The Late Bronze Age settlement of Passo Alto includes a defensive complex with partial vitrification of the wall rampart. The mineralogical assemblage identified in the vitrified rock fragments includes neoformed phases and glass as a result of incongruent melting of the original micas of the local substrate (Palaeozoic micaschist). The temperatures achieved were very high, probably exceeding 1100oC. Mineral textures indicate fast cooling of the melt. Burning of a structure made of timber and rock fragments from the local substrate affected a small portion of the rampart adjacent to the probable main entrance, and is considered the most simple and coherent hypothesis to explain all the observed evidence.


Conversational recommender systems typically involve iteratively showing the user a small set of options for them to choose between. In order to choose an appropriate set to display at each stage, it is useful to have information regarding the user's relative preference between options: specifically whether an option is dominated by others with respect to the user's preference relation. This paper describes a simple semantic framework for preference dominance, and two instances of the framework are developed for a recent kind of conversational recommender system. The first is based on a basic quantitative preferences formalism, where products are compared using sums of weights of features, and the input language involves comparisons between options. The second is a qualitative preference formalism, where models are a kind of generalised lexicographic order, and the inputs are comparative preference statements (in a language generalising CP-nets). A key feature of both methods is that deductions of preference dominance can be made efficiently, since this procedure needs to be applied for many pairs of products. The two approaches have been implemented, with encouraging experimental results.


The present invention using a single codec, with the technology of wireless and wired communication channel coding field and relates to a technique for encoding and decoding a code having a plurality of code rates, all in order to obtain the multi-code rate code having the same structure as the parity check matrix It discloses a design method of multi-code rate LDPC code, comprising the step out of the new parity to the variable node of a code attached sequentially. The best method for attaching the present invention is the sign of the high coding rate while maintaining optimal performance by the main code to design a single codec comprising a plurality of low code rate code. Code channel (Channel Code), LDPC code, the multi-code rate (Rate-compatibility), the best attaching method (Optimal extending)


The terminology and notation used in this paper have been introduced in the following articles: [29], [16], [12], [13], [11], [1], [2], [32], [18], [30], [24], [25], [26], [27], [3], [9], [34], [35], [33], [28], [15], [21], [37], [10], [31], [20], [23], [5], [14], [6], [22], [8], [4], [19], [36], and [7]. Let I be a set and let J be a relational structure yielding many sorted set indexed by I. We introduce I -prodPOS J as a synonym of ∏ J. Let I be a set and let J be a relational structure yielding nonempty many sorted set indexed by I. One can check that I -prodPOS J is constituted functions. Let I be a set and let J be a topological space yielding nonempty many sorted set indexed by I. We introduce I -prodTOP J as a synonym of ∏ J. Let X, Y be non empty topological spaces. The functor [X → Y ] yields a non empty strict relational structure and is defined as follows: (Def. 1) [X → Y ] = [X → ΩY ]. Let X, Y be non empty topological spaces. Observe that [X → Y ] is reflexive transitive and constituted functions. Let X be a non empty topological space and let Y be a non empty T0 topological space. Observe that [X → Y ] is antisymmetric. We now state three propositions: (1) Let X, Y be non empty topological spaces and a be a set. Then a is an element of [X → Y ] if and only if a is a continuous map from X into ΩY.


In this paper, we conduct a study to clarify the difficulties which affected the operations of the protective relays in the Oman Electricity Power System and the steps which were taken to overcome these difficulties. A single line to ground fault on the network may cause the tripping of phase loads and reduce the speed of three phase inductive loads. This in turn causes an over current trip on the 11 and 33 kV feeders after the fault is cleared. The bank capacitors, used in the system, should not trip during the dip of voltage to avoid any further increase. The settings of the earth fault relays should be adjusted taking into consideration the ground resistance and the length of the distribution lines. A load shedding arrangement for 33 kV feeders should be used to avoid the tripping of a second transformer in the feeder transformer arrangement set. Distribution feeders should not be connected with the bus bars of the power stations. Under speed protective devices should not operate on frequencies more than 47.5 Hz. New types of relays should be used after testing it on the existing operating system.


In 45 patients who wished anticonception a new form of IUD was used: the IUD is made of ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer and contains in its cervical end 38 mg progesterone. The uterine therapeutic system releases 65 mcg/day. The compatibility was very good; only in a few cases were hypomenorrhea and irregular bleeding found. Only in 1 case did a salpingitis occur after a 6-month period. 1 pregnancy could be observed after a spontaneous performation of the IUD. Clinical observation and control of laboratory findings (blood picture erythrocyte sedimentation vaginal smears) speak in favor of good compability of this new IUD.(AUTHORS)


Vector optical field (VOF) manipulation greatly extended the boundaries of traditional scalar optics over the past decades. Meanwhile, the newly emerging techniques enabled by structural functional optical materials have driven the research domain into the subwavelength regime, where abundant new physical phenomena and technologies have been discovered and exploited for practical applications. In this Tutorial, we outline the basic principles, methodologies, and applications of VOF via structural functional materials. Among various technical routes, we focus on the metasurface-based approaches, which show obvious advantages regarding the design flexibility, the compactness of systems, and the overall performances. Both forward and inverse design methods based on the rigorous solution of Maxwell's equations are presented, which provide a valuable basis for future researchers. Finally, we discuss the generalized optical laws and conventions based on VOF manipulation. The applications in optical imaging, communications, precision measurement, laser fabrication, etc. are highlighted.


Completely biodegradable printed circuit boards (PCBs) have been developed using biocomposites made from natural cellulose fibers extracted from banana stems and wheat gluten, which are normally considered as agricultural wastes or coproducts. PCBs were fabricated using these composites with properties suitable for electronic applications. The biocomposites are free of chemicals, and an environmentally benign approach was adopted to fabricate the PCBs. Conventional PCBs are critical components in electronics and are currently made using fire resistant plastics (FRPs). FRPs are typically made using glass fibers and epoxy, which are nonbiodegradable when disposed in the environment. Several attempts have been made to develop environmentally friendly PCBs and other electronic components. Although dissolvable electronics and foldable PCBs have been reported, so far, there are no 100% biodegradable PCBs. The dielectric constant for banana fiber/wheat gluten composite varied between 2-36, which is in the range of dielectric materials used for PCB and other electronic components. A significant amount of heat (up to 45 °C) was dissipated through the biocomposite preventing overheating and thus reducing risk of fires. PCBs did not show any deterioration in performance even after exposure to high humidity (90%) or high temperature (100 °C). LED connected to the PCB was able to glow without any interruption. Natural fibers and protein-based PCBs may provide an alternative to the synthetic polymer-based electronic components and help us to reduce the environmental burden due to the disposal of electronic waste (e-waste).


Chatter, the vibration between the workpiece and cutting tool, is a common phenomenon during the milling process. Traditionally, the Fourier transform analysis is mainly used to extract the features and determine whether chatter occurs. In this paper, an innovative and practical chatter identification method combining fractional order chaotic system and extension theory is proposed. A lathe spindle with embedded sensors is used in this study. The boundary of chattering state of the lathe spindle is decided by the center of gravity of phase plane of dynamic errors. The boundaries are then fed into extension model and relational function calculation is performed. In this way, chatter identification can be easily achieved based on the position of the chaotic center of gravity. The three chaotic systems, i.e. Lorenz, Chen-Lee, and Sprott, of different fractional orders are used and their results are compared. Compared with the traditional methods, the Fourier transform is time-consuming in terms of mathematical operations and adverse to the establishment of a real-time system. This paper uses the characteristics of the chaotic systems sensitive to input signals in order to more capably detect the boundary state from normal cutting to chattering cutting and more efficiently identify the chatter. The experiment results indicate that the Chen-Lee system (93.5%) exhibits have better chatter diagnosis rate than Lorenz (92.75%) and Sprott (69%) systems. The Chen-Lee system even reaches a diagnosis rate of 100% for orders 0.5 ~ 0.7. Therefore, the method presented in this paper has a very high diagnosis rate and is thus very effective for chatter identification of machine tools.


: This study explored the story themes conveyed in temples built in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties (1604–1822 AD). In total, 19 temples and 628 story themes were investigated. Content analysis was adopted to compare and contrast the narrative structure of novels and that of the images decorating the temples; in addition, sample analysis was performed using the narrative structure, story element, main patron deity, and story theme. The results are as follows: 1) Temple creators primarily selected Romance of the Three Kingdoms for the story theme. 2) Temple creators selected chapters from Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Apotheosis of Heroes and predominantly adopted the midpoint in Act II that resembling the three-act structure in Western tradition. 3) The background of the main patron deity and the story theme selection for a temple were correlated.


Diagram describing texts are integral part of science and engineering subjects including geometry, physics, engineering drawing, etc. In order to understand such text, one, at first, tries to draw or perceive the underlying diagram. For perception of the blind students such diagrams need to be drawn in some non-visual accessible form like tactile graphics. Technologies for producing tactile graphics are available but they are too expensive to be afforded by the blind students or schools in developing countries like India. As a result, science education for a large population of blind students is severely compromised. This paper proposes a novel solution to this problem. A method for digital to Braille mapping of geometry diagrams on the low-cost traditional Braille text printer is reported here. Later on, this is integrated with a previously developed text-to-diagram conversion system. Using the integrated system, a blind student can input a geometry word problem and perceive the underlying diagram on a Braille printout. The major part of the study involves rigorous evaluation of the system at a Blind school. The enthusiasm and the ability shown by the subjects in using the system strongly attest its viability as an effective teaching/learning tool for the blind students.


