Spring maize is one of the main crops in China's northwest region. In 2010, total maize production taken from an area of 5.4 M ha within the provinces of Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Ningxia was nearly 30 M t (MOA, 2010) with an average yield of 5,540 kg/ha. Fertilizer use in the northwest has been inadequate for years—mainly because of economic constraints. Therefore, little information is available on nutrient-limiting factors and the economic value of balanced fertilizer application to maize grown in the region. Since 2003, IPNI has conducted a series of fi eld experiments in collaboration with the provincial Soil and Fertilizer Institutes to evaluate the response of spring maize to N, P, and K fertilizer application. A total of 16 fi eld trials were conducted—six in Gansu province, four in Xinjiang, four in Inner Mongolia, and two in Ningxia. Table 1 shows some chemical properties of soils at these sites before the fi eld trials began. All trials had four treatments including an optimum (OPT) NPK treatment recommended by the Agro Services International (ASI) soil testing and fertilizer recommendation procedure (Portch and Hunter, 2005) based on target yields in the different locations, and three nutrient omission plots (OPT-N, OPT-P, and OPT-K.) All experiments were set up in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Economic comparisons were made between the OPT and FP treatments at some sites in Gansu and Xinjiang.


The present trials being carried out in Switzerland and Turkey, the reactogenicity and immunogenicity of acellular DTP vaccines containing either 25 micrograms or 8 micrograms of PT and 25 micrograms of FHA were compared with those of a conventional whole-cell DTP vaccine during a primary vaccination course following either a 0-1-2 schedule starting at three months of age (Switzerland) or a 0-2-4 schedule starting at two months of age (Turkey). The whole-cell vaccine was associated with significantly more local reactions than the acellular vaccines; general reactions were also more frequent among whole-cell recipients. The 25 micrograms PT dose vaccine was no more reactogenic than the 8 micrograms PT dose vaccine. There was no evidence of increases in frequencies of local or general reactions from one acellular vaccine dose to the next. The 25 micrograms PT dose acellular DTP vaccine resulted in immune responses to all four antigens (PT, FHA, diphtheria and tetanus toxoids) at least equivalent to those observed with whole-cell vaccination. Significantly lower anti-PT antibody levels were seen with the 8 micrograms PT dose vaccine.


The impact of states at the insulator/AlGaN interface on the capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics of a metal/insulator/AlGaN/GaN heterostructure (MISH) capacitor was examined using a numerical solver of a Poisson equation and taking into account the electron emission rate from the interface states. A parallel shift of the theoretical C-V curves, instead of the typical change in their slope, was found for a MISH device with a 25-nm-thick AlGaN layer when the SiNx/AlGaN interface state density Dit(E) was increased. We attribute this behavior to the position of the Fermi level at the SiNx/AlGaN interface below the AlGaN valence band maximum when the gate bias is near the threshold voltage and to the insensitivity of the deep interface traps to the gate voltage due to a low emission rate. A typical stretch out of the theoretical C-V curve was obtained only for a MISH structure with a very thin AlGaN layer at 300 °C. We analyzed the experimental C-V characteristics from a SiNx/Al2O3/AlGaN/GaN structure me...


Every college graduates will be met an important challenge in life in the last year of universityto apply for a job.This paper discusses the problems needed to be concerned by college graduates in the process of job-hunting,hoping to be able to provide some positive reference for college graduates to find an ideal job in the process of applying for a job.


Modern science and technology is a weapon against natural disasters. Shenzhen is a city of technology and innovation and we should endeavor to address flood control, drought relief and wind mitigation (named "three-prevention" in this context). In particular, we should vigorously promote the improvement of technology, and make use of modern information technologies such as big data, internet of things, cloud computing and artificial intelligence to create intelligent three-prevention system. This paper described in detail the characteristics and the construction status of the intelligent three-prevention system as well as the future development direction, in order to achieve the construction goals of the overall situation probing of the three-prevention, real-time decision-making assistance, flat command and control and urban resilience development. Since the intelligent three-prevention system's launch in April 2020, it has started more than 20 times of emergency response against typhoon and flood. The whole process functions of front-end intelligent perception, fine dynamic simulation, real-time forecast and early warning, emergency command and post-disaster assessment have been preliminarily realized.


This article provides a review of previously published studies on virtual environments (VEs), focusing especially on empirical articles on social and group phenomena in VEs and their methodological and theoretical trends. VEs can be defined as communication systems in which interactants share the same three-dimensional digital space and can navigate, manipulate objects, and interact with one another via avatars. When examining the methodological and theoretical choices of these studies, four trends could be identified that characterize group studies on VEs: (a) testing the applicability of real-life, social behavior norms in VEs, (b) a lack of work group studies using VEs, (c) the micro-level treatment of social and groups, and (d) a lack of covering theory. Propositions for future research are presented.


This paper, based on research in a forthcoming monograph, Commitment in Dialogue, undertaken jointly with Erik Krabbe, explains several informal fallacies as shifts from one type of dialogue to another. The normative framework is that of a dialogue where two parties reason together, incurring and retracting commitments to various propositions as the dialogue continues. The fallacies studied include the ad hominem, the slippery slope, and many questions.


Background: A major cause of mortality is coronary artery disease (CAD). The research evaluated the usefulness of 2D Echo calcium as a simple technique to predict the gravity of C.T. angiography and coronary angiography syntax. Methods; 100 patients of the coronary-computed tomography unit for coronary coronary CT were examined in this cross-sectional research and required coronary angiography. Patients have been exposed to histories, exams, blood samples and echocardiographic tests. The calcium echocardiography was linked to their coronary angiography and calcium CT scores syntactics. Results: There were 100 patients involved in the research, 68 of them were males representing 68% of the participants. The average age of the whole group was 53. The mean final calcium echo score for the whole research group was 6. The whole research group's mean syntactic score was 10. There was a significant difference in the overall ECHO calcium score between the three subgroups of the syntactic score and CT (p value <0.001 both). Conclusion: The echocardiographic calcium score is linked with coronary artery disease severity and may thus be utilised as a novel tool for stratification of cardiovascular risks. The cheap cost, accessibility and radiation-free characteristics of echocardiography make it an appealing option for continuous development into non-invasive CAD prediction methods.


plaints ineidental to chtldhood. It is clear, moreover, from the official documents that this inspectioa is not for statistical purposes only, but that t is intended that where defects of htalth or of, physique are noticed means shall be adopted to secare adequate treatment of the defects. *The first questton that naturally arises Is, whether the existing medical officers of health, who are suggested as suitable offlcials for the discharge of the new duttes, but who are-up to the present ttme-appointed on the strength of their presumed knowledge of sanitary matters only, whether these gentlemen are the proper persons from whom to expect the special knowledge of cbildren's complaints which the clrcular dlirects the inspecting medical man should posEess. And the second obvious question irwhether the appointment of local medical officers of health to these outies Is destrable or* just, having regard to their relations, as ordinary compettig practitioners, to the other medical men In their districts. These relattons are, in practically every instance, that the local medical officer ot health is an ordinary general practitioner In daily competli ion with his fellow-practitioners for work and practice. Is it fair, then, tD the other practitioners that the inspection of the whol,e of the children In the district, most of whom are patients of other medical men, should be handed over to the individual who happens for the time being to be the local medical officer of health? It is clear that sucha commtesion confers upon the medical officer of health a position 6f unfair professional advantage, which, while improving his own professional status, and probably practice, will do so only at the expense of that of his fellowpractitioners. And these latter, as ratepayers-for the costs of the scheme are to be found out of the rates-have a clear right to some consideration. More tact and consideration for the intereats and the feelings of fellow-practitioners than the averege medical officer of health at present possesses must be forthcoming if the proposed inspection is to prodac3 any beneficial results to those children who are the patients of other medical men, and also if it is not to prove a constant source of friction between the medical officer of health and those medical men whoae interests and reputattons may b3 Eo easily compromised at the time of inspectior. These difficulties could of course be avoided by the appDintment in evpry educational area ot medicil inspectors of children, under the supervision of the county medical officer of health. These inspectors would not be medical officers of health, and would be barred from xractice in the area; but they would be specially qualified for the work, as the cfficial memorandum directs, by greater proficiency in the knowledge of children's complaints than the ordizary medical officer of health possesees. By such appointments the information obtained at the Inspections would gain in statistical value, and the local friction which must inevitably arise when the inspecting duties are entrusted to local medlcal officers of health would be avoided. As regards the question of expense, I believe it will be found In most instances that the appointment of a specially qualified medical inspector, who would give the whole of his time to the work of his appointment, would be found less costly than firming out the work among local medical officers of health at a fee of so much per pupil Inspected. I trust that the views of that considerable body of the profession outside the official sanitaty service, whose Interests are vltally affected by the proposed measure, be elicited.-I am, etc., Lancashire, Feb. 17th. M._______ B., Mum. B.M. .


Purpose – This paper aims to analyze the security issues that arise when integrating wireless sensor networks (WSN) and the internet. Also, it seeks to review whether existing technology mechanisms are suitable and can be applied in this context.Design/methodology/approach – The paper considers the possible approaches that can be used to connect a WSN with the internet, and analyzes the security of their interactions.Findings – By providing the services of the network through a front‐end proxy, a sensor network and the internet can interact securely. There are other challenges to be solved if the sensor nodes are integrated into the internet infrastructure, although there exists interesting advances on his matter.Research limitations/implications – The complete integration of sensor networks and the internet still remains as an open issue.Practical implications – With the current state of the art, it is possible to develop a secure sensor network that can provide its services to internet hosts with certai...


The changes in surface properties caused by adsorption of carbon monoxide, oxygen, and nitrogen on molybdenum (001) have been studied. The LEED intensities, work functions, and electron‐stimulated desorption yields show coverage dependences similar to those for H/Mo(001). To explain the results it is proposed that these adsorbates, like hydrogen, induce a rearrangement of the Mo surface. Due to the substrate distortion, the probability of occupation varies from site to site. The development of (√2×√2) structures observed by LEED can be understood in terms of coupled lattice distortion and occupation probability waves.


