We consider stochastic systems involving general—non-Gaussian and asymmetric—stable processes. The random quantities, either a stochastic force or a waiting time in a random walk process, explicitly depend on the position. A fractional diffusion equation corresponding to a master equation for a jumping process with a variable jumping rate is solved in a diffusion limit. It is demonstrated that for some model parameters the equation is satisfied in that limit by the stable process with the same asymptotics as the driving noise. The Langevin equation containing a multiplicative noise, depending on the position as a power-law, is solved; the existing moments are evaluated. The motion appears subdiffusive and the transport depends on the asymmetry parameter: it is fastest for the symmetric case. As a special case, the one-sided distribution is discussed.


The grazing of agricultural pastures during winter and spring by geese is considered an important agricultural problem in parts of the U.K. This study describes the sward structure, leaf extension and senescence rates of Lolium perenne-dominated pastures that are frequently grazed by barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) during winter in South-west Scotland, as well as the conducting of a field experiment that simulated grazing to investigate the effects of defoliation. Gross leaf extension and senescence rates were strongly related to temperature, daylength and average tiller size, resulting in positive values of net leaf extension rate per tiller for most of the winter. Total tiller length declined from November to January but increased from January to April. Sward height, however, declined consistently from October to April, suggesting that swards were becoming trampled by repeated visits by flocks of geese over this time. The structure of individual tillers was found to vary slightly over the winter, with tillers becoming more dominated by younger leaves towards the end of the winter. Experimental defoliation of tillers suggested that absolute leaf extension rates did not respond in an under- or over-compensatory manner, even when tillers were nearly completely defoliated. The results suggested that sward structure and leaf extension rates are not unduly affected by repeated grazing by overwintering geese and that short-term depletion and trampling are the main impacts.


This paper examines an increasingly important mechanism for exploring and delivering new sources of revenue that we have dubbed 'high-ratio relationships'. These relationships involve connections between very large and very small companies that are more complex and creative than the usual supplier-buyer relationships. For managers, high-ratio relationships present a new challenge as they strive to select the optimal connections between companies and create new sources of revenue. Some preliminary ground rules provide useful guidance, but more professionalism in managing high-ratio relationships is an inevitable requirement, given the high stakes. Models are introduced for the roles that large companies need to assume in high-ratio relationships (Jumbo Bonsai) and the behaviours of the small firms with which they need to link (Pocket Battleships). By assuming these roles, firms increase the value of their new revenue portfolios. The paper also explores how larger firms can become more professional in 'Enterprise Venturing', ie managing a number of high-ratio relationships successfully.


Medical landmark localization is crucial for treatment planning. Although FCN-based heatmap regression methods have made significant progress, there is a lack of FCN-based research focused on features that can learn spatial configuration between medical landmarks, notwithstanding the well-structured patterns of these landmarks. In this paper, we propose a novel spatial-configuration-feature-based network that effectively learns the anatomical correlation between the landmarks. Specifically, we focus on a regularization method and a spatial configuration loss that capture the spatial relationship between the landmarks. Each heatmap, generated using U-Net, is transformed into an embedded spatial feature vector using the soft-argmax method and spatial feature maps, here, Cartesian and Polar coordinates. A correlation map between landmarks based on the spatial feature vector is generated and used to calculate the loss, along with the heatmap output. This approach adopts an end-to-end learning approach, requiring only a single feedforward execution during the test phase to localize all landmarks. The proposed regularization method is computationally efficient, differentiable, and highly parallelizable. The experimental results show that our method can learn global contextual features between landmarks and achieve state-of-the-art performance. Our method is expected to significantly improve localization accuracy when applied to healthcare systems that require accurate medical landmark localization.


A nonlinear circuit driven by a square wave voltage source and comprising a series combination of a resistor, capacitor and nonlinear inductor, whose core displays saturation and hysteresis, is realistically modelled for the first time. Period multiplication and chaos are observed and excellent agreement is obtained between experiment and simulation.


The QCD evolution of the unpolarized Transverse Momentum Dependent (TMD) distribution functions and of the Sivers functions have been discussed in recent papers. Following such results we reconsider previous extractions of the Sivers functions from semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering data and propose a simple strategy which allows to take into account the Q^2 dependence of the TMDs in comparison with experimental findings. A clear evidence of the phenomenological success of the TMD evolution equations is given, mostly, by the newest COMPASS data off a transversely polarized proton target.


THE ONE group that has been forgotten in the furore over the reinstatement to the register of Yuen How Choy are other nurses.


Every few decades, the world order changes due to various geopolitical, economic and other circumstances. For example, as a result of globalization, the world order has undergone significant changes in the last forty years. Globalization has led to the destruction of the postwar world order, as well as to world leadership by the United States and the West. However, in recent decades, as a result of globalization, the U.S. and the West began to cede their leadership to developing countries, so there is now a change in the economic structure of relations in the world system. Today the center of economic growth is in the East, namely in Asia. There are no new superpowers in the world at the moment, but the unipolar world will cease to exist due to the weakening of the U. S. leadership, which will lead to a change in the world order. A new leader, which may replace the U. S., will not have as wide range of advantages as the USA has. Most likely, the essence of the new order will be to unite the largest countries and alliances into blocks, for example, the USA together with the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the EU, etc. The article outlines forecasts of GDP growth rates as well as the global energy outlook; analyzes the LNG market as well as the impact of the pandemic on the global oil and gas market; and lists the characteristics of U. S. geopolitics.


In order to explore the effects of Sijunzisan on dairy cow immune level in perinatal period, 20 healthy cows were chosen and divided into two groups, traditional Chinese medicine group and control group. Devour activity of neutrophile granulocyte, Ea rosette formation rate, RBC C3b receptor formation rate and RBC IC formation rate were determined after the traditional Chinese medicine group were fed with the Sijunzisan ten days later. The results showed that compared with the control group, the immune function in the traditional Chinese medicine group was significantly improved.


The present invention relates to a method for blocking the connection of an electronic device inside a wireless intrusion prevention system, the method comprising the steps of: successively monitoring wireless frames in a plurality of channels through a first communication module; generating a first blocking message on the basis of at least one wireless frame received as a result of the monitoring and generating a second blocking message on the basis of a first wireless frame, to which a predetermined wireless network technology has been applied, among the at least one wireless frame; and transmitting at least one of the first and second blocking messages through a second communication module. The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and other embodiments are also possible.


This study examined the relationship between the eating out behavior of families and a low-salt management by housewives in Jeonju area. Self-administered questionnaires were collected from 420 housewives. Descriptive statistical analyses was completed using SPSS v. 19.0 and Stata 13.0. The frequency of eating out and delivered food of housewives in their 20s was significantly higher than that of the older housewives (p<0.001). The high order frequency delivered foods were chicken menu and Chinese food. The determinants of the eating out menu were children's preference and meal time. The average scores of 'interest on low-salt diet', 'attitude toward a low-salt purchasing', and 'praxis a low-salt diet' were 2.70±0.95, 3.06±1.13, and 3.26±0.91, respectively. The level of a low-salt management housewives in their 20s was higher than that of the older housewives (p<0.001). Regression analysis showed that various factors (e.g. age, number of children, education level, and frequency of the eating out) correlated with the low-salt diet of subjects. For the adequate eating out behavior of families and low-salt management of housewives, information and consumer education to take family-related situations into consideration are necessary.


Many academic libraries have traditionally used complicated budget allocation models to inform funding for materials purchased in support of curriculum. When these formulas are applied, librarians usually temper the results with historical spending patterns. A small university library found that historical spending patterns can be used for budget allocation, yielding allocations similar to those derived from a complex formula. As part of the collection evaluation procedure described, the effectiveness of historical data allocations should be assessed annually by checking use of ordered materials. The effectiveness of allocations also can be supported by the use of proportional use statistics for departmental subject areas. The procedures and practices described in this article would be useful for university/college libraries of similar size to the Stetson University library, the library described in the article.


PART I: CULTURE WARS IN THE LOWER EMPIRE Skirmishes in the Lower Empire Incorporating Voices: The Edinburgh Review Proliferating Voices: The Quarterly and the Maga Soldiers of Fortune in the Periodical Wars Repeating Selves: Hume, Hazlitt and Periodical Repetition Lord Byron among the Reviews Abraham Goldsmid: Financial Magician and the Public Image Spying James Hogg's Bristle in Blackwood's Magazine


Carbonate reservoirs host significant hydrocarbon reserves worldwide. Despite their economic importance they typically have a low recovery factor. One reason is that they contain numerous stratigraphic, sedimentological and diagenetic heterogeneities and each of these may have a significant impact on flow during hydrocarbon production. Previous work suggests that cemented hardground surfaces (sequence boundary rock properties) are of key importance to displacements dominated by vertical flow when modeled as laterally continuous surfaces. These "surfaces" are modeled as 10 cm thick layers of decreased porosity and permeability. If they are modeled with transmissibility multiplier of zero across the entire surface there is no pressure communication between the upper and lower part as a result there is little production. If they are modeled without transmissibility multiplier of zero across the entire surface there is pressure communication and therefore significant production. We use integrated flow simulation and experimental design techniques to investigate the relative impact of stratigraphic heterogeneities on simulated recovery in carbonate reservoirs and especially analyze the effect of circular discontinuous barriers by varying the percentage of the coverage from 0 to 100%, the distribution and the size of these barriers. The results showed that production is greatly affected by changing the barrier coverage in terms of oil production, recovery factor and water breakthrough time. The change in the percentage also affects the interaction of the other heterogeneities on the production results. Increasing the barriers we generally have reduction in oil production and a more complex result in the breakthrough time. However the impact of the distribution of the barriers takes place and has a great effect in the production data. Moreover reducing the well spacing results to a greater impact of the sequence boundaries, and increasing the diameter of the barriers results in a reduction in sweep efficiency. Impact of stratigraphic heterogeneity on hydrocarbon recovery in carbonate reservoirs: effects of the continuity of cemented sequence boundaries iv


