INTRODUCTION Among the various known forms of pollution, water pollution is of great concern, since water is the prime necessity of life and extremely Adsorption characteristics of Kuttanad clay, Laterite and Coastal alluvium were investigated for phosphate removal from aqueous solution employing a batch experimental setup. Various parameters studied include contact time, adsorbent dosage, pH, initial concentration, agitation speed and particle size. Characterization of adsorbents including Point of zero charge, SEM and EDS analysis were done. The results of this study showed that the optimum contact time for adsorption of phosphate on Kuttanad clay, laterite and coastal alluvium reached to equilibrium after 60 min, 120 min and 90 min with removal efficiency of 61.12%, 55.32% and 46.89%, respectively. Optimum adsorbent dosage for adsorption of phosphate on Kuttanad clay, laterite and Coastal alluvium was obtained at 17.5 g/L, 15 g/L and 17.5 g/L with removal efficiency of 77.5%, 68% and 49%, respectively. Higher adsorption of phosphate was observed at lower pH; obtained at pH 3, 2 and 2 with removal efficiency 84.39%, 77.49% and 55.78%, respectively. Adsorption of phosphate on the adsorbents were found to increase with increase in agitation speed and decrease in initial concentration and particle size. In the kinetic study, pseudo 1 order, pseudo 2 order and intra-particle diffusion models were fitted to the adsorption process. Based on the experimental sorption capacity values compared with model values, the pseudo 1 order fitted more than pseudo 2 order model. Intra particle diffusion plot shows that adsorption occurs in 3 steps, viz., boundary layer effect, intra-particle diffusion and pore diffusion for the selected adsorbents. In this study, the adsorption characteristic of phosphorus onto soil was investigated with the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Correlation coefficients indicate that the Freundlich isotherm model was applied more effectively than the Langmuir model to phosphate sorption onto the Kuttanad clay, Laterite and Coastal alluvium. Overall, the present study suggests that the selected adsorbents are environmental friendly and low-cost adsorbents, which is useful for the removal of phosphate from aqueous media.


Abstract Vermiculite- and hectorite-decylammonium were chosen as models of soil in order to determine interactions involved in the adsorption of dinoseb, a neutral pesticide with low solubility in water, on hydrophobic substrates. Infrared (IR), Raman and electronic diffuse reflectance spectroscopies and adsorption isotherms provided complementary information on the state and the location of adsorbed molecules. A high rate of dinoseb adsorption is observed on vermiculitedecylammonium, both on external surfaces and in interlayer spaces of the substrate. Adsorbed molecules are shown to be hydrogen bonded to the silicate oxygen surfaces and to the ammonium groups. The uptake of dinoseb by hectorite-decylammonium is significantly lower. The structures of retained molecules are close to those of dinoseb molecules in an apolar medium. This study indicates that specific interactions are necessary for the fixation of great amounts of molecules on clayalkylammonium complexes. The hydrophobic characteristic of the surface appears to be a necessary but not sufficient condition in the adsorption process.


Ceylon Tea which is a world renown brand name celebrates the 150 th year since the planting of the first tree by a British national in the Loolekandura Estate in the Central Hills of the country.  This research Paper is to analyze the Factory Employees' Job Satisfaction and Productivity of the Sri Lankan Plantation Sector in Sri Lanka. Job Satisfaction and Productivity are widely spoken topics of the many other fields of the international forums and journals. Four hundred questionnaires were distributed among the Factory Officers of the Tea Estates. The response to four hundred questionnaires distributed among the factory employees, 370 were returned and the response rate was 92.5 percent. The data was analyzed by using descriptive analysis and structural equation methods. The findings show that job satisfaction has a significant positive impact on productivity.


Administration of β‐lactams via prolonged or continuous infusion has been utilized in adults to optimize drug exposure and clinical outcomes. As children exhibit increased drug clearance, this may further the benefit of prolonged or continuous infusions. This dosing approach was applied to several β‐lactams commonly utilized in children.


One of conditions of prophylaxis of deviant behaviour of pupils of childrens-youth sport school is revealed in the article; forms and methods of formation of valeological culture in pupils are suggested.


In the scope of the optimization of multi phase steels, e.g. for the automotive industry, control of the microstructure is essential to tailor the mechanical properties. In this study, two cold rolled steels varying in carbon content were annealed and cooled under different laboratory conditions. The microstructure is investigated using optical and electron microscopy and EBSD. The results are correlated to the mechanical properties obtained from tensile, hole expansion and bending test. It is found that tensile strength and elongation are mainly dependent on martensite volume fraction, while yield strength is less affected by chemical composition or annealing treatment. In contrast, hole expansion capacity and maximum bending angle are significantly improved by the homogenization of the microstructure which is independent of strength and elongation. The microstructure homogeneity is expressed by analyzing the Lorenz curves derived from the kernel average misorientation from EBSD measurements.


Summary Three heat flow values for south-west England are presented. Two of the sites, Geevor and South Crofty, are operating tin mines on the northern contacts of the Land's End and Carnmenellis Granites, respectively, while the third, Wilsey Down, is a stratigraphical borehole 5 km north of the Bodmin Moor Granite. After applying topographic corrections values of 128.6 mW m-2 (3-07 p cal cm-2 s-l) for Geevor, 128.9 mW m-2 (3.08 p cal cm-2 s-l) for South Crofty and 67.3 mW cm-2 (1.61 cal cm-2 s-l) for Wilsey Down, were determined. The value at Wilsey Down is shown to be consistent with that for an environment in which the Hercynian orogeny was the last significant thermal event. An additional heat source term must clearly be involved at Geevor and South Crofty to account for the unusually high values at these sites. Radiogenic heat production has been determined on granites from these sites and in spite of the fact that it is high it does not fully account for the measured heat flow. A compilation of underground temperature measurements made in the nineteenth century suggests that high heat flow is a general feature of the mineralized belt. At least part of this can be explained in terms of hot spring activity recorded widely throughout the area but the ultimate cause remains to be evaluated.


The ground-state properties of spin-polarized tritium T↓ at zero temperature are obtained by means of diffusion Monte Carlo calculations. Using an accurate ab initio T↓-T↓ interatomic potential we have studied its liquid phase, from the spinodal point until densities above its freezing point. The equilibrium density of the liquid is significantly higher and the equilibrium energy of −3.664(6) K significantly lower than in previous approximate descriptions. The solid phase has also been studied for three lattices up to high pressures and we find that hcp lattice is slightly preferred. The liquid-solid phase transition has been determined using the double-tangent Maxwell construction; at zero temperature, bulk tritium freezes at a pressure of P=9(1) bar.


Objective To compare the efficacy and side effects of Quetiapine and Perphenazin on the treatment of mental disorders due to vascular disease in the eldely.Methods A total of 60 elderly patients with mental disorders due to vascular disease were randomly assigned to two groups to receive Quetiapine or Perphenazin for 6 weeks.PANSS、CGI and TESS were adopted to evaluate the efficacy and side effects before and after 1,2,4 and 6 weeks of the treatment.Results After 6 weeks of treatment,the response rate between the Quetiapine and the Perphenazin groups was similar(70.00% vs 66.67%,P0.05).The decreasing radio of PANSS total score was significantly higher in Quetiapine group than that in the Perphenazin group at the 1 week of treatment(P0.05).TESS showed the incidence of hypermyotonia and akathisia were higher in Perphenazin group than those in Quetiapine group(P0.01 or P0.05).Conclusions Quetiapine and Perphenazin both provide valuable treatment options for the elderly with mental disorders due to vascular disease.Quetiapine is rapid in action,safe and less side effects in treating elderly patients with mental disorders due to vascular disease.


C-CAM is a cell adhesion molecule belonging to the immunoglobulin supergene family and is known to mediate calcium-independent homophilic cell-cell binding. Two major isoforms, C-CAM1 and C-CAM2, which differ in their cytoplasmic domains, have been identified. Previous investigations have demonstrated that both cytoplasmic domains can bind calmodulin in a calcium-dependent reaction. In this investigation, peptides corresponding to the cytoplasmic domains of C-CAM were synthesized on cellulose membranes and used to map the binding sites for I-labeled calmodulin. Both C-CAM1 and C-CAM2 had one strong calmodulin-binding site in the membrane-proximal region. These binding regions were conserved in C-CAM from rat, mouse, and man. In addition, C-CAM1 from rat and mouse contained a weaker binding site in the distal region of the cytoplasmic domain. Biosensor experiments were performed to determine rate and equilibrium constants of the C-CAM/calmodulin interaction. An association rate constant of 3.3 × 105M s and two dissociation rate constants of 2.2 × 10 and 3.1 × 10 s were determined. These correspond to equilibrium dissociation constants of 6.7 × 10 and 9.4 × 10M, respectively. In dot-blot binding experiments, it was found that binding of calmodulin causes a down-regulation of the homophilic self-association of C-CAM. This suggests that calmodulin can regulate the functional activity of C-CAM.


Formulae currently used in mass spectrometric studies of N₂ and N₂O emissions require the initial atmosphere to be in a state of isotopic equilibrium with a ¹⁵N atom fraction equal to that of the global background (γ). This is not always the case (e.g., in sequentially sampled incubations and those conducted under artificial atmospheres). Here I present new formulae that are valid whatever the initial conditions. These formulae are simpler than previous versions. They are expressed directly in terms of the ¹⁵N atom fractions and ³⁰N₂ molecular fractions of two gas samples (taken before and after emission). I have provided secondary expressions for converting the instrumental output of any (single- or dual-inlet, double- or triple-collector) mass spectrometer into the atomic and molecular fractions required. In common with previous treatments, my new calculations hypothesize a homogeneous soil N pool. I have proven that where this hypothesis is false the calculated value of the apparent pool enrichment is wrong (too high where the actual enrichment exceeds that of the atmosphere; too low in the exceptional case where the atmospheric enrichment exceeds that of the pool) and the flux is invariably underestimated. Computer simulations suggest that this underestimation may be relatively constant (about 25%) if the atmosphere is initially at isotopic equilibrium with ¹⁵N fraction γ, but that it may be larger (about 40%) and more variable where this is not the case.


