SWORD is a tool for pre-simulation and screening of potential oil recovery methods. It is based on proven analytical solutions and allows fast evaluation of IOR/EOR methods. Water flooding, miscible gas injection, WAG injection, surfactant and/or polymer flooding are methods that can be evaluated by SWORD: The predictions are based on Dykstra-Parsons and vertical equilibrium solutions and gravity segregated three-phase flow modeling. Multicriterion analysis using artificial neural network approach provides fast assessment of IOR and well intervention methods applicability at different reservoir conditions.


Nonlinear deformation of granular composite material is investigated. A model of nonlinear deformation of granular composite materials is proposed. Granular composite is considered as a two-component material of random structure. The model is based on stochastic differential equations of the physically nonlinear theory of elasticity. The solution of the problem of the stress-strain state and effective properties of the composite material is constructed by the method of conditional averaging of L.P. Khoroshun. An algorithm for determining the effective deformative properties of a granular composite with physically non-linear components is developed. The solution of nonlinear equations that take into account the physical nonlinearity of the components is constructed by an iterative method. The law of the relationship between macrostresses and macrostrains in a granular composite is established, as well as the dependence of average strains and stresses in its components on macrostresses. Composite deformation curves are constructed for different values of the volume content of its components. The dependence of the effective deformative properties of the granular composite on the volume contents of the components was studied. The influence of components non-linearity on the deformation of a composite material is investigated. It has been established that the non-linearity of the components significantly affects on the effective deforming properties and the stress-strain state of granular composites


This is part of a series of review articles on formaldehyde‐releasers and their relationship to formaldehyde contact allergy. Formaldehyde‐releasers used in metalworking fluids (MWF) and a group of releasers not presented in previous articles are discussed. Here, in Part 1 of the article, there is a short overview of the composition and functions of MWF, the function of biocides in them, and adverse reactions to MWF. In addition, the releasers in MWF that have caused contact allergy are presented with CAS, synonyms, molecular formula, chemical structure, applications, patch test studies, and amount of formaldehyde released by them.


Purpose – This paper aims to utilize purpose advanced fluid‐structure interaction, non‐linear dynamics, finite‐element analyses in order to investigate various phenomena and processes accompanying blast wave generation, propagation and interaction and to assess the blast‐wave‐mitigation potential of a piston‐cylinder assembly placed in front of the target structure.Design/methodology/approach – The employed computational methods and tools are verified and validated by first demonstrating that they can quite accurately reproduce analytical solutions for a couple of well‐defined blast wave propagation and interaction problems.Findings – The methods/tools are used to investigate the piston‐cylinder blast‐mitigation concept and the results obtained clearly reveal that significant blast‐mitigation effects can be achieved through the use of this concept. Furthermore, the results showed that the extent of the blast‐mitigation effect is a sensitive function of the piston‐cylinder geometrical parameters. Specifica...


Periodontitis is a well‐appreciated example of leukocyte‐mediated bone loss and inflammation that has pathogenic features similar to those observed in other inflammatory diseases such as arthritis. Resolvins are a new family of bioactive products of omega‐3 fatty acid transformation circuits initiated by aspirin treatment that counter proinflammatory signals. Because it is now increasingly apparent that local inflammation plays a critical role in many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, and asthma, experiments were undertaken to evaluate the actions of the newly described EPA‐derived Resolvin E1 (RvE1) in regulation of neutrophil tissue destruction and resolution of inflammation. The actions of an aspirin‐triggered lipoxin (LX) analog and RvE1 in a human disease, localized aggressive periodontitis (LAP), were determined. Results indicate that neutrophils from LAP are refractory to anti‐inflammatory molecules of the LX series, whereas LAP neutrophils respond to RvE1. In addition, RvE1 specifically binds to human neutrophils at a site that is functionally distinct from the LX receptor. Consistent with these potent actions, topical application of RvE1 in rabbit periodontitis conferred dramatic protection against inflammation induced tissue and bone loss associated with periodontitis.


Objectives:The research aimed to study the ultrasonic extraction technology of total flavonoids from the Leaves of Metasequoia and optimize its extraction process.Methods:With dry extract rate and flavonoid content as the inspection indicators,orthogonal test was used to investigate the influence of four extracting factors(ethanol volume,extracting,extraction time and ethanol consistence) on the extracting process.Results:The optimum extracting process was A3B1C1D3,i.e.The ethanol volume being 20 times of the weight of medicinal material,extraction for one times and 15 minutes each time,and 85% ethanol consistence.Conclusion:Ultrasonic extraction method was a ideal extraction method of total flavonoids from the Leaves of Metasequoia.


The article outlines the problems of the influence of leptin on the formation of menstrual function in adolescent girls born with low and excessive body weight. The risk factors that are triggers in the formation of gynecological pathology have been identified and indicated. The deviation of body weight in girls at birth is one of the triggers of the pathological course of pubertygenesis, the course of which is accompanied by a clear relationship between the production of leptin(L) and body mass index(BMI), is manifested by impaired physical development, menstrual function and is most often combined with pathological changes in the functioning of the autonomic nervous system, which must be taken into account when verifying diagnosis and treatment of such patients.


The present ivnention relates to the excess pressure recovering and power generating process with one turbine shared by two or more blast furnace. After two or more blast furnace coal gas dedusting systems and before the pressure release valve, gas is led out and collected and made to enter turbine for expansion to produce power and driving power generator to produce electricity; and gas from theturbine enters the general coal gas pipe via outlet water-sealed valve. There is by-pass valve across the turbine. The turbine is one several-stage axial one and is whole static pressure controlled automatically. The technological process is controlled with PLC programmable controller.


Apostasy is one of the main topics in Persian poetry and literature. Nasser Khosrow believes that the virtue of man is to pay attention to the impermanence and mortality of material manifestations, and those who are captives of the world and worldly belongings; He considers it a disgrace. Perhaps it can be said that in the complete biography of the worldly and ascetic poetry of Dari Persian literature, Nasser Khosrow is Kesai and the peak of it is Sana'i.  The high frequency of worldly aversion theme in the poem is dependence on the court and their abandonment. The images of the world in the mind of Nasser Khosrow; It is well conveyed through the dictionary. These pictures show its true face. Nasser Khosrow's depiction of the world is not only ugly and unpleasant; Sometimes he looks wise. It should be said that the poet has given many advices on leaving the world and worldly desires, the main reason for which is the impermanence and transience of the world.


The optical axis sensitivity for the unit-magnification multipass system (UMS) is presented by using a general misaligned optical element transfer model. The generalized sensitivity factors SD1, SD2, ST1, and ST2 influenced by both the axial and angular misalignments of the objective mirrors in a UMS have been calculated for the first time. The Bernstein-Herzberg White Cells are used as an example, and their alignment tolerance and stability properties are found when their configurations change. The analysis in this paper is helpful for the design of other kinds of multipass gas cells (MGC) with high robustness and avoiding the violent vibration of the optical axis when the misalignment of each mirror is controlled within the tolerance range. Among the five possible perturbations sources, the misaligned factors have more effects on the output beam's position and the perturbed sources from and have more impacts on the output beam's slope referred to as -axis and -axis, respectively. Higher reflection times mean smaller tolerance range. The results benefit the multipass cell design and the precise alignment of the mirrors within the cell with the purpose of long-term stability in measurements.


Background Storage mites are frequently found in our daily environment. Nevertheless, storage mite allergy is often neglected in allergological diagnostics and possible allergies requiring therapy are thus overlooked. Methods Recommendations for action are made based on a literature review from March 2021 to August 2021 in PubMed, Medline, and GoogleScholar. Results This review article provides an overview of the species of storage mites, sensitization rates in different countries and occupations, and co-sensitization rates to house dust mite. Recommendations for diagnosis as well as therapy are given. The importance of provocation testing as well as causal therapy by allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is presented. The authors M. Cuevas and M.-L. Polk contributed equally


The unsteadiness of rotor inflow caused by the atmosphere creates continuous variations of blade loads and rotor torque. Usually these loads are amplified by rotor shaft and gearbox elasticity and inertia. The authors propose here a dynamic multi-body model where the wind turbine includes a rotor, a drive train and an electrical generator. The drive train has a three stage gearbox which contains two high-speed parallel gear stages and a low-speed planetary gear stage. The model consists of 10 bodies and has 8 degrees of freedom taking into account the stiffness of the engaged tooth pairs. In this model the aerodynamic torque is applied as an external load. The calculation permits to obtain natural frequencies, mode shapes, time series of torsional oscillations and amplitude-frequency characteristics for an industrial wind turbine. The results show that transient loads in the gearbox are very high and need special attention.


This paper demonstrates that John Wheeler and Richard Feynman's strategy for avoiding causal paradoxes threatened by backward causation and time-travel can be defeated by designing self-interacting mechanisms with a non-simple topological structure. Time-travel therefore requires constraints on the allowable data on space-like hypersurfaces. The nature and significance of these constraints is discussed.


In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), due to the very low data rate, the sleeping schedule is usually used to save consumed energy and prolong the lifetime of nodes. However, duty-cycled approach can cause a high end-to-end (E2E) delay. In this paper, we study a node scheduling algorithm in WSNs such that E2E delay meets bounded delay with a given probability. We have applied the probability theory to spot the relationship between E2E delay and node interval. Simulation result illustrates that we can create the network to achieve given delay with prior probability and high energy use efficient as well.


New social network order currently is arising . The theory of autopoiesis was founded to realize the phenomena of spontaneous self-organization.