Hollow fibers are one of the leading candidates as a flexible delivery medium of CO, laser light due to the high-power capability, ruggedness, and small beam divergence. For low-loss and high-power handling, it has been shown that a hollow glass fiber coated with a metal dielectric film with the structure shown in Fig. 1 has good optical characteristics, owing to the smooth inside surface. In this type of hollow fiber, the dielectric film enhances the reflection of light that is reflected at the inside surfaces of the hollow fiber. Therefore, the dielectric should be sufficiently transparent at the wavelength of the laser light to give an interference effect so as to reduce the transmission losses. There have been many kinds of hollow glass fibers for infrared laser light developed using various dielectric materials. To achieve high performances, a key factor of the fiber is the chemical stability of dielectric as well as the high optical quality. Our group had proposed and developed a polymer-coated hollow fiber that shows high chemical and temperature stability, and simultaneously the fiber needs only a simple fabrication method where the film is coated by a liquid flowing and drying process. In this paper, as a new polymer material for infrared hollow fibers, we propose the use of cycric olefin polymer (COP). Since the COP is a hydrocarbon polymer, it does not have an intense absorption peak in the wavelength region longer than 6 pm, which is caused by 0 -H or C-0 bonds. Furthrmore, the COP shows excellent chemical stability and a


The nickel-catalyzed three-component coupling of optically active oxazolidinone-derived ynamides (I) and (V), aldehydes, and silane (III) proceeds via oxanickelacycle to afford γ-siloxyenamides (IV), (VI), and (VIII) in a regio- and stereoselective manner.


In Tennessee, the decentralization of wastewater management has occurred at a rate greater than the State's ability provide effective oversight. If the soil is the basis for final treatment and effluent dispersal, the Division of Ground Water Protection is the permitting agency. If the system requires unit processes for wastewater renovation and has a discharge, the Division of Water Pollution Control is the permitting agency. As decentralized wastewater management technologies have evolved, there is now a strong demand to determine which agency is going to permit systems that do not discharge, but have operational processes that need to be regulated. In November of 2004, a working group was formed to address how to regulate decentralized systems in Tennessee. This group was assigned the task of defining the regulatory-threshold that separates the divisions of Water Pollution Control and Ground Water Protection, and to develop uniform guidelines for the design and installation of subsurface wastewater drip dispersal systems. This article is a summary of the recommendations provided by this group. These recommendations are still being debated and are likely to receive additional modification after the publication of this article. Many other States are going through this same revampment of their wastewater regulations. It is hoped that sharing some of Tennessee's experiences in this process will be beneficial to other States.


This article aims at reporting the experience of nursing students performed on stage in a Psychosocial Care Center Drug and Alcohol (CAPS AD), provided by the Labor Education Program (PET) Health / Mental Health, crack, alcohol and other drugs at the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel). The services performed by PET favored a closer relationship between academia and the mental health care services in the city, which gave students the opportunity to link the theoretical to the practical learning. In addition, it encourages the establishment of links between students, practitioners and users mainly through an interdisciplinary work. PET Health / Mental Health crack, alcohol and other drugs proposed program adds to the teaching qualification and especially to the promotion of a humanized care.


The subject of the research is mineral extraction tax evolution as the main rental payment in mineral resources sector.The purposesof the work are to determine the role of the mineral extraction tax in the current taxation system, assessment of its influence on the extracting industries development, studying key problems in taxation methodology and policy, proposals on the development of mineral extraction tax mechanisms submission. The author analyses the tax current state, compliance to the criteria of economic efficiency and principles of taxation, the reforming of the mineral extraction tax and the newest trends in the sphere are assessed.The author emphasizes scientific basis for oil metering perfection, correlation between metrological and economic aspects of this metering, assessment of influence of systemic approach to the raw materials transported by oil-trunk pipelines quality.The author also analyses special tax relieves in mineral extraction taxation and their influence on the budget revenue, considers the unsolved problems of cost of extracted solid minerals and tax  incentives for import substitution of some minerals basing on the public statistics, tax statistics, forecasts for social economic development and the main directions of budget, tax and customs policies. The research resulted in arguments for the necessity of transition to specific tax rates for solid mineral extraction taxation that should be adjusted taking into consideration some factors that are used for tax differentiation in taxation of hydrocarbon extraction; also conceptual features of reliable inventory-making for hydrocarbons have been developed; an assessment of special tax relieves in mineral extraction taxation is given. It is concluded that application of the rated method of calculating taxation base in mineral extraction taxation is economically meaningless as the real value of the extracted materials is not taken into account. Taxation base for mineral extraction must be defined not as value, but as the amount of the extracted mineral, and tax rate should be defined according a proposed formular.


Objective: To review and illustrate the psychiatric findings related to vitamin B12 deficiency. Methods: Case report. Results: This is a case of a patient who had the first episode of psychosis when she was 40 years old. The patient was hospitalized in the Mental Health Hospital Nuestra Senora del Perpetuo Socorro, in Pasto, Narino, in 2005. The patient had also depression that got worse, and recently started alteration of the cognitive functions. She also had other neurological problems like hypoesthesia in the distal third of the four extremities and headache. A macrocitic anemia was found in the lab tests. For this reason, the levels of vitamin B12 and folic acid were analyzed, and subnormal levels of the first were discovered. During the hospitalization, the patient received symptomatic treatment with psychiatric medications, and vitamin B12 reposition was initiated. She got better with the treatment. During two years of ambulatory follow up, the patient remains without symptoms in relation to her mental health. She assists to the hematology department. This specialty has found her stable and prescribed her vitamin B12 supplement for indefinite time. Conclusions: The case shows us the diversity of the neuropsychiatric symptoms that patients with vitamin B12 deficiency can have and how the symptoms can reverse when the diagnostic and the treatment are made correctly and soon.


This paper investigates the grid-connected and islanded operation of a microgrid including photovoltaic (PV) units, lithium (Li)/Ion batteries, superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES), and a super-capacitor (SC). Grid connection of the microgrid is achieved using (NPC) neutral point clamped inverter. To the DC bus, by using bidirectional converters and MPPT based on SEPIC converter, each unit of the microgrid is tied. SEPIC MPPT ensures maximum power transfer from the PV array. Also, bidirectional converters provide the discharge and charge of the SC, Li/Ion, and SMES storage units. Furthermore, the operation of the microgrid is carried out using a supervisory controller that operates by sensing the irradiation level, grid condition, SOC of Li/Ion and SC, and SMES current. Computer simulation studies indicate that a seamless operation of the microgrid in both the grid-connected and disconnected modes is carried out with a low level of THD. Moreover, a very smooth operation of the microgrid is managed during the transient from the grid connected to the islanded conditions, or vice versa.


The rainfall data for the years (1973-1988) pertaining to Vriddhachalam Taluk of South Arcot District were analysed for annual, seasonal, monthly and weekly periods and results are presented in this paper. The existing cropping system are discussed. Based on the rainfall pattern, a modified cropping system is suggested for effective utilisation of land moisture and nutrients and to raise the income of dry land farmers.


A structure for mounting electrical machinery comprises a PCU (700) mounted in the engine room (2) of a hybrid vehicle (1), an air cleaner (800) mounted in the engine room (2) of the hybrid vehicle (1) at a position spaced from the PCU (700), and cables (900A, 900B, 900C) connected to connection parts (901A, 901B, 901C) positioned on the surface of the PCU (700) facing the air cleaner (800).


We prove some criteria for the convergence of weak solutions of the 2D incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with Navier slip boundary conditions to a strong solution of incompressible Euler. The slip rate depends on a power of the Reynolds number, and it is increasingly apparent that the power 1 may be critical for L^2 convergence, as hinted at in [hal-01093331].


www.nursing2004.com AT ANY GIVEN POINT, up to 25% of hospitalized patients are known to have diabetes; many more inpatients are hyperglycemic from undiagnosed diabetes, new medications, or stress. Research has shown that controlling blood glucose levels reduces length of stay, helps prevent complications such as infection, improves wound healing, and saves health care costs. The American College of Endocrinology (ACE), American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) all recommend I.V. insulin to treat hyperglycemia in acute situations.


Objective To evaluate the clinical significance of HBsAg decreasing rate in antiviral therapy.Methods Totally 52 patients with chronic hepatitis B who received antiviral treatment in our hospital from Oct 2008 to Oct 2010,Chemiluminescence technique was used to detect HBsAg and fluorescence quantitative PCR assay was used to detect HBV DNA levels,respectively.HBsAg decreasing rate at 24 week and HBV DNA levels at 48 week were observed.Results The group that HBsAg decreasing rate markedly ﹙HBsAg decreasing rate more than 50%﹚more than The group that HBsAg decreasing rate unobviously﹙HBsAg decreasing rate less than 50%﹚ about the rate HBV DNA levels under the lower limit of detection.P0.05.Conclusions HBsAg decreasing rate more than 50% is an better index to predict the antiviral treatment effect.therefore,more attentions should be paid to the studies on quantitative determination of HBsAg level.


