectable case of the covariant extension of Horava-Lifshitz Gravity, we show that an appropriate choice for the auxiliary field allows for an effective description of galaxy rotation curves. This description is based on static and spherically symmetric solutions of covariant Horava-Lifshitz Gravity and does not require Dark Matter.


The problem of substance abuse is one of the most prevalent issues that people face and has afflicted millions of people around the world. Though, substance abuse is a fairly new phenomenon in Thimphu, Bhutan, its use has been escalating over the years. Only few studies, to find out the prevalence of substance use and alcohol use among students, have been conducted in the recent past in Bhutan. As a step towards establishing the current trend of alcohol, smoking and drug use among adolescents in secondary schools, Thimphu, Bhutan, 423 students from various schools within the city were surveyed using a self administered questionnaire. Multistage sampling method was used to determine sample size. Selective variables such as demography and environment factors were computed using chi square statistics to find out the association. As a result of this cross sectional study, the data revealed that drug abuse is common among school children, and age of the student, academic performance, education and occupation of parents, peer pressure and curiosity are found to be significantly associated with alcohol, smoking and drug use ( p-value α<0.05) among school children. This study found out the current trend of drugs and alcohol use and will provide a basis for further research in the field of substance and alcohol use in Bhutan.


Lead sulfide solid particles floated from ore are small, hard to concentrate. Thickener flocculation dosing control system is non-linear process control system. This paper studied a mining thickener dewatering control system, with the middle concentration detection technology, PID and the fuzzy control theory research combined, and designed the polymer flocculant dosing fuzzy adaptive PID controller. It completed the simulation study by MATLAB/simulink. The result indicates that this control method responses fast and virtually has no overshoot. It can reduce the flocculant dosing, decrease the overflow density, reach energy conservation emission reduction, and cost saving.


This chapter describes the use of medical examiner or coroner (ME/C) data for public health surveillance, provides an overview of surveillance for fatal infectious conditions, and describes ongoing efforts aimed at identifying the most complete and accurate methods for incorporating ME/C-based autopsy data into state-based and national surveillance systems. In contrast to retrospective surveillance methods, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1994 began active surveillance for infectious disease with the establishment of the Emerging Infections Program (EIP) at four sites in the United States. Sections in the chapter discuss issues related to the incorporation of ME/Cs into the overall surveillance for infectious diseases, including those from bioterrorist attacks, and describe the potential advantages and limitations of this data source. In New Mexico, approximately 25% of autopsied natural deaths are infectious disease related. Because some of these deaths are caused by emerging infections, it is likely that ME/Cs could play an important role in surveillance for these conditions nationally. In recognition of this fact, CDC's 1994 emerging infections plan identifies medical examiners as an important sentinel surveillance network. Any system that is implemented to conduct surveillance for acts of bioterrorism should involve medicolegal death investigators for several reasons. First, medical examiners and coroners may see cases of fatal unattended infections from acts of bioterrorism that other physicians, hospitals, or emergency rooms have not seen. Directing autopsy pathologists to search for emerging infections is not without some element of danger.


In his article on inflation and economic growth in Brazil, 1 Werner Baer develops the thesis that the "income adjustment lag" when wages lag behind prices during inflation is favorable for capital formation. Conversely, if wage adjustments do not lag behind prices, "this might ultimately eliminate the income adjustment lag needed for capital formation and entirely eliminate the potential growth elements in the inflationary mechanism. "2


Herbal medicines provide rational means for the treatment of many diseases that are obstinate and incurable in other systems of medicine. The aim of the study is the systematic screening of Schrebera swietenioides fruit ethenolic extract with the purpose of discovering new bioactive compounds for diabetes mellitus and to establish the scientific basis for the therapeutic actions of traditional plant medicines. In present study Schrebera swietenioides fruit ethenolic extract was studied for the acute and sub acute effects on alloxan induced diabetic rats. This extract was investigated for the antihyperglycemic action by using glucose hyperglycemic rats. Blood
glucose levels and Serum lipid profiles were measured. The whole pancreas from each animal was removed after sacrificing the animal and subjected for histological examination. This extractA¢Â€Â™s DPPH radical scavenging potential was also studied. In OGTT, reduction of fasting blood glucose levels took place from 60 min of extracts administration. In acute study, blood glucose lowering potential percentage of Schrebera swietenioides fruit ethenolic extract was 14 % at 6 hr after extract administration and in sub acute study, after 15 days of treatment it was 42 % when compared with diabetic rats. The ethenolic fruit extract of Schrebera swietenioides Linn. showed better activity in quenching DPPH radical with an IC50 value of 423 AŽÂ¼g/ml when compared with Standard BHT(Butylated hydroxytolune) IC50 value of 107AŽÂ¼g/ml.


Markets are becoming increasingly dynamic and technology is being continuously seen as the main driving force behind effectiveness of businesses. Technology is no more the key differentiating factor especially in sales or selling. As a result, the view on responsibility of a salesperson, is undergoing a paradigm shift. In this paper, we would discuss the relevance of mindfulness in sales and would try to answer the question as to "how mindfulness can enhance the performance of salespeople and may lead to better sales leadership and management". We intend to create a paradigm for developing better sales managers and more productive salespeople based on contemporary mindfulness based traits as well as practices. Salespeople possessing mindfulness as a trait would be termed as "Mindful salesperson" and the process of selling where mindfulness based practices are an integral part, would be broadly termed as "Mindful selling". Thus on the basis of the notions of the east and west we create attention, awareness openness and acceptance as the corner stones of the Mindfulness Based Sales Management framework.


Traffic congestion on Long Island is hardly new. Current levels of congestion are the result of the increasingly rapid growth in automobile travel that began in the early 1960's and continues today. Travel to and from work accounts for most recurring traffic congestion on Long Island because so many trips are concentrated during a few hours. According to the U.S. Census, slightly more than 1.3 million residents of Nassau and Suffolk counties are employed. About 950,000 travel to work in single-occupancy vehicles; 130,000 travel in carpools; 36,000 walk; 9,000 use other means; and 29,000 residents work at home. Another 149,000 Long Islanders use public transit to get to work. This includes ridership on the Long Island Rail Road, which carries about 100,000 commuters from Long Island to work in Manhattan. By the year 2015, the number of persons traveling to work on Long Island will have increased by 30% when compared to 1990 levels. Nonwork-related travel is also expected to grow as many Long Islanders avail themselves of more shopping and recreational opportunities. Long Island's tourism industry will also expand bringing more visitors onto the Island to enjoy its world-class beaches and other activities. This discussion paper outlines the comprehensive approach being undertaken by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) to provide for the current and future mobility needs of Long Island including not only highway capacity improvements, but also new bus services, traffic management systems, and long-range multimodal planning.


Background. Patients with advanced, inoperable head and neck cancers have cure rates of approximately 10‐15%. In these patients, concomitant chemoradiotherapy seems to improve local control and survival. 5‐Fluorouracil (5‐FU) administered by continuous infusion and cisplatin plus concomitant conventional radiation therapy may be promising in treating advanced, inoperable head and neck cancers.


1. A system (100) estimates cortisol levels, the system comprising: a block (10) for receiving and processing characteristics of the processing (22) the skin conductivity, skin conductivity formed over time for the user (1), wherein the processing unit is configured to determine at at least one response (24) to the impact in the characteristic (22) of the skin conductance and determining a characteristic (28) the estimated user cortisol level (1) based on at least one response (24) to vozdeystvie.2. The system of Claim. 1 further comprising a memory (11) for storage of characteristics (28) the estimated levels of cortisol, which is determined by accumulating the plurality of estimated reactions (26) of cortisol in time, wherein each estimated response (26) for cortisol over time based on a reaction (24) on vozdeystvie.3. The system of claim. 2, wherein the processing unit is adapted to evaluate each reaction (26) for cortisol over time kakgde g represents the gain, cpredstavlyaet a growth factor and a factor cpredstavlyaet zatuhaniya.4. The system of claim. 2 or 3, wherein the estimated response (26) of cortisol in time depends on the input information indicating the gender of the user, which is introduced into sistemu.5. The system of claim. 2, wherein the processing unit is configured to determine one of the at least one response (24) to effect a particular initial time (t1), and the corresponding estimated response (26) of cortisol in time has a starting point in specific initial time (t1) and lasts until the end point in a predetermined end time (t3) in buduschem.6. The system of claim. 5, in which a


This essay analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of different communication network technologies for power distribution and utilization in the aspects of communication network of power distribution,customer access network and customer indoor network as well as presents relevant suggestions on how to choose among them.Besides,this essay also puts forward respective access schemes of communication service for the node of distribution automation,the node collecting data of the distribution transformer and the specialty transformer,the residential area of intelligent power utilization and the charge-discharge station for electric vehicles.