The invention discloses a rapidly-dismounted electric stair-climbing wheelchair, belonging to a transportation tool which can continuously travel on the flat ground and continuously climb stairs. The stair-climbing wheelchair comprises a wheelchair frame part capable of adjusting the distance between a front wheel set and a rear wheel seat, a detachable folding wheel chair frame and a seat part, a composite rear wheel set part, a stair-climbing driving part, an anti-forward support part, a seat lifting part and a system power supply part, wherein a direct current (DC) motor arranged under a wheelchair frame is connected with a speed reducer for driving a transmission shaft; and the composite rear wheel set part is symmetrically arranged at the left side and the right side of a shaft, so that functions of climbing stairs and travelling on the flat ground can be realized. The wheelchair frame is connected with the seat part by a rapidly-dismounted part, so that the whole wheel chair can be arranged in a tail box of a small bus after being rapidly disassembled, and is convenient to carry and transport.


http://ita.law.uvic.ca/chronological_list.htm Primary reliance should be on the Chart. If, however, there are any doubts, ambiguities or confusions about how to code the raw data, the following protocol should be followed: (1) the Coder should refer to the publicly available copy of the award at (or available in hard copy in Professor Franck's library), and (2) write manuscript notes on their copy of the Chart identifying the relevant, omitted information and its location within the award. Any such information will be incorporated into the final version of the Chart.


A twenty per cent boost in the number of photographers who turned out for Knaresborough Camera Club's outdoors programme bodes well for the start of ...


The TGF-β family is a group of multifunctional growth factors whose effects on cells and tissues are extremely varied depending on cell and tissue type. The role that specific isoforms of TGF-β play in the wound healing process is of particular interest, the formation of scar tissue having been associated with TGF-β1 and TGF-β2. When tendon heals, there is generally a partial loss of function due to the formation of a scar and adhesion of this scar tissue to the surrounding tendon sheath. TGF-β is known to regulate cellular proliferation, collagen production and metalloproteinase (MMP) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP) synthesis, all of which have been associated with, and are thought to be altered in, the development and progression of tendinitis and tendon healing. The role that each TGF-β isoform plays in the healing process of damaged tendon is still not fully understood. Having recently obtained a source of human tissue from mid-stage, chronic degenerate tendon lesions our aims were to investigate the expression of TGF-β1 and β2 in human tendon and examine the effect of the two isoforms on different human tendon cell populations.


: To track the black money rotation as well as to track the GST payers with Taxation process. We add NFC Hardware to the high value currency from Rs. 500 to Rs. 2000 and also we include Expiry date for all the notes implicitly in the server. During any process vender has to scan the NFC so that received amount is recorded to the main Government server. GST is automatically collected from the vendor. Taxation is also verified with GST from both purchaser and the vendor. Both the accounts are monitored so that malpractice is totally avoided. This system will ensure 100 % genuine Transaction.


During the last two decades the world has experienced an abrupt change in climate. Both natural and artificial factors are climate change drivers, although the effect of natural factors are lesser than the anthropogenic drivers. These factors have changed the pattern of precipitation resulting in a rise in sea levels, changes in evapotranspiration, occurrence of flood overwintering of pathogens, increased resistance of pests and parasites, and reduced productivity of plants. Although excess CO2 promotes growth of C3 plants, high temperatures reduce the yield of important agricultural crops due to high evapotranspiration. These two factors have an impact on soil salinization and agriculture production, leading to the issue of water and food security. Farmers have adopted different strategies to cope with agriculture production in saline and saline sodic soil. Recently the inoculation of halotolerant plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in saline fields is an environmentally friendly and sustainable approach to overcome salinity and promote crop growth and yield in saline and saline sodic soil. These halotolerant bacteria synthesize certain metabolites which help crops in adopting a saline condition and promote their growth without any negative effects. There is a complex interkingdom signaling between host and microbes for mutual interaction, which is also influenced by environmental factors. For mutual survival, nature induces a strong positive relationship between host and microbes in the rhizosphere. Commercialization of such PGPR in the form of biofertilizers, biostimulants, and biopower are needed to build climate resilience in agriculture. The production of phytohormones, particularly auxins, have been demonstrated by PGPR, even the pathogenic bacteria and fungi which also modulate the endogenous level of auxins in plants, subsequently enhancing plant resistance to various stresses. The present review focuses on plant-microbe communication and elaborates on their role in plant tolerance under changing climatic conditions.


The effect of decreased cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) on regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) with radiolabeled microspheres in dogs receiving either 1.4% or 2.8% isoflurane following anesthesia induction with thiopental (12 mg/kg, iv bolus) was studied. Mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), cerebrospinal fluid pressure (Pcsf), and sagittal sinus pressure (Pss) were measured. CPP of 83, 63, 53, 43, 33, and 23 mmHg were studied in three groups of animals. In group 1 (n = 6, isoflurane 1.4%) CPP was decreased by hemorrhage, in group 2 (n = 6, isoflurane 1.4%) CPP was decreased by increasing Pcsf while MABP was maintained constant, and in group 3 (n = 6; isoflurane 2.8%) CPP was decreased by hemorrhage. Control total CBF in groups 1, 2, and 3 was 69 ± 8, 72 ± 7, and 150 ± 25 ml · min-1 · 100 g-1, respectively, at CPP of 84 ± 1 mmHg. Flow to both cerebral hemispheres and brain stem in animals receiving 2.8% isoflurane was approximately twice that found with 1.4% isoflurane while CMRO2 was similar (about 3.5 ml · min-1 · 100 g-1). In groups 1 and 2 flow in all brain areas was maintained as CPP decreased to 43 mmHg and then flow decreased as CPP decreased further (P < 0.05). In group 3 flow to all brain areas decreased progressively as CPP decreased from 83 to 23 mmHg. At CPP of 43 mmHg and below, flow to cerebrum was similar in the three groups; however, flow to brain stem in group 3 animals remained elevated above groups 1 and 2 until CPP was decreased to 23 mmHg. Control cerebrovascular resistance (CVR) was 1.4 ± 0.2, 1.6 ± 0.2, and 0.8 ± 0.1 mmHg ml-1·min·100 g in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. In groups 1 and 2 CVR continuously declined as CPP decreased. In group 3 control CVR was less than groups 1 and 2 (P < 0.05) and was unchanged from control as CPP decreased from 83 to 23 mmHg. CMRO2 was 3.5, 3.8, and 3.1 ml·min-1·100 g-1 in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively and was unchanged as CPP decreased. Cerebral autoregulation to decreased CPP is preserved with 1.4% isoflurane, whereas autoregulation is eliminated by 2.8% isoflurane. The increased CBF produced by 2.8% isoflurane maintains cerebral O2 delivery at or greater than that with 1.4% isoflurane as CPP is decreased.


The authors present a combined experimental and computational investigation of a new luminescent complex, [Cd(8-aminoql)4](ClO4)2·2H2O(1) (8-aminoql= 8-amino quinoline). The complex 1 has been synthesized and its structure was studied by IR, elemental analysis, and X-ray single crystal diffraction. Complex 1 displays a 3D supramolecular architecture originated from hydrogen bonds and weak π…π aromatic packing interactions. Meanwhile, the nature of coordinate bonds in complex 1 has been further characterized via density functional theoretical calculations. In addition, photoluminescence properties of complex 1 have been also investigated in the solid state and the methanol solvent at room temperature.


An experimental investigation of the interaction of a plane shock wave and a single gaseous bubble has been conducted in a shock tube, in order to better understand the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability process in spherical geometry and the generated turbulent mixing. Different gaseous bubbles, i.e. helium, nitrogen and krypton, were introduced in air at atmospheric pressure within the experimental chamber. Those configurations correspond to negative (H/L), close to zero (CD) and positive (L/H) initial density jumps across the interface. The shock tube is coupled with a high speed rotating camera shadowgraph system synchronized with a stroboscopic Nanolite flash lamp (one flash each 70 μs) which allows to record about 100 frames per run. Thus, we reconstruct the experimental history of the gaseous inhomogeneity motion and deformation and then measure different inhomogeneity characteristic sizes (length, height vortex pair spacing...). Fig.1b is an example of results which will be presented during the workshop.


The introduction a few years ago of hydrophilic acrylic intraocular lenses (IOLs) a few years ago constituted a major advance in the field of Cataract Surgery. These lenses have become increasingly popular, thanks to the ease with which they can be folded and implanted in the capsular sac through a small incision; their good medium and long-term tolerance attributable to the great biocompatibility of the material employed; and the ease with which YAG laser capsulotomy can be performed where required, without damaging the lens and thus minimizing certain complications. Different models have been developed, generally offering good short- and middle-term vision performance, though little is known of their potential long-term results and complications. 1 These complications include opacification of IOLs, which has been recognized for several years. 3 Most reported cases have been late opacification of hydrophilic acrylic IOLs. 4-10 Opacification reduces visual acuity (VA) and it requires some intervention. We report the clinical history and management of a cases of progressive opacification in hydrophilic yellow acrylic IOLs. Delhi J Ophthalmol


In the last times, Distribution System Operators (DSO) have felt an increasing pressure to give a better and better answer to health and environmental concerns and to improve the electricity supply quality and network reliability. This pressure has stimulated DSO to find new solutions, namely to networks with overhead lines, networks exposed to a large amount of quality and reliability inhibitors. EDP D., following the innovation way, has been looking for better answer to these challenges, studying and analyzing several different technologies. In this context, EDP D. decided to implement a pilot, building a new and small 15 kV network with spacer cable system, a compact network system of covered conductors from Hendrix Wire & Cable.