By the QM/MM hydride ONIOM2(B3LYP/6-31G(d,p): UFF) method,the reaction mechanism of ethylene dimerization over H-ZSM-5 zeolite was investigated.A 40T cluster model was used to simulate the acidic sites located at the intersection of channels in ZSM-5 zeolite.Both stepwise and concerted reaction pathways were examined.For the stepwise mechanism,the ethylene molecule was firstly adsorbed at the Brnsted acid site via π-hydrogen bonding to form a stable complex,which then went through the protonation,leading to the formation of the ethoxide intermediate.Furthermore,the ethoxide reacted with the second ethylene molecule to form the butoxide product.The calculated activation energies for the first and second steps were 152.88 and 119.45 kJ/mol,respectively.The ethylene protonation step was confirmed as the rate-limiting step.For the concerted mechanism,the protonation,C-C and C-O bonds formation proceeded simultaneously to produce butoxide.The calculated activation energy of 162.30 kJ/mol was slightly higher than that of the rate-limiting step in the stepwise mechanism.It was proposed that there should be a competition between the two reaction mechanisms.


Power systems gain flexibility with hydro storage but such systems can be difficult to analyse. This paper presents a model of a storage system to show how the value of stored water can vary over time. The operations of the Snowy Scheme are then discussed, highlighting the long-term effects of current institutional arrangements. The paper argues for placing Snowy operations on a more commercial basis to realise the economic and technical potential for improving efficiency in the electricity system.


Nowadays, in extreme changing environments, development of submergence tolerance variety is necessary for ensuring crop production stability where, it is known that Malaysian commercial rice varieties such as MR219, MR220 and MR263 were severely susceptible to submergence. First step towards the development of submergence tolerance variety starts with the breeding program by crossing MR263 and Swarna-Sub1. Marker-assisted selection (MAS) was carried out through the utilization of simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers, considering its reliability as pre-selection tools to conduct this research. F1 generations plants were confirmed by tightly linked markers. In case of background study, out of 180 SSR markers, 38 were found polymorphic between two parents. Association of molecular markers and submergence tolerance were determined using Chi-square test. MR263 × Swarna-Sub1 F2 lines were tested for Sub1 gene conformation using the markers RM8300 and RM219. These markers showed a good fit to the expected marker segregation ratio (1:2:1) in a Mendelian single gene model (DF=1.0, p≤0.05). Eleven homozygous lines with Sub1 gene out of 256 were selected for future development of submergence tolerant varieties. Eleven lines were selected based on phenotypic study and agronomic performance.


— Basically, the quality of video streaming services is very dependent Quality on Service (QoS) issues. This study aims to analyze the quality of video streaming based on 802.11, Nstreme, and NV2 protocols on wireless networks. Measurement of video streaming service quality based on 802.11, Nstreme, and NV2 protocols according to the parameters of delayed Service Quality, packet loss, jitter and throughput with the help of the wireshark application. The research is conducted by streaming video using data packages with the distance between the sending point and the same recipient in each of the 802.11, Nstreme, and NV2 protocols. The results show that video streaming services on wireless networks based on the Nstreme protocol are proven to be better than 802.11 and NV2 protocols, this is known based on the parameters of delay, packet loss and throughput. However, if it is based on the parameters of the quality of video streaming services based on the NV2 protocol, it is better than 802.11 or Nstreme protocols.


The influence of the forming process in the response into service of the manufactured workpieces, in the first instance, through the surface integrity can be evaluated. The concept of surface integrity includes the assessment of geometrical aspects like shape and dimensions, and physicochemical properties like hardness and corrosion resistance. This work reports on the results of a study of the influence of the turning parameters on the Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) of turned bars of UNS A92024 Aluminium-Copper alloy.


Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) because of its high theoretical capacity. But its rapid capacity decay due to the poor conductivity, structure pulverization,...


The paper describes a service for using on Computational Grids that addresses the computation of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) and Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) based on satellite imagery. We consider the service will be greatly useful and convenient for those who are studying the growth and vigor of green vegetation by using environmental remote sensing, and have typical workstations, with no special computing and storing resources for computationally intensive satellite image processing and no license for a commercial image processing tool. Key-Words: Computational Grid, Environmental Remote Sensing, Multi-spectral indices


Doctor | Living With Ovarian Cancer | Resource Guide Reducing Your Risk of Ovarian Cancer by Ricker Polsdorfer, MD En Español (Spanish Version) At this time, there are no specific guidelines for the prevention of ovarian cancer because the cause is unknown; however, women who have had children and who have breastfed them are at lower risk for developing ovarian cancer. Genetic testing may help identify patients who should consider having a salpingo-oophorectomy. This procedure involves removing both ovaries and the fallopian tubes. It may be done, in some cases, to prevent ovarian cancer in high-risk women, such as: Women with a first degree relative with ovarian or breast cancer Women who have had breast cancer before age 40 Women who test positive for a genetic mutation (BRCA1 or BRCA2) The surgery is the only proven method to reduce the risk of getting this often fatal disease. To reduce your risk: Have an annual health checkup with a pelvic exam Maintain a healthy weight so the doctor can easily feel your ovaries REFERENCES: Kasper DL, Harrison TR. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 14th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 1998. Ovarian cancer. National Cancer Institute website. Available at: http://www.cancer.gov/ . Accessed April 8, 2009. Previous | Next


Local governments lies the first line of emergency management,its strength of execution determines that the public emergencies is can be quickly and effectively and properly addressed or not.Presently,the emergency management executive power of our local governments is not strong,the deep-seated reasons includs several obstacle factors,they are implementation of the personnel,systems,organization,technology,etc.In order to enhance fundamentally local emergency management execution,we must focus on the quality of the the executives,promote the legal system and strengthen the accountability of government.


Aim A previously healthy 2-year-old boy presented with a 2-month history of lymphadenitis over his right popliteal fossa and inguinal regions. Burkholderia cepacia was isolated from his post-surgical drainage. One month later he developed persistent purulent discharge from his popliteal fossa surgical wound and recurrence of inguinal lymphadenitis. Laboratory investigation for CGD was performed. Method Neutrophil oxidase activity was assessed by nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) slide and dihydrorhodamine (DHR) flow cytometry methods. Expression of phox proteins was measured by Western blot. Mutation analysis of the cytochrome b beta gene (CYBB) was performed by amplifying the coding region from cDNA by PCR and directly sequencing by the dideoxy chain termination method. Results Expression of gp91phox, p47phox and p67phox and translocation of p47phox and p67phox was normal. A novel hemizygous missense mutation causing a C1524A transition, leading to a A488D substitution, was identified in the CYBB gene. Discussion The patient was diagnosed with X-linked CGD with normal gp91-phox expression, due to a missense mutation in CYBB. Establishing a definitive diagnosis of CGD requires a thorough clinical and laboratory workup.


At present temporal data arithmetic system is imperfect,moreover,it is short of powerful supported by logic and algebra for the relational calculation of temporalities.Based these,we put forward a minimum substructural logic(TDLmin),which is aimed at the critical area of research fields of temporality inference,temporality operating,temporal relational algebra and functional dependency of temporal database and its information processing.As substructural logic and its universal algebra model are logical tools,temporal knowledge is represented only in the semantics model of TDLmin,and the syntactic logic has been deprived in presentation of temporality,which is cut down the complexity of logic system so that TDLmin is P-time and its time complexity is only O(n2).Moreover the syntactic logic of TDLmin is properly equal to the Armstrong Rules of functional dependency of traditional database,while the semantics model can build up a method corresponding to Allen ' s Method of traditional temporal query,which led to the time cost of temporal query is equal to traditional query without temporality plusing a linear time whose complexity is only O(n).


Among the various pulsed midinfrared‐lasers studied in skin surgery the 2.94 μm Erbium: YAG laser has been shown to combine most efficacious ablation with least thermal damage due to its unique absorption characteristics in tissue water.


To researched the degradation resistance of PVDF mesh by comparing its morphological and chemical condition with PP mesh.

 PVDF and PP meshes analysed in this study were received from a previous animal experiment. To expose the surface of explanted meshes, a tissue removing method with protease was used and the result of this cleaning process was tested by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The morphological condition of the mesh surface was compared using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and the chemical condition concerning degradation was analysed through Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The surface condition of PVDF mesh after 3-, 6-, 12- and 24-month implantation was illustrated and compared with two types of PP meshes.

 XPS revealed an absence of nitrogen, confirming the successful removal of tissue residues using protease. SEM results presented no notable morphological surface change of the PVDF mesh and progressive surface cracking processes over time of both types of PP meshes. FTIR spectra of the implanted PVDF meshes had no considerable difference from the spectrum of the pristine mesh, while FTIR spectra of both types of PP meshes had extra chemical functional groups increasing with implantation time, indicating progressive degradation.

 PVDF mesh does not show signs of degradation up to 24 months after implantation while PP meshes progressively degrade with increasing time under the same conditions, which appears as worsening Environmental Stress Cracks. This study highlights the morphological and chemical stability of the PVDF mesh and demonstrates that the PVDF mesh is more resistant to degradation in comparison to the PP meshes.


Antarctic ecosystems are dominated by micro‐organisms, and viruses play particularly important roles in the food webs. Since the first report in 2009 (López‐Bueno et al. ), 'omic'‐based studies have greatly enlightened our understanding of Antarctic aquatic microbial diversity and ecosystem function (Wilkins et al. ; Cavicchioli ). This has included the discovery of many new eukaryotic viruses (López‐Bueno et al. ), virophage predators of algal viruses (Yau et al. ), bacteria with resistance to phage (Lauro et al. ) and mechanisms of haloarchaeal evasion, defence and adaptation to viruses (Tschitschko et al. ). In this issue of Molecular Ecology, López‐Bueno et al. ( ) report the first discovery of RNA viruses from an Antarctic aquatic environment. High sequence coverage enabled genome variation to be assessed for four positive‐sense single‐stranded RNA viruses from the order Picornavirales. By examining the populations present in the water column and in the lake's catchment area, populations of 'quasispecies' were able to be linked to local environmental factors. In view of the importance of viruses in Antarctic ecosystems but lack of data describing them, this study represents a significant advance in the field.


