The eradication of extreme poverty is the first of the Millennium Development Goals. Moreover,
the analysis of the effects of fiscal decentralization is a research area of extraordinary
academic interest. Therefore, this paper aims to analyse the effects of the fiscal decentralization
of spending in education, health, housing, and social protection on poverty.
Using panel data covering twenty countries of low and lower-middle income for the period
1980-2007, it has been concluded that the decentralization of social spending has a differentiated
effect on poverty: the decentralization of health and housing policies contributes to
reducing poverty, while the decentralization of social protection spending stimulates an increase
in poverty.


This article reports further good progress with the European high-speed rail network, with major developments planned for completion by 2005, but shows that continued success depends on the industry's response to the competitive challenges of its new environment. All major high-speed rail stakeholders (operators, industries, potential clients, political decision makers, and media representatives) met in Berlin in October 1998 for the Eurailspeed 98 Conference. Two tables in the article summarise the past and projected development of European high-speed train routes from 1981 to 2005. High-speed rail traffic has grown very rapidly in most of Western Europe. Today, there are about 600 trains there operating at speeds over 250kph, and 470 tilting trains running between 160kph and 250kph. This provides a tremendous competitive challenge for European industry, which must as a result work as far as possible towards product standardisation. In Eastern Europe, the introduction of full high-speed rail is unlikely to occur until 2010 onwards; before then, existing lines will be upgraded to speeds of 160kph or occasionally up to 200kph.


A strain high sulfite reductase activity bacteria was isolated.It was identified that the obtained strain belonged to facultative anaerobic bacteria of D.desulfuricans,producing extracellular sulfite reductases.The enzymology characteristic of the enzyme was preliminarily researched.The optimal temperature and pH for the enzyme reactivity were 30 ℃ and 7.7 respectively.The enzyme had a high activity in the range of 25~40 ℃ and pH 7~8.About 55% activity was reserved after two hours at 80 ℃,and more than 60% activity was reserved after two hours at pH 4~10,showing a good thermal stability and pH stability.


The branching fractions for the decays B {yields} P{ell}{nu}{sub {ell}}, where P are the pseudoscalar charmless mesons {pi}{sup {+-}}, {pi}{sup 0}, {eta} and {eta}{prime} and {ell} is an electron or muon, are measured with B{sup 0} and B{sup {+-}} mesons found in the recoil of a second B meson decaying as B {yields} D{ell}{nu}{sub {ell}} or B {yields} D*{ell}{nu}{sub {ell}}. The measurements are based on a data set of 348 fb{sup -1} of e{sup +}e{sup -} collisions at {radical}s = 10.58 GeV recorded with the BABAR detector. Assuming isospin symmetry, measured pionic branching fractions are combined into {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} {pi}{sup -}{ell}{sup +}{nu}{sub {ell}}) = (1.54 {+-} 0.17{sub (stat)} {+-} 0.09{sub (syst)}) x 10{sup -4}. First evidence of the B{sup +} {yields} {eta}{ell}{sup +}{nu}{sub {ell}} decay is seen; its branching fraction is measured to be {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} {eta}{ell}{sup +}{nu}{sub {ell}}) = (0.64 {+-} 0.20{sub (stat)} {+-} 0.03{sub (syst)}) x 10{sup -4}. It is determined that {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} {eta}{prime}{ell}{sup +}{nu}{sub {ell}}) < 0.47 x 10{sup -4} to 90% confidence. Partial branching fractions for the pionic decays in ranges of the momentum transfer and various published calculations of the B {yields} {pi} hadronic form factor are used to obtain values of the magnitude of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element V{sub ub} between 3.61 and 4.07 x 10{sup -3}.


We present predictions for the neutron matter equation of state, from leading to fourth order of chiral effective field theory, using recently developed, accurate chiral nucleon-nucleon potentials. We find the impact of subleading three-neutron forces to be mild and attractive. We also show order-by-order predictions for the symmetry energy, and discuss its density dependence in relation to empirical constraints.


The article discusses the relationships among intelligence development, course reformation, and instructions in optional music courses at college level. The article focuses on how to integrate intelligence development of undergraduates to instructional practices within college music courses by reforming those courses. The author emphasized that reformation of the music courses should aim to develop students' intelligence and quality and therefore, improve students' accomplishments on performing arts. Finally, the author concludes that in order to achieve the goal, instructors ought to construct the content of the courses and redesign the curriculum; and simultaneously, motivate students' participation and creativity.


Shocks driven by fast coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are generally believed to be the dominant accelerators in large, gradual solar energetic particle (SEP) events. A key challenge for this notion has been the highly variable spectral and compositional characteristics of these events above a few tens of MeV per nucleon. We have recently proposed that this variability results from the interplay of two factors: evolution in the shock-normal angle as the shock moves outward from the Sun; and a compound seed population, typically comprising at least suprathermals from the corona (or solar wind) and suprathermals from flares. We present here a simple analytical implementation of these ideas. Our calculations semiquantitatively reproduce key features of the observed variability, including spectral morphologies and energy dependence in Fe/O, 3He/4He, and mean ionic charges, in ways that are consistent with correlations in the data. The model makes a prediction for the average high-energy Fe/O enhancement that is borne out by 30 years of observations; the model also provides a quantitative explanation for the Breneman & Stone fractionation effect, a fundamental but previously unexplained aspect of SEP phenomenology. Our calculations must be bolstered by future efforts incorporating realistic CME-shock simulations and a rigorous treatment of particle transport. Suprathermal densities in the corona, as well as details of the injection process at shocks of arbitrary obliquity, require further investigation. Nevertheless, these first results suggest a comprehensive framework for understanding the complexity of high-energy variability in terms of shock physics for most, if not all, large SEP events.


The present invention provides a method and apparatus for performing encryption / decryption of data on mass storage media. The plurality of encryption / decryption keys associated with the encryption / decryption algorithms may be utilized in the other storage area on the medium, such as a block / sector on the hard disk drive. In addition, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for combining the keys and the random number in order to further improve the security of the data. Clerical script preferred embodiment of the present invention, the number of blocks / sectors is used to select a key and a random number associated with the algorithm. In another aspect, the present invention can be used to encrypt / decode the e- mail, network traffic, and other types of electronic data. In addition, the device providing the authentication session when the computer boots from the hard disk, and change the master boot record (Master Boot Record) of the disk, the system can also be used to select a particular operating system and / or certain key Forwarder .


The aluminizing of precipitation hardening stainless steel at low temperature was carried out by the process of mechanical energy aided aluminizing.The uniformity layer with thickness of 11 μm can be obtained after aluminizing at 500 ℃ for 10 h.The aluminized layer is researched by mechanical performance testing and micro-hardness analysis,the micro-hardness of aluminized layer is two times higher than that of matrix material,base on keeping the mechanical properties of matrix material isn't changed.


The present invention is ibuprofen, ketoprofen, designing and synthesizing the addition salts with vitamin C stearate-based derivatives and therewith medicinal possible acid or alkali arylpropionic acid type nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as naproxen. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs typified ibuprofen is one antipyretic analgesic drug conventional. Besides anti-inflammatory activity, more pronounced analgesia has antipyretic and very good safety, as well as adult person, elderly and babies, applicable to taking infant. If converted it into addition salts with vitamin C stearate-based derivatives and therewith medicinal possible acid or alkali, can improve its water solubility, easily administered intravenously, it reduced the effect onset time, the bioavailability improved, it reduced the stimulatory effect on gastrointestinal tract, to enhance the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, antiphlogistic as new drugs, antipyretic, analgesic, arthritis, menstrual cramps, multiple sclerosis, cystic pulmonary fibrosis and treatment of premature babies patent ductus arteriosus, is used to prevent and treat stroke-ischemic brain injury, Alzheimer's disease and certain cancers.


We study the dynamics of the term-structure of interest rates in Mexico. Specifically, we investigate time variation in bond risk premia and the common factors that have influenced the behavior of the yield curve. We find that term-premia in government bonds appear to be time-varying. We then estimate a principal components model. We find that over 95% of the total variation in the yield curve can be explained by two factors. The first factor captures movements in the level of the yield curve, while the second one captures movements in the slope. Moreover, we find that the level factor is positively correlated with measures of long-term inflation expectations and that the slope factor is negatively correlated with the overnight interest rate.


Neprilysin 2 (NEP2), a recently identified member of the M13 subfamily of metalloproteases, shares the highest degree of homology with the prototypical member of the family neprilysin. Whereas the study of the in vitro enzymatic activity of NEP2 shows that it resembles that of NEP as it cleaves the same substrates often at the same amide bonds and binds the same inhibitory compounds albeit with different potencies, its physiological role remains elusive because of the lack of selective inhibitors. To aid in the design of these novel compounds and better understand the different inhibitory patterns of NEP and NEP2, the x-ray structure of NEP was used as a template to build a model of the NEP2 active site. The results of our modeling suggest that the overall structure of NEP2 closely resembles that of NEP. The model of the active site reveals a 97% sequence identity with that of NEP with differences located within the S (cid:1) 2 subsite of NEP2 where Ser 133 and Leu 739 replace two glycine residues in NEP. To validate the proposed model, site-directed mutagenesis was performed on a series of residues of NEP2, mutants expressed


Hideki ORIGASA. Statistical methods for the analysis of longitudinal data with binary responses. (Under the direction of JAMES D. KNOKE). Medical researches often involve a time factor. Each subject has observations at several occasions. These are called longitudinal data. This work is only concerned with those with binary responses. The main issue of interest is to test the treatment effect incorporating the time factor with respect to the frequency of having responses. The purpose of this work is to present two models for longitudinal data with binary responses and develop statistical methodology for analysis under these models. The first model is referred to as a Markov Logistic Regression Model (MLRM) which models the transition probabilities as a logistic function of covariates including the previous outcome. This model has advantages over other models in a different way. Its advantage over the multivariate linear model is to delete less incomplete observations. Allowing time dependent covariates is the advantage over the Zeger, Liang, and Self's (1985) model (abbreviated as ZLS model). Finally, the advantage over the Grizzle, Starmer, and Koch's (1969) model (abbreviated as GSK model) is to allow continuous covariates as well as discrete ones. Based on thiS model, the maximum likelihood estimate and the likelihood ratio test criterion are derived. Some asymptotic theorems are also proved.