Primary tumors of the spleen are rare and with the exception of malignant lymphoma are seldom considered in the differential diagnosis of splenomegaly. Such tumors may be either cystic or solid, and the cystic variety, composed mostly of epidermoid cysts, has occurred with slightly greater frequency. The most common primary solid tumor is the hemangioma (hamartoma) and the majority of these have been described as incidental autopsy findings. Most splenic hemangiomas are discovered incidentally, and their clinical importance generally lies in differentiating them from other conditions. Occasionally, they may be associated with splenomegaly, abdominal pain, dyspnea, diarrhea or constipation, anemia, thrombocytopenia and with larger lesions which spontaneously rupture. Although hemangioma is a very common benign lesion in the body, a huge and mixed splenic trype hemangioma is very rare.here we report a case of 50 yr female presented with lump in abdomen turned out to be splenic hemangioma. Splenunculi are single or multiple accessory spleens that are found in approximately 10-30% of the population.so primary splenic hemangioma with occurance of speninculi is rare finding.


order statistics, are established. The authors also discuss the important property of inŽ nite divisibility, which later allows them to develop continuous-time stochastic processes with Laplace increments. The chapter culminates in a long treatment of statistical inference for the Laplace distribution, including the behavior of maximum likelihood and method-of-moments estimators of the distribution parameters, as well as a discussion of conŽ dence bounds and hypothesis tests; for example, a test of the normal distribution against the alternative of the Laplace distribution is developed. Goodness-of-Ž t tests are also discussed. Chapter 3 adopts much the same approach as Chapter 2, but addresses an asymmetric generalization of the Laplace distribution; a class is developed that inherits most properties of the symmetric family. Chapter 4 presents interesting material on other related distributions and processes, the Ž rst of these being the Bessel function distribution or generalized Laplace distribution, which is obtained from the classical Laplace distribution by a slight generalization of its characteristic function. A representation of this distribution is that it is obtained as a mixture of normal distributions with stochastic variance having a gamma distribution (as opposed to exponential in the standard Laplace case). The authors then use these ideas to develop the idea of Laplace motion, which has applications in the context of Ž nancial modeling. By Laplace motion, the authors mean a continuous-time stochastic process with independent stationary increments that have a generalized Laplace (Bessel function) distribution. Thus they consider a pure-jump special case of the Lévy process, which can be considered Brownian motion under a stochastic time change. A version with asymmetric increments is also discussed. Part II (Chapters 5 and 6) provides a structurally similar development of the theory of multivariate Laplace distributions and asymmetric multivariate Laplace distributions, and mentions the idea of multivariate Laplace motion. It also includes an interesting section on the linear model with uncorrelated (but of course not independent) multivariate Laplace-distributed errors. In both the univariate and multivariate accounts, I missed a discussion of the link with the classes of hyperbolic, generalized hyperbolic, and normal inverse Gaussian distributions, as introduced by Barndorff-Nielsen. This class contains the Laplace and generalized Laplace distributions as special cases, and has been a subject of interest in several areas of application, including Ž nance. The authors explain that they deliberately did not present material on these generalizations, because this would take them too far away from the Laplace distribution, the main subject of the text. I still think it is a pity that they did not discuss these links, because all of these distributions do Ž t together and some readers (including me) will be curious about exactly how. Part III contains four short chapters on applications. These are sufŽ cient to suggest areas in which Laplace distributions may be useful, and give literature references for those wishing to pursue the ideas. No application is discussed in any great detail, but that is not the point, because the book is directed at the general reader. I think that this treatment is the correct one. It so happens that I am interested in the Ž nancial applications, and these are discussed in a little more detail than applications in engineering, quality control, and the biological and environmental sciences. It is certainly true that alternative distributions to the Gaussian for returns on Ž nancial assets have been a subject of great interest in recent decades and that alternative processes to geometric Brownian motion for the development of asset values in continuous time are a current hot topic. I concur that Laplace distributions and Laplace motion may have roles to play in this area, and the book contains some very up-to-date references. In summary, like The Laplace Distributions and Generalizations and am pleased to have added it to my bookshelf. I anticipate that it will be a useful reference in the years to come. Perhaps, in a later revision, the authors might be persuaded to add a little more about links to the hyperbolic and other related distributions, this being the only thing that I really missed.


Periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) are one of the most promising candidates to be used as ultra-low-k dielectrics in microelectronic devices. In this paper, PMO thin films that combine an ultra-low-k value, a hydrophobic property and a high resistance against aggressive chemical conditions are presented. The films are synthesized via spin-coating of a 1,1,3,3,5,5-hexaethoxy-1,3,5-trisilacyclohexane, hydrochloric acid, water and ethanol mixture using polyoxyethylene (10) stearyl ether as a porogen template. The obtained highly porous films are hydrophobic, crack-free and an ultra-low k-value of 1.8 is achieved. Finally, the chemical resistance of these PMO films against alkaline solutions is investigated in detail and compared with the resistance of mesoporous silicas and PMOs synthesized with cetyl trimethylammonium chloride.


Objective- To comparetheprofiles of thosepatientsselectedby general practitioners formeasurement ofserum cholesterol withtherecommendedprofiles foropportunistic cholesterol testing described in the nationalpractice guidelines published bytheDutchCollege ofGeneral Practitioners. Design-Retrospective auditofgeneral practitioners' records. Materials- Practice records of3577adult patients systematically sampledfrom20 general practices. Mainmeasures-Withcriteria setbythe national guidelines, theproportion of patients per practice(a)forwhom cholesterol testing wouldbe considered justified, and (b)forwhom cholesterol testing wouldbeconsidered unjustified, andtheproportion ofpatients within each ofthesegroupswhohadhadacholesterol measurement recorded. Results-Cholesterol testswere performedon415(11.7%) ofthe3577patients. National guidelines onthemanagementof hypercholesterolaemia statethata positivecardiovascular riskprofile isan indication forcholesterol measurement. Justunderonefifth (668) ofthepatients in thisstudy wererecorded ashaving apositivecardiovascular riskprofile, butonly 31% ofthesehadhadtheircholesterol measured.Of the patients without recorded evidence ofapositive cardiovascularriskprofile cholesterol hadbeen measuredin8%.Restricting theanalyses totheagegroup18-65(n=3060) ofwhom 12.5%hadapositive riskprofile, didnot improvetheresults. Inpractices witha computerised information system37%of patients withrecorded evidence ofapositivecardiovascular riskprofile hadhad their cholesterol measured. Conclusions- Cholesterol testing wasnot targeted asselectively asrecommended by the nationalguidelines. The major problemwasfailure totestthoselikely to benefit. Improvingthe targeting of cholesterol measurementswould undoubtedly increasethe workloadof generalpractitioners. If the national guidelines aretohaveaneffect onhealth promotion thefirststepmust be to increase theproportion ofpatients with positive cardiovascular riskprofiles who gettheir cholesterol tested. A major factor insuccessfully selecting casesseemstobe thatpractices areequipped withacomputerised medical information system. (Quality inHealth Care1996;5:218-222)


Toexaminthe transmission ofherpes s- plex virus (HSV) fromaxontoepidermal cell, aninvitro m el wasconstructed conis ofhumanfetal dorsal rootgnglia cultured inthecentral chamber ofadual-chamber tisue culture system separated fromautologous dsnexplants nan exterior chamber byconcentric steel cylinders adeg tothe substratum through silicon grease andagarose. Axonsgrew through theagarose viral barrier andtrmatedon epidermal cells intheexterior chber.After inationof HSVonto dorsal root g _,anterograde axonal tranport of glycoprotein andnudeocapsid antigen wasobserved bycon- focal miosopytoappear inexterior chamber axons within 12 handinepidermal cells within 16h,moving at2-3umm/h. Although bothenveloped andunenveloped nucleocapsds were observed intheneuronal somabyt mi elecro mi- croscopy, onlynucleocapsids wereobserved intheaxons, closely associated with microtubules. Nodule formation atthe surface ofHSV-infeced axons, becoming moredeWse atthe axonteriusone e alcells, andpatches ofaxoemal HSVglycoprotein D ex r wereobserved bys (lmmuno)electron microscopy, probably reprntivirus emerging fromtheaxolemma. These finngs lysuggest as d modeofviral Iransport, assembly, andegress in sensory neurons: microtubule-associated


A survey of coastal South Carolina residents addressed the role of household decisions in amplifying demand on transportation infrastructure during 1999's Hurricane Floyd evacuation. The evacuation rate averaged 65% (+/- 4.2%) in coastal evacuation areas. Three major findings reveal that traffic problems are becoming a major consideration in whether people evacuate. How they evacuate is emerging as an issue for evacuation traffic planning. First, about 25% of households took two or more cars. Nearly 50% of evacuees left in one 6-hour period. Major traffic pressure developed on the interstate system, particularly Interstate-26. Second, while the majority of respondents carried road maps, only 51% of that group used them to determine their route. Many decided to stay on the Interstate despite the congestion. Finally, the majority of South Carolinian residents traveled distances greater than necessary for safe sheltering and more than in past hurricanes. Transportation issues will become more important in coastal evacuations as traffic problems impinge on people's ability to get out of harm's way and ultimately influence their decisions to evacuate.


