The evidence for abundant liquid water on early Mars despite the faint young Sun is a long‐standing problem in planetary research. Here we present new ab initio spectroscopic and line‐by‐line climate calculations of the warming potential of reduced atmospheres on early Mars. We show that the strength of both CO2–H2 and CO2–CH4 collision‐induced absorption (CIA) has previously been significantly underestimated. Contrary to previous expectations, methane could have acted as a powerful greenhouse gas on early Mars due to CO2–CH4 CIA in the critical 250–500 cm−1 spectral window region. In atmospheres of 0.5 bar CO2 or more, percent levels of H2 or CH4 raise annual mean surface temperatures by tens of degrees, with temperatures reaching 273 K for pressures of 1.25–2 bars and 2–10% of H2 and CH4. Methane and hydrogen produced following aqueous alteration of Mars' crust could have combined with volcanically outgassed CO2 to form transient atmospheres of this composition 4.5–3.5 Ga. Our results also suggest that inhabited exoplanets could retain surface liquid water at significant distances from their host stars.


THE attempt to judge or to appraise any aspect of the New Germany is for the foreign observer an unenviable task. A young English theological student who has had the good fortune to have lived in Germany through five of the most critical months of this year may have, however, some information that he should endeavour to impart. During his time in Germany the writer has sought to collect impressions and to find some way through the sequence of events, which have, indeed, taken a course which at times has been none too clear even to German theologians. History, indeed, provides the greatest difficulties, when it is contemporary, and no one can deny that during May, June, and July of this year Germany has provided us with the commencement of a new chapter in Church History. The new constitution of the Reichskirche is in itself a document of fundamental importance, but it is unintelligible apart from the proclamations and manifestos of the various Church groups, and what we may almost refer to as the blasts and counterblasts in which it came to birth. It is clear that German Protestantism is passing through a great crisis, and wemay, indeed, describe the German Protestant Church as standing at the crossroads. There seem to be three main possibilities. It can stand aside from the calls made upon it by the National Socialist State and by a People which, roused from a godless atmosphere, is eager to hear the voice and heed the claims of religion; or it is possible for it, officially at any rate, to degenerate into a useful tool for an all-embracing and unscrupulous National Socialist totalitarian State. There remains, however, a third possibility, that the German Protestant Church, conscious of its divine mission and convinced that the preaching of the Gospelof Jesus Christ and His Saving Death is its deepest and most sacred obligation to the German People in these days of destiny, should enter whole-heartedly within the new order and utter its message there. There can be no real denying that the Hitler regime offers the Protestant Church opportunities that have not been hers hitherto at any period since the War. In Point 24 of the Programme of the National Socialist Party it is declared that" the Party as such represents the standpoint of a positive Christianity without binding itself confessionally to one particular denomina-


Abstract Equal numbers of male and female Cobb color-sexed broilers (28 days of age) were fed finisher diets containing 2665, 3056, or 3335 kcal ME/kg of diet. One-half of the birds on each dietary energy treatment were fed .75% potassium chloride (KCl) the last 5 days prior to slaughter. The experiments were conducted in winter (Feb to Mar) and in summer (Jul to Aug). Birds were processed and various yield parameters calculated. Raw ready-to-cook carcass composition was also determined. During winter, decreasing dietary energy level significantly decreased percent yield due to increased shrink. The addition of KCl to the diet in winter had no effect on yield characteristics and composition was affected only slightly by KCl treatment. In summer, percent shrink was significantly decreased as dietary energy level was decreased, whereas water uptake was significantly increased. This resulted in no dietary energy effect on ready-to-cook yield. Adding KCl to the diet in summer increased ready-to-cook yield by decreasing shrink. Fat was increased as dietary energy level was increased in both summer and winter. Moisture was inversely related to fat.


Introduction Emergency department (ED) patients with chest pain at intermediate risk for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) often receive relatively expensive inpatient care involving 23 hours of observation and stress testing with echo or radioistotope imaging.

Hypothesis Compared to inpatient care, observation unit (OU) stress cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) will reduce index hospitalization cost in ED patients at intermediate risk for ACS.

Methods A single center clinical trial randomized 110 ED patients with intermediate risk chest pain (TIMI ≥2 or clinical impression) with a non-diagnostic ECG and a non-elevated initial troponin to OU CMR (OU care, serial cardiac markers and stress CMR) or inpatient care (admission, care determined by the admitting provider). Participant outcomes at 30 days were adjudicated by consensus of 2 blinded reviewers. Index hospitalization cost included hospital and physician costs. Hospital cost was calculated from itemized charges converted to cost using departmental-specific cost-to-charge ratios. Physician cost was calculated from work-RVUs using a Medicare conversion factor. A Wilcoxon-rank sum test and Cox PH modeling were used to conduct unadjusted and adjusted cost comparisons. The secondary outcome was correct cardiac disposition decision (excluding subjects leaving against medical advice (AMA)) based on the occurrence of ACS.

Results 53 subjects were randomized to OU-CMR and 57 to usual care; 8/110 (7%) experienced ACS. In the OU CMR group, 49/53 underwent stress CMR. 11/53 were admitted, 1 left AMA, 41 were discharged, and 2 experienced ACS (MI=1, CABG=1) in association with the index visit. In the usual care group, 39/57 subjects initially received stress testing. 54/57 were admitted, 3 left AMA, and 6 experienced ACS (MI=2, angioplasty=4). At 30 days no subjects in either group experienced ACS after discharge. OU CMR was associated with reduced median index hospitalization cost before ($2062 vs $2680, p<0.001) and after adjusting for covariates (p=0.014). OU CMR improved correct cardiac disposition decisions (83% vs 11%, p<0.001).

Conclusion In ED patients with intermediate risk chest pain, an OU CMR strategy reduces cost and improves cardiac disposition decisions with similar patient outcomes at 30 days.


Abstract The earliest and most extensive systematic descriptions of Philippine languages are found in the grammatical and lexicographical works of Spanish Catholic priests from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. Tagalog was the most studied among these languages, and was generally portrayed as the most "refined" because of certain cues that overtly mark verbal politeness. As these politeness cues were taken as translation constraints in Latinate tongues, they are often explained through solutions that operated on arbitrary equivalences between Tagalog and Castilian. A closer reading of these equivalences reveals that aside from the reduction of language to the usual categories of grammar, the proposed translation solutions also inscribed verbal politeness within a hierarchized vision of colonial polity, and repurposed the pre-existing mechanisms of Tagalog so as to articulate a Christian(ized) discourse.


The maldevelopment of the spiral arteries in the placental bed reduces uteroplacental blood flow and results in diseases later in the pregnancy. These diseases are here called the uteroplacental vascular syndromes. These syndromes have serious consequence for both the infant and the mother. These pregnancies with a maldeveloped uteroplacental circulation can be detected in the first twenty weeks of pregnancy with uteroplacental Doppler studies. This predictive ability can be improved with addition of maternal biophysical and historical data and biochemical testing of the maternal blood. Prophylactic therapy with aspirin and other antioxidants improves outcomes in some if not all of these syndromes. The potential for these syndromes is probably 15% to 20% of nulliparous pregnancies. Further research needs to be done to clarify the above facts and thus better detect these pregnancies and improve interventions and outcomes. The research into the early detection and improving the outcomes of these pregnancies, with otherwise normal mothers and infants, takes a much lower financial profile than the early detection of abnormal foetuses.


The present invention is to provide means of inhibiting chemical changes in unsaturated compounds by radical reactions through inhibition of radical formation in such an unsaturated compound: The present invention attains such an objective by providing an agent which comprises trehalose as an effective ingredient to form an association product between trehalose and an unsaturated compound.


A growing body of evidence documents the importance of multiple micronutrient supplements during pregnancy to improve the health and survival of newborns and their mothers. When mothers take micronutrient supplements during pregnancy -- instead of iron-folic acid alone -- their babies are born later and born bigger giving them a stronger start in life. We call on the WHO to update their guidelines.


Students in central-city schools face many hardships and problems when compared to their suburban counterparts. To a large extent these problems and hardships prevent students in central-city schools from achieving their fullest potential. Students in central-city schools also typically score lower than students in other school locations on national assessments. This study used data from several National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reports to compare achievement of students in central-city schools, rural schools, and suburban schools in many content areas and in different years. Such comparisons led to the identification of the "Significantly Worse Phenomenon."


pine tree (subgenus Strobus, section Cembra, subsection Cembrae). The species rarely exceeds heights of 25 m, its growth is very slow but longlasting and trees between 500 and 1000 years of age are reported. Under natural conditions, it may take 30 years to reach 1.30 m. Owing to its slow growth, P. cembra is a weak competitor compared with other trees. However, it is better adapted to the harsh upper subalpine climate conditions than any other European tree species. Consequently, it can compete in mixed stands where the performance of the other subalpine trees (mainly Picea abies and Larix decidua) is reduced and establish pure stands above their growth limit. Pinus cembra is often associated with Pinus mugo, L. decidua and/or P. abies. Stone pine tends to be a climax species tolerating some shade in the juvenile stage and germinating well on organic soils with an accumulated layer of litter and moss. However, it can germinate and establish itself on mineral soils or even rocky surfaces as well. The slow juvenile growth of P. cembra makes the species vulnerable to browsing for a long time and susceptible to lethal fungus infestations occurring under prolonged snow cover. For the latter reason, P. cembra is not found in microhabitats or regions with long-lasting snow cover (e.g. border zones of the Alps). Stone pine is a windpollinated species with male and female flowers on the same tree (monoecious). Within natural stands, reproductive maturity is not reached before plants are 40–60 years of age. Flowering and seed production occur every 2–3 years, but only a single year Pinus cembra


Based on an introduction to hydraulic transmission types,the working principles of hydraulic continuously variable transmission(CVT) system is detailedly analyzed.After deducing the matching design process,relevant simulation model are established using Matlab/SimulinkTM.By optimizing the matching of variable pump and variable motor displacements,the walking speed and driving force are led to an optimal state.Pertaining to the simulation results applied for walking system design,the prototype testing can meet design requirements.


© Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2017. The construction industry consumes a large part of raw material and global energy, and produces huge amount of solid waste. It is established that waste generated by construction processes has significant negative impact on the economy and environment. Effective waste management helps in reducing quantity of wastes and making a substantial contribution towards sustainable development and cost control. Based on a benchmarking approach, this research quantifies the material wastage and its causes in different types of building projects. In a waste diagnostic survey, 38 project sites were surveyed. Results revealed that bricks, tiles, and plaster from mortar are the most wasteful materials, and improper worker's skills, poor supervision, and lack of management the most significant causes. Buildings with substantial architectural works tend to generate maximum amount of waste while contractor size does not affect waste generation rate. Based on expert opinion, practical recommendations are given to control material waste. The findings offer a new perspective on sustainable construction by correlating building types with waste generation, as contribution to the existing body of knowledge. It will lead the construction managers to better understand the actual situation of construction waste and devise control measures.


For a class of linear dynamical systems containing uncertain elements and subject to uncertain inputs, a model following control systems is designed. It is shown that the error between the states of the model and the plant is uniformly bounded and ultimately bounded with respect to a certain ultimate boundedness set provided that certain measure of mismatch b2 does not exceed a critical mismatch threshold M*.


M uch of what is considered critical illness may involve oxygen radical pathophysiology.'' Data accumulated from both experimental and clinical investigations have implicated oxyradical injury in the pathogenesis of pulmonary oxygen toxicity, adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), sepsis syndrome , and a variety of ischemia-reperfusion syndromes, including myocardial infarction, stroke, cardiopulmonary bypass, organ transplantation, necrotizing enterocolitis, and acute renal tubular necrosis. Oxyradicals can devastate all four major classes of macromolecules composing living matter, and a variety of mechanisms exist for the generation of these toxic species, particularly in the critically ill patient. Literally hundreds of investigations have examined the potential of various oxyradical scavengers to modulate oxyradical injury. PROTEIN OXYRADICAL SCAVENGERS Superoxide dismutase (SOD) historically has been the most intensely investigated oxyradical scavenger. The original bovine isolate of SOD was termed Orgotein. It has demonstrated local effectiveness in numerous controlled and uncontrolled trials.. Systemically administered SOD has been investigated for its protective effect in rat ischemic bowel injury.4 Following a 1-mm occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery, 2.5 mg/kg of SOD was associated with an increased number of animals surviving, increased length of survival, decreased bowel perforation rate, and reduced bowel inflammation and necrosis on histology, compared to nontreated control animals. In a model of orthotopic cardiac transplantation in sheep, SOD in the cardioplegia and reperfusate solutions improved left ventricular function and endocardial blood flow and limited lipid peroxidation products, compared to control solutions.. Bovine SOD has been examined therapeutically in pre-term infants with respiratory distress syndrome at risk of developing BPD.6 Infants receiving mechanical ventilation and Fio2>0.7 at 24 h of age were randomly assigned to treatment and placebo groups.


In the article the author rejects traditional, logical interpretation of the famous "Is-Ought Paragraph" from David Hume's A Treatise of Human Nature. He argues that most of the interpreters failed to grasp the wide philosophical background of the IsOP, which is, generally speaking, a passionate discussion between ethical rationalists and ethical anti-rationalists in the 17th and 18th century British philosophy. The author shows that the Hume's main aim in the IsOP is to strengthen his previous arguments against ethical rationalism and to reinforce (and not subvert at all) the common-sense (vulgar) systems of morality, likewise he did in the first book of the Treatise… in case of the theory of knowledge. The author argues that there is no putative thesis of logic in the IsOP, which some scholars call "Hume's Law".


Key Points Question Has the incorporation of checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy into initial treatment of older Medicare-insured patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer been associated with meaningful improvements in overall survival? Findings This cohort study included 19 529 patients s with Medicare coverage who initiated first systemic therapy for advanced lung cancer using 1 of 4 regimens of checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy, cytotoxic chemotherapy, and combined chemoimmunotherapy. The median overall survival was 11.4 months among patients receiving pembrolizumab monotherapy and 12.9 months among patients receiving platinum/pemetrexed/pembrolizumab chemoimmunotherapy, both substantially shorter than observed in registrational trials, with an adjusted restricted mean survival time through 18 months of follow-up of 11 to 12 months for all 4 treatment groups. Meaning In this study, immunotherapy among older Medicare-insured patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer was associated with shorter overall survival than observed in key clinical trials, providing patients and physicians with estimates of outcomes for older patients who have lung cancer and are being treated with immunotherapy.


By analyzing corrosion on the tube of atmospheric furnace and transfer line,leakage from transfer line of the furnace is mainly caused by highly sulfur contained in crude oil,serious erosion,inapposite material and equipment ageing.According to the reason of corrosion,some measures are taken,such as the transfer line is wholly packed,material is upgrated,the distribution and corrosion regulation of active sulfur in the unit is understood,the thickness of high temperature position is measured at fixed point,all of these are for the purpose to avoid crude oil with high sulfur entering into the unit directly.


In this paper we discuss a combined a-priori a-posteriori approach to mesh reenement in nite element methods for two-and three-dimensional elliptic boundary value problems containing boundary singularities. We review rst both techniques of a-priori mesh grading around singularities and a-posteriori mesh reenement controlled by local error indicators. In examples of two-and three-dimensional boundary value problems we demonstrate the applicability and eeciency of various combined mesh reenement strategies.


Objective Study the clinical effectiveness of adipose myringoplasty.Methods Retrospective analysing 389 cases of autologous adipose myringoplasty clinical data during June 2003 to June 2010,abservation the healing situation of tympanic membrane perforation.Results Follow-up of all patients for more than 12 months,total healing ration was 94.6 % while the small perforation healing ratio was 95.7 %,average hearing improved 8.9 dB.Autologous adipose myringoplasty is an easy,safe,effective way.Discussion Analysing the history of adipose myringoplasty,submit opinions on its considerations on/after operation.


Reservoir areas are usually prone to geological disasters due to the significant changes taking place on the hydrogeological environment (Zhou et al., 2022a). For instance, more than 5,000 geological disasters have been reported in the Three Gorges Reservoir area, China. Extreme climate and human engineering activities have aggravated the occurrence of geological disasters in this reservoir area, posing a threat to local residents and vessels. Quantitative risk analysis of geological disasters can effectively support managers in developing strategies for disaster prevention and mitigation. Due to the complexity of deformation and failure mechanisms, there are still many unsolved issues in the quantitative analysis and prediction of reservoir geological disasters at the various spatiotemporal scales of interest. Recently, with the development and application of novel techniques, such as geotechnical testing, remote sensing, machine learning and numerical simulation, quantitative risk analysis methods of reservoir geological disaster have made great progress (Tang et al., 2019; Zhou et al., 2022b; Wang et al., 2022). The Research Topic on "Advancement in Quantitative Risk Analysis of Geological Disaster in Reservoir Areas" has received seven contributions in the field of landslide risk analysis, including monitoring with advanced techniques, risk prediction tools, and laboratory test for terrain in landslide prone areas.


Background and objectives: In recent years, biological control of parasites by essential oils (EOs) derived from plants is one of the alternatives to synthetic pesticides. Melissa officinalis from Lamiaceae family is distributed in many parts of Iran. It is known as an excellent source of antioxidants, antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal constituents. The present study investigated the insecticide properties of M. officinalis against Tetranychus urticae tick. Methods: The EO of different parts of plant was extracted and analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The ticks were placed on the filter paper in the bottom of a petri dish (9 mm), and contact toxicity assay was then performed by contacting the extract with the ticks. Results: The EO of leaves showed the most potent insecticidal effect while the stem EO demonstrated the weakest effect. The lowest concentration of EO from the leaves showed more considerable insecticide activity compared to the highest concentration of stem and flower EOs. Conclusion: Melissa officinalis is an effective insecticide with potent effect against T. urticae and it could be suggested as a natural pesticide against


use of microcomputers in the primary classroom, and the remarks will become intense and passionate. Although the diversity of comments prompted by such a discussion cannot be anticipated, two views will probably be voiced. Seeking the promise of a supposed competitive edge, one faction will favor microcomputer use while questioning whether the calculator threatens children's learning of the basics, that is, arithmetic. Citing I the added danger of producing soI daily isolated children who are obI sessed with the lure of microcomputI ers, another group will reject any form I of technology in the primary classI room. I Research indicates that both these I fears regarding technology are unI founded (Clements and Nas tasi 1985; I Fein, Campbell, and Schwartz 1987; I Hawkins, Sheingold, Gearhart, and I Berger 1982; Hembree 1986; Suydam I 1982, 1987). Technological advances I will not destroy early and primary I education, as technology can and I should be in tune with the needs and I potential of young children. Presented I within an environment that simulta-


A neutron diffraction load frame has been constructed for the Second Generation Neutron Residual Stress Mapping Facility (NRSF2) at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The load frame is designed to study micromechanical behaviour of materials under applied tensile or compressive loads and to characterize specimens with stress risers (e.g., cracks) while under load, in combination with the existing mapping capabilities at NRSF2.


Interaction of myoglobin with cationic surfactants hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HTAB), gemini surfactant 16-2-16 (dimethylene-1,2-bis(hexadecyldimethylammonium bromide)) and nonionic surfactant Mega 10 (N-decanoyl-N-methylglucamine) have been studied in phosphate buffer at pH 7.4 using surface tension, UV–visible, fluorescence, and circular dichroism spectroscopies and differential scanning calorimetry. With increasing concentration of HTAB, metal ion of the heme group changes its spin states; but in case of 16-2-16 and Mega 10, spin change does not occur. Fluorescence spectra clearly denote the unfolding process in HTAB media. With increasing HTAB concentration, α-helicity of myoglobin decreases with the appearance of β-sheet and random coil more rapidly than other two surfactants. Melting temperature of myoglobin is reduced drastically upon interaction with HTAB than their corresponding gemini and nonionic surfactants.