This paper re‐examines inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the 32 subnational Mexican states based on quarterly data from 2005 to 2015, which includes rising drug‐related crimes. We estimate our models using panel data methods by type of crime, state‐level indicators (real wages and electricity consumption), macroeconomic forces (the real exchange rate and interest rate), and a dummy variable for the financial crisis of 2008–2009. We employ a flexible lag‐length method and find that homicides and thefts have negative and statistically significant effects on FDI, while other crimes have no effects. Subsample work suggests higher negative effects in the most violent states. (JEL F15, F21, F23, F36)


Based on the problems of many switching devices and low quality output voltage of conventional multilevel inverter, an asymmetrical hybrid multilevel inverter topology is presented. This topology can decrease the numbers of switching devices on the condition of the same number of level of the output voltage. The hybrid moderation control strategy adaptable to hybrid multilevel inverter is adopted, which avoids load current backflow and reduces total harmonic distortion (THD) of output voltage. The simulation result indicates the validity of the inverter topology and its modulation strategy.


It flocked materials, and clothing incorporating flocked material is disclosed. Flocked material includes a base and a plurality of flocking fibers. Base is formed from two-dimensional material, and having a first surface and an opposite second surface. Flocking fibers are secured to the second surface. Furthermore, textile flocking may form a plurality of openings exposing at least a portion of the second surface of the substrate. When incorporated in clothing, textile flocking can form at least a portion of the inner surface of the garment facing inward. Therefore, textile flocking may be arranged to contact an individual wearing the clothing.


Background: Schools are the front lines of children's physical activity. Students who participate in daily physical activity (DPA) within their classrooms show improved physical strength, physical fitness, academic success, and mental well-being. However, teachers face many barriers to DPA implementation. The current study evaluated whether providing a DPA toolkit that offers greater access to DPA resources and requires minimal training for teachers to implement could improve DPA implementation. Methods: A total of 343 teachers from Ontario, Canada, completed a pre-survey assessing DPA practices and were given access to a DPA toolkit containing easily accessible and usable DPA resources to implement between January and March 2023. A total of 142 participants completed the post-survey to assess for changes in DPA practice. Several repeated measures of ANOVA were conducted with a three-level factor of grade level (1–3, 4–6, and 7–8) and within the subject factor of time (pre- to post-survey) on key outcome variables. Results: Findings revealed that the DPA toolkit improved DPA fidelity (p = 0.007, η2p = 0.053) and promoted teacher confidence in implementing DPA (p < 0.001, η2p = 0.285) and enjoyment in implementing DPA (p < 0.001, η2p = 0.177). Many improvements were most prominent among teachers teaching grades 1–3 and 4–6. Conclusions: By providing teachers with adequate DPA resources that minimize teacher training, there can be significant improvements in DPA implementation with notable cognitive and psycho-emotional benefits for both teachers and students.


This paper examines the effects of radiation pressure and triaxiality of two stars (primaries) surrounded by a belt (circumbinarydisc)onthepositionsandstabilityofathirdbodyofaninfinitesimalmassintheframeworkoftheEllipticrestricted three body problem (ER3BP). We have obtained analytical solutions to the triangular equilibrium points and their stability and have also investigated these solutions numerically and graphically using radiating binary system (Xi- Bootis and Kruger 60). It is observed that their positions and stability are affected by semi-major axis, eccentricity of the orbit, triaxiality, radiation pressure of the primaries and potential from the belt. The perturbed parameters show the destabilizing tendency by decreasing the range of stability. The triangular points are found to bestable for 0 < µ < µc where µc is the critical mass parameter. The stability analysis for the binary system yielded a stable outcome when we consider the range of mass parameterµ in the region of the Routhonian critical mass ratio (0.03852) when the effect of circumbinary disc is dominant. We found triaxiality and radition factors inducing instability even within this range.


Introduction Polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) are of technological importance in the development of switchable windows, electro-optic shutters, displays, and, most recently, switchable gratings. The most versatile method for forming PDLC structures is photoinitiated polymerization of an initially homogenous mixture containing reactive monomers and liquid crystal (LC) molecules. These prepolymer syrups are typically solventfree and have low viscosity. Large variations in the final two-phase structure can be obtained by varying either the LC composition, the intensity of the curing radiation, or the photo-polymerization chemistry (free-radical or stepgrowth). The breadth of the accessible two-phase structure results in a broad range of electro-optical properties [1]. The optical characteristics of the PDLC film depend on the nature and rate of polymerization of the matrix polymer, the presence of small molecule additives, and the polymerization protocol. Understanding and controlling the polymerization mechanism are especially important for holographic curing of PDLC films, in which a spatial variation of light intensity results in a patterned LC droplet distribution. This work examines the resultant morphology of photoinitiated phase separation of a penta-acrylate/LC system. The structural heterogeneity observed with increasing LC concentration underscores the importance of the polymerization mechanism in controlling the twophase morphology in PDLCs. We used x-ray scattering to observe the changes that occur in a system when variations are made to the prepolymer syrup recipe and when different curing conditions are utilized. The small q region required for evaluation of the data is not accessible with conventional small-angle x-ray scattering, so we used ultrasmall-angle x-ray scattering (USAXS). The region of interest lies within 0.00001 ≤ q (Å) ≤ 0.1, the range covered by the UNI-CAT USAXS instrument at the APS.


The structure and development regularity of floral organs and receptive period of female flowers were studied for Carya cathayensis by means of emasculation,bagging and controlled pollination techniques.The results showed that there was an eminent adaptive mechanism for anemophilous pollination in the floral organs of C.cathayensis.The pollinating period of male flower was short,which concentrated in only 3d and exhibited eruptive phenomenon.The color of female flower stigma changed successively in the order of turquois,reddish,cerise,purplish red and atropurpureus during flowering stage,and the development process of female flowers was different.The optimal receptive stage for C.cathayensis female flowers was when the stigma color exhibited cerise,by which the fruit setting percentage could reach 47.77%.The receptive period of female flowers was about 10d waiting for pollination.


The use of electric energy is rapidly increasing, so it is essential that users improve their understanding of electric consumption, thus reducing waste and improper use. The present work uses Machine Learning techniques (specifically Linear Regression and Random Forest) to model the relationship between electricity consumption and climatic conditions within the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Santa Catarina (IFSC) and the Ministries Esplanade (headquarters of the Brazilian Executive, in Brasilia). Historical data of active power, ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure obtained from the database of the project PGEN. The results show that the model allows predicting the instantaneous energy consumption of the localities with an average error of 22.75% KW. The building of the Ministries Esplanade obtained the lower errors, and the campus Florianópolis obtained the bigger erros.


Abstract Assessment is a central feature of student learning in higher education and has a strong influence on the student experience. Accordingly, the appropriate communication of assessment aims is a priority for all higher education institutions. This study proposes an analytical framework for the interpretation and creation of assessments across higher education disciplines. The framework suggests that assessments can be categorised according to rhetorical purposes, formats, modes and group arrangements. Assessments from three degree programmes at one Australian university are analysed using the framework to show its usefulness in classifying and evaluating task components and generating broad images of degrees based on assessment regimes. We draw on these practical applications to explain and compare discipline-specific qualities of each degree, and argue that the framework might enhance the communication of assessment aims to benefit higher education stakeholders.


Objective To determine the effects of dibutyl phthalate(DBP) on female mice reproductive system. Methods The healthy Kunming adult female mice with body weight from 22 g to 30 g were randomly divided into 4 groups,one as reagent control group. The other three as treated groups, 12 female mice per group. In the exposure groups,the mice were administrated by peritoneal injection with DBP at the dose of 400?40?4mg/kg body weight,respectively. The mice in control group were administrated with the same amount of vehicle(dimethyl sulfoxide). All the mice were administrated once a day,continuously for 14 days. The estrous cycles were observed during the period of the experimental study. On the fifteenth and twenty-eightieth days,the mice were sacrificed. The organ coefficients of uterus and ovary were determined,and the histopathological changes of the left ovary were observed. Results The estrous cycles in 400 mg/kg body weight dose group and 40 mg/kg body weight dose group were markedly delayed with a significant dose-effect relationship. The organ coefficients of the uterus in the groups exposed to DBP were significantly higher than that of the control group. On the fifteenth days,the number of mature follicles in 400 mg/kg body weight dose group was less than that of the control group,but the number of atretic follicles in 400 mg/kg body weight dose group and 40 mg/kg body weight dose group were more than that of the control group. On the twenty-eightieth days,the number of atretic follicles in 400 mg/kg body weight dose group was more than that of the control group. Conclusion Dibutyl phthalate had adverse effects on the reproduction-endocrine system of adult female mice. DBP might demonstrate an estrogenic activity in vivo.


