Polymer‐derived carbon can serve as an electrode material in multimodal neural stimulation, recording, and neurotransmitter sensing platforms. The primary challenge in its applicability in implantable, flexible neural devices is its characteristic mechanical hardness that renders it difficult to fabricate the entire device using only carbon. A microfabrication technique is introduced for patterning flexible, cloth‐like, polymer‐derived carbon fiber (CF) mats embedded in polyimide (PI), via selective reactive ion etching. This scalable, monolithic manufacturing method eliminates any joints or metal interconnects and creates electrocorticography electrode arrays based on a single CF mat. The batch‐fabricated CF/PI composite structures, with critical dimension of 12.5 µm, are tested for their mechanical, electrical, and electrochemical stability, as well as to chemicals that mimic acute postsurgery inflammatory reactions. Their recording performance is validated in rat models. Reported CF patterning process can benefit various carbon microdevices that are expected to feature flexibility, material stability, and biocompatibility.


We analyze the reasons for the correlation between the temperature, direction, and speed of the interstellar neutral gas inflow into the heliosphere, obtained in analyses of observations performed by an onboard Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) instrument, IBEX-Lo. We point out that this correlation is the combined result of the inability to measure the speed of the atoms that enter the instrument and the restriction of the observations to a short orbital arc around the Sun performed by the instrument during observation. We demonstrate that without the capability to measure the speed, but with the ability to perform observations along longer orbital arcs, or from at least two distant locations on the orbit around the Sun, it is possible to break the parameter correlation. This, however, requires the capability of adjusting the boresight of the instrument relative to the spacecraft rotation axis, such as that of the planned camera on board the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP), IMAP-Lo.


We present a new coherent LiDAR prototype with two-dimensional microelectro-mechanical-system scanning and walk-off mitigation capability. We address the linearization challenge of the FMCW transmitter, the scan-capture-synchronization and provide point-clouds of two distinct objects.


For the difficulty of determining the reliability degree of each sensor and low precision of the fusion result of measurement data,a new method of calculating the mutual support degree of multi-sensors is proposed.The correlation function in fuzzy theory is adopted in the method to fuse data of sensors with high support degree based on the principle of least square.The method needs less calculation and can objectively reflect the reliability degree of each sensor.The prior information about measurement data can be unknown.Simulation shows that the fusion results have higher precision compared with other methods.


This paper presents an optimal communication topology restoration method under denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. Firstly, a general hierarchical control framework for AC microgrids, including primary, secondary, and tertiary control, is introduced. Secondly, the attack effect is investigated by considering a non-ideal communication network where DoS attacks occur among the information exchanges of secondary control. Then, to eliminate the DoS attacks effect, an optimal communication topology restoration method is proposed. Notably, two indexes, including communication cost and convergence speed, are considered, and the optimal problem is formulated as a mixed integer semidefinite program. Lastly, the effectiveness of the proposed method is validated by time-domain simulations.


There are no studies of calendar customs in Strokestown, County Roscommon, Ireland, although nearby areas have had such rituals recorded in various articles. Imealda (Mealda) Hall, former resident of Strokestown, clearly recollects participating as a child in a number of such customs there. This paper looks at Mrs. Hall's memories of the Wrenboys, and compares these with contemporary, historical and modern documents. This study suggests that certain ritual calendar customs can be primarily the responsibility of children and youths, both as a part of a continuum of child's play in general and as a specific and unselfconscious process of socialisation and identity development.


[1] We examine the frictional behavior of a range of lithified rocks used as analogs for fault rocks, cataclasites and ultracataclasites at seismogenic depths and compare them with gouge powders commonly used in experimental studies of faults. At normal stresses of ∼50 MPa, the frictional strength of lithified, isotropic hard rocks is generally higher than their powdered equivalents, whereas foliated phyllosilicate-rich fault rocks are generally weaker than powdered fault gouge, depending on foliation intensity. Most samples exhibit velocity-strengthening frictional behavior, in which sliding friction increases with slip velocity, with velocity weakening limited to phyllosilicate-poor samples. This suggests that lithification of phyllosilicate-rich fault gouge alone is insufficient to allow earthquake nucleation. Microstructural observations show prominent, throughgoing shear planes and grain comminution in the R1 Riedel orientation and some evidence of boundary shear in phyllosilicate-poor samples, while more complicated, anastomosing features at lower angles are common for phyllosilicate-rich samples. Comparison between powdered gouges of differing thicknesses shows that higher Riedel shear angles correlate with lower apparent coefficients of friction in thick fault zones. This suggests that the difference between the measured apparent friction and the true internal friction depends on the orientation of internal deformation structures, consistent with theoretical considerations of stress rotation.


Abstract We deal with complete generalized linear Weingarten hypersurfaces immersed in hyperbolic spaces. Under appropriate constraints on the image of the Gauss map, we present suitable conditions which guarantee the umbilicity of these hypersurfaces.


It is important to constrain the spatial distribution of strain-rate in deforming continental material because this underpins calculations of continental rheology and seismic hazard. To do so, it is becoming increasingly common to use combinations of GPS and historical and instrumental seismicity data to constrain regional strain-rate fields. However, GPS geodetic sites, whether permanent or campaign stations, tend to be widely-spaced relative to the spacing of active faults with known Holocene offsets. At the same time, the interpretation of seismicity data can be difficult due to lack of historical seismicity in cases where local fault recurrence intervals are longer than the historical record. This causes uncertainty on how regional strain-rates are partitioned in time and space, and hence with uncertainty regarding calculations of continental rheology and seismic hazard. To overcome this issue, we have gained high temporal resolution slip-rate histories for three parallel faults using in situ 36Cl cosmogenic dating of the exposure of three parallel normal fault planes that have been progressively exhumed by earthquakes. We study the region around Athens, central Greece, where there also exists a relatively-dense GPS network and extensive records of instrumental and historical earthquakes. This allows to compare regional, decadal strain-rates measured with GPS geodesy with strain-rates across the faults implied by slip since ~40,000 years BP. We show that faults have all had episodic behaviour during the Holocene, with alternating earthquake clusters and periods of quiescence through time. Despite the fact that all three faults have been active in the Holocene, each fault slips in discrete time intervals lasting a few millennia, so that only one fault accommodates strain at any time. We show that magnitudes of strain-rates during the high slip-rate episodes are comparable with the regional strain-rates measured with GPS (fault strain-rates are 50-100% of the value of GPS regional strain-rate). Thus, if the GPS-derived strain-rate applies over longer time intervals, it appears that single faults dominate the strain-accumulation at any given time, with crustal deformation and seismic hazard localised within a distributed network of faults.


The field visit was conducted at Fura and Furagosa community based wildlife conservation area in February 2021. The survey aims to prepare a primary bird checklist. Transect walk data collection method was employed. The record of bird list was presented in a descriptive statics. 37 bird species were recorded during the survey time. Of the species recorded, 25 species were residents, 10 species Palearctic migrants and 2 Intra-African migrants. The survey suggests that further systematic studies of biodiversity are needed.


Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are an immunosuppressive cell population that inhibits immune cell function to maintain peripheral tolerance and homeostasis. We have previously shown that Treg-- response to interferon gamma (IFNγ) is required for response to cancer immunotherapy. We aimed to broaden these findings and determine the impact of Treg response to IFNγ and the IFNγ-inducing cytokine IL12, during viral infection. Mice with Treg-restricted deletion of the IFNγ receptor (IFNGR1, Ifngr1L/LFoxp3Cre-YFP) or the IL12 receptor β2 subunit (IL12Rβ2, Il12b2L/LFoxp3Cre-YFP), were infected with the acute (Armstrong), or chronic (Clone 13), strain of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). Surprisingly, Treg response to IFNγ but not IL12 induced helper T cell 1 (TH1)-like polarization (expression of T-bet, CXCR3 and IFNγ) of Tregs in mice with chronic LCMV infection. Importantly, this effector-like TH1 Treg state was required for adequate suppression of effector T cells during LCMV infection. Additionally, during LCMV infection, Treg-restricted deletion of IFNGR1 not only prevented TH1-like polarization but also reverted these Tregs to a TH2-like state (expression of GATA-3, CCR4 and IL-4). scRNAseq of viral antigen-specific CD8+ T cells from Clone 13 infected mice showed that Ifngr1-deficient Tregs favored CD8+ T cell memory. These findings were confirmed in an Armstrong/Listeria monocytogenes-GP33 memory model. Further, Ifngr1 deletion from Tregs enhanced response to CD8+ T cell-mediated vaccination when challenged with Clone 13. These findings provide fundamental insight on how Tregs sense inflammatory cues from the environment (IFNγ) during viral infection to prevent overt tissue damage and shape the memory response.
 Supported by grants from NIH (F32 CA247004-01, T32 CA082084, P01 AI108545, R35 CA263850, R01 CA203689, R01 DK130897, P30 DK120531, P30 CA047904, R01 HL107380, R01 CA206517, R01 AI138504)


ABSTRACT Sine-cosine algorithm (SCA) has found a widespread application in various engineering optimization problems. However, SCA suffers from premature convergence and insufficient exploitation. Cylindricity error evaluation is a typical engineering optimization problem related to the quality of cylindrical parts. A hybrid greedy sine-cosine algorithm with differential evolution (HGSCADE) is developed in this paper to solve optimization problems and evaluate cylindricity error. HGSCADE integrates the SCA with the opposition-based population initialization, the greedy search, the differential evolution (DE), the success history-based parameter adaptation, and the Levy flight-based local search. HGSCADE is tested on the CEC2014 benchmark functions and is employed in cylindricity error evaluation. The results show the superiority of HGSCADE to other state-of-the-art algorithms for the benchmark functions and cylindricity error evaluation.