Egypts Population and Development Project (PDP) is a community-based program undertaken by the Population and Family Planning Board for the purpose of establishing self-reliance at the grassroots level for the implementation of national population objectives. The basis of the program is the concept of local control. The nature of the grassroots characteristics is best understood within the context of the projects objectives organization and instruments. Objectives of the PDP include the following: an improved family planning delivery system; increased socioeconomic development at the household and village level; and an upgrading of management skills particularly at the local level. PDPs goal is to be a thoroughly grassroots program but at this time the project functions through a 3-level system of coordinators--the local or village level regional or governorate level and central or national level. Each level has coordinators who acting through committees orchestrate the PDP effort. The regional and central levels are needed at this stage to get the program operating. To establish a grassroots management system to pursue program objectives it was decided to capitalize on the local management structure already in place in the form of the appointed executive committee and the elected village council as well as informal opinion leaders. The individuals from these groups form the PDP Advisory Committee (PDPAC) and this is the heart of the coordination system. Intensification of effort at the grassroots level is indicated by the number of individuals involved in the program. There is an attempt within the PDP to shorten the lines of communication between the grassroots level and the regional and central levels. The PDP is seen as having an extremely strong grassroots character. The success of this approach is showing up statistically in various surveys and studies. Changes in knowledge attitudes and practice of family planning are occurring.


The interface state density ( $D_{\mathrm{ it}})$ at the interface between $\beta $ -Ga2O3 ( $\bar {2}01$ ) and atomic layer deposited (ALD) SiO2 dielectric is extracted using Terman method and conductance method. The effect of the different surface treatments on the extracted $D_{\mathrm{ it}}$ was also studied. It is observed that the extracted $D_{\mathrm{ it}}$ of $6\times 10^{11}$ cm $^{-2}$ eV $^{-1}$ for the sample with no surface treatment is lower than hydrofluoric and hydrochloric acid treated samples. Low $D_{\mathrm{ it}}$ sample shows narrow peak in the conductance method, suggesting a smooth interface. The extracted low $D_{\mathrm{ it}}$ makes ALD SiO2 an attractive candidate for future Ga2O3 power devices.


In this research prepared some new families of macrocycles by reaction of ortho-methoxy salicylaldehyde sequently with ketone by claisen-Schmidt condensation. Claisen-Schmidt condensation proceed under base or acid catalysis, at moderate temperature, in high atom economy and with water as the sole by product. Macrocycle were characterized by IR, NMR and Mass spectroscopie.


The high-speed sequence imaging of two different atmospheric pressure plasma jets illuminates the low-frequency dynamics of discharge filaments. Usually, atmospheric plasma jets consist of several contracted filaments occurring in the active zone of the plasma randomly in space and stochastically in time. However, particular plasma excitation schemes support collective regimes where the filaments are self-organized at large spatial and temporal scales, even at atmospheric pressure. Moreover, self-organized dynamics can act in a similar manner at different types of plasma. In this paper, evident similarities in filament patterning are pointed out for radio-frequency and microwave atmospheric pressure jets by publishing images of short exposure time (6 ms) from which the filament movement can be derived.


Scene text detection is attracting more and more attention and has become an important topic in machine vision research. With the development of mobile IoT (Internet of things) and deep learning technology, text detection research has made significant progress. This survey aims to summarize and analyze the main challenges and significant progress in scene text detection research. In this paper, we first introduce the history and progress of scene text detection and classify the traditional methods and deep learning-based methods in detail, pointing out the corresponding key issues and techniques. Then, we introduce commonly used benchmark datasets and evaluation protocols and identify state-of-the-art algorithms by comparison. Finally, we summarize and predict potential future research directions.


The centre for palliative care unit has a long tradition of voluntary service, but the concept of this latter has now changed with developments in modern palliative care. Voluntary workers form part of the interdisciplinary team of the establishment, and their role has now been recognized since the 1979 law on palliative care. The voluntary workers are recruited at the end of a rather long procedure, and they must take part in an initial full-time training scheme. The voluntary workers come to replace the personnel and the families, for a period of listening time and unpaid and benevolent presence. Their actions are supervised by the coordinators who allocate the voluntary workers among the services, establishing the links with the care workers, and are present and "listening" for the other voluntary workers.


Considering that the expansion of the use of new technologies in the educative process occurs in a historical and social context each time more guided by and for the mode of production of goods, this article approaches how the usage of these apparatuses in the process of education and learning have been acting on the people's capacity to direct and keep their attention to what they study. Being based on the Critical Theory of Society, there is a hypothesis that claims that the very intense bond between people and these apparatuses has been redounding, among other things, in the weakening of the people's capacity of directing and controlling their own attention during certain period of time. This way, the article resumes Marx's explanations on the concept of goods, associating what he defi ned as Fetishism with the Idea of Sovereign, discussed by La Boetie; approaches like the mode of goods production in the capitalism progressively subordinates the culture and the autonomous spaces of production of the spirit to the logical exchange, shaping what Adorno and Horkheimer called Cultural Industry. From the understanding that the products of the Cultural Industry explore the perception providing, obtained at the cost of immobilization of the exercise representation and thought, the article ends with notes about how these experiences have been impairing people's capacity of dedicating and conducting their own attention and concentration. Key words: Cultural Industry, attention, educative process, enjoyment.


In order to solve the problems existed in granule algorithm,the auxiliary granule algorithm is proposed.Based on the heavy sampling algorithm,an assistant variable is introduced,the granule power is calculated twice,which stablizes the change of the granule weight in the granule weight proportion sampling.Finally the simulation of the infrared target and the ERMS are given.The simulation result indicates that this algorithm is better than the standard granule filter and the heavy sampling granule filter in view of the average value and the variance in moving target tracking,it also enhances the calculation efficiency.


Today organizations struggle with management of many systems. The systems could have
different integrations with each-other and a lack of overview is missing. This could be a
complex environment to maintain. To get a grip of the systems, and to get an overall perspective
over the business entire family of systems a model could be used. A model that takes all the
business systems into consideration for thus establishing an architecture and to paint the whole
systems picture for the management. With such a model coordination and prioritization could
be done at a higher level, and to match the systems management to the business overall
strategies. This study investigates how such a model is perceived by people who works with
systems management at operational level and what impact the model has on their day to day
system management tasks. The question the study relies on is: "How does system management
work in practice when a holistic management model has been implemented in the organization?
The study found out that the day to day system management tasks at the operational level hadn't
changed a lot due to the new systems management model. The lessons learned during the model
implementation was about an increased inertia in the organization and lack of follow-up after
the introduction, where the business side not had time to adapt and organize themselves to meet
the new management organization. Furthermore, perceived positive aspects in the form of
increased cooperation and greater team spirit and a sense of a wider perspective. As regards the
comparison model versus reality, the model was theoretically elaborate but branching to the
practical reality could not be regarded as complete. Like all models, it is an idealized picture of
reality and there are always discrepancies.


RULING BY THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT ON APPLICABILITY OF THE JONES ACT TO PROPOSED CANADIAN STEAMSHIP LINES' TOP-OFF SERVICE ON THE EAST COAST


AbstractIn underground mining practices, cemented paste backfill (CPB), a mixture of tailings, cement, and water, is widely adopted to fill extracted stopes. During and after the filling of the underground mine excavations or stopes with CPB, complex multiphysics processes (including thermal, hydraulic, mechanical, and chemical) take place in the CPB mass. These multiphysics processes and their coupling govern the consolidation characteristics and behavior of CPB. As a result, conventional soil mechanics consolidation theories and models are not appropriate for the evaluation and prediction of the consolidation behavior of CPB. Therefore, based on the principles of the continuity of pore space and conservation of mass, energy, and momentum, a three-dimensional coupled multiphysics consolidation model for CPB was developed in this study. The prediction capability of the proposed model was verified by comparing the predicted results with experimental data. Good agreement between the predicted values and exp...


ABSTRACT This paper reflects on the challenges that exist for school teachers in England. The research is based on semi-structured interviews with English primary (n = 10) and secondary (n = 10) teachers. The research reveals that too much emphasis is placed on achieving successful academic results in schools in England and that the focus on the highest and lowest achievers results in the middle range learners receiving less attention than is necessary for their successful academic development. Four key themes appear from the interview data and link back to the organisational culture of primary and secondary schools in England and the consequences that this has for the practitioners who are working in these settings. The research findings reveal that primary and secondary schools in England are overly driven by examination results, and that the leadership structures of the schools are considered to be anachronistic. Moreover, there appears to be an absence of forms of education that are interpreted as being enterprising and this works against collaborative professional development. The research develops the argument that instead of emphasising the importance of results, collaborative approaches to enabling professional development for practitioners in schools are necessary.