A method for failure diagnosis reactor neutron detector, the detector by direct comparison of the measured values, the measured values in three stages between the comparison, the measured value in response to the reconstruction value comparison values measured by the detector failure diagnostic ; binding is determined using three ways so that the detector of the present invention as described failure diagnosis method can not effectively complete failure diagnosis detector, while the detector measured values deviate from the normal failure of accurate diagnosis, and comprising distinguishing probe failure and the ability of the local power oscillation; failure detector by removing the measured values to ensure that core power distribution monitoring system does not use line fault detector measurement, the input parameters to provide a reliable line monitoring system; failure diagnostic probe according to the present invention, the method is not the type of detector, online monitoring method, the type of probe failure limit, when using short failure diagnoses of rapid, accurate and reliable diagnosis results.


SONIC BOOM FOCUSING PREDICTION AND DELTA WING SHAPE OPTIMIZATION FOR BOOM MITIGATION STUDIES Nitin Khasdeo Old Dominion University, 2007 Director: Dr. Osama Kandil Supersonic travel over land would be a reality i f new aircraft are designed such that they produce quieter ground sonic booms, no louder than 0.3 psf according to the FAA requirement. An attempt is made to address the challenging goal of predicting the sonic boom focusing effects and mitigate the sonic boom ground overpressure for delta wing geometry. Sonic boom focusing is fundamentally a nonlinear phenomenon and can be predicted by numerically solving the nonlinear Tricomi equation. The conservative time domain scheme is developed to carry out the sonic boom focusing or super boom studies. The computational scheme is a type differencing scheme and is solved using a time-domain scheme, which is called a conservative type difference solution. The finite volume method is used on a structured grid topology. A number of input signals Concorde wave, symmetric and ax symmetric ramp, flat top and typical N wave type are simulated for sonic boom focusing prediction. A parametric study is launched in order to investigate the effects of several key parameters that affect the magnitude of shock wave amplification and location of surface of amplification or "caustics surface." A parametric studies includes the effects of longitudinal and lateral boundaries, footprint and initial shock strength of incoming wave and type of input signal on sonic boom focusing. Another very important aspect to be looked at is the mitigation strategies of sonic boom ground signature. It has been decided that aerodynamic reshaping and geometrical optimization are the main goals for mitigating the ground signal up to the acceptance level of FAA. Biconvex delta wing geometry with a chord length of 60 ft and maximum Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. thickness ratio of 5% of the chord is used as a base line model to carry out the fundamental research focus. The wing is flying at an altitude 40,000 ft with a Mach number of 2.0. Boom mitigation work is focused on investigating the effects of wing thickness ratio, wing camber ratio, wing nose angle and dihedral angle on mitigating the sonic-boom ground signature. Optimal shape design for low sonic boom ground signature and least degradation of aerodynamic performance are the main goals of the present work. Response surface methodology is used for carrying out wing shape optimization. Far-field computations are carried out to predict the sonic boom signature on the ground using the full-potential code and the Thomas ray code. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.


This paper presents a method for extracting phoneme sequences in foreign language pronunciation learning that a learner is likely to mispronounce. Some conventional methods show a learner's phoneme errors using speech recognition technology. Those systems simply show only one phoneme error that the learner makes; they show no analytical results of phoneme errors that arise from previous or later phoneme sequences. A feature of the proposed method is the ability to extract a phoneme that a learner is likely to mispronounce as an n-gram sequence rather than a single phoneme. We confirm the feasibility of our method with several experiments using a prototype of our learning system.


Female students are facing with feminist values education. It is good for current female students to handle their values,but behind the values education,some people are ignoring the dominant position of female college students; or some only emphasis the form of objective values education,ignoring the individual needs. However,sometimes values education content is ignoring the female students,such as the theoretical aspects of indoctrination,practical qualities. So it should establish a concept of education which pays more attention to the dominant position of female college students,the education reform model. Such as,Female Study Course,which raises consciousness,self-education,concrete measures and the rational needs for female college students.


Since professional Go players Lee Sedol and Jie Ke were beaten by AlphaGo which was developed by Google's sister company Deepmind, the artificial technology be- hinds it, deep learning (DL), has been drawn attention to people all over the world. Although the goal of this research is just to simply classify paintings of 10 impressionists, by using a convolutional neural network (CNN), there is something interesting found during the research to suggest that how powerful deep learning is. For the author himself, he cannot do that and even his friends who learning impressionists. The dataset is acquired from the Kaggle (Impressionist_Classifier_Data), which helps for this research to classify Impressionist painters into 10 categories including Camille Pisarro, Childe Hassam, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse, John Singer- Sargent, Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh. This research starts with introducing convolutional neural networks (CNNs) including convolutional layer, filters, pooling layer, fully connected layer. Then, based on the test result of the classifier, the author shows accuracy, loss graphof the training session, accuracy, precision, recall, macro f1-score, confusion matrix and unexpected findings of the classifier. The accuracy of the classifier is around 95 percent in training, 60 percent in validation and 83 percent in testing. The author found that even though he changed color of the test painting and transfer the style of painting, the classifier can still predict correctly.


Australian aboriginal music exists in performance only and is preserved solely through oral tradition. Concern is expressed since in many areas only the oldest aborigines still remember much of their native music, a great tradition is rapidly becoming extinct, and incalculable quantities of a unique music have already perished forever.


Data is the most important asset in the financial sector. On average, 71 percent of financial institutions generate competitive advantage over data analysis. In particular, in the card industry, the card transaction data is widely used in the development of merchant information, economic fluctuations, and information services by analyzing patterns of consumer behavior and preference trends of all customers. However, creation of new value through fusion of data is insufficient. This study introduces the analysis and forecasting of consumption trends of credit card companies which convergently analyzed the social data and the sales data of the company's own. BC Card developed an algorithm for linking card and social data with trend profiling, and developed a visualization system for analysis contents. In order to verify the performance, BC card analyzed the trends related to 'Six Pocket' and conducted th pilot marketing campaign. As a result, they increased marketing multiplier by 40∼100%. This study has implications for creating a methodology and case for analyzing the convergence of structured and unstructured data analysis that have been done separately in the past. This will provide useful implications for future trends not only in card industry but also in other industries.


Sensing the City was a research project, an artwork, a catalyst for re-inventing Coventry. There was a desire to rethink the city, an attempt to gauge the future – its possibility – not on a logic of representation, but in affirming the silent potential that the body always shelters within itself. In Sensing the City, they dreamed – all of them – of a new ring-road, of a new precinct, of a different plaza, of an elemental urbanism, the free play of the senses, the city as an aesthetic paradigm. In the virological city of today, the ambivalence that Artaud saw in the plague makes a new appearance. In the virological cities of our COVID present, there has been constant recourse – a banal riposte – to the imagery of science fiction; as if, that is, the future finally met itself in images forged in the past.


Delamination fatigue growth experiments are carried out on angle ply T700/TDE85 Graphite/Epoxy laminates under compressive fatigue loads. Delamination growth is monitored in real time during fatigue test. Three-dimensional finite element methods are used to calculate strain energy release rate G by standard ABAQUS procedures. Components of strain energy release rate as the delamination grows are discussed. In particular, the delamination growth rate da/dN and the stabilized delamination length are systematically investigated in order to define the effect of loading level, delamination size, and delamination position on delamination growth behavior under compressive fatigue loads. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy techniques are used to identify the fatigue delamination growth mechanisms and to assess the delamination growth behavior.


A Robbins-Monro type procedure for estimating the zero of a regression function is discussed. The procedure is a modification of the RobbinsMonro procedure which is designed to approximate the zero from below. An almost sure convergence is proved and it is shown that one can guarantee that the procedure overestimate the zero only finitely many times with probability one. 1. Introduction. Let {Y(x): -oo < x < oo} be a family of random variables defined on some probability space. Assume M(x) = EY(x) and a2(x) = Var Y(x) to be Borel measurable functions. Denote by 0 the solution of the equation M(x) = 0 which is assumed to exist and be unique. Let X1 be a random variable and let {Xn} be defined recursively by


To evaluate the utility of the whole‐lesion histogram apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) for characterizing the heterogeneity of mucinous breast carcinoma (MBC) and to determine which ADC metrics may help to best differentiate subtypes of MBC.


Video visual relation detection (VidVRD) aims at abstracting structured relations in the form of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$< $</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mo><</mml:mo></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="cao-ieq1-3270328.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula><italic>subject-predicate-object</italic><inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$>$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mo>></mml:mo></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="cao-ieq2-3270328.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> from videos. The triple formation makes the search space extremely huge and the distribution unbalanced. Usually, existing works predict the relationships from visual, spatial, and semantic cues. Among them, semantic cues are responsible for exploring the semantic connections between objects, which is crucial to transfer knowledge across relations. However, most of these works extract semantic cues via simply mapping the object labels to classified features, which ignore the contextual surroundings, resulting in poor performance for low-frequency relations. To alleviate these issues, we propose a novel network, termed Contextual Knowledge Embedded Relation Network (CKERN), to facilitate VidVRD through establishing contextual knowledge embeddings for detected object pairs in relations from two aspects: commonsense attributes and prior linguistic dependencies. Specifically, we take the pair as a query to extract relational facts in the commonsense knowledge base, then encode them to explicitly construct semantic surroundings for relations. In addition, the statistics of object pairs with different predicates distilled from large-scale visual relations are taken into account to represent the linguistic regularity of relations. Extensive experimental results on benchmark datasets demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of our proposed model.