Optimal advertising expenditures in static models of the firm generally satisfy the well-known Dorfman-Steiner conditions (Dorfman and Steiner) under a variety of objective functions (see Peel), including that of the « Illyrian » labour-managed firm as perceived by Meade and Vanek, (see Ireland and Law). If advertising has dynamic effects then the generalisation of such results as that of Nerlove and Arrow to firms with objectives other than pure profit maximisation is considered doubtful by at least one writer (Peel). The purpose of the present note is to argue that there is unlikely to be any fundamental difference in advertising policy between a « generalised » firm such as a labour-managed firm and a traditional profit-maximising firrn after provision has been made to adjust for scale differences (factor input levels).Peel contrasts Nerlove and Arrow's result for the profit-maximising
firm with the result for the same model but with an objective function of
maximising the discounted stream of profits per worker or income per worker.


Offshore flare bridge is a connecting bridge, it connects the process platform and flare platforms. The bridge is used for transport men, material and unused crude oil. Offshore design is slightly complicated due to harsher environment, also construction and installation of structures to suit offshore environment makes design challenging due to heavier weights. These structures are analyzed by, In place analysis , Lift analysis , and Load-out analysis . At offshore, tubular construction recommended due to the shape, circular cross section which attracts fare less wind loads, hence majority of the offshore structures are of steel tubular construction. In this paper analysis and design of an offshore flare bridge of length 132.76m, width 5.5m and height 8.5m, done for gravity load like self-weight of the bridge and live load from men, materials and unused crude oil weights and wind load. The behavior of the bridge is analyzed for 4 different wind speeds, similar procedure is followed by, China, Abu Dhabi, Canada and India.


Background: Wrestling is known as a sport which highly requires physical preparation besides performing techniques such as clinch, fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to assess body composition, anthropometric profiles and somatotype rating of young male Greco-Roman wrestlers and sedentary controls. Methods: Nine heavyweight category wrestlers with mean age of 16.2 ± 0.89 years, 19 lightweight category male wrestlers with mean age of 16.4 ± 0.95 years, and 50 sedentary males with mean age of 16.9 ± 0.94 years, were recruited for the study. Results: The results suggested that heavyweight category wrestlers were taller (178.3± 5.76), heavier (76.5± 8.17) than the other two categories. Body surface area was also found to be highest (1.95±0.15) while sedentary controls were found to be highest in %BF (12.4 ± 2.10). Somatotype rating of the heavyweights, lightweights and sedentary controls were 4.3 5.0 2.6, 4.1 5.1 2.2 and 4.6 2.9 2.8 respectively. Wrestlers were found to be endomorphic-mesomorph while the controls were balanced endomorph. A significant (P < 0.05) differences were noticed almost in all the parameters except bicep and endomorphic component when compared among the groups. Body height, weight, BSA and suprailliac skin fold were found to be significantly (P < 0.05) differed when compared between the weight category groups. ANOM plot revealed that insignificant somatotype mean variation exist between the weight categories. Wrestler of Poland, Turkey and Iran have also reported that the %BF, BMI and somatotype rating scores which was higher in Greco-Roman wrestlers. Conclusions: The present study compared the different anthropometric characteristics, somatotype rating and body composition profiles of Greco-Roman wrestlers and sedentary control groups. Differences in various parameters were found to be being related to training regimen and their socio-economic status.


A method describes the architecture of a vision-based navigation system in a terrain with available topographic maps, based on existing methods for determining salient terrain features. A used therein offline process created from existing topographic maps, a feature database that is then used in an online detection process sifted features. In this case, virtual reference images of the expected situation are generated with computer graphics methods, which are analyzed with methods for feature extraction, and from which a list of characteristics of vision-based feature vectors and the corresponding 3D coordinates of the localized characteristics is derived. These data are stored in the form of a model database, for example, in a flight system and allow navigation in the vicinity of a reference trajectory and at a planned lighting situation. Due to the possibility of using any desired, not necessarily beleuchtungsinvarianter feature extractors high isolation characteristics and a correspondingly high navigation accuracy can be achieved.


Sensitivity is a key parameter for microspeakers, especially in low-power applications such as consumer electronics, medical devices and Internet of Things. However, the sensitivities of most reported piezoelectric MEMS speakers are inferior to those of commercially available electrodynamic speakers. Design of high-sensitivity piezoelectric MEMS speakers requires an analytical expression of sensitivity, which is not yet available. In this paper, the analytical expression is derived, and an ultrahigh-sensitivity piezoelectric MEMS speaker is designed, fabricated and characterized. The sensitivities of the speaker in an ear simulator are 107 dB/mW, 104 dB/mW and 105 dB/mW at 250 Hz, 1 kHz and 10 kHz, respectively, which are the highest among piezoelectric MEMS speakers. The analytical calculation results and measurement data are perfectly matched. Furthermore, the speaker is based on thin-film AlN instead of commonly used thin-film PZT. This work demonstrates that the ultrahigh-sensitivity piezoelectric AlN MEMS speaker consumes 10 times less power than a typical 6 mm electrodynamic speaker; and the developed analytical expressions provide valuable design insights into piezoelectric MEMS speakers for high sensitivity and low power. [2022-0063]


A single parameter model for ideal sedimentation-deposition case was made. This relates the dispersion radius (rd) with the mean thickness of the resultingBi-2212 films. Though randomness occurs in actual deposition, heat treatment via melting puts order to the thickness distribution within the films. It was found out that all samples except for FILM 2 in each set fits well with the proposed model.


In this study, the rhizoremediation of petroleum and heavy metal-contaminated soil was characterized employing Zea mays and two plant-growth promoting rhizobacteria, Gordonia sp. S2RP-17 and Serratia sp. SY5 which have petroleum-degrading activity and heavy metal-resistance, respectively. After 51 days, the average dry weights of Zea mays' root without and with the inoculation of rhizobacteria were and , respectively. Compared with initial TPH concentration in soil (), the residual TPH concentrations were in soil planted with Zea mays, and in soil planted with Zea mays and inoculated with rhizobacteria. These results indicated that the inoculation of S2RP-17 and SY5 could promote TPH removability in soil as well as the growth of Zea mays' root. There was little positive effect of the rhizobacteria inoculation on the removability of heavy metal such as Cu, Cd and Pb in soil planted with Zea mays.


With but Different" is an important philosophical proposition put forward by Confucius,an ancient ideologist.This paper pondered over the deep layer to the reform of PE new course in terms of China's traditional culture and pays close attention to the existing state in pluralism with the value orientation of PE new course.It tries to look for a balance between many traditional and modern opposite course theories,to advocate to deal with various relations of school PE course on the basis of value principle of "With but Different" and to offer a theoretic support for the reform practice of PE new course.


Periodic atom chains of carbon-cobalt compounds, (CnCo)∞, comprise both conducting and insulating electronic properties simultaneously depending on the spin type of electrons, and hence are half-metals. Their band gap and the net magnetic moment oscillate with the number of carbon atoms in a unit cell. Finite segments of these chains also show interesting magnetic and transport properties. When connected to appropriate metallic electrodes the antiferromagnetic CoCnCo segments behave like molecular spin-valves, which can be conveniently manipulated.


With the help of normative analysis, empirical analysis and comparative analysis, this article combines the characteristic facts and empirical data of the development of China's producer service industry and electronic manufacturing industry to deeply analyze the internal and dynamic factors of the development of the producer service industry and the factors affecting the development of China's producer service industry. On the basis of theoretical and empirical analysis, to explore the underlying reasons for the low level of development and development quality of China's producer service industry and the low level of interaction and integration with the electronics manufacturing industry, an intelligent platform for integrated development based on deep learning has been established, enabling both parties fusion efficiency increased by 7.3%.


The chapter explores the characteristics of rural broadband infrastructure development. Taking the existing installed base into consideration, small rural communities can initiate bottom-up cultivation of broadband infrastructure. Such initiatives are important contributions to overcoming the disparity in broadband access. In effect they aggregate demand by creating a larger total market for suppliers than the individual needs of the actors. The proposal is to use descriptive clusters as a way to reveal the installed base. A set of questions and answers will be defined to reveal the installed base. This can be used to acquire an overview of the types of resources available and the choices that need to be made. The use of descriptive clusters places emphasis on the local context and culture. With a bottom-up strategy, questions must be answered in relation to the local context. The responses and lessons learned may vary from one location to the next, making blueprint implementations impossible.


SLore Barbara Foltin and Hubert Heinen, Paths to German Poetry (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1969). 6The syllabus can be altered to serve a shorter period of instruction, e.g., for a tenweek period with about thirty meetings the assignments could be reduced to cover only one novella, one drama, and about six poems in class, while retaining about three periods for the. introduction to each genre. The number of papers assigned could be reduced from three to two. 7Scher, p. 59.


Cancer results from the accumulation of mutations in genes that regulate cellular proliferation. These mutations can occur early in the process of malignant transformation or later, during progression to an invasive carcinoma. The earliest mutations occur in the germ line, as in the case of cancer-prone families. In these instances, the inheritance of a mutated allele is commonly followed by the loss of the second allele from a somatic cell, leading to the inactivation of a tumor-suppressor gene and triggering malignant transformation. A classic example is hereditary retinoblastoma, in which there is inheritance of a mutant germ-line RB1 allele (a . . .


This article aims to confirm the impor tance of family participation on basic schooling educational planningas a way to implement chil- dren's right to consumer education, through a        ) democratic management, constitutionally guar- anteed, in arder to allow the dialogue (between family and school) and the construction of a co- herent 1iving environment,that prioritizes self-de- termination, sense of responsibility and respect


In a recent article published in Oncotarget, Wang and colleagues report on an interesting observation of a new potentially useful approach in the management of pancreatic cancer (1).


