This thesis examines the behavioural plasticity of bipedal locomotion in the chick, both during normal development and after spinal cord injury. The locomotor characteristics of chicks were quantified as animals moved overground unrestrained. Kinematic data were recorded on videotape, while kinetic data were collected from a force platform built into the walkway. All measurements were made over a range of velocities and at regular intervals throughout the first 2 weeks posthatching. The results show that, although chicks can innately run as well as adults, they need to learn to walk in a mature manner over the first week posthatching. This disparity may arise from the distinct actions of the legs in these two behaviours, and the requirement for longer durations of single leg support during walking. In a separate group of animals, locomotor abilities were quantified as above prior to hemisection of the left thoracic spinal cord, and thereafter at regular intervals for 2 weeks. Chicks were also videotaped while they swam in a tank of water. In one group, phasic cutaneous stimulation was provided during swimming trials. Twenty-four to 48 hours after hemisection, chicks moved overground with a distinctly asymmetric gait. Range of joint motion of the left leg (ipsilateral to the hemisection) was reduced. Over the two week recovery period, left leg joint angles during walking recovered to normal pre-operative values, but did not return to pre-operative values during swimming trials. However, when chicks were provided with phasic cutaneous stimulation during swimming trials for 14 days, they showed improvements in leg motion which were retained even when the cutaneous stimulation was not provided. Possible neurophysiological mechanisms include reflexive activation of limb extensors in response to cutaneous stimulation, and subsequent strengthening of reflex pathways after repeated training with stimulation. It is proposed that, because the locomotor neural circuitry has completed development well before hatching in


The Early Religious Poetry of Persia is a little book of 170 pages, in which Prof. Moulton sets forth the story of the Avesta in a popular form. In some parts it covers the same ground as the larger work, but the subject is of course treated in a different manner, in wide outline; and it contains much which in the larger work is assumed as known. Thus there is a general description of the Avesta, and an analysis of the Gathas, with specimens. The language is also treated, and its relation to Vedic Sanskrit, so as to make the matter clear to the reader who knows neither. It is an admirable book, clearly written and attractive, and it fills a place which has hitherto been empty in English.


Urban centres are often seen as engines of development, but rapid urbanisation in most of the developing world has also resulted in stark inequalities between the rich and the poor, environmental degradation and growing numbers of slum dwellers. Women in cities often suffer disproportionately, not only because they are, on average, poorer than men (three-fifths of the world's one billion poorest people are women and girls), but often also because they experience greater difficulty in accessing resources and services tailored to their needs, and decision-making opportunities (WEDO, 2003). The water and sanitation practices of women in poor settlements in Accra are worrying. Thus inadequate social amenities in the slums,the people of Nima lose their productive time in search of water and sanitation services. The residents have also developed bad habits which degrade the environment and also make them more vulnerable to health problems.Proper solid waste disposal methods should be encouraged in the Nima community with the provision of more designated places and more refuse containers at vantage points in Nima. There should also be the discouragement of the payment of tokens to persons who are caretakers of these refuse dumps. Residents, especially women and children should be educated to refrain from throwing human excreta into refuse containers and gutters in the community. The AMA should also ensure that refuse is collected daily from the community so as to minimize the health risks residents are exposed to.


Abstract Objective. This study evaluated the impact of body mass index (BMI) and the influence of preoperative weight loss (WL) in each BMI category on survival in patients with surgically treated renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Material and methods. In total, 834 patients undergoing nephrectomy for RCC were retrospectively reviewed. Overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were estimated by Kaplan–Meier analysis. Univariate and multivariate analyses were accomplished to assess the influence of preoperatively assessed clinical parameters, including BMI and WL, on survival. The mean postsurgical follow-up was 85 months (median 79 months, range 12–191 months). Results. Of the patients studied, 251 (30%) presented with a BMI < 25 kg/m2, while 362 patients (44%) were overweight (BMI ≥ 25 to < 30 kg/m2) and 221 patients (26%) were obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). Fifty-two patients (6.2%) experienced WL. While BMI did not significantly influence OS and CSS, WL had a significant impact on survival in patients with a BMI < 30 kg/m2, in contrast to obese patients presenting with a BMI of ≥30 kg/m2. Further analysis showed overweight to influence significantly disorders in wound healing, but neither other complications nor postoperative mortality. Conclusions. This is the first study providing information regarding the influence of BMI in relation to WL in patients with surgically treated RCC. While BMI did not significantly influence the survival of patients in the present series, WL had a significant impact on survival of patients presenting with a BMI < 30 kg/m2. Hence, preoperative assessment of WL should be considered for the assessment of individual prognosis.


If axion-like particles (ALPs) exist, photons can convert to ALPs on passage through regions containing magnetic fields. The magnetised intracluster medium of large galaxy clusters provides a region that is highly efficient at ALP-photon conversion. X-ray observations of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) located within galaxy clusters can be used to search for and constrain ALPs, as photon-ALP conversion would lead to energy-dependent quasi-sinusoidal modulations in the X-ray spectrum of an AGN. We use Chandra observations of the central AGN of the Perseus Cluster, NGC1275, to place bounds on massive ALPs up to ma ∼ 10−11eV, extending previous work that used this dataset to constrain massless ALPs.


The measurement of prostate specific antigen (PSA) is widely used in screening programs for early detection of prostate cancer. However the specificity for cancer detection is limited because serum PSA is also elevated in patients with benign prostatic‐hyperplasia (BPH) and/or prostatitis. It has been shown recently, that the ratio of free/total PSA in serum is lower in malignant prostatic disorders than in non‐malignant ones and therefore might be a parameter to improve screening specificity. In a retrospective study, we tested whether free/total PSA helps to distinguish between BPH and prostatic carcinoma in men with elevated serum PSA.


We have used an n‐body collision computer simulation model with a Gibson #2 potential to examine various ways in which the lattice nature of the slowing down material influences the motion of a medium‐energy copper atom. For normal incidence upon a (110) surface, we found that the lattice has a significant effect upon the scattering angle when a 10‐keV copper atom strikes an atom of a copper lattice. The channel area, which comprises approximately 40% of the representative area in this orientation, is quite insensitive to the copper atom's energy above 1 keV. Total ranges are significantly longer than those reported by Robinson and Oen from calculations based upon a binary collision model. Below 1 keV, total ranges closely approximate the E32 law reported by Kornelsen et al. Above 1 keV dE/dx=A−B/E appears to describe the motion at all positions in the channel if the values of A and B are specified for the initial point at which the atom enters the channel. This behavior above 1 keV is clearly nonphysical...


Objective:The past decade of China heralded rapid increase of surgical coronary revascularization and coronary artery bypass grafting(CABG) has now been possible in an increasingly high risk population in China.However,little is known about the current status of CABG surgery in contemporary China.The purpose of this study was to validate a new risk model for in-hospital mortality in Chinese patients undergoing CABG surgery.This model(NSY),which was developed for isolated CABG surgery from data of New York's cardiac surgery reporting system in 2002,was proved effective,but its validation in Chinese patients has not yet to be carried out.Therefore,we undertook an external validation of the NYS with data drawn from a study involving multiple centers across China.Methods:With a view to understand CABG in China,Fuwai Hospital,Beijing,China which is the biggest cardiac center of China has developed a national multicenter database of patients undergoing CABG with the name of the Chinese CABG Registry Study in 2006.32 centers of cardiac surgery in big cities all over China participated in the study as a whole.From January 2004 to December 2005,8 120 patients who underwent isolated CABG were selected for the current study.Results:Mean age was 62.72 years and 20.78% were female.80.69% of patients had triple vessel disease.Left main disease was present in 27.32% of patients.In the current study,translation of risk profiles into NYS scores revealed strong correlations between risk-score levels and different end points,including in-hospital mortality,major adverse cardiac events,and length of intensive care unit stay.Independent predictors were identified in the Chinese CABG Registry.Many predictors for the Chinese CABG Registry were the same as those in the NYS model.Conclusion:It is feasible to set up a multicenter database of coronary artery surgical patients in China which has the power to reflect a national picture.The Chinese CABG Registry demonstrates CABG surgery is safe and effective in the Chinese population and has satisfactory short-term outcomes,suggesting good performance of heart centers in contemporary China.The original NYS system overestimates in-hospital mortalities in Chinese patients undergoing CABG,whereas the recalibrated NYS can be a useful risk-predictive tool for Chinese patients undergoing isolated CABG.Furthermore,creation of a new risk prediction model,which accurately predicts outcomes in Chinese CABG patients,is the direction of our further study.The Chinese CABG Registry database will be used to construct a risk stratification system for use in Chinese coronary artery surgery.


This study aims to determine: (1) The relationship between students' perceptions of pedagogical competence and student fiqh learning outcomes, (2) The relationship between teacher performance and student fiqh learning outcomes, (3) The relationship between students' perceptions of pedagogical competence and teacher performance with student learning outcomes. learn fiqh students. This type of quantitative research with correlation research methods. The population is 107 students with a sample of 36 students taken by random sampling technique. The data collection technique used is a non-test technique. The non-test technique, namely a questionnaire, was used to collect data on student perceptions of pedagogical competence and teacher performance variables. While the variable of student fiqh learning outcomes through the results of learning evaluation. The data analysis technique used is correlation and regression. The research results show: (1) there is a positive and significant contribution between competencies pedagogy with student learning outcomes MTs. Al-Washliyah Percut Sei Tuan, (2) there is a positive and significant contribution between teacher performance with student learning outcomes MTs. Al-Washliyah Percut Sei Tuan, and (3) there is a positive and significant contribution together between pedagogical competence and teacher performance with learning outcomes students of MTs. Al-Washliyah Percut SeiT uan.