Background: Solid organ transplant recipients have an increased risk of cancer due to immunosuppressive therapy. Pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) are increasingly being detected, some with malignant potential. We aimed to determine the prevalence of these lesions and describe their clinical course in these patients. Methods: We identified the presence of PCLs in a retrospective cohort of 804 consecutive solid organ transplant recipients from 2009 to 2019 and compared lesion characteristics at initial and follow-up imaging, when available. We also compared these features with an immunocompetent control group encompassing patients under surveillance for greater than 12 months and were matched for age and sex. Results: There were 15 patients in the study group and 60 patients in the control group. Among the solid organ transplant recipients with PCLs, there were seven and eight patients undergoing liver and kidney transplantation, respectively. Lesion prevalence was 1.86% (15/805). Median diameter of the largest lesion was 20 mm (range, 0.2–60 mm) and most lesions were benign (9/15, simple cyst or pseudocyst). During follow-up imaging, the cysts size remained stable in 79.7%, increased in 6.6%, and decreased in 13.7%. Among patients diagnosed with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (6/15), worrisome features were noted in one patient at the time of cyst diagnosis. However, due to multiple comorbidities the patient received only conservative management. There were no significantly different features including


In order to meet the requirements of robustness and discrimination of content preserving operations after conversion of speech communication format on the heterogeneous mobile terminal, and noise reduction and efficient authentication, a new efficient speech perceptual hashing authentication algorithm based on spectral subtraction and energy to entropy ratio was proposed. Firstly the proposed algorithm uses spectral subtraction method to denoise the speech signals which processed by applying pre-processing. Secondly, the energy to entropy value matrix of each frame is obtained by applying the method of energy to entropy ratio. Finally, the binary perceptual hash sequence is generated. Experiment results show that the proposed algorithm can denoise the speech effectively, and have good robustness and discrimination to content preserving operations, as well as having high efficiency and good ability to implement tamper detection.


Chapter 4 turns to the issue of perpetrators' moral responsibility. We consider various arguments for the conclusion that perpetrators have access to excuses allowing them to avoid moral blame for their actions. For example, some philosophers have argued that, as a result of situational pressures, it is often unreasonable to expect military personnel to accurately assess the moral status of their behavior and so it is often unfair to blame perpetrators for their wrongdoing. Concerns about moral luck might also suggest that perpetrators are not open to moral blame: if it is a matter of bad luck that military personnel are exposed to pressures that lead them to act as they do, then perhaps it is unfair to blame them for their actions.


Abstract : This is the final report on research concerned with combining control concepts and quantum information systems. Particular emphasis is being given to closed loop laboratory techniques for obtaining the maximum performance from quantum information systems. These studies entail minimization of the influence of environmental decoherence effects, maximum robustness to noise in the system controllers, the creation of robust gate operations, and the means to identify quantum information system Hamiltonians and evolving state behavior. The research includes both theoretical and laboratory components. The research summary is broken out into the accomplishments and findings in a set of interrelated QuIST projects.


consensus questions are a testament to the of diagnosing and treating cervical facet Denervating a painful structure or significantly but only if the innervated structure is a pain source and only if one does a proper job ablating the innerva-tion. best technique chronic cervical facet pain, as no other proven equally effective non- surgical option


ABSTRACT It has been suggested that residential segregation has negative social and economic impacts. However, psychological and cultural benefits of such clustering have been established by research. We undertake a comprehensive analysis by estimating residential choices of minorities and identifying their willingness to pay for housing attributes and community characteristics. Recognizing that the language spoken at home adds to daily convenience, a sense of belonging, and a feeling of closeness, we widen the scope of the study to include four minority groups, defined by the languages spoken at home. We find that preferences for integrating into white, English-speaking societies are quite heterogeneous. The willingness to pay to live in a community with more own language speakers is inversely associated with the willingness to pay to live in a community with more English-speaking whites. Furthermore, any two minority groups share the same reciprocal attitudes towards each other. To assimilate more into the mainstream, a minority group might choose to reside in a community with fewer people who speak their language, but they would not necessarily be willing to lower the percentage of other minority groups.


Indonesian is one of the most interesting lessons taught in elementary school.According to (Santoso, 2011: 5.18) language learning is "the process of providing language learning stimulation to students in an effort to achieve language skills". Therefore, speaking must be immediately mastered by students in elementary school because these skills are directly related to the entire learning process of students, especially in the eyes of Indonesian learning.Student learning success in following the process of teaching and learning activities in schools in the eyes of Indonesian language learning, is very much in touch with the right model and method taught by a teacher in teaching the learning which will make children's speaking skills better and learning outcomes will be better too.Based on this background, researchers are interested in conducting research entitled The Influence of Role Playing Learning Models on the Results of Speaking Skills in Indonesian Language Learning for Grade V Students of JatiGaung Padang Elementary School 24. This type of research is a Randomized Control Group Posttest Only Design experimental research.The research variable is basically everything that is formed what is determined by the researcher to be studied so that information is obtained about it.The results showed that there was an effect of the Role Playing Learning Model on the Results of Speaking Skills in Indonesian Language Learning in Grade V Students of JatiGaung Padang Elementary School 24. The average results of the students' speaking skills in the experimental class were 89.00 in the control class 67.07 with the hypothesis test level obtained t count> t table where 3.90> 2.032 thus H1 working hypothesis was accepted and Ho was rejected, as evidenced by the significant level (a ) = 0.05 This means that there is a significant difference in the results of the students' speaking skills using the Role Playing learning model on the results of speaking skills in Indonesian language students of grade V SDN Jati Gaung Padang. From these data it can be concluded that the learning model of the Effect of Role Playing Learning Models on the Results of Speaking Skills in Indonesian Language Learning Class V Students of JatiGaung Padang Elementary School 24. Keywords: Role Playing, Results of Indonesian Speaking Skills, Experiments


A Darzens reaction between tert-butoxycarbonyl alaninal and chloromethyl phenyl sulfone afforded chlorohydrins, which were converted into epoxysulfones by reaction with sodium tert-butoxide. Epoxysulfone 10 and chloroketone 14 derived from chlorohydrins by oxidation proved to be inhibitors of cathepsins H, S, and C as determined by competitive activity-based protein profiling.


This article examines the history of one of the most significant crises that occurred shortly before the current global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which lasted from February 2014 to December 2015, killed more than 11,000 people and sowed panic around the world. What started as a local phenomenon quickly became a major challenge to national health in West African countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, etc., as well as to global health institutions such as WHO and international humanitarian organizations. The most severe consequences of Ebola were felt in Sierra Leone — a country rich in natural resources, but with a poor state administration system and a dilapidated health care system. A complex set of factors — environmental, economic, political, social and cultural — was responsible for the spread of the Ebola virus among the people of West Africa. All of them are now more or less well understood, although a holistic picture of the events of the 2014—2015 Ebola epidemic in West Africa remains unclear. The aim of this article is to reconstruct the general history of the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone, as well as to characterize its causes and consequences.


Job search by those who are employed has received increasing attention in recent years in both the theoretical and the empirical literature on labor markets in developed countries.' Much of the interest stems from the observation that job changes often take place without an intervening period of unemployment and that there is a close relationship between searching for a job and quitting the current job. Also, on-the-job search affects the rate of unemployment during the period between jobs. A major preoccupation of the empirical research has been to estimate the returns to on-the-job search and to test the determinants of job search. The bulk of this work uses data for the United States and the United Kingdom.2 Job search theory has not been empirically tested in the context of a developing country. On-the-job search, particularly in the so-called informal sector of the urban labor market, is an important feature of probabilistic models of migration in developing countries in the vein of Michael P. Todaro and of John R. Harris and Todaro.3 Such models hypothesize that individuals migrate to urban centers with the aim of obtaining employment in the formal sector and that informal-sector employment is a transitional phase during which migrants are searching for formal-sector jobs. Recent work by Gary S. Fields has formalized the theoretical aspects of this job search process within the framework of a multisector model.4 Thus, it would be of interest to find out if there are significant differences between developed and developing countries with respect to the determinants of on-the-job search.


While injection drug users (IDU) in the USA are known to form sexual partnerships with IDU as well as non-IDU, scientific research is lacking regarding risk behaviors for HIV transmission within these partnerships. Such information could aid HIV-prevention efforts among IDU and could also explain the relatively low prevalence of HIV among non-IDU heterosexuals in US cities such as San Francisco. Using data from a cross-sectional sample of San Francisco IDU we estimated (1) the prevalence of IDU–IDU and IDU–non-IDU sexual partnerships, (2) the frequency of serodiscordant unprotected intercourse in IDU–IDU and IDU–non-IDU sexual partnerships, and (3) the frequency of concurrence of sexual risk and injection-related risk within IDU–IDU sexual partnerships. An estimated 68% of sexually active San Francisco IDU is in IDU–IDU partnerships. Our analysis suggests that compared to IDU–non-IDU partnerships, IDU–IDU partnerships include a greater rate of episodes of serodiscordant unprotected intercourse (incidence rate ratio: 10.2; 95% confidence interval: 2.1–50.7). In fact, our data suggest that 92% of serodiscordant sexual episodes involving IDU are attributable to IDU–IDU pairings. Unprotected intercourse and needle sharing occur concurrently in an estimated 29% of IDU–IDU partnerships. Our data suggest that HIV-transmission risk is higher within IDU–IDU partnerships than it is within IDU–non-IDU partnerships. This disparity could explain the relatively low prevalence of HIV among non-IDU heterosexuals in San Francisco. We recommend that HIV-prevention efforts among IDU continue to address sexual risk behaviors for HIV transmission in addition to injection-related risk behaviors, with emphasis on IDU–IDU partnerships.