Transnational migration has been used to describe the multiple and circular migration across transnational spaces of migrants who maintain close contact with their country of origin (Guo, 2010, 2015). With the development of modern transportation and advanced communication technologies, migration has shifted from international to transnational, as 'multiple, circular and return migrations, rather than a singular great journey from one sedentary space to another, occur across transnational spaces' (Lie 1995, p. 304). In this view, many migrants can no longer be exclusively characterised as 'uprooted', people who are expected to make a sharp and definitive break from their homelands (Glick Schiller, Basch, & Szanton Blanc, 1995). Instead, their daily lives depend on 'multiple and constant interconnections across international borders and whose public identities are configured in relationship to more than one nation-state' (p. 48). Many transmigrants constantly move between former colonies (e.g. Cameroon, India, Jamaica, South Africa) and settler colonial states (e.g. Australia, Canada and the United States) and continue to live the legacies of colonialism. It appears that migration cannot be properly theorised without understanding the histories and theories of colonialism. It is, therefore, the purpose of this special issue to examine how colonialism has shaped migration and migrants' transnational learning experiences. Framed in a wide conceptual and contextual framework, the special issue aims to interrogate the colonial assumptions and Eurocentric tendencies influencing the current ideological moorings of lifelong learning theories, policies and practices in the age of transnational migration. We call for an approach to lifelong learning that aims to decolonise the ideological underpinnings of colonial relations of rule, especially in terms of its racialised privileging of 'whiteness' and Eurocentrism as normative processes of knowledge accumulation. As part of the decolonisation process, we ask for a rigorous interrogation of how Eurocentric assumptions embedded within lifelong learning practices create hierarchical differences of race, gender and class within lifelong learning curricula and pedagogy (Battiste, 2013). As a form of reparation, we suggest decolonisation of lifelong learning as conscious political, social and legal modes of embracing and valuing multiple ways of thinking, knowing and being in the world (Santos, 2007). Such a practice of lifelong learning and knowledge accumulation would require sharpening the focus on what has remained unacknowledged and taken-for-granted about the way the world is seen through colonial and racialised perspectives. The special issue contains eight outstanding articles by scholars from Australia, Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States who will share their recent research in this area. Srabani Maitra and Shibao Guo, the special issue editors, open the special issue with a theorisation of decolonisation in the context of lifelong learning and transnational migration with an anti-colonial and anti-racist perspective. The authors delve deep into the question of whether practices of lifelong learning are responsive to colonial, racial and cultural frameworks that mediate knowledge and skill acquisition, recognition and validation in the age of transnational migration. Maitra and Guo theorise decolonisation as a social and political process that recovers and re-establishes marginalised cultural knowledge, practices and identity. They draw


The histomorphometry and the secretory activity of the uterine tubes and uterus of 38 puberal Wistar rats were studied. Rats were divided in four groups: (1) euthyroid in proestrus-estrus, (2) hyperthyroid in proestrus-estrus, (3) euthyroid in metestrus-diestrus and, (4) hyperthyroid in metestrus-diestrus. In other experiment, 24 prepuberal 12-day-old Wistar rats were divided in two groups: (1) hyperthyroid and (2) euthyroid. The uterus and the uterine tubes were collected for histomorphometry and histochemical analyses. The ampulla's epithelial height has risen under the thyroxine treatment in proestrus-estrus as well as in metestrus-diestrus, becoming similar to the isthmus. The hyperthyroidism increased the PAS positive and acid mucosubstances secretions of the infundibulum on the estrogenic phase coming up to the isthmus. The uterine wall in the estrogenic phase was thicker due to the thyroxine action on the endometrium and myometrium. The secretory activity and uterine collagen composition did not differ between treatments. In puberal rats, the hyperthyroidism increased the thickness of the myometrium and the uterine wall, but did not alter the uterine tubes. Hyperthyroidism on prepuberal rats induced significant changes only in the uterus. After sexual maturity, changes in the uterus and uterine tubes were observed with variable intensity and were dependent on the estrous cycle phase.


A 32-year-old Japanese woman was admitted at 38 weeks' gestation with regular uterine contractions. She was diagnosed with frontal lobe epilepsy at the age of 17, and she had been treated with several anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) since then but complied poorly due mainly to nausea and frequent seizure attacks.


This study focuses on the promotion of the social capital and the development of a civic community through social commitment networks, and consequently, maintaining local development. The methodological procedure adopted was the case study and, as main technique of data analysis, the content analysis was used. The programs of social responsibility of companies renowned as socially responsible from the region of Serra Gaucha (south Brazil) were studied, analyzing their contribution to the generation or strengthening of the social capital of the reached communities. As the main result of the study we presented the proposal of a new board of indicators for social projects of private companies in developing countries contexts.


Purpose - The paper aims to study the impact of the introduction of Nifty index futures on the volatility of the Indian spot markets by use of econometric models. Design/methodology/approach - The study considered six measures of volatility, the dynamic linear regression model, and the GARCH models to investigate volatility in National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty prices both before and after the onset of futures trading. Findings - The GARCH analysis confirmed no structural change after the introduction of futures trading on Nifty, and found that whilst the pre-futures sample was integrated, the post-futures sample was stationary. Spot returns volatility is found to be less important in explaining spot returns after the advent of futures trading in NSE Nifty. Practical implications - The results imply that futures markets serve their prescribed role of improving pricing efficiency and improve the quality of information flowing to spot markets. This will enable investors to prudently structure their strategies investing in both spot and futures markets. Originality/value - This study is an original piece of work towards exploring the impact of the introduction of futures trading on cash market volatility in an emerging economy like India.


The utility model provides a device for rapidly extruding a cross-linked polyethylene pipe, belonging to the field of utilizing a single-screw or double-screw extruder to produce the cross-linked polyethylene pipe. A production process of silane cross-linked and peroxide cross-linked polyethylene pipes in the existing cross-linked polyethylene pipe extrusion production technology has the disadvantages of slow extruding speed, low production efficiency and high heat energy consumption. The device for rapidly extruding the cross-linked polyethylene pipe disclosed by the utility model is sequentially formed by one single-screw or double-screw extruder, a heat radiation cross-linking device, a cooling sizing water groove, a tubular product drawing machine and a tubular product coiling machine, wherein the single-screw or double-screw extruder is provided with a tubular extruding opening mould and a sizing sleeve. According to the device disclosed by the utility model, the energy is saved, the production efficiency is improved and the production cost is reduced in a production process for rapidly extruding the cross-linked polyethylene pipe.


A BSTRACT Earlier investigations on grade efficiencies of ESP's yielded significantly higher separation efficiencies for small particles with a diameter of less than 2 µm than predicted by any model. Therefore several experiments were conducted in a lab-scaled plate-type model precipitator with flat plates and smooth wires with monodisperse 1 µm particles to verify and understand this phenomenon: An optical in-situ measurement yields local particle flux profiles. By integrating these profiles balances for several small parts of the precip-itator can be made giving deeper insight in local particle precipitation. Furthermore particle charge measurements for an aerosol sample directly from the precipitator channel were done. The flux profiles show the development of a concentration profile along the duct which gets steeper towards the wall. These profiles are very similar, if for different operating parameters the Deutsch-number is kept constant. On the other hand the local balances always show a much higher separation efficiency than predicted by the Deutsch theory and partly even higher than predicted by laminar flow model. The charge measurements yielded significantly higher particle charges than predicted by common charge models. 1 I NTRODUCTION In the past most measurements were done on total separation efficiency of lab-scale, pilot-scale or full-scale precipitators, respectively. Furthermore there are some reports on grade efficiency measurements describing the size dependence of precipitation (e. reported about much higher separation efficiencies for small particles (which means in this case diameters less than 2 µm) than predicted by the Deutsch model or even the laminar model. Although these particles do not contribute significantly to the total emitted mass, there is a controversial discussion about the impact of these particles on human health and hence standards to regulate fine particle emissions are on the track (e.g. 'PM 2.5'). Therefore it is essential to study the particle transport of small particles to get a deeper understanding of the ongoing processes within the precipitation gap. The work presented here aims at the local particle dynamics in a laboratory scale plate-type ESP, which means not to look only at the performance of the entire precipitator, but at the local precipitation and particle distribution in the gap. This addresses the question if and why small particles are actually more easily precipitated than commonly assumed. Therefore, exemplary experiments are performed in a model ESP-channel with monodisperse 1 µm particles. A new non-intrusive in-situ measuring device was developed to measure the particle fluxes in …


Similarly to cancer, pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by increased pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) proliferation and decreased apoptosis. Those phenotypicaly alt...


A 70 year old man with recent onset angina and deep T wave inversion on the lateral leads was referred for cardiac catheterisation. At angiography (lateral projection: …


The article discusses the history, from the late 19th century through early 21st century, of the Australian woman Mary Montgomerie Bennett's (her maiden last name was Christison) collection of the Australian Aboriginal people the Yirandalis's artifiacts, known as the Christison collection. An overview of the relationship between the Yirandali people and the museums where the Christison collection has been exhibited, including in regard to the exhibitions' depictions of Yirandali culture, is provided. The relationship between whites and Aboriginal Australians is discussed.


Using an aqueous solution of hydrosilicofluoric acid, boric acid, and ammonium hydroxide, fluorine-doped oxynitride films can be deposited on a silicon substrate. The fluorine and nitrogen atoms are piled up at about 160 A from the interface. The electrical characteristics were improved by decreasing the film thickness toward 160 A due to the increase of fluorine and nitrogen concentrations. The electrical characteristics were degraded by further decreasing the film thickness from 160 to 110 A due to the interfacial nonstoichiometric oxide The quality of fluorine-doped oxynitride films with a prepared thickness thinner than 160 A can be improved under photoillumination. Thus higher nitrogen and fluorine concentrations of the films can be obtained by photoillumination.


Jia Home in the literary masterpiece "Stone Story" is a very big family.The famous family had a luxury life.After four generations,when Bao yu was born,it began to decline.This essay tries to search for the reason of declination of Jia Home on management through the analysis of management examples of Wang xifeng 、Tanchun,Xue baochai and Shi xiangyun by combination of modern thinking and method of the management of home economics.It gives us not only positive experience,but also the negative one,we should learn from it.


Consumption of whole wheat flour is increasing worldwide because of its nutritional
value. However, the flour rheological properties are affected by a high extraction rate
(ER), that have been mentioned for many studies done on a laboratory scale. In the present
study, a high ER flour produced by using a large-scale industrial mill was used to
determine the effect of high ER on the dough rheological properties. The three studied
extraction rates (80%, 85%, and 92%) were achieved by changing the roll adjustments and
adding fine bran. The rheological properties (farinogram, extensiogram, and amylogram
parameters) of the produced flour were determined in addition to some chemical and
physical attributes. The result showed that there were no significant differences between
farinogram parameters except for water absorption, which was increased with increasing
ER. Also, there were no significant differences for extensiogram parameters and
amylogram parameters, as well as for wet gluten and gluten index, protein, and moisture
content. Conversely, for ash content, there were significant differences between the three
flours. For PSD, there were no significant differences between produced flour related to
the large particle size (above 720 and 354 µm). In conclusion, increasing ER of produced
flour up to 92% with adding fine particle size bran had no significant effect on the
rheological properties of the produced flour compared to 80% ER.


