Focusing discussion of the terms 'history' and 'Iranian cinema', the author's reflections in this article are on the nature of historical recollection at the time of the birth of cinema technologies in Iran. What was the nature of historical narration? What were its terms? How was the past recollected, recorded and reconstituted for the present? What figures, tropes and media played a part? The author argues that how we record, what we remember and recite, matters as much as what we seek out and attach to the thirty‐year history of early cinema.


The current regime for regulating relationships and activities in international and domestic investment systems involves minimal incorporation of host and impacted local communities in formal legal arrangements. Meanwhile different actors contest the benefits derived from and burdens imposed by, existing legal arrangements. This article presents a contract framework that formally incorporates a wider group of actors in investment arrangements. Focusing on extractive industries, it presents the conceptual framework for a tripartite arrangement that I term 'multi-actor investment contracts' - contracts between companies involved in project development, local communities with close ties to projects and the host government(s). While the article offers a critique of existing arrangements, it draws from the analytical opportunities that recent industry-community agreements offer for incorporating local communities as part of formal multi-actor contracts. It applies insights from contract theory as well as constructivist understandings of an interactional approach to legal analysis which adopts a broad vision of the international community to include states, foreign investors, local communities and other actors, each depending on the other but each having agency and acting in an independent capacity. These diverse groups of actors are interconnected and their diversities and points of agreement may be utilised in the proposed multi-actor framework. While the possibilities of broadening the scope of the actors able to formally participate in investment arrangements are immense, there are also challenges. However, as this article demonstrates, harnessing democratic capacities available through alternative arrangements that recognise actors' shared roles in the investment system may be difficult, but it is possible.


The invention relates to a zooming method and system of an integrated video camera. The zooming method comprises the steps of: obtaining a focal length f of an initial point A based on an initial position of a zooming motor and a relationship curve of a pre-stored position of the zooming motor and a focal length; obtaining an object distance L1 of an initial point A and an object distance L2 of a target point B after the zooming; adjusting a aperture value in real time based on the focal length f, the object distance L1 and the object distance L2 to enable the target point B to be in a range of a depth of field of the initial point A. Based on the principle that image formation of object in the range of the depth of field of the lens is clear, the image formation of the lens still keeps the clear degree acceptable by human eyes after the object distance is changed within the range of the depth of field. After the object distance is changed, a focusing motor is further adjusted finely so as to finish the focusing, and accordingly the searching stroke of the focusing motor is shortened.


Chicken breast halves were oven-baked and evaluated for thiamin content when prepared and served under a cafeteria-style foodservice system. After preparation, they were held on a steam table for 90 min, frozen stored for 4 wk and finally reheated using conventional and microwave ovens. Thiamin determinations were conducted on raw, cooked, hot-held, frozen-cooked and reheated samples. The mean total percent cooking losses for the freshly cooked chicken were 20.4 ± 10.9%. The steam table holding for 90 min resulted in 4.4 ± 0.7% evaporation losses. The mean percent evaporation losses for the microwave reheated chicken were not significantly different from those of the conventionally reheated samples. No significant differences were noted in the moisture and fat content among various treatments. The thiamin content of raw meat when calculated on a dry, fat-free basis was significantly higher than the thiamin content of the cooked meat. There were no significant differences in the thiamin content after various treatments.


Abstract : The survey was undertaken to provide up-to-date information on the body measurements of Royal Air Force aircrew. This information is required for cockpit workspace and functional clothing sizing studies. A team of two trained measurers, using a specially designed anthropometric rig, took 63 body measurements of each of 2000 Royal Air Force aircrew between the ages of 18 and 45 at RAF stations in England. These measurements, recorded during an eighteen month period starting in January 1970, are summarized in the form of a percentile table, mean, standard deviation, range and coefficient of variation for each measurement. The statistical summary for each measurement together with a written description of the measuring procedure. The apparatus used is fully described and the organization of the survey is briefly discussed.


Deciphering the stress and strain distribution across plate boundary shear zones is critical to understanding the physical processes involved in the nucleation of megathrust faults and its behaviour. Plate boundaries at shallow depth represent complex and highly deformed zones showing structures from both distributed and localized deformation.

As magnetic minerals are sensitive to stress regime, the investigation of the magnetic fabric has proven to be an effective tool in studying faulting processes at intraplate shear zones.

Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) provides insights into the preferred orientation of mineral grains and the qualitative relationships between petrofabrics and deformation intensity.

We present an approach of combined Contoured Diagram and Cluster Analysis to isolate the contribution of coexisting petrofabrics to the total AMS and evaluating the significance of magnetic fabric clusters.

Our results reveal distinct subfabrics with reasonably straightforward correlations with structural data. Specific AMS pattern may be associated to the intensity of the reworking related to tectonic shearing and the structural position within the shear zone (i.e., the proximity to the main thrust faults).

Close to the main thrust the magnetic fabric is dominantly oblate with magnetic foliation consistent to the S-C fabric and/or mélange foliation and the magnetic lineation parallel to the shear sense.

Away from the thrust faults the degree of anisotropy as well as the ellipsoids oblateness gradually diminishes. Thus, the presence of subfabrics related to previous tectonic events or less intense deformation (i.e. intersection lineation fabric) became dominant. The discrimination of subfabrics also allowed to unravel the presence of minor thrust plane and qualitatively evaluate the heterogeneous registration of strain (i.e. distributed versus localized deformation).

An abrupt change in magnetic ellipsoid shape and parameters is also observed below the basal décollements showing purely sedimentary magnetic fabric or previous deformation history with minor to absent evidences of shearing in the hanging wall.

Then, the integration with anisotropy of magnetic remanence experiments in different coercivity windows (ApARM) allow to separate the contribution of different ferromagnetic subpopulation of grains, constraining the significance of the different magnetic pattern/clusters detected through the AMS analysis.

In conclusion, our results show the potential of a combination of density diagrams and cluster analysis validated by ApARM experiments in distinguishing the superposition of deformation events, unravelling strain partitioning/concentration and thus to better understand the geodynamic evolution of subduction-accretion complexes.


In this paper, Improve of transmission loss (TL) for simple geometry mufflers using micro-perforated panels (MPP) is studied. The TLs given by numerical method using SYSNOISE are compared with experimental and analytical results of other researchers. Different configurations have been used so as to detect the real effect of resonator absorbers based on micro-perforated panels in the expansion chambers. It is shown that applying these absorbers can effectively enhance the TL in desired frequencies if their parameters are well chosen . In addition, the reactive effects of the geometry are of high importance in compare with dissipative ones. However, their dissipative effects are negligible when they act at a reactive effect resonance. Finally, numerical modeling of micro-perforated panel in numerical software that it was impossible, in this paper a suitable solution using the equivalent impedance method for modeling in boundary element software, SYSNOISE, is presented.


The aim of this study was to compare different samp le preparation methods for the gas chromatographic determination of the composition of essential oils of Lavandula angustifolia Mill. (Lamiaceae) grown in Jordan. The essential o ls btained by hydrodistillation and supercritical-fluid-extraction (SC FE) from dry flowers and the volatile emitted from the fresh flowers were determined by solid-phase-micro-extraction (SPME) and analyzed by GC and GC-MS. In all applie d methods, oxygenated monoterpenes dominated the oils. The linalool was t he main constituent in the hydrodistilled-, SCF extracted and in SPME detected oils with 35.65%, 33.63% and 22.10%, respectively. The antiproliferative activit y of the ethanolic extract, crude lavender oil and of some pure volatile compounds wa evaluated using breast cancer cell lines (MCF7, T47D and ZR-75-1). Findings were compared to reference drugs and normal fibroblasts. The ethanolic extract showed po tent antiproliferative activity against all breast cancer cell lines under investigation, w ith minimum toxicity towards the normal fibroblasts. The antiproliferative activity was further estimated for the major constituents against T47D cells and the major activ ity of the oil was mostly due to linalool and linalyl acetate. This is the first tim e to investigate the essential oil composition of the aerial parts of L. angustifolia using SPME. The findings of the present study demonstrated qualitative and quantita tive variation in the composition of the essential oil among the used methods.


Biometric data are personal data that result from specialized processing techniques and are associated with physical, biological, or behavioral characteristics of a natural person that allow for or confirm their unquestionable identification. These characteristics or identifiers are permanent and unique.
This paper refers to the biometric characteristics used by systems, their mode of operation, and the categories they are distinguished in. The types of attacks that they may be subjected to are then analyzed, along with the anti-spoofing methods proposed in some studies specifically for systems that use the face as a biometric feature. Finally, numerical data is presented regarding the scientific interest that the topic of anti-spoofing methods in biometric systems has shown in the last decade.


Using a double salt formed with an organic amine and a prepolymer prepared with styrene and acrylic acid as plasticizer and latent curing agent, a monocomponent, achromic and transparent epoxy resin coating with favorable toughness, good adhesion, excellent storage stability and could be cured at 80~120℃was prepared.


We present a novel framework for learning patterns of motion and sizes of objects in static camera surveillance. The proposed method provides a new higher-level layer to the traditional surveillance pipeline for anomalous event detection and scene model feedback. Pixel level probability density functions (pdfs) of appearance have been used for background modelling in the past, but modelling pixel level pdfs of object speed and size from the tracks is novel. Each pdf is modelled as a multivariate Gaussian mixture model (GMM) of the motion (destination location & transition time) and the size (width & height) parameters of the objects at that location. Output of the tracking module is used to perform unsupervised EM-based learning of every GMM. We have successfully used the proposed scene model to detect local as well as global anomalies in object tracks. We also show the use of this scene model to improve object detection through pixel-level parameter feedback of the minimum object size and background learning rate. Most object path modelling approaches first cluster the tracks into major paths in the scene, which can be a source of error. We avoid this by building local pdfs that capture a variety of tracks which are passing through them. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of actual surveillance videos proved the effectiveness of the proposed approach.