McBride G. A. (1970) Policy matters in investment decision-making, Reg. Studies 4, 241–253. This paper illustrates the importance of policy determination in investment decision-making. It focuses on a methodology for formulating investment plans, using the Appalachian Development Highway System as an example. The distinguishing feature of such a program is that multiple objectives are involved; one concerned with the distribution of net benefits. In this paper, a benefit-cost framework is proposed that simultaneously treats multiple objectives, as well as other matters of policy. The framework is used to evaluate one segment of the Appalachian System. It is shown that the outcome depends largely on the policy-makers' statement of objectives, the relative values assigned to contributions to these objectives generated by the investment, and the selection of a rate of interest and economic life of the project. It is not a complete accounting of the benefits and costs, nor does it provide an estimate of multi...


Paramphistomatidae are the most important trematods of rumen and reticulum in ruminants. They elapse their maturity period in rumen and reticulum and have no changes in these organs and risk for host. But, there are larval forms of these trematods in small intestine while generate pathologic changes there. In a survey at Urmia slaughter house carcasses of approximately 2421 sheep were examined of which, 6 cases of ruminal infestation with Paramphistomum and in one case, infection of small intestine and its pathologic changes were observed. In general, infection rate of small intestine diagnosed out of total cases was 0.04%. There was severe congestion and haemorrhage in same small intestine. Microscopic study of this small intestine revealed dilation of intestinal glands, destruction of superficial glands , replacement of fibrin, diffuse infiltration of inflammatory cells and fibrinonecrotic enteritis. Other changes as congestion, haemorrhage and nodules of Ostertagia were observed in total examined small intestines. Statistical analysis of the results was conducted by SPSS software and tstudent test. There was significant difference between pathologic changes, season and ecological situation of the region (p<0.05). There was no significant difference between age, sex and sample pH of examined sheep (p>0.05). According to the results of pathologic changes in small intestine of sheep in order to prevent the sheep in the area to be infected by this parasite and to decrease the damages caused, applying a parasitic control program is recommended. Vet. Res. Bull. 6,2:115120, 2011.


Amphotericin B has been used clinically with unparalleled effectiveness in treatment of almost the entire spectrum of systemic mycotic infections. It has gained wide acceptance despite difficulties in administration and a high incidence of side effects. Its efficacy has spurred efforts to find the ideal antifungal chemo-therapeutic agent. Iodides are still the first choice for chemotherapy of sporotrichosis, particularly the cutaneolymphatic form. Sulfonamides continue to be the preferred drugs for treatment of nocardiosis. Nystatin is highly effective against forms of candidiasis in which direct application is possible.


As technologies become more and more pervasive in our everyday life new questions arise, for example, about security, accountability, fairness and ethics. These concerns are about all the realities that are involved or committed in designing, implementing, deploying and using the technology. This document addresses such concerns by presenting a set of practical obligations and recommendations for the development of applications and systems based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques. These are derived from a definition of rights resulting from principles and ethical values rooted in the foundational charters of our social organization.


Although much focus has been placed on aviation security technology, the human factor in providing effective aviation security is often ignored. This paper sets forth the steps needed to rearrange the priorities. A skilled, motivated and alert security staff is essential. Although security personnel have a major responsibility for people's security, their work garners little respect and the profession is held in low esteem. The private providers of airport and airline security services have created an association to promote high-quality services in the sector, Aviation Security Services Association International (ASSA-I). This association has worked to develop a standard for aviation security services and a set of quality criteria for the delivery of civil aviation security services. Although these standards will be voluntary they may be the starting point of a compulsory set of rules incorporated in the European Union legislative framework that will ultimately improve security. The ASSA-I is developing a best value manual to help customers recognize the value of a good security company and to help them find security providers that balance both price and quality.


The objective of this study is to analyze the feasibility of a hybrid model of health insurance costing, where expenses throughout life are financed by the accumulation of resources during active life by the insured himself. We used microdata from the Health chapter of the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) to quantify the annual frequency of medical appointments and hospital admissions, as well as the average income of potential insured persons. We also used the 2016 Pricing Panel from the National Agency for Supplementary Health (ANS), where we got information on the severity of events, that is, the average price of medical consultations and hospitalizations, by age group. We calculated the annual medical expenses of representative individuals, by gender and income range. We developed four accumulation models, respecting the principle of actuarial justice with regard to the relationship between payments and expenses. In the first, the contribution amount is fixed. In the second, the contribution is defined as a fixed percentage of the insured's income. In the third, the rates increase throughout life. In the fourth model, in addition to financing health expenses, the amount accumulated by the insured is also used to pay him an annuity at the end of his active life. The results show that the product is not viable in most of the analyzed cases. The only exception were high-income individuals, who allocated less than 20% of their income to medical expenses, in all methods.


The recent development of antibiotics-resistant pathogens in poultry, which poses a threat to human health, has necessitated the search for an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) to improve the gut microflora in poultry diets. One of the alternatives to AGPs is probiotics which are beneficial organisms. The by-products of the digestion of polysaccharides for which poultry do not have enzymes to digest are called prebiotics. Prebiotics serve as food for probiotics. The application of enzymes makes this digestion possible. The prebiotic potentials of enzyme supplemented high fibre feedstuffs (HFFs) are not known. This study was conducted to assess the prebiotic potential of xylanase enzyme supplemented wheat offal on broiler chickens (in-vivo). The replacement of maize with wheat offal irrespective of levels supplemented with 100ppm xylanase enzyme caused a reduction in feed intake and an increase in weight gain and better feed conversion ratio. Birds fed diet with 20% wheat offal supplemented with a xylanase enzyme outperformed birds fed diets with 10 or 30% wheat offal supplemented with a xylanase enzyme and birds fed the control diet. The birds had normal weights of vital organs with good structural consistency. The identification of microbes (fungi and bacteria) showed that dietary levels of wheat offal (10, 20 or 30% inclusion) with supplementation of a xylanase enzyme enhanced the growth of beneficial microbes, which resulted in the inhibition or elimination of the opportunistic/pathogenic microbes. It was concluded that enzyme supplementation of high fibre feedstuffs could improve the growth performance, nutrient retention and increase concentration of beneficial microbes in the guts. The use of enzymes is therefore recommended when HFFs are required as a prebiotic source in the guts of broilers.


We examine the exclusive signature $pp \to WH \to \ell \nu\;b \bar b$ at the LHC. Although the backgrounds, principally arising from top production and $Wjj$, are quite severe, it is shown that judicious application of phase-space cuts and the use of $b$-tagging can in fact greatly enhance the detectability of this channel. (Presented at the Eighth Meeting of the Division of Particles and Fields Albuquerque, New Mexico, August 2-6, 1994.)


It is known that from a very early period the burial customs of the Egyptians included the making of portrait statues of the dead in stone or other materials. Many of these, such as the 'Sheikh-el-beled' in Cairo, the Prince Hem-On in Hildesheim, and the 'Scribe' in the Louvre, are among the finest works of Egyptian art. We know also that this ancient custom survived in Egypt until about the beginning of the Christian era, and it has often been asserted that the type of the archaic statues of the Greeks was decisively influenced by the contemporary works of the Egyptians. For these reasons the question of the origin of the Egyptian tomb statue has a general interest, outside the sphere of Egyptology.


t is need to experiment to verify the correctness and validity of various stages in system design after gauge visual detection system designing between high signals and contact net. Then it does error analysis from lighting conditions, camera resolution, binocular imaging system installation structure, camera out of synchronized, noise and subsequent image processing operations, etc. It analysis the systematic errors principle and specific impact, then identifies specific improvements.


Face recognition is the most popular technique in identifying human features. In varied application such as recognizing criminals from video surveillance, where no other physical trait is available, face recognition is the most practical human recognition method. For this reason, face recognition continue to attract large research interest among image processing field. Face algorithm is focused on improving their performances, basically increasing the reliability and reducing the error rates. CLBP is really a very powerful method to explain the texture and model of a digital image. The Compound Local Binary Pattern (CLBP) has becoming a popular technique for face representation. In this paper, the CLBP technique and its application for representing faces are investigated. ORL face database is considered to validate the effectiveness. Broad experiments illustrate that CLBP features are effective and efficient for facial expression recognition. The desired output is obtained in terms of FAR, FRR & TSR.


Proteomic based analysis is used to identify biomarkers in blood samples and tissues. Data produced by devices such as Mass Spectrometry (MS), requires platforms aiming to identify and quantify proteins (or peptides). Clinical analysis can also be related with MS data. In this work we focus on integrating clinical and biological data for prostate cancer in order to identify new biomarkers. We relate blood indicator (Prostate Specific Antigen, PSA) and urine samples analysis with MS based tissue analysis results. The focus is on relating tissue samples with neoplastic biomarkers [15]. The contribution proposes also a clinical data tool for tracking data and sample integrated with a tool box for information extraction.


The invention discloses a Chenshu invigorating spleen paste and its preparation method. The Chenshu invigorating spleen paste is prepared by the following raw materials by weight ratio: 15 to 25g of banksia rose, 15 to 25g of root of large-flowered skullcap, 15 to 25g of rhizoma atractylodis, 50 to 70g of haw, 5 to 15g of notopterygium root, 15 to 25g of dried orange peel, 50 to 70g of medicated leaven, 15 to 25g of bighead atractylodes rhizome, 15 to 25g of pogostemon, 30 to 50g of radix paeoniae rubrathe, 15 to 25g of betel nut, 30 to 50g of Poria cocos, 15 to 25g of radix Saposhnikoviae, 15 to 25g of combined spicebush, 5 to 15g of borneol and 30 to 50g of lotus leaf. The Chenshu invigorating spleen paste is capable of treating abdominal distention and little appetite, as well as constipation caused by spleen deficiency and dampness-heat, and also used for promoting gastrointestinal motility and assisting an absorption of medicines and food, so that the paste provided in the invention has good functions of invigorating spleen, removing dampness and relieving dyspepsia.