The invention is suitable for the three-dimensional display field, and provides a method for converting a two-dimensional image into a three-dimensional image. The method comprises the following steps: step A: determining whether an image center has obvious prospect or not, and if so, carrying out step B, otherwise carrying out step C; step B: carrying out three-dimensional conversion with a center protruding outward on the two-dimensional image; step C: carrying out three-dimensional conversion with a center protruding inward on the two-dimensional image. According to the method, through determining whether the two-dimensional image has the obvious prospect or not, a corresponding conversion mode is employed to carry out three-dimensional conversion on the two-dimensional image, and an output three-dimensional image has a good effect.


The paper reports experimental adiabatic two-phase pressure drop of R134a in smooth and groove mnichannels having 20 channels with hydraulic diameters of 0.81 mm and 0.64 mm, respectively. The pressure drop measurements were done under mass flux range of 50-200 kg/m2s, saturation temperature range of 30-35 °C, and inlet vapor quality range of 0.1-0.9. The effects of mass flux, saturation temperature, inlet vapor quality and channel geometry on pressure drop were investigated. The results showed that the mass flux, inlet vapor quality, saturation temperature and channel size play an important role in increasing or decreasing the pressure drop. The results also showed that the total pressure drop is dominated by the frictional pressure drop. The present experimental data were compared with some existing well known pressure drop correlation available in the open literature.The paper reports experimental adiabatic two-phase pressure drop of R134a in smooth and groove mnichannels having 20 channels with hydraulic diameters of 0.81 mm and 0.64 mm, respectively. The pressure drop measurements were done under mass flux range of 50-200 kg/m2s, saturation temperature range of 30-35 °C, and inlet vapor quality range of 0.1-0.9. The effects of mass flux, saturation temperature, inlet vapor quality and channel geometry on pressure drop were investigated. The results showed that the mass flux, inlet vapor quality, saturation temperature and channel size play an important role in increasing or decreasing the pressure drop. The results also showed that the total pressure drop is dominated by the frictional pressure drop. The present experimental data were compared with some existing well known pressure drop correlation available in the open literature.


Software reuse is the process of creating new software systems with a likelihood of using existing software artefacts to add new functionalities with slight or no modification. It promises significant improvements in software quality and productivity by reducing implementation and testing time (with a consideration that prior testing and use has eliminated bugs) thereby making it cost effective. In this paper, we present an automation model for the identification and evaluation of reusable software to measure the software reusability levels (low, medium and high) of procedure-based object-oriented software systems. The presented approach uses a metric framework to compute functional analysis of object-oriented (OO)-based software components which take into account maintainability index to target essential attributes to predict reusability levels for reusability measurement. The presented approach works at the functional level rather than at the structural level. The performance of the presented automation model is recorded using criteria like precision, recall, accuracy and classification error. The model is implemented as a tool (JRM2I) in Java and results indicate that the model can be efficiently used as an economic model for the identification and prediction of procedure-based reusable components from the existing software reservoir.


In this study we aim to examine the latent profiles of teacher candidates' 21st century learner skills. In other words, we intend to discover the profiles of participant groups who hang together in terms of 21st century learner skill scores. The data are gathered from students who enrolled in either undergraduate programs in the school of education or pedagogical formation certificate programs. For data collection purposes, we used the 21 st century learner skills usage inventory. In order to achieve our goal, profile analysis via multidimensional scaling approach is employed. Data analysis resulted in two-dimensional solution indicating two major profile patterns. Students whose observed patterns are similar to the first major profile tend to have lower ability in cognitive processing and coding of information and realization of the products. They tend to have higher abilities in self-management, self-control, designing more flexible learning environment, and adaptation of new technology. These students are expected to be better at collaboration-based activities. Students whose observed patterns are similar to the second major profile are expected to be good at self-management, self-control and they are expected to have higher self- and collaborative-learning abilities.


The improvement of homophonic encryption using the well-known Z408 cipher as an example has been examined in this article. Their problems to further correct the main shortcomings of this type of encryption have been analyzed. In the practical part, an encryption system similar to Z408 has been created and the complexity of the language analysis for this cipher has been increased. The correlation data of the number of alternative characters has been used to improve the transmission of encrypted data depending on the load of the device. The more symbols and the higher the load, the fewer the number of alternative symbols will be used.


Several findings suggest, that other mechanisms than pelvic relaxation are involved in female stress urinary incontinence. Some aspects of diagnosis are given as well as basic principles in surgical treatment are discussed. The pathophysiology, methods of diagnosis and therapy indicate, that stress urinary incontinence is no longer a gynecological but an urological disease.


Summary Ipomoea imperati (Vahl) Grisebach is the correct name for the currently accepted name Ipomoea stolonifera J. F. Gmelin. Lectotypes of Convolvulus sinuatus Petagna and C. imperati Vahl are designated. Ipomoea stolonifera J. F. Gmelin is a widely accepted name of a pantropical and Mediterranean species which is restricted to sandy sea beaches. In this paper we conclude that I. imperati (Vahl) Grisebach is the correct name for this species. Its history begins with Imperato (1599), an early Italian naturalist at Naples, who described and illustrated this plant, distributed according to him in Italian sea beaches, as "Convolvolo marino. Herba lattifera, congenere alla Soldanella" (Fig. 1). This plant was reported, afterwards by many preLinnaean authors (C. Bauhin, 1623; J. Bauhin, 1650-1651; Morison, 1680; Barrelier, 1714), while Linnaeus completely ignored it. Petagna (1787), an Italian botanist at Naples, was the first to validly name this species, Convolvulus sinuatus Petagna. In the protologue he noted:


Pereskia Bleo is commonly used among the local traditional medicine practitioners to prevent or treat cancer by consuming the leaves either raw or taken as a concoction brewed from fresh leaves. However, more research, regulation and standardization are required before herbal medicines can be recommended as effective and safe therapies. The objectives of this study are to obtain the optimum drying parameter and to identify the concentrations of phenolic content expressed as gallic acid equivalents (GAEs) in Pereskia bleo leaves. Pareto ANOVA method was used to study the optimum condition and the total phenolic content via F-Test using three samples for variance and three-factor with replication. Taguchi ANOVA was performed using SN ratio with L9 orthogonal array to accommodate the three factor level. The drying time were tested for 3 hours, 4 hours and 5 hours. The result shows that drying time is the significant factor in drying process and followed by drying temperature and solvent volume used. The drying experiments were conducted at operating temperature of 35 °C, 40 °C and 45 °C. While the extraction were conducted at different volume using methanol of 150 ml, 180 ml and 200 ml. The standard curve of total phenolic content was based on the gallic acid compound. The total phenolic content in C2 was at the most suitable for being used as antioxidant for consumption in human body with drying time of 5 hours at 45 °C by using 180 ml of methanol for extraction of P.bleo leaves.


The present study considers the morphological and dispersity characteristics of hydroxyapatite (HAp) samples synthesised through the ultrasound-assisted hydrothermal method with additional pressure treatment. The samples were analyzed by the X – Ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, low-temperature nitrogen adsorption. The ultrasound effect on the HAp morphologiy and dispersity was studied. The pressure assisted ultrasonic treatment made possible obtaining HAp samples with different morphology from rods and flakes to particles with irregular shape close to spherical. Also pressure assisted ultrasonic treatment able to increase the porosity of


This article aims to describe the main aspects of human reproduction, both the methods of treatment used and other practices related to medically-assisted human reproduction. The article addresses the ethical and legal issues arising from the use of MAR techniques. We have analyzed the legislation of many EU member countries to determine the differences between their regulatory systems and the principles by which these countries are guided. How to cite: Iarmenco, A-M. (2016). Aspects regarding medically assisted human reproduction.  European Journal of Law and Public Administration, 3(2), 27-35. DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/10.18662/eljpa.2016.0302.03


Various shape analysis algorithms have been introduced but their relation in terms of precision often remains unclear as different analyses use different representations of analysis results. The aim of our work is to extract alias sets from shape analysis results to compute a relative precision factor that expresses for a given program how much more precise one analysis is than the other. We present a significant improvement over an existing algorithm based on 3-valued logic to compute alias sets from shape graphs. Instead of looking only at the final nodes in pointer access paths, our common tail algorithm takes sequences of selectors into account. The common tail algorithm is strictly more precise than the existing algorithm by Reps, Sagiv, and Wilhelm, for our benchmarks we can reduce the number of conservative results by a factor of up to 5 in the best case while incurring an additional analysis overhead that is below 10% even in the worst case of our benchmarks. We selected two well-known graph-based shape analyses that use different representations of analysis results to demonstrate the usefulness of our approach. The shape analysis proposed by Nielson, Nielson & Hankin (NNH) and the analysis by Sagiv, Reps & Wilhelm (SRW) were implemented for a subset of C++ in the SATIrE program analysis framework. We are thus able to determine that NNH is more precise than SRW by a factor of 1.62 on average for our set of benchmarks.


PurposeThe use of brand slogans that represent brand concepts on app launch pages can improve user brand impressions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of using animated or static spokes-characters with brand slogans on app launch pages.Design/methodology/approachUsing the theory of attention selection, the authors conducted two experiments to study the boundary and mediation path of the influence of the motion attributes of spokes-characters (static vs animated) on brand memory based on app launch time (3 s vs 5 s), user engagement with spokes-characters and the level of attention to brand slogans.FindingsStudy 1 explores the effect of the interaction between launch time and the motion attributes of spokes-characters on brand memory. The results show that when the launch time of the app is 3 s, the advertisement memory effect of using a static spokes-character is better than that of using an animated spokes-character; when the launch time of the app is 5 s, the advertisement memory effect of using an animated spokes-character is better than that of using a static spokes-character. Study 2 shows that user engagement with spokes-characters and the level of attention given to brand slogans play a continuous mediating role in the effect of the interaction between launch time and the motion attributes of spokes-characters on brand memory.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the marketing literature by expanding the knowledge of spokes-characters and animated visual images, providing new insights for future research.