Sustainable development is an emerging paradigm designed to strike the balance between the ecological health of the planet and human development in a manner that ensures that both meet the needs of the present without compromising the future. However, little is known about the determinants of sustainable development among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. As such, the present study fills up the gaps by examining the relationship between integrated management systems, technology and innovation capability, sustainability orientation, green corporate image, government support and sustainable development. This research applies a quantitative survey method using a self-administrated survey questionnaire to collect data from SMEs in Malaysia. Data from this survey will be analyzed using PLS-SEM to examine the associative relationship between determinants of sustainable development and sustainable development. This study will contribute to the body of knowledge by documenting factors that lead to sustainable development, namely integrated management systems, technology and innovation capability, sustainability orientation, green corporate image and government support. It also will benefit both enterprises and the government in building competitive, resilient, and sustainable enterprises in the domestic and international markets.


Python has gained a lot of attention by the high performance computing community as an easy-to-use, elegant scripting language for rapid prototyping and development of flexible software. At the same time, there is an ever-growing need for more compute power to satisfy the demand for higher accuracy simulation or more detailed modeling. The Intel R © Xeon PhiTM coprocessor strives to provide additional compute power for floating-point intensive codes, while maintaining the programmability of the traditional Intel R © Xeon R © platform. In this paper, we present a Python module to handle offloads to the Intel Xeon Phi coprocessor from Python code. It provides an easyto-use interface to invoke compute kernels on the coprocessor, while handling data transfers in a flexible yet performant way. We discuss how the Python module can be utilized to offload key kernels in the Python-based open source electronic-structure simulation software GPAW. Micro-benchmarks show that our solution imposes only marginal overheads on the kernel invocations. Our performance results for select GPAW kernels show a 2.5 to 6.8 fold performance advantage of offloading over host execution.


?Cytochrome c oxidase or complex IV is the terminal component of the mitochondrial electron transport chain. It catalyses the transfer of electrons from reduced cytochrome c to molecular oxygen. Complex IV deficiency due to mutations in assembly factors is one of the most frequent defects of respiratory chain in humans. These pathologies are characterized by a very early age of onset and the display of different clinical presentations, as encephalopathy, cardiomyopathy, hepatic failure and leukodystrophy.
 SCO1 and SCO2 are two metallochaperones playing a key role in the formation of cooper centre CuA during complex IV assembly. Mutations in SCO1 cause hepato-encephalomyopathy although one case has been reported which also presents hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Mutations in SCO2 cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and infantile encephalomyophathy and with but one exception, all patients harbour the E140K mutation.
In this thesis, we have used Drosophila melanogaster as model system to investigate the genetic and molecular mechanisms that underlie the cardiomyopathy associated with SCO deficiency. The genetic network controlling cardiac specification and differentiation as well as many aspects of heart function are conserved from flies to mammals. Thus, Drosophila has become a powerful model system for the study and understanding of cardiac function and human cardiomyopathies. Furthermore, the recently established heart function assays in Drosophila make it possible to characterize how mitochondrial electron transport chain defects affect heart function.
In Drosophila there is a single ortholog of mammalian Sco1 and 2, ScoX. Our findings demonstrate that cardiac-specific knockdown of ScoX causes dileted cardiomyopathy severely compromising heart function and structure. Cardiomyocytes undergo a metabolic switch from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis probably accompanied by lactic acidosis and therefore mimicking the clinical features found in patients with mutations in Sco1 and Sco2. The observed phenotype is result of dp53-dependent cell death activation. These results strongly suggest that dp53 is directly involved in cardiomyopathy development.


Based on the petrophysical property,clay mineral X-ray diffraction and SEM observation,the characteristic of clay mineral in super-low permeability sandstone of Chang-6 member of Yanchang formation in southwestern Ordos basin is studied.The result shows that the clay minerals consist of chlorite,illite/smectite mixed layer and illite;and the occurrence of chlorite is pore space lining or pore space filling,and the occurrence of illite/smectite mixed layer and illite is bridging or pore space filling;the relative content of clay minerals is characterized by obvious zonality,namely,high chlorite content appears in the eastern part of the studied area,and high illite/smectite mixed layer content occurs in the western part.According to the correlation analysis of clay minerals and the reservoir petrophysical property,the contents of illite/smectite mixed layer and illite show an inverse correlation to the porosity and permeability of the reservoir,while the content of chlorite manifests a positive correlation to the porosity and permeability,indicating that the quality of the reservoir in the eastern part is better than that in the western part of the studied area.


The notion of bounded bisimulation is introduced to explore connections between work on Kripke models,non-well-founded sets and knowledge structures.Firstly,the author gives the definitions of bisimulation and bounded bisimulation on Kripke models,as well as the definitions of non-well-founded models for modal logic and of knowledge structures,and shows how the final two models can be seen as representing bisimulation classes and bounded bisimulation classes of Kripke models respectively;After that the paper shows how bounded bisimulation can be characterized by certain fragments of infinitary modal logic and by Ehrenfeucht games;Finally we give some examples of results proven by different authors in different contexts and show how they can be seen as closely related using the notions introduced.


A 20‐year‐old man with bilateral parasagittal occipitoparietal polymicrogyria and epilepsy, from whom normal functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalogram responses to visual stimuli were obtained, was found to have no visual perceptual deficits. This suggests that microgyric cortex can perform normal visual functions, despite its gross structural abnormalities.


The misuse of opioids has become a prevalent problem for chronic pain relief, worsened by numerous side effects such as constipation, tolerance and addiction. Researchers have attempted to optimize opioids to decrease side effects and eliminate dependence by modulating the signal transduction cascades of the mu opioid receptor (MOR). Previous studies from our lab have demonstrated that the chaperone protein Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is an important regulator of the ERK/MAPK pathway which is downstream of MOR. When an Hsp90 inhibitor is administered directly to the spinal cord, there is an increase in opioid antinociception in vivo, signifying that Hsp90 acts to repress the ERK/MAPK signaling pathway and reduce antinociception in the spinal cord. The exact molecular mechanism including the key players in activating opioid anti‐nociception in the spinal cord are still unknown and need to be further investigated. We thus performed quantitative proteomic analysis on the spinal cords of male and female CD‐1 mice treated with the Hsp90 inhibitor 17‐AAG. Network analysis of this data revealed that the phosphatase DUSP15 was upregulated; DUSP15 is known to be a key activator of ERK MAPK, suggesting this molecule could be the mechanism by which spinal Hsp90 inhibition activates ERK MAPK and thus opioid anti‐nociception. To test this hypothesis, we will perform CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing in the spinal cords of adult male and female CD‐1 mice to knock down DUSP15. We will then combine knockdown with Hsp90 inhibitors (17‐AAG, KU‐32) and opioids in the tail flick anti‐nociception assay, to reveal if DUSP15 knockdown will affect the enhanced anti‐nociception caused by spinal Hsp90 inhibition. These studies will thus reveal a key molecular mechanism by which Hsp90 regulates the spinal cord opioid system. Our other studies have shown that spinal Hsp90 inhibition causes enhanced anti‐nociception and decreased side effects like tolerance; these studies will also establish the basic science foundation for the use of Hsp90 inhibitors to improve opioid therapy during chronic pain.


Infection by the Salmonella genus is one of the main causes of gastroenteritis worldwide, with relevant mortality in developing Countries. However, its presentation is not always classic, and may involve extraintestinal sites such as lungs, kidneys, and others. Herein, we present a case report, with a detailed description of necroscopic findings, of a 7-month-old infant who died of salmonellotic bronchopneumonia, without previous gastrointestinal manifestation. The relevance of this report consists in alerting the medical community on the possibility of extraintestinal salmonellosis in this risk group, in addition to giving due attention to the macroscopic and histopathological findings of disseminated salmonellosis.


Extracted from text ... President's comment
Jerome Ismail
and make a contribution
Get involved
I am calling on Southern African Emergency Services Institute
members to get involved in their branches and to debate the
decisions that are being made at management committee
level.
Indeed, it is a member's right to be informed by branch
chairpersons of decisions made, pending decisions and issues
being discussed at management committee level. Members
should be informed and alert to decisions being taken that may
have major financial implications for the institute.
Furthermore, the constitution of the institute, although a
progressive one, should be respected and adhered to, ..


