The utility model provides a water conservation tap water nozzle, which is characterized in that: the middle part of the water nozzle is provided with a vertical hose, wherein the center of the vertical hole has a water gap with communicated inflow and outflow water; the vertical hose is internally provided with a center shaft, wherein the upper end of the center shaft is connected with a button, while the lower end is connected with a waterstop valve; after a washer is sleeved on the upper side of the waterstop valve, the waterstop valve will be blocked under the water gap with the communicated inflow and outflow water nozzle; and the spring that is arranged at the lower side of the waterstop valve is fixed to the center core of the nut through the rotationally arranged nut at the lower end of vertical hose; wherein the upper end of the vertical hose is internally provided with a sealing ring. The utility model is characterized in that: water can be gushed by pressing the button with the hands, whereas the water nozzle can automatically close down by releasing the button; thus, the problem of the water wastage caused by forgetting to close the water nozzle can be solved.


The extraction and resin fractionation procedures for soil organic phosphorus developed in Part I were applied to a representative group of New Zealand soil types (18 soils). The amount of organic phosphorus extracted varied (59–87 per cent of total organic P, mean 75 per cent), but no clear pattern was evident. The binding of inorganic and organic phosphorus in the soil were evidently distinct processes, the organic phosphorus being more readily extractable by dilute KOH. Essentially the same pattern was found for all soils for the resin fractionation of the 0.3M KOH extracts. The organic phosphorus was split into humic-associated organic phosphorus and acid-soluble organic phosphorus, both fractions being separated from inorganic phosphorus. The much higher retention of organic phosphorus on resin with 3 per cent cross-linking compared with 8 per cent cross-linking was also found for all soils. Analysis of soils from no P and high P plots from a phosphate fertiliser field trial indicated that t...


Simplification of Standard Arabic is one of the most hopeful reform strategies proposed to make communication in the recent Arabophone space more efficient. The overwhelming impact of the Arab cultural tradition with the Classical Arabic of the early Arab grammarians as its linguistic ideal removes nearly all language reform activities to the realm of theory. The reality of a prestigious substandard, identified in native terms with luga wusfa or luga mulawassita, still unrecognized as an autonomous and fully-qualified linguistic entity, is confronted with the idea of bilingualism that has to end the era of diglossia.


. In face of the high number of different hardware platforms that we need to program in the Internet-of-Things (IoT), Virtual Machines (VMs) pose as a promising technology to allow a program once, deploy everywhere strat-egy. Unfortunately, many existing VMs are very heavy to work on resource-constrained IoT devices. We present COISA, a compact virtual platform that relies on OpenISA, an Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) that strives for easy emulation, to allow a single program to be deployed on many platforms, including tiny microcontrollers. Our experimental results indicate that COISA is easily portable and is capable of running unmodified guest applications in highly heterogeneous host platforms, including one with only 2 kB of RAM.


In the recent past, Six Sigma approach had been the methodology of choice for achieving quality and productivity through streamlined business practices that would eventually delight customers. Though Six Sigma had been expanded to several industrial sectors presently, only few research attempts have been noticed to examine the successful implementation of the method in the organisations. Despite the fact that organisations achieve benefits from Six Sigma implementations, such benefits are not sustainable until Six Sigma programme gets incorporated with its critical success factors while implementing to improve product or service quality. From a comprehensive literature review it has been understood that quality function deployment and the theory of inventive problem solving could be integrated with Six Sigma to develop an extended model of Six Sigma to incorporate some of its critical success factors. Accordingly, a model named 'total performance excellence' (TPE) is designed and presented in this article.


In this paper, a continuously variable delay line for phased array antennas is presented. The proposed delay line operates at a single wavelength and is based on properly designed linearly chirped fiber Bragg gratings. Continuous true time delay can be achieved by changing the temperature or strain along the grating region. Numerical results show that the delay line can be used for wide-band beamforming at radio frequencies up to 30 GHz with 1 ps as minimum time delay.


This study investigates the effects of composting conditions on the chemical characteristics of compost from oil palm biomass. Three samples each of empty fruit bunches (EFB), palm oil mill effluent (POME) and compost were collected from three compost plants in Malaysia. The plants employed open windrow composting system. The Fourier transform-infrared spectra and thermogravimetry analysis were used to analyse the samples. It was found that composting resulted in the loss of aliphatic structures by formation of aromatic structures. This led to a stronger intramolecular bond and subsequently increased the stability of compost. The results of the study showed that the use of shredded EFB for composting is the most efficient way to produce compost. It required 55% less amount of time as compared to untreated EFB and 60% less amount of time as compared to treatment without addition of microbes.


The properties of interacting electrons in a half-filled Landau level are well addressed by the Halperin-Lee-Read (HLR) picture of non-interacting composite fermions. We discuss how such a prescription can be applied to a lattice system. Introducing a Chern-Simon's gauge field with even charge, we construct a many-body wavefunction whose effective single particle Hamiltonian has the action of the HLR theory above half filling of Graphene's honeycomb lattice with next-nearest neighbor hoppings. Within our construction, we demonstrate that half-filled Landau level in Graphene leads to a state that is described by composite fermions populating Haldane's Chern insulator model. We propose experiments to detect the Haldane's gap and the implications to fractional quantum Hall states.


The Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, part one of a two-part licensure exam, has undergone significant changes in the last few years. This paper provides a pedagogical discussion of the recent changes to the FE exam, presents data on FE passing rates over the last five years, and discusses ways engineering libraries can support their students as they prepare to take the FE exam in their senior year. Earning licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) is often the culmination of an engineering student's education and apprenticeship. But getting there can be difficult and sometimes confusing especially when the process changes. There are four requirements to becoming a PE: graduate from an ABET-accredited engineering program, pass the FE exam, work under a PE for three to four years, and pass the PE exam. Prior to 1996, all applicants took the same FE exam regardless of their engineering discipline. After 1996, the morning portion of the exam was the same for test takers but the afternoon exam was discipline specific. That changed again in 2014 and applicants now take the FE exam in one of seven disciplines: chemical, civil, electrical and computer, environmental, industrial and systems, mechanical, or other disciplines. Undergraduate engineering students may take the FE exam in their senior year. For many civil engineering seniors, passing the FE exam is a requirement for graduation and often a condition of employment. For other disciplines, the FE exam is optional but recommended for students interested in pursuing an engineering career where protection of public health and safety are of concern. Background/Literature Review Clean water, reliable energy, safe transportation, and life-saving medical equipment are just a few ways that engineers make the world better and safer for all of us. By law, only a licensed engineer may prepare, sign and seal, and submit engineering plans and drawings to a public authority for approval. Professional Engineers (PEs) bear the responsibility for not only their work, but also for the lives affected by that work and must hold themselves to high ethical standards of practice. In the United States (U.S.), engineers are licensed by the state in which they practice. Wyoming was the first state to require licensure for engineers. As more states enacted similar legislation, a need arose for uniformity of laws and requirements. In 1920, the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), a nonprofit organization, was created to advance licensure and facilitate mobility among the licensing jurisdictions. In 2020, the NCEES is celebrating its 100th anniversary [1]. Engineers are responsible for the lives affected by their work and must hold themselves to high ethical standards of practice. Engineering students learn about professionalism through their university course work and from other engineers [2]. Students learn that an engineer's professional responsibilities include protection of the public and the environment. Students need an understanding of the potential risks resulting from their work. Public safety and environmental protection must be at the forefront of their engineering work [3]. The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. (ABET) is a non-governmental organization that accredits post-secondary education programs. ABET accreditation is proof that a collegiate program meets standards essential for producing graduates ready to enter the engineering workforce [4]. Although there are some slight variations by state, there are four major requirements to becoming a professional engineer (PE):  Graduate from an ABET-accredited engineering program,  Pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam,  Work under a PE for four years (three years with a Master's in engineering), and  Pass the PE exam. Undergraduate engineering students may take the FE exam prior to graduation in their senior year [5]. During an engineering student's senior year, their time is limited and occupied with senior design projects, finishing course work, and job hunting. Studying for the FE exam is often the last thing on their minds. However, their interest increases when they learn that being able to list on their resume that they passed the FE exam may increase their chances of getting a job after graduation [6]. Passing the FE can be a differentiator for some employers. When hiring, companies typically make decisions based upon which candidate they believe will bring the most benefit to their company. Having a choice between two qualified applicants, one with an FE working towards a PE license or one without, an employer will often choose the candidate who brings the most to the table. An article by Jason Kent, PE, "The Power of the PE License", outlines some compelling reasons on why students should consider pursuing PE licensure [7]. Only a PE can sign and seal engineering plans and drawings. This is important whether the engineer works in the public or private sector. Accordingly, PEs accrue more workplace responsibility and this leads to promotions and higher pay. Licensure for a consulting engineer or a private practitioner is not something that is merely desirable; it is a legal requirement for those who are in responsible charge of work. Other incentives are that once a student earns their FE, it is transferable to any other state in the U.S. This is important since students don't often know where they may get their first job. The minimum registration requirements are standardized nationally. The student would have to register with the board of engineering in their new state, but they would not have to retake the FE exam. Of most interest to students is that PEs earn higher salaries than non-PEs. According to a 2019 article based on a survey by the American Society of Civil Engineers, engineers with a PE license earn about 20% more than non-licensed engineers [8]. A point of contention with many engineers is the question of whether an individual can officially call themselves an engineer unless they are licensed. On business cards, letterheads, and resumes, some states say that only PEs can identify themselves as an engineer. The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) which was established in 1934, agrees that "Licensure is the mark of a professional. It's a standard recognized by employers and their clients, by governments and by the public as an assurance of dedication, skill and quality" [9].