The following article presents the final results of the design and content validation of a generic competencies dictionary for the trained psy chologist. Different authors, such as Collazos and Garcia (1999), argue that the research and iden tification of competencies have helped to solve the weakness of traditional psychometric tests used to predict worker's productivity. More over, Peiro (2003) mentions that in defining the objectives to be achieved by education, it is required to determine the qualifications or com pe tencies that should have a professional. However, in the field of Psychology, there is little research leading to the development of tools for identifying and evaluating competencies among students and professionals (ANECA, 2005; Cas tro Solano, 2004; Gonzalez, 2007; Herrera, Restre po & Uribe, 2008; Perez-Santamarina & Lo pez, 2006; Ruiz, Jaraba & Romero, 2005; Uribe, Aristizabal, Barona & Lopez, 2009). A theoretical overview of the concept of com petency has been made, taking in to account different approaches, like the sociolinguistic (Hymes, 1972) and the job performance (Mc Clelland, 1973). From the revised definitions and inter pretations given to the concept of com petence, it is concluded that they integrate selfknowledge (motivation, initiative, and teamwork with others), self-teaching (observation, explana tion, comprehension, and analysis), and 'knowhow' (performance based on strategies and pro ce dures) (Braslavsky & Acosta, 2006; Cejas, 2003; Echeverria, 2002; Ibarra, 2000; Tobon, 2004). Different classifications to the concept of competencies that have been applied to different contexts were also reviewed. For instance, Gor dillo (2003) argues that competencies can be grouped into methodological, technical, social, and individual. Alvarez, Gomez, and Ratto (2004) classify them in technique and general compe tencies, similar to the one proposed by Ruiz, Jaraba, and Romero (2008) and the Agencia Na cional de Evaluacion de la Calidad y Acredi tacion (ANECA, 2005), whoever divide them in general (or transverse) and specific com petencies. For the purpose of this research and taking in to account these classifications, it is proposed for this work a distinction between academic, professional, and work-related generic competencies. The creation of the generic competencies dictionary for the trained psychologists follow ed the guidelines for instrumental studies as suggested by Montero and Leon (2005) and Carretero and Perez (2007): the conceptual outline of the evaluation subject, and the design and qualitative evaluation of the items. In the content validation by expert evaluators, partic ipat ed six professional psychologists with exper tise in the fields of research methodology and Organizational Psychology, who are teach ers of the Department of Social Sciences from a private university in Cali (Colombia). Sub sequently, the pilot application of the instrument was attended by 23 people: 7 final year students of the Career of Psychology and 16 graduates of the same university. These research findings led to the creation of a generic competencies dictionary for public use, composed by 13 academic competencies, 12 professional competencies, and 10 work-related competencies. This dictionary is the result of a research aimed to identify the most significant competencies, as well as the definitions that fit these best, to ensure the recognition of crucial requirements in the field and their adequate implementation among psychologists. It is concluded that this dictionary is useful to understand standards and determine competen cies that a professional psychologist must obtain Charria Ortiz, Sarsosa Prowesk y Arenas Ortiz 300 INTERDISCIPLINARIA, 2011, 28, 2, 299-322 8" TRABAJO CHARRIA ORTIZ 31 de oct:Maquetaci n 1 03/01/2012 12:51 p.m. PAEgina 300


All of the timber blimp hangars built during World War II followed the same innovative plan: each measured roughly 1,086 ft long, 297 ft wide, and 183 ft high, enclosing a floor area of more than 241,000 sq ft.


Subject of study is method of estimating resources of the distributed system like a part of scientific problem related to the load balancing and efficient utilization of resources of the distributed system. The paper presents a method of estimating resources of the distributed system, such as network nodes, the processor, memory, and band-width. The proposed method allows to calculate the loading of each node separately in a distributed system and the entire system. Classes of service flows taken into account in the calculation of these resources loading. The complex value of imbalance of load server entered, which taking into ac-count the weight coefficients for processor, memory, and network bandwidth. These weight coefficients allow to select the importance of each network resource (CPU, memory and bandwidth) compared with each other. Also, this method allows to calculate the imbalance of the system servers. Using the method in load balancing allows to distribute requests by servers such way that deviation of the load servers from the average value was minimal, that allow to provide higher system performance parameters (utilization efficiency) and faster processing flows. Conclusions. The work proposed a solution to the actual scientific problem of assessing the load of nodes of a distributed system. The proposed method is based on calculating the processor load, memory load, and channel bandwidth by flows of different service classes. Also introduced a complex value of server load imbalance, taking into account weights for processor, memory and network bandwidth. Accordingly, this method allows you to calculate the imbalance of all servers in the system, the average operating time for various balancing algorithms and the efficiency of using the system resources.


Uptake and bioconcentration of heavy metals by vegetables around a lead-zinc smeltery was studied. The results indicated that the content of lead and cadmium in all surveyed vegetables exceeds the limits of their standards out and away, the content of zinc only in root vegetable, shallot vegetable and leaf vegetables exceeds the limit of it standard a little, and the content of cupper in vegetables is under limit of it standard. There are some differences in the uptake of a certain heavy metal element by various vegetables, in the uptake of various heavy metal elements by a certain vegetable, and in the uptake of a certain heavy metal element by a certain vegetable in various sampling sections. The orders of content of a certain element in vegetables from various sampling sections are similar. The biggest bioconcentration factor ( BCF) of cupper was found in leaf vegetable and the least in melon vegetable; the BCF of zinc was found the biggest in root vegetable, next in shallot vegetable and the least in fruit vegetable; the biggest BCF of lead was found in root vegetable; the BCF of cadmium appears root vegetable shallot vegetable leaf vegetable fruit vegetable melon vegetable legume vegetable.


Contemporary Slovenian language standardisation includes the revision of the normative guide, a process taking place since 2013 within the Commission on Orthography. This article presents an overview of the scientific basis of this process as well as describes the systematic inclusion of different segments of the public in the phase of assessing the suitability of current orthographic rules and formulating new ones. This is due to an awareness that a normative guide can be accepted by the wider language community only through a convergence of differing opinions and codification based on arguments.


Natural flower induction is a major pineapple industry problem. It usually occurs when shortening days and low temperatures give raise to increased ethylene production in the leaf tissue and plant stem apex which in turn stimulates flowering. Natural flowering fruit matures 4 to 6 weeks ahead of the normal summer harvest resulting in the need for extra harvest passes and considerable yield losses. Ethylene is produced through the sequential action of ACC synthase and ACC oxidase. Our team has cloned an ACC synthase gene from pineapple (ACACS2), which is expressed in meristems and activated under the environmental conditions that induce flowering in nature. Genetic constructs have been produced containing ACACS2 in sense orienta¬tion to induce silencing of the host gene in the plant by co-suppression mechanisms. Two independent lines of transgenic plants have been produced and field trials have been conducted in Queensland for four years in order to study the characteristics of the transgenic lines. We have identified a group of transgenic plants demonstrating inherited flowering delay and confirmed co-suppression of the ACACS2 gene due to methylation.


Inductances in physical distributed circuits of power transformers for simulation based frequency response interpretation have been so far calculated analytically based on internal transformer design and core material property data. For practical application on in-service power transformers, the inductances should be appropriately determined based on analysis of terminal measurements. This paper presents a study case on a black-box power transformer for proving this application possibility.


Infrared breast thermography with the potential of predicting the future risk of developing breast cancer, has been considered as an early breast abnormality detection tool. This paper investigates the importance of selecting the discriminative features for improving the classification accuracy of the infrared thermography based breast abnormality detection systems. Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon statistical test has been used here to select the best discriminative features from a feature set of 24 features, extracted from each breast thermogram of DBT-TU-JU and DMR databases. Three set of features: FStat, STex and SSigFS generated from these 24 extracted features are then fed into six most widely used classifiers for comparing the efficiency of each feature set in breast abnormality detection. The experimental results show that among all three feature sets, statistically significant feature set (SSigFS) provides more accuracy in discriminating the abnormal breast thermograms from the normal.


Abstract The influence of a Winkler elastic foundation and the slenderness ratio on the non-conservative instability of cantilever non-uniform beams of rectangular cross-section with constant height and linearly varied breadth (T1), constant breadth and linearly varied height (T2) and double taper (T3), subjected to an end concentrated follower force is investigated. It is found that without the elastic foundation the critical flutter load of the non-uniform beam decreases as the taper ratio of the beam is increased. However, when the elastic foundation modulus is greater than a critical value, the critical flutter load of the taper beams is always greater than that of uniform beams. Within the domain considered, when the taper ratio of the beam lies in a certain range, several critical turning points, including a jump phenomenon, may exist for the critical flutter load. The jump mechanism and the influence of the elastic foundation modulus and the slenderness ratio on the jump phenomenon of Timoshenko beams is explored.