The study relied on secondary data to review the level of awareness, attitude and utilization of Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP). The review was supposed to offer important information regarding how widely used and known OFSP was. Evidence from the study showed that although most countries were aware of OFSP's existence and its nutritional advantages, the market for OFSP was not yet formally established. Most of the studies also emphasized the statement that if OFSP is being processed into flour for making chips, biscuits, porridge, bread, drinks and other special forms of foods, consumers especially households would have accepted them to increase consumption. Socio-economic factors such as social class affects the level of utilization and preference patterns of the crop. Lack of storage facilities, lack of modern processing equipment and scarcity of OFSP vines had a great effect on its utilization. The study suggests that in order to increase agricultural value addition, OFSP farmers should be empowered through effective and efficient extension training on the usage of modern processing techniques. Also, OFSP should be processed into several forms such as biscuit, breads, drinks and other special forms of foods for alternative income sourcing. Finally, study should be conducted on consumers' willingness to pay for value added products made from OFSP.


The influence of sulpiride‐induced hyperprolactinemia on the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐ovarian function of the baboon (Papio cynocephalus) was investigated. Plasma levels of prolactin, LH, FSH, estrone, estradiol, 17‐hydroxyprogesterone, progesterone and 20α‐dihydroprogesterone in control and consecutive treatment cycles (sulpiride i.m. injections 100 mg/day) were determined serially. The hormonal changes indicate that the ovary is the most sensitive site to the direct inhibitory action of sulpiride‐induced hyperprolactinemia.


the Qur'an recited according to the rules of tajwid is likely to be received by the untrained ear. (This applies of course not only to the Sono-Qur'an but to tapes and records as well, which may be why many traditional teachers of Qur'anic recitation discourage listening to these things.) According to the rules of tajwid, whenever certain consonants (qdf, ta,ba, jim and ddl) appear with a sukun, they are supposed to receive qalqalah, a sort of pseudo-vowel somewhere between a fatha and a kesra. Now, 2:51 of the Qur'an reads: wa idh wd'adna musd arba'in laylah .... However, when this verse is recited according to the rules of tajwid, the ddl of wd'adna receives qalqalah, rendering it wd'ad~nd. To the uninitiated ear, this qalqalah is likely to sound like a fatha which is likely to be memorized and reproduced as such. This, however, would render the verse, "wa idh wd 'adand musd...." with Moses as the subject and God the object, a complete reversal of the original meaning. There are other related difficulties, but such problems are hardly insurmountable. They could perhaps be easily remedied by including a short introduction to the rules of tajwid along with a demonstration thereof. This would provide the training that would enable one not only to listen to and memorize the Qur'an but to enter the enchanting world of Qur'anic appreciation. By doing so, the sponsors of this project would be the first, to my knowledge, to provide this much needed service. This would not only heighten the utility of their innovative and useful product, it would also serve the interests of a broader listening public, including those aspiring to a greater appreciation of the power of the sacred recitation. SHERMAN A. JACKSON Indiana University


increase risk, but they demonstrated to have different effects on ischemic outcomes.5 Though pioglitazone and rosiglitazone have similar effects on glycemic control, their effects on serum lipid concentrations are different. Pioglitazone produces a more favourable lipid profile.6 It has been demonstrated that LDL cholesterol levels typically remained constant when monotherapy or combination therapy with pioglitazone was used, while 8 to 16 percent increases in LDL cholesterol levels were noted in studies of rosiglitazone.1 HDL cholesterol levels increased by about 10 percent with both drugs. Decrease in triglyceride levels were observed more so with pioglitazone than with rosiglitazone.


The Yellow River changed its course at Tongwaxiang of Henan Province in the fifth year of Xianfeng Period in the Qing Dynasty,and this was the sixth large-scale change of its course in the history.Some thought that it was due to a natural disaster,but the others stressed that it resulted from a man-made disaster.The author of this paper agrees with the latter and makes a further analysis.


The red deer ( Cervus elaphus ) is a seasonal breeder, mating mainly in October and calving in June. This timing is advantageous to wild deer on the hill in that the relatively high nutritional demands of lactation may be met from the abundance of summer vegetation. On low-ground pastures, however, there is an earlier start to the grazing season and the deer farmer may benefit from being able to advance calving dates. Recent research work has shown that exogenous hormone therapy can advance the breeding season in female red deer (Adam and Atkinson, 1984; Adam, Moir and Atkinson, 1985; Nowak, Elmhirst Webster and Barrell, conception and hence and Rodway, 1985; Webster; and Barrell, 1985) and that conception and hence calving dates can indeed also be advanced (Adam, 1985; Adam, Moir and Atkinson, 1986). This paper reports the effects of birth date on the performance of suckled calves and their dams under farm conditions.


This paper deals with complex problem of Indian cast system/division which had been shaped through the ages and up to now violates the principle of human equality. Socio-caste structure arose and rooted in traditional Hindu ideology of ontological division between dvija/twiceborn and outsiders. Cast division had a strong influence on religious and philosophical identity. This paper takes the profound philosophical system of Shaiva-siddhānta as an example, which got an ambiguous identity: not orthodox Hindu darshana (āstika) and not very heterodox (nāstika), but some kinds of marginal to Hinduism. Many of Shaiva-siddhāntin authors were not Brahmins and belonged to shudras and untouchables—not dvija. Status of Shaiva-siddhānta reflects cast contradictions, and contemporary battle of ideas and ethno-cultural dispositions between northern and southern India, Aryans and Dravidians, nigāma (Vedic tradition) and āgama (para-Vedic).


Abstract Brazil's foremost ensemble of the late twentieth century, Grupo Novo Horizonte de São Paulo, transformed Brazilian contemporary music by cultivating a new mixed-chamber repertory and giving sustained support to a generation of emerging composers. That this cosmopolitan group took, then outgrew, the Pierrot ensemble as its cornerstone signals the medium it forged: a localized, evolving spectacle with a richly internationalist heritage. This article offers a panoramic view of the musical, intercultural and historical contexts that underpin Grupo Novo Horizonte's practices and legacy. Analysing landmark works by Sílvio Ferraz, Harry Crowl and others allows us to draw further connections between the group, the Brazilianness of late twentieth-century compositional aesthetic, and the realities of contemporary classical music-making in Brazil.


The main goal of these two reviews is to show that the work with endangered languages can be approached from many different perspectives, for the sake of matter both synchronic and diachronic, nothing incompatible being in choosing one or another. The books under review deal with Middle Chulym, a seriously endangered Turkic language spoken in the basin of the Chulym river. In the first book under scrutiny Pomorska makes use of all the available materials to offer a deep historical treatise on noun formation. Her work allows for a better understanding of noun morphology. In sharp contrast to this so-called "desk work", Li Yong-Song and his team present the results of their field work in the second book to be commented upon here. The two of these perspectives, i.e. "desk work" and "field work", turn out to be perfectly compatible, showing different aspects of the linguistic treatment of materials belonging to endangered languages. Thus, it demonstrates that some views endorsed by scholars like among others Robert Dixon (1997: 135-8), claiming that only field work is now at order, may be labeled "apocalyptic" at best (see on this Crowley 1999: 114-5). Since there is not a representative group of Chulym speakers anymore, it makes little sense to exploit the available materials (and last speakers left!) only in synchronic terms, for an almost full understanding of the language structure has been achieved by this time. Besides, Chulym belongs to a well-known language family, so those unclear aspects of its grammar may be elucidated by means of comparing Chulym with other Turkic languages, and comparison is one aspect of historical linguistics. All in all, synchronic & diachronic descriptions are perfectly compatible, and they can be portrayed even at the same time if necessary. This is the view of many other specialists - to name a few: Larry Hyman (Africa), Juha Janhunen (Eurasia), Keren Rice (North America), Robert Blust (Pacific), etc. - already accustomed to both kinds of work. Therefore, there is no need to cancel one task in favor of another, and any judgment seeking for solutions in that direction are oversimplifications or just plainly misguided thoughts.


Abstract
 Over one third of African palms are rattans, e.g. climbing palms. The subtribe Ancistrophyllinae (subfamily Calamoideae) contains most of these with 21 species represented by three genera: Eremospatha, Laccosperma, and Oncocalamus. African rattans are mainly restricted to the tropical rain forests of Central and West Africa and play an important role in the local economy thanks to their use in furniture making. Here, we present a species level phylogeny of the Ancistrophyllinae based on four plastid intergenic spacers (psbA-trnH, psbZ-trnfM, atpI-atpH, and rps3-rpl16) sequenced for 80% of the species found in the subtribe (17/21). Data were analyzed using maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference methods. Our results show that subtribe Ancistrophyllinae is strongly supported as monophyletic, as are the three genera. However, relationships among the genera remain unresolved. Our analyses provide details on the relationships among species within Eremospatha and Laccosperma, but not in Oncocalamus. The species E. cabrae and E. dransfieldii were recovered with strong support as sister, together forming a highly divergent clade sister to the rest of the genus. The four plastid markers used here provide useful levels of resolution and could be considered in other species-level analyses in palms.


Comfort, appearance and price are important factors for users when purchasing a pair of new shoes. And shoes comfort is more and more emphasized with the improvement of people's quality of life. But there do not exist any standards for shoes comfort. In this paper, a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model is studied based on the evaluation index system of shoes comfort. The result shows that the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model established is feasible and effective to evaluate the shoes comfort.