Generating entangled states of quantum memories over a long distance is an essential component for scalable quantum communication and its application such as quantum key distribution. Generation of entangled ion pairs mediated by photonic qubits has been demonstrated with trapped ytterbium (Yb) ions [1] and is a promising approach. However the wavelength of a single photon emitted by most trapped ions is in the ultraviolet (UV) or short-wavelength visible range where the maximum distribution distance of the photons is severely limited due to high absorption coefficient in a single mode optical fiber. To overcome this limitation, we are currently developing a frequency down-conversion scheme [2,3] which can coherently transfer a qubit stored in a 370 nm photon emitted by a Yb ion to another photon at 1310 nm which coincides with the low loss window of a telecom fiber.


The case of a 42-years-old man is presented, who was admitted for recurrent iron-deficiency [correction of ferropenic] anemia. The endoscopic and radiographic studies did not disclose the origin of the anemia. Arteriographic study detected lesions compatible with angiodysplasia. Surgery was performed and the diagnosis confirmed in the resection specimen.


This paper presents pre/post-bond testing and calibration techniques for the successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC) array in a three-dimensional (3-D) CMOS imager. The underlying idea is to test and calibrate the SAR ADC by measuring the major carrier transitions (MCTs) of its digital-to-analog converter (DAC) capacitor array (C-Array). During the pre-bond stage, when access to the die is very limited, we propose a calibration-oriented testing technique that only determines whether the ADC array can achieve the desired performance after calibration. Then, during the post-bond stage, we utilize the digital resources from the image signal processor (ISP) die to perform more thorough characterization and calibration of the ADC array. Simulation results are presented to validate the proposed techniques.


In the Cerrado Region, farmers have been adopting the no-till system, to protect the soil and give sustainability to agriculture. In that system, soil covered by crop residues can minimize climatic risks by reducing water deficit of crops sowed in late season. The objective of this study was to compare the climatic risk of dry season common beans grown in the State of Goias, under conventional and no-till systems. The BIPZON model was used to calculate the water balance. Geographic Information System was used for the characterization of the results in time and space. Areas of low, medium and high climatic risks were identified for the no-till system, with 50 and 100% of soil coverage by crop residues, as well as for the conventional till system. It was verified that the use of no-till system increased the areas with lower risks and extended the period of sowing for the bean crop in relation to conventional till system. The effect was higher with 100% soil covered with crop residues.


The growth and development of art and art education programs has been the subject of research reports from the 1920's to the present. Researchers have cited changes in the numbers and kinds of art courses offered by colleges and universities in the United States (Gaw, 1929; Hager & Ziegfeld, 1941; Goldwater, 1943; Manzella, 1956; Diffily, 1963), an increase in the number of graduate programs available in art and art education (Gaw, 1929; Eisner, 1965), and an increase in the number of advanced degrees conferred in art and art education (Goldwater, 1940; Eisner, 1965). However, there was no determination of the statistical significance of the changes in any of these studies, and of those studies involving the numbers and kinds of courses offered, only two were replications of earlier surveys. Since efficient assessment of significant change over time requires an analysis of data derived at several intervals from the same sample of subjects, or statistically equivalent samples of subjects, and since the replicated studies added only one more time period to each area of interest, it was difficult to use these existing studies to hypothesize any indication of trends in the growth of course offerings in art and art education. The present study was undertaken to assess the statistical significance of the change in the number of semester hours of course offerings and to determine whether specific trends within the reported growth in art and art education course offerings in higher education over the past sixty years could be ascertained by means of trend analysis, using an application of multivariate repeated-measures statistical theory. This approach has heretofore not been reported in the field of art education and should therefore be of interest to art educators concerned with advances in re-


Field trips associated with water well surveys can be wondrous adventures into the minds of men and women. The folk beliefs discovered along the way are a quintessential addition to our hydrogeological world. Folk beliefs are commonly held explanations of groundwater, which are often unrelated to reality—the underground rivers, the water veins that mysteriously happened to meet right where a particular well was drilled, or the magical connections that can exist between wells and water-bodies many kilometers away. Years ago, I learned from a farmer that if the wind was whipping up waves on Lake Erie, some 40 km away, his well water would become murky. It is fascinating that individuals who can talk knowledgeably about computed tomography (CT)-scans or bone marrow transplants suspend their scientific rigor at the ground surface—shifting seamlessly into the enduring folk beliefs about groundwater. The major inroads that science has made into our daily life through smartphones, the Internet, modern transportation, medicine, and biology have pretty much dead-ended at the entrance to the groundwater world. Getting beyond simple folk beliefs is often difficult because our varied and complex Earth gives them examples that fit what they believe. For example, dispelling notions of underground rivers and lakes is difficult when there are indeed places where rivers disappear into the ground and you can crawl in after them. Explaining the difference between the "norm" from the "exception" and dismissing possibilities of serendipitous hydrogeological connections is difficult, as M. King Hubbert railed against 50 years ago. The petroleum industry now has the capability to install precise, directionally drilled boreholes through tight formations and, where necessary, to enhance the rock permeability by hydraulic fracturing or fracking . Not surprisingly, it wasn't long before folk beliefs developed around the exploitation of shale gas resources. Images of water on fire as it comes from faucets in kitchen sinks or garden hoses have created the belief that development of shale gas with fracking automatically produces flaming groundwater. Yet, this simple association doesn't account for the pervasive naturally occurring methane in confined glacial aquifers here and there (e.g., Alliston Aquifer Complex, Canada), and in shallow bedrock aquifers in many different parts of the world (e.g., Milk River, Alberta); or that local leaking underground storage tanks from the local truck stop can provide flammables as well.


Abstract One of the reasons for which this symposium has been organised is to seek answers to several questions, one of which being: Can Astronomy help reducing the waning interest that the younger generations of students feel about science studies? My personal opinion is that it is indeed the case. In fact, I claim that astronomy can be very effective for this aim. The present situation of pupil shortages in scientific studies is a complex problem because there are multiple and diverse variables influencing this situation. One of them is that the contents are not introduced in the most appropriate form, because the methods used in teaching scientific disciplines are not appropriate. This paper relates my personal experience; first as a teacher and then as a student at the Faculty of Sciences in the University of Alicante.


Several methods have been investigated on how to generate PEBI (Perpendicular Bisection) grid such as static property based method, flow based method and the combination of them. However, these methods are not suitable for NWT. In this paper, an adaptive gridding method is proposed for NWT based on the locations of the wells. First we divide the reservoir into several areas which each has one well in it. Then, PEBI grid points are placed in each area separately according to isobars which are derived from analytical solutions of the well in that area. At the end of this paper, proposed adaptive PEBI grid was compared with uniform coarse and fine grid. Numerical results in this paper showed that adaptive grid reduced two thirds of grid number and saved two thirds of computation time while kept almost same accuracy compared with fine grid.


Shakespearean film,as a new form of performing Shakespeare's plays,has appeared and begun to gain increasing popularity.It has become so unique that some critic assumes it as a genre.This paper first presents a brief filming history of Shakespeare's Othello in the 20th century in order to show the special state of Parker's film.Then,it analyses the visual reconstruction of Othello's otherness in Parker's film,which is characterized by Othello's being exotic,sexual,ethnically proud,violent and menacing.This paper finally expounds the impact of contemporary ideology of racism and anti-racism and influence of ideology of popular culture in the latter half of the 20th century upon the reconstruction of Othello's otherness in Parker's film


The saikosaponin produced from enzyme reaction were separated and purified by silica gel column with gradient elution of the solvent of chloroform and methanol. Two kinds of product were obtained.By TLC method,the structures of the purified product Ⅰand Ⅱ are supposed to be aglycone and saikosaponin with two and one sugar,respectively.The yields of product Ⅰand Ⅱ are(20.25%)and 4.25% of the samples,respectively.The purity of these products is over 90% identified by HPLC.The structures and characteristics of these products need further study.


Abstract A first-of-its-kind aerosol exposure device for toxicity testing, referred to as the Dosimetric Aerosol in Vitro Inhalation Device (DAVID), was evaluated for its ability to deliver airborne nanoparticles to lung cells grown as air–liquid interface (ALI) cultures. For inhalation studies, ALI lung cell cultures exposed to airborne nanoparticles have more relevancy than the same cells exposed in submerged culture because ALI culture better represents the respiratory physiology and consequently more closely reflect cellular response to aerosol exposure. In DAVID, water condensation grows particles as small as 5 nm to droplets sized >5 µm for inertial deposition at low flow rates. The application of DAVID for nanotoxicity analysis was evaluated by measuring the amount and variability in the deposition of uranine nanoparticles and then assessing the viability of ALI cell cultures exposed to clean-air under the same operational conditions. The results showed a low coefficient of variation, <0.25, at most conditions, and low variability in deposition between the exposure wells, trials, and operational flow rates. At an operational flow rate of 4 LPM (liter per minute), no significant changes in cell viability were observed, and minimal effects observed at 6 LPM. The reliable and gentle deposition mechanism of DAVID makes it advantageous for nanoparticle exposure. Copyright © 2019 American Association for Aerosol Research


This paper presents results of measurements of penetration losses for common construction material in frequencies between 26.5 GHz and 40 GHz. The results are important to the design and deployment of 5G cellular communication systems that will possibly operate in millimeter wave bands, in addition to the currently used frequencies. The penetration losses were in laboratory using a signal generator, two 20 dBi horn antennas and a spectrum analyzer. The materials tested were thin and thick Styrofoam, thin and thick pressed wood, thin and thick solid wood, window glass, a wooden door and a brick wall and measurements show that brick almost completely blocks the millimeter wave signal, causing attenuations up to 64 dB at 34 GHz, whereas the penetration loss is negligible, as expected. Penetration loss in pressed wood and wood significantly depends on the material's thickness.