Epithelial‐mesenchymal transformation (EMT) of atrioventricular (AV) canal endocardial cells is essential for morphogenesis of heart valves. EMT involves many known regulatory factors, eg., Wnt/β‐catenin and NFATc. Lithium (Li+), a drug used therapeutically for bipolar disorder, mimics Wnt/β‐catenin signaling. Lithium use during human pregnancy has been implicated in tricuspid valve malformation associated with Ebstein's Anomaly. A single dose of 25 mM Li+ during mouse gestation on day 6.75 results in abnormal tricuspid, aortic, and/or pulmonic valve development. Endocardial cushions in Li+ exposed TOPGAL transgenic mouse embryos show reduced expression of NFATc1, as well as of β‐catenin activation, the latter determined by decreased lacZ expression. The tricuspid valve septal leaflet fails to delaminate, characteristic of Ebstein's Anomaly. Echocardiography of embryonic mouse heart function shows AV or semilunar valve regurgitation. Collectively these results indicate that an early cell population on ED 6.75 is adversely affected by Li+ and downstream contributes to abnormal Wnt/β‐catenin and NFATc signaling known to be important in endocardial cushion and cardiac valve development.


Purpose: This systematic review and meta-analysis was designed to evaluate the effects of acupuncture intervention on alleviating delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) after intense exercise. Method: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were searched from online databases including Medline (PubMed), Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, PsycINFO, China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database (CNKI), and Wanfang (Chinese) up to April 2019. Data points were extracted from the eligible RCTs at the time points of 24, 48, and 72 h post strenuous exercise-induced DOMS. The outcomes of muscle soreness rating (MSR), creatine kinase (CK), and maximal isometric force (MIF) were pooled into the meta-analysis to assess the acupuncture intervention on DOMS. Results: Six eligible RCTs were included in the meta-analysis, and the results showed that acupuncture intervention significantly decreased MSR [standardized mean difference (SMD) −0.49, 95%CI −0.73 to −0.24, P < 0.001, I2 = 34%] and the serum level of CK (SMD −0.91, 95%CI −1.27 to −0.56, P < 0.001, I2 = 30%), accompanied with the improvement of the muscle strength (MIF) (SMD 0.54, 95%CI 0.16 to 0.93, P = 0.006, I2 = 51%) after intense exercise. At the same time, the findings also revealed that acupuncture intervention had a long-lasting effect and tended to accumulate the effect size and that it had the most efficacy on alleviating DOMS at the time point of 72 h post exercise. Conclusion: The current evidence indicates that acupuncture intervention after intense exercise could be effective for alleviating DOMS and improving muscle recovery. The long-lasting effect of acupuncture intervention on DOMS started from 24 h and would reach a peak on the time point of 72 h post exercise.


Two stage low-calorie diet (1000 kcal/day for 3 weeks in the hospital and assumed 1000 kcal/day for 4 weeks at home) was applied in a group of 40 children aged 7 to 17 years with obesity 25-99%. The beneficial effect of the diet in the form of a decrease of cholesterol level has been found. Treatment with low-calorie diet of children with simple obesity has an essential significance in the prevention of atherosclerosis appearing at the later stage of life.


An important starting point for this research project was an ambition to create increased accessibility and safety for older people by involving them and letting them participate in a planning proc ...


Experimental analysis was conducted to study launching equipment damage caused by open delay of air proof cover. Static pressure on the launch tube wall and shock pressure on the air proof cover were measured in experiment. Wavelet analysis was applied to obtain frequency band energy spectrum of pressure data based on wavelet coefficient. Pressure changing with low frequency was extracted by wavelet filter. The relationship between shock impulse on the cover and amplitude of shock oscillation was also obtained. Study results show that harmful flow structure caused by open delay of the cover with initial shock wave and shock oscillation has significant amplitude in the clearance between rocket and launch tube,this would cause damage to launching equipment.


"Convolution of the control strategy" a new method that combines the use of genetic algorithm (GA) and convolution integral to optimize a general control force strategy that minimizes the response of the oscillatory systems subjected to an arbitrary excitation. Genetic algorithm is used to optimize a control strategy against shock input, and then convolution integral is used to obtain a general control force strategy against arbitrary excitation by shifting, scaling and summation of the optimized control strategy. Numerical tests are carried out on a two-degree of freedom quarter-vehicle model. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of using the proposed method for active suspension systems. In addition, it presents that the new method can achieve a real time control of systems subjected to an arbitrary excitation.


This paper seeks to provide performance analysis for High Efficient Video Coding (HEVC) HM-16.18 reference coder for different resolutions test sequences. Two test sequences (resolutions) i.e., Jockey (3840×2160) and Kimonol (1920×1080) are considered. The HEVC coder is tested for the fixed Quantization Parameter (QP) value in lowdelay_P configuration, with Main profile when P pictures are processed in IPPP format, respectively. Comparisons were performed with respect to the change of Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), the change of data bit-rate and the change of encoding time saving, respectively. Simulation results have shown small differences in SNR values and obvious differences for bit rate and encoding time values. Beside objective results, subjective video assessments for all tested sequences are presented, as well as present of intra and inter prediction and transform in total amount encoder compression values. Also, there is comparison with segment of our previous experimental work.


The main goal of the OpenMT project is the development of open source machine translation architectures based on hybrid models and advanced syntactic–semantic processors. These architectures combine the three main Machine Translation (MT) frameworks, Rule-based (RBMT), Statistical (SMT) and Example–based (EBMT), into hybrid systems. Defined architectures and results will be open source, allow for a rapid development and adaptation of new advanced machine translation systems for other languages. The project deals with four different languages: English, Spanish, Catalan and Basque. The translation systems developed for all language pairs will be internally evaluated using a rich set of linguistic metrics, and in different international evaluation campaigns.


For heterogeneous reservoirs, fast, stable and accurate methods are hard to obtain. Large changes in the velocity field leads to severe time step restrictions in explicit schemes or expensive time steps in implicit schemes. In the absence of gravity, the exact velocity field will be loop free in the sense that there are no closed integral curves. For streamline methods, the absence of closed integral curves ensures that all streamlines have endpoints in wells. Likewise, this property implies that the Jacobian matrix of an implicit scheme with an upwind flux approximation can be reduced to a triangular matrix by a permutation, or reordering, of the unknowns. For the above methods the effect of gravity is usually handled by operator splitting in the transport equation. Gravity will introduce rotation in the total velocity, which may yield closed integral curves. Even when the effect of gravity is small, it can limit the efficiency and the robustness of streamline and reorder methods. To overcome this problem, we split the total velocity field in a loop-free part without the effect of gravity, and a part driven by gravity only. This is achieved by solving the pressure equation two times with different righthand sides.


>From fourth international seminar on heat and mass transfer in liquid metals; Trojir, Yugoslavia (6 Sep l971). See CONFNusselt numbers for the sodium- - potassium alloy NaK (44/56) were obtained in the Peclet range Pe = 110 to 4300 for the three pitch-to-diameter ratios p/d = 1.25, 1.60, and 1.95 with two test sections each, one being built as a heater with electrically heated tubes and the other as a heat exchanger in a figure-8'' loop. Thirty-one tubes of d = 12 mm o.d. were arranged in an equilateral triangular lattice. Both the wall temperatures of the tubes and the fluid temperatures in the centres of the subchannels were measured by means of about eighty thermocouples per test section. The experimental results for constant heat flux satisfy the relation Nu = a + b Pes, where the constants a = 0.25 + 6.20 p/d, b = --0.007 + 0.032 p/d, and c = 0.800-- 0.024 p/d. (auth)


This article argues that though a population of refugees may experience the process of assimilation/acculturation as well as that of multiple identity formation with ever changing group boundary maintenance mechanisms, they also experience grief, which accounts for a variety of their individual and collective behaviors.


This paper proposes a black box modelling strategy for a bidirectional battery charger (BBC) for Electric Vehicles (EV), either the BBC is operating in the vehicle to grid (V2G) mode or not. Due to the increasing penetration of EV, the number of battery chargers connected to the grid is also increasing, being a challenge to assess the impact of such growing number of battery chargers into the grid performance. At the same time, there is no detailed information (static and dynamic) of the commercial chargers used in EV and connected to the grid. In this approach, a behavioural black box model is proposed. The generation of the model requests for performing a number of simple tests to the BBC in order to identify the model parameters. In the paper, a detailed switching model in PSIM is used as the actual BBC. The model thoroughly tested by simulation, and compared with the results of the generated black box model and the detailed switching model used as a reference.


The invention discloses a pbt material for an optical fiber cable. The pbt material comprises, by weight, 82-90 parts of polybutylene terephthalate, 2-3 parts of potassium fluoroaluminate, 0.1-0.4 part of 2,4-imidazolinedione, 2-4 parts of polydicyclopentadiene, 2-3 parts of glycidyl tertcarbonate, 2-3 parts of polyamide wax micro-powder, 2-3 parts of polycarbonate, 2-3 parts of graphite powder, 1-2 parts of 2-(diisopropylamino)ethanol, 1-2 parts of aluminum triphosphate, 1-2 parts of ammonium polyphosphate, 1-2 parts of glass fiber and 2-3 parts of processing agents. The pbt material has the advantages of being large in molecular weight, high in toughness and intensity, low in shrink, good in bending and resistance and the like; in the manufacturing process of the optical fiber cable, the optical fiber extra length can be stably controlled, and the demands of the optical fiber cable can be completely met.