COMPETE: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007560 and FCT [Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia]
(The Portuguese Government Fund for Science and Technology) within the Project Scope: UID/CCI/00736/2019


Weave types of woven fabrics were determined by analysing the two-dimensional arrangement of Fourier power spectra. Data collection and data analysis were done by image processing system based on a microcomputer. The relationships between the design paper of a cloth weave and Fourier power spectrum are summarized as follows : 1) Fourier power spectra of a cloth weave are observed in a unit cell corresponding to the power spectra of two neighboring warps and two neighboring fillings. 2) The number of weave harness is determined by counting the number of the power spectrum in the unit cell. 3) Design paper is obtained from the arrangement of power spectra in the unit cell.


A method of using a winding apparatus (200), preferably an apparatus central winding, to wind a sheet of material (50, 350) onto a core to form a roll (30, 330), the method comprising the steps of: winding the sheet of material (50, 350) around the core (220) in accordance with a reference profile (70); measuring a process parameter to obtain at least one process parameter measurement; It characterized in that the method comprises the steps of: providing an adjustment of the reference profile according to at least one measurement of process parameters, preferably wherein adjusting the reference profile is based on the measurement of process parameters with respect a target process parameter; and wherein the core (220) a change in rotational speed of at least about 42 radians per second (400 rpm) between about 2 and about 35 machine degrees.


Assessment of children's growth is an important aspect of preventive pediatrics which can be delegated to a nurse practitioner. In order to facilitate the nurse's assessment, we have developed a computer program which calculates the percentile standing of a child with respect to his peers in weight, length/height, or fronto-occipital head circumference (FOC) or any other observed variable of normal growth which can be tabulated for a substantial population of children.This program is currently being tested in a pediatric outpatient clinic where the children's growth status is incorporated in a computerized outpatient record.A related program can be used to generate curves for the plotting of normal growth in a new format which displays growth from birth to adolescence on a semilog scale. We propose to use the program online for detecting growth abnormalities in children and for the generation of portions of a computerized pediatric cardiology report.


In order to investigate water equilibrium of expansive soil subgrade, equilibrium water content of recompacted expansive soil under different stress conditions in wide suction range is measured, and the key parameter for numerical analysis is obtained; A two-dimensional subgrade-atmosphere interaction model is developed and used to numerically simulate variation of water content of a covered expansive soil subgrade in 10 years; Compaction control criterion for expansive soil subgrade is proposed considering the equilibrium water content. The results show that equilibrium water content is stress dependent in suction of 0-3MPa; Water content of subgrade increases slowly in 8 years and reaches equilibrium state finally; The optimum water content of wet compaction is close to equilibrium water content and natural water content of expansive soil in moist and hot climate. Compaction of expansive soil subgrade should be controlled in light of wet compaction criterion.


Monitoring and minimization of beam losses is increasingly important for high-intensity and superconducting machines. In the case of the LHC, the collimation system is designed to absorb the energy of lost particles and confine the main multi-turn losses to regions without sensitive equipment. However many loss mechanisms produce local loss events which can be located elsewhere in the machine. A beam loss monitoring system, covering the whole machine circumference is therefore essential, and is used for both machine protection and diagnostics. In order to fully understand the measured signals and set-up the beam abort thresholds, extensive simulation work is required, covering particle tracking in the accelerator and the generation of the particle showers created by the lost particles. In order to benchmark these simulations and verify beam-abort thresholds, special tests have been performed where beam losses are provoked in a controlled manner over a wide range of durations. This work summarizes the experience in understanding beam losses in the LHC during Run 1.


Wireless sensor networks consist of a huge number of battery-powered and low-cost devices, called (sensor) nodes. To guarantee secure communication in wireless sensor networks, secret keys should be securely established between sensor nodes. Recently, the random key management approaches have been proposed for pair-wise key establishment in sensor networks. However, all of them have the following problem : if sensor nodes are captured by an attacker, some pair-wise keys of non-captured nodes can be compromised. In this paper, we propose a key distribution scheme which improves the resilience against node capture and reduces communication cost.


HUMAN GENETICSGenetics researchers are scouring odd corners of the world for families whose DNA is likely to carry interesting genes. They won't be freely sharing what they find, however, because their backing comes from large pharmaceutical companies that are banking on discovering and patenting a gene for a common ailment, and perhaps parlaying it into a therapy.


Obesity results from a combination of genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors. Uncoupling proteins (UCP) are members of the larger family of mitochondrial anion carrier proteins (MACP). UCP separates oxidative phosphorylation from ATP synthesis with energy dissipated as heat, also referred to as the mitochondrial proton leak. UCP facilitates the transfer of anions from the inner to the outer mitochondrial membrane and the return transfer of protons from the outer to the inner mitochondrial membrane. Therefore, we investigated the genotype for the G>A polymorphism at the position -866 of UCP2 gene in Koreans and compared genotype of patients with control group. 50 patients (Male 22, Female 28), who previously underwent type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and 30 controls (Male 14, Female 16) participated in this study. There was a weak significant association between -866 G>A polymorphism in UCP2 gene and T2DM. The present study shows that UCP2 -866 G>A polymorphism may not be associated with the pathogenesis of T2DM as opposed to the previous reports in other countries. Further studies with larger population may be needed for the development of diagnostic methods at genetic level such as DNA chip.


Mean velocities of gas in the area on an open end of pipe while gas oscillated in a non-linear way near its first eigenfrequency were researched experimentally. A non-monotonic character of the change of the mean velocity in the radial direction was identified.


Abandoned by their government, the poor of Pakistan have turned to the Taliban and other fundamentalist groups for support and solace. At the same time, a growing pressure for emancipation…


THE question of detergents has been the subject of numerous papers in scientific literature, and their main properties have recently been summarised for the pharmacist by N. J. Harper'. From the point of view of their germicidal properties, cationic detergents are often powerful antiseptics; whereas non-ionic detergents have no such activity owing to the fact, noted by Glassman*, that they do not denature proteins. As to the anionic derivatives, they have in an acid medium a certain bactericidal action against Gram-positive micro-organisms. We have shown in an earlier paperJ that the toxicity of these substances did not depend on their surface-active or wetting properties, and that this toxicity varies considerably with the type of plant cell to which it is applied; certain fungi, for example, being more sensitive to the action of anionic wetting agents than the higher forms of plant cells. Finally, when an anionic wetting agent of the type of sodium laurylsulphate is added to an antiseptic-the composition of the latter can vary considerably-a synergistic action is frequently obtained, since the wetting agent increases rhe fungistatic action of the antiseptic. This does not occur with the higher plant cells and rarely with bacteria, Engler4 observed that non-ionic detergents not only possess no proper fungistatic action in themselves, but they stimulate the growth of several kinds of moulds. Moreover, in the presence of antiseptics, the fungistatic action is clearly inhibited. These incomplete observations have led us to take up this latter problem on a more general basis, in relation to the following two points : (a) non-ionic detergents are increasingly used in pharmacy as creams or ointments, (b) if added to an antiseptic preparation, what will be the real value of the latter?


Abstract Information on distribution and abundance of cephalopods inhabiting pelagic water masses is often not available because of the difficulty of applying conventional methods in this remote habitat. An alternative source of information is represented by stomach content analysis of pelagic predators that are known to be efficient cephalopod prey collectors. This study focuses on the occurrence of cephalopod prey in the diet of young-of-the-year bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus L. 1758, Pisces: Scombridae) in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea (central Mediterranean). Overall, 139 fishes were sampled by trolling lines or purse-seine in a Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) area and as by-catch of the purse-seine sardine fishery, from 1998 to 2000 between July and November. Cephalopods found in the stomach contents were identified to the lowest possible taxon and, when digestion was too advanced, beaks from stomachs were considered as the best taxonomic feature for classification. Of a total of 1233 cephalopod prey, 1144 individuals were identified, belonging to 15 species. Onychoteuthis banksii was the most common prey (%N = 58.39), followed by Heteroteuthis dispar (%N = 23.03). This importance was confirmed also in terms of biomass with O. banksii and H. dispar that respectively reached 39.41% and 21.23% in weight, followed by Todarodes sagittatus (%W = 20.16). In general, young-of-the-year bluefin tunas are able to feed on a large spectrum of cephalopod prey in the study area, usually relying on juvenile specimens and epipelagic and mesopelagic shoaling species. In fact, the identified preys mainly belong to muscular squids (71%) and sepiolids (25%), but pelagic octopuses, buoyant squids and juvenile demersal octopuses were also recorded. These data provide further information on the feeding habits of T. thynnus, relative to a poorly investigated life stage. The improving knowledge on trophic relationships of young tunas and their reliance on cephalopod taxa is an important step in supporting management of this fishery resource.