For most writers in the UK, the opening gambit in contemporary discussions about education and the economy is James Callaghan's Ruskin speech in October, 1976. As Labour Prime Minister, Callaghan launched the 'great debate' on education in response to growing criticism of educational standards, school organisation and a failure to meet the 'needs' of industry. The book edited by Williams, Daugherty and Banks was produced to mark the fifteenth anniversary of this debate. It begins with reflections on the intervening period from (now) Lord Callaghan and the Conservative former Secretary of State for Education and


Schiller turned to Kant's aesthetics in the low depression of French Revolution.He used art of free playing to transform Kant's "Beauty is not the purpose of the joint purpose of the object of universal enjoyable".The proposition that the arts can nurture a perfect human nature.Another transformation "Beauty is a symbol of morality"of Kant with the noble tragedy of proposition that noble and tragedies of the emotional pain caused by moral than enhance.People in the spirit of freedom and perfection,and contribute to people's aesthetic education.Schiller's aesthetic education through the promotion of art and aesthetic role in society and life,beauty in the division to unity,so that the areas of real tragedy and high into the aesthetic category system,to some extent,these efforts to overcome the inherent abstraction and purely speculative of Kant's aesthetics.


The kinetics of onset of rate-dependent depression of maximum rate of depolarisation (Vmax) of guinea-pig ventricular action potentials were studied for nine Class I anti-arrhythmic drugs using standard microelectrode techniques. The drugs were found to fall into three well-demarcated subgroups with "fast" (lignocaine, tocainide and mexiletine), "intermediate" (quinidine, disopyramide and procainamide) and "slow" (flecainide, encainide and lorcainide) kinetics. The "fast" drugs were found to share the ability to markedly prolong the effective refractory period (ERP) relative to the action potential duration (APD). The "slow" drugs had only minor effects on this parameter. The "intermediate" drugs produced small to moderate increases in ERP relative to APD but in addition significantly prolonged APD, which was shortened by the "fast" drugs. Thus, using the parameters of speed of onset of rate-dependent depression of Vmax and APD it was possible to subdivide the nine Class I drugs into three distinct subclasses.


ABSTRACT In vitro treatment of Echinococcus multilocularis and Echinococcus granulosus larval stages with the antimalarials dihydroartemisinin and artesunate (10 to 40 μM) exhibited promising results, while 6 weeks of in vivo treatment of mice infected with E. multilocularis metacestodes (200 mg/kg of body weight/day) had no effect. However, combination treatments of both drugs with albendazole led to a substantial but statistically not significant reduction in parasite weight compared to results with albendazole alone.


In the dynamical analysis structural modifications often appear for many reasons such as designer structural alterations, and discrepancies between predicted and measured properties of the structures. Furthermore, sometimes evaluating the eigenproperties of several structural systems, as non-classically damped structures or structural systems composed by a primary and a light secondary substructure, requires the adoption of the perturbation approach by considering the real structure as a modification of the original structure. In this paper an unconditionally stable step-by-step procedure able to evaluate both deterministic and stochastic responses of linear structural systems with dynamical modifications is presented. The proposed procedure overcomes the numerical drawbacks connected with the evaluation of the complex eigenproperties of the modified structure. The procedure is based on evaluating in approximate form the fundamental operator of the numerical procedure, either by a closed form expression or by an always convergent Taylor series, as a function of the transition matrix of the unmodified structure.


Considering the expansion of disaster losses caused by disasters chain effects,to establish the risk assessment model of disaster chain,this paper proposed a modeling method of disaster chain risk assessment based on complex network structure.At first,the evolution characteristic of disaster chains was characterized adopting complex network structure.The disaster chain mechanism was mathematical description based on the definition of disaster chain.Then,learning from the risk assessment method and model of supply chains,taking complex network as the carrier,we obtained the joint probability distribution of disaster loss grades of each node using Bayesian formula.And the risk assessment model of disaster chain was built up.The risk measurement mode was proposed that the risk loss expectation values of child nodes should be used to characterize the risk of child nodes acted by parent nodes.At last,using Typhoon disaster chain in Zhuhai as an application instance,we assessed the risk of Typhoon disaster chain.The results indicate that the model established has higher consistency with actual situation.That also shows the risk superposition of space and time has been considered in the assessment model taking disaster chain as the center,and the relationship between the disasters has been distinguished.So it can truly,quantitatively,accurately portray the risk caused by the disaster chain evolution process,and provide a reliable theoretical basis for the regional disaster risk management.


Internet searchers have dependably been the picked mode of data recovery (IR) frameworks. Clients are no more substance with issuing straightforward navigational questions. A complex inquiry, for example, go plan must be broken down into various mutually dependent steps over a time of time. For example, a client might first inquiry on conceivable ends of the line, timetable, occasions, and so forth. In the wake of choosing when and where to go, the client might then look for the most suitable plans for air tickets, rental autos, lodging, dinners, and so on. Each one stage obliges one or more inquiries, and each one inquiry brings about one or more clicks on applicable pages. Essential word based web search tools can't help this sort of various leveled questions. So we propose to utilize Random walk spread strategies that develop client profile focused around his accreditations from its client seek history vaults. Joined with click focuses driven click diagrams of client hunt practices the IR framework can help complex questions for future appeals at decreased times. Arbitrary walk spread over the question combination chart routines help complex inquiry journeys in IR frameworks at diminished times. For making the IR Systems viable and dynamic we likewise propose to utilize these inquiry missions as auto complete gimmicks in comparative question spreads. Biasing the positioning of query items can likewise be given utilizing any positioning algorithms (top-k algorithms).supporting these systems yields dynamic execution in IR frameworks, by giving advanced client questioning knowledge. A useful usage of the proposed framework accepts our case.


The density-functional theory (DFT) and density-functional perturbation theory (DFPT) are employed to study the electronic distributions and elastic properties of zinc-blende AlN and GaN. The linear charge density distributions along the [111] direction and charge density distribution of (001) planes for zinc-blende AlN and GaN are calculated. The total state of density and partial state of density of AlN and GaN are also calculated. Based on the optimized lattice parameters, the elastic constants and the internal strain parameters of zinc-blende AlN and GaN are calculated. The elastic tensors and compliance tensors are used to calculate Young's modulus of (101) planes.


Scientific analysis of regional tourism resources is an important task of tourism planning. Its spatial distribution has determined the direction of tourism development to a certain extent, thus it is vital to reveal the spatial features of tourism resources by the GIS method, which possesses excellent spatial analysis function. This paper used NNI, mean center, standard distance, and standard deviational ellipse to analysis excellent tourism resources of Suzhou. It comes to the conclusions that :(1) the excellent resources shows clustering pattern totally; (2) Grade 5 human tourism resources exhibited the most clustering in the ancient city of Suzhou, rather than others; (3) this spatial structure both had advantages and disadvantages to Suzhou tourism development. This paper reveals the spatial clustering and spatial distribution of eminent tourism resources in Suzhou, in order to give good advice to the scientific planning and balanced development in future.


The "Projecting Peace" project followed an international conference on "Imaging War," sponsored by the European Science Foundation in 2008. It considered how the "imagers of war" can be viewed through a range of disciplinary lenses, and explored how organized knowledge systems, scenarios, and stories are used to legitimate war and its consequences. Some of the major contributions to the conference were published in Peace Review in 2009 and formed the basis for the thinking behind "Projecting Peace," which was established to investigate how academics, activists, and practitioners (working as individuals or in groups or organizations) are researching, discussing, and working on peace projects.


We present a unified Hilbert space perspective to homogenization of a class of evolutionary equations of mathematical physics. We formulate homogenization in a purely operator-theoretic setting. Using "A structural observation for linear material laws in classical mathematical physics" by R. Picard (Mathematical Methods in the Applied Sciences 32 (2009), 1768-1803), we discuss constitutive relations as certain elements of the Hardy space H ∞ (E; L(H)) of bounded, analytic and operator- valued functions M : E → L(H), where E C open, H Hilbert space. The core idea is to introduce a certain topology on the set of constitutive relations. Given a convergent sequence of constitutive relations, the behavior of solutions to the respective problems is discussed. We apply the results to the equations of acoustics, thermodynamics, elasticity or coupled systems such as thermo-elasticity. The respective equations may also incorporate memory or delay terms and fractional derivatives. In particular, constitutive relations via differential equations can also be treated.


Seismic physical modeling has been used to test seismic survey technologies by analyzing the response of seismic amplitude. International studies on the R&D trend of seismic physical modeling have been performed. However, domestic studies on the R&D trend and prospect of seismic physical modeling have not been performed. Therefore, in this study, seismic physical modeling papers about 30years were investigated to understand the R&D trend of papers classified by theme, year, etc. According to the analysis results, the theme of domestic papers is limited than that of international papers. Also, the number of domestic papers published annually shows poor continuity. Prospecting the following seismic physical modeling with analysis results, the prospect will be expanded to various studies, such as the anisotropic characteristics using a complex anisotropic structural model, waveform inversion and migration for data processing of complex geological structure, various survey methods conducted seismic physical modeling.


The important conduction mechanism of anisotropic conductive films (ACFs) is the joint clamping force after curing and cooling-down processes of ACFs. In this study, the mechanism of shrinkage and contraction stresses and the relationship between these mechanisms and the thermo-mechanical properties of ACFs are investigated in detail. Both thickness shrinkages and modulus changes of four ACFs with different thermo-mechanical properties are experimentally investigated with thermo-mechanical and dynamic mechanical analysis. Based on the incremental approach to linear elasticity, contraction stresses of ACFs developed along the thickness direction are estimated. It was found that contraction stresses in ACFs were significantly developed during the cooling process from the glass transition temperature to room temperature. Moreover, electrical characteristics of ACF contact during the cooling process indicates that the electrical conduction of ACF joint is robustly maintained by large contraction stress below Tg The increasing rate of contraction stresses below Tg was strongly dependent on both thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) and elastic modulus (E) of ACFs. A linear relationship between the experimental increasing rate and EX CTE reveals that the build-up of contraction stress is closely correlated with the ACF material properties: thermal expansion coefficient, glassy modulus, and Tg.