The development of corporation depends on employees' initiatives.In addition,knowledge staff has become the main work force in modern knowledge economy.As such,studying employee voice behaviors becomes increasingly important in the academia.Employee voice behavior is a constructive,change-oriented communicating behavior which intends to improve the working situation.Many studies have investigated employee voice behaviors,including constructs,antecedents and consequences.The previous research was conducted mostly in the western society.This study tries to use employees of Chinese state-owned enterprises as samples.Specifically,this study tries to testify the relationship between employee job satisfaction and voice behavior,and test the moderating effect of affective commitment on the relationship. The relationship between employee job satisfaction and voice behavior is complex.Contradictory results,including positive and negative,were found in past studies.To solve these inconclusive results,this study hypothesizes that the relationship would be a U-curve type.As for organizational commitment,we hypothesize that it will positively moderate the relation between job satisfaction and voice behavior. The sample in this study was made up of 282 white-collar staff of 17 state-owned enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta of China.Questionnaire-based field study is adopted to test our proposed hypotheses.The job satisfaction scale is moderated from Hackman and Oldham's(1975) study.The affective commitment scale uses five items and is modified from Allen and Meyer's(1996) study.The voice behavior scale is modified from Van Dyne and LePine's(1998) study.All questions used the 7-point Likert scale.Two graduate students who major in English first translate the original survey instrument in English into Chinese.We controlled gender,tenure,and educational level as they might impact employee voice behavior. Descriptive statistical analysis,explorative factor analysis,hierarchical regression analysis,and simple slope analysis are conducted to test the proposed hypotheses.The results do not support the "U-curve" relationship between job satisfaction and voice behavior.Affective commitment moderates the relationship positively.Finally,we discuss our finding and future studies.


An efficient parallel comprehensive, physically based numerical model for the kinetic simulations of an asymmetric dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuator in air has been developed. The use of state-of-the-art methods for solution of the Poisson Equation and the concept of variable-weight particles for reduction number of particles in dense plasma regions made simulations numerically efficient. Using the developed model the propagation of the cathode-directed streamer driven by 4ns positive pulse has been analyzed in both 2D and 3D. The model reproduced all essential physical phenomena of the streamer propagation. The model has been validated via grid resolution study and study of the concept of variable-weight particles.


ABSTRACT Introduction Diabetic patients are prone to hypoglycemia when treated with insulin. Dasiglucagon is a water-soluble and ready-to-use glucagon analog developed for treating hypoglycemia in patients with diabetes. Areas covered A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed. Key search terms included dasiglucagon and hypoglycemia. The pharmacological characteristics, clinical evidence, and place in therapy of dasiglucagon were reviewed. Expert opinion Dasiglucagon is a glucagon analog that is stable in water-soluble formulation. It can increase plasma glucose in a dose-dependent manner. Clinical studies have shown that dasiglucagon rapidly and effectively improved insulin-induced hypoglycemia in patients with diabetes. Dasiglucagon was well tolerated and the common adverse events included nausea and vomiting.


The wildcat is an elusive species that is threatened with extinction in many parts of its range. In Sicily it still lives in a wide range of habitats. During 2006, camera traps were used to investigate the distribution of the wildcat over a 660 ha wide area on the south-western slope of Mount Etna (NE Sicily). Twelve out of 18 trapping stations provided a total of 24 photographs. Nine different individuals were identified using morphological criteria. Our work confirms the suitability of camera trapping for monitoring elusive carnivores.


This study aims to determine whether the waste media plant white fermented oyster mushroom can substitute forage on sheep against non-carcass components are feasible eaten. This research was conducted in Namo Trasi Village, Pasar VIII, in October - December 2017 by using local sheep with average weight of 9 ± 0.25 kg. The research design used in this study was a complete randomized design (RAL) with 4 treatments and 5 replicates, consisting of P0 (60% non-wasted greenhouse vegetation fermentation + 40% concentrate), P1 (45% forage and waste) medium planting white oyster mushroom fermentation 15% + concentrate 40%), P2 (forage 30% and waste medium planting white oyster mushroom fermentation 30% + concentrate 40%) and P3 (forage 15% and sewage media plant white fermented oyster mushrooms 45% + 40% concentrate). The parameters observed were weight percentage of head, leg, skin, tail, trachea and lungs, liver, heart, blood, and gastrointestinal tract. The result of the research shows that the waste of fermented white oyster mushroom media can substitute forage as local sheep feed, but it can not increase the percentage of non-carcass component that is feasible to eat.


In this paper, we described an evaluating technique of creep damage in an austenitic stainless steel by the combination with an electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) and the nonlinear resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (NRUS), which was a resonance-based technique exploiting the significant nonlinear behavior of damaged materials. In NRUS, the resonant frequency of an object is studied as a function of the excitation level. As the excitation level increases, the elastic nonlinearity was manifest by a shift in the resonance frequency. The nonlinearity with NRUS showed a peak at 50 % and a minimum at 70 % of the total creep life. This nonlinearity measurement has a potential to assess creep damage advance and predict the creep remaining life of metals.


The spatial profile of the transient collisional excitation Ni-like Ag X-ray laser in various plasma lengths was observed using the near field imaging method. The gain region was the size of 50 μm and 30–50 μm distant from the target surface. The shapes of the gain region were crescent shape or consisted of two spots.


In-depth interviews with 10 women who are Martha Stewart fans addressed the roles Stewart and her media products play in their lives and why and how they use her media products. Stewart and her media products appear to play 3 main roles in the lives of these women: They encourage the fantasy of an upper-class lifestyle of elegance and luxury while providing an escape from their daily lives; they validate the women's interest in domesticity by making domestic work respectable and seem important; and they foster creativity and feelings of accomplishment and pride among those who complete projects and recipes. In addition, the women were able to use Stewart's media products flexibly to fit individual schedules, budgets, tastes, and desires. This paper argues that the domestic fantasy of class mobility privileges appearance over substance and substitutes the look of luxury for the unattainable class ascension. However, rather than condemning fans for embracing this fantasy, it is necessary to understand the pleasures provided and desires met by Stewart's media products, as well as the contradictions in the lives of Stewart's fans.


We describe a case of an otherwise healthy 60‐year‐old female patient who presented 6 days after receipt of the second dose of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID‐19 (Pfizer/BioNTech) vaccine and was found to have upper extremity deep venous thrombosis.


This article discusses the development of microwave circuits on silicon substrate. Silicon, even though inexpensive, did not provide the performance required for microwave circuits. Instead the development of microwave circuits used GaAs and InP substrates. With the development of commercial usages for microwave circuits, the costs of microwave circuits became an issue. The importance of cost, and the development of Si-device capabilities and fabrication techniques, such as molecular beam epitaxy, and ultra-high chemical vapor deposition. provided the circumstances where the development of microwave circuits on silicon is now possible.


The electronic processes following optical excitation of $F$ centers in KCl are drastically changed if the $F$ electrons are spin polarized by magnetic fields at low temperatures (1.7\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K). As the spin-aligned configuration of the ${F}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ center is forbidden, two effects appear: (1) The $F\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{F}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ conversion by conduction electrons becomes suppressed, and (2) the radiationless de-excitation of excited $F$ centers (caused by electron tunneling into neighboring ${F}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ center states) becomes suppressed, producing increases of the $F$ luminescence up to a factor 4.


A GaAs based semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) has been fabricated using molecular beam epitaxy and applied to a hybridly modelocked Rh6G dye laser. The generated pulse was as short as 56 fs at the centre wavelength of 580 nm, which shows the shortest centre wavelength in these kinds of dye laser.


This review synthesizes much of the previousresearch since 1990 linking healthy workplacepractices in organizations to employee well-be-ing and organizational improvements. Based onthe review, both a direct and an indirect linkbetween healthy workplace practices and orga-nizational improvements are proposed. Fivegeneral categories of healthy workplace prac-tices were identified in the literature: work-lifebalance, employee growth and development,health and safety, recognition, and employeeinvolvement. Previous research also suggeststhat the link between these practices and em-ployee and organizational outcomes is contin-gent on the effectiveness of communicationwithin the organization and the alignment ofworkplace practices with the organizationalcontext. Finally, a discussion of some limita-tions of previous research and recommenda-tions for future work in the area of healthyworkplace practices are provided.Keywords:


This paper presents data from a working ML/AI system being applied to simulated combat identification (CID) scenarios. The application, which integrates continual and real-time reinforcement learning with the Soar cognitive architecture, learns from online experience to accurately predict hostile airborne objects based on kinematic characteristics. Our results suggest that this integration framework can scale to big data scenarios to learn tactically in real-time.


Both exercise and breaks in prolonged sitting can reduce blood pressure (BP) in older overweight/obese adults. We investigated whether there is an additive hypotensive effect when exercise is combined with subsequent breaks in sitting. Sex differences and changes in plasma catecholamines as a potential candidate mechanism underlying BP responses were also examined. Sedentary older adults (n=67; 67±7 years; 31.2±4.1 kg/m2) completed 3 conditions in random order—sitting (SIT): uninterrupted sitting (8 hours, control); exercise+sitting (EX+SIT): sitting (1 hour), moderate-intensity walking (30 minutes), uninterrupted sitting (6.5 hours); exercise+breaks (EX+BR): sitting (1 hour), moderate-intensity walking (30 minutes), sitting interrupted every 30 minutes with 3 minutes of light-intensity walking (6.5 hours). Serial BP and plasma epinephrine/norepinephrine measurements occurred during 8 hours. The 8-hour average systolic and diastolic BP (mm Hg 95% CI) was lower in EX+SIT −3.4 (−4.5 to −2.3), −0.8 (−1.6 to −0.04), and EX+BR −5.1 (−6.2 to −4.0), −1.1 (−1.8 to −0.3), respectively, relative to SIT (all P <0.05). There was an additional reduction in average systolic BP of −1.7 (−2.8 to −0.6) in EX+BR relative to EX+SIT (P=0.003). This additional reduction in systolic BP was driven by women −3.2 (−4.7 to −1.7; P<0.001 EX+BR versus EX+SIT). Average epinephrine decreased in EX+SIT and EX+BR in women (−13% to −12%) but increased in men (+12% to +23%), respectively, relative to SIT (P<0.05). No differences in average norepinephrine were observed. Morning exercise reduces BP during a period of 8 hours in older overweight/obese adults compared with prolonged sitting. Combining exercise with regular breaks in sitting may be of more benefit for lowering BP in women than in men. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: https://www.anzctr.org.au. Unique identifier: ACTRN12614000737639.