This geocryological inventory contributes to the state of the art and to recent advan.ces of Geocryology in the countries of South America with perrnafrost occurrence or seasonally frozen ground, where this field of research is of scientific interest. The aim is to increase the knowledge about the are as of the present cryosphere being modified by man and/or suffering changes due to climatic factors. A brief climatic analysis helps to understand the main South American cryogenic regions still poorly known and lacking the corresponding geomorphological cartography. The survey also emphasizes the fact that very few data are available on altitudinal Andean perrnafrost degradation caused by global warming processes, which should be monitored for hydrological and other reasons. The main cryogenic processes observed such as cryometeorization, nivation, solifluction, cryoturbation and sorting are described in different lithologies, places, etc. Some quantifications are given, such as data on solifluction movements and sedimentological methods applied to detect cryogenic phenomena. The latest data of Andean perrnafrost are summarized. They have recently been obtained with the help of different methodologies, including geophysics and/or, through borehole with ground temperature measurements. The most common Andean cryogenic forms are presented: microforms, patterned ground, felsenmeer, cryoturbation structures, thufurs in moors and solifluction lobes. Characteristic mesoforrns of the Central Andes, rock glaciers, or important elements of a periglacial environment such as sedimentary cryogenic slopes, cryoplanation surfaces or asymmetrical valleys are also described.


Stellerite, in association with calcite, pennine, pyrite, quartz, molybdenite and chalcopyrite, occurs in the oligoclase granite-porphyry, which has undergone a faint hydrotherreal alteration (chorite-carbonate phase). Stellerite is transparent and has a light salmon-colour. The crystal of stellerite is tabular in habit with perfect (010) and poor (100) cleavages. Specific gravity=2.152. Hardness=3.5±. Indices of refraction Ng=1.500, Np=1.488, Ng-Np=0.012. Biaxial negative. 2V=42. Negative elongation. Six crystals of stellerite have been examined on a two-circle goniometer, with the c-axis paralleling to the axis of the goniometer head. The crystals show p{111}, b{010} and m{110}. The axial ratio determined from the goniometric data is a:b:c=1.150:1:0.848. DTA curve of stellerite shows an endothermic reaction between 100℃ and 250℃; an exothermic reaction ranging from 400°to 500℃. Stellerite is soluble in hot HCl, HNO_3 and H_2SO_4 (All in 1:1), separating some gelatinous silica. A chemical analysis of pure material has been made. The formula calculated from the analysis of stellerite may be formulated as (K_(0.071)Na_(0.186)Ca_(1.071))_(1.328)(Al_(2.321) Fe_(0.028)~(3+)Mn_(0.028))_(2.377)Si_(6.614)O_(18)·6.95H_2O. The relationships in texture between different minerals have been studied, and a paragenetic sequence may therefore be established: sericite→dickite→pennine→molybdenite→stellerite→calcite. Stellerite is an important mineral in the study of hydrothermal process and of the origin of mineral deposits, especially those of Mo, W and Cu in granodiorite rocks.


tRNA molecules are post‐transcriptionally modified by tRNA modification enzymes. Although composed of different chemistries, more than 40 types of human tRNA modifications play pivotal roles in protein synthesis by regulating tRNA structure and stability as well as decoding genetic information on mRNA. Many tRNA modifications are conserved among all three kingdoms of life, and aberrations in various human tRNA modification enzymes cause life‐threatening diseases. Here, we describe the class of diseases and disorders caused by aberrations in tRNA modifications as 'tRNA modopathies'. Aberrations in over 50 tRNA modification enzymes are associated with tRNA modopathies, which most frequently manifest as dysfunctions of the brain and/or kidney, mitochondrial diseases, and cancer. However, the molecular mechanisms that link aberrant tRNA modifications to human diseases are largely unknown. In this review, we provide a comprehensive compilation of human tRNA modification functions, tRNA modification enzyme genes, and tRNA modopathies, and we summarize the elucidated pathogenic mechanisms underlying several tRNA modopathies. We will also discuss important questions that need to be addressed in order to understand the molecular pathogenesis of tRNA modopathies.


De novo synthesis of glutamate in excised rat retinas results in incorporation of 14CO2 into neuronal glutamate that is partially (30%) inhibited by the neuroactive drug gabapentin (Lieth et al. 2001). Gabapentin inhibits the cytosolic form of branched chain aminotransferase (BCATc) and prevents formation of glutamate via transamination of α-ketoglutarate by branched chain aminoacids. The present study was an evaluation of the influence of gabapentin on glutamate synthesis in the whole brain in vivo. Gabapentin or vehicle was given IP (100 mg/kg) 30 min prior to the experiment. The rats were continuously infused through the jugular vein with H14CO3 (1.0 mCi/h) and U13C-glucose (1 mm) while blood samples were taken from the carotid artery. Blood H14CO3 specific activity and U13C glucose concentration remained constant throughout infusions and rats were sacrificed at 5, 10, 20, 40 and 60 min Heads were quick frozen in liquid nitrogen and frozen brains removed and extracted with perchloric acid. 14C-metabolites were separated chromatographically and assayed as described previously. The 13C data are currently being analyzed to determine 13C-glutamate turnover. The 14C-glutamate specific activity increased with a half-life of 6 ± 1 min in control rats and 9 ± min in gabapentin treated rats. At steady state, the H14CO3 in the control glutamate pool was 8.90 ± 0.3 and 7.92 ± 0.6 nmoles/mg protein in the gabapentin pool. The corresponding values in the glutamine pools were 9.48 ± 0.4 and 7.73 ± 0.6 nmoles/mg protein. The data suggest that gabapentin also inhibits de novo synthesis of glutamate in the whole brain but less so than in the intact excised retina. Nevertheless, gabapentin may induce larger changes in brain areas with high concentrations of glutamatergic neurons.


We describe the test mass launch system including a reaction reduction mechanism for the compact rise-and-fall absolute gravimeter (AG). Absolute gravimeters measure the local value of the gravitational acceleration g in the accuracy of few µ gal (1 µ gal = 10 − 8 ms − 2 ). Absolute gravimeters are used to establish the gravity standard network. They can be also used to survey of magma movement in the volcano. The data provide significant information of volcanic activities and various studies are pro-ceeded to estimate volcanic eruptions and underground density structures. Absolute gravimeters are accurate, but the equipment is too bulky and heavy for field observation. As a result, for volcanic observations, a gravity value is usually measured by an absolute gravimeter at a reference point of foot, and then a gravity value of an observation point can be obtained from the gravity difference of a reference point and an observation point measured with the relative gravimeter. Therefore such an observation is troublesome, and requires long time. An apparent gravity change by the drift of the relative gravimeter happens, and measurement accuracy may worsen. Furthermore it is dangerous to observe at a reference point when a volcano erupts. If compact absolute gravimeters are completed and put to a volcanic area, we will acquire accurate data continuously even when the volcano is active. To achieve these, my studies are very important. We adopt a rise-and-fall method to realize the downsizing of the absolute gravimeters. The measurement of gravity acceleration is based on the reconstruction of the orbit of the test mass thrown up or dropped in vacuum chamber. This method has some advantages. The simple free-fall method has several problems such as bulky mechanism to lift up the test mass, repeated measurements, and long time to take for the preparation. Hence, we developed the launch equipment that has no need for lifting up the test mass and can measure repeatedly. In addition the finite speed of light effect and drag effect are offset. As a result, systematic error becomes small. The equipment can throw up the test mass by 3mm in height simply by applying the signal to a piezoelectric element which is incorporated in the displacement enlarging mechanism. And the reaction reduction system is attached for the purpose of improvement of the measurement accuracy. When the test mass is thrown up, the floor recoil affects the interferometer and generates a systematic error. Specifically, we put the same piezoelectric element and the displacement enlarging mechanism on the other side of the baseplate to which the launch system is attached. These displacement enlarging mechanisms move symmetrically by applying the same signal to the piezos. When the test mass is thrown up, the counter mass fixed by springs is launched downwards at the same time to compensate the recoil effect. Moreover, to avoid the vibration occurrence by movement of displacement enlarging mechanism, we applied the signal of which acceleration is as continuous as possible. We could observe the reaction as much as 20% of peak acceleration without its mechanism. The result of gravity measurement in February and development status will be reported.


(2016) Characterizing axonal myelination within the healthy population: a tract-by-tract mapping of effects of age and gender on the fiber g-ratio. This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies and may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher's version. Please see the URL above for details on accessing the published version. Copyright and all moral rights to the version of the paper presented here belong to the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. To the extent reasonable and practicable, the material made available in SRO has been checked for eligibility before being made available. Copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. abstract The g-ratio, equal to the ratio of the inner-to-outer diameter of a myelinated axon, is associated with the speed of conduction, and thus reflects axonal function and integrity. It is now possible to estimate an " aggregate " g-ratio in vivo using MRI. The aim of this study was to assess the variation of the MRI-derived fiber g-ratio in the brain of healthy individuals, and to characterize its variation across the lifespan. Thirty-eight healthy participants, aged between 20 and 76, were recruited. Whole-brain g-ratio maps were computed and analyzed voxel-wise. Median tract g-ratio values were also extracted. No significant effect of gender was found, whereas age was found to be significantly associated with the g-ratio within the white matter. The tract-specific analysis showed this relationship to follow a nearly-linear increase, although the slope appears to slow down slightly after the 6th decade of life. The most likely interpretation is a subtle but consistent reduction in myelin throughout adulthood, with the density of axons beginning to decrease between the 4th and 5th decade.


This article takes it for granted that science is intrinsically social and that competition is part and parcel of science. Four kinds of competition are distinguished and related to four kinds of rationalities: technological, normal scientific, political, and philosophical. It is argued that science as a whole is rational when there is interaction between the different (sub-) rationalities. Science needs not only different disciplines, but a methodological division of labor.