By averaging the absolute age of lunar regolith materials from the Sea of Fertility for the fine regolith fraction from the core zone V, an age of 4.65 10 to the 9th power + 0.4 10 to the 9th power years was obtained, employing as the primordial Sr-87/Sr-86 ratio 0.69884 (ADOR). Also close to this age value is the age estimate based on the Pb-207/Pb-206 ratio. Using the value 0.69898 (BABI) as a primordial Sr-87/Sr-86 ratio reduces the calculated age of the fine regolith fraction to 4.25 X 10 to the 9th power years. The fine fraction of lunar regolith from the Sea of Fertility is also characterized by a minimum addition of radiogenic Sr-87, a minimum Rb/Sr ratio, and a maximum K/Rb ratio compared with analogous lunar material from other points.


We prove Ostrowski inequalities (regular and weighted cases) on time scales and thus unify and extend corresponding continuous and discrete versions from the literature. We also apply our results to the quantum calculus case.


We give a construction allowing us to build local renormalized solutions to general quasilinear stochastic PDEs within the theory of regularity structures, thus greatly generalizing the recent results of [1, 5, 11]. Loosely speaking, our construction covers quasilinear variants of all classes of equations for which the general construction of [3, 4, 7] applies, including in particular one‐dimensional systems with KPZ‐type nonlinearities driven by space‐time white noise. In a less singular and more specific case, we furthermore show that the counterterms introduced by the renormalization procedure are given by local functionals of the solution. The main feature of our construction is that it allows exploitation of a number of existing results developed for the semilinear case, so that the number of additional arguments it requires is relatively small. © 2018 the Authors. Communications on Pure and Applied Mathematics is published by the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


A new set of electronegativity (EN) scale for all trivalent lanthanides (Ln) is proposed on the basis of effective ionic potential, from which the electron‐attracting power of trivalent Ln can be well differentiated. This new scale can be used to qualitatively explain the valence stability and valence change of some typical trivalent Ln. Furthermore, the good linear relationships of the charge‐transfer energy of Ln3+ and the first dehydroxylation temperature in the agardite to the current EN scale of Ln3+ show us the further reasonableness of our new EN scale. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


Background The efficacy of low‐voltage‐area (LVA) ablation has not been well determined. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of LVA ablation in addition to pulmonary vein isolation on rhythm outcomes in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods and Results VOLCANO (Catheter Ablation Targeting Low‐Voltage Areas After Pulmonary Vein Isolation in Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation Patients) trial included paroxysmal AF patients undergoing initial AF ablation. Of 398 patients in whom a left atrial voltage map was obtained after pulmonary vein isolation, 336 (85%) had no LVA (group A). The remaining 62 (15%) patients with LVAs were randomly allocated to undergo LVA ablation (group B, n=30) or not (group C, n=32) in a 1:1 fashion. Primary end point was 1‐year AF‐recurrence‐free survival rate. No adverse events related to LVA ablation occurred. Procedural (124±40 versus 95±33 minutes, P=0.003) and fluoroscopic times (29±11 versus 24±8 minutes, P=0.034) were longer in group B than group C. Patients with LVAs demonstrated lower AF‐recurrence‐free survival rates (88%) than those without LVA (B, 57%, P<0.0001; C, 53%, P<0.0001). However, LVA ablation in addition to pulmonary vein isolation did not impact AF‐recurrence‐free survival rate (group B versus C, P=0.67). Conclusions The presence of LVA was a strong predictor of AF recurrence after pulmonary vein isolation in patients with paroxysmal AF. However, LVA ablation had no beneficial impact on 1‐year rhythm outcomes. Registration URL: https://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr; Unique identifier: UMIN000023403.


Background The area under the curve- (AUC-) guided vancomycin dosing is the best strategy for individualized therapy in critical illnesses. Since AUC can be calculated directly using drug clearance (CLvan), any parameter estimating CLvan will be able to achieve the goal of 24-hour AUC (AUC24 h). The present study was aimed to determine CLvan based on 6-hour urine creatinine clearance measurement in critically ill patients with normal renal function. Method 23 adult critically ill patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥60 mL/min who received vancomycin infusion were enrolled in this pilot study. Vancomycin pharmacokinetic parameters were determined for each patient using serum concentration data and a one-compartment model provided by MONOLIX software using stochastic approximation expectation-maximization (SAEM) algorithm. Correlation of CLvan with the measured creatinine clearance in 6-hour urine collection (CL6 h) and estimated creatinine clearance by the Cockcroft–Gault formula (CLCG) was investigated. Results Data analysis revealed that CL6 h had a stronger correlation with CLvan rather than CLCG (r = 0.823 vs. 0.594; p < 0.001 vs. 0.003). The relationship between CLvan and CL6 h was utilized to develop the following equation for estimating CLvan: CLvan (mL/min) = ─137.4 + CL6 h (mL/min) + 2.5 IBW (kg) (R2 = 0.826, p < 0.001). Regarding the described model, the following equation can be used to calculate the empirical dose of vancomycin for achieving the therapeutic goals in critically ill patients without renal impairment: total daily dose of vancomycin (mg) = (─137.4CL6-h (mL/min) + 2.5 IBW (kg)) × 0.06 AUC24 h (mg.hr/L). Conclusion For AUC estimation, CLvan can be obtained by collecting urine in a 6-hour period with good approximation in critically ill patients with normal renal function.


Abstract In clinical practice, the diagnosis of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is made by history and by the Dix-Hallpike maneuver. The condition is frequently treated in clinic with t...


With the increasing incidence of malignant tumors and the improvement of the relevant diagnosis and treatment,oncology has become an independent discipline.However,oncology is not being treated as an independent curriculum in most of the medical universities in China.Furthermore,the lack of unified syllabus and relevant textbooks,the shortage of faculty,and the outdated teaching mode seriously affect the the development of oncology.Therefore,it is suggested in the present paper that we should strengthen and improve the education of oncology by speeding up the construction of oncology curriculum,establish the new teaching mode,and modify the teaching methods.


We study entanglement harvesting for matter systems such as atoms, ions or molecules, whose center of mass degrees of freedom are quantum delocalized and which couple to a relativistic quantum field. We employ a generalized Unruh-deWitt detector model for the light-matter interaction, and we investigate how the coherent spreading of the quantum center of mass wave function of two delocalized detector systems impacts their ability to become entangled with one another, via their respective interaction with a quantum field. For very massive detectors with initially highly localized centers of mass, we recover the results of entanglement harvesting for pointlike Unruh-deWitt detectors with classical center of mass degrees of freedom. We find that entanglement harvesting is Gaussian suppressed in the initial center of mass delocalization of the detectors. We further find that spatial smearing profiles, which are commonly employed to model the finite size of atoms due to their atomic orbitals, are not suited to model center of mass delocalization. Finally, for coherently delocalized detectors, we compare entanglement harvesting in the vacuum to entanglement harvesting in media. We find that entanglement harvesting is significantly suppressed in media in which the wave propagation speed is much smaller than the vacuum speed of light.


The paper, co-authored by Professor Yusuf Saleem and Ghaith Mahaini of INCEIF, looks at the opportunities of developing a fixed deposit product using the contract of salaam.


It takes lots of time and effort to achieve success with your animals on show day. Success requires long hours of preparation and often doesn't come with your first show.


Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) is a national program developed by Cooperative Extension's federal partner, Cooperative State, Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES). In collaboration with its federal partner and in concert with state extension systems across the nation, UVM Extension conducted an organizational change survey in 1998, 2000, and 2004 with a selected sample of UVM Extension professionals to determine the organization's capacity to address issues of CYFAR. Findings from these three surveys showed that Extension had not substantively altered its organizational practices in alignment with the goals of the national program. In order to stimulate new strategic planning for the program, this study set about to assess the capacity of staff from UVM Extension to promote organizational learning. Grounded in the literature of organizational learning, this study administered a 43 item survey instrument called the Dimension of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) to Extension employees. As a strategic planning tool, the survey identifies organizational learning opportunities at the individual, team, and organizational level. Following the Total Design Method, the web-based survey was launched September 2006, with a response rate of 68% (n=63). Findings from the new survey continue to indicate limited organizational capacity to meet national goals for CYFAR program. Interestingly, nearly 70% of survey respondents reported participation in programming for children, youth and families at risk, a percentage greater than those formally assigned to CYFAR activities. Regardless of formal assignment, however, CYFAR employees and non-CYFAR employees did not significantly differ in their survey responses across a variety of organizational measures. Prior training to develop organizational capacity in line with national goals appears to be falling short of expectations. Implications for these shortcomings are discussed and used to frame an action plan for development of this program.