I T WOULD BE MISLEADING to apply to Korea the stereotype of a "feudal" society with the government and army dominated by a landed nobility blocking social reforms. In such a country politics would be determined mainly by class relationships but in Korea today the determining factor is more difficult to identify. During the Yi Dynasty, Korea did have a traditional social structure, with power centralized in the hands of the nobility, which based its position on land ownership and discouraged social change out of fear of losing its dominant position.' In the last fifty years, however, Korea has suffered a series of blows which have destroyed the old order. When Korea was subjected to Japanese rule in i9io, the nobility lost its national political position. Over the next thirty-five years some noble families lost their land to the Japanese, while others kept their holdings. Thus in the economic sphere, Japanese colonialism did not affect the nobility in a uniform way. Another effect of the Japanese regime was to elevate some commoners into the bureaucracy; thence they branched out into business or politics after I945, thus forming a new element in the Korean elite. When Korea became independent at the close of World War II, three years of American military government in the south further altered the class structure, though the greatest changes resulted from the division of the country at the thirty-eighth parallel. Millions of refugees fled from Communist rule in the north.2 Their social backgrounds were varied, and in the south some rose far above their former station, while others sank in status. In this way the division of Korea produced far-reaching social changes even in that part not subjected to the totalitarian revolution. In I949 a land reform carried out in South Korea by the new Rhee government deprived the remaining noble landowners of their holdings. Former owners received bonds as compensation, and some immediately sold these in order to purchase city real estate, while others held them until they became worthless the following year after the outbreak of the Korean War.3 Thus the land reform did not affect the nobility uniformly. The war itself


ldquoOURSESrdquo project, French acronym for ldquoOffer of Services Rural Use using Satelliterdquo, proposes three telemedicine applications linked to services for elderly people. It focuses particularly on the use of satellites as a complement to terrestrial technologies to ensure the deployment of tele-services in areas where telecommunication infrastructure is lacking. This paper describes the three telemedicine applications which can be viewed as tele-monitoring systems for elderly people.


Abstract Thermoluminescence, absorption and luminescence spectra of as grown and well aged non-irradiated KCI(1-x)Brx crystals, containing an average of 150 ppm of EuCl2 as a dopant are analyzed as a function of the sample composition. The precipitation state of the KCl(1-x)Brx system is characterized by optical absorption and luminescence measurements.


The hot deformation behavior of super duplex stainless steel S32750 was investigated through MMS-200 thermal-mechanical simulator within 1 000~1 150 ℃ and the strain rate range of 0.01~10 s-1.The corresponding flow curves were determined and the microstructures were analyzed.The results showed that peak stress increases with the increasing strain rate.Dynamic recrystallization of austenite is enhanced by increasing temperature and decreasing strain rate.Based on the constitutive equation for hot deformation,the apparent activation energy(Q) of the steel is 460 kJ/mol.According to the present experimental data,the relationship between peak stress and Z parameter is obtained.


The microbial inoculants that are used in agriculture include phytohormone synthesis which have role to increase crop growth and yield products. Some microbes have a potential to synthesize plant hormone through utilize the root exudates of plant in rhizospheric area. The objective of this study was to isolate some Pseudomonas fluorescens species from rhizospheric soil of faba bean and tested their indole acetic acid production. Isolation of Pseudomonas fluorescens isolates were carried out on King's B medium. All isolates Pseudomonas fluorescens were tseted for indole acetic acid production have a potential to produce phytohormone. The test Pseudomonas fluorescens isolates culture were inoculated in the nutrient broth with L-tryptophan 500 mg/l at 28 ± 2°C for one week. The results indicated that all most of the isolates tested possess plant growth promoting traits (phytohormone). So it could be concluded that all isolate Pseudomonas fluorescens can be used as plant growth promoting bacteria for synthesis of plant hormone resulting to increase of the plant growth and yield.


Road safety communication campaigns are considered an efficient strategy for reaching a wide audience. They aim at reducing the number and severity of road crashes by influencing road user behavior. Despite the large number of campaigns that have been designed and implemented in recent years, few have been formally evaluated. This paper presents the evaluation design and the implementation of a national road safety communication campaign on the effects of fatigue on driving behavior. The campaign targeted primarily professional drivers and, secondarily, all other drivers The definition of the objectives of the campaign was addressed through the health belief model. Objectives included increasing awareness of the severity of driving while fatigued and of effective countermeasures. The measurement variables of the evaluation design, also addressed by the health belief model, were knowledge, behavioral beliefs, risk comprehension, behavioral intentions, past behavior, and self-reported behavior. The evaluation was based on a nonexperimental design. The use of control groups was not feasible, since the whole population was exposed to the campaign and data were collected by means of a face-to-face questionnaire survey conducted before, during, and after campaign implementation. Process and outcome evaluations were conducted to assess the impact of the campaign on driving behavior. Results indicated that the audience was reached at a mean rate of 13%, and the distribution of campaign leaflets was the most effective media channel (70%). In addition, a statistically significant increase in the proportion of respondents who were aware of the causes and effects of fatigue while driving was observed. Similar results were indicated in testing behavioral beliefs, risk comprehension, behavioral intentions, and past behavior. The main message of the campaign reached both the primary and the secondary target groups, and its success can be seen by the increase in the percentage of professional drivers and all other drivers who self-reported that they stop and rest for 15 min in the "during" and "after" phases, as compared with the "before" phase.


A simulator for comprehensive analysis of pipelined A/D converters has been developed in MATLAB and compiled to an executable that can be run on various platforms. The simulator accepts user-specified parameters such as resolution per stage, number of stages, input and clock frequencies, input amplitude, op amp nonlinearity, capacitor mismatch, comparator offset, and clock jitter. The tool then provides the simulated performance in the form of residue plots, differential and integral nonlinearity profiles, output spectrum, and input-referred thermal noise. Compared with Cadence's Spectre, the proposed simulator runs several orders of magnitude faster while incurring a small error.


This bachelor thesis is focused on the verification of principles of feedback control. A device on the basis of light emitting diodes (LED) was assembled, as well as light sensors. A photoresistor was used to monitor the level of illumination. Arduino versatile development platform was used when implementing the control system. The objective of the work was to identify the set up system, to design a suitable PI regulator and to test the actual behaviour of the regulatory circuit for maintaining the specified level of illumination.


Through a historical retrospection of the traditional national sports courrses and (researches) on Wushu courses in different periods of time,the authors revealed that there need be more specialties of Wushu,better teaching ideology and more systematic of the course structure.


By means of statistical analyses, we compute the luminosity function of galaxies in clusters and explore its dependence on cluster global properties. The data consist of two different samples of southern clusters with published redshifts, taken from the Abell cluster catalog and the APM cluster catalog. Galaxy assignment to the clusters and their corresponding apparent magnitudes were derived from the Edinburgh-Durham Southern Galaxy Catalogue. We have considered two limiting absolute magnitudes, M < -16 and M < -17, comprising 16 and 55 clusters, respectively. The galaxy luminosity function in clusters derived in this work shows a large excess of faint galaxies compared with previous field determinations. In spite of their different identification procedures, we obtain similar galaxy luminosity functions in Abell and APM clusters. A Schechter function with parameters M* ≃ -20.0 ± 0.1 and α ≃ -1.4 ± 0.1 provides a satisfactory fit to the galaxy luminosity function of the sample of 55 clusters. We also find a flatter galaxy luminosity function in poor clusters (α ≃ -1.2). We have computed errors through a Monte Carlo procedure that considers different possible background corrections and errors in the photometry. Besides providing reliable values of the uncertainties in the luminosity function fitting parameters, this method poses confident limits on the effects of possible systematics. Our results strongly argue against a universal galaxy luminosity function. The high relative frequency of faint galaxies in rich clusters reported in this work may provide constraints on models for the origin and evolution of galaxies.


The treatment of cerebral AVMs aims to prevent hemorrhage, control seizures and ameliorate neurological deficits. Of these, prevention of hemorrhage is the most important. There is no established treatment strategy for the lesion. The treatment strategy based on Spetzler-Martin grading is that Grades I, II, and III are a therapeutic target but Grades IV and V should be treated conservatively. According to an AHA Scientific Statement, surgical extirpation should be conceded for Spetzler-Martin Grades I and II, and surgical extirpation with preoperative feeder embolization is often effective for Spetzler-Martin Grade III, but single surgical extirpation is not recommended for Spetzler-Martin Grades IV and V. However, it is difficult to decide the treatment based only on Spetzler-Martin grading system, and applied treatments should be individualized even for patients with cerebral AVMs of the same size and location because each patient has a unique clinical condition and medical background. In this paper, we analyze clinical date of patients with cerebral AVMs to estimate annual bleeding rate and re-bleeding rate, morbidity and mortality rates of surgical extirpation, and also discuss decision making of any treatment for patients without a history of hemorrhage.


A distributed control system has been developed to control synchrotron radiation beamlines for the 1.8-GeV storage ring at Tohoku Synchrotron Radiation Facility (TSRF), Tohoku University, which has 50 beamlines for soft X-ray optics/microscopy, lithography, and biomaterial research. The system is composed of outlying nodes and remote operator consoles connected to a network. Each beamline is controlled by its own outlying node independently of adjacent beamlines in accordance with physics experimental requirements. The control system protects ultra-high vacuum components of the beamline and the storage ring by closing valves/shutters upon detecting a vacuum failure. The system was implemented using a distributed object model, Java remote method invocation (RMI). The control system provides information on the operation of the beamlines to remote clients such as operator consoles over the network in order to operate the TSRF. The design and implementation of the distributed control system as well as the control scheme for the synchrotron radiation beamlines at TSRF are described in this paper.