The need to combine anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy ('triple therapy') in patients with atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease increases the risk of bleeding. As percutaneous intervention is now the dominant therapy for coronary disease, clinicians question how to manage the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation and a coronary stent that require dual antiplatelet therapy. In this review, the risk of stroke and coronary thrombosis in this difficult group of patients will be summarized using current recommendations and guidelines. The scarce randomized data on triple therapy are reviewed, and there will be a focus on currently running trials on this topic.


The present invention relates to an integrated smart card system. It includes a smart card device (90), the card reader with the network access point (10), wherein the smart card device (90) can be virtualized several smart cards, each virtual intelligent may be loaded on the card, or download, use, and unloading the various applications, the card reader with the network access point (10) and the smart card device (90) by a non-contact or contact connector to supply power energy and exchanging data for the smart card device (90), wherein the smart card device (90) at least comprising: an external interface a smart card (91), the smart card device (90) via the external interface of the smart card (91) with the card reader with the network access device (10) may be a non-contact or contact type connection, and a a semiconductor substrate, on the substrate integrated processing system rules (92), the communication cell (93) and the application processing system (94). In the present invention, the use of performance, safety performance can reach or approach the smart card on the physical, it is a hardware and software integration of the smart card.


Since 1999, the VaNTH Observation System (VOS), a direct classroom observation system, has been used to collect data about classroom activities within bioengineering courses. Two components of the VOS, the Classroom Interaction Observation and the Global Ratings, specifically collect data about whether observed courses contain elements of the "How People Learn" (HPL) framework, as set forth in the National Research Council publication How People Learn: Mind, Brain, Experience, and School. 1 VOS observers use the Classroom Interaction Observation to collect information about the types of interactions that occur between faculty and students and among students within a course, and observers use the Global Ratings to evaluate summatively the elements of a course. Although several semesters of data have been collected at two of the universities, the validity of the VOS has not been assessed. To evaluate the validity of the VOS, five validity studies were conducted. Two content validity studies examined the extent to which eleven education content experts judged the elements of the HPL framework to be present within the Classroom Interaction Observation and Global Ratings components of the VOS, respectively. A convergent validity study noted the extent to which sampled Classroom Interaction Observation data collected in live classes correlated with full-class period Classroom Interaction Observation data collected in videotapes of those same classes. A second convergent validity study reported correlations between two different Classroom Interaction Observation assessment methods. Finally, a criterion validity study evaluated how well a newly-developed HPL Index classified Classroom Interaction Observation data within bioengineering courses that were designated as either traditional or nontraditional courses. This paper provides overviews of each validity study.


Statistical language models are central to many applications that use semantics. Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN) are known to produce state of the art results for language modelling, outperforming their traditional n-gram counterparts in many cases. To generate a probability distribution across a vocabulary, these models require a softmax output layer that linearly increases in size with the size of the vocabulary. Large vocabularies need a commensurately large softmax layer and training them on typical laptops/PCs requires significant time and machine resources. In this paper we present a new technique for implementing RNN based large vocabulary language models that substantially speeds up computation while optimally using the limited memory resources. Our technique, while building on the notion of factorizing the output layer by having multiple output layers, improves on the earlier work by substantially optimizing on the individual output layer size and also eliminating the need for a multistep prediction process.


with Dirichlet boundary conditions, u " g on Γ. The outer normal derivative ν ̈∇u is an important quantity in many applications. It is of importance for instance when a heat flux or an electric field on the boundary of the domain needs to be approximated, or in fluid mechanics for the fluid forces [1, 20, 23, 15]. For boundary control problems, an accurate approximation of the normal derivative on the boundary also plays a critical role [2, 3]. Recently there has been a number of works estimating the error for the outer normal derivative in the a priori sense. We refer to [21, 22]. From the computational perspective it is appealing to apply adaptive methods that concentrate degrees of freedom where they are most needed to achieve a certain accuracy. In particular, for the normal derivative on the boundary, we expect perturbations in the bulk of the domain to be less significant than those close to the boundary. This is proved in [10] where local a priori error estimates were given for the error in the outer normal derivative. In particular, the error on the flux quantity was shown to depend on the H-error in a tubular neighborhood of the boundary and a global term that measures the global error in a weak norm. Similar results using boundary concentrated meshes were obtained more recently in [25], where the application to a Dirichlet boundary control problem was studied. A consequence of the localization property underlying the above a priori error estimates is that a standard energy norm estimate is unlikely to have optimal performance when approximating the normal flux, since it does not account for the relative independence of the goal quantity on perturbations in the bulk. The objective of the present work is to derive a residual based a posteriori error estimate for the outer normal derivative that exploits the localization property. In particular, we add some mesh dependent weight in front of the classical residual based error estimator, and the weights greatly depend on the distance to the boundary. More precisely, the domain is divided into two zones, a tubular neighborhood around the boundary and an interior, bulk zone. For elements in the latter, the residual estimator is multiplied with the mesh diameter to a higher power than in the


Abstract Southernmost of the Falkland Islands, Beauchêne Island (52° 54' S, 59° 09' W, area 3 km2) is a wildlife reserve with large colonies of Black-browed albatrosses and Rockhopper penguins. Discovered and named in 1701 by the French explorer Jacques Gouin de Beauchesne, it was noted by many early navigators and visited frequently by fur sealers in the 19th century. This article draws attention to early reports and outlines what is known of its history.


Understanding the reasons behind the decisions of complex intelligent systems is crucial in many domains, especially in healthcare. Local explanation models analyse a decision on a single instance, by using the responses of the system to the points in its neighbourhood to build a surrogate model. This work makes a comparative analysis of the local explanations provided by two rule-based explanation methods on RETIPROGRAM, a system based on a fuzzy random forest that analyses the health record of a diabetic person to assess his/her degree of risk of developing diabetic retinopathy. The analysed explanation methods are C-LORE-F (a variant of LORE that builds a decision tree) and DRSA (a method based on rough sets that builds a set of rules). The explored methods gave good results in several metrics, although there is room for improvement in the generation of counterfactual examples.


Urbanization, together with the environmental degradation problems associated with it, is one of the most significant causes of climate change. Since environmental issues impact the stability of our planet, our cities should be ready and strive to turn green quickly. Therefore, the assessment of urban and environmental sustainability is indispensable for making informed decisions. This paper provides a comparative analysis of seven global sustainability assessment tools for urban development, such as CASBEE for Cities, Green Star Communities, the Global City Indicator, the Green City Index, ISO37120, One Planet Living, and the International Eco-City Framework. The objectives of this study are as follows: 1) to allow a better understanding of the drivers and objectives of each exercise; 2) to extract the common environmental indicators from the global urban assessment tools; 3) to measure the weights of those indicators; and then 4) to deduce the environmental indicators that are not covered sufficiently in the tools. This investigation found that many of the indicators affecting increased environmental risks have not been adequately covered and should be addressed and included. Based on the above, the paper has developed a holistic green urban meter for sustainable urban assessment by establishing a comprehensive assessment framework that could increase the quality of life in the long term.


Trojan Horse is the most powerful malware that can produce an attack to penetrate into the network environment. Besides Trojan, another harmful malware known as Worm also can cause enormous damage to the computer system. Unfortunately, some users do not concern much on security because they thought there is not much valuable information can be obtained from them. The lack of awareness about computer and network security as well as misunderstanding of how malware attacks can occur, resulted in these users do not realize that their machines are at risk and they are exposed to several kind of potential cyber threats. Thus, this paper provides an insight on network vulnerability and presents some demonstrations of Remote Access Trojan (RAT) attack and worm file duplication attack via experimental tesbed. Then, Wireshark and some malware scanning tools such as Virus Total, MalwareBytes and Avast AntiVirus were also used for malware detection. The findings show that these attacks are possible and can be easily conducted to meet the purpose of the attackers. Therefore, educating the public to pay extra concern on malware vulnerabilities and to equip themselves with knowledge and skills to face the security challenges due to malware attacks is crucial.


The invention belongs to the field of medicinal preparation, and relates to a pharmaceutical composition containing clopidogrel hydrogen sulfate and aspirin, and a preparation method thereof. The clopidogrel and/or aspirin particles are prepared through a solvent-melting method and/or a particle coating technology; thus the surface of particles is covered by polymer, the stability of clopidogrel and/or aspirin particles is prominently improved, the contact between clopidogrel and aspirin is avoided, and the stability of the pharmaceutical composition of clopidogrel hydrogen sulfate and aspirin is prominently improved.


The invention discloses a full spectrum suitable for LED plant growing compound light. Light emitted from an LED light source shines on rare earth phosphors and then an emission spectrum band is produced, and the emission spectrum band comprises two or more emission peaks ranging from 350 nm to 1100 nm. Quantum dot materials are added into the rare earth phosphors. By means of the selection of composition elements of the quantum dot materials and the adjustment of diameter of particles, the adjustment for the emission peaks of the emission spectrum band in a full band range ranging from 350 nm to 1100 nm is achieved. The full spectrum has the advantages that the anaclasis consumption rate is lowered, the light efficiency is improved, and the use is convenient.


In this paper we present the development and characterization of Lanthanum modified Lead Zirconate Titanate (PLZT)-based Electro-optic (EO) devices for micromacined bio-photonics systems. Spatial light modulator and Dynamic programmable microlens array have been designed, fabricated and initial results have been obtained for such applications. Fully integrating light sources, detectors and dynamic filtering in recently emerging bio-photonics and Capillary Electrophoresis (CE) systems is of immediate need. An optical module that contains such devices was made using microfabrication technologies on the optically active PLZT ceramic wafer. A PLZT wafer was polished and sandwiched and bonded between 2 plastic wafers to form such optical module. Laser micromachining was implemented to etch precise, and well aligned via holes in the plastic wafers to provide windows for light sources and electrical connections to our devices. The electro-optic coefficient for the PLZT was measured in the longitudinal configuration, where light propagates in the direction of the applied field. A mathematical expression was derived for the lens effect on the far field diffraction pattern of the dynamic microlens. Such diffraction pattern can be used to measure the focal length variation with the applied voltage. Preliminary results show the variation of focal lens with the applied voltage that ranges from 50 to 300 volts.