Editor, C hronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is a rare (1 ⁄ 200 000– 1 000 000 births) primary immunodeficiency that affects phagocytes leading to intracellular bacterial and fungal infections and granuloma formation. Chronic granulomatous disease manifests typically as pneumonia, infectious dermatitis and abscess formation in the absence of antibiotic prophylaxis (Johnston 2001). Blepharoconjunctivitis and chorioretinitis are the most common manifestations in the eye (Goldblatt et al. 1999; Kim et al. 2003). A 38-year-old male patient with known X-linked CGD was remitted to our clinic and presented with bilateral red eyes and pain especially in his left eye, which began 1 week earlier. He also suffered from ulcerative colitis and was receiving treatment with oral trimethoprime with sulphonamide. His symptoms worsened with time. He had already received local treatment (fucidic acid and later chloramphenicol drops) from the local GP without any improvement. BCVA was 7 ⁄ 10 and 4 ⁄ 10 at the right (RE) and left eye (LE), respectively. Slit-lamp examination of the RE showed no signs of blepharitis or secretion but mild conjunctival injection. Limbal neovascularization was seen, both deep and superficial, predominantly at the inferior half of cornea with a mild corneal thinning. A slight opacity was seen in the peripheral cornea. No other finds in the cornea, anterior chamber or the posterior segment were observed. The LE showed no signs of blepharitis but severe chemosis and injection, mild purulent secretion and neovascularization, both deep and superficial, along with a discrete corneal thinning over the same area as in the RE. Paracentrally inferiorly in the left cornea, a large infiltrate was noticed (1.5–2 mm B), under a superficial erosion (Fig. 1). A mild to moderate inflammation with precipitates, some flare and cells, was observed in the anterior chamber. The posterior segment was unremarkable except for an inactive chorioretinal scar. A standard conjunctival culture and corneal scraping were taken, and levofloxacin drops were prescribed at high doses together with oral tetracycline. The patient came for control the day after. He reported a mild improvement in his symptoms but the examination showed two satellite lesions next to the large infiltrate in the LE. During the following days, the conjunctival injection and the size, appearance and density of the infiltrate diminished. BCVA rose to 7 ⁄ 10 and 6 ⁄ 10 in the RE and LE, respectively. Approximately 17 days after the beginning of treatment, dexamethasone drops (three times daily) added. Two weeks after the infiltrate had completely vanished, the cornea showed a thinning with mild fibrosis (Fig. 2). The deep limbal blood vessels had regressed but not the superficial ones, which had spread to the area of thinness. The final BCVA was 8–9 ⁄ 10 and 8 ⁄ 10 in the RE and LE, respectively, with no subjective symptoms. The cultures showed no bacteria, fungi and acanthamoeba. Immunodeficient patients have a higher incidence of lid and conjunctival infections. Our patient presented with severe symptoms in spite of antibiotic treatment. The clinical diagnosis was a bacterial ⁄ infectious keratitis with a large infiltrate–this was not supported by the negative culture. More potent antibiotics were given topically and orally and a certain improvement was observed over time. Complete resolution and healing of the infiltrate occurred with a certain corneal thinning. The finding of the mild corneal thinning at the periphery along with the presence of moderate to severe neovascularization into the cornea can be interpreted as earlier marginal and perhaps ulcerative lesions ⁄keratitis which obviously healed without treatment, apparently noninfectious. Fig. 1. Severe chemosis and injection at the left eye is observed. New blood vessels at the limbal area, both deep and superficial, along with a mild corneal thinning are seen. Paracentrally inferiorly a large infiltrate is noticed, (1.5 to 2 mm B) with superficial erosion. Fig. 2. One month after the first appointment the infiltrate had completely vanished and cornea showed a thinning with mild fibrosis. The deep blood vessels at the limbal area had regressed but not the superficial ones, which had spread to the area of thinness. Acta Ophthalmologica 2011


Designing Guidance Book for A Beginner Tour Guide
(Wanti Septiana, 2016: 50 Pages, 47 Pictures, 2 Diagrams)
This report discusses about guidance book design for a beginner tour guide. The purposes of this report were to find out the way to design a guidance book for a beginner tour guide and the information that should be informed in the guidance book. The Research and Development Modification method by Sukmadinata et. al (2005) was used to design the guidance book. The Research and Development Modification consists of preliminary study, model development and final product testing step. The result shows that to design a simple guidance book using Microsoft Office Word 2010 and Photoscape is quite a success. The result also shows that guidance book should inform about the tips and guidance for a beginner tour guide. The use of simple phrases is necessary so the reader could easily understand the guidance book.


Disclosed are methods for activating an NKT cell, methods of stimulating an immune response in a subject, methods of improving vaccine efficacy, and methods of treating an infection. Also disclosed are methods of promoting tumor rejection, treating cancer, modulating autoimmunity and inhibiting allergen-induced hypersensitivity in subjects. The methods include contacting an NKT cell with a bacterial glycolipid complexed with a CD1 molecule to activate the NKT cell. The bacterial glycolipid may be derived from a member of the Class Alphaproteobacteria.


SrTiOx (110) homoepitaxial films as buffer layers grown on SrTiO3 (110) substrates are investigated as regards their effect on the surface flatness of high-T c YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) epitaxial films grown on them. It is observed that SrTiOx films thinner than 30 nm grow laterally so as to decrease the surface roughness of the SrTiO3 substrates, while thicker SrTiOx films grow three-dimensionally with conical islands so as to increase their surface roughness. From the former effect, all-epitaxial YBCO/SrTiOx /YBCO/SrTiOx łSrTiO3 (sub.) tetralayers with the maximum surface roughness (R max) less than 6 nm in a large area are successfully grown.


A spandex fiber dry spinning component and spinning part. The spinning component comprises: a temperature controlled box (3), which comprises: a housing (31), where the housing (31) is longitudinally provided with multiple polymer solution channels (32) separated from each other, areas in the housing (31) other than the polymer solution channels (32) are cavities, and the cavities are used for circulation of a fluid medium that exchanges heat with a spandex fiber dry spinning polymer solution in the polymer solution channels (32); and, a spinneret (4) detachably connected to the temperature controlled box (3), where the spinneret (4) comprises multiple filament-spraying nozzle sets (41) separated from each other, and the multiple filament-spraying nozzle sets (41) are correspondingly in communication with outlets of the multiple polymer solution channels (32). The spinning part comprises a metering apparatus and the spinning component. The metering apparatus is detachably connected to the temperature controlled box (3) and is used for metering and allocating the spandex fiber dry spinning polymer solution to the multiple polymer solution channels (32). The spinning component and the spinning part are convenient to install and service and are highly efficient.


This paper describes an analytical subdomain model to predict the magnetic field distributions in the semi-closed surface-mounted permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSMs) due to magnet segmentations with radial magnetization (RM). The magnet segments per pole can be virtually represented by finite number of permanent magnet (PM) blocks and Fourier decompositions. The model can also determine the optimum magnet pole-arcs for each segment and the optimum airgap spacing between the segments. The analytical model is then applied to evaluate the performance of a three-phase, 12-slot/8-pole, surface-mounted PMSM having two segmented magnets per pole with RM. With design objective for minimum cogging torque and minimum total harmonic distortion in phase back-emf waveforms, we obtain that the optimum settings are 147.6◦ elect. for magnet segment pole-arc and 11.2◦ elect. for airgap spacing between the magnet segments. These analytical results are further compared and validated by 2-D finite element analysis (FEA). Additionally, we also compare the results with those from the optimum magnet pole-arc of one magnet segment per pole machine. It is observed that the cogging torque and total harmonic distortion THDv of the phase back-EMF are significantly reduced by 89% and 25%, respectively, with constraint and assumption that both machines utilize similar total magnet volume.


Depression is a mood or affective, disorder, because it is primarily concerned with a change in mood. Everyone feels sad from time to time, but depression is an illness characterized by severe and prolonged feelings of sadness, dejection and hopelessness. One in four women and one in six men will suffer from depression at some point in their lives. Depressive disorders come in different types, just as it is the case with other illness such as heart disease. Depression is a complicated illness, which can involve a number of contributing factors, genes, environment, diet, lifestyle, brain, chemicals, psychology and personality. This review paves regarding various factors influencing depression, types of depression, treatment of depression and impact of transe cranial magnetic


Flow stress data on fine-grained material are needed for FEM modelling of the final passes in hot rolling. However, a fine grain size may be difficult to retain in reheated specimens for hot compression tests, and the flow stress usually has to be determined using specimens with rather coarse grain sizes. The results for several steels tested in austenitic condition show that the increase in grain size from about 15 μm to 50 μm causes a decrease of 5 - 25% in the mean flow stress (calculated over the strain range of 0 - 0.15) and further coarsening has hardly any influence. The effect of grain size variation can be described by respective alterations in the strain-hardening exponent and it can be accounted for by mathematical correction.


An apparatus comprising: an imaging system (10), which unit is configured to collect data from the transmit cycle; monitoring instrument (20, 22), which is configured to cycle variations of the period measuring unit; and an electronic device (40), which is configured to vary the time period based on the correlation of the transmit data in the cycle of the change by the measuring instrument monitoring unit is changed, positioning the periodic variation in the transmission of the collected data the image features corresponding to the unit. Locating image features may be verified in the following manner: The thresholding of the image of the emission projection data generator to generate a mask image; identifying said mask image (i) wherein open circles, (ii) a hollow characterized oval, (iii) wherein a circular cavity and (iv) wherein one elliptical cavity; identification based on whether the operation is successful and the verification image to the feature location.


Objective:To investigate the possibility , operation procedures and the outcome of laparoscopic partial cholecystectomy( LPC ) in the treatment of congenital septate cholecyst with gallstone. Methods:7 patients diagnosed congenital septate cholecyst with gallstone were performed laparoscopic partial cholecystectomy. general anesthesia were used. The bottom of the bladders (far chamber ) were opened and the stones were gotten out. The wall of the chamber was dissected after the mucosa was destroyed and then the remained brim was closed. Results:The 7 patients recovered well and the gallstones were not reappeared within 1~5 years. Conclusion: It is reliable and with well outcome that the laparoscopic partial cholecystectomy can be used in the treatment of congenital septate cholecyst with gallstone.


The article deals with physical education, which is the basis for the spiritual and physical culture of the individual, which creates a system of human values implemented through the prism of a healthy lifestyle. In the process of development and formation of social educational systems, physical culture and sports are the dominant factors influencing the formation and development of the physical qualities of a person.


This study optimized the operational parameters of removing SO2 from flue gas via a polymeric hollow fiber membrane contactor (HFMC) using the response surface methodology (RSM). The distilled water and polypropylene hollow fibers were applied as the adsorbent and membrane material, respectively. Three experimental parameters were chosen as independent variables: liquid flow rate, gas flow rate, and initial SO2 concentration. The SO2 removal efficiency was significantly affected by the initial SO2 concentration. The optimal ratio of liquid-to-gas flow rate was found to be 0.25 to reach maximum separation efficiency (98.81%). The optimal value of the liquid flow rate was 33 l/h, and the optimal gas flow rate was 131 l/h. The effect of CO2 presence, module length, fibers number, temperature, and the adsorbent nature were also investigated under optimal values obtained for the ratio of liquid-to-gas flow rate. Results indicated that CO2 presence in the flue gas slightly affects SO2 removal using water as an absorbent in HFCM. Furthermore, it was indicated that the SO2 removal efficiency was a function of the flue gas temperature and number of fibers: it decreased as the temperature rose from 20 to 50°C and the fiber numbers increased from 300 to 1000. This study offers a model to predict the efficiency of SO2 removal using HFMC under different conditions and provides the ground to further explore the industrial applications of this technology.