Objective: The aim of this study is to understand stakeholder experiences of heart disease diagnosis to support the development of technological solutions that meet current needs. Specifically, we aimed to identify challenges faced by stakeholders in the process of diagnosis of heart diseases; to identify discrepancies between patient and clinician experiences of heart disease diagnosis, and to make recommendations for the requirements of future health technology solutions intended to improve heart disease diagnosis. Design: The qualitative data was obtained using semi-structured focus groups and 1-1 interviews. Participants: UK-based individuals (N = 32) with lived experience of diagnosis of heart disease (n = 23) and clinicians with experience in diagnosing heart disease (n = 9). Results: Thematic analysis of focus groups and interview transcripts produced four key themes related to challenges contributing to delayed or inaccurate diagnosis of heart disease: Symptom Interpretation, Patient Characteristics, Patient-Clinician Interactions, and Systemic Challenges. Sub-themes from each theme are discussed in depth. Conclusions: Challenges related to time and communication were greatest for both stakeholder groups, however, there were differences in other areas, for example, patient experiences highlighted difficulties with the psychological aspects of diagnosis and interpreting ambiguous symptoms, while clinicians emphasised the role of individual patient differences and the lack of rapport in contributing to delays or inaccurate diagnosis. Key takeaways from this qualitative study were summarised into a table of considerations to highlight key areas that require prioritisation for future research aiming to improve the efficiency and accuracy of heart disease diagnosis using digital technologies.


The present invention provides a switch assembly, an operation switch and a portable terminal, wherein a round-roof switch assembly (58) can be manufactured with a low rejection rate. The round-roof switch assembly (58) can detect an input which is smaller than a force for reversing a two-stage round-roof switch (24). The portable terminal (1) is provided with the round-roof switch assembly (58) and improves the satisfication degree of a user. The switch assembly is characterized in that: the two-stage round-roof switch (24) is provided with a supporting part (24b) which supports two first contact parts (24c) and causes the two first contact parts to leave from a first contact (61c); a substrate (25) is formed that both of the two first contact parts (24c) are energized when the first contact parts (24c) respectively contact with the first contact (61c) and turn to an ON switch state; and one selected from the two first contact parts (24c) is non-energized even when separated from the first contact (61c) and turns to an OFF switch state.


A novel technique to multiplex high energy laser pulses from a Nd:YLF laser into an array of fibers at energies near the bulk damage limit of fused silica is presented with the object of delivering N equal high energy laser pulses with a minimal time dispersion. Characteristics of the multiple fiber system, diffractive grating splitter, and spatial mode structure of the laser to minimize fiber damage are presented along with preliminary results in scaling the system to larger fiber numbers (N approximately equals 200) with a high energy 10-Joule Nd:Glass laser system. Fiber array alignment techniques and morphologies of fiber damage will also be presented and discussed.


Multimedia applications such as educational videos and color facsimile contain images that are rich in both textual and continuous tone data. Because these two types of data have different properties, segmentation of the images into text and continuous tone data can improve compression by allowing different compression parameters or even algorithms to be employed on the different types. We propose and compare algorithms that use classification trees (CLTR) or tree-structured vector quantization (TSVQ) for block-based classification in mixed-mode images. We also examine different types of features that can be used in these classifiers. The results show that using linear transform features with either the CLTR or TSVQ can be effective for accurate text classification. In addition, the results indicate that combining these classifiers with another TSVQ that is designed simultaneously to minimize both compression and classification error can provide better classification than does either system alone.


The distribution of the species of 16 families of land birds on the islands of the Gulf of St. Lawrence is reviewed. The writer has reached the conclusion that the distance separating the islands f...


This paper proposed an adaptive channel coding and modulation scheme based on EXIT function for OFDM transmission over Rayleigh fading channel.And studied mutual information of LDPC code in Rayleigh fading channel.Mutual information of check node was got by numerical integral.It made the analysis more accurate,particularly for fading channel where the messages from check nodes were far from Gaussian at low SNR.Also studied the EXIT charts for this system and presented an adaptive OFDM-LDPC scheme with EXIT error function as cost function.Compared to traditional one,this method achieved best scheme with low complexity and had no use of getting switch threshold.This design method was suitable for high rate transmission.Finally,given simulation results and analysis based on 802.16e standard.


A comparison was made of a horizontal versus vertical shaking procedure for raw-milk dilutions used in the Standard Plate Count for the enumeration of milk bacteria. No significant differences (P<0...


The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a sports games experimental program on improving specific motor abilities in adolescents with mental impairment. The study was conducted on a sample of 60 adolescents diagnosed with mild mental impairment, divided into two groups (experimental group EG, and control group CG) with an equal number of participants. The special program of sports games lasted for 12 weeks, with a weekly frequency of four times and a duration of 30 minutes per training. The participants of both groups were tested with the same variables within the specific motor skills for the sport of football and basketball. After a twelve-week experimental program of sports games, there were statistically significant improvements in the EG in the variables: SMFS, SMDR, SMCP with a statistical significance of r=0.000. The results of the ANOVA and MANOVA analyses indicated that after the application of the specific sports games program there was a statistically significant difference in the benefits for the EG compared to the CG, in the parameters of specific motor abilities with a statistical significance r=0.000 and the size of the impact. Based on these research results, it can be concluded that a specific exercise program conducted within twelve-week training of specifically dosed sports activities has significantly contributed the development of specific motor skills for football and basketball.


Waste recycling is a solution that reduces the environmental impact of waste landfilling or incineration. The aim of this paper is to investigate both the effect of incorporating recycled fibers obtained by defibrating 50/50 hemp/rPP nonwoven waste and the effect of the compatibilizer on the properties of composite materials. Composites incorporating 50% and 100% recycled fibers were treated with 2.5% and 5% maleated polypropylene (MAPP), respectively, and compared to both the untreated composites and the composite obtained by thermoforming from the nonwovens that generated the waste. The incorporation of 50% and 100% recycled fibers into composites decreased the tensile strength by 17.1–22.6%, the elongation at break by 12.4–20.1%, the flexural strength by 6.6–9%, and flexural modulus by 10.3–37%. The addition of 5% MAPP showed the greatest improvements in mechanical properties of composites containing 100% recycled fibers, as follows: 19.2% increase in tensile strength, 3.8% increase in flexural strength, and 14.8% increase in flexural modulus. Thermal analysis established that at temperatures ranging between 20 °C and 120 °C, the composites were thermally stable. SEM analysis revealed good coverage of the reinforcing fibers, and EDX analysis confirmed the presence of the compatibilizing agent in the structure of the composite material.


Christianity, namely the Dhammapada and the Book of Ecclesiastes. The thesis is put forward that both monuments share a common theme, the theme of suffering and the vanity of human life. The authorship and main ideas of these books are considered. Common points in the au-thors ' arguments about evil, ignorance and suffering are clarified. The understanding of what happiness is in both religious traditions is given. The author argues that both books raise eternal questions that concern every generation of mankind and often give similar answers, in the ab-sence of genetic connection, mutual influence and borrowing, since these monuments were cre-ated in two completely different civilizational centers of the Mediterranean and Indochina.


into a public marketplace of print, provides a consistent sense of how competing and complementing notions of reproduction touched and even structured a multitude of disciplines, localities, and politicized spaces; to look at reproduction in the eighteenth century is not to be confined within medical history but open to other histories of the body: intellectual, material, literary, and feminist. Amelia Dale Shanghai University of International Business and Economics


We introduce a Stieltjes transform on the equivalence classes of a new generalized function which has been successfully developed by Colombeau. Subsets of rapid descent test functions, 𝒮(ℝn), as well as tempered distributions, 𝒮′(ℝn), are used to preserve Fourier analysis techniques.


The technique of graphical modelling (Whittaker, 1990) can be used to identify the dependence relationships between variables representing characteristics of recorded road accidents. It allows large multi-dimensional tables to be analysed by looking for conditional independence relationships among the variables. The variables under study can often be divided into groups that are ordered in time or by a hypothesised causal assumption. For these situations graphical chain models (Whittaker, 1990) are used to explore causal relationships between the variables. Some examples are given for a six-dimensional and a ten-dimensional contingency table.


Abstract This research aimed to investigate educational effectiveness level of private primary schools in Bangkok; identify factors influencing educational effectiveness of the schools; and develop a model of factors influencing educational effectiveness of the schools. This quantitative research used a questionnaire to collect the data from a sample of 697 teachers randomly selected from this type of 212 schools in the 2013 academic year. The descriptive data were analyzed using a computer package. The results were as follows.  1. The educational effectiveness level of the schools was at a high level.  2. The factors affecting educational effectiveness level of the schools at the .05 level of statistical significance were ranked from the top influence value as leadership, school climate, and participatory administration. However, school climate factor did not have direct effect on the effectiveness. 3. The model of factors influencing educational effectiveness of the schools was consistent with the empirical data (χ2 = 137.27, df = 153, χ2/df = 0.90, GFI = 0.98, AGFI = 0.97, Standardized RMR = 0.034, RMSEA = 0.00). The model could 61 percent explain variance of the effectiveness.


ARTICLEIn Reply.—

Thank you for this opportunity to clarify further why I believe that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) should continue to advance individualized and compassionate decision-making for all children by promoting the best-interest standard and acknowledging the dangers of the so-called Baby Doe rules. They apply only to infants under 1 year of age and are found in the federal requirements for states that seek funds under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act.1 Requiring maximal treatment unless the infant is comatose or dying, these regulations were viewed immediately by neonatologists and other pediatricians as seeking to alter standards of care and as giving too little weight to infants' pain and suffering, parental consent, or clinical judgment.2,3 They single out infants for treatments that restrict the sort of choices adults want for themselves and that are recommended by the AAP.4–7

Unlike the Baby Doe rules, the best-interests standard permits families and physicians some latitude regarding what ought to be done even if the person is neither comatose nor dying. For example, some families (with the advice of clinicians) may choose comfort care for their incompetent and imperiled relatives, whereas others pursue every vanishingly small chance for survival. Joint decisions by families and clinicians about what is best for incompetent or incapacitated …


The problem of existence of solitary wave solutions to some higher-order model evolution equations arising from water wave theory is discussed. A simple direct method for finding monotone solitary wave solutions is introduced, and by exhibiting explicit necessary and sufficient conditions, it is illustrated that a model admit exact ${\text{sech}}^2 $ solitary wave solutions. Moreover, it is proven that the only fifth-order perturbations of the Korteweg–deVries equation that admit solitary wave solutions reducing to the usual one-soliton solutions in the limit are those admitting families of explicit ${\text{sech}}^2 $ solutions.