This paper presents Halos Networks as a competitive architectural paradigm for developing future Internet of-with Things. A Halos Network is like a wireless network spontaneously emerging through the interactions of distributed resources embedding wireless communication capabilities. Halos Networks are capable of delivering services and data virally through multiple devices, machines and objects interconnected with one another. Halos Networks potential impact is discussed and guidelines on future developments are provided.


This paper discusses the reasons of abnormal operation in most of the land-fills, incineration plants and comprehensive disposal plants, and puts forward countermeasures for the solution of the problems.


The invention discloses a lamp bulb, a socket for the lamp bulb and a combination thereof. The lamp bulb comprises a bearing, a conducting lamp cap, a light-emitting module and an electric wire assembly, wherein the conducting lamp cap is connected to the bearing, and is provided with a plurality of spaced conducting segments and a conducting end; the light-emitting module is fixed to the bearing; a circuit board and a plurality of light-emitting elements which are electrically connected with the circuit board are arranged on the light-emitting module; the electric wire assembly comprises a first electric wire and a plurality of second electric wires; the first electric wire is connected with the circuit board and the conducting end; each second electric wire is electrically connected with the circuit board and each conducting segment; each second electric wire and each conducting segment construct a circuit together with the circuit board, the first electric wire and the conducting end respectively. By adopting the lamp bulb, a way for dimming stably is realized.


The rules for recruitment of reference individuals, inclusion and preparation of individuals, blood collection, treatment of samples (and control materials) and analysis at the 102 medical laboratories attending the Nordic Reference Interval Project (NORIP) are given as well as the rules for central exclusion of reference individuals. The individuals (18–91‐year‐olds) should be evenly distributed on age and gender groups. The 3002 reference individuals who contributed at least one reference value to the finally suggested reference intervals were characterized using the information in the questionnaire. Gender, age and country are the main entries in the tables. Other variables in the cross‐tables or figure are height, weight, body mass index, ethnic origin, heredity for diabetes, chronic disease, oestrogens or oral contraceptives, other medication, hard physical activity, previous blood donations, smoking habits, use of alcohol, hours since last meal and time of blood collection (hour, day of week, month, year). The Danes had the highest alcohol consumption and the Icelanders had the highest body mass index. The information in this article may interest potential users of the Nordic Reference Interval Project bio‐bank and database (NOBIDA) in which serum, Li‐heparin plasma and EDTA buffy coat from the mentioned individuals are stored below −80°C.


Creativity as a criterion for beauty, attention Quran, Hadith, Sufism and argument in creation and creation of the universe, the evidence of property believed God, and Jalal Jamal around manifesting divine, and the manifesting of all indexes superior in terms of creativity is. Therefore, God the creator of artistic works with creative Hnrmndtryn is superior. Find this article attempts to prove this claim to be acting.


Conventional impedance-based home apnea monitors use a single pair of electrodes to monitor the ventilation by measuring the thoracic impedance. We propose that using a microprocessor-based device to measure the thoracic impedance at multiple body sites might solve some of the shortcomings of impedance-based apnea monitors. We present results of our experiments using multiple electrode pairs simultaneously. More research is needed to determine the optimal number of electrodes, their locations, and the effectiveness of the method.


Abstract The electronic structures of Fe2+-Vo and Fe+ -Vo centers trapped in a SrTiO3 cubic host are investigated using a molecular orbital model. The energies of terms relevant to spins S=2(Fe2+ -Vo) and S=(3/2)(Fe+ -Vo) in axial symmetry are calculated and compared to the ESR results obtained for these centers.


In 1978 this journal published an intriguing paper from Archibald L Cochrane. Under the ironic title of "Health service "input" and mortality "output" in developed countries" what they showed was an ecological association between number of doctors and...mortality. It has been one of the more quoted papers in the past 25 years and has been reprinted several times in readers of …


nizing this fact, and of making art from the contradiction. The part of the book dealing with bridal lament origins suffers from the same limitations of most efforts to develop meaningful history from the extremely ideological and class-biased materials of China's deeper past. McLaren argues that bridal laments derive from a partial fusion of two traditions. The south, with its overwhelming preponderance of non-Han peoples, maintained song as a living means of expression and socialization. The north contributed an ancient imperative to wail and weep ostentatiously at funerals, acting out the state-sponsored kin hierarchy. Since marriage for a girl is often seen as the death of her old life, and since even happy brides might express sorrowful filiality on leaving home, the two traditions melded in various ways at various times. McLaren gently sidelines the Marx/ Morgan explanation that brides wept because marriage was once a matter of rapine. What sustained the custom, she argues, was its ritual capacity to fend off maleficent spirit entities during a risky social passage. This fits well with commoner habits such as giving a beloved little boy an ugly name to make him inconspicuous to jealous ghosts, and is the indigenous commoner position (p. 111). In discussing this aspect of the bridal lament tradition McLaren sums up a subordinate but important theme of her book. In contrast to scholars who have argued for the maintenance of social order in imperial China through orthopraxy – shared symbols and practices – she refuses the "either/or" approach: "The paradox of the bridal lament ... lay in [allowing] the bride to verbally defy the process of her alienation from the home of her parents, while at the same time [she was] compelled to conform to the 'ritual order' enacted in the wedding ceremony" (p. 115). It is in her evidencebased de-simplification of the immense unknown quarter of Chinese humanity – girls and young women – that McLaren gains a readership stretching into the future. Performing Grief will fascinate readers and enliven classrooms. It is a solid contribution to Chinese and women's studies and to the kind of scholarly work that intelligently ignores departmental boundaries.


The intake channel of circulating water pump house is an important part of water supply system in thermal power plant. The good hydraulic performance of intake channel is very important for operation efficiency of water pump and ensuring the safety of power plant. A hydraulic model of scale 1:12 is used to study the hydraulic characteristics of circulating pump house with an ultra-short forebay in this paper, the reasons for the formation of undesirable flow patterns, such as flow bias at the inlet, rotating filter outlet of the flow channel and backflow the circulation of the pipe at the bottom of the flapper, and the appearance of the suction vortex in the suction chamber, are analyzed, a rectifying facility consisting of "column + beam" is proposed to be installed in the forebay, a curved bias pier is added at the outlet of the traveling network, and a breast wall is suggested to be set in the suction chamber. With undesirable flow patterns in the original scheme are eliminated, the uniformity of the flow velocity distribution in the flow channel is improved, the flow pattern is relatively stable and smooth, and the ideal inflow condition of the suction mouth is guaranteed. The research results can provide a reference for the design and hydraulic performance optimization of the pump house of similar thermal power plant.


Robin LeBlanc's study of contemporary local politics in Japan centers on the trajectories of two rather different men. The politicos are almost stereotypically identifiable masculine types: one is a middle-aged liquor merchant in the fictively named rural town of Takeno and the other is a younger, slick mama's boy in a Tokyo ward, who is the product of privilege and the heir of a political family. It is not hard to figure out right away that Baba-san, the family sake merchant in Takeno, is the core story in the book, and we come to respect him as much as LeBlanc does. The cynical and well-to-do Tokyo urbanite Takada-san, however, is much less interesting or likable. LeBlanc takes the reader along with her as she hangs out with the two men as they campaign, meet in smoke-filled homes with supporters, attend budget planning meetings, and give both rousing and uninspiring speeches. The two case studies demonstrate the manner in which male desire to adhere to gender ideology about what constitutes being a ''good man'' constrains and molds their uses of power as well as their options for ethical conduct. As LeBlanc tracks how an ideology of male gender is put to play in the enactment of honorable behavior, she also reveals the degree to which political competence is inescapably associated with ideals of masculinity. Because of LeBlanc's engaging prose style and gorgeous writing, we are happy to make this journey with her. In addition to other aspects of gender and culture that enable men in politics to succeed, LeBlanc analyzes one particularly interesting form of male prerogative in Japan: stomach-to-stomach communication. This is an art of the gut thought to be a special skill cultivated by powerful men. Women, especially those in politics, are said to lack the ability to read other's intentions and attitudes through the belly. Haragei, literally ''belly art,'' is the antique term used to describe the maneuvering skills considered necessary for success in leadership roles. The concept has often been part of the bread and butter of business and cross-cultural communication lore and is frequently essentialized as a type of mysterious Japanese nonverbal 386 Men and Masculinities 14(3)


Auto for Hire Have purchased a new j7 Buick Touring Car for demonstrating and rentirig. My tefrti^ are as reason able as is possible.for a first class car. Parties taken.but by the hourv.pr day. What better-' way to ent&lrtaiIiyd^0rjj^^ to give th^m, a good, auto rtde and.^how them some of the pleasant drives and places b̂^̂^ terest in this vicinity? Mount Wachusett, Clinton Reservoir, Nahan t Bass Point, Sterling Inn, Templeton Inn, Clinton Fair, Echo Bridge, Newton, Newtort Boulevard, Brockton Fair, Townsend, Ashby; Concord, Lexington, etc. Make up a party ahd attend some of the Fairs. .


An estimated 6 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease (AD). Aducanumab was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration despite the lack of clinical effectiveness data.


The expediency of improving the indicators of judgment assessments of individual breeding characteristics of the Hereford cattle breed is justified. The proposed method of selecting cows according to a complex evaluation indicator is based on the principle of a point assessment with the correction of the selection significance of the absolute value of some economically useful characteristics that are definitely related to the economy of animal breeding. At the same time, it is characterized by the Breeding Value Index (BVI), which allows you to complete a selection group of cows in breeding herd with breeding value from 70 points and above. The main values of constructed index must select or create such genotypes that would combine the most important and desirable combinations of breeding traits. The method is universal for cows of different breeds, types, herds, provides breeding and formation of more highly productive and technological animals on the basis of meat productivity.