Porosity is a volumetric parameter whereas permeability is a measure of a rock's flow properties and depends on pore distribution and connectivity. Thus zonation of a reservoir using flow zone indicator (FZI) can be used to evaluate reservoir quality based on porosity-permeability relationships. The objective of this study was to develop an accurate reservoir FZI with the aid of artificial neural network (ANN) utilizing available geophysical well log data and dipole sonic imager (DSI) derived body wave velocities. The efficiency of utilizing shear wave and compressional wave velocities (Vp and Vs ) in improving estimation accuracy has been evaluated as well. It is the core data were used for ANN training that involves the calculations of Reservoir Quality Index, normalized porosity (ϕ z ), and FZI. Correlation between FZI calculated from core data and that obtained from well log data showed that ANN model were successful for estimation of FZI from conventional well log data. The compressional wave velocity was more effective than shear ones in delivering more accurate responses to estimate FZI. On the other hand, in association with other logs, utilizing compressional and shear wave velocities caused the responses to be closer to the reality and decrease the estimation error.


As societal challenges involving sustainable development increase, the need to effectively inte grate this inherently multidisciplinary topic into existing curricula becomes more pressing. Multi disciplinary, team-taught, project-based instruction has shown effectiveness in teaching teamwork, communication, and life-long learning skills, and appreciation for other disciplines. Unfortunately, this instruction mode has not been widely adopted, largely due to its resource-intensiveness. Our proposed co-instruction model of multidisciplinary senior project administration was tested to see if it could effectively teach sustainability topics and duplicate the known benefits of team-taught instruction, while overcoming its resource-intensiveness. A case study of a co-instructed senior project was undertaken with students and faculty from electrical and mechanical engineering, business, political science, and industrial design. The participating students were compared to the control group, i.e. students who chose to complete a traditional disciplinary senior project instead. Extensive assessment was performed with pre/post quizzes, online surveys, focus groups, and course deliverables. The multidisciplinary projects outperformed traditional senior projects in 4 out of the 5


Blind source separation (BSS) methods have been applied to deal with the lack of selectivity of ion-selective electrodes. In this brief, differently from the standard BSS solutions, which are based on the optimization of a mono-objective cost function associated with a given property of the sought signals, we introduce a novel approach by relying on multi-objective optimization. Numerical experiments with actual data attested that our proposal allows the incorporation of additional information on the interference model and also provides the user a set of solutions from which he/she can select a proper one according to his/her prior knowledge on the problem.


Objective:To acknowledge the relationship between adolescent obesity and parents socio economic status.Methods:The present study highlighted the influence of SES of parents on adolescent obesity. The subjects were the same race, but lived in different areas, with different SES, Seoul and Yangpung in Korea, and Yanbian in China. Results:Relationship between SES and obesity in Korea and China was direct among boys, and inverse among Korean girls. For the Korean Chinese girls, there was an inverse relationship between the education level and obesity but a direct relationship between the income level and obesity.Conclusion:Among boys, the higher the SES was, the greater the risk of obese was.Among girls, the lower the educational status of parents was, the greater the risk of obses was.


The focus of this paper is the design and use of a simple device to determine sediment yield from gullies. The simplicity and low cost makes this device especially useful when resources are limited. In this study, it was used to measure sediment yield at a site called An(a)o Gully, in a study area in Caceres municipality (15o 57' S and 57o 31' W, Mato Grosso State, Brazil). This gully is located 28 kilometres from the center of the town, Caceres, and was easy to reach during and immediately after storm events to make measurements with this device.


An experimental setup for super-resolution microscopy by structured illumination is presented, preliminary experiments of nano-beads and living cells with a resolution around 100 nm are described, and further requirements for live cell microscopy are discussed.


The method to recognize facial expression in images quickly has been widely applied in many areas, but there is no way to take into account the accuracy and speed of recognition. This paper presents a method based on the weight calculation for fast expression recognition. It first calculates facial features based on active shape model, and then matches the features to the standard expression vector got by large number of image training and recognizes the expression in the static image. The experiments show that the system can provide fast, universal expression recognizing function under the premise of guaranteeing an ideal accuracy.


A structure/function study has been initiated for the epsilon 34 bacteriophage proteins involved in lysogeny in Salmonella newington. Hydroxylamine and nitrosoguanidine mutagenesis of a wild type epsilon 34 phage was used to generate clear plaque variants. Complementation analysis was used to define four genes involved in the phage lysogenic pathway. A relative mapping order has been established. In addition, a virulent mutant, epsilon 34vir82, which defines a repressor binding site has been isolated.


Diatoms in the genus Pseudo-nitzschia have been known as the causative organism in amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) events. Ten out of nearly 30 species thus far described have the ability to produce the potent neurotoxin, domoic acid. In Malaysia, however, has little attention paid to this form of shellfish poisoning. In this study, homologous modeling and free energy minimization approaches were used to model the secondary structure of the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) of Pseudo-nitzschia species. A total of 18 strains of Pseudo-nitzschia spp. from Borneo were cultured and genomic extracted. Gene amplification and sequencing of the ITS region of ribosomal RNA genes was carried out. Sequences obtained and related sequences were used to construct the secondary structure of ITS2 transcript. The results showed that the
secondary structure predicted from Psedudo-nitzshia spp. consist four main paired helices with one pseudo-helix. Three motifs were found in the transcript. The common eukaryotic motif in the right of helix II with additional AAA was also found in all the structures. The structural analysis also showed conserved 5.8S-28S complex. The structural information was incorporated into the multiple sequence-structure alignment for phylogenetic analysis. The phylogenetic trees revealed
two monophyletic clades. This was well supported by the morphological classification and the large subunit phylogentic evidences. Placement of some Pseudo-nitzschia spp. however remained unresolved. The ITS2 secondary structures information in this study provided better understanding of the Pseudo-nitzschia taxonomy and could be potential molecular tools in strain or species identification.


Differentiated HL-60 cells acquire responsiveness to fMet-Leu-Phe (fMLP), which activates phospholipase C and O2 generation in a pertussis toxin-sensitive manner. Addition of retinoic acid (RA) for the last 24 h during dimethyl sulfoxide (Me2SO)-induced differentiation enhanced fMLP-dependent signals and interaction between fMLP receptor and Gi. RA modifies both the function and subunit composition of G, the predominant Gi of HL-60 membranes, as shown by comparing purified G from membranes of Me2SO-treated cells (D-G) to G from membranes of cells treated with both Me2SO and RA (DR-G). As compared to D-G, DR-G induced more fMLP binding when added to membranes of pertussis toxin-treated HL-60 cells and, in the presence of GTPS, stimulated β-sensitive phospholipase C in extracts of HL-60 cells to a much greater extent and at lower concentrations. Immunoblots revealed that RA induced expression of the 2 subunit, which was otherwise undetectable in G purified from HL-60 cells or in HL-60 membranes. Possibly by inducing expression of 2, RA alters two functions of the Gi β subunit, modulation of fMLP receptor-G coupling and activation of the effector, phospholipase C.


Steroid receptors are known to be subject to dynamic ubiquitylation that impacts their stability and activity as transcription factors. We have previously described that the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) is monoubiquitylated in its basal state and this status is sustained by the tumor suppressor gene 101 (Tsg101) bound to the ubiquitylated receptor. Aldosterone stimulation of MR induced monoubiquitylation removal and disruption of MR/Tsg101 association that prompt polyubiquitin‐dependent destabilization of MR and proteasomal degradation. In this study, we found that the aldosterone induced ubiquitin‐specific protease USP2–45 has a pivotal role in the regulation of MR ubiquitylation state. This enzyme is able to bind to MR and mimic aldosterone effects by inducing MR monoubiquitylation removal, disruption of MR/Tsg101 association and destabilization of MR at protein level. Hence, this study demonstrates a new role for USP2–45 and reveals the existence of a negative feedback loop for limiting aldosterone induced response.


The effect of vacuum polarization on the parity violating asymmetry in elastic electron-nucleus scattering is considered. Calculations are performed in the high-energy approximation, with an exact treatment of the electric field of the nucleus. It is shown that the radiative correction to the parity violating asymmetry is logarithmically enhanced and the value of the correction is about -1%.


TiO2 film was synthesized by means of the chemical bath deposition (CBD) method from TiCl4 as a precursor and surfactant cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as a linking and assembling agent of the titanium hydroxide network on a graphite substrate. Ag and Cu were loaded on the TiO2 film by means of electrodeposition at various applied currents. Photoelectrochemical testing on the composite of Ag–TiO2/G and Cu–TiO2/G was used to define the composite for Escherichia coli-contaminated water disinfection. Disinfection efficiency and the rate of disinfection of E. coli-contaminated water with Ag–TiO2/G as a catalyst was higher than that observed for Cu–TiO2/G in all disinfection methods including photocatalysis (PC), electrocatalysis (EC), and photoelectrocatalysis (PEC). The highest rate constant was achieved by the PEC method using Ag–TiO2/G, k was 6.49 × 10−2 CFU mL−1 min−1. Effective disinfection times of 24 h (EDT24) and 48 h (EDT48) were achieved in all methods except the EC method using Cu–TiO2/G. c © 2010 Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences


ABSTRACT A short, pre-storage fumigation with hydrogen sulphide (H2S) gas at 0, 100, 250 and 500 µL L−1 affected development of a range of senescence characteristics of Navel and Valencia oranges and 'Afourer' mandarins during storage at 20°C for five weeks. The greatest beneficial effect was observed with fumigation at 100 µL L−1 H2S which resulted in reduced incidence of calyx drop, calyx browning and fungal decay and production of ethylene and ethanol for all three citrus species. For Valencia oranges, a lower total soluble solids (TSS): titratable acidity (TA) ratio was observed, arising from both a lower TSS and higher TA than in control fruit. H2S treatment had no significant effect on the respiration rate in any fruit species. In general, higher concentrations of H2S were less effective than 100 µL L−1 and often resulted in accelerated loss of quality. The results suggest that H2S fumigation of citrus prior to storage may be an alternative treatment for delaying the emergence of senescence characteristics such as calyx browning without the use of synthetic auxins.