The purpose of the research was to study the frequency of erythrocyte antigens of 9 genetic systems, the number of genotypes and the frequency of alleles in the F-V system in sires Simmental and Red-and-White breeds, as well as to establish the index of genetic similarity between them.The characteristics of 106 sires Simmental and 103 Red-and-White breeds in OJSC "Barnaulskoe" Stud bull farm have been given according to the frequency of erythrocyte antigens of 9 genetic systems. 53 antiserums have been used in the tests. The high occurrence of erythrocyte antigens A2 (system A), B2, G2, O1, Y2, G', O', and Q' (system B), C2, E, W, X2 (system C), S1, H' (system S), and Z (system Z) has been found in the sires of both breeds and ranged from 0,204 (O') to 0,825 (X2) in Red-and-White bulls. The maximum frequency of the F antigen was and it was 0,874 in Red-and-White and 0,906 in Simmental bulls. On the contrary, the occurrence of blood factors B1, I1, I2, O2, P1, P2, Q, T1, T2, I', D', J2', K', P1', P2', Y', B", G", R1, J, H, U and U' was signifi cantly lower and amounted to 0–0,107 in Red-and-White sires and 0–0,094 in Simmental sires. Only 42 erythrocyte antigens have been detected in Red-and-White bulls using 53 antiserums, and 44 antigens have been detected in Simmental bulls. The index of genetic similarity between Red-and-White and Simmental sires calculated according to A. S. Serebrovsky was quite high and amounted to 0,8765, which is understandable because the maternal breed when breeding Red-and-White breed was Simmental breed. The number of genotypes and the frequency of alleles in the F-V genetic system also revealed a great similarity between these breeds, a significant difference has been found only in the number of heterozygous animals.


In decathlon the athletes' performances are recorded in meters, centimeters, minutes and seconds. These performances from different events are converted into points to make them comparable. However, how to convert results into points is a difficult and controversial issue. In this thesis, it is believed that points of a performance should be rewarded basing on its difficulty, the quality of a performance. At first, We test sample's departure from normality by Anderson-Darling test and P-value combination test. The tests results confirm that the results of decathlon in top level competition follow normal distribution. Then, the parameters μ and σ2 are estimated by calculating the original data's mean and standard deviation. Furthermore, we define difficulty through the cumulative distribution function and evaluate the current scoring system. The evaluation is focused on checking the property that the performances with same difficulty should be rewarded same points. The result shows that, according to the current scoring system, the points for combinations of two events with same product of difficulties differ significantly. The more difference of the two difficulties is, the more points will be rewarded. In the end, Yigal Garchak's algorithm is discussed, and after comparing with the scoring system using today, it is found that his proposal lacks of sensitivity of level of difficulty.


This paper presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a zero-bias quasi-optical terahertz detector based on monolithically integrated heterostructure backward diodes (HBDs) for operation at G-band. The reported detectors consist of HBDs with <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.7 \times 0.7 ~\mu \text{m}^{2}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> active device area and submicrometer-scale airbridges, integrated with lens-coupled high-impedance planar folded dipole antennas. Measurements of the HBD detector show that a peak-measured detector sensitivity of approximately 2400 V/W and a minimum noise equivalent power (NEPmin) of 2.14 pW/<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\surd $ </tex-math></inline-formula>Hz have been obtained at 170 GHz. If an antireflection coating was used on the lens, a sensitivity of approximately 3500 V/W and NEPmin of 1.48 pW/<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\surd $ </tex-math></inline-formula>Hz is projected. The radiation patterns of the quasi-optical detector in both <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$E$ </tex-math></inline-formula>- and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$H$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-planes have been measured, and good agreement has been achieved between simulation and measurement. The performance of this detector can be further improved by scaling the HBD device active area. The reported approach using monolithically integrated heterostructure backward tunneling diodes and submicrometer airbridges is promising for developing high performance and compact detectors and focal-plane arrays for millimeter-wave and terahertz sensing and imaging applications.


In this study, we tried to disclose certain electrocardiogram (ECG) criteria that might be useful in the classification of posteroseptal accessory atrioventricular pathways as right and left in patien


In polynomial and linear control systems, the Lienard-Chipart stability criterion plays an important role in the judgment of the zeros of a real polynomial based on the inertia of a Bezout matrix. In this paper we consider the case in the Bernstein polynomials basis. First, the Bernstein Bezout matrix and some important properties are introduced, and then a generalized perturbations of a real polynomial under the Bernstein polynomials basis is considered. Finally, a generalized Lienard-Chipart stability criterion in terms of the Bernstein Bezout matrix is established.


AbstractA rational simulation of the interactions between random traffic and bridges is significant for evaluating existing bridges' performance. In this paper, an innovative time-variant dimension...


The Finnish pulp and paper industry continues to improve its environmental performance, reducing the generation of wastes, using more biofuels, and paying strict attention to water-and airborne emissions.


Genetics as a science has roots in studying phenotypes of relatives, but molecular approaches facilitate direct measurements of genomic variation within individuals. Agricultural and human biomedical research are both emphasizing genotype-based instruments, like polygenic scores, as the future of breeding programs or precision medicine and genetic epidemiology. However, unlike in agriculture, there is an emerging consensus that family variables act near independent of genotypes in models of human disease. To advance our understanding of this phenomenon, we use 2,066,057 family records of 99,645 genotyped probands from the iPSYCH2015 case-cohort study to show that state-of-the-field genotype- and phenotype-based genetic instruments explain essentially independent components of liability to psychiatric disorders. We support these empirical results with novel theoretical analysis and simulations to describe, in a human biomedical context, parameters affecting current and future performance of the two approaches, their expected interrelationships, relative sample size efficiencies, and the striking consistency of observed results with expectations under simple additive, polygenic liability models of disease. We conclude, at least for psychiatric disorders, that phenotype- and genotype-based genetic instruments are likely to be very noisy measures of the same underlying additive genetic liability, should be seen, in the near future, as complementary, and integrated to a greater extent going forward.


Fabrication of microscale organic photonic integrated circuits (μ‐OPIC) from two electronically different flexible crystals via a mechanophotonics approach is demonstrated here. The experiments focus on the mechanical micromanipulation of orange‐emitting (E)‐1‐(4‐(dimethylamino)‐phenyl)iminomethyl‐2‐hydroxyl‐naphthalene (DPIN) and green‐emitting (E)‐1‐(4‐bromo)iminomethyl‐2‐hydroxyl‐naphthalene (BPIN) crystals with atomic force cantilever tip. The flexibility of these crystals originate from molecular H‐bonding, CH∙∙∙π, and π···π stacking interactions. These mechanically compliant crystals form exceedingly bent and photonically relevant reconfigurable geometries during micromanipulation, including three μ‐OPICs. Remarkably, these μ‐OPICs operate through passive‐, active‐waveguiding and energy transfer mechanisms. Depending upon the crystal's electronic nature (either BPIN or DPIN) receiving the optical signal input, the circuit executes mechanism‐selective and direction‐specific optical outputs. The presented proof‐of‐principle concepts can be used to fabricate complex photonic circuits with diverse, flexible crystals performing multiple optical functions.


Dhaka is one of the most densely-populated megacities in the world. Water supply problem is acute in this city, but the quality of drinking water has tremendous importance as potability. This study was aimed at comparing various physicochemical and microbiological parameters which are very much relevant for the drinking water quality of Dhaka city of Bangladesh. A total of 80 samples from 11 collection point of different places were collected over ten months. After that, the samples were examined by a different measuring device for physicochemical parameter testing. Considering physicochemical parameters, all water samples were within the limit for pH. However, 53.75% water had unsatisfactory for chlorine level. Total Dissolve Solid (TDS), hardness, iron, and alkalinity based unsatisfactory were 28.75%, 15.0%, 8.75%, and 3.75% respectively. Five parameters had taken into consideration to measure the microbiological quality. The cultural and biochemical methods showed that 80 water samples have a different range of contamination. The total aerobic count was unsatisfactory for 53.75% samples. Sixty-one samples were found coliform contaminated that is 76.25% of the total samples and 58.75% sample was carried fecal substances. E. coli and Vibrio was unsatisfactory as 61.25% and13.75% respectively. This study revealed that how much safe is supplied water of a municipal water supplier.


The demand for food, fuel, and energy resources continues to increase worldwide. Currently, there are many international efforts aimed at finding renewable, sustainable, and environment friendly solutions for these problems. The spiraling price of petroleum and the adverse effects of using nonrenewable resources are major reasons for increased interest in renewable sources of energy. Brazil, the fifth largest and fifth most populated country in the world, has been developing successful initiatives in renewable sources of energy for more than 75 yr. The production and use of ethanol from sugarcane (Saccharum L.) is a global model for ethanol production, distribution, and use; therefore, the Brazilian ethanol industry has attracted interest from scientists, producers, and governments of both developed and developing countries. Like ethanol, biodiesel is also receiving increased interest in Brazil, with the source material for biodiesel production varying widely between regions. Several oleaginous species have been used, and others are being investigated as potential sources for biodiesel production. Biodiesel was introduced much later than ethanol in Brazil with the formation of the Brazilian Energy Matrix in January 2005 and a mandatory use of at least 2% (B2) biodiesel by 2008 and 5% (B5) by 2013. This paper presents a view of the historic development of ethanol and biodiesel programs in Brazil, emphasizing the strategic role of plant genetic resources as a pillar to support future improvements through plant breeding.