One of the keys to analysing the poetry of Baek Seok is the importance of "Manchurian experience". His experience in Manchuria was not an escape from his individual and social situation, but an attempt at poetical experimentation. The reason why this study focuses on his stay in Manchuria is that he was at the peak of his career when he went to Manchuria at the end of 1939. And the poems, which he wrote during his stay over there until he came back home after the Independence from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, have distinct qualities compared with his earlier works. Most of his poems that are known to have an in-depth quality were written during this period. His experience in Manchuria, therefore, may have played the role of a huge turning point in his poetical career. And his constructive and active decision to go to Manchuria was based upon his romantical illusion as to the newly emerging Manchurian state as some utopian space and his desire to write poetry in a new land, rather than his escape from a personal misfortune or misery, which was formerly construed as a passive motive for such a decision. What draws my attention is that the particular space of Manchuria is closely related to his poetical experimentation in formal terms, emergence of new poetic dictions, application of predicates, standpoint of an observer, etc. His latest work, "The House of Mr. Bak Sibong at Yudong in Southern Shineuiju" was examined to be compared with his earlier poems, which shows that one of the reasons for his lassitude and discouragement in front of uncontrollable destiny originated from his experience in Manchuria. His migration to Manchuria having been induced by his illusion as to some romantical space, here was examined how his Manchurian experience had acquired 'romanticity' and been formed in his poetry.


Synthesis and Transformation of N-substituted 2(1 H)-Pyrimidine-thiones – A Simple Route to Pyrimidino [2,3-b]1,3,4-thiadiazolium Salts

N-substituted 2(1 H)-pyrimidine-thiones 4–6 can be prepared by reaction of primary amines or unsubstituted or substituted hydrazines with 3-isothiocyanato-propene-(2)-iminium salts 2, which are easily aviable from 3-chloro-propene-(2)-iminium salts 1. The 2(1 H)-pyrimidine-thiones are transformed into 2-alkylmercapto-pyrimidinium salts 7 and pyrimidino[2,3-b]1,3,4-thiadiazolium salts 9, respectively.


A new method of the waste water treatment that four heavy metal ions Cu 2+ ?Cr 3+ ?Pb 2+ and Zn 2+ are treated by diatomaceous earth containing calcium carbonate is introduced. The experiment shows that the diatomaceous earth with calcium carbonate content around 35% is an effective adsorbent for treating heavy metal ions in waste water. Under static condition in lab,the adsorption capacity is 3.5~4mmol/g.


Lithiation of dimethylamine with LiBun yielded LiN(CH3)2.The lithium amide reacted with half equivalent of 1,4-dicyanobenzene followed by addition of one equivalent of chlorodiphenylphosphine to give the intermediate compound C6H4{1,4-C[N(CH3)2](=NPPh2)}2.The charge assisted hydrogen bond polymeric compounds 1,C6H4[C(NH2)(NCH3)2]22+·2[Ph2PO2]-,and coordination polymer 2,Li2(Ph2PO2)2[Ph2P(O)H]were produced by the oxidative reaction of C6H4{1,4-C[N(CH3)2](=NPPh2)}2 with H2O2.The molecular structure of 2 was determined by X-ray crystallography analysis.It consists of polymeric chains in which lithium ions with tetrahedral coordination geometry linked by oxygen atoms.The plausible mechanism for the formation of compound 2 is discussed.


Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder, which increases the risk for stroke and heart failure, and commonly impairs quality of life. Increasing evidence has shown the causative role of several risk factors and suggested that aggressive lifestyle interventions might reduce atrial fibrillation incidence and effects. The size of the problem and how to provide optimal multidisciplinary management is less well known. This study aimed screened patients with atrial fibrillation for potentially modifiable risk factors and describe patients' symptom burden, wellbeing and treatment expectations. The atrial fibrillation risk profile, symptom burden, wellbeing and expectations of future treatment were studied in 352 patients. Various questionnaires and instruments were used, in addition to medical history assessment. In total, 69% of patients had 1–5 possibly modifiable risk factors for atrial fibrillation: 50% were overweight/obese, 39% had a blood pressure of >140/90 mmHg, 28% had symptoms of obstructive sleep apnoea and 25% reported no physical exercise. Most patients had high expectations for their upcoming atrial fibrillation treatment, but men expected full recovery more often than women. Worries about future health and reduced survival were present in approximately 28% of patients. Most patients with paroxysmal/persistent atrial fibrillation had potentially modifiable risk factors for atrial fibrillation and other cardiovascular events suitable for lifestyle interventions. Several patients experienced limitations in daily life, anxiety related to atrial fibrillation, and worry about their future health and survival. The results of this study might help identify relevant components for risk management and plan an individualised programme for atrial fibrillation patients.


Supervisor: Professor Viness Pillay University of the Witwatersrand Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform Research Unit South Africa Co-supervisors: Professor Yahya E. Choonara University of the Witwatersrand, Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, South Africa Professor Lisa C. du Toit University of the Witwatersrand, Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, South Africa Mr. Pradeep Kumar University of the Witwatersrand, Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, South Africa


Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl presents one of the most intelligently portrayed deranged heroines in recent times. She attains the tag of a Femme Fatale archetype. The classical Femme Fatales delved within the outline that conventional patriarchy and society had set for her. The Femme Fatales have taken on various forms and demeanors since their arrival into the literary and cultural arena. They have been the 'preying' mantis, the bloodsucking vampire, a lethal siren or wanton courtesan. The protagonist of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, Amy Elliot Dunne represents the most evolved form of Femme Fatale depictions.  She chooses to be the excruciatingly sly beauty who attempts an absolute annihilation of the patriarchal structures around her. Her childhood trauma and subsequent psychological disability goes into making her the Femme Fatale that she later becomes. Amy Dunne's psychological state is not what we call 'normal'; however, she turns this disability into her armor, as well as her weapon, to defy the patriarchal norms she is forced to adhere to. Thus, by making her disability her shield, she turns out to be the most evolved form of the Femme Fatale character type.


There is a host of alternative theories of gravitation in the literature, among them the $f(R,T)$ recently elaborated by Harko and collaborators. In these theories the $R$ and $T$ are respectively the Ricci scalar and the trace of the energy momentum tensor. There is already in literature a series of studies of different forms of the $f(R,T)$ functions as well as their cosmological consequences. However, there is not so far in the literature studies related to the gravitational waves in $f(R,T)$ gravity. Here we consider such an issue, in particular studying the putative extra polarization models that can well appear in such theories. To do that, we consider different functional forms for $f(R,T)$.


Abstract : As part of a consultative support program for DSSP, the Ocean Materials Criteria Branch of NRL has been studying methods of improving the strength, reliability, and buoyancy of flotation materials. This program has primarily taken the form of studies, from the geometrical point of view, of improved methods of packing spherical buoyant material to produce a greater net buoyancy. This report presents these improved methods of packing, coupled with a brief discussion of the feasibility of nonresinous buoyancy systems. (Author)


Examines characteristics of households participating in the Food Stamp Program in 1998, finding that participation decreased by 13 percent from 1997. Fifty-eight percent of participating households contain children, and 68 percent of these are single-parent households.


The necessity to enhance multicriteria decision in the industry is challenging to support the current energy policy. European Union regulations and guidelines provide the guideline for minimalizing environmental harms but are not enough in their actions for providing effective sustainability assessment. None of the available standalone assessment methods do capture the comprehensibility of multicriteria decision-making. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate a challenge to incorporate the multicriteria sustainability decision-making method to mainstream energy policy, which is lacking in European Union policies. The novelty of the research lies in constructing a multicriteria sustainability approach for assessing energy technologies performance for embodying into a mainstream energy policy. In this study, the multicriteria decision-making—an approach combining life cycle-based methods, analytical hierarchy process, as well as macroeconomic analysis, was used to demonstrate the applicability of the method based on three photovoltaic technologies. The results showed that sustainability assessment supported with multicriteria decision allows to better understand analyzed factors influencing the energy technology, contributing to selection of the best sustainability technology according to the realization of an energy policy. It was proved based on a real example of photovoltaics, where string ribbon technology represents the most sustainable along its life cycle, with a 0.503 sustainability score. The study highlighted the challenge to embody the integrated method assessing sustainability-oriented technologies into an energy policy. This challenge regarding example evidence places emphasis on the decision-making process to realize an energy policy and in consequence, to improve enterprise sustainability performance.


: With the continuous development of the Internet, the Internet of Things and cloud computing, as well as the wide application of intelligent terminals, various forms of data explosion, the era of big data has arrived. Big data is critical to the growth of manufacturing and strategic assets and has huge potential to help revitalize the data industry and change the way people research and think. Big data mining refers to extracting valuable information for users from massive data with various data types. These data types change rapidly and the data density is low, making relevant services acceptable to users. Enterprise knowledge management uses big data mining to preserve basic knowledge. By filtering, selecting, extracting, saving, converting and using original knowledge, it can conduct intelligent processing according to the normative knowledge, experience and management intention required by the company. Providing the right knowledge to the right people at the right time in the right way can increase the feasibility of big data mining knowledge, reduce the chaos caused by information explosion, and effectively support the company to make effective management decisions and improve the level of knowledge management. Based on the above content, enterprises must introduce big data analysis technology in the process of knowledge management, which can better help enterprises to achieve the goal of sustainable development.