To explore the factors associated with the results in reatment of tuberculous pleurisy and reduce the hyperplasia of pleura. Methods The data concerning the clinical and laboratory diagnosis and treatment were analyzed. Results Longer duration of attendance, older age, large quantity of cell in hydrothorax and protein, without extraction of fluid or with less fluid amount were the leading factors in resulting in hyperplasia of pleura. Conclusion Hyperplasia of pleura is the most common results of tuberculous pleurisy and to drawing out all the hydrothorax in combination with drug treatment is the effective way in preventing the hyperplasia of pleura from occurrence.


The work is dedicated to the engineering and 3D modeling of an automated device for feeding balls to the mill in the MMPs mill drum. The new device will reduce labor costs and risks of injury to employees. Also, the new design will increase the productivity of the Copper concentrator (MOF) by increasing the speed of filling the mill drum with grinding balls.


Objective To find out factors affecting physicians' prescribing conduct so as to get rid of the negative effects and reduce medical costs. Methods Analyses were conducted by reviewing relevant literature published at home and abroad. Results Factors affecting physicians' prescribing conduct include: the medical security system, the hospital compensation mechanism, the requisitioning party, pharmaceuticals per se, and promotion of sales. Conclusion To get rid of the negative effects of physicians' prescribing conduct, it is necessary to rationalize the hospital compensation mechanism, strengthen the control of drug examination, approval, purchase and sale, and provide physicians with accurate pharmaceutical information.


Seed access aggregate device for make things convenient for depositing and taking of seed. It includes and bottle, end cover and seed fetching device is equipped with the baffle in the inner chamber of bottle, and the baffle divide into mutually independent with the inner chamber of bottle to be got kind of chamber and deposit kind of a chamber, is equipped with the diaphragm in the lower part of getting kind of chamber, and the below of diaphragm is the seed fetching device chamber, being equipped with seed fetching device in the seed fetching device chamber, being equipped with a plurality ofly to the mounting panel in seed fetching device 's inner chamber, mated mounting panel is fixed respectively on seed fetching device two relative inner chamber walls, is equipped with the template on the in office one mated mounting panel, encloses into volume kind chamber between template and seed fetching device 's the left side wall, install the end cover at the top of bottle detachable, be equipped with the baffle in the inner chamber of end cover, the baffle falls into drier chamber and liquid nitrogen chamber with the inner chamber of end cover. This device can effectively be realized the depositing and taking of seed, and convenient to use, simple.


The learning evaluation is an important part of college physical education,is an effective indicator to test the effect of PE learning,scientific and effective sports learning evaluation system is one of the important way to achieve the target of school physical education.In this study,learning through sports elective course some colleges and universities in Anhui Province based on the evaluation survey,evaluation of athletic ability combined with exercise to participate in the evaluation of learning evaluation system.Aims to build a more comprehensive,scientific,and effective learning evaluation system.


The molecular analysis of expressed antibody variable region (V) genes has considerably improved our insights into the mechanisms of growth and selection of B lymphocytes in vivo.'J Because these genes are assembled during proand pre-B-cell development,3 the analysis of their molecular structure, particularly in the junctional regions, may help to reveal differences between the precursor cells of various B-cell subsets from different stages of ontogeny. In this paper, we present some of our analyses, which uncover differences, at the level of recombination machinery, between B-precursor cells early and late in ontogeny. We show that these differences-imprinted in the junctional regions of antibody heavy chain (H) variable region genes (V,D,J,)-can be used as molecular markers to demonstrate when a particular B-cell subset is generated and seeded into the periphery.


This study aimed to evaluate the effect of season and sex on New Zealand White rabbits' fur under Egyptian semi-arid conditions. A total of 40 rabbits (20 males and 20 females) aged 3.5 to 4 months were used during two subsequent seasons; summer and winter (20 rabbits in each season). Skin samples were taken pre-slaughtering to determine the histological and histochemical parameters and skin layer thicknesses. After slaughtering and chrome tanning of skinned furs, the mechanical and chemical properties were determined on the chrome tanned furs. The current study was detected variations in the skin characteristics and tanned fur properties due to both season and sex. The summer and females skins were thicker in papillary layer vs. reticular layer than winter and males skins to accommodate the increment of the follicle activity. Additionally, the skins' follicles of both summer and females skins were denser and smaller which produced finer fibers with lower homogeneity than those of the corresponding winter and males ones, respectively. Therefore, both summer and female tanned furs were the lower quality due to the decrement in reticular layer thickness and increment of follicle density. The study concluded that all skins had most fibers < 30 µm and thus their furs are suitable for using without causing irritation to humans when worn next to the skin. Also, the tanned furs could be used in garment leather manufacturing after reinforcing with textile padding.


The temperature dependence of the extrinsic photoconductivity of GaAs irradiated with 28 MeV electrons is determined. The temperature range 20-300/sup 0/C is considered, and the results of isochronous annealing are reported.(AIP)


In order to solve the problem of selection of a Bluetooth device provided with a plurality of input sources, the invention provides a method for pairing and connecting multiple devices and the Bluetooth device. A memory is arranged in the Bluetooth device, and a plurality of pairing device lists are stored in the memory. The method comprises the steps as follows: searching is performed, so that an HFP (hands-free profile) device in the pairing device lists is looked for; when the HFP device exists in the pairing device lists, the Bluetooth device attempts to establish connection with the HFP device; searching is performed, so that A2DP devices in the pairing device lists are looked for, and connection is attempted to be established; the Bluetooth device is connected to a first A2DP device, then the Bluetooth device searches a second A2DP device in the Bluetooth pairing list, and the Bluetooth device attempts to establish connection with the second A2DP device; and the Bluetooth device is arranged into a non-discoverable mode after connected to the second A2DP device.


Hypertension treatment guidelines are intended to provide recom men dations to practitioners on key issues such as diag nostic criteria and blood pressure treatment targets, the optimal use of lifestyle changes as well as drug therapy, and the management of co-existing cardiovascular risk factors. Unfortu nately, despite several major clinical outcomes trials in hypertension, there is still insufficient evidence to allow firm recommendations in important areas. A major uncertainty with potentially large impli cations for stroke and cardiovascular event rates is the systolic blood pressure target in people aged 60 years or more: should it be 150 mm Hg or 140 mm Hg? This commen tary addresses this and other controversial issues and differences of opinion across the several authoritative guidelines published in the last few years.


An active fault tolerant control (FTC) law is generally sensitive to false identification since the control gain is reconfigured for fault occurrence. In the conventional FTC law design procedure, dynamic variations due to false identification are not considered. In this paper, an FTC synthesis method is developed in order to consider possible variations of closed-loop dynamics under false identification into the control design procedure. An active FTC synthesis problem is formulated into an LMI optimization problem to minimize the upper bound of the induced-L2 norm which can represent the worst-case performance degradation due to false identification. The developed synthesis method is applied for control of the longitudinal motions of FASER (Free-flying Airplane for Subscale Experimental Research). The designed FTC law of the airplane is simulated for pitch angle command tracking under a false identification case.


This paper gives the procedure and the succeeding method for construction inclination based on the function of intelligent total station,the practical experience confirmed that it can predigest the outside work and improve work efficiency.


We have designed and fabricated a surface micromachined Pirani pressure sensor with an extremely narrow gap between its heater and heatsink (substrate) with superior output linearity in the atmospheric pressure range. The gap size of the device has been reduced to 50 nm by using a layer of PECVD amorphous silicon as a sacrificial layer and a xenon difluoride (XeF2) gas phase etching technique. Such a narrow gap pushes the transition from molecular to continuum heat conduction to pressures beyond 200 kPa. The higher transition pressure increases the measurement range and sensitivity of the gauge in atmospheric pressures. The gas phase etching of the sacrificial layer eliminates stiction problems related to a wet etching process. The active area of the sensor is only a 6 × 50 µm2 microbridge anchored to the substrate at both ends. An innovative fabrication technique was developed which resulted in a virtually flat microbridge with improved mechanical robustness. This process enabled us to have a very well-controlled gap between the microbridge and the substrate. The device was tested in a constant heater temperature mode with pressure ranges from 0.1 to 720 kPa. The heater power was only 3 mW at 101 kPa (atmospheric pressure), which increased to about 8 mW at 720 kPa. The output sensitivity and nonlinearity of the device were 0.55% per kPa at 101 kPa and ±13% of the output full scale, respectively.


We use SDSS imaging data in the ugriz passbands to study the shape of the point-spread function (PSF) profile and the variation of its width with wavelength and time. We find that the PSF profile is well described by theoretical predictions based on von Kármán's turbulence theory. The observed PSF radial profile can be parameterized by only two parameters, the profile's full width at half maximum (FWHM) and a normalization of the contribution of an empirically determined "instrumental" PSF. The profile shape is very similar to the "double Gaussian plus power-law wing" decomposition used by the SDSS image-processing pipeline, but here it is successfully modeled with two free model parameters, rather than six as in the SDSS pipeline. The FWHM variation with wavelength follows the λ α power law, where α ≈ −0.3 and is correlated with the FWHM itself. The observed behavior is much better described by von Kármán's turbulence theory, with the outer-scale parameter in the range of 5–100 m, than by Kolmogorov's turbulence theory. We also measure the temporal and angular structure functions for FWHM and compare them to simulations and results from the literature. The angular structure function saturates at scales beyond 05−10. The power spectrum of the temporal behavior is found to be broadly consistent with a damped random-walk model with a characteristic timescale in the range of ∼5–30 minutes, though the data show a shallower high-frequency behavior. The latter is well fit by a single power law with an index in the range of −1.5 to −1.0. A hybrid model is likely needed to fully capture both the low-frequency and high-frequency behavior of the temporal variations of atmospheric seeing.