AbstractA detailed investigation has been made of atomized Al–Fe–Mn powders. A probable solidification sequence is proposed, and the structural inhomogeneities which may be contained within the powder from a typical atomization blow have been investigated.MST/541


In this paper, we analyzed the application of hash function in E-commerce and reviewed the basic knowledge of hash function. Then, we described a new hash function Keccak algorithm that is one of candidates for SHA-3, and discussed the security problems in E-commerce, and disserted the advantages of Keccak algorithm. At last, we investigated the secure application of hash function and Keccak in E-commerce.


An eight-session smoking cessation program for mothers of children in the Head Start program was implemented in Chicago and evaluated in an experimental design (37 intervention and 28 control schools). The program was designed for schools with primarily black enrollment. A baseline parent population survey indicated smoking rates of 43%, confirming a need for the program. More than one third of smokers in the intervention schools attended at least one program session. Abstinence rates were 11% at immediate postintervention and 12% at six-month follow-up, compared to 3% and 6%, respectively, for smokers in the control group. Abstinence outcomes from this program compare favorably with those obtained from smoking cessation programs delivered in other settings.


The Presidential Elections Act 1991 was passed, as a consequence of the passing of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Act 1991, which created, inter alia, the new institution of a directly elected President for Singapore. That constitutional amendment provides that: The President shall be elected by the citizens of Singapore in accordance with any law made by the Legislature. The Presidential Elections Act accordingly prescribes the procedure for the election of the President.


Flood & waterlog disaster catch the worldwide special attention because of its frequent happening and greatest loss. Great achievements have been gained in flood control and disaster decrease in China today. Flood risk analysis occupies a very important position in non-engineering measures. The flood risk analysis methods has shown a progress from DI (Direct Integral) method, MC (Monte Carlo) method, MFOSM (Mean First Order Second Moment) method and SO(Second Order) method, to AFOSM (Advanced First Order Second Moment) method, JC method, etc. The expectations are suggested: (1) To make the connotation of risk analysis clearly and unified; (2) To carry out 'risk of risk analysis' research; (3) To introduce and advance the basic theory and methods into risk analysis, such as the entropy theory, fuzzy information optimization technology and so on. Mesozoic geological events in southeastern China and Pacific subduction F.Y. WANG, W.D. SUN*, M.X. LING, X. DING AND X. YANG Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, CAS, 510640 Univ. of Sci. and Tech. of China, Hefei 230026 (*correspondence: firstname.lastname@example.com)


Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) poses a near-term threat to our healthcare system, putting strain on it and raising fatality rates due to a lack of vital supplies like ventilators. Various study details the design and prototype of an inexpensive transportable ventilator to utilize in resource-constrained settings and mass casualty scenarios. Without a human operator, the proposed ventilator uses a rotating cam arm and claims to deliver air to human breaths by squeezing a conventional bag-valve-mask (BVM). In this article, a very new ventilator design is suggested. A portable ventilator prototype is proposed and developed, and its control strategy and development are discussed in this article.


For the abnormal phenomenon of non-faulty MMC after fault MMC blocking in Hybrid Cascaded Ultra High Voltage Direct Current (HC-UHVDC) transmission system, a coordinated control strategy based on control signals is proposed. The mechanism of overcurrent and overvoltage in non-fault MMC was analyzed. Additional current was added in the LCC rectifier control to suppress overcurrent and overvoltage. DC voltage is out of control when the MMC master station is fault-blocked. To solve this problem, an optimal control strategy is adopted to convert the slaver station to the new master station. The scheme is based on the protection signal to identify the fault converter station. After the converter station is blocked, the system can be safely and effectively restored to the stable state.


Decision purchase hospital bed brand paramount at PT. Aga Medika Utama in public hospitals in Padang city experienced an increase in seeing the phenomenon get an idea about a research with the theme of brand awareness, brand association and perception of quality to purchase decision of hospital bed.In the study, the authors create independent variables consisting of brand awareness (X1), Brand Association (X2) and Perception of Quality as (X3) while the dependent variable is the purchase decision (Y). Of all variables are used multiple regression tests. The results of the study illustrate that X1 and X3 show significant value smaller than 0.05 so that the hypothesis given the researchers can be accepted. As for X2 showed significant value greater than 0.05 this indicates that the value is not acceptable by the researcher hypothesis. It can be concluded that brand awareness and quality perception are positively associated with purchasing decisions. As for the brand association of purchasing decisions have a negative effect.


The Yao's Summary of Spring and Autumn is an important reference for researching Spring and Autumn history. There are some advantage and defect in this book. We discuss about the above topic. After researching, we find that the part of generation system and Hou Concubin (后妃) is the characteristic of this book. In this chapter, not only description but also structure is ordered, tidy and clear. It can help researcher much deeply and easily recognize Zuo Biography and History Biography. But the information in article is not original in history. The content is formed by summarized many old history books. There is some mismatch in individual statement. It is pointed out and presented in this paper.


The authors of the article "I've Been Through Something: Poetic Explorations of African American Women's Cancer Survivorship" report on a secondary analysis of data from a study that concerned ethnic differences in the quality-of-life measures, utilizing the group-as-a-whole theory and an empirical-interpretive phenomenological approach to the focus-group data and poetry in the presentation of their findings. The authors present 11 poems that describe the journey from diagnosis to survivorship as experienced by African American women. This approach was innovative and powerful and set the findings to be within cultural and historical contexts. The article would raise the awareness of African American women's breast-cancer survivorship and provide health care professionals with aesthetic as well as empirical knowledge to improve the care. Nevertheless, the method used is problematic because the authors claim it to be an interpretive phenomenology but later claim that an empirical phenomenology was used for the primary data analysis. Phenomenology is rooted in philosophy but was further developed by the social sciences, especially sociology and psychology, to form different philosophical traditions such as transcendental or reflective phenomenology, hermeneutic or interpretive phenomenology, empirical phenomenology, and social phenomenology. Regardless of the traditions, phenomenologists share a set of subjectivist assumptions about "natural attitude" (Aspers, 2004, p. 3; Holstein & Gubrium, 1994, p. 263). The phenomenology research process includes (a) understanding the philosophical perspectives behind the method and setting aside presuppositions, (b) writing research questions that explore everyday lived experience, (c) collecting data from individuals who have experienced the phenomenon under investigation (i.e., using interviews), (d) conducting phenomenological data analysis, and (e) writing phenomenological reports of the essential structure of the experience (Creswell, 1998). The authors use secondary analysis of the data that addresses the African American women survivors' perspectives on the cultural appropriateness of quality-of-life measures. This design could "examine dimensions previously unexamined and allow the investigators to examine questions related Western Journal of Nursing Research Volume 29 Number 7 November 2007 924-926 © 2007 Sage Publications 10.1177/0193945907302973 http://wjn.sagepub.com hosted at http://online.sagepub.com


1. SUMMARY The Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) is required to prepare an annual report on students taking basic skills courses at Colorado's public higher education institutions. CCHE has collected data from the institutions on students assigned to remediation and prepared the attached report. The document is to be submitted to the Education Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives, the Joint Budget Committee, and the Colorado Department of Education and distributed to each Colorado public school district superintendent. II. BACKGROUND C.R.S. 23-1-113.3 mandates that the Commission, as part of its implementation of the Remedial Policy, report the General Assembly on assessment and remediation for undergraduate students. The report is to include the distribution of remediated students by school districts and costs associated with delivery of basic skills courses.


Underwater acoustic communication system must match the communication channel in order to achieve a good performance. How to simulate for such a complex channel has become a hot research. This paper studied the shallow water acoustic channel modeling and simulation method. Using BELLHOP Gauss-ray beam tracing algorithm, modeled the multipath characteristics of the Shallow Water Acoustic Channel. Aiming at the lack of the traditional ray beam method, modeled a dynamic response channel. Simulated and analyzed the Doppler effect of the spectrum. The result showed that the Doppler shift was consistent with the theoretical value, which proved the effectiveness of the design.


THE EXCAVATIONS carried on at Tarsus in the spring and summer of 1936 uncovered fragments of terracotta plaques (fig. 1) none of which were complete, but all of which depicted the same monument in similar manner, although, as they were not made in the same mould, with variations in size and in minor details. The level at which they were found, all in close proximity, and the accompanying archaeological material place them in about the middle of the second century B. C. The plaques are therefore roughly contemporary with the first appearance of a coin depicting a similar divine image which has been plausibly interpreted as Sandon, the chief god of the Cilician pantheon at least from the beginning of the second millennium B. C. on. Coins of this general type continued to be struck until the reign of the emperor Gallienus (260-268 A. D.; cf. fig. 5).1 The terracottas were published in a report on the Tarsus excavations 2 with a very brief commentary. They were interpreted as cheap offerings at the shrine of the god. In view of the fact that the hope of finding at least the substructure of the monument corresponding to the one depicted on the reliefs was not realized before the excavations closed, and opportunity for resuming work may not come for a long time, it has seemed to the writer of some interest to attempt a synthesis of the various pieces and an interpretation of the iconography and symbolism of the monument as a whole. For it is reasonable to suppose that the plaques represent a real and not an imaginary monument, and that it was located somewhere at or near Tarsus itself. We know that the ancient god of this region was equated by the Greeks and subsequently by the Romans with Herakles,3 and, indeed, on quite a different part of


The K computer, RIKEN and Fujitsu are now developing, has twice been awarded the title of the world's fastest computer by the TOP500 project. Throughout development, lots of bugs were detected, but these bugs were fixed before manufacturing. This was achieved by our advanced verification methodologies. Furthermore, the 88,128 nodes system can run 30 hours without any single fault. This was supported by our leading production test methodologies. This paper introduces these advanced verification and production methodologies.