Recently, the study of Ubiquitous Robot(UR) is one of the hot topics in robotics field. The UR system can support several types of robots and mobile robots from an environment. Moreover, human can also be supported by UR system. Each device is independently distributed in UR environment. When these devices are controlled such like feedback control, time synchronization is one of the important technologies for the control. In this paper, the wireless time synchronization module is proposed as one of the solutions of time synchronization for distributed devices, and evaluated through the experiment.


Part I. The Preliminaries: 1. The linguistic preliminaries 2. The philosophical preliminaries Part II. The Theory: 3. Some fundamental notations 4. The basis of RS-analysis 5. Referential-semantic features 6. Subjunction and adjunction Part III. The Application: 7. Referential functives 8. Indefinite expressions 9. Definite expressions 10. The pronouns.


A short cut review was carried out to establish whether heliox is of benefit in patients with an exacerbation of asthma 498 www.emjonline.com on 7 February 2008 emj.bmj.com Downloaded from


Fault identification for a class of multiple time-delay systems with unknown input based on a class adaptive observer is investigated. Both of the states and faults of the time-delay systems can be identified by such adaptive observers. By utilizing H∞ tracking performance, the design procedure and condition of stability for the adaptive observer are given by LMIs. Finally a numerical example shows the simplicity and the effectivity of the proposed approach.


As the number of IoT devices increases, security is one of the critical factors. Since random numbers are used to generate nonce and encryption keys, degradation of the randomness generated by TRNGs (True Random Number Generators) causes damage to system security. Several attacks have been proposed to reduce the randomness of the TRNG by changing the operating conditions, such as frequency injection, glitch impact, temperature change, and power supply voltage manipulation. In addition, the side-channel attack against TRNG is proposed to predict the random number output. This paper evaluates temperature variation and proposes side-channel attacks against COSO-based TRNG (coherent sampling ring oscillator-based TRNG). The results show that the temperature variation does not affect the randomness of the TRNG under the temperature range of 0°C to 80°C. On the other hand, the side-channel attack correctly read the random output numbers in 97.9 % of the cases. Note that the target circuit was connected to the output pin and side channel information was obtained from it. We propose two countermeasures against the side-channel attacks and demonstrate their effectiveness.


In the title compound, C15H10Cl2N2O, the dihedral angle between the mean planes of the phenyl ring and the 10-membered quinazoline ring is 63.3 (4)°. In the crystal, pairs of weak C—H⋯O interactions link the molecules into centrosymmetric dimers, forming R 2 2(10) graph-set ring motifs. In addition, weak π–π stacking interactions [minimum centroid–centroid separation = 3.6810 (8) Å] are observed, which contribute to the formation of a supramolecular assembly in the packing array.


Aim: To correlate obstetric data with the appearance of antithyroid antibodies. Methods: A 6 months follow up was performed on 135 healthy women with assessment of TSH, T3, T4 and antithyroid antibodies (anti thyroglobulin and anti peroxidase). Correlation of diverse obstetrical parameters with the appearance of antithyroid antibodies at 2 and 6 months postpartum was determined. Results: Only two parameters were significant during the complete follow up: the newborn weight, which correlated with both antibodies (anti-thyroglobulin and anti-peroxidase) positivity and the maternal height, which exclusively correlated with anti-thyroglobulin positivity. Conclusions: Correlation of maternal height and newborn weight with positive autoantibodies allows to consider a future clinical screening test for this disorder.


As the oil and gas industry matures, so does its technology and equipment. Many operators of older rigs are modifying them to compete with newer ones.


The article contains information on the ways of grass plants protection from the impact of free radicals under the conditions of gas and chemical industry emissions exposure. The effects of air pollution on the content of such antioxidants as: flavonoids, phenol carbonic acids, tannins and ascorbic acid have been studied.


Much time, money, and attention has been given to the issue of technology in the K-12 classroom. In addition, there is an ever-expanding interest in preparing students for success in a transforming, technology-rich world. In the 21st century technology and education must work together to secure the future for students and society. Society in the 21st century is knowledge-based; learning is critical as knowledge resiliency continually becomes important for survival in the rapidly changing environment. The need for changing traditional approaches to education from the acquisition of short-term skills to proactive programs that infuses technology into the learning are of utmost importance as educators prepare students for the 21st century.


sentatives of the Palestinian leadership, are subsequently redistributed by Schaar in five chapters that deal first with "Islam and Islamic history" (chapter 4); followed by "imperialism, nationalism, revolutionary warfare, insurgency, and the need for democracy" (chapter 5); "the Middle East and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict" (chapter 6); "India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh" (chapter 7); and finally, the overarching "critique of U.S. foreign policy, the ColdWar, and terrorism" (chapter 8). Cursory as these brief digests of critical argumentation might be, they are grounded in apt citations from and references to Ahmad's dynamic bibliography of intellectual interventions into the international contests and controversies that divided contestants and comrades alike in ever changed and changing political circumstances, fraught evidence of the pain that can also come from being a "friend of the whole world." A forceful contributor to such intellectual initiatives as the Institute for Policy Studies, Monthly Review, the Institute of Race Relations, and the Middle East Research and Information Project, Ahmad's clear-sighted provocations remain "timely" and noteworthy for the prescient prognostications that recur in Schaar's citations of, for example, Ahmad's tripartite examination of "third world" post-independence dictatorial debacles (Arab Studies Quarterly 1980–81); the special issues on Lebanon and the Middle East edited for Race and Class; and Pakistan's post-partition predicaments as recounted in his columns in Dawn, the leftist Pakistani daily to which Ahmad was a regular contributor. Schaar concludes by turning to the celebration of Ahmad on his retirement in 1997, just two years before his death, from teaching at Hampshire College. The program of that special event extended over an entire weekend, and the speakers who testified at the podium in recognition of Ahmad's political positions and his personal probity are recited by Schaar in an appraising recapitulation of Ahmad's uncommon career. Edward Said spoke first, followed by Noam Chomsky, Daniel Ellsberg, and Howard Zinn, among other notables, several of whom lamented Ahmad's unfulfilled vision of Khaldunia University that the retiring professor had planned for Pakistan. At once an intellectual biography based on Ahmad's critically pointed bibliography and a personal memoir founded in the bonds of friendship, Schaar's tribute to the "critical outsider in a turbulent age" he knew so closely and for so long portrays a consummate partisan in and against the organizational and political developments and desecrations of the late twentieth century, an age that oversaw the demise of one imperial mission and the launch of another "global war on terror."


& INTRODUCTION Almost imperceptively , a new regeneration narrative (NRN) seems to be taking hold of the economic development community. Politicians and policy-makers, along with academics and practitioners, are beginning to speak a language in which the vocabulary, beguiling as it might seem, actually elides some very important issues. Although some of the vocabulary predates 1997, the new narrative has been honed, formalized and disseminated under New Labour governments. Like all narratives, the NRN aims to tell a 'story' in which some things are accentuated at the expense of others, this is one reason why a narrative is a partial story no matter how many converts it claims. Some of the keywords of this new narrative have become so pervasive, so much part of our 'common sense' as it were, that they have insinuated themselves into every nook and cranny of the regeneration policy community – 'bottom-up not topdown', 'joined-up policy', 'partnership working' and 'local solutions for local problems' are perhaps the most ubiquitous. This felicitous language is attractive to many people, not least because it implies the need for policies which are socially inclusive and politically empowering, policies which respect and reward local knowledge, policies which are designed with rather than for deprived communities. To the extent that it afŽrms inclusive and empowering models of development, the NRN is to be welcomed. It's also worth remembering that no government since the 1960s has placed such emphasis on sub-national instituThe New Regeneration Narrative – Local Development in the Multi-Level Polity


The article considers the nature of ethnic identity transformation of Russian Germans and their descendants currently residing in Krasnoyarsk Region. Ethnic and demographic development of Russian Germans is characterized by depopulation, migration loss and irreversibility of ethnic assimilation. This actualizes the problem of finding effective mechanisms for preservation and ethnical and cultural reproduction of the German ethnic group. Analyze of the ethnic identification model of the deported Germans and their descendants allows to determine key ethnic-forming factors. It is concluded that traditional markers, such as language and religion, have lost their meaning in the process of ethnic self-identification. Their reproduction was destroyed by alien ethnic environment with the spread of nationally mixed marriages. The article notes the increased role of historical memory in the post-deportation period, which is formed through interfamilial and intergenerational communication. Images of the past are represented and transmitted, first of all, through family and other social institutions. The otherness of the Russian Germans is manifested through their opposition to Germans of Germany. The study is based on biographical interviews of deported Germans and their descendants taken by a group of Krasnoyarsk historians during a field expedition to the south of the region in 2017 in termd of the project «Ethnic groups in Siberia: conditions for cultural memory preservation» with the support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research. The article is dated to the 80th anniversary of the Russian Germans deportation.


Reflective teaching has become a focus of interest and a powerful movement in teacher education. The complexity of teaching requires teachers to question their practices for their own professional development in order to improve and to increase learner performance. This article aims at investigating student teachers' reflective experiences during teaching practice period. A qualitative inquiry was used in the study. Eight student teachers enrolled for a language teaching module in a one year Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) initial teacher education programme for intermediate phase was randomly selected to participate in the study. Data were obtained through interviews. It became clear from the data that reflective teaching is a challenge to student teachers, as a results they could not acknowledge their shortcomings in their classroom performance. In addition, participants reflected on teaching methods and teaching media and believe that these could enhance learning and teaching. It is also the view of participants that collaboration among colleagues and a positive attitude could enhance teachers' reflective practices.