The variation of blood pressure after injecting 2ml/kg of body weight of blood rapidly into the aorta was recorded by electromanometer experimentally using mongrel dogs.The curves were biphasic, and the ratios of the height of initial rise and the depth of late drop to the pulse pressure were calculated, and normal ranges were set separately.Those ranges are valid over three hours' experiment in anesthetic condition.After replacement of 20ml/kg of body weight of the blood by the same dose of several plasma-expanders, the injection of slowly aspirated own blood were repeated in every fifteen minutes, and the ratios were checked up to three hours.Each expander was evaluated by the length of the time to keep those ratios in normal range. The saline and five per cent dextrose in water could keep those normal for only 30-60 minutes, but by using low molecular weight dextran, Haemacel, or Pan-amin D., the ratios remained within normal ranges up to 150 minutes.


This article examines the recent trend to create a new periodization that concludes that the revolution ended in 1920 and therefore the decades of the 1920s and 1930s should be identified as the post revolution. The article argues that using the label post-revolutionary ignores major revolutionary social programs during the 1920s and 1930s and disregards the revolutionary achievements of Presidents Alvaro Obregon, Plutarco Calles, and Lazaro Cardenas. The article proposes that recent studies of women during the revolution, and social programs in the cities both suggest a different periodization, but one that includes the disputed decades of the 1920s and 1930s, reaching instead to 1953, 1958, or perhaps best, 1982.


Inhaled particulate matter (PM) elicits systemic biological responses such as impaired arteriolar dilation and increased venular leukocyte adhesion. One mechanism that may contribute to such effects is NO scavenging by pulmonary translocated particles. The purpose of this study was to determine if PM scavenges NO in vitro, and also determine if PM size or composition influences any such activity. PM was classified as combustion source particles, engineered nanoparticles or nuisance dusts. NO solutions were generated by SNAP and were measured with a NO sensor. A concentration of 1–2.5 μg/ml was used for each particle, and responses were normalized to a bolus SNAP dose, [NO]=841 nm. Among fly ashes, residual oil fly ash was the most potent scavenger, decreasing the signal by 67%. Coal fly ash from Western Kentucky and Montana, as well as Mt. St. Helens ash did not significantly alter NO levels. Diesel exhaust particles attenuated the NO signal by 19%. Among nanoparticles, TiO2 decreased the NO signal by 39%. Single and multi‐walled carbon nanotubes did not produce an effect. These findings suggest that air particulate pollution as well as some engineered nanoparticles have the potential to scavenge NO, and this ability is heavily dependent upon particle size, composition and/or surface properties.


Objectives The aim of the study was to evaluate female sexuality in a selective population of newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis (MS) women. Materials and methods In this clinic-based study, 63 newly diagnosed consecutive women affected by definite MS were admitted. Disability and depression were evaluated with the expanded disability status scale (EDSS) and Beck depression inventory, respectively. Sexual function was evaluated with the female sexual function index (FSFI). A group of 61 healthy female volunteers with the same baseline characteristics were used as controls. Postmenopausal women and patients with other major concomitant neurological, endocrinological, vascular, gynecological, psychiatric disorders, use of medicines that can cause female sexual dysfunction (FSD) and disease-modifying drugs were excluded from the study. Results All the evaluated patients were ambulant with no major neurological impairment (mean EDSS score 2.5, range 0—3.5). None of the patients were considered clinically depressed, but some of them were sad or worried. According to the sexual history and FSFI scores, sexual dysfunction was diagnosed in 22 (34.9%) out of the 63 patients and in 13 (21.31%) out of the 61 healthy females (P > 0.05). Conclusions In the newly diagnosed MS patients, FSD represent an important issue even though disability and other concomitant disorders affecting sexual function were excluded. Multiple Sclerosis 2008; 14: 561—563. http://msj.sagepub.com


Anticoagulant therapy has certain unique features that tend to complicate its appropriate use. For example, the beneficial effect of anticoagulants can usually be appreciated only by a statistical evaluation of clinical trials. By contrast, the hemorrhagic complications are all too obvious in the individual patient. This places a special onus on physicians who see their therapeutic failures and not their successes. Second, dosage is determined by coagulation tests which are insufficiently standardized and tend to be poorly understood by the clinician. Third, anticoagulant treatment is often directed against a "hypercoagulable state" whose existence has defied reliable laboratory identification. Duration of therapy therefore remains largely empirical. Finally, oral anticoagulants interact with numerous other drugs, causing inhibition or potentiation of pharmacologic effect, which may result in inadequate therapy or hemorrhagic complications. These features of anticoagulant treatment are compounded by the inadequacy of scientific understanding of intravascular fibrin formation and its clinical detection. It is therefore not surprising that the clinical application, dosage, routes of administration and methods of control of anticoagulant drugs lack standardization and remain highly variable. Alternative methods of treatment (usually surgical) of thrombotic disorders are commonly utilized in some institutions and rarely in others. The choice is often determined by the interpretation of certain findings suggesting that medical management has been inadequate, a judgment which may be influenced by whether the attending or consulting physician is a surgeon or an internist. Preferably, the criteria which constitute "anticoagulant failure" should be examined critically in the light of current knowledge of the pathophysiology of thrombosis before a judgment is made. In this chapter, an effort will be made to provide some guidelines for the optimal use of anticoagulant drugs. The recommendations will be based on a summary of relevant, published findings. The introduction of some bias is unavoidable, since only a selective review of the literature is possible.


1. Milne-Thomson (l) has derived bounds for the torsional rigidity of an isotropic beam whose cross-section is a simply connected region S bounded by a closed contour C. In this note it will be shown that the problem of bounds for the torsional rigidity of isotropic beams is mathematically the same as finding the bounds for the dissipation of energy in the case of slow and steady viscous flow in a pipe whose cross-section is bounded by the same contour as in the beam.


Small businesses contribute greatly to employment generation and economic development of Nigeria and Ogun State in particular. Despite effort many small businesses perform below expectation. This study examined entrepreneurial behaviour effect on small business performance in Ogun State, Nigeria. Both primary and secondary data were employed in this study. The population of the study consists of 1,690 small business entrepreneurs registered by SMEDAN in Ogun State, out of which 323 were selected using stratified and purposive sampling techniques. 323 questionnaires were administered on respondents and the data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics, linear regression statistical techniques. The results of analysis indicate that the major determinant of entrepreneurial behaviour is risk taking and innovation and positively influence performance of the small business. The study concluded that risk taking and innovation are determinant factors of entrepreneurial behaviour and it has major significant effect on the small business performance. It is recommended that small business entrepreneurs in Ogun State should develop and nurture entrepreneurial behaviour qualities that would assist their business to improve and run a sustainable business.


The article examines the role and place of American railroads in today's world. It looks at where the industry fits economically, socially and politically. Also discussed is the need to compete effectively as a transportation provider with other modes, such as highways and air, both of which garner the lion's share of public's and legislative attention and funding.