Compressive covariance sensing (CCS) can recover the second-order statistics of a signal that has undergone compression, and this can be achieved without the requirement of sparsity conditions. Instead, certain structure information in the statistical domain is to be captured during compression. In particular, least squares compressive covariance sensing is considered which requires the estimation of the covariance of the available compressed signal in order to recover the covariance matrix of the original signal. Different covariance estimation methods are applied and the CCS performance compared, in the presence of white Gaussian noise, in terms of the normalized mean square error between the true and recovered covariance.


reason why the tripartite structure here ought to map onto the 'composer, performer, listener' paradigm so frequently derided by Savage. That one nonetheless feels as if it ought to suggests that either the structure or the content is unable to mediate between the old and new paradigms effectively. Specifically, the false oppositions that frame each of the three parts are, for this reader, a distraction. In another respect, Savage himself is not averse to making use of this new construction paradigm within his own practice as an author: the literature upon which he draws is truly diverse and sometimes rather patchy as a result. On one occasion, early on in the book, a rather unlikely consensus on the issue of authenticity (of all things) results from a quick blast through Adorno (via Žiz› ek), David Byrne, Howard Goodall, and Oliver Sacks (p. 47). Elsewhere, Barthes and especially Attali are themselves 'repurposed'. Savage's engagement with Attali's Noise, for example, forces us to ask important questions of Attali's notion of composition as a foil to productive labour. Whether the same notion helps to explain contemporary construction practices, as Savage suggests, depends on one's reading of Attali. Even if Apple's GarageBand represents an example of the 'widespread, democratized composition which [Attali] identified at the time as a kind of ''abstract utopia'' ' (p. 164) it remains unclear whether Attali, writing in the 1970s, would recognize this practice as 'the insertion of culture into production' (p. 165); in any case, we need not follow Attali in order to observe that, Apple's corporatist creed could equally be read as 'the insertion of production into culture'. To recognize differences between the economic, cultural and intellectual contexts between 1970s France and our own time is not simply analogous to the determinism Savage attacks elsewhere: it is to take our own political nightmare a little more seriously. But, for all that, Steve Savage's work still offers a compelling reminder of the need to think critically about the relationship today between people, music, and technology; though unbalanced in places, his is an optimistic account that places human agency and collaboration at its heart. RODDY HAWKINS University of Manchester


This paper presents a system for creating a mosaic image from a sequence of images with moving objects present in the scene. This system first uses SIFT-based image registration on the entire image to obtain the initial global projection matrix. After image segmentation, the global motion model is applied to each region for evaluation. The transformation matrix is refined for best projection in each region, and a more precise global transformation matrix is calculated based upon local projections on majority of coherent regions. As a consequence this method is robust to disturbances to the projection model induced by moving objects and motion parallax. In the image blending stage, pixels in coherent regions are weighted by their distances from the overlapping edges to achieve a seamless panorama, while heterogeneous regions are cut and pasted to avoid ghosting or blurring. The most recent information regarding location, shape, and size of the moving foreground objects is therefore reflected in the panorama. Constructed mosaics are presented to demonstrate the performance and robustness of the proposed algorithm.


EDITOR—Firstly, can we put Harold Shipman aside?1 2 What he did was horrible, but basing a system of revalidation on the actions of a psychopathic mass murderer is absurd. No matter what system is put in place, it will not stop the psychopath, just as all the fences in the world will not stop a suicide bomber.

The whole problem with …


Many researchers have recently discussed congestion in Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Their arguments did not pay attention to several economic implications derived from its dual formulations. Meanwhile, this study explores such dual formulations related to DEA congestion and discusses these economic implications in production economics, all of which are not explored in these previous studies.


In the multiscale numerical simulation of polymer crystallization during the processing period, flow and temperature of the polymer melt are simulated on the macroscale level, while nucleation and growth of the spherulite are simulated at the mesoscale level. As a part of the multiscale simulation, the meso-simulation requires a fast solving speed because the meso-simulation software must be run several times in every macro-element at each macro-step. Meanwhile, the accuracy of the calculation results is also very important. It is known that the simulation geometry of crystallization includes planar (2D) and three-dimensional space (3D). The 3D calculations are more accurate but more expensive because of the long CPU time consumed. On the contrary, 2D calculations are always much faster but lower in accuracy. To reach the desirable speed and high accuracy at the same time, an algorithm is presented, in which the Delesse law coupled with the Monte Carlo method and pixel method are employed to simulate the nucleation, growth, and impingement of the polymer spherulite at the mesoscale level. Based on this algorithm, a software is developed with the Visual C++ language, and its numerical examples' results prove that the solving speed of this algorithm is as fast as the 2D classical simulation and the calculation accuracy is at the same level as the 3D simulation.


Objective To explore the preventive and therapeutic effects of oxymatrine(OMT)on lung injury in the rat model of septic shock.Methods Fifty-six male SD rats were randomly divided into 7 groups:sham operation group,OMT control group,model(CLP)group,CLP+OMT high,middle-dose group,low-dose group,positive control group.The pulmonary function was evaluated with blood gas,the ratio between wet weight of the lung and dry weight of the lung,PWI and pulmonary moisture capacity,gross changes and pathological changes examined with lightmicroscope in the pulmonary tissue.Results OMT could significantly elevate the content of PaO2,SaO2,significantly decrease the content of PaCO2,HCO-3(P0.05),significantly decrease the ratio between wet weight of the lung and dry weight of the lung,PWI and pulmonary moisture capacity(P0.05),improve the condition of pulmonary hyperemia、edema,infiltrate of heterophil granulocyte and emerge of asphyxial membrane and alleviate the inflammatory reaction.Conclusion OMT could antagonize the lung injury in a rat model of septic shock.


BACKGROUND: Treatment options for brain metastases are limited due to the inability of most anti-cancer agents to cross the blood brain barrier (BBB). ANG1005 is a novel peptide-taxane conjugate, being developed for targeted treatment of brain metastases. It consists of 3 paclitaxel molecules covalently linked to Angiopep-2 designed to cross the BBB and to penetrate malignant cells via the LDL receptor related protein-1 (LRP-1) transport system. METHODS: Adult patients with measurable recurrent brain metastases from breast cancer with, or without, leptomeningeal disease are being enrolled in this multi-center, open-label study, for up to 56 patients. ANG1005 is administered IV at 600 mg/m2 q21d (one cycle). HER2+ patients are allowed to continue HER2 targeted therapies. The primary endpoint is intracranial objective response rate, as per CNS RECIST v.1.1. An imaging sub-study, comparing 18F-FLT-PET to MRI, is also ongoing in 10 patients with brain metastases from breast cancer. RESULTS: Accrual is ongoing and to date, 48 patients have been treated with a range of 1-18 cycles of ANG1005. Median age is 47 years (range: 26-65). Safety profile has been similar to paclitaxel with myelosuppression as the predominating toxicity. Based on data from patients evaluated to date for intracranial response, 6/30 (20%) patients had a partial response (PR) and 17/30 (57%) had a stable disease (SD). Among patients with leptomeningeal disease, 4/11 (36%) had a PR. The longest duration on treatment is for 18 cycles, seen in a patient with a PR that sustained for 10 cycles. Furthermore, ANG1005 treatment resulted in disease control in extracranial lesions in all 14 evaluated patients (1 PR and 13 SD), even after prior taxane therapy. CONCLUSIONS: The efficacy and safety data to date suggest that ANG1005 is a promising therapy for treatment of brain and leptomeningeal metastases from breast cancer.


We have focused on the synthesis, characterization, and ab initio theory on multi-functional mixed-metal fluorides. With funding from the DOE, we have successfully synthesized and characterized a variety of mixed metal fluoride materials.


The invention relates to a passenger stairs or passenger bridge (1) with an approximately U-shaped portal frame (3), for receiving a canopy (10), arranged on the passenger stairs or bridge. The canopy at least comprises a bellows (5) and actuating means (9) for the bellows, wherein the actuating means (9) for the bellows is connected with the portal frame (3) and the portal frame (3) is provided with an adapter device.


Humans have a different view of life, but human life should have the same guidelines. Especially man must believe in Allah. Beautiful Names are good names for Allah, as proof of his kemahaagungan and perfection. The purpose and goal of his is to visualize the Beautiful Names in Arabic Calligraphy Painting by KhatKhatTsuluts Pharisee And, with the aim that people always remember his greatness through Arabic calligraphy and handwriting khat- know about the beauty of Arabic calligraphy, especially the Pharisees and KhatkhatTsuluts. The techniques or methods used to mature the use of color to reinforce the character on the object itself and based on the elements and principles of art using calligraphy handwriting on each work with one verse AsmaulHusna. The author expects the presence of works made can increase knowledge and insight on the author himself, armed from existing experiences that gave birth to works of Arabic calligraphy painting with its main object clause is Beautiful Names. Kata Kunci : Allah, Asmaul Husna, Lukisan, Kaligrafi.


-Noise prope 向 I and noise origin for double layered perpendicular magnetic recording media were studied in terms ofthe medium design and fabrica-tion. It was found that medium noise from recording layer increased by introducing a soft magnetic backlayer. This might due to increase of a magnetic do ・ main size of recording laye r. In a Co- Cr system , some intermediate layers were found to reduce the medium noise of the recording layer. The still remained noise was thought due to the magnetization irregularity of the head-on like transition in the backlayer that w 出 atfected by the recording layer magnetization.


Constant Velocity Joint (CVJ) mechanisms enable torque transmission between two shafts at a fixed or variable angle. Cross groove CVJs are typically used in high performance automotive applications due to their versatility and light weight. Critical failure modes, such as pitting or abrasive wear, occur due to the harsh tribological conditions at ball reversals. In this research, an existing mathematical model is developed further for the case of cross groove CVJs including an accurate contact mechanics model. The developed model is validated against a published data set from literature. Surface topography of worn raceways are experimentally measured and the results from the developed model are corroborated with the measured surface parameters. This improved model shows the correlations between predicted contact force variation and wear scar depths during ball reversals, hitherto not reported in the literature.


A discussion of the agronomic theory of placing plant nutrients in the root zone of ornamental trees and plants by high pressure hydraulic injection. Definite beneficial effects of deep root injection feeding by high pressure in jection of plant nutrients have been observed in tree and ornamental plant installation and main tenance. The response outperformed conventional surface applications of plant nutrients. Specula tion is made on the value of the addition of nematicides as well as systemic fungicides and insecticides to the plant nutrient injection. Deep root injection feeding is an effective method of tree and plant maintenance that does not violate the ecology.