Following the discovery of X-rays by Rontgen in 1895, three major fields of materials investigation and analysis developed. Rontgen already demonstrated the first of these--radiography--in his first publication. The second, X-ray emission spectroscopy, has its roots in the 1910s, but was rediscovered as X-ray fluorescence spectrometry in the 1940s. The third technique is X-ray diffractometry. While X-ray powder diffractometry has its roots in the earlier half of the 20th century, it was not until the 1960s that the technique became widely accepted.In the 1920s and 1930s the instruments employed for phase identification were non-focusing cameras. In the mid-1930s, the establishment of a file of reference powder patterns did much to popularize the use of powder diffractometry in industry. The growth in the application of X-ray methods for materials analysis grew rapidly between 1960 and 1970, then made another major leap forward in the early 1970s with the introduction of minicomputers. The usefulness of the technique was further enhanced by the advent of attachments to allow the recording of diffraction data under nonambient conditions. In the 1990s use of synchrotron radiation allowed the use of intense parallel beams of monochromatic X-radiation, providing sensitivity and resolution hitherto undreamed of.This paper reviews the early establishment of X-ray powder diffraction as an analytical technique, and follows the growth of its use in the field of X-ray materials analysis. In addition, it highlights the major milestones in the development of X-ray powder diffraction instrumentation and techniques.


This article expounds the objective requirement and realizing human capital title distribution and dealings; it discusses the introduction of stock option system and further analyses the external conditions establishing stimulating system


This article proposes numerical techniques to approximate dispersion bounds and burst patterns for Monte Carlo trajectory simulations. The algorithms developed approximate trajectory dispersion bounds and burst patterns caused by the errors in initial conditions in l/100th of the computational expense of full Monte Carlo analyses. The proposed techniques are based on the properties that the six-degree-of-freedom equations of motion produce solutions that vary continuously with initial conditions and preserve the statistical distribution of the initial conditions. The continuity of solutions in initial conditions is studied numerically by performing a stability analysis. Numerical experiments simulating a fuse effectiveness study for two generic re-entry bodies are exhibited. The dispersion bounds and burst patterns predicted using the proposed algorithms are compared to the dispersion bounds and burst patterns predicted using full Monte Carlo simulations. The agreement is excellent.


The testing program described herein was directed primarily at providing an economical disposable shipping container for Pu-238 wastes currently being shipped from Mound, and for those wastes which are likely to be created in the foreseeable future. In carrying out the testing program a disposable container for shipment of small quantities of solid Pu-238 compounds was also developed.


The main weak point of Erasure Code algorithm based on the single server scenario is that the system efficiency is low when lots of users access system.This paper proposed decentralized Erasure Code to solve the problem.Redundant storage was achieved by the partition and encoding of the original data.The experimental results show that this algorithm can ensure data reliability and confidentiality in the Cloud storage environment.It can also avoid the load overweight of the single server and improve the throughput and resource utilization of the system.


Financial planning plays an important role in people's lives The recent COVID-19 outbreak has caused sudden unemployment for many people across the globe, leaving them with a financial crisis Recent surveys indicate that financial matters continue as the leading cause of stress for employees Further, many millennials overspend and make unfortunate financial decisions due to their incapability to manage their earnings, which forbids them from maintaining financial satisfaction Financial well-being as defined by The American Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a state where one fully meets current and ongoing financial obligations, feels secure in their financial future, and is able to make choices to enjoy life This work proposes a Personal Finance Management (PFM) system with a new architecture that aims to guide users to reach the state of financial well-being, as defined by CFPB The proposed system consists of a rule-based system that provides users with actionable advice to make informed spending decisions and achieve their financial goals © 2021, International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications All Right Reserved


A simple stability-indicating high performance liquid chromatographic method for the assay of sibutramine hydrochloride in the presence of its degradation products was developed using reverse phase Symmetry C-18, 150mm X 4.6mm, 5µm column, in the mobile phase phosphate buffer (pH 5.5) and acetonitrile (30:70, v/v) at flow rate 1mL/min with UV detection at 225nm. The retention time was found to be 2.618min. Validation of an analytical method was established by laboratory studies. Selectivity was validated by subjecting the stock solution of sibutramine to acidic, alkaline, oxidative and thermal degradation. The proposed method was found to be linear at concentration of 20 to 60µg/mL (R2=0.999). The limit of detection and limit of quantification was 0.04µg/mL and 0.12µg/mL respectively and the method was found to be specific. Method precision and precision of the system was found to be within the limits of the acceptance criteria. Relative standard deviation for precision of the method and precision of the system was found to be 1.4% and 0.4% respectively. The percentage recovery ranges from 99-101%. The results indicate that there is no interference from excipients for the proposed method, thus making the method simpler, less time consuming and suitable for routine quantitative estimation of sibutramine hydrochloride capsule formulation. As the method could effectively separate the drug from its degradation products, it can be employed as a stability-indicating one.


Oral solid dosage formulations and/or tablets have remained the preferred route of administration by both patients and health care practitioners. Oral tablets are easy to administer, they are non-invasive and cause less risk adversity. Because of the lack of commercially available tablet dose options, tablets are being split or partitioned by users. Tablet scoring refers to the breakage of a tablet to attain a desired efficacy dose and is an emerging concept in the pharmaceutical industry. The primary reason for the tablet scoring practice is to adjust the dose: dose tapering or dose titrating. Other reasons for tablet partitioning are to facilitate dose administration, particularly among the pediatric and the geriatric patient population, and to mitigating the high cost of prescription drugs. The scope of this review is to: (1) evaluate the advantages and inconveniences associated with tablet scoring/portioning, and (2) identify factors in the formulation and the manufacturing of tablets that influence tablet splitting. Whereas tablet partitioning has been a common practice, there is a lack of understanding regarding the fundamentals underpinning the performance of tablets with respect to splitting. Several factors can influence tablet partitioning: tablet size, shape, and thickness. A requirement has recently been set by the European Pharmacopoeia and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the uniformity of mass of subdivided tablets. For breaking ease, an in-vivo reference test and a routinely applicable in-vitro test need to be established.


The article comments the site strategy and design factors of Sanya Railway Station,which roots in the tropical environment of Hainan Island.The curved roof with steel structure forms a beautifully waved landscape to create a relaxed,comfortable,open,relaxed atmosphere.The genius of this case is the combination of the architectural appearance and the technical requirements,which forms a dynamic civic landmark and a memory for travelers to the city.


In the 6-dimensional model of warped compactification based on the euclidean AdS Reissner-Nordstrom metric it is possible to escape artificial 4-brane's stress-energy tensor anistropy necessary for fulfillment of Israel junction conditions by introducing in 3+1 spacetime of the cosmological constant which turns out to be ∼ G 2 (G - Newton's constant) and acquires the value compatible with observations.


posteriorly on the left and crossed the aortic lumen, emerging through the right side of the aorta and damaging the inferior vena cava before lacerating the duodenum and transversing the liver to lodge in the lower chest wall. The severe hypotension that ensued presumably allowed the arterial haematoma to clot and thus arrest active bleeding from the aorta. The relatively small amount of retroperitoneal bleeding found at the initial laparotomy is a witness to the efficacy of this process. The time at which the fistula became established is a matter for conjecture. It would seem extremely unlikely that it formed in the early hours after injury as no bruit or thrill was detectable at the first operation. No sign of a fistula was elicited in the ensuing week when abdominal auscultation was frequently carried out during the period of paralytic ileus. The prognosis called for careful consideration. The child showed no signs of cardiac distress other than radiological cardiac enlargement and equivocal electrocardiographic signs and no evidence of arterial or venous insufficiency in the lower limbs. It was felt, however, that the cardiac effects were likely to prove progressive. Furthermore, the possibility of the development of endarteritis or endocarditis (Lillehei, Bobb, and Visicher, 1950) had to be borne in mind. Thus an attempt at radical cure was indicated. In the event the degree of cardiac enlargement was much more than actually suspected. This enlargement subsided within 72 hours of operation and possibly much sooner, indicating that it was probably related to an increase in circulatory bloodvolume and cardiac filling. I t is unfortunate that no blood-volume estimations were carried out. In retrospect, it is of interest that the symptoms produced by this large fistula were mild as compared with the degree of cardiac disability and circulatory deficiency reported in adults with comparable lesions. That the child was able to compensate so well is attributable to the ample cardiac reserve and greater circulatory adaptability at this age.


Two-dimensional hydroelasticity is used to analyze a multi module VLFS which is 100 m wide and 500 m long. Each 100 m x 100 m module represents a conventional semisubmersible design. The structure is modeled as a single, nonuniform beam, the hydrodynamic loads are determined from strip theory, and a consistent formulation for the hydrostatic stiffness is derived. The resulting coupled equations of motion are solved directly. The analysis provides basic motions and 'section' forces, which are useful to develop an understanding of the fundamental modes of displacement and force amplitudes for which multi-module VLFSs must be designed. Two designs of the module connectors are considered: a rotationally-flexible 'hinge' connector, and a rotationally-rigid connector. The results show that the connector design substan tially impacts both the motion and forces of the individual modules. While the hinge connectors result in greater motion, the rigid connectors increase substantially the sectional moments for which the modules must be designed. NOMENCLATURE


Dispersion of ventricular repolarization (DVR) is known to be an immediate precursor of potentially mortal arrhythmias. Recently, the duration of the ECG T-wave (TWD) has been proposed as an indicator of DVR. In this work, we have used computer simulations to quantify the relationship between the degree of DVR and the TWD. For this purpose, the Luo-Rudy dynamic (2000) model was used in combination with a monodomain model of the ventricular tissue to simulate the electrical activity of a ventricular strand. The results of the simulations show that the duration of the T-wave increases almost linearly with dispersion of ventricular repolarization, independently of the cause of the increased DRV. Thus, the T-wave duration could indeed be a good indicator of the DRV, as suggested by other experimental works.


AbstractThe passivation characteristics of carbon steel surfaces at 473 K in the presence of certain chelating agents such as NTA DTP A, and HEDTA are described. The relative impacts of these chelants on the passivation process are evaluated by using base metal loss, soluble and insoluble iron concentrations in the mediums SEM studies of the topography of the surface coatings, and electrochemical investigations of the protection afforded by the oxide coating. The results have been compared with the passivation behaviour obtained under simple alkaline pH (LiOH) treatment (without chelating agents) and that previously obtained in the presence of EDTA. It is found that at 473 K, the presence of these complexing agents greatly increases the base metal loss, although a lower base metal loss is observed with LiOH. but the oxide film formed is more protective than the one formed under LiOR or EDTA treatments. The morphology of the coatings formed under complexing conditions has revealed highly developed crystall...