1Institute for Research in Health Sciences (IRSS), Biomedical and Public Health Department, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; 2West African Health Organisation (WAHO), Demography and Sexual and Reproductive Health Project, BoboDioulasso, Burkina Faso; 3Institut National de Santé Publique (INSP)/Centre MURAZ, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso; 4University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa; 5Davycas International, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso Introduction: In Burkina Faso, despite several efforts to improve contraceptive uptake, contraceptive prevalence remains low. Studies suggest that the low levels of family planning (FP) practices can be partially attributed to the low participation of men in reproductive health programmes. Involving men in FP programmes in Burkina Faso is thus imperative, but the obstacles to this are poorly documented. This study has two objectives to explore the perspectives of men and women on barriers to contraceptive use and to identify the strategies to increase male involvement in family planning. Methods: It is a qualitative study using 20 focus groups and 52 in-depth individual interviews in two regions (North Central Region and Central East Region) with a sample of 29 adult men and 23 women who were married and had children or not. Interviews were conducted in Moore (the national language commonly spoken in both regions). All interviews were recorded and transcribed into French using Microsoft Word. Then, content analysis was carried out using the constant comparison method to identify the major themes. Results: The results show that men's attitudes are still a significant barrier to women's use of modern contraceptives. The reasons women do not use contraception and men do not adhere to FP programmes include lack of method knowledge, negative beliefs and perceptions about modern contraceptive methods, and the side effects of contraceptives. Cultural norms and preferences for large families are also common barriers to FP. However, the results showed that men's awareness of FP, communication between spouses, and access to FP services can promote men's adherence to FP programmes in the Centre-East and CentreNorth regions of Burkina Faso. Conclusion: Efforts should be made to improve educational standards, especially for men, and reorient FP services to make them more accessible to men.


The financial liberalization and opening-up of China contributes to the uncertainty of financial market, which means it is urgent to establish the financial risk assessment. A financial risk assessment model is designed through modified Grey Relating TOPSIS. The financial risk index system synthetically takes into account three aspects including Domestic Real Economy, Domestic Financial System and Balance of Payments. In view of the time lag, the date of each indices has been adjusted by AR (p). Then the weights of indices are determined by combination assigning method. In addition, to eliminate multicollinearity, PCA is adopted to reduce indices' dimensions. Grey Relating TOPSIS is employed to measure financial risk. The evidence from Chinese financial history can support the model appropriately.


Abstract : Refractory diboride with silicon carbide additive has a unique oxide scale structure with two condensed oxide phases (solid + liquid), and demonstrates oxidation resistance superior to either monolithic diboride or silicon carbide. We rationalize that this is because the silica-rich liquid phase can retreat outward to remove the high SiO gas volatility region, while still holding onto the zirconia skeleton mechanically by capillary forces, to form a "solid pillars, liquid roof" scale architecture and maintain barrier function. Basic assessment of the oxygen carriers in the borosilicate liquid in oxygen-rich condition is performed based on first-principles calculations. It is estimated from entropy and mobility arguments that above a critical temperature Tc~ 1500C the dominant oxygen carriers should be network defects, such as peroxyl linkage or oxygen deficient centers, instead of molecular O2 as in the Deal-Grove model. These network defects will lead to sub-linear dependence of the oxidation rate with external oxygen partial pressure.


Institutions regulating land use in Singapore Singapore is a completely urbanized city-state with no surrounding countryside. As a result, building land is scarce and precious. This is why land management has been placed under the control of the government, which owns 90 % of building land, either directly or through its organizations. The improvement of this management rests both on the creation of a group of urban institutions in charge of regulating land development, and on the purchase of state land, for which government companies, administrative authorities, and private actors are in competition. Thus, though Singapore is an administrative state, it is clear that a mode of flexible governance is emerging, based on the decompartmentalization of urban institutions.


Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge and attitude regarding the care of the elderly with hearing loss among nurses.Methods: This study used a cross-sectional descriptive design. Participants were 228 nurses who have experienced in caring the elderly with hearing loss. Data were collected from February 21 to March 21, 2022 using self-report questionnaires including 30 items of knowledge regarding the care of the elderly with hearing loss and 20 items of attitude regarding the care of the elderly with hearing loss. The data were analyzed by using the SPSS version 23.0 program (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA).Results: The subjects' average age was 33.35±7.79, and the average clinical career was 10.29±7.83. Nurses' knowledge regarding the care of the elderly with hearing loss was the average score 62.9 out of 100.0. Nurses' attitude regarding the care of the elderly with hearing loss was the average score of 85.4 out of 100.0. The relationship between nurses´ knowledge and attitude regarding the care of the elderly with hearing loss was statistically significant (r=0.17; P=0.008).Conclusions: The findings of this study show that the nurses have a positive nursing attitude regarding the care of the elderly with hearing loss. It is suggested to develop an educational/training program that can help the nurses accumulate experience and improve their knowledge on the elderly with hearing loss.


fis paper first presents a general overview of Adaptive Critic Designs (ACDs) and their existing control applications. It describes the importance of the right choice of utility functions for the development of critic networks and their convergence to the cost-to-go function 1. A closer look into the step by step derivation of an utility function for the design of an ACD nonlinear optimal neuroconmller to repladaugment the conventional controllers, the automatic voltage regulator and govemor. in a power system consisting of a generator connected to the power grid is described and some results are presented.


This article examines professional communication in a multilingual meeting in a small company in Finland within ethnographic, sociolinguistic, and discourse analytic frameworks. English is used as a lingua franca by a group of Finnish and Chinese business professionals. The aim is to study how language is used with other semiotic resources to construct meaning in interaction. In particular, with the focus on an individual participant who was the mediator in the meeting, the goal is to analyze participants' role alignment and interpersonal relationships. The results show that business professionals' roles are renegotiable in a meeting and by means of language accompanied by embodied actions such as gaze and gestures. The findings also reveal how different languages are used for particular purposes in the meeting.