Streamflow processes of seven major rivers at 7 stations in western Europe are investigated for trend and nonstationarity. Trend analyses with Mann-Kendall test show that there is no trend in annual mean discharge. Only one annual maximum flow series exhibits significant trend (Rhine, upward). There are one minimum flow series which exhibit significant downward (Maas) and seven that exhibit upward trend (Danube, Elbe, Thames and Weser). Monthly flow series are examined with seasonal Kendall test, but no trend is found. Nonstationarity is tested with ADF test (Dickey and Fuller, 1979) and KPSS test (Kwiatkowski et al., 1992). All annual streamflow series and most monthly streamflow series appear to be significantly stationary. Two out of the 7 daily series are stationary while other daily series are basically nonstationary. The results imply that despite the context of global warming, the streamflow processes in western Europe are generally not significantly impacted.


Underwater visual census (UVC) is a widely used technique for estimating species richness, abundance, and lengths of reef fishes. The technique has the advantage of being non-destructive, and can therefore be used for monitoring in marine protected areas. However, acquisition of robust data using UVC is reliant on the ability of individual divers to accurately identify fish, and estimate their lengths. Both of these variables can be affected by observer bias, which may also differ among observers. This study examines a technique with the potential to quantify and correct for observer bias in individual divers. We used simultaneous diver-operated stereo video and underwater visual census surveys, and compared the results to generate diver-specific correction factors. These correction factors were subsequently applied in additional estimates of fish length, with measurable improvement in the accuracy of the data.


We report on the synthesis of composites Polypyrrole/Carbon (PPy/C) to be used as matrix-support of platinum nanoparticles prepared by carbonyl chemical route. The composite materials with different PPy loading were characterized by physical chemical methods, such as elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The catalysts: 20 wt. % Pt/composites were used as substrates for the oxygen reduction reaction in acid medium. For the same catalyst loading (50 µg cm-2), it was observed that the nature of the composite strongly influences the electrochemical activity of nanoparticulated platinum.


Vivaldi antenna is a kind of the non-variable-frequency antenna.Taking full advantage of the wide-band,directive radiation,input impedance stability,high efficiency,simple structure,low cost and easy integration features,a high-power new structure antenna is developed.A problem to be solved for high-power devices is the discharge problem among its parts.The reported opposed structure solves that problem effectively.Besides,up to 196 percent bandwidth is also achieved.In order to resolve the feeding problem of the new structure,the input impedance is reduced to 40 ohm and a parallel waveguide-fed is used.This fed method can get the relative bandwidth about 180 percent.


In this paper we exhibit the effect of the data sequence on the reconstruction of the reference (pilot) tone for a quadrature phase-shift keying (Q-PSK) system. This is a binary digital transmission system in which the phase of one quadrature component of the carrier tone is keyed, while the phase of the other component is unkeyed. The integration of several previous keying intervals provides a reference phase. A scheme of this type, called Kathryn, has been built by General Atronics Corporation. We find that the performance of a Q-PSK system is limited by self-noise unless certain message sequences can be avoided. It is concluded that a Q-PSK system can be used effectively only in a decision-directed mode which is also analyzed.


The development of SiOx electrode with high mass loading, which is an important prerequisite for practical lithium-ion batteries, remains an arduous challenge by using existing binders. Herein, we ...


In this paper we completely characterize when the commutator of two Toeplitz operators or two Hankel operators on the Hardy space has finite rank


more complete and systematic organization of economic groups and classes and at the closer collaboration of these groups under the supervision and conciliatory influence of the state. For Professor Manoilesco, the ultimate significance of these trends and tendencies is unequivocally clear. The Western World, he believes, is undergoing a process of profound and far-reaching change. From a period of more or less unrestrained capitalism, we are gradually moving toward a new era of conscious and rational socio-economic control. This new


The authors present a further correction to the electron heat flow correction previously presented by Kofman, et al., which improves the interpretation of frequency differences between upshifted and downshifted electron plasma lines. They take into account the heat transfer due to runaway electrons, for in particular cases where there are large temperature gradients. With these corrections the authors assert that incoherent scatter radar techniques may be able to determine field aligned currents.


The invention discloses a green emitting phosphor for white-light LEDs and a preparation method thereof, which belong to the field of phosphor materials. The technical scheme aims to prepare alkaline-earth metal phosphorus silicate mixed with Eu2+, the chemical formula is Ca7-7xEu7xSi2P2016, wherein the x in the formula is the mixing quantity of the Eu2+ and is larger than or equal to 0.0001 and smaller than or equal to 1.0. By means of solid-phase sintering and sol gelling, the green emitting phosphor for the white-light LEDs is formed after being sintered for 5 to 15 hours at the temperature ranging from 1000 DEG C to 1500 DEG C in reduction atmosphere and then cooled. The phosphor can emit green light with the center wave length of 508mm under the excitation of ultraviolet light and near-ultraviolet light of 380nm and can serve as near-ultraviolet light excited phosphor for white-light LEDs. The green emitting phosphor for the white-light LEDs has the advantages of high light emitting quality, wide excitation wavelength, simplicity in preparation method and no pollution and the like.


In this paper we present two algorithms for improved satellite‐switched TDM slot assignments of N × N traffic matrices under K transponders/carriers (simultaneous connections), 1⩽K⩽N. The first algorithm applies to data switching with variable burst length and achieves optimum transmission time with a significantly lower number of switching configurations than a previously proposed algorithm, while still having the same time complexity (O(N4)). Experimental results demonstrate the advantage. The second algorithm applies to the case of fixed burst length and offers a faster complexity of O(L·N2), where L is the minimum transmission time, at the cost of occasionally missing the minimum. Extensive simulations indicate that the difference from the minimum is rare and is at most one. They also show that the presented algorithm even improves a previous one which was proposed for the fixed burst length case and has the same time complexity but uses K=N. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The frequent occurrence of domestic violence still overshadows the world and has become a big threat to family members, especially to women's physical and spiritual health. In order to combat domestic violence, the first action we should take is to enable everybody to say "no" to it.


Published spectra show little consistency beyond a tendency toward strong odd partials. Neglect of radiation pattern and wave‐statistics fluctuations in rooms, join with inadequate specification of the player's task to cause this variability. We have studied 0.5 s alternating C4, D4 tones lasting about 35‐s total at mezzoforte level (reed just beginning to beat), played on six clarinets, A, B♭ (three), C, E♭ All instruments were optimized to similar criteria over the past decade by one of us (AHB) who also made each its own mouthpiece (the bores were dissimilar). The instruments all have been used by major players. The player (AHB) walked about while playing (0.75 m/s), as did the two persons carrying the recording microphones, in a room V = 8000m3, T60 = 1.2 s. Source and mike position changes, plus mode perturbation effects from three people, assure the equivalent of at least 75 statistically independent data points for each component of each tone. The SPL for the first five harmonics averaged over all ...


A general formula for the mutual information of the Pauli channels with memory modelled by correlated noise is derived. It is shown that the mutual information depends on the channel shrinking factor, the input state parameter and the channel memory coefficient. The analyses based on the general formula reveal that the entanglement is always a useful resource to enhance the mutual information of some Pauli channels, such as the bit flip channel and the bit-phase flip channel. Our analyses also show that the entanglement is not advantageous to the reliable transmission of classical information for some Pauli channels at any time, such as the phase flip channel and the phase damping channel.


We compared, in this prospective, randomized, double-blinded study, the characteristics of spinal anesthesia with plain and hyperbaric ropivacaine for elective cesarean delivery. We hypothesized that the addition of glucose would change the onset, offset, and extent of motor and sensory block from intrathecal ropivacaine. Forty ASA physical status I–II women were given 25 mg of either ropivacaine (n = 20) or ropivacaine in 8.3% glucose (n = 20) intrathecally, via a combined spinal/epidural technique in the right lateral position. Sensory changes to ice and pinprick and motor block (Bromage score) were recorded at 2.5-min intervals. Adequate anesthesia for surgery was achieved in all patients in the Hyperbaric group, whereas in the Plain group, five (25%) patients required epidural top-up because of insufficient rostral spread (P < 0.05). With hyperbaric ropivacaine, we found the following: higher cephalic spread (median [range] maximum block height to pinprick, T1 [T4 to C2] versus T3 [T11 to C3], P < 0.001); lower coefficient of variation of maximum block height (17.7% vs 21.9%); faster onset to T4 dermatome (mean [sd] 7.7 [4.9] vs 16.4 [14.1] min, P = 0.015); and faster recovery to L1 (189.0 [29.6] vs 215.5 [27.0] min, P = 0.01). The onset of complete motor block (9.9 [5.3] vs 13.8 [5.4] min, P = 0.027) and complete recovery (144.8 [28.4] vs 218.5 [56.8] min, P < 0.001) was also faster. No neurologic symptoms were found at 24 h.


The objective of this research work was to study the effects of laser welding when compared with Shield Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) process on the heat input, welded deposit rate, residual stress, distortion, microstructure and micro hardness. The martensitic stainless steel grade 431 specimens were overlay welded with the stainless steel filler metals. From the results, the heat input of 0.26 kJ/mm in laser welding, calculated significantly lower than that of 1.66 kJ/mm in SMAW, contributed to low level residual stress, minimal distortion, very small penetration depth and Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) less than 100 μm. The micro hardness results indicated that the maximum value from laser welding in the HAZ was 370.2 HV lower than the value from SMAW of 525.5 HV. While, the welded deposit rate for laser welding was 26.5 mm 3 /min remarkably lower than the rate for SMAW of 1,800 mm 3 /min.