BACKGROUND:The objective in the present study is to determine the severity of functional tricuspid regurgitation with the severity of pulmonary hypertension and other variables. MATERIALS AND METHODS:In the present study 10,000 consecutive cases undergoing echocardiography in Hamidia hospital Bhopal,MP,Central India between 1 st January   2009 to july 2011 were analysed.1203 cases of functional tricuspid regurgitation(FTR) were found with the exclusion of organic tricuspid regurgitation and out of these we determine the severity of of FTR  with pulmonary artery systolic pressure(PASP) and other variables. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: PASP is the strong predictor of FTR severity irrespective of age and severity is also  dependent on other variables.


Data mining is major area in innovation of new trends in many application areas. The current applications generating data is are not static, it always changing day to day and it leads to changes in the technologies and data mining algorithms. Here, new study of data mining algorithms with dynamic characteristic. In various applications, data clustering is required for grouping of data based on similarity measures. For clustering on uncertain, incomplete and vague data soft computing approaches are efficient. In this paper, we considered dynamic characteristics of data and class structures into four cases and framed basic soft clustering methods for these cases. These methods are executed using fuzzy c means clustering in R programming language on suitable real time data set. We also focus on problems identified on each category.


Molding compositions for the fabrication of shaped articles having enhanced mechanical properties are comprised of (i) a polymeric matrix, (ii) an inorganic reinforcing filler material therefor, and, advanta geously, (iii) a polymer/filler coupling agent, said rein forcing filler material consisting essentially of intimate admixture of enstatite and silica advantageously pre pared by calcination of a precursor clay at a tempera ture of at least 800 C.


Sidharthan Maunaguru. 2019. Marrying for a Future: Transnational Sri Lankan Tamil Marriages in the Shadow of War. Global South Asia. Seattle: University of Washington Press. xii + 188 pp. Figures, notes, bibliography, index. US$30 (paperback).


This study is a descriptive study to investigate the influencing factors on the perception of Disclosure of Patient Safety Incidents among clinical nurses. A total of 206 clinical nurses were recruited from an online self-report questionnaire in hospitals with more than 400 beds. The results revealed that the scores of disclosure of patient safety incidents, patient safety culture, patient-centered care and ethical leadership of nurse managers were 97.41(±9.91), 3.79(±0.47), 68.17(±9.55) and 3.70(±0.83). The factors influencing on disclosure of patient safety incidents consist of patient safety development system of patient safety culture, the clinical context of patient-centered care, the patient safety priority order of Patient Safety culture, and work departments. These factors explained a total of 20% variance. In addition, it will be necessary to form a patient safety culture of a system improvement approach to patient safety incidents within medical institutions. Furthermore, it will be required to form a patient safety culture with a system improvement approach to patient safety incidents within medical institutions and active support at the nursing organization level to strengthen the patient-centered nursing competency of nurses.


In the light of the rule of correlation norm to relative spatial location of all classes of pipelines,this paper applies programming visualization check program In AutoCAD to check pipeline cross error and to check the rationality and accuracy of pipeline detection data,then could heighten effectually the pertinence of the pipeline detection data and automation level.


Soybean seed were planted into a Gigger-Gilbert silt loam soil on 17 April in plots consisting of 8 rows (centered on 40 inches) × 40 ft. Treatments were arranged in a RCB design with 4 replications. Insecticides were applied on 31 Jul with a John Deere 6000 hi-clearance sprayer and CO2 charged delivery system calibrated to deliver 5 gpa through Teejet TX-8 hollow cone nozzles (2 per row) at 46 psi. Stink bug (adult and nymphs), BLB (adults), and TCAH (adults and nymphs) densities were determined at 3 and 7 DAT using a standard (15-inches diameter) sweep net and taking 25 sweep samples in each plot. The test area received 0.64 inch of rain from insecticide application until the last sampling date. Data were analyzed with ANOVA, and means were separated according to DMRT (P ≤ 0.05).


Open experimental teaching platform is an efficient way for the quality improvement in experimental teaching and for the cultivation of creative talents.The necessity of the openness of the experimental teaching platform is discussed and the fundamental frame of the platform for economics and management science is proposed.On the basis of the construction for experimental teaching,the open modes and operation systems of the experimental teaching platform for economics and management science are also studied.


The development and utilization of water resources were analyzed in Hetao Irrigation Region, Inner Mongolia, the problem about shortage of water resources,contradiction between supply and requirement for water,crude equipmint of transporting-water and the irrational structure of utilization water were discussed .Aiming at the irrational utilization of water resources in Hetao Irrigation Region and adjusting measures to local conditions, the countermeasure of the sustainable development and utilization of water resources in Hetao Irrigation Region were put forward according to local conditions.


Terrestrial laser scanners are becoming more and more a part of the surveying industry.
The high speed, remote capture of considerable amounts of quality data has made the
scanner an attractive and valuable surveying instrument.
To date most of the uses for a scanner have been surface based applications. This paper
investigates the feasibility of using a scanner at BHPB Cannington underground mine to
replace traditional survey measurements. The increased speed of remote data capture
could contribute to a safer operation and the increased quantity of data would lead to
more accurate 3-dimensional models which could contribute to better reconciliation and
mine design. To this end a number survey tasks were undertaken in the underground
environment. The methodology used was to compare surveys of a stope and drive
carried out with a scanner to that of surveys carried out with traditional measurements.
Aspects of practicality and data were examined. The study found that it is feasible to use
a scanner underground but a financial rationalization study would need to be undertaken
to justify the purchase of a scanner.


Chronic hyperglycemia and an elevation in glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and approaches to ameliorate oxidative stress have improved IR and decreased HbA1c, leading one to conclude that oxidative stress may be involved in glucose metabolism. Reactive oxygen species can damage cellular DNA, membranes, lipids, proteins and dri ve inflammatory gene expression that inhibits metabolic pathways induced by insulin, leading to IR . Metformin seems to exert its antiinflammatory role by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion in specific cell types. Thirty Iraqi patients aged (3570) years, newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were treated with different doses of oral Metformin and randomized into three groups in a dose of 500mg/day single dose,1000mg/day in 2 divided dose, and 1500mg/day in 3 divided dose for 3 months , 10 patients each group. Serum levels of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), Serum MDA, glycated hemoglobin HbA1c, total Cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL -C, LDL€ C, VLDL-C was measured. There was a significant decrease in HbA1c and serum MDA level (p 0.05) in all patient groups with higher percent of reduction with a dose of (1500mg/day) ( 27.9%, 49.6%, 22.5%) respectively. There was a significant decrease in total serum cholesterol, TG, Serum (L DL-C), VLDL (p<0.05), and a significant increases (p<0.05) in the serum HDL-c level after 3 months compared with baseline values. The results of the present study clarified that there are favorable effects of metformin on metabolic, oxidative, and inflammatory profile which may be associated with reduced risk for macrovascular complications in patients with type 2 DM.


This paper has demonstrated that it is possible to get rid of the temperature and hygrometry induced drifts on the measurements as well as on the ratios the Biovolume sensing system yields. The Faurecia Biovolume sensing system uses capacitative sensors to perform both monitoring and morphological estimation. The technology presents many advantages such as low cost and easiness of integration, but it also presents some drawbacks, among them their sensitivity to temperature and humidity. This allows morphology classification and position monitoring across ambient condition variations whereas it would not be possible using raw measurements.


Summary form only given. Nano-sized carbon materials are produced in different structures depending on the precursor and the processing condition used for a direct conversion of methane by thermal plasma process. For this synthesis process, a mixture of argon and hydrogen is used as a plasma forming gas for the thermal plasma jet generated by a DC non-transferred plasma torch. By introducing only pure methane into the mixture plasma flame, nano-sized carbon blacks of spherical and sheet-like shapes are produced simultaneously. On the other hand, by injecting a catalytic metal additive mixed with methane into the plasma, a number of carbon nanotubes with a long hollow structure are synthesized in the optimal operating conditions of the torch. Morphologies and crystallization degrees of the carbon blacks and the nanotubes produced under various processing conditions are evaluated by using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. In addition to the synthesis process, a numerical analysis on the methane decomposition by the thermal plasma is carried out to understand the distinct formation mechanisms of the nano-sized carbon materials with different structures.


An unusual synoptic situation with long periods of warm and humid southerlies produced record breaking temperatures in southern Norway during the period from July 2006 to June 2007, particularly late summer, autumn and early winter 2006-2007. For the one-year period, the temperature anomaly was 2.5-3.0 °C above the 1961-1990 average, with highest anomalies in the eastern and northern parts of southern Norway. The homogenised mean air temperature for the station Kjoremsgrende (62°06'N, 9°03'E, 626 m a.s.l.) was 2.9 °C above the 1961-1990 average. This is the warmest since records began in 1867. The most striking month was December 2006, when mean air temperature was 7.5 °C above the 1961-1990 average. At the official mountain station Fokstugu (62°11'N, 9°29'E, 972 m a.s.l.), on Dovrefjell, there were no days with temperatures below freezing in August and September.


The composition of graphene oxide (GO):paraffin:nanobentonite electrode was optimized to acquire the optimal working electrode to
analyze nicotinic acid under the optimum conditions through cyclic voltammetry. Graphene oxide was synthesized from graphite by
employing the improved Hummer method. Bentonite was synthesized using the sonothermal method. The ratio of GO:paraffin:nanobentonite
electrodes of 3:3:4 provided the optimal voltammogram. The results indicated that the composition of the comparative working electrodes
of GO-modified nanobentonite was best 3:3:4 with a good peak recovery averaged value of 96.16%.