We report the discovery of transient radio emission from the nearby optically discovered tidal disruption event (TDE) ASASSN-14li (distance of 90 Mpc), making it the first typical TDE detected in the radio, and unambiguously pointing to the formation of a non-relativistic outflow with a kinetic energy of ≈(4–10) × 1047 erg, a velocity of ≈12,000–36,000 km s−1, and a mass of ≈3 × 10−5–7 × 10−4 M⊙. We show that the outflow was ejected on 2014 August 11–25, in agreement with an independent estimate of the timing of super-Eddington accretion based on the optical, ultraviolet, and X-ray observations, and that the ejected mass corresponds to about 1%–10% of the mass accreted in the super-Eddington phase. The temporal evolution of the radio emission also uncovers the circumnuclear density profile, &rgr; ( R ) ∝ R − 2.5 ?> on a scale of about 0.01 pc, a scale that cannot be probed via direct measurements even in the nearest supermassive black holes. Our discovery of radio emission from the nearest well-studied TDE to date, with a radio luminosity lower than all previous limits, indicates that non-relativistic outflows are ubiquitous in TDEs, and that future, more sensitive, radio surveys will uncover similar events.


Records obtained with the Sheffield meteor wind radar have been subjected to harmonic analysis resolving a longest period of 130 h. The spectra of oscillation generally show three distinct peaks: periods near 12, 24, and, surprisingly, between some 35 and 72 h. The 24 and 12 h peaks can be readily accounted for as the effect of the solar diurnal and semidiurnal tides but regular oscillations with periods in excess of one day appear more difficult to explain. Although upward propagation of long period waves is severely restricted there seems to be some evidence that the primary source of these oscillations lies in the lower atmosphere as shown by the correlation between meteor winds and the variation of atmospheric pressure as well as tropospheric winds near the principal meteor collecting areas.


The article examines the theoretical basis for the development of creativity in students of the piano Department. Creativity is studied as a category of psycho-pedagogical knowledge, the methods of its development in pedagogical science and practice are analyzed, the features of performing activities as a kind of musical creativity are characterized, the concept of "creativity" in relation to professional activities of a pianist is concretized and its structure is substantiated.


A high-speed, single-mode, high power, reliable and manufacturable wavelength tunable light source operative to emit wavelength tunable radiation over a wavelength range contained in a wavelength span between about 950nm and about 1150nm, including a vertical cavity laser (VCL), the VCL having a gain region with at least one compressively strained quantum well containing Indium, Gallium, and Arsenic.


A new simple method has been developed for the estimation of deactivation rate constants in atom transfer radical polymerization using copper catalysts. This method is based on the principle of reverse ATRP and is conducted under an air atmosphere, using molecular oxygen as an oxidant for Cu(I) species. The deactivation rate constants for several different reactive copper complexes were estimated by this procedure, and the results are correlated with those obtained from the analysis of the evolution of molecular weight distribution with conversion and with competitive trapping reactions using nitroxides. The effect of temperature on these rate constants was also studied.


Purpose of reviewEffective vaccine-elicited immunity against HIV-1 infection will likely require broadly neutralizing antibodies to interrupt the fusion-promoting functions of the viral envelope glycoprotein spikes. Efforts in this area have, however, been fraught with challenges. The handful of existing broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies has provided information on some of the virus' sites of vulnerability, fueling a decade of structure-informed vaccine design. The fact that very few bnmAbs have been recovered to date illustrates the poor immunogenicity of these epitopes. Recognizing that progress may require more basic information, there has been a notable shift in the field toward identifying new chinks in HIV-1's armor. These efforts are based on the observation that some infected patients develop exceptionally broad serum neutralizing antibodies responses, a better understanding of which would be valuable for vaccine efforts aimed at eliciting similar specificities. Recent findingsNew mapping methodologies are now providing an appreciation of the incidence of specificities similar to the existing known bnmAbs as well as some intriguing insights into novel specificities. SummaryThe new information emerging from mapping efforts should help to sharpen efforts to isolate new bnmAbs and moreover, may provide crucial information for the rational design of novel vaccine candidates.


It is shown in the empirical analysis of the influence of cash flow and earnings management on the debt maturity structure at the choice of 771 listed companies of Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Markets as the research sample in the year of 2004 to 2010 by use of panel regression model that the bigger the scale of the cash flow in an enterprise,the higher the extent of the earnings management;and the higher the extent of the earnings management,the bigger the proportion of the long term debt.It is hence for creditors such as banks to put the financial behavior of debtors into the subject of pre-loan review and post-loan supervision for the protection of creditor's benefits.


Observations and theory suggest that core-collapse supernovae can span a range of explosion energies, and when sub-energetic, the shockwave initiating the explosion can decelerate to speeds comparable to the escape speed of the progenitor. In these cases, gravity will complicate the explosion hydrodynamics and conceivably cause the shock to stall at large radii within the progenitor star. To understand these unique properties of weak explosions, we develop a perturbative approach for modeling the propagation of an initially strong shock into a time-steady, infalling medium in the gravitational field of a compact object. This method writes the shock position and the post-shock velocity, density, and pressure as series solutions in the (time-dependent) ratio of the freefall speed to the shock speed, and predicts that the shock stalls within the progenitor if the explosion energy is below a critical value. We show that our model agrees very well with hydrodynamic simulations, and accurately predicts (e.g.) the time-dependent shock position and velocity and the radius at which the shock stalls. Our results have implications for black hole formation and the newly detected class of fast X-ray transients (FXTs). In particular, we propose that a ``phantom shock breakout'' -- where the outer edge of the star falls through a stalled shock -- can yield a burst of X-rays without a subsequent optical/UV signature, similar to FXTs. This model predicts the rise time of the X-ray burst, $t_{\rm d}$, and the mean photon energy, $kT$, are anti-correlated, approximately as $T \propto t_{\rm d}^{-5/8}$.


Incretins including glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and dipeptidyl peptidase Ⅳ (DPP-4) inhibitors are a new type of anti-hyperglycemic drugs. Generally speaking, GLP-1 analogues are associated with significant weight loss, and DPP-4 inhibitors have a neutral effect on body weight. However, they still cause weight gain, particularly when combined with sulfonylureas or thiazolidinedione. Clinicians should be aware of the influence on body weight of GLP-1 analogues and DPP-4 inhibitors, which can lay the foundation for developing more rational, safe and effective treatments for patients with type 2 diabetes.

Key words:
Type 2 diabetes mellitus; Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists; Dipepidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors; Body weight


This paper presents a novel autonomous inertial relative navigation technique with a sight-line-stabilized integrated sensor system for midrange (20–1 km) spacecraft rendezvous. A continuous-discrete six-state extended Kalman filter is developed for this purpose. The integrated sensor suite onboard an active chaser satellite comprises an imaging sensor, a coboresighted laser range finder, the space-integrated Global Positioning System/inertial navigation system, and a star tracker. For high accuracy of the relative navigation, the Kalman filter state vector consists of the inertial position and velocity of the client satellite governed by a high-fidelity nonlinear orbital dynamics model. The error covariance matrix is formulated in terms of the estimation error in the relative position and velocity of the client satellite, consistent with the sensor measurements. Inertial attitude pointing and rate commands for tracking the client satellite are determined using the estimates of the client's inertial relative position and velocity. To estimate the inertial attitude of the chaser satellite outside the space-integrated Global Positioning System/inertial navigation system, anew three-axis steady-state analytical attitude estimator is developed that blends the gyroand the star-tracker-measured attitudes. The simulation results of amidrange spacecraft rendezvous using glideslope guidance validate this new six-state autonomous inertial relative navigation technique. The simulation results show that the imaging sensor's sight line can be stabilized at the client satellite inmidrange accurately enough to enable the laser range finder to measure the range occasionally, but these measurements are not necessary for the midrange rendezvous phase, because the extendedKalmanfilter can estimate the rangewith the anglemeasurements of the imaging sensor.


In the literature on ethnic tourism there has been considerable discussion of touristic images and descriptions of ethnic groups, the 'culture brokers' (tour guides, operators and so on) who produce these images, and the resulting alterations communities are required to make in order for destination image and reality to correspond. However, the actual process of matching image with appearance in ethnic tourist destinations is often left unexplored. Examining this process involves a discussion of the relationship between destination communities and tour operators and authorities. This paper examines how some communities come to be 'put on' and 'taken off' the ethnic tourism map in Malaysian Borneo through a case study of two Iban longhouses in the state of Sarawak. The negotiations that occur when a potential destination is identified by a tour operator and those that occur when a community is threatened with the loss of destination status are important points to consider in this relationship since destination communities throughout Southeast Asia continue to 'slip off' the tourist map as outside agents deem them no longer traditional or exotic enough for touristic consumption. This threat to destination status can mean loss of a community's major source of income simply at the whim of tour operators.


The article presents the assessment of the changes in the system of direct payments as an instrument of the EU Common Agricultural Policy in the new financial perspective for 2014-2020. The level of financing under the Common Agricultural Policy in historical context was described as well as the level of spendings on direct payments was stated. The changes in the payment system were reviewed by referring to differentiations in the mechanism applied by Member States. The article presents the arguments and evidence that the new payment solutions continue to be inconsistent and many regulations in terms of their scope are left to the discretion of individual member states. The novelty in the current financial perspective is to define a farmer who is professionally active, creating the possibility of shifting part of the funds from the payment system to the rural areas and vice versa as well as to introduce the new rules relating to the environmental requirements on the farm.