Objective:To explore the effect of the quality of life and immunological system in depression-resistant on cancer patients.Methods:160 cases of cancer-depression patients who received chemotherapy were randomly divided into A、B groups.In group A,there were 80 cases which received chemotherapy plus in depression-resistant treatment;In group B, there were 80 cases which only receiue chemo therapy the 2 groups of patients were observed for 8 weeks.Compare with quality of life(QOL) and immunological measures.Results:The CD3+,CD4+/CD3+(Th),CD8+/CD3+(Ts),NK+/CD3-,Th/Ts,in A group increased,CD3+ in B group were reduced (P0.05),CD3+,CD4+/CD3+(Th)reached very significant difference (P0.05).Conclusion:Depression-resistant therapy obviously improved quality of life and relieved injury of immunity induced by chemocherapy.


The need for application-level intelligence cannot be easily satisfied with existing architectures or methodologies that separate methods and tools for application developers and data scientists. We aim, therefore, to develop a framework (an architecture and a methodology) to make it possible to add intelligence capabilities to existing applications (decision-enablement) and to facilitate building new decision-enabled applications. The proposed approach starts by instrumenting the existing code with logging and instrumented decision points. The execution of the application produces information that is initially used to reengineer its behavior and then the decision points are used to conduct search-based experimentation to optimize its behavior. This lightweight instrumentation allows the application developer and data scientist to fully exploit their capabilities, with the framework providing the glue needed to put their work together easily and transparently. In particular, the analytic capabilities, such as analysis of operational data, are better dealt with in the decision-making part, without complicating the mechanics of how the application functions. We plan to apply this framework to decision enable existing systems and to build new systems from scratch and measure the effectiveness of the approach and of the resulting products.


A single driving module with field color sequential (FCS) LCD technology needs to dynamically switch output voltage between 40 V for 12 series G- and B- color LEDs and 26 V for 12 series R-color LEDs at related time cluster. Thus, an energy-recycling (ER) technology is proposed to accelerate voltage settling and save compressed energy when the driving voltage is pressed from 40 V to 26 V. Only one recycling capacitor and one Schottky diode are added into the power structure of synchronous boost converter for composing the proposed ER technology. A proposed energy-recycling mode (ERM) controller is plugged into a boundary current mode (BCM) controller to control energy delivering and recycling. The proposed ER technology was fabricated by TSMC 0.25 μm 2.5/5 V BCD process. Experimental results demonstrate fast and efficient tracking performance of driving voltage is achieved.


This is a congenital skin disorder which affects children of both sexes and is frequently associated with defects in several organ systems. It was described by Ito in 1951 and other people have subsequently described it.


Purpose – The purpose of this illustrative case‐based research is to analyze and evaluate the 2004 controversial merger of two high‐profile French pharmaceutical companies, Sanofi‐Synthelabo and Aventis.Design/methodology/approach – This is a case‐based research paper that relates existing theory to mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and global strategies by highlighting those issues that impact business and industrial markets as well as multinational corporations' (MNCs) operations.Findings – Sanofi‐Aventis continues to go through a multitude of changes in its corporate reorganization while Novartis has been exploring collaborative ventures with pharmaceutical and bio‐tech companies.Research limitations/implications – There is a scarcity of published work in the case‐based research area. The work provides an understanding of the French government's national champion initiatives and their impact on the European and global pharmaceutical companies.Practical implications – The findings of this case have tangib...


The importance of taking into account teachers' own attitudes and perceptions in situations where they are expected to implement new and mandatory policies and practices are of major importance for the success of the innovation process (Guskey 1988, Houston 1990, Wittrock 1986, Senger 1999). Research has shown that concerns exert a powerful influence on the implementation of reforms and determine the type of assistance that teachers may need in the adoption process. Innovations that are consistent with the belief systems of teachers have a greater chance of adoption; innovations that are more radical will create greater instability and more resistance from teachers. As teacher readiness is a key to assessing a teacher's ability to initiate, develop or adopt a given innovation, it is useful for administrators and educators to understand teachers' concerns, both before and during the implementation phase of an innovation (Fullan 1999).


Problem statement: Climate change and its associated manifestations have only recently emerged as significant threats to health faced by Canadians. The emergence of these threats has meant that Canadians are faced with increasing health-related concerns that are more frequent, more severe and occurring in communities where they have not been previously experienced. The compounding effects of change in weather patterns in communities that are heavily dependent on natural conditions for their agronomical performance could be quite severe on the mental health of farmers and other rural dwellers. Approach: Existing literature was identified for their critical review through a comprehensive serach by using web-based publications, data-base and other archival sources. Specific relevant studies were then analysed with directions for addressing the emerging psychosocial problems. An emphasis was given to the shifting nature of treament from hospital-based supports to community-based social supports. Results: In perspective of recent developments in Canada, the study offers a critical assessment of psychosocial aspects of climate change-induced extreme environmental events. In recent decades, community-based approaches and other micro-level social action interventions have gained acceptance by the concerned institutions. However, institutional supports to enhance commuity level capacity are still meager. As to identify appropriate tools, lessons for improving present systems can be drawn from the Community Emergency Response Volunteer (CERV) programs. Such tools can enhance psychosocial coping abilities through strengthening social support and enhancing the community coping capacity. Conclusion: Psychosocial effects of climate change-induced stress should be addressed from the perspective of 'model of prevention' rathern than the prevailing 'model of treatment'. Instituional changes are required to enhance the required social ties and community capacity to mitigate and cope with the psychosocial stress that disasters cause.


According to different applications,magnetic ultrafine Fe 3O 4 was modified to change its physical and chemical properties after it was prepared.The coupling agent organic titanate was selected as the optimal modifier.In addition,the technical process conditions were discussed via the orthorodax experiments by using the coupling agent as the modifier.


An architecture, as well as various components, of an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) subscriber access multiplexer (ASAM) system can be implemented using an xDSL (x-Digital Subscriber Line) using DMT (Discrete Multitone) or CAP (Carrierless Amplitude Phase Modulation) between a plurality of subscribers and a corresponding plurality of line termination equipment in a shelf that also includes network termination equipment for connection to an ATM network. The line termination and network termination equipment are interconnected by a bus internal to the shelf for providing subscriber access. Separate lowpass filters are provided at each end of a twisted wire pair between the shelf and each subscriber equipment. A shelf can be used as a hub for connecting to a remote shelf that includes the line termination equipment for connection to subscribers. Although the internal bus of the shelf is shown in a non-redundant embodiment, an increased level of equipment protection can be provided by placing one half of a redundant equipment pair in one shelf and the other half in the other shelf and sharing network termination equipment between such shelves.


Of all the issues facing the International Law Commission (ILC) in its work on the topic of "Immunity of State Officials from Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction," how to define "act performed in an official capacity" is certainly one of the most difficult and important. If serious international crimes, like torture, are considered acts performed in an official capacity, then foreign officials responsible for such crimes may (unless an exception applies) be immune from criminal jurisdiction in other states for such acts even after they leave office.


Computer network have become the primary means to exchange information.Network' penetration due to the deepening,and it has become the focus of research in the areas of computer technology.From a practical view,only on software encryption is no longer to mainframe computers and server systems,so the hardware encryption technology can play a huge role for network and information security.Based on the multichip digital signal processing system TMS,the ECC-code system to realize the hardware encryption of computer network.


A procedure is described whereby the effective electron–electron interaction in a large conjugated molecule is determined by considering the screening of the field of an artificial test charge imbedded in the molecule due to the redistribution of the π electrons. It is argued that the form of this static screened Coulomb interaction should represent well the effective interaction between electrons near the Fermi energy. This is tested by determining this screened Coulomb interaction in hexabenzocoronene containing an artificial test charge using the standard SCF MO method of calculation, and then using this screened interaction as the effective interaction between the π electrons to determine the low‐lying excitation of the molecule with the test charge removed. Agreement between the predicted spectrum and the experimental spectrum is excellent and significantly better than that obtained with either the Pariser–Parr semiempirical expression or the use of Nishimoto and Mataga's expression for the effective...


Purpose: For exploring the treatment of the patients suffering from chronic hepatitis B with the two drugs.Methods: For the treatment group,47 patients should be treated with the two drugs,and for the comparison group,39patients should be treated only with the sophora flavescens elements.the period is about two weeks.After this,the results of the GGT should be observed.conclusion: GGT value has reasonable differences(P0.05) with the two treatments.Result: Using the two drugs,chronic B can be reduced obviously.and has no bad effects.


Within this work we are expounding a study about urban necropolis in Corduba , which tries to show the transformation of the extramural cemeteries of the city throughout the Late Antiquity. We will analyse the reasons that determined the continuity of the burial use on some suburban areas as well as those elements introducing changes that contributed to the formation of new sectors for extramural burials. In this context, the christianization of funeral topography will be particularly noteworthy, although unlike the high level of knowledge of other Hispanic cities, the archaeological documentation in Cordoba is rather limited up to now. For this reason and in order to complete such information, we must refer to the ancient literary sources. Although their information has not been totally verified by means of the Archaeology, the mentioned sources would allow to us to evoke an image of the late city which will be characterised by the predominance of a new religious architecture.