The aim of the present work is to show how the changing approach to special economic zones in Poland influenced the competitiveness of Polish regions, both on the internal and external scale. In the case of external conditioning, a comparative analysis of competitiveness of Polish regions against the Czech regions was conducted.In the examination of the internal- and external competitiveness conditions of particular Polish regions, an important element that shapes it is the existence of special economic zones. Their location positively affects the competitiveness of the given region, due to lower costs of functioning for the subjects active in the area. According to the original assumptions, creation of the zones was designed as a privilege for problem areas, e.g. characterized by high unemployment or low industrialization.Today's solutions in this aspect considerably depart from the original assumptions of the idea of special zones, as – created when demanded by the investors – the zones include the most attractive regions. This has led to a situation when disproportion between peripheral and central areas of economic development is increasing. On the other hand, from the point of view of the state's economic policy, Poland becomes more competitive. When observing the current inflow of crucial investments into the Central-European countries, we do not see situations typical of the 1990s and the first decade of the 21stcentury, when the most important investments were aimed at the Czech Republic or Slovakia (PeugeotCitroen-Toyota, VW, Kia or Hyundai), since the offers made by Poland to these investors usually concerned relatively unattractive locations, often peripheral, which could not compete with the areas of Prague, Bratislava, Ostrava, Trnava or Zilina.


Some papers presented at the VI congress of the International Society for Folk Narrative Research held at Helsinki 1974. The main subjects are Genre theory in folkloristics -- Structural analysis in folkloristics -- Transmission of folklore -- Folklore in human mind, society and culture -- Congress summary. The articles have been written in English, German and French.


Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers emitting at the spectral range of 1.55 µm based on heterostructures with a buried tunnel junction (BTJ) with a height step of 15 nm are studied. The devices are realized using wafer fusion technique of heterostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy and demonstrate a single-mode lasing regime at the 8 μm BTJ-diameter. With a decrease in the BTJ-diameter, a sharp increase in the threshold current, accompanied by an abrupt increase in the output optical power and resonance frequency at the lasing threshold are observed. Stable single-mode lasing is due to the smoothing of the boundary of the overgrown surface relief, which leads to a smooth change in the profile of the effective refractive index in the lateral direction, while maintaining effective current confinement, which makes it possible to significantly reduce the transverse optical confinement factor for high-order modes even at large BTJ-diameter. However, at small BTJ-diameter, it also leads to the formation of a saturable absorber in the non-pumped parts of the active region.


The mature embryo of 'Fengdan' was used as explant to study the effect of different hormone on shoot induction and rooting.Results showed that the optimum medium for production of multiple shoot from seed leaf was MS+6-BA 2.5 mg/L+NAA 0.2 mg/L.The optimum medium for rooting was 1/2MS+IBA 1.5 mg/L+NAA 0.5 mg/L,the rooting rate reached 60.17%.


Background. In the wild, matrinchã (Brycon amazonicus) and tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) rely strongly on their swimming capacity to perform feeding, migration and reproductive activities. Sustained swimming speed in fishes is performed almost exclusively by aerobic red muscles. The white muscle has high contraction power, but fatigue quickly, being used mainly in sprints and bursts, with a maximum duration of few seconds. The Ucrit test, an incremental velocity procedure, is mainly a measure of the aerobic capacity of a fish, but with a high participation of anaerobic metabolism close to the velocity of fatigue. Our previous study has indicated a high swimming performance of matrinchã (Ucrit) after hypoxia exposure, despite increased levels of lactate in plasma. In contrast, tambaqui with high lactate levels in plasma presented very low swimming performance. Therefore, we aimed to study the resistance of matrinchã and tambaqui to the increased lactate levels in muscle over an incremental velocity test (Ucrit). As a secondary aim, we analyzed the differences in anaerobic metabolism in response to environmental hypoxia, which could also support the better swimming performance of matrinchã, compared to tambaqui.


Teacher Professional Development (TPD) is one of the teacher strategies to enhance the teachers' professionalism. In addition to the values gained through them, enrolling in TPD activities represents the commitment of individuals to raising their awareness of their work, looking deeper into it, and identifying opportunities and possibilities to improve it. CAR is one of many strategies for TPD, but one of the most demanding and, at the same time, one of the most powerful. It is demanding because teachers go through different procedures. This requires knowledge and skills in research. This research is aimed to reveal the teachers perspectives towards the implementation of Classroom Action Research. The subjects of the research are 10 teachers in South Kalimantan, Indonesia and are given the open-ended questionnaires of Classroom Action Research implementation in the classroom. The findings of the research show that Classroom Action Research is believed to improve on the teaching and learning process as it can identify the problems that occurred in the classroom. Most of the teachers are aware of the importance of conducting the classroom action research, and it is one of a way to develop their professional development. Then, it is suggested for English teachers to undergo Classroom Action Research in their classroom to ensure the professional development process.


The invention relates to a bituminous composition comprising at least one bitumen and at least one organogelling molecule taken alone or as a mixture, said organogelling molecule being represented by the following general formula (I): wherein: - A represents a linear or branched hydrocarbon group, saturated or unsaturated, acyclic, cyclic or polycyclic of 3-92 carbon atoms, derived from the polymerization of the side chains of at least one unsaturated fatty acid, - X represents an NH group or an oxygen atom O, - R1 represents a group chosen from: a linear or branched hydrocarbon group of 2 to 40 carbon atoms, optionally comprising one or more heteroatoms and optionally comprising one or more unsaturations, or an aromatic group substituted or not, - R 2 represents a group selected from: a hydrogen atom, a linear or branched hydrocarbon group of 1 to 40 carbon atoms, comprising one or more HETE roatomes and optionally comprising one or more unsaturations. or an aromatic group substituted or not, - m and n independently of one another an integer varying from 1 to 4, - p represents an integer ranging from 0 to 4, - q represents an integer varying from 1 to 4 or a combination of these values, - Y represents a group comprising a hydrogen bond donor such as the NH group and a hydrogen bond acceptor such as the C = O.


The knowledge on bird distribution in southern Brazil is fairly satisfactory but new distributional data is added quite often. In the present work, we provide records of new sites in southern Brazil where three Passeriformes were unknown to occur — the Black-backed Water-tyrant (Fluvicola albiventer (Spix, 1825)), the Hooded Tanager (Nemosia pileata (Boddaert, 1783)) and the Bicolored Conebill (Conirostrum bicolor (Vieillot, 1809)) — the first two are also new records to Santa Catarina state. The record of the Black-backed Water-tyrant was made in the midst of a gap recognized so far in its distribution in southern Brazil, and the few data available do not allow any further conclusion on the implications of this register. The record of the Hooded Tanager, although maybe consequence of a wandering individual, suggests a current expansion of this species range. Finally, the records of the Bicolored Conebill represent a new southernmost distribution limit for the species. All birds recorded here were photographed.
Keywords: range expansion, Fluvicola albiventer, Nemosia pileata, Conirostrum bicolor.


Two experiments of visual search for a word within a list were designed. The goal was to assess the effects of the presence in the list of words either visually similar or semantically related to the target word. In experiment 1 ("literal" task), the participants were shown the target word in advance. In experiment 2 ("semantic" task), the target word was defined by a semantic clue. In the "literal" task, orthographic distractors resembling the target word strongly impacted the search, but there was also an effect of semantic associates. In the "semantic" task, orthographic distractors still had a stronger impact than semantic associates. Hence, the visual appearance of words would be a strong determinant of the efficiency of information search within documents even when what is searched for is not known precisely.


The synthesis and characterisation of complexes of the type trans-[RhL4X2]Y (L = 3 or 4-substituted pyridine, 3,5-disubstituted pyridine, isoquinoline, pyrimidine, pyrazole, thiazole, X = Cl, Br and for L = py I; Y = univalent anion) are described. Using the same catalytic method, N-methylimidazole and ammonia give complexes of the type [RhL5X]2+(X = Cl or Br), whereas 5-chloro- and 5-nitro-N-methylimidazole give complexes of the type trans-[RhL5X2]2+. All the complexes of the type trans-[RhL4X2]+ and also [RhL5Cl]2+(L =N-methylimidazole) undergo catalytic substitutions, and the nature of the products is discussed.


Two new propositions, published since the author's first study about literary structure of Psalm 94 (1984) lead him to get back to work. Spotting, from the beginning to the end of the poem, each of the autonomous unities with its own structure, he then considers each of the two parts eventually recognized by himself and Girard. In 1-15 he just has to adjust his 1984 proposition about 7-12. In 16-23 the contribution is much more a new one, because of the attention to the little unities, as preceding propositions remain too inaccurate on the matter. Accordingly there is also a new perception of the overall structure. From this new perception the pertinent critica examinations can be made of the preceding propositions. Eventually the author takes again and adjusts the parallel outlined in 1984 between Psalm 94 and Psalm 101.


The following article offers a methodology combining the quantitative and ideographic methods of text analysis. The contexts of frequent vocabulary help build up the "conceptual profiles" of M. Bulgakov, V. Nabokov, A. Platonov, and M.Sholokhov, which reflect the individual correlation of denotative spheres in the oeuvre of each author.


Purpose of this research is descriptive the conversational implicatures contained in the utterances between characters in the novel Antologi Rasa by Ika Natassa, and then implactions result of the research for Indonesian language learning in high school. The research method used is descriptive qualitative. The data source of this research is conversation between characters in the novel Antologi Rasa by Ika Natassa, The data collection technique was carried out documentation techniques and note-taking techniques. The results showed that there were 27 conversational implicature data. The forms of conversational implicatures found consisted of (1) implicatures with 13 data of informing mode, (2) 7 data of implicatures with asking mode, and (3) 7 data of implicatures with fact-stating mode. The results of the study can be implicated in learning Indonesian in high school in novel text novel.