Many studies on atherosclerosis are currently being carried out in experimental animals and in man. The use of animals has obvious advantages for following the development and progression of the disease under different experimental conditions and for studies of tissue metabolism in relation to atherosclerosis. Some animal species, however, are much more susceptible to atherosclerosis than others and results obtained with animals are not necessarily applicable to man.


Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of compound glycyrrhizin combined with epinastine in the treatment of chronic eczema.Methods A total of 128 chronic eczema patients in our hospital from January 2010 to December 2010 were randomly divided into control and observation groups.The control group was administered conventional compound glycyrrhizin treatment,while the observation group was administered compound glycyrrhizin combined with epinastine.The clinical efficacy of the two groups was observed.Results The total effectiveness rate of the observation group was 93.8%,significantly higher than the 85.9% of the control group.The difference was statistically significant(P0.05).Conclusion The combined compound glycyrrhizin with epinastine is feasible in the treatment of chronic eczema with significant curative effect.No adverse reactions take place in the course of treatment.Thus it is comparatively safe,and is worthy of clinical application.


In this article, we propose a polling accuracy measure for multi-party elections based on a generalization of Martin, Traugott, and Kennedy's two-party predictive accuracy index. Treating polls as random samples of a voting population, we first estimate an intercept only multinomial logit model to provide proportionate odds measures of each party's share of the vote, and thereby both unweighted and weighted averages of these values as a summary index for poll accuracy. We then propose measures for significance testing, and run a series of simulations to assess possible bias from the resulting folded normal distribution across different sample sizes, finding that bias is small even for polls with small samples. We apply our measure to the 2012 French presidential election polls to demonstrate its applicability in tracking overall polling performance across time and polling organizations. Finally, we demonstrate the practical value of our measure by using it as a dependent variable in an explanatory model of polling accuracy, testing the different possible sources of bias in the French data.


This paper will focus on how autoethnography helps adult educator foster critical thinking skills in adult and higher education and will address the following areas: autoethnography, critical thinking, and examples of the autoethnographic teaching methodology. This paper will conclude with some discussion and implications for implementing autoethnography in teaching adults. Introduction Social scientists have developed and implemented various research studies using various research methodologies. Although there are various components in research process, when researchers design their own studies, it is important for them to keep in mind four primary elements (epistemology, theoretical perspective, methodology, and methods) because they are the foundations of research design that lay out a research process (Crotty, 1998). In the social sciences, typically, research is understood as "a systematic process by which we know more about something than we did before engaging in the process" (Merriam & Simpson, 2000, p. 2). Such a systematic process requires an effective research methodology that aims: to determine a more effective practice and improve one's own practice, to gain a better understanding of a phenomenon and develop a better application of one's knowledge about it, and to study other's cultures and one's own culture (Patton, 2002). The last phrase is important to this present article. How can one study one's own culture through a research process? For some scholars who usually conduct quantitative research, research needs to be 99.9 percent objective and replicable; and for the others who typically conduct qualitative research, research should be a process of creating meaning with an emphasis on understanding (Creswell, 2014). Since the field of social sciences has traditionally been dominated by objectivist (quantitative) scholars, constructionist and subjectivist (qualitative) research studies still experience some resistance in the field (Glesne, 2011). In particular, autoethnography, which contains both constructionist and subjectivist epistemological perspectives, has had a difficult time becoming accepted as a valid research methodology in the social sciences (Ellis, Adams, & Bochner, 2011). However, in recent years, autoethnography seems to have gained its own ground in qualitative research and in social sciences research as there have been an increasing number of research publications of autoethnographic studies. But that growth has only happened gradually; getting accepted as a valid research method not only in the field of social sciences but also in the field of qualitative research has been a slow process for autoethnography. Although autoethnography has slowly been gaining its ground in social sciences, adult and higher education has not utilized it as a valid research methodology or as a part of andragogical practice yet. Furthermore, although we as practitioners use a lot of life stories and emphasize critical reflections in our own teaching and practice, we often neglect to critically


Wave buoy measurements were obtained off Wanganui in 1986. Most (but not all) of the observed wave energy is of periods consistent with generation in or near the South Taranald Bight. Significant wave height was compared with measurements of wind speed and direction at Wanganui Airport. By separately considering different bands of wind direction and different time bands during the day, and drawing best-fit curves through the data, a model for predicting wave height from wind measurements was assembled. The model produces a synthetic record for 1986 in reasonable agreement with the measured record, and was used to generate a wave record at Wanganui for 1988. The measured and synthetic records, with the flow record from the Wanganui River, satisfactorily explain observed changes to the rivermouth bar. Wave events move material across the river mouth to form a bar. River flood events usually act to re-establish a channel.


Incident prediction models are presented for the Interstate 80/Interstate 94 (Borman Expressway in northwestern Indiana) and Interstate 465 (northeastern Indianapolis, Indiana) freeway sections developed as a function of traffic volume, truck percentage, and weather. Separate models were developed for all incidents and noncrash incidents. Three model types were considered (Poisson regression, negative binomial regression, and nonlinear regression), and the results were compared based on magnitudes and signs of model parameter estimates and t-statistics. Least-squares estimation and maximum-likelihood methods were used to estimate the model parameters. Data from the Indiana Department of Transportation and the Indiana Climatology Database were used to establish the relationships. For a given session and incident category, the results from the Poisson and negative binomial models were found to be consistent. It was observed that, unlike section length, traffic volume is nonlinearly related to incidents, and therefore these two variables have to be considered as separate terms in the modeling process. Truck percentage was found to be a statistically significant factor affecting incident occurrence. It was also found that the weather variable (rain and snow) was negatively correlated to incidents. The freeway incident models developed constitute a useful decision support tool for implementation of new freeway patrol systems or for expansion of existing ones. They are also useful for simulating incident occurrences with a view to identifying elements of cost-effective freeway patrol strategies (patrol deployment policies, fleet size, crew size, and beat routes).


&NA; Eighty‐eight obese adolescent girls at a medically oriented camp for overweight girls were compared with 42 normal‐weight girls at an ordinary summer camp on a number of personality and interest measures (MMPI, Strong, Semantic Differential, and Sentence Completion). Statistically significant differences were found on all measures used. The obese girls showed unusual narcissism, difficulty in impulse control, considerable social anxiety, behavioral immaturity, and depression. They were less imaginative and ambitious in their life goals and seemed to live within a pattern of ego restriction. Obesity appears to be regularly accompanied by consistent personality difficulties of a serious nature, restriction of social and occupational horizons, and faulty perception of significant concepts.


Based on FLUENT software platform,this paper makes numerical simulation of the flow field and desulphurizer mixing in the process of limestone injection in coal boiler,and by the means of changing the injecting position and angle,observes the mixing of limestone and gas and the influence on the flow field,advances the best injecting position and angle of the limestone nozzle,which would provide the reference for actual engineering application.


There is rising concern that the use of fire in managing small, isolated prairie remnants may be adversely affecting prairie-specialist insects. Concern that small remnants may be inadequate for conserving prairie insect diversity also exists. To address these issues, an analysis was made on a quantitative collection of hopper (Homoptera: Auchenorrhyncha) specimens collected in 1986-87. Hoppers were collected from eight dry prairie remnants in south central Wisconsin ranging in size from 0.1 to 17 ha. Collections yielded 21 new species records for the state. I analyzed the occurrence data for effects of remnant size, remnant isolation, average fire-return-interval (1 to 5 years), time-since-last-fire (0 to 4 years), and fire extent (all or part of a site burned) on hopper density, richness, and diversity. Analyses were done on all native species combined and on prairie-specialist species as a subgroup. I also analyzed the specialists individually. The data set revealed no striking, widespread effects of fire history, remnant size, or isolation on density, richness, or diversity. Remnants less than 1.5 ha in size, however, had markedly fewer specialists than those larger than 1.5 ha. Of the nine prairie-specialists, one (Flexamia albida) appeared sensitive to remnant size, and another (Scaphytopius cinereus) to timesince-last-fire. F. albida tended to be more prevalent on larger sites, and S. cinereus was more prevalent on areas that had gone the longest without fire. Average firereturn-interval seemed to have no effect on any specialist species. Sampling effort and year had far greater and more consistent influence than fire history, remnant size, or isolation.


It is all too easy to deplore the gap between theory and practice in public health education and thereby avoid taking effective action to reduce it. That such a gap exists is not to be denied, but it will be more helpful in the long run to try to analyze its reasons than to decry its existence. To give us some perspective in this task it is first desirable to consider, if only briefly, a number of areas in which the gap is minimal. Behavioral science has provided a number of principles and findings which have long since been taken up by practitioners and are part and parcel of their armamentarium, so much so in fact that the contributions are no longer recognized as such which is all to the good. Consider the area of motivation. It is today commonplace to accept the facts that all behavior is motivated, that motives distribute themselves in a hierarchy some being more important than others, that much of the individual's behavior is determined by forces of which he is unaware, that behavior IS determined not so much by objective factors in the environment as it is by the individual's beliefs about the environment which may or may not mirror reality. Some of our basic principles of modern education based on behavioral science findings and theory are equally well integrated into health education practice. Consider the principle of participation by the learner in the educational process the principle that learning takes place only in a motivated individual, the principles of retroactive inhibition and proactive inhibition, and the laws of memory. All these and many others, whatever language is used to describe them, are regarded as facts about people which health educators and other health practitioners uniformly accept without question.