The JPEG-LS with rate control mechanism is widely applied in buffer and bandwidth managements. In existing works, the compression ratio (CR) gradually reaches target compression ratio (TCR) based on the adjustment of information loss level at row by row. However, the CR-fluctuation is induced and limits its performance in bandwidth-efficiency applications. In this paper, the proposed segment-based rate control (SBRC), which comprises progressive adjustment of information loss level and scaling just noticeable distortion (JND) model, is applied in JPEG-LS. Experiment results show that the CR-fluctuation can be efficiently reduced and visual quality is also maintained.


PurposeThe growing prominence of disaster research has also prompted vibrant discussions about the motivation and ethical conduct of disaster researchers. Yet, the individual researchers' aspirations and aims, together with the challenging and changing circumstances under which one undertakes disaster research have received relatively scant attention. Drawing on the author's personal experience of becoming a disaster researcher under the unexpected humanitarian crisis following the 2015 Nepal earthquakes, this paper seeks to contribute to the debates surrounding the role of reflexivity and ethical sensitivity in doing disaster research under the climate of uncertainty.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on the author's reflections and vignettes to highlight the author's experience of becoming a disaster researcher, and my trajectory of navigating the complex terrain of fieldwork.FindingsThe paper underscores how the process of becoming a disaster researcher was closely intertwined with and shaped by my concerns and care for the disaster-affected communities. The paper argues that doing contextually relevant and ethically sensitive research is not a static target. It demands constant reflexivity and improvisation, in response to the unpredictable real-world conditions of disasters. Instead of aiming to tame such uncertainty, disaster researchers may benefit from appreciating and embracing uncertainty as a major facet of its epistemological distinctiveness.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the ongoing efforts in advancing methodological reflection and innovation in disaster research. In so doing, the paper is expected to aid early-career researchers who are often faced with ethical and practical dilemmas of doing fieldwork.


Radial mass-to-light ratio gradients cause the half-mass and half-light radii of galaxies to differ, potentially biasing studies that use half-light radii. Here we present the largest catalog to date of galaxy half-mass radii at z > 1: 7006 galaxies in the CANDELS fields at 1.0 ≤ z ≤ 2.5. The sample includes both star-forming and quiescent galaxies with stellar masses . We test three methods for calculating half-mass radii from multiband PSF-matched Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging: two based on spatially resolved spectral energy distribution modeling, and one that uses a rest-frame color profile. All three methods agree, with scatter ≲0.3 dex. In agreement with previous studies, most galaxies in our sample have negative color gradients (the centers are redder than the outskirts, and ). We find that color gradient strength has significant trends with increasing stellar mass, half-light radius, U − V color, and stellar mass surface density. These trends have not been seen before at z > 1. Furthermore, color gradients of star-forming and quiescent galaxies show a similar redshift evolution: they are flat at z ≳ 2, then steeply decrease as redshift decreases. This affects the galaxy mass–size relation. The normalizations of the star-forming and quiescent relations are 10%–40% smaller than the corresponding relations; the slopes are ∼0.1–0.3 dex shallower. Finally, the half-mass radii of star-forming and quiescent galaxies at M* = 1010.5 M⊙ only grow by ∼1% and ∼8% between z ∼ 2.25 and z ∼ 1.25. This is significantly less than the ∼37% and ∼47% size increases found when using the half-light radius.


Background : Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease (cGVHD) is a multi-organ disorder characterized by immune dysregulation, impaired organ function, and decreased survival. Refractory cGVHD remains an unmet need with limited effective treatment options. Janus kinase (JAK) inhibition targeting JAK-STAT is promising in cGVHD due to this multifaceted pathway's key role in immune cell development, function, and inflammation. Baricitinib is a JAK1/2 inhibitor FDA-approved at 2 mg daily for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, and which has shown therapeutic promise in preclinical models of GVHD. Herein, we report the preliminary analysis results of a phase 1/2 study exploring the efficacy and safety of the JAK 1/2 inhibitor baricitinib in therapy-refractory cGVHD.
 Methods : Patients (pts) with therapy-refractory moderate-severe cGVHD per NIH criteria were enrolled on an NCI sponsored treatment protocol (NCT02759731). This is a phase 1/2 single center, single arm study of baricitinib starting at an oral dose of 2 mg daily, given for 28-day cycles, with intra-patient dose escalation to 4 mg daily after 3 months (mos) for a total of 12 cycles. Adverse events (AEs) were monitored and graded per CTCAEv4.3. Clinical responses were measured every 3 mos per the 2014 NIH cGVHD Response Criteria. The primary efficacy endpoint was ORR (CR+PR) at 6 mos; if PR or SD, pts were treated for up to 12 mos and monitored for 12 mos post-completion. Subjects self-report questionnaires included the Lee symptom bother scale (LSS). Peripheral blood samples were collected for pharmacokinetic and correlative studies at several time points throughout study.
 Results: Twenty pts with refractory cGVHD were enrolled. Median patient age was 54 years (24-68), 55% female, 90% Caucasian. Median time from cGVHD diagnosis to study enrollment was 36.8 mos, with median baseline KPS of 80%. cGVHD NIH global score was severe in all pts (due to sclerotic skin in all except one oral), involving a median of 4 (2-6) organs, and treated with a median of 4 (2-7) lines of prior systemic therapy including ibrutinib in 3. At study enrollment, all but 3 (85%) were on concurrent systemic immunosuppression, including steroids for 12 (60%) at a median dose of 10 mg (2.5-30) prednisone daily.
 ORR at 6-months was 63% (95% CI 47-87%), with durable responses seen in 7 of 8 evaluable pts at 12-mos. ORR at any time was 90% (85-100%), with median time to ORR of 1.4 mos (1.4-6.3). Organ-specific responses were seen in all involved organs except for lungs (11 organ-specific CRs at 6-mos). Clinically significant improvements in LSS (≥ 6-point reduction) were seen in 7 of 14 (50%) evaluable pts at 6-mos. Median steroid dose-reduction of 4 mg prednisone daily was achieved in 6 (50%) of those on steroids at enrollment. With a median follow up of 24.2 mos, median failure-free survival (FFS) was 20.6 mos (19-NR). 1- and 2-year FFS was 74% (57-97%) and 37% (18-78%), respectively. Of the 8 evaluable pts who completed study, 3 progressed at a median of 7.3 mos (6.9-11.9) after drug discontinuation.
 No DLT was observed with the 2 mg dose of baricitinib; 16/20 (80%) pts reached dose-escalation to 4 mg at 3 mos. Three pts required dose-reductions: two due to neutropenia, and one due to refractory myalgias. Common AEs, possibly treatment-related, included upper respiratory infection (URI) (13), neutropenia (6), hypophosphatemia (12), and hypertriglyceridemia (5). Asymptomatic, transient reactivation of CMV occurred in 6, EBV in 7, BK viruria in 5 - none of which required treatment. HPV-related eyelid papilloma developed in 2, with no visual changes. One patient with EBV viremia/lymphadenopathy at enrollment was diagnosed with biopsy-proven EBV-PTLD <1 cycle into study. 11 SAEs were reported, of which 5 were possibly drug-related, including hospitalizations for joint infection (n=1), cellulitis (n=2), and URI (n=2). Eleven pts (55%) required dose-interruptions due to AEs, and 9 pts (45%) discontinued treatment at a median 5.6 mos (0.8-10.7) post-initiation due to PD (n=3), EBV-PTLD (n=1), decreased DLCO (n=1), viral URI (n=1), pneumonia (n=1), and other (n=2). There were no deaths on study.
 Conclusion: The JAK 1/2 inhibitor baricitinib appears well-tolerated and effective for pts with severe cGVHD who progressed through multiple lines of prior therapy. Responses were achieved rapidly and seen across all involved organs, except lungs. Full study results for a total of 31 pts are expected in early 2022.

 No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

 Baricitinib is currently FDA-approved in the U.S. for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis at a dose of 2 mg by mouth once daily.


A novel enhanced geothermal system (EGS) with multilateral wells is presented to exploit geothermal energy. The EGS includes one main wellbore with an inner insulated tubing, several upper injection lateral wells and lower production lateral wells. The working fluid is injected into the reservoir through the annulus, and produced from the insulated inner tubing. Hence, this EGS can achieve the injection and production through one main wellbore instead of double wells. A thermal-hydraulic-mechanical (THM) coupling model with discrete fractures is established to investigate thermal characteristics of multilateral-well EGS. The model is verified by an analytical solution of a thermal consolidation problem. Based on the model, the effects of rock mechanical behavior on the heat extraction performance are analyzed. The influences of geometrical parameters of multilateral wells, including well length, number, spacing and diameter, on the EGS performance are studied. The results indicate that the effective stress of rock induced by variations of temperature and pore pressure can increase the fracture permeability and promote the thermal breakthrough. Besides, the longer lateral well and larger well spacing are beneficial for enhancing the EGS performance. The well number has a complicated effect on the heat extraction process, which needs to be further optimized. The influence of the lateral-well diameter on the EGS performance can be ignored. The results of this study provide good guidance for the lateral wells design of the multilateral-well EGS.


The present study is aimed at developing Orodispersible film of Torsemide using solvent casting method. Films were prepared by Solvent casting technique using HPMC E15 (Polymer), PEG 400 (Plasticizer), Crosscarmelose sodium (Super disintegrating agent), and sodium saccharin (Sweetener). FTIR Spectra showed absence of incompatibility between drug and excipients. A 3 2 full factorial design was applied to investigate the combined effect of the two independent formulation variables i.e., concentration of polymer (X1), concentration of plasticizer (X2) on the dependent variables i.e., Folding endurance (Y1), disintegration time (Y2), %CDR at 1 min (Y3) and %CDR at 2 min (Y4). Results of the multiple regression analysis revealed that the independent variables significantly affected the dependent variables. The optimum batch was identified. The Check point batch was formulated using HPMC E15 (292 mg), PEG 400 (20% of polymer concentration) and 20 mg of CCS. The theoretical and practical results were similar which confirm the prediction power of model. The stability study of optimized batch was carried out at 40 ± 0.5 o C temperature and 75 ± % 5 RH for one month. It showed no statistically significant difference in disintegration time, folding endurance, drug content and dissolution profile before and after stability study. The optimized Orodispersible film of Torsemide can be a promising dosage form for the treatment of poisoning.