Background: Bacterial Conjunctivitis or red eye being highly communicable need to be tackle at the earliest. Newer antibiotics may kill bacteria more rapidly. Thus, we aim to assess and compare microbiological efficacy of Moxifloxacin (0.5%) plus Vancomycin (2.5%) combined therapy to Fortified Vancomycin (5%) in relation to organism isolated in positive culture of bacterial conjunctivitis. Methods: The present study was conducted on patients who presented at Ophthalmology OPD, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital, Aligarh and Gandhi Eye Hospital, Aligarh. The patients with bilateral conjunctivitis were included in the study. Right eyes were instilled moxifloxacin plus vancomycin combination therapy and Left eyes were instilled fortified vancomycin. Microbiological outcomes were recorded on first visit and on follow up visits during course of treatment.
Results: A total of 35 patients were included in the study. At first visit, 14 cases were positive with coagulase negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) being the most common organisms. All the positive smears became negative in first follow-up (3rd day) in both the groups. No significant difference was found in microbiological study outcome between the two-study groups.
Conclusions: We conclude that both the drugs, i.e. moxifloxacin (0.5%) plus vancomycin (2.5%) combined therapy and fortified vancomycin (5%) had good efficiency in microbial elimination in cases of bacterial conjunctivitis with equivalent outcome and can be considered as an alternative to other antimicrobial therapy in bacterial conjunctivitis.


Shaped phase change plate was successfully prepared by impregnating Na2SO4 solution in rice straws,using Portland cement as the cementing agent followed by compression molding.The properties of the plate,like tensile-strength,insulation performance,flame retardant properties and so on,were tested,and the microstructure of the plate were also studied by scanning electron microscopy(SEM).The results show that the rice straws in the plate can encapsulate 4 times Na2SO4·10H2O in mass,tensile-strength of the plate was 0.96 MPa.After 30 cycles of phase change,the mass loss was 1.87%,and the burning degree was FH-1 specified in standard GB/T 2408—1996.For shaped phase change plate,when the heated surface temperature was 80 ℃ and the initial cold surface temperature was 14.5 ℃,the needed time for the cold surface temperature rising to 25 ℃ was 17 h,which were 5 h longer than rice straw plates without impregnating Na2SO4 solution.When the heating had maintained for 5 h,the cold surface temperature increased by only 2.7 ℃.This result reflects that it is significant in energy-saving.With the shaped phase change plate as the walling materials,people could feel comfortable indoor without chilling unit in summer.


An engineering approach is presented for database generation of aerodynamic force and moment coefficients on Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) during separation from a Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle. The approach balances accuracy and affordability by generating a steadystate database of solutions using the inviscid flow solver Cart3D with adjoint based adaptive mesh refinement. The procedure also includes point checking the database using the viscous Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes solver OVERFLOW. The simulation matrix consists of 3 degrees of freedom by planar translation and rotation of the SRBs from their original attached positions. Good agreement with viscous multi-species simulations has confirmed that the single-species inviscid assumptions are valid for this plume impingement flow. The database provides axial forces, side forces, and yaw moments on the SRBs during separation from the core. This data is to be used for vehicle and trajectory planning to avoid re-contacting the core.


Using a high performance electron gun, electron-induced ionization and excitation of fullerene ion beams is achieved in the second field-free region of a reversed-geometry double-focusing mass spectrometer. Excitation of mass-selected C60z+ ion beams leads to consecutive C2 eliminations, which are observed in mass-analyzed ion kinetic energy (MIKE) spectra. Electron-induced decay of the ions takes place on a short time scale of 0–3 μs. Average kinetic energy release (KER) values were determined for the electron-induced C2 eliminations from C60z+ ions with z = 2–4 and were invariably found to be higher than for the corresponding spontaneous eliminations. The results are interpreted as being due to a time-dependent KER, since the non-fixed energy in the transition state is increased for higher internal energies and shorter lifetimes of the reactant ions. These results are compared with time-resolved KER values obtained previously, using an ion trap/reflectron instrument, for C2 elimination from C60+. The two sets of data are modeled by finite heat bath theory (FHBT) using calculated rate energy dependencies. Calculations are performed using currently available information on the activation parameters. The dissociation is modeled with an Arrhenius pre-exponential factor, A = 5 × 1019 s−1 (at a temperature KBT = 0.2 eV) and a vaporization (activation) energy ΔEvap = 10.3 eV. Modeling the data necessitates inclusion of radiative decay in parallel with the dissociation. Radiative decay is dominant at times longer than a few microseconds.


The landscape complex "The Dzieckowice Ridge and Przemsza Gap" is placed on the border of two mesoregions (Kondracki 2009): Jaworzno Hills (341.14) and Katowice Upland (341.13). This terrain belongs to Myslowice town, the part of upper silesian agglomeration. The specificity of this complex results mainly from its geological structure. This structure has an effect on the vegetation cover. The Przemsza Gap, placed in the south part of this complex, came into being on the tectonics leap line, related to alpine orogenesis. The aim of the paper is to systematize knowledge regarding natural values of presented area and the test of updating of route natural walkway, proposed by Pasek-Dobinska and Plackowska-Slupska (2006).


To research on establishment conditions of hypoxic rat model in vascular endothelial cells and its morphological characteristics,primary cultured rat vascular endothelial cells were incubated for 12 hours and 24 hours in the 5%CO2-95%N2 mixed air(the 18.3 mmHg partial pressure of the oxygen).The hypoxia model was determined by MTT assay,lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) activity and cytoskeleton stain.When the vascular endothelial cells were cultured under hypoxia for 12 hours,the survival rate of vascular endothelial cells was decreased,the LDH activity level was increased and cytoskeleton was complete.After the vascular endothelial cells were cultured under hypoxia for 24 hours,the survival rate of vascular endothelial cells was decreased,the LDH activity level was increased and cytoskeleton was broken.Result showed that the hypoxic rat model in vascular endothelial cells could be established when the cells were cultured under hypoxia for 24 hours(the 18.3 mmHg partial pressure of the oxygen).


Flutter test technique is an important test technique for studying the flutter characteristic of aircraft and evaluating the safety flight boundary of aircraft.In order to meet the requirements of adjusting dynamical pressure under constant Mach number and adjusting linear Mach number under constant total pressure in the flutter test in 2.4m wind tunnel,an intelligent control tactics of adjusting dynamical pressure was designed based on the law of motion and an intelligent subsection PI,as adjusting linear Mach number based on motion function.It was proved that the application of the strategies mentioned above could satisfy the special requirements of flutter test,with which the flow field regulating effect in practical wind tunnel test was more swift,exact and reliable than ever.


This study evaluates the agreement between ozone profiles derived from the ground-based differential absorption lidar (DIAL), satellite-borne Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), and 3-D chemical transport model (CTM) simulations such as the Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate (MIROC-CTM) over the Atmospheric Observatory of Southern Patagonia (Observatorio Atmosférico de la Patagonia Austral, OAPA; 51.6 S, 69.3W) in Río Gallegos, Argentina, from September to November 2009. In this austral spring, measurements were performed in the vicinity of the polar vortex and inside it on some occasions; they revealed the variability in the potential vorticity (PV) of measured air masses. Comparisons between DIAL and MLS were performed between 6 and 100 hPa with 500 km and 24 h coincidence criteria. The results show a good agreement between DIAL and MLS with mean differences of ±0.1 ppmv (MLS−DIAL, n= 180) between 6 and 56 hPa. MIROC-CTM also agrees with DIAL, with mean differences of ±0.3 ppmv (MIROC-CTM−DIAL, n= 23) between 10 and 56 hPa. Both comparisons provide mean differences of 0.5 ppmv (MLS) to 0.8–0.9 ppmv (MIROC-CTM) at the 83– 100 hPa levels. DIAL tends to underestimate ozone values at this lower altitude region. Between 6 and 8 hPa, the MIROCCTM ozone value is 0.4–0.6 ppmv (5–8 %) smaller than those from DIAL. Applying the scaled PV (sPV) criterion for matching pairs in the DIAL–MLS comparison, the variability in the difference decreases 21–47 % between 10 and 56 hPa. However, the mean differences are small for all pressure levels, except 6 hPa. Because ground measurement sites in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) are very sparse at midto high latitudes, i.e., 35–60 S, the OAPA site is important for evaluating the bias and long-term stability of satellite instruments. The good performance of this DIAL system will be useful for such purposes in the future.


The soil type in the test plot is not known, but it was probably Catherine Series, silt loam, with less than 3% organic matter. Each plot was 6 rows wide (34 inch apart) and 50 ft long. Each treatment was replicated 4 times in a randomized complete block design. Potatoes were planted on May 7, 1971. Test materials were sidedressed on May 19, using tractor-mounted Gandy applicators; granules were placed in 1 inch bands, 4 inch to each side and level with the potato seed pieces. The plots were rill irrigated. One row per plot was harvested on October 4. Injury (any penetration of a tuber by wireworms) was assessed based on percent injured by weight. Percentages of injured tubers were transformed to X + 0.5 and analyzed by analysis of variance and Duncan's new multiple range test.


One of the major weaknesses of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is the energy consumption because of limited battery resource and battery replacement or recharging difficulty. The energy consumption can be controlled in WSNs by more than one layer. The research presented in this work aims to reduce the energy consumption in the physical layer because most of the energy consumption occurs in this layer. Furthermore, such use will also enhance energy efficiency, bit error rate (BER), and throughput of the wireless sensor network. In this work, the WSNs nodes are divided into five clusters. Also, four different systems have been proposed according to the type of transceiver technique used in WSNs. The proposed four systems are analyzed, simulated and evaluated with the Additive White Gaussian Noises (AWGN) and Rayleigh flat fading channels. The results show that system 4 achieves the best energy efficiency performance compared with the other three systems at lower SNR up to −4dB. While, system 1 achieves better energy efficiency performance at high Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) from 23dB and more.


Let \(S\) be a dominating set of a graph \(G\). The set \(S\) is called a pendant dominating set of \(G\) if the induced subgraph of \(S\) contains a minimum of one node of degree one. The minimum cardinality of the pendant dominating set in \(G\) is referred to as the pendant domination number of \(G\), indicated by \(\gamma_{pe}(G)\). This article analyzes the effect of \(\gamma_{pe}(G)\) when an arbitrary node or edge is removed.