ABSTRACT Enhancing crop traits that increase grain yield under elevated CO2 concentrations is an important option for increasing the future productivity of rice. Here, we compared the growth and yield of five varieties with different genetic background under Free-Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) conditions to identify traits responsible for varietal differences in yield increase under elevated CO2. Three high-yielding and two standard rice varieties grown under FACE conditions commonly had (1) shorter growth periods, (2) higher dry matter production, (3) higher numbers of spikelets (sink capacity) and panicles; and (4) higher yield than those grown under ambient CO2. Yield enhancement by elevated CO2 (FACE/Ambient), however, differed significantly among varieties, ranging from 1.10 to 1.25. The greater response of the sink capacity, defined as the product of spikelet number and single grain mass, was the main factor involved in yield increase. Three high-yielding varieties (Momiroman, Takanari, and Hokuriku 193) had greater sink capacity than two standard varieties and the sink capacity of these varieties significantly increased under FACE condition. However, yield enhancement in elevated CO2 was lower in Hokuriku 193 than in Momiroman and Takanari. In Hokuriku 193, sink production was relatively low while dry matter production was similar to the others. Therefore, larger increase in sink production efficiency per unit of dry matter production under FACE was found to be a particularly important varietal trait, suggesting that efforts to develop varieties suited to the predicted elevated CO2 condition should focus on this and the related traits.


Laser doppler velocimeter (LDV) measurements of velocity fields and the determination of static pressure distributions in the rotors of cross flow fans with good geometrical similarity but different dimensions have been performed, and the peculiar scale effects appearing in the flow details have been shown. The internal flow fields tend to be more active with increasing rotor size, and normalized velocity, vorticity, velocity fluctuations and pressure drops in the eccentric vortex increase as the fan dimensions increase. The mechanisms of generation and dissipation of vorticity in the eccentric vortex in rotor have been discussed, and it is suggested that the scale effects may be attributed to differences in the rate of diffusion of the circulation vortices in the recirculatory region. By analyzing the influences of Reynolds number and fan dimensions on performance curves, a new procedure for representing the performance of cross flow fans in a universal form has been proposed.


The activation of the NF-kB pathway leading to the production of proinflammatory cytokines is a critical feature in innate antiviral immunity. However, in SARS-CoV-2 infection, a high number of cases with a prolonged late-stage stimulation of cytokine production that leads to a cytokine storm phenotype, an undesirable, dangerous immune-related state that can cause multiple organ failures, have been reported. To treat this, immunosuppressants with selective action on the innate NF-kB pathway are urgently required. Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) has been reported to yield anti-inflammatory activity, thus might be a potential candidate for such effort. In this study, we carried out experimental procedures on the PGRP-LB mutant line of Drosophila melanogaster to examine the immunosuppressive effect of Momordica charantia L. fruit extract (MCFE) on the NF-kB pathway. Initial phytochemical screening revealed that Momordica charantia L. fruit extract contains alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, and saponins. Furthermore, the phenotypical analysis demonstrated that MCFE could improve the survival and locomotor of the PGRP-LB mutant line of Drosophila melanogaster in a concentration-dependent manner. Additional gene expression analysis revealed that the expression of dpt and dro, two important downstream genes in the Imd (NF-kB) pathway of D. melanogaster, was significantly reduced, in a different expression profile, in response to MCFE treatment. However, it is important to note that while the expression of dpt was dramatically repressed in all extract-treated groups, the expression of dro occurred in a concentration-dependent manner. These results strongly support the notion that Momordica charantia L. can reduce the expression of proinflammatory cytokines downstream of the NF-kB pathway, hence potential to be used as a source candidate to harvest prospective immunosuppressive compounds to alleviate the cytokine storm condition.


In face of the fiercely competitive ecological environment, the stable survival, competitiveness, and innovation capability of an organization are closely related to the organizational innovation climate with failure allowance and innovation award. It could induce the infinite "creativity" of human resources in the organization to establish the competitive advantage in ecological industry. Aiming at supervisors and employees of ecological industry in Henan Province for the questionnaire survey, 251 valid copies of questionnaires are retrieved. With qualitative research, three hypotheses proposed in this study are verified. 1. Supervisor support appears positive correlations with employee creativity. 2. Employee creativity presents positive correlations with organizational innovation. 3. Supervisor support shows positive correlations with organizational innovation. The research findings show significantly positive correlations between supervisor support and employee creativity, revealing the effect of supervisors' attitudes on employees' creativity. For this reason, supervisors' attitudes of positive encouragement, appreciation, and concerns would enhance employees' creativity and induce the potential creativity and creation to constantly break through and innovate the business development.


The article elaborates a framework for understanding the relevance of transnational competence to the dynamics that mark the transformations of our time. Nongovernmental stakeholders interacting through dense civil-society networks that permeate domestic-foreign frontiers bear increasing responsibility for the course of events. Based on linked interests, interorganizational knowledge generation and aggregation, partnerships, and interpersonal/intercultural interactions, they are deeply involved in addressing the many challenges posed by an ever more interdependent world. Transnational competence lubricates transterritorial networks and projects. Here, the authors extend earlier work that posited a worldwide skill revolution both by developing explicit dimensions of transnational competence and by introducing a behavioral component. The new framework provides analytical groundwork for explaining why some people, groups, and networks are more effective than others in forging meaningful transnational solidarities, negotiating and benefiting from the intensifying experience of globalization, and waging successful transnational campaigns. The article also probes how the spread of transnational competence is being facilitated by global migration and transmigration trends. The final section explores the governance implications of expanding transnational competency for the emergent epoch.


In an environment where there are multiple stakeholders involved in delivering business analytics, process is required to establish "rigor," a check-and-balance system where reports and other analytic assets must be verified and approved before being shared across the enterprise. Defining an approval workflow is a common mechanism for implementing this process. With the release of SAS ® 9.3 Integration Technologies, your SAS business analytics environment now includes the ability to define workflows. This paper describes how to set up a report approval process where reports are developed, submitted for approval, and then made available in production (if approved). This process is managed via a custom portlet that is made available through the SAS Portal, leveraging the new workflow capabilities to track progress and execute batch SAS code.


The manuscript of Weber et al. represents the OP results obtained by analyzing a series of filter PM10 samples collected during a year-long period at an urban location in France, using two different assays, namely the dithiothreitol assay (DTT) and the ascorbic acid assay (AA). Combining results obtained by different analyses of the collected filters, including soluble ions, metals, PAHs and combining these results with


The paper deals with extremal properties of diagonal quadratic Hermite Pade approximants of type I for exponential system {e λjz} 2 j=0 with arbitrary real λ 0, λ 1, λ 2. Proved theorems complement known results of P. Borwein, F. Wielonsky.


Analyzing Process design of boiler's CAPP system,this paper proposed a semi-generative process planning,which applied group technology and decision-making rule based on condition to generate local process.It had features of less information input and strong applicability.As a result,It had certain sense to fast construct a practical CAPP system.


It has been shown that nickel coated mica will function as a conductive filler in ABS compounds. The coating process has been optimised by investigation of PdCl 2 (catalyst) concentration, coating temperature and pH and activator. Using a coating temperature of 90°C and a pH of 5, conductive mica powders coated with thin uniform layers of nickel have been produced.


Surveillance for animal diseases aims to protect animal and public health. Those tasked with surveillance decisions, however, have to navigate through the diversity of advice and published guidelines, often lacking tools to help them choose the best methods. The objective of this work was to develop a framework for surveillance design in order to increase the quality and cost-effectiveness of animal health surveillance activities, as well as increase transparency in underlying design decisions.


The next generation of computing peripherals will be low-power ubiquitous computing devices such as door locks, smart watches, and heart rate monitors. Bluetooth Low Energy is a primary protocol for connecting such peripherals to mobile and gateway devices. Current operating system support for Bluetooth Low Energy forces peripherals into vertical application silos. As a result, simple, intuitive applications such as opening a door with a smart watch or simultaneously logging and viewing heart rate data are impossible. We present Beetle, a new hardware interface that virtualizes peripherals at the application layer, allowing safe access by multiple programs without requiring the operating system to understand hardware functionality, fine-grained access control to peripheral device resources, and transparent access to peripherals connected over the network. We describe a series of novel applications that are impossible with existing abstractions but simple to implement with Beetle.


Effects of processing techniques and alloying chemistry on the formation of solidification and homogenization micropores were investigated in this study for two single crystal nickel-based superalloys with different compositions produced by Bridgman(HRS) and LMC processes.The results show that the volume fraction of micropores in as-cast HRS alloy is lower than that in as-cast LMC alloy,and they are mainly influenced by alloy chemistry.After solution heat treatment,external and internal homogenization micropores are observed to form at the Al-depletion zone near the surface region and the internal zone away from the surface,respectively.The number of external homogenization micropores reduces with increasing the distance away from the surface.Responding to high temperature oxidizing environment(in air),the formation of such homogenization micropores is ascribed to fast outward diffusion of Al,which lead to the formation of Kirkendall voids within the Al-depletion zone.Additionally,the formation of internal homogenization micropores at high temperature is due to Kirkendall effect during the diffusion process of alloying elements between dendrite and interdendrite regions.Smaller primary dendrite arm spacing and lower level of solidification segregation in the LMC alloy results in much less internal homogenization micropores in comparison with the HRS alloy.