This paper describes the influence of pandemics outbreak in the perspective of Positive Psychology and Science on attribute and behaviour. This study attempts to define and to create a framework of positive psychology within the effort towards creating a positive global worldview during the pandemic outbreak. The literature review was conducted to summarise knowledge to understand the truth transcendent nature of human existence and expand the scientific basis of this reality. Although these studies have shown considerable insight into the human condition, but the theoretical construct of personality development was needed which provided a mechanism by which could come to objectively understand the influence, both within and without, which determine within the course of the human development so as to realise control over self-development by utilising to its maximum the great potential of discretion.


This paper offers the initial description ofthe first instar larva of Protocalliphora falcozi Séguy, 1928 (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and redescription of the second and third instar larvae and puparium, as well as distinction between P. falcozi and its relative P. azurea Fallén (Diptera: Calliphoridae). The material was sampled in the National Nature Reserve Šúr (SW Slovakia) from nests of the tree sparrow (Passer montanus), which has not previously been classified as a host of P. falcozi. Knowledge of diagnostically relevant characterics to determine bird blowfly larvae and puparia will undoubtedly contribute to the current accepted phylogeny and classification of the genus Protocalliphora.


Introduction: FF is a novel inhaled corticosteroid in development for the treatment of asthma as a monotherapy and in combination with VI, a long-acting beta 2 agonist. Objectives: To evaluate whether FF/VI significantly decreases the risk of severe asthma exacerbations vs FF. Methods: Patients (N=2019; ITT) received OD FF/VI 100/25mcg or FF 100mcg for ≥24 weeks (up to 76 weeks; study planned to finish after 330 events; event defined as a patient9s first on-treatment severe asthma exacerbation). Primary endpoint was time to first severe asthma exacerbation. Secondary endpoints: rate of severe asthma exacerbations per patient per year (PPPY) and change from baseline trough FEV 1 . Safety assessments included adverse events (AE), vital signs and number of hospitalisations due to a severe asthma exacerbation. Results: Compared with FF, FF/VI delayed the time to first severe exacerbation (hazard ratio 0.795 [95% CI: 0.642,0.985]; interim adj p=0.036). The adjusted probability of experiencing a severe exacerbation by 52 weeks was 12.8% for FF/VI and 15.9% for FF. PPPY rate was reduced (FF/VI 0.14 vs FF 0.19; p=0.014). There were greater improvements in trough FEV 1 with FF/VI vs FF at Weeks 12, 36 and 52 (p Conclusions: FF/VI significantly reduced the risk of severe asthma exacerbations and improved lung function compared with FF alone. Safety and tolerability were similar between groups. Funded by GSK: HZA106837; NCT01086384.


The copolymerization equation considering the penultimate unit effect, the so called penultimate model, takes a simplified shape in the case of r2 = 0 (monomer 2, M2, does not homopolymerize). For this case a method analogous to the conventional KT(Kelen-Tudős)-transformation for estimation of r1 and r1′ is proposed. The new method was verified by literature data for the system styrene/fumarodinitrile, polymerized with benzoyl peroxide at 70°C, yielding r1 = 0,062 and r1′ = 0,812. Classification of copolymerization curves by means of the classical copolymerization model permits to distinguish between three curve-types: r1 2 (non alternating system). The penultimate model permits to generate further curve-types of "S"-shape with r1 > 2 and r1′ > 2 or r1 > 2 and r1′ < 2 (r1 = r1′ for classically behaving systems and r1 ≠ r1′ for non-classically behaving systems).


White mold is a disease with a wide distribution worldwide. Temperatures between 18-23 °C and high humidity conditions favor the occurrence of the pathogen. For the control of the disease it is fundamental to understand the morphology and pathogenicity of the fungus. The objective of this study was to characterize the morphological and pathogenic characteristics of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum isolates from the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Sclerodes were disinfested, placed in the center of plates containing culture medium and incubated under controlled conditions. The evaluations were performed daily, during a period of 30 days, from the incubation of sclerotia. The experimental design was completely randomized, with four plaques per isolate, each plate one replicate. The characteristics evaluated for the mycelium characterization were: time required for the fungus to occupy the plate; density of the formed mycelium; coloration of the colonies and mycelial growth rate. Scleroderma assessments were based on training or not; time for formation of the first sclerodium; total amount formed per plate; Format; distribution in the colony and weight. The isolates were pathogenically characterized by the methodology of inoculation of the detached leaf. All data were submitted to analysis of variance and the means were compared by the Skott-Knott test, at 1% probability. The evaluated populations presented wide variability for the studied characteristics. It was not possible to verify the existence of common groups that could be related to the origin of the isolates, due to the high genetic diversity. The isolates showed different levels of aggressiveness, the two being more aggressive LF02 and LF06.


Meeting the diverse needs of young people who are coping with such problems as delinquent behaviors or poor academic performance is an urgent issue today. This paper aims to demonstrate the benefits of introducing intergenerational mentoring activities into educational programs for supporting "at risk" adolescents by highlighting some innovative and effective methods. Among various types of mentoring activities, this paper will focus on ones in which older adults take on the role of mentors. The significance of mentoring activities in which older adults give emotional support to at risk adolescents has been recognized since the late 1980s in the United States. An important component of this type of "intergenerational mentoring" initiative involves establishing a sense of mutual trust between the older adult mentors and the at risk youth mentees. This paper consists of the following parts. Firstly, the author will describe the rationale and some of the societal factors that are contributing to the emergence of the mentoring activities for at risk adolescents in contemporary society. Secondly, the author will describe key characteristics of intergenerational mentoring activities designed to support at risk adolescents. The primary focus will be on lessons learned from an intergenerational mentoring program called "Across Ages" which is operated by Temple University's Center for Intergenerational Learning. In analyzing this model program, the author will focus on challenging issues related to how the mentor role is constructed and how the mentors function in the context of program goals to produce benefits for the participants. Finally, in concluding this paper, the author will point out that such intergenerational mentoring endeavors not only expand informal helping resources for at risk adolescents but also help in establishing a circulative mentoring process that has implications for the enrichment of the lives of people of all ages in the community.


The number of the WLAN stations continues to increase thanks to the widespread use of the broadband communications. However, this causes the inter-cell interference among the neighboring stations since the available frequency resouce is not sufficient to support the drastically increased stations. In order to mitigate this problem, the transmitting beam forming technique at the access point (AP) has been studied [3, 4]. The work [3] experimentally evaluates the beamforming performance based on the primary-secondary transmission scheme in the actual apartment environment. Thus, the control of the interference at the AP is an urgent issue to be solved.


The reflected‐light differential‐interference microscope is a simple optical instrument easy to use and adjust, which reveals surface contours in variations of light intensity or in colour with a clarity and sensitivity not previously achieved. It can reveal new structures or display familiar tissue and cellular architecture in new and refreshing aspects. This type of microscope can provide insights into surface characteristics in metallurgy, microelectronics, biology, etc. Understanding how the differential‐interference microscope works, how to control it and how to interpret the images produced, is essential to using the microscope fruitfully.


The south Songxian County of Henan province locates in the eastern Qinling metallogenic belt of the western Henan.The volcanic rocks of the Xiong'er group distribute extensively in this area.The Yanshanian granitic batholiths are found in and the Machaoying fault cuts through the south part of the research area.Abundant nonferrous and precious metals are hosted in this area.According to the geochemistry characteristics of strata,structures and magmatic rocks of the area,we concluded that although the background mineralization concentrations are relatively low,the Jidanping Fm in the Xiong'er Group,Andesite and Tuff are favorable for mineralization,the metallogenetic elements are enriched in fault structures,especially in the secondary fault zones.A high temperature zone was formed around the Yanshanian granite and its geochemical field can be depicted by "one way-two loop-two region" model.This study suggested that Jidanping Fm in the Xiong'er Group,Machaoying fault zone,zones around Yanshanian granitoids,Andesite and Tuff may be the advantageous areas for Au-Ag-Pb-Zn-Mo deposits.


OBJECTIVE: To identify factors among patients with acute myelopathy suggesting the diagnosis of spinal AVF prompting investigation with conventional spinal angiography.
 BACKGROUND: Idiopathic transverse myelitis (ITM) is a monophasic, focal inflammatory disorder of the spinal cord causing motor and sensory loss at and below the level of the lesion. Spinal cord arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) are vascular malformations located either on the surface of the spinal cord, within the thecal sac, or in the internal vertebral venous plexus. Spinal AVFs typically become symptomatic through an elevation of the pressure within the perimedullary venous system (venous hypertensive myelopathy). ITM and spinal AVFs present with similar clinical profiles but require very different treatments; their distinction can be challenging on noninvasive neuroimaging studies.
 DESIGN/METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of cases of inflammatory and/or vascular myelopathy referred for spinal angiography over the past 10 years. We compared demographic, clinical and radiologic data in subjects whose final diagnosis was ITM versus spinal AVFs.
 RESULTS: The four factors that were associated with an AVF were male sex, chronic course, poor response to intravenous high dose steroids and at least one significant cardiovascular risk factor, such as hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and/or diabetes.
 CONCLUSIONS: In patients diagnosed with myelopathy who have these four risk factors associated with an AVF, a spinal angiogram is warranted to rule out spinal AVF. Disclosure: Dr. Dudankar has nothing to disclose. Dr. Chen has nothing to disclose. Dr. Mealy has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gailloud has received personal compensation for activities with Codman Neurovascular as a consultant. Dr. Pardo-Villamizar has nothing to disclose. Acorda Therapeutics; Sanofi; Viropharma, Inc.; NeuralStem, Inc.; Shire/Abvie; TerumoBCT


In the present paper we investigate how status moderates reactions to psychological contract violations. Drawing on a large-scale field study of more than 2000 captains, officers, chief engineers a...