This paper deals with a comparison study between different kinds of controllers based on a speed tracking problem inside an electrical vehicle using an axial-flux permanent-magnet traction motor. In fact, the framework of these works is the control of the powertrain of electric vehicles which is a great challenge to ensure driving comfort. To do so, the vehicle's performances are carried out using an established simulation platform implemented on MatlabSimulink environment. Then, obtained results are compared for the three synthesized controllers. It has been found that required speed levels are reached with a clear advantage of the adaptive Fuzzy-PI controller versus the PI and the fuzzy counterparts, from the points of view of rise and selling times.


We have calculated the disorder broadening of the Landau-level subbands of a two-dimensional electron gas in a periodic modulation potential using the self-consistent Born approximation (SCBA). Systems with the same disorder broadening of the Landau levels in the absence of modulation are compared. We find that the subband structure of the Landau level that results from adding a potential modulation is obscured much less effectively in rough disorder potential than in smooth disorder potentials. We work in the strong-magnetic-field limit and exploit the absence of Landau level mixing to greatly simplify the calculation


If Michael Katz is familiar with Albert Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus, he may be able to understand the sense of the absurd which I felt when I read his review of my book, The Progressive Educator and the Depression: The Radical Years (School Review 78, no. 1 [November 1969]: 139-43). Sisyphus's struggle with the rock that mindlessly undercut his efforts while at the same time challenging him to continue the struggle has as its counterpart the author who is read by individuals with a proclivity for misinterpreting or deliberately distorting what they read when it does not fit into the stereotype thought patterns they are used to. Unlike Sisyphus, however, I do not have the desire to continue the struggle in the face of the absurd. Thus my response is not intended as further communication with the reviewer but with the reader who, after reading Katz, may have experienced doubt about what issues are really raised in my book. The first of Katz's misrepresentations appears in his opening sentence when he erroneously extrapolates from my initials, which are C. A., that my first name is "Claude." This is a rather minor error in itself, but it nevertheless sets the tone and level of competency for what follows in the rest of his review. I had similar difficulty in recognizing the arguments and interpretations of the progressive education movement which he gratuitously attributes to me. His summary of my ideas is grossly oversimplified and often distorted to the point where they become the straw men he can


In this paper, we present our work on a framework towards the modeling and optimization of Extraction-Transformation-Loading (ETL) workflows. The goal of this research was to facilitate, manage, and optimize the design and implementation of the ETL workflows both during the initial design and deployment stage, as well as, during the continuous evolution of a data warehouse. In particular, we present our results which include: (a) the provision of a novel conceptual model for the tracing of inter-attribute relationships and the respective ETL transformations in the early stages of a data warehouse project, along with an attempt to use ontology-based mechanisms to semi-automatically capture the semantics and the relationships among the various sources; (b) the provision of a novel logical model for the representation of ETL workflows with two main characteristics: genericity and customization; (c) the semi-automatic transition from the conceptual to the logical model for ETL workflows; and (d) the tuning of an ETL workflow for the optimization of the execution order of its operations. Finally, we discuss some issues on future work in the area that we consider important and a step towards the incorporation of the above research results to other areas as well.


Scholars have documented many challenges facing communities in the 21st century including increasing inter-group conflict, declining levels of social trust, growing skepticism of institutions, and diminishing public resources. Such challenges threaten to weaken social ties and undermine relationships at the local level. We contend there is a significant opportunity and a need for the development of innovative models of community practice which emphasize bringing residents together and strengthening mutually beneficial relationships in neighborhoods and communities. Moreover, we believe Christian community practitioners and faith-based organizations have unique contributions to make. In this paper, we propose one faith-based model, a reimagining for 21st century communities the settlement house model that first emerged in the late 19th century. Drawing on the history of the settlement house movement and the experiences of one faith-based house in Texas, the Good Neighbor House, we explore and suggest strategies for Christian community practitioners in 21st century communities.


F OLLOW ING the usual scheme in these studies, Bultmann here begins with a survey of the meanings of ginoskein and gnosis in ordinary Greek, where gnosis means knowledge (as opposed to opinion) resulting from the exercise of reason (as opposed to aisthesis, sense perception), or knowledge as a generalization from experience. It imples a mental grasp of the forms of things, or of the elements or principles embodied in these forms. The knowledge of what really IS 'may be regarded as man's highest possible achievement in this present life'. It is characteristic of the Hellenistic period that this achievement is viewed in a religious context and with religious emotion. Thus Plutarch tells us (in the De [side et Osiride) that the goddess Isis offers, in communion with herself, the gnosis of ultimate reality which gives true happiness. In what we call Gnosticism the term gnosis is applied not only to the act of knowing but to the knowledge attained in the act. The object of this knowledge is the supreme reality, sharply separated from all other objects by the dualism of Gnostic thought. Logically enough, such gnosis was regarded not as the fruit of speculative thought but as dependent on revelation. 'Such gnosis is ecstatic or mystical vision'; but the word can also be applied to the process which leads to this goal, a process of preparatory learning, itself conceived as being a gift of revelation through tradition. The content of this preparatory doctrine is cosmological and anthropological, leading to knowledge of the self, which is 'the condition of redemption and the vision of God'. Gnosis is a form of piety, and is an active power divinising and immortalizing its possessor. In the Old Testament there is a tendency to stress the subjective, experiential, aspect of knowledge, and pure (objective) 'science' finds little place in ancient Israelitic culture. Reality is found in historical events viewed as divine action or as human religious behaviour ; and knowledge tends to carry with it a responsibility for 'appropriate action'. When God 'knows' a creature, this means that he chooses it as 'an object of attentive care. In the LXX there are possibly one or two signs of a tendency to deny that man can know God. Gnosis in the (Greek) Book of Wisdom is revealed knowledge of which the source is God or Wisdom ; it is 'knowing about God and his work, which is beyond man's conceiving and is communicated to the believer through the whole creation'. Philo speaks of an immediate vision of God, not gained by study but a gift from on high. 'This', says Bultmann, 'is the Gnostic view', though a footnote remarks that Philo 'inconsistently' avoids the word gnosis in this connexion.


This paper presents input coupled split power transmissions, arrangements and comparisons between the single and dual stage designs. Selection of the shift point between stages is discussed. Mathematical models for the transmission are constructed. An algorithm is developed for an efficiency optimization routine. The effects of the gear material strength, gear module, gear tooth width, and shaft offset on the efficiency are determined. Power loss contributions are presented in conjunction with their effect on the overall transmission efficiency.


Clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) is the major uptake pathway in eukaryotic cells, which influences numerous processes, from nutrition and signaling to organelle biogenesis and cell excitability (Kirchhausen et al., 2014; Robinson, 2015). In clathrin-mediated synaptic vesicle retrieval, the endocytosis of defined cargo is coupled temporally and spatially to an exocytic event (Granseth et al., 2006; Rizzoli, 2014). In contrast, in constitutive CME, the location of clathrin-coated pit formation in space and time is unpredictable (Ehrlich et al., 2004). Moreover, the cargo contained in each vesicle and the proteins contributing to the inner layer of the clathrin coat are variable (Taylor et al., 2011; Borner et al., 2012). This means that we do not know for certain when or where a vesicle will form or what cargo it will contain. Our goal therefore was to design a synthetic system that can be used to trigger endocytosis "on demand." The aim was to provide temporal and spatial control over the initiation of endocytosis using defined cargo. A straightforward method to trigger endocytosis is the activation of a receptor at the cell surface, for example, G-protein–coupled receptors activated by their cognate ligands (Puthenveedu et al., 2007). This would provide temporal control and could be adapted for spatial control; however, (a) activation of intracellular signaling would complicate analysis, (b) the precise molecular details for activation-dependent internalization of many receptors are not completely understood, (c) this would not report on constitutive CME, and (d) activated G-protein–coupled receptors may not generate clathrin-coated pits de novo (Lampe et al., 2014). For these reasons, we sought a synthetic system to initiate CME. The major clathrin adaptor at the plasma membrane is the AP2 complex. AP2 performs the essential function of recognizing cargo and membrane and also contacts clathrin via its β2 subunit, specifically the hinge and appendage domains (Murphy and Keen, 1992; Keyel et al., 2008). The AP2 complex undergoes several large-scale conformational changes to bind membrane, recognize cargo, and become ready for clathrin engagement (Kelly et al., 2008, 2014; Jackson et al., 2010). In designing a synthetic system to trigger endocytosis on demand, these regulatory steps would need to be bypassed so that the process can be "hot-wired." Elegant in vitro studies have shown that clathrin-coated pits can be formed by anchoring a clathrin-binding protein (a clathrin "hook") at a membrane (Dannhauser and Ungewickell, 2012). We reasoned that a similar approach, if it could be made to be inducible, would trigger endocytosis inside living human cells. This paper describes our design and optimization of synthetic reporters to trigger endocytosis on demand in human cells. We show that this system can be applied to answer specific cell biological questions, such as defining the molecular requirements for clathrin-AP2 interaction. Clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) is the major route of receptor internalization at the plasma membrane. Analysis of constitutive CME is difficult because the initiation of endocytic events is unpredictable. When and where a clathrin-coated pit will form and what cargo it will contain are difficult to foresee. Here we describe a series of genetically encoded reporters that allow the initiation of CME on demand. A clathrin-binding protein fragment ("hook") is inducibly attached to an "anchor" protein at the plasma membrane, which triggers the formation of new clathrin-coated vesicles. Our design incorporates temporal and spatial control by the use of chemical and optogenetic methods for inducing hook–anchor attachment. Moreover, the cargo is defined. Because several steps in vesicle creation are bypassed, we term it "hot-wiring." We use hot-wired endocytosis to describe the functional interactions between clathrin and AP2. Two distinct sites on the β2 subunit, one on the hinge and the other on the appendage, are necessary and sufficient for functional clathrin engagement. New tools for "hot-wiring" clathrin-mediated endocytosis with temporal and spatial precision


A direct search for {gamma} rays from the forbidden decay {ital o}-Ps{r arrow}2{gamma} has been performed using the same apparatus that recently measured an anomalously high {ital o}-Ps decay rate. Using a high-resolution Ge {gamma}-ray detector, a 233-ppm limit is set on the branching ratio to a pair of 511-keV {gamma} rays, and a 200-ppm limit is set on the branching ratio pair of unequal-energy {gamma} rays that sum to 1022 keV. Hence, these 2{gamma} modes cannot be responsible for the {ital o}-Ps decay-rate discrepancy between theory and experiment of 1400{plus minus}230 ppm.