This essay seeks to challenge the absence of the Arab world within the emerging literature on "the Global Cold War," which considers the Arab-Israeli conflict and thus Arab history to be driven by exceptional circumstances. In order to demonstrate the connections between Arab politics and other decolonizing contexts, I look at the ideological work undertaken to forge the Palestinian cause into a Third World principle outside of the Arab world. This paper examines the coverage of the question of Palestine in the Cuban revolutionary journal Tricontinental between the Arab-Israeli wars of 1967 and 1973. While the June 1967 war is traditionally understood as merely an Arab defeat, I show that many anticolonial and leftist revolutionaries around the world understood the June 1967 war as a reverse for the Third World project as a whole. The conflict was portrayed as an important scene in a global struggle between Western capitalist imperialism and colonialism, on the one hand, and anticolonial revolutionary nationalism and communism, on the other. Tricontinental recorded the journeys of Cuban journalists to fida'i (guerrilla) training camps in Jordan and Syria, the travels of Palestinians to the revolutionary Caribbean capital, and exposed the material links between counterrevolutionary forces in a number of colonial situations. Tricontinental's coverage consistently transcended ideological platitudes and boilerplate comparisons, though these were indeed also present. Through close readings of selected articles, we can begin to see the potential of using this journal as a major source in the history of transnational circulation of ideas, personalities, and movements during the second half of the twentieth century. Nate George Friends of Fondren Library Scholarship 2015 28 February 2015 2 In the first week of June 1967, Israel destroyed the military capabilities of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, conquering territories held by all three states in a war lasting less than six days. The Israelis' preemptive war radically altered the political map of the Eastern Mediterranean, more than tripling the area under control of the Israeli state through the occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai peninsula, Golan Heights, and the island of Tiran. For the Zionists, this conquest of territory came with the conquest of undesirable people. In their second act of mass expulsion since 1948, the Israeli army threw out an additional 300,000 Palestinians from their homes – many of whom now twice displaced – and acquired rule over several million non-Jewish Arabs in the West Bank, Gaza, and Sinai. In the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, Israelis forced out more than 120,000 people, seized their assets, and demolished their villages. In all cases Israel began colonizing the occupied territories with Jewish settlers from around the world. The defeat of the Arab armies dealt a crushing blow to the prestige of the Arab nationalist project in its statist phase, opening a crisis of legitimacy in the vanquished 1 On the 1967 War, see Wm. Roger Louis and Avi Shlaim, eds, The 1967 Arab-Israeli War: Origins and Consequences (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012); Avi Raz, The Bride and the Dowry: Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinians in the Aftermath of the June 1967 War (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012); and Ibrahim Abu-Lughod, ed., The Arab-Israeli Confrontation of June 1967: An Arab Perspective (Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1970). 2 Number of Palestinians displaced found in Rex Brynen and Roula El-Rifai, eds., Palestinian Refugees: Challenges of Repatriation and Development (London: I.B. Tauris, 2007), 1, 3, 88. On the expulsion of Palestinians in 1947-9, see Ilan Pappé, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (Oxford: Oneworld, 2006); Walid Khalidi, ed., All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948 (Washington, D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies, 1992); Benny Morris, The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004). 3 Uri Davis, "The Golan Heights under Israeli occupation 1967-1981," Working Paper, (Durham: University of Durham, Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Durham, 1983, http://dro.dur.ac.uk/138/01/18CMEIS.pdf (accessed 9 May 2014); Tabitha Petran, Syria (London: Ernest Benn Limited, 1972), 199-200. 4 All of this is, of course, in violation of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. For international condemnation of such practices, see United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3240, "Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories," 29 November 1974, http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/5B1BC7E46C040DF7852560DE0054E654 (accessed 8 May 2014). Nate George Friends of Fondren Library Scholarship 2015 28 February 2015 3 states and indeed in the Arab region as a whole. On the one hand, the leaders of the authoritarian, developmentalist military regimes of Egypt and Syria were called into question for their battlefield incompetence, intelligence failures, overblown rhetoric, and lack of decisive action despite lavish military spending. The staunchly pro-Western Jordanian monarchy and the idle Lebanese government, on the other hand, were chastised for their perceived conservatism and weak commitment to the struggle. But, "like a phoenix out of ashes," the defeat of the Arab states unleashed a wave of popular anger at both Israel and the Arab governing classes: many young men and women from every Arab country looked to the coalescing Palestinian guerrilla movement as their only potential deliverance. In the late 1960s, Arabs were not alone in their rebellion. Traditionally understood as merely an Arab defeat, many anticolonial and leftist revolutionaries around the world understood the June 1967 war as a reverse for the Third World project as a whole. The global reverberations of an-Naksa – "the setback," as the defeat was known in Arabic – became one of the central themes that the Cuban revolutionary journal Tricontinental would have to deal with upon its launch in July 1967. Tricontinental published some of 5 For an intellectual history that focuses on this conjuncture, see Elizabeth Suzanne Kassab, Contemporary Arab Thought: Cultural Critique in Comparative Perspective (New York: Columbia University Press, 2009). 6 In the long run, the absolutist, Western-aligned, oil producing Gulf monarchies were strengthened. See Timothy Mitchell, Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil (London: Verso, 2013 [2011]). For the struggle between the so-called "radical" and "conservative" Arab regimes of the 1950s and 60s, see Malcolm H. Kerr, The Arab Cold War: Gamal 'Abd al-Nasir and His Rivals, 1958-1970, 3 ed. (Oxford: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1971). 7 Rosemary Sayigh, The Palestinians: From Peasants to Revolutionaries (London: Zed, 2007 [1979]), 148. In many ways this history is yet to be written. For now, consult Sayigh, Palestinians. 8 On the conception of the "Third World" as a political project of the recently decolonized states and ongoing national liberation movements, see Vijay Prashad, The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World (New York: New Press, 2007); Vijay Prashad, The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South (London: Verso, 2013); Odd Arne Westad, The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005); and Robert Malley, The Call From Algeria: Third Worldism, Revolution, and the Turn to Islam (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996). Nate George Friends of Fondren Library Scholarship 2015 28 February 2015 4 the most important twentieth century thinkers in the anti-imperial, anti-colonial, antiracist, and anti-capitalist traditions, such as Frantz Fanon, Ho Chi Minh, Jean-Paul Sartre, Amilcar Cabral, Che Guevara, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Malcolm X, Huey P. Newton, C.L.R. James, Yasser Arafat, George Habash, Paul Sweezy, Angela Davis, Nguyen Thi Binh, and many more figures both major and minor. Because the practices of internationalism for the Havana-based organ were just as important as the theories, the journal was simultaneously published in Spanish, English, and French – in identical editions – with a circulation of around 50,000. This essay examines Tricontinental's coverage of the question of Palestine between the 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israeli wars in order to show that the conflict was portrayed as an important scene in a global struggle between Western capitalist imperialism and colonialism, on the one hand, and anticolonial revolutionary nationalism and communism, on the other. In this reading, the Palestinian cause was not only a cornerstone of politics in Arab societies, but also a lynchpin that galvanized and connected the Third World project. Tricontinental was an important vessel of these relations, as it brought together intellectuals and militants – as well as intellectual militants – from around the world in a tangible forum of ideological exchange. Cuban revolutionary internationalism played a major role in keeping the Third World project alive both theoretically and practically, and the island hosted a number of institutions in which these connections were developed and reproduced. Tricontinental was edited and published by the Organization of Solidarity with the Peoples of Africa, 9 25,000 in Spanish, 15,000 in English, and 10,000 in French. Richard Frick and Ulises Estrada, The Tricontinental Solidarity Poster (Bern, Switzerland: Commedia-Verlag, 2003), 72. The magazine was also briefly issued in Italian. Frick and Estrada do not mention figures of the Italian edition. Nate George Friends of Fondren Library Scholarship 2015 28 February 2015 5 Asia, and Latin America (OSPAAAL), established in January 1966 at the "First Conference of Solidarity of the Peoples of Africa, Asia, and Latin Americ


A toxohormone-like fraction prepared from the blood of acatalasemia patients by the method of Nakahara was tested whether it could decrease the catalase content of liver and blood of the mice or not. Although no decrease of catalase cotent of these tissues was observed, the fraction prepared from the patients could kill the mice. However, the fraction prepared from normal blood had no toxic action on the mice.


Micromachining of magnetic materials is becoming a crucial technology for future magnetic systems/devices such as high-density magnetic recording heads, high-density patterned media, magnetic quantum devices, and micro-magnetic smart systems. NiFe alloy, one of the typical ferromagnetic materials, can be deposited and fabricated using current thin film and micromachining technologies, and it has found various applications in microsensors, microactuators, and microsystems. In our recent work, Ni45Fe55 alloy with the highest saturation magnetic-flux density was selected as the micro-magnet for an all-silicon quantum computer. The micro-magnet was designed to create a large magnetic field gradient and to distinguish 29Si nuclear spins arranged as chains in a 28Si matrix with Larmor frequencies. This paper reports the micromachining of a Ni45Fe55 alloy mesa structure for an all-silicon quantum computer and the preliminary evaluation of its effectiveness using a magnetic force microscope (MFM) and a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID).


Sternal fracture is a common complication of chest trauma but has a low incidence. Various treatments have been developed to reconstruct sternal fractures. Among these approaches, analgesia, corset fixation, and open reduction with plate internal fixation have been suggested. The use of newly developed minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis is a feasible method. In this study, we report a case involving a 54-year-old man with a sternal fracture accompanied by bilateral pleural effusion and a small amount of right-sided pneumothorax. The patient was treated with minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis. The operation was successful and the postoperative recovery was good. No pneumothorax or complications such as chest pain, paresthesia, or wound infection were observed at the 1-year follow-up visit. Additionally, the bilateral pleural effusion had been completely absorbed. The incision in the lower chest was aesthetic and minimally traumatic. This case describes a novel method for internal fixation of sternal fractures.


Kantian esthetical art not only touches the essence of art,but also coordinates his theory which appears to be contradictory when he analyzed esthetics."Theory of Human Nature" proposed by Friedrich von Schiller and LI Ze-hou's "Setting up New Perception" disclose the deep relations between art and human beings,which finds a support for the realization of human liberty and makes the discussions about esthetic art more perfect.It is concluded that Kant discovered the art essence of "human—art—liberty" and found a permanent value of human nature for art.


Analysis on growth properties of electrical trees in insulation material is an important approach to evaluate its performances. This paper presents a type of low-density polyethylene (LDPE)-montmorillonite (MMT) nano-composite prepared by a melting intercalation process. A testing system and specimens of electrical trees growing in the nano-composite were designed and made. Growth process and morphology of electrical trees in these specimens were observed in the experiments under a constant voltage stress. Growth rates and expansion coefficients of the electrical trees in the specimens were measured and statistical characteristics of partial discharges (PDs) in electrical trees were analyzed. The mechanism of electrical trees in the LDPE-MMT nano-composites restrained by MMT nano-particles was illustrated through analysis of crystallization behavior of the nano-composites. Experiments and analysis results showed that MMT nano-particles improve the crystallinity degrees and decrease the grain sizes of LDPE. Meanwhile,MMT nano-particles are helpful to reduce quantities and repetition rates of PDs in electrical trees of the nano-composite and to postpone inception and growth of the electrical trees.


As one kind of morphing aircrafts,a folding wing enables wing area to change on the order of 200%.The great change of wing area will induce complicated dynamic characteristics.So it is necessary to understand the dynamic characteristics of the wing.In this paper,firstly we built a finite element model of the folding wing by MSC/PATRAN and solved the main vibration modes in case of varied folding angles by NASTRAN.Then we studied the influence of the varied hinge stiffness on the dynamic characteristics in case of varied folding angles.We found out that the renovation on structural design causes greatly different dynamic characteristics from the fixed wing.Especially,the change of stiffness distribution induced by hinges makes the great change of the dynamic characteristics of twist.