Recent researches on next-generation power devices has shown remarkable progress, especially in wide band-gap power devices such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride devices, as well as novel silicon devices, like a super junction FETs. The future direction of power electronics applications is surveyed in a term of output power density as an index of future power electronics roadmap, instead of power conversion efficiency, taking into account advanced devices and related technologies. A next-generation CPU power supply, a compact unit-inverter and an electric vehicle are selected as typical future applications. The possibility of power electronics paradaigm shift, with progress in the output power densities of more than 10 W/cm 3 to 30 W/cm 3 will be discussed in the paper. Introduction In the development of power electronics, power conversion efficiency (PCE) has been steadily increasing in the last 30 years, corresponding to the progress in power devices. PCE of small power converters such as switching power supplies was at a level of 60% in the beginning of 1970 and is now more than 90%. The efficiency of high power converters such as a motor drive system and a thyristor valve for HVDC transmition is exceeding the level of more than 98% to 99%. This means that it is gradually becoming difficult to predict future development of power electronics from PCE point of view. On the other side, power devices are still making a progress using novel device structures and wide band-gap semiconductor materials. What is a new indicator that shows a future progress of power electronics? In this paper, possibility of power electronics paradigm shift with next generation advanced power devices, focusing to a progress in out-put power density (OPD) as a new indicator of a future power electronics road map. A part of this paper was carried out by the work of an investigative research committee of the Engineering Advancement Association of Japan (ENAA), supported by the New Energy Industrial Technology Development (NEDO). A New Road Map for Power Electronics Figure of Merit of Power Converter (A) Progress in the power devices As is shown in Fig.1, power semiconductor devices have been remarkably developed with the progress in silicon technologies. The history of development can be divided into three periods. The first period from 1950 to 1960 is an age of cradle. Key technologies of semiconductor devises including the power devices, almost completed in this period. The second age from 1970 to the end of 1980 can be termed as a growth period. As results of rapid developments of major devices such as MOSFETs, IGBTs, GTOs and Light Triggered Thyristors, every need for power electronics applications were basically satisfied by the appearances of these devices. The third period from the beginning of 1990 to the present time is the age of full growth. Big efforts to realize higher performance devices are carried out. On-resistance of MOSFETs of which blocking voltage is less than several tens volts has reduced by one fifteenth. A 10MW class IGBT converter is now Materials Science Forum Online: 2004-06-15 ISSN: 1662-9752, Vols. 457-460, pp 21-28 doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.457-460.21 © 2004 Trans Tech Publications Ltd, Switzerland All rights reserved. No part of contents of this paper may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of Trans Tech Publications Ltd, www.scientific.net. (Semanticscholar.org-11/03/20,15:23:04) 2 Title of Publication (to be inserted by the publisher) commercially available as results of marvelous progress in IGBTs with lower power consumption and higher handling power capability. A 100 MW class GTO inverter is also now in the market. (B) A new figure of merit of power electronics The PCE has been used as a major figure of merit (FOM), which indicates progress in power electronics apparatus. The PCE has been increasing, as shown in Fig.2, in the last 30 years with the development of the power devices. As shown in the figure, the progress seems to be saturated recently approaching to 100%. There are many technical issues to be improved for the power converters, instead of PCE, such as size, power consumption, low acoustic noise, low EMI/EMC, lower harmonic oscillation and remote sensing. However, none of the technical issues is suitable as a general indicator (FOM) that indicates future progress in power electronics. We need to have a general FOM and future power electronics road map. We take the OPD as a new general FOM, instead of the PCE. The OPD is defined here, as out-put power of converter per unit volume. Figure 3 shows progress of the OPD in power electronics (1) . The OPD has been increasing lineally by a factor of 2 figures in the last 30 years. The OPD is now arriving at the level of about one W/cm 3 to three W/cm 3 . An inverter with the OPD of 50 W/cm 3 is investigated by I. Takahashi (2) and is shown by the symbol □ in the figure. According to the road map, shown in Fig.3, the OPD of 20 W/cm 3 to 30W/cm 3 will appear around 2015. In the Takahashi model, almost ideal device characteristics are presumed for the study in power consumption, operation temperature and switching frequency. What is a new application, which require higher OPD in the near future? Key technical issues to realize higher OPD converter will be discussed in the following section. Key Technical Issues The higher OPD realization means size reduction of power converter. There are two main factors, which influences size of a power electronics apparatus. They are size of heat sink and passive components such as a capacitor and an inductor. For reducing the size of heat sink and passive components of converters, it is very important to realize lower power consumption, keeping higher switching frequency. Power consumption and switching frequency is mentioned in the term of the OPD. (A) Power Consumption Figure 4 shows relation between the power consumption and the OPD of switching power supplies. As is shown in the figure, the OPD increase exponentially with decease in power consumption of converter, showing that the lower power consumption, the higher OPD. It is interesting that the OPD of the above-mentioned Takahashi mode is on the same extrapolated line in the figure. Power devices consume more than 60% of total power loss of converters. So, reduction in heat dissipation of power devices is crucial problems to be solved for the size reduction of heat sink. (B) Switching Frequency Switching frequency is another important issues to realize the higher OPD. Increase in the OPD basically comes from the volume reduction of a capacitance and an inductance as well as size reduction of heat sink, because the volume of the passive components is inversely proportional to switching frequency. According to the survey results for a case of DC-DC converters, the OPD increases proportionally on a log scale with increase in switching frequency. As shown in Fig.3, the OPD of 20W/cm 3 to 30W/cm 3 will be predicted to realize after 2015.It is necessary to make switching frequency 5 to 10 times larger than that of today for the higher OPD converters of more than 20W/cm 3 . As it is necessary to manage both of increase in switching frequency and reduction of power consumption, the biggest problems to realize the higher OPD will be the development of high speed, ultra-low loss power devices. In the next section, trend of next generation advanced power devices is reviewed. Next Generation Advance Power Devices Every switching device basically has a common built-in diode structure for reverse voltage blocking by a pn-junction and forward current conducting through an active layer. Power devices are inherently 22 Silicon Carbide and Related Materials 2003


As the so-called 'Guardian of the Genome', p53 is one of the most well-characterised proteins in cell biology. Although most widely recognised for its role as a tumour suppressor, the list of known functions of p53 include regulatory roles in substrate metabolism, autophagy, DNA repair, cell senescence, angiogenesis and oxidative stress (Vousden & Lane, 2007). More recently, the study of p53 has revealed a potential role as a key molecular regulator of exercise-induced skeletal muscle mitochondrial biogenesis. Indeed, evidence suggestive of a role for p53 in regulating mitochondrial content and function has been provided by a number of studies employing p53 knock-out (KO) animal models. For example, Saleem et al. (2009) observed that p53 KO mice exhibit reduced subsarcolemmal (SS) and intermyofibrillar (IMF) mitochondrial content as well as reduced cytochrome c oxidase (COX) activity and PGC-1α expression when compared with wild-type animals. Additionally, ablation of p53 also reduces state 3 respiration in IMF mitochondria and impaired exercise performance, as evidenced by an increased rate of fatigue during acute contractile activity.

In this issue of The Journal of Physiology, Saleem & Hood (2013) advance our understanding of the potential role of p53 in modulating exercise-induced mitochondrial biogenesis by examining the subcellular translocation of p53 in response to an acute exercise stimulus. Wild-type and p53 KO mice were subjected to an acute bout of treadmill exercise (90 min at approximately 75%) and were sacrificed immediately post-exercise or after 3 h of recovery. The authors observed that exercise reduced the nuclear abundance of p53 (in contrast, PGC-1α showed increased nuclear translocation in accordance with previous findings) whereas p53 abundance in both the SS and IMF mitochondria significantly increased at 3 h post-exercise. This increase in mitochondrial abundance of total p53 protein content also occurred concomitantly with an increased p53Ser15 phosphorylation in the SS fraction, a modification that is associated with increased protein stability and activity. Furthermore, despite no apparent increase in mitochondrial transcription factor A (Tfam) content, it was observed that p53 forms a complex with Tfam and mitochondrial (mt) DNA (within the D-loop region) at 3 h post-exercise. When taken together, these findings suggest that p53 may preferentially function to co-ordinate regulation of the mitochondrial genome either directly or indirectly through modulation of Tfam activity. Supporting evidence for this hypothesis was also provided by the observation that the exercise-induced expression of COX-I mRNA (a mtDNA-encoded protein) was abolished in p53 KO mice compared with wild-type animals. The authors also present an intriguing hypothesis that the apparent exodus of p53 from the nucleus upon muscle contraction may be a deliberate strategy to offset any negative regulation on PGC-1α, thereby allowing the master regulator to continue its work in regulating the nuclear genome.

The identification of p53 as a molecular regulator of the mitochondrial genome represents a significant development in our understanding of p53 function in skeletal muscle, one that has obvious implications for both human health and physical performance. Indeed, reduced p53 function is associated with tumour development, insulin resistance, reduced longevity and impaired exercise performance (Vousden & Lane, 2007; Saleem et al. 2009). If p53 does indeed have therapeutic potential for the exercising human, it follows that we should now increase our basic understanding of the molecular regulation of p53 activation in skeletal muscle. At present, contraction-induced post-translational modifications of p53 have been limited to the study of phosphorylation on serine 15, though as noted by the authors, there are many other potential modifications that may assist in the subcellular trafficking of nuclear and mitochondrial p53. Additionally, the upstream kinases regulating p53 activity upon muscle contraction are not currently well known. In this regard, we recently observed that AMPK (but probably not p38MAPK) may be a possible upstream signalling candidate given that exercise-induced p53Ser15 phosphorylation in human skeletal muscle (Bartlett et al. 2012) is completely attenuated when the exercise is completed with high carbohydrate availability before, during and after exercise (Bartlett et al. 2013). As such, our data suggest that there may be an initial glycogen threshold that is required to initiate p53 signalling. Such a hypothesis is particularly attractive given the widely recognised role of p53 in regulating glucose metabolism in cell lines (Vousden & Lane, 2007). Undertaking regular exercise in a carbohydrate-restricted state may therefore be an effective strategy to achieve the physiological benefits of p53 signalling, especially in relation to reduced risk of metabolic disease. Longitudinal training studies would therefore now seem warranted.

At a fundamental level, however, there are also many basic questions that remain unanswered in relation to exercise-induced p53 signalling. Indeed, similar to other key molecular players (such as AMPK and PGC-1α), detailed studies concerning the time-course of p53 activation (and subsequent translocation) as well as the effects of exercise intensity and duration, fibre type, age, training status and nutrient availability now need to be performed so that we can optimise exercise prescription guidelines to strategically target p53 signalling. Additional downstream gene targets of p53 must also be identified so as to provide direct evidence for a crucial regulatory role in modulating mitochondrial biogenesis. With the integration of both animal and human exercise-related studies, it is hoped that in the coming years exercise scientists will continue to advance our understanding of how p53 may unlock the gateway to the mitochondrial genome.


This book preserves for posterity the selected journalistic writings of I. H. Burney. This contemporary insight into early Pakistani politics is useful to anyone wishing to understand what went wrong in that crucial phase of Pakistan's statehood, leading first to the break-up of the Eastern wing and later to the imposition of Martial Law under Ziaul Haq. It is of considerable value as commentary unembellished by the benefit of hindsight. It is useful to remember that during those dark days of authoritarian rule the Outlook was one of the very few national newspapers that dared to be systematically critical of the conduct of domestic and foreign affairs-and history has vindicated its principled approach.


Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a negative-strand RNA virus that causes severe acute pediatric respiratory tract infections worldwide. The limited effective antiviral options and lack of an effective vaccine against RSV highlight the need for a novel anti-viral therapy. One alternative is to identify and target the host factors required for viral infection. All viruses, including RSV, utilize cellular trafficking machinery to fulfill their life cycle in the infected host cells. Rab proteins mediate specific steps in intracellular membrane trafficking through the recruitment and tethering of fusion factors, and docking with actin- or microtubule-based motor proteins. Using RNA interference to knock down Rab proteins, we document that the micropinocytosis-associated Rab5a is required for RSV infection. RSV infection itself induces activation of Rab5a, and inhibition of this activation reduces RSV infection, but the mechanism for this effect remains unknown. Interferon (IFN) signaling plays an important role in innate immunity, and recent studies have identified IFN-λ (lambda), a type III IFN, as the most important IFN for antiviral immune in response to RSV infection of mucosal epithelium. However, how the RSV-induced Rab5a suppresses airway epithelial antiviral immunity has not been unraveled. Here, we show that activated Rab5a inhibits IRF1-induced IFN-λ production and IFN-λ-mediated signal transduction via JAK-STAT1, thereby increasing viral replication. Rab5a knockdown by siRNA resulted in stimulation of IRF1, IFN-λ and JAK-STAT1 expression, and suppressed viral growth. Our results highlight new role for Rab5a in RSV infection, such that its depletion inhibits RSV infection by stimulating the endogenous respiratory epithelial antiviral immunity, which suggests that Rab5a is a potential target for novel therapeutics against RSV infection. Author summary RSV is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infection in under 5 years old children. Worldwide. We identified Rab5a as a host factor involved in RSV infection via RNA interference to knock down familiar Rab proteins in human lung epithelial A549 cells infected with RSV. Rab5a belongs to Rab GTPases subfamily, which contributes to intracellular trafficking to promote virus infection. Knockdown or inactive (GDP-bound) Rab5a results in low infection and replication through stimulating IRF1, IFN-λ and JAK-STAT1 expression, and suppressed viral growth. Besides, we propose that the regulation of Rab5a expression during RSV infection might be a viral strategy to promote its infectivity.


A procedure for deriving a set of formulas of SU(2) group integrals in the lattice gauge theory by extensively using the properties of modified Bessel functions is presented. These formulas are extremely useful in the higher-order calculations of the cumulant expansion.


The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of preoperative platelet counts, parameters and aggregation rates (maximal aggregation rate: MAR) on prognosis in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).


Throughout Europe, North America, and some other countries of the world the years since 1960 have brought substantial increases in the numbers and percentages of women students in higher education. In some countries, women's participation had been important for a number of decades prior to 1960. In France, Finland, Sweden, and the United States, for example, women students made up rather large portions of their respective student bodies, subject to fluctuations during the world wars. In other countries, however, the increases are more recent and perhaps more remarkable for that. Indeed, in many countries it can be said that were it not for the increases in female participation, general enrolment growth might have decreased or stagnated. This effort on behalf of women has focused on breaking formal barriers to entry into higher education, and particularly into traditionally male professions, by challenging the discriminatory policies and practices of educational and training institutions. Changes in national laws and regulations and generally greater attention and support for women's concerns have been hallmarks of this effort. The result has been a dramatic increase in the number of women entering medicine, law, business, and academia. Today, this struggle for access continues. At the same time, a new phase has begun. Not only do greater numbers of women seek access to higher education and the professions, they want to move up as well. This struggle for expanded opportunity is what confronts many women who have already entered higher education, completed their training and begun their careers. The purpose of this discussion is to provide an overview of both access and opportunity issues for women in higher education. This overview will seek to present representative data and research examples that reveal the issues and concerns that span national boundaries. Systems of higher education vary greatly from country to country and even within countries. For example, the United States has over 3200 institutions, including two-year colleges, technical institutes, regional and multi-campus universities with an array of graduate and professional programmes. Yet all are within one system of higher education. Other countries have similar varieties of institutions in their systems and similar complexities of admission and completion requirements. This must be kept in mind in attempting to make even minimal comparisons across countries.


Specific DNA probe hybridization technique is one method of choice for detection of malaria infection. It provides an obvious advantage over conventional microscopy when large numbers of samples are simultaneously monitored. The method was simplified so that preparation and processing of blood specimens were all performed on membrane filters. Background signals generated from blood components were removed by treating samples spotted on the membrane with a series of buffer washes without the necessity of a protease digestion step. Hybridization was monitored using either 32P-or digoxigenin-labeled DNA probe. 849 field samples collected from various malaria endemic areas in Thailand have been evaluated by this protocol and compared with microscopic examination. Sensitivity obtained by this procedure was comparable to that of microscopy at a malaria clinic. The specificities of both types of DNA probes were better than 93%, but digoxigenin-labeled probe performed better than 32P-labeled one when the numbers of parasites were less than 25 per 200 white blood cells.


Surveys on the structure of neurological inpatient care are being conducted by the German Neurological Society since 1980. The present survey covers the year 2007 and addressed 312 hospital departments of neurology and neurological hospitals participating in inpatient treatment of acute neurological disorders, of which 72.1 % responded. In comparison to the last survey covering the year 2003, the number of neurological hospital beds per capita has increased, and the average length of stay has further decreased. There is a tendency for small neurological intensive care units to be merged. Shift work for junior physicians has become standard practice on neurological ICUs. Stroke units, especially at university hospitals, have increased in size and medical personnel. Neurological departments employ more physio-, occupational and speech therapists. Neuropsychologists remain scarce. About half of the departments are able to comply with a 48 h working week for junior physicians. Almost half report medical vacancies. The internal pricing and payment systems of hospitals remain inadequate in many cases.


By administrative adjudication is usually meant the exercise of quasi-judicial functions upon and in the control of vested property rights, or personal rights secured by constitutional guaranties. It often accompanies and effectuates regulative power of a quasi-legislative nature. A large measure of this quasi-legislative power has been given to the departments and bureaus dealing with the lands of the United States, but the enforcement of such regulations, insofar as they affect rights of person or vested rights of property, is chiefly by process of the regular courts. Thus the regulation of the occupancy and use of lands reserved for national forests is entrusted to the secretary of agriculture. His regulations usually prohibit acts that were theretofore innocent and customary though not vested rights. Sometimes they restrict the use of land in which there exists a vested private right of use for a particular purpose only, but the restriction does not affect the right itself.


Advances in sensing technology and wider availability of network services is beckoning the use of context-awareness in ubiquitous computing applications. One region in which these technologies can play a major role is in the area of entertainment. Particularly, context-awareness can be used to provide higher quality interaction between humans and the media they are interacting with. We propose a music player, Lifetrak, that is in tune with a person's life by using a context-sensitive music engine to drive what music is played. This context engine is influenced by (i) the location of the user, (ii) the time of operation, (iii) the velocity of the user, and (iv) urban environment information such as traffic, weather, and sound modalities. Furthermore, we adjust the context engine by implementing a learning model that is based on user feedback on whether a certain song is appropriate for a particular context. Also, we introduce the idea of a context equalizer that adjusts how much a certain sensing modality affects what song is chosen. Since the music player will be implemented on a mobile device, there is a strong focus on creating a user interface that can be manipulated by users on the go. The goal of Lifetrak is to liberate a user from having to consciously specify the music that they want to play. Instead, Lifetrak intends to create a music experience for the user that is in rhythm with themselves and the space they reside in.


This study aims to see how far the process of learning transfer of training procurement of government goods and services implemented by the Regional Personnel Agency Sidoarjo Regency can be done well. In addition the researchers also see whether the training process has an effect on the implementation in the workplace for trainees who have followed the training. The method used by researchers for this research is to use qualitative research with deductive approach and active participation. After carrying out data collection, data processing and analysis of research results concluded that the input aspects of the learning transfer process has not been maximized because the partici- pants' understanding of the procurement process of goods and services is still theoreti- cal. Viewed from the process aspect of this training is the teaching-learning process that still uses the lecture training model so that the participants only accept the material in theory. While from the output aspect that the granting of alumni of training participants in implementing the materials received during the training but still must be accompanied by an experienced procurement committee. Based on the fact that the learning transfer from the training of procurement of goods and services implemented by the government has not been maximized.


The development of wideband wireless communication requires more and more high performance of wideband signal analysis in signal analyzer. Wideband IF Channel is an important hardware for wideband signal analysis. Especially its flatness will directly affect the performance of the wideband signal analysis function. This paper takes a wideband IF circuit board as an example to improve its flatness by amplitude equalization and impedance matching. Then, by the comparison of simulation and actual measurement, the feasibility of the above methods are proved.