To tested on the changing of color difference, globulins dialyzing and sensory, inspection value in pork meat by adding different naringin and in different store days. The results showed that adding different naringin obviously changed the L*, a*, b* value of the porky thigh meat. There are good effecting by adding naringin of 5g/kg .Considering the relationship of color difference, economic efficiency, globulins dialyzing and sensory inspection value, adding naringin of 5 g/kg had the perfect results in advancing the meat color and sensory inspection and getting the best effect.


Stethorus punctillum Weise (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is a Palearctic species first found in North America in the 1940s (Putman 1955). Commercial mass-rearing methods were developed in the late 1990s (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, Ontario, and Applied Bio-nomics Ltd, Saanich, British Columbia). The beetle is now released in North America to control two-spotted spider mites, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae). Knowledge of the life-history traits of S. punctillum is necessary for effective use of the predator in greenhouses. Putman (1955) provides useful information, but his results cannot be readily interpreted with respect to larval voracity, lower developmental temperature threshold, and developmental time in degreedays (°d), traits that affect efficacy. In this note I report new results relating to these life-history traits and to beetle releases in greenhouse vegetable crops.


Plant, invertebrate and vertebrate proteins which show anti-galactan combining specificities were used in precipitation and inhibition studies with arabinogalactan preparations from wheat and ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum). Of the agglutinins studied, only mouse anti-galactan myeloma protein J539 showed strong reactivity with wheat arabinoglactan-peptide. Weak reactions were observed with the agglutinins from the clam Tridacna maxima, the sponge Axinella polypoides and the anemone Cerianthus membranaceus. No reactions were detected with lectins from the plants Abrus precatorius and Ricinus communis. Reactions readily occurred between Lolium arabinogalactan-protein and the invertebrate and vertebrate agglutinins. Removal of terminal arabinosyl residues from the wheat and Lotium arabinogalactans either by mild acid hydrolysis or by treatment with an arabinofuranosidase increased the reactivity of both peptidoglycans with all of the agglutinins examined except the Ricinus RCAl lectin. Results obtained with wheat arabinogalactan indicate that few D-galactose units are terminal and available for reaction. The difference in reactivities between the wheat and Lotium arabinogalactans may be due to the differences in the galactose:arabinose ratios or to differences in linkage of the galactosyl residues on the two peptidoglycans, or both. Results indicate that the mouse anti-galactan could be a useful reagent for the subcellular localization of wheat arabinogalactan and that tridacnin and Axinella agglutinins could be used to localize the arabinogalactan in L. multiflorum cells.


In the complex pattern classification problem, the reliability of classifier output for the patterns located at different regions of the data set may be different. In order to efficiently improve the classification accuracy, we propose a new method to correct the original classifier output using the local knowledge of the classifier performance in different regions. The training data set can be divided into some small clusters corresponding to different regions. The prior knowledge of the classifier performance on each cluster is characterized by a confusion matrix representing the conditional probability of the pattern belonging to one class but committed to another class by the classifier. The matrix associated with each cluster is learnt by minimizing an error criteria using training data, which is assigned different weights to achieve the highest possible accuracy. If the classification accuracy of the training data in one cluster can be improved according to the corrected classification results, the associated confusion matrix becomes valid. Otherwise, the confusion matrix is invalid and patterns in this cluster cannot be modified any more. For each object, if it lies in the cluster with valid confusion matrix, its classification result will be corrected by the matrix before making the class decision. The above correction process can be regarded as the fusion of local and global information. Several experiments are given to test the performance of the proposed method using real data sets, and it shows that the new method is able to efficiently improve the classification accuracy compared with other related methods.


Recent developments of enzymatic modification of polysaccharides were summarized. The enzymatic modification of polysaccharides, including enzymatic degradation, enzymatic synthesis and so on, was introduced, in the light of the polysaccharide lyase's substrates such as dextran, pectic polysaccharide, xylan, xyloglucan and some polysaccharide drugs. Among the molecular modification methods for polysaccharides, the enzymatic modification has been the optimal one, each of which has its unique mechanism and application.


This chapter is meant as a contribution toward building such a profile by investigating one area in particular: their employment of prayer. Over thirty prayers from the Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls have been catalogued, and it is worth dwelling briefly on their cumulative character. Prayers of praise and thanksgiving are regularly attached to the reception of divine revelation, especially through dreams and visions. This sort of prayer is especially prominent in the Genesis Apocryphon, 1 Enoch, and Daniel. The distribution of petitionary prayer and prayers of repentance is interesting; in the Genesis Apocryphon, 1 Enoch, and the Book of Giants these prayers are linked with the primordial sin of the Watchers. Demons or misleading divine beings are mentioned in the Genesis Apocryphon, Tobit, and Aramaic Levi, and play major roles more generally in the overall scope of 1 Enoch, the Book of Giants, and the Visions of Amram. Keywords:Aramaic dead sea Scrolls; Enoch; God; Tobit


As the number of patients with missing teeth increases year by year, oral health is becoming more and more important to people. Dental implants are the preferred restoration option for missing teeth. Dynamic navigation systems are essential for dental implant surgery. However, the existing dynamic navigation system has problems such as a small navigation range, inconvenient operation, and unintuitive effects. A mixed-reality navigation system for oral implant surgery based on TopoTag is proposed in this study. The corresponding experimental results demonstrate that the presented system realizes real-time, accurate, clear, and three-dimensional surgical navigation, addressing the shortcomings of existing navigation systems.


In terms of the frequency of politically violent acts, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria are some of the most unstable states within a highly volatile continent. In Uganda, the primary rebel threat ope...


5 "Babes-Bolyai" University Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Orthodox Theology, 18 Piata Avram Iancu, 400098, Cluj-Napoca, Romania Seven pesticides were separated by bidimensional thin layer chromatography. The separations were performed on high performance silica gel plates (HPTLC Si 60 F 254 200 . 200 mm, Merck) using the solvent mixture heptane - chloroform - ethyl acetate (30+19+1, v/v) as mobile phase for the first development direction. The mixture heptane - chloroform - ethyl acetate (30+10+10, v/v) was used for the development on the second direction. The spots visualization was performed in UV light at 254 nm.


We compare wavepackets induced by "R-dependent ionization" and bond-softening in strong fields through both simulations and experiments. We conclude that the former produces stronger vibrations in hot molecules than the latter and results in vibrational cooling.


In this paper a promising electrosorption approach called capacitive deionization(CDI) was discussed to relieve the crisis of water resources shortage.A simple CDI cell reactor was fabricated to study the performance of electrosorption experiments.A mixture containing activated carbon powder(ACP),binder poly vinylidene fluoride(PVDF) and conductive graphite powder at the mass ratio of 8:1:1(%) was dissolved in di-methylacetamide(DMAc) to form a slurry,then the slurry was cast on the current collector to manufacture activated carbon coating electrodes. The surface morphology and electrochemical performance of obtained electrodes were characterized using SEM and cyclic voltammetry(CV).From the SEM image,the electrodes were irregular grid-like porous materials,and both ACP and PVDF binder were bound together.The results of CV indicated that the electric double layer was existing and the specific capacitance was calculated.The adsorption rate and capacity of NaCl onto activated carbon coating electrodes at different bias potentials were measured and the electrosorption kinetics were also investigated.The kinetic analysis demonstrated that the electrosorption of NaCl on the activated carbon coating electrodes conformed to pseudo-first-order kinetics model.


Goal——This thesis discusses the effect of applying Acute Physiology And Chronic Health EvaluationⅡ(APACHEⅡ) to nursing the patients with kidney function failure.Methods——It analyzes the predictive value of APACHEⅡ,and directs to formulate nursing measures according to the evaluation results after applying APACHEⅡ to 156 patients with kidney function failure.Result——The APACHEⅡscores of the 156 patients with kidney function failure are 13~67,and the average scores are 33.4±11.2.Among them,98 patients were graded 13~24,and the average scores are 15.8±6.4;41 patients who got better were graded 29~42,and the average scores are 31.6±4.8;17 dead patients were graded 43~67,and the average scores are 48.5±10.3.After adjusting the nursing measures to the evaluation results,the medical expenses,the length of hospital stay and the complicating disease while in hospital were all reduced.The patient satisfaction towards the nursing was obviously increased.Conclusion——The application of APACHEⅡ System to nursing the patients with kidney function failure,to some extent,can evaluate the disease severity and predict the predictive value.It can also direct the rational allocation of nursing human resources and carry out the relavant nursing measres better,for the purpose of improving the nursing quality and the degree of patient satisfaction.


Since the 1930s, topological counting on finite sets has been an interesting work so as to enumerate the number of corresponding order relations on the sets. Starting from the semi-tensor product (STP), we give the expression of the relationship between subsets of finite sets from the perspective of algebra. Firstly, using the STP of matrices, we present the algebraic representation of the subset and complement of finite sets and corresponding structure matrices. Then, we investigate respectively the relationship between the intersection and union and intersection and minus of structure matrices. Finally, we provide an algorithm to enumerate the numbers of topologies on a finite set based on the above theorems.