INTRODUCTION This is an account of a psychoanalytic group run for a small group of latency children. I was introduced to this approach to psychoanalytic group psychotherapy for children during the course of my training in child psychotherapy at the Tavistock Clinic. This work began at the Tavistock in the early 1970s and has been developed by Sue Reid, more recently with Hamish Canham, both consultant child psychotherapists. My introduction to the work was practical, something in the nature of an apprenticeship, through my participation in the groups workshop led by Sue Reid and Hamish Canham. The workshop studies groups in a variety of settings, including nurseries, schools, and clinics (Reid 1999, Reid and Kolvin 1993), and the nature of the work varies according to the character of the setting. The account I give here is of a group with latency children, which was run in a clinical setting, for a year and a half. The group met on a weekly basis, with a parallel parents' group run by two of our colleagues, also meeting weekly. I aim here to give an account of the children's group as it developed and, in doing so, to consider the nature of the processes that took place within it. Although the interrelationship between what took place in the children's and parents' groups was certainly very important, I shall not attempt to follow this in detail, although I mention it toward the end. The duration of the groups was not predetermined, and the decision to bring the two groups to a planned ending after five terms of work took into account the situation within both groups.


We report the clinical findings of a 40‐year‐old woman with recurrent migraine presenting with Wernicke's aphasia in accordance with the results of a standardized battery for language assessment (Boston Aphasia Diagnostic Examination). The patient had no evidence of parenchymal or vascular lesions on MRI and showed delta and theta slowing over the left posterior temporal leads on the EEG. Although the acute onset of a fluent aphasia suggested stroke as a likely etiology, the recurrence of aphasia as the initial symptom of migraine was related to cortical spreading depression and not to stroke.


Belakhovsky et al. applied the RB parameter, which describes the variability of a vector in time and space. No characteristic time scales are determined through this analysis. As previously replied to Ref-1, the time scale that Weygand et al. discuss is different from ours. They study the persistence of large time derivative values, whereas we study persistence in magnetic field directions. However, their study provides useful insight, which is relevant also to our manuscript. In the study by Pulkkinen et al., one difference in the methodology is that they consider the magnetometer network as a whole through a structure function, while we study explicitly H and dH/dt at single stations. Overall, they have a similar result using an entirely different method.


Mental health programs are increasingly combining evidence-based practices to provide comprehensive services. Individuals with complex services needs, such as those dually diagnosed with mental illness and substance use disorders, are at high risk for numerous negative outcomes and may benefit from such comprehensive programs. This report describes the process and outcomes of a program that formally integrated assertive community treatment, supported housing, and integrated dual disorders treatment for a sample of clients with dual diagnoses. Over a 2-year period, this pilot program targeted 14 clients with 12 clients successfully transitioned out of a state hospital into the community. Results showed large reductions in hospitalization, homelessness, and incarceration, and increases in employment and later stages of treatment for substance abuse. This study demonstrates the potential of such an integrated program and points to areas for further research in housing services. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


AIM To investigate the effect of autonomic nerves on the transmural dispersion of effective refarctory period(TDERP) upon acute myocardium infarction(AMI) in vivo.METHODS Using programmed stimulation method,the effective refractory periods(ERP) of epicardium(Epi),midmyocardium(Mid) and endocardium(Endo) were measured during sympathetic and parasympathetic stimulation before AMI and 30 minutes after AMI in 20 open chest rabbits.RESULTS The ERP of Epi,Mid and Endo were shortened during sympathetic stimulation under normal condition,but the ERP of the Mid was shortened more significantly than that of Epi or Endo and TDERP increased from(21±17)ms to(30±16)ms(P0.05).The ERPs of Epi,Mid and Endo were prolonged during sympathetic stimulation under acute myocardial infraction,the ERP of the Mid was prolonged more than that of Epi or Endo and TDERP decreased from(21±17)ms to(24±18)ms(P0.05).The ERPs of Epi,Mid and Endo were prolonged during parasympathetic stimulation under normal condition,the ERP of the Endo was prolonged more significantly than that of Epi or Mid,and TDERP increased from(30±16)ms to(38±11)ms(P0.05).The ERPs of Epi,Mid and Endo were not significantly affected during parasympathetic stimulation under AMI and TDERP was not significantly different between the two groups.CONCLUSION Sympathetic stimulation increases TDERP under normal condition and under AMI.Parasympathetic stimulation does not significantly affect TDERP.


The invention discloses a making method of a Qinghua pear cake, relating to the technical field of food production processing. The making method comprises the following steps of: making peeled Qinghua pears and Chinese yam into thin mixed syrup, wherein the Chinese yam accounts for 5-10 percent weight of the Qinghua pears; adding a defined amount of maltose in the mixed syrup, cooking at a temperature of 60-90 DEG C for 30-45 minutes; adding seaweed gel in slurry obtained through cooking according to the quantity accounting for 1-1.5 percent weight of the mixed syrup, and preserving the temperature at 80 DEG C for 15-30 minutes; and taking the slurry outside and putting in a forming mould, and drying to obtain a formed cake body with the water content of 15-20 percent. Compared with the prior art, the making method has the advantages that a new Qinghua pear deep processed product is developed, fruit cakes are enriched, the market demand of the Qinghua pears is enlarged, and thus the industrialized development of the Qinghua pears is favorably promoted, the economic income of fruit growers is increased; and the Qinghua pear cake is tender, thick and smooth in mouth-feel, has health care effects of moistening lung to arrest cough, tonifying spleen and qi, and the like, and is suitable for people of all ages.


The implication of complement in multiple diseases over the last 20 years has fuelled interest in developing anti‐complement drugs. To date, the focus has been on C5; blocking cleavage of C5 prevents formation of two pro‐inflammatory activities, C5a anaphylatoxin and membrane attack complex. The concept of C5 blockade to inhibit inflammation dates back 30 years to the description of BB5.1, an anti‐C5 blocking monoclonal antibody raised in C5‐deficient mice. This antibody proved an invaluable tool to demonstrate complement involvement in mouse disease models and catalysed enthusiasm for anti‐complement drug development, culminating in the anti‐human C5 monoclonal antibody eculizumab, the most successful anti‐complement drug to date, already in clinical use for several rare diseases. Despite its key role in providing proof‐of‐concept for C5 blockade, the mechanism of BB5.1 inhibition remains poorly understood. Here, we characterized BB5.1 cross‐species inhibition, C5 binding affinity and chain specificity. BB5.1 efficiently inhibited C5 in mouse serum but not in human or other rodent sera; it prevented C5 cleavage and C5a generation. BB5.1 bound the C5 α‐chain with high affinity and slow off‐rate. BB5.1 complementarity‐determining regions were obtained and docking algorithms were used to predict the likely binding interface on mouse C5.


In particular atomic layer deposition (ALD) type extremely thin aluminum oxide and lanthanide layer formed by the method of acts as an interface layer between the two or more materials. The interfacial layer can prevent the oxidation of the substrate, it is possible to prevent the diffusion of molecules between these materials. In the form of illustrated embodiments, when forming the transistor gate dielectric, or memory cell dielectric sandwich the high-k dielectric material between two layers of aluminum oxide or lanthanide oxide. Aluminum oxide, but less than one full monolayer, can serve as a nucleation layer. One or more monolayers can also act as a diffusion barrier, the substrate from oxidation and also protect the high-k dielectric impurity diffusion. Nanolaminate is formed by a number of alternating interfacial layer and the high dielectric constant layer, intermediate interface layer, divides the crystal structure of the high dielectric constant material, it can reduce the level of leakage.


A patient with an intermediate state of human T lymphotropic virus type I (WLV‐I) infection and in whom autopsy showed multiple organ failure (MOP associated with extensive metastatic calcification in systemic organs is described. A 56‐year‐old man presented with signs and symptoms of advanced cardiac insufficiency, respiratory disturbance and renal failure. Serologically, the anti‐human T lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV‐I) antibody tier and the levels of both calcium and parathyroid hormonerelated peptide (PTHrP) were dlstinctly elevated. These data suggested a diagnosis of adult T cell lymphoma/leukemia (ATLL). However, examination of a peripheral blood sample revealed only a few atypical lymphoid cells (3%) associated with mild leukocytosis (white blood cell count, 13.7 × 103/mm3). Lymph node swelling was systemic but mild, with some nodes up to 10 mm In diameter. The patient died of MOF. Adult T cell leukemla/lymphoma was unable to be diagnosed definitively because of the short duration of laboratory abnormalities and because of the discrepancy between the laboratory data and the magnitude of lymphoprollferation in both the lymph nodes and peripheral blood. At autopsy, the most conspicuous finding was extensive metastatic calcification in the multiple organs, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, tongue, liver, pancreas, spleen and systemic arterial walls. Very small numbers of medium‐sized atypical lymphoid cells admixed with small reactive lymphocytes were Identified in multiple organs, with no evidence of massive Infiltration. Molecular analyses could not detect monoclonal Integratlon of HTLV‐I provirus DNA or monoclonality of T cell lineage cells. Parathyroid hormone‐related peptide was demonstrated In the cytoplasm of the atypical lymphoid cells on lmmunohls‐tochemical examination. The bone trabeculae generally showed distinct evidence of resorption associated with marked proliferation of osteoclasts. These findings suggested that the hypercalcemia in the present case was categorized as humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy rather than local osteolytic hypercalcemia.