CAGLE, G. D., R. M. PFISTER, G. R. VELA, and J. J. PORTER. 1973. External morphology of Azotobacter vinelarldii during cyst formation. Can. J. Microbiol. 19: 1481-1485. Conventional transmission electron microscopy (TEM), freeze-etching, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to study changes in the external morphology of Azotobacter vinelnrldii ATCC 12837 during cyst formation. The various methods of cell preparation used for SEM drastically affected the morphology of vegetative and early vrecystic forms, while little change was observed in the external appearance of late precysts and cvsts. SEM preparations from which cyst exine was removed before observation appeared morphologically similar to frozen-etched cells which revealed the central body.


Introduction: Baseline elevated Factor VIII (FVIII) level is a significant independent predictor of stroke occurrence and severity. We conducted a prospective serial laboratory cohort study to asse...


Surface transverse waves (STW) propagating on quartz plates of finite thickness have been studied theoretically and experimentally. Multiple frequency stopbands are predicted and measured for plate thicknesses close to a few acoustic wavelengths. Temperature sensitivities are measured. Three temperature-compensated modes are found on AT-cut plates.


Interviewed by Tomasz Cieślak and Jerzy Wiśniewski, Professor Wieslaw Pusz – an expert in the literature of the Polish Enlightenment – talks about the people of Polish Philology of the University of Lodz, his research passions and favourite reading matters.


Wool scouring processes have been the subject of considerable analysis in recent years. However the necessary amount of detergent needed is still controlled by the personal judgement of experienced operators. No detergent measurement procedure, effective for commercial operation, is known. Optimal control of addition of detergent would naturally lead to reduced cost. This report is an attempt to analyse the detergent requirement of a wool scouring process with suggestions for further work.


MMP-2 (activated) and MMP-9 like molecules which has similarity with vertebrate MMP-2 and 9 were identified in aqueous (PBS) extract of  Nasturtium flowers, matured Bambusa balcooa leaves and Nayantara flowers Aims - To search MMPs/Gelatinases like molecules from plant source. Methods - Zymography, Immunoblot, ELISA. Conclusion -The presence of activated MMP-2 and MMP-9 like molecules in plant source having similarity with vertebrate MMP-2 and MMP-9 may have academic and business potential.


Aim: An Observational study on awareness and practice about preventive methods of mosquito bite in Piparia village , Vadodara, Gujarat. Material and methods: A community  based cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Community Medicine, Piparia village of  Vadodara district, Gujarat, India. The study conducted after getting Permission from Institutional Ethics Committee and Human Research Review Panel and completed in three months. Results: 100 households were surveyed. Among the interviewed persons 58 (58%) were males and 42 (42%) were females. The average age of respondents was 52 years. Most of the households were in lower middle class (31%). The awareness regarding dengue illness was estimated based on correct responses of respondents to the closed ended and multiple types questions (MCQ) asked by interviewers. 36% participants were work in private job. 89 % were married. 56% cases, any of one family member suffered from fever last 30 days. 44% taking the treatment from different hospital.  79% individual were suffering from malaria diseases. 30% using net or 79% using to oil for killing the larva of the mosquito. Conclusions: The knowledge and awareness to stop the mosquito breeding, biting should be enhanced and should be turned into action.


The sensitivity and the selectivity of metal-oxide gas sensors are largely dependent on the operating temperature. These sensors are usually operated either at a fixed temperature value or using a pattern of multiple temperatures. In either case, the temperature value and its profile have a predetermined unchangeable pattern. In this paper we propose an active temperature modulation methodology that gives rise to a self-adapted temperature pattern that can be used as a representative feature of the sensor response. For this purpose, we designed a closed-loop circuit, connecting the sensor resistance to the sensor heater. With this circuit topology deviations in sensor resistance value are mirrored into changes of operating temperature. Herewith, the method is implemented with an astable multivibrator, so with a steady resistance values the temperature modulation signal converges to a periodic pattern of pulses that is characteristic of the sensor state.


In Reply .–Dr Kolisch's response to my review of the Firkowska et al paper 1 suggests that genetic influences may underlie the powerful effect of family life on a child's IQ, as presented in the study. His comments are, I believe, quite relevant and they raise several fundamental points of interest. First, one must ask whether or not IQ implies a genetic linkage and if so to what extent does this genetic influence carry over to a child's performance. I believe that it can be safely concluded, based on a large number of studies, that undoubtedly bright parents have bright offspring and that such correspondence in functioning across generations cannot be solely accounted for by family environment. However, the questions arise as to (1) how much is nature and how much is nurture, and (2) of the proportion that is nurture, what amount is amenable to extrafamilial remediation or influence.


Objective To observe trend of skeletal radiography in rats with chronic fluorosis and effect of selenium.Methods Two groups of Wistar rats were fed with normal fodder and high concentration of NaF water (1.58,2.63 mmol/L fluorine,F) and two groups with selenite fodder(2.0 mg/kg selenium,Se) and high F for 14 months.The rats were photographed by means of radiography with molybdenum target tubes biomonthly total 6 times and the contents of urine,serum and bone F in the rats were examined in 14 months.Results Urine,serum and bone F in rats with fluorosis increased.Concerning bone X-ray changes,abnormalities were observed first in pelvis,then in lumbar vertebrae,finally in thoracic and pectoral limbes.Early skeletal fluorosis was found in 8 months.There was a positive correlation between concentration of F in drinking water and degree skeletal fluorosis and of abnormal bone struture.After supplement of Se,serum and bone F decreased.Abnormal bone structure and skeletal fluorosis were reduced.Conclusions Pelvie could be refered as essential observation section by radiography and skeletal fluorosis appeared in the middle and late period of fluorosis.Certain concentration of Se could antagonize high F,delay and decrease the occurrence of skeletal fluorosis in rats with fluorosis.


Compression of ps pulses by frequency up-conversion in nonlinear optical crystal cut for type II phase matching is a well established method, if one desires intense, sub-ps up-converted pulses. For efficient compression of 1 μm light, time predelay must be introduced between the ordinary and extraordinary input pulses and group velocity of generated second harmonic pulses νSH<inf>g</inf> must be in between the group velocities of fundamental pulses νFH<inf>g,o</inf> and νFH<inf>g,e</inf> [1]. This requirement is satisfied for example in (D)KDP crystal and Nd:glass laser pulses, where νSH<inf>g</inf> equals to the average of νFH<inf>g,o</inf> and νFH<inf>g,e</inf> For high repetition rate, high power Yb:YAG lasers, e.g. [2], crystals from KDP family are not suitable and borate crystals with better thermal properties have to be used.


Performance-based seismic design now is widely studied in earthquake engineering. It is based on performance objectives which could be quantified. Multiple performance and hazard levels could be considered in this process. Based on research work on performance-based seismic design, main research contents are presented. There are several key problems which should be discussed before the procedures for performancebased design can be widely accepted. These problems were studied in this paper. It shows that performancebased seismic design mainly includes performance objectives, general design procedures and performance evaluations. Performance-based seismic design is the trend of future seismic design. The development in performance-based design will be directed towards the definition of performance objectives, a general design methodology and the demand evaluations.


Article history Received: 30 December 2020 Accepted: 2 March 2021 Published Online:30 March 2021 In this digital era, usage of electric and electronic devices has become the need of people. Evolution of technology triggers the adoption of new devices over old and discarded appliances turned into the electronic wastes also termed as e-waste/s. E-waste from any source has become a major concern to the society. The disposal of these wastes into the landfills causes many hazardous impacts to the ecosystem. As a promising solution construction industry can utilize the e-wastes effectively. The wastes may be used either as fine filler or aggregates in concrete and bituminous based constructions efficiently. Usage of waste/s conserves the natural resources also. Present study magnifies the scenario of application of electronic wastes in different forms i.e., plastic, metal etc. in bituminous and concrete based mixtures. A critical review has been carried the effects of electronic wastes in concrete and bituminous mixes and findings confirm the praxis of electronic wastes is possible within certain limits.


1.The phase difference Spectrum and The Phase Wave of the seismic wave. Fig-(1). Show "The relationship between the phase difference spectrum and the phase wave". Please refer to reference (3). Find the phase difference Spectrum from the phase wave on the right -hand side, the peak position and added an expanse state of Spectrum are in perfect harmony accord. In short (in other words), in case of the frequency of the phase wave is high, the shape of the normal distribution of the phase difference spectrum is build up sharp. And in the case of large frequency get a flat normal distribution of spectrum. This phenomena stand up all right frequency is high or low. Of course this phenomena is reversible was stated reference (3). I shall state a next item 2, the seismic wave and this phase wave should be a one-to-one relation. And still more the Fourier spectrum of the seismic wave and the phase difference Spectrum should be a one-to-one relation. 2.The Fourier Spectrum and the normal distribution of seismic wave. We think that the case of the epicenter length is becoming shorter little by little. The large epicenter length to get along with, the seismic wave energy is dispersed in every direction and still more had died out. As a result, the shape of the Fourier spectrum don't become a hill shape and happened occasionally a pointed shape. The shorter epicenter length to get along with, the shape of the Fourier spectrum of seismic wave is formed a hill and soon are considered the shape of the normal distribution. Reference. "Earthquake" written by Seismologist KIYOO Wadachi. The Chuukou Library. (A pocket edition) 1933 and 1993(reprint) p.99 "In the near area to the epicenter, the earthquake have very sharp motion. In many case, intense vertical motion happens in the early shocks of an earthquake. The longer the epicenter length little by little, vibration of seismic wave become slow little by little and becomes superior in a horizontal vibration." The shape of this normal distribution has flat hill and besides has large frequency of the peak of the hill. But get shorter little by little, the shape of the normal distribution (or Bell type) becomes sharp and becomes short frequency. Moreover make the short epicenter length, we shall study the normal distribution theory (Gaussian distribution, Mt.Fuji-type or Bell type) of probability and statics. In the reference (4), I have explained the KdV equation.(literature (3),(4)) Abstract 1. The shorter epicenter length shorter, the shape of the normal distribution becomes sharp. And this frequency too becomes small. The case of the epicenter length is large, the normal distribution of spectrum of seismic wave was not build up. Only build up a scattered peak. 2. On the case of the phase wave and the phase difference spectrum, the same phenomenon too come into being. Reference 1. Yorihiko Osaki "Shin Jishindou no Spectrum Kaiseki Nyumon" P78. 2. Masaru NISHIZAWA. (2012): Study of shape of Mountain (Normal Distribution) of Fourier Spectrum of Earthquake Motion. May 20-25, S-SS30-P12(2012, JpGU) 3. Masaru NISHIZAWA. (2012): Handling by Solitary Wave and soliton of Earthquake Motion: October SSS25-P35 Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2016


We all love to beat up on Peter. He is unbridled, braggadocios, embarrassingly bold, and at times violent. However, he is also a man who was greatly used of God, to preach at Pentecost, to lead the Church at Jerusalem, to minister to the Church at Rome, to minister to suffering saints in Asia Minor. In other words, he is like us. He leans on self to minister at times and then has to turn again, or even be turned by Paul, to lean on grace. He is just a preacher.