The scope of this paper is to present two different ways of managing documentation in the domain of software projects. Documentation is the foundation upon which projects are built, however, the creation of large-scale documentation is often an ineffective act that can jeopardize project progress. On the other hand, modern software development methodologies advocate a different approach that balances the scope and content of documentation. Throughout this paper, we will provide a comparative analysis that can help us better see the differences between the two approaches.


RC6 is a symmetric-key algorithm which encrypts 128-bit plaintext blocks to 128-bit ciphertext blocks. The encryption process involves four operations: integer addition modulo 2, bitwise exclusive or of two w-bit words, rotation to the left, and computation of f(X) = (X(2X + 1)) mod 2, which is the critical arithmetic operation of this block cipher. In this paper, we investigate and compare four implementations of the f(X) operator on Virtex-E and Virtex-II devices. Our experiments show that the choice of an algorithm is strongly related to the target FPGA family. We also describe several architectures of a RC6 processor designed for feedback or non-feedback chaining modes. Our fastest implementation achieves a throughput of 15.2 Gb/s on a Xilinx XC2V3000-6 device.


The results of this study are as follows: Based on the growth data of Micropterus Salmoides in intensive aquaculture base, a growth model is proposed. Due to the limited conditions in the actual growth process, it is impossible to weigh each fish too often frequently. Therefore, the first step is to interpolate the weight data of each fish every half a month. The second step is to use the growth curve to fit the interpolated weight data. The second step is to use the growth curve to fit the interpolated weight data and calculate the growth model. The third step is to test the validity of the model with test data and to decide the choice of the model. The experimental results showed that the model we calculated accords with the growth pattern of Micropterus Salmoides under culture conditions is effectual.


A reasoning method for ternary projective relations of points on a sphere was proposed based on the analysis of the model and unique properties of the spherical surface.The reasoning method can get the converses and rotations of eight spherical projective relations,and the compositions of the eight spherical projective relations.These results are shown in tables.By querying the tables,the unknown spherical projective relations can be obtained from those already known.This reasoning method completes the spherical projective relational models and lays the foundation for its practical application.


Traffic accident has now become a very serious problem in the world. In fact to tackle the problem of increasing traffic accident, analysis of the situations are deemed necessary and the plans should be designed on the basis of the results of analysis. This study provides methodological analysis of accident frequency and severity. Traffic accident distributions are discussed in terms of locations, frequency, vehicles and duration. The maximum percentage of accident is occurred by rickshaw. Regression model analysis is used for the analysis of accidents using SPSS. The frequency of accidents has been established and trend of frequency of involvement in the road accident by the registered vehicles and population has been statistically formulated. Here dependent variable is number of accident and independent variables are registered Vehicle and population. Finally, it is found that regression model data is closed to the collected accident data.


A seismic parameter of paramount importance to 'velocity ' , the explorationist is To aid in the determination of this elusive quantity, the assumptions of elasticity and isotropy are routinely made. The elasticity criterion means that wave propagation is non-dispersive, thereby implying that velocity is frequency-independent. The isotropy hypothesis allows us to conclude that the velocity is also direction-independent. A disquieting fact though, is that even if these 2 assumptions are valid for all rock components in the earth, the seismic section can still exhibit evidence of behavior which is neither elastic nor isotropic.


Our historical moment calls for an open, honest, and shame-free debate about the best way to teach about sex and gender in K-12 education, argues Kappan's editor-in-chief. This issue of the magazine offers pieces on sexual abuse in schools, adolescent sexual health and behavior, the teaching of differing gender norms, gender and school leadership, and more.


Metallic silicon contains metal elements(iron,aluminum,calcium,etc.).Compared to pure silicon,the content of silicon in low-cost metallic silicon is from 60% to 99.9%.Metallic silicon is used as an anode material of lithium ion batteries.The electrochemical lithium storages of metallic silicon and pure silicon were investigated.The results show that for different contents of electrical conductors,the first discharge and charge specific capacity of metallic silicon is greater than that of pure silicon.The irreversible specific capacity of metallic silicon is 70% while that of pure silicon is 85%,and the cycle property of metallic silicon is one time greater than that of pure silicon.Also,the experiments were performed at different charging and discharging currents for metallic silicon and pure silicon,respectively.The lithium storage property of metallic silicon is better at a lower charging and discharging current,and the discharge and charge specific capacity of metallic silicon is similar after several cycles,compared to pure silicon.The process of charging and discharging results show that the lithium storage character of metallic silicon is similar to that of pure silicon.The structural transformation after the silicon material alloying and de-alloying reaction with Li was also analyzed by X-ray diffraction.It was indicated that metal silicon formed the irreversible Li13Si4 and Li12Si7 phases in the recharge cycles process.These irreversible phases could consume Si in the material,leading to the capacity attenuation.During charging and discharging,the crystalline Si became amorphous gradually.


Debates are very popular in Universities even in all society.Refutation,as one of the important logical methods to explore and develop truth is often used in debates.In order to strengthen the power of refutation,it is necessary to master some methods.


Storage of milkfish liquid smoke vacuum packaging is stored with variations in temperature (room temperature and cold temperature) and storage time. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of milkfish storage in vacuum packaging liquid with temperature variations (room temperature and cold temperature) as well as storage time on moisture content, TVN and sensory properties. This study used a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) consisting of 2 factors, factor I was variation in temperature (room temperature and cold temperature) and factor 2 was storage time (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 days). The results of the research on TVN levels and moisture content showed that all treatments both time and temperature variations during storage were 20 days, the levels of TVN and moisture content still met SNI. Sensory testing of the color of the texture and aroma of all treatments both time and temperature variations are not significantly different. except for the texture stored in cold temperatures on the 10th and 20th days, it is significantly different


The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal bolus dose of remifentanil required for the successful insertion of the laryngeal mask airway during propofol induction in children without a neuromuscular blocking agent. Twenty‐six paediatric patients, aged 3–10 years, requiring anaesthesia for short ambulatory surgery were recruited. A predetermined bolus dose of remifentanil was injected over 30 s, followed by propofol 2.5 mg.kg−1 over 10 s. The bolus dose of remifentanil was determined by a modified Dixon's up‐and‐down method, starting from 0.5 μg.kg−1 (0.1 μg.kg−1 as a step size). Laryngeal mask insertion was attempted 90 s after the end of remifentanil injection and the response of patients was classified as either 'movement' or 'no movement'. The bolus dose of remifentanil at which there was a 50% probability of successful laryngeal mask insertion (ED50) during induction with 2.5 mg.kg−1 propofol was 0.56 (0.07) μg.kg−1 in children without a neuromuscular blocking agent. From probit analysis, the ED50 and ED95 of remifentanil were 0.52 μg.kg−1 (95% confidence limits, 0.42–0.62 μg.kg−1) and 0.71 μg.kg−1 (95% confidence limits, 0.61–1.40 μg.kg−1), respectively.


This book is the first study to consider the extraordinary manuscript now known as the Carrara Herbal (British Library, Egerton 2020) within the complex network of medical, artistic and intellectual traditions from which it emerged. The manuscript contains an illustrated, vernacular copy of the thirteenth-century pharmacopeia by Ibn Sarabi, an Arabic-speaking Christian physician working in al-Andalus known in the West as Serapion the Younger. By 1290, Serapion's treatise was available in Latin translation and circulated widely in medical schools across the Italian peninsula.


Discrete Chebyshev moments (due to discrete polynomial basis) do not have the discretization errors that continuous-domain Legendre and Zernike moments contain. Calculation of polynomial basis coefficients of discrete moments is generally performed using recurrence relationships. Such recurrence equations cause numerical error accumulation especially for calculation of higher-order moments and for larger image sizes, causing significant degradation of image reconstruction from these moments. A method for better image reconstruction from high orders of discrete Chebyshev moments is demonstrated. This is accomplished by calculating Chebyshev polynomial coefficients directly from their definition formulas using arbitrary precision arithmetic and by forming lookup tables from these coefficients.


The objective of the current study was to examine the risk factors for progression in severity of anthracycline‐induced cardiac dysfunction, thereby providing information that is useful in refining cancer treatment regimes and guiding follow‐up.


: The importance of predicting outdoor performance of tandem solar devices is growing, as silicon-based tandem solar cells approach industrialization. A 2-terminal configuration has the advantage of lower parasitic absorption and less electrical wiring at module level as compared to a 4-terminal device. However, a 2-terminal tandem device is sensitive to current-mismatch losses. As a result, there is a strong interest to determine the outdoor energy yield in addition to the STC efficiency in order to evaluate the real impact of current-mismatch losses on the energy yield. We compare the energy yield, harvesting efficiency and performance ratio of a silicon-based dual junction solar cell in 2-and 4-terminal configuration to a silicon single junction device for different locations in the world. We find that changes due to current mismatch do not lead to a relevant decrease in harvesting efficiency in 2-terminal tandem solar cells and thus are no reason to principally prefer 4-terminal tandem solar cells. The assumption that current mismatch might be a severe issue in 2-terminal tandems does not hold – they show similar performance as silicon single-junction devices. Note that the performance ratio of 4-terminal tandems shows a lower dependence on location than 2-terminal tandems as well as single junction solar cells, and thus for certain locations show an exceptionally high performance ratio.


Distribution-free methods are considered for comparing the medians of k1 treatments to the medians of k2 controls in the one-way layout under the assumption of equal sample sizes within the treatments and equal sample sizes within the controls. The problem is motivated by a biomedical example. For Mann-Whitney statistics, exact one-sided tests and simultaneous confidence intervals are developed for the case of k1 = k2 = 2. Upper bounds for the Type 1 error probability are established for general k\ and k2. Asymptotic probability points and asymptotically optimal designs are developed for use with Chernoff- Savage statistics.