INTRODUCTION
Remote, internet-based methods for recruitment, screening, and longitudinally assessing older adults have the potential to facilitate Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical trials and observational studies.

METHODS
The Brain Health Registry (BHR) is an online registry that includes longitudinal assessments including self- and study partner-report questionnaires and neuropsychological tests. New initiatives aim to increase inclusion and engagement of commonly under-included communities using digital, community-engaged research strategies. New features include multilingual support and biofluid collection capabilities.

RESULTS
BHR includes >100,000 participants. BHR has made over 259,000 referrals resulting in 25,997 participants enrolled in 30 aging and AD studies. 28,278 participants are co-enrolled in BHR and other studies with data linkage between studies. Data has been shared with 28 investigators. Recent efforts have facilitated the enrollment and engagement of under-included ethnocultural communities.

DISCUSSION
Major advantages of the BHR approach are scalability and accessibility. Challenges include compliance, retention, cohort diversity, and generalizability. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


It is shown that the construction carried out by Carinena and Ibort [J. Math. Phys. 29, 541–545 (1988)] involving nonsymplectic actions of Lie groups gives rise to "true" noncentral extensions of the corresponding Lie algebras.


In the state monitoring and fault fractal diagnosis of mechanical system,the sensitivity of chaotic characteristic quantity to the dynamic structure change of system attractors can be used to obtain the state information from vibration signals.The experiment proves that the correlation dimension of the vibration signals denoised by the ameliorated wavelet packet algorithm is reliable to reflect the real condition of the system.


This paper presents a $6-12\mathrm{GHz}\quad \mathrm{GaN}$ on SiC two-stage MMIC push-pull PA using Marchand baluns. The differential topology is used to implement capacitive cross-coupling neutralization to increase the amplifier gain. A methodology to create an accurate model of the neutralized transistor including the parasitics of the neutralization network is discussed. An octave bandwidth balun with amplitude and phase imbalances below $0.2\mathrm{~dB}$ and 2.5° is described. The MMIC PA is fully characterized and $26\mathrm{~dB}$ of small signal gain and a peak output power of 37.2dBm with a PAE of $ 30.5\%$ is measured at 7GHz.


Of the 876 rodents caught in different parts of Ekpoma, Nigeria, and environs, 218 were Mastomys natalensis, while 658 were other rodents. Of the 218 M. natalensis caught, 102 (46.79%) were positive for complement fixing antibody to Lassa virus.


In one aspect of the invention, an electrolyte solution for a hydrogen generator is provided which comprises water, at least one metal borohydride, at least one ionic compound and at least one chelating agent, and a hydrogen generator including the electrolyte solution. With an electrolyte solution for a hydrogen generator based on an embodiment of the invention, it is possible to regulate the rate at which the hydrogen is generated, and to increase the extent and time of the hydrogen production.


From the brown alga Sargassum thunbergii,eight compounds were isolated by the normal phase silica gel,reverse phase silica gel,Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography separation,the preparative thin layer chromatography(PTLC)and re-crystallization.The structures of the purified compounds were elucidated by the analysis of spectroscopic method including MS,1D and 2D NMR as loliolide(1),hexahydro-3a,6-dihydroxy-4,4,7a-trimethyl-2(3H)-benzofuranone(2),5-carbomethoxy-5-hydroxy-3-methoxy-2-cyclopenten-1-one(3),cis-1,6,9,12,15,18-heneicosahexaene(4),cis-5,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid(5),methyl(cis-5,8,11,14,17)-eicosapentaenoate(6),phytol(7),and fucosterol(8).


In fl uenza (2), Human Papillomavirus (1)). Reasons for vaccine ineligibility included having an up-to-date Tdap (EDB n = 47 (21%), PHR n = 46 (21%)) and being considered in too much distress by the triage nurse (EDB n = 26 (11%), PHR n = 19 (9%)). Triage time was less for the control group (M = 5:55 [mins:secs], SD = 2:48) than for the EDB (M = 6:47, SD = 3:12) and PHR (M = 7:25, SD = 2:45) strategies. Conclusion: An ED based screening and immunization strategy was highly effective in providing eligible adult patients with the Tdap vaccine. A resulting small increase in triage time was not clinically signi fi cant. Further studies are required to generalize these results. performing this procedure. technology was considered as important as the characteristics of physical space to optimize learning. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the importance and the impact of physical space design on trainees learning in a dynamic clinical environment. It provides teachers and policy-makers with a basis for developing criteria of the physical characteristics of a healthcare facility to maximize learning. HDP order set; and 3) clinical care outcomes (consultation and admission). Patient population characteristics and clinical care measures were summarized with descriptive statistics and compared using a before and after design. Changes in the utilization of the protocol were assessed using run charts. Results: 540 women with postpartum HDP were seen in the four Calgary EDs in the 16-month period following protocol implementation compared with 335 women in the preceding 12 months. The protocol was used in 46% of these 540 women, and increased over the 16 month follow-up period. We found an increase in the frequency of consultation of specialists (47% to 52%) and admis-sions (26% to 29%) amongst these women after protocol implementation. Conclusion: This initial assessment demonstrated good uptake of a postpartum HDP management protocol including referral for consultation and admission to hospital for blood pressure management. Future steps include evaluation of the impacts of this management protocol on important patient outcomes. included patients, 30 (4.9%) were diagnosed with a ruptured ectopic pregnancy at the index ED visit. Of the remaining 582 patients, 256 (44.0%) were diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy at the index ED visit, the Early Pregnancy Clinic, or a subsequent ED visit. Of these patients diagnosed with ectopic pregnancy, their initial treatments at time of discharge from the index ED visit were as follows: 102 (39.8%%) received methotrexate, 132 (51.6%) underwent expectant management, and 22 (8.6%) underwent surgical management. Of the 132 patients discharged with an expectant management plan, only 42 (31.8%) had a fi nal outcome of expectant management; the others went on to be treated surgically or with methotrexate. Of the 165 patients treated with methotrexate at index visit or in follow-up, 30 (18.2%) went on to require surgical management with 17 (10.3%) documented as having ruptured on surgical evaluation. Clinical characteristics of patients treated with methotrexate include the following: mean age 32.8 years (SD 5.7), gestational age of 6.2 weeks (SD 1.2) and serum beta human chorionic gonadotropin level of 2702 mIU/mL (SD 8800). Conclusion: The proportion of patients receiving methotrexate as fi rst-line treatment that resulted in rupture or required further surgical management is higher than reported literature at this institution. Further investigation is needed to determine if there was a relationship between methotrexate failure and non-adherence to recommended guidelines. Given the risk of a possible rupture, patient education of these risks is critical on discharge from the ED.


IN 1960 an article dealing, in general, with a theory of pricing for nonstorable products and, in particular, with the pricing of electricity appeared in this Journal.' It introduced at a theoretical level a novel approach to pricing pioneered by the French. Subsequently, other papers on the theory of peak-load pricing have appeared.2 All have been largely concerned with theory and there has been no empirical application in the United States. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the applicability of peak-load pricing to a typical U. S. electric utility. The paper will also isolate problems which will require further investigation if the theory is to be made generally applicable. In addition, it will be argued that existing rate structures do not adequately reflect resource costs and thus result in poor utilization of resources. The firm studied is considered to be typical of privately owned electric utilities in the United States. All cost data are for the year 1963, which was the latest year for which complete information was available when the project was undertaken. Before presenting the empirical study, the theory of peak-load pricing and events leading to its development will be reviewed. Treatment of the theory necessarily will be brief and those interested in a more complete development may refer to the original articles. In a classic article published in 1938, Hotelling proposed the use of marginal cost pricing for utilities.3 This system, he believed, would produce a welfare optimum in the Paretian sense. In the ensuing debate it was shown that marginal cost pricing in the case of decreasing-cost industries cannot be proven optimal without resorting to interpersonal comparisons. Since in decreasing-cost industries average cost is greater than marginal cost, pricing at marginal cost must produce a deficit. No feasible method of financing deficits while maintaining marginal conditions has been found. Moreover, a welfare choice between marginal cost pricing, with some practical method of financing resulting deficits, and any other operational pricing scheme is not permitted by the Paretian criterion. If each pricing method were represented by points on a two-dimensional utility map, neither would be on the * Assistant professor of business economics and management, Syracuse University.