After IFN binds to specific receptors on macrophages, both modulation of surface molecules and induction of microbicidal and tumoricidal activity occurs 24-48 hr later. Since the intracellular events required to insure these responses are poorly defined, the fate of radiolabeled rIFN in U937 cells was examined. Endocytosis was determined by exposing cells to pH 2.5 to allow rIFN to dissociate leaving only intracellular ligand. Degradation was measured as trichloroacetic acid soluble radioactivity in the media. Of the 4-5000 molecules of rIFN that specifically and saturably (at 300 U/ml) bound at 4/sup 0/C, 40% dissociated during 15-30 min after cells were warmed to 37/sup 0/C. However, if cells were continuously exposed at 37/sup 0/C to lower levels of rIFN (60-100 U/ml), 30-40% of those molecules capable of binding to the cell at that concentration were internalized. Furthermore, 60% of the molecules were degraded during 3-4 hr of additional culture. Since exposure of cells to chloroquine and monensin resulted in only partial inhibition of degradation (75% and 43%, respectively), there may also be degradation within endosomes or on the cell following binding to its receptor. Soon thereafter, degradation products are measurable. Since many biological responses require prolonged incubation with the molecule, intracellularmore » processing of IFN may be important for expression of these effects.« less


In previous studies we have introduced a brain-computer interface (BCI) system based on movement related cortical potentials (MRCP). The performance of this system was shown to be significantly affected by the users' attention state. In the current study, we analyzed MRCP features (low frequencies) and features extracted at higher frequencies to determine the effect of variations in user's attention on EEG. Attention was modulated by a combination of auditory and visual stimuli that served as external distractors from the main task, which was a simple dorsiflexion. Time and frequency analysis was performed on EEG signals recorded from twenty-eight channels. The amplitude of the peak negativity and the slope of the negative deflection of the MRCP decreased and pre-movement variability increased with the distractors. Moreover, spectral analysis revealed an increment of theta power and alpha power due to attentional shifts. These results have implications for the design of real-life BCI systems, potentially allowing an increased robustness and adaptability with users' conditions.


Panonychus ulmi is a serious pest of apple orchards, especially in hot dry years. To improve quantitative insight into its population dynamics, and as a tool for forecasting optimal dates for visual assessment of abundance and of integrated pest management strategies, an age- and stage-structured temperature-dependent predator–prey model for P. ulmi and two of its natural enemies, Typhlodromus pyri and Amblyseius potentillae, has been developed.


This paper introduces the organic computing concept into the study of real-time traffic flow prediction system architecture. It designs the observer and controller's structure in order to achieve the function of observation and control. It also improves the self-x capabilities of the system. According to the real-time collected road network traffic information, the system determines the travel time of different road sections and inputs the analysis of road situations into the traffic guidance system automatically. Real-time dynamic monitoring of all the nodes and tasks running on the nodes which belong to the road information acquisition system is also supported for efficient and intelligent prediction of the traffic flow.


Machining operations for extruded gamma-phase U rods for the Brookhaven Reactor are described. The disposal of U scraps by briquetting U turnings and health and safety procedures are explained. (F.S.)


This article presents a scientific overview of the processes and the impact of environmental degradation of coastal waters due to human activities on the adjoining land. The direct effects range from eutrophication, harmful algae blooms, to hypoxia and anoxia. The indirect effects are more subtle and can also lead to the collapse of the ecosystem; such is the case of coral reefs. Engineering solutions alone are not available to prevent this degradation that can only be reversed, or prevented, using a basin-wide ecohydrology approach. CLGY 00046


Introduction Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) are online courses that attract various people from the entire world. They are defined as open, free, easily accessed, participatory and distributed courses (Pappano, 2012). Siemens (2013) suggests that MOOCs are a combination of innovations and use of technology that provide learning opportunities for vast number of individuals. Daradoumis, Bassi, Xhafa, and Caballe (2013) add that the power of MOOCs is based on the active engagement of huge numbers of self-organizing learners and on the connections they create using the course platform and other social interactions tools. Glance, Forsey, and Riley (2012) found that the main characteristics of MOOCs are: courses that include a large number of learners, online and open access, lectures conveyed as videos (8-12 minutes) followed by formative quizzes, automated assessment that involves peer and/or self-assessment, and online forums and requests for peer help and discussion. Nan, Himanshu, Afroditi, Guillaume, Jan, and Dillenbourg (2014) suggest that students who take MOOCs courses prefer studying in groups as they feel more connected. Summing up, the unique features of MOOCs are: massiveness, openness, and peer assessment. However there are several drawbacks associated with MOOCs: because they involve many participants, often thousands (hence the "massive" in MOOC), the management of the course is quite complex and tutor involvement is limited to most critical tasks. In addition, it is not possible for the human instructor to review and grade all assignments, thus, they are usually either computer-graded or assessed by peers taking the course. Further, there is a high dropout rate, and only about 5% to 15% of participants finish the course (Daradoumis et al., 2013). Moreover, one should take into account plagiarism and security vulnerabilities (Miguel, Caballe, & Proeto, 2013). MOOC models are changing rapidly and Siemens (2013) distinguishes among xMOOCs, cMOOCs, and quasi-MOOCs. xMOOCs duplicate online the traditional model of an expert teacher and learners as knowledge consumers with video tutorials and graded tasks. cMOOCs focus on the connectivist pedagogical approach that considers knowledge as a networked state and learning as the process of creating these networks, using online and social tools. Quasi-MOOCs pertain to web-based tutorials such as Open Educational Resources (OER), that are not courses and do not involve social interaction. Several studies have examined the MOOC phenomenon. Christensen, Steinmetz, Alcorn, Bennett, Woods, and Emanuel (2013) explored who takes MOOCs and why by conducting an online survey among the participants of a specific course. They found that the student population tends to be young, well educated, employed and from developed countries. Students take MOOCs because they would like to advance in their present jobs and to satisfy their curiosity. Data from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (2013) show that MOOCs have only few active users, that students' "engagement" falls off, particularly after the first two weeks of the course, and that only a few students finish the course. Several researchers have suggested frameworks aiming to improve and personalize management, delivery, efficiency and evaluation of MOOCs (Daradoumis et al., 2013; Grover, Franz, Schneider, & Pea, 2013). So far only a few studies addressed students' attitudes towards MOOCs. Joseph and Nath (2013) conducted a pilot study of 35 students regarding the attitudes towards informal online learning (taking part in a MOOC) as part of a regular academic course. The students filled in pre-and post-MOOC surveys. One of the questions that appeared both at the pre-and the post-survey was whether they plan to take a MOOC course on a topic of interest in the near future. In the pre-course survey, only 11% answered 'yes', but the percentage increased to 66% in the post-course survey. …


The electrical property of thin-layer black phosphorus (BP) was explored using a simple dry transfer method, which greatly reduced the fabrication time to carry out electrical measurement starting from an initial state with little degradation. As a result, the as-prepared BP field-effect transistor (FET) exhibited a high on/off ratio exceeding 104 and a high hole mobility of 380 cm2/(V·s). The time-dependent electrical property of BP indicated a declining and recovering process, caused by the degradation and doping effect. Finally, it was demonstrated that the degradation and large hysteresis of BP FET could be modified by covering a thin Al2O3 layer.


A commonly available tropical diatom Chaetoceros wighami was tested as food for rearing the larvae of Balanus reticulatus Utinomi, a common barnacle foulant at Kalpakkam. The results showed that, in terms of percentage survival, C. wighami was better suited as diet, when compared to other commonly used diets such as Skeletonema costatum and Isochrysis galbana. Complete larval development took five days and the size of the larvae ranged from 231 μm to 547 μm.


The study assessed farmers' awareness and perception of the use of ICTs in agricultural extension service delivery in Imo State Nigeria. A purposive and simple random sampling technique was used to select 300 farmers from the three agricultural zones of the stateOwerri, Orlu and Okigwe. Data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistics – means, frequencies and percentages. Mean score and correlation analyses were also used. Results showed that farmers in the area had gone awareness of ICTs. The radio, the Television, the Mobile (GSM) phone and the Newspaper are highly accessible to the farmers but only the Mobile (GSM (Phone and the radio were extensively used. Farmers in the area have a clear and favourable perception of the relevance of ICTs in extension service delivery. Education and income had a positive significant relationship at 5% level of significance with the number of ICTs farmers in the area had access to. ICT education should be built into the extension delivery package of extension agents to farmers particularly the use of the mobile phone since this is capable of eliminating series of wasteful trips made by farmers to get at extension workers and vice versa. Extension service delivery needs to be beefed up to bring about improved income that will enable farmers to increase their purchasing power.


A gradual increase in bandwidth intensive traffic generated by personal high data rate applications has recently been observed in mobile adhoc network (MAN). The allocation of channel bandwidth dynamically without introducing interference among the existing users in the mobile networks is still an ongoing research challenge. Our research work presents a novel Rake Optimized Power aware Scheduling (ROPAS) architecture for MANs. Our proposed work deals with the utilization of Cognitive Radio (CR) for dynamic channel allocation among the requesting applications while limiting the average power transmitted in each sub-band. The unique feature of our novel ROPAS architecture lies in the cross-layer interaction by the CR between the MAC and PHY layers for its dynamic channel allocation. The proposed joint power control and link scheduling in the MAC layer reduces adjacent channel and multi-access interference introduced due to multiple access of links in our proposed MAN. Initial simulation results exhibit promising results but are not yet included in our research work.