Our laboratory has previously developed several radiotracers that can be used to noninvasively assess regional cardiac sympathetic nerve integrity in the living human, including radioiodinated meta-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) for single-photon imaging studies' and ["C]meta-hydroxyephedrine (HED) for PET imaging studies2. However, the kinetic properties of the current generation of neuronal imaging agents are not conducive to quantitative analysis with compartmental modeling techniques, which limits our ability to obtain sensitive measures of neuronal density. In an effort to develop a sympathetic nerve tracer with more favorable kinetic properties for compartmental modeling, we synthesized a "C-labeled analog of tranyl~ypromine~ (TCP), a suicide inhibitor of monoamine oxidase (MAO) that is also a substrate for neuronal uptake by the norepinephrine transporter (NET). In principle, a NET substrate that is transpoited into sympathetic neurons more slowly than HED and is . subsequently trapped intraneuronally by a rapid and irreversible binding process would possess ideal kinetic properties for absolute quantification of neuronal density.


Introduction: Study of temporal variation of bird assemblages may be particularly important in highly dynamic ecosystems as fluvial wetlands to identify the factors that influence and contribute to maintain regional bird diversity. Objective: To study temporal variation in regional bird species composition (i.e. set of species that make up the assemblage) and richness (i.e. species number) and the factors that drive it, and quantify the importance of temporal-beta diversity to sustain bird regional diversity, in the fluvial system of the Middle Paraná River in Argentina. Methods: We sampled birds on a regional scale by performing 16 repeated surveys roughly every 45 days across 2 years (2011-2013) at 60 point counts distributed along the fluvial system. Results: We recorded a total of 162 species and 12 738 detections, with a mean of 72.7 ± 1.9 species and 796.1 ± 41 individuals per survey. Temporal beta diversity accounted for 57 % of regional bird species richness. Bird composition varied seasonally because of the species turnover (and not nestedness) between non-breeding and breeding periods; migrant species contributed to this issue but did not account for all these differences. Difference in bird composition between years was associated primarily to species turnover within non-breeding periods and was related to changes in water levels. Temporal variation in availability of habitats across the regional extent of the fluvial system accounted for the highest proportion of temporal beta diversity. Species richness neither varies seasonally nor was it related to fluctuations in water level or habitats. Conclusions: The climatic seasonality and environmental dynamics of the fluvial system, as a function of water-level fluctuations and of variations in habitat availability, jointly influence regional composition of birds through temporal species turnover. These variations in regional composition were not related to variations in regional species richness. These results show the importance of the natural dynamic of the fluvial system to preserve the processes that maintain the regional assemblage of birds.


We reported a new method, which uses Cu+ as the efficient and clean reducing agent, to synthesize micrometer-sized ultra-thin silver (Ag) nanosheets in organic solvent containing oleylamine (OAm). The as-synthesized Ag nanosheets are single-crystal, with regular triangular, truncated triangular, hexagonal, and dodecahedral (truncated hexagonal) shapes, with 3−8 μm edge length and 25 ± 15 nm thickness, which are in contrast to the previous reported micrometer-sized metal nanosheets with thickness above 40 nm. Analysis is performed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV−vis-NIR absorption and transmittance spectroscopy, and optical microscopy, indicating that single-crystal Ag nanosheets are of high quality with a large in-plane size, ultra-thin thickness, and top and bottom enclosed by {111} facets. The present study provides a simple and extendable m...


Measuring fast current pulses requires devices with ample broad bands. The approach of this paper is to present a simple sensor based on the Faraday's Law together with an integrating and amplifying stage. Its validation is done by means of the detection of Partial Discharges (PD) in electric insulation systems following the guidelines given in the standard IEC 60270. These measurements are also taken with a high frequency current transformer with the aim of comparing the results obtained with the proposed probe.


Finding the right areas of research to improve the efficiency of agricultural units by optimizing wheel pairs, tread pattern and a certain level of pressure in the tires of transport units. Previous experience has shown that heavy agricultural machinery and tractors often have a negative effect on the fields and lead to damaging effects on the soil. Many different wheel systems are used in agricultural machinery. For each case, for example, for different soils, roads, different weather conditions, different units, different parameters for wheel systems must be used. Such parameters as: different pressure levels in the air chambers of the wheels, different drawings on the wheel tread, change the height of the tread pattern to improve the level of patency. The tread pattern plays one of the most important roles in the daily operation of agricultural machinery. It affects soil patency after precipitation, self-cleaning and lateral stability. For heavy agricultural machinery, it is advisable to use tread patterns such as: "herringbone", "crutch" and multi-block tread. It has been found that counteracting soil compaction, as well as where it is extremely undesirable to damage it, requires a flat surface and impermissible defects using low pressure tires. It is established that the influence of the geometrical parameters of the wheel systems and their efficiency remains insufficiently investigated. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a set of measures aimed at preserving soil fertility. Thus, it is necessary to pay attention to the economic indicators of the use of wheel pairs. This problem is still relevant for Ukrainian agriculture.


The independent Floating Treatment Device (IFWAD) is a small scale water treatment device specifically functions to treat water. The independent term being used due to IFWAD is not dependent to any power source as it receive it powers from solar. Additionally, its floating features enable it to being place anywhere according to the suitability of site condition. Treatment element of this device used absorption and adsorption capacity of the activated carbon to remove pollutants. Removal parameters used are turbidity, chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand and suspended solid. The result shows about 94% removal efficiency for turbidity. TSS result showed about 92% of TSS removal after 48 hours of treatment. Chemical oxygen demand (high range) shows almost 0 for reading after 84 hours of treatment. The pH for water sample not exceed 8 and the temperature remain below 40 C. the color result showed decreasing in number from 1036 pt-co to 7.5pt-co after 48 hours of treatment.The independent Floating Treatment Device (IFWAD) is a small scale water treatment device specifically functions to treat water. The independent term being used due to IFWAD is not dependent to any power source as it receive it powers from solar. Additionally, its floating features enable it to being place anywhere according to the suitability of site condition. Treatment element of this device used absorption and adsorption capacity of the activated carbon to remove pollutants. Removal parameters used are turbidity, chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand and suspended solid. The result shows about 94% removal efficiency for turbidity. TSS result showed about 92% of TSS removal after 48 hours of treatment. Chemical oxygen demand (high range) shows almost 0 for reading after 84 hours of treatment. The pH for water sample not exceed 8 and the temperature remain below 40 C. the color result showed decreasing in number from 1036 pt-co to 7.5pt-co after 48 hours of treatment.


The present invention relates to a nitrile rubber of a low molecular weight may also be hydrogenated. In addition, the present invention is by low molecular weight nitrile rubbers by metathesis process in the presence of a transition metal complex catalysts in particular in the reaction mixture, a method of producing nitrile rubbers of low molecular weight may also be hydrogenated about. The present invention further provides a good nitrile rubber be at least one hydrogenation, and at least one crosslinking agent and / or curing system, at least one at least one filler and optionally optionally good polymer composite also contain additional rubber additives, and relates to a molded article comprising a hydrogenated nitrile rubber may also be or complex thereof.


Seven new species of the Genus Geocharis Ehlers, 1883 are described from Cadiz, Spain (3 species: Geocharis notolampros sp. n., G. fenestrate sp. n., Geocharis bifenestrata sp. n.) and Morocco (4 species: G. montecristoi sp. n., G. juncoi sp. n., G. liberorum sp. n., G. testatetrafoveata sp. n.). Descriptions of the previously known species, Geocharis massinissa (Dieck, 1869) and G. korbi (Ganglbauer, 1900) are also included. Three species: Geocharis raclinae Antoine, 1962; G. elegantula Antoine, 1962 and G. mussardi Antoine, 1962 are proposed as Incertae sedis . The use of some morphological features and their systematic value are discussed. Genitalia, chaetotaxy and sexual dimorphism are not subject to variability, and thus are very good diagnostic characters. On the other hand, biometry and labium morphology need a deeper study to determine their usefulness.


In the Yanai district, the Ryoke metamorphic rocks are divided into the following metamorphic zones: chlorite, chlorite-biotite, biotite, muscovite-cordierite, K-feldspar-cordierite, sillimanite-K-feldspar and garnet-cordierite zones (Ikeda, 2004). Quartz veins were collected from the Takabatake outcrop in the biotite zone. Describing the outcrop, Yamamoto et al. (2004) concluded that the quartz veins were formed under flow deformation conditions during retrograde metamorphism, probably above 300C. Primary fluid inclusions in the veins are rich in gaseous components (CO2 and CH4). The CH4/(CO2+CH4) ratios of the inclusions are as low as 0.1 to 0.2. Salinities estimated by Raman spectra of the stretching band of water (Dubessy et al., 2002) in the inclusions are very low, ranging from 0 to 4 NaCl eq. wt. %. Daughter minerals of carbonaceous matter (CM) and muscovite were also observed in some primary inclusions. proposed a new geothermometer (up to 641C) based on the degree of organization of CM indicated by Raman microspectrometry. According to their geothermometer, the CM's in the inclusions show the organization temperatures of 530-560C averaging about 550C. However, as et pointed out, Raman spectra of unpolished CM (i.e., covered by a transparent mineral) may show apparently higher degree


At least six different genera of coccidia can infect dogs. These microscopic parasites spend part of their life cycle in the lining cells of the intestine. Most infections are not associated with any detectable clinical signs. These infections are called sub-clinical infections. The species Isospora canis causes most clinical infections in dogs. Cryptosporidium parvum is another coccidian parasite that may cause diarrhea in some puppies.