PDLCs are a composite material formed by dispersed liquid crystal in a polymeric matrix, mainly used in several electro-optical technologies. In order to optimize their electro-optical properties, in this work PDLCs films were prepared by polymerization-induced phase separation technique, in order to potential applications such as switchable windows. The films were prepared from a homogeneous mixture of nematic liquid crystal E7 commercialized by Merck and acrylate and diacrylate monomers, such as PPGA and PEGDA. The polymerization process was carried out thermally with AIBN initiator, at a temperature range between 55 and 90 °C and photochemically with the initiators DMPA and XDT, at different light intensities. The influence of the polymerization rate on the morphology of the polymeric matrix and size of the formed liquid crystal domains was compared and discussed. Also, the apparent kinetic constant, , associated with free radical mechanism was determined, assuming that their dependence with temperature follows the Arrhenius equation. The opacity/transparency of the PDLC films was also studied, by measuring the necessary voltage for switching between the states OFF/ON. The polymerization was followed by FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) and the produced PDLCs were characterized by the following analytical techniques: POM (Polarized Optical Microscopy), SEM (Scanning Electronic Microscopy) and electro-optical properties. By the conducted electro-optical studies, the PDLCs prepared from PEGDA show a permanent memory effect, approximately 70%, when thermally polymerized and 56% when photochemically polymerized. The PPGA composites have no electro-optical response. Key-Words Liquid crystal Polymer-dispersed liquid crystal Polymerization kinetics Memory Effect


The method of the present invention is provided a plurality ( 'p' th) with sign "n-bit" data value of the data processing system to perform arithmetic operations, and the operation of such a data processing system. The techniques of this invention include making by performing a signed data value and each of the respective n-bit field encoding operation equivalent aligned, the n-bit data value encoding a plurality of signed n-bit field comprises a p value of Synthesis the data value for each symbol with a spreading symbol as the most significant bit of composite value, and the aligned and sign extended through by adding a data value constituting the combined value. Then, the arithmetic operation to produce a composite value comprising p n-encoding result bit field of the encoded result by applying the extracted from each n-bit data field and the results of correction encoding step during encoding, and the adjacent any effect equivalent decoding operation over extended data symbol is caused by adding the decoded result to produce p final one, so that each final result represents the arithmetic operation is applied to a corresponding signed n-bit data values processing results. According to the present invention, the data value, with two or more symbols are encoded as a composite value, then the same image by a SIMD instruction using a standard command value synthesis process. By encoding data values with a special symbol, it is possible to avoid the problem of overflow or underflow occurs between two adjacent data values. Because of this coding standard instructions can be applied, therefore, we can achieve many of the benefits of the SIMD instruction expanded application, without the need for new instructions and SIMD additional hardware required.


In this article an attempt has been made to cover all the aspects of cut flower business including the present scenario, prospects and different factors which need to be improved in order to meet the expected standards. This report offers the information regarding the status of current market, area of production and demands of different cut flowers such as carnation, gerbera, gladiolus and rose in Nepalese market, which facilitates persons to make up their mind to figure out the floriculture business in Nepal. Cut flower business has flourished in Nepal compared to yesteryears, but the development is not sufficient to fulfill the demand of consumers. The production decreases during the winter season in comparison to summer season. This article also includes list of numbers of producers, their position in the market and the situation of consumer. The export and import data of few years has also been illustrated. It gives the brief information regarding annual production of these flowers, present price per stick and its demand in domestic and international market.


The application of a new retention and drainage aid system was introduced in PM5 newsprint paper machine in Fujian Nanping Paper Co.,Ltd.,the applying effect and its economic benefits were analyzed.The results show that paper ash content is raised from 7.5% to 10%,retention rate is varied from 60% to 65%,and the cost is reduced by 45.84 yuan per ton product.


The base-exchange properties and the constituent materials of the base-exchange complexes of Quebec Appalachian upland podsol soils have been studied. It has been shown that the "availability" of the acid semihumified organic matter has played the most important part in bringing about existing conditions in these soils. Organic matter is dominating the processes through which these podsol soils pass in their progress from a slightly leached to a severely leached condition. The inorganic base-exchange complexes are superseded by organic complexes. The more "available" iron and aluminium present in these soils the less is their base-exchange capacity. The inorganic base-exchange complexes are unstable under the strongly acidic soil conditions. The restoration of fertility to these soils must be approached through modification of their organic-matter conditions.


ABSTRACT The effect of flame contact on Low Smoke Zero Halogen (LS0H) polyethylene-based model composite used for power cable has been investigated, focusing the attention on the fate of aluminium trihydroxide (ATH) and magnesium dihydroxide (MDH) utilized as flame retardant fillers. By using a flame reproducing the calorific value of EU CPR Regulation, during the contact with flame, the composite with magnesium hydroxide shows the formation of intermediate carbonate, which further decomposes giving the oxide. The same finding was observed in the blank test performed on pure MDH. This feature was not observed in ATH composite and pure one. The higher decomposition temperature of MDH, together with the formation of carbonate could play a key role in the higher efficiency of MDH compared to that of ATH. Moreover, we report that the stearic acid, present in the composite as compatibiliser and as processing aid, seems to migrate towards the external surfaces.


BACKGROUND AND AIM
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic properties and could be a potential therapy for Crohn's Disease (CD) strictures. In this phase I-II pilot trial, we assessed safety and efficacy of local MSC injection to treat CD strictures.

METHODS
CD patients with a short (less than 5 cm in length) non-passable stricture accessible by ileocolonoscopy were included. Allogenic bone-marrow derived MSCs were injected in the 4 quadrants of the stricture. Adverse events and clinical scores were evaluated at each followup visit while endoscopy and magnetic resonance enterography were performed at baseline, week (W)12 and W48. The main judgement criterion for efficacy was the complete (defined by the ability to pass the ileocolonoscope) or partial (defined by a diameter increase) resolution of the stricture at W12. Second efficacy criteria included assessment of the stricture at W48 and evolution of clinical scores at W12 and W48.

RESULTS
We performed 11 MSC injections in 10 CD patients (3 primary and 7 anastomotic strictures; 1 stricture injected twice). MSC injections were well tolerated but 4 hospitalizations for occlusion were reported. At W12, 5 patients presented a complete or partial resolution of the stricture (2 complete and 3 partial). Seven patients were re-evaluated at W48 (1 dilated, 1 operated, and 1 lost to follow-up) and 4 patients had a complete resolution. The evolution of clinical scores between W0, W12 and W48 was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION
MSCs injection in CD stricture was well tolerated and may offer a benefit.


Inflammatory arthritis includes a group of chronic conditions, particularly rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA)[1].Growing evidences link gut microbiota dysbiosis with the development of inflammatory arthritis[2].The aim of this study was to discover the characters of microbiota in inflammatory arthritis patients and compare the relationship between the microbiota and peripheral lymphocyte subsets and cytokines.Fecal samples were collected from 73 arthritis patients (13 PsA, 30 AS, 30 RA patients) and 140 sex- and age-matched healthy controls (HCs). The gut microbiota was studied by sequencing the V3-V4 variable regions of bacterial 16S rRNA genes by the Illumina Miseq PE300 system. Peripheral lymphocyte subsets in these participants were assessed by flow cytometry. Measures of disease activity such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) were recorded. Alpha and Beta diversity was assessed using results from QIIME2 and gut microbiome profiles were compared using linear discriminant analysis (LDA) effect size (LEfSe). R (version 4.0.1) was used for comparative statistics, using pearson correlation analysis to assess the correlation between the relative abundance of genus in the sample and clinical parameters.Compared with HCs, the richness of gut microbiota (ACE and Chao 1) was significantly lower (p < 0.05) in arthritis patients, and bacterial diversity including Shannon and Simpson indices (p < 0.001) was also significant in arthritis decreased (Figure 1A). β-diversity analysis based on Bray-curtis distance revealed significant differences in microbial communities between arthritis and HCs (Figure 1B, r=0.098, p=0.001, ANOSIM). In addition, compared with HCs at the genus level, 9 bacterial groups were significantly different in PsA (p < 0.05), 19 bacterial groups in AS (p < 0.05), and 17 bacterial groups in RA(p < 0.05) (Figure 1C). There was a significant positive correlation between CD4+T and Prevotella(p<0.01), T and Prevotella(p<0.05), Blautia(p<0.05) as well as Megamonas(p<0.05), Th17 and Prevotella(p<0.01), CD8+T and Megamonas(p<0.01), Th1 and Megamonas(p<0.05), Prevotella(p<0.01),Coprococcus(p<0.05), B and Erysipelotricbaceae_UCG-003(p<0.01), and Erysipelotricbaceae_UCG-003(p<0.01), Anaerostipes(p<0.01), CRP and Fusobacterium(p<0.05) as well as Roseburia(p<0.05). There were negative correlations between T and Erysipelotricbaceae_UCG-003 (p<0.05),CD8+T and Fusobacterium(p<0.01), CD4+T and Fusobacterium(p<0.05), NK and Fusicatenibacter(p<0.05).The gut microbiota of patients with inflammatory arthritis differs from HC and also varies among individual arthritis, which was closely related to lymphocyte subsets.[1]Wu X. Innate Lymphocytes in Inflammatory Arthritis[J]. Front Immunol, 2020, 11: 565275.DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.565275[2]Breban M. Gut microbiota and inflammatory joint diseases[J]. Joint Bone Spine, 2016, 83(6): 645-649.DOI: 10.1016/j.jbspin.2016.04.005This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82001740).None declared


Fertilization comprises the penetration ofthe egg by the spermatozoon, and the subsequent formation and syngamy of the male and female pronuclei. The morphological and biochemical changes involved are of great academic and practical interest, and several different methods havebeenusedforstudying them. Many attempts have been made to effect the process in vitro with mammalian gametes, but, in spite of occasional claims of success, no consistently effective technique has so far been worked out. To achieve fertilization in vitro with mammalian material rigid technique for collecting unfertilized eggs is essential and, since they are readily activated to segment parthenogenetically, strict criteria of fertilization must be adopted. The only certain proof of in vitro fertilization would be to observe and photograph the spermatozoon penetrating the vitellus, and the subsequent formation and fusion of male and female pronuclei. The classical studies of Schenck, of Onanoff, and of Pincus and his co-workers on rabbit and guineapig eggs, and those of Meakin and Rock on human ovarian eggs, fail to satisfy these criteria. Moricard extirpated, and injected semen into, the fallopian tubes ofvirgin rabbits soon after induced ovulation. After incubating the tubes and their contents in vitro he fixed and sectioned them, and demonstrated spermatozoa within eggs, but not formation of pronuclei, syngamy, or segmentation. Austin, using mated rats, recovered eggs soon after sperm penetration. He studied and photographed by phasecontrast microscopy the development and fusion of male and female pronuclei. The complete process of in vitro fertilization remains unaccomplished.