Background: COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has had a substantial impact on clinical care and lifestyles globally The State of Michigan reports over 80,000 positive COVID-19 tests between March 1, 2020 until July 29, 2020 Methods: We surveyed 8,047 Michigan Medicine biorepository participants in late June 2020 to evaluate diagnoses of COVID-19 (N=133), symptoms, exposure, and clinical risk factors as well as the impact on health behaviors and level of concern Results: Based on survey results, we found that 58% of COVID-19 cases reported no known exposure to family members or to someone outside the house diagnosed with COVID-19 A significantly higher rate of COVID-19 cases were employed as essential workers (45% vs 19%, p=3x10 -11) COVID-19 cases reporting a fever were more likely to require hospitalization (categorized as severe;OR = 4 6 [95% CI: 1 7-13 0, p=0 004]) whereas respondents reporting rhinorrhea was less likely to require hospitalization (categorized as mild-to-moderate;OR = 0 16 [95% CI: 0 04-0 70, p=0 016]) African-Americans reported higher rates of being diagnosed with COVID-19 (OR = 4 0 [95% CI: 2 2-7 2, p=1x10-4]), as well as higher rates of an annual household income $40,000, living in rental housing, exposure to family or someone outside the household diagnosed with COVID-19, and chronic diseases During the Executive Order in Michigan, African Americans, women, and the lowest income group reported worsening health behaviors and higher overall concern for the potential detrimental effects of the pandemic Interpretation: The higher risk of contracting COVID-19 observed among African Americans may be due to the increased rates of working as essential employees, lower socioeconomic status, and exposure to known positive cases Continued efforts should focus on COVID-19 prevention and mitigation strategies, as well as address the inequality gaps that result in higher risks for both short-term and long-term health outcomes


The objective of this research is an investigation of the techniques and payoffs of integrated aircraft design. In particular, we studied the interaction of aerodynamic and structural design for a simple aircraft configuration—a sailplane wing. Utilizing elementary analysis tools, lifting-line theory, beam analysis, the geometry (planform, twist), along with the composite-material structural sizes (skin thickness, spar cap, and web thicknesses), comprising 25-35 variables, were designed subject to aeroelastic, structural, and aerodynamic constraints. We investigated two design procedures. One is the Sequential Design, where the aerodynamic geometry is designed to maximize the performance (defined as the average cross-country speed), followed by a structural/aeroelastic design to minimize the weight. The weight is input to the aerodynamic analysis, and the process continues iteratively. The second procedure is the Integrated Design. Here we simultaneously design the aerodynamics and the structure. All design quantities are determined simultaneously in a single optimization to maximize performance or minimize weight. In all cases, the integrated design was superior in terms of performance or weight to the sequential design. The integrated designs were characterized by less rigid, higher-aspect ratio wings that utilized favorable aerodynamic/structural interactions. I. Introduction


Ultrasonic attenuation measurements have been made at 12, 30, and 46 Mc/sec and from 1.8°K to room temperature on a cadmium sulfide specimen. The specimen had a dark room temperature conductivity of about 10‐2 (Ω·cm)‐1. A very large attenuation peak was observed in the neighborhood of 15°‐20°K. Conductivity values showed that the peak is undoubtedly due to relaxation effects in the space‐charge bunching caused by the acoustic wave, the mechanism proposed by Hutson and White.


This study aims to test the effect of profitability, liquidity, and solvency to the audit opinion going concern. Testing was conducted at 125 sample of the company service sector listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in the 2015-2019. This type of research is associative research that aims to know the effect of profitability, liquidity, and solvency on audit opinion going concern. The type of research data is quantitative data with secondary data obtained from the company's financial statements accessed through the website official IDX and each sample company. Data processing techniques using logistic regression analysis methods with IBM SPSS software application 25. The result of this study indicate that profitability and liquidity have not significant effect on the audit opinion going concern, while but solvency has an significant effect on the audit opinion going concern. Research results can implications for corporate managers, auditors, investors, and creditors in making decisions and analyzing financial condition of the company that was threatened to get audit opinion going concern where it can establish the right policy for the condition.


Web 2.0 offers business organizations an array of new ways to interact with customers and partners. Web 2.0 is continuously evolving and offers new business models and support business processes, customer relationship management, and partner relationship management. This study reviews some of the major business applications of Web 2.0, and identifies Web 2.0-based business models. Six emerging Web 2.0-based business models were identified: 1 Broad Online Community, 2 Focused Online Community, 3 Social Shopping, 4 Content Intermediary, 5 Virtual World, and 6 Shared Web 2.0 Services. Along with these new Web 2.0-based business models, this study discusses how Web 2.0 applications are used to support activities of traditional businesses in the areas of customers, value networking, capability, and sustainability. Finally, the interaction dynamics between emerging web 2.0-based businesses, existing businesses, and the Web 2.0 tool and application development industry are analyzed from an ecological viewpoint.


Removal of unburned carbon from the high-carbon fly ash (HCFA) is essential when it is used as an admixture in cement concrete. This article deals with processing of the HCFA from the Guangdong province of China. A cyclonic-static microbubble flotation column (FCSMC), a novel device with the characteristics of internal recycling process and multiple mineralization steps, was used to separate unburned carbon from ash materials. A commercial flotation plant with a handling capacity of 110 ton coal fly ash (dry basis) per hour was set up. Using the optimum operational parameters, a clean ash with loss on ignition (LOI) of 3.08% and a removal rate of unburned carbon (RUC) of 80.41% was obtained. The calorific value of the unburned carbon products reached 3534 cal/g. Industrial-scale flotation tests on the circulation pulp pressure demonstrated that the energy input mode and internal recycling process of FCSMC separator was effective in removing unburned carbon from HCFA.


Optical transceiver imperfection including device bandwidth limitation, various tributary imbalances and even the PCB induced long-memory ripple and tributary crosstalk is one of the biggest obstacles impeding the high-order QAM coherent systems towards 100GBaud and beyond. Generally, the static imperfections could be calibrated at the preservice stage. The dynamic imperfections should be handled at the in-service stage. This talk will firstly review the instrument-free calibration process for the pre-service stage. Then various digital monitors for diagnosis and fault allocation either at pre-service stage or in-service stage, relying on the inherent monitoring function of receiver-side digital equalizers and the machine learning tool, will also be reviewed.


TRANSIENT jaundice occasionally appears after a surgical procedure, usually an operation for an abdominal problem. In such cases very little is known about the anatomic changes in the liver or their pathogenesis.1 A series of cases of benign postoperative jaundice occurring almost in epidemic proportions at the University of Zurich Hospital provided an opportunity for study of this phenomenon. Within an eight-month period (September, 1962, through May, 1963) 11 cases of postoperative jaundice were observed, and a twelfth case was added to the total thereafter. The clinical picture and course in all these cases were associated with histologic evidence of . . .


This paper investigates the interactive relationship between cash holdings and corporate performance. Based on the empirical research results, this paper also aims to analyze the ideal cash holdings. The paper establishes the regression equation of corporate performance influencing cash holdings and the regression equation of cash holdings influencing corporate performance with both single-equation model and simultaneous-equations model. The research dataset consists of the financial information of the Chinese A-share manufacturing listing companies from 2007 to 2009 considering the influence of financial characteristics and corporate governance on cash holdings and corporate performance. During the research, we eliminate variables with stepwise regression analysis. We find that there is a positive interactive relationship between cash holdings and corporate performance. The improvement of corporate performance increases cash holdings. Finally, we put forward the calculation of ideal cash holdings. The paper proves that cash holdings and corporate performance interact in a very complex way by using three-stage least squares innovatively. Furthermore, the calculation of ideal cash holdings is of great significance to improve corporate performance in China.


The basic parameters of the combat training and weapon practicing are the determination of the accuracy and precision. The automatic systems for acquiring of the hit pattern are very expensive and inaccessible. Modern automatic systems are designed as nonmaterial target system for accurate spatial positioning of the projectile trajectory in one or more planes. In the paper will be described the design of the non-material high-resolution target acquisition system developed on the optoelectronics IR (infra-red) sensors. The frame of the multiple IR sensors coupled with the microcomputer platform is the optical frame. The complete target acquisition system is consisted of the two frames for positioning in vertical and horizontal direction. Additionally, in the target system is incorporated the algorithm for the determination of the appropriate statistical values from the group of shots, as accuracy and precision parameters. The assembly hardware components are commercially accessible. The designed algorithm is applied through simple software code. The main aim of the developed target system is for the measurement of the small arms shooting. The presented target system is open for enhancement and can be used for different weapon system.


A closed-form first-order solution to the Laplace transform of the convection-dispersion equation is derived for sorbing or partitioning tracers under conditions of chemical equilibrium. For the given flux boundary condition, the Laplace transform of the transit-time distribution. P(t), is found for retardation factors, R, owing an exponentially decaying covariance function. Moments of P(t), iƒitniƒ±, are obtained by taking derivatives of P(S) = L {P(t)}, which means that P(S) is a generator of moments. These moments are emploved to find transport coefficients, in particular the so-called dispersion coefficient, D. The main effect of the variable Ris to enhance the spreading of the sorbing tracer, that increases the value of D. At late times (large distances), the first-order moment is expected to be insensitive to the spatial variation of R. Thus, the mean velocity of a traveling pulse becomes independent of these variations, unless an infinite correlation length is imposed.


Different modalities can be achieved by the maximization of suitable statistical similarity measures within a given class of geometric transformations . The registration functions are less sensitive to low sampling resolution, do not contain incorrect global maxima which are sometimes found in the mutual information. This paper proposes a novel and straightforward multimodal image registration method based on mutual information, in which two matching criteria are used. It has been extensively shown that metrics based on the evaluation of mutual information are well suited for overcoming the difficulties of multi-modality registration.


Green process is an important content that produces green products.The paper studies on green process numerically.The model and algorithm of the date analysis of green process by applied Fuzzy-AHP method are presented.It can provide a theory basis for arrangement and decision of green production business.The method of determining membership function by probability is stated and further tested and verified with practical cases.


Electrical resistivity and Hall coefficients measured on a single crystal of NbO agree well with a conventional interpretation based on local-density approximation band theory and electron-phonon scattering. The superconducting transition temperature ${\mathit{T}}_{\mathit{c}}$=1.5 K is consistent with the measured magnitude of the linear resistivity at room temperature.