In the analysis of complex phenomena of acoustic systems, the computational modeling requires special attention for a realistic representation of the physics. As a powerful tool, the finite element method has been widely used in the study of complex systems. In order to capture the important physical phenomena, p-finite elements and/or hpfinite elements are employed. The reproducing kernel particle methods(RKPM) are emerging as an effective alternative due to the elimination of a mesh, and the ability to analyze a specific frequency range. Additionally, a wavelet particle method based on the multiresolution analysis encountered in signal processing has been developed. The interpolation functions consist of spline functions with built-in window. A variation in the size of the window implies a geometrical refinement, and allows the filtering of the desired frequency range. Preliminary analysis of the wave equation shows the effectiveness of this approach. The frequency/wave numher relationship of the continuum case can be closely simulated by using the reproducing kernel particle methods. A similar methodology is also developed for the Timoshenko heam. INTRODUCTION Multiple scale methods, which are based on reproducing kernel and wavelet analysis, are developed. These permit the response of a system to be separated into different scales. These scales can either be the wave numbers corresponding to spatial variables or the frequencies corresponding to temporal variables: each scale response can be examined separately. This complete characterization of the unknown response is performed through the integral window transform. A space-


Research with the title: "Control Analysis of Raw Material Availability and Value Added Coffee in Agroindustry" Mahkota "in Ogan Komering Ulu District". This research has the aim of knowing the optimal control of dry bean coffee raw material supplies in the "crown" agro-industry in Ogan Komering Ulu District, and to find out how much value-added from dry bean coffee to ground coffee in "crown" agro-industry in Ogan Komering Ulu District. This study uses a simple random sampling method. The sample used 1 agroindustry of MSME Ground coffee with a total sample of 17 people, 2 main respondents were business owners and 15 workers. With the data analysis method using the added value of the Hayami Method. Research yields were the order level of dry bean coffee raw materials in the Mahkota Coffee Powder Agroindustry is not economical. The raw material requirement for dry bean coffee is 100 kgs per order, while the number of economic orders using the EOQ method is 90.3 kgs and the reorder rate of dry bean coffee raw materials in the Mahkota Coffee Powder Agroindustry is efficient because the ROP value is smaller than the EOQ value Ground coffee products in the crown powder Agroindustry provide positive added value. Processing of dry coffee beans into ground coffee provides an added value of Rp20,900 with a value-added ratio of 45.04%


We provide a new determination of the charm quark mass using the Highly Improved Staggered Quark (HISQ) action, finding m_c(3 GeV) = 0.983(23) GeV. Our determination makes extensive use of second order lattice perturbation theory in matching the bare lattice mass to the MSbar scheme. This matching utilises both traditional diagrammatic perturbation theory and weak coupling simulations. The second of these techniques allows us to extract perturbative coefficients from Monte-Carlo simulations and the process of doing this is laid out in some detail here.


The invention provides a liquid level sensor and a liquid level detection method thereof. The liquid level sensor comprises an electroconductive unit, a grounding contact and a capacitance detection module, the electroconductive unit is mounted at a reference surface position, the grounding contact is used for being grounded, and the capacitance detection module is used for judging whether capacitance between the electroconductive unit and the grounding contact changes or not. The electroconductive unit is arranged at the reference surface position, and whether the capacitance between the electroconductive unit and the grounding contact changes or not is detected through the capacitance detection module in real time so as to judge whether a contact surface of a first medium and a second medium is below or above a reference surface. The liquid level sensor is high in automation level, quite flexible in mounting and positioning, small in mounting space, high in detection accuracy and high in resistance to electromagnetic interference.


Objective To assess the efficacy of electromyogram(EMG) triggered neuromuscular stimulation(EMG stim)in enhancing upper extremity motor and functional recovery of hemiplegia. Methods sixty subjects with stroke of 4 weeks were randomly assigned to either the EMG stim(n=30) or control (n=30) group. All the subjects had a detectable EMG signal(5 μV) from the surface of the paretic extensor carpi radialis and voluntary wrist extension in synergy or in isolation with muscle grade of 3/5. Subjects of EMG stim group received a 40 minute session per day of wrist strength exercise with EMG stim (experimental), Besides, All the subjects (including experimental and control group) also received various neurodevelopmental techniques (Bobath,PNF etc) for the duration of their rehabilitation stay. EMG amplitude,Muscle strength and ROM of wrist extension were measured before and after treatment every time. Upper extremity Fugl Meyer motor assessment and the feeding, grooming and upper body dressing items of FIM were assessed at study entry and at discharge. Results Subject treated with EMG stim exhibited significantly greater gains in measured items, Fugal meyer and FIM scores compared with controls (P0.05) . Conclusion These findings indicate that EMG stim enhances the arm function of hemiplegia.


Energy saving by reduced soil tillage: proceedings of a workshop held in Gottingen, Federal Republic of Germany, on 10 and 11 June 1987 , Energy saving by reduced soil tillage: proceedings of a workshop held in Gottingen, Federal Republic... , مرکز فناوری اطلاعات و اطلاع رسانی کشاورزی


The recent reauthorization and regulations of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004) encourage the use of schoolwide interventions including response to intervention (RTI; Bradley, Danielson, & Doolittle, 2007). RTI refers to a multi tiered system ihat addresses the academic needs of all students by using evidence-based instructional practice, progress monitoring, and data-informed instructional problem solving (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2006; Rinaldi & Samson, 2008), A tiered system is an educational model that delineates three or more levels of instructional interventions based on gaps in student skills. A tier is a level in an RTI system thai includes interventions and supports for a clearly defined group of students. RT! is highly encouraged as it ensures high-quality instruclion and universal screening of all children, addresses the needs of struggling learners by providing interventions at increasing levels of intensity, and significantly decreases the number of inappropriate referrals to special education (Vaughn & Ortiz, 2008), As a result, a significant number of public schools in the United States are in the planning and implementation stages of this initiative. In this article, we present a collaborative planning framework for educators implementing RTI. The framework addresses how educators can use universal screening and progress tiionitoring data to plan for instruction al all tiers as well as evaluate the responsiveness of interventions provided at the Tier 2 and Tier 3 levels within the RTI model. The results are a feasible support system by which educators can improve service delivery lo all slu-


Continuous-casting slabs with pure columnar grains of 409L ferritic stainless steel were hot rolled at different finishing temperatures(FT),i.e.the conventional hot rolling was transformed into warm rolling,then the same subsequent process was conducted.The results showed that the finished sheet rolled at lower FT has greater rm value and smaller Δr value.The decreased FT causes some variations in microstructural evolution as follows.In either hot or cold rolled sheets,the grain boundaries and in-grain shear bands increase to refine and harden the deformed microstructure,especially the coarse banded grains around mid-thickness layer.Then the nucleation sites due to recrystallization during annealing increase so as to refine and homogenize the annealed microstructure.Meanwhile,the textural evolution thus varies,such as the texture after hot rolling and annealing moves from {001~114}〈110〉 to the regions with greater φ1 and Φ angles;the texture peak after cold rolling shifts from {001}〈110〉 to {335}〈110〉;the γ-fiber texture after cold rolling and annealing increases and the peak shifts from {334}〈483〉 to {111}〈112〉,while the {001~114}〈110〉 and(0°Φ35°,φ1≈25°) textures decrease.


This paper discusses nearly 50 kinds of good landscape plants which are fit for healthful residence, and proposes the application methods of these plants.


According to the actual project,spatial model of finite element analysis of hinge joint voided slab bridge is established by ANSYS software.We analyze dynamic characteristics of established bridge model,obtain dynamic analysis model of bridge,and compile the program of vehicle-bridge interaction to solve dynamic response of bridge due to moving vehicles.Using this method can describe the situation of vehicle-bridge interaction comprehensively.Vibration of hinge joint voided slab bridge has spatial characteristics,and all the slabs are participate in the work in the lateral direction.The dynamic response obtained by beam model is obviously too small,which is unsafe.But using spatial model to solve dynamic response of bridge obtains similar results with experiment.Examples show that this method is suitable for dynamic response analysis of this type of bridge.


Two concepts are presented, extended, and unified in this paper: mobile device augmentation towards musical instruments design and the concept of hybrid instruments. The first consists of using mobile devices at the heart of novel musical instruments. Smartphones and tablets are augmented with passive and active elements that can take part in the production of sound (e.g., resonators, exciter, etc.), add new affordances to the device, or change its global aesthetics and shape. Hybrid instruments combine physical/acoustical and "physically informed" virtual/digital elements. Recent progress in physical modeling of musical instruments and digital fabrication is exploited to treat instrument parts in a multidimensional way, allowing any physical element to be substituted with a virtual one and vice versa (as long as it is physically possible). A wide range of tools to design mobile hybrid instruments is introduced and evaluated. Aesthetic and design considerations when making such instruments are also presented through a series of examples.