This report presents a vibration-based damage-detection methodology that is capable of effectively capturing crack growth near connections and crack re-initiation of retrofitted connections. The proposed damage detection algorithm was tested using numerical simulation and laboratory experimentation. Finite element models of the initial and retrofitted connections were developed to investigate the effect of crack growth before and after circular holes were implemented as stress relief measures. Laboratory experimentation on retrofitted specimens showed a tendency for the crack to branch in different directions in lieu of re-initiating through the holes. Throughout both the numerical and laboratory analyses, the results were able to successfully detect damage by calculating a damage indicator, as specified within the algorithm. Although it was beyond the initial scope of the presented work, it was observed that the damage indicator also provides a relative quantification of the damage severity, i.e., as damage increased in the specimen, the magnitude of the damage indicator increased monotonically.


Using a generalized two fluid picture for the charge of a superconductor, we study the creation of charge imbalance due to non-uniform temperature gradient. We compare our results with those obtained by other techniques.


Large-scale village relocation and urbanization, one of the most significant social changes in China, bring villages both development opportunities and social risks. The social risks mainly stem from the government's strong position in land expropriation and policy preference for urban development. We observe the amalgamation of Anyang and Bomu Village in China and explore the specific role of land policies in the social change and restructuring of the two villages. We find that clan gentries challenge the government's "absolute" authority over land and landless villagers start the trend of "de-urbanization." Our research presents targeted policy recommendations in terms of weakening the role of the government in urbanization, strengthening dialogues between the government and clans and coordinating urban and rural land use.


A small enrichment study group was established in the introductory plant science course to: i) specifically determine the academic weaknesses of minority students who were failing and ii) attempt to improve their scholastic performance in the course. At least 3 h each week were devoted to the study group activities of presenting reasoning skills, problem-solving techniques, and test-taking strategies. All these skills were taught within the context of the course material. A major outcome for the study group participants was their development of reasoning skills from a concrete level up to the abstract level by the end of the course. Test-taking performance significantly improved for those who attended regularly. Also, the students' selfimage improved as they experienced more success in plant science. Additional index words: Minorities, Study skills, Test-taking Strategies, Self-image, Problem solving, Disadvantaged students. M students from non-agricultural backgrounds have recently been enrolling in Colleges of Agriculture. Retention and grade performance of these individuals has been perceived to be lower than the non-minority, urban student at the University of Missouri. This paper contains observations gleaned from establishing and working with an enrichment study group of seven regularly participating minority students. The strategies described improved the satisfaction and performance of these individuals. Similar techniques may be useful to other instructors in agricultural disciplines. During the winter semester of 1984, we worked intensively with a group of nine black students enrolled in the introductory course entitled Plant Science. Initially, the group was formed to help these students since they had performed poorly on the first exam. Upon conversing with the group participants, we found many reasons for academic concern: 1. Poor high school preparation in math and science concepts. 2. "Fail syndrome," due in large part to a negative self-image of their abilities and doubt in their eventual scholastic success. 3. Limited study time of 2 to 3 h per week. 4. Thinking exclusively at the concrete level. 5. Poor reasoning and problem-solving skills. 6. Inability to take tests effectively due to test anxiety, poor reading comprehension, and/or poor test-taking strategies. Students were not utilizing the University's study skills center. To help resolve some of these concerns, we designed an enrichment study group in which we attempted to integrate, as closely and all encompassingly as possible, effective study habits and test-taking strategies within the context of the Plant Science course material. Students were asked to commit themselves to participating in study sessions totaling 3 h each week. The general design of the study group involved a question and answer format, working from lecture notes. Questions were asked frequently and all students were called, by name, to answer questions. In this way all participants were brought into the discussion. Much positive feedback and reinforcement was given to the participants for trying. The leader of the study group was very aware of not imitating a lecture mode of presentation; the approach was friendly, enthusiastic, helpful, and concerned. This was a deliberate attempt to make the atmosphere relaxed and non-threatening. The leader of this enrichment study group was a tutor from the University of Missouri-Columbia Learning Center, an academic support unit for undergraduate students. In addition to being a doctoral candidate in Horticulture, this tutor also possessed undergraduate degrees in both Education and Horticulture with many years of teaching experience with both normal and under-achieving students. The Plant Science instructor and the tutor interacted closely through regular meetings designed to focus the learning activities presented in the group. Methods to help the individual students to improve their scholastic performance were also discussed. The class instructor made it a point to attend nearly all of the group meetings; her role was that of a supporting "resource person" to assist with concept clarification and elaboration only.


The present invention discloses a heating network heat balance intelligent regulation system which includes a controller, the water temperature sensor, a return temperature sensor, the indoor temperature sensor, the electric control valve, the controller water temperature sensor, respectively, return water temperature sensor , an indoor temperature sensor, the electric control valve is connected. The controller includes a microcontroller, the electric control valve control circuit, the electric control valve opening degree detecting circuit, respectively, the microcontroller control circuit by electric control valve, the electric control valve opening degree detecting circuit connected with the electric control valve. The controller further comprises a microcontroller connected to the memory chip, clock chip, a keyboard circuit, a display screen. The temperature control system uses the adjustment mode, so that more accurate temperature control, more stable system, and by arranging a wireless communication module for remote monitoring of heating.


In modern digital circuits the total power attributed to wires is increasing. Reducing the power consumption in wires play a major role in low power design. Coupling transitions contribute to significant energy loss in deep sub-micron buses. Earlier schemes using the switching activity minimization based upon the substrate capacitances are not valid in these buses. Hence, a new low energy bus-encoding scheme is proposed which showed 10 % reduction in coupling transitions for 8 and 16 bit data.


THERE IS A PROFOUND quietude north of Alaska's Brooks Range, the string of mountains separating the boreal forest from the Arctic tundra. Traveling along the Dalton Highway, the one road to the Arctic Ocean, one sees little visible movement in the landscape aside from the trucks barreling up to the oil fields, an occasional camper, or subtle signs of wildlife. Every angle, every turn offers stillness and beauty; it is like driving straight into a postcard. Yet the tranquility belies the dramatic change under way. The climate in the Arctic is warming more rapidly than nearly anywhere else. Sea ice is disappearing faster than models had predicted—everyone has seen the images of a polar bear stranded on a shrinking ice floe—and the frozen soil is warming as far as 65 feet below Earth's surface, points out Syndonia Bret-Harte, a plant community and ecosystem ecologist at the University of Alaska's Institute of Arctic Biology. No one ...


Nanotube‐based sensors are high‐sensitivity devices that can probe a number of nano‐sized impurities through doping‐induced variations in their conductivity. One key question for designing efficient sensors is to establish which impurity/nanotube combination will generate maximum sensitivity. Standard ways for selecting a good nanotube/impurity combination consists of an ad hoc approach that involves sifting through an immense universe of possibilities. This trial‐and‐error approach, despite being time‐consuming and computationally demanding, does not necessarily result in sensitivity optimization. A mathematically transparent theoretical formalism was adopted to introduce an inverse way of thinking about the nanotube/impurity combination by establishing a set of characteristics these components must have to generate high sensitivity devices. In this way guidelines were generated that can narrow the search for the ideal components of nanotube‐based sensors. We illustrate this method with a few examples of nanotubes doped with a different single‐atom impurities.


In most elementary schools in the United States, students get their first systematic introduction to history as a .discipline and to chronological treatment of U.S. history as subject matter in fifth-grade U.S. history courses. To develop information about the knowledge and misconceptions concerning U.S. history that fifth-grade teachers can expect to see in their incoming students, the study interviewed students who were nearing comp3etion of the fourth grade about U.S. history topics that they would be taught in the fifth grade. The students' responses revealed that they possessed generally accurate knowledge about history and the work of historians or about the founding and development of the United States as a nation. They had picked up bits and pieces of information in holiday or state history units in earlier grades or through reading, television, or other out-of-school experiences, but these were not yet subsumed Elflp a systematic network of knowledge. Furthermore, accurate info _.tion items often were connected in the students' minds with various types of inaccurate beliefs (naive misconceptions, conflations, and imaginative elarorations). The students' answers to 23 questions are described and illustrated through excerpts from their interview responses, and these findings then are discussed with emphasis on their implications for establishing a context for learning U.S. history and developing certain key ideas so as to promote understanding and clear up misconceptions. (Author/DS) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************x**************** Elementary Subjects Center Series No. 37 WHAT DO ENTERING FIFTH GRADERS KNOW ABOUT AMERICAN HISTORY? Jere Brophy, Bruce VanSledright. and Nancy Bredin MI. DEPARTMENT OP EDUCATION Mice at Educational Ramanti and Intoratentani EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER IERICI Xfo4 OocuMOM INDS DODD rOffrOduCOO as received from rho WW1 Or otganitatron tlimiltmg a r MIND cnangits nave men made to entwaint reprODuCtDoaulOdy POMfill Of vrtforpf DOrorOol ofIMIDOCDmoni OM MDCelleartry reotirgent OfiKtoi OE RI ooadion or potivy Croe n taer rn fnor th e i nd Teaching of Elementary Subjects Institute for Research on Teaching College of Education Michigan State University MSU is en affirmative action/equal opportunity institution


Culcita novaeguineae is also known as streamed bread starfish. It is a type of starfish in the Echinodermata Oreasteridae. The ossicles are the calcareous endoskeletons of starfish, which are contained in the epidermis and are important features of starfish in the class Asteroidea. In this paper, the morphological characteristics of the bone fragments of cushion star in the class Asteroidea were observed under a microscope. This paper describes the basic principle of the observation experiment, the operation method of the experiment, and the specific results of the observation experiment, and analyzes and classifies the bone fragments. The morphological characteristics of the bone fragments of cushion star were observed by electronic microscope, and the results showed that the bone fragments of the starfish included the type of table, the type of flower pattern, the type of rod, the type of buckle, the type of C, D and L, among which the type of buckle and letter were more common.