The editors designed this supplement to assess the state of doctoral education in the Asian region, mostly concerned with research-focused doctorates. Four countries participated: Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, although more were asked to participate. The editors and guest editor developed a general outline identifying topics to be covered; they further identified several nurse scholars from each country from different institutions to author a chapter on doctoral education in their country. The goal was to assure that authors did not succumb to the temptation of describing their own institutions, but rather, took a national perspective, and considered the broad picture in the country. In one instance, while two individuals were invited to serve as co-author, we have one author; this was due to a technical problem that was not discovered till it was too late in the process. The problem was that the second author never received our invitation. By the time the problem became apparent to us, the chapter was already prepared by the one author. The outline suggested to the authors was as follows: 1. Provide a broad picture of doctoral education in the country. Involves an overview of doctoral programs, including some statistical information on number of programs, overall number of students, faculty, current status; model of doctoral education in use and areas of nursing science offered. 2. Any national or broader networks used to support and network with within the country or internationally; how such networks are used and what their impact may be. 3. Types of collaboration in place with institutions in other countries, and what their focus is; the extent to which faculty and/or doctoral student exchanges occur. 4. Marketplace for doctorally prepared nurses in the country. 5. Some challenges facing doctoral education in your country, such as funding issues, faculty shortages, research supervision and mentorship issues, extent to which emerging research is incorporated in the doctoral curriculum, the development of global standards for the program, others? 6. Future directions: what is the desired future for doctoral education in the country, in terms of education, programmatic directions, research, other? Thus, it was not our intent to present an exhaustive coverage of doctoral education in the region, but rather, to describe a broad picture and emerging directions, engage in some comparative analyses, where feasible, and to make recommendations.


We offer a rationale for elections that take place in the shadow of power. Factions unhappy with policy can threaten violence. But when they lack common knowledge about (i) one another's rationality, and (ii) their chances of victory at arms, mutual overconfidence can precipitate civil war. We argue that elections can clarify the likely consequences of violence, and so facilitate peaceful resolution. Our theory is based on the recognition that both voting and fighting are intrinsically correlated actions: individuals who undertake the individually irrational act of voting are unusually prone the individually irrational act of voluntary combat.


The mechanism whereby sulfanilamide and its derivatives prevent bacterial growth is not known. None of the various theories advanced (1-3) has been conclusively substantiated by direct experimental proof. The most important recent contribution to the problem has been that of Woods (4), who demonstrated that p-aminobenzoic acid "blocks" the bacteriostatic effect of sulfanilamide in vitro. Following the isolation by Stamp (5) and Green (6) of bacterial extracts which antagonize the action of sulfanilamide, Woods obtained from yeast a potent antisuLfanilamide factor which appeared to have chemical properties similar to p-aminobenzoic acid but which could not be definitely identified as such. p-Aminobenzoic acid itself was found to annul the bacteriostatic effect of sulfanilamide, and Woods predicted that this simple organic acid would eventually l:e shown to be a metabolite essential for bacterial growth3 He also formulated the theory that sulfanilamide causes bacteriostasis by inhibiting specifically the enzymatic reaction involved in the utilization of p-aminobenzoic acid and attributed the inhibition of this reaction to the chemical similarity of the drug and the essential metabolite. Important evidence supporting Woods' hypothesis was published in the same year by Rubbo and Gillespie (8). They reported the chemical isolation from


set up five crisscross (CC) lines (classes) and five repeat hybrid male cross (RHMC) lines, (classes) . Females in each line were pair-mated with either males of the same line (group I) or males from a synthetic line (group II). Pairs were maintained for up to 155 days after mating (lifetime). Data from six generations were analyzed to examine differences between group I and group II in lifetime performance for each line in each generation. Line-of-male effects for the above difference (group IGroup II) expressed as a percentage of the average of group I and group iI means were, under CC, RHMC and STR, - 11, +5 and -2 for number of parturitions during 155 days, - 12, +3, and -i for total number of young born alive, - 12, * 2 and - 8 for total weight of young born alive, - 12, + 3 and - g for total number of young at weaning, - 11, +2 and -8 for total weight of young at weaning and -8, +3 and - I for actual days of reproductive life, respectively. Lifetime performance of females diff'ered depending on males used for mating, and F, miles were superior to males from the synthetic line which excelled males from straightbred lines.


In a realistic range‐dependent deep ocean environment that gives rise to ray chaos, a complete set of eigenrays at long ranges is computed using a numerical technique based on the shooting method. The numerical results support and illustrate the known connection between ray chaos and eigenrays, namely, that the number of eigenrays grows exponentially, on average, with increasing range. It is further found that groups of chaotic eigenrays tend to form ''clusters'' having stable envelopes.


Wealth over natural resources in the ocean is a superior potential for countries. In implementing its regulations, the state has a large portion in order to achieve a fair, independent and sustainable marine resource. Cases that occur on damage on the sea environment and its habitat are cases caused by high economic value. Sustainable marine regulation will become a mandatory benchmark for countries in the inclusion of legal and policy arrangements.


The invention discloses an optimization design method for the sagging problem of a car door based on CAE structural analysis, which comprises the steps of: obtaining a design input condition from total arrangement and configuration of a car body; creating a CAD (Computer Aided Design) model by modeling software; dividing grids of the CAD model; simulating actual conditions to create a connection relationship; simulating a boundary constraint condition during an actual test of a car door assembly; carrying out solution analysis on a finite element model generated finally; comparing a result obtained by finite element simulation operation with an industry standard; if an obtained conclusion is lower than the industry standard, providing a structural optimization design; and if the obtained conclusion is higher than the industry standard, completing final design output. The method not only enhances the inspection accuracy, but also greatly reduces the period of a whole repair part so as to shorten the time of developing the whole car. Structural errors can be corrected in time by CAE analysis in early design, thereby reducing the cost of developing the whole car.


The Discrete Haar Wavelet Transform has an extensive range of applications from signal processing to video and image processing. Data-intensive structure and easy of application make Discrete Haar Wavelet Transform suitable to distribute fundamental operations to multi-CPU and multiGPU systems. In this paper, the wavelet transform was ported in a compute-efficient way to CPU cluster and programmable GPU cluster by employing MPI and CUDA respectively. Experimental studies conducted as part of the parallelization strategies for two-dimensional Discrete Haar Wavelet Transform show that the total running time essential to process all rows and columns of an image with different size is significantly decreased on the GPU cluster when compared to the its counterparts on a single CPU, single GPU and CPU cluster. Besides the speedup of the GPU based transform, preliminary analysis also showed that the size of the image is an important parameter on the scalability of the GPU cluster.


The invention relates to a two-way satellite time transfer method based on carrier phase, which solves the technical bottleneck, namely consistency control of satellite exit code and carrier phase, in the application of carrier phase in a two-way satellite time transfer system. In addition, the accuracy of the two-way satellite time transfer system is improved by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude in comparison with a code pseudorange two-way satellite time transfer method by using carrier phase measurement in the two-way satellite time transfer system. The method is implemented based on the following conditions: one satellite and at least two user stations, wherein the base band of the two user stations can calculate modulation amount of a code and the carrier phase, and a base band control part conducts real-time modulation of the code transmitting a base band signal and the carrier phase according to the calculation result, thereby ensuring signals transmitted by the base band to pass through an antenna, an upgoing space link and a repeater, and ensuring the consistency between the code of a downgoing navigation signal and the carrier phase at exit of the repeater.


Many algorithms in graph theory add or remove either edges or nodes (or both) to solve a given problem. Graph augmentation typically concerns the addition of edges to a graph to satisfy some connectivity property of the graph. This paper focuses on the addition of vertices to a graph to satisfy a specific connectivity property: ensuring that all the nodes of the graph are contained within cycles. A distinction is made between graph augmentation (edge addition), and graph enlargement (vertex addition).
 The particular problem addressed here is the enlarging of a digraph which is an abstraction defined in the "shoe matching problem" and represents people who require different sizes of shoes. To be able to satisfy all of the participants, every node (person) in the digraph must be contained in at least one cycle. This paper looks at ways to improve on the original approach to graph enlargment. It redefines the cost model used in the original work, presents three improvements to the original approach and shows that these approaches do indeed offer benefits in terms of the number of nodes needed to solve the problem and/or the speed of enlargement.


A plenary lecture to the Church Music Association of America, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, June 14, 2011 You will be familiar, no doubt, with the old adage that the eye is the gateway to the soul. I have always found this a particularly persuasive idea, for it recognizes the fundamental fact that there is something deep within each of us that responds to beauty. Whether it is wonder at creation or a response to art which captivates us, there can be very few of us who are not susceptible to perfection of form and the many things which delight us visually. Less popular is the idea that the eye is the gateway to hell. Immediately we tend to feel a resistance to this notion, not only because it is seemingly such a negation of the former principle, but perhaps also because it so easily suggests that appearances can in some senses be deceptive and that what we see may not be the whole story. As troubling as this concept may be, it does however, acknowledge the complex and omnipresent reality that most of us are very easily beguiled by what we see. When we transpose these ideas into the arena of liturgy, the philosophical dilemma is noticeably exacerbated, for the liturgy is not solely visual, but rather engages all the senses, and in the same way it is not only corporeal but it also has an irreducible spiritual element. The liturgy therefore heightens in us an awareness of the intrinsic relationship between beauty and truth, just as it is, of its nature, constituted of these elements and should clearly become a vehicle for them when we celebrate it. Central to the Christian revelation is the teaching that "faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17). In that sense, it is not only the eye which is the gateway to heaven, but in a very real way, the ear too. As musicians, we need no convincing of this tenet, for it expresses our deep-seated conviction that what we hear cannot only engender faith, but over a life time, can nourish and bring it to maturity. Nowhere is this more evident than in our liturgical chant, which enables the word of truth to be expressed in the beauty of song in a way which is not adequately described by the comparatively sterile designation of the individual elements of words and music. In our Catholic tradition, liturgical chant is first and foremost cantillation, a song which arises from the text, a song which is essentially a heightened proclamation of a verbal message and which takes its emphases from the natural accentuation of the text and finds its melodic rhythm from the cadence which is already within the words. As it often sings of the glory of God, the wonder of creation, the richness of salvation in Christ, the mystery of the church, and our continual need of God's mercy and grace, it is often an ecstatic song which has rather more in common with the song of lovers than it does with the song of colleagues; it should have the familiarity of the song of those who are clearly of the same family, or those who are united as fellow citizens of the same territory. It is likewise never a song of violence, protest, or dissent and it is overwhelmingly a song which is more about God than it is about us. So far, I have outlined what I believe to be the characteristics of the liturgical song of the Catholic Church. It is, I would hold, not merely a subjective formulation on my part, but an accurate description of the character and function of liturgical song as inherited by the church from the People of Israel, in an unbroken tradition and set before the church by the magisterium in every age up to and including our own. The challenge I wish to make is to ask if this is how you and most members of the Latin Rite experience liturgical song, and if not, why not? If I were asking for individual responses to that question--which I'm not, I would imagine rather than an immediate plethora of answers, that there would be something of a thoughtful silence. …


Postural education, or postural hygiene education, is currently required in schools. In fact, students are at high risk of suffering spine injuries due to inefficient postures when sitting in the classroom, improper physical activities, or overweight school backpacks, among others. This review work analyzes theory-focused documents and research, published from 2005 to the present day, that focus on education and hygiene posture, on Physical Education teachers' vision and actions in this field, as well as on intervention programs carried out outside the school environment that might be used as a complement for physical education classes in order to achieve students' adequate postural education.