Even though project management tools and techniques (PMTT) have been commonly used by project managers, research on PMTT still has not been adequately investigated as to whether its use contributes to the success of a project. The lack of such knowledge leads to the use of PMTT because of popularity rather than any known benefits. To respond to this issue, the authors conducted a large-sample study based on a survey and statistical analyses to investigate the use of PMTT. Evidence emerged that some PMTT should be used in a certain phase of a project and such uses contribute to project success.


Background: In India HNSCC comprises the largest group of malignancies with an incidence rate as high as 30-40%.The present study was carried out to determine the prevalence of high-risk human papilloma virus (HR-HPV) as a risk factor in HNSCC patients of Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Method: Newly diagnosed 200 HNSCC patients were selected for the study. Sociodemographic and clinical data were obtained through questionnaire. Detection of HPV-DNA was done from cancer tissues by PCR amplification method using GP5+/GP6+ primers, E6 and E7 primers for HPV 16 and HPV 18 genotypes. Result: The prevalence of HPV high-risk (HR) types was 2% in HNSCC cancer cases. HPV 16 genotype was identified while HPV 18 was absent in all the patients. The risk factor of HPV-HR included younger age (<55 years) and early age at first sexual intercourse. The other risk factors like tobacco and alcohol were absent in these patients. The site of cancer was found to be base of tongue and tonsil. Conclusion: The specific characteristics found in HPV positive HNSCC cases are in accord with distinctive characteristics of HPV positive HNSCC found worldwide. We can conclude that HR-HPV infection may be responsible for HPV-positive HNSCC. However, the prevalence of HPV among HNSCC is negligible which indicates that HPV is not an influential risk factor for oral cancer in this region.


This teaching resource supplements 2 videos which are available online on YouTube. These videos are titled:
• 'Citing and referencing using the Harvard Style (Part 1)' - Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X1UjtfgTU8
• Citing and referencing using the Harvard Style (Part 2)' - Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj_EXIFviZA


The purpose of this report is to examine the combination of an Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) with the Kernel Method. Kernels lies at the core of Support Vector Machines success in classifying non- ...


How do I comply with the new OSHA "Air Contaminants Standard"? What will I need to do to my equipment to achieve these new standards? Will I be saved because I purchased a new refrigerated machine? These are just some of the questions you may have right now. This Focus provides you with an overall guide to what the new OSHA standards require, and helps you identify problem areas and methods for solving those problems. Our information includes methods of reducing vapor exposure through control of vapor leaks, ventilation solutions, and the use of protective equipment, and should assist you in making bett9r decisions concerning your own situation.


It is difficult to reconcile the praise Roth's fiction has received as a form of historical writing with the skepticism and love of deception his narrators confess to. This essay turns to theories of uneven development in the fields of Marxist historiography and critical geography to find historiographic models congruent with Roth's narrative engagements with history. It argues that Roth's "historical imagining" (Plot 364) is an agonistic investment in an American national historiography that we might conceive of as a disjunctive totality of overlapping temporalities and competing narratives within which we hear simultaneous testimony of both liberal progress and primitive accumulation.


Background: Weaning from mechanical ventilation (MV) is a major concern for the intensivist and has disastrous results when not accomplished as per the protocols. The preweaning assessment of the patient, address of the underlying condition for which the ventilation was initiated, for recognition of difficult to wean in advance is the best method of preventing damage caused by the inability to maintain the airway. Aim: This study was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of clinical test rapid shallow breathing index (RSBI) which can predict the successful weaning in patients undergoing elective or mandatory MV. Materials and Methods: A total of 120 adult patients of age group 18–70 years of either sex of ASA Class I and II, undergoing MV for various procedures, were included in this study. Preweaning evaluation is carried out by measuring demographic variables, hemodynamic variables, arterial blood gas (ABG), and calculation of RSBI. These variables were then correlated with the success of weaning, successful extubation, need for reintubation, requirement of non-invasive support, and validation of pre-existing RSBI values. Data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation. Results having P < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of RSBI <105 as an index for successful weaning were 86.4%, 69.85%, 56.1, and 92.1, respectively. No method either individually or in combination with other identifies all cases of successful weaning. Overall failure to wean rate was 30.43% which was comparable with most of the other studies. There was a weak positive correlation between age and weaning failure, but it was not statistically significant. Correlation between weight and weaning failure was not established. There was a weak negative correlation between the duration of intubation and weaning failure. Patients who were intubated for longer period of time were associated with more incidence of weaning failure, but it was not statistically significant. The higher PaO2/FiO2 ratio was associated with successful weaning, and there was a statistical significant difference among both groups. Bipap support was required in 15.8% patients in 48 h.


Firecracker receiving device having a shaped body with an upwardly open recess and a first open bore at the bottom of the molding, which is centrally located, wherein preferably adjacent to the first bore is a second bore of smaller diameter, wherein in the first bore, preferably a through bore or hollow bore, preferably a rod, a so-called guide rod may be attached and at least 2 lateral cylindrical hollow holes in the molding or instead of the hollow holes down staffed wings.


The provision of information on optical discs has had a relatively short gestation period by comparison with other new technologies, though similar problems—a lack of standardisation, a lack of knowledge of appropriate applications and general uncertainty have all been in evidence. However by 1985 there were clear moves to establish the 12 cm Compact Disk (widely used as a format for audio recordings) as a publishing medium for large bibliographic and data files. At the same time standards for the interfaces for the CD‐ROM (Compact Disk‐Read only Memory) drive and for physical data organisation (known as the High Sierra standard) have helped remove some uncertainty. Perhaps paramount in establishing CD‐ROM have been the relatively low production costs resulting from the high volume of Compact Disks being produced for the audio market.


An outbreak of Escherichia coli O157 involving four people in North Wales is currently being investigated. Laboratory typing shows all the isolates belong to phage type 2. All four cases reported eating different products from a fast food outlet in the area. The possibility of other common exposures is being explored.


The electronic states of V4+ ions in β-Ag0.40V2O5 are investigated by NMR and EPR. The structural phase transition is observed between 170 and 210 K. The 51V Knight shift results show that the spin-singlet ground state of V4+ ion pairs is realized as bipolaron.

Nous avons etudie el etat electronique des V4+ ion dans β-Ag0.40V2O5 avec des measures de RMN et RPE. On trouve que il exist le transition de phase structural pendent 170 et 210 K. Le deplacement de Knight du 51V montre que l'on a un etat de base spin-singlet pour des paires d'ions V4+ en bipolaron.


The most important task of sustainable development of Zhambyl region of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the restoration and preservation of the productivity of 9236.1 thousand hectares of agricultural land, which are exposed to degradation to various extent. 3139,9 thousand hectares of agricultural land are exposed to very strong degradation in the region, represented by sources of irrigated arable land with secondary salinization of soil, presence of water and wind erosion, and grazed-up pastures. The related social and economic strain in the region entails further decline in the living standard of the rural population and a decline in the level of agricultural production. The introduction of private land ownership and the emergence of new forms of husbandry in Kazakhstan resulted in a significant change in the spatial structure and functional development of agricultural land in the region under study. The use of land in Zhambyl region for agricultural development is based mainly on financial, economic and organizational mechanisms, while the problem of environmental effects of their transformation remains in abeyance, which resulted in the formation of an extensive, unprofitable agricultural production exposed to negative anthropogenic and environmental factors, resulting in the need to create agricultural land management strategy. The agricultural land management strategy of Zhambyl region of the Republic of Kazakhstan was developed on the basis of natural and agricultural, socio-economic, regulatory and nature protection indicators that reflect the priority activities to achieve sustainable use of agricultural land. At all stages of the development of the strategy, methodological developments and regulatory criteria adapted to the conditions of agricultural nature management were applied. The developed agricultural land management strategy is focused on the predominance of environmental priorities in land use, as a result of which agricultural land use will become cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and mutually beneficial.


Summary: In this study, the issue of the efficiency of functioning of local government institutions was taken up. The efficient operation of a local government administration office has a significant impact on the development of the local community and satisfying the needs of its residents. The aim of this article is to measure and assess the potential institutional efficiency of municipal offices in the Świętokrzyskie province [voivodeship]. The article uses the institutional analysis method. The research results indicate that the municipalities of the Świętokrzyskie province are characterized by low institutional efficiency, especially in such areas as the provision of public services and the management of human resources. The most favorable situation occurred in the areas of strategic and financial management as well as in social participation and the stimulation of social development.


The effect of elevated temperatures on the optical and structural stability of MoSi2/Si and Mo/C/Si/C multilayer coatings was investigated. The multilayer mirrors were designed for normal-incidence reflectivity at a wavelength of about 13.5 nm. The multilayers were deposited by dc-magnetron sputtering and subsequently annealed at temperatures of 400 °C and 500 °C for 1, 10 and 100 hours. X-ray scattering, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and normal-incidence reflectivity measurements were used for the characterization of the multilayer structures. We achieved maximal normal-incidence reflectivities of 41.2 % and 59.6 % for as-deposited MoSi2/S and Mo/C/Si/C multilayer mirrors. While the optical properties of Mo/C/Si/C multilayers changed monotonically during annealing time at temperatures of more than 400 °C, the MoSi2/Si multilayers showed a superior thermal stability up to 500 °C. New barrier layer materials were also suggested to enhance the thermal stability of Mo/Si multilayers. Interface-engineered Mo/Si multilayer mirrors were designed to combine both a high reflectivity of more than 60 % at 13.5 nm and a superior long-term thermal stability of up to 500 °C.