PC3LN5 cells with 7.5μM NSC134754 for 24h in hypoxia; effects on glucose transport, glucose metabolism and lactate levels. A) Western blot showing GLUT-1 expression. B) Immunocytofluorescence of GLUT-1 expression and distribution (red) with dapi stained nuclei (blue) x400. C) H MRS-detected metabolite changes with NSC-134754. *p<0.05, **p<0.01, Student's t-test). D) Representative images of ex vivo GLUT-1 staining of PC3LN5 orthotopic prostate tumours, x200. Effect of the HIF Pathway Inhibitor NSC-134754 on Glucose Metabolism


Objective: To look for a better treatment of old prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc and study the mechanism of treatment. Methods: The six methods of naprapathy plus peridural medication were used and the near future and remote curative effect and the changes of blood biochemic indexes and MRI were analyzed. Results: The near future curative ratio was 88. 0% and the near future effective ratio was 95. 0%; the remote curative ratio was 73. 3% and the remote effective ratio was 86. 6%. The level of serum 5-HT decreased obviously and the amount of NE decreased a litde; the prolapse lumbar dwindled in some degree. Conclusion: This method takes on a better curative effect on old prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc.


Introduction Surgical correction of spinal deformities is a challenge; segmental instrumentation controlling almost every level is the most recent approach. Correction of the deformity only through apical manipulation has many potential advantages, including little tissue disruption, less invasive intervention, preservation of spinal mobility, and vertebral growth. However, quantification of the amount of force needed to pull on the apex and its effect on translation, de-rotation, and overall correction of the curve needs to be studied. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect and amount of force needed to pull on the apex of a scoliotic deformity towards the midline, and the feasibility of use of this novel potential method of correction in the treatment of patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Methods Measurements were taken from 20 patients with AIS treated between June, 2009, and January, 2010. There were 16 female and 4 male patients with an average age of 14·2 years (range 11–20); the coronal preoperative Cobb angle was 67° (42–108°), decreasing on bending to 39° (8–83°), and the apex of the deformity was between T6 and L2. All patients had proximal and distal anchors spanning two levels on each end; the anchors were connected by a concave rod to which the apical vertebra was pulled. We measured the distance between the rod and the apical vertebra and the rotation of the apical vertebrae. Results In 17 patients a force of 30 lb was applied and in 14 patients the force reached 40 lb. The apical baseline distance was 20·9 mm (10–40); at 30 lb of pull it decreased to 11·9 mm (0–27) and at 40 lb it was 9·4 mm (0–23) or 55% translation. The change in apical rotation was measured in 12 patients. The apex de-rotated in 10 of 12 patients, with a mean rotation of 5·2° (2–10°). Conclusions Apical translation, vertebral de-rotation, and scoliosis correction can be done by application of a force pulling on a convex anchor at the apex of the curve towards a concave rod. With suitable instrumentation, deformity correction via manipulation of the apical vertebral body can be a valid treatment alternative through a less invasive approach, with little anatomical, biomechanical, and growth potential disruption.


The purpose of this research is to analyse the impact of the ECB's unconventional monetary policies on European Stock Markets since the beginning of the financial crisis. In order to do so, I conduct an event study founded on the application of three different models, which are robust to the heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation of daily stock returns. My results suggest that the ECB's unconventional monetary policy announcements had significant and positive effects on Italian, Spanish and Portuguese equities. Contrarily, the impact is negative for German stocks. Regarding the industries, the highest positive impact was on the banking sector.


Use of a sheet to bond two substrates adhesively, characterized in that the sheet comprises a layer composed to an extent of more than 30% by weight of a heat-activable polyurethane (PU layer for short).


With the development of science and technology, the industry demand for temperature and humidity is increasing day by day. In this paper, a design of temperature and humidity collection system based on ARM is put forward. The system is designed by combining a ZigBee technology and GSM technology with STM32 as a processor to receive data on the temperature and humidity collection system, real-time through the host computer and mobile terminal to view the data. The hardware and software design of the system is introduced in detail, and the system is tested. The test results show that the system works well and can meet the needs of GSP certification and other temperature and humidity. Introduction The temperature and humidity acquisition system collects system via SMS way will monitor the data sent to the mobile monitoring terminal, control center through GSM module in TCP/IP way communicate with PC, control center can be carried out on the data analysis and processing and remote control. The system can distribute multi-point data of temperature and humidity, and can realize the temperature and humidity data at any time, the collection and control of the equipment. Compared with the traditional model, the system not only has high efficiency and adequate resource utilization, but also has short period of temperature and humidity measurement and low cost. The system adopts emerging technologies, which can avoid accidents, and the system is simple, reliable and low cost. Therefore, the system has very important market application value. Overall System Design The system is divided into five parts: data acquisition terminal, control center, mobile phone terminal, background server software, user client software, etc., and system work block diagram. System hardware design and ZigBee technology ZigBee technology Wireless technology rapid development, network requirement enhances unceasingly, adapted to the demand of standardized people also gradually appear in front of the wireless 178 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Copyright © 2017, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press. Advances in Computer Science Research (ACSR), volume 81 2017 International Conference on Computational Science and Engineering (ICCSE 2017)


The observations of Lind and Bardwell' showed that in many cases where an inert gas is present with one or more reactants in a gaseous system exposed to the alpha radiation from radon contained in the mixture, the rate of reat-lion is proportional to the total ionization produced in the system including that on the inert gas. This raised the question as to why carbon dioxide had not appeared to exert a similar influence on the oxidation of carbon monoxide2 previously investigated. In the present work, carbon dioxide has been added to a stoichiometric mixture of carbon monoxide and oxygen, equal to the amount of carbon dioxide that could be finally produced in the completed reaction. The rate of reaction in this mixture was compared experimentally with the rate of a mixture of carbon monoxide and oxygen of the same partial pressures, but without any initial carbon dioxide, when brought about by the alpha radiation from the same amount of radon in both cases. To anticipate the conclusion of the investigation, it may be stated that carbon dioxide has been found to exert a positive influence on the rate of reaction, but one which is small relative to that which it would have exerted had all of the ions produced on it been equally effective with those produced in the reacting gases. Instead of the ions of carbon dioxide being found 100% efficient in promoting the oxidation of carbon monoxide, the experiments enable the assignment to carbon dioxide of a rather definite efficiency of only 14.5%. This small efficiency explains the failure to detect it in the earlier experiments since there appears to have been a compensation of two oppositely directed influences, the first half of the reaction beginning with abnormally high velocity which diminishes to a minimum about midway in the reaction, from which point a gradual rise takes place that is no doubt due to the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the system. Therefore, the introduction of a large amount of initial carbon dioxide has brought its accelerating influence into greater prominence. Experimental.-The experiments consisted in following the reactions manometrically in spherical vessels using the general methods that have been employed in the work already cited. The reaction vessels were kept in a thermostat at 25°C. The mercury manometer levels were read with the aid of a cathetometer. Customary methods were used for the preparation, purification and analysis of the gases. Carbon monoxide was prepared by the action of 374 ROC. N. A. S.


ABSTRACT In this article we examine the limited effectiveness of major advanced central banks' expansionary measures – particularly quantitative easing (QE) – in raising inflation from a post-Keynesian growth model perspective that distinguishes the sectoral-allocative effects of these policies from their class-distributive effects. In terms of sectoral-allocative effects, we empirically link the weak recovery of aggregate demand to the lack of rebalancing of the debt-led growth and export-led growth models and highlight the role of QE in reproducing these growth models. In terms of class-distributive effects, we draw attention to the flattening of the Phillips curve in advanced capitalist economies and explain this flattening from a post-Keynesian conflict model of inflation, pointing to the weakening of labour's bargaining power as well as to the role of central banks' overly premature withdrawal of monetary stimulus in contributing to that weakening. Finally, our analysis points to the entrenchment of a self-defeating macroeconomic policy mix (consisting of combination of loose monetary policy and restrictive fiscal policy) in debt-led and export-led growth models, which will continue to thwart efforts of central banks to significantly raise inflation.


The invention belongs to the technical field of metallurgical industry and discloses a blast furnace coal injection combustion improver and a use method thereof. The blast furnace coal injection combustion improver comprises aluminum powder with activated aluminum being not less than 95wt%. According to the use method of the blast furnace coal injection combustion improver, the usage amount of a fire retardant accounts for 0.065%-0.10wt% of raw coal. According to the invention, the aluminum powder is adopted as the blast furnace coal injection combustion improver, the aluminum powder is mixed with the raw coal to prepare powder and then the powder is injected into a blast furnace for combustion to accelerate the oxygen diffusion velocity of coal powder and promote the macromolecule cracking of blast furnace coal injection coal powder, so that the purposes of lowering a coal powder ignition point and increasing the combustion efficiency of the coal powder positioned in front of a blast-furnace tuyere are reached, and the usage cost of the combustion improver disclosed by the invention is reduced to 3.23-2.07 yuan/ton of iron from about 5.13-6.17 yuan/ton of iron of the traditional rare earth combustion improver; the blast furnace coal injection combustion improver disclosed by the invention has the characteristics of no alkali metal, stable combustion-supporting effect and safe and reliable use and can effectively enhance the coal ratio of the blast furnace, reduce the coke ratio, increase the output and lower the addition cost, thus effectively increasing the integral economic benefit of blast furnace coal injection.