We have proposed a single system for analyzing text from an image and converting it into an audio track in the desired language. The visually handicapped can utilize this approach to sense the attitude and demeanor of the person they are dealing with. All of the aforementioned tasks linked with this application are executed by simply issuing commands. The peculiarity of this system is that it reads a handwritten paper, analyses personality based on it, and provides audio output to the blind. This technology makes it possible for the visually impaired to read and understand First Information Reports (FIRs), business cards, chats, doctor's prescriptions, invoices, addresses, and other papers.


Twenty one maize varieties that were collected from Bako Agricultural Research Center, Western Ethiopia were screened for resistance against maize weevils in insect science laboratory of Addis Ababa University. The varieties included sixteen hybrids (BH-660, BH-540, BH-543, BHQPY-545, BH-661, BH-546, BH-547, SPRH-1, AMH-760Q, AMH-851, AMH-853, AMH-854, MH-138Q, OHL HUV, Shone and Limu) and five open pollinated varieties (Melkasa-2, Melkasa-4, Melkasa-6Q, Gibe-2 and Morka). The parameter measured for screening were parental adult's weevil's mortality, F1 progeny emergence, percent protection, percent grain damage and weight loss, weight of damaged and undamaged grains, Dobie index of susceptibility and selection index. Based on Dobie index of susceptibility, 6 varieties (Melkasa-6Q, MH-138Q, SPRH, BHQPY-545, AMH-760Q and AMH-851) respectively were categorized as resistant varieties, whereas the rest 15 (Melkasa2, BH-540, BH-661, AMH-853, OHL HUV, Melkasa-4, BH-543, BH-546, BH-547, Morka, AMH-854, Gibe-2, Limu, BH-660 and Shone) were rated as moderately susceptible varieties. However, based on selection index, 6 (Melkasa-6Q, MH-138Q, SPRH, BHQPY-545, AMH-760Q and AMH-851) were rated as resistant, 5 (Melkasa-2, BH-540, BH-661, AMH-853 and OHL HUV) were rated as moderately resistant, 8 (Melkasa-4, BH-543, BH-546, BH-547, Morka, AMH-854, Gibe-2 and Limu) were rated as moderately susceptible and 2 (BH-660 and Shone) were rated as susceptible varieties. Therefore, the aforementioned 6 resistant varieties could be stored relatively for longer period (≥ 2 months) under farmer's storage conditions. Hence, these resistance varieties could be implemented as a cheap, ecologically sound and effective management method to reduce loss caused by S. zeamais under storage conditions at national level.


The problem of the role of youth policy and regional authorities responsible for youth problems in counteraction against criminalization of teenagers is discussed. It is pointed out that there exists a considerable potential of local authorities participation in activities concerning young people being involved in criminal cases.


Lipocalin allergens, which contain most of the important animal‐derived respiratory sensitizers, induce T helper type 2 (Th2) deviation, but the reasons for this are not clear. To explore the prospects for peptide‐based allergen immunotherapy and to elucidate the characteristics of the immunodominant epitope of Bos d 2, BALB/c mice were immunized with a peptide containing the epitope, peptides containing its analogues, peptides from the corresponding regions of other lipocalin proteins, and peptides with a homologous sequence. We observed that murine spleen cells recognized the immunodominant epitope of Bos d 2, p127–142, in almost the same way as human Bos d 2‐specific T cells did. Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent spot‐forming cell assay (ELISPOT) analyses showed that p127–142 and a corresponding peptide from horse Equ c 1 induced a Th2‐deviated cellular response, whereas a homologous bacterial peptide from Spiroplasma citri induced a Th0‐type response. Interestingly, the spleen cell response to the bacterial peptide and p127–142 was cross‐reactive, that is, able to induce reciprocally the proliferation and cytokine production of primed spleen cells in vitro. More importantly, the peptides were able to skew the phenotype of T cells primed with the other peptide. Our results suggest that modified peptides can be useful in allergen immunotherapy.


Osteoporosis is a systemic bone disease characterized by compromised bone strength, which predisposes the individual to an increased risk of fractures of the hip, spine, and other skeletal sites. Gynostemma pentaphyllum (of the family Cucurbitaceae) is known to reduce blood lipid, prevent arteriosclerosis, inhibit oxidation, reduce blood glucose, and regulate immunity. Gypenoside XVII is one of the bioactives in G. pentaphyllum, which inhibits receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand-induced osteoclast production. Herein, we show that Gypenoside XVII improves the survival of MC3T3-E1 under high glucose environment. It also inhibits the apoptosis of MC3T3-E1 cells in high glucose environment. In addition, Gypenoside XVII promotes osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells in high glucose environment. Mechanically, we found that Gypenoside XVII inhibited high glucose-induced apoptosis and facilitated osteogenic differentiation via activating the PI3K/AKT pathway. These data suggest that Gypenoside XVII might be a potential therapeutic drug in the treatment of osteoporosis.


Steel sheet with excellent heat treatment and impact properties which has a composition containing 0.1 to 0.5 wt .-% of carbon (C), 0.01 to 1.0 wt .-% of silicon (Si), 0.5 to 4, 0 wt .-% of manganese (Mn), 0.1 wt .-% or less of phosphorus (P), 0.03 wt .-% or less of sulfur (S), 0.1 wt .-% of soluble aluminum (Al) has 0.01 to 0.1 wt .-% nitrogen (N), 0.3 wt .-% or less of tungsten (W), and the balance iron (Fe) and other inevitable impurities.


Ferroelectric BiFeO3 thin films have been deposited on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrate by pulsed-laser deposition. From the X-ray diffraction analysis, the BiFeO3 thin film consists of perovskite single-phase, and the crystal structure shows the tetragonal structure (c/a = 1.018) with a space group P4mm. It is obtained that the BiFeO3 thin film shows a well-saturated remarkably giant saturation polarization of 158 µC/cm2 and a remanent polarization of 146 µC/cm2 for a maximum applied voltage of 20 V at 90 K. These values of polarization are largest ever-measured in ferroelectrics.


A life cycle cost (LCC)-based evaluation model for track components has been developed in a joint project by Austrian Federal Railways (OEBB), the Institute for Railway Engineering and Transport Economy of the University of Technology, Graz, and Voestalpine Schienen GmbH. The model is used to identify optimal fields of application and maintenance procedures for different rail profiles and steel grades under different track conditions. Details are given of the project and LCC-model. The model showed that for track sections allowing continuous welded track and with loads of 18,000 gross ton per day, 60 kg rails on concrete sleepers were preferred. In sharp curves with radii less than 250m, fish plated rails on wooden sleepers should be used. For branch lines, 54kg were proposed. In general, rails of the steel grade R260 were recommended. For radii less than 500m rails of steel grade R350HT were preferred. A table of working cycles for different steel grades is presented.


—an enlightening discovery in itself—played such a key role at crucial points in English post-Reformation theological development that future scholars cannot ignore it. He also highlights the problematic use of the term "Augustinian," given the variety of ways that Augustine was employed on different sides of the debates. Collier's engagement with the primary sources is acute and his overall thesis compelling. In sum, this book will be a must read for anyone with an interest in the development of post-Reformation English theology.


Steatosis is the most frequent chronic liver disease and one of the most frequent ultrasound finding. At the moment there is no proven treatment applicable for all patients. Correction of the associated risk factors and, improvements of the Body Mass Index and Waist Circumference using diet and exercise alone and combined has the most proven results. No adequate imaging tool to monitor individual steatosis grade in daily practice or interventional studies exists. Our goal is to identify a simple, efficient and affordable method to quantify the evolution of steatosis and to test its reliability vs. human interpretation of ultrasound findings.


This paper proposes magnetic field analysis method which can reduce the cogging torque in interior permanent magnet motor (IPMM). The magnetic field and cogging torque are analyzed by solving the Poisson equation for magnetizing distribution. The influences of various pole ratio and magnetizing distribution on the cogging torque are investigated. It is shown that the slot and pole ratio combination has a significant effect on the cogging torque and presents a optimal link shape to reduce the cogging torque. The validity of the proposed technique is confirmed with 2-D finite element (FE) analysis


Recent research on oxyfluorides of bromine is reviewed. This work is the first on the subject since 1963 when BrO2F was the only known oxyfluoride of bromine. Since then a number of other oxyfluoro compounds have been prepared, and a considerable amount of information on the structure and properties of all these compounds including additional information on BrO2F has been obtained. This review attempts to summarize all the data reported up to mid-1977.