VCSELs with two-sided emission have been presented in the literature long times ago (see, e.g., [1]). In the common AlGaAs material system on GaAs substrates, this is most easily achieved with the use of compressively strained InGaAs quantum wells (QWs) which have a reduced bandgap energy and with current supply through a top ring contact and a bottom ring contact at the back side of the substrate. For photon energies exceeding approximately 920 nm, the GaAs substrate is essentially transparent. For VCSELs based on GaAs QWs with emission in the 850 nm wavelength range, substrate removal or substrate replacement with, e.g., a glass wafer are alternative options. As for most cases in optical sensing, the optical pressure sensor application described in [2] requires single-mode, single-polarization emission with a high side-mode suppression ratio. In the sections to follow we first describe the chosen device structure for emission close to 960 nm wavelength and its processing and mounting and then present the experimental results for static operation. It turns out that a high-quality anti-reflection (AR) coating at the substrate side is a necessity for proper laser output.


Indium recovery from alkali slag and prolonging of service period of organic phase in the production line with an annual output of 20 tons of indium were introduced.The existing problems in indium recovery from high fluoride,chlorine and arsenic bearing materials and the measures adopted were summarized.The results show that the technical reconstruction improves indium ingot output,reduces production cost,and obtains good economic and social benefits.


If the "index theorem" for Fredholm operators sometimes hold in the absence of an index [4], then also it sometimes fails in the presence of and index. 0. Call the bounded linear operator T: X -* Y between normed spaces weakly Fredholm if it is both essentially one-one, in the sense ([3, Definition 6.4.1]) that (0.1) T1 I(0) is finite dimensional, and essentially dense, in the sense ([3, Definition 6.4.1]) that Y/ cl(TX) is finite dimensional; thus T is Fredholm if it is weakly Fredholm and proper, in the sense ([3, Definition 3.2.7]) that (0.3) core(T): X/T1(0) -+ cl(TX) is invertible, where core(T) is induced by T in the obvious way. The product of weakly Fredholm operators is Fredholm; we have the implication (0.4) S, T essentially one-one > ST essentially one-one =# T essentially one-one since T 1(0) C (ST)1(0) and (0.5) (ST) I(0)/T' (0) T(X) n S (0) C S (0), and the implication (0.6) S, T essentially dense => ST essentially dense => S essentially dense since (0.7) T essentially dense X Tt essentially one-one, Received by the editors March 10, 1989. 1980 Mathematics Subject Classification (1985 Revision). Primary 47B30. (v 1990 American Mathematical Society 0002-9939/90 $1.00 + $.25 per page


142 INTRODUCTION Bone is one of the most important oral tissues. It is maintained by the balance between bone formation and resorption . It is remodeled continuously by two specialized cell types: bone-forming osteoblasts and bone-resorbing osteoclasts . Osteoclasts are tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive, multinucleated giant cells that originate from the monocyte/macrophage lineage of hematopoietic stem cells . Stromal cells and osteoblasts express macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL), which are essential for the induction of osteoclasts. In terms of tissue engineering, osteoclasts and macrophages resorb scaffolds, making space for bone matrix formation . Consequently, osteoclasts play an important role in bone regeneration. We reported previously microRNAs (miRNAs) expression profiles during osteoclastogenesis using microarrays . miRNAs are small, endogenous, noncoding RNAs of approximately 22 nuExpression of MicroRNAs in the Extracellular Microvesicles of Murine Osteoclasts


This study investigated how local people used forest resources in daily life according to seasons or years in satoyama landscape (local village landscape), and how the seasonal cycle of the uses of forest resources and the landscape changed between 1900 and 1922. The investigation was mainly based on a diary written between 1900 and 1922 by a farmer of a rural village in the western part of Shiga Prefecture. Moreover, governmental and local records were analyzed and some of the elders in the village were interviewed. GIS was used to create a link between the seasonal cycle of forest resources uses and the satoyama landscape. Both the kinds of uses (such as plantation and grass-cutting) and the seasonal cycle of the uses of forest resources changed in relation to governmental forestry and agricultural policies. Changes in the position of the writer in the village and in his family resulted in uses differences as well.


The success of homogeneous asymmetric catalysis has been attributed to the structure and stereochemistry of the coordinated ligand(s). The most effective ligands are C 2 -symmetrical bisphosphines containing either a rigid chiral backbone linking two PPh 2 units or a bisphosphine, DIPAMP containing two chiral phosphine units linked by an achiral backbone. The synthesis of P-chiral ligands of this type has been severely hindered by the lack of a general synthetic route allowing the incorporation of phosphorus chirality without the need for separation of diastereomeric precursors or resolution of intermediate enantiomers. The objective of this work was to develop a general synthetic route to homochiral bulky arylphosphines with substantial flexibility in the groups at phosphorus and extend the approach to new P-chiral bisphosphines. In one approach, diastereomerically pure (2 R , 4 S , 5 R )-2,5-diphenyl-3,4-dimethyl-1,3,2-oxazaphospholidine was prepared directly from PhPCl 2 using l -ephedrine as a chiral auxiliary. Stereospecific oxidation using Bu t OOH gave the corresponding P-oxide which was shown to have R -stereochemistry at phosphorus by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The compound reacted regiospecifically with ortho -anisylmagnesium bromide to afford the product formed by P-O bond cleavage with >96% d.e. and with retention of configuration at phosphorus as demonstrated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The l -ephedrine residue was replaced by O-methyl under acid-catalysis with inversion of configuration and with >95% e.e., the reaction was monitored by 1 H n.m.r. spectroscopy which gave t 1/2 of ca. 30 min. Attempts to incorporate para -fluorophenol using similar conditions led to the isolation of the pyrophosphinate in low yield. The OMe residue in the methyl ( ortho -anisyl)phenylphosphinate was readily displaced by aliphatic Grignard reagents giving the corresponding phosphine oxides with inversion of configuration and with >95% e.e.. Displacement of methoxy using aryl magnesium bromides showed similar enantioselectivity but in lower chemical yield, however the corresponding arylmagnesium chlorides were more efficient. In a second approach, diastereomerically pure (2 R , 4 S , 5 R )-2-chloro-3,4-dimethyl-5-phenyl-1,3,2-oxazaphospholidine was prepared from PCl 3 and l -ephedrine. The compound underwent diastereoselective P-C1 cleavage with aryl Grignard and aryllithium reagents with net retention of configuration at phosphorus and with 90% d.e.. Oxidation of the ortho -anisyl derivative afforded (2 R , 4 S , 5 R )-2-( ortho -anisyl)-3,4-dimethyl-5-phenyl-1,3,2-oxazaphospholidine-2-oxide which was subsequently reacted with a range of bulky aryl Grignard reagents to afford the corresponding biarylphosphinamides with retention of configuration at phosphorus. Subsequent acid-catalysed methanolysis and displacement of the methoxy residue with PhMgCl afforded a range of bulky arylphosphine oxides with defined configuration at phosphorus with >95% e.e. as determined by 1 H n.m.r. methods. ( S )- ortho -anisyl ( meta -anisyl)phenylphosphine oxide underwent regiospecific ortho -lithiation on the meta -anisyl ring which on quenching with D 2 O afforded the corresponding 2-deuteride in 80% yield. The 2-iodo analogue was also prepared although in low chemical purity and is a key precursor to new axially dissymmetric bisphosphines containing chiral phosphorus centres. Other approaches to P-chiral ferrocenyl ligands and biaryl ligands are also described and modifications for further development are implicated. An X-ray crystallographic study of six aryl-oxazaphospholidines is also presented and demonstrates the influence of the substituents at phosphorus in determining the conformation of the 1,3,2-oxazaphospholidine ring. A comparison with solution 1 H n.m.r. data showed, in some cases, good correlation between the P-O-C-H dihedral angle and the corresponding solid state torsion angle.


Chemotherapy-inhibiting tumor cell evolution to drug-resistance is potentially suppressed by using a drug delivery vehicle (DDV) that has gating. Gating would be used to increase tumor-selectivity of delivery of DDV packaged drug. Tumor-selectivity increase would make possible increase in tumor-delivered drug dose, which would suppress opportunities to evolve drug resistance. Currently used DDVs do not have gating but gating is a natural feature of some bacteriophages (phages). Phage T4, which has recently been found highly persistent in murine blood, is a potential gated DDV. Thus, here, we proceed towards a T4-DDV by developing (1) improved procedure for generating high concentrations and amounts of phage T4, (2) elevated temperature-driven gate-opening and ethidium- and bleomycin-loading, and (3) purification of loaded T4 by rate zonal centrifugation. We test for loading by native agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE) with fluorescence detection. We observe loading in both phage T4 and T4 (tail-free) heads. The loaded particles have an openable, closed gate. Stored, mature T4 phages and phage heads do not release ethidium during at least a month at 4 °C and 6 days at 37 and 42 °C. Tumor-specific T4 phage delivery is projected via both the EPR effect and high T4 persistence.


The church is described from the perspective of the Trinity. This chapter relates the unity of the church not to the persons of the Trinity as a social community, but as the presence of one God. It deals with the church as the people of God, as the body of Christ, and as the temple of the Holy Spirit. The 'persons' are not a community, but they are the one and same God three times. God's people are the people of Christ for Christ is God's own coming. The church is the body of Christ. God cannot be divided and thus his people, his body, and his dwelling place cannot be divided. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not three Gods. They are the one and only God, and the unity of this one God is visible in the world in the unity of the one church. Keywords: Christ; Church; God; Holy Spirit; Trinity; unity


International labour rights organisations pay considerable attention to the working conditions in less developed countries. For labour rights activists, labour standards such as collective bargaining rights and maternal leave promote economic progress. We argue that this perspective has the causation backwards and that it is economic development that causes the codification of improved working conditions.