The inhibition of in-vitro calcium-oxalate crystal formation by Phyllanthus niruri L . extract was investigated by different methods i.e. nucleation assay and synthetic urine assay. In nucleation assay, the aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of different concentrations of the extract on calcium oxalate crystallization in vitro while in synthetic urine method the percentage inhibition and growth of the calcium oxalate monohydrate crystals from synthetic urine at different % concentrations of extract was investigated. Results revealed that in both the assay % inhibition for calcium oxalate crystal formation was found to be directly proportional to the increase in concentration of the plant extract with maximum inhibition of 61.97% ± 0.78 at 1000mg/ml in nucleation assay, while in synthetic urine assay maximum inhibition was 58.62 ± 0.02 %at 100% concentration of extract. Thus, the extract showed potent antilithic ability in both the assays studied.


The dynamic fracture toughness was determined for two titanium alloys (Ti-6A1-4V and Ti-6A1-6V-2Sn) from different suppliers and in various heat-treated conditions. The strain-rate effect associated with the dynamic test is shown to increase the fracture toughness for all the alloys with the exception of mill-annealed and duplex-annealed Ti-6A1-6V-2Sn, where the fracture toughness was found to be independent of strain rate. Dial energy per unit specimen area (W/A) d for precracked Charpy specimens can be used to calculate K I d as long as a relatively flat fracture appearance (small shear area) is obtained. Otherwise, when a large amount of shear is present, the energy to maximum load (W/A) m or P m a x from the load-time trace must be used to calculate K I d .


Animated simulation is a fast and easy way to test many engineering designs' accuracy. By combining the accessibility of internet/intranet browser and Java graphic programming, the project achieved the goal of providing civil engineers a tool to help with the road design without any paperwork going around the company. It helps engineers predict vehicles movement without having to test :it on the road. First, the system loads a map as a background. Then, the user will be able to draw a road on the map for a vehicle'to followAfter the road has been selected the user will then select a vehicle to be simulated driving the road. The user will, see if the road is wide enough for the vehicle or where the road needs to be expanded.


Eigenfunctions and eigenvalues of the relativistic no-pair Hamiltonian are determined for [ital n]=2 triplet states of heliumlike ions with charges in the range [ital Z]=5--100. The eigenfunctions are expanded in a basis of two-electron wave functions constructed from Dirac-Coulomb orbitals restricted to a finite cavity. The Hamiltonian matrix is evaluated and Davidson's method is then used to determine the lowest few eigenfunctions and eigenvalues. These calculations, which include the Coulomb interaction and the retarded Breit interaction, are corrected for QED and mass-polarization effects using values from Drake's unified method and are compared with other calculations and with experiment. For low-[ital Z] ions, the present calculations agree well with many-body perturbation theory and with the unified method, but disagree substantially with multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock (MCDF) calculations corrected for correlations. At [ital Z]=36, our term energies are lower than the unified method by [lambda][alpha][sup 4][ital Z4] a.u., where [lambda]=0.033, 0.51, 0.16, and 0.003 for the 2 [sup 3][ital S][sub 1], 2 [sup 3][ital P][sub 0], 2 [sup 3][ital P][sub 1], and 2 [sup 3][ital P][sub 2] states, respectively. For [ital Z]=47 and 64, the present values of the 2 [sup 3][ital P][sub 0--]2 [sup 3][ital P][sub 1] fine structure agree better with MCDFmore » predictions than with the unified method. The energy intervals 2 [sup 3][ital P][sub 0][minus]2 [sup 3][ital S][sub 1], 2 [sup 3][ital P][sub 1][minus]2 [sup 3][ital S][sub 1], 2 [sup 3][ital P][sub 2][minus]2 [sup 3][ital S][sub 1], and 2 [sup 3][ital P][sub 0][minus]2 [sup 3][ital P][sub 1] are consistent with experiment throughout the entire range of [ital Z].« less


Service quality is an important attribute that is used to characterize many service systems. In this study, we examine a service system with two consecutive steps that have shared resources. The service process consists of a base service (first step in the process) followed by a second step that adds additional value. We first look at a social surplus maximizing service provider (SP) who decides the optimal service capacity and re-optimizes in response to changes in the speed of service of the first step due to local innovations. Our main objective is to explore using simple and stylized models, the effect on the service system of local innovations in step 1 that decrease this step's service times. We find that the effect of such innovations can sometimes lead to the worsening of certain critical service quality measures when SPs are monopolists. Next, using a model of competition, we find that this effect continues to hold in settings where SPs compete for arrivals. Our results have interesting consequences for many service systems and may help explain some of the unintended effects of service innovations reported in the literature.


The main aim of this article is to show the characteristics of individuals playing computer games and their styles of play. In order to present the relevant data, the authors limited the study sample to a selected group of individual users. In the current paper the authors presented the commonalities of gamers, their approach towards participation in games, and the awareness of potential changes and improvements in the area. They also held discussions concerning the obtained solutions and drew conclusions based on the present stage of research.


The utility model discloses a solar-powered LED lamp indication mark, which comprises a two-wave board; wherein, a lamp body is arranged on the two-wave board; a solar panel is fastened on the edge of the lamp body; two LED lamps are respectively arranged on both sides of the lamp body; a chargeable battery and a control board are arranged inside the lamp body; the chargeable battery is connected with the solar panel; one end of the control board is connected with the solar panel; the other end of the control board is connected with the LED lamps; the two-wave board is connected with the lamp body in series by a positioning bolt; a reflecting film is arranged around the LED lamps; and the positioning bolt is screwed in a fixing nut arranged on the lower end of the two-wave board. The utility model has the advantages of low energy consumption, strong light intensity, long warning distance, safety and reliability.


Objective To analyze the trends of HIV/AIDS researches in China from 1981 to 2011 using bibliometric analysis.Method A bibliometric analysis regarding China HIV/AIDS researches was conducted by using the Chinese Biomedical Literature(CBMDisc) Database for the period of 1981 to 2011.By using the noteexpress software,an attempt was made to identify the patterns of the growth in HIV/AIDS literature,as well as type of authorship,institutional affiliations of authors,foundation,documents published and subject content.Results A total of 34 529 records of articles indexed to HIV/AIDS were identified.Chinese publications on HIV/AIDS increased from five articles in 1983 to 2 796 in 2011 and early publications were mainly reviews and translations.Publications supported by special funds were increased year after year.HIV/AIDS research covered various subjects and a high proportion of co-authorship was found.Centers for disease control and prevention(CDC),universities and hospitals were the three main institutions to which the authors were affiliated.According to the analysis of subject content,HIV/AIDS research was mainly concerned with three aspects,i.e.epidemiology,treatment and laboratory testing.Conclusion HIV/AIDS research in China started quite early,and has gone through three stage:initial stage,stage of rapid development and stage of maturity.With the social development,China pays more attention to HIV/AIDS research which has reached a relatively higher level.


This paper investigates the ignitability and effectiveness of burning crude oil spills at sea with respect to the type of oil, weathering time, and seawater emulsion content. In the event of an oil or fuel spill at sea, in situ burning can be a practical method of removing the oil and preventing it from reaching vulnerable coastlines. However, the specific chemistry of the oil and its resulting behavior dictates how well this method works. In order to understand this behavior, Santa Barbara Channel crude oils were tested and burned in combinations of fresh, weathered, and seawater-emulsified at discrete ratios. A cone calorimeter was used to monitor time to ignition, mass loss, heat release rate, and smoke production for laboratory-scale burn tests. Weathering generally increased ignition time, but also changed the miscibility with water; this changed both heat released and burn efficiency. Emulsions with seawater fractions below approximately 20 % were found to improve the heat release rate and burn efficiency compared to oil-only burns; suggesting that some water emulsification can benefit oil burning. The results indicate that a targeted approach to the type of oil and degree of emulsification can expand the window of opportunity for in situ oil burns.


Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the most relevant cause of respiratory problems with a high social-economic impact in the world. Despite being a preventable disease and have an early diagnosis method, there is evidence of underdiagnosis and undertreatment. Objective: To determine the adherence to the recommendations of a COPD Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) by primary care physicians at a primary care clinic. Material and methods: Descriptive and comparative, cross-sectional and ambispective study, of medical records of patients with confi rmed COPD from 2014 to 2015. Each medical history and medical note was compared with the CPG recommendations; for the statistical analysis, descriptive and comparative methods were obtained for each recommendation. Results: 32 medical notes were analyzed; family medicine residents met 49.6% of the recommendations; staff family medicine specialist followed 33.2% of the recommendations and staff general practitioners 31.6%. Conclusion: There is a low adherence to the GPC. This low adherence was observed at most of the recommendations. It was demostrated different percentages of adherence according to physician profi le.