1 . After intraperitoneal administration of l‐2−14C‐3‐O‐methyldopa (14C‐O‐methyldopa) to rats, the amino‐acid was distributed evenly in blood, brain, heart, adipose tissue and liver, whereas it accumulated more in the kidney and the pancreas. 14C‐O‐methyldopa showed a biological half‐life of about 12–13 h in blood, brain and heart. 2 . The concentration curve of 14C‐O‐methyldopa in brain (after increasing doses of the amino‐acid) was linear if measured 2 h after administration, but seemed to reach a plateau at the higher doses if determined after 16 h. 3 . The concentrations of 14C‐O‐methyldopa metabolites (mainly homovanillic acid and 4‐hydroxy‐3‐methoxyphenyllactic acid) were low, except in the kidney, and varied according to the tissue. 4 . Twenty‐four hours after administration of 14C‐O‐methyldopa, 33% of the injected radioactivity appeared in the urine. This radioactivity consisted of about 95% of metabolites (probably in the main 14C‐homovanillic acid and 14C‐4‐hydroxy‐3‐methoxyphenyllactic acid) and of 5% of unchanged 14C‐O‐methyldopa. In the faeces, 10% of the radioactivity appeared, mainly as metabolic end‐products. 5 . It is concluded that 14C‐O‐methyldopa easily penetrates from the blood into various tissues, including brain, and that the majority of the amino‐acid undergoes a slow metabolism. The different shape of the concentration curves for 14C‐O‐methyldopa in the brain after 2 and 16 h might indicate the presence of two tissue pools of the amino‐acid.


With growing concerns about stadiums where attract large mass gathering, modeling and simulating crowd evacuation is pertinent to ensuring efficient and safe conditions. Based on the modified social force model and multi-agent simulation, several simulation scenarios are conducted to study the walking-along-side effects. The results show that walking along the sides will increase evacuation time, but it can mitigate the pressure of clogging effects and stream arching queue. Meanwhile, walking-along-side effects can relieve the density pressure of the exit and the "fast-is-slow" phenomenon. At last, several suggestions are put forward to promote evacuating capacity of the stadium.


The article presents the results of research on the oxidative modification of humic substances of brown coal of the Tyulgan deposit. The detoxifying effect of the obtained substances in relation to petroleum hydrocarbons was studied using the bioassay method. During the evaluation, a noticeable increase in the detoxifying ability was found in the result of chemical modification of humic substances. The greatest detoxifying effect in relation to oil pollution of the soil was observed for humic substances modified by oxidation and amounted to 19 and 42% at doses of 0.01 and 0.1% by weight. accordingly. The detoxifying effect of native humic substances is significantly lower: 9 and 2 % at doses of 0.01% and 0.1% by weight. accordingly. Thus, the prospects of using oxidized humic substances as sorbents-detoxicants during phytoremediation of oil-contaminated soil are shown.


Humans are social creatures which enjoy participating in group activities. Existing platforms such as event-based social networks and social-matching applications empower people to organize and participate in different kinds of interest-based activities. However, credibility issues are inevitable since the participants' commitment to participate in activities on time can hardly be guaranteed. As a result, many activities are canceled due to lack of participation, which impairs people's will for attending activities and increases the difficulty of coalescing activity groups. In this work, we propose an approach, called BC-GAM, for matching group activities with blockchain backed credible commitment. Based on a formalization of the matching problem, BC-GAM works as follows. During user requesting (for certain type of activity), the user is required to pay a variable deposit which reflects his/her level of commitment for participating in the activity. Our matching algorithm then automatically coalesces the users according to the user requests and availability of facilities. Our algorithm is designed to maximally allow the enrolled users to participate in activities based on their commitment. Furthermore, BC-GAM utilizes blockchain techniques and smart contracts so that the user requesting, commitment and participation are automatically executed in a distributed and trusted way. We implemented BC-GAM on a hyperledger and developed a user interface for requesting and inquiry of the activities. Based on the blockchain platform, we performed experiments with not only simulated data but also actual user studies. The experiment results show that the matching algorithm is effective and efficient, and BC-GAM can be potentially applied in practice.


Background and aims – Despite the importance of selection in driving evolution, little is known about the consistency of selection, particularly in the early stages of colonization of novel environments. This study examines the targets and consistency of selection on an experimentally introduced population of the annual plant, Brassica rapa L., in its first three years following introduction to a novel environment. Methods – Phenotypic selection analyses were conducted on a variety of traits collected during the first three years following introduction from California to New York, and the consistency of the strength and direction of selection was examined. Key results – The introduced population experienced direct selection for increased overall size and earlier flowering in 2011 and 2012, and increased height, earlier flowering, and longer duration of flowering in 2013. While the direction of selection only varied for height, inter-annual variation in the strength of selection was observed for a variety of traits, possibly due to changing weather patterns in the introduced environment. Conclusions – The results suggest that selection is dynamic and can fluctuate over time. Thus multi-year assessments of selection are useful for predicting evolutionary responses, particularly in the early stages of colonization of a novel environment.


Cognitive radio ( CR) is known as an intelligent technology allowing a secondary user ( SU) to occupy a primary user's ( PU's) band when it is idle. Appearance of the idle band may be contiguous or non-contiguous. In other words,the PU's band and the idle band are distributed alternately over the spectrum. Apparently the non-contiguous idle band cannot be fully utilized in this context. This paper proposes an algorithm to solve the problem of low utilization of the non-contiguous idle band and to increase the number of the SU who needs access to the spectrum by a static spectrum aggregation ( SSA) method combined with non-contiguous orthogonal frequency division multiplexing ( NC-OFDM) . The simulation results show that the SSA algorithm realizes at least 70% utilization of the idle band which provides access to the spectrum for as many as 30 SUs as expected.


Preliminary notices have already been published of two genera of aberrant Rhinoceroses, whose fragmentary remains were found in close proximity in the same fossiliferous deposit at Chur-lando, in Baluchistan. One of them, Paraceratherium, * of which form fairly complete skulls and lower jaws have been obtained, is of the size of a large Rhinoceros, with molar teeth, also large, of a simple Aceratherine pattern, but with very abnormal lower incisors. The other, Baluchitherium , the subject of the present paper, of which only some neck vertebrae, foot and limb bones are known, represents an animal elephantine in size and probably in some respects the largest land mammal as yet known. Further interest has been given to these remains from the later discovery by Borrissyak, at Turgai, a province of North Turkestan, of fragments of an animal very similar to Baluchitherium . Borrissyak has published an account of his discovery, naming the form Indricotherium ,and describing certain foot and limb bones and vertebrae very like those described in this paper. At the same time he mentions some very large simple Rhinocerotine teeth, found separate but in the same locality, which he attributes to Indricotherium .§ From their apparently close resemblance to the large molar teeth which occur in situ in the skulls of Paraceratherium it is almost certain that both genera are represented at Turgai. Seeing that Baluchitherium is represented only by limb bones and vertebrae, and Paraceratherium by skulls alone, it is difficult to establish the relationship of these two forms ; and, while it is very curious that two such strange members of the Perissodactyla should occur together, the evidence, as far as it exists, points to their being entirely separate species, as appears later on in this paper.


This paper gives an overview of the regulatory framework currently being used to limit sulphur emissions from coal combustion, with emphasis being placed on EC and UN measures. It then follows with a discussion of the procedures presently being adopted to control or limit these emissions. The topics covered include flue gas desulphurization and advanced combustion technologies, and there is an assessment of the application of these technologies and the prospects for the future.


Modern Smart Home platforms offer various applications, which should follow the platform privacy policies so that end users and regulators are informed of Sensitive Personal Information (SPI) related operations. However, the generalized privacy policies by Smart Home platforms fail to explain specific SPI related operations for individual applications. Meanwhile, according to previous works, potential SPI leaks may occur due to insufficient surveillance. In this paper, we propose the first system to automatically generate fine-grained privacy policies for individual applications through static code analysis and natural language techniques. First, from the code we extract the control flow graph and the SPI data flows. Then, we use a Naive Bayes model to transfer the data flows into verb-object phrases. Finally, we populate a pre-prepared privacy policy template with the previously generated phrases. We evaluate our system on Samsung SmartThings platform. The experimental results show that: 1) Our system can accurately extract SPI related operations from Smart Home applications; 2) The privacy policies created by our system are fine-grained and easily understandable; 3) We demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed system on a real world data-set of almost 250 apps.