Measurements of neutron radiation around the 17 MeV betatron at the radiation clinic of the University Düsseldorf are reported. Two figures present isodose distributions of neutrons under different conditions of irradiation.


© 2021 International Journal of Preventive Medicine | Published by Wolters Kluwer Medknow The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) outbreak affected all normal routine activities. It has led to considerable negative effects on children's mental health. Quarantine, social distancing, and school closures have led to anxiety and stress and at the final step, they affect the quality of children's daily lives. Still the evidence related to COVID‐19 outbreak and mental health is limited in the pediatric age group.[1,2] These days, we are facing a new sleep problem, named coronosomnia.


1. Introduction Over the past twenty years, the United States has adopted and refined rigorous legislation to curb the payment of bribes by U.S. companies. Through the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977' as amended in 1988 (FCPA),2 payment of bribes abroad by U.S. businesspersons has become a crime subject to incarceration, fines, or both.3 Under the FCPA's influence, corruption in world markets has become an important legal issue for U.S. companies doing business abroad. The U.S. approach to bribery under the FCPA is severe by global standards. The United States is the only nation that has criminalized the extraterritorial payment of bribes by domestic companies.4 A district court decision suggests that the reach of the FCPA may go even further - that under appropriate conditions, foreign nationals subject to U.S. jurisdiction may be convicted under the provisions of the FCPA for paying bribes outside U.S. borders.5 The impressive scope and enforcement potential of the FCPA are enhanced by the recognition of private actions under appropriate conditions. Furthermore, if a pattern of violations exists, the FCPA's rigor can be intensified by the assessment of civil penalties, including treble damages, under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). 7 Historically, authorities have been lax in enforcing the FCPA.8 Although the government has instituted aggressive surveillance policies during the past few years,9 illegal payment of bribes remains among the most prominently publicized white-collar crimes,10 both domestically and internationally.ll Corruption is a tenacious reality in many global markets, where foreign officials continue to solicit bribes routinely from U.S. companies and their representatives.'2 The proliferation of illegal payments has been exacerbated by recent increases in the size of typical kickbacks.'3 The remainder of this Introduction provides background information concerning the current worldwide challenge of corruption. Subpart A outlines a wide range of recent global efforts to eliminate bribery. Subpart B provides examples of corruption or alleged corruption in the 1990s, demonstrating the pervasiveness and persistence of the problem. Subpart C outlines the challenges Congress faces as a result of the observations made in subparts A and B. Subpart C also outlines the body of the Article, which assesses and ultimately rejects the wisdom of the FCPA approach. A. Recent Efforts to Eliminate Bribery Although it is the only country to criminalize the extraterritorial payment of bribes,l4 the United States is working to encourage other nations to follow suit. In the spring of 1995, U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky stated that the United States would move aggressively to promote adoption of FCPA-type laws in other major trading nations as part of an effort to increase transparency in frequently furtive government procurement processes."5 By early 1996, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) addressed a tax policy that is widely believed to encourage or support international bribery - the deductibility of bribes paid to foreign officials as business expenses in a number of industrialized nations.16 The OECD's Committee on Fiscal Affairs adopted a resolution that member countries reject or abolish such deductions.l7 Because the resolution represents a commitment only from the twenty-six member countries of the OECD, the organization is seeking ways to encourage nonmembers to institute similar reforms.ls Likewise, U.S. and Latin American officials are working on the development of a hemispheric agreement to curb the payment of bribes to foreign officials.'9 In March of 1996, the Organization of American States (OAS), consisting of thirty-four Western Hemisphere members, drafted a multilateral agreement to prevent bribery and corruption in international business.20 Under the agreement, known as the "Inter-American Convention Against Corruption" (Convention), 21 signatories make a commitment to adopt laws that are the "rough equivalent" of the FCPA. …


A 70 year-old man with a known anti-HCV positivity for 3 years was admitted with high fever, severe burning pain and palpable purpura on the lower extremities (Picture). For the work-up of leukopenia and splenomegaly, bone marrow biopsy was performed and hairy cell leukemia (HCL) was diagnosed. Punch biopsy of the vasculitic lesions revealed leukocytoclastic vasculitis. HCV-RNA and cryoglobulins were negative, thus these lesions were not related to mixed cryoglobulinemia due to HCV infection. Rather, these lesions were considered to be directly associated with HCL. For the treatment of both HCL and vasculitis, α-Interferon (3 million units/day -3 days/week) and methyl-prednisolone 40 mg/day were started. With this treatment, vasculitic lesions and pain were completely resolved. The association of HCL with cutaneous leukocytoclastic vasculitis (CLV) and polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is known but these are uncommon entities. PAN generally presents after the diagnosis of HCL, however CLV frequently precedes the diagnosis of HCL as in the present case (1).


The world practice of using agrochemicals for long periods, in an indiscriminated and abusive way, has been a concern of the authorities involved in public health and sustainability of the natural resources, as a consequence of environmental contamination. Agrochemicals refer to a broad range of insecticides, fungicides and herbicides, and among them stands out atrazine, a herbicide intensively used in sugarcane, corn and sorghum cultures, among others. Researches have demonstrated that atrazine has toxic effects in algae, aquatic plants, aquatic insects, fishes and mammals. Due to the toxicity and persistence of atrazine in the environment, the search of microbial strains capable of degrading it is fundamental to the development of bioremediation processes, as corrective tools to solve the current problems of the irrational use of agrochemicals. This review relates the main microbial aspects and research on atrazine degradation by isolated microbial species and microbial consortia, as well as approaches on the development of techniques for microbial removal of atrazine in natural environments.


The fastest room-temperature logic gate operation yet reported has been achieved with an improved technology for self-aligned ion-implanted GaAs MESFET's. The procedure involves fabrication of 0.75/0.6-µm "T-gate" structures using electron-beam lithography, and employs arsenic-overpressure capless annealing of the self-aligned n+-implant. Minimum propagation delays of 15.4 ps/ stage were obtained for several of the ring oscillators, and none of the oscillators fabricated showed propagation delays longer than 17.0 ps. The fabrication technology and experimental results are described.


Yeast Elongator protein 3(yElp3),possessing Histone Acetyltransferase activity(HAT),is the catalytic subunit of the multi-subunit Elongator complex and involvs in histone acetylation and transcription elongation.Sequence analysis and relative research have revealed the presence of a second putative domain,bearing homology to the catalytic domain of Radical SAM enzymes.Here we amplified the full length of hElp3 gene from pYES2-yelp3 template and inserted into the modified Pichia Pastoris expression vector pPIC9KH to construct the recombinant plasmid pPIC9KH-yElp3.After inducing the His-tagged fusion protein expressing in GS115(His4+,Mut+) by methanol,a 66 kD yElp3 fusion protein was obtained.Then the protein was purified by Ni-NTA affinity column and we used the soluble purified protein to detect its HAT activity in vitro through OPA method.The results showed that the recombinant yElp3,successfully expressed in Pichia pastoris and has high HAT activity.The work has laid down the basis for further in vitro studies into enzyme activity of the second domain of Elp3.


Background Comprehensive smoke-free legislation covering all enclosed public places and workplaces was implemented in England on 1 July 2007. This study examines the impact of this legislation on smoking prevalence, number of cigarettes smoked and location of smoking, controlling for secular trends through the end of 2008. Method and Findings Repeat cross sectional survey using nationally representative data from the Health Survey for England (HSE). In total there are 54,333 respondents from 2003–2008. Logit and linear regression models were used to examine the effect of the legislation on smoking prevalence and the number of cigarettes smoked daily among continuing smokers which took the underlying trend into account. Our finding suggest that smoking prevalence (current smoker) decreased from 25% in 2003 to 21% in 2008 (AOR = 0.96 per year, 95% CI = 0.95–0.98, P<0.01) and the mean number of cigarettes consumed daily by smokers decreased from 14.1 in 2003 to 13.1 in 2008 (coefficient for time trend = −0.28±0.06 SE cig/day per year, P<0.01). After adjusting for these trends the introduction of smoke-free legislation was not associated with additional reductions in smoking prevalence (AOR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.94–1.11, P = 0.596) or daily cigarette use in smokers (0.42±0.28 SE; P = 0.142). The percentage of respondents reporting smoking 'at work' and 'inside pubs or bars' decreased significantly from 14% to 2% (p<0.001) and from 34% to 2% (p<0.001), respectively, after the legislation. The percentage reporting smoking 'inside restaurants, cafes, or canteens' decreased significantly from 9% to 1% (p<0.001) and 'inside their home' decreased significantly from 65% to 55% (p<0.01). Conclusion There is widespread compliance with the smoke-free legislation in England, which has led to large drops in indoor smoking in all venues, including at home. Declines in smoking prevalence and consumption continued along existing trends; they did not accelerate during the 18 months immediately following implementation.


When new technologies are developed at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), the inventors are required to disclose their accomplishments to the JSC Innovation Partnerships Office (IPO), where they are analyzed and evaluated for their potential to be of public and commercial benefit. These disclosures often lead to U.S. Government patents, licenses to commercial companies, publication in NASA Tech Briefs magazine, software releases, and NASA awards for the inventors. This paper reports and analyzes data regarding new technology evaluations (NTE's) conducted by the JSC IPO in 2006-2009, as well as a summary of panel recommendations and 2010 trends. Although the presented data reflects solely NASA-JSC activity, readers will be provided with information to help them initiate their own new technology disclosure, no matter which NASA Center they support.