The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the World Health Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Dotted lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement. The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers' products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the World Health Organization in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters. All reasonable precautions have been taken by the World Health Organization to verify the information contained in this publication. However, the published material is being distributed without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. The responsibility for the interpretation and use of the material lies with the reader. In no event shall the World Health Organization be liable for damages arising from its use. This publication contains the collective views of an international group of experts and does not necessarily represent the decisions or the policies of the World Health Organization. Contents 1. Introduction 1.1 Declarations of interest 2. General considerations 2.1 A hypothesis-driven decision tree approach for the safety evaluation of residues of veterinary drugs 2.2 Comments on the CVMP " Reflection Paper on the New Approach Developed by JECFA for Exposure and MRL Assessment of Residues of VMP " 2.3 Residues of veterinary drugs in honey and possible approaches to derive MRLs for this commodity 2.4 Paper by Millstone et al. (2008)—Risk assessment policies: Differences across jurisdictions 2.5 No-observed-effect level (NOEL) and no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL): Use in JECFA assessments 3.


This thesis analyzes the emergence of Gerakan Desa Membangun
(GDM) as the villagers collective movement in Banyumas Regency that provenly
initiating the village self-reliance by bringing up the approach �desa membangun.
This approach considers as anthithesis of the government program namely �
membangun desa�.
This research conducted by using qualitative method and case study
to deeply analyze GDM phenomenon. This method was chosen due to the ability
to capture the empirical contemporer phenomenon and gave more chance to dig
up the evidence from various source. The researcher chose Melung Village,
Kedungbanteng subdisctrict of Banyumas Regency as the locus of the research
since it is the place where GDM firstly launched and it is still keep on focusing
on the sustainability of GDM until now. Therefore , the researcher needed to
thouroughly analyzed GDM from its historical background, the internal and
external consolidation process and the sustainability of GDM in iniating the
village self-reliance development in information and communication technology
(ICT), village governance and the management of village resources.
The results of the research show that the term development as the
villagers collective program does not automatically make GDM identical with the
other social program that commonly have conflicting orientation. The approach
of �desa membangun� is different from the rest, since it still collaborates with
supra desa (Negara) in creating village collaboration program in its process.
Besides the sustainability of GDM especially in Melung village in initiating the
development of village self-reliance reveals that GDM has been successfully
brought Melung Village as the self-reliant subject in village development by
making use of the SMD (Sistem Mitra Desa), the website of the village and the
management of village resources namely Paguyuban Pager Gunung. The ideas
and opinion about the development came from the village authority and Melung
village community are supported by many more parties (bottom up) and village
Supra parties (the government) compared to previous top down approach.
As the conclusion, the researcher recommends that GDM needs to
keep on improving the capacity building of all the actors involved and to develop
the relationship pattern with village supra (Government) as the collaboration of
bottom up and top down approach and also simultaneously with the government
develop GDM in all parts of Indonesia to create village self-reliance.
Key words : GDM, Melung Village, Iniation, Self reliance, Sistem Mitra Desa,
village website


This contribution deals with sensitivity analysis in nodal based shape optimisation. Sensitivity analysis is one of the most important parts of a structural optimisation algorithm. The efficiency of the algorithm mainly depends on the obtained sensitivity information. The pseudo load and sensitivity matrices which appear in sensitivity analysis are commonly used to derive and to calculate the gradients and the Hessian matrices of objective functions and of constraints. The aim of this contribution is to show that these matrices contain additional useful information which is not used in structural optimisation until now. We demonstrate the opportunities and capabilities of the new information which are obtained by singular value decomposition (SVD) of the pseudo load and sensitivity matrices and by eigenvalue decomposition of the Hessian matrix. Furthermore, we avoid jagged boundaries in shape optimisation by applying a density filtering technique well‐known in topology optimisation. Numerical examples illustrate the advocated theoretical concept. (© 2011 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


Stock characters named "Nobody" and "Somebody" were mainstays of British performance culture in the mid- to late eighteenth century. Playbills and newspaper advertisements show that these roles were popular with audiences in London, Dublin, and Edinburgh, as well as on the regional stages. Men and women alike took on these personae to deliver songs, prologues, and epilogues, often as part of benefit performances where they chose their most crowd-pleasing roles to maximize ticket sales. Some of the pieces spoken by Nobody and Somebody were popular enough to make their way into print, excerpted in novels and miscellanies. The duo appeared in George Alexander Stevens's wildly popular Lecture on Heads (1764), which traveled across the Atlantic to stages in Charleston, Philadelphia, and New York, continuing to be performed in the early Republic until the nineteenth century. Offstage, the figures were staples of visual culture; as Terry Robinson has shown, audience awareness of these figures from Romantic-era political cartoons formed an important backdrop for Mary Robinson's theatrical afterpiece Nobody (1794).


Stunting is one of the five focuses of health problems that must be solved in Indonesia, this study aims to analyze the communication strategy of the Posyandu Cadre in Puuk Village in an effort to prevent stunting using quantitative methods. Data was collected by distributing questionnaires to 30 people in Puuk Village, then the data were analyzed by tabulation and scored and then explained descriptively. There are two sources of data, namely primary data by observing and distributing questionnaires and secondary data obtained from related institutions, books, journals or articles related to the research conducted. The focus studied on posyandu cadres will focus on communication strategies which include techniques, approaches, channels and communication messages. The results of this study are indicators of communication techniques on high criteria, indicators of communication approaches on medium criteria, on communication channel indicators on medium criteria and finally on indicators of communication messages on high criteria.


A black infant with malformations was found to have trisomy 15q22→qter. The mother had a complex chromosomal rearrangement involving three chromosomes (5, 13, and 15). A comparison with previously published cases of trisomy for distal 15q suggests a pattern of clinical findings including retardation in growth and development, microcephaly, asymmetrical facies, prominent occiput, antimongoloid slant of the palpebral fissures, micrognathia, prominent nose, and congenital heart disease.


Setting up a simulation is mostly an exercise in writing a textual description of your experimental facility and the gas slugs contained within it. This description is presented to the l_script program as a Python script, and is assumed to have a ".py" extension.


Recent federal court decisions have struggled to apply the Supreme Court's decision in Central Bank v. First Interstate to formulate a standard for when outside professionals should be held liable as primary violators under section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act. In keeping with the Court's current interpretive methodology, Central Bank and its progeny employ a textualist approach. In this Article, Professor Fisch argues that textualism is an inappropriate approach for interpreting the federal securities laws generally and misguided in light of legislative developments post-dating the Central Bank decision. Instead, Professor Fisch advocates an approach that weighs Congress's recent endorsement of liability for outside professionals against the potential for litigation abuses perceived by the Central Bank Court. The Article concludes that recent federal decisions have been unduly restrictive in their interpretation of section 10(b) liability, and suggests that courts give greater consideration to the nature of the professional-client relationship and the role of liability in furthering the integrity of the securities markets.


This is hardly the first essay to address the topic of a Christian theology of religions from a trinitarian perspective. (1) Frequently, the adoption of a trinitarian purview yields a constitutive Christology whereby all salvation is ultimately constituted by the grace of Jesus Christ and, thus, an inclusive theology of religions involving some form of anonymous Christianity. The question then is this: Can the doctrine of the trinity (2) open the Christian imagination to a recognition of genuine religious pluralism? Or, is it the final obstacle to such because of an inherent Christocentrism? This essay is a proposal for a trinitarian theology that supports a pluralistic conception of the religions. My goal can be more pointedly stated in this way: I want to understand the doctrine of the trinity in such a way that it supports our experience or conviction of the autonomous validity of other religions. And, I want to understand the religions, abstractly, in such a way that, as phenomena, they do not undermine the church's doctrine of the trinity. The discussion is in three parts. The first deals with the doctrine of trinity. So much--practically speaking, everything--depends on how we understand the logic and content of this doctrine. I will propose a conception of trinity as a narrative doctrine that I will formulate as a result of a dialogue with Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) and Karl Rahner (1904-84). In the second part I will develop the way the doctrine of trinity as a symbol reveals the nature and character of God and also of human existence as it stands before ultimate reality. I will try to answer the question of how this doctrine is universally relevant: It has something to say to all human beings. In part three, I simply draw some conclusions relative to the initial question from the foregoing analyses. I. Trinity as a Narrative Doctrine I begin by developing the idea of trinity as a narrative doctrine after a pattern of thinking drawn from a conversation with Schleiermacher and Rahner. Why Schleiermacher and Rahner? Several reasons recommend it. They represent Protestant and Catholic theology, respectively. Both are quintessentially modern theologians who have embraced a turn to the subject. Both can be called transcendental theologians, although Schleiermacher is not usually so designated. Both can also be appropriated as doing trinitarian theology from below. In Schleiermacher's case this refers to the fact that he wrote a life of Jesus, understood the doctrine of Christology as rooted in the experience of the Christian community and a product of development, and interpreted the doctrine of trinity as derivative from and dependent upon Christology. Even though Rahner is not generally understood as a theologian operating from below, his work allows such a point of departure, and, as a modern theologian, he appeals to experience. The two theologians, despite differences that are substantial, share much in common. In what follows I enumerate several major aspects from first Schleiermacher's and then Rahner's trinitarian theology. I will then hold up and appropriate three features that they represent in their own way. With these ingredients, I will propose a way of understanding trinity as a narrative doctrine. (3) A. Schleiermacher Schleiermacher is probably better known for his lack of a theology of the trinity than for constructive interpretation, but he wrote about the trinity and made a significant contribution to trinitarian thinking. Although his theology is undeveloped, it is not so in principle and could have been drawn out. My aim here is not to reproduce Schleiermacher's trinitarian theology but only to raise four significant notes or characteristics of his approach. (4) To begin, according to Schleiermacher the doctrine of the trinity is derivative. By that I mean that the doctrine developed, so that it depends in the order of knowing on the doctrines of the divinity and redeeming work of Jesus Christ and the Spirit. …


Ennobled as a myth almost since its appearance in 1818, Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus was Mary W. Shelley's masterpiece, as well as one of the milestones of nineteenth century English literature. This novel, however, is today better known than read, more famous for its film adaptations and its presence in pop culture than for the literalness of the text, a sophisticated tour de force that moves between the philosophical and the gothic, between Enlightenment scientism and the recovery of myths that are embedded in the cultural subconscious. All of this produces a vision that is almost inexhaustible in its facets, a book to be read (and enjoyed) from very different points of view, depending on the focus under which it is placed. This translation made by Antonio Méndez Rubio, with Isidro Ferrer´s illustrations and Jenaro Talens´ preface, reinterprets, from its own title, a creature so familiar as little known.