Currently, the available evaluation methods for determining the chip breakability in the industry are mainly based on subjective visual assessment of the chip formation by an operator during machining or on chips that were collected after the tests. However, in many cases, these methods cannot give us accurate quantitative differences for evaluation of the chip breakability of similar steel grades and similar sets of machining parameters. Thus, more sensitive methods are required to obtain more detailed information. In this study, a new method for the objective assessment of chip breakability based on quantitative determination of the weight distribution of chips (WDC) was tested and applied during machining of stainless steels without Ca treatment (316L) and with Ca treatment (316L + Ca). The obtained results show great consistencies and the reliability of this method. By using the WDC method, significant quantitative differences were obtained by the evaluation of chips, which were collected during the machining process of these two similar grades of steel at various cutting parameters, while, visually, these chips look very similar. More specifically, it was found that the Ca treatment of steel can improve the chip breakability of 316L + Ca steel in 80% of cutting trials, since a fraction of small light chips (Type I) from this steel increased and a fraction of large heavy chips (Type III) decreased accordingly. Moreover, the WDCs that were obtained at different cutting parameters were determined and compared in this study. The obtained results can be used for the optimization of chip breakability of each steel at different cutting parameters. The positive effect of Ca treatment of stainless steel was discussed in this study based on consideration of the modification of different non-metallic inclusions and their effect on the chip breakability during machining.


Closed-chest cardiac massage for resuscitation after cardiac standstill has well proven its great value but results frequently in injuries. A modification of the usual sternal pressure is suggested. It concerns the position of the compressing hands, the direction of compression and the elevation of the patient's lower limbs. This change of technique is thought to increase its efficacy and to decrease the danger of injury. No statistics have been established for this new technique. I t is based on anatomic and physiologic principles. The results should therefore a t least be equal to the previously known technique. It is recommended that physicians who apply external cardiac compression use the suggested modification to allpreciate its advantages.


Tin telluride (SnTe) has recently attracted much attention as a promising thermoelectric material. In this work, SnTe is alloyed with additional Pb, and the high density crystalline ingots of SnPbxTe (x = 0, 0.02, 0.04, and 0.06) have been synthesized by a zone-melting method. Through this method, SnPbxTe samples show larger power factors than those prepared by other methods, and a maximum value of 30.5 μW cm−1 K−2 at 823 K has been reached in p-type SnPb0.02Te, which is the highest value reported so far. As a result, a promising figure of merit ZT of ∼0.81 has been obtained at 823 K.


In this paper, the displacement and stress of pile foundation constructed in the soft cohesive soils were measured and investigated at each construction phase. The piles belongs to compressive stress then extension due to lateral flow of soft soils. Battered piles showed different stress state according to construction direction. The lateral displacements of piles radically occurred at the embankment phase.


Neuropsychological, behavioral and mood disturbances are the different aspects of the thalamic lesions [1, 2], especially in circumscribed thalamic infarction [3, 4]. Delusional disorder due to a thalamic lesion has not been reported previously in detail. I report here the clinical and neuropsychological data of a patient with acute infarction in the tuberothalamic artery territory who developed acute paranoid (delusional) disorder. A 75-year-old hypertensive right-handed housewife suddenly noted transient alteration of consciousness and confusion, followed 2 days later by remarkable behavioral changes. On admission at hospital after 3 days of ictus, the patient was well oriented to place, with small errors to time. She had no history of depression or dementia. She had persecutory delusions, distrusted relatives and was suspicious about her children with perverse mood. She said that her spouse and children were unfaithful and wanted to steal her money from her pocketbook. She repeatedly attempted to call the police and obtain justice through appealing government agencies. Symptoms such as feeling of being exploited and denying trustworthiness of relatives lasted 3 months after ictus onset. Neurological examination revealed a slight emotional left-sided facial paresis. Fine motility of the fingers was slowed on the left side. There were no other neurological symptoms. Blood pressure was 180/100 mm Hg. Neuropsychologic examination revealed no language abnormality. She had tactile and visual extinction on simultaneous bilateral stimulation. Spontaneous drawing of a cube and a house was impaired. The copy of a Rey complex figure was impaired (15 points) with perseveration on the right side of the paper. The Rey auditory verbal learning test (15 words of Rey; total 25: 6-6-5-4-4) was not sufficient. The Wisconsin card sorting test (0 series realized) and Stroop test (1 min 50 s) were markedly disturbed. Standard blood and urine tests were within normal ranges. EKG showed left ventricular hypertrophy. T2-weighted MRI done 1 week after admission showed an isolated hyperintense lesion in the anterior part of the right thalamus, suggestive of an infarct in the territory of the right tuberothalamic artery (fig. 1). Magnetic resonance angiography demonstrated multifocal atheromatous disease of the carotid and basilar arteries. Cerebral SPECT ([99mTc] HMPAO) revealed hypoperfusion in the right medial frontal area suggesting a frontal metabolic dysfunction (fig. 2). She was treated by 5 mg/day haloperidol for her persecutory delusions during 3 months which resolved after this period. Misinterpretation of events is common in brain disease, especially in dementia, toxic-metabolic disturbances and closed Fig. 1. Axial T2-weighted MRI whowing an infarct in the right tuberothalamic artery territory.


Australia's two most influential pharmacy bodies, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, are arguing over which can better represent the interests of pharmacists. Details of strategy documents issued by both outlining their visions for the profession are highlighted.


Research in recent years has shown that IT-enabled companies have higher productivity than their competitors. The new and latest technological solutions enrich the range of tools available to workers, ensuring that information is always available, communication is easier, and customers are better served. At the same time, these opportunities also create psycho-social pressures that strain workers' working and private lives and can lead to further problems of techno-addiction. The study aims to investigate the relationships between the characteristics of technostress and their combined impact on trust within the organization between human-human and human-technology relationships. The quantitative study involved 531 respondents. Responses were analyzed using IBM SPSS 28 and IBM AMOS 27. The results show that there is undoubtedly a close relationship and a mutually generating effect between technostress characteristics, which substantially impact trust within the organization. However, trust is still stronger in personal relationships than in human-technology relationships. According to the respondents, the level of preparedness, technological knowledge, and expectations influence trust in the use of technology, which also affects performance and work-life balance.
AcknowledgmentThis study is supported by the Research Centre at Faculty of Business and Economics (No. PE-GTK-GSKK A095000000-4) of University of Pannonia (Veszprém, Hungary).


Seddon's earlier gloom over Nepal, so powerfully expressed in Nepal in crisis and less apocalyptically in Nepal: a state of poverty, is more trenchant. This is a sad reflection on the fruits of Nepali democracy. Nepal in the nineties is a good book. It is not an introductory volume but is essential for anyone who wishes to gain a deeper understanding of Nepal at a critical juncture in the country's history. Its title is a little misleading as the majority of the essays concentrate on the opening years of the decade and are very much focused on political development. Only two of the chapters are general and fit more clearly under the rubric ' Nepal in the nineties'. But this problem of titling and scope is common to many edited works and does not detract from the quality of the individual essays. The book is of a uniformly high standard and is a welcome analytical contribution to the study of Nepal.


Abstract Introduction Physical activity (PA) workplace health promotion (WHP) interventions have traditionally utilised a top-down research approach at an individual level where participants are considered as passive subjects. Whereas participatory research involves the participants and relevant stakeholders within the research process utilising a bottom-up approach which focuses on the health priorities of the participants and allows the integration of the researcher's expertise and the end-users lived experiences, which has been shown to aid in the acceptability and relevance of the research. This protocol describes a scoping review which will explore, identify and map participatory research techniques and their impact when utilised in office based WHP interventions designed to improve PA levels and/or decrease sitting time. Providing an overview of key characteristics of WHP interventions which took a participatory research approach. Methods and analysis This scoping review will follow the guidelines and framework from the PRISMA-ScR. Articles will be retrieved via five databases: Web of Science, PubMED, Scopus, Google Scholar and OpenGrey. A search strategy was piloted, and relevant review articles search strategies were explored, to identify appropriate key words and MeSH terms. Two independent reviewers will screen retrieved articles based on our inclusion and exclusion criteria by title and abstract first, followed by the full text. Any discrepancies will be discussed until a consensus is reached. Data will be extracted, charted and summarised via a narrative synthesis and qualitative analyses. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval was not required or obtained for this scoping review. The completed scoping review findings will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal which has a research scope that encompasses participatory research and health promotion. The findings will be presented at appropriate academic conferences and to project partners to inform the design of a WHP intervention. Strengths and limitations of this study The proposed scoping review will explore and map the current participatory research techniques and approaches taken when completing an office-based workplace health promotion intervention designed to increase physical activity. The scoping review by nature and the search strategy proposed will allow for a wide breadth of literature to be explored. There is no critical appraisal or quality assessment of the included studies which is typical of a systematic review but not of a scoping review or the aim of this review article. This scoping review has a narrow focus on physical activity and may limit/exclude articles aiming to improve psychological wellbeing or work performance.


In this paper we propose an approach to integrate V-Model into the web site development process. This approach is given as an extension of the Web Site Design Method (WSDM) [1]. In our approach the V-Model are integrated within the methodology throughout the phases of the web development proces s defined in WSDM methodology. WSDM lack for testing, therefore, we tried to make integration V-model int o WSDM aiming to enhance testing phase in the web development methodology WSDM.