Local sources of /sup 129/I suitable for study of migration in the environment are uranium ore bodies for long periods and nuclear fuel reprocessing operations for recent time periods. Uranium ores produce /sup 129/I from spontaneous and neutron-induced fission. Nuclear fuel reprocessing has resulted in releases of /sup 129/I to both the atmosphere and the hydrosphere. The long term fate of surface-deposited and groundwater /sup 129/I was studied. Neutron activation analysis was used to measure the low levels of /sup 129/I and natural /sup 127/I in samples near and remote from nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities. Measurements were made on air samples, vegetation, soil, surface water, groundwater, and uranium ore samples. The /sup 129/I was found to accumulate in the top soil and litter layer. The surface concentrations of /sup 129/I in forest communities were found to be several times higher than for nearby grass communities. The /sup 129/I levels were found to persist in the environment after reprocessing activities had been discontinued. Measurable /sup 129/I was found to be contained in uranium ore samples from a variety of locations and with a range of uranium concentrations. Thus ore bodies constitute a source of /sup 129/I suitable for study of migrationmore » over long time periods. Iodine-/sup 129/ has entered surface and groundwater as the result of liquid and atmospheric discharges from nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities. The iodine in water samples was found to be anionic and travel with the water flow. Thus /sup 129/I was found to provide high sensitivity for hydrology tracer studies and radioactivity migration surveillance. Once /sup 129/I enters the hydrosphere it migrates with the water with little or no hold-up by exchange with cationic exchangers such as soil or silt.« less


Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Strategies for Enhancing Student Autonomy. 3. Strategies for Enhancing Competence in All Students. 4. Strategies for Increasing Belonging and Relatedness. 5. Strategies for Enhancing Student Self-Esteem. 6. Strategies for Stimulating Student Involvement and Enjoyment with Learning. References and Index.


We evaluated post-release stratification (after banding) developed by Schwarz et al. (1988) to improve managers' capability to detect and account for heterogeneity in survival among mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) recovered along the upper Mississippi River (UMR). We used band recoveries from 4 banding reference areas in the Prairie Pothole Region spanning 25 years and stratified them by 4 recovery areas in the Central and Mississippi flyways: UMR, UMR-vicinity (UMRV), lower Mississippi River (LMR), and southern plains (SP). We validated the assumption of fidelity to migratory routes and applied post-stratification to estimate recovery and survival rates for mallards recovered in each stratum. Average distance between geographical centers, or centroids, of direct and indirect recoveries was 246.7 km, supporting the assumption of migratory fidelity (P > 0.05). A model with heterogeneous recovery was selected in a majority of tests among strata, due in part to unequal sizes of the 4 recovery strata. However, in most (54.7%) cases survival was estimated to be homogeneous among these strata; only 10.9% of tests among strata rejected (P < 0.05) homogeneous survival in favor of heterogeneous survival. Estimates of homogeneous survival of mallards recovered along the UMR ranged from 52.8% for after-hatch-year (AHY) females banded in southwestern Manitoba to 72.4% for hatch-year (HY) males banded in southwestern Saskatchewan. Survival estimates for the UMR and UMRV recovery strata were not higher (P ≥ 0.06) than estimates from the LMR and SP recovery strata in most cases. Estimated survival was as much as 48.6% less between HY females recovered on the UMR and the LMR, but survival differences averaged 11.1% among all the cases when heterogeneous models were selected. Post-release stratification applied at this regional scale often reduced samples to insufficient size to detect heterogeneity among strata. Biologists should not use evidence provided by this stratified analysis of mallard survival to justify large-scale habitat protection of the UMR.


Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Dick Aslin, Kathy Nordeen, and Emmanuel Dupoux for stimulating discussion and helpful comments. During the writing of this paper we were supported in part by NIH grant DC00167 to ELN, a Charles A. Dana Foundation grant to DB, and NIH grant DC00481 to HJN.


System (111) for generating power and / or energy sources • a device (1) having a cathode (70) and an anode (50) and a plasma generating voltage source (80) for producing fuel gas (7) by means of a plasma of an electrolyte (8), consisting essentially of a slurry of coal is in water; • is connected to a reservoir (10) of electrolyte (8) which for feeding the electrolyte (8) with the apparatus (1); • with a CO • with a memory (103) for the device (1) produced fuel gas (7); and • with means (104), in which the fuel gas (7) into other forms of energy other than fuel gas is changeable.


Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disease that is characterized by seizures. Seizure episodes, stigma, and high medical costs associated with this condition caused significant psychological distress. This study aimed to evaluate epidemiological characteristics and treatment status of epilepsy in individuals existing in the tropical rural areas of Hainan Province of China.


Disaster management can be defined as the organization and management of resources and responsibilities for dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies. This paper is about organizational policies when assigning responsibilities during a flood scenario. Specially, we focus on dynamic access control policies supporting delegation. Delegation is a dynamic behavior involving a user passing his access control authorizations to other users within organizations. This defines one aspect of collaboration at the organizational level. In this paper, we propose to model the delegation access control approach from the flooding business process modeling to its deployment. In doing so, we describe the delegation process, define the access control model, and implement the authorization policies within a disaster management framework.


Strong attenuation in rain affects the detection accuracy and application of the X-band radar. This paper aims to seek a method of attenuation correction for X-band dual-polarization radar in precipitation. Before correction, the radar data are pre-processed with quality control; after analyzing all the methods from the past works, an attenuation correction algorithm is developed which is based on the self-consistent method with constraints; finally some validation methods are studied. Some comparisons are made between the corrected composite reflectivity of the X-band radar and a nearby S-band radar observed at the same time; moreover, the corrected relationships between KDP vs. ZH and AH vs. ZH are also similar to the theoretical values predicted by scattering simulation. In addition, the authors also compare the corrected reflectivity with the surface rain-gauge observations. The analysis results indicate that the corrected reflectivity is more significant than the uncorrected one; specially for the larger area of rainfall (including convective rainfall) using the above attenuation correction algorithm for X-band radar, rainfall amounts can be estimated with higher accuracy.


With the emergence of the massive educational data, education data mining techniques have extensively drawn considerable interest from scholars to explore the relationship between students' achievements and other factors. In this study, the data set about the students' achievements of Portuguese in two secondary education schools in Portugal is selected for education data mining, which involves the personal information, social and school related factors. To analyze the relationship between the students' achievements and other factors, this study proposed an ensemble model based on weighted voting for predicting the students' achievements of Portuguese in the final period. First, the raw data is preprocessed using some basic methods, including dummy coding, correlation analysis, standardization, and normalization. Second, the isolation forest algorithm-based outlier adaption is applied to deal with the data set to enhance the robustness of the ensemble model. Finally, two base classifiers, i.e. gradient boosting decision tree and extreme gradient boosting, are integrated to form the ensemble model. The experiments are presented for verifying the superiority of the proposed model by comparing with five base classifiers, including gradient boosting decision tree, adaptive boosting, extreme gradient boosting, random forest, and decision tree. The experimental results demonstrate that the ensemble model performs better than other base classifiers in classification, and prove the validity of the outlier adaption based on isolation forest algorithm.


Objective To investigate life events and coping style in patients with somatoform disorder.Methods 30 patients with somatoform disorder and 30 healthy controls were assessed with self-made general situation questionnaire,Life Events Scale(LES) and Coping Style Questionnaire(YYFS).Scores of LES and YYFS were compared between the two groups.Results Compared with the control group,patients with somatoform disorder had significantly higher scores in total score of LES,total score of negative life events,score of negative life events in work and study,as well as the negative life events in family life,social interaction and other aspects(P0.05).Patients with somatoform disorder had significantly lower scores in solving problem and significantly higher scores in self-blame,retreat and fantasy(P 0.05).Conclusion Patients with somatoform disorder experienced more serious life events.They are more prone to adopt immature coping styles such as fantasy,slef-blame and retreat to solve problems.


This essay examines how Federico García Lorca transforms the musical form son in his poem 'Son de negros en Cuba'. Significant in this is Lorca's relationship with anthropologist Fernando Ortiz, who regarded hybridity as foundational to post-colonial Cuban identity. For Ortiz and the Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier, son's hybridity is analogous to ethnic and cultural syncretism, which Ortiz likens to counterpoint, or the juxtaposition of contrasting lines in music. Syncretism and counterpoint, the core concepts of Ortiz's theory of 'transculturation', become paradigmatic of Lorca's poem. By writing 'counterpoint' into the poem, Lorca creates space for the performance of intercultural dialogue.


Performance and performance limitations of the Tevatron proton-antiproton collider at Fermilab will be discussed along with plans for improving the performance by a factor of five by the end of the decade. The centerpiece of this effort is the Fermilab Main Injector, a new 150 GeV synchrotron now under construction. Status of the project will be presented.


Moderate acid treatment of double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) has given rise to two new experimentally observed second-order double resonant Raman scattering frequencies centered at 1901 cm(-1) and 1942 cm(-1), in the highly dispersive LOLA region. These LOLA overtones and combination modes have been predicted by double resonance theory for two phonons associated with the K- and Gamma-points, respectively.


Objective:To study the influence of effective constituents of tribulus terrestris L on myocardial ischemic reperfusion injury(IRI).Methods:The extension of the myocardial areas,CK MB activity and NO content in the serum,the content of ET 1 in the plasma,and the ultrastructure changes in myocardium were observed.Results:As compared with the sham operated group,there were abnormal changes of myocardial ultrastructure in the model group,the level of NO in serum decreased,and the content of ET 1 in plasma increased after IRI.Effective constituents of tribulus terrestris L reversed the indices mentioned above markedly.Conclusions:This study shows that effective constituents of tribulus terrestris L may be regarded as an agent with a marked cardioprotective action against ischemia reperfusion induced myocardial injury by protecting the coronary endothelium in vivo model of the rat heart.


When are citizens most likely to hold politicians to account for wrongdoing? In a crowded information environment, political accountability requires that credible information about politician behavior is available and that citizens are able to identify credible information as such. Focusing on this second requirement, we argue that the ability to discern more credible from less credible information is increasing in citizens' cognitive and political sophistication. Using data from an original survey experiment in Brazil, we show that all citizens react negatively to corruption allegations but that more politically sophisticated respondents are the most likely to discern between sources of information that differ in their credibility. In particular, they are more skeptical of low-credibility sources than their less sophisticated counterparts. Our findings suggest a novel mechanism that may link increasing education with control of political corruption: educated citizens are better able to discern, and therefore act on, credible corruption accusations.


High power wavelength-stabilized 976nm diode lasers attract more attention recently with the development of higher power, higher efficiency and higher brightness fiber lasers. The wide spectrum of a high-power diode laser without wavelength stabilization (about 5 nm), together with thermal shift at about 0.3 nm/°C, strongly limits the conversion efficiency benefits at 976 pumping. In this paper, we will report the development of kilowatt wavelength-stabilized CW and QCW diode lasers at BWT.


The explosion of informa�on technology and ar�ficial intelligence globally has created many new, smarter and more convenient educa�onal methods. Digital transforma�on in educa�on has become an inevitable trend taking place at all levels of educa�on in Vietnam today. In par�cular, the digi�za�on has gradually established a digital educa�on ecosystem with the structure of new components transformed in rela�on to the digital technology pla�orm, where everything is connected between technology, service and technology. Service and security aims to bridge the digital gap with stakeholder needs, specifically towards crea�ng a variety of learning experiences in collabora�on, interac�on


art gallery 10 ARTIST STATEMENT The works in this series explore the relationship between information and meaning in the context of reduced or compressed levels of information. More specifically, the works ask the question: What is the smallest amount of information needed for a specific moving image to to be rendered legible or comprehensible? TECHNICAL STATEMENT These works incorporate custom electronics driving LEDs with 256 gray levels. FPGAs are used to control the image, and flash memories are used to store the image. Each work is created by taking a conventional NTSC video image and passing it through an extreme low-pass filter before the image is subsampled. Motion and Rest #5 Custom electronics 29 inches x 22 inches


Measuring the contact pressure between a structure and the surrounding ground is essential for the analysis and design of different geotechnical engineering systems (e.g. foundations, underground tunnels, buried pipes, vertical shafts and retaining walls). Several devices and techniques have been recently developed to facilitate the measurement and monitoring of contact soil pressure. These devices range from stiff pressure cells that measure the soil pressure against a structure at specific locations to flexible tactile sensors that can track the pressure changes continuously over a large contact area. This paper presents a review of selected devices and techniques commonly used to measure contact pressure in different soil-structure interaction problems. Selected US and international patents of relevance to contact pressure measurement in geotechnical engineering are referenced. A comparison between the different measurement techniques with respect to their applicability and limitations is also presented.


In some underwater applications, acoustic backscatter might have undesired consequences, such as interferences in underwater communications or echoes in the sonar image. Acoustic backscatter of an underwater object is classically reduced by applying appropriate absorbing materials on the surface. Absorbing materials convert the acoustic energy into heat and their thickness is usually on the order of a quarter wavelength. In some cases, the application of absorbing materials might have unacceptable drawbacks on other design criteria. For long-distance acoustic propagation (by way of the acoustic channel propagation,) it can be shown that undisturbed sound travels nearly horizontally within a limited vertical angle of no more than ± 20° from the horizontal plane. Hence, for long-distance applications, the acoustic backscatter can be reduced by proper shaping of the vehicle's lateral outer hull. In case the outer hull is not opaque enough to shield the vehicle's inner structures (with potentially high backscatter risk), reflective material can be applied. The working mechanism of reflecting materials is the impedance mismatch and hence, reflecting materials can be much thinner than absorbing materials. This conference contribution will address the worldwide sound spreading in the ocean and show the guidelines for a geometric outer hull shaping.


Background: Blood glucose measurement is a way of monitoring changes in glycaemia. Different point-of-care testing (POCT) glucose meters are on the market and hence there is an increase in variability of the results given by these meters. This study sought to measure the glycaemic variability using four different point-of-care glucose meters Methods: Four point of care glucometers namely; Accu-chek performer nano, OneTouch select plus flex, OneTouch Ultra 2 and Easy Check were used test blood samples from a total of 100 patients visiting the collection point of the Tamale Teaching Hospital Laboratory. A chemistry analyzer (Mindray BS 240 fully automated) was used as the reference method. Results: The median (interquartile range), Bland Altman Plot and Regression Equation were used to assess the agreement between the various meters and the reference method. The OneTouch Select plus had the least bias (-0.85) and the the OneTouch Ultra 2 had the highest bias (1.49). The OneTouch select had the best limits of agreement (-2.51 – 0.82) and the OneTouch Ultra 2 had the widest limits of agreement (-1.91 – 4.89) when compared to the reference method. Conclusion: OneTouch Select plus had the best agreement with the reference method and the OneTouch Ultra 2 had the least agreement with the reference method. Blood glucose meters should be used for the monitoring of blood glucose however, it should not be used as a diagnostic tool. Annals of Medical Laboratory Science (2021) 1(2), 1 - 8 Keywords: glucometer, point-of-care, blood glucose, glycaemia


Design patterns are widely used within the software engineer community. Researchers claim that design patterns improve software quality. In this paper, we describe two experiments, using graduate student participants, to study whether design patterns improve the software quality, specifically maintainability and understandability. We replicated a controlled experiment to compare the maintainability of two implementations of an application, one using a design pattern and the other using a simpler alternative. The maintenance tasks in this replication experiment required the participants to answer questions about a Java program and then modify that program. Prior to the replication, we performed a preliminary exercise to investigate whether design patterns improve the understandability of software designs. We gave the participants the graphical design of the systems that would be used in the replication study. The participant received either the version of the design containing the design pattern or the version containing the simpler alternative. We asked the participants a series of questions to see how well they understood the given design. The results of two experiments revealed that the design patterns did not improve either the maintainability or the understandability of the software. We found that there was no significant correlation between the maintainability and the understandability of the software even though the participants had received the design of the systems before they performed the maintenance tasks.


Abstract: TiO2-SnO2 nanocomposite was prepared by green synthesis method with the help of the Allium sativum extract obtained from garlic cloves. The green synthesized TiO2-SnO2 nanocomposite was characterized by XRD, SEM, EDS, Raman, ATR-FTIR, and UV-Visible spectroscopy. The XRD pattern reveals the polycrystalline nature of the synthesized nanocomposite and indicates the simultaneous presence of anatase and rutile phases of TiO2, along with SnO2. The calculated average crystallite size is 11.79 nm. The SEM images give the concept of surface morphologies of the synthesized nanocomposite. EDS spectrum detects the presence of Ti, Sn, and O in the synthesized nanocomposite material. The Raman spectrum confirms the chemical compositions. ATR-FTIR spectrum shows the presence of organic components of garlic as functional groups in the synthesized nanocomposite. The Tauc plot obtained from the UV-Visible spectral data displays the direct and indirect band gap values of 3.97 and 3.25 eV, respectively. Moreover, the present study investigates the effect of the synthesized nanocomposite's concentration on the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye. The aqueous suspension of TiO2-SnO2 nanocomposite photocatalyst with a concentration of 1.5 mg/mL exhibits maximum photocatalytic activity.
Keywords: Green synthesis, TiO2-SnO2 nanocomposite, Allium sativum extract, Photocatalytic activity, Methylene blue.


Kitaibelia vitifolia Willd. has not so far been registred either in the flora of Cluj-Napoca nor in the Romanian flora. In the autumn of 1984, on the border of a pine forest, near a new constructed town quarter, herbarium specimens and seeds of these species were collected. This ruderalized, bushy habitat is perhaps the first, where Kitaibelia grew spontaneously in Transylvania.


Objective To explore the effect of medical ozone combined with entecavir in the treatment of lamivudine drug resistance in chronic hepatitis B patients. Methods 55 chronic hepatitis B patients with lamivudine drug resistance in our hospital from January 2011 to January 2013 were selected as the research object and randomly divided into the medical ozone group (n = 18), entecavir group (n = 18) and combination group (n = 19). The ALT, TBil, HBV DNA negative conversion ratio and IFN-γ level were compared among three groups. Results The ALT, TBil contents of combination group were lower than those of the other two groups (P 0.05), while HBV DNA negative conversion ratio and IFN-γ level were higher than those of the other two groups (P 0.05). Conclusions Medical ozone combined with entecavir can improve the clinical effect in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B patients with lamivudine drug resistance.


The effect of twisting motion dependent diagonal hopping on the I-V characteristic of Poly(dG)-Poly(dC) DNA molecule has been studied. Twisting angle dependent hopping constant is model using semi-empirical Slater-Koster theory. The I-V characteristic of DNA molecule is calculated from transmission probability using Landauer-Buttiker formalism by assuming symmetric voltage drop at the contacts. The transmission probability of charge on the molecule is calculated using transfer and scattering matrix methods, simultaneously. The calculation is carried out on 32 base pairs doubled-stranded DNA molecule model sandwiched in between two metallic electrodes. The results show that at low voltage the magnitude of current is not influenced much by the change of diagonal hopping term caused by base pair twisting motion. Larger influenced is observed at higher voltages, after decreases by increasing the coupling parameter of vibration and diagonal hopping constant up to some value, current increases. This trend is observed in the I-V characteristic of DNA molecule for all frequencies and temperatures used. Lower twisting motion frequency shows larger influences of diagonal hopping term on the current than the one at higher frequencies.


professional utopia and the author does not tackle the basic problem of all bureaucratic organizations. The problem in question is the following one. Originally, bureaucratic organizations were superior to their older alternatives. They turned out to be a better form of social control in many walks of life. Therefore, one should think that it takes more than professional guilds to check their excesses and their pathologies. Is it really enough to simply evoke higher standards of professional conduct for various groups of professionals in order to overcome the disadvantages of bureaucratic inertia'? It is perhaps fitting that the most avid readers of Benveniste's book will most probably be professional managers, to whom the book is dedicated. They will probably find the book in question excellent reading, appealing to their two souls. However, when all managers become as professional, as Benveniste


The electron impact mass spectra of 2-cyclohexen-1-ol and of several of its 2H and 13C labelled analogues show that the molecular ions lose a methyl radical by a completely different means from the mechanism described previously. Moreover, the retro Diels–Alder reaction also proceeds in a non-classical way; in addition to the elimination of an olefinic molecule from unrearranged molecular ions, a second more important route implies a formal 1,3 allylic rearrangement prior to the retro Diels–Alder reaction. The mass spectra of a series of alkyl substituted homologues show that the competition between the two processes is closely related to the size of the olefinic moiety that is expelled.


SUBTITLE: NACTA SAYS THEY'RE A STEPPING STONE TOWARD PRIVATIZATION; THE FAA SAYS THEY SAVE MONEY; USERS SAY THEY WORK JUST FINE.


This paper presents a low-power 5 GS/s 6-bit flash analog-to-digital converter (ADC) fabricated in a 28-nm FDSOI CMOS technology for RF wideband radio receiver and high-speed serial link applications. The flash ADC leverages a 2-stage multi-bit search and a 2x time-domain interpolation to improve the ADC power efficiency and alleviates the input bandwidth degradation. A 0.5-bit redundancy is utilized in the first comparator stage to relax the settling requirement of the track-and-hold (T/H) buffer when utilizing the proposed ADC in a time-interleaved configuration for higher sampling rate applications. Measurement results show that the ADC achieves a signal-to-noise-and-distortion ratio (SNDR) of 30.9 dB at Nyquist frequency with a power consumption of 14.43 mW, translating to a Walden figure-of-merit (FOM) of 99 fJ/conv.-step.


This investigation was carried out on oil extracted from sesame varieties namely : White and brown sesame in an attempt to study the following points . Gross Chemical Composition of white and brown sesame seed varieties.Physico. chemical properties of crude oil extracted from the white and brown sesame seeds Effect of roasting of sesame seeds at 180 0C for 30 minutes on the physic. Chemical oils extracted roasted ( sesame seeds. )Anti-Oxidative effect of isolated from sesame oils on the oxidative stability of sun flower oil during storage at ambient temperatures (25-30 0c) for 6 months. Evaluation of utilization of sesame oils as a source of natural antioxidants. The result could be summarized in the following points : white and brown seeds varieties contained high oil content ranged from S2. 36 – S5.11.Protein, Stability of oils measured by rancimat at 100 0c showed that white seed oils was higher stability compared with brown seed oils Natural antioxidant content ( crude lignan )was higher in sesame oil (2.99 g / 100 g oil). Compared to brown sesame oil(2.33 g / 100 g).GLC chromatograms showed that all studied samples were characterized by the presence of higher levels of unsaturated fatty acids than the saturated ones . Unsaponifiable matters of sesame oil were fractioned by GLC technique it consisted mainly of hydrocarbons and sterols .β-Sitosteral and sigmasterol where the major sterol components in all studied samples .Acid value , peroxide value , TBA value , conjugated diene and triene and total sterols increased .,meanwhile , iodine value and total hydrocarbons were decreased as effected by roasting of sesame seeds at 180 0C for 30 minutes . the data revealed that sunflower oil containing natural antioxidants (crude lignans) had a much greater oxidative stability than oils without antioxidants .The result showed that rats feed containing sesame oils decreased the levels of serum total lipids, total tri-glusrids, total cholesterol , low density lipoprotein (LDL) and increased level of serum high density lipoprotein (HDL).


Some embodiments of the invention generally relate to a moisture barrier coating that is biodegradable and compostable. Some embodiments also relate to a coating that is dual ovenable. Such coatings may be used to increase moisture resistance and provide non-stick or release characteristics when applied to biodegradable and compostable disposable food packaging and food service items. In some embodiments, a plasticizer, an amide wax and optionally a rosin are added to a cellulose-ester-based coating to increase moisture resistance. In other embodiments, a biodegradable polymer, an amide wax, optionally a plasticizer, and optionally a rosin are added to a cellulose-ester-based coating to drastically increase moisture resistance. In still other embodiments, phospholipids or medium-chain triglycerides or increased levels of amide wax may be added to the either of the embodiments above to provide enhanced release characteristics.


One obtains the generalized Noether's theorem in a form which represents a certain generalization to many parametric transformations of this obtained by B. Vujanovic in indirect way from d'Alembert Lagrange's principle. Finally, the systems which can be reduced to equivalent quasi conservative ones have been discussed, and it has been shown how this procedure could be realized, utilizing only the Lagrangian of the system


From the viewpoint of necessity of a new method instead of WTP (willingness to pay) in the CVM, this study adopts the benefit evaluation method by WTW (willingness to work). And it examines the difference between results derived by WTP and WTW through the application to the Furukawa-river environmental improvement project in Shizunai-town, Hokkaido-prefecture. The results indicate that the evaluation by WTW is more stable than the evaluation by WTP, and that the latter has higher numbers of unsatisfied people to the evaluation that the former.


This conference publication aims to present the content and methods of informal educational assessment which can form the basis of effective instruction for students with autism. This paper addresses the challenges and difficulties faced by educators in early childhood and primary education in their efforts to prepare individualised education plans for their students with high functioning autism. Informal educational assessment is essential for the systematic evaluation of the special and multiple needs of able students with autism. Moreover, this paper analyses the critical prerequisites for the efficient assessment, describing its types and contexts for this group of students. Also, the importance the interpretation of the assessment information is highlighted, so that teachers can identify appropriate instructional goals and instructional arrangements for the successful individualised instruction of students with high functioning autism in preschool and early primary education.


The health benefits of green-tea catechins, in particular epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), are becoming increasingly recognised. Amongst the proposed benefits is the maintenance of endothelial function and vascular homeostasis and an associated reduction in atherogenesis and CVD risk. COMT is centrally involved in EGCG metabolism, with a valine (Val) to methionine (Met) amino acid substitution at position 158 reported to result in lower enzyme activity. In the current pilot study the impact of the COMT Val158Met genotype on green-tea catechin metabolism and vascular function in healthy adults was investigated. Ten participants of each homozygous COMT genotype were recruited for the study. Measurements of vascular function by laser Doppler iontophoresis (LDI) and digital volume pulse (DVP) and blood pressure (BP) were taken before and 120, 240, 360 and 480 min after consumption of capsules containing 1.1 g Sunphenon1 decaffeinated green-tea extract (Taiyo International Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA; equivalent to 880 mg green-tea catechins). A high carbohydrate (107 g) meal was given at 60 min. Blood samples were taken at baseline and at 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 240, 360 and 480 min and subsequently analysed for green-tea catechins (parent forms and EGCG metabolites), lipids, glucose, insulin, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total nitrite and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1). Linear model analysis with SAS software (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC) was used to compare values. There were no differences between genotype groups in relation to age, gender, BMI or fasting lipids. The change in DVP stiffness index (SI) from baseline was significantly different at 120 min (P = 0.044) and 240 min (P= 0.026) between the ValVal and MetMet groups. The change in BP between baseline and 120 min was also significantly different among genotype groups (P<0.05). Despite a similar glucose profile, insulin concentrations were significantly different 120 min and 180 min after consumption of the green-tea extract compared with baseline (mean change from baseline 373 (SE 59) and 216 (SE 28) pmol/l for ValVal and MetMet respectively (P = 0.0079 at 180 min)). No differences were found in TAC, total nitrite, lipids or VCAM-1 between genotype groups.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the efficacy of breath-hold, three-dimensional, contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography with a 1.0 T system for imaging the abdominal vessels in comparison to conventional arteriography (CA).

METHODS
The abdominal aorta and visceral arteries were studied in 54 patients (60 examinations) on a 1.0 T scanner using an ultrafast gadolinium-enhanced gradient-echo sequence with the following parameters: TR/TE = 3.8/1.4 ms, flip angel 25 degrees, matrix 198 x 256, field 380-420 mm, pixel size 1.9 x 1.48 mm2, slice thickness 1.5-2.5 mm, acquisition time 22-26 sec. Individual circulation times were determined by a test bolus before each MR angiography. Conventional arteriography was performed in 23 of the 60 cases.

RESULTS
172 vessel segments of 23 MR angiographies were compared with CA, sensitivity and specificity were 96.4% and 97.2%. Over-estimations of stenoses or occlusions (n = 4) were caused by the limited resolution of small vessel branches and one stent artifact.

CONCLUSION
Contrast-enhanced MR angiography of the abdominal vessels may replace invasive digital subtraction angiography in certain cases like perioperative or peri-interventional diagnostics. Imaging of small peripheral vessels remains a problem and limits use of the method.


A short survey has been made of the existing methods for surface treatment of aluminium aimed at improvement of the corrosion stability of articles of aluminium and its alloys. Special attention has been paid to the methods of preliminary stannate or zincate treatment of the aluminium prior to electrochemical deposition of multilayered metal protective-decorative coatings. A series of issues have been discussed having direct relation to the theory and practice of the immersion treatment processes, whereupon the stress is laid on the factors influencing the kinetics of their formation, respectively their structure and hence the adhesion of the metal coatings, deposited afterwards. Alternative methods of surface modification of aluminium have also been considered, which are used in cases of mild conditions of corrosion attack, namely the methods for the formation of the so called "conversion films" as well as the methods of anodic oxidation that have obtained recently wide application. It has been shown that a special interest is focused, as a tendency in recent studies, on the electrolytes for surface treatment of aluminium and its alloys, which are based on salts of rare-earth metals, aimed at replacing the toxic Cr 6+ -containing electrolytes. An experimentally established fact has been discussed - the ceria protective films play the role of cathodic coatings with respect to the substrate and they inhibit the proceeding of the cathodic depolarization reaction of the corrosion process. The reviewed literature sources give us the reason to state that the formation of cerium-containing conversion films is one of the most promising alternatives of the chromate conversion films.