Contributors 1. Introduction: headhunting as practice and trope Janet Hoskins 2. Lyric, history, and allegory, or the end of headhunting ritual in upland Sulawesi Kenneth M. George 3. Headtaking and the consolidation of political power in the early Brunei state Allen R. Maxwell 4. Severed heads that germinate the state: history, politics, and headhunting in Southwest Timor Andrew McWilliam 5. Buaya headhunting and its ritual: notes from a headhunting feast in Northern Luzon Jules De Raedt 6. Telling violence in the Meratus mountains Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing 7. The heritage of headhunting: history, ideology and violence on Sumba, 1890-1990 Janet Hoskins 8. Images of headhunting Peter Metcalf Index.


Banggai cardinalfish Pterapogon kauderni is an endemic apogonid fish from Banggai Islands, Central Sulawesi, which is discovered in strong association with black sea urchin (Diadema spp.). These fish also protected themselves from predators associated with sea anemones, hard coral branching, mushroom coral, soft coral, seagrass, and mangrove roots. The Banggai cardinalfish juveniles generally prefer to associate with sea anemones or mushroom corals as microhabitats. However, they are looking for similar microhabitats if they cannot find sea anemones or mushroom coral Heliofungia actiniformis. Microhabitat observation of Banggai cardinalfish was carried out in Luwuk waters, Banggai Regency. The result showed a new host record for juvenile phases of Banggai cardinalfish associated with upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea andromeda as a microhabitat. Further study is needed to represent areas and seasons to get more evidence between the Banggai cardinalfish and jellyfish association concepts.


Update on the cholinergic hypothesis Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic and progressive neurodegenerative disease that is characterized symptomatically by progressive deteriorations of activities of daily living (ADL), behavioral disturbances and cognitive loss. The neurodegenerative features of AD include pathological changes in the brain, such as the formation of β-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Furthermore, AD is associated with substantial reductions in the activity of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and reduced levels of acetylcholine (ACh) in the brain as cholinergic neurons are lost and cholinergic neurotransmission declines. Cholinesterase (ChE) inhibitors retard the inactivation of ACh after synaptic release and represent the only approved treatment resulting in significant clinical benefit.


Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS) is the most common and best understood of the inborn errors of cholesterol metabolism. Comprising a heterogeneous group of disorders, inborn errors in cholesterol biosynthesis result in characteristic but variable phenotypes. SLOS is an inherited disorder caused by mutations in DHCR7 which encodes the final enzyme in the cholesterol synthetic pathway. The features of SLOS are thought to be related to cholesterol deficiency and/or accumulation of cholesterol precursors and their metabolites. Therefore, supplementation of cholesterol is a commonly employed potential therapy. A better understanding of SLOS and other inborn errors of cholesterol biosynthesis may shed light on the importance of cholesterol biosynthesis in embryo- and morphogenesis and provide clues to treatment.

Keywords:

Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome;
inborn error of metabolism;
sterol;
cholesterol;
cholesterol biosynthesis


In order to realize the fault diagnosis of mine hoist, a braking system fault tree of mine hoist is established. First of all, working principle of the fault tree analysis method is discussed in this paper, it is based on the mechanism of system working of an analysis in the fault diagnosis method, secondly, brake motor stop to work when happened the failure, the fault tree is established. Finally, the influential factors of the failure has carried on the qualitative analysis by minimum cut sets, and the various factors cause the probability is calculated when the failure occurs, and then according to the size of the probability, for breakdown maintenance of the equipment. It has proved that the method is feasible in Practice.


The aim of this study is to determine the new trends concerning curricula and instruction. The articles that are published in journals of SSCI and ERIC databases are taken into the scope of this study. The new trends regarding relevant literature are tried to be identified by analysing 3079 articles in total through the content analysis method. Also, the articles that are taken into the scope of the study are limited with the articles published between years of 2005 and 2014. The articles, throughout the study are analysed according to certain criteria like published year, method, journals that articles published, research subjects and sample population. The results of the study reveal that qualitative methods have been used more frequently in the studies carried out in 2014. Besides, it is clearly seen in the findings that articles are carried out with teachers as sampling population. Most of the articles are carried out as a case study and interview forms, questionnaires and documents are the main data collection instruments preferred to be used. Keywords: curriculum, new trends, instruction, case study


Lighthill, in his elegant and classic theory of jet noise, showed that the far-field acoustic pressure of noise generated by turbulence is proportional to the integral over the jet volume of the second time derivative of the Lighthill stress tensor, the integrand being evaluated at a retarded time. The purpose of this paper is to generalize the above results to include the effects of mean flow (velocity and temperature) surrounding the source of sound. It is shown quite generally that the integrand is now a certain functional of the Lighthill stress tensor evaluated at a retarded time. More important, however, at low and high frequencies this functional assumes an extremely simple form, so that the acoustic field can once more be given by integrals of the time derivatives of the Lighthill tensor. Both the self- and the shear-noise contributions to the pressure are evaluated.


Plane and axisymmetric shell elements are widely used in structural engineering. Much research effort has been devoted to the development of such elements. This paper presents the formulation of sizing design sensitivity analysis using a continuum formulation based on the scaling of nodal internal forces. We also present the optimization program based on a modified convex approximation with moving asymptotes called GMMA. The implementation of sensitivity and optimization algorithms is performed outside the commercial finite element code ABAQUS that is considered as a black box (without knowledge of the source code).The efficiency of the developed interface is demonstrated by testing some structural examples using plane shell and axisymmetric shell elements. The numerical results are compared with those obtained by the commercial system package UAI/NASTRAN that contains the analysis and optimization capabilities. Concerning the objective functions and constraints, we consider the weight and von Mises stresses.


Carotid guidelines recommend carotid endarterectomy (CEA) for patients with 60% to 99% asymptomatic carotid stenosis (ACS) provided the perioperative stroke/death rates are <3%.1,2 Several reports have noted that the average annual risk of ipsilateral/any territory stroke among patients with asymptomatic moderate to severe internal carotid artery stenosis receiving medical therapy (MT) alone has now fallen to ≈1%.3–5 The decreased incidence of stroke has been attributed to modern MT and has made opinion leaders demand a revision of management strategies4 by either refraining from CEA6 or by identifying high-risk patients.7 Such high-risk patients should be offered prophylactic CEA in addition to MT to reduce the risk of a future stroke. It is therefore essential to develop methods to identify these ACS patients at high enough risk to warrant prophylactic intervention.

Several methods have been proposed for the identification of ACS patients at high risk for future stroke (Table),6,8–22 namely: (1) the detection of microemboli by transcranial Doppler (TCD), (2) identification of the unstable carotid plaque using ultrasound, (3) reduced cerebral blood flow reserve, (4) intraplaque hemorrhage using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, (5) silent embolic infarcts on brain computed tomography (CT) or MRI, and (6) progression in the severity of ACS. A discussion of the involved mechanisms and the predictive value of each of these methods is presented.

View this table:

Table.
Suggested Predictors of the Development of Stroke/Transient Ischemic Attack in Asymptomatic Carotid Patients

The predictive value of microemboli detection on TCD for the identification of ACS patients at high risk for stroke has been validated by 2 independent studies and is further supported by a meta-analysis.6,8–10,23 A small prospective, observational, cohort study failed to verify the association between TCD-detected emboli and …


Summary form only given. The refurbishment of Sandia's Z generator, completed in late 2007, represents a significant enhancement in its capabilities. In addition to increased operational efficiency and reliability, up to twice the previous energy can be stored in its present capacitors, allowing for greater load current and coupled energy1. Despite losses occurring near the load, enhancements of current of ∼ 15% and load energy coupling of > 30% have been achieved in K-shell experiments2.


This article presents a differential geometric approach for the design of variable structure controllers (VSC) leading to sliding regimes (Emelyanov 1967) in nonlinear smooth dynamical systems described in Rn. New properties, inherited from the geometry of the sliding manifold, are obtained in the controlled system when sliding conditions prevail. A sliding motion is obtained thanks to opportune switchings among the available structures in the feedback loop. This discontinuous control action is aimed at guaranteeing manifold reachability and invariance.


In 1866, when Mendel was carrying out his
pea plant experiments in the monastery, nobody
could predict what was to come. A genius whose
ideas were appreciated after 34 years of their
discovery, quite literally planted the seeds for the
genetics that we're familiar with, today. The
important breakthrough was the completion of The
Human Genome Project in 2003, which meant that
scientists now had the genetic dictionary in their
hands for an in-depth review of DNA and
associated mutations. Eventually, the picture
started to become clearer and our earlier
speculation about the role of family history and
environment in genetic disorders, now had
concrete proof.
The modern-day geneticist aims to identify,
diagnose, and treat gene related conditions more
efficiently than ever. This article surveys the
different ways in which genetic disorders manifest
themselves, their causative mutations, as well as
early detection and treatment