Microvesicles (MVs) are heterogeneous membrane‐bound sacs formed by direct plasma membrane budding, that have promising potential for targeted drug delivery and therapy. However, to date, they have limited application to lymph node (LN) targeting due to their large size. Herein, the direct size conversion of erythrocyte‐derived MVs (eMVs) via incubation with an ApoA‐I mimetic peptide (R4F) capable of binding phospholipids is performed. The interaction between the R4F peptide and phospholipid bilayers of eMVs limits the maximum possible length of the lipid‐bound conformation and induces the formation of small‐sized eMVs, which further endows them with SR‐B1 receptor and LN targeting functions. In a lymphadenitis model, dexamethasone (Dex)‐loaded eMVs functionalized with R4F peptide can specifically suppress the macrophage inflammatory response through the NF‐κB and p38 MAPK pathways along with reducing inflammatory cell infiltration to improve lymphadenitis. Moreover, celastrol (Cel)‐loaded eMVs functionalized with R4F peptide can significantly inhibit LN metastasis by selectively killing SR‐B1–overexpressing 4T1 tumor cells and inducing T cell‐mediated systemic antitumor immune responses in LN metastatic model of breast cancer. Thus, small R4F peptide‐decorated eMVs with SR‐B1–targeting ability provide an excellent drug delivery system for the targeted treatment of LN‐associated diseases, opening new frontiers for LN‐targeted drug delivery.


Basic recommendations are certain at planning of the modern telecommunication systems and networks, coming from existent positions of conception of networks of next generation. The analysis of multiservice networks is conducted from point of choice of network technologists. It is found out that the number of criteria of choice of network technology can be diminished due to introduction of the special computer-integrated services and services. The factors of efficiency of introduction of multiservice networks are certain within the framework of base conception of NGN.


Nowadays the spin‐related phenomena have attracted great attention for the possible spintronic and optoelectronic applications. The manipulation of the Lande g factor by means of the control of the electron confinement, applied magnetic field and hydrostatic pressure offers the possibility of having a wide range of ways to control single qubit operation and to have pure spin states to guarantee that no losses occur when the electron spins transport information. In this work we have performed a theoretical study of the quantum confinement (geometrical and barrier potential confinements) and growth direction applied magnetic field effects on the conduction‐electron effective Lande g factor in GaAs‐(Ga,Al)As double quantum wells. Our calculations of the Lande g factor are performed by using the Ogg‐McCombe effective Hamiltonian, which includes non‐parabolicity and anisotropy effects for the conduction‐band electrons. Our theoretical results are given as function of the central barrier widths for different va...


We present far field calculations for nanostructured organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and compare these to experimental results. OLEDs with a nanostructured indium tin oxide (ITO) anode were fabricated and characterized. Corresponding two-dimensional far field calculations are carried out via two-dimensional finite difference time-domain code (2-D FDTD) with integrated 2-D far-field projection. Furthermore, spherical three-dimensional (3-D) far field calculations are obtained by an efficient multipole-based near-to-far field transformation from three-dimensional FDTD data.


【Objective】The study was to construct the prokaryotic expression vector pET-32a-NS1 and eukaryotic expression vector pEGFP-C1-NS1 for the expression of the NS1gene of H9N2 avian influenza virus in E.coli and 293cells.【Method】NS1 gene was amplified by RT-PCR.The NS1 gene was cloned directionaly into the pET-32a(+).The recombinant prokaryotic expression plasmid was constructed and transformed into E.coli BL21(DE3),and induced by IPTG;The NS1 gene was cloned into pEGFP-C1.The recombinant eukaryotic expression plasmid was constructed and transfected into 293 cells by Lipofectami-neTM2000,and the transfected cells were collected 48hours after transfection.Meanwhile,the expressed products were analyzed with Western-blotting.【Result】Results showed that the prokaryotic expression vector and eukaryotic expression vector of NS1gene were successfully constructed,the special band of NS1 protein expressed in E.coli and 293 cells were identified by Western-blotting.【Conclusion】NS1gene wassuccessfully expressed in E.coli and 293cells,Western-blotting test showed that the NS1proteins had very good antigenicity.


In this paper, an improved the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) in a Photovoltaic (PV) System is designed by using a Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC). The objectives of designing the FLC for MPPT in the PV systems are to accelerate the MPPT rate, and to set a smaller oscillating zone around the maximum power point (MPP). The proposed FLC based MPPT adopts a set of variable step sizes with regard to flexible criteria. Also, for the proposed MPPT implementation, a simple Discontinuous Conduction Mode (DCM) algorithm is considered. Experimental results of the proposed FLC based MPPT show that an improvement is observed in terms of tracking of the MPPT, and maximizing of the output power of the PV modules compared to the conventional Perturb and Observe (P&O) algorithm.


Part one: Introduction: Feminising politics and policy: the impact of New Labour ~ Claire Annesley and Francesca Gains Part two: Engendering politics?: Theoretical underpinnings: women, gender, feminising and politics ~ Angelia R. Wilson Women and Nordic Labour parties ~ Guro Buchanan and Claire Annesley Framing claims for women: from 'Old' Labour to 'New' Labour ~ Jill Lovecy Engendering the machinery of governance ~ Catherine Durose and Francesca Gains Part three: Engendering policy?: Two steps forward, one step back: the gender dimensions of treasury policy under New Labour ~ David Coates and Sarah Oettinger New Labour policy and the gender pay gap ~ Damian Grimshaw New Labour, family policy and gender ~ Karen Clarke Caring, citizenship and New Labour: dilemmas and contradictions for disabled and older women ~ Kirstein Rummery New Labour and 'lesbian and gay friendly' policy ~ Angelia R.Wilson The gender dimensions of New Labour's international development policy ~ Juanita Elias and Lucy Ferguson Part four: Conclusions: New Labour: towards an engendered politics and policy? ~ Kirstein Rummery, Francesca Gains and Claire Annesley.


Abstract Recent scientific evidence suggests that one of the causes of myofascial pain syndromes responsible for the occurrence of chronic headaches, among other things, may be increased or impaired with trigger point therapy. This paper presents the results of a non-systematic literature review on trigger point therapy. The analysis shows a clear increase in scientific interest in invasive trigger point pain treatment techniques. Invasive therapy consists primarily of the use of injections and dry needling. Injections of anesthetics or botulinum toxin are methods that, in addition to their possible therapeutic effect, may carry side effects. In contrast, dry needling does not have a fully scientifically-proven effect. Recent scientific data also indicates that the aforementioned method may have a limited clinical effect. The performed analysis did not demonstrate a significant advantage in invasive techniques over typical non-invasive techniques. It is therefore necessary to design randomized multi-center clinical trials to definitively verify the efficacy of these techniques in the treatment of tension-type trigger point-dependent myofascial pain.


A few years ago, globalization was the new standard - trend in international business. However, it has lost its initial appeal, as customers do not seem to feel a connection anymore with the standardized products of the global organizations, which are forwarded to them through mass communication programs. With their centralized decision-making, most companies stopped growing connection with new global markets and, often, neglected their appearance. Therefore, the effect of local characteristics became critical and a new term has arrived, which embodies both the global and the local. "Glocalization" encourages companies to think globally, but to act locally. This can be achieved by using a global brand, while localizing certain elements of that brand, understanding the specific requirements of each country, with the standardization in relation to adaption and homogeneity in relation to heterogeneity being optimized.
This master thesis focuses, mainly on the international human resource management, in the context of "Glocalization". Specifically, it examines the way in which the various human resource practices transferred between units of multinational corporations (from parent units to subsidiaries and vice versa), but also the adaptation degree of these practices, in the foreign local markets, where the subsidiaries operate. This thesis, also, investigates (through questionnaires and interview) six major Greek multinational corporations and aims to discover the relationships between units of these companies, the transfer degree of human resource practices between their units, the adaptation degree of these practices in the foreign markets and, more generally, the factors which contribute to the diffusion of practices within Greek multinational corporations. The discussion and analysis of the survey results reveal interesting findings, for the concerned Greek multinational enterprises. In general, these corporations are "flirting" with a "Glocal" strategy, with regard to human resource management practices, since they aspire for a global strategy, however, they recognize the need for local adaptations of their business.


Purpose: There are numerous branches of industry where the (α+γ) duplex steels have not yet been sufficiently popularised due to problems with their forming, resulting from different properties of the both phases which make up the material. This paper analyses the influence of temperature and tension rate on the superplastic flow of the (α+γ) duplex steel. Design/methodology/approach: Steel specimens were cold deformed with a 70% rolling reduction. After a solution head treatment (1350°C), the specimens were tensioned in temperatures ranging from 800 to 950°C at a rate of vr=15×10 -3÷3×10-1mm/s in a 0.005Pa vacuum. Structural examination was carried out using light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. A quantitative analysis of structural changes was performed using the "MetIlo" image analysis programme. Findings: This paper has shown the cooperation of structure reconstruction mechanisms during deformation of the investigated steel and attempet the changes that take place in the steel structure during superplastic flow. Practical implications: The research carried out enabled the understanding of the phenomena taking place during deformation and annealing of the investigated alloy. The results will constitute the basis for modelling the structural changes. Originality/value: The results will be used to design the basis for a thermo-mechanical processing technology via rolling and inter-operational annealing of the investigated steel.


Major conservation efforts in human‐dominated systems, such as farmland, have focused on the establishment of subsidies and compensation promoting low‐impact management practices to reverse the impacts of conservation threats in the short term (reactive approaches). In this study, we discuss how a different way of framing conservation policy (proactive approaches) could lead to fundamentally different long‐term conservation outcomes. We define proactive approaches as those not necessarily including measures directly addressing the threats affecting biodiversity, but promoting transitions from current scenarios in which species are threatened to new states in which the threat is no longer present. We illustrate reactive and proactive approaches using as a case study two contrasting conservation frameworks for a vulnerable farmland bird, the Montagu's harrier (Circus pygargus) in northeastern Spain. This example shows that reactive approaches can lead to "conservation traps," which we defined as situations where the application of biologically focused actions in response to conservation problems results in an unsustainable need to perpetuate the implementation of those actions. Our aim is to offer a fresh perspective on biodiversity conservation in human‐dominated systems and to stimulate alternative, more holistic approaches in conservation promoting transitions to new states not requiring long‐term active and costly conservation action.