Since the end of the Said Barre era in Somalia, the country has been in constant political chaos. Among causes of the problems is a draft constitution with ambiguities in its clauses, power struggle between different political and clan leaders, lack of good leadership to steer the country forward and foreign intervention that at most times leads to problems within the government. Given these problems, the country has been operating in a short-term mode. Some of the problems the short-term government faces are high insecurity mainly because of terrorism, corruption fueled by non-accountability, lack of trust amongst the leaders and politicians and an economic recession. At the center of these problems are the President and the Prime Minister. The paper applies the game theory of collective action to solve the problem between "the President" and "the Prime Minister".


Purpose
Users of smallholder farmer microfinance are able to make enough returns to repay credits advanced to them. However, they are in dire need of financial capital such that they are inconsiderate of farmer- and credit-specific characteristics when participating in a microfinance programme. This study analyses perceptions of stakeholders regarding select farmer and credit characteristics within the microfinance industry. The study identifies and analyses the factors that influence participation in a microfinance programme by farmers using the logistic regression model. The purpose of this paper is to widen the knowledge base of rural agricultural finance, including factors that influence participation in microfinance intervention(s) thereof.

Design/methodology/approach
A total of 104 participants and 120 non-participant farmers in microfinance programmes were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire by applying the multistage sampling technique. The paper applied the logistic regression model in which farmer- and credit-specific characteristics were used to estimate the probabilities of participation.

Findings
The logistic regression results showed that distance, interest rate, experience, membership of farmer-based organisation, number of dependants, household, gender and age were statistically significant farmer- and credit-specific characteristics that influence participation in microfinance programmes. Interest rate and distance exact negative significance influence on participation, whereas membership of farmer-based organisations, experience, gender, household head and age influence participation positively. Reduction in the interest rate and expansion of microfinance to very remote areas rather than locations in urban areas are crucial in terms of improving participation.

Research limitations/implications
The paper used data from only farmers so there is a limit to which the results can be generalised for all microfinance users. It may be relevant to undertake a study that considers non-farm enterprises.

Practical implications
This paper brings to light the need to develop well-structured microfinance facilities that meet the specific needs of the rural poor in transitioning economies while taking into consideration critical factors affecting participation before the establishment of such programmes.

Originality/value
This paper provides empirical evidence to show that farmer- and credit-specific characteristics are essential to ensure participation and success of microfinance programmes thereof.


A stability indicating RP-LC method has been developed and subsequently validated for the determination of Irinotecan hydrochloride trihydrate (IHT) in bulk and injection formulation. Separation was achieved with a C18 waters symmetry (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 μm) consisted of a UV detector and potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer (pH 3.5): acetonitrile : methanol (60:20:20, v/v/v) as a mobile phase, at a flow a rate of 1mL/min. UV detection was performed at a wavelength of 220 nm. The method is simple, rapid, selective, accurate and more precise. The described method is linear over a range of 40-120 μg/mL. The accuracy of the method was demonstrated at 5 levels in the range of 50-150% of the specification limits and recovery of IHT was found to be in the range of 101-102.5%. The method is useful in the quality control of bulk manufacturing. The IHT sample solution in mobile phase was found to be stable for at least 24h at 25°C and at 6°C.


Abstract The Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) is a university-based institution that conducts resource- and people-centered research and development activities in Switzerland and abroad. Mountain development is one of CDE's focus areas. CDE is part of the Institute of Geography at the University of Berne and is the lead institution for the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North–South.


This study purposes to examine the emergency transition to distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of university students. Based on this purpose, university students were asked open-ended questions about their distance education experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Transactional Distance Theory was used as the theoretical framework to form the questions and interpret the findings. 441 university students from a state university participated in the study, and 1443 comments were analysed by using text mining techniques. The findings of the study have revealed that students acknowledge the rapid transition positively, but they have also indicated that the effectiveness of distance education is low. The reason for the ineffectiveness was observed as the lack of interactive elements in the content and the low level of communication between faculty members and students. As a result of the findings of the study, several recommendations on how institutions can take precautions are presented.


AIDS education campaigns, which tend to be practical and direct, assume people have viable choices in sexual relationships, but they do not. Cultural, social, political, and economic factors restrict their control, including protecting themselves against AIDS. People in developing countries often must leave their families for long periods of time for employment, which makes them lonely; so they seek sexual affairs. In Thailand, poverty and underdevelopment force rural families to send young women to the cities to earn money for the families, but the cities already have many unemployed and unskilled people, so the women resort to prostitution. Girls often have sex with married men who provide them essentials. HIV appears to be more prevalent among women of low status. 82% of female AIDS cases in the world are found in Africa, where women have little control over their lives. They cannot even mention safe sex to regular partners without being rejected or battered. This is especially a problem for wives of migrant workers or truckers. The AIDS pandemic has illustrated how family planning programs have left out men in contraceptive decision making. Thus, family planning and AIDS education programs must reverse this trend to convince men to use condoms. In developing countries, just 3% of couples of childbearing age use condoms. Condoms are often linked with prostitution, casual affairs, and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. In South Africa, many Blacks think Whites promote condom use to control black population growth. In one AIDS project in South Africa, older women teach young girls about sex to eliminate harmful taboos. AIDS has forced public health and education professionals to come up with an approach to sex education which examines relationships and acknowledges the imbalances of power between men and women, e.g., assertiveness training courses in Swaziland.


The Orcistus inscription (MAMA VII, 305) consists of four documents, spanning the years from 324-326 to 331. A fine edition was published in 1956, and there have been important studies of it in the last twenty years. Nevertheless, the nature of the first document, its author and its date remain controversial: is it a letter of the praetorian prefect or an imperial adnotatio? The disputed text can be precisely restored because it is cited word for word in the next document. By this means unnecessary restorations must be eliminated, and the imperial character of the text can be recognised beyond doubt from the verb sancimus. Consequently the first document is none other than the adnotatio of Constantine, in its complete, original form, including, it would appear, the imperial subscript (scripsi?). The adnotatio and the second document, adressed to Ablabius, are probably not later than 325-326. At this date, Ablabius is not yet praetorian prefect but in fact vicarius of Asia, and, as such, perhaps already a ...


Background. The problem of studying the development of stroke in men of working age working in conditions of high professional risk is relevant. Aim of the research. To develop a method for predicting the development of stroke in men working under conditions of exposure to toxic dust factors. Materials and methods. The study included 111 men aged 30 to 65 years who worked for 5 or more years in the following professions: electric gas welder, gas welder, smelter. The study participants were divided into two groups: the first group – 45 men who had a stroke; the second group – 66 men who did not have stroke history. The subjects of both groups were comparable in terms of occupational structure, age and length of service. Using the method of sequential inclusion of the studied risk factors for stroke development (Forward Stepwise), we determined those that made a significant contribution to the possible development of stroke. Results. Based on multivariate analysis, a logistic regression formula was derived that determines the likelihood of a stroke in patients working under the influence of the toxic dust factor, which included the following factors: the presence of dyslipidemia factor (β-coefficient = 3.7; p = 0.001), the patient's diagnosis is "stage III arterial hypertension" (β-factor = 5.6; p = 0.002), blood pressure control (β-factor = –3.4; p = 0.005). The patient determines the value of these three parameters, substitutes the appropriate formula for calculating the value of p(X). A value of p(X) in excess of 0.5 indicates a high risk of stroke in men working under conditions of exposure to toxic dust factors. The sensitivity of the proposed method was 84.4 %, specificity – 92.4 %. Conclusion. The multivariate model is informative for the individual prediction of the development of stroke in men working under the influence of the toxic-dust factor, since it reflects the degree of influence of one or another factor on the development of the disease.


The carbon and nitrogen K-shell excitation spectra of gaseous pyridine and pyridazine were recorded using the electron-energy loss spectroscopy under electric-dipole conditions (2 keV, small angle) with a resolution of 0.2 eV. Ab initio Configuration interaction calculations in the frame of the equivalent core model were performed in order to help in the assignment of the spectral features. The spectra are dominated by the transitions to the 1π* and σ* type orbitals. The C1s spectra of both molecules are close to that of benzene: The intensity of Rydberg transitions are enhanced by an important valence σC–H* character; the 1s→3π* transition is mixed with double excitations and give rise to several states, some of them lying above the ionization thresholds. Finally, the N1s spectra of both molecules are similar to the s-triazine one.


Each individual cetacean is an ecosystem itself, potentially harboring a great variety of animals that travel with it. Despite being often despised or overlooked, many of these epizoites have been proven to be suitable bio-indicators of their cetacean hosts, informing on health status, social interactions, migration patterns, population structure or phylogeography. Moreover, epizoites are advantageous over internal parasites in that many of them can be detected by direct observation (e.g., boat surveys), thus no capture or dissection of cetaceans are necessary. Previous reviews of epizoites of cetaceans have focused on specific geographical areas, cetacean species or epibiotic taxa, but fall short to include the increasing number of records and scientific findings about these animals. Here we present an updated review of all records of associations between cetaceans and their epibiotic fauna (i.e., commensals, ecto- or mesoparasites, and mutualists). We gathered nearly 500 publications and found a total of 58 facultative or obligate epibiotic taxa from 11 orders of arthropods, vertebrates, cnidarians, and a nematode that are associated to the external surface of 66 cetacean species around the globe. We also provide information on the use as an indicator species in the literature, if any, and about other relevant traits, such as geographic range, host specificity, genetic data, and life-cycle. We encourage researchers, not only to provide quantitative data (i.e., prevalence, abundance) on the epizoites they find on cetaceans, but also to inform on their absence. The inferences drawn from epizoites can greatly benefit conservation plans of both cetaceans and their epizoites.