Machining dimensions fluctuate for many reasons in machining and processing. Dimensional variations are a mixture of trend, adjacent, sudden and other variations. Analyzing the causes of these variations is very difficult. Working accuracy is currently maintained by the timely correction of shop workers. We analyzed dimensional variations and found that most of these are trend variations. We also found that we can improve working accuracy by compensating for the trend variations. To improve working accuracy through correction of trend variations, we developed a system to automatically correct the sizing points of a machine control gauge based on the information transmitted from a total inspecting machine located in the post-processing end of an in-process controlled measuring instrument. The values input to this control system are discrete information sources and the variations are complex. Further, there is the factor of variable deadtime. For these reasons, we have developed a feedback system consisting of an appropriate filter to correct only the trend variations, ignoring the effect of adjacent and sudden variations, and a fuzzy calculator with non-linear quadratic control based on worker knowhow. This paper reports a working example of the system which was introduced into the crank center journal and pin grinding line.<<ETX>>


Real-time Strategy (RTS) games provide a challenging environment for AI research, due to their large state and action spaces, hidden information, and real-time gameplay. StarCraft II has become a new test-bed for deep reinforcement learning systems using the StarCraft II Learning Environment (SC2LE). Recently the full game of StarCraft II has been approached with a complex multi-agent reinforcement learning (RL) system, however this is currently only possible with extremely large financial investments out of the reach of most researchers. In this paper we show progress on using variations of easier to use RL techniques, modified to accommodate actions with multiple components used in the SC2LE. Our experiments show that we can effectively transfer trained policies between RTS combat scenarios of varying complexity. First, we train combat policies on varying numbers of StarCraft II units, and then carry out those policies on larger scale battles, maintaining similar win rates. Second, we demonstrate the ability to train combat policies on one StarCraft II unit type (Terran Marine) and then apply those policies to another unit type (Protoss Stalker) with similar success.


The analysis of path loss in scattering zone by using UTD is presented. The results of the total field results from the UTD solution agree very well with that from NEC-BSC. Around the vicinity of the source, the UTD results agree with experimental results but not in the further region. This is due to the fact that the line-of-sight and reflected field components are very strong in this region. For the further distance, the path loss of the UTD is stronger than the experimental results. The error comes from the present UTD propagation model which is under assumption that the trees and ground surface are PEC. Therefore, the effects of the actual surface of trees and ground must be included in the calculation to treat the actual environment. The results with the effects of the actual surface will be presented in the next meeting.


The advantages and application scene of aluminum alloy in automobile industry are introduced. A few typical kinds of aluminum alloy materials in automobile industry in the world are summarized, and advanced machining and treatment technology of Al alloys are recapitulated.


We use electric fields to engineer the spin Hamiltonian of a magnetic impurity in a ferroelectric and achieve coherent control. Magnetoelectrics, materials that exhibit coupling between magnetic and electric degrees of freedom, not only offer a rich environment for studying the fundamental materials physics of spin-charge coupling but also present opportunities for future information technology paradigms. We present results of electric field manipulation of spins in a ferroelectric medium using dilute ferric ion–doped lead titanate as a model system. Combining first-principles calculations and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), we show that the ferric ion spins are preferentially aligned perpendicular to the ferroelectric polar axis, which we can manipulate using an electric field. We also demonstrate coherent control of the phase of spin superpositions by applying electric field pulses during time-resolved EPR measurements. Our results suggest a new pathway toward the manipulation of spins for quantum and classical spintronics.


The Shanshui Basin is a Cenozoic rift basin in eastern China.It is important not only for its hydrocarbon reservoirs,but also for its super-large silver deposit at Fuwan,large gold deposit at Changkeng,and numerous metal and non-metal deposits with great ore-prospecting potential.Both hydrocarbon reservoirs and metal resources are characterized by similar ages,structural constraints,sources and formation processes.Their emplacement was closely correlated to up rising of mantle plume and asthenosphere.


An agreement between the provincial government of Québec, Canada and the forest industry executing forest management activities on public lands has been established regarding non-utilized woody material (NUWM) left on the cutting area. Problems linked to this agreement are compounded by labor shortages, which have an impact on the precision of the mandatory inventories. The objectives of this study were to: (1) reconstruct and estimate the merchantable NUWM volume beyond the last processed log of balsam fir and white spruce with the use of harvester on-board computer (OBC) data, (2) design a software tool to estimate and spatialize merchantable NUWM, and (3) perform an explorative comparison between the OBC method and conventional field inventory. In total, five sites were harvested to develop the volume algorithms. Each site was harvested by a single-grip harvester operating a different OBC system (OPTI4G, Log Mate 500, and Log Mate 510). Results suggest that, with Varjo's model and linear regression, estimation of NUWM volume using OBC data is possible. The spatialization tool positioned NUWM within the harvest area for StanForD and StanForD 2010. The explorative comparison highlighted a possible cost reduction of approx. 36.8 $/ha and an increase of precision for the OBC method.


Though a variety of immune-related adverse events of immune checkpoint
inhibitors (ICIs) including bullous pemphigoid have been reported,
non-bullous pemphigoid (NBP) associated with ICI therapy was scarcely
reported. We present a case of NBP with a long latent disease course
without diagnosis during nivolumab, an ICI therapy.


The maximum safe concentrations of oxygen have been determined for mixtures containing hydrogen, methanol, formaldehyde, nitrogen, oxygen, and water. It has been shown that introduction of hydrogen into a methanol-air mixture does not affect the rate of oxidation of methanol and formaldehyde on a chrome-iron-molybdenum catalyst and raises the limiting safe concentration of oxygen. The further oxidation of the methanol which remains after conducting the reaction in the presence of a silver catalyst has been studied on iron-molybdenum and chrome-iron-molybdenum oxide catalysts with different grain sizes.


Subject. The article investigates the consolidation of investments in Russian fixed assets.
Objectives. The purpose of the study is to identify conditions for the consolidation of investments in Russian fixed capital.
Methods. The study draws on the systems approach, using the methods of statistical, neural network, and cluster analysis.
Results. I reveal conditions for consolidation of investments in Russian fixed capital, i.e. private and foreign property, burdened with funds from the issue of corporate bonds and shares. The paper identifies a significant part of the Russian economy (mining activities) and unveils the high-tech imports domination. It highlights conditions for consolidation of investments in Russian fixed capital in the form of private and foreign property, which determine the parameters of international cooperation in US dollars and in the national currency, avoiding an excessive increase in gross government debt in the national currency.
Conclusions. The described conditions for consolidation of investments in Russian fixed assets enable to direct the activities of the Russian government to effective combination of external and internal factors that ensure economic growth.