ABSTRACT Growing research identifies the importance of communication between probation officers and probationers. The current study examines use of motivational, client-centered communication strategies in an adult probation setting. Using surveys and observational data, this work explores: (a) whether probation officers are comfortable using motivational communication strategies and (b) how probation officers communicate with probationers. Findings suggest probation officers attempt to integrate motivational techniques in their interactions, directive, but authoritarian strategies dominate probation officer– probationer interactions. Study implications emphasize the need to enhance implementation of client-centered communication strategies to improve offender outcomes and move away from authoritarian and risk management practices.


Telecommunication in today's world are representing a very important and complex sector with the strong influence at global, regional and every single country level. Standardization and quality system implementation are one of the key factor of a good management of business operation in the telecommunication service sector. Quality is needed at both - technical technological as well as management level, while the latter is passing through the process of integration under management quality system. The overview of management quality system according ISO 9000 standard, together with the possibilities of its implementation in telecommunication sector through the new concept TL 9000 quality management, is presented in this paper.


Let CN = ( ρ |t-s|), t, s = 1, . . . , N, be the autocorrelation matrix of a vector XN = ( X1, . . . , XN)' from a stationary autoregressive process of order p, where N ≥ p. In this paper, we derive a general formula without any distributional assumption, which is easy to program for directly solving the inverse of CN, denoted by C . The formulation of C is useful in time series analysis, general linear mode, multivariate linear model, MANOVA and growth curves model with high order autoregressive errors, and can simplify the computational procedure of parameter estimation. Some demonstrations of C including AR(2), AR(3), and AR(4) are given.


Background: Multiple eruptive dermatofibroma (MEDF) is a rare disorder seen in immunocompromised patients, simulating Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). Whereas KS is strongly associated with human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), the virus has never been detected in MEDF until now. Objective: To present a patient with MEDF who showed no signs of immunodeficiency but was seropositive for HHV-8 antibodies and demonstrated HHV-8 DNA both in the peripheral blood and lesional skin of MEDF. Methods: Clinical, histological and serological investigations were performed as well as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) studies and in situhybridization (ISH). Results: A 35-year-old white man with suspected KS was referred for evaluation of multiple pigmented nodules and patches. Biopsies revealed features of dermatofibroma, superficial fibrosing dermatitis and scar. One of the nodular lesions harbored HHV-8 DNA sequences. A faint amplification product was detected in the superficial fibrosing dermatitis lesion, while no HHV-8 sequences were found in normal skin and scar. Whole-blood samples and serum were positive for HHV-8. None of the skin lesions shown to harbor HHV-8 DNA sequences by nested PCR displayed a signal for HHV-8 RNA by ISH. Repetitive peripheral blood examinations did not reveal any serum antibodies against or antigens of HIV. Serum antibodies against the HHV-8 capsid antigen orf 65.2 were detected. Conclusion: Results of PCR studies and ISH indicate that the presence of HHV-8 in the lesional tissue was probably blood-borne due to viremia and not due to viral replication in tumor cells. The presence of HHV-8 is not fully restricted to KS. The differential diagnosis of KS and its simulators should be based on an integrative analysis of all available clinicopathological and molecular data and should not rely exclusively or predominantly on the presence or absence of HHV-8.


This work describes the nitrosylation of biomimetic [2Fe–2S] clusters with phenylbis(benzimidazol-2-yl)methane or benzimidazolthiophenol ligands in different iron oxidation states and ligand protonation states. Mixed-valent clusters are oxidized to diferric clusters in the presence of nitric oxide before they further react to form dinitrosyl iron complexes (DNICs). The reaction was monitored by UV-vis and IR spectroscopy and the reaction products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, EPR, and Mossbauer spectroscopy. Protonation studies of the DNICs supported by DFT calculations were possible due to proton-responsive ligand sites on the benzimidazole moiety and they revealed significant IR spectroscopic changes for the NO ligands. Furthermore, a cubane-type [4Fe–4S] cluster is presented in which the coordination number of one iron atom depends on the counterion according to X-ray crystallography and Mossbauer spectroscopy. Oxidation of the cluster was studied by a series of analytical techniques indicating a similar change of the coordination number. Finally, 5,6-Dithia-1,10-phenanthroline was investigated as potential ligand for [2Fe–2S] clusters. As shown in electrochemical experiments, the ligand can be employed as disulfide/dithiol switch. A proton induced shift of the reductive wave was seen in cyclic voltammetry and the S–S bond cleavage mechanism switches from EEC to ECE(C).


Most spirometry errors reduce test results. The aim of the study was comparison results of spirometry performed with the ATS/ERS quantitative criteria and simple visual inspection criteria. 75 patients performed spirometry twice on the same day: according to criteria of the ATS/ERS quality for spirometry and on visual control. Statistical analysis was performed with Bland-Altman method. Forced expiratory volume (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) were greater for the cases with quantitative control. The mean difference between FVCs was 0.37 ± 0.29 L. The mean difference between FEV1s was 0.06 ± 0.2 L. Using ATS/ERS spirometry guide-lines may help improve results and avoids spirometry errors.


Heterogeneous catalysis is vitally important to modern society, and one path towards rational catalyst design is through atomistic scale understanding. The atomistic scale can be linked to macroscopic observables by microkinetic models based on first-principles calculations. With the increasing accuracy of first-principles methods and growing com- putational resources, it has become important to investigate and further develop the methodology of microkinetic modeling, which is the theme of this thesis. First, a procedure for mean-field microkinetic modeling of reactions over extended surfaces is developed, where complete methane oxidation over Pd(100) and Pd(111) is studied as an example. The model reveals how the main reaction mechanisms depend on reaction conditions, and shows poisoning as well as promotion phenomena. Second, the effect of entropy in microkinetic modeling is investigated, where CO oxidation over Pt(111) is used as a model reaction. Entropy is found to affect reaction kinetics substantially. Moreover, a method named Complete Potential Energy Sampling (CPES) is developed as a flexible tool for estimating adsorbate-entropy. Third, a kinetic Monte Carlo method is developed to bridge the materials gap in het- erogeneous catalysis. The computational cost to map out the complete reaction-energy- landscape on a nanoparticle is high, which is solved herein using generalized coordination numbers as descriptors for reaction energies. CO oxidation over Pt is studied, and nanoparticles are found to behave differently than the corresponding extended surfaces. Moreover, the active site is found to vary with reaction conditions. Finally, the reaction orders and apparent activation energies are coupled to the microscale via the degree of rate control, which enhances the atomistic understanding of reaction kinetics.


Deep learning has made great contributions to the study of single image super resolution. The recently proposed feed-forward architectures of super-resolution focus on nonlinear mapping from low-resolution inputs to high-resolution outputs. However, the feed-forward structure does not well represent the interdependencies between low- and high-resolution images. This leads to bad effect of SISR for large scaling factor. To solve this problem, this paper proposes an enhanced back-projection network that provides an up and down sampling process with error feedback to capture various spatial correlations, and introduces the residual block in sampling process to alleviate the difficulty of training deep networks and achieve better results. The results about 8x SR show that the proposed network is effective with compare to other popular methods in the large scaling factor.


OF THESIS PRAGMATIC FUNCTIONALITY OF PUNCTUATION ON TWITTER This work presents an analysis of punctuation use in computer-mediated communication (CMC); in particular, the present study aims to describe the pragmatic functions of nonstandard punctuation on Twitter, providing a corpus-driven overview of the distribution and frequency of nonstandard punctuation use, and an analysis of sampled tweets at the individual tweet level to estimate noise levels in the overall corpus. A survey was also conducted which aimed to identify user understanding of the affective content of nonstandard punctuation strings and to identify any possible effects of character repetition. Survey results indicate that linguistic content was the strongest indicator of affective understanding, type of punctuation (i.e., ?, !, and combinations thereof) was a weaker indicator of some affective content, and repetition was not found to be significant. The study argues that certain string types, possibly defined by punctuation type and not count, have large indexical fields of pragmatic meaning available to them, which are bounded by context. In light of these observations, the study also proposes distinctions/categories of punctuation strings and their associated pragmatic meanings.


Single-anastomosis duodenal switch (SADI-S) is effective for weight loss with low reported rates of complications. Bile reflux into the stomach or esophagus is an uncommonly reported complication but can lead to significant symptoms for patients suffering from this complication. Concurrent paraesophageal hernia can exacerbate the symptoms of biliary reflux gastritis. We present a case report describing the management of biliary reflux gastritis with concurrent paraesophageal hernia, our decision-making process, and technical pearls and possible pitfalls.


................................................................................................................ viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................... x LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................... xiv CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................ 1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION .............................................................................. 1 1.


Introduction. Crushing syndrome can affect all structures of a limb and can cause unique or complex injuries. The clinical picture of the injuries is nonspecific and extremely varied, and is not characteristic of the mechanism that generated it. The aim of our study was to correlate the changes of ALD A (aldolase A) and CAIII (carbonic anhydrase III) in the appearance and evolution of the crushing syndrome. Material and methods. The present study included 22 patients with crushing syndrome. The control group consisted of 20 healthy subjects. IL-6 (interleukin-6), CK (creatine kinase), ALD A and CAIII blood levels were determined simultaneously from all the participants to the study. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25 and Microsoft Office Excel / Word 2013. Results. Our results showed significantly increased levels of ALD A, CAIII, IL-6 and CK in patients with crushing syndrome. However, no statistically significant correlations could be found between the studied biomarkers. Discussions. So far, in the medical literature, very few studies focused on the correlation between the occurrence of crushing syndrome and changes in ALD A and CA III levels. Conclusions. Our study showed that ALD A and CAIII may become important biomarkers for the rapid diagnosis of crushing syndrome in the future.