We have undertaken studies of the changes in the electrical charge on bacteria that take place in specific bacterial agglutination. Last year, 1 working with pneumococci and paratyphoid bacilli, we were able to show that their immune agglutinating sera possess a specific charge-reducing effect which is quantitatively related to the agglutination titre of the serum, which may be removed by absorption of agglutinin by the homologous or-ganism; this specific effect was not demonstrable in a highly protective, non-agglutinative serum. This year, these studies have been extended to many other organisms and their sera; and it has been found that the conclusions set forth above may be enlarged by the statement that, where the natural charge on the organism is very low, specific serum raises the charge. Determinations were made (Fig. 1) of the changes in charge produced by their specific sera upon Type I pneumococci, meningococci, staphylococci, hemolytic streptococci, a diplococcus variant of streptococci, typhoid, and paratyphoid A bacilli, and three strains of the dysentery bacillus, Flexner, Shiga and Mt. Desert. In the case of the first named seven organisms, where, under the conditions of the experiment, the charges without serum are high or relatively high (23-40 millivolts), the homologous agglutinating sera produce a reduction of charge which is directly proportional to the concentration of the serum. However, with the three dysentery strains, where the natural charge is low (5 mv. j the effect of the specific sera is to raise the charge. In all cases, no matter what the initial charge, the effect of the serum in high concentration is to bring the charges of the bacteria to a common potential level (8-14 millivolts). It is known that bacterial agglutinins are included in the globulin fractions of immtine sera. Eugobulin particles from human ascitic fluid were tested in electrolyte solutions similar to those used in the preceding experiments, and their charge falls into the potential zone noted above. Also, the globulin particles of a Type I pneumococcus sei-uni were thrown down by the addition of distilled water, and the charges on these particles and on sensitized Type I pneumococci n-ere conipared (Fig. 2), and were found to be practically identical, i. c., the sensitized bacteria act essentially like globulin particles, or in other words, the bacteria are coated by the agglutinin.


Background: Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) associated with the use of anticancer drugs are a worldwide problem and cannot be overlooked. They range from nausea, vomiting or any other mild reaction to severe myelosuppression. The study was planned to evaluate the pattern of adverse drug events to anti-cancer agents in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: This observational prospective study was carried out in a tertiary care hospital from 1st January 2011 to 31st December 2011. A total of 213 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study. Out of them, 8 patients were withdrawn from the study as they subsequently underwent radiotherapy. The adverse events observed during the treatment were noted and analyzed by using applicable statistics. Results: Out of 205 patients, 98 were males and 107 were females. Breast cancer was the commonest type of cancer evident. A total 523 anti-cancer drugs were prescribed for the patients with alkylating agents being the most common. 635 adverse events (ADRs) were observed in patients with vomiting and nausea as the most common adverse drug reactions (ADREs). Majority of the ADRs (89%) had a latent onset (occurring 2 or more days after exposure to the drug). Few events were serious in nature (9%); fatal events were uncommon (0.31%). WHO causality was 'possible' for 94% of the events. ADRs were more frequently observed in females in the age group of 46-60 years; mood swings were significantly higher in women, while vomiting was found to be significantly common in men. Conclusions: The study showed that chemotherapy has a high potential to cause ADRs. Thus, there is a need for vigilant ADR monitoring to prevent morbidity and mortality due to ADRs.


Electromagnetic inverse scattering problem (EISP) is difficult to solve due to its ill-posedness and nonlinearity. Iterative methods, such as subspace-based optimization method (SOM), usually associates with too many iterations to achieve satisfying results. In this work, we introduce total variation (TV) into the objective function of SOM as a regularization term to preprocess data, and then train a U-Net model to predict details in the unknowns (STU method for short). TV regularization term accelerates the convergence speed by incorporating a priori information, and the preprocessed data can also reduce the training epochs of U-Net model, making the mean relative error of the final predicted results smaller. More importantly, the proposed STU method is more suitable for fast and light weight training in deep learning based inverse scattering solvers.


This study deepens our understanding of the prediction and structural relationship between a student's academic performance and his/her regular after-school exercise by estimating models based upon the quantile regression and the instrumental variable quantile regression methods, respectively. Using data on Korean middle school students, we found that negative relationships were dominant for the prediction models, whereas the relationships were reversed for the structural models, affirming the theoretical and experimental hypotheses observed in prior literature. Furthermore, we also found that the low-performing students, in terms of the academic performance, had stronger associations between the two variables than the high-performing students, overall.


An important medium for ore transport within the Earth is by hydrothermal fluids. To understand ore transportation processes by hydrothermal fluids it is necessary to determine the clustering of dissolved ionic species in aqueous solution. We have chosen sphalerite, an important zinc containing mineral, as an example. We describe the results of Molecular Dynamics simulations to predict which chlorozinc complexes will occur at the pressures and temperatures found in the Earth's crust. Potentials have been derived for zinc-water and zinc-chloride interactions using density functional calculations. Although the DFT calculations provide good gas-phase clusters, the resulting potentials do not work well when modelling aqueous solutions. We therefore describe attempts to modify the potential to compensate for these effects. We show that at low chloride concentrations the dominant species are Zn(H2O)2+ 6, and ZnC1(H2O)+ 5. At higher temperatures there are a significant number of clusters which contain more than one zinc with bridging chloride ions. In aqueous solutions with a high chloride concentration the dominant species are Zn(H2O)2+ 6, ZnC12(H2O)0 4 and ZnC13(H2O)− 3. There are almost no clusters containing more than one zinc.


In the winter time aerosol samples have been collected by Andersen HiVol pumping system equipped with a six-stage cascade impactor(size range: 7.2~10,3.0~7.2,1.5~3.0,0.95~1.5,0.49~0.95,0.49 μm) in Liwan District,Guangzhou.Organic carbon(OC) and elemental carbon(EC) in particles were determined by Sunset carbon analyzer of USA.OC and EC were associated with the fine particle.Compared with OC,EC was preferably enriched in 0.49 μm particle.The average percentage of estimated secondary OC(OC_(sec)) in the total OC (OC_(tot)) in PM_(10) was 47%,and the log-normal size distribution of OC and EC was bi-modal.The correlation between ρ(OC_(tot)),ρ(OC_(pri))(directly emitted OC) and ρ(EC) indicated that the ratios of ρ(OC)/ρ(EC) could not be used as a plausible index for the evidence of secondary pollution.


We present observations of rotational lines of H2S, SO and CS performed in comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) in March 1997 with the Plateau de Bure interferometer (IRAM). The observations provide informations on the spatial and velocity distributions of these molecules. They can be used to constrain their photodissociation rate and their origin. We use a radiative transfer code which allows us to compute synthetic line profiles and interferometric maps, to be compared to the observations. Both single-dish spectra and interferometric spectral maps show a day/night asymmetry in the outgassing. From the analysis of the spectral maps, including the astrometry, we show that SO and CS present in addition a jet-like structure that may be the gaseous counterpart of the dust high-latitude jet observed in optical images. A CS rotating jet is also observed. Using the astrometry provided by continuum radio maps obtained in parallel, we conclude that there is no need to invoke of nongravitational forces acting on this comet, and provide an updated orbit. The radial extension of H2S is found to be consistent with direct release from the nucleus. SO displays an extended radial distribution. Assuming that SO2 is the parent of SO, the photodissociation rate of SO is measured to be 1.5 E-4 s-1 at 1 AU from the Sun. This is lower than most laboratory-based estimates and may suggest that SO is not solely produced by SO2 photolysis. From the observations of J(2-1) and J(5-4) CS lines, we deduce a CS photodissociation rate of 1 to 5 E-5 s-1. The photodissociation rate of CS2, the likely parent of CS, cannot be constrained due to insufficient resolution, but our data are consistent with published values. These observations illustrate the cometary science that will be performed with the future ALMA interferometer.


The geotechnical characteristics of 22 sediment samples from Leg 84 sites were studied in an effort to associate these with processes active along the Middle America slope and with sedimentation mechanisms. Geotechnical properties measured include water content, porosity, bulk density, Atterberg limits, consolidation characteristics, permeability, and vane shear strength. A majority of samples obtained from Sites 565, 568, and 570 show significant disturbance resulting from degassing. This disturbance apparently results in underconsolidation, although other mechanisms such as excess pore pressures generated from the subduction process can also contribute to this state. Overconsolidated sediments were found at Sites 565, 566, and 569. The overconsolidated sediments at Sites 565 and 569 may result from downslope transport mechanisms rearranging and stressing the sediment mass under consideration. The sediment condition at Site 566 is probably a result of eroded overburden: an estimated 87 m of overlying sediments may have been removed. Geotechnical and permeability relationships with depth are consistent with those found for other hemipelagic sediments of silty clay to clayey silt textures.


We consider a generalization of Piatetski-Shapiro sequences in the sense of Beatty sequences, which is of the form $\left( \left\lfloor{\alpha n^c + \beta}\right\rfloor \right)_{n = 1}^{\infty} $ with real numbers $ \alpha {\geqslant} 1, c > 1 $ and $ \beta $. In this paper, we prove that there are infinitely many $ R $-almost primes in sequences $ \left(\lfloor \alpha n^c + \beta \rfloor\right)_{n = 1}^{\infty} $ if $ c \in (1, c_R) $ and $ c_R $ is an explicit constant depending on $ R $.