Toward a Model of Comparison-Induced Density Effects Jessica M. Choplin (email@example.com) DePaul University Department of Psychology 2219 North Kenmore Avenue Chicago, IL 60614-3504 end of these distributions will be smaller than the portion of the range at the sparse end. To cover the entire range of values the remaining verbal labels or category ratings would have to be assigned asymmetrically. In this paper, I propose yet another possible explanation for density effects. Namely, that some density effects might be comparison-induced (Choplin & Hummel, 2002). Verbal comparisons will tend to bias values apart in dense regions making the slope of the evaluation function steep and bias values together in sparse regions making the slope of the evaluation function shallow. These biases would make evaluation functions concave for positively skewed distributions and convex for negatively skewed distributions. The assignment of verbal labels or category ratings to these biased values might explain why values drawn from positively skewed distributions are often judged larger than are values drawn from negatively skewed distributions. I start by reviewing the basic tenets of Comparison- Induced Distortion Theory (Choplin & Hummel, 2002) and describing how comparisons could produce density effects. I present simulation data to demonstrate signature characteristics of comparison-induced density effects and how they differ from density effects produced by other mechanisms. I then describe an experiment in which I found preliminary support for the view that some density effects might be comparison-induced. Abstract A model of the effects of distribution density on evaluations of attribute values is proposed in which biases created by language-expressible magnitude comparisons (e.g., "I waited longer for the bus today than I did yesterday") serve as the mediating mechanism. The biases created by comparisons as well as the mechanisms by which comparison-induced biases could produce density effects are described. Simulation data demonstrate signature characteristics of comparison-induced density effects. An experiment found preliminary evidence in support of the view that some density effects might be comparison-induced. Density Effects Evaluations of attribute values such as grades (Wedell, Parducci, & Roman, 1989), taste (Riskey, Parducci, & Beauchamp, 1979), visual velocity (Sokolov, Pavlova, & Ehrenstein, 2000), prices (Niedrich, Sharma, & Wedell, 2001), income (Hagerty, 2000) and so forth often depend upon the density—or frequency—of the distribution from which judged values are drawn (Krumhansl, 1978; Parducci, In particular, evaluation functions are typically concave (downward) for positively skewed distributions and convex (concave upward) for negatively skewed distributions. Values drawn from positively skewed distributions are also often judged larger than are values drawn from negatively skewed distributions. Several explanations for these effects have been proposed. Parducci's (1965) Range-Frequency Theory assumes that people are aware of and use percentile rank information to evaluate attribute values. Range-Frequency Theory explains the finding that evaluation functions are often concave for positively skewed distributions, because the density at the lower end of positively skewed distributions gives low values larger percentile rank scores than they would have had otherwise. The slope of the function becomes shallow at the sparse upper end of the distribution where percentile rank scores increase at a slower rate. The reverse pattern of changes in percentile rank scores in negatively skewed distributions explains the finding that evaluation functions are often convex for negatively skewed distributions. Haubensak (1992) suggested an alternative explanation for density effects on evaluations of sequentially presented values. He argued that since people do not know the distribution density and range in advance, they tend to assume that early values are typical or average and assign them intermediate verbal labels or category ratings. After these initial labels or category ratings have been assigned, people are obliged to use them consistently. Since early values are most likely to come from the dense portion of skewed distributions, the portion of the range at the dense Comparison-Induced Distortion Theory The basic idea behind Comparison-Induced Distortion Theory (Choplin & Hummel, 2002) is that language- expressible magnitude comparisons suggest quantitative values. To investigate the meanings of English age comparisons Rusiecki (1985) gave his participants sentences such as "Mary is older than Jane" and "Martin's wife is older than Ken's wife" and asked them to report the ages they imagined. Rusiecki found considerable agreement in the values imagined by his participants. In response to the comparison "Mary is older than Jane" participants imagined Mary to be 20.2 years on average and Jane to be 17.9 years on average. In response to the comparison "Martin's wife is older than Ken's wife" participants imagined Martin's wife to be 37.2 years on average and Ken's wife to be 33.0 years on average. Of particular interest to the current discussion, the age differences imagined by Rusiecki's (1985) participants were remarkably similar. Regardless of the particular ages they imagined, participants imagined a difference between the ages of approximately 2 to 5 years (slightly larger for larger values)—not 1 month or 30 years. Inspired by these results, Rusiecki argued that comparisons suggest quantitative differences between compared values. I will henceforth call


The present invention provides a method of manufacturing a battery packaging material. More specifically, there is provided a sealant layer comprising a gas barrier layer formed on said sealant layer and an outer layer formed on the gas barrier layer (the outer layer comprises a compound polyrotaxane) of the battery packaging and its manufacturing method. Battery comprising a packaging material excellent in ductility, scratch resistance and chemical resistance of the outer layer, it can be easily fashioned into bags, and the like having improved durability.


The study of the origin of names (onomatology), especially in the field of anatomy, can spark a great deal of interest among both anatomy educators and medical students. The origins of anatomical terms are of the particular relevance, because knowing the origins of specific names applied to anatomical structures often helps students to understand the location and function of the structures at hand. Several books on the origins of anatomical terms have been published in Europe (Hyrtl, 1880; Field and Harrison, 1947; Lennox, 1971; Barcia Goyanes, 1980), the United States (Skinner, 1961; Patterson and Thompson, 1978; Scarborough, 1992; Haubrich, 2003) and Asia (Lisowski and Oxnard, 2007). In addition, multiple papers in medical journals have attempted to explain the roots of anatomical terminologies in the hope of stimulating students' learning, understanding, and enjoyment of the anatomical sciences (Singer, 1959; Mehta et al., 1996; Lydiatt and Bucher, 2010). Despite the fact that the current authority on anatomical nomenclature, the Terminologia Anatomica (FCAT, 1998), was published almost 15 years ago by the Federative Committee on Anatomical Nomenclature, many anatomists still do not utilize FCAT-approved anatomical terms (Martin et al., 2009). The authors would like to bring to the attention of ASE's readers a structure in the pelvic bone termed the "obturator foramen," which represents the oval opening formed by the junction of both the pubic and ischial rami. This foramen is closely associated with several structures; among them is the obturator membrane, a connective tissue sheet that covers this space. In addition, the obturator internus and obturator externus muscles from the group of short lateral rotators of the hip also cover this foramen internally and externally. Other structures associated with this region include the obturator nerve and vessels passing through the obturator canal, which is a passageway from the pelvis, formed by the superior edge of the obturator membrane and the obturator sulcus (groove) on the inner surface of the superior pubic ramus (Lockhart et al., 1959; Moore et al., 2006; Schuenke et al., 2010; Drake et al., 2012) Etymologically, the term obturator comes from the Latin verb obt ur are, which means to close up or obstruct, whereas the noun obturator refers to something or someone that obturates (blocks up or closes up an opening). According to its Latin origin, the term obturator, when applied to both obturator muscles and the obturator membrane, is used correctly. However, the English term obturator foramen must be reconsidered because of the meaningless of the term: a foramen cannot close any space. In fact, this space gives rise to the obturator canal that is "obturated" by the obturator vessels and nerve, and eventually, in a pathological condition, it could be "obturated" by intestinal herniation. According to this logic and agreeing with Hyrtl (1880) and Barcia Goyanes (1980), the Latin name foramen obturatum without any English translation would be more suitable for this structure (for more discussion about this term see Barcia Goyanes, 1980). In fact, at the present time both the Latin term foramen obturatum and its English counterpart obturator foramen are included in Terminologia Anatomica (reference A02.5.01.008), (FCAT, 1998). Also, most of the English language anatomy textbooks (i.e., Lockhart et al., 1959; Moore et al., 2006; Schuenke et al., 2010; Drake et al., 2012), as well as specialized journal articles (i.e., Bierry et al., 2010) use the term obturator foramen without much understanding of its meaning, and this is the reason of this suggestive title. Hopefully, such discussion will emphasize the relevance of onomatology in anatomy and may also encourage anatomy educators to pay closer attention to these terminological details as a means of stimulating student interest in anatomy.


When a pile is embedded in a consolidating ground (e.g., newly reclaimed land), soil may settle more than the pile, thus generating negative skin friction along the pile shaft. This negative friction induces additional axial load to the pile (dragload) and pulls the pile further downward (downdrag). In this paper, the problem is investigated numerically with the finite-element package ABAQUS. It was found that the package defaults an interface model that models the mobilized interface strength in a way that the effect of water pressure was overlooked. Therefore, a modified numerical algorithm is proposed in this study. It amends the model by correctly bringing pore water pressure into the calculation steps. which properly simulates the effective stress-dependent nature of the shear strength at the soil-pile interface. The algorithm is then verified by a self-contained simple to understand simulation. A case history of two piles (one of them coated with bitumen) embedded in a consolidating soft ground is then back analyzed with the proposed algorithm. Fully coupled consolidation and geometric nonlinearity are also considered in the analyses. The transient response of the problem is investigated, including the development of dragload, downdrag, and neutral plane with time. The simulation generally fits well with the field measurements. Parametric studies of the effects of pile head loading reveal that the position of the neutral plane depends not only on the magnitude of the applied pile head loading, but is also affected when the load is applied with respect to the consolidation process. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000651. © 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.


Women exposed to alcohol before and after pregnancy have been found to impede the fetal development and adversely affect its nervous system, known as fetal alcohol syndrome disorders. Mice often used as an animal model of the disease. As part of our investigation of mechanisms underlying alcohol adverse effects on DNA methylation patterns in pre-implantation embryos, embryos in vitro and in vivo from female mice intaked alcohol before and after pregnancy were studied. We found that treatment group I in vitro (long-term alcohol intake before pregnancy), except for 8-cell, the embryonic DNA methylation levels were significantly lower than the control group; Treatment group II in vitro (embryos cultured in a medium contained ethanol) was significantly lower than the control group in every period of time. Compare treatment group I and treatment group II in vivo found that 网络出版时间:2013-11-25 10:12 网络出版地址:http://www.cnki.net/kcms/detail/31.2035.Q.20131125.1012.001.html


This study establishes an analytical model for the interaction between the bolt and surrounding rock based on the bearing mechanism of fully grouted rock bolts. The corresponding controlled differential equation for load transfer is deduced. The stress distributions of the anchorage body are obtained by solving the equations. A dynamic algorithm for the bolt considering shear damage on the anchoring interface is proposed based on the dynamic finite element method. The rationality of the algorithm is verified by a pull-out test and excavation simulation of a rounded tunnel. Then, a case study on the mechanical characteristics of the bolts in underground caverns under seismic loads is conducted. The results indicate that the seismic load may lead to stress originating from the bolts and damage on the anchoring interface. The key positions of the antiseismic support can be determined using the numerical simulation. The calculated results can serve as a reference for the antiseismic optimal design of bolts in underground caverns.


ALISON WEBSTER spoke to Nursing Standard while packing up her belongings in preparation for her latest career move - to Seattle, on the west coast of America. The nurse from Derby has finally decided to change her lifestyle and continue her career outside the UK. Her only regret is that she did not make the move earlier. 'I am very excited - I have just been going around saying all my goodbyes. I am looking forward to a challenging job and to earning more money.'