I review recent measurements of the initial mass function of stars and brown dwarfs in star-forming regions and open clusters and summarize the implications of these data for theories of star formation.


Numerous tunnel fires occurring in China and foreign countries demonstrate that fires can severely destroy the lining structure and that the fire-resistant performance of the lining is of great importance.With Jiaozhou Bay tunnel in Qingdao,China as an example,the numerical simulation of the temperature field of the tunnel lining under high temperature in case of fire is presented,the rule of the temperature distribution along the lining thickness under high temperature in case of fire is studied and a series of study results are achieved,which has great significance to determine the fire-resistant performance of the tunnel lining and to improve the fire-resistant safety of the tunnel lining.


This paper will describe new areas of eye tracking application connected with secure user authentication, using cognitive CAPTCHA codes. Cognitive CAPTCHA require special knowledge or perception skills, during selection of visual parts for personal authentication. In such protocols can be also implemented contactless interfaces in the form of eye tracking devices. Application of such technology allow to trace the point of attention which should be focused on proper visual elements in proper semantic order for successful user authentication.


The effects of different ozone concentrations (8.9310-94.46510-10, 4.4610-92.23010-10, 2.2310-9?1.11510-10, ≤4.4610-10, 1.1210-9~1.7910-9mol/L) and fuming days (5, 10, 15, 30d) on treating pot-cultivated Chinese cabbage were studied using open top chamber. Increasing ozone concentration might lead to injured symptom, such as lose water, abnormality, leaf splash and others. Its symptom was irreparable after moving out the fuming environment. Yellow leaf rate increased markedly. New developed leaves were uninjured. Fuming with high concentration for short-term might promote growth of Chinese cabbage in latter stage, so as to expiate the former effects. Increasing ozone concentration and prolonging fume days might in general increase leaf stomatal resistance, decrease stomatal conduction, control assimilation of CO2 and exchange of vapor, increase leaf temperature, reduce photosynthesis rate, also control roots growth, decrease biomass and yield, and change the distribution patterns of photosynthate to each organ.


Through a questionnaire on successive teaching training in Hunan University from 2005 to 2006,the authors analyze young university teachers' professional preparations,probe into the concerning for young university teachers' teaching training and reflect effective forms and contents of campus-based teaching training.Furthermore,the authors also bring forth some referenced measures to improve the condition of campus-based training for university teachers.


Let us suppose that it were possible to take a small cross-section in time of any one of the thousands of English language classes being taught all over the world and to examine it. In Class A we might find the teacher turning to the chalkboard and drawing aB diagram; in Class B another teacher might be telling his class to do some written exercises, and in other classes at that same moment other familiar activities might be starting.


The embodiment of the invention discloses a method, a device and a terminal for loading information, and relates to the field of electronic equipment. A problem that a user needs to replace a mobile phone for services of other operators because the mobile phone only supports one operator network can be solved, and the inconvenience brought to the life and work of the user can also be avoided. The method comprises the steps of: when the terminal is started up, acquiring integrate circuit card identity (ICCID) information of a subscriber identity module (SIM) card; judging whether the ICCID information of the SIM card is consistent with ICCID information of a currently used NV configuration file; when the ICCID information of the SIM card is not consistent with the ICCID information of the currently used NV configuration file, determining the NV configuration file corresponding to the ICCID information of SIM card according to the ICCID information of SIM card; and loading the NV configuration file corresponding to the ICCID information of SIM card. The method for loading the information is applied to the terminal.


Objective: To investigate the safety and feasibility of treating rat breast tumor by the enzyme JA.Methods: MA782 cell line and tissue liquid were implanted subcutaneously in female BALB/c rats and 60 implanted tumors were randomized into three groups(G1-G3),which were injected with saline 0.2 ml and absolute alcohol 0.2 ml and the enzyme JA 0.2 ml respectively.The size of tumor was observed after treatment.After 24 hours and on the 10th day,8 rats were killed in each group.The pathologic examination was performed,and ALT,AST,Cr and BUN in blood serum were tested.(Results:) The ablation effect in G3 was better than in G2.It was observed that the liver damage maintained for a long time in G2,otherwise,it was just temporary in G3.(Conclusion:) The ablation effect of intra-tumor injection of the enzyme JA into implanted rat breast tumor is obvious,and it is more effective and safer than ethanol.The enzyme JA will have a promising future in ablation of breast cancer.


Most wireless localization methods utilize only one means of detection for the surgeon, sufficient to localize a single small breast lesion for excision. Complex cases requiring bracketing of a larger lesion or localization of two or more close lesions can superimpose the signal from separate "seeds" with such methods. The lack of discernment between the localization "seeds" can disorient the surgeon, risking a missed lesion on excision and longer operative times. with the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to breast surgery, the necessity of localizing both a breast lesion and an axillary lymph node previously biopsied is becoming frequent.


Rotary kiln produces lime from limestone through thermal decomposition. Ring formation in kiln internal wall is known issue that decreases productivity. The cause of ring formation is temperature imbalance as flame leans toward upper wall. Therefore, burner nozzle geometry was changed to improve air-fuel mixing state which leads to prevention of ring formation. CFD simulation and experimental test were performed in this study to investigate the effect of air-fuel mixing on flame structure, temperature and NOX concentration. It is shown that combustion efficiency has been enhanced and NOX concentration has been decreased by using swirl flow for secondary combustion air. It"s also shown that flame has been straightened by using straight flow for secondary combustion air.


Extreme four-dimensional dilaton black holes embedded into ten-dimensional geometry are shown to be dual to the gravitational waves in string theory. The corresponding gravitational waves are the generalization of pp-fronted waves, called supersymmetric string waves. They are given by the Brinkmann metric and the two-form field, without a dilaton. The nondiagonal part of the metric of the dual partner of the wave together with the two-form field correspond to the vector field in the four-dimensional geometry of the charged extreme black holes.


Mouse brain microglial cells undergo apoptosis on exposure to inflammatory stimuli, which is considered as an autoregulatory mechanism to control their own activation. Here, we present evidence that an antiproliferative B cell translocation gene 1 ( BTG1 ) constitutes a novel apoptotic pathway of LPS/IFN- (cid:1) -activated microglia. The expression of BTG1 was synergistically enhanced by LPS and IFN- (cid:1) in BV-2 mouse microglial cells as well as in primary microglia cultures. Levels of BTG1 expression inversely correlated with a proliferative capacity of the microglial cells. Tetracycline-based conditional expression of BTG1 not only suppressed microglial proliferation but also increased the sensitivity of microglial cells to NO-induced apoptosis, suggesting a novel mechanism of cooperation between LPS and IFN- (cid:1) in the induction of microglial apoptosis. An increase in BTG1 expression, however, did not affect microglial production of NO, TNF- (cid:2) , or IL-1 (cid:3) , indicating that the antiproliferative BTG1 is important in the activation-induced apoptosis of microglia, but not in the activation itself. The synergistic action of LPS and IFN- (cid:1) in the microglial BTG1 induction and apoptosis was dependent on the Janus kinase/STAT1 pathway, but not IFN-regulatory factor-1, as demonstrated by a pharmacological inhibitor of Janus kinase (AG490), STAT1 dominant negative mutant, and IFN-regulatory factor-1-deficient mice. Taken together, antiproliferative BTG1 may participate in the activation-induced cell death of microglia by lowering the threshold for apoptosis; BTG1 increases the cells by a sequential addition of 4 M guanidinium thiocyanate, 2 M sodium acetate, and acid phenol-chloroform. Reverse transcription was conducted using Superscript (Life Technologies-BRL) and oligodeoxythymidylate primer. PCR amplification using primer sets specific for IRF-1 was conducted at 60°C annealing temperature for 30 cycles. PCR for BTG1 and (cid:3) -actin was conducted at 55°C annealing temperature for 30 cycles. Nucleotide se- quences of the primers were based on published cDNA sequences of mouse BTG1 , (cid:3) -actin, and IRF-1 ( BTG1 forward, GAT TGG ACT GAG CAG TCA GGA; BTG-1 reverse, TCT TAA CCT GAT ACA GTC ATC; (cid:3) -actin forward, ATC CGT AAA GAC CTC TAT GC; (cid:3) -actin reverse, AAC GCA GCT CAG TAA CAG TC; IRF-1 forward, TCT GAG TGG ATG CAG ATG GAC; IRF-1 reverse, GGT CAG AGA CCC AAA CTA TGG TCG). The lengths of PCR product for each primer set were 261 bp for BTG1 , 287 bp for (cid:3) -actin, and 426 bp for IRF-1, respectively. For Northern blot analysis, isolated total RNA (20 (cid:4) g/sample) was electrophoresed in a 1.0% agarose gel containing 0.7% formaldehyde, 20 mM MOPS, 5 mM sodium acetate, and 1 mM EDTA. RNA was transferred to the Nytran membrane (Schleicher & Schuell, Keene, NH). After UV cross- linking, the membranes were hybridized with a Bam HI fragment (511 bp) of BTG1 cDNA probe (10 6 cpm/ml). The membranes were then washed at 65°C, dried, and exposed to x-ray films. and tetracycline. In a selected clone, BV-2/tet3, BTG1 induction was evaluated by removal of tetracycline from the growth medium. Western blot detection of BTG1 protein and densitometric analysis indicated (cid:7) 5 fold increase in BTG1 protein level in the cells grown in the absence of tetracycline ( (cid:1) tet) compared with the cells grown in the presence of tetracycline ( (cid:2) tet). BTG1 protein level was normalized to (cid:2) -tubulin. Results